My 'One-Shot' At Accepting Parchment

(A:N) Here it is…all revised and edited to Amarukoira perfection. Which isn’t really perfection because I edited without my glasses on. Heh Heh…my bad. Anyways, this has become one of my most treasured pieces. I hated this sequel when I first wrote it but now that I’ve reworked the scenes and fixed the nasty typo problems…it so kicks ass!

I hope you all read the first part to this story…it’s a lot longer and a lot more dark since it’s Gaara’s POV. I like it better but this follow up is really good too. A lot more character appearances but nothing too massive that will bore you to death.

Almost done! Look for the Alternate version sometime around April…um 8-14. I should be caught up with my other stories by then. ONTO THE READING!!!!!!!!!

Disclaimer: I don't own any Naruto Characters.


My 'One-Shot' At Accepting Parchment
Ai Dake

"Neji...Gaara, he's-" Lee's jaw fell to the floor when he saw the half naked Kazekage sitting up next to the half naked Jounin. His eyes fell low and he began to have big tears grace his face as he kept staring "-in your bed."

---
Neji sat up in a growing cold sweat. The same dream had been haunting him for weeks now and he just couldn't rid his mind of that terrible night. To make matters worse, Lee hadn't talked to him since they left Suna and was currently on a mission with Ten-Ten and Gai. Neji had been assigned to a mission with Hinata and Kiba in two weeks to replace Shino who was away with Naruto and Sakura. He questioned why Tsunade hadn't just sent Lee with them since they were all annoying, but he did understand that they would all screw up the mission.

Neji threw the covers off his body and swung his legs over the low bed and let his bare feet touch the wooden floor. It was early morning and the sun showed through the sliding door that led from the outside to his room. He had left it open that night from the heat. He took a deep breath and smiled, the sun was just as beautiful as it was the day he'd been in bed with his special person. He sighed, it was definitely time for a shower. Remembering Lee bust in on him with his lover hadn't been the only thing he remembered and he needed to remember to change his sheets as well.

---
As Neji sat on his bed wrapping his arm in tape he notice someone coming down the trail towards his room. He put the tape down as the footsteps stopped just in front of his door. He glared and then exhaled heavily.

"Come in Hinata-sama." He stood when the Kunoichi slipped into the room with a peaceful look on her face. She'd grown, no longer the feeble little girl who'd fall over in embarrassment. She was now a very stronger independent Ninja who rarely needed anyone's help. Neji didn't smile as his cousin walked in with something tucked under her arm.

"Neji-san." Other than everyone in the entire village, she wanted his approval and to this day Hinata couldn't find the right words to say in any situation that involved her and Neji having a conversation. "Something came in the mail for you yesterday but you didn't get home until late." She pulled a fairly small scroll from under her arm and as her hands shook she handed it to him. He raised an eyebrow and eyed the thing in his hands.

'From Suna?' He thought and looked at Hinata with his eyes narrowed. "Who brought this?" He questioned with a bit of horror in his voice.

"Master Kotetsu and Master Izumo brought it by personally yesterday afternoon. I assumed you and father were out training and if it was urgent I would have brought it to you but I didn't see any reason to rush."

The male Hyuuga gripped the scroll in his hands and shook violently. 'Could it be from him? What if he's calling me back? What if he says he hates me? Why would he send me something like this...in a scroll? He could have used paper.' Neji looked back towards Hinata and glared again. "Did you read it?"

"Of course not Neji-san." She bit her lip.

"It looks like it’s been opened Hinata." He squeezed it in his hands and bared his teeth.

"You'll have to ask Kotetsu and Izumo. I swear I didn't open it." She shook her head quickly and turned to leave running out the room and slamming the sliding doors shut behind her. Neji took another look at the scroll and tossed it on the bed, he was in a hurry and didn't have time to read it.

'It can wait until later I suppose.' He grabbed his things and left the room as well, half running all the way to the grounds where he and his uncle still trained together in the early mornings. He got there and found his uncle warming up, his mind still in his room on the scroll that rested on his bed. It was bothering him.

"Uncle, I must skip training this morning. I have some matters to attend to before I set off for Iwagakure. Is that alright?" He hoped his story would be believable enough for his uncle not to ask any questions.

"Yes Neji, though you've been working pretty hard lately. I thought you might be trying to keep something off you mind. Is there something going on that I should know about?" His uncle raised an eyebrow and turned around to face him.

'What if he is the one who opened the scroll? He must know who it’s from then.' Neji stood straight up after having bowed to his uncle. "The scroll I received from Sunagakure yesterday, do you know who it’s from?" Neji swallowed, he really hoped it wasn't some plea from Gaara for him to return.

"No, I didn't even know of such a thing. Is that what's been bothering you? You haven't been the same since you returned from Sunagakure four weeks ago. What happened out there that could have you in such a mood?" The older Nin crossed his arms and cleared his throat when Neji didn't answer. The younger Hyuuga really didn't have anything to say about it. What was he supposed to say anyway?

'Oh nothing happened at all, I only stole the Kazekage who Lee loved and had unprotected GREAT sex with him in his house and Lee walked in on us. That's all that went on, nothing out of the ordinary of course.' (A:N I'm pretty sure they don't use condoms in Naruto, as well as I'm sure that Neji and Gaara will never sleep together but it just fit the sentence so perfectly.)

Neji shrugged, he was hoping to avoid conversation but alas, it couldn't be avoided this time. "The Kazekage might have wanted our team to return in a few months, I was just wondering if that's what the notice was about. And I haven't been acting strange, I'm just a little tired lately. Training to become an ANBU this early hadn't been my goal six years ago. You'll have to excuse my attitude for not being enthusiastic." Neji took a mental deep breath and wondered if the wise man would buy it. At least it was partly true, he was under a great deal of stress from the training but it was nothing he couldn't handle.

His uncle merely nodded and turned around to practice some more Taijutsu. Sighing, Neji walked away and out of the portion of the village that his clan stayed in. He was going to find Kotetsu and Izumo and figure out just who opened his mail and if they knew if it was from the Kazekage or someone else-which he highly doubted.

-----

Neji hammered on one of the doors that led into the lounge where most of the off-duty Shinobi spent their time either smoking or talking about personal things. No one answered but he could hear laughing so he pushed the door open and stepped in casually. There were several Chuunin in the room and a few Jounin he hadn't run into in a long time. He looked around ignoring most of the people that said hi to him. There in the corner of the room playing a game of Shigo sat Kotetsu and Izumo while Genma and Iwashi watched. He crossed the room swiftly and avoided any conversation with the others, he was on his own mission.

Stepping up to the table the pair seemed to be so into the game that they didn't notice him. He stood there for a few seconds waiting for them to say something, and when they didn't he slammed his hand down on the table, knocking a few pieces off the board.

"Come on Neji! What the hell was that for?!?" Kotetsu picked up the pieces and put them back on the board.

"You know that's not where they were." Izumo said out of the side of his mouth.

"They were so, I remember getting ready to beat the crap out of you with this piece." He pointed to one of the white pieces very far along on the board.

"You're such a liar Kotetsu, I think I remember me about to beat you!"

"Shut up! You were losing and you know it!

"Why I-"

"SHUT UP BOTH OF YOU!" Neji yelled and the whole room went quiet as if he had been talking to them. The room stayed that way for just a few seconds, nobody wanted to move at all and Neji looked around with an attitude.

"I wasn't talking to you." He said to the rest of the people and they went back to what they had been doing. Genma stood up, stretched and then yawned getting ready to walk away.

"Sit." Neji ordered and he fell back in his chair like a helpless child. The Hyuuga stared at the four of them and he swore he could see Izumo shaking but he ignore that and decided on who he was going to question. He also knew that if Izumo and Kotetsu knew something, then Genma and Iwashi would know too. They were all too close to keep things from each other.

