Chapter Text
Kakashi was sitting on the swing hanging from a tree on the Academy grounds. He watched as more and more of his classmates were being picked up by their parents or guardians. Due to the recent ordinance, no children were allowed to go home on their own, so Kakashi was stuck there until his father would come back and take him home. It was so stupid, he knew his way from school, he was more than capable to get home on his own… Especially since he had no way of knowing when his father would be back. He was out of the village on a mission and he could only guess how long this one would take. Probably days. During the last time he was gone for a week.
Kakashi was not the only one still waiting; that weird boy Gai was there as well. Kakashi had been watching him during classes - he was so bad at ninjutsu it was actually funny. He did not know it was possible to make a clone only of your clothes! Gai was also always passing out when they were practicing genjutsu. Since he had nothing better to do anyway, he resigned himself to stare at him. It seems like while waiting, Gai was keeping himself busy with some ridiculous amount of push-ups.
Every moment was good for some additional training (and he had a goal to reach 5000 laps around the school before he would be ready to challenge Kakashi!). He was not worried, he knew that his Papa would show up soon; he was in or nearby the village on one of his D-rank gennin missions. Gai hated all the ridiculing and pointing at both of them, and somehow even more since his Papa never paid any attention to the sneering. He still remembered that one time he tried to defend his name and challenged some two adult ninjas… They beaten him up. He was angry just remembering that, and even more angry because Kakashi showed up out of nowhere and just kicked their butts like it was nothing and then had the nerve to laugh at him as well! Hatake Sakumo, his famous father - the White Fang of Konoha - just stood aside, waiting for his son to finish the beating.
It was kind of surreal when Gai was thinking about it later.
Just as predicted - when the teacher was getting steadily more annoyed with the extended waiting – Dai finally showed up at the premises. He was a little sweaty and was panting from jogging and had dirt stains around his knees. He raised his hand in a greeting.
'Papa!' yelled Gai, jumping onto his feet at the sight. Grinning, he patted his little, sore palms clean.
'Gai! Sorry I'm late, I grabbed an additional mission today!' he explained immediately with an apologetic look on his face and crouched down, opening his arms.
'That’s so cool!' He ran towards his dad and they clashed hard, exchanging strong hugs. Gai got a loud - and probably scratchy - kiss on the forehead.
Kakashi only stared at them in silence, his feet dangling in the air. He grabbed the swing ropes a bit tighter, watching the scene. His father would never. Sometimes he would get silly with him, of course (which was embarrassing), but not in the middle of the street!
'Good evening.' The teacher looked around, glancing at Kakashi. 'One more kid is left and I can go home too!'
'Oh, so there is someone still waiting?' asked Dai, surprised and followed the teacher's gaze. ‘I thought my boy was the only one!’ Dai stood up with a chuckle and patted Gai on the head. The boy squeezed Papa’s leg in a tight hug.
'It's Kakashi!' whispered Gai loudly.
'Oh, this Kakashi-kun?' whispered Dai back. His son nodded energetically, puffing his flushed cheeks.
'As much as I'd like to, I can't let him go home', sighed the teacher. 'And we are both stuck here.' He scratched his head and fixed the headband. He really wanted to go home already.
'Can any adult pick him up, or does it have to be a parent or a guardian?’ Dai gestured at the boy sulking in the background. ‘We know each other. I know Mr. Hatake as well’ he assured with a smile. It might had been an overstatement (they merely crossed paths a few times, he used to be in White Fang’s team a few times years ago), but he could not leave the poor kid alone like that. ‘He's probably on a mission; he might not come back soon…'
'Yeah, sure thing. As long as kids leave the school with an adult.' The man shrugged, not really bothered. Kakashi was his best student and could easily run if needed, but he still could not let him go alone.
'Yosh then, it's decided! Gai, dear son, go get your friend! We can't leave him like that!'
Gai beamed at him and sprinted towards the swing.
'Oi, Kakashi! Let's go!' He waved his hand to get his attention.
'My father isn't here yet', he noticed. ‘I have to wait.’ He dangled his feet in the air.
