So... what started out as a one-shot has turned into a short story. I can never write something short.

THIS IS YOUR LEMON WARNING. MINORS BEWARE.

EDIT 2018: Oh wow. This is... actually kinda cringey. Forgive me guys, I wrote this way back in middle school. I'm not gonna delete it, but wow. I was one horny teenager.

She had just gotten out of the shower and felt so...so…exhausted… An entire four days without so much as a lunch hour! The hospital was running her into the ground with this war. Sakura could hardly think. The first thing to do when she got home was to tear off her scrubs and crash on her bed and sleep. Regardless of the bloodthat still stained her skin in some places. Not good for the fabric, mind you, but she had been too exhausted to think properly. Dammit, she hadn't been able to think properly in 48 hours! She didn't even think of the stains of the blood on her sheets when she woken up. There had only been thing on her mind: A nice soothing shower.

It had been too long since Sakura's last shower, and she felt like the walking dead. She scrubbed every inch of her body until the skin was pink and flushed. She took extra care to clean out the blood under her nails and in her hair. Sakura tried not to watch the rusty colors swirl down the drain, reminding her of all the terrible hours she had spent at the hospital.

'Why must they always spurt their blood all over us?' Inner Sakura complained. 'Do you realize we get squirted with blood more times in a day than most of the other medics in a week?'

'If those damn ninjas would stop struggling they wouldn't be damaging their arteries so badly.' Sakura thought. 'But noooo, they are ninjas. A couple bursting arteries are noooothing to worry about. They say their fine while their blood covers my arms!'

It took her nearly forty minutes before she was satisfied that all traces of blood and gore were gone. Getting out of the shower, she pulled her towel around her and stared at her face in the mirror. Kami, she looked like hell. There were dark circles under her eyes and her lips were stuck in the form of a grim line.

She lifted the sides of her mouth for a moment. There, now she didn't look so somber.

Now if Sakura remembered correctly, there was still a piece of cake in her refrigerator from four days ago. Yes, she sometimes had fresh food in her house. Not that that happened often anymore. She practically lived at the hospital now. Sighing, Sakura opened the door of her bathroom and padded down the hall towards the living room and the kitchen.

Knock, knock!

Sakura glanced at the door. What now Ino? The one day she had taken off from the hospital. If they were here to ask her to go to the hospital, she was going to scream. Sakura padded across the carpet towards the door and opened it.

"What do you want, Ino?" she asked curtly, the cool breeze from outside came in and caressed her warm and damp skin. Sakura was surprised to find a rather shocked Hyuuga there. "N-Neji-san..."

Neji stared down at her in surprise, for once not dressed for battle, but in civilian clothing with bandages poking out from beneath his shirt around his right shoulder. Sakura was amused to see a bright blush on his cheeks. Never thought I'd see the day the ice cube blushed! She mused. As she wondered what was making him blush, Sakura gasped, blushing deeply herself.

'Holy hell!' Inner Sakura screeched.

"S-Sakura." Neji said, trying to keep his voice stern, and failing. Sakura could hear the awkward pitch in it, and it made her blush deeper. "Did I- Did I interrupt anything?"

'Not a thing.' Inner Sakura said appreciatively. 'Come right in sexy man!'

'Hush!' she thought angrily.

"If you couldn't tell, I just finished taking a shower." She laughed nervously and clutched her towel tighter around her naked body. "Come in. I hope you don't mind waiting while I… get dressed." Smooth. Very smooth.

'Unless you want to rip off this towel right here and now and ravish me like-'

'Oh my god you sex-deprived pervert stop thinking that right now!' Sakura thought desperately.

Sakura let Neji in and closed the door behind him. She had never had Neji in her apartment before. Never thought she would. Neji stood in the area that connected the kitchenette, the dining area, and the living room.

"Please; Sit." She motion to the sofa. "I'll, uh, be back in a moment."

Neji glanced at her and then away quickly, the blush creeping back into his cheeks.

Sakura blushed again, and hurried into her room. When she closed the door behind her, and sighed and leaned against it. She just knew this was the beginning of a bad day. Walking over to the closet, Sakura dressed as quickly as possible. Smoothing the red material of her dress, Sakura quickly yanked on her black leggings and strapped a kunai to each thigh, as she did every day.

She was pulling her hair into a soggy ponytail as she walked back down the hall towards the living room.

"So- um… What did you need, Neji-san?" she asked him.

'Maybe a massage? Or…sex?' Inner Sakura thought hopefully.

'I am ashamed to be connected to you.' Sakura mentally scowled.

He glanced at her, his eyes quickly scanning her body. Sakura tried not to blush, knowing that if he had done it a few seconds ago the only thing that would have been between her bare skin and his eyes would have been a towel. Not a comforting thought.

"Lady Tsunade assigned me a mission." He stated, crossing his arms. The look in his eyes told Sakura that he didn't appreciate the mission he'd assigned.

"What's this mission have to do with me?" Sakura asked him as she walked into the kitchen and pulled out some juice.

"I am to make sure you do not go within 25 meters of the hospital, and that you stay here, at your apartment, to rest." Neji answered.

Sakura turned back to Neji and stared at him, placing her glass of juice not so gently on the counter. "You're kidding."

"You're right, I am." Neji shrugged.

Sakura sighed in relief.

"It's more like 50 meters away from the hospital." Neji said.

Sakura stopped herself from choking on her juice just in time. "What?"

"I don't like it either." Neji said in his serious voice. "I think it's a waste of resources. I should be at the war front, fighting beside my comrades. I'm a shinobi, not a babysitter, no offense, Sakura-san."

Sakura glared at the counter. "She's actually having someone watch me? To make sure I- ugh! She's- She's- ugh! That woman!"

Neji watched nonchalantly as the fire rose in Sakura's eyes.

