a/n: Here's the second chapter…I know the transition was a bit odd, but I tried.

Disclaimer on my profile.

Warnings: Over-protective aunts and more kissing. That's about it.

Chapter 7

Neji looked around with wide eyes. The Grand Hall was indeed, rather grand; a plush red carpet ran down all the way to the far end, doors lined the sides, and pillars covered in elegant carvings held the far-away roof up.

"Beautiful isn't it?" Itachi looked around appreciatively.

"I-I was thinking something more along the lines of 'grandiose'," Neji said shakily. "You live here?"

Itachi smiled at him. "It takes some getting used to at first. After all, you're a prince and you'll be living in a palace now, Neji."

"Right." Neji still couldn't help but be awed by his magnificent surroundings. They made surprisingly quick time down the hall to the corridor that Itachi had mentioned beforehand.

Neji smiled. "I imagine that the royal court must be very fit, considering how far they have to go to get through the front door and go to their rooms," he teased.

"Oh yes," Itachi smiled down at him. "Everyone from the noble families at court receive formal ninja training."

Neji smiled slightly, suddenly grateful for his aunt's rigorous training regimen they'd put him through. At least he would have something in common with the other children.

When they finally reached the end of the hall, two guards were stationed in front of the narrow hallway branching off to the noble apartments. They bowed deeply when they saw Itachi.

"Bringing in a friend, Itachi-sama?"

"Yes," Itachi answered shortly. Neji was slightly taken aback by the iciness in his tone, but chose to ignore the issue for the time being as they slipped between the guards.

"I'm not too sure where you'll be staying, so you can just stay with me until the aunts come get you." Itachi reached for Neji's hand as he led him through the noble apartments.

Neji looked around curiously; some doors had plaques on them, some didn't. "Where is everyone?"

Itachi frowned. "Hm…you know what, I'm not sure. Maybe today's a festival day, or they all went out somewhere."

"Wouldn't people notice if they all went somewhere?"

"Well, we get along alright and as long as we don't wreck any shops, no one really complains," Itachi said absently. Neji bumped in to him when Itachi suddenly stopped in front of one of the doors.

"Ooph."

"Sorry!" Itachi yelped, and reached back for Neji who was rubbing his face while glaring reproachfully. "Thankfully, I don't have to share a room with Sasuke when I come here," he muttered under his breath.

"Sasuke…that's your little brother, right?" Neji asked as they passed through the door.

"That's right. He's a brat, but I love him," Itachi said affectionately. "We're around here so often that we just have our own apartments."

"Hm." Neji peered around Itachi's shoulder and nearly gasped again. "I-it's like a house! There are so many rooms…" he squeaked.

Itachi chuckled. "Yes. Since you're the prince of the kingdom, your apartment will probably be a lot nicer than mine."

Neji flushed. "I didn't think you actually meant apartment when you said…well, when you said apartment. And I like yours; it's nice and cozy." Neji looked around at the tastefully decorated hallway that led to down to what appeared to be a kitchen adjoined to Itachi's living room. Next to the kitchen entrance was a spiral staircase that lead up to what appeared to be more rooms.

Itachi laughed again. "You're adorable, you know that?"

Neji scowled, but the effect was dampened by the blush on his face. He leaned down and slipped his shoes off. "I'm not cute," he muttered.

Itachi shook his head, but headed down the hall to the kitchen. "Are you hungry? You haven't eaten anything since we left the cottage."

"Um…yes, actually." Neji followed Itachi in to the kitchen. "You can cook?"

"I never said I could," Itachi grinned at him, and opened the refrigerator. "I have some leftovers if you want…"

Neji stared, horrified at Itachi's refrigerator. "You have…next to nothing in there."

Itachi smiled and ruffled Neji's hair. "Close your mouth; you might unintentionally eat a fly. I'm gone a lot, so there's no point in keeping it stocked up."

Neji felt a slight sinking feeling in his stomach; if Itachi was gone most of the time before, did that mean that he would be gone most of the time after they got married too? "Oh," was all he said. "What leftovers do you have?"

