Chapter Text
You sigh, taking another sip straight out of your bottle of sake. You wince as you feel the strong flavor sticking to your tongue, and burning your throat. You certainly don't enjoy the taste, but right now, you just need to think about anything, no-, anyone else.
You had been looking forward to spending time with Lee tonight. He's been your best friend for many years, but over time your feelings for him have reached a point way past platonic, and you have only since been waiting for any sign that he feels the same. You love Rock Lee, sometimes so much it hurts.
And tonight it hurts, alright.
The spring festival was coming up so you had gathered up all your courage and asked him out - and he agreed. Though you aren’t sure if he had understood it was meant to be a date, spending time with him would be enough for you.
Is what you had thought.
He spent most of the night being weirdly quiet. Lee is never quiet, but tonight he was, and he seemed to be avoiding your gaze. He barely even touched the food you bought for the two of you, before you lost him in the crowd.
When you eventually had to give up on finding him again, you went back to the food stalls, and bought an overpriced bottle of sake.
And it doesn't even taste good, you think, as you take yet another sip to drown out your heavy thoughts.
You’ve found a bench in a forest clearing close enough to the festivities to be safe, but still far away enough to be vacant. You can still get a good view of the fireworks in this spot. It won't be long now, half an hour at most.
You had planned to share this moment with Lee, hoping the romantic atmosphere could finally progress your relationship into something more. But here you are. On your own. Just torturing yourself with the mental image.
Tears sting at the corners of your eyes, threatening to fall, but you take a big swig to dull the pain.
Stupid fucking Rock Lee.
♡♡♡
“Agh, I am so stupid! Why is it so hard with her?” Lee talks out loud to himself, frantically looking around for you.
It had been so easy to confess to Sakura all those years ago, so why was it so different with you? Of course Lee knows that what he feels for you is way different than some instant infatuation he had when he was 13, but still! It wasn't like him to get tongue tied around anyone, and you are his best friend, for goodness sake!
Lee had meticulously planned out this evening in his head ever since you invited him - first, he would give you the best time of your life whilst enjoying the array of festival activities, which would in turn completely sweep you off your feet, and finally he would confess his undying love to you, and your lips would meet beneath the fireworks in a youthful kiss!
However, the closer the festival got, the more nervous he became about his plan. And when the fateful evening finally came around, and he saw you standing there all dolled up in your pink kimono, designed to match the colors of the falling cherry blossoms floating through the air, the strangest thing happened.
For the first time in his life, Rock Lee was speechless. And he had no idea how to handle it. He was a complete disaster the entire evening. He found himself wishing he had worn something else than his usual jumpsuit, feeling severely underdressed in comparison. You looked so pretty, and he had to look away several times to keep his mind from wandering. When he looked away for too long, he had lost you in the crowd.
It was safe to say that his plan had already failed pretty spectacularly. Lee being Lee however, wasn't going to give up so easily.
Still looking around for you to no avail, Lee is distracted by a particular stall out of the corner of his eye. He moves closer to the array of small trinkets, and a pretty pink bracelet catches his attention. He picks it up, observing it in his hand. The shiny pink beads remind him of you, and he smiles fondly. He swallows, before his thick brows knit together in determination. No matter what, Lee will definitely confess tonight!
“Are you getting that?”
Lee utters a little yelp, startled by a familiar voice pulling him out of his trance. He glances to his side, to discover his two teammates standing arm in arm.
“It will go well with her kimono!” Tenten continues, a teasing smile playing on her lips, while Neji is looking off to the side, seemingly disinterested in the whole ordeal.
Lee's face turns red as he struggles to respond, before a lightbulb goes off in his head.
Of course! Neji!
Lee turns to face Neji, newfound hope in his eyes. Fortunately Tenten is quick on her feet or she would’ve been pushed to the ground, when Lee eagerly lunges forward towards his stoic teammate, bowing his head dramatically.
“Neji, please assist me! I have lost my date in the crowd; will you use your byakugan to locate her, please Neji!” Lee begs shamelessly, and he hears his rival mumble profanities under his breath. Unbothered, he looks up at his teammate, big round eyes sparkling. The Hyuuga huffs, eyeing a crowd of people staring in their direction.
“Fine, if it means you’ll stop causing a scene,” he sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance. He dodges Lee’s attempts to embrace him in thanks, before activating his byakugan.
In mere seconds Neji locates your form. He gives his desperate teammate brief directions, and barely gets to finish speaking, before Lee is running off in a rush to find you. He even forgets to pay for the bracelet. The vendor yells after him, but Lee is long gone.
“That idiot…” Neji mutters, already pulling out his wallet. He looks like he’s about to pop a vein. Tenten giggles next to him.
“Don’t be so hard on him! He’s lovesick.” Tenten lightly nudges his arm, before taking it again.
