depressedkakashihatake-fics

[depressedkakashihatake-fics]

Be More Careful

Haruno Sakura/Rock Lee

1593 words

For: @spacebabe51​ and @bazmultifandom (cuz you seemed interested)

One patient left and then Sakura would officially be free from her shifty at the hospital. Able to go out and enjoy the rest of her day.

Perhaps if Ino was finished training with her team for the day, Sakura would be able to convince her to go out for some sushi with her. A treat for a hard days work.

They deserved it.

Stopping in front of the room she had been directed to, she reached out and rapped her knuckles against the door.

“Come in,” the voice that called out from the other side of the door sounded familiar. “I just, uh…”

She doesn’t wait for whatever is supposed to follow those words. Grabbing the door handle, she pulled the door open swiftly and stepped into the room to see Rock Lee in the process of trying to pull his green jumpsuit back on.

“S-Sakura-Chan!” His eyes go wide when he meets her gaze, his face turning a deep shade of red while he moved the jumpsuit in front of his body to block her view. As if he wasn’t wearing boxers or she hadn’t seen worse since she started working at the hospital. “I didn’t- I thought…”

“That you would be getting someone else as your Doctor?” a shy nod is the only response she gets. “Well, too bad. You’re stuck with me.”

Not that she thought Lee had any real problems with that aside from a bit of embarrassment.

“I didn’t mean to waste your time, Sakura-Chan.” Ignoring his rambling for a moment, Sakura started to do a visual check. Though, it didn’t take her long to figure out why Lee was there when she saw a huge bloody bandage on his arm. Likely put on by one of the nurses to stem the flow of blood before she was able to get there.

“What did you do to yourself this time, Lee-kun?” Making her way over to his side, she took hold of his wrist and pulled his arm up. “Hold.”

Releasing her grip on his wrist, she started to carefully undo the bandages so that she could see the full extent of the damage.

Judging by the bruises that littered his arms, abdomen and face she assumed it had something to do with training.

              Unsurprising, given the amount of times Sakura had seen Lee’s name in Hospital records for training related injuries.

“Six new bruises and an injury on your ar. You’re pushing yourself too hard again,” Removing the last bit of bandage, she sighed when she saw a deep, bloody gash there on his arm. “Let me guess. One of Tenten’s weapons?”

“She wanted to try out one of her new moves,” Lee defended his teammate. “She asked Neji to train with her, but he had already promised to train with Hinata today so…”

So you thought that you could fill in for him?” another nod of his head, this time with an ashamed look on his face. “Do you know why Tenten would ask Neji to train with her when she wants to test out a new move?”

Well Lee tried to think of an answer, Sakura examined his wound. The gash was deep, but not deep enough that his humerus was hit. That meant she had one less thing to worry about.

“Neji can deflect her attacks, including her weapons, with his eight trigrams palms revolving heaven,” There’s pride in Lee’s voice when he gives her his answer. Something that is no less surprising that all of the bruises on his body. “Had Neji been available he would have been perfect for Tenten to train with in order to perfect her new attack. But since he wasn’t…”

“You volunteered yourself instead, even knowing you could be more seriously injured even with your speed,” She expects this of Lee, but that doesn’t mean she’s any less disappointed that he got himself injured when he could have avoided it. “You know, everyone is always talking about how you’re so much like Gai-Sensei. I don’t think any of them realize that you have the same stupid blind dedication to people as Kakashi-Sensei.”

That’s the only way she can explain it. Kakashi-sensei and Lee-kun were the only people that she knew who were willing to train with others even knowing that they could be seriously injured.

Just last week she had watched Shizune patch up her Sensei after taking a kick to the ribs from Gai-Sensei that had left him with two broken ribs and a week off from missions. All so that Gai-Sensei could try out a new move he had come up with.

“I think in Kakashi-Sensei’s case it’s love making him do dumb things,” Lee’s laugh rang in her ears. Easily the most beautiful laugh she had ever heard. So full of love and joy. “That’s what Neji is always saying.”

“He’s probably right,” it took her Sensei a while to relax around her, but as soon as he had he went from ‘Hard to read mystery’ to ‘open book’. One of the most obvious things about him was that he was completely, undeniably in love with Gai-Sensei. “But that’s not the case with you. You’re just reckless.”

Removing her hands from his wound, she reached into her left pouch and pulled out the suture kit that she always carried around on her.

“Well, I can’t do much about the bruises. Those will heal within a few days,” though by the time these one’s healed she had no doubt there would be brand new one’s to replace them. “But I should stitch up that wound to prevent infection.”

Lee doesn’t argue, but he also doesn’t move to sit down on the hospital bed directly behind him. Instead, he continues to stand there holding his jumper in front of his body like a shield.

“You know, it will be kind of hard stitching you up while you’re standing,” she frowned. “even after I give you the local anesthetic to dull the pain.”

Even the smallest amount of movement could screw up her work.

“O-oh!” Glancing back at the bed, Lee finally moved to take a seat. “Sorry. I’m not used to…”

She waited for him to finish his sentence, but no other words followed.

“You’re not embarrassed to talk to me, are you Lee-kun?” She gave him a playful smile as she took a step forward and set her suture kit down on the bed side table for easy access. “The boisterous, condiment Rock Lee too shy to finish a sentence. Are you sick?”

“No, that’s not it!” Lee insisted, shaking his head pretty violently for a man insisting that he wasn’t embarrassed. “It’s just…I never thought…”

“That I would be the one taking care of your wounds?” Sakura frowned. “Why not?”

“Well, you always seemed like someone who would, you know…” she leveled him with an unimpressed look. “No, that-I said that wrong!”

“I’ll give you one more change,” she offered. “Try that again.”

While Lee took a moment to rethink his words, Sakura dug into her pockets once more for the anesthetic.

“A powerhouse!” She jumped when Lee screamed his response suddenly. “You always seemed like more of a combative Kunoichi. Not that being a medical ninja is bad. Gai-Sensei told me it takes a lot of skill and studying to become one.”

That certainly wasn’t wrong. Some days she wondered if she would ever finish studying.

“You’re amazing Sakura-Chan,” Lee’s compliment caught her off guard, lighting up a fire in her chest that made her feel warm and…loved? Was that the word she was looking for? “You’re always pushing yourself to be better. You never give up no matter how hard things get.”

“You’re one to talk,” she laughed even as her heart pounded in her chest. “you faced down a surgery that could have killed you, all so you could keep being a shinobi.”

“Well, ya,” Lee responded as if it was no big deal. “Of course I did. I wasn’t going to let my dream of becoming one of the greatest shinobi ever die without a fight.”

Always so passionate and upbeat. Nothing seemed to ever get Lee down no matter how bad things got.

“Well, as admirable as it is, I do with you would be more careful while you’re training,” twisting the cup off of the anesthetic cream, she set it down on the table by her suture kit and dipped two fingers into the cool cream. “This will numb the area so I can work without causing you unnecessary pain.”

Nodding his head Lee watched Sakura take a step towards him and hissed when she started to apply the cold cream to the skin around his wound. For a moment a comfortable silence fell between them.

“I’ll try to be more careful,” his voice was tender, a promise lingering in his words. “If you promise me that you won’t over work yourself.”

Sakura’s hand stopped, her eyes locking on his eyes his words sank in.

Taking a step back, she slapped her clean hand over her mouth and laughed. She laughed so hard and long that her ribs were starting to hurt when Lee reached out and gripped her shoulders with a soft, worried look in his eyes.

“S-Sakura-chan are you alright?”

She could kiss him. He looked so adorable standing there panicking over her health because of a little laughed when he was the one who had gotten sliced by one of Tenten’s weapons.

“I’m perfect,” she closed her eyes and smiled at him instead. “Absolutely perfect.”

[depressedkakashihatake-fics]

Kakashi’s Not Here Right Now.

Hatake Kakashi/Uchiha Shisui

1492 words

              Biting into the dango Shisui had given him, Sukea forced himself not to cringe as the sweet taste sank in. It was difficult sometimes, keeping Kakashi at bay during those rare days he got to visit Konoha. Especially when Kakashi’s dislike for sweets was so strong.

              “Everything alright?” Turning his attention over to Shisui, he forced himself to smile regardless of the discomfort currently being caused by his taste buds. “Is the dango too much?”

              “No no,” bringing his free hand up in front of his face, he tried his best to take another bite of dango just so Shisui could see that he was perfectly fine. Unfortunately, Kakashi’s taste buds revolted once again, causing him to spit out the small piece onto the ground. “Ok, maybe dango and I are having a bit of an argument today.”

              Shisui laughed, bright and loud. A laugh that made Sukea’s chest burst with warmth.

              “Here,” holding out a hand, Shisui carefully extracted the stick of dango from Sukea’s grasp. “I’ll eat it for you, but you owe me.”

              That was a phrase Sukea never felt comfortable hearing from Shisui. He knew from Kakashi’s experiences that ‘you owe me’ could only be followed by disaster when coming from Uchiha Shisui’s mouth.

              “Well, I appreciate the kind gesture,” he smiled, even as his brain started to think up increasingly ridiculous and terrifying scenarios Shisui could end up getting him into. “While you’re eating all fo that Dango, why don’t you show me the pictures you’ve taken since my last visit?”

              At least then he could do something.

              Watching as Shisui reached into his camera back and extracted the camera he had given him a little over a year ago, he smiled. He couldn’t wait to see what beautiful pictures Shisui had managed to capture this time. They never failed to blow him away.

              “I haven’t had a lot of time to take pictures this round,” Not surprising given the busy life that he led as a shinobi. “What I was able to get was during my rare time off, and Itachi has been a lot more cautious around me whenever he see’s my camera so I think I only got one picture of him.”

              One picture was good enough. Catching Itachi in embarrassing situations was hard enough to do, but capturing a photo of those occurrences was even rarer. So far the only person who had managed to do it was Shisui, while Sukea’s pictures were often more touching adorable moments he managed to get between Itachi and his little brother Sasuke.

              Taking Shisui’s camera, he wasted no time in turning his attention down to the screen as he flicked the camera on.

              And the first thing his eyes were greeted with was a naked Kakashi splayed out on Shisui’s bed fast asleep with one arm over his eyes and his face completely exposed.

              “O-oh!” He can feel the warmth of a blush creeping up the back of his neck. The moment captured in the picture is easy for him to remember. How he had crawled in through Shisui’s apartment window seeking comfort after a long, difficult mission. Crawling into Shisui’s arms for an escape from the expectations placed on him, and finding himself naked in Shisui’s bed trying desperately to replace every terrible memory with the taste of Shisui’s kiss.

              “I-uh-“ Lowering the camera, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath to center himself. “I don’t think I was supposed to see that one.”

              “Why not?” When he looked back over at Shisui, he was greeted with an irritatingly smug smirk. “Don’t you like it? It’s one of my favorite’s so far.”

              There’s a look in Shisui’s eyes that screams ‘danger’ but he has no real escape now. If he just dismisses himself and runs off, Shisui will know that something is up and will likely try to follow him.

              “It’s beautiful, yes,” stunning actually. Shisui had the perfect lighting, angle and set up. He highlighted Kakashi’s body wonderfully and even managed to get a good shot of his face. Something very few people could manage since even in his sleep Kakashi had a bad habit of covering his face with his blanket, hand or even a pillow. “I just don’t think…well, it’s a personal picture don’t you think? Won’t he be upset with you if he finds out you’re showing this to me?”

              He is actually quite upset. Private moments like this were meant to be kept between them. Not shared with someone who was a stranger to him as far as Shisui knew.

              “I’m sure he’ll forgive me,” Shisui shrugged his shoulders as if he had done nothing wrong. “After all, I am eating his dango for him.”

              “Oh…” lowering his eyes, Sukea kicked himself for not realizing why Shisui was so carefree about the whole situation, and for letting himself get caught in the act. “What…”

              “There’s very few people with a mole in that same spot on their face,” Shisui takes another bite of Dango and smiles over at him. “What? You didn’t think you’d keep me fooled forever, did you?”

              The downfalls to sleeping with someone was that they saw his face a lot more than others. Actually remembered what it looked like instead of forgetting the instant his mask went back on. Still, he hadn’t really thought he would fool anyone forever. That’s not the point of Sukea, and Shisui certainly wasn’t the first one to realize.

              He just might be the first one with a little less tact when dealing with the subject.

              “Can you-“ he cut himself off, unsure if he was making a request of Shisui that might be considered ‘rude’ or ‘too much’. It wasn’t really a subject he had to broach a lot with friends like Gai and Tenzo. One who always forgot what he looked like, and the other who seemed to understand right away what Sukea’s purpose was. “I’m…not Kakashi.”

              Turning to look at Shisui, he gave him the best smile that he could and felt his heart hammering in his chest when Shisui returned his smile with a look of pure confusion. Apparently some explanation was needed.

              “Sukea is a visitor,” He turned his eyes up towards the sky as he spoke. “Someone that doesn’t have the same background as Kakashi. That gets to walk into Konoha and have a different experience when he walks down the streets.”

              Sukea doesn’t have to hear ‘Cold blooded Kakashi’ being whispered by every person he passes. Or see the way people glare at him when he acts just a little too much like his father.

              “I’m just a photographer,” he turned his attention back to Shisui, the smile on his face genuine and happy. “The only things I know about Kakashi are the things I hear from others.”

              For a second it looks like Shisui might try to argue with him. State that he knows that Sukea is in fact Kakashi. One in the same person.

              But soon that second passes, and Shisui plasters a smile on his face.

              “I think I get it,” Maybe Kakashi would be able to fill in the blanks for Shisui the next time they see each other. Sukea can already feel the Genius’ mind working deep down inside of him to come up with an explanation that made more sense. “In that case I guess I do owe him an apology. I’ll have to make it up to him next time I see him.”

              Leaning over, Shisui flicked over to the next picture. A much more family appropriate photograph of Kakashi and Gai in the middle of one of the many competitions Sukea has heard about from Gai himself.

              “But, before that.” lifting his head, Sukea drew in a sharp breath when Shisui caught his lips in a kiss. It was tender and careful, exploring and testing the waters just like the first time Shisui had kissed Kakashi. It was also comfortable and warm, making Sukea melt in his spot. He can hear Kakashi grumbling away in his mind, but he ignored it.

              For once Kakashi can share a bit of his life with him. Just for a second.

              A whimper escapes his throat when Shisui pulls away, and he can feel himself blushing all over again when Shisui laughs.

              “I’ll make sure to make that up to him too,” he promises with a playful smile. “Just thought I’d get a kiss from the cute photographer, since I doubt I’ll be getting anymore.”

              Sukea might have to have a one on one chat with Kakashi about that.

              He would certainly like more of those kisses in his future, and Kakashi didn’t have to come out to play for him to get them. He could stay safely tucked away in his mind, hiding away from the problems he’s not able to face that day.

              “I think he’ll forgive you,” Sukea smiled over at him. “Just this once.”

[depressedkakashihatake-fics]

No Better Place To Be

Hatake Kakashi/Maito Gai

1154 Words

              Sunlight shone through the tiny window in their apartment, directly onto the bed where Kakashi and Gai laid, still tangled in each others arms after last night activities.

              From where he lay, awake and focused completely on Gai, Kakashi could see the way that the sunlight highlighted Gai’s body perfectly. Accentuating the various scars that were scattered across his body.

              Some of them were older scars. Scars that he had gotten from pushing his body too hard during his training exercises, or from some of the more dangerous missions he had to go on.

