Hatake Kakashi

He didn't expect the kids to be there, but in hindsight it seems obvious. Gai has raised them well, with a strong sense of loyalty, Kakashi thinks; maybe he has even done a better job than Kakashi has with his team. It's painful to think about team seven these days, although he tells himself that they will be fine. In the long run, he won't let them down.

He is relieved now. In the darkness of his hospital room Gai looked a lot better than the previous night. His sleep was calm and deep, no nightmares seemed to be troubling him.

When he woke up on Tenzō's couch, Kakashi felt as if he was wrapped in a straightjacket of pure terror. The dream had wracked his nerves and left him convinced that Gai was actually dead. He couldn't stay with his kohai; he had to go to the hospital. His heart pounding wildly the whole way, he ran as though a whole squad of hunter nin was chasing him and didn't stop until he was by Gai's side.

Now that he's back home, in his own bed, still unable to sleep, Kakashi does feel a little foolish. He's staring at the ceiling, turning over the night's events in his mind. Gai is going to be fine. That's the long and short of it. He's scratched and bruised and has a fever, but that's all. Kakashi has seen a lot worse. It's certainly nothing to lose his head over.

He sighs and folds his arms behind his head. His bedroom is quiet, cool, familiar. The only sound is the steady ticking of his alarm clock.

Lately, when he thinks about Gai, he starts thinking about the future. He starts wondering if there will be a time when he won't have to worry about shadowy organizations being after one of his students, about his other student going AWOL and the possibility of impending war.

Well, at least that last one will probably never go away.

Then there are missions and death. There's always death.

The odds that he will have to live through Gai's death are pretty high. Kakashi has thought about this more often and more deeply than he would like to admit. The only way he won't have to deal with Gai's death is if he dies first. One of those unpleasant facts of life.

His father's death almost destroyed him. He was seven years old and he swore he'd never feel anything again. Then there were Obito and Rin, but the truth is that he only truly loved them in hindsight. Minato-sensei was hard, almost as if a part of himself had been ripped away, leaving a gaping, bleeding hole that even now wasn't fully healed.

Kakashi cares about Tenzō, he cares about his students, he cares about the other jōnin, the people he grew up with and he cares about Gai. He can admit that now; he's not that boy anymore.

Allowing that thought makes him remember the feel of Gai's skin, so soft that Kakashi had to brush his thumb across the reassuring solidness of Gai's collarbone. Instinctively, he leaned closer to catch a whiff of Gai's scent, but it was covered by the antiseptic smell of the hospital.

Kakashi's not someone who wears his heart on his sleeve, quite the opposite, really, but he'll go talk to Gai in the morning.

Maito Gai

Morning comes too quickly. He wakes up with a start and feels the jolt that goes through the weight on his chest. One blink and there is Lee, sitting upright and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Sensei! Good morning! How are you feeling? Do you need anything?"

Lee's concern warms Gai's heart even as he yearns for sleep, to be dead to the world, so he doesn't have to feel, to remember.

"Too loud," comes a disgruntled groan from the bed next to his. Was there another bed on his room when he went to sleep? Gai frowns, wondering. In the other bed the sheets shift to reveal Tenten's scrunched-up face. She sends an unfocused glare in Lee's general direction and asks, "What time is it?"

At the foot of the bed a blanket stirs, and there is Neji, sitting up and smoothing his hair. He looks less tired than Tenten, who is trying in vain to get her tangled hair back into her usual neat buns, but nowhere near as energetic as Lee, who is already on his feet.

Looking from one of his students to the next, Gai has to really fight down the tears blurring his gaze. They stayed by his side all night! He can't believe it! Such love and care; it's more than he deserves.

"You guys…" he mumbles, overcome with emotions, "You didn't have to do this…"

"We can't stay," Neji says calmly, even as Lee falls into Gai's arms for a rib-crushing embrace, "we had to promise Shizune-san we'd be gone before the Hokage gets here."

Tenten nods. "We just didn't want to leave you here all alone last night."

Her tone is strange, Gai thinks, he can't read the emotions in her voice at all and she's looking away from him, avoiding his eyes.

Shame rushes into him. Gently, he pushes Lee away and clears his throat. Tsunade-sama's words come back to him. She'll want to look at his stitches today. He'll be on his stomach—

"We can just wait outside for a bit, Gai-sensei! Then—"

"No, Lee!" The boy's startled, wide eyes tell him that he sounded too harsh, his voice hoarse with the panic turning his stomach. Gai swallows and forces a weak smile. "It's no good to spend all day at the hospital! You're in the Springtime of your Youth! Don't waste it! I want you to train today! You can come back tomorrow! Stronger than today!"

"Of course, Gai-sensei!" shouts Lee while Neji sighs and Tenten groans.

Gai deflates the moment they're out the door. His hands are shaking and, angry at his own weakness, he clenches them into fists.

He doesn't want anyone to see him.