The Gentle Soul of Karura, a naruto fanfic

Karura was a very gentle-spirited woman. She knew patience and practiced it. She understood motherhood and enjoyed it. She comprehended that her husband was a complete ass that couldn't see the true worth of his own children for his loyalty to their village and… in short, she did practice something of sorts and she did enjoy it.

Kaze, after that first… time… learned not to try and kill his own son. As a matter of fact, he learned a lot of things. Like what dangerous objects could fit in his, er, orifices. All of them. But he mostly learned not to try and assassinate his baby boy. Or, more truthfully, Karura's baby boy.

She also identified other problems in Gaara's life, like other children and weary parents and drunkards who all looked at her son with the same pair of eyes: the pair of eyes that only saw something to fear and hate. Given three years, she took care of that too. There were still at least two dozen men who couldn't walk straight and about fifteen kids who would much rather play with Gaara than ever see a rubber ducky again.

Don't ask.

But her fiery soul didn't just cover Gaara, it covered her other two children as well. If people wanted to make fun of Kankuro for playing with dolls (few people in Konohagakure knew this, but when the natives of Sunagakure said "dolls" when referring to the Sabaku middle child, they weren't talking about his puppets), she quickly practiced the "eye for an eye" right. Or she blackmailed. Either way, by the end of the day, nobody was laughing except her, her twin, and her children.

Yashamaru never personally got involved in her motherly vengeance. He was a man who had long since learned the nature of his sister and so carefully left the dirty work to her because that was what she wanted.

If men were disapproving of Temari's tomboyish ways, they were suddenly marching the streets in dresses without appearing to realize the nature of their clothing. By the time they did, the damage had been done.

To be quant, Karura was a gentle-spirited woman who loved her children dearly. And she would go to whatever lengths to make them happy. Or, if that failed, make everyone around them miserable. Misery seemed to cheer up the Sabaku siblings and even Yashamaru had to chuckle whenever the demonic foursome (no pun intended) started laughing at the misfortune of others. Yes, Gaara laughed with them. Gaara laughed particularly hard. Karura laughed the hardest.

Lee tugged at the collar of his spandex, checked to make sure that he hadn't subconsciously crushed the gift he was carrying, and hoped that he passed the mother's inspection.

He should have heard all of these rumors earlier, he honestly should have. But, no, he was learning them all now. Or, more specifically, had learned them just an hour or so ago. By then it had been too late, though. He was from Konohagakure, currently in Sunagakure. Where could he run to? Sure, he could run very fast for a very long time, but somehow out of nowhere he felt that Karura would be able to catch him and she would be able to break him.

He had no doubts that he would be having nightmares about the woman he had yet to meet.

He fiddled with his vest. Checked to make sure that the present was still unharmed. Stared at the door. When he had come in, already half-terrified, he had been led to a small, cool beige room, possibly where guests waited to be greeted by their hosts. Like him. Except he wasn't really a guest, he was more like…

The door swung open and he cut that thought short. Just in case he would never have the ability to think again, he quickly remembered everything good in his life so that he could take those wonderful times with him to… wherever he was going.

The person who entered, however, was not Karura. Thank Kami for that. No, it was someone Lee knew intimately. "Gaa-chan…" He deflated out of sheer relief. "Gaa-chan, I've been hearing terrible things about your mother all day, are you sure I'm safe?"

He didn't ask if they were fabricated or not. Lee, for being scared of nothing, was scared of what the answer would be.

The kazekage (Kaze had mysteriously disappeared some years back after trying for the second time to assassinate Gaara, despite all clues pointing to the fact that he had still been terrified of trying to do so) sighed and opened his arms. Lee flew into them and held on for dear life. "You're safe, Lee. Mother will love you because I love you." He kissed Lee's forehead, then his eyelids, then the tip of his nose, and then he stopped dancing around his desire and just kissed him.

