GaaLee 2021 - Haunted House
A/N
I haven't posted a fic in a while, but I decided to give this GaaLee event a try!
I am not completely happy with this fic - I'll probably go back and make a few edits. What even is a proofread?
Anyway, please enjoy this little dose of frights and fluff!
Neji and Tenten were sitting on the couch - Neji with his arm draped across her shoulder and Tenten, feet tucked beneath her was pressed snuggly against his side. The two had been enjoying a movie in their apartment when they heard a series of knocks at the door.
The two glanced at each other and judging by the rapid-fire knocks, they didn't have to think too long on who their sudden guest might be.
Tenten barely had enough time to step out of the way when the door flew open with an audible 'woosh'. "Tenten, Neji - I have the greatest news!" Lee exclaimed with excitement. The two watched as he fumbled with something in his backpack before pulling out a single sheet of paper. "Look!"
Tenten squinted as her eyes struggled to focus on the slightly crumpled paper in front of her. "Konoha's Haunted House...Fright...tacular?"
"Our Scariest House Yet," Neji added, now up from his seat as he read along with Tenten from over her shoulder.
"I would like to invite you - my dearest friends to the Konoha Haunted House Fright-tacular. This is supposed to be their scariest house, yet!"
Tenten looked at her friend quizzically. "But Lee, you hate scary things."
"That is not true!" Lee clutched the flyer to his chest, recoiling dramatically at Tenten's words. "Remember, we went to that haunted house last year. I wasn't the least bit scared."
"But Lee, the house from last year was for children. Don't you remember - we took the kids from the dojo."
"And besides," Neji continued, "I distinctly remember you and another child being so terrified that they had to turn on all of the lights and escort the both of you out through an emergency exit."
Lee huffed, crossing his arms across his chest. "That was last year - I'm older now."
"You'll be 24 in another month, Neji deadpanned."
"That is beside the point," Lee exclaimed, clenching his fist in determination. "This is something that I want to do whether you two want to go or not."
"Are you sure that you aren't just going because a certain person is interested in haunted houses?" Lee's face grew red and Tenten grinned.
"Gaara is in town with his siblings from Suna this weekend and is one of my closest friends. As his friend, it is important to make an effort to enjoy the things that he likes to do as well. Even if those things seem...kinda scary."
"Are you sure Lee? I think Gaara would understand if you told him that you were afraid. There are plenty of other things to do in Konoha that don't involve haunted houses." She watched as her friend seemed to ponder her words, his thick eyebrows knitted in thought. She knew that Lee and Gaara were close, but she didn't think it was right for Lee to do things that frightened him for someone else's sake.
Lee closed his eyes tightly and shook his head from side to side, visibly seeming to shake off his fears. "Last month," he began, "Gaara went with us to the 32nd Konoha martial arts tournament to watch us compete." The two nodded, remembering that day fondly. "I know that Gaara is not particularly interested in martial arts like we are, but he still came to support us anyway. I think it is only right that I also do things that he likes to do as well."
"Well if you put it like that..."Tenten's voice trailed off. "I guess if we all went together, Neji and I could be there to keep an eye on you." She felt Neji go ridged beside her. Apparently, Lee had noticed the Hyuga's reaction as well because his shoulders slumped slightly.
"That's only if you would like to," their friend added - his initial excitement had decreased slightly.
Tenten knew that her boyfriend wasn't the biggest fan of haunted houses and anything remotely spooky. That was more her thing. And she figured that she and Gaara may have more in common than she initially thought.
Neji was more of a fall festival, apple cider and the occasional pumpkin spiced late kind of guy - although he would probably never admit to that last one. She also knew that Lee valued his friendship with Gaara and wouldn't be going if that wasn't the case.
"We'll go," Teten announced with a smile and the couple watched as their friend peered up at them with hope in his eyes.
"Thank you!" Lee exclaimed; his head bobbing up and down to further express his appreciation. I will send you both the details - Gaara's going to be so happy to hear that you two will be joining us!" He engulfed the two in a tight hug before jetting out of the door at lightning speed.
