Hahaha...sorry for updating so slowly...this chappie'sa long one to make up for it, ne?

Chapter 9: Truth

In Neji's Apartment

Pale fingers deftly flicked the tuxedo jacket and undershirt from his torso, the garments pooling to the ground under him. Neji gathered up his clothes, hung them neatly in his closet, and deposited his hair- and neck-tie on a nearby chair. A sigh of relief escaped his lips as he shook out his hair, letting the exquisite midnight waterfall of hair fall down his elegant, magnificently carved torso, trickling in liquid rivulets down to brush the backs of his thighs and his finely-chiseled shoulders. He was just about to hang up his tie when three soft knocks were heard at the door and he turned, any second thoughts about the tie already forgotten. He had a high suspicion as to who would have the insanity to drop by for tea in the god-awful hours of the night, but all the same, one couldn't be too careful. Still, if the person on the other side of the door was who he thought it was, he'd be all too happy to let him in; a good deal of questions Neji had for a certain person, one which he hoped was his visitor.

He reached for the doorknob and turned it a little too quickly in his anticipation. The door flung open and he looked down into the face of Uzumaki Naruto himself.

The sheer magnificence of the sight of Neji's marvelously chiseled bare torso didn't quite fully register in his brain until he'd blinked at least five times, and when it did finally hit, Naruto almost tripped over his feet from the sheer impact. Neji stood there in all of his splendor, threads of silken hair falling down his shoulders and his face like gossamer threads of midnight, interweaving, interchanging, forming beautiful patterns that accentuated his lithe, limber body. And the thing that slapped the icing on the cake was that Neji himself hadn't a single, solitary clue that the mere sight of him just about stopped Naruto's heart. A faintly expectant, but otherwise mildly normal expression was currently strapped on his face, and this show of pure innocence was what endeared him to Naruto more than anything else in the world. Eventually Neji's mouth twitched up in a smile as he invited the flabbergasted blonde into his apartment.

Naruto's mind certainly registered the request, but his feet had an agenda of their own and refused to budge despite his brain's insisting signals. When Neji found that Naruto hadn't followed him in yet, he turned around and made his way back to the blonde, unconsciously blasting Naruto with yet another heavenly vision of his sleek, supple body. Slender fingers reached out, rippling sinew and taut muscle, and to the blonde's great disconcert, Neji reached out and slowly stroked the line of his jaw, beautiful opalescent eyes clouded with worry.

"Are you okay, Naruto? You don't look well…"

Somewhere in the poor, tattered mists of his thoroughly befuddled mind, Naruto vaguely registered that this moment was distressing, dismaying, annoying, amazing, and rather wonderful. To have this heaven-sent creature caressing his cheek in such a manner…it took every last ounce of his self control to snap himself out of what would have been a very blissful yet extremely awkward moment, to scathingly remind himself that this was Neji, his best friend, and to make some feeble effort to compose himself with what little dignity he had left.

"I…I'm…uh…I'm fine! Really. Don't worry yourself about me, I think it's just the fact that it's so late…"

The few wisps of shavings that served as his brain dimly registered that Neji was apologizing profusely for having called him up at such a godforsaken hour of the night, but Naruto really didn't give two whoops in Hades, for all it was worth; his feet, after a much delayed reaction, decided to respond and tried to walk into Neji's apartment. Tried to. Naruto's eyesight failed him miserably, not noticing that there was a body currently standing in the doorway, so he ended up nose-to-chest with Neji's bare torso.

He stood stock still, nose still buried in the Hyuuga's chest, subconsciously inhaling the musky-sweet scent that was Neji's alone. He could feel the heat radiating from the Hyuuga's body which sent his stomach plummeting to his feet and made it seem like his tongue had suddenly inflated to the point where it threatened to burst from his mouth. Neji himself was still looking down at Naruto with the same mild expression as before, albeit a trifle more puzzled. Just when the poor blonde thought things couldn't get any worse, he felt Neji's cool, calm fingers sliding against the line of his jaw, tilting up his head. Abruptly every nerve in his body immediately screamed at him to move, to do something, anything to prevent the forthcoming event, but he was past all hope, and his eyes came in direct contact with Neji's searching gaze.

