Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Rot, Another One Bites the Dust	By : LucklessMallory Category: Naruto AU/AR > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1222 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I make no profit from the distribution of this story.

Chapter List
- 12
- 13
- 14
For once, it was a warm night in Suna, a sure sign that winter was on a decline. There was no wind on the hotel rooftop where Gaara and Lee lay, and the sky was partly cloudy above their heads. The moon was almost full, with just a sliver missing from the bright gleam. The stars above were so thick and bright that everything around was clearly illuminated, almost as if the sun were still on the horizon.
“Thank you for coming up here with me,” Lee murmured, his usually loud and boisterous voice was toned down in awe of the sky, which was clearer than he’d ever seen it before. Most all of the lights in the city had shut off after the epidemic, reducing the electric pollution that usually dimmed the stars or moon. Lee tucked their blanket tighter around the edge of his legs, and slid closer to Gaara.
Gaara’s breath was loud in the silence, and it was easy to tell the faint hitches in it whenever Lee moved closer or brushed his hand against the redhead’s. Gaara bent his legs at the knees slightly, feeling their pooling warmth under the blanket. “...Mm.” He murmured, craning his head a little to look at the other man. The stars were a familiar sight for him, especially back when he used to go to the roof of his home to think. Lee’s face was much more interesting to look at, and he found himself speaking quietly to fill the silence.
“When my mother was still alive, she told me that Suna used to be a great city of warriors. This was back when people still fought over land and power. One of Suna’s oldest sayings came from that tradition, about putting everything on the line for honor and family.” He blinked back up at the sky, wondering why he remembered that when it was almost a decade since it was said. He raised a hand and pointed at a collection of stars, searching for constellations he hadn’t bothered to look at anymore with the work he did. “...Suna’s best warriors were said to watch over the city even today.”
“Wow,” Lee murmured in a hushed voice. He’d always been a sucker for stories about honor, battle, and warriors who had something to fight for. His eyes were bright with admiration and there was a touch of a smile on his face. Lee glanced over at Gaara, and blinked as he realized that the redhead was staring at him. He rolled onto his side toward the other man and an edge of his mouth pulled up. He rested one of his hands on Gaara’s waist. “What are you looking at? I wanted you to see the stars with me.”

A heavier breath went past Gaara's lips at the contact, but he kept his eyes on the other man's. It felt like even his face and ears had a blanket covering them with the heat building up. "I am with you. I like looking at you." He said factually despite the slight lidding of his eyes.
They'd been together for a while now, but he still hadn't gotten used to the sudden flashes of attraction whenever Lee would turn to him and grin, or when the other man would casually reach out to touch him. It was all the more harder to get used to since they still hadn't done anything other than light explorations of each other's body. He moved his hand to press a finger between Lee's brows, tracing the thick contours of his friend's face.
"You're the only man I know with thick eyebrows and lashes, and eyes this round. Your lips are curved like a turtle's but soft." His lips quirked up faintly, finding his own observations amusing. He never really paid much attention to people's features aside from making sure he could identify them, except Lee's were just too striking to ignore. "The stars are no competition.”
The smile on Lee’s face slowly widened and he felt his cheeks grow pink at Gaara’s praise and attention. Something fluttering and warm bloomed in his chest in response to the affectionate way Gaara lightly touched his face. “I thought I was supposed to be the romantic one,” Lee said, the stars forgotten as his hand on Gaara’s waist tightened, pulling them closer together under the blankets. “I have been trying to write a haiku for you, but they never turn out very good. Yet you seem to be able to say poetic things on the spot.”
Lee leaned closer, until he could feel the heat from Gaara’s face against his. Their noses brushed in the mildly ringing silence of the rooftop. “Can I kiss you?” Lee murmured, eyes already sliding closed.
For a moment, Gaara just watched Lee’s face grow closer, his mouth parting slightly in response. It didn’t take long before he was meeting Lee’s lips with his own, answering his question firmly. He pulled back and kissed him again, planting short, darting kisses that he’d found out early on would give him glimpses of Lee’s expressions. While he enjoyed fighting alongside Lee, working on plans with him, and doing runs with him, this was nice too.