"Which one of you four opened my mail?" He looked around at all of them and narrowed his eyes more at Izumo who was shaking, still.

They all looked around at each other in shock. Kotetsu spoke up first.

"Nobody opened anything of yours. Izumo and I brought a mail scroll over to your clan's portion of the village yesterday afternoon. Any Shinobi knows not to dip their noses into anything that isn't their own business. We handed the scroll over to Lady Hinata and left." Kotetsu shrugged and folded his arms.

Neji growled and looked at Izumo who nodded in agreement with what Kotetsu had said. Genma moved the senbon in his mouth from the left to the right.

"I haven't even seen these three all day. I just returned from Stone Country not five hours ago. This is all new to me, only I-" He stopped short of the end of his sentence and looked off across the room avoiding Neji's pale eyes.

"You only...what? He raised his eyebrow and narrowed his transparent eyes.

Iwashi nudged Genma and cleared his throat, leaning over and whispering something in his ear. Genma nodded and then looked back at Neji who looked a little irritated. Genma raised his hands and waved away the doubt in Neji's eyes.

"It’s nothing really, we just heard that there was something really big that happened to your team while you were in Sunagakure. No one has details but everyone thinks it’s the reason why Lee has been acting weird lately. He hasn't been his ‘Youthful’ self, as I'm sure you've noticed as well. We're all curious about the scroll now that we've heard about it."

Neji took a deep breath. That seemed like a reasonable answer and he didn't think the Jounin was lying to him. He relaxed and scratched the back of his head. If none of these guys had opened the scroll then who had?

"Do you know who handled the mail before it got to you?" Neji looked over at Kotetsu who nodded.

"Lee has been in charge of the mail for the last week. Before he left yesterday he told us to give the scroll over to you. He said he'd meant to give it to you the other day but he forgot so it had been sitting at his house for a couple of days."

Neji took a step back in shock. "What!"

"You don't suppose it was Lee who opened it do you?" Kotetsu asked.

"Of course not, Lee is too kind hearted to go through someone else's mail, let alone Neji's." Izumo answered for Neji since he was still standing in shock. His body quivered and he swallowed hard. If Lee had been the one to open it then Neji really had to know what was inside now, and he'd have to find Lee and apologize, again. He ran out of the room and the four men looked at each other.

"Nice work Genma, you couldn't have lied any better than that? We almost got caught because of you." Iwashi pushed him a bit.

"Maybe we should have told him that Nosey Kakashi and Gai read it too." Izumo said. "I know he almost caught me and I wanted to tell him but I knew he would have killed me. Oh well, I guess he'll just have to go to the Kazekage and have a word with him about that lovely scroll." The four men laughed to themselves.

---
Neji found himself running as fast as he could to get back to his room. He was terrified that if he left the scroll unattended that someone else would get their hands on it. From the looks of it, everyone had been worried about what the contents of the mail carried. Genma and the others knew more than they were telling but Neji didn't press the matter, he was more concerned with what Lee knew.

Flying through his clan's gates he hurried to his room and threw the doors open. The light from outside spread throughout the room and Neji looked at the untouched scroll on his bed. He walked over to it and his hands nearly shook as he picked it up and pulled the thin red ribbon off. It fell smoothly to the bed and he dropped down along side of it, opening the thing that had been causing some much fuss that morning.

He laid back and rolled the scroll open, reading word for word what came as it opened. He his grew bigger and bigger with every stroke of the letters.

'This is...this is-' He rolled it back up quickly and tied the ribbon back together. He tucked it in his back pocket and headed out of the door. 'What on earth could he mean? Should I be confused or should I accept it? That damn Kazekage doesn't know what he's in for. I'll make sure I sort this out right now!' He ran to Tsunade's office to ask her a favor.

-----

He stormed into Tsunade's office and stood near the door breathing.

"Oi Neji, you don't need to be here for another week or so. Oh-" She paused and took in his appearance. "You look pale."

Shizune cleared her throat and Tsunade sat up straight.

"More pale than usual, doshita?" She folded her hands together and leaned forward.

"Forgive me Tsunade-sama but I need to ask a favor."

"Hmm, a favor you say? Well let's hear it."

He walked closer and slammed his hands down on the desk. "I want permission to travel to Suna for a week." He stared at her and hoped she wouldn't ask why, but he couldn't count on that. She was the Hokage and she needed to know why just in case she needed to oppose the idea.

"Suna? What business do you have there? Your mission and allegiance to Kazekage-sama is and has been over. I see no reason for me to lose such a useful Ninja at a time like this. This had better be good Hyuuga." She narrowed her eyes and stared hard.

'Think Neji, think. What would be a valid reason for you leaving to go to another village in the middle of the day? I could tell her that Gaara called me, in the scroll. No, she would ask to see it and I cannot let her see what he has written. Come on, think!'

"Well-" Tsunade said, impatiently.

"I need to see someone there Tsunade-sama, please don't ask me who, it’s very personal." That was all he could think of at the time and he wondered if that was good enough. He stood up and breathed, waiting for her to say something.

"Neji, how am I to send you to another village without knowing the cause? How am I to know what you are up to? You are training to be ANBU and I can't just send you on a vacation to sneak off with someone from another country, let alone the Sand Village."

"I'm not sneaking off with anybody!" He slammed his fists down this time. His rage was rising so Tsunade sat back in her chair and sighed. Neji noticed the heated anger that was leaking from his body and how his chakra flared.

"Lee and I are very good friends Tsunade-sama. I'm sure you have noticed his moods lately, he's not himself. Something happened out in Suna and I need to speak with Gaara-sama personally to fix all of this. I don't know what's going on either but with your permission I would like to fix it." He pleaded with her and his eyes fell low when he remembered why this had all been going on in the first place.

'It will feel good if you let me in and stop worrying so much, let me take care of you.'

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't even hear Tsunade calling him.

"NEJI!"

He jerked back. "Tsunade-sama..."

"Now, if I allow this trip you will have to do something else for me on your time off. Are we clear?"

"Hai, Tsunade-sama." He looked over at Shizune as if to ask what but the Kunoichi only shrugged as Ton-Ton jumped in her arms and snuggled up.

"I will send you with a notice that you will tell the guards is only for the Kazekage's eyes. That should give you a chance to get in without a fuss. The condition is that you cannot leave until tonight, that way you should reach Suna during the day and not cause any havoc. Once there please apologize to the Kazekage for me, let him know that I had no intention of bothering him with your presence, then give him this." Tsunade pulled a folder full of papers from under her desk and handed them to Neji.

"What's this?" He asked eyeing the folder as if it was all a joke.

"A list of the Chuunin and Jounin in this village that I have deemed fit to spend some time in Suna to help rebuilt some of the structure. Their village has been under attack twice in the past month and has taken on heavy damage. Gaara-sama asked if we could spare some Shinobi to help with the reconstruction, he also asked a few neighboring countries but most of them denied it. Konoha is almost back to the way it was before the second attack Orochimaru brought and had I asked Wind Country for assistance I'm sure we would have gotten it." She poured herself some tea and drank it slowly.

"Arigato Tsunade-sama." He bowed and turned to leave.

"Neji-"

He stopped when turning the knob.

"Whatever this problem is you have with the Kazekage, you have a week to fix it."

He disappeared out the door and walked slowly down the long hallway dragging his shoulder along the wall. He suddenly felt very tired and he wondered why Gaara had sent him the note. It had only been one night, how could he feel that way?

Neji slugged through the village and made his way back to his house. For it to have been morning still, he was drained. All the thinking about Gaara and the note and chasing people down had done a number on him. It didn't help that he'd went through a night of interrupted sleep by that damn dream. He circled the town a few more times to think before he headed back to his house and when he got to his room he fell on the bed and didn't move, resulting in him falling asleep.

