The next day, Kakashi and Guy picked up Gaara at the front of the school entrance to go shopping. Guy looked around to see Lee, but couldn't see any glimpse of his son anywhere.
"Where did Lee go?" He asked and Gaara sighed as he climbed in the back of the car and put his seatbelt on.
"He's with Sakura right now. He probably forgot." Gaara said quietly and Kakashi and Guy shared a look.
"Does he know we're here?" Guy asked Kakashi and Kakashi frowned.
"Yes. I told him we were going shopping this morning." Guy looked back out the window in search of his son.
"That's strange. It's unlike Lee to be rude." Gaara's lips pressed into a thin line and he stared out of the window that didn't have the school in his view. If Lee was coming, he didn't want to see Sakura.
All damn day, any time Lee came to say hello to him, Sakura would pull him away with some damsel in distress bull and Lee would run to her aid. It wasn't that Lee was purposefully leaving Gaara all day; he just tried to help his friend. For whatever reason though, Sakura did not like Lee talking to Gaara and seemed to make it her mission to separate the two. Now, here they were again.
"Call him." Kakashi demanded and Guy noticed the irritated tone and quickly pulled out his phone. He wasn't sure what had Kakashi so short tempered with Lee lately, but it was something they'd have to discuss.
"Hello dad! What can I do for you?" Guy's eyebrows creased and he looked at Kakashi confused.
"What do you mean? You were supposed to meet us at the front of the school. Where are you? Gaara is here." Kakashi rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair.
"Sakura..." Gaara grumbled and Kakashi could only agree.
"Oh! I am so sorry! I completely forgot! I will be there in just a moment!" Guy hung up the phone and looked at Kakashi who didn't look amused.
"He forgot." Guy said flatly and Kakashi shook his head. "You said he's with some girl?" Gaara nodded but didn't say anything. He didn't like talking about Sakura.
"Not 'some' girl. Sakura." Kakashi said with a hint of disdain. "You know. Sakura." Realization dawned on Guy.
"Oh! The girl he had a crush on two years ago? They're talking, that's good!" Kakashi scowled.
"I don't like her." That made Gaara smirk, which he hid behind his hand.
"Why?" Kakashi looked at Guy incredulously.
"Why? How about when he asked her out, she said "ew" and Lee was crushed for like a month. Don't you remember that? Who the fuck says "ew" to someone? Say no like a normal fucking person." Guy's eyes widened at Kakashi's clear annoyance.
"I remember that now. There's no use getting worked up about it now. If Lee decides to date her, they date. Nothing we can say to him to prove otherwise." Before Kakashi could respond, the door was swung open and Lee jumped inside.
"Hello! I am very sorry! Today has been very stressful and I forgot we were meeting." Kakashi didn't answer; he just turned the car on and drove.
"What was so stressful, Lee?" Guy asked and Lee groaned.
"It has been a terrible day. In math, I forgot my homework at home on my desk at home. Then I dropped my calculator and broke it, I didn't even know they could break! In gym, a pipe broke over the lockers so my clothes were soaked but we still had to work out for gym and now I smell bad because we could not even shower. In English, we were put into pairs to do a project and I was paired with Sasuke but he was out sick so I was put with a mean guy who always makes fun of me. I fell down the stairs trying to get to my class and had to go to the nurse. A classmate of mine came in sick and he threw up and I cannot see someone throw up without throwing up, so then I threw up too and then I had to help clean the nurses office and every time I had a break, Sakura would ask me to do her a favor and I am just so tired of today." Lee said and Gaara was pretty sure he only took about 3 breaths in his entire soliloquy.
"I'm sorry your day was bad, Lee." Gaara said softly and Lee looked over at Gaara and smiled at him, as if it were his first time seeing Gaara.
"Thank you Gaara. That means a lot."
"Well what were you doing before we called?" Guy asked and Lee scratched his cheek.
"That is the odd thing. Sakura kept coming to me all day with the strangest requests. I thought after we hung out yesterday she would have gotten bored of hanging out with me but she was very talkative. Anyway, she asked if I could help her with her art project. She said she was practicing drawing muscle groups or something. Sasuke was supposed to help her but like I said, he wasn't here today." Kakashi snorted.
