~Day 1~
The next morning was a chilly one. The snow had stopped, but the wash buckets were frozen in the servant quarters. Along with others who bunked with him, Lee had awoken early. A young silver haired lad stared back at his reflection in the glassy surface of his wash basin. Lee walked beside him, pulling on a clean servants robe as he did.
"…These royals have us running around setting clothes and suits for them while they fret over what shoes to wear. Now we are all made to get up early…not that you count, Lee. You are always up at this hour." The young man said dryly. He picked up a crude stone from the cracked tile floor and smashed the face of his reflection on the ice. A clear pool of water danced from the force of the vibration.
Lee smiled warmly.
"Ah…you are correct. But we must do what we can. A royal could never do as we do, is that not right, Kimimaro?"
Kimimaro smiled slightly and dipped his fingers in his wash basin.
"I suppose you are correct…" He waved his fingers toward Lee, flinging icy water onto his face. Lee laughed and flung some back. By the time they finished washing their faces, they were numb from cold, so numb that when they made it outside of their servant quarters, the snowy field and chilling air did not make them shiver.
Making their way towards the royal keep of Sunakagure, Lee spotted a tall man in a thick black robe made of bear hide. He walked upright with a fashionable cane. His hair was a salt and pepper crew cut, and his eyes were icy grey slants.
"Dorian…" Kimimaro whispered. The servants then took the loop around the Rose Gardens, keeping their heads low and their shoulders high. Skulking onto the stone walk way, they were granted entrance into the royal keep. Upon entering, the major hall greeted them as well as silence.
Kimimaro shook his head, "Lazy royals…still sleeping."
Lee shushed his fellow servant and bid him farewell as they parted ways. He did not know where Kimimaro was designated to work, but from what he could tell, his friend was making his way toward the Kitchens. The Drawing Room was Lee's assignment.
Lee knew that the silk curtains had been drying last night when he set off to do Lady Temari's laundry. He made his way to the wash room down the left corridor of the major hall, and upon entering the small alcove, he found one other chamber maid within sorting garbs of wear. She smiled at him warmly.
"Oh, Lee. Good seeing you." She tucked a loose hair into her pink bandana. Lee returned her gesture with a curt bow.
"The same to you, Tenten." He straightened up and made his way over to the pile of laundry and helped in folding them. Tenten wiped the cold sweat off her brow and hummed a pleased tune at her handy work.
"This amount is fine, Lee. I can help myself from this point on. Thank you." The maid lifted up a pile of neatly pressed silks the color of roses and walked over to Lee.
"And here you are…I know you came in to fetch these curtains and rugs." She dropped them into Lee's waiting arms and gave an exasperated sigh. She smiled contently. Patting the top of the silks she said, "Oi, they're hot, right off the steam roller!"
Lee smiled wide, "Yes, and thank you."
Making his way out of the cove, Tenten threw out a, "And Lee?"
Lee whipped around with a questioning tilt of the head. Tenten breathed steady, and then shook her head. She put forth another smile, but this one was not as warm…or as heartfelt. More so, it was rather faint. Tired even.
"Nothing, Lee. Please, do go on..." She waved off Lee's concerns and watched as he left her company.
Lee could not help but notice the oddity in the other servant's behaviors. Ever since the mention of the Hyuga's collaboration with the Sabaku's, everyone has been giving him such strange…attention. Was there something he wasn't being informed about?
While silently pondering, Lee found himself back in the middle of the major hall once again. He gazed north and met the Drawing Room. It was so dazzling last night…in the dark with the shadows of snow and moon. And even….
Gaara.
Lee shook his head, ridding himself of flushed cheeks, and pushed open a door to the Drawing Room with his back.
The room looked different in the morning. The eerie glow of the moon had been replaced with the faint tint of sky and horizon sun.
Light breathing broke Lee's focus. He gazed over his shoulder only to find a plush loveseat occupied by a slumbering royal. His master lay with one foot propped up on a cushion, the other touching the rug, and an arm was thrown over his face. Only his lips could be seen. And to complete the scene…the master was in full attire, shoes and handkerchief included. Lee let out a breath. Had he been holding it in?
Lee tiptoed over to his master's sleeping form and loomed over him. He squeezed the curtains to his chest.
Still warm
He softly tossed the silks into the space above the boy. Lee watched as the curtains and rugs folded atop of each other, raining red all over his master.
Roses
"…Mmm…" Gaara hummed. He removed his arm from his face and blinked the sleep away from his eyes. At first, all was a blur, but even in his hazy vision, a familiar figure was noticed. Gaara gave a tired smirk.
"…It's warm. How did you know I liked the feel of fresh pressed laundry?"
Lee smiled.
"Who does not?" Lee bent down to collect a curtain and made his way over to the tall window adjourning the royal. He tossed the curtain up and it curled nicely like a small stream of water that arches out of a fountain. Silk jumped through a metal loop that Lee hopped up to grab and dragged the tail down as to lift up the other side. He roped the middle professionally and smiled.
Lee glanced back to see the redhead slowly sitting up out of the mess of silks.
"And good morning, Sir Gaara…you may go to your chamber if you are still tired."
