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electromagnetiq · 2 months ago

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Through the Years

for @kkgiweek Eternal Rival's Creators Challange

Prompt: Sweet and Spicy

Point Bracket: 5500+ (20 points)

Made alongside @maitogaimybeloved

Gai was fed up.

He tried his best to turn negative comments people threw at him into positive energy that he could use to push himself to be better.

Most of the time he succeeded. He was known as the most passionate shinobi in the village, though he was certain people would consider him only the second most passionate if they considered his papa.

Still, there was one person he just couldn’t ignore. One constant voice in his ear that seemed to have all the right words to knock down his confidence no matter how hard he tried to focus on the positives.

Ebisu.

His own teammate, who he couldn’t just walk away from whenever he wanted and who never accepted his positivity with confused indifference or genuine joy.

No matter how hard he trained to be the best he could possibly be, Ebisu was always there to spout his closed minded beliefs about ‘privileged families’ and ‘predetermined skills’.

The worst part was that there was only one person he felt he could complain to and that person just so happened to be the one Ebisu often compared him to.

Kakashi.

“Sounds worse than being on a team with Obito,” Kakashi sighed. “He’s always going on about being strong when he gets his sharingan, as if that’s the secret key to strength and nothing else matters.”

“Obito?” Gai stared at him with a blank expression, all his anger washing away in a moment of pure confusion. “Who?”

“You know he’s not here to get mad at you forgetting him, right?”

Realizing he'd been caught, Gai snickered. “Sorry, i couldn’t help it,” bugging Obito by pretending he didn’t know who he was just happened to be one of his favorite pastimes.

Largely because Obito was the only person left who got angry at his ‘forgetfulness’, which made it all the more fun to play up.

“Anyways, i don’t see why you listen to Ebisu. It’s not like his words hold any weight.”

“He’s my teammate, Kakashi. I can usually brush everyone else off, but he’s supposed to work with me. Choza-Sensei is always talking about how teammates should support each other. I don’t feel very supported.”

“Gemma usually has your back doesn’t he?”

“Of course!” His back straightened at the mention of his friend. “He’s always telling Ebisu to stuff it when he goes off on one of his tangents. It just doesn’t always work.”

“One team mate who supports you is still better than none,” Kakashi pointed-out. “And at the end of the day Ebisu’s just spouting nonsense.”

“But what if he’s not…” he whispered, a slight waver in his voice. “What if he’s right? What is, no matter how hard I train, I'll just never be good enough?”

Like papa.

Shoving that thought into the deepest corner of his mind he inhaled sharply and waited. There was no guarantee what Kakashi would say next would actually help him feel any better, but it couldn’t possibly make him feel worse.

He hoped.

Kakashi wasn’t always the best with his words.

“Tell me this,” reaching back, Kakashi gripped the hilt of his tanto and carefully extracted it from its sheath. Holding it out in front of him he stared at it with a dark, broken expression. “When you look at this tanto, what do you think?”

“I think my rival is the coolest,” he admitted, a blush painting his cheeks when Kakashi glanced his way. “Everything comes so naturally to you. You hardly have to train.”

“But I do,” Kakashi insisted. “I train because even if things come easily to me i still have to work on them, and i train because the man who used to wield this,” he lifted the tanto slightly for emphasis. “Took one look at you and told me that i couldn’t let my training slide or you, the guy Ebisu and so many others say will amount to nothing, will surpass me.”

Gai’s jaw dropped.

Never in a thousand years would he have expected those words out of his rivals mouth. There were few things he knew about Sakumo-san, but he’d always thought he was at least half as cool as Kakashi.

Now he found himself looking back on the man who’d hovered behind Kakashi so awkwardly, looking like he was about to explode with embarrassment, with a bit more fondness.

“People’s idea of him may have soured,” Kakashi continued, a sadness in his eyes that Gai wasn’t used to seeing. “ including my own, but I know without a doubt my father was right when he said that.”

“You think-“

“I know,” he cut Gai off, confidence dripping in his words. “Ebisu can say whatever he wants, but at the end of the day you’re ten times the shinobi he is and if you keep going the way you are there’s no doubt you’ll be one of Konoha’s top shinobi. You’re already the second strongest in our generation. Ebisu can hardly keep up with Obito. Actually, I think that’s one fight that would be guaranteed to be in Obito’s favour.”

