Bittersweet Valentine's [Part 2/2]

The mighty Kazekage of Sunagakure just so happened to be sitting dejectedly on the side of a busy street in Konoha, watching the joyously happy couples walk past, hand in hand and jovial smiles painted on their ecstatic faces. How he felt so profoundly lonely and jealous, all from their content smiles and blissful hand holding. It wasn’t just that though; there was also something else bothering the Kazekage and making sickening envy smother his whole being unwillingly. It was the excessively close bond that they shared so willingly and openly with each other. How the lonesome red haired boy desperately longed to be able to hold someone so highly, just like the passing strangers were doing now. He wanted someone to cherish and adorn with gifts. Someone to love, who would love him back just as wholeheartedly.

Of course, all this mush and sudden pure emotion also disgusted him, and the sand ninja found himself disappointed in his own actions. His sudden moping and loneliness had stemmed directly from the current Valentine’s Day celebrates, and was merely a moment of weakness in his black rimmed eyes. Something about being surrounded by happy couples bought out the worst of him, intensifying his usually hidden desires for love, and the bitter solitude he felt on a daily basis.
Gaara never really considered Valentine’s as anything other than an irritating holiday in which people would shower their beloved in gifts, solely for the purpose of annoying him. Not once had he lowered himself to actually wanting to be included in the celebrations, but this time it was different. Why, the former Jinchūriki had no idea, and that in itself scared him. Was he giving in to his emotions at last? Or was this the result of something the Uzumaki had put in his tea during their initial meeting? Gaara wouldn’t doubt it, Naruto had a habit of doing such idiotic things, and at the moment, the desolate red head was looking for any excuse for him sudden unfamiliar human feelings.

Regardless of how much he longed for a loved one, and how willing he was to admit such a thing, the young Kage was doomed to be forever alone, what with his reputation and all, and today being Valentine’s of all days, as well as being stuck in an idiotically stupid bet with the Hokage. How annoying.

Every now and then someone would catch a glimpse of the young leader in faint interest or surprise, as if recognising the sand ninja, wondering why he just so happened to be brooding so openly in the middle of a busy street in a foreign village. Others would decide to inquire about his general health nosily, in false concern for Gaara’s already pitiable and almost ailing health. Regardless of their apparently good intentions and all, it was simply beginning to become extremely irritating and distracting and just about to drive the sand ninja to retreat without a single word to some place that was far more peaceful and uninhabited.

It was then that he spotted a certain familiar spandex clad leaf ninja striding blissfully out of the nearby Yamanaka Flower Store, a joyful smile on his happily contorted face and a magnificently large bouquet of darling red roses clutched in his white bandaged hands tightly. It was blatantly obvious who the recipient of the flowers was going to be, even to someone as naïve in romance and its relating areas as Gaara. Nevertheless, the red haired boy had been attempting to seek out the older ninja for the entire course of the day, having plans to chat pleasantly to him right now, even if  that meant disrupting Lee’s determined plans to woo a certain ignorant kunoichi.

And by that, the sand ninja meant Sakura Haruno.

Oh, Gaara knew about Lee and her, he knew full well. The odd looking leaf ninja seemed to have some pathetic infatuation with the annoying pink haired Haruno, desperately trying to win her heart as if she was the sole reason he was alive. Gaara also knew how said girl treated the taijutsu master, the only true friend the former Jinchūriki had other than the loud mouthed Uzumaki.

Sakura would often refuse Lee, and though the all-powerful wind shadow understood that it was perfectly acceptable to refuse someone’s affections, it was the awful ways she did so that angered him. The pinkette seemed to have a fancy for someone else, namely the aloof Uchiha, and no matter how Lee went about it, she would always turn him down harshly. It was never a pretty site to watch; the Kazekage had witnessed it once before, what with the girl throwing out flowers and gifts, using hurtful words, criticising his appearance, or even being practically violent with the leaf ninja and punching him.

