Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Thick Brows ❯ Lunch in the Forest ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: Don't own it, just like to write about Naruto and company

Chapter 2

Sakura sighed softly and lay back in the soft green grass of the forest bordering the village. They had been training all morning and afternoon. She was completely exhausted. The workout that Kakashi had set up for them was excruciating at best.

She'd passed the Chuunin exam only two days ago. It had been much easier this time because she had trained so hard with her team. With teammates like Sasuke and Naruto, it was hard to stay too far behind in her training. They got stronger by leaps and bounds and to keep up on missions, she'd had to do the same. Kakashi had even taken it upon himself to give her a few private teaching sessions. But even with all of her hard work she barely hoped to ever actually catch up to the two young men on her team.

She could hear Sasuke and Naruto screaming insults at each other a short distance away. They were sparring and as usual Sasuke was wiping the forest floor with the loud blonde ninja. She shook her head and sighed. It was like Naruto forgot all of his training and power around the dark haired boy and simply reverted to screaming nonsense. Sakura knew that he'd learned some pretty high level attacks from the hermit/pervert, but for some reason he seemed to forget that he knew them when there wasn't an actual enemy present. Not that the frog king would appreciate being called to a sparring match. (A/N: I adore Naruto, really. I just think it's so funny that he forgets to use his extra demon power or just yells insults and forgets his training. He's so cute!)

She turned her head to look over at the young men as they finally stopped yelling at each other and sank into the grass, glaring instead. She snorted to herself. You'd never know that they were lovers by the way they acted in public. It hadn't been long since that thought stopped creating a pang in her chest. She'd believed herself in love with Sasuke until one very unfortunate day.

-Flashback-

Sakura hummed softly to herself, clutching a box of sweets that she made for Sasuke. She just knew that if she worked at it really hard, she could win the cool young man's heart. Ino-pig didn't stand a chance with Sakura so close to him everyday.

If inner-Sakura had still been present, she would have screamed "Hell Yeah!" But the crazy alter ego had left her along with half of her hair. Sakura often thought that the day in the woods with the Sound ninjas had been the day she became an adult. She'd stopped whining and cowering behind the men in her life…Sasuke…Naruto…Lee…Kakashi Sensei….

Smiling to herself she plodded along. Yes, Sasuke might fall in love with the adult Sakura that didn't whine and scream. Then he'd marry her and she'd throw herself wholeheartedly into helping him revive his clan. That was a duty she didn't mind taking on in the least. Her musings were interrupted by the sound of a familiar loud ninja screaming insults…well several loud ninja really. She sighed realizing that Naruto had sprouted clones up all over the place and was proceeding to charge Sasuke. It rarely worked, but it was impressive to watch, nonetheless.

Despite the likely outcome of the battle she still settled against a tree and watched as her beloved Sasuke kicked the living tar out of all of the Naruto clones and finally turned on the screaming original. At least Sasuke looked a little tired and bruised from the encounter. Naruto must have been gaining more control over the noisy look-alikes.

Sasuke stood from where he'd landed after delivering a rather impressive attack on three clones. He scowled and turned towards Naruto, who was too busy screaming insults to take notice of the impending attack. Sakura watched as Sasuke pinned the blonde chuunin against a tree, drawing a surprised grunt from him. She started to smirk and took a breath to call out congratulations, and then, Sasuke made his attack. He grabbed Naruto by the hair, pulling the young man's head back ever so slightly, and then settled his lips forcefully over the surprised blonde's. Sakura looked at the dark-haired, young man in horror, as he leaned into Naruto's body. Gaping, Sakura was barely able to comprehend what she was seeing.

Naruto remained still for long moments before closing his eyes and wrapping his arms around the dark-haired ninja. Sakura watched in sick horror as her beloved Sasuke murmured softly into the mouth of the loud young man, grinning and laughing gently, and then seductively flexing his hips. As hands began to grip and pull at clothing, she choked and stumbled away from the small clearing, praying she could escape without them noticing her there.

