Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Seasons
By: TF
NejiNaru told through a serious of one-shots.
Early AutumnNeji watched impassively as Naruto shivered, then tried to hide the motion with less than cat-like grace. A cold front had settled over the village of Konoha the night before, leaving frost patterns on all of the glass windows. Most of the villagers had figured out the change in weather, but for some reason Naruto was out in his brilliantly orange canvas jacket that did nothing against the cold.
As another bout of shivers wracked Naruto's small fame Neji sighed. They were heading back from the training fields to get some lunch, but Neji had the feeling that they were going to have to get the smaller boy some warmer clothes, which meant shopping, which was something neither of them wanted to do. Neji's face contorted into a grimace at the thought, but when Naruto started shivering again he knew that it was something necessary to be dealt with.
"Naruto, do you have anything warmer to wear? You're freezing," Neji said, frowning when Naruto flashed him a guilty look.
"I'm not cold. Besides, I don't really have anything warmer…" Naruto trailed off at Neji's thunderous look, meekly stuffing his hands into his pockets in an effort to keep them warm.
Neji sighed and found himself unsurprised as he looked down at the sheepishly grinning blond. Naruto seemed to lack some of the common sense everyone else carried around, causing him to do things that others wouldn't, like run around without proper protection from the weather. The small blond also had an invincibility complex that led him to believe that he was greater than little things like the elements, which also led to these situations.
"We're going to have to go get you something warmer. Even Hinata-sama has the sense to wear warm clothing when it's cold," Neji said, watching the blush spread across Naruto's already pink face as the long-haired boy draped his jacket over the blond's shoulders.
"Neji," Naruto whined, pouting when Neji arched an eyebrow at him.
"Come on, Naruto. The sooner we get you something warm, the sooner we can get lunch," Neji said, rolling his eyes when Naruto cheered.
They wove their way through the crowd until they were at a small shinobi-run shop that had already started selling warmer clothes. As Neji had found out on an earlier venture of similar nature, only shinobi run stores would take Naruto's business, leaving the blond with limited options when it came to clothing and other groceries.
Neji pushed Naruto into the store before him, eyeing the clothing on display with a critical eye as Naruto made a beeline for the small section of screamingly bright colors. After a few minutes of listening to the blond chatter excitedly Neji decided to pull the blond away from the selection of orange and red and pushed him towards darker, less obvious colors despite Naruto's loud protests.
The owner watched with a look of amusement as Neji forced the protesting fox-boy into a navy blue lined canvas jacket for the cold, a pair of matching pants, and a black scarf. Naruto was a frequent customer, and the sight of him in something other than orange was a sight to see. The owner was especially amused to see Naruto, wearing what was close to a look of death, being forced to the counter with his non-orange clothes by Neji holding a kunai to the blond's back. With his arms full Naruto couldn't do more than scowl, and with Neji so close it would only take a few quick jabs for Naruto to be rendered immobile.
After they left the store with Naruto's wallet lighter, and with a bundle of warm clothing that wasn't such a bright color. They headed to Naruto's apartment so that the blond could change despite his protest, and exited a few minutes later with a very disgruntled, navy, and warm Naruto exiting with a smug, warm Neji.
Neji gave in and allowed Naruto to lead him to Ichiraku, following the blond as he wove through the crowd in order to get to his precious Ramen. Lately Neji had been making Naruto eat more than just noodles, much to the blond's distress, but after a long lecture on nutrition Naruto had given in purely to stop Neji's rant.
Neji smiled as Naruto bounced in his seat, issuing his normal chant of "Ramen!" as he waited for his noodles to arrive. A few minutes later, as Naruto was slurping his steaming noodles and Neji was eating his dumplings, Sakura walked by with Ino, did a double take, then promptly shrieked.
"Naruto! What happened? Why aren't you in orange? You look so different!"
Naruto's eyes widened as he looked like a deer trapped in the headlights with noodles hanging limply from his mouth as Sakura practically pounced on him. Neji snorted and shook his head in irritation at the shrieks that were coming from both girls.
"It was all Neji!" Naruto said quickly, eyes wide as Sakura and Ino advanced on him. His eyes kept flicking towards Neji as if asking for protection, but none was coming and Naruto knew better than to cling to the Hyuuga boy.
"Naruto, you're in blue. You could actually do something stealthy and unobtrusive!" Sakura crowed, happily hugging her teammate as the blond started to pout, sending scowls in Neji's direction as the taller boy blithely sipped his tea.
"Get off, Sakura-chan. This is embarrassing," Naruto whined, feebly pushing at the arms encircling his shoulders. It took a few minutes of pushing, but finally Sakura let go of Naruto and she and Ino went on their way, still chattering about Naruto's new look.
"Look what you started," Naruto whined, pushing his pouting face into Neji's as the other boy smirked.
"I wasn't the one who decided to freeze his ass of because he couldn't get dressed properly," Neji replied, turning so that their noses were almost touching, causing Naruto to flush uncertainly.
"It isn't my fault that I don't have any warm clothes, I grew over the summer!" Naruto protested, crossing his arms over his chest.
"You grew?" Neji teased, causing Naruto to pout even more.
"That's not fair, just because you're tall," Naruto said, scowling at the pale boy a few inches away.
Neji used his ninja speed to sneak a kiss, leaving Naruto blinking as Neji resumed his former position. The blond smirked, then finished off the rest of his noodles and paid. They left the stand and headed back for the training fields to continue working on Naruto's stealth and Neji's Byakugan abilities against multiple opponents.
They walked briskly though the teeming shopping area then slowed as soon as they started coming to the outskirts of the buildings surrounded by tall trees. The woods were quiet as they entered, frost encased grass not even crunching under their feet as they passed.
"Thanks," Naruto said after a while, smiling up at the taller boy as he moved closer, walking side-by-side next to the Hyuuga prodigy.
"You wouldn't be able to keep track of your head if it wasn't screwed on," Neji quipped, earning himself a bashful smile.
"Thanks, though," Naruto insisted, darting in to hug the other boy before moving away again.
"Not a problem, Naruto."
Neji ended up dragging Naruto to his apartment as night fell, unlocking the door to the blond's apartment and dumping his exhausted cargo onto the couch before sitting down himself. The right word would have been plopped, but Neji never plopped, no matter how tired he was.
As soon as Neji got himself settled Naruto snuggled up to him, burying his face into the other boy's chest as he brought his knees up to steady himself. Neji sat tensely for a moment before relaxing into the embrace, wrapping an arm around the smaller boy's back as Naruto moved closer. Neji smiled down at Naruto's peaceful face pressed against his chest, spikes of blond hair sticking out in all directions.
Neji didn't know how long it took, but after a while Naruto's breathing evened out and his body relaxed even more against Neji's as Naruto fell asleep in his embrace. The Hyuuga boy relaxed into the couch, cradling the blond's weight against his own as he made the two of them more comfortable. Eventually he, too, fell asleep, Naruto's head pillowed on his chest as Neji's breathing slowed to match that of the blond's.
TBC…