As rarely as the stoic and usually indifferent boy showed it, he cared deeply about those he considered precious to him, and Lee just so happened to be one of those people, and therefore worthy of the young leader’s concern and worry. It was obvious that the kunoichi would just refuse the spandex wearing ninja like she always did, and Gaara was not about to let one of his closest friends have their heart crushed once again by the supposed girl of his dreams. If that pink haired witch was going to hurt any of the sand ninja’s friends, he would have no choice but to resort to despising her endlessly.
Contrary to popular believe, Gaara did not hate the Haruno because she was annoying, weak, ugly, or any of the other things the recently elected Hokage had claimed, but because of the way she had treated both of his friends. Yes, she was quite annoying at times; physically abusing both the Uzumaki and Lee, but Gaara thought most people were annoying. The pinkette was far from weak, as her punches showed, and she was the disciple of the previous Hokage, so that was not an issue. As for appearance, the red head didn’t even understand how you could hold abhorrence towards someone based on their looks; in fact, he didn’t even understand why everyone considered Lee ugly.

No, Gaara had other reasons for his dislike of Sakura.

It was the ignorant way she acted as if Sasuke Uchiha was the only one she cared about, refusing everyone else, even if the sand ninja suspected that the raven haired boy had a fancy for the same sex. It was the way she threw away Lee’s love like they were nothing. The way she hurt those that had feelings towards her.

To the sand ninja it made absolutely no sense.

If it were him who was the object of the spandex clad boy’s infatuation, he would have graciously accepted Lee’s affections, for he would be honoured. Lee was someone close to him, someone he owed a great debt to, and even if he failed to understand the basic concept, Gaara would return his affections without a word. Lee was certainly odd looking, but he had a good heart. More than he could say for the Haruno.

The red head had been wanting to see the energetic and extremely enthusiastic leaf ninja for quite some time, having not seen him since his last visit to Konoha many months ago, but knowing absolutely nothing about his place of residence and unable to pop in for a quick visit; it was rather hard to find the taijutsu master. Of course it made sense to interrupt his little daze and have a brief conversation while he could, and now was the perfect time. Perhaps the red head would attempt to talk some sense into the bowl cut boy, but he honestly doubted it. Lee and his affection towards that girl made him even more stubborn than the Kazekage on occasion, and that was certainly saying something.

Gaara himself was as persistent and inflexible as a mule, as his siblings, friends and the entire sand village had learnt long ago. They would all gladly argue in favour of this opinion, and even the Kazekage himself had some knowledge of how intractable he could be. Apparently, the odd looking leaf ninja was completely oblivious to this, continuing to argue with the sand manipulator regardless of how many selfish snarls or dangerous sounding threats he received from him. No, to Lee, the Kazekage was simply selfish because he had not learnt to share at a younger age. At least, that was what he thought.

To Gaara though, Lee was a complete imbecile who had absolutely no idea how to keep his mouth shut and listen to his superiors.

Not that Gaara particularly liked being considered as Lee’s superior. He wanted to be on equal terms with the Chunin, regardless of rank. They were very close friends with a strong bond, and as much as the young leader hated to admit it, the taijutsu master’s persistent attitude had become something he rather liked about him. The red head had no idea why, but that determination and perseverance made him want to smile, just ever so slightly. Not that he ever did. The Kazekage refused to smile just because some weird bushy browed leaf ninja made him feel like it.

Finally deciding to get up from his uncomfortable position on the cold paved ground and intervene, the young Kage briskly made his way over to his old friend with an awkward wave and a bit of a forced, yet  honest  minute smile. Lee was both extremely shocked and happy when he looked up from his little daze and admiration of his flowers and noticed the aloof sand ninja approaching, whom he had not seen for such a long time. The leaf ninja returned both of the former demon container’s gestures with much more enthusiasm, putting the red head’s small upward tilt of his lips to shame.
“Greetings, Lee-san…” Gaara murmured softly in salutation and welcome, with a brisk and respectfully simple nod of acknowledgement, his icy blue eyes now gazing intently on the red roses before him with uncontrollable interest, “Long time no see, I believe the expression is…”

Oddly enough the large bunch of flora seemed almost strangely entrancing to the younger male, so much so that he could not help but let his mint coloured orbs drift towards them without any hesitation. Even if he knew said gorgeous flowers were for the Haruno and certainly in no way for him, he still found them to be beautiful. Why that mattered at all though, Gaara had absolutely no idea. Since when did he care about flowers, of all things? Since when did he even think roses were beautiful? The plants merely died eventually, leaving no traces left of the affections they had meant to symbolise. Perhaps that was part of their transfixing beauty. Lee had once told him, while being innocently questioned by the red head on his idiotic choice of crush, that love was fleeting. Then he had gone on to say that love was also long lasting and forever. It certainly hadn’t made much sense to the Kazekage.

