Disclaimer: Don't own. I wish I did. Really.

Warning: language and shouta (meaning not just boy on boy, but man on boy. Weee! The story itself is beautiful, but I don't support sexual adult/child relationships in real life)

Gaara/Neji

His name was Neji.

And yet to me, he was always Lo; plain Lo in the morning, the evening...

He was Neji at school. Ne-chan to his friends.

But in my arms, he was always Lolita…

Light of my life…

Fire of my loins…

My sin.

My soul.

Lolita…

It was during that June when I first laid eyes upon my Lolita. Though I cringe to say it, the summer would still have been one to remember even if it had been void of my little sweetheart. We were hardly out of May, and yet the weather was already saturated with the endless heat of mid-August; lazy, humid, and smothering. Flies dawdled aimlessly through the hot air, bees buzzed and droned; heavily drunk on nature's abundance. I found my suits becoming itchy, the wok-day too long. The back of my neck became damp often, especially in stuffy places such as cabs, and I was not one to perspire easily. But as hot as that summer was, my mind was clear. I was not befuddled or made irritable by the weather; after all, I hailed from Suna. I was focused and sound as always, yet my thoughts had simply wandered to my imminent vacation, no more than a few weeks off.

I had come to Konoha on business. My company was trying to strike up a partnership with a much larger and esteemed company than the one I worked for, so being chosen to be on the dispatched team was sign that my company found me useful. Unfortunately, that put a lot of weight on my shoulders right in the beginning of summer. Lovely. Little did I know that summer would be beginning of my very life. How ignorant I was of love and beauty. Starved of it, I was. How the heart can catch unquenchable fire so easily and hopelessly, and smolder within itself for all times, I did not discover until the heat of that very summer.

"Thank you, sir," I said to the cabbie as he set my suitcases on the sidewalk. I handed him a folded twenty, and he tipped his hat, giving grateful thanks before sliding back into the car.

"You have a good stay," he called from the window, pulling off.

I quickly scratched the back of my leg, looking up at the very large house in front of me. It was nice and comfortable-looking, with a little white gate leading into the flora-filled front yard. I had never had a garden so luxurious back in Suna. It was a nice neighborhood too; much better than a hotel. Originally, the entire team was supposed to stay in a 5-star hotel in the city, courtesy of the company. But before the trip, we'd had a brief meeting with some of the CEOs of Hyuuga Corp. back in Suna. Hiashi Hyuuga had been there himself. After the meeting he had personally invited me to stay at his home for the length of the business trip. Of course I had accepted. It was a chance to make an impression for my company, and I myself was not fond of hotels-no matter how swanky. However, it was a bit odd. Hiashi Hyuuga had invited no one else.

I picked up my two suitcases and walked through the front gate and up the stairs to the mahogany door. I knocked twice and looked around the area once again, taking in the cozy beauty. It was a bit too cozy for a man who was raising three kids. If I hadn't known better, I would have thought a wealthy woman and six cats resided in the home instead.

I couldn't help but feel slightly anxious as I waited on the porch. I was staying in the home of Hiashi Hyuuga, who could be a possible business partner. No, he would be a business partner if I did my job right. I prepared my mask, but then a man with long, dark brown hair and pale eyes opened the door with a smile that was more kind than professional. Maybe the mask wouldn't be needed. I smiled back and relaxed.

"Ah, Mr. Sabaku, you're finally here," he said. He gave me a once-over before opening the door wider and stepping aside. "Come in, come in. I know the weather's been unforgivable lately."

"Well, not as unforgivable as Suna," I said in a friendly tone, entering the household.

Hiashi smirked a little, chuckling. "Touché."

He closed the door. "Oh, don't worry about those," he said, motioning to my bags. "Just leave them here and one of the maids will bring them up to your room later. I'll take you there after a quick tour. Is that alright?"
"Perfect," I replied, setting down my suitcases.

I stretched my arms and followed Hiashi as he began leading me away from the entrance. He showed me all the many rooms of the first floor, my eyes becoming fixed from one ornate area to the next. It truly was an amazing house. Hiashi talked throughout the entire tour, about the house and other matters. I learned a bit about his two daughters; Hinata: the shy one, and Hanabi: the mischievous, younger one. He offhandedly mentioned his nephew- Neji, I think it was. But he didn't say anything else about him. We finally ended up in the kitchen for a drink; already I was tired and thirsty, and he had only shown me the first floor!

I stood to the side and looked around the kitchen as the brown-haired man poured both of us a scotch. He turned to me holding two small glasses.

"Hyuuga-sama-"

"Please," he said, cutting me off, "call me Hiashi."

I was a bit surprised. "Ah, so soon? That's…so informal. I wouldn't want to seem rude…"

"Don't worry about it," he said casually, handing me my drink. "It's fine. After all, our companies are planning to join forces, which would make us business partners. Informality is not a bad thing."

Hiashi had a strange gleam in his eyes that I couldn't quite pin. He raised his glass. "Cheers"

"Cheers"

"Now," Hiashi announced after the first few sips, "let me show you outside."

"Outside?"

"Yes, please follow me."

Sipping my drink, I proceeded to follow him down another hallway or two, taking note of the expensive paintings that lined the walls. He led me through a sliding, glass door and stepped out onto a wooden patio. I gasped because of the sudden assault of hot air. Hiashi probably thought it was in awe of his backyard. And in all honesty, I was in awe. It was breathtaking. There was a large pool with a hot-tub attached, a badminton net, a lush, fountain dotted garden to the left, and from the patio, I could see two tennis courts just over a small hill behind the badminton net.

"Is this to your liking, Gaara?" Hiashi inquired.

"I-"

I narrowed my eyes slightly. If he wanted me to call him 'Hiashi', then fine. But I had not given him permission to call me 'Gaara'.

