Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Photograph ❯ Flu ( Chapter 18 )

#18: say ahh

 

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Gaara looked up from his never ending pile of paper work and gave the shinobi in his office a vicious glare. “Something is wrong with you.”

 

“Nonsense.” Lee set a hand on the back of the chair in front of his precious person's desk. “I am just dropping by to let you know that I am heading out to the western wall to inspect the damage.”

 

“Your body temperature is above average, and you were coughing all night. You are sick.”

 

“I do not get sick. This is nothing. It must be from the sand storms. The air is dustier then usual.”

 

Wondering, not for the first time, why he was bothering to argue with someone as stubborn as Lee, Gaara pushed away from his desk. “You will return to your bed.”

 

“Absolutely not. That last storm was nasty, and they need help with repairs.” Lee doubled over with a coughing fit, wheezing and gasping for air before straightening and facing off with Gaara. “I am more then able to help them defend this village against the elements!”

 

It was evidence of how sick Lee was that Gaara was able to easily capture his wrist and wrap an arm around his waist, pulling him up close. “I am the Kazekage, and I am forbidding you from working today.”

 

“Gaara-kun . . . “

 

Lee's plea was cut off by a swirl of sand. When the sand dropped away, they were in the Kazekage's bedroom. He dumped Lee onto the bed with a thump. “Stay there.”

 

“But I am fine!”

 

Gaara leaned down, one hand on either side of Lee and pressing him back on the bed. “Do I need to restrain you to make you stay?”

 

The taijutsu master gulped. “Well, if you want me to stay here that badly, I can stay for a short while.”

 

“Good.” The sand whipped up again, carrying him away to his office. Just as he had predicted, he found his sister perched on his chair behind his desk. “Temari.”

 

“Hey, Gaara. Ready for the council meeting? I have the last of the agenda ready.” The blonde woman stood up and stretched, a pile of scrolls balanced on the desk in front of her. Her hair looked a touch more rumpled then usual, and her fan was leaning up against the desk instead of in its usual position at her back. Temari did not hold up to all nighters as well as the Kazekage.

 

“Later. Something is wrong with Lee.”

 

“Huh?” Temari let her hands fall back down to her sides. “What's wrong with Lee?”

 

“He is coughing, and his body temperature is too high.”

 

“Ugh. Sounds like he caught that bug floating around. Not surprising, since Kankuro just got over it. He was one miserable kitty for about a week.”

 

Gaara paced a bit, studying the floor. He had never been sick, thanks to having a massive tanuki trapped inside of him for most of his life. One of the benefits that stayed after the exorcism, aside from the automatic defense, had been an immune system that was powered off of his chakra. No germ stood a chance against the Kazekage's chakra stores. “And what did he do?”

 

“Holed up in his room for the worst of it. I don't think he left his bed for most of it. He lived off of chicken soup, hot tea, and raunchy manga.” Temari sat back down, her expression amused. “Lee is tougher then a sand beetle. He is going to be fine.”

 

“We have to fix him.” Gaara stopped pacing to look at his sister.

 

“We can't just fix something like this.”

 

“You have not even seen him. How can you be sure that he has the same thing that Kankuro did? How do you know that he will be just fine, and that we do not need to do anything?” He planted himself right in front of his own desk. “We are going. Now.”

 

“Fine, fine.” Abandoning her carefully prepared agenda, the wind master pushed away from Gaara's desk. “He's in your room, right?” Without waiting for confirmation, Temari whipped through the seals and disappeared.

 

The sand jumped to life, carrying its master to his own room. He was almost surprised to find that Lee had actually stayed put, and was laying back on the bed with a hand across his eyes. `He is still here. He must be dying.' Gaara gave his sister a glare. “Well?”

 

“Who would have thought that the mighty Kazekage would be such an overprotective boyfriend?” Temari leaned over Lee, carefully pulling his hand away from his face. “Hi, Lee. How're you doing?”

 

“Good morning, Temari-san. I am in the full bloom of youth, although I feel rather like I have a shinobi academy trapped in my head, and they are learning to create exploding tags.” The taijutsu master offered a weak smile while the blonde grasped his chin and tipped his head from side to side.

 

“You look like hell, Lee. Open up and say ahh.”

 

`Why would saying ahh help?' Gaara watched with growing concern as Lee obediently opened his mouth and his sister peered down his throat.

 

Temari leaned forward and kissed Lee right in the middle of his forehead, her expression sympathetic. Gaara gave that an odd look. Why would Temari kiss Lee? Did it have something to do with making him better? He was not sure he liked having anyone else kissing his Lee. “Temari.”

 

The wind master sighed as she sat up. “He's burning up. Let me guess, coughing, sniffling, headache, fever, and tired?”

