#kakagai week 2024 | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

A Story Book Scene

Words: 4008

Pairing: Kakagai

Prompt: Rain

A beautiful piece of art drawn by @jventureart to start this fic off. Can you guess what’s going to happen? If you read through the whole thing you’ll also find a second, secret picture at the bottom (that will probably make you laugh your butt iff XD)

“Take the night off. Relax, work on an essay if you really feel the need to do something. Just don’t worry about the shop tonight.”

For the first time in four months, Gai didn’t have to go into work on a Monday night. It was a strange feeling that came with a sudden day off. A mixture of excitement at the prospects of what he could do with this new found time off, and a hint of annoyance.

“You couldn’t save it for one day?” he asked, his eyes focused on the dark sky above as rain drummed against the classroom window. “A storm on a Tuesday is so much better. There’s nothing to miss on a Tuesday.”

Monday, though, was his favorite day to work. Not because of the calming quiet that filled the little bookstore only to be interrupted by a single customer every hour, or because he knew he’d be able to go to the café next door on his way in and pick up a cup of apple cider to keep him war.

It was his favorite day because it was the day he came in.

The one day a week when Gai got to see the most beautiful person he’d ever laid his eyes upon.

“Work on my essay,” a flash of lightning lit up the sky just as he spoke, engulfing the school grounds in light for just a second before disappearing. “How am I supposed to work on my essay when I don’t even get to see him?”

It was a silly concern of course. There were more important questions he should have been asking himself. Like how he was even going to get home in such a terrible storm when it seemed like everything in the village was shutting down.

Yet, he couldn’t help but dwell on it.

Kakashi’s visits to the bookshop every Monday were the highlight of his week. The one thing he looked forward to above all other things in his week. It had even taken the top spot of ‘favorite weekly occurrences’ from his father’s weekly visits to his tiny apartment for dinner.

Losing such an important event in his week was going to make his week even more difficult to trudge through than normal. He’d still do it, of course, but it would take more effort than usual.

“Alright,” dragging his eyes away from the window he closed his notebook and reached down to grab his backpack. “Can’t hang around too long. Ningame’s probably having a terrible time at home having to listen to this storm.”

Shoving all of his things into the backpack, he stood up from his seat and stuck his arms through the straps and waited for the familiar weight to settle against his back before heading for the door. The walk home was only ten minutes, but it was ten minutes in which he would be faced with a complete downpour.

Weather so terrible that it was almost guaranteed to ruin his clothes, his bag, and everything inside of it.

“I’ll just have to carry it in my arms.” a smile tugged at his lips as he thought it over. Anyone who saw him running through the rain with his bag clutched against his chest was sure to laugh at him, but he didn’t care. All of his notes from the last week of classes were in that bag, and his mid term was coming up.

He couldn’t risk losing anything.

Stepping out into the hallway he watched as it lit up with a blinding flash of light, followed closely by the sound of thunder crashing through the air.

“I’ll run,” pushing forward, he headed for the nearest exit he could remember. “A ten minute walk turned into a five minute run. three minutes if I really push myself. It’ll be no time at all before I’m back home with Ningame.”

The house he was renting with Genma and Ebisu was just outside the University grounds, and lucky for Gai all of his classes were in the building closest to the house. He didn’t need to deal with crossing the giant field in the center of the school to get home.

Stopping in front of the door he slipped his backpack off and wrapped his arms around it, holding it tight against his chest. “Ok,” he took a deep breath and braced himself. “It’s just a bit of water, Gai. It can’t hurt you.”

As if challenging his words, the sky lit up with lightning once more. A beautiful display of power that no human could ever hope to take on.

Using his shoulder to push the door open, he stepped outside and was greeted by the torrential downpour of rain that had caused every business in the town to close down for the day. Without hesitation he broke into a run, his back held tightly against his chest and the sound of thunder cracking pushing him to run faster than he had ever run before.

Fumbling with his keys, Gai listened to the rain assaulting the patio roof just above his head. The run home had proved to be more difficult than he’d anticipated, with the wind blowing against him every step of the way and rain soaking into his clothes weighing him down.

Just as he found the key he was looking for the door knob began to turn and the door swung open, revealing Genma standing on the other side in his favorite yellow PJ pants and the shirt Gai had gotten him for his last birthday that said “How do you give a ninja directions? Across the top and “Don’t worry, he’ll find you!” At the bottom with a cartoon ninja in the center.

“You look like you’ve had a good time,” he smirked. “What’s the password?”

“Genma’s a loser?”

“No, that was last weeks password,” he sighed.

Gai frowned. “the password changes on Tuesdays.”

“Usually, yes,” his friend confirmed. “But I got inspiration for a new password today.” Sighing, Gai crossed his arms over his chest and waited for his friend to fill him in. “What, you’re not even going to try?”