Itachi frowned; he'd seen the worry flit through Neji's eyes before he changed the subject. If Neji wasn't going to talk about it now, then Itachi wouldn't force it from him.

He reached in to the refrigerator and pulled out a plastic container with some lasagna in it. "Eat," he said firmly while scooping some out and putting it on a plate and putting it in to the microwave. "You don't want to meet your family on an empty stomach."

Neji smiled, flustered by the sudden reminder. "Y-yeah. U-um…didn't you say that Ten-Ten, Hinata and Sakura would already be here when we got here?"

"Yes, I thought so. Perhaps they had a few things to take care of before coming to get you," Itachi said frowning. "Maybe they don't know we're here yet either."

The microwave beeped, and Itachi took Neji's food out and guided him towards the table.

Neji frowned. "Maybe," he said halfheartedly. He started eating his lasagna. "So you said that after the aunts come and get me, we won't see each other until tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Itachi leaned back in his chair. "I've been away for a while so I have a few things that I need to catch up on, so I'll have to leave you on your own for most of tomorrow. You'll do fine though," he added quickly, seeing Neji's despondent look. "You seem to get along with everyone alright."

"Hm." Neji sighed inwardly; he'd hoped that Itachi would be around for the first day of his arrival.

The two sat in silence for a while, each man stewing in their own thoughts when a series of knocks sounded through the door.

Itachi got up. "I'll get it," he told Neji. "You finish eating."

Neji showed Itachi his empty plate.

"Oh, just put it in the sink," Itachi called over his shoulder. "I'll get it in a second." He opened the door to reveal his three fairy aunts.

"Itachi-kun!" Hinata chirped. "Is Neji with you?"

"Yes, he's in the kitchen," Itachi said as he stepped to the side, allowing the fairies to pass through. "Are you here to take him to his father?"

"Yes, but not right now. We've been dealing with some security measures for the next week, sorry we're late," Sakura said.

Neji stepped out in to the hall. "Itachi, who-" he paused when he saw his three fairy aunts, blinking in surprise.

They were on him in seconds, and he nearly fell over from the impact of the hugs they gave him. "Oh Neji, we're so glad you're alright! How was the trip? Was Itachi-kun horrible? Oh darling…" Neji looked at Itachi helplessly and attempted to sooth his aunts. When they finally released him, they all had rather business-like expressions.

"Now that we've got you, we're going to go take you to meet your family. Now, tomorrow, we'll be presenting you to the other families and you'll be spending the day with them. You two probably won't be seeing each other until the day after tomorrow, but we'll see what we can do. Now, we need to go, Neji." Sakura caught the look that Neji and Itachi shared and added hastily, "but we'll be waiting outside; go on and get your coat before you go." She dragged the other fairies out the door with her while Neji disappeared to get his coat.

Neji came back in to the hall with his jacket back on and reached for his shoes. Itachi stopped him with a hand, and pulled him back up in to his arms. He leaned down and cupped Neji's face in his hands.

"A day isn't so long is it?" Itachi murmured.

Neji refrained from rolling his eyes; it was only a day after all, and they would see each other in the morning anyways. "No, it's not," Neji murmured.

"Don't go getting in to fights now, hm?" Itachi smoothed his thumb down the side of Neji's face.

"Yes, Itachi." Neji nuzzled Itachi's hand slightly.

Itachi leaned in and gave Neji a soft kiss.

"They'll be waiting for me," Neji murmured against Itachi's lips. "I should go."

Itachi didn't let go of Neji's waist. Instead, he started kissing Neji again. Neji let out a gasp of laughter before kissing him back.

They broke apart when Sakura rapped on the door. "Getting your coat shouldn't be taking that long," she chided gently from outside the door.

"Coming!" Neji called, and hurriedly slipped his shoes on. He reached and sweetly kissed Itachi on the cheek before walking out the door.

Itachi gently brushed the place where Neji's lips had landed and stared blankly at the door for a moment before heading upstairs to his bedroom.

After all, he had a mission report to write.

a/n: Review please! Thanks for reading this I'm working on making the chapters a bit longer.