'We know he’s not! My papa is taking you with us!’'
Kakashi blinked at him and after a second of hesitation, he jumped off the swing.
'Fine.' He pushed his hands into his pockets and followed Gai to his father. He was not going to complain about having a chance to get home sooner.
Dai was waiting for them by the gate.
'Hello, Kakashi-kun, I've heard a lot about you!' he boomed, smiling at both of them. ‘Any idea when your dad will be back? He's late because of a mission I presume?' Dai scratched his chin. Kakashi could not help but stare at the stubble; it was making sounds. That kiss was prickly, he could bet.
'Yes. He went yesterday. He said he will be back in a few days.'
Dai gasped, clutching his chest.
'And he left you all by yourself?!'
Kakashi nodded, pushing both hands deeper in the pockets.
'I can take care of myself.’
'Of course you can! You are a big little ninja after all!' he roared and laughed, tossing his head back. 'But still! To leave you just for yourself for days like that!’ He shook his head dramatically, clenching a fist. ‘Yosh! We are taking you home with us!'
Kakashi jerked his head further up, to look at the green man in disbelief. What?
'But first, we will stop off at your house for your things. We will also leave a note for Mr. Hatake. He has to know where he can find you!'
'I can just be dropped off…' he tried.
'Absolutely not, my dear boy! I am responsible for your well-being now that I picked you up!'
'...Fine?' Kakashi hid his face a bit deeper in his scarf and sighed. He heard enough about the man to know that he won't back off now that he had set himself on the task. Kakashi could easily just run from them, but he did not really want to. After all, it sounded better than being alone at home again. He never admitted it to his father, but it was a bit scary sometimes - especially during storms (and there was currently season for them), or when he could hear strange noises at night. He would have to ask him to teach him the summoning technique he was telling him about… He had a contract with ninja dogs! Kakashi wanted to have a contract with dogs too.
It took them a little while to get to Hatake's house. Kakashi let them in and skipped to his room to pack his pajamas, some clothes and a toothbrush. He decided against taking his teddy (he had his scarf, so he would be fine – he was not a little kid anymore to take his teddy to someone’s house! Besides, he was mostly using it to practice his substitution technique anyway). He also scribbled a note for his father to let him know that he was with Gai and his dad.
'Ready?' asked Gai excitedly the moment Kakashi joined them back in the kitchen.
'Yes.' He placed the note on the table. Dai bent a little to read it.
'Oh, a fine message!' he praised immediately. Kakashi didn't know if that was his intention, but it made him feel a little fuzzy on his cheeks. He was probably feeling stupid - writing a note was hardly praiseworthy, and Dai looked at him like he just finished 1000 push-ups in one go. Was it even possible to do so many push-ups? He would have to ask dad later. 'Allow me to add some details! My address and home phone number in case he would like to contact us that way.'
'Fine.' He handed a pen to Dai. He winked at the kid with a ridiculously big smile and leaned over the table. Right below Kakashi’s (wonky) note, Dai left his own, in which he assured Mr. Hatake that his lovely son is taken care of and would be staying at his home. He provided his contact details and signed it.
Gai wanted to add something too, so he drew a smiley face and a little turtle next to his Papa’s signature. Dai was thrilled and immediately complimented him.
Kakashi closed the door on their way out and hid the key in the usual spot. He joined Gai and his father, pouting a little under his protective layers. Dai was weird, but in a very nice and comforting way.
‘Okay then, my fellow ninjas! It was a success, however we cannot relax just yet! The next mission is… Dinner!’
Hatake only stared at him, holding straps of his pug-backpack.
Mission dinner? He slowly looked at Gai, who was getting visibly pumped at the thought. Suddenly Gai’s everyday antics made perfect sense.
‘So, Kakashi-kun! Any requests?’
‘No.’
Dai laughed again and placed his hand on the boy’s head, ruffling his already messy hair.
‘It’s alright, no need to be shy! Is there something you don’t like? Or would you like to eat something specific?’
Kakashi tried to push his big palm away, but without success.
‘...I am not shy!’ he huffed. ‘I only do not like spicy and tempura.’
