It was getting late. The orange sun had already begun to appear behind the velvet green hills, and the pure white flowers growing in the field had begun to unchill, seeming to shrink away at the slightest touch.

A slender, pale hand rested on the stem of a white iris, snaking down near the root to pluck it from the ground. Neji Hyuuga raised the flower to his eye level and envied it. The fact that this white iris was nothing in the eyes of its family of flowers and plants, and yet it didn't care. Neji wished he could care less.

The young shinobi sighed deeply and sat on the ground, slowly sinking into a reclining position and causing his ebony hair to be dampened with leftover rain water. He wanted more than anything else to be alone in the world. That way, there'd be no one to look down on him.

And yet, there was one person he so desperately wanted to see...

"Neji-san?"

His heart almost melted from his chest at the sound of his name. Neji turned to where that sweet voice was coming from and nearly smiled.

Lee sank to the ground next to his teammate. "What are you doing out here all by yourself?"

"Nothing... just being alone with my thoughts, I suppose." Neji began to pluck the petals from the poor iris. "Why?"

Lee shrugged. "No reason. You just look kinda down."

Neji lifted his head slightly. "Why do you care, anyway?"

"Why would I not care about you? You are my teammate." Lee smiled sweetly. "Besides, everyone should have someone who cares about them."

Neji nearly snorted. "Not everyone."

"Sure, everyone." Lee argued. "I used to be a lot like you. Although, in fact, I looked up to you and wanted to beat you. But then, I discovered how Gai-sensei cared about me. That was enough."

Neji's face contorted into something that might have been a pout, if it'd been anyone else but him. "And you're telling me... that you're my only one?"

Lee smiled that pretty little smile again and Neji felt something burn in his heart. What was this? It couldn't possibly be...

"Love."

Neji's head snapped over to look at Lee. "What did you just say?"

"I said love. That is all you really need to be happy, I suppose. Or so I am told. But I have only experienced this once."

Neji looked at his teammate curiously. "When?"

Lee's face was suddenly dusted with a light blush. "Right now."

Neji's pale eyes widened. The grass was making his butt a little wet, but he didn't particularly care. Lee moved closer to Neji and wrapped his arms around the young Hyuuga. Their lips met. Hooked together like links in a chain, the two Konoha ninja entwined themselves in one another and sank further into the grass as the sun rose directly above them, a halo of innocence.

Neji was no longer alone.