"Welp," Tenten shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "Looks like we're all going to the Konoha Haunted House Fright-tacular!" She took a chance glance at the less than stoked boyfriend beside her. There was a slight frown etched on his face and Tenten resisted the urge to call him out for being grumpy.
"I'll make it up to you I swear," she clapped her hands together in a pleading manner. When his frown didn't budge, her lips formed into a sly smile. "I'll treat you to a pumpkin spiced late anytime you want for the rest of the season." She watched as his frown evened out into something that might be able to constitute as a smile - if she squinted.
"Fine," he moved from the couch and made his way toward the door, coat and keys in hand. "But I'm ordering a large."
"Sounds like a plan," she grinned before grabbing her keys and following him out of their apartment. For Lee's sake, she just hoped that Neji didn't change his mind between now and then.
The weekend came and sooner than expected and before he knew it, Lee was standing at the front gate that led toward the Konoha Haunted House Fright-Tacular. He had gone through a whirlwind of emotions over the past three days leading up to this night.
Part of him was overjoyed and giddy to finally be seeing Gaara. Granted, they had seen each other a few months ago, but Lee had never been a big fan of being away from his friends for so long. The other part of him was slightly worried about how scary this haunted house would be. He also didn't want Gaara to think that he was a wimp.
"Wait, this place is the haunted house we're going to?" Tenten's voice brought Lee out of his musings. The two men glanced at the woman, waiting for her to continue. "This place is known to be haunted by actual spirits."
"S-spirits!?" Rock Lee stumbled over his words, fear clear in his voice.
"Honestly, you two - there is no such thing as ghosts and spirits," Neji said. His tone held an air of exasperation.
"Of course, ghosts and spirits exist!" Tenten shoved his arm slightly with her own. "It's non-believers like you that get them all riled up."
"I think she is right, Neji. I would also be upset if someone denied my existence as a spirit or as a living being."
Neji inhaled and exhaled deeply - clearly a skeptic.
"Anyway, the brunette waved her hand dismissively. "Legend has it, that the lord of this house fell in love with their housekeeper and the two were having a secret affair. Once the wife found out, he denied their relationship and they gave her 24 hours to pack her things and leave. That that last night, the maid housekeeper offered to cook one last dinner for the family - but she had poisoned their meal!"
Lee gasped loudly, clearly not expecting the twist ending.
Tenten continued - "the next morning, the entire family was dead - including the husband. There was another gasp from Lee. "The housekeeper had fled the manor in the night and was never seen or heard from again."
"And that is the same place where we are going?" Lee asked nervously.
"They've added on to the place in the past hundred years or so," Tenten supplied them with more information. But it's the same place more or less."
They were walking toward the entrance of the spooky manor-turned spooky attraction when Tenten's phone rang. She glanced at the screen with a puzzled look before answering. The two men watched as she veered off to the side to take the call, head nodding up and down as she listened to whoever it was on the other end of the line. When she ended the call she was met with questioning glances.
"Tenten, what's wrong?" Lee asked.
"One of the kids got hurt at the dojo - I'm going to head there and look after the other students so Guy can take the kid to the hospital."
"I hope the kid is alright," Lee said. It was unfortunate that one of the students was hurt and he was sad to learn that Tenten wouldn't be joining them for the haunted house. She really enjoyed these kinds of things.
The brunette woman turned to her boyfriend who was pinning her with a rather unimpressed look.
Lee figured that there wasn't really much they could say to justify her staying with them instead of helping Guy Sensei. "Fine, but you owe me," Neji said - his expression serious.
"You betcha," she grinned cheekily, before planting a quick kiss on his cheek. "Someone has to make sure that those two make it out of here in one piece."
The trio quickly went their own ways. One to call a taxi and the other two to purchase their tickets.
"Have fun, you guys!" Tenten waved cheerfully, seemingly ignoring the pointed look from her boyfriend.
The now duo eeked further through the throng of people, intent on locating the ticketing booth when Lee spotted a spot of red in the sea of people. "Look there is Gaara!" He exclaimed excitedly, pointing in the crowd. Neji turned in the direction of where he was pointing, having to strain a bit to see.
