Prized
By: Sonnie
Gaara wondered vaguely why it was always his job to baby-sit Lee, a nineteen year old who was, for all intents and purposes, an adult. Well, ostensibly, anyway. Learning his lesson from past catastrophes, he had wisely kept the green-clad ninja from imbibing anything alcoholic, though he was wondering whether or not it would be considered irresponsible if he downed an unhealthy amount in an attempt to block out Lee's incessant chatter.
Gaara's green eyes flickered to where Tenten and Neji were buying dango. He corrected his statement to where Tenten was buying dango and Neji was watching her impassively. Gaara briefly considered dropping Lee off with them but decided Tenten wouldn't be too pleased and find some way to make their next swimming lesson nothing short of pure torture. The thought of treading water for an hour made him turn on his heel in the opposite direction.
This guy needs a leash, Gaara thought grumpily as Lee darted through the crowds like a five-year old. The demon in him was tempted to crush his limbs again just so the damned idiot would stop moving so much.
Every time Lee came into contact with Gaara, he went out of his way to be friendly. Taken aback and slightly freaked out, Gaara would usually numbly agree to things without really thinking of the implications. Apparently, this gave the illusion that they were close friends so Shikamaru or Tenten would often tell the two of them to go on missions together, completely oblivious to the fact one wanted very much to cause the other bodily harm.
"Oh my god!" Lee yelled, causing his companion to cover his ears and nearly hiss in pain.
"I'm standing right here, you don't need to yell," Gaara said scathingly.
Ignoring the lethal tone, Lee ran right up to the booth that he'd been pointing to gleefully. Flying onto the stool, he spun a few times before slamming his hands on the table and leaning forward. Gaara knew he had no choice but to follow. Tenten's stipulations were "Lee has fun," "Lee remain sober" and "Lee stays alive."
Scowling at the last one, Gaara remembered his sole command was "don't kill anybody." He sat down next to Lee and wondered what was so fascinating about this booth.
Of course, Gaara muttered drolly to himself, watching Lee's elbow hit the table top as his palm pressed into his opponent's forcefully. The other man was wretchedly thin, which Gaara found odd considering what his station was offering.
Arm wrestling. How…befitting of Lee.
The comical seriousness of Lee's face and his opponent's was too much to take and remain serious and Gaara felt a sardonic grin begin to twist his features.
The man behind the counter won the first match and Lee had to pay up, the same for the second, third, fourth, and fifth. Sitting down for his sixth, Gaara noted the man was sweating profusely considering the sun was no longer out. He'd periodically take quick gulps from a small flask between matches and there was something off about his mysterious wins. Gaara, determined to figure it out so Lee wouldn't be whining about losing all his money, decided that he would take the initiative. He stood abruptly.
"Gaara!" gasped Lee, attempting to speak while desperately holding his own. "Where are you going?"
"Just around to the other side," he replied absently, moving away from the two competitors.
"But you'll miss my glorious victory!" Lee bit out, bicep bulging. Despite his very odd appearance, he was attracting quite a few spectators. There were even a few girls in awe of his muscles.
Well, if you're into that, Gaara conceded drolly as a group of girls giggled and pointed at his arms. I guess there's good taste, bad taste, and no taste…
Gaara smiled gravely when he finally got a good look at the container the man was drinking from. It was a bottle of strength-enhancing potion, made exclusively from the plants found in Sand's incredible greenhouse.
"I will not let my eternal youth be conquered!" Lee proclaimed, slapping more money on the counter before plopping himself on his chair with vigor. "I must win!"
"Idiot," Gaara told him coldly. "He's cheating. He's been drinking a strength enhancer this whole time and was idiotic enough to keep it in the bottle it was bought in."
"You would dare to use such dishonest means to beat an honorable warrior such as myself?" Lee demanded indignantly, staring in shock at the man. He swiftly avoided the skinny vendor when he suddenly drew his hidden sword.
Gaara wished briefly that he hadn't been told rather firmly that killing anyone tonight wouldn't be in his best interest. Lee was going to make such a mess…
"Just give him his money back before he causes a scene," Gaara told the skinny man simply, shaking his head at the crowd that was gathering.
"Shut up," the man spat. "I'm leaving with my money."
"That money is not yours!" Lee proclaimed. "It is mine, the proud green beast of Konoha, as well as everyone else's in this beautiful town!"
Gaara sighed. The skinny man snickered. Lee charged.
Gaara winced. The skinny man slumped over. Lee grinned.
"Yoooosh!" he exclaimed proudly, assuming the nice guy pose for his audience. People were clapping and Lee was posturing and Gaara was trying very hard not to roll his eyes too much, failing miserably. Lee took the money the man had dishonestly collected over the course of the evening and to the crowd's delight and awe, threw it to them joyfully.
"If you're done making a spectacle of yourself, could we please move on?" Gaara managed as patiently as he could, trying not to frown as small children brushed past him to gather the scattered coins.
"I see that you are not one to bask in the glory of your partner's achievements," Lee said gamely, patting him on the back. The redhead stiffened at the contact, unaccustomed to anyone voluntarily touching him. "That is good of you, but I would not have known if it weren't for you! Come, let's find some more entertainment!"
