Familiar smile

by mysticgears

Summary:

Gaara and lee in the school au. After a major fight in middle school Gaara broke his classmates arm and leg. In high school, despite his change as a person, he avoids the person he had hurt to try and stop him from feeling any further pain. Even if the person continuously try's to talk to spark up a conversation. Chapter one Is the first time they have seen each other since the fight.

Notes:

This came up as an au in this server I'm in and i have been obsessed with it since. I haven't written a fic in a hot while so bear with me as its being made. I will try and keep the characters as cannon as possible even in another universe however I might add some head canons into it. This is also probably unbearably slow as I suck at writing any emotions about love.

Chapter 1: Chapter 1

The sun glared down on every student's head, leaving little to no spots with shade in the early morning. Despite the chilling breeze, the sun filled the august morning sky. It was a familiar warmth in the cold. Those who walked to school often seemed to not mind it, but for Gaara and his siblings, who had changed schools halfway through last year, the inconsistent breeze and sunshine really annoyed them. They were used to the sun viciously glaring down on everyone, no mind for the time or the person. The only time they got a hint of chill was during the deadliest of nights. As one can imagine, the temperature change was (and still is), difficult to adjust to. 

The school Gaara was going to this year was one Temari and Kankuro had gone to last year, they claimed it wasn't half bad and they adjusted to the layout pretty easily. He himself had no complaints as he had been there once or twice with them, even if one of the times he got into a fight with a first year. Aside from that, Gaara had no issue with joining the school as his siblings were there and even his uncle Baki worked there. 

Ignoring the people and the whole new school he had to get used to, Gaara had been looking forward to the schools clubs, he wasn’t one to show his emotions but he was definitely eager to join the high school's garden club, he knew that the garden club wasn't exactly a place a lot of people liked to go, considering the people he met last year, only a fifth of them would likely join it. He had signed up for it before the school year started, being put in the position of the clubs conversationalist. Which was considered the vice-president of the club. He was informed a formal classmate of his, Ino-yamanaka, would be the club's president, and they were expected to interact and be shown together at assemblies. He himself had no issue with it, however the two hadn’t interacted even once. However unfortunately, she had been there when he had gotten into that fight. He knew the event would follow him around and others would fear him but back then he didn’t mind others fearing him, he wanted them to fear him. 

As the sun followed him and his siblings, he could see the school getting larger and larger, the front gate was perched open, allowing students inside. Despite the early timing of the three, there were already a few people around the school, some he recognized, some he didn’t. 

“Gaara, if you need anything at all don't forget to ask your big sister, okay?” Temari placed her hand on Gaara's shoulder, as if to remind him that she was there. She and Kankuro were talking a lot during the walk, so she assumed that Gaara had zoned them out. Instead of a reply, Gaara simply nodded his head and looked at his sister. He didn’t say any words but Temari understood what he meant.

As they got closer to the school, Gaara ventured away from his siblings, finding a wall to lean onto while he checked his phone for his classroom number and his locker code. Gaara had done well enough on the high school entrance exam that he managed to get into the second year's English literature class. Despite his talent in English he lacked that strength in physical education, which he had been dreading especially this year. His brother had told him they had one gym teacher who, in Kankuro's words, “was a total nut case who cared too much about the power of youth and students' physical health.” He had also heard a rumor about a specific student in the martial arts club being his son. He really hoped that if that rumor was true he wasn't known for holding grudges. 

In the middle of his thoughts, Gaara was interrupted by a familiar voice coming closer to him. 

“Gaara! It’s good to see you!” Looking up from his phone, he saw the blonde boy he had become friends with last year. “I wouldn’t have recognized you had it not been for your hair!” He laughed as he slowed down from a run to a walk.

Gaara stood up straight, the wall no longer supporting him. His arms crossed across his chest, a small smile appearing on his face. “Its good to see you too, Naruto.” he spoke with a monotone voice, though there was the slightest hint of softness in it. 

