Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Lee found himself alone in the training grounds, but he didn't care– the sun had just started to appear in the sky, and his team hadn't even shown up yet, so he had some time to warm up on his own, doing push-ups and laps around without a break. That simply was his usual routine, and lack of company wouldn't change that no matter what, even if no one was there to force him to rest when he went too far.

He had been up since… well, he couldn't quite remember, but it had been pretty early. His exercise routine was demanding, and that was the best way to do it all. Energy was one thing that never left his body, and Lee would use it to its fullest.

The boy had been given a chance to fulfill his dreams as a ninja despite his chakra disability, and nothing would get in the way between him and his goals; it was bad enough that Gaara had kept him out of work for months, the left part of his body becoming weaker than it had ever been– he had to start from scratch once more, and a year had just passed, yet his limbs were still a bit frail.

Lee wouldn't allow his muscles to worsen, even if it meant waking up before the sun to do countless push-ups, flexes, and fighting training dummies until his bones broke down. Until his fingers bled, and blisters formed in every corner of his skin, scratches all over him; that's what he had to do without being able to use any kind of ninjutsu, a miraculous opportunity that Gai had given him as a reward for all his hard work. He would make his teacher proud, who had adopted him to protect him from his own mother… life hadn’t been kind for a while.

Not everyone was lucky to have been born as a prodigy in a prestigious Clan, like one of his teammates had been– Neji was one of his kind, praised by everyone for his neverending skills and talent in ninjutsu, someone who constantly tried to challenge him to fights and other senseless things— clearly inspired by their teacher and his husband, who were always goofing around them without worrying about anything, unfortunately being an example for the brunet and his weird one-sided rivalry.

At that point, the brunet was mocking him, or so it seemed in the taijutsu master’s eyes; his companion excelled at everything he did, never being beaten by any of his teammates through the years they had been together, barely sweating or getting injured in the process. 

And he had the audacity to smile through everything as Lee ended up on the ground without fail, offering him a hand and telling him, ‘You’ve done a good job!’ or ‘You’ll get me next time!’ with that loud voice of his. Trying to motivate him to get stronger, or something like that– but in Lee’s mind, those words felt like an attack of sorts coming from him, the only one in their team to get promoted from Genin to Jounin thanks to his collaboration to defend Konoha from Orochimaru’s failed invasion attempt.

He knew the older boy was a good ninja– smart, strong, and kind. But that didn’t take away his compulsive ideas of punching that handsome smile of his away in an attempt to make it stop.

Lee denied with his head, ignoring his own thoughts by focusing on punching the training dummies instead of focusing on such things. Neji was his friend, even if he hadn’t been the nicest teammate to him in the past, all because the brunet had special abilities and not only the typical jutsus. He had been envious of him for the longest time, and sometimes such feelings still bloomed, albeit unprovoked as they always had been.

His hands destroyed his fake enemies with ease, and a sigh escaped from his lips– breathe in, breathe out, repeat until his rage faded away. Focusing on the air reaching every corner of his soul, the sounds of the forest and the warmth of the sun, his mind clearing up...

Gai had taught him some exercises to soothe his heart whenever things got too turbulent with his mother or life itself, and it always worked for him. It had been hard in the beginning, like any new skill, but Lee found himself at ease once more after some heartbeats. His fingers still tingled with the remainders of anger boiling his blood, yet he continued relaxing himself no matter how long it took, not even realizing the wind had changed with the arrival of someone new to the training grounds.

“Leeee, I'm back! Let's fight!”

Of course, things never went how the taijutsu master wanted them to; his rage had just begun to leave his soul alone when the loud greeting took him by surprise, a frown appearing on his face once his teammate embraced him without wasting time, almost vibrating in his arms by sheer joy. Holding him so close that Lee felt Neji's warmth emanating from his skin, his tired panting on his ears.

“Neji, welcome back. Are you not tired from being away for so long?” the younger boy muttered, trying to push his companion away with a groan– but he didn’t want to let go, and soon Lee gave up, knowing well he wouldn’t get away if his friend didn’t allow it. “Hey… I am busy, I just started to train. Go away.”

“I’m tired, but I like spending time with you, rival! I’ve missed you so, so much,” Neji exclaimed, his hold on his rival becoming stronger for a moment before letting go, and Lee realized he was flapping his hands by mere joy– he tended to do such gestures sometimes, whenever his feelings were way too intense, good or bad, and it seemed to calm him down so nobody said anything. If anyone complained or mocked him behind his back, all members of Team Gai made sure they regretted it on the spot, and the Hyuga would never know. 

