"Kakashi, c'mon! Lighten up!" Obito whines, throwing an arm around his best friend's shoulders.

"You're drunk, Obito." The man says with a near roll of his eyes.

"You can't say much..." Rin blushes, trying to hide her fond smile in the palms of her hands. She was right despite the half-pout that he sends in her direction. Kakashi Hatake wasn't one to pout but whenever he found himself drowning his sorrows in alcohol, a different side of him decided to join the party. It was very rare that anybody saw it, the carefree and playful side of him but Obito and Rin saw it more than he'd like.

"I'm too old for this..." Kakashi sighs into a nervous laugh, running his hands over his cheeks to try and sober himself up for the walk home.

"You miss your slippers, gramps?" The Uchiha's grin is toothy and wide, his nose coming to press against Kakashi's temple. They'd been best friends since middle school, the three of them, and while Obito and Rin had always been together, Kakashi hadn't been able to keep a solid relationship for longer than a couple of years.

Hanare had been the outlier.

At least she had been until the Universe decided to pull his world inside out and turn it upside down with one look of another man.

"Kakashi, we're only thirty. That's hardly old. Besides, this is your celebratory night, you should live a little."

"Oh no, no, I told you guys why Hana and I split in confidence. I don't need a party for ruining my marriage with past baggage."

"That's exactly why you need a party."

"For ruining my marriage?"

"To be fair, you didn't ruin it with past baggage, you destroyed it with the closet doors on your way out."

Kakashi chews on his bottom lip.

"Obito..." Rin scolds.

"What?! He should be proud of who he is. Sure, it might've ruined his marriage but...better than having his marriage ruin him. You saw him, Rin. If he would've kept hiding it and berating himself for doing so, it would've killed him..." The arm around his shoulders tightens as does his throat.

Realizing that he was gay at twenty-seven was a journey that he had a love-hate relationship with. On one hand, it made him understand why he'd always felt uncomfortable being with women but on the other, it meant that his marriage would eventually, if he wished to live authentically, come to an end. Hurting Hanare was the last thing that he ever wanted to do but it had come to a point where that secret wasn't only hurting her, it was hurting him too.

"As much as I hate to admit it, Obito's right..." He says softly with a sigh.

"Now that that's settled, can we please have some fun? That was the whole purpose of bringing you out here tonight."

"You didn't plan on trying to get me laid? I'm surprised." Kakashi teases in monotone. Rin giggles from behind her hands, resting her cheek on her knuckles.

"I didn't plan on it but I can now, if you'd like."

"No, Obito. Don't look at me like that. Rid yourself of that thought. Now."

Mid-section comes to rest against the tall wooden bar table. Dark eyes scan the crowd of people on the dance-floor, fingers pointing to different men that he thought were Kakashi's type.

"No."

"How about that one?"

"Nope."

"That one?"

"Absolutely not."

"Sheesh! You're a hard guy to please, alright..." The Uchiha's eyebrows knit together in concentration.

"That one?"

"You're definitely straight."

"What!? I mean, yeah but where'd that come from?"

"Rin, come on, let's...dance." Kakashi chuckles, extending his arm for her to take.

"You insult my taste in men and now you're stealing my girlfriend from me? What the hell, Shittake? Uncool." Despite his tone of voice, a gentle smirk turns at the corners of his lips. It had been a year and a half since their divorce and he was sure that Kakashi had lost his mind for leaving a woman that was so devoted to him but he understood now. At first, he hadn't really known how to react to his best friend coming out. There wasn't anything wrong with it in his mind but it altered his perspective of Kakashi a little more than he'd like to admit.

They had been best friends before he had opened up about his sexuality but now, they were more like brothers. Obito felt protective of him, scared for him, in ways that could be seen as both problematic and respectable. Kakashi reminded him that his intentions were what mattered the most but sometimes he felt like his intentions weren't pure either. Despite it, he could now see freedom in Kakashi's eyes, and he supposed that no matter what he felt on the inside, that was the only thing that mattered.

His eyes catch on another man's. This one had been staring at his best friend all night, seemingly caught up in indecision. Despite being a genius, Kakashi could be thick when it came to attraction and sexuality, even if he spent most of his free time with his nose stuck in a filthy romance novel.