“What classroom do you have? I have A-1” Naruto stopped his stride next to Gaara, placing his hand on Gaara’s shoulder and trying to peer onto his phone. 

“A-1, however during English I have B-2.” He looked over to the boy next to him, ignoring the obvious snooping coming from him. 

“You’re a real smart guy y'know?" Naruto laughed and removed his hand from Gaara's shoulder before continuing, “hey, I think bushy brows is in that class actually”

“Bushy brows?” Gaara raised a brow, though he had none.

“You know, I heard that the History teacher this year is a real perv, constantly reading this romance book in the middle of lectures!” Naruto continued his talking, skipping over the questioning Gaara. His eyes closed as he spoke, resembling a fox. It didn’t help that Naruto was born with these whisker-like birthmarks. 

“Really?” Gaara ignored the skipping over, just watched Naruto as he spoke. Though he was still curious to who this ‘Bushy brows’ was. 

“Uh-huh uh-huh! I also heard that he wears this mask CONSTANTLY, I think he has some giant buck teeth or something under there.” Naruto turned away from Gaara, walking over to across where he previously was. He turned over his backpack to face him, rummaging in it to find something. Muttering to himself while doing so.

Gaara, following Naruto's steps, walked over to his locker to get the stuff for the school day. Naruto had been Gaara's first friend. Despite seeing the fight himself, he took it upon himself to talk to Gaara, even after knowing the monster he was. He made Gaara realize that there were others like him who were struggling. He appreciated Naruto to the fullest extent a human possibly could. During the summer, he and Naruto hung out a few times, once they even got matching japanese folklore keychains. Gaara got a tanuki while Naruto got a nine tailed fox. The keychains were placed on their bags this year, so you didn't need to look long and hard to find them.

As Gaara removed his shoes and replaced them with his inside shoes, he could hear some chatter around him. He mostly ignored it and continued to grab what he needed, occasionally hearing Naruto add into conversations. As Gaara grabbed his final book, placing it inside his satchel with his other items, he could hear a snippet of Naruto’s new conversation. 

“Awfully fast bushy brows! Where ya in a hurry to?” Naruto laughed, his hands cupping around his mouth as the person approached. 

“Goodmorning Naruto! I thought I would’ve been late by now! I was helping out Sanshō and her son move some packages!” The boy exclaimed, slowing his pace as he got closer to the blonde.

That voice.

Gaara knew that familiar tone of voice, he had been dreading the thought of hearing it. He knew it too well than he’d like to admit, having shame for his actions. Though his face and body language might not have shown it other than his hand freezing on the locker, he did not want to hear the boy speak. Their conversation continued for a while, Gaara listening to them speak, however never interrupting. He had been wanting to apologize to him for what had happened but he felt if he went near him, he would freak out. In the middle of his thoughts he turned his head over to look at the two chatting, not to stare but to catch a glimpse. 

Rock Lee was laughing with Naruto, talking about the “curry of life” Lee had enjoyed so much. However in the middle of Naruto talking, Lee looked over and met Gaara’s gaze. A small smile appearing on his face as his eyes closed, “Goodmorning Gaara.”

…

Gaara looked away, trying not to maintain eye contact. He closed his locker as swiftly as he could before walking away. Usually if someone had said good morning to him he would’ve been polite and said a good morning back or acknowledge their words with a nod. He had no reason to ignore the boy, however his body moved before his mind could. Gaara’s head filled with thoughts as he walked away. Despite the sound of multiple students talking, the sound of the locker closing echoed through the corridor, his footsteps following close behind.

“Did I do something wrong?” Lee turned to Naruto as he watched Gaara's retreating figure. Confusion obviously laced in his voice.  

“I don't think so?” He replied, turning to look at Gaara as well.

The twos conversation drifted away as Gaara walked closer to his classroom. He wasn’t sure why he had ignored him since he was the one who initiated the conversation. However he had been hoping the boy would stay away from him to make it easier on both of them.

 

Chapter 2: English literature’s start

Summary:

After Gaara leaves history class, he walks into english to find the person he was avoiding previously, having to sit next to him.

