Title: A New Era

Author: Shera

Disclaimer: Maybe I can talk Santa into giving me the rights…

Chapter 21

Lee wandered down the aisles of the baby boutique like he had been transported to a different land. He never realized how much stuff an infant needed. There were a few items that seemed completely ridiculous that the store carried like baby sunglasses. The thing he noticed most was how soft everything looked. He couldn't help picking up the different plush animals and giving each of them a gentle squeeze.

Sakura was holding a registration sheet on a clipboard as she selected practical things. Ten Ten had told her to put a wish list together of gifts for her upcoming baby shower. She had wanted Lee's opinion but he had vanished amongst the baby blankets and hadn't been seen since. It was fine since she was only asking for the essentials for the moment. Things like changing tables, diaper genies, and a sweet little rocking chair she had seen. She found the store clerk and gave her the finished form before starting the hunt for her husband.

The store was fairly large and the only other time she had been inside it was when she was purchasing a gift for Ten Ten. Somewhere after the breast pumps, pacifiers, and baby bath tubs she found Lee. He was standing over a crib playing with the mobile attached to it. She looked at him questioning, "Honey, you ready to go?"

"I think we should get one of these," he had a different mobile in each hand. One had suns, moons, and stars while the other had bunnies, bears, and squirrels.

"They're cute but I don't know about the themes."

"How about this one?" he held up an under the sea themed mobile with fish, starfish, an octopus, and turtles.

"I like that -whoa" she stopped mid-sentence and used the crib to support herself.

"Sakura!" Lee ran to her concerned.

She put a finger to her lips as she steadied herself, "I'm fine that just caught me by surprise." He looked at her confused so she took his hand to show him, "Feel this."

Nothing happened at first but then he felt a fluttering motion under his palm. It stopped just as soon as it had started so he waited for it to happen again. "What am I feeling?"

Sakura was disappointed that he may have missed it, "I thought I felt the baby move maybe I imagined it. What were you asking?"

He held the mobile in his free hand up for her to see again, "Do you like this one?" Before she could answer they both felt an actual kick make contact with his palm. His eyebrows went up as it stopped. Lee ran his hand over the spot in a circular motion in an attempt to get it to happen again. Then a thought occurred to him, "Do you like the mobile that Daddy picked out?"

Once again nothing happened at first but a frenzy of movement soon followed his question, "Lee, just go and buy the darn thing already." His eyes lit up as he gave her a thumbs up before going to the check out. She ran a hand over her belly, "You're so spoiled already."

They returned home with Lee happily carrying his purchase in a little bag. Ten Ten greeted them at their own door when they arrived. Her little family had come over earlier so Neji could measure the space he'd be working with and so she could force Sakura to make her wish list. "What's in the bag?"

"Little Gai picked it out," Lee said as he showed her the mobile.

From behind his back Ten Ten mouthed, "Little Gai?" and Sakura just shook her head like, "Don't ask."

"When Lee was showing me mobiles the baby started to kick when he held that one up," Sakura explained.

Ten Ten got excited, "Is it still kicking?"

"Not anymore. I think the walk put it to sleep for now."

"Aww, well if it starts up again just let me know," she replied.

"I am going to attach this to the crib now," Lee said giddily as he passed Neji and Shouta on his way upstairs. Neji didn't respond to Lee's behavior as he passed him. At this point he was immune to Lee's idiosyncrasies. Shouta was making grumpy faces from the carrier hanging off his father as he watched the strange man pass them.

He waited until Lee was well out of ear shot before he spoke, "Sakura, I know what you told me but I just want to make sure you weren't influenced by anyone."

"Influenced in what way?" she said taking a seat in the living room.

"I just want to be sure that you are going to be happy with the mural once it's done," he replied while Ten Ten took their son from him.

"No, I came up with the idea on my own. Although," she looked down as a thought struck her, "Do you mind a modification to the original plan?" He leaned in close so she could speak softly into his ear.

Neji mulled it over in his mind for a moment, "That won't be a problem."

Ten Ten reentered the room with a freshly changed Shouta, "By the way, Sakura. The mail came while you were out. I put it on the kitchen table."

"Thank you, to both of you for being so helpful," the pink haired woman said.

"Eh, no trouble at all." Ten Ten replied before Neji could, "We'll just let ourselves out so just sit and relax. We have to get this guy some new clothes already. He just keeps growing!" Just like that she wrangled both of her men out the door and towards the shopping district.

