"Hey Gaara!" Gaara glanced up from his locker and was surprised to see his work collogue, Ino. He tilted his head to the side but said nothing and she rolled her eyes. "What? Can't say hello to you in school?" She laughed and leaned against the lockers next to him.
"You never did before." He pointed out and she shrugged.
"Well now I am." Gaara perked a brow and wondered in the back of his mind if Temari had set this up somehow. "How has your week been so far?"
"Uneventful. I've been preparing for thanksgiving mostly since it's next week. Kankuro brings me to the store a lot to help me get things but I can't remember everything I need. I usually write a list but I haven't had time." Ino nodded in sympathy.
"Ino-pig." A familiar voice scoffed and Ino looked up with an eye roll.
"At least my forehead isn't the prime location for a drive-in movie." Ino spat and Gaara glanced up and noticed it was Sakura who was arguing with Ino. He tried to hide a smirk and quickly moved his attention to his locker. "Sorry about that. Sakura and I don't get along."
"What a coincidence." Gaara mumbled and Ino perked at that.
"You don't like her either?" She asked with interest.
"What would it matter if I didn't?" Ino smirked at him.
"An enemy of my enemy is my friend and all. Looks like we have more in common than I thought." Ino linked her arms with Gaara and he faltered for a moment before taking it in stride. Lee was the only one he let touch him but if he were to wait for Lee to give him any type of physical affection, he would be dead with how often he went without seeing his friend. Especially now since Lee was on the track team and training at the dojo. He got to see Lee when he came home at night and lately they almost never talked.
For the first time in a while, Gaara went to class feeling confident with having a new friend. Not that he was completely sure that's what Ino was, but it was a start.
"Lee." Lee winced at the tone Sakura had. She was not happy.
"Yes, my blossom?" Lee said sweetly and turned to face her. She grabbed his hand roughly. Her mood was sour.
"Saw that stupid Ino-pig again. She made fun of my forehead again." She mumbled angrily and Lee frowned.
"That is not nice. Your forehead is a perfect size. She is only jealous of your beauty." Lee attempted to placate. It didn't seem to work.
"I doubt that. And your new friend didn't seem to rush to my defense either." Sakura's tone in "friend" had Lee doubt that was used as a compliment.
"What new friend?" He asked and Sakura looked up and saw Ino and Gaara, arm in arm.
"Him." She said with distaste. Lee looked to Sakura and followed her line of gaze and his heart skipped in his chest when his eyes landed on that gorgeous head of unkempt waves of hair. Gaara. Lee felt the familiar ache in his chest he had whenever he looked at Gaara. He missed him so badly but he knew he really hurt his feelings so what was there to say?
Lee said nothing and Sakura observed him just watch them. His eyes were glued to the back of Gaara's head. Lee drank in every movement Gaara made and his felt a very foreign feeling of jealousy grip at his throat making it hard for him to even speak. Why was Ino holding Gaara like that? Why was Gaara holding Ino like that? Sakura noticed the exact moment when Lee's eyes glazed over and hardened. She never saw that look on Lee. What was wrong? Was he that angry at Gaara?
"Lee?" Lee blinked himself out of it and the emotions were gone and replaced with his normal expression.
"Yes?" Almost like he forgot they were in the middle of the conversation. Maybe he did forget.
"Are you okay?" Lee's expression faltered for a second and he quickly smiled and masked it.
"Of course. I will see you later today, alright?" Lee quickly walked away and Sakura didn't even notice they made it to her class. She watched Lee disappear in the sea of students and frowned. She hoped he was okay.
The end of the day came and Gaara just showered and got dressed after gym. He hated gym with a passion and barely did anything but walk on the track. It seemed that he needed that walk to clear his head. Only problem was he didn't realize how late it was and most of the class was already showered and gone. If he had a bus to catch, he would be screwed. Good thing he only had to walk across the street to work.
"Gaara!" Gaara was getting annoyed with how many times he was being interrupted today. He wanted to be left alone. What was so hard about that?