              The one’s that caught his eye in the light, though, were the newer one’s. Deep scars created from Gai’s chakra burning into his skin. Symbols burned forever into Gai’s skin that tell the story of what should have happened. How Gai’s life should have ended that day when he opened the eighth gate.

              Tracing a finger over a long, deep scar on Gai’s arm, he thought back to that moment. How Gai’s chakra had burst into an angry red flame that surrounded his body, determined to burn him to ash.

              That was the day that he had thought he’d lost Gai. That the universe had finally decided to deal him one last devastating blow before his own death.

              Going into that final battle against Kaguya, he was certain he would die and he had found it easy to come to terms with that. As long as he didn’t have to go back to a world without Gai or Tenzo, he was happy. He could find peace in death if it meant seeing the people he loved again.

              For some reason, Obito had decided to interfere with his plans to die that day, allowing Kakashi to see his team defeat Kaguya and come back together once again.

              It also allowed him the moment of calm that they all needed for Naruto to tell him that Gai was alive, and before he knew what he was doing he was off. Determined to find Gai and confirm that Naruto was tell him the truth.

              That Gai was alive, even after opening the eighth gate.

              “You stopped,” dragging his eyes away from the scar he had been focusing on, Kakashi smiled when he saw beautiful black eyes staring back at him. “So, tell me Kakashi, what is it you’re thinking about that made you stop?”

              “Maa, it’s nothing really,” bringing his hand up, he cupped Gai’s face and gently brushed his thumb along an older scar just under his left eye. “Just thinking about how lucky I am to be here with you.”

              Gai’s boisterous laughter rings in his ears, and for a moment he’s sure he actually died out in that battle. What other explanation could there be for how he found himself living his perfect life. Gai by his side, Tenzo as his right hand man after Tsunade-sama forced him to take the Hokage’s hat so that she could retire.

              Actually, the only reminder that he was in fact alive and breathing was his job as Hokage. It was too bad Naruto still had so much growing to do before he could take over the job himself, but he wasn’t going to be the asshole who through the kid head first into a job he wasn’t prepared for.

              “Shouldn’t you be on your way to work?” Leave it to Gai to remind him of the one thing he wants to forget about this morning. “Or are you planning to spend all day in bed?”

              That sounds like an enjoyable day. No work, no human interaction other than Gai, and as much sleep as he wants? Kakashi genuinely cannot think of a better way to spend his day.

              Far superior in his mind than going to work just to find a whole new pile of paperwork waiting for him. Honestly, at this point he’s certain Shizune must be finding paperwork from Tsunade-sama’s days as Hokage and pawning it off on him. There’s no other logical explanation for why there’s so damn much of it.

              “I was joking,” there’s a worried look on Gai’s face when he focuses back on him. “Kakashi, you have to go to work.”

              “Mmmm,” moving one leg over Gai’s body, he sat himself down on the Green Beasts waist. Careful not to bump his injured leg. “But your idea sounds so wonderful, and I’ve earned myself a day off haven’t I?”

              He wasn’t really sure if the Hokage actually got a day off. There was always so much to do. Taking a day of could easily result in being behind on his work for a week.

              Though, if he put in two extra hours of work a day and skipped his midday nap…

              Yep, that wasn’t going to happen.

              “Unfortunately, I think you’re right about me needing to go into work,” A shame too. Gai’s cuddles were always so warm and comfortable. “How about instead, you come visit me at lunch and maybe we can do something fun.”

              A challenge, just eating lunch and chatting, or maybe something he’d have to lock the door for. All were good options in his opinion, even if his mind had gone to an extremely dirty place.

              “I like the idea of lunch,” Gai’s hand was warm when he reached up to cup his face. “Maybe if you’re good and do your work without annoying Yamato, I’ll do something nice for you.”

              ‘Nice’ could mean a lot of things when it came to Gai, but Kakashi really enjoyed the mental image of himself Stradling Gai’s lap.

              “Mmm, I’ll keep that offer in mind,” perhaps it would give him the push he needed to finish his paperwork before Gai arrived at his office. “Until then…”

              Running his thumb along Gai’s cheek he leaned in close and brushed his lips against Gai’s, shivering when Gai moved his hand up the side of his face slowly and into his hair.

              “I adore you,” Gai’s words vibrated against his lips. An intoxicating feeling that he chased after with another quick brush of their lips. “Are you going to kiss me, Rival? Or are you just here to tease?”

              With a request like that, how could he deny Gai?

              With only an inch of space left between them it took no effort to lean in and seal their lips together in a tender, passionate kiss. As he does that Gai’s fingers thread into his hair, playing with the long silver strands and keeping Kakashi close. Prolonging the kiss even after Kakashi tried to pull back.

              He laughs against Gai’s mouth.

              Work was going to have to wait a little bit longer. He had no intention of leaving Gai’s side anytime soon when there was such amazing kisses for him to enjoy right where he was. Even if it did mean he’d have to listen to another lecture from Tenzo about being late.

              It was absolutely, completely worth it.

[depressedkakashihatake-fics]

Second Attempt

Hatake Kakashi/Maito Gai

1297 words

Follow up to First try 

              Date number one had been a success. Not perfect, thanks to Gai having to show up in uniform after an interruption from Asuma, but good.

              So good that at the end of the night as he was leaving Kakashi’s apartment, Gai asked him out on a second date. This time with a promise that neither of them would have to cook and that he would make sure that he wasn’t wearing his uniform.

              Kakashi’s voice cracking when he said ‘yes’ had been the cause of a lot of embarrassment over the next few days. Partially because he couldn’t forget the way Gai’s face had lit up with laughter, and partially because Gai had apparently decided to tell all of their friends about the night they had. Including that terrible moment.

              Asuma and Genma seemed to enjoy this information the most, teasing him relentlessly about making curry for his date with Gai and about the ‘cracking voice of doom’. Though, their teasing seemed like nothing compared to Anko.

              But that was all in the past now.

              Today was his chance to do things differently. To make sure everything was so perfect that their friends would be too jealous to make fun of him.

              Which is why he had decided not only to take out his favorite Yukata, but also to let Kurenai have a shot at taming his hair.

              It hadn’t worked out well at all, and after two hours of trying he owed Kurenai a bottle of sake for the emotional trauma and three new hairbrushes.

              The last thing he chose to do in an attempt to make tonight’s date a little mor memorable, was going out without his mask on. It was supposed to be a nice gesture for Gai. A night where he didn’t hide his face away from the world, just so Gai could see it a bit longer. Know that he was trying to be completely open to him in every way.

              Five minutes out on the streets of Konoha, and he was already starting to regret that choice. Every person that he passed by was staring at him and most of them weren’t even trying to hide it.

              This is why he always wore his mask. People didn’t know how to mind their own damn business.

              Thankfully, the sushi place Gai had said to meet him at was just up the street. It wouldn’t be long before he could hide away at a nice table and focus only on that beautiful, smiling face that he loved so much.

              Just the thought of seeing Gai made him forget about all of the people around him. Trying to go about his days, doing missions and training, had been a grueling experience since their first date. His mind was always on Gai, no matter what he was doing.

              Gai’s smile.

              His laugh.

              The smell of sweat and Dango that always seemed to linger around him.

              Finally, the sushi restraint came into view in the distance, and the first thing Kakashi noticed was a familiar green hanfu he had seen Gai wear more times than he could count.

              Gai’s favorite choice of outfit for a nice night out, and one of Kakashi’s favorite things to see him in.

              For once, excitement got the best of him, sending him flying forward to Gai’s side. It was actually kind of funny seeing Gai act like he hadn’t just scared him shitless by showing up at his side with no warning.

              “Hi,” giving Gai his best smiled he tucked his hands into the small pockets of his yukata. “You look…amazing.”

              He had meant to compliment Gai, but his words were met with a look of displeasure, causing him to panic. Had he said it wrong? Did he accidently insult Gai when he meant to flatter him?

              “I’m sorry, do I know you?” Panic gave way to a sense of crushing disappointment. Gai’s prosopagnosia had always been strong, but he hadn’t thought he would forget him of all people. “I-I don’t mean to be rude, but I am waiting for someone.”               Well at least he knew that Gai was loyal. Though, that was actually one of the only things he had never worried about. There wasn’t a disloyal bone in Gai’s body.

              “I know you’re waiting for someone,” a small, playful smile tugged at his lips. “He took forever to get ready for tonight. So desperate to make a good impression, he probably looks like a stranger to you.”

              “I…excuse me?” Gai’s face morphed into confusion. “Do you know where he is? He’s ten minutes late, which is actually normal for him…”

              Only ten minutes? He had worried himself over nothing. An hour was usually minimum for him, but today was sort of a special case so he could forgive himself for being early.

              “How about this,” stepping past Gai he headed straight for the door. “I’ll tell you where he is if you buy me a drink. Deal?” He turned around to face Gai once more, wanting to see his reaction to the proposal.

              “I really shouldn’t be going in with someone else,” somehow he was even more adorable when he was turning him down. Though, it most likely had to do with the fact that he was turning him down for…him.

              There was no logic to his feelings, that was for sure.

              “Well, have it your way,” turning towards the door once again he headed inside, making sure to throw back a playful “See you inside, Turtle.”

              The sound of sputtering followed him into the restraint, accompanied by a very annoyed “Kakashi!”

              All he could do when Gai’s arms clasped down around his chest and pulled him back into a crushing hug, was laugh.

              Not the way he had thought their date tonight would start, but somehow no less perfect. Maybe because it was Gai and everything he did was perfect in Kakashi’s eyes by default.

              Or maybe because Kakashi really was a ‘troll’ like Kurenai said, and he actually enjoyed messing with people whenever the opportunity presented itself.

              “I knew you’d figure it out,” he smiled back at Gai. “Took you a second, but you got there.”

              “There’s only one man in all of Konoha who thinks ‘Turtle’ is a good nickname,” Rude. Turtle was a great nickname and he planned to use it until the day he died. “You look amazing.”

              “So good you could hardly recognize me?” He expects Gai to tell him to ‘shut it’ or pinch him in the side. Both very common responses Gai has to his teasing.

              Instead, Gai leaned in close and pressed a tender kiss to his neck, sending shivers down his spine.

              “Sometimes I forget that there is a beautiful face hidden under that mask.” This. This is why he had left his mask at home tonight. Compliments that would cause him to cringe from anyone else, make him blush when they come from Gai.

              He still hasn’t decided if it’s because Gai’s just that good with words or if it’s a result of him being completely and undeniably in love with Konoha’s sublime green beast.

              In his personal opinion, it’s a terrifying and effective mixture of both.

              “Come on,” sliding out of Gai’s hold he turned to face his date and smiled. “Maybe if you’re nice to me tonight, I’ll agree to a date night challenge.”

              The way Gai’s face lights up tells him that He’ll definitely find himself doing some sort of challenge now. It would be impossible for him to turn down such an adorable face. In fact, for once he can’t wait to see what type of challenge Gai come’s up with.

              It has to be amazing to be considered date night worthy, and Gai’s always so creative when it comes to their competitions.

[depressedkakashihatake-fics]

You Remmembered?

Hinata Hyuga/Tenten

904 words

For: @alumort​ 

Lee.

She didn’t know much about her cousin's teammate other than what he had told her over the years. Every chance she might have gotten to sit down with him and talk, he said something about needing to do ‘more training’. Some days it seemed like he trained more than even Naruto, which she hadn’t thought was possible before. 

There was one thing she knew for sure, though.

She appreciated him and his terrible timing. Especially at moment’s like this.

“Neji Nii-san please don’t worry about it,” She held her hands up in front of her and laughed when her cousin leveled her with an unimpressed look. He had been telling her for the past three years to stop calling him ‘Nii-san’ but she had no intention of listening. “Go train with your teammate. I’ll be here tomorrow and every other day that we want to train together.”

To be honest, she couldn’t even imagine training today. Her body still ached from the mission she had just returned from with her team, but that had never been an excuse Neji would let her use to get out of training.

He always said something about ‘Gai Sensei’ and ‘Pushing past the pain’.

So when Lee showed up out of nowhere with those big sad eyes of his, asking Neji to train with him, Hinata jumped at the opportunity to escape her own scheduled training. 

“I promised to train with you this morning,” Neji insisted, endlessly stubborn. “It would be terrible for me to go back on my word.”

“But you should train with your teammate,” she insisted. “You two have to be in perfect sync for your missions, and there’s never too much training, right?” Neji seems to think her words over for a second. “Beside’s, I…” 

Right at that moment Tenten showed up at the entrance to the property. The perfect escape.

“I can train with Tenten,” She offered, smiling over at the other kunoichi and hoped that she caught onto what she was trying to do. “How does that sound, Tenten? You can help me train while Neji Nii-san and Lee-kun do their own training.”

“Train, eh,” Tenten tilted her head and smiled over at her. “Sure, why not. If those two are going to forget to include me in their training when Sensei’s not around I may as well get some training somewhere.”

Neji and Lee at least had the decency to look ashamed of themselves after being called out like that. They were also smart enough to run for it as soon as Tenten started to walk towards them. 

“I take it Lee showed up to interrupt your morning training with Neji?” She nodded her head, smiling when Tenten laughed out loud. “Ya, that’s Lee for you. He doesn’t always know when an appropriate time to ask to train with us is. I’ve had him interrupt lunch time to ask me to train with him.”

That certainly sounded interesting. Hinata was thankful she had Kiba and Shino as her teammates if others had to deal with people like Lee and Naruto-kun always wanting to train. She couldn’t imagine having Kiba interrupt her when she was trying to do something, just to ask her to train more than they already had.

“So, about that training,” There’s a feeling of regret that settles into her stomach. Was she actually going to have to train now? Maybe she should have thought of her words a bit better before requesting Tenten’s help in getting her cousin to leave her alone. “Can we skip out on that? I already did some training with Gai-sensei this morning that involved some unpleasant rock climbing and I could really use a break.”

That was not what she was expecting, but she would take it.

“I actually wouldn’t mind a break myself,” she agreed, not wanting to admit that she had planned to rest for the day anyways. “Would you like to come in for some food? If I remember correctly Neji bought some sesame buns the other day to bring to training. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you had some while you were here. They’re your favorite, right?”

Tenten’s cheeks turned a beautiful shade of red while she shifted awkwardly from side to side. 

“You...I didn’t expect…” Ducking her head, she covered her mouth just as a laugh escaped. “You remembered?”

“Of course I did,” Hinata chuckled. It was kind of cute seeing Tenten surprised. “I never forget when someone tells me about their favorite food. Especially when Neji tells me as well.”

And Neji told her a lot of things. Nothing bad of course, he adored his teammates in their own special ways. But he did give her insider information on what they liked and the things they did. It also helped that Tenten had mentioned her love for sesame buns once while they were out together with Neji. 

“Maybe while we’re enjoying those sesame buns, we can do something relaxing,” She offered. “You could tell me about your weapons. Neji said that you bought yourself a new set that you were really excited about.”

Tenten’s face lit up instantly and Hinata knew she was in for a very long, detailed story about whatever it was she had gotten for herself.

It was going to be great. A nice relaxing morning with good food, an interesting story, and great company. What more could she ask for?

[depressedkakashihatake-fics]

Too Much Energy

893 Words

Kakashi gets the late night zoomies

Something was off about Kakashi tonight. 

Watching his rival from his side of the small fire they had set up at their campsite, Gai took notice of every time Kakashi would start fidgeting with one of his weapons, or the zippers on his flak jacket. It was almost like his rival was ready to crawl out of his skin. Pumped full of too much energy with nothing to get rid of it.

