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The reception was exactly the sort of event Gaara never quite knew what to do with. It involved mingling, which was a skill that Kankurō repeatedly told Gaara was not his strong suit.
He stood near the edge of the room with a glass of water and watched the celebration continue around him.
Temari and Shikamaru had disappeared somewhere after the ceremony. Gaara suspected his sister was currently attempting to escape the very expensive pile of fabric she'd worn during the ceremony.
Kankurō had vanished as well. The last time Gaara had seen him, he had been following Kiba and Chōji toward the bar.
Gaara wished them luck with whatever chaos his brother had planned.
Unfortunately, the absence of both his siblings left him vulnerable to boring people who wanted to kiss up to the Kazekage. He was a sitting duck with no one to run interference for him.
"The wedding was a wonderful success, Kazekage-sama."
Gaara turned politely toward the speaker. One of Sunagakure's council representatives smiled at him. This was Mitoshi Taizo. He was not one of the most offensive councilors by a long shot, but Gaara was not a fan.
Gaara arranged his face in what he hoped was a neutral expression of happiness.
"Creating this alliance between the Nara Clan and the Kazekage line has certainly been viewed positively across Suna,” Councilor Mitoshi said.
Gaara felt the beginning of a headache, starting somewhere between the back of his eyes and the base of his neck.
"The alliance between villages was viewed favorably before they were married, too."
"Of course. Of course. Still, the symbolism is important."
The man continued speaking. Gaara listened. Or at least he knew he had the appearance of listening. Since the referendum and the subsequent scandal surrounding several council members, every official from Suna seemed determined to treat Temari's marriage as a diplomatic achievement. They congratulated him as though he had personally negotiated the relationship.
Temari hated that.
The thought almost made him smile.
"I should clarify," Gaara said when the man finally paused for breath, "that I had absolutely nothing to do with this wedding."
The council representative blinked.
"They met years before I became Kazekage. They began dating without consulting me. They became engaged without consulting me. The wedding was planned without consulting me. My involvement was largely limited to attending. Temari is my elder sister and is perfectly capable of making her own choices."
The representative laughed awkwardly and walked away with a puny bow of his head.
Another conversation began shortly afterward. Then another. Delegates from other villages approached him. Trade officials attempted to discuss shipping routes. Advisors asked about infrastructure projects. One particularly persistent, tiny man from a tiny village spent ten minutes trying to steer the conversation toward border security.
It was a wedding, and Gaara had no desire to discuss border security. He was pretty sure you weren't supposed to talk about work at these things.
He answered politely regardless.
He would do almost anything for his sister. Including attending social functions. Including remaining at social functions. Including enduring them. Which was how he eventually found himself trapped beside one of Konoha's elders.
The conversation had begun with congratulations. Gaara was tempted to ask, “For what?” but decided to opt away from open disdain.
Somehow, it had evolved into a conversation on agricultural trade policy, Gaara wasn't entirely certain how.
"The increased cooperation between our nations presents numerous opportunities," the elder was saying.
Gaara nodded.
"It does."
"And naturally, stronger diplomatic relationships encourage stronger economic relationships."
"That is generally how diplomacy works."
Gaara searched for an escape route. He found none, and accepted his fate.
He felt someone approaching from behind. Gaara turned, and Rock Lee stood a few steps away.
Lee placed a hand over his chest and bowed slightly.
"Beg your pardon," he said. The elder looked surprised. Lee's smile warmed. "I would love to borrow the Kazekage for a moment."
Gaara was positive that he had never been so relieved to see anyone in his life. Before the other man could object, Lee was already steering him gently but firmly away from the conversation and toward a random table.
Gaara glanced sideways.
"You rescued me."
Lee looked delighted.
"I was hoping I did!"
"Thank you, seriously," Gaara said, with what he hoped to be a friendly smile. “I don’t think that I could tolerate another conversation about allied trade routes.”
"It was no trouble at all," Lee folded his hands behind his back as they walked. "I noticed your expression."
"My expression?"
He had been positive that the look he was projecting while talking to the Konoha Elder was perfectly neutral and polite.
"Yes. You were nodding, but you sort of looked like your soul was attempting to escape your body."
Gaara considered that as they dropped down at an empty table.
