Chapter 9

Lee hadn't set his alarm, so when he woke up and the sun was already bright in his room he immediately sat up, feeling like he was late for something. He remembered he didn't have practice. He also noted that the television in his room was on and the top of a very read head was just visible on his couch. He turned towards the clock so he could see what time it was. It was only seven. Their school didn't start until eight thirty.

"Good morning." Lee said to the person who was obviously Gaara. Only Gaara had hair that red and only Gaara would come into his room while he was asleep to sit on his couch and watch TV.

"Morning." Gaara greeted, his usual response. He didn't feel the need to add the 'good' because the morning was always good for him. He had always liked how quiet it was. He realized this made him a morning person. An unusual trait for and insomniac. But if one thought about it, the early morning and the late night were surprisingly similar.

Ever since he'd gone through his 'change' Gaara had grown accustomed to doing more 'normal' things. Like listening to music, he particularly liked some of it. A lot of the popular songs ate away at his brain cells, but he'd found music he liked after awhile. He'd also started watching television. He hadn't liked it before, even as a kid. He still didn't enjoy it very much. He thought it might be like music, he just had to find something he enjoyed.

"Channel surfing again?" Lee prompted, noticing the flicker of the screen after every couple of minutes. Lee was busy putting on a shirt. Sometime during the night he'd removed his shirt and had been sleeping in just his sweatpants. He felt a little embarrassed that Gaara must have seen him sleeping sprawled out like that with no shirt on. He hoped he hadn't been paying attention when he came in. Though he knew Gaara was always paying attention. Gaara was almost too perceptive.

"Yes." Gaara finally answered after flipping the channel for the umpteenth time. He still had trouble with deciphering a lot of the television lingo. He wasn't surfing at all, he had told Lee the first time he'd asked. Lee explained that it was used when someone wasn't watching anything in particular but was watching a little bit of something then changing the channel to something else. He also told him that this term was used with the internet. Surfing the web, to be precise. Even though there were no webs or surfboards involved.

After finding his plain white shirt he'd gone to bed in and putting it back on Lee looked for an outfit for today. He always took a quick shower in the morning, sometimes two, since he almost always showed before and after training. Lee grabbed a shirt and pants before walking over to sit on the other side of the couch, his clothes in his lap.

"Find anything good?" Lee asked as he sat down. The couch wasn't that big, it could probably fit three people at most. Only two cushions. Did that make it a love seat? Lee didn't know. It was a couch to him.

"Not really." Gaara answered as he changed the channel once more. "Everything on this morning has been particularly boring."

"Probably all Valentines Day specials." Lee offered, knowing that most shows would be about love being in the air and all that. Lee knew any of them would be hard for Gaara to bear.

"I already took a shower, so you can go ahead and use it." Gaara stated after another minute. He'd noticed Lee's clothes the instant he'd sat down. Gaara was pretty much ready for school. Of course, he'd been up for awhile now. He'd actually come into Lee's room because he liked knowing that he was in the same room as him. Gaara had gotten so used to being so entirely alone that it was odd for him to feel lonely. So he couldn't say it was because he was lonely. It just felt right. He liked just having someone else around. Though, he doubted he could have put up with anyone besides Lee.

"Ah, thank you." Lee remembered to say as he got up to go to the bathroom. "I won't be long" He assured Gaara. Their time together would start now. They'd never actually gone to school together. Come to think of it, Lee didn't even know how Gaara got to school. He probably had a chauffer or something. Did Gaara have his license? Lee hadn't known he knew so very little about Gaara. He just knew the unusual information; he didn't know the things people normally knew about the person they lived with. Lee was ready to learn, though. Eager, even, to learn all he could about Gaara.

Lee made sure to take a quick and cold shower. He had quick showers down to an art. He was out, dry, dressed, with hair and teeth brushed all in under fifteen minutes.

"That looks good on you." Gaara commented from the couch as soon as Lee emerged from the bathroom. He'd given up on television for the time being and had shut it off.

Lee blushed in response. "Thanks." He muttered, Gaara didn't scold him but Lee knew he wanted to. Lee didn't think he looked good in anything, really. He had barely even looked at the clothes when he picked them out. He wore a striped brown, white, and blue shirt with brown cargo pants. He usually wore his shirts loose but this shirt was fitted. Maybe that's what looked good? He was reminded that he hadn't been the one to pick out any of these clothes.

"We should go eat breakfast now." Lee stated as he walked towards Gaara. Gaara didn't even nod in reply but got up from the couch and headed towards the door.

Slowly the house was becoming familiar to Lee. At least, the way from Gaara's room to the kitchen or the front door was. He'd finally completed the map a couple of days ago but that didn't mean he was confident enough to try and find things on his own. The map was a bit hard to read for him. He could follow it, but he didn't like the idea of taking a wrong turn and being lost. It was also a good excuse to ask Gaara to come along with him whenever he wanted to wander around. He almost dreaded the day he would memorize the layout well enough so that Gaara would leave him to go on his own. Though, thinking of it that way made him seem like a baby bird leaving the nest. And that was all kinds of awkward when thought about with him and Gaara in that context.

"The weather is supposed to be nice today." Gaara recited at random.

"Did you see a bit of the news?" Lee asked, knowing that must have been the case. What little television Gaara did watch he asked or commented on. Gaara nodded, having stated that just because he could. Was he initiating a conversation? He didn't quite know. He liked talking about nothing with Lee. Usually he only liked hearing the key points in a conversation but he found himself commenting on unimportant things with Lee. Another thing he assumed came with the whole friendship deal.

"That is good, maybe we will explore the backyard a bit today, then." Lee commented. Smiling. He only knew the backyard was very large and had a nice pool, from what he could see from the windows of other rooms. They had yet to venture out there yet.

"Great idea." Gaara replied, but with no real gusto. Though, he had to admit, he did like his backyard for one thing. There were lots of trees, and he could hide away back there when the weather was nice. When he was there he was gone without ever really leaving home.

"I have a feeling that this will be a most splendid day." Lee chirped, almost too happy. He didn't know why he was feeling so merry and buoyant all of the sudden, but he was. He really did feel like this would be a most wonderful day. And that wasn't even because it was Valentines Day. He had never disliked the holiday, but it had never his favorite.

They approached the dinning area and went into the kitchen. Lee was becoming accustomed to preparing his breakfast in the glamorous kitchen. When he set his bowl of cereal on the counter and took the spoon offered to him by Gaara their fingers brushed just a little. Lee's happiness increased, for reasons unknown, just the simple contact made him tingle with joy. Even in his mind he noted that he sounded a bit too gay, in both senses of the word.

"Why do you feel so strongly that today will be 'splendid'?" Gaara finally asked after taking his third and final bite from Lee's cereal.

"I guess I am just looking forward to spending time with you." Lee replied honestly. Gaara looked at him pensively before throwing his spoon in the sink with innate grace.

"Good. So am I." Gaara answered, setting his elbows on the table and placing his face on his hands. The view into the backyard from the kitchen was one of the best in the entire house. Gaara knew he was drawn towards more desert type things and had an affinity for sand, but that didn't stop him from admiring trees. The ones in his backyard in particular.

Lee polished off what was left in the bowl almost too quickly, setting the dirty dishes next to the sink. "It does look very nice out there." Lee turned towards Gaara. "I do not think there is one flaw in this entire estate." Lee commented, fully believing in his statement. Gaara shook his head.

"It's too big. Way too big." Gaara retorted, knowing this was a major flaw in the house's design.

"Usually I would have to disagree, but…" Lee paused thoughtfully, "I have to say that this house is much too big for just you and your siblings."

Lee never liked to think there was anything wrong with something. He liked to think everything was always the best it could possibly be. But he would admit that the Sabaku residence was ornately large, too large for just three, or four counting himself, people to live in. Lee couldn't imagine how lonely it would be if he didn't always hang around Gaara in the house. It must have been a terrible loneliness for Gaara. Lee remembered what Gaara had said about providing for him forever. He could finally understand why. He would have done anything to get rid of that loneliness, too. Though, Gaara probably didn't realize that he had been lonely. He just recognized that it was better now that he wasn't alone.

Slowly, without talking about it they headed back towards their rooms. They had to get their school things before heading out. The day already seemed longer to Lee. But not in a bad way, in a sort of pleasant easy going fashion. Gaara felt like time was going by faster, since the morning was always long for him when he spent it alone. With Lee there he hadn't noticed the time slip pass him.

"Gaara." Lee said, after thinking for a bit.

"Yes?" Gaara replied, finally getting used to Lee addressing him before he spoke even though no one else was there.

"Well, I was thinking about the time you said I could live here with you for a long while…" Lee started, and he couldn't keep the red off of his face for some unknown reason.

"Ultimately it's your choice. But it's always an option." Gaara interjected during Lee's nervous pause.

"I know, and I think…" He paused again, blushing a bit more, "I think I would like that, if it is okay with you, of course." Lee never wanted Gaara to be so terribly lonely again. And if Gaara found someone else he wanted to spend time with Lee would have no problem moving back out with the money he was now saving. But for now he really liked the idea of them living together, as they were now, for at least a few more years. Maybe even through college. Though, Lee doubted Gaara would be able to put up with him for that long.

"It's all right with me." Gaara replied. "I'm the one who suggested it." Gaara paused before adding; "I had thought you'd dismissed the idea already." After another pause he quickly muttered, "I'm glad you haven't."

If there was one thing Gaara was getting worse and worse at while he was around Lee it was articulating himself. He didn't talk very much to begin with, but he usually found it easy to say what he meant. Except nowadays, when he was around Lee. His sentences came out awkwardly and in the end he was never really sure if he made his point clear or not.

"There is nothing I like more than spending time with you, Gaara." Lee confessed, smiling a bit too shyly.

It was at this point in time that they both realized that having a conversation like this on Valentines Day was considered romantic. They realized it in their own sort of way, but they both realized it. Had there been any outside listeners they would have thought very incorrect things.

Lee decided to change the subject. "By the way, Gaara, how are we going to get to school?"

"How would you like to arrive at school?" Gaara questioned back, Lee knew he'd asked the question wrong. He still needed some practice at asking the right question to get answers out of Gaara.

"I mean, how do you usually go to school?" Lee tried again.

"Via modern transportation." Gaara answered. "Sadly I don't have the stamina to run to school every morning like you do." Lee had worded the question incorrectly again. Gaara didn't realize he was being difficult. He answered whatever he thought was best fit for the question asked. Usually the question was such a mess that he didn't dignify it with a response. People thought he was rude. He thought those people were idiots. On average both assumptions were correct.

"Do you drive?" Lee asked. He thought a simple question might work.

"Yes, and I usually drive myself to school in the morning." Most people were shocked by this answer, though Gaara didn't see why. He thought his driving skills were impeccable, especially considering the fact he was technically a teenage driver.

Lee mentally raised his arm in a victory pose for finally getting the correct answer. They were at the end of the hall. Silently they went into their rooms to grab their books and things.

"Do you have your license?" Gaara prompted as soon as they were both walking down the hallway again.

"No," Lee immediately answered, almost too readily. "I have never needed it. Plus I thought that I would never have the money for a car." Lee, when he thought about it, knew he had barely been inside a car. It was a bit awkward for him to admit, it being the age of cars and such, but there were about six distinct instances he could recall of ever being in a car. He had a small fear of cars due to his inexperience.

"I don't think I could imagine you driving, anyway." Gaara said, smirking a bit to himself.

"Are you saying I am not fit to drive?" Lee asked, always one to rise to the challenge. And it sounded as if Gaara was challenging him.

"No, it's just hard to picture you behind the wheel of a car." Gaara answered, that self-satisfied smirk still barely visible on his face. He liked riling up Lee.

"Well, I cannot imagine how you see anything over the dashboard." Lee retorted, polite by nature but not one to back down from a fight. Even if they were just teasing each other.

"That was a low blow, Lee." Gaara remarked. "Not everyone can be six foot eleven."

"Not even I am that tall, Gaara." Lee commented. He tended to stay in the six-foot area, give or take an inch. Lee was tempted to say 'You are just that short.' But he refrained. That'd be too rude, even in a showdown.

"Whatever." Gaara ended the battle with one word, though it had been fun while it lasted. As they were walking Lee tried to remember where the garage was located. He remembered Gaara pointing it out, though they had never gone inside. It happened to be near the front door.

And it was huge. "Woah…" Lee uttered after Gaara had opened the door. Forget three car garage, this was a five car, three motorcycle garage. And all the spots were filled.

With deft grace and without even looking Gaara picked a set of keys off of the key hook near the door. When Lee looked at the spot where the keys had come from under the empty hook it said 'Gaara' in elegant writing. Temari and Kankuro's keys sat neatly in place.

"Which one?" Gaara asked, with the same inflection that someone would have if they were asking what kind of pizza the person wanted. One can tell how rich someone is by his or her car. All of the cars screamed at the top of their lungs 'disgustingly rich'. Lee, not used to cars in general, was most definitely not used to fancy expensive cars.

"Which one do you normally drive?" Lee asked, knowing that asking which one was his was the wrong thing to ask. He'd state that they were all his if he wanted them to be.

"This one here." Gaara replied as he hit a button on the key ring. The lights of a sleek black car with red racing stripes flickered. It was a Camaro, but Lee couldn't tell. He was still gazing in awe at the tiny device that had controlled the car from a distance. In theory he'd known that was possible, but he'd never witnessed it first hand.