Gaara rubbed an eye and yawned, "…I'm fine. I think it best to stay here…at least until everyone is awake."
Lee nodded at his master's words and continued his duty. Gaara said nothing as Lee worked on adoring the many windows with silks. But as Lee neatly tied the last rope onto a curtain, Gaara sighed.
"Lee…what do you think of me?"
In the mist of Lee's fingers tying a knot, he froze. He slowly glanced at his master with raised brows.
"Pardon me, Sir?"
"You heard me. And don't say kind. Even you know I am everything but."
Lee let the silk fall from his hands and gave his attention to Gaara.
"Well, let me see…" Lee tapped at his chin in mock thought and smacked his lips, "Ah! You are clever, Sir, especially when it comes to conversation. Your riddles are…somewhat…crude, oh, but nonetheless, very funny..? Well, I mean…okay, wait. Let me think of something more sophisticated."
As Lee concentrated, Gaara grinned.
Gaara's expressions were vague-so vague, that other royal would have sworn they were hallucinating Gaara's smiles. In a sense, it was understandable that his sad smiles were taken for regular ones.
"Stop, Lee. If you can't think of anything to say, say nothing. Spare me your feelings…especiallyyour feelings."
Lee frowned. He didn't catch Gaara's last words, for he had mumbled them. Was he mad?
"Oh…it is not that I have nothing to say, more so…it is the fact that I have so much to say, that I cannot make any sense of my thoughts. They are hard to defer."
Gaara quirked his head, a habit of Lee's that he liked to mock at times.
"…And what does that mean? Is that good?"
Lee opened his mouth, but no words came out. His eyes wondered around the Drawing Room, and yet…he had no answer. He shut his mouth, frustrated and confused.
"I do not know, Sir." Lee looked up to see Gaara's expression, but Gaara had his face buried in his hands. Lee approached his master, worried. When only a foot away, Lee reached for his master's trembling shoulders.
"Sir?"
Gaara's head popped up, nearly knocking into Lee's chin, but Lee had jumped and fell backward onto his bottom. Gaara was laughing. Laughing at him! Lee frowned and said nothing. He got to his feet calmly and dusted himself off despite the fact that he was dust free.
"Well, Sir. I am sorry that I could not tell you of anything. So, if you would be so kind as to excuse me, I am done with my duties of preparing the linens." Lee quickly bowed, pivoted, and carried himself calmly to the door. Before he could even turn the knob, he was yanked back by his wrist. Lee twisted around to find Gaara close at hand, panting slightly from hopping out of his loveseat, but he was still smiling. Lee felt himself heating up, and wondered how his boiling temperature wasn't frying Gaara's fingers off.
"Forgive me, Lee. You know me to be quite a brute, but I meant only humor, not cruelty." He slowly removed his hand from Lee's wrist, and grabbed Lee's hand instead.
"Stay with me a while longer. I need a listener."
Lee could not say no to his master's request, in fact, he couldn't even speak.
So, with a frozen expression of slight surprise, Lee nodded and let Gaara lead them back to the loveseat by the window. When they sat down, Gaara breathed.
"One more day and that brat-I need to stop saying that-Hyuga, will be here. I have to be…nice. Nice. That, for me, is going to be the toughest thing I will have ever done in my entire life. Even if I were to switch places with a woman giving birth to a bastard child, I would still think being nice to that dult-Hyuga-the toughest thing in my entire life."
Lee shot Gaara a look, and then sighed. His master's words were cruel, but nonetheless, Lee himself had been in the presence of Neji only once when he was ten. Neji had made a very clean impression on him, but he had never once heard the royal make conversation or joke around with other royals. In other words, Lee did not know anything about the Hyuga other than the fact that he dressed neat and carried himself well…so he remained silent and let Gaara go on.
"Lee…I have not one speck of kindness to give to that br-Hyuga. In fact, when I am to have him over for the day, I would like for you to accompany us. You are kind, and perhaps you can cover for my faults." Gaara looked to Lee with soft ocean-eyes, and Lee smiled warmly. Lee faced the ceiling and closed his eyes hard. He tapped his chin while humming 'hmm'. Gaara knocked Lee with an elbow lightly and snorted. Lee laughed and Gaara smiled.
"Of course, Sir. You know that I cannot deny you." Lee caught what he said and cleared his throat quickly, "Oh, or really, any other royal's offers for that matter." Gaara stared at Lee with a frown.
"Yes. I know. But nonetheless, you will be there with me, and that is all I need to get through the day. Be in the Dining Hall at noon, Lee. Now. If you will excuse me, I need to freshen up before the day starts." Gaara removed himself from Lee's side, exiting the room smoothly-leaving behind a confused Lee.
He sat in the love seat with his elbows on his knees and his head cradled in his arms.
Gaara's warmth…Gaara's smell…
Lee smiled to himself and stayed in the love-seat a while longer, he stayed until Gaara's remaining presence faded. He got to his feet, smoothed out the seat impressions, and left the Drawing Room just as his master had.
Lee stayed in high spirits.
He would be spending the day with his dear master tomorrow.