The first thing he was aware of was the thick, rhythmic throbbing throughout his head. Then he noticed his raw, scratchy throat that made breathing unusually laborious. He opened his eyes, only to snap them shut again because of the intense light. While he waited for the pain in his temples to subside, he realized he was lying on his back. Eventually he opened his eyes again.

He was in a hospital. He was in a hospital bed in a clean white room. This confused him-why, and how, was he here? Then he noticed there was a presence to his left. He turned his head and saw a Leaf ninja clad in green and wearing his shiny black hair in a bowl cut.

"Oh, you're awake!" Rock Lee started. "We're glad to have you back, Gaara-san. You've been unconscious for four days." Gaara weakly propped himself up on his elbows. Lee pushed a tray of food towards him. "Here, the nurse left some food and water for you when you woke up."

Gaara glared at the tray, then threw himself on it. Lee flinched at his sudden savagery. Within minutes he managed to swallow all of the food and water before lying back contently. When he realized Lee wasn't leaving, he sat up and looked at him.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Do you not remember? You were kidnapped."

"I remember that, but how did I get here?"

"Long story short, you were rescued."

"…You said I was unconscious. How? What about Shukaku?"

"The Hokage and several very powerful jonin sealed it. It's only a partial seal, so you can still use your sand techniques. They said it can now only come out if you allow it to."

"Lee-kun," said a nurse who came through the door, "Visiting hours are over."

"Oh, okay. Feel better, Gaara-san." He stood and left, closing the door behind him.

Gaara lied down and closed his eyes. The presence in his mind was still there, but it was different. It was no longer powerful and demanding. It almost seemed to be…sleeping. I guess Lee was telling the truth, he thought before slipping into the first true slumber of his life.

Lady Tsunade smiled. "I'm glad you've made a full recovery, Gaara-sama."

Gaara bowed his head. "Thank you. You're village has been very hospitable." He struggled to keep a straight face-formalities bored him to no end.

"Anything for the Kazekage. We've also provide you with an escort back to Suna." She indicated with her right hand, and Rock Lee stepped forward.

"Are you ready to go, Kazekage-sama?" he asked, grinning. Gaara nodded and headed for the exit wordlessly. Lee followed.

Once they got a good distance from the village, Gaara stopped and looked Lee in the eye. "Thank the gods that's over. I hate formality. On this trip, don't call me 'Kazekage' or 'sama'."

Lee smiled. "Whatever you say, Gaara-kun." They continued silently until sundown.

The camp for the night was nothing more that a small fire pit and two rolled out mats. They found a fairly hidden grove near the road that looked safe. Lee stirred the small fire while Gaara stared into it, sitting perfectly still.

"Are you okay, Gaara-kun?" Lee asked. "You're being creepier than usual. Not that you're normally really weird or anything," he added.

Gaara sighed. "The Shukaku has been sealed. All my life I've learned to live with it, and now it's gone."

"But that's a good thing. It was dangerous to you and everyone around you."

"My life was based on fighting it. I could never rest, even for a moment. Now I'm free from it, and I don't know what to do with that freedom."

"I see…" His large brows furrowed in concentration. "You'll have to learn to live like normal people."

"…I can't even begin to know where to start."

"Ah…Let's talk about this tomorrow, it's getting late. Good night, Gaara-kun." He lied down and pulled a blanket over himself.

Gaara did the same. "This sleeping thing is still weird to me," he mumbled. If Lee heard, he didn't show it.

They next morning they quickly packed up camp and got back on the road. After a few minutes of walking quietly, Lee spoke.

"So," he said, "Are you feeling any better today?"

Gaara didn't respond for a full ten minutes. "…I…am not accustomed to this…"

"To what?"

"…Asking for help. I think… One of the things normal people do that I do not is… love. I thought that maybe since you and your sensei have so much love for each other, perhaps you…"

"…Could help you learn to love?" Lee finished. Gaara looked away, which he took as a yes. "Well, we can say right now that I love you as a friend."

"…What do friends usually do?"

Lee hesitated. How do you describe friendship? It was one of those things that was instinctive, that you just knew without discussion. "…Um, well, friends are people you trust. If people are good friends, they can tell and keep secrets and give each other advice when they need it. I guess it's also a little different based on gender. Guys tend to compete with their friends, and I've often seen girls stick together and talk and hug and stuff."

"So guys don't hug and girls don't compete?"

"No, not always. Like Sakura-chan and Ino-chan, they are rivals and they used to be best friends."

"…And the hugging?"

"Er…" Lee's cheeks turned slightly pink. "Well, girls seem to like intimate contact with those they love. Guys usually don't so much."

"Why?"

Lee opened his mouth to respond, then shut it again to think for a moment. "…You know, you ask a lot of weird questions, Gaara-kun."

"Well, to me, it seems as though besides the obvious physical differences, the two genders aren't that different. Why, is that incorrect?"

"Well…No…But-"

"So why can't guys hug?"

"They can. In fact, I hug Gai-sensei all the time. It's just that most guys don't like to."

"…Maybe it's different from how it appears, I mean, I've never been hugged…" Gaara mumbled, thinking out loud.

"I'll hug you, if you want." Gaara stopped and gave him a half questioning, half glaring look.

Lee spread his arms as Gaara uncrossed his. Lee embraced him warmly, but paused when he realized two things- Gaara still wore his sand armor, and his arms were hanging at his sides, unmoving.

"Er, Gaara-kun, people usually hug back," he said awkwardly. Gaara hesitated, then raised his arms and placed the around Lee's body. After a quick second or two Lee pulled back, keeping his hands on Gaara's shoulders. "Why do you still wear your armor of sand? I won't hurt you."

