Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

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
- 15
- 16
- 17
“We can start taking this street, and go the long way around,” Naruto pointed out on the map, gesturing for Gaara to see. “We know it’s mostly unblocked, and we haven’t used it much yet. I would just need to take one of the trucks with a few people, and we can scout out some other routes on the way.”
“No, if you take one of the trucks, you’ll run the risk of getting it stuck if something happens. We can’t risk a vehicle when there are raiders waiting to ambush us.” Gaara traced another route with a chess pawn they were using to signify teams and individuals heading out. “If you’re heading for the pharmacy here, just take a small team through the roofs and bring sacks. It’s safer to do separate runs than one big loot.”
One thing he refrained from saying was that Temari warned him about letting Naruto get one of the vehicles out of the hotel. Temari and Naruto had continued to butt heads about leaving the hotel for Konoha or staying, and it was causing a tension among the survivors. Gaara believed in his friend’s vision, but he thought Naruto was too impulsive about this.
Naruto scowled and pulled back on his heels. He glared at Gaara out of the corner of his eye, clenching his hand around the king piece. “You don’t trust me. You and Temari and everyone else isn’t even trying to hide it. This is bullshit.”
“Gaara has a point,” Neji pointed out, frowning at the shift in Naruto’s mood. His unique eyes watched the blond carefully. “We’re running out of fuel, it’d be easier to go on foot and do raids in groups of two or three.”
“One big run will get us more supplies with less time, and we won’t be stuck out in the open with no cover. It’s safer.” Naruto set down his chess piece with a sharp click on the table and turned around with a small growl of frustration. He started walking toward the door. “I’m going to check on the watch posts. I’ll be right back.”
The sharpness in Naruto’s voice and his brisk movements was unnatural, and Gaara stared after the blond man with a frown, a cold drop in his stomach at what Naruto said. Left with Neji, he moved back their pieces to represent the people at the mall, looking over the map moodily.
Neji glanced over at Gaara, lips tightening slightly at the little cues he recognized whenever Lee and Gaara did something. “Some of the blockades appeared when there none before. I believe the raiders have started creating them and taking over districts of the city.”
“All the more reason not to risk one of our trucks. It’s easier to get away on foot.” Gaara looked up at Neji, then exhaled through his nose. He and Neji still didn’t see eye to eye, but the man was much more rational than he gave him credit for. They could be civil to each other because of Lee, and that was enough for now. “Naruto needs to understand that.”
“He’s being stubborn. He’ll come around when he comes back, but I don’t think this will be the last we hear about it. He just needs to take a walk.” Neji was already incredibly uncomfortable being in the room alone with Gaara. He didn’t like the other man. He had tried to talk to Lee about why a relationship with Gaara was a bad idea, but Lee was firm in his decision and Neji had recognized the stubborn, immovable look in his friend’s eye and let it drop.
Neji focused on the map, though he still paid attention to Gaara. “We should come up with a few new plans before he comes back, so it won’t be easy for him to argue with us.”
Gaara nodded and settled into silence as his thoughts ran around what to say to Naruto and what to make of this growing division between them. It was easier when all they had to think about was surviving on their own and what to do about the crisis, but when it came down to it, he wasn’t surprised about the new developments.
The worst in human nature had always been the root of conflict, something Gaara knew very well.

“Sakura?” Lee entered the clinic, his skin shining red and from a fresh sunburn. He’d forgotten to protect himself with sunscreen today, and had spent the past several hours under the harsh glare of Suna sunlight. By the time someone had finally come to relieve him of his post, his skin was stinging and sensitive all across his face, neck, and down the exposed skin of his arms. “Are you busy?”
Moegi was listening to Sakura lecture about alternative ways to treat a fever when Lee came in. Both women looked up and gasped at the sunburn on Lee’s skin, almost sporting identically growing glares.
“Lee, again?!”
“I told you to take care of yourself!”
Getting up from her seat, Sakura patted the chair and hooked a hand on her hip. “Moegi, could you get me some sunburn cream and aloe vera solution, please? And Lee, take off your shirt.” After a moment’s glance, she added, “Your bandages too. We’ll change those into fresh ones.”
Lee winced at the outburst from both girls, taking off his shirt as instructed and moving to the chair. “I am very sorry. I forgot my sunscreen in my room and I did not think I would need it this badly today. I thought it would be cloudy.”
