Slowly, Lee pulled away and Gaara reluctantly let go. He frowned slightly before noticing Lee blushing. He leaned forward again, lifting his right hand and laying it on Gaara's cheek. Gaara leaned against his hand and watched him quietly. Lee's thumb brushed the corner of Gaara's mouth gently. Gaara felt himself blush slightly.
For a moment, he didn't know what was happening. Then Lee leaned forward and pressed his lips against Gaara's. Gaara's eyes were wide in shock for a moment before they slowly drifted shut. Lee's lips were warm and soft against his own. He felt Lee start to pull away again. He wasn't letting that happen just yet. He leaned forward and pressed his lips hard against Lee's. Lee's eyes shot open.
"Did Gaara-kun just…? Yeah, he did." Lee closed his eyes again, letting Gaara have his way. His left arm felt clumsy with its cast but he wrapped his arms around Gaara's shoulders once more. He felt Gaara's arms around his waist also. He pulled away enough that Gaara wouldn't have a choice but to stop. Gaara's eyes opened slightly before they closed again. He rested his head on Lee's shoulder and moved as close to him as possible. Lee heard the front door open and Guy walk in.
"Hey, Lee, I'm home!" Guy froze in the doorway of Lee's room. Lee looked up and smiled at him like everything was normal.
"Hello, Guy." He said quietly, not letting go of Gaara.
"Hello." Guy responded as he continued to stare at them. "Um… Lee?" Lee nodded and looked down at Gaara.
"Gaara-kun, it is late… You should get home before your siblings worry too much… Alright?" Lee said quietly. Gaara nodded, but made no attempt to move. "Come on…" Lee grabbed his crutch and stood up. Gaara stood up also and slowly let go of him. Guy followed them down the stairs and to the front door. "I will see you soon, Gaara-kun." Lee smiled.
"Yeah…" Gaara muttered. He stood up on his toes and kissed Lee quickly before walking out to his car. Lee blushed scarlet and waved as Gaara began driving home.
"So… What happened while I was gone?" Guy asked when they stepped back in the house.
"Um, well…" Lee started to explain everything.
"Welcome home, Gaara." Kankuro called as Gaara walked past the living room.
"So what all did you guys do?" Temari asked.
"Doesn't matter…" He muttered as he walked by.
"Come on, tell us what all happened." Kankuro demanded. Gaara sighed.
"We watched 'The Grudge', I scared the crap out of him, got his pain meds for him… Then he kissed me, Guy came home, and I kissed him again before I left. That's pretty much it." He responded plainly, walking down the stairs. Temari and Kankuro looked at each other blankly as they heard his bedroom door slam shut.
"Did he just say…?" Kankuro trailed off. Temari nodded slowly.
Gaara sat down at his desk and stared at the wall. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he thought back to just a little while ago. Then a thought returned to his mind from a past conversation with Lee. There was a surgery he could get to fix his leg and back, but it was too expensive and the waiting list was a mile long. "Doctor Tsunade…" Gaara muttered as he looked at his cell phone. He let out a sigh. There was a way to get Lee in and at the top of the list, but Gaara wasn't going to pull those strings yet. He yawned again and moved to lie on the bed. He would give it a little longer before he called in his favor.
"Hello?" Guy answered the house phone. It had been a few weeks since he had walked in and seen Gaara and Lee together. He smiled slightly to himself and shook his head. Since then, Gaara had been over every day for at least a few hours.
"Kids." He thought with a silent laugh.
"Hey!" Naruto shouted through the phone. "Is Bushy Brow home?"
"Yes, he's outside. I'll go get him." Guy stepped outside and looked around. Lee was lying on his back on the lawn and Gaara was lying with his head on Lee's chest. "Lee, Naruto is on the phone for you." He walked over and handed the phone to Lee.
"Hello?" Lee asked. Gaara rolled over onto his stomach and held himself up on his elbows.
"Hey, Bushy Brow!" Naruto shouted. "How're you doing?"
"Good, but if you keep yelling I might go deaf." Lee grinned. Naruto laughed.
