Coming Home

Chapter Seven

  They sat on the roof quietly as they ate their food. The only sound was the scuffing and scraping of both ninja and civilian feet down below. Lee didn't feel uncomfortable sitting in silence, but he felt like he should say something. In complete honesty he was feeling a bit shy. It felt stupid to be awkward, but he was just unable to believe that Gaara was seeking out his company. Did Gaara ever seek out company?
  The leaf was too lost in his own thoughts to hear the voice breaking the silence. He jumped dramatically in surprise as he felt a warm hand on his shoulder. As he whipped his head to the side he came face to face with a slightly worried looking Kazekage.
  "Lee?" He asked, just a hint of concern coming through the voice.
  "Ah yes!" He replied quickly, an embarrassed smile playing on his lips.
  "I was merely inquiring on your first day," the ally of the desert went back to his usual, stoic self upon Lee's reaction.
  "It's going very well! I have already gotten through my paperwork, thank goodness!" He chuckled, glancing over to see if the young red head next to him would reply. It sure didn't seem like it, so he continued talking to keep the silence from taking over once again. "I can not wait to train in Sunagakure! I am sure it will be very intense with the desert heat," he said, peering out at the landscape before them, from the high roof.
  Gaara raised a nonexistent brow at this comment, but made no reply. The leaf shinobi stayed quiet after he received the look, unsure of what to say next.
  "I can take you to the training grounds," The Kazekage finally spoke, after a long spell of soundlessness. His eyes didn't move from the landscape, into Lee's direction, nor did he blink or make any kind of further expression.
  He glanced over at Gaara, a grateful smile gracing his features at the latter's proposal. The sunlight was shining off of Gaara's pale face, illuminating his green eyes and the curve of his light pink lips. "I would love that, Gaara-kun," he reciprocated softly. He allowed his hand to lightly touch his comrade's shoulder. The skin felt warm under his bandaged appendage. He would have assumed that in this boiling heat, the sensation would be most unwelcome. However, he found himself allowing his hand to linger, his calloused fingers catching the flowing folds beneath them.
  When did Gaara become so captivating? It seemed like the longer Lee allowed himself to gaze at the fiery hair, and the aqua eyes, and the cream colored skin, the harder he found it to look away. Why?
  He glanced up, his hand still adorning a small shoulder, and found the Kazekage's eyes glued to his face. What was that expression? Fear? Confusion?
  How long had the jounnin left his hand there, in order to cause that mien? It wasn't as if they had never touched at all before. But this had been intimate on his side, and he was pretty sure they both knew it.
  "Ah, sorry Gaara-kun!" He laughed awkwardly, snatching his hand away as if burned. And it did burn. It singed with a warm and tingling sensation that he was not at all used to. Is that normal? It didn't feel normal.
  He saw the fiery head dip up and down slightly, in the form of a nod. He was careful to keep his eyes down, in order to steer clear of catching his new found friend's gaze.
  "It's not unpleasant," Gaara voiced, breaking the compromising silence. Lee glanced over to find the owner of said voice looking at him. He furrowed his brow in confusion, indicating that he was not aware of what the young man was referring to. Gaara seemed to bristle in agitation at the leaf's lack of understanding. "Touching," he stated blankly, as an attempt to explain his thoughts. "It's not unpleasant when you are touching me," he finished, diverting his gaze every so slightly before his eyes found the tan face once again and stared intently.
  Lee stared at him, open-mouthed and completely taken aback. He was unable to form any words, the situation just seemed too embarrassing. Although he was sure Gaara didn't know the meaning of the word, as he kept his usual expression and made no sign of discomfort.
  Composing himself, he faced forward and allowed his large eyes to linger at his own lap. A dry breeze blew past, doing little to cool the ninja's flushed face. He felt the need to say something in light of their new found taciturnity, all the same, he was sure he'd only further embarrass himself.
  His apple lay next to his muscular thigh, rotted slightly around the core. The smell of it was still sweet, indicating that the heat had yet to influence the finished fruit too drastically. How long had they been up here? It felt as if their break should have been over long ago. The silence seemed to swallow up time like the desert swallowed everything in sight.
  Would things become awkward after this? It hadn't become problematic the last time Lee had reached out too personally. But he felt as though Gaara was allowing him to get past that mental wall, if only a little bit and he wasting the chance. He mentally chided himself. Of course! Gaara was permitting him to get a bit closer, and how was Lee returning the favor? He was keeping quiet and exposing the fact that the comment had made him feel uncomfortable.
  The last thing he wanted the leader to assume was that he made the jounnin uneasy. Well, he did make him uneasy. But not in a strained way, only in a shy way. The Kazekage made him feel coy, and he had no idea why.
  He looked over to see his friend looking out at the horizon with his usual, impassive expression. The rays of sunlight bounced off of his red locks, in a way that made the highlights shine a bright orange, and the shadows appear onyx.
  "Me too," he said softly to the side profile. Gaara turned to look at him questioningly, his eyes instantly locking onto his own chocolate orbs. "It is very nice to be touched by you, Gaara-kun." He flashed a bright, and cheerful smile, to show how much he meant it. And he did mean it. The few times his friend had laid a hand upon him, he had felt electricity run through his body. He didn't dwell on it much, though. It was too confusing.
  "Hn," the red head responded, standing up swiftly. "Let us return to our work," he commanded in a light manner before jumping down, pausing for a brief moment, only to allow the leaf jounnin to join him on the ground.