These are so random but It feels nice to have a place to put the one-shots instead of discarding them!

Anyway, enjoy!

xox

Haruno Sakura loved to cook.

It wasn't something that she got to do often and she wasn't necessarily good at it; she had poisoned and healed Naruto more times than she could count, but she enjoyed the therapeutic nature of stirring a pot or mulling over recipes sprawled out across her sofa under warm blankets as the winter weather battered against the glass of her windows.

Which is exactly what she was currently doing.

She chewed on her lips as she flipped through a dessert recipe book she had borrowed from Hinata, struggling to try and figure out whether she should bake banana muffins, chocolate brownies or simply bury the book beneath her cushions and give up all together. She huffed, frustrated with herself; she had been at the hospital today doing her rounds and had been perusing her files only to come across one for Hyuuga Neji. She had glanced at all of his credentials only to suddenly notice the date on the top of the file.

It was his birthday.

Dam Hyuuga, keeping things like that quiet.

She had rushed round to Hinata's straight after work and begged for her to browse the shelves in her kitchen for something she could bake. When asked she had bluffed and told the young woman that she was practising for christmas which was just around the corner; for some reason, admitting to the purple haired nin that she had a school girl crush on the handsome Hyuuga was too much to bare. Instead, she had kept that little nugget of information to herself and hadn't even told the likes of Tsunade or Ino. That in itself was too risky as both women enjoyed to gossip.

She huffed again and grabbed her cup of mint tea off the coffee table ahead of her, glancing at the clock on the wall and noticing the time was now seven in the evening. She gripped the cup slightly tighter as the thought of Neji in his hospital room all on his own on his dam birthday made her chest ache with guilt; the least she could do was celebrate with him.

With her resolve hardened and her decision made, she threw back the throw covering her legs and padded her way into the kitchen, eyeing the groceries and baking ingredients that lined her kitchen surfaces. She had picked up every possible ingredient on her way home and she was now stuck with the decision on what on earth to bake. She decided to start with the banana muffins and go from there.

It couldn't be too hard, right?

xox

Neji sighed softly as he settled back into the pillows of his bed and propped the book in his lap, greedily reading its pages as the story finally hit its crescendo and he got swept away into the fantasy world of the authors mind. A cold breeze was threatening to creep into his room through the windows next to his bed and he growled in annoyance as he gently lay the book aside and gingerly moved his aching body so that he could stand and close it. He grimaced as his shoulder screamed in frustration at being moved, the wound and stitches tugging painfully as he padded over to the glass and gently slid the panel shut.

He had his own room this time, thank the gods.

Due to his status within Anbu he was often assigned his own space when he came in with injuries or was recovering from surgery, but occasionally he would get lumped with one of his old team mates or some other poor sod from Anbu and he would have to suffer through their bleak attempts at conversation with him when all he really wanted to do was sleep. The room itself was small, but enough space for his bed, a bedside table and a comfortable chair that sat the other side amongst all of the necessary medical equipment. The soft beep of his heart monitor was surprisingly soothing to him and he let out a gentle sigh as he settled back into the pillows. He picked up his book and placed it back into his lap, settling down beneath the soft light of his lamp ready to read when he noticed the small bouquet of flowers and still unopened card that sat stubbornly beneath the vase.

He had woken up to them both that evening and even though he knew who they were from, he still refused to open it.

His birthday was not something to be celebrated.

His old team mates thought otherwise apparently and he knew that Tenten would give him an earful if he didn't comply with Lee's and Gai's demands to constantly be a part of his life. He begrudgingly lifted his good hand and grabbed the card, ripping open the envelope deftly with his index finger he pulled the card from its paper home and lifted it to eye level, his eyebrow twitching at the crudely drawn picture on the front.

It was supposed to be a picture of him.

As a chibi.

He mewled in embarrassment before flipping open the front and scanning the contents inside.

He stopped, blinking in shock at the inside of the card; it was jam packed full with messages.

It seemed that Tenten had outdone herself this year, recruiting every possible person she could to write little messages, each uniquely distinguishable by they're scrawling handwriting. He even spotted his uncles neat loops amongst Naruto's child like scribbles and he felt the beginnings of a smile twitch his lips as he scanned over each message carefully, analysing the words and cementing them to memory, occasionally chuckling at someones bleak attempt at a joke.