"If you say so."
Lee laughed.
Gaara found himself smiling in return.
The reception buzzed around them. Music drifted through the hall. Servers moved between tables carrying trays of food. Somewhere in the distance, someone cheered loudly enough for the band to draw applause from an entire section of guests seated near the dance floor.
He was noticing the atmosphere of it all now, because for the the first time all evening, no one was trying to make him discuss trade policy.
Gaara appreciated it.
Lee glanced around the room.
"Have you seen Temari since the ceremony?"
"No. I think she’s changing out of the kimono and into a different dress"
"Excellent! The kimono looked heavy," Lee said, “And it would have been hard for her to dance.”
“I think that was more or less the idea,” Gaara said, taking a sip of his drink. “My sister loves to dance.”
Lee sighed, “Me too. I love weddings. Everyone is just so happy.”
Gaara followed his gaze across the room. Guests crowded the dance floor in warm light. Friends and family drifted between tables. Someone was laughing loudly near the bar. Kankurō was yelling somewhere in the throng on the dancefloor.
It was difficult to argue with the observation.
"They are happy," Gaara said, "It’s nice."
Lee smiled.
“It’s nice especially for Temari and Shikamaru. Are you so excited to be an uncle?"
Gaara let out a quiet breath.
"Yes. I think I'll enjoy it. My siblings and I do a lot of work with a children's hospital back home. I never realized how much I like kids until we started visiting."
Lee gestured broadly toward the reception hall. "People laugh at me when I talk about the power of youth."
Gaara grinned fondly, "I imagine they do."
"They do," Lee sounded entirely unbothered by this fact.
"The next generation is important," Lee continued. "Not just because they grow up. Because should feel safe to be themselves."
The earnestness in his voice made it impossible to mistake his sincerity.
"They deserve people who believe in them."
Gaara found himself looking back toward the dance floor. Toward the families gathered around the tables. Toward the children darting between guests. Before either of them could continue, a voice cut through the reception.
"LEE!"
Both men looked up.
Tenten was marching toward them. The route she took involved at least three unnecessary changes in direction, one near collision with a waiter, and a brief stop to point accusingly at someone Gaara didn't recognize.
"Tenten!" Lee said brightly.
"There you are." She arrived at their table and immediately dropped into the empty chair beside them, dropping a half-full sake bottle onto the table with a thud. Tenten pointed at Lee. "I've been looking for you."
“You found me!” Lee looked pleased.
She nodded firmly, then frowned.
"Actually, I've been looking for Kiba because he is usually a good time at these things. But Kiba disappeared. I looked everywhere."
Gaara doubted that. He was pretty sure he could hear Kiba yelling at his brother somewhere in the front by the band.
Tenten took another drink straight from the sake bottle.
"So then I went looking for Ino. Because she usually will dance with me, too."
"A reasonable backup plan," Lee nodded.
"Thank you. Ino is fun,” Tenten continued, “But Ino is currently screaming at a caterer."
Gaara glanced across the room. Ino Yamanaka was, in fact, screaming at a caterer. Sai stood nearby holding her shoes.
Tenten sighed dramatically.
"So then I hit on one of Shikamaru's cousins,”
“Naturally,” Lee said.
Tenten waved a dismissive hand. "It didn't work. He was boring. I danced with him for one song. He couldn't keep up."
Lee looked as though he was fighting very hard not to laugh. Gaara just watched the two of them go back and forth.
"So," Tenten declared, pointing triumphantly at him, "then I remembered I have a best friend who can come dance with me."
Lee immediately stood at attention.
"You could have started with that."
Then she pointed the bottle of sake toward the dance floor.
"You are dancing with me."
"Of course."
His answer came so quickly that Tenten looked pleased with herself.
Which, Gaara realized with a sinking feeling, meant the conversation was over. The thought brought an unexpected sense of disappointment. Gaara stared down into his glass for a moment, trying to identify exactly why.
It wasn't that he objected to being left alone. Solitude had never bothered him. If anything, he'd spent most of his life preferring it.
What bothered him was the certainty of what would happen next.
The moment Lee disappeared into the crowd, someone else would find him.
