Sands of Change

Disclaimer: Haha, no. I don't own Naruto.

A/N: If you dislike yaoi, then I don't know what you're doing reading this fourth chapter. -smirks- But for the rest of you, enjoy. It's also sometimes helpful when you reviewers throw out suggestions. -grins- I hope you won't be too mad when I steal 'em.

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Lee woke with a groan, one arm tossed carelessly over his eyes.

When had he gotten back to the hut the Kazekage gave him for lodgings? Lee couldn't even remember what happened earl-

"You're awake." A voice stated, the tone almost bored sounding.

That's when it all came rushing back. The running. The pool. The Kazekage... and all those heated touches.

Lee shot up from the bed, his eyes wide as he looked around the room, fingers to his lips as he remembered the kissing from earlier.

He could feel his body warming at just the mere thought of what happened earlier. But as Lee's suspicions that he wasn't in his own room were confirmed, he tried to force the feelings down.

"Gaara?" Lee's confused eyes found the Kazekage sitting on a chair near the window. Even though the chair was facing the bed, the sand nins green gaze was currently staring off into the desert landscape, "Where... where am I?"

Blinking slowly, Gaara turned his look to inspect the leaf nin on the bed.

As his green gaze lowered considerably, Lee looked down as well and yelped, tugging the thin sheets to cover him as he yelped, "And WHY am I NAKED?!"

At that Gaara's crossed arms tightened as his stoic expression tinted with irritation, "I don't know how you put that green... THING on. Don't even get me started on the bandages..."

Lee reddened deeply as he imagined Gaara staring at his naked form as he tried to put Lee's clothes back on. At his silence, Gaara returned his gaze to Lee's face. But this only made him blush even more.

With as much haste as a well-trained shinobi, Gaara was at Lee's side in an instant, demanding, "Are you ill? Will you faint again?"

Lee blinked, repressing an urge to squeek in an unmanly fashion as he found Gaara's face too close for comfort.

"I'm FINE!" Lee declared a little too loudly, his arm jerking upwards as he tried to pull anything that he could between them. Which happened to be the top of the blanket.

What he hadn't planned on was his hand accidentally clocking Gaara under the jaw.

Under the cover of the blanket, Lee's eyes widened considerably as his mind registered what the 'THUD' that followed must've meant. Peeking slowly out from under the clanket, Lee asked haltingly, "Gaara...?"

A groan was heard from the floor right next to the bed.

Right where the Kazekage must've fallen after Lee hit him.

Gasping, Lee sprung out of the bed, landing lightly next to the sprawled out red-head as he crouched on the floor. All other thoughts aside except for his growing concern for Gaara, Lee touched the other's cheek, "OhmygodGaaraIamsosorry!"

Hand reaching towards his bruised jaw, Gaara opened his black rimmed eyes slowly, stating in a disbelieving tone, "You hit me."

"I'm sorry, Gaara. I didn't mean to- Are you hurt? Is there anything I can do?" Lee asked, hands to either side of the Kazekage's head as he inspected the bruise that was slowly forming on the lower side of the Kazekage's jaw.

Blinking, Gaara smiled as he realized what Lee had been calling him of late, "You called me Gaara."

Lee looked taken aback, "I did? Oh no. I'm sorry Ga- I mean, Kazekage. I didn't mean to-"

But at his words, Gaara's mood darkened instantaneously. With a growl, he shoved the leaf-nin away from him. Startled and confused, Lee remained where he had fallen on his butt, staring at Gaara as the sand nin rose swiftly to his feet.

Towering over the other shinobi still on the floor, Gaara demanded, "You're... You're... SORRY?!"

Storming away to the window, Gaara threw his hands in the air as he demanded, "You're SORRY?!"

Unsure what had come over his friend, Lee gaped, all motor functions temporarily frozen as his mind hastely tried to find out what just happened. What had he done wrong?

"WHY are people... SORRY?" Gaara demanded hotly, his hands gripping the window sill so hard the clay cracked. He turned his furious gaze towards the leaf nin still on the floor, "What are you sorry for, Lee? Huh?! WHAT?!"

"I-I'm sorry for-" Lee tried to answer.

But the red head but him off, his hands continuing to make the ledge crack and crumble as his enraged voice thundered in the room, "What? You're sorry for CLAIMING to be my FRIEND and not even SPEAKING to me for over a YEAR?!?!"

"Wha-"

"OR are you sorry for lying to me?"

Lee looked away, ashamed at that part.

"OR MAYBE you're sorry that I'm a monster." Gaara growled bitterly.

Lee's eyes widened, his head snapping back to the Kazekage as he replied, "Wha- I never wou-"

"It's what everyone thinks." Gaara jerked his head to look out the window, his voice no longer shouting but all the worse for the bitterness and anger that clipped out with each word, "Everyone. Including you."

"Kazekage-" Lee started to say.

Talk about saying the exact wrong thing at the exact wrong time.

With an enraged growl, Gaara stalked over to Lee, his whole body shaking as he repressed the urge to tear Lee's body limb from bloodly limb.

"Then WHY do you keep calling me that?! You SAY I'm your friend! You SAY this yet you keep CALLING me by that- THAT NAME!!"

"Out of respect..." Lee answered cautiously, his black gaze slowly peering into Gaara's bloodshot ones, "I never knew-"

"But you knew I was a monster!" Gaara spat, "A monster that doesn't deserve to be acknowledged by their name! A monster that doesn't deserve to be loved!! A hideous, psychotic, blood-thirsty monster that deserves nothing but loneliness and death!!"

