True
Gaara-sama is the true desert rose, Rock Lee thinks, as he watches the incredibly wonderful boy walk ahead of him. The sky was filled with the exuberant colours of the setting sun; coming from the Village Hidden in the Leaves, Lee always loved the desert sunset. The sun was flaming red, emitting long tails of bright orange and pale pink with light, almost unnoticeable tinges of gold.
Gaara was leading him to his favourite spot in the desert. He told Lee that he often came here to watch the sun set.
They stopped at a rather uninteresting-looking spot, and Lee wondered how Gaara could tell the difference, especially with the wind constantly shaping the sand dunes.
Probably years of experience, Lee concluded. Gaara looked up at him and shyly grasped for Lee's bandaged calloused hands. He looked away, blushing lightly and making Rock Lee think that he was the absolute cutest thing in the entire world.
Gaara hesitantly scooted closer to him and rested his head on Lee's shoulder.
"When I was little," he muttered, "when people would ignore me, I'd like to come here. Of course, I couldn't stray very far—I was only allowed just a few meters away from the village. I didn't care. I loved to play around in the sand. Sometimes I'd dig around at the base of the dunes and find fossils. This place was my secret treasure chest, my special hiding place that gave me comfort when I was in need of solace."
How sad, Lee thought, I wish I had known him then. I would have been his friend. He clutched the smaller boy's hand tighter.
"You blend well with the desert, Gaara-kun," Lee replied after a little while of thought and peaceful comfort. "Your hair is the same colour as the desert sun, and your skin as pale as the sands. You are the true desert rose, the incarnation of some beautiful, clever god of flowers and sand. I think you are a god, Gaara-kun. The desert god."
Overwhelmed by these compliments, Gaara blushed harder and said, "I think that is all nonsense, Lee."
"Hmm..." Lee said thoughtfully, raising his hand to gently finger through Gaara's thick hair. "Whatever you may say. I shall continue believing that you are, indeed, a true desert rose."
Author's Notes:
The idea was given to me after writing chapter seven of A Moment Like This, where the scene there is slightly similar to this one.