Rock Lee was a bit of an ugly duckling. However, at 25, he had grown into an incredibly handsome man, and the women in Konoha cannot help but stare and lust over him.
The thick eyebrows that looked overwhelming when he was younger now framed his chiseled face perfectly, giving him a dark, handsome appearance. The big, round eyes that used to put people off look just the right size in proportion to the rest of his face nowadays, and the roundness has softened out into more of an elongated shape as his expression relaxed with age. The fact that they are relatively big compared to the Konohan average just makes him look extra attentive and attractive. His long, thick eyelashes only made him look more sophisticated, reminiscent old Hollywood heartthrobs. His soft jaw has given way to a longer, narrow-ish, chiseled jawline. His prominent cupid's bow now only served to add a touch of sensuality to his look. On top of that, he'd grown his hair out so the extra off putting bowl cut is nowhere to be seen. With his green jumpsuit and leg warmers now tucked carefully somewhere in his wardrobe, he looked more like a model than ninja.
Every morning, he'd run around Konoha for exercise. In the summer, he'd forgo a shirt, opting for simple shorts instead. He doesn't notice how the women stare. The men stare, too, but he doesn't acknowledge it. People have always stared. When he was a kid, they stared because of his strange appearance. TenTen would tell him that he was more conventionally attractive nowadays, and to be honest, people have started calling him 'handsome', and even 'hot'(which Lee could not believe because those were words reserved exclusively for Uchihas, Kakashi and Neji), but somewhere deep inside, he was still the insecure little 13 year old who was used to being called ugly. It was somehow easier to hold onto that than start thinking otherwise. People are polite. They don't necessarily mean it when they compliment you.
And so Rock Lee continues on with his life, single and not ready to mingle.
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'Hey, TenTen, is Lee coming to Naruto's party tonight?'
TenTen, Sakura and Ino were gathered for their biweekly girls lunch in a fancy cafe in the centre of town. Hinata couldn't make it today but she was definitely always invited. Their conversations ranged from career to personal life, as well as, ahem, boys(men nowadays). Over the years, the conversation shifted from Sasuke to Neji(only when Hinata wasn't around), and to Sai. Ino was mostly the one to bring these things up, and although Sakura seemed stalwartly in love with Sasuke when she was younger, she's gradually opened up to the opportunities to talk about other men she found attractive. TenTen had always been hesitant to talk about her teammates in that manner, but she had always seen the appeal of Neji so she understood when the other girls gushed over him. However, recently, such conversations have started to shift to Lee, and while TenTen felt happy that the taijutsu specialist was finally freed from people constantly judging his appearance, the new kind of attention was not all that nice either and it made TenTen feel even more protective than before.
'Yh, he is. Why?' TenTen sipped her tea and feigned innocence, even though she had a feeling where this was going to go.
'Yes!' Ino and Sakura both got uncharacteristically excited. 'He's so hot now! I would never have seen it coming all those years ago.'
'I'd argue he's even hotter than Sasuke, don't you think?' TenTen raised an eyebrow. She didn't necessarily like the way the others were sexualising Lee nowadays, but if they were going to continue doing that, TenTen'd better get them to admit that her Lee was the best!
'I stopped seeing Sasuke as hot the moment he went crazy,' Ino responded, and Sakura shook her head as if to agree.
'Lee has a wonderful personality,' Sakura added, a blush forming on her cheeks. Don't you dare, TenTen thought to herself. She still hadn't forgotten about how Sakura had treated Lee in the past when the latter was head over heels for her. Even though they were kids, it is still inexcusable and Lee deserves better than someone who failed to see his attractive qualities before his 'glow up'.
TenTen hated that term when used on Lee. Lee has always been Lee. He never did anything to make himself look like your typical male model nowadays. He never changed himself for other people. The bowl cut and the jumpsuit were replaced because of a deep personal evolution, rather than some superficial need to look better for the women(or men) around him. He was always cute and handsome, and he was always going to grow into the man he is now, regardless of what Ino and Sakura thought of him.
'Anyway,' Ino woke TenTen up from her reverie. 'There's a favour I want from Lee.'
'What is it?' TenTen asked, eyes narrowing suspiciously. Ino caught on immediately.
'Oh relax!' Ino laughed. 'It's not a big deal.'
'Well, it could be! Lee would say yes to almost anything!' TenTen countered, frustrated at the thought of Lee agreeing to something stupid without even knowing it. Argh! Why is Lee like this! 'What is it that you want him to do?'
