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Team Gai was, for once, staying in an inn far away from the village for a mission that only their fists, weapons and the Byakugan could ever fulfill; spying and gathering information, which thankfully they'd already done by the time night fell over them, not being found out by anyone apart from birds and the wind. It was nice to be in a quiet place surrounded by nature, and Neji liked not needing to worry about having to deal with his uncle's so called ‘protective’ antics, as the man said instead of accepting the fact that he was actually abusive towards him from time to time– the boy was already sixteen and a Jounin while his subgender revealed him as an Omega, and so Hiashi was now trying to make him get an Alpha to slowly settle down with them, ignoring his own work field for the sake of having countless pups, of making more strong slaves with his strong genes to be used by the Main Branch however they pleased. Not caring about his wishes of being a ninja, while Neji simply dreamed of having no chains and continuing to go on missions without a worry in the world, tied to nothing and no one in the whole world.
Well, no worries except for death and severe injuries, though he already assumed that would happen some day. It was in the nature of being a ninja; wounds could happen at any time. All the candidates that his uncle approved of were quite traditional, not willing to let an Omega be a ninja for anything in the world, wanting to control his every move and breath– in a society divided by genders and secondary genders, being a female-born Omega was the worst possibility ever to happen, destined only to have offspring and to raise them. Believed to be useless for anything else.
Because even if Neji considered himself a boy, he hadn't been born as one, and so Hiashi tried to suppress his true identity; not telling a single person that he was male, in his heart and soul. And so, any potential mates degraded him, making the boy want to puke upon barely just meeting them.
Whatever, he didn't need to worry about such judgement when he was with his team, although they were all Alphas they never allowed their instincts to take over their thoughts or actions. The Hyuga had to take heat and hormone suppressors to mask his sweet scent, to avoid the most feral instincts he had of wanting to snuggle with those close to him while taking care of them all.
Of course, being a caring person was nothing to be ashamed of in a normal setting! But something deep in his heart made him submissive to the ‘stronger’ subgender, and unfortunately most enemies were Alphas or Betas, and Team Gai hadn't found an Omega rogue ninja just yet in the many years they'd been a team. So with the release of certain pheromones, they could just growl and that'd made him be afraid of lifting a single finger against them, hence why he had to suppress himself to an extent. That's the price Neji had to pay to be a ninja, and he was willing to pay it without a doubt.
His team was already used to it, and even Gai allowed him to share a room with his teammates, not worrying about any wild instincts coming to light as the three of them pretty much took heat suppressors to avoid doing anything to the brunet by accident– that night, Lee and him had to share a bed just like they'd done many times in the past, and not even once did Neji feel afraid of his rival's instincts.
Although, something was odd about the Alpha, but not in a bad way. Rather, he was… purring? And it was loud enough that the brunet heard him from his side of the mattress, even when they were looking at different walls just to stay in their own spaces. What could possibly be the source of a happiness so intense that it made his friend purr so loud? It was nice that Lee was full of joy, though it didn't allow Neji to even close his eyes. It was distracting, but in a good way.
A warmth on his chest wouldn't go away, and his soul wanted to turn around and hug his teammate, wanting to bask in the Alpha’s happiness as well… he denied with his head and cursed himself; even with heat suppressors, his most feral desires sometimes appeared without warning, and wanting to snuggle Lee was one of them by then.
“You're happy today, aren't you? You're purring, Lee. Very loud,” Neji mumbled, and for a moment the soft rumbling seemed to be more intense than it was before. “It's fine… but I can't sleep.”
“Ah, I am so sorry! It is just… I am so happy to be beside you, my dear rival!” the other boy replied, and he could imagine the smile on his lips, sharp and wide. Predictable, yet not bad.
So he was the one making Lee happy… that didn't surprise him in the slightest. After the Chunin exams took place, his rival tended to seem happier around him, and the purring wasn't so uncommon. They just hadn't had a chance to share a room after their secondary genders appeared a couple of months before, and so Neji was impressed by how loud his friend’s happiness sounded. It was soothing and nice, and– he turned around and decided to give in yo his instincts, holding Lee on his arms without a word. The rumbling was deafening now, as his head was resting right on top of the Alpha’s chest.
“It's fine,” was all the brunet said, closing his eyes. And god, when Lee began caressing his hair he felt like he was melting in his arms, his eyes closing on their own. Finally he could sleep, relaxed on his friend’s embrace, knowing well he'd protect him if something happened.