[Closed]

[verdant_lotus]

Characters: Maito Gai and Rock Lee, then Maito Gai and Hatake Kakashi.
Location: The park
Rating: PG-13 for Awkwardness
Time: October 30th, after training
Description: Armed with confusing advice and well-meaning intentions, Lee corners his teacher. Then there's the fallout.

Comments

[grab_my_bells]

Kakashi had tried to doze off after hearing Gai come and go. Maybe he should have said something in person. Or said something more on the note. Maybe Gai was going to take back the 'always rivals' thing and find a new Meister. Somehow, Kakashi always messed things up.

He couldn't sleep, though, and was staring at his favorite chapter of Icha Icha, trying to console himself, when Gai returned with something noisy and wonderfully yippy.

...Was that a dog? A series of thuds followed, like a rubber ball hitting the wall and rebounding. The scratch of nails across of floor and a few excited yips... A smile tugged at Kakashi's lips as he sat up.

Yes, that sounded distinctly like a dog, and there was none of that "oh boy! oh boy!" that he had come to associate with Dug. Just a plain, ordinary non-speaking puppy. In his apartment. Gai didn't... Padding across his room, feet bare, Kakashi opened his bedroom door just a sliver, leaning against the door jamb and looking out into their apartment's common room.

There was indeed a puppy in their livingroom. With a bow on it...like it was bought for him. Gai did take the note seriously. It was such a stupidly wonderfully Gai thing to do. He had a way with actions that Kakashi would never have, and he was both envious of that and proud to consider a man like Gai to be his Rival and friend, even if it only proved how little Kakashi did to be worthy of said friendship.

By now, the puppy had noted the open door and came bounding across the room to check out this new human. Kakashi smiled down at him, opened the door a little more, and knelt down to pick him up. So friendly and lively. Kakashi would have to think up a name for him, but he already knew the little guy would be a good companion. Gai had chosen well. Better than Kakashi himself could have done, maybe.

Speaking of Gai... Kakashi watched him from over the eager puppy licking at his mask, stroking the dog's ears as the little tail thumped against his stomach in a merry rhythm. Knowing he should say something (thanks, might be appropriate), but not finding the words, he said, "He followed you home, hm?"

[spandexisyouth]

As the puppy investigated the partially open door, all Gai could do was watch. He couldn't make Kakashi like the puppy any more than he could make Kakashi like him, and something forced wouldn't be real. The smile on Kakashi's face was a relief. Gai felt himself smiling in return.

The picture fit, Kakashi holding a puppy while it happily made itself at home. Gai beamed, playing along. "Yes. And since he was carrying everything he needed, I figured that it could not hurt to let him in for a time and see if he was welcome here. But you are the dog expert, not me. Does he belong?"

Standing up, Gai crossed the distance to where Kakashi stood, reaching over to give the puppy a little bit of a rub under his chin. It felt nice. It felt normal, like nothing had been broken. Like no matter what, the Rivalry was still there, and that Gai had been silly to worry and wonder.

Really, he should have just come back and seen Kakashi. It almost seemed like seeing his Rival alone could have made the stress go away. Flowers had been a silly idea. Then again, it wasn't like Gai would ever stop having or following silly ideas. It was part of who he was. And that was why they worked so well; they were different and balanced. But it wasn't like Gai could just announce this.

"But if you were to ask me, I think he looks very much at home." Like Kakashi did. Like Gai felt right now.

[grab_my_bells]

"If he's that clever and determined, I think it'd be a shame to turn him away," he teased. In other words, of course the puppy could stay. At this point, sending the poor thing back would be criminal. It would break his heart (and maybe the puppy's too).

This all had a sense of permanence to it which was both frightening and intriguing to a man who eluded and was eluded by permanence. With the addition of the dog, it felt almost like a home place to stay at, rather than a place they were trying to leave. Which was not to say Kakashi was abandoning their current goals of getting home as soon as possible or had any illusions about the dangers this world posed, but this world was different and offered more than a few odd opportunities.

Since Lee's revelation, Kakashi had spent hours of his day considering what he would say to Gai when the time came and never had anything clear. Gai was an attractive man, a kind and good man, and he deserved more than Kakashi could ever offer him. But Gai was also was his Rival and neither had anyone else their own age here who they were close to...

