Note: Mature portions of this fanfic was cut to comply with standards. You can find the link to the missing parts in my profile.
***********
With the season of spring came the first splatters of rain.
In the desert village of Suna, rainfall marks the seasons rather than a calendar or a quarterly cycle. It is the rain that transforms the arid land around it into a lush sand garden, bringing life to the parched desert. And when the conditions are right, the monotonous beige across the village is broken by patches of yellow, red, pink, blue, and of course, green.
It was the middle of February when the first blooms appeared. The fifth Kazekage watched as another couple exchanged freshly picked flowers and gifts wrapped in red paper, the woman adjusting her Konoha hitaii-te before giving her partner a kiss. The Suna symbol on the man's protector brought only a flicker of surprise before Gaara resumed his morning patrol around the village borders.
That was fast becoming a common sight ever since he'd implemented the Konoha-Suna alliance system, a political and economic bridge for better relations with the other village. And since its agreement two years ago, more and more people had made use of its policy of allowed migration while maintaining original citizenship. Konoha nin and traders roamed the streets of Suna while sons of the desert embraced the forests of Konoha. Soon he would need to meet with the Hokage on inter-village marriages and mixed children citizenry.
The sentries at the eastern border bowed and greeted him as he passed by. Here he could sense a group of Suna nin just miles away from entering Konoha's borders. They were still making their way through the desert, still within the scope of his awareness through the sand. These daily patrols around the village had become a habit of his after the loss of Shukaku. Everyday he could feel the village growing, making it harder and harder for him to do a body count with the sand. The one-tail had been the cause of his bloody childhood, but it had also boosted his chakra reserves to almost unlimited proportions. Now, the farthest his awareness could reach was just a few kilometers past the sand and rock dunes surrounding the village while his control barely reached half of what it used to be.
Crossing an intersection, he entered the commercial district. "Good morning, Kazekage-sama," greeted a young herbalist as he set up shop, the usual herbs and medicinal plants now sharing space with bright colored flowers. Gaara's eyes flickered towards him before he gave a curt nod.
It still amazed him whenever people willingly interacted with him. He used to think that he would never be accepted no matter how hard he tried to protect and care for the village. It had come as a shock when he first realized that Suna had become a home- his home. Of course, it helped that he started showing more human emotions since Lee came into his life. No monster would allow public declarations of love by a green-clad shinobi at the most inappropriate of times.
In front of the general store, a mixed group of Suna and Konoha nin were arguing over a limited supply of chocolate hearts from Konoha. Gaara thought of purchasing a box, but turned away when he remembered the last time he had chocolate at hand. Under the Kage hat and the stoic expression on his face, his cheeks had flushed in pleasure and the uneasiness that came with unresolved feelings over a memory. It had been Naruto who told him about its properties as an aphrodisiac, but it was Lee who had shown him the many ways it could be used.
Had made him feel the overwhelming sensations as it was savored with him, on him, in him. He had lost control then. And it had frightened him almost as much as when he would find himself nodding off to sleep as a child.
A faint tremble ran up his spine before he started walking again. He was now drawing farther away from the noisier districts of Suna and toward the end of his patrol. The cries of "Happy Day of Hearts!" grew faint until they were swallowed by the familiar repetitive thumps of posts getting hit.
He removed his hat as he stepped into a wide clearing that served as Suna's training grounds. Under the glare of the sun, he watched as a green blur struck a post. There was a split second when he could clearly see Lee in the finishing form of a whirling kick- his body the image of a perfect weapon and his hair mussed from its usual bowl cut. Then the post cracked and erupted into a cloud of sand and cement. Lee had surely felt his presence earlier if the thumbs up and the grin on the man's face was anything to go by.
His lover had been trying to impress him.
There were already damp spots on the jumpsuit Lee still insisted on wearing, making the fabric cling to the broad shoulders and the toned muscles running down his lover's chest and arms. The sight turned his walk into a determined stride. When he was near enough, he braced himself.
