"Last edit 364 days ago by LucklessMallory" ;A;

Gaara sighed as he unlocked the front door of his apartment and shouldered off his backpack in the entry. Today's lessons hadn't been anything new or unexpected. He'd worked on his studies with Naruto during the periods they shared, and even managed to snag lunch off campus today. He'd answered all questions directed at him in class, and at this point his teachers weren't surprised that he knew all the answers.

I'm just glad the rain we've been having is gone, Gaara thought to himself as he set his backpack down on his kitchen table. He pulled out his books and homework folders slowly. He yawned, tired and sluggish. He was going about his usual Monday routine, but he couldn't help feeling that he was forgetting something...?

Gaara dropped his things abruptly with wide eyes and bolted for his front door again. He ran down the hallway of his apartment building and rapped sharply on Gai's door, nervous and edgy on the balls of his feet. Had his whole weekend really been a weird daydream? Did Lee trash any of Gai's things with his clumsy hands and claws? Did Gai call an exorcist after all...?

"Mr. Sabaku!" Gai exclaimed as he pulled open his front door with a wide flourish and a mighty grin. He gestured for Gaara to enter. "Come on inside! We thought you might be arriving home right about now!"

Entering cautiously, Gaara glanced around Gai's apartment, unsurprised at the extensive exercise equipment and motivational posters on the walls. If he remembered correctly, Gai's occupation was something to do with physical therapy, or training of some kind.

"Is Lee here?" Gaara asked, confused and uncertain when he didn't see the cat man rightaway.

"Yes! The little guy and I were just finishing a fishy dinner when I heard you knock."

Little guy?

Gaara's pale brows rose as he spotted a small, fluffy black cat appear around the corner of the hallway, tail flicking with delight as it approached on nimble little paws. Lee, now once again a small cat, was purring madly as he rubbed himself against Gaara's ankles with affection, stretching from his face to his tail. His black fur was fluffed proudly.

In a swift motion, Gaara scooped Lee up by the scruff of his neck and tucked him into an arm with a huff. Lee meowed in a disgruntled way, before squirming until he was comfortable. He began to purr again, flicking his tail across Gaara's chest and half closing his eyes with comfort as he lounged in the crook of Gaara's arm.

"Was he any trouble?" Gaara asked calmly, while his mind spun in circles.

"Not at all!" Gai assured, beaming at the cat with adoration. "He got some exercise by climbing some of my equipment, and took a few naps whenever he found a cozy spot in my home. He seemed like he was ready to nap again after his dinner, before we heard you knocking."

"Well... good, then. I guess I'll take him home." Gaara paused in bemusement before turning back to the door.

"He is welcome at my home anytime!" Gai called as Gaara walked down the hall to his own apartment again. Gaara paused when he heard Gai call abruptly, "Oh wait, before I forget!"

Gai disappeared into his home for a few seconds, before reappearing and bounding over to hand Gaara a couple pieces of clothing. It was the shirt and altered sweatpants Lee had been wearing this morning. There was also two new green pieces, a pair of skinny work-out pants and a shirt. "He might need these again."

Gaara's eyes widened, suddenly faced with proof that he hadn't been dreaming. He started to say something, but Gai had already gone back into his apartment, and the door was closed behind him.

"Alright, Cat," Gaara said tightly as he sat face to face with the small furball. Lee was sitting on Gaara's kitchen table, staring back into the redhead's eyes with a wide, curious gaze. His tail swished, and his ears were flicking. His little belly was full from fish at Gai's apartment, leaving him lazy and at ease in a very feline way, despite the glare Gaara had fixed on him.

Gaara sat at the table, frowning with thin, pursed lips as he considered the evidence, what he remembered, and the little pest sitting in front of him. "I don't know why you're a cat again, but I want some answers. Gai didn't give me any, so you're going to answer for yourself now. Transform!"

