Hello guys, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter before! I'm sorry for making everyone thinking it was a one-shot.

Word Count: 2,717

Thank you, cuteelika and thesooteSeason for reviewing :)

Chapter two

One thing Lee learned in the many years of being Gaara's shadow is when no one was around, Gaara would sneak into his father's den and played the piano.

Lee was there for the first time Gaara found an interest in hitting the keys and was more than excited each year he heard Gaara play, more advanced and beautiful than the year before.

Right now he sat in the room, on top of the piano and watched Gaara's fingers play slowly across the piano keys and realizing that he never wanted to get up and leave. He wanted to watch Gaara play piano forever. He wanted to watch him grow up without huge gaps in the year. He wanted to make sure that nothing ever happened to him. He wanted to protect him.

All of that sounded familiar to him somehow but he never even considered it being a human emotion.

"Bushy brow." Lee looked up, flushed like he was caught doing something he wasn't supposed to do. "It's been days. Are you done yet?"

"...Yes. I suppose I am." Lee looked bothered and stared at Gaara one last time. "Don't grow up too much while I'm gone." He said with a slight bitter undertone. Gaara couldn't hear him and he knew that. What was the point in talking to him?

"Lee..." Naruto walked closer to his friend and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry bud." Lee shook his head.

"It's fine, Naruto." It was then that Naruto was determined for Lee to find a way to actually talk to this boy who had entranced him for so many years. Lee jumped and just like that, he was out of sight.

Naruto took this time to examine Gaara. He never really let a human entice him as much as Lee ever did, however he couldn't deny, Gaara was unique. And he always looked so... broken. Maybe it was just Lee's need to make everyone happy that attached him to this boy.

"You're a lucky boy." Naruto said with a warm smile as Gaara sat there unbeknownst to him that there was so much going around him. Naruto didn't realize the irony of his statement and he gave Gaara one last goodbye glance and disappeared, ready to make the autumn chill go away.

"He's been like this for hours." Sakura whispered to Sasuke. He sighed and stared at him with slight disapproval.

"He shouldn't be this bent out of shape over a human." He said strongly and Sakura frowned, making it clear to Sasuke that he was going about this the wrong way.

"Sasuke, you know that this is no ordinary human." She said and then lowered her voice dramatically. "I think he's in love." Sasuke seemed quick tempered at her statement and took a step back and glared.

"He is the season of fall, he shouldn't be wasting his time, pinning over some 13 year old boy." He snapped and didn't notice that Lee even retorted.

"Autumn." He corrected softly, hands grasping his knees tightly.

"Yeah Sasuke, don't disrespect him." Sakura reprimanded and Sasuke continued to glower.

At this moment, Lee wondered why Sakura and Sasuke were discussing his personal matters among themselves. He then concluded that he didn't mind. They could talk about it all they wanted. They didn't know how he felt or why. He didn't even know. All he did know, was that the summer seemed to be dragging on and he was probably ruining the autumn season for everyone by disregarding it and staying up in the air. He felt as though the weather could figure itself out right now.

Gaara sat in his room looking at the floor. It seemed to be his favorite pass-time hobby. He didn't know what else to do. His family was out, he was alone. Sometimes he felt as though he would never belong with anyone. He was always going to be alone.

He rose up and walked to his door, gently placing his hand on the knob and jiggling it. Locked.

He sighed and sat back down and stared at the floor. He didn't know why his father hated him so much. He didn't know why everyone was scared of him. He didn't remember doing anything crazy. He just didn't know why everyone didn't like him. For a while he liked them. Now he wasn't so sure what to think anymore.

He rose from his bed and did a quick scan of the area from outside his window. He was facing the opposite way of the road so if he jumped out of the window, no one should really notice. He did this often and he was becoming rather professional at sneaking out of his room since his father didn't like taking him in public. Like he was a monster or something.

Gaara grabbed a hooded shall to try the best he could at concealing his identity if he happened to run into anyone his father knew and he decided that was good enough. He slid the window opened and very easily landed two stories below with slight shock to his legs.

He shook his legs out and scoped the area one last time and headed towards the woods where he could be alone, but at peace.

