I was listening to either Gackt or Chris Daughtry throughout the whole thing, so if you're a fan of either of them, play Fragrance and Freesia for Gackt, and Crashed and It's Not Over for Daughtry. Or just play random songs for Daughtry, they all worked for me.
--- No Cigar
Pack One
"U…chih—Sa…" Came weak murmurs below the raven haired boy, crushed by the force of his weight. His long black hair was strewn over the two and the floor, nails digging into the tiles as his mind raced. It could come no conclusion, to no other thought except one.
'I'm being molested by an Uchiha…'
And molested he was. Lips pressed roughly against his own, Sasuke's hands had wandered far across the young Hyuuga, who—though slightly panicked, seemed to go along with it, fumbling his hands along the younger boy's back.
He didn't have a problem with what the Uchiha was doing, goodness no. Nor did he have a problem that it was the Uchiha doing it. The only problem he had was more so that he wasn't the one doing it.
Time and time again, he would search for the energy to push the darker clothed boy onto his back, and reclaim his dominance. It was an opportunity what which never came to him, because what the Uchiha was doing to him seemed to suck the very chakra out of him. Whatever taijutsu it was, it seemed the Uchiha had mastered it.
He arched his back when he felt one smooth hand slip past his waist-line. His face burned red, and he gasped. "Uchiha—no…" he mumbled, seemingly unheard as the shorter-haired boy seemed to continue with whatever he was doing.
"Sa—Sasuke, I…" Sasuke paused, taking a look at the other's half-lidded eyes. His lips moved, but he seemed to lack the energy to say what he wanted to. "I… I…" he settled with mouthing out the words, Sasuke smiled softly.
He brushed his lips gently past the Hyuuga's, before all attention seemed to ward towards—
"Neji! We—are—late!" he heard a loud screech at his door, and the Hyuuga's eyes snapped open. He shot straight up, grasping his surroundings and what—the—hell—just—happened.
"Don't make me come in there!" the voice called again. A girl—unmistakably TenTen's.
"I—I—Just give me a minute please." He said, recomposed. If he was going to wake up late he'd at least be cocky enough to act like he wasn't. His voice was liquid from having just woken up, and his face burned a bright tomato red from having just woken up from an erotic dream of one of his rivals.
Erotic dream? He lost his balance at the thought, and heard himself almost shriek as he shook the thought away. There was no way that he dreamed it, it must've been… a genjutsu.
… Then again, who was he kidding? Who would send him a genjutsu of the Uchiha corrupting the daylights out of him? The Hyuuga put a hand across his mouth as he felt it go red again.
Tomato red… he thought. He heard that Sasuke liked tomat—
"SWEET LORD, NO!!" he screamed into his digits. Why was he thinking that? This was about the dream, and how it got there. This had nothing to do with the Uchiha. NOTHING.
"Neji, what're you doing?? Gai-sensei and Lee already left, we have to go now!" she swung the door open and reached for her teammate.
She grabbed his arm as he protested slightly, pausing as she saw an unusual expression splayed on his face. "What's wrong with you today, Neji?"
Said Hyuuga's brow furrowed slightly. Yes, what was wrong with him? To that end, he noted that he probably wouldn't be able to think much longer, lest risk a few hundred laps around the training grounds, worse, all of Konoha.
"Nothing, I'm fine." Neji said coolly, sparing a glance at TenTen, who looked at him in disbelief, "I'm just not used to being late." He added quickly, wrapping the bandages around his leg. He forgot to change the other night, too exhausted from one of Gai-sensei's marathons.
"You worry me." TenTen said, perturbed.
The Hyuuga mumbled an apology as he led the two out of the house. It would be a long day, he was sure of it. He hated being sure, because he was always sure that he was right.
---
"No more! No more!" came a plead, as two dark-haired Shinobi hit the floor, about ready to kill two comrades, dressed head to toe in green.
"Come now Neji, TenTen! Your energy-levels are low!" their lively teacher made a fist pump into the air. The two groaned; seeing Gai-sensei exert more energy made them feel even more tired.
