So, I'm sorry. I had this ready a couple days ago, but my laptop was brutally attacked by a virus, which I have successfully removed! Yay! Have fun with the next chapter!
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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Wish I did. Wishes don't come true. Not for me.
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Neji Hyuuga was watching a cooking show. Sasuke Uchiha sat beside him, admiring the way the coloured lights from the T.V. illuminated the brunette's face.
"Sasuke?"
"Hm?"
"Can you stop staring at me?"
"...No."
"Okay."
"Okay? That's it? No argument?"
"Just okay."
Sasuke smiled softy at Neji's complete entrancement with the show. They were staying at the Yondaime hotel until tomorrow. Then they were leaving on a train and heading to some town whose name they couldn't pronounce despite combined efforts.
"Neji?" Sasuke murmured softly. He turned in his seat so he could reach for the decorative blanket that was draped over the couch. He moved closer to Neji and covered them with the warm, cotton fabric. It would have been a nice blanket, but it was an obnoxious colour. Orange.
"What?" He said, snuggling closer to Sasuke. His eyes widened when the chef added some cilantro in to her dish. "You can't do that! It won't work because of the previously added ingredients!"
"That's enough T.V. for now. It's one in the morning." Sasuke said, reaching for the remote before Neji could complain.
"Jerk!" Neji shouted as he reached for the plastic rectangle his boyfriend held. He climbed on top of Sasuke, and tried reaching again, but Sasuke's hands would move out of the way before he could even notice.
"I said that's enough." Sasuke replied, pressing the red button and watching the T.V. screen flicker once before shutting off. "And I said jerk." Neji huffed, crossing his arms. He stood up quickly, not bothering to look at Sasuke and stormed off into the room they were sharing. The receptionist had given them a strange look when they asked for a one bedroom. Any sane person would have, obviously. Neji and Sasuke rarely showed their attraction for each other in front of other people. Neji sighed as he threw himself onto the duvet cover. It was a blinding white, almost as white as the snow. Why you would decorate the inside of a room exactly like the depressing weather outside was unknown to the brunette.
"Damn it." Sasuke muttered as he came into the room. The brunette had turned on the T.V. in their room and was occupied with the chef's slow instructions and large gestures. The Uchiha glared at the red-haired chef who had brainwashed his boyfriend. Neji barely cooked anyways, so what was the point of learning how to?
"There are a lot of benefits, Sasuke." Neji said dazedly. His eyes were still glued to the vibrant screen, but he had somehow managed to take off his pants, leaving him in his boxers, and put on a white shirt. Sasuke shook his head. There were a lot of things he didn't understand about Neji. For example, the way he managed to read his mind. They'd been best friends for a couple years now, so it was natural for Neji to know Sasuke well. It was not normal, however, that he could practically read his mind at the strangest of times.
"Like what, Neji?" Sasuke asked in a mocking tone. He kneeled in front of his suitcase and searched for a pair of pyjamas. Neji let out a loud sigh.
"You're such an asshole. I don't like to be bothered when I'm watching T.V." He muttered. "Pass me a pair of pants, please."
Sasuke stared at Neji with a comical expression on his face. "I think not."
"Seriously. Give me a pair of pants right now." Neji tried to suppress the shiver that racked his body when Sasuke gave him that predatory look.
"Nope." Sasuke popped the 'p' as he stood and turned to face Neji. The brunette gaped openly. "Not here, Sasuke!"
"I don't see why not." Sasuke's familiar smirk made its appearance.
"Fuck you. I'm sleeping on the couch." Neji sneered. As he passed by he reached for a pair of pyjama pants in his open suitcase. A loud sigh escaped Sasuke's lips as the brunette got dressed and ready for bed in the bathroom across the room. Sasuke watched his boyfriend lie down on the nude coloured couch before moving towards him.
"Go away, Sasuke. I'm pissed, remember?" Neji hissed into the darkness. He could make out Sasuke's thin outline.
"I know. And I'm sorry." Sasuke murmured. Neji remained silent, but his mind was on overdrive. Should he forgive Sasuke or not?
"It's okay..." Neji sighed. Sasuke climbed onto the couch behind Neji and wrapped an arm around him.
