Beside You in Time

Author's note:

Sorry for the delay! This has been fiddled with for God knows how long, but now that I have the story mostly outlined (and a spin-off fic as well :D), it should all be coming along much more quickly!


ENJOY!

- - / end transmission - -

Gai had been the first to show at training the next morning. However, he cut his teammates some slack considering he was an hour early.

The morning sky was beautiful, and the sun was beginning its slow ascent. The cold dew on the grass reflected the colors, making it seem picture perfect.

He took the peaceful opportunity to do his morning stretches and focusing practices, things he rarely had the time to do properly when his students were present. Also, he needed the extra time to evaluate his situation with Lee, he admitted to himself. He couldn't stand the way things had been between them lately-- the tension was absolutely unbearable. Their conversations were practically nonexistant, when before Gai had began his regression away from Lee, they had been plentiful and amusing.

Gai finished his stretches and sat in his meditation pose. Although he wasn't exactly in a peaceful state of mind now that he was thinking of Lee, he felt he could now search properly for a solution. It obviously couldn't stay this way, he resolved. His pushing Lee away had only worsened things and made them more apparent and noticable, not only to him and Lee, but possibly to others. He couldn't have that-- it bugged him enough personally that he was so much older than his student. Hell, he was his teacher! If he was uncomfortable with it, he knew others would feel the same way.

His relationship with Lee had always pushed the limits, however it had never entered the sexual realm, which, since Lee was much more mature, it would. And as dirty as it made him feel, he knew he wanted to have that with Lee. But that was beside the point. He was going to open himself back up to Lee. Because, even through all this contemplation on their actual relationship, the only thing that really changed his mind was seeing Lee unhappy and in emotional stress. However, he still resolved to not start anything with the teen. He was still too young.

Eyes closed, he heard the approach of two pairs of feet, which he knew belonged to Neji and Ten Ten.

They each walked up to him, one on each side, and took a seat.

"Ohayo," greeted Ten Ten with a smile as she settled herself. Gai stopped his 'meditation' and opened his eyes, grinning like a mad man as usual, to greet his students.

"Good morning, guys!"

Neji looked around then at his watch. The fact that Lee was going to be the last one to show up was one that didn't even need to be stated at this point. They all fell into the same rhythm as usual without Lee, doing their stretches together, counting aloud.

After the second repitition, loud, clumsy footsteps could be heard from the forest, crunching their way to the clearing. The three ninja looked to the direction of the noise, expecting Lee, when all of a sudden the sound of the footsteps stopped followed by a dull thud. Looking at each other curiously, the three silently communicated, gesturing that Gai should go check it out.

Walking into the forest, Gai felt he didn't even need to move around stealthily- he had a hunch as to what had happened. He had walked past a few trees before he saw an orange and green colored leg sticking out from behind a massive tree. Smiling to himself, he went over to investigate exactly what he had predicted he'd see.

Lee was sprawled on the ground, snoring like a zombie, completely oblivious as to where he was or what he was doing. He had always had this nasty habit of sleepwalking, just as Gai did, but instead of suddenly waking up, he'd shut totally down and fall back into a deep sleep.

Gai kneeled beside the sleeping boy's head, which was mussed and messy with a few leaves and twigs in it. It was an adorable sight, Gai admitted, and the wind blowing his already tousled hair around wasn't making it any less adorable.

"Lee," he called, knowing it probably wouldn't affect the boy.

Lee rolled over in his sleep towards the voice, curling himself towards Gai. Gai smiled softly. He leaned in closer towards Lee, cupped his face, and spoke a little louder.

"Lee-chan, wake up"

Eyelids fluttering, Lee woke up in the middle of the forest face to face with his beloved sensei. He smiled and yawned, only then realizing that Gai's hand was touching his face. Any morning brainfuzz was thoroughly gone, and an instant blush covered his face.

"O-Ohayo, Gai-sensei," he said breathily.

"Good morning," Gai responded, stroking his thumb over Lee's cheek once before standing up. "You're a bit late again. Neji and Ten Ten are waiting."

