I am back. Once again, eight billion years after my last update, I have finally returned with another chapter.

*WARNING* this chapter is a bit "mature", but only at the beginning really. So be warned!

As always, nothing belongs to me except for this dumb little thing! Enjoy!

Childish imagining of his first kiss had been typical overly idealistic visions; a light peck, followed by hand holding, and everything would be shimmery and soft around the edges. Sweet, simple, innocent. In reality, it was overwhelming. It almost felt like too much at once, and yet not nearly enough. Lee's thick lashes fluttered against his enflamed cheeks as his large eyes drifted shut. Starbursts seemed to flash behind his closed eyes, each tiny burst sending tingles through his body as Gaara shifted closer, his lips settling more firmly against his own. The redhead's hands rubbed up Lee's thighs, caressing around his hips to settle firmly just above the swell of Lee's ass as the pair exchanged soft pecks. Lee ran his own shaky hands up Gaara's toned chest, latching on to broad shoulders to better ground himself in this unexpected moment. For one glorious second everything seemed to shut off in Lee's cluttered mind; all of the pressing issues of the past couple hours melted away leaving the teen nearly lightheaded in the absence of his buzzing thoughts. All Lee could focus on was the sensation of warm, silken lips meeting his own in lingering kisses. Gaara wrapped his arms more securely around Lee's lithe waist, pulling the elder fully onto his lap. A soft mewl escaped Lee as the shift pressed his forming erection into Gaara's firm thigh. Oh, the raven thought belatedly as more heated kissed were pressed to his plush lips, I am getting hard. Lee's brain kicked into high gear as that information raced into the forefront of his mind. He was hard. In Gaara's lap. The grip he had on Gaara's shoulders worked to his advantage as he pushed away from the redhead. The shove had been abrupt enough that Lee succeeded in falling through Gaara's hold, the younger too startled to tighten his gentle grip. Lee fell backwards onto the bed, bringing his knees up to hide his shame, his hands quickly covering his crimson face.

The scene would have been humorous if it wasn't so mortifying. Lee shifted to his side, scrunching his long body up as much as he could, forming a tight ball. After a prolonged moment of tense silence, he felt Gaara move on the bed, the rustling of the sheets causing Lee to flinch. He desperately wished he could disappear. A warm hand settled on Lee's upper back, rubbing soothing circles between his shoulder blades. The raven haired teen waited with bated breath for something to happen—anything really, angry words or some sort of sign that Gaara was none too pleased. But nothing came. The soothing circles continued. The prone male let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding in a shaky whoosh. Relief washed over him despite the lingering embarrassment that bubbled just below the surface. Lee parted the fingers shielding his eyes to peek up at the redhead. Gaara's typically stoic face was almost soft as cerulean eyes stared fondly down at the older teen. Obsidian orbs darted away from the younger's gaze, his cheeks heating anew at the unwavering blue of the other's gaze. Lee moved his hands from his face, relaxing slightly as the redhead continued his ministrations. He moved his arms to wrap them tightly around his knees, hugging them to his chest.

"I…sorry," Lee whispered as he rubbed his face gently against the sheets. He just had to go and make it awkward. His first kiss and Lee had panicked. Perfect. Something hot and hateful slithered down Lee's spine, causing him to scrunch his eyes closed tight and curl his toes. In that moment Lee wanted nothing more than to curse his upbringing for making him react the way he did. Gaara hadn't deserved the abrupt dismissal he had received.

"Do not be sorry," the other male responded, his tone light and steady.

That is easier said than done, Lee thought bitterly as he puffed his cheeks in a rare bought of frustration. He had never been one to be petulant, but in this moment all he felt was stiff, uncomfortable, and more than a little embarrassed for what he had done. He deserved to have a moment of self pity. Against his will, the soothing patterns being rubbed into his back had Lee relaxing, his frustrations dissipating the longer Gaara continued to offer him comfort and support. Slowly his legs unfurled from their clenched position, his arms coming to rest on the bed beside his head.

"There is nothing to be ashamed of," Gaara finally spoke after the tense atmosphere had returned to normal.

