AN:: Insert serious fluff. I love you reviewers! I really do:D

Chapter Ten:: The Third Date

The day of the party, everyone was a bit riled up. There was a kind of tension in training that could only be released through games, dancing and obnoxiously loud music, something a ninja didn't get very often. Gaara and Lee had once again been dragged off by various team members to buy proper clothing – "Gaara, black isn't a color, it's a tone, and you can't wear only black to a party!"; "No, I'm afraid a jumpsuit isn't proper party attire—but don't worry, I know where we can go to fix you up!" – and so hadn't seen each other all day.

That night, when Lee walked into Sakura's house wearing a pair of black slacks with lime green pinstripes, a loud green studded belt, assorted wristbands, a studded necklace and a black muscle shirt, he felt very awkward and out of place – that is, until he saw the crowd. Everyone there was wearing clothes similar to his – some more outrageous, some more modest, but all the same rave style – and he no longer cared that his wristbands slightly itched, or that his belt kept slipping down on one side of his hips, or that his muscle shirt made him feel like a whore. He fit in, which is really all that mattered at this party, this place where nobody cared what anybody else was doing.

It was unlike anything Lee had ever seen. There were people there that he'd never even seen before, people on the makeshift dance floor who were somehow kissing while dancing to the loud music at the same time, straight couples and gay couples and lesbian couples, everybody with everybody else, everybody with nobody at all, just themselves, the music, the dance floor and the blur of glowstix and colors. A table was set against a back wall laden with food, punch, sake and things Lee had never seen anyone eat before.

Lee made his way cautiously but entranced to the dance floor, searching for Gaara in the colorful flood of people. Unable to find him, he ventured forward, determined to find someone he knew. As soon as he was on the dance floor, the flow of people pulled him, and he was soon caught up in the music, and he found himself awkwardly being taught to dance by Sakura. She put her hands on his hips, instructing him to do the same, and it was a wonder he could keep up with the fast beat of her body and the music and lights…

And that's how Gaara found them.

At first Lee hadn't noticed him, his eyes focused on Sakura, on learning this strange new dance, but then her eyes had been averted, looking instead to the left, and he looked too.

They both stopped dancing when Gaara ran off.

The pull of the crowd told them clearly to keep dancing or get off the floor, so Lee did the latter, quickly running after his friend. As soon as he was off the floor, however, the redhead was nowhere to be found. Search as Lee did, all he could do in the end was find a semi-deserted hallway – the only people were couples searching for a private place to make out – and sink against the wall, wondering why his dance had meant so much to Gaara and wondering why he was so upset about it.

He was sitting against a door, and as he slumped his head against it heavily, he could hear the sharp hiss of restless sand, and almost hit the ceiling when he jumped up. He quietly opened the door to find a very confused Gaara sitting on the bed, sand streaming steadily from his gourd, which sat abandoned next to it. His eyes were shut tight in concentration, one hand on his 'Love' kanji. His breath was uneven, shuddering, as he tried to control it.

And Lee thought this was the only time he'd seen Gaara about to cry.

He stepped forward, quietly, the awkward sounds of his new clothes muffled by the hissing, stirring sand. Closer, closer, he reached out his hand, placed it on Gaara's shoulder.

He froze. The sand gave one final hiss as it pulled itself back into the gourd. The Kazekage opened his eyes, and looked around at Lee, his face showing humiliation and embarrassment and something cold, like he'd been telling himself 'I told you so' with every breath.

"Gaara-san, are you alright?" Lee asked concernedly. It was no fake concern, either, and Gaara could see that in his eyes, and hear it in his voice, and feel it in his touch. And he realized then that Lee hadn't meant anything by his dance with Sakura. But then, with a stab of regret, he realized Lee might not mean anything by this, either. And something inside of him said, one more time, "I told you so."

"I'm fine, Lee-kun," he said quietly. "I have just been letting the stress of work catch up to me….and with everyone busy at the party, slipping away now was the easiest choice." His voice was formal, business-like. Lee hated that tone. He was too used to it. He knew it too well. It's the voice he always heard, except for lately. The Green Beast found himself loving every bit the voice Gaara had been slipping into lately, around him, only for him. It pained him to watch Gaara keep it from him again—that shy, emotional tone, tender, like it hadn't been used in a very long time; like it hadn't let the world hear it in so long, and was so afraid someone wouldn't want to hear it now.

Lee did, though.

He moved to sit across from Gaara, on his knees, and leaned forward, moving his hand to Gaara's shoulder, gently. He looked at him, eyes soft and welling with emotion, the redhead almost couldn't resist moving forward and touching their lips together—although the thought of that action almost frightened him.

Lee was having the same urge, but resisted. He did not want to hurt Gaara, or rush his feelings. He would take this slow. He would let it fold out with time.

He would not, under any circumstance, hurt Gaara.

So as badly as he wanted to touch his sand-armor-less skin, he instead spoke.

"Gaara," he said, purposefully leaving out the respectful suffix, "I do not want to see you stressed—or upset," he added, to let the Kazekage know that his dance with Sakura was harmless, "and I think that you should relax, have a good time." He spoke gently, softly, voice full of emotion, eyes mirroring every bit of it. And he spoke softly, too; he was speaking to Gaara and only to Gaara, no one else could hear, this was only meant for him….

