Chapter Text
Rock Lee always hated the rainy weather during the winter months of Konoha. It felt like everything was put on hold, and he couldn’t indulge in his usual training and use his youth. Lee found himself strutting through the town center of Konoha, itching to find something to do. After the great ninja war, the town center is being rebuilt, but the rain is putting the building on hold. Towns center is filled with citizens of Konoha, and the markets and restaurants are bustling as usual. Everyone is still trying to get on both feet after the war.
Despite the heavy rain, he has been bored because of the rainy weather. After the great ninja war, everyone dedicated themselves to rebuilding Konoha. Everyone on Lee’s squad went into construction or went on to train the new Genin. Gai Sensei is still in recovery and isn’t expected to recover fully. Part of Lee’s boredom was that Gay sensei could no longer train with him. Lady Tsunade told Lee that Guy will never fully recover because his legs could no longer be used.
Lee strutted through them, minding his own business. He thought he might as well shop around while he had nothing to do. He figured he could do some shopping in the meantime. Being a teacher to the new generation provided a good income. Lee browsed the shops but didn’t spot anything interesting or anything of us. It was mostly necessities he already had at home. Lee’s main priority was finding new training equipment for the new genin. Maybe some weights for strength training or scrolls to help them learn new techniques. However, there was nothing of the sort. It was just bare necessities that everyone needed to survive.
Lee groaned, he would’ve never have thought that being a teacher would be so difficult. Guy Sensei, Kakakshi, and Kurenai all made it look so effortless.
After hours of searching for something useful, Lee gave up and decided to go home. He visibly groaned and rubbed the back of his head while walking. He frowned and dragged his feet while walking. Being a new teacher is impossible! There’s no guide or training; they just threw in and expected you to know everything already! Frustrated, Lee starts to leave the center of the town when something bright and pink catches his eye.
Lee stopped his track despite the number of people groaning behind him. He saw a Sakura.
Lee gulped, and his face started to form a pink flush. His eyes widened, and his heart pounded in his chest. He hadn’t seen Sakura since the war, and even then, she looked as beautiful as ever. Lee has always harbored feelings for Sakura, ever since he saw her during their genin years.
Despite the passersby telling him to move it and to keep walking, he continued to stare at Sakura. She was sitting outside a small cafe. She was sitting by herself and seemed to be drinking some coffee. However, the more Lee looked, the more he immediately noticed something was off. Her face seemed so blank and emotionless. Her eyebrows were furrowed, and she was staring intensely into her coffee cup. It was as though she was in deep thought. Sakura wasn’t wearing her normal pink attire, she was wearing a white sweater and green pants.
She looked so… defeated?
Lee was visibly shaken. He couldn’t tell what was wrong with Sakura. Normally, Sakura was a beaming light. She’s kind but has a temper. His face dropped into a frown, and he covered his mouth with his right hand to contain his surprise. His instinct was to go up and ask Sakura what was wrong, but he was nervous. He was scared that he would overwhelm her with his presence or immediately shake him off.
The more he stared at Sakura, the more his heart dropped. He couldn’t just leave the girl he once loved in this depressive state. He did promise to always protect her, after all.
Lee started to cross the busy street and headed towards the cafe. Lee concentrated so heavily on Sakura he barely noticed he was parting the crowd. Many people complained and yelled at him. But he could only stare at her while people were being pushed to the side by his strut.
“Hey there Sakura,” Lee said and then flashed his world-famous smile.
“Lee” Sakura also smiled but her eyes stayed the same, emotionless.
“Is it alright if I join you? I haven’t seen you since the war and I wanted to know how you were doing.”
Sakura was taken aback, as she did not expect to see anyone she knew today, but she let him in.
Lee sat across from Sakura and smiled brightly.
“How have you been Sakura?” Lee smiled brightly at Sakura.
Sakura gave Lee a small smile but her eyes and the rest of her face stayed the same, blank and deprived of emotion.
“I’ve been fine. I’ve been working at the hospital, treating patients.” Lee could see through her facade. She was so easy to read but he couldn’t say anything because he was afraid of upsetting her. Where was the Sakura that was both kind and a hot head?
“How have you been, Lee? I’ve seen you working with the new generation of shinobi.”
Lee sighs and rubs the back of his head while he recalls training the new genin.
“They’re definitely… Something” Lee laughs.
“They remind me of everyone back in the genin days!” Lee flashed the biggest smile and gave his signature thumbs up pose. He tried to make it seem like he wasn’t concerned at all.
