Sign Me Yours

Thanks for the reviews! (Pft, who'd want to eat something healthy for comfort food? xD)

--

After Shikamaru had fled the scene so to speak, Neji was still sitting unmoving in the field, gazing into nothingness. After about an hour or so of just sitting there, repeating the scene over and over in his head, Neji got to his feet, that, he noticed, were a little shaky. Not sure what it all meant, but refusing to let himself get ruffled by it (more than he had already been), Neji walked back to his apartment, determined not to let it bother him.

Lee had dodged his hospital visit and was hobbling around the village, trying to build up his stamina when he spotted his teammate. A bright grin spread across his face and he started waving, stopping in place.

"Konnichiwa, Neji-kun! It is a wonderful day, is it not?" he greeted, before moving over to him as quickly as he could.

"Hn," Neji just replied, not greeting him properly like he used to do, his mind still on what had happened earlier. Not even the flowery talk of his teammate seemed to bring him out of it, despite his earlier determination not to let it get to him. But seriously, Neji was lost. What did that kiss mean? You didn't kiss your friends like that... did you?

Lee titled his head a little in confusion. Obviously something was bothering his friend, so he had to figure out what.

"Is something troubling you, Neji-kun?" he asked. He would challenge himself again later, this was obviously more important, if his friend was being so Un-Youthful!

"No," Neji shook his head. Nothing was wrong, except... he had just received his first kiss from his only self-made friend. No, absolutely nothing was wrong. Except, he didn't know how to deal with that. At all. And he wasn't one to go to someone for advice, much less Lee. Lee was as far from the real world you could get. Not that Neji hadn't grown a little fond of Lee, but... he wasn't the type he would go to for advice.

Lee frowned a little. "You must not be so down, my friend! It is not Youthful to be so saddened! You must express yourself, Neji-kun!" he exclaimed, grinning again at the end.

Sending his team-mate an annoyed glare, Neji clearly conveyed that he was not in the mood for any flowery, Youthful or otherwise, talk. Of course, he didn't expect Lee to pick up on signals like that. Gai-sensei and Lee were as un-subtle as possible, much unlike the Hyuuga.

Lee was quite used to his teammate’s glares by now, now more worried than before. If something really wasn't bothering the Hyuuga he was sure he'd be told off by now and not just given the silent treatment.

"Are you sure nothing is bothering you?" he asked again, a little more subdued than before.

Looking over at his... well, friend, he supposed, Neji was actually surprised that he actually had dropped his usual way of talking. Not that it was a bad thing, just... surprising. And a sign that Lee seemed to be genuinely worried. About him? Why would Lee be worried about him? It wasn't like they were close or saw each other much outside training.

"Not here," Neji just replied. If Lee could lay off his flowery speech, maybe... well, he obviously needed to talk to someone, and Tenten and Gai were out of the question. And just the thought of coming running to his uncle to tell him another boy had kissed him... well, that was ridiculous. But he was not going to tell anyone anything in the middle of a rather busy street.

Lee quickly nodded and, with a grin, tugged on the other's wrist, prompting him to follow, and started off towards the Hyuuga's apartment. He was sure he'd be more comfortable talking in his own place and anything that helped him open up was worth trying.

He stopped in front of the entrance door and let him go so he could open the door for them, trying his hardest to contain his anticipation.

Sighing, Neji followed him. It seemed that even though Lee had dropped the annoying and rather stupid sounding speech of his, he was still the same, bouncing, energetic fool as always. Maybe he had made a mistake when deciding to try to confide in him.

Another sigh leaving him, Neji fished his keys from his sleeves before unlocking the door, letting them in. Come to think of it... this was the first time Lee was in his apartment. Neji started fearing a little for his furniture; was it strong enough to handle Lee should he get a bit over-excited about something? Probably not.

Lee glanced around the apartment, wanting to memorize how his friend and rival lived. He walked further in and started to inspect everything more closely before remembering why he was actually here.

He straightened up as best he could with his crutch and turned to look at Neji with a small grin. "So what is bothering you, my rival?"

Sitting down by the table, Neji gestured for Lee to sit as well, sighing. He might just get a headache from dealing with this. Now, waiting for Lee to sit down, Neji found he had no clue where to start, or what to say. It was awkward, to say the least, and a Hyuuga was never awkward.

Lee quickly sit down, bending one leg and letting his bandaged one lay straight, giving the Hyuuga his full attention. Which probably made it more awkward; having his large eyes glued to the other, but Lee had no such etiquette.

Twitching silently at the way Lee sat at the table - did he mention just how horrible that looked with Lee wearing a green spandex-suit? - Neji just stared back for a while, trying to gather his thoughts.

"Ah... Lee?" he asked, feeling very uncomfortable with this talk. "Have you ever been... kissed?"