Lee looked once more at Gaara, the latter's face open and affectionate in ways it had never been before this moment. Lee's breath stuttered in his chest.

"I… thank you Gaara, but it…it is…difficult," Lee confessed, maneuvering himself into an upright position. His problem had long since gone away, to Lee's relief, allowing him to sit easily beside his friend without the threat of another awkward outburst. The two teens sat with their backs propped against the wall, their arms pressed against each other's. It felts like small offering of comfort and solidarity to Lee, for which he was grateful.

"I know that vile place has poisoned your mind in many ways," The redhead intoned gruffly as he mentioned the orphanage, "but do not think yourself shameful for the reactions of your body."

"I…am trying. It-it has not been…easy for me," Lee's voice was soft, nearly a whisper, as he continued to be open and honest with Gaara. Tanned fingers plucked aimlessly at the bed sheets. "I have…I could not be comfortable with…my body's reactions at Kage's. It was not…appropriate for me to have…such thoughts… and desires."

Gaara's hand found Lee's as he laced their fingers together.

"Gaara…." Lee's voice wavered slightly as he stared intently at the sheets now fisted between his free hand. He took a deep breath and forced himself to look directly at the redhead. His large eyes were watery but determined as he took in the familiar face of one of his best friends. "I…I have….I have loved you for a very long time."

Gaara's heavy lidded eyes widened and his mouth opened slightly as his jaw seemed to slacken at the revelation.

"It…it was not always easy, " realizing how his words sounded, Lee hastily back-peddled, "that is not to say that you were difficult to love, because it was in fact the opposite which is what made it so hard for me. The first time that I even realized perhaps my affections for you went…beyond friendship, I was terrified. It was everything I had feared. I was even more of…of a freak. And I tried, so, so hard to stop these…feelings."

Lee laughed bitterly as he recalled all of the vain attempts he had made to try and stifle his growing adoration. "I should have known nothing would be able to change how I felt for you…how I feel. But back then, I…I could not feel that way. And so… I pretended. And eventually, I convinced myself that the act was true. The longer I pretended the easier it became for me to live this….this lie. You were my friend. Nothing more," Lee's eyes grew distant as the memories of all the different ways he had avoided Gaara surfaced in his mind. Refusing affection, and tip-toeing around physical contact. It all seemed so selfish now, how he could be so free with his other friends and yet he would not afford Gaara the same. It hurt Lee to admit his own shortcomings, not because it reflected poorly on him, but because his actions must have hurt Gaara greatly. Lee swallowed against the lump that had formed at the memories. He cleared his throat quietly before continuing.

"But once I was…free of Saint Kage, the lie…well it fell apart. I did not have to pretend anymore, there was no one to constantly monitor me and judge my actions or lack thereof. It was scary, to finally face myself after years of pretence and pretend. To find all these locked away feelings, just waiting to escape. I am ashamed of how I tried so hard to make you less. And I-I am ashamed at deceiving myself. And so I just…I want to thank you Gaara. Thank you for staying with me through these lies and deceptions. And I-I want you to know that I do….that after all this time I still love you. Perhaps…perhaps even more than even I t-thought," Lee's voice broke on the final confession, his face heating once more as he openly stated his feelings.

During his speech Lee's head had lowered to rest on his raised knees, his confidence dwindling as his greatest secret had spilled forth from his mouth. Tonight had really been a night of revelations on Lee's part. Although the confession had felt amazing, Lee was not foolish enough to believe the aftermath would be nearly as cut and dry. Yes, he loved Gaara. For a very long time at that, even though he had tried to convince himself otherwise. And he had even thought, just maybe, Gaara had felt at least the slightest amount of affection for him. But he could be wrong. Perhaps Gaara had just been offering comfort and Lee had taken advantage. He stopped himself before he could come up with any more scenarios. Too many times had Lee misinterpreted people's actions, and so he would not tell himself something was fact until presented with the definitive truth. Lee grew uncomfortable as sweat began to pool between their clasped hands, his own tanned one being the culprit. He was sure it felt just as disgusting to Gaara, but the pale hand remained stationary. Lee wanted nothing more than to pull his hand free and save Gaara from the horrible wetness as the silence stretched between them. The heat gathering was unbearable. Just as he was about to slip his fingers away, the younger squeezed his hand and let go. Even though that was what he had wanted, Lee wasn't sure if this was better or worse. The raven's heart dropped as the redhead slipped off the bed. I see, Lee lamented as his eyes filled to the brim with tears, this is how it ends. He didn't want Gaara to see anymore of his pathetic outbursts, burying his head more firmly into his knees. Lee desperately willed his trembling lip to stop so he could leave the house without causing Gaara anymore discomfort.