"You're right, Neji-san." Sakura said. "It is a waste of resources. So you can go-"

"I'm not leaving." Neji cut in. Sakura looked up at him.

"What?" she asked.

His eyes were stubborn. "The Hokage gave me a mission, and no matter how I may disapprove, I will obey."

Sakura shook her head. "She's gone too far." She muttered. "It's not like I've spent the week there. I've only done that twice."

Neji's eyes widened. "You spent an entire week working at the hospital without resting? Are you insane?"

"Not quite yet." Sakura muttered as she sipped her juice. "Stupid Tsunade… Don't tell her I said that."

"Um… I won't." Neji glanced at her, studying her.

Sakura glared. "Stop that."

"Stop what?" He blinked in confusion.

"Stop studying me." Sakura told him. "And if you are, don't do it so blatantly."

'She's lying.' Inner Sakura said as if Neji could actually hear her. 'Keep looking at her like that. Undress my dear friend with those x-ray eyes of yours!'

'Shut up!' Sakura mentally gasped.

Gods she was too tired to deal with this. But how bad could it be? It would only be one day. And Neji was the strong silent type, so it wasn't as if she was stuck with a chatterbox like Naruto or a pervert like Kakashi. She could handle one day.

"Just one day, right?" Sakura asked him quickly.

"Two days." Neji corrected. "Then I'll be fit to head back to the frontlines." He rolled his injured shoulder experimentally, hiding a wince, though Sakura could see the way the skin around his eyes tightened in slight pain. If she were to guess, he had probably severely pulled a ligament in his shoulder using one of his Kaiten.

Sakura's thoughts strayed to the war, a pang of frustration and sadness rushing through her. The war was touching nearly every facet of life in Konoha, in all the hidden villages in fact. If she wasn't in Konoha slaving all day at the hospital, she was at the front, rushing from one medic tent to another as she pieced back various shinobi piece by piece. At this point, she'd probably seen more severed limbs and eviscerated men than most medics ever got to see in their entire lives. Contact between the Konoha 11 was virtually nonexistent now, with everyone split up and scattered throughout the war effort. She rarely got to see Ino as it was, and Ino had stayed behind to be a medic ninja for the last month.

"That's fine." Sakura nodded. "I plan on resting for the rest two days anyway."

Neji looked at her skeptically, a rare sign of emotion. "Not from what I know of you. You're a well-known a workaholic."

Sakura glared. "So are you."

Neji blinked. "Yeah, I guess."

She threw her hands in the air. Communicating with an ice cube was pointless. Sakura drained the last of her juice and washed the glass out with water before placing it on the dish rack. Then she walked around Neji and headed to her room. He followed her into her room and watched as she began removing the sheets.

"Ew." Sakura said as she spotted a light red stain on her pillow. "Great. Just great."

"What is it?" he asked, though he failed to hide the disinterest in his voice. Sakura had to give him credit for trying to be friendly.

"Got blood all over the sheets." She muttered.

Neji paled, and when Sakura saw the look on his face she laughed. "I meant from the hospital. I got sprayed with blood yesterday and I was too tired to wash last night. Most of the blood was dried, thank the gods, otherwise my sheets would be ruined."

"Oh." Neji said, his face becoming unreadable.

'Unless you had other plans for the bed?' Inner Sakura snickered.

Sakura turned back to her sheets, rolling her eyes and mentally smacking Inner. She hated men who constantly felt the need to hide their emotions. Men like Neji, or Kakashi, or... Sasuke. Fuck, she hated his name. She hated him, and everything that he had done. Sakura closed her eyes and with great effort, pushed all thoughts of the last Uchiha from her mind. It would do her no good to dwell on that.

Gathering the sheets into a large pile in her arms, Sakura stood and walked over to where a washer and dryer were squeezed behind a sliding door. She dropped the pile in, loaded up on soap, and turned on the washer. Sakura closed the door and turned around, jumping back and knocking her shoulder against the door when she found Neji watching her no more than three feet away.

"Okay, that's just creepy." She said. "I'm not a fugitive, unless we're being technical about this, in which case I am a fugitive… Anyway! I'm not going to try and escape. This is my home, remember?"

Neji said nothing. She dearly wished he would step back.

'You can tie me up whenever you wanna…' Inner Sakura purred.

'I need to get laid.' Sakura sighed.

"And you don't have to follow me throughout my apartment and watch my every move!" she huffed.

"Hn." He said and turned to make his way to the couch.

"I hate that word." She muttered under her breath, one again being reminded of a certain raven-haired asshole with a penchant for fratricide.

'So do I.' Inner Sakura conceded.

Sakura sighed and raised her voice, addressing Neji. "If your bored, there's a bookshelf right there. Feel free to read anything you like."

She pointed to the bookshelf next to the couch, eight feet tall and filled with books. Then she turned and walked to her room. "I'll be in my room."

"Leave the door open." Neji said.

Sakura rolled her eyes but left the door open as she walked into the bedroom, and living room just down the hall, where Neji could watch what she was doing. Picking up the papers she had worked on the night before, Sakura sat down at her desk, in clear view of Neji and the living room. Then she set to work. An hour or so had past when she felt someone nudge her shoulder. Sakura's hand snatched the hand glared up at the intruder. Quickly remembering that she had a guest in the apartment (more like a guard), Sakura dropped Neji's hand as if it burned.

"Sorry." She said flatly. "Instincts."

Neji rubbed his handing, thoughtfully. "Nice grip. You're definitely Tsunade's student."

Sakura grinned without looking up at him. Oh yeah. She was Tsunade's student. Any lesser man would have yelled in pain at Sakura's grip.

"Did you need something?" She asked him, remembering that he had intruded on her thoughts.

"I was right when I said you were a workaholic." Neji said as he peered at the papers on her desk. "Those are for the hospital, aren't they? What is it? It looks complex."