Lee sighed blissfully. "Gaa-chan…"

They weren't separating for anything. Anything… except the sudden cough that sounded behind them. Gaara pulled away from him with the calmness of someone sure of his own safety. Lee snagged one of his hands and refused to let go.

Fear was something Lee wasn't familiar with. Luckily, some base survival instinct understood the situation and concluded that the safest course of action was to stay very, very close to his boyfriend.

Karura, or who he was certain was Karura, smiled at them. First at Gaara, and then at him with something a little extra in her expression, a bonus steeliness that condemned Lee to burn in the pits of hell if he didn't give her a reason in the next few seconds as to why he thought himself worthy enough of her son.

Before introductions could be made, before he could think about it (which he rarely did anyway, it was better just to let his body move), his hand shot up, nearly catching his boyfriend's nose if not for the sand that rose out of nowhere to protect him, and he… yes. He shouted. With the Power of Youth and such, yes. No, YOSH.

"KARURA-SAN! PLEASE GIVE US YOUR BLESSING TO –" he couldn't say it. "Uuuuhh…"

"Mother, this is Rock Lee. I've been telling you about him," Gaara saved the day elegantly. "He's my boyfriend."

"I know who he is," she answered warmly. "How couldn't I? You're always talking about him, I possibly know him better than he knows himself by now."

Lee couldn't help but flush. Did Gaara talk about him that much? Gaara's sand rustled angrily and he decided against asking. It was still unbearably cute either way. So was his blush, as a matter of fact. It was so bright, it showed through his sand armor like a beacon.

She claimed a seat for herself and settled in. Gaara tugged him along and took the opposite chair. Lee claimed one arm for himself and wriggling into place as Gaara took the present from his hands and presented it to Karura, who graciously accepted. She didn't seem very impressed by the perfume but the shuriken got a smile from her.

"Mother, Lee and I would like to have sex."

He chocked. He most likely would have been able to think of a less direct way of breaking the ice, but… well. He didn't really have a choice, did he? So he listened in horror.

"Is that so?" she asked very carefully.

"I-I-I-"

"Yes. We want to have sex."

"Th-th-that's n-n-not-t-t-" how they had worded it when they had first decided to further their romance, Lee finished in his mind. They had wanted to go a step further. They had already tested the waters of intimacy but they had never done the last part. They had yet to actually lose their virginity to each other, despite desperately wanting to on occasion.

He was suddenly aware of the fact that they seemed to be going out of order. Meeting the parents should have come way, way before this. Back when Lee had assured himself that he wouldn't be killed in such a situation. But it was far too late.

"Why of course you two can have sex!"

She sounded way too cheerful. Lee felt that disaster was imminent and, at a loss of anything else to do (he wasn't going to attack his boyfriend's mother!), hid behind Gaara.

There was a moment where he felt that she respected his quick thinking. Then he realized Gaara was getting further and further away and there was a strange, pulsing pain coming from his ear.

"Before you two 'men' take that step, I'd like to have a few words with Lee first." Still walking away, dragging Lee with her, she smiled over her shoulder at her unperturbed son. "I'll bring him back soon enough!"

"Soon enough" was two weeks later.

Rock Lee, genius of hard work, second greatest taijutsu user in the ninja world, one of the top ten most stubborn men alive, the beautiful green beast of Konoha, the lotus that bloomed twice, Mr. Nice Guy… crawled, yes, crawled, through the front gates of Sunagakure. On his belly, like a worm. Karura hummed a baby's lullaby under her breath as she stepped over him and continued on merrily.

There had been things said and things done that would forever haunt him. Things that no being should know, especially, or maybe by exception, a mother. Lee's body went stiff with terror just by thinking about it.

So he put the last bit of his strength into his tongue and moved along that way. The sand was still hot. It burned along his body. But at least his mouth was conditioned to "mild" curry! The sand was nothing! … if not very textured.

Nobody tried to help him. However, there were definitely expressions of respect mixed with understanding. One man about Gaara's age looked at him and turned pale.