It was not a difficult leap in logic to go from Gai is attractive and I'm fond of him to I could sleep with Gai. It was also not difficult to realize, especially at times like these, that it was not impossible for Kakashi to return his feelings. That was just a far more dangerous route than sleeping together...

We shouldn't get too comfortable here, he thought. "He needs a name first," he said, watching Gai pet the dog like it was an old friend, a companion Kakashi had for a long while. How was it that Gai always managed to make himself fit so well into Kakashi's life?

[spandexisyouth]

"Exactly. It is like he wanted to find you. Or perhaps he just wanted a safe place to chase his ball around." Gai couldn't tease back often. It wasn't easy to follow where Kakashi's mind went all of the time, especially when it went into more adult-type areas. But this was simple. He could play along. It was already obvious, too, that Kakashi was taken by the puppy. And no one taken like that would put a puppy back in a little shop.

He hadn't lost sight of continuing to fight and get home. He couldn't. They needed to return, to assist their village. However, they couldn't simply shut down and only fight 24-7. They were people. Life was meant to be lived. To let it slip away would be a waste, even if they weren't home.

But at the same time, there were some things that were too important to be risked or pushed. Gai stood next to Kakashi, comfortable with puppy and his Rival, and knew that he'd likely pushed as much as he could risk. Kakashi knew, their table was covered with very impractical ways to say things, and Kakashi held a simple proof of his importance to Gai. He couldn't say anything more. Not right now, at least.

"He does. A person name, or a descriptive one?" It was Kakashi's dog. He should name it. But Gai could help. He was here for Kakashi, in the big ways and the small.

[grab_my_bells]

"Probably that." There was something in 'chasing balls' that Kakashi was sure he could turn into something perverted and turn back against Gai, but he wasn't sure yet how he wanted his teasing to be taken, or for that matter how it would be taken anymore. ...Gai must have thought he was a terrible cocktease all these years.

Kakashi wasn't great at living life (he was decent at shutting down and fighting 24-7), but he figured that's why Naruto and Gai and Lee were around here...to force him to do that life thing once in a while and remind him that he's human, not a machine.

"Whichever." He considered letting Gai name the pup, but with how he named that turtle of his Ningame, Gai would probably name the dog something stupid like Koinu ((puppy)). "Well, he would be the ninth, so maybe Kurou ((ninth son)). Or Kyōmei ((resonance)) or Tamashī ((soul/spirit/ghost)), or something, given where we are." Kakashi wasn't brilliant at naming his dogs either, but, on the coattails of Gai's silly flower-language thing, he liked to think naming the dog Kyōmei carried a good message...and was better than naming his new puppy Kyūkon ((courtship)) or Seikō ((f**k)).

[spandexisyouth]

Gai had never thought Kakashi meant any of the teasing comments he made. Certainly, every now and then he'd wondered what would happen if Kakashi meant them, but he'd known not to let himself believe in the possibility. He did enjoy the teasing, though. The comments that sometimes went over his head and sometimes he got were fun. If Kakashi stopped, Gai would be very disappointed. Though it was a good thing Kakashi didn't suggest Seiko.

Ninth... Gai didn't like that idea, since it didn't have a lot of personality behind it, he felt. But Kyomei actually sounded good. It was something they were working toward, something important. "Kyomei. I think it is fitting! Resonance is a very good thing." And probably Gai should be careful here. They were close to topics, and very close physically. He needed to not trap Kakashi. All too easily he could veer into talking about making it stronger, and Gai knew what Kakashi associated with that. There had been too many comments for Gai to be ignorant. "Of course, he will have to decide if he will respond to it." Gai wondered if he should take a step back, maybe grab the doggy bed and ask where Kakashi wanted it. Probably a good idea. Likely a good idea. Logically a good idea.

Listening to his head instead of anything else, Gai stepped away and picked up Kyomei's bed. "Where should this go? Your room, or at the end of the couch, or do you have a better idea?" He'd listened to his head for this long. He could continue for as long as Kakashi needed him to, even if that need was permanent.

[grab_my_bells]

"It is." Resonance was the goal in their partnership. It was a little at odds with a rivalry, maybe, which was about opposing each other, but they were making it work. "Alright. Kyomei, unless he decides otherwise." Though Kyomei was likely to learn to come by whatever name they consistently called him.