"Did you need something?" Sakura asked again.

Neji nodded towards her bookshelf. "They are all academic books. Mostly medical. Very boring."

Sakura laughed. "I used to have the more interesting kind. But when I was training with Lady Tsunade," -such painful memories- "she forced so many of those books at me that I had to get rid of the others to make room."

'I kinda miss those days…'

'Sadist.' Inner Sakura teased.

"The subjects of those books," Neji said, "They are a lot like what we have to study as Hyuuga. To learn how to use the Byakugan. Body systems and chakra reactions and such."

Sakura nodded. "I would imagine. If I have the time someday in the future I would very much like to study the Byakugan and other talents like it."

'Nerd.'

'Did I ask for your opinion?'

'Too bad, I give it to you anyway. Like, I think Neji is super hot and sexy and if he could take off his shirt…' Inner Sakura swooned.

'I need a therapist.' Sakura shook her head.

Neji glanced at her. "I doubt the head of the clan would allow that. The Byakugan is our greatest weapon and secret."

"Ah, I am not surprised." Sakura shrugged. "Oh well. Maybe the clan leader will have changed by the time I get around to it. With the amount of work I have to do, I probably won't get around to it for another couple years."

"Is it a lot of work working at the hospital?" Neji asked her.

Sakura laughed. "Lot's of work running the hospital."

Neji frowned. "You run the hospital?"

"More or less." Sakura shrugged. "Tsunade practically ordered the head medic to do answer to me, so yes, I run the hospital now. But if you're referring to titles, I'm still titled 'senior medic' instead of 'chief'. I hate both titles. Makes me sound old."

Neji smiled a little. "No one's going to mistake you for being old."

Sakura recognized the look in his eyes. He inadvertently complimented her. And his eyes were appreciating her as they spoke. She grew uncomfortable. Sakura never saw herself as anything more than pretty. Nothing beautiful or gorgeous or heart-stopping. She didn't know why men always took an interest in her and she didn't like the attention.

'Mm keep looking at me like that, boy, and I might just jump you.' Inner Sakura sighed.

"So," she interrupted the moment. "Um, you can go get one of your own books if you want. I promise not to leave the apartment."

Neji looked at her skeptically.

"What?" she asked. "Look, I've been chained to that hospital for four days straight without even five minutes to doze. I'm not going to run back there on my only day off for the next month."

Neji sighed. "Fine. But if you step foot out of this apartment, I will tie you upside down on a tree."

'Kinky.' Inner Sakura laughed. 'I see you like it rough.'

'Omigodshaddup!'

Sakura gaped. "That's just disrespectful."

And then Neji had the nerve to smirk at her.

'Oh you sexy beast-'

"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" she yelled at him, practically pushing him out the door.

"I'm coming back." He reminded her just as she shut the door in his face.

Sakura huffed. Men! What was with them? And that bastard just smirked at her! Doesn't he know that no man in this village gets away with smirking at her? Does he realize she could drop kick him all the way to the Hokage tower? She did it to Naruto from her apartment once. Tsunade had commended Sakura on her aim (right through the Hokage office windows, cha!).

"Where's my squirt bottle?" Sakura cried as she flew into the kitchen, remembering the days she had used it on Kakashi (who now knew better than to read his porn in public places). Neji would learn never to smirk at her! "Emotionally stunted, frigged bastards! All of them!"

~:D~

Neji sighed as the door slammed in his face. Well, this was an unexpected turn of events. He had just been kicked out of Haruno Sakura's apartment. Who would have thought that would ever happen? Better yet, who would have thought he'd be inside her apartment in the first place?

He quickly laid a minor trap that would alert him if Sakura set foot outside of her apartment and transported to his rooms in the Hyuuga compound. Grabbing a couple scrolls and books from his room, Neji walked back onto the porch. Just before he was about to transport, a soft voice called him.

"N-Neji…s-san…" Hinata walked up shyly to him.

"What is it?" he asked in a stern voice.

She avoided his gaze. "U-Um the… t-the clan e-elders wanted t-to s-speak to you. Whenever y-you had t-the time."

"Thank you for telling me. But I have mission regarding Miss Haruno right now, and the mission takes priority." He knew Sakura was one of Hinata's friends. At the mention of Sakura's name Hinata's eyes lit up and she actually glanced up at Neji.

"Sakura? What kind of mission is that?" she asked, amazing Neji that she spoke without stuttering.

"You know I'm not supposed to discuss missions." He reprimanded.

Hinata's eyes slid downward as her meek demeanor returned. Neji sighed. He never tried to intimidate her. He just- he didn't know how to soften his words around her, like everyone else seemed to be able to do.

"If you must know, your friend Sakura has been working overtime at the hospital and the Hokage has decided to ban her from the hospital for two days." Neji scolded himself for giving in so easily to his little cousin.

Hinata's smile returned and she managed to look him in the eye. "She always does that. Looking out for everyone but herself."

"Yeah." Neji's eyes became distant as he remembered the forlorn apartment in which the objects had all begun to collect a fine layer of dust.

"She really needs someone to take care of her. But that girl is just so independent and stubborn." Hinata's eyes shone with admiration.

Neji watched Hinata's distant gaze. It seemed that Hinata didn't stutter whenever she talked about Sakura. How curious.

"Well, I should be getting back to her apartment." Neji said briskly.

There was a mischievous glint in Hinata's eyes, but it was gone so fast that Neji thought he had imagined it. "N-Neji-san, I want to w-warn you about the e-elders!"

Neji stopped and turned to her.

"They are l-looking to m-marry you off soon. They think that you a-and I have waited too l-long to find a spouse." Hinata turned red. "S-so if w-we don't want to end up in a-arranged marriages, we need to find a s-suitable arrangement."

