After the eighteenth birthday of the triplets, a few different happenings occurred. Once the hidden village in the leaf and the hidden village in the sand decided that the hidden village in the mist was no longer a death sentence, they formed an alliance. Because of the… 'show'… they had seen between the mizukage and Lei, Lei had been sent with Hakujou as an official diplomat. There had been many hugs, many kisses, and many promises before he left, running to catch up with the departing jinchuuraki.

Five months after his departure, Tadashi took the required tests, got the required permission, and switched over to Konoha. He now had an apartment with his two lovers, and a calmness had befallen him because of it. It was a nice balance; Kosuke with his fiery temper and over protective soul, Keiji with his hidden wisdom and over joyous attitude, and himself with his distant affection. It was… simply meant to be. There couldn't just be two of them, or else it would be incomplete. There being three of them made life so much easier. If two of them had a mission together, that was all the less lonely it was. If two of them were home while the other went on a mission, that was all the less lonely they were. It simply… was.

Kouga continued to live in Konoha as Shitai continued to live in Suna. Kouga didn't want to leave his family and Shitai knew he couldn't simply up and leave Suna for obvious reasons… When Aya had been irritated enough with their constant fighting over the matter to ask them 'why the hell don't you two just break up then?', Kouga had became a pale color as Shitai went deathly silent. Five minutes after, Hitori -by some strange sense no one could understand- promptly arrived to save the life of his lover as she was gripped threateningly in white sand, her baby brother encouraging it.

It was noted that day to never ever suggest that the two do anything that involved being apart.

Makato and Koi got married the year before on Koi's birthday; surprisingly enough to everyone who knew Makato more than Koi, she came down the isle in white. Makato had been offended that they thought that he would deflower his angel before marrying her! Everyone else had just been very confused that he hadn't done so. Koi had been furiously blushing.

Gaara gave her away, and her nephews stood with her. It had been… a confusing matter, to be assured, when deciding who would stand across from Tadashi. It had finally been decided that the most sensible thing to do would be to add another… 'bride's maid'… Hence, why Minamaru stood across from Keiji as Kosuke stood across from Tadashi, Hakujou stood across from Lei (Makato still didn't know him that well, but he honestly just wanted Koi to be happy and only cared about having one man stand with him, so he allowed it) and Kouga (who was best man, of course), stood across from Shitai.

Kanaye, officially kazekage, had conducted the ceremony.

Now, with the triplets themselves in their thirties, Lee couldn't help but chuckle at the antics of the over zealous man before him, wearing a respectable green robe with the white neck cover for the occasion. He leaned back in his chair, gray and white strands throughout his waist length hair. There were creases at the corners of each eye from squinting in the sun as well as his constant smiles and laughter.

By his side, his husband gave a subtle sigh, even as he never took his eyes from the man standing fearlessly in the center of the room, attempting to tell them to ally with the hidden village in the rock as if it would be the greatest decision in their lives.

Kouga was now a diplomat, living in Suna around his constant comings and goings. Koi lived with Makato in Konoha, them having adopted three children as of yet as well as had one of their own. Tadashi had successfully produced twins without many complications. Strangely enough, with no capable way of explaining how it could have possibly happened, one of the twins was Keiji's… and the other Kosuke's. Very unbelievable indeed. Lei had had one successful birth and two miscarriages, nearly breaking his heart on both occasions. The success of the one child, however, continued to make him nearly glow with joy. Hakujou was simply content with having Lei still alive by his side, though he welcomed the child into his heart warmly. Hibibu, his demon, was a strange appearing one; serpentine body with a wild mane and overly large eyes that outshined the moon, a skull for a face and two spindly arms coming from it's frame. However, Hibibu was a demon of… pack proportions. Meaning that the child and mate was accepted easily by Hibibu… Especially by Hibibu.

They had married beforehand, of course. Kanaye had learned for the first time why his father's eyes had flared with pride on both occasions of leading the 'brides' down the aisle.

"And why is it that you so suddenly need our alliance?"

Lee felt pride flare in his chest. The man fumbled with his words, suddenly becoming a stuttering wreck. Apparently, that was the question that was not supposed to be asked.

At the head of the conference room, one red eyebrow rose from above blue-green eyes.

"I am waiting for a reply."

He didn't take his eyes off of the man, but he could feel his husband flicker with pride.