He’d believe it too, if it wasn’t Hatake Kakashi he was looking at. Cool, calm, focused Kakashi. The only shinobi he knew that never let his guard down on a mission.

“Kakashi,” Rin’s voice is soft when she speaks, her eyes glued on their team Captain who is practically vibrating in his spot at this point. “Do you need to go for a run?”

A run? In the middle of a mission in the land of lightning? Surely that wasn’t safe.

“Mmmm,” Tucking his hands between his legs, Kakashi leaned over himself. For a second Gai was certain his friend was going to explode. It was the only explanation he could think of for why Kakashi seemed to be shaking so much. “Can’t run.”

“W-what’s going on?” Rin has an amused look on her face when she turns to him. “Is- Rival are you alright?”

Now he’s starting to worry. It’s not like Kakashi to act like this. It’s something he would expect of himself more than any of his friends, but Kakashi? It was completely out of character.

“He just needs to run around for a bit,” Rin smiled at him, acting as if everything about this situation is completely normal. “I guess you’re not used to being on too many missions with him, huh?”

What did that have to do with anything?

Giving his head a shake, Gai took a moment to think. There had to be something that he could do to help his rival, even if he wasn’t exactly sure what was going on.

“Oh, i know!” Rin’s sudden exclamation caught him by surprise. Was everyone acting out of character tonight? Had they been hit by some strange jutsu that he hadn’t seen? Or possibly poisoned? “Gai, why don’t you and Kakashi have a challenge?”

A challenge? In the middle of a mission?

That was certainly new.

“Rin,” Kakashi’s voice is strained, which just make’s Gai worry even more. The only time he has heard Kakashi’s voice sounding like that was when he found his Rival huddled up behind the memorial stone shortly after Obito’s death. “Now is really not the time.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Rin argued. “If you don’t go for a run you’re not going to sleep at all tonight, and neither are we because you’ll be so packed full of energy you’ll be bouncing around the camp until two am.”

Bouncing? Kakashi? This had to be a dream. Bouncing was simply not a word that he had ever heard used to describe his rival, and it wasn’t one he really liked. It just didn’t fit with who Kakashi was.

“Fine,” A sweet smile spread across Rin’s face. Something that he usually would love to see, but tonight for some reason it brought a feeling of fear deep into his soul. “How about this. You two have a competition to see who can run around for the longest, or when we get back to the village i’ll tell Minato-sensei that you let the enemy hit you in the side during our last mission.”

Kakashi sprang to his feet suddenly, his eyes locking on Gai.

“Run, now.” He’s pretty sure that’s not an order he actually has to follow, but it’s also not one he’s going to turn down. Standing up in his spot, he looked around for a direction for them to run in, only to have Kakashi jump past him and head directly into the trees.

“Is he ok?” he looked at Rin for an answer, cringing when he saw her glaring at him. “I mean-W-we’ll be right back.”

He didn’t waste anymore time following Kakashi into the trees, and it took little effort to catch up to his friend. There were few things that Gai was unquestionably better than Kakashi at, but speed was certainly one of them.

“Are you going to explain after?” He called over to his friend, smiling when Kakashi glared at him. “I’ll take that as a no.”

“There’s nothing to explain,” Kakashi grumbled under his breath. “It’s just some excess energy to burn.”

Excess energy? Well, that made a little more sense at least. Even if he still couldn’t imagine Kakashi being the type to get restless and hyper so suddenly. Perhaps it was just something else he still had to learn about his rival.

“Well, if that’s the case,” Turning his eyes on the area ahead of him he smirked. “Try to keep up, Rival.”

That was the only warning Kakashi received before Gai put all of his energy into his next jump and blasted forward in a sudden burst of speed. Somewhere behind him Gai could hear his rival calling for him to ‘not take this so seriously’.

Apparently he was not the only one who still had things to learn about his rival. 

A challenge was a challenge, and he was going to win. Even if he had to carry Kakashi back to camp after.

[depressedkakashihatake-fics]

Moving Forward

General

1649 Words

For: @wargraymon0709​

This kind of took on a life of its own and ended up being sort of a more sad fic so...i apologize.

Voices linger in the air. Silent whispers that he tried desperately to make sense of, only to have one of the doctor’s walk in and close the door, making it impossible for him to decipher what’s being said.

“Hatake-san,” Her words are meant to catch his attention, but he doesn’t bother to look up. Eyes locked on the Tanto that Lord Third had left with him during a short visit. “I have a few questions to ask you before we release you. Do you think you’re able to answer them?”

Taking a deep breath, Kakashi stuffed down all of the emotions boiling up inside of him and turned his attention up to the doctor. “What kind of questions?” He asked with a calm voice. Something that she didn’t seem to be expecting, judging by the look of surprise on her face.

Basic questions follow.

How are you feeling? He lies. No one needs to hear about that. They don’t actually care, why would they? He’s just the son of a shamed shinobi who took his own life. They wouldn’t notice if he disappeared into the night never to be seen again.

Have you had any thoughts about harming yourself? That one feels like a low hit. The only reason his father chose to do this was because of the way everyone was treating him. One failed mission and suddenly everyone hated him.

Hurting himself wouldn’t do him any good.

He had to prove himself. Show the village and everyone who had scolded his father that he wasn’t like him.

 Show them that he was better. A good, strong, successful shinobi.

“Hatake-san?” snapping out of his thoughts, Kakashi focused on the doctor once more. “Is everything alright? You seem distracted.”

His heart told him to scream. To kick and cry and throw the biggest fit anyone had ever seen in their lives because only an idiot would think that he wasn’t distracted. That he wasn’t currently reliving that moment over and over again in his mind. 

As if he couldn’t still feel that sticky, gooey blood on his hands even though Choza-San had helped him wash it all off a few hours ago when he arrived at the hospital with his teammates. 

His mind told him to stop, though. To take a deep breath and push it all down. Just like he had been doing ever since he walked into Lord Thirds office to inform him about what had happened while his father’s blood stained his hands and his heart ached in his chest. 

“I’m fine.” He chokes on the words, and his teeth scream at him to grab something to gnaw on. A habit of his to help him focus and calm down in high stress situations. Unfortunately, there’s nothing. Well, except…

Glancing back down at his fathers tanto he debated using it as a chew toy for a moment. It wouldn’t be the first time he had done it, and it would help him in this situation just as it had when he was a little kid. 

No.

Giving his head a shake, he pulled the Tanto close to his chest.

Of all the things he could gnaw on, this wasn’t one of them. Not anymore. There was no one in the village who would fix the hilt anymore if he ruined it with his teeth. Where once the blacksmiths of the village would clamber over each other for the chance to just hold the white fangs tanto, now they would scuff at the thought of even looking at it.

He had to take care of it. Keep it in proper, fictioning condition if he wanted to be able to use it when he was finally made a genin. 

A sharp knock on the door caught his attention. Looking up he watched as the door opened with a slight creek and Shikaku-san stepped into the room. The look on his face matches the one that Kakashi’s pretty sure he’s wearing as well.

The appearance of a shinobi. Strong and controlled even in the face of tragedy. Although, Kakashi’s certain that Shikaku is far more convincing than him because the doctor doesn’t seem to question the sixteen year old for a moment when he tells her that he’ll be taking over. She just nods her head and leaves the room with no argument.

Something that he wished he had the ability to make people do. Maybe then they would leave him alone more often.

“Come on,” Shikaku’s words are sharp. An order with no room for argument, and before he realizes what he’s doing Kakashi jumps off of the bed he was sitting on and starts to walk towards the older man. He’s half way there when he realizes what’s going on and stops in his tracks. “Don’t make me explain it kid. I just spent ten minutes telling my old man to stuff his stupid opinion on this. I don’t want to argue with anyone else.”

Tightening his fingers around his fathers Tanto, Kakashi straightened his back and glared up at the older man. It wasn’t that he wanted an argument. An explanation would be just fine.

At least then someone would have bothered to explain something to him tonight instead of just treating him like a child.

“What a drag,” Shikaku turned his eyes up to the ceiling with a groan. “Fine. You’re staying at my place kid. I’m not going to let you go back to an empty house. Especially not when-”

He doesn’t need Shikaku to finish his sentence. Just thinking about going back to that house sends shivers down his spine. The place probably stinks of blood, and even if someone has already come in to clean up the mess he’s certain all he’ll see when he walks into the living room is his fathers dead body laying in a pool of his own blood.

Heck, he’s not even at home and that’s already all he can see. Even when he tries not to focus on it, it’s right there in front of him. Cemented in his memory forever.

Still, he refuses to let Shikaku see the hurt deep inside of his soul. If he knows what Kakashi’s thinking, how he’s feeling, he’ll never accept him as a shinobi. Shinobi don’t show weakness. They don’t crumble because of loss.

So he keeps it to himself and turns his gaze away from Shikaku. 

“I don’t need your pity, old man.” he grumbled under his breath, cringing when a hand came down into his hair. For a second he expects to be hit, or at least yelled at. After all, he’s being rude to a Jonin and that’s unacceptable behaviour for someone who wants to be a shinobi of the leaf village.

Instead, nothing happens.

“We’ll pick up some clothes for you in the morning,” Shikaku continues as if Kakashi hadn’t said anything. “Now come on. It’s late and I want to get at least some sleep tonight.”

With that said Shikaku turned towards the door and started to walk away, leaving Kakashi standing there with his fathers tanto still clutched close to his chest and no idea what to do next. Was he supposed to just listen and follow Shikaku? Was that the right thing to do? Or should he argue and say he can take care of himself. That he has to take care of himself.

After all, who else is going to take care of him when the entire village hates him already because of his fathers actions?

“Are you coming?” Shikaku asked, raising an eyebrow when Kakashi looked up at him. “Come on. I’m not leaving you here. Sensei would kill me if i did.”

“Sensei…” the word is a whisper when he speaks. Barely audible but just enough to catch Shikaku’s attention as Kakashi holds his fathers tanto out in front of him and stares down at it. 

Before he knows what’s happening, his knees give out under him, sending him crashing down to the floor. Curling into himself, he pulled the tanto close once more and buried his face into his knees.

He’s not really sure what happens after that. The rest of the world fades away around him as the anger and sadness finally take over, tears running down his face. All of the questions he refused to ask before suddenly come flooding from his mouth. A montra of ‘why’s’ and ‘how’s’ one after the other.

Suddenly it feels like too much for him to handle. He had been doing so well too, playing the strong soldier. Refusing to break.

Why was it now that he couldn’t seem to hold himself together anymore.

“Hey,” that same stupid hand returned to his hair, a soft sad look greeting him when he looked up from his knees. “It’s ok. You’re not alone.”

Funny, he certainly felt alone right now. Even with someone standing right in front of him there was an empty space in his heart that ached. Like a pain he had never felt before, taking over completely as he thought about his father.

How he’d never get to see him again. Hear his voice calling out to him, hold his hand, listen to him tell him all about when he was younger, or the things he had taught his students when they were still genin. 

How the last thing he had ever said to his father was ‘why didn’t you just do the mission?’ in an angry bitter voice after hearing villagers insult his father for days. 

He was alone, and he hated it. Pleaded with the universe to turn back time and give him a second chance. To let him keep his father by his side so he didn’t have to feel this unbearable emptiness deep inside of him. 

“Take your time, kid,” Shikaku whispers, a hint of weariness in his voice. “We’ll head out when you’re ready.”

[depressedkakashihatake-fics]

I’m Not That Short

Hatake Kakashi/Maito Gai

1615 Words

A jokester.

Gai thought he was a jokester. It was going to be his new career and he was going to make everyone in the world laugh because he was so damn funny. No one would be safe from his perfect, hilarious jokes.

He’d change the world with just how funny he is.

“You look upset, Rival,” Narrowing his eyes, Kakashi glared over at his friend from his hiding place under the tree. Having removed himself from the small group of friends that had gathered there that morning he hoped to avoid any further commentary from Gai. Apparently his plan was not going to work. “Do you not like our plans to go out to Ichiraku Ramen for lunch? It’s ok if you’re worried about sitting on the stool, I’ll help you up.”

The small group burst into laughter, and Kakashi’s rage only grew.

“I’m not even that short!” He snapped “Genma, Ebisu shut up! You’re both the same height as me!”

“Are you sure about that, Rival?” Gai took a moment to look between him and the two men currently holding onto each other's shoulders to keep themselves standings. “I don’t think you’re right at all. Genma at least comes up to my chest.”

Genma doesn’t even argue with Gai over the jab even though he’s clearly only a few inches shorter than the bastard, just like Kakashi. Instead, he actually falls over laughing.

At least he was having fun with this. Kakashi certainly wasn’t.

“Come on,” It takes a considerable amount of effort not to crawl out of his skin when Gai shows up directly in front of him. He wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to just how fast Gai was. “If you’re nice I’ll even let you sit on my shoulders during the festival tomorrow so you don’t miss anything all the way down there.”

“I am three inches shorter than you!” He finally snapped, surging forward to tackle Gai to the ground. There was no intent to hurt behind the tackle, which is probably why Gai let him get away with it instead of slamming him onto his back right away. “Quit it with the short jokes!”

For a second he thinks Gai might actually listen. There’s a soft look of contemplation, and even remorse for a second.

Only a second though, and then it’s gone and Gai’s right back to where they started.

“My papa always said the shorter a person is the angrier they are. Such a tiny body can’t hold that much anger i guess, so you just have to let it out more than us taller people.’

Why was he friends with this asshole again?

Oh, right. No one else liked him as a kid and this was his punishment. Putting up with endless ‘short jokes’ for the rest of his life.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quiet.

Peace and quiet after a long, grueling day of endless D rank missions with his team. No Naruto screaming in his ear, or Sasuke pouting in a corner somewhere, or Sakura trying to desperately prove that she is the only normal person on their team.

Just him, his book, and the sound of the wind in his ears.

“Rival!” Scratch that. Peace and quiet was simply not something he was going to get today. “I almost didn’t see you there, you're so tiny. Have you shrunk?”

How was it that Gai, his best friend in the whole world, the man that he would throw down his life for, was so damn annoying?

“Don’t you have students to go teach?” He asked through clenched teeth.

“The three of them have decided to spend some time bonding as a team over lunch,” Gai dismissed his comment with a shrug of his shoulders and a smile that’s all too innocent for the man who just said hello with a short person joke. “I was going to do laps around Konoha before going for lunch myself, but now that I’ve found you we should do a challenge.”

First a short joke and then a demand for a challenge?

Gai really was pushing his luck today, but Kakashi could do that. He rarely ever got snippy during their challenges so maybe he’d get a break from the short jokes today. It would be the first time in a week he wouldn’t have to hear one of them leaving Gai’s mouth every five minutes.

“Fine,” snapping his book shut he reached back and carefully tucked it away in his pouch. “What kind of challenge do you want today?”

Gai’s eyes lit up and Kakashi knew right away that he was in trouble, but at least he wouldn’t have to hear any more short jokes for a while. Plus he did have to admit that Gai looked kind of cute when he was excited.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“How’s the weather down there?” Looking up, Kakashi glared at the arm now awkwardly positioned on top of his head. How was that even comfortable for Gai? He had his arm wedged up at such a weird angle just to pull this joke off.

Kakashi would at least give him points for dedication.

“It’s fine,” he reached up and shoved Gai’s arm away from his head. “You’re blocking my sunlight.”

“Right, sorry,” Taking a step back, Gai beamed when Kakashi raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing?”