Neji winced. He knew this day would come. "But I thought you were dating Naruto?"

Hinata hung her head. "He's f-fighting in the w-war. And h-he and I are not engaged…so in the minds o-of the elders, I am still s-single. They are thinking o-of marrying me t-to a wealthy clan heir in the Wave country."

Neji clenched his fists. If the elders did that, not only would all of Hinata's friends be outraged, but Naruto would probably destroy anything standing between him and Hinata. And those damn elders were going to try and arrange a marriage for himself as well? Neji never thought about marriage before, but he didn't want to end up with some woman he barely knew.

"Everything will be fine, Hinata." He assured her, but the lie was hollow.

Hinata glanced at him. "B-but you don't even have a girlfriend! The elders have given us the r-rest of the year to find a spouse before they make their decisions."

Neji's frown deepened. That left six months. And even though there were plenty of willing women in the village that would kill to marry him, Neji was not a romantic. How was he supposed to find someone he could love in just six months?

"Will Naruto be back in that time to ask you to marry him?" Neji asked.

Hinata's face turned red and Neji thought she would faint. "I-I hope s-so. Could you a-ask Sakura for m-me?"

Neji nodded and began to turn away.

"Sakura's love life is just as bad as yours." She mused softly, making Neji stop from teleporting once again.

"Why do you say that?" he asked her, turning to face her.

"O-Oh, it's just that almost every man in the village wants her and yet she pays them no attention." Hinata's finger fiddled in anxiousness. "I think she's blind to anything concerning romance, heh." The shy girl gave a wry smile at that.

Neji lifted an eyebrow but his face remained impassive.

"It would take an equally strong and stubborn man to match Sakura." Hinata's eyes glinted again with that mischievous light, but again it was gone before Neji could contemplate its meaning.

Neji watched her for a moment, looking for any more signs of deviousness, but her face remained distant. She wasn't going to clue him in on what she was planning. The shy girl from his childhood was getting bolder. With a sigh, Neji turned away from her for the last time and teleported back to the front steps of Sakura's apartment.

~:D~

There was a knock on her door for the second time that afternoon, and Sakura immediately recognized the surging chakra signature behind the door. She often forgot that Neji was just as powerful as Naruto (without the demon's powers), or Kakashi, or….Sasuke. She shook her head and went to open the door, the door opening inward and hiding the weapon in her left hand. Neji was standing there with a couple scrolls and books in his arms. She stared into his pale eyes, creamy white with a lavender hue. Pretty, if he would stop glaring at everyone around him.

"What are you doing, moving in?" she asked him sarcastically.

He 'Hn'-ed and Sakura allowed him to walk past her and into the living room, setting his things on the coffee table in front of her couch.

"Wearing clothes this time, I see." He said with his blank voice.

Sakura blinked in confusion for a moment before his comment registered, and she narrowed her eyes dangerously. The audacity! Who does he think he is? She held up her weapon and aimed at the back of his head. Then she pulled the trigger and fired.

"What the-?" Neji twisted to face her and found himself staring at the barrel of her… squirt bottle.

Sakura grinned at him maniacally as the water began running down the back of his head and into his ponytail. "Ha! That's what you get ice cube."

Neji glared at her and put his hand to the back of his wet head. "Are you insane?"

"Slightly." She shrugged with a grin, glancing at the squirt bottle in her hand. "Man, I should have used this way back when with Sasuke! I certainly worked on Kakashi and Naruto. That'll keep their perverted mind out of the gutter." She laughed.

'Of course she's insane.' Inner Sakura scoffed. 'She has me in her head! Not that she ever listens. If she did, she'd have gotten laid a long time ago!'

'And I'd probably have a couple diseases as well!' Sakura mentally snapped back. 'You sex-deprived idiot.'

Neji stared at her as if she was psychotic. With the amount of time she spent living off of pure will and soldier pills, maybe she was a bit unstable. Not that the idea bothered Sakura with her new-found weapon.

"You will dry my hair." Neji ordered.

Sakura lifted an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"You made this mess." Neji crossed his arms and glared at her. "You will dry my hair now."

Sakura's arm shot up and her finger twitched on the trigger. The tiniest bit of water squirted into his face. "That's for ordering me around."

Neji glared.

She giggled and turned to walk down the hall to her bathroom. "You coming?" she called back.

Sakura waited for Neji to follow her into the bathroom, plugging in her hair dryer and pulling her hair brush out of her drawer. Neji walked in and stared dubiously at the hair dryer. Sakura stifled a smirk.

"Come on, where's my strong Hyuuga?" she laughed. "Now turn and face the mirror. This'll only take a minute."

Sakura pulled out his hair tie and gently brush through his hair for a moment. She found herself marveling at its volume, shining like dark chocolate in her fingers. There were women who would kill to have such hair at such a long length. When let down, Neji's hair came to his butt.

'And what a nice butt it is!' Inner Sakura marveled.

'I want you to stay silent from now until he leaves.' Sakura ordered firmly.

'Fine, you're on your own.' Inner Sakura waved her hands. 'Don't do anything I wouldn't do!'

'That's a short list.'

'Hehehe.' Inner Sakura faded from her mind.

Sakura turned on her hair dryer and began to methodically dry the layers of Neji's hair. Gods she would have killed him for this hair when she was younger. Although now it was illogical for a ninja to have such long hair. That's why Sakura kept hers short. She wondered why Neji didn't cut his.

'The world would end the day Neji cuts his hair.' She mused. 'And I like it this way…'

Wait, had she really thought that? Shaking her head, Sakura focused on finishing her hair, which dried quickly. When she glanced up to see what Neji was doing, she saw his reflection in the mirror. He had his eyes closed and his face was peaceful.

'He likes this!' she thought with a mental snicker.

