Chapter Text
1.
Nights like these were ones that Rock Lee loved most.
It was early fall in Konoha, when the sweet stickiness of summer remained in the air, but the heat was not so unbearable, and he could finally sleep with blankets without being baked alive. Tonight was a particularly chilly one, not to mention damp. Thick drops of condensation gathered at the windows of Lee’s modest apartment, and the scenery beyond the glass was masked by a dark, heavy fog.
Although Lee usually dreaded the murkiness of fall and winter (his outdoor training had to be cut in half, begrudgingly), tonight it gave him the greatest gift of them all. Gaara, his boyfriend of over a year or so, was here, and he gets very cuddly when he’s cold. And who is Lee to deny such a thing?
“...Lee, come to bed already, I’m freezing” a familiar voice whined, muffled slightly from the layers of blankets he trapped himself under.
Just the thought of Gaara cuddling up to him was enough for his heart to swell with affection. So, with probably a little too much enthusiasm for the dead of night, Lee planted himself onto his side of the bed with a grin spread wide on his face.
Gaara chuckled softly at him. “What’s making you smile so much?...Not that I mind, of course.”
“Well, I love Gaara cuddles, of course! Why would I not smile when you are right here?”
The sand ninja’s face burned as bright as his hair, limply letting himself get scooped up in Lee’s arms and rearranged so his head rested snugly upon the leaf nin’s chest. Ah, yes. This is what he’d been looking forward to, ever since Gaara had arrived earlier today for a diplomatic meeting with Konoha. Lee loved spending time alone with Gaara–it gave them both time to breathe and decompress.
A few minutes after being properly tangled, though, Lee was awoken with a pressure, and the sounds of fabric shifting.
Gaara was nuzzling him.
Honestly, Lee was surprised Gaara didn’t stop rubbing his cheek against his chest, with how loud his heart was beating. This man was going to be the death of him! It wasn’t until tears started to well up in his eyes that Gaara noticed.
“Hn..? Lee, are you alright?” he murmured, eyes staring worriedly into Lee’s.
“Yes! Yes, everything’s fine. You are just- You are so cute, you act like a cat sometimes,” Lee chuckled, wiping his eyes with his free arm.
“Oh… is that a bad thing?” he asked, tilting his head a bit.
“Not at all!! I just love you so much, sometimes I cannot help but cry!”
“I love you too, Lee,” Gaara responded, and leaned forward to peck the other’s lips before falling into a gentle slumber.
2.
Gaara is such a bad influence, Lee huffed to himself while mixing a couple eggs. It was 7:30 AM, and Lee should have been up 2 hours ago. But Gaara had simply been too alluring! That bastard, using his sleepy cuteness to bring him back to bed. Now he’d have to shorten his daily jog to 10 miles instead of his usual 20, though when he brought it up to Gaara, he didn’t look as bothered about it as he was.
Lee was currently cooking breakfast for the both of them, just a simple dish of eggs and some reheated roasted veggies over rice. He was certain Gaara would be up any minute now, the smell of food and coffee (Lee didn’t drink the stuff, but he always kept some for when Gaara visits)being too hard to ignore. Low and behold, around 5 minutes later Lee could hear the distinct tap of bare feet against wood, and in came a sleepy Gaara.
“Good Morning!!” Lee greeted brightly, earning a small grunt from the shorter man. “I made breakfast! It isn’t much, but it’s all I had that wasn’t curry.”
Gaara opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by a big yawn. He raised his arms and streeeetched, arching his back and getting a few satisfying pops in return. Lee’s heart panged in his chest, eyes wide and staring. He was so… catlike.
“..Hm?” Gaara hummed, raising his brow.
Immediately, Lee was woken from his spell, heat rushing to his face. “Sorry! Sorry. It’s nothing. I left your coffee on the counter!” Lee exclaimed, grabbing his bowl of food and digging in.
3.
Their breakfast was quiet, comfortably so. The morning sun was soft and inviting, and the lack of small talk was filled by the distant chirping of birds and squirrels. Moments like these made Lee love Gaara even more. Having his boyfriend just living in the same space as him, being able to sit in comfortable silence and not having to fill their little time together with dates and sparring and breathless strings of kisses. Although Lee was more than happy to train and spar (it was one of his favorite activities, in fact), something about the quiet moments basking in the Kazekage's presence was something he treasured more than anything. It was as if a puzzle piece was finally put into place, without him realizing it was gone at all.
He wanted to live his life together with Gaara.
Lee knew they both had their own duties to attend to, and their respective jobs are painfully far away from each other. But maybe, once Lee is ready, he can live with Gaara in Suna, and they can grow old together. For someone as fixated on youth as he was, Lee enjoyed that thought very much.
Once he had finished his meal, Lee gathered all the used dishes and made sure to plant a small kiss on Gaara’s head before trotting to the kitchen sink, and began to wash. Only using two fingers, though, he needed a challenge of course! The leaf ninja was soon able to get into a rhythm, momentarily lost in his own focus. Lee had to make sure he did a thorough cleaning, though, so he had to wash each dish twice. Hopefully Gaara wouldn’t mind the time extension.
Bonk.
Something hard softly collided with his back. Lee stopped scrubbing the frying pan.
Bonk.
bonk.
There it was again, although a little more forceful this time. The source was warm, though, and Lee could feel small traces of breath on his skin.
“Hm?” Lee hummed, and looked back, only to find that Gaara was head butting him. Softly, of course, but just enough to get his attention. He still looked sleepy, and a little grumpy.
The leaf chuckled warmly. “I will be just a minute,” he said, then proceeded to turn off the water and wipe his hands on the nearest kitchen towel. Now he could give his full, undivided attention to his most precious person! “Yes?”
“I want a kiss.”
And Lee, fueled with energy from his adorable, sweet, deadly boyfriend, could not resist scooping Gaara up in his arms and kissing every inch of his face.