Pickles
blackharu2
Do not own...
"Gaara, I really like you!"
Lee let his eyes fall to the ground. There. He said it. The thought hadn't come up very often, but when it did, he would think about it for a long while. He knew Gaara could return the feeling, however, the odds were painfully against him. The redhead would leave soon enough and not return, unless on business, and Lee needed to see that. Still, he couldn't help but think that the Kazekage was hiding something.
"Lee, I don't know.."
Those three words. That one phrase. They struck his inside, pierced his heart and he felt horribe. This wasn't like Sakura, not like when she rejected him and he simply didn't care. This hurt so much worse, the pain was almost unbearable. However, he wouldn't let such a thing get to him. He'd been through worse, he would deal. At most he only seemed to scare Gaara away, and maybe that was better for the both of them. Maybe if they didn't see each other for a while they would see there really was nothing between them.
But Lee didn't want that. Lee still wanted to be be best friends with this boy.
"I'm sorry," Lee stated, black strands of hair covering his eyes, "you just said before you didn't know your feelings. I'm sorry I brought it up, just forget I ever said anything..." His fingers curled into his hands, nails digging hurtfully into skin. He chewed on his bottom lip, trying to keep in the any noise from the pain he was putting himself through.
"Lee..." He felt Gaara's somewhat concerned gaze and winced. He hadn't meant for the other to feel sorry for him. He wanted the other to see he was perfectly fine. He would just let it all go, no problem.
He blinked his eyes forcefully and let go of his now bruised lip. Lee stretched out his hands by his sides, fingers spaced from each other. "Gaara, I'm fine, really!" He smiled, lifting his head up to expose the completely fake smile. He laughed as happily as he could and gave a half-hearted "good-guy pose". The ping of his teeth didn't sound and the smile was already dispersing.
"Lee," the redhead sighed with a small roll of his eyes, "I just need time."
"Time? I might never see you again, so it doesn't matter! I don't care anymore, honestly!"
Lee winced. That wasn't what he meant. He had meant it to come out as he was fine without an answer, knowing what it would've been. Instead, the phrase came out as an irritated groan. As if he didn't care about the answer, or the person. He didn't want Gaara to think that, never did he want Gaara to think that. He would just take it back, that would work, right? He could always just take it back.
"Fine," Gaara stated, glaring at the leaf-nin, and walked away, scowling. He couldn't believe Lee just said that. After all he said, after he said they were best friends. He goes and says he doesn't care. Well, he didn't need to stick around to hear the rest of the speech. He would leave. Leave without finding Temari or Kankurou. Leaving without telling anyone. He would just leave, knowing Lee was watching the whole time.
And leave is what he did. He walked away, arms crossed over his chest, eyes glaring at everything in front of him. In his mind he tried to erase everything he ever knew of the taijutsu master. Their first meeting, their first fight, the Kimimaro incident. Everything. Even the night they just shared. One night that would've gone done as one of the best nights of Gaara's life. But, now, the feeling had disappeared and he never wanted it to return.(1)
He faintly heard the calls of the shinobi in the backround, asking him to stop and stay. He walked on though, not even throwing a look to the boy. He wondered idly what the taijutsu master wanted, probably to apologize. However, after what Lee had just said, he couldn't believe he ever agreed on being the idiot's friend. Lee had enough friends as it was, he sure as hell didn't need Gaara as one.
"Gaara! You forgot the scroll!" Lee yelled, running to catch up with his visitor. He would certainly give Gaara the time he needed to cool down. But in anger, the Kazekage had left behind the precious scroll that happened to be the only reason Gaara ended up in Konoha-gakure anyways. He watched the redhead hesitantly come to a stop, turning away slightly.
Lee walked up to the redhead and held out the scroll, grinning the same half-hearted grin, and sweatdropped. "Didn't want you to forget about that," he said after Gaara took the object from him. He didn't expect a thank you or anything of the sort, but he was still glad to get a small nod of the head in replacement. He took this moment of silence to apologize for his mistake, however, knowing Gaara it wouldn't be that easy.