---
((Dream))

Someone walked calmly through a deep hallway in a mysterious house. His feet swept across the carpeted floor smoothly during the night, barely making a sound. Neji sat up in his bed and tossed the covers back. Someone was coming and they were coming towards his room. Neji rubbed his eyes and quickly looked out the window and saw the moon high. He looked to his door and saw the knob turn. He stood just as someone came through the door with a look of utter loneliness.

Neji eyes glowed in the dark as his body was being pulled over to the other. He walked lightly and stared into glossy jade eyes that fell upon him. He put his hands on someone's shoulder and looked deeper into someone's eyes. Neji didn't want to talk, didn't want to ruin the moment that felt like a fantasy.

Gaara pulled him close and wrapped his arms around the Hyuuga's waist to bury his nose in Neji’s chest and take a deep breath of his scent. Neji pulled away and ran his fingers through course hair and marveled at still green eyes. Gaara never blinked, never moved, just stood there staring back.

"Gaara." Neji spoke in a whisper and leaned down to plant a kiss on someone's lips. He was a pale pink when he pulled away and looked down at someone who had his eyes closed and was breathing heavily. Neji ran his finger over his eyes and tried to wipe the black off, hoping it might come off with his touch. He got no such luck and when the eyes in front of him opened wide with fear and panic, Neji noticed the piercing sound of a kunai cutting through the air. He put his hand on Gaara's back and felt the metal deeply connecting with flesh. Blood raced down his fingers and then he heard another kunai, then another and another but when he tried to move to save someone he found his body paralyzed.

He shook as he looked down into Gaara's eyes. They were just as afraid as his were and they pulsed, red seeping in and taking over white. His body began to fall from Neji's grasp and the Hyuuga tried desperately to hold on to him. Gaara's knees found floor and he clasped, falling over on his stomach. Neji moved his eyes from Gaara to the door to see who was there. He panicked when he couldn't seen anything and almost as if it was a reflex, used his Byakugan. He searched the walls and the rooms next to his.

Then in the darkness of the hall he spotted something, another person. He centered his vision and fell back onto the floor when he noticed the person coming his way. The person stepped through the door and pulled a kunai from his holster. Neji shook as he watched the other person kneel in next to Gaara.

"Lee don't..." He reached but didn't make it as Lee stabbed Gaara again and again.

"If he will not love me, then he will not love you either." Lee's frown seemed more haunting than ever and his stares were heart wrenching. He stood slowly and started making his way over to Neji, repeating things that were loud to Neji.

"You and I are good friends! We are good friends are we not Neji!"

Neji got a hold of himself and stood up since he backed himself into a wall. He looked down at Gaara who was still breathing but just barely, then he looked back at Lee who was coming for him with a bloody kunai in his hand.

"Lee...matte, you can't do this."

"You and I are good friends! We are good friends are we not Neji!"

So concerned with trying to understand what was going on Neji didn't realize that Lee had him by the throat, until he started squeezing him. Neji clawed at Lee's arms trying to free himself.

"You and I are good friends! We are good friends are we not Neji!"

"Yes, we're friends, we're good friends. Let me go, we can still save him Lee."

Lee held him up higher with one hand and with the other hand pulled the kunai up to slice his throat. "We were never good friends!" Lee went to slide the kunai forward when Gaara grabbed his ankle. Lee turned around with eyes full of tears and looked down at the dying Ninja. Gaara coughed up blood and turned half closed eyes to the green beast.

"I loved you first." Gaara whispered but Lee couldn't hear him. Lee's eyes softened and he let Neji go. Lee laid on the floor next to Gaara, and petted Gaara's hair and cried out a few words that were barely audible through his sobs.

"Why? Why would you?"

"I hate him." Gaara confessed, eyes still looking into nothing. He coughed and his eyes closed and opened half way again. "He deceived me, kill him for me..."

"Gaara..." Neji stood up just as Lee did. "Just what the hell is going on here?!?"

"You heard Kazekage-sama. He wants you dead." Lee took all of two seconds and ran to Neji swiftly kicking him but the Hyuuga blocked it and threw Lee back. Lee hit the wall only to get back up and run at him again. Neji noticed the kunai on the floor and quickly picked it up heading for Lee as well. Neji expected Lee would kick him so he dodged the move but when Lee ducked to kick him in the legs Neji flipped over him and with both hands shoved the kunai into Lee's back.

Lee fell face first into the floor with a piercing scream. Neji looked over at Gaara who was now completely still with his eyes closed. He walked over to Lee and pulled the kunai free. He rolled Lee over and looked him in the eyes.

"Why?" Neji questioned.

"That's not the first time you've stabbed me in the back."

((End Dream))
----

Neji woke up and flew to a straight up sitting position in his bed. Sweat filled the sheets and rage filled his mind. He looked around his room and calmed a little when he noticed it had all been a dream. He rolled over and pulled the scroll from his pocket, opening it again. He had to re-read it and make sure he hadn't been mistaken.


---
((Letter))
So what is a Kazekage supposed to say when he meets someone he should never have feelings for?
I Sabaku No Gaara cannot say, because I do not have feelings for you.
Hyuuga Neji, I find you distasteful and a complete waste of my time.
I have come to hate you over the past few weeks and it is not something you can change.
You stole something from me and you betrayed your closest friend.

I would kill you if I had the chance but I cannot and so that is why I am sending you this letter.

I have grown to love Lee and I want nothing to do with you.
He will be the one to take care of me and you will have no say in it.
You are called a genius in Konoha right?
Well genius, did you realize that I was going to say these things to you?
Did you think that I was going to hate you as much as Lee hates you?

I could have loved you Hyuuga Neji.
Maybe I do love you, but you are not the one for me.

Gaara

((End Letter))
---

Neji rolled up the scroll and laid it next to him. 'How could he say such things? How could he be in love with Lee after I...' He stopping thinking to look outside and realize that it was dark. He stood up and grabbed the scroll. He grabbed a bag, stuffed some clothes in it and lastly grabbed his gear. It was time for him to meet with Gaara.

Neji snuck through the village as carefully as he could and when he made it to the gate he noticed two Chuunin were guarding his only way out. He cursed himself and jumped down from where he was hiding in the trees to casually walk over to the gate.

"Oi Neji, where are you headed so late?" One of the men said as he approached them with a simple look on his face.

"Suna." He said in a low flat tone. "I have business with Gaara-sama." He let the name slid out of his mouth and he wondered if the two of them thought he was being professional or referring to him as an acquaintance, a very very close acquaintance. The two Chuunin looked at each other and Neji handed them a letter from Tsunade, stating that he was to leave at night and very quickly.

The two men saluted and let the Jounin pass. He looked back once more before he took off and started his three-day journey to the land of Wind where he would come face to face with Gaara and confront the Kazekage on the heartbreaking note he'd sent.

-----

Three days later Lee busted into Tsunade's office with bigger eyes than usual. "Tsunade-sama! Where have you sent Neji!?" He had sweat dripping down his face and he was breathing hard. His clothes were torn and a bit bloody. From the looks of it, it seemed that he hadn't even gone home after his mission had been completed. This was his first stop after checking in with Kotetsu and Izumo at the front gate.

"I sent him to Suna for a week." She said, sipping her tea-that was actually sake.

"Forgive me Tsunade-sama but you have made a great mistake!"

"Have I?"

"Y-Yes Tsunade-sama, only I cannot tell you what mistake you have made." He suddenly had an idea. "How long ago did he leave? I am sure I can catch him before he gets there." Lee stood up straight and brought his fist down in front of his face.

