Neji awoke feeling very refreshed and completely alone. He remembered Gaara being there last night but he must have left when the other boy fell asleep. He didn't really expect the kazekage to stay as long as he did. It wasn't fair to ask so much of him. After all, he was the kazekage. He probably had more important things to do than babysit a needy, heartbroken shinobi like Neji. On top of that, the young Hyuuga had only truly been searching for a way to fill the emptiness he felt when he was alone and Gaara already had someone precious to him; Matsuri.

Gaara had been nothing but kind and welcoming to him ever since they arrived in Suna. It would next to heartless to even try and steal him away from her and deep down Neji really wasn't so cold. Not since he met Naruto…

Shaking off the last bit of sleep, Neji threw off the thick blanket and rolled out of bed. A dull ache coursed through his body but he ignored it. Steadying himself, the brunette began to walk toward the private bathroom in his hospital room. It was proving more difficult than it should have been. The pain didn't ease away like he thought it would and was making his little journey to the bathroom more like a training exercise.

"You know, that probably isn't very good for your injuries." Neji heard a familiar voice call out. He turned to see none other than Gaara leaning against the far wall and sipping at a drink, "Do need any help?" he asked, sounding rather amused.

"I'm fine." Neji answered stubbornly.

"Alright then." Gaara made no attempt to argue or persuade the brunette to consider otherwise. He simply sat back and watched as Neji slowly inched his way to the bathroom door, appearing to be in more pain than he was willing to admit.

"Are you sure you don't want just a little help?" Gaara was beginning to get concerned the stubborn boy would tear his stitches. That would set his recovery back a few more weeks.

"I said I'm fine." He panted. He took one more step but tripped over his own two feet and if it hadn't been for Gaara standing right there, he surely would have fallen and even make his injuries worse.

"I told you I was fine…" Neji was clearly in denial about his own health. It was clear to the red head, if the other man wasn't under constant surveillance, he would end up killing himself just by trying to get to the bathroom on his own each morning. That was something Gaara would not allow. He had already gone years without the warmth Neji gave him and now that he had it back he wasn't about to let go so easily.

"You're going to have to learn, you can't do everything on your own in this condition. For now, you have strict limitations. If you try to move on your own, you'll tear your stitches and if there isn't anyone around to help you, you might even bleed to death so just swallow your pride and let people help you." The younger red head was clearly upset with Neji. In return, the brunette felt a twinge of guilt for making him so displeased.

"…Alright." He said submissively.

Gaara helped him the rest of the way to the bathroom before letting him go. He wasn't going to help him with everything. He felt a little embarrassed even think what Neji might be doing in the privacy of the bathroom. Even if it was something completely innocent, he still knew and it made things awkward. But when Neji was finished and needed help getting back to bed, all sense of embarrassment was replaced with a kind of parental affection. And with Neji looking much younger than he really was, it only made the feeling stronger.

When Neji laid back down, the ache immediately eased and he felt much better. Without the constant stream of pain coursing through his body, the brunette suddenly found himself able to think clearly and was quite embarrassed by his own behavior. He must have looked absolutely ridiculous practically crawling on the floor just to use the bathroom. On top of that, he had been a burden to Gaara who had to go out of his way to help him to and from his bed. At least, that's what he thought.

In truth, Gaara quite enjoyed being in close contact with the young Hyuuga. The warmth he had become so addicted to ever since the shinobi's arrival had been very comforting to the red head. He wanted to hold the other boy, to try and understand these strange feelings he only got when he was around Neji. Would that be out of line? Would the Hyuuga allow him to attempt something so forward? The young kazekage was afraid that if he did try something like this, the pale brunette wouldn't come near him again. Just the thought of losing the one thing that made him feel this way tour at his heart.

"Gaara?" Neji spoke, snapping the younger man out of his depressing thoughts.

"What is it?" Gaara answered, sounding more surprised than annoyed.

"Don't you have anything better to do than sit around and monitor someone like me all day? I mean, you must be busy being the kazekage and all…"

"Actually, there isn't much to do. Any paperwork I had left was completed last night. I have absolutely nothing to do today…" he paused for an instant, "Besides, you're good company."

Neji's face lit up. Did Gaara actually say that he liked being around him?! He couldn't have. He must just be hearing things…but he wanted it to be true.

"If you want me to leave, though…"

"N-no, that's fine. You can stay if you want." Neji looked away, his face turning even redder than before. Gaara almost smiled, the brunette looked so cute. He wanted to touch his blushing cheek (and maybe even more than that) but he refrained. It wouldn't be any good if it turned out the other boy didn't feel the same as he did. Gaara had grown more attached to him than he had intended. It was becoming harder and harder not to do anything inappropriate. Maybe if he just got a little closer…

The younger boy shifted just a bit closer, Neji eyeing him carefully. The Hyuuga wasn't sure if Gaara was uncomfortable or just board. Did he feel obligated to stay here? He had given him permission to leave. Perhaps he was only being nice. In any case, Gaara was much closer to him than he expected. He wasn't sure what to do. Should he give him more room? Did he want to be this close together? He decided to sit still and wait to see what Gaara would do next.

The red head was feeling more and bolder as he inched his way closer to the older Hyuuga. He didn't seem to dislike the close contact. He tried to inconspicuously bring his hand over the others but it didn't go unnoticed like he wanted. However, the brunette didn't seem to dislike this either. He glanced at the other boy and suddenly felt a rush of heat flood his face when he noticed how intently he was staring at the two hands and moved his hand away. There was a small noise from Neji, barely audible, but it was enough for Gaara to reassure himself that he should leave.

