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Chapter Text

“…and then, obviously, he’s laaaaaaaaaaazy!”

Kankuro was complaining about Shikamaru for a while now, and Gaara could recite his words by memory for all the times he had heard that speech. He knew that Kankuro didn’t really dislike their soon-to-be brother-in-law, he just thought that nobody was enough for Temari. Gaara understood the feeling very well, but he also trusted his sister’s decisions.

They were in a café in Konoha, waiting for Shikamaru and Temari to come, and that was what had triggered everything because Temari was never late, so the fault of their tardiness must have been Shikamaru’s, and from that Kankuro had started to list all his faults.

“How can you be so cool about it?” he finally asked: “How can you accept so easily that our sister is going to marry that useless, pretentious, lazy-”

“He’s not always like that.” Gaara never tried to stop Kankuro’s rants, but he also never encouraged them, and one was enough for that day, so he decided to put a stop to what seemed the start of a repetition of Kankuro’s dissertation on Shikamaru’s weaknesses.

“Yes, I know, he is valued a lot here in Konhoa, the Hokage trusts him to be his advisor, but… apart from his brain, is he really such a great shinobi?”

Gaara gave that some thought, then simply answered: “Yes, I think he is. I know from experience that when the occasion demands it, he can be very strong and brave.”

“REALLY?!? How…? What do you mean…? from experience?!?”

“I witnessed him facing a huge danger to save a friend...”

“Huge danger… what are you talking about?”

“…and I know this because I was the huge danger.”

Gaara sighed: he didn’t like to recall such memories, but maybe it was fair that his brother knew.

“After my first fight in the chunin exam, before the beginning of the third stage, I went to Lee’s hospital room to kill him. Shikamaru stopped me with his shadow jutsu, and he and Naruto fought me. Naruto, of course, did it because he’s reckless, he didn’t think about the risks. But I could tell that Shikamaru was scared, he knew what I was capable of, and that they had no chance against me. And yet, he faced me anyway, to save his friend. That is why I take him in great esteem.”

Kankuro didn’t know what to say. He was irritated because he had to admit that Shikamaru looked good in Gaara’s tale. He was also sad that his brother still had to live with such unpleasant memories.

Gaara didn’t know how to interpret his silence so, in case it meant that Kankuro wasn’t still convinced, he added: “That is also why I owe Shikamaru a very big debt.”

“A debt?!” Kankuro finally spoke.

“I owe him an enormous debt, because he stopped me from killing Lee.”

And how his life would be now if he had succeeded that day? Gaara preferred not to indulge in such dark thoughts, and luckily Temari and Shikamaru arrived in that exact moment, giving him the chance to get distracted and not think about the possibility of a life without Lee in it.

As Kankuro had predicted, the fault of their lateness was all Shikamaru’s, but right now he didn’t think that such a big problem anymore. Maybe Gaara was right and Shikamaru wasn’t so undeserving of Temari’s love. And it was true that she liked him, so maybe Kankuro should trust his siter on this.

But, most of all, the fact that Temari was going to marry Shikamaru paled in comparison with another, very scary, thought: did Gaara have a crush on Bowl Cut?

Oh, now that was definitively something to worry about!

Chapter Text

So, he had been right to worry!

As he had feared, his brother had a crush on Rock Lee, and – who would have guessed? – the feeling was reciprocated!

Kakuro still wasn’t sure how it had happened, but now they were a couple and, despite the problems due to living in two different villages and their very busy schedules, they were making it work.

And, after the initial shock, Kankuro had to admit that he was happy about it. When he was with Lee, Gaara looked different, like he was momentarily allowed to be completely himself, or maybe a version of himself in which his past didn’t matter and he could forget how much pain he had caused and suffered.

So, he was cheering for them, really.

And now he was worried because their relationship, still green and new, was going to face its greatest obstacle: Gaara and Lee had been invited to a dinner with Gai.

Now, Bowl Cut was full of weirdness, and, apparently, Gaara didn’t mind. Actually, Kankuro had more than once contemplate the notion that he may even like some of that, since he saw the very fond look in Gaara’s face when Bowl Cut did one of his challenges with himself, or made some of his inspired speeches.

But Bowl Cut Sensei was another matter. He was really too much, even for Gaara.

His brother would do anything for Lee, even create a good relationship with his sensei. But would Gaara have been able to resist all that weirdness? What if despite all his efforts they won’t get along? Will Lee choose Gaara? And what if he won’t?

So, that was why he found himself furiously pacing his hotel room in Konoha waiting for his brother to come back from said dinner, worried that Gaara’s chance at happiness may have already been compromised.

Finally, he sensed a chakra approaching: yes, it was Gaara. He seemed happy and relaxed.

Kankuro felt a bit relieved, but to dissipate all the worries, he needed some reassurance from the person concerned. The moment Gaara walked in, Kankuro was on him: “So, how did it go? What happened? What did he do? How you reacted?”

Gaara looked at him with a surprised expression so unusual for him that in different circumstances Kankuro would have found it very funny, but the urgency of the situation made it become less important.

“Speak!” he spurred his brother: “TELL ME HOW THE DINNER WENT!”

Gaara was perplexed: “You were worried it could go wrong. Why?”

“Because Gai is too weird, he speaks in that absurd way, and he cries, and wants to hug everyone….”

“I see.” Gaara, as usual, was the epitome of calmness, in marked contrast with his brother that was on the verge of losing it.

“You were worried without reasons. I know Maito Gai is… exuberant, but I only have respect and admiration for him.”

Now was Kankuro’s turn to be surprised: “You’re kidding, right?”

“You know that I rarely do that.”

“But… I mean, I know he’s considered a great ninja, and Lee adores him, but… but…”

“I have personal reasons to think very highly of him. I owe him my happiness.”

“Your happiness… what are you talking about?”

“Gai stopped me from killing Lee. Two times.”

Of course. He should’ve guessed it. It was because of Lee, just in a different way compared to what he had thought.

Kankuro sighed. He put his hands on Gaara’s shoulders, a bit awkwardly.

“Fine, you won, I give up!” he said, to an astonished Gaara: “But I’m very happy for you. That is, if you are happy, too.”

Feeling painfully the cringe-making situation, Gaara however understood that, whatever was that was troubling his brother, it was important for him, so he simply answered: “Yes, I am happy. Very happy.”

Kankuro smiled, and squeezed Gaara’s shoulders.

“So,” he let Gaara go and, feeling all the tension finally leave him, sat relaxed on the couch: “The dinner went well and Bowl Cut Sensei gave his blessing to your union?”

Gaara had still some problems truly understanding other people’s words, especially when they spoke sarcastically or with metaphors. Luckily, he’d been exposed to his brother’s peculiar sense of humour for years, so he understood that he didn’t mean what he just said literally.

But, just to be sure: “You mean to ask if Maito Gai approved my relationship with his favourite student.”

Kankuro was definitively relaxing now, indulging in the glass of sake that he had prepared to ease his stress but felt too much tension to drink before.

“Yes, something like that.”

Gaara nodded: “He didn’t say it so plainly, but said a lot of things about youth and the springtime of love, and he included me in those discourses, and then he said something about welcoming me in the family. I am not entirely sure because he was crying at that point, and Lee was crying too so I couldn’t ask him, but I feel confident that I am reading the situation correctly.”

Kankuro emitted a brief laugh at that description: “So, what’s next? Now that you have his putative father’s blessing, are you going to propose?” he asked in a derisive tone, sipping a little more from his glass.

“Yes, that is my intention.”

The sake went down the wrong pipe and Kankuro started coughing.