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Rot, Another One Bites the Dust	By : LucklessMallory Category: Naruto AU/AR > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1219 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I make no profit from the distribution of this story.

Chapter List
- 9
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- 11
Something was causing the thin strands that passed off as normalcy these past few days to vibrate, and the eldest Sabaku found herself stalking the halls of the Crimson Sand in search of it a few hours after lunch. Temari’s brow was furrowed, and was starting to show faint wrinkle lines from the stress of leading this group of survivors, as she reached the second floor stairwell and walked down the carpeted hallway.
Sasori and Zetsu, her primary suspects for anything that went wrong, were keeping nice and quiet in the rooftop garden that Zetsu somehow kept alive. The insufferable Shikamaru was off watching clouds again and keeping an eye on Sasori and Zetsu for her, and oh yes, they were overdue for a checkers rematch after he’d pulled that bullshit capture move when she’d been sure he had no moves left. The romcom sitcom, as Temari had dubbed the exasperating triangle that was Neji, Hinata and Kiba, were for once keeping the peace as they went about the daily chores they were assigned to do. Moegi and Udon were playing a game with Sari and Matsuri, whom Temari had long been worrying over since Sari was too eager to bash a zombie’s head in, while Matsuri would probably get herself hurt no matter where she was assigned. It was better now that Lee and Gaara had taken to training them in basic combat, and gave the girls a way to vent their pent up energy. And speaking of which, she hadn’t seen hide nor hair of her little brother since this morning.
Stopping outside of Lee’s bedroom (and previously Gaara’s, but she would prefer not to think of the two of them cuddlingnexttoeachotheratnight- oh damn), and rapped sharply on the door.
There was a short pause before Lee answered. When he opened the door, he looked tired and haggard, with dark circles under his eyes and with body language that made it seem that his arm was hurting, though it was healing well lately. His eyes were characteristically round as usual, but also seemed hazy somehow. He blinked at Temari in surprise.
“Hello, Temari. How are you doing today?” he greeted politely. He cleared his throat, since it sounded a little rough.
“Fine.” Temari took in Lee’s appearance with concern before shifting her weight on her back foot, her arms crossed as she took a familiar stance.
Two nights ago, Gaara had come to her room silently, curling up on the sofa of her suite the way he used to sneak into her room at night as a child. He didn’t have to say anything for her to know something had happened. Despite her pestering, Gaara refused to say anything about the matter and talked instead about doing a run back to their company building and their apartment.
However, she knew Gaara still took care of the Lee while his arm healed, and that they stayed close to each other in case the other man needed help. Which made it all the more strange to see his haggard appearance now. “Is Gaara in there with you? I’ve been looking for him since noon.”
“Oh, I have not seen him today.” Lee didn’t like the anxious look that Temari had. She seemed agitated, like something was wrong or out of place. Lee stood a little taller, concerned. “You do not know where he is? Is something wrong?”
“No, I thought he’d be with you.” Temari frowned as her breath grew noticeably faster, the blonde woman peering over Lee’s shoulder just to make sure before pressing a hand to her temple. She had a sinking feeling in her gut at finding no sign of Gaara or his weapons anywhere in the hotel. “He told me this morning he’d be planning a run back to our old apartment and our company building”
The suspicious frown on her face pulling tight in a line. Temari’s big sister senses were starting to rise from a faint tingle into a blaring alarm. Gaara was normally so cautious and wouldn’t get into anything without planning ahead, but he was also fiercely single-minded about what he thought had to be done. Even if he had to do it alone.
She should have known something was up when Gaara began asking her about how and where exactly Kankuro had died in their building. Snapping her gaze back onto Lee, she said brusquely, “I need to talk to the scouting teams. If he didn’t check out with any of them, he must have gone out on his own.”
“What are you talking about?” Lee’s eyes widened and he stepped forward, feeling his chest constrict at the look in Temari’s eyes. This wasn’t right. Gaara knew better than to just disappear without telling anyone, and especially without telling Lee or his sister. Lee put a hand on her and shook his head. “He would not do that on his own, right? He knows better than to run off by himself!”
Even as Lee spoke however, he was slipping on his shoes and ran back into the room to grab his jacket, a new one to replace the jacket that had been cut off his body when he’d been injured. He tossed his sling onto the bed and shrugged both arms through his layers.