"Gaara, I'm really sorry for what I said. I didn't mean it to come out that way, Didn't really think about what I was saying. What I meant to say was that you don't need to give me an answer, I don't mind," Lee rambled quickly, slurring all of the words together. He saw Gaara's confused expression and sweatdropped, faking a chuckle.
"I said I was sorry... About everything," the ebony-haired shinobi simplified. He caught the other's "ohhhh" expression and smiled softly to himself. Maybe, just maybe, Gaara would forgive them and they could return to being friends. Lee figured that liking your friend seemed to change everything about the relationship, just like everyone said.
"Hn," Gaara replied, telling Lee he really didn't care anymore. The meaning brought a full-fledge smile onto the boy's face. They simply stood there for a few minutes, no words being spoken. The leaf-nin sighed happily, looking around, seeming to just notice something.
"Gaara? Did you leave without Temari or Kankurou?" he questioned, looking around for the siblings. He recieved a nod as an answer and sighed, shaking his head at the Kazekage.
"They wouldn't care," Gaara elaborated, "they're too busy anyways."
"Yes they would! You shouldn't say that! Let's go find them!" Lee announced, grabbing hold of a hand and dragging the boy to another destination. He failed to notice the dark blush creeping onto the other's face, said boy letting a smile tug at his lips. He let himself be dragged and found the time useful to think. Soon enough they came to a stop and Gaara reluctantly left his thoughts, assuring himself to return to them again.
"Gaara," he heard Lee whisper, making them both sit on the ground behind a bush, "is that your sister?" he asked, still keeping his voice low. The redhead looked over the plant and his eye twitched as he glared at the two.
Lee couldn't believe what he was seeing... Well, actually, he could, but that was beside the point. There Gaara's sister was, hugging Shikamaru, with him hugging back. He was pleased to see they weren't kissing, however, it was also a shock to see Ino laying in the grass beside them. She was watching silently, a smug smile on her face as the two broke away from each other. Lee half expected the chuunin to say how "troublesome" the whole thing was, but surprisingly nothing exited his mouth.
The taijutsu master took a glance to the boy beside him and grinned at the look on his friend's face. He turned to Gaara fully, grin still plastered to his face, "Gaara, let's go," and by that he meant "let's find Kankurou" and the redhead knew exactly what he meant. Oddly enough, they seemed to grow a better understanding of one another.
The Kazekage nodded and stood up, seeming to not care about his sister being able to spot him. He walked in the opposite direction of the blonde, knowing Lee was hot on his heels. He didn't slow his pace after he was far enough for his sister not to see him. He continued to walk quickly through the trees of an unnamed forest, not even doubting that Lee was behind him. Soon enough he heard a familiar voice, and one not so familiar.
Not even bothering to hide behind a tree or bush, like Lee did, Gaara stood and watched his brother. The puppet master was with a fairly attractive lady, a shinobi headband wrapped around her right thigh. She had somewhat long, beautiful hair, the tressels stopping at her mid-back, soft brown curls framing her face and figure. Her curves were average, her outfit giving a clear outline, but still being modest. Dark amber eyes and an unfaltering smile adorned her facial features.(2)
The two were laughing, Kankurou's puppet out. The old doll rattled with the harsh sound of wood on wood as he instructed it on how to move. The chakura strings attached to both the puppet and his fingers, barely noticeable. The older brother was making weird faces, smiling all the while and moving the doll into many odd positions. The girl watched his actions and giggled behind her palm, eyes squeezing shut. Soon, the sand-nin turned his head to notice a quizical, yet bored, look on his brother's face.
He blushed, figuring he was being spied on, and shuffled his feet. With renewed courage, he lifted his head, ready to introduce the kunoichi to the Kazekage, to find Lee running after a redhead. Kankurou sweatdropped and watched as the two vanished from view. He turned back to the girl and went back to making her laugh, shrugging his shoulders at his brother's actions.