Rubber duckies, Lee thought. He must have been a child in the time of rubber duckies.

And then the sand suddenly swung up and around him like a blanket, lifting him off the ground and all he could hear for a short moment was the excited hiss of colliding grains. When it all cleared away, he was on a bed. With Gaara.

Naked.

"Mother has informed me that we are cleared to have sex now." He smiled softly at Lee's haggard and beaten form.

Lee felt himself stop breathing. As a matter of fact, he was positive his heart stopped too. S-s-s-sex? Now? He thought back on the past two weeks. No, no, no, no, no, no, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO! Not even if the Springtime of his Youth depended on it!

He whimpered and maybe Gaara understood why he was terrified. Maybe he didn't but he just loved Lee that much.

Lee felt his arms come around him. Gaara turned him over onto his side (thank Kami because there were sand burns all down his front and, er, things had happened to his back that he didn't want to remember) and spooned him from behind. A thousand tongues of agony licked his flesh wherever Gaara pressed against him.

But he lived with it. Because this felt sort of nice after two weeks in a Place That Must Be Forgotten. Instantly, the moment Gaara was wrapped around him, he was out. Not like a candle because candles weren't out as fast as he was.

It was possibly weeks later that he woke up. In reality, it was only four days. Gaara had been concerned. Lady Tsunade had demanded to know where her ninja was and had sent many angry messages along with bone-weary messengers. It was rumored that a retrieval party was being sent, Naruto in charge with Gai taking the lead.

Lady Tsunade had promised nine days for his vacation. He was currently far, far beyond that.

"Wff ffing off?" Lee wriggled around and found a nice, supple pillow. "Dofft fffnt fo wafffe ufff…" Despite his protests, or what to him were protests considering that there was likely not another being in the universe who could understand him, he kept being poked.

Then he was slapped. Right into a wall.

When his eyes snapped open, his vision was full of Karura. He did not scream, never, why would he scream? It was more like, like… Like a… Well, he didn't scream. Had he screamed, and that was a big probability, it had not been a girly squeal. But that was only if he had screamed. Which he hadn't.

Gaara looked worried as he ran his hand through Lee's hair and pulled him comfortingly to his chest. "Lee, there are matters we have to clear up with your hokage before we…" everything else he said wasn't comprehended.

It occurred to him that Karura wasn't as close as he had thought she was. She was actually on the bed, right about where he felt he had discovered his new pillow. He went pale. She smiled angelically. "I hope you two got to do what you wanted to do." Kami, he was clothed, that was a good thing. But she still stared at him like she could see everything Gaara and he had not been able to do. "I would feel horrible if I got in the way of lovemaking between my child and his boyfriend."

Lee tried to sift out the implications of that statement as Gaara paused to reassure his mother, with no shame at all, that had nothing had happened as of yet. "Lee was too tired when he came back."

"I wonder why that was…" Karura stared at Lee.

For the past six months, Karura had always somehow managed to get between him and Gaara right before they took that next step. Gaara didn't mind. Karura was his mother, one of the only reasons why he was sane and happy considering the childhood he would have had without her.

And for some strange reason, Lee didn't mind either. He was sure he should have felt undermined, cheated – he sometimes got the sense that Karura really didn't like him. But Lee didn't think like that, he thought in terms of challenges. After the initial wave of terror, he took time to realize that this was exactly what it was.

Karura most likely didn't hold anything against him, he concluded. She just didn't have anything to hold for him. Certainly, he had made a name for himself, but a name wasn't going to love her son. He had to prove himself to her! Except, how did he go about doing that?

He had already tried fifteen different ways. Assassinate the enemy nin trying to assassinate Gaara? Fail. Gaara always managed to take care of himself before Lee could rush upon the scene and if not him than his family. Making dinner? Karura was very particular about who touched her cutlery and who fed her children. Only she and her children were allowed to do both at the same time. That mistake created more terrible memories between him and her.

