The lamp on the bedside table casts a low light onto his left arm and the book that he held in his hands. Grey eyes were scanning the pages, reading silently in the couple of moments of silence that he found while Gai put the boys to bed. This was nice, he thought, to go to bed with another man at the end of the night. Of course, it was only once a week that they both got the time to sleep next to each other. He savored it, even in the knowledge that Gai was serious about him. He was scared that something would take these moments away from him. The far scarier thought was that he'd miss them if they were suddenly gone.

They hadn't been on an official date yet. They agreed to take it at a pace that felt right for them, not too fast but not too slow either. Spending time together was enough for them right now and it helped that Lee and Hanashi got along well.

"They're finally asleep!" Gai says with feigned tears in his eyes, knees meeting the end of the bed in a crawl toward him. Kakashi glares over the top of his book, Gai feigns fright, spreading his arms long enough to press his nose to Kakashi's neck. The teacher rests his cheek on the side of his head, placing his hand back on his book.

"Did you need a hug, Gai?" A muffled noise shivers on his skin and Kakashi can't help the way his arms tighten around him.

"How's your week been, neighbor?" He asks softly at the knot of the other's jaw. Kakashi's eyes go to the penguin bandage wrapped around his finger and he chuckles, pressing a kiss to Gai's temple. Another hum vibrates against his neck, this time it sounds more like a half-whine than a hum of pleasure. Gai must've been exhausted but he wasn't complaining. Gai's weight on him made him want to curl up next to him under the covers and sleep.

"It's been alright. How was your's? Deliver any cute babies yet?"

"There is no such thing as an ugly baby!"

"I beg to differ."

Gai chuckles against his skin.

"When Lee was born, he was swollen and bruised from delivery but even then, he was cute." Gai whispers, nostalgia seeping into his pores. His fingers trace circles on Kakashi's chest, his face still firmly planted into the crook of his neck.

"I bet Hanashi was just as cute when he was born, and you for that matter. Ugly babies don't exist." He states. Kakashi can't control the urge to press another kiss to his temple.

"Do you want to go to bed?"

"Not yet..." Kakashi's heart flutters; there was a very subtle plea in his tone. He wonders for a brief moment if Gai had heard his heart pick up its pace from where his ear was pressed at his collarbone.

Over his ear and down his neck, Kakashi's fingers trace the lines of his body, savoring the heat that radiated from the physician's skin. Gai was beautiful. The thickness of his eyebrows and his choice in hairstyle was a bit odd but there was no denying that he was physically beautiful and somehow the former only enhanced his beauty. Somebody had told him once that a beautiful personality was more important than physical beauty. Before meeting the other man, he might've disagreed, but there was something about him that made him want to agree. He wasn't typically what society would define as attractive and yet Kakashi knew that every time he looked at him, he found another aspect of his body alluring. But maybe that was the problem.

Societal norms and stereotypes were annoyingly unhealthy. Thankfully, Gai didn't spend too much time trying to fit in. Maybe he could learn a thing or two from him.

"Hanare went into labor a couple of weeks early." Kakashi starts, multi-tasking between reading, talking, and playing with the short hairs at the back of Gai's neck. "Hanashi was still small and he spent a couple of weeks in the NICU so that he could grow a little more. He looked like a baby rabbit at first so yeah...he was cute." He smiles, chewing his lower lip between his teeth. It had been a stressful pregnancy and a particularly stressful labor and delivery but he'd been healthy and that was all they had asked for.

"I know..." Gai says softly. Kakashi gives him a curious look.

"Did I tell you that already?" He chuckles, flushing. Gai shakes his head, a soft smile on his face.

"My wife was an NICU nurse." Gai whispers. Kakashi can feel his body shift and press closer as if he was hunkering down for a nap but he can't bring himself to ask him again. "She worked with Hanashi a couple of times. If you hadn't mentioned his name, I wouldn't have remembered you..." He admits, nudging his nose against his jaw.

"Offended." The physician laughs into his skin. It's a soft laugh, sleepy and it sounds more like a giggle but it makes Kakashi's heart flutter once more. Gosh, he was cute.

"She thought you were memorable." The admission makes the teacher snort.

"What about you? What'd you think?"

"I felt threatened."

"Why?" He grins.

"Because my wife had a better chance at winning you over than I did." Kakashi's gentle expression is suddenly replaced with laughter and amusement. As he laughs, he can feel Gai's mouth turn upward into a smile of his own, he presses his cheek harder against his head.

"Look how that turned out..." The teacher grins.

Silence overcomes them and Kakashi allows his eyes to flutter closed for a moment. Instead of opening them, when the sound of soft breathing makes its way into his ears, his smile widens; Gai was fast asleep on him. Closing his book, he flicks the blankets over his feet, trying his best to cover the other's before he sinks down a little further into bed, Gai's head his pillow for the night.

Kakashi couldn't remember if he had been exhausted or if the heat and security of Gai's body and arms were the culprit for why he slept as good as he had but he wasn't complaining, even if his neck hurt.