Lee jumped up. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"

Gai chuckled, already starting his way back to the training clearing. "I know, I know. Don't worry, let's just go."

He stepped up the pace, quickly following his sensei. But Lee had to wonder: What exactly was that? Why did Gai all of a sudden show him affection? Had he decided to finally stop the stone-cold act? Lee could only hope so. He and Gai had been so close before- always touching and hugging and laughing without a care in the world. Lee's intentions had always been the same- only now they were definitely more mature, and he could only think of that as the reason why Gai had shut him out.

However, things were starting to look better.

...He hoped.

----

Tired, sweaty, and sore, the four ninja parted ways in the early evening, each eager to get to their respective showers and food.

The streets were busy with everyone coming home from work or training, and the sounds of conversations and clatterings of nearby restaraunts added to the restless atmosphere. The smell of the streets was that of sizzling steaks and steaming rice and only served to make the tired workers' mouths water.

However, walking together down the same road they walked every day, Gai and Lee were oblivious to their surroundings and completely engulfed in their conversation. Gai had found it funny that Lee had to do a little victory dance when Neji fumbled or fell, just to spur him on.

"I can't help but do it!" exclaimed Lee. "It's like...YES! He's down for the count! And then I dance."

Gai was laughing heartily. "Well, I can't deny the fact that the dance is hilarious."

Lee chuckled too, and relaxed his arms behind his head. "Yeah, well, I also do it so he's more cautious. If he screws up, he sees me dance and taunt him. So it'll make him want to screw up less!"

Gai inwardly appreciated his logic, although he knew Lee still had pleasure in teasing Neji.

They approached Lee's street, and soon the two stopped to a halt. The smells of the restaraunts were getting to the both of them by now, whether they knew it or not, but neither of them knew how to break it off. However, Gai confidently broke the short silence with a question.

"Lee," Gai began. "Want to eat with me tonight?"

Lee's countenance brightened immensely, and a tinge of nervousness could be seen lingering in his eyes. "YES! I mean...Of course, Gai-sensei. I want to uh...Get some clothes at my house, though. Is that okay?"

Gai smiled. He was happy- everything tense about yesterday was gradually disappating. He was happy he was doing this. "It's fine, Lee. I'll come with you."

"Okay."

Lee smiled the entire way there. Gai stood behind him as he fumbled for his keys nervously and opened the door.

Gai was immediately reminded of the smell of Lee as he entered his house. It smelled of lavender- a scent that Gai had always associated with maturity and warmth. His house was immaculate and cool, mostly because Lee was never there, and when he was, he usually cleaned, slept, or showered. There wasn't much furniture in the house to speak of, either. He knew there had to be a bed and a dresser, but other than that he only saw a table with a few chairs, a couch, and a stand for his TV set. Sadly, Lee's house always had this lonely feeling eminating from it. Gai entered the open kitchen and dining room, and sat down in one of the chairs at the table to wait for Lee.

"I'll be quick, I promise!" said Lee as he ran into his bedroom to grab some clothes. He didn't know what to get! Well, it wasn't like he had an extensive selection to choose from- he wasn't that fashion conscious to begin with, it was always about function for him. He decided to go with his jeans and a normal white t-shirt. But then he realized...He didn't want to change right now. He was smelly.

He ran back out into the dining room, clothes haphazardly crumpled in his hands, and Gai could tell he was having a problem- it was written all over his face.

"What's wrong?"

"Uh," began Lee, "Um, is it okay if I shower here? Or do you just want me to go to your place and shower?"

"You can shower at my place, no rush or anything. It's not like a mind a sweaty, smelly Lee, though." Gai winked.

Lee blushed. Hard. "U-Um, Okay! We can go!"

And with that, he rushed out of the door ahead of Gai-sensei, who was chuckling. Lee was really too much.

Lee was silent on the trek to Gai's house. However, Gai wasn't all that worried. If that weird smile was any indiction of Lee's state of being, he didn't think he had anything to worry about. Or maybe he did.