"I like your pants." The Uchiha whispered.
-x-
The next morning, the duo went back to the café across the street from their hotel. The loud blonde from yesterday was working at the cashier again, and gave a loud noise of delight when Sasuke stepped through the door.
"Friend!" Naruto called, banging hastily on the counter. Neji could barely hide an amused smirk at the blonde's reaction.
"Good morning." Neji greeted with a nod. The blonde presented his brightest smile to the brunette.
Sasuke gave his trademark "Hn" as they passed the cashier.
"Hey, loser! Aren't you gonna say good morning?" Naruto asked, dutifully ignoring his next customer.
"No." Sasuke replied. For some reason unbeknownst to him, Sasuke got a kick out of making the blonde suffer.
"You sadistic, emotionally deprived, weirdo." Neji muttered as they took a seat. Sasuke graced him with a smirk.
"You know me so well."
"Don't I?"
Naruto heard the strange interaction between the two, and tried to compare it to the heated make-out session he'd had the courtesy of seeing yesterday. He then found himself wondering how the two supposed opposites had met.
-x-
Sasuke Uchiha. Everyone knew him. Or, to be honest, knew about him. He was the kid who had moved up two grades. Him, along with Neji Hyuuga, who had moved up one grade, were the most popular kids in grade 5. Their parents, knowing this, let them have opportunities that not even a grade 5 would have. For example, they were allowed to go to the mall by themselves. This was where the two had officially met. Neji had just arrived, having been driven by their family chauffer. His two best friends, Rock Lee and Ten-ten, had begged their parents to go with the Hyuuga prodigy. The three met each other in front of the food court. They walked for a while, commenting casually on funny-looking people passing by and hideous designs behind glass. Finally, Ten-ten got bored of watching Lee sulk and Neji glare at nothing in particular. She suggested a game of truth or dare. Naturally, she picked Neji first.
"Truth or dare?" She asked, looking pointedly at the brunette. Neji raised a brow, but answered anyways.
"Dare." He knew Ten-ten would make him do something embarrassing. However, they had played so many times that he was sure he had done practically everything there was to do. Ten-ten thought for a moment before pointing over Neji's shoulder. He quickly shoved her finger aside, reprimanding her for the rude gesture. She gave a soft nod of apology before turning Neji the other way.
"It's Sasuke Uchiha." She said. She was one of the handful of girls at their school who didn't like Sasuke Uchiha. It was obvious to everyone except Neji that she had her sights on the brunette himself.
"And?" Neji asked warily. Sometimes Ten-ten could say the most pointless things. The Uchiha was sitting on a bench, glancing around him every so often. Almost like he was looking for a certain person.
"Here's your dare. Listen to the song on the speakers. You should know it, right?" Neji inclined his head in a state of concentration.
"And I will always love you. I will always love you. You, my darling, you." One of the oldies, Neji noted. 'I will always love you' by Whitney Houston.
"Yeah, I know it." Neji replied.
"When Sasuke's looking, I want you to mouth the lyrics to him." Ten-ten said with a playful smirk. Neji turned to face her, bewilderment clear on his face.
"What? No!" He hissed.
"You must, Neji. It is a rule, my youthful friend!" Lee put in his own two cents.
"...Fine." Neji muttered. He was unhappy. Extremely unhappy.
"He's looking our way! Ten-ten whispered. So Neji, ever brave, turned to face the Uchiha head on. He didn't hesitate as he mouthed the words, 'I will always love you.'
Now, Sasuke Uchiha, he wasn't one to blush. However, anyone would agree that the circumstances made blushing more than appropriate. So his cheeks reddened, and his hands, resting lightly against his jeans, began to sweat. Sasuke wasn't sure whether Neji was directing the words at him or not. He looked hastily around him, frowning when he turned back to the brunette and noticed Neji staring at him intently. So what should he do? Should he go and ask what he meant? Sasuke decided to head in the opposite direction. Almost immediately after the Uchiha disappeared from view, Lee and Ten-ten burst into perfectly harmonized laughter.
