Chapter Text
Gaara was just beginning his induction ceremony for his position as Kazekage. Since Konoha considered Suna their allies, it was decided a small team would be sent to show support for their new leader. And that team was Team Gai.
Lee had become incredibly fascinated with Gaara. He was proud of his growth, glad he could see him making strides to become a better, more complete version of himself.
He watched the elaborate process as village elders swathed Gaara in ceremonial robes that were much too large for him. The sleeves covered his hands and he had to hold his robes up to avoid tripping on them as he walked. It was almost endearing, seeing this boy holding up fistfuls of fabric as he prepared to accept the position as a village leader. The visual proved to these people who used to scorn his name that Gaara wasn't a weapon, or a disgrace, or a monster.
He was fifteen. He was a child.
When the ceremony concluded, the council hosted a formal dinner where Gaara was placed at a large front table with his two siblings. The people of Suna were invited to come speak to him as they pleased and the dinner served as a means for Gaara to socialize while council members supervised.
Lee glanced around the hall and nervously pulled at the high collar of his coat.
“What's your deal?” Tenten said next to him. The ornaments in her hair glinted under the expensive light fixture hanging above their table. Her eyebrows pinched together in concern.
“W-what? Nothing!” Lee waved a defensive hand. He stole another glance at Gaara's table. Gaara's hands were placed one over the other, the sleeves from his robes covering his fingertips. Temari reached out to pull his shirtsleeve up from where it began to slide off his shoulder.
“Are you looking at the Kazekage?!” She looked in the same direction and Lee pulled her away.
“Don't be so obvious!” he whispered haughtily. Gai shot the two of them a look. Neji rolled his eyes. “He just looks… so lonely.”
“He has his siblings,” Tenten remarked.
“No, I mean… none of the villagers are coming to talk to him,” Lee mused. He flicked at a stray piece of hair that fell away from its slicked position.
Tenten shoveled a massive bite of food into her mouth. “Then you go talk to him,” she said in a muffled voice.
Lee couldn't help but think of how much Gaara had changed since their last encounter. He had saved his life and escorted him back to the village. He considered Gaara his friend.
Lee's mouth curved downward into its usually determined turtle-like pout. The chair skidded as he pushed himself to standing and made his way over to Gaara, perhaps swinging his arms and legs too widely as he moved.
A couple of nearby Anbu jumped on the defensive. Lee happened to catch a glimpse of their feet burying into sand that grasped softly around their ankles. He immediately recognized this as Gaara's sand and relaxed.
When he reached the table, Gaara looked up at him, the black rims around his eyes accentuating their already large size. He tucked a long piece of his auburn hair behind his ear. The waves in his hair were certainly more defined than the last time they met. He offered Lee the tiniest smile from where he sat.
“Hello, Gaa--ahh… Kazekage-sama.” Lee rubbed the back of his neck.
“Hello, Lee.” Gaara tilted his head to the side, eyes trained to Lee's thick eyebrows. “Nice to see you out of the hospital for once.”
Lee wasn't sure what to say to that. He offered a weak smile and pushed his hair back needlessly, hoping his eyebrows weren't too much of a distraction from the conversation. He had Tenten clean them up before they left for Suna, but their thickness was still unmatched. Especially now that his forehead was exposed.
“I like your head shape,” Gaara said. He didn't break eye contact, just stared straight at Lee, practically boring holes into his face.
“Um, thank you… sir,” Lee said. Kankuro let out a slight laugh that he disguised as a cough. Temari shot him a look.
“Yes.” Gaara nodded thoughtfully.
He glanced at the Anbu around them and returned the sand to his gourd, certain they weren't going to harm Lee. He looked between his siblings and stood up. He pressed his lips into a thin line, making his chubby cheeks look softer than they were. Gaara placed an arm on Kankuro's shoulder to get his attention, draping the long, white fabric over him. “I'm tired. I want to go home.”
“It's been twenty minutes,” Kankuro sighed.
Temari joined in on his other side. “Gaara, you've hardly eaten.”
Gaara didn't like that response. He turned to his sister and spoke brazenly. “I'm the Kazekage. I can do what I want. And I want to go home.”
He blocked his siblings off with a wall of sand and childishly crawled underneath the table. The two of them sighed as the Anbu looked on, confused by the strange display. Lee turned to the villagers who surrounded the hall, but they were too busy talking amongst themselves and reveling in the nature of the party, to see what was going on.
