Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters in any shape or form.

A/N: This first part took a few months to write, in between of all my other chaptered fics, and I thought I should see how people react to it before going on. This'll probably be 3 chapters or so, and I might change the title…

Warning: AU,Yaoi (well, Shonen-ai really…), NejiGaara, character deaths

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-After Death, Chapter 1-

Neji sat down behind his desk, sighing with discontent. He stared at the two urns before him, both filled with ashes. Yes, dead people's ashes. To be exact, two of his clients' ashes. They had both died during the weekend, and now Neji was stuck with a problem.

Uchiha Sasuke, the first one, had died of cancer on Saturday morning; he had been one of Neji's wealthier clients, was a second son of the prestigious Uchiha family, and now he had left behind a widow, Uchiha Sakura. It seemed uncomplicated enough, at first sight. When Neji had come in on Monday and looked up the Uchiha's will, everything had been straightforward, his estate had been divided up among numerous people, and the only thing that had surprised Neji was that the Uchiha, who wanted to be cremated, also wanted his ashes to go to one Uzumaki Naruto. It wasn't that he was surprised by the Uchiha's choice, but Naruto was also a client of his, and he hadn't known they were that close (or had even known each other).

After Neji had read through the Uchiha's will, he had turned to the other death, and had blanched. Uzumaki Naruto had died too? And on Sunday…was this a coincidence or not? He shook his head, lots of people died everyday, why should it surprise him that two had died within 24 hours of the other? The accident report said that Naruto had been drunk and was driving up to 90 mph on the highway when he had crashed into the median, flipping his car over and being crushed, dying before anybody could get help. Neji had read through his will too, and now came his problem. Naruto wanted to be cremated, and he wanted his ashes to go to…no other than Uchiha Sasuke.

This was bad. Neji, being the executor of both their wills, had received their ashes a few hours later, but he didn't know what to do with them. What could he do? He wanted to follow his clients' wishes, but it was hard, having barely known either of them. And they were so different – Naruto was an orphan and of middle class, Neji couldn't imagine how the two had met or become friends. And so, now he was stuck with two people's ashes and a problem that he neither wanted nor needed in his busy life. But Neji prided himself on making his clients happy, even if they were dead, and in a flash he realized what he had to do.

He needed to find out the relationship between these two people, figure out what they would've done with each other's ashes, and do just that. Oh, so troublesome…but Neji would do it.

Neji stood up, picking up his copy of Naruto's will and of Sasuke's and all the articles mentioned in both. He also grabbed his coat, walking out his office and told his secretary he would be busy all this afternoon. Neji walked briskly down to the underground parking garage, getting in his car and driving out, starting on the route to his cousin, Hyuuga Hinata's house. This might be more productive than he had first thought, Neji mused. He could fulfill all of the aspects of the wills and at the same time get information about the relationship between his two clients.

He parked in his cousin's driveway a few minutes later and got out, taking with him Naruto's will and the effects dedicated to Hinata. Neji walked up and rang the doorbell, wondering if he should've called beforehand to make sure that she was home. But he shouldn't have worried, because the door opened a second later and Hinata stared back at him, surprised that he was here.

"H-Hello, Neji nii-san. What b-brings you here?" She never had outgrown her childish stutter, but then, Neji had always liked it. It was a part of Hinata. It also made her business associates underestimate the sharp mind behind her timid voice, and that in itself was a powerful tool.

"I–" then Neji noticed that she was wearing all black. "-You've heard that Uzumaki Naruto died yesterday?"

Hinata looked down, hiding the sorrow in her eyes. "Y-Yes, I heard. A drunk driving a-accident, wasn't it?"

"Yes…may I come in?"

"Oh, y-yes! C-Come in!"

Neji walked in, thinking about Naruto's relationship with his cousin. Hinata had liked him when they were little and in 1st grade together, all the way to junior high. Neji, a grade up, hadn't paid a lot of attention to the blonde squirt but was aware that Hinata talked about him more than anybody else. She had gotten over her crush when she entered high school, realizing that he saw her as a friend and nothing more, and had focused herself on taking over the family business, which was now steadily growing. It wasn't anywhere Uchiha Enterprises, of course, but even as a branch member Neji could use the name of Hyuuga to get just about any favor he wanted.

In college, he knew that Hinata had kept in touch with every one of her friends, and after college she had convinced Neji to take on Naruto as a client, paying almost all of the fee with favors for Neji. They all knew this was charity, but Naruto accepted it with grace, knowing he couldn't refuse it.