Sakura shut off the hair dryer, and Neji's eyes flew open.

"Thank you, Sakura-san." He said, his voice sending shivers down her spine.

"Um, no problem." She smiled at him in the mirror.

He turned and stared down at her. Sakura glanced away and walked into the hallway. He followed her to the living room, where he went to his books and scrolls and began to read. Curious, Sakura walked up to his sitting figure and looked over his shoulder.

"What are these?" she asked.

Neji shrugged. "Just some things I'm working on."

Realizing he was concentrating too much to tell her about it, Sakura shrugged and went to her room to finish her papers. Another two hours of working in a comfortable silence, Sakura finished all the paperwork. Stretching her arms up and arching her back, she felt her spine pop. She cracked her neck and rolled her shoulders to loosen the muscles. She always tensed up when she worked on paperwork. Sakura let out a sigh.

Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt hands place themselves on her shoulders. "What the-?"

Neji looked down at her, his eyes warning her to shut up. As his thumbs began to knead her shoulders, Sakura relaxed. She moaned in appreciation and leaned into the massage. If only she had someone doing this for her when she worked at the hospital.

Leaning back, she tiredly put her head against his abdomen and rested it there as he finished massaging her shoulders. She groaned sadly when his hands left her shoulders. Her eyes slowly opened and she remembered that her head was still leaning against him.

Sakura sat up. "That was wonderful!"

She looked up and saw that Neji was glancing nonchalantly at her papers. His cheeks seemed a little pink, but Sakura thought it was just the poor lighting in her room. Neji Hyuuga doesn't blush!

"I gotta take these to the Hokage now." Sakura sighed.

"That's a large stack of files there." Neji commented. "Need help?"

"I can manage." Sakura laughed softly and gathered the papers in her arms. "I promise not to go near the hospital."

She walked to the door with her arms full, and Neji held the door open for her to walk through, and made sure she made it safely down the steps of her apartment before he let her headed back to her apartment.

It only took a few minutes for her to deliver her papers, get a five second scold from Shizune for taking work home on what was supposed to be a vacation, and grabbing a couple candies on her way back to her apartment. Sakura's mind was blissfully blank in that time, and for a moment she could forget about the damned war. Popping a candy into her mouth, she smiled and opened the door to her apartment.

Neji was sitting at the table, concentrating hard on the scrolls laid around him, looking intimidating with his brow scrunched and his pale eyes somehow looking dark. Sakura walked up behind him and laid her hand on his shoulder to try and get his attention. Under normal circumstances, Neji would have probably jumped up and been angry about being snuck up on. Yet he was too focused on the papers.

Sakura could feel his tense muscles in his back and shoulders. Hard as rock, and not in a good way. They probably hurt a lot, and he was probably steadfastly ignoring the pain until it crippled him. Sakura sighed.

'Damn tough guys. Then it's up to me to put them back together.' She fondly thought of Naruto and Kakashi.

Placing her gentle fingers on his back, she began to send minute shots of chakra into the muscles as she pressed her fingers into the knots of his muscles. Neji seemed to come back to himself and his head whipped around to look at her. His mouth opened as if he were about to protest, but Sakura loosened a particularly nasty knot in his right shoulder, making him relax.

~:D~

Neji shut his mouth and turned back to his work, letting Sakura commence with her ministrations. He couldn't help but sigh, and was a little disappointed when her slender fingers removed themselves from his shoulders.

"I should have you do that after every mission." He muttered. Without warning, a mental image appeared in his head of him returning home from a mission with a kind woman that looked suspiciously like Sakura waiting for him, a hot dinner on the table, and her hands on his back as he pulled off his mission gear. It startled him so much that his breath caught in his throat.

Sakura's laugh was lovely. "Only returning the favor, Neji."

She sat down next to him and glanced at the papers. "See? I'm not the only workaholic. If I remember correctly, you weren't supposed to work during your little 'recuperation' time either."

Neji glared at her smug look. "Hmph."

Sakura chuckled and suddenly he felt a squirt of water in his face. What? He hadn't seen that squirt bottle in her hand when she had sat down next to him! Where did that thing come from?

"Ha!" She laughed and danced down the hall towards her room. "Gotcha!"

He growled and stood up to chase her.

Sakura's eyes widened and she ran quickly down the hall. Neji tackled her as she flung herself into the room. Somehow that girl held onto her squirt bottle and was laughing as she kept squirting him. This only made Neji angrier. He wrung his long hair out on Sakura as he straddled her.

"Stop!" She gasped. "My sheets!"

Suddenly they were quiet when they realized they were in a compromising position on top of her bed, where they had landed.

"Uh…um…" Shit, how does he explain this?

Suddenly Sakura's finger accidentally poked Neji's side while she struggled underneath him. Neji jerked. Sakura stilled.

There was a dangerous look in her eyes. "Neji…" she spoke slowly.

Neji went still, dread creeping up his spine. She knew his secret!

"Are you…" Sakura glanced mischievously at him. "Ticklish?"

"Psh, no." He scoffed.

"Oh really?"

For a ninja with lightning quick reactions, Neji reacted too slowly as her fingers suddenly shot at him, lightly tickling his sides. He fell off her and backwards off the bed, laughing despite his anger at himself. Sakura leaped over him and began tickling him. And- goddammit!- he was laughing.

"Is Neji Hyuuga actually laughing?" She asked in disbelief. "Will wonders never cease?"

"Damn you Haruno! Gerroff!" He tried to yell between gasps.

She smiled and to his surprise, she obliged. Holding out her hand to him, Neji allowed her to help him to his feet. He glared stoically down at the petite pink haired kunoichi, yet her gaze and mirth never wavered. Neji found himself smiling for the first time in... well, he couldn't actually remember the last time he had smiled so easily.

