AN: Proceed with caution, as there will be mature content in later chapters…but for what it's worth, all sexual activity takes place between consenting adults.

Tsunade applied the last symbol to the floor, then wiped the ink off her finger with a cloth. She raised her eyes. Maito Gai knelt in the center of the circle, shirtless, symbols radiating outward from him like the spokes of a wheel. "You're sure you want to continue this, Gai? You understand the cost."

"I understand," he said quietly. "I'll suffer any consequence necessary. I don't want these feelings."

She hesitated. No one, save Gai, had ever asked for this particular sealing jutsu. Typically it was used as a punishment, a means of controlling predators—and even then, it was reserved for hopeless cases. Its effect on the subject's body was particularly harsh. "You know, there are other ways. You could drop the student, transfer him to another team…"

"I won't abandon him. I made a promise." He stared straight ahead. "Just do it. Please."

"Very well." She placed a hand on his back.

His muscles went rigid, and his head snapped back as he screamed.

Three years later

"Two thousand nine hundred and ninety-six…two thousand nine hundred and ninety-seven…"

"His eyes burned with passion as he pulled her close and whispered, 'You are mine, Ai, no matter what he thinks. And I will never let you go.'"

"Two thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight…"

"A flush of desire spread through her body as his battle-roughened hand slid beneath her dress and along one silky thigh…"

"Urgh…stop reading out loud. I'm trying to train."

"Stop counting out loud. I'm trying to read."

"Almost done…" Gai gritted his teeth as he did another push-up, then another. Sweat dripped into his eyes, stinging, and he blinked it away. "Three thousand!" He collapsed, panting, and rolled onto his back. Cool grass tickled his neck. "Right! Next, four hundred laps around the village. Kakashi, why don't you join me?"

"No thanks." Kakashi sat under a nearby tree, an open book in one hand. "I'm almost to the end of this chapter. Ai is about to choose between her two suitors. Personally, I hope they all end up in bed together. There's been sexual tension between these guys since chapter three."

"Suit yourself." He stood, grinned, and winked. "But the next time we have a match, don't be surprised if I defeat you. I've been training while you've been frittering away your time with those ridiculous books."

"This is training of a different kind. My imagination's getting a great workout right now."

"If you say so." Gai sighed and looked up at the clouds. Somehow, running laps alone was never quite as enjoyable. If Lee were here…

"He's probably on his way back already," said Kakashi. "Lady Tsunade received a messenger hawk from him the other day saying that his mission's complete."

"Er…did I say that out loud?"

"No, but you always sigh and look up at the sky when you're thinking of him. How long has he been gone, now?"

Gai rubbed the back of his neck. "It's been nine months, two weeks and three days since he left." The longest time they'd ever been apart, Gai added silently.

"That's quite awhile," said Kakashi.

"Well, he's no longer my student, after all. He doesn't need me anymore." He heard the forlorn note in his own voice and forced a smile. "Er, that's how it should be, of course. Youth blossoms into manhood…the fledgling spreads its wings and becomes the mighty eagle…"

"It's okay if you miss him, you know. You two are usually joined at the hip. I imagine this has been an adjustment for him, too."

Gai looked at the sky again and felt a tugging pain in his heart. "I do miss him." Too much.

It was right, he told himself, that Lee no longer needed him. It was right that Gai was no longer the most important person in his life. Better this way. Better for Lee.

But it still hurt.

When he'd finished his laps, Gai returned to the training field. Kakashi had gone back to the village, leaving the field deserted. With nothing else to do, Gai stretched out on the grass and started doing sit-ups, but his heart wasn't in it. He sat up, sighed, and looked up at the sky, now tinged with the bleeding orange glow of sunset. A wave of melancholy swept over him. Though he tried his best to conceal it from the world, this feeling had been his near-constant companion in the months since Lee left: a heavy, listless feeling that suffused his body and weighed down his limbs like sand bags.

He closed his eyes.

The back of his neck tingled. Someone was watching him. He opened his eyes and raised his head to see a tall, green-clad form at the edge of the training field. His heartbeat quickened. Slowly, he stood and faced the familiar figure. For a long moment, they stared at each other, and neither of them moved.