With the click of a hidden handle Gaara had the trunk open and had thrown his stuff in, motioning for Lee to do the same. Lee carefully placed his things beside Gaara's, who shut the trunk the instant Lee's hands were out of the way. Gaara was already getting into the car before Lee made his way over to his door. When it came to vehicles Lee felt like a real klutz.

Gaara was seated with the keys in the ignition and the garage opener pressed before Lee opened his door. Lee shut the door and awkwardly began to put on his seat belt when Gaara started the car. Lee jumped a bit at the engine's roar and let go of the seat belt, which hit his arm on its way back to its original position. Lee quickly recaptured it and shoved it into place.

"You okay?" Gaara asked after witnessing Lee's blunder. Lee quickly nodded.

"Yes, I am f-fine." Lee answered, though he hadn't meant to stutter. Gaara had heard his stuttering. Lee knew he shouldn't be nervous in cars, they were a lot like buses. He'd taken buses plenty of times before. And as he had remembered earlier, he'd been in a few cars before. Though, it's always been a bigger and older sort of junky car. Gaara could be socially inept while Lee was technologically inept. That's just the way things had to be.

"Relax." Gaara said quietly as he reached for his sunglasses on the dashboard. He was almost exuberant to have found one more thing he could help Lee with. Or, he might go as far to say that, he'd found something that Lee feared.

Lee's idea of relaxing was grabbing tightly onto the door's armrest. Which only made him accidentally hold down the window button. This resulted in the window rolling down on what seemed like it's own accord. Lee let go of the door and scooted a bit away from the window. Gaara sighed as he rolled up the window with the controls on his side while putting the car in drive, since the garage was finally open.

With his sunglasses on Lee thought Gaara looked almost seductive. Though he knew he shouldn't use words like that to describe Gaara. But he drove so easily, with grace, class, and a certain charm. Lee could see why he had all those fangirls. Though, Lee wasn't much better nowadays. He often daydreamed about Gaara, which wasn't good. And in a way all that he really was, was Gaara's biggest fangirl. Without the being female part.

Lee wanted to say something, to start a bit of conversation, to break the silence and stop himself from day dreaming about Gaara again. But he could not think of a single thing to say. Well, he could think of things to say but none of them were any good. 'This sure is a nice car' was one of them. All Gaara would say to that is 'Yes, yes indeed it is' or something of that sort.

Plus, Lee didn't want to start a conversation with Gaara only to learn that Gaara was one of those people who couldn't talk and drive at the same time. Lee doubted that this was the case but it stopped him from asking any stupid, pointless questions nonetheless.

The school was close, but the drive was unbearably long. With stop lights and such impeding them Lee felt as if he should get out and just run to school. But he wanted to spend this time with Gaara, even if he was afraid of cars.

"Are you afraid of cars?" Gaara asked, and Lee felt that Gaara must have smelled his fear or something.

"I do not like to admit it but y-yes." Lee stuttered on the last word, turning crimson with embarrassment.

"It's not that uncommon." Gaara replied, and it was almost as if he were trying to comfort Lee. But of course, Gaara would never do that. He was just stating the facts.

"So you do not think that is weird?" Lee asked, his smile returning. He would have put it on full wattage but the car still made him nervous.

"No." Gaara said, and after another minute he added. "Cars kill and injure people. Often. I think that it's a very rational fear."

Even though Gaara thought this might support Lee's standing and confidence in himself it just reminded Lee that he was in a metal death machine. His breathing became irregular. And now he was sweating. He felt sick and wondered if he could be carsick. He knew the car was definitely the source of his ill feeling.

"Calm down." Gaara said, surprised that he'd actually said it. He wasn't usually the one to help others. Though, he did make a mental note to find a way to make Lee less wary of cars. It'd cause him problems in the future if he didn't.

"Ok." Lee replied, regulating his breath first. It wasn't hard once he thought about it. He was so glad Gaara was helping him. He would have been hyperventilating by now if Gaara hadn't interrupted his train of thought with reason. Lee closed his eyes to focus.

Lee was surprised to find that they were in the school parking lot by the time he opened his eyes and Gaara was pulled into his parking spot already. Lee felt his body become less tense as Gaara shut off the car. His smile easily came back to him.

"It is not so bad." Lee commented, unbuckling his seat belt.

"Yes, but I still can't imagine you ever behind the wheel." Gaara replied, smirking as he put the sunglasses away.

Lee just nodded, knowing that he'd probably never get a drivers license, and if he did it wouldn't be for a long time. He opened his door and got out of the car, waiting at the trunk for Gaara. Lee didn't know how to open it and he didn't feel the urge to try and learn.

Gaara locked the car after they'd gotten their things and he'd shut the trunk. After shoving the keys into his pocket they made their way towards the school's entrance. The people that saw them arrive together did not help quieting the rumors about them. Even though those rumors are true it is still gossip and gossip is wrong.

"I am sorry if I am a burden." Lee said nervously, still feeling rather embarrassed of his tiny episode.

"No, not at all. You're… interesting. That's the best way to put it." Gaara replied. He wasn't one to be supportive, yet here he found himself supporting. But wasn't that his secret goal, to help Lee? He was doing it, and he suddenly felt a bit proud of himself.

Suddenly Lee was tackled from the side by an orange, black, and blonde blur. "Lee! You can't just go around coming to school in the same car as Gaara! People are so suspicious already!" Naruto said in a hurried and rather loud whisper.

"Good morning to you, too, Naruto." Lee replied after they'd both righted themselves.

"Morning." Gaara greeted, though he was a bit confused by Naruto's sudden entry.

"Hey, hello Gaara!" Naruto replied, his surprise in being greeted obvious.

They continued their way towards the school, still being somewhat in the parking lot and all. "You guys really don't try to hide anything, do you?" Naruto sighed as they approached the school.

"Are we supposed to be hiding something?" Gaara finally asked. The way Naruto had been talking to them for a while was confusing Gaara.

Naruto just sighed again before continuing, "And here you both are, acting so suspiciously on Valentines Day. You're just asking for it." This wasn't an answer to Gaara's question, and when Gaara asked a question he liked it to be answered. So he turned to Lee.

"Are we supposed to be hiding something?" Gaara repeated, tired of the question already. Lee, even though he didn't know what to say, felt obligated to answer.

"Well, you see Gaara, some of our peers would think that our living arrangements are rather peculiar." Lee said this quite slowly; he put unneeded emphasis 'arrangements' and 'peculiar'.

"Why do we care what they think?" Gaara questioned immediately.

"I know you do not care, Gaara, but," Lee paused, "it is not so easy for me." Lee felt a little ashamed of his answer. If Gaara didn't care why should he care? But he did care, he tried not to but he did.

"No one else matters." Gaara said suddenly. "No one else should matter."

"Of course, Gaara." Lee replied, not knowing what else to say. Gaara was right, it shouldn't matter. "I will remember that next time."

"Uhg," Naruto finally complained, "You guys really sound serious. Don't tell me it's true and you guys are going to spend Valentines together or something."

"Actually, we are spending today together." Gaara stated. Naruto gave him a look of disbelief and what Gaara thought was a bit of disgust.

"Say it isn't so!" Naruto exclaimed. He looked towards Lee to see if he'd disprove this horrible reality. Instead Lee just nodded.

"We decided it would be nice to spend the afternoon together." Lee replied innocently.

Naruto sighed, again. "Just don't go around saying things like that, okay you guys?"

"Of course." Lee replied, Gaara just shrugged. Who was he going to tell? Lee was the only person he talked to and he already knew.

"All right, I'll see you guys later." Naruto said before heading off in his own direction.

"I need to go to my gym locker, would you like to come?" Lee asked, knowing he needed to drop off his gym bag first. He felt weird, since he was actually just using the bag for gym class and not practice.

"Sure." Gaara had nothing better to do, he already had his books and their first hour wasn't too far away from the gym anyway.

They walked through the halls and across the campus not speaking, but not silently. Because the school was always abuzz with noise, and today particularly, so nothing could be done silently. The faded banners and cliché decorations were already falling down or being torn at by students sick of love. Some students were just plain lovesick and chased around the one they pinned after relentlessly.

It wasn't until they were almost at the gym that Lee began to notice they were being followed. A couple of shy girls, ducking behind people, trees, or walls whenever Lee casually looked back, were following them. Well, he shouldn't say 'them' he should say 'Gaara.' But the girls were too nervous to approach with Lee around, it seemed, though Lee didn't know why. He liked to think he was a very approachable guy.

"Gaara, I believe some girls are following you." Lee whispered casually over to Gaara, who shrugged in reply.

"I'm glad you're here to keep them away." Gaara replied, and he felt the urge to grab Lee's hand or link arms with him to scare the girls off. But he didn't. Just walking next to him seemed to keep them away.

Lee was going to tell him it was his duty as a gentleman to talk to those girls even if he felt nothing towards them but stopped himself. Gaara wouldn't listen to him and he didn't want to get on bad terms with Gaara this early in the morning anyway. Hopefully they'd give up and find someone else to give their valentines to. At least, Lee hoped they'd find other people to have crushes on.

They went into the gym and into the boys' locker room, where the girls most definitely couldn't follow them. There was little to no one else there, only a few weight lifters getting ready for class after a little morning practice. Lee went to his locker, Gaara trailing behind, and opened it. At the bottom of the locker was a tiny folded note. A Valentine.

"Look, you've got a secret admirer." Gaara teased a bit. What was even funnier was that they were in the boys' locker room, so it must have been a male.

"No, it is from my coach, Mr. Gai. He gives me one every year." And sure enough when Lee opened it the note said:

My Dear Student,

Have a most beautiful and youthful Valentines Day this year!

May it be the best one yet.

-Mr. Gai

In the middle of the note a heart was drawn with what was presumed to be a drawing of the coach himself. Gaara smirked at this.

"See? That is the only valentine I get every year. And it always says the same thing." Lee sighed. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate his coach's efforts, he did, but he wanted a real valentine, at least once in his life. He didn't expect it from Gaara and he didn't expect to fall in love with the person who gave him said valentine. He just wanted to know that other people thought him worthy of a valentine. But it hadn't happened yet and he doubted that it would ever happen.

"That's all right. I don't even read mine." Gaara replied, and it was true. Usually when he went to his locker on Valentines Day it was full of little folded notes or store bought cards. He wasn't so heartless as to throw them away right there. He would shove them into his bag so he could recycle them later. Many people would have never guessed that Gaara had a soft spot for the environment.

"But Gaara!" Lee was astonished and he turned to face Gaara after he'd shut his locker back up. "Those girls probably put their hearts into those cards! The least you could do is read them." Lee looked at Gaara for a second before realizing that he'd been shouting. "I am sorry for shouting." Lee quickly added, but he didn't look away. He really believed in love and thought himself a defender of true love and justice.

"All right." Gaara said after a long moment. "I can see you're really passionate about this." Gaara didn't like using the word 'passionate' but it fit.

"What?" Lee responded, surprised to have elicited a response from Gaara.

"We'll read them. Together." Gaara stated, determined this was the only solution.

Lee didn't think that was what the cards were meant for, but at least they would be read instead of just discarded. "Thank you, Gaara." Lee replied smiling.

"You have no reason to thank me." Gaara retorted as he turned to leave. Lee was quick to follow and they walked towards their first class together. The first bell rang while they were on their way there, and students slowly but surely started to make their way to their first class of the day.

"Good morning, Lee, Gaara." Their teacher greeted as the came in. "Nice to see you on time for once." Mr. Izumo commented to Lee, who gave a shy smile in response.

They sat in the back next to each other in the seats they had grown accustomed to sitting in. But Gaara's desk was already occupied by a couple of small heart shaped cards. There was no seating chart but Gaara was a creature of habit. He feared that this would happen all day. He didn't see why it happened to him, but girls would pass out valentines in every class to a select few of students and somehow he always managed to make their list. Remembering the promise he made with Lee he shoved them into his backpack for inspection later on. He promised to read them. He didn't specify where or when.

"Is it like this every year?" Lee asked.

"Yes, for the past few years." Gaara answered, almost sighing the answer out.

"I had not noticed it before." Lee answered, knowing it was because he hadn't wanted to notice it before. Lee would never let it get out, but when it came to Gaara he was the jealous type. His heart hurt with every valentine given to Gaara, but it helped to know that he was the one Gaara wanted to spend time with. He had succeeded in befriending him. And that's more than any of those girls could hope to accomplish in their lifetime. Lee's spirits were brought up by this thought and he knew he could make it through the day with a smile on his face, no matter how many girls gave Gaara their affections.

The late bell rung and Mr. Izumo shut the door to the classroom. "Before study hour begins…" he started and waited until he had everyone's attention before continuing. "Where are all of my Valentines? My desk is looking a bit lonely."

At first there was a moment of silence, followed by a few nervous laughs, then a bunch of amused giggles. It was hard to tell if he was kidding or not, but he was smiling so everyone else smiled. After the tiny bit of laughter he went to sit in his desk and type away aimlessly at his computer, signaling for the class to begin.

Gaara finished math homework while Lee worked on a study guide for a test in science. They had both come to enjoy the quite presence of one another in this class. Gaara didn't like talking where so many people might be listening anyway. Today was no different, though Lee knew he was more aware of Gaara's presence than ever. But he knew that was a personal thing. Gaara was just going through the day as if it were any other day. Lee kept trying to will himself to forget today was Valentines Day. It was hard, though, with all of the reminders posted around the school.

While thinking about how he was not thinking about Gaara, Lee knew he couldn't keep stealing glances at Gaara, or anything of the sort. There were only so many ways you could casually and accidentally glance at someone. Lee ran out of ideas after only a short while.