‘No spicy and no tempura, got it!’ He put his other hand on Gai's head and steered both boys towards the road. ‘I was thinking about making gyoza tonight and some karaage as well.’
‘Ayyy!’ Gai threw his hands in the air. ‘Yes! Yes to both!’
Dai chuckled and looked at his additional baby.
‘Kakashi-kun, does it sound good, or would you like some noodles?’
Hatake shook his head.
‘Gyoza is fine.’
‘Gyoza it is then!’
Gai made another loud sound of excitement. Kakashi looked at him, a little bewildered, but he definitely could not complain. When his father was home there were no questions on what he would like, he would just be called to help in the kitchen.
It seemed like Gai lived literally on the opposite side of the village. On the way there, they stopped off at a supermarket to buy some missing ingredients; Dai immediately took this as a chance to challenge the boys to find half of the list faster than him.
Kakashi, encouraged by the two green individual’s silliness, followed the suit and together with Gai, they ran off between the shelves, giggling.
Dai sprinted off as well. In the end, they all met at the same place and - according to Dai - they were all winners, because the boys found everything ultra-fast and did a great job, and Dai was a winner because he was blessed with such wonderful opponents to race with.
The house was smaller than Kakashi’s, its condition seemed to be a bit worse as well. It was not surprising, after all, gennins salary was not exactly great. Dai was still doing whatever he could to ensure Gai had everything he could need.
‘Come on, let’s leave stuff in my room’ said Gai and grabbed Kakashi by his elbow, pulling him in the process. Kakashi followed him silently, looking around curiously.
‘You have a TV’ he noticed when they were alone in Gai’s bedroom.
‘Uh-uh! Papa likes to watch in the evenings, he has this soap opera going on…’ He turned around from his desk where he just dropped his homework. ‘You don’t?’
‘I don’t watch soap operas.’ He shrugged. ‘We don’t have a TV. Dad doesn’t need one, he either writes reports or reads something when he has time.’
‘Huh.’ Gai tilted his head to the side, and grinned. ‘If we will be fast with the dinner, we can make it for another episode of the series I’ve been watching!’
Kakashi gently placed his backpack by the wall.
‘Sure.’
‘And do some stretching in the meantime, that’s my favorite part!’
‘I don’t know why I just… Thought you would just sit and watch.’
Gai only laughed and gestured at the door.
‘Come on, let’s help Papa with the food! It will be faster and I’m super hungry!’
Kakashi made a small sound in full agreement and once again just followed Gai. Usually it was the other way around, and the boy chuckled silently to himself.
‘O-ho, could that be that my two little soldiers came to my aid?!’ inquired Dai with a big smile on his face, fastening an apron around his waist. He was already changed, the dirty green romper was gone.
‘That is exactly what it is!’ confirmed Gai and stood next to his dad. He glanced at Kakashi, who was shorter than him, and took a step back. He produced a tiny stool. ‘Here!’
Kakashi only stared at him, but remained silent. He was not that small, thank you very much, but he used the stool anyway. Now he was actually taller. Take that, Gai.
Dai delegated the tasks and prepared tea in the meantime. Cooking went smoothly; they were making a fine team, and soon they found themselves sitting around the table with dishes full of steaming, fresh food in front of them.
‘So, how was your day? Has anything interesting happened at school today?’ asked Dai with probably a hundredth big, warm smile.
Gai almost choked on his morsel.
`We practiced with shurikens!’ he exclaimed and his father gawked in awe. ‘And started with bows!’
‘Ohohohoho, how was it?’
‘I didn’t miss!’ He smiled and wiped his cheek. ‘With shurikens, with all of them!’
‘That’s an improvement since the last time!’
‘I didn’t get the center, but none of them missed the shooting target!’
‘That’s my boy!’
Kakashi stared at them, playing with his chopsticks, the food untouched.
‘I’ve heard that you are on the top of your class’ said Dai, turning his attention to the other boy. Kakashi nodded. ‘That’s amazing! You must have absolutely fantastic skills! How many did you score?’
‘All of them’ he said with a matter-of-fact voice. ‘Right in the center. And with the bow too.’
