"Please, Gaara-kun! Give me one more chance! I need to speak to you!" Gaara read the message on his computer silently. His hand itched to close the box and never look at Lee's name again. But something else made him type a message in response.
Why do you want to talk so badly? I thought I made it clear I want nothing to do with you.
"Your friend, Lee, would like to connect their webcam feed to your monitor. Do you accept?" Gaara accepted and slipped on his headset.
"Just leave me alone, Lee." He growled.
"No, Gaara-kun." Lee said sternly. "Who hurt you?" His voice was barely audible now. Lee stared at the camera, wondering if Gaara was even listening to him. Then he heard something, almost like breathing, but it was sharp and ragged. "Calm down, Gaara-kun." Slowly, the breathing evened out, and Gaara began whispering into the headset.
"Yashamaru… My uncle…"
"What did he do?" Lee listened silently as Gaara explained everything; from being lied to his whole childhood, to shooting his uncle. He remained silent after Gaara had finished talking.
"Lee?" Gaara whispered faintly, trying to hear him.
"I am here, Gaara-kun. It is all right." Lee wished he was with Gaara right now. It was hard to try and comfort someone through technology. "Please… I swear I will never hurt you… In any way… Just give me a chance to prove it to you." Gaara paused.
"How?" He asked once his breathing had returned to normal. Lee thought for a second.
"Let me love you." He stated quietly. "Give me that chance and I will prove it to you. Please…?" Gaara was silent again.
"Maybe he isn't lying. Maybe he really means it." Even through the computer screen, Gaara could see the honesty in Lee's eyes. And the pain. Being pushed away was hurting Lee more than Gaara, that was obvious.
"Fine." Gaara said flatly. Lee looked confused. "Did you hear me? I said fine." He rolled his eyes at the smile that slowly spread across Lee's face.
"Thank you, Gaara-kun."
"Whatever."
"Huh?" Lee looked over his shoulder at something. "Oh, I am talking to Gaara-kun. Of course!" Suddenly, he slid his chair over and someone knelt beside him in front of the computer screen. Gaara rubbed his eyes and sighed. "No, sit back here. The camera is right there." Lee unplugged his headset so that Gaara would simply talk through the speakers.
"Hello, Guy-san." Gaara growled.
"Erm, hello." Guy looked confused.
"Um, Gaara-kun? Do you think you could connect your webcam?" Lee asked shyly.
"I'd rather not." Gaara said.
"Oh, Lee," Guy stood up, "I actually came up here to ask if you wanted to come spar with me."
"That would be wonderful! I will be down in just a moment!" He nodded to his father before turning back to the computer. "Sorry about that." He apologized nervously. "I guess I will talk to you later. Thank you again." He smiled. Gaara grumbled a reply and closed the window on his screen.
"Maybe he isn't lying… If he really does love me…" Gaara picked up the drawing of him and Lee. "Maybe," he gripped the fabric of his shirt over his heart, "he can help me get over the pain I've been suffering through for all these years…"
"I was a fool to think I could beat you in under a minute." Lee said as he finished doing pushups on the garage floor. Guy laughed slightly.
"Oh well. A little extra training won't hurt!" He grinned and stood on his hands before starting another set of his own hands-only pushups. Lee smiled and imitated him.
"G-Guy," Lee strained to talk, "I really do not think Gaara-kun would enjoy training at the dojo anymore." Guy nodded thoughtfully.
"Yes, I think you're right. Martial arts don't seem to be Gaara-sans' choice field."
"Guy? Do you think I could go out with some friends tomorrow?"
"I don't see why not." Lee grinned.
Gaara yawned slightly, still sitting at his desk and staring at his computer screen. He had agreed to let Lee love him. Had that been a mistake? Well, it was too late now. It didn't matter. Things would play out however they wanted. Gaara had pretty much given up on trying to control what happened. He glanced at the clock. It was already eight o'clock. He jumped as an alert came up on the screen. Lee wanted to connect his webcam again. Gaara sighed and accepted as he slipped on his headset.
"Oh, um, Gaara-kun?" Lee asked, confused.
"It's on." Gaara said in a slightly annoyed tone.
"W-would you mind…" Lee blushed as he trailed off. Gaara rubbed his eyes before enabling his webcam and allowing it to connect to Lee's computer.
"There." He growled before yawning again.
"Gaara-kun? W-would you like to come with my friends and me tomorrow? We are probably going to just hang out in town for a while." Lee smiled slightly as he asked.
"Why?" Lee looked confused by the question.
"Um, well…" He glanced around his room, unsure of what to say. "There really is no reason." He stated. Gaara frowned slightly and sighed quietly.
