Lee was slowly becoming aware of his surroundings. His awareness was drifting from restless dreams to consciousness. He could hear a constant wail of wind and sand against the rocks outside his cave. He refused to open his eyes, because he knew that he would only see the horrible darkness. He was disoriented, and it took him a few minutes of drifting before he could remember where his hands and feet were. Almost every inch of skin on his body stung. But he vaguely knew that something was different from before. He felt… almost better, but not quite. He was not dying anymore.
It wasn't until he flexed his chilled toes in his boots that he realized something. Aside from his feet, he wasn't cold. In fact, his whole left side was heated to the point of sweating. His hands were clutching the fabric of someone's shirt, and it was only then that he realized he wasn't alone. Someone was sitting next to him on the cave floor, breathing softly into Lee's hair.
Still not opening his eyes, Lee uncurled his fingers from the shirt fabric, and placed his palm on the other person's chest. The person didn't stir. Lee furrowed his eyebrows and inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of the stranger. It was so familiar….
Lee exhaled sharply as he realized who was here with him. His angel! Lee had to be dreaming again, and this was the most vivid dream yet! Perhaps Lee had died, and his angel had come to comfort him like it had always done before. But, this couldn't be a dream… as he grew more alert and the sleepy haze left his mind, he realized that he was defiantly among the living. He could feel the sting on his skin, the breath in his lungs, hear the howl of the storm outside, feel his heart beating in his chest… feel the heartbeat of his angel under his palm.
His angel had come to life, and was holding him. Finally feeling confident enough to face the darkness, Lee slowly opened his eyes.
It wasn't dark anymore. For some reason, everything in a ten food radius was dimly lit, with no visible source of light. Lee found himself staring at the chest of a man in a black shirt, with mesh covering his neckline and arms. There was a large white, blood stained cloth wrapped around them both, sealing in their heat. As Lee lifted his head, the man stirred, and Lee found himself looking into aqua green eyes as deep as the sea.
Gaara is my angel?
Gaara felt Lee stir beneath his chin. He pulled away and took a deep breath, feeling himself waking up. How long had he been asleep? His body felt strangely boneless, and didn't want to move. Gaara could feel Lee's fingers flex against his chest, releasing his shirt and pressing flat against his skin. Lee's hand was warm, and his touch made Gaara want to huddle even closer.
You're close enough, he told himself sternly. The whole point to being this close is to keep warm. As long as the robe can wrap around us, then we're as close as we need to be.
Lee slowly shifted, lifting his face away from Gaara's shoulder to look him in the face. Lee's eyes were wide and bewildered, and his lips were softly parted. He still had faint bloodstains on his face, and his eyes were watery. Gaara vaguely worried that Lee would start crying again.
But, no. Lee seemed much more in control of himself now. He wasn't so incoherently lost as he was before. His expression was aware, if a bit bemused. His massive eyebrows were puckered in thought, and he held Gaara's gaze steadily. Gaara stared back, not saying anything. The silence stretched for a long time, before Lee finally opened his mouth to speak.
"Wh- where-" Lee cut himself off, and turned his face away to cough weakly. Gaara rubbed his thumb in circles on Lee's shoulder. He wasn't sure what prompted him to do so while Lee was awake. He'd never touched him like this while Lee was aware of it before. In fact, he'd never touched anyone like this before. Lee gave him an appreciative look when his coughing fit was over.
"What happened?" Lee asked.
"You were caught in a sandstorm." Gaara stated simply. Lee looked at him like that answer was unsatisfactory.
"But why are you here?"
"To rescue you."
"Just you?"
"Not many other ninjas can handle a search party through a sandstorm of this magnitude."
Lee continued to gaze into Gaara's eyes, and the Kazekage couldn't help but wonder if there was something else in Lee's gaze. Why was he staring like this? Usually people hated making eye contact with Gaara. Whenever someone met his gaze, they would flinch and look away. Perhaps Lee was still in shock.
"Wh- why- why are we cuddling, Gaara-sama?" Lee asked, his eyes widening and his cheeks becoming flushed as he finally seemed to realize how close they were on the cave floor. Lee stared to pull away, his cheeks an angry shade of red, but Gaara only tugged him closer in response.
"We need to stay warm and conserve our strength while we wait out the storm. If it last more than another day, I will transport us back to Suna. And just call me Gaara. No title." For some reason, hearing Lee refer to him as 'Gaara-sama' right now had a bad ring to it. It annoyed him.
"M- my apologies, Ga-Gaara." Lee murmured, looking down.