"I hate you guys." Neji glared at the two before a strange feeling tore at his stomach. He hissed a quick, 'be right back, stay here' as he made a mad dash to the bathroom. Fortunately, Sasuke Uchiha happened to still be in the third stall from the left. Unfortunately, Sasuke Uchiha came out the moment Neji splashed water on his face. The brunette saw Sasuke frozen in the mirror. He reached for a paper towel, drying his face, and stopped when the raven was still standing in place.
"Sasuke." Neji greeted with a barely noticeable tilt of his head. Sasuke only furrowed his brows and his lips fell into an unfamiliar pout.
"Neji..." Sasuke said after a moment's silence. The two boys stood in the bathroom, trying to decide whether to approach the matter like men, or run away like the boys they were.
"Ah... I... Uh, it was a dare." Neji finally huffed.
Sasuke nodded slowly in understanding. "A dare?" He repeated.
"Yeah. I... No offense, but I don't, I'm not... you know." Neji struggled to get out.
"...OH. I see. No, no, me neither. I was a little embarrassed, actually." Comprehension flooded into Sasuke's face.
"So was I." Neji agreed, lost in his own word of thoughts. The Uchiha broke him away.
"I'd better get going... supposed to be home for dinner." Sasuke excused himself with a small wave. Neji was left looking at his back again, wondering why that feeling kept coming back.
-x-
"Why are trains so loud?" Neji asked over the sound of the train whistle. He couldn't say he wasn't nervous as he chewed his lip. In the letter, they had said they would encounter a problem in their train cabin. Neji wasn't good with problems. He also wasn't good with trains. Sasuke, being his long-time best friend and recent boyfriend, knew this. The Uchiha wrapped a comforting arm around his shoulders, as a rare show of affection. The pair lugged their suitcases behind them; having difficulties maintaining the position Sasuke had put them in.
"To keep people from dying." Sasuke replied dryly. He cast a glance downwards at Neji's raised eyebrow. "I know. I didn't actually want you to answer the question." Neji rolled his eyes.
"So it was a rhetorical question." Sasuke muttered. His eyes stung slightly from the steam.
"You're such a dork." The brunette said matter-of-factly. They showed an engineer their passports, travel documents, and train tickets.
"Hn." Sasuke smirked as he helped his boyfriend over the steep steps of the train. They were led through three train cabins before reaching theirs. With a small smile, the girl who had shown them the way turned back.
"This is a nice little train." Neji commented, albeit nervously. Sasuke pushed him onto the seat before climbing on top of him.
"W-what are y-you doing?" Neji squeaked, pulling back slightly when the Uchiha pressed his lips to his.
"Keeping your mind off of the train." Sasuke whispered against his lips.
"Horny bastard." The brunette summoned up his remaining strength as he forcefully moved Sasuke off of his lap. Sasuke settled down, choosing to place a hand on Neji's knee instead.
"Bashful uke." Sasuke said in a monotone. Neji's eyes resembled dishes.
"I hate you. I'm not bashful. And I'm not an uke."
"I top you, remember. I don't know, but you seem pretty bashful in bed." Sasuke was still staring at the wooden paneling of the walls.
"Fuck you."
"Other way around, I fuck you." Sasuke took the silence that met him as a great opportunity to express his feelings for Neji.
"I love you, Nej." He placed a quick kiss on the brunette's scrunched up nose.
"You love pissing me off." Neji huffed.
"That too, sweetie." Sasuke teased. His hand found Neji's, and they waited in silence for the train to take off.
"I wonder what the problem's going to be." Neji finally broke the silence. Sasuke drew reassuring circles on the brunette's hand with his thumb.
"Relax. We'll figure it... out." Sasuke stumbled slightly on his sentence when the train gave an abrupt jerk forward. The sharp screech of the train whistle reached them from the open window, and the lonely train station lowly began to disappear from their sights.
"I don't know, Sasuke. I'm not so sure about this." Neji said slowly.
"Well, stop thinking about it. We'll deal with it when it happens." Sasuke hissed. Sometimes, the Hyuuga didn't know when to let things go. However, he couldn't be completely angry at Neji, as he wasn't as calm as he sounded either. Itachi had tried to kill them both before. These 'tests' as he called them, were the real thing. It was kill or be killed.
