Title: To Wonderland and Back Again
Part 1- The Awakening
Rating: Pg-13 for some language
Pairings: Lee/Gaara others to be added I'm sure...
Warnings: Right, this is definite AU, sorry to anyone who doesn't like the idea but I had to get this outta my head and onto paper and there is some ooc-ness, bastardization of a few, and all around weirdness for all...
A/N: Ok so I actually went to see the Nutcracker on ice recently and it kinda gave me an idea for a fic (yeah I know kinda weird but whatever)Please forgive spelling and grammatical mistakes! Also this is something I normally wouldn't post but I thought I'd give it a shot... Oh, and I don't own the characters...pity...
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It was a cold December night in the small village of Konoha. The snow fell to the ground leaving a blanket of wet and white. The main street was quiet, the only noise coming from the wind that whistled gently through the tree branches. The houses that lined the street like soldiers were also dark and silent. Most people were nestled into the warmth of their comforters protecting them from the bitter cold.
It was at this time that a young man stood in the road, his bright red hair being dusted with snowflakes, his eyes narrowing as his eyelashes suffered the same fate. Shaking off the thin layer, he began to walk down the street to his destination. On this night every year all the children of the village would be sent off to the shop at the edge of the village to receive an early Christmas gift. Of course it was his luck that he would be late because of his sister. Coming from the village of Suna, she was not very accepting of the small tradition, but of course the good people of Konoha had assured her everything would be fine. Now Gaara was making his way to the shopkeepers home to receive a gift he wasn't even sure he wanted. He had never been one to 'play' with toys, he was mature and the 'tradition' seemed to be nothing but a nuisance.
Even with such thoughts floating in his mind, he still made his way down the empty street. In the distance he could see the warm light that resinated from the windows of the toy shop. As he made his way closer to the small shop, he could hear a soft melody seeming to weep through the air. It was heartbreakingly beautiful in a way Gaara was not used to feeling, it almost made him want shed a tear. Shaking his head at such foolish notions he hurried to the door and pushed the old oak open slowly. Inside was a blast of warmth and color. The fire blazed with a fury Gaara was used to feeling in his own heart, but the other images that he failed to understand were the huge tree standing tall right in the middle of the room and the happy children sitting around it. The tree was a burst of green and shining ornaments of all colors, it was a magnificent sight, if not one that almost seemed too warm.
As the door creaked and the wind blew at his back, everyone in the room turned from their chattering to watch him. Quickly he turned and closed the door feeling a blush move across his cheeks to his ears. "Gaara! I'm so glad you could make it! Come sit next to Naruto and we will get started with this special night!" Gaara looked at the old man who sat near the fire, in his hands was a large book, one that looked old with age. Gaara nodded at the white haired man and sat quickly, he never failed to realize the slight glares from the other children for making them wait. "Now that everyone is here, I wish to first tell you all a tale, one that is not of Christmas but is entertaining none the less." The old man shifted through the pages gently as if anything sharper would tear the sewn bindings apart. It was clearly irritating to the children who came to get their gift and leave. Gaara mentally sighed and looked around to all the other people in the room, most looking around probably trying to see what gifts they would be receiving. There was a sharp and drawn out sigh to his right. Gaara recognized the girl as Ino who was rolling her eyes and tapping manicured nails against the floor. Gaara had to hold back from trying to lean over and break her hand, the tapping was terribly irritating.
"Yo Jiraiya, not that this isn't fun and all but some of us would like to leave here before we reach your age." Gaara looked over to the loud blonde boy sitting next to him. Naruto was rocking back and forth, his facial features seeming to scream annoyance with the old man. Jiraiya didn't even raise his head as he turned another page. Before the man could say anything to the jabbering blonde, a boy sitting next to him with black hair and a bored expression slapped the blonde in the head. The force of the contact between hand and skull was enough to push Naruto face first into the floor causing most of the kids in the room to laugh rather loudly, even the kid with black hair smirked in amusement.
"Shut up baka, your lucky you get anything." Naruto rubbed his head and sat up glaring at the other boy.
"You ass! That really hurt!" It was at this point Gaara wished to get up and leave, a gift from an old toy maker didn't seem to be worth it at the moment. Luckily, there was no need as Jiraiya hummed happily at finding the correct page. He looked up momentarily to glare at the two still fighting youngsters.
