AN- Hurray, the second chapter. Que confetti.
Also, I don't have the slightest idea what I'm doing with the next chapter. It may take a while to update. Bear with me.
"Come in." Lee opened the door and stepped into the Hokage's office. Tsunade looked up from her paperwork. "Lee, I need you to deliver a package to Suna."
Lee hesitated, then responded, "Yes, Tsunade-sama."
She raised an eyebrow. "Everything okay?"
"Well… Last week Gaara-sama seemed mad at me, so I'm not sure he'd want to see me…"
Tsunade sat up straight and looked at him critically. "What do you mean?"
"He sort of… yelled at me after someone attacked him and I got hurt when I fought the attacker, but I was really just trying to protect Gaara-sama, but that made him angrier, so…Er…"
"Lee, do you think it will prevent you from completing you mission?"
"Well, no, probably not, but-"
"But nothing. Shinobi shouldn't allow personal problems affect their performance on missions. You're the fasted ninja we have, Lee. Deal with Gaara after you finish your business with the Kazekage."
Lee hardened his features and snapped into a salute. "Yes, Hokage-sama."
"Good." She pushed a small box on her desk toward him. "The contents of this package are fragile. You need to deliver it quickly, but carefully." The dark haired boy picked the box up and saluted once more before Tsunade dismissed him.
He packed his bag quickly, carefully securing the box down so that it wouldn't move. Within minutes he was sprinting out of the front gates and into the trees. His expertly trained body automatically set itself on the familiar path to the desert, freeing his mind to wander.
The scene from a week ago replayed itself again in his mind. Gaara grabbing his bleeding hand, flashes of emotion escaping his fortified face. He tried to calm the younger boy down, only causing more anger. Gaara letting go of him, yelling at him, losing control. The look in his eyes before he disappeared, the grim reminder of his instability and the demon within him…
Lee shuddered involuntarily. Gaara hadn't looked at him with those eyes since the chuunin exams four years ago. He had gained control of himself and Shukaku since then, so what happened? He was just trying to protect him, but Gaara got angrier when he said so. Perhaps he was insulted? Lee knew he could defend himself, very well in fact, but protecting his loved ones was just Lee's thing. Gaara ought to know that.
Maybe it was because he got injured. His desert-born friend always seemed to get frustrated whenever he got hurt. He once got a fairly harsh scolding when he got heat stroke after being warned not to train under the sand village's sun. But this time it was simply a flesh wound, on his hardened knuckles no less. Everyone, especially Gaara, knows that Rock Lee, the beautiful Green Beast of the forest, can take some hard knocks.
Come to think of it, the past few visits he's made to Suna Gaara has seemed a little off. Not necessarily in a bad way, just different than usual. For one, he's been smiling and letting his sense of humor, albeit dry and a little mean, come out. He appears to be calmer and happier that he used to be, if only while Lee's distracting him from his work.
His work… Maybe, that's it, maybe his duties were stressing him out. But that really isn't enough to explain his outburst…
Lee continued to ponder the matter for two days until he reached the sand village. He still had no solution as he showed the guards his passport and made his way to the Kazekage's building. His stomach did a half-flip that brought his thoughts back to Earth when he saw the door to the office open with Gaara inside looking down at the papers on his desk, but he threw his shoulders back and walked up to the doorway, looking more confidant that he felt.
He made his presence known with a sharp knock on the door frame. "Gaara-sama, may I come in?"
The Kazekage looked up, but looked back down at the paperwork on his desk the moment they made eye contact, his features as unreadable as ever. "Yes, Lee?"
Lee approached the desk and pulled out the package. "Hokage-sama requested that I give you this." He put it down in front of Gaara, who picked it up and opened it. Inside was a short letter and several unlabeled vials of liquid. Gaara skimmed through the letter, closed the box, and stood to walk toward the door. Lee followed him with his eyes but stood still. He knew Gaara quite well, but it was still next to impossible to guess what he was thinking when he got like this. The redhead paused at the door and half turned his head to look at Lee out of the corner of his eye.
"Well? Are you coming?"
Lee relaxed and gave him a lopsided grin. "Yeah, right behind you." He followed him out of the room and eventually the building. "So," he started, putting one hand behind his head, "I guess you're not mad anymore?"
Gaara turned his head and locked their gazes for a long moment before looking forward again. "I wasn't mad at you."
Lee's smile grew. "Oh, that is relieving to hear! I was afraid something was wrong."
Gaara didn't respond. They walked for a couple more blocks until they reached the hospital. He gave the box to the nurse behind the front counter, then walked outside and stopped, looking up at the cloudless sky.
"Gaara-sama?" Lee asked, "Are you okay?"
"…Lee," he started, but hesitated when his eyes met the older boy's. He sighed and looked away. "Don't call me 'sama'."
"Oh, okay… What should I call you?"
"I don't know. It's just too formal."
"…Is Gaara-kun okay?" Gaara shrugged and began walking, Lee following close behind him. "Well, Gaara-kun, what would you like to do?"
The question was never answered, and they both remained silent until they turned a corner and ran into Kankuro.
"Oh, hello, Kankuro-san," Lee greeted him with his usual smile. The puppet master nodded his head in acknowledgment, then looked between the two critically.
"Gaara, Temari wasn't serious, right?" Gaara stared at him blankly. "Well, she wasn't right, was she?"
The Kazekage narrowed his eyes and brushed his fingers over the tattoo on his brow. "Don't be stupid."
Kankuro analyzed Lee, then shrugged and walked away. "Um, Gaara-kun, what exactly just happened?"
"…Temari said something ridiculous recently."
"Temari-san? It doesn't seem in her character to say ridiculous things…"
"Well she said something, and it was wrong." His voice had a slight edge and he continued to feel the tattoo.
"Gaara-kun? Are you alright?" Although there was no verbal answer, Lee could see his face clearly saying, 'No, I'm not alright, there's something very wrong'. Out of habit he reached out one hand, hesitating only slightly before resting it on Gaara's shoulder. "Gaara-kun, what's wrong? You can tell me."
Gaara closed his eyes but otherwise didn't move. "No."
"But, Gaara-kun-"
"No, Lee." Gaara moved a step away and crossed his arms, breaking away from Lee's hand in the process. "I can't tell you."
Lee subconsciously assumed an apologetic expression. "Am I not trustworthy?"
"It's not that, I'm… incapable. I can not tell you." Lee tried to say something but found there was nothing he could really do at the moment. "I need to find Temari." With that Gaara turned and began to walk away.
"Oh…" Lee said, a bit dispirited. "I guess… I'll be seeing you, then." He watched Gaara's back for a moment, then made his way to the village's front gate.
Gaara found Temari in her room at her desk. She instinctively covered whatever she was writing, but relaxed when she saw who it was. "Oh, Gaara, it's you. Do you need something?"
"Yes. You seem to know a lot about… You know…" He lightly stroked his tattoo.
"Love?"
"Yes. I need advice."
She turned her chair around to face him. "Okay, shoot."
"Should it… Is it supposed to be painful?"
"Depends. What sort of pain?"
"Losing control of my body, my mind shutting down, overall anxiety and confusion."
"Mm…Yeah, that sounds about right."
"How do I make it stop?"
"Well, love is an instinctive thing, and usually can't be controlled. Either you can wait for it to wane, which will take a long time and isn't guaranteed, or you can try to get him to love you back, which is also not guaranteed but, if successful, would change the pain into a good feeling."
The younger sibling closed his eyes and sighed. "I didn't want this. It… It isn't fair."
"No." She shook her head. "It isn't. But it's something that happens to everyone. Even you."
"…How should I do this?"
"Do what?"
He opened his eyes and resumed his usual stoney expression. "Get him to love me back. Is that not the best course of action?"
"I suppose. You could drop subtle hints and wait for him to get a clue, but seeing as he lives three days away, that may take awhile. There's always the method of just telling him you love him and see how he reacts."
"Just go up to him and say, 'I'm in love with you'?"
"That, or 'Will you go out with me' or 'I want to be your boyfriend' or something like that. When's the next time you'll see him?"
Gaara subconsciously looked out the window toward Suna's front gate. "He only left a few moments ago, and he should stop for the night in an hour or so." He turned to head out the door.
"Good luck." The young Kazekage turned his head to look at his older sister. Over the past four years their relationship had been slowly evolving from hate and fear to a sort of awkward politeness, but they both knew the friendly undertones where sincere.
He softened his features and nodded, which she took as a 'thank you'. Then he was out the door and heading in the direction of Konoha, and Lee.
END SECOND CHAPTER. Again, the next one may very well take an eon or two. It's not cooperating with me. Tis sadness. It will be updated eventually, though. Someday.