Lee was his own man, he was very certain of that. He was independent, responsible, and would try his best to rely on his own devices, till he was forced to ask for help (which have only occurred thrice in his lifetime). He was proud of his ability to do things himself.
But when it came to Gaara and his extreme possessiveness; when said Kazekage would pull him close and whisper "Mine,"; when Gaara shamelessly told their mutual friends that yes indeed, Lee slept in his quarters at nights, Lee had to relent.
It was a thrill to belong to someone.
/
There has to be some element of a joke somewhere in this equation. Fine, Kankuro wasn't exactly the brightest in the group, but it comes off as almost impossible for his brother, who was Gaara of the fucking Desert, mind you, to have feelings for anyone. Romantic feelings. Much less for Rock Lee, weirdo extraordinaire. Gaara was more likely to have developed a great sense of humour which would explain him pulling Temari's leg by telling her he has 'feelings' for Rock Lee. Would be a better explanation than the literal aspect of the situation.
But here he was.
Kankuro thought he'd never see the day, but Gaara was sitting close to Lee, their thighs touching, facing each other. They spoke in soft whispers only reserved for lovers, foreheads almost touching but not really, and it was so intimate Kankuro had to look away. He had experience with romance but never the kind that was serious, nothing like the two boys sitting on the bench near the training grounds of Konoha. This is going to cause so much trouble. Kankuro had never seen Gaara more relaxed.
Maybe there wasn't a joke.
/
"Gaara," Lee couldn't help looking around, wide eyes darting to seek out any other beings besides him and the Kazekage, "I don't think we should-."
"Think nothing," is the short reply, and Gaara tugs at Lee's spandex, finally revealing the tanned skin of his back. Gaara is all business, scanning the damage, "I see. Do these hurt?"
Lee's torn between trying not to blush and to reassure Gaara that it didn't, and ends up pulling away gently, "Seriously Gaara, I was just teasing you by telling you about the scratches. They do not hurt. They do not even itch. It is not a concern."
The Kazekage remains unimpressed, "Those are going to scab over, and might even leave scars. You will see a medi-nin and ask them to provide you with ointment for the skin, so that does not happen. Are we clear?"
"But Gaara," Lee shakes his head, "Let them be. I do not believe it is wise for a medi-nin to be asking where I got the scratches from. And…I sort of like them."
"Nonsense, they're scratches. Why would you take a liking to scratches?" Some days Gaara's just utterly baffled by Lee, and this would be one of those instances.
Lee rubs the back of his head and shrugs, looking at a tree nearby, "Because you gave them to me? Yeah. It is for sentimental reasons, I suppose. You never made marks on me before."
It takes Gaara a while to understand the meaning of Lee's words; about two minutes of looking at the Konoha ninja till Lee squirmed under the intense gaze of Gaara's aqua eyes. Till he realizes, and his eyes soften visibly. "I marked you. I did that."
"Yes, you did."
"Alright. Keep them."
The increased ferocity Gaara had after that in bed is almost worth all his curious questions to Temari and Kankurou regarding sex-induced abrasions.
/
Of course he wasn't jealous. Why would he be? He's never particularly envious of anyone when it came to the epic romance he has with Gaara, if jealousy was substantial, it would only be there when it has something to do with sparring, or initiating a healthy rivalry. He wasn't jealous. Gaara loved him dearly, and he loved Gaara with equal intensity. There was no question when it came to that.
But look at yourself, you've never been handsome, you've never been easy on the eyes, while he's as ethereal as an angel…
Gaara always gave Lee attention, and his special brand of affection. He felt loved, he knows Gaara would never look for another, Lee is enough for Gaara.
Are you really? You are not even a real Shinobi, you pretend to be, but let's face it. Supposed grace and just physical finesse will get you nowhere.
They have come so far, and they treasure each other.
He deserves SO much better.
His thoughts (internal debates, like poison trudging through his veins) are interrupted when Gaara taps his shoulder, and Lee turned around, smile too bright, too blinding, "What is it, Gaara?"
Gaara's eyes raked over him and then his lips are on Lee's, hard and demanding, asking for things that voice had affirmed that Lee could never provide. Maybe he couldn't…
And Gaara moved away gently, hand on Lee's face and there's that green not-green light in his eyes, as he whispered, "Love," like it's a statement, no clarification at all. But Lee melted inside all the same. That's what Gaara feels whenever he touches Lee that way.
Love.
/
"You are not right for me," the words are simple, and Gaara hears them, but his expression does not flicker.
Lee doesn't look pained, he doesn't even look upset. Gaara's stoic demeanour might have just rubbed off on the Leaf ninja a little, "I do not think I can go on being with you this way."
Aqua eyes flicks up to Lee's face, and he sets his gaze on Lee, trying to look for something, anything. Hasn't it always been Lee who had all the expressions in the universe? Did he take that away from Lee?
"I care about you. I want you," Gaara speaks up in his monotone, but to him, it sounds really flimsy.
"I want you too. More than anything," Lee's face softens, before he shakes his head, "But you are not right for me at all."
/
Lee's trembling at the way Gaara's kissing him. It's not one of those passionate, enthusiastic kisses, this is more than that. It's sensual, languid, and it's turning Lee's knees into butter. He doesn't know where Gaara had learned this and a pang of insecurity hits him square in the chest but Gaara licks the back of his molars and Lee's head is spinning.