Untying the knot in his palm and carefully unwinding his bandages, Lee frowned as the edges of his hair tickled the pained skin on the back of his neck. He needed a haircut. Sunburn always hurt much worse than he would have guessed, or even from what he remembered in previous cases. Any brush of fabric or hair on the sensitive skin felt like he was being brushed with hot sandpaper.
Sakura brushed back her hair and studied the red skin along Lee’s neck and back. Even the man’s ears were burnt! She shook her head as Moegi handed her the cream. “You should have taken an umbrella with you.” She chided as she began spreading the cool cream along his shoulders. Even back in the mall, she’d had to mend the light wounds and aches that everyone got at one time or another. Lee’s naked chest didn’t bother her, but she blanched when she caught sight of a hickey on his neck.
“You look like a lobster.” Moegi teased lightly as she added aloe vera to the worst of the burns. She glanced between Lee and Sakura curiously, remembering the time when the two had almost moved to dating. “Miss Sakura has her hands full dealing with you and Naruto. You’re both stubborn.”
Lee tensed under the small sting of the cream, but grinned at Moegi. He could already feel some relief from the cream itself, but the action of rubbing it in set his oversensitive nerves on pain. He shuddered as Sakura’s hands rubbed across where his shirt’s neckline had been.
“I think I feel like a lobster, who was taken out of the kettle just before he is done cooking.” Moegi giggled at him and treated his burned red cheekbones gently. Lee continued, “While I am here, Sakura, would you please tell me about Gaara’s wound? He explained what happened, but not how serious it is. Should I be making sure he’s careful?”
“Gaara’s wound is superficial.” Sakura dismissed quickly, unconsciously digging her fingers against Lee’s back as she added another dollop of cream.
Glancing at the other woman in surprise, Moegi noticed the set of her jaw and the tight knot between her brows. “What? But Miss Sakura, he hasn’t even had a checkup since he got shot!”
Sakura shook her head. “He can take care of himself. I’m not dealing with his attitude.”
“Ah- ow. Gaara had an attitude?” Lee winced at Sakura’s roughness. “I am sorry. I know he can be rude sometimes. Did he say something?”
Lee dug his fingertips into his jeans, partially from the ache in his skin, but also with worry. Gaara should at least come back to the clinic once or twice to make sure he wasn’t getting an infection.
Sakura closed the lid of the cream and set it down with a loud thump on the table. “Being rude’s the least of it! He threatened to kill me, Lee! All because I said you and I talked about him sometimes!” Her face had gone a shade of red in anger.
Eyes wide, Moegi froze with her hand still poised to spread more of the aloe vera along Lee’s neck. The girl swallowed, this being the first time she’d seen Sakura mad.
“He shouldn’t be able to get away with saying things like that.” Sakura looked away, remembering the hurtful words Gaara had said. It wasn’t his business to tell her off like that.
Lee’s eyes widened and he swung around in his chair to look at Sakura. “He said that?”
His brows furrowed. Gaara and Sakura had never been fond of each other, Lee knew that, but it was hard to imagine his boyfriend threatening Sakura’s life over something trivial. But he didn’t think that Sakura would lie about it, either.
“I am sorry, Sakura,” Lee said earnestly. “I will talk to him tonight. You are right, no one should say things like that here. Maybe... Moegi, would you come and check on Gaara’s wound tonight?”
“I’ll look at it tonight.” Moegi agreed, looking worriedly at Sakura as the pink-haired woman unrolled a fresh set of bandages. Speaking softly, she murmured to Lee, “Maybe I should leave you two to talk about that.” She handed Lee the little tube of aloe vera solution. “You can have Gaara put that on your burns later.” With that, she excused herself and headed out of the makeshift clinic.
Sakura still wasn’t looking at Lee as she began to bandage his arm again. The strain of having so many of their people hurt from raider attacks and from having to do runs in the city often, was also taking its toll on her. She was glad to find Lee alive together with everyone who’d left the mall before, but the worst part about it was in realizing that she was still lonely amidst the people at the hotel. Naruto was too full of ideas about life being better in Konoha, and Sai was increasingly distant with more people to joke around with. And now Lee was with that redhead. It made her feel sick.
Lee frowned down at the tube of aloe vera in his hands, trying to ignore the residual sting in his skin. He glanced at Sakura as she worked. Like Moegi, he hadn’t seen her mad before. Gaara must have really pushed a nerve.