He could feel the hot, liquid electricity sizzle down his spine, sending a jolt of magma swirling through his body. Desperately he tried to break away, but again his body wouldn't respond, so he remained where he was, Neji's slender fingers gently cupping his jaw as the Hyuuga's eyes seared their mark into the very pupils of his own. He'd never quite noticed how suddenly beautiful Neji's eyes were, and to have this chance now, when Neji was so palpably unaware, was a rare blessing indeed. Neji's eyes were like twin marble-chipped gems that glittered and gleamed with a transcendent quality which only served to heighten the undertints of pearl and opal that glossed his magnificent orbs. And unconsciously, Naruto's own eyelids began to close as he leaned into the fresh, cooling touch of Neji's fingers on his jaw.

"Naruto, are you absolutely certain you are well?" It was the current of apprehension in Neji's tone that rudely snapped him back to the present. Naruto immediately pasted a smile on his face, rubbing one hand sheepishly behind his head.

"Aaahahaha…I'm fine, really." He said effusively. With a shrug of one sloping shoulder that rippled the ropey sinews and muscle in his chest (Naruto hastily clapped a hand over his nose just for extra security), Neji turned and walked into the living room.

The sight of Neji's back sent another ripple of white-hot fire through Naruto's body. Never before had he seen Neji with his hair completely unbound, and to see it now, cascading down his back and brushing the backs of his knees was a vision that suddenly made breathing an extremely difficult task for the blonde. Staggering weakly with the sudden onslaught of visuals, Naruto successfully walked the fourteen paces into the apartment, barely making it into the living room without falling comatose on the carpeting. Neji turned around again and gestured to the couch; Naruto thanked whatever gods there were that made the Hyuuga decide this, for he wasn't sure his legs could support him for much longer.

He sank onto the couch and breathed a subconscious sigh of relief, which was very rapidly choked off as he fought to keep his facial color at normal as Neji gracefully sank onto the couch next to him. Fingernails dug white crescents into his palm as Naruto fought to keep his self-control. He felt something lightly brush his thigh, and when he discovered that Neji's leg was touching his own, the tentative, shy tension that suddenly barreled headfirst into the stratosphere had a certain timid, sensational intimacy that couldn't be rivaled by any of the touching moments since the first time they met.

The hairs on his neck suddenly stood erect with tension and he stiffened, every single nerve rigid with fear, not directed at Neji…no, this fear was a fear that he'd lose the last vestiges of what was left of his sanity. He could feel the burning trail on his neck that the Hyuuga had hotly scraped out with his eyes. Senses giving in, Naruto turned and met Neji's eyes with his own, and once more the golden cord of warmth connected their souls. The moment was short-lived however; Neji broke the delicate union and lowered his gaze, suddenly looking uncomfortable. For a brief, terrible instant, Naruto's heart threatened to crack and fall to pieces at his feet for fear of Neji's withdrawal, but then, to his great surprise and utter consternation the Hyuuga asked a question that left him with his intestines snarled hopelessly around his stomach.

"Naruto…when someone gets close to you…I mean, right up close to you…what does that mean?" He asked in an unusually soft voice.

He was frozen solid where he sat, his heart slowly turning to ice inside of his chest. He nearly staggered with the effort that it took just to breathe; a strange lump had suddenly formed inside of his throat, and no matter how hard he tried to swallow, it remained stuck obstinately somewhere in the region of his larynx. Tenten….Naruto gasped for breath. Tenten…he meant Tenten…of course he meant Tenten…Tenten and her many attempts to kiss him…Tenten…his knuckles went white with the pressure of his clenched fists. For one deliciously tainted moment, Naruto seriously considered lying through his teeth and pretending he hadn't a clue what Neji was talking about…but then, he suddenly realized, if he didn't tell him, Neji would turn to the next best person, that being Tenten herself. And if he asked Tenten…Naruto flinched at the thought. If he asked Tenten, the girl wouldn't hesitate to use that excuse to drag his ass into bed and give him a long, slow and sultry tongue bath. After a minute's contemplation in which a million different ways to answer Neji's question flashed through his mind, Naruto resigned himself to the fact that there was no easy answer, and that the best way to deliver the medicine would be quick and blunt.

"Uhm…well…" Curse his vocal cords. Curse them, curse them, curse them thrice over. Why here, why now, why did they have to fail him when they never had before? After a few awkward moments, in which he garbled incomprehensible gibberish in Neji's general direction, Naruto finally found his voice after a long, frantic search.

"W-well…did this so-called person close her eyes?" At Neji's nod, Naruto continued.

