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Lee was a romantic.
He believed in love at first sight and soul mates; he believed that love could overcome any obstacle; he believed that love transcended lifetimes. He daydreamed about meeting his most important person, he fantasized about his first kiss, he made up elaborate marriage proposals that he couldn't put into practice because he simply hadn't found his most important person.
Gaara, on the other hand, was not a romantic.
He didn't believe in love at first sight or soul mates because he simply didn't think about such things. He didn't spend any time daydreaming or fantasizing about finding that perfect someone meant just for him. It was not a priority; in fact it was so unimportant in the grand scheme of things to him that Gaara was surprised when anyone asked him when he was going to settle down with a nice kunoichi. He did, however, believe in the power of love. Of course, this was an overarching sort of love—the love of his village, the love of his people, the love for his family and friends; love was an important concept to him, after all. But romance had never factored into it.
It didn't bother Gaara that he had never kissed anyone, but it certainly bothered Lee that he'd never kissed anyone.
They were polar opposites in so many ways, but one day something clicked.
It wasn't instantaneous, it wasn't fireworks and birds singing the way Lee imagined it would be. It was slow, gradual, like the coming of spring after a long winter and it took them both by surprise.
Lee knew, not from the first moment he laid eyes on Gaara or the first time their hands brushed. He did not love Gaara until many years into their friendship, well into adulthood, when they were both older and wiser. But eventually, Lee knew. The feelings grew like a flower, and when they blossomed he did not shy away from them. It was a feeling unlike anything he'd ever experienced, unlike what he thought this love would be and infinitely better.
Gaara took just a little bit longer, but eventually he figured it out and suddenly he couldn't imagine his life without this type of love—without Lee. He did not, of course, become a sudden romantic. He had no concept of anniversaries and he didn't daydream about proposing or what a wedding ceremony might be like. He simply knew that he loved Lee, needed Lee in his life, and that Lee would only ever come second to his village because that was the nature of their life. He accepted his love for Lee the way he accepted all things, and from there he moved forward.
He told Lee first—told, not confessed because confessions were Lee's forte—and Lee reciprocated, confessing his own love with tears and flowery declarations whispered—not shouted—though for Gaara it seemed as though Lee had shouted it from the rooftops because the impact of the words was nothing short of life changing. He'd never expected Lee to love him back, but then again Lee never did cease to surprise him.
People talked, of course. How could they not?
It was outrageous. The Kazekage in love with a foreigner? And not just any foreigner, but a foreign shinobi! Just because Konoha and Suna were allies didn't mean they could trust each other implicitly! And of all the shinobi, Rock Lee was by far the strangest of all.
The people of Suna and Konoha waited for the moment when Lee would be left broken hearted, because surely the Kazekage would find Lee to be too much for him to handle; surely the Kazekage would realise what a terrible idea it was choosing to love someone like Rock Lee.
But the moment never came.
They were opposites in every way, but it was a complimentary opposition. They each brought something to the other's life that was lacking, and so they're lives were enriched for the other's presence.
Lee made Gaara's world a little bit brighter, a little bit sweeter, and a whole lot more exciting. And Lee was perhaps the most devoted partner Gaara could have ever asked for—foreign shinobi or no, Gaara could trust Lee with his life. In their line of work, that sort of trust was rare and Gaara cherished it as much as he cherished the many times in a day Lee reminded him how much he loved him (because of course Lee was excessive in his expression of love, which Gaara appreciated immensely).
Gaara made Lee's world a little bit more peaceful, a little bit more balanced, and a whole lot more beautiful. Lee knew he was not conventional in anything—not in looks, not in personality, not even in skill—but he knew that Gaara appreciated that far more than he appreciated conventionality. Gaara was a blunt person, he would not have told Lee he loved him if it was a flight of fancy. In fact, Lee was sure Gaara had never had such whims before him, and never would again.
In essence, they were two halves of a whole. Lee believed they were soul mates because that was Lee all over. Gaara believed they were just incredibly lucky, but he humored Lee in his beliefs because sometimes love meant humoring the other. And while Gaara didn't think they were soul mates because that was a silly concept to him, he did still think that their fates were entwined. He felt it every time he kissed Lee, every time he felt Lee's heartbeat beneath his hand, every time Lee whispered “I love you.”
Perhaps that was what soul mates were: a little bit of a luck, a little bit of choice, and a little bit of Fate.
Gaara didn't really think he cared either way so long as he got to spend his life with Lee.
Lee, for the most part, agreed.
But, of course, he still promised Gaara that he would find him in their next life and the next and the next and the next...
Because Lee was more than enough of a romantic for the both of them and maybe he made Gaara a little bit of a romantic too.