A/N: I was just going to make this a short oneshot about Gaara musing over Lee at night buuut then stuff and things happened and I got too wrapped up in it and...well...you'll see. Enjoy!
It had been a very long day for both Lee and Gaara and night was creeping just around the corner. The two were almost completely exhausted. Lee's training methods turned out to be a lot tougher than Gaara had ever imagined. He didn't mind too much though, he figured he would need a bit of an extra push to improve his taijutsu abilities. The two of them sat on the forest floor of the training grounds panting and sweating from their previous workout. Gaara seemed to be panting and sweating more than Lee had, but that was to be expected, Gaara rarely does harsh training like Lee does. There was never an urgent need for it.
"You did a really great job today Gaara!" Lee congratulated "but, there is always room for improvement as well"
Gaara nodded slightly acknowledging Lee's constructive criticism. Once their breathing returned to normal, Lee suggested they go back to his house for the night.
Gaara nodded in agreement as Lee rose from the ground and extended a hand to help Gaara stand up. Gaara was hesitant but took Lee's hand anyway out of respect for the gesture. When their hands met Gaara felt a warm foreign feeling ripple through his body. It hadn't been the first time that had happened, it happened quite often whenever he made physical contact with Lee. Gaara wasn't entirely sure why but he dismissed it as normal since he still isn't entirely used to physical contact with anyone.
Once the two arrived at Lee's house, Lee lead Gaara inside and offered him a seat on the couch. Naturally, Gaara accepted feeling extremely fatigued from the earlier sparring session.
"Would you like something to drink Gaara? Some tea perhaps?" Lee offered taking off his Chuunin vest and hanging it beside the front door. Gaara glanced over to Lee and nodded.
"Tea will be fine, if you don't mind" Gaara mumbled, Lee chuckled.
"It is not a problem, you are my guest tonight after all. I will return in a few minutes" Lee assured dashing swiftly into the kitchen. Gaara watched as Lee swished back and forth in the kitchen preparing the beverage. His movements seemed so graceful and swift almost resembling a leaf blowing in a gentle breeze. Gaara was mesmerized, but at the same time extremely confused. Lee was just making tea, he was executing a simple everyday task, but why was it so enrapturing to him?
Gaara's thoughts were interrupted by the whistle of a teapot which signaled that the tea had finished heating. Gaara averted his eyes down to his lap as Lee walked out of the kitchen with a happy grin strewn across his face and a tray full of tea in his hands.
Lee carefully set the tray down on the large coffee table in front of the couch and took a seat beside Gaara. Picking up the teapot, he poured Gaara a fresh cup of tea and offered it to him with a bright smile. Gaara glanced at it condescendingly but took it for the sake of being polite.
"I could've poured it myself…" He grumbled. Lee giggled.
"Gaara, I told you before you are my guest tonight I have to serve you, do I not?" Lee inquired, Gaara sighed inwardly.
"I suppose that's correct" Gaara replied, bringing the cup to his mouth and taking a sip. Lee's tea tasted marvelous, it was sweet but not too sweet almost resembling the taste of cinnamon and sugar.
"I am glad we agree!" Lee chirped mimicking his earlier movements and taking a long sip from his cup. Gaara watched as Lee licked away the remaining contents of tea from his lips. He had never been this close to Lee, or anyone, before. In fact, he never even bothered observing Lee the way he was tonight. Even so, he couldn't help but notice how soft Lee's skin looked, almost like a newly purchased pillow or satin and his hair was as dark as coal, darker even. Gaara noticed some strands were out of place as well presumably from training earlier. Which strikes him as odd considering Lee's hair always seemed to be in place no matter what, right down to every last strand. Lee turned to face Gaara and caught him in the act of staring. Gaara quickly averted his eyes down to his tea cup in embarrassment.
"What is the matter Gaara?" Lee questioned, Gaara shook his head.
"It's nothing" He mumbled taking another sip of his tea. Lee's brow furrowed as he tapped his chin in confusion. He gasped suddenly as if he had just made an important discovery making Gaara jump slightly.
"Is there something stuck in my teeth?!" Lee squeaked covering his mouth. Gaara paused and stared at Lee for a few moments before giggling at how silly Lee sounded.
"No, no, your teeth look fine" Gaara reassured taking yet another sip of tea and setting the cup down on the table. Lee lowered his hands and stared at Gaara in awe. Gaara could feel Lee staring at him and turned to face him once again.
"What's the matter?" Gaara asked, Lee shook his head.
"Nothing, it is just... I do not think I have ever heard you laugh before, Gaara"
Gaara blushed in embarrassment and averted his eyes away from Lee.
He thought for a few moments before coming to the conclusion that it had in fact been the first time he had ever laughed. Not an evil laugh, or a forced laugh, but a genuine laugh.
"You're right, I've never laughed before just now." Gaara confirmed.
Lee blinked a few times, astonished by the words Gaara had just uttered. Was it really possible for a person to go 16 whole years without laughing?! Lee didn't think so. Still, hearing this made him feel pity for Gaara, if someone could go that long without laughing it must mean they haven't had an easy life. Lee is a very affectionate person and so, he instinctively set down his cup of tea and quickly wrapped his arms around the redhead, embracing him in a tight hug.
Gaara was truly confused now, not one person ever dared to invade his personal space, especially not as abruptly as Lee had just done.
"I am sorry, Gaara" Lee apologized. Gaara cocked his head to the side completely lost as to what actions he should take. He debated on returning the hug but took into consideration the fact that he's never hugged anyone before and quickly decided against it.
"Why are you apologizing? You haven't done anything wrong." Gaara pointed out.
"I have not, but somebody else must have." Lee stated, beginning to lightly rub small circles around Gaara's back.
Gaara paused for a moment. He doesn't remember ever telling Lee the story of his past. Although, he doesn't really see why that would be of any concern in the current situation. Perhaps Lee had some sort of unknown psychological power that allowed him to see into another's past. No, that's highly improbable.
"How do you know if I've never told you?" Gaara questioned, allowing his muscles to relax in Lee's arms. Lee backed away just enough to make eye contact with Gaara and gave a warm lighthearted smile.
"Well… How can a person go so long without laughing?" Lee inquired. Gaara just shifted his gaze to the side, lost for words. Lee sighed giving Gaara's shoulder a short light squeeze before proceeding to clean up the teapot and cups, placing them in the sink to wash the following morning.
Gaara couldn't help but feel a looming presence of emptiness in the pit of his stomach when Lee exited the room. This happened often though, watching numerous people enter and exit his office back in Suna for hours on end each day, whenever his siblings left to go on missions. It was almost like the second somebody would turn their back on him it would make him feel as if they would never show him their face to him again. Gaara, however, dismissed this as having some sort of abandonment issue, which wouldn't be too inaccurate.
Returning to his previous position, Lee offered Gaara a spot next to him in his bed to sleep for the night. It was far too late for Gaara to return to his temporary home in Konoha by now and Gaara was fairly tired anyhow. So, he decided to accept Lee's offer.
A/N: I'm tired of writing this right now, I've been working on it for weeks and I just really wanted to get it published. This will probably end up being a twoshot or maybe even a threeshot, I don't know, depends on how long the next part is. I just felt if I kept going with this at the moment it would either turn out bad, become way too long and boring, or I would loose interest in writing it and it would no longer make sense. So, I hope you enjoyed! And thank you for reading! C: