Gaara did not leave Neji's bed for days. Not that he wanted to. He was the most proactive, often starting their sexual encounters. When Neji woke up the first time, it was to Gaara riding him. To have his beautiful mate wake him like that, how could he ever let Gaara go.
If they were not sleeping, they were having sex, barely able to even remember to eat. It was like they had become addicted to each other, unable to separate. At some point, they left the chanoma for Neji's bedroom. Neither could remember when. It was foggy as they did not even make the bedroom on the first or even second try, on each other before they could make it too far. They may have destroyed a shoji door or two. Again, it was hazy as they made love on the engawa.
The servants made themselves scarce until they finally made it to the bedroom where they stayed. Gaara had to assume Haru and Natsu came when they slept, finding clean clothes, water, and food when they woke. The clothes were unnecessary. They could not focus long enough to wear them.
Admittedly, it was hard on Gaara's body, especially as he was still healing. Though neither wanted to, Neji was the one who put a temporary stop to it. Temporary meaning limiting it to only five times a day rather than nonstop. While that was not Neji's intention, neither could seem to separate for long. Even an hour felt unbearably long.
Neji brought his work to the bedroom after their temporary restraint started, doing it whenever Gaara slept or in between sex sessions. Even then, Gaara would lean against him or hold his hand, taking comfort in Neji's presence and touch.
Gaara was well aware there were a lot of things they needed to talk about, but now was difficult to do so. Honestly, it was difficult to think of anything other than dragging Neji back to bed. He could put that conversation off for later anyhow, but there was one thing he could not put off any longer.
After another intense sex session, Haru had helped Gaara dress. Neji kept trying to drag him back, but Gaara managed to convince him with a passionate kiss before parting.
He had about 30 minutes, perhaps less before he was inevitably drawn back to Neji or Neji being drawn to him.
He finally went to see his brother.
His brother's room was at the end of the manor, as far away from Neji's room as possible. Gaara could not help but think that was on purpose. There were guards standing outside, guarding the room. Were they keeping him inside because of Neji and Gaara's activities?
He felt guilty but held no remorse.
He approached the guards, bowing to Gaara, calling him young master. Their behavior was still a little strange to him. The guards at his palace had bowed to him, but he always felt their dislike for him. At some point, they stopped bowing at all when Gaara's face to the palace guards became unfamiliar, though some just did not do it to show blatant disrespect. This was the first time it felt like the guards showed him respect because they truly thought he was a master of the house.
He took a deep breath and nodded to the guard who opened the door for him.
A blur of movement and Gaara was encompassed in a hug. "Gaara!" his brother, cried, hugging him tighter. "Thank God for watching over you and keeping you safe."
His brother's hold was becoming quite painful, placing pressure on his still tender wound. "I am happy to see you as well brother, but we should talk inside."
Kankuro pulled away, all smiles and relief at seeing his brother, but as he looked him over, his smile dropped, as hurt and anger replaced them. "Gaara, what have you done."
"We should converse inside, brother," Gaara repeated calmly, gesturing him inside.
Kankuro looked as if he was going to argue, but seeing the guards, he finally agreed, cursing under his breath, and going back inside. Gaara turned to the guards. "Can we speak alone?"
"Your orders are ours to obey, young master." They bowed and left at his command. It was still strange, but it also cemented something he had speculated for a long while now.
He closed the door behind him, joining his brother at the low table, sitting across from him. "Say what you need to say."
"That heathen," he growled. He was trying to keep calm, but he was failing. "How dare he touch you."
"Kankuro."
"I will bring back an army and wipe out these non-believers. They'll pay for touching you."
"Kankuro," Gaara said more exacerbated.
"I'll find us a way to leave this place. Think of an excuse to stay here. I'll protect you from hi—"
"That's enough, Kankuro!" Gaara finally raised his voice unable to contain his anger.
The outburst startled his brother, never hearing Gaara raise his voice like that. "Gaara?"
"He did not force himself on me. I initiated everything."
"Gaara," his brother shook his head, refusing to believe him. "You do not know what you are saying. When we go back home—"
"Kankuro!" he raised his voice, silencing his brother again, but only briefly.
"Gaara, please do not do this," he begged. "Do you know how worried I was? You were kept from me for 18 days. I did not know where you had gone. That Takeda boy told me you went to save that man, but I had no idea where you were or what happened to you. No one could even talk to me to tell me what was going on. I was so scared of what these barbarians were doing to you. Do not turn your back on God. On me."
"Brother, do you know how I see our country?" Gaara replied. He did not look at his brother, staring at a small chip in the wood of the table. He started picking at the chip with his nail. "A place that would like nothing more than to see me dead. A place where I see you once every couple of years, a place where I only see countless battlefields, death, and pain. I cannot even enjoy the hobbies I like without being scorned."