Lee stared, his curious gaze beginning to grow impassive, as though bored. His eyes stayed on Gaara politely, though he began to lick the back of his paw and groom his face.

"Dammit, Cat! Lee!" Gaara growled, already frustrated. This morning Lee had been big enough to shake his whole bed with one bouncing welcome, and now he was so small he would hardly rumple a pillow. It didn't make sense!

"I'm going to count to three, and at the end of my count I want you to be a man again," Gaara said slowly, in a tone that suggested Lee had better transform or else. "One..."

Lee stopped licking himself and yawned widely, stretching his long tongue and scrunching up his dark eyes.

"... two...

Lee stretched his front paws with leisure, then bounded down from the table onto Gaara's lap. The redhead jumped, but didn't protest as the cat propped himself up on Gaara's chest to rub his cheek against Gaara's jaw. The redhead glared silently, brooding.

"...three," he said firmly.

Lee stretched to lick the corner of Gaara's mouth.

Gaara jolted, eyes widening as it happened just like the first time.

The tiny body stretched and grew, almost sickening in its transformation. The little pink nose grew while the muzzle receded, furr shrank back into the skin while the arms and legs grew longer. The spine thickened and extended, while Lee's whiskers disappeared. The small weight in Gaara's lap grew heavier and heavier.

"Gaara," Lee purred when it was over. He was a full grown man again, naked as the day he was born, straddling Gaara's lap in the middle of the kitchen. He dragged his lips along Gaara's jawline, and rubbed their cheeks together with an inhuman purr. His tail wrapped around both their waists, making Gaara jolt as he felt the fur sliding along his skin.

"Lee," Gaara replied, a little more breathless than he would have liked. His cheeks were red, a bit overwhelmed despite himself. Not to mention that Lee was so high on his lap he could feel each globe of Lee's ass on his thighs.

"I like Gai. He made me clothes that are not uncomfortable. And he helped me walk on two legs today for a long time without falling." Lee's purring didn't stop even when he was talking, and the incisors of his teeth gleamed at the edges of his lips. He licked Gaara's chin with the wide flat of his tongue, making the redhead jump and grow redder. Gaara couldn't help noticing that Lee's tongue wasn't quite as rough as a cat's, but it wasn't quite soft like a human's either.

"That's- that's good. Stop licking me, I already told you." Gaara's voice managed to return to its usual calm, clipping tone. He pushed Lee's hips off his lap in attempt to stop all the affection before Lee noticed the uncomfortable bulge in Gaara's pants. The redhead was starting to get really frustrated with all this touching. Lee needed to stop! It was like Gaara was being constantly teased!

Think of the cat version of him, not the fucking adult man with bronze abs and a fucking tail...

Instead of standing, Lee slipped down onto the floor on his knees, wrapping his arms around Gaara's waist and pressing his cheek against the man's stomach. Gaara could feel the purr in Lee's throat, thrumming. He hesitated, then put a hand on the top of Lee's head. He dragged fingers through Lee's fluffy hair, tracing the base of his curious ears, and scratching around them the way he'd learned that Lee liked. The cat man smiled wider and looked up at Gaara with dark, vertical slit pupils. The redhead shivered, then pushed Lee's arms away and stood from the table.

"I have homework. I work on it in the living room. Come sit where I can see you." Gaara gathered up his books and folders, then strode into the living room. Lee stood and followed after, flicking his tail behind him as he watched Gaara with round eyes. After a pause and a thought, Lee turned back to grab the green outfit Gai had made for him.

The digital clock in the living room shined brightly, the numbers more clear now than the words across Gaara's school books. One o'clock, AM. Gaara sat on the carpet floor with his back propped against the couch, working at the coffee table. Lee was curled up on the cushions behind him, dozing comfortably. Gaara's vision was getting fuzzier with every passing moment, and there was a dull cotton sensation between his ears. He was on the verge of sleep.