"Gaara-kun!" Those arms he had been admiring earlier wrapped around him tightly and squeezed, almost lifting him as Lee started nuzzling his head. Both actions made him scrunch his nose before he returned the hug. He liked it when Lee was affectionate. "You left so early today! I was not able to give you my present..." Lee's voice dropped from its initial volume and cheer to a warm note of welcome. Gaara could feel the treble of it in the chest pressed against his cheek. Looking up, he noted the pout and the wide black eyes full of affection before tugging the other man down for a kiss.
"You were asleep." He said after they parted. Some of the man's sweat had dampened his skin and was cooling his heated flesh. "There was something important I had to do." His eyelids lowered slightly, the only hint of uncertainty as he wondered how Lee would react to the result of his earlier trek to the desert.
"I would have liked to join you." Lee said, curiosity in his voice but refraining to ask what he did. That was one of the many things he appreciated about this man- he never presumed nor tried to interfere with his affairs as Kazekage.
Gaara reached for his lover's hand and watched Lee's face brighten at the initiative, before it turned into one of concern at the sight of his hands. He didn't give him the opportunity to ask about them as he said, "Come."
~*~
Dark-rimmed eyes stared at Lee intently as the gift was presented. Gaara had placed it in their bedroom just before his patrol and right after Lee had gone to train. He pressed his lips together tightly as he waited for a response. Lee's eyes widened at first before shining with unshed tears. But they quickly shut tight in happy arcs when Lee noticed his frown. "This is the best gift I have ever received! Thank you, thank you! I did not know you were getting me anything at all!"
The tension in his shoulders left as he carefully handed Lee the bouquet of beavertail cacti and desert sunflowers. They were still fresh and had the sheen of morning dew from yesterday's rain. He had wrapped the cacti in a dark red cloth with the hairy yellow sunflowers tucked into the sides. The bottom bulged slightly from drenched sand and the roots of the plants.
He didn't understand why this holiday was celebrated, or why more than half of the festivals and holidays now marking Suna's calendar were. The Day of Hearts had been one of the many holidays adapted from Konoha. Temari had explained it as an annual holiday that symbolized love and was traditionally celebrated by going beyond how you usually show your love to a person. This was the first year they would officially celebrate it in Suna and Gaara had noticed the excitement in his lover as the day drew near.
"These flowers only grow when it rains. They should be sufficient symbols of tradition for the spring holiday," he stated. "Be careful of the bristles on the cacti. They can lacerate skin easily." The warning earned him a sharp intake of breath before Lee placed the bouquet on their bedside table and took his hands into his. Gaara followed his lover's gaze. His hands had thin lines of red at the fingertips and were slightly bruising from where bristles had entered skin. They weren't deep cuts and were already healing, but they were a stark contrast to the rest of his unblemished skin.
"Gaara-kun…" Worried eyes met his. "Is that where these came from? I do not understand. Did the sand not protect you from the bristles?" Gaara shook his head and reversed his hands so they could lie palm to palm with Lee's.
"The sand could have protected me. But I didn't let it." His brows knotted when that didn't ease his lover's worry. "Flowers are traditionally given on this day, are they not? Temari said they mean more when handpicked," he explained. Temari had also advised him to give something that represented how he felt about Lee. And he had wanted, needed to give Lee something on his own and without aid from the sand. Even today, he still thought of the sand as remnants of Shukaku and a physical reminder of what he'd almost done to Lee years ago. Just as he kept his sand armor off around his lover, he had kept it from his fingers as he dug to unearth the plants.
And now he wondered if he had misinterpreted the tradition. Exhaling softly through his nose, he pulled his hands back. "…They don't make you happy?"
Lee abruptly pulled him close, bandaged arms sliding around his waist and gripping the fabric of his robe. "That is not what I meant- of course they make me happy!" The other man pulled back just enough to plant kisses on his face. They tickled, the years spent enclosed in sand armor making him sensitive to touch. "But I do not want you to get hurt in any way. You are more important than any token of affection." Lee was cupping his face. "It means so much to me to receive a gift you labored over. But please do not hurt yourself again, especially if it is something you do for me."