"I-I'm scared." Neji stuttered. Sasuke turned to face the brunette, and saw real fear in his eyes. Pure terror. At this point, guilt was eating Sasuke up. He was the one who had put Neji in this position. He was making Neji suffer. Neji shouldn't be scared. Neji shouldn't be living through this.
"Don't be scared, Nej." Sasuke murmured. A feeling of dread filled the pit of his stomach when the train lights flickered. The duo looked up slowly, watching the light show. Black. White. Black. White. Black. White. Black. White. A baby cried somewhere in another cabin. A phone went off. What a funny ringtone. Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick. They waited and waited. No one answered it. Neji clutched on to Sasuke, his nails digging into the pale skin.
"I'm scared. I'm scared. I'm scared." Neji chanted in a breathless whisper. Sasuke saw the beginnings of a panic attack. Neji had those often. Fortunately, he always had a paper bag on hand. Reaching into his duffel bag, Sasuke was surprised when the paper bag was the only item missing. He leaned over, digging through the same pockets over and over. The paper bag was definitely not there. Strange, he'd been sure he'd packed one this morning.
"S-s-sasuke." Neji gasped. Sasuke shifted so he was fully facing Neji. He pulled his hand away from the shocked looking brunette and placed it on his neck instead.
"Sh, it's okay. You're okay." Sasuke soothed, gently stroking Neji's hair.
"N-no! I-I have t-to get out!" The Hyuuga tried to squirm away, and Sasuke let him.
"Stay still, Neji. Please." Sasuke added as an afterthought. Neji glanced hastily around him, senses on high alert. His breath came in short pants. The phone was still ringing. Phones shouldn't ring for that long. It should have turned off several minutes ago.
"It's okay. Everything's okay." Sasuke murmured again. Neji turned back towards him. His hands trembled, indicating his panic. A bead of sweat made its way down Neji's temple.
"A-a-ah! N-no!" The Hyuuga's eyes widened and Sasuke pulled him into his side, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.
"Try to breathe normally, Nej. Control your breathing. This will go away." Sasuke ordered, albeit softly. Neji took in another deep breath, and tried to do as Sasuke said. The raven rubbed his hand up and down Neji's arm, in an effort to calm him down. He could feel Neji shaking against him.
"Alright, Neji. Let's try it, okay? Breathe in, 1, 2. Breathe out, 1, 2. Breathe in, 1, 2. Breathe out, 1, 2. Keep going, sweetie. Breathe in... Breathe out. That's it. 1, 2. Okay, let's try for three now. Breathe in for three. Breathe out for three. 1. 2. 3. 1.2.3. " Sasuke nodded his head. Neji slowly began to return his breathing to normal.
"I'm here with you, sweetie. I'm not leaving." Sasuke reassured the brunette. Neji once again clutched onto Sasuke's shirt.
"Sasuke..." Neji whispered. He was looking up at the raven, still breathing deeply. Sasuke would have laughed at the 'deer in the headlights' look Neji was giving him had it been another time.
"I'm here. Sh, everything's fine." Sasuke had a lot of experience with panic attacks. Tears made Neji's eyes glassy, and Sasuke wiped them away with the pad of his thumb.
"Y-you're not leaving?" Neji asked in alarm. The Uchiha shook his head, letting a small smile brighten his features.
"Okay." The brunette let out a sigh. The train lights went back to normal, and the sounds of a mother shushing a baby could be heard. It felt like time had stopped for Neji's panic attack. Sasuke frowned. Had a panic attack been the problem? How weak did Itachi think he was? Finally, the ringing of the phone stopped.
"Sasuke?"
"Neji."
Those were their last words as a burning wave of air pushed them against the cabin walls. The smell of burning flesh. The taste of smoke. The sound of agonized screams. The sight of vivid, flickering flames. The feel of smouldering heat.
So that was it. Neji. Or countless lives. Save us.
-x-
So? What'd you guys think? Good? Bad? Stupid? Dramatic? OoC? Funny? Do tell! I love you guys for reviewing so far. Sorry it's not as long as I'd like it to be.