So…Hinata and Naruto were pretty close friends. She should know what the relationship was between Naruto and Sasuke.

Neji sat down on the couch in Hinata's living room while she went into the kitchen and prepared tea. When she was done, she came out and they both sipped as they talked.

"W-What did you want to t-talk to me about, Neji n-nii-san?" Hinata asked.

"Well, you knew Uzumaki Naruto pretty well, didn't you?"

Hinata nodded.

"First of all, I'm the executor of his will, and this-" Neji held up an envelope with the words Hyuuga Hinata scrawled on it in Naruto's messy handwriting, "-is what he left you."

He handed the thin envelope to his cousin carefully, and knowing she would want to open it now, said, "You can open it when I'm gone, and I just have one more question for you. Do you know how Naruto knew Uchiha Sasuke?"

Hinata looked confused at the question. "W-What does that have to d-do with anything?"

"Well, Naruto bequeathed his ashes, yeah, he wanted to be cremated, to Uchiha Sasuke, who also died this weekend, did you know that?"

"D-Did I know that Uchiha S-Sasuke died this weekend? N-No… and did I know that N-Naruto b-bequeathed his ashes to U-Uchiha Sasuke? No…"

Hinata frowned. "I c-can't think of any r-reason Naruto would give his remains to S-Sasuke…they h-hated each other throughout elementary and m-middle and high s-school…"

Neji was taken aback. The two hated each other? This was…unexpected, to say the least. "Are you sure? Because it's clearly written in Naruto's will that he wanted Uchiha Sasuke and no one other than Uchiha Sasuke to receive his ashes upon death…"

"Y-Yes, they seemed to h-hate each other w-with a p-passion. I n-never did understand how whenever t-they were within twenty f-feet of each other an a-argument would spring up and t-turn into a f-fistfight, but it did, always. I think it s-started the moment they s-saw each other, and then they found a l-legitimate r-reason to fight in Haruno S-Sakura-chan."

"Wait, Sasuke's wife? Or, uh, widow?"

Hinata nodded, her bangs bobbing up and down. "Yes. N-Naruto had a c-crush on Sakura-chan, and S-Sakura-chan always r-ran after Sasuke. You should t-talk to her, Neji, she w-would know more about it than I do."

Neji frowned, then stood up and turned to go out. "That's a good idea, Hinata. I shall not trouble you any further now."

He walked to the door and opened it, but stopped when he heard Hinata's soft voice, devoid of any stuttering. This was serious, and his cousin wanted to get her point across.

"Neji, what are you going to do with Naruto's ashes?" Ah, so Hinata hadn't gotten over all of her affection yet…

"I don't know yet, Hinata. I want to learn as much as I can about Naruto's and Sasuke's relationship and do what the Uchiha would've done with Naruto's ashes." He turned his face to Hinata, reassuring her worries with a small smile. "Relax, I'll take good care of him."

Her answering smile was blinding. "T-Thanks N-Neji nii-san."

He waved casually as he walked out, getting in his car and driving off.

Hinata looked at the letter in her hands, at Naruto's last words to her from beyond the grave. She sat down again, slowly opening the envelope and taking the single sheet of paper out. The dark-haired girl unfolded it, trembling. What would it say? Naruto's strong handwriting stood out from the page, and Hinata gasped as she read it, before starting to cry softly. She read it again and put it aside, pulling her knees close as she mourned for the death of the blonde she had known so well and yet not at all.

Lying discarded, the letter read,

Dear Hinata-chan,

I'm sorry I hurt you. You probably thought I didn't notice, right? Well, I'm sorry. I probably should've explained why I didn't reciprocate your affections, but… I didn't want to hurt you. You were so good, so nice, I knew you would get over me sometime and you did. I'm proud of you, Hinata-chan. And now that I'm gone, I'm finally going to explain. It's about time, don't you think? Hmm, here goes.

There was someone else. There was always someone else, not Sakura-chan, and I'm sorry Hinata, but I loved them too much to let go. I bet you're wondering I didn't tell you. And I bet you're wondering why I'm not telling you now. It wasn't public, Hinata-chan, that's why you didn't see it, and it'll never be public. Nobody would be able to stomach it. Except perhaps you. You were always nice like that towards me…

I loved him. Will you please not hate me for this, Hinata-chan? I…I loved him too much…

Love,

Uzumaki Naruto

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Neji parked outside of the Uchiha Manor, looking up at the grand front doors. This time he had remembered to call ahead and set up an appointment with Uchiha Sakura, and now as he got out a butler opened a door and ushered him in. Neji followed the butler to what seemed like an office, where Uchiha Sasuke's widow was waiting.