Another village official. Another advisor. Another diplomat. Someone who wanted to discuss trade agreements or economic cooperation or the symbolic significance of his sister's marriage. Someone who would see the Kazekage standing by himself and immediately decide that meant he was available for conversation.
It was tiring.
Lee wasn't talking to the Kazekage, he was talking to Gaara. Most people didn’t want to talk to Gaara.
The distinction felt strangely stark at the moment.
Gaara couldn't remember the last time someone had approached him at a public event and simply treated him like another guest. Not a leader. Not a diplomat. Not a representative of Sunagakure.
Lee spoke to him like he was just a guy at his sister’s wedding.
Across the table, Tenten pushed herself upright and pointed dramatically toward the dance floor.
"Come on."
Gaara looked up and saw that Tenten was looking at him.
"You too."
He blinked.
"Oh, no."
The words escaped before he could stop them.
Tenten looked offended.
"What do you mean, 'Oh, no'?"
"I mean no."
"Why?"
"Because I don't dance."
"It's a wedding."
"I am aware."
"It's your sister's wedding."
"I am very aware of that."
“So come dance!”
She stuck out her lower lip into the most aggressive pout that he had ever seen, and then in a sing-songy voice added, “Leeeee tell him it will be fuuuuun.”
Lee shook his head with a small smile.
“You should come if you want. It’ll be fun,” Lee stood and offered him a hand. "Come on."
Gaara looked down at it, then up at Lee.
"No."
Lee looked slightly disappointed. He raised one of his big eyebrows.
"Are you positive?"
Gaara opened his mouth. The refusal should have been easy. He didn't dance. He never had. More importantly, he didn't particularly want to.
And yet…
Before Gaara could decide what to do with that feeling, fingers closed around his hand. Lee gave his hand a gentle tug.
"Just one song."
Beside them, Tenten threw both arms into the air.
"Yes! Let’s go!"
"I haven't agreed to anything."
"You're standing up, Sand Man,” Tenten slurred happily as she skipped to the dancefloor.
Gaara looked down. To his irritation, he was.
Tenten whooped in victory and immediately disappeared into the crowd before either of them could change their minds.
Gaara watched her go.
"She moves surprisingly fast for someone who can barely walk in a straight line."
"Years of practice," Lee said solemnly.
Tenten dissolved into the dancefloor as quickly as she arrived. She swayed near Lee. She drifted to where a Naruto’s clone and Hinata stood. She seemed to float on top of the music like a bird on the breeze as she twirled.around the dancefloor.
Gaara remained exactly where Lee had left him on the edge of the floor. The music swelled around him. Everywhere he looked, people seemed to be moving.
Everyone except him.
Lee watched him for a moment.
Then he laughed.
"You are standing like you're preparing for battle."
Gaara frowned.
"I don't think that's true."
"Don’t overthink it.”
Gaara was still trying to decide whether shifting his weight from one foot to the other counted as dancing when Tenten reappeared. One moment, she was somewhere across the floor. Next, she seemed to materialize between them.
She grabbed one of Lee's hands and one of Gaara's before either could react.
"Tenten—"
She started moving.
Gaara had absolutely no idea what she was attempting to do.
She swayed sideways. Pulled both of them after her. Twisted beneath their joined arms. Somehow turned the whole thing into a strange waving motion that traveled from one side of the little chain they formed to the other.
It looked ridiculous.
Several nearby guests immediately copied the movements.
"Move your feet!" Tenten demanded.
Gaara did his best to mimic whatever Lee was doing.
The embarrassment he'd been feeling eased around the edges. The self-consciousness faded with it. The whole thing suddenly seemed a little less ridiculous.
Or perhaps it seemed equally ridiculous.
He just found that he didn't mind.
Tenten dragged them through another looping series of movements that felt more like being caught in a current than dancing. At some point Gaara stopped trying to determine whether he was doing it correctly.
At some point he realized he was smiling.
Then the song ended. The band shifted seamlessly into something new. A cheer rolled through the room as the crowd shifted, opening a space near the center of the floor. Temari and Shikamaru had returned.
Temari had changed into a lighter dress. Her hair was looser now, several strands escaping whatever elaborate arrangement she'd worn during the ceremony. She looked more comfortable. Happier.
