Work Text:
Kakashi woke in the middle of the night.
He blinked a few times to clear his eyes, and turned his head to look at the alarm clock on the nightstand. The blaring red display read 3:28am.
He let out a quiet groan. He still had plenty of time to rest, if he could fall back to sleep of course. He rolled over to face you.
He was rendered breathless for a few moments but quickly recovered. You were stunning. You were still asleep and soft snores escaped your slightly open mouth. He carefully reached out to move the strands of hair that had fallen over your face. He tucked them behind your ear, his finger ghosted the shell of it.
You looked so peaceful and serene in the soft moonlight that filtered in the window. All your worries and daily stresses were forgotten in rest. He delicately pulled the blanket up around your shoulders more, covering you from the chilly early morning air.
Memories of your wedding day flashed through his mind. How nervous yet excited to start the next chapter of your love story the two of you had been. His heart had been in his throat most of the day. You both had shed a few happy tears, you were both just so happy for your future together. He remembered how beautiful you were, you had robbed him of breath many times. Not that you weren't always beautiful of course, you had just stolen his breath once again moments ago and you weren't even trying.
Another thought crossed his mind. Your anniversary. It was in the next few weeks.
Has it really been 10 years already? It seems like just yesterday we were dating.
He smiled softly to himself. Here you were, ten years later still very much in love. The only thing that changed, was that it wasn't just the two of you anymore. There were now four members of the Hatake family. (Not counting the ninken of course. If you were to include them because they were family after all, the Hatake pack was twelve strong.) He decided he should check on your children since he was awake.
He carefully got out of bed, trying his best not to jostle it or wake you up. He was also careful not to hit any creaky spots on the floor.
As he made his way to the room your children shared, he thought back to how afraid he had been to become a father. Those years without his own father were rough. He had never had the best luck, and was overwhelmed with the fear that they would have to go through the same experience. That he would be seriously injured or even killed and he would leave all of you alone. But at the same time his desire to be a dad was just as strong.
He was so happy he had pushed his fears aside. Not to say he wasn't still scared and anxious from time to time, fatherhood had its ups and downs for sure, but he wouldn't trade it for anything. They were two of the three best things to ever happen to him. He loved them with his whole heart.
Your oldest had turned eight recently and would start at the academy soon. The youngest was five. They were both so bright and amazing. But you had both decided no matter how talented either of them were, they weren't going to promote any earlier than the standard ages. You wanted them to enjoy being kids. To make friends and form strong bonds with those around them. The shinobi life would always be there, but they wouldn't be little forever and you wanted to enjoy your time with them to the fullest.
He quietly entered their room and made his way to your youngest's bed. He watched for the soft rise and fall of their chest. Their mouth hung open and he could see a line of drool escaping from the corner, soaking their pillow. The stuffed animal they usually slept with had been dropped on the floor. He retrieved it and returned it to their arms, their grip tightened around it subconsciously. He smiled and placed a soft kiss on their forehead as he pulled their blanket up a little more.
He turned to check on your oldest who was asleep in a starfish-like position, sprawled across their bed. They had kicked their blanket off completely. He again first confirmed they were breathing, then placed their blanket on them. They rolled onto their side suddenly and he froze, scared they would wake up. He waited a few moments, but they were still asleep. A soft, relieved sigh escaped him. He placed a kiss to their forehead as well.
He made his way to the door, and turned to look at both of them once more. He leaned against the door frame, arms folded across his chest.
He was suddenly overwhelmed with an intense wave of love for the three of you, and his eyes quickly filled with happy tears. He had spent so many years alone, done so many things wrong that he never dreamed he could have or even be a part of something so wonderful. Sometimes he still felt like he was dreaming. That he would wake up one day to find the three of you gone and he would be on his own again.
A few tears spilled over and dripped off his chin. He wondered -not for the first time- what he had done to deserve his little family. He figured somewhere in his dark, miserable past…
Somewhere in the years after his father's death, when he had been a self righteous loner. Somewhere after the tragedies of Obito, then Rin, Minato-Sensei and Kushina. Somewhere amongst his bloody years spent in the ANBU. Somewhere between what he thought to be a million failings as leader of his precious Team 7. Somewhere in all of that, somewhere hidden in all the mistakes he'd made, he must have done something good . Something right.
He could never think of what it was, and it was probably ridiculously small. But he thanked every one of his lucky stars that he had done whatever it was. He was so incredibly grateful for all of you.
He covered his mouth with his hand as he choked back a sob, tears ran over his fingers. The house was quiet and he didn't want to wake any of you. His heart was overflowing, and it was almost painful. But in a good sort of way. His love for all of you ran deep, sure and strong, to his very core.
He suddenly felt your arms wrap around his middle from behind, you rested your cheek against his back. He hadn't heard you approach and was slightly startled. But he didn't flinch or make a sound. He was still quietly crying and hoped you wouldn't notice.
You held him for a moment before whispering:
"What are you doing up, darling?"
Darling. How many times had you called him that? He had lost count over the years and it didn't really matter, everytime you said it was like the first. It always made him feel so loved. Precious even.
He cleared his throat softly as he didn't completely trust his voice. His hand moved from his mouth to gently caress one of your hands that were resting on his stomach. He subconsciously fiddled with your wedding ring.
"Oh, I woke up and decided I'd check on them before going back to sleep."
A few more silent tears slipped down his cheeks. He brought your hand up to his face. He laid gentle kisses across your knuckles.
You turned to press a kiss to his back in return. A soft whimper escaped him before he could even think to stop it. The tenderness of the moment combined with his already flowing emotions was too much.
In a swift moment, you were in front of him, your hands tenderly cupped his face as you quietly gasped.
"You're crying Kakashi, is something wrong?" You gently coaxed, a worried expression on your face. Your thumbs quickly worked to wipe away his tears.
"No."
He lazily wrapped his arms around your waist, turned his head and pressed a quick kiss against your palm.
"Everything is so right."
He bent to kiss you. He could taste the salt of his tears on your lips. He poured as much love and adoration into the kiss as he could. It was too quick because you started to smile into it and it made him break into one too. He pulled away and leaned his forehead against yours. He sniffled softly.
"Thank you."
You loosely circled his neck with your arms, tangled the fingers of one hand in the hair at the base of his neck and asked "For what?"
"For being here."
He paused.
"For loving me, whether or not you should. You're one of the three best things that ever happened to me."
“You're welcome. We love you so much.”
He let out a happy hum as he glanced over at your children again, a fond smile on his face. You did the same and rested your head against his shoulder. A content sigh escaped your lips.
You both stood there a few moments, watching over your children. Relishing in the soft silence.
You tilted your head up and kissed his jaw.
"Let's get back to bed."
He accepted the hand you extended towards him and trailed you back to your room.
You settled into bed, but neither of you fell back to sleep. Rather, you stayed up and just held each other. You quietly reminisced on the last ten years and the years before that. The first time you met. Your first date. When he proposed. Your wedding. Holding your children for the first time.
You spent hours laughing, kissing, smiling.
The warm pink and orange tones of the early morning sun started to spill into your room. The excitement of the rest of your lives hung tangible in the air.