Naruto - Run with the Wind 5 Series: Naruto Characters: Gaara, Lee, the rest of their age group Pairing: Lee/Gaara Type: highschool AU, romance, humor Warnings: briefly mentioned implied sex Spoilers: mirrors the Sasuke retrieval arc Word Count: 500 Etc: Slapped on a half-assed title and made a half-assed ending. Ugh, I really need to work on my writing. I should probably be hit for the title.
Gaara says nothing to his siblings, but Temari’s room is next to his and she doesn’t look at him in the face for several days after Lee stays over. Kankurou shoots him odd looks when he thinks his brother isn’t looking. Lee eventually tells Naruto, who blabs it to everyone else within the hour. Most of them say he’s lying until they see the starry-eyed look on Lee’s face and the hearts doodled on his napkin.
They are an odd couple—Gaara with his maroon and black wardrobe of buckles and fishnet and painted nails, Lee with his orange legwarmers and green turtlenecks. Gaara lets his hair grow spiky and wild; Lee keeps his meticulously straight. Introverted and extroverted, rich and poor, quiet and loud, artistic and sporty, the list of contrasts goes on. They don’t particularly care, but the others go on about how they can’t possibly be dating until the group goes to the beach and they show up hand-in-hand. Sakura, who Gaara now knows is Lee’s former crush and girlfriend of one week, squeals in delight.
Gaara hates water and can’t swim, so he makes sandcastles. Shikamaru falls asleep so Ino and Temari bury him up to his neck in sand. Kiba plays Frisbee with his dog, Naruto steals Sasuke’s swim trunks, Hinata collects seashells, Tenten and Kankurou start a volleyball game, and Shino goes fishing. Neji is horribly sunburned and is irritable (more so than usual) for the rest of the day, Chouji grills out, and they all live the end of summer to the fullest.
Problems arise as school approaches. The Leaf students throw a collective fit when Sasuke decides to go to Sound boarding school. Naruto is particularly adamant about trying to convince him to stay, which only drives the boy further away. After he leaves, the group is imbalanced. Gaara brings along an exchange student he met in Art named Sai, and there’s a semblance of normalcy, but Sakura and Naruto aren’t the same. The others try to comfort them but time is the only thing that will heal them.
Lee takes Gaara to a glassblowing workshop, and the artisan is so impressed with his skill for a first-timer he is offered a trial apprenticeship. His father refuses to hear of it, but Lee arranges to sneak Gaara there every Saturday he doesn’t have a Cross Country meet.
Their schedules are busy but they make as much time as they can. Lee refuses to spend the night again and Gaara doesn’t see what the problem is. Five months into their relationship, Lee’s uncle is out of town again and Gaara shows up on his doorstep. The black-haired boy launches into a long speech about why this is a Bad Idea and they should wait until married or equivalent. Gaara shuts him up with a kiss that quickly turns into more. When calloused fingers reach for his belt, all he can say is “About damn time.” Lee heartily agrees. They are not patient people.