Lee's eyes grew impossibly wider and he shook his head, flushing just slightly. He had not yet won over his Cherry Blossom and no one but her would do for that! He was about to explain that before he thought better of it and kept silent.

Nodding as he understood. He knew of Lee's affection for the younger, pink-haired kunoichi, as much as he disliked her, but he was not going to butt into his teammate's love affairs, it wasn't something he really was interested in.

"Well..." he blushed faintly, not quite knowing what to say next.

Lee stared at him for a second before perking up, realization dawning on him, mouth opening in a small 'o'.

"Have you had your first kiss, Neji-kun?"

Well, perhaps Lee could show a faint hint of perceptiveness every now and then, but only a hint. Cheeks coloring a bit more, he looked away from his team-mate. Then, with a small sigh, he gave a small nod.

Lee started trembling a little, a wavering grin growing on his face. "This is a most joyous occasion, Neji-kun!" he exclaimed, tears starting to stream down his face. "Who has captured my rival's heart?!"

He gasped, bringing a hand up and clenching it into a fist. "We must tell Gai-sensei and celebrate!" he yelled, the leg in the cast moving, hitting the table and tipping it away from him and towards Neji.

Just managing to block the table, Neji grit his teeth in annoyance as he leaned over. And hit Lee on the head before sitting down again, putting the table back in place. Lee better not have managed to give it some damage.

"No one," he replied harshly, closing his eyes as he crossed his arms in annoyance, glaring at Lee, promising if he didn't stop with the flowers and sparkles, he'd be kicked out in less than three seconds.

Lee whimpered softly, tears clearing up as he rubbed his head. He settled down again and clasped his hands onto his good leg, leaning forward a little.

"I do not understand," he said, looking confused. "If you do not love them, why did you kiss them? A kiss is to be shared between those who care for each other!"

"I didn't kiss anyone!" Neji tried to clarify what had happened. Hell, if Lee didn't understand how would he? But... if what Lee said was true, did that mean the Nara cared for him? But, he frowned, friends didn't kiss each other, and why would another guy want to kiss him?

Lee blinked, now looking even more confused. "But... you said you got your first kiss! Neji, what happened?"

Sighing, Neji glared at his teammate. He really was dense, and it seemed that Neji, no matter how embarrassing it was, had to spell it out for him.

"Someone kissed me," he said shortly, not telling him who or anything more than he had to, giving him an extra glare, daring him to make fun of the fact that he, Hyuuga Neji, had let someone get close enough to kiss him, as if he was completely defenseless.

Lee stared at the other for a few seconds before frowning a little, starting to be put off. "Did you not enjoy it?" he asked.

"I..." Neji spluttered, turning a light shade of red as he tried glaring at the other. However, a flustered, blushing Neji glaring was not very effective.

"How would I know?" he asked in the end, feeling rather annoyed. "I was shocked." Oh god... he hadn't thought of that before now; had he enjoyed the kiss? Well, it hadn't been totally unpleasant, but... why was he even thinking about this?

"But that's not the problem," he added, trying to cover over his initial reaction to Lee's question, pulling himself together.

Lee opened his mouth to respond, pausing as Neji added his last comment. He tilted his head slightly, leaning back again so he was sitting up straight.

"Then... what is the problem?"

Neji looked away from Lee, focusing on the clouds outside. Shikamaru liked watching those clouds, didn't he? His brain brought him a mental picture of Shikamaru cloud-gazing while he trained. No, why was he thinking about him again? Neji felt the need to bang his head hard against something.

"...it wasn't a girl," he said softly in the end, knowing Lee was still waiting for an answer.

Lee waited as patiently as he could, eyes widening when he finally got an answer. He stayed silent, thinking to himself before starting to speak with his head bowed, looking at his lap, "I can understand why you would be surprised, Neji-kun, but I do not see a problem."

He looked up, smiling widely, but for once not showing his teeth with a grin. "I think that Love knows no bounds and should be free to be expressed, no matter the gender. If it is something you like, or would like, I think you should go for it!" he finished with a thumbs up, now showing his usual grin.

Neji blinked. And blinked again before turning to stare at Lee. And he stared for a long time. Lee wasn't... surprised? Or confused?

"T-two guys can like each other... like that?" he asked, confused. Nothing made sense anymore to him, making him almost forget to act like a proper Hyuuga should. B-but..? Guys were supposed to like girls, not... not other guys, right?

Lee’s smile dropped a little and he put his hand down, eyebrows furrowing. "If two people care for each other and share their joy, why should it matter what gender they are? Are the feelings not there to embrace either way?"

Neji frowned a little, trying to wrap his mind around this new concept.

"I... I had no idea," he murmured, covering his mouth with a hand. And well, what Lee was saying did actually make sense for once, but...

"Anyway," he said, straightening his back a little, remembering to act a little more like himself. "I don't think of him like that, and even if I did, there's nothing to 'embrace'," he said, using Lee's own word.