Lee came into the room shortly after they left, "Where did everybody go?"

"They had some errands to run," she explained as he handed her the mail addressed to her. "Thank you, dear." Carefully she sorted through the various letters until a thick one caught her attention. Its paper was of a finer quality than the rest of it and it made her curious. She opened it and started to read its contents.

"Gai-sensei sent me a letter," Lee happily commented, "he writes, 'I can not say much about my mission for it is top secret but I shall be home sometime next month. First I have to remove the vile villains that live here and serve them the sweet taste of justice. They are fools to misjudge the power of youth. Send my love to my other adorable students and to Sakura as well.'"

"God damn it!" Sakura exclaimed to Lee's shock.

"Should I not give you Gai-sensei's love?" Lee asked timidly.

"I don't believe it," she got up from her seat as she reread her letter. "Yeah, we'll just see about this," she said more to herself as she went to put her shoes back on. "We shall see!"

He cringed at the sound of the door slamming. For the life of him he didn't know what that was all about. He could gather that she was upset about something but Sakura did sometimes storm out suddenly. The envelope was still on the table so he examined it and recognized the paper from the Hokage's stationery. It must have been some extremely important information for her to bother writing a letter instead of just telling Sakura in person. He put the empty envelope down where he found it and returned to his own letter.

From under their coffee table he pulled the box of their own stationery out. He wanted to write a response to Gai's letter right away. With pen poised he thought about how he should start it. Inspiration took over and the words came naturally to him. He told him about home life, his own adorable students, and how he was looking forward to his return. It didn't take long for him to fill the page. He dragged an envelope from the box and postmarked it for the mailman to take the following day.

As he went to put the box back he caught a glimpse of Sakura's pretty pink paper that she used for her own correspondences. Most of the writing she did was for official reasons so this paper rarely got used anymore. She did bring some of it with her on her last mission. All the letters she wrote him had been on this sort of paper at least. It made him feel a little special to think he was the only one that got pink letters.

The first time he had seen pink stationery was indeed from a letter she had written him and at the time he thought it was the prettiest color in the entire world.

OOO

Lee was smiling broadly as he finished the final lap of his morning jog. His recovery was going well but he was more happy about finally being allowed to go outside again. With everyday he was starting to feel more and more like his old self. Gai had been forbidden to train with him just because Tsunade was worried he would push Lee beyond his limits and undo his recovery process. Needless to say Lee missed the company of his sensei but he had to respect the Hokage's wishes.

He stepped nimbly up the stairs to his apartment and unlocked the door. His favorite jumpsuit had felt tight when he had started to wear it again but it felt even better now that he had stopped his strict bed rest. Lee stretched a few times before taking off the jumpsuit and adding it to his laundry pile. The weights that he used to wear looked so lonely from their place in his closet but he didn't want a scolding from either Tsunade or Gai so they stayed there.

He turned the faucet on in the shower and let the water warm up as he pulled his only garment of clothing off. Once the steam started to waver behind the shower curtain Lee got in. His muscles relaxed and he concentrated on nothing else but washing. After diligently scrubbing he turned off the hot water and filled a basin with cold water. Then just like Gai had taught him he dumped the cold water over himself. Gai had once said that cold water invigorates the body and keeps a person young and healthy. Of course that was after throwing his pupils into an almost frozen lake. Lee had taken this to heart and always did it after a successful workout.

Goose pimples appeared all over his skin as he shook his wet hair from his face. It had grown long over the last few months. As he put on his cotton pants he decided that he would make time to get a haircut once he was done with his laundry. He combed his wet hair and then grabbed his laundry basket. With it in hand he opened his door. To say he was surprised to see the kunoichi standing behind his door was an understatement.

"Sakura-chan?" he asked so stunned he dropped his basket.

She lowered the raised hand she was going to use to knock on his door, "Hi, Lee."

He got flustered when he realized his dirty under things were in plain sight. Quickly he snatched everything up before she could help him. "Please come in," he said double checking that no offending articles were around.

"Thank you," she replied and took her shoes off before entering.

Lee watched the way she effortlessly moved around the room. He had imagined having her over for tea before but he never thought those dreams would come to any fruition. The smell of his dirty laundry snapped him out of his daydream as he realized that he had been hugging the basket to his chest. With his foot he slid the basket out of sight and joined her at his little table.

Sakura's eyes roamed freely for a few moments before settling on Lee, "There really is no easy way to say this," she faltered, "the real reason I stopped by," she bowed her head, "I wanted to apologize for any hurtful actions I've done to you."

