The Sky and The Dawn and The Sun

A/N: Any fans of any of my chaptered fics, I would like to now apologize for the delay in updates, and for the fact that updates will not come soon. The computer with the subsequent chapters has decided to hold them hostage, and I am having great difficulty retrieving them. I hope to free them soon. In the mean time, I humbly ask that you remain patient. Thank you.


Pairing: Naruto/Neji
Archive: Just ask.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. That honor belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

Neji couldn't remember a time when someone other than himself washed his hair.

Even as a young child, Neji was responsible for the well recognized secondary feature of the Hyuuga clan. As a Hyuuga, the maintenance of his ever growing mane was placed as an early burden, to teach him of future obligations. He well recalled kneeling by the bath, his head bowed low. Small, steadily learning fingers combing through dark tresses. The sting of stray shampoo, and the distinctly slick feel of conditioner.

In the beginning, he'd not been partial to any one product in particular. He simply used what was supplied to him, and tried to make the best of it. It wasn't until he was older, that he realized certain products worked better than others. He preferred the feel of one over another, and the scent of this, rather than that. In some small way, the ability to chose how his hair looked, how it smelled, and how greatly it felt was a tiny, recognized freedom.

In a family where the smallest slip could have your skull threatening to cave in, where obedience, loyalty and self sacrifice in service to the Main Branch was a way of life, the care and keeping of one's hair was a singular joy. And yet, it remained a reminder, that they were still Hyuuga. Cutting one's hair was strictly forbidden, unless - in the rarity of its occurrence - one's life depended upon it. Then and only then, could the delicate mane be severed at any point.

Neji had had to endure such an embarrassment. And though it seemed ridiculous to his teammates, that he should be so upset over the loss of a mere five inches, to Neji, the loss had been like a deep wound. Never before had his hair been shorn, and small though the sacrifice had been in order to restore his life, there were odd times when Neji wished they had just let him die. At least, then he would still be whole.

The most promising member of the Hyuuga family in over a century, was not vain. If it were possible, he would very likely slice every last inch from his glorious head. What hurt most, was not the loss of hair. No, what caused his soul to ache was the fact that once again, his freedom had been taken from him. They had cut from a length that had not been touched since it's creation in his mother's womb. They had taken away his ability to choose whether or not he wanted to be saved. And sometimes, he still felt bitter about it.

Warm, steady fingers smoothed soothing patterns against his scalp. Depositing suds and repositioning strands, as they glided through his dark locks. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on the feel of them. The way they eased over every inch, never missing a spot, expertly weaving and threading. He sighed as they freed themselves, drawing back and down. Neji could feel them still, as they gently moved down, combing through soapy strands. Reaching the regrown tips, they slipped back up, causing the length to caress tan forearms, curling about the equally colored elbows.

Hypnotically, they danced, gently swaying, guiding.

Water was poured over his head, and his lips slipped apart. The welcome feel of aquatic trails met his skin, gliding about the curves of his eyes, and brushing the edges of his mouth. The cleansing feeling, something he was accustomed to, Neji breathed through his mouth softly. Every now and again, a particularly heavy exhale would send droplets spiraling outward, to land on a smooth, scarless chest. Not that he noticed, for the feelings kept his eyes obediently closed in an eerie display of pleasure.

His head was cradled in a pair of hands that guided it back, exposing the aristocratic expanse of his pale neck. He sighed, as he felt the wet tresses slip past the sturdy forearms and fall about his shoulders, greeting his wet back with their weight. The hands drew away slowly, as if in remorse. Stray strands clung in ways Neji's arms would never achieve, until they too fell free of the body now separating itself.

His eyes fluttered open, in upset, a small whine forming silently in the depths of his throat. However, before he could turn to look, in an attempt to follow the direction in which they had receded, the hands were back. His eyes closed on an almost silent hum, as the fingers returned, stroking back his dark hair, with a familiar sleekness.

They traced well known paths, distributing in well achieved mass, the needed nourishment.

Water followed once more, this time slipping down his skin with slick undertones. It drew down his shoulders, and over his chest. Flowing down his back, and meeting the water he sat in, where the furthest tresses swirled delicately, floating in unrehearsed design.