"Not even you can reach him now. He left three nights ago. He should have arrived in Suna early this morning." She fell back into her chair. "You should really be thanking him, he went there for you. Apparently to clean up a mess that happened out there with Gaara-sama."

This only angered Lee more. Neji would question why Gaara had written him such horrible things and Gaara would tell him he didn't do. They would find out that Lee in fact wrote the letter of hurtful words to Neji, and kept the Letter/Poem Gaara wrote in his house. Lee began to pace the room back and forth, barely stopping before he ran into walls.

'Oh Gaara-kun, what have I done? Have I let my love for you get in the way of what is right? Now I will lose my best friend and the man I love because of my selfishness. I should be severely punished for this deed. I must tell Tsunade-sama!' He took a deep breath and turned to her after he hadn't said anything verbal for five or six minutes.

"Tsunade-sama, I must request that you send me to Suna as well!"

She nearly spit out what little sake she'd just put in her mouth. "Have you completely lost your mind?! I've already sent one Shinobi there for no reason. If I keep sending Ninja out to other villages for personal reasons then everyone will be asking for vacation time. No Lee you cannot go to Suna!" She was standing and leaning over her desk yelling.

"You do not understand Tsunade-sama. Neji is there on my behalf because I...I am in love with Gaara-sama!" He was huffing and that had probably not been the right thing to tell her. She surely wouldn't let him go now but he could explain, couldn’t he?

"In...love? With the Kazekage! Did I have Neji leave so he could convince the Kazekage to love a Leaf?!" She was more outraged now than she had been before, was she hearing right? Were these two trying to convince Gaara that he loved Lee back?

"No, please let me finish!" He waved his hands trying to get her to calm down. Several ANBU appeared in the room and Shizune busted through the door. Lee plummeted to the floor on his head.

'Did they hear too?'

"Out at once! There is no threat here. I need to have a private conversation with Lee, now go!"

Shizune was the last to leave, shaking her head at Lee as he stood up and sat on the floor with his legs crossed. He scratched his head and Tsunade moved to the front of her desk and joined him on the floor.

"Please, explain why I am to send you to Suna when you are in...love with Gaara-sama. You are going to intrude on his work. He is a busy man."

Lee thought carefully over his words, he didn't want to alarm her again. He took a huge breath and exhaled extremely slow. He would have no choice but to tell her of that night that he had walked in on-

"I'm waiting."

"You see Tsunade-sama. I am in love with Gaara-sama but he in turn does not love me...or at least he does not anymore." Lee lingered on the words, he had been sure after Gaara had saved him that the Kazekage had had feelings for him, had he been mistaken?

"How do you know?" She said, leaning closer, as if see was watching so juicy soap opera on television.

"While in Suna last month I took notice that Neji was very uncomfortable around Gaara, Soon enough I noticed that he wasn't really uncomfortable but that he also had feelings for one Kazekage."

Tsunade fell backwards and hit her head on the floor. "What is Konoha coming to? Let's just have every male Ninja fall in love with Sabaku No Gaara!"

"I am not done...The first night of Neji's arrival- I had gotten there a day early- I let Gaara-sama know how I felt, by giving him a Youthful kiss before he went to bed!" Lee raised his fist into the air then brought it down in front of his heart.

"Please Lee, spare me the details."

"Okay fine, then I will go on. I awoke the next morning to find my beloved Gaara-sama missing from his room. Even his dear gourd still resided in his room, so I ran about he house searching for him. I ran to Neji's room first to alert him and to my Youthful eyes I saw the Kazekage in all his Youthful glory laying nearly naked against one naked Hyuuga Neji!"

Tsunade screamed, "WHAAAAAAT!" She started pulling her hair out and screaming curse words. Lee covered his Youthful ears and shook his head. She was taking this a lot harder than he had, and she hadn't even seen it.

((Lee's FlashBack:))


"Neji...Gaara, he's-" Lee's jaw fell to the floor when he saw the half naked Kazekage sitting up next to the half naked Jounin. His eyes fell low and he began to have big tears grace his face as he kept staring "-in your bed."

Catching a hold of his senses Neji pushed Gaara away. "Lee I can explain!" He leaned off the bed to get his pants.

"Oh my Youthful Kami! Catch me, I am falling!" And he did, Lee fell over without bending. A straight stick lying on the ground practically shaking. He was repeating something that Neji couldn't hear but once he had his sweats on he ran over to Lee and shook him frantically.

"Lee...Lee! Lee get up!"

"I am dead Neji and this must be hell." Lee was muttering this over and over as Neji began shaking him harder but Lee never opened his eyes.

"Lee you're not dead, open your eyes so we can talk about this. I need to explain what this might look like." Neji pulled him into a sitting position and slapped him across the face. Lee opened his eyes and grabbed Neji's shoulders.

"You and I are good friends! We are good friends are we not Neji!"

Neji was silent, he didn't know what to say. He looked back behind him just in time to see Gaara disappear with the sand that had slithered through the now open door. Neji looked back at Lee. He was actually feeling a lot more sorry than he thought he was going to. He did want Gaara all to himself but at the cost of his friendship? Lee had been his best friend since the academy, the only one who could take one of Neji's punches only to get back up and be punched out again.

"Yes, we're friends, we're good friends, and I am very sorry for me having to forget that. I didn't mean to hurt you, I just-"

Lee got up in the middle of the sentence and dusted himself off. "That is okay Neji. I have always wondered what you thought of our long time friendship or even if you considered us as friends, but I do not have to wonder any...more." He turned around and sped off, the hell if he was going to spend the rest of the week in 'That' house.

((End Lee's FlashBack))

"I am still not finished Tsunade-sama." Lee said, thinking back on why he still had to leave and go back to the dreadful place. She calmed herself and prepared for something that might be even more worse than her subordinate soon to be ANBU sleeping with the leader of her allied country.

"Gaara-sama recently wrote Neji a Letter/Poem and sent it nearly seven days ago. I was working with the mail on that day and came upon the scroll he sent. I kept it for myself and sadly upon fighting with myself for two days, I read the contents. My Youthful heart just couldn't bare to understand why Gaara-sama would want Neji and not me-"

'I can think of a few reason.' She raised her eyebrow and smirked.

"Are you listening Tsunade-sama?" He asked, as if he read her thoughts. She nodded.

"The night I read the scroll I devised a very UNYOUTHFUL plan. I found an empty scroll similar to the one Gaara-sama used and wrote Neji a note. I pretended to be Gaara-sama and told Neji that I was in love with Lee. I being Gaara-sama."

"I got that."

"Yes, well I ordered for Kotetsu and Izumo to deliver the lost scroll to Neji after I left on my mission with Gai-sensei and Ten-Ten. I was sure that it would sadden my dear old friend and encourage him to forget about Gaara-sama, but it must have had the opposite effect. It seems Neji has only gone to Suna to confront Gaara-sama, and it is all my fault." He shook his head. "Now you see why I must go to Suna as soon as possible. If not for Neji and Gaara-sama then for the treaty between our two villages. If Neji upsets Gaara-sama, he might retaliate against Konoha as a whole."

Tsunade gathered herself, Lee had a very good point. She would have no choice but to send the Chuunin out to retrieve his teammate and clear up this mess he created. This was a lot bigger than just a love triangle and Tsunade had to move quickly.

"Lee, I will grant you permission to travel to Suna but only on the ground that you fix this entire situation. You should have been the most trusted Shinobi in Konoha, I am very disappointed in your actions. What would Gai-sensei say to you if he knew this?"

"He would not be very happy with his most treasured student." Lee dropped his head and rubbed his nose. That was exactly how Gai would take this incident. He would severely punish Lee and look down on him until he fixed things back to the way that they were supposed to be.