"Use your youth to carry yourself throughout the day!" Lee chimed, earning himself a loving punch on the shoulder. The other two rolled their eyes. It was nice to see the love, but… the love was kind of weird…
"Okay!" TenTen heaved, "The only—thing—that's low here—is—the sun…" and that seemed to be the last of her chakra reserve, because as soon as she finished, she hit the floor in exhaustion. She was right; it was later than late.
"And… I don't… think youth has anything… to do with it…" added Neji, curling his hair behind his ear. "It's late…" he panted; "I'm going to turn in…" he pushed himself up, and began dragging himself away, and towards the Hyuuga estate.
Behind him drawled a continuous chant about youth, apparently his teammates hadn't the ear to listen, or the mindset to care. Neither did the Hyuuga, all he wanted to do was to go home and lie down; his muscles would surely ache in the morning. Neji groaned, he hated being sure.
It took him five minutes until he felt an uncomfortable pang in his stomach. He looked down at his abdomen, feeling like something in there was prodding him with a fork, a diamond-tipped fork. He hunched over and rolled his eyes.
The successor didn't have much of an appetite, but starving himself for a full day for training wasn't quite what he had in mind.
He looked around, unsure of just where to go. Konoha had plenty of outdoor restaurants. Just…none…that…he…liked.
Immediately, one caught his eye, vision blurry, he barely mustered the strength to read "I..chira…ku.. ramen…" He swallowed hard. He hadn't eaten any Ramen in a while… But then…
He heard the loud obnoxious voice; the shrill laughter of a certain blonde boy. His head lolled.
He didn't hate Naruto, not at all, but he was sure that where Naruto was, two friends were sure to be.
A certain Uchiha was one of them.
His stomach turned as an image of last night's happenings flashed through his eyes. Surely he wouldn't be able to look at Uchiha Sasuke the same way, at least not right after.
Neji bit his lip, who was he kidding? It was just a dream, it didn't actually happen. But then, he remembered it like it was real, he could still feel it whenever he focused, or it just slid past him. Would it serve him a problem if he thought about it around the Uchiha?
Yes, oh hell yes.
The Hyuuga turned around to find another restaurant to eat at. There were, again, none that he liked.
He then felt a sudden pang in his stomach hit him like a ton of bricks.
His stomach betrayed him.
Yielding to his baser and tasteful instincts ganging up on him, the Hyuuga swallowed his pride and strode towards the restaurant, with the food, the blonde the pink-haired girl, nagging said blonde…
… And the sexy Uchiha that let out a small sigh as he watched the other boy slurp the noodles down.
Shit.
Neji continued his slow walk towards the three-some, feeling his stomach cramp from both anxiousness and hunger.
As he gently pushed the cloth of the sign aside, he closed his eyes as he felt two black ones focus on him. Sasuke noticed. He was always the first to notice anyone's presence.
"Oh? Neji-san, why are you here?" Sakura said softly, a sweet smile on her face. Her reaction contrasted quite violently to how she was bad-mouthing the blonde only seconds ago. Manners, manners.
Neji kept his eyes closed, refusing to show any signs of frustration or fluster. "I… just stopped by…" he trailed off. The waiter came to him soon enough, and without looking up, he murmured "a small house special please."
His lack of eye-contact was excused, placing down a handsome tip with his payment. The Uchiha observed with a smirk; he sure knew how to flaunt his money.
But flaunting wasn't his intention, the Hyuuga hadn't the mind to care, he was tired and hungry, and felt beat down. He just wanted to eat and leave. Get in and get out with any questions asked.
The Uchiha frowned slightly, feeling somewhat rejected. The Hyuuga always spared him a glance and a brief conversation when they met. They were rivals—friends to a degree. He would sit next to the boy, and the seat was free.
Instead he chose to sit on the other side of the counter.
Unconsciously, he started to glare, and the Hyuuga shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
When he heard the bowl get set down before him, he was forced to open his eyes; a man needed chopsticks to eat without looking stupid.
Again he felt the Uchiha's eyes on him, and he felt his stomach turn again. He fumbled about, looking for the container of chopsticks.
