A/N: *peeks in* So..is anyone still reading this?

I offer my deepest, most sincere apologies. I got lost on the path of life, and I am being so serious here. Between illnesses and my businesses and my real life responsibilities (did I spell that right?), my writing has fallen by the wayside. I will finish my stories, just..maybe not in a timely fashion? *wince*

Disclaimer: Ideas and dialogue are mine, character belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

To say that Neji had slept badly would imply that Neji had slept at all. When the sun peeked through one of the large picture windows in the east wing of the Uchiha mansion, the Hyuuga heir blinked rapidly, stunned. He stared at the black screen on his cell phone; tentatively, he first tapped then swiped the plastic window. Frowning, his tilted the phone this way and that.

The phone was dead, he realized. The battery had run out sometime during the night.

Feeling the first stirrings of panic, his pale eyes darted around the room he had borrowed, searching for a telephone or other means of communication. Sighing in relief when he spotted the slim black phone, he dragged himself from the edge of the bed, groaning when his stiff muscles protested the movement. He poked the plastic device apprehensively while gathering his thoughts and courage.

"Lee," he muttered to himself. With a sudden burst of confidence, he snatched up the receiver and pressed it to his ear, making sure to swing his long hair out of the way first. He grimaced when the movement sent a twinge of pain through his face, but forced his discomfort down. Quickly, he dialed the only phone number he had been sure to memorize when he returned to town.

Across the city, the line was ringing, signaling that the call was attempting to connect. Neji tapped his fingers impatiently on the table surface, heart sinking fast. When a soft click and a grunt reached his ear, the male was so startled he dropped the earpiece. Fumbling, he caught it, and returned it to his ear with a shout.

"No, Lee, don't hang up! It's Neji!"

"So you are," an unknown voice carried through the line.

Neji's eyes narrowed. "You're not Lee."

"Aren't you the smart one?" the unknown male mocked.

"Where is he? Why are you answering his phone?" Neji gripped the phone so hard that he heard the casing crack. He was sure that his knuckles were pale and drained of blood.

"Lee is resting. Even if he wasn't, I doubt he would wish to speak with you."

"What do you know about Lee and me?" Neji snarled. "I'll ask you again. Who are you?"

The other male chuckled. "Ah, that's right. You missed such a big part of Lee's life. Who am I, you ask? I'm the one who saved him when he fell. Rest assured, I know all about you, Neji Hyuuga."

Neji's shoulders and grip relaxed slightly even though his eyes narrowed. Still suspicious, he said, "I thank you for caring for my friend after his accident and during his time of need. I will happily take over from here."

"Accident?" the male's voice deepened and grow cold. Unable to stop himself, Neji shivered; the other man, with just a single word, had managed to sound dangerous. "What happened to Lee was no accident. What happened to Lee is yourfault, and you need to take responsibility for it. You wrecked him!"

Shocked to the core, Neji stammered, "M-my f-fault? What-what are you saying? Wreck-what? Who is this?!"

"You-" Whatever the male was going to say was cut off. Scratchy sounds indicated that the small microphone was being covered. Straining, Neji could just make out Lee's muffled voice in the background.

"Hello? Lee? Lee, can you hear me?" the Hyuuga male shouted into the phone.

After a short silence, Neji heard, "Yes, Neji; your voice carries clearly through this wonderful technological miracle."

"Lee! Thank the Gods! Are you alright? Who is that man? Can I come back?" His questions tumbled out in a rush.

Lee sighed. "Neji, I am quite angry with you."

"I know, I know. Lee, Gods, I'm so sorry! Can we talk? Please?"

Neji heard a low, growling rant from who he assumed was the man Lee with with. He ground his teeth together, and swallowed a curse. He wanted to know the name of the person who dared to-

"Not today, Neji. I offer you my apologies. Perhaps tomorrow, when we both enjoy cooler passions. If you excuse me, I must dress for my daily run."

"Lee, wait!" Neji snapped. "Who-who is that guy?"

"Gaara," Lee answered. "His name is Gaara."

"He said he saved you when you fell, and that it wasn't an accident. What's he talking about?"

The silence wrapped itself around Neji's heart and squeezed. "Lee?" he asked softly.

"We shall discuss this at another time, my friend," Lee said softly. "I must go."

When Neji heard the dial tone buzz in his ear, he discovered he had no strength in his legs. He slumped to the floor, still cradling the broken connection to Lee against his shoulder. He was still in this position when Sasuke and Naruto pushed open the door to his room to check on him.

As always, Naruto was the one to break the awkward silence. "Neji? What happened? Are you okay?"

Pale grey eyes lifted and bored holes into the sunny blond. "Who the hell is Gaara?" he demanded.

Lee discovered that his hand was shaking as his ended the call and dropped his tiny, slim phone on the bed next to him. He inhaled and exhaled noisily, wondering if he could move well enough to leave the bed and report to work. He busied himself tallying up sick days and wondering who, if anyone, he could call in on such short notice to cover him in an effort to avoid the jade eyes that were staring at him intently.

