"Gaara!" Gaara looked up, finding they were coming up on the second group he had been told was also out looking for him. "You're all right!" Lee yelled, his eyes wide and his chest heaving as he abandoned his group to run for Gaara.
"Yes, Lee." Gaara nodded shallowly. "Thank you," he added after a moment, slightly stilted, "I'm fi-" His eyes widened as Lee's hands curved around his shoulders and Lee's mouth was suddenly over his, silencing him. Gaara froze uncertainly, fingers twitching, his sand rustling in its gourd, not alarmed but fizzing indecisively in reaction to Gaara's surprise.
The moment stretched out. Gaara tentatively reached for Lee, fingertips brushing his hitai-ate where it was looped loosely around his waist, and tipped his head back to ease the angle of the . . . kiss. Gaara wondered faintly if kisses were always so stilted and awkward - the two of them weren't designed to meet evenly this way, Gaara's neck craned and Lee's back bent, their mouths still not quite square to each other.
"Oh, I-" Lee faltered as he drew back hurriedly, flushing. "I am sorry," he said, his earnest gaze not quite settling on Gaara's own - unusual, for Lee, who was one of the few people not to shy away from meeting Gaara's eyes - but roaming his face, dropping to the dirt, flicking up over his head, and eventually settling on the kanji on his brow, "I should not have done- I am-"
"Why did you, then?" Gaara asked, frowning. It had been awkward, but not . . . unpleasant - and it had been . . . some kind of mistake? From Lee, at least. The thought made Gaara unhappy, though he wasn't quite sure why, still thrown by having been kissed at all.
"I was overcome! But that is no excuse for pushing myself on you - on a friend, a comrade - in such a way!" Lee stepped back and bowed deeply, a sharp movement.
Gaara watched him curiously. "You wanted to, then." he questioned, confusion deepening.
Lee flushed a little deeper, lifting his head a bit but still barely meeting Gaara's eyes. "I- Yes." He coughed. "But that is still no-!"
"Lee." Gaara said, and he fell silent. Gaara reached for him and then stopped uncertainly. Lee gave him an open, wide-eyed look. Gaara frowned, and Lee ducked his head again. That wouldn't do. "Stand up." Gaara instructed. He couldn't reach from this angle.
Lee startled, but straightened obligingly. He was too tall for this. Gaara caught his shoulder - warm and rock-hard under Gaara's hand - and pulled him back down, just a little, meeting him with an unpractised, clumsy bump of lips. Lee's breath caught, his body twitching as he startled, but he didn't jerk away, only met Gaara's eyes nervously as he then went perfectly still beneath Gaara's hand and his lips.
Gaara made a curious, frustrated sound - this wasn't at all how it had felt, or how it seemed it could have felt - and Lee leaned closer, the touch of his mouth softening, gentle and tentative. Gaara relaxed slightly. That was more. . . A tiny smile pulled at Gaara's lips as he experimentally pushed them more firmly against Lee's.
Lee made a low groaning noise that thrummed in his throat and startled Gaara.
"I'm sorry," Lee broke away just enough to breathe against his lips, "are you sure you-"
Gaara slid his hand from Lee's shoulder up higher, curling around Lee's neck instead, and pulled, kissing him harder. The sand rustled again, more decisive now that Gaara was more confident, rising around Gaara and nudging Lee helpfully forwards at the calves - although it offered a little more force than necessary, and Lee nearly staggered into Gaara, one strong hand tightening on his shoulder for stability.
Gaara shifted his shoulders but stayed steady under the pressure, and Lee gentled it before cupping his cheek with the other hand, stroking along his jaw. The tight weave of the bandages protecting Lee's hand brushed along Gaara's skin, an unfamiliar but not unwelcome rough-textured-smooth sensation that he closed his eyes to focus on without thinking.
No one really touched Gaara at all, not even now. Not often and certainly not so . . . easily.
He leaned into the hand curling around his cheek, just a little, and Lee's lips closed around his own lower lip, almost . . . tugging gently. Gaara made another little confused sound and opened his eyes again, meeting Lee's gaze from so close.
Lee's face was still red, but this time as he drew back, despite the awkwardness of his motions and the little choked-off cough he gave instead of speaking, he wasn't apologising again, or retreating as he had before. He smiled at Gaara almost shyly, lowering his hand with a gentle sweep of heavily-callused fingertips along Gaara's jaw.
"I-" he paused, straightening, bringing himself unhelpfully out of reach again; that was all right, though, Gaara needed to . . . think, before he maybe tried to kiss Lee again. "I am very glad you are safe, Gaara." Lee said softly, as earnest as ever.
