Chapter Seventeen:
Gaara couldn't stop thinking about Lee. He was in math class drawing a blank on his entire worksheet because all he thought about was the softness of Lee's skin on his chest and the roughness of the callouses on his hands. Gaara would rub his neck absentmindedly, feeling the ghost tickle of Lee's hair or breath on his skin. That was only 4 days ago and every night since then, Lee would invite him back into his room to watch a movie and each time they would find themselves a tangled heap on the bed. Last night their legs were entwined, Gaara was laying on Lee's chest with his hand resting over Lee's heart and Lee had his arms wrapped around Gaara's waist. It never seemed close enough.
Both of them would fall asleep before the movie was over. Gaara fell asleep because it was so nice for once having someone holding him so tightly, it was a warmth he never knew. Lee would fall asleep after he felt Gaara slip away and hear the soft snores that seemed like a lullaby each time. Lee would wait until he was sure Gaara was really sound asleep and he would kiss the top of his head, shut the TV off and whisper an "I love you". Each time Lee said it, his skin burned with desire and his heart skipped a beat and also ached at the prospect of never getting the chance to tell him when he was awake.
Lee was distracted too. He was biting his eraser absentmindedly and just thinking about how warm Gaara was. His heart was pounding in his chest at the thought of holding him again.
It was Friday so that might be difficult. Gaara worked late Friday and Sakura usually wanted to do something on weekends. She's been weird lately though. Especially when she saw Gaara. Lee's heart stopped. Did Sakura suspect something with Gaara? Lee took a deep breath. No, how could she? Even if she did, he didn't do anything wrong. Watching a movie wasn't wrong. Plus, him Sasuke and Naruto had sleepovers all of the time and it was fine. Sasuke and Naruto, shit. When was the last time Lee hung out with them? Lee looked around the room and his eyes landed on Sasuke. Naruto wasn't in this class because he's Naruto. It didn't take long for Sasuke to look over at him, feeling Lee's big eyes staring him down. Sasuke perked a brow.
"Movie?" Lee asked and Sasuke's confused expression melted away and he nodded. Lee grinned at him and went back to writing.
Lee and Sakura walked into the library and Lee's eyes landed on Sasuke and Naruto. They were in the middle of an argument and Lee jogged over, leaving Sakura annoyed for being momentarily abandoned.
"Hey Naruto. Movie night at my house. Are you going to come?" Sakura frowned at that and Naruto agreed.
"Hell yeah, wait is this loser coming?" He kicked Sasuke's leg and Sasuke pushed him out of his chair. "Ow, what the hell?"
"Idiot." Sasuke scowled and crossed his arms. Lee and Sakura shared a look and Lee turned back to his friends.
"Yes. I imagine Gaara will be there too." Naruto smiled at that and Sasuke smirked.
"Why is Gaara going to be there?" Sakura asked, confused.
"Because Lee is his like bestie for life. Have you seen them?" Naruto laughed and Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"Because Gaara lives with him, would you like Lee to kick him out of his own house?" Sakura blushed slightly and shook her head.
"Oh no. That's not what I meant. I didn't know Gaara lived with you. How long has he lived with you?" Sakura asked and Naruto looked at Sakura like she was really stupid.
"How the hell have you dated Lee this entire time and didn't know Gaara lived with him? They've lived together for like a month or whatever." Sakura glared at Naruto.
"The topic never arose. Why is he living with you anyway?" She demanded and Lee sat down at the table and tried his best to hide from her glare. Why was she so angry about it anyway.
"None of your business." Sasuke said flatly. Lee was grateful for the comment that he obviously couldn't say. He wasn't sure if Sasuke was aware of the situation or not but he liked that he knew enough to state that it wasn't anyone's business but Gaara's and his own.
"I wasn't asking you, Sasuke." Sakura said simply and looked back at Lee expectantly.