Lee returned each kiss that Gaara gave him, peeking through his lashes at the other man. Gaara always seemed to keep his eyes open when it came to this, watching him. Lee liked to close his usually though, since it helped him focus on other things, like the sound of Gaara’s breathing or the warmth sheltered between them under the blankets. It felt nice. Lee ducked away from Gaara’s lips to kiss under his jaw instead. He pulled his top arm under the blankets, and his hand slid under Gaara’s shirt to touch his bare back.
Their chests brushed at the proximity. Lee still occasionally thought it was odd not to find breasts there, but he was finally getting used to it. And even though they were both men, that didn’t mean that certain places on their chests couldn’t be sensitive. With that thought in mind, Lee ducked lower and kissed along Gaara’s throat, his collar bone, and along the curve of his shirt’s hemline. His hand on Gaara’s back drew circles across the skin with his fingertips.
Lee’s hands on his back elicited a shiver and his chest arched forward involuntarily at the light sensation. Gaara drew in air in steady breaths as Lee continued to kiss down his jaw and shirt, slipping an arm around Lee’s torso as well and running his thumb against the ticklish side of it. The gentle strokes made him squirm and flex his toes. It was easier to withstand the fierce, passionate movements they exchanged after sparring compared to this slow burn.
His hands found Lee’s shoulders and he grasped them before tucking his head down, looking at the top of the man’s head and feeling his black strands brushing against his face. “Lee,” he breathed out, his pulse pounding in his ears.
Lee smiled against Gaara’s skin, pleased by the sound of his name when Gaara spoke like that. He was starting to get to know this side of Gaara better- the side that wasn’t all fighting and survival and cold heartbreak. This side of Gaara was more tender and affectionate, only came out when they were alone, and seem to have wonderful reactions when Lee took the initiative to touch him gently. The passion and challenges they sometimes shared after an intense sparring match was always great, too, and brought out Lee’s other side, but this moment... was much more beautiful to bask in.
“I love you, Gaara,” Lee murmured, dragging the edge of the redhead’s neckline lower with the tip of his nose and continuing to kiss whatever skin he could reach. “I really enjoy being with you. If this really is the end of the world, I am glad that I can spend it with you.”
Gaara held his breath. How could Lee just declare his feelings so openly with the most dramatic of words? He still couldn’t understand the ease his friend found in telling him that, and the certainty he had of it. Some words carried too much weight and obligations to be spoken lightly, and even then, words were empty without action.
Slipping an arm around Lee’s head and pressing his face against the shiny black hair, Gaara exhaled and shut his eyes, letting the other man fill his sense of smell and touch. It was almost like the walking corpses filling the streets below didn’t exist when they were this high up with a clear night sky above them. “I don’t think there are stars at the end of the world.” He said softly, “Just darkness. And solitude.”
Gaara’s lips pulled up into a small smile, not that much bigger than the usual faint quirks but without the dryness in them. Lee was rubbing off on him. He shifted when Lee’s lips reached the hard curves of his chest, his breath growing thick with desire. “...If you keep that up, we’re not going to stop at kisses.”
Lee hummed in reply, dragging his lips back up Gaara’s throat and jaw. He kissed the edge of the other man’s mouth softly. “Maybe I do not want to stop, this time,” Lee murmured. His lips moved against Gaara’s cheek, his temple, and pressed against the edge of his mouth again.
Lee’s hands around Gaara’s back drew him firmly closer, clutching him like a prolonged hug. He’d been growing more comfortable with Gaara lately. Kissing was starting to feel easy and natural, and touching... was certainly getting there as well.
Gaara uttered a small grunt in reply, skin tingling from the light brush of Lee’s lips all over his face and neck. He had to give credit to the other man- Lee knew by now what actions overwhelmed him and rendered him unable to do anything but take the gentle attention. His eyes opened into slivers of dark green, his face looking a little strained at the control he tried to keep on his reactions. “Lee.” He repeated, blood rushing up his neck.
Slipping a hand through the man’s hair, he grasped a handful and tugged lightly on them, trying to pull Lee’s mouth away from his face so he could get some reprieve. Everywhere Lee had kissed and touched felt hypersensitive, and the unfamiliar sensation was whittling away his tight hold on himself. His heels dug against the covers they’d laid under them, fully aware that he was now squirming against the other man.