“Don’t say that too loudly. Obito might hear you and get an ego about it.” Snickering, Gai watched as Kakashi rolled his eyes.

“Obito already has an ego,” he sighed, sounding like a tired old man who’d already been through too much in his lifetime. “I will give it to him, though, at least when he starts talking about powers like they’re just something that are pre-determined for a person, he at least has the clan name to back up his crap beliefs.”

“Maybe one day they’ll get their heads out of a pretend world and realize the best shinobi are the ones who put in the effort?”

“Not always,” Kakashi fired back, sighing when the smile dropped off of Gai’s face. “I just mean, sometimes people are predestined to be powerful. Lord First and his rival Uchiha Madara had the odds stacked in their favour.”

“Doesn’t matter,” jumping to his feet, Gai turned to face the towering mountain that displayed the three hokages of Konoha. “One day I’ll be stronger than all of them. Just watch.”

“Does that mean you’ll be competing with Obito for the title of Hokage?” Kakashi scuffed. “Just what I need. First you two fight over me, and then you fight over who’s going to be the next head of the village.”

Thinking about it, Gai shook his head. “No,” he declared. “I don’t think Hokage is a good fit for me. I think,” he smiled down at Kakashi. “I’ll just have to be the great Hokage, Hatake Kakashi’s right hand man.”

Processing Gai’s words for a moment, Kakashi slowly began narrowing his eyes. “No,” he grumbled. “I want nothing to do with that job. Let Kushina-san or Minato-sensei have the job. It’s not for me.”

“You’re the brightest of our generation, not just in skills but in tactics and leadership,” Gai reminded him as if Kakashi could ever forget. He’d heard people talk about his rival, both the good and the bad, and he knew just how much people admired him for the skills he so naturally possessed. “You’d be the best fit out of anyone.”

“The Hokage is supposed to be the strongest, Gai.”

“Well, you’re that too,” he grinned. “But by the time you become Hokage I might have just surpassed you.”

Staring up at Gai, Kakashi snorted. “There it is.” he whispered, dragging his eyes off of Gai slowly and staring straight up at the beautiful tints of red and orange that blended together in the evening sky. “I knew nothing could keep you down.”

Letting those words sink in Gai felt a blush creeping back into his cheeks. He’d almost completely forgotten about his argument with Ebisu and it was all thanks to Kakashi. Something about his cool attitude seemed to bleed into Gai when they were hanging out, helping him forget about the very few things that managed to crawl their way under his skin where they festered and itched until he felt like he was going to explode.

Every moment with Kakashi seemed like a precious gift the universe had granted him.

“I should go,” he decided. I still have five-hundred push-ups to do before bed, and five-hundred laps around the village.”

“Always doing so much,” leaning his head back Kakashi groaned. “I get wanting to train hard, but don’t push yourself too much or you’ll be completely useless tomorrow.”

“I won’t, I promise,” he was just about to dash off at that point when a thought sprang to mind. A beautiful, silly thought that he couldn’t possibly ignore. So, instead of screaming his goodbyes to the wind while he dashed off to his favorite training field, he swooped down so that he was at Kakashi’s level and pressed a quick, tender kiss against his masked cheek.

Kakashi’s sputtered protests followed Gai as he sprang back to his feet and ran off into the sunset, determined not to hang around long enough to get smacked for his little move. Unfortunately, in his haste for a quick escape he missed the most precious sight he could have asked for: Kakashi watching him run away with a blush such a deep red that it matched the colour of the sun itself.

-------------------------------

An elbow to the face sent Kakashi spiralling to the ground. With some quick footwork and a bit of luck he managed to regain his balance at the last second, using the momentum from his fall for a back kick that slammed against Gai’s arms.

“You’ll have to do better than that, Rival!” Gai taunted.

Taking that as permission, Kakashi twisted his body and slammed his fist directly into Gai’s jaw. A move that was swiftly answered by Gai grabbing hold of his ankle and pulling him down to the ground with him.

