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Gaara lingered at the edge of the training field, watching Lee slam his foot again and again into a wooden post. The air smelled like dandelion weed and fresh-cut grass. There was a certain longing he associated with the action, a prick of desire that stung at him when he watched Lee’s long legs extend and contract, sweat and muscles rippling in the sunshine.
He sighed, leaning against a tree, letting the bark chafe at his bare arm.
The tree shook; a smattering of leaves rained down around him.
Gaara squinted up into the sunlight to see his brother standing upside-down on the underside of one of the tree’s lower branches. He looked ridiculous, the flap of his hood and the hem of his long black jacket flipped up and dangling.
“Hey, squirt,” he said. “Still mooning over Bowlcut Boy over there?”
“I’m not mooning,” Gaara replied hotly.
“You sure? ‘Cause it kind of looks like you’re moping around under a tree staring at him like this.” Kankuro huffed an affected sigh and crossed his arms dramatically in imitation of Gaara’s posture. “‘Ohhh, Lee,’” Kankuro said in a raspy falsetto, “‘I love the way your bowlcut shines in the sun. Please, telepathically detect that I have the hots for you while I stare at you unblinkingly like a lizard.’”
“I did not say that,” Gaara objected, his voice a whisper. “And please, keep it down. He might hear you.”
“Maybe not,” Kankuro drawled, flipping off the branch to stand on the ground, “but it’s written all-ll-ll over your face.” He pointed at Gaara’s face and spun his finger around. “Why not just nut up and confess already?”
Gaara swatted his hand away.
“It’s complicated,” he hissed. “Lee … is complicated.”
Kankuro quirked one painted eyebrow.
“Lee, complicated? Rock Lee? The guy who calls himself the Handsome Green Devil of the Leaf Village?” Kankuro chuckled. “I know you like the guy, but he’s about as deep as a bowl of porridge.”
Gaara leveled Kankuro with a warning stare, his lips thinning.
“He contains hidden multitudes,” he said sharply.
Kankuro raised two defensive hands.
“Okay, okay. Whatever you say. That doesn’t explain why you can’t just ask him out.”
Gaara exhaled through his nose and tucked his hands more securely under his arms, fiddling with the leather panels of his jacket.
“I’m not yet sure if he returns my feelings.”
Kankuro leaned back, startled.
“Seriously? Gaara, the guy follows you around the village every time you visit Konoha, making those googly eyes at you. It’s like every other word out of his mouth is Gaara-kun this, Gaara-kun that.” Kankuro adopted a shrill and formal tone. “‘Gaara-kun, isn’t the sunshine just lovely? Gaara-kun, would you like to share a bowl of ramen? Oh, Gaa-aa-aa-ra-kun, please come spar with me!’”
Gaara grimaced.
“That’s the problem,” he said. “He’s like that with everyone.”
Kankuro seemed to take a moment to think it over.
“Okay,” he said, pointing at Gaara. “That’s fair. But c’mon, man, the dude’s a huge softie romantic. Even if he’s not into you now, all it would take is a couple minutes of hardcore flirting and he’d probably fall head-over-heels for you.”
Gaara sniffed.
“If it’s so easy, I’d like to see you try it.”
“Is that a challenge?” Kankuro asked, a mischievous light in his eyes.
“No, it was a colloquialism.”
Kankuro rolled his eyes, tapping his chin as if deep in thought.
“Mmm, nope, big word, haven’t heard of it,” Kankuro said, a jolly grin on his face. “So here’s the deal, I’m gonna go over there and hit on Bowlcut. If I can get him to agree to go on a date with me, then you have to sack up and ask him out.”
“That seems counter-productive.”
“Too late, here I go!” Kankuro called over his shoulder, jogging towards Lee.
“Wait!” Gaara called after his retreating back. “It was just a figure of speech!”
Kankuro strolled up and stopped next to the training post Lee was attacking. He took a moment to adjust his clothing, then assumed his most debonaire pose.
Lee paused in his kicks and turned to regard him, a puzzled look on his face.
“Oh, Kankuro-kun!” he said brightly. “I didn’t notice you were here! Isn’t it a beautiful day out? Perfect for training!”
Kankuro looked over his shoulder at Gaara, who was making an expression that could be summed up as See what I mean?
Kankuro would not let himself be deterred.
“So, big boy,” he said, leaning suggestively against the training post. “You come here often?”
“Yes!” Lee said cheerfully. “Every morning at 7 AM unless I’m on a mission or in the hospital. Now please, step aside, I have one hundred and fourteen kicks left to complete and I do not want you to get hurt.”
“Oh, you don’t need to worry about me,” Kankuro said, flexing his biceps. The effect was somewhat lost under his baggy coat. “I’m sure I can handle whatever you throw my w-”
Lee’s kick resounded through the training post. With a snap, the massive oaken structure titled and began to fall towards Kankuro.