Sure enough - there stood Gaara, his red hair and pale skin making him stand out in the crowd. Beside him stood - slumped, rather an indifferent-looking Kankuro.
Lee was pretty sure his heart skipped a beat when he saw Gaara standing among the crowd of people. And even though he was absolutely terrified of what he would find at this haunted house - or what would find him - it was all worth it if he could spend time with his dear friend.
The two pushed their way through the sea of haunted house goers and Lee noted how Gaara's eyes widened a tiny fraction when he spotted the thick-browed man. Once the two were finally face-to-face, Lee couldn't stop the wide grin that had stretched from one cheek to the other.
"Gaara!" Lee approached the Suna man with enthusiasm. To anyone looking in from the outside, they would probably assume that there was no way that Gaara and Lee could have anything in common. But to their closest friends and family, everyone knew that these two were the personification of "opposites attract".
"Lee, thank you for meeting us", Gaara said. His voice was low and gravely as always, but Lee could easily discern the happiness in his tone.
"Are you kidding me!" Lee's grin grew larger - if that was even possible. I wouldn't miss this for the world! There was a slight strain in his voice and Lee hoped that the Suna man didn't notice.
There was a rustling behind the redhead and Lee caught sight of Kankuro, Gaara's older brother. "Kankuro, you are here as well," Lee searched around briefly for the other Suna sibling. "I thought Temari would be her a well."
"Eh," Kankuro shrugged his shoulder. "She ditched us to hang out with Shikamaru tonight." The brunette cocked a lone eyebrow in Neji's direction, smirking. "Looks like we weren't the only ones who were ditched tonight."
Neji folded his arms across his chest, in slight annoyance. "There was an emergency at the dojo that Tenten had to attend to. She-" before Neji could utter another word. The grinning Suna man planted himself at Neji's side.
"I guess we're haunted house buddies. Neji was about to speak again when he was once more interrupted by Kankuro. "We wouldn't want to crowd the love birds now would we?" The Hyuga man's eyes slipped over in Lee and Gaara's direction. Both were smiling, Gaara to a significantly lesser extent and talking about something that Neji couldn't quite make out. He didn't miss the way Gaara's boots toed the earth beneath him - a nervous habit it seemed and he didn't miss the light blush that dusted Lee's cheeks.
"Fine," Neji grounded out, "but I don't want to veer too far from those two. I promised Tenten that I wouldn't let them get into too much trouble tonight."
The four of them moved quickly through the ticket line. Gaara offered to pay for Lee who only agreed after the third ask. Kankuro leaned in Neji's direction and whispered something or other about how cute the two in front of them looked before asking the Hyuga if he would pay for him. He was met with a firm "No."
Once they passed the threshold that separated the ticket booth and the main entrance of the haunted house, Lee took in a deep breath. This is it, he thought to himself. The martial artist looked over to his friend who started wide-eyed at his surroundings. Gaara had mentioned to him that they had things like this in Suna, but nothing on such a large scale as this one.
Lee gulped nervously and couldn't help but jump when the large metal door closed behind them with a solid 'clunk'. "Are you alright?" Gaara asked, clearly concerned for his friend.
"Yep," Lee squeaked out. He hoped that no one noticed that he was very much so not "alright."
Neji glanced around at their surroundings - noting the flashing lights and eerie noises that seemed to echo all around them. "We should probably stay close together." Kankuro snickered and whispered that he sounded like the leader from one of those old monster-hunting cartoons.
Lee nodded his head and silently agreed that they were all probably better off sticking together. He gulped audibly as they stepped further into the haunted attraction.
The first scene was built to look like a hospital or maybe a morgue - Lee wasn't sure. There was an empty operating table illuminated by a blinking overhead light. A dark red liquid had been splattered across the empty metal table and on the walls, the floors and- Lee looked up, apparently, it was necessary for the ceiling to be covered as well.
The far wall was lined with metal drawers and Lee prayed to whatever god was listening that they were empty. Unfortunately, his prayers had fallen on deaf ears, because two of the doors were currently creaking open with an eerie screech.