Had he been anyone else, he would have sported a sheepish grin as he went about, but his face contorted into annoyance instead, and something else. It was something the Uchiha couldn't quite make out, but he splayed a grin of stuck-up amusement, and grabbed a pair of chopsticks; he wanted to spare the Hyuuga further misery.
"Here," Neji blinked, as a pale hand with chopsticks between them was shoved into his face. He followed the hand to the black-clothed arm, and to the black-haired boy with the Cheshire cat smile.
"S—Sai?" Neji breathed, somewhat relieved. It could've been the Uchiha. Said boy frowned, and withdrew his set before Hyuuga could see.
"Sai…" Sasuke mouthed.
"Shai!" Naruto blurted out, noodles still crammed in his mouth. Sakura gave him a good slap upside the head after he swallowed.
"Don't talk with your mouthful!" She scolded.
Neji continued to look at Sai for a moment, when finally, said Ninja decided to break the silence, save for Naruto mumbling in pain. He grabbed a seat beside the Hyuuga, earning himself a glare from the raven-haired prodigy.
"If you were going to eat with your hands, you should've told me." Sai said coyly, snapping the Hyuuga out of his trance. He blinked. Flustered, he took the chopsticks, mumbling a curt 'thanks' and snapped the sticks in half.
He dug his chopsticks into the noodles, stirring up the contents before he began eating. While he was at it, his attention was drawn to the side, a perturbed Uchiha staring in his wake. Neji smiled thinly, Sasuke returned a bitter one.
The Hyuuga decided to keep his eyes to his food, pulling his dual-sticks out of the bowl. He lifted it up to his mouth awkwardly, and found nothing but soaked wood in his mouth by the time it got there. He looked down to his bowl fast enough to see a splash; the ramen got away.
The Uchiha grinned inwardly, but kept his face neutral as he felt the Hyuuga give him a look, as if to say 'I know. Please shut up.'
Sai smiled courteously. "Are you having some difficulties, Neji-kun?" said long-haired boy raised an eyebrow, slightly offended. He looked quickly from the Uchiha, to Sai and to the bowl and back again. He shook his head 'no'.
"I'm just a bit… distracted." He said coolly. Sai nodded.
He didn't know how or when he made friends with the boy, but he didn't remember, which meant they became friends quickly. Sai was friendly, to say the least. He tried his best to make companions after all, and despite the fact that he accused Neji of being an emasculate transvestite the first time they met, it slid rather quickly.
Sai was… nice. He listened to whatever he said—intently, without the slightest bit of reluctance. "'Listening to what your companion has to say makes you open minded, and more likely to make a good impression'" Sai chimed once, "I read it in a book."
Neji took a breath, and tried to find the brain-power to properly handle his ramen. He succeeded, and proceeded to down his food. He had yet to forget his starvation.
"Is something bugging you, Neji-kun? You look distressed." The Roots member said, softly, but a bit mechanically. From a book, Neji mused. He placed an elbow on the table, propping his head up with his hands, eying the white-eyed ninja.
"Umm… no." he said blandly after swallowing his food, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "I'm probably just thinking too much."
"What about?" a familiar, coy voice said from his left. He inwardly cussed at the raven-haired boy. He gave the younger boy a stuck-up grin to match his.
"None of your business." He said bitterly, taking in another mouthful of Ramen. He noted the cleanliness and empty side of the counter. Sasuke hadn't eaten, he concluded. Nobody could eat ramen without making a little mess, unless they ate strand by strand, which he doubted obnoxiously.
He snorted. If every Ninja with a Jounin had a circuit today, Sasuke had to be tired too. He figured he'd be hungry as well. There was no doubt, but probably didn't want to eat in front of his partners. Neji smiled in his food as he looked at the younger Shinobi.
What he didn't notice was that the Uchiha was looking at him still.
"What're you looking at?" Neji then swallowed, realizing his mistake of daydreaming, trying to read the little Uchiha.
"I—ahem…" he wiped his mouth again. "I could ask you the same thing."
"You were looking at me. Why wouldn't I look back?" Sasuke tented his fingers and propped them up with his elbows. He leaned forward into the counter with a grin. Neji flinched, looking away with a huff.