“Gaara,” Lee murmured in reply, his voice low and teasing. He grinned at the other man, despite the way Gaara held him back from kissing him further. He chuckled at the way Gaara squirmed, and dragged the back of his knuckles gently along the side of the redhead’s face, tracing the edge of the dark rings around his eyes and curving under his jaw. He hooked their ankles together, to feel the other man’s body from head to toe. “Do you not want to touch me, too?”
A narrowed gaze met Lee’s as Gaara’s breath quickened, face flushing as Lee’s knuckles brushed over the edge of it. It was hard to believe that the same man had frozen at the slightest hint of anything physical between them just a month ago. His fingers moved down Lee’s hair to grasp his neck, this time to bring their mouths together in a messy kiss. Gaara could care less about the sloppiness when he could taste Lee in his mouth and on his tongue, his other hand wrapping around the man’s back and digging against it. Their hooked ankles only brought a delicious friction between their groins.
Lee made a small noise at the way Gaara handled him, but didn’t protest. He slid his hands under Gaara’s shirt, dragging his fingers down the man’s sides. Lee leaned over Gaara, moving his head as they kissed the way Gaara’s grip pushed or pulled. He shifted and gasped softly as Gaara’s body still squirmed against his. Lee grasped the edge of Gaara’s shirt and tugged gently.
The grip on his shirt brought a spark of anticipation in his gut. Gaara arched his lower back to help Lee along, but he didn't let up on his own grasp around the man's back. His teeth clicked against Lee's as he tilted his head to the side. All the teasing and infuriatingly innocent moments between them only built up the fire in him. If this was Lee’s way of lowering down his inhibitions, it was working. His feet planted firmly on the ground and he rolled his hips up, forward and back with the growing bulge on the front of his pants.
The hand on Lee’s back moved lower, fingers slipping under the hem of Lee’s pants to gently squeeze the curved flesh there.
Lee gasped and shuddered, pressing down on top of Gaara to help control the rolling and rocking of his hips into sync with his own. He moved his mouth away from Gaara’s abruptly, dizzy. He pulled Gaara’s shirt over his head and let it hang off one arm. Lee pressed forward, feeling something coil in his stomach at the way Gaara’s hands wandered.
If he paid attention, Lee could feel... just below their hips, he could feel something hard and urgent pressing back against him. His cheeks warmed, but his curiosity grew, too. He slid his thigh higher between Gaara’s legs, purposefully putting pressure and dragging friction across Gaara’s groin.
The motion drew a low moan, shocking Gaara with its volume. He clenched his teeth, eyes falling shut again as he found a rhythm of rubbing and pressing against Lee's thigh.
With his shirt off his body, Gaara could feel the fabric of Lee's clothes against his skin and it added to the sensations coursing between his legs. "Lee," he hissed, ending with another moan. "Don't...haa...don't make me come in my pants."
Lee’s face flushed, worse than the pink that had already tinged his cheeks. He panted, feeling a rush of something delicious- hormones, affection, pride- in his limbs down to his fingers and toes at the sound of Gaara’s voice. Lee swallowed thickly and shuddered as he moved the same way, completely deliberately. A small voice in the back of his mind was telling him that he should have been scared off by now from doing this with another man, but that voice was easily ignored when Lee pressed his own bulge down against the juncture of Gaara’s hip. Pleasure, coiling warm and tight in his body, swirled.
“M-maybe,” Lee murmured against Gaara’s ear, sliding a hand down to the redhead’s thigh and gripping it tight around his. “You should take them off.”
Gaara heard every thump of his heartbeat ringing in his ears, so loud that he wondered if he heard Lee right. His eyes flew open, staring at Lee with dilated eyes and lips heavy and puffed from their kisses. “Don’t take that back.” He finally whispered, suddenly moving his hands to Lee’s chest and gripping the thin collar of his shirt. Amidst the pleasure and excitement of finally moving forward, he searched Lee’s eyes for any doubts but only found curiosity and warmth. Finally.
Licking his dry lips, his hands let go of Lee’s shirt and slid down his chest slowly, feeling the hard muscle and faint ridges of his ribs until they went below his stomach. His hands only lingered over Lee’s groin briefly before moving to unbutton his own pants.
Lee swallowed, nerves added suddenly to the mix of crazy emotions and sensations, but he held steady. He lifted himself enough to give Gaara room to move beneath him, and his breath caught as he dragged a hand along Gaara’s bared chest and abs. He shuddered again when Gaara’s pants were open, but looked down curiously.