"Honestly, Sakura, it really is not. It is personal and I do not feel comfortable disclosing my friend's business." Lee said quietly and opened his folder, ignoring the flare of red on Sakura's cheeks she got when she was annoyed. There was nothing she could say that would make Lee tell her about the neglect and abuse Gaara faced at home. Before Sakura could say something sooner, a loud voice was heard and her face darkened.
The whole table looked at the door and Ino was laughing jovially at something Gaara said which was a strange sight for anyone. The thing Lee focused on though was that their arms were locked again. Why did they always walk like that? Lee tried to swallow down his jealousy but found it was harder than he thought. Gaara looked his way and waved at them but didn't sit with them. Him and Ino sat at a table further away and hidden. Lee's heart was hammering and he tried to see where they sat but they were completely out of view.
"I can't believe your friend is friends with that... slag." Sakura huffed and Lee frowned. He didn't like anyone being disrespected, it wasn't his style. But what was Gaara doing with Ino all the time? Were they dating?
Sasuke and Naruto noticed Lee's grip on his pencil tightened and then snapped in two places. They looked at each other with a frown. They wondered how long this could go on for and sighed.
Gaara and Ino sat by the window on the opposite end of the library. They both pulled out cookbooks and were dog-earing the pages they wanted to save for later. Gaara was writing stuff down in his notebook and Ino was writing notes.
"Sakura didn't seem to happy to see us." Ino said after a moment of silence and Gaara nodded.
"Good." Ino grinned at him.
"You really don't like her do you?" Gaara shook his head with minimal movement. "Why?" Gaara paused. He stopped writing, he stopped reading, his body just froze. Ino nodded. "You like Lee." Gaara's face burned instantly and Ino touched his hand and he looked up at her. "It wasn't a question. I know you do."
"What does it matter?" Gaara asked stiffly and Ino smiled slyly.
"You going to let that big foreheaded brat get in the way of you and the guy you like?" She challenged and Gaara nodded slowly and she frowned. "Why?"
"Because he picked her." Gaara said quietly. "He had the time to pick me and didn't. If she makes him happy, then I'm glad for it."
"Ugh, you're a junior. You shouldn't be mature yet. Come on, be petty with me. Let's break them up." She begged and Gaara shook his head and she sighed dramatically. "Fine..." She smirked suddenly. "But honestly I don't think it would take much considering he's coming over here." Gaara stiffened and suddenly Lee was sitting at the table with them. Ino noticed how kind his eyes were. She always thought Lee was... ugly to put it politely. With his dumb haircut and his big eyebrows. She watched Gaara look at him and just examined their interaction.
"Hey Gaara." The way he said Gaara's name was soft and fond. "I'm hosting a movie night tonight with my friends. I was extending the invitation to you and your friends." He looked at Ino with a soft smile and she looked at him confused. Why would he invite her if her and Sakura didn't get along?
"Thank you, Lee. I don't think it's necessary though. Ino and I are busy tonight." The comment was totally innocent, they really were busy, they were going to be prepping pie crusts and filling for the thanksgiving rush. She noticed though that Lee winced. He almost looked hurt. She knew exactly what Lee thought and she couldn't help but smile.
"Oh no, honey." She said sweetly. "We should watch at least one movie with them. They are your friends after all. We can go after."
"That means we'll get done much later though." Gaara said with a hint of confusion.
"If we pull an all nighter we can just sleep in later. It'll be the weekend after all. We don't need to be at work tomorrow at a set time." Gaara thought about it. They hired another baker, part time at his job. This baker was only there from 5am-8am. Their job was to bake all the pre-made things for the day this way Gaara didn't have to waste his time doing it. This allowed him to have more flexibility. He nodded.
"Okay. We'll be there. Thank you, Lee." Lee's expression was uncomfortable and Gaara couldn't understand why but Ino just smiled sweetly at Lee and waved at him goodbye and he walked away. "What was his problem?"
"Oh honey, he likes you." Ino grinned. "He's jealous."
"What would he be jealous of? He doesn't like me." Gaara argued and Ino rolled her eyes. Boys could be so clueless sometimes.