Then again, nothing Lee said made much sense.

“Gaara-sama! I was not expecting you to be in the village on such a youthful evening! How ar-” The taijutsu master responded,  turning his full attention towards the stoic voice he had recognized, but was cut off mid sentence by a very rude Kazekage, whose entire focus seemed to now be the flowers. Not that Gaara was being rude intentionally, far from it really, that was simply how the aloof sand ninja always acted, regardless of the situation or the person he was interacting with. Cold, blunt and straight to the point. It seemed such a long time away back in his own desert village hadn’t changed the distant Kazekage’s sour attitude at all. The leaf ninja really didn’t mind all that much though, at the moment he was still glad to see him, smiling happily at his strange friend.

“Those are some very pretty flowers…” The sand ninja decided to point out bluntly, interrupting the older boy’s incoherent ramblings, which caused Lee to just stare at him blankly for a small amount of time, suddenly dumbfounded by the abrupt change of subject and fascination in his bright crimson bouquet. When had his simple bunch of roses been enough to attract a Kage’s attention?
“Uh…” The leaf ninja trailed off, at lose for words. He had been about to ask the young leader if he was okay, but shrugged it off instantly. If Gaara liked his flowers they must have been very stunning. “They are for Sakura-chan! Unfortunately cherry blossoms were out of season at this time of year, but I think these roses were just as lovely! Do you not think so, Gaara-sama!?” The taijutsu master finally exclaimed blissfully, getting back to his senses, his questioning black orbs now on the little red head whose stare never seemed to leave the flowers at all.
“The Haruno…”  Gaara muttered softly under his breath, not paying much mind to Lee’s question until he looked up at the boy a few seconds later, “Oh… yes, they are very nice. Very nice indeed…”
“You seem to like them a lot! Do they not have roses in the sand village?” He questioned, knowing how barren the distant village was in comparison to the lush and life filled leaf village. Gaara seemed to think about the question for a while, as if his thought processes were seriously impended by the bouquet before him.
“Not ones as… fresh and vibrant as these ones…” The former Jinchūriki replied slowly, carefully observing the lusciously crimson roses in his friend’s hand, noticing just how much more brilliant they were than the ones that were imported into the barren sand village when the dreaded holiday came around, “They are almost as red as my hair…” It slipped out without much thought, as the sand ninjas hand came up and began to gracefully ghost over one of the red tops. Gaara hadn’t even noticed that he had said such a thing.

At that comment, Lee had one of his foolish and most likely life threatening ideas. Carefully, he plucked a single rose from the enormous bunch, more specifically the one that the boy had been previously touching with such awe, and gently pushed it behind the now annoyed sand shinobi’s ear as a simple and nonthreatening means of comparison, cautious not to extremely irritate the overly volatile boy too much. He frowned in odd disappointment as the other male still flinched almost unnoticeably in discomfort and unfamiliarity, as he usually did when he was subjected to such foreign contact. Still the red head didn’t object to the oddly placed flower, instead he unblinkingly ogled the leaf ninja with childlike confusion.

“It matches your hair perfectly!” The leaf ninja nervously yelled a little too loudly in explanation at the odd look, watching as Gaara played with a tassel of his own hair and studied it carefully, comparing the two colours analytically, yet he hadn’t even hinted towards removing the cherished plant. Lee had to admit that it looked rather adorable in his friend’s hair. Especially when he acted so naively oblivious to its presence like he was now.