Though, the taijutsu master could see his companion wincing immediately after, and he could see some cloth falling beside his wrist; observing him a little more, Lee realized that his teammate's clothes were painted with red in some parts, and his eyes widened.

There was a trail of blood from where his companion had come from, and it got worse closer to his leg, and even his

“You are wounded, Neji. Why were you running so fast? You need to see a doctor!” he exclaimed, and Neji only rolled his eyes, hiding the bandages underneath his robes once more as if nothing had happened.

“I'm fine, I'm fine! I just wanted to see you, rival– you're my friend! I missed you,” the brunet said in an attempt to reassure him, yet it didn't work. Without thinking it twice, Lee picked him up, starting to run towards the village as fast as he could; Neji didn’t know how to react for some seconds, leaning into his arms with a little pout on his face. “But I can walk… you don't need to worry so much, grumpy.”

“Neji, you are bleeding! A lot! Of course I will worry! And– and you helped me when I needed it. Please, let me return the favor.”

For the first time since they had known each other, there was silence. Nothing came out of the Hyuga’s mouth, and that made the trip easier; Sakura scolded him for fifteen minutes as she put stitches on his arm and leg, her face red with anger and even Tsunade herself had to come in to fix things, that’s how bad Neji had fucked up.

The taijutsu master remained by his side through the process, holding his unharmed hand as the medical ninja worked– he let out a little smile for the other boy, trying to comfort him and receiving a mesmerized look in response. That distracted his companion from the pain, thankfully.

“Lee, your mission for now will be to take care of him. I know he’ll reopen his wounds if nobody’s breathing under his neck!” the Hokage ordered without delay once clean, new bandages covered the Jounin’s wounds, and Lee simply nodded. “And Neji, don’t do anything stupid until you heal!”

“But– but Hiashi will force me to train anyways. He won’t like this…” was all he muttered, lips trembling with every word.

Nobody spoke for a couple of heartbeats, the air becoming tense after; there was guilt on Tsunade’s face, guilt due to being unable to do anything to change the Hyuga Clan’s traditions without the elders’ support, and Sakura seemed to want to leave the room soon. Lee just sighed and offered his arms to his friend, not receiving any complaint or comment or… anything. Neji’s stare seemed blank, emotionless.

“You can stay with my dads and me, you know? Besides, that will be easier than convincing your uncle to allow me to stay with you for a long time,” the taijutsu master said, trying to cheer his friend up and only receiving a quiet nod in response.

“I’m… please, don’t tell him where I’ll be,” Neji whispered to the medical ninjas accompanying them. “He– he won’t like this. Please…”

“We won’t, Neji. That’d be a breach in patient and doctor confidentiality, so if he asks, we’ll just tell him that,” Tsunade replied with a thumbs up, and only then did the brunet seem to relax, reassured by something legal instead of empty words.

“Just rest. You’re in good hands!” Sakura added with a smile, and Lee playfully rolled his eyes. “He’s a good chef, did you know that? His cupcakes are the best!”

“Oh, that was my deepest secret, Sakura! How dare you betray me like that?”

There was confusion on the Jounin’s face as the two laughed, teasing each other to no end– his usual missions kept him away of the village for long, and Lee’s ceaseless training lead him to the hospital many, many times. The best way to spend his time there was to talk with the doctor-in-training, so a friendship had bloomed with time.

At one point, he had a crush on her, back when they had first met– though the girl had different… preferences than expected, so nothing else happened between them. That meant Lee had a friend like him, someone who allowed rage to consume everything from time to time yet tried to do better, someone who understood and tried to help while also working on her own things. And that mattered more than anything else, in his mind.

“It is getting late. Let us go to my home, Neji, and I will prepare a bed for you,” Lee announced, noticing that his companion was unusually quiet, hiding himself between his arms. He decided not to put any pressure, though– the brunet had enough with his uncle, he didn’t need anything else on his plate, much less when his body was in such a fragile state that any wrong movement would keep harming him. “Thank you for helping him. It is always nice to see you, and it is nicer when my bones are not broken!”

The two medical ninjas laughed and waved at them as he walked away, with Neji hugging him and closing his eyes, trusting him with everything without complaint– the Hyuga tried to look at him and talk, yet only yawns and unintillgible mumbles came out of his lips as he fell asleep on Lee, not even able to be awake until they reached their destination.