"Do you need something, Lee?" Gaara asked, having noticed every one of Lee's glances. Lee turned red as soon as the question was asked.

"No, it is nothing." Lee responded, smiling to cover his nervous embarrassment. He couldn't help it; he felt each and every one of his urges stronger than before. The urge to just smile at Gaara was the hardest to suppress for him at the moment. Press their hands together, touch his hair, it was getting ridiculous. He was convinced something was in the air, but it felt more like teenage hormones than love.

Lee managed to focus on his packet enough to get it mostly completed by the time the bell rang. Which was remarkable, considering how distracted he was.

"I'll see you later." Gaara quietly stated as they made their way out of the classroom.

"As always." Lee replied smiling as they turned their separate ways in the hallway. Their arms had brushed as they walked out the door and Lee could still feel the tingling sensation through his clothes. He was way too aware of Gaara today, he decided, if their arms brushing up against one another was enough to make him giddy.

Lee, luckily, wasn't the only student unable to pay attention in class that day. It seemed like it was an epidemic, the kids in the classroom staring off into space with romantic daydreams playing in their head. Some teachers gave up, but most picked on any student who seemed to be uninterested in the slightest. Lee was called on more than a few times, which made him blush and stutter an answer that was only sometimes correct. At other times it was completely off topic.

"Lee! What did you get as your answer for this equation." The teacher would suddenly ask.

"Charles Dickens was trying to tell a little bit of his own life story through the main character in Great Expectations." Lee would reply with a blank but attentive look on his face.

"What? That makes no sense!" The teacher would respond.

"Oh, I am very sorry, I was thinking about the review guide in English. I got seventy-four for number thirty-two." Lee would say after shuffling through a couple of papers piled onto his desk.

"Still wrong, but a lot closer than your other answer." The teacher would remark before calling on a different student.

He gave answers like that more often than he thought he could live through. And this was all before lunch. He didn't want to think about how disoriented he'd be when he shared a class with Gaara. That was just asking for trouble.

By the time he made it to the table he and Gaara now shared he was completely exhausted. And he usually could run quite a few miles without breaking too much of a sweat.

"You forgot your lunch again." Gaara stated, smirking as he brandished Lee's lunch from his backpack. It was more than halfway full of pink and red cards. They threatened to fall out as he took his own lunch out and zipped it back up.

"Thank you! I had completely forgotten." Lee answered, and it was true. He'd been thinking that at this time he'd get to see Gaara. He had completely forgotten about eating lunch.

"I figured. You seem distracted today." Gaara replied, absently taking the little bits of food out of his lunch bag.

"To be quite honest, I am." Lee remarked, knowing he should always respond honestly to Gaara's statements. Usually Gaara's statements contained unasked questions.

"Why?" Gaara asked, taking a small bite out of rather large strawberry. Lee had to swallow the first thought that came to mind and his face turned a little pink without his consent.

"I am excited for our afternoon together." Lee answered. It was the truth, their being together really was why he was distracted. But it was only half true. He wasn't lying, he just wasn't telling the whole story.

"So am I. School has been more uninteresting today than usual." Gaara commented. Lee thought that if anyone else in the world were to have received as many Valentines as Gaara had, they most definitely wouldn't have called Valentine's Day boring. Lee just nodded, though, knowing that for Gaara it was probably more problematic than interesting.

Lee quickly ate his lunch, finishing before he had even figured out what it was. He couldn't even remember what kind of sandwich he'd eaten. He was distracted, and it was bothering him. A lot. Gaara finished what little he'd packed for himself.

"I will throw away the garbage." Lee said as he gathered the trash from their table to take it to the nearest trashcan. He really had no idea what to do, though he knew he didn't need to be doing anything. He should be doing what he normally would do. Which was what he was trying to do. It wasn't supposed to be hard, but it was.

Lee turned around to go back to the table to find his seat occupied. He didn't know what to do, the girl seemed bent on giving her homemade chocolate to Gaara. He approached, but he stayed a couple of tables away. He could hear a bit of the conversation.

"I worked really hard, and I'd be honored if you just tried it." He could only see the girl from behind, but with that voice he knew it was Matsuri. He tried to look casual next to the nearest tree. It didn't work; he looked very much out of place. He thought maybe he should go over there but that would be even more awkward. So he waited where he was.

Gaara finally answered, but Lee couldn't hear it of course. Gaara talked much too quietly.

"Couldn't you at least take it with you?" She pleaded, it was obvious Gaara hadn't shown any interest in trying the chocolate. Lee could hear Gaara's voice but couldn't make out the words. Even from here, though, what he said seemed unforgiving. A death sentence for her heart. Lee wanted Gaara to grow a heart and at least take the chocolate. But there was nothing he could do. Luckily Matsuri was a bit stronger than that. Her voice was uneven, but she wasn't near tears as others might have been.

"It's okay, I understand…" She said, so quietly Lee barely heard. She didn't make a move to leave, though.

"Lee!" Lee heard it, but he couldn't believe it, Gaara had shouted at him. Lee turned to face him, blushing a bit. From the way Gaara was looking at him he knew Gaara wanted him to come over there. Immediately.

"Yes, Gaara?" Lee said, quietly, unsure of what to do. He smiled at Matsuri, who made an effort to smile back.

"Try this." Gaara ordered, pointing at the chocolate Matsuri had been offering to him.

"I could not, it is a gift from the heart for you, Gaara." Lee answered, actually disobeying Gaara. He couldn't, though. Not right in front of Matsuri.

"Matsuri." Gaara said, which got her attention and brought up her spirits immediately. She could not remember another instant in which he had addressed her by name. It meant he knew her name. "If Lee tries the chocolate for me, won't that be better than it going to waste?" Gaara questioned, and she nodded. At that point she would have nodded at anything he said. She then broke off a piece of the chocolate heart and handed it to Lee.

Lee looked from Gaara to Matsuri and back to Gaara. Then he nervously grabbed the chocolate and put it into his mouth, aware of both of them watching him intently. It was good, at least as good as expensive store bought chocolate, if not better.

"How is it?" Gaara questioned, though for some reason Lee thought Matsuri should've been the one to ask.

"It is very good, Gaara." Lee answered, not sure if he was addressing the right person. But Matsuri smiled anyway.

"Thank you for the gift, then. If Lee says it's good, it's good." Gaara stated, his voice the same as it ever was, but it still didn't seem as if he were really talking. Matsuri's smile brightened and she inclined her head in a formal gesture before leaving their table, butterflies inhabiting her entire body. She felt very happy, even though it had been a little weird as far as gift giving goes. But Gaara had thanked her, complimented her, and remembered her name. She was sure that was more than any of the other girls could've hoped to accomplish.

Lee sat down in his now unoccupied seat, still feeling a little out of place. He gave Gaara a warm smile, though, suppressing his urge to lift him up in a bear hug. Gaara had changed so much; Lee wondered if Gaara realized how much he had changed.

"That was very nice of you, Gaara." Lee commented, unable to stop himself from saying something.

"I guess. It got her to leave." Gaara said, uninterested.

"But you could have gotten her to leave some other way." Lee replied, still giving Gaara the warm smile.

"No, not really." Gaara answered, looking off into the distance.

"What do you mean?" Lee asked, a bit confused.

"That girl…" Gaara paused, finding it hard to articulate himself once again. Only with Lee did this ever happen. "She never leaves, usually. No matter how many times I tell her no."

"So this happens every year?" Lee questioned.

"Yes. But this year we got her to leave. She's been doing it for quite a while now." Gaara answered. Getting her to leave with Lee around had been easier than he had anticipated. And everyone was happy. A beneficial decision for all of them.

"Well, I am glad that-" Lee was cut off by the bell ringing, after it was done he continued, "you did that. She seemed very happy."

"That doesn't matter." Gaara replied as he got up and started towards the school. Lee quickly followed.

"Why does it not matter?" Lee asked, he wasn't following Gaara's train of thought.

"She was in your seat. I wanted her to leave. If making her happy makes her leave, so be it. But that doesn't matter to me." Gaara stated, and it was the truth. He had changed, but not so much that he wanted to make others happy and what not. He had just begun to say things that weren't so harsh, not so rough or rude. But it was mostly around Lee.

"Thank you." Lee said. Smiling. Gaara didn't know what he was thanking him for, but decided not to question it. He took that smile with him, though, as he turned to go his own way. He liked holding onto Lee's smiles. Lee smiled all of the time, but Gaara believed the smiles he received from Lee were different somehow. Better. No, the ones he got were the best. And he kept them all for himself.

Lee was glad to have physical education this hour. It didn't require much thinking. And thinking wasn't something he thought he could do right now.

"Lee!" Mr. Gai greeted exuberantly, approaching Lee as soon as he had entered the locker room. "Did you miss not having practice this morning? I sure did. Everything is much more boring without my star pupil around." Gai gave Lee a manly slap to the back, making Lee flinch a little, but his smile was as bright as ever.

"My legs feel anxious since I have yet to run at all today, Mr. Gai. I am very glad to be here now!" Lee replied, hoping to get in as much practice as he could in this one class period.

"All right then, go dress out! Today we're going to the track!" Gai announced, getting exhausted sighs from most and a gleeful yes from Lee.

Lee went to his locker to grab his uniform to change into when he spotted the present he had bought Gaara and shoved into his bag. 'I will give it to him after school.' Lee thought to himself. He wouldn't bring his bag with him to class so he'd have to remember to come here after class to get it. He might even wait until they got home, where there weren't so many witnesses.

But it shouldn't matter, Lee reminded himself, if there are other people around or not. He should give it to Gaara when the time is right. It wasn't like he was giving him chocolates and roses or anything. It should be easy.

As soon as Lee was on the track, running, he felt at ease again. He paced himself, so he could run the whole hour, but he was still in front of the others. And he felt like there was nothing but him and his thoughts. Running made everything seem easier. Everything felt right. If he just kept running everything would turn out all right. That's how he felt. It was the closest he'd ever get to flying, and sometimes he felt he might just sprint off into the sky.

It was cut short. Mr. Gai was announcing they had to go back to the locker room sooner than Lee would have liked. Lee lagged behind, finishing the lap around the track he was on before heading out. Gai waited for him.

"So how has your day been going so far, Lee?" Mr. Gai asked, winking at the end of the statement. It took Lee a second to realize he meant how was it going with his 'special person' he'd asked the day off for. Mr. Gai did not know it was Gaara. Mr. Gai knew Lee wanted to befriend Gaara, but Lee couldn't even tell Mr. Gai his true feelings.

"It has been going very well, thank you." Lee said, smiling as he wiped the sweat off of his face with the back of his hand.

"I'm glad to hear it! I hope it only gets better!" Mr. Gai replied and as Lee went to his locker Mr. Gai gave him one more manly slap to the back before going towards his office.

Lee smiled warmly at the thought of his coach caring so much. He really was the only father figure Lee had ever known. Lee quickly changed out of his uniform and into his clothes, trying to wipe all of the sweat off of himself before leaving, since the bell had already rung. He left his gym bag in the locker and hurried to his English class. Coincidently Lee arrived at the classroom at the same time as Gaara, and with a smile he held the door open for him.

"Hello Gaara." Lee said merrily. Gaara nodded his head a bit in greeting before Lee slipped into the classroom behind him, shutting the door just as the bell rang.

"Take your seats." The teacher said, waiting until everyone was seated before beginning. "All right, who's ready for a pop quiz?" The teacher received a unanimous groan in reply. "Good thing I didn't have one planned." The teacher responded, smiling. A few students laughed, a couple more shouted their approval, and others just sighed in relief.

"Okay, then. Instead I want every single one of you to write me at least a page, front and back, of your most interesting love experience. Don't have one? Make something up. As long as I get a page front and back you get credit. But if one person doesn't complete the assignment then I will make a pop quiz and you'll all have to take it. Understand?" After the teacher was done explaining the assignment the kids all nodded in approval. It was an easy assignment, especially since they weren't being graded on content. "If you finish early you can talk, change seats, whatever. Don't make a mess and don't ask me any questions." The teacher went to sit behind their desk, glad to be giving them a break and receiving one in return.

Lee had no idea what to write. He thought maybe he should just make one up since he didn't really have any romantic experience of his own to write about. He thought a fairy tale story would be nice. But when he tried to think of a name for the princess all he could think of was 'Princess Gaara' and this was awkward, of course, because he was the knight in shining armor. Not only that, but it implied Gaara in a dress. Lee blushed at the thought of Gaara in an elegant gown, probably red and black, with lots of layers and lace. He literally shook his head, trying to erase the picture from his brain so he could focus. Maybe a fairy tale wasn't the best idea.

Gaara sat and wondered if he should write anything. He didn't really care if they had a pop quiz, that'd be easier for him than this. But he decided he really didn't feel like getting the whole class angry with him. Usually he wouldn't care, but… Well, he didn't like to disappoint Lee, to tell the truth.

'Love is irrelevant…' Gaara started, writing down whatever came to mind first. His new views on friendship vs. love, why people shouldn't obsess over others, and a few other things he couldn't remember writing once he was finished. But he filled the paper requirements, with his small scrawled handwriting.

Lee finally just decided to write about what he thought love should be like. Not too much different from what Gaara was writing about, but he didn't know that. Lee's paper began a bit differently, though…

'Love is everything. The reason for one's life, and in every decision we make love is taken into consideration…' He went on to talk of the beauty of love, how if one was committed to finding their one true love they would, and so on. The antonym of Gaara's paper was Lee's paper. They were finished at about the same time. Both stood to take their papers to the teacher and almost ran into each other as they set their papers onto the pile.