Then Lee laughed out loud and ran toward him across the field. Gai swept him up in a bear-hug, and Lee hugged him back with enough force to make his ribs creak. "Gai Sensei!"

That voice—a little deeper than it had once been, but still clear and sweet and young—triggered a rush of memory and feeling so intense it brought the sting of tears to his eyes.

"Lee…" Gai held him, eyes closed, and breathed in the familiar scent of Lee's skin and sweat. After a moment, he forced himself to pull back, holding his former student at arm's length, and smiled. "It's been so long. Let me look at you."

Lee straightened and squared his shoulders.

Gai nodded in approval. "I see you've been training hard. You've put on some muscle mass, and—were you this tall when you left?"

"I think so."

"I'd swear you've gained another inch of height. If you keep growing at this rate, you'll be towering over me in no time."

Lee smiled. "I am nineteen now. I am as tall as I am going to get, I think."

Gai chuckled and clapped him on the shoulder. "You've grown into a fine young man."

Bright spots of color bloomed in Lee's cheeks. "Thank you, Sensei."

So you still blush easily. "A fine man and a fine Shinobi. Soon, you'll surpass me in strength."

"You think so?"

"I know it."

Lee paused. "I have missed you."

"And I you. Have you had dinner? Let's go back to my place. I'll make some curry, and we can talk. We have some catching up to do. Er…unless you're busy, of course. I'd understand. You just got back, after all, and…"

"No, I am not busy," Lee said quickly. "I have so many things to tell you, I do not know where to start."

"First food, then you can tell me everything." He held up one finger and winked. "Conversations always go better on a full stomach." He turned, and Lee followed him back to his apartment.

Lee scraped the last bite of curry from his bowl, leaned back and sighed with contentment.

Gai sat across from him. "So, how was your mission?"

Lee's eyes lit up, and he began to talk. Around most people, he wasn't especially chatty—but when they were alone together, his thoughts seemed to spill out of him like water.

He told Gai about the tiny country where he'd lived for the past nine months, a cold and isolated place. He talked about the massive marble palace and the stoic royal family, the peasant houses made from blocks of ice, the graceful, doe-eyed seals who provided sustenance for the people, the nets filled with squirming silver fish, and the knives made out of walrus-tusk and whalebone. He told him about the soft twilight that passed for daylight in the far north, the clear, frigid nights, the howling blizzards, and the lonely, bittersweet feeling he got sometimes when he looked out at the horizon. Gai listened and reflected on how much he'd missed the sound of Lee's voice.

"It is an amazing place," Lee continued, "but I am glad to be home. There is so much I missed here. And…" He looked down, fingering the edge of his napkin. "To be honest, I have been very lonely."

"Weren't there people to talk to, there?"

He shrugged. "Yes, but their culture there is so different. They tend to frown on small talk. On most days, I never exchanged more than five words with anyone. I got so hungry for the sound of voices, I started talking to myself. Well, actually, I talked to you." He smiled, eyes lowered shyly. "I would pretend you were there and tell you all the things I wanted to tell you. But then, I have always done that. Talked to you when you are not there, I mean."

"Have you?"

He nodded. "Silly, I know."

"N-no. Not at all."

"Being out there in that cold, silent place, away from everything I know—it made me appreciate and cherish everything I have here. I missed…Konoha. I felt like there was a hook in my heart with a line attached to it, leading back here, and it was pulling at me all the time. It was almost unbearable."

"But you've been away on long missions before."

"Before, I was always with you. Without you…" He trailed off and stared into his empty bowl.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Sensei. I am fine."

"Lee, I've known you for over ten years now. You've been my student for much of that time. I know when something is on your mind. Won't you tell me?"

"I do not want to trouble you," he murmured. "It is nothing, really."

"Nonsense. You know you can tell me anything."

He hesitated. "Earlier, when you said that I would surpass you one day…it frightened me a little."

Gai looked into those dark, expressive eyes, and a strange feeling washed over him. "Why?"

Lee swirled his spoon around in the leftover sauce at the bottom of his bowl. "If I surpass you, it will be like leaving you behind. I will not be able to call you Gai Sensei. I will not be part of your life anymore."