"…You worry too much." Gaara chided, placing a hand on Lee's forearm. "I am glad that you like it."
Lee's mouth finally stretched into a grin. "I am allowed to worry about my beloved Kazekage-sama," he teased. The title was rarely used even in public, though Lee still added a –sama to his name when protocol required it. "Besides, you always tell me to take care of myself."
His fingers were brought up and kissed as he frowned. "Because you never listen. You don't cut your morning training hours even when I order you to. And you still wear those legwarmers in the hottest of days."
Lee simply chuckled good-naturedly and kissed his cheek. "That is true… Maybe we are both just very stubborn people." Lee's voice lowered into a quiet murmur as he started trailing his lips over pale skin. They were falling back slowly, the other man controlling their descent towards the bed. "I really do love your gift. I really do love you, Gaara."
There was moment where Gaara simply looked up at his lover.
The thick eyebrows he found so appealing were furrowed, and there was a pink hue spreading across Lee's face. But it was the expressive black of his eyes that made his pulse quicken and reply with the words Lee wanted to hear.
Then he was being pressed against the pillows, kissed roughly while his hands fisted in the green suit covering Lee's chest. The other man hunched over him as his mouth was slowly abused, nipped and suckled on until they were bruised and he was gasping for air when he could. Their tongues found each other and sparred from one mouth to the other. This was how he liked it- just a little faster, just a little bit short of movement in battle. But then Lee was pulling back, hands on either side of him as he grinned down at him. Lee always did love to admire his handiwork.
Gaara growled softly, eyes narrowing as he tugged insistently on the suit. "Off." His lover's grin sloped to the side. If Lee ever had a mean streak, the smile would have been a smirk. But his order was followed without protest.
His attention had fastened on the other man even as he sat up to undress as well. He had only removed his robes and the black coat under it when Lee was kneeling next to him, helping him shed the rest of his layered clothes. Calloused fingers caressed where they could while Lee started kissing his neck. He shifted under the attention, trying to get the other man to hurry. But strong hands held him in place as Lee started licking and sucking the sensitive skin between his shoulders.
Gaara hated this. He hated how Lee knew where to nibble to make him arch forward and moan. He hated it when shivers started running through his body as his neck was cherished, marked with dark red spots. But most of all, he hated that his body responded to the sensations willingly. But he endured it because it was what Lee wanted. The man had always liked it when his torturously slow actions had Gaara writhing and crying out.
When he finally woke from the pleasured daze, he found himself being lifted gently from his position and into a loving embrace. The rumble in the other man's chest had him looking up sharply. Lee's cheeks were puffed with barely constrained laughter and his eyes were happy arcs. Knotting his brow, Gaara touched his lover's flushed face. "What do you find so amusing?" He asked, tone holding a note of demand.
"I-I am sorry-" Lee shook his head, making his bangs brush against his damp forehead. "It is just…I always thought I would be the only one to give romantic gifts. I did not expect to receive flowers from you. You really make me happy, Gaara."
And then Lee was reaching over him, taking a hairy stem from the bristled bouquet. The yellow sunflower brushed the other man's lips as he took a deep breath. Lee smiled at him with his face still flushed, adoration in his eyes. "Happy day of-", was as far as he got before Gaara leaned forward and pressed his lips against the flower and against his lover's puckered mouth.
He could smell the faintly sweet scent of the wildflower amidst the heaviness of musk and sex on Lee's body. He could feel the crush of delicate petals in the mesh of their lips, the roughness of their kiss and the teeth grazing the bruised skin of his lower lip. He could taste the few drops of rain squeezed out even after the flower was taken away, placed hastily to the side as he was eagerly pushed into the bed again.
Maybe it wasn't necessary to tell Lee why he chose to give flowers. It was enough that he'd made him happy. Gaara still did not understand 'romance', but he was slowly understanding love.
Spring had come to Suna, but it was Lee who brought him rain.