Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
AN: So, this is a rewriting of the very first fanfiction I ever wrote. I really think I've improved since then. So, if you feel like, please, tell me your comparisons and differences; constructive criticism and the like.
Never Ending Dance
By: Karasu Kyra
"Hey, uhm, Neji?" Gaara asked his best friend at the end of school on a bustling Friday. His crimson hair glared in the fluorescent lights Konoha High provided. He shifted his weight to the other foot as Neji hadn't answered right away.
"Hmm?" Neji inquired after a moment, distracted by his bag and what he needed to place into it.
"Well, could you come to the park with me after school?" Gaara shifted the bag on his shoulder silently.
"Yeah. The usual spot?" Neji asked fondly, memories bombarding him. He turned to look at the redhead.
Gaara nodded. Their usual spot was under a willow tree at the edge of the park. They met there when they were in elementary school. They had both run away from home and liked the tree. They each convinced the other to return home that day. They had been best friends since then.
Neji was first to arrive. He hadn't been to the tree in so long. He touched the tree lightly with his fingertips, brushing them along the bark.
'So many memories,' Neji thought, running his hand down the trunk. He smiled kindly, his pale eye's closing.
The most vivid in his mind was when Gaara had been crying in the seventh grade and they later had met at the tree. Gaara was upset because he couldn't figure out the strange feelings he was having towards another male. That was when they both figured out Gaara was gay.
"Gaara?" Neji asked, kneeling beside his sobbing friend. "What's the matter?"
"I-I don't want to talk about it right now. I'm sorry. Later?" Gaara whispered.
"Of course." Neji said, helping Gaara stand.
Neji arrived after Gaara. The petite green-eyed boy was leaning against the bark of the tree, his knees to his chest, playing with a blade of grass. His look was far off and distracted, like he wasn't actually watching his hand twist the green plant.
"Gaara?" Neji spoke softly.
"Hey, Neji." He finally looked up, acknowledging his presence.
The pale-eyed boy sat beside the redhead, touching his shoulder. "What's wrong?"
Gaara was silent for some time, probably piecing his thoughts together. He stared at the grass he was twisting in his hand again. "We'll always be friends, right?" he finally asked.
"Of course, Gaara." Neji said, trying to be supportive.
"No matter what at all?"
"Always friends." Neji promised.
"I think…I'm gay." Gaara said quietly, the brunette barely hearing him.
Neji shrugged, a small smile on his lips. "So?"
"'So?'" quoted Gaara. "That doesn't…disgust you?"
Neji snorted. "Of course not. Why should it?"
"I don't know, 'cause I'm a guy and I like guys."
"Again, so?"
"Well…" Gaara fell silent, finding no plausible argument.
Neji stood, then, and looked down at Gaara. "Stand up," he commanded.
Gaara obeyed.
Then Neji embraced him, pressing the smaller boy against his chest. "I'll always love you no matter what, you got that? It doesn't matter who you like or what you are. Hell, you could go out and commit murder and I'll always be by your side. Remember that."
Gaara smiled, a true, real smile.
Then Neji adopted a grin, reminiscent that of a Cheshire cat. "S-o…" he began, dragging out the word. "Who do you like?"
The redhead blushed. "N-Naruto."
Another memory was when Gaara kissed his first male. He was upset then as well because the guy he kissed had hit him, pushed him down and called him a fag. Neji was right there to comfort his friend.
Neji walked to the ringing phone, pencil in his mouth as he rubbed the leavings of an eraser from his paper. He picked up the phone and pulled the pencil out of his mouth. "Hel-"
"He hit me," whispered a voice, cutting off the brunette's greeting.
"Gaara?"
"He hit me and pushed me down." Gaara's voice grew louder.
"Who?"
"And then he called me a fag!" spat the redhead into the receiver.
Neji took the phone upstairs to his room, shutting and locking the door. He pushed all his drawings off to one side of the bed, placing what he was working on there, too. "Gaara, who?"
