Merry Christmas, everyone! Sorry this chapter is so late. I had exams that messed everything up, and then when I finally got around to writing it, I ended up scrapping the entire thing and rewrote it. Sorry it's so short - I thought this scene deserved to stand by itself. I'll try to have the next one up faster. Anyway, thanks for your patience and your comments - now, on with the chapter!

29. Sound of Silence

"What about your sister?"

"She's going shopping with Shikamaru – she won't be back for hours."

"But… Kankuro! Isn't he here?"

"No, he has a show tonight. Apparently somebody in the world still likes puppeteers. Now, quit stalling – we're all alone, okay?"

Gaara was up in his room, looming over Lee, who he had pinned to his bed. Over behind the door lay a pile of their clothes, save for their underwear, which they had managed to keep on in their fervent make out session. It was when Gaara made a move to slip off the other teen's briefs that Lee had second thoughts, thus leading to their current predicament.

"Are you sure? I mean… I don't want you to get in trouble or anything," Lee said awkwardly as the redhead curled a finger around the waistband of his briefs.

"Please – they don't scare me," Gaara replied with a laugh as he snapped the waistband.

"Then why haven't you told any of them about us?"

Gaara remained unfazed by this question, but simply crawled up towards Lee's face, where he greedily licked the teen's neck. "You honestly think Temari and Kankuro don't know what's going on? We don't need to announce it to the world or anything."

"What about your dad?" Lee asked seriously, gently pushing the redhead to the side. "Does he know?"

"I couldn't care less about what he thinks," Gaara said bitterly, his eyes narrowing. "But I'm certainly not going to tell him – he wouldn't listen anyway."

"That's not fair, Gaara. Your dad isn't that bad…"

"What are you talking about? You saw how he was the other day! The guy's a monster!" The moody teen snapped, sitting back on the bed with his arms crossed. "Honestly, I hope he drops dead – do the rest of the world a favor."

Lee sat up as well and scooted over to his boyfriend, wrapping his arms around the teen's shoulders. "You don't really mean that. Even if he's a little… gruff, he's still your father. It's like Gai-sensei always says, 'A father is your leader in the springtime of youth.' You're just focusing too much on the negatives."

Gaara turned his head slightly, gazing into Lee's big, owl eyes. For a moment he retained his bitterness, but it soon melted away. "Gai-sensei says that, right? I guess it must be true, then."

"Exactly!" Lee responded cheerily, only to pause in confusion at the redhead's sudden laughter. "Wait… you're making fun of me, aren't you?"

"Can you blame me? You make it so easy," Gaara said before tipping Lee's chin upward with his finger. He planted a brief kiss on the mop-topped teen's lips before pulling back out with a smile.

"Well, it's mean!" Lee pouted, turning his head away as he blushed. "And don't think you can win me back over just like that, either."

"You're right – how about this?"

With that, Gaara pounced on Lee, pinning his boyfriend onto the bed once more. There, he proceeded to kiss the teen, starting up at Lee's lips before traveling down to his neck. From there, he moved down to Lee's chest, at which point he paused, savoring the taste of the firm muscles.

So this is where all that training pays off…

Satisfied with the chest, Gaara moved on to Lee's abs, which were similarly defined and impressive. Finally, the redhead reached his boyfriend's briefs, which he grabbed with both hands, gingerly pulling them down as he kissed lower and lower.

"What the hell is going on here?"

Gaara froze. His head still, buried in Lee's crotch, he glanced up to find a very enraged man with short, brown hair and a business suit standing in the doorway. A quick look at Lee showed that he, too, was paralyzed, unable to do anything but stare at the unexpected arrival.

Shit…

"Gaara! Are you deaf or something? I'm waiting for an explanation here!"

"Dad, you remember Lee, right?" Gaara said simply, wiping some of the saliva from his lips as he lifted his head. "I suppose this is as good a time as any to tell you… he's my boyfriend."

"Well, that's a relief. For a second I was afraid my son was just some kind of man-whore. Instead I get to learn he's a faggot. Incredible!" Mr. Subakuno roared, slamming the door shut as he stepped into the room.

"I-I'm sorry… I should go," Lee stuttered, pulling up his briefs awkwardly.

"No, no! Please, stay! I have so many questions I want to ask you," Mr. Subakuno interrupted, looming over the two teens. "Like, how long have you been corrupting my son? A few months? Years? Did you honestly think I wouldn't find out, you little cocksucker?!"

With that, Mr. Subakuno shoved Lee back, causing the teen to bump his head against the wall with a thud. Before he could make another move, however, Gaara leaped off the bed and stood between his father and his lover.