Lee was disappointed that there was nothing to rejoice about now but he just nodded. "If you do not feel anything for him, you should probably tell him so," he suggested, smiling a little sadly. "While it may hurt him, it is always easiest if you know where you stand in a relationship, romantic or not."

"What I think does not matter." Neji glared at his team-mate. "I think he was just messing with me." He closed his eyes a little. Damn, he was truly getting a head-ache from this. After all, Shikamaru had just left after he had kissed him, not even waiting to see his reaction. He frowned to himself. He didn't even know why Shikamaru had kissed him in the first place.

"Why would you think that?" Lee asked, shocked. It would not be Youthful if someone did that! Lee really was curious as to who had kissed his teammate but he was trying to pry as little as possible, knowing the other was uncomfortable.

Neji was about to reply before frowning, changing his mind.

"It doesn't matter!" He snapped. "It's none of your business!" And with those words, Lee was thrown out of Neji's apartment.

Lee blinked at the door, face not more than an inch from it, not sure if he'd even seen Neji move that fast in training. He frowned then clenched his fist, eyes shining in determination.

If he did not find a way to put Neji's mind at ease, he would run one thousand laps around Konoha! Backwards!

…Once he was able to.

Clenching his fists once the door was closed, the faint blush was still present in Neji's cheeks. Why had he said all that to Lee? Maybe he was coming down with something, he decided, stalking into the kitchen to take some vitamins. If he was catching a cold or something, he could at least do something to try and prevent it.

--

In the meantime, Ino had left Shikamaru and was currently heading towards Tenten's home. This was certainly something she would have to share with the older girl. Stopping in front of her apartment, Ino hesitated only a few seconds before she rang the door-bell, hearing it faintly through the door.

Tenten looked up from where she was polishing and sharpening some of her weapons at the doorbell. She stood up and brushed herself off before walking over to the door, peering out the peep-hole, then unlocking and opening the door.

She looked a little bit confused as she asked, "Did you want something, Ino?"

"Well, yeah, actually." Ino smiled up at the older girl, peeking in slightly curious how her place looked. "Can I come in? It's about you-know-what."

Well, okay, she had to admit that maybe it wasn't very nice to Shikamaru to tell Tenten about what he had told her, but at the same time, she wanted to help her friend and if she had to tell Tenten to make that happen, then so be it. It was all for his own (and Neji's) good.

Tenten quickly nodded and stepped back to give her room to walk in. Her apartment was very plain compared to Ino's house; very utilitarian. She didn't need all that extra stuff that the Yamanaka liked and it would only distract her in being as great a kunoichi as the legendary Tsunade.

"Well, you see, I got some very interesting news today," Ino smirked at her, inwardly frowning a little at how little decorations there were on the walls and how... empty... the apartment seemed. She didn't mention it though, after all, that's not what she was there for. Right now, she had something much more interesting to do.

"Oh?" Tenten asked, raising a questioning eyebrow. It had only been a day and a half, how much could she have learned? "What is it?"

"Yeah," Ino smirked, delighted that it seemed Tenten hadn't even managed to worm anything about it from Neji yet. Oh, how she loved to be the first to know about new gossip!

"You see, I talked to Shikamaru today... and it seems that this morning, after he had trained with Chouji and Asuma..." she proceeded telling Tenten about how Shika had kissed Neji, and left without waiting for his reaction. Of course, she left out that he had kissed her to make sure he was gay, and some of his reactions later. She wasn't going to tell how depressed he had been unless it was necessary. Necessary for his own happiness, that is.

Tenten's eyes widened and she glanced down slightly, thinking to herself. If the Nara hadn't stayed there afterwards and there really hadn't been anything between them before...

She winced slightly, frowning. "...I wonder how Neji took that," she murmured, knowing that whatever his reaction was, it wouldn't be a perfectly positive one. They needed to find him and do some damage control.

"Well, yeah..." Ino laughed a bit nervously. She knew that the Hyuuga was a bit... uptight about things, which probably included kissing. There was no way to say what the older boy's reaction was. "That’s kinda the problem. Shikamaru was... worried." Well, that was the understatement of the year.

Tenten sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, I guess we should go see what's going on with Neji, then," she said, starting out of her place, heading towards Neji's apartment.

She spotted Lee heading their way and inwardly winced, hoping that he wouldn't distract and talk to them too much-- they had to get to Neji. She blinked and stopped walking, glancing behind her as he just continued walking, not saying a word to them.

That was... weird.

She frowned and turned around before calling out, "Lee!"

He just kept walking, forehead creased in thought.

"Lee!" Tenten yelled, jogging over and grabbing his shoulder. "Lee, are you okay?"

"Huh?" Lee turned his head, pausing in his step. "Ah, uh, sumimasen, Tenten!" He pulled away, making an awkward bow, especially with him still using the crutch as support. "I was not paying attention. Did you need something?"

