Gai was heavy. That wasn't really a groundbreaking new realization on Kakashi's part, but it was a fact he had more or less forgotten. After all, usually Gai was the one who ended up carrying him. And you wouldn't know how heavy he was, watching him move with that unnatural speed and lightness of his during spars and fights and ridiculous races through the village.
Now, though, he was incredibly heavy, hanging onto Kakashi with his arms wrapped awkwardly around Kakashi's neck and his head resting on Kakashi's shoulder, his sake-breath filling Kakashi's nostrils.
"You owe me for this," Kakashi told the night, the sleeping village and – probably in vain – the more or less unconscious shinobi on his back. He wasn't the kind of person who carried drunks home; he was the kind of person who left them lying on the sticky floor of whatever bar they'd ended up in – but not before sneaking a few ryo out of their wallets to pay for his own drinks. That was the reputation he was risking right now. You definitely didn't want to become known as the guy who picked up the tab and ferried useless drunks home on his back. A soft-hearted fool. Someone like a certain dimwitted taijutsu user.
Kakashi was making an exception – a one time only thing – nothing more, because it had been a special occasion, Lee finally being pronounced ready to go back to training and missions by Tsunade-sama, and, as much as he liked to pretend otherwise, Kakashi wasn't completely heartless. Watching Gai during the last few weeks—
To his surprise, Gai's arms tightened around his neck. "…'kashi," he mumbled sleepily right into Kakashi's ear, his breath hot and moist, sending a strange, not entirely unpleasant shiver down Kakashi's spine.
"…'love you… you're my… important person…"
Just drunken gibberish.
Kakashi sighed and tried his best to ignore the warmth spreading through his body.
"You love everyone right now," he said and continued marching down the dark street. "Let's hope you don't remember this tomorrow."
As he bravely set one foot in front of the other, however, swaying a little under Gai's weight and beginning to feel the saké as well, Kakashi found that, deep inside, he wasn't hoping all that hard.