"Are you cold?" Gaara asked. That would be a good reason for Lee's stuttering.
"No, I am not. Well, except for my toes, but they are fine." Lee said. He looked back up into Gaara's face, his expression thoughtful. "Gaara? If… if you do not mind my asking… were we close, before I lost my memory?"
"No, we were far away from each other. You lived in Konoha, and I in Suna." The tone of his voice seemed to be saying 'Duh.'.
"That is not what I meant. Were we… were we friends? How well did we know each other?" Lee's eyes were wide and earnest. He seemed to be searching for something in Gaara's expression.
Gaara examined Lee, wondering what was going through the jonin's head. He briefly tried to come up with a term to describe the relationship between the two men before Lee's rescue from the desert. Lee expression was pensive and edged with nerves. His face was even more flushed than before, and Gaara began to wonder if Lee had a fever.
"Your face is flushed." Gaara stated. Lee jumped slightly when Gaara laid the back of his hand on Lee's forehead. He leaned in closer and examined Lee's pupils. "Your respiration has sped up, and your heartbeat is uneven. Are you alright?"
"Y- yes." Lee arched up, until their faces were only a couple inches apart. Their breath mingled, and Gaara could smell the blood on Lee's skin. Lee started to opened his mouth to speak, though he never would remember later what he'd been about to say. Instead, he leaned forward and pressed his lips softly against Gaara's, still looking into his eyes.
Gaara held very still, not knowing how he should react. Gaara was not wearing the sand armor, so he could clearly feel the brush of skin against skin. Lee's lips were warm, gentle, and conveyed depths of emotion that Gaara was unfamiliar with. Lee pulled away, his gaze still linked with Gaara's. There was a long pause. All that could be heard was the howling of the storm outside, and the heartbeat of the two men.
"Should I… should I not have done that?" Lee asked quietly. Gaara paused before answering.
"I don't know." What did that mean? Why did Lee just kiss him? He didn't dislike it, but he couldn't understand what it meant. What was he supposed to do now?
Lee bit his lip, and his eyes were even more watery than before. Thoughtlessly, Gaara reached up and wiped the liquid away from where it was forming in the corner of Lee's eye. Lee leaned into the touch, and seemed to exhale in a whoosh.
"May… may I kiss you again?" Lee asked. Gaara didn't see why they shouldn't. He nodded wordlessly.
Lee leaned up again, and pressed his lips more fully against Gaara's. The firm, gentle pressure was pleasant. This time, Lee closed his eyes, though Gaara kept his open. Lee's expression was relaxed and contented. Gaara gently returned the kiss, softening his lips against Lee's. Lee's mouth spread against Gaara's as he smiled. He slowly slid his hands up Gaara's chest, and rubbed his shoulders for a moment.
A new sensation stirred in Gaara's body as Lee touched him. Goose bumps raised across his skin as electric currents raced circles in his chest. He shuddered when Lee's arms wrapped around his shoulders, though he didn't feel cold. This was so strange… nothing in this felt negative, but it did feel… intense. Lee pulled his lips away from Gaara's. Gaara assumed that he was done doing… whatever it was that they'd been doing, and started to pull away. Lee's arms tightened around his shoulders, not letting him escape.
Lee softly pressed his lips against the corner of Gaara's mouth. Unsure of how he should respond, Gaara held still. Lee proceeded to slowly kiss Gaara's cheek… his chin… the tip of his nose… between his hairless brows… and finally resting his soft lips for a moment on Gaara's scarred forehead. Gaara had closed his eyes, and just relaxed under the tender press of Lee's lips against his skin. The affection Lee was showing him was so seductively warm… it left him aching for more. He needed to feel more of this emotion that Lee was drawing from him with such a caring touch.
Slowly, tentatively, Gaara returned Lee's embrace and wrapped his arms around Lee's back. Lee bent down and kissed Gaara's lips softly one more time, his warm breath mingling with the red head's, and then rested his cheek against Gaara's and contented to just holding each other. His breathing was irregular, but his heart beating steadily. Gaara rested his head gingerly on Lee's shoulder. This embrace was so warm, so pleasant. He never wanted to let go.
It was only then that Gaara realized something remarkable. This was it. This was his first real hug. There had been other times when he'd had someone else's arms around him, such as when he'd been carried back from the Akatsuki lair. But this was a hug. Lee was embracing him. Gaara's arms tightened at the thought, and he felt Lee's body beneath his fingers as he wondered if this was real. Lee's hands rubbed circles up and down his spine, leaving a trail of delighted nerves in their wake.