"You are mine now."

The definitive tone of Gaara's voice had Lee's head snapping to attention, a few tears escaping from his eyes at the sudden movement.

"W-what?" Lee's voice cracked and wavered as his face scrunched in confusion.

"You love me," Gaara deadpanned, face once again in its stoic mask.

"Yes?" Lee had no idea where this was going.

"Then you are mine," the younger declared as if it was an obvious fact.

"I…I am s-sorry Gaara, b-but I…I do not understand what you are saying," Lee rubbed at his face as he attempted to sort out what Gaara was trying to get at.

"I…" for the first time in all of their friendship, Gaara was unable to hold Lee's curious eye contact.

Lee was so bewildered he forgot completely about his own discomfort, and instead moved to the edge of the bed to better get a look at his friend's downturned face. What he saw nearly had him falling face first onto the floor; Gaara was honest to god blushing. How cute, Lee's mind conjured without permission. The raven shook his head to clear it of such poorly timed thoughts.

"I am…what I am saying," Gaara growled in frustration at his own hesitation, his fists clenched at his sides. "The feeling…is mutual."

That did have Lee falling of the bed as his arms gave out from underneath him. He fell unceremoniously onto the unforgiving wood floor, just barely stopping himself from landing face first.

"I….you…?" was all Lee could muster from his awkward position as Gaara stared down at him.

"….Yes," came the serious reply as pale hands scooped Lee off the floor.

"Yes?" Lee couldn't help the way his whole face began to light up, his large eyes splayed wide in happy disbelief.

Gaara's whole demeanour softened as he looked at Lee, a serene smile stretching unfamiliarly across his handsome face. Lee's heart skipped a beat. Or two.

"Yes."

No one could have stopped Lee as he jumped onto his best friend, his arms latching securely around Gaara's neck while his legs wrapped around Gaara's toned torso. The redhead was quick to react, catching the lithe teen in his own arms, supporting him as the raven laughed almost hysterically. The laughter quickly transformed into gasping sobs as Lee buried his head into the crook of Gaara's neck and shoulder.

"Y-you…t-too…I-I am so g-glad," Lee hiccuped between tears as he clung to the redhead.

Gaara buried his own face in Lee's neck as he ran one of his hand's up and down Lee's back.

"Yes, me too," Gaara reassured.

Lee cried for a short while longer, the emotional turmoil of the past couple months rushing out in a massive release. If he had felt lighter before, it was nothing compared to how he felt now. Gaara had sat them back on the bed, Lee once again in his lap, and wrapped the blankets around them in a sort of cocoon. Gaara thanked his past self as he snatched the plain kleenex box from the small shelf built into his bed frame, placing it beside them so Lee could grab the tissues whenever he felt the need. After Lee's breathing had finally evened out once more, the raven lifted his head so he could look properly at Gaara. His face must have been a mess, all red and splotchy, but Gaara merely gazed back at him, his blue eyes calm and accepting.

"If…if you do not mind me asking," Lee hesitated as he reached for a kleenex, blowing his noise quietly. He crumpled up the tissue in his hand, as he weighed his words carefully. "Um…h-how long have you…"

"Felt this way?" Gaara saved Lee the trouble as he finished the elder's sentence.

"You do not have to answer if you do not fee—"

Gaara pulled Lee into a tight hug, cutting of his protest before he could start to doubt himself even more.

