Watching her wasn't lost on him. He wasn't angry or spiteful or- So new and fresh and she was just like him. She had courage to face Neji, like he had, everyday. Today, that one day in time when she had said "enough" and fought back, attacking Neji only like he had. Only Lee, neither one never won. And so, they had one thing in common:
As a rookie, she only got to see her home and her team in Konoha. But after Neji and the battle and losing, hope was nothing. She would sit at the hospital, sleep in her bed all day. Waiting to recover, waiting for not-so-long ago when she could have but didn't.
And then she sat in the garden, outside, where the air was clean and smelled like nothing. And from his window he could see her sitting and he couldn't move. But he wanted to. He was broken and could turn his head to stare into the sun. She was there and she would smile a little, sometimes.
It occurred to him that protecting someone you care for was more than just a pink haired femme fatale who only sat and stared. She could look right through you but Hinata could do more and the same and more. She was- more. And in the sun she was bright and her cheeks were pink. Ohh, that color was deadly.
And in the garden, outside of that hospital, he would train. At night there was push ups and straining and sweat and never finishing the job. He would be caught during the day and she would be there. Her eyes were begging and pleading but he couldn't stop for anyone. He did it to become stronger and protect what was there, what he had now and maybe maybe.
For her there was now. And she watched him from behind a tree, hidden and hoping she was invisible. But then, he fell and she was there.
"Lee-san."
She gasped and he stared at her and it was the first time they'd spoken. She had said his name and still, here she was. Holding out medicine that she'd given to Naruto and Kiba before. Only now, Lee stared and couldn't move or speak. He took it with his hand, his hand that wasn't broken and mangled.
"It's, it is, medicine," she told him, looking at her arm and shoulder and jacket.
And he smiled. And she smiled, surprised. And it was sunny outside.
No pairing is cuter than them.
Ahh, Naruto isn't mine. D:
