Rivals For The Hokage's Love

The Secret Is Out

Neji had taken Naruto home, not to have sex with him, but make sure he didn't stay up. After all that had happened, he knew that the blonde would be trying to avoid sleeping.

"Naruto..." Even after they had dinner and showered, the blonde simply sat on the bed, awake.

"Neji?" Tired, but still, he forced himself to look up. He never thought about himself anymore.

"You have to sleep," Neji said quietly. "If you want, I'll stay with you, but please. Please sleep."

"Okay." Seeing concern on his friend's face, was the last thing Naruto wanted, especially then.

He got into bed and turned over, but he wasn't asleep. The bed was lonely, even if he had gotten used to it, he hated the fact that there was no one for him. Out of respect, Neji had never even suggested that they share the bed, and had always slept on the couch in the living room.

Neji knew that Naruto wasn't asleep. Unable to think of any other way to achieve his goal, he slowly lifted the thin blanket, frowning slightly at how threadbare it was, and lay down behind the blonde, his arms slipping around the more slender figure to hold him reassuringly. Naruto gasped at the contact, but immediately relaxed, glad of the warm weight pressing against him. He turned slowly, within the circle of those protective arms, nuzzling up to their owner. Neji smiled softly, as he came to rest his chin gently on top of the messy blond locks. It didn't take any time at all for the newfound lovers to fall asleep, comforted by the other's warmth.

"Oi!" It was Neji who woke up first, unable to get up because of a certain head on his chest. "Oi! Naruto! You have to get up! Azuma-sensei and Kurenai-sensei are getting married today! Hey!"

"Just five more minutes..." Neji couldn't help but smile, yet he sighed and threw him out of bed.

"Shichidaime-sama," he said, playfully choosing a formal tone. "I have to insist you get ready."

"You really are troublesome...." Naruto grumbled. "Why the heck did you get so formal?"

"It did the job," Neji smirked, but his eyes softened as he helped him to his feet immediately.

"I'm going to get ready!" Naruto yelped, as he caught sight of the time and rushed away.

"That's what I was trying to tell you..." Neji smiled, as he went to get breakfast ready.

A knock came at the door, just as he set out the pancakes and honey, so he went to get it. Iruka stood at the door, holding up a wrapped bento box, wearing a surprised smile.

"Neji? You were here?" he asked, as the jonin moved to let him in, setting the bento down.

"Someone has to make sure that the idiot gets some sleep," Neji laughed, and Iruka grinned.

"Say, I want to talk to you about something." Neji nodded as they both sat down on the couch.

"Naruto... do you know who he's in love with? I mean, that's definitely the reason he's become so depressed lately. It's not healthy for him, and I'm getting worried," Iruka said confidentially.

"I knew for a while. But then... things happened, Iruka-sensei." Neji sighed. "Truth is, Naruto had always been in love with Sasuke. He had enough trouble without being accused of being a gay, so he pretended to have a crush on Sakura. It was easy, considering they were a team. I didn't know it was a sham, or I would have confessed long ago. Then, when I was revived, I could see that Sasuke loved him too. It surprised me that they weren't together. A week or so ago, Naruto told me that he'd never confess to Sasuke. He didn't want Sasuke to be with him out of pity or just under an obligation. He wanted Sasuke to love him for himself. Well, the stupid arrogant sod wouldn't think of that. Then last night, Kakashi and he were talking in the room next to the main office. We didn't hear much, but their voices were familiar so we could recognize them. What we heard was only when Kakashi raised his voice a bit, asking Sasuke if he loved Naruto. Frankly, I thought he would admit it, since he couldn't possibly know that we were listening in to their conversation. He denied it. He called Naruto an idiot, asking who in the world could fall in love with him. He said he wasn't a fool, that he didn't give a f-damn about Naruto. And Naruto heard everything. And to top it all off, that snob actually came in to meet us. I would have taken his head for a prize, but Naruto wouldn't hear of it. Okay, I lost it and yelled, I guess I mentioned that we heard everything. He tried to cut his excuses, but would you believe it, Naruto slapped him right across his face and told him to shut it. I think he realized something at that moment, because what he said next surprised even me. He said he was going to go with someone who loved him. The way he said it, I knew it was me. I was really surprised, cause he had rejected me once. Sasuke looked like he had met Kaguya alone."