Gaara couldn't remember the last time he was truly and honestly happy. He didn't even know if people actually felt those things. He knew that there was one thing he truly did love. That was the autumn.

He loved the concept of everything dying. The leaves falling off trees and the colors everything turned and the beauty of it all. He loved the cooler weather and the later nights. Everything about the fall he loved. One thing most of all, is how every year, without fail, a leaf would land right on his nose. The first day off fall. That's why he found it odd when a leaf cupped his nose the other day. Fall wasn't due for another month and as hurt as he was because he felt like the one thing that was surefire lied to him, he felt at ease. As if, more than anything, he needed the fall.

And every single year, the fall was there for him.

Gaara would laugh about the concept of having a guardian angel. In fact, the idea was the most laughable thing in the world. However, he felt every year, fall was his guardian angel. Like nothing could hurt him when the leaves began trickling off the trees one by one and occasionally in a huge catastrophe of colors. That's when he felt safe.

Nothing ever disappointed him more than when the cold weather prickled his nose and made it nice and red. His father could leave him locked in his room all day and all night, forget to feed him and forget he existed. However, nothing stung like each year when the snow finally descends from the sky and he reminisces in his thoughts that the fall, has finally left him. Never has he felt more abandoned than on December 21st.

Gaara slid a knife out of his pocket and held up a rather thick stick that he began carving. He liked sculptures, it was one of the most appealing things to him. He was sometimes baffled when he saw them. He wasn't really impressed when people drew things, it's when they sculpted them that he really started paying attention. How everything needed to be perfect, there was nearly no re-dos. He liked the intensity of the concept.

While carving his sculpture, Gaara then began wondering if you could personify the fall, what would the person look like? How would they act? For some reason he couldn't bring himself to think of either, afraid to insult autumn.

He couldn't help himself. There was a cool chill, cold enough to give him goosebumps, he smiled.

He was then filled with a sense of urgency. Like he couldn't be here. No. That he had to be home. He didn't know why, he just knew. He dropped the stick and rushed back to his house and didn't know if he should feel scared or not when he saw his father's car not too far.

He glanced at his window and furrowed his brow. He hadn't remembered the tree next to his house sloping over that much. He didn't care to question it. He climbed up the tree and threw himself into the window just as he heard the downstairs door knob open. He closed his window and threw his shall into the closet and sat down at his desk and tried his best to look like he's been brooding if his father happened to come in to see if he was still alive.

He never did.

Lee stood in the clearing that Gaara seemed to inhabit most of his free time in and smiled when he saw that Gaara noticed what he was trying to do. He could get into a lot of trouble for meddling in his life this much, he just couldn't bring himself to care.

He glanced down in wonder, wanting to know exactly what Gaara was attempting to carve and for some reason he felt that it was him.

Even though there were no defined features and most of it wasn't really finished, Lee grabbed it and decided it was the best present he could have ever gotten. He shifted the ground beneath him and placed the stick there, in hopes to preserve it.

"You really are too sweet, Gaara." Lee sat down on the old rotten log. He had to admit, it was his fault it was like that, but as long as it provided Gaara with a seat, he didn't mind that one of Sakura's plants had to die. As long as it rendered as a form of comfort. He didn't know what humans found comfortable.

Lee looked around and noticed that the trees hung too much and it was impossible to see the sky from here. He wanted to create an opening but found himself stopping. One reason was because he didn't want Naruto to find out that he had been messing around in the summertime and another because maybe Gaara liked the secluded area.

"I knew I'd find you here." Lee jumped at the voice and turned quickly to be face-to-face with a concerned looking Gai.

"Gai-sensei." Lee bowed several times. Gai was indeed his sensei. In fact, Gai was Autumn before it was passed down to Lee. That's why they had such a striking resemblance. "Why are you here?"

"Everyone is worried about you. Why you spend every waking day mulling over this person. You're so youthful, you shouldn't be dealing with this kind of stress. This isn't the Lee I know. This isn't the Lee I trained.

Lee looked down at his feet. It was true. He was a lot perkier before. Now he was just... barely functioning.

"I'm sorry Gai-sensei. I will not let this happen again." Lee promised regretfully.