'Weellll,' Ino drew it out like it definitely was a big deal, so TenTen's eyes narrowed even further. 'We need him to dance.' Sakura's blush deepened.
'What for? And what kind of dance?' TenTen frowned, taken aback.
'You know...' Ino whispered, leaning closer to TenTen and looking around to make sure nobody could hear them. 'It's Hinata's birthday next week and we thought he could, you know, dance for her? It's just a dance performance but maybe he -'
TenTen caught the drift immediately. With a bang of hands on the table, she stood up. 'Lee is NOT going to STRIP for Hinata!' Ino snickered happily while Sakura stared worriedly at the other customers, who were definitely looking at them now.
'Chillax!' Ino said as TenTen sat back down, fuming. 'He's not going to be paid!'
'Still!' TenTen leaned forward threateningly, causing Ino and Sakura to raise their hands in surrender. 'Who do you think he is! First you make fun of him when we were little and now you are sexualising him to an unacceptable degree!'
'Sorry, TenTen,' Ino said without being apologetic at all as Sakura echoed her weakly. 'This is all just fun and games. Loosen up! Besides, he's already agreed to do it.'
TenTen's head hit the table with a groan.
Typical.
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'Lee!'
'TenTen!' Lee ran over to her and hugged her, lifting her up and spinning her around. 'How are you doing on this beautiful day!'
'I'm good, thanks, Lee! Put me down! Put me down!' TenTen pushed at Lee's arms as her friend put her down gently with that winning smile of his that made TenTen sigh in defeat. It used to be cute and sweet, but now it's a little more than that.
'Lee! I heard you agreed to dance for Hinata's birthday next week!' TenTen pointed an accusatory finger at Lee.
'Oh yh! She said it'll make Hinata very happy!' Lee responded happily. TenTen's eyes narrowed.
'You can't be this naive, Lee! They want you to strip for her!'
Lee's brows furrowed in confusion. 'Well, yes, but there's nothing wrong with a little bit of harmless fun, is there?'
'Are you just really dense or really open-minded? I can't decide,' TenTen accidentally said out loud, but knowing Lee, it wouldn't offend him one bit. As expected, Lee simply laughed and said, 'I just want to make my friend happy. It's going to be funny! It's like when some random guy gets on the runway for a fashion show. I won't feel bad about it. I think I look funny when I try to be sexy anyway.'
Oh. 'No, Lee!' TenTen wanted to punch some awareness into her dear friend, who is so painfully oblivious because of his warped view of himself. 'They don't think that! They are...' TenTen's voice lowered into a hush. 'Sexualising you!'
'No way!' Lee waved her off with an incredulous look on his face. 'That's ridiculous.'
'I just can't help but feel like this is a little bit like bullying - '
'It's not!' Lee cut TenTen off. 'Ino only asked because I've already done similar things -'
'That was for a mission!' TenTen yelled, again gaining the attention from passersby. Lee put his arm around her shoulder and guided her to a more private place where they could talk. 'Look, Lee, you'll be bringing a present, won't you? Just do that! You don't have to dance!'
'I guess I don't,' Lee agreed. TenTen nodded. Adult Lee was significantly easier to persuade than child Lee. And TenTen was thankful for that.
They were safe. Or so TenTen thought.
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The restaurant was noisy and crowded but thankfully they had a room to themselves. Naruto has just returned from a long mission and they all got together for dinner.
'Nice haircut!' Choji said at some point, referring to how Naruto's hair is now visibly shorter than when he was in his teens.
'Thanks!' Naruto beamed. 'I can't really pull off long hair without looking like a retired boyband member.' Everyone laughed and Naruto's gaze landed on Lee.
'I wish puberty treated me as well as it did Lee!' Naruto almost yelled this out and Lee huffed a small laugh while glancing at TenTen and Neji, unsure of how to react.
'I still remember the first time I saw Lee after I came back from training with Jiraiya,' Naruto continued. 'And I did not recognise him at all!'
'I was actually a bit sad about that,' Lee admitted.
'Aww! It's only because you got so ...' Ino wanted to say hot but everyone knows where she was going anyway, so she took Lee's hand in her own and gently patted it with her other hand. The table did not miss the way Lee shook his hand from her as furtively as possible, and leaned his whole body in the other direction, saying 'But in retrospect, it makes for a good story, so thanks, Naruto-kun.'