"Gaara!" Lee yelled after the sand-nin, walking briskly to catch up with him. The redhead ignored the shout and continued to walk quickly through the maze of trees, looking with indifference at the trees.
"Gaara!" Lee repeated, shouting the name over and over, requesting the ninja to stop. The boy refused to comply, though, and kept walking, not even glancing back. Suddenly, the redhead took an abrupt turn, leaving Lee to wonder what was up with the Kazekage. Still, the leaf-nin raced after him, determination flashing through his eyes, compromising to himself about a jog or two, or 500, around Konoha if he didn't stop Gaara.
"Ga--" The taller shinobi started, taking the right that the redhead did, only to find said boy under a large weeping willow(3). His back was against the trunk and his eyes were closed comfortably, a ghost of a smile tugging at his lips. The sunlight broke through the many leaves of the tree and shone on the peaceful redhead. At first Lee wanted to say that Gaara looked angelic, but the leaf-nin retracked that thought and turned it into minced meat, thinking Gaara would be anything but angelic.
"Gaara?" He questioned quietly, walking closer to the male. Lazily, the redhead opened an eye and peered at Lee. The jumpsuit-clad boy froze, he was...bewildered. The eyes he was looking into held such...life? Normally the turqiose eyes held an annoyed, bored, dead, or any other negative emotion in them. Once they even held look of kindness or care, happiness or joy.. But never had he seen something compared to that. Somewhere in the back of Lee's mind, he wished he could change the unnerving look to one of passion, or love, maybe even just likeness. However, he knew that couldn't happen and he was just fooling himself. But before he could try to crack the code of the new found look, the eyes closed.
Lee stared at the peaceful face of the other. He hadn't said a word for the longest time and the silence was killing him. He thought for a moment that the redhead was sleeping, then mentally kicked himself for thinking such a thought. His black eyes roamed over the body, not able to see much with all the clothing. Lee was also pleased to see the Kazekage had taken off his gourd, he found that a rare thing.
"Lee?" Gaara addressed, opening his eyes once again, but to Lee's dismay they held no "life" like they had before. He sulked silently to himself for a few seconds before looking at the shinobi.
"What is it, Gaara?" he replied, taking a step closer to the boy, never having moved from his spot.
"How come...?" the redhead trailed off, leaving the words floating in the air.
"How come what?"
"How come everyone has someone?"
Lee waited patiently for "but me" to show up at the end of the question. Oddly enough, the sentence ended on its own accord and left Lee somewhat at a lost for words. He didn't know how to answer such a question, not with a good answer at least. He racked his brain for anything wise, or witty in any sense. However, after coming up empty-handed he opted for answering with his own words.
"Not everyone has someone..." He let the statement die, a lump forming in his throat. He could've sworn he was choking on his Adam's Apple, but gulped down saliva to find it was only his uneasiness.
"Do you have someone?" Even though the sentence was vague, Lee knew what the sand-nin was asking, and he smiled sadly.
"Not exactly... Nobody really likes me," seeing the confused gaze of Gaara, he continued, "Gai-sensei is the only one that seems to like me. Tenten is like my sister, but even she doesn't act like she's my friend all the time. Most of the time I'm made fun of and I've learned to not really care."
Lee took a few bold steps toward the shinobi, ending his little lecture. He caught the quizical look Gaara was sending him, but didn't act on it. Honestly, he didn't know what else to say. He didn't want to relive his whole childhood to explain why he was the dunce of his class. He didn't like to remember how he was picked on and how Tenten and Neji had been so disgusted by being on the same team with him for the first coupled weeks. He was glad Gai-sensei took a liking to him and didn't toss him like garbage, not even giving him a chance.
"So, you have Gai?" Gaara asked, shifting his gaze from Lee to the ground beside him, instructed the taijutsu master to sit next to him. The leaf-nin complied and took a seat next to his friend, not losing eye contact with the boy.