"While I did not realize until a couple of days prior, I suspect I have….loved you since I offered you my solidarity," Gaara's smooth voice dropped into a thoughtful rumble.

Lee's gentle hold around Gaara tightened at the intimate confession, as he pressed a giddy smile into the redhead's chest.

"…Everything in my life during that time was grey," Gaara confessed, his voice pitched low and uncertain. The openness of his words felt unfamiliar in his mouth. "I do not think…that I really knew colour until…that moment in which I saw you."

A comfortable silence fell over the pair as they continued to embrace one another. However, the niggling question floating around in Lee's mind had him releasing the redhead to look him in the eyes.

"What….er," Lee ducked his head shyly, wiping away the residual tears on his face, "What does this mean for us Gaara?"

"As I said earlier, you are mine," the redhead responded smoothly, tucking Lee's hair behind his right ear. "No one else may have you."

"So, um…could I call you my…m-my boyfriend?" Lee bit his lip as he waited for Gaara's response.

"I prefer the term lover, but that is also acceptable."

Lee's face hurt from how widely he was smiling.

~~~*timeskip*~~~ ~~~*timeskip*~~~ ~~~*timeskip*~~~ ~~~*timeskip*~~~ ~~~*timeskip*~~~

Kankurō yawned noisily as he entered the large kitchen. He stretched his arms above his head, working out the kinks in his neck and back that had formed during the night. His sleep had been less than ideal, spending over half the night tossing and turning and the other half awake and guilt ridden as he replayed the distraught look on Lee's face. The brunette had finally given up on the idea of sleeping in and had dragged himself out of bed. His plan was to eat, and then wake up Gaara so he could drill him on what had happened the night before. Opening the fridge, Kankurō grabbed out a large jug of milk, resting it on the counter as he grabbed out a bowl and his favourite cereal. He dumped a generous serving of cereal into his bowl before drowning the sugary flakes in milk. Just the way he liked it. Putting the milk away, Kankurō grabbed his breakfast and turned towards the small table, only to screech and throw the bowl into the air when he came face to face with his younger brother. By some miracle, Gaara snatched the dish out of the air, not a single drop of milk spilling, and handed it back to the elder.

"GAARA, FUCKIN' CHRIST!" Kankurō yelled as he clutched at his chest.

"You are up early," was the non-sequitur sent back by the redhead.

"Yeah, I figured i'd check in on you and ask about last night, but apparently you wanted me to have a fuckin' heart attack instead!" the brunette fumed as he settled at the table. "How is Lee, by the way? I still feel like trash about the whole shitty thing."

"He is fine," Gaara's tone was flat as he pulled out the seat across from his brother.

"Wait…that's it," Kankurō questioned as there seemed to be no further response from the younger. "He's just..fine!?"

"Yes."

Kankurō pinched the bridge of his nose as a frustrated huff escaped him. His brother, the fucking poet. Gaara was great at a lot of things, mostly anything to do with being quiet and solitary, but by god you try and talk to him and it becomes a game of pulling teeth. And Kankurō was most definitely losing.

"Gaara, we've gone over this, you can't just give someone one words answers," The elder hashed out once again, his voice slow and more than a little condescending. He blamed the early morning for his attitude.

"Lee understands," Gaara countered dismissively, running a hand through his red locks.

"Yes, well Lee has a fuckin' seventh sense when it comes to you. I'm your god damn brother and I don't know what you mean half the time," the brunette grumbled as he dunked his spoon forcefully into the bowl.

Kankurō glared up at his sibling only to spit his cereal out in shock at the almost dreamy smile on his younger brother's face.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT," the brunette practically screamed, gesturing wildly in Gaara's direction as milk dripped down his chin.

The redhead's stoic mask slipped back into place almost instantaneously.

"If you do not hurry you will be late," Gaara drawled in a bored tone as he pointed lazily to the clock above the kitchen sink.

Cursing under his breathe, Kankurō vowed to get an answer out of his shit of a brother. He had just begun to wolf down the rest of his breakfast when a very panicked, very adorable, just rolled out of bed Lee skidded into the kitchen.