Lee wanted to ask if he could read Gaara's paper before he handed it in, but decided against it. Gaara was thinking something along the same line, but diminished the thought. Maybe it's better that they didn't end up reading each other's papers.

Gaara sat back down in his assigned seat, though they weren't required to, and Lee took the empty seat next to him. Not before asking if it was unoccupied, of course.

"I hope class ends soon." Lee commented as he looked towards the clock. Not too much longer, about twenty minutes. He'd taken longer writing than he'd thought.

"Why?" Gaara asked, turning to face Lee, his chin already rested on his hand. Lee mimicked the gesture and placed his chin on his opposite hand, facing Gaara with a soft smile.

"Oh, no real reason." Lee replied, thought he was happy to just sit here with Gaara.

"No, you have a reason." Gaara retorted, almost smirking. Lee's smile just widened.

"Yes, I guess you are right." Lee answered, "But you know the reason."

"Stop it!" Naruto said suddenly, waving his hands in front of their faces. Then he took a seat on the floor in-between their desks.

"Hello, Naruto." Lee greeted, Gaara just stared. He almost glared, but wasn't quite there yet.

"You two…" Naruto sighed, shaking his head. "Lee, you can't go around making lovey dovey faces at Gaara all of the time!" Naruto shouted in a whisper, which was a bit useless.

"I was not aware I was making any sort of face at Gaara." Lee answered honestly, smiling at Naruto, amused. Naruto ran a hand through his hair before replying.

"Yeah, just don't do it again." Naruto stated.

"How? I do not know what I did wrong." Lee replied. He knew Naruto was getting frustrated, but he also knew Naruto wasn't really angry. Plus, he needed to waste the rest of the class somehow.

"You…" Naruto was grinding his teeth already, "You know what you did. Don't lie!"

"Lee doesn't lie, Naruto." Gaara interjected, receiving a surprised glance from Naruto.

"No fair, you can't gang up on me like this!" Naruto complained, Lee continued to smile, and Gaara gazed at him indifferently.

"You are not under attack, Naruto." Lee replied.

"Sure feels like it." Naruto pouted. Crossing his arms and everything.

Lee gave up on Naruto and smiled at Gaara again, feeling like he could laugh at nothing he was so happy.

"There! You're doing it!" Naruto waved his hands in front of Lee's face as if that could stop the face from being made.

"Doing what?" Lee questioned.

"You know what! Making faces at Gaara." Naruto answered, almost shouting. He really wasn't helping to quiet the rumors.

"Did I make a face at you, Gaara?" Lee asked.

"No. You were smiling." Gaara answered.

"See? I was not making a face." Lee told Naruto. "I smile at a lot of people."

Naruto sighed again before mumbling, "Not like you smile at Gaara…"

"He's right." Gaara replied, still giving them a blank stare.

"I am?" Naruto asked, smiling brightly at his unknown genius and looking at Gaara hopefully. Lee waited, since he could see that Gaara wasn't finished.

"Mine are better." Gaara stated, though he didn't know if it came out right. He knew what he meant, and from the look on both Lee's and Naruto's faces they knew what he meant, too.

"Thank you." Lee replied, though he hadn't known he smiled differently around Gaara. He just knew that… that Gaara must have been his special person. That would explain it, but he couldn't say it aloud. He wasn't ready for that yet.

"Not you too, Gaara…" Naruto sighed once again, his smile having dissipated immediately. "Maybe I should just give up and go."

"No, it is all right, Naruto. You are trying your best to, um, help us." Lee tried to comfort, since Naruto was so quick to change moods.

"Help us?" Gaara questioned.

"Yes, he is trying to help us." Lee answered. Gaara shrugged in response, still not understanding it at all. Naruto confused him, but it was all right. It was amusing.

"You two need more help than retarded rats trapped in a circular room with their legs cut off." Naruto responded, smirking at his metaphor.

"That is…" Lee had no idea what to say to that.

"Morbid?" Gaara offered.

"Yes, I guess so." Lee answered.

"You're finishing each other's sentences!" Naruto thought he might lose it. He gazed at the clock desperately. Not much time left, he was thankful to whatever deity it was that would let him break free of this mess.

"Do we do that often?" Lee asked Gaara. He really hadn't noticed it before.

"I don't think so." Gaara answered, though he was uncertain himself. Maybe they did, since neither of them seemed to find it odd.

"I hope not." Naruto interjected. Really, he could do everything in his power to try and stop the rumors but if they went around finishing each other's sentences… It'd be hopeless. It already seemed pretty hopeless.

Gaara and Lee claimed to be just friends. And they were, it was the truth. But for two high school boys to be living together, spending their free time together, and having such a big effect on one another… Plus Lee had saved Gaara's life. And neither of them had ever had girlfriends to prove that they were straight. Gaara was always turning girls down; Lee was unaware that he wasn't hideous. They weren't dating, going out, or anything of the sort. But any outside party would have assumed they were. Sooner or later they'd have to start dating just because it was already assumed by everyone that they were.

"So Naruto, do you have any plans for today?" Lee asked politely, Naruto made a disgusted face in response.

"I hate Valentines Day. Just a bunch of bullshit if you ask me." Naruto looked off gloomily for a moment.

"Are you just saying that because you do not receive any valentines of your own?" Lee questioned, but he didn't mean to be cruel, he really wanted to know.

"You could always have some of mine." Gaara offered. His backpack was filling up fast. He believed this year was setting a new record. Maybe his injury gave him sympathy points? In that case, he didn't want the valentines at all. Pity is a grotesque emotion.

"I'll have you know that I do get a good amount of valentines each year." Naruto retorted, a little bit offended. Why would anyone assume he didn't get valentines? That wasn't why he didn't like Valentines Day. He had his reasons.

"Oh, I almost forgot, there are quite a few girls who like you. Is Hinata still the most persistent?" Lee asked, remembering how Hinata used to shyly visit the orphanage to see Naruto when they were really young.

"I guess, at least she's the veteran. The rest come and go." Naruto answered.

"Does that one guy still hit on you in your study hall?" Lee asked, remembering how Naruto used to complain about how that guy would always tease him about his penis.

"Nope. Not since I socked him in the face." Naruto replied, displaying a victorious smile. He felt better ever since he'd punched that douche bag Sai in the face.

"Hey Lee, you still a valentine virgin?" Naruto teased.

"Mr. Gai's cards do not count, so yes, I suppose I am." Lee answered. He frowned for a moment; both Gaara and Naruto caught it.

"Hey, don't feel so bad. I heard Sakura's been looking for you all day." Naruto nudged Lee from where he was and winked. Gaara was suddenly completely absorbed in their conversation. Of course, he didn't let it show, but he was.

"Really? I did not think I was that hard to find." Lee replied, though his face had a faint shade of pink to it now.

"You know what I mean. She's probably going to approach you after school." Naruto was proud of his information gathering skills.

"How did you find this out?" Lee asked, a bit disbelieving. He had liked Sakura for the longest time. Not that he liked her like that now, but it still seemed too incredible to be true.

"Ino can't shut up about anything and even you know it." Naruto replied. Lee gave a small nod of affirmation. He didn't realize he was blushing; even if was only a little bit.

Gaara, having felt it once before, recognized that he was jealous. Jealous of someone with Lee, once again. Lee made him feel things he would have never imagined feeling before. But his being jealous was making him angry. He shouldn't need to be jealous. He knew who Lee was going home with. Who Lee would always be going home with. No one was taking his newly acquired 'friend.' Not now, not ever. Gaara realized he was possessive. He didn't care.

"But Naruto, I thought her and Sasuke had finally had a breakthrough." Lee wasn't too sure. He'd stopped keeping tabs on Sakura a while back when he'd finally given up on her ever liking him in return.

"Well, let's just say she found out what a real jerk that guy is. Though, I've been telling everyone what a real bastard he is all along, just no one listens to me." Naruto explained.

"Oh." It was all Lee could manage to say. He was very confused by his emotions at the moment. And if it weren't for Gaara's quiet presence right there next to him he might have been lost. But he knew better. He had already decided that he was not going to let anything come between Gaara and himself. Anyway, he still doubted Sakura would really approach him. There were plenty of other guys she could have turned to after leaving Sasuke.

The bell rang suddenly; they'd all forgotten they'd been waiting for it. Naruto quickly said goodbye and went to gather his things. Lee grabbed his bag before joining Gaara out in the hallway. Seeing someone ahead in the crowd with a gym bag he remembered he had to get his own bag.

"I am sorry Gaara, I forgot something important in my gym locker. Should I meet you by the car?" Lee asked, trying to give Gaara his best apologetic smile.

"Do you remember where it is?" Gaara asked.

"Yes." Lee replied, smiling.

The smile is what made Gaara nod his head in approval before walking towards his own locker. He needed his math book to check some problems. There were the last of the little cards waiting for him. He shoved them into the book and made his way towards the parking lot.

Lee quickly headed for his gym locker. He didn't want to keep Gaara waiting. Also, he was a bit afraid of running into Sakura. He knew he wouldn't lose his resolve, but he rather not turn down his first real valentine.

Though, he still ended up talking to his coach for a little bit, Mr. Gai seemed to be so proud that he was finally blossoming in the springtime of his youth. Lee thought it would have broken Mr. Gai's heart had he known Lee was really spending the time with Gaara. Lee didn't lie to him; he just didn't say the whole story. He was doing that more than he would have liked nowadays.

After he grabbed his bag he decided going past the track would be the fastest way to the parking lot. He did not expect to see Sakura there waiting for him. And once they'd both seen each other it was too late to run. Lee hoped Gaara would forgive him for being late.

"Sakura! Long time no see." Lee said nervously, mustering the kindest smile he could. Sakura had been sitting on the bleachers so he walked towards her, and she stood up to greet him.

"Hey Lee. I had hoped to catch you during practice, but you're not dressed out. Are you skipping today?" Sakura asked, casually, looking much more comfortable with this than Lee was.

"Yeah." He said chuckling a little bit, trying to seem less nervous but failing miserably. "Mr. Gai let me have it off. Since it is a holiday."

"You usually train twice as hard on holidays, Lee." Sakura teased, moving her head to the side a bit. Lee had forgotten how nice her short hair looked on her, it moved with her, making every movement of her head a statement. He smiled in reply.

"You are right. I guess I decided today would be a little bit different." Lee replied, trying to stay vague.

"That's good, you need a break." Sakura stated, shifting her weight. There were little things that showed that she was nervous. But she hid it a lot better than Lee.

Lee felt he should say he needed to meet someone, because it was true, but he didn't. He didn't know what to do. Sakura finally broke the silence.

"Lee, I've got something very important to tell you." Sakura started, smiling as if they talked like this everyday. Lee nodded in reply, now his face was so warm even he noticed it.

"I think I really like you." Sakura looked him straight in the eyes as she said it, though she blushed a bit herself. When he didn't say anything but instead fumbled for words she continued. "And since you're not doing anything tonight, maybe we could try going somewhere together." She smiled, and Lee could feel himself melt for that smile. But he couldn't. He had plans. Plans with Gaara.

"I have plans already, I am sorry." Lee finally managed to say, looking down so that his hair covered his eyes.

"With a girl?" Sakura asked, knowing the answer must have been yes. She had just assumed Lee was free. She'd forgotten he was better looking now than he gave himself credit for. That must have been why he was skipping practice.

"No, actually." Lee finally replied, shaking his head. He was surprised to look up and see Sakura sighing with relief.

"Then how about a different day? I don't mind going with you after you're done with practice." Sakura said, still in control.

It was around this time that Gaara approached. Unnoticed, of course, and he stopped short so that they wouldn't see him. He'd left the car after throwing his things in it and waiting for about a minute. He was a pretty impatient person. He'd started his search while Lee had still been talking with his coach. Gaara reached the locker rooms after Lee had left and the coach had told him Lee had headed towards the track. Now Gaara was here, but he couldn't go forward. From where he was he could see the back of Lee and the front of the pink haired girl through the bleachers. They couldn't see him, even if they were looking; he knew he was just out of sight. He didn't think he should be spying, but he rationalized it by telling himself he'd been looking for Lee and had found him. Now he was waiting for him. He couldn't really hear them, so he wasn't really eavesdropping either.

Lee shook his head, since he couldn't find the right words to say. "Sakura, I do not think I can." He was stuttering a bit, his face still flushed and he couldn't find the courage to look at her.

"Lee." Sakura said softly, putting her hand on his chin so she could make him look at her. "I was stupid before, I'm sorry. But I think I might really like you, I want to at least try this." She was slowly coming closer, and Lee didn't really notice but Gaara did. Gaara couldn't move. He couldn't hear the words but he knew that tone of voice.

"Sakura…" Lee started, but he didn't know what to say. She put her finger to his lips to quiet him before moving in. She slowly lifted herself to kiss Lee, moving away after only a moment. She smiled softly, Lee's face was completely red and he was hiding his eyes under his bangs again.

Gaara saw her move in, he had heard the wet pop their lips had made when they separated, and now the school had become so quiet he knew he would be able to hear whatever came next. Though, to his surprise, he saw it first.

Lee placed his hands on Sakura's shoulders and stepped back, holding her where she was so she couldn't move towards him. He was still looking down, so she couldn't see his eyes. This was enough for Gaara. He didn't want to see anything else. It was obvious what was next. He didn't need to hear Lee break her heart. He didn't want to hear Lee say anything of the sort, even if it wasn't to him. Gaara went back the way he came, deciding to wait in the car.

"Sakura, I c-cannot." Lee stuttered. He wasn't any less red and still couldn't look at her.