“I’m soaked, Genma,” he whined. “I want to change and cuddle up to Ningame and you’re in my way. Tell me the password.”

Rolling his eyes, Genma stepped off to the side and waved to the inside of the house. Not willing to miss his opportunity, Gai bent down to grab his bag and stepped forward into the comfortable warmth of the house. “It’s ‘weirdo in the rain’ by the way.”

Gai was mid step when Genma spoke, and for some reason he stopped. He wasn’t sure why, but he was certain he’d heard something strange in the way Genma had told him this weeks new password. It hadn’t come out in the same joking tone he always had when he informed Gai and Ebisu of the new password, but instead was spoken with what sounded like amusement.

“Weirdo in the rain?” he asked, frowning when Genma nodded his head. “What kind of password is that? Why would you- wait…” Genma’s words repeated in his mind. “You said you got inspiration for this password?”

“I did,” Genma confirmed. “And not just because the last one Ebisu chose was boring.”

“It was not!” Ebisu called out from the kitchen.

“Anyways,” waving Gai in, Genma sighed when he was met with a firm look. “I was on my way home just as the storm was starting up and I saw some weirdo standing in the middle of the field staring up at the sky.”

Stepping out of the kitchen, Ebisu made his way to Genma’s side and elbowed him in the side. “Not just any weirdo,” he insisted. “It was Gai’s weirdo, wasn’t it?”

“I don’t know that for sure!” Genma argued, returning Ebisu’s jab with a solid punch to their friends arm.

Glancing between the two, Gai felt the frown on his face deepening. “What do you mean ‘my weirdo’?” he asked.

“You know the one,” Ebisu insisted while he rubbed the area of his arm Genma had assaulted. “That guy you never shut up about. He has silver hair and a scar on his eye.”

“I wasn’t close enough to see a scar,” Genma clarified. “but he did have spiky silver hair and there was a pug sitting on his shoulder, and you said the guy who visits your bookstore always has a pug with him.”

Realizing just who they were talking about, Gai dropped his bag beside the shoe rack, snatched up the dripping wet umbrella that one of his roommates had left propped up against the shoe rack, turned on his heel, and headed right back out the door,

“Hey!” Ebisu called after him. “Gai, where are you going!?”

“To make sure he’s not still standing outside in this weather!” He called back as he headed straight back toward the school.

The umbrella he’d stolen did little to stop the rain from assaulting him. With every step he took, Gai could feel the wet fabric of his clothing rubbing uncomfortably against his skin. Still, he kept walking.

Continued to push forward, ignoring every complaint running through his mind.

When he reached the edge of the large field in the center of the school he peered out through the rain in search of a familiar figure. Only two seconds after beginning his search he spotted it.

A tall figure with a small lump on his left shoulder standing to the left of the field, just a few steps away from the University Library. So close to the warmth of the library, safe from the onslaught of rain. Yet, as Gai watched him he made no movements.

He simply stood there allowing the rain to fall upon him.

“You’ve really done it now, Gai,” he sighed as he began the long walk toward that lone figure. “You had to choose that one, huh? The guy who stands outside in a storm just waiting to get sick? That’s the one you want?”

Yes.

The answer came almost immediately, from somewhere deep inside of his soul. It wasn’t a response crafted by his brain where his options were well thought out and carefully selected. No, it was a desire. An answer that came straight from his heart and overrode any sense of logic.

‘This one’ it reminded him as he came closer to the other man, that spiky silver hair he had admired since the first day they met finally visible in the darkness of the storm. ‘who else would I choose?’

Shaking his head Gai chuckled.

A few months ago he’d dared to ask himself why it was his heart had chosen Kakashi. What it was about the man that he stood out to him above all others, and he had been unable to come up with an answer.

No matter how much he dwelled on it, how much he tried to find an exact reason to his feelings, he’d been unable to.

There was no logic to his feelings, and he couldn’t help but think that it was perfect.

Whatever it was he felt for Kakashi, it couldn’t be argued for or against. It simply was.

Kakashi was the person who had gone and stolen his heart, and not even seeing the man standing outside in the rain had done even the smallest amount of damage to that affection he felt.

“You…” he came to a stop at Kakashi’s side and moved the umbrella so that it was now hovering over his head, doing as much to block out the rain as it had done for Gai on his journey here. “Are ridiculous, you know that?”

Turning his head, Kakashi stared at Gai with dark black eyes, a sparkle of excitement shinning when he saw just who it was now standing at his side. Now that he was closer Gai could see just how much damage the rain had done, and it was a much more beautiful sight than he had prepared himself for. Kakashi’s usual spiky hair was plastered against his forehead, and there was rain soaked into the cloth mask that he always wore. A normal person would worry even more about Kakashi’s health just looking at him.

