Title: Scars and Stitches

Characters: Team Gai

Genre: Friendship/Romance/Angst

Summary: A love triangle of Gai-stronomic proportions.

Chapter Ten

Lee

Lee knew he has done a lot of stupid things in his life.

Some were so insignificant they were not even worth mentioning, but some were so catastrophic—like opening gates during his fight with Gaara so that he almost died, or fighting Kimimaro, where he almost died again—any other person would not have thought of doing them.

And yet Lee never regretted any of his actions, even when they led him to trouble. He considered them training, lessons he needed to learn in order to become stronger, better than yesterday, at the very least.

But as he watched Neji and Tenten still hugging each other, while he stood in the doorway, apparently forgotten—Gai-sensei was still showering (more like chasing, really) random nurses with rainbow stars—he felt a quiet stirring in his heart, and for the first time since he could remember, he almost hated himself for fetching Neji and Gai-sensei half an hour past.

The walk back to Tenten's house was filled with a quiet unease, punctuated with silent hisses from their flower of a friend, whenever she accidently stepped on her bad heel. Both Neji and Lee offered to carry her home, but she had vehemently refused, saying something about wanting to save what was left of her dignity after Lee had to carry her to the hospital. They settled for letting her walk on crutches then, Neji and him following her warily a couple of steps behind, ready to catch her the second she slipped or tumbled.

They reached her place without any untoward incident—save from his bleeding eardrums, a casualty of hearing Tenten swear one time too many (such vulgar words coming from a delicate blossom, how unyouthful!)—and within minutes Tenten had plopped down unceremoniously on her couch, throwing her crutch with disdain, as Lee sat on the adjacent chair, and Neji offered to make some tea for three.

Lee watched worriedly as Tenten tried to ease herself on her seat, then lied on her back to look for the most comfortable position for her leg to rest on. When it was obvious that she was not making progress, Lee opted to help, grabbing a throw pillow and absentmindedly lifting her leg in an attempt to put the pillow under.

That earned a surprised squeak from his friend, so loud that Neji rushed from the kitchen, byakugan on the ready, one hand still holding a teacup. He found them in a very awkward position—Tenten's good foot was pressed against Lee's cheek, her hands yanking down her skirt to cover herself, her face red as tomato. Lee had her bad leg suspended in midair with his left hand, obviously trying to position the throw pillow under it.

When Neji went back to the kitchen fifteen minutes later, the throw pillow was placed strategically under Tenten's bad leg, a comforter covered her from the waist down, and Lee sported three cracked ribs (courtesy of Neji) and a black eye (courtesy of Tenten).

Only when he was again uncomfortably seated on the adjacent chair did Tenten deem it right to talk to him for the first time since he left her in the hospital to get his other teammates.

"Why the hell did you tell Neji and Gai that I'm dying?"

Lee had expected her to be angry, but Tenten just sounded so tired. He realized he didn't like it, this Tenten, sounding so spent and utterly defeated. Bring back the foul language! he almost demanded then, except that he didn't think such crude language should come out of Tenten's delicate lips.

"I'm so sorry, oh youthful flower," he apologized, holding his right hand over his chest in a gesture of remorse. "I was so worried about you and I know that the only thing that will make you get better soon is with the full support of our beloved team and . . . I guess I overreacted a little."

Truth be told, he hadn't really planned on barging in on the party like that. But the idea of Tenten being hurt rattled him so much—which was weird, because he had seen her hurt countless times before in and out of missions—that as he made his way to the venue, his mind concocted the most ridiculous of scenarios, one which included Tenten losing one leg, the other both legs, and the last one with the rest of their team lowering her coffin six feet below the ground. Panic overwhelmed him that before he knew what was happening, he was blitzing toward the Hyuuga hall, and in a manner of seconds had torn down the great oak double doors and shouted the first thing that came to his mind. He vaguely recalled it involved wilting or something, but he was so scared he wouldn't be surprised if he actually shouted total gibberish back then.

"Overreacted?" he heard Tenten hiss. "You dragged Neji to the hospital on his engagement night because I broke a heel. What kind of idiot does that?"

"But Tenten," Lee said earnestly. "Surely your welfare is more important to my eternal rival than any other event."

"Baka," Tenten growled, but Lee noticed that his friend mellowed down a bit. "I have half a mind to punch you again if it weren't so troublesome."

"Tenten! Have you been hanging around Shikamaru behind our backs?"

"Baka!"

They fell into a more companionable silence for a couple of minutes, before Tenten suddenly whispered, very softly, "Say, Lee?"