Lee turned back and sighed. He pulled at the tablecloth and exposed a small, curled up Gaara. Lee opted to do what he wished someone else would do for him, so he dropped to his knees and crawled under the table with Gaara. He pulled the cloth down and smoothed it out to cover them from the party. The wall of sand was dense behind them and the glow of the warm lights peered through the thin fabric.
Gaara pulled at the long robes that he was drowning in and wrapped them around his body. Lee smiled.
“Hello, Kazekage-sama,” Lee tried. He scooted a little closer and was surprised when he felt Gaara lean his head against his shoulder. The wispy, red hair that sprung off his head tickled Lee's chin.
“I don't want to be here,” he pouted. “How does a dinner party make the village a better place?”
Lee nodded thoughtfully. It was a rhetorical question, but he at least wanted to show Gaara he was on the same page. He'd never seen Gaara sulk before, so this was definitely interesting. But he knew Gaara needed support.
Piles of fabric pressed against Lee's crossed legs as Gaara spilled into his lap. A small sigh escaped from his lips. Lee pressed a reassuring hand to his back and rubbed softly for a few minutes while they sat under the table. The sounds of the party only grew louder and the siblings had ventured from the table to interact with villagers on Gaara's behalf.
“Do you want to go?” Gaara asked.
“Hm?” Lee leaned forward to look at his face.
Gaara looked up, pulling his squished cheek away from where it rested against Lee's knee. He pushed himself up and repeated the question. “Do you want to go?”
Lee cocked his head to the side. “Where?”
Gaara placed a pensive finger to his chin. He let out a tiny “oh” and covered Lee's face with the long sleeves of his robes as the two were enveloped in his Sand Transportation jutsu. A muffled yelp sounded from Lee's mouth and before he knew it, the two of them were in the cold desert, bathed in moonlight.
Lee pulled away panting. “What the heck?!”
Unfazed, Gaara stood up and called the sand back into his gourd. “You were going to get sand in your…” he gestured toward Lee's face, “... orifices.”
Lee squinted at the word choice. “You could have warned me!”
“Sorry,” he mumbled, pulling up the robes so they rested in his arms like a heap of laundry.
Suddenly feeling bad for his outburst, Lee bent forward and bowed. “Forgive me, Kazekage-sama. I didn't mean to raise my voice.”
“I thought it would be faster.”
Lee thought this over. It definitely was faster and at this point, he had no idea where they were or how far from the party they ended up. But he offered a smile. “A stealth mission would have been better training.”
“Stealth is futile when you can use a jutsu.” Gaara walked through the sand, halting slightly when he realized the implication of his words. He didn't turn to face Lee when he spoke. “Sorry.”
“Quite alright!” Lee offered a thumbs-up and a wide grin, even though Gaara couldn't see it. He hoped he'd at least feel the gesture. The heaps of fabric in Gaara's arms began to tumble forward, but he commanded the sand around them to catch it. “Do you need help?”
Gaara didn't say anything. He looked up at Lee and let the fabric fall to the ground. A cloud of sand burst around it from the impact, dust clinging to the edges of his ornate robes
Lee took this as a confirmation. He pulled a spool of gauze, generally used for his bandages, from his inner coat pocket and ripped off a piece. He ruffled the fabric of the robes and bunched it up, tying it securely so Gaara wouldn't trip. It resembled an unattractive bustle, but Gaara gave a small smile when he realized he could freely move his legs. He bounced up and down, assuring the tie was secure and shifted closer to Lee. He pulled Lee's arm closer to his body and held it for a few seconds before letting it fall back to Lee's side. Maybe that was his way of hugging him.
“Thank you,” he whispered, rolling his sleeves up. Lee helped him with the process.
“Mhm!” Lee walked alongside Gaara, who stared down at his feet. He didn't talk a whole lot, but he seemed a lot less on edge.
Lee found himself struggling to walk properly in the uneven sand and let out a slight laugh. “You make walking in sand look so easy.”
Gaara didn't say anything to this and simply straightened the sand to form a pathway, hovering a hand beside Lee. Lee took this as an indication that Gaara wanted to hold hands and laced their fingers together. He suddenly lost his footing, accidentally interrupting Gaara's handiwork.
“I was straightening it,” Gaara said. It came out so matter-of-factly, Lee didn't catch the meaning. But Gaara didn't let go of his hand.