The Uchiha raised an eyebrow, while the Hyuuga raised his chopsticks.
Sai, stirred by the little confrontation frowned. He didn't like how Sasuke and Neji were looking at each other and how they didn't look at each other. Unsure if it were an effort to comfort Neji or himself, he placed a hand on the Hyuuga's shoulder. His eyes turned to Sai, who smiled softly.
It worked, and the older boy smiled, relieved by his companion. He swallowed and mouthed a 'thank you'.
The black haired boy smiled softly. He leaned close to his ear, to whisper. "You're welcome." He murmured in a low tone. Neji's heart skipped a beat. He felt his hand shake slightly, and his spine tingled.
"Hyuuga," Sasuke called to him. Said Hyuuga looked at him, the dream at the back of his mind, but still swirling. His face grew pink as the two stared for a moment in silence.
"Are you okay?" he asked flatly.
Neji averted his gaze to his bowl. It was nothing but soup.
Damn.
He was still hungry.
"I… I'm fine." He mumbled.
"You don't look fine." The Uchiha got up from his seat, and started walking towards his companion.
"I'm just tired. The uh… circuit took a lot out of me. You know how Gai-sensei is…" Neji hated admitting exhaustion, let alone lying about it. Sasuke nodded in understanding. "I'm just going… to go home." He glanced at Sai, Sasuke and the other two bickering on the side. He lowered his head. Defeated, he excused himself.
"I'll walk you home—eh" came two very similar voices. He turned around to see both black-haired boys reaching a hand towards him.
Neji broke a sweat, as he saw the two look at each other. They were never good friends with one-another, what with Sai being his replacement for Team-Seven. Both of them were friends with the Hyuuga, both awkward friends. Sai was touchy, Sasuke was…well, he was Sasuke.
"Uh…It's… fine…" he said dully. "I can walk myself home." He gave the two of them an obnoxious look and turned away. The two stood there, and Neji stumbled off, praying that he sounded enough like an asshole—or at least confident enough to ward the two away. He just wanted to get out of there, fast.
---
---
As Neji sauntered home, he began to feel a bit refreshed. Inhaling the cool night air and smiled. He'd be home, and this shitty day would be over.
He might even dream about S—a…su…ke…
"Absolutely not!" he cried, in his privacy of the empty street. He took a deep breath and sighed, running a hand through his hair. He needed sleep, dream-free sleep, a Sasuke-free sleep.
…
He felt a presence linger behind him, and he frowned deeply.
"You know it is very weird when people talk to themselves." A familiar voice called, cocky as ever.
"It's weirder when you stalk people." The Hyuuga retorted. He twisted around to see the Uchiha stand before him, hands at his sides. The moonlight was the only illuminant, shedding their features through the dark.
Sasuke's skin paled in the dim glow of the night. The clothing shadowed the details of his chest, leaving it a dark shadow. A baby-blue highlighted the ends of his hair, soft, almost a misty blur. His lips were lavender. It almost looked like silk.
Neji swallowed hard. He already knew the reason why almost every female in Konoha would swoon to his very presence. He was charming, quiet, well reserved and… well, he was unquestionably, physically attractive.
The two stood in silence for an aggravatingly long minute.
"Hyuuga," Sasuke called, "what's wrong with you today?"
Said creamy-eyed boy snorted, remembering TenTen had said the same thing only hours ago. "I told you what I've told everyone, I just have a lot on my mind."
"Like what?"
"Just… things—it's none of your business."
"The way you were looking at me told me otherwise."
Neji snarled, taking a step back. "It has nothing to do with you, Uchiha."
The raven-haired boy took a step forward. "Oh, I think it does."
"Don't be so obnoxious."
Another silence and Neji glowered at the younger boy. It was over a full year's difference in age. It was a year and twenty-two days to be exact. He was the superior, regardless.
"If you're trying to intimidate me, Uchiha…" he started, with a challenge in his tone, "You have another thing coming. Now get lost."
The Uchiha seemed amused; a droll grin adorned his features as he cocked his head to the side. "You could've walked away, Hyuuga."