‘Even if you only started it today?’ He clutched at his chest, looking at him with pure amazement. ‘Woah! Crazy aim!’
Kakashi nodded slowly, looking at Dai’s moving mustache. It was almost as animated as Gai’s eyebrows.
‘I do aim well, but Gai has better technique with the bow. With posture.’ He made a little gesture with his hand. ‘The teacher did not have to correct him.’
Gai stared at him in disbelief with glistening eyes.
‘Kakashi! You noticed?!’
‘...Yeah?’
‘So observant!’
‘Gai!’ howled his father, all teary-eyed. ‘I am so proud of you! I wish I could have seen it!’
‘Papa!’ he sniffed and moved closer for another rib-cracking hug.
Kakashi just stared. It was not like his father did not acknowledge his efforts at school, but he was way more constipated about it. He would smile and a pat Kakashi on the head or his shoulder, or would give him a nod for the best grades and praise from the academy teachers. Of course he would do great! Kakashi was his son, there was no other option for him than to be the best. That was just expected from the White Fang’s child – he was supposed to be even better than his father one day!
Kakashi blinked a few times, shocked at that raw display of affection (another he had witnessed that day – how many more he would have to sit through?). What was even more confusing, Gai did not even score, he only hit the target - not even close to the center of it! - and his dad was acting like Gai just came back from a successful solo S-rank mission. Not only that, Dai was equally thrilled with both of them despite having dramatically different results. Almost like Kakashi had to actually try to get the scores he was getting.
It felt… Nice?
He squawked when Dai’s arms suddenly closed on him as well in a tight hug.
‘I am so proud of you, Gai! And I am very proud of you as well, Kakashi-kun! You will both be great ninjas, mark my words!’
Gai chuckled, squeezing his dad back around his waist. Kakashi just let it happen, too stunned to speak.
Dai swayed to the sides, clutching the boys tightly to his chest. He eventually let them go, sniffing loudly.
‘You don’t eat, Kakashi-kun’ he noticed. ‘I’m sure you must be hungry! Do you want something else to eat?’
‘No, I’m fine.’ He adjusted his scarf and the mask, making sure they were still in place despite Dai’s explosive affections. Luckily, his stomach did not make any loud protests; he could later tell Gai to bring him something to nibble on. He did not mind his face, but he could not help to notice nobody else had a crack in their palate that went up to their nose. His father told him to not worry about it when he had asked – it just happens sometimes that a child would be born with a cleft lip and palate. He just had to be careful with eating and cover his face.
The man frowned a little, looking at the boy’s masked face and smiled with a nod. He turned his gaze to his son.
‘Gai. How do you feel about a challenge?’ he asked with a low, serious tone of voice that did not match with the soft smile and warmth in his eyes.
The boy perked up, mouth full, so he only nodded vigorously.
Dai stood up and left the room for a moment; when he was back, he was holding his mustard-yellow neckerchief.
‘Let’s see who can finish the dinner first with their eyes covered! But there is a catch – we can only use chopsticks and we can’t make a mess!’
Gai swallowed hardly, delighted – it was going to be so much fun! And he knew exactly what his Papa was doing, so he immediately followed the lead. During that challenge they would both be blindfolded, so Kakashi would not have to feel uncomfortable with taking his mask off in front of them. His Papa was a genius.
He untied his own red bandana and followed Dai’s example.
Kakashi – again – found himself just staring. Their motive was obvious, but he was not going to complain; truth to be told, he was grateful. He was really hungry, but he hated showing his weird face and teeth (and the fact that some of them were missing or wobbling).
‘Who makes the bigger mess, they will have to wash the dishes!’ ordered Dai. He made sure his blindfold was secured and grabbed the chopsticks.
‘And if my mess will be bigger, I will not only do the dishes! I will also make two hundred sit-ups and wash the dishes after breakfast tomorrow!’ Gai tied up his neckerchief as well and fixed the front, so he was completely blind. He grinned proudly. ‘It’s a promise!’
‘Nice one, Gai! If my mess will be bigger, I will be doing the dishes after EVERY meal for two weeks!’