Reaching over the table, he put his hand on Kankuro's but his brother pulled away from his touch. "I am happy here. I cannot move around as much as I like due to the political arrangements, but there is someone who loves me. The people here are starting to respect me. People who will put their life on the line for me. I am starting to carve out a life for myself here. For the first time, I am happy. There is not a single day while living in our country that I can say that."
"I do not expect you to understand. We lived in different worlds. Always have." Gaara stood up. "I do not plan to turn my back on our religion, brother. Just… this one thing, I will overlook. Maybe I will be punished for it, but I'm willing to risk it. Neji means that much to me."
Kankuro would not look for him or say anything more. Gaara was probably dead to him now. He knew it would likely turn out this way.
Gaara shoved down the guilt. He wouldn't regret this choice. "I will make sure you go home safely, and I'll ensure that you won't have to see me again." He opened the door. "Thank you, brother, for taking care of me all these years."
He paused just long enough to see if his brother would say anything. When he didn't, Gaara left, closing the door behind him.
"Gaara-san."
The sound of Neji's voice made him smile, releasing the tension he had unwittingly accumulated during the confrontation with his brother. It seemed Neji was the one who cracked first this time. It was a shame that he still used san when they were not alone, but he had come to understand it was a cultural thing. What mattered was the quiet words Neji would whisper to him that only he would ever hear.
Desire rose in him again, thinking of nothing but pouncing Neji and having his way with him right then and there. However, he managed to put a leash on it. He could not do that to his brother just on the other side of the door. On another note, he needed to pray. He had completely forgotten about his daily prayers. To be fair, he had no presence of mind to remember them at the time, but while he did, he should do them. This behavior wasn't normal, right?
He went into Neji's arms, hugging him tightly, taking in his lover's warm embrace. "You need to explain what this is," he muttered into his chest, thinking that the cloth between them was uncomfortable.
"It is not difficult. You are my mate; therefore, I desire you."
"Mate?"
Neji swept him off his feet, carrying him in his arms. "I'll explain it in our room," he declared, carrying him away.
Our room. It was funny. When he had first arrived here, he thought he was brought here to be a lover for Neji. He had hated and despised the idea of being in such a position. He found out later that was not the case, but in the end, that was what he had ended up as. And he couldn't think of a better fate for him. "Yes, ya amar."
Neji sighed heavily, leaning against the sakura tree. Gaara had kicked him out so he could pray in peace. Was it his fault that Gaara looked delectable when he was bowed like that? After the fourth or fifth time of Neji interrupting his prayer sessions with sex, Gaara started banning him from the room. It was only about half a stick of incense, but even that small amount of time was driving him crazy.
"You look well, Hyuuga-sama."
Withholding a groan, he shot a glare at Nara who had come to join him. "Do you want to lose your tongue?"
"Not really." Nara leaned on the other side of the tree. "I've been living in your office for the past week, finishing your work. You should be thanking me."
So that was who was doing his work. He knew he was neglecting his duties, and it crossed his mind sometimes that perhaps he should get someone to help him. He sighed again, rubbing a hand over his face. "How long is this supposed to last?"
"Don't know. I have heard that it can take years for mates to be able to begin to comfortably start leaving each other's side for any length of time. Merely a blink of an eye for people like us. Though the constant sex should end much sooner. Speaking of which, Uchiha Sasuke abandoned his post a couple of hours ago."
Neji closed his eyes, resting his head against the bark. He had a very good idea of where Sasuke probably went. If he was this bad with Gaara after only half a stick, he could only imagine how much restraint and will Uchiha had to continue following his duties for hours or days when his instincts were telling him otherwise. "Give him a month of rest. When he comes back, he'll receive punishment for abandoning his post without notice."
"Yes, my lord."
Nara did not move to follow his orders, telling Neji that the advisor had already given the order before telling him the news. "Really, how much do you know? You always seem one step ahead of me."
"That happens when you live for a long time," Nara replied, lazily staring up at the sky and watching the clouds.
"And how old are you?"
Nara shrugged. "Who knows. Think there was a bridge made of ice between China and Japan at the time before I turned. I can't really remember anymore."
Japan and China were connected? That sounded too preposterous even for a joke. "Must be a mistake."
"Maybe," he yawned. "Please reward me well when you are able to focus long enough to do so. I will be covering for you for the foreseeable future."
"Shameless bastard," Neji replied.
In the distance, he could see Uchiha Itachi, walking at a brief pace. Itachi was as stoic as ever, though if you looked closely, you could see the tips of his ears were red at whatever Seiryu had said to him. The normally dignified and prideful god was happily following behind him like a puppy, a large smile on his face.
So Seiryu was still chasing Itachi for his affection, and Itachi was not as immune to his advances as he had thought as Itachi discreetly held his hand. It was only a matter of time before Itachi gave in. If these bonds between mates can turn a god into that, what hope did the rest of them have?
