Archive of Our Own ^beta

Lee knew he was the tallest of their class. It wasn't a fact that ever really came up, aside from occasionally getting things down for people, and even that was rare. He was only a bit taller than his teammates, but both of them were older than him! He silently took pride in being taller than his rival, in having to look down to stare into those white eyes.

He would never say that out loud though. Not just because Neji would either roll his eyes or beat him up over it, but because he knew it was a stupid thing to feel even the slightest sense of arrogance about. Maybe it was because of his upbringing, his constantly being told that there was nothing he'd be better than anybody at, but that small something made him feel proud.

“See Neji, even if I do not beat you, I have my own reasons to stay happy.” He had said, grinning as they both washed up after a spar, Neji barely looking his way as he spoke. “I'm sure you do.” Was the clipped reply he had gotten.

As they grew, Lee liked that he stayed the taller of the pair. Gai regularly took their measurements to mark it on their files, and he would always bounce on his feet happily seeing that he kept that centimeter on Neji. Of course, as he got to truly know the other boy, and their friendship grew deeper, it mattered less to him, but it was still there.

By the time they were proper adults, or at least Neji was, with Lee's eighteenth on the horizon, the Hyuga had reached the same height as him, which made Lee frown. “Remeasure us, Gai-sensei! That cannot be right!” He insisted, frowning slightly.

He stood back to back with Neji, who let it happen. “172 centimeters each.” Gai repeated, smiling as he jotted it down. “You two are on the same level in more ways than one.” He joked, but Lee just huffed softly.

“Neji, how and when did you get so tall?” He asked, eyeing the other boy over, leaning down to squint at his sandals as if he expected to see shoe fillers. “So tall? Lee, I only grew by one centimeter.” Neji replied flatly, raising an eyebrow at his rival. He had the nerve to look amused, which only served to make Lee bristle more.

The black haired boy crossed his arms as he stood up straight again, shaking his head, forcing a grin as Gai moved on to measure Tenten. “Nevermind. It does not matter. What does matter is that I will not let you best me, Neji! I will run more laps than you today, I swear it!” He said solemnly, eyes burning with their usual light. “And more of anything else you do as well! Pushups, situps, kicks, punches, I will eat more than you at lunch! Everything!”

Neji rolled his eyes good naturedly, meeting Lee's eyes, which were on the same level now. They had been for a while now, but both of them were conscious of it now. “Have fun with that, Lee.”
–

After the war, Neji needed lots of help with his physical training to get back on his feet, and who better to help than Lee? Sure, it had taken a lot of convincing with how much he had violated his own rules during his own healing process when he was younger, but it was trusted that he wouldn't let Neji do the same.

So, Neji was staying in his house, recuperating. Sleeping in his bed while Lee took the couch, needing help with all of his stretches to make sure his muscles didn't lock up. Even the best medicine couldn't make sure his chest fully healed on its own, especially with how close Neji's injury had been to so many of his vital body parts.

“Come on Neji, you have to make sure to get up and about at least once a day! We do not even have to run laps, we can just jog them! …Or maybe walk them?” Lee tried, pulling the blanket off of Neji, who was refusing to get out of bed, his mostly healed scar on display.

He groaned, covering his face with his hands. “Do we have to do this so early, Lee?” Neji complained, peeking from between his fingers to pout at the other man. “The sun just got up, and you want me to get up now?”

Neji groaned as Lee wrapped an arm around his torso, careful around his scar, and lifted him out of bed, forcing him to stand. “Come on, I'm healing, can't you cut me some slack?” He asked, moving to stretch even as he continued to complain.

“You have been healing for months now Neji, I think you can handle a morning walk. It will do you some good!” As he lifted his arms, wincing as it tugged on his injury, Lee blinked, his brows furrowing as he suddenly noticed that Neji seemed a bit bigger than usual.

He eyed his rival over, licking his lips as he took in his shirtless state before shaking his head, berating himself for being a pervert. It was probably just because of his home cooking, it was doubtful the Hyuga clan was feeding Neji as well as Lee was feeding him now after all.

Lee nodded to himself, moving to his dresser to change, Neji grumbling beside him as he also got dressed, which made him chuckle.
–

Neji was definitely doing better after a few months living with him for certain. He got back to his usual activity level, helping Lee with his household chores sometimes. Lee smiled gently when he watched the other man dusting, the domestic sight making his heart flutter.

It seemed that not living with his family had really let Neji spread his wings a bit more, with Tenten and Gai both commenting that he seemed way happier lately. Neji didn't spend all his time hanging around Lee's apartment, of course, but with his injury, even mostly healed, he wasn't fit to stay an active shinobi either.

So, he was retired young, and spent most of his days loitering around his friends and cousins. Days wasted away as Tenten worked on the property she'd bought, handing her brushes as she turned it into a real shop, or with Hanabi and Hinata, chatting about nothing.

Neji seemed happier this way though, and Lee was thrilled to be part of why, to be giving Neji a place to rest his head and provide him with a warm meal.

Like right now, as he tried to cook dinner, grunting as he looked around for his step ladder. Neji had put away the groceries and had chosen to put their ground pepper in the highest cabinet for no reason, no amount of jumping letting Lee reach it.

The step ladder seemed to have vanished as well, nowhere in sight. And even worse, the counter was wet, so he couldn't crawl up to grab the pepper either. The stew he was making was almost finished, just needing its final touches, so this was a real pain.

The door opened, Neji smiling as he returned from a day at his clan compound. “Lee, you wouldn't believe what Hinata-” He cut himself off as he saw Lee on his tip-toes, reaching up. “Do you need help?” He asked, walking over.

Lee blushed faintly, straining up to try to reach the pepper. “It is way too high.” He grumbled. Neji walked up behind Lee, standing flush against him and reaching it easily, sliding it into Lee's hand. He smiled warmly, breath hot against the other man's ear. “Here you go.”