“Huh?” Lee corrected his posture and looked down at Gaara.
“The sand. I was trying to help.”
Lee turned to see the trail of undisturbed sand that lied behind them. The puzzle pieces clicked together in his brain and he felt awkward having misinterpreted. “Ohhh! Gosh, I'm sorry!” He stumbled over his words. “Thank you! I… I didn't know! Here, let me--” Lee tried to pull his hand away.
“No,” Gaara squeezed his fingers tightly. “I like it.” Lee could have sworn his cheeks turned pink. “I can use my other hand.”
Lee squeezed back. “Okay!”
They walked through the desert, hand in hand, while Gaara continued straightening the sand pathway for Lee. They walked for several uninterrupted minutes until Lee heard a curious, airy sound. He turned to Gaara and realized it was a small laugh.
“What are you laughing at?” he asked with a grin.
“You wanna feel something weird?” Gaara's usual straight expression returned.
“Okay,” Lee obliged.
“I can shift the sand armor away from my palm. It's really gross, watch.” Gaara gave Lee a tiny smile as a rough, sandpapery feeling grazed the inside of his palm. He felt his hackles go up as the sand armor swirled away from Gaara's hand, exposing the soft, warm flesh underneath. It was hard to believe that Gaara's already soft hands were even softer now.
But he was right. It was kind of gross.
Lee looked down at their joined hands and noticed from the wrist down, the coloration of Gaara's skin was almost caramel.
“Whoa! Is that your hand without the armor?” Lee pulled their hands closer so he could see them in the moonlight. The skin underneath was incredibly smooth but it was almost… moist from being encased in so much of the armor. Either that or Gaara just had really sweaty hands.
“Yeah.”
“For real? Your skin is so beautiful!” He paused for a moment. “How come you cover it with the armor?”
“Desert sun,” was Gaara's clipped response. He looked up at Lee's exposed forehead. “You cover your forehead. And your eyebrows.”
Lee smiled, pressing light fingers to his skin. “That is true.”
Gaara didn't have much more to say.
They walked in silence for awhile until they came upon a small patch of cacti growing in coarser sand. Lee felt a tug at his hand as Gaara moved closer to it. He knelt down, the tied edges of his robes just barely dipping into the sand. Lee hoped he wouldn't get in trouble for getting such expensive-looking robes so dirty.
He poked at one of the spiny cacti. Sand was quick to block Gaara's fingers from the touch, protecting him as it always did. He looked to Lee and smiled.
“You are very strange,” Lee said. He didn't mean anything by it.
“You are, too. You shape your eyebrows differently when you're just going to dinner and your coat isn't tailored right,” Gaara said bluntly. He gave Lee a once-over and returned to the task of trying to poke the cactus. “My brother could probably fix it for you. He sews.”
“Oh. That would be nice,” Lee said. He poked at the sand around them, dragging his fingers along in abstract patterns. Then he spoke, as an afterthought, “I think if we lived in the same village as little kids, we would have been friends.”
Gaara stood up after awhile and glanced around the barren desert. His hand slipped from Lee's. For a moment, Lee thought he had said something wrong. He wiped his hands on his coat, preparing to apologize when Gaara disrupted his thoughts.
“I like you,” he said.
“I like you, too,” Lee patted Gaara's shoulder in a friendly manner, but Gaara pushed it away.
“Not in a friendly way.” Gaara looked up at the stars for a moment, deep in thought. “I would like to spend more time with you.”
“Really?” Lee found that hard to believe. But he appreciated it nonetheless. He began to develop feelings for Gaara after he had saved his life, but struggled with the prospect of never being able to confess those feelings in person. “But you are the Kazekage now… we could not possibly make that work.”
Gaara shook his head. “I will ask the council if you are suitable for my courtship.” The sand pulled Lee's hand in, so Gaara could encase it in his own. They continued their walk.
“Courtship?” Lee blanched.
Gaara whipped around to face him. He huffed. “Yes. It's a process. We spend time together and see if we will be compatible marriage partners.”
“Marriage?!” Lee shouted. His mind was racing with a million thoughts. “With me? Really? You… you just became Kazekage! And you could marry anyone you wanted! Would you not want someone who…” His voice quieted. “... looked less weird?”
His eyes narrowed. “I don't make stupid decisions.”
Lee tried to say more, but Gaara left it at that. They walked through the desert and quietly made their way back to the party.