Word had spread like wild over over a period of two days. The separation of the Nanadaime Hokage and his wife. Both parties had refused to say anything to the public so the rumor mill had run rampant faster than either one could have anticipated. Hinata had returned to the Hyuuga district, happy to give Naruto the house they had lived in so that the kids would be able to keep their rooms.

When word had spread to the hospital, Sakura had sat down after a long surgery, hoping to get a short relief when she had just overheard two nurses talking amongst themselves on when the Hokage would return to the dating scene. She placed a cold coffee against her forehead and closed her eyes. The pinkette hadn't seen her old teammate, but she was fairly certain she knew the cause of Hokage's recent marriage separation.

Several years ago, Sakura and Sasuke had made an arrangement, and both had kept to it. Sasuke's side was that he had to marry her and give her his name. As a civilian turned shinobi, she didn't have a clan but the Uchiha name held great prestige even amongst other villages. Adding that to her list of achievements certainly had helped. Not to mention the wide berth strangers had given her. Afterall, she was a student of one of the legendary Sannin and a badass in her own right. However, the fortune that had come with Sasuke's name had been more than she had saved, and with Sasuke's approval, she had used it to set up the Konoha Children Mental Health Clinic.

In return, Sakura would produce a child for him which would continue his bloodline. They had been on a mission together and when it had been completed, the two had gone for drinks. One thing led to another and their plan had gone off without a hitch. It was that night that Sasuke had admitted to her how he felt about their blonde teammate. It was the night Sakura had accepted that the Uchiha would never be hers.

Even in love, the two left her behind.

That wasn't necessarily true though, and she knew it. She had the chance. The opportunity to seek love, affection, family, and acceptance in a person. However, she had been so wrapped in a fantasy, that she had allowed for that opportunity to pass her by.

Sakura knew that it wouldn't be long before the Uchiha came to resolve their contract. She had to admit, even the idea was a wee bit bittersweet. How would Sarada react to their separation?

Across from her, Sakura heard a chair scrape across the floor and a person plop into it, letting out a large sigh. Opening one eye, she locked onto dark eyes, bushy brows, and his standard green leotard suit. "Sakura-chan! How are you this beautiful day?"

"Lee-san, what are you doing here," Sakura asked, choosing to ignore his inquiry. She didn't know if she could answer him truthfully.

"Metal had an incident during training so we are here to get him tended," Lee answered, although his eyes roamed over her face. What was it that Lee was looking for when he looked at her? Was he concerned? Did she have bags under her eyes? She did need to eat more? Yes. Not that it mattered. "Sakura-chan, when was the last time you relaxed?"

While she was surprised, Sakura tried to think the last time it was. Though she honestly couldn't remember when the last was. What did one do while they relaxed anyways? She had work. Sarada. What more did she need? So she shrugged in response to his question. Apparently, it was the wrong answer as Lee shouted, "YOSH! SAKURA-CHAN! WE SHALL SPAR!"

Before Sakura could reject the offer, he had already grabbed her by her wrist and was pulling her through the hospital. As they passed a nurse station, Lee shouted, "UCHIHA SAKURA IS GOING ON LUNCH. PLEASE LET METAL LEE KNOW THAT HIS FATHER HAS TAKEN SAKURA OUT! THANK YOU!"

Completely baffled, Sakura could only stare dumbfounded after the green suited man. Behind her, she could hear a small cheer from the hospital staff that sounded suspiciously similar to "thank the gods" but she couldn't be sure as the doors muffled their voices. She opened her mouth to say something however when she tried to search for it Sakura was unable to find the words that she wanted to say. Afterall, when was the last time she'd even gone sparring? Perhaps it would do her some good to relieve some of the stress and tension that she'd been thinking and Lee was the best person to go against her in many ways. Sometimes a person really just did need a good taijutsu duel.

So she quietly followed after him until they reached one of the training grounds. Sakura was thankful that Lee didn't try to engage her in conversation as she instead took note of her chakras levels. The surgery had been a long one however she was grateful she had chakra left over in case of emergency. She had no doubt there would be such a case, but Lee and herself had historically left a training ground decimated after practice, both equally exhausted.

Their weekly, sometimes bi-weekly meet ups had started shorted after Metal had been born. Lee's partner had had complications during her pregnancy and Tsunade and Shizune had been unable to save both the woman and child. At the mother's insistence, the previous Hokage and her assistant had depleted their chakra reserves just to ensure the child's survival. While Metal had been hospitalized until Tsunade had decided he could live without the extra support, Lee had spiralled into a state of depression and self destruction in his grief.

Even as Lee let her hand go to walk across the field, Sakura could still see the broken man he had been. She could still feel the terror she had felt when Gai-sensei had summoned her in a state of panic. Back then, Gai had led Sakura to one of the training grounds where Rock Lee had been on a rampage. By the time she had calmed him, he already had 6 of the 8 gates open. Sakura remembered having to beat sense into him, quite literally, by knocking him unconscious. While she had spent the time needed to stitch him back together, she had made several promises in hopes he would hear her.