"Alright, enough. Now, this story is of a Knight who bravely fights for the king only to end up being accused of treason by his own people..." Gaara listened with half an ear as he was sure most of the other children were doing. In fact, a few seemed to have a hard time keeping their eyes open while one kid actually fell asleep. It was almost amusing as Jiraiya seemed to have noticed and threw a small piece of wood at the kid. "Somebody keep Shikamaru awake please." There were a few chuckles as Shikamaru yawned and glared tiredly at the old man.
Gaara began to think of what he would do tomorrow with his brother to pass the time for Christmas vacation. That was until Jiraiya seemed to have had enough of no one actually listening to him, that or he actually got through the story, either way Gaara thanked his lucky stars it was over. "Listen to me everyone." Gaara turned and along with the rest of the kids watched as Jiraiya pulled a box from behind the tree. "Inside here are wonders you may have never seen before. As tradition goes, I will lay the toys out and you will all be able to choose. All of these gifts are special, there will be no fighting and no one will leave empty handed." Gaara watched curiously as the old man took out each toy and softly placed them onto the table next to him. Gaara could hear the soft gasps as the others saw the gift unveiled. Suddenly there was a rush up to the table, Gaara watched in amazement as every child seemed to go for a different toy. Jiraiya grinned as his work was studied by young eyes and loved immediately.
As everyone stepped back, Gaara realized only two gifts were left. He looked around only to see one other person without a possession. The girl looked on in disgust at the two toys that lay on the table. One was a wood carved horse, the edges sanded and shaped to perfection as the gloss reflected the burning fire and the blinking tree lights. It was a rather beautiful piece, hand made and it looked to have really captured the soul of the animal itself. Next to it lay something Gaara did not expect to see from the other gifts the others had quickly accepted. A doll with rough stitching practically falling apart at the seams. The doll was floppy and seemed to have lost stuffing from years of misuse but it was the face and the eyes that truly captured his attention. The face was blank and the eyes were empty beads of black but magnificent in a way. Gaara was shaken from his thoughts when the girl next to him began to sniffle slightly.
"These are both ugly! I want something pretty!" There were a few groans in the room as Jiraiya frowned deeply.
"You do not like either of these? But Sakura these are two very special pieces. This horse took a year to make perfect and this doll..." The old man didn't get a chance to finish as Sakura glared and quickly grabbed the horse.
"I don't care, I guess as long as I don't have to take that ugly thing then it's fine." She walked towards the other kids in a huff, the horse carelessly handled at her side. Jiraiya sighed softly and looked to Gaara.
"Are you also against taking this doll? It has been here for years without so much a passing glance. It is the only piece to ever be made." Gaara heard a few chuckles behind him but as always he was quick to ignore them as he picked up the doll. It was heavy considering its size and it felt a bit weird in his hand but there was something interesting and unique in this doll. It reminded Gaara a bit of himself and that made the decision clear.
"I will take him." Jiraiya's face bloomed with appreciation and a huge smile.
"Wonderful! Now that everyone has a gift it is probably time we all head home. I will walk each of you home, let me just get a few things. You all put your jackets and boots back on." Jiraiya left the room quickly leaving Gaara to listen to the not-so-subtle mocking laughter.
"I can't believe you actually took that ugly thing!"
"Yeah seriously, so what did you name him?"
"Are you going to sleep with it like a little baby Gaara?"
Gaara rolled his eyes and ignored the taunts of the other children. He knew that younger children were mean, they always had been, especially to him, but it never bothered him. Now that he was starring at the glassy eyes he felt rather bad for the inanimate object. It was a ridiculous feeling and Gaara mentally berated himself for such weird emotions, but as he studied the doll it seemed sad that no one would give the doll a chance just because of it's looks. Actually it seemed to look rather cute now seeing as how the initial shock was over. He felt his lips curl slightly as he looked closer at the doll. He had never seen anything like it of course, but the fact that there was only one made and he had taken it without hesitation, made it special.
"Let me see this thing" Gaara gasped as the doll was ripped from his grasp. He looked up to the taller child and glared.
"Give. It. Back." There were a few giggles as the boy in front of him did not even flinch, seemingly not realizing that Gaara was very serious. The boy with the doll grinned evilly at the shorter boy as the doll hung in his grasp.