Ino and Gaara walked into the house a few minutes passed seven. Lee said he wanted the movie to start earlier so Gaara could be done earlier. Gaara thanked him and Ino bit her lip to keep herself from laughing.
They both placed pastry boxes on the counter and Naruto and Sasuke stood up from the kitchen table.
"What did you two bring?" Naruto asked and Gaara opened his box and it was overflowing with pastries. Ino brought some too.
"Thank you very much you two." Lee said happily. Gaara dug into his bag and pulled out a box and handed it to him. "A cinnamon roll. Thank you." Gaara nodded and looked at Ino.
"Come on. We'll be right back." Lee looked at them, they were in work clothes. Chef jacket, checkered pants and a headband. Lee's eyes narrowed watching them go upstairs.
Gaara brought Ino to his room and she looked around and admired it. He opened his dresser and pulled out a pair of his pajamas he bought recently. Ino walked over and dug through the same drawer. He raised his eyebrow and she smiled.
"I don't want to be stuck in these clothes." Gaara nodded and Ino picked out a simple pair of pajama pants and one of Gaara's white t-shirts and got changed. It didn't occur to either of them for one of them to leave the room until they were both dressed and turned to face each other. "Shut up, you're gay I'm not worried." Ino said simply and opened the door. Gaara rolled his eyes and followed her downstairs.
Lee looked up from the couch and saw Ino in Gaara's pajamas. He didn't think a sight could hurt more until he saw Gaara in his own pajamas. He always wore Lee's.
The TV was set up and the coffee table had an array of desserts, soda and popcorn. The couch was a large L couch that everyone could fit on easily. Sasuke sat on the end, leaning on the arm of the couch, Naruto was next to him with a bowl of popcorn, there was an empty cushion and then there was Lee. Gaara didn't know where to sit. He stood awkwardly for a minute until Sakura sat down next to Lee and cuddled into his side. Ino sat in the corner of the couch, a cushion away from Lee and Sakura and she looked at Gaara and he sat in front of her instead of next to Lee which was interesting. She looked at Lee's expression from the corner of his eye. Why did they both look so disappointed?
Ino grabbed the blanket that was behind her and covered herself and Gaara. She watched Lee from the corner of her eye. This was interesting. Why was he so uncomfortable?
Lee was trying so hard not to be upset but it was hard. Gaara had been at his side for 5 nights and now that he wasn't, Lee felt cold. It was a coldness that didn't go away with Sakura by his side, it seemed to make him feel colder. Watching Gaara so effortlessly get under the blanket with Ino was so innocent so why did it set him on edge? He wanted Gaara sitting next to him, instead there was a space.
Lee knew he would hear from Sakura about Ino showing up but she was surprisingly calm right now. Probably because Ino and Gaara were too busy wrapped in themselves they didn't pay her any mind.
Throughout the movie, Lee paid more attention to Gaara and Ino than the movie. And if Sakura's small advances weren't paid mind to, he didn't catch on.
Lee sat on the couch for a while. The movie was over, Sakura had to leave because it was getting late and he watched Ino and Gaara go upstairs into Gaara's room and come back downstairs in different clothes. He didn't hear either one of them leave the room. It made him... sad.
"Goodbye Gaara. Be careful. You too, Ino." Lee called out and Ino gave him a thumbs up and Gaara waved and they left. Lee stared at the door for a while until he heard a cough. He turned his head and Sasuke and Naruto were staring at him.
"You okay there buddy?" Naruto asked and Lee rubbed his face.
"Yeah. I am fine. I am just tired, is all." Naruto wanted to believe him and Sasuke just groaned.
"Why don't you just get over the fact that you clearly have a hard on for Gaara and move on with your life." Naruto stared at Sasuke amazed with the sheer crassness of his statement. Sasuke was never like that.
"I do not." Lee said with a blush lining his cheek and an indignant expression. "Why are you saying this?"