Neji felt a cramp in his side and his frown deepened. "I don't walk away from people, Uchiha."
"Neither do I...Hyuuga." Sasuke stepped closer to the long haired boy, until their faces were inches apart. Neji felt uncomfortable, the Uchiha was about a centimeter shorter. He was being upstaged by him.
This irritated him. This irritated him a lot.
Sasuke, however, seemed to be thoroughly amused.
"Do I bug you, Hyuuga?" the way the Uchiha breathed his name out, and the way his breath brushed against Neji's lips made him edgy, and flustered. He took a few steps back, embarrassed, but not about to show it willingly.
He shared a grin with the raven-haired boy. "What makes you think that, Uchiha?" said boy's smile thinned, and he gave the other a condescending look. There was a pause.
"Is that how it's going to be?" he murmured. He followed the Hyuuga in his soft steps backwards, until he was finally pinned against a brick wall.
The two of them were tired, so fighting wasn't on the regime, they both knew that. But the action made the Hyuuga very apprehensive.
"U—Uchiha!" Neji cried; held between a rock and a hard place.
"What's the problem?" Sasuke chimed, placing his hand on the stone, staring the long haired boy straight in the eyes. The Hyuuga felt nauseous and flustered and agonized and embarrassed and… he felt complicated.
"You were following me." Neji's voice quavered, looking away from the dark-eyed boy. "Unlike Sai, you don't listen…" he grinned dimly, "brat."
Sasuke frowned at the thought of Sai. "What's it to you?" he blabbed. And Neji's smile widened a bit, knowing it annoyed the Uchiha.
"Besides, that's not it." The raven-haired boy chided. "Something else is bugging you; otherwise you wouldn't have been so uncomfortable before Sai came along." The name 'Sai' didn't roll off his tongue very well. It… kind of bounced off.
"It's not all about you, Uchiha." He looked the shorter-haired boy in the eyes. "What's your problem anyways? Why on earth are you so curious as to what bothers Hyuuga Neji, an insignificant insect in your wake?"
His last words were sharp, and threw Sasuke off a bit. The long haired Shinobi bit his lip; he didn't mean to sound so… well it did ward him off a bit. That was what he wanted. Closeness was a big no-no. …I guess…
… That was when an image of Sasuke's hands down his pants caught him like a hammer to a maggot, and unexpectedly he gasped, sinking down, just below the other's forehead. The Uchiha caught him under the arms.
"Ne—Neji?" he mouthed, as he tried to pull him back to his feet. He was immediately rejected, as the Hyuuga slapped the hand away and stood on his own.
"D—Don't touch me!" he snapped. Shocked with his own words, he added, "I—I'm fine." His hands covered his face, burning red as the image slowly faded away.
"No, you're not. Seriously, tell me what happened. I won't make a fuss or anything like th—"
"I told you, I'm f—Ah!" the Hyuuga found himself pressed against the wall, actually shoved this time around.
"Like hell you're fine!" The Uchiha spat. "What's wrong with you?"
"What's it to you?!" Neji shot back. "Wh—Why do you care?!" Sasuke paused, clenching and unclenching his fists around the other Genius's white collar.
The Hyuuga's eyes narrowed, moving furiously, looking at every aspect at the Uchiha's livid expression. Both of them were mad… what was it about again?
"…" He shoved the Hyuuga against the wall and backed up, letting Neji hit the ground. "It's got nothing to me. You're right. I shouldn't care."
Neji rubbed at his shoulder, it was already starting to ache from the exercise.
"I don't know what's bothering you, but I was… worried anyways…" Sasuke tilted his head to the side, looking over to a lamp post, pretending it was of great interest.
"…Sasuke…" Neji whispered. The Uchiha's gaze immediately shifted to the Hyuuga, a little shock in his eyes. "… what?"
"… did you just call me Sasuke?"
A pause.
"… didn't you call me Neji?"
Another pause.
Sasuke laughed, and ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah…" he held out a hand, and Neji accepted it. As he pulled the older boy up, he saw a blush run across his rival's face. Was it that? Was it what he was thinking? What was he thinking?