Lee put up his hands, "Oh no, that is okay," he then bowed his head, "I am sorry you have to apologize to me. I should not have said the things I did to you. I was angry with myself and I made it your fault." It was then that he remembered he was half dressed and in front of Sakura to boot! Carefully he examined the room to see if there was anything to cover himself with. Why didn't he keep any blankets around?

"I wrote you a letter just in case you didn't want to see me." Lee tried to cover himself with his arms; the only things in his arsenal. "I thought it was important that you know how I really feel about you." Lee tried to shrink behind the table to cover his nakedness. "With all the sudden madness we never got to reconcile and I felt guilty about that. Are you cold or something?"

Now why hadn't he thought of that? "Oh, I am a little chilled. I will just go get something to put on. Excuse me for a moment." He got up but didn't expect her to follow him to the bedroom.

"I better check on you then," she said and before he could protest she had a hand on his forehead. "Hmm, you don't feel feverish." she checked his pulse next, "Your heart rate does seem a little high though."

How he had forgotten that she was a trained physician he couldn't say but Lee relaxed under her hands as she checked him. Then something occurred to Lee that hadn't before. Sakura was probably used to looking at half naked men because of medicine. In fact she probably had seen most if not all the men in the village half naked. How dare they expose themselves to this innocent creature? Lee could feel his own fire building inside him. Just when he was about to declare justice for her he heard her ask, "Lee, where did you get this?" Her fingers traced a scar on his arm.

"Gai-sensei was teaching us how to fish and Ten Ten's lure got stuck there."

Sakura bit her lip to stop herself from giggling, "And this one?"

"That one and these two are from learning how to open my twelve gates."

"What about this one here?"

"Maybe we should not be doing this," he found the matching top to his cotton pants and slipped it on.

"Did I do something wrong?" she asked mystified by his sudden change.

"I just do not want to talk about them anymore."

"Are you ashamed?" His back stiffened, "Or is it me?" she walked around to face him. Lee stood rigid as she put her hands on his shoulders, "Scars are reminders of obstacles that we over came to become the people that we are. Why don't you want me to see the reflections of who you are?"

"Not all reflections are beautiful," he replied.

She shrugged, "That's true but mirrors are imperfect tools themselves. Sometimes you have to look at the overall picture for yourself." She pulled the shirt that he just put on off in a single tug. Then she stood back and took all of him in for a few silent moments. "Just like I thought."

"What?" he asked a little worried.

"You are a beautiful man, Rock Lee." He felt his cheeks grow warm at the compliment. "Is that the time?" she asked seeing his wind up clock on the mantle. "I have to be going now I don't want to be late for work." He followed her to the door as she put her shoes back on, "Are you free tonight?"

He blinked, "Free?"

"There's going to be a meteor shower tonight. I was going to stay up late to watch it. Would you like to join me?" she asked shyly.

"Oh," he didn't want to seem too eager, "yeah, sure I could make time for that."

Her eyes sparkled when she smiled, "Okay, I'll meet you at training block fourteen then." She turned to leave, "Oh yes, this is for you. See you later." Sakura handed him a pink envelope before taking her leave. He watched as she disappeared into the crowd of the other people heading to work.

Lee stood dumbfounded as his mind tried to process what had just happened. Did Sakura just ask him on a date? He ran back into his apartment and left the letter on the bed as he found his cotton shirt. Hastily he put it back on as well as his shoes. Then he ran as fast as he was allowed into town. He was sure that his sensei could give him some advice as to how to handle tonight if it was indeed a date. It wasn't until Lee had arrived in town that it occurred to him that he wasn't sure where to find Gai.

"I see you're taking my words about resting to heart," Tsunade said as she stepped out of a bar she may of passed out in the night before.

"I promise that I am doing no more than you have previously specified," he said with the most sincerity she probably had ever heard but somehow she felt that it was rehearsed.

"What are you up?"

"I was looking for Gai-sensei-"

"Oh no you weren't. You were going to go home before you hurt yourself," she said firmly as she pushed him back in the direction of his apartment.

"I did not want to do any training I was merely searching for his advice," he explained.

"Fine, ask me then."

"I do not know if I can…"

"And why not?" She said while crossing her arms.