It's been so long since I've gotten some real rest, Gaara thought. The words were muted and unclear even in his mind. Just an hour... maybe two, if I'm lucky... His mental voice trailed away, and he found his cheek laying in his open book before he even realized it. He closed his eyes, and his breath became heavy.

A half hour later, Gaara was paying no attention to the clock. The redhead was standing up in the corner of his living room, his body limp and clumsy as he pushed buttons on his television remote. He flipped channels at random, changed something in the settings, and powered it on and off without once glancing at the screen.

The noise from the television woke Lee from his dozing, making him rise from the couch cushions with a quiet grumble. He stretched and yawned, raising his tail and perking his ears forward. Lee kneaded the couch fabric with his claws, before remembering that Gaara didn't want him doing that. He switched to the pillow Gaara had given him instead, settling back in his seat and watching the redhead with bemusement in his round eyes.

"Gaara? Is your homework done?" Lee asked, flicking his ears.

Gaara seemed to grow bored with the television remote after muting the current program. Instead of setting the remote on the coffee table, he simply let it drop to the floor and stepped over it. He fiddled with the lock on the window and pulled the glass open as far as he could. Gaara reached through as though he were trying to climb out, but was stopped by the bug screen. His eyes were open, but dull as if unseeing. Gaara didn't look when Lee addressed him. He started rifling through a box against the wall full of DVDs, as if looking for something. Disk cases dropped to the floor, while he slid a few DVDs behind the television. He stood.

"Gaara?" Lee asked again, perplexed. The cat man crawled off the couch and watched Gaara from the other side of the coffee table. Gaara didn't react, but began moving toward the kitchen with slow, clumsy legs.

Lee stretched his hand out and snagged Gaara's ankle, tripping him.

With a muffled grunt and a thump, Gaara fell onto the carpet almost bonelessly. He kicked his leg at Lee, his brow furrowed and eyes narrowed in a glare, but his gaze was unfocused.

Lee climbed on top of Gaara as the redhead rolled onto his back. Lee sat on Gaara's hips and pinned his shoulders to stop him from lashing out. Gaara managed to swing his fist up at Lee's face, but hit his shoulder instead. Lee growled, low and feline, and darted down to bite Gaara's neck until he submitted. His sharp incisors pinched Gaara's throat, but not hard enough to draw blood. Lee just wanted him to stop acting so erratic.

Instead of falling still or tensing up, Gaara's arms wound around Lee's torso, grabbing at the back of his green shirt and yanking him closer. Lee growled again, low in his throat with warning, ears flat on his head. The tip of his tail was flicking with irritation. His claws clutched at Gaara's shoulders, sharp like knife points.

"-tired of all the pancakes. Asshole, Naruto..." Gaara mumbled, his chest rising and falling harder with apparent confusion. He turned his face down into Lee's fluffy hair, sighing and tugging him closer. Gaara's fingers dragged down Lee's back, more gently than before. "... mm... good apples."

Gaara was laying on his kitchen floor the next morning, with the table upside down on top of him.

Lee was watching him with rapt attention from the corner of the room, crouching on his hands and feet, eyes wide and tail taught. He didn't say anything as Gaara's eyes blinked open, and the redhead tried to sit up with a groan.

"What did I do?" Gaara asked as he pushed the table away. It landed on the linoleum floor with a dull thunk of the wood.

"Are you normal now?" Lee asked, eyes round and cautious.

"Yes, I'm normal now." Gaara rubbed his face with both hands, exhausted. The dark circles around his eyes felt deep and heavy. He glanced at the clock on the stove. It was almost six AM. "What did I do?"

"You tried to climb the table when I did not want to play with you. You cannot climb well."

"Play? We were playing?" Gaara asked as he stood up and began to right the table.

"In a way." Lee's eyes slitted slyly. He stood and stalked off to the living room, tail tall and ears perked with mischief.

