Coming Home

Chapter Two

  Lee sighed heavily as he tried to get comfortable in his plushy bed. He was replaying the day in his head a few times over. He felt strange about Gaara touching him and apologizing to him. He wasn't unhappy about it, he was just a bit puzzled.
  He didn't consider himself a lonely person. However.. He had felt a strange warmth from Gaara's hand on his shoulder, and it made him wonder if he was craving human contact. He blushed to himself at the thought. It seemed ridiculous as he had people around him so often.
  The black-haired boy glanced out of the window at the dark and beautiful sky. It was just littered with bright stars and Lee found himself moving over to the window to look out. He marveled at the stars in the sky before a moving figure on the rooftops captured his attention.
  He strained his eyes to look in the darkness, and saw a figure settling down onto the top of a roof. He pondered this action for a moment before slowly climbing out of his own window. He was curious as to who it may be relaxing on the roof. He had never particularly seen anyone sneaking around on the rooftops at night. Although he usually didn't stay up so late as he had tonight.
  He jumped from the edge of his roof to the next one, approaching the night owl's roof. He tried to peer over at the figure but was still unable to make out who it was. He was still observing the unknown person when he attempted to jump to the next roof without looking. He let out a yelp as he missed the edge by an inch and began falling down.
  He braced himself for the impact, sure that it would do him little harm in comparison to some of the other injuries he had sustained in the past. Instead he found himself landing roughly into someone's arms. He felt the person fall down upon catching him. He immediately got up and began apologizing. "I am so sorry. I do not know what I was thinking. Here let me help you-" he stopped short as he saw the face looking up at him from the ground. For it was Gaara.
He mentally kicked himself for his foolishness. "Oh my! I am very sorry Kazekage." He apologized earnestly as he reached his hand over to the pale boy's. He was feeling very nervous about the latter's reaction. He was no longer afraid of Gaara, but did not desire the young man to be angry at him.
  Gaara stood and looked at him impassively. "It's fine," he said keeping any emotion out of his voice, "Are you hurt?"
  Lee couldn't help but to feel a little happy about the question. He smiled brightly, "Not at all Gaara-kun! You have very adequate catching abilities." He laughed lightly as he said this, keeping his eye peeled for the other boy's reaction.
Gaara didn't seem to have a reaction at all. "I see," he said with a blank expression. He observed the boy in green to ensure that he had truly received no injuries before turning his back to leave.
  Rock Lee held his hand out and caught the Kazekage by the shoulder. "Um.. Please wait," he said a bit awkwardly while hastily removing his hand. He wanted the red haired boy's company but didn't know how to come out and say it. He looked up and saw aqua eyes studying him curiously. The intense eyes did little to comfort his nervousness. "Well.. I was thinking maybe if you were going to be awake and I was also going to be awake.. Er.." He stumbled for the words, trying to organize the thoughts in his head.
Lucky for Lee, Gaara was catching on to what he was saying. "You wish to have my company," it was more of a statement than a question. Lee looked up with a blush and nodded shyly. He couldn't understand his shyness. He was usually a very straightforward person. About everything. Even when he had confessed his love to Sakura-chan, he had just come right out and said it. He found this new personality development to be irritating and mentally reminded himself to keep an eye on it.
Upon seeing the jounin nod the Kazekage considered the offer and agreed with a nod of his own. He jumped back up to the roof, knowing that the other young man would follow.
By the time Lee had reached the top of the rooftop Gaara was already settled on his back with his hands behind his head. He looked down at the younger boy curiously before sitting down next to him in a crossed-leg position. He bit his lip wondering what he should say. He wanted to make conversation, but was again stuck on what he should converse about.
  They sat there in silence, looking at the stars before the jounin realized he could make conversation about just that. The night. He looked over in Gaara's direction before speaking, "So.." He looked away as the other boy moved his face in his direction. "What are you doing awake and out here so late?"
  Gaara looked back up at the starry sky before shrugging, "Habit," he answered shortly. He looked over and saw the perplexed look on Rock Lee's face and felt compelled to explain. Since when did anybody make him feel compelled to do anything? he wondered briefly.
  "When the Shukaku was inside me I wasnt able to sleep," he explained. "He would find his way out if I slept. So I'm just used to being awake all night." He looked over to his side before mumbling, "It's calmer at night."
  The tan boy mulled this over in his head. He felt guilty for making Gaara talk about something so unpleasant. Of course if he had known he never would have brought it up. But he also noticed that Gaara seemed at peace with it, and that eased his worry. He was slightly hung up on the last thing the younger boy said. His heart went out to the boy. He could only imagine what he went through as Kazekage. He had seen Naruto at the end of the day and therefore knew that such a position of power could be taxing.
  He looked down and found those green-blue eyes looking at him once again. There was an emotion in those eyes that he couldn't quite put a finger on. Pity? Sadness? Guilt? He wasn't quite sure. Maybe it was a mixture of all three. He opened his mouth to speak, in order to break the awkward silence, but was interrupted by Gaara's voice.
"Are you afraid of me?" He questioned blankly.
  Lee was not only surprised by this question but also slightly offended by it. But not for his own sake. "Of course not," he answered honestly.
  The Kazekage searched his face. Looking for the truth. "You should be." He whispered bitterly before turning his head back to the side.
  Lee stared at the other boy incredulously. "Don't think such things Gaara-kun!" He rushed to assure him, "What happened back then was so very long ago. You helped me to increase my strength. It is completely forgotten!" He grinned in a convincing manner. When he opened his eyes he saw the red-haired boy looking at him in confusion and intensity.
"I hurt you very badly, Lee. Do you think I can forget that?"
  The bushy browed jounin was taken aback by the sincerity in the voice. He studied the Kazekage's face curiously. He felt compelled to reassure this boy somehow, but didn't know how. "Gaara-kun.." He trailed of quietly before getting down next to the latter, on his side. "I do not hold that against you and I never have. I am honored to have fought someone like you." He smiled warmly, and reached his hand over to trail his fingers slowly over a pale cheek.
   He froze at the surprised and confused look in Gaara's eyes. What was he doing? Why was he touching him? He didn't know, he just felt compelled to reach out to the younger man.
He quickly stood up in horror. "I am so sorry, Gaara-kun!" He apologized in a rush. "I-I don't know why.. I don't.." He trailed off just as confused as the other boy. "I am very sorry!" He rushed out before jumping away to the next roof and then to his. He felt so foolish.
  He stumbled into his bedroom window and paused for a moment before he slid down the wall slowly. "What am I doing?" He asked himself aloud, feeling utterly confused and exhausted.