"Lee it's just annoying, ok?" Sasuke looked like he finally snapped. He even stood up off the couch. "Everyone thinks you're going to get over Sakura and date someone who actually likes you, and here you are, dating Sakura and fucking pining over Gaara and it isn't fair to anyone involved." Naruto for once was speechless and stayed seated.
"You take that back!" Lee yelled and rose from the couch himself. He wasn't entirely sure what statement he wanted Sasuke to recant but he couldn't sit around and do nothing.
"No! I'm sick of this! Naruto and I are your best friends and we've been there for you for years. So please tell me why you barely have time to speak with us now that you're with Sakura. Tell me why you spent all of your time tonight glaring at Ino and making goo-goo eyes at fucking Gaara. Please tell me." Lee's body emanated heat. He was embarrassed and angry. Sasuke had never spoken to him in such a manner.
"If you are going to speak to me so rudely, please leave." Lee said with as much calmness as he could muster. Sasuke scoffed.
"Is the truth hurting you too much? Whatever, Lee. All I'm saying is don't come crying to me when Gaara finally finds someone who cares about him." Sasuke snatched his jacket and instantly he was pressed against a wall by a seething Lee.
"I do care about him!" Sasuke sneered.
"Then why don't you act like it." Sasuke shoved Lee off and stormed out of the house. Lee was breathing heavily and when he calmed himself down enough he saw Naruto still sitting on the couch. Naruto was frowning at him.
"What is it, Naruto?" Lee asked in a defeated tone.
"You're just stupid. I mean, so is Sasuke, he's a dick but you're dumb." Naruto said simply and put on his jacket. "Lee, you gotta know I love ya man, but you're being dumb. Real dumb. This is coming from me. I'll see you later, Sasuke is my ride home." With that Naruto left and Lee sat on the couch wondering when his life got so complicated.
Gaara got home at about 2 in the morning and he heard the TV on in the living room. Ino had dropped him off and went her own way, promising to see him later that day.
Gaara walked into the living room and Lee was on the couch, his cheeks were bright pink and he was nursing a cup of sake.
"Lee?" Gaara said quietly and Lee clumsily looked up at him. Gaara noted in the back of his mind that Lee was drunk. Lee put his cup down and stood up on shaky legs and walked over to Gaara, stumbling most of the way. "Lee are you ok?"
"Yessireee." Lee slurred and pulled Gaara in for a hug. Gaara noticed how Lee was practically purring on his shoulder.
"You should get to bed..." Gaara insisted and Lee nodded against his shoulder. "Come on." Gaara gently pushed Lee away and shut the TV off and grabbed the sake to dump down the sink. He was holding onto Lee's wrist and gently guided him through the kitchen. He dumped the drink and rinsed the cup well enough that no one could tell what was in it, then led him up the stairs. Lee tripped a few times and giggled but said nothing else.
Gaara got him to the bedroom and closed the door softly. He wasn't sure if Guy and Kakashi were home tonight but if they were, the last thing they should see is Lee drunk. Gaara thanked god that Lee was already in pajamas and brought him to the bed to tuck him in.
"Goodnight, Lee." Gaara said quietly and Lee grabbed his wrist and tugged it.
"Com'mon. I dun like sleepin' alone anymore." Lee gave Gaara a sloppy grin and Gaara frowned at him. "Jus a lil while? Missed you..." Gaara sighed and looked down at the uniform he wore. "Put my jammies on."
Lee's eyes were hazed over and Gaara wasn't sure why. He nodded slowly and walked to the pajama drawer he was accustomed to opening and pulled out a large t-shirt that had Lee's name on it. He took off his chef jacket, pulled the shirt over his head and yanked off his pants, deciding that boxers were fine for now. He climbed into bed next to Lee and Lee pulled him in instantly.
"Sooo good in my clothes." Lee purred again, his hands soothingly rubbing Gaara's back. The feeling was new, it felt intimate. "So cute." Lee leaned in to Gaara's neck and grazed his teeth over the skin on the base of his neck. Gaara shivered under him and Lee licked from his shoulder up to his earlobe in a messy fashion and gave tiny kisses along his neckline.