A nurse walked in just before he got up, "Kazekage-sama…uh…" she paused, realizing she had interrupted something, "Uh, I'm sorry… I didn't mean to intrude."

"It's fine. I was just leaving." Neji looked away.

"It's the ninja from the leaf. They've captured a suspect for the kidnappings."

Neji and Gaara both jumped. In an instant the kazekage was out the door, flying down the hall. The Hyuuga knew the other male didn't have a choice but to leave, but he still felt a pull of selfishness, telling him to call after him, to make him stay. But he had no right. The new captive may revile the location of the kidnapped, to Matsuri. He wasn't one to stand in the way of anyone's relationship. That's was partly why he hadn't tried to breakup Sasuke and Naruto.

Although, it would be easy enough, if he succeeded he wouldn't be able to live with the lie he would undoubtedly have to carry for his entire life. Besides, he couldn't do that to Naruto. The blonde was happy with Sasuke and all Neji really wanted was for Naruto to be happy, even if it wasn't because of him.

Elsewhere, said blonde was helping to keep an eye on the new suspect they had captured (none to easily, either). It was just a simple slip up on the villain's part but it was enough to allow him and Sasuke to catch him. Naruto was actually surprised by the raven's behavior. With them being alone together, he was sure he would have to use physical means to keep him off. But Sasuke was surprisingly well behaved.

Naruto peaked over at the gorgeous raven haired boy and had to stop himself from drooling a little. Sasuke was watching the captive intently, ready to spring at the slightest move. Once Gaara arrived, they would begin the interrogation. Small, dark part of Sasuke smiled at that while the rest of him was disgusted that even a tiny part of him would think that amusing. It was a dreadful habit he had picked up from his time with Orochimaru and Kabuto.

Moments later the door opened and Sakura, Sai, and Gaara (along with the head of the interrogation core, Temari) entered the room. The kazekage was struggling to maintain a calm composer. The man sitting before him was at least one of those who had been terrorizing his village for nearly two months. It might even be the one that tried to kill Neji Hyuuga…

Several hours of probing the suspect and they weren't any closer to finding the missing citizens of Suna. Temari was starting to lose her temper and was close to simply beating the desired information out of the silent captive. However, such behavior would be unacceptable and the suspect might possibly die from his injuries (Temari didn't really know her own strength). The older blonde girl had to leave the room for a moment to cool down before continuing the interrogation. Unfortunately, the prisoner took this as a sign of achievement and was even less likely to talk. Eventually, a jutsu of Sai's was attempted to render the man semiconscious and cooaperative.

"Alright, the jutsu is in effect." Sai claimed as the man's head bobbed as a sign of being half awake.

"Good, now tell us where the rest of your comrades are hiding!" Temari said, nearly yelling.

"…In the…west… There's a waterfall…hides us…they…" Sai sensed something was wrong. The man was being too vague. That's not what was supposed to happen.

"Hold on a minute." He said.

"What? What's wrong?" Temari was contemplating on bashing the pale boy's head in. And she was finally getting somewhere with the prisoner, too.

"There's something up. He's not being as specific as he should be when under the influence of this jutsu." Temari was silent.

"Sai, do you think…" Sakura looked at him questioningly, wondering what he was thinking but at the same time, know what it was.

With a nod the black haired boy continued, "I think we're going to need Neji here." Gaara looked almost excited and volunteered to fetch the brunette. Moments later he returned with said man, one arm around his waist to support the injured man.

"Neji, do you think you could use the byakugan for a moment. I have suspicions about this guy." Sai urged as he gestured to the captive. Neji was curious about the boy's reasoning but he complied. What he saw, no one expected.

"He's a puppet!" Neji called out in surprise.

"I was afraid of that. He's a human puppet. His master is off somewhere safe, telling him what to say and when to say it. The directions he just now told us could very well be a trap but they might be the only lead we have right now." Sai explained inquisitively.

Gaara thought about this for a moment. If it was a trap, could they be prepared for it enough to avoid casualties? What if the idea is to only lure the village's defenses away so they could capture their next target? Who was their next target? There were so many different possible outcomes. But there was one thing the criminals didn't know. Gaara had sent for three fresh shinobi from the leaf and they would be here in a matter of days. They would wait until they arrived and then investigate the lead.

After sharing the plan of action with his comrades, the kazekage returned Neji to his room, "You were quite helpful today, Neji Hyuuga." He commented.

Neji blushed and refused to make eye contact with the other man, "It's not like I'm much use any other way; At least, not right now."

"Still, we wouldn't have know about the captive without you." A slight smile graced the face of the kazekage; a rare sight to see and enough to make anyone absolutely melt if they were lucky enough to see it. Neji was no exception.

Every instinct in his being told him to stop, to think about what he was doing, but it was too late. The brunette leaned forward on the bed and pressed his lips against Gaara's, softly. He expected Gaara to turn away or become angry with him but he didn't move. The young Hyuuga wasn't sure why he did something so reckless. He just felt so grateful to the red head and when he smiled…

Neji pulled away slowly and looked up at the younger man. He didn't seem angry or even embarrassed; just surprised. He began to back away. If he stayed there much longer… He had to leave. Poor Gaara was so confused. No one had ever tried to do something like that to him. He didn't know how else to react. He turned and left the room without a word, leaving behind a very hurt Neji…