Notes:

This chapter is probably shorter but I tried my hardest to make it interesting and as long as I could without too many time skips.

The birds that were once resting on a tree branch moments ago, now fluttered away as the sound of a bell ringing filled the air. The students remained seated as they immediately started chatting with another. Some students stood up and walked closer to their friends seats, however the only one packing up was the teacher, who was getting ready to move classes. Gaara, likewise, started gathering his notes and other objects, methodically placing them inside his satchel. Once his desk was cleared of his items, he grabbed his satchel from the side of his desk, placing it around his shoulder as he pushed in his chair. 

“Gaara! Are you gonna go to the second years English class now?” A blonde student perked up behind Gaara, moving out of his desk to stand beside Gaara.

“Yes. Did you need anything before I left?” Gaara nodded as he spoke, his voice a monotone sound.

“Nah not really, you’ll be back next period right?” The blonde rested his hands behind his head.

“Mhm” Gaara nodded as a reply, one hand holding onto his satchel. His body was slightly turned to face Naruto, however it was obvious he was ready to go.

“Naruto, you’re going to make him late.” A voice cut in, though it was obvious who he was, considering he just spent the past 40 minutes lecturing them about History.

“Huh? Gaara’s always on time! He’d never be late because of me!” Naruto retorted quickly, looking over to Kakashi, who himself had finished collecting his stuff and was ready to move classes.

“What if he wasn’t? You’d get him in trouble.” Kakashi looked over at the two, his eyes directed to Naruto as he spoke. 

Naruto gulped as he turned around, sitting back at his desk, waving a good-bye to Gaara. Though he was already halfway out the door, he made sure to acknowledge the wave with a nod. His expression remained stoic as his eyes locked onto Naruto’s for a moment before the door closed behind him.

——

As the time passed, the bell close to ringing, Gaara made it to the second years classroom, looking up at the sign to make sure it was the correct one. As fate would have it, it was B-2. With a firm grip, Gaara reached out, opening the classroom door, stepping inside as the students chatting filled the air. It appeared the teacher was already in the classroom, waiting for the bell to get started. The red-headed boy peered around, seeing an empty seat near the front of the classroom. However, just as he was about to walk over, he spotted a familiar figure nearby — Rock Lee. His head turned to face the person next to him, a grin across his face as he enthusiastically spoke with them. 

Despite the circumstances, the clock was ticking, a constant reminder to Gaara that class was going to start soon and he needed to find a seat nearby. With a deliberate pace, Gaara walked over to the empty desk by the window, his gaze avoiding Lees, though there was a quiet awareness that Lee was watching him walk by. As he sat down on the seat, he removed his bag from his shoulder, grabbing an English textbook, pencil, and eraser before placing the bag down next to him. His thoughts raced back to his earlier conversation with Naruto, remembering him saying something about a ‘bushy brows’ being in his class. Was Lee the ‘bushy brows’ he was referencing?

As he waited for the bell to ring, Gaara resorted to staring out the window next to him. In his earlier classes, he had also been given the window seat, which gave him something to do as the time passed between classes — however occasionally he would look around the classroom, observing the students and the layout of the classroom in general. While he placed his attention on the outside, he noticed the school garden. It was a still place with a couple of flowers and fruits planted inside. It was nice to see the garden from an above view, however it looked so lifeless for a place that is meant to show life. 

As Gaara sat in silence, the bell’s shrill ringing caught his attention, snapping him out of his thoughts. Though it was quite odd how late the bell was, he payed little to no attention to it. 

When the classroom settled into a quiet silence, Gaara placed his hands on his textbook, opening it to the page the teacher had asked. His pencil swayed perfectly in sync with his hand as he wrote, listening intently to what the teacher started saying. As class continued on, he had gotten into a rhythm with the teachers words and his writing, a constant flow.

