When a call for a KakaGai fic was made on Tumblr I took it upon myself to answer the call!
It was well past midnight when the pair of rivals staggered through the large gates of their village. Kakashi leaning heavily on Gai who was in turn doing the same. Both shinobi aiding each other in walking, both shinobi bleeding, bruised and completely exhausted from their rigorous mission. They checked in with the night guards at the gate, declining their offer to get a medic. Neither were injured too seriously and were frankly too tired to deal with the doctors at the hospital.
After their check in they headed off. It was too late to report in with the Hokage so they staggered along to the Jonin apartment complex. Though opened to all Jonin, it was mostly filled with the elite, full time shinobi who were often too busy to find and maintain a home of their own. Gai had a family home he inherited but Kakashi stayed in the complex, despite having a family home of his own. Of course Kakashi hadn't stayed within said house for a very long time.
Gai groaned at the slow pace they were forced to take. Not that either of them could go faster together, let alone by themselves. Kakashi shook his head, staring longingly at a bench they passed. He wanted nothing more than to sit down for a moment and let his aching muscles relax. But he knew the moment he sat down, he probably wouldn't get back up. Though it took twice as long finally they had reached the building. Their relief was short lived as they remembered the flight of stairs that awaited them.
Step after painfully slow step the two made it up the stairs and towards Kakashi apartment. Kakashi fished out his key from a hidden compartment on the door frame and they both staggered inside. It wasn't much, a small living room and kitchen in one that let to the bedroom straight ahead and a bathroom to the left. They headed straight for the bedroom where Gai dumped his friend upon the bed and plopped down right next to him, both leaning against the wall.
Kakashi idly realized that he was still a bloody, dirty mess but was too tired to strip himself of his uniform. Or take a shower for that matter. He slightly slid to the side, head resting on something warm, firm yet soft. Gai, his mind registered that the man was still in the room but he didn't care. Kakashi took comfort in the familiar scent of the man next to him. With great effort he raised his hand to slide down his mask. With the mask down Kakashi settled against Gai more comfortably, allowing the warmth and smell to blanket him in a feeling of safety.
Feeling they weight settle against him, Gai opened his bleary eyes remembering he had yet to make it to his own home. Looking over to his right, he smiled softly seeing Kakashi's face resting on his shoulder. He was dead asleep, mouth slightly ajar and breathing evenly. Warmth blossomed in his chest as he rested his head against Kakashi's. Said man tended to shy away from physical displays of affection so Gai relished in every moment of contact he got.
Despite their dirty uniforms, aching muscles, wounds and the slightly uncomfortable position they were in, Gai felt more peaceful than he had in weeks. It didn't take long, listening to Kakashi's steady breathing, for Gai to be lulled to sleep.
Tsunade sat within her seat, staring blankly out the large windows behind her desk. She had a mountain of paperwork, something Shizune was very persistent in pestering her about. Not to mention she had a council meeting later that evening. All she wanted to do was to break away from her duties today. To say 'fuck it' and spend the day out of the office. The last thing she wanted was to meet with those old croans today.
Looking at the time, the Hokage realized it was rather late in the afternoon. A frown graced her lips. She was missing two of her elite today. For Kakashi it wasn't particularly unusual for him to be late. Gai however was fairly punctual, strived to be so. Unless they were injured, he would have dragged Kakashi in with himself by now. The hospital would have notified her though if they had been admitted.
"Is something the matter lady Hokage?" Tsunade silently praised herself in not jumping out of her skin to punch the life out whoever spooked her. She had been so lost in thought, she had not heard the young shinobi reporting in. Gatekeeper she noted, bringing in the latest logs by the looks of it.
"Yes, two of my shinobi have yet to come back and they are hours past due. I would have expect this from Kakashi but not Gai." She stated, Tsunade wondered when would be an appropriate time to send a team after them. The Hokage figured she should at least give them a day. Her train of thought was stopped at the man's look of confusion.
"That can't be right." He muttered, flipping through the papers within his hand. "Hatake Kakashi and Maito Gai had checked in at two thirty four this morning my lady." The young shinobi glanced up from his papers. Tsunade was silent for a moment, processing the information. Within a minute she stood up, slamming her hand on the desk.
"If those fools think that can slack off, they have another thing coming!" She snapped, seemingly in a rage. Quickly she started to march for the door. Shizune was quick to speak up.
"Lady Tsunade, you have a lot of work to do here! Perhaps it would be better to have someone send for them." Shizune interjected, obviously disapproving of her lack of work today.