After all the arguments against a dog (that they didn't have enough room), Kakashi was surprised the living-room was offered up. He raised his eyes away from Gai's rear as his rival turned around and brought the bed over. "My room. The dogs sometimes slept in my bed back home. Especially during winter."

He knew what Gai wanted from him. But while he hadn't yet given Gai an answer to the flowers' message, he was concerned by the fact that Gai thought he wasn't even interested physically--that Gai wasn't his type (as if Kakashi had a type), or something. And maybe he hasn't spent nearly as much time thinking about Gai as Gai had thinking about him...

Even if you do not think that you are worthy of his love, Kakashi-sensei... I think that you have it.

He held open the door for Gai to bring the bed through. Normally a comment about how someone else could warm his bed would fall off his tongue so easily. He'd taken many people home on simple lines like that. But he didn't want to insult Gai and, to be honest, as a many who lacked in some social skills and read porn novels, Kakashi was not really certain where the lines between safe and vulgar flirtations were drawn.

"...It gets cold sometimes."

[spandexisyouth]

Resonance, balance, give and take, working together, it all felt like part of what they did. After all, they challenged each other to improve them both. This way, when the cards were down, they both stood a greater chance of surviving. It was an Eternal Rivalry. Not a short one. The longer they lived, the longer it went on.

"And if he does we can choose something else." Gai had known all along he would lose the fight on having a dog. He wasn't about to keep Kakashi feeling lonely and without one; he knew they were important. While this was sooner than he'd planned on giving in, he felt that the timing was right. It had meaning. "And winter is coming. But after that comes spring!"

He wanted much from Kakashi. But if Kakashi wasn't interested in giving more than he already had, Gai would live with it. That had been the plan all along, after all. To be there for Kakashi whenever he was wanted and needed. To be what he could be.

"...Of course." It was obvious things had changed. Gai stepped into the room, looking around to find a good spot, trying to ignore the way that he was fairly sure normally he would have been teased by now. Especially with talk of winter and cold. But since Kakashi had come out to see the puppy, he hadn't made a comment even remotely close to that.

He wondered if he should say something. Maybe. But what? Gai crouched and set the bed down in a likely spot. His back was to Kakashi when he spoke. "You can be you. That is..." why I care so much about you "...I mean, I do not want you to change or be different."

Standing, he considered the corner and how the dog bed fit into it. "Does that look good?"

[grab_my_bells]

"Yeah." Spring, the season of revivals and new beginnings. Maybe he could figure it by Spring and, assuming they were both still here, have an answer Gai would like. Maybe.

"Same with you." Knowing of Gai's affections added a new layer to things Gai said and did, but he didn't want those things to change on them. Part of what he enjoyed most about his rivalry with Gai was Gai himself. "Mmmm hm." And the bed looked good too, he guessed, but he wasn't really looking.

There was an awkward silence and then Kakashi spoke again. "This is going to take some getting used to," he said, dropping Kyomei onto the corner of his own bed with a sigh. The dog sniffed the bedsheets and then got down to see what Gai was up to now. "But, we'll see how it goes, hm?"

Maybe by Wintertime, Gai could be keeping him warm and Kyomei could be sleeping in the livingroom. Kakashi wouldn't really object to that if it worked out well enough.

[spandexisyouth]

Gai liked Spring. It was a season of growth and hope, youthfullness and vitality. It was warm and invigorating. He found that his best fitness records were set in the Spring.

"Good. I shall make sure to be myself as well, then!" It was said a bit loud, but he was often on the loud side.

Turning, Gai watched Kakashi set the puppy down. He smiled as Kyomei explored before looking back at his Rival. "You can take as much time as you need. The thought of this is completely new to you. I do not blame you for needing to adapt to it. But I am sure that whatever goes will go well! And however much you wish for it to go! Or to not go. Or to semi-go! We are Eternal Rivals! Whatever we put our minds to shall not fail!"

Kyomei started wagging his tail, picking up on the enthusiasm in Gai's voice. If there was anything Gai did well, it was enthusiasm. And Kakashi had said he wanted Gai to be himself. Gai just had to hope that his Rival didn't actually dislike his volume and was just teasing when he seemed annoyed by it.