"W-what are you doing?" Gaara's body felt strange. He wasn't sure what or how he felt. He didn't even know if he liked the feeling or not. It made him feel powerless. Lee would bite or lick him a certain way and his body would twitch involuntarily. Gaara had no control over himself. Lee kissed up Gaara's jaw and kissed softly on the corner of his mouth and Gaara's body burned with a desire he didn't know was there. Lee gave another chaste kiss to the corner of his mouth and Gaara took a sharp inhale of breath and tilted his head slightly. Lee went to kiss the corner of his mouth again, but since Gaara moved, Lee wound up kissing him on the lips.
Gaara didn't realize Lee was holding himself back. He was unaware that Lee even had the strength to do so in his inebriated state. Gaara was very surprised that like a floodgate, the second Lee touched his lips, all these emotions began pouring out of them both. Lee's fingers tangled themselves in Gaara's hair and he pulled Gaara in, aggressively attacking his lips until his lips felt raw from the friction. Lee's kisses weren't graceful, they weren't clean, yet Gaara loved them anyway.
"Lee." Gaara breathed, pulling away from Lee a fraction, only to have Lee pull him back in with a whine. "Lee stop." Gaara pulled away again and Lee paused long enough to look at Gaara. His lips rubbed red, cheeks pink, eyes blown wide, hair a complete mess. Beautiful. Lee gave him one last kiss, a soft kiss. He didn't close his eyes completely. They were half lidded and Gaara and Lee stared at each other as Lee gave him the final kiss.
"Dunwanna stop." Lee admitted softly and hugged Gaara tight. "So perfect." Lee stroked Gaara's hair. "Yer my special person." Lee kissed the top of Gaara's head. "Protect you fer'rver..." Lee's voice trailed off and suddenly he was snoring.
Gaara waited a moment before untangling himself from Lee's body. Gaara pulled the blanket over Lee, left the room and climbed into his own bed. Gaara stared at the ceiling for a while. He wasn't sure what just happened and he felt a burning in his stomach. A mixture of guilt and want. Lee probably wouldn't even remember what happened tonight and Gaara wouldn't remind him. He felt as if it would be too selfish.
Was Lee selfish? Gaara cuddled deeper into his own bed as he contemplated. Probably. Who wasn't selfish sometimes? All Gaara knew was he loved Lee. He loved Lee so much it hurt to think about. He wasn't entirely sure that anything would come from tonight. Especially if Lee didn't even remember it happened.
Lee noticed that Gaara was acting oddly the next few days. With a resigned sigh, he supposed it was because Gaara was preparing to tell him he was dating Ino. Those two seemed to always be together.
The problem with Lee is that he couldn't take it anymore. Sasuke was ignoring him, Naruto was awkward around both of them and didn't want to take sides. Sakura was being more demanding since movie night and he finally got the lecture for Ino coming over that he knew was inevitable. He tried to reason that it was Gaara's house too and Gaara could bring whomever he wanted over but that didn't bode well either. Then it turned into him always talking about Gaara which didn't make sense because she was the one that brought him up to begin with. Women were exhausting.
"Hey Gaara." Lee's voice surprised even himself. Gaara pulled the earbud from his ear and looked up at Lee with those wide, curious eyes. Lee dreamt about those eyes. Mostly those eyes blown wide with lust. Just the thought of that dream made Lee shiver.
"Yes, Lee?" Gaara was sitting on his bed, cross-legged with a book in his lap doing homework and listening to music. Lee gave Gaara his tablet so Gaara could go online which was oddly something Gaara never had a lot of access to before. Lee made a mental note that he should give Gaara a music player since Gaara was just using YouTube to listen to music. There were better apps than that but Gaara was a slow learner with technology.
"Today is my fight with Sasuke at the dojo. We planned to do this a few weeks ago to get some interest back in the dojo. I was wondering if you would like to go... You could bring Ino if you would like." Lee said with a soft smile. A smile that seemed off.