"Satisfied?" He lifted an eyebrow at her, unable to hide the glint of amusement in his eyes. "You have found my weakness."

Her hair was rumpled and her clothes skewed yet she didn't seem to notice. Even he had to admit she looked… pleasing, in such a state. Sakura smiled at him for a moment before gasping and turning to her bed. "Aw! You got my sheets wet!"

'That did not sound right.' He thought, mentally slapping himself. Sometimes he forgot she had an innocent mind, even if she was constantly handling the near-dead men at the hospital.

"It's you fault for using that accursed squirt bottle, you demented woman." He muttered. "Where is that damned thing anyway?"

Sakura smirked but didn't give him a clue. Neji rolled his eyes. "Fine then. Go get ready for bed. It's almost ten o'clock."

"Seriously?" Sakura looked at the clock on her nightstand. "Whoa, I hadn't realized… Wait, you aren't staying here, are you?"

"Of course I am." Neji stated in a serious tone. "I was charged with making sure you stayed here for the next 48 hours. And to make sure you don't try to work on any more papers during the night."

Sakura glared. "Hell. No."

Neji raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"It's just- that's so- ugh! It's- do you even realize how inappropriate that is?" She asked, her cheeks flushing.

Neji thought back to their… 'intimate' moment just a few minutes before, trying to keep the memory of her body under his out of his mind. "I'll sleep on the couch."

Sakura glared. "Well obviously there's no way you're changing your mind, and I doubt you'd take kindly to me throwing you out of here…"

Neji gave her an exasperated look.

"Fine. There are some blankets in the closet in the hall." She spat.

He shrugged and went to get a blanket while she shut the door behind him to change. Neji knew that the Hokage would understand if he didn't spend the night in Sakura's apartment. It didn't matter as much as he'd made it sound. But Sakura was a curious girl. And for some reason, he just wanted to stay.

~:D~

Muttering about the emotionally stunted men in her life, Sakura changed into her pajamas, a simple t-shirt and loose fitting pant that hung low on her waist, comforting in her lazy/sexy look. Her shirt was tight fitting enough so that it wouldn't be tangling at night, and hugged her curves in the process. With her loose pants riding low enough that there was a strip of skin peeking between the pants and her shirt, along with Sakura's rumpled state, she knew she looked as Ino would call 'just had hot sex' look.

Grinning at herself in the full length mirror on one side of her room, Sakura swiped a brush from her dresser and brushed out her short hair. Then she walked back into the main area of her apartment, through the living room and into the kitchen for a glass of milk before bed.

Neji was still reading something, leaning his back against the couch which already had two blankets slung over it and some extra pillows. His papers were scattered around him as he frowned into the writing. He had taken his hair out of its ponytail to let it dry from Sakura's squirt bottle spree.

Sakura couldn't stop herself from letting out a giggle.

Neji turned to glare at her. "It's your fault." He said grumpily.

Sakura waited until he turned away before she allowed herself to smile. With his hair down, it surprisingly made him look manlier. Her fingers twitched to run themselves in those thick locks again and she blushed at herself as she imagined her own fingers running through those chocolate strands.

'Geez, and Inner Sakura isn't even behind it this time.' She sighed mentally.

'Maybe you should try walking up behind him and licking his ear-'

'Do. Not. Finish. That. Thought.' She frowned. 'Didn't I tell you to go away? Take a vacation? Una siesta? Just go!'

'But Neji is so… mmm just wanna…' Inner Sakura swooned. 'He's hotter than Sasuke now, I swear! Just… to touch his…'

'You pervert!' Sakura mentally slapped her Inner.

'I WAS GOING TO SAY HAIR DAMMIT!' Inner Sakura rubbed her head. 'Now you're the pervert! Ha!'

'This is getting us nowhere!' Sakura wondered if Neji would notice if she randomly smacked her forehead. Because Sakura really had the urge to do that right now.

'Your fault. Not mine.' Inner snickered. 'Now. Go. Make. A. Move.'

Sakura sighed but agreed with Inner's thoughts. It had been too long since Sakura involved herself with anything remotely romantic. Besides, it's not like Neji would notice, and even if he did, he probably wouldn't mind. Right?

If Sakura learned anything about guys like Neji, Kakashi, and Sasuke, it's that even with their intellect and powers, they were still just as naïve about females as Naruto. Neji probably wouldn't even notice. It was worth a shot, right? Just some casual flirting. Nothing more.

Nothing.

More.

She turned to put wash out her glass in the sink before joining Neji in the living room. As he scanned the scrolls in front of him, Sakura sat on the couch beside him, looking down at his head as he sat on the floor. She casually placed her hand on his shoulder, letting him know she was there so he wouldn't be startled.

"What are you working on, anyway?" She asked him, leaning over his shoulder.

"Old Hyuga records." He mumbled, almost incoherent. "It's a long and boring process. Which is why they give it to me."

"Because you're a long a boring process as well?" She asked teasingly.

He looked at her and scowled, only to have her grin at him. Neji shook his head at her. "Ha. Ha. Very funny." He rolled his eyes.

"Oh, now he's sarcastic." Sakura laughed and playfully patted Neji's head.

"Hn."

There was that word again. Hn. Sakura felt her eye twitch in annoyance, thankful Neji was too busy concentrating on his scrolls to notice. She sighed and picked up a some of his hair, toying with it.

"What are you doing?" He asked her curiously, though his eyes never left the document in front of him.

Sakura came back to herself. "Oh!" She tried to stop from blushing. "Sorry. I- uh- was just thinking…" I just wanted to see if it was as soft as it looked...

"And playing with my hair." He stated sternly as if to stop her from forgetting.

"It's pretty." She huffed and crossed her arms.

Neji stared at her for a moment, his mouth twitching as he obviously fought to control the smile invading his lips. Finally he seemed to give up and turned away with a small smile, shaking his head. Sakura stared.