"And did this person appear to be leaning in the general direction of your mouth?" Again Neji nodded after a moment's thought. Naruto let out a sigh that seemed to reverberate from the very depths of his wearied soul.

"Then she was trying to kiss you." He said in a barely audible whisper. Neji sat bold upright, eyes glittering with confusion.

"Kiss…me? But I thought kisses were done normally on the cheek…" He trailed off, brow marred in puzzlement. Apparently Hizashi never told him about this new kind of kiss. And was it his imagination, or was Naruto looking like he'd aged ten years?

"Well…there are friendly kisses…those done on the cheek…" He sighed, then continued.

"And there are the kisses which mean you are in love with the other person. These kisses are done on the mouth, and are done by…the opposite gender." He said. Neji strained to catch the words, but barely had he comprehended then Naruto went on.

"These kisses…well, you have to press your mouth to the other person's…and if you're desperately, passionately in love with her…then you use your tongue as well...these are kisses for…uhm…inducing pleasure, you know?" He finished lamely, then arched his shoulder in a small shrug.

"That's about it, I guess." He mumbled softly.

A shadow fell over his face and he looked up to see Neji staring at him with a gaze that seared through his soul, feeling it, caressing it, yet causing it great distress as well. The Hyuuga grew closer, and suddenly Naruto found it impossible to move, to function, to…to exist. He inched backwards reflexively as Neji moved forward, continued to do so until he felt the arm of the couch press against his back, and suddenly he knew he could go no farther.

"Naruto…could you show me how to kiss?" He asked candidly.

He was frozen. Shocked. Dead. The eight delicate, miniscule words that slipped like silk out of Neji's mouth practically tore his heart into wispy slips of shreds. A most interesting cocktail of emotions tore like a racehorse through his veins; pleasure, pain, heartbreak, ecstasy…they combined, coagulated into a steaming hurricane of sensation inside his general chest cavity and liquidated every single working organ that existed under his skin. For a minute he struggled to breathe….the fact, the mere fact that Neji wanted to kiss him nearly set his brain on fire, but the flames were quickly put out with the subsequent knowledge that Neji was only asking just for the experience, that there were no underlying feelings of possible love underneath, and—the last bit of knowledge he pulled out from his mind was like driving a steel knife into his heart and twisting it—the fact that Neji wanted to learn how to kiss because he wanted to try it on Tenten.

A flash of determination sizzled down his spine. Fine. He'd show Neji how to kiss. He'd show Neji how to kiss and he'd show him so well that Neji wouldn't even think twice about ditching Tenten's little wussy kisses for his own vastly skilled ones. He'd give him a most thorough physically-delivered lecture on just how to kiss. He'd personally lead Neji through the steps, show him the ropes and show him so well that pretty soon Neji'd be showing him the ropes, and perhaps come up with a few interesting techniques of his own. And to add insult to the injury, Neji had asked him, him how to kiss, meaning he was obviously the first up to bat for Neji's affections, meaning he was higher up on the food chain than that modelesque slut of a girl, and meaning, goddammit, that he was going to be the one to give Neji his first kiss. Take that, little bitch of a brunette!

He paused, cautiously, a thought suddenly occurring to him. Why on earth was he a) so insanely jealous of Tenten's affections for Neji, b) mentally squealing like a little lust-driven fangirl over Neji's lips, and c) so damned worked up over the whole rigmarole in the first place? Neji was a guy. Neji was male. And most importantly…Neji. Was. NOT. Gay. At least he didn't think so. Oh god, he sure hoped so, or at least he hoped that Neji could be bi, but given the way things were going with Tenten, he had a high suspicion that there wasn't an ounce of gay in him at all.

And then it hit him with all the force of a tank. Was he, himself, attracted to those of his same gender? That would be a laugh. He, Uzumaki Naruto, was a queer. Undoubtedly a tremendously humorous thought had he not been actually serious about it. He began to do a mental self-diagnosis, just in case. Symptom one: he did feel a vast amount of envy towards Tenten, a perfectly normal, perfectly straight girl who only wanted someone to love her. There was nothing wrong with Tenten loving Neji…heck, she was a girl, he was a guy, it was to be expected, correct? But he felt such animosity towards the mere idea…it was definitely something completely unnerving. Symptom two: he was squealing like a little lust-crazed fangirl over Neji's ass, chest, heck, his whole body for that matter, and especially his lips. That was most disconcerting, given that he was a guy, and (somewhat) in his right mind. Symptom three: he relished each and every single little detail of Neji's personality, from the spark of light that danced in his eyes when he was content or amused, to the sick animal bloodlust that filled his eyes during his encounter with Ino. The realization hit him with all the force of two tanks.