"Dosu!" Gaara spat again.
"Why?" Neji asked as calmly as he could, what with the anger bubbling in his chest.
"I kissed him." Gaara sighed, pushing his rage away.
"He had no right to hit you," the brunette stated crisply, then growled, "I'll teach him to hit people…"
Gaara laughed then. "No, Neji, he's not even worth it."
Neji realized he had feelings for Gaara that were more than a friend but he was not so sure Gaara felt the same. They were friends, nothing more.
Neji looked over at the redhead laying on his bed, working out a math problem on the paper. Neji stared at the pale face that furrowed in concentration.
Did that face always look so…beautiful?
0o0o0o0
Neji walked out of his classroom, looking down the hall where he knew Gaara's locker was. There, he saw Gaara standing with an unfamiliar boy, seemingly talking. Then he saw the mysterious boy reach over and brush a strand of red hair back, smiling.
Neji felt jealousy bubbling in his chest. Since when was he jealous…?
0o0o0o0
Neji watched Gaara get out of his dates' car through the redheads' window. He'd come over earlier only to find Gaara was out. So, Kankurou invited him to wait and watch television with him until the petite teen got home. He'd gone to the window when he'd heard the car.
Gaara's date, some brunette boy he didn't know, walked over to the redhead and kissed his cheek, making Gaara blush.
Again, Neji felt jealousy bubbling inside him. How dare he touch his…His what? His best friend…nothing more.
'Why does it hurt so much?' Neji thought.
0o0o0o0
The Hyuuga lay on his bed, staring at the white ceiling in his room.
"I'm gay," he whispered experimentally. It sounded…right.
He was still scared to say it, even to himself.
"Damn. And…I think I'm in love." Neji snorted. "Yep, I've fallen for my best friend."
Neji turned around when he heard footsteps approaching. He watched as the long, leafy branches of the willow parted, revealing a petite redhead. He walked slowly toward Neji, a nervous look on his face.
"Hey, somethin' wrong?" Gaara asked, seeing the distant look on Neji's face.
"Just…so many memories here." Neji's eyes went from Gaara back to the tree, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear.
"Yeah…" Gaara agreed quietly.
"How come you wanted to meet me here?"
Gaara looked down at his feet, nervous. He really hoped rejection wasn't in the near future. "I was wondering if you'd go to prom with me. I-I know you're not gay, but, just this one time…Will you do it for me?" Gaara managed to say without much stuttering. He looked at Neji squarely, letting Neji know he wasn't joking, which they did all the time, flirting harmlessly with each other.
Neji looked up from the tree and looked at Gaara. He was serious.
"Sure." Neji said, shrugging, adopting a careless attitude. Inside, he was having a heart attack. His insides were fluttering, churning. He took a deep breath to calm himself. "And…I'll even go with you as more than a friend.
Gaara looked up brightly, surprised, his jade eyes widening. He ran over and threw his arms around Neji's neck. Neji quickly returned the hug, his longer arms going around the shorter boy's slim waist.
"I was so afraid you were going to say no," Gaara said, pressing his face into Neji's throat.
"In all honesty, I've liked you since you told me about your first kiss," Neji confessed, a light pink dusting his cheeks.
"Really? And you haven't said anything?" Gaara asked, pulling away from Neji with a genuinely curious look.
"Of course not. I always thought you liked me as a friend. Besides, under all pretenses I'm straight."
"Are you?" Gaara asked, wondering at the turn of events.
"I'm gay. I'm just not as strong as you are. I couldn't admit it." Neji's voice was low.
"Well, the guy I told you I had feelings for, when we found out I was gay…It was you, not Naruto. When I kissed Dosu, I thought of you." Gaara looked up at the brunette boy, realizing just how close they were.
"I'm in love with you, Gaara."
"And I'm in love with you, Neji."
Slowly, they leaned in to kiss, when a voice broke the moment. The two, startled, jumped away from each other, turning their heads away from each other, trying to hide a pout.