"You're blushing." He said, not thinking. The accusation made the Hyuuga blush even more.
"It… it's hot out…" He murmured. Sasuke blinked, and forced down a smile.
"Yeah," he mumbled back, "It is."
Neji kept his gaze downward, but the silence was interrupted as he felt the force of the Uchiha's body shove him into the wall. He yelped.
"Neji… I'm going to ask you some things, and you're going to answer honestly for me…" the Uchiha said coyly.
"W—what…?" He groaned, glaring at the Uchiha, who gave him a look that said 'You know exactly what I mean'. He snarled, "What makes you think I'm going to comply…?" the Hyuuga grimaced, the hostility aroused the Byakugan. Sasuke sneered.
"Because your Sensei was considerate enough to drain what little Chakra you had left, that's what." He brushed hair out of the Hyuuga's face, and eyed his features as the veins around his eyes pulsed.
Neji was cute. Normal cute, just like most of the girls and boys who had an attraction towards him. Why was he any different? No. No, that's because he wasn't. The Hyuuga was no different. He didn't need to give him anymore attention than all the others… but he couldn't have a rival thinking he liked him after all… He'd have to do something drastic. Yes. Drastic to get it over with. Sasuke had a plan.
"Stop this… bullshit, Uchiha…" Neji moaned. The Byakugan was taking all he had out of him; he didn't have enough to do a full circle. Releasing chakra from his body would get Sasuke off, but that would be it for him.
After all, Sasuke had become stronger than him to begin with.
The veins in his temples slowly thinned away, and the Uchiha smiled victoriously. Neji leered at him in frustration, knowing exactly what the Uchiha was thinking
"Mm, let's see… First… it was about me wasn't it? Your problem, that is." There was a silence, and Neji looked away. He pressed his body closer, "Wasn't it?"
"…N…yes… a bit…"
"It bugged you a bit?"
"Yes."
"That's why you couldn't look at me?"
"Yes"
"And you're embarrassed."
"Ghh—YES."
"Want to kiss me?"
"Ye—Wait what?"
There was a drawling silence as Sasuke let the taller boy process what happened… but it didn't quite seem to process.
"If you kiss me, you just might get over it, right?" The Uchiha smirked. "Your little problem, I mean. There's no sense in asking yourself over… and over… you know the rest."
Neji's face felt hot, burning hot. Could the Uchiha really read his features that well to know of his… fantasies? Was he that good, or was the Hyuuga just losing his touch?
"B—buh—but I…" the successor couldn't sputter a single coherent sentence if he wanted to. The idea of kissing—for real kissing the Uchiha was too much. He knew he felt something for the other teenaged Shinobi, and the dream seemed to confirm it, but as the teenager he was, hormones flew everywhere. Who was he to say it was abnormal?
"This way it won't stress you out anymore, right?" Sasuke assured, a grin plastered on his face. The long-haired boy swallowed, he was curious what those lilac shaded lips felt like.
The younger Uchiha pressed his forehead against the older boy, staring him down with piercing raven black eyes. Neji shut his eyes tightly, avoiding his gaze, he still felt them staring deep into him. He felt his eye-lids relax, hot breath of the other boy against his cheek, calming him down.
"Right…?" He whispered again. The nip of the Uchiha's mouth gingerly brushed Neji's as he spoke. It felt like a feather had flown passed his lips, and it was so inviting. His stomach churned as two hands wrapped daintily around his waist.
"I… Sasuke…" The Hyuuga sighed, leaning—almost collapsing into the younger boy's mouth. He felt the Uchiha grunt lightly; the push had caught him off guard.
He shoved the Hyuuga harder against the wall for support as he dug his hands at the top of his neck, running his fingers through the long, dark hair. Neji almost whimpered. His hands clawed at the brick wall and felt the end of his nails chip.
He could feel his legs buckling at the sensation. He couldn't seem to move, he couldn't react, couldn't even kiss back. He just let Sasuke do as he did, feeling his whole body go numb.
He'd completely forgotten the reason he was letting Sasuke kiss him.
---
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