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Neji was glaring at Lee, who was refusing to let go of his hand.
“Lee.” Neji groaned, his voice firm, “Please.”
“No, Neji!” Lee was quick to respond. “If I let you continue down this path of self-destruction, I could never forgive myself.”
Neji rolled his eyes, trying unsuccessfully to yank his hand from Lee’s. Lee happily squeezed Neji’s hand, giving him a bright smile.
“I am not destroying myself. I am going home.” He attempted to continue walking, only to discover that Lee had planted his feet firmly in the grass.
“You are going home to train,” Lee insisted, following Neji's movement for a few steps before realizing that Neji was attempting to drag him along with him. “You have already trained all morning, and yet you still put your weights on again after Guy-sensei dismissed us. You need to rest, Neji, and I refuse to allow you to pretend otherwise.” His expression became increasingly serious as he spoke, and Neji found himself wondering when, exactly, this had become a formal intervention.
“I was putting them away,” Neji argued, although even he could hear how unconvincing it sounded. He had planned to put them away... eventually, but he had wanted to do another hour of training before doing so, and Lee had unfortunately witnessed the entire process.
“You were putting them on,” Lee corrected, his tone gentle but firm as he shook his head. “I watched you tighten the straps around your ankles and everything.” He looked almost offended by the accusation that he might have misunderstood what he had seen. Neji stared at him for several seconds.
“You were watching me?” Neji questioned. He had been certain Lee had left with Tenten, until he had come running back to the training field and taken Neji's hand hostage.
Lee's expression brightened. “Of course! You are my rival, and therefore it is my responsibility to know when you are training!” Lee sounded so pleased with himself that Neji almost decided not to point out how strange that statement was, but he couldn't help himself.
“You make that sound much more reasonable than it is,” Neji muttered, looking toward the path that led back toward the village. His shoulders ached from the morning's training, and there was a dull soreness running down his legs that he had been ignoring. Neji would normally push through such minor aches and pains but, unfortunately, his teammate had decided that any amount of discomfort was now grounds for forcibly preventing him from doing anything productive.
“You also haven't eaten since breakfast,” Lee added, still holding his hand.
"Why do you know that--"
“--Tenten and I were going into the village to get something, and we thought you might come with us.” He glanced toward the road before looking back at Neji, his expression softening. “We invited you earlier, but you said you were busy, but training more is not busy, Neji!”
Neji frowned as he tried to remember the conversation. He vaguely recalled Tenten asking him if he wanted to come into the village, but at the time he had been focused on his training and had assumed that his response had been enough to end the matter.
“I did not realize this was an invitation that required physical restraint.” Neji said, though his irritation had lost some of its edge.
Lee laughed, his grip finally loosening slightly. “I apologize for that, but I know you well enough to realize that if I let go, you will simply disappear back to the training grounds!” Lee exclaimed, and Neji grimaced. He could deny it, but Lee was getting uncanny in his knowledge of Neji.
“I might.” Neji sighed, agreeing with Lee, as a one-time deal only. If Neji could just get him to drop his guard...
“I knew it!” Lee exclaimed, smiling wide and giving Neji a thumbs up. He squeezed Neji’s hand again before Neji could take advantage of the loosened grip. Damn it. “That is why I always remain vigilant.”
“You are being absurd,” Neji replied, sighing at the dramatics. He was beginning to realize that escaping Lee would require considerably more effort than simply convincing him to let go, and he was rapidly losing interest in expending any more energy than necessary.
“You're tired.” Lee said suddenly, and Neji immediately averted his gaze, looking to the training fields behind them.
“I am not.” Neji huffed, tugging at their interlocked hands again. If Lee would just let go, Neji could have some peace and quiet.
“You are,” Lee insisted, and there was none of his usual teasing in his voice this time. He shifted his grip so that he was holding Neji's wrist instead, his thumb resting lightly against the inside of it. “You have been favoring your right leg for the last half hour, and you keep rolling your shoulders. You also nearly fell over when you stood up after we finished training.”
Neji's face warmed, and he looked back at Lee with a scowl. “I did not nearly fall over.” He protested passionately, using his free hand to poke Lee's chest.
“You caught yourself on the fence.” Lee pointed out, and Neji rolled his eyes.
“I was reaching for it.” He explained away, but Lee's eyebrows rose, and Neji knew immediately that he had made a mistake.