“Where did you learn that!?”

“From you!” He was a little insulted Gai didn’t know that. It was that exact move that had landed Kakashi in the hospital with a broken nose. He was only returning the favour, without breaking Gai’s nose.

He hoped.

“Stop stealing my moves!” seeing Gai’s fist coming toward him, Kakashi ducked out of the just in time. It was close enough that he felt the air brush against his ear. Not wanting to leave an opening for another punch, he dove for Gai’s arms.

His right hand caught Gai’s left just as he pulled back for another punch. The sound of that hand slamming against the ground was satisfying, but not quite as satisfying as the moment his left hand came up to catch Gai’s right fist just because it struck him.

“Got you,” he grinned.

Straining to get free, Gai huffed. “It’s not over yet.”

Knowing what was coming next, he threw his left leg over Gai’s body and sat down hard on his chest, knocking the wind right out of him.

“Cheat,” Gai wheezed, tears welling up in his eyes while he fought for that sweet air that Kakashi had so rudely ejected from his lungs.

“There’s no such thing as cheating in a fight,” putting the majority of his weight into his hands, he used it to press Gai’s arms down against the ground and gave him a triumphant smile. A smile that was more visible in the twinkle of his eyes. “I win.”

“I could-”

“I dare you,” lifting himself up just slightly he watched Gai with calculating eyes. “Say one word that sounds like ‘gate’ and I’ll make sure you can’t breathe for the next five minutes.

Jutting out his bottom lip Gai turned his head away and huffed. The words he spoke were muttered under his breath, though that did nothing to stop Kakashi from hearing them. Still, that wasn’t satisfying enough for him.

He wanted to hear them said out loud.

“What was that?” he pushed, leaning in so his face was just inches away from Gai’s. “I didn’t quite hear you.”

Once again Gai mumbled his words, and once again Kakashi inched just a bit closer. He even made a show of tilting his head so his ear was closer to Gai’s mouth as if he was actually struggling to hear him.

“I concede,” he growled. “You win this time, Kakashi.”

“That’s what i thought,” turning his head he released his hold on Gai’s left hand and in one quick movement slipped his mask off, closed the small gap between them to press a quick kiss to Gai’s nose, and jumped to his feet while simultaneously placing his mask back in its place. “That makes our score, what was it again?”

“You’re being arrogant,” Gai huffed, though Kakashi couldn’t help but notice that his voice had shifted from annoyance to a much mellower tone. A tone that he could almost mistake for embarrassment.

“You love it when I'm arrogant,” he continued to tease, knowing full well that one wrong word could earn him a coveted spot on his rival’s shit list. “Oh, right, 21-19 in my favour.”

“Enjoy your lead while you can, Rival. I’m not going to lose to you again.”

Staring down at Gai, he chuckled. “As long as you don’t try to have another eating contest with me, that might just end up being true.” it wasn’t, of course. He’d keep training and getting stronger both to protect Konoha and to ensure Gai could always expect a challenge from him.

Even if he didn’t have much time to train right now with all of the missions Lord Third was sending Team Ro on, he’d find a way. Their challenges were one of the few things keeping him tethered to life. If he lost them-

Shaking his head, he let out a low, fond hum. “Winner gets to choose dinner as always, right?”

“Of course,” Gai confirmed. “Though I can probably guess what you’ll be wanting.”

“I’m not that obvious about my food choices,” he argued, though he knew it was a weak argument. He was, in fact, that obvious about his food choices. He just didn’t like being called out on it.

“Sushi?” Gai grinned, the bitterness of his loss seemingly washing away in the face of an opportunity to tease his rival.

“Sushi does sound good,” thinking about it, Kakashi found his stomach gurgling at the thought of sushi. It was a familiar food. A food he could trust would be the same every single time he had it.

He liked safe. It was comfortable and warm and never changing.

“Sushi,” he couldn’t help but roll his eyes when Gai threw a fist up into the air in a show of victory. The tiny victory he could claim after a devastating loss in their spare. “Just sushi. No extra special challenge to go with it.”

“It would just be an eating competition. Are you afraid of a fun little eating competition rival?”

