Fun?

"Gaara? Did you… just, just laugh?" Lee was shocked.

"I… did," Gaara looked up. "I don't... remember ever... doing that... before... It... was…" he paused, searching his vocabulary for an appropriate word.

"Fun?" prompted Lee.

"Fun," repeated Gaara with a nod, trying the new word out, rolling it around in his mouth, tasting it.

"Yes, fun," Gaara looked up, "I… never had occasion... to use such a... word before,"

"Well then… I will just have to show you what fun is, right now!" announced Lee, smiling widely, his teeth shining.

Gaara jumped a little, not expecting such an outburst from the leaf nin before him.

"Nani?"

"Yes, we will have tons of fun!" Lee was excited now, "We can go exploring in the Forest Of Death, and train, a-and…" Lee's voice trailed off, he was immersed in joyous thoughts, his black eyes shining creepily.

Gaara just stared at Lee, then he felt his lips twitch. Startled, Gaara placed a hand tentatively over his mouth, his sea colored eyes wide.

"Wha-?"

"That is called a smile, Gaara-kun!" laughed Lee at Gaara's shock. Lee reached out and grasped Gaara's hand to help him up without reopening his rapidly healing injuries.

"Now let us go show you what fun really is! TO THE TRAINING GROUNDS!" Lee proceeded to then drag Gaara out of the bed. He only stopped when, in a last ditch attempt to stop, Gaara grabbed the doorframe and clung to it.

"Gaara-kun?" Lee looked back, puzzled, at the sand nin glaring at him.

"Lee-kun. Let. Me. Put. Clothing. On. First." Ground out the angry Gaara.

Looking down, Lee blushed slightly. But for the bandages, Gaara only had on his under shorts.

'Hmm, his 'bulge' is pretty small… maybe that is why Gaara-kun is always in a bad mood…'

"HUH? Oh, sorry, meet me down stairs once you have dressed," Lee quickly closed the door on the scowling nin. Halfway down the stairs he jumped, proclaiming, "That is it! I will pack a picnic!" Lee consequentially tripped and fell down the stairs.

Gaara listened to Lee's shout and then cringed when he heard several successive, loud, thuds.

"Should I… should I be afraid of this... 'fun' that Lee-kun has planned?" Gaara asked himself quietly as he pulled on his spare clothing.

Fully dressed, Gaara arrived in the kitchen to find Lee standing there, grinning of course, and holding a large wicker basket and what appeared to be a bag of kunai and apples.

"Lee-kun…?" asked Gaara, unsure of the Green Monster's intentions with the weapons and fruit.

"William Tell!" replied Lee happily.

"William… Tell?" Gaara didn't like the sound of that.

"It will be fun!" with that, Lee took off like a shot towards the far end of the training grounds, at full tilt. Gaara almost had to struggle to keep up.

They slowed to a walk as the already unfriendly jungle became denser and darker, diffused green light filtered through the giant leaves of the upper stories and canopy of the old forest. In the hazy green light, Lee almost disappeared into the misty green shadows. Lee looked around, searching for the path that he had taken to the beautifully secluded spot where he had been training two days before. As they walked through the dense foliage Gaara stopped suddenly.

The path ahead was covered with blood and coarse blood soaked sand.

"Gaara-kun?" Lee peered around the stopped sand nin, "What is the matter Gaara-kun?" then he noticed where they were.

"Oh,"

"Is this… is this where you…" Gaara's voice trailed off into the unspoken question.

"Yes," replied Lee slowly.

Gaara looked around himself critically. Branches were broken off and blood was smeared all over the foliage. Dark, vibrant splotches of crimson liquid marred the tranquil green of their surroundings. Gaara grimaced, ' if I had been back home, they would have killed me for leaving such an obvious trail, injured or no,' A small scorch mark and a larger blood stain marked where he must have fallen. Gaara looked away in disgust of himself.