“I was reading,” emphasis on ‘was’. He never got to keep reading when Gai was there. His friend demanded too much attention when they were together and these days he wasn’t one to deny Gai. Not when he had such a pretty smile whenever Kakashi was acknowledging him. “Let me guess, challenge?”

Gai shakes his head ‘no’. A surprising response considering they haven’t had a challenge in a few days.

“Then what would you like?”

“I was thinking about lunch,” Pointing towards the market nearby, Gai’s smile only grows. “We haven’t had a chance to just sit down and relax for a while. Maybe we can have a challenge after.”

Well at least he knew Gai wasn’t sick. He’d never turn down the chance at a challenge unless he was feeling under the weather, and even then he’d try to push himself to ‘test his boundaries’.

It rarely worked out well for him on those days.

“I could go for some Miso Soup,” he agreed, suddenly noticing that he was feeling hungry. Maybe he should have gone out for lunch with his team when they offered, but then he’d be stuck eating Ramen. Again. “The usual place?”

“That sounds like a grand idea,” Gai agreed with that stupid beautiful smile of his. The one that made Kakashi melt in his spot and brought up the weird urge to just kiss it off of his stupid happy face. “Do you want me to give you a piggyback ride there? I know it’s tiring running around on such short legs all the time.”

Ok, maybe he didn’t want to kiss him after all.

“I hate you,” Gai’s arm came down around his shoulder and pulled him right up against his side. “I hate you with the burning passion of youth.”

“Not quite what the springtime of our youth is for, but I'll give you points for trying,” Gai chuckled. “Race you to lunch?”

Challenge after food his butt.

“Fine,” shoving himself away from Gai, he couldn’t help but smirk when an idea came to mind. “Loser has to pay for lunch.”

Not the most creative punishment he has ever come up with, but he always liked getting a free meal out of his friends, and Gai wasn’t as weak to compliments as Tenzo.

“Agreed,” Gai nodded his head, getting into position beside Kakashi. “3...2...1…”

“When I win you have to kiss me.” Kakashi threw out just before Gai said ‘Go’ and burst forward to start the race, unable to stop himself from laughing when he looked back to see Gai standing there with wide eyes and a stunned look on his face.

“W- Hey!” Gai scrambled forward, desperate to catch up to his rival.

Personally, Kakashi didn’t hold out much hope for actually winning the race. Gai was faster than him at the end of the day so it would make sense for him to catch up and even surpass Kakashi with each.

But the thought of getting to finally kiss that handsome face because he won a race to lunch?

Well, that made all of the ‘short jokes’ he’d put up with over the last few months a little more bearable.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lunch had not happened.

Not that the two of them hadn’t actually wanted to get lunch. Even now Kakashi’s stomach was growling angrily at him demanding food, but he had so much better things to do. More enjoyable things to spend his time on.

“We really should get some food,” Gai’s voice is beautiful post sex. Intoxicating, even. If he wasn’t already completely drained of energy he would jump Gai all over again. For now though all he could do was press another gentle kiss against Gai’s collarbone. “Are you too tired to move, rival?”

“Well, you know how it is,” Laying his head down on Gai’s chest he closed his eyes and listened to the light thump of his heartbeat. “Us short people have less space to store energy, so we run out quicker.”

He’s not sure he has ever heard Gai laugh louder than this moment and it’s absolutely beautiful.

A hand settled in his hair, and the feeling of fingers gentle combing through the short silver strands sends shivers down his spine. There is no place he would rather be right now. No place that feels more at home than here in Gai’s arms.

[depressedkakashihatake-fics]

Fond Memories

Hatake Kakashi (No Ship)

1563 Words

For: @caffeinatedshinobi

Spending his night out with friends was a rare occurrence, one that was meant to be treasured and remembered fondly on a bad day, or during the last precious moments of life.

Instead, Kakashi was trying to get drunk, and fast.

“Whoa slow down,” Gai’s hand came down over his glass, preventing him from shooting back his third cup of sake. “What is the rush, Rival? We’re supposed to be relaxing.”

“I don’t think ‘relaxing’ is a word that exists in Kakashi’s vocabulary,” Glaring over at Asuma, he huffs when his friend simply responds with a playful smile. “You know it’s true. Your idea of ‘relaxing’ is reading that book of yours.”

“That is relaxing for me,” He grumbled, though it was sort of a lie. Most days he just read his book because it was easy to do. It didn’t involve a lot of energy, no emotional investment since he knew what was going to happen, and it kept his mind occupied. “Fine, let’s do something ‘relaxing’ then. What’s relaxing?”

He looks to Kurenai for an answer. There’s no way he trusts whatever idea comes out of Asuma’s mouth, and he’s pretty sure Gai doesn’t know the meaning of the word ‘relaxing’. The only time he relaxes at all is when he has a stick of dango in his hand.

Taking the hint, Kurenai leaned back in her chair and took a moment to think about the request. After a few minutes a small smile started to pull at the corner of her lips, meaning she had come up with an idea.

“Let’s share memories,” she leaned forward, her smile so big it could almost rival Gai’s regular toothy grin. “Talk about our favorite memory with our team. How about it?”

That didn’t sound nearly as exciting as she made it seem.

“Does anyone even have a favorite memory?” He asked, relaxing into his chair and watching as everyone turned to look at him. “What?”

“Surely you have a favorite memory of the time you have spent with your team, Rival,” There’s a worried look on Gai’s face.”A time when you looked at your students and couldn’t help but smile, or feel like everything was perfect for just a few minutes.”

Bold of Gai to assume he liked his students.

“Even if you aren't particularly fond of your students,” Good old reliable Asuma. He always seemed to know what was on Kakashi’s mind in moments like this, and he held no judgement unlike a certain Taijutsu expert currently gasping in disbelief. “There must be one moment where you looked at them and thought ‘huh, they’re not so bad’”

Not so bad?

That was possible, though he’d have to think about it to remember such a scenario since most of his memories with Team Seven involved endless headaches. Naruto being a constant pain in his ass, Sasuke being...well, Sasuke. Sakura was in there somewhere too but she didn’t stick out as much.

It was a downfall of not being a complete monster, but he appreciated that there was at least one normal person on his team. It was also a result of being the smartest out of the three, so he didn’t have to worry so much about her doing incredibly stupid shit.

He’d have to think really hard to come up with a fond memory that didn’t involve contemplated murder.

“Oh no, he’s making the thinking face.” Asuma’s voice cut through his thoughts, followed by Kurenai’s laughter and the distant sound of Gai asking him if he was alright.

He ignored it all, determined to find just one fond memory with his team of gremlins.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ichiraku Ramen

Not his favorite place to eat out at, but these days it was the one he saw the inside of the most. All thanks to one orange clad genin currently in the middle of screaming about how he’s going to be Hokage one day.

Quite the dream to have, for a kid who can’t keep his trap shut on a mission.

“You don’t believe me?” Taking his chopsticks, Naruto poked Sasuke in the nose. “It’s true. I’m going to be Hokage and i’m going to prove to the whole village that i’m the strongest there is.” 

“You might want to focus on learning how to throw a kunai properly first,” Sasuke swatted the chopsticks away from his face. “besides, what are you going to even do as Hokage? Make it a law that everyone has to eat at Ichiraku Ramen every day?”

He didn’t need to hear Naruto’s enthusiastic ‘yes’ to feel sick to his stomach. He was already eating more Ramen than he could handle. How Naruto survived on the stuff every day was beyond him. 

“I think the most important thing you’re forgetting here is that a Hokage should be a good leader,” Sakura spoke up. “How can you be a good leader when you can’t even get along with your own teammates?”

Point for Sakura, again.

So far she was winning in his ‘who gets to be my favorite’ competition.

Not that it was hard with teammates like hers.

“I can learn,” Naruto protested. “Besides, we have the best Sensei out of all of them! We’ll be the strongest in the village, all three of us.”

He can’t tell if Naruto is just being nice, or if he actually believed what he’s saying. If it’s the second one he has to question Naruto’s logic in calling HIM the best sensei in the village.

That title clearly went to Gai, but it might help that his students were less determined to put him in an early grave.

and that he had actually wanted to be a Sensei, unlike Kakashi.

“You’re not wrong there,” Sakura beamed. “Kakashi-Sensei’s far from perfect…” rude. “but he’s an amazing Sensei. Don’t you agree Sasuke-kun?”

Ok, he could forgive the rudeness for that one.

Turning his eyes towards Sasuke, he waited for a response to Sakura’s question. A smile pulled at his lips when he saw the Uchiha glaring over at him.

“He’s not terrible,” Sasuke admitted in a hushed tone. “I’ve learned from worse.”

It wasn’t the best compliment, but he was willing to take it.

“Hey, Sensei,” Naruto nudged him in the side. “You like teaching us, right? Showing us how to be the best shinobi in the village.”

How had he ended up with Minato-sensei 2.0 staring up at him with bright blue eyes and a smile that could melt any heart

Well, any heart that wasn’t his.

His heart and soul thrived off of being the guy that showed affection through insults and jabs. Probably not the best trait to have when one is a Jonin-sensei.

“Of course i like teaching you,” he turned his attention to the bowl of still untouched Ramen sitting in front of him. “There’s no other students dumb enough to get hit with the ‘thousand years of death’ twice.” 

No, he was not going to let Naruto live it down after he had successfully used his father’s goofy old attack on the kid again during training today.

“S-sensei…” Naruto’s head hit the counter, his voice full of shame and defeat.

Good.

He was getting too comfortable. Too chummy.

“Best Sensei maybe,” Sasuke grumbled beside them “biggest ass hole for sure.”

Well, at least they were starting to understand him. They couldn’t fully appreciate his personality if they thought he was just socially awkward. They needed to accept that their sensei was a bully just as much as they were.

It’s what made them all a perfect team, even if he did want to murder them all most days.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Smiling to himself, Kakashi turned his attention back over to Kurenai, who began to look very concerned as soon as he did.

“D-is everything ok?” She asked cautiously. “Did you come out of your thoughts in one piece.”

His friends were just as much ass holes as he was, and he loved them for it. 

“I thought of a fond memory,” he informed her, laughing to himself as he thought back to it once again. “I guess i do have one of those.”

Gai’s hand came down on his shoulder hard, shoving him forward suddenly and forcing him to reach out and grab hold of the table for support.

“That’s great, Rival!” Gai’s voice boomed in his ear. “Tell us! What is this fond memory of your team you found?”

“Mmmm, i don’t think I will,” there’s a sense of pride that bubbles up inside of him when all three of his friends slam their hands down on the table in protest. “It’s my memory to enjoy all on my own.” 

“You can’t just…” Asuma’s words devolve into a string of nonsense while Gai starts screaming about ‘youthful passion’ and ‘rivalry’. Meanwhile, Kurenai just leans back into her chair with a groan and closes her eyes, clearly done with the entire situation.

This.

This was relaxing for him.

Annoying all of his friends with little to no effort and watching them react with a variety of different emotions.

This is why he hung out with them.

Because they made his life interesting, and they never got so used to his trolling horrible ways (As Asuma liked to refer to it) that they stopped reacting.

This is what he loved about these three and he never wanted it to change.

[depressedkakashihatake-fics]

Don’t Lie

Hatake Kakashi/Tenzo Yamato/Maito Gai

931 Words

There’s footsteps just outside his door followed by hushed voices. He can’t hear what’s being said, but that’s ok. He doesn’t need to hear them to know who’s outside.

They don’t bother to knock. It’s a pointless formality that has long been forgotten between the three of them. They’re always welcome in his apartment and they know that, even on days like today.

When the world is crumbling around him and he wants nothing more than to just crawl under his blankets and fall asleep. Never to wake up again.

What’s the point if existing when all that’s waiting for him when he opens his eyes is more pain. Always pain. Never ending, soul crushing pain.

“Kakashi?” Gai’s voice is soft, his words dripping with worry. 

Kakashi doesn’t answer. He just curls up into himself more and buries his face into his knees.

He doesn’t want to be seen. He doesn’t want to exist.

What right does he even have to exist when he can’t do the simplest of things right?

“Tsunade-sama informed us that Naruto has chosen to train under Jiraiya-sama,” Straight to the point. That’s what he loved about Tenzo, he never beat around the bush. Although, today might be one of those times where he appreciated a bit more care in the words his boyfriend chose. “We came to check up on you.”

“You shouldn’t have,” he doesn’t move at all from his spot, even as the footsteps get closer and the bed dips to his right. “I don’t deserve company.”

Silence envelops the room. He can almost imagine the way the two of them must be looking at each other, trying to decide what to do next without actually saying anything out loud for him to shoot down.

For once, he’s the one to break the silence.

“You two should go do something better,” he whispered against his knee. “I’m fine, I just-”

A hand came down on his shoulder.

“Don’t lie to us, Kakashi,” Gai’s voice is soft. “You’re allowed to be upset. In fact, I would be worried if you weren’t.”

Easy for him to say. He wasn’t Konoha’s worst Sensei.

“We should go out,” Tenzo offers, smiling when Kakashi lifts his head just enough to glare at him. “Come on. A quick shower and you’ll be good to go, Senpai.”

“I don’t want to go out,” He insisted, fingers twisting into the fabric of his uniform pants. “I don’t want to be seen by people. By now everyone in the village knows every single one of my students has gone off and found themselves better Sensei’s. They’re going to see me and…”

There’s a momentary flashback to when he was young. The way the villagers had whispered amongst each other whenever they saw him passing by. Telling each other stories of his mistakes.

Coming up with nicknames that stuck with him for years, like ‘cold blooded Kakashi’ or ‘friend-killer Kakashi’. What would they come up with this time? What name would be whispered amongst each other whenever they saw Kakashi passing by?

“Stop it,” A soft warning from Gai, followed by a finger poking him in the nose pulled him out of his thoughts. “We’re not thinking bad things. Tenzo and I came here to cheer you up.”

Rolling his eyes, Kakashi turned his head to face Gai. “Why do you need to cheer me up?” He asked. “Can’t you tell i’m doing just great. Everything is perfect and wonderful and…”

“There you go again, Senpai,” Tenzo crossed his arms over his chest and frowned .”Lying to us. Why do you always think you have to act like the big tough man?”

“A good Shinobi doesn’t cry,” He whispered, diverting his eyes away from both men. “A good Shinobi is strong, controlled and calculated. They don’t let their emotions get to them.”

Part way through his last sentence he can feel the tears starting to run down his face. The emotions were finally becoming too much for him to handle and he hated it.

Hated showing his weakness.

Hated these moments where he wasn’t perfectly in control of himself. The control he had worked so hard to achieve, and always fell back on even when things reached their worst for him. 

“Come here,” Gai’s arm came down around his shoulder and pulled him into a tight hug while Tenzo knelt down in front of him. “It’s ok to be upset.”

“One time,” Bringing a hand up to his face, he tried desperately to wipe away the tears only to have Tenzo grab hold of his hand and pull it back. “One time I actually think things are going to go right. That even i can’t possibly fuck this up…”

There’s bitterness in his words, and they’re directed at himself.

It was his job to help Sasuke. To keep him from going down a darker path, and he had failed him.

It was his job to train Naruto and Sakura and help them become successful, powerful shinobi, and he had failed.

“I’m a shit sensei,” he whispered under his breath. “Why did anyone think i’d be any good at this stupid job?”

Neither of them give him an answer. Either because they don’t have one, or because they’re not sure what to say that will actually help calm him down.

It doesn’t matter either way.