Hiashi looked at me expectantly.

"It's amazing," I said, ignoring his informality. I chuckled lightly and scratched the back of my head. "This is starting to feel more like vacation than a business trip."

He smiled back. "Well let me simply show you the garden, and then you can get settled into your room and relax." He paused. "Or if this feels too much like vacation, you can get started on some work."

"Oh, of course," I replied jokingly. "But only after I mow the lawn!"

The CEO laughed. "I like you Gaara. You have a good sense of humor- it is alright if I call you 'Gaara', is it not?"

It was just a question, and yet I could feel the weight behind it. How much did I respect or fear Mr. Hyuuga to let him have his way with every little aspect? I knew the right answer; it was simple.

"Of course; it's fine."

The man nodded. "That's good to hear. This way."

He led me down the steps and between two large, trimmed hedges into the garden. A marble fountain stood proudly in the center. To my relief it wasn't the generic kind with fat little babies with angel wings decorating it. Instead, there was a beautiful swam, wings outstretched, sitting atop the structure. Very nice touch.

We wandered deeper into the garden, Hiashi pointing out different plants, naming different flowers.

"French broom, Scarlet Pimpernel…"

The man suddenly jumped back and scowled, looking down at his shoes. The sprinklers were turned on in that part of the garden and had just sprayed his feet with cold water, no doubt.

"Dammit."

He shook mud and water from his shoes and looked around, craning his neck quickly as if searching for someone.

"Neji!" he yelled, storming off around another hedge and through the sprinklers, ultimately getting soaked.

I held in a snicker, seeing the CEO getting so worked up over something so small and insignificant as shoes. Could he not afford a trainload more of the same kind?

Curiously, I followed Hiashi and maneuvered around the rotating sprinklers, wishing-more than he did- to not get wet. I soon caught Hiashi's angry voice once again.

"-told you to NOT turn the sprinklers on whenever you feel like it!"

"But it's too hot out!" a younger voice protested.

"Then swim in the goddamn pool!"

"The pool water is dirty."

"It's perfectly clean! Why do you have to make things difficult? You even ruined my new shoes!"

"Well, I'm sorry," the younger voice huffed indignantly. It was clear he wasn't sorry at all.

"I don't want to hear it, Neji. Now go turn the sprinklers off at once! The flowers will drown if they stay on!"

The younger sighed heavily.

It was then that I caught up with Hiashi. I walked up to him, taking care to stand a few feet off to the side from the angry man. I glanced at him and then to the source of his anger. I sucked in a sharp breath and my heart skipped profoundly. Before me was the most beautiful thing I had ever laid eyes upon. A boy with long, chocolate brown hair was lying in the grass amid the sprinklers of cold water. He sat up with a sigh at his uncle's order, the sound leaving his pink, pouting lips like a lost breeze. He had a pretty face with high cheekbones. And his eyes….his eyes were just the same as Hiashi's…and yet…and yet his were so much more stunning-no! Captivating! He glanced up at me and offered a small smile, so quick, I might have imagined it entirely. And the fool I was, I stood there awestruck and stared back. My heart fluttered like loose paper, scattered in the wind, lost forever.

"Beautiful…" I breathed before I could stop myself. But thankfully the two were too busy arguing to take any notice of my utterance.

"Stop taking your time, and go do it now!" Hiashi snapped at his nephew, the sound far away and foreign to me.

"I'm going, I'm going. Don't get your panties in a bunch," the young brunette said nonchalantly, standing slowly and gracefully.

"And don't you use such language with me!"

The boy's hair was plastered to his face with water, as well as his T-shirt and shorts. The clinginess of the material gave away his slender form and accented his hips and long legs. I found my eyes traveling over his body like a man who discovered an ocean after being deprived of water.

So absolutely beautiful…

No. He was too beautiful. An angel!

I felt my heart suddenly pain, yearning for this angel, this child! Was I a monster? A fallen creature who craved the warmth of heaven's glow? What was this feeling?

"Gaara, I'm going to go change and I'll meet you back on the patio."

I snapped out of my daydream when Hiashi spoke. I nodded at him, not trusting my voice.

Hiashi stomped off back into the house, muttering under his breath. The boy walked up, and if my eyes weren't playing horrible tricks on me, then he had, to my delight, given me a once-over. My heart pounded in my ears, nearly deafening me to his next words that came from his perfect mouth.

"Sorry about my uncle," the boy said with a smirk. "He gets a little gay over the flowers."

I blinked at the beauty, my mind unable to register that he stood so close to me.

"I noticed," I managed to say hoarsely, attempting a smile.

I turned and made to walk back into the house, when Neji suddenly grabbed my hand.

"Wait!"

I nearly gasped. His hand was so slender and soft…

"What?" I asked, looking back at him.

He grinned but didn't say anything. A second later, the sprinklers hosed both of us down, soaking through my suit. I yelped in surprise as the cold water hit.

Neji only grinned wider. He was already wet, the little nymph!

He let go of my hand to my dismay, and giggled.

"Well, I should probably go turn off the sprinklers before someone gets wet, huh?"

He winked and waved his fingers at me. "See ya!"

And with that he skipped off.

I stood bewitched, watching after him, the feeling of his soft skin against mine lingering. My hand twitched involuntarily at the memory of his touch.

"Beautiful…" I breathed once again.

So that's how the heart could hopelessly become trapped, enraptured…in love.

Love.

They say the heart becomes a flame when one is in love. I could never understand it before. But so suddenly, now I could. For my heart had caught fire. And I never wanted it to be quenched.

My Lolita….

Well. there you go! I really enjoyed writing this story, so I definitely plan on continuing it, and I hope you guys enjoyed it as well. Reviews inspire me! They're like really good coffee:p