"Sakura wanted you to be a naked model?" Lee's cheeks turned bright red.
"No! I mean... not completely I guess? She just needed arms and chest. Which is weird for an art project in school but when I got a call from you I told her I would have to do it another time because I had to go shopping. She did not seem very happy." Lee shrugged, unbothered by it.
"What is going on with you and that girl anyway?" Kakashi asked, trying to mask his obvious distrust.
"Sakura?" Lee's face turned red. "Uh, n-nothing. I honestly have no idea what is her deal lately. She is acting super weird. And really..." Lee flushed again. "Touchy I guess. Like she keeps holding my arm or something. It is very... strange." Guy laughed at the admission.
"Oh Lee! The youthful perils of love! I think someone has an admirer~!" Kakashi elbowed Guy, slightly jerking the car as he did so. "What? I'm just telling it how it is. What do you think, Gaara?" Gaara frowned, being put under the spotlight and suddenly Lee was looking at him too.
"I wouldn't know. No one has ever thrown themselves at me. I can't particularly blame them as I'm not much of a prize." Lee grabbed Gaara's wrist.
"Gaara. Why would you say that? You're the most handsome guy I know." The earnestness of his statement had Gaara's face almost as red as his hair and Kakashi and Guy shared a look in the front seat that neither boys picked up on.
Once Kakashi pulled into the parking lot, he dragged Guy far enough away that the boys wouldn't be able to hear them.
"Take Lee and bring him somewhere else. I need to talk to Gaara." Kakashi instructed and Guy smirked.
"Does this have anything to do with their little schoolboy crush on each other?" Kakashi frowned and Guy grinned. "You act like I'm completely blind. I always see youthful love."
"I really regret ever being seen with you." Kakashi said flatly and Guy gave him a thumbs up.
"I love when you sweet talk me." He said with a wink and Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Let us go Lee!"
"Go where?" Lee asked and Guy dramatically turned to him.
"You think just because the dojo is closed I'm going to let you get away with not training?!" Lee stood straight up and saluted.
"You are right, dad! What is your plan?" Guy pointed intensely to nowhere in particular.
"We will run around the perimeter of the mall 40 times!" Lee was already stretching and Gaara gave him an odd look.
"You are too easy on me, dad! How about 60?" Guy teared up and hugged his son.
"You know how to make me proud! Now let's go!" They ran off and Gaara and Kakashi stood there for a moment watching them get smaller as they ran away.
"What the hell just happened?" Gaara asked before he knew what he was saying.
"My entire life since meeting Guy has been a string of that exact question." Kakashi said flatly. "Anyway, let's go." Gaara followed Kakashi inside and spared one final look in the direction Lee ran in and was amazed when he didn't see him anymore.
Finding Gaara shoes was difficult. Actually, finding Gaara anything was difficult. He was completely unused to spending money and having money spent on him that he was uncomfortable picking out anything. Kakashi knew there were several things Gaara obviously liked but for whatever reason something held him back from actually getting them.
Gaara really liked this one pair of boots, they were a dark brown and comfortable. They were reasonably insulated and the tread was great for being outside and on ice. Plus, with winter around the corner coming at any day, Kakashi would think that choosing these pair of boots was a no brainer. Gaara effectively talked himself out of getting them since they were 80 dollars and he "just needed new work shoes". Gaara was only in work shoes now since his other shoes were complete shit. So Kakashi spent 15 minutes lecturing Gaara about shoes and proper shoe wear.
Gaara knew he needed new shoes. He knew he needed new clothes. He also was aware of the account balance in his bank. He'd sent a text to his bank inquiring about it almost obsessively and each time the same number came back. Gaara wasn't used to money. He wasn't used to getting things. In his mind, the money would disappear at the drop of a hat and he'd have nothing. He'd rather not use it in the event that he would need it in the future. In any case, he felt undeserving of new things. His entire life he was handed things that weren't new. This was his first time in a mall that the sole purpose of the trip was to get him something and he didn't like the feeling. He didn't want to tell that to Kakashi though.
