Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Photograph ❯ Birthday ( Chapter 11 )

Theme #11: gardenia

 

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Lee sat in the kitchen, staring at his fruit juice and wishing that it was something a bit stronger. Heck, with the mood he was in, he would probably skip right to the hot chocolate. If only they had hot chocolate in Suna.

 

`Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday dear Lee, happy birthday to me.'

 

Usually Lee wouldn't let himself get so melancholy. There were worse things that could happen on a birthday. Two years ago, he had been on a messy assassination mission. He had celebrated his 21st by crushing a missing-nin's head with his bare fist.

 

`But even then, Gai-sensei remembered. He made a special breakfast before the mission and everything. After the battle was over, he sang for me. Ten-ten even joined in. It made disposing of the bodies much more pleasant.'

 

Lee heaved a sigh and downed his fruit juice. No one in Suna knew it was his birthday. Naruto would know, but he was probably still running between Konoha and Suna that night. The house was empty, and Lee let himself be in a bit of a funk. Not even his favorite juice was helping to shake this one. He did not even want to train.

 

`Not even a note from anyone.'

 

The door banged open, rattling on its hinges. Lee turned to see who it was and found a stumbling Kankuro. “Good evening, Kankuro-san.”

 

“Yo.” Weaving a bit, the middle sand-sib wandered into the kitchen. “I'm starving. Anything left from dinner?”

 

“It is in the refrigerator. We ordered take out.”

 

“Awesome. Sake and takeout. I'm in heaven.” Kankuro made it to the fridge and proceeded to unload every bit of take out. “So, what're you doing sitting at the table and looking like someone kicked your dog?”

 

“Oh, nothing! Nothing, Kankuro-san! Nothing at all is wrong!” Lee jumped to his feet and struck his good guy pose. “All is well!”

 

Kankuro grabbed a bottle of sake from the cupboard and swung around. “You're an even worse liar then Temari.”

 

Lee wilted, sagging back into his chair. “It really is nothing.”

 

“Then just say it already. If it's nothing, then what's the big deal?”

 

“You have a point.” The taijutsu master moved over to the fridge to grab some more fruit juice. “Today is my 23rd birthday.”

 

“Really?” Kankuro blinked a couple of times. “Happy birthday, bushy brows! I'd offer you a drink, but I kind of like this place the way it is. You know, standing.”

 

“Thank you, Kankuro-san.” Lee hefted the jug of juice. “I think I will stick to this.”

 

Kankuro rapped his fingers on the table, obviously having the kind of inspiring ideas that frequently strike the inebriated. “Alcohol is out, but what about other stuff?”

 

“Other stuff?”

 

An evil chuckle rattled out of the sand-nin as he abandoned his dinner and started to rattle in the cupboards again. “Do you like brownies?”

 

----

 

“What the hell are you two doing?”

 

“Have a drink, Temari! It's bushy brows' birthday!”

 

“Really? Happy birthday, Lee! Hold on a second, did you make those brownies?”

 

“Maybe . . . “

 

“Share the goodies, birthday boy.”

 

----

 

Gardenia. The candles had to be gardenia. Lee was very, very sure of this. There were gardenias in Konoha, and they smelled just like that. It had taken him forever to figure out where he had smelled that scent before. “I got it! Gardenias!”

 

“I told you that an hour ago!” Temari chucked a knick knack at the taijutsu master, who tried to evade and instead fell off of the couch. “You're interrupting! Not that I really care, `cause it's the pointy eared idiot, but it's not a good habit!”

 

Kankuro cleared his throat loudly, sounding rather like a dying animal. “As I was saying! No shit, there I was, surrounded by twenty, no, thirty S-class shinobi from Mist.”

 

Lee sat up, squinting as he tried to focus. “I thought they were from Grass?”

 

“That's beside the point. There I was, surrounded by forty S-class shinobi from Mist and Grass. It was just me and my trusty puppets.” Kankuro twisted his fingers, moving the shadow puppets he was creating by candle light to illustrate his tale. No one was quite sure where the idea of a shadow puppet show had come from, but it had seemed like a good idea at the time. “I looked at them and told them that this was their only chance to surrender before I slaughtered them all!”

 

Temari snorted, collapsing into quiet giggles in the arm chair. “And when the so-called S-class shinobi quit laughing their asses off . . . “

 

“My story, Temari! You can come up with some lame ass thing you did later!” Kankuro paused to scratch behind his ear. “Where was I?”

 

Lee lurched up so that he was within reach of the candle. “And suddenly, a terrifying beast from the deep lurched onto the scene!” Twisting his own fingers, he created a lurching menace bearing down on Kankuro's puppet.