“Afraid for me? No. Afraid i’ll have to carry you out after you puke your guts out all over the floor again? Absolutely.”

Gai’s hands came down hard and fast against his mouth, eyes darting around the area like he was searching for some spy hiding away in the bushes listening in on their conversation. “Don’t say that out loud,” he hissed.

Grabbing hold of his wrist, he gently pried one hand away from his mouth so he could speak again. “It’s not exactly a secret, you know that, right? People saw you getting sick.”

“People did, but not Genma,”

With just one simple word it all made sense. If Genma didn’t know that meant Gai hadn’t been ruthlessly teased by his teammate for making himself sick with food. A fact he was certain Gai appreciated, since he never liked being the target of Genma’s relentless jokes even if they were only in good fun.

“I stand by what I said,” he declared. “Just sushi, no eating competitions. Deal?”

Regarding him with cautious eyes, Gai sighed. “Agree,”

“Good, now,” once again he closed the distance between them and in the blink of an eye removed his mask so he could press another quick kiss against Gai’s nose before pulling the mask up once more. “Let’s go enjoy some sushi.”

“S-sushi,” Gai sputtered, and Kakahsi was certain that if he dared to place a hand against his forehead it would burst into flames from the sheer heat radiating off of him. Embarrassment was an especially adorable emotion to see on Gai.

Which was probably why he loved bugging him as much as he did. It just wasn’t as satisfying embarrassing anyone else, except maybe Tenzo.

---------------------------------

The night sky was painted with brilliant colours. Reds, yellows, blues. Once after the other they ignited, creating a beautiful scene for all of Konoha to watch. It was the second most beautiful thing Kakashi had ever seen.

“We’re going to go play some games, Sensei!” dragging his attention away from the fireworks, he looked over to where Gai and his team had been sitting enjoying the show in peaceful quiet. Now it was just Gai sitting there, his eyes still glued on the sky above while Tenten and Lee jumped off the roof.

Trailing behind them, Neji paused as he neared the edge. His eyes followed Tenten and Lee as they made a beeline for the nearest festival game, and only once they had reached it did he finally jump off of the roof and slowly make his way through the crowd to join them.

Once Neji had caught up to the other two, Kakashi decided to divert his attention to something more interesting, or rather someone.

His attention shifted slowly. First he examined the crowd below, picking out the people he knew and even taking a moment to watch as Asuma and Kurenai huddled up against each other while enjoying the fireworks from their little spot.

Once he’d gotten bored of that he lifted his gaze to the rooftop beside him where Gai and his students had been sitting. Now it was only Gai, head tilted back while his eyes chased every little firework in the sky.

It was a beautiful sight.

There was just one little problem with it.

The tears falling from Gai’s eyes. They didn’t belong. Today was supposed to be a joyous occasion. A day to celebrate Lady Tsunade taking on the mantle of Hokage, and an opportunity to watch Lee enjoying his recovery from a surgery that could have gone so very wrong.

There were still things in the world to cry about, of course, but Gai was the last person he expected to see crying while watching fireworks.

His next movement happened without much thought. Uncrossing his legs he planted his feet against the arch he’d been sitting comfortably on, and launched himself toward the rooftop Gai and his students had claimed as their viewing spot.

As soon as his feet touched the roof tiles he did a quick little spin and plopped down beside Gai with a happy sigh. “It’s beautiful.”

“It is,” Gai nodded in agreement. I think they added some new techniques to the show. It’s even more brilliant than the one they had on my birthday.”

“Is that why you’re crying?” Nudging him lightly in the shoulder he offered a small, gentle smile when he looked his way. “Sad that they made the celebration fireworks more beautiful?”

“No, it’s not that,” lowering his eyes, Gai seemed to think about his next words carefully. “When we were younger Papa would always tell me stories about the Hokage’s. How amazing they were.”

Settling into his spot, Kakashi waited for him to continue.

“He’d talk about all their greatest achievements, and the good they did for the village. Sometimes we’d try to guess who the next great hokage was.”

“And?” Another small bump of the shoulders, a silent cheer for Gai to continue. “Who did you two think would be the next hokage?”