Lee hadn’t really thought too much about what to expect, but Gaara’s groin was similar to his. Lee licked his lips self consciously as his eyes widened. Gaara was almost completely hard, the head swollen red. Lee slid his hand down Gaara’s abs and slowly wrapped his fingers around it, more curious and feeling than to stimulate. Something small and red caught the corner of his eye.
“Your tattoo looks good,” Lee murmured as he squeezed lightly and felt his fingers down the length. “What does it mean?”
Kicking off his pants and the rest of the blanket, Gaara’s toes curled abruptly and he gasped at the warm fingers wrapping around his shaft. Alright, Lee was much more comfortable than he thought he’d be. Lying back against the covers and propping his upper body with his elbows, he looked down at Lee’s tanned hand with lidded eyes. He hadn’t forgotten Lee’s fascination with his tattoo way back then, but it was easier to answer his questions now that they were at this stage.
“...It means love.” He said, lifting his hips a little to encourage the contact. “I got it in high school when I thought no one would love me and I could only love myself.”
Lee’s breath caught at the way Gaara moved, reminding him that there was a purpose to exploring aside from his curiosity. Lee dragged his fingers up, and then back down. He paused to tear the knot from his arm bandages out from his palm and quickly unravel it. He brought his hand back, touching the tip curiously under his thumb. It felt different than the rest of the shaft.
“You keep mentioning that you didn’t have a very nice childhood,” Lee murmured.
One of Gaara’s eyes shut tight when Lee’s hand began to move, his gaze lifting to Lee’s face. “I won’t...be hard...for long if-nn...-if I talk about that.” Even with what he said, the sudden shift from a bandaged hand to skin against skin had his dick twitching in Lee’s hold. Knees lifting slightly off the floor, Gaara gripped the covers under him while the other man touched the sensitive red tip of his cock. He let out a deep breath then moved his hand over Lee’s, guiding the man’s calloused fingers to wrap around the head and squeeze tighter.
Lee swallowed and nodded, focusing on the task in hand. He glanced up at Gaara’s face, and decided that he must be doing something right if the redhead’s expression was anything to go by. Lee knew how the male body worked, even if he hadn’t done this to another man before. He squeezed as Gaara’s grip guided and stroked. He’d done this to himself- he knew what to do.
Lee ducked lower and kissed Gaara’s shoulder to distract himself, just in case his usual nerves decided to catch up with him. He dragged his lips softly against Gaara’s skin, and found a place to suck tightly, returning the favor for the hickey Gaara had given him earlier.
It had been too long since Gaara had someone to do this with him. Splayed out on the roof like this, he was dimly aware that anyone could just come up here and see both of them, see his naked body handled by a fully-clothed Lee. His cock pulsed in response to his thoughts and he let out a quiet groan when the thick pad of Lee’s thumb brushed over the slit at the head. Lee’s mouth was warm against his shoulder, faint shivers running down his back from the suction there.
The continuous squeezing and stroking and rubbing brought a slow pressure that pulsed at the base of his cock. His breath was growing ragged as pleasure, hot and potent, had his hips thrusting up in time with the strokes.
Something primal and pleased caught in Lee’s chest as Gaara groaned softly and moved. Lee stroked faster, more confidently in response. His lips dragged up Gaara’s neck, cheek, and touched his lips against Gaara’s mouth softly. He murmured, “Gaara....” and rubbed his thumb over the tip.
Gaara couldn’t return Lee’s kiss with his thumb rubbing over the head of his cock like that. He shut both eyes instead, face scrunching as if in concentration, while his hips continued to move with Lee’s hand. All that they’d done earlier was foreplay, whether Lee had been conscious of it or not, and Gaara felt his climax approaching rapidly with each quickening stroke.
Suddenly pushing his hands against Lee’s chest, Gaara only had time to sit up and brace his trembling thighs against the covers before he was coming in Lee’s hand, his cock pulsing as he gasped Lee’s name.
Lee’s eyes widened and he let go, blinking down at the mess on his hand. He gripped his other hand on Gaara’s shoulder as the redhead braced against him, holding Gaara through his orgasm. He could still hear Gaara’s voice saying his name, ringing like a whisper in his ears. Lee leaned forward and kissed Gaara’s cheek, then pulled back quickly.
“You okay, Gaara?” Lee asked quietly.
