This is AU, set about five years after the time skip. I don't usually write in this tense so I'm sure there are mistakes. Tell me so if there are- I don't mind; I'd appreciate it.

Reasons

The evening rain falls mercilessly over Konoha and pelts the roof of Lee's little apartment, making sounds that remind him of a kunai impaling the trunk of a tree used during one of his late afternoon practices. He trains not to improve himself, but so he can remain flexible. Lee is only twenty one but he knows a body unused is a useless one. His teachings at the Konoha academy are what take up most of his time. Missions are left to the newest generation of genins to hone their own skills as ninjas and he helps them along the way Gai used to with him and his own team many years ago.

The candles in the studio apartment flicker in unison from the wind that has blown in through the cracked window by his desk. It is late and Lee grades papers from the day's exams. He sighs. The scores are bad and he knows it is because the pupils do not take him seriously, but instead of blaming the students he blames himself for not teaching them better and makes a mental note to let them have notes for the next one. That way tomorrow there is no reason for his class to be the worst in the school and Tsunade would not be this close to firing him.

Lee reaches for his small cup of tea and sips a little bit from it. "This paper is the worst one here!" He thinks, using his free hand to mark all but one of the questions in red. "He must not have heard me all the way in the back. Tomorrow I'll use the megaphone and give him three free points on the test to make up for it." Lee tries to be stricter, but he cannot get out of the habit of being strict only with himself and not the students that take horrible advantage of him.

In the kitchen barely large enough to accommodate one person, a tea kettle screams bloody murder. It signals the water for his ramen is ready and he stands up to prepare his meal for the evening. Many in the village wonder why Lee is still single when most of his fellow comrades have taken lovers of their own. If he had someone he would eat proper food instead of the processed, dried up garbage he consumed daily. He was handsome enough, having grown into his features and out of the awkwardness that were his teens. It is not that Lee hasn't been looking, but he does have his reason for remaining a singlet.

And that reason has just caused his front door to swing open, allowing rainy winds to blow out half of the candles and scare the papers off of his desk.

Sakura stands there speechless in the entryway soaked to the bone. Her hair when wet is darker and reminds him of the fresh strawberries sold at the corner booth in the market. Lee loves those strawberries but he is allergic to them and only admires them from a far; something he should also exercise when being around the younger woman but doesn't during her random visits.

Lee rushes over to the girl, dropping his dinner into the wash bin of dirty dishes in the process but he doesn't notice, nor does he care. He coils his dry arm around her and kicks the door shut with a bare foot. The wooden plank clicks, shutting out the wind and rains despite their pounding pleas for reentry as he leads her over to the bathroom so she could dry off.

Sakura stops him in the middle of the room and throws her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her like a needy child. Her sopping wet shirt clings to Lee's dry one, injecting the cotton with as much water as it can in such close proximity. She kisses his lips with desperation, her eyes are closed and Lee is unable to tell if the droplets that leak from them are tears or the rain water from outside. This was the third night in a row she was there, and although he doesn't mind, he wonders if he realizes she is gone. Sakura lifts open an eye and with one glance reads Lee's thoughts instantly.

"He didn't see me leave, he was out cold." She continues to kiss him but Lee is unable to move, his hands are at her waist as if glued there from a nasty prank and she scowls at him for being seemingly frozen. "What's wrong?" Sakura asks, stroking his short, raven locks between her thin fingers. "Why won't you touch me?"

"It's nothing" He says, and snaps out of his funk, helping her peel off the rosy fabric of her shirt that clung to her like saran wrap before removing his own. Together they fall backward into Lee's futon and onto the disheveled blankets that serve as a testament to their actions the night before.

Lee tries not to enjoy the time spent together because he knows Sakura doesn't belong to him and he knows they shouldn't be doing this despite the fact that she was the one that came to his house for the past three nights. Sakura also knows he feels the guilt and doesn't make it easy on him either because she hates it when he feels that way, like everything is always his fault. Her fingertips trace lightly down Lee's sides like soft feathers, stopping at the elastic of his shorts and he gasps.

"Sakura-san" He whispers breathlessly while she pulls the white cotton drawers down to his ankles.

She laughs at his ability to remain so formal despite being in such a compromising position. Lee's awkwardness was the main reason she had fallen for him in the first place; the other being that he was always willing to be her guinea pig during her training as a medic-nin when no one else was available or too afraid she would mess up. Sakura curses herself as she settles on top of him, wishing they had realized their feelings for each other before Naruto brought Sasuke home and made her feel obligated to be with him.

As they come together among the howls of the wind and torrents of rain, Sakura forgets for that moment she belongs to someone else and Lee pretends she's his despite the reality that looms over them both like the clouds outside of his run down apartment building.

The next morning before the sun comes up Lee is fast asleep while Sakura scales the floor to reclaim the clothes that were thrown about the night before. They are still wet, and her warm skin shivers against the cold fabric but she tries not to make a big deal out of it because in a way she feels like she deserves to freeze. "Now I'm starting to think like him." Sakura half giggles to herself as she laces up her boots. She takes one last look at the sleeping man on the bed before leaving and wishes she could stay-- that she doesn't have to go home and lie to Sasuke about her wet clothes and where she had been the last few hours.

If she only knew she really didn't have to…