"But you will." Gai said with a chuckle. "You will let him coerce his red-headed self back into your mind and you will be driven crazy by the ill-effects... of love." Gai gave his signature pose and smiled brightly at Lee who seemed confused.

"But sensei... I don't exactly... I don't know what that even is." Lee admitted and Gai seemed confused.

"Everyone said that you loved him. I thought you knew." He stated and Lee huffed and glared upwards. Figures it was the other seasons meddling in his life.

"No. I'm the spirit of Autumn. How would I fall in love? More importantly, how would anyone fall in love with me?" Gai was left speechless, he hadn't known that Lee felt so strongly about that. And Lee shook his head and vanished before Gai could figure out what to say to make the youthful season feel any better than before.

"Gaara!" Gaara glanced at his door. Right now he'd been lazily laying in his bed. There wasn't much for him to do. He was locked in his room, only this time, everyone was home. He didn't bother trying to get out. He was getting really thirsty though.

He didn't reply to Temari's call. He didn't feel as though he had to. If she needed to talk to him, she could take her privileged self and unlock his door to talk to him.

Which is exactly what she did.

Temari looked a bit pale. Gaara tilted his head to the side.

"Is there something you need?" He asked and Temari nodded, as if on the verge of tears. Gaara didn't know why he rose up from his bed as quickly as he did, but that was his sister and something was bothering her.

"Can you help me? Dad just collapsed." If Gaara felt any sympathy, it sure was gone now. He took a step back and Temari could've sworn he growled. "Please."

"Why should I even help him?"

"Because Gaara!" She snapped. "If he dies then you'll be put in foster care!" Gaara paused and tensed up. He heard a lot of negative things about foster care. And Temari saying that made him realize that she already decided that her and Kankuro were going to live on their own. But he was only thirteen. He couldn't walk away unscathed. Temari was 16, Kankuro was 15. They could get away with it. Not if they had a thirteen year old.

Gaara inhaled deeply and helped Temari by carrying his father almost 3 miles to the hospital. Kankuro was nowhere to be found and no one could find his father's car.

Gaara waited in the hospital with Temari next to him. He didn't want to be here anymore. He didn't like this place and plus, he half hoped his father didn't make it from whatever the hell happened to him. It was probably cold and heartless to hope that upon your father, but honestly,Yondaime wasn't a father to him anyway.

Gaara watched nurses scurry around and the desk receptionists take a bunch of phone calls. He watched people scream, cry with joy or misery, he couldn't tell. It was all crying.

He realized why he hated the hospital so much. People die here. Doctor's misdiagnose their patients and everything is for naught. They die anyway. Or even worse, children are born. More people in the world to make it worse.

Gaara just didn't like people. He didn't like people living but he hated when people died too.

"Lee." Lee glanced up and there was Sasuke in his ice-prince glory. He looked like he was looking down on Lee, however Lee never took it to heart. Sasuke always looked angry, even if he had the best intentions.

"Yes, Sasuke?" Lee said quietly and Sasuke sat down next to Lee.

"A lot of people miss their warm sweater and campfire weather." He said nonchalantly. Lee sighed. He should've known this was going to be a guilt trip.

"Sasuke, I'm sorry I just can't-" Sasuke covered Lee's mouth and gave him a "shut up" glare. Lee stared steadily at Sasuke.

"All I'm saying is that maybe it would be wise for you to forsake your seasonal duties... For now." Lee's eyes were wide, a lot wider than usual.

"N-no! I promise! I will be the best Autumn you've ever seen before! I will make the leaves turn colors so beautiful that-"

"Lee, no one is as good at the Autumn season than me." Lee turned to be face-to-face with Gai.

"Sensei, what are you talking about?" Lee asked softly and Gai smiled and pat Lee on the head.

"Lee, how would you like to be on earth for a while?" Lee held his breath. He held his breath so tightly that his face was turning red and he was seriously forgetting to breath. He couldn't properly convey his emotions. He's never felt this way before. But it seemed that Gai knew exactly how he felt, he smiled warmly and gave Lee a thumbs up.

"G-Gai- sensei. I don't know..." Gai laughed whole heartedly.

"You say that like I was giving you the choice." And with that, Lee saw black.

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