“Why?” Lee asked, and Neji hesitated. He opened his mouth, but no answer came to him.
Lee's expression softened, and Neji sighed again. The soreness in his body seemed considerably more noticeable now that someone else had pointed it out. He was tired.
“It isn't serious,” Neji finally said, his voice quieter as he glanced down at his aching leg. “I can still train.”
“I know you can,” Lee replied, and his answer came so easily that Neji looked back at him. “But you shouldn't, because I say so.” Lee squeezed his hand again.
That was annoyingly difficult to argue with, mostly because there was no logic behind it.
Lee smiled at him, although this time there was something gentler behind it. He tugged lightly on Neji's hand, beginning to lead him toward the village. “Tenten is probably wondering where we are, and I promised her that I would make sure you actually came.”
Neji allowed himself to be pulled along for several steps before speaking again.
“She was involved in this?”
“She agreed that you needed an afternoon off.” Lee explained, expression sheepish. Neji sighed again, dragging his feet as Lee tugged him down the path.
Of course she did.
“Fine,” Neji said eventually, though he kept his tone reluctant enough to make it clear that he was not admitting defeat. “I will come with you.”
Lee's face immediately lit up, and Neji could already tell that he was going to be insufferable about this.
“Excellent! I knew you would make the correct decision once you were given sufficient encouragement.” Lee gave his hand another enthusiastic squeeze before finally letting go, and Neji resisted the urge to rub his wrist where Lee had been holding him. He took a small step back, while Lee took a step forward.
“I agreed because arguing with you is exhausting,” Neji explained, slowly walking backwards. Lee marched forwards, oblivious. “Do not mistake this for an acknowledgment that you were right.”
Lee laughed, and Neji could hear the smile in his voice when he answered. “Of course not, Neji. I would never take away your dignity by suggesting such a thing.” Neji laughed a little. There was a considerable distance between them now.
“You are going to tell Tenten that you won.” Neji complained, speaking louder than normal. Lee kept walking forwards.
“It is another point for me in our rivalry, Neji!” Lee shouted, and Neji grimaced because if he was still that loud from far away, being next to him would have been torture. Neji shook his head, but despite himself, the corner of his mouth lifted.
Lee continued to walk towards the village, and Neji continued to walk backwards. He knew Lee would notice eventually, which is why he hadn't made any effort to hide himself. He was only prolonging his suffering, but it was entertaining.
Neji watched as Lee finally noticed that Neji had stopped responding, saw him look left and then right, and then finally behind him. Neji waved, then turned around, and started running.
He was laughing as he heard Lee's thunderous steps approach from behind. Lee tackled him hard, sending them spilling onto the grass in a mess of limbs. Lee grabbed Neji's hand again.
"I can't believe you, Neji!" Lee wailed, and Neji was laughing helplessly, breathless. "I am never letting go of you again!"
Neji tried to argue, but he was exhausted, and let Lee start dragging him back towards the village without too much of a protest. Lee kept up a rant as they marched through the village, and Neji mostly tuned him out.
Soon, Tenten appeared ahead of them, leaning against the wall of a small restaurant with her arms crossed. She raised an eyebrow when she saw Neji walking beside Lee.
“I was starting to think you two had gotten into a fight,” she said, pushing herself away from the wall as they approached. “Although, judging by your clothes, I suppose you did.”
“Lee tackled me,” Neji explained flatly, looking at her with an expression that he hoped conveyed the full extent of his suffering. “He seems to believe that I am incapable of making reasonable decisions.”
“He's not entirely wrong.” Tenten smirked, and Neji glared at her. She started walking toward the restaurant's doors with with them. “That's why I'm making sure you actually eat something.”
Neji sighed as he followed them inside.
He still thought they were being ridiculous. His soreness would fade, and there was no reason that he couldn't have spent the afternoon doing something productive.
But when he sat down at the table, letting his tired legs finally relax beneath him, he had to admit that the warmth of the restaurant and the sound of his teammates talking around him felt rather nice.
“You look comfortable,” Lee pointed out, his smile smug enough to make Neji immediately suspicious.
Neji picked up the menu and deliberately refused to look at him.
“I am just tolerating this.” He huffed. He hid behind the menu as he couldn't quite fight back a smile as he heard Tenten and Lee start to laugh. He gave a theatrical sigh.
Perhaps being saved from himself wasn't such a terrible thing after all.