Well, that made things more complicated; he wasn’t able to prepare a futon for his friend with one hand, at least not without waking him up. The taijutsu master sighed, knowing well that the other boy needed all the rest he could get, so he decided not to disturb him in the end– he gently laid him on his own bed, not minding the closeness when he prepared himself to sleep. Not minding that Neji embraced him on his sleep, mumbling about things that nobody but him would be able to understand.

Lee had to pretty much babysit him until he got better, and he couldn’t help but groan upon remembering; he’d rather do something more challenging, worthy of a ninja, yet his friend needed help. Battling and rescuing people could wait until his teammate had healed.

Chapter Text

Darkness surrounded him as the wind hit his skin, the sound of rustling leaves being the only thing he could hear.

Not a single star could be seen in the sky that night, not a trace of light to be found; Neji was on his own, followed closely by a more experienced ninja for his first mission of that type, just in case something went wrong. He liked helping others and his village! But… he wanted to puke, knowing well what his task was.

He had killed before, to defend himself and his team– though he had never murdered someone just because it was what the Hokage ordered him to do, what was expected of him and his old porcelain hawk mask. The same one his father had worn in the past was now his own, as if the Elders were expecting his talent to pass through genes; they weren’t wrong, yet that didn’t mean he’d enjoy it.

Being a prodigy wasn’t good, in his mind. It forced him to do things he didn’t want, taking up all the time with his Jounin missions, and more specific ones due to his skills or simply because of his well-developed Byakugan. He hated being an Anbu, too– even if his targets were rogue ninja or threatened his home’s safety, blood strained his hands no matter how hard he tried to clean it off.

Fear was all his future victim had on their face, though they didn’t even get to scream before his palm hit their throat, killing them on the spot. The more experienced Anbu jumped from her hiding spot and nodded at him, quietly taking care of the corpse and teaching him how to do it as well.

“I’m sorry… Hare, this is so hard,” he mumbled with mumbling lips to the deceased person, unknown to him yet still deserving respect in his eyes.

“Hawk, they were a criminal. You don't need to do the same for every single life you take. It'll make it worse for your mind,” his senior said, placing a firm hand on his shoulder as she talked. “Let's go back to the village. You're bleeding… it seems like their trap worked as intended.”

Neji couldn't speak anymore, his words refusing to come out of his mouth– he was thankful for his mask as his teammate wouldn't be able to see his tears, at least not for now. How was he supposed to go on? His chest felt heavy and he only wanted to puke.

~

He woke up with something falling through his cheeks, and it was hard to open his eyes. It took the brunet some long seconds to recover his breath

A sweet smell reached his nose and his stomach grumbled– only then did the brunet realize how hungry he was, and his first instinct was to open his eyes and look around with a sob, searching for the source of the aroma… though, he found himself in a room that wasn't his own, but it was familiar nonetheless. 

There was a lot of training equipment on the ground, and lots of photos; pictures of Team Gai and the remainders of Team Kakashi, images of nature and stunning sunsets. That was all he needed to relax, recognizing Lee's camera resting on a shelf in mere seconds, and a sigh escaped from his lips as he rested his head on a pillow once more.

Of course Neji was there. It wasn't uncommon for Team Gai to have sleepovers, and their mentor gladly took them for some days in case something went wrong at home, despite having shared a bed with his rival… Neji felt his cheeks becoming warm upon the thought of being held by the other boy, denying with his head in silence and simply getting up, drying his remaining tears before doing anything else.

The door was open, and he could see Lee preparing something in the kitchen, humming with a little smile on his lips; no traces of anger or disgust in his face, just pure joy of doing what he loved. It seemed almost… wrong to observe him like that, but the brunet enjoyed seeing his friend being happy without feeling judged, enjoying his hobbies in peace. 

His cheeks warmed up again against his will, and it was worse when his rival turned around to see him, his smile turning into worry in mere seconds– Lee dropped everything he was doing to rush towards him, an arm wrapping his waist to stabilize his steps, and only then did Neji realize his left leg was a bit wobbly. 

“I thought you were still asleep, I– Please, Neji, you need to be more careful. Do not rush. Let me help you,” his rival said, his gaze softening with every word, and Neji felt a nice warmth on his chest upon noticing.

He was just trying to support him with his injuries, and the brunet's instincts were doing nothing but worry the other boy. So instead of arguing and complaining, Neji allowed his companion to guide him to the table and make him comfortable on a chair, serving him a piece of cake and some tea. Perhaps that was where the nice smell came from.