"Gaara-kun?" Lee asked worriedly, 'why does Gaara-kun look so upset? It must be that he is remembering who beat him! I MUST FIND OUT WHO DID THAT TO MY DEAREST FRIEND GAARA-KUN AND MAKE THEM PAY FOR GANGING UP ON HIM!" Lee has fire in his obsidian eyes and not once had it occurred to him that Gaara might be mad at his own weakness.

"Gaara-kun!" Lee suddenly shouted, ripping Gaara from his thoughts.

"Hn?"

"Tell me who did that to you! Give me their names and I will track them down!" Lee began ranting to the nearest tree, waving his arms up and down in an agitated manner, flames burning in his coal-black eyes.

"No," Lee turned.

"Why?"

"No," with a little more force.

"Why?"

"NO!"

"WHY!"

"BECAUSE IT WAS S-!" Gaara clapped a hand over his mouth and glared, furious with himself.

"WHOwhoWHOwhoWHOwho!" Lee hopped up and down in Gaara's face.

FWAP!

Thump.

Lee looked at Gaara in shock, black eyes wide.

"Be quiet! It is not a matter of yours!"

The sands returned to Gaara's gourd with an angry hiss.

"STAY OUT OF MY BUSINESS LEE!" Gaara yelled at the stunned Leaf Ninja.

"Gaara-kun…" Lee backed away slowly from the angry ninja and prepared for an attack.

"O.K. Gaara-kun. I will not ask again. Do you still wish to accompany me?" Lee asked slowly.

Gaara glowered down at Lee for a few more breathless seconds before nodding gruffly, "Yes. Get up and let's go," Gaara turned on his heel and walked a few paces before stopping again.

"Gaara-kun? What is wrong?" Lee asked, curious.

"I... don't know where... we are going," he mumbled lowly.

"Ha ha, ha, ha," laughed Lee as he stood and grabbed Gaara's hand, the sands inside the gourd barely stirring, and proceeded to walk ahead, pulling the soon to be KazeKage behind him.

They walked like that for a few more minutes before Gaara ripped his hand back and folded his arms in embarrassment. Lee sniggered quietly which earned him a sand whip to the back of the head.

-In the clearing, after 80 minutes of Lee saying that they'll be there in 2 minutes-

"ALRIGHT! Now that we have eaten, let us play William Tell!" proclaimed Lee, standing up and picking 3 apples and 12 kunai from the bag.

"What... is William Tell, Lee-kun?" Gaara asked, uneasily eyeing the knives.

In response Lee grabbed Gaara, hoisting the smaller ninja up, and placed him against the nearest tree trunk. Lee then placed a shiny red apple atop Gaara's equally red head. Ignoring Gaara's questioning glare, Lee stepped back about 10 feet.

"Lee-kun…?" Gaara was actually worried when he saw Lee ready the knife to throw.

"Now, do not move," Lee commanded, then he threw the kunai. Gaara ducked on pure instinct and grabbed the projectile mid-air.

"Gaara-kun! I said not to move!" exclaimed an exasperated Lee, "You are supposed to stand absolutely still and let me throw kunai at you!" he explained with his hands on his green hips in a very Lee-like pose, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Why would anyone without a death wish do that of their own free will!" asked a slightly panicking Gaara.

"Because it builds trust between teammates and improves aim at the same time!" announced Lee happily.

"I'm supposed to stand still and trust you," Gaara pointed to Lee, " to throw that," he pointed at the kunai, "at my head, while hoping that you do not miss. And NOT duck?"

"Hey! My teammates and I use a pea instead of an apple. And I have only hit Naruto-kun once. And that was because Sasuke-kun insulted him mid-throw," Lee smiled again, his teeth shining, and he struck a 'nice guy pose,' which surprisingly did not make Gaara feel safer.

"Do not worry Gaara-kun, you are in safe hands!" Lee took aim once more and threw the kunai, while Gaara just about had to have the sands anchor him to the ground to suppress his instincts.

THUNK!

With a dull thud, the kunai embedded itself into the apple, mere centimeters from Gaara's head. Gaara sweat-dropped and glared at Lee as a lock of scarlet hair fluttered down. Lee just grinned widely and struck another nice guy pose before bounding over and saying, "O.K! switch places!"