Training had turned out to be the worst idea. Karura turned out not to care whether or not he could stand up to Gaara. As his lover (or supposed-to-be lover), he should have already been able to do that. No, he had to stand up to her. Quite frankly, he lost that duel. Painfully. Loudly. Humiliatingly. He didn't even want a rematch.

He tried so many things, he exhausted his resources. Unable to think of anything else, he went to Gai for advice. Admittedly, he should have gone to him first. Gai knew everything there was to know! EVERYTHING!

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI! I NEED YOUR HELP!"

"LEE! DOES IT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH GAARA'S MOTHER?"

"GAI-SENSEI! HOW DID YOU KNOW?"

"LEE! EVERYONE KNOWS!"

"GAI-SENSEI! CAN YOU HELP ME?"

"LEE! HELL NO!"

He left disheartened.

And found himself in front of Naruto. Naruto, he had seen, got along perfectly with Karura. Naruto believed wholeheartedly that Karura was a dainty, fragile woman with not a mean bone in her body. Naruto might be able to help him!

"Y'mean she doesn't like you? Geez, Bushybrows, everyone likes you!"

Lee's head thumbed against the ramen stand's counter. "I… do not know if she likes me or not. I was just wondering how you got her to be so…" merciful, "nice to you."

"Hhhmm… Well, I'm not sure. I just sort of met her and then she was telling me that I had a home with her, y'know?"

No, he didn't know. But he would like to. "Did you say anything? Do anything?"

"Uuuhhh…" Naruto put a lot of thought into it. About five bowls of raven worth of thought into it, actually, all of which Lee paid for. "I remember now, dattebayo!"

"What? What happened?" Lee leaned forward on his stool.

Naruto grinned. "I told her she was a babe!"

There was a clatter and an uncharacteristic curse as Lee picked himself up off the floor and grouchily reclaimed his seat. "She is going to kill me."

"Huh?"

"Karura-san! I feel like she's challenging me, trying to find my worth, and no matter what I do, I 'm not fulfilling her wishes! WHAT AM I DOING WRONG, NARUTO-KUN?"

"HYA! Uuuhhh… Well, uh… Is this about Gaara?"

"Yes. I think so."

"Well, um, have you told her how you feel about… Gaara?"

"… Oh." No, he had never told Karura how he felt about her son. Of course Gaara had told her that they loved each other and Lee had told other people (many other people, Kami, he hadn't known that that had been a microphone, he honestly hadn't…) that he was in love and they had spent months trying to prove that, yes, it was allowed for two shinobi to have a relationship despite loyalty of country and gender. That last part had actually been impossible because it hadn't been allowed and they had had to break a few ancient laws, overcome revolts, soothe the older generations that had been raised against homosexuality, and overall convince Lady Tsunade that this was a good thing.

But he had never told Karura that he loved her son. Everything else he had gone through… but never that.

The second thing that amazed him was that, out of all the trials he and Gaara had gone through as a couple, Karura had been the last one. Shouldn't he have met her first? He thought back and tried to think of a time where he caught even a glance of her hair.

Nothing.

Was that something to worry about? He pushed the thought aside. YOSH! Rock Lee was getting back in the game, he was going to take Karura down by storm (though not literally)! He was… he was… he was going to take one crisis at a time, because this was still Karura. And, possibly, Naruto could be wrong. Which would be horrifying.

"Good luck, Bushybrows!"

And then he realized that he had said that out loud. How much of it, he wasn't sure, but it must have been a lot because people were gawking at him. And he was running. He wasn't sure when that had happened, but he went with it.

"YOSH! Karura-san, I'm coming for YOU!"

He knocked timidly. "Karura-san…?"

While in Konohagakure, the siblings, mother, and uncle had rented a 4K apartment. It was the same one they had been staying in since over a decade ago. And though it was reasonably smaller with three teenagers instead of three small children, they had yet to break tradition.

Luckily, the three teenagers weren't present. Or maybe unluckily, considering that Karura didn't do anything illegal – ehem, politically incorrect – with them present. No, she always made certain they saw the effect, not the cause.