Gai wasn’t normal, though. He knew he should be concerned with Kakashi’s health, but all he could think about as he stared at the soaking wet man in front of him was just how handsome he was.

How his eyes seemed to light up when lightning came crashing down from the sky, or how calmly he moved as he took a step back so that the umbrella Gai had placed over his head was no longer blocking the rain at all.

“I’ve been told,” he confirmed with a cheerful note in his voice. “Not that you have much right to speak. You’re out here too.”

“I’m out here because someone has to make sure you don’t get sick.” reaching out with his free hand, he watched as Pakkun stretched out and gave his hand a sniff before bumping his head against his palm. To Kakashi’s credit he did see a little rain suit covering Pakkun, though he wasn’t sure how much it was protecting him from the cold.

“You came all the way out here for me?” Kakashi’s eyes sparkled, but this time there was a different expression Gai noticed in them. An expression he’d only seen once before, when Kakashi had insisted that there was no one in the entire town who knew as much about Romance novels as he did.

Arrogance.

An annoying expression to see on anyone else turned into something beautiful when it was Kakashi who was wearing it.

Turning his face away, he muttered out a restrained ‘thank you’ to the storm for providing him with cover so that Kakashi couldn’t see the way his eyes darted around searching for something other than Kakashi to focus on, or how he pulled his lips into a tight, thin line.

“Gai,” Stepping around him, Kakashi closed his eyes in that adorable smile of his. “Did you really come out all this way for me?”

“Yes,” He confirmed, sighing when Kakashi began to laugh. “You’re standing outside in a storm, Kakashi. A storm, might I add, that has caused every single business in town to close down for the night.”

“Ah, is that it?” taking a step back Kakashi tilted his head back and stared up at the sky. “You’re worried about me because of a little rain?”

Watching as the rain splashed against Kakashi’s face, he couldn’t help but laugh a little. The whole situation seemed absurd. Everyone else in the town was either tucked away safely in their homes, or on their way home. They’d found shelter away from the rain as soon as they could.

Everyone except for Kakashi, and now Gai.

“So,” he lowered the umbrella, no longer interested in wasting his energy on trying to keep Kakashi dry when that was clearly the opposite of what he wanted. “You like the rain?”

“Like?” Kakashi lowered his head to stare at him once more. “Gai, I love the rain.”

‘I love the Rain’

A Kaleidoscope of butterflies came bursting to life in Gai’s stomach when he heard that. Fluttering around knocking against every wall so that his stomach felt like it was about to explode with joy.

In all of the time he’d known Kakashi he’d never been blessed with the sound of him saying that he loved anything.

He could gush about every single romance novel he read, of course, and there was no doubt in Gai’s mind that the man respected a lot of people including some of his professors and friends like his friend Tenzo who he dragged to the bookshop at least once a month, claiming that he needed to ‘get out of the greenhouse once in a while’.

But Love was a word that Kakashi used very sparingly.

“Love,” he smiled, swallowing down the response he wanted to give. The one where he told Kakashi how that word so perfectly described his feelings for him. Instead, he pointed at Pakkun. “More than you love him?”

Glancing over at the Pug that was still sitting so patiently on his shoulder, Kakashi reached over, gently lifted him off of his shoulder, and held him out in front of him. “what do you think, Pakkun?” he asked, chuckling when the pug answered him with a bark. “You’re right. There’s very little in this world I love more than you.” With that said he pulled his arms in and hugged Pakkun tight against his chest as another streak of lightning cracked through the sky.

Gai stayed glued in his spot, his smile growing as he watched Kakashi openly hugging his dog and the butterfly’s still crashing around in his stomach.

Earlier, when his boss had given him the day off to avoid the storm he’d felt annoyed. Upset that he wouldn’t be able to see Kakashi on the one day a week he was usually guaranteed to see him. Now, standing in front of Kakashi as the rain soaked through their clothes, he was thankful for his boss’ kindness.

If he hadn’t given him the night off, he may have missed out on the best thing he could have possibly experienced.

“Oh,” Kakashi’s eyes focused on him once more. “but you’re soaked! You’re going to get sick if you stay out here.”

Gai’s eyes widened for a moment, and then the next second he was laughing. A bright, boisterous laugh that seemed to fill the air around them. “you-“ he swung his umbrella up and gently tapped it against the top of Kakashi’s head, earning himself a rather unimpressed glare from the other man. “Have I told you that you’re ridiculous?”

“You said that when you arrived, yes,” reaching up, Kakashi swatted the umbrella away.

“Well, you are,” allowing the umbrella to drop back to his side he turned on his heel and directed himself back toward his house. “Come on, I have hot chocolate at my place. Or, if that’s too sweet for you I’m sure I can steal some of Ebisu’s tea.”