-End Flashback-

They hadn't noticed her as far as she knew, and as far as they knew their secret was safe. At first the realization that they had become intimate was almost more then she could bear. However as she started to visit a certain thick browed ninja in the hospital more and more, she realized Sasuke had been a childhood crush, nothing more. She had become so obsessed with possessing Sasuke and beating Ino that she never stopped to really think about how she felt about him. Sure, it had hurt to be rejected so definitely, but she found that it wasn't a lasting hurt. There were plenty of young men in the village that were attracted to her and made their interests known.

Lee had been one of those young men. The first time he'd met her, he'd declared his love and intentions to protect her always. He had been so sure of himself…so healthy and strong…if a bit weird. During the Chuunin exams she'd begun to like the young man a little. He was so cheerful, devoted and completely willing to throw himself in harms way to protect his friends.

She remembered the acute pain she'd felt seeing him in the hospital, after Gaara had crushed his limbs, covered in casts and bandages for so many months. He'd always seemed happy to see her, so she kept returning. But she knew that he'd also been humiliated by her visits, she'd seen it in his eyes. Sakura knew that strength was one of the most important things to the young man but then, with a few crushing blows, he'd been unable to muster the strength to even bath his own body.

One day she'd peeked back into his room through a crack in the doorway and watched as he turned his head into his pillow and sobbed softly, cursing his weaknesses. She'd vowed to stop going…so he wouldn't hurt like that any more…but she couldn't stay away. Something about to eccentric young man drew her back to his side; the pull was stronger than any she'd ever felt from Sasuke.

She had come to enjoy her visits with him a couple of times a week. She enjoyed getting to know the young man. He was more than just a strange kid with thick brows and an over-dramatic flare. He was sweet and intelligent and funny. She'd quickly learned that his penchant for dramatics was simply something that amused him and his Sensei, Gai. They enjoyed throwing other people into confusion with their antics, or at least Lee thought that is why Gai Sensei did it. He confided in her that he thought that maybe Gai was usually serious when he started crying or spouting poetry and such. She'd laughed at that comment and hugged him gently. He'd blushed furiously at the time, but made no comment and smiled at her laughter.

Soon after, he had been released from the hospital. He'd been confined there far longer then Sasuke for his injuries, so even Ino had questioned Sakura's visits. At first she believed that the pink-haired shinobi had been visiting Sasuke and simply dropping a flower off with Lee each week. But months after Sasuke had resumed his training, Sakura was still making the trek to the hospital three or four times a week. Once he left the hospital she made little visits to his home, taking him treats that Ino taught her to bake. Anyone could see that Sakura was totally smitten with the funny young ninja.

Sakura sighed and smiled a little to herself. Thinking about Lee made her want to see the expressive young man. She sat up and stretched. "Hey, Naruto…Sasuke, I'm leaving for the day. Tell Kakashi Sensei for me please."

Naruto dropped the scowl he'd been directing at Sasuke and grinned adorably at her, "Sure Sakura-chan! Where are you off to?"

She smiled brightly at the young man, "I'm going to find Lee-kun."

"Eh? Thick Brows?" Naruto asked frowning thoughtfully. "Is he out of the hospital? Why would you want to visit him? He's so weird."

She rolled her eyes at the remarks and sighed, "Because I like him Naruto. He's a nice young man and he can return my friendship and perhaps more." She flicked a meaningful glance at Sasuke. "There are some who won't ever be able to do that for me." Sasuke's eyes widened slightly and he blushed. The comment had been clearly directed at him. She knew about his little affair and he understood that now.

"Sakura-chan," Sasuke began softly, standing up to face her. "I-I…don't know…I'm sorry."

She smiled and hugged him briefly, "I wish you both all the happiness in the world." With that she turned and left the stunned young men in the clearing and strolled towards the place where Lee could be found at almost any time of the day. She'd packed some extra food today, hoping she'd see him, and knowing he'd likely forgotten to eat at all that day.

