Do you love me?

Diamonds

A/N: I could've cut 500 words of convoluted confusion but no. And that's why this is an imperfect drabble. Good luck.

"Do you love me?" Pale eyes rolled over to him, almost sarcastic. He rolled his own, ready to insist then persist while the reply tumbled out in rhythm,
"What are you saying, of course I-" The speech structuring in his head stopped short as he stared into those pale eyes, far from whimsical amusement. His pupils traced the dark lining which trapped scrambling thoughts, sealing them shut into the eyes of his beloved's stone-cold gaze.

Diamonds are one of nature's hardest substances.
Lee liked to think they nestled and lived in the black sockets of Gaara, hardening his jeweled gaze which pierced both enemy and lover. It sparked fear into the former, and served as a challenge for Lee. He found his own stubborn gaze rivaling not just for epic contests, but to further see and understand.
Diamonds are one of society's valued substances.
The characteristic dark outlines seemed to cradle their prized gems, concealing them from the Wrong Cut that could shatter at the slightest impact. Despite their hardness, they were quite brittle. Lee stared inquisitively into the diamonds of his beloved, whose stony craters began to crack.

"I love you," Gaara drew out, his voice remained steady though his trembling eyes betrayed him, "do you love me?" Light refracted, and the cracks of gemstones split into chasms. The dark outlines that once hid away his beloved now sucked him in like a black hole, enveloped him in the hypotheticals, fear, doubt, and fear, smothering him in dark depths of his lover.

Fear.
With each passing second there surfaced a new crack, and with each crack lay embedded insecurities only to be smothered by more doubt and disbelief. Anxiety after assurance piled up in endless layers.
Are you sure? Yes. What if you get hurt? I won't, I'm strong. What if I hurt you? You won't, I have faith in you. Why? Are you sure? What if...?
Folded thoughts and scrunched feelings built up jagged cliffs, clustering in packs behind the usual pale, jaded eyes.
Do you love me? Then logic broke and reasoning dispersed. Emotions flurried in freedom. Everything came crashing, crushing diamonds into dust, reopening the jagged scars where sand fell through into an opening below the surface of rock. Below nestled a Little Ball of Sand. The new grains splattered over it, trickling from above like an hourglass.
Time ticked, and the dust began to patter.
A cry erupted and sand sprayed with a hiss as the Ball collapsed in on itself, unveiling a little redheaded boy who clung onto his stuffed bear desperate for maternal comfort. Do you love me now? The little boy shrieked. Blood drained from his face and dripped out from his hair, all the lies and secrets, betrayals to bear. The howl that ruptured from his throat was the pitch of insanity and pain, the volume hurt and all things mundane. All things that surrounded Gaara, were Gaara; they were all a part of him. The hourglass flipped. Grains of sand packed tightly, burning into hard glass and breaking again. Flipped again as water seeped and built earth until it all came crashing down again, this time only falling further. An endless cycle. The same, vicious cycle he'd seen countless times. No matter how many times he said the same words, there would always be question. Each assurance paired with a doubt, a hope tagged with a little reminder that diamonds could break. And It flipped. He tried comfort and attempted reasoning, sometimes a mix of both when his lover became insecure in these moments but still, it happened. Lee could see it happen in the chasms of cracked diamond eyes. But he wasn't ever one to give up.

Gaara stared at him tiredly, weary of building and breaking.
Impulse flooded his senses, and he tugged the redhead into a warm embrace, arm looped around the shoulder and hand holding the cheek in simple caress. The question rang in his head: Do you love me? Gaara knew the answer, and Lee knew he did. So instead of the long, flowering speech he crafted he simply said,
"Yes, I love you."