Chapter 7: The aftermath and what happen after that.

Shiya stared blankly at me before speaking. "Well, Gaara-sama, if this is a bad time I can come back later…" She started nervously, looking from me to Lee with a puzzled look on her face.

"No, it's okay, Shiya. What is it you wanted?" I asked, trying to keep my cool. I could still feel some left over heat on my face. What was that all about? What had just happened? My head was spinning and I tried to focus on Shiya so I wouldn't have to think about what I had just been feeling.

"I was just coming in to see if you needed anything and to thank you for letting me go yesterday, I feel much better." She said, giving me a warm smile. I knew what she meant; she didn't have to say anything aloud. She had talked with Kita and she had gotten a heavy burden off her chest. But I had wanted to know how it had all turned out. What was Kita's reaction? I wouldn't ask her right now, though; since it was obvious she wasn't comfortable sharing with Lee in the room. Oh, yes, I had almost forgotten that Lee had no idea who Shiya was and Shiya had no idea that this was Lee.

"I'm okay for right now, and I'm glad to hear you're feeling better. Though, I'd like you to bring me my coffee in a moment. But before that I'd like you too meet Lee." I said, motioning towards my left, where Lee was standing.

"This is Rock Lee of Konoha Village?" She asked, and I nodded. She smiled and walked over to him, extending her hand for him to shake. He reached out and lightly shook her hand, but before he smiled, I saw a look on his face that resembled one of pain and jealousy. But it was only there for an instant before he was giving her his token 'Nice guy' smile.

"Yes, I'm Lee. And I believe Gaara-san said you were Shiya? A pleasure meeting you," He said, dropping her hand. But he didn't look over at me and I felt a jealous feeling of my own. We hadn't made eye contact since… and it was starting to bother me.

"Lee-san here seems to be quite the charmer, Gaara-sama. You do have excellent taste." She said, turning to me as I looked away from Lee to look at her. She smiled but refrained from giggling. "Speaking of taste, I'll go get your coffee now, Gaara-sama. The new concoction, right?" She said, making her way back to the door. I nodded and she left, a satisfied smile on her face, and I wondered at that. The door was shut once again and I realized we were once again alone. She would be back in a few minutes but that was way too long for just an awkward silence. I didn't know what I was supposed to say after a moment like that. A moment that, when I thought about it, had been just that; a moment. But when I was there, and with him like that, it seemed it had lasted for much longer than it actually had. I was afraid to look at him, afraid of my reaction, afraid of his reaction. But the clock was ticking and awkward moments kept passing. I wanted to break the silence, but I felt too out of place. I wanted to turn to look at him, but my limbs seemed to be stuck, my mouth-sown shut, and my brain out of fuel. Just as I thought we'd never speak to each other and this was the end of something that was only beginning he broke the silence.

"Gaara-san, do you still hate me?" He said innocently enough, but his voice came out choked and he sounded like he was on the verge of breaking down. I felt tears quietly and swiftly sting my eyes, but they didn't fall out and I choked them back into myself. Why did he say that? Had I done something that made it seem like I hated him? Had I really ever hated him? Could I ever really hate him? I almost laughed at myself. Of course it had seemed like I had hated him, I had broken his limbs and tried to kill him. But that seemed ages ago to me. But to him… he was probably reliving those moments over and over again in his nightmares. After someone breaks your limbs you can never really trust them again completely, can you? I felt like crying and laughing at the same time but I did neither.

"No." I replied with as little emotion as possible after that long silence. The lack of emotion probably caused him more confusion and doubt, but I couldn't bring myself to show any emotion. Because if I was feeling anything right now, it was sadness. How could I have been so naive to think he'd just waltz in here and forgive me for all the terrible things I had done to him? How could I have ever thought that he could actually love me? No one really loved me; I was a monster, an abomination.

"That's good Gaara-san, because…" He started, and paused to choke back his own tears. And it almost sounded like he was already crying. "Because, Gaara-san, Because I…" I heard him sniffle, "Love you." He finally choked out and I turned to see him, as he stood there, crying. It was a pathetic sight, he had to be at least a foot taller than me and here he was, crying like a little boy. All because he loved me. And he was standing there, crying, a smile still on his lips; all because he loved me and thought I hated him. I couldn't think anymore, I couldn't sit still anymore, and I couldn't ignore my feelings anymore. I felt as if I flew from that chair as I desperately ran the few steps from it to his arms. I ran into his chest head first and almost knocked him over, but he didn't fall. I wrapped my arms tightly around his waist and felt my long overdue tears escape me. And as I felt his arms wrap around me, I leaned into him, wanting to be closer to him, but already as close to him as I could possibly be. I quietly thanked him in my head for being so strong, because right now, I was holding him as tight as I could and he didn't even flinch. I could hear him as he cried, and I bet he still had that dopey smile on his face. But I loved him for it and I stood there, letting my tears stain his clothes. He stopped crying long before I did, but as the last of my tears flowed from my eyes I felt a hundred times better. And, on top of that, I felt a hundred times better because he was here, helping me through it all, loving me through it all. I stayed there, not wanting to let him go. Not wanting to move. He was holding me as I was holding him, and the feeling that was pumping into me made me feel on top of the world.

"Feeling better, Gaara-san?" Lee asked and I meekly nodded, my face rubbing up against his chest as I did so. And I knew I was going to have to move away from him any moment now, but I wanted to enjoy being so close to him while I could.

"Well, Shiya-san brought your coffee in, if you'd like to have some now." He said. I had forgotten all about Shiya and the coffee. Had she seen me like that? I almost panicked, but remembered that Shiya had shared her secrets with me, she trusted me. And it was the least I could do to trust her. So I reluctantly let go of Lee as he let go of me. We looked at each other and smiled, both of us knowing that this was still just the beginning, but oh, what a beginning it was.

I walked over to my desk, where the now cold coffee was sitting. I picked it up and took a long drink from it. "Oh, it's cold now, isn't it? I'm sorry, Gaara-san, I should have told you sooner." Lee said, giving me a shy smile, notifying me that he hadn't wanted to let go of me either, and that's why he hadn't told me earlier.

"It's okay, Lee. It tastes better cold, anyway." I said, giving him a warm smile.

"Really? I've never had coffee before so I wouldn't know. Gai-sensei always prohibited it because he said it would stunt my growth and affect my training." He said, stepping closer, looming over me and staring into the contents that were in the mug in my hand.

"Well, this isn't your usual coffee. There's a bunch of different creamers and sweet tastes combined in it. Something of Shiya's creation." I said smiling. "I've been drinking it as of late." I looked at him but he had a slight frown placed on his features.

"I've been meaning to ask about Shiya-san. Does she, you know, like you?" He said, a bit of jealousy in his voice. I chuckled and he just gave me a bewildered look.

"Well, she likes me, Lee." I said, looking up at him and smiling. "But you see, she prefers women, if you know what I mean." I saw him smile in relief, which made me smile in return. I took another swig of my coffee and then offered some to Lee.

"Would you like to try some? Don't worry; I don't believe I have cooties." I said, almost laughing. He just gave me a wide grin.

"If you had cooties I think I'd have already contracted them from earlier." He said, putting his finger to his lips, and we both knew what he was talking about, which made us both laugh heartedly.

"You know how long it's been since I've laughed like that?" I asked him, not expecting an answer.

"You've laughed before now? Wow, one more thing I've learned about you today." He said jokingly, taking the coffee mug away from me.

"So you're going to try it?" I asked.

"Yep, it can't be too bad if it's what you drink." He said merrily as he brought the mug to his lips and took a swig. He gave me a weird look. "Yuck, it's disgusting, Gaara-san!"