Chapter 2
With the whisper of leather flying through the air and squeak from his boots, Gaara turned the corner of the hall. In front of him, the bowl cut haired male named Lee strode confidently to pick up a dinner tray and join the queue for food.
Switching the A3 folder in his right hand to his left, he followed suit and ended up two people away from the strange young man. Standing in line, Gaara thought back to only a couple of minutes ago.
"Would you like to have lunch with me?" The boy who had sat next to him in English asked. Gaara looked at him sceptically, analysing his intentions. Once finding those large, dark eyes filled with an anxious naivety, he nodded and muttered a simple, "Yes."
At this the boy gasped slightly and grinned toothily, "Good! My name's Lee!"
A dark skinned hand was offered to Gaara, who took it in his own pale one and shook once with a firm grip.
"Gaara."
The next thing he knew, he was here, surrounded by the aroma of food, and by people individually dressed, by the hubbub of college life. Being surrounded by such things was still foreign to him, after being shadowed from society for so long.
It's all... so busy. The college life assaulted a person's senses at every turn and it could have a dizzying effect on one's mind. It was times like this that made Lee think about his decision and question it but he always reminded himself why he was there. To help people. The work was demanding. The rewards were much greater than the demand. As Lee had been distracted by his wandering train of thought, he glanced over at his new friend. At least I think we are friends. The way Gaara acted suggested he was normally a withdrawn person. Like he didn't interact with many others. Maybe not even anyone outside his family. Plus his posture was slightly tense… as if so many people around him wasn't what he was used to. Or it may be that everyone was much more colourful here than the students in high school had been. "Gaara…?" His voice was hesitant but not in the least timid. Dark outlined eyes focused on him. "You seem a bit uncomfortable… Is it me?"
"...No." His answer was quick, but not hard and sharp as his voce usually was, instead it was softer, reassuring.
Well, Gaara hoped it was, at least.
It wasn't Lee that was making him uncomfortable, well, it wasn't anymore, he had been pestering with those hungry looks during the last lesson, but rather the alien feeling of being surrounded by people, and the heaters over the food weren't doing a very good job of cooling him down, either. As the red head shrugged his shoulders to readjust his coat and get more air to his neck, He took a Styrofoam tray of plain pasta and placed in on his tray.
Shoulders relaxed visibly. For a moment Lee was sure he had forced Gaara into accepting his invitation in some way and he didn't want to impose on his isolated lifestyle. He himself was a very social person and liked to talk with others. A person could learn so much about a person just by asking for the other's opinion on a subject or anything in general. In his heart of hearts, Lee truly believed that everyone needed someone to be there for them. No matter what. I'll be that someone for Gaara. "I'm glad." The second blinding smile of the day appeared and a ghost of a smile graced his companion's lips in return. "I don't want to seem nosy but… what's with the leather pleasure attire?" Chocolate brown eyes widened as he realized he'd let slip the name he invented when first encountering him.
As Gaara watched the older man before him panic, he paid for his pasta and Lee's food too, then strode to a table, hearing Lee follow him.
As they sat down, he let their eyes meet and said, "I'm a leather fetishist." And left it at that.
Gaara smiled to himself as the already large brown eyes of Lee doubled in size, though you wouldn't see it if you didn't know Gaara well.
Gaara was a leather fetishist, he found tight leather pants the most attractive, the way they clung to thighs and to the groin. God the thought made him weak at the knees.
Silence clung in the air, as dewdrops would to a spider's web, and then it was broken.
"You paid for my lunch, didn't you?" The red-head enquired, eyebrow raised.
"I really shouldn't have let you do that…" Lee said, smiling. "I was the one to invite you to lunch after all." Today was getting to be very unusual. Normally he'd be bored to death in class and then just pass the rest of the day studying. So he likes leather… That would get interesting in a relationsh- That thought derailed his normal though process. Have I already gotten myself that deep?
But since Lee had met Gaara everything had been interesting. It was a good change of pace. Though his friend always seemed to get the jump on him with surprises. Maybe it's time I get back at him. Or at least try.
"Gaara…"He paused until he was sure he had the other's attention. "What do you think I would look like in leather?"
Gaara paused in chewing his mouthful of oily pasta, and then swallowed.
The image was burning fiercely in his mind.
Leather pants, skin tight and hanging low, un-laced at the top showing a small trail of coarse, black and wiry hair leading down. He was tied up by his wrists, by what wasn't important, and shitless, those muscles, perfectly defined, rippled as he shifted. His chest, slightly shiny with perspiration, heaved with each breath he took. His breath puffed out of rouged lips and clouded his lusty, dark eyes...
"Gaara?" Lee waved a hand in front of said boy's eyes that blinked a few times before returning to the room.
"I think that you would look exceptional." The red-head breathed and looked down at his pasta which didn't seem all that appetising anymore.
