Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. Just borrowing them for a little bit of fun.

Wardrobe Change

He didn't quite know how this had happened, how this had all started – well okay, he knew, but the fact that he knew still didn't account for how it'd happened and why he'd let it continue for so long. He scratched absently at the bridge of his nose and continued to pretend to read the little orange book he so dearly loved even though there was no one in the room with him. The sound of the shower stopped and he shifted minutely on the only windowsill in his lounge as he waited for his blonde student/team mate to come out.

He'd first let Naruto use his shower when they'd returned from a gruelling mission and Naruto had looked like he was about to drop. Kakashi had suspected that the thick layer of dried mud caked into his younger team mate's clothes was the only thing that was keeping the blonde standing ramrod straight when they had finally made it back to the gates of Konoha. Sakura and Sai were equally exhausted and filthy, and being the thoughtful teacher/captain that he was, he'd quickly dismissed Team Seven and dragged the blonde teen back to his apartment as it was the closest of the two. He didn't want to risk having Naruto falling over in the middle of the streets from exhaustion and having to explain to the Hokage why her precious blonde was found in such a state. He'd lent his shower and clothes to his spaced out student, but had also ended up with the teen curled up on his couch until the next morning. It reminded him of the days when he was much much younger and Minato-sensei would drag him back with him and an annoyed Kushina clucked at him in disapproval. He'd ended up spending most of the night sulking in the couple's spare bedroom because he wasn't a child any more and shouldn't be treated as such. He'd smiled at the memory and quickly pushed it away, he wasn't in the mood to pick through his own confused thoughts.

All that aside, he didn't quite see how it had slowly developed into having Naruto over after most missions where said teen cleaned up and sometimes crashed, and at times the blonde came over just for the hell of bothering him when he had nothing else to do. He chalked this change to him trying to make up for spending so much time training Sasuke, only to have the Uchiha skip out on them, and trying very hard to form some sort of bond with his former sensei's only son. At least then when he finally conked it he'd only get a fairly bad beating from Minato for being such a thick-headed, bias ass head, and a pretty good wallop from Obito for letting Sasuke run off to Orochimaru and treating their sensei's only son like that.

Really, it was something to look forward to. Grimacing he snapped his book shut, and stood as the sound of the bathroom door opened. Stretching cat-like, he tried to work out the kinks in his back before getting a glass of water from the kitchen. He'd kick Naruto out once the teen had finished dressing and maybe get some shut eye while this temporary lull between missions lasted.

"Kakashi, I'm borrowing a shirt! I forgot to replace the ones I've worn."

Oh yes, did he mention that part of his drawer was now occupied by several changes of the blonde's clothes? The first few times the blonde had been over to wash up, he had let the teen borrow some of his older, less worn things but the grumbling about how his clothes were always the same, had him telling Naruto to bring his own change to stop the complaints. That had somehow turned into him making room in one of his drawers so the clean clothes had somewhere to live. A far off part of his mind had whispered that he should be bothered by this because it was an oddly intimate act, the sharing of his living space, no matter how tiny a space it was, but he had quickly pushed that thought aside. The headache he'd gotten thinking about it had him wanting to rip into his brain to remove the very idea and really it was much better than lending Naruto his underwear, which was far more intimate than just sharing a bit of drawer space. He'd become fond of Naruto, but that just went beyond what he could handle.

Sighing in exasperation, he made his way to his room to find the blonde wearing one of his many black T-shirts over faded blue jeans that had seen better days. The knees were threadbare and the hems of each leg were non-existent. But what had his attention was the plain white dress shirt and black jeans the blonde was holding in his hand, a manic grin plastered on the blonde's face. He leaned against the door frame, crossed his arms over his chest and lifted a brow, wondering what on earth was going through the younger man's head.

"I see you had fun going through my closet."

"Mmhm." Naruto nodded and held out the clothes in offering.

"And what do you plan on doing with those?" Kakashi lazily moved into his room, pushing the drawer that held Naruto's spare clothes shut and ignoring the wet towel lying on his bed.

"Not going to do anything with them," Naruto replied childishly, pure mischief gleaming in his blue eyes.

"Ah." He nodded as if he understood, and took the clothes from the younger man. He was about to put them back where the other had found them when a tanned hand reached out to stop him and he glanced to the side to find Naruto looking like he was about to burst from over excitement. "Naruto."

"Nope, Kakashi. You're going to wear them."

"Am I now?"

"Yup!"

"And why am I wearing them?"

"Because you're taking me out for ramen!"

"I see." No he didn't, but then he didn't really want to understand what went on inside that blonde head. He'd a feeling that Minato probably thought the same thing when dealing with Kushina at times. "And what's wrong with what I'm wearing now?"

"Nothing, but you're always wearing that." Naruto pouted at him and he resisted the urge to pat the teen on the head to make the expression go away. "And it's so boring!"

"It's not boring," he muttered, offended, "it's practical." But even as he said that he was already slipping the shirt on over the black sleeveless Anbu top he still wore on occasions. He was getting soft and Naruto knew that too as the teen rocked backwards and forwards on the balls of his feet in triumph.

"Boring."

"Practical," he murmured with finality and pulled at the drawstrings of his pants. "As much as I like undressing in front of you, Naruto..."

Tanned cheeks coloured and the blonde disappeared with a quick "I'll go get my stuff!".

Chuckling a little and shaking his head, he quickly swapped pants and frowned at the tight fit of his jeans. He hadn't gained any weight, he knew because the last physical he had said so, but he was reminded of just how impractical other clothes could be. Ignoring the odd feeling of being naked while still wearing clothes, he made quick work of the buttons – leaving the top few undone – and partially rolled up the sleeves. There was no point making this any more uncomfortable than it had to, and with that he grabbed his wallet and stuffed it into his back pocket and went back into the lounge to find his sandals.

Chapter completed 10th June, 2010

Author's note: Good? Bad? Blah? Feel free to rip it apart.