Her gaze swept across the dance floor.
Gaara felt her eyes land on him. Her entire face lit up, and she lifted a hand and gave him an enthusiastic thumbs-up.
Gaara immediately regretted everything.
Beside him, Lee laughed.
The musicians launched into a faster song. The crowd surged inward again, swallowing the newlyweds almost immediately.
One moment Temari was dancing with Shikamaru. The next she was somehow drifting past their corner of the dance floor.
She grinned at Gaara.
"Look at you, Gar!" Gaara closed his eyes briefly as she continued, "Out here dancing."
"I am not dancing."
"Looks like dancing to me," She grinned at Tenten and Lee, “Really, a noble effort. I’ve spent like fifteen years trying to get him to come out and dance with Kankurō and me. Have fun, baby brother.”
Before he could formulate a response, she squeezed his shoulder. Then she was gone again, disappearing back into the crowd and toward Shikamaru.
Across the room, he caught a glimpse of her leaning into Shikamaru's side, laughing about something.
A strange warmth settled in his chest.
His sister looked so happy.
For a moment, Gaara forgot to feel embarrassed. Tenten reappeared, grabbed both his wrist and Lee's sleeve, and dragged them into another completely incomprehensible dance move before he could dwell on it.
The next several songs blurred together.
Tenten seemed incapable of remaining in one place for longer than a minute. She danced with them until something else caught her attention, then drifted effortlessly into another group of guests before circling back again.
Gaara stopped trying to follow her logic.
He wasn't convinced there was any.
Every dance she and Lee invented seemed to have been choreographed halfway through the thought of it.
One involved linking elbows with whoever happened to be nearby before marching in a loose circle. Another consisted almost entirely of pointing dramatically at strangers while bouncing from foot to foot. Lee joined every one of Tenten's dances without hesitation, laughing whenever he lost track of what she was attempting to accomplish. He did his best to nudge Gaara into the movements as well.
Once, he accidentally slipped into something that looked suspiciously like the opening sequence of a kata before catching himself and sheepishly turning it into an enthusiastic spin instead, before loudly coaching Gaara to do the same.
Somewhere along the way, the embarrassment he'd felt when he'd first stepped onto the floor simply... disappeared.
Perhaps because everyone else looked equally ridiculous.
Perhaps because no one seemed to care.
At one point Tenten wandered off again, declaring that she was "going to go get something."
Gaara watched her weave through the crowd until she intercepted someone near the edge of the dance floor.
It was Might Guy.
The older jonin sat in his wheelchair near the musicians, applauding enthusiastically as though he were personally responsible for the evening's entertainment. Whatever Tenten said made him throw his head back in booming laughter that carried easily over the music.
Then she reached for the handles of his chair.
With all the confidence of someone operating under the absolute certainty that every decision she made was excellent, she spun the wheelchair into a broad circle across the dance floor.
Guy threw both arms into the air.
“THAT’S THE SPIRIT!”
Guests scattered between fits of laughter as Tenten piloted him through the crowd with alarming speed, narrowly missing two Nara cousins and one horrified Suna diplomat. It was not a diplomat Gaara would have particularly minded get hit by the chair.
Rather than objecting, Guy only laughed harder.
"FASTER!"
Lee watched them disappear into the crowd with unmistakable affection.
Gaara looked from the rapidly spinning wheelchair back to Lee.
"He enjoys this?"
"Loves it."
As though to answer for himself, Guy's voice echoed triumphantly across the reception hall once more.
"YOUTH KNOWS NO SPEED LIMIT!"
The corner of Gaara's mouth twitched before he could stop it.
Lee noticed immediately.
"You're smiling."
Gaara blinked. "Am I?"
"You are."
Almost without thinking, years of habit settled back over his expression. The smile disappeared before he consciously decided to erase it.
Lee laughed quietly. "And there it goes."
Gaara frowned, though without much conviction. "What?"
"Nothing." Lee's smile remained easy, unforced. "You have a nice smile. It suits you."
The comment should have passed as easily as every other pleasant thing Lee had said that evening. Instead, something unfamiliar shifted beneath Gaara's ribs. He found himself looking at Lee longer than he intended.