"Um well," he put his hand to his chin. It seemed like such a silly thing to bother the Hokage about. Then again Sakura was her student so maybe she was the appropriate person to ask about this. "Would you know if- I mean is it possible that- how would I know-"

He stopped and started over so many times that Tsunade felt her patience starting to leave her, "Come in here and sit with me for a minute." She dragged him back into the bar that she had just left. They sat in a booth, "Nice and cozy. Now what's on your mind?"

The quiet atmosphere relaxed his frazzled nerves. He took a breath before he started to explain, "Sakura came to my apartment this morning."

"I see," she replied after ordering a tea and a glass of milk for him. "How did that go?"

"Fine I guess. She invited me to see the meteor shower with her tonight."

"Did she now?" she smiled into her hands as she watched him get flustered all over again.

"How do I know if it is a date or not?"

The server came back with their beverages which bought her some time to form her response. She sipped her tea after the server left them, "That is a dilemma." He waited for her words of wisdom. Gai would be spouting all kinds of things by now so Lee couldn't get a word in. Tsunade seemed to have a different approach. "What do you think she thinks of you?"

"I would say that we are friends."

"But you want to be something more?"

"I asked her to be my girlfriend the first day we met," he said quietly because in retrospect it hadn't been the smartest thing to do at the time.

Tsunade mentally pictured how that scenario may of played out and she could guess not well by the expression on his face, "Here's a crazy idea."

"Yes?" he asked expectantly.

"You could always ask her if it is a date."

Could the solution to his problem be so blatantly obvious, "Really?"

"At the very least you should tell her how you feel. Maybe things have changed since you last asked her to be your girlfriend."

"I do not know," he said before draining his sorrows in milk. He really didn't want to be rejected again it wasn't all that much fun. 'You are a beautiful man, Rock Lee,' Sakura's voice rang clearly in his head.

"Have faith," Tsunade soothed him. He gave her a little smile with a thumbs up.

"There you are," Shizune said with her hands on her hips. "I should of known you'd be here."

Tsunade gave her an innocent look, "I was imparting wisdom to the youth."

Shizune looked from one to the other briefly, "Be that as it may you are needed elsewhere."

The blond sighed as she put some money down on the table, "Fine, I'll be along in a minute. Good luck young man and dress warmly it's going to be cold tonight."

"Thank you very much," he bowed as she left. Then he remembered the full laundry basket he had at home and left himself to take care of it.

"That wasn't cool, Shizune," Tsunade said as she caught up with her.

"I do what I must to keep you on track," she replied stiffly with her little piggy walking beside her. She led all the way to the tower and eventually to Tsunade's office. "Now we have some new mission requests that you have yet to assign." Tsunade grumbled to herself as she started to review the documents shoved under her nose.

Sakura was washing the large windows behind the desk when they had arrived but she had moved onto watering the plants. Tsunade watched her out of the corner of her eye as she did her mundane chores. A small smile curved on her face as her mind wandered aimlessly and the motion didn't escape her master's notice. "Sakura?"

"Yes?" she asked snapping to attention.

"Can you fetch me a coffee, light and sweet?" It was too early in the morning for this fluffy teenaged love crap for her.

"Right away," she replied as she left to fulfill the request. A smile quirked on her face as she watched her young pupil leave. Her instincts told her that Lee might be finally getting his wish after all.

Sakura dragged her feet all the way home after a long day of work. Every joint in her body complained as she moved. After a majority of the office work had been finished Tsunade wanted to run drills with her. For an older woman she sure had a lot of energy to work with. Then again Sakura had been the one taking trips up and down the stairs for random items all day. Tsunade seemed to need a lot of coffee today. She sighed when she got home. It sounded like her mother was in the kitchen from the various noises she heard coming from there.

"I'm home," Sakura called.

"Welcome home," her mother replied.

Sakura went into the kitchen, "What are you doing?"

"I'm just making some miso soup for you to bring with you tonight. It'll be cold and I thought it was a good idea."

"Thanks, Mom. I'm going to shower and I'll be right back," she said before shuffling upstairs to do just that. A little while she returned to the kitchen clean and wearing warmer clothes. "I feel human again," she announced at her arrival.

"Good," her mother replied handing her a packed knapsack, "There are a few extra things in there."

"A few?" Sakura asked sarcastically as she juggled the bag.

"Don't sass your mother. Now go and have a good time."

"Yes ma'am," she said as she grabbed her telescope before leaving.

The usual training grounds were not being used for their actual purpose as she found many other stargazers sitting on top of blankets scattered throughout. She was sure to find Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji among them since Ino had told her about the shower last week. Carefully she made her way through the bodies, some more entangled than others, until she reached section fourteen.