They walked up the stairs together to his apartment, with Lee making a big show of how sore his legs were when really they weren't sore at all.

"Gaiiiiiii-senseiiiiiiii," he complained, "my legsss...They're so sore." He slumped down on the ground, grappling the handrails desperately, looking as if he were actually in pain. Then, his head shot up with a mischievous smile on his face that could rival a demon's.

"Carry me?"

Now it was Gai's turn to blush. "Stop being stupid, Lee."

He grabbed the boy's arm and helped him up, all the while Lee was snickering. Gai supposed Lee's crush wouldn't put a damper on his antics.

The two finally made it to the door, and as they walked in, Lee was met with the same scent as before- sandalwood and cinnamon. Ode de Gai, he decided to call it. At that thought, however, he let out a snicker.

"And what are you laughing about now?" questioned Gai.

"Nothing at all. Maybe I'll tell you one day when it doesn't sound so pathetic inside my head," Lee said with a grin. Gai gave him a look that can only be defined as a "wtf" look, and went into the kitchen.

Lee sighed, knowing that he was only giddy because Gai was beginning to act like he used to towards him. He was soaring right now, for he knew that they would be okay. Hell, they might even be better than okay! But, then again, Lee didn't want to get his hopes up. And then that thought served to dampen his mood a bit. And with another sigh, he dramatically flopped onto the sofa he had spent the night on two nights before.

Gai stood before him, arms folded, his body eminating an aura of comfort and authority in his own home. "So, what do you want to eat?"

Pondering his options, Lee started humming as his gaze flew skyward, searching for an answer in the ceiling. "Mmm...I don't know. I'm pretty much in the mood for anything as long as I can eat mass quantities of it."

"So Ramen? Sushi? Nah, maybe sushi's too expensive for the both of us..." Gai trailed off as he went deeper into thought.

"You know, I do want to eat in though. I'm not in the mood to be out, really, unless you want to," stated Lee, hoping he wasn't being too demanding or anything.

Coming to a solution, Gai placed his hands on his hips and smiled. "Eating in would be nice, actually. How about you go take that shower you wanted, and I'll go grab us some good grub, eh?"

"Perfect," replied Lee.

Taking this as a cue, Lee got up and headed towards the bathroom, only to realize he had never really known how to turn on the shower.

Turning around slowly, he sheepily asked, "Um, how do you turn on the shower again?"

Gai laughed and brushed past him into the bathroom.

The bathroom was a little more than just comfortable--another feature of Gai's apartment that Lee appreciated. With its two white marble sinks and its spacious shower, Lee felt almost luxurious when in it.

Stepping into the shower, Gai pressed the button underneath the showerhead to start it, set the temperature of the water, and turned to face Lee goofily.

"It doesn't take a genius to turn on my shower, Lee. That's about the third time you've asked me!"

Lee blushed. "Stop mocking me! So I'm a little absent-minded..."

Chuckling, Gai stepped out of the shower to stand before Lee. "I'm not mocking you, Lee-chan," he began to smooth out Lee's hair, "But as you said, you can be a bit silly at times."

By this time, Lee was beet-red. Unable to speak, he just stood there until Gai walked out of the bathroom.

"Alright, I'm off! I'll be back soon!" he said from down the hallway, and Lee heard the front door close.

With a sigh of confused relief, Lee began to undress and stepped into the already running shower. The barrage of the warm bullets of the water hit his back mercifully and accurately, and he welcomed it with a moan of comfort. However, as his body was relaxing, his mind was racing. Things were really looking up, and it definitely wasn't just in his head. Gai's affection was slowly but surely returning, along with their flirty banter. He was soaring in the aspect of restored normalcy, but was also already fiercefully wishing for the next step to occur. After all, he didn't want Gai-sensei. He wanted only Gai.

As he lathered his hair, he smiled in excitement. Gai had caressed him, flirted with him, smoothed out his hair-- all these dramatic changes had happened all within the day! Despite the warm shower, Lee felt and knew that the source of the warmth he felt radiated from the inside out.