"What do you mean?" Sakura questioned, losing her cool. Her voice cracked.

Lee finally looked up at her, the tears in his eyes now obvious. They broke free and ran down his cheeks. "Sakura, I do not want to hurt your feelings." He said, his own voice very unsteady. He was vaguely aware that he was crying, but it wasn't something he was ready to explain.

"Lee, are you all right?" Sakura asked, and she couldn't even imagine crying now. She was too shocked to see the tears she should have been shedding on Lee's face.

"Yes, Sakura, I am sorry." He answered, moving his hand off of her shoulders and wiping the tears off of his face with the back of his hand.

"It's okay, I'm sorry." Sakura apologized, she didn't know what for, though. Lee was crying for her, because he didn't want to hurt her. She understood that. She didn't understand why he had to turn her down.

"You do not have to be sorry, Sakura." Lee replied, smiling a bit at her to show he was okay.

"Let's sit down." Sakura suggested and Lee nodded. They sat on the bleachers next to Sakura's bag and Lee set down his own bag. He had to go meet Gaara, but first he had to explain himself to Sakura. Lee actually hoped Gaara would grow impatient and leave because he didn't want Gaara waiting all this time for him.

"I should explain." Lee started, taking a deep breath to steady himself.

"No, it's fine." Sakura replied, though she did want to know she didn't need to know. Lee shook his head.

"You deserve to know." Lee stated, and then went on before she could say anything more. "I cannot go out with you now because…" He paused, but kept going after a moment, "because I have found my special person, and I cannot let anything come between us." Lee's face was slowly turning red again.

"Can you tell me who she is? Because she's very lucky." Sakura asked, feeling a little sad, but even more curious.

"It is not a she, Sakura." Lee said after a long moment, blushing even more.

"Oh." Was all Sakura could manage to say in reply. She thought to herself that all the good men in this world were gay.

"I have never told anyone about this before. If I tell you, can you promise not to tell anyone else?" Lee asked, more nervous than ever. Sakura deserved to know, he told himself.

"Of course. I'm not out for revenge on you for breaking my heart." Sakura replied, smirking.

"I am sorry, Sakura." Lee apologized once again. Sakura shook her head.

"Don't worry about it." Sakura stated, and Lee sighed with relief.

"Thank you." Lee said, now able to smile like he had before. He felt a lot less nervous now that he had Sakura's forgiveness.

"There's no need to thank me, Lee." Sakura replied, and for a moment Lee thought of Gaara saying words similar to those to him before.

Lee took another deep breath before his confession. "My special person is… Gaara." Lee's face was as red as it could get and he tried to gulp down his nervousness. He acted as if he was saying this to Gaara himself!

"I should have known." Sakura said, smiling and almost laughing. She had dismissed all the rumors and had refused to let herself see how close Lee was to Gaara nowadays.

"What?" Lee asked, confused by what she had said. Why should she have known?

"It's the way you smile at him." Sakura replied, looking into the distance. She had thought about it, and it was true. "If you had smiled like that at me back when you liked me I would have fallen for you in a second."

"For real?" Lee asked, not believing what he was hearing. Sakura nodded. "Naruto said the same thing earlier." Lee added, and Sakura gave him a strange look. "Not the second part, the part about my smiling at Gaara." Lee quickly said, smiling a bit at the thought of Naruto saying that second part.

"Then it's not just me. I think you really have found your special person, Lee. I'm just sad that it isn't me." Sakura remarked, looking ahead into the distance.

"I did not know." Lee said, looking ahead at nothing, also.

"What?" Sakura asked.

"I did not know that I smiled in a different way for Gaara. I did not know that other people could notice it when I could not. And I did not know that you cared so much." Lee answered, the words coming easily to him now. He looked at her to find she had turned to look at him in return.

"It's fine, it can't be helped. There's other fish in the sea for me." Sakura said reassuringly. Lee smiled, looking away.

"I am glad. I think you could find someone better than me." Lee replied.

"That'd be pretty hard, but I'll try." Sakura looked away again, thinking that it was just bad timing on her part. It was her own fault, though. She shouldn't have been so obsessed over Sasuke for so long. She knew she could have had Lee if she hadn't waited so long.

"Oh!" Lee said suddenly. He had been looking into the distance, towards the parking lot, and saw that Gaara's car was one of the only cars left. "He is still waiting for me!" Lee quickly stood up and gathered his things. Sakura stood next to him.

"Who?" Sakura asked, looking towards where she thought Lee had been looking.

"Gaara. I had hoped he would leave me here and go home." Lee said quickly.

"So maybe he does like you, if he would wait this long to give you a ride home. And you live in the opposite direction of his house. He'd be going out of his way for you." Sakura said, smiling mischievously.

"No, not really. I am surprised he waited, though." Lee replied, looking around to make sure he didn't forget anything. He still hadn't given Gaara the present out of his gym bag so he made sure he had that.

"What do you mean?" Sakura questioned. Of course Gaara was going out of his way. Sakura knew for a fact that Lee still lived near the orphanage and the Sabaku mansion was on the opposite side of the city.

"Oh, I am living with Gaara now." Lee said, giving her a reassuring smile. She just looked at him in disbelief.

"So does that mean…?" Sakura asked, but she didn't know what to say. Was Lee already in a relationship with Gaara?

"No, we are, um, just friends." Lee replied nervously, having known what Sakura was implying by the look she had been giving him.

"Does he know?" Sakura asked, now grabbing her things so she could walk towards the parking lot with Lee.

"Know what?" Lee questioned in response.

"That you like him." They had been walking, but now Lee stopped.

"No, I do not think he knows. We are friends, and that is more than I could have ever hoped for." Lee answered. He had a look of pinning on his face and Sakura recognized it.

"You need to tell him." Sakura stated, looking at him, he nervously met her gaze.

"I do not think I can." Lee replied, looking sullen.

"I won't forgive you if you don't." Sakura said, giving Lee a small glare.

"What?" Lee said, shocked out of the gloomy mood that had been overcoming him.

"I won't forgive you for breaking my heart if you don't tell him." Sakura knew that if she said this Lee would be forced to confess his love. He couldn't stand when people were angry with him.

"I… I will have to then, Sakura." Lee replied, but he hadn't been ready for that. Now he'd promised to do the one thing he'd never planed on doing. Ever.

"Good, I'll see you around then." Sakura said smiling as she walked off to go her own way. Lee hurried to the parking lot, and when Gaara spotted him he got out of the car to open the trunk for him.

"I am so sorry for being late." Lee said as he set his things into the trunk. Gaara shrugged as he shut it and got back into the driver's seat. Lee followed and not so swiftly made it into the passenger's seat.

"I am surprised you didn't leave." Lee commented as he tried to get his seat belt on.

Gaara paused in starting the car. Why hadn't he left? "It hadn't occurred to me to leave." Gaara replied.

"Thank you for waiting." Lee said in response, smiling at Gaara, who then continued to start the car.

"I wouldn't leave you, Lee." Gaara stated as he drove the car towards the parking lot's exit.

"Thank you, Gaara." Lee replied, this one much more heartfelt. Lee loved when Gaara said things like that. It was the closest he ever got to romantic. Lee thought it was romantic sounding, though Gaara was just stating what he knew to be the truth.

"Would you leave me?" Gaara asked, his gaze on the road, his voice steady, yet Lee thought he sounded unsure of himself. Which was nothing like how he usually was.

"Of course not. Just say the word and I will stick by your side forever." Lee answered, smiling at Gaara even though Gaara couldn't look over at him.

"What's the word?" Gaara asked, confused, his non-existent eyebrows furrowed.

"It is a figure of speech, Gaara." Lee explained, wanting to chuckle at how socially inept Gaara was. Of course, he didn't chuckle. That would have been rude.

"Okay." Gaara replied. They sat in silence for a few more moments, the car's humming motor not bothering Lee as much now that they were talking.

"Still," Gaara started, "What do I need to say to make you stay, then?" It sounded romantic to Lee, even though Gaara had used the same tone of voice he always used.

"Nothing, I will stay with you." Lee answered, a warm feeling sinking into him. He knew Gaara was his special person, and it didn't matter to him if Gaara thought that he was his special person as well. He wanted Gaara to like him the way he liked Gaara, but he didn't need it.

"Good." Was all Gaara felt the need to say. There was silence again, they were stopped at a red light.

"I ran into Sakura after school." Lee stated.

"Oh?" Gaara replied, acting like he didn't know. He shouldn't have known.

"That is why I was so late, I am sorry." Lee continued. Gaara shrugged while keeping his hands on the wheel.

"What happened?" Gaara asked, knowing what had happened. But he needed to hear Lee say it.

"She…" Lee tried to start, but had to wait another moment to form the right words, "She told me she had feelings for me." Lee paused again before continuing. "I told her I had already found my special person, though. She understood what I meant and is not angry with me." Lee decided to leave the part about the promise out.

"Your 'special person'?" Gaara questioned.

"The person who… Someone who I…sort of like…" Lee was bad at explaining this particular subject without using the 'L' word. Lee believed that Gaara wasn't a big fan of the 'L' word.

"Love?" Gaara asked frankly.

"Yes. But it is more than that, I think." Lee answered.

"So who is this person?" Gaara casually asked. Lee blushed a bit in response.

"It is… a secret." Lee decided he'd go with that.

"You will tell me." Gaara stated. Lee's face gave away his nervousness. Luckily Gaara was focused on the road.

"Why must you know?" Lee asked, hoping to get around the subject sometime soon. He'd promised Sakura he'd tell Gaara about his feelings. He hadn't promised when. And right now was too soon.

"Because I need to make sure no one gets between us." Gaara replied curtly. He might have been a bit smaller than most guys his age but he could still punch someone in the face if he had to.

Lee had the urge to laugh, but didn't. "They will never come between us, Gaara, I assure you." He said, and had Gaara been anyone else he might have figured out what Lee was implying. Instead he just kept driving, content with Lee's vague answer for the moment. Gaara swore to himself that before the night was through he would get Lee to tell him who it was. He also promised himself that the person would never see Lee again if he thought they were a threat to their relationship. As friends, of course.

And then they were pulling up to Gaara's house. Lee still couldn't think of it as his own, really. It was like he was having a sleepover at Gaara's house that lasted forever. Gaara pushed the button to open the gate and then the button to open the garage door. Lee noticed that two of the other cars were gone. Temari and Kankuro must have already left to start their own Valentines Day celebrations.

"So, what are we going to do tonight?" Gaara asked as he turned off the car. Lee struggled with his seatbelt before answering.

"I do not know, I did not have anything in particular planned." Lee replied, looking at Gaara with an embarrassed smile on his face. He wasn't very good at planning things.

"All right then, we'll find something to do." Gaara said as he got out of the car and headed towards the trunk, opening it and grabbing his things before Lee finally stood next to him.

"Oh, I have something for you, Gaara." Lee remarked as he grabbed his bags out of the trunk. Gaara shut the trunk as soon as Lee's fingers were out of the way.

"What is it?" Gaara asked, turning towards Lee and holding out his hand, ready to receive whatever it was.

"Wait until we get inside." Lee responded, smiling as they headed towards the house and Gaara pressed the button to shut the garage door. As Lee opened the door to go into the house he saw a note attached to it and grabbed it. Gaara noticed this and took the note from him once he'd finished reading it over.

Dear Little Bro,

We sent the hired help home early today so they could enjoy their Valentines Day as well. You have the whole house for you and your boyfriend. We'll see you tomorrow.

-Your awesome siblings

Temari and Kankuro

"Well then." Gaara stated, crumpling up the piece of paper and throwing it in the nearest trash can. "You can cook, right?" Gaara asked.

"Of course, but it will not be as good as the food you are used to." Lee answered shyly. Gaara shrugged, knowing he didn't eat much anyway so it shouldn't affect him.

"It's odd to know that this whole house is empty." Gaara commented, looking around as if to make sure no one would pop out of nowhere just to contradict him.

"Yes, a little spooky, even. I would not want to be in this house alone." Lee remarked, Gaara nodded a bit.

"Well, I'm here so you'll never be alone." Gaara replied. There was a silence in which neither of them knew what to do next.

"Should we sit down?" Lee asked, motioning towards the living room to their left, Gaara shrugged but led the way into the room. Lee sat next to Gaara on a couch with a table in front of it. He set his gym bag down and reached into the front pocket where he'd been hiding Gaara's gift.

"I know it is probably a little awkward to give this to you, but I thought you might like it, so…" Lee rambled as he handed the small plastic bag over to Gaara. Gaara took it with one hand and stared cautiously at it.

"This bag?" Gaara asked after a long moment. Lee almost laughed, and his eyes glowed with the laughter.

"No, it is what is inside of the bag, Gaara." Lee answered. Anyone else would have felt foolish for having to be corrected but Gaara just proceeded to open the bag and take out the contents. Actually, content, singular, since there really was only one item. Unless you counted to packaging, then it would be multiple contents. Gaara was over analyzing things. He looked at the necklace.

It was a masculine necklace, just like Lee had wanted it to be. Two eastern style dragons intertwined around an impressive looking blade with their jowls forming the cross guard of the hilt. A thick metal chain with a simple clasp completed the necklace perfectly.

"Do you like it?" Lee asked, worried that he'd been foolish.

"Yes, it is very…" Gaara searched his newly acquired modern vernacular for a word to describe it, "Epic." He finally finished, happy with his word choice. Lee let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and smiled.

"Would you like me to help you put it on?" Lee asked after another moment, since Gaara hadn't made a move to do so himself. Gaara shook his head.