Gaara frowned as he watched Lee's retreat. He surveyed the damage in his kitchen and sighed miserably. He must have gotten around to opening some cabinets, because there were dishes everywhere. The big bag of flour that had been in the lower cabinet was half emptied into the sink, and the freezer half of his refrigerator was hanging open.

"You look like hell."

"Shut up." Gaara glared icicles at Naruto as they settled into chairs for class. Today their schedule only brought them together for one subject, and it was the last one of the day. Gaara knew he'd made it to his first classes, but he didn't remember what the teachers had covered. He was in a tired daze.

"Did you get any sleep last night?" Naruto demanded in a mild hush, his brows knitting in concern.

"A few hours. That's the problem," Gaara admitted with a sigh. He rubbed his chest, a habit when he felt unhappy or irritated.

"Oh, sleepwalking again?" Naruto realized, clucking his tongue and shaking his head like a disappointed hen-mother. Gaara didn't dignify his friend with a response.

"Hey, how about I stay at your place tonight!" Naruto suddenly declared with a grin.

"Why?"

"To help you sleep, of course! You can pass out, and if you start to get up and walk around I'll knock you back down again! It's brilliant!"

"That's just going to get us both injured," Gaara disagreed, frowning. "Do you even think about your words before you say things out loud?"

"Okay, that idea was lame," Naruto admitted, but didn't skip a beat. His expression shone. "We should still hang out tonight! I can bring one of my game consoles over to your place, and we can study together!"

"You won't want to study," Gaara pointed out. He nodded in agreement however. "That's acceptable, though. Bring the zombie game."

The front door to Gaara's apartment was open. The lock had been undone, and the doorway was cracked open by almost a foot. Alarm jumped in Gaara's limbs as he silently pushed the door wider and stepped inside. Setting his bag down without a rustle, he peered around the corners of his hallway with caution.

All the rooms were empty, and nothing had been stolen. Some places were still messy from sleepwalking in the night, but nothing out of place since the morning. Gaara frowned, confused, yet almost relieved before he remembered Lee.

"Lee?" he called, moving through the apartment again. He paused to listen, but didn't hear anything. A few minutes later, he was back in the hallway of the apartment building, wide eyed and panicked.

Lee was gone.

Gaara ran to Gai's door and knocked fiercely. The banging of his fist on wood was probably loud enough for the other neighbors to hear. "Mr. Might? Are you home?"

Gone. Probably at work today.

Gaara grit his teeth, eyes hard as he knocked on the other doors in the hallway. Some apartments were empty, and no one who answered their doors had seen a small black cat, or a tall man most likely dressed in green with a black bowl-style haircut. Gaara was trotting down the stairs to the first floor of the building to continue his search, when he was faced with his landlord.

Tsunade stood at the bottom of the steps with a hand on her hip, and an un-amused expression on her face. Her bosom looked like it was about to fall out of her shirt, as usual, and her breasts bounced when she sighed irritably at Gaara.

"Gaara," she said. "I could hear you downstairs. What are you doing?"

Gaara's expression became cool and impassive, but he felt frustration and annoyance rise up. He didn't have time to engage in tenant-landlord politics. He wondered if she'd started drinking or not already, today.

"I'm looking for someone," he said, moving to step around Tsunade with a tense politeness in his tone. She moved in his way and held up a hand. Her breasts swayed.

"Is there something you need to tell me? As your landlord, I need to know if I should expect any new comings and goings in the building." Her light eyes were hard and serious.

"Naruto is coming over tonight. He'll probably knock on your door to say hello," Gaara deadpanned, raising a brow and crossing his arms with the beginnings of impatience. He needed to find Lee before the stupid cat got hauled off to the pound or the church or a circus! Whichever!

"Will he?" Tsunade replied, a smirk briefly flickering across her face before she became serious again. "Is that all you have to tell me?"