Gaara was thanking whatever lucky stars he might possibly have that Lee was a gentleman and not a pervert. He knew if he were with Naruto he'd be either spying on women by now or nursing the blond through a well-deserved concussion. Allowing himself to be pulled along out of sheer apathy, he found himself standing in front of a caricaturist.
"You can go first!" Lee declared, shoving Gaara at the chair good-naturedly. The man sat down unceremoniously and glared at the artist, who was completely unaffected by his somber face. Unable to keep his eyes from wandering to all the movement around him as he was trained to focus on, he found himself rather restless and uncomfortable.
"Stop moving so much," the woman chastised in a singsong voice, causing Gaara to bristle. What was it Tenten said about not killing…?
"It's turning out marvelously!" Lee assured Gaara, who was standing behind the artist's back and peering over her shoulder. She shooed him away with her pen, only to have him return like a persistent honeybee.
Or dumb green beast, Gaara thought with a grim smile.
"Your essence has been perfectly captured!" Lee proclaimed, grabbing the just-finished drawing from the hands of the sketch artist. To stop her protest, Gaara quickly dug some coins out to placate her.
Studying the picture in Lee's hands, Gaara realized he looked absolutely deranged; the black circles around his eyes nearly swallowed the rest of his features and his smile looked nothing short of pure evil. It wasn't the kind of thing he'd ever feel comfortably putting on display.
"Do you think I should have my stunning visage recreated as well?" Lee asked loudly.
He already looks like a walking, talking caricature, Gaara thought dimly. "Do what you like."
"Oh my!" Lee exclaimed, pointing to another booth. Sighing, Gaara followed the ninja solemnly. When he saw an enormous dartboard, he sighed.
"You aren't Tenten, Lee," Gaara said tiredly.
And if you were, I'd be able to count my homicidal urges on just one hand instead of six...
"But I've been practicing!" he protested, digging in his slim wallet. Tipping it over above his head, he dug around for the coins lodged in the corners, causing Gaara's impatience to spike.
"Here," he said curtly, slapping down some money on the counter. He turned to Lee and said completely expressionlessly, "knock yourself out."
Now if only he would take that literally, Gaara sighed inwardly.
"Thank you, Gaara!" Lee said, tears glimmering in his dark eyes. Sensing what was about to happen, Gaara tried to move away but it was too crowded. Trapped in this unpleasant,unrequited embrace, he stood stiffer than a board. "I won't disappoint you!"
Gaara looked at the board skeptically. Though it was very large, he noted the bull's eye was very small. The trick probably deceived plenty of suckers into playing.
Present company included, Gaara thought, looking over to where Lee held a dart, tongue out and one eye closed. Aiming carefully, Gaara was surprised to see the dart land a short distance from the middle. Surprised, but not impressed. After watching Tenten throw with such accuracy the only way Lee would impress him was if he were blind and throwing with his feet.
This could be interesting if Lee can actually aim well, Gaara thought, tiny glimmer of hope.
The second dart in his hand, Lee made a big show before he let it fly. Gaara scoffed when it landed almost six inches away.
So much for that.
The third dart landed between the first and second, still not hitting the bull's eye.
"I'm going to hit that middle!" Lee said determinedly. "With my glorious springtime of youth, I shall prevail!"
Gaara sighed. And people thought he was weird.
Tiredly, he dug out more money and laid it on the counter. Lee eagerly threw the next three darts, all of them missing.
"Come on, let's go," Gaara said, not wishing to see any more of his money in the pocket of the vendor.
"No, one more, please!" Lee begged.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Gaara silently implored his head not to explode, promising he would actually try and take it easy later that night. Lee wasn't a little kid, or at least he wasn't supposed to act like one and drive him insane. Not wishing to make a spectacle, Gaara looked Lee in the eye as he pulled out the rest of his money.
"This is all I have left," he said evenly, his green eyes boring into Lee's black ones. "I don't have any more."
"Oh, glorious day!" Lee shouted, this time unable to capture Gaara in another hug. "I won't let you down, I promise!"
"Yeah, whatever," Gaara muttered, wishing fervently Lee would quite prancing around in front of him like a green-clad circus monkey and throw the damn darts.
Gaara tried not to roll his eyes as the first one missed by a longshot. The second one was not far off from the first, and Gaara found himself turning to leave when Lee started shouting.
"The last one hit, the last one hit!" he cried jubilantly, this time succeeding in capturing Gaara. Eyes wide in surprise, he looked down at the stuffed bear that Lee had won as it was thrust into his arms.
"What are you doing?" he asked, genuinely confused.
"You had faith in me, so I'm rewarding it!" he said with a thumbs up.
"But I didn't really…" Gaara trailed off, sort of embarrassed.
Slinging an arm over his shoulder, Lee's face was close to his as he smiled conspiratorially.
"I know, but I wanted to do something nice," he said as he gave him a pat on the back, suddenly backing away and giving him a nice guy pose.
Gaara stood there blinking, bear clutched in his hands. Looking down at the stitched smile and button eyes, he felt a sudden, unwelcome wave of nostalgia wash over him. He frowned at the object, feeling his grip tighten.
"Hey, come on, I wanna check out the dancing pigs!" Lee yelled, already ten feet away.
Looking down again, Gaara pushed aside his sadness. Adjusting the furry animal in his grasp, he followed after an enthusiastic Lee, allowing himself a small smile.