Nothing he could say would bring Sasuke back to the village, or convince Naruto and Sakura that he can actually train them in a way they deserve to be trained.

Lord Third really had fucked up making him a Sensei.

[depressedkakashihatake-fics]

Accidental Happyness

Hatake Kakashi/Tenzo Yamato/Umino Iruka

931 words

Pouring himself another glass of Sake, Kakashi rolled his eyes when Tenzo waved his own empty glass in front of his face. “Use your words, Tree boy.” 

“pfft, you have no room to talk,” Tenzo argued, slamming his glass down on the table in front of Kakashi and watching him fill it. “You don’t know how to say anything. Whether you want it, or you hate it. You never use your words, Senpai. So why should I?”

Two drinks in and Tenzo was drunk already.

And here he had thought his Kohai would have become less of a lightweight over the years.

His mistake.

“I do so use my words,” he argued. “I use them all the time. To tell Naruto to listen to the plan, beg Naruo to not give me a headache for just one day, sweet talk you when i want free lunch,” he got a particularly nasty glare for that one. “oh, and i can always talk about Iruka. I could talk about him and his stupid pretty face all day.” 

Tenzo’s glass drops from his hand, crashing down on the table while Tenzo turns to glare at him.

“Don’t you dare talk about his pretty face, Senpai,” he growls out in warning. “That’s my pretty academy sensei. I’ve been staring at that pretty face for months trying to ask him out.”

“Months,” Kakashi huffed. “I’ve been trying to ask him out since the first time i met him years ago, but life kept happening.” He’s not even exaggerating there. First he needed to let Iruka focus on Naruto and hope that the academy Sensei could give his student the love and care of a big brother that he has never been able to. Then he got Team Seven and everything went to shit. Even with the increased sightings of a particularly adorable sensei, he never had a free chance to ask him out. “I’ve been trying to do it for years. I get first dibs.”

“First dibs my butt!” He doesn’t need to look to know that everyone in the place is now looking at them. Tenzo had yelled so loud he’s certain people in Suna could have heard him. “You owe me, Senpai. I put up with your shit with no complaints…”

“That sounds like a complaint to me, actually.” Kakashi argued.

“You know what i mean!” Tenzo slammed his hands down on the table, making Kakashi question whether that third drink was a smart idea after all. “I get to ask out the cute Sensei. You can let me have this one thing, Senpai.”

“You act as if I never give you anything,” He grumbled under his breath. “I’m not the big, bad, mean Senpai you seem to think I am, Tenzo. I give you cuddles when you want them don’t i?”

He’s pretty sure Tenzo was about to answer him before he dropped that last sentence. His mouth was open ready for an argument, and then he heard ‘cuddles’ and it looked as if his brain had shattered into a million pieces.

“D-don’t say that out loud!” The Mokuton user shouted suddenly, his eyes wider than normal. 

“Too late,” resting one arm on the table, Kakashi propped his chin on top of his hand and smiled at his friend. “Beside’s, I think it’s a fair trade. You get all the cuddles you could ask for, I get the cute sensei. We both get what we want, right?”

“Not right,” Tenzo hissed. “Not right at all. That’s completely unfair and no amount of free cuddles is going to change my mind.”

Opening his mouth, Kakashi started to respond to Tenzo’s argument when a hand suddenly came down between the two of them and slammed down on the table.

“One night,” both of them cringed when they heard a familiar voice. “I go out for one night to enjoy myself, and all i hear while i’m trying to relax with my friends is two Jonin’s trying to argue over who gets to...to…”

“Date you!” Kakashi can hear Genma calling through the crowd. 

Always helpful that one. 

“Thank you, Genma,” Iruka grumbled under his breath. “You two, Ichiraku Ramen tomorrow after my classes are done. Do not be late.” He directs that last comment towards Kakashi with a glare. “If you are late, we continue without you.”

“O-ok.” He’s not really sure what else to say to that. It seems pretty straight forward, no argument needed.

Except, as soon as Iruka walks away from them with a satisfied nod, his brain kicks into gear again.

“Did he...are we…” The words refuse to come to him.

“I think i’m in love,” Tenzo’s eyes followed Iruka through the crowd. “No, i know i’m in love. That was amazing.”

“Tenzo!” Reaching out, Kakashi grabbed his friends shoulders and gave them a shake. “Tenzo stay with me. He just asked us out. Both of us.”

“Aww, no,” Tenzo pouted. “I have to share him with you? You always hog everything from me.”

Ok, he was definitely going to give Tenzo shit for that comment.

After he dealt with the mental crisis going on in his brain from being asked out by Konoha’s resident hottie.

How was he going to explain this to Naruto if things worked out?

‘Sorry Naruto. Tenzo and I are dating your favorite Sensei and there’s nothing you can do about it’

He’s certain that’s not going to sit well with his student at all, and that he and Tenzo were going to have to react fast just to avoid getting rasanganed through a wall.

[depressedkakashihatake-fics]

First Try

Hatake Kakashi/Maito Gai

1156 Words

Straightening out his shirt, Kakashi glanced into the mirror and went through his checklist of preparations once more. 

Table: Set.

Dinner: Made. Curry of course, he was trying to impress Gai after all, even at the cost of his own taste buds. 

Cloths: In perfect condition. Surprising, given the fact that his team had interrupted him mid preparations and Naruto had actually stepped on the small pile of clothes he had set out by the window.

He made a mental note never to leave his clothes by the window again. Clearly that was a danger zone. 

Running his fingers through his hair, he sighed as he examined the usual mess of silver strands. He had tried desperately to brush and style the mop on top of his head, but as always it ended in the same messy disaster he always had. 

There really was nothing to be done about it, leaving him to hope Gai didn’t knock points off for having messy hair. 

Speaking of which.

Checking his watch, he takes a calming breath. Five minutes before Gai is due to arrive, and Gai isn’t one to show up early or late. He prefered to be perfectly on time for everything. 

That meant he had enough time to triple check everything and make sure it was perfect.

Or was it his fourth time checking?

Shrugging his shoulders, he turned away from the mirror and headed back towards the dinning room to take another look at the table he had set.

Hearing a knock on the door, Kakashi rushed over and pulled it open without a thought, too excited to finally see Gai to worry anymore about how he looked or what state the apartment was in.

He had already spent thirty minutes worrying about all of that.

It was finally time to see Gai.

Beautiful, amazing, fantastic Gai.

In his regular spandex uniform with headband wrapped around his waist and flak vest on.

Suddenly it felt like he had waited his whole day preparing for this moment. Clearly Gai had misunderstood him when he asked him to join him for dinner.

That or he had made a mistake saying yes to the offer and was actually here to tell Kakashi that he wasn’t interested in him that way. That he just wanted to be Rivals and nothing more.

Annoyance shifted into fear which seemed to dissipate as Gai’s hand came up to settle against his cheek. 

“I’m sorry,” Gai’s smiling. He’s smiling and it’s so beautiful it makes his heart skip a beat. “I was on my way to change when Asuma stopped me and asked for a quick hand teaching his kids some Taijutsu. I tried to explain that I had a date to get ready for, but he was very insistent.”

Asuma, of course.

This was probably revenge for the time Kakashi had made him late for a date with Kurenai because he needed someone’s help explaining love to a very curious Sakura. It had to be. Asuma knew he had finally asked Gai out on a date tonight, he had told him.

“You’re here,” he smiled, stamping down the feelings of insecurity and focusing on the warm touch of Gai's hand against his skin. “That’s what matters.”

“I couldn’t think of anything else,” Gai admits with a bit of a blush tinting his cheeks. “Even while training the future generation in Taijutsu I found my mind wondering about tonight's plans.”

That was a victory he was happy to accept. Getting Gai distracted enough that he can’t focus on training and particularly taijutsu was something that most people could not achieve. 

“Come on in,” he took a step back to let Gai into the apartment. “Dinner is waiting for us.”

He may not like that Gai was wearing his uniform when he had taken two hours to choose the perfect outfit for tonight, but it was fine.

He’d just have to make tonight so amazing that Gai demanded another date. One where he actually got the chance to dress up. 

“It smells good,” Tilting his head up, Gai sniffed the air “Really good. Is that… did you make curry?”

“Uh huh,” Now that Gai was here it was sort of embarrassing to admit. No one knew his hatred of curry better than Gai after all. “It’s not as spicy as you might like it though. I do want to live after tonight.”

‘Death by curry’ really didn’t sound like something he wanted written on his gravestone for people to laugh at for the rest of history. 

“It’s perfect,” The smile on Gai’s face somehow grows, almost blinding Kakashi with those shiny white teeth. “You went all out on tonight.”

“Ya, well, i have to try once in a while,” he muttered under his breath “If i don’t, how am i supposed to convince you to go on a second date?”

Brave of him to say, but it had to be done. He had already made his feelings known a few nights ago during a particularly enjoyable night of drinking with his friends, and it took him three days after that to actually ask Gai out officially.

He no longer had anything to lose, so there was no point beating around the bush.

Seeing Gai taking a step into his face, Kakashi braced himself for whatever was coming next. Soft touch or hard punch, didn’t matter which it was. Preparation was needed to make sure he didn’t break down crying and bust up Gai’s nose for hitting him. 

Somehow, the preparation wasn’t enough. It never was when it came to Gai. As one hand settled against the back of his head and pulled him in close, Kakashi took a sharp breath and closed his eyes.

The feeling of his forehead pressing up against Gai’s sends shivers down his spine. Standing this close together, the smell of Gai’s sweat and grass is hard to ignore, something he doesn’t mind at all.

It makes him feel safe. Like nothing in the world could possibly hurt him 

“You could burn the food and I would still go on a second date with you,” Gai says with such confidence that Kakashi can’t help but laugh. “It’s true.”

“You have to at least taste the food before you say that,” He argued, bumping his nose against Gai’s. “But I do promise that I didn’t burn it.”

Gai’s laugh brings a smile to his face. Always so loud and beautiful. 

He hopes he can hear it for the rest of his life.

“Of course you didn’t burn Dinner,” Gai assured him with a proud smile. “I’m on a date with Hatake Kakashi, Not Saratobi Asuma.”

That was a fair jab. He couldn’t name one time Asuma had cooked that hadn’t ended in a burnt disaster.

“Let’s get to dinner,” He whispered, opening his eyes and looking deep into Gai’s eyes. “Before it gets cold.”

“That sounds like a fantastic plan, Rival.”

[depressedkakashihatake-fics]

Failure

Hatake Kakashi/Tenzo Yamato

819 Words

Try to do your students a favour and this is how it ends. With heartbreak and betrayal.

“It’s not that bad, Sensei,” Naruto pats him on the shoulder, cringing when he glares over at him. “I just mean that it’s nothing to worry about. You don’t have to take it so personally.”

Ok, but he is going to take it personally.

It’s an insult. A direct assault on his person. An absolute disaster!

“What seems to be going on here?” Tenzo’s body slowly detaches itself from the tree that Kakashi had stopped beside, scaring the shit out of Naruto in the process. “Is everything ok, Senpai?” 

“Captain Yamato, Why!?” Naruto throws a hand over his heart and gives his team Captain a panicked look. “For once can’t you just join the conversation like a normal person!?”

“Sounds boring,” Tenzo’s hand settles on Kakashi’s shoulder, pulling his attention up towards him. “Now, what happened? You look upset.”

“I-” This was officially embarrassing. “I failed a survey…”

Concern gives way for confusion on Tenzo’s face. “You...i’m sorry, i don’t think i understand.”

“He failed a survey,” Naruto repeats for him. “Teuchi-Oniisan is taking a survey at Ichiraku Ramen to add more things to his menu now that he’s planning to expand the shop, and he asked me to help him find people to take it for him.”

He was never doing anything nice for Naruto again.

“And you’re telling me that Kakashi-Senpai...failed this survey?” The confusion deepens on Tenzo’s face, creating lines between his eyes when he squints. Clearly trying to make sense of the situation. “No, wait...I’m sorry. How exactly do you fail a survey?”

“Thank you!” Kakashi threw his arms into the air. “That’s my question!”

“Well,” tilting his head back, Naruto smiles up towards the sky. “I think it might have something to do with his first question, since you didn’t make it past that point, Sensei.”

“He didn’t ask me any other questions!” Kakashi argued. “He gave me a disappointed look when i answered the first one and told me i’d ‘failed the survey’. How in the world do you fail a survey!?”

“None of this make’s an sense,” Tenzo sighed beside him. “Naruto, what was the first question?”

At this point, Naruto started to laugh. 

Death. Kakashi saw death in Naruto’s future, and it would be by his hand. Nine tailed beasts, god-like power, all of it be damned. He was going to murder Naruto.

“He asked me if i liked ramen,” he grumbled under his breath, narrowing his eyes when Naruto fell onto his ass and wrapped his arms around his waist, the laughter only getting louder when Kakashi finally admitted it. “And he told me to be honest when we started to survey…”

“Ahhh,” He’s certain he hears Tenzo snicker, but when he glances up at him all he sees is a smile plastered on his face. A smile that he would love to either smack off of the Mokuton users face, or kiss. He hasn’t decided which one yet. “So you decided to take a survey for a ramen shop made to hopefully add more items to the menu of a ramen shop, and you told the owner that you didn’t like ramen?”

“I would have been lying if I said I liked it,” he argued. “Do you want me to be a liar Tenzo? Do you want a liar for Hokage?”

“I see where the problem lay,” Kneeling down beside Kakashi, Tenzo tilted his head and smiled playfully. “It would certainly be a bad look if the Hokage was caught being a lier, but that resulted in you being disqualified from having an opinion in a survey that you got dragged into.”

At least someone understood his situation.

“I think what this calls for is,” Reaching out, Tenzo tucked a finger under the top of his mask and yanked it down, exposing his face for just a moment before he leaned in to place a gentle kiss against his lips.

“W-wait!” Naruto protested, the sound of a hand slapping something following right after his words. “Gross! No kissing in front of me! Old men aren't allowed to kiss!”

Perhaps he would replace ‘death’ with ‘torture’. The torture of course being kissing Tenzo in front of Naruto every chance he got. 

That would happen after he was done with this kiss though, which he didn’t see ending any time soon. Not when Tenzo’s lips were so soft and his hand was so warm when he came up to rest against his cheek.

No, he was going to keep kissing Tenzo for a while.

“S-stop it!” Naruto insisted, screaming when Kakashi reached up to settle a hand in Tenzo’s hair. “Gross! Sensei, Captain Yamato stop it!”

He wasn’t going to stop.

Not now.

Not ever.

Kissing Tenzo was too much fun. Especially with the added bonus of scarring Naruto for life.

[depressedkakashihatake-fics]

True Strength

Hyuga Hinata/Tenten

607 words

For: @alumort

Prompt:  “please don’t talk that way about yourself” + HinaTen ?

“I-it’s true though,” her eyes focus on her fingers hovering in front of her, the tips of her index fingers bumping gently against each other while she sits beside Tenten in the training field they had just spent the last two hours sparing in. “Father said himself that he didn’t care what happened to me. That i’m not strong.”

“He’s wrong,” Tenten’s hands settle over hers. “You’re strong Hinata. It doesn’t matter what your father says, or what he thinks strength is. He’s wrong. He has no idea what your potential is.”

It’s one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to her. Even when Neji-nii-san tries to comfort her he’s not as sweet. Though, she’s painfully aware of the fact that it’s an unfortunate result of how he was neglected growing up. Something that she wishes she could change for him.