"I said something extremely stupid, didn't I?" Why were the past few seconds of this conversation a panicked blur? Oh right. Because she panicked. And as usual, said something stupid.

"It's… amusing." Neji said in his stoic manner.

Sakura glared, and as if he could feel her eyes burning holes in his neck, Neji turned around to catch her gaze. He gave her a questioning look.

"Do not call me amusing." She said.

"Why not."

Sakura scoffed. "It's demeaning."

"Oh?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Yup."

"I see."

"Dammit are you doing this on purpose?"

"…Yes." Neji quirked an eyebrow at her, and grinned like a freaking Cheshire cat.

Sakura fell off the couch and stared at him, pointing a finger at him. Neji's eyes twitched in annoyance as he glared at the accusing finger. But she was too busy being frightened at the wicked grin that had flashed on his face a few seconds before.

"WHO ARE YOU? WHERE IS THE REAL NEJI?" She screamed.

"Would you be quiet?" Neji grimaced.

"…" She simply stared.

"What now?" he asked testily.

"You… Kami! You literally grinned!" Her heart was having palpitations. She was going into shock. The sight of his grin kept playing over and over her head. Be still my beating heart!

'Oh he's so sexy! Just let me have a go with this boy and-' Inner Sakura made grabby motions with her hands.

"Yes, I am capable of smiling." He snapped, still glaring at her pointing finger. "Would you take that out of my face?"

Sakura lowered her arm, still sprawled on the floor. Suddenly she was in front of Neji. He pulled away but she grabbed his shoulders and pulled him forward. His eyes widened as…

Sakura pulled his cheeks. "So… you really are capable of those kinds of expressions? They don't make you burst into flames? Do you feel joy as well?"

He glared and pulled her hands off his face, his cheeks snapping back into place. Sakura was still staring at him like a child stares at a strange animal, wondering whether or not the animal is safe to poke. And just like that, she poked his cheek.

~:D~

'This is one of the most absurd situations I've ever been in.' Neji decided as he jerked her arms away form his face. 'Do people really see me this way?'

Sakura's wide green eyes were staring at him, her lips pursed in an 'o' shape. It annoyed Neji how cute she looked. Wait. He did not just think that. Erase that right now! He did not just think that.

"Sakura," he began. "For the second time tonight… Get off me."

She eeped and stumbled back, once more falling on her rump. Neji had the strange urge to laugh. Sakura scowled at seeing the amusement in his eyes, before embarrassment crept onto her face as she realized her behavior.

"Um, let me go make some tea." She muttered.

Before she could get up, Neji stood and held out a hand to her.

"Thanks." She said, not looking into his eyes.

"Only returning the favor." He smirked.

Her eyes flicked towards him, narrowing as she decided on whether to be annoyed or not at his smirk. Then Sakura brushed past him and went to the kitchen. Neji was surprised she even kept tea in her bare house. The girl lived at the hospital, only coming to this house when she was kicked out. This was the reason why Neji was now 'assigned' to keep her here, although he knew Tsunade was just using this 'mission' to keep Neji from pushing himself and heading back to the war front.

'Fate works in strange ways…' He thought as Sakura came into the room with a tea tray on which sat a small kettle and two cups. Neji cleared the table his scrolls had been laying on, rolling all of them up carefully before setting them neatly beside him. The books he had brought were bookmarked and stacked next to the scrolls.

Sakura looked very elegant as she sat across Neji at her low table, pouring the tea with a serenity Neji only thought Hinata possessed. Her lids were lowered, eyelashes casting shadows on her cheeks in the light of her room, the darkness of the night outside amplifying the way her skin shone. Sakura's skin was the kind many would compare to porcelain. But porcelain was cold and unreal. Hers was always slightly flushed, strength and energy hidden beneath its fragile facade.

'What would the clan elders think I brought home a woman like her?' Neji thought a bit roguishly.

He took his cup from Sakura's hands, his grazing her skin for a moment. He liked the feeling of her hands as he put the cup to his mouth and sipped. Sakura followed suit, her eyes distant. Neji studied her.

"I know what you're doing." She spoke without looking at him. "I thought I asked you not to do it so blatantly."

Neji smirk. "You asked me not to study you. I prefer the term 'observe'."

Sakura scowled at him as they finished off the tea. She took the tray back to the kitchen and he went back to work. Neji felt her presence walk by him silently to her room, where he eventually felt her chakra levels even out into a peaceful and steady thrum. Around this time Neji placed his work down and lied on her couch, closing his eyes as he marveled at how her chakra soothed those around her even while she slept.

~:D~

Sakura woke up and stretched lazily. In a few seconds though, she remembered she was not alone in her apartment. Sighing that she had to actually dress appropriately (not to say she dressed inappropriately when she was alone in her house, just- never mind!) Sakura pulled her robe around her and went to the kitchen.

Surprisingly, her presence did not seem to disturb the sleeping Hyuuga one bit. She would have thought he'd be more alert to the presence of others near him while he slept. Then again, Sakura knew some ninjas who could wake at the first sign of danger and yet sleep even if their friends spent an hour trying to wake them *cough* Kakashi *cough*.

Finding an old box of pancake mix (and it wasn't even expired yet! Whoo!) Sakura began to cook. After all, she deserved a little luxury in her time off/imprisonment. She couldn't help but to hum while she cooked, remembering what her mother had done. Swaying her hips to the beat slightly, cooking seemed somehow easier than usual today.

"I could get used to this." Neji said absently as he sat at her dining table with a book in hand. "Wouldn't mind waking up to this in every morning…"

Sakura frowned. "That was my plate."

Neji's eyes shone with an invisible smirk. Sakura snorted. "Jerk."

He shrugged.

