Coming Home

Chapter Eight

   It was holiday time already, although Lee could never tell in the dry and scorching air of Suna. Now that he had been here a few months he found himself settling in nicely.
   He'd made friends with nearly everyone in the office and his apartment building. His relationship with the Kazekage had even gone beyond being mere comrades and he now felt them to be very good pals. The green jumpsuit still adorned his body on a daily basis, but he had lost his orange leg warmers in light of the constant heat.
   It would probably be cold tonight if he were in Konoha. As it was, he was awake in the middle of the night due to the sweltering heat of the desert. He looked out of his open window, observing the vastness of the desert before him. It was a silent night, not a single breath or step to be heard for miles. The jounnin allowed the night's darkness to engulf his face as he rested his chin against the sandy sill.
  Christmas was approaching abruptly. There were few lights or decorations about the city. It was always much to broiling to spend the day hanging things up. There were a few houses which had lights or wreaths embellishing their roofs and doorways and those houses instilled in Lee some holiday cheer.
   Even so, The garnishment around the village was scarce causing the to leaf sigh at the absence of decoration. In Konoha everyone hung lights and garland. However the civilians of the leaf village had naught to worry when it came to the weather. It was not blistering, nor was it freezing. It usually snowed once, or even twice a year, but was by no means a gelid area, even in the months they considered to be wintry.
  He briefly wondered whether people put Christmas trees up in Sunagakure as a desiccated breeze brushed gently against his tanned face. Surely they exchanged gifts, tree or not. He wanted to obtain a gift for Gaara before the holiday arrived but what would the indifferent young man want? Lee was sure he probably didnt want for much, as he was the Kazekage.
  He stood at the window sill for an unidentifiable amount of time brainstorming what to get for his friend. He knew he was under no obligation to attain something for the Kazekage. But he felt the intense desire to do something nice for his friend this holiday. The leaf chalked this inclination up to the fact that the two had become so close now that it was only natural.
  Over the past few months they had spent every day together. The two had gone on multiple missions together, and Lee helped with as many duties that plagued his friend as he was able. They accompanied each other to every lunch break, and often sparred together in the scolding afternoon heat. In recent weeks they had even made a habit of spending some time in the Kazekage's office conversing each night before Lee departed. He would do most of the talking, often receiving silence or short answers in return. But he had no problem with that. He knew that Gaara would always be quiet, and probably never do as much talking as he did. And that was fine with him.
  Over time these things had brought himself and the sand ninja close together, creating a strong friendship. A friendship that rivaled any other he has ever had, apart from his devoted relationship with Gai-sensei.
  He silently chuckled to himself as he thought of this. How had he and Gaara become so close in such little time? How he had he created such a bond with someone he had spent only a few moths with? With someone like Gaara of the Desert of all people? These things couldn't be explained, only accepted.
  He glanced at the clock, seeing that it was nearly four in the morning. He was sure that he would be able to get a few more hours of sleep if he were to lie down now. The couch sunk in beneath him as he fell down against its pleasant cushions. He lie there for a few minutes, continuing to ponder a satisfactory gift.
  Just as the black haired jounnin began to doze off a magnificent idea crept into his mind, causing his eyes to snap open and his body to dart into a sitting position. He was going to sneak in an decorate the Kazekage's office. Now that the idea had popped into his mind, there was no way he could talk himself out of it. The look of surprise on Gaara's face would be priceless, if he had any kind of expression at all, that is.
  He decided that tomorrow, after the red haired man left his office for the night, Lee would sneak back in with lights and garland. He was still debating whether or not he would bring a tree in as well. And then when the Kazekage returned in the morning he would be waiting in the ornamented office.
  Gaara usually left the office around two in the morning, and was back by six. That didn't leave the brown eyed young man with much time, but he would definitely get it done! He'd have to shop for the baubles first thing after work.
  Smiling to himself he sunk back into the couch contently, with intentions to get a few more hours of sleep before the big day. Varied versions of the embellished office found their way into his mind as he floated out of consciousness.
  He worked his way through the day as hard as always, managing to get through a large stack of paper work before the time came for him to meet his companion for lunch. As he exited his office swiftly he saw a flash of striking red hair leaving through the window. And as always, he followed quickly.
  Lee talked his way through their lunch break. Speaking of the holidays and receiving little in reciprocation. He could feel himself smiling even more frequently than usually, and wondered briefly if his friend had noticed.
