Gaara sat on the couch in Lee's living room, watching the young man race back and forth across it, picking up various objects and hurrying them to their rightful place. The older man was a blur of green and orange to Gaara's eyes, having changed into his usual outfit an hour prior. Gaara's frown had deepened when he saw the youth walk out with it on, but now he found himself grateful for such an article of clothing. Bodysuits left nothing to the imagination, a 'flaw' which Gaara saw as more of a bonus. He jumped when a pillow suddenly came flying his way, quickly willing his sand into submission in order to catch it, the grainy particles that were hovering around him wanting to surge into catching the item.
"Put that on the couch for me, please!" Lee sent a smile Gaara's direction. Gaara would've arched an eyebrow, had he possessed any.
"You're running like there's a fire under your feet." Was the sand shinobi's calm observation. He put the pillow down, and folded his arms across his chest.
"Sensei will be here soon! He's supposed to return from his mission today and, and… I don't want to be in trouble for not having a tidy house." Lee shot Gaara a look of desperation, as he hastily tided a low table, sweeping fitness magazines into a neat stack.
Gaara's face paled a small fraction. He knew Lee's sensei- Maito Gai, and knew that the loud man would, indeed, have something to say about his presence.
"Should I…um….leave?"
Lee stopped, eyes widened in something akin to shock, and then furrowing in a small amount of worry, "Why? I don't want you to go…"
"I don't want to cause you trouble with your Sensei." Gaara chuckled humorlessly, rising from the couch.
"nuh-uh. Sit back down." Lee laughed, his eyes sparkling, "We'll have to tell Gai sometime…and with sensei, sooner is always better than later."
With a shrug, Gaara resumed his seat. As soon as he had leaned back into the softness of the couch, there was a loud knocking at the door.
"Lee! My favorite student! Your beloved teacher has returned from his mission!" the booming voice cut through the wood; Lee's face lit up. Gaara cringed.
"Coming sensei!" Lee shouted in the direction of the door, almost tripping over the rug in the entry hall in his haste to answer and let the man in.
The door opening and Gai bursting into Lee's house were almost simultaneous actions; the first thing that the jounin did was wrap his student in a hug that may have crushed a lesser individual. There was laughter from the entrance hall, and from his angle, Gaara was only able to see an occasional flash of green and orange, or perhaps red. After a few moments, when the happy laughter died down, Gaara heard his name.
He knew that Lee spoke it, recognizing the way that the two-syllables rolled off of his tongue with a graceful precision that he had never been graced to hear before.
There was the thump of feet for a moment, footsteps coming down the hall, before Gai and Lee entered the living room.
Gaara's first observation was that Lee looked happy. His second was that as fond as he was of Lee's outfit, there was simply too much green in the room.
"Ah, Gaara, I'm glad that my Lee had some company in my absence! Have you been training with him?" Gai's tone was polite, the volume of his voice still loud; Gaara decided that his voice was naturally booming.
Gaara didn't reply to the man. He watched Lee shift slightly, his weight going from one foot to the other, a subtle sign of nervousness.
"Yes sensei. Gaara has been here for a while, he's um…going to be sticking around for a very long time." Lee looked from his sandal-clad feet to his teacher, and then back to his feet again.
"you've made a friend!" Gai's face broke into a grin, "Ah, youth is nothing without friends!"
"sensei, that's not what I meant…" Lee mumbled, giving his sensei a sidelong glance, "I mean, um…I…um…I love Gaara."
"Love for your comrades is an important thing for a shinobi, Lee! I am proud of you that you are not afraid to speak of the depth of your friendship! I myself even have a brotherly love for my rival." Gai nodded, sure of his statement.
Gaara sighed, and rose to his feet, "I don't think you're understanding what Lee means."
"yes, you have forged a brotherly bond! A friendship between men, a-
Gaara brought Gai's sentence to an end in a few short steps across the living room to Lee. Without a change in his expression, he reached up, taking the young shinobi's face in his hands and, standing on tiptoe, pulled him down into a kiss.
Lee's face turned several shades of crimson, only returning to its natural shade in the long moment after Gaara let go.
"Sensei, I was trying to explain I—
"you don't have to explain, Lee." Gai's voice was strangely calm, a gently smile on his face, one that reminded both young men of the look a father would give his son, "I understand. I…"
"if you condemn him, I will kill you." Gaara's voice interrupted, still in the flat monotone.