Neji had never been very fond of his birthday. Not because he was stubborn and arrogant like the Uchiha, nor was it because he didn't enjoy the attention, it was because it was always a stark reminder that he had lost so many of the people that he loved. His extended family within the Hyuuga's were a comfort of sorts as Hinata and Hanabi were like his sisters rather than his cousins, but even their love couldn't fill the empty void left behind by his parents. An image of his mother and father flashed across his vision and his chest instantly ached at the sight, wishing that they were here to celebrate with him. He often imagined what it would have like; would his mother of made a cake whilst his father sat with him and opened presents? Would they of sung happy birthday to him and clapped when he blew out the candles?

Team twelve were his rock, no matter how much he complained about them he loved them in equal amounts, and he knew that even though for them signing his card was probably not even thought twice about, he would cherish it forever, as it was the first true happy moment he had felt on his birthday.

He was jolted from his thoughts by a rather loud knock on his door. He frowned as he stared at the clock on the wall, noting the late hour and as he opened his mouth to allow them to enter.

"Yes?" he flicked the book shut out of habit.

What he wasn't expecting, was Haruno Sakura's pink mop to appear from behind the door.

"You're awake!" She beamed, stumbling into the room and shutting it noisily behind her, balancing a large basket in one hand with a bottle of champagne in the other, a balloon haphazardly tied to the neck of it. It bounced harmlessly off her face as she turned to greet him, her cheeks stretched and her teeth shining as she grinned at him.

"Happy Birthday!"

He blinked, his mouth opening in shock as a sound close to disbelief escaped his throat. He watched as she batted the balloon away and flopped down into the chair, quickly catching the basket before it toppled over onto the floor.

"Errrr..." He started, trying to form a sentence but his chest had tightened and his throat was closing up at the sight of her.

Gods she was beautiful.

"So, I'm not much of a baker," she started, placing the basket in his lap as she removed the dish towel covering it with a flourish, "And I wasn't sure what you're favourite flavour was so I just made a whole bunch and hopefully one of them is ok…"

He stared at her, flabbergasted. His wide gaze landed on the large basket of baked goods as the smell of freshly baked cake wafted up his nose and into his already grumbling stomach; hospital dinners had never been particularly appetising. His fingers instantly found the chocolate muffins as he picked one out and brought it to eye level. He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes, not moving his head as he eyed her cautiously.

"You made these?"

She nodded enthusiastically, fumbling with the foil around the cork of the champagne bottle as she produced two glasses. "I'm pretty terrible at cooking, but baking is easy!" She smiled again, her good mood starting to become infectious.

"I don't mean to cause offence..." He mumbled, lowering the muffin gently but not letting go of it, "But... what are you doing here?"

The silence that ensued made him instantly regret the question.

"Well, " She started awkwardly, still fiddling with the foil of the champagne top as she started to peel it from the glass, "I noticed it was your birthday when I was going through your chart this morning and I felt bad because you would be spending it in here on your own." She successfully removed the foil and got to work on the cork, "It's no fun if you don't have someone to celebrate with!" She grinned before yelping in shock as the cork flew across the room and bounced off of the opposite wall, landing in Neji's now full lap. She laughed, grabbing the two glasses as she generously filled them.

"Should I be drinking?" Neji asked, raising an eyebrow as she passed him a glass.

She scoffed, waving a hand at him, "The antibiotics you're on are fine to drink with, don't be a pansy!"

He frowned at her use of phrasing, begrudgingly accepting the drink and staring at the bubbles that rose up to greet him. He was so overwhelmed he honestly didn't even know what to say. He had never been particularly close with the Haruno and their relationship was a strange one in that they would drunkenly flirt with each other or make passing jokes if they crossed paths, but apart from that they had never spent any considerable time together. So the fact that she was here, at ten o'clock in the evening wanting to celebrate his birthday was something that was completely above his level of knowledge when it came to women; they were a confusing bunch of humans.

"Well, thank you." He gave her a rare smile as he tapped his plastic glass against her awaiting one and took a sip of the beverage.

"So, tell me," She started, "what actually is your favourite flavour?" She gestured to the cakes, "Put me out of my misery?"

He smiled, "I'm afraid it's a bit conventional." He lifted the chocolate muffin and pointed it at her, "Chocolate."

She grinned, her rosy cheeks not going unnoticed by him, "Me too! Although I'm a fan of anything strawberry flavoured as well, which Naruto gives me hell for because of my hair colour-"

He listened to her as she rambled, taking a bite of the muffin and admiring its sweet taste and fluffy texture; she was a terrible cook, but baking seemed to be a forte of hers. He had heard tales from the Uchiha and Naruto of how she would force them to try her latest dish and end up crawling back to her hours later to be cured of whatever poisoning she had given them. She had always been good at baking, from as early as he could remember she had baked goods for everyones birthdays, so it really shouldn't be a surprise that she had turned up here with cake, its just that she hadn't done it in years and he felt like he was such an odd choice for her to choose to start doing it again for.