Kakashi slowly slipped his mask down, letting it stay on his chin and grabbed the first dumpling with his chopsticks. He took a careful bite, looking between Gai and Dai, who seemed to be very serious about that challenge. Soon enough, he found himself sliding plates across the table, so both of them could grab another dumpling, a piece of meat or whatever Kakashi assumed they were reaching for. The whole challenge was full of chopsticks grabbing air, dropped morsels and chuckles of contestants.
Kakashi eventually finished his dinner and put the mask back on its place, still munching on the last piece of a dumpling.
‘Kakashi-kun’ said Dai a few moments after that. He heard the boy putting his chopstick down. ‘Is there anything left on our plates?’
‘A little, yes. But it is just a mess.’
‘Hnnngh!’ grunted Gai, probably charging a scream at the back of his throat. ‘Let’s compare them!’
‘Blindfolds off!’ roared Dai and they both ripped the bandanas off. For a second they were just blinking at their plates (both immediately noticed that Hatake’s portion was gone).
Just as Kakashi thought, Gai let out a loud yell of a winner. He stood up, toppling over the chair.
‘HA! Take that, Papa!’ He pointed a finger at him. ‘You are doing the dishes for two weeks!’
‘Ahhh, I should have known that you would defeat me, Gai!’ he exclaimed dramatically and went limp on his chair. He tossed his arm over his eyes. ‘But! Winner or not, this is the time for homework!’ He aimed his finger at him, grinning like a maniac.
‘Nooo!’ wailed the boy, changing his attitude in the blink of an eye; he leaned on the table, head low and clenched his fists.
‘Yes, my dear boy! Off you go, there will be no slacking at school in my house!’
Gai made a pained face, but he quickly recovered and stood up with a partially toothless grin. Kakashi slid off of his chair as well, seemingly unfazed. He wanted to laugh.
‘Okay, we’ll be in my room.’
‘Call out if you need help!’ Dai smiled at them, already collecting the plates and stocking them in a neat pile.
‘Will do! Come on, Kakashi!’
He nodded and followed his steps.
Gai threw himself on the floor; Kakashi did not understand his thought processes, but decided to not ask. He climbed on the bed and crossed his legs.
‘I hate kanji. I hate ninjutsu. And the hand seals! Ugh.’ Gai complained loudly to the floor and sat up with a sigh. He made an unhappy face.
‘Why? Seals are easy.’
‘I confuse them!’ He sat on his heels, facing Kakashi. ‘And they don’t work for me anyway.’
‘You’re doing them wrong.’
‘…Maybe. But the dog and monkey are almost the same!’
‘Monkeys are more likely to hold hands than dogs’ noticed Kakashi, presenting the seals at the same time.
Gai blinked, staring.
‘…I never thought about it that way.’ He scooted closer. ‘But why the Boar is wrong?’
Kakashi leaned over to have a better look over the edge of the bed.
‘Your thumbs should not be sticking out. Press them on the sides of index fingers.’ He showed him his hands. ‘Like that.’
‘Huh.’ Gai stared at his fists in silence.
‘Told you.’ He relaxed his hands and looked around the room. ‘Keep practicing until your hands remember.’
Gai sighed sadly, dropping his shoulders.
‘…I asked Papa to help me memorize them.’
‘He’s probably doing them wrong too. Does he even use ninjutsu?’
Gai silently shook his head.
‘Figured. That’s why he doesn’t remember well.’ Kakashi shrugged. He would most likely forget as well in such case.
‘Not only that, he just… Can’t’ he admitted quietly.
‘At all?’
‘Uhm. Worse than me. I can do techniques, just… I’m not good at it.’
‘I guess you’ll get better if you start making the seals correctly.’
‘Maybe!’ he grinned, giving Kakashi a thumbs-up. ‘Still, my goal is to become a taijutsu master!’
‘…My father also told me that the main issue for bad techniques is chakra control. He had me try different exercises when he didn’t have time to practice with me.’ He uncrossed his legs, continuing as if Gai did not say anything.
‘That’s sad.’
‘No it’s not.’
