The wind in Konoha was rough as it filed through the leaves above them. A metallic smell accompanied the tufts announcing their arrival to the village's guards before they could even be seen. The party consisted of four. Tenten and her husband, Lee, and Naruto. While she helped Neji along, Naruto carried Lee. The latter was hurt the most and had only been patched up with Tenten's limited expertise. On the other hand, Neji suffered only from blocked chakra, rendering part of his leg unusable. A makeshift cane and Tenten's shoulder provided all the support he needed to keep up. The metallic scent of blood wafted over from Lee; obviously his crouched position slung over Naruto's shoulder had torn one or more of his stitches.
"Should I take a look or should you hurry him to the hospital?" Tenten asked in their midst. Naruto was this special team's leader, but he looked to Neji. The older warrior had cast his gaze far ahead of them.
"They're coming", he announced in the raspy voice, which had been his for about half his life.
"I think you should head forth. We will meet up with you at the hospital," Tenten suggested wisely. Naruto agreed, adjusted the heavy man on his back more securely and rushed off ahead of the pair.
On the old dirt road, Naruto's quick steps made the dust swirl up, obscuring their vision of him disappearing. When there was no hint of the departed two members, Tenten turned to Neji.
"And how are you doing?"
The wind howled as it sought entrance to the thick forest but was rejected. All it could do was ruffle the tree's crowns way above, reaching out but never quite grasping Neji's hair. He nodded, confirming he was fine. His wife noticed the dark rings under his eyes, the way his skin fell limp around his temples and mouth. It was not just age that was getting him, it was fatigue.
She closed her eyes for just an instance to let some of the horrors of their two decades together pass silently. It was better to embrace the images than to fight them.
Once she had lifted her eyelids again, the quiet peacefulness of their home's surroundings swept over her like a cleansing shower. Their alliance had been forged in times of war with many on the brink of death, and when that period had past, they had stayed by each other's sides, heavily scarred. It was uplifting to know they had prevented yet another war in their most recent mission.
But the responsibility of peace also burdened them. Assassination after assassination, all intertwined with the strictest of secrecy, so much that sometimes they had to remind each other who they really were.
Tenten shook her head as she saw the village gates approaching. There were two guards and they had been expecting them. The younger one rushed forward and helped Tenten with Neji. The elder smiled knowingly at the pair.
"Tough one?"
Tenten nodded, exhausted.
"The toughest so far."
"So I saw. Lee's gonna have to fight this time."
Tenten nodded again with the same droop of her head. The words of the guard had been grim, but optimistic.
She made a hurrying gesture towards the younger one.
"Get the cart," she commanded wearily. "Take us to our comrades."
The youth had already readied the horse and helped Neji to sit on the back. Tenten was not offended that Tsunade had sent a horse carriage rather than one of the modern motor-run vehicles. She trusted Naruto's ability to convey urgency where need be but not make a fuss where none was necessary. She jumped up expertly on the wooden cart's behind and leaned against her husband. With a jolt, they made their way up, through the winding streets of their home.
ttt
Upon arrival, Tsunade was already busy with Lee, so her personal assistant, Shizune, showed them to the hokage's private dwellings. Being state-sanctioned assassins and personal friends of the most powerful woman in town had its perks.
Tenten deposited her comrade on a large chaise lounge. It was by no means the case that he could not have healed the chakra blockage himself by now, but he was at the end of his reserves. It was definitely beyond Tenten's power, so the only thing to do was let him rest.
Naruto found them shortly after they had arrived, Neji already slumbering on the couch. He and Tenten both showered in the common areas before they tried to do what they could for Neji. As Tenten dropped the sponge back into the bucket they had brought, she sighed "that'll have to do" and stood to dress her sleeping friend again. In sleep, his features looked even more eaten up.
"Do you ever wonder…," she began directed at Naruto after he had come back from taking the bucket and sponges back, "...whether we're getting too old for this stuff?"
He shook his head. "The fourth hokage was well into his sixties without any sort of help like our dear Tsunade."
"We're no hokages," Tenten reminded him. There was no tenacity to her voice. She was too tired nowadays to argue with people.
"Speak for yourself. I'm still betting I'll get there one day." Naruto's apparent optimism bled through his words. Tenten smiled. His energy gave her a warm and fuzzy feeling inside. Yet, her question did not leave him unaffected.
"If you need a break… you should say something," he advised in a voice unlike his own. It was deep and somber. Tenten's exhausted frame felt him sidle up against her, both leaning against Neji's resting place.
"You two have… different circumstances. Don't compare yourself to others. If you're done - … I mean, exhausted, then you should listen to yourselves."
Tenten closed her eyes. "I don't know," she murmured. Leaning her cheek on Neji's discarded hand, which had slid of the couch dangling, she drifted off to sleep herself. Naruto quietly left, closing the door ever so softly behind him.