“You don’t need to be the head of your clan to be strong, Hinata,” Tenten’s fingers carefully slide between her own, waving their hands together in perfect union. “Just because Hinabi won your fight doesn’t mean you’re weak. You didn’t want to fight your sister, we all know that.”

Obviously she needed to work on hiding her feelings a bit better. A good shinobi didn’t show their weakness’. That’s what Neji was always telling her during their training. 

“I just,” the words caught in her throat. How was she supposed to feel? Her father didn’t want her as clan head or even as his daughter, her sister didn’t seem to notice or care how he treated her, and Neji had his own things to worry about. He was a Jonin now. With missions to do and teams to lead. He had better things to do than worry about her. “I wish I could be someone my father would recognize. Strong, like he wants me to be. Is that bad?”

“It’s not bad to want your parents recognition,” Tenten assures her with a soft, sad smile. “I mean, I wouldn't really know, but I’ve seen a lot of kids wanting their parents attention and recognition, so i don’t think it’s wrong to want it for yourself.”

That does make her feel a little better, even if there is still a sadness deep down inside of her.

“You’re perfect, Hinata,” Tenten gives her hands a squeeze. “Just the way you are. I know you want your dad’s recognition, but don’t hate yourself because he refuses to give it to you. At the end of the day it’s his loss.”

His loss? She couldn’t imagine how that could be.

“He’s choosing to not care about one of his daughters,” Tenten clarifies with a fond laugh. “And when you show him and the village just how strong you are, he’s going to regret that choice.”

Regret. She likes the idea of that. Making her dad see her for who she really is. Just how strong she is.

“Now come on,” Tenten’s hands let go of hers suddenly, leaving her feeling like she’s missing something. It’s not for long though, because as soon as she’s standing up, Tenten holds a hand out towards her. An offer to help her to her feet. “Let’s train some more. You’ll only get stronger with more training, and then you’ll be able to show your dad.”

There’s an excitement in Tenten’s voice that’s intoxicating. It burrows deep down into Hinata’s bones and pushes her to reach out and take the offered hand.

She will get stronger.

She will show her dad the shinobi she can be.

And she can’t wait to see the look of pride on Tenten’s face when she finally does.

[depressedkakashihatake-fics]

@uzuma-take

“Curry,” Rubbing his forehead, Kakashi groans when he hears Edwin say that word for the fifteenth time since their argument started. “She likes curry, so i am making her curry. You can suck it up.”

“We’re not having curry,” he insists. “She’s exhausted. She just got back from a long mission and needs something relaxing and soothing to eat. The best thing in a situation like this is Miso soup, so i’m making her miso soup.”

He can already see Edwin opening his mouth to argue again, and he’s just not having it. This has gone on long enough, and if it continues any longer Daisy isn’t going to get food at all before night fall.

“My kitchen,” he reminds his brother-in-law with stern eyes. “My house, my wife. My word is final and we are having miso soup.”

Edwin huffs behind his hand, turning his head so that his mouth is free once again. “You just want miso soup for yourself,” he argues “and she’s my sister. I know what kind of food she likes.”

“She likes all kinds of food,” Kakashi reminded his brother-in-law once again. “The only thing she doesn’t like is Sushi, which is why we’re not making that for her.”

“No, we’re making curry,” as if deciding that the argument is done, Edwin turns his back to him and starts heading towards the kitchen. “You just sit down and read your stupid book. I’ll make dinner.”

Why did he let the man into his house again?

Or right, he didn’t. Rose had let him in.

He was going to have to have a talk with his son about that later.

“Ok, for one it’s not stupid!” chasing after the other man, he grabs his shoulder and forces him to turn around and face in again “and two, i’m cooking Miso soup. Stop arguing with me this isn’t even your house.”

“But it is my sister!” at moments like this he really wishes violence was an appropriate answer to his problems. Unfortunately, Daisy would be upset with him if he broke her brother's nose. “I’m making curry!”

“Are you two still arguing?” They both turn towards the kitchen to see Rose standing in the doorway, apron on over her uniform and smile on his face. “Dinner’s ready and mom’s already at the table eating. You coming?”

“I-What?” Kakashi’s not sure how else to respond. How long had they been arguing for? When did Rose decide to take up the job of making dinner himself?

What was going on?

“We’re having Ramen for dinner,” Rose fills them in, laughing when both of their faces fall. “It was the easiest, quickest thing to make. Now come on, it’s time to eat.”

Ramen. Just what he needs more of in his life.

As if Naruto hadn’t made him eat more Ramen in the span of five years than he would have liked to eat in the 48 years he had been alive.

[depressedkakashihatake-fics]

Hatake Kakashi/Maito Gai

3542 words

Tags: Aro Kakashi and Ace Gai

“You love him, admit it,” Asuma gives his shoulder a nudge with his elbow, dragging his eyes away from Gai who’s on the other side of the room chit chatting with Genma. “It’s ok, Kakashi. You can tell me.”

He’s not sure exactly what Asuma’s getting at, but there’s a look in his eyes that screams trouble. A sort of trouble Kakashi does not want to get mixed up in.

“He’s my best friend,” It seems like an obvious answer, but for some reason he feels like he’s repeating it more and more each day. “I would literally kill for him.”

He had, in fact. Multiple times.

“That’s not what I mean and you know it,” Raising an eyebrow he waits for Asuma to continue. “You Love him. The same way your dad loved your mom.”

“oh?” he doesn’t actually know what that’s supposed to mean. His mom died when he was quite young, and his dad had always gotten so sad when he tried to talk to him about her. Even just asking something simple like ‘do i look like her at all?’ would be rewarded with a pained look and a promise to ‘talk about it later’. “I mean, i’d miss him if he died, yes.”

Asuma groans and tells him to forget about it, focusing his attention instead on picking up conversation with Kurenai.

He doesn’t forget about it. It’s hard to, when others won’t let him.

———————————————————

“You love him.” There’s blood running down the left side of his face. A result of over using Obito’s eye. He’d usually scold himself for it, but he hadn’t felt like letting the enemy get another shot at his makeshift team. Turning his attention back to Genma, he tilts his head.

Gai slumped against Genma's side with a deep gash in his arm and blood covering half his face after taking a hit to the forehead. A wound he had received while protecting Genma after he had been knocked down.

“I’d die for him,” It’s a simple fact. One he’s sure anyone who knows him is aware of. “I’d die for you too.”

His friendship with Genma might not be as strong as the one he has with Gai, but it’s still true. He'd rather die than have to bury another friend.

“I really hope you’re not saying you love me,” Genma cringed at the thought. “The sex is great Kakashi, but love?”

Rolling his eyes, Kakashi moves to their side and kneels so he can get a better look at Gai.

“The sex isn’t that good,” he assures the other man. “But if you’re asking, i love him the same way i love you, or Asuma, or Kurenai.”

Maybe their bonds are deeper. Maybe he can see himself doing things with Gai he can’t imagine doing with the others, but it doesn’t change his feelings.

“You love him,” Genma says it as if it’s an undeniable fact. “One day maybe you’ll realize it yourself.”

He doesn’t think he’ll ever understand what Genma’s getting at, but he drops it for now. They need to get Gai’s wound taken care of and fast.

——————————————————

The wind is cold against his skin, but Tenzo’s skin is warm. He’s not sure what exactly happened. How they ended up in this situation or even how he really feels about it. All he knows is it feels good having Tenzo’s hands on his back while he lays his head on his chest.

“What is love?” Looking up, Kakashi rests his ear against Tenzo’s chest and raises an eyebrow.

“What makes you think that I'm the person to answer that question for you?” Even if he had an answer to the question would it be the right one? Would he actually know what he was talking about, or would he just be leading Tenzo down the wrong path?

“Asuma-Senpai says love is important,” Resting his hand in Kakashi’s hair, Tenzo takes a deep breath and turns his eyes up towards the ceiling. “That if you don’t love someone you shouldn’t…”

He can see where this conversation is going. Asuma has given him ‘the talk’ more than once after catching Kakashi sneaking out of one of their friends' rooms early in the morning.

“Love is what you want it to be,” he closes his eyes, determined to get some sleep before they have to get up and continue their mission. “Asuma be damned.”

He doesn’t mean that, of course he doesn’t. Asuma’s just looking out for his friends. He just has an odd way of doing it.

“I don’t love you,” The words don’t sting. It’s just a fact that Tenzo is telling him. “Does that mean…”

“Get some sleep, Tenzo,” resting his hand on Tenzo’s chest he splays his fingers out and moves into the feel of those beautiful fingers rubbing against his skull. “And stop listening to Asuma.”

He’ll have to have a talk with his friend later about boundaries. There’s such a thing as going too far, and if he loses Tenzo because of one night and Asuma’s words…

It would be his fault. He knows he’d have no one to blame but himself for letting his own passions get the better of him, but he would still be angry with Asuma.

“I don’t love you, either,” he whispers, turning his head to press a gentle kiss against Tenzo’s skin. “You’re my friend. I’d kill for you, die for you. You mean the world to me, Tenzo, but i don’t love you.”

Tenzo’s body relaxes under him and those fingers continue to work their magic against his skull until sleep takes over and drags him down into darkness for a few precious hours.

———————————————————

“Sensei,” Naruto tugs on his flak jacket, pulling his attention down to him. “Sakura says that Bushy-brows-sensei loves you.”

Behind him he can hear Sakura screeching at Naruto to ‘shut up’. He glares back at her, watching as she closes her mouth and looks away from them. For the smartest kid on his team, even she can be pretty stupid sometimes.

“I think Sakura’s getting things confused,” he places a hand in Naruto’s hair and ruffles the short blond hairs. “I’m sure she’s not wrong of course. Gai loves a lot of people.”

It’s not a lie. Gai has more love in his heart than any other human he has ever met, except for maybe Lee and Naruto. Once upon a time Kakashi wouldn’t have reacted at all to being told Gai loved him. It was just a fact. One he had learned to accept years ago.

But over the years he has come to realize that his idea of ‘love’ is different from others. That some people love certain people in a different way than they do others. Something he only finally understood when Kurenai actually took the time to sit down and explain it to him.

The same way Minato-sensei loved Kushina-sensei. That’s what she had told him for it to finally click.

All these years and it took that for him to finally realize people were telling him that he wanted to be romantic with Gai. That he wanted his relationship to be different from what it was. More intimate, with date nights and proclamations of being ‘soul mates’.

They were wrong.

Always had been.

“Kakashi-Sensei,” Naruto tugs on his flak jacket once again, pulling him out of his thoughts. “You can tell us. You love Bushy-brows-sensei too don’t you? It’s ok, we won’t tell him. Promise.”

It’s a lie. He doesn’t need to be a genius to see that much. There’s a glint in Naruto’s eye when he makes that promise that screams trouble, and Kakashi is not interested.

“If we have time to talk about my relationship with my friends, we have time to train,” Sakura and Sasuke can both be heard groaning behind him. The only one who seems to like the change of topic is Naruto, who looks as happy as ever at the prospect of training more. “I think today we’ll work on chakra control.”

The joy left Naruto’s eyes as soon as it had entered. A fitting punishment for bringing up such uncomfortable topics in his opinion.

“Sensei!” Naruto jumps on his back, laughing when he stumbles forward slightly. “Hinata and I are going out for Ramen. You should grab Bushy-brows-sensei and join us.”

Glaring back at the 19 year old, Kakashi huffs when he’s greeted with that same ridiculous smile Naruto always has on his face.

“I have work to do,” he dismisses the invite, not bothering to kick his student off of his back. “You know a Hokage is always busy, Naruto. You should join me. Get used to the work you’ll be taking on.”

“You’ll have lots of time to train me later,” Naruto’s laughter only increases. He has been like this for a while. Ever since him and Hinata started officially dating. Still as energetic and happy as ever, but with a hint of something else. A certain shift in her character that Kakashi can’t quite put his finger on.

Kurenai told him it came with being in love. Maybe that’s why he didn’t get it.

“Come on, Sensei,” Planting his hands on Kakashi’s shoulders, Naruto gives him a little shake. “It can be a double date. Me and Hinata with you and Bushy-brows-Sensei.”

A date?

He has never been on a date before. Sounds boring.

“I’ll have to pass this time,” giving his student a smile he can’t help but chuckle when Naruto’s face drops. “It’s a date, Naruto. You should enjoy it with Hinata. Just the two of you. Gai and I can hang out with you two another day.”

That’s not a lie either. Gai has been itching to get out and about with their students more. Something they haven’t been able to do much since Tsunade-sama shoved the Hokage’s hat onto Kakashi and left the village for another one of her personal journeys.

He wonders if she has any money left from this one. Without Shizune by her side making sure she’s not going over bored he’s sure she’s not doing as well as she used to.

“You promise?”

Smiling, Kakashi reached back and ruffled Naruto’s hair playfully. “I promise.”

He’ll have to tell Gai about this. With all the work he has to do, he’s sure that it’ll be the only way he’ll remember his promise to his student.

“Ok,” releasing his grip on Kakashi’s neck, Naruto dropped to the ground and ran off ahead, turning around and waving back at him. “See you later, Kakashi-sensei!”

Waving goodbye, Kakashi watches as his student runs off into the crowd, and for the first time in years he’s faced with a familiar question he had thought long forgotten.

—————————————————————

“123, 124,125,” Sitting at Gai’s dinner table, Kakashi watches as he does his daily push ups. Something he refused to give up even though he’s no longer an active shinobi. Every time Kakashi asked he would say something about keeping in shape, like Konoha’s Hokage should be doing. “126, you’re staring, Rival.”

He’s pretty sure his eyes are actually on his book, but somehow Gai’s not wrong. He was certainly a little more focused on Gai than normal. Partially admiring the way Gai’s body moved with every push-up, partially because he was still thinking about what Naruto had said to him earlier.

“Why do people go out on Dates?” The question leaves his lips before he can stop it. A result of allowing himself to relax a little now that the war was behind them and the villages were all allied together for the first time in history. “You’ve been on dates, I know you have. So what’s the big deal with them?”

He’d seen Gai out on more than a few dates during their youth. Once with Genma, twice with Tenzo, and once with Shizune.

The dates he had with Tenzo had actually been something their friends felt the need to tell Kakashi about for some reason. He still wasn’t sure why, even if he did check in on them. He was mostly intrigued at the idea of Gai trying to court Tenzo.

Their friends seemed pretty surprised when he wasn’t upset about finding out his two best friends were going out on dates together.

Gai seemed to be debating Kakashi’s question, hovering mid push-up. It was sort of an amusing sight.

“A date, well…” Careful of his leg, Gai maneuvered himself into a seated position on the floor and crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, most people go on dates because they think they might like a person.”

“Like?” that doesn’t clear up anything for him. “I go out with you and Tenzo all the time because i like you. No one has ever called our outings dates.”

“That’s not completely true,” Oh? Had he missed something? “But it’s not officially a date unless both people agree that it is. When some of our outings, or even your outings with Tenzo, have been called a date, the person calling it that has been corrected really fast.”

He can almost imagine it. Gai trying to tell their friends that their sushi eating competition wasn’t a ‘date’. It must have been an entertaining moment for Gai.

“But i do like you and Tenzo,” he frowned. “How do our outings not count as a date?”

“Maybe i worded it wrong,” Gai’s certainly the first person to say that. “When i say ‘someone you like’ i mean ‘like’ in a romantic term. Someone that you want to be with romantically.”

Romantically? Kakashi had never really thought of being with anyone romantically before. Actually, he’d never really understood it. Maybe it was because he had always been too busy with his work to really explore that option, and no one else had taken the time to explain it to him.