He cautiously opened the door.

Yashamaru wasn't there either. Most likely, he was watching over Sunagakure in the absence of the rest of the family.

Karura was there, however. She was sitting at the low-set table in the living room, looking as if she had been expecting company. She looked up at him and he knew that that company had been him.

Mothers, he agreed with Shikamaru mentally, were scary. But this one was just terrifying to the point of being inhuman.

He took off his sandals and folded himself neatly under the covers of the table. "Hello, Karura-san."

"Lee-chan," she smiled. Gentle smile. Lee shivered and just barely beat the instinct to run for safety. "You look adorable today."

"T-thank you! You are a, a…" he gulped, "a babe yourself."

Karura actually seemed to be caught off guard for a moment. Then she laughed. "Oh, so you've been talking to Naruto-kun?"

"Yes."

"Were you asking for advice on how to deal with the big, bad mommy? Like you did with your sensei?"

He clutched the blankets and crouched low. He had no clue how to protect himself against her but he knew he had to try. "H-how do you know that?"

"Oh, Lee-chan, I'm a mother. I'm supposed to know these things." She beamed angelically.

Lee wondered in what universe it was actually mandatory for mothers to know who their children's most special persons talked to at all times. He didn't have the courage to ask. "K-Karura-san!"

"Yes?"

"I, I think I know why you have been doing this to me."

"Doing what to you?" He stared at her. "Ooooh, that stuff. Go on, go on."

"Well, Karura-s-san, I am here to tell…" he cleared his throat and looked away. Karura could look very intense if she wanted to, like right now. It was amazing how far her lips could stretch across her cheeks and how narrow her eyes could get without closing. The most awing part was how she got the air around her to turn dark and yet Lee knew for a fact that there was nothing wrong with the lights. "I am here to tell you that I… That I…"

"Lee-chan, it's okay. You can tell me, whatever it is."

He gulped. Okay, Lee, he told himself, you can do this. And if you can not, then… well then you will most likely die! YOSH! That will be your punishment if you fail, Karura-san will kill you and Gaa-chan will never visit your grave because you could not admit to loving him in your final moments! Do it, Lee, DO IT! ADMIT TO THE LOVE YOU HAVE FOR GAA-CHAN!

What truly terrified him was that his inner-voice sounded strangely like Karura these days. But he did the mental Good Guy Pose anyway and lit the Fires of Youth deep within his soul before screaming in one single breath, "ILOVEYOURSON,GAA-CHAN,,KAMI,PLEASEDONOTKILLME,OHMYKAMIIDIDNOTJUSTSAYTHAT…"

She blinked.

He blinked.

She twitched.

He ran for the door.

She dragged him back in, kicking and screaming (and that was very impressive because there were many nin who couldn't say how strong his kick was due to how strong his kick was) back into the apartment and locked the door behind them.

He curled up into a corner and started crying. It wasn't very manly of him, he knew. Gai would most likely be ashamed of him, he knew that too. His friends would most likely never let him live it down were they to know. He did it anyway because none of them had been through what he had been through with this woman.

And then, as if the gods had smiled down upon him, a handkerchief dabbled his teary eyes and a gentle voice, a truly gentle voice, broke through his turmoil. "So you love my son, Lee-chan?"

He sniffled. "Y-yes."

"Well, I already knew that. A man who goes through what you went through doesn't do it for any other reason than true, devoted love."

"H-huh? Then why did you…"

"Honestly? You're just so cute when you're scared or trying to hide behind my baby. It makes him feel very important when someone as independent and strong as you goes to him for protection. Especially with how you make him feel. But I can see that maybe I took it a little too far."

"No, of course not!" What was he saying? "I just did not understand your motives. YOSH, now that I understand, I will enjoy your," torture, demonic tendencies, agonizing ways, "teasing!"