"No, I'll do it." Gaara replied as he shoved the packaging back into the bag and undid the clasp only to redo it once it was around his neck. He moved his hands away and it rested comfortably on his collarbone. He liked the cold metallic feel of it. He also liked the weight of it. He could be constantly aware of it.

"Thank you." Gaara said after a long pause. Lee blushed a little in response.

"You are welcome, Gaara." Lee replied shyly.

"I didn't get you anything." Gaara commented. He hadn't thought to get Lee anything, but now he felt as if he should have.

"It is all right, I do not need anything more from you." Lee responded, wanting to hug Gaara just for looking so adorable. But he shouldn't think things like that, he told himself.

"Anything more?" Gaara asked, confused. Had he already given Lee something?

"Well, you have already given me a place to live, and your friendship… I do not think there is anything I could want more than that." Lee replied.

"I'm sure there is something." Gaara muttered. Thinking to himself about what he could give Lee. He felt the sudden impulse that he had to give Lee something.

"What?" Lee asked, having heard him, but not ready to believe he'd heard correctly. Was Gaara wary of Lee's affections for him? But from Gaara's distant look Lee assumed he wasn't suspicious.

"Nothing. What do you suggest we do now?" Gaara responded, thinking that'd before the night was through he'd figure out who Lee's 'special person' and give him something that he wanted.

"We could go see the backyard, like we discussed earlier." Lee replied, offering an unsure smile. Gaara got up to leave, grabbing his things and the garbage from his gift.

"Very well then. Let's take our things to our rooms first." Gaara said, making his way towards the same garbage he'd thrown the note away in before heading down the hall towards their rooms. Lee fell into step next to him after he'd grabbed his things and caught up.

They walked quietly, their footsteps echoing throughout the empty house, it seemed. It only made the house feel more lifeless. Again Lee thought to himself that he would never want to travel through these corridors alone. He'd only ever made the journey from the door to his room and sometimes to the dinning room alone. And that felt like a worn path he could travel carelessly since he'd made the trip with Gaara so many times before. Memories carved a clear and steady path from one place to another for him. And he found that memories with Gaara left stronger impressions on the Earth, in his mind.

Gaara was still thinking of ways he could find out who Lee's 'special person' was and find out what it was that he wanted. Gaara knew there was something Lee really wanted. Gaara was paying attention to Lee even when he didn't realize it himself. He'd noticed a sort of look of longing on Lee's face once or twice. It always went as quickly as it came, but it was there nonetheless. Maybe the thing he wanted was this 'special person'. For some reason, just the idea of this person holding Lee's affections was aggravating. Gaara knew he shouldn't feel like that. Friends were happy for other friends who had girlfriends. He'd learned that much, obviously. But he felt different about Lee, and he hadn't figured it out yet.

Gaara figured honesty was the best policy. "Lee," he started tentatively, making sure he had Lee's attention before continuing. "Who is your 'special person'?" He knew he'd already asked, but he was really determined to get answer out of Lee. He didn't like guessing.

Lee hesitated for a moment, and only continued to walk after Gaara was visibly ahead of him. He caught up with him before saying, "I promise, I will tell you some day." Lee said, having been thrown off by the question being asked so out of the blue.

"Why can't today be that 'some day'?" Gaara asked, not understanding Lee's logic. If he was going to tell him eventually, why wait?

"Maybe it will be." Lee said quietly, satisfying Gaara for the moment with this answer.

"All right then, what is it that you want?" Gaara asked, his new question perfectly logical and well timed in his own mind. Lee was again stunned by the random question.

"More than anything?" Lee asked, ready to confide what he wanted, finally. But he was going to be vague about it. He'd become so good at making things vague. Because Gaara didn't quite get it if it was too vague. He was a very blunt person.

"Yes, I guess so." Gaara finally said, making Lee go on.

"For that 'special person' to like me the way I like them." Lee answered, blushing brightly. He was worse than any schoolgirl, he was sure of it.

"I'm sure they do." Gaara remarked, looking ahead indifferently, as always.

"What?" Lee asked, genuinely perplexed.

"The person you like. I'm sure they like you. Everyone likes you." Gaara answered.

"…Even you?" Lee questioned after a moment, trying to sound normal and self-assured. But neither of those two adjectives ever described Lee.

"Of course. We're friends, aren't we?" Gaara replied easily.

"Of course, Gaara." Lee answered, but for some reason he had to hold back a sigh. Gaara would never realize how he affected Lee.

They reached their rooms and before Lee went into his Gaara touched his arm to grab his attention. "Grab a jacket, it's probably getting cold already." Then Gaara headed towards his own room and Lee could feel his whole body hum once again. He was going to die of too much happiness eventually. If just that tiny gesture could make him so glad he could burst he didn't want to imagine what would happen if they ever kissed…

It was then, as he closed the door to his room, that Lee realized he'd already had his first kiss. Of course, he had noticed when Sakura kissed him, but the realization of it all was just now hitting him. It hadn't been the magical moment he'd always dreamed of. Actually, it had left him crying. He knew this was because he couldn't love Sakura, not that she was a bad kisser or anything. She'd tasted like flavored lip gloss, he could not have told you what flavor, though. But there was no chemistry, no magic, it was not as he had always thought a kiss should be. But maybe he was over thinking it, or his standards were too high. Still he wonder if with Gaara it would be…

He stopped that train of thought right there and quickly set his things onto his bed and grabbed a modest brown jacket. He couldn't go around thinking things like that. Thoughts eventually became actions, and he knew he shouldn't act upon thoughts like those. He open the door to go into the hallway and saw Gaara already in his jacket standing there, waiting. That's all he seemed to be doing today, waiting for Lee. He had suspicions that the night would continue to this theme.

Lee felt the urge to apologized, but stopped himself and just smiled warmly instead, hoping that would convey the message. It didn't, of course, but Gaara still took the smile for himself and started walking towards the closest door to the backyard.

"How big is the backyard?" Lee asked, but he knew it must have been large from what he'd seen through the windows.

"Very big." Gaara answered, the question seemed dull to him. "I don't know how big, exactly." Gaara added, and saw from Lee's face that his question was answered. Gaara knew the backyard was about as big as the house itself, at least. Full of trees, the trees made it seem even larger.

"Do you spend a lot of time there?" Lee asked, though Gaara thought it should have been in the past tense, since he hadn't spent much time there since Lee had started living there. Gaara had been a little worried that he'd venture into the backyard, lose track of time, and forget to have dinner with Lee. Lee was the only reason Gaara ever attended dinner.

"I did. I would go out there to clear my head." Gaara answered. He would go out there to sit in the trees, next to the trees, around the trees, knowing he was alone, but surrounded by life. It had been the only thing that could calm him. It wasn't the only thing, anymore.

"So it is really quiet out there?" Lee asked, killing time. Though he didn't like that phrase, killing time. It was too violent, and he didn't dislike time so much that he would ever think to kill it.

"Yes. You'll see." Gaara replied, knowing that the door up ahead to their left would lead them outside.

First off, there was an oversized patio with a very large grill on one end with lots of outdoor tables and chairs. A couple of benches were set against the outside of the house, overlooking the best part of the backyard. It looked like it might have hosted many outdoor parties, though Lee guessed that in reality it probably had only hosted a few. The patio was raised and level with the house.

Then there were a few stone steps leading to two pools, one a bit smaller than the other. Lee heard Gaara point out that one was a diving pool and the other wasn't very deep at all. Both were heated.

"Actually, we could go swimming right now, if we wanted to." Gaara stated, they were slowly walking towards the pools. Lee shook his head at this.

"Even if it is heated, we would freeze when we got out." Lee pointed out, though Gaara just shrugged. He didn't really like swimming, anyway.

The stonework around the pools was very detailed, and from what Lee could see the tile work continued into the pools themselves. A little farther away there was a gazebo looking structure. Lee couldn't tell what was in it from where they were standing.

"What is that, over there?" Lee asked, and Gaara led them towards it.

"It's a Jacuzzi." Gaara explained as they continued towards it. Two steps into a room like structure with a Jacuzzi built right into the ground. There were chairs set up around it, a couple of tables, and the controls were visibly mounted onto the wall. It was a bit warmer in there than it was outside.

"There's a heater built into the roof, so it could be used in the winter." Gaara explained, then turned to walk back towards the pool, though this time he faced away from the house. Lee mimicked his actions and they were staring into an expanse of trees. Lee looked from left to right, just making out the area where the trees ended and walls began. He could not tell how far back the trees went, though. And when he looked to the left he could also make out where the servants quarters were, since he'd been told where they were before. They would be empty tonight, he thought to himself.

Lee once again looked out towards the trees. "How far back does it go?" Lee asked, turning to Gaara.

"It doesn't really end. It's connected to the forest. A small fence marks where our property ends." Gaara stated, and Lee had to think about the city's layout in his mind. He knew there was a forest past here, but he hadn't known that Gaara's mansion was so close to it. Though, once he had the city laid out in his head he figured the forest was right after the area were Gaara lived. Lee had used the forest to train on his own back when he'd been younger, before the orphanage had allowed him to attend high school. He hadn't realized how close he had been to Gaara all that time. Of course, he hadn't known who Gaara was back then, anyway.

"So, it would be easy to get into your backyard through the forest?" Lee had to ask. It seemed like a burglar's dream. Gaara shook his head.

"No, not really. First, they would have to make it through the forest without getting lost to find this area. Then it might be easy to get into the forested area but the instant someone approached the house they would be caught on a security camera. The staff would notice them and escort them off the premises." Gaara explained slowly. It had happened maybe once or twice that Gaara knew of, and only because the staff had notified him later on.

Lee let it all settle into his head before asking another question. "So tonight, with everyone gone, we would be quite vulnerable?" Lee was not scared by the thought of a burglar as much as he should have been.

"Yes, I guess so. Though it's highly unlikely." Gaara replied. The thought of a trespasser almost excited him. He hadn't beat anyone up for awhile now, since middle school, he decided. Sometimes people underestimated him because he was not as tall as everyone else. That had always been their downfall.

"I would protect you." Lee stated after a long moment, almost throwing Gaara off. Lee had a determined look upon his face, he was serious.

"I don't need you protecting me, Lee." Gaara replied honestly, though Lee looked downhearted at this. Gaara quickly added, "Though it would be nice to have your support." Lee smiled again at this and nodded. Gaara was glad he had said the right thing. He meant it. He would never need someone to protect him, he wasn't that weak. But working together? Slowly he was seeing that, with Lee, it had its advantages.

"Let's go." Gaara said as he stepped into the grass, walking towards the trees. Lee quickly followed.

It was winter, so the sun was already getting ready to set in the west. The sky was only beginning to turn orange, but already it gave everything a soft glow that made it seem less real. Lee turned to look at Gaara as they walked. His hair was radiant in the colors cast by the setting sun.

"…Beautiful." Lee muttered, though he didn't realize he'd said it aloud until Gaara stopped to look at him. Lee quickly looked away, already turning pink.

"The trees. Your backyard." Lee tried to cover, Gaara only nodded in agreement.

"One of the only good parts in this whole damn estate." Gaara commented as he continued to walk. They were reaching the first trees and with only a few more steps they were completely surrounded by trees. After another minute Gaara suddenly turned around and Lee mimicked his actions. They were looking back towards the house, but by now it was only the vague outline of something through the trees.

"This is why I like my backyard so much." Gaara commented. Everything was distant, nothing seemed urgent. It was quiet in the sense that there were no outside sounds, just the sounds inside of the forest. Even though the trees were dead there was still a sense of life. Birds were getting ready to rest for the night. The light streaming through the branches wasn't very much, and soon they'd only have the moon and stars to help guide them.

Then Gaara turned back around and continued into the forest. Lee was quick to follow, as always. He was taller that Gaara but there were times when he felt like Gaara's shadow, following him wherever he went. Though, he was more like an obedient puppy, but that was a bit too embarrassing to admit.

Lee's curiosity got the better of him and he asked where they were going. Gaara had replied 'You'll see' quietly as he led them further into the forest. From the reds and purples in the sky Lee knew the sun was just about to set, but he continued to follow Gaara. Just when Lee thought the forest would go on forever they reached a small metal fence. Gaara proceeded to hop over it in one graceful move, like he'd done it many times before, which was true. The best part of the forest wasn't until after the fence.

"Is it much farther?" Lee asked after he'd hopped over the fence, unsure if he was okay leaving the Sabaku estate. It felt wrong, for some reason. But Gaara was excited, and he had a small mischievous grin upon his features when he turned towards Lee.

"No, we're almost there." Gaara assured him and they continued their game of follow the leader for a little while longer. Lee began to think he'd seen this all somewhere before, but decided it was just some weird déjà vu.

Well, until they reached a circular clearing that Lee was sure he recognized. Gaara stopped to look around at the trees before smiling, yes smiling, at Lee. It was a proud smile, like he was showing off something.

"It's the perfect place." Gaara stated as he faced Lee. Lee could only nod, wondering if he should share why he already knew this was the 'perfect place'. It had been his own perfect place, years ago.

"It's better when it isn't winter, though." Gaara commented and Lee nodded again. He knew it was best in the fall, when the leaves had just begun to change colors.

"How long have you known about this place?" Lee finally asked. Gaara just shrugged at first.

"A long time. I found it while running away when I was small." Gaara replied, almost nostalgic. He remembered running to this place to get away from his father. It was his haven, and he was glad to see that Lee appreciated its splendor. The way the trees were arranged around them, the almost cozy abode they formed… Better than anything manmade.