Holy shit. He was monstrously, desperately, passionately, overpoweringly head-over-heels in love with Neji, and there wasn't a single goddamned thing he could do about the situation. Hoooooly shit.

When did it happen? When did it first start? When did he suddenly feel as if his life would just stop if Neji ever broke the delicate connection of friendship towards him? He didn't know. And the worst thing was, now the he diagnosed himself as actually being in love with Neji, he didn't want to fall out of love with the Hyuuga. He was perfectly fine the way he was, heck, he was GREAT the way he was, and he didn't want life to change. Ironically, life had changed. Whatever gods of fate there were suddenly swooped down upon him and bashed him over the head with a tennis racquet. He was gay, and in love with the most unattainable person ever on this whole entire earth. The fact that Neji was his best friend only made it worse, having him so close yet so far, and the fact that Neji was slowly falling for a brazen, stupid little—Naruto sighed inwardly and made a feeble attempt at being somewhat objective—slowly falling for Tenten punched out another hole in his already mangled heart. Dear god, he was in deep, deep, deep shit where he was, and the worst thing was, he was completely content with being knee-high in turd.

The feathery touch of cool fingers against his jawline brought him down from his frazzled thoughts with a rather unsightly crash.

The first thought that squirmed through his smushed brain was that Neji was really, really close to him. Far too close for comfort, in fact. The second thought was that chin was currently being held captive by a thumb and a forefinger, and the third, fourth, and zillions of other thoughts that piled up in the bottleneck that was his brain all consisted of garbled fragments generally dealing with the fact that his lips were about to collide with Neji's in approximately three…two…one…

The heated touch of soft, silken lips upon his own mouth sent him careening off the edge of the world.

The only thing that wormed its way through the remaining scraps of his mutilated brain was that Neji wasn't a bad kisser. His mouth tentatively moved against Naruto's in a slow, unusually timid motion that sent lava swirling around the base of Naruto's spine and all throughout his body. Neji shifted his head, and suddenly his mouth wasn't just against, Naruto's, it was intertwined with Naruto's so that his lower lip fit sensually between Naruto's mouth while the blonde's own upper lip was caught betwixt his own. It was this more than anything else that snapped what little hesitancy that remained in Naruto's mind.

Naruto opened his mouth and received Neji's lips with his own, his hands encircling behind the Hyuuga's head to press his mouth down harder on his. He could feel the initial tension radiating from Neji, a hot flash of stiffness as Neji recoiled from the sudden force upon the back of his head, but then he responded fervently, delving into Naruto's mouth with a passionate moan. Naruto slid his tongue in between Neji's welcoming lips and ran it lightly over the roof of his mouth; the Hyuuga exhaled hoarsely and adjusted his head, his own tongue sliding over Naruto's own sweet, sweet counterpart. The taste of the Hyuuga sent hot wax slithering throughout his veins and Naruto now pressed his mouth with a deepening sense of urgency upon Neji's with a cry of passion.

He seriously considered stabbing Neji through the heart when he took his mouth off of his, but the glazed look of naked fervor in the Hyuuga's dazzling white-misted eyes reassured him of his fears. Neji leaned forward and placed fluttering half-kisses on Naruto's mouth, nipping the corner of his mouth and running his tongue over the blonde's lower lip. His kisses weren't really kisses…no, they were more like touches, feather-light brushes of his mouth upon Naruto's own, but the resulting effect somehow proved to be even more arousing than when they were entwined in a passionate liplock.

Neji let out a low, husky moan as he brought his mouth down upon Naruto's once more. Naruto suddenly seemed like a whole different person…what had once been just a friend had now evolved into an entirely different creature, a magnificently transcendent creature whose beauty couldn't be rivaled by anything else in the entire cosmos. Granted, he'd seen Naruto up close before, but suddenly small, insignificant things he'd never noticed before now stood out clearer than ever, which only served to heighten Naruto's allure.