"Really Gaara, what's so interesting about this doll hm? It's rather ugly and it's hardly good enough to make a real toy. It looks like it'll break apart in any minute." Gaara couldn't explain the panic that rose in his chest as the pale eyes of the other boy leered at the doll. It seemed that he wasn't the only one to notice the evil intent.
"Neji, give him the doll back, you got your own toy. There's no need to ruin his...more then it is..." Neji glared at the other boy who looked rather nervous to have spoken out against him. It was a tense moment when Neji finally grinned, though his eyes still held a malicious light in them.
"Sure Chouji, I'll give it back to him." With that Neji threw the doll to the floor and stomped on it. Gaara winced as the stitching popped open and the stuffing seemed to spill out like a bloody wound. "Oops, sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going. Guess you'll just have to get rid of it." Neji walked away with a grin leaving Gaara to look at the mess of his doll. The other kids looked on with different expressions, some looked surprised while others looked sad or even angry.
"What a jerk! He has no manners at all! He's going to be on Santa's naughty list!" Most of the kids nodded at Tenten's angered statement. Gaara ignored the others as he leaned down and picked up the tattered doll and it's stuffing. He felt irrational emotions as he looked upon the now detached left arm and left leg. Something in him twisted and he turned toward Neji, a fire rising in his gut as he stepped towards the other boy.
"You will pay for that." Neji glared at Gaara's audacity and began to walk towards the shorter boy. Before anyone could raise a fist one of the taller boys stood between the two. His eyes were protected by dark glasses and he wore a heavy grey coat. His arms were folded and he looked more annoyed than angry. He kept his face towards Neji as he spoke quietly and calmly.
"Stop. You have already caused enough damage. Now leave it alone." A quick glance toward Gaara with lowered eyebrows spoke louder then words. Gaara gave a quick nod and once again looked at his doll.
"What's going on in here?" Everyone but Gaara looked up to Jiraiya shrugging and blushing as the old man glared. It was when he noticed the doll that he sighed and put a hand on Gaara's shoulder. Gaara flinched but did not move away. "Let me fix that for you Gaara. The rest of you, go straight home!" Jiraiya showed them all out and was slightly worried that he couldn't walk each one of them home but the village was a quiet place and their parents were on full alert so it should be alright. He turned and frowned as Gaara cradled the separate pieces close together, seemingly trying to meld it back together with a heated look. "Come here Gaara, I'll fix it in no time." Gaara handed the pieces of the doll over and Jiraiya smiled. "It's a clean rip along the seam, I can have this sewn up in about five minutes." Jiraiya walked over to his work table and sat down on a padded stool. Reaching into the desk drawer he pulled out a small tin can and placed it on the table. Gaara walked closer, somewhat interested in what the old man was about to do. Jiraiya opened the tin lid and pulled out a spool of black thread and a long, sturdy sowing needle. Threading the needle with practiced ease he set it aside and carefully put the stuffing back into the separate appendages. He frowned slightly then stood up and went into the back room.
Gaara frowned at the dolls lifeless eyes and sighed. This was ridiculous, what did he care if some doll was broken into pieces? He should just leave now and go home to sleep. Temari was going to be pissed enough that he was going to be late coming home. Of course there was the fact that Neji, the bastard, had destroyed it out of spite. That was of course something Gaara was going to have a lot of trouble forgetting, no one got away with making him feel a fool. Then there was the fact that there was something oddly special about the wilted rag-doll.
"Sorry about that Gaara, I just wanted to get more stuffing for it, maybe we can fill it out a bit hm?" Jiraiya sat back down and gently stuffed the doll to its limit, filling out the weakened arm and leg. Smirking in pleasure at the newly rounded body of the doll, the old man began to stitch up the torso and then the arm and leg. He wriggled each limb a bit making sure it was secured onto the body. When he was satisfied he looked to Gaara and smiled. "It's good as new!" Gaara eyes narrowed in confusion, the doll was still rather misshapen and odd but it was fixed so Gaara kept his mouth shut. Jiraiya handed the doll to Gaara and smiled. Gaara took the doll and felt a corner of his lips lift.
"Thank you." Gaara was not a very talkative child but he did have manners. He turned to get his coat once again when Jiraiya's voice cut through the air.