The lawyer bowed politely as he was shown in before sitting down. Sakura, like Hinata, was dressed all in black, and her bright pink hair was subdued underneath a black veil. She seemed desolate, her eyes red from crying, and her hands fiddled nervously with some things, which, on closer inspection, were her engagement and wedding rings. She was sliding them around on her ring finger.

"Good day, Uchiha-san."

The young woman looked up at him with sorrowful eyes. "Is it, Hyuuga-san? My husband is dead and I do not have his ashes to bury; is it really a good day?"

Neji winced almost imperceptibly. "I am sorry for your losses, Uchiha-san."

"Losses? Have I lost someone else?"

"Uchiha-san, have you forgotten about Uzumaki Naruto?"

"Oh. He died?"

Neji frowned, this girl, which was in the same grade as both Sasuke and Naruto and had known them both for a long time; she didn't know about Naruto? And more importantly, she didn't care? But Naruto apparently cared about her – he had left her something in his will, which only mentioned a few people. Sasuke had left her something too, but that was to be expected. They were husband and wife, after all.

"Yes, Uchiha-san. You…You didn't know?"

"I have been grieving, Hyuuga-san. What was it that you wanted to speak to me about?"

Neji wondered at the sudden change of topic, but shrugged it off. "Naruto and Sasuke both left you something in their wills." He saw Sakura look up, interested. "Here." he said, handing her two envelopes.

She looked at them dispassionately, immediately tossing the one with Naruto's scrawl on it on the table and examining what her deceased husband had left her. "These aren't his ashes." she said tonelessly.

"Uh, no." Neji said, wondering how to explain the difficult situation. "He…Uchiha-sama left his ashes to someone else."

He watched as a spark of anger entered the young woman's eyes. "I see." she expressed icily. "Care to elaborate on whom exactly did my husband leave his ashes to?"

"That is confidential, Uchiha-san." Neji said smoothly, but knowing he was going to give it away with his next question. After a pause, he continued. "And, Uchiha-san, what do you know about the relationship between your husband and Uzumaki Naruto?"

Understanding filtered through Sakura's mind. "Oh, so that's who Sasuke chose…" she whispered to herself, but Neji overheard. "They were best friends." she answered slowly. "And they were rivals, fighting over me all the time when we were younger, and sometime enemies. But they've known each other for a long time." She shook her head slowly, suddenly weary. "I do not know anything else, Hyuuga-san. You shall have to ask someone else."

Neji could see that she did know something and it was infuriating him; although, he also knew it was hopeless to question any further. So he stood up, bowing again and walking out slowly, thinking about what he had learned, through both her words and through her silence.

Sakura watched the lawyer leave, fuming inside. So Sasuke had chosen Naruto over her, had he? This was… she shook her head angrily and tore apart Sasuke's envelope, looking inside for what he had left her. It was…

It was a wedding ring. To be specific, Sasuke's wedding ring, the one that he had told her he had lost. But it was here, the small gold band signaling their marriage that he had 'lost' a month after they were married, and he had never gotten another one. There was a piece of paper beside the gold ring, and Sakura unfolded it slowly, not quite wanting to know what was written.

Sakura,

I'm not sorry for what I did. You were blinded by your obsession, but I believe that somehow you were happy with our marriage. I wish I could say that I was happy that you were happy, but I don't care. You should've been nicer to him.

Uchiha Sasuke

There was no denying who the "him" was referring to, and Sakura was close to crying, but then she saw Naruto's envelope on the desk before her. Should she open it? Who knew what it would contain? But…it felt wrong to toss it away, after how she had treated him all throughout life. And so she opened it, carefully this time, not knowing what was coming.

Inside was another ring, wrought of silver and diamonds, another ring that Sakura recognized. It was a ring passed down from generation to generation of the Uchiha family, an engagement ring that Sakura had looked forward to getting, but not like this. Sasuke had proposed with another ring, and Sakura had never questioned his reason for doing that, until now. Were Sasuke and Naruto…? She had known they were good friends and not quite the rivals they had always seemed to be, but could they have been this close…?

