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"If I had known we would be hiking I would have dressed more appropriately." Gaara yanks at his coat from where it's gotten pathetically tangled in the underbrush.
Lee laughs easily. "This is not a hike! Hokage mountain — that’s a hike. This is merely a..." as he thinks, he crouches in the dirt to work the hem of Gaara's coat free. Gaara's heart, ever traitorous, leaps against its cage. “A friendly walk!” Lee finishes.
Lee leans back to inspect the hem for any lasting damage, his concentrated frown furrowing his brows and scrunching his nose up cutely. When he finds none, Lee smiles wide, like saving Gaara's old coat from damage is the best thing that’s happened to him all day.
Gaara clears his throat. "You did not have to do that."
He winces. That was not the thanks it was meant to be.
"Nonsense! It's an honour to help my friends!" Lee laughs a little, shy but not without sincerity, and drops his head slightly. It’s not enough to hide the twin spots of red blooming over the tops of his ears. Shy , then. "It's an honour to help you , Gaara-kun. Always."
He knows what he should say in situations like this. The words Temari told him to say when she’d cornered him and scolded him about how he deserves to experience the wonders of mutual love . And that means getting your head out of your ass and telling him how you feel, you numbskull! Gaara had scoffed then (quietly, as not to incur her wrath).
He should say: Thank you, Lee. It's the same for me as well , and then Lee would blush and smile, and duck his head the way he does when anyone is kind to him.
Instead, Gaara nods and turns his head away. Keeps his mouth shut . Chokes down the words that always seem to be climbing up his throat when he's around Lee because he’s only ever been good at giving commands anyways.
"We're burning daylight just sitting here!" If Lee's smile slips a little at Gaara's lackluster reaction, it goes unnoticed, because Lee turns to continue trudging forwards. Gaara tries not to dwell on the sight of Lee's back, usually so broad and welcoming, turned to him and how it makes something squeeze deep in his chest. Distantly, he brings a hand up to his chest. He follows blindly after Lee until he loses sight of him in the dense foliage.
Lee cuts a solid figure through the trees, green on green but still he stands out. It's impossible to lose track of someone as bright and beautifu l as Lee. All Gaara has to do is follow. Lee keeps turning around, like he's afraid Gaara will disappear if he doesn't check on him every ten seconds. It makes Gaara a little dizzy whenever their eyes lock over Lee's shoulder, and Lee grins with more fatality than the desert sun. It makes him want to hide, just to see Lee's reaction, to see if his face would crumple in the way Gaara rarely gets to see. And perhaps, that does make him a little mean.
"Stop." Too harsh. "Lee, wait for me. Please."
Lee stops obediently, tilts his head at Gaara as he catches up. Gaara doesn't scramble — that’s undignified and he's the Kazekage. If his foot gets caught in a malicious root and he stumbles into Lee's open arms it's all on purpose.
Gaara grips the underside of Lee’s elbows and rights himself with as much dignity as he can. “Thank you. We should walk side by side. It’s easier.” He says.
Lee smiles at him again. “What a brilliant idea, Gaara-kun!”
Moments later, Lee catches him by the hand so he doesn’t go stumbling headfirst into a thorny bush, something Gaara could have easily used his sand for/even though Gaara could just have easily used his sand. Lee smiles at him sheepishly and almost moves away but Gaara uses the opportunity to lace their fingers together. Neither of them let go for the rest of their walk, and Gaara thinks to himself: Brilliant indeed.
“There it is!” Lee exclaims, picking up his pace eagerly. Gaara regretfully drops his hand before he can yank the arm out of its socket.
The soft hum of flowing water that accompanied them through their walk gradually turns into a gentle roar as Gaara steps into the clearing. This much water in a single place never fails to stun him , just a little each time. Lee runs up to the water and sits in the bank, heedless of mud. Gaara steps up behind him.
“Are you not going to swim?” Gaara asks. He’d heard Lee was especially fond of swimming, and was even willing to engage in it with him, no matter how out his element he’d be.
Lee shivers. “No way. I’d freeze the moment I stepped out.”
Gaara crouches in the bank next to him. Lee rests his chin on his knees and smiles at him sideways, soft. “The water’s warm, though.”
“Huh.”
Lee dips the tips of his fingers in the rushing river and splashes it at Gaara. Gaara flinches violently, landing halfway on his back with his elbows propping him up. Lee stands up over Gaara, pretending to be concerned when he leans over but his laughter is obvious in the tremble of his bottom lip and the light in his eyes. Gaara finds he doesn’t mind it too much, especially when Lee holds out two hands for him, his easy thoughtfulness making Gaara blink fast. Lee always reaches out with both hands, opening himself up to Gaara with the same dazzling smile. Because one hand is good but Lee is always better than just good. Gaara places his hands in Lee’s and lets himself be pulled up.