“Do you know why Gaara would say something like that?” he asked, in a tone that suggested she didn’t have to answer.
The light green of her eyes flared when Sakura met Lee’s gaze, and if she had been any fiercer, her expression would almost resemble Gaara’s when he looked at people with such intensity. “He thinks I was cruel with you.” She said, pursing her lips. “But I don’t even think he’s capable of loving anyone. I think he just wants someone to control.”
She tightened the bandages a little around Lee’s arms to lock in the cream. “I’m not discouraging you, okay? But I’m your friend and I’m worried about the kind of relationship you’re having with him.”
Lee winced, sucking in a breath through his teeth. He wondered how long it usually took for sunburn to heal. He looked at Sakura and was surprised by her ferocity.
“Sakura... I really appreciate your concern, but you do not know Gaara like I do. He is not the same person when we are alone that he is when everyone else sees him. I am going to talk to him tonight about what he said to you.”
At Lee’s reply, Sakura frowned at him unhappily and sighed. “That’s what people say in an abusive relationship. I’m not looking for an apology from him. I just want to know that you’re not setting yourself to get hurt in the long run.” Tying the knot at the end of Lee’s bandages, she took his other arm in hand but paused.
Looking at his face, she exhaled heavily. “Everyone here is feeling the pressure, especially with Naruto and Temari fighting often. I can’t say that I agree completely with either of them, but I don’t like how Temari’s not even hearing Naruto out. You’re too close to the Sabaku family to see that their morals are going to destroy what humanity is left in us.”
“I do want to go to Konoha, but I do not think now is the right time. Everyone is trying to work out a better plan,” Lee said. He was starting to feel uncomfortable with the way Sakura was questioning his relationship. A small part of him that still felt rejected by the woman seemed to like her concern, but more than that he felt she was overstepping her boundaries at this point, and he didn’t like it. “How long will it take for my burns to heal?”
“They should ease up after a few days.” Sakura assured Lee as she wrapped up Lee’s arm quickly. If she caught on to Lee’s discomfort, she didn’t let it show as she tied the end of the bandage into a knot on the back of Lee’s hand. Stepping back, she nodded at Lee. “Okay, you’re good to go.”
“Alright, thank you, Sakura.” Lee stood up and tucked his tube of aloe vera into his pocket. He gave his friend a brief smile, and started toward the door. “I will come back later for a check-up when you are not busy.”

“Gaara? Can I talk to you?” Lee caught up with his boyfriend down one of the halls not far from a recreation room. It wasn’t quite late yet, but it was getting dark past the hotel windows. Everyone who wasn’t on watch was settling down for the evening.
Gaara slowed down his hobbling stride when he heard Lee call him. Looking over his shoulder, the stiffness in his body seemed to relax just at the sight of the other man, and he leaned against one of the walls to rest his leg. “Lee.” He nodded, his eyes dark in the orange glow peering over the distant rooftops and electricity lines of the city. “Is there any coffee left in the hotel?” He asked, giving light to what he’d been looking for with single-minded determination.
“I do not know.” Lee didn’t drink coffee, preferring vitamins or energy drinks when he could find them. He glanced down at Gaara’s leg with a furrowed brow. “I asked Moegi to come to our room tonight and check on your leg. Is it true that you threatened Sakura?”
The sudden question pierced through the comfortable haze Gaara had been in with the afternoon heat, and his eyes blinked open in full awareness. “...Was that what she said? It was just a warning to stay away.” He snorted and looked away, moving again down the hall with a scowl tugging on his lips.
“Gaara!” Lee’s eyes widened at the redhead’s implied admission and he walked quickly to catch up. He put a hand on Gaara’s shoulder. “You cannot threaten other people here! Sakura is my friend.”
Lee’s grip wasn’t strong, but Gaara stumbled a little when his weight shifted on his bad leg. He stopped in his tracks and sucked in a breath. “No. She’s someone you used to adore.” He replied quietly, something catching in his chest at the way Lee phrased his words. It wasn’t like he went around threatening everyone. He turned to face the other man, face expressionless. “Is that all?”
“No.” Lee frowned, hurt. He hadn’t really seen the mask that Gaara sometimes put up since they’d become an item, until now. He crossed his arms. “Why did you tell her to stay away? What happened? She was really upset.”
