Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or its characters and I don't pretend to own Naruto or its characters.

A/N: My first try at a Naruto fanfic! Constructive criticism is very much appreciated--even more so concerning the characterizations. I'm pretty sure I twisted Neji a little. This is unbeta'ed, so if anyone would like to beta-read future parts of this fic, please contact me!

Love isn't something you find. Love is something that finds you.

--Loretta Young

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It was a beautiful night... the sky was a midnight blue, dotted with distant stars. The moon was round and full in the sky—it was one of those nights where the children would look up at the sky and turn to ask their parents if the moon really was made of cream cheese. It was quiet... so quiet, in fact, that one might forget (if only for a moment) about the relentless fighting going on around them, the bloodshed that was constantly taking place.

Hyuuga Neji lay wide awake in his bed, finding himself unable to fall asleep that night. He should be getting some rest, he knew, for his mission the next day, otherwise he'd get quite an earful from his wife the next morning.

Ah, his wife. He sat up on the bed, his white eyes traveling down her lithe form. She was, perhaps, the smallest kunoichi he had ever met—even now, he was sure he had at least six inches over her. With her pink hair falling lightly against her face and the ethereal glow that her soft, pale skin seemed to give off in the moonlight, Neji had to admit she looked so very fragile and, well... beautiful. He found his hand reaching out of its own accord and he couldn't stop his thumb from lightly brushing her cheek.

Sakura mumbled softly in her sleep and unconsciously leaned into his hand, some strands of hair falling into her face in the process.

Neji sighed, brushing the hair back. How hard he'd fallen—Hyuuga Neji, completely head over heels in love. Who would've ever guessed that it was possible?

When had he fallen in love with her in the first place? They'd married nearly a year ago, but only so he could take on the position of the Hyuuga Patriarch. He didn't want to take advantage of her kind disposition in that manner, but apparently, something had happened between her and his uncle and the wedding was over and done with before he could blink. And somewhere—somehow—in the middle of the whole mess, this had happened. This feeling had developed inside him.

And now he couldn't even remember a time when he hadn't felt like that about her.

"Mm..."

Starting slightly, Neji glanced down and saw Sakura was stirring.

She looked up at him blearily, sleep clouding her green eyes heavily. He guessed she wasn't even fully awake. "Neji...? Why are you awake?"

"I thought I heard something," he lied, pulling the covers up over her. "Go back to sleep."

"Is that so..." The tone of her voice, though tired, implied that she didn't believe him in the least, but she let it go. "You should get some rest, too... Night, Neji."

"Good night," he replied. He watched her until her breathing grew even and sleep had fully taken over her. Then he leaned down and lightly pressed his lips against her forehead. However, he kept himself from saying those three words, the ones that mean the most to any human being, the words that tortured him day in and day out.

'The first time I ever say those words to her...' Neji promised himself, 'she will be awake to hear the truth in them.'

A/N: So I ended it a little too abruptly, I think. I hope no one got confused... I'll put the next part up as soon as possible!