 

Fidgeting a bit under her gaze, Lee could not make eye contact. “It is not that bad.”

 

Gaara stepped up next to his sister and crossed his arms. “Lee.”

 

Lee winced. “I will admit that I am not feeling like my usual, youthful self.”

 

“He was coughing so hard in my office that he doubled over and turned red.”

 

Temari shook her head and crossed her own arms, mimicking her brother's stance and glare. “You've got the bug, Lee. Bed rest and lots of liquids. Plan on being down for about a week.”

 

“But, I am not . . . “ Harsh, barking coughs racked Lee's frame, making him double up on the bed.

 

The Kazekage gripped at his own arms, eyes widening slightly. “Temari.”

 

It was a bit of a surprise when his sister casually set a hand on his arm. “This is not something that we can just fix. Trust me, the medic-nins have been trying to find a way to just do some hand seals and get rid of the flu, but they haven't figured it out yet. He is going to be fine, kid. Really. It's going to be an unpleasant week, but you will have your odd Konoha-nin back by this time next week.”

 

Between the comforting gesture and the confident words, Gaara found it a bit easier to breathe, even while Lee hitched and coughed again. Temari had always been able to do that. “What do I do with him while he is sick?”

 

“Keep him in bed. No training, no missions, no anything. I'll put some chicken soup on for him, and we'll keep the tea coming. Lots of liquids, lots of rest. I'll send a note to the hospital. We're out of the cough medicine they sent for Kankuro. Once that is here, you can make sure he takes that on time.”

 

Gaara nodded, his eyes locked on Lee. The black eyes were closed, and he was resting quietly on his back for the moment.

 

“I do not want to be a bother. I know you have a big council meeting today. I promise I will stay in bed until . . . “

 

“They will wait.” The slight shiver running through Lee's body did not go unnoticed. Gaara went to his closet and pulled out some spare blankets. He dumped them on the end of the bed, and with a casual show of his increased physical strength, picked Lee up and moved him so he could pull the covers back and use them to cover the taijutsu master. “Temari.”

 

“I'll let them know that an emergency has come up. Do you want me to run the meeting, or just cancel it?”

 

The Kazekage pulled the covers up to Lee's chin, and dropped one off the spare blankets on top of that. “I give you full authority as the Kazekage for the meeting.”

 

“Sure thing. I better get going. Soup and tea will be on the stove, and the cough medicine will probably be here in an hour or so. Try not to give the medic-nin a heart attack this time. Just answer the door instead of sending the sand out. Medic-nins are hard to replace.”

 

Gaara did not bother to look up, but nodded. With an amused chuckle, Temari disappeared in a gust of wind.

 

“Gaara-kun, you should go to your meeting. I will be all right.” Lee forced his eyes open, offering a small smile.

 

“No. Temari is more then capable of running a council meeting, and this is not the first time she has acted as the Kazekage. According to Kankuro, she enjoys running meetings with my authority. Something about busting balls.” Careful to not jostle him, Gaara sat next to Lee on the bed and studied him. “I do not like this.”

 

“I am not that fond of it, either.” A violent sneeze snapped Lee's head forward. “Ugh.”

 

Without a word, the Kazekage disappeared into his bathroom and returned with a box of tissues.

 

“Thank you, Gaara-kun.” Lee settled into his cocoon of blankets, sniffling a bit.

 

Feeling unsettled, Gaara disappeared into his closet and returned with extra pillows and dumped them on the bed within easy reach. He rearranged the blankets again, making sure that everything was within easy reach and that there were no drafts. Since Lee seemed to be resting comfortably, he went downstairs to check on the soup and tea that Temari had promised. He found both steaming away on the stove, a jutsu glowing brightly around them. He rummaged around until he found a tray.

 

When he returned to his room, loaded down with a tray of soup and tea, Lee was sitting up. “Lee.”

 

The green clad shinobi winced. “I just wanted to sit up, Gaara-kun.”

 

Dumping the tray on his bedside table, Gaara grabbed the extra pillows and piled them up behind Lee. With a firm push, he settled his patient back in a way that he found acceptable. Remembering what Temari had done, he leaned forward and gave Lee a kiss on the forehead. He had no idea why that would help him get better, but why else would his sister have done it? The tray was placed on Lee's lap. “Eat.”

 

Looking surprisingly meek, Lee picked up his spoon. “Yes, Gaara-kun.”

 

`Obviously he will need constant supervision.' Gaara easily pulled his desk across the room so that it was next to the bed. Now he could work on his never ending reports while making sure that his patient did not do anything that he was not supposed to. He settled in to work, listening as Lee slurped up his chicken soup. He would not be leaving until he knew that his Lee was back to his usual, noisy self.

 

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A/N: Written in honor of my bout with the flu just before Christmas. Blah.