'By the way!' Naruto resumed. 'Gaara's coming to Konoha next week! Hinata, can he come to your birthday party?'
'Y-yes, of course,' Hinata said, face flushed as usual. Naruto couldn't help but smile fondly at that. The meaning of it used to evade him but nowadays, her shyness made him adore her more than any other girl he's met. He wanted to love her, kiss her and do everything to keep her safe.
'Cool! If you change your mind just let me know! There's no pressure, I haven't told him about it yet. In any case, I'll be there!' Naruto gave her a wink and a winning smile that made her blush even harder, but she manages to nod anyway.
'Speaking of Hinata's birthday!' TenTen leaned forward in Ino's direction, who pretended not to notice the way Lee hadn't straightened himself from his position yet, as if to keep his distance from her for as long as possible. 'Lee is NOT going to strip for Hinata!'
'What!' The whole table gasped and laughed and choked. Neji sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose and poor Hinata looked red as a tomato.
'I'm sorry Hinata,' TenTen continued. 'Ino wanted to surprise you with a strip dance from Lee but he's not going to do -'
'Do it!' Naruto yelled.
'What?'
'Do it! Do it! Do it!' The whole table began chanting and Ino smirked at her victory. At this point, TenTen had had a few drinks. Enough. Enough! She lunges at Ino, who lunges back. Neji jumps in to break up the fight and in no time the whole room was a mess with everyone wrestling each other and Hinata huddled in the corner, unsure what to do.
'Alright, break it up guys, break it up,' It was Shikamaru who finally got everyone to settle down in the end. He looked questioningly at the tangled mess that was Ino, TenTen, Neji and Lee, but decided not to ask too much about it.
'Let's head to the bar!'
And so to the bar they went.
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There was a dance floor in the bar and Lee's expression lit up. He dragged TenTen and an incredibly reluctant Neji with him to the edge of the dance floor and started dancing like there was no tomorrow, while still holding their hands in his own.
'We are not 15! I just want to go home and go to bed early!' Lee vaguely heard his companions complain while he swung their arms to the rhythm of the song.
'LEE!'
Lee stopped when TenTen yelled in his ear, and let himself be dragged back out to the rest of the group, who settled around one of the tables. Ino and Sakura were still both ogling Lee, who had taken Neji's elbow and was letting himself be led by his teammate, TenTen following close behind him. Naruto had his arm around Hinata, and was whispering something to her, while she shyly reciprocated his advances. It was very cute indeed.
Shikamaru got them some drinks and they decided to stay for a little more before heading home. These days, Lee could handle alcohol a lot better than when he was younger. He no longer mindlessly attacked people around him, for instance, much to his own and his teammates' relief. That said, he still controlled his alcoholic intake. He didn't like drinking very much anyway.
At one point, Lee got up to go to the bathroom. He excused himself and weaved his way through the crowd into the men's room. He was nearly back at his table when a man approached him from behind.
'Hello beautiful.'
'H-hello?' Lee whipped around, frowning a little. The man was too close for comfort. He was breathing into Lee's space and his hand was looped around his lower back, a little too close to the curve of his ass.
'You alone?'
'No, I'm with...' Lee looked over at their table and pushed at the man's hand, careful not to exert too much force. From where he was, he could see Neji and TenTen staring disapprovingly into the man's skull. 'Well, excuse me.' Lee said politely and tried to sit down next to Neji when he felt a hand grab and squeeze -
The next moment, the man is outside the bar, blasted through a hole in the wall, and Lee realised he had released the first gate. Shit. Everything after that was a blur. His hands were being cuffed behind him. TenTen and Neji were yelling and arguing, Shikamaru looked bored while talking to some people that looked like the local law enforcement.
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Kakashi looked like he hadn't slept in 3 days. He probably actually hadn't slept in 3 days.
'Rock Lee,' he drawled as he opened the file. 'I'm surprised.'
'He was attacked!' TenTen cut in, but Kakashi put a hand up and looked over at Lee. 'Is that true?'
'I think he was just drunk - '
'Did he attack you.'
It took a moment, but Lee finally nodded, not really looking at anyone when he did.
Kakashi sighed. 'We'll take care of him. I won't mention this to Guy. Dismissed.'
'Thank you!' Lee bowed a little too low for comfort and followed TenTen and Neji out of the office.