“I voted for you, of course?” A proud smile spread across Gai’s face. “My eternal rival, the greatest Hokage konoha ever saw. That was always my guess.”

Kakashi cringed at the thought.

He appreciated Gai’s belief in him, but the last thing Konoha needed was someone like him in charge. In his experience, nothing good could come out of him being out in charge of others.

Part of him was still waiting for things to go wrong with his new team, even though he was doing everything he possibly could to make sure that didn’t happen.

“And Dai?” He pushed. “Who did he think it would be?”

The obvious answer was Jiraiya. He was one of the three Legendary Sannin, and the original choice before Minato-Sensei was ultimately given the position.

Dai never chose the obvious answer in anything, though. Just like his son he wanted to choose the less likely path.

The one other’s might not have thought of.

“Lady Tsunade,” a fond chuckle fell from his lips. “He always said she made the most sense. She led people, and created a whole set of rules for medical ninja to follow. She had the people’s respect in a way others didn’t.”

“Ah,” it all made sense now. Gai wasn’t crying because the fireworks were too pretty or he was sad, but because something his Papa had told him came true. A precious memory that he could think back on while also looking toward the future.

“You know what I think?” he snorted when the words fell from his mouth. He hadn’t intended to say anything but they’d just come out, as if he was destined to say them. “I think, if your papa was here, he’d be running around the village telling everyone that he knew Lady Tsunade would be our Hokage. That he was right.”

The laughter that rang out beside him was sweet. Like a delicious dessert for his ears.

“You’re right,” Gai agreed while still producing that beautiful sound. “He would do that. Maybe I should-”

His arm reached out to stop Gai before he could get up. “Let’s just enjoy the fireworks,” he suggested. “You can tell the village all about your Papa’s predictions tomorrow. Preferably while your students were around.”

He could just imagine Tenten glaring daggers into her Sensei’s back while he ran around the village telling everyone he could about how his Papa had known Lady Tsunade would be Hokage one day. Neji would pretend like he didn’t care what was going on, and Lee…

Well, Lee would most likely join him even if he didn’t know who Dai was.

“Right,” settling back, Gai turned those beautiful black eyes to Kakashi. “You know what else he thought would happen?”

“I bet,” he tilted his head, trying to think up the most ridiculous answer he could. “He thought that Konoha would have flying cats and that Shinobi would fight using only Taijutsu.”

Maybe that last part wasn’t as ridiculous as he’d hoped, but his guess had made Gai laugh and for him that was a victory.

“No,” his eyes softened. “He told me that one day you and I would be the best rivals in the entire village.”

“Really?” he raised an eyebrow, convinced Gai had to be messing with him just a little. “The best rivals? nothing …else?”

“Well, we were just pre-teens when he said that.”

“What would he think?” he asked, not expecting an answer back. “If he found out we were the best rivals, but also a bit more.”

Scooching closer, Gai laid his head down on his shoulder and looked up at the sky once more. “I think, deep down he might have known,” he whispered. “And even if he didn’t, I know he’d be cheering us on.”

Dai cheering them from wherever he happened to be was quite the image. Kakashi could only hope that his parents were right there with him with smiles on their faces while they watched their son fall hopelessly in love with his best friend.

Turning his head, he buried his face into Gai’s soft black hair and inhaled deeply. That sweet familiar smell filled his nostrils and time felt like it came to a complete stop around them.

“I love you, Kakashi.”

Closing his eyes, he kissed the top of Gai’s head.

It wasn’t as good as saying the words out loud, but the meaning behind it was clear.

---------------------------------------------

Kakashi was exhausted.

Not just from overusing his sharingan in the battle against Diedra, but from the journey home. His legs ached where Gai had wrapped his arms around them, holding him tight against his body as he ran through the desert and forests that made up their path back to Konoha. His neck held more tension in it than usual, most likely from flopping around wildly after he’d passed out.

He was exhausted and he hurt, but he was also incredibly happy.

“Chikao is wishing you a speedy recovery,” plopping down in the seat Shizune had left beside Kakashi’s bed, Gai pulled the moving table closer to him and set his bag down on it. “He also made sure to include all of your favorite rolls in the order. Said something about good food healing the body and the soul.”