  "Lee," the stoic voice broke him from his thoughts, and he looked over to find green eyes observing him. "Have you heard about the mission to Konoha?" The red head inquired with scrutiny.
  "No I have not! Am I making a trip to Konoha?!" He asked loudly, his body tensing with excitement.
  "Hn," the sand ninja replied with a short nod. "I will have the paperwork ready and on your desk in the morning," he stated with indifference.
  "Yosh!" The leaf called, throwing a bandaged fist into the dry air. "I can not wait to see Gai-sensei again!"
  The Kazekage made no reply, simply standing and jumping down from the roof. Lee followed loyally, the green eyed boy always knew when their break had ended. Whereas Lee never bothered to keep track of the time they spent high in the air.
  The rest of the day passed painfully slow. The bushy browed ninja took extra care to get his work done early, in order  to leave in time to purchase all his needs before the stores closed. Around eleven o'clock he left his office and found his way down to Gaara's.
  Without knocking he opened the door a fraction and popped his head into the office. His comrade was immersed in a paper, the impassive eyes moving swiftly from left to right and back again as he dully read each line. "Ah, sorry to interrupt Gaara-kun. I can not stay tonight."
  Gaara's head dipped down slightly in the form of a nod. "Don't stay here too long," he lectured half heartedly as he pulled away from the door and closed it quietly. There was nothing but the sound of Lee's hurried steps echoing in the hallways. Tomorrow was Christmas Eve so most of the workers had wrapped things up quickly and hurried home.
  The green beast rushed to the stores, grabbing a large bundle of lights instantly upon walking in. While walking through the store he collected white and colored lights, green and red and gold garland, and a wreath with beautiful red leaves intwined within the green stems.
  On his way out he passed a fairly small, synthetic tree. He paused for brief moment, wondering if it would be too over the top. He shrugged the thought away, deciding that he may as well go all the way with his decorating as he picked up different ornaments to adorn the tree.
  After checking out the leaf headed over to Kazekage building and hid impeccably as he waited for his friend to leave. He settled down with his bags in a dark crevice of the adjacent building. Only waiting close to forty five minutes before he heard the scuffle of steady steps coming from the entrance.
  The jounnin waited until he could no longer feel Gaara's presence before hoisting himself up and entering the building. After dashing up the stairs, at a very quick pace, he pulled the door to his friend's office open slowly and crept in.
  Yosh! It was finally time to begin his genius plan.
  He set up the tree first, encircling it with both colored and white lights. The garland came soon after, green and red wrapping itself all the way around the artificial tree. He placed each and every ornament very strategically. Ensuring that no same color or shape was too close to another.
  He bit his lip as he glanced at the clock on the wall. An hour had already past and the Kazekage would return in little more than two.
  He decorated the rest in a quick blur, adding lights to the edge of the perimeter of the ceiling and doorway. He placed the large wreath he purchased in the middle of the door before adding garland around the desk's edge and draped it beautifully over the bare walls as a final touch.
  Once finished he took a step back to admire his hard work. It had all come together wonderfully. The gold garland looked especially breath taking with the white lights that hung tightly to the ceiling and door way. The leaf smiled contently to himself. Hopefully Gaara would like it, but Lee knew there was a huge possibility that the latter may not understand the significance behind it. And that was okay.
  He sat in one of the two office chairs as he awaited the Kazekage's arrival patiently. His heart began to pound a little faster in his chest as he heard constant footsteps make their way up the stairs and into his direction. By the time the handle of the door began to turn he was feeling both extremely nervous and excited.
  He stood quickly as the short young man entered the door way. "Merry Christmas, Gaara-kun!" He called anxiously with a warm blush adorning his tan cheeks.
  The red head stopped short upon seeing the inside of his office. His mouth opened slowly as his green eyes traveled from one place to another. It was silent for a long time as Gaara looked around in what seemed to be bewilderment. When he finally spoke his eyes found Lee's, "Lee-" he broke off. Surely his friend was not speechless? But that's exactly what he appeared to be.
  "Ah yes! I hope you like it. I spent all night decorating. It is a Christmas gift, though it may not be much," he smiled largely at the other young man to alleviate any awkward tension that he may feel.
  Gaara stayed silent, only holding out a piece of paper in response. His face was tilted downwards in... Shyness? Awkwardness? Lee wasn't quite sure, as usual. As he took the paper and skimmed it briefly he found it to be his mission order for his trip to Konoha.
  "Merry Chrsitmas, Lee," the Kazekage whispered quietly, his eyes not missing the touched smile that crept across the leaf ninja's face.