"Go home Lee, rest and leave at sundown, not a minute before." Tsunade stood and walked over to her desk, sitting down and scribbling something onto a paper. When she was done she folded it and pushed it his way. He stood up and grabbed the paper, stuffing it into a bag that he'd had with him from his mission.

"If you mess this up, you will be forced to resign as a Ninja of Konoha."

Lee lowered his eyes, he didn't expect his punishment to be so bad. He knew he had messed up but it was all in the name of love. Wasn't that good enough reason for him to have fallen out of line just once? He had a perfectly clean record, now that he'd messed up just one time he was going to pay for it for the rest of his life if things didn't work out. Lee gulped staring at the Sannin. He nodded and got his gear, leaving the office with something a lot bigger than a butterfly in his stomach, something like a dragon that didn't want to be in the dark anymore.

-----
Neji was arriving in Suna just as the sun rose. He could see the gate but he was off farther on the other side wondering if he should just sneak in and see Gaara, then leave. He didn't really feel like having a conversation with the guards of the village. He wanted to get in, punch out Gaara and leave. He sighed, even if he could do that, he would feel guilty and Gaara would probably kill him before he got within two feet. Neji's defense might have been unbeatable, but Gaara was even more ultimate.

He decided that making a scene was something he didn't have time for. He rounded the village where he could easily slip in by jumping over the gate where it was closets to Gaara's house. The sun was high and he was sweating by the time he reached the area he wanted to enter through. He hopped the rampart and jumped over a high wall made of sand and cobblestone. He nearly slipped and fell when he landed. He was extremely tired when he got to the other side, the trip had still taken him three days like normal but he had barely rested and didn't have an appetite so he was running dangerously low on energy.

He looked up the hill he was below and saw his destination, now he just hoped the Kazekage was home, he also hoped the ANBU weren't watching too closely today. It would look like an attack if they were to catch him sneaking around the village after not having come through the gate. He started to run as lightly as he could, he hadn't come this far to be caught. He passed several busy streets on his way but hid himself as best he could, trying to keep what little chakra he did have, low.

When he came to the gate of the Kazekage residence he quickly hoped over it and leaned against the inside of the wall. He searched the yard thoroughly taking short breaths and not keeping his eyes on any one object for too long. He then crouched and made his way towards Sandstone that was lodged in the middle of the yard, or at least what could have been a yard with no grass. He hid along the side of the rock and slid around it making sure to slowly bring his body around as a whole, not making any sudden moves. The coast was clear so he knelt down and took off for the porch, which was the only shade he'd been in all day. He fell to his knees on the porch and breathed, he couldn't just knock, he had to pull himself together first.

He had just gotten his heart beat to calm down when he heard a noise from the other side of the door. Oh no, someone was jiggling the handle! He heard two deep voices almost arguing so he picked himself up and safely hid on the other side of a thick pillar just off the porch.

The door opened and one of the deep voices became familiar. "Honestly Gaara, can you really be upset with her for you being lazy and mixing up the mail? What was so important in that letter that you had to nearly break Temari's arm? I'm sure that damn Hyuuga has forgotten about it by now anyway. Stop being such a whining bitch, if you didn't want him to see the note or whatever it was, you shouldn't have written it. Better yet you shouldn't have addressed it and left it for Temari to find." Kankurou was talking louder than he really had to.

Neji held his breath as he waited for the other to talk but Gaara said nothing. He looked off to his right and closed his eyes. Something was bothering him.

"G-Gaara, what is it?" Kankurou looked around as if he had seen something move, acting paranoid when his brother suddenly smelled the air. Gaara opened his eyes and blinked, he thought he might be smelling a certain someone's cologne but it was probably his imagination acting up again.

"She deserved it. I didn't give her clearance to deliver any scroll that might have been addressed to Konohagakure." He looked around again and Kankurou mimicked him, trying to see whatever it was his brother had seen.

"What the hell do you keep looking at?" Kankurou shouted and Neji thought he had been spotted, so he started shaking, rattling the rocks under his feet.

"Someone is-" Gaara sentence was cut off when a cloud of smoke appeared in front of him and his brother. Gaara folded his arms as the man stood in front of them, face not seen and body in perfect Shinobi order.

"Excuse me Kazekage-sama, but we have just received word that a Shinobi from Konoha is on the way. He's heading here and should arrive soon."

Gaara's eyes grew wide but other than that his face remained the same. Neji stopped shaking, and tried to listen closer as the ANBU-he assumed- in front of Gaara gave him a little more information.

'He must be talking about me.' Neji thought.

"A Shinobi from Konohagakure?" Gaara questioned, eyes still searching the yard.

"Yes Kazekage-sama."

"And the name of this Shinobi?" Gaara almost shook as he thought of Neji possibly returning to him. Maybe all his efforts to write that Letter/Poem had done him some good. He was going to get to see his lover again. '...Hyuuga' Gaara smiled on the inside.

"Rock Lee, sir." The ANBU saluted and Gaara felt his heart fall out of his stomach onto the pavement of his porch. Kankurou's jaw dropped as well and Neji nearly lost his balance on the rocks he was standing on.

"I see." Gaara said nodding. 'Lee? Is he really coming back...here? Where is that damn Hyuuga.' Gaara took a step off the porch and began walking without Kankurou and the ANBU, arms still against him. "I have many things that need to be done today-" He started while walking away. "-let Temari know that no one is to bother me. I need peace today." He sighed. 'If Lee is coming I won't get any rest for a long while.'

----

Neji stayed outside of Gaara's house until about an hour before dark. He hadn't been able to move because he was deciding if he was going to go through with this. If Lee was coming then that mean Neji didn't have as much time as he wanted to fix things. At the most he had a day left and he didn't know what he could accomplish in that short time, although it had only taken him a night to make such a mess of things.

He stood and crept around the other side of the house, entering through a window that had been left open. Apparently Gaara believed no one would ever break in his house so he didn't bother locking doors or windows.

Neji had entered through, into the kitchen and was now standing on the tile looking around. He could feel Gaara getting closer to the house so he moved locations to the living room where he knew Gaara would see him when he entered the hallway.

He sat down on the couch and waited. 'What am I supposed to say to him anyway? Dammit, I spent three days out there and didn't even come up with anything. Am I supposed to act like this is a casual meeting? "Hey Gaara, it’s nice to see you again, oh and why'd you send me that stupid letter?" I don't even know how to react to something like that. I mean what if he really does love Lee. That would explain why he's coming this way for no reason, unless he knows I'm here.' Neji thought hard for a second, putting his finger on his forehead as if it would help.

'No, I know what I’ll say to him. I'll sit him down and I'll say, "Gaara, I know you might think I've hurt you or that I took advantage of you but I don't think you love Lee. I think you're upset because I left and that you honestly want me, not him." Yeah that's what I'll tell him. He doesn't love Lee, I know it.'

"I knew it was you."

The voice came from almost out of nowhere and Neji snapped around to see Gaara standing behind him, dark and eyes low.

'When did he-' Neji stood. "Gaara." He'd tried to surprise the Kazekage and instead had gotten surprised himself. All his practice on what he was going to say had vanished, he couldn't say anything with Gaara standing right in front of him.

Gaara walked around the couch and Neji turned to him. They stared at each other for a while not saying anything, of course they were both going crazy in their minds. Gaara was thrilled that Neji was standing in front of him, though he didn't show it. He thought his letter must have had an affect on the one in front of him and it had. Neji was screaming at Gaara in his head, asking why he had chosen the other Leaf and not him, yelling that he might have strong feelings for the Kazekage but he would never tell.

"Gaara look, about the scroll-"

"So you did read it."

"Well yes, but I don't understand it. How could you feel that way about me? We were only together for a night but, how could you feel that way? I don't understand you, I thought things were alright between us. You didn't have to be so rational."