[grab_my_bells]

That was more than a bit loud, and when Gai had finished speaking, Kakashi put a finger in his ear as if shaking away the ringing after effects and ringing of hearing something deafening. "I'm sorry, what was that?" he asked, not a bit sorry nor confused. In fact, he might have been smirking just a little behind his mask, but Gai could probably tell even without looking; the teasing note had bled into Kakashi's voice and the routine was a familiar one. "Did you say something? I couldn't hear past this sudden loud noise."

He stepped closer, the smirk only growing. Be himself. Kakashi had never flirted with anyone he knew was in love with him before, and he didn't want to make Gai any promises he didn't know if he would like to fulfill later down the road. But if he was himself, with someone he knew was attracted to him and he had nothing to lose...? (Instead of with Gai where he had everything to lose...)

"Maybe we can shut it up for a while..." He moved in closer, thwarted somewhat by the eager puppy at their feet distracting and detracting from the come-on, and giving him a moment to reconsider what he was doing. They would have to get used to this eventually... Hesitating, he looked over Gai's face, focus narrowing to his lips. Kakashi would know soon enough just how comfortable he himself was taking this to another step, or if the fact that this was his rival would get in the way of his libido.

...Maybe it was better to never know. To not break any of Gai's illusions...to not break his own, too.

He closed the distance between them quickly, his masked lips pressed against Gai's as his hand moved behind Gai's neck to pull him forward into the kiss.

[spandexisyouth]

Gai was beaming by the time Kakashi was done asking if he'd said anything. This ground was well-trod and welcome. "I did indeed speak! And you know that you heard it, Kakashi! You cannot..." Kakashi was moving toward him. That wasn't part of the normal routine. Normally Kakashi would take a step backward or something, and Gai started trying very hard not to hope too much, not to put too much stock into the teasing, because Kakashi always teased.

Where was he? Oh yes. "Cannot ignore..." Shut it up for a while? Kakashi was quite close and this whole trying-to-act-normal thing didn't seem to be working very well, because all Gai could think about was how he wanted this to be more than teasing. His Rival's gaze was on Gai's lips, and for the first time ever Gai forgot what he was about to youthfully declare.

The pause seemed to stretch on endlessly as he waited to see if this was just teasing or if it was something more, and then Kakashi was there. Gai's brain took a moment to actually catch up to what was going on. Apparently there were lips against his (Kakashi's) and a hand encouraging him to be closer (also Kakashi's) which meant that he was being kissed (by Kakashi.) But as soon as it sank in, Gai was kissing back.

Gai's eyes closed. He wanted to take this in as much as he could, the feel of fabric-covered lips moving against his, the weight of Kakashi's warm hand urging him near, the sound of Kakashi's breathing, everything. His arms went around Kakashi's midsection. It was high enough to not push, and yet he still got to hold his Kakashi. Him. Holding and kissing Kakashi. As his Rival showed that maybe he was actually interested after all.

There was a quiet, throaty noise that took Gai a moment to realize had come from him. He wanted to reach up, to touch Kakashi's hair, but that was too important. He'd taken too many glances at Kakashi, wondering what the strands would feel like and look like as his fingers passed through them, to seize that moment too quickly. That was meant to be special. Instead, Gai easily contented himself with kissing Kakashi back, figuring out how to make the kiss a little more intense through the cloth, and rubbing Kakashi's upper back.

[grab_my_bells]

He would have to remember this in the future. He would inevitably need a way to shut Gai up, and this was a very...very good method. Gai was a better kisser than all that youth-preaching seemed to suggest and whatever he might have lacked in technique, he made up for with his enthusiasm as Gai always did. Kakashi could dismiss part of the appeal of this kiss as being because he hadn't been kissed or had sex in a while now, not with the war and everything back home; he could, but that didn't explain all of it. Gai's warm and feels so good pressed against him, around him.

Kakashi smiled into the kiss at the sound, and his other arm wrapped around Gai's waist, finding a comfortable position not too low on Gai's back as to be taking too many liberties. Changing the angle on the kiss, he tried to deepen it without removing his mask, leaning into Gai.

Somewhere in the back of his mind he was having to remind himself that Gai was different, that he couldn't approach this as he always did. Not because he was in love with Gai (maybe he was, maybe he wasn't...Kakashi had never been 'in love' and didn't put a lot of stock into the idea) but because he cared about Gai and his feelings, wanted to keep him as a rival, and, on a far more practical and justifiable level, he had to live with the man.