The sand ninja crossed his arms and nodded at the taijutsu master’s nervous shout. His loudness had never really settled with Gaara at all, regardless of their numerous pleasantly friendly meetings. Not that he hated the excessive yells and booming exclamations of youth; they were simply part of Lee. If they weren’t there than this man before him certainly wouldn’t be Lee now, would he? The young leader knew that to ask him to change was like asking himself to stop being so distant and aloof. As hard as Gaara tried, it would be impossible to erase all the traces of his previous personality. Having spent a long time with the other boy though, the red head was well versed in techniques to, as hard as it was, quiet the other ninja, or at least get him to calm down considerably. One seemed to be simply changing the subject, something the red head had picked up easily.

“Lee-san, I would like to spend some time with you today. We have not talked in quite some time. I believe we must ‘catch up’, no?” The Kazekage immediately shifted subjects to something much more serious of nature. The leaf ninja sighed in disappointment, having had enjoyed the talk about his roses far too much than he should have, but began to flash a bright goofy grin as the words managed to sink in. Regardless of how nice and touching the offer was, the taijutsu master needed to get a few things out of the way before he could catch up with Gaara.
“First I have to give these to Sakura-chan!” The ebony haired boy replied with an energetic shout, “I apologize, but I would not want her to think that I have forgotten her, especially on today of all days!”

For some reason Gaara did not like hearing those words. Especially considering that they involved the detested Haruno girl.

As straightforward and blunt as he was with Naruto, the same could not be said for Lee unfortunately. In fact, the Kazekage was just a tad bit too harsh with the oblivious boy, testing out which interactions would offend, and which ones would go unnoticed. That honesty and harshness had somehow managed to slip past the red head’s pale twin lips without any thought, and he voiced his opinion on the matter instantly.

“She does not deserve you…” Gaara crossed his slender arms in agitated irritation at the foolish taijutsu master, huffing to himself in annoyance. Smart move. Not.
“You are not the first to say something like…” Lee trailed off with a sigh. He was usually the first one to argue with youthful passion when someone opposed his love for his precious Sakura, but something about the sand ninja’s frank tone of voice made him realize that he was nothing more than a fool for believing that his affections would be returned. “Wait… You think that it is she who does not deserve me…?” The leaf ninja wasn’t sure whether to take that as a compliment, or as an insult to his romantic interest, “A-are you saying… that she is not worthy of someone as… youthful as me…?”
“You are finally waking up, I see…” The red head commented with a small smirk playing on his usually plane and indifferent features, noticing how confused the previously depressed and dismayed ebony haired boy had suddenly become, and how this was actually working, “May I ask why you continue to cherish a person who refuses to return your feelings…?”
“I…” Gaara actually had a good point for once, and the leaf ninja was at a complete loss for words, “Because one day youth shall prevail and Sakura-chan will accept me as her lover!”

One step forward, two steps backwards. It seemed Gaara was getting nowhere, fast.

The Kazekage gave a sigh at his friend’s determination, hand fiddling with one of the many roses once again in Lee’s bouquet nervously as he gazed up at him.
“You know she will only throw away your gift. Does she not every year…?” The question was a bit too prying and nosy, but valid all the same. Lee wouldn’t care about where he’d gained such knowledge, anyway.
“Not this year, Gaara-sama!” The leaf ninja had no idea why the red head was trying to persuade him to abandon his love for Sakura, but regardless he would fight against it, “Besides, I shall never know if I do not try!”
“But if she does not accept them… would that not have been a waste…?” The sand ninja uttered in question with an innocent tilt of his red haired head, “Especially when you could give them to someone who would appreciate them greatly…”
Even after that comment Lee was continually oblivious, as if he hadn’t realized what Gaara was inferring. Proceeding to respond, Lee decided to cross his heavily bandaged arms huffily.
“And who, may I ask, do you think wants my flowers?” The leaf ninja asked indignantly, turning his head away from the shorter boy, “There is no one here more disserving than my precious Sakura-chan!”
“For one, I would desire you flowers, lee-san…” Straight to the point, as usual. Gaara really did not understand the meaning of being subtle one bit, replying so bluntly that the taijutsu master practically stumbled backwards in an unexpected jolt of startling astonishment.