Eyes still shut tight, Gaara just nodded as he caught his breath and let the heat in his body retreat into a warm hum rushing from his head to his toes. His orgasm left him light-headed and boneless. And just like that, the tension on his face abated and he relaxed against Lee. Resting his chin on the man’s shoulder, he whispered, low and still breathless from his orgasm, “...I want to make you come too.”
Lee wrapped his arm around Gaara’s back and wiped his dirty hand on the edge of the blanket. He felt a rush of satisfaction in the bonelessness he felt in Gaara’s body. “Um, okay,” Lee said, feeling a tad awkward on top of everything else now that Gaara had gotten off. He hesitated, then slipped a hand down to unbutton his pants. He kissed Gaara’s cheek again.
The sound of Lee’s pants unbuttoning had Gaara’s eyes opening into mere slits, the green of his pupils dark and unfocused with pleasure. Turning his head to the side, he pressed his lips against Lee’s neck in silent gratitude for finally touching him the way he wanted to be, and letting him do this. The redhead had nothing stopping him now, and he slipped his hand under Lee’s shirt to teasingly rub a nipple before following the trail between Lee’s chest with his thumb all the way down, circling around his navel and continuing the path of dark pubic hair.
“Let me.” He said, voice thick with passion and intent. He gripped Lee’s pants with his other hand and yanked the fabric on one leg until his hand could slip past it and Lee’s underwear underneath. Lee’s boxerbriefs made his lips quirk up when he saw them, but he wasted no time in cupping his hand over the hardness under it and the soft sac of Lee’s balls.
Lee sat back on the blankets and lifted his hips to help pull his pants off, then gasped and jerked as Gaara touched him. Lee’s erection twitched in response, and rose a little higher. He licked his lips and looked at Gaara, trying to make himself hold still so that the redhead could do what he wanted. Gaara was already doing better than Lee. He wasn’t hesitating, and obviously seemed comfortable with touching Lee.
With Lee’s pants off, Gaara shifted closer and wrapped an arm under one of Lee’s legs, noting briefly how hairy the man was compared to him. His eyes slid to look at Lee’s face, his pulse speeding up slightly when he caught his gaze. He could smell Lee’s musk and his own cum without a strong breeze to diffuse it, and it was almost enough to get him hard again.
Gaara’s hand squeezed lightly around the base of Lee’s cock, fondling his balls almost like an afterthought before wrapping his hand around the base. Slowly, he stroked up, surprised to find Lee uncircumcised. His hand kept squeezing up until he’d gathered the loose skin around the head, before slowly pulling down, stroking the sensitive head through the foreskin.
“Hah-” Lee groaned, his brows pulling together and his hands tightening on the blankets. That felt really good. Gaara’s hands were warm and strong. Lee’s immediate thought was that this felt different than with a woman. Gaara knew better how to handle male anatomy, and his hands weren’t delicate or unsure. Lee peeked at Gaara from under his lashes, and felt his pulse quicken even more at the desire in Gaara’s expression.
A shudder went through Gaara’s body at Lee’s groan. It was a selfish thing, but he’d rather hear those sounds from Lee while keeping a tight hold on his own reactions. The arm under Lee’s thigh pulled his leg further away, knowing how the stretch would make Lee feel everything just a little more. He brought the upper part of Lee’s cock out from the top of his underwear, swallowing at the girth of it. Maybe it was just the foreskin still covering it, but his fingers had a harder time closing around the head than on his own. He pulled the skin down from the tip and squeezed just a little harder to milk out a bit of pre-cum, using his thumb to spread the clear liquid over the bulbous tip.
Lee shuddered and his breath became ragged and strained. “Gaara, that feels...” Lee’s low voice trailed off with a gasp as his hips jerked. He leaned back, locking his elbows to keep him up. He squeezed his eyes shut and let his head fall back. The coil of pleasure in his gut, chest, and groin was growing tighter, flashing hot and delicious with each grasp and stroke of Gaara’s hands.
Gaara felt his cheeks grow warm as he kept his gaze on Lee’s cock, admittedly fascinated by the difference between it and his own. He could hear Lee’s ragged breath, could see the powerful flex of his body from the corner of his eyes as he leaned back. Pulling the foreskin all the way down with one hand, he curled his other arm- still hooked around Lee’s thigh -and spat in his hand before enveloping the head of Lee’s cock in his palm. His strokes were slick now, wet and hot, and it was easier to slid his palm around the taut skin and over the slit at the tip.
