The Leftovers

"You know, they say that Rome wasn't built in a day."

I.

If there was one question she hated above all others, it was the classic, "Why doesn't a pretty girl like you have a boyfriend yet?" It was a friendly inquiry, harmless, and she couldn't fault her askers. She'd asked herself the same question, too, when she was younger. This didn't stop her from snapping, "Who needs a boyfriend?"

It didn't bother her, being single. It really didn't. Just… when she held an invitation to a wedding in one hand and an invitation to a baby shower in the other, she felt terribly, horribly behind all her friends. And old.

And sometimes, secretly, when no one was looking (though she'd deny it violently), she felt rather lonely, too. That feeling was the worst by far.

Too bad it was too late now. She'd broken too many hearts, burned too many bridges, to turn around and ask one-time possibilities for a second chance. Hell, Naruto was married three years now, and Rock Lee was about to be, a fact she found both disturbing on multiple levels and deeply saddening at the same time. She'd always figured that if all else failed, she could count on Lee to be waiting. As a girl, she'd taken him for granted. She'd taken all of them for granted. Now she just wished she'd given it a try.

God, she felt old. She had friends popping out babies, friends who'd been at it for years. Tomorrow was little Hikari's second (second!!) birthday. It felt surreal. It was surreal. Where had the years gone? Somehow, she'd gone to sleep one morning and woken up in another time, with only a few vivid snippets here and there to prove she wasn't a twelve year old genin any longer.

When she started thinking these thoughts, she was at least wise enough now to realize that she was Moping, and Moping was unacceptable. She also knew from experience that the best cure was a couple of drinks at the filthiest little hole-in-the-wall establishment known to ninja-kind.

It had no name she knew of. It simply was. When one said one wanted a drink, it was implied that this was the place one was speaking of. When one said one wanted to go "out" without anything more descriptive, it was assumed that this place was the destination. It was also conveniently located about two blocks away from her apartment complex (though it was much, much further when stumbling back after closing. That had been a long night).

It had been months since she'd last been, though back before everyone had gone off and grown up on her, they'd gone almost every night. The beginning of the end had been that night when the first couple announced their engagement. Now everyone was too busy with missions that didn't exist, or planning weddings that weren't for months and months, or "But I can't drink alcohol when I'm pregnant!" when she knew for a fact that the parties in question were not with child. She was a medic, after all.

By now she was well on her way to the bar, out the front door and down a side street affectionately dubbed "rape alley" that she just might not have taken had she not been a fully-trained ninja.

Out on a main road again, and then a left and a right and now she faced a nondescript green door set in a weathered brick building. The sign above said door was so worn out it was completely illegible. It could have used replacing.

The lighting inside was dingy, probably so that patrons couldn't see how dirty the place really was. It didn't help that the peeling walls were painted an ugly shade of yellow. She didn't mind the squalor; she'd just be careful to not bring her fingers to her mouth or touch the mixed nuts.

Naruto had eaten a whole bowl of them once on a dare. He'd regretted it when he found himself unable to stray too far from a restroom for a week. Apparently, the kyuubi's regenerative abilities didn't help when it came to food poisoning. She grinned. Sure, she'd fretted over him while he was ill, but the minute he was recovered enough for a mission, her first words were along the lines of, "I told you so!"

She sat down at what had been the usual table after ordering herself, "the strongest drink you've got." After a sip, she set it down, contorting her face into a knot. It tasted awful. A few moments later, to make sure that she'd actually been right about the atrocious flavor, she sipped it again, and then again, to triple check. It wasn't long before she realized she was sipping on air, so she got another.

At times, she wondered if there'd been an intangible signal announcing that the time to move on was now, and if so, why she hadn't gotten the memo. She also found herself wondering if Kakashi had felt the same way when his friends had started families of their own. At least he'd always have his "eternal rival."

Not quite ready for her next drink yet, she sighed and retreated into her own world again. She was still there, lazily drifting among her thoughts as she sipped on her drink when a dark figure sat down next to her and said, "Can you believe that Lee's getting married?"

She looked at her companion, startled. At first, she saw black hair, dark clothes, and mistook him for someone else, her heart racing, but then his features shifted into those of one Neji Hyuuga. "I hadn't expected to see anyone here," she said.

"Me neither," he said amicably and raised his glass. "A toast to company!" She grinned and humored him, grimacing when she forgot the atrocity in her glass and took too big a sip by mistake. He was talkative tonight. He'd probably already had quite a few drinks.

While Neji had never really been a part of her circle of friends, he'd spend time with them on rare occasions, and on very rare occasions he'd have a drink too many and become a decent human being. Tonight was apparently such an occasion.

He confirmed this when he grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her too close, whispering in her ear, "That guy over there's checking you out." He wasn't quite slurring yet, but very close.

"How flattering," she said jokingly. "He'd a bit young for me, though. Isn't he one of Shikamaru's new genin?"

Neji examined him closely before looking thoughtful. "I don't think so," he said. "That would make him about…" he counted on his fingers, "twelve."

"You're right," she agreed. "He's a solid fourteen, at least."