"Oh, Lee-chan…" She wiped his face clean. "Thank you. For your sake, however, I suppose I will tune down my… teasing. I do want you to live to make my son very happy. Which reminds me! You two honestly haven't had sex yet?"

He blushed crimson red. "W-well, you see, uh, i-it's, um, e-e-excuse m-me?"

"Oh dear, I never meant to get in the way of that. You're both very healthy, young men with raging hormones, I never wanted to hurt your growth."

He couldn't believe he was having this conversation with Gaara's mother. It couldn't be possible. It wasn't possible. Yet it was happening anyway. His mouth dropped open and she absentmindedly pushed it shut with an audible 'clack'.

"I suppose I'll have to let you heal up for the next few days before I… tease you again. And then you and my baby can do what young people tend to do." She stroked back his hair fondly. "Understand?"

"Y-yes… I understand." Somewhere in the back of his mind where shock and exhaustion failed to rip his conscious thought from him, he was sure he did.

"Now give me some spirit and off to bed with you! You look ready to topple over."

"Do I?"

"You do. Now, come on! Do your little thing, that thing you and your sensei do."

"… Yosh?"

"More spirit!"

"YOSH!"

She patted him on the back and then picked him up and carried him to the back room where there was a bed that looked like heaven to his tired eyes. "That's my son-in-law."

"W-what?"

"Oh? You and my baby aren't having that conversation yet? Oh well, it will come up sooner or later." She tucked the covers in around him, kissed his forehead, and stayed by his side till he fell asleep, which wasn't actually that long.

All the way to dreamland, he listened to her sing a lullaby. This must have been what the siblings' childhood had been like.

Lee woke up to a very pleasant sensation. It was like thousands of little tickling tongues raking across his naked body, rousing his fiery passion and marking him for more to come. He smiled, sighed, and stretched into the caresses.

They stopped. He grumbled for it to continue.

Gaara chuckled. "Good afternoon, Lee."

Oh. Lee peeked one eye open and his vision blurred for a moment, flooding with red. His boyfriend quickly made himself clear through the dreariness of Lee's mind. "Gaa-chan…" He yawned and wrapped his arms around him. "Gaa-chan, where is your mother?"

Gaara traced a design across his back with his fingertips (why was Lee constantly waking up naked lately anyway?) and pressed a kiss to the corner of his. "Out."

"Just… out?"

"She said she would not be returning till late tomorrow."

Lee almost wondered what she planned on doing till then, but then it occurred to him that he was questioning Karura of all people and that was as good as a jinx. He carefully checked over Gaara's shoulder. Gaara's mother wasn't to be found. Now, remember, Lee!, he thought to himself, do not question your good luck! Karura-san is out of the apartment, Gaa-chan is here, you are naked, Gaa-chan also appears to be – …

He stared at his boyfriend and Gaara's response was only to bury his face in Lee's neck. "I want you."

"I-I-I want you too!"

"Now."

"N-now sounds good."

"Here."

"N-n-no place better…"

Gaara kissed him, long and slow, and Lee tasted spring water and copper.

Just because they hadn't taken that final step didn't mean that they had never experienced each other's body. It had been curious exploration, a youthful show of affection, a, a beautiful, glorious release.

They had learned each other.

Lee had learned that, whenever Gaara wasn't wearing his sand armor, he was incredibly… wonderfully… sensitive. All Lee had to do was breathe on him and Gaara would give him the most intense expression of hunger that any creature on earth could possibly behold.

Gaara had learned that Lee was completely different from him. Lee, covered in scar tissue, was desensitized. There had been weeks where they had been both been embarrassed for Lee's sake. Well, that had been more Lee, actually. Gaara had been angry that he couldn't make Lee feel the way he made him feel.

And then Gaara had realized what he had to do. He had to treat Lee with tough love. He had to be rough. He had to make him feel his hands, his mouth. Gaara was honestly a gentle kazekage. But with Lee, he had learned not to be.

And Lee… Lee didn't mind at all.