But Gai was different, not just another of the pseudo-nameless people he was trying to coax to bed in the next couple of minutes. They were still figuring this out and pushing this beyond what either was feeling right with was only going to give them a moment of pleasure and a lifetime of remaining awkwardness.

For the time being, though, he had no regrets about kissing Gai. He spared a hand to move Gai's arm lower, to the small of his back. If Gai moved it back up in youthful prudishness, that was his business, but Kakashi felt that after all the manhandling they had done of one another over the years as Rivals, Gai had pretty much staked out a right to touch Kakashi however he wanted (or until Kakashi objected).

[spandexisyouth]

If this was what happened now when Gai got loud, Gai might have to get loud more often. Then again, Gai wasn't sure how common this response would be. Maybe he should save it for special occaisions.

He supported Kakashi's weight gladly as the other man leaned into him, enjoying the pressure and closeness. It was a great deal different from the contact and sensation of sparring. He liked this; Gai could allow himself to feel all of it. It was hard to tell how much he should enjoy, though. Then again, Kakashi was more than capable of making it clear to Gai if he was uncomfortable or done.

With this thought in mind, Gai relaxed and accepted the way Kakashi moved his arm, spreading his palm flat and exploring the curve there. He just needed to remember to not go too far too fast. Kakashi wasn't sure what he felt, he'd said. Gai didn't want this to be hormones alone. He didn't want to be a convenient lay, no matter how good he thought it would feel for a while.

Gai opened his mouth to the kiss, even though they were limited by the mask. Maybe the mask was good. It marked that Kakashi wasn't sure yet. As long as Kakashi wasn't sure, Gai could keep his head in the way of his heart. He broke the kiss, reaching up with the hand that wasn't on Kakashi's lower back to cup his Rival's chin as he pressed his lips to Kakashi's cheek and then moved upward, to his eyebrow, before, smiling, he kissed the tip of the other man's masked nose. It probably seemed a bit silly, but it was something Gai had wanted to do. The timing also seemed good. It would break down some of the rush of hormones going through Gai, help him stay in control, even more than Kyomei's little barks for attention did.

[grab_my_bells]

He could get used to this, and that scared him. When Kakashi began to take things for granted, they tended to disappear. To date, Gai was the most notable exception. ...He could only hope Gai continued to defy the odds. There was something safe in kissing through the mask, keeping Gai at a distance, keeping himself limited--distance until he was sure, like always.

His eyes fluttered open as Gai broke the kiss, almost watching as Gai kissed him in a way Kakashi hadn't been kissed in a very long time (after all, the cheek, the brow, the nose...what did any of those kisses accomplish? They weren't sexually-purposed kisses. They were silly and sentimental). He looked away as Gai finished, feeling a pang of shame that he wasn't a better man, more worthy of Gai's heart and this show of affection.

Getting used to Gai's feelings would take more adjusting than he realized.

"Don't be so sentimental," he murmured, smiling a little. Despite the awkwardness Kakashi felt within at the thought of someone--of Gai--loving him like that, showing him that kind of affection, he did not regret the kiss. He enjoyed it, even if he didn't deserve it. And he liked the kisses to his cheek and nose and brow (it made him feel special or something...). It was just...different, and new territory. He ventured his hand lower down Gai's back and pat his rear. Familiar territory...even if it wasn't familiar with Gai.

[spandexisyouth]

The glance away stung for a moment. Gai got that under control quickly, though. He'd known that this wasn't normal for Kakashi, hadn't even expected this much to ever happen. "I am sentimental," Gai replied just as quietly. His thumb traced the contours of Kakashi's lower lip. "If we are both to be ourselves, then there will be sentiment involved." He smiled before kissing the corner of Kakashi's mouth.

It was a little frightening, being this open with Kakashi. He'd hid so much for so long. But since talking with Tassadar he'd had more of an awareness of how fragile the mask was. They were getting closer with each training session. Sooner or later, even without Lee's help, it had been bound to come up.

Thinking of... Gai opened himself mentally to Kakashi, wondering what he would feel through their connection. His own mood was a mix of fondness and affection, hope and a little bit of nerves. The pat on his rear sent a rush of warmth through him. He leaned against Kakashi, sliding his own hand a bit lower. This territory was entirely unfamiliar to Gai, unlike the kissing, but he hoped that with time it would become very familiar indeed.