“What’s the difference though?” He frowned.

Pressing a finger against his chin, Gai turned his eyes up towards the ceiling. A sure fire sign that he was thinking. Clearly this wasn’t an easy topic to discuss. Maybe that’s why Kakashi had never gotten a satisfactory answer before.

“Well, you would take someone out on a date if you felt deeper feelings for them than you did for others,” Gai smiled over at him. “Like if you felt like you wanted to spend the rest of your life with them. Wake up beside them, see their smile.”

Kakashi shook his head.

“That doesn’t make sense,” he frowned “Why would that change anything? I like waking up beside you when we were on missions together. Seeing you smile and laugh. I can’t imagine my life if you had…”

He chokes back the words. Even three years later he can’t bring himself to say it. He had thought back then that he had lost Gai and Tenzo. That he’d never see them again, and it had crushed him.

“But you don’t love me,” There’s no judgement in Gai’s words. Not like all the times their friends had scolded him with kind words when he didn’t understand their insistence that he did love Gai. Not like how Naruto or Sakura would look so disappointed in him when he didn’t understand why they insisted he needed to take Gai out on a date. “Not like that, Kakashi. You never have.”

His shoulders drop in defeat. Had it really been that obvious? Had Gai loved him and realized he didn’t return those feelings?

Had he hurt Gai without meaning to?

“I want you by my side,” He whispered, pain in his voice as he turned to look at Gai once more. “I can’t imagine my life without you, or Tenzo, or any of our friends. You’re my best friend Gai, I…”

He wants to say it.

To assure Gai that he does share those feelings.

But he can’t. He knows it’s not right. That he’d be lying to his best friend, and that Gai doesn’t deserve that.

“You don’t have to love me, Kakashi,” Gai actually laughed when he looked up at him. “Not like that. Not the same way that Asuma loved Kurenai, or Minato-senpai loved Kushina-senpai.”

Dropping his hands back to his side, Gai smiled.

“Is it really ok?” He can’t help but ask, thinking that maybe he’s doing something wrong still. “Everyone else was so convinced. They were sure that it was different between us. That I…”

“They were wrong,” Gai assures him once more. “And that’s ok. They’re allowed to be wrong. Just like they were wrong about me wanting to be intimate with them. A few of my dates didn’t handle it well when i told them that i was Asexual. They got over it though, and we’re still friends.”

His eyes widened with surprise. Was that why he had never seen Gai leave his dates with the other person? Why he never came into Gai’s apartment to find him entangled in someone else’s arms in bed, even though Gai had caught him in such scenarios multiple times.

Mostly with Tenzo.

“I don’t love you,” the words leave his mouth as easily as they had all those years ago with Tenzo, and for the first time since then it doesn’t make him feel horrible saying them. He doesn’t see a crushed heart hidden behind sad eyes like with Iruka, or a sad smile hiding crushed dreams like Rin when he was younger. For once he doesn’t feel like the worst person in the world. “You’re my best friend. I can’t imagine my life without you Gai. I don’t want to think about not having you here with me. Never seeing that stupid smile of yours or hearing you asking me for a challenge. I just don’t love you. Not the same way Asuma loved Kurenai. I think i’m Aro.” He had done a little research on the topic when he was younger, but it was so hard

Gai’s smile only grows as he continues, and for once he feels right about saying his feelings out loud.

“I don’t want to date you. I just...i want you in my life forever.”

“That much i can see,” Gai waves his hand around the room they’re in to emphasize his words, laughing when Kakashi can’t help but smile at the reminder of himself moving Gai into the Hokage’s residence shortly after he was released from the hospital. “I love you. I hope you’re ok with that.”

“I am perfectly fine with that.” for the first time that day he smiles. A real, proper smile.

“Even without the…”

He can’t help but laugh. Sex really hadn’t been on his mind when he started this conversation, and he hadn’t been intimate with anyone in years. The only person he trusted in bed with him was Tenzo, and he had a healthy loving relationship of his own now.

“I’m fine without the sex,” he promised with a soft smile. “So long as you’re by my side.”

For the first time since he was a teenager, he feels right about his feelings. Maybe not perfect. Not yet. But right.

“How’d you know?” He doesn’t need an answer to his question, but he is intrigued since Gai is the first person in his life who seemed to understand right away. “That I…”

“That you’re Aromantic?” That’s the word. He hadn’t done much research into it past finding a word that felt like it fit him, even if he never said it to anyone else. The only person who knew other than Gai was Tenzo, and that was the only other person he ever felt the need to tell. “My Papa was too.”

“Oh?” Maito Dai didn’t really seem like the type of person to view relationships the same as him. Maybe he had been wrong to think that he was so different from the shinobi he had looked up to as a kid.

“Papa always said that the only love he needed in his life was me,” There’s a soft look on Gai’s face when he talks about it. “That he never felt the need to be with anyone romantically. He had me thanks to a one night stand and that’s all he needed.”

Somehow that sounded perfectly like Maito Dai.

“Maybe he just realized the world was already perfect with you in it,” Cheesy maybe, but true. He really couldn’t imagine how his life would be if he had never met Gai. “I know that’s how it is for me.”

“Me and Tenzo.” Gai supplied for him, laughing when Kakashi shrugged his shoulders.

He wasn’t wrong of course, but right now it was about them. Him and Gai, side by side forever and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Well, now i’m really looking forward to retirement,” he’s almost giddy with excitement at the idea. “Just you and Me Gai. We’re going travelling. Seeing the world together.”

“I Can’t wait,” Reaching out, Gai waits for Kakashi to take hold of his hands and hoists himself to his feet, careful not to bump his cast against the floor on the way up. “But maybe you should finish some paperwork first, Rival.”

Of course he’d have to remind him about that. The worst part of being Hokage by far.

[depressedkakashihatake-fics]

Birthday Challenge

Hatake Kakashi/Maito Gai

5431 Words (It’s a long XD)

Kakagai Week Day 8: Gai’s Birthday

Edited by: @mireleth

Two days of non-stop preparation, help from every single member of Team Seven and Team Gai, and more work than he has ever put into anything else in his life, and here he is.

Standing in front of Gai, sweating buckets after asking him for a challenge for the first time in months. 

“A challenge?” Gai looks unsure about the request, which only makes Kakashi worry more. “I would never turn down a challenge with you, Rival. Though, I must admit it is a bit odd. You are rarely ever the one to initiate a challenge.”

He had known that Gai might have concerns about the fact that he was actually asking for a challenge for once, but it was a risk that he had to take. His plans wouldn’t work otherwise.

Still, he had to play this cool or Gai would start to really worry about him.

“It’s your birthday,” he reminds his rival with a lazy shrug of his shoulders. “And I didn’t get to spend as much time with you yesterday as I usually do. I thought a challenge would make up for a bit of that time that we lost.”

Of course, it’s his own fault that he lost so much time with Gai yesterday, but he doesn’t need to tell Gai that. Tenzo had needed help with the finish line that he had planned out, and he needed to make sure some of their friends were available to hang around in some of the places they would be passing.

Not to mention the fact that he had to go over the set-up he had planned out with his team again, making sure that they know where to set up the markers for him and Gai to follow.

It’s been a lot of work to make sure everything is done in time. But when all was said and done, it’s perfect.

“A challenge to make up for lost time then.” A nod of his head and the usual blinding smile returns to Gai’s face. “In that case, what kind of challenge do you have in mind?”

“A race.” That had been the easiest part of the challenge to figure out. “Team Seven worked on their teamwork this morning to help me set up a trail for us to race down. There’s markers all over the village for us to follow, and a member of the team is waiting at certain checkpoints to make sure we don’t run off the path.” 

“There’s a path?” He can see the gears working in Gai’s head. “You really thought this out, Rival.”

There’s more that Gai wants to say. He can see it written on his face, but the words are left unspoken for the moment. Something for him to ask later when they’re alone.

“I wanted a challenge worthy of your birthday.” A little sappy, but it’s true. “A race seemed appropriate, but I didn’t want it to be too quick or it would be a forgettable challenge.”

“I doubt that I could ever forget a challenge that you put this amount of effort into thinking up for us.” Kakashi’s eyes widen with surprise, a deep warm feeling blooming in his chest. How is it that Gai can make him feel so loved with just a few simple words? “Where is this race going to start?”

Reaching out, Kakashi takes hold of Gai’s hand. “I’ll show you.” He gives Gai a quick smile before turning on his heel and heading towards the starting point where Sai is waiting for them.

From the top of the jonin apartments Kakashi can see half of the trail marked out, and for the first time since planning started he’s actually regretting telling Naruto to use ‘whatever he can think of’ to make markers.

He really should have known that Naruto’s answer to the problem would be shadow clones. It’s always shadow clones.

“So the markers are…” Kakashi nods his head, unwilling to give any verbal confirmation to the fact that he’s now going to have to race around the village searching for Naruto. The complete opposite of what he does every other day of his life.

“You’ll know the first checkpoint when you see it.” Deep down Kakashi wonders if Asuma remembers the deal that they made. It isn’t necessary to the whole thing, but it’s a nice touch he wants to see, if only because it will make Gai smile. “Follow the markers until the finish point. I have Sakura waiting at the end for us.”

Actually, everyone will be there when they reach the end. Hopefully Team Gai will have already joined Sakura, and the others will join as soon as they can. Honestly, it’s probably going to feel a little crowded for his liking, but it’s how he wants it to go.

He can’t imagine doing this any other way.

“Are you two ready?” Sai looks almost bored when he asks them, his hands resting on his hips. 

Taking one look at Gai, Kakashi smiles when he sees excitement burning in his eyes. Even after all these years and all of the challenges they have done together, he still looks like a happy puppy when he’s presented with a new one.

“I think we’re ready.” Getting into a ready position, Kakashi presses his hands into the ground and smiles as he thinks about what’s waiting for them at the finish line. “Start the count down when you want, Sai.”

“Three… two…” —Sai pulls a scroll out of his side pocket and flips it open, allowing the paper to spread out in front of him— “one.” A few quick hand signs and suddenly there’s a painted tiger bursting from the scroll. 

Digging his foot into the ground, Kakashi uses the leverage that it gives him and launches himself forward. Beside him Gai follows suit, though he instantly takes a small lead over Kakashi. 

An expected outcome, but not one that will set Kakashi back. The odds may not be in his favour when it comes to a speed-based challenge, but that will never mean that he will simply hand the win to Gai. If he does that he’ll never get better as a shinobi, and Gai will never let him live it down.

So he puts all of his effort into the race, and as their feet hit the main street he manages to close the gap between them. An accomplishment in his eyes. Now he just has to keep that gap as small as possible so he can see Gai’s reactions to the things that they will be passing.

First comes the dango shop.

The familiar sign stands out among all of the other shops around it, though Kakashi’s sure that part of the reason for that is the fact that he’s specifically looking for the dango shop. Though, seeing Asuma and Kurenai stepping outside just as they close in on the small shop does help. 

As they pass by he can see Gai lifting a hand to wave to their friends, only to have Asuma throw a stick of dango his way. He catches it effortlessly, of course, but there’s a confused look on his face when he glances back at Kakashi. He continues forward anyways.

It’s not the best idea Kakashi has ever had, but a little treat to enjoy at the end of their race is something that he thinks will be a sweet touch. Plus, he hopes at the end of the race Gai will have seen enough on their path to remember some of their fonder moments together at the small shop. 

    If he doesn’t, at least Asuma has remembered to give Gai the dango. That’s a win in his books.

With the dango shop now behind them, Kakashi turns down an alleyway and smirks when he sees one of Naruto’s shadow clones waiting for them. 

“Up!” Naruto smiles big and bright, pointing up towards the roof behind him. With the directions given, Kakashi decides to have a little fun. As he reaches the shadow clone’s side he jumps upwards, just enough to give himself a little momentum. Of course Gai hasn’t wasted his energy and has instead used all of his effort to jump onto the roof with one easy movement. As soon as he notices that Kakashi is no longer by his side he looks back down towards the ground in time to see Kakashi’s feet coming into contact with the shadow clone's hands.

With a boost from Naruto, Kakashi goes flying into the air past Gai. He’s pretty sure he can hear a soft “cheater” being called out to him, but he barely registers it as the wind blows through his hair. 

The top of the building comes into view, and being Kakashi he decides to do the most show-off move that he can think of at the moment. A quick front flip, and a mid-air spin that has his hair slapping him in the face, and his feet land on the roof.

A terrible idea really, because as soon as he catches up Gai’s feet hit the wooden roof and he’s off, a burst of speed and laughter leaving Kakashi in the dust.

That’s what he gets for showing off though, and he knows for a fact that Gai wouldn’t have him any other way. The feeling is mutual, of course, and he quickly follows after Gai, determined to close the gap once again.

Jumping from roof to roof is a breath of fresh air. The streets down below are always so crowded, and if he hadn’t wanted them to pass by the dango shop he would have stayed on the rooftops the entire time. There’s a certain joy he gets from feeling the wind in his hair and seeing all of the people they’re passing on the streets.

Thankfully, neither of the last two checkpoints involve being at street level in the village so he won’t have to worry about dodging between civilians any longer. 

Seeing yet another shadow clone up ahead, he smiles when he saw Gai look in the direction that they’re being guided towards. There’s an unmistakable glint in Gai’s eyes when he sees Hokage Rock. One that Kakashi knows is there even though he can’t see it due to his position directly behind Gai.

Maybe he’s already starting to figure out some of Kakashi’s plans, or maybe he just thinks it cute that Kakashi is leading him all the way up to the Rock. Either way, Kakashi is just happy that Gai seems to be enjoying himself. That’s the main goal.

Turning towards Hokage Rock, Kakashi smiles when Gai looks back at him.

“You’re falling behind, Rival. Have you been slacking on your training?” A taunt. Something that Gai picked up years ago from Kakashi when he had really started to take these challenges seriously. It’s a natural part of Kakashi’s personality to taunt Gai when he’s doing better than him, but for Gai it has been a process to become comfortable enough to return them without feeling like he’s insulting Kakashi somehow.

“Maybe I just like the view back here.” The jab works as intended, making Gai’s eyes go wide with embarrassment and causing him to trip over his own two feet. He recovers quickly, of course. Any good shinobi would. But that one second of misstep allows Kakashi to close the gap between them. 

Gai still looks a little surprised, but it’s quickly replaced with determination as they both turn their attention to Hokage Rock and increase speed just a little.

The path Naruto has laid out for them leads them up the right side of the rock, directly beside Tsunade-sama’s carving. It’s a little hard to see what’s going on down below from where he is, but that’s a disadvantage he has to take to ensure that Gai is on the outer side of the path.

Perfectly placed to see the top of each of the Hokages’ carvings. 

“Y-yamato?” Gai’s footing stumbles again, but this time Kakashi slows himself down to keep pace with him. It won’t be any fun if he can’t see Gai’s reactions to everything he has so carefully planned out. “Why is Yamato…”

Moving to Gai’s side, Kakashi looks over the edge and smiles at Tenzo relaxing on top of the fourth Hokage’s carving. The exact spot where Kakashi had first introduced Gai and Tenzo for the first time, shortly after getting Tenzo out of Root and away from Danzo.

It was the first time anyone had told him that they were proud of him since Minato-sensei’s death. The soft, kind look in Gai’s eyes are forever burned into his memory as the moment that he knew without a doubt that he was completely and utterly in love.