"I've always worn it…"

"Gaara-kun, friends are supposed to trust each other. Do you not trust me?"

Gaara glared at him for a long time, then brushed his hands away and sighed. He closed his eyes as the layer of sand melted away from his body and returned to the gourd on his back.

He shuddered. "Ag, I feel so…venerable…" Lee embraced him once more.

Suddenly, everything in Gaara's world changed in a moment. His armor was gone, leaving nothing but clothes in the way of the contact. He felt small beneath Lee's strong embrace. This whole concept of trusting another person enough to touch them was so foreign. It was especially unusual to have contact this intimate and personal. He almost felt like a child in a caretaker's loving, protective arms.

Lee was also lost in the moment. After all, he was now the first person to ever truly touch Gaara, and they were hugging. His heart skipped a beat when Gaara wrapped his arms around him and pulled him closer. After a few seconds he came back to reality and pulled away. Gaara's eyes seemed to be asking why.

"Uh, friendly hugs usually only last a second," he explained, blushing.

"…Oh…okay…" They continued walking.

Lee struggled to keep a stoic face in front of a troubled mind. What just happened? He was acting like he just hugged Sakura, the cutest girl he knew, not Gaara, the creepy and mysterious foreign ninja. He glanced at Gaara. Well, he wasn't too unattractive, hell, maybe even good looking. For a guy, that was. Wait; did he just admit he was attracted to a guy? Gai-sensei did once explain homosexuality to him, but he never imagined it would ever happen to him.

Gaara calmly thought the situation over. So that was what friendship was. It felt good, surprisingly good. No wonder people made such a big deal of it. He almost wanted to hug Lee again, but remembered what he said about guys not hugging very often. He wondered why. Then he thought about how Lee and his sensei were always hugging each other. They weren't related, and the gap between their ages guaranteed they weren't lovers. But there seemed to be too much emotion, they were too devoted to each other to just be friends.

"Lee," he suddenly said, making Lee jump, "What are you and you're sensei to each other?"

Lee took a deep breath. "Well… How do I describe it? I love Gai-sensei more than anything. He's not quite a father, and we certainly aren't brothers…. I know, he's like a very close uncle!" He grinned from ear to ear.

"You… love his as an uncle, even though you have to relations whatsoever?" Lee nodded.

Eventually the sun set again, and they had to find another area to camp in. They started a small fire and rolled out their mats next to each other's. Lee watched Gaara stare into the fire thoughtfully.

Then Gaara mumbled, "…And I can always ask Temari and Kankuro… But that still leaves…"

"Hm? What?" Lee asked.

Gaara spoke up. "Well, you've explained the love of friends, and I can ask my siblings about the love of family, so all that leaves in the love of romance, right?"

"Um, I guess so…" Le began to blush, since the idea of Gaara being attractive had not yet left his mind. Then he remembered that when Gai explained homosexuality to him, he said it was normal for young people. He said they were still working out their emotions, so it was actually quite common for teenagers to have a few same-sex crushes. This gave Lee a boost of confidence.

"How can I go about that?" Gaara thought out loud.

"Maybe if you got a girlfriend, or a boyfriend," Lee suggested.

"Yes, but Temari always talks about her relationships, and it doesn't sound easy. I don't know the first thing about romance…" Gaara closed his eyes in concentration. "Who do I know that can show me what love is?"

Lee couldn't take it anymore. He was alone with a very attractive boy his age who was practically asking for a lover. Lee reached out with both hands to hold Gaara's cheeks. To his great relief, he wasn't wearing his armor. Gaara simply turned his head and looked at him questioningly.

"Let me show you," Lee said, his face now mere inches away from Gaara's, "what love is." He gently pressed his lips against the now wide-eyed boy's own.

Gaara stared on, shocked. The kiss wasn't unpleasant; he just was not ready for it. His heart beat against his ribs frantically, but he didn't know what to do. He looked at Lee- his eyes were closed and his face showed a calm bliss. His hands, although rough from training, held his face very gently.

Lee slowly pulled away and opened his eyes. A fire sparked in Gaara's mind. He didn't know what was going on, but his body seemed to, and it was screaming at him not to lose this moment. He grabbed the back of Lee's head and placed a hand on his chest. Lee's heart swelled with joy when Gaara began kissing him back passionately.

Neither of them noticed when the fire reduced to a smoldering glow.

Lee slowly blinked the sleep out of his eyes. He was about to sit up when he realized something large and warm was holding on to him. He saw Gaara, still asleep, snuggled into his chest, and he himself had his body curled around the young Kazekage. His sleepy mind slowly clicked things together.

He gasped and snapped awake. He and Gaara…! They didn't do anything indecent, but it was still the farthest he had ever gotten. Even once his mind accepted the fact that his first kiss and his first make-out was with a guy, he still couldn't believe it was with a guy like Gaara.

Gaara slowly woke up and observed the position he and Lee were in. He decided he felt good about it, because if he had to waste so many hours sleeping, he might as well be cuddled up to someone while doing it. It was just more enjoyable. He looked up and Lee, who was blushing, and kissed him, making him blush harder.

Lee's initial shock and embarrassment soon died away, however, when he saw that Gaara was smiling. Not the bloodthirsty smile he had seen before, but a genuine, joyful smile. It made Gaara look surprisingly… young, and cute. Lee sighed and smiled back.

"I love you, Gaara-kun."

"I love you too."

"Come on," Lee said, standing up. "They're still expecting you back at Suna." Gaara nodded and stood up as well. The camp was quickly cleaned up and they got back on the road.

Gaara slipped his hand inside Lee's, and they continued walking hand in hand all the way to Suna.