"Gaara, are you here?" Temari called, searching for her younger brother.
"Yeah, under the tree," Gaara answered.
Soon the long branches of the willow separated to reveal the blonde.
"Hey, Kankurou and I were looking for you. It's time to come home. We all need to get ready for the dance." She paused, looking to Neji. "Hey, Neji."
Neji nodded in her direction, a small smile gracing his lips. "Hey."
"I'll be home in a minute," Gaara offered his sister.
Temari nodded. "Alright, just don't be to late." With that she turned back the way she came, once again leaving the two alone.
"Uhm, I guess I'll see you tonight." Gaara said smiling, parting ways with Neji.
"Yeah." Neji said to Gaara's retreating back.
0o0o0o0
"So, who are you going to the dance with?" Kankurou asked, sprawled on his bed in Gaara and his shared room. He watched amusedly as Gaara tried tying his tie, sending it a death glare.
"A guy." Gaara replied, finally getting the tie tied.
"I wouldn't have guessed. Who is it?" Kankurou said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. He found out his brother was gay, the same day as he and Neji; as did Temari.
"A friend of mine. Well," Gaara said, smiling fondly, "more now."
"If I guess right, will you tell me?" Kankurou asked, making a pleading face at his brother.
"Maybe, I'm in a good mood," Gaara replied, smirking.
"Naruto?"
"Sasuke's boyfriend."
"Sasuke?"
Gaara's eye twitched, wondering if his brother did that on purpose. Homicide is illegal, he had to keep reminding himself. "Naruto's boyfriend."
"Kiba?"
"Shino's boyfriend."
"Well, definitely not Shino, then." Kankurou fiddled with his own tie, frowning at the suit.
"Oh, you noticed this time," the sardonic reply came.
"I give up. Just tell me." Kankurou bounced lightly on his bed, watching as Gaara turned towards their bedroom door.
"Neji," Gaara replied walking out the door.
"Yeah, 'cause I didn't see that one coming." Kankurou said sarcastically to himself, rolling off the bed and following his brother, joining his sister, then leaving together.
0o0o0o0
Neji and Gaara hung out at the dance most of the time. Some of the faster songs they'd start dancing together; a kind of grinding and sliding. A few scattered kisses were added in.
Then the final song came on, a slow dance. Neji and Gaara awkwardly came together. Neji putting his arms around Gaara's waist, pulling him close. Gaara's arms raising to rest on Neji's shoulders. They started swaying back and forth, turning a small bit. Gaara rested his head on Neji's shoulder. Soon Gaara felt a pressure on his head and realized it was Neji's head. They stayed pressed together moving a small bit until the song ended.
It was this closeness that Neji loved. He basked in it, loved to be pressed against Gaara's warmth. The redhead seemed just as content, sighing against Neji's chest, smiling slightly. If Neji had a choice he'd freeze this moment forever.
All too soon, the song ended. They drew apart and smiled at each other, arms still lingering around each other.
"Can I walk you home?" Neji asked.
Gaara nodded so they forced their way out of the crowd of leaving people. They turned in the direction of Gaara's house. Neji noticed Gaara shivering. The brunette slipped off his jacket and offered it to Gaara. "Here, you're freezing."
Gaara nodded and slipped on the jacket, it slightly big, making him appear even smaller. He soon brushed his fingers with Neji's, asking permission. Neji smiled at the green-eyed boy, lacing his finger's with his. They walked the rest of the way in silence. When they reached Gaara's door they turned to face each other.
"Goodnight, Gaara," Neji said pulling the younger boy into a soft embrace. Gaara buried his face in the older boy's neck.
"Goodnight," came the muffled reply. Neji lifted Gaara's chin up with his hand. He quickly closed the distance between them with a soft kiss.
"Mmm…you want to do something tomorrow?" Gaara asked, quietly.
Neji nodded. "Yeah, sure. What will we be doing?"
"Starting our life together," Gaara replied, burying himself against Neji.