"If those brats think they can play hookie they are going to be in for a surprise when I drag their asses back here myself." Tsunade responded quickly. The shinobi, still present in the room took this as his cue to place the papers amongst the stack of other on her desk and escape. She could tell by the look on his face, he felt pity for his fellow shinobi.
"You're just using this as an excuse to ignore your paperwork." Shizune muttered under her breath. Tsunade couldn't help but smile to herself, caught by her ever vigilant apprentice. She be damned however if she let this opportunity to ditch her work for a bit escape her. Quickly she headed off to the Jonin apartment complex.
Kakashi was the first on her list. There was no doubt that the idea to neglect their work was his idea. Though Gai, she knew, would never give in let alone let his companion disregard his duties without an earful from him. Tsunade found herself becoming curious as to why exactly they were absent. When she reached Kakashi's door, she didn't hesitate turning the knob and busting in.
Tsunade paused looking down at her hand on the handle. It had been unlocked, which was unusual considering the paranoid man who lived behind the door. She could help the sudden feeling of anxiety clutch her stomach. Tsunade had not been subtle or quiet in her entrance yet she had not been greeted by the young, silver haired man, nor had she heard any sound of movement within the apartment.
Cautiously she moved forward, reaching the room in a few quick, wide strides. With bated breath she peered inside. The tension was quick to leave her shoulders at the sight of the two men leaning against one another. She smiled fondly as she quietly observed them. Though she honestly hadn't known Gai at all until she took her position as Hokage, Kakashi was a different story. Having been friends with his father, she had seen him quite a bit as he grew until she took her leave of the village. The man had certainly changed in most aspects from the boy he was.
Tsunade's trail of thought stopped abruptly when she noticed dark splotches on their uniforms. Opening the curtains of the window for more light, she didn't like what she saw when she turned back around. Both men were obviously suffering from chakra exhaustion and while there was nothing they could really do about that, the cuts and bruises the bore were another story. She inhaled deeply, trying to calm the growing frustration.
"Care to explain what you two are doing?" Tsunade snapped loudly, effectively waking the two sleeping Jonin with a start. Gai had simply sleepily looked up at her before snapping to attention, mouth agape. Kakashi was obviously more disoriented as he looking around wildly in a panic before his eyes settled on her. Tsunade waited patiently for the men to push past their exhaustion and regain their senses.
"Hm, Lady Tsunade, to what do I own the honor of your visit?" Kakashi asked lazily seconds after his minor panic.
"Stow the pleasantries brat. Care to tell me why not only did neither of you report when expect but also neglected to check in with the hospital after you've been clearly injured?" Gai opened his mouth to reply yet froze. Clearly having no excuse that would justify disregarding what should be a standard routine for elite Jonin just coming off a mission. Lucky for him the king of excuses swooped in.
"We were tired." Kakashi stated simply resting his head back against the wall. It certainly wasn't what Tsunade had been expecting. It showed just how tired Kakashi really was, how tired he still is. Not to mention he obviously hurt by the twitch of pain in each movement. Gai wasn't faring any better.
"Honestly, Kakashi's aversion is to be expected with his minor nosocomephobia." Kakashi was quick to open his mouth in an attempt to deny the accusation but was quickly cut off. "But I had expected better of you Gai." The man in question bowed his head in shame. In any other circumstance Gai would have marched them straight to the hospital but what Kakashi said was true. He was just too tired to bother.
Frustrated, Tsunade sighed shaking her head closing the distance between her and the two men. With chakra infused hands, she hovered over them to make a quick assessment of their injuries. It was nothing life threatening but she really much prefered they had stayed the night within a sterile hospital with their wounds wrapped. Firmly, but gently grabbing Kakashi's left hand, she flipped it over to reveal a slightly deep slice from his third knuckle to his thumb.
Kakashi made an effort not to react. Gai on the other hand had hissed in sympathy, clearly unaware of the cut. Their Hokage gently let go of his hand only to flick him in the forehead. His headband must have been shifted in his sleep much to his dismay. He didn't even have the energy the rub away the slight throb in the center of his forehead.
"Are you purposely trying to get an infection? How many like this do you have?" Kakashi could only shrug in response, his whole body was one throbbing ache in all honestly. Tsunade snapped her head to Gai who could only mimic his companion. The Hokage took a deep breath, trying desperately to resist the growing urge to knock their heads together.