"I am so sorry! I overslept!" Lee huffed between breaths as he turned his head to better see the clock. His long hair fell in loose, silken strands, over his shoulders. Lee's full bangs had parted at some point during the night separating the raven locks in what would look humorous on most people, but instead it just make the teen look even more cute than normal. He had one of Gaara's large black t-shirts on, the hem reaching almost to the top of his knees, and a pair of tight fitting boxer briefs peaked out from beneath.

"Good morning to you too," Kankurō chuckled lightly at the younger's bewildered expression. "And nah, you didn't sleep in much really, school doesn't actually start for half hour. Worst case scenario I just drive us all there."

"Oh, Kankurō thank you, but I do not want to burden you," Lee waved off the offer, tucking his hair behind his ears and running his fingers lightly through his bangs.

"C'mon Lee it's fine, don't you even worry about it. It's the least I can fuckin' do after last night."

Instead of the protest Kankurō was expecting, the room became silent. Looking up from his now empty bowl, the brunette turned quizzical eyes on Lee. The tall teen's face was a light pink as he pulled absently on the hem of his black shirt. He was biting his bottom lip in an attempt to stop a smile from breaking out on his face. Kankurō was fucking confused. He was just about to turn on his brother and ask him what the fuck had happened last night when said redhead pushed back from his seat and made his way over to the other teen.

What happened next was not something a sleep deprived Kankurō was prepared for. The brunette heard the rough 'good morning' Gaara rasped in what was, Kankurō shuddered to admit, an intimate tone. Normal enough, give or take the smitten look his brother was practically beaming onto Lee. Until all hell broke loose. The redhead wrapped his arms around Lee, who in turn rested his hands on Gaara's shoulders, and pulled the raven haired male into a brief kiss. Two things happened at once; Kankurō honest to god fell out of his chair, knocking his empty bowl off the table, smashing it to pieces, and Lee, frightened by the loud crash, pulled out of the kiss to stare in horror down at Gaara's older brother.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!' was all Kankurō's brain, and subsequently mouth, seemed capable of producing.

Lee turned a brilliant shade of cherry red, his coffee coloured skin lost completely under the blush, before he buried his face into Gaara's chest.

"YOU! YOU? YOU!" Kankurō pointed accusingly at his brother while he scrambled off the cold hardwood floor. "HOW? FUCKIN' WHEN!?"

"Be quiet," Gaara's face was devoid of emotion as he stared, unwaveringly, at the eldest male, "your voice is grating at that volume."

"Oh, well, EXCUSE ME, I'll just calm down. It's not like my youngest brother just walked up and KISSED his BEST FRIEND full on the MOUTH! OH WAIT!" Kankurō's arms were flapping around in jerky motions as he stared accusingly at the pair of teens. "So what!? You're just dating now! Just like that!?"

"Yes." Gaara deadpanned as he led Lee out of the room. Lee looked over his shoulder apologetically as he followed his boyfriend.

"GAARA YOU BASTARD, YOU CAN'T JUST LEAVE IT AT THAT!" The brunette yelled after the retreating figure of his brother.

The silence of the room after Kankurō's explosion said otherwise. The eldest teen kicked the fallen chair in a fit of frustration before picking it up and sliding it under the table.

"Fuck, fuck, fuckin' fuckity fuck," Kankurō muttered under his breath as he knelt down and began to gather the shards of his broken dish. Even through his angry he couldn't stop the sincere smile that formed on his face. "Looks like Gaara finally got his head out of his fucking ass."

Aaaaand there you go. Chapter officially updated! Yes, yes, I know the end of this chapter feels a bit rushed, but I just had to add in Kankurō's reaction!

Sorry again for the long ass drop off, but school got real busy and then my laptop broke and that was all fun to deal with. But for now i'm on my winter break and hopefully I can update at least once more before school starts again.

Thank you everyone for the continued support of this fic! I love to read all of your comments and I just want to say thank you so much to all of you that continue to leave me little responses!