Just as Gaara was enjoying the comfortable silence, someone tapped his shoulder twice, quieting his thoughts. He turned to the person, about to scold whoever it was for not paying attention. Quickly he recognized who it was, it was Lee. Instead of his immediate cold scolding he would’ve done to anyone, he froze for a second—  quickly regaining his composure. His eyes narrowed as he opened his mouth to speak when Lee gave a soft smile. It was unlike his usual smile that he had seen earlier while entering the classroom, though it still held the same happiness. As Gaara was observing the change, Lee slipped a note onto the red-head’s desk. Patting it once as he placed it down, quickly turning ahead to escape punishment. 

Gaara looked at the note on his desk, curious, however he hadn’t wanted to open it. His gaze lingered on the note, wondering why he had placed it there. His head wandered with thoughts, his pencil hovering over the notes page. After a moment of thinking, Gaara picked up the piece of paper, placing it into his pocket to deal with later. He could feel Lee’s eyes on him, however he payed no attention to it, focusing on the work at hand.

— 

Sure enough, the ringing of the lunch bell pierced the air, reminding teachers and students that class was over. Though it had been a silent oasis in the classroom a moment before, an immediate wave of voices began to speak. Many students quickly gathered their items, wanting to get the best seats inside. Though it wasn’t a terribly hot day as it would be in Gaara’s home town, the people of konoha seemed to think that it was hot enough to explode. 

Slowly as other students left the classroom, Gaara had started placing his books and pencils back into his satchel. Each item had a specific place in his bag, not wanting anything to get misplaced, he took his time. 

“Gaara lets go!” Kankuro called out, standing by the door of the classroom. One hand was in his pocket while the other held his back pack strap. 

Swiftly standing up, Gaara placed his satchel over his shoulders, his body tuning to face his brother. “What’s the hurry?” 

“You know I’m hungry, everyone in class could’ve heard my stomach rumbling.” Kankuro replied, an obviously joking tone. 

Gaara walked over to Kankuro, walking past the black haired boy from earlier, who was sitting with his friends. “You’re always hungry” his arms crossed over his chest as he walked.

“Temari makes good food, what can I say?” Kankuro shrugged, both of them standing by the door now.

“Oh by the way, what did that fuzzy browed guy give to you?” Kankuro’s eyes looked over to Lee, Gaara’s eyes following close behind. Both Kankuros hands rested in his pockets, not making it too obvious he was curious, though since he asked, he obviously was. 

“Nothing” Gaara paused for a moment before speaking again, “let’s go.” After a moment of unconsciously staring, he turned his head away, walking ahead of Kankuro as he dismissed the question. 

“Oh, anyways, that class really sucks, I don’t know how you do it Gaara.” Kankuro turned, following Gaara out the door, their voices fading as they left the classroom.

 

“Lee hurry up! You’re the one who wanted to get seats outside remember?” A girl with brown buns stood infront of lees desk, standing aside her was a boy with long brown hair that was tied back into a low pony. 

“Hm? Oh! Sorry! Yes, let’s go!” Lee stared for a second at Gaara and Kankuros retreating figures, remembering the brief eye contact he and Gaara had made a moment before. 

“Seriously, you need to start paying more attention! You’re going to flunk this class if you keep this up!” Ten-Ten continued scolding Lee as he got up, quickly packing his things before the three of them went into the corridors. 

Chapter 3: Growth in the garden

Summary:

Lee runs into Gaara at lunch, however as fast as it happens, Gaara is gone. Later Lee and his friends go back to the classroom, eating lunch up there.

Notes:

I wanna say this chapter is mainly Lees pov, and on that instance, I apologize if I didn’t do enough justice to lees character. (Also I’m starting school again so I apologize if there’s slower updates)

“Temari, seriously, I don’t know how to manage to make such good food.” Kankuro spoke up, though he was trying to be nice, he was practically spitting out his food with every word. 

“It’s only because every time you try and cook you somehow manage to burn it.” Temari looked over at Kankuro, who was sitting next to her on a bench. Her tone made it obvious she was teasing him, though she knew that he had actually burnt everything he’s tried to made.