Only trained ears could have picked up the sound, and Lee was grateful that he was very attuned with the rest of his team. "What is it, oh youthful flower of my life?"

A pause; he saw Tenten blush, and somehow, it made him feel queasy as well. Then, "Why do you love Sakura so much?"

The question surprised him, because it wasn't in Tenten's nature to be gossipy about his feelings about Sakura-san. Actually, now that he thought about it, Tenten almost never asked him about how he felt for the pink-haired kunoichi.

Lee paused and tried to gather his thoughts. Then, a soft smile escaping his lips, he answered, "Because she's smart and very beautiful, and she cares a lot for her friends." A pause. "And she makes me want to protect her."

A soft, tired chuckle answered him. And then, almost patronizingly, "What, you don't think I'm smart and beautiful?"

Lee's eyes grew wider in protest. How could she think that way! "Of course I think you're beautiful! And you're one of the smartest people I know!" And then, true to his nature, he got carried away and grabbed Tenten's right hand, gripping it tightly in his own. "Tenten, you should know by now that I love you too!" He heard Tenten's breath hitch, but thought nothing of it, so caught up in his speech he was. "But my love for you is pure and innocent, like the beautiful flower that you are!"

An eerie quiet followed, and after a few seconds, Tenten gently pulled her hand away from Lee. It bothered him for some reason, but he had no time to process what it was because Tenten suddenly started speaking again.

"Hey Lee?" A pause. "Let's say, hypothetically speaking, you and I and Neji and Sakura are on a mission, and Sakura and I got captured by the enemy—"

"I will never let that happen!"

"I know, I know, but hypothetically speaking— "

"What does hypothetically speaking mean, Tenten?"

". . . assuming that Sakura and I got caught, and we were left hanging, suspended on a tall tree—"

"—but why would they suspend you on a tree?"

"—and the ropes broke at the same time—"

"—why would the ropes break? You are not that heavy!"

"—just let me finish, goddamn it—and you can only save one . . . which one will you save?"

"Sakura-san, of course!"

And there was a heartbreaking silence that followed, for a fraction of a second Lee wasn't sure if he should have answered differently. But his conviction told him it was the right answer, no matter how shattered Tenten looked at that very moment.

"I see," she whispered, barely audible, even for him.

Lee was confused. Why did Tenten sound so disappointed? His answer was justifiable!

More than the fact that he has been infatuated with Sakura-san since their genin years, Lee answered like that because he knew that given that situation, he need not worry about Tenten at all. Neji would rush to catch her, whether Lee or anyone else was there or not. No one would be able to catch her faster than Neji could. He wouldn't let anyone else catch her, stubborn person that he was.

The, "I'm tired now," Tenten said, rolling to her side. "Please leave."

"But Tenten—" He needed to explain! He didn't want Tenten to think he did not care for her!

"Just . . . can you call Neji? I want to go to my room."

"I'll take you there!" He cared for her! She was important to him!

"No." There was such heaviness in her voice that Lee suddenly froze, and realized that no matter what he say, the discussion was over, and he had no option but to obey her.

Half a minute and he was back with Neji in tow. His eternal rival was beside their female friend in a flash. "Tenten?" Neji asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey Neji," Tenten croaked, and she stirred, placing a hand on top of Neji's, and Lee felt something in his heart break at the sound of her voice. "Do you think you can help me up my room? My foot is killing me, and I think the painkillers are starting to wear off."

"Of course." Without preamble, Neji scooped up Tenten bridal-style, and for once, the kunoichi made no protest as the byakugan user carried her.

And as Lee watched Neji bring Tenten upstairs, his arms around her protectively, her arms around his neck for support, something in his chest stirred, something he had never felt before, not even with Sasuke-kun or Naruto-kun.

He was jealous.

End of Chapter Ten

Well, I hope that explains things, more or less. It took longer to update, but yeah, well, work is starting to come in again (I was officially awarded fifteen new book projects this week, talk about a heavy load) so I may not update as quickly as I have been the past weeks. But never fear! Update I shall, as humanly possible! (It's 1 a.m. here so forgive me if I'm not making sense anymore.)

And since shameless plugging is shameless, I will be shameless and plug my newest oneshot, "Rebirthing," which features a ghost Neji but not really, a crazy Tenten but not quite, and Lee and Gai-sensei with the usual candy sprinkles (or not).

Thank you to all who reviewed (too sleepy to list down everyone, but I responded to everyone, right? Well, except the anonymous reviews, I think) and I really, really, really appreciate everything you told me since the last time I posted. Gosh, you guys are amazing.

Reviews will be lovely, and flames will be used to, well, roast chestnuts?