***

Lee grunted in pain as his fists and legs impacted the new stump he'd set up in the clearing. Blood was running down his arms and shins, but it didn't stop him. He had to be strong again. He'd gotten into shaped well enough to pass the Chuunin exams a couple of days before, but he didn't feel good about that at all. His opponents hadn't been geniuses, like himself or Sasuke or the Sands boy that had nearly ended his life. The matches had been hard, but even in his weakened state he'd made it through. Now he had to build up his strength and prove that he was worthy of his new title.

He was so frustrated he could almost taste it. He felt weak and useless. Even the slowest ninja of all, Naruto, was turning out to be some sort of genius when it came to learning new moves. With a furious scream he slammed his fist into the tree stump and sank to his knees, tears flowing freely.

As two slender arms slipped around his neck from behind, he jumped and nearly attacked the intruder. Then the soft scent of flowers flowed around him and with an ashamed sobbed he realized who it was. "Lee-kun," Sakura whispered softly. "Stop doing this to yourself." She gently moved in front of him and held him close and he wept frustrated tears into her soft hair.

"Why can't I get stronger?" he asked softly when he'd quieted some.

"You are Lee, but it takes time. You trained your whole life to get where you were and four months of recovery just set you back. It will take some time. Be patient and just try your best." She wiped his tears away and gently pulled him to his feet. "Come, I made some lunch for you today." She pulled him towards a shady area under the trees and quickly set out the meal while he rinsed his face and hands in a nearby stream.

He sat quietly next to her and ate what she handed him until the food was gone and they were pleasantly full. She sighed as he lay back, refusing to talk. "Lee-kun?" What's wrong?"

He sighed, "I rarely feel like the man I'm supposed to be around you Sakura. It is shameful."

"I don't understand," she said quietly, wondering where this was going.

"You've seen me at my worst always. In the hospital I couldn't do anything for myself. Did you know that Gai or a nurse had to come and carry me to the bathroom? Or even worse a nurse would wait while I used a pan? They had to bath me because I was too weak or in too much pain to do it myself. Whenever you're around all I want to do is sob my pain and problems out…to wallow in my misery. I can't feel like a man at all around you."

She listened to the confession quietly and then rose to her knees in front of him as he finished. "Thank you for that Lee…and thank you for not putting on a show for me when I'm around."

He frowned, "You like to see me cry like a child?"

"No," she said shaking her head, "I don't. I like to see that you're willing to show me what you feel and share it with me. I like to see that you trust me. You don't treat me like you treat others. I still get the same respect and protection, but you let me in a little bit more. I like that you like me enough to be honest."

He looked startled at the admission and just a little bit pleased. Before he could get completely flustered and embarrassed she leaned in. She'd wanted to do this for so long and now seemed like the best chance she had. She shyly kissed his mouth, not entirely sure what to do, but determined to try anyway. After a startled moment he sighed softly and pulled her body against his, kissing her back.

Reassured that she wasn't being rejected, she hesitantly slid her tongue against his upper lip. He shuddered and opened his mouth to gently tickle his tongue against hers. The kiss was gentle and exploring and absolutely perfect. It was what she'd always thought a first kiss should be like. He didn't immediately grope her or kiss her roughly, like she'd seen some boys do in her class. Lee was a respectful as ever and did nothing more than hold her close and kiss her sweetly.

When they finally drew apart sometime later they were blushing and their breathing irregular. "Sakura-chan?"

"I've wanted to do that for some time now. Thank you Lee-kun." She shyly gathered the materials from lunch and stuffed them in her bag. "I have to go…."

He nodded and flushed, praying that his current sitting position would hide the fact that the kisses had affected more than just his breathing. "Thank you," he murmured. She smiled and waved to him, before hurrying away toward the village.