‘…I still think it’s sad.’ He made a face. ‘I’m busy, go work on chakra control!’
Kakashi frowned, crossing his arms.
‘Your dad can’t possibly always have time for you!’
‘But he does! Even if he is busy, he will stop what he is doing if I want something!’
‘What’ he snorted. ‘Like what, he’s writing a report, planning a strategy and he just… Stops?’
‘Yeah?’ Gai seemed dumbfounded by the idea that his Papa would just send him away. ‘When he is busy he will stop and listen and… I don’t know, give me an advice and tell me to come again if it doesn’t work!’
Kakashi stared at him in disbelief.
‘I’d get a ‘not now’ and in most cases I’d deal with whatever on my own.’ He scratched his head, omitting the fact that eventually he just stopped asking. ‘He comes after so I can tell him what I wanted and what I did, so you know. He can help after.’
‘Both work I think! I just get my advice before I get frustrated!’ Gai smiled again with a nod. He pushed his hair behind his ears.
A knock on the door stopped further discussion.
‘Hello, dears!’ Dai popped his head in the room and gasped. ‘How dare you, little ninjas, not do your homework?’
‘But we are!’ said Gai quickly. Kakashi nodded and formed a Dragon seal.
‘Hand seals.’
‘That’s very ninja of you!’
Kakashi absolutely did not snort. Gai did not have such control issues with that and openly laughed.
Dai invited himself in, carrying a tray with juice and some cut carrots and celery.
‘There you go - fuel for the hard working brains!’
‘Thanks, papa!’ Gai immediately snatched a piece of celery. ‘Can you test us from the seals?’
‘Why, of course!’ He took a spot on the chair. ‘On the bed, Gai, so I can see both of you at the same time.’
Kakashi wiggled a bit to create more space between them. Soon, they both were seated with crossed legs, ready for questions.
‘Okay then, give me a… Sheep. A horse.’
‘Gai, thumbs down.’ Hatake nudged the other boy with his elbow.
‘…Ow. Thumbs down.’
‘Horses do not have thumbs’ he schooled him.
Gai giggled, nodding.
Dai was impressed with Kakashi’s learning techniques and of course he did not waste a second to tell him that.
The hand seals did not take them a lot of time, so they switched to kanji batch they had to memorize for the test on the next week. Dai made sure that both of the boys wrote every character at least twenty times and came up with two words for each to practice them. After writing it was Gai’s turn to practice ninjutsu – he had yet to learn making his clone (not only a copy of his clothes). Dai left the room to not hover over their heads any longer; he could not help them with practicing techniques anyway. Since Kakashi had already perfected it, he was free to just laze around and munch on some carrots.
Gai was standing in the middle of the room, grunting and sweating while trying again and again to create a shadow copy of himself.
After over ten minutes of nothing, Kakashi looked up at him from a book he snatched from Gai’s bookshelf. It was about turtles, he sure seemed to like them.
‘Do you even mold it?’
‘What?’
‘Do you mix chakra?’
‘…I guess so?’
Kakashi frowned.
‘Because if you do, it should work. Or maybe you use to little? I don’t know.’
Gai relaxed, looking defeated and let his arms drop.
‘Me too.’ He sighed and sat down, scrunching his face. ‘I guess… I’ll just sit and… Mix it about…’
Kakashi stared at him for a moment longer. Eventually he returned to his book.
‘Do you meditate?’
Gai grunted again and dropped flat on the floor.
‘I can’t.’ He looked at the other boy, who was staring at him, clearly confused. ‘It doesn’t work! How do you just stop thinking? And focus on your body WITHOUT THINKING?’
‘…You just do it?’
‘No?’ He flared his hands, exasperated. ‘There is still a voice in my head! It won’t shut up! So I can’t!’
Kakashi tilted his head to the side.
‘So… You only train taijutsu, because you suck at ninjutsu, because you don’t work on your both sources of energy to form chakra, because your head won’t shut up, so you don’t meditate, sooo...’
‘Yup!’
‘That’s weird’.
‘I guess, yeah.’