Those words echoed his own fears so closely that a chill skittered up his spine. "Is that what you think?"

"Well, you will have other students. New students. It would be selfish of me to keep demanding so much of your time."

"I'll always have time for you. Even if I'm not your sensei anymore, I can still be your friend. And I'll always be there for you if you need help or advice. That's a promise." He smiled and gave Lee a thumbs up.

Lee smiled back, but the expression faded too quickly, and his eyes were distant and troubled.

"Lee?"

"Sorry. I am in a strange mood, I suppose."

Gai lay a hand on his shoulder. "Did something happen to you during the mission? Something you haven't told me about?"

"No. Not exactly." Lee hesitated. "I have not been sleeping well lately. I feel strange at night. Restless. My heart beats too fast, my face flushes, and I feel hot all over. When it happens, I get up and run laps for awhile, but when I come back to bed, it's the same thing. And when I finally fall asleep, I have such troubling dreams."

"Hm." Gai rubbed his chin. "How long has this been going on?"

"I do not know. Weeks. Maybe I am sick."

Gai leaned closer, brushed Lee's hair from his brow and lay a hand against his forehead. "Well, you're not feverish, and your eyes are as bright and clear as ever. Perhaps it isn't physical, but psychological. Were you thinking about anything in particular the last time this happened to you?"

"Just the usual things, I suppose."

"What kind of things?"

"Oh…you know." He swallowed. "About home, I guess. And about you."

"About me?"

"Maybe I was just homesick. Is that what people mean when they say 'homesick?' I never took it so literally, but maybe that is it. Maybe now that I am back, it will stop. Do you think so, Gai Sensei?"

Gai didn't answer. He wondered why his heart was beating so fast, why his stomach felt so strange and tight, why his mouth was dry. "What sort of dreams do you have?"

"Eh?"

"You said you've been having nightmares."

"Well, I—I do not remember much now. Just bits and pieces. But they are not…nightmares, exactly. They are not bad. Actually, they feel very good. They just confuse me."

"I see."

Lee stared down at his hands. Gai watched as he ran his thumb slowly back and forth across his scarred knuckles. "When I wake up, I feel so strange. Like I have done something wrong, something I should not talk about, even though it isn't real. Do you think I should see Lady Tsunade? Maybe she can give me something that will help me sleep."

"Are these dreams about anyone in particular?"

"Yes."

"Who?"

A pause. "You."

Gai's eyes widened. Silence stood between them like a wall. "Lee, you mean to say you…" He trailed off.

Lee's breathing quickened. "I am sorry. I should not have said anything. It is…it is not what you are probably thinking, it is just…"

"Lee."

He gulped and fell silent.

Gai spoke slowly, choosing each word with care. "The bond between sensei and student can be a powerful thing. Sometimes, the feelings that arise from that bond are intense. It's easy to confuse them for something else."

Lee lowered his gaze, shoulders hunched. He suddenly looked much younger, like the child he'd been. "I see," he murmured. "Is that all it is?"

"You've been alone in a strange land for almost a year. You've been without friendship, without affection…and you're a man now, after all, with a man's needs. Being alone can affect the mind and heart in strange ways."

Lee bowed his head. His shoulders trembled, and his eyes twitched back and forth—not looking at anything in particular, just darting aimlessly, like small creatures searching for a place to hide. Drops of sweat glistened on his brow.

Gai's heart twisted painfully in his chest. His first impulse was to take Lee into his arms, as he had so many times when Lee was a child—to calm him with words of reassurance, to feel his breathing and heartbeat slow as his fear subsided. But Lee wasn't a child anymore, and holding him now, at this moment, would be…Gai wasn't sure what, exactly, but it seemed dangerous.

Lee stood and turned away. "I am sorry, Sensei. I never meant to tell you. I am so embarrassed. Please…just forget about it, all right?"

"Lee…" He stretched out a hand. "Wait."

"I should get going. I have to talk to Lady Tsunade and let her know my mission is complete—there is probably some paperwork to file—I will see you later." He ran out the door, leaving Gai alone.

-To be continued