He had.

One such promise was that whenever he needed to fight, to take his grief and channel it somewhere, she would meet him. Over the years, he had held her to it. If she were honest, it was therapeutic for her as well even if their sparring was sometimes delayed to missions. Which reminded her, when was their last match?

Even as the thought crossed her mind, her body reacted without direction to block Rock Lee's kick as she returned to the present. Even as the hum of anticipation swept through her and her emerald eyes locked on the green beast, Sakura could see Lee's grin. The little green eat knew she had been distracted.

Clenching her jaw, Sakura shifted her weight just as she turned her wrist and wrapped her hand around his leg. As she jerked his leg toward her, Sakura planted her other elbow into his gut. Hearing his breath escape him, Sakura then twisted to wrap her hand around his head, smashing his forehead into her right knee. Before contact, Sakura felt a hand enter the space before catching her knee. At the same time, she felt the leg she had caught plant itself on the ground and she was lifted into the air. Sakura's vision starred for a few seconds as her back collided with the ground.

What felt like an eternity later, Sakura and Rock Lee sat with backs against each other, panting heavily. When they had started, the sun had been high in the sky but now dusk wasn't far off. Both of them were breathing heavily as they say covered in a green glow as Sakura slowly used her remaining chakra to heal the worst of their wounds.

"Neh, Sakura-chan, did you want to talk about what's bothering you now," rock lee asked, still panting.

Even though Sakura didn't answer right away, Rock Lee simply remained quiet. His silence was always a great comfort to her. He always said his part then simply waited for her. He never rushed her and always seemed content to just be in her company. Sakura leaned her head back to rest against her back as she looked up at the sky. Did she want to talk about it? Not really. Who ever wants to talk about their failing marriage? Even though she had known from the beginning, Sakura had held onto a small hope, one she tried hard not to flame, that one day the Uchiha would look at her instead of their blonde teammate.

"I think I'm going to file for divorce," Sakura whispered.

She had never said the words out loud. It felt strange to hear the words out loud. The pinkette felt the male behind her stiffen and felt him shift as he tried to look over his shoulder at her. "Sakura-chan…."

"Even I have to know when to let go, yeah?" When Sakura's voice broke, she dropped her head, brought one hand to cover her mouth as the sob tried to escape, and squeezed her eyes shut. Immediately, she felt Rock Lee get up and wrap his arms around her. He placed one hand over her eyes, almost as if to give her a dark place to let go while He wrapped his other arm around her waist and pulled her body against his. She felt his head rest on top of her and She could hear his heart pounding against her back which made more tears fall from her eyes.

For her, it never should have been Rock Lee holding her.

For her, it had always been Sasuke.

For Sasuke, it had always been Naruto.

Between the mental toll from the surgery and now the physical exhaustion from sparring with Rock Lee, Sakura was unable to hold back the waves of expected grief and the tears it brought with it. At point, Sakura was sure that she was screaming, but she had disconnected from her reality. Logically, she knew it was a process that she needed to go through in order to heal, but that didn't mean she wanted to be present for her meltdown.

In that moment, Sakura was thankful for Rock Lee's presence. It meant she wasn't alone.

When she finally settled, her sobbing turned into hiccups, Rock Lee slowly withdrew his arms, almost as if he was unsure it was safe to do so. She opened her eyes and glanced up at the male who was still hovering with his arm still around her waist. He looked down at her with worry.

Before she could say anything, she heard a throat clear in front of her and Sakura was surprised to see Metal Lee, looking everywhere but directly at her, holding out a bottle of water. His cheeks were glowing a soft red which the pinkette thought was rather cute, except his presence meant he had seen her meltdown. With her own cheeks red, Sakura took the bottle and opened it. As the cool water hit her throat, Sakura flinched at how raw her throat was.

"Sakura-chan," Lee started, his voice soft in her ear. "Do what you do best. Fight. With your guidance, I was able to communicate my grief. I will help you do the same whenever you need it. However, talk with Sasuke-san, make him understand, even if you have to beat it into him. It seemed to have worked for Naruto-kun!"

Sakura chuckled, her eyes falling to the ground. He made a valid point.

Sakura stood up and wiped her face with her free hand. "Thank you, Lee," Sakura said quietly. After she brushed herself off, the pinkette turned to the DUO and smiled. "I'll think on your words. I'm glad you weren't injured too terribly, Metal."

Then she turned toward the hospital, her step surprisingly lighter than before.

Author's note: Aaaannnd that is a wrap on this chapter. I was going to commit to writing out the fight seen, but I chickened out sorry about that, but I hope you enjoyed! See you next time!