"Yeah I'll be there. Kakashi already invited me." Lee blushed slightly. Obviously he was invited already.
"Oh. Right. Well cool. I'll see you then..." Lee gave an awkward nod and turned to leave the room.
"Lee." Lee stopped himself at an embarrassingly fast pace and turned to look at Gaara again. "I have to talk to you." Lee wanted to squirm where he stood. Is this where Gaara told him about dating Ino? Lee wanted to run away. There was nothing preparing him for that.
"Okay." He choked out and Gaara motioned to the end of the bed and Lee sat down and looked at Gaara. Gaara bit the inside of his lip and shifted on the bed.
"I want to start by saying I didn't even know this was a thing but I guess it is and I don't know who else to talk to and you're my best friend so..." Lee watched Gaara with interest. "I was having difficulty my entire life with emotions and feelings since... I wasn't... allowed to have them. No one explained them to me. I never had a computer or a phone to look things up. And there's also the whole I didn't know they existed until a few days ago... I did research and I thought I could label myself but it's hard. I thought I was asexual when I read what it meant because it was everything I felt. Something happened and I realize that isn't it and I just wanted to tell someone since... it's the first time I've had an inkling of what I felt and it was validated." Gaara paused for a while. It was strange, he wasn't used to labels they were new, but he knew there was a stigma around them and he didn't want Lee to look at him differently.
"What do you think your label is, Gaara?" Lee coaxed gently and Gaara pursed his lips.
"I read a lot about... demisexual and it makes sense..." Since there were so many labels, Lee had to run through his memory to remember which one demisexual was.
"That's the one where... you're only sexually attracted to someone you love?" Lee asked unsurely and Gaara nodded. Lee smiled. "That is lovely, Gaara." A thought dawned on Lee that had his stomach lurch. "How... did you learn that? Were you... intimate with someone... you love?" Lee asked awkwardly and blushed. "Y-you don't have to answer that. I understand it's personal." Gaara looked down at his lap. If he said yes, maybe Lee would understand that he loved him. It was going to be difficult to admit, but he wanted Lee to see him so bad.
"Yes." Gaara admitted to the quiet room. Lee sat still, his body was thrumming and his heart broke. The thought of someone touching Gaara made him sick. Lee was so angry, so incredibly jealous he wanted to vomit. He tried to look up at Gaara but it was hard. He just kept thinking of someone's hands all over his body. Of Ino's hands on his body. He needed air, he was lightheaded.
"Uh, that is... great. I am happy for you. I-I... Excuse me." Lee knew it wasn't very smooth but he stumbled off of the bed and fleed the room quickly. His eyes burned when he was in the safety of his own room. He closed the door and leaned his body on the door and slid down to the ground and hugged his knees. He knew he was being selfish. He had Sakura and Gaara had no one. He should be happy for his friend! Lee wanted so badly to be happy for Gaara but it was so incredibly hard! He wouldn't be able to look at Ino now without thinking of the two of them. Gaara was his! His special person!
Lee's throat felt tight and he hiccupped. Suddenly tears were pouring from his eyes and he couldn't stop himself from crying. It hurt so badly. All he could think about was how much he loved Gaara. How perfect he was in every way. Lee pulled out his phone and turned it on and went to his gallery where he had his pictures of him and Gaara. It was silly to be so upset over this, especially to treat this like a break up.
Even so, Lee looked at the pictures of them apple picking, he looked at the pictures of Gaara making pastries in the kitchen. He had pictures of Gaara sleeping on the couch and pictures with Gaara and Kakashi cooking at the stove. There were some of Gaara lounging on their deck by the fire pit roasting marshmallows, Gaara climbing trees, selfies of Lee and Gaara in random places. Lee had a picture of them at the grocery store, Lee was grinning next to the tank of fish and Gaara was staring blankly at the camera. There were car selfies with Gaara sitting cross-legged on the passenger seat drinking a milkshake. Gaara petting random stray animals and Lee looking amazed that these animals letting Gaara pet them (a deer, a squirrel, a groundhog, an opossum.)