Gaara glanced over and saw Lee. What was Lee doing in the locker room? Gaara's mouth pressed into a thin line and he didn't say anything. Lee looked... haunted. He went to say something, the closed his mouth. He did that several times and his eyebrows pushed together and he frowned. He looked like he was thinking really hard and suddenly he was in front of Gaara, hugging him so tight Gaara thought he would die of asphyxiation.
"I miss you. I miss you so much. I am so sorry for everything. Please do not be mad at me anymore. I cannot take it. You mean so much to me Gaara. I have been a terrible friend but please, forgive me. I will be better, I promise." Lee hiccupped at the end and Gaara's eyes widened a fraction and he pushed Lee away just enough to look at his face. Lee was crying. Why was he crying?
"Why are you crying?" Gaara asked with so much confusion.
"Because you are special to me and we are not talking. We live together and we do not talk anymore. I love..." Lee bit his lip. "I love being your friend and I miss you. Can we please be friends?"
Gaara stared into Lee's rounded eyes, he could never be angry with those eyes. That's why Gaara avoided him. He wanted to be angry but he couldn't. Kakashi told him that he shouldn't let Lee get away with things if they hurt his feelings, he should respect himself enough to stand up for himself. How could he with Lee so close to him? All he wanted was to stay in those arms all day. He wanted to sleep next to Lee at night, he wanted Lee's sweater back, the one with his last name. The one that Sakura had now. It made him burn with jealousy and Gaara was sure he'd burn alive but he couldn't ignore Lee anymore.
Gaara didn't say anything. He just hugged Lee back. Slowly at first, but Lee immediately clung to him like a starved animal and held him tight. Gaara's hold tightened a bit and Lee and him stood in the locker room in a hug that Gaara wished would never end.
"I love..." Gaara started quietly and pulled away from Lee again. Looking into his eyes made his heart thud and Gaara was shaking before he knew it. "I love being your friend too, Lee." Lee smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.
"How was work, Gaara?" Lee asked, leaning against the doorframe. Gaara was sitting at his window in his kitchen garb, hair still in a headband and absolutely everywhere. Lee could've swooned at the sight.
"I've been very busy preparing for thanksgiving, actually." Gaara admitted and sighed. "It's been a pain to do both so Ino has upped her hours for the next two weeks. She's been surprisingly helpful." Gaara pulled off the headband and Lee smiled softly at the wisps of hair sticking haphazardly.
"I see you've been hanging out with her more at school." Lee said simply but Gaara noticed there was something hanging on the end of the sentence. He wasn't sure what.
"Yes, she and I have been a good team at work and I suppose she just wanted another friend. Who knows, maybe she's sucking up to Temari by befriending her lonely brother." Gaara said wryly and Lee frowned and walked in closer.
"Would you like to watch a movie with me? In my room?" Gaara looked up and his body got goosebumps at the innocent question.
"I need to shower." Gaara said simply and Lee grinned.
"Me too." Gaara was just noticing he was in his uwagi. How did he not notice before? He looked... Gaara couldn't even think of an adjective. He did know looking at Lee like that sent his body into overdrive. "We can shower, get into our pajamas and then watch it." Gaara nodded and Lee smiled happily.
Lee rushed through his shower routine and knocked on Gaara's door even though it was opened. Gaara looked up from the window and saw Lee with a towel wrapped around his hips, his body still glistening with water and his wet hair stuck to his face and neck. Gaara gaped.
"Shower is all yours!" Oh that smile was doing strange things to Gaara's emotions.
Lee went to his room and got dressed at a speed that he wasn't sure he had. When he was done, he looked in a mirror at himself and just stared. He wasn't sure what he was looking for, but he looked at himself. Almost as if he were appraising himself for Gaara. Was he even good enough for him?
Lee's face turned red and he shook his head. He shouldn't think of that. He was with Sakura. Before he could reprimand himself further he heard the sound of squeaking shower knobs and knew just on the other side of his wall, Gaara was standing there naked in the stream of the water. Lee bit his lip harshly and couldn't break his gaze away from the wall. What did Gaara look like completely naked? Why couldn't he stop thinking about it?