Gaara’s gaze lingered on Lee’s crossed arms-- taking it as a nonverbal cue of Lee’s annoyance with him. “I reminded her of what you used to do for her, and her leeching off of your efforts. I don’t see why you’re still friends with her.” His brows tensed as he gripped the ledge next to the hotel’s windows. “Even now you’re still coming to her rescue when she’s upset.”
“Gaara, I do not feel that way about Sakura anymore,” Lee said. He was a little surprised at Gaara’s explanation. He shook his head. “All that is in the past, it should not matter now. What does it matter if we are friends? And I am not rescuing her; I would confront you if you had threatened anyone in this hotel. We should not be fighting among each other, there is enough going on outside to worry about already.”
“It matters.” Gaara replied, jaw clenching visibly with the shadows playing over his skin. “She’s just your friend but you’re acting like I attacked her.” His pulse felt solid in his wrists and chest, and Gaara felt like the ground was giving way under his feet. “...I told her that I wouldn’t hesitate to protect you if she caused you pain again. I see now that it wasn’t needed.”
“No, it was not. I do not need you to protect me, Gaara.” Lee had meant to diffuse the situation by talking to Gaara, but the redhead was being stubborn. He couldn’t even see how he had stepped out of line. Lee put a hand over his face with a frown, then winced as he accidentally touched his burned skin. He recrossed his arms tighter and continued. “Maybe when we are outside and surrounded by zombies I want you to watch my back, but in here with other living people I can look out for myself. And how is Sakura supposed to hurt me if I do not care about her like that anymore? Do you not trust me?”
Gaara's eyes were narrowed by the time Lee ended. The sunburn on Lee's skin was noticeable when he stepped into the low light from the windows, and strangely enough, made it harder to accept what was sounding too much like a parent reprimanding a child. "I don't trust her." He said sharply, something painfully raw creeping into his eyes. "She didn’t pay attention to you before, but the moment we went back to the mall, she was all over you."
He always said that he could take care of himself, but when it was Lee saying these things, he had little defence to block the sting of betrayal he felt. "One word from her, and you’ve already taken her side. But all those times anyone said something about me, you never confronted them about it. What am I supposed to think about that?"
“I spoke up for you to Kiba! And everyone else is just being ignorant, there is no reasoning with people like that.” Lee sighed, frustrated. “If you did not trust her, why did you not talk to me, first? You should have just talked to me.”
“About what? I never stopped you from being friends with her even when I don’t like it.” Gaara blinked away the sudden sting behind his eyes. His hand was clenching the window ledge hard enough for his knuckles to whiten. It wasn’t even about Sakura anymore. He’d been glad that he and Lee were getting past the little hurdles of a relationship, but now they were fighting again. “I thought you understood that I would kill before seeing you get hurt in any way. I trust you to believe me when I say I’m just making a point. Sakura’s just your friend, but you’re in a relationship with me.”
“I know that!” Lee snapped. “I believe you, but it bothers me that you did not say anything to me first if you were feeling threatened by her. I care about you much more than I do Sakura, we could have worked something out. But you cannot control everything about our relationship, Gaara. I am going to get hurt by other people and on missions whether you are there or not, and that is okay, but now you have alienated the person who can take the best care of you while you are hurt. Sakura said she would not deal with you anymore, and I had to ask Moegi to check on you in our room!”
“Sakura couldn’t accept the truth of what I told her.” Gaara’s hand went to his leg, gripping the fabric of his pants. “There’s not much I can do to keep you from getting hurt. You put yourself at risk too many times for that. But there are some things I can and will do because that’s who I am. I thought you knew that.”
“Gaara,” Lee sighed, exasperated. Lee bit the inside of his lip and looked past the redhead out the window for a few seconds, his eyes tight. He didn’t know what he had expected Gaara to say. Now Lee understood better what Gaara had said to upset Sakura, and obviously why, but he still didn’t agree with it. Gaara had been changing a lot under Lee’s influence, and even viceversa, but Gaara was right when he said that this type behavior was just who he was. Once Gaara had something he felt he needed to protect, Lee had witnessed firsthand how intense his dedication could become. Their conversation from this morning was replaying in Lee’s head, reminding him that their relationship involved a mild suicide pact.
“Yeah, I know that.” Lee’s eyes refocused on his boyfriend’s face and his arms fell to his sides. “We will just work with Moegi from now on, unless something serious goes wrong. She is a good medic, too. I think she will be at our room soon, so will you please go meet her? I have clean up duty in the dining hall tonight.” Lee turned around and walked back down the hall without making sure that Gaara would comply.
