A/N: Nope. No excuses. Just...life. It happens. So, to apologize, here's a couple of thousand words for you. I think this story is starting to develop a plot. Plot is good, right?

Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto franchise, and I am not making any money from the reading of this story. Typos, however, belong to me.

Warnings: Some profanity.

By the end of the work week, Neji's nerves were badly frayed. He had no idea how Lee managed to wear a smile when faced with some of his more difficult clients. Neji had been cried on, snotted on, vomited on, and had his hair, which he'd pulled into a single French braid, pulled. He had been hit with canes, crutches, and walkers, and had had his toes ran over by no less than three wheelchairs. He had been addressed as "Ma'am" too many times for it to be an accident, and had been told by one elderly male that he was a "very pretty" nurse while the man patted his butt for emphasis. Neji was sitting at the reception desk, wearing his sternest face, and reminding himself that he could not stab the clients with his expertly pencil when the black plastic phone rang. He stared at it blankly, trying dredge up a bit of enthusiasm. Grumbling, he switched the pencil to his left hand, shook the mouse to wake up the computer, and snatched the phone out of its cradle.

"Green Whirlwind Clinic of Konoha. Neji speaking. How may I help you?" he hissed through clenched teeth. Aware that he did not sound welcoming, he cleared his throat and tried again. "Green Whirlwind─"

"Yeah, I got that the first time, Hyuuga," a smug, deep voice floated over the line.

"Uchiha, what a surprise. Is there some reason you're calling?"

"Hn."

Neji waited, watching the moving, leaf-style arm of the wall clock tick away the seconds. He growled into the mouthpiece, "What do you want, Sasuke?"

"Dinner. Tonight. My place. The whole gang is coming." A shuffling sound came through the line, along with a murmured, "Thank you, Karin," telling Neji that Sasuke was calling in the middle of work.

"I will consult with Lee and inform you of our decision as soon as I am able."

"Hn." A snort; then, "You've really settled into this couple role, haven't you?"

"I─what?" Flustered, Neji fumbled with the pencil he spun loosely between his fingers. "I do not know what you are talking about."

"You're working together. You're 'consulting' with him about plans. You're baking cookies."

Neji sniffed. "I happen to like cookies," he muttered defensively.

Sasuke scoffed. "Since when? You used to ramble on about fate and destiny; what now? Was it your fate to be disowned and cast out?"

"I left!" Neji snarled, suddenly angry.

"Whatever you say. Look, talk to Lee, and come over. I know you saw them all at Naruto's dinner, but you really didn't get a chance to talk to them, did you?"

Neji inhaled sharply, then blew out an exasperated breath. "Fine. I will to speak to him."

"Seven o'clock," Sasuke barked, then disconnected.

"Wonderful," Neji chirped sarcastically. "Fantastic."

"Neji, my esteemed colleague! I request your assistance in this matter!" Lee's voice boomed across the small clinic.

Forcing a painfully cheerful expression onto his face, Neji called back, "Right away!" Pushing the cheap upholstered chair away from the desk, he stood, turned, and nearly tripped over a teen who appeared to have severe nasal drainage issues.

Neji squeaked, clutched at his heart, then took a deep breath. "Udon, correct? You're here with Konohamaru again?" The teen nodded slowly.

"Lee needs your help. Konohamaru got his scarf caught in the spokes of his chair again," Udon informed him. "Moegi and I can't get it out."

"Of course he did," Neji mumbled. The teen in question, Konohamaru Sarutobi, had broken both legs in a fall. Neji still did not quite understand how the injury was sustained; he only knew that it involved the roof of the local high school and the youth's ridiculously long scarf. Left eye twitching, the man strode to Lee's side and immediately crouched low to the floor to untangle the frayed material from the wheels of the motorized chair for the third time that week.

"I don't need your help, stupid!" the tangled teen snarled. "Who asked you to help?"

"Konohamaru, my young friend! This is not a wise use of your youthful energy! We need you out of your chair and up on your crutches. Perhaps we can loosen the scarf enough to slip it over your hea─"

"NEVER! I'll NEVER take this off! How dare you? Do you know who I am? I'm the grandson of the late, great Hiruzen Sarutobi, and you can't tell me what to do!" the youth screamed.