Dear Sakura-chan,

Console him for me, will you? He says he would be heartbroken if I died, though I still believe he's too good for me. You're much better, you know? You can give him everything, but he doesn't seem to like his marriage with you. I don't understand, but then, he's always been a stubborn bastard. Maybe now that I'm dead he'll finally appreciate you, ne?

Your friend,

Uzumaki Naruto

Sakura wiped angry tears from her eyes, trying to grasp that all the good fortune she had gotten in the last 10 years…being married to Sasuke, the riches, the fame …all that had sprung from the wish of Uzumaki Naruto, a kid she had never done a good thing for without an ulterior motive.

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Neji had grown very irritated by now. He had spent the last 5 hours tracking down the numerous people mentioned in Naruto's and Sasuke's wills, and had not found out anything more about how they felt about each other or why they would have such a prominent place in each other's wills.

"What? Naruto and Sasuke?" He burst into laughter. "Are you serious? They HATED each other."

Yeah, Kiba hadn't been much help.

"Naruto and the Uchiha? They spent so much time arguing and fighting…so troublesome…"

Shikamaru had just grabbed his envelope and went back into his apartment, where he had been sleeping before Neji had woken him up.

"You're kidding, right? Everybody, even me, knew they were two of the biggest rivals to go through Konoha High."

Tsunade-sama had been without tact, as always, and Neji sighed, knowing perfectly well that she had told him the truth. And that was what was so confusing! All of these people were telling him that Naruto and Sasuke had hated each other all throughout life, when he knew there had to be something else behind it! But nobody knew. Out of almost all of the friends Naruto and Sasuke had had in life…all of their replies were like the ones of those three. Neji sighed, he was thinking of giving up for the night; after all, it was almost 9. But he had decided against it. There was only one more person to go through, one Sabaku Gaara.

He (at least Neji assumed it was a he) was one of Naruto's friends, but his name was foreign to Neji. The lawyer assumed that he hadn't gone to the same schools as Naruto, and wondered where they had met. He had also wondered if this Sabaku Gaara was even within this city, not seeing him in the phone book, but after placing some phone calls had found out his address (Neji had good connections).

He rang the doorbell, seeing from the lights that someone was home, as he himself should be at 9pm. But he wasn't, damn his job and his sense of responsibility.

Then the door opened and Neji gasped, stunned by the sight before him. The person that had opened the door was a thin exotic redhead, emerald eyes outlined with black, which only made them stand out more on that pale face. And…he had a tattoo on his forehead, red ink, some sort of Asian script, very detailed. The lawyer seriously hoped that this was Sabaku Gaara.

"Yes? What do you want?" The redhead asked, frowning. "You're not trying to sell me anything, are you?"

"N-No…" Neji answered breathlessly, not even noticing his stutter. "Are you Sabaku Gaara?"

After a short pause, Gaara voiced a curt, "Yes. Now who are you?"

"I'm - I mean, I was Uzumaki Naruto's lawyer, Hyuuga Neji. He died yesterday, did you know?" The redhead nodded, but didn't say anything or let Neji come in. "Uh, can I come in? Naruto left you something in his will…"

"Then why don't you just give it to me and go on your way? I'm sure you're very busy, Hyuuga-san."

"Ah, right…but I also have some questions to ask you." Gaara's clear go-away-now aura made Neji go on quickly. "What was the relationship between Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke?"

And then Neji saw the redhead start violently and step back. "Why would you want to know such a thing, Hyuuga-san?" he asked shakily.

Neji shrugged. "I was just a little… curious about some things. May I come in?"

Gaara opened the door and let Neji in, to the brunette's joy. It was cold outside… Taking off his shoes, Neji followed the redhead into his living room and sat down on the couch, fiddling with his papers.

When Gaara sat down opposite him on another couch, Neji handed him an envelope, which contained what had felt like a CD or a DVD. The redhead took it without looking, setting it down beside him before sitting cross-legged on the couch. Neji thought he looked adorable in that position. How old should he be? Late 20's at the oldest, surely. Neji himself was 28, and still regretfully single…just why was he thinking like this? Just because he was bisexual didn't mean everybody else was!

But…maybe…just this one particular redhead could be bisexual too? That would be nice…

"Why do you want to know about Naruto and Sasuke?" Gaara's harsh voice cut through his thoughts, but Neji didn't mind.

"In Naruto's will, he bequeathed his ashes to Uchiha Sasuke, and if you didn't know before, said Uchiha died of cancer on Saturday. I wish to make my client happy, even if he has passed away, and so I want to know what Uchiha Sasuke would have done with Naruto's ashes. Therefore, I need to find out what sort of a relationship they had with each other." Neji explained all this in a monotone, having repeated this many times over today.