Lives had passed and gone in those years. Alas, that was the life of the shinobi. Tears were held back, but they were eventually released. Life continued on. In one particularly violent mission, Kouga was left screaming in the arms of Shitai, sobs racking his body as he quivered and shook, betrayal, hatred, and denial heavy in his eyes. Aya had been blank faced and disbelieving for days, silent and incapable of meeting anyone's eyes. It had taken a week before she had broken down, alone in the bed her parents had slept together in before they had gone off to their A rank mission. Hours later, still sobbing and crying, Kouga and Oki came to her, all of them sharing sorrow on the still made mattress. Minutes after that, Shitai and Hitori came, holding their lovers together in the cage of their arms. It had taken months before Kouga had been able to even try to smile, but Aya had only taken weeks. She met the gazes of those around and simply said that 'they died together, so they should be alright without me till I drop dead too.' It didn't stop her from depending on Hitori for a while to keep her alive.

Chouji and Shikamaru were not so lucky. However, Shikamaru, being the genius he was, was certain that Chouji would be waiting for him in whatever life awaited them all after life was done. Which was why, his face creased with age and a small goatee going on, he smiled on the top of the building he and Chouji had first officially met on. Unlike Shikamaru, however, Jun was not that content. Luckily, Jun was never left alone, and he came over the wave of pain. After all, he was strong… He had family and friends, so of course he was strong…

Lady Tsunade was long deceased, and Shizune had been content to follow her as always. The ceremony had been grand, but it didn't put anyone's heart to rest. Luckily, it made their hearts light enough to carry.

Sasuke never agreed to have another child, no matter how many times Naruto tried to tempt him.

After a few more weak attempts to get Suna to ally with Rock, the meeting was adjourned, and the diplomat denied. Lee was overjoyed to get outside and stretch his legs again, despite the ache that came with doing so. His entire body was sore on such days as these… The ones where a storm was just around the corner. Thinking of desert rain brought a blissful smile to his face, his eyes alighting with a distant flame.

"There's a storm coming…"

Lee smile grew as he wiggled his eyebrows at his husband.

"Does it bring back youthful memories?"

The teasing affect was ruined as he had to turn his face away and cough violently into the sleeve of his respectable robes, dying the sleeve red.

As his Gai-Sensei had before him, he was now dying in his early 70's, even earlier than his sensei, actually. After all, his means of attack depended entirely upon taijutsu, and he had used it much more often.

He felt Gaara go still by his side.

"Lee…"

He felt his lover's hand on his shoulder, turning him towards the redhead. He smiled sheepishly, as if there was not blood over his sparkling white teeth or on his chin.

"I am sorry, Gaara-love… That kind of ruined the moment, no?"

Gaara wiped away the blood using his own sleeve.

"Yes…"

He looked down at Lee, and Lee looked up at him. There was now four inches separating them, despite Lee remaining straight and tall. It just seemed that he had stopped growing sometime around thirty. Gaara's thumb caressed the corner of his mouth, swooping down to taste his lover's blood.

As if he were not an experience lover with his redhead devil, Lee blushed. Standing in front of the main building, surrounded by people that knew they had done far more intimate, he still blushed as if everything were new to him.

"… It ends tonight…"

Lee blinked, sadness flooding him, before he took a deep breath and straightened his shoulders.

"Gaara-love! It does not have to end tonight! Think of what we will miss!… Think of how hurt everyone will be hurt…"

He coughed again, his hands flying to his mouth to catch the blood. He had been having this for a little over two months now. Luckily, he had been subtle enough with it that only Gaara knew.

The pain in his stomach grew to almost unbearable, making him lean against his husband's side as they disappeared in a fly of sand. He could just barely remember the last time eating hadn't been one of the greatest pains to his day.

They appeared in their room, no longer the main quarters, which they were content with.

Without another word, Gaara walked to the closet and pulled out his red battle gear along with the gourd strap. He grabbed Lee's spandex suit and vest while he was at it, setting his load on the bed. He turned a steady gaze onto Lee.

"Your pain ends tonight, Lee."

Lee looked from his attire, to his husband, his obsidian eyes distant in thought.

…

Gaara came forward, wrapping one arm around his waist as he grabbed his braid with the other hand, pulling his face towards him so he could push their lips together. Lee sighed into his mouth, a tear falling from one eye.

He was ready to die… He just wasn't ready to die on his family…

"Our pain ends tonight…"

Lee blinked, a concern filling him.

"You are in pain, Gaara-love?"

Gaara met his eyes shamelessly.

"Aren't I suppose to share your pain? If not, than that is another oddity to our marriage."