"Leave him out of this, Dad. He didn't do anything to me," the redhead growled, glaring up at the man.

"You shut your mouth!" Mr. Subakuno roared, backhanding his son fiercely. "I have nothing to say to you right now. He knew you were keeping this from me, Gaara, but he didn't tell me. You both tried to keep me in the dark, and for that you're both guilty."

"Guilty of what?" Gaara challenged, doing his best to ignore his father's attack. "We care about each other, Dad. Isn't that all that really matters?"

"Oh, don't give me that bullshit! You can spin it any way you want, but the fact is you two are just a couple of faggots trying to do your dirty little deed under my roof," Mr. Subakuno continued, briefly stumbling back from an apparent loss of balance. It was only then that Gaara noticed how bleary-eyed his father was, and how his words were somewhat slurred. "I'm just glad your mother isn't alive to see this…"

Gaara froze. "I wish she was. Mom would be happy that I found someone who's important to me. She wasn't a cold-hearted bastard like you."

"Like you'd know," Mr. Subakuno spat, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "What the hell gives you the right to talk about her like that, anyway? It's because of you that she's not around anymore. You're the one that destroyed this family. And you know what the worst part of it all is? We didn't even want you."

"W-what did you just say?" Gaara asked, his blood running cold.

"Oh, didn't you know? What am I thinking, of course you didn't! Well, let me tell you. After Temari and Kankuro, your mother and I decided not to have any more kids. Well, it turns out she forgot to take her pill one day and, next thing we knew, she was pregnant. She never even considered an abortion – though that clearly would've been the better move in retrospect – and as she got late in her pregnancy, she started to grow ill. She knew that you were killing her, and she resented you for it. Still, she was too good of a person to let you die in her place," Mr. Subakuno snarled, staring down his son maliciously. "She never loved you, Gaara. You were nothing but a parasite to her. And now I'm gonna do what she never had the courage to do herself."

The first swing came so quickly that Gaara barely even had time to register what had happened. One minute he was staring down his dad, the next he was lying flat on his bed, dazed, with a stream of blood running down his nose.

"Wait! Mr. Subakuno, don't!" Lee exclaimed, unsure of what to do as he watched in horror from the corner.

"You shut the hell up, or you're next!" Mr. Subakuno barked before delivering a swift punch to Gaara's stomach.

The redheaded teen coughed, the previous blow having knocked the wind out of him. He wasn't sure what was wrong with him – he would've beaten any other opponent into submission by now. For whatever reason, though, actually being struck by his father had left Gaara utterly shocked. He could barely even feel the succeeding punches to his stomach and face – it was like he was numbed, only able to sense the vague pressure of fists crashing against his body.

This is what he really thinks of me, then – what he's always thought of me. I'm just a monster to him… just a burden…

What happened next was all a blur. After taking an unknown number of blows, Gaara's reflexes seemed to take over as he grabbed Mr. Subakuno's fist just before it could land yet another punch. With what seemed to be inhuman strength, Gaara then struck the seized wrist, causing his father to scream out in agony as the bone fractured. Moments later, Gaara had leaped off the bed, tackling Mr. Subakuno to the ground, throttling the man viciously. Kicking wildly, Mr. Subakuno struggled for breath, his eyes beginning to bulge slightly before he finally managed to buck Gaara off of him. Grabbing his throat, Mr. Subakuno rolled onto his knees, glaring menacingly at son before charging.

Then it happened. Gaara saw the malice in his father's eyes and, out of reflex more than anything else, kicked. His heel collided with Mr. Subakuno's nose with a sickening crunch.

Although both Gaara and Lee were breathing heavily, the room seemed to go silent. It was as if space was momentarily frozen, with Gaara unable to look away from the growing pool of blood at his feet. Mr. Subakuno lay on the floor, his dulled eyes staring into space as his crushed nose gradually stained the beige carpet a sickening crimson. Tentatively, Gaara reached forward with his toe and nudged the man's head, causing it to loll to the side. The eyes remained dull and unfocused, though, and his body didn't so much as twitch. He was dead.

No… no!

"Get up, damn you!" Gaara exclaimed suddenly, kicking Mr. Subakuno's head once more. He tried pounding on the man's body, shouting in his ears as he did so. "Don't do this to me, you fucking bastard!"

That was when Gaara saw his hands – they were coated in blood. He stared in horror, his breaths becoming short and quick as he pulled at his hair in a panic.

He screamed.

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And, that's that. Fear not - Gaara's fate will be explained in the coming chapters. In the meantime, thank you for reading, and remember - review!