"Who else have you talked to?"

"All of the people mentioned in Naruto's will besides you."

"And what have they said?"

"They've…they've told me that the two hated each other." Neji bowed his head slightly, his long hair shielding his face. "But I know there must be something more, because Naruto wouldn't be as foolish as to…well, I just know that there's something that I don't know. Do you know?" Neji looked up, his eyes flashing up to Gaara's green ones.

A silence fell, and Gaara didn't answer, just stared. Neji shifted a little, unbalanced by that unwavering attention.

"If you don't, uh, Sabaku-san, that's ok. I'll just be going now…" Neji made to get up but Gaara restrained him with a hand on his leg, pushing him back down.

"Hyuuga-san, how well did you know Naruto and Sasuke?" The redhead asked quietly.

"Well, they were both my clients, and my cousin went to school with both of them while I went to a private school. I didn't know either of them very well personally, and I didn't know that they were even acquaintances until today, when I read over their wills. When they made their wills, they actually both drafted them on their own, and I just took care of the legal things. So…" Neji trailed off, wondering why he was explaining this to the redhead. It had no relevance, after all.

"I see. And…what is your view on homosexuality?"

This was a question that stunned Neji – seriously, how was this related? – but he answered dutifully. "I accept it. There's no way I can not accept it, seeing as how I'm bisexual myself." Uh…why had he just revealed that about himself? It was a thing he rarely did, these slips of his tongue. Maybe it was just the fatigue…

Through all this self-reflection Neji missed the spark of interest that had come into Gaara's eye, which he hid just a moment after. "Oh, really?" Gaara leaned back onto his couch, his hands in his lap and his eyes hooded. "Then I suppose I can tell you. Naruto and Sasuke…" The redhead seemed to hesitate, and when he finally spoke, the words seemed to have been choked out, "-they were lovers. The relationship between them was very strong, and they've loved each other since…middle school, I think. Of course they kept it secret, but…"

Neji was torn between skepticism and surprise, at this abrupt turn of events. How…how could it be? Lovers?

"That couldn't have been possible!" Neji exclaimed. "It- It…if they've loved each other for so long, how come nobody has found out except you? I have talked to their teachers, most of their friends, and everybody insists that they hated each other! And Uchiha Sakura! If they loved each other, why did Sasuke marry? Love isn't a thing that's taken lightly…"

Gaara smiled thinly. "All valid, logical points, to be sure. But the relationship between them was anything but logical. They went through so much together, and yet… Well, if you want to know the truth, Hyuuga-san, you'll have to hear the whole thing. Do you have an hour or two to spare?"

Neji looked at his watch – it was around 9:30 but he didn't care, he wasn't that sleepy anyway. He nodded.

Gaara smiled again but then sprang up into his kitchen. "I'm just making some tea," he called. "If I'm going to be talking for the next hour I'm going to be comfortable while I do it." He came back a few minutes later, in his hands a teapot and two teacups balanced on a tray. The redhead set it down and poured for himself and Neji, before taking a sip and reclining against the couch cushions.

Neji noted with surprise and a little burst of happiness that Gaara was closer to him than before; with the way he was laying upon the couch his (bare, pale, and thin) arm almost grazed his leg. It seemed the redhead seemed more at ease with Neji now.

"Hey, if I'm going to be spilling most of my personal life to an almost stranger, do you mind if we become not-so-much strangers anymore? You can call me Gaara if I can call you Neji."

"Of course, Gaara," And Neji smiled inwardly at this development. Who would've thought he would get to meet a hot guy that he perhaps had a chance with while doing something like this?

But now the redhead seemed to retreat back into himself, looking off at some distant memory as he began to tell his tale. He stroked his teacup, the warmth calming him as he stared into Neji's silver eyes. "Please don't interrupt me, I want to tell it all at once, and though I might seem to deviate from the topic a little, will you just listen?"

Neji nodded to show he understood. "Ok then. I was born in Suna, I expect you to know where that is. I have two older siblings, Temari and Kankuro, and my mom died giving birth to me. My dad had sporadic mood swings when it came to me – he'd either hate me completely for taking away mom or he'd pamper me and love me completely because I was his last reminder of mom. I got used to it eventually, and I was good at predicting his moods so life was ok. I'd just hide in my room or my siblings' rooms if he was in one of his hating stages."