Lee averted his attention and looked back at his dresser where he had all of his pajamas. He grabbed his favorite flannel shirt that was twice the size he needed and a pair of pants. He walked over to the towel closet and grabbed a fresh towel and opened the door to the laundry room. It was across the hall from the bathroom. He threw them into the dryer and jogged downstairs and threw popcorn in the microwave and started to warm up milk on the stove. Kakashi and Guy weren't home tonight. Guy was way too excited about the dojo being opened again and the two decided to go through plans for the dojo over dinner. (Well that's what they told Lee anyway.)
One of the things Lee did during Christmas was he made homemade hot chocolate powder for his friends. It was cheap, easy, and he had fun decorating the cans he gifted them in. He still had a large container for himself, he even had a few flavors. He picked French vanilla and added it to the milk and poured it into two mugs and took the popcorn out of the microwave and put it into a bowl and placed them on his bedside. He turned the TV on and picked a random scary movie, as they were Gaara's favorites, and walked back to the dryer. He took the clothes out and folded them nicely and stood outside the bathroom door with his heart hammering in his chest. The shower was still on so he should be able to walk in without problem. He was just worried he'd startle Gaara or Gaara would think him weird.
Lee summoned the courage and quietly opened the door. He looked around the room and saw Gaara's towel and switched it with the one he warmed. He put the shirt next to it and paused for a second. Was... Gaara... Singing?
Lee looked at the shower curtain and tried to pay close attention and yes, Gaara was singing. It was very quiet and he could barely hear it but it was unmistakable. Lee wished he could hear it without the sound of the bathroom fan or the shower water hitting the bath.
Not wanting to get caught, Lee snuck out of the bathroom but stayed close to the door to try and hear the words Gaara was singing. When the shower was turned off, Lee quickly and quietly moved to his room and sat on his bed, vowing he would hear Gaara sing one day without any noise distractions.
Gaara stepped out of the tub and grabbed for his towel and brought it to his face and rubbed the water off, then paused. Why was the towel so warm? He opened his eyes and looked closer at the towel. It wasn't his normal towel. This one was a dark green color. Gaara bought his own and they were a salmon color. He opened the towel further and wrapped it around his shoulders. It was so warm and nice. Gaara snuggled closer into it and sat on the ledge of the bathtub. He looked by his towel and saw a pair of Lee's pajamas. His favorite pair. Lee looked adorable in them since they were so big. How did Lee know they were his favorite?
Gaara's face warmed when he realized Lee was in the bathroom and went through the trouble of warming his towel for him. Wasn't that something significant others did? Gaara dried off quickly and grabbed the clothes and couldn't help the smile. They were warm too.
Lee watched Gaara walk into his room and smiled. Gaara was swimming in that shirt. Lee patted the spot next to him on the bed and Gaara climbed up and looked at the side of the bed and saw popcorn and hot chocolate.
"You went all out. I told you I forgave you already." Gaara said with a smirk and Lee surprisingly didn't flush.
"I just wanted to show you I care very much about you." He said honestly and Gaara smiled softly and grabbed his cup and handed Lee the other one and pulled the popcorn bowl between them. "I picked a horror movie for you too."
"You spoil me." Lee smiled.
As the movie went on, they shifted closer to each other. They started out sitting on the blankets on opposite ends of the bed and ended up with their hips pressed against each other, under the blankets. The popcorn was done, the cups on the nightstand and Lee wanted to just get closer.
Gaara leaned his head on Lee's shoulder and Lee waited a second and moved his arm so it was around Gaara and Gaara fell into Lee's chest. He felt Lee's erratic heartbeat on his cheek and he froze, unsure what to do.
Slowly he moved his arm so it was resting on Lee's chest and he felt Lee relax under him and Gaara watched the movie on the screen but said nothing. Gaara soon felt the touch of Lee's fingers on his hand. He looked at Lee's hand, playing with his own and Gaara's hand twitched up to play with his hand back and soon he felt Lee threading their fingers together and let his hand rest there on his stomach with his thumb rubbing soothing circle's on Gaara's hand. Cuddled up with Lee felt like the most perfect feeling in the world. Cuddled up with Gaara set every nerve he had on fire and Lee didn't want to let go.