“Maybe you should be harder on him. He nearly pushed you over,” Neji huffs again, but Tenten only smiles playfully, giving his arm a little squeeze. It doesn’t help the frown on his face, but it does manage to add a nice shade of pink to it.
♡♡♡
Halfway through your bottle of sake, your face starts to flush and you no longer feel the cold of the breezy spring night.
Though your skin still shivers, when you’re startled by a rattling bush behind you, and when you see Lee emerge from it, you're a hurricane of mixed emotions.
First and foremost, there's surprise, then relief and longing, but also hurt - anger even. He is somehow simultaneously the person you want to see the most and the least right now.
You turn your back to him again. You don’t look at him when he sits down next to you, but you hear him audibly inhale before opening his mouth to speak. He says your name, in a quiet whisper, almost as if he’s too afraid to say it. You pretend you don’t hear him. He tries again.
“I am so sorry for being weird tonight, I…” His voice comes out hoarse, and he clears his throat. “I have something to tell you.”
You finally look at him, unsure of what to expect. Lee looks all red and flustered beneath the moonlight. Had you been sober and less upset with him, you would have been concerned. He avoids your gaze again, and you resist the urge to punch him in the face for it. You see his Adam's apple move up and down, as he swallows.
“My mouth feels awfully dry, can I have a sip of your water, please?”
“My water?” You raise an eyebrow in confusion. As far as you know, you don’t have any water with you- oh.
You reach out to stop him, but it’s too late, Lee has already gulped down the second half of your sake. Knowing full well his history with alcohol, you fully expect him to pick a fight with you, or worse, wreak havoc on the entire festival. Instead, you watch him as he slumps over, head falling onto your shoulder.
“Lee?” you call out carefully, and he murmurs something into your sleeve. The vibration against your skin makes you tremble.
He lifts his head up, and looks into your eyes. His face is all flushed, and his lips are glistening with the liquor still on them. Your heart skips a beat. He's so close, you can feel his hot breath on your face.
"You so pretty…" he slurs, cupping your cheek with a clumsy hand. "May I kiss you?" His request sends a surge of butterflies through your stomach, and your heart beats loudly in your chest.
This is what you have wanted for so long, and now here he is suddenly more than willing. Except the man you love so much in front of you is intoxicated, and what’s even worse about it, the green-clad lightweight never remembered any of his drunken episodes. Who is to say he even really wants this? Does he even really know what he's asking? If there is a God, then certainly they must hate you.
Still, you feel yourself struggling to restrain yourself.
Don't do it. He won't remember, it's going to hurt when he doesn't remember, the rational part of your brain tells you, and you know it's true, but you're not exactly sober either, and you're so enticed, so tempted.
You force your eyes away from his lips, trying to shake off your desire.
"You won't even remember it, idiot," you scoff at him, doing your best not to cave in, and do something you'll definitely regret.
Lee's other hand finds your thigh, giving it a light squeeze. The action immediately brings your gaze back onto him, firmly fixed on his half lidded eyes.
"I am your idiot," he says, with a toothy grin and his thumb brushes over your cheekbone. God, he's so gorgeous.
No matter how hard you try not to, you find yourself leaning towards him like a moth to a flame, and before you know it his mouth is on yours. It's not the gentle, shy first kiss you had imagined with him, instead fiery and messy, but when his tongue slips past your lips to meet yours, you no longer care.
Lee lifts you up, and in one swift motion you're straddled on his lap. His mouth finds your neck, and you shut your eyes, throwing back your head. His name espaces your lips in a breathy moan, and you’re further entranced by the sensation of a low groan vibrating against your neck in response.
Your eyes don't open, until the sky lights up above you in a festive explosion of fireworks, and you briefly wonder if it's only happening in your head. For a moment, you think you're going to fall backwards, but Lee's hands catch your back, firmly holding you in place and pulling you closer. Your lips meet again in a passionate kiss, that doesn't end before the both of you are panting for air.
Your forehead rests against his, eyes still closed as you try to catch your breath.
"Look at me," he says in a tone you've never heard him speak in before, and when you do, there's an adoring look in his eyes, and it almost makes you tear up. He lifts a hand to your face, and carefully traces a finger over the bridge of your nose, down to your swollen lips.
The act is so sweet, and tender, it tugs on your heartstrings and you’re almost fooled by it, until he opens his mouth to speak again.
"Fuck, you're so beautiful," he slurs, and it feels like a slap to your face when you're reminded that this is drunk Lee, not the Lee you're in love with. The Lee you love won't remember this in the morning, and he certainly doesn't use words like 'fuck'.
Suddenly you're pissed off again, but you’re not finished with him just yet.
You lean down and bite into his neck, sucking hard on the same spot. Lee whines and hisses, throwing out more swear words, so awfully unlike him.
You’ll give him something to remember.