“Tea?” Glancing back at him, Gai watched as he thought the offer over. “A cup of tea would be nice.”

“I might even have a romance book for you to borrow,” he continued. “It’s not the same as the books at the shop, but-“

Before he could finish what he was saying Kakashi showed up at his side and grabbed hold of his hand. “Not that I’ll turn down a book if you’re offering it,” he began, his eyes twinkling mischievously. “But I think even you can agree that this, right here, is a much better romance.”

A streak of lightning lit up the sky at that moment, lighting up Gai’s face just as his eyes went wide with shock. In the span of two seconds everything he knew about the quiet, reserved Kakashi had been thrown right out the window in favour of a brave, upfront romantic.

His eyes darted down to Kakashi’s hand holding onto his. For months he’d wondered what it would feel like to hold Kakashi’s hand in his, and now he had his answer.

It felt warm.

Like he was holding the most precious object in the world.

His fingers curled around Kakashi’s hand as a smile spread across his face. “You really are something,” he chuckled. “Did you learn that one from one of your books?”

“Fireworks in Osaka,” Kakashi confirmed, the name falling from his lips with ease. “When Akiri takes Sakura out for a ramen date it begins to rain and…well,” his eyes flickered up to the sky. “Akiri offers to take her to the bookstore where they can wait out the rainstorm and Sakura can choose a romance book for her collection. Sakura answers that-“

“I think even you can agree that this, right here, is a much better romance,” Gai repeated the words, the butterflies in his stomach fluttering around so much that he was beginning to feel nauseous with love.

“Ya,” Returning his gaze to Gai, Kakashi chuckled. “it’s cute, isn’t it?”

“It is,” tugging on Kakashi’s hand, Gai reached out with his other arm and wrapped it around his back, careful not to hit him with the umbrella that he was still holding. As he did he heard Kakashi gasp as his body collided against his, their faces now so close that their noses were touching. “I can think of something cuter, though.”

“Of course you can,” Kakashi grinned back at him. “Pakkun is adorable after all.”

As lightning crashed through the sky, lightning up the field for one precious moment, Gai was gifted with the most beautiful image. Kakashi’s eyes scrunching closed as he laughed, his soaking wet hair pressed against his forehead with droplets running down from his forehead, over his nose, and down to his chin.

Releasing Kakashi’s hand, he lifted his hand up to that beautiful face and gently cupped his cheek. “He is,” he agreed, watching as those beautiful black eyes opened and focused on him. “But I was talking about you.”

His next movement wasn’t planned. He didn’t really know what he was doing until he was already moving, and by that point he had no intention of stopping.

Kakashi’s mask was soaking went against his lips, but there was a warmth to the kiss that overrode that scratchy feeling of cloth rubbing against his lips. A comfort that came with Kakashi’s hand settling on his back, fingers curling into the wet fabric of his shirt.

Gai had kissed many people in his lifetime, and all of them had been real, proper kisses. No fabric between them blocking him from feeling the softness of their skin.

Yet, none of them compared to this kiss. None of them brought such joy to his heart that he struggled to pull back, even when his lungs burned with a need for air. Not one of those kisses, no matter how wonderful they had been, came close to comparing to this one.

“See?” Kakashi chuckled when they finally pulled away, his eyes still focused on Gai’s face. “Rain really is the most romantic weather.”

“Maybe,” running his thumb along Kakashi’s cheek, he smiled. “I might need another kiss to confirm that, though.” He began to lean down, but before he could touch his lips against Kakashi’s again a finger settled against his lip.

“Perhaps a proper kiss would serve better?” as quickly as the words left his mouth Kakashi had removed the mask that covered the lower half of his face, allowing Gai the rare opportunity to see just what lay under neither.

An opportunity he was certain anyone else would take advantage of, but which he didn’t bother to dwell on. As soon as the mask was off he swooped in to kiss Kakashi once more, this time the warmth of the kiss no longer just a feeling inside of his soul, but an actual sensation against his lips. Kakashi’s lips were warm. His skin was warm, even in the cold of the rain.

The first kiss they had shared had stood above all others, but this one-

There was nothing in the world that could compare with the feelings that ignited inside of Gai’s heart when he kissed Kakashi a second time.

Rain really was the most romantic weather. That was a sentence Gai could now confirm was true without a shadow of a doubt. Sunshine was brilliant, but rain had given him the greatest gift he could have asked for. It had allowed him the opportunity to see Kakashi, the man he’d always known as being reserved and quiet though a bit of an arrogant shit at times, in his true light.

As the romantic dork he always seemed to bury inside of his books.

Rain had provided Kakashi with the perfect opportunity, and for that Gai would happily make it his new favorite weather.