He breaks the kiss a little frantically after the initial shock, face as red as if he's opened one of the Gates, "Gaara, that was—"
"I want you," the Kazekage says calmly, but his eyes are dark with things Lee couldn't place, "Physically. Let me have you."
Lee stares at him, wordless for a second.
He's always wanted to be in love, always wanted to whisk a lovely lady off her feet and romance the daylights out of her. They'd wait it out, get to know each other well, chastely kiss a few times. Sex is something important, something binding, and where else would it fit if not the first night of marriage, and it would be the most special night of their lives. But things haven't turned out the way Lee had always wanted them to be.
He opens his mouth and closes it, then tilts his head a little higher, "Okay."
/
Shikamaru had always been fairly observant, even if he does think every other thing is a drag, because life truly is a drag and he'd rather be left alone. But he notices things, he takes note of his surroundings, he realizes occurrences more than his peers.
There seem to be quite the number of events happening in their little ninja community, but what Shikamaru could never really figure out is what exactly went on between Rock Lee and Gaara, the Kazekage.
There were nothing like each other aside from the fact both were the best in their fields of expertise; Gaara's sand jutsu could not be trifled with, and Lee is probably the best Taijutsu master existing. They went against each other once, in the Chuunin exams, and despite Shikamaru's support for his colleague, luck was not on Lee's side. He was hurt badly.
Which made this even more peculiar.
On the off chance that they had a mission at Sunagakure, or when the Sand Siblings visited Konoha for either social or political reasons, Shikamaru would always notice the two men being in contact, some way or another. There would be moments when Lee is talking animatedly with Tenten or Neji or even Naruto, that dumbfuck, and he would stop in his tracks, as if someone had called his name. He'll excuse himself in that overly gracious way that he does, and leave. Nine times out of ten, Shikamaru would see him being with Gaara, talking in low voices.
Lee would have a slightly different smile on his face, something softer, something less exuberant but more tender than his usual smiles. And Gaara would look fairly the same as always, but he'd be a little closer to Lee than anyone else he's ever talked to. There was one time when Lee even touched Gaara's arm and Shikamaru winced for the predicted impact, but nothing happened. Gaara's chakra didn't even flare up slightly.
Either the Sand Defense was fucking up, or there is some funny business going on.
Whatever they had is actually interesting enough for Shikamaru to keep track.
But he doesn't feel like it's something to be concerned about, Lee seemed safe and Gaara seemed stable when with Lee, but it sure made a fellow Shinobi wonder where exactly they stood on the relationship scale.
Now that, wasn't something Shikamaru cared about much. Relationships will always be troublesome.
/
Since Lee's the Suna envoy, and Gaara's the Kazekage, they both are usually occupied with their respective business, which means they don't really spend much time with each other during office hours. However, Gaara would always try to spend some of his lunches with Lee, if not with other diplomats or his siblings.
It's nice, just allotting some time for his partner, be it either with small talk or just amiable silence. Today, however, it seems like Lee had a different plan for their quality time.
The envoy enters Gaara's office like always, though he suspiciously peeks his head outside before entering and closing the door. A resounding click alerts Gaara that Lee had definitely locked the door. He raises a curious eyebrow at the ninja.
"Hey Gaara," Lee smiles, a little more coy than usual, "Are you expecting anyone to join us for lunch?"
"No. Are you?"
He shakes his head. The tilt to his smile is a little alarming, "Are you terribly hungry, Gaara?"
"Not terribly."
"I assume you would let me do something for you first, before we eat?"
"What is it?"
Lee moves to firmly place his hands on Gaara's shoulders, in that gentle way of his, and make him sit down. Gaara looks at him in amused curiosity, and it occurs to him how natural Lee's touch felt after all this while. It is really reassuring.
Lee kisses him quick on the cheek and he gets to his knees, somehow manoeuvring himself under Gaara's desk, grinning up at the Kazekage.
Oh.
"I have been wanting to do this all morning, so if you would please excuse me," Lee murmurs and slides his hands up Gaara's thighs, pulling his robes up with the movement and Gaara is simply transfixed at the sight. He has no complaints. Zero.
"I suppose this counts as lunch," are his words before Lee giggles, and does that thing with an eager tongue, and Gaara's head falls back, a breath of air escaping him.
Lunches with Lee are sometimes the best thing ever.
/
It was night time, and for once Gaara had given in to Lee's constant pleas for him to join the Leaf ninja in bed. Not that it was for sex; Gaara wouldn't have ever thought twice; but rather for innocent resting. Sleep, if Gaara could put his mind to it. Since the removal of the Bijuu, Gaara found himself able to fall asleep at times. But being an insomniac for the past years of his life made it still an unlikely occurrence.
He wasn't sleepy, but he has to admit that it felt nice to have Lee lie next to him, their shoulders touching, Lee's fingers almost shyly brushing Gaara's. It was comfortable.
They just lay there in amiable silence, till Lee broke it with a gentle whisper.
"Gaara?"
"Hm?"
"Are you happy?"
It was an odd question, and Gaara turned his head slightly to look at his partner's face, to see what expression he had. Lee was oddly serene, his face illuminated with the moonlight that stole in the Kazekage's quarters through the slit windows. He mulled over his answer. And he laces his fingers with Lee's.
"Yes. I'm happy."
Lee's lips curved into a small smile, and his eyes fluttered close.
"Me too."