Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.
Author's notes: The song The Difference by Matchbox Twenty has been stuck in my mind for days now, and while this is not a songfic, it really inspired this drabble.
Secondhand Heart
Dark eyes watch her from far across the room, staring steadily as she mingles with her guests. She is beautiful there, pink hair pulled back fashionably, emerald eyes shining, skin glowing. Sakura is perfect, everything that he's ever wanted.
It is simply too bad she's wearing a wedding kimono and a ring, her arm wrapped tightly around that of another man. As they make their way from the room, waving goodbye to their guests, he can't help but remember.
"We'll always be friends," she'd said, and kissed him warmly on the cheek. That was his first and only kiss from her, the most bittersweet sensation he'd ever experienced.
They leave, and he decides to go too, slipping unnoticed out a side door. The cool, early morning air soothes him, the sun rising away to the east. The sight warms his broken heart, and he prays from the very bottom of it that they will be happy.
It is all he has ever wanted for her, though not everything he'd ever wanted from her.
Rock Lee turns and walks slowly down the avenue toward his favorite training ground, a small smile on his face.
With hard work and determination, maybe someday…