Lee jerked, grunting low and curling his toes. He rolled his head back around, and felt a rush of arousal when he saw the look of fascination on Gaara’s face. Lee’s voice shook.
“G-Gaara I- I am going to come,” Lee warned, biting his lip and jerking his hips.
"Then come," was all Gaara said as he curled his hand into a fist and slid the tight ring of his palm around the head over and over again.
Lee groaned a choppy, garbled version of Gaara’s name as his orgasm washed over him. He felt like the pleasure had playfully punched him in the lungs as he came over Gaara’s hand messily. His elbows wobbled behind him and he slumped onto his back, panting.
Lee groaned again in relief after a short pause, feeling the afterglow set into his muscles. He felt tingly and pleasantly heavy, but at the same time like a weight had been lifted from his chest. He blinked his eyes open blearily, gazing up at the array of stars.
Gaara kept his hand around Lee even after he shot the last of his load. The shaft was still hard as he slid his hand loosely up to allow the foreskin to close over the tip. He pulled Lee's boxerbriefs over his groin again. Sitting back and letting go of the man's leg, he stared off into the distant stars on the horizon to gather his wits about him, lethargy creeping into his mind and body now that both of them were sated. Then he wiped his soiled hand on the blanket Lee had fallen against and slid down to kiss Lee’s jaw, rolling onto his back beside him and letting out a long breath.
"We needed that." He murmured, finally looking at the stars like Lee had intended them to do. Light sweat plastered a few red strands to his forehead while the rest spread out wildly to frame his head. The flush on his face hadn’t died down yet. "...Do you still want to know about my tattoo?"
“Yeah,” Lee responded, breathless. He turned and looked at Gaara, feeling pleasantly buzzed. A smile crept onto his face at the flush that colored his boyfriend’s face, and his messy hair. He looked really... cute. “That felt good.”
Lee slid his hand into Gaara’s, ignoring the embarrassing cum residue there. He could feel his breath finally slowing, and the sweat drying on his skin in the warm night air. “You said you got it in high school?”
Gaara faced Lee without moving too much of his limp body, but he curled his fingers around Lee’s hand in his. Somehow throughout all that they’d done, Lee’s bowlcut still remained neat and shiny. He waited until his breathing slowed down before speaking in a quiet voice, “Yes. I wanted it on my forehead at first, but the parlor wouldn’t allow it.”
He blinked a few times with the recollection, looking for the right words to describe what he’d been like back then. For some people, childhood could feel like it just ended yesterday, but for Gaara, it was a darkness he’d created himself locked in the back of his mind. He didn’t want to dig up everything all over again, even for Lee. But he could allow a little bit to come through after sharing a physically intimate moment with the other man.
“I didn’t see the worth in other people back then. Everyone I knew were like insects following a hive mentality and neatly sliding into their roles of son, brother, student, and those cliches in school everyone tries to avoid but eventually fall into.” He snorted. “I thought I was above even my family, that I was too different and that was why people were afraid of me. But that was really just a reaction to what I believed I was.”
Lee held Gaara’s gaze, surprised by what his boyfriend was telling him. His brows pulled together, though he remained relaxed and still enjoyed the tingles in his body. With a short groan of effort, Lee rolled over so that he was laying on his stomach with an arm around Gaara’s waist. His hand still in Gaara’s squeezed affectionately.
“That sounds really lonely,” Lee said, letting his cheek rest on Gaara’s upper shoulder. “Why did you think you were so different?”
Gaara craned his neck to look at Lee and raised his brows at that description. “It wasn’t lonely back then. I was used to it.” He slipped his clean hand through Lee’s hair, messing up his bowlcut with little effect. He wondered if Lee would agree to letting his hair grow out. “I was born without much hair on my body and face, and these dark marks on my eyes. People thought I put eyeliner on everyday to look ‘goth’.” The way he said the word was accompanied by a wrinkle of his nose. “...Since even Temari and Kankuro used to tease me, eventually I just stopped trying to convince them otherwise.”
“I am sorry,” Lee said, bending his neck to kiss Gaara’s shoulder, but otherwise relaxing against the pleasant fingers in his hair. He hummed comfortably and his eyes drooped. “I got teased a lot growing up, too, so I know how it hurts. But I never got a tattoo.”