“Not if he thought others would just slow him down. Damnit Gaara, I told you not to do anything stupid!” Temari. hissed under her breath. The eldest Sabaku was ready to rush down the hall to check with Sasori, but she glanced at Lee sharply when she saw him start to get dressed. “What do you think you’re doing? You’re not going out there with your arm like that.”
“My arm is fine.” Lee stepped around Temari, leaving his door wide open and moving down the hall in front of her. He waved it above his head to illustrate. “It is almost completely healed. Moegi was about to take out my stitches. It does not even hurt anymore.”
It was true. As soon as he’d processed where Gaara had gone- by himself, no less- the ache in his bicep had all but disappeared in place of a rush of worry and panic. He had to go find Gaara now! “I am going to go after Gaara. I know where the apartment building is, and he needs someone to watch his back.”
Temari didn’t have time to argue with Lee on that, but she hurried to catch up with him until they were running down the stairs together. “You won’t survive on your own. If you insist on putting your life on the line, take Baki with you. He knows where our company is and what floor Kankuro died on. Gaara would head there first.” She said briskly as the panic in her eyes settled into cold focus. Her mind reeled quickly. The scouting teams wouldn’t be back until later, and if her hunch about Gaara was right, he’d have left just a little after breakfast. There was still time to find him with a smaller group. “You might be able to stop Gaara if you catch up with him. Take whatever weapons you can carry. I’ll have Baki bring first aid just in case.”
Whatever had gone on in her little brother’s mind, Temari had every intention of getting Gaara back and chewing the stubbornness out of him.
“Thank you, that is a good idea. We will leave as soon as Baki is ready.” Lee’s heart was thumping anxiously and his mind was running even faster than his feet. Was this happening because he had rejected Gaara? He had seen the look in the redhead’s face before he left that morning two days ago. It had obviously bothered him, even if he didn’t want Lee to think it had. Gaara knew better than to do something as dangerous and impulsive as this.
“I still need to check with the scouting teams, but Baki will be at the front door in five minutes.” Temari promised before veering off from Lee’s path to find the man.

In one of the sidestreets leading to Kazekage Industries, Gaara bit his tongue for the second time since he’d left the hotel. Temari must already be planning what she’d do to him once he returned. It was too late to go back though. He’d already reached the site of his old company building.
Wrinkling his nose in disgruntlement, he stood up from his crouch behind a wall and tried the emergency exit he’d escaped through all those months ago. The stink of rotting flesh was everywhere, with many of the zombies he’d killed on the way out still lying where he’d smashed them. There were others zombies he’d had to fight along the way, stragglers who must have drifted from other parts of the district. The sight of the bodies was a firm reminder of what he was here for.
The exit door was locked tight. Killing the remaining walkers roaming close to the building, he made his way to the front instead, letting his thoughts depart from Temari and the fact that he’d left without telling her, and the continuous echo of Lee’s rejection that refused to leave his mind. Gaara willed away the weightless feeling in his stomach with a heavy breath. This was not the time to think about other things. His brother was waiting for him in the upper floors.
Lips pressing tight, he tapped the bloody head of his club on the ground to get the specks of flesh off of it, before pulling open the battered doors of the building.
Gaara’s face grew slack, and a dull ringing sounded in his ears as he beheld the crowd of moving, groaning bodies that filled the lobby. All of them familiar husks of people he’d known. Lifting the shaft of his club, his mouth set in a grim line as he stepped inside and got to work.

Lee winced as he glanced over the edge of a low rooftop across the street from Gaara’s office building. There were quite a few zombies in the street, but the number of dead ones with destroyed heads was a strong indicator that Gaara had been here. The sun was peeking out from behind the tall building, touching Lee’s face before he pulled back and hid again.
“Where did you and Temari escape from?” Lee asked Baki, reaching for his spiked bat as he got ready to continue on.
“We ran from one of the emergency exits,” he replied, frowning and looking up at the wall of dirty or broken windows on the front of the building. The memory of the bustling corporate environment seemed like a dream now. “I am not sure that we can still access it. I think we could get in easiest if we took the back entrance, since there would be less zombies there, and we would have faster access to the stairs. If the emergency exit is still open, we’ll take that on the way instead.”
“Okay,” Lee said simply, nodding and turning to make his way across the roof at a crouch. Baki followed closely, his eyes darting about when they made their way down the fire escape as quickly and quietly as possible.
Only a few minutes later, the two followed a trail of a handful of dead bodies with crushed skulls to an open door on the side of the building. They shared a knowing, concerned look before going inside. Gaara had been here, there was no doubt.