Gaara stood there blinking. If Neji had felt this way why had he come all the way to Suna just to tell him he didn't love him back? Gaara felt embarrassed but it didn't show as he took a step back and looked away.

"I didn't know pouring my feeling into such a thing would be wrong of me. I tried to sound sincere, I mean I was. If you thought it was so wrong then why have you come back?" He said, looking a little angry now. If Neji didn't understand why he wrote it then he didn't understand why he was here. Was he trying to show Gaara up? Or just make him feel like they should have never spent that night together? One thing was for sure, neither of them was talking about the same thing.

"I had to come fix things. The scroll was so straightforward, I couldn't possibly stay in Konoha without talking to you about it. If I had known you were going to feel this way then I would have never..." He paused, did he really regret the night in question?

"I see." Gaara said not breaking his stare with the Hyuuga. Neji pulled the scrolled out of his back pocket and walked up to Gaara. He put the scroll in Gaara's hands, holing his hands around the others. He looked in Gaara's eyes.

"I know you didn't mean any of this." Neji's eyes looked like they were pleading for Gaara to admit it was all a joke and that he wanted to tell Neji he loved him. Gaara's eyes shook, he wanted to just come out and tell Neji he loved him but the other probably wouldn't listen.

Gaara looked at the scroll and pried his hands away. He stared hard at the possession that had accidentally been sent out. He looked, then he looked again, something was very very wrong with it. There was no way this scroll had come from Suna, and especially not from him. He unrolled it and read across the words, his eyes disbelieving every bit of it. He rolled it back up and squeezed it.

"You don't believe any of this?" Gaara said with his eyes wide, replaying what he read. Did Neji really believe that Gaara hated him? Is that why he traveled three days in the heat to see him?

"No I don't-"

"Good." Gaara cut him off taking a step forward and handed Neji the scroll to put his hands on the Hyuuga's chest. Neji's eyes grew to an unbelievably big size when Gaara pressed their lips together. Neji wanted to give in to the warm lips on his but he gained control of himself and pushed Gaara away.

"I don't understand." Neji said, holding Gaara's shoulders. He was trying to read those jade eyes but there was only gloss from the kiss. Gaara blinked away his fantasies and turned away, looking at the door to the hall.

"I'm disappointed in you Hyuuga. Do you think I would have the courage to write something like that?" Gaara turned around with a bit more want in his voice and in his eyes. He stepped up to Neji again and got close, almost touching the others lips.

"I didn't write that." He kissed him, pushing him back before Neji realized what was going on. He grabbed Gaara's shoulders and squeezed them, it had been easier to get a hold of the Kazekage while in bed but now standing, Gaara was stronger than Neji had initially thought. Still wanting Gaara's closeness and warmth Neji reluctantly pushed him off.

"If you didn't write this then, what did you send me?" Neji was afraid of the answer, but he needed to know. Apparently Gaara had poured his feelings out and Neji wanted to know exactly what those feelings were. Gaara looked like he wasn't all there, like he was fighting back something strong. He grabbed Neji's wrist and walked out of the room, pulling the other up the stairs and into his room.

"Gaara you're ignoring my question." Neji said while standing near the bed where Gaara had pushed him. Gaara still ignored him and sat on the bed, looking up at the Hyuuga. He smiled darkly.

"Sit." He commanded and Neji hesitated but sat next to him. Gaara ran his fingers through Neji's hair as he moved to straddle the Hyuuga. Not being able to help himself Neji wrapped his arms around Gaara's waist. Gaara's rubbed Neji's nose with his until Neji couldn't take it anymore, kissing him and laying back to let Gaara hover over him. He moved his hips under Gaara, trying to get a feel of how much the other wanted him. He didn't have to do much moving though, it was quite apparent.

Gaara was slowing rocking his hips as he kissed his lover slowly. He didn't want this night to be a rush like it had been the last time. He wanted the taste of Neji to linger inside him for a long time, but he needed to breathe now. He tried to pull away but Neji had other plans. He rolled over and laid on top of Gaara pushing their bodies together again, pressing their lips together again. Gaara raised his hips and wrapped his legs around Neji's waist, he wanted more but Neji finally moved away.

"This is wrong, you know it, I know it." He said, breathing hard and staring at the Shinobi he had come to...love.

"We're both men right? Promises mean a lot to us. You promised you would take care of me. So...take care of me, again." Gaara pulled him back down and kissed away his worries. Neji smiled into the kiss. What did he have to worry about anyway? Lee wouldn't be there until hopefully late tomorrow and if Gaara was willing then so was he. Neji pushed himself up and looked closely at his victim.

"I hope this is what you want, cause there's no turning back now...I want you."

Gaara didn't bother with an answer, he pulled Neji's shirt off and wiggled out of his pants. Neji did the same, pulling of Gaara's shirt and to kiss his chest. When they were totally naked Neji eased his body onto Gaara's letting their lower halves touch. Gaara watched, only closing his eyes when Neji kissed him again. He leaned up to get a better taste but Neji pushed him back down, smothering him and groaning into his mouth.

Gaara was upset when Neji pulled away from his lips leaving them for the cold air, but smiled when the Hyuuga began moving down his body. Kissing and nipping at his neck before his tongue traced over one of Gaara's nipples. Neji gently licked it and sucked on it while he seductively pinched the other one. Gaara instinctively opened his legs wider and ran his hand down his own thigh. Neji felt him and caught him by the wrist.

"Allow me." He looked up at Gaara with his hair covering some of his eyes. Gaara gulped, he wanted this but he felt something pitting in his stomach. He wondered what it would be like on the giving end. As Neji began to slide down Gaara's body, the Kazekage grabbed his hair and pulled it hard. The Hyuuga winced and looked up, Gaara was narrowing his eyes and biting his lower lip. Neji slid back up to him and kissed him roughly.

"What's the matter? Too early, you want more of this?" Neji kissed him again, grinding their hips together. Gaara was taken aback but he seemed to hold his composure and broke the kiss. He looked into Neji's eyes and the other titled his head. He was about to ask something but Gaara used what little strength he had under Neji and rolled them over.

"This is what I want." Gaara said staring at him sliding his body up so their faces were aligned. Gaara was straddling his waist again as he held Neji's arms down. He kissed the Hyuuga just barely, not wanting to stay where he currently was for too long, lest he chicken out on what he was about to do.

"Gaara don't-"

"Keep quiet." Gaara gave him a little hit to the head with his forehead and then he began moving down Neji's body. Kissing him lightly, licking him at times. He made it down to Neji's waist and stopped, literally staring at the others erection. Was that what had hurt him the last time? Gaara grinned as he took a hold of it in his hands and felt Neji take a deep breath trying to hide a moan but it was apparent.

'This is it.' Gaara thought as he closed his eyes tight and licked over the tip of Neji's erection. He heard Neji whisper a few things so he did it again, this time with his eyes open. Surprisingly it was soft and warm and glided over his tongue so perfectly. He liked the feeling, he liked hearing Neji's pants, he liked the taste. He took no time covering the tip with his mouth, he wanted to gag at the first thought but then breathed. He couldn't be the weak one here, so he released his mouth from around his prey and kissed it before his inhaled it and took more down his throat.

Neji raised his knee and arched his hips slowly, feeding himself the awaiting heat. Gaara put his palm on Neji's stomach and gently pressed so Neji would calm down. He already knew the torture was going to be a lot but Neji couldn't choke him before he finished. Gaara put his hands on both sides of Neji's hips and leaned over to possibly work faster. He started up a pace and instead of letting Neji crave for more, he used one of his hands to help him. He pumped his hand while he lightly took what he could into his throat.