That look of raw lust that had invaded Gaara's eyes for a moment had equally aroused and startled Lee so that he just had to wake him from it. What did I look like in his mind to make him react like that? After all, he wasn't a prude when it came to something like this. Just...unexperienced. All his relationships so far had been very short and not that spectacular in the least. I bet Gaara would be spectacular in bed. An image of the red head lying on sweat soaked sheets, covered in his own cum, and panting while a blush flooded his blinked, hoping that his eyes hadn't revealed his on the present situation, he noticed the pasta on Gaara's plate wasn't being touched. It seemed they both weren't that hungry. I'm certainly not.
"Shall we go for a walk?" Gaara suggested, now adjusting the strap of his camera so that it did not rub too harshly on his neck.
Lee looked up and nodded, collecting both trays of their uneaten food and throwing away the leftovers.
*
Outside the air was still warm and fresh. Students were standing in groups laughing raucously, hugging and throwing food at each other. A Frisbee flew past the two boys as they stepped out into the sunlit court and the sound of smashing glass followed. There was a yelp and a couple of screams followed by laughter. Gaara looked at Lee as he laughed along, hand over his chest, rubbing as if the shock of the unexpected crash had caused his heart to abuse his ribcage.
"You okay Gaara?" When he got a nod in reply, Lee looked up when a shout caught his attention."Hey man!" The voice came from none other than Naruto and Kiba wasn't far behind. Both his friends smiled and clapped him on the back after a reunion hug."I thought you guys weren't going here..." Lee trailed off, shrugged. "We got cut when we a certain... Dean lost his roadkill." A mischeivous smile formed on both their rolled his eyes and smiled. "Always up to trouble.""What can we say? We're free spirits," Kiba said.A small cough alerted him to the fact that he'd been ignoring his latest friend."Guys? This is Gaara."
The blonde and brunette passed their eyes over Gaara's lithe form. The brunette, Kiba, though Gaara did not know that, gave him a large grin and held out a hand to be shaken. Grasping it, Gaara gave a brisk and stiff shake.
"Kiba." Kiba muttered, introducing himself to the young man before him.
Naruto, in turn, gave a nervous little laugh and scratched the back of his head.
"Hi, Gaara, I'm-I'm Naruto." He trailed off, laughter slowly dying and leaving the four boys in a somewhat uncomfortable silence.
"Uhm, anyway, about the Dean!" Kiba began, smiling toothily and showing unnaturally sharp canines.
"Yeah, what did you do?" Lee jumped.
Gaara was left to stare at the red smudges on Kiba's cheeks and the black lines, reminiscent of whiskers, on Naruto's as the three boy's talked excitedly between themselves.
About five minutes into the telling, Lee noticed that he had been completely ignoring Gaara. How could I be that rude?! "Um guys?" Kiba was imitating exactly how the cat had attcked the hairpiece by using Nauto's hair when they paused. "Not that I'm not happy to see you or anything but... I promised to spend time with Gaara. That okay?"Naruto quickly nodded, looking sideways at said mentioned person, and Kiba gave him a thumb's up. "Sure dude. Check ya later!"Waving, the two wandered off towards to middle of the campus the back of his head and sweatsdropping in embarrasment, the almost ebony-haired man smiled apologetically. "I hope I didn't offend you... It's been a while since I've seen them." His face was touched by fear. "You're not mad are you? I'll spend the rest of the day with you?" Pulling out his secret weapon, he turned his puppy dog eyes on to full blast.
Looking into Lee's eyes, they say his heart grew two sizes that day.
Grinch lovers.
But really, when Gaara looked into those deep, mahogany eyes, he felt himself crack a little, his mask loosen.
"I'm not mad. Anyway, I do believe that we have different lessons, unless you are willing to become a photographer?" He smirked.
Lee frowned, his mighty eyebrows drawing close. "No."
With a little pout, he grasped Gaara's arm and held it close to his chest, walking with long strides. Gaara fought to catch up.
"Welll..." Lee was trying hard to think of a way for them to get together. It was true that their careers were totally different so if they couldn't see each other in classes then...
"Hey!" His face lit up as he got a perfect idea.
Gaara raised an eyebrow waiting for him to complete his sentence.
"We should go out somewhere. But where..." He hadn't had time to scope out the hot spots but he really wasn't a party person unless his friends dragged him along. Maybe a dance club.
A vision of them grinding against each other, hot and sweaty, to the pounding music all around them. Bodies pressing in on them, putting them closer.
"There's a nice park over in the town centre. Not many people go there because it's near the bad side of town. But it's nice, it's safe." Gaara mumbled and rubbed at his nose.
Lee looked to him and grinned, all thoughts of the club swirling away into the depths of his conscience maybe to reappear in a dream or at some inopportune moment. "I'll meet you there at seven."
With that, the bell rang in the distance and the two boys were forced to leave awkwardly, unsure of how to bid each other good bye.
His classes passed without much happening. Other than his friends jumping him outside his last class of the day. "Hey guys. I'd love to go out but I kinda have an appointment already."They exchanged glances before smiling devilishly. "Is she hot?"Lee looked at Kiba with his mouth slightly agape. Yes he is. Smokin' actually.Gathering his wits about him, Lee hasitly made his excuses and ran to the safety of his dorm until he left.