"Miss Tsunade!" Shizune called from down the hall, appearing from the doorway of the landlord's apartment. She had her pig tucked under one arm, while something else was in the other. "Tonton is getting upset again by the kitty, and they won't-"

Gaara was there in an instant, taking Lee from Shizune's arm. He held the small cat against his chest, and breathed a sigh of relief. Lee curled against him and mewed, pawing at Gaara's hand in greeting.

"Recognize him?" Tsunade asked, raising a brow as she followed after the redhead. Her bosom rose and fell with each sharp step.

Gaara's expression was smooth and calm. "His name is Lee."

The landlord smacked a palm against her forehead, patience gone. "I don't care what his name is! I almost threw him in the back alley or called animal control! If you wanted to get a new pet you had to go through me first, before he trashes your apartment in my building!"

"I didn't intend on adopting a pet," Gaara finally explained, exasperated but more willing to talk now that he knew where Lee was. The little pest squirmed until he was on his back in Gaara's arm, playing with the redhead's fingers over his chest. His little claws were sharp, but mostly retracted with play. He nibbled on Gaara's smallest knuckle when the redhead held still.

"I found him in the rain on Friday, without a collar. I was going to take him to a shelter, but I just... haven't felt like it."

Tsunade sighed, expression still irritated, but more understanding now. "I don't care if you want to keep him. Just get him a litter box, and do a better job of keeping him locked in your apartment. He was napping on a pile of green clothes in the corner of the hall where anyone could find him."

Gaara looked down at Lee with a thoughtful frown. That explained some things. It sounded like Lee had gotten out the front door as a man some time after Gaara had gone to school, then become a cat again. Gaara wondered if anyone had seen him before Tsunade.

Lee's eyes raised to meet Gaara's, round and almost black in color as he stared. He meowed and swatted at Gaara's chest.

"The clothes belong to me. He must have dragged them out somehow," Gaara intoned, looking back to Tsunade.

"Oh, I thought they belonged to Gai!" Shizune said, still holding her pig from the doorway. She went inside, and came back with a brown paper bag labeled 'Mr. Gai Might.' "I was going to return them when he came home. It looked like something he would wear."

"He gifted them," Gaara explained, accepting the bag. He boosted Lee higher on his chest for a better grip, closing one eye as the cat swatted at his chin with a mewl.

"You know, a cat might do you some good," Tsunade suggested abruptly, seeming to surprise herself. She put a finger on her chin with thought. "It'll be healthy. You never have visitors, and never go out with anyone. Naruto doesn't count."

Gaara only nodded, and started walking back to his apartment.

Back at the apartment, Gaara had finished cleaning his sleepwalking mess. Everything was back to its old order. Even the DVD's he'd scattered were back in the right cases, and alphabetized. Gaara sat down on his couch, and lifted Lee off the cushion onto his lap. Lee wiggled and swatted his paws like he wanted to play now that the redhead wasn't busy, but Gaara frowned and shook his head.

"We need to talk about what happened. You can't go wandering off like that again," he said. Lee stopped squirming and sat down, staring up at Gaara. His fur was fluffed out, and his tail was still for once. Gaara crossed his arms, feeling the beginning of an ache in his temples. "If someone else had found you, I might have never discovered what happened. People who find random cats usually assume rabies or disease before anything else. You could have been thrown back out into the rain again."

Lee meowed loudly in protest, patting his paw on Gaara's crossed arms.

"Even if you looked like a man when you went out, people would-"

"YOU GOT A CAT?!"

With a shocked yowl and ears flat, Lee scampered from Gaara's lap across the room. Naruto was standing in the hall entry outside the living room, staring in disbelief at Gaara, and the little black ball of fur that was hiding. Lee's eyes were wide as he watched Naruto in return, then darted to duck behind the couch. His tail was peeking around the corner, visible.

"I thought you didn't like cats!"

AN: Much thanks to everyone who's been reading so far! And thanks to razorwind124 from LiveJournal for being my beta on this chapter!