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When Gaara arrived at Hinata's party, he didn't see Lee right away. He greeted the other ninjas politely with Naruto's arm around his shoulder and his siblings flanking him on both sides, but eventually, Temari disappeared somewhere with Shikamaru, and Kankurou was with the Inuzuka, probably talking about face paint. Eventually, Naruto had sidled up to Hinata, leaving Gaara to search for Lee alone.
Just as he was about to leave Naruto's side to look for Lee, the blonde ninja pulled him back to sit down with them. 'Gaara! You won't believe this!' He snickered.
'Bring him out!'
Music blasted from several directions around them, and the room erupted into cheers, whoops and squeals. Gaara had a bad feeling this would have something to do with Lee, and good lord was he right about it. A man walked out wearing an unusually tight Anbu uniform(mask included), except he wasn't wearing anything underneath the vest. Gaara didn't have to look twice. The hair, the build, the curve of his biceps, the shape of his thighs, and of course, the scars. It's definitely Lee.
'YEAAHHHH!!' Naruto and a surprising number of guys were shouting at the top of their lungs, waving their hands around as Lee took off the vest to reveal his sculpted upper body and swung the vest above his head a few times before tossing it into the crowd. Someone blew a very loud whistle above the squeal and shrieks of the girls.
When Lee told him he was going to dance at Hinata's party, he didn't realise it was this kind of dance! It took everything in Gaara to stop the bubbling jealousy and anger show in his face, but Temari doesn't miss it when Gaara clenched the side of his chair, even though his posture feigned relaxation.
Lee flung his mask away to reveal his winning smile, and the volume of cheering in the room doubled. He looked around the room and saw Gaara and winked very quickly before dancing his way down into the crowd. Gaara's mind blanked at that moment and from then on it felt like he was outside of his own body.
'Come here! Lee! Come over here!'
Lee had ended up in front of him and Hinata. At that point, he got down to the ground and started doing one handed push ups, which would be odd usually but in this moment it was the sexiest thing Gaara had ever seen in his life. The girls screamed and hands flew towards Lee's muscled back, throwing flower petals(instead of dollar bills) all over the place. Heck, even Hinata seemed like she was enjoying herself at this point.
At one point, Naruto poured water all over Lee, soaking him from head to toe, and then he leant forward to lick the water off his chest as the others cheered on. Lee had been surprised by it but he only shrugged and let it happen.
With that, the dance finally ended. Lee sat down next to Naruto, who had pulled him down next to himself, and seemed extremely enamoured by his childhood friend. The blonde had one arm around Hinata, but he was ogling Lee up and down, fingers tracing his bicep while Lee gulped down the water someone handed to him at some point.
'You really are quite lovely, aren't you?' Naruto held Lee's hand in his own, and Lee smiled lightly and let it happen as he wiped his face and neck with a towel. Encouraged, Naruto raised Lee's hand to his lips and gave him a chaste kiss.
'C'mere, gimme a kiss,' Naruto leaned over, hand grabbing Lee's jaw and they kissed. The crowd cheered again and Lee broke away, wishing Hinata a happy birthday. He then walks over to Gaara and bows, saying 'welcome back to Konoha, Gaara kun' before heading to the bathroom.
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'Morning, Lee!'
'Morning!' Lee waved back at Ino and Sakura, who had deliberately visited the Gai training ground. 'What are you doing here?'
'Well, we wanted to know if you wanted to go to lunch with us!' Ino winked and Sakura batted her eyelids at him coyly.
'Sorry, girls, I already have a lunch appointment!'
'You do?' Sakura asked, surprised. And the next moment, a swirl of sand appeared behind Lee, and both kunoichi immediately tensed up slightly. A hand came to rest on Lee's hip and Lee's expression lit up.
'Hey,' The girls watched with dropped jaws as the Kazekage press a soft kiss on Lee's cheek as the latter smiled into the kiss like the happiest person in the world. 'You ready?'
'Yh!' Lee said as Gaara intertwined their fingers together. 'Ino-san and Sakura-san just asked if I wanted to get lunch with them but since I'm having it with you today I'll do that another time?'
Lee eyed hopefully, completely platonically, at the two defeated kunoichi in front of him. 'Sure...'
'Alright, let's go Gaara!'
As the pair walked away, hand in hand, Ino and Sakura sighed in defeat until they heard a snicker next to them. TenTen stepped forward and grinned proudly. 'Regretting the name-calling and rejection all those years ago?'
Yes. Very much so.