Gaara's neglected member started throbbing as he moved faster. He slid his body up and took Neji deeper, rubbing himself against the sheets. He moved back down the bed and let the Hyuuga slip out of his mouth with a pop of his jaw. He put all his weight on the bed and moved back up, grunting before he licked up the precum sliding down Neji's shaft and then taking a hold of him again. This way, they were both getting what they wanted.

Neji grabbed the sheets and fisted them, this was a lot better than he could have ever imagined. He wanted more though, a lot more. He sat up like a dead man coming back to life and combed back Gaara's hair. He tugged on it and held it in his fingers pulling Gaara's head up for a second. Gaara stared at him, Neji’s eyes were closed and his head was thrown back. His breaths were deep and they sometimes got caught in his throat. Gaara wanted to see his eyes. He felt Neji put his hand on the side of his face and he nuzzled the soft hand. Neji looked down at him finally, eyes glazed over and wide.

Gaara blinked and resumed what he started. He moved faster now as Neji tried not to work his hips with his movements but that didn't work. The Hyuuga couldn't help but move against the other and his torturous ways. Neji was close to his finish and he couldn't find anything to grab onto in his current position. He pulled Gaara's hair and hunched over in a more uncomfortable position.

"You're amazing." Neji whispered as he came into Gaara's mouth. He spilled, trying not to thrust so Gaara would choke. The other sucked down all the fluid into his throat and swallowed it at once. It was warm and tangy. He wasn't fond of the taste but it didn't bother him enough to spit it out.

Before Gaara could even get a second to breathe Neji yanked him up by the hair and forced their lips together. He tasted Gaara's tongue and in an unbelievable move completely turned them both over and somehow threw Gaara onto the bed. Neji laid over him breathing heavily.

"I don't have the patience to stretch you and make room for me. You'll have to deal with the pain." Neji said binding him to the bed and kissing him again.

"Just do it again. I don't care about the pain, I don't expect you to care either. Whatever it was you did last time." Gaara lowered his eyelids. "Do it again."

This time it was Neji who didn't bother with an answer. He he grabbed himself and spread Gaara's legs open. He looked back up one more time with Gaara staring back at him. He pushed in. Gaara closed his eyes and turned away to face the door. Neji waited as he was slowly sucked in, then when he felt he could go no more he pulled out and leaned over Gaara. He grabbed the others chin and turned his face back to him. Gaara opened his eyes, they seemed to be fighting back some hurt.

"I like it when you watch me." Neji said before kissing his lover. "You asked me to take care of you, now watch me." He said deeply before pushing in again, keeping his own pale eyes on jade ones. Gaara opened his mouth and pushed against Neji body. The force was just as strong as it had been the first time. He wished they'd taken the time to stretch him. His manhood pulsed where it laid in between them. Gaara wanted to grab it but he dared not let go of Neji's shoulders.

He was preparing himself for what happened last time. He'd almost fallen over in pleasure and he wanted to make sure he was holding onto his lover when that time came around again. Neji had his eyes still on Gaara and was in the middle of pushing in when he heard Gaara's first reluctant whimper. He smiled inside not wanting Gaara to hide his lustful sounds from him. He couldn’t help but groan when he moved in and out. This time the warmth was thicker and Neji felt a surge of overwhelming pleasure every time he moved even an inch.

Neji held himself up on one shaky hand and stroked Gaara's hair, it felt rough and course but Neji loved it nonetheless. He twitched when he slid deeper, accidentally thrusting harder than he wanted to, but it felt good. So good he had to do it again. He knew Gaara's body wasn't ready for that yet but it was too much for him to stop himself. He rocked forward and his hips finally met Gaara's. He stayed like that for a second, taking a second to close his eyes and bit on his bottom lip. That was the spot for him, he didn't even want to move anymore, but he subconsciously began to pull out until two seconds later he couldn't help but slam back in.

Gaara gripped his shoulders and tried not to look away, even though Neji still had his eyes closed. His hair fell over Gaara's shoulders and the other could smell the sweet scent of it. Neji was still holding his hair tight in his hands, which meant he was unstable on his one hand. Gaara put his arms around Neji's neck and broke him down. Neji fell onto Gaara and finally opened his eyes as their lips met. He watched Gaara who also had his eyes open. This was the first time Neji felt a blush cross his face, but he smiled and moved his lips to Gaara's ear and kissed him. He thrusted again now, with his hand resting on Gaara's hip, squeezing it.

Gaara's lips were near Neji's ear and when he moaned, it was very apparent. Neji moved his other hand to Gaara hips and gripped them firmly to push in harder but he couldn't get a good grip. He moved his hands under Gaara's thighs and grabbed them, pulling Gaara's body down while he rammed back in. This seemed to work, Gaara's chest jerked and he buried his head in Neji's shoulder, breathing hotly down his chest.

Gaara knew he was close to what he wanted, that feeling again. The pit was growing already, he felt sick but it felt good. He spread his legs farther and raised both his knees, planting his feet on the bed. He moved up so his head and neck were near the head board and while he did that Neji got up on both his hands again, smiling, never stopping his movements into Gaara, rewarding him with moans. Long moans that Gaara couldn't seem to control. Neji wanted this to last long so he slowed his pace.

"Stop waiting." Gaara said out of breath, putting his hand over Neji's face. Neji licked his palm and Gaara snatched his hand away. Neji cared so he picked his speed back up, now taking longer and harder thrusts. Gaara's eyes were closed and when Neji started this way they shot open, his pit had overflowed with pleasure and his sweet spot screamed. Gaara put his hands on the headboard behind him and rocked against Neji. This was what Neji liked, when Gaara reacted most to him. They both panted heavily as Gaara let his moans grow into near screams and Neji smirked in between his grunts.

"Harder." Came Gaara's voice. Neji raised and eyebrow but obliged and took deeper thrusts, like he might be trying to rip Gaara in two. In the dark Neji could feel his end coming on, he held out as long as he could in the thick heat, he leaned forward and stared directly in Gaara's eyes. Gaara was frowning and panting and blushing and shaking. This is what he had wanted, something not forced, not betted on, something the Hyuuga wanted.

Neji’s head dropped from his view and he cursed as he came, spilling again. Gaara pulled him down and came between them as well. He held out as long as could and now it all fell out between their attached bodies. Neji started to move right away, he slowly started pulling out and Gaara gripped his shoulders.

"Wait, stay...for just a minute." Neji looked up at him and blinked. He took his thumb over Gaara lips and smiled at him, Gaara didn't smile back, just closed his eyes and took a very deep breath. Neji laid down on him and took Gaara's hand in his, interlocking their fingers. Gaara turned his head and looked at their hands together, he wanted it to be like this forever, he didn't want to let Neji go but they both needed a shower. Both of them were still breathing uneasily but Neji got up and pulled away from Gaara, sitting up and rolling over to the side of Gaara.

The cold hit Gaara's body and he sat up as well, looking at Neji, having something to say but couldn't. They watched each other for awhile, both quiet, both having things to say. Neji had questions but Gaara didn't have answers.

Gaara was the first to break their stare. "Shower, then we'll talk." He said moving out of the bed to disappear into his bathroom, closing the door behind him. Neji fell back on the bed staring up at the ceiling.

'What is this?' He said sitting up again and walking out of the room to head for the shower down the hall. He opened the door and turned on the warm water stepping in before checking the temperature. Nothing could have been hotter than what just happened. He stepped in and tied his hair back and up so it wouldn't get wet. He didn't have time or enough water to wash it. He stood there letting the water fall over his chest.

'What is this?' He asked himself again as he picked up the soap and started scrubbing his body. 'I don't understand why I'm having trouble breathing. Why can't I breathe?! What's he doing to me?' Neji leaned against the wall, he wanted to throw up, wanted to rip out the hole that was forming in his stomach out. He punched the wall and looked at his knuckles, they were bleeding and so was his mind. He sighed and rinsed himself. Too bad the tub wasn't full, drowning sounded like a good idea.