"Neji," Gaara called out for him. He had opened the door to his room, standing on the engawa.
His member rose with interest.
Gaara came to him first, wrapping his arms around Neji's neck, kissing him. Neji smiled against his lips, pulling him flush against him, letting Gaara know just how pleased he was with his enthusiasm.
"I guess it would be pointless to ask if you could move to someplace more private,' Nara said aloud, more to himself than to Neji.
Neji deepened the kiss with his lover, already pulling at the folds of Gaara's clothes.
"Right." Nara rapidly made himself scarce before he witnessed any more indecent behavior performed by his employer and his lover. Leaving the office had been a bad idea after all.
Gaara and Neji laid in the courtyard, staring up at the stars. They both thought having a short walk in the gardens would do them good. They even managed to stay well-behaved and keep their hands off each other. Neji realized fairly quickly that the bond quieted when Gaara was nearing his physical and mental limit. When he was tired and required rest, it was quiet enough Neji could control himself and allow Gaara to sleep without disturbing him. Gaara was nearing his limit again, so they could lay in the gardens without risk of showing the staff more than they would ever want to see of their masters.
Gaara was using Neji's shoulder as a pillow, arm wrapped around his waist. They talked in low voices. Gaara would tell him of the constellations in his home country and the folklore around them while Neji told him Japan's. When they finished, they moved onto stories of the past, Gaara divulging some of his adventures, and Neji of some of the trouble he had gotten himself in.
It was a simple moment that neither of them had taken the time to enjoy in their lives. Having the time to just laugh and talk without worry or judgment. Gaara was a little more informed about mates and vampires in general, cluing him in a little more about Neji and his past. There were another 300 years for him to catch up on, and Gaara was looking forward to learning about it over time.
"Gaara?"
The sound of Kankuro's voice had Gaara shooting up into a sitting position, twisting around to see his brother, looking very uncomfortable, his eyes darting away, unable to see his brother in the arms of another man.
Gaara stood up, walking a couple of steps towards his brother with worry. "Is something wrong, brother? I thought you were leaving tonight."
"I am." Kankuro clenched his jaw. His body was wound up tight as if he would rather be anywhere else. "But I wanted to speak with you one last time." Closing his eyes briefly, he opened them with determination, looking into his little brother's eyes. "I cannot condone your choice. It is still against everything that I believe in, but you are still my brother. I love you, and I do want to see you happy. Seeing you just now, even I cannot argue that you are not much happier now than at home."
Kankuro reached into his clothes, pulling out a dagger, its sheath adorned with gold and jewels. "So I ask for two things. The first being that you write to me once a year, I'm sure your… friend can help you send them out. Second, if anything happens, if you change your mind, if you become unhappy, or something bad happens, you call for me." He wrapped Gaara's hands around the dagger. "Can you do this much for me?"
"Yes, brother. You did not even need to ask."
His brother smiled sadly at him, moving his hands to Gaara's shoulders. He placed a kiss on each cheek.
His brother's touch lingered longer than necessary, not wanting to let his baby brother go. His eyes were teary. He looked away, trying to hide his tears as he said in a loud, arrogant voice, glaring at Neji who had sat up as well during the intrusion. "You better take care of my brother, infidel. He is the proud prince of an empire. You better treat him as such, else I will come to this backwater country and wipe it off the map."
Gaara laughed, surprising Kankuro. Seeing such a genuine laugh from his brother, Kankuro could not help but smile genuinely back, realizing just how much Gaara had changed. He could not remember the last time he had seen a laugh from his brother or have such a smile. Not since they were children for sure.
Kankuro would not allow Gaara to see him off, and they parted, Gaara settling back in Neji's arms. Things could not have ended better between him and his brother. He had been blessed to have him so understanding and loving even after everything.
"What did he say?" Neji asked, holding Gaara possessively.
"He said if you were mean to me, he'd kill you," Gaara said, giving him a small kiss.
"Hn, I would like to see him try," Neji muttered, kissing him back. "Should we go back inside?"
Gaara nodded, being whisked away by Neji once more.
Life was unpredictable. The things that he had seen, things that pushed his faith and his understanding of himself, had changed him. Whether for the better or worse he did not know. Was he a better person? Was he weak for allowing himself to be swayed by a simple word from the man he loved, or strong for going against the norms of the world? Honestly, he did not care. The path he had chosen, he chose himself. Whatever laid ahead, he would go ahead boldly, risking it all for the man who cherished him for who he was and not ashamed of him. If he could not place his trust in him, then he did not believe there was a life worth living.
Half a stick of incense is about 15 minutes.
The land/ice bridge between Japan and china was about 50,000 years ago. Guess you could call him the OG Japanese vampire in this world. The first vampire to come to Japan. They are all his children!