When had they drifted so far apart? When did Lee let Sakura take control over his time? Why had he let Sakura take over his time? She wasn't worth it. She didn't make Lee feel like how Gaara did. It was wrong to even continue the relationship! Lee rubbed his face trying to wipe away the tears but more just kept coming out. Lee's phone vibrated in his hand and he saw Sakura's picture flash on the screen. It was a picture he took of her at the autumn festival that he honestly wanted to take Gaara to. The entire time he just kept thinking it would've been better if he brought Gaara.
Lee stared at the picture with a disdain he didn't know he felt until the call stopped and the picture of Gaara in the apple tree popped up on the screen. Lee's lips pressed firmly together and he stared at the beautiful eyes and laid on the floor just regretting the choices he's made.
Gaara stared at Lee flee the room and his heart clenched. He really hoped Lee didn't remember that they were... somewhat intimate the other night and that's why he left and not because he did remember but he didn't feel the same way for Gaara.
Gaara sighed deeply and felt his phone vibrate. He took it out of his pocket and admired the screen. It was an old Samsung phone Kakashi had from when he upgraded his phone. This one was two years old, which apparently to some teenagers was a big deal. Gaara loved it. Kakashi gave it to him last week and added him to their phone plan. He apologized for the shitty-ness and offered to let Gaara get a better phone but Gaara insisted he kept that one.
When he switched phones he transferred all of his pictures over so now he had a lot of pictures of pastries and Lee. He had so many pictures of Lee. Gaara's phone's background was actually a picture of Lee. The first picture he took of him in the tree. His old phone's camera quality wasn't anything special but even so, it was his favorite picture. The only one to see his phone background was Ino. She asked if she could look something up on his phone and he didn't mind. He told her the drawn pattern on the unlock screen was just a U and when she unlocked the phone she looked up at him with an expression between humor and "really?" Gaara's ears turned pink, he went back to cutting the cookies and she laughed at him.
"I didn't think you had a crush THAT big." She teased and leaned on the table next to him and Gaara glared at her and she hit him with her hip. "It's cute. Nice picture. Almost makes him look attractive."
"He is attractive." Gaara insisted quietly and Ino grinned at him.
"You're so sweet when you're in ~love~!" She said in a sing-song voice. Gaara wasn't amused.
Gaara stared at his background until his timer ran out and the screen shut off. He didn't know what to do. Did he tell Ino? What would she think? Would she be angry that Lee would cheat on Sakura as he had? Would she laugh with glee that Sakura's boyfriend didn't even seem to like her enough? Gaara wasn't sure. He didn't want to air out their business but he wished he could talk to someone.
Suddenly Gaara's phone vibrated and a picture of Ino covered the screen. It was a picture of her at work, a selfie. She was sticking out her tongue and winking, holding the phone up high enough to see Gaara working in the background, glaring at her taking the picture. When did she put that as her contact photo?
"Hello?" Gaara answered much quieter than usual.
"...Lee?" Gaara made a grunt of agreement. "I'll be there in 10 minutes. Be outside!" She hung up and he sighed. She wouldn't take no for an answer even if she gave him time to say no.
Gaara got dressed. He put on a pair of Lee's sweatpants he had from the other night with their school's logo on them. Freytown Foxes. Their colors were navy blue with orange lettering and their mascot was a fox which Naruto actually dressed as the mascot for pep-rallies and games. (He said it was super fun but really hot. Plus he got to dance with cheerleaders. Sasuke rolled his eyes.) Gaara grabbed one of his only sweaters, his dark red one. He looked at himself in the mirror and noticed absolutely nothing about his outfit matched. He grabbed his green hat and tan boots and walked downstairs.
"Where ya goin?" Kakashi asked and Gaara looked back at him. Kakashi could tell something was wrong. "Going out with Ino?" Gaara nodded slowly and Kakashi nodded at him. "Be safe. Text me if you won't be home." Gaara nodded and left the house. Kakashi looked up and saw Lee at the top of the stairs.