A/N: Another update for you! I know this may seem slow, but there's something interesting coming in the next chapter! :D Please hold on with me! This chapter features thoughts of both Gaara and Lee! Forgive me for the time skipping... Also, I love reviews 3 and the story alert additions! Thank you very much, and please continue to do so as it makes my insides wiggly with joy!

As a side note, I have realized there have been no disclaimers. I shall put them on from henceforth!

The characters DO NOT belong to me (as of yet) as they belong to the beloved Masashi Kishimoto! I merely own the situation those characters are introduced to in this story!


Lee groans minutely as the sound of his alarm yanks him from another dream. Onyx eyes flit open to stare at the blinking numbers on the clock. He swings his legs over the edge of his bed while sending his arm out to stop the insistent buzzing. Lee is unusually slow this morning, not yet bounding to the closet for clothing, or the bathroom for brushing his teeth and hair. He has had a strange dream, one that leaves him confused and embarrassed for some reason.

Wisps of it taunt his memory, only allowing Lee to remember insignificant things. Like red hair. As this registers in his mind, Lee remembers the boy sleeping on his couch downstairs. Lee heaves himself out of bed and walks into his bathroom. It's still early enough for him to shower, and the black haired boy grabs a green towel off a shelf and places it on the sink. Quickly stripping, Lee reaches to turn the water on, making it extra warm. The temperature doesn't scald him anymore, more it relaxes his muscles. However, when he steps in the tub a hiss escapes his lips.

The water wakes him up further, and Lee begins to wash his body. He massages soap into his scalp, fingernails just barely scraping the tender skin. The bath is scented with a mint of sorts, giving the heavy air a crisp smell. It almost makes Lee thinks he's swallowing a river of mint with every breath. Lee runs a soap bar over his chest quickly, not paying attention to what he's doing, as he is focused on breathing evenly. The longer he stands in the shower, the more he thinks about his dream.

He had woken up at some point in the night, panting and hot. It isn't unusual for a boy his age to have dreams like that. The kind with women who had breasts unrealistically large, wide hips and tiny waists. But the dream that had shaken Lee from sleep did not feature a woman. At least, he cannot imagine why he would dream of a woman with such a flat chest. Lee might have thought the person had been a boy, but the hands that had been on his skin were small and silky. Those hands had moved all over his chest, exploring at first, but testing.

The dream comes clearer as Lee continues to poke at it, unraveling details that make him gasp and burn with heat flashes. A hot breath over his nipples, fingers dancing over his ribs, it all hits Lee without warning. Lee opens his eyes, and finds himself aroused. He can feel shame nagging at him for having a hard on because of a dream. Even still, his hand drifts down to stroke himself. His breath catches in his throat, and he lets his eyes close. Compared to the water, his hand is cold. It forces shivers down Lee's spine as he slowly pumps his fist up and down. Lee leans against the wall of the shower as he works his member, feeling his knees quiver and shake, and his breath comes out in small pants.

He reaches his climax with the blurry picture of a small redhead behind his eyes.

Lee forces himself to think of not-steamy things, works on rinsing his hair and body off. The heated water threatens to bring the dream back to him, to make him hard again. Before Lee climbs out of the shower, he turns the hot water off and lets the terribly cold water wash away any sign of the dream.

When Lee is dry and dressed, he bounds down the stairs and moves to the living room, ready to waken the sleeping redhead. However instead of a body, Lee finds the blankets in the same pile he left them, and his grey sweats folded on top of the pillow. Upon searching the house, Lee finds Gaara has already left. A disappointed stone rests upon his chest, but he is unsure why.


Gaara does not go to school anymore. Not that he needs to, for he has graduated a year ahead of schedule on account of being a "genius". Gaara doesn't feel like a genius. He only feels anxiety anymore. Unless he is around Lee, that is. The day after Gaara's unexpected stay, Lee found him. He was curious as to why Gaara had left so early.

Gaara had only shrugged and looked away. A pleased purr rumbled inside of him at the look of Lee's disappointed face though.

And then to top it off, Lee offered his home to Gaara whenever he needed a place to stay. When Gaara gives Lee a certain look, the black haired boy seems to understand. Says he'll pick Gaara up later if he wants. Lee has to go to school, and has track practice after. Gaara nods in agreement.