Exiting the bathroom Neji only had pants on and half of his hair was dripping. He walked back to Gaara's room and lightly pushed the door open. Gaara was walking around in usually attire minus a shirt and sandals. He stopped making the bed when he saw Neji walk in. Gaara sat on the bed and stared as Neji didn't move.

"Sit." Gaara said tilting his head and patting the bed next to him.

"Not this time Gaara." Neji said leaning against the wall and staring back. He knew sitting next to Gaara would just end in them arousing each other again, not that he minded. He as just still trying to figure out what was wrong with him.

"Fine." Gaara said standing. "I’ll come to you then." Gaara moved across the room and stood in front of Neji. He put his hand on the side Neji's face and looked up at him. He moved to kiss Neji but the Hyuuga grabbed his wrist and pushed him back. Gaara stepped back pulling his hand back. Neji sighed, he didn't want to make it seem like he was upset so he stepped in the room and pushed Gaara back to the bed. Neji sat down first and pulled Gaara into his lap.

The Kazekage tried to move away but Neji held him close whispering in his ear softly.

"I'm sorry Gaara."

The other stopped moving and shrank back. He was a slave now and he knew it, but he would have it no other way. He laid his head on Neji's chest and exhaled. This is what he wanted to get use to.

'There it is again. What is this?'

They sat like that for a long time, Gaara didn't want to move and Neji was thinking about why his body was reacting so weird and why it was seemingly aching. He had his hands around Gaara waist and Gaara was holding on to him. Gaara knew he had things to say, but did he really want to disrupt their moment?

"I love you." Gaara said out of nowhere. He felt Neji stiffen and felt the Hyuuga's heart began to beat faster against his back. Gaara sighed, had he said the wrong thing? No, Neji needed to know.

"What?" Neji said, needing to hear it again. That feeling he was having caught fire at the words and Neji needed to hear it one more time.

"You asked what was in the scroll I sent right?" Gaara didn't move from his comfortable position.

"Yeah, like two hours ago."

There was a silence between them again and it was as if they were both standing on a cliff waiting for either to jump so they could save them.

"I love you." Gaara said again, still maintaining his body to keep still. He did want to turn around and kiss Neji. He wanted to turn around and hold the other, have the other maybe tell him he felt the same way. When he got no answer he wasn't surprised.

"I didn't expect you to say it back. You have plenty lovers, who am I but a lonely Kazekage. Ignore my want for you Hyuuga, make it unheard, I don't care anymore." Now Gaara moved, he wanted out of Neji's arms, he wanted away from his beloved.

Neji pulled him back turned him around, held him close. Gaara straddled him once again.

"I've had a feeling inside me since I last saw you. I couldn't explain it, I thought I was going crazy. It eventually went away with time, and now it has returned. Upon me seeing you it has come back full force and I have yet to figure out what it is. I thought I just needed to have you again, maybe a night together would rid me of my want. It hasn't left, it’s stronger now that you are staring right at me. It burns when you say those words to me." He put his hand on the side of Gaara's face and his eyes shook with worry as he prepared himself for what he was about to say.

"Gaara-" He kissed him sweetly, not wanting to retract but he did, "-those words you said to me, they’re strong and my body reacts to them, holds them. This feeling I know now will never leave me because-" He put his forehead on Gaara and looked deeper into his eyes. "-I think I love you too."

Gaara felt many things after that moment. He felt the distant warmth of Neji lips, he felt his heart beat with heat, he felt his eyes water, he felt worry and comfort altogether, he felt like he was shaking, like he wasn't breathing. He felt like he was going to choke, like he was dying, like he was living. He knew he was right, he knew he loved Neji and it was so overwhelming that he didn't know how to react to anything.

When Neji broke their bond Gaara's eyes were still big, he hadn't moved, hadn't kissed Neji back, hadn't breathed. Neji nuzzled him and rested his head on Gaara's shoulder. Now the Kazekage knew how he felt when he had told him the same thing. Neji laid down and took Gaara with him, wrapping his arms around the younger and pulling them close. Gaara's tense body finally melted and Neji kissed his forehead, they would stay like this forever.

---

Lee was busy running as fast as he could, it had been two days since he left konoha and he was tired from the lack of rest from his previous mission but he could see Suna now. It was early, very early, four o'clock in the morning early and Lee hoped Neji hadn't done anything stupid, or that Gaara hadn't killed him yet. He arrived but ran right through the gate as it opened, not having time to stop. He headed for the Kazekage's house with three ANBU right behind him, but they weren't as fast, so he lost them quickly.

---
Neji tossed in the bed, he'd been having the same nightmare for three days straight now. He woke up dizzy, holding his head seeing a dead Gaara and a dead Lee. He shook his head and reached over to grab a hold of his lover, but...he wasn't there. Neji rolled over and flashed his eyes open in horror. He started breathing fast and wondered where Gaara had gone.

"Gaara?" He called into the darkness of the room, he looked to the open door, nothing. His voice held worry and he shook. Lee had been expected and Neji didn't want his dream to be a reality. He swallowed, staring at the door. He was almost afraid to get up, then-

"He's here-"

Neji turned and looked at the window to see Gaara standing there looking outside. He caught his breath and got out of the bed to walk over to Gaara. He put his arms around him and held him tight, not wanting to let go after he'd thought something horrible had happened.

"-it will not be long now. He will find us together again, I won't hide from him." Gaara turned around, there was a knock at the door. Neji pulled him into a hug and kissed his cheek.

"I will tell him, he's my friend."

Gaara pulled away and nodded. Neji grabbed his hand and pulled him out the room and down the stairs. They walked to the front door and Gaara grabbed the handle, looking at Neji one last time before he opened it.

There stood Lee looking as glowing as ever. No fatigued, no uneasy breathing, just a smile that was dying as he looked at their and joined together. He nodded, he knew there was nobody else in the entire would that understood what love was more than him and he accepted the fact that this was love. NOT!

Lee shook as he looked at them both. His tears fell and he dropped to his knees apologizing for everything he had done and for not letting the two of them just be happy together. He grabbed Gaara's ankles and pleaded for forgiveness. NOT!

When Gaara opened the door no one stood there, just a scroll that looked different than the one Gaara had written on. Gaara looked at Neji and Neji looked down at the scroll, letting go of Gaara's hand to pick it up. Gaara looked around outside before he shut the door and they both sat in his library on the couch together. Neji unrolled the scroll and they huddled close to read its content.

---
What would is one Rock Lee to do if he has lost both of the men loves?
He does not know what to do.
I have watched you grow into an elite Jounin and a great Ninja.
I have battled you countless times, never defeating your strength.
I would have given anything for you to look at me as someone who could have been your lover.
Though I lost you several times, when I had the chance to show my feelings.
So I am telling you now that I loved you once Neji.
And you, Gaara-sama.
From the day you broke my leg and arm I felt a connection.
You have saved me countless times and your strength is incredible.
I loved you, or maybe I was just jealous of you but either way you had something I wanted.
For the two of you to have each other now, it saddens me.
I have yet again been passed over by my two strongest special people.
I need to apologize for trying to corrupt things.
I let my head get in the way of something beautiful.
Please, will the both of you forgive me?
I do not mean to hurt anyone, it was insensible.
Take care of one another, as I would try my best to take care of the both of you.
My friend, and my special person.
I leave you both with this...
-------------
((End))

AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
Was that great or what? Now that I’ve revised this I love it some much more.
I am still working on the Alternate version but it’s a lot harder because Neji is a difficult person for me to characterize. I hope you all like it. Like I said before, it was rushed and it did take me about two days originally but I am totally happy with the results.
Thanks for reading. I worked hard!
REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!