A Rivial

Meanwhile Lee was curled into a tight ball on his dark green couch. Gah.. I am so s-stupid... I hurt him again.. he w-will never even want to l-look at me.. I c-can not believe w-what I did before.. t-this is all my fault.. i-if I would have j-just relax instead of f-freaking before..." Lee said allowed to himself. His inner thoughts yelled at him in response.

Scolding him for what he was saying. 'NO! This is not our fault, this is no ones fault! If anyone is to blame it is emotions! And that is what is getting to us now! We should just get up and go stand outside his hotel room. Sit there until he finally speaks to us again and believes we really do love him!' The inner Lee obviously had his same youthful spirit, unfazed by Gaara's break down earlier. But outside the real Lee was terrified. He didn't want to go back there, they look Riku shot him. The body guard knew something was up before he went into the room. That glare he received.. it seemed like pure death it's self staring him down.. No doubt if he was to go back there Gaara would be in the arms of Riku and yelling at Lee to go away or he would send his 'hound' after him. The leaf ninja was starting to resent Riku more and more. He hurt Gaara all the freaking time, every time he hit on Gaara Lee could see the look in the redhead's eyes. Pain of someone constantly going at him. And before when he spoke about Riku, he frowned. Anytime Riku was around or seemed to be mention Gaara got upset.

It was just like with Lee, the exact same thing, but how come Riku got Gaara! The young Kazekage even said he still loved him.. but he chooses Riku. Lee was so confused and hurt, should he just accept defeat and lie there just wanting to take everything back, or should he get up and try to go fix everything. Needless of what his choice was the question was still stuck in his head. Why had Gaara chosen Riku over him..? Lee snapped out of his melancholy thoughts as he heard a knocking and yelling of his blond friend at the door. "Go away Naruto-kun I-I do not want to talk!" Lee yelled back and covered his head with his pillow. Why would he want to talk with the blond? Naruto just seemed to make things worse. Maybe it was true that he was or maybe Lee was just being paranoid. But he couldn't help but think if it wasn't for Naruto's big mouth before Lee wouldn't have even noticed Gaara was back in the village. Just like so many times before. He wished he could have just stayed that way. Missing Gaara like a fond memory. But that couldn't be played out anymore.

When he heard the banging continue he got up. The light thud thud made him think for a second. e couldn't just push what happened aside, he had to nail it into place and accept, this was what was happening. 'I have to get Gaara-kun back... He may be mad at me now.. but.. I just have to... I think of it now and.. when we were friends my life was so happy.. then he left that year.. and everything changed.. I grew distant..so freaking distant I did not even notice Gaara was coming back to the village the whole time...' Lee sighed and rubbed his head. He really thought hard about it for a minute. Ever since he was a kid he always put something ahead of him to keep his youth up. The spark of joy that made him believe he could do anything. After becoming a Ninja it was hard to find another thing to fill the void.. fighting and beating everyone was fun, but something was still missing.. He felt it until one day he realized Gaara filled the void anytime they were around. Before he just thought it was because they were so close of friends. But now, sitting there Lee realized something. His goal, the one thing he wanted more then anything was to stay by Gaara's side. Gaara was his new youth and he couldn't possibly think about continuing along his days with out him there. Lee got up and opened the door abruptly startling Naruto. Tears still streamed down his face but he looked at his friend with a determined look. "He does not believe I love him.. but.. I will get him back.. I am fine now.. I promise.. Just leave me be so I can think alright...?"

Lee waited until his friend nodded and he closed the door. After the entire day he felt simply exhausted. Walking up to his bedroom he changed into his bedtime clothes and plopped down onto the bed, drifting into a quiet slumber.

"You hurt me Lee! Why the hell would I believe you love me!" Gaara's teared up face screamed to the leaf ninja in his dream. The young Kazekage was surrounded by complete black. Lee studied him in the dream. He sort of looked like an angel amongst darkness. The soft red hair falling in messy locks everywhere, his illuminate green eyes highlighted by black rings and piercing right through Lee. The soft pale skin seemed to glow and glisten on his cheek with the tears and hint of red on them from his anger building.

"Gaara-kun... I..I am sorry.. but you have to believe me! I love you! I always have! I was just confused by my feelings.." Lee tried to explain, but Gaara didn't seem to be listening he continued yelling back, pushing away anything Lee said.

The redhead huffed out, "You said I didn't know what love is Lee! Can you still say that now when you are the one who doesn't know what love is! I admitted my feelings to you! I opened up and you just tore me apart from the inside! People called me a monster as a child well let me tell you something, you are the worst kind of monster!" The redhead's screams filled the black void. Lee couldn't get away. He tried to comfort Gaara, but was just rejected. he tried getting away running from it, but it followed. The nightmare of what he had done lurked everywhere.