It hadn't occurred to her that this was a romantic sort of affair. The way Ino described it while impersonating Shikamaru it sounded very scientific and possibly boring. Then again some people didn't need much encouragement to make it into one. She didn't see Lee so she found an empty spot to put her own blanket.

While she waited she settled into the spot and used her telescope to get a closer look at spots in the night sky. Lee had just found her after a rather difficult under taking. He hadn't realized that this was going to be such a large event.

"Hello," he greeted her.

"Hey, you found me! I was just thinking I should of picked a more specific place to meet," she replied. "Want to sit down?"

"Yes, thank you," he felt very tense as he sat down. Sakura had never specified what this was exactly but he was the only one here with her. Maybe others were coming but she didn't seem to be expecting anyone else.

"My mom made some soup to keep us warm if you're hungry," she offered.

"That would be nice."

Sakura pulled some mugs out of her knapsack along with a thermos that she poured from, "Here you are."

"Thank you," he said yet again. She was contently sipping her own soup as he tried to steady himself so he didn't spill his. He was burning to start a conversation with her but he didn't know what to say. Of course he didn't want to sound stupid but nothing intelligent was forming in his mind.

"I'm glad you came," she finally said, "It would of made me feel lonely to sit here by myself. You're a good friend, Lee."

He felt a stab in his heart when she said that. Maybe he should except that she had all the power in their relationship, "Thank you for inviting me."

"You don't have to thank me all the time. It's really nothing," she said while hugging her knees.

"But it is to me. When I was growing up I was hardly included in things like this. You at least took the time to think about me and that means a lot."

Before she could respond various voices rose over the other chatter to draw attention to the sky. They watched as the meteors streaked across the sky scarcely at first but their numbers increased with time. "Here," she said handing over the telescope, "you look first."

He took it gently, "You sure?" She nodded her head. Lee pointed it towards the sky and focused it so he could see clearly. It was mysteriously beautiful. He lowered it from his eye and glanced in her direction. She was looking skyward with the stars reflecting in her eyes. The cold had given her cheeks a rosy glow as well. She looked more like a heavenly being than a normal woman to him.

When she turned her head back towards him he closed the distance between them and kissed her mouth tenderly. The move surprised her but she let herself give into the sensation as she moved her gloved hand to his cheek. He pulled away stunned by his own actions, "I am sorry, Sakura. I did not mean to invade your space. You just looked so beautiful and-"

"You're silly," she said straight faced, "and you didn't read the letter I wrote either."

He suddenly remembered the pink envelope on his bed, "The letter."

"If you did than you would know that this is okay with me," she rose to shyly meet his lips again. "Remember I told you to kiss me when it felt right." He nodded in response because he had no words to say to her. She leaned into his chest, "Lee?"

"Y-yes?" he stuttered not sure if he had somehow fallen asleep.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course you can."

"Could I be your girlfriend?"

He felt like his head was about to explode, "Come again?"

She sat up straight and faced him dead on, "Lee, go out with me and I will protect you with my life." He could barely see it in the dark but she gave him a thumbs up as well. Then he started to laugh as she wiggled her eyebrows to make up for not having as prominent ones as he did.

"You are weird," he said with a smile on his face before putting an arm around her. Once again she leaned into him as they kept each other warm while the shower continued above.

"So is that a yes?" she asked recapturing his gaze.

"Do you even have to ask?"

OOO

Lee held the letter in question in his hand. He never did read it as it was still sealed. After kissing her that night he didn't feel the need to open it because he already knew how she felt. He put it back with all the other letters she had written to him over the years. Then he tucked them back to their hiding place before Sakura burst back into the house.

She was taking off her shoes while muttering all sorts of absurd comments to herself. From his point of view her walk hadn't calmed her down in the lease. In fact she looked more aggravated then when she left. He knew the cure for this. It was to stay out of her way until she had no energy to punch you and then ask her what was wrong. That could take hours so he took the riskier approach and hugged her instead. She stood tense but eventually gave in and returned his affection. "It is going to be okay."

She moved away from him, "No it's not." she held the letter up, "The elders want me to testify for the trial of Sasuke Uchiha."

A/N: Ah yes, some fluff but I'm sure you all will forgive me for it. I'm super excited because Naruto is now back on air where I live so I can re watch the series. This is excellent news because I'll be able to reconnect with the characters and give a more accurate betrayal of them. Happy reading!