"And put that book away! You'll get food on it." Sakura turned back to her cooking and made herself another plate, since Neji had claimed her first one. What a gentleman. Not.

She sighed and turned to bring her plate to the table, sitting across form him. "Did you hear what I said?" she asked threateningly as she glared.

Neji sighed and placed the book on the chair next to him.

"Thank you." He said after his first few bites.

Sakura stopped and glanced up at him. "Oh. Um. You're welcome. Anytime!"

"You're saying I can have you make breakfast for me anytime then? Just drop in?" Neji asked. He sounded so serious that at first Sakura had missed the joke.

She blinked as it finally caught up to her. "You're hilarious." She said flatly, which somehow made him laugh. At his laughter, Sakura dropped her fork (and her mouth), which cluttered to the floor. Cursing, she bent to pick it up.

"Cursing in the morning already?" Neji lifted a stern eyebrow.

"You. Actually. Laughed." Sakura stared. "And I didn't have to tickle you!"

Neji practically hissed. "Do not…ever… tell anyone about that."

She smiled impishly and winked. "Of course not. Your secret is safe with me."

Neji's face was doubtful. "Are you ticklish Sakura?"

Her face heated up. No! But she saw the look in his eye. He was about to pounce. "You will not catch me!" She vowed as she lurched out of her chair and towards the hall that led to her room.

But before she could slam her door shut, Neji was on her, tripping her so that she thudded to the carpet. The pain was unbearable as he began to lightly poke her sides, tickling her and making the laughing painful. The bubbling laughter made her limbs jelly and she was unable to push him off long enough for her to escape.

"No! Stop!" -giggle- "This is" –gasp-"completely unfair!" she tried to roll over but he was too strong. "You" –giggle-"bastard!"-pant-"WHERE IS MY DAMN SQUIRT BOTTLE!"

"You have to admit, Sakura, you had this coming." Neji said solemnly, considering he was currently tickling Sakura to death as she suffocated on giggles.

In a sudden surge of strength Sakura heaved Neji off of her and began to tickle him as well. "Ha!" she cried in triumph. "Revenge is sweet!"

Neji became frustrated as he tried to stop from laughing, but even he could not stop his body from twitching and jerking away from her quick fingers, his sides aching from the combination of laughing and fighting back.

"I. Simply. Rock." Sakura stated as she flopped onto the floor next to him. They stared at the ceiling, panting.

"Jerk." Neji muttered.

"I know you are but what am I?"

"Such a child."

"I know you are but what am I?"

"Insane."

Sakura paused. "Maybe. I prefer the word 'genius'."

Neji groaned. "Now you sound like Shikamaru."

"Don't compare me to that lazy ass." Sakura chuckled. She turned her head to face him and found he was staring at her too. Red flushed her cheeks and Sakura stood up quickly to try and diffuse the awkwardness.

Neji followed the action, but of course romantic moments never allow Sakura to escape. The blood rushed to her head from standing too quickly, and she stumbled back. Neji caught her back and lowered her to sit ungracefully onto her bed. She heard him chuckle above her and opened her eyes to find him standing beside her on the bed and she sat on it.

"That was unpleasant." She muttered.

He sat next to her. "Sure you're okay?" He leaned in too close for comfort.

Neji still had his hair down from the previous night and Sakura began to play with the strands in her nervousness. His eyes softened and she realized he actually enjoyed the way she fiddled with his hair.

'That's… sweet.' She thought.

"I'm fine." She answered.

He watched her fingers in his hair for a moment, then whispered, "Sakura…"

She jerked and felt a shiver shoot up her spine. "N-Neji?" she whispered.

And wonder of all wonders, then Neji shivered. His hand reached up to grasp hers, pulling her fingers from his hair, the silky strands falling gracefully from her fingers in an almost poetic way. Sakura forgot to breathe.

'This… what is this? Oh god if I start hyperventilating this will be so embarrassing-

'Chill girl! Just relax!' Inner Sakura mentally thwacked her.

Sakura curled her fingers around his, which were callused and used, yet slender and elegant. Strong hands. Beautiful hands. She didn't even realize she was now smiling until she noticed Neji staring at her.

He squeezed her hand and her heart stopped.

'This is not what I felt for Sasuke.' She thought with wonder. 'How could I have known… that this was how it was supposed to feel?'

Sakura squeezed his hand back and saw his eyes flicker to their hands, back to her eyes, and then over face. Every place his eyes touched her felt like a chaste butterfly kiss on her skin, leaving it cold and tingling, but in a good way. Her own hand was trembling too much to even notice his was trembling as well. His face was gorgeous. Smooth, not too pale, stubborn eyes that were softer in this moment than she could have ever imagine. The look on his face was something she thought she'd never see, let alone directed at her. And somehow it felt so right.

Where had those lights come from? Were those the voices of angels singing coming from somewhere? Why was the world suddenly so bright? There was a noise in her head, like music, drowning out all her thoughts, and yet- everything was silent. She waited for the dream to end. For her to wake up.

It never came.

Neji's eyes landed on her lips and her breath hitched. Her own eyes went to his lips and somehow her other hand had woven itself into his hair on the other side of his face. His other arm was wrapped around her middle and oh- it felt so… right.

At the command of some invisible force, they both bent forward. His lips were worn, not soft. Lips of a man who fought. They were warm, not cold, as his demeanor sometimes was. Hesitant, not his usually commanding self. Yet he would not pull away. But that was fine with Sakura.

Because she didn't pull away either.

He licked her lip and Sakura couldn't stop herself from giving a soft sigh as she answered his request. His lips crashed back onto hers, desperate in their need to show her what he was feeling. She slipped her own tongue in and began press against Neji as-

"Oi!" Knock! Knock! Knock! "Hey Sakura-chan! I'm back! Let's go find Hinata!"

DAMMIT NARUTO!