You Must Believe in Spring
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Seasons In-Between
Saturday, May 16th 6:21 AM
Konoha/Lee's Apartment/Gai's Dojo
Rock Lee normally bounded out of bed as a riotous ball of sunshine and energy and youth
Today he woke up, pressed his face to his pillow, and groaned.
What had he been thinking last night?
A tree?
Who climbs a tree?
He hadn't been following them, really. In fact, it had taken him a moment to realize who was ahead of him while he was still in the crowd. When he saw Kiba wrap Tenten's arm in his and begin to walk with her down the street, Lee felt his eyes grow wide; weren't they just meeting for a game of pool? Was this, in fact, a date? Why hadn't she told them? Grateful to be downwind and just another chakra signature in the crowd, Lee kept going the direction he was already heading. He realized Kiba was walking Tenten home, which was the same route he was going to take. He frowned to himself. He didn't want to bother his teammate, and he certainly didn't want to spy on her, but they were going to roughly the same place, and he ran the risk of interrupting her time with Kiba if he was spotted. He watched for a moment, noting the easy way in which the two of them conversed. He tried to remember the last time he had seen Tenten this way in an off-duty setting. Come to think of it, when was the last time he had seen her in an off-duty setting, period?
He took a different path home, but got waylaid helping some visitors to Konoha find their way to Ichiraku's. He heard Tenten's laughter before he saw them. Knowing he was out of time, and that he didn't want to be spotted, he went up the tree. They both looked out for her in their own way, and Lee had gotten the idea that maybe Neji wasn't so sure about her going somewhere with Kiba. Lee assumed that Neji had a reason or was just stressed about tomorrow's events. Lee had no problem with Kiba – Lee didn't really have a problem with anyone – but Neji was far more reserved. Lee had learned to trust his teammate's judgment.
He was abysmally certain Neji wouldn't have hidden in a tree.
Lee still couldn't believe he had responded when Kiba called out to him. He entered his apartment and left his shoes by the door and sighed as he hung his keys on the small hook near the door. He trudged into the kitchen and flicked the kettle on. He slumped at his kitchen table with a cup of hot tea, and finally sent a text to Kiba.
'Sincere apologies, Kiba. I wasn't following you and Tenten. I do not want you to think her teammates were spying on you."
Moments later, Kiba replied.
'I know; I'm a tracker, remember? No worries. I'd probably do the same thing for Hinata, so no big deal even if you had been. You're a good friend, Lee. See you tomorrow '
Lee felt better at that. Certainly, Kiba would have known if Lee was following him, on purpose.
Still, he felt unnerved.
When Neji arrived at the dojo at his normal fifteen minutes early to find Lee already warming up, he studied his teammate closely.
"Getting an even earlier start than usual?"
Lee rubbed the back of his neck.
"I …I was hoping to talk to you before Tenten gets here," he admitted.
Neji nodded, understanding. "What is on your mind?"
Lee winced. "I think… I think I messed up."
"Oh?"
Lee sighed. "Alright, so…" he shifted his weight, "it all started when I accidentally followed Kiba and Tenten home…"
*This is between ch's 8 and 9 of YMBiS, and the day after Ch 8 in Bonfire Nights.