It was a purging of the most brutal kind. The cool metal of Gaara’s clubs singing in the air before hitting a pound of decaying meat. Gaara was seeing things through a veil of the past, when he’d first witnessed a man grow sick and die, only to twitch and jerk back into a life of hunger for the living. Blood was splattered on his padded coat, hands, and hair, some of it trickling down the side of his face until he almost resembled the zombies he was killing. The smell of the black infested liquid was everywhere, and Gaara had to stop and hold back the urge to retch like he’d had on floor 7, and on floor 16.
Green eyes dilated and feverish, Gaara pushed open the door to floor 20, Operations, team composed of 40 people, team leader: Kankuro, number of people under surveillance: 4, turnover rate at 10% every two to three years to weed out threats to the company.
One of the women who worked directly under Kankuro stretched out her arm to reach for his foot as he passed, letting out a tiny, hoarse groan before he brought his club down on her head.
Temari had said that they’d taken the elevator from her floor, found Kankuro, and tried escaping together only for their brother to die. Gaara’s gaze swept across the maze of cubicles and shattered desks until he found the doors to the elevator on the other side. Armed and panting, he began to clear a bloody path of bodies to tie up one last loose end.

Lee and Baki ran up the stairs, leaping over bodies. Lee shuddered and pulled the edge of his shirt over his nose with a gagging sound as they passed by an open door to floor 18 and the stench of dead flesh wafted out. It was in the entire building, sick and disgusting, like the walls had been painted in decaying limbs. Blood dripped down the stairs at a steady, thick trickle that Lee almost slipped in, and he realized that it was coming from the next floor up. He grabbed the stairway railing and hauled himself up faster, with a new zest as he thought about Gaara at the top.
When Lee finally reached floor 20, he felt the hair stand up on the back of his neck with dread and unease. He paused outside the doorway, wondering why there was no sounds coming from inside. The telltale moan of the undead was completely absent, and if Gaara was inside he wasn’t making a sound either. The groaning and unnatural dragging of limbs was a noise that was almost constant in the world outside the hotel. It almost seemed wrong not to be able to hear it, even for a moment.
Lee jolted as he felt Baki’s hand on his shoulder, urging him forward. He nodded at the man quietly and stepped inside, lowering his shirt from his face to call out. “Gaara? Are you here?” He stepped over a few freshly killed bodies and his stomach churned at the sheer amount of bloodsplatter across cubicle walls and computer screens.
There was no answer to Lee's calls. Broken faces looked up at him from every corner, jaws open in a silent scream with their bodies torn apart, whether by Gaara or by the zombies that had lingered on the floor with nowhere to go. Evidence of Gaara's handiwork littered the floor, and at the end of the trail of bodies was the biggest office cubicle near the elevator, where Gaara’s club lay amongst half a dozen corpses.
And then there was Gaara, head bowed against his chest with his body leaning against the cubicle wall, blood even darker than his hair all over his clothes and splayed limbs. At his feet was a corpse that could have been Gaara’s twin if his hair had been red instead of brown, and if he’d still had the other half of his eaten body.
“G-Gaara?” Lee repeated, fear and panic caught in his throat as he froze. It felt like ice had suddenly flooded his veins as his horrified eyes darted across Gaara’s body, trying to find the place he’d been bitten. It was impossible to tell, there was too much blood all over him! Lee’s hands began to shake and the club in his hand fell to the bloody floor. The complete silence in the room suddenly felt a hundred times louder, roaring in his ears like an earthquake.
Was Gaara dead? Lee’s voice shook. “P-please say something, Gaara?”
Baki was there behind Lee, lowering his head at the sight of the two Sabaku children he'd been in charge of nearly all his life. He placed a hand on Lee's shoulder before kneeling down to inspect Kankuro. Before his hand could even touch the dead man's body, Gaara's hand shot out and gripped Baki's wrist in a tight clamp.
Lifting his head up, Gaara's green eyes burned amidst the tear tracks down his cheeks and the blood that ran down his sickly-looking face. His lips pulled up into a snarl. "Don't touch him."
He pushed Baki's hand away and pulled his knees to his chest, tremors wracking his body and a shudder hitching his breath whenever he exhaled. Lee's presence hovered in his awareness, forcing him to pay attention to his ragged breathing, the smell of blood and rot in the air, the ache in his arms and the exhaustion and tears and pain and Kankuro's devoured body reaching out for him-- almost like he was waking up from a nightmare.