"Gaara!"
"No, Lee. It's alright, he has every right to worry. However," Gai's smile broadened, "I'm proud of you for making this decision. It takes courage to do something like this, you know, and strength. Gaara, did I not tell you that my Lee was one strong kid?"
Gaara smiled briefly, "I recall that."
Gai cleared his throat, breaking from the serious moment, which for him seemed unnatural, "Lee, enamored as you are, we must train today. Gaara, you are welcome to come and watch."
"Alright." The sand shinobi nodded briefly, his arms folding across his chest. He jumped when Lee's hands found his waist.
"Sensei…you're sure you're okay with this?" the taller man pulled Gaara close; Gaara unfolded his arms, looping them around Lee's torso.
Gai grinned, "youth and love go together! There's no rule that says you have to be with…well. A girl. Now stop worrying Lee, it will distract you from your training!"
Lee laughed, "alright sensei! Lets go then."
Several hours later, Gaara sat, watching Lee and Gai train from the shade of a tree. His eyes followed Lee's movements, fluid and graceful, jade orbs dancing over how the leaf-nin's muscles moved in a ripple underneath the suit he wore. He loved watching how Lee moved while sparring with his sensei, ducking and swerving around various kicks and punches. Lee was only hit once, when he failed to notice Gai's hand knifing down into the small of his back. The younger of the fighting pair hit the ground with a thud; Gaara flinched- it was all he could do to stop himself from getting up and helping Lee to his feet, a strange urge to protect that, with time, would only grow stronger.
Lee was on his feet, to Gaara' relief, in an instant, whirling around in a blindingly fast counter, his foot narrowly missing Gai's side. The jounin ducked into the kick, the back of his hand coming up onto Lee's inner thigh, with the intent of throwing the boy off balance. Lee, however, dropped away from Gai's blow, landing on one spread hand for balance, and maneuvering himself around to kick his legs into Gai's. This move, expected and used so many times by the young shinobi was easily countered by his sensei, who merely jumped above it, flipping mid-air with a heel coming down towards Lee's head. Lee rolled to the side, diving into a somersault, coming out of it in a handspring, backwards with both feet landing squarely between Gai's shoulder blades. The older man, caught by somewhat of a surprise, flew forward, skidding to a stop in the dirt. Lee landed neatly, and assumed a victory pose, the happy expression that lit his features bringing a smile to Gaara's face.
Gai picked himself up, dusting dirt and grass from his clothing, a grin on his face.
"Ah, Lee, your young mind always finds ways to get past my defense!" he laughed, "maybe I'm getting too old to be doing this…"
"No sensei, you'll always be youthful!" Lee answered, a response to this statement that he'd made many a time before. Gaara shook his head from where he sat, before rising to his feet. He had been sitting there for the past three hours—it was well into the late afternoon.
Lee jumped when Gaara walked up behind him, a small hand turning him to face the redhead.
"We're going for dinner." Gaara said, not a question or an offer, but a statement. Lee blinked.
"but…I'm training."
"You're going to eat." Gaara moved his hand to lightly poke Lee's stomach, which growled in reply, "Even Gai will tell you that you need food for energy to train. So come on."
"Sensei…um…I need to go and eat…" Lee looked reluctantly at his mentor, an apologetic smile on his face.
Gai grinned, and pulled Lee into a hug sending him tripping to be crushed against a broad chest, "Ah, go savor your youthful days. Let this lotus of Konoha bloom into a lotus of love!"
Lee laughed and hugged the man back, "of course! We'll be back in about an hour, alright sensei?"
"yosh!" Gai let go of Lee and gave him a slight shove, "I expect you to be on time, understand?"
"Of course!" Lee replied enthusiastically, before grabbing Gaara's hand, and pulling the sand-shinobi a few, stumbling feet before the younger man broke into a run to keep up with him.
"I know just the place for dinner…" Lee smiled over his shoulder, not slowing his pace.
Gaara gave him a doubtful look, but followed willingly.
Where there is love, there are no questions.
Authors Note: The next chapter, you'll all see where they're going for dinner. Ah—Spork Ai, you were right. It was Shino that told Lee about the bugs, although I'm not so certain that I mentioned that in previous chapters. I hope that everyone is still enjoying this! Thank you so much for your sweet reviews and encouragement!