He knew that he also had to put on a mask and hide his concern for Sakura. Deep down, Lee knew he was still harbors feelings for Sakura. Ever since he saw her all those years ago, Lee always yearned for Sakura’s love and affection.
However, he did promise that he would always be there to protect Sakura. Lee lost count of how long it had been since their first chunin exam. But he remembers protecting Sakura and promised to protect her with his life. A vow that he intends to keep until his last breath.
Lee’s heart flutters as he remembers.
Lee stared at the coffee cup right in front of Sakura. It was a standard black coffee but he noticed that it was filled to the brim and there was no steam. The coffee was cold and there was no sign that Sakura was drinking. It was if she bought it just to stare at it.
Lee raised an eyebrow at her coffee.
“Are you not going to drink your coffee? It looks like it’s gone cold.” Lee questioned. Sakura gave a small smile but sighed. Her delicate fingers traced the rim of the cold coffee cup. She gave a small laugh.
“I did buy this for nothing.” Sakura had the faintest smile. She gave another deep sigh and stopped tracing the rim of the coffee cup, and picked it up by the handle. Sakura took a small sip from the coffee cup and gave a small sour expression. Lee raised his eyes when he noticed her give a sour look and gave a small chuckle.
“Looks like it wasn’t as good as you thought it would be.” Lee teased and then gave another flashy smile.
Sakura gave a small smile but didn’t take her eyes off the coffee cup in her hand. She took another sip but didn’t give another look. Her face remained dull and neutral.
“I’m guessing it’s good now.” Lee teased, trying to get another reaction from Sakura. She smiled and gave another giggle.
“No, not at all.” Sakura sighs and puts the coffee cup down. “I just don’t want to waste money on coffee. This isn’t even my usual place.”
Lee's eyes widen. He sees an opportunity right in front of him. It was like God himself gave it to him.
“What’s your usual place? I don’t normally drink coffee.” Sakura eyes widen. Her eyebrows shoot up and her mouth forms a surprised look.
“Really? Almost everyone I know drinks coffee! Even Kakashi, the hokage himself, is downing coffee when he can”.
Lee gave a small laugh and a smug smile.
“You don’t need coffee when you have the power of youth!”
Sakura gives a hearty laugh. Her eyes close and turn upright while she’s smiling while laughing. Sakura immediately notices that she is laughing out in the open and she quickly covers her smile to hide her laughter. Lee also laughs and crosses his arms smilingly.
“Oh Lee,” Sakura is immediately interrupted by her laughter. She continues to giggle while covering her mouth.
“I will never forget you and Guy Sensei’s thing with youth. I remember back in our genin days I thought you were so weird.”
“Hey! I thought you liked it.” Lee jokes again. He watches Sakura’s face and how she is visibly smiling. It doesn’t feel forced or fake, it feels as though she dropped her facade and let him in. She allowed him to comfort her even though it wasn’t direct.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t at least entertained by your antics,” Sakura sighs as she reminisces on her memories of first starting. She takes another sip of her coffee and she lets the bitter and cold taste settle on her tongue. She places it back on the table.
“I do remember you helping me during the chunin exams. I was just thinking about it the other day.”
Lee gives a small blush but his face stays the same to suppress his feelings. He is afraid that Sakura will find out his true intentions.
“Really?”
“Yes, actually,” Sakura had a faint blush on her cheeks as she remembered her and Lee as genin.
She thinks back to when she and Lee were first starting the chunin exam. Sakura remembers how she first met Rock Lee. He immediately wanted to challenge Sasuke and wanted to find out if the rumors about Sasuke were true. She thinks back about how Sasuke first dismissed Rock Lee, but was defeated by him.
Sakura's face immediately drops as she remembers. Sasuke.
Lee studied Sakura. At first, it started like Sakura’s mood started to lift. She was finally her normal, hot-headed self, but now she seemed to go back to square one. Lee noticed that her face dropped once again and instead of looking back at him, she went back to tracing the rim of her cold coffee.
“You know how I said I’ve never had any coffee?”. Lee blurts out as a way to distract Sakura from going back.
Sakura looks into Lee’s eyes. “Yes”
“Would you mind showing me good coffee? I’ve never thought about it until now but I’d love to try your favorite coffee.”
Sakura is taken aback by the request because the Lee she knew normally doesn’t drink coffee. She thought that Lee would think coffee would disrupt the body’s natural process and that we should be using our youth for energy instead. She starts to think something is off with Lee, but she immediately brushes it off.
“Sure”