Neji's eye twitched again. "Cease your prattling, brat! I have had a rough week and you are not the prize you think you are," he growled in a low voice. "Now stop struggling and let me help you."

Gobsmacked at the unspoken threat of violence in the older male's speech, the youth closed his mouth, his teeth clacking together painfully. Only once before in his short life had anyone ignored the name of his grandfather, the former leader of Konoha. He whimpered, and looked to his therapist for comfort. Lee's smile was excessively bright, and Konohamaru winced. His friends, who had accompanied him, along with his guardian Ebisu, patted him gingerly on the back.

"It's okay Konohamaru," Udon sniffed. "We still like you."

"Even when nobody else does," Moegi nodded as she continued the sentiment, her puffy ponytails bouncing with her every move. "And, if I heard right, these guys are friends of Leader's!"

Konohamaru's eyebrows shot up. "Eh? Friends of Naruto's?"

Lee's impossibly bright smile grew brighter. "You are a friend of the wonderful Naruto? Outstanding news! Oh, the joy of creating bonds of youth."

Neji yanked the material out of the spokes, stood, and clapped Lee on the shoulder before the green-clad therapist could weep with joy. "When you are finished here," he said "I need to speak with you. We have been invited to dine with Uchiha and friends this evening."

Lee's smile dimmed slightly. "Splendid," he said, attempting to recover his previous level of enthusiasm. He turned to his client, and waved away Ebisu, who was hovering over the boy. "Shall we begin our journey to recapture the blessed beauty of springtime with our blood, sweat, and tears?"

"Blood?" the teen squeaked. "Tears?!" He shrank away. "Oh, heck no! Get me out of here!"

Smirking, Neji made his way back to the front desk. Just as he sank into the chair, the clinic's main line rang. He stared at it balefully, his eye twitching a third time in the short time span. It rang again, and he sighed. He could do this. He made a promise. He would win against this cursed instrument of torture. Breathing out noisily, he snatched up the plastic handle, stopping the annoying, shrill tone in mid-ring.

"Green Whirlwind Clinic of Konoha. Neji speaking. How may I help you?"

"N-neji," came a small voice. "So it is true that you are working there."

Neji choked. "Hinata?" he hissed at the receiver. His eyes darted around, checking for eavesdroppers. He lowered his voice and whispered, "Is everything okay? Why are you calling me here?"

"I wanted to check on you. It's been floating around town that you were working there instead of at the company with us. F-father is not pleased." The woman inhaled sharply. "He has been denying that he disowned you, and that you are only working there on his orders, as he intends to purchase the business."

"WHAT?!" A few curious glances made their way to Neji and he cursed softly. Lowering his voice again, he hissed into the mouthpiece, "He can't do that!"

Yes, he can, a traitorous voice whispered in his mind. He can, and he will, unless you apologize and return to the fold. He did promise the ruin Lee's life once, remember?

"Shit," he murmured. "Thanks, Hinata, for calling me."

"I called Sasuke, as well. He invited me for dinner tonight with him and N-Naruto." Her voice cracked on the blonde's name. Neji vaguely remembered his cousin harboring a crush on everyone's favorite loudmouth in high school. Neji filed away the evidence that Hinata had not completely gotten over her first love and focused on the other part of her statement.

"That makes more sense," he mutters to himself.

"Pardon?" Hinata sounded confused.

Neji answered, "Dinner. Uchiha invited Lee, and me, as well. He made it sound like a party; said that all of our old friends would be there."

"Did you agree to attend?" Hinata asked softly. She knew that Neji avoided most of their old crew for reasons he did not want to explain.

"I...have informed Lee of the invitation, but we have not yet accepted," he hedged.

"Please come, Neji. You were gone for so long, and Father's behavior has not helped matters. Everyone missed you."

Especially Lee.