His eyes are soft and he’s smiling. He’s beautiful and Gaara feels the force of it pulling him in by the heartstrings. Sunlight dances through the leaves and across brown skin in unidentifiable shapes. Gaara should say it. This roiling, sticky-sweet feeling that makes talking to Lee feel like he's drowning in honey; he wants Lee to know.
“Lee— I. Uhm.” Gaara says then cringes because he never hesitates. “I think you’re a great shinobi and an incredible person.’
Lee fidgets, a pleased flush rising to his face. “Really?” He asks.
“ Yes of course. You’ve become someone that is precious to me, as a comrade and my closest friend. And— as something more, I hope.” Gaara continues, then, because Lee has an annoying habit of second guessing everything, he adds “With you. Romantically.”
And Gaara’s never been a romantic, not like Lee. But he’s gone over this moment with a fury that could almost be seen as obsessive, perfected it— Temari calls it daydreaming. Baki calls it neglecting his duties.
The confession, like the ones in Shikamaru’s books that he memorized alone in his office. Lee, I like you. I like you, Lee.
He can see it in his mind’s eye. The way Lee would freeze, blush, stammer and inevitably tear up. His eventual admission. Actually, Gaara (Lee always calls him by his name here) I’ve liked you for quite some time as well. The wonders of mutual love. Maybe even a kiss—if he’s lucky.
Gaara, still holding both of Lee’s hands in his, takes Lee’s other hand and brings the palm up to his mouth, pressing his lips against the groove of his heartline over the bandages. Lee jolts like he’s been shocked, staring down at Gaara with his wide, dark and fathomless eyes. Somehow Gaara feels like he’s the one with his hands captured, pinned down by the crushing weight of Lee’s gaze. Still, he pushes on. He’s kept these feelings to himself for months, probably even longer, suffered with feeling his heart clench every time Lee threw his head back to laugh or smiled that soft, gentle smile. He’ll be damned if he lets himself back out now.
Lee’s eyes fill with tears. “ Gaara. ” He whispers, quietly shocked.
“Lee.”
“I— Gaara- I never- I-”
“You?” He mocks, mean on impulse.
“Gaara! Do not tease me!” Lee huffs. Gaara places a flighty placating kiss on the pad of Lee’s thumb, watches as all the fight drains out of Lee at once, his eyes dropping to Gaara’s mouth with a quiet sigh. “You confessed so bravely. I mean, don’t… don’t you want to know my response?”
Gaara stares at him for too long without speaking. With every second, Lee’s blush turns darker and he becomes increasingly flustered. Finally, Gaara smiles.
“I know your answer.”
The kiss isn't anything special, nothing absolutely mind blowing. It's kind of sloppy really, but Gaara would be lying to himself if he said it didn't make his hands shake and his knees weak. He moves his hands so they're cupping Lee's face gently before his legs give out underneath him.
Lee is as eager about this as he is about everything, and Gaara is quietly surprised by the enthusiasm he feels behind every movement Lee makes. There isn't much Gaara can do about it, though, so he scrapes his teeth over Lee's bottom lip, tries to maybe get him to calm down. Lee makes a low noise in the back of his throat at the contact and his hands scramble for purchase in Gaara’s hair, which would be endearing if it weren't so painful. Without breaking the kiss, Gaara untangles the other boy’s hands from their place in his hair and brings them down to roam his chest. Lee doesn’t react but to continue kissing Gaara with as much passion as before, squeezing the fabric of Gaara’s coat in his fists.
“Was… was it bad?” Lee asks shakily. He hunches into himself, shoulders crawling up to his ears. Lee always somehow manages to look up at Gaara through his lashes despite having a good 3 or so inches on him. Gaara spends too long staring again and tears spring to Lee’s eyes again. This time, Lee rips his hands away from Gaara’s to rub viciously at his face. That won’t do.
“It wasn’t bad.” Gaara pulls Lee’s hands back to himself, holds them ever tighter as if he can stop Lee from letting go ever again. Lee blinks at him with tears clumped in his eyelashes like stars. “I enjoyed it. I would not have kissed you if I wasn’t certain it would be pleasant.”
“And was it?”
“What.”
Lee looks away but Gaara swerves, pushes himself back into Lee’s line of sight. “The kiss. Was it…” He blushes furiously. “Pleasant?”
Gaara pulls Lee in by his hands and lays them to rest on his shoulders and they immediately make fists, crumpling the fabric there. Still, he feels himself smile as he leans into Lee’s space once more. “Most definitely.”