Lee’s face was unnaturally pale, almost matching the pallid shade of the sand ninjas, and he seemed frozen in shock as he just stood there, staring at the younger boy before him.

Black rimmed eyes blinked once as he stared distantly at Lee for a few seconds, waiting for some kind of reply from the obviously stunned boy, before he continued regardless of whether the boy was ready or not.
“We have already established that they look rather nice in my hair, far more so than they would look in the Haruno’s trash can. I see no reason why I can not be the receiver of your flowers.”

Lee was still in complete and utter shock. Why would the mighty Kazekage of Sunagakure want his roses? It made absolutely no sense to the spandex clad boy. Of course it was a wonderful request from one of his closest friends from the sand village, but in actual fact he was rather puzzled.

“W-why…?” He uttered in surprise as he stepped back a little more, now paying full attention to the younger male, “Why do you want my roses…?”
“It is a long story, Lee-san…” The Kazekage stepped forward himself, trying his best to stay close to Lee as he spoke and not let the taller shinobi escape, “One that can be traced back to the Uzumaki. Now please, may I have those roses? I am going to need some evidence that what I am about to do happened or he will refuse to believe me.” What he was about to do was certainly going to need some evidence, wasn’t it? Gaara needed to think ahead, after all. If not, Naruto would find a way to weasel out of the bet.
“Naruto-kun put you up to this!” The leaf ninja yelled in disbelieve, disappointed that the red head had even listened to the Hokage’s words, but then again this was Gaara and he tended to follow Naruto’s orders without any doubt, “You do not get these roses until you tell me this ‘long story’ of yours! I promise you will get them, seeing as you like them so much, but I must know why!”

By now most of the random passersby were starting to look in puzzlement at the weird looking duo, though neither paid much attention to the crowd ogling them with sceptic eyes. Lee was far too naively oblivious to notice anything out of the ordinary and Gaara really didn’t care much for the opinions of others at all. He was going to kiss Lee in public, anyway. It wasn’t like it mattered at all to him.

“Hokage-dono and I… are in a bet…” The young leader averted his sea foam gaze from the leaf ninja in shame as he explained, “I must get a kiss by the end of the day, and… well I wanted one from you. The roses do not matter so much; those were just mere evidence to back my claim up.”
“You want me to… to kiss you!?” Oh Lee was even more confused by now, and even more people were beginning to stare as they strode on past the two arguing ninja, “Is this why you wanted me to give up on Sakura-chan!? So you could kiss me!? So you could win some stupid bet!? You are worse than her!”
“Quite frankly, yes…” Gaara heard the loud defensive and angry yells, but shrugged in indifference, not understanding why he was being so mad and angry with him, “Please, Lee-san. If I do not I will be forced to be…” The red head cringed at the stupid things he had agreed to, “…Naruto’s maid. Please, I need this.”

The taijutsu master was torn between handing over the roses and just giving the boy his kiss or pushing him away and abandoning him. He was genuinely hurt by the display. He had legitimately thought that Gaara had wanted a proper conversation with him, wanted to hang out for a bit, but it seemed he had really only wanted his flowers and a kiss. How deceiving
“Why me…?” He uttered finally, eyes wide, but still much calmer than he had been before, “Why did you come to me…?”
“Well Naruto-san rejected my advances immediately, certainly not what I was expecting considering his mental capabilities. Still, it seems he is not stupid enough to let me win so easily,” The sand ninja responded, mocking the blond with a small chuckle, “You on the other hand, have absolutely no reason to deny me. Besides, you are one of my friends and well… I trust you…”

Well that made things so much better now didn’t it? Gaara trusted him. How wonderfully endearing. As if that instantly just made things better.

Lee would have loved to just believe that was true. Maybe it was. Maybe the red head had only chosen the odd looking leaf ninja because he was the only person other than Naruto who he would really confide in, trust wholeheartedly and depend on. How much he wanted to believe it all. That the stoic Kazekage before him actually held some emotion for him. That he was really his friend. But regardless of what he wanted, it was the sole fact that this request had only been brought on by a silly bet.