“Shit!” Kankuro yelled, skidding backwards. He quickly released several chakra threads from his fingers and stabilized the post in mid-air.
“I’m terribly sorry, Kankuro-kun!” Lee cried. He grabbed the wooden post from the air and laid it gently on the ground, as if he were cradling an infant. “I did try to warn you!”
On the other side of the training field, Temari walked up behind Gaara.
“You’re late for your three o’clock meeting,” she said from just over his shoulder. “They sent me to come get you.”
“I’ll be there momentarily,” Gaara grunted.
“Still enjoying your front row tickets to the Lee show, or- “ Temari fell silent. “Wait, what is Kankuro doing over there?”
“He is attempting to seduce Lee,” Gaara replied with feigned indifference.
“But doesn’t he know that you- ?”
“Yes.”
“So why is he- ?”
“He’s trying to prove a point in order to encourage me to ask Lee on a date.”
“That seems counter-productive,” Temari said with a huff.
“That’s what I said.”
Kankuro, having regained his footing, was unwilling to give up. He was going to show his little brother how it was done, and then him and Bowlcut would get together, and be happy, and have a dozen odd-eyebrowed babies, damn it!
“Hey,” Kankuro said, smiling rakishly, “is your dad a thief? Because he stole all the stars and-”
Lee, who had just finished re-seating the training post in its moorings and was dusting his hands off, looked at Kankuro with his eyebrows furrowed.
“My parents are both dead,” Lee said abruptly. “I’m an orphan. I thought you knew?”
Kankuro clapped his hands to his face, dragging his fingers down his cheeks and smudging his facepaint. How could the guy be so dense?
“No, I mean,” Kankuro explained, striking another pose - his sexiest yet, if he did say so himself, “did it hurt? When you fell from- “
“I had a minor spill this morning, but I am just fine!” Lee beamed, flashing Kankuro a thumbs-up. “Thank you for your concern!”
Kankuro rolled his eyes, groaning.
“Seriously, how can you not tell I’m trying to ask you out?” he shouted.
Lee’s face fell. His little turtle mouth collapsed into a frown.
“Oh, Kankuro-kun,” he said, slowly. “I’m so sorry, but I’m not able to accept. There is ... “ He looked over Kankuro’s shoulder at something in the far distance. “... someone else. I would be honored to remain your friend!”
Kankuro threw his hands up in defeat.
“Oh my god, never mind!” he yelled, and turned to stalk off.
“You’re right,” he said, as he brushed past Gaara. “The kid’s a lost cause.”
Gaara watched with wide eyes as his brother stomped off the side of the field to pout.
“Come on,” Temari said, gently taking Gaara’s shoulder. “Let’s get you to your meeting before the Hokage blows a gasket.”
“Oh, Gaara-kun!” Lee called, hurrying over. “Are you leaving already?”
“I’m running late for a meeting,” Gaara said, a bit regretfully.
“Oh, well, I do not mean to keep you, but-” Lee faltered, hand coming up to cup the back of neck. The tips of his ears were red. It was charming in the effortless sort of way that everything about Lee was charming. “- can I speak to you for a moment in private?”
“Of course,” Gaara replied, as Lee led him to stand some distance away from where his siblings were whispering behind cupped hands.
Lee grinned at Gaara, his teeth flashing in the sunlight. Gaara couldn’t help but smile in return, a bit less broad, but no less sincere.
“We’ve been spending a lot of time together recently,” Lee began.
“We have,” Gaara confirmed with a nod.
“And, my feelings for you have grown … quite profound,” Lee confessed. “Um, I hope that this will not upset your brother, and I apologize for not making this known before. I only recently came to the realization myself.”
Checkmate, Kankuro, Gaara thought. Hidden multitudes.
Gaara looked into Lee’s wide, dark eyes, his expression open and hopeful. Lee reached down and took both of Gaara’s hands in his own.
“Please don’t trouble yourself over Kankuro,” he urged Lee. “He is an idiot. Now what was it you were wanting to say?”
“I was hoping … you might join me for dinner tonight?” Lee asked.
Gaara’s head spun dizzily. He and Lee had shared many meals together before, but the meaning of the gesture - the high blush on Lee’s cheeks, the heavy way he said each word, the heat and dampness of his palms - was not lost on him.
“Of course, Lee,” Gaara said, once he had found his voice. “I would like that very much.”
“Then it’s a date!” Lee cried, practically vibrating with excitement.
“It’s a date,” Gaara replied, his face burning.
Lee leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. Gaara felt the world fade out around him.
“I’ll pick you up after your meeting?” Lee said.
As Gaara nodded numbly, he heard Kankuro shout behind him.
“Oh, come the fuck on!”