Gaara paused, in thought.

"I never did know the exact reason why my siblings never hated me, and they never told me. But I was happy for their love, and that was all that mattered.

"I went to a different school than Naruto and Sasuke, but interschool activities, sports usually, led me to them. I was in 6th grade I met them both; we were all the same age and hung out on the weekends. My first impression was that Naruto was a loud-mouth and that Sasuke was a spoiled bastard, and some part of that always stayed with me. But I saw more and more of them as time went on, and they weren't as shallow as they seemed. They just played their parts perfectly, as rivals and as best friends. And I…sometimes I just felt a little left out. I was usually the mediator: the one who made sure they didn't kill each other or anyone else.

"And then, one weekend in 9th grade, I think, we had planned to go watch a movie and to meet up at Naruto's apartment beforehand. I didn't need to be buzzed in, since someone was coming out of the main door while I was going in, and so I made my way up to Naruto's apartment without giving them warning. Naruto's apartment door was unlocked and a little open, to my surprise, so I went right in without ringing the doorbell. Nobody seemed to be in the apartment, and I was about to call Naruto or Sasuke to accuse them of going to the movies without me when I heard a noise from what I knew to be Naruto's bedroom.

"I went to see what it was, of course, and when I opened the door I found Naruto and Sasuke making out on Naruto's bed." He paused. "Don't let my flat tone mislead you. I was extremely surprised to find my two best friends making out passionately, even more so because they were both boys. They both looked up at me, looking guilty, and I ran out. I couldn't really take the knowledge."

"So you're straight?" Neji interjected, before covering up his mouth in shock. Why had he asked that? Was he out of his mind? "I-I mean…"

He trailed off as emerald eyes caught his own. "Now Neji-kun," Gaara just about purred, "Why would you want to know such a thing? We've only known each other for what, almost an hour? And we're just past being acquaintances, we're not even friends…now why would you ask me such a personal question?"

Neji flushed with shame at his unprofessional behavior. He certainly couldn't expect this beautiful redhead to fall in love with him, could he? "I-I'm sorry, Sabaku-san, I forgot mys-"

Neji got cut off as Gaara suddenly was sitting in his lap, as Gaara's lips plundered his own. "Geez, Neji, you wouldn't be able to recognize a tease if it danced buck-naked in front of you." He gave the Hyuuga another kiss, this one short but sweet, pulling away with a smirk pulling at his lips. "I like it." He pronounced. "It's cute. And I like you."

Neji's face flushed again, and he timidly wrapped his arms around Gaara's small body. "I like you too…" He admitted in a soft voice. "Though I do think that we're acting like teenagers…"

"Why?" Gaara inquired.

"Well…it has something to do with the fact that you just about jumped me."

"Want me to stop?" Gaara's devilish smile melted Neji's heart, and the Hyuuga released an unconscious sigh.

"No." They held each other for a few moments before Neji commented, "Though shouldn't we get back to Sasuke and Naruto?"

"Sure." Gaara started to pull away but Neji held on.

"No. You stay here. It's fine, I won't get distracted. Just talk." When Gaara just stared at him, Neji asked him, "I mean, you don't mind, do you?"

Gaara shook his head. "No…it's just, a few seconds ago you were…"

Neji blushed. "Aa…come on, we need to move on. So what happened after you found out about Sasuke and Naruto?"

Gaara shrugged. "I got over it, obviously. Mostly it just surprised me, and the next weekend Naruto called me and said we needed to talk. I agreed, a bit hesitantly, I admit. I didn't really see why they both preferred guys to girls, but…" Gaara smiled. "They really loved each other. If one of them had turned out to be a girl, their love would have been the same, so I didn't feel the need to condemn it. Besides, I found out just why sometimes they were so engrossed in each other that I felt left out, and it made me feel a little better, to know they weren't doing it on purpose."

"But if they loved each other so much, why did they…?"

Gaara leaned closer to Neji and hugged him gently. "Naruto knew Sasuke had always wanted children, since Sasuke was an orphan, and he didn't want to take that away from Sasuke. So he coerced Sasuke into dating and marrying Sakura, though I believe they carried on an affair outside of the marriage."

"And what did you think about all this?"

Gaara twiddled around with a lock of Neji's hair. "I never liked Sakura, to tell you the truth, so I couldn't feel sorry for her no matter how hard I tried. I always felt bad for Sasuke, actually, even more than Naruto, because he was stuck in a loveless marriage, and I knew he would've given up kids in an instant to be completely with Naruto. And he was going to break the marriage off, when two events happened. Sakura became pregnant, and Sasuke was diagnosed with cancer."