The first drawer that opened appeared to hold a black body bag. Lee yelped when the bag slowly rose at the waist - clearly, this person had not been dead after all. The second drawer held not a body bag, but a...nurse. Lee liked nurses, but not this one. She dawned a nurse's uniform, complete with a white cap and stethoscope, but her face was covered in a grimy bandage that circled her head.
Her uniform that had probably once been white at some point was worn and tattered and covered in the same red liquid that was splattered on the operating table. And as if she wasn't scary enough, there was an abnormally large syringe in her crooked grip. Lee yelped again when he saw the none-too-friendly-looking needle and made a move toward what he hoped was the exit to this room.
"Are you afraid of needles?" Gaara asked as he followed Lee through the creepy hospital scene.
"N-no," Lee choked out. "I'm more afraid of the terrifying person holding the needle." He grimaced at the way his voice cracked.
"Oh," Gaara managed. "I don't particularly like needles." If he was at a scary haunted house, Lee would have probably laughed at the irony.
"Come on, Lee muttered. "Let's keep moving before she comes back to scare us again."
"Would you like to hold my hand?" Gaara asked in complete seriousness. "You can hold it if you're feeling scared."
Lee felt his face heat up at Gaara's offer and his body went rigid when he held his hand out for the red-head to take. Gaara's smile was small, but Lee would be lying if he said that the small gesture didn't make his stomach flutter.
The majority of the haunted house followed a similar formula. Lee would jump or squeal not unlike a frightened child at a particularly scary noise or frightening-looking actor. Gaara would ask him if he was okay before gripping Lee's hand and maneuvring them further into the eerie depths of the haunted house. Neji and Kankuro would take turns pretending not to be frightened before actually being afraid and scoffing at the other for doing so. This time, it was Kankuro's turn to jump at a well-placed skeleton that had sprung to life behind them.
Neji scoffed at the Suna man's slightly dramatic reaction. He was unwilling to admit to letting out an uncharacteristically loud yelp a minute or two ago when a little girl dressed as a zombie asked him to help find her teddy bear.
Suddenly, the four found themselves in another dimly lit room - this one was made to look like a cemetery. There was a loud scream and a noise that sounded like thunder. Lee wondered briefly if the noise was planned or if the scream was real. Suddenly a frightened woman whipped around their group. Her feet were bare and her clothes were tattered and they watched with wide eyes as she ran past their group and into another room.
They went still when the sound of a chainsaw reached their ears. Roughly six meters behind them stood a hulking figure holding a rumbling chainsaw. His gloved hands flexed around the handle of the large power tool and there were a few seconds of absolute stillness before all hell broke loose.
The chainsaw-wielding actor started after them with heavy footfalls. Lee went in one direction, Gaara who was holding his hand was forced to follow. Kankuro and Neji took off in another direction. Both of them would never admit that they were frightened though.
After a few minutes of running from one terrifying room to the other - well Lee was running and Gaara was trailing behind them, the sounds of the chainsaw and the woman's screams had faded completely. Through all of the fear and noise, however, Lee noted that Gaara had not once released his hand.
Lee looked around at their surroundings; he had practically been running with his eyes closed. They were in a hallway, but the area that they were in was completely different from the others. The hallway was dimly lit but it looked fairly...normal. It was lined with dark, hardwood floors and an ornate-looking rug ran down the length of it. A long wooden table sat adjacent to where they were standing and on it sat several photo frames and porcelain trinkets.
There were no noises, no flashing lights, or creepy decorations. Only the faint hum of some sort of heating unit and the sound of their own breathing. Had they ventured into an area that wasn't a part of the attraction?
Whether that was the case or not, Lee took a few moments to catch his breath. His heart felt like it was going to thump out of his chest and his legs were shaking uncontrollably. He hoped that Gaara didn't care how slick and clammy his hand and become. He looked up at the redhead who was watching Lee intently.
"You're afraid," Gaara stated. It wasn't a question - more like an observation.
"I- well," Lee stumbled over his words.