Gaara followed Lee's retreating back with the low light's shadows falling over his face. His hand had moved up to clutch the loose fabric of his shirt tightly before he turned away and headed down the other side of the hall.

Temari bopped the wooden edge of her fan against her thigh with her gaze far away in thought. The old gentleman's club had ironically ended up as her hot spot for keeping an eye on everyone. But right now her mind was elsewhere, not even bothering to compete with the man opposite her the way she usually did when they played a game like this. Incidentally, her battleships were already crossing over to his side.
With just a few candles lighted, it was almost the perfect atmosphere for a date. But she was more interested in what Shikamaru had to say about their resident Akatsuki members. "How often has Sasori been talking to Deidara?"
“A few times a day, when they can manage.” Shikamaru watched their game with narrowed- or possibly bored- eyes. He glanced up at Temari, gaze lingering on the shine of dim candlelight as it reflected in her grayish eyes. “I’ve been distracting Sasori to where they only have the chance once or twice, but I can only do that for so long until he shakes me off or gets suspicious.”
"Make sure you hear what they're talking about. I can't have Sasori converting people to his plans when there's unrest among us." Temari lifted her eyes from the game, the green in them now visible from the yellow light. She raised her brow at the gaze Shikamaru had on her. Her lips quirked up in a smirk as she moved her piece forward. "I'm going to defeat you this time."
She sat back and cracked open her fan, fanning herself to alleviate the heat from the candles.
“That so?” Shikimaru mirrored her smirk and leaned back against his seat. He move one of his tiny naval boats around the edges of the board and shrugged. “You said that last time, too. And then you threw a tantrum when I won anyway. You aren’t very good at this game.”
"I don't throw tantrums." Temari snapped, the smirk inverting into a scowl. She studied the board, predicting a few moves onward then moved her center ship to the side in attack formation. The games they played were annoying at first, with the uneven number of wins and losses she had over Shikamaru. But they were good at keeping her mind sharp while running the community they had.
Calming herself down, she voiced out what was on her mind. "Kiba and Hinata have made up. And it looks like Neji has a truce with him. How are Choji and Ino?" The other blond woman had initially tried to cause drama when she learned of Shikamaru's time with her, but Temari had settled that issue with her before it fell through. She liked Choji well enough, especially the way he made tasty dishes out of the meager supplies they had.
“They’re fine. They like it here.” Shikamaru idly moved one of his battleships sideways, cornering one of Temari’s. He tapped his fingers on the top of the table in thought.
“Are we dating? As much as people can be dating in this troublesome situation.”
Temari's eyes flashed at the unexpected question. "Dating? What are you talking about?" Brows furrowing in suspicion, she narrowed her gaze at him. "Are you trying to distract me so you can win the game?"
Shikamaru had an expression that was harder to decipher compared to Gaara’s. If he was being serious... Temari set her fan on the board. “Or are you really saying you wanted to date me?”
“I’m asking if we’re already are dating. It’s a clarifying question.” Shikamaru raised a brow down at her fan. “If not that’s fine, but if so I want to know so we can move on from all the troublesome flirting.”
Temari's face was progressively turning red at Shikamaru's taunting and the insinuations he was making. "No, we're not. And even if we were, saying how troublesome flirting is, isn’t winning you any points.” She moved her battleship out of Shikamaru’s pieces’ way and attacked the smaller vessels with her center ship with the roll of the dice.
His lazy personality and the taunts were already annoying enough. How did that equate to dating in Shikamaru’s mind. “Where did that thought come from anyway?” She pressed.
“I was gonna try and kiss you if we were dating.” Shikamaru skirted one of his little ships along the edge again. He narrowed his eyes at Temari’s attack formation. “But if we weren’t dating, I didn’t want to make the effort. You’d hit me, and it would be too much work.”
Temari’s look was withering with Shikamaru’s lazyass reasoning, before she leaned forward and socked him on the shoulder. “You’re too lazy to flirt, and too lazy to even make the first move! Why don’t you just come out and say you liked me and wanted to date?”
Shikamaru clutched his shoulder and gave Temari an annoyed look. She’d hit him anyway, even though he hadn’t tried anything. “We’ve been flirting already, I just wanted to move on if we were going to. If I had said I wanted to date you, would it make a difference?”