Lee's whole body went stiff at that, his face blazing red as Neji did. That. He hadn't noticed that Neji had gotten so much larger in the past few months. Sure, he'd gotten a bit stockier, a little taller, but feeling him pressed against him like that was something else entirely.

“Ah. Thank you, Neji.” He forced himself to say, shaking slightly as he moved to season the stew, stirring it in as he tried to process what he was feeling. “Would you finish stirring this, actually?”

Lee glanced at Neji again, looking up into his eyes, blushing again as he took in his faint stubble, his soft, warm smile, everything about him that was so… Neji. It was too much for him to handle at once. “I need to go to the bathroom.”

With that, he quickly scurried off, slamming the door behind him. He blushed red, heart hammering in his chest. ‘Stop it, get it together, Lee!’ He berated himself, splashing water in his face. Neji wasn't supposed to make him feel… Like this. He hadn't felt this way in a long time.

Taking a deep breath, he stared at himself in the mirror and nodded before turning on his heel and marching back out. With a laugh that was a little too high, he took the spoon from Neji's hand and smiled, bringing it to the other man's mouth to taste. “Sorry about that. I, ah, almost had an emergency?”

He tried for an excuse, shrugging as Neji moaned softly as he took a sip, his eyes shutting as he tasted it. “It is not too spicy, is it?” Lee asked, Neji quickly shaking his head. “No, it's perfect.”

Lee couldn't take his eyes off of Neji as they sat on the couch and ate the stew over rice, Neji digging in like he hadn't eaten in days. Seeing his rival eat his cooking so greedily always made Lee feel happy, since Neji had always picked at food in the past, insisting he need to stick to some strict diet his uncle had for him.

Neji was definitely growing into himself now, that was for sure. Lee let himself stare for a moment, eating his own food with gusto. When did Neji become such a man? Not in the literal sense, but in that he looked so much more bulky, more tall, more… everything. It made Lee feel his stomach flip as he thought about it, his cheeks going red again.

He looked away as soon as Neji looked at him, licking his lips. “Can I have seconds?” Neji asked meekly, seemingly unaware of Lee's inner turmoil.
–

Neji didn't know why Lee was acting funny all of a sudden. As if a switch was flipped, his former teammate was a bit flinchy, always staring, always giving him odd looks. He wasn't sure what that was all about. He fretted over it a bit, worrying. It had been a month since his PT had ended, and it crossed his mind for the first time that maybe Lee wanted to kick him out.

The thought of that made his blood run a bit cold, his jaw tensing as he walked back to Lee's apartment from Tenten's. Sure, he was unemployed technically, but he did his best to be a good housemate. Besides, Lee wasn't the type to just kick him out. He wouldn't do that.

Neji shook his head to clear it, running a hand through his hair as he unlocked the door and let himself in, glancing around for Lee. “Lee? I'm h- back.” He called, the other man popping his head out of the laundry room.

“Hey Neji!” Lee said, giving a nod and smile, which soothed Neji's nerves slightly. He smiled back, glancing at the blanket in Lee's hands. “Do you need help with that?” He asked idly, keeping his tone in it's usual even one, not wanting to sound too excited.

Admittedly, Neji found himself more and more open lately, open to his own feelings, and the ones he felt around Lee were a doozy.

“No, I was just going to hang it outside to air dry. Hopefully it will be dry before we go to bed tonight. If it is not, you can just use my blanket. I do not mind being cold for one night, or maybe I can use a towel?” Lee said, rambling a bit as he held the blanket up, Neji moving to open the sliding back door for Lee to clip up the blanket.

Neji clicked his tongue, glancing aside. “You know, Lee, I've been thinking about it. Why don't you take your bed back? I mean, I'm not injured anymore, and it's your house. I don't want to impose any more than I already am.” He said firmly, looking down to meet Lee's eyes as the smaller man hung up the blanket.

Lee went red for a moment, the brunette raising a brow at that reaction. “I, ah, no Neji, it is not a problem. I do not mind you using my bed. I would rather you be comfortable while we live together, after all…” He said, stammering a bit. Neji hummed in reply, his eyes narrowing as they headed inside.

As he got ready for bed, taking off his shirt and folding it up, he yawned, looking around Lee's room. It was more like his room at this point, with how long he'd been sleeping in it, and that made him feel guilty. Even with Lee's insisting, it just didn't feel right.

“Lee, come here.” He called into the hallway, Lee popping into the room after a moment. “Yes, Neji? Do you need something?” Neji huffed softly, jerking his head towards the bed slightly as he tied his hair back into a bun, keeping it out of his face.

He looked at Lee, blushing faintly as he prepared himself to say what he was about to say. Neji had always been blunt, but this was a bit much, even for him. “Lee, I don't feel comfortable making you sleep on the couch in your own home. Maybe we can just.. Both sleep on the bed. Just for tonight, so you don't have to go without a blanket.”

Lee made a choked sound in reply, coughing into his arm to cover it up. “Neji, I am not sure that is a good idea!” He said, face blazing as he stared at his shirtless friend, toying with his own fluffy pajamas awkwardly.

“Come on, Lee, we've shared tents before on missions, it's not that different.” Neji insisted, seeing how Lee was blushing only making his own blush worse. Lee sighed, then nodded, crawling onto the other side of the bed.

Lee gave a comfortable groan as soon as he laid down, his body having missed the comforts of a mattress. “I guess you are right, dear rival.” He mumbled, Neji nodding and laying down beside him, rolling over to face Lee, staring down at the smaller man.

As Lee dozed off, Neji blinked with confusion, staring at the smaller frame of his rival. When had Lee gotten so tiny?