Around them, the reception had settled into an easier rhythm. Couples drifted closer together as the music softened. Friends lingered between songs, talking and laughing. Without really thinking about it, Gaara found himself swaying faintly with the music.
Lee noticed almost immediately.
"There," he said, sounding quietly pleased. "You can dance after all."
Gaara glanced sideways. "Don't tell my siblings."
Lee laughed, warm and completely unrestrained.
"Your secret is safe with me."
Before either of them could say anything else, a delighted squeal rang out from somewhere across the reception hall.
Mirai Sarutobi came marching through the crowd carrying a wicker basket nearly as large as she was, overflowing with loose flower petals that had almost certainly once belonged in the centerpieces. Kurenai spotted her first.
"Mirai..."
It was the voice of a mother who already knew she was too late.
Mirai plunged both hands into the basket and launched a shower of petals directly at her. Kurenai laughed as they rained over her shoulders.
"Mirai!"
The little girl dissolved into delighted giggles, spun toward Kakashi, and buried him beneath another enthusiastic handful. He blinked once as petals slid slowly down the front of his mask.
"...Well."
Mirai shrieked with laughter.
Then she saw Gaara.
Her entire face lit up.
"Mari's brother!"
Gaara had just enough time to realize he was the next target.
Tiny hands disappeared into the basket.
A heartbeat later, the first volley struck him squarely in the chest. The second exploded across his shoulders and into his hair with astonishing precision. White and pink petals clung stubbornly to his dark jacket and tangled themselves among the strands of his red hair.
Mirai clapped both hands together, thoroughly delighted with herself.
"I got you!"
"You did," Gaara replied solemnly. "A direct hit."
Apparently satisfied with her work, she skipped away in search of someone else to decorate.
Beside him, Lee laughed so hard he had to cover his mouth.
"Has anyone ever attacked the Kazekage with flower petals before?"
"I suspect not."
He stepped closer before Gaara could react.
"Hold still."
Lee brushed a handful of petals from Gaara's shoulder, and white blossoms fluttered lazily between them. Another had caught beneath the collar of his jacket. Lee smiled to himself as he reached for it, his fingers brushing lightly against the side of Gaara's neck as he lifted it away.
"Oh," he murmured, leaning in another fraction. "There are more."
Lee reached up without hesitation, gently combing careful fingers through the strands near Gaara's temple until another pale blossom drifted free. Then another. His free hand rested lightly against Gaara's shoulder while he searched with quiet concentration, as though removing every last petal had become the most important task in the room.
Gaara stood perfectly still. He became abruptly conscious of everything at once: the warmth of the crowded reception hall, the faint scent of soap, the fine lines that appeared beside Lee's eyes whenever he smiled, and the ridiculous, deeply inconvenient pace of his own heartbeat.
"...Almost..."
Lee plucked one final petal free.
"There."
He didn't step away immediately. Instead, he tilted his head, studying Gaara for another second as though making absolutely certain he hadn't missed one.
"I think that's all of them."
Only then did Lee finally let his hand fall away.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. The music drifted around them, softened by the laughter echoing across the reception hall.
Somewhere in the distance, Tenten was loudly insisting that someone else dance with her, and Guy answered with an equally enthusiastic declaration about youth.
Lee smiled.
"I'm really glad I got you to dance with me."
Gaara opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Before he could find the words, Tenten's voice rang across the room.
"LEEEEEEEEE!"
Lee laughed, the sound easy and familiar.
"I think that's my cue."
He started backward through the crowd, then paused after only a few steps, as though he'd just remembered something.
"If anyone starts talking to you about trade policy again while I’m gone," he called over the music, "You come and find me, okay?"
Gaara looked up. Lee's smile widened.
"I'll rescue you."
Then he turned and jogged back toward the sound of Tenten's shouts.
Gaara watched until Lee disappeared into the crowd.
Guests laughed. The band shifted into another song. Lantern light swayed gently overhead while couples wandered back onto the dance floor. Temari and Shikamaru snuck out of their own wedding reception.
Gaara barely noticed any of it.
Come and find me.
Such an ordinary thing to say.
Lee had probably forgotten the words before he'd even reached Tenten.
Gaara had the distinct feeling that he was going to remember them for a very, very long time.