Yet, why it hurt so much, Lee didn’t know.

Why did it matter that Gaara only wanted a kiss so he could win some stupid game Naruto had goaded him into playing? The taijutsu master probably should have given him the kiss ages ago, for the sake of letting his red headed friend win, but no, he was torn in half at the idea. Maybe it was the realization that not even the young Kage himself wanted to kiss Lee without another motive. That was all he was, always a pawn in some game. The last resort. But why, why did it matter that the sand ninja didn’t want to kiss him for, well, romantic reasons? It shouldn’t, but for some reason it did.

“Why should I kiss you?” The leaf ninja had said that word an awful lot today, but nevertheless he needed to know, “Why, when all I am to you is a quick route to winning? Could you not just ask some girl to kiss you!?”

Gaara sighed in clear aggravation, now faced with a difficult question that he had completely no idea how to answer. Things were about to get rather awkward, and in a relatively short amount of time.
“I-I do not like girls…” The red head admitted, black rimmed eyes averted away in shame, “I just thought it would be less hassle to get a kiss from… a friend…”
Lee was gaping, so absurdly that the sand ninja grumbled angrily at the other boy. It was obvious that the leaf ninja was merely taking a while to process the sudden and unbelievable information. Deciding that he could no longer wait for his idiot of a friend to figure out what that meant, Gaara closed his eyes and inhaled sharply, readying himself for something he had wanted to get off his chest for quite some time now.
“I am gay.” Short, simple and straight to the point, just how Gaara liked it.

There. It was out. Hopefully the now bewildered and amazed taijutsu master wouldn’t react in the same outrageous way his two desert dwelling siblings had. No, they had thrown a very loud and angry fit over the whole ordeal. For some odd reason the red head knew the response wasn’t because of his sexuality really, but more of the fact that he had bluntly announced his sexual attraction to a room full of old cranky men during a meeting, more specifically, a meeting to arrange a future wife to the young man.

Gaara had tried to explain to them that he had no interest in marrying, much less a woman that would expect children from the sand ninja. They obviously hadn’t payed attention to his wishes and forced him to reveal his reasoning behind such things. Surely no woman would wish to marry a gay man that had no interest in them at all, but apparently the council was still searching for said girl. Gaara just wished that they could at least take into consideration the fact that he was interested in the same gender, and search for a decent man instead.

They never listened to him.

Even though Lee was yet to so much as blink in reaction, the young Kage found that getting the words off his chest felt so much better than hiding it until it was necessary, even in this case where he was getting absolutely nothing in response other than a very wide and kissable mouth. Wait, had he just called Lee’s mouth kissable?

Gaara despised his mind sometimes. Almost as much as he loathed Valentine’s Day and this entire stupid bet. More so when his subconscious decided to consider the leaf ninja to be kissable. Then again, he was rather attractive, and therefore worthy of a kiss. His mind had been merely telling the truth, how could he punish it for that?

The ebony haired boy still didn’t seem to be reacting at all; he was just standing still as if greatly taken aback, mouth still open broadly in utter surprise. He really did look rather stupid like that. Stupid, yet kissable.

That stupid word just would not leave the Kazekage alone.

A multitude of thoughts ran through the stunned taijutsu master’s mind. Was what the young Kage was saying true? Was he really gay? And why on earth was the menacing demon container acting nervous and stuttering so? Gaara never stuttered.

“You mean… you… you like men…?” Lee had to repeat the words out loud again, and over in his head before they eventually sunk in, “You’re gay…?”

He was happy that Gaara had figured out something in his life, and who he loved, but what made him think that Lee would want to kiss him? The leaf ninja was almost certain he was straight. Almost, but the complete fact was that his dubious sexuality was up for debate.

“That is what I said, yes,” The Kazekage huffed in annoyance, arms crossed indignantly as if to tell the raven just how peeved he was because he had to repeat himself, “Now, if I do recall correctly, you promised me the roses after I told you everything. Now would be a good time to hand them over, accompanied with a kiss.”
“I did promise, didn’t I…?” The bowl cut boy trailed off in disappointment and dismay. How his cheerful innocent words had betrayed him. Those roses had cost him a pretty penny, and now he was going to have to hand them over to the sand ninja.
“You did, now give,” Gaara demanded harshly, knowing how close he was to receiving that beautiful bundle of scarlet flowers.