"You know that was my very first doll I ever made. Many people thought if that was what all my work would look like then I'd be better off not selling anything at all." He laughed heartily with good humor. "Of course because of that I turned my work from that doll to other more 'appreciated' toys. When I started this tradition of giving the children of the village one gift each, I made sure to always put this doll n the mix. Of course that never really ended in a good way, I always had to find a 'better' toy for the last child to pick. I am especially happy that you accepted it." Gaara frowned as he put his coat on.
"You should not have given those other brats a different gift. If they cannot accept a gift then they do not deserve anything." Jiraiya laughed and nodded.
"Yes I know but I knew one day someone would appreciate this gift. No matter how it looks, it's special and I wouldn't want to force someone to take it, they'd only destroy it in the end anyway." Gaara looked down into his hands at the small doll, lanky and mostly limbs, the blank face and odd features, yet it seemed to lighten Gaara's mood. "Well I still have some things to finish here or I would walk you home..." Gaara shook his head as he pulled his big weather worn boots over his socks.
"It's ok I do not need an escort." Gaara couldn't help but roll his eyes slightly. There was no need for something so ridiculous in such a village. Shaking his head he walked toward the door but before he opened it he turned to the old man cleaning the supplies off of his work bench. "Thank you again, I'll take good care of it." Jiraiya smiled so widely that Gaara wanted to cover his eyes from the brightness. Gaara nodded and walked out into the cold. Leaving the old man to his own devices.
Gaara's nose immediately felt as if it had frozen and was going to fall off his face. Putting the doll in his coat pocket, he kept his hands there trying to stay as warm as possible. Coming from a village such as Suna it was pretty much impossible to get used to the howling winds and the snow flying at his face. The temperature had seemed to drop significantly since he had been out last. All he knew was that he was freezing and he needed to get home quickly. He moved with a fast pace ignoring everything around him, that was until a snowball hit him right in the face. He wiped the wet cold off his face and turned glaring at the group of kids in the field adjacent from the main street. There were only a small handful in the field but they had all been present at the toy makers shop. The one who must have thrown the snowball looked slightly embarrassed.
"Gaara! I'm so sorry, that was totally meant for Kiba!" Gaara's glare only sharpened as he watched the few kids. Neji was grinning slightly in amusement, oh how Gaara wanted to rip those eyes out. There was a girl who looked exactly like the Hyuuga child only she was half hidden behind him. Then there was the same kid who had stood between himself and Neji earlier, 'Shino,' his brain reminded him helpfully. Then there was the kid named Kiba who was with his dog now rolling in the snow. Then of course there was Naruto, who seemed to be anywhere and everywhere at once. He had way to much energy for Gaara's taste but all-in-all the kid wasn't too bad, slightly idiotic, but a good person. That of course meant that the black haired kid, Sasuke, was also there, him and the blonde seeming to be attached at the hip. Next to the black haired kid was the two annoying girls from the shop, the one who bitched about the horse and the girl with the manicured nails. He knew their names, he was just to annoyed to think of them. Gaara sighed and continued to walk away, he did not want to deal with any of these people right now and to make matters worse, he was now wet and cold. "Hey Gaara! Why don't you hang out with us for a while."
Gaara truly wished he was in a warm place, like his bedroom, in his bed, and under the soft blankets. He did not want to spend any extra time around the children he did not like anyway. Ignoring the blonde was easy though considering he did it everyday throughout school. Walking a slight bit faster, he managed to distance himself only enough that his back was nailed with a well aimed snowball. He was now furious and turned quickly trying to ignore the cold that dripped down the back of his shirt. Everyone was looking in surprise at Neji who was now tossing a snowball casually in his gloved hand.
"Oh come on Gaara, it'll be fun!" If Gaara could despise anyone more then the long haired boy, it would be quite amazing considering his blood began to boil in the 'regal' boys presence. Gaara's hands still in his pockets, gripped onto the small doll and tried to calm down. If he got into another fight with one of the kids from Konoha, his sister was going to be extremely bitter with him and that was not a fun deal. "Where's your new friend Gaara, I hope I didn't hurt him to bad." By this time, Gaara was in a state of mind where all he could see was red. Sure, it was childish to get so angry over a doll that he only had for about 5 minutes before it needed to be fixed, but this boy just didn't know when to keep his smart-ass mouth shut. He was about to charge at the kid, literally rip his lips from his jaw and make the brat eat them when a strong hand landed on his shoulder. All red vanished from his vision and suddenly he was shivering in the cold. The other kids, including Neji all blinked as Gaara turned to see his older brother standing there. His eyes were narrowed into dangerous slits and his lips were drawn tight.