"Your cuts obviously need to be cleaned and wrapped and I doubt you have enough supplied here for the both of you. I'll be back shortly." She simply stated turning on her heal. Kakashi couldn't resist his little quip, of course he couldn't.
"Lady Tsunade, you don't have to find excuses to escape from your work to visit me." He said with a smile that was mockingly happy. Tsunade in turned glared darkly over her shoulder at the younger man.
"I'm not above dragging your ass to the hospital myself, after I've giving you a good reason to keep you there." She replied, a mocking smile of her own threatening the man. The threat had effectively shut the man up. Turning, she marched out of the room and his front door slammed shut behind her seconds later. Kakashi deflated against Gai, his head once again resting on his shoulder.
"Must you always taunt her so?" Gai asked exhaustedly, he really didn't have the energy for Tsunade's, no doubt, rough treatment. Kakashi egging her on was certainly not going to make things easier for either of them. His companion merely hummed in response. Obviously too tired to come up with a real reason why. Gai glanced down at the hand that laid next to him.
He felt ashamed that he had not noticed it before. Kakashi was known to disregard his own injuries, to avoid hospitals. Really Gai should have expected that Kakashi was hurt instead of assuming he wasn't. Not that Gai had walked away unscathed either but that wasn't important here.
"Stop that." Gai glanced at Kakashi, his dark eye boring into his own. His expression was knowing, as if he had read Gai's mind.
"Lady Tsunade was right to be disappointed in me. I should have lead us to the hospital to get checked up." Gai said dejectedly, looking away.
"Gai" Kakashi sighed tiredly. "We were both were exhausted, we still are. Neither of us were thinking about much other than passing out in bed." He tried to reason.
"Being tired is no excuse, especially not when you're hu- OW!" He snapped his head towards his companion only to see the man's sharp canines in his shoulder. Kakashi let go and smile, triumphant that he was able to shut Gai for a moment.
"What the hell was that for?" Gai snapped, of course Kakashi didn't bite hard enough to actually hurt him it still stung.
"To stop this pity party you are throwing yourself. It was quite rude to make me feel so left out." Kakashi's eyes never left Gai's. He was being serious despite the bantering word.
"I wasn't throwing a pity party." Gai mumbled under his breath as he turned to look away in embarrassment. Smiling to himself, Kakashi gently kissed the light red bite mark he knew was under the green cloth. In turn Gai once again rested his head against Kakashi's.
Relaxed, Kakashi felt himself starting to ease back to sleep until Gai grabbed his hand. Opening his tired eye, he watched as Gai began to gently peel off his glove. He couldn't stop the hiss of pain as the cloth, siffened by dry blood, rubbed against his cut. Gai whispered an apology as he continued until the glove was off.
Once he got the glove off, Gai gently rubbed his thumb along Kakashi's knuckles being ever so mindful not touch the open wound. After several strokes, Gai clasped their hands together and slowly brought them up to his face. Softly he kissed Kakashi's hand right below the cut. His rough lips pressed gently against the pale, dirty skin for several seconds until he guided their hands back to the bed. He didn't let go.
"You're such a sap." Kakashi snorted lightly. Gai grinned widely as he lifted his head slightly to look at Kakashi. Said man was looking away, his cheeks a light red. He couldn't help himself after he saw that. Gai leaned over and kissed Kakashi's cheek, smiling against the soft, warm skin.
"If by 'sap' you mean romantic. Then I am a sap and proud." Gai announced loudly with a laugh. He couldn't keep his eyes off kakashi or the chuckle vibrating from his chest as he watched him. Kakashi's cheeks significantly darkened and he bowed his head trying to hide the smile he couldn't fight off his face.
Both had momentarily forgot about their aches and pains allowing the warmth of each others presence to comfort them. That was until they heard the front door slam shut and footsteps approached the bedroom. Gai sighed in defeat, expecting their patch up to be anything but pleasant. Kakashi chuckled.
"What's so funny?" Tsunade asked as she walked in and Gai looked at him questioningly.
"I'm just not every fond of this bed we made, perhaps we can try again." Kakashi asked lightly. Tsunade couldn't help but laugh lightly in response. She shook her head to the younger man.
"Hell no, you're going to lay in it whether you like it or not." The Hokage replied with a laugh, setting a bag of supplies in between them.
This was not how Kakashi had expected to spend his first day off after a mission but with the warm company beside him and the skillful hands of the best medic the shinobi world had to offer tending to them, Kakashi really wasn't that disappointed in how it was turning out.