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He's been retired for almost three years when Kakashi finally notices that he and Gai have somehow become That couple. The one that presses kisses to their partners knuckles while they're walking. The one that sit on park benches just so they can look at each other in the soft sunlight. The one that everyone rolls their eyes at. The one that everyone secretly wants to be.
Kakashi is still not totally sure when he and Gai moved from a strained rivalry to a strained friendship to a strained romance to what they have now. Which is unquestionably the kind of marital bless that comes from decades of unfaltering adoration and trust. He thinks it must have been sometime between taking on their students and start of the fourth shinobi war which he knows was a decent amount of time but it really just felt like one long rush of miserable event after miserable event made tolerable (like always) because of Gai's steady presence at his side.
The Kakashi of that time would have scoffed at anyone thinking he relied on Gai for stability. The Kakashi of now knows that Gai has always been key in the happy moments of his life and relishes spending as much time as possible trying to make Gai as happy as he has made Kakashi.
The Kakashi of now knows that the Kakashi of before was an emotionally stunted idiot. But he guesses it couldn't have been that bad because Gai has loved him through it all.
Speaking of Gai loving him no matter what, Kakashi should probably clean up after the pack like he has been promising to do for almost a week. He rolls off their couch with as little grace as possible, making sure to give well deserved scratches to all the dogs clustered around him and squeezes Pakkun's paw until the dog purposefully drools all over his hand. Satisfied that everyone knows who the alpha is, Kakashi pushes himself up from a crouch. He stretches leisurely, before pacing into the kitchen to grab some lettuce for Gai's turtles and the broom to sweep up the absurd amount of dog hair in their house.
He opens the back door to send the multitudes of dogs scuttling into the backyard so he can get to work. His newest stray whines at him from where she's huddled behind the couch and he wonders for a second if it's worth it to try and coerce her into the backyard with the rest of the pack before deciding against it and gently stroking her silky ears instead. It's okay that she's a little nervous around the others right now. He understands what it's like to want to just stay where it's comfortable. Eventually the pack will win her over; god knows they have plenty of experience dealing with reluctant animals who don't want to integrate into society.
Kakashi sweeps up what he can of the fur and sets about organizing the toys, beds and blankets that are currently strewn about the living room. Not that it will last long but Gai will appreciate the effort. He's just switching out the water bowls when he hears a soft noise at his feet. The nervous stray has edged closer to him while he cleaned and is peering up at him with mismatched eyes. "Hey there, Brave Girl."
Her tail thumps the ground a few times as he slowly leans down and rubs under her chin. "You're so brave, coming over here for pets, such a good girl, such a brave good girl." She seems to like the nonsense Kakashi is muttering to her, wagging her tail a little more confidently, so Kakashi reaches into his pocket and pulls out one of the many dog treats he keeps on hand. She takes it carefully from his hand and licks his arm in thanks. He's still murmuring praise to her when he hears the door unlock.
"MY LOVE?"
"I'm in the kitchen, Gai." Kakashi calls as he sneaks the dog at his feet another treat before the rest of the pack comes pilling in from outside to greet Gai. She darts out of the way as he leans down to presses a kiss to Gai's cheek, trying not to trip on the clambering dogs circling his legs and Gai's wheelchair. "How are Lee and Tenten?" He asks while Gai enthusiastically reacquaints himself with the boisterous dogs that are acting like Gai has been gone weeks instead of a few hours.
Gai immediately lights up and starts to regal Kakashi with Lee's latest story about Metal and Tenten's complaints about her chunin team. Kakashi smiles as he watches his husband lovingly describe in painstaking detail how their adoptive grandson had said 'soulp' this morning which was vastly different from last weeks 'soulb'. He slides his hand into Gai's hair (which is just starting to grey) and idly strokes his thumb over Gai's cheek.
The Kakashi of before would be annoyed with the never ending account about people he told himself he didn't care about. The Kakashi of now is delighted to learn that Lee is excelling at fatherhood just like Gai and Kakashi both knew he would. He is also delighted to learn that Tenten is a ruthless teacher and has one of the best trained teams Leaf has seen in years.
The dogs have calmed by the time Gai is finished and Kakashi herds them out of the kitchen in order to start dinner. He's just nudging the fridge door closed with his hip, hands full of ingredients, when he hears Gai exclaim, "Kakashi! Did you clean? Our home looks incredible!!"
He drops off the food on the counter and leans on Gai's shoulder as they survey the slightly less furry living room. He isn't sure if incredible is the right word but he sure does love their home. This home that he was sure he would never have.
They work just as flawlessly in the kitchen as they ever did on the battlefield. Kakashi pretends not to notice when Gai slips the dogs scraps of food and Gai pretends not to notice when Kakashi's hands start to wander down his husband's broad chest. He does a very excellent job of ignoring Kakashi until one hand gets so exceptionally adventurous that Gai has to retaliate.
The dinner that survives is cold when they get back to it later.
Much later.