Hero

Hey hey! Here’s the next chapter (sorry for the wait!) ok hope ya’ll enjoy! Thanks for reading!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gaara’s eyes strained as he continued his harsh toil. Fingers ran skillfully through golden sand as it spun faster and faster, guiding it into the shape that was absolutely necessary for the piece to be concluded successfully.

‘Now fire.’

Gaara did the appropriate hand seals before releasing an impressive fire ring around the fragile object from his mouth and his fingers, smiling as it began to melt and take form. He had learned the fire seal when he had became Kazekage, a feat usually only the Uchiha clan could master but his hard studying and practice had eventually paid off.

The fire ebbed away into nothing, the only evidence it had even been there were the blackened scorch marks around the object that was now viewed to the Kazekage with a vast importance.

“It’s ready.” Gaara said out loud to himself, picking up the fragile piece of rare art he had just created. He cradled it with two hands admiring his beautiful handy work, it was small but to him it was as precious as the rarest and most coveted gem.

Turning from the slab of concrete he had been using in his craft, he picked up a piece of wine colored velvet from a table where he had placed it prior, and wrapped the frail entity in it gently. He then pulled out a thin golden twine and tied it about the ruby soft bundle. Gaara then slipped it tenderly in the inside pocket of his jacket before turning from the blacksmith room to head out into the bitter night.


***

“LEE WACH OUT!!!”

*CRASH*

“Too late….” Neji sighed looking at the pile of rumble were Lee had been standing just before one of the stage wall’s had collapsed.

“Fuzzy eyebrows!” Naruto jumped down from the stage horrified at the result of his clumsiness.

“I’m ok….” Lee’s hand appeared at the top of the ruble and waved to the two worried nins to signal his well being even though the rest of his body was still buried under the mass.

Naruto had been setting up the dancing stage’s walls to help shield the dancers from the wind that night when he had been distracted by something shiny a few yards away and well…

Lee was pushing one of the broken wall pieces from his leg finding to his surprise how light it was until he found a tendril of sand helping to lift it up and off the green nin’s form.

“Thank you Gaara!” Lee smiled gratefully as the sand wrapped around his waist and helped him to his feet.

“Naruto you BAKA!!!” Ino yelled as another of the stage walls began to fall.

Gaara looked slightly annoyed and rose his hand up, guiding his sand to stop the law suit waiting to happen.

“Gomen! I guess glue isn’t the best option for holding up walls ne?” Naruto laughed and set back up the latter, this time armed with nails and a hammer to finish his work.

Gaara sighed and looked over at his lover who was still nervously watching Naruto on the high latter. Placing a hand over the object in his pocket he debated within himself if he should go through with what he had been planning for the past few days.


“Lee I need to talk to you.” Gaara’s eyes locked in Lee’s onyx ones intensely showing the urgency in the conversation he wanted to have with the green nin.

“H…hai..of corse!” Lee looked a little taken aback for Gaara’s sudden change in demeanor but he made his way toward the redhead with out hesitation.

Gaara waited for Lee to stand beside him before he started walking to reach a more appropriate spot for the conversation. They walked until the festival site and all the members working on it were well out of view and hearing range but Gaara continued to walk onward to some unknown destination.

Unlike all the days prior the sky was an icy blue clear with only a few cotton ball clouds floating around the atmosphere lazily. The snow was once again a fresh powdery pure white and about one in half feet deep, making Lee happy he had chosen to wear his heavy boots earlier that morning. The sun was just beginning to set and Lee looked up smiling as he remembered the night Gaara had held him on the roof as they watched the sunset ebb away into an icy storm. Lee took his eyes from the sky as he noticed the trees start to thin out into a familiar clearing.

“The training grounds…?” Lee stoped and looked around the small artic medow puzzled on why Gaara had brought him here.

“This is where I found you.” Gaara continued walking until he reached the center of the clearing.

“Really?” Lee was about 10 feet away from where the redhead stood. “I’m sorry if I burdened you…”

“It was no burden…” Gaara wasn’t turning to face Lee which indicated that something was on his mind.

“Gaara are you ok?” Lee started forward when suddenly the Kazekage disappeared from view. “Nani-“

Strong arms wrapped around his slender waist securely, startling the green beast at first but he soon relied who it was and relaxed back into the embrace.

“No. I’m not ok.” Gaara whispered in his ear so faintly that Lee almost didn’t catch it.

Lee placed his hands on top of Gaara’s that were clasped tightly about his abdomen.