Lee sighed in utter defeat. He really did not know what to make of this revelation. The leaf ninja had been told by his all knowledgeable sensei that such things were normal for boys of their age in the midst their springtime of youth, but he had never expected Gaara, of all people, to be attracted to the same sex. No, the thought just had not been there at all.

Reluctantly handing over the pretty flowers, the taijutsu master watched in awe as the red head gave a small appreciative smile in response, fully inhaling their lovely aroma at last. Lee had never seen the stoic and emotionless boy smile so happily before, no, something as miraculous as this was completely unheard of. Before he could even think about the adorable tilt of his friend’s lips, or do so much as praise the rare display, the leaf ninja felt the same pair of cold sandy lips press against his cheek tenderly. A simple peck, before the Kazekage pulled back from his tippy toeing, as composed as ever. The touch was so soft and ginger that Lee would not have felt it if not for the warm breath that had cascaded onto his face moments before that pale mouth had made contact.

Lee once again did not say anything. To him, today had been an absolute trauma. Again Gaara kissed him softly, standing on the edge of his the tips of his feet to reach the taller male, the large bouquet of crimson roses clasped in his hands between their chests.

Gaara had no idea when he had suddenly decided that the leaf ninja was extremely attractive. Probably around the time he had officially deemed him kissable. The red head’s erratically beating heart sped in his rib cage as if madly trying to leap out and find the other boy, which he did not think was very healthy at all. Then again, finding an odd looking taijutsu master that only ever wore hideous spandex to be worthy of his affections, even going as far as to call his strange looks pretty, was certainly not at all healthy. No, most would be quick to call the sand ninja insane. But that had absolutely no impact on the Kazekage, not at all, because at the moment he was lost in the petite peck to his newly found love’s cheek.

The leaf ninja absolutely had no idea as to why, but he did not protest, resist or refuse in any way at all. Instead he half-heartedly, only due to how scared he was to do something radical with the younger boy, joined in the tender smooches as the red head became more confident and started licking repeatedly at his cheek with almost silent purrs of enjoyment, which he could only hear due to their proximity, griping the boy’s slender and unhealthily thin waist. Gaara seemed almost frightened at the sudden unfamiliar contact, not expecting his impulsive affectionate display to be returned in any way at all by the older ninja. In truth, Lee hadn’t expected to be so engaged in such odd and impulsive things either, but he was.

Maybe he really did have a fancy for murderous red headed Kazekages?

Quickly, as the sand ninja gaze him a questioning and fearful glance behind those typically emotionless black rimmed eyes, the ebony haired boy leant down and pressed against his lips suddenly, large and heavily lashed eyes closing, feeling his already pounding heart rate speed up. The Kazekage seemed stunned this time though, instead of the other way around, a minute grin hinting on his mouth.

“You kissed me…” He uttered softly as the leaf ninja pulled away, in complete disbelieve. It was not everyday someone kissed the mighty Kazekage, former container of the Shukaku.
“Happy Valentine’s day, Gaara-sama!” Lee exclaimed loudly in explanation, only now noticing the staring villager’s giving them odd looks.

Gaara realized two things at that exact moment. One was that he absolutely enjoyed kissing, the other was that he expected a lot more of them from that odd looking boy. A lot more.

Gaara still didn’t understand why Lee had kissed him, tracing his slightly moist mouth with a finger lightly as if it would help, but he did know things were about to get interesting as Lee ushered his stunned form out of the busy street, whispering soft words of comfort. The red head only managed to hear one uttering though, and that was a quiet and sincere murmur that meant so much to him.
“I love you.”

Yes, the determined red head had won the bet, and now he would be able to spend the rest of the day with his precious and cherished beloved Lee, and there was certainly nothing the loud mouthed Uzumaki could do about it.

And for once in his sad little life, the sand manipulator decided that he really didn’t mind Valentine’s Day anymore.