"That was…over three years ago, wasn't it? He came to me right after his diagnosis to make out his will."

Gaara nodded. "They both knew, even with the massive amount of money that Sasuke held, that he was going to die, if not in a few months, in a few years. To Sasuke, this meant that he didn't need to pretend any more. If he was going to die, why should he try? But to Naruto, he thought that Sasuke should receive his greatest happiness before he died, and pushed Sasuke away to get him to stay with Sakura. Their child…Higure was amazing, I'll admit. It was the one good thing that came out of Sasuke and Sakura's marriage, though…you've heard about his kidnapping, haven't you?"

"Yes…last year…the 'Uchiha heir', that's all he was to the kidnappers."

Gaara turned his head away for a moment, glancing through his memories of the past year. "The kidnappers are dead now, but it doesn't do any good. Higure died too…and that was the last straw for Sasuke. He and Sakura had at least gotten along for the past year because of Higure, and now he was gone…Sasuke ran to find comfort in Naruto's arms, and for once Naruto didn't push him away. Maybe Naruto had realized by now that Sasuke was brutally unhappy with his life. He had denied it for so long…"

They shared a brief silence. What was there to say? Neji now knew the reason Naruto and Sasuke's deaths had been so close together, and it was not a coincidence.

"Gaara."

"Yeah?" Gaara looked up, eyes full of pain.

"Naruto…he committed suicide, didn't he?"

"Yeah…just about. Naruto…could never hold his alcohol. He knew what he was doing with he got drunk like that. And…" Now Gaara turned his head away again, and Neji, having figured out that the redhead was trying to stop his tears, hugged him close and whispered, "You don't have to hide your tears. I won't think the worse of you for them."

Gaara shook his head wildly. "No. I am not a girl. I will not…give in to these bouts of emotion…" But he did give in. He laid in Neji's warm arms and shed a few tears, all that he was able to muster. Gaara was never one to be dramatic, but he did, in this one moment, allow himself to mourn, to dwell on the deaths of his best friends and be selfish, to curse them for leaving him behind, little, scared, socially-retarded Gaara who didn't quite know how to live on without them.

Gaara shed a tear for their childhood together, their adolescence together, for Naruto's bright smile and for Sasuke's smirk, for Sasuke's loveless marriage and Naruto's reaction to Sasuke's death. And finally, Gaara shed a small tear for himself. After another moment he sniffed and recovered, the time for sadness over. He knew this wouldn't quite be it; there would be more times during his life when he would break down, but Gaara needed to move on. Sasuke and Naruto would want him to move on.

The redhead sniffed again, and then looked up into Neji's eyes. "Stay with me." he whispered. "My siblings have their own lives right now, and I don't have that many friends…anymore. Stay with me."

Neji nodded and rubbed Gaara's back soothingly. "I…just have one more question. Do you know what Naruto and Sasuke would have wanted to do with each other's ashes?"

Gaara did not answer.

"Gaara?" Neji prompted gently.

"I cannot think of anything right now, but I may think of something in the morning. There were lots of places significant to Naruto and Sasuke, I just…" Gaara sighed.

"It's all right." Neji whispered. He held the redhead a little longer, before asking, "Where should I sleep?"

"In my bed with me." Gaara answered matter-of-factly. "Unless, of course, you mind…" He looked up with the unspoken question in his eyes.

"I don't mind." Neji said. "Are we going to sleep now?"

Gaara nodded. "You're tired. I can see that." He started to scoot off Neji's lap, but Neji once again stopped him.

"Where's your bedroom?" He asked, standing up with Gaara in his arms.

"Hey!" Gaara protested, though not too much. "I can walk, you know! Why're you doing all this?"

Neji brought their faces closer and smiled. "I wanna spoil you. Is that so wrong? I mean, I know I've only known you for an hour, and I know I won't be able to replace Naruto and Sasuke, but I want to try to take away the pain. Let me."

Gaara melted inside from the sentiment, but on the outside just huffed. "Well, I'll have you know that this doesn't mean I'll be uke in this relationship anytime soon."

Neji looked surprised for a moment, then scared. Had he done something wrong? "Am…am I…"

Gaara kissed him again. "Ok, so I guess the fact I'm socially retarded makes me hard to read, but you'll get better, right?"