Lee laid a hand flat to his redhead's cheek, meeting blue-green eyes softly.

"… Would it be a good idea to leave a note…?"

Gaara gave it a thought, and then nodded.

"There will be no other way for them to know what happened otherwise."

Lee nodded as he turned to cupboard and pulled out a piece of paper and a quill. Behind him was the shift and rustle of clothes being removed and replaced.

He left the note short, no matter how he wanted it go on forever. He left it short… but he put all of his soul into it.

He changed into his spandex, looked to Gaara once, and ran out into the night, racing over the surrounding walls and into the enveloping darkness of the endless desert. A gale of sand followed quickly behind him.

It took two hours before they got to the sand dunes they knew well, the same they always ran to when they wished to merely be.

There, Gaara stripped them of their clothes, and they made love as if they rain had already begun to fall.

It was slow and too much to handle. Lee gasped and trembled, moaning and whimpering and crying out. Gaara merely watched, his eyes burning each image forever into his mind. As they reached their orgasm, that was when his mind reached out.

Sand swished and hissed, skidding and rubbing over their sweating flesh as it wound upwards. It enveloped them in a small dome, almost pulsing inward as if it knew what it's duty was. Gaara's finger touched the gourd around Lee's throat, then drifted down to the scar his lover had asked for him to grave there. Lee smiled at the action, his own fingers touching gently to the obsidian stone that hung from his redheaded devil's neck.

"I love you, Gaara… for this life and every life after this…"

There was a sheen of tears over his ebony eyes, but the smile remained pure and true. Gaara met those eyes with a blue-green gaze that knew neither regret nor sadness.

"They are strong… Every one of them…"

He held his lover closer to him, refusing to let his length free of Lee's body. He wanted to end like this… forever bonded.

"Nonetheless, I am not strong enough to watch you waste away."

He locked their lips, the sand pushing against their bodies with a seemingly overpowering impatience. Lee gave a watery chuckle.

"Good night, no Gaara…"

"… Sleep peacefully, no Lee…"

We may be gone for now, but we shall meet again! Until then, I beg of all of you to have a thousand days filled with love and youth!

With love, laughter, and youth

~Lee

With a grumpy face

~Gaara

Blue-green eyes studied the framed words with blank consideration, one red eyebrow raised in thought.

"Kazekage-sama… You have been staring at that letter for some time now. Why is that?"

He didn't take his gaze from the frame.

"… These are the great words of my ancestor… Words my father told me were words to live by, who was told by his father, who was told by his mother, and so one so forth… Yet it's a suicide note…"

There was a shift and then his cousin was looking over his shoulder, his blood red eyes considering the letter as well.

"… I hear he was in a lot of pain."

Blue-green eyes went back to the frame.

"… Well, that's ridiculous…"

One of his cousin's blonde eyebrows rose.

"Are you suggesting taking it down?"

"Not if my life depended on it."

His cousin laughed.

"You know… Have you ever looked back on time and ever wondered what their life must have been like?"

Blue-green eyes finally rolled to meet blood red orbs.

"Considering that I'm named after 'grumpy face', yes, I give it occasional thought."

His cousin smiled.

"You have to admit, you look a lot like him."

Which was true. He had seen the portrait in the main hall… He had also seen the obsidian eyed man in that painting.

"What is your point?"

"Meh, I just wonder how much love they knew, you know? Were they in such love that they died together because they couldn't bear to be apart, or did they hate each other so much that Lee made this letter before going off into the desert to fight a war to the death with his lover and their bodies were never found? Seriously, you have to think about it."

"No, I don't."

"Liar."

Gaara sighed.

"I don't have to think about it…"

He shut his eyes -for just barely a moment- and heard the sound of laughter in his years.

"I assure you of that."

"Oh? And what makes you say that 'Mr. Grumpy face'?"

"We share more than a name and a face…"

We share a past…

He turned away from words his lover had written so long ago… In another time, in another place, seeing as how Suna had somehow shifted some hundred miles from where it had stood so long ago.

And now, I'm just waiting for him so we can start anew…

I love you all… But I just had this need to end the story at chapter 90. I don't know… I just wanted to end it before it became impossible to do so… After all, coming of July or August, I would have been writing this thing for an entire year. I know you'll all cope. After all, the thing's 90 chapters.

I have this thing for reincarnation, it would seem… As well as doing that thing where I fast forward. Regardless, I like this style.

Now you get to haunt ridiculously spaced out and dotted name heart for a sequel!!! X3