When Gaara goes to his own house during the day, his older siblings chew him out. They corner him in the kitchen. His sister, Temari was worried to death. "Why didn't you call or something? Jesus, I thought you were old enough to understand that you can't just leave the house in the middle of the night! What was going through your head?" It goes on like that for a while, Gaara has learned to let her get it all out before saying anything. While his eldest sibling is yelling at him, Gaara watches her with unblinking eyes. Her blond hair is pulled back into four ponytails sticking out of her head. Irritably, she swipes her bangs out of her eyes whenever they dare drift down. His sister would be as beautiful as the models on TV if she wasn't always yelling, or threatening people. Gaara thinks she might have an anger issue.

Waiting his turn, Gaara's brother stares him down. His brother has dark brown hair, brown eyes, and tanned skin. After Temari finished, panting with the effort of so much yelling, Kankuro took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "So where did you go, brat?"

Gaara shrugs, and Kankuro leaves it at that, much to the surprise of everyone. A quiet minute passes before Gaara starts. "I will not be here tonight. I am staying with a friend." He leaves the kitchen as Temari starts up again, heading to his own room. Gaara doesn't care much for his house. It's quite large, it could easily fit three of Lee's house inside it's walls. It is filled with his father's expensive tastes, but lacks feeling. When Gaara ghosts the hallways, he feels as though he is in a hotel, a temporary place.

He creeps up the stairway, unsure whether his father is in the house or not. As he reaches his room, he swiftly begins packing. Tonight he will not wear sagging grey sweats, half naked in Lee's house. Anxiety is pushing at his mind. What if Lee changes his mind and kicks him out? What if his father finds him before Gaara can leave? What if Gaara cannot make it to Lee's house? The darker part inside him scoffs, calls him pathetic. Purrs, telling him things planned for tonight. For when Lee is silently sleeping.

A shiver runs through Gaara.

He is bent over his bag, folding random clothes in when his father appears in the doorway. He is a large, furious shadow. Gaara turns and looks at him through a blank mask. It starts with yelling, louder, trying to hurt it. Temari's ranting is nothing compared to the words this man spits at Gaara. This man does not yell because he is worried, he yells because he is angry. Gaara's father is a cruel man, not only in business, but at home. During the day he wears a guise that plays him as a headstrong, but polite man. The only person who sees the monster is Gaara. Because Gaara is the reason he lost his wife.

As the shadow descends on Gaara, he holds onto the hope that Lee won't forget to pick him up after practice.


Lee doesn't know what to do. He has waited outside of Gaara's house for over twenty minutes in the car. He has knocked on the large, intimidating doors to no avail. Against all his morals and codes, Lee gives up and drives away from the huge house, and the redhead inside.

Once he is home, he sets the blankets and pillows out on the couch again. He still wants for Gaara to come over. Lee settles himself on the couch, flips on the TV, and waits for the green-eyed boy to knock on his door.

It is late when the sound comes, faint and muffled, but Lee can hear it over the sound of the television. He struggles out of the green couch that swallowed him at some point and heads to the door, pulling it open. It is almost a feeling of déjà vu, with sleep pulling at his mind and a wet Gaara on his porch. But there is no rain tonight, and the redhead before him is not looking at him with hopeful eyes. Instead, the head is turned downward, shoulders curled inward, and a bag in his hand. He is still wearing the same clothes from yesterday.

"Gaara! I thought you had forgotten! Please do come inside! What happened to you?" His voice booms, making the boy in front of him flinch. Lee stands off to the side, holding the door open for Gaara to walk through. Sluggishly, the redhead moves inside the door and stands, still not looking up. Lee can feel worry twisting itself into his stomach. Gaara has always been a quiet person, but this is beyond even him. Normally, Gaara walks with the easy grace and confidence of a cat.

"Are you alright, Gaara?" He asks, stepping closer to take the bag from clenched fingers. The boy is holding onto the straps like a lifeline, and Lee works at unraveling the fingers enough to take the bag and set it down inside the door. Finally, his curiosity and worry cannot keep anymore, and he reaches to tilt a pale chin upward. Unconsciously, a breath falls from his lips. Gaara's face is a mess of black and blue. A line of dark red, almost black, is drying on one of his temples. Lee can see his the bruises scattering his neck, down under his shirt. He is soaked, skin frozen to the touch. But what shakes Lee the most is the look in those teal eyes. They are cold and faded, as though the boy before him isn't all there. Lee's voice is hard and tight as he asks again.

"Gaara. What happened?"