“Hey, that’s not my fault at all okay? That fat cat of Gaara’s keeps attacking me right as I have to turn off the stove or oven or.. something.” Kankuro waved his hands in the air dismissively, looking embarassed.

“Right… yet when he was stuck in the bathroom and you tried to microwave a leftover you somehow forgot a metal fork in it…” Temari nudged Kankuro's shoulder, a sly smirk on her face. She paused a moment before shrugging, “honestly, I don’t know what you’d do without me.” 

“Okay okay I get it.. geez Temari, you’re a real prick sometimes.” Kankuro's face flushed an embarrassed red. Looking away from the two. 

Temari let out a small laugh, knowing Kankuro was embarrassed. She looked over to the other bench across from them, noticing her brother hadn’t eaten a bunch of food. “You alright Gaara?”

“I’m fine, if you guys don’t mind I’m going to get a look at the garden.” Gaara spoke without a hint of hesitation, his face and voice remaining a constant as he placed the unfinished bento in his bag. Quickly standing up afterwards.

“Um, alright.” Temari looked at her brother, her face a mix of concern and curiosity.

As Gaara walked away, he could hear Kankuro speaking to Temari, “what’s his problem?” 

Gaara had no issue eating with his siblings, or with Temari’s food for that matter, he had just not been too hungry at the time. He was also still wanting to check out the garden that he saw earlier, remembering how dull and lifeless it had been before. Stuck in his own thoughts, he wondered what he could add to improve the garden, of course, he and Yamanaka could talk about it at the clubs later meeting. Unconsciously, he had been standing still, muttering to himself about which plants he could plant. 

As he stood there lost in thought, he had zoned out some voices that were coming closer, despite how loud the main voice was. Quickly before either could react, Gaara and the other bumped into one another. 

“Oh, sorry! Are you alright?” Lee turned his head to face the person he had bumped into, he had been walking backwards as he was talking to his friends, paying no mind to anything behind him. As his eyes locked onto the person, he immediately recognized who it was, after all the same person had appeared in his class previously. 

“I’m fine.” Gaara replied quickly, looking up to see who had just bumped into him. Originally he had been planning to scold them for not paying attention to where they were going, however as he heard the apology and caught sight of who it was, he couldn’t. It’s not that he wasn’t able to scold him, rather he wouldn’t. He felt he had already caused enough issues, embarrassing him in front of his friends would just roughen his already tainted reputation. 

“Pay attention to where you’re going next time.” Gaara spoke without hesitation, and as quickly as they bumped into each other, Gaara left. 

Lee had fully turned around by now, watching Gaara’s retreating figure into the distance. His eyes furrowed a little, confusion laced in his voice as he spoke, “do you think he’s avoiding me?” 

“Avoiding would be an understatement.” Neji stood behind Lee, his arms crossed as he watched the retreating figure. 

“Why do you wanna talk to him anyways? Didn’t he beat you up pretty badly last year?” Ten-Ten walked closer to Lee, placing her hand on her hip. Her head tilted slightly as she asked the question.

“He’s not a bad person, Naruto told me that he felt bad for what had happened.” Lee looked over to Ten-Ten, Gaara’s figure now out of view. 

“You believe Naruto?” Neji spoke up, a hint of amusement in his voice.

“Why not? Besides, you can never judge a person off of one little event.” Lee spoke with determination, he was ready to get Gaara to be his friend. Using all means necessary. 

“He almost killed you.” Neji quickly replied, his face a blank expression. 

“I’m not dead am I?” Lee smiled, turning around to face Neji and Ten-Ten. A thumbs up forming in front of his head as a determined expression took over his face. 

“You’re impossible.” Ten-Ten let out a laugh as she crossed her arms. 

“Let’s go back to the classroom, there’s most likely no more good spots, thanks to Lee's loitering.” Neji let out a deep sigh, accepting he wasn’t going to change Lee's mind. 

