(SFW, sickness, fluff)
The house was getting colder now that the moon had replaced the sun up in the sky, and for once Neji couldn’t find himself enjoying the low temperature of that Winter night. Had it been any other day, he would be satisfied with a warm cup of tea and nothing else– but right on the last day of the year, his husband had fallen down with a nasty cold and couldn’t even get out of bed for long.

He had to be warm, and Lee simply refused to be laying down for anything that wasn’t sleeping or cuddling– the brunet had to make sure he actually stayed under his blankets, and try to help him feel better. And so Neji was trying to prepare some soup, at the same time using a new recipe that the other man would probably love– a chicken curry soup. It wasn’t too hard to prepare, thankfully.

Lee probably wouldn’t eat too much, but he still decided to make a lot just in case his expectation was incorrect. He would have some once his husband had fallen asleep again– for now, he entered the room as silently as physically possible.

It was strange seeing his husband curled up in their bed, his face pale and with coughing fits every now and then, which made the brunet realize his partner was still awake. He was too tired to even look up, not even noticing that Neji had arrived until he had sat by his side.

“My dear,” the taijutsu master muttered, letting out a weak smile. There was a wet cloth on his forehead that needed to be changed soon, but for now, he had to eat something.

“Hey, Lee. I made you some soup.”

Lee immediately brightened up, standing up and grabbing the plate as carefully as he could– just in case something happened, Neji ended up holding it still, and the other man slowly eating the food without saying much– he had to focus as to not make it fall by accident, after all, and it was harder to do when sick.

He seemed happy with the soup, even letting out a grin.

“It has curry… I like it,” he exclaimed once he ate enough, deciding to get comfortable under the blankets once again. Neji got up and looked around, mentally reminding himself to bring more napkins and fresh water for his partner.

“I’m glad you do. I’ll save it, and we can heat it up if you feel hungry again,” the brunet informed, and Lee just nodded without saying anything. Carefully, he grabbed the wet cloth (which was hotter than it should now) and empty water bottles, just to go back to the living room.

After having refilled and refreshed everything (and grabbing more napkins) he went back to his husband, who hadn’t fallen asleep yet. Lee was probably waiting for him, his eyes focused on the other man and even letting out a soft hum when his forehead felt cold once again, the wet cloth placed on it once again.

“Thank you, my love,” the taijutsu exclaimed, and Neji caressed his cheek in response.

“It’s no problem. I know you’d do the same for me,” Neji replied, silently grabbing his bedclothes and changing there, just to go to the bed without saying anything at all.

“Neji… you will get sick if you stay here,” Lee commented, his voice breaking down every couple of words and giving him the necessity of coughing. The brunet offered him one of the water bottles, and he let out a soft smile before sipping from it.

“I don’t care. I want to stay by your side, Lee.”

His husband said nothing, but he ended up wrapping him with his arms, humming softly when Neji returned the embrace without saying anything at all.

"I ruined the day, and everything. I am sorry, I know you wanted to be with Hinata and your niece–"

A sneeze, and Neji used the short self-interruption to speak with him, a hand carefully holding the other man's face.

"Lee. Dearest, you got sick, you didn't do this on purpose," the brunet whispered, placing a gentle kiss on each of Lee's cheeks. "There's time to visit my cousin and her kids, but now, you have to get better first. I don't want to leave you alone when you're like this, and I won't."

"But I am a Jounin. I can take care of myself," Lee protested with a pout, giggling as he received more kisses.

"And? You're my husband, I'm going to help you when I can. Also… you literally can't get out of bed. Stop trying to act all though."

A chuckle, and then Lee let out a long yawn before getting comfortable on the bed, ready to continue sleeping– Neji decided to imitate him, but his brain didn't want to let him rest.

He felt tired, and almost fell asleep on the spot, yet his gaze fell on the dark night sky before tiredness could take over. What time was it already? Neji couldn't see the clock from where he was… it wasn't needed, though.

The sky lightened up with a million different colors, and only then Lee opened his eyes and the cloth on his forehead fell, startled by the sudden noise. His partner got closer to him, caressing his shoulder with such softness that the taijutsu master relaxed once again.

"Happy new year, Lee. I love you," Neji mumbled,

"New year…" Lee repeated, scratching his stuffy nose as he talked, starting to fall asleep– before that could happen, he opened his eyes widely, suddenly remembering something. "It is Gai's birthday! Oh, I do not think I will be able to give him his gift…"

Neji couldn’t help it but chuckle, and his husband slightly tilted his head to the side in a silent response.

“I’ll give it to him, don’t worry. You have to rest,” the brunet exclaimed, getting closer to the other man just to place his lips on his boiling forehead. Lee smiled and rested his head on the crook of Neji’s neck, shifting his body closer to his.

“Thank you… I love you.”

They didn’t say much afterwards, falling asleep to the sound of fireworks and their own breathing.

… and if Neji woke up with a sore throat the following day, he tried to not let it show too much, simply waiting until it faded away with time. He didn’t want to worry Lee too much, at least not while he was ill.