"Hey, do you think you can get on the computer? Sasuke made a chat room for our group!"
"That sounds great!" Lee laughed. "I will be on in just a little while. Is there anything I need to do?"
"Nope! You'll have a notice on your screen! Talk to you in a few!" Lee heard Sasuke saying something in the background and Naruto suddenly hung up.
"Well, I guess we should go in." Gaara said, pushing himself up. Lee nodded and let Gaara help him up. His arm was out of the cast, but the doctors had told him to take it easy. His leg and back were still in bad condition. Guy smiled at them as they walked by and upstairs to Lee's room. "He said there'd be a notice right?"
"Yes, he did." Lee responded, sitting down in front of the computer. Gaara knelt next to him, folding his arms and resting his chin on Lee's good leg. "Ah, there it is!" Lee smiled and clicked the accept button. A note popped up on the screen.
Please create a screen name.
Lee was about to type but Gaara started first. "What are you…?" Lee paused.
Welcome, Gaara&Lee.
Gaara smiled and folded his arms on Lee's leg again. "You can change it later. I'll make one when I get home." Gaara said quietly. Lee looked down at him and smiled before looking at the computer again. A sort of text box had opened and a few notices were appearing in it.
Gaara&Lee has logged in. Ramen_Lover has logged in. Avenger has logged in.
Ramen_Lover: Hey there, Bushy Brow! So Gaara's with you?
Avenger: That's a bit of a surprise.
Gaara&Lee: Yes, he is here as well.
Gaara&Lee: Hey, Naruto, Sasuke.
Ramen_Lover: So what's up?
Lee paused. "Should we tell them about us?" Lee asked Gaara. Gaara grinned slyly and started typing.
Gaara&Lee: Well, Lee and I are dating.
Lee shot a worried glance at Gaara. "Well we are, so why not tell them?" Gaara stated plainly. Lee sighed and nodded in agreement.
Avenger: Wow, that's definitely a surprise.
Ramen_Lover: SERIOUSLY? HAHA!
Avenger: Naruto, you're an idiot.
Ramen_Lover: You're sitting right next to me. Why are you messaging me?
Avenger: I don't know.
Lee rolled his eyes. Sasuke and Naruto had a habit of getting into arguments and fights over nothing. Absentmindedly, Lee rested his hand on Gaara's head as he watched the screen. Gaara smiled and let his eyes drift shut. "Gaara-kun?" Lee said quietly. Gaara grumbled and looked up at him. "I think you should be getting home. I do not like worrying your siblings." Gaara sighed and nodded. "I will see you tomorrow."
"Yeah…" Gaara stood up and kissed Lee quickly before leaving. Lee smiled and started typing.
Gaara&Lee: Gaara just went home.
Avenger: Oh, ok.
Ramen_Lover: So, what's with you two?
Gaara quickly shut himself in his room before he could be bothered by his siblings. Maybe he should… He picked up his phone and dialed a number. "Hello, Baki? It's Gaara." He sighed. "Your dead bosses' youngest son? Finally, you remembered. Listen, I need a favor."
Gaara yawned and looked around for his phone once he heard it buzzing on the bed near him. "Hello?" He asked sleepily.
"Hello, this is Doctor Tsunade." Tsunade sounded annoyed. "I came into work this morning and found that all of my patient lists had been erased and this number was on the screen. I had a feeling the Sabaku family might have something to do with this."
"Yeah, I called in a little favor. You know my family has ties with almost every large corporation. That means your hospital as well." Gaara rubbed his eyes.
"Yes, your family is so rich, you've got your hands in everything around Suna and Konoha." She hissed. "And nothing changed when your father died. So what the hell do you want?" Tsunade growled.
"I need you to call someone and discuss a surgery with them. They were in an accident a few weeks ago. His arm has healed, but his leg and spine are screwed." Gaara stretched. "His leg was so severely broken they say it will never fully heal, and there are metal fragments embedded in the lower part of his spine. Do you think you could fix it?"