"'Bout damn time I found you! Temari is having a shit fit because your not home. She sent me to look for your ass, now come on, you can play with your friends later!" Gaara was dragged by the collar of his jacket away from the others who all seemed to stunned to move. "Come on Gaara I'm fucking freezing and I don't really wanna catch a cold." Gaara broke away from his brother slapping him away roughly.
"Don't touch me." Gaara walked ahead of his brother only to have an arm thrown over his shoulder.
"Aww, did my wittle brother have a rough night with all the other kiddies?" Kankuro was lucky Gaara was not in the mood to fight him because if he was Kankuro would be knocked out with a bleeding nose. It had happened once before and Gaara was pretty sure it would happen again.
"Shut up, I don't wish to talk about it." Kankuro sighed next to him and rolled his eyes.
"Alright look, I'm sorry kiddo but what was that all about, you were ready to kill that kid!" Gaara nodded and shrugged his shoulders.
"He would have deserved it." Gaara could see that Kankuro wanted to know what happened but the older boy wouldn't push.
"Ooook...well besides that how did the night go? Weren't you supposed to get some kind of gift or some shit?" Gaara rolled his eyes, for barely being a teen, Kankuro sure did curse a lot.
"Yes I got a doll..." He waited patiently for Kankuro to stop laughing as their house finally came into view.
"Wait! Wait! The old dunce gave you a doll? I mean sure you have awfully pretty eyes and all but that doesn't make you a girl!" Gaara glared at Kankuro and punched him in the shoulder almost knocking the older boy down. "OWWW!" Gaara grinned slightly as he climbed the steps to their porch. As soon as he was on the door mat, the door flew open to reveal a tense Temari.
"In. Now." Gaara sighed as he dragged his cold body into the house. His feet were now numb and his clothes were warming up quickly making the ice on his shirt melt uncomfortably. Temari almost slammed the door on Kankuro's hand as she stomped over to her younger brother. "Why are you wet? Did you fall in the snow?" Kankuro chuckled softly earning two glares that promised a long and painful death. He sighed and trudged up the stairs, he had enough of the blame for one night.
Temari meanwhile helped Gaara remove his coat and boots. "Christ Gaara your soaked! I want you to march right upstairs and take a warm bath then dress in the flannel PJ's and go to bed! I'll hang your coat out to dry." Gaara sighed in defeat and made his way to the bath, there was no way of wining with that woman.
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The bathroom was bright with the white tiled walls and the brilliant light bulbs. His eyes began to ache from the pure power of it, almost like staring directly into the sun. Quickly he went over and turned on the faucet for the tub. The hot water steamed as it began to pool and rise. Adding the cold water halfway, he stuck his hand in and sighed. It would almost be heavenly to sit in the hot tub after the cold. He winced as he slid his shirt over his head, the wet from the shirt now seemed cold as it touched his shoulders. He cursed his jacket a moment wishing he had been given one that had a higher collar. He dropped the shirt and again winced as it made a wet 'plop' on the tiled floor. Stepping out of his pants and underwear, he quickly sat in the tub, hissing as the hot water brushed his cold limbs. Soon he was relaxed and enjoying the water covering his body with warmth. It was at that moment, the warm water caressing his smooth skin that he realized the doll was still in his coat. For a reason unknown to him at the moment, he once again began to panic when thinking of the doll, his heart irrationally thumping hard against his chest plate. He stood quickly, ignoring the water that spilled from the tub and onto the floor. Grabbing the robe that hung from the bathroom door he quickly threw it on, ignoring the fact that he was still naked and dripping wet. He ran down the hall and into the livingroom. Temari who was sitting watching a movie, jumped off the couch in fright as Gaara ran in the room.