Tenten shook her head, smiling slightly. "No, you just seemed... worried about something?"

"Ah!" Lee's eyes widened slightly and he nodded. "Yes! Something is bothering our dear teammate and I must figure it out!"

Tenten sighed and glanced back at Ino, frowning slightly.

Watching Tenten and her teammate as Tenten had to basically force him into communication, Ino started to get very worried. Was Neji going to break Shikamaru's heart? It certainly started to seem like it.

"Uh, well... we were just going to discuss something with him," Tenten said, looking back at him. "You... have you talked with him?"

Lee nodded, facial expressions warring between being happy and worried. "Neji-kun has received his first kiss and is... disturbed? Confused?" He shook his head, still not understanding.

"Y-yeah," Tenten murmured. "I know..."

"What did Neji say?" Ino interrupted the two teammates, getting up into Lee's personal space, anxious to hear what exactly had been the enigmatic brunette's reaction. She was going to find out, even if she had to be a bit forceful.

Lee blinked, looking down at the younger girl before turning his gaze to Tenten. He didn't want to betray Neji's trust, as small as it was, but...

Tenten nodded. "It... Ah, it was her teammate who kissed Neji," she explained.

His eyes widened and he looked back at Ino before sighing. "Neji did not know that two men could feel for each other that way. He said he did not think of him that way."

Ino's eyes widened before they narrowed dangerously. Oh yeah, if Neji dared hurt Shikamaru, she'd definitely have to do some damage on the stoic Hyuuga. Letting go of Lee, she put some more space between them. Now, what did she do? It wasn't possible for her to really change people's feelings, and she was aware she couldn't threaten Neji into something. So all that was left was scheming, and hoping luck was on her, and Shikamaru's, side.

"But-- but, Neji-kun just seemed to be very confused," Lee hastily added once seeing Ino's expression darken. "He was flustered about it and... I do not think I helped that."

Tenten sighed, giving him a slight smile. "He knows you only have good intentions, Lee. Don't worry about that."

"So... like... is this Neji's first experience when it comes to kissing and stuff?" Ino asked, feeling confused. To her, Neji sounded like he was in... denial. If that was the situation, this could be fun.

Both of the teammates just nodded, Lee looking a little relieved.

"Yeah," Tenten started. "Neji has been... really sheltered all his life. He doesn't think about relationships or any of that."

"Well..." Ino's grin gained a hint of wickedness in it. "Then perhaps it's time to do something about that, don't you think?" If Neji had been flustered when he told Lee about it... thinking about what Lee had told them... yes, it should be possible to make him and Shikamaru a couple. Hopefully without either of the two boys noticing them plotting and well, guiding them, from the shadows.

Tenten smirked lightly and nodded. "He needs to be more open anyway," she added.

Lee just looked confused but nodded anyway. If it would help his friend feel better, he'd do whatever he could.

"So, what way do you think we should do this? Since you guys know Neji best, I mean," Ino asked the two, a little amused at Lee's confusion. He probably didn't know what was going on, but now it was too late. He was in on it whether he liked it or not.

Tenten frowned slightly in thought. "...maybe set them up somehow?" she suggested, though not sure how to go about it.

"That might just work," Ino nodded in approval. "Shikamaru wouldn't go near Neji of his own free will as things are now. He is a coward after all..." she mused. Now where and how? It couldn't be somewhere too shabby or casual, or somewhere too romantic as much as she loved that thought. That just wouldn't be the boys' style, she guessed.

Tenten bit her lip, trying to think. The easiest way would be a restaurant, but... Ichiraku was way too... lowly for Neji, as were the dango and tea stands.

"What about that place your team is always at?" Lee suggested. "Yakiniku Q?"

"Hmm, that might work..." Ino nodded. They had good food there too, which might be a plus if Shikamaru and Neji could enjoy a good meal while clearing things up them between.

"It's not too... common for Neji?" She asked Tenten, hoping it was something Neji would go for. If she asked Shikamaru out to a real fancy place... well, he'd know something was up.

Tenten slowly shook her head. "He'll be reluctant and might complain, but I think that'll be fine."

"Good." Ino grinned. "So... eleven-thirty tomorrow? Lunch? Table… three? I'll take care of Shikamaru and you'll make sure Neji gets there?" She asked, knowing that Yoshino would have harassed her lazy son to be up before then, and that he'd still be a bit tired, making her task easier, especially when it came to not having Shikamaru sense that something was up before it was too late.

Tenten nodded, grinning as well, though it was much more subdued than the other girl's.

Lee nodded, giving a thumbs up. "We will make sure that Neji-kun shows up, or I will do two-thousand push-ups!"

And for once, Ino didn't feel bothered by Lee's display of weirdness. No, that was exactly the spirit needed to get their two friends together.