He turned the shower off, stepped out, and grabbed a fluffy, white towel from the rack. Catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror, he noted that he looked devilishly handsome with his hair skewed and plastered all over his forehead. He threw his head forward, and whipped it back again, giving him a ridiculously out-of-control look. 'Oh yeah,' he thought. 'Dead sexy.'

After changing into his clothes, he tossed his towel over the rack and trekked over to the couch he was now growing attached to. As soon as he began to wonder what was taking Gai so long, he heard Gai opening the door.

"Welcome home!" he greeted.

Gai attempted a half-smile and shifted his bags of food as he closed the door behind him. Lee's smile faded a bit as he got up to go help him with the food, which, by the smell, seemed to be yakisoba and a variety of a few other things he couldn't pin down.

"Is everything okay?" Lee asked.

Putting the food down on the island in the kitchen, Gai sighed as he started to take out the food.

"I was briefly summoned by the Hokage, and I have to leave in about 15 minutes for a day and a half mission."

Lee looked up at him as he placed the food down. His smile had completely faded, and had been replaced with a half-hearted attempt at concealing his disappointment. Gai frowned, upset at the fact that he was upsetting Lee.

"I'm sorry..." he trailed off.

"No, no, it's okay. Duty calls. I know the drill." he responded, eyes downcast. He really had been looking forward to spending the night with him.

Gai looked at him with sadness. "Yeah, I know. Anyways, don't let this ruin your dinner," he said as he opened up the cartons of food. "Go on, eat up!"

Lee sat down at the island counter and pulled up a carton. He was about to start when he saw Gai begin to gather his things.

"Wait, Gai, you're not leaving without eating, are you?"

Gai paused. "Well..."

"C'mon, you've been starving for a while now. At least have a few bites so I don't feel bad about you not eating." Lee said with a smile.

Smiling, Gai went to go get his things. "Alright. I will. Just let me grab my things, and I'll eat until I leave."

"Okay," Lee responded.

Even though he was smiling, he was still rather upset. Hell, he really did feel stupid for feeling upset, too. Missions happened all the time, so why was it bothering him so much? It was only a day and a half mission, too. Piece of cake.

He knew the answer, though. He just wanted to spend time with Gai. He really, really just wanted to spend time with Gai.

Soon enough, Gai was packed and ready to go. He took up a seat next to Lee, pulled the nearest food carton to him, and began to chow down. Lee slowed down eating and watched him devour his food like a lunatic. Desperate times call for desperate measures, he supposed.

"Are you even tasting that?" Lee joked.

Gai chuckled midchew and swallowed. "Yes, Lee. I'm tasting it. I just need to hurry."

Finishing it up, Gai swooped up his things and headed for the hallway, where he stood awkwardly, trying to think of something to say. Lee got up and sat on the armchair of the couch, facing him.

"Alright, guess it's time to go. You can stay here until I get back, keep an eye on the place and such. Okay?" Gai said.

Lee smiled. At least that was some consolation. "Yeah, that'd be great. Just be careful and kick some ass, okay?"

Chuckling, Gai said, "Yeah, okay. You know I will." After looking at Lee for a few moments, he also added, "I am sorry, Lee."

"And it really is okay, Gai-sensei. Take care," Lee said as he got up to stand before him.

"Take care, Lee." After a few awkward moments, Lee reached his arms over his shoulders to hug him, to which Gai responded with his arms around Lee's waist. It was brief, but neither could deal with the repercussions and after thoughts of a longer hug at that moment.

"See you later," said Lee.

Gai waved, smiling, and walked out the door.

And Lee fell back onto the couch.

What a bummer.

He decided that the food on the counter really shouldn't go to waste, so he went back to devouring it. It didn't taste as good anymore for some reason.

That night, Lee crept into Gai's bed, treating the event like a guilty pleasure, and snuggled between the confines of his scent and sheets. The sense of comfort and familiarity enveloped his senses, and he fell into a deep, warm sleep. He hadn't felt so close to feeling so at home in a long time.


--------------


Reviews are not only tolerated, but welcome! XP