Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

The third chapter is here! I have some more ideas for NejiNaru scenes in later chapters, so be patient since there isn't much NejiNaru in this one. Oh, and IC means In Character.

Chapter 3

Neji blinked slowly, adjusting to the abrupt change from dreamland to the real world. He removed one arm from around Naruto and rubbed his eyes.

And he didn't think anything was weird at all. At least, until he realized what he had just done. He stared down at his other arm, then at who it was wrapped around. And he repeated this for a few seconds. That's when the raven realized what he was actually doing.

He was hugging someone.

And this someone was male.

And he was hugging this male in public.

"Crap.."

Neji imagined waving goodbye to his pride, albeit reluctantly.

He blushed deeply, thankful that the blond wasn't awake. The Hyuuga pulled his arm away gingerly, trying his hardest not to wake the kitsune. The brunette sighed in relief as the blond continued to snore quietly, eyes flickering in a dream-like state.

Neji looked around, noting that it had been snowing last night. He also spotted Naruto's bag, leaning against the wall of the house. Even though Neji was quite a sensible person, he couldn't help but feel curious. He grabbed it and dragged it towards him. After all, it was quite boring while the excitable blond was asleep. Not that the Hyuuga would admit that out loud. He was still trying to prove to himself that the kitsune was too annoying and noisy for his liking.

Shaking his head, attempting rid it of thoughts of Naruto, he reached for the zip situated on the side of the bag. He pulled it across, revealing the many contents held within it. It was quite amazing, to see the bag hold so many objects, and not break by the weight of it all. The majority of the items were art supplies. Various brands of pencils, paints, and several thick art books by famous painters. He rummaged through it nosily, searching for a certain something. After several minutes of looking and somehow getting his hand cut, (What does he have in here?!) he finally found it. Neji flicked through the art pad, some of the pages crinkling due to over-use of paint. It was quite interesting to see what the blond drew. Most of it were sketches of every day life, while some other pictures stood out.

One especially vibrant painting caught the brunette's attention. It was one of a majestic fox, bursting through crimson flames. His fur was also deep red, almost the color of blood, yet there were hints of orange and gold. It was an incredible picture, and the Hyuuga admired the bright colors and realistic style. After staring intently at it for a few moments, Neji finally resumed scanning through the other pages. There was one thing the raven was looking for in particular, and, after thinking about it, thought it would be best to skip to some of the more recent drawings. He found it straight away, right on the last page.

His own face gazed up at him, eyes blank, but it was like there was some deep feeling hidden behind them, even it was only graphite and paper. The raven's respect for Naruto increased as he watched the drawing of himself, captivated by how realistic it looked. So much so, Neji swore that it was going to start moving at any second. The brunette was surprised by his own expression in the sketch. He looked... scared.

The Hyuuga thought he looked scared due to lack of a better word to describe his own emotions. It confused him slightly. Of course, Neji was, and always had been, a rather guarded person. After growing up in the Hyuuga household, it was impossible not to be. The raven never had much contact with anyone outside the Hyuuga family. Hell, he was going to be forced into a marriage with a woman he didn't even know! He remembered his relatives saying something about it being another rich family. The brunette's hatred for his own kin returned. How dare they make him marry a complete stranger, just for more money! Neji stopped himself before he got too mad, trying to calm down. That was the only thing that really riled him up, and it was best to stay off that topic, considering it made him so angry. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to smooth it down like it would relax his mind. This was rather pointless, considering the raven's hair was already immaculate, and his brain was more or less buzzing too fast to relax.

Returning to the present, and mainly the picture in front of him, he pushed all bad thoughts away. The raven proceeded to focus on the drawing, picking out his favourite details, such as the shading, or the way Naruto had drawn his hair. Neji was starting feeling better as he studied the portrait, when a weak whimper made him stop. He searched for the thing -an animal, Neji suspected- that had made the noise. He heard it again, finally realizing what, or more accurately, who, it was.

"Why are you whimpering?" The raven asked the sleeping blond. Naruto didn't answer, obviously, considering he was out-cold. It didn't take long anyway for the Hyuuga to figure out what the kitsune wanted. He did, after all, have quite a number of brain cells in that skull of his, which helped a lot. Naruto only whined some more as the brunette reached his answer. After staring, stunned, at the other, started to shake his head violently.

"Uh-uh! There's no way I'm even touching you. In any way! At all! God knows how long I've already been hugging you. I don't want to have to again!" He started a one-sided, almost frantic argument with the snoozing blond. The only reply he got was more whimpers. He folded his arms in a slightly haughty fashion, wishing that Naruto wouldn't make that abused puppy-dog face, especially in his sleep. Sighing irately, Neji finally gave in.

"You're very annoying, even when you're comatose." He wrapped his arms around he blond, whom immediately stopped sleep-wailing now that he could feel the other's body-heat. "God, somebody shoot me. At least nobody's watching."

He half expected someone to appear from behind the bushes when he said that, like a cartoon. Luckily for Neji, it wasn't a cartoon, therefore, no one came along to laugh at him. However, this wasn't a very consoling thought for the Hyuuga either, as, in fact, it reassured him that this was real life, and he was purposefully hugging a blond idiot.

Because said blond idiot had made a damnable cute face and pathetic whiny noises.

"Y'know, I really hate you." The raven grunted, "You're lucky I'm such a push-over." After thinking about his previous statement, Neji decided he'd have to work on that. On being such a push-over, that is. That was not a good attribute for anyone to have. Still, the raven decided to worry about that later, fixing his thoughts on the problem at hand. He just had to hope that Naruto wouldn't wake up any time soon. That would be way too awkward.

Way, way too awkward.

Bleurgh. I hated that chapter. I can't wait to write the others though. Oho. I'm so cruel. Thanks for reviewing!