"Holy hell Gaara what the...Is that my robe you have on??" Gaara pushed past her as he went to the kitchen looking for his coat. Temari walked in after him, her temper about to reach it's limit until she saw that he was still dripping wet. This seemed to cause some kind of mental instability as she began to yell like a banshee. The glasses in the glass cabinets visibly began to shake and Kankuro came thundering down the stairs an iron poker in his hands ready to dismember anyone who broke into the house. Gaara ignored all of this as he raced around the room finally spotting his jacket near the back door. He quickly ran to it and reached in to pull out the doll. Gripping the small toy he lifted it and sighed, it was still in one piece. He looked closer at it and for a minute it seemed there was a sparkle in it's eyes, almost laughing at him. He shook his head and looked back at it, no, the eyes were still lifeless and dark. Shrugging mentally to himself he turned and stopped dead in his tracks. Temari seemed to be hyperventilating and Kankuro looked honestly stupefied. Gaara then realized how crazy he must look, he was now standing in a slight puddle of cooling water and the robe was now drenched through. He bit his lip as Temari's face finally settled to a normal red instead of that dreadful purple that had been making it's way to her ears. She was apparently really pissed at the moment. Kankuro on the other hand was at least able to move, he lowered the poker from his 'sword fight' position and blinked slowly.
"Uh...question." Temari who was still trapped in an angry statue stance, refused to acknowledge anything but burning a hole in Gaara's head. Gaara slapped his foot in the puddle lightly and sighed. "What...no actually you know what, forget it I rather not know..." Kankuro slowly turned, eyeing the weird doll on his way out of the kitchen. Gaara took a deep breath, there was one down, now he needed to think of how he was going to get Temari out of her death mode.
"Uh Temari, I promise I'll clean all of it up and I'll make sure you robe is dried out nicely and I'll even buy you another one if this one is...ruined..."
Gaara was not scared of anyone, all his life everyone was frightened of him, keeping their distance, even Kankuro and Temari had been slightly frightened, just because he had beat up someone in preschool for stealing his cookie...It had worked for him, while he didn't have a lot of friends he still felt respected. Of course over the years he learned not to fight as much as he used to. He also learned one other thing, and that was to never hit a girl. When he was younger it never made sense, they were mean and nasty to everyone, even to their own friends. Kankuro had told him though that if he ever wanted a girlfriend, then he would have to be nice to girls. At the time he had been five years old so he was impressionable and Kankuro had at least used that advantage in a somewhat good way. So he grew up, while maybe not respecting girls he at least didn't beat them up behind the jungle-gym. Of course this was also noticed by his older sister who then decided to use that to her advantage, turning her into some kind of monster who Kankuro and himself found mildly scary on a good day. This was not a good day...
Temari blinked and the vein in her temple finally subsided back inside her head. She looked at Gaara and her jaw and eye twitched at the same time. Gaara glanced around the room trying to find an escape route when Temari cleared her throat and took a deep breath.
"Gaara..."Gaara winced at the deadly calm in his sister's voice. "I am going to let you clean this up right now...and when you are done, I expect not only my robe to be left by the heater to dry, but for every drop of water to be cleaned up from the bathroom and hallway...do we understand each other?" Gaara nodded and was about to go get a towel so he could clean up after he had changed when Temari grabbed his wrist gently, her homicidal streak seemingly ending. "Gaara what is this?" Gaara tugged his wrist away and felt a blush work across his cheeks.
"This is the gift I was given from the old toy maker." Temari looked at the doll again and an eyebrow shot up almost to her hairline. "But...it's ugly..." Gaara glared and stomped out of the room. Why did everyone keep saying that! It was cute! It even had cute eyebrows! Gaara stopped dead in his tracks. The doll could not possibly have eyebrows, it was made without any...so how was it that there were two rather big eyebrows on the dolls face. Gaara lifted the doll once again and felt his eye widen. Yes, there they were, two big fuzzy eyebrows. Gaara bit his lip and tried to think rationally, no one had touched the doll since he had received it. There was that small amount of time where it was in his jacket pocket but why would Temari or Kankuro do something as...well stupid as putting eyebrows on the doll. Especially such big ones? There was only one explanation he could come up with, and that was either his brother or sister were making fun of the fact that he was basically brow-less. With a growl Gaara stomped to his room and tossed the doll onto his bed. "Stay there." Gaara felt foolish as he realized what he was talking to. Shaking his head Gaara quickly disrobed and grabbed the warm clothes on his bed. Pulling them on he again looked at the doll. This seemed to be becoming an unhealthy obsession.