"No. I don't like people, you know that. Besides, I don't really know them." Gaara continued to yawn. "Is that all you wanted to ask?"
"Um, yes that was it." Lee paused for a second. "You really should not stay up for so long. You need to get some sleep." Gaara grumbled and rubbed his eyes. Lee smiled gently. "Good night, Gaara-kun. I-I…" He hesitated. "I love you." He murmured. Gaara tensed for a moment.
"Night." He clicked his webcam off but left Lee's connected. Lee looked slightly downcast before he began fumbling with the camera. Gaara closed the screen and simply stared at the computer. He had agreed to let Lee love him, but he never agreed to love him back. That had to be made clear. Gaara yawned again and lied down on his bed. The few thoughts that had been wandering in his mind quickly vanished as sleep overtook him.
Lee paused after he shut down his webcam. Temari was definitely right. Her little brother was cold to everyone. The fact that Lee had gotten this far was incredible, but he was still so far away. Gaara was hurting, whether it showed or not. Lee's hands clenched into fists as he stood up. He would never let something like that happen to Gaara again.
"I will protect him… At any cost… Even my own life…" Lee whispered to himself. He froze for a moment before relaxing, sitting down on his bed and staring out the window. It was getting dark already. Lee sighed quietly as he changed into his pajamas and sat back down on his bed. He leaned back and stared at the ceiling for at least twenty minutes before he gave in and closed his eyes, letting sleep engulf his mind.
"Lee!" Lee stirred and looked around sleepily. His clock said it was only seven in the morning. "If you plan on going with Naruto and the others, you'd better get in some training before they show up!" Finally it registered that the voice was his foster father.
"Ah! Yes, sir!" Lee changed and sped down stairs. "I will be back in just a few, Guy!" He called, running out to the garage. Guy laughed and began cleaning the house.
Guy glanced at the clock. It was already noon, so Lee had been training for almost five hours. He smiled and walked out to the garage. "You've trained enough for now. You'd better go change."
Lee grinned. "Yes, sir!" He said before darting back into the house. Guy walked inside just in time to hear the doorbell ringing over and over. He didn't even have to look to know who was standing outside. Only one person ever did that.
"Hello, Naruto!" Guy greeted as he opened the door. Naruto smiled.
"How'd you know it was me?"
"You're the only one who keeps ringing the bell until someone opens the door." Guy shook his head slightly. "Hello, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Kiba." They greeted him in unison.
"Hello, guys!" Lee jumped the last few steps as usual and walked outside with the others. "I will see you later, Guy!" He waved, following his friends to their car. Guy waved back and waited a moment before closing the door.
Gaara blinked a few times and glanced around. He picked up his phone. There were no messages or calls, and it was already ten o'clock at night. He guessed that maybe after sleeping that long, he could stay up for a few days. He wandered tiredly upstairs, pausing at the living room. His brother and sister were watching the news again.
"A car containing five eighteen year old boys was hit a few hours ago by a drunk driver." Gaara walked into the living room quickly and sat next to his siblings. "We are still trying to learn the identities of the boys, but we do know that they have been rushed to the hospital. Four of the boys are said to be fine except for minor injuries. The fifth boy, who received the brunt of the impact, is said to have had his left leg and arm badly injured. More on this topic in just a moment." Gaara froze, still staring at the television.
"No, it couldn't be. There was no way that was…" Gaara thought.
He quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket, punching in Lee's number. His body began to shake as he listened to it ring and ring. He ignored the worried looks his siblings were giving him. Frantically, he stood up and looked around.
"Maybe he would answer the house phone?" He wondered in panic.
"Gaara, calm down." Temari stared at her brother. He punched in another number, listening to it ring. No answer at Lee's house either.
"Oh god…" He began shaking violently. "God, no-! No-! It can't-. He can't…" He spun around to look at his brother and sister. "Take me to the hospital. Now." He commanded. Kankuro nodded and led his brother and sister out to the car.
Temari kept casting glances over her shoulder at Gaara. He was sitting in the back seat with his knees pulled up to his chest, rocking back and forth slightly. There was a deafening silence in the car as Kankuro drove to the hospital.
"We're here." He said as Gaara was already getting out of the car. He practically ran inside. Temari and Kankuro followed more slowly. The woman at the front counter was nodding sadly to Gaara.
"Yes, room 213. You're welcome to go sit in that hall and wait for the doctor." Gaara was already gone. "Um, do you know him?" She asked Temari and Kankuro.
"Yes, he's our little brother." Kankuro nodded. "Let me guess… Rock Lee was in the accident earlier and is in room 213?" The woman nodded silently. He followed his sister to the chairs lining the waiting room. "I hope Lee's okay. For his and Gaara's sake…"