“Can I do something to help?” Lee tried to turn and catch his lover’s eye but Gaara’s forehead was resting on the back of his neck. “Let me help.”

Lee turned around slowly still encircled within the redhead’s possessive embrace only to find that Gaara’s head was bent downward as if he was about to yell at him.

“Gaara tell me what’s wrong?” Lee kissed him gently on the forehead. “Have I done something to hurt you?”

Gaara’s head jerked up and his sea green eyes burned into Lee’s holding horror at what the green nin had assumed. Of cores he hadn’t hurt him! Lee would never hurt him!

“If I did then I’m sor-“

Lee never got to finish that statement because Gaara’s lips stole the terrible words away. The redhead moved gently from the center of Lee’s lips to the corner, his own ghosting along the soft surface before moving back to the center again.

“You would never hurt me.” Gaara pulled back and stepped away, not missing the slight pout from Lee at the loss of contact. Gaara reached into his pocket slowly and pulled out the small velvet bundle that held his hopes and future, whether it was good or bad was up to Lee. He took Lee’s hand and placed the object on Lee’s palm before standing back to watch the nin unwrap it.

Lee said nothing and did nothing to mask his surprise when handed the gift, he knew Gaara didn’t expect or want words at that moment he just wanted Lee to open it. With steady fingers Lee started to unwrap the twine as he slid his digits into the wine red folds of fabric. There framed in red velvet lay the most beautiful and delicate thing Lee had ever set his eyes on.

It was a flower made completely of blood red glass. Lee picked it up from its prickly steam to get a better look at it and gasped in awe of the detail. The pedals rose up in separate layers in the shape on long ovals reaching toward the sky in a frozen ritual of gathering sun light; they were about the size of a section of Lee’s pinky finger. In the center of the flower were many small bumps of glass where a few long thin strands of glass protruded upward before the ends were curved slightly downward and the very tips came to small bulbs. The steam was long and thin with small thorns, a lot like a rose, that stuck out at the sides. The flower of glass was about as big as a butter knife but far more frail and delicate.

“It’s gorgeous.” Lee gaped at it as he twirled it gently between his fingers admiring it on all sides.

“It’s a dessert rose.” Gaara said simply watching Lee continue to look at it. “In my village they are extremely rare, even more so then water. This flower blooms every 2 years and when it does so only for a few days. It is picked and presented to the picker’s ‘partner’.” Gaara finished as Lee looked up at him.

“Partner?” Lee asked looking into the redheads eyes quizzically.

“Yes a lover. I couldn’t find a real one so I made one from sand and fire….” Gaara paused at seeing the confusion in Lee’s eyes.

“Why is it presented to the lover? As a gift?” Lee looked back down at the stunning art piece as if it would supply him with the answer.

“No….it’s presented as the final set of courtship.”

Lee’s eyes snapped upward to lock onto the Kazekage’s eyes again in shock.

“Lee…Do you accept the flower?” Gaara crossed his arms over his chest as if shielding himself from the rejection Lee might assault his already broken heart with.

“Gaara you’re talking about marriage!” Lee gasped and Gaara nodded solemnly.

Lee stood there dumbfounded and looked down at the flower cradled tenderly in his hands.

“Why…?”

“Because….” Gaara winced and grasped his chest as a few pangs of the over whelming feeling he had only until recently accepted ran through his form.

Gaara turned his back on Lee, still clutching his chest. Lee started forward to help the redhead but Gaara’s words stopped him.

“I leave after the festival….I’ll ask again at that time.” Gaara made a few hand seals and Lee watched in stunned silence as he disappeared from the site in a whirl of sand.

Lee fell to his knees overwhelmed. ‘Because….’ Gaara’s strained word echoed through his head. He winced as the soft almost haunting music of the festival drifted to his ears he placed his head in his hand that wasn’t holding the flower.

The festival had started and would end at midnight. Lee looked down at the flower that seemed to glow with the blood red color which had been spun into its form.

‘Because….the same reason why he made it red…it’s the color of the symbol on his forehead.’ Lee jumped up and started to run toward the festival. Grinning giddily as the music grew louder and louder… The colored lights appeared in his view and seemed to glow brighter as he connected the last dot to the puzzle.

‘Love.’


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I’m once again very evil for ending the chapter here but hey gotta keep you guys hanging so you’ll want to read the next chapter! Thanks for the reviews I’ll update ASAP!!!! =^^=