Gaara's New Nindo

It had happened so suddenly. Might Guy had died in battle while desperately trying to protect his teammates from the dreaded Akatsuki members, Itachi and Zisame. His teammates, Kakashi and Asuma, did manage to survive—but at the cost of his life.

The funeral was extremely depressing. No one cried at the funeral—the only ones present were shinobi, and they all promised themselves that they wouldn't cry. The only startling thing about the funeral was that two people were missing—Rock Lee and Subaku no Gaara (his siblings were present, as the three Sand shinobi were all in Konoha for a week-long vacation).

Rock Lee was alone in his apartment, sobbing. He couldn't bring himself to go to the funeral—no one there could say anything that would make him feel any better. The words that Guy had promised him were playing through his head, over and over again, as if the words were the only thing that Lee knew. 'If you die, I'll die as well…'

Without realizing it, every time he thought the quote, he would whisper it (or scream, depending on his current mood) and then add "Guy-sensei!"

But, what Lee was too distraught to realize was that Gaara had managed to sneak into Lee's apartment unnoticed. He had been watching the entire thing from behind Lee, piecing together the pieces of the puzzle. Here's what he had so far:

1. Lee was being driven insane and he had to do something.

2. The quote had something to do with Guy.

3. The quote meant a lot to him.

4. He was so saddened by the entire thing that, no matter how obvious Gaara was, Lee wouldn't notice him unless he said something, which brought him back to the first item on the list.

Gaara coughed, (finally) bringing Lee's attention to him. Lee, at first, glared with extremely red eyes, and then his gaze softened when he realized that it was his new-found friend, Gaara. "What… do you want…?" Lee asked slowly, somewhat embarresed at being caught crying, of all things.

"I want to know what 'If you die, I'll die as well' has to do with Might Guy," Gaara stated simply and coolly, as if he weren't trying to comfort Lee at all—which, in his own way, he was.

"When…" Lee sighed, knowing he had to tell Gaara—he needed someone to talk to. "When I was going to get surgery, there was a high percent chance that I'd… die. He convinced to me to go through with it by saying that," Lee explained.

"And… what does that have to do with the present situation…?" Gaara asked, not quite seeing Lee's thought process.

"Why shouldn't I die, if he died? He made that promise to me, but… I never promised it back! I… don't know what I should do now. It's only right that I should die, especially after that promise he made me," Lee said, a melancholy tone permeating his monotone words.

Gaara thought this situation over, trying to tread softly and say the right words. "Are you planning on killing yourself?" Gaara asked coldly, still holding back the feelings that wished to burst forth from his body.

"… Yes…" Lee muttered quietly.

"Before you do anything drastic, will you at least listen to my new nindo?" Gaara asked after thinking for a moment.

Lee was slightly surprised, but he nodded numbly, giving Gaara the permission to continue (which, he would have with or without his permission, but he'd probably listen better if Lee agreed). Gaara sighed and said, "If my precious person dies, I'll die as well."

Lee, shocked, turned to him. "And… who is your precious person?" Person was singular—that meant that there was only person he'd die for.

"You," Gaara stated, almost as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Finally having decided that he built up to the moment enough, he kneeled behind Lee and wrapped his arms awkwardly around Lee's slender form and whispered, "If you die, I'll have no reason to live. Confirming my existence by killing no longer works. The only way I can now confirm my existence is by the feelings that erupt from inside me when I see, hear, or think of you. And, if you die, all the emotions I now feel will disappear. If they disappear… then I'll be empty again. If I'm empty, what's the point in living?" Gaara asked.

Lee was shocked, bewildered, and, oddly enough—ecstatic at Gaara's comment. "A-are you saying this to make me feel better or because you mean it…?" Lee asked uncertainly, hardly able to believe it himself.

"Both…" Gaara whispered in his ear, sending shivers up his spine unintentionally. "Will… you accept me, my feelings… and my new nindo?" Gaara inquired, still not sure what to say.

"… Of course," Lee replied, finally deciding on the right words to use to reply. Gaara pulled him in a sweet and sensual kiss, one full of (unexpected) innocence and uncertainty. Gaara spent the rest of the night comforting him with whispers of promises and holding him, just allowing the other boy to sob in his embrace.

And that was how Lee's most important person changed from his teacher, Might Guy—though he shall always have a very special place in his heart—to Subaku no Gaara of the Sand.

A/N: Kind of dumb, but I'm happy with it. This was my first GaaLee pairing! I think I did rather well… This actually came to me in a dream, except the people in it were different… And then I realized that, by switching the people around from my life to Naruto pairings, and GaaLee seemed to be best. I could have made a NaruSasu, but I've been itching to do GaaLee for a while now… Anyways, review and tell me what you think! Or, if you'd rather, don't. XD I don't care, it's just a oneshot. lolol