“It might.” Temari picked up her fan again, peering at Shikamaru with a piercing look that seemed natural to the Sabaku line. “For the record, your flirting skills suck if that’s why we’re playing these games. Ask me again.”
“Temari Sabaku, will you date me?” Shikamaru’s voice held the air of someone who was forced to play along with a long, exasperating game, but his expression was temporarily sincere as he propped his head in his hand and smirked at the woman.
Temari mirrored the man’s smirk and crossed one leg high over the other. “Yes, pick me up from my room tomorrow before noon and convince Choji to crack open that can of olives he’s been saving. Don’t be late.” If Shikamaru was serious about this, she was going to see him get off his ass and prove it. Amidst the rush of satisfaction she felt, the corners of her mouth twitched down as she realized that this was flirting with the Nara boy.
Shikamaru nodded in agreement, though he seemed to mutter something along the lines of ‘troublesome’ under his breath. He looked down at the board and frowned. “You’ve got me really outnumbered. I don’t think I can win this one. I give up. Has anyone gotten back to you about Zetsu yet?”
“Zetsu has been spending more and more time in his garden. He hasn’t spoken to anyone about the Akatsuki as far as I know.” Temari tempered her annoyance at having Shikamaru give up. It wasn’t a proper victory, but they had to talk about important things. “I don’t think he’s a danger at the moment. I’m more concerned with Naruto and this ridiculous plan of his.”
“It’s not that ridiculous.” Shikamaru sat back in his chair with his hands behind his head as he spoke. “There are probably survivors in Konoha, and it can’t be any more dangerous than what Suna’s becoming. He has a good plan laid out.”
“He’s thinking of an ideal. We don’t have enough gas yet to make a trip to Konoha, and even if we were to take all three of the trucks, that doesn’t eliminate the possibility of Konoha being worse off.” Temari pointed out, tapping her fan against her elbow. “I’ve already arranged for the teams to bring back any fuel they find, but again, the raiders are making it hard to venture outside of our area.”
She snorted at the tiny whisper of helplessness she felt. Temari was a mover of situations, while Kankuro and Gaara usually did the shaking up. She was starting to feel the steady approach of walls on all sides of their situation, and she didn’t like it. Looking down at the board, she murmured, “This warrants a rematch, by the way.”
“We can play later.” Shikamaru started to pick up his ships and set them into a small case on the side of the table. He watched Temari’s expression carefully, having grown accustomed to reading her beyond her family’s constant mask. “You’re doing a good job here. You’ve got a better setup than Naruto ever had at the mall, and just about everyone listens to you. I thought Gaara was gonna take everyone over or kill trying, but even he answers to you.”
Temari shifted in her seat at the unexpected compliment. She raised her eyes to meet Shikamaru’s evenly. “Thank you. But don’t talk about my brother that way. Gaara is a natural born leader, but he doesn’t hurt others to gain respect.” She glanced up when the door to the room opened and Konohamaru poked his head in.
Grinning, Konohamaru ushered Matsuri, Sari and Udon inside. “So you guys are dating! Wait til I tell Moegi about this!”
“Jeez, troublesome teenagers,” Shikamaru said, smirking. He raised a brow at them. “Were you listening or did you just get here?”
“We just got here, but with all the candles and private time it’s obvious, isn’t it?” Matsuri giggled.
“I just asked out Temari officially. Go gossip about it.” Shikamaru finished collecting the pieces and folded the board for later.
“Don’t encourage them.” Temari got to her feet and perched her hand against her hip, a rare smile on her face. “Remember-- tomorrow before noon.” She said, slipping her fan in her wide belt before the smile turned into a grin and she headed out the door.

It was getting a bit late by the time Lee got back to their room. He wasn’t sure what time it was, but most other people had gone back to their rooms for the night. After finishing clean up he’d walked up the hotel stairs all the way to the roof and back a few times to help clear his head.
The door opened with only a small murmur from the hinges as he poked his head into his bedroom. He blinked a couple times as his eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, and he moved quietly to his side of the bed. He crawled under the covers and laid his head on his pillow with a quiet, tired sigh. He could feel the other depression in the mattress where Gaara lay.
Gaara was awake despite the silence in the room. He was looking at the tiny cracks that were starting to form on the hotel's ceiling, just visible from the moonlight shining through the window. Lee's efforts to stay quiet as he slipped in beside him weren't necessary. The redhead stayed silent as he blinked half-lidded eyes in the dark, his leg propped up on a pillow in the same position it had been when Moegi finished wrapping a bandage over it. Even the young girl had said, out of the blue, that Gaara shouldn't be 'mean' to Lee's friends.