Neji looked into his eyes and read the real question: You understand me, right? You know I'm not pushing you away, right? He smiled reassuringly. "Yeah. It might take a few days, but I'll get better. And you're not socially retarded, Gaara. Everybody else just doesn't understand you. Now, where's your bedroom?"

"First door on the left down that hallway." Gaara pointed. And when Neji started walking, Gaara stuck his head in the junction between Neji's collarbone and neck and started nuzzling the skin there. Neji stopped with a gasp and a gulp.

"Uh…Gaara?" Gaara looked up and smiled.

"This is how I spoil you, Neji. Now walk."

Gaara went back to his previous activities and Neji did as he was told, though his stride was a bit uneven. He reached Gaara's bedroom a few minutes later, leaning against the wall inside, humming contentedly. "Got a hickey yet?" he asked after a moment.

Gaara sat back and regarded Neji's neck with satisfaction. "Yup. Didn't hurt too much, did it?"

Neji sighed. "Nope. After all, you didn't bite or anything…is it nice and visible?"

Gaara smoothed a finger over it. "Yeah, and I think it'll stay till morning. If not, well, I'll make another one, ne?" He smirked, and leaned toward Neji's lips, giving him a fierce kiss. Neji didn't struggle, kissing back and feeling wonderful. He moved toward Gaara's bed slowly, making sure not to drop the redhead, and set him down on the covers before breaking the kiss.

"We should sleep." Neji said.

"With each other? Yeah, totally agree."

Neji rolled his eyes at the innuendo. "I mean actually go to sleep, Gaara. It's not because I don't want to sleep with you, I do."

"Then why?" Gaara asked, genuinely confused. "Most people don't hesitate…"

Neji flushed with embarrassment. "You'll probably think me a prude, but I've only known you for a few hours, and…and…"

"It's ok, Neji, I understand." Gaara looked resigned, and Neji felt he needed to go on.

"No, I wanna tell you. It's just that if I sleep with you, I'll feel like this is a one-night stand, and…I don't want it to be. Just a one-night stand, I mean." He blushed a little more and Gaara stared at him with incredulity.

And then he chuckled again. "You're not a prude. You're just too cute…seriously, where do you get this stuff? It feels so…" Gaara sighed in content. "Nice. Nobody ever says stuff like that to me."

"They don't?" Neji frowned. "Why not?"

"Because they're not you." Gaara answered with a grin and pulled Neji onto the bed next to him. They looked at each other, before Gaara stood up and gave Neji a peck on the lips. "Do you want to take a shower or something?"

"No, it's fine, though a tooth brush would be nice."

"Sure. Give me a sec." Gaara went out into the hallway and got a spare toothbrush along with another pillow. He handed the toothbrush to Neji, and put the puffed up pillow on the bed. They went into the bathroom together and brushed their teeth together, with Gaara marveling on how they never managed to collide into each other in such a small room. They hadn't even paused in their motion, never seemed to have any chance of walking into each other, though of course it was only Neji that looked graceful and flowing, even while brushing his teeth and doing such other mundane things.

Gaara was the first one finished, and he went out to his bedroom again, stripping down to his boxers and tossing his clothes into his closet. He'd fold them later…

The redhead got into bed, pulling the covers up to his neck and staring at the bathroom door. Neji walked out a minute later, tie pulled out, collar a little more undone, and hair out of its low ponytail. He took one look at Gaara on the bed and his clothes making a mess in his closet and went over to the clothes, folding them quietly. After doing so (and making Gaara shift, ashamed of his messiness, on the bed), he started taking off his own clothes, folding them just as neatly, until he was only wearing his shirt and boxers.

Gaara patted the bed beside him, saying, "Turn off the light, will ya?"

Neji nodded, turning off the light and slipping into bed beside Gaara. It was awkward, being in bed with the other but not being passionate. Sex was just sex; it didn't necessarily have to mean anything, just that he was attracted to the other. But sleeping…it meant that he trusted the other, that he…

Was he giving way too much thought into this? Neji sighed and shifted, turning towards Gaara, just to find the redhead staring at him. "Is something wrong?" Gaara asked.

"No, I was just…thinking."

Gaara blinked, bemused. "Stop thinking and sleep then." He put his arms around Neji and pulled him closer, laying his head on the other's shoulder. Neji watched Gaara close his eyes, and decided he should take the other's advice. He fell asleep a little later.

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Next Chapter: What Naruto gave Gaara in his will, more NejiGaara, and Neji's secretary. Please stay tuned!