Gaara blinked. "Thank you." he said. He paused. "Is that why you kissed me?" he asked, still a little confused. That didn't seem like how things were supposed to work, but Gaara was also well aware that he . . . did not really understand how such things worked.
"Um." Lee rubbed the back of his neck. "Somewhat." he said sheepishly.
"Oh." Gaara frowned. "All right." That was . . . disappointing, a little.
"No, I mean- Well, yes, of course it is." Lee coughed, lowering his hand and meeting Gaara's eyes, smiling slightly, looking a bit . . . hopeful, perhaps. "It was . . . I could not help myself, but it is not the first time I have wished to kiss you." he said, pausing to clear his throat again. "I can usually control myself."
"Oh." Gaara pressed his lips together. "Why?"
Lee blinked at him several times, but didn't answer immediately. Someone else called his name, a little muffled, and Gaara huffed quietly with irritation, even as he realised it was odd that he was only now hearing any of the others in the second group with Lee - or the people who had been accompanying Gaara himself, for that matter.
A low, rustling patter came from all around them and Gaara observed belatedly that it was his sand settling to the ground and beginning to sweep back towards him. But why had it been-
"Gaara!" Temari yelled. "What were you doing, why wouldn't you let anyone else near you?" She stalked towards them and eyed Lee with something that wasn't quite distaste. "Nothing was wrong, was it?" she asked, sharp with concern, meeting Gaara's eyes.
Gaara tipped his head slightly. "No." he said honestly.
"Then why was your sand keeping us all away?" Temari asked, glancing at the gourd. "It bowled Akio over and nearly sent him flying when he tried to get through to to you!"
"I am sorry," Lee said, shaking his head, "it was my fault."
"Were you attacking him?" Temari demanded sharply, snapping her head around towards Lee, the spiky tips of her hair bouncing.
"Of course not." Gaara answered impatiently while Lee's flush darkened again. As though Lee would have tried such a thing.
Temari huffed, looking Gaara over again, a superficial but thorough check for anything out of place.
"Are you all right?" Kankurou called from a little further away.
"Yes." Gaara said, irritated. He had already told his siblings he was ultimately unharmed, and been subjected to their not quite convinced looks as they inspected him without much subtlety. Before they began crossing the desert from where they had found him back towards Suna, hours ago.
Kankurou huffed and glared at Lee, and Gaara glared back. His brother's expression faltered and he looked away, focusing on one of the Suna jounin who had been dragged along on the rescue mission for Gaara instead.
"If you are ready, Gaara-sama, we should return to the village." Akio said, with a short little bow. He looked . . . ruffled.
"Of course." Gaara agreed, frowning slightly. "Are you unharmed, Akio?" he asked with concern. The jounin had come through the rescue assisting Gaara uninjured, but he looked worse now. Had Gaara's sand actually injured one of his own people while he was distracted? His frown deepened. That was . . . unacceptable.
"I am well, Kazekage-sama." Akio said with a slight smile, inclining his head again. "I was merely thrown aside, not harmed." he added.
"Hm." Gaara eyed him carefully, but there were no obvious injuries to be found and he was moving comfortably. None of the others seemed in any worse condition, so Gaara dismissed his concerns.
A few words from Akio to the others, and another reassurance from Gaara to Temari that he was fine and his sand had not been reacting to danger when it rose to block them from him, and their newly larger group was ready to resume travelling back towards Suna.
"Lee?" Gaara said, looking over at Lee, who had not quite edged away from him but was no longer so near, either.
He looked up and immediately cut across the sand closer to Gaara, not quite falling in at his side. "Yes, Gaara?" he asked attentively.
"There is," Gaara paused thoughtfully, "no need for you to control yourself. When you experience such an impulse."
"Impul- Oh!" Lee's face quickly flushed again, but he grinned broadly, too. "Really?"
Gaara eyed him. Gaara disliked repeating himself.
Lee only laughed. "Of course." He bowed his head in acknowledgement, then glanced sideways at Gaara. "I- You," he paused, looking around them at the others - certainly some of them could hear what Gaara and Lee spoke of, but he wasn't sure why that should be bothersome - and then meeting Gaara's eyes again, "you would . . . like it, if I were to. . ." he trailed off.
"I liked it when you kissed me." Gaara agreed, with a nod. "I believe I would like it if you did it again. If you wish to. I would like to see." he added.
"Yes." Lee said immediately, slightly rough. "Ano- I would like that." he said, ducking his head. The silly grin was still on his face. It was oddly . . . endearing, Gaara thought was the right label for the odd little feeling. Lee was endearing, in general, Gaara had found when he had finally been given a reasonable definition for 'endearing'. "I am glad," Lee continued quietly, "that you liked it."
"I like you." Gaara said matter-of-factly, and was faintly surprised when Lee promptly stumbled, staring at him.