“Sounds like something he’d say,” he watched as Gai untied the knot at the top of the bag and began extracting tupperwares. “I take it you opted for something other than sushi today,” he pointed to the bowl Gai had set out last. It wasn’t a standard dish shape for any of the sushi they purchased.

“A keen eye as always, Rival,” Gai chuckled. “I decided to have some curry today. It’s why it took me a bit longer to get our food.”

“Had to make an extra stop for your food,” watching as Gai set the curry a little further from the rest of the food, he smiled. It wasn’t likely that the curry would get all over his sushi and ruin it for him, but the thought Gai put into ensuring no accidents happened that might make it difficult for him to enjoy his food was touching. “Extra spicy as usual?”

“You know me too well, Rival.”

Once the food was set up and the lids removed, Gai turned his attention to Kakashi. “Are you feeling any better?”

“Since the last time I saw you? Not really,” it had only been a day since Gai’s last visit and very little had changed. If he had to guess, it would be another two days before he felt even a little more human. “I might have recovered quicker if someone hadn’t decided to have a race with me on his back.”

“I said I was sorry. Are you ever going to forgive me for that?”

Tilting his head back, Kakashi put on a show of thinking it over. He even made sure to pinch his eyebrows together as though he was putting some real thought into it. Then, when Gai’s leg began anxiously bouncing, proving that his little display was starting to get under his skin, he lowered his head and looked directly at him.

“I can forgive you,” he answered with a cool tone. “On one condition.”

The smile that lit up Gai’s face when he finished was so brilliant it put the sun to shame. “Let me guess,” he leaned forward, eyes searching Kakashi’s for something. “You want a kiss?”

“Am I that easy to read?”

“For me, Yes,” he chuckled. “If you said that to anyone else it’s likely they’d assume the worst.”

No truer words had ever been spoken.

Even people who didn’t consider him a cold blooded killer were more likely to assume he’d want to punish them in some way for putting him through such an unpleasant experience, and in some cases they might be right.

If it was Genma he’d probably want to have a spar as soon as he healed, and that was guaranteed to go poorly for Genma.

Asuma might be forced to give up his smokes for a week. A verified form of torture for him, according to Kurenai and Genma.

“Well?” tapping a finger against his lips, he waited.

Sighing dramatically, Gai placed his hands on his legs and pushed himself up out of the chair. “If it will get you to forgive me, I guess I have no choice,” he stepped forward. Rather than just swooping down for a quick over the mask kiss like he usually would, he lifted a hand and stopped just short of the mask.

Words weren’t needed at this point. Kakashi knew without hearing the question that Gai was asking him for permission.

Something he always did when he wanted to remove his mask, regardless of where they were.

Nodding, a smile stretched across his lips when Gai reached out the rest of the way and tugged the mask down. Once his face was free of the soft fabric, Gai swooped in. His lips crashed against Kakashi’s in a hard, heated kiss.

Kakashi’s hand came up to rest against Gai’s arm, fingers curling into the soft fabric of his jumpsuit. Their lips sealed together, the sweet taste he’d come to crave lingering on his lips.

There was no way he could really describe that taste.

It wasn’t similar to anything he’d ever tasted before, but it was comforting. If ‘Home’ has a taste he was certain it would be something similar to this.

Gai broke the kiss first, moving back slowly only to stop when Kakashi caught his bottom lip between his teeth. He didn’t intend to do any real harm with the move, just to keep Gai there for a little bit longer, but when Gai continued to pull back he sank his teeth into the tender skin.

The cry Gai let out was ear piercing. Releasing his hold, he backed away as quickly as he could and watched as his partner pinched his bottom lip between his thumb and forefinger and held it out so Kakashi could see the blood trickling from the fresh bite mark.

“Sorry,” he winced.

Gai’s tongue swiped over the wound, gathering the blood that had begun to pool around it and swallowing it. Releasing his lip, he sighed. “You really need to be careful with those teeth of yours, Kakashi,” he winced, the injury clearly hurting more when he tried to speak.