Kakashi sniffed and turned his attention back to the book. Gai continued to stare at the ceiling until he suddenly remembered about his TV series. He jumped back on his legs.
‘We wanted to watch! Let’s go!’
Kakashi nodded, closing the book. He tossed it aside, abandoning it on the bed, and followed Gai to the dayroom. The other boy pushed him to take a seat on the couch. He was not going to argue with that, so he curled up on the cushioned seat. As usual, his gaze was glued to the most interesting thing around him, which in that case was Gai who was setting everything up. He also called out to his father to inform him they were watching. Dai promised to join them soon, but first, he had to collect the laundry. It was for sure dry after hanging in the sun all day, and judging by the wind and gathering clouds, it was going to rain.
Gai jumped on the spot next to Kakashi and began a fast, short explanation of the plot. They had a few minutes before the episode would actually start. When the opening scene ended, he stopped talking. His Rival could always ask him in the meantime if something was unclear.
Dai – as promised – joined them soon enough. He squeezed himself in space between the boys, placing a plate with three apples on his lap.
All three focused on watching, not paying too much attention to Dai, who slowly peeled the first fruit. He cut it in slices, removed the seeds and offered one to Gai. His son grinned in response and gladly took it, always ready for a snack.
He gently nudged Kakashi in the arm and held out another piece of apple. Hatake stared at it for a second and took it as well.
Dai devoured the third one.
It did not take long for both of the kids to automatically take the slices Dai was preparing. Fruits were gone soon before the last scene of the show.
Since nobody really felt like moving – and Dai’s soap opera was going to start right after Gai’s animated series – they just stayed where they were. Gai was snuggled against his Papa’s side, held close by his arm. Kakashi leaned in the other direction, pressing himself closer to the armrest. He was starting to feel sleepy, which got even worse when heavy rain started drumming on the windows.
Dai did not fail to notice their little guest was slowly dozing off.
‘Kakashi-kun, would you like to go to bed?’ he asked softly. ‘I’ll prepare the futon.’
‘No’ he said immediately, sitting up. He shook his head with a yawn hidden behind his mask. ‘I’m not tired.’
Dai only pressed his lips in a thin line, fighting a laugh. The kid was barely keeping his eyes open (Gai was holding up a bit better), most likely having his bedtime earlier than Gai.
‘Sure thing. Let me know when you change your mind.’
‘Mhm.’ He rubbed at his eyes, looking back at the screen. He had no idea what was going on – it was a hundred-something episode – and that soap-show was very boring. Still, he didn’t want to go to sleep just yet; he was in someone’s house, he could not go to bed first. It would be childish and he was not a little kid anymore. He took a sneak peak at Gai, who had the nerve to just watch the TV with no obvious signs of tiredness.
Awful.
Kakashi yawned again and let his eyes close for a little longer. He stirred when Dai’s arm appeared behind him and slowly guided him to rest against his side. He grunted quietly, not exactly comfortable, but at the same time he did not want to move – he was warm, and Dai held him close in the same way as he was doing with Gai. He turned the volume down with a remote, so the rain outside seemed to be louder.
Kakashi probably lost the battle when Dai produced a blanket and threw it over all three of them.
‘Gai’ said the man quietly some time later. ‘Go and set up the futon. I think your friend just passed out.’
‘He said he wasn’t sleepy’ he noticed, untangling himself from dad’s arm and the blanked.
Dai chuckled.
‘Well then, it looks like he was lying.’
Gai let out a quiet snort, taking a look at his sleeping rival – the liar! – and trotted off to his room. He was almost done with the futon when his Papa showed up in the door with Kakashi in his arms. The boy was still completely out of it, so he just gently put him under the cover. He only mumbled something unintelligible and turned around, face-down on the pillow. Dai pulled the covers up almost to his ears.
Not long after Gai was ready for bed as well, so he sneaked in (Kakashi was still asleep, or at least he was successfully pretending to be) and hopped onto the bed. It creaked under the sudden assault.
He was feeling excited and giddy, there was no way he was going to sleep when he had his rival right next to him! And they had so much fun, and tomorrow they will have even MORE fun!
He was snoring ten minutes later.