"When we lose one we love, our bitterest tears are called forth by the memory of hours when we loved not enough." –Maurice Maeterlinck

Now that's a quote.

Rock Lee centric; a more 'What if' kind of situation.

A Beauty and a Beast will take a while. I have so many other plot bunnies at the moment.

Disclaimer: I will never own Naruto

(N)

Since the beginning Rock Lee made a promise that he'll always be strong and tall. His shoulders will never slump nor shiver and his head will never hang from his neck staring at the dusty floors. His fists will remain unclenched and calm through any sadness or stress and his legs will stay firm to the ground and never buckle to pull him down. He would train everyday, every hour, every minute and every second trying to increase his strength. He'll never back off nor will he give up and he will see things through to the end.

That was in the beginning. That was when innocence was fresh and new like dew droplets at dawn. Dawn was when everything was cool and calm and nothing was moving. Everything was still and peaceful and the innocence remained. Everyone would be asleep, unsure as to what is to come, but everything didn't matter at that moment, at that time.

He could only stretch his arms when he woke up in the morning. Everything he had hoped for, the dreams he made and the goals he had set seemed to have vanished. His legs were like added weights, a burden is the better term. So when Tsunade made that surgery and he came out alive he was more joyous than any other person in the world.

That was the sun rising, the realization that nothing would ever remain perfect. The innocence had remained, but a realization was rising in his chest. Life would never be the same, rather, and hopefully, better.

His teacher and all his teammates were the sun in his life. It was the one thing in the sky that would never disappear and would always radiate brightly in his eyes. The missions they had and the times they shared were all the more wonderful and graciously accepted. Rock Lee made sure, that every day he was alive and awake, he would live to the fullest extents. His motivation was to make his team as happy and as safe as they could be; nothing more and nothing less.

Time had flown by so quickly.

They had grown stronger.

Then when Team Ten lost their sensei, Rock Lee could only watch. His mind could only think of a life without his treasured Gai-sensei. He watched his team with a closer eye and a stronger heart. If they were to die, than his life would shatter into a million pieces…

That was high noon, the time when the sun was high and the light was even stronger than before. This was the highlight that never lasts as long as the human spirit wishes and the time when only winter could follow.

So when his Gai-sensei died and the light from their lives were gone, everything seemed dead. The sky was dark as the sun began to set. They all felt the stinging pain of never seeing the one who had tried to pull them through any and every obstacle. That day, that funeral, Rock Lee didn't cry. He believed, at that time, tears were nothing but signs of weakness and defeat. When he saw his teammate, the girl named Tenten cry out her deep brown eyes and choke from just trying to keep the tears inside and the boy named Neji cover his white eyes with his sleeve, his heart hurt. His head hurt, his chest ached, his legs were shaking and his hands were as pale as snow.

This was the sunset, the end of everything and anything. The sun was not as bright and the sky was a sad and deep color. Everything was to fall asleep and nothing more.

Rock Lee had let his hair grow because every time he saw his own image in the mirror, the eyebrows, the hair, and the suit; he would grab his chest and gasp for air. He was a man, not a boy. Men do not cry and especially not ninjas.

He could feel everything. The pain in his body increased tenfold with every swing. He watched his teammates, his friends, his family, fall and go away and he cried out in sheer pain and anger. He could only tell himself how weak he was, how cowardly and how stupid he was. He crawled to his teammates and watched their peaceful face. Their eyes closed and skin paler than the white snow. The blood on his hands warm, he gently touched their faces. Beautiful, beautiful in the way they worked and tried harder and harder as the years passed by. Beautiful in the way they tried even harder in the face of death and even more as they passed on with a peaceful mind.

Everything was gone.

Everything was done.

Everything was finished and turned to ash.

The pity, the sadness he received was nothing. Bandages can't heal scars. So when Rock Lee unraveled the bindings that covered his bloody scared hands he stared. He could still feel the pain and the red warmness on his skin. He felt the night sky rise and the moon rise even higher. He would then clench his fists, and feel his legs buckle. He never grabbed for anything and let himself fall onto his knees and then onto his chest.

Then he cried. He cried to show how much he loved them. The bittersweet memories were beginning to fade away and he couldn't hold on. The pieces of the puzzle were slowly disappearing, loss in the madness that is society. The faces, the love they shared as teammates—no—family was still there. He would then touch his eyes, feeling hot salty tears kiss his fingertips. He cried harder and harder, not caring if the neighbors were infuriated, not caring if he looked like a coward, not caring if the world didn't even know he existed.

Rock Lee wasn't a coward. He continued to live and grow and to love. He would look at the photos he found everyday to keep the images fresh in his mind. He lived for them and he lived a loving life for them. They were born to be his family and they died to keep him alive. If the live he lived as to be wasted they would never forgive him and he knew it.

When the final hours came and he had fallen onto his back on the soft grass, he looked up into the brighter sky, and then he closed his eyes and smiled. He felt the warmth of the rising sun as dawn began to rise. Behind his eyelids he saw their faces, their smiling and shining faces that would always welcome him. Then when he opened his eyes he stared into a bright light and felt the familiar warm hands in his own.

"Welcome home, Lee. We missed you."

(N)

T T Lee….LEE…LEEEEEEE!!!! Sorry if it's too short for you, but I couldn't make it any longer. I was kinda pushing it a while ago. Lee needs more love than Sasuke (grumbles) because this guy rocks more than anything. I would say I love how he looks if only his eyes didn't look so American animation like (and if only I could see his ears…). No matter! I hope you all enjoyed this. Review is appreciated.