—

The three students chatted aimlessly as Lee pushed ahead, opening their classroom door and stepping inside. Since it was about mid-lunch period, most people weren't inside their classrooms, getting as much time outside as they could before they had to come back. Ten-ten, who hadn’t gotten the chance to eat her lunch yet, opened her bag and took out the lunch she had been saving. Lee had been unknowingly dragging them everywhere, trying to find a spot, though maybe he was looking for someone instead. Following Ten-ten's lead, Neji and Lee brought out their lunch as well, continuing their conversation.

Lee added into the conversation every now and then, though for someone so chatty he sure was quiet. His mind kept running back to his and Gaara's earlier conversations, trying to find a reason to why he was avoiding him. He wasn’t sure if it was because he hated him, or if what Naruto had told him earlier was true. Though both his and Gaara's interactions were brief, he couldn’t help but notice how he seemed to catch Gaara off guard. Lee wasn’t the best at reading people, but he could get a hint of what they were like. However with Gaara, he could never seem to read him. 

“Lee…?? Earth to Lee??” Ten-ten spoke, her voice confused as she snapped her fingers in front of Lee's face. 

Lee had been lost in thought, accidentally drowning Ten-ten and Neji out. He had been thinking so hard you could practically see smoke coming out his head. 

Ten-ten sighed when she realized she caught Lee's attention, “We’re thinking of just having lunch here everyday, no one's inside usually and plus the AC is always on so we’re not burning in the heat.” 

“oh, okay!” Lee perked up, trying to seem invested into the conversation. 

“Are you even listening?” Neji crossed his arms, his tone impatient. 

“Yes, we’re planning on eating lunch inside from now on.” Lee stared at Neji, his face blank. 

Neji seemed to calm down, though he was visibly irritated from Lees lack of attention. As the conversation picked back up, Lee tried to stay in the conversation to avoid being on Neji's bad side once more, and to avoid his scolding. As soon as Lee  finished his food, he carefully picked up his trash, walking it over to the trash bin at the entrance of the room. As he started walking back to his desk, he looked out the window for a moment, looking down at the garden below. A red-headed person sat in the middle of the garden, seemingly staring at his phone white eating. The moment of looking out the window quickly turned into a stare as Lee realized who it was. In the middle of his tracks, Lee stood frozen in time, simply staring at the figure below. 

Unknowingly, Lee gulped, it wasn’t loud, but in a empty classroom it was hearable — causing both Neji and Ten-Ten to walk over. 

The two turned to face what Lee was staring at, seeing the red-head in the garden. He had now been walking around, looking at everything in the garden. Ten-ten let out a loud groan, “Seriously? Lee if —“ she turned over to look at her friend, pausing in the middle of her sentence. His eyes were focused on the guy, a glimmer in his eye she had only seen when he was with Sakura. His lips were tightly closed as a rosy pink stuck to his face. 

Ten-ten stood up straight, placing a hand on her hip as a smirk filled her face. “Do you think he’s pretty?” She spoke with a teasing tone, making fun of the way he was looking at him.

“What? Is he pretty? I mean I haven’t really looked at him all too well but I guess I’d maybe say he’s pretty. He kind of looks a little bit like Sakura and Sakura is pretty, I mean they’re both pretty in different ways but—“ Lee spoke fast, stammering in-between his words. His eyes flicked away from the window, obviously flustered.

Ten-ten let out a laugh as she watched Lee try and keep himself on track. Neji stood close behind her, rolling his eyes at the two. “You two can giggle another time, don’t you both still have some class work to finish?” 

Ten-Ten turned white as she realized what Neji had just said, her eye twitching as she slowly turned her head to face him. Neji stared back, watching her retreat back to her seat. 

Lee stayed for a moment more, watching Ten-Ten and Neji walk away before turning back to the window. He stared at the red head, now focused on a particular plant. The sunlight filtered through the leaves, landing on his head. His gaze turning from one plant to another. 

‘Do I think Gaara’s pretty? I mean, I guess I never really noticed how pretty he looked next to a sakura tree.’