Work Text:
As dawn broke in Konoha, the sunlight dancing on the bedroom curtains seemed to outline newly blossomed flowers on the cherry blossom tree outside your house. You felt a faint smile grow on your face as you shifted in your sheets. It was finally springtime in Konoha and with this came the blossoming of the foliage silhouetting the village and the restlessness of cabin fever pushing people out of their homes and outside to join the changing scenery. You reach a hand to search the bed next, not surprised to find it empty and cold. It was 7 in the morning, meaning Gai had been up and training for nearly two hours now. Living with Gai inspired you to be more of a morning person (although it took a lot of convincing to wake up at the same time as Gai), so you reluctantly crawled out of bed.
As you made your way into your kitchen and living area, you opened the windows and curtains to enjoy the view of cherry blossom petals falling like snow as you worked. Once the evidence of spring was visible, you began your yearly tradition of spring cleaning. Now that Gai had move in with you, your spring cleaning would extend farther than sweeping and mopping to also include mending his jumpsuits and leg warmers. Gai somehow managed to split the seam of his jumpsuit in the groin area, most likely due to his use of kicking motions. This secret slipped out during a sake filled night with Kakashi and Asuma, who nearly ended up in cardiac arrest from laughing so hard. You still found Gai’s green jumpsuits charming, despite the teasing you received about it from your closest friend Kurenai.
Scurrying about, you managed to tidy up your humble home in just a few hours before dropping your tired body on the couch and slowly slipping into a light nap.
You had just begun to fall into a deeper sleep when a booming laugh shook you from your slumber.
“Sleeping this beautiful day away, my youthful flower?” Gai was seated at your feet on the sofa with a palm on your shin. He lightly massaged your legs as you groggily sat up straight to kiss his cheek.
“Sorry, I broke into cleaning mode and got carried away, like usual. I sewed your jumpsuits for you, by the way.” You smiled at Gai, continuing to kiss his cheek between sentences.
Wrapping an arm around your waist, Gai hoisted you up into his arm as he stood up from the sofa.
“Thank you, my beautiful blossom! Your youthful passion for your beautiful home inspires me! I hope you are not too tired because I have a surprise for you.” Gai beamed at you, carrying you out of the living space.
Please don’t be another green jumpsuit that I’ll have to fix, especially not one for me…. You thought. To your surprise, Gai carried you out to the back of your house. Setting you down on your feet, Gai moved swiftly to a bag of fertilizer, dozens of trays of flowers and various gardening tools. Your eyes flicked from the garden supplies to Gai’s with a confused look on your face.
Gai’s head snapped back with laughter. “What, (Y/N)? You’ve never tested out your green thumb before? I know how much you adore spring and I wanted to create a homage to your beauty.” He took a step towards you, taking your hand in his as he pulled you closer. “I wanted to build something with you that we can take care of. Our own little flower garden.” Gai spoke softly yet musically, with his large hands enveloping yours completely.
Feeling your cheeks flush like a foolish schoolgirl (much to his amusement), you shifted your focus to the tray of flowers Gai had bought. They were a beautiful array of (Y/F/C) flowers and smaller ones to complement those.
“Tell Ino she did a great job picking these out.” You teased playfully.
You could see tears welling up in the corner of Gai’s eyes. “I’m hurt, (Y/N). I spent well over an hour in that shop, carefully selecting only the most beautiful and youthful flowers for you, my love!”
Rolling your eyes, you pushed Gai towards the supplies. “Then tell Ino I said ‘sorry’ for the headache you probably caused. Now, you ready to get to work?” You handed Gai a trowel which he quickly snatched from you and held in the air. A smile erupted on his face and you couldn’t help but be swayed by his infectious positivity. While you loved to tease Gai about his antics, you couldn’t say you didn’t love them.
There was a small strip of soil right up against the back of your house that you two determined would be the best spot for the garden. Gai took to the soil with great enthusiasm and trowel at hand, tilling up the hardened soil. You cut a small slit in the fertilizer bag and dumped the contents onto the freshly turned soil. Crouching down next to Gai, the two of you worked the fertilizer into the bed, and you purposefully brushed your hand against Gai’s each chance you got.
Feeling your back starting to ache, you leaned back to stretch out your muscles. You wiped a dirty hand across your forehand to prevent sweat from getting in your eyes, only to leave a line of dirt above your brow instead.
“Save your soil for the flowers, (Y/N). You’ve already blossomed in my eyes.” Gai brushed the dirt away with a swipe of his thumb. Once your forehead was clean, Gai left a soft kiss in the middle of your forehand before turning his attention back to the flower bed.
You worked in tandem with him, waiting for him to dig a small indent with his trowel before you placed the flower in it and filling in the soil around the flower. The few dozen flowers Gai bought would have made for a long afternoon of planting but with his agility and how much you enjoyed the little moments you got to spend with him, you found yourself watering your finished flower garden in no time.
The two of you stood back to appreciate the view of the garden, with Gai wrapping an arm around your waist and holding you close.
“I love it, Gai. I promise I won’t let it wither and die when you are away on missions.” You mused, placing a hand on Gai’s chest. You felt the soft vibrations of his laugh buzzing in his chest.
“I hope so, (Y/N). I saw what happened to that cactus Kurenai got you for your birthday last year.” Gai pulled you into a hug so tightly you froze for a moment before you thought to hug him back. “Just another thing I have to look forward to when I return from my missions. Your youthful, shinning face and our own little flower garden.”
You managed enough force to push yourself back from his embrace just enough to tilt your head upwards to kiss him. Gai reciprocated by devoting as much passion into the kiss as he had with his hug.
When the two of you pulled back from the kiss to breathe, Gai swept you off your feet and into his arms in one fluid motion. “Now, I believe someone has a nap to return to.”
“Only if you’ll join me.” You asked softly, wrapping an arm around his neck.
Gai flashed you another one of his blinding smiles. “Only if you’ll train with me tomorrow morning.”
You groaned as he carried you back into the house, knowing that for once you were just too tired to argue with him. “You win this round, Gai.”