Lee tossed and turned in his sleep. He had had this nightmare before, Gaara screaming at him crying. But before Gaara was the one trying to get away, but now it was him. He was trapped inside and had no way out. Finally Lee couldn't take it he walked up to Gaara. "I do love you! I will win your heart back! No matter what it takes! You are who I want to spend my life with and I will never change my thoughts on that!! Do you hear me Gaara?!" He yelled out to the redheaded boy who's tears seemed to freeze completely. Frozen, Gaara was now frozen.

Lee was about to lean in to study him when Gaara took a breath and stepped away. "I don't believe you.." He murmured his voice now softer and not yelling. Lee thought hard to himself. What had Gaara done before to say I love you even though he could not say it or show it to him. ..A kiss! That was it. Lee pulled Gaara's arms and didn't listen as he spoke and tried to pull away. He pulled him close and close his eyes pressing their lips together. The younger boy seemed to stiffen up then relax under the touch and kiss back. Lee relaxed as well. That was all he needed to do. Kiss Gaara, prove that he loved him. The kiss lasted a long time in his dream and Lee started to smile in real life, cuddling into his blanket as if it was Gaara himself. Then, the lighting changed.

No longer were Lee and Gaara alone in the pitch black room with only a white light around them but now Riku was there. "Do not touch him!" He yanked Gaara away from Lee, the lighting now changed to red and black. "Gaara.. He hurt you before.. you would much rather stay with me right..?" He asked.

Lee looked pleadingly at the redhead, had the kiss not worked? Gaara looked back and forth between them before nodding to Riku. "I am sorry...he distracted me.. can we go home to the sand village now..?"

Lee's jaw dropped, "No Gaara-kun! Do not leave!" He yelled both in the nightmare and in real life and reached out for Gaara. What met him though was a smack hard across the face and Riku saying, 'You will never get him back!'

The leaf ninja sat up in a sweat panting. His dream had turned into his worst fear at the moment. Gaara never listening to any reasoning, never caring again for him. And staying with Riku.. Lee ran his hand through his hair and got out of bed. He needed a relaxing bath. So he got up and went to the bathroom. After turning the bathwater on he slipped out of his clothes and got in. The warm water comforted his sore muscles. Tossing and turning in his bed had not been the best thing to do. He was now just even more exhausted then hen he had gone to bed. 'Gaara-kun would not leave without telling me would he..?' The leaf ninja thought to himself.

The inner Lee responded back, 'He did last time though.. he left us both. We can not let that happen again..' The real Lee nodded and closed his eyes relaxing more in the bath. His mind was correct, he could not let Gaara go, but his apology would have to wait until the morning. After getting out of the sower he changed into more comfortable clothes and grabbed his blanket.

Slipping downstairs he sat on the couch and flipped on the TV to a movie holding a blanket around himself and blankly staring at it the entire night. When morning arose Lee immediately got up and ran to the phone. He had to call Naruto, the blond must have some idea for Gaara and him to get together. Any idea would work at this moment. Just until he could figure out what exactly would woo Gaara over the best.

Naruto banged on Lee's door, he had been worried about his friend hoping he was ok. "Bushy-brows open up!" Naruto said and kicked over the mat to see if there was a key under it.

Lee blinked and set the phone back down. "That is timing.." He said then walked over to the door. Pulling it open quickly he said. "Naruto.. I need you to help me. Think of a good way to make Gaara-kun believe I really do love him!" He said getting right to the point.

Naruto blinked and handed Lee a bag of pocky. "You could save his life that always works in the movies." Naruto said and walked past Lee and into his house.

The leaf ninja took the pocky and stared at him confused for a moment then shook his head and closed the door. "Naruto.. this is Gaara-kun we are talking about.. do you know how hard it is to get him in a life and death situation! Plus.. He still did not believe when I saved him before we he was drowning.."

"Hehe you should have told him you did mouth to mouth to save him." Naruto said and sat down on the couch. "The pocky is for you! To cheer you up, I got every kind of flavor."

"Um.. thank you but I only like the strawberry ones.." Lee replied and sat down on his couch with the bag pulling his blanket around him again because he had no shirt on and was cold. "Nhm.. He would get upset about that.. I need something that will wow him! Make him go 'Lee really does care..' But who am I kidding he would never do that..." Lee pulled his knees into himself and rest his head on them sighing. His eyes were drooped down and tired. He looked a wreck, anyone could obviously tell he got no sleep.

Naruto sat next to him and frowned. "Come on bushy-brows don't talk like that! Your never one to give up and we just have to find a way for you to prove it to him. I know he still likes you he just doesn't want his heart broken again...besides do you really want him to stay with Riku?" Naruto asked trying to snap his friend out of the mood he was in.

Lee looked up at him and sighed. "I guess you are right.. but.. what can I possibly do..? I.. I want to be with him so badly.. I-it hurts me to think that I hurt him before and now I never may get him.. I just.. I want him to at least be my friend again.." He sighed out then froze at a banging on his door.