Pulling the covers up higher, he thought he could still smell the residual musk from that morning's intimacy, even when he'd already changed the sheets earlier.
“Are you awake?” Lee asked softly. He knew by now that Gaara took a long time to fall asleep. He had almost been expecting Gaara to be awake when he got back, no matter how late. “What did Moegi say?”
Gaara's kept his eyes on the ceiling as he replied just as quietly, "It's healing. I need to keep the bandages dry." He felt a familiar numbness settle in his chest as he swallowed.
“That is good, then,” Lee said, relieved. He’d been worrying. He paused in the quiet for a few seconds. “...Are you angry with me for confronting you earlier?”
"No." Gaara knew Lee was the kind of person who would not stand for anyone hurting or even insulting his friends. It was still painful to have him defend Sakura and argue with him. "I'm disappointed you did."
“What do you mean by that?” Lee started to lay on his side toward Gaara, but winced and stayed on his back when the tender skin on his neck rubbed the pillow. “How did you think I would react?”
"When Sakura told you about it, I would have expected you to just tell her that I cared. You would have stood by me even if she got mad at you." Gaara finally craned his neck to face the other man. "I wanted you with me when Moegi saw to my leg."
Lee’s brow creased, casting shadows across his profile in the dim, filtered moonlight. Slowly, he slid his arm beneath the covers until his hand was just touching Gaara’s. “I love you, Gaara. And I love that you are protective of me. But I was more upset that you did something like this without telling me, than because you actually said anything to her. Hearing it from Sakura first made it seem like you had gone behind my back.” Lee sighed, suddenly feeling exhausted. “I really did have cleaning duty today. I promise to be there next time.”
Gaara's fingers brushed against Lee's, mindful of the sunburn he'd seen earlier. "You forgot to wear sunblock again." He murmured. "I wasn't going behind your back. Sakura said you talked to her about us. I didn't understand why you still talked to her or why you discussed our relationship with her. That was what started it." He snorted before rolling onto his side and placing his hand on Lee's hip. "...she overreacted too."
“I believe you, Gaara. I could have even guessed that, based on the way her fingers dug into my skin when I mentioned you.” Lee winced at the memory, but turned his head toward Gaara as best he could without touching the tops of his ears to the pillow. He could just make out Gaara’s outline in the dark, from his messy hair to the shape of his shoulders and the blankets over his body. “I went to the clinic after my shift today to get lotion for my sunburns, and that’s when she brought it up. I asked about how to take care of your leg, and she flipped out.”
Gaara's eyes were gleaming in the moonlight though the side of his face was shadowed by Lee's profile. "She doesn't approve of me. But she has no place knowing what goes on between us. She let her chance with you go a long time ago. I'm the one who gets to touch you and make you feel good now."
Lee finally smirked softly at Gaara’s reasoning. He slipped his hand over Gaara’s on his hip and squeezed. “You almost sound jealous. But you are right. It is none of her business. All that I told her was about how happy I am with you, nothing more personal than that.”
Something in Gaara unwound at Lee’s words. He pushed himself up on his elbows and bent down to kiss Lee fleetingly, mindful of his sunburnt skin. His eyes were slits reflecting only a sliver of moonlight as he stared down at the other man. “Things are hard enough without fighting over a misunderstanding.” He murmured, his voice clearly annoyed. “You’re lucky you’re a welcome complication.”
Lee chuckled, relieved that the tension between them was finally gone. He reached up and ran his fingers through Gaara’s hair, playing with the outline of the messy locks from what he could see in the dark. “As an upside to this, we get to have make-up sex. Preferably when my skin does not hurt anymore, though.”
“The moment your skin heals.” Gaara agreed, a pleasant tingle running through his scalp at the fingers running through his hair. Since the epidemic, every moment was important so even the brief argument had made an impact. “...Get some rest. Moegi reminded me to put aloe vera on your burns. I’ll do it in the morning.” He lay back down beside Lee, regretfully letting the man’s fingers slide down from his hair.
“Goodnight, Gaara.” Lee fidgeted for a few seconds until he was comfortable, and then relaxed with a sigh. It had been a long day, but the night felt better already.
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Rot, Another One Bites the Dust