"Seeing how you are part of the Sabaku family, I don't really have a choice. Fine, give me the contact information and I'll see if he'll go through with it." She laughed slightly. "It won't be cheap though. Do you think he can afford it?"
"I'll cover it." Gaara hissed into the phone. "You just do your job."
Guy looked up at Lee as he walked into the kitchen, his crutch tapping on the linoleum. "Morning, Lee. Did you sleep well?"
"Morning, Guy. Yes, I did. Thank you." Lee smiled as he searched the cabinets for the cereal. Suddenly, the phone rang. "I will get it." Lee said as he picked up the phone. "Hello?" There was a pause. "Doctor Tsunade? This is Rock Lee." He looked at Guy in confusion. "Surgery for my leg and back? I-I, um…" Guy left the room silently.
Tsunade leaned back in her chair at her desk and waited a moment. "I'm supposed to discuss the, well, risks of this surgery with you."
Guy opened the door. "Hello, Gaara-san. You're here earlier than usual." Gaara nodded in greeting.
"Is Lee up?" He asked, following Guy inside the house.
"He's on the phone with Doctor Tsunade." Guy seemed puzzled. "I'm not sure why she is calling, but apparently it's about the surgery." Gaara sighed quietly.
"I'll be outside." He muttered. Guy nodded and stood just outside the kitchen. Gaara sat down in the middle of the lawn and looked up. The sky was gray and cloudy, and there was a chill in the air. It was only September but fall was coming faster than usual. That was just another way Konoha was different from Suna. In Suna, you were lucky to have any season besides summer. Gaara lied back and let his eyes drift shut as he waited for Lee.
Time slowly ticked by and a faint rain was falling. Gaara made no attempt to move, relishing the feel of the cold droplets on his face.
"Gaara-kun?" A voice called from a little ways off. Gaara's eyes blinked open and he sat up to see Lee standing near the door on the small covered porch. Gaara stood up and slowly walked across the lawn. Lee winced as he sat down on a small bench swing anchored to the roof over the porch. Gaara watched him worriedly as he sat down next to him. "I spoke with Doctor Tsunade…" Lee said quietly, looking down at his hands in his lap. Gaara nodded. "I am not sure… If I should go through with the surgery… She said I had a week to make up my mind… But…" Lee spoke nervously.
"…But what?" Gaara asked. Lee took a deep breath.
"She said there was only a fifty percent chance I would survive the surgery…" His eyes were clouded over with pain, but not from his injuries. "I am not sure if I can do it…" Gaara swung his feet up onto the swing and leaned against Lee.
"If you don't… You'll never be able to do anything, really. If you do… There's a good chance you'll die." Gaara sounded emotionless. The sound of the rain hitting the roof was slowly growing louder, but the silence between the boys grew deeper. Gaara stared out across the lawn until he heard Lee drawing in a ragged, choked breath. "Lee…?" He turned to look at him. Lee's head was bowed and his hands clenched into fists as he cried slightly, tears falling on the backs on his fists.
"I do not want to hurt you…" He said quietly. "I do not want to go through with the surgery if it means I could hurt you…" Gaara just watched him, unsure of what to do.
"It's not like you have to decide right now." Gaara growled as his temper flared up briefly. "Just think about it. You've got a week." Gaara turned and stared out at the lawn again. Lee held back his tears and nodded as he tried to calm down.
"I know…" Lee said. "But I want to go back to how I was as soon as possible… I cannot do that unless I go through with the surgery…"
"I think you should…" Gaara murmured. "You're not the same anymore…" Gaara paused, and then forced himself to continue. "I don't want to lose you but… I know you can't be happy like this…"
"You are right, Gaara-kun… I hate this…" Lee forced back a sob. "I am almost positive I will get the surgery… I wanted it even when I knew it was not being offered… And even now, knowing the odds… I want this…" He looked down at the ground. "Well," Lee said once he regained his composure, "it is still early. What do you want to do?" Gaara sat quietly for a moment.
"Nothing…" He murmured, leaning against Lee again. "I just want to sit here and watch the rain…" Lee smiled slightly and stared out at the lawn.