He laughed. She hadn't thought her joke was that funny. Clearly, Neji suggested, she'd not yet had enough to drink.

She went to take another sip of her drink only to find that it was gone already. Making her way to the bar, she ordered another and returned to Neji with it in hand, still sitting gracefully, though not without difficulty. Maybe she'd had more than she'd thought.

"Is that any good?" he asked her, eyeing her drink.

"Awful," she said. "Want a taste?"

She offered. He accepted and took a sip.

"It's not that bad," he said, as though saying something would make it true. "What's in it?"

"I have no idea," she confessed. "But it's very strong."

He looked her dead on and asked, "Is something wrong?" She must have looked startled at his comment, because he went on. "Every time I see you, you drink that fruity stuff."

"You don't see me much," she pointed out.

"I see you more than you realize," he said. Pause. "That sounded better in my head."

She laughed. He laughed. She liked this side of him. He must have been able to read minds, because he said, "So do I."

They were quiet for a few moments, each lost in their own thoughts, until Neji broke the silence. "I'm glad I ran into you here."

She smiled. "Company is always pleasant."

"No, no," he protested. "I'm glad you're the company."

Her heart fluttered just a little bit. "Huh?" she said after a long pause.

"Everyone grew up while I wasn't looking," he explained with a look that suggested she should've known this without him saying it. "Just you and me, we got left behind."

"Tenten, right?" she said.

He nodded. "I got the invitation and I didn't quite know what to say. I hadn't even realized that she and Lee…" he started over. "I just always assumed that she'd be waiting for me, kind of like you're still pining for--"

She interrupted him quickly. "You know, I think she's already pregnant, too."

"With Lee? No. Lee would never…" he said.

"But he did," she said. "They have been for a few months now."

"Gossip," he said with a dismissive wave.

"I'm a medic, remember? Both of them came to me in the same afternoon for advice on birth control."

"Well, if she's pregnant, it wasn't very good advice," he pointed out.

"It doesn't always work," she said sullenly. She shifted the topic. "Can you imagine what their children will look like?"

"I don't need to imagine. I know that they'll all have big, bushy eyebrows and specialize in taijutsu."

She snorted at him before taking another sip of her drink. "I don't know," she said. "I think Tenten's delicate little eyebrows would overpower Lee's massive ones."

"Those aren't natural," Neji confided. "She plucks constantly. I think her eyebrows are even bushier than Lee's."

"No way," she said, half laughing already at the image of Tenten his words induced.

Mistaking her comment for genuine disbelief, he said, "Which one of us has been going on missions with her since we were twelve?"

And then the conversation really got going. Somehow, the topic shifted from the couple to recent missions to future plans (Neji was finally taking steps towards Anbu) and finally settled on painfully nostalgic stories.

She found herself surprised by how much they shared in common; when he'd said that he saw her "more than she realized," he'd been right. Every stupid story she could think of, every crazy adventure, he'd been there. By the time four or six or ten empty glasses sat in front of her (every time she counted, she got a different number), she couldn't think of a time Neji hadn't been around for one of the group's idiotic hijinxs.

"I must not notice you because you're always so quiet. Like a fish." Had she been sober, she might've winced at the slur that colored her tone.

"You're really drunk," Neji, who'd sobered up a bit, pointed out. "And I don't think fish are quiet."

"Fish are so fucking stealthy," she said, "that you don't even associate them with stealth. You don't even catch them sneaking up on you until you're dead… and then it's too late!"

"I don't think fish would make ideal assassins," he said patiently. "For one thing, they can only breathe underwater."

"Lies!" she cried, banging her fist on the table.

"Fine," he said. "Fish are very stealthy. Satisfied?"

"As long as you're aware of the threat!"

"The fish threat."

"The fish menace. That's why we have to eat as many of them as possible! That's why they're my favorite food." Somehow, she'd twisted herself upside down backwards while she spoke, so now she looked at him from a very odd angle.

"Of course." He was smiling ever so faintly.

She grinned. As she looked at him, she remembered the way Tenten used to fawn over him so, the way the genius could do no wrong. Her smile faded slightly. He was cold and even cruel at times, but who needs a decent personality when one is among the most attractive things in Konoha? Tenten's opinion, not hers. She'd never really seen Neji before. He was always so quiet that she tended to forget his presence, and he'd just proven that it happened more often than not. How embarrassing. But from this angle, she could almost see what Tenten had been raving about. Hell, he almost looked just like…

Her stomach heaved. Immediately, she rocked to her feet. When Neji gave her a look, she groaned, "Bathroom!" He immediately stood and escorted her to the back, lending her his arm for support, and he held her hair for her while she paid her respects to the porcelain god.

She vaguely remembered looking up at him and saying, "Thank you," and then her mind drew a blank. Getting home, getting to bed, everything was a blur, though she thought she remembered phantom hands tucking her in tight…

Of course, that was more an impression than a memory.

CY: I've given the fish speech before, apparently... Naturally, I don't remember, but I've been told it was quite entertaining. This is going to be my longest fic yet so I can take my sweet time setting everything up, and hopefully it will turn out convincing. Please review, feedback helps keep me motivated!