Before he could stop himself, he'd reached up, stroked Lee's cheek once, softly, and pulled the leaf nin into a gentle, awkward, uneasy hug.

But it was the best contact Lee had ever had with someone.

---

The two boys rejoined the party then, and in the few minutes spent in the spare bedroom, the 'dance floor' had spread, and there was hardly any room for the snack table anymore—not that anyone was using it, except Chouji. But even he was entranced with the dancing, with the throbbing beat of music.

The best part was the crowd.

They were all dancing a different dance, nobody's was matching but everyone's flowed. There were couples everywhere, straight couples, gay couples, lesbians. Even a handful of single people. Sometimes a few couples broke off and danced with other people, other singles, just for fun, but it all flowed to the pumping music.

The bright purple-and-black light glow cast from various places in the room created a very party-ish effect, entrancing Gaara and Lee and pulling them toward the throng of people and dance and light. At the edge of the dance floor, Lee extended a hand towards his friend.

"Would you like to dance, Gaara-san?" he asked, almost having to yell to hear himself above the music, which was clearly not made for talking. Gaara looked from his hand to his face, and finally took it smiling.

"Just 'Gaara'," he said in his ear so he could hear him. Lee grinned and lead him onto the dance floor.

Now, Lee had never wasted training time on this kind of thing, of course. And Gaara had never been allowed to attend the Sunagakure festivals until he was Kazekage, and by then he was far too busy. So, neither of them having ever learned how to dance, they weren't sure where to start, and stood awkwardly on the dance floor.

This was not to be heard of, because there would be no 'standing' on the dance floor, only 'dancing', as the crowd said. After getting pushed around a few times—and bumped closer to one another—they both decided to just start moving.

And once they did, they couldn't stop. They learned quickly that it was easier to just do what felt the easiest for them, to make whatever move they could from the position they were in at that second, and not stop, and not move their eyes from each other.

And soon hands were introduced, and hips and shoulders, and their dance took on a whole new edge, one that was carefully, almost seductive, but still controlled, still just friendly. But only by a little.

Lee couldn't have looked away from Gaara if he'd tried. He hadn't noticed before, but the outfit the sand nin was wearing took his breath away, and now he couldn't keep his eyes off his face, his body, his hips….

He was wearing a bright red fitting tee with the sleeves cut off and some kind of black-and-white spray painted guitar and crossbones logo on it. He had on black gloves cut off at the knuckles that went up to above his elbow. His tee was cut off at the bellybutton and he wore a black fishnet shirt under it. He had on faded black jeans with bright red stitching and suspender-like straps that hung down around his hips and attached to his back belt-loops. They fit nicely and looked good with his dark red, black and green converse. He also wore a red belt with a row of spikes around it, and a chain that was thread through the belt-loops and hung down by his hip.

He looked amazing.

They kept dancing as long as they could, but finally got tired and had to go sit down by the snack table. Lee snuck a glance at Gaara, who sat in a chair quite close to him. He was grinning, having apparently enjoyed their dance. Lee grinned too. They both had.

"Let me get you some punch, Gaara," Lee said, remembering to hold off the 'san' bit. Gaara nodded thankfully and Lee went to fetch some. He found Naruto—who had somehow gotten out of his dance with Sasuke for a couple minutes—looking kind of guilty and lingering by the punch bowl.

"Hey Lee," he said, glancing at Gaara. "Enjoying the party?" he asked suggestively. Lee shook his head, smiling and rolling his eyes. He took two glasses of punch, and Naruto almost tried to stop him…

But thought better of it when he looked at Gaara again.

Lee sat down, handing one cup to Gaara.

"Thank you, Lee," he said, and Lee noted that lately he'd been slipping out of the 'kun' habit—for which he was thankful. He took a light sip of his punch and almost immediately started to feel slightly light-headed. He looked at Gaara take a long swig of it, and put his down, walking over to Naruto, whom Sasuke was now trying to drag back to the dance floor by means Lee had never seen him use before. They included lips, hands and hips.

Blushing slightly, Lee said, "Naruto, did you spike that punch?" Naruto looked sheepish in Sasuke's arms and gave a light nod. Lee sighed. He knew to stop drinking then.

He went back to the table to warn Gaara, but found that he'd already finished both of their cups and was swaying slightly in the chair, having clearly rarely consumed alcohol of any form.

"Gaara?" Lee said, unsure of how he'd react under the influence. Gaara looked at him and smiled.

"Hey there," he said lightly. Lee looked quizzically at him, but decided it wasn't too bad, and sat down. "How're you?" Gaara asked, giving him a lopsided grin.

"I'm fine, Gaara," Lee said, unsure of how to act around him now. "How are you?" It seemed a logical question, but Gaara didn't seem to hear him. He was watching the dance floor, clearly longing to return to it. Lee smiled softly, and pulled Gaara's hand, tugging him back to the booming dance floor.

---

AN:: Please review!! Remember: 10 reviews for this chapter, the last one, and the next one and I'll add a hidden scene after the last chapter!!!