"- oh, you have a card! Whose it from?" She smiled, picking the card up from his lap and flicking it open. Her smile faltered slightly as she saw everyones signatures and she frowned as she grabbed her hand bag and fished around in it, searching for a pen.

"Sorry, I would have signed it had I of known..." She grumbled, twisting it sideways so she could write along the small gap that ran up the side of the card.

"I think Team Gai just got everyone they could find," Neji started, trying to appease her sudden change in mood, "I wouldn't take it personally."

"There!" She was grinning again as she passed him back the card, a small pink heart sat next to her curled signature and Neji felt his chest flutter slightly at the sight of it.

"Arigatou," He smiled, placing the card upright onto his bedside table.

"So how's the cake?" She asked, taking a sip of her champagne as she leant forwards and broke a chunk off of the muffin in his hand, popping the bite sized piece and smiling slyly at the look of disgust on his face.

"Half gone now." He grumbled, glancing down at the basket and noticing, to his delight, two more chocolate muffins staring up at him.

"Who knew Hyuuga Neji had a sweet tooth?", she grinned.

He tried to lift the basket off of his lap to place it gently on to the floor only to wince as his injured arm smarted in pain. Sakura was there in an instant, lifting it for him and placing it by her chair before leaning right over him and brushing a chakra, green hand over his sore shoulder. Her sudden closeness made his nerves stand on end as her hair fell from where she had tucked it behind her ear and brushed gently over the top of his chest. He inhaled to try and relax himself but instead caught the scent of whatever perfume she had sprayed on and was quintessentially her. His eyes fluttered shut slightly at the nostalgia and the soothing effect her chakra was currently having on his injuries.

"Better?" She murmured, rising slightly to catch his eyes.

He slid one open and nodded lightly, "Arigatou."

A moment of silence descended across the room as she didn't start moving like he half expected, but instead stayed put, her vivid green eyes boring into his own. Their breath mingled as she raised her head even further, her hand lingering on his shoulder, the green chakra now gone as she let her fingers slip gently to rest on the bare skin of his arm. He felt goosebumps rise at the touch and he wondered what on earth was happening and how this moment had come to pass between them when the only other time they flirted was with a drink in a dingy bar somewhere in the depths of Konoha.

Sakura's heart fluttered as she stared into the pearlescent depths of her current crush. Well, current was probably an understatement considering how long she had harboured feelings for the man, but she wasn't willing to easily admit that as Ino had found out. The blondes words of encouragement rang throughout Sakura's mind, "Nothing will happen if you don't act upon your feelings, forehead! Whats the worse he'll say? No?". She was true, of course, despite her personality Ino had a good gut instinct about most things which was why Sakura held her advice at such high value. She cleared her throat gently, hoping that she wasn't stepping on the Hyuuga's boundaries.

"Neji-san?" She murmured gently, averting her gaze for the first time as she became suddenly shy and elusive, a pink blush tickling her cheeks.

He swallowed thickly, "Hai?"

"You know how we've been ... side stepping around our mutual ... interest for a while now."

Her choice of words didn't go missed on him and he decided to remain silent to see where she would go with it.

She lifted her gaze, her eyes half lidded as she tilted her head to avoid his nose and gently pressed her lips against his.

It was soft at first, a tease of what was to come as her velvet lips brushed softly against his curved ones. He froze for what felt like an eternity, his eyes wide with shock as he stared down at her closed ones, almost going cross eyed with the effort. At last his emotions caught back up with him and he felt his eyes close as he too tilted his head and their lips finally slid into place.

Sakura's heart sang with joy as he pressed his mouth firmly back against hers, not pushing her away like she had imagined so many times in her head. She felt his bandaged hand run up the length of her back before gripping the back of her head and pulling her closer, massaging her mouth with his own in a way that made her knee's week and her chest ache, a pool of pleasure growing deep within the pit of her stomach as she gripped his shoulders to steady herself.

God's he was a good kisser.

They got lost in a tangle of limbs and cloth, Sakura moving to sit in his lap, scrunching his bedsheets on either side of her thighs as she straddled his hips, her arms winding around his neck as his found her waist and gripped it tightly, eliciting a mewl of pleasure from the back of her throat. The half eaten chocolate muffin rolled from where it was getting squashed in his lap, bouncing off of the bed and landing in a burst of crumbs across the porcelain white floor, forgotten and unwanted amongst this new found pleasure.

Neji smiled to himself; he get used to his visits to the hospital if they all ended like this.

xox

R+R!