“... sorry, I got hungry. Thank you for the meal, Lee,” was all he mumbled before eating, though he was still too shocked from his bad dream to bother to act joyful as always. His rival observed him for a moment yet decided not to ask about it, at least not then.

“That is fine. Just remember your wounds next time, alright? It will feel worse if they open up again.”

It was still strange to hear Lee being caring towards him, no hate behind his dark gaze– so the brunet didn't even know how to respond to his kindness, not used to it yet. Though there was no need for talking as they ate together in silence, with his friend casually watching over him and giving him another piece of cake when asked. He wasn't in the mood to speak anyways, still tired from the memories of the previous day, fresh in his mind. His lips trembled, the heaviness on his chest returning from a moment to another.

Neji wanted to cry again, but there was a person with him– he couldn’t just drop his mask fully, else there could be consequences. Feelings were bad for a ninja, and hiding behind a smile had worked for a long time, enough that his uncle deemed it well enough to not punish him for having a heart.

“What happened? Did you not like it?” 

His rival made him become aware once more of his surroundings, and Neji realized he had barely touched his food. He denied with his head and finished it, trying to smile yet his lips seemed to hurt; so he sighed and looked at his own hand, playing with the bandages in silence for some seconds.

“You're a good chef, Lee. It's just… I had a bad dream. I don't want to talk about it,” the Hyuga replied, and his friend hummed in response, though Neji didn't even look at him. He felt him leaving his side for a while before returning with fresh bandages, a little bowl with water and a sponge. “What's that– oh. You know how to clean my wounds?”

“Of course. Sakura taught me a thing or two these past weeks, when you were away. It is good that someone in our team knows about medicine, right?” Lee explained with a gentle smile, extending his hands towards the other boy, who didn't really move towards him at all.

His stomach turned against him, making the brunet feel sick– it seemed like his rival was still in love with the girl, and seeing how well they were getting along the previous day… a frown appeared on his face, though he just hummed.

“Well, I'm sure Sakura can train with you while I recover. She's also a taijutsu user. You can spar with her, too, so you're not stuck with me all day long…”

The taijutsu master simply looked at him for some seconds, unable to respond to that– he just rolled his eyes and huffed, gesturing for his teammate to get closer to start the cleaning.

“I already did some training, thank you. And also, it is now my mission to make sure you heal… I will bring you with me for my next training session. I can use you as a weight,” Lee exclaimed, using a funny tone in the last part and for the first time in that day Neji managed to chuckle, the weight inside of his chest becoming a bit lighter. “Plus, you are my rival. I will wait until you get better, so be more careful so your wounds will heal faster, okay? I still need to beat you.”

Neji nodded and only then did he get closer to his friend, until he remembered that his arm and leg were wounded in parts that… would show too much skin, more than he was comfortable showing to anyone. They were alone, yes, but still– Neji felt his cheeks warming up again, doubtful about what to do.

“Lee… you know that I'm– well, I wasn't… ugh,” he began to say, receiving a confused look in response. Words were always hard when the brunet needed to explain that. “It's just that– I think you know, but I wasn't born as a boy. So if you give me some seconds, I'll… I'll activate a transformation jutsu while you do that.”

“Oh! Of course! I forgot, I am sorry. Do whatever you need to feel comfortable.”

Now Lee was the one to blush, his eyes becoming wide upon understanding; he turned around with his back facing the other boy, humming an old song while he waited, never rushing him or trying to peek. People could say anything they wanted about his rival, yet Neji always felt safe around him with private matters, even if he outright forgot that detail about his gender at times. Somehow, that made him feel more welcome, knowing his friend truly saw him as a boy.

A couple of hand signs and his transformation was done, so the brunet didn’t feel shy now as he rolled up one of his sleeves and part of his pants, mumbling a soft ‘ready’ afterwards– then the worst part of the process began.

Lee unwrapped his bandages carefully, not even surprised upon seeing the Anbu marking on his shoulder yet kept quiet, knowing better than to make a comment about it; that was supposed to be a secret, yet everyone in the team had figured it out after the first missions, or so Neji believed. Nobody ever brought it up, yet Gai had become gentler to him somehow, worrying to no end about his safety.

“It will not hurt, so do not worry,” his companion tried to reassure him while cleaning his hands, grabbing some latex gloves from his pocket before starting with his arm, wiping off blood that came out during the night. “At least you did not open your injuries again, that is good. If it gets infected… Gosh, Neji, that would be worse. That is why you have to be careful! Believe me, I know.”