Of course he doesn’t expect Gai to remember right away. He was never good with faces and actually failed to remember who Tenzo was at all until he had gotten his hair cut and Gai had seen him hanging around Kakashi more regularly outside of their ANBU missions. 

“Oh.” They’ve reached the end of Hokage Rock when he hears the soft exclamation escaping Gai’s lips, and he can feel a comfortable warmth in his chest when Gai’s eyes turn towards him. There it is again. Those soft kind eyes staring deep into his soul. “You really put thought into this, Rival.”

“It wouldn’t be worthy of being called a ‘Birthday Challenge’ if I hadn’t.” Part of him wonders if Gai will bring up the memory when they finish the race, or if he will be too overwhelmed with what waits at the finish line to even remember this moment. “Come on, Gai, focus or I’m going to get ahead of you.”

To prove his point Kakashi increases his speed just a fraction more. Barely enough to inch ahead of Gai. It doesn’t last long, of course. Seeing the threat to his win, Gai returns his attention to the race and goes barreling ahead of Kakashi.

A little too far ahead, in his opinion.

He really had hoped this race wouldn’t be too taxing on his stamina, but then he had gone and taunted Gai. This was his fault and no one else's. 

Following the next shadow clone down another turn, Kakashi smiles when the edge of the village comes into view. The finish line is close, and his heart is starting to hammer in his chest. Though, that could also be because of the effort he’s exerting just to keep up with Gai.

Why did he do this to himself? Gai is faster than him. A race is always a bad idea.

“You’re falling behind, Rival!” Gai throws his taunt back at him with the biggest smile. 

Some days he wonders why he’s fallen in love with Gai, and then he sees that smile again and he knows. There is no other option but to love the human personification of the sun. Only a fool would say no to such stunning beauty standing right in front of them.

Increasing his speed just a little, Kakashi smiles as he comes up to Gai’s side. “You know,” he gives the other man a playful look, “if I win this race you’re going to have to admit to your students that I’m better than you.”

There’s a frown on Gai’s face now. Not one of annoyance or anger, but rather deep contemplation. It’s sort of cute.

“And if you lose, you have to admit to your students that I am better than you!” Gai throws his taunt back at him as if it holds the same weight. “Either way, one of us will be embarrassed when our students find out who won.”

That’s actually sort of cute, the fact that Gai thinks Kakashi tells his students about their challenges at all. Though, admittedly they will see how this one plays out since they’re waiting for them at the finish line.

“My students aren’t going to be surprised at all,” he points out as they turn another corner, the finish line coming into view and Tenzo’s figure barely visible beside the giant house that he’s built for Kakashi in return for favours of his own promised sometime in the future. A wood clone. That’s the only explanation he can think of for how Tenzo has gotten here before them. “They know their sensei well enough to know you’ll win.”

When he doesn’t hear a protest from Gai, he glances back towards him. A look of confusion is cemented on his face as he takes in the sight before them. 

“Almost there.” Reaching out he takes hold of Gai’s hand and gives it a quick squeeze. “You’re not going to give up now, are you?”

Confusion melts away, replaced quickly by a new burning desire.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

Releasing his grip on Gai’s hand, Kakashi turns his attention back towards the finish line and focuses all of his energy on increasing speed.

Whether he takes a moment to close his eyes and focus, opening the first gate for one last boost of speed, well that’s between him and Gai.

“Whoo!!!”

Everyone throws their hands up in the air as the pair come barreling through the finish line. Kakashi’s not really sure what’s going on for a moment because suddenly everyone’s surrounding them in every direction. This had not been in the plans.

“Gai-sensei, you were amazing!” Lee jumps forward, throwing his arms around Gai’s neck for a hug. “Your race was full of energy and youth!”

“We only saw the end of it.” There’s a soft smile on Tenten’s face when she speaks. A fond look as she watches her sensei and teammate hug. “How can you know what happened in the whole race?”

“We saw both Kakashi-sensei and Gai-sensei opening the first gate to try and secure the win.” Kakashi’s not at all surprised that Gai had resorted to using the first gate after his little stunt. It only made sense after all to meet cheating with cheating. “That tells me that the whole race was amazing without a doubt.”

“Ever the optimist.” Neji sighs, his arms crossed over his chest as always but a soft smile on his face. “I doubt any challenge between Gai-sensei and Kakashi-sensei would be anything less than spectacular. As long as they’re not playing Janken, of course.”

The jab hurts a little, but he deserves it. He really only challenges Gai to Janken just to bug him because he knows it always annoys him.

“So?” Resting an arm on Sai’s shoulder, Naruto beams when everyone turns their attention towards him. “Who won, Captain Yamato? That’s what we really want to hear.”

Making his way over to the small group, Tenzo smiles when Kakashi and Gai turn their attention to him. Waiting patiently for his answer. “Well—”

“Wait!” There’s a part of him that feels bad for Tenzo. Watching his kohai being interrupted and then shoved to the ground by an enthusiastic Gai in favour of the building behind him. “When did this… Tenzo, did you build this?”

Dusting off his shirt, Tenzo gathers himself to his feet and glares at Gai. “I did,” he confirms. “And you show your thanks by throwing me to the ground. I’m going to avoid doing anything nice for you again.”

Not that it really was ‘for’ Gai. 

With Gai’s attention focused on the house, Kakashi turns to look at Sakura and smiles when he sees her already holding out the decorative box he had left in her care. He had made the right choice trusting her with this task.

Taking the box from her carefully, he turns back to Gai, closes the distance between them, and holds his hands out with the box facing out towards Gai. 

Now he just has to wait for his sun to turn towards him.

“It’s beautiful.” For a second it looks like Gai’s going to walk away to explore the house. A reaction that Kakashi had accounted for, and from the corner of his eye he can already see Tenten and Lee getting ready to intercept their sensei. Thankfully, that won’t be necessary. “Kakashi have you see—”

The question is cut off when Gai turns to look at him. 

“What…” There’s a certain joy Kakashi gets out of being able to render Maito Gai speechless. It’s a rare thing that very few can accomplish, and he enjoys the fact that he is one of very few who have managed it so far. 

Now he just has to hope that the proposal Kurenai helped him create is good enough.

Except, now that he’s here with Gai staring wide-eyed at him and both of their teams waiting anxiously to hear what he has to say, he can’t do it. The words refuse to come out. 

All of that hard work he’s put into making everything absolutely perfect is ruined, and the only thing he can blame is his own damn inability to talk about his feelings and lay his heart on the line. All he can do is stand there as the panic settles in.

First comes the pain. The feeling of his ribs caving in him, like a crushing weight sitting on his chest. 

When he feels his hands starting to tremble he knows he’s done for. It’s a surefire sign that he’s slipping into panic mode. That he needs to get out of here, as far away from people as poss—

Gai’s hands are warm as they cover his, pulling his thoughts away from the pain and panic and to that blinding, beautiful smile.

“Take a deep breath.” It hurts to breathe, but he does as he’s told and draws in a deep, slow breath. “I can wait.”

Perfect.

Gai is always so perfect. Calm, patient, sweet, understanding. He never pushes Kakashi. Never expects him to spill his guts and make big flowery speeches about his feelings, even when it’s what he wants to do.

What he wishes he could do.

“Marry me.” The words fall from his mouth with unfamiliar ease, and he can already tell that everyone around him is silently judging. Wishing they could smack him upside the head, or yell at him. But they don’t. They just stand there and watch the disaster that is his life.

Gai, for once in his life, looks genuinely confused. “I… what?”

“Marry me.” This time there’s more confidence in his voice, his hands stretching out to present Gai with the box still sitting firmly in his hold. “Stay by my side, forever, adore me unconditionally and let me love you in return. Marry me, so I can tell all of Konoha… all of the world, that I get to wake up beside Maito Gai every day and call him my husband.”

It’s cheesy. Nothing compared to the well thought out, romantic, beautiful speech that Kurenai had helped him create. He’s certain she knew this kind of thing would happen when she agreed to give him a hand, but he appreciates her effort to help him nonetheless.

He cringes as Gai removes his hands. For a second he thinks Gai’s going to open the box presented to him, which is kind of the point of why he’s holding it out. Instead, those gentle sweet hands come up to cup his cheeks.

“Yes.” There’s no sweeter sound in the world. With that one simple word, Kakashi can feel all of his anxieties and fears drain away, excitement taking their place within seconds. 

“You—yes?” He’s almost afraid to ask for confirmation, but a simple nod of Gai’s head has his stomach twisting with excitement. “We…”

Gai’s hands move slowly, sliding back and carefully cradling his head in that strong, soft grip. He can’t help but close his eyes as Gai leans in and presses their foreheads together. Here, right now, with Gai, Tenzo, and both of their teams, there’s nowhere he’d rather be.

“I adore you.” He melts as Gai says the words. Three simple words he has been saying since they were young. Words that Gai uses to replace the one phrase that has terrified Kakashi for years. “And I can’t wait to be your husband, Hatake Kakashi. 

“You know,” there’s a spike of annoyance when Sai speaks up, but he stamps it down as quickly as it rears its ugly head, “I believe you are supposed to accept Kakashi-taicho’s gift in order to accept the proposal.”

“The gift can wait.” Tenzo’s voice is full of amusement. “Let them enjoy the moment.”

“It’s cute.” He can hear a ‘but’ in Sakura’s voice. He just knows it’s coming. “But…”

“No buts.” Tenten’s enthusiastic voice cuts his student off, and he’s certain he can hear the moment Tenten slaps Sakura on the shoulder. “Let them be cute. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. You think Kakashi-sensei is ever going to show us this side of him again?”

“Good point.”

They were grounded, both of them. As soon as he could think straight and keep the smile off of his face for more than five seconds, he was grounding them both. It doesn’t matter that he isn’t their actual dad and Gai will just override him. He going to do it.

But for now, he’s going to focus on that warm feeling blooming in his chest as Gai leansed in and presses a kiss over his exposed eye. The happiness he feels as he thinks of the future he had thought he would never be allowed to have for years.

The future he he’s only just started to believe in.

His future, by Gai’s side. Forever and always.

“I love you, Turtle.” The words are soft and gentle. Barely audible, but enough that he can hear a happy sound leaving Gai’s throat. “Always will.”

    “And I love you, Rival.” He can’t help but laugh. Most people probably think their idea of ‘pet names’ is pretty unimaginative, but he can’t imagine Gai calling him anything else. “The man who came up with a whole race built around some of our fondest memories.”

        “So you did notice.” A small smile pulls at his lips. 

          “Of course I did.” There’s pride in Gai’s voice. “The dango shop, my favourite place to hang out with friends and a place you’ve turned down going to with me for years until just recently.”

It’s perhaps not the most romantic memory, but it’s important to them. To their relationship.

“The top of Minato-sensei’s carving on Hokage Rock, where you first introduced me to Yamato and I got hissed at for the first time in my life.” Kakashi can’t help but snort. It isn’t a lie, but he really hadn’t expected Gai to add that little piece of information when reliving the memory.

“It taught you not to hug people you didn’t know, didn’t it,” Tenzo grumbled off to the side. “And no, I won’t explain.”

“I’ll tell you the story later.” Judging by the way Gai’s looking around the area, he guesses that he’s talking to the kids. He can only imagine the various looks on their faces. It probably paints a very entertaining picture that he’d love to see any other day.

Now, though, his full attention is focused on Gai.

“And?” Stepping forward, he pushes the small box into Gai’s hands and presses a quick kiss to his lips, ignoring the groans of protest behind him because he hasn’t bothered to take off his mask. “What about here? Right where we’re standing now?”

“That one…” Gai’s eyes travel back to the house, taking in the view once again. “You really did that, huh?”

             “I thought it was the perfect place.” Glancing over Gai’s shoulder, he can’t help but smile when he sees the house. It had taken him weeks to figure out what exactly he wanted, and more than a few tries on Tenzo’s part to get it right. “Tenzo put in most of the work of course, and I owe him lunch for three years because of it.”

             “Damn right you do.” Tenzo tries to sound stern with his insistence, but there’s a fondness in his voice that Kakashi doesn’t miss.

              “It’s perfect.” When Gai looks back at him, there are tears in his eyes. Not the usual over the top tears when something amazing happens, these are more like watery eyes with a few stray tears rolling down his face. Kakashi’s pretty sure he’s never seen Gai cry quite like this before. “I love it.”

          “Well, good,” he laughs awkwardly. “It’s ours. We can move in whenever you want.”

          There’s supposed to be a tradition. Things you have to do, a wedding to be held, and the paperwork to signify that they are officially moving. He doesn’t care though. The quicker he can be in his new home with Gai, the better. 

            “You never did say what was so special about this place, Senpai.” Tenzo steps up to his side, eyes locked on the house he’s built for them. “Why were you so determined to have the house here? It’s so far away from everything.”

           Not that being far away from everyone else is really a downside for Kakashi. Maybe he’ll hear less ruckus on the streets at night, and he certainly won’t hear Kurenai and Asuma doing naughty things in Asuma’s apartment next door. 

           “It’s where Gai lived as a kid.” He smiles at the memories of the old house that he had visited so often when they were still young. Built by Dai to ensure they had a roof over their heads when he didn’t have enough money to buy them a place in the village. “I thought it was appropriate. Living in the same place as someone who loved him as much as I do.”

            This time Gai has to cover his eyes with an arm to hide the tears, and all of their students can be heard giggling behind him. 

          Cheesy. He’s probably being cheesy. A rare occurrence for him, but one the kids seem to be enjoying the chance to experience. 

           “This is the best thing I have ever seen,” he can hear the smirk in Sakura’s voice, “Ino is going to be jealous she missed it.”

Usually he would care that Sakura is obviously going to be spilling secrets about him to her girlfriend, but he can’t find it in him to bother right now. Not with Gai standing in front of him slowly lowering his arm and giving him the most beautiful smile he has ever seen.

Is it possible to fall in love all over again? Right now it certainly feels like it.

“I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you, Rival.” If his mask wasn’t in place he’s sure everyone would be able to see the blush rising up into his cheeks. “Starting today, at dinner. We need to celebrate our engagement with our teams, don’t you think?”

He knows there’s no escape from what is going to be the loudest, most crowded dinner he has ever taken part in, and he can’t imagine ending his day any other way. Celebrating with his husband-to-be, his best friend, and the hatchlings and the pups.

It’s perfect.

“Hey, Bushy-brow-sensei, you haven’t even opened your gift yet.” Okay, almost perfect. There will always be Naruto and his special talent for ruining the moment. “We want to know what it is too. Kakashi-sensei refused to show us.”

The switch flips. As soon as Naruto shows too much interest in seeing Gai’s gift, Kakashi has to do everything in his power to make sure it won’t happen. Reaching out, he places a hand over the box as Gai moves to open it, and smiles playfully.

“I think it’s best if you open it later.” He can hear Naruto protesting behind him, but he ignores it. “When it’s just you and me.”

The look on Gai’s face says he knows exactly what Kakashi is doing, and usually he doesn’t entertain Kakashi’s trolling ways. Something about being ‘honest’ and ‘fair’ with their friends and students.

Today, however, seems to be different. With a playful smile of his own, Gai pulls the box close to his chest and turns his attention towards Naruto. “We should choose where we’re going for dinner.” No explanation. Perfect. “It has to be the best place for a celebration.”

Kakashi can already hear the answer leaving Naruto’s mouth, and for once he’s not going to complain. Ramen actually does seem like the perfect place for a celebration this time. 

Anywhere is perfect really, as long as he has Gai by his side.