"G-G-GAARA!" His hands tore at the blankets and he threw his head back. "G-G-nnh!" There was the wet 'slap' of skin against skin, flesh pounding flesh, Gaara thrusting in and out of him and all of their previous experiences with explorations and teasing suddenly meant nothing in the face of all this sensation. The Springtime of Youth that was his eternal soul was burning in the fires of Summer and his heart was going to explode if Gaara didn't, didn't do… didn't do something. YOSH! Something had to be done, something that would snap the ball of tension deep within his belly.

He might just die otherwise. He would have to die because no one, not even he, not Rock Lee, second beautiful green beast of Konoha, one of the top ten most stubborn men alive, second greatest taijutsu master in the world, lotus that bloomed twice, Mr. Nice Guy, would be able to live through this.

Gaara found his shoulder. Bit. Lee felt the blood trickle from the wound but he felt the spark of euphoria more.

"MORE!" Oh, Kami, so much more. He held onto his lover with a steely, unbreakable grip. His hips rose and sank in time with Gaara's merciless assaults and all he could think of, all he could want, was more, more, more, MORE.

"Lee…" Gaara found his lips, claimed them, refused to let go. Lee gasped and cried out into his mouth and, for precious moments, they were breathing the same air.

"I-I lo-LOVE y-you… LOVE YOU!"

"Lee!" Gaara clenched his jaw, shifted, and Lee's world exploded with light.

He arced clear off the body, mouth falling open, and maybe he screamed. He couldn't be sure. How could he be sure? He had just ended! His body had just gone up in flames, he was in the stars, he could feel his heart and breathing stop.

"I love you too…" Warmth spread through his insides. Abused his newly found prostate. Lee was so full, so full of Gaara's love, of his own discoveries, of the knowledge that all the playing they had ever done before was nothing, absolutely nothing compared to this.

Reality stabbed him with its claws and dragged him back to the here and now, back to himself where Gaara was limp and gasping over him, back to his own shivering, aching body. "G-Gaa-chan…" His voice was scratchy. It almost hurt to talk. Lee wanted to be ashamed, but they had already discovered, long before Lee had even met Gaara, that he was a very vocal person. "That was…"

"Yes."

"So much fire, it touched me…"

Gaara slid out of him with a groan from both of them. "It touched me too." He flopped down next to him, boneless, and Lee turned over to lie partly over him.

He drowsily closed his eyes. "… Yosh…"

The redhead chuckled.

"My baby looks very relaxed lately."

Out of sheer instinct, Lee ducked, swerved to the left away from the voice, and effectively got stuck in a wall as he realized that he was still in a corridor and that corridors didn't generally create new hallways whenever they were wanted.

Karura laughed softly and helped dislodge him, good-naturedly dusting him off while he stood frozen. "It's alright, it's alright. You know, people are going to start thinking that you're scared of me, seeing how you act around me. That would be strange, for big, strong you to be terrified of little, feminine me."

"Y-yes, that would be very s-strange, Karura-san." He remembered that he had given her permission to continue "teasing" him. He honestly needed to start thinking before he spoke.

"It's not like I'll eat you alive or anything."

He flinched at the idea of it. "Of c-course not."

"Now what's with that stutter? You're Rock Lee! You're too flamboyant and confident to stutter, stop that."

"Yes, Karura-san!"

"That's a boy." She loped arms with him and, brushing off his apology about the wall, continued on her way to Gaara's office which was where Lee had been heading fatedly enough. "My baby loves you very much."

He blushed. "I love him too."

"I know. Trust me, I know." She giggled. "And now you two are men… I will be honest, I never expected my baby to fall in love with you. Don't get me wrong, you're amazing and I'm happy that it's you, but you were not my first choice.

Even during the Chuunin exams – don't give me that look, I was there – I didn't see it coming. My baby, my little boy… ended up fighting you. The Konoha genin with no genjutsu or ninjutsu talent. I thought it was going to be quick." She bopped her head affectionately against his shoulder, ignoring his perturbed look. "You turned out to be very stubborn. To think that you got so far, how close you came to beating my baby.

