Sasuke wasn't the type to grovel. He was never the type to basically beg someone to stay with him or forgive him. But Neji was worth it.

"Seriously. Don't do anything stupid,"

"Tell that to yourself," Neji said sharply. "Now do something smart for once and leave me alone,"
"Not until you're back in Konoha,"

"Fuck," Neji swore under his breath. "You want me back in Konoha? Then why aren't you back in Konoha?"
"What?"

"You're the one everyone wants there," Neji said. "Everybody wants you back. And you know it. And yet here you are telling me to go back,"
"I…I have my own reasons," Sasuke faltered. "But I want you to go back. I want to reassure myself that you're not going to…,"

"Going to what?"

"Be like me," Sasuke said finally.

Neji snorted, but didn't say anything further.

"You know…," Sasuke continued. "I know this will sound…I'll sound like a supreme dick, but…,"

"Don't worry," Neji said flippantly. "I already think you're a supreme dick. You're also the biggest bullshitting asshole I've ever met,"

Sasuke tried to ignore the jab, but still felt the words cut into him like daggers.

"You're…part of the…blame…,"

"Oh, what the hell," Neji threw up his arms in surrender. "I should've seen this coming. I should've known that you're gonna tell me that I'm the reason you left in the first place. No, it wasn't your stupid quest for power; it was because of your boy…your friend,"

Sasuke's mouth was a thin line as he continued. "I left because…I liked you….way too much,"

"Now there's something new. Now you're just being illogical,"

"No," Sasuke combated the desire to grab Neji and kiss him. "It's…I…you know me," he pleaded. "I wanted power more than anything else. I was tired of being in someone else's shadow,"

"Shadow?" Neji repeated in disbelief. "You were in no one's shadow. You were the best,"

Sasuke shook his head, knowing that no one would understand the rivalry that existed between him and Naruto. He decided not to talk about that, either.

"But the thing that was in my way was you,"

"What are you gobbling on about? I wasn't in your way," Neji seemed to have calmed down, and even sounded slightly nervous now. "You were better than me,"

"Not in that sense," Sasuke said. "I mean…you were my weakness…you were…I didn't want to make myself close to people so much,"

"Go on," Neji cocked his head.

"You know how it is. People like me, before we leave, we don't want anybody to want to come after us. We don't want to love, we don't want to feel anything. I mean, my brother killed my whole…,"

Neji touched Sasuke's shoulder in a gesture of understanding. Sasuke's heart literally melted.

"And you were there in my life," Sasuke continued. "I realized too late that I shouldn't be making myself close to anyone. Especially in that way,"

"So you regretted being with me?" Neji sounded cold again.

"No!" Sasuke exclaimed. "Don't think that,"

"Well it certainly sounds that way,"

"It wasn't meant to," Sasuke felt his cheeks grow hot as he was brought close to tears. "Look…all I am saying is that I didn't want to leave you…but I had to,"

"Yeah," Neji agreed sarcastically. "You had to leave me because you wanted something better. And because I wasn't a milestone,"
"Neji…," Sasuke said softly. "Try…and see it from my point of view,"

"Oh I tried," Neji answered quickly. "I just couldn't, and I still can't, comprehend it. I wouldn't have left you for anything,"

Sasuke nodded after a tensed silence.

"I know," he said quietly. "You're not the type,"
"I didn't think you were," Neji said. "Until then,"

"So what was it like…when they asked you to go and…try to get me back?"

"Why are you asking? You want me to kill myself?"

"No…I just want to know…,"

"I felt angry every part of the damn way," Neji snapped. "And I couldn't express that. Kiba knew, but he, being more tactful than you are, didn't ask about it,"

"I…I didn't know that they would do that—,"

"Oh, please—,"

"No, no. I knew that they were going to send people after me. I just had no idea that they were going to send…you,"

"Among others," Neji agreed simply.

Seeing Neji like that, Sasuke didn't want to just stand there and do nothing. It meant that he would have failed—again. And he didn't want to fail again. He pulled Neji close to him again and breathed in his scent. He entangled some of his fingers into his hair.

"Please," Sasuke closed his eyes and tightened his embrace. "Just try to…understand,"

"But you also found someone else," Neji said, his voice clipped. His mind flashed back to the memory of Suigetsu. The memory was painful.

Sasuke's hands clenched slightly on Neji's back.

"Don't talk about him…please,"

"What if I want to?" Neji shifted a little. "I think I have the right to know,"

"I only met him...a few months ago. It was…just like you and I. The chemistry was just there…from the very beginning. But…he could never…,"
"I heard," Neji said. "He cheated on you. With—,"

Sasuke pressed his face into Neji's shoulder. For a moment, Neji felt sorry for him. Sasuke resembled a helpless child.

"He could never replace you," Sasuke finished, talking into Neji's shoulder so that his voice was muffled. "He was so different from you…,"

"Isn't different a good thing?" Neji asked.

"No," Sasuke said. "Not always…you would never do what he did,"

"You're right," Neji answered. "I would never cheat on you,"

"I guess I was just stupid,"

Neji paused.

"No," he said quietly, bringing his hands up around Sasuke and returning the hug. "You weren't being stupid,"
Sasuke's head shifted. His lips were brushed against the skin on Neji's neck.

"Can we sit down?" Neji asked after a while, peeling Sasuke's hands off him. He nodded at the nearby tree. Sasuke smiled sleepily and nodded.

"Let's go,"

Is Neji pretending or is he actually accepting Sasuke into his life again? At this point, I'm not even sure myself…