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Gaara was exhausted, he had done exactly as his sister had said and now there was no water anywhere in the house, he even used paper towels to dry the tub out. Temari had still been rather angry but her murderous intent seemed cut in half, which meant that at least Gaara was safe in his bed tonight. Ah..his bed, his large, warm, comfortable bed waiting in the corner basically begging Gaara to jump in and drift to sleep. Gaara smiled as he jumped face first onto his bed, he was so close to falling asleep but unfortunately there was something digging into his hip. Sighing in aggravation he turned tiredly onto his arm, just enough to pull whatever was under him away. He looked at the doll and sighed, why ever did he think this thing was special? Sure it was slightly cute when you got used to it, and he had to admit with the eyebrows it did look rather charming. Gaara tossed the doll to the foot of the bed. Tomorrow he would find out who put those fuzzy things onto his new doll but for now he was going to sleep.
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Gaara groaned as he felt the light from the window penetrate his eyelids and try to blind him. Turning away from the horrid brightness he tried to fall back to sleep, unfortunately it was all in vain. He rolled onto his back and stretched completely, as he did so he smacked something soft and warm. Mumbling an apology to the other body on the bed he sat up and began to rub the sleep from his eyes. He yawned and sat there for a moment trying to bring his brain back to the living world. It was at that second that he realized with full consciousness that there was another body in his bed. It was not a sun warmed pillow, or even a stray puppy who had climbed through his window. No, this was a stray man who had slipped into his bed. Slowly as to not disturb anything around him, he turned to the body on his bed. It was a man alright, a man with a long braid and huge eyebrows.
Now Gaara was never one to scream like a girl and run to get his big brother to help him, but at the moment it looked to be a very good option. He whimpered slightly ans slid off the bed almost tripping on a shoe and a pair of pants. He backed up and looked around the room slowly. This was definitely not his bedroom, not with the large bed and dresser, not to mention the fact that there was another man in the bed.
Gaara felt a cool breeze blow against his leg and looked down. Gaara could feel his eyes widen as he stood naked in the room. He yelped rather loudly and dived for the bed trying to rip the sheets off to use as a cover. This of course woke the other man in the bed. Wide eyes blinked sleepily over to the red-head a small smile coming to his lips.
"Good morning love!" Gaara stared for a moment and felt his brain begin to liquify. There was a naked man...a child molester in his bed...well in a bed with long hair and big eyes and a rather nice body...no, no when did he ever start to think like that?...and why was the man still smiling at him! Gaara decided through his muddled thoughts, that this would be the perfect time to get as far away from the black haired man as fast as possible. Gaara backed up and hit the wall trying to find the door while not taking his eyes off of the other man. The man's eyebrows quirked down in confusion. "Gaara? What is wrong?" Gaara whimpered once again as he tried to get away. The man smiled gently and moved closer. "Gaara?"
"Stay away from me!!" Gaara kicked out quickly only to have his foot caught and pushed aside easily. "Get away!" Gaara winced as the very naked man came up close and wrapped is arms around his shaking frame. Gaara tried to push away but the grip only tightened.
"Shh, it will be ok Gaara. You need to relax though." Gaara didn't want to relax, he was being held by a naked pervert and he was scared to the point of tears. This had to be some evil nightmare meant to destroy his brain. He tried to pinch his arm, digging his nails in and actually tearing the skin slightly, of course the pain of it hit his nervous system like a rock and forced him to cry out in pain. The man who had been rocking him slightly, stopped immediately and pulled away. When he saw the blood on Gaara's arm, he quickly grabbed him and sat him on the bed. "Gaara! Why would you do such a thing. I must clean this so it will not get infected. Now sit here and I'll get the disinfectant." Gaara's mind raced as he thought of a way to escape, he was still naked and he needed to get past this man. Quickly grabbing the closest pair of pants, he quickly slipped them on and stood ready to run to the door. That's when for the first time he spotted himself in the mirror. He wasn't tall in any sense of the word but he was definitely grown up. His body was slightly muscled and lean, his face was mostly the same but older in a way. His hair was also longer around his ears. Gaara felt his heart thunder loudly in his ears as he touched his chest and abdomen slowly. He could feel the sensation but it didn't seem real, how could it be?! He went to sleep as a child and this was certainly not a child's body.
