Sway

Neji looked down at the scroll, and barely resisted tapping the edge of his brush against the wood. The time had come for their first quarterly report, the messenger pigeon having arrived two days ago. Neji was quite aware that both the bird, and the report were late. Somehow, spending so much time with Naruto was wreaking havoc with his internal clock.

Whenever he was in the blond’s presence, time simply didn’t exist. The world seemed to move at Naruto’s pace, quite happy to oblige him. Providing leisure opportunities in large quantitative doses that Neji had been until thusly unaware existed.

The life in which he was now immersed, was like existing within the dream of a dream. It was so peaceful that time lazed away, dragging from one hazy moment to the next, until the brunette could no longer focus. The village’s pace was a calm sort of trickle, like the quiet flow of a newborn stream. With life expressed in seemingly random outbursts. A child born here, a celebration there. An intimate, scenic reserve, which the young shinobi could imagine many of his fellows would imagine retiring to.

If they lived long enough to retire.

Behind him, Naruto mumbled and rolled over. With his back to his lover…yes, they were lovers now, Neji could imagine Naruto the way he ought to look. Lean, taut muscles flexing beneath rich, tanned skin. Blond hair a shameless mess. Mouth open, arms thrown over his head. Distinctive marks across his cheeks, like whiskers, that twitched when looked at carefully.

The sheet would be resting low upon his hips. Taunting onlookers with the curve of one indented hip. Corded muscles relaxed as they stretched toward the curve of his back. The peek of a thigh, which promised of good things to come, should one look even closer.

Sliding an open palm beneath the thin fabric, and caressing smooth skin. Fingertips dancing along the fine trail of hair that wound down, gathering in a firm dusting that played backdrop to a proud, erect-

“Neji…” Naruto sighed, causing the brunette to snap crisply from a daydream.

He shook his head, fiercely trying to expel the thoughts.

It wasn’t exactly that the blond would mind being woken up for some…together time – because he wouldn’t. It was just that the report was late, and Neji already felt completely irresponsible. He had a reputation to uphold after all. And Naruto did nothing to help maintain it.

Were he to awaken the blond now, there would be no telling when the report would be concluded. For even without the sex – which Neji found quite wonderful, actually – Naruto was entirely capable of distracting his fellow shinobi. Neji could not afford to be distracted. Not a moment longer.

Dipping his brush in the small pool of ink, he began to write. Informing the Hokage that they were well, and had successfully integrated within the small village’s society. Since their last report, little had occurred that warranted mention to their leader.

He surely wasn’t about to inform her of their change in relationship. He was only required to inform the Hokage should he consider his companion’s actions questionable, a possible danger to the village. Naruto surely showed no such signs. Thus, a note of relationship was keenly left out.

Things had been relatively quiet in their border protectorate. The furthest away, it seemed the village remained virtually independent of gossip and goods. Travelers were few, though kindly met. And while every so often a situation mandated outward travel, the village maintained a generally self-sufficient air.

Many of the villagers, they’d discovered, had moved to the village for the solace it’s disentangled political network exuded. They were refugees, and generally scarred by life. Wars between nations, dissention within families, the village had been founded for society’s scraps.

The outcasts, the misunderstood, the banished and the exiled all lived together peacefully here. And they kept the peaceful atmosphere healthy, by knowing a great deal about one another. Once accepted within the community, it was a family’s job to volunteer to aid in the maintenance of the village’s delicate relationships.

Neji mentally sighed. He was thankful to have Naruto for a partner on this mission. Any one else, and they’d have failed before they’d even started. Naruto however, was generally friendly and good-natured. Kind and perceptive, he had a keen sense where interpersonal connections were concerned.

To put it frankly, Naruto did all the work, while Neji took responsibility of reporting the progress. It was a quaint arrangement they’d come to.

Blowing gently across the paper, Neji continued, informing the Hokage of an incident about a week ago, where Naruto had almost blown their cover.

It had been a warm, peaceful day. There was a gentle breeze flowing, and the content buzz of familiar chatter. All together, an average day in their adopted little town.

