You always thought Neji Hyuga hated you.

He never spoke unless absolutely necessary, and even then it was in clipped, flat tones. He didn’t spar with you unless ordered, and he certainly didn’t stick around afterward. You tried, at first—offering conversation, joking with him during missions, even bringing him tea once. But the quiet rejection in his gaze was louder than any words.

So, you stopped trying.

And that should’ve been the end of it.

But on a solo mission gone wrong—poisoned kunai, a fractured rib, and far too much blood—you woke up in a Konoha hospital with Neji sitting at your bedside, arms crossed, eyes dark with something unreadable.

You blinked. “Neji?”

“You’re awake.” His voice was hoarse. Tired.

“You… stayed?”

He didn’t respond. But he didn’t look away either.

“You don’t even like me,” you said softly, smiling faintly despite the ache in your side. “Why are you here?”

Silence.

And then—

“I never said that.”