Naruto's eyes, which were normally a fascinating whirlpool of blue, suddenly seemed to be the most brilliant iridescent gem-cut orbs Neji had ever seen in his life. Come to think of it, they were a completely different shade of color that Neji hadn't seen before, a whirling galaxy of hazy violent-indigo with undertints of azure speckled with bits of gold and the faintest flashes of lavender, looking for all the world like a frothy sea at sunset. The blonde's cheekbones only served to sculpt his face in a way that nearly stopped Neji's heart, and his lips, how his lips were shaped…Neji felt flashes of pleasure dance through his veins, and suddenly he couldn't get enough of the magnificent wisp beneath him.

He lowered his lips to Naruto's once more, and suddenly a very ironic thought flashed through his mind. What had once been a chaste lesson in kissing had now turned into a full-scale cesspool of passion, inflamed desire, and hot, liquid want. Neji smiled briefly as the thought hazily slipped past his mind, then slid his tongue over Naruto's once more, licking and nipping at the blonde's aphrodisiac mouth. Naruto mewled with bliss and responded ardently, his hands stroking the gossamer strands of ebony hair that enveloped the two like a curtain. Neji's own hands had begun to wander, and as they gently sloughed their way down Naruto's body like an artist sculpting his statue, the most wonderful sense of growing connection began to fill in both souls, so much that they felt like they were one mind, one body, one soul, caught up in a time-defying frame of nothingness.

There was a soft knock on the door, and Neji's whole body immediately went stiff. Naruto's own figure snapped rigid in return, and he fluidly slid out from underneath the Hyuuga, the remnants of passion quickly dissipating from his mind. Neji turned his back to Naruto and flicked a swift Byakugan-laced gaze towards the door. Hizashi's broad frame met his gaze, and upon further observation, Neji could see a worried frown upon the older man's harrowed features. Rising from the couch, Neji crossed to the door, aware that Naruto had quietly slipped from the couch to the other room.

"Hizashi-san?" He inquired upon meeting the man.

"Neji." Hizashi nodded gravely. Vague curiosity briefly flickered across Neji's countenance.

"You inquire of me?" He asked. Hizashi nodded again, and to Neji's utter surprise, the man managed a rather weak, awkward smile.

"How are things going at school? Is everything okay?" He asked. Neji drew back, suddenly apprehensive.

"Why?" Hizashi shrugged.

"Since I'm your mentor, per se, I guess it's just my instincts…" He said a bit gauchely. Neji relaxed, but only slightly. If Hizashi had come here just for some light conversation, things must have gone awry indeed. Still, he opted to answer truthfully. Fake or no fake, at least Hizashi made some effort to show that he cared.

Slender fingers grasped the sleek mahogany doorframe of Neji's bedroom as Naruto peered out from behind the wall. Neji looked completely normal as he conversed with his visitor, which was rather unnerving given the erstwhile events that had taken place, but after factoring in Neji's absolutely unmatched flexibility of outward show of emotion, Naruto found out that it rather did suit the circumstances. But yet…slim fingers ran themselves lightly over his lips as gilded brows narrowed in deep thought. He wasn't sure that neither Neji nor he had completely understood everything that happened earlier, but he placed complete trust in the small, intuitive feeling that told him that Neji hadn't felt nothing. He'd definitely felt something, that much Naruto knew, and it somewhat consolidated him to know that there was a sliver of a chance that Neji might consider him as something more than a friend.

Something silken brushed his arm and he nearly jumped in alarm. Looking down, he discovered a delicate, long, fragile thread of black snagged in the wedge of one slightly jagged fingernail. Naruto carefully closed a thumb and long forefinger over the strand of midnight, carefully unsnarling it from the serrated terrain of his nail. One flicker of a glance told him that Neji's hair had somehow gotten snared in his nail. He held it up to the light, marveling in the way that it floated and hung almost lazily from his hand, gyrating gently as a nonexistent breeze threaded through its length. Seized with a rather childish impulse, Naruto carefully wound the thread of silken hair around his middle finger, winding it around the digit until it formed a circlet of black around his finger. He smiled with the faint memories it enticed, from the time where Neji had unashamedly confessed his attraction to the blonde at the ramen store to their slackened, sleek limbs entwined on the couch.

In his most crucial moments, he'd keep it in mind.

WARNING

To: QPC

From: SRN

Subject: Emotional status

Sir,

Subject has shown severe attraction to target. Urgent permission required for immediate release of drug.

Memo

To: SRN

From: QPC

Subject: Re: Emotional status

Permission granted.