“Oh, thank god,” Lee was there an instant later, arms wrapped around Gaara’s hunched shoulders. Manly tears poured down his cheeks in relief, and he distantly realized he was shaking. His voice caught as he ran his hands over Gaara’s body, not even caring that he was getting blood all over himself. It didn’t matter, because under the blood and carnage he could feel that Gaara was still warm and breathing and alive. Lee brushed Gaara’s hair back and rubbed the tears and blood from his cheeks, clutching at his back and shoulders.
“You scared me,” Lee murmured, voice shaking still. “You scared me so badly. I thought you were dead.”
The tear tracks on Gaara’s cheeks remained wet, trickles replacing what Lee had brushed away. Kankuro’s remaining eye stared up at him like an accusation for leaving him behind when Gaara could have found a way to help his siblings instead. The redhead sobbed soundlessly and gripped the back of Lee's jacket, unwinding from his position to find comfort in his friend. Lee's chest was warm and solid, simultaneously waking the nerves in his skin until he shivered from the cold again. He was getting blood and guts all over the other man, but Lee didn't even seem to care.
"I can take care of myself." Gaara said softly against Lee's shoulder, his voice sounding unnaturally emotional and traumatized. "I didn't want anyone else to put Kankuro to rest. I didn't want anyone to see this. He’s my brother, and it was my job to protect him. I had to come here. I had to find him. I had to."
Lee held his friend tighter, nodding with his eyes squeezed shut. Tears were still leaking from the corner of his eyes, but they were slowing down now compared to Gaara’s. Lee took a deep, shaky breath. Then another. “I know,” he murmured, touching Gaara’s head and tucking it tighter against his shoulder. “I know. You are right. You did the right thing. I am so sorry, Gaara.”
Lee tilted his head and glanced at the body on the floor in front of them, then looked away quickly again out of respect when he realized how decomposed and ruined it had become over time. “Was this your brother? Kankuro?” he asked softly.
Gaara’s head shifted in a nod, dimly aware that Baki was closing Kankuro’s eye with two fingers, finally giving the elder Sabaku brother a peaceful if shattered appearance. Gaara could smell the sweat on Lee’s neck, masking some of the putrid smell in the room while a part of him wondered how the two had managed to catch up with him so fast. “...Why are you here?” He asked, his voice choking slightly as his body continued to tremble. “Did Temari send you?”
“No,” Lee finally pulled back just enough to see Gaara’s face, but kept his arms around the other man. It made his chest squeeze tight as he felt the trembles in Gaara’s body under his hands. It wasn’t right. Gaara was always so contained and strong, it felt wrong to see him so hurt. Lee wiped away the tears on his cheeks again in vain. Lee’s eyes were earnest, and his thick brows were pulled together as he spoke. “She told me where you would be, but that is not why I came. I am so sorry about what I said before. It was not the truth when I said that I just wanted to be your friend.”
Lee’s breath shuddered briefly, and his stomach churned with what he was about to say. “I want to be with you, more than anything else. I love you, Gaara. I just want to be with you in any way that you need me, and I want to be here for you. If you need me to be your boyfriend, that can only be more amazing than being your friend. I love you, and I may not know exactly what kind of love it is yet, but it is just so strong that I cannot let go of you. Will you forgive me for what I said?” Lee cupped Gaara’s cheek and leaned closer, still trying to brush away the tears while his eyes burned dark.
The confession had Gaara jerking back, staring at Lee with wide eyes and heavily knotted brows. After everything that he’d gone through today, this felt like a slap in the face. Kankuro had been his purpose for coming here, but coming alone had been his choice after Lee made his feelings clear. How could he suddenly take back what he’d said, when Gaara had already done what he could to shut that door closed?
“No.” He breathed, “Don’t say that now. You didn’t feel that for me days ago, you said it yourself. Don’t pretend you do.”
“Please, I mean it.” Lee inhaled sharply, hurt at the way Gaara jerked from him. He shook his head, pleading. “I am not pretending. I want to be with you. Just now, when I saw you and I thought you had died, I just...” Lee’s voice shook, and the tears welled up in his eyes again. “I did not know what to do. I cannot imagine surviving in this world without you. It hurts to even think about that. Please, Gaara? Please be with me?”