The hands slipped through his hair, gently separating rinse induced knots. When they were through, they moved back to the base of his head, cupping lovingly. Eyes still closed, his mouth opened blindly to the lips that pressed against his. A tongue wandered into his mouth to cavort with his own, and Neji could only reach out to brace himself against the body parallel to his.

The kissing continued, hands and tongues roaming, bodies shifting, until the water rippled against another form. Neji didn't waste any time, pressing flush against the now equally wet and exposed body. There was a moan, and the hands in his hair wound dark strands about long fingers. His own pale ones reached up to lose themselves in a shinning golden mass of wayward spikes.

The fingers in his hair tugged his head back, and his own clutched a damp scalp as lips met his throat. Sighing as they traced the water's descent down his body, Neji could feel his own lashes brush the high arch of his cheeks.

His hair slipped about them, entangling limbs and encouraging movement.

He couldn't help but moan as that sweet mouth trailed nipples and dipped into his belly button, thrusting softly.

"Naruto..." he breathed, feeling his body tremble beneath the other's knowing hands.

"Mmm..." he replied, mouth latching unto the pulse at the side of the brunette's neck.

Neji ran wet hands down the length of his lover's chest, twining the tips of his fingers about dusky nipples softly. His mouth opened once more to the hot reach of the blond's. Naruto stroked down the length of his side, welcoming skin and cleansed slick hair equally.

The water welcomed his abdomen, as he was guided to turn, and brace himself. Instead of clutching at the gleaming porcelain before him, Neji reached back, and held firmly to the hard muscles that shifted beneath smooth, tan skin. Hands swept across his back, quietly herding the wild, dark strands off to one side. The same tongue that had roamed his mouth, now descended the length of his spine, stopping to wander off every now and again to delight in the light dusting of scars that had not yet chosen to depart.

Feeling his lover touch every graze with death, each bout of heavy wounding, Neji sighed, and tipped his head back. It never failed to force his heart to swell in odd new directions. A certain taste of freedom, in each delivered differentiation from his clan. To know that Naruto didn't think he needed them. To know Naruto really didn't care whether they marred his pale skin, because each one was a reminder of another hurdle his love had overcome. Being accepted for who one was, and not who one had the potential to become, was still a new concept to the brunette. Though love, it seemed, was a new concept for them both.

"Oh!" he gasped softly, as Naruto's tongue reached the entrance to his body. His grip tightened, as the blond swirled perfect circles, each one tighter, and more focused than the last, until he at last breached the body before him. Neji's back arched, his lungs straining through his chest for oxygen.

For a while, it seemed he would fall over at any moment, but then his lover retreated. He lay across his back, to nibble at his jaw; one hand taking him firmly in hand and stroking lazily, as the other prepared him, with an equal languor.

Neji tried not to squirm at the delicious sensations, and brushed his palms against hips that were too far away for his comfort. As soon as his fingers caught the edges, he stretched and twisted, until he could grip them tightly. Naruto placed one last kiss to the side of his neck, before laying one against his temple, and withdrawing.

The elder shinobi settled his weight, near panting in anticipation, as his younger lover prepared himself, and without any hesitation, entered him. As always, it felt as if watching the dawn. The slow progression of light traversing the sky, as the blond drew back and forth. The stain of colors like the heat that flooded his blood. The wait for the bright ascent of a long forgotten deity, whose existence was necessary for all life.

Naruto was as the sun to him. Not just in form or figure, but in the unrivaled etching of necessity upon Neji's soul. He needed him near, as the moon needed the sun close. To reflect his strength until he could find it within himself, and do what no other Hyuuga had ever accomplished before. Changing the Main Branch - without getting himself killed in the process.

As the sky that stretched above them, far beyond the mere humble ceiling, Neji's life awaited. His chance at true freedom not so hard to see from this cage. For as he'd lifted his hitate to reveal his seal, so had Naruto lifted the dark cover that had engulfed him. Like a tiny bird, who'd maimed itself in search of the light, Neji had thrown away many chances. But no longer.

With each heavy thrust, Naruto renewed his promise. With each sure caress, he nurtured the seeds of change he'd settled in the Hyuuga's heart. With each loving kiss, the bars slowly rusted further.

And every time he came...

"Neji....I love you...so much..."

"...I love you too, Naruto."

Neji felt just a little freer.