Obito motions his head toward Kakashi. He can see the other man swallow, as if all he'd needed was a confirmation of availability in order to act. He already knew that he wasn't Kakashi's type but Obito was starting to think that that was his best friend's problem. Since he had come out, his choices had been safe. A guy from work here and a friend of his there. Obito was wondering if the entire department was gay or if Kakashi had mystical seduction abilities.

Maybe his laziness was charming. Maybe, it was the mystery surrounding the lateral scar on his right eye. Or maybe, he made good milkshakes. Obito chuckles to himself, deciding to focus his attention on the scene that was about to take place in front of them.

"Hey there! Care to dance?" The first thing Kakashi notices about him is his voice. It's loud and confident, cheery yet smooth, and it doesn't waiver as he waits for Kakashi's reply. The teacher shakes himself out of his embarrassed stupor, trying to find an excuse not to dance with the man in front of him but failing to do so. Only when Rin presses her fingers on his shoulders does he want to run away. Why the hell was she pushing him toward him? He grits his teeth in betrayal. She wouldn't hear the end of it when he pried himself from this man's grasp.

"Go on. I'll find Obito." She winks, nearly giggling when the stranger gives her a thumbs up, shoving Kakashi a little harder this time in his direction.

"Y-Yeah, sure." Kakashi sputters, resisting the urge to scratch the back of his head. He could feel the flush of his cheeks but he tries to pass it off as the stuffy environment. It wasn't. The way the other man was looking at him now was making his stomach flutter with warmth. Dark eyes were soft on him despite his hyperactive positivity and when he takes his hand, Kakashi wants to pull his own away.

"I'm Gai!"

"Clearly..." Kakashi says in a misunderstanding. Thrown off by the warm hands that wrap around his forearms to guide him into position to dance.

"No," The man chuckles, his eyes crinkling in a smile. "My name is Gai."

"Oh..." Kakashi wants to curl in on himself; he hated loud music. His eyes scan the other man, taking in the curves of his face, the flush of his cheeks, and the solidity of his chest and shoulders. The second thing he noticed about him was the freedom in his eyes. They shone with something that Kakashi figured he, himself had never felt before.

It was happiness, he'd come to realize later.

'"Kakashi..."

"Your name suits you."

"How so?" He questions.

"You haven't smiled all night."

His mouth goes dry. What the hell was that? How long had he been watching him? Suddenly, he feels self-conscious. It felt as if he were naked right there on the dance floor, as if Gai could somehow see everything behind the mask that he'd put up a very long time ago; as if he could read his mind. Every vulnerability, scar, and issue felt like it was on display for the other. While he hated it, there was something freeing about it.

"I..." Kakashi stammers, his gaze stuck to Gai's and his feet stuck to the floor. Even though the lights were dim and the music was loud, he had been able to hear the soft concern of his voice and see the intrigue in his eyes. Kakashi didn't know what to do or how to act in his presence but it raised a good question. When was the last time that he smiled?

Gai seems to notice his anxiety.

"How about a drink?"

"I...I should get going." Gai's face falls for the first time since they met but he gives the teacher a gentle nod. Kakashi feels his gut cave.

"Well then! Have a good night, Kakashi!" Gai says, bowing in a comical way that makes the corners of Kakashi's lips turn into a half smile. Kakashi catches a flicker of accomplishment in his eyes before he turns and makes his way back to the bar, his shoulders going lax when he finally sits on a stool. Gai's chin rests in the palm of his hand, shoulders heave, and he watches the bartender fill his glass one more time.

There was something genuine in the way that he moved in the aftermath of rejection. He didn't look over his shoulder before sighing, didn't make it look more dramatic than it was, instead it was natural disappointment. Kakashi realizes in that moment that he was so used to being lied to that he no longer expected anybody to be truthful with him. His rejection suddenly aches in his own chest and his feet move for the exit before he can think.

Fuck.

Nursing his drink, Gai is startled when another body comes to sit on the stool next to his own. Dark eyes don't notice him at first, too busy trying to regain some of his optimism to feel the energy that falls around him, but when Kakashi clears his throat, his gaze snaps upward.

"I'll take that drink now." He says softly, wringing his hands together. Grey eyes wander to his left and he flushes along with Gai when their eyes meet. The teacher had been half way out of the door when the thought had hit him.

He'd missed having his hands on him already.

"Alright! What'll you have? It's on me!"