And then my baby broke your arm and leg and you just kept fighting till you passed out and then you were still fighting. I was very impressed. I think everyone was. I'm happy he didn't use a full sand coffin on you, the damage would have been irreparable I hope you know.

I should have realized it sooner, but I think that might have been when he started liking you. You came straight from the hospital to watch the final exam and to think that you were cheering him on."

"W-well, it was either him or that foreign genin and I would rather cheer for my ally than my enemy."

"Yes… ally. You have heard of the conspiracy –"

"Yes." Everyone knew about the assassination that had not been. Orochimaru, a now deceased villain, had meant to enlist the help of Sunagakure to kill the previous hokage, who had died some years ago of old battle wounds. Gaara had been a big part of that plot.

However, for some reason, Sunagakure as a village had decided against aiding Orochimaru. Lee looked down and pondered if it was because of the very strong, very odd woman attached to his limb.

"It never happened, Karura-san. I would like to think that, had I learned of it before Gaa-chan's final battle, I still would have cheered for him."

She smiled. "That's good to know."

Karura left the office after a half hour. Lee stayed. Gaara continued on with his paperwork, which never seemed to be as much as Lady Tsunade's load back at home. There was a neat stack to one corner, the table was clearly visible and gleaming, and a brush and ink were pristinely to a side.

"Mother likes you."

Lee twitched. "She does, doesn't she?" In that very, er, fiery manner of hers. Others would have called it psychotic but Lee had learned that it was just… just… just motherly love. YOSH! That was all it was! "I feel honored by her."

"As you should. Mother doesn't like many people outside the family."

"Except for Naruto-kun." Lee grinned.

Gaara grinned back. "Except for Naruto."

Naruto got to everyone at one point or another. It was only a matter of time before the Kyuubi broke down and fell in love as well.

"And you," Gaara continued. "It's possible she's warming up to Hinata."

Lee would never admit to it, but he squealed. Anyone would have! It was a truly terrifying thought to have Karura "warming up" to Hinata. He could only hope that she was warming up to her the same way she had to Naruto. "T-that's wonderful!" Fear was icy water in his veins. "Naruto-kun must be so happy that your mother accepts her."

"They have been dating for awhile now." The kazekage thoughtfully put aside another document. "Naruto has no mother of his own, so it makes me feel good to know that he can find solace in mine." He looked at Lee out of the corner of his eye, lips tilted dangerously upwards. "Maybe we could give them tips on how to build a solid relationship."

Lee thought of the two weeks spent in the Place That Must Be Forgotten. "That sounds brilliant, Gaa-chan."

Gaara pushed away from the desk and opened his arms. Lee gracefully collapsed into his embrace and cuddled up to his chest. "You don't sound very enthused."

"That sounds brilliant, Gaa-chan!" He reached up and stole a kiss. "I could not be happier that you are my most special person."

The redhead's gaze softened. "I feel the same way."

Lee sighed and rested against Gaara. Then he tensed. Very, very slowly, he drew his entire body into himself, turning into the smallest ball of green he could make of himself.

"Lee? What are you doing?"

"I-I-I," I am hiding from your mother, who I can feel staring at me, no, I have no clue how, but she is and I fear for my life, he finished in his mind. "I just love you so much, Gaa-chan!" He peeked wearily over the back of the chair out the open windows. On a distant rooftop, he could make out a speck of a being, facing his direction. If he squinted, he could see the person smiling.

That person was one of two people: Yashamaru or Karura. Yashamaru wasn't prone to staring at him.

He ducked back down and Gaara frowned at him. "So, so, so, so very much!"

The kazekage kissed him, long and slow. He tasted of spring water and copper. "I love you too."

Author's Note: Hah hah, Karura… I love you. Anywho! MERRY CHRISTMAS, JENNI! You know which Jenni you are. This is your present! MWA HAH HAH!