~Sir Neji~
Lee was preparing the Drawing Room once more, only to straighten it out. Lee usually found his chores to be tedious and redundant, but today he was very light-footed and full of glee. Yes. Today was the day he'd spend with the Masters, Gaara and Neji. He sighed softly. It was hard being calm, especially with such an exciting schedule to uphold and-
"Lee Rock. Are you he?"
Lee swirled around with a duster in his hand.
He hadn't even heard the door open.
"Yes, I am he." Lee bowed to the servant in front of him, the one named Kiba. He would not have normally bowed to other servants like himself, but even in his work there were ranks. Kiba was Master Kankuro's Select favorite.
As a Select, Kiba was to attend to Kankuro privately, and if Kankuro was to go to some extravagant ball, Kiba too would be invited as a doll, dressed up and fancied like a Royal himself.
Ah…what Lee wouldn't give to be a Select favorite of Gaara's…but Gaara had no Select favorites. Not one. But still, Lee prayed he was Gaara's favorite, but then again, Gaara was personal with most of his servants-but Lee believed that he was a tad bit more privileged than most. Yes…he believed that most ardently.
"Master Gaara has requested your presence this afternoon in the Dining Hall."
Lee tried hard to contain his smile, but his excitement broke across his face anyway. Oh, how happy he was!
"Yes, yes! I will make my way there now!" Lee hopped up from his crouched position, but when he reached Kiba a hand shot up to his face.
"Halt! Servant, Lee? Just where are you going?"
Lee blinked, "Why…to the Dining Hall, of course. Kiba, have you not just sai-"
"Yes, yes. But you cannot enter the Dining Hall looking as you do. Master Gaara has prepared appropriate attire for you. He has instructed a maid to lay the garbs in the Laundry. Go there and dress, then be on your merry…merry, way." Kiba bowed curtly, and then winked at Lee.
Lee's face flushed at Kiba's behavior. When the Select favorite pivoted and left, Lee nervously made his way over to the Laundry.
He slipped into the room of fresh smells and heat and found an elegant red garb trimmed with gold embroidered thread. Lee lifted the two piece set to study it with wide eyes.
The shirt had a collar that hid the neck. It was sleeveless, and down the side, a golden dragon roared. The matching bottoms were red also, with a golden line trimmed on either side. There were even black flats to go with it.
"Oh goodness…this is not for me. Surely not this! I am a servant not a Select. No. This is not for me." Lee bypassed the red wears and looked around for another set of clothes that could possibly be for him. But he only saw silk curtains and fluffy rugs.
Maybe Gaara meant for him to wear a rug.
Lee considered the thought.
"…."
Embarrassed, he dressed quickly and headed toward the Dining Hall.
"…."
"…."
The two young Lords had been staring the other down for the last five minutes. Gaara hadn't even welcomed the Hyuga with a 'Hello.' Just a stare. A very blank and impassive stare, an expression that even Neji himself wore.
A squeak of a door and then silence once again. The pattering of footsteps caught the attention of Gaara and Neji who turned to look at the approaching figure.
A conservative youth with ebony black locks strolled down the long aisle of the Dining Hall. The boy was of color, a light field workers tan. His eyes were the deepest black one ever saw, and the red and gold of his garb went perfectly with his skin…such a delicate youth. So calm and strong, yet dainty at the same time. Was such a combination heard of? If anything…the boy was a sight to see. And a stunning one at that.
Within moments, the youth was at Gaara's side with a pleasant smile on his face. Gaara opened his mouth but had no words.
"A Select, I presume, Sir Gaara?" Came a smooth voice.
Lee looked up to see Neji standing up with a small grin on his lips. He bowed gracefully and then stared at Lee.
"He has such a fine air to him. I see that the Sabaku's can, at the very least, manage their servants well." Neji let his eyes roam Lee once again. Lee was flustered by the Hyuga's behavior, yet, he felt a bit uncomfortable with such attention from a royal. For a moment, he wished that he was in his regular servant attire, that way others wouldn't stare at him with expectancy.
The Hyuga's grin was small and charming. He was one year Gaara's senior as well and looked it too. Garbs of pure white with silver lining…a long sleeved Chinese styled shirt and long shorts…Neji's long hair was a deep chocolate that glowed amber at the edges where sunlight struck him. Yes…Neji was just as Lee had remembered him. Refined and mature.
Sounding irritated, a "Yes…can the Hyuga's not manage their servants? I see you have not brought one along." Fell out of Gaara's mouth.
Neji's grin went nowhere.
"Oh, my apologies. How rude of me. Well…I plan to bring one on my next visit. Truth be told, I have no Select, so it is only natural for me to approach as I am. However…this one is quite refined. In fact, he almost seems misplaced in these…" Neji glanced about the room with a bored look.
"Dwellings."
Before Gaara could combat the Hyuga's words, Lee stepped in with a calm, "The chandeliers are trimmed with the thinnest ridges of gold…they're quite beautiful up close. Perhaps later you can gander at them."
Without turning his head away from Gaara's stoic one, Neji replied, "Is that to say that the Hyuga Manor can in no way compare to the Sabaku's beauty?"