Lee debated on whether he should say anything. He'd only come here during the years after Naruto had been adopted and before he went into high school. A bad time for him, when physical exercise had been his only form of escape. He still had almost unnoticeable scars on his knuckles and a bit on his arms and legs. Though, one would have to be looking to find them. And one would have to know where to look on the trees to find their almost healed over scars, too.

Gaara, once he realized Lee wasn't going to comment, started to say whatever was on his mind. "It seemed untouchable by anyone else, until…" Gaara paused, looking at Lee to make sure he had his attention. Which he did, Lee seemed to be anxiously waiting for Gaara to continue. "Until about the time I was switching in and out of middle schools. I didn't have as much time to come here, but when I did the trees looked as if someone had been carving into them. For some reason, it hadn't bothered me as much as it should have." Gaara looked at Lee again to see his face turning a bit red. Was he getting cold? The sun was almost completely gone by now.

"I must confess, Gaara, it was me." Lee said quietly, stepping towards Gaara and looking at him.

"What?" Gaara asked, not following him.

"I should have said something, but I know this place. I used to come here when I was a bit younger, also. To train." Lee started nervously, smiling to try and cover his embarrassment. "The marks, those were from me." Lee continued when he noticed Gaara wasn't about to comment on his confession yet. "I would use the trees to practice. I did not think anyone would mind." Lee hoped Gaara did not mind.

Gaara let this thought settle into his mind. He didn't seem shocked to find that it had been Lee. Actually, he felt as if he'd been expecting it to turn out to be Lee. And he smiled at Lee. They were really alone together now, and Gaara felt no inhibitions, nothing to stop the smile from appearing. "It proves that we are… meant to be together." Gaara heard the words before he had even realized he was speaking.

The smile was perfect, it wasn't forced, it wasn't small and nervous or prideful or scornful. It was a small display of affection, Lee thought. A real smile. The only thing Lee had really wanted that he hadn't realized he wanted so much. The words were just the icing on the cake. Lee could feel tears welling up in his eyes for the second time that day. Only this time they were there in response to his happiness. His smile was bright and his eyes shown with words he couldn't say, as he looked at Gaara, unable to say anything in that perfect moment.

Only the moon and the stars illuminated the sky as Lee held Gaara as close to himself as he could. The movement from looking at each other to Lee embracing Gaara had happened as the last of the daylight slipped away. Gaara was confused, but not because he was being embraced. No, what worried him were the hot tears he could feel coming from Lee only to land on his neck and shoulder.

"Lee, don't cry." Gaara said, though his words were muffled by Lee's shoulder. Gaara turned his head to look up towards Lee. Lee moved one arm to wipe away his tears but used the other to keep Gaara where he was. Gaara was cold to the touch, but that only made Lee want to hold him more.

"You have given me something I wanted, Gaara." Lee stated after a few moments of silence. The tears were gone, but the happiness remained. Lee practically radiated with happiness.

"And what would that be?" Gaara asked, his ear pressed to Lee's chest. Gaara could hear Lee's heart beat even through his clothes. Lee was holding him, and it didn't feel weird at all. Gaara didn't feel the need to move away. The warmth that Lee gave him was a bonus, but not the reason he stayed as he was. No, there was something more…

"Your smile. I am truly honored." Lee said quietly, knowing that since Gaara was so close he would have no trouble hearing him.

Gaara hadn't realized he'd been smiling differently. He wondered if that sort of thing was contagious. But he'd given Lee something he had wanted, which completed part of his goal. Gaara thought to himself that he might as well ask the question one last time, since the third time is supposed to be a charm.

"Lee, who's your 'special person'?" Gaara whispered. Gaara felt Lee's arms tighten around him for a moment.

Lee knew it was time for him to say it. He would answer, the moment was right, and he didn't think it could get any more perfect. He couldn't have dreamed a better moment if he tried.

"He is right here, in my arms." Lee whispered in reply, smiling into Gaara's hair. Gaara still looked confused when Lee looked down at him. "It is you, Gaara!" Lee said through a chuckle, he couldn't help it. Gaara wasn't very good at figuring anything out when it came to romantic matters of the heart.

"Me?" Gaara replied incredulously.

"Yes." Lee answered, finally feeling sure of himself as he smiled down at Gaara.

"Are you sure?" Gaara asked, still not believing it.

"Very sure." Lee replied, still smiling.

"It's not some woman?" Gaara asked, he had assumed a 'special person' had to be female.

"No, it is not." Lee said, then added, "It is you, Gaara, I assure you."

Gaara rested his forehead on Lee's chest and smiled at the ground. Lee couldn't see how glad he was, not yet. Not even he was ready to accept how happy he was. Gaara finally moved his arms from his sides and clutched at either side of Lee's jacket, holding onto him. Lee kept his arms around Gaara's shoulders. It felt good, he thought to himself, to not have to hide his feelings from Gaara any longer. Though, inside he was shaking. The moment seemed too perfect, too unreal, for it to be actually happening.

Gaara was in a state of shock. He didn't know why he was smiling so much, it was starting to hurt his face. He wasn't used to smiling at all. He could not believe any of it for a moment. And for an instant he was back to his old way of thinking, denying it all, saying that it couldn't be real, this wasn't for him. But he shrugged it off, he wasn't a slave to his mania anymore. This was real. He could feel Lee's arms around his shoulders, he could feel and hear Lee breathing, he could feel the fabric of Lee's jacket in his hands.

"Are you sure?" Gaara asked one last time. He needed Lee to assure him again. He didn't accept things very easily. Especially when he was trying to accept something like this. If he was Lee's 'special person', that meant…

"I am sure." Lee squeezed Gaara's shoulders before adding, "What do I need to do to prove it to you?"

"Is this why you turned away that pink haired girl?" Gaara asked, answering Lee's question with another question.

"Sakura?" Gaara nodded into Lee's chest. "Yes. I told her I was already in love with you." Lee answered honestly, and Gaara stiffened at the word 'love'. Lee was nervous, he knew if he said the wrong thing he might ruin everything. But Gaara was normal again after only a moment.

"You don't have to prove anything. I…believe you." Gaara said quietly, the last two words had taken their time to come out and when he had said them they had merged together. Even Gaara had known how much Lee had chased after Sakura. Gaara had turned down countless girls, but that proved nothing because none of them had ever meant anything to him. If Lee had turned down someone who had meant so much to him for Gaara… Gaara moved his head so that half of his face laid on Lee's shoulder, so that he could be closer to him.

Lee didn't know what to say. He was too happy, but he didn't want to cry again. He felt like he'd wake up at any moment, but he knew he hadn't fallen asleep so this had to be real. He just stayed as he was, letting Gaara come closer to him, holding him as he did so. Gaara was the perfect height for him, Lee thought, the top of Gaara's head reaching just past his lips when Gaara stood up straight. If he faced towards Gaara he could kiss his forehead. Lee almost gave in and did it, but he decided he didn't want to ruin the moment. He was more than content, holding Gaara like this.

Gaara was content, his mind at ease, and he had never felt like this before in his lifetime that he could remember. Their surroundings were perfect, his home away from home, and it had once been Lee's, also. Lee had proclaimed him his 'special person'. But what did that entail? What was Gaara supposed to do in response to this? Gaara assumed that by being Lee's 'special person' Lee cared for him more than anyone else. He even… loved… him. Gaara didn't like the word. Too many negative connotations. And they were both men… did that affect anything?

"Is this okay?" Gaara asked suddenly, really wondering if it was.

"Is what okay, Gaara?" Lee asked, concern in his voice. He was worried that at any moment he'd loose all of this, and never have any of it back, not even Gaara's friendship. He never wanted to be a stranger to Gaara again.

"This. Us. Me… being your 'special person'. Is it all right if we're both male?" Gaara asked, though not because he had a problem with it. He pretty much knew he was homosexual, since he had no partiality for the opposite sex whatsoever. And he did have an inclination towards the same sex… at least, he had realized, when it came to Lee. But, again, he'd always thought Lee was a very straight person.

"Gaara," Lee started softly, stopping himself from turning towards Gaara. Because if he did he knew he would end up kissing his forehead, at least. "It is fine. It is not very uncommon, and I am okay with it. I have accepted it for a long time now." Lee replied, closing his eyes and tilting his head downwards as he held onto Gaara.

"Are you okay with it?" Lee asked so quietly that Gaara, whose ear was less then a couple of inches away from Lee's mouth, could barely hear it. Lee was so scared that Gaara would be freaked out by his affections.

"Yes. I think I want to be your special person, Lee." Gaara replied, the emphasis on 'want'. Because that was what was important. The fact that he wanted it. He did want it, he didn't want anyone else to be Lee's special person. And as Gaara accepted it he moved his arms so that instead of just holding Lee's jacket, his arms were now around Lee, his hands resting on Lee's back.

"What happens now?" Gaara asked, curious. He was Lee's special person, so what came next?

"Whatever you want. Nothing has to change if you do not want it to. We can go back to being 'just friends' if that is what you wish." Lee replied quietly. He didn't want to force Gaara to do anything. If Gaara wanted nothing more than to be friends than that's what Lee would have to settle for.

"Lee." Gaara almost growled, Lee had no idea what he had done wrong and stiffened in Gaara's embrace. "Don't be stupid." Gaara held onto Lee a bit tighter. They had come this far. Gaara had made it this far, and he wasn't turning back. He wanted this, and somewhere in his mind, he knew he'd been wanting this for a long time now.

Lee simply held Gaara a bit tighter in response. He wanted to hold him so tight that there was no doubt in his mind that he couldn't leave. "…Sorry, I am really nervous." Lee whispered, knowing that Gaara was right. He was being stupid, Gaara was holding him. Was that not enough to tell Lee that he returned his feelings? Gaara, the unapproachable, had willingly put his arms around Lee.

"Don't be nervous. I want this." Gaara replied after a moment. The embrace was comfortable and neither of them felt inclined to move.

"I want this, too." Lee said quietly in response. "Gaara, I do not know if you can imagine how happy I feel because of you right now." Lee whispered to him softly.

"It's infecting me, your happiness. I think it's been affecting me since you approached me on my birthday." Gaara replied. He didn't mind change anymore, not with Lee around. Lee tightened his embrace again. He didn't like to think of that day, he'd almost lost Gaara… Every time he thought about that day he saw Gaara in the ally, dying, that look in his eyes…

Lee turned to look into Gaara's eyes. They were completely different. Did he really do that? "It is hard to believe that was only a month ago." Lee commented. Gaara would have nodded, but he was too busy looking into Lee's dark eyes. He had never looked into Lee's eyes as he was right now. He had never looked into anyone's eyes like he was looking into Lee's right now. It was as if there was no iris, especially in this darkness. Yet somehow they were big and bright, and seemed to light up Lee's face. Gaara could see a perfect reflection of the night sky in Lee's eyes.

Lee looked into Gaara's eyes, finding that all of the pain he'd seen in them before seemed to be gone. With Gaara's eyes it seemed there was no pupil, the pure turquoise color surrounded by white. Gaara's eyes were always calculating, small, and they weren't almond shaped, or round, they were cat-like. The eyeliner and permanent bags under his eyes only accentuated this. Lee had never seen Gaara with his eyes wide open and could not imagine how he might look.

"Lee, I think that…" Gaara was just about to suggest something for them to do next when Lee's stomach protested. It made a quiet growl, Gaara could almost feel it rumble. "I think we should eat dinner, to start off."

Lee looked at Gaara with an embarrassed smile, blushing a bit. "Good idea." Lee replied, though they were slow to let go of each other. Gaara almost shivered with how much colder it was away from Lee.

They stood there for a moment, quiet until Lee shyly asked "May I hold your hand?" He felt so skittish now, excited but afraid to show it. He decided not to think too much about it, or it'd all slip away.

"If you must." When Lee took Gaara's hand it felt like holding a mannequin, cold, stiff, and completely unblemished. Lee knew how nervous he was, and could feel every part of him warm up, his face and his hands especially. He was afraid his hands would get sweaty and it'd be awkward, but luckily they just seemed warm. And in turn, they transferred their heat to Gaara's hand.

It was harder to walk back through the forest with their hands connecting them, but they both refused to let go, even when climbing over the small fence. Lee didn't want to ruin their time like this with words. The moon shone brightly, the stars were clear here, and it was perfect. Lee had thought his life couldn't get better and he was constantly being proven wrong. His heart was beating so fast he thought there was something wrong with him. He couldn't stop smiling.

"Lee." Gaara started quietly as the approached the mansion, Lee looked towards him as they walked.

"What is it?" Lee asked, but he still couldn't stop smiling so he couldn't really show his concern.

"I'm going to admit I don't get this." Gaara stated and Lee squeezed his hand softly.

"It is okay, I understand that you might not want to…" Lee reasoned, but Gaara interrupted him.

"No, I don't understand it, but I want this. So don't hold back on me. I will tell you if it's too much." Gaara finished, sorting it out as he walked. He had to remind himself that this was real. That he was really feeling like this. Someone was holding his hand and, he had to admit it, he liked it. And something inside of him knew he would change even more because of this. But change was becoming easier.

"Can I tell you I love you?" Lee asked, because he wanted to say it over and over again. The romantic in him wouldn't shut up about it.

"Don't do it too much. It looses it's meaning." Gaara answered. Lee opened the door and they walked in, still holding hands as they walked towards the kitchen.

"I promise to mean it each and every time I say it." Lee replied, but he could say it a million times and mean it every time, he was sure of it. But he'd refrain; he'd only say it when he really felt that he needed to.