 

“Did not!” Swatting at Lee's hands, the puppet master tried to regain control of his story. “I dealt with all fifty of them by myself.”

 

Temari lost control of her giggles and slid down in her chair until she was basically sitting on the ground with her head propped up by the seat. “Fifty.”

 

“Yeah, fifty. Got something to say about it?” Kankuro reached down and poked his sister.

 

“Don't poke me!”

 

The offending finger was held mere millimeters away from the wind master's skin. “I'm not.”

 

“Lurching from the pits of Hell, the un-youthful creature descended on the group, hissing flame and naughty words!”

 

“Knock it off, Kankuro!”

 

“I'm not doing anything, Temari!”

 

“The shinobi ran screaming, looking for the only one that could save them: The Green Beast of Konoha!”

 

“Grow up!”

 

“I'm not touching you! I'm not touching you!”

 

A calm, controlled voice cut through the babble like a knife. “What is going on here?”

 

Kankuro looked away, giving his sister an open shot. Even in her very altered state, Temari could do a lovely arm toss. Considering her brother's size, twenty feet was a very respectable distance. As the middle brother crashed into a wall and slid down, the giggles returned and the eldest slumped back down to the ground. “Hi, Gaara!”

 

“Gaara?” Lee looked around for a second before noticing the red head standing in the doorway. “Gaara!”

 

Jade green eyes opened in shock as Lee bounded over the couch and grabbed the Kazekage in a bear hug. “How are you? I have not seen you all day! I did check your office, but they said that you were out with a situation. Or disturbance. Might have said disaster. It's kind of hard to remember right now. Oh, well, I am certain that it will all come back to me!”

 

Gaara carefully loosened the crushing grip that Lee had on him. “Temari, what did you do to Lee? You know he can't drink alcohol.”

 

The giggling increased. “Oh, we didn't give him any alcohol. Kankuro made brownies.”

 

“Damned if I ever do it again. That fucking hurt!” The chef in question staggered back to the center of the living room and dropped onto the couch. Rubbing at the back of his head, Kankuro grabbed another of the sweet treats. “You should party with us, Gaara!”

 

“Party? And why are we partying?”

 

The sound of Gaara saying `partying' in his best monotone, `I'm the Kazekage and Gaara of the Desert and I am above this' voice was enough to push both Lee and Temari over the edge from giggles to all out laughing fit. Lee had to rest his head on the back of Gaara's shoulder while tears ran down his face. Kankuro showed great resolve in controlling himself to just shaking and snorting. “'Cause it's bushy brows' birthday!”

 

Gaara looked at the green clad shinobi that was still clinging to him and shaking with mirth. “It is?”

 

“Yup, and we are showing him how we celebrate these things here in Suna! What'd you call it, Lee?”

 

Lee popped up so sharply he almost smacked into Gaara's head. “A great cultural exchange between Konoha and Suna, since they are powerful and youthful and determined and strong allies!”

 

“Yeah, what he said.”

 

Temari levered herself up, using the chair heavily. “So, since it's a party, and I know you do drink sake sometimes, I'm going to get another cup. As your big sister, I am ordering you to stay and have a drink and participate in the good time thing. Got it? It's Lee's birthday, so we're going to do what he wants.”

 

Gaara looked like he wanted to argue, so Lee set his head on his shoulder and turned on the dreaded puppy dog eyes.

 

“Fine.” Careful of the candles, the Kazekage steered the shinobi that seemed to be permanently grafted to him over to the couch so that they could both sit. Kankuro was summarily shoved to the ground.

 

“What the fuck? What is with you guys tonight?” The affronted sand-nin flopped onto his back and glared at the ceiling. “See if I finish my fucking awesome story now.”

 

“That's okay. I liked Lee's better.” Temari brought a cup and another bottle of sake back from the kitchen.

 

Lee perked right up. “Really? You did? I can continue, if you really want! It is a tale of youthful strength overpowering evil and . . . “ A brownie suddenly appeared in Lee's mouth, cutting him off. Not a bad thing, really. Kankuro was a very good cook.

 

Gaara took the drink that his sister handed to him and tipped it back quickly.

 

----

 

It was just nice. That's all there was to it. Lee happily snuggled into Gaara, who was casually running his fingers through the ink black hair that was splashed across his lap. Temari was trying to explain a very significant observation she had just had about the ceiling, but it all just ran together as a steady buzz. Lee's world had narrowed down to the sensation of being in physical contact with this one person. He could feel Gaara breathing, his body moving each time he inhaled. At some point, their breathing had synched. `Wonder when that happened.'

