Chapter Text
When Lee woke, he saw bright lights and white walls, and was acutely aware of the pain in his body.
Ahh I guess I ended up in the hospital again, he thought. The last thing he remembered was reaching his 2986 one-handed pushup, only 14 away from his goal of 3000. He would have to do 300 laps to make up for it, he decided.
He tried sitting up, but hissed when he felt searing pain in his side.
“Lee!”
Lee looked to his left, to see Neji standing by his hospital bed. He hadn't even noticed his rival was there.
“N-Neji? What happened?” Lee asked.
Neji looked down at him, disapprovingly. “You passed out from exhaustion after over exerting yourself during training. I found you passed out on the training grounds,” he frowned. “You need to be more careful.”
Once, Lee would have bowed his head in shame at being scolded by Neji, but after Neji’s fight with Naruto during the chunin exams all those years ago, he had warmed up to Lee significantly. They had developed a close friendship throughout the years, and while to an outsider he might have come off as rude ot brash, Lee knew Neji came from a place of concern.
Lee frowned at the revelation that he had passed out from training again. If he couldn't do 3000 one armed push ups, he would just need to train harder! He started to get out of the small hospital bed when Neji’s hand grabbed his shoulder, holding him in place.
“What do you think you're doing?” Neji asked with a frown.
“I need to train! If I don't get stronger then I can’t show Gai-sensei and everyone the full extent of my youth-”
“You need to sleep,” Neji cut him off with a glare. “Rest is part of training, too. If you don't take care of your body you'll never be able to become stronger.”
Rest is a part of training. Lee had never thought of it that way before, but if his eternal rival said so then it must be true.
“You're right!” Lee exclaimed. “I will rest right now! But only if you promise to spar with me as soon as my body is back into its youthful shape!”
“Fine,” Neji rolled his eyes. “Now get some rest.”
“Right!” Lee closed his eyes and put his head back on his pillow. If he couldn't fall back asleep in 5 minutes, he would do 600 squats when he woke again!
It seemed his tactic worked, because, in minutes, Lee felt the gentle warmth of sleep overtake him. He was about to fully submerge himself in slumber when he heard an exasperated sigh and footsteps come near.
What was Neji doing? He thought sleepily.
Then he felt a soft pair of lips on his forehead, gentle and warm. Oh.
The kiss only lasted a few seconds before Neji broke away and placed a hand against Lee’s cheek.
“Sleep well, Lee,” he whispered, then turned a exited the small room.
Lee was glad his rival had left quickly, because if he hadn't, Neji would have seen the bright red heat in Lee’s cheeks.