Naruto had been returning from the market, stopping along the main road to chat with some of the local women, when a small band of rookie thieves attempted to mug them.

His genius of a partner had refused to hand over his belongings, going so far as to raise his chin in general defiance. Possibly, conveniently forgetting he was in the guise of a woman, he’d broken the wrist of the man attempting to grab him. Whirling effortlessly to the side, kimono spinning about him, he’d slammed his elbow into the man’s gut. Using the falling thief’s momentum, he’d used him as a support, legs tucking in gracefully, before a zori covered foot slammed into another’s jaw. Grabbing the man’s arm, he’d settled his weight, pulling him into a forward turn that caused him to collide with a third. The fourth fell with a well aimed zori to the back of the head, while the last – rushing the blonde – ended up with a broken nose and fractured cheekbones, as Naruto brought his hand up and back.

Naruto – and by default, the women with him – were never in any real danger. The thieves were not shinobi. Nor did they seem to be any more talented than to rely on preying upon fragile women by throwing about their lumbering weight.

Thankfully, the entire ordeal had happened too quickly for the frightened women to properly recall Naruto’s actions. Nor had they quite paid the proper attention, to notice anything beyond the throwing of the zori.

Naruto had calmly assured the men who had heard the women’s initial shouts of surprise and had come to rescue them, that he was quite all right. Still, as Neji – who had heard of the attack, and fearing it to be wayward shinobi, had almost blown cover himself, in running the length of the village – arrived, he gave a startled gasp, and rushed into his arms.

His hands had curled into Neji’s shirt. ‘I fought them off, no big deal.’

Neji had smoothed his palm down Naruto’s back. ‘How many?’

Naruto had pressed his face into his shoulder, rubbing it back and forth. Neji counted four, looking to the men being tied up to ensure they were all accounted for. He then ran his hand across Naruto’s shoulders. ‘Shinobi?’

One of Naruto’s hands slipped down his arm, stopping before meeting the curve of his elbow. ‘No.’

Neji had announced that he would be taking his wife home, apologizing to his boss, for asking for the rest of the day off. The man had waved him off, replying, “Your wife’s welfare comes first, Hayashi.” He’d bidden Neji to take ‘Nanako’ home, and to take the next day off if necessary. Neji had nodded in thanks and done just that.

Other than the singular incident, there was no pressing news which Neji found need to be reported. So, concluding his report, he dusted it carefully, blew across it once more, and securing it to the pigeon, sent it out the window.

Report sent, he was free to let his mind wander. He would have joined Naruto in bed, had the blond not slipped silently up behind him, wrapping him in sleek arms.

“Seiichi…come to bed.”

“It’s almost midday, Nanako.”

Naruto smiled happily against his back. “And who told you to make love to me until sunrise? I can’t be held accountable when you do things like that you know.”

Neji patted his forearm gently. They really no longer needed the genjutsu. If one were to look, they would find Hayashi Seiichi and his lovely wife Nanako engaged in acts of passion nearly twice a day. However, Neji and Naruto could not find it within them to share their newfound relationship with anyone. So the genjutsu remained. And they were free to call one another by name.

“All right,” he replied, with a soft chuckle for added showmanship. “You win.”

Naruto gave a playful squeal, as Neji turned and unceremoniously scooped him up. “To bed, Nanako.” Naruto’s laugh was a genuine one, though expressed in Nanako’s higher pitch. He wrapped both arms about Neji’s neck, and kissed his jaw sweetly.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~


“So…Hayashi-san…when will we be adding little Hayashi to the playgroup, hmm?” asked one of their neighbors, as they watched the women doting on their children in the small park.

Neji looked to Naruto, the blond settled quite happily in the sandbox, surrounded by village children. He was smiling and laughing, and for all that he was disguised, it was truly him shinning through.

Neji sighed. “No time soon, I’m afraid.”

“That’s too bad.”

“Yes, Hayashi-san, you two should have children soon. They will be beautiful, don’t you think?”

