Author's Note: My first time writing a drabble ;;; I hope I got the characterization right… even if it is only a tiny drabble… but anyway, hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. Although I do own Sasuke. In my heart. Really.

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Hatred Is Not Everything

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Sasuke never noticed others. He would brood and rage when the scene of that fateful day played out in front of his eyes. He would glare and ignore any effort that people made, trying to get to know him, trying to make him open up. He did not notice that others cared for him, he did not try to understand their concern for him. He pushed Naruto away, rejected Sakura, and ignored Kakashi. He was just simply cold and, to some people, heartless, void of emotions.

Neji was the same way.

He was reserved, yes. He looked down on people, yes. He was stuck on fate just like Sasuke was stuck in his past, yes. He attacked Hinata's weak confidence, he brushed Lee away and shot the poor guy's resolve down to the ground. He did not listen when Naruto was trying to open his eyes.

But he came around.

By the time Sasuke was escorted, bound and lifeless, back to Konoha by Naruto and his team, Neji had known quite a lot about the missing nin. He knew about Sasuke's past, about the pain he had suffered, about the foolish choice he had made just to fulfill his desire for revenge. He knew enough to feel for Sasuke and understand what he had gone through. Enough to secretly watch the Uchiha every night.

"Hatred is not everything."

He looked deep into the black pools of Sasuke's eyes, elbows digging into the mattress on both sides of the latter's head, hands tightly pinning the thin wrists, coolly regarded the murderous glare that was directed up at him.

"Spare me."

The Uchiha spat, his dark eyes flashing crimson as he struggled again in vain to free his hands, but Neji kept them in place. Growling in anger, Sasuke shifted his body, legs curling beneath the Hyuuga's body, but a shift of the jounin's hips halted his actions and forced a groan from his throat.

"You should stop being resentful."

Neji murmured, head dipping down to the Uchiha's neck, his breath ghosting across the smooth column of bare skin. His lips tugged as his senses picked up a hitch in Sasuke's breath, and the slight change of temperature of the body beneath him.

"Bastard."

It was going to take a lot more to convince Sasuke. But Neji had enough patience. Because of nights like this, filled with breathy, quiet moans and rhythmic creaks of the wood. And because the person beside him on the bed always looked serene and unperturbed when sleep seized him.

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Owari.