Roles

By: Sonnie

Tenten sighed, hands resting on her hips as she stood over the unconscious form of Rock Lee. True to the brand of uniqueness he quite liberally exuded, he was sprawled rather oddly at her feet, half draped over the bottom half of a staircase. Upside down, naturally, just to make things more difficult.

There had been a huge celebration that night for Inuzuka Kiba's birthday. True to his outgoing personality, he'd pretty much invited whoever had nothing better to do that night. It had been a wild, raucous party with more than a fair amount of alcohol. Late that night (or very early morning), everyone had either gone home or was settled comfortably in a chair, except, of course, for Rock Lee.

"Lee, what on earth am I going to do with you?" Tenten muttered, wondering how she would go about straightening him out so he wasn't all stiff and sore the next morning.

"You really shouldn't coddle him like that," a rich baritone commented behind her.

"But Neji, look at him," Tenten said, feeling the little grin touch her lips as she looked adoringly on the form of her friend. "He's so…innocent looking. It's not his fault he passed out drunk like this."

At Neji's look, she averted her eyes sheepishly.

"Okay, so it is his fault, but still…" Tenten sighed. "He deserves better than to wake up with a killer hangover and a sore body."

"He won't ever learn anything if you keep doing things for him," Neji said flatly.

"You act like I spoil him," Tenten snapped. "Besides, I would do the same for you."

Neji looked at her evenly, his gaze saying quite clearly he wouldn't do the same for her. Shaking his head, he left her to her task. Tenten surveyed the mass of arms and legs her teammate had become, giving him a soft kick in the side to end his loud snoring. Reaching over to grab the closest arm, she stopped when she felt someone behind her.

"Hyuuga's right; you spoil him with your consideration," the gravelly voice told her. To her knowledge, only one person had a voice like that. Gaara.

"It's not like I mother him," Tenten said, turning around and crossing her arms. "Honestly, with men's attitudes, it's a wonder compassion hasn't totally dried up."

Gaara gave her a grave smile at her cross statement, amused that she was getting worked up over something so small. He had been amazed that such a competitive girl hadn't held a grudge with Temari, but the brunette seemed to be the most easygoing of all the kunoichi he had met in Konoha. He'd gotten to know her a bit better over recent months especially and also found her to be the least annoying one, too.

"Naruto mentioned that you don't sleep…so do you think you can give me a hand?" Tenten asked hopefully, flashing what she hoped was charming smile. "It won't even take a minute."

Gaara blinked. Not really sure what else to do, he grabbed Lee's other arm. Lee grimaced, and Gaara realized that perhaps he'd held it too tightly. Unaccustomed to gentleness, he'd never really touched another human being in anything other than violence. With Tenten's direction, he maneuvered the green-clad ninja so his body lay evenly on the floor.

Wiping her hands of imaginary dirt, Tenten smiled at him. Not used to receiving such attention, Gaara looked away and gazed pointedly looked down.

"Thanks, I was kind of worried I'd wrench his arms out of their sockets if I did it by myself," Tenten admitted. "And I wouldn't want him trying to do one hundred pushups tomorrow in that condition. It's bad enough that he's going to run two hundred laps around Konoha with a hangover."

Gaara blinked at the mental image. He had to admit, like Naruto, Rock Lee had grudgingly earned his respect. Despite being moderately annoying, he was a good person and after realizing the value of others, he couldn't deny that Lee deserved all the kindness his friends showed him.

Feeling uncomfortable now that his task had been carried out, he was about to walk away when he caught the affectionate gaze that Tenten gave Lee. It wasn't romantic, that much was clear, but it was—

"Why do you care so much about him?" Gaara asked her suddenly, his voice seeming almost unnaturally loud. "He's just your teammate. You don't even go on that many missions together anymore"

Tenten gave him another smile. "Yeah, he is my teammate, but he's also my friend. And he's like a little brother to me, like the little brother I never had but always secretly wanted…and even though he annoys the hell out of Neji and even out of me, I'm still like his big sister. And any good big sister takes care of her brothers, even if they're being impossible. It's just what they do."

Gaara stood there contemplating her words for a moment. Giving her a polite nod, he bade her good night and walked to the door with the intent of getting some fresh air. He passed his brother and sister, who were both resting peacefully. Deciding to remain, he sank down onto the floor between their chairs, glancing first at his brother's face, then at his sister's.

Temari's always taken care of us, even when we were driving her up the wall, Gaara recalled. Even though she was afraid of me, she'd always find little ways to show she cared…I don't deserve a sister like Temari. She's always kept us together and she's always looking out for us…for me…

Gaara leaned his head against Temari's chair, cheek twitching as some of her straw-colored hair tickled his face. He looked up to where her head rested on the arm of the chair, expression devoid of its usual stress and anxiety.

Gaara allowed himself to relax when he realized that Temari had never thought to put herself first when it came to their family. The role of its protector fell naturally on her, and she had done it without complaint. Because that's just what she did.