Several men replied in the affirmative, eyeing Naruto admiringly. Some of the women present were more vocal about it. Expressing their fervent desire to see the blending of such a lovely woman, and so handsome a husband. Surely, they felt, the resulting children would be purely spectacular.

“They would,” Neji agreed. “Unfortunately, Nanako can’t bare children. As she could not provide an heir, my family wished for the immediate dissolve of our marriage. But…” He looked to Naruto, purposefully going still. “I couldn’t. So we left.”

The group went quiet. Some, Neji knew were mourning for them. Others, quietly reflecting. The situation of the pair not too different from several others.

It was beginning to make Neji uncomfortable, lying so completely to these kind people. However, he was a shinobi. And this was a mission. He could not allow himself to look beyond that. He was still far from Naruto’s reserves, and perhaps, even if he had them, he was lacking in conviction.

Naruto stood, feeling the gazes upon him, and the emotions directed at his person. He calmly dusted himself off, moving to one of the swings. He sat upon it with mindful decorum, but in the set of his shoulders, and the angle of his head, Neji was reminded of a little blond boy, who’s days were spent sitting upon a swing and watching the world go by without him.

Without excusing himself, he left the group, crossing over to the shinobi on the swing.

The palm of his hand met metal, fingers curling about the chain, as he stepped behind him. Clasping the other, he took a few steps back, drawing the swing with him, before giving a shove. It swung forward, and Naruto turned to look at him over his shoulder, surprise written in his eyes.

As the swing returned, Neji pushed it once more.

In the weeks that had followed their somewhat muddled confessions to one another, they had often spent the post orgasmic haze talking. The days had gone by, one after another, in a repetitive drone that was all but boring. Almost two months had passed now. They were well on their way to being almost half-done with their assignment, and Naruto still managed to evade his questions.

Where before, it had been cheesy smiles, carefree laughs, and hurried trips to Ichiraku’s; it was now a careful touch, a fond caress, and a well placed kiss. Naruto was still hiding a good deal from him. Though he had opened up some.

He’d admitted to feeling lonely for the majority of his life.

The conversation in which Naruto had likened his teammates to family had not been a pleasant one for Neji. At the mention of Sasuke, Naruto almost couldn’t speak. As if the name choked the words clear from his throat. The Uchiha still claiming victory after all this time.

Sasuke was a dark, malicious cloud that hung over the tentative shift of their relationship. The Uchiha’s memory like a crack in his lover’s personality. A water worn crack, that was far more complex and devastating than it appeared to be in passing.

The sheer volume of the blond’s soul in the willful possession of the selfishly ignominious deserter was almost more than Neji could bear.

Still, when the conversation could be guide away from Uchiha Sasuke, Naruto had little to say. He refused to tell Neji what had occurred to make the villagers treat him so unkindly. He’d refused to speak of anyone taking part in his raising until the introduction of Iruka-sensei in his academy days. Then the blond would simply not shut up.

Neji was glad someone had found the strength to see Naruto for who he was without being forced. It spoke volumes of his former sensei’s character. Neji was of the mind to get the man a nice gift for helping protect the Naruto they all knew and loved.

Although Neji loved Naruto as a friend, he was not sure whether he loved the blond as a lover. Ironic, really, given the title’s direct correlation to the feeling. Words simply were not what they used to be.

It felt wrong, but in all honesty, he couldn’t be sure of his feelings until Naruto changed back. If when he kissed him then, his heart still surged in his chest, his lungs burn for air, and his hips press close...then he would be sure.

Until then, he could only speculate.

Thankfully, Naruto wasn’t spouting forth any claims of love yet either. Although, with the depths to which the other was blessed with feeling, Neji couldn’t help but be concerned that this was a bad sign.

The swing not meeting his hands forced him back into awareness. Naruto had stopped the swing, feet buried in the gravel and sand. He sat ramrod straight, eyes focussed elsewhere, with a sharpness that made Neji’s shinobi instincts prickle.

Turning to see what had the blond so frozen, his eyes fell upon a sight that nearly froze him as well.

Uchiha.