"Gaara?" Lee asked softly.
"… hmm?"
"…Thank you. So much."
Gaara frowned minutely. Lee didn't need to thank him for anything. It was annoying. But right now, he wouldn't say anything about it. He would just enjoy his very first hug in silence.
Kankuro felt guilty. Extremely guilty. So guilty that he had a vague urge to run head first back into that damn sandstorm and just lay down and be buried by the accumulating debris.
But he didn't let Temari know that.
"For the last time, it wasn't my fault. That sandstorm appeared out of nowhere, there was no way we could have avoided it. Lee will be fine. He's a strong guy, and he's smarter than he makes himself out to be. He'll manage until Gaara finds him." Kankuro ranted for what felt like the hundredth time.
Temari just glared at him over her shoulder. The two sand siblings were in one of Suna's watch towers, waiting for any sign of the Kazekage's return. Hopefully when he came back, he'd have a very much alive Leaf shinobi with him, though it was unlikely. He'd been missing overnight, and it was well into the morning, now.
"He shouldn't have been out there to begin with." Temari scolded, tapping her fan on the ground anxiously. Her eyes bored angrily into her brother's.
"Temari, he was bored. He wanted to help, and it was supposed to be a routine run. What happened out there was a freak of nature!" Kankuro waved his hands about his head as he spoke, returning his sister's glare.
"If you wanted to let him help, you should have just given him some low clearance paperwork, like I did."
Kankuro was about to make a clever, sarcastic comment when he felt a faint chakra flare in the distance. Temari felt it, too, and they both rushed to the edge of the tower to see the desert skyline. It was still too far away for them to see, but they were sure it was their brother.
A couple ANBU members materialized beside them. They each nodded to each other and took off down the wall and across the desert. Temari strapped her fan onto her back as they ran, and Kankuro fought down the urge to leap ahead. The two ANBU members remained quiet behind their masks.
Within moments they could make out a figure in the distance. For an anxious moment, Kankuro thought it was just one person. But as they approached the figure, he was relieved to see that it was Lee leaning heavily against Gaara as they walked. The Kazekage had an arm wrapped around Lee's waist, and his other hand had a firm grip on Lee's wrist over his shoulder. Lee was limping weakly on his right leg. Lee's skin was an angry red, covered in blood and scratches. Kankuro's stomach sank at the sight, but he was grateful it wasn't a lot worse than that.
Lee had the white Kazekage robes hanging over his shoulder, stained heavily in blood. Gaara was dressed in the simple black he usually wore under his robes. The red head seemed completely unhurt, the only blood on his body being Lee's. Gaara kept his eyes ahead, and seemed to have a lot on his mind, his body running on auto pilot.
"Are you alright?" Temari asked as they came within reach of the two men. Lee grinned brightly at her, and Gaara looked straight ahead as they continued to walk in the direction of the village.
"We are just fine, Temari-san! Thank you for coming to meet us. No worries! The power of youth prevailed above against all odds! I am grate-"
"Why are you limping?" Temari demanded, cutting short Lee's sparkling smile and speech.
"Oh, uh," he said, ducking his head sheepishly. "It seems that I twisted my ankle very badly before I found shelter. It is fine, though! I did not even notice the damage until I tried to walk on it. Gaara has been very kind to me, and it is thanks to his help that I am barely in any pain at all!"
Kankuro raised his eyebrow as he examined the bruised Lee all wrapped around his little brother. Was he missing something? When had the two gotten so… close? Gaara didn't seem the least bit uncomfortable touching Lee, and Lee wasn't refereeing to him as 'Gaara-sama' anymore.
"Um, I can take him off your hands, if you want." Kankuro offered, holding out his arms for the injured Leaf shinobi. Gaara examined his extended arms mutely for a second before shaking his head.
"No. I can manage." He said simply, and faced ahead again as they made their way home. Kankuro raised a painted eyebrow, but didn't say anything. Lee thanked Kankuro anyway and grinned brightly, seeming to be in an even brighter mood than usual. Lee hummed happily when Temari had run out of questions, and all they had left to do was hike across the sand.
The group trekked back across the desert in the light of the morning sun, and made their way to take Lee to the hospital, yet again. Despite the fact that Lee was injured again and needed to stay overnight in the hospital, he seemed happier than he'd been since he'd first been brought to Suna. Gaara stayed very close to him until he was sure that Lee was in good care. Lee gave him a brief hug before he left, making everyone else in the hospital room stare as the Kazekage patted Lee's back. Gaara ignored all their reaction, and left without a word.