Suddenly, in the middle of shopping for a winter jacket after Gaara turned down the third coat that he clearly liked, Kakashi snapped.
"Gaara, you're worth getting new things for. It isn't a waste of money. You need these things. You're worth having nice shoes and a warm coat. You matter as a person. You deserve to have things you need and even things you want. You aren't less than anyone else. What would you do if Lee wouldn't get something because he didn't feel worth it?" Gaara was angry at the hypothetical situation. Lee was worth everything.
Kakashi knelt down, made eye contact with Gaara, and put his hand on Gaara's shoulder.
"Don't be so down on yourself, kid. Sometimes when you don't feel worth it, just think about how other people see you. Don't look at yourself through your eyes right now, look at yourself through Lee's. You know he would want you to be warm. You know he'd want you to be comfortable. And you know he'd want you to love yourself enough to not need to look at yourself through his eyes to treat yourself kindly." Gaara looked at his feet and nodded slowly. "Good. So what coat did you want?"
When Kakashi managed to get Gaara a jacket, boots, shoes and some clothes, he considered it a win. Gaara voiced his very strong reluctance to have Kakashi pay for anything they had picked out but it fell on deaf ears.
At this point, they sat in the food court of the mall, Kakashi reading his book and drinking a smoothie and Gaara sat across from him eating French fries.
It seemed sudden when Kakashi put down his book and stared directly into Gaara's eyes. Gaara expected the worst but somehow managed to maintain eye contact, even though his first reaction was to stare at the ground.
"So. You like Lee, huh?" Gaara looked at him confused and Kakashi smirked. "You have a crush on my son?" That was forward. Gaara's face warmed and he looked down at his lap. "It's okay, I'm not making fun of you or anything. Just making sure."
"Why?" Gaara asked and Kakashi was relatively surprised that Gaara didn't deny it, or try to at least.
"I just assumed you liked him considering how you act around him. It's nice to see someone show a genuine, unselfish interest in him. He's a great kid." Gaara nodded slowly.
"The best." He agreed quietly and Kakashi smiled and leaned forward, crossing his arms on the table.
"Why don't you tell him?" Gaara shrugged.
"I'm not sure. I guess I figured he doesn't like me that way. He went out of his way to ask out Sakura so I know he isn't too shy. I convinced myself if he liked me enough to want to date me he would ask me. It's stupid... but I just... It's new. Plus, now with Sakura..." Gaara sighed and Kakashi frowned. Yes, Sakura was a headache as of late.
"I'm sure he likes you too, Gaara. He thinks very highly of you." Kakashi smiled and Gaara gave a tentative shy smile and averted his eyes again.
Kakashi realized Gaara didn't have problems maintaining eye contact with Lee or anyone his age. It seemed he was put off by adults. Probably because of his father. Kakashi bit back a sigh. He'd dealt with harder. For someone treated the way Gaara had been, he was surprisingly cooperative. Kakashi would make sure Gaara knew he had enough self-esteem to look at adults in the eyes when they spoke.
"Hey!" Kakashi and Gaara looked up to spot Lee rocking a soaked shirt with Guy behind him.
"You finished quick." Kakashi noted and Lee gave him a thumbs up and smile.
"I must get back into my routine. How was shopping?" Lee asked and noticed Gaara and Kakashi shared a look before mentioning it was fun. Lee couldn't feel a weird pang in his chest. Jealousy, was it? "I am sorry I could not shop with you two. I would love to shop with you if you'd like to some time, Gaara." Lee said softly and Gaara nodded.
"Thank you Lee, although Kakashi and I already went through everything we were supposed to get. I don't care for shopping too much."
"Let's go home then." Kakashi stood up and Guy laughed happily.
"Yes! I'm starving. Gaara can make dinner tonight!" Lee went to argue with his dad but before he could Gaara responded.
"I'd love to." Lee was starting to realize he was becoming closer as a family with Gaara.