It had been bothering him for days, ever since they had left Kana and Shiori's from picking their costumes. Neji growled softly as he remembered that he needed to talk to his little cousin and her boyfriend about their…. activities. He wanted to know why she had lied, though he had supposed it would have something to do with the fact that he often had a habit of running her boyfriends off.

He sighed. He just wanted to protect her. She was, after all, more like a sister to him than a cousin. Nobody would ever be good enough for her.

He took another sip of his coffee and picked up the paper, ignoring his girlfriend who was coming in through the open window like she did almost every morning, well at least every morning that she wasn't there already. "Neji!" He put the paper down and looked at her so as to acknowledge her presence. Anyone who knew him knew he was a man of few words, it was just how he was, it didn't mean he didn't care.

She smiled and walked over to him and kissed his cheek as he put his cup back to his lips. "Did you watch the movie like you were supposed to?"

"I didn't have time to, not yet. Between work, and dealing with Uncle Hiashi things have been a mess."

TenTen just gave him a look, mostly sympathetic, she knew how his uncle was, but also kind of disappointed, she really wanted to get costume shopping over with. "Well do you have time now?"

"Now? It's the middle of the day."

"So? Some of the best things come in the middle of the day….me for instance," she teased, poking his nose to which he made a face. She just looked at him and he sighed, "fine. I'll go get the disc." He kissed her and made his way so his small living room in his apartment, she smiled and happily followed.

….

Across town, far away, but not so far away, Gaara was staring his down his girlfriend who was holding up a pair of bright green tights. "No. There has to be a better option. Anything...just not...those." His eyes narrowed into a glare that was almost unnecessary. The tights hadn't even done anything to him yet.

Hinata frowned, she knew he was upset. He used to love Peter Pan, but after this? She had a feeling he would never look at the story the same ever again. She'd let him just walk away and not do it, but knew that in doing so she ran the risk of having Sakura ending her very existence. The thought alone was enough to force her to make him wear anything she had to.

"Gaara," she started in. She wasn't really sure what she was going to say to reason with him, but she knew she had to do something. She looked up in desperation, hoping beyond all hopes that an idea would come to her, but nothing did. She would just have to wing it. "Is there nothing I can do to make this better? Nothing I can do to make you go?"

Gaara's expression softened only slightly at seeing how desperate she was to get him into those tights. "I'm gonna look like a miniature version of the Jolly Green Giant. Everyone is going to laugh."

"No they won't. Gaara, you'll look fine. Honestly."

He just pouted. She gave him a sad little half smile and tossed the green garment in her hands aside. She watched as they landed near her sewing kit. She walked over, rustled through it a moment, and returned after only a moment or two. "Would you do it for a kiss?" She held out her hand in the thumbs up position, a tiny blue thimble resting on the tip of the appendage.

It broke his look of loathing and the hostile feelings he had previously been holding for the tiny green tights she had earlier produced. He smiled softly, a loving look in his eyes. "It might help more if you gave me a real kiss."

Honestly? What could she do other than give a soft laugh and comply with his request.

….

Neji sat on his couch watching the movie, taking notes on his character. He noted the green and purple color scheme and the way the Voodoo Doctor carried himself. The story line wasn't his favorite, nothing like the original fairy tale at all, though, come to think of it, he couldn't think of a Disney movie that was like it's original. TenTen had left during the big transformation scene, where the prince turned into a frog, to go dig through his attic for costume pieces and props. The movie had just ended and he heard a loud thud down the hall.

His eyes widened at the noise and he called out, "TenTen? Is everything alright?" He stood and began to walk to where she would be.

In the middle of the hall, under the ladder, sorting through a rather large box of fabrics TenTen sat, covered head to toe in dust. She looked up at him and grinned, "Neji! You have everything up there! It's like… Ariel's treasure cove!"

He simply chuckled at his girlfriend and bent down next to her and picked up a piece of the fabric in the box, it was soft between his fingers. "This is nice," he told her. "But how are you going to use any of this? It's just a bunch of random fabric." She pulled the silky purple fabric from his hands and held it up to his chest.

She giggled softly and ran one of her hands across his cheek. "Well, if you don't mind my taking the big box of random fabric, I might be tempted to dig out all my old sewing stuff that I haven't touched in years. This silk would make a great vest for you."

Neji raised a brow. For all the years he'd know her, and he'd known her for quite a few years, he had never known TenTen to partake in such domestic activities such as sewing. The girl was not housewife material and he was okay with that. He was okay with the fact that she was unsure just how a coffee pot should be cleaned, or how to hold a baby, or….even how to boil water without burning it or how to chop a vegetable without cutting herself. He thought it was cute and was happy to be there and be the one to do those things while she handled other things that he was unsure of how to do such as changing the oil in his car, or building a new bookshelf when he needed one.

"I wasn't aware you knew how."

She dropped the fabric and stood up. "I'm more than just a pretty face you know."

He nodded. "I know. I'm not dating you for your face anyways."

TenTen looked taken back, she didn't really have much else to offer in the way of being a wife. She was almost certain the only reason he was dating her was because of her looks. "Then why…"

He smiled and took her hand. He looked down, a certain thoughtfulness in his eyes, and his smile fell. "Because you make me feel human, and not like some monster who should be locked up somewhere. Damned for eternity to be alone." He looked up at her, a glint of happiness in his eyes. She'd known he'd had his problems with depression, and even anxiety, but she never knew they extended so far as to feeling like that.

"Guess I really do have more in common with Esmerelda than I thought."

….

She had finally convinced him to try the awful things on, just to see how they fit. She just wanted to know that they were the right size so she could help him find the rest of his costume. It had been a full two hours and she couldn't get him to come out of her room, no matter how hard she begged or pleaded. "Gaara! You have to let me see them!"

"You don't want to. Trust me. You've seen most of it already anyways."

It sent a blush straight to the young Hyugga's cheeks and she was just thankful they were alone. It was more than enough already that she had outed herself as any kind of sexual being to her cousin without adding to the embarrassment.

"Please Gaara? I promise I won't laugh. And the sooner you show me, the sooner you can help me with my costume." Hinata would not give up without a fight. "And I won't even sing Men in Tights in front of you."

Gaara scoffed, "I'm not Robin Hood or his band of misfits, Hinata." The girl smiled, pleased her boyfriend caught the reference. "Besides, what on earth would you need help with? You don't have your costume yet."

Hinata smiled. "That's because I'm making my own costume, Gaara. It's better to make your own than rely on flimsy, store bought ones. The only thing is that I'll need to get my measurements just right. That's where you'd come in."

Gaara's ears perked up just slightly, and he had to clear his throat before he spoke. "Your measurements? I don't know anything about taking measurements."

Hinata smirked, she knew she had, at the very least, caught his interest. "Don't worry, I'll do you first and show you what you're doing."

Gaara's face turned about as red as his hair, suddenly he somehow knew she wasn't just talking about sewing anymore. He unlocked the door and opened it just a crack and Hinata pushed it open the rest of the way. When she finally got in the room she simply stood there looking at him, a small smile gracing her features. "See that wasn't so-," her eyes widened, "hard."

She finally understood why he didn't want her to see. She also knew that she couldn't let anyone else see it, those tights left absolutely nothing to the imagination. Fire spread up to her cheeks. He smirked.

….

Across town Neji could feel a burning rage building deep inside his gut again and he just couldn't pinpoint why.