Lee's chest hurt.
Kankuro hadn't asked, he'd begged him to break up with Gaara, for the sake of their reputation and family. And the thought made Lee's chest hurt like hell.
Apparently Gaara had known the elders wouldn't approve of their marriage. He and his siblings had many, many arguments about it. The elders expected Gaara to marry a powerful woman. They wanted Gaara to produce powerful heirs someday. A man that couldn't use ninjutsu nor produce children was the complete opposite and would cause Gaara to lose a lot of respect from his village. Worst of all was that Gaara knew all of this and hid it from Lee.
Kankuro loved his brother, but he couldn't get through to him so he decided to tell the truth to Lee, knowing the man had a soft heart and would do anything to protect Gaara's name, even if it meant breaking his heart.
"Maybe we should reconsider." Lee says out the blue. It was a quiet morning in Suna, the only sound being sand hitting the windows as it blew through the wind.
Gaara snuggled up to him in bed, eyes closed as he was still groggy from his slumber. "Reconsider what?"
"Marriage." Lee says and Gaara's eyes shoot open, looking at him in bewilderment. "There are just so many pretty women in Suna, strong ones too. Doesn't it make more sense to marry them?"
Gaara lets out a sigh and relaxes on Lee's chest again. "You've spoken with my brother, haven't you?"
Lee nods. "I didn't realize our marriage would cause you any issues. So why don't you-"
"I chose you. End of discussion." Gaara says with a tone that shut Lee right up. They lie in silence for what felt like an eternity before Gaara gets up to get ready for the day. Lee decided that they'd discuss it when Gaara got home then, even if the Kazekage wanted to ignore the issue as a whole.
But as soon as the kage got home, he pounced on him, making Lee forget all about the speech he had prepared. It was Gaara after all, how could Lee resist?
But it happened the next day.
Then the next day..
And the day after that...
Every time Gaara had the slightest suspicion that Lee wanted to talk about it, he'd silence him with sex until the taijutsu master had finally had enough. Lee liked sex, yes, but he was starting to hate the way it was being used to control him. Especially since he truly felt emotional when being intimate with Gaara, and his partner was using that against him.
"I won't visit anymore." Lee says as soon as Gaara closes the front door. He didn't want to give the kage any time to lead the conversation elsewhere. "When I leave, it'll be the last you'll hear from me if you don't give me some answers."
Gaara glared at him, taking his shoes off and then walking into the kitchen to prepare dinner. "Answers to what?"
"Why didn't you tell me about the elders, your heir, the village? Why did I have to learn about it from Kankuro?"
"I told you why." Gaara placed a cutting board on the counter, facing away from Lee so he could cut some vegetables. "Because I chose you."
Lee felt a mix of emotions. On one hand, he understood that Gaara loved him more than his position, on the other hand, how could Lee allow him to tarnish his reputation just for him? A good spouse wouldn't allow that. "That's... not a good enough reason, Gaara."
Gaara stopped chopping. "What?"
"If you want to stay Kazekage you need a good relationship with the elders and village, to marry someone... like me, who can't give you children with good genes... you just 'choosing me' isn't good enough." Lee explained, he felt himself tearing up but tried his best to hold back.
"Regardless of whether I marry you or someone the elders approve of..." Gaara resumed chopping. "My bloodline ends here. I do not want children Lee. So this sacrifice isn't that great to me."
He looks up bewildered but Gaara doesn't turn around, too focused on his task. "So who will be the next Kazekage?"
"My siblings will have offspring, hopefully. But I know for a fact that I will not, regardless of how much the elders pressure me to." Gaara finally turned around, wiping his hand on a paper towel before finally meeting his lover's gaze. "So it doesn't matter that you can't give me children or that you're not up to their standard. You're up to mine and that's all that matters to me."
Lee still doesn't fully get it but he's more willing to accept this answer than Gaara's previous one so he relents and decides to help make dinner.
The elders never approved of their marriage, so while Gaara and Lee would introduce each other as husbands, it wasn't a legal union, but after years of trying some stubborn old people that their laws were outdated, they were alright with that. As long as Gaara was able to add the last name 'Lee' to his name and Lee was able to permanently reside in Suna, what do they need a legal document for?
Their latest problem was the four year old boy in their living room that Gaara wanted out on the streets again. Lee had witnessed the orphan outside while his power went out of control and decided to go out his way to save the young child. He thought since he had the same ability as Gaara, that the redhead would be pleased but the man was furious.
"I told you I don't want children, Lee!" He whisper argued. They had been doing that a lot lately as not to alarm the boy in the next room.
"He's an orphan, and he can control sand. Now the elders can have the heir they want!" Lee responded. "Why are you so against helping your own people?"
And was that the wrong thing to say. Gaara loved his village, Lee knew this but after days of arguing, he'd just been so agitated and let it slip for some reason. The Kazekage left their bedroom and stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind him and scaring the child in the house.
After putting Shinki to bed, Lee waited on the couch, and waited, and waited some more but eventually his eyes couldn't stay awake any longer before shutting themselves.
"My father tried to assassinate me six times, you know." Gaara speaks suddenly, startling Lee awake. Gaara quickly put a finger over Lee's mouth, gesturing for him to be quiet while he spoke. The man was disheveled and had clearly been crying not too long ago. "He sent the one person that loved me to assassinate me as well. It's not that I wouldn't like to be a father, Shinki's a good kid, it's just that... after becoming Kazekage and seeing my father again during the war I realized that I understood him. He didn't want to kill me or make my life miserable but as the Kazekage he had to. I don't want to be the one to order a hit on my child, but to protect the village, I'd have to if needed, just like my father did. I don't want to risk the possibility so like I said. My bloodline ends here, Lee. I don't want any children, no heirs, nothing. Just you and me."
Lee let him finish before embracing his husband into a hug, the kage returned it, letting a few tears spill onto Lee's shirt. "What if we took him in without him being the next heir?"
"What?"
"Our marriage isn't legal. So say, Rock Lee wants to adopt Shinki, that doesn't make Shinki Gaara's son. Or even step-son for that matter." Lee pulled out of the embrace, holding Gaara by his shoulders. "You aren't like your father, and you deserve a family Gaara, no matter how complicated it is."
"Lee?" A little voice calls from the stairwell, they both turn to see Shinki rubbing his eyes. "I had a bad dream."
"Alright." Lee jumps up all jolly, pretending as if they hadn't had an emotional discussion. "Let's get you back to bed, little one." Lee holds Shinki's little hand and they begin walking towards the guest bedroom.
"Actually." Gaara speaks up. "How about you sleep in our bed tonight, hm?"