“I forget sometimes,” he admitted, though it wasn’t exactly true. He was aware of the damage he could do with his teeth, having taken a chunk out of his enemies a few times in the past. When he wanted to bite Gai, usually when they were fooling around, he always made sure to be cautious of just how hard he bit.

This bite wasn’t exactly voluntary. He hadn’t thought about sinking his teeth into his partners lips, but rather had just reacted in desperation to keep their kiss going.

“I guess it’s only fair,” Gai settled back into his seat while gently prodding at his bottom lip, wincing every time he dared to touch it. “Let’s just eat. Maybe I can ignore the gross metallic taste of my own blood if I cover it with curry.”

More than happy to move on and forget about his mistake, Kakashi grabbed the table and repositioned it so it was between them. Once it was in a spot he could comfortable reach, he grabbed the chopsticks Gai had set out for him and immediately snatched up a piece of salmon nigiri.

“Try not to burn yourself,” he warned, noting the steam coming off of Gai’s curry when he popped the lid off. “Might hurt a bit more with the- you know.” he gestured to his own mouth.

“Everything is going to hurt more,” as if making a point, Gai cringed when his top teeth touched the very top of his lip on that first syllable.

Not wanting to torture his boyfriend anymore, Kakashi plopped the nigiri into his mouth and enjoyed the rich taste of the salmon on top of savoury rice. As he did, Gai dipped his fork into his bowl and came up with a heap of red curry. The stuff looked like a specialized torture device to Kakashi, but it was Gai’s favorite food so he kept his opinion to himself as long as no one tried to feed it to him.

Watching as Gai placed the fork into his mouth, he waited for that satisfied hum that always vibrated in his throat on that first bite of his meal.

The hum didn’t come, though. Instead, there was a moment where Gai seemed to be contemplating his meal, and then the next thing he knew his boyfriend had thrown down his fork, surged to his feet, and rushed toward the bathroom all while screaming in agony.

Kakashi had never seen Gai react that way to curry.

“Gai!?” he called after him, wondering how pissed Lady Tsunade would be if he got out of bed to check on his boyfriend. With each second that passed with that pained screaming ringing out through the room, he started to worry less about what Lady Tsunade would think, and more about if his boyfriend was going to survive whatever was happening to him.

“Gai!?”

“It burns!”

“The curry?” Kakashi raised an eyebrow. He’d seen Gai eat all types of curry over the years and none of them had made him react like this. Even the spiciest of curries were usually enjoyed with a happy hum and at worst a dog like pant as the heat settled into his tongue.

“The bite mark!”

Upon hearing that, Kakashi cringed. Just like that, the entire scene made sense,

Gai wasn’t complaining because his spicy curry was too hot for him to handle. He was complaining because the curry’s spice had gone into an open wound. It was like pouring hot sauce directly into a cut.

Pure, agonizing torture even for the strongest of shinobi.

“Ahhh!”

The door to his hospital room slammed open suddenly, and there in the doorway Shizune stood with wild eyes darting around the room. “What happened!?” she demanded, looking directly at Kakashi and frowning when she realized that it wasn’t him screaming. “What’s going on!?”

“Gai…might have gotten spicy curry with a bite mark.”

“A- a bite mark?” her face scrunched up as she tried to process what she’d been told. “Did he drop it on his arm or something? When did he get a bite mark!?”

“About a minute ago,” another scream rang out from the bathroom, followed by the sound of water falling from a faucet. “I might have bitten him.”

Seeming to understand what she’d been told, Shizune sighed. “I can’t,” she declared, turning around and walking straight out of the room. “I just can’t with you two!”

Listening to her complaints fading down the hallway and Gai’s agonized screams dying down in the bathroom, Kakashi began to laugh. A slow, fond chuckle at first that quickly shifted to bright, joyful laughter.

It seemed cruel for him to be laughing at the situation. His boyfriend was in the bathroom suffering a fate that could possibly be worse than death and Shizune was having a breakdown because of the stress they were putting her under, but he couldn’t help it.

Everything about the situation was utterly ridiculous and somehow it felt so perfectly right.

#fic recs #Senseis #kakashi hatake #maito gai #wonderul writing incredible characterization #chef kiss chef kiss chef kiss

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