Lee smiled warmly, "Yes. The Hyuga Manor has a beauty of its own. A nature far more elegant and poise than any manor, just as the Sabaku's is powerful and bold. They are one in the same and cannot at all compare for they differ so."
As if contemplating this, Neji gracefully sat himself down in the seat adjacent to Lee. Neji said nothing else, just sat with a peaceful face. Gaara in turn said nothing snarky. An older servant woman set the table quickly, placing coffee and tea, creamers and sugar cubes onto the neatly pressed cloth. With that, she gracefully left the dining room, most likely going back into the Kitchens to prepare a midday lunch for the royals.
Lee, very carefully went about making Gaara's coffee. Black with two sugars. He swirled the rich mixture to melt the cubes before pushing the cup and saucer in Gaara's direction with a sweet smile.
"I would like some as well. I take mine black, thank you." Neji added. Lee bowed his head slightly before getting to work on Neji's cup.
Gaara snorted.
"Just what is it you wish to discuss, Hyuga? I see you aren't as eager to merge our names together."
With a slow blink, Neji responded, "Don't you think your behavior is childish? However…it is just as you say. Neither of us wants to negotiate…but my family name is of more importance than our rivalry."
Lee placed Neji's mug in arms reach. He was nervous about what Gaara would say. There was just no telling what Gaara would do when he was in a bad mood.
Taking a sip from his mug, Neji smiled warmly.
"Thank you."
Lee bowed before trying to rush to Gaara's chair, but Neji's words made him halt.
"Won't you stay by my side? With your master's coldness, I'm quite alone in this room. As a Select, are you not suppose to be entertaining company?"
Blinking, Lee glanced at Gaara, then at Neji, and then at Gaara again. What was he to say?
"Oh…but of course." Lee pivoted silently and made his way over to Neji's chair. He stood up next to him with his hands neatly tucked behind his back, waiting for another command.
Turquoise eyes blistered with fire. Lee wasn't sure what had upset his master, but those eyes were knives pointed right at Neji.
"…"
Neji did not take to Gaara's eyes at all. He simply sipped at his coffee and stayed calm and diligent. Oddly enough, Lee's fiery master had nothing to say. He just sat, smoldering in a flame that only Lee could see.
And then-
"You are dismissed, Lee. Please assist the servants in the Kitchens. Thank you."
Lee's mouth fell open just the slightest bit.
"Wh-" but Lee swallowed his words. He bowed and dismissed himself as told.
After the Dining Hall door was shut, Neji let out a small sigh.
"Childish, you are."
Gaara ignored the comment and took a sip from his coffee once again.
"Putting aside our family's differences, I am willing to set aside my rudeness, if you put forth your professionalism. I will listen with no bias."
Neji folded his hands and grinned.
"Interesting…what would you like to discuss? Is it about your mistress?"
Grimacing, Gaara looked away from the Hyuga. Neji frowned.
"I will be sure to pick out an appropriate gift for the ceremony. I know of your wedding, and I know of the woman who is marrying you…and when will she be arriving to stay at the manor?"
Gaara rubbed his face, "…I forgot that she gets to live among the mansion before the wedding."
Neji smoothed his shirt before sighing.
"I take it that she's arriving soon?"
"Yes. In three days time."
Neji smirked.
"Well…to congratulate your mistress's staying, I will trade off a gift."
Gaara frowned. He hated negotiating.
"Just what is it you want to trade?"
It was the wrong time to have wondered toward the Kitchens.
That sharp face and peppered hair…It was Dorian Reed. And there in front of him was a sulking Kimimaro. Lee watched the exchange between the two men in the hallway from behind a pillar he had been passing.
"As if I would not take notice of this journal missing…Do you take me, a highly adequate Sir, for a fool?"
Kimimaro said nothing.
A loud crack whipped the air. Lee's mouth dropped.
Kimimaro was slowly picking himself up off the hallway floor.
"Disgusting. Just what were you planning to do with self-education? Reading the Royal's library is off limits to servants. Shall I tell Lady Temari?"
Kimimaro's eyes widened at that.
"…Forgive me. I am foolish, for I am only a servant who depends on the care of the Sabaku's."
Dorian's grey eyes narrowed. And strangely… his lips curled upward. Lee shivered. Something about that look chilled him.
"Ah…and what can you do to silence me?"
Kimimaro said nothing.
Dorian's eyes simmered with something Lee couldn't decipher. What was that look? In all the times he had been sent to the Post to be punished with hard field work, he had never seen that look. It was predatory.
"You know where to find me when you are ready to be forgiven." And with that, the man pivoted and made his way down the hall. He was a black shape…then a speck…and then nothing. When he was out of sight, Kimimaro stayed standing. He did not move. Strangely…his shoulders shimmered twice, and then an arm was raised, and it moved to and fro his face.
Lee had never seen Kimimaro cry.
A few moments later, Kimimaro entered the Kitchens. All was silent in the hall except for Lee's heartbeat.
Only a man as fearsome as Dorian could bring a boy as prideful as Kimimaro to tears.
Lee didn't know what Dorian meant, or why his friend had been so devastated by what he said.
He was afraid of the answers.
Lee decided not to go into the Kitchens that evening.