Neji flinched by mere instinct, closing his hand in a fist once he felt water touching his skin– he wasn’t in pain, yet his mind was still on edge from his nightmare earlier that morning. His palms were sweating, air barely reaching his lungs with every breath. His friend was doing the process slowly, allowing him some time before moving to a different part of his arm until he finished, letting him calm down for a bit instead of rushing.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know why I’m so nervous. You’re not doing anything bad,” the brunet apologized, not even daring to look at his friend as he spoke.

“Neji, it is alright. Your mission… your injuries are severe, I imagine something must have happened. I do not mind giving you more time if it makes you feel better.”

And so he did, even if something that should've taken ten minutes took them half an hour– but Neji felt his nerves getting better, air returning to his lungs with every second that went by. Once Lee finished wrapping fresh bandages on him, the brunet turned around and stopped the transformation jutsu in mere seconds, so his rival didn’t see a thing or even realize what he did.

Lee saved all the things he used where they belonged and going back to his side, not saying much afterwards, though he didn’t really have a chance to say anything– Neji quietly approached him and extended his arms towards him, humming when the other boy didn't push him away, embracing without saying anything at all.

A doubtful hand caressed his long hair, and the Hyuga couldn’t help but smile; Lee knew him well and had always paid attention, no matter how much he denied it in the past or treated him badly during his rage episodes. It made him feel like someone cared about him, someone apart from Gai, Tenten and his cousins. His chest felt warm with joy, a nice tingling appearing on his fingers. 

“Thank you, Lee. For taking care of me,” Neji exclaimed, letting out a soft sigh, his tense body relaxing at last. His eyes were half-closed as his rival absent-mindedly played with his hair. “Mm… Sakura did well in training you with this medical stuff. You two get along very well, don't you?”

“Yes! She is a great friend, and we are very similar. It is very easy to talk to her, you know? When she and Ino started to date, I was the first one to know– she is like a little sister to me,” Lee replied with a soft smile, and the brunet's eyes widened.

“Wait... I thought you two were together. Didn't you like her?”

That was one of the few times he heard his rival laugh from the depths of his heart, his grin reaching his ears– Neji couldn't keep looking at him, else his cheeks would turn red with such a stunning sight. God, even if he now had a chance with him, his Clan… he would definitely be killed for that ‘sin’.

“I did like her before, but I am happy to see the nice bond they have,” the taijutsu master explained, stretching his hands a bit without bothering his companion at all. “And Ino has also become my friend, and she tells me things when we have sleepovers. For example, did you know that Shino and Kiba are boyfriends now? And also…”

Neji's eyes focused on the other boy as he talked about silly rumors around the village, laughing from time to time and sharing his own ‘secret information’ as they joked. 

They chatted softly for who knows how long, yet neither of them wanted to break the hug; Lee seemed more relaxed by being able to watch over him, and the brunet enjoyed the attention, so he rested in his friend’s arms without being bothered

Though, the two boys were startled by the sound of a door opening in the house, someone running towards them in a heartbeat without wasting a single second. Kakashi's chuckles could be heard from close by, so it wasn't hard to guess who had just arrived.

“Neji! My precious student, Tsunade told me everything! Are you feeling unwell? Do you have pain somewhere? Oh, I’ve been so worried!” Gai exclaimed with trembling lips and glassy eyes, his hands resting on Neji’s shoulders as he spoke. “And Lee! I'm so glad you two are getting along, son. Your current mission is extremely important! And I'm sure your rivalry will strengthen from mutual help!”

Lee looked away, embarrassed by the sudden attention and coddling his adoptive father was giving to the two boys, yet he didn't complain about the (careful) bear hug they received. Kakashi simply waved from the kitchen and abandoned them, focusing on making a meal to share for lunch.

“Well, I am trying… I know I was not the best before. I want to do better now,” the black haired boy mumbled, and Neji couldn't help it but smile, placing his hand on top of Lee's.

“You're doing great, Lee,” he replied, receiving a surprised look from his rival. “Don't look at me like that, I'm not lying. You would've never taken care of me in the past, and now you even let me hug you!”

“Oh, so that is all you want, huh?” Lee teased with some chuckles, wrapping the Hyuga with his arms once more. 

Gai wiped his tears with a sleeve, gently patting their heads before going to help his partner with the food– the two boys remained together for a little longer, only letting go when it was time to eat. And if Neji noticed that his friend let him rest beside him at night instead of preparing a new bed, he said nothing, enjoying the affection with a quiet smile on his face.