Gaara was shaking badly by then, his eyes glaring at Lee but staring right through him. Lee had been so focused on those eyes he hadn't noticed the sand pouring out of Gaara's gourd. Little streams of it were whipping around Gaara's immobile form, the sand particles going so fast it forced the still air to whistle thinly in the room.

"So you're sorry then?" Gaara demanded, thinking Lee was agreeing in his sudden silence, "You're sorry that I'm a monster? A freak with a demon inside of him? Why didn't you say so in the first place. Why. Did. You. COME. HERE?!"

Lee saw the rage. He saw the rage all too well. He could read it on the sand. Read it exuding from Gaara's tense form, his bitterly ridged voice. The rage was in his bloodshot eyes.

Yet.. the rage wasn't the only thing there.

There was a deep, unending sadness burrowed in there as well. There were tears... yes, there were tears streaming from the Kazekage's eyes.

His jaw tightening decisively, Lee stood. He wouldn't stop until he made it perfectly clear. He wouldn't stop until he made Gaara understand just what he meant to the other.

Gaara made no acknowledgement to the fact that Lee was walking towards him ever so slowly.

Lee didn't know what to expect, but he couldn't help flinching as he stepped into the edges of the flying sand. They cut mercilessly into his skin, but Lee wouldn't stop. He was within the barrier now, and still Gaara hadn't made a move to stop him.

"Why are you here?" Gaara demanded, his voice a low growl.

Lee didn't even attempt to answer, he just kept moving forward. He walked until there was no more room to walk. He halted only when he stood directly in front of Gaara.

"Are you sorry? It doesn't matter anyway." Gaara muttered darkly, "None of it matters."

Finally, Lee spoke, "I AM sorry Gaara."

Lee didn't want to do it. He didn't want to reopen wounds of the past. But he had to now. He had to, or else who knew what would happen to Gaara.

Stilling his trembling hands, Lee forced his tongue to move, "I'm sorry for whatever horrible people lay in your past."

Gaara snorted at that, "There's nothing you could've done."

"I'm sorry that people think you're a monster."

"Again," Gaara growled, "nothing you can do about it."

Lee continued, nonetheless, "And I'm sorry I let my past get to me as well."

Gaara, confused, didn't have a comment for that one.

Closing his eyes, Lee continued, "I'm sorry that I believed parents could accept you for who you are... I'm sorry that the... the last thing my parents saw was... me walking away from them and going to... to HIM. I'm sorry I believed it when one of the few that knew told me I was disgusting. Told me I was a freak for liking another boy. I'm sorry he told me and that I... believed him."

When Lee opened his eyes, he faintly noticed that the sand was no longer whirling, but simply hanging, suspended, in the air. He noticed Gaara's shocked look as the redhead remained speechless.

"I'm sorry for hurting you." Lee said softly, "For causing you pain. I'm sorry that I-" Lee gulped, "that I..."

Suddenly it was as if something huge had lodged itself right into Lee's throat. What if he was wrong? What if Gaara didn't have feelings for him? What if Gaara was just playing him like that... other one had?

Lee couldn't go through with it. He couldn't say it. He just couldn't...

"I can't..." Lee suddenly said in a choked voice.

Gaara blinked.

Looking imploringly into those concerned green eyes, Lee whispered the last part, "I'm sorry I even came here in the first place."

Turning, Lee grabbed up his clothes and ran with the speed only he possessed. He was dressed and out of the sand village before the guards posted at the edge could curse and ask eachother what the hell had just streaked past.

Back in the bedroom, Gaara stood still, his mind still trying to accept all that had transpired. When it all finally clicked, the sand floating around him dropped like deadweights to the ground. Gaara's eyes widened as he looked out the window.

Lee was gone.

-o-o-o-o-

Tsunade was surprised to look up from stashing away her sake bottle and find a silent sand nin before her desk.

"Gaara of the Sand," Tsunade greeted with a smile, "What brings you here? I wasn't aware you were coming."

"Where is he?" Gaara demanded.

The powerful sannin frowned slightly at his tone. To anyone else he would sound monotonous. But... Tsunade was sure she heard the slightest edges of panick and sadness.

"Where is who, Kazekage?" Tsunade inquired.

"LEE. Where is Lee?" Gaara asked, his eyes flickering around the room as if the leaf nin was hidden under some piece of furniture.

"On his vacation, where else would he-"

"So you don't know where he is?" Gaara demanded, cutting her off.

Tsunade's eyes narrowed, disliking the disrespect she was being given, "No, as a matter of fact I don't"

But before she had even finished her sentence, a trickle of sand was all that remained of Gaara.

"Hmph." Tsunade resumed drinking, her mind curious as to what that had been about.

-o-o-o-o-

Lee leapt silently from tree to tree. He couldn't go back.

It had been a couple days now, but he couldn't go back. Not to Konoha nor to the sand village.

He just couldn't... face Gaara. Not after what he had almost done...

He didn't know what to do.

But one thing was certain. Someone was definately following him.

Leaping to the ground, Lee whirled around, fists raised as he demanded, "Who's there? Why are you following me?!"

There was a second of silence.

Then all of a sudden HE stepped out from the brush.

Lee started, his voice filled with disbelief as he gasped, "YOU..."