Gaara felt the cubicle wall behind him supporting his body as he bowed his head and slid both hands through his hair in frustration. He'd been through a rollercoaster of emotions since the morning he confessed, that he didn't know what he wanted now. Kankuro was dead. He'd killed him like he'd killed Tenten. And he wasn't going to stop doing what was needed even if Temari was next. Lee was the wild card that threw his stability off-balance and kept him from reason and logic. And he’d just thrown the same words Gaara had used to confess to him.
Someone's voice had turned into a gutteral wail and Gaara's face scrunched up, throat raw, blood smearing on his forehead and temples where his palms were. When his eyes opened again, he stared down at the floor, struggling to get his hitching breath in check. "L...Lee why a...are you so annoying?”
“What?” Lee blinked widely, then winced with a sheepish expression. “Um, youth is an unpredictable thing. Sometimes springtime is hard to recognize. It, um, took me a little while to sort out what I was feeling. I am sorry!”
Lee looked on with concern at Gaara’s expression. He still had his hands on the other man’s sides as he explained. “I, um, I just really care about you, and when two youthful people have a connection like this, emotions can become very confused. I am still confused, to be honest. But if you would just be with me, with hard work and perseverance I am sure we can reach our springtime together!”
During the whole speech, Gaara kept his eyes on the floor as he listened to Lee’s voice. He still couldn’t understand why Lee suddenly changed his mind about this, when Gaara had been so sure that that opportunity was closed even before he confessed. There were too many unanswered questions, and the impulse to leave the Crimson Sand on this solo mission had been a by-product of some of them. They were in a difficult situation where second chances were a distant ideal and moving on was all they could do. By the time Lee spouted his second ‘springtime’ though, Gaara had heard enough. Trying to understand Lee’s logic was missing the point of his friend’s reliance on his heart.
Lifting his eyes, the redheads lips tugged into a scowl and he grabbed hold of Lee’s jacket collar, pulling his irritating, outspoken, optimistic, foolish, idiotic, incomprehensible friend down for an open-mouthed kiss.
Lee jolted in surprise and inhaled sharply. That was all the hesitation he gave however before he was sliding his arms around Gaara’s back and tugging him closer. Lee moved his mouth against Gaara’s, lifting a hand to hold the redhead’s face while he softened his lips and tilted his head. Gaara’s body was warm and alive against his, and there was something in the back of Lee’s mind that seemed to get the confirmation he needed, because the churning in his chest and gut transformed into a small blaze. Lee’s hand on the side of Gaara’s face gripped tighter, smearing blood and tears as he leaned forward and held the redhead closer against him.
All those people who claimed that kissing blocked out the rest of the world were wrong. Gaara saw the streaks of blood on Lee’s face, knowing all too well where it came from. He heard the silence around them, could see the fading rays of the sun reflecting against dirty computer screens and glass dividers. And he could still see his brother’s body lying next to them.
Except Lee’s mouth was salty and warm, and the death around them only led to Gaara’s surprise when Lee began to move his lips in a way that made the redhead wonder if the other man was as inexperienced as he seemed to be. Heat flashed over Gaara’s skin when he slid his hands around Lee’s chest, inching closer on his knees.
A discreet cough broke the silence and effectively broke the kiss as well, with Gaara pulling away first with a thick inhale. “Perhaps we should make our way to your home, Mr. Sabaku. It’s going to get dark soon,” Baki said.
Gaara’s face was still dirty with tear streaks and blood, but his eyes were clear and composed again when he looked at Lee. “We will talk tonight.” He said with finality, color returning to his skin as he let his hands linger over the man’s arms. This opportunity was now open to him again, and it gave him the breathing room to focus on getting them to a safe place.
“Yeah,” Lee agreed, his voice a little breathless and his cheeks flushed. He nodded, and after a pause managed to unwrap his arms from Gaara and stand up. He took a deep breath, then winced and gagged at the smell of death and guts in the room. He held his hand out to help Gaara up.
Long term, Lee didn’t know what this would mean for them. He wasn’t used to thinking that way. Even before the outbreak, when they’d been forced to focus on day to day survival, Lee had always been the hotheaded type of person to act first and think later with his choices. Sometimes it didn’t work out for him, but sometimes it did, too. And with someone as level headed and cautious as Gaara to think things through for them, what did they have to lose? Lee glanced at the exit. “Just so you know, Temari is really worried about you. She is probably going to be mad when we get back.”

"Mm," Gaara nodded, taking one last look at Kankuro's body. Temari would be furious with him, but she'd want to know about their brother. Baki handed him his bloody golf club and he began leading them towards the stairs.
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Rot, Another One Bites the Dust