"Well.. I guess.. But he has someone else, someone that isn't me.." The boy's eyes were downcast, hands aimlessly picking at weeds. A nonexistent eyebrow raised at him, asking him to elaborate, but fell back into place when the shinobi didn't continue.
"And you want someone else?" the redhead guess, smirking at the shinobi beside him. Lee's eyes widened as he looked up, straight into turquoise orbs. He smiled, giving a hearty thumbs up to Gaara, and nodded with a "Mm-hm".
A sudden urge pushed Gaara forward, the redhead grabbing his friend's chin in one hand. He took one look at the surprised face and let a smile slowly creep onto his face. Slowly, hesitantly, he leaned forward, pulling the leaf-nin's head toward him. The grip was frim, yet soft, not tight enough to hurt, but enough to make the boy move without much effort. He let his eyelids fall, paying no attention to Lee's confused and shocked gaze.
With an unfamiliar sensation pulsing thourgh Gaara's veins, he leaned closer to the taijutsu master. He clumsily placed his lips over the other's and found himself wanting more. It was awkward feeling to him, having only appeared just now, but he kept his cool and quickly broke away from the incidental kiss. He looked to the leaf-nin and couldn't help but let a small smile escape at the dazed look on his face. Soon, Lee came to his senses and stared at Gaara, utterly confused.
"What was that for?" Lee asked with caution, not sure if it was a bad subject to ask on.
"I don't know," the Kazekage answered truthfully, idly searching for the scroll somewhere in his garments, "but I found it satisfying."
Lee had to take a few moments for the whole sentence to sink in. But when it did, he beamed, "I did too." Unexpectedly, his smile faltered and a frown adorned his facial features. "But remember? You said you weren't sure about your feelings... It just doesn't seem right," Lee explained, averting his eyes anywhere to avoid looking at Gaara.
"Oh well." And with no advance warning he found himself being kissed again, but forcefully this time. He responded with his tongue poking at closed lips, demanding entrance to the mouth of his infatuation. He felt sand pick at him, making him gasp in pain, but refused to pull back. Without any sign, a foreign object was invading his own mouth, it seemed to be exploring.
He felt somewhat awkward, the feeling bubbling in his chest. The odd pain settled down some, coming to rest above his abdomen. He smiled slightly into the kiss, not fully believing this was happening. He just wonderd himself why the sand wasn't doing very much damage. He was getting pinched and poked by it, but nothing too drastic. He decided to not think about that right now and just enjoy the kiss. He drew back slowly, earlier than he wanted to, and stared happily into bright green eyes.
"That was..." Lee thought of words to express what he was feeling. Awesome? Lovable? "That was...nice."
..:End Chapter:..
So... Should there be more chapters? Or should this really be the end? I'm asking you to see what you want.. So, tell me what you want.. I'm already planning a...somewhat sequel.. It's going to be attached t this fic, kinda going in order, but not exactly connected... It'll be called "Cucumbers" so look out for it...
Also, I don't want to seem demanding or anything, so you can ignore this part... But I want to try to get at least 10 reviews.. Whether I get that or not will not determine anything about the next chapter. Okay, you get the point... Thanks. Bai-bai!
1 - I don't know about you guys... But I think Gaara would get a little pissed about someone saying they were his best friend then saing they didn't care. Seems like something that would get oor Gaa-chan mad... And we all know Gaa-chan can get VERY mad... Heh heh -- ;
2 - I couldn't choose who to put Kankurou with. I dislike Sakura so she's off the list. Ino's with Shika-kun and Tem-chan. Honestly, he would never even give Hinata a chance and Ten-chan was hinted with Neji.. So I made up another shinobi, so MWA HA HA... And I liked her, so at least Kankurou got someone good, in my opinion.
3 - I don't know if they have willow trees in Konoha, but they do now! And if you don't know what a "weeping willow" is... It's a tree where the branches fall downward when growing and stuff, making it seem like it's crying.