The unspoken statement lay between the cousins like a love wire. Wisely, Neji stepped over it. He jiggled the mouse, and opened the appointment book. "I don't see why we can't," he said. "We have no appointments past this afternoon."

A soft exhale carried over the line, betraying that the younger Hyuuga had been holding her breath. "That's wonderful, Neji. I will see you and Lee this evening, then."

"Yes, Hinata. We will be there." Neji ended the call, choosing to ignore the feeling of unease that bubbled in his gut.

"They were -are- your friends. Pull it together!" he told himself. Still, the sensation that something terrible was about to happen pervaded his senses and sent ice water running through his veins.

"Neji, my esteemed colleague! I require your most helpful assistance!"

"Coming," he yelled back, getting to his feet. He pushed the pause button on his ruminations, and plastered a smile on his face.

Sakura tiptoed inside of her house, wincing as the door closed behind her with a soft click. She froze, hoping that the sound her her return would not rouse Sai from whatever he did in his private time at home. She knew that his bedroom was actually his art studio, and that, instead of a bed, he had a futon that he unrolled at night, leaving all of the available floor space for canvases and supplies, but she had not seen a sketch of a painting leave the house in months. When she heard nothing, she sighed in relief. She had been avoiding her housemate ever since that morning, when she had woken up in her bd with a splitting headache and Sai's limbs intertwined with her own. Sakura did not want to discuss the terrible decision she'd made ─or the alcohol had made for her─ that night. Still, she could not help but admit that Sai was a little bit attractive; if she turned her head and squinted, he could pass for a member of the Uchiha family. Perhaps it was time to lay to rest her unrequited love for a certain mal─

"Hello, Ugly."

"YAGGHHH!" Sakura screamed, throwing her keys and bag into the air. Shaking, she turned to face her housemate. "Sai!" she roared. "Don't. Do. That!"

The pale man tilted his head to the side. "Do what?" he asked innocently.

"Sneak up on me!"

"I did not sneak up on you. I walked into the room, and I greeted you. How is that 'sneaking', as you termed it?" He sounded genuinely confused.

"Make more noise next time," the woman snarled. Remembering that she was supposed to be avoiding him, she mumbled a greeting, kicked off her shoes, and pushed past him, intending to lock herself in her room until he went away. He caught her arm in a surprisingly light grip; his thumb brushed the inside of her wrist, and she shivered involuntarily, thoughts of their night together returning, unbidden, to her mind. The skillful things that man could do with his hands.

She mentally smacked herself out of the unwanted daydream. "What is it, Sai? I had a long day at the hospital."

"We are going to dinner." His eyes flicked down her figure, and back up again, raising an unholy blush to her cheeks. "Take off those clothes."

"Wh-what?" she squeaked. Her heart pounded in her rapidly rising and falling chest, and her face felt as if it was aflame.

"Your clothes," Sai repeated. "Change them. Uchiha asked us to join them for dinner."

Blinking, Sakura forced the heat from her face. "Sasuke did?" Her housemate nodded once, then released her. He left without a word, turning the kitchen. She saw what she had not before: Sai was covered in paint, and holding a plastic bucket of paintbrushes in his hand. He was, no doubt, heading for the kitchen sink to rinse his brushes, and would most likely head for the shower next. Flickering images of smooth, pale skin ghosted across her vision, and she groaned. She knew that she would never live that night down, but as long as Sai told no one, the rest of their friends would never know, so she was safe there. Sakura frowned at her own thoughts. Would it be so bad if they knew?

"Bad. Definitely bad," she told herself sharply. Shaking off the nervousness that suddenly cropped up, she grinned. Dinner, with Sasuke! She pointedly ignored the "them" that Sai mentioned, and began to plan her outfit. Something sexy, but not slutty, to make him notice her? Or something slightly conservative, that screamed "Available!" while being respectful of his relationship? Perhaps Lee and that Hyuuga would be there? Then, of course, she needed to dress flashy enough to make Lee remember his crush on her.

She drifted to her room, wearing a wide grin, and failed to notice Sai watching her. He narrowed his eyes, heavy emotion turning down the corners of his lips.