Gaara knew Lee could say it quite often and mean it every time, because that's the kind of person he was. But Gaara didn't say anything else. There wasn't much else to say. This was different, and suddenly Gaara would feel like it wasn't enough, that there should be more to it. He kept going, despite his mental hesitation. His body seemed quick to disobey him and leave his mind behind.

After their long walk through the backyard the distance to the kitchen seemed miniscule. They were there in what felt like mere seconds. Lee let go of Gaara's hand to hold the door open for him.

"What would you like me to make?" Lee asked, letting the door close behind him. The kitchen seemed big and formidable now that he knew he had to cook something in it. He felt like he needed to impress Gaara, but knew he couldn't.

"I don't know." Gaara responded, looking at Lee blankly.

"Are you hungry for anything in particular?" Lee prompted, because he had no idea what he should make.

"I'm not very hungry at all." Gaara answered, because he wasn't. And he definitely wasn't hungry for anything specific. He knew he wouldn't eat much of anything, so he didn't request anything. "You should make whatever it is you want to eat." Gaara added.

"Well, I guess we should see what there is to make, then." Lee responded, moving towards the enormous pantry. Looking at all of the items in the pantry just intimidated him. He finally decided to go for something easy and familiar.

"How do you feel about stir-fry with white rice?" Lee asked as he emerged from the pantry with a bag of white rice. Gaara shrugged in reply, leaning against the counter.

Lee set the rice on the island and went to the refrigerator. Of course it was full, but since Lee didn't see any meat already defrosted he just grabbed vegetables. When he set them next to the rice he was relieved to find the cutting board already on the island. He saw the pans hanging from hooks and, luckily, it didn't take him very long to find a pot to cook the rice in.

Gaara watched as he set up, rinsed off the vegetables and cut them with a little bit of difficulty. He watched as Lee started the rice, as he looked for utensils to stir it all with. He watched him work over the stove as if he'd done it plenty of times before. Gaara thought it looked like Lee was making too much food for just the two of them, but didn't say anything.

Lee decided to use teriyaki sauce to cook the vegetables in, even though he didn't know what Gaara preferred. He could feel Gaara watching him but tried to continue like it didn't bother him. It didn't take long to fry the vegetables and he started to put everything else away as he waited for the rice to be done. He finished cleaning up and checked the rice; it only had about a minute left. He leaned against the counter, faced Gaara and smiled.

"Almost ready!" Lee proclaimed, giving Gaara a thumbs up as his smile gleamed.

Gaara decided he was done watching. He'd been thinking about something while Lee was cooking. He couldn't stop thinking about it. He walked over to where Lee was leaning against the counter; he could feel the heat from the stove.

"Lee." Gaara said simply as he stood in front of him.

"Yes?" Lee replied, though he thought Gaara was a little close…

Gaara didn't usually choose to do things too quickly. But this was an exception. Before Lee could do or say anything Gaara put his hands on Lee's shoulders and imitated Sakura's earlier actions. Gaara's first thought was about how soft the lips against his felt. His second thought was that he should close his eyes. He felt Lee move, felt the lips press back against his. Then he felt Lee slip.

Lee hadn't expected that, and at first his eyes had opened wide in surprise, but when he realized he was being kissed he closed his eyes and pressed back softly. Gaara's lips were dry, but Lee liked the feel of them. Lee lost himself in the feeling and the arms that had been supporting him slipped a little.

"Ow!" Lee yelped as he broke away from Gaara and almost fell. He had been standing next to the stove and when he'd slipped he'd burned his hand. Gaara took a step back so Lee could regain his balance. Gaara realized what had happened and looked at the way Lee clutched his hand to his chest with concern.

"Do not worry, I am all right. I burn myself all the time." Lee replied to Gaara's eyes. Remembering the food Lee quickly took the rice off of the burner and turned it off, since the rice was now done. He stirred it so it wouldn't be stuck to the hot sides of the pot and turned back to Gaara.

"Hungry?" Lee asked, smiling and blushing. He didn't know what to do now, other than blush. Gaara had kissed him! Who cares if he got burned a little? The pain was already far away.

Gaara didn't like the fact that Lee had gotten hurt, especially since it had happened at such a crucial moment.

"I'd like to try that again." Gaara stated, giving Lee an intense stare.

"What?" Lee questioned, though he knew just what Gaara meant and almost anticipated Gaara's movements as he once again placed his hands on Lee's shoulders. Lee closed his eyes as their lips met, and leaned into it, lowering his head so that Gaara didn't have to try so hard to reach his lips.

Gaara once again pressed his lips against the much softer ones before him. He felt them press back and closed his eyes, trying to memorize the feeling. He could feel something in him growing hotter as they stayed like this.

Lee slowly slipped his arms around Gaara's waist, pulling him a little closer. He could feel how hot his own face was, and it was only getting hotter. He felt warm all over, and when Gaara moved his arms to wrap around his neck Lee thought he might melt. They stood like that, enjoying the simplicity of their lips touching and bodies brushing up against one another. Gaara could feel Lee's smile.

Though, eventually they had to break away for air. They'd forgotten about breathing for a little too long and when Lee broke away Gaara realized just how much he needed air. Their breath was hot against their faces. They opened their eyes to look at each other, just breathing for a moment.

"I love you." Lee whispered all at once, still breathing hard. He smiled warmly; glad to still have his arms around Gaara's waist and Gaara's arms around his neck.

"I'll assume that means I'm much better than the pink haired girl." Gaara replied, smirking triumphantly. He had been wanting to see what would happen if he kissed Lee, to see if he'd get a better reaction than Sakura had. This was much better.

"W-w-what?" Lee stuttered, blushing even more. The blood was rushing to his face so rapidly he felt light headed. Or maybe the kiss had made him light headed?

"I saw you two earlier. She kissed you and you pushed her away. You didn't push me away." Gaara smirked again. "In fact you're still holding me."

Lee was too shocked to say anything at first. "So, you saw all of… that, earlier?" Lee finally asked. Wait, if he'd been spying on them that would've meant he'd already have known about…

"No, I walked up as she was asking you something. I couldn't even hear either of you. I saw you break away from her and left. I had only gone to look for you. I decided I could wait instead." Gaara explained plainly. Lee inwardly sighed in relief, even though he'd already confessed his feelings anyway.

"So?" Gaara prompted after a moment.

"'So' what?" Lee asked, not understanding what question he was supposed to be answering.

"Am I the better kisser?" Gaara asked, knowing that he was. Lee was still holding him.

"Yes, but by default." Lee answered, grinning.

"What?" Gaara replied, his eyes narrowing, his voice tinged with anger.

"I do not think I could enjoy kissing anyone as much as I enjoy kissing you." Lee retorted, smirking as he lowered his head to kiss Gaara again, but only for an instant.

"You know that sounds very cliché, right?" Gaara responded. Lee laughed a little in reply.

"I am a very cliché person, Gaara." Lee stated, smiling. Lee leaned down once more to kiss Gaara, who lifted himself up a little to meet him halfway. The kiss was still soft and innocent. Lee was still too scared to take it any further and Gaara really didn't know there was more to it. Though Gaara felt something pushing inside of him, pushing for something, but he didn't know what was pushing or what it wanted. He wondered if those were just hormones…

Gaara licked Lee's lips, just to try it, and he enjoyed the response more than the taste. Lee shuddered, and was unable to stop himself from moaning into it. Damn, it felt good, but Lee knew if this didn't stop immediately he'd be in a lot of trouble. Luckily it was right then that Lee's stomach growled angrily. It could smell the food and it wanted it.

Gaara broke away with a sigh, and was surprised to hear Lee sigh at the same time. Though, he didn't know that Lee was sighing in relief. "So I guess you should eat." Gaara commented.

"We should eat." Lee corrected, emphasis on 'we'.

"Fine." Gaara responded, moving away from Lee, once again reminded of how much colder it was when he wasn't next to Lee. He grabbed two plates and two forks from where he knew they would be and handed one of each to Lee.

"Please, help yourself." Lee said to Gaara, motioning for him to grab his food first. Gaara didn't want much, but took more than he usually would to humor Lee. Plus there really was a lot of food for just two people.

Though, Gaara shouldn't have been surprised to see Lee take all that was left onto his plate. He put the dishes into the sink, quickly rinsing them off before taking his plate and moving towards the dinning hall. Gaara quietly followed.

When the sat down Lee looked at Gaara expectantly. At first Gaara had no idea why, but quickly realized it was because Lee wanted to see him try the food first. Gaara, not being very hungry, skewered a piece of broccoli with his fork and popped it into his mouth.

It was good. Very good. And it wasn't because Gaara had some secret love for broccoli; he usually didn't eat the stuff. Gaara found himself taking another bite immediately to see if there was some mix up, this time scooping a forkful of vegetables and rice. No mistaking it, this was really good. He took another forkful before realizing that Lee was still watching him.

Lee laughed a little when Gaara looked up at him. "I take it you like it?" Lee asked, smiling. He'd never seen Gaara eat a forkful of food; he always ate a tiny little bit at a time. And it looked like Gaara was going to finish it off in forkfuls.

"You should cook more often." Gaara responded after he'd swallowed the bite he'd been working on. He was surprised by his appetite. He wondered if this meant he had a new favorite food. Or maybe he'd enjoy everything Lee cooked this much? He had no idea why he liked it so much. Lee would have to cook for him again.

"Is it that good?" Lee responded merrily, happy to see Gaara eating with a healthy appetite for once. He took a bite, but didn't find it very much different from the stir-fry he always used to make. Though the ingredients were better, of course. It was good, no doubt, but he wondered why Gaara was eating with such gusto all of the sudden. Lee was sure the cooks here could have prepared something much better.

He didn't question it, though, and ate his own food quickly, as he always did. Lee could see Gaara didn't have much food left, and Gaara seemed to be savoring his last few bites. Maybe it was the love he put in his food? Lee thought, but that just seemed girlish. He'd have to cook for Gaara again and try to figure out how to get Gaara to eat like this every night.

"I can't recall the last time I enjoyed a meal like that…" Gaara commented after he was done. He was full, and he felt warm. He also felt a little bit tired, which was weird for him.

"Thank you, I am very happy you liked it so much." Lee responded, also finished with his food. He moved to pick up the dishes and take them to the sink in the kitchen, since there was no one there to do it for them tonight. He turned back towards the dinning room to find Gaara had followed him to the kitchen.

"I'm getting a glass of water." Gaara explained when Lee looked at him with questions in his eyes. Gaara quickly grabbed a glass and filled it with water from the filter in the sink. Lee did the same, smiling. Lee wanted to think that Gaara had also followed him because he didn't want to be alone. He knew he would have followed Gaara for the same reason.

"I'm tired." Gaara commented as he finished his water and put the glass in the sink. Gaara didn't know why he was stating this all of the sudden. Maybe because it was such a rare occurrence for him.

"You can lean on me, if you want to." Lee replied, blushing a bit at the thought. Gaara just nodded, taking Lee's hand of his own accord as they walked through the dining room toward their own rooms.

"This has been a good day." Gaara said as they walked.

"A most splendid day, just as I predicted." Lee whispered happily. Gaara now leaned his head against Lee's arm as they walked.

Gaara's eyes threatened to close quite a few times just as they were walking. He held Lee's arm with both of his, using him for support. And it didn't bother him. Gaara wondered if anything could bother him when it came to Lee. How much could he do? He'd never been close to someone, physically or emotionally. And he was growing closer to Lee in both ways. And he was okay with it. And that's what scared him, just a little bit.

He didn't want to think too much about it. He realized he didn't want to sleep alone tonight. But it was too soon to even think of sleeping in the same bed, even if he didn't have any intention other than to sleep. Or was it? He found himself too tired to ask Lee if they could share a bed. And they had to go their separate ways much too soon.

"Good night, Gaara." Lee said to an already half-asleep Gaara in front of his doorway. Gaara let go of Lee's arm only to find that he couldn't balance himself properly. Lee went to kiss Gaara's forehead, but as he tried to move away Gaara held him close. Gaara brought Lee down to him so he could press their lips together. He let go of Lee very slowly.

"Good night, Lee." Gaara said quietly before heading towards his room, stumbling towards his bed after he'd shut the door behind him. And for once, the instant his head connected with the pillow he was asleep. If Gaara had not been watching Lee the whole time he would have wondered if there had been sleeping medication in his food.

Lee smiled at the closed door to Gaara's room. And he stood there for a moment, not knowing what to do. After that he decided he needed to do two things. First, he pinched himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming. Though, the pain from his burn had been real he had to double check. It hurt. He was awake. Second, he jumped in a victory pose, suppressing the urge to scream with joy.

Realizing he was still in the hallway Lee went into his room. 'I could go through the bathroom and be in Gaara's room right now.' Lee thought, and he smiled. They were so close, and now it was much more than just sharing a bathroom! He didn't know how everything could be so perfect. What would he say to Gaara in the morning?

The morning… Tomorrow he'd have to go back to practice. They'd start that cycle again, where Lee was either at work, school, practice, or asleep. Now Lee wanted to scream in anguish. Today had been so wonderful! Why did everything have to continue tomorrow like nothing had happened? Why couldn't time stop for him, just this once and only for a little bit?

He fell onto his bed, and he was more tired than he would have thought. He set his alarm begrudgingly and laid back down. So much had happened, there was so much to think about. He wanted to remember it all, but he couldn't get through half of the memories that happened today before he was asleep. And knew he didn't need dreams anymore, because he was living the dream.

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Shit... That was very long... I'm sorry 'bout that. Now you know why it took so long... I'm not going to read this over. I'm posting it now, I'm sleepy, too. Kthx bye.