Gaara looked back at the bed and thought for a moment. He had been naked in the bed with another man...Gaara felt blood rush to his face as he sat down heavily. He had learned about sex from Kankuro a few years ago, mostly because he caught Kankuro watching it and had promised not to tell Temari as long as Kankuro explained it to him. That didn't mean he had wanted to do it...but how the hell did he do it?? He was way to young to do 'it.' well that's what he knew as of last night. What the hell was going on??
"Alright let me see." Gaara jumped slightly as the man kneeled in front of him, finally having put some underwear on. The man smiled gently as he took Gaara's arm and began to clean it. Gaara had too many questions and no answers, his head was beginning to pound in his skull.
"Who..." The man looked into his eyes and sighed sadly. Large eyes went back to focusing on the task at hand. Gaara thought the other man wouldn't answer until the man softly spoke.
"My name is Lee, you accepted me as a gift last night." Gaara looked at the man and slowly, very slowly, recognition hit him. Yes there were the big eyes, though they were no longer lifeless. The big fuzzy eyebrows were there and while the doll didn't have a long braid, Gaara could see the resemblance. Surprisingly enough, Gaara was pretty much ready to accept the fact that this man was his doll who had come to life, that was until he saw the scar across Lee's shoulder and down his torso. That was where the stitching had come apart when Neji had stepped on him. That made Gaara sure of two things one, yes this was his doll, and two, he was now officially crazy. Gaara pushed away from Lee rather roughly and tried once again for the door. Where the hell was he?! "Gaara, you accepted me as your gift, why do you wish to run away now?" Gaara couldn't help the slightly crazed laugh that broke through his lips.
"Oh, I don't know...maybe because last night I was only a child and you were a doll!!" Lee sighed as Gaara tried turning the door knob.
"It's locked love. You have to..." Gaara turned and glared at the other man.
"I know how to unlock a door thank you very much!" Lee smiled slightly at Gaara's confused anger. This of course only made Gaara angrier, without even thinking he turned and charged at the taller man, knocking him to the bed and trying to pound his head in. Lee quickly gripped the flailing wrists and held them tightly.
"Gaara, if you are going to act like this I'll have to punish you." Suddenly it was as if Gaara's stomach dropped out of his body. There was something about this man that made Gaara weak. Wide black eyes stared at him calmly, seeming to know that Gaara's fight would die out soon enough. "You accepted me as a gift, that was the first time ever that someone has looked at me without disgust. Do you really hate me so much now?" Gaara was taken by surprise as Lee flipped them over, arms held over his head. He looked up at the black haired man and sighed. Something tugged in the back of his mind telling him that this was right. This man above him was something special, like the doll he had received, it was something that felt perfect for him. Lee let go of his wrists slowly as if waiting for another strike. Gaara breathed in and closed his eyes.
"I don't understand..." Gaara felt Lee lean over him and suddenly there were lips by his ear. He was kissed gently as Lee wrapped his arms around him.
"It's magic, no one really understands it, they just feel it. You gave me life because you felt something for me even as a doll. You gave me a chance. That's all it takes sometimes." And for all the oddity of the situation somehow what Lee said begin to make sense. He felt comfortable with this man and loved. Emotions that he had never felt as a child began to erupt from deep within him and for some reason, unknown to him, he felt that this was right. Everything would be ok. Opening his eyes he saw Lee smiling at him. "You are beautiful Gaara." Gaara felt a blush work over his face as Lee chuckled softly. "Very beautiful..." It was with those words that Lee leaned down and gently kissed Gaara's lips. Gaara, for all his fight when he first arrived seemed to know exactly how to handle the situation as he wrapped his arms around strong shoulders and kissed back. Maybe whatever was happening to him, wouldn't be so bad after all.
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Ok so this is the first part. Second part will be posted shortly. I was going to make it all one long story but I figured it might be easier for a reader with 2. Ok so this is well...odd...that's the only word I can think to describe it. I do hope you enjoyed it though and if you hated it, that's ok too. Well you can R&R if you want but please no flames they are just rude...