"I should not have asked you to do something that would make you afraid." Gaara was looking directly into Lee's eyes now, his cerulean stare didn't waver. "I'm sorry, Lee."
"No! Please do not apologize," Lee asked. He didn't like the look that Gaara was giving him. "I will be honest that I have never been a fan of really scary things like you and Tenten, but I knew that you were excited about tonight."
Gaara's hairless brows drew together in concern. "Even if this is something that I like, I wouldn't want you to be afraid for my sake." He gave Lee's hand a tiny squeeze.
Lee's gaze fell to the ground annoyed with himself that he was unable to get through tonight without looking like a scaredy-cat. "Lee," Gaara called out quietly. "I could have just forced Kankuro to take me here if you were too scared."
"I know… I just wanted to try and do things that you like to do too."
"One of the things that I like to do is spend time with you, if you hadn't noticed," Gaara's smile was small but assuring. Lee smiled back and felt that fluttering in his stomach again. Now his heart was racing for a totally different reason.
"Hey, you two are supposed to be here! This area is restricted." A man who looked to be a security guard called out to them.
Lee felt himself jump back in shock while Gaara stared at the man with a somewhat irritated scowl, seemingly annoyed that they had been interrupted.
"You're not supposed to be here," the man repeated. "I'll take you two back to the main lobby." His tone suggested that there was no room for debate.
"Come on, Lee," Gaara reached for his friend's hand who grabbed it readily. "Let's get you out of here."
"I'm sorry that we weren't able to complete the haunted house," Lee's tone was uncharacteristically solemn. They were sitting in the lobby of the haunted house across from the ticket counter. "This was the one thing that you wanted to do on your trip here."
He chanced a look at Gaara, who seemed to be contemplating Lee's words.
"I had...fun," the redhead finally spoke.
Lee looked up at Gaara, trying his best to hide his surprise. "You did!? Even though I was too afraid to finish it?" Lee was shocked to learn that Gaara still enjoyed their night out.
Gaara glanced at him with the same expression as before. "Like I said earlier, one of the things that I wanted to do is spend time with you. That was the most important thing."
There was nothing that Lee could do to stop the soft blush that made its way across his face. His smile grew larger and his stomach did little flips at Gaara's words.
Gaara wanted to see Lee as much as Lee wanted to see Gaara
Their moment was briefly interrupted when someone called out on the building's loudspeakers.
"Would a Mr. Neji Huyga, please come to the front to collect your friend. And" - there was a pause. "Mr. Kankuro," another pause "nii-san please stop by the front desk as well. Your brother is waiting for you at the front."
Gaara chuckled and Lee found his laughter to be contagious. When the security guard brought them to the front, they were forced to give them the names of the other people in their party. Apparently, they took trespassing very seriously at the Konoha Haunted Hause Fright-tacular.
Not long after two figures emerged from a side door looking equal parts surprised and relieved.
Lee filled them in and Neji figured that his friend would be bound to attract trouble no matter how much he tried to prevent it.
As they were leaving the attraction, Kankuro turned toward Gaara and Lee with a wide grin. So did you two have a good time?"
Gaara and Lee gave each other a knowing look before nodding. "We decided that we would use Gaara's second day in Konoha to do something a little less scary," Lee smiled.
"Good, just try not to get kicked out next time," Kankuro laughed good-naturedly. They all shared a chuckle and Gaara and Lee exchanged a few quiet words before going their separate ways.
"I am just glad that we didn't run into any spirits," Lee said with a shiver as the two made their way toward Neji's car.
Neji took that moment to once again remind his friend that there was no such thing as ghosts before taking one last look at the looming building behind them. His eyes narrowed at something in the far window - furthest away from the goings-on of the haunted house. He could make out the silhouette of five people - two adults and three children. Their arms were bent at the elbow and moved back and forth in a waving motion. A chill traveled down his spine and he was certain that it had nothing to do with the weather. There was no such thing as ghosts he repeated quietly because those things most certainly could not exist.
Thanks for reading!
I didn't have a chance to proofread and make corrections, but thanks a bunch to all of you who made it to the end!