Deciding that the ache in his back would not prevent him from doing his daily duties, he swung his legs slowly to the edge of the bed. Grimacing at the pain located around his lower spine, he eased his feet to the floor and stood. Painfully aware of the silent, red-haired male in his bedroom, he spoke over his shoulder, hiding his face, and attempting to conceal the shake in his voice.

"Good morning, my good friend Gaara. I am pleased to see you on this fine day, though I must admit to being a being confused by your youthful presence in my humble abode."

"You were ill last night," Gaara said. "Why?"

"I must have overdone it when I ran home from work. I must keep my body youthful, you see."

"And Neji?"

Lee flinched, and forced himself to move toward his closet door. A fresh pair of green track pants were slung over the door knob, and green scrubs were hanging inside.

"Lee."

"Gaara, my friend, it is good to see you, but I must be off. I have a heavy schedule today at the clinic."Having said that, Lee ignored the track pants, lamenting the fact that he would have to skip his morning jog, despite what he had said to Neji. He grabbed the set of scrubs and shimmed them on, wondering briefly when he had put on underwear after his incident in the shower the night before. Shrugging off the niggling suspicion in his mind, he, after throwing what he hoped was a dazzling smile in Gaara's direction, turned in the small space to open his bureau drawer and dig for clean socks. He frowned at the pile of white cotton socks; he did not remember having so many pairs on hand.

"Lee. Let Neji go and come back to me." The smaller male crossed the space and grabbed Lee's shoulder to forcefully turn the male around to face him.

Lee winced. He always founds himself surprised by the smaller man's strength. "Gaara," he said, "I can not. You know I can not."

"He's killing you."

"He has that right."

"Bullshit."

Lee closed his eyes briefly, happy and sick at the same time. "I must go." Wrenching himself from Gaara's grasp, he dug out socks, bent, jammed them on his feet, stood, and turned toward the door.

"I still have a key. I worry about you," Gaara said to Lee's back.

Lee answered, "Friendship is a beautiful thing."

"We were more than friends."

"And now we are not."

"Is this because of Neji?"

Lee paused in the act of gathering his things. Over his shoulder, he threw out, "You know it is. Please remember to lock the door when you depart."

Gaara stared after the dark-haired male with unreadable emotions churning in his eyes.

"Calm down, Neji," Sasuke ordered the pale-eyed male. "You getting upset will not solve anything."

"Calm down?" Neji sputtered. "You expect me to calm down when this-this-Gaara is alone with Lee?"

"Gaara wouldn't hurt Lee," Naruto said, letting the unsaid "but you would" hang in the air. He rubbed the back of his head and sighed. He threw a glance at his boyfriend and, unwilling to rehash the previous night's argument, simply said, "Hey, bastard. I've got to go. You know Granny Tsunade hates when I'm late."

"Fine, you idiot," the stoic male answered. He grabbed the blond by his hideously bright orange shirt and hauled him in for a kiss. A slight smile breezed across his face and disappeared. "At least try to be safe."

"Whatever! I'm always safe!"

"Hn."

With a huff, Naruto stormed from the room. "How did I fall in love with such a bastard?" his voice floated in from the hallway.

Sasuke smirked. "The same way I fell in love with a moron," he said with affection.

"BAH!" Naruto's voice echoed from somewhere down the hall.

Neji glared at Sasuke, jealousy and envy clear in his stormy eyes. "How do you do it? You're both so different. Your statuses are mismatched. Why has Fate favored you?"

"We fought for this," Sasuke answered the long-haired male. "I fought to be with him, even when he was his usual clueless self, and everybody around us doomed our relationship. You should have done the same."

"My uncle-"

"Doesn't matter," Sasuke completed the other male's sentence for him. "Hinata and Hanabi can take over just fine. Hell, Hinata doesn't even want to take over. Hanabi only goes along because she fears losing Hiashi's love, whatever that is. We were never close, Hyuuga, but look around. If you needed a favor, you should have come to me."

"You were a kid back then as well."

"And now, I am not. My parents are dead, my brother is Gods-know-where, my uncle is probably dead, if not dying, and my last remaining cousin is locked up in mental institution, claiming that he has the world under an illusion." He regarded the Hyuuga with a cool eye. "You said that you love Lee."

"I do," Neji said, bowing his head. "I do," he repeated softly, staring at his clenched fists.

"Then prove it to him."

"How? He hates me."

Sasuke pursed his lips in thought. He snapped his fingers as a thought came to him. "Saturday night. The banquet I am being forced to hold. Your uncle and cousins will be there, as well as someone I'm pretty sure you'll be interested in meeting. Invite Lee as your date. It's the perfect opportunity to show him off to the public and show him how much you care for him."

"Did you miss the part where I said he hated me?" Neji asked grumpily.

"Let Naruto and me handle that. All you need to do is show up."