 

His eyes opened, and he was not surprised to see that Gaara was looking down at him instead of paying attention to his sister. His expression was thoughtful, or at least as thoughtful as he could be after a couple of drinks. It made Lee feel a bit like a puzzle that needed to be solved. He didn't want Gaara to think so hard. After all, this was a night for having fun, not deep thoughts.

 

Running with this new breakthrough, Lee sat up to press a soft kiss to the lips that were above him. He liked kissing Gaara. It was never more then a soft press, a gentle caress, but he had finally come to terms with the fact that he liked to kiss the young man. After all, it just kept happening. Like some sort of a conspiracy. Gaara's hand stayed tangled in his hair, holding him close, while the free hand went to Lee's hip. One kiss was not enough, and Lee continued to press kisses to the soft, pale lips. His own fingers tangled in the shirt that Gaara was wearing, pulling gently. He wanted more contact, more feeling. His hands slid free of the cloth so that they could circle around to his friend's back. With a quick tug, he pulled Gaara flush against him.

 

Gaara let out a soft gasp and Lee could not resist. He had dreamed of doing more with Gaara then a quick press of lips, and when opportunity just stood up and yelled `Here I am!', he had to answer. And he was high as a kite. That helped.

 

Lee ran his tongue across Gaara's lips before pressing forward. He felt the tension in the hands that were on him, but he pressed on anyways. He wanted this so badly, and he was not going to give up now! He explored this new space, brushing against Gaara's tongue. His friend jerked in his grasp, gasping against his lips, before tightening his grip. Lee's world spun when he felt Gaara's tongue respond to him. While they tried to devour each other, the taijutsu master pressed himself tight against the Kazekage, pushing them both against the back of the couch. When air became a necessity, Lee was forced to pull back, panting.

 

Running a hand over his lips, Gaara stared at his friend while he tried to catch his own breath. “What was that?”

 

“Ummm, an open mouth kiss?” Lee shifted as though he was going to pull away, but Gaara tightened his grip. “Was it okay?”

 

“Do it again.”

 

Lee did not need a second invitation. He swooped down to claim Gaara's mouth again. The red head pressed up to meet him, quickly learning about this new way of expressing himself. Hands dragged over Lee's back, adding more heat to the embrace. It was like his dreams, but better. It was hot and wet and oh so very real! A soft moan escaped him when his fingers trailed under the hem of Gaara's shirt to brush against soft, flawless skin. He set one hand on the back of the couch as he straddled the red head's lap and pressed their bodies tightly together.

 

With a groan, the couch fell over backwards, tumbling both of the shinobi to the ground. The resulting crash yanked Temari from her doze. Kankuro tried to sit up from under the table, but hit his head and collapsed back into the state of unconsciousness. The second loud bang made the blonde spin and chuck a kunai, obviously not awake yet. Lee yipped and dove for the ground as the weapon raced past.

 

Gaara jumped over the damaged couch to his sister, shaking her. “Temari.”

 

The blonde shook her head and stared at him. “Gaara? What're you doin' in my room?”

 

“You are in the living room. You should go to bed.”

 

“I am?” Temari looked around with a bleary expression. “Oh. Okay then. Night guys. Have fun.”

 

The two conscious shinobi watched the kunoichi wander off to her room. Lee looked at the damaged couch with a grimace. “Sorry about that, Gaara-kun.”

 

The Kazekage shrugged, walking over to the downed furniture. With a little help from Lee they were able to right it. The damage was minimal, to Lee's relief. Once the couch was upright again, Gaara dropped onto it. Lee sat on the far side, a bit embarrassed now that he had some time to think about it. With a grumble, Gaara shifted along the couch until he was curled up against Lee's side with his head on the leaf-nin's shoulder. “The couch does not matter.”

 

There was no sound other then the breathing of the room's three occupants. Lee glanced around the room, noting the guttered candles, spilt sake, and kunai sticking out of the wall. “This will be quite the mess to clean up.”

 

“We will worry about it in the morning.” Gaara leaned in to brush his cheek against Lee before settling back down with a yawn. “I should know better then to drink sake.”

 

“Or eat brownies. I must ask Kankuro for the recipe. I am certain that my friends in Konoha will be just as delighted with them as I was. I wonder how he gets . . . ”

 

Gaara clamped a hand over Lee's mouth. “It is three in the morning. Sleep.”

 

“Oh. Okay, Gaara-kun.” Lee pulled the red head in tighter, snuggling with him like he was an oversized teddy bear.

 

“Happy birthday, Lee.”