[closed]

[sandsworn]

Characters: Gaara and Rock Lee
Location: Death City Heights, Gaara and Lee's apartment
Rating: PG-13 for sexual tension
Time: August 28th, evening
Description:  Gaara is trying to get into Lee's jumpsuit court Lee.  After getting some advice from the network, he's decided to make dinner for him...proving that even former homicidal maniacs can make good

Comments

[verdant_lotus]

On his side, Lee had spent the better part of the last two hours trying to come to terms with that conversation in his way- through difficult, punishing training. He'd made good use of the obstacle course despite the heat that lingered in the desert city even in the evening, and his attempts to beat his own record had almost been enough to distract him from what was waiting for him. Or rather, who

[sandsworn]

Gaara glanced over at Lee, and his heartbeat quickened slightly. "Come in," he said. "And close the door. The cool air is escaping." Of course, he was cool enough in his fishnet shirt, but it seemed wasteful, all the same. In Suna, luxuries such as air conditioning were unheard of; people just dealt with the heat.

He walked over to the kitchen counter. Already, he'd cut up some vegetables and chicken for the curry and put some rice in the cooker. It was just a matter of pan-cooking everything else and adding the curry powder and spices. Or at least, he was pretty sure. He'd watched Lee make curry before, and it seemed fairly straightforward.

Gaara turned on the stove. "You can sit down if you like. I'll take care of this."

[verdant_lotus]

Lee hesitated, but he couldn't come up with a good reason for why the door should remain open other than him half-wishing he were on the other side of it. Surely he'd missed something in his training. Surely.

He reluctantly shut the door behind him when Gaara headed for the kitchen and toed off his sandals. His responsibility to keep Gaara from doing something stupid- like spending too much time on that leg- trumped his unease at the entire situation. He followed the redhead into the kitchen, and was mildly relieved to see that everything looked normal. Though after Gai's cooking...

Lee glanced over at Gaara, feeling all the more aware of the sand caught in his bandages and the sweat that made his olive-green t-shirt stick to his skin. He hoped that Sandry would be able to replicate his jumpsuit- a few days without was entirely too much, in his opinion. "You are the one who is supposed to be sitting down," he said, and nodded at Gaara's leg.

[sandsworn]

"I'm fine. If it starts to hurt I'll sit down." It was already throbbing a bit, but that didn't count. He poured the vegetables and meat into the pan, along with a bit of oil, and began pushing the pieces around with a spatula, pausing now and then to add spices. He glanced over his shoulder at Lee. He wasn't accustomed to seeing him without his jumpsuit. His gaze lingered a moment, noting the way his shirt clung to his well-muscled upper body. The sight sent a jolt of heat through his own body. He shivered and looked away, startled at the intensity of the feeling.

As the vegetables simmered, he ladled some rice onto two plates. He glanced at Lee again. Remembering the advice he'd gotten about compliments, he remarked, "I like how that shirt looks on you."

[verdant_lotus]

The food was cold and the ice in the glasses was melted by the time they started eating, but Gaara had needed the comfort of touch. And, if Lee was honest with himself, he'd needed it too. Their conversation had him feeling emotionally raw, having faced too many revelations that he hadn't been ready for- and having dredged up the painful memories surrounding Sakura. Their shared meal passed mostly in silence, with Lee chancing awkward glances across the stubs of the candles at Gaara

[sandsworn]

Gaara was sitting on the couch, his hands resting on his knees. At Lee's approach, he looked up. Lee's hair and skin were still damp from the shower, and his shirt clung to his upper body, emphasizing the muscles hardened from countless hours of training. The sight left Gaara feeling both heated and momentarily weak, as if he'd spent too much time out in the sun.

He lowered his gaze. He couldn't even begin to untangle the knot of emotions in his chest. He felt...open. Exposed. He'd known, of course, that he was attracted to Lee and that Lee was his friend. But until tonight, he had never consciously acknowledged to himself that he loved Lee. That he needed him. The thought of losing Lee now made his chest tighten with something close to panic.

"Yes," he said.

[verdant_lotus]

"Okay." Somehow, that acceptance didn't make it any easier. Lee hesitated, looking between the couch and the loveseat. He'd never put so much thought before into something as simple as where to sit. It'd be easier to see Gaara from the loveseat, but there were implications to sitting away from him. And Lee knew he was thinking entirely too much, but fixating on something small like that was all he really could do in that moment. Eventually Lee sat down on the couch, but left half a cushion between them in compromise

[sandsworn]

"Yes," Gaara said again. His heart was beating a little too quickly, and his mouth was dry. He wasn't used to feeling so many things at once. He wasn't used to feeling things at all. He'd spent years carefully barricading his emotions behind cool, neutral walls. Yet ever since he'd come into this world and partnered with Lee, his heart had been a near-constant whirl of things he didn't understand, things he had no name for. It was disorienting. Overwhelming.

His hands tightened on his knees, and he met Lee's dark gaze. "What do you want to do." The words were delivered in a flat, neutral tone, without even the inflection of a question at the end.