Lee dragged his hand down Gaara’s waist and ran his fingers over Gaara’s waist where the red ink stuck out. “It sounds like you had some really deep thinking as a kid. I only thought about things that reached the playground. Did you grow up here in Suna?”
“You would have to shave a part of your body to get a tattoo.” Gaara’s lips quirked up one side at the sleepy-eyed look on Lee’s face. He looked back up at the sky, finding the darkness in between easier to look at compared to the bright stars. They hinted at an infinite space beyond the twinkling lights. “Yes. My family actually lived here ever since it was just a collection of stone and adobe mud buildings centuries ago.”
Judging from Lee’s amazement earlier in the night, he had a feeling Lee enjoyed stories even at his age. The redhead tugged on the blanket next to them and threw it over their bodies, finding comfort in the warmth. “I was more interested in how people lived back then than in toys and cartoons. When my mother was still alive, she was too weak to do any sports and other outdoor activities, so she read to me most of the time.”
“Yeah?” Lee tucked the blanket tighter with a small sigh of satisfaction. “What kind of stories did she read to you?”
Lee was a little envious, listening to Gaara talk about growing up with his family, even they didn’t sound like many nice memories. All Lee had craved growing up was to have a family; he wanted people in his life who he had a real solid bond to, who would be responsible for him. It was hard to find that, even in friends for him, after he’d lost his parents and had such unusual looks.
“Stories about Suna, the traditions and culture when it was just a warrior village. She was a narrative historian before she died.” Gaara licked his lips. Once again he found himself talking a lot more than Lee when they were alone. “There was one story about an old woman who could bring the dead to life at the cost of years of her own. Another recounted the famous battle between Kaze no Kuni and Oto no Kuni, but from the eyes of the current ruler. There was even a period when Suna and Konoha were allied in a great war. Most of the old texts on Suna are missing parts or only mention names in passing, so the stories were never complete.”
“The one story I remember was of a man who took a demon inside him and mastered it until he could use its powers.” He let out a breath, almost sounding like he was chuckling. “My mother said he was a Sabaku, a one time ruler of Suna who bore these marks too. When she died, I thought I had something similar inside me because it was my birth that led to her weak constitution.”
Lee lifted his head, his attention rapt to the sound of Gaara’s voice and his stories. He nuzzled Gaara’s jaw, feeling cozy. “She sounds like an amazing woman. I wish I could have met her. You know there is nothing demonic about you though, right? I know you have heard some of the others say it after you have killed a few zombies with your golf clubs, but it is not true.”
There was no use trying to hide what the others said about Gaara, and it made Lee think about the childhood he was describing. Gaara acted cold and unaffected, but Lee knew better. Gaara had feelings just like everyone else.
Gaara looked over at Lee’s head on his shoulder, a tremble in his chest he couldn’t find a reason for. He’d rather Lee keep that thought of him than to let him know about what he’d become after his mother died. The resentment his siblings had about it, and the continuous childish taunts that had led to a violent streak and sociopathic tendencies for years. His father had grieved in his own way, growing cold and traveling more often. But that left the siblings to fend for themselves and work out the death of their mother among them.
“Why were you teased?” He asked instead. “There’s nothing wrong with your appearance. Tenten said you looked a lot like your uncle.”
Lee let his head settle on Gaara’s shoulder again, closing his eyes sleepily. “My eyes are too round, I have eyelashes like a girl, my hair was too long for years, my eyebrows are too thick- even as a child- and I was very competitive, even though I always failed at whatever I tried. I got into fights a lot.”
Lee dragged his fingers in circles over Gaara’s hip, thoughtful. “I was lonely. But after my uncle Gai took me in, everything changed for the better.”
“...Hm. A failure doesn’t get up and try again even when the odds are high.” Gaara’s hand rubbed at the nape of Lee’s neck. He let the silence stretch out, listening to Lee breathe next to him and feeling the steady rise and fall of his back. When he thought Lee was finally asleep, he murmured the man’s name softly, just feeling how his lips and tongue formed it while he felt Lee’s fingers still over the ‘love’ symbol on his hip.
Now that he knew better, it was obvious that everyone carried some scar or another from their childhood years, just as everyone would carry the hurt and loss of this outbreak years later. If they survived.
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Rot, Another One Bites the Dust