The wait at the hospital was long. Neji slept for over a day. To pass the time, Tenten was helping out at the hospital and reading Tsunade's books. All in anticipation of hearing whether Lee would make it. Tsunade had wandered in and out during this time, bringing bits of news of Lee's surgeries and his intensive care stays. Shortly after Neji had groggily healed himself did the news reach them their third musketeer would live. Relieved, they both went home after leaving a message with one of the nurses for Lee when he woke up .
ttt
Home to them in the strictest sense referred to a condo in the city center. Expensive and big, it yielded room for one big space encompassing kitchen, dining and living room and, additionally three bed- and bathrooms. As soon as they were home, Neji went straight to bed, but Tenten had something else to do first. She took the phone from its hinge on the kitchen wall and trailed the chord all the way to the dining table, where she plumped down on one of their expensively upholstered chairs. The brocade was thick and provided excellent halt for Tenten's butt as she put a call through to Suna-Gakure.
"Hey, it's me. We're back. Everyone's survived, but Lee is in IC."
Temari at the other end yelled for Shikamaru to come to the phone. Somewhere in the background Tenten heard a sluggish "ok". Then her friend turned back to the phone and demanded to know how she felt. Tenten shrugged, realized this was not visible and answered:
"Don't know. Tired, I guess. Neji slept until the next day and he's already in bed again."
"You need to take care of yourselves. You always knew stress and fatigue could affect you guys more..."
Tenten rolled her eyes. This was the second time someone was mentioning this. When they were young, they had not thought that much about it, but as soon as they had passed thirty Tenten and Neji had sat down for a serious conversation. They had already taken precautions. They went on missions very sparingly and, in fact, only very high-ranking ones, where their expertise was indispensable. They did not train as hard as they used to anymore. It was still very efficient training, just more focused now.
"We're perfectly fine," Tenten reassured. "We're not old folks yet."
"We're all pretty old in ninja terms, and you two need to stop comparing yourselves to your peers in age."
"Tsunade checked us recently. We're fine."
Temari seemed unconvinced, but Shikamaru had joined the conversation and he reminded her that both Tenten and Neji could be trusted, so there was really no reason to fuss. Even though Shikamaru was generally of the opinion that hardly any situation was worth a fuss, Tenten agreed with him wholeheartedly. She felt like telling them the same thing she reminded her uncle-in-law of regularly: They were a team. They watched out for each other. She'd never let anything happen to him.
After hanging up, Tenten threw a deep-frozen dish into the microwave, then watched it turn slowly illuminated by the lightbulb in the appliance.
It was true. She did take good care of him. They lived a happy, healthy life. She made him go to all his check-ups, ensured he did not overdo anything, followed all of Tsunade's recommendations from what their diet should look like to meditation practices. More subtle but not less determined, Neji did the same for her. With watchful, but otherwise nondescript features did he keep an eye on her.
After she had scarfed down the low sodium meal she had pre-prepared and frozen several months ago, Tenten headed off to bed, too. Shortly, she rapped on the bedroom door and peeked in: Neji was on the verge of slumber.
"I'm alright," he assured sleepily. "Good night."
"Good night," Tenten replied before vanishing into her own bedroom, relishing the feel of the soft heavy covers over her aching body. Within seconds, she had fallen into a dreamless sleep.
ttt
The next few days were spent sorting out their affairs, paying bills and cleaning. The mission had taken longer than expected, so even though Neji and Tenten had prepared by freezing anything that would go bad, there were still many things to chug out whose initial expiry date had been within the planned time of the original mission. Tenten did not notice anything strange about Neji except that he seemed more dazed than usual. With anyone else, this may not have qualified as notable, but Neji usually had less trouble adjusting after a mission than anyone else. So, when he spent more time in his bedroom sleeping she definitely made a mental note to let Tsunade know at their next check-up.
They also had a mandatory visit planned to catch up with Neji's family. Their high-maintenance relationship with Neji's many relatives, most notably his uncle, the patriarch, was something they had accepted. They incorporated the fleet of Hyuga family events into their lives as well as possible and such an upcoming event would not usually have been cause for extra stress, but before leaving, Neji seemed particularly apprehensive to go. He kept changing his clothes, citing tiredness, and even wondered aloud once whether postponing would be a good idea. From that moment on, Tenten kept written notes on how often he displayed unusual behavior and what kind. She kept a sleeping log of how many hours and at what times, highlighting day naps with a red marker. Neji had never been a proponent of naps and found them idle. Neji was not a fan of idle.
She had also taken to checking up on him at night, cracking his bedroom door without their customary knock first. She usually found him in deep slumber, his straight-backed, half covered figure contained to one side of his bed. He did not believe in wasting space, even in bed.
Another family meeting was in order two days before their check-up with Tsunade and Tenten herself found she was reluctant to go as well this time. Because her sleep had been in negative correlation to his, getting less steadily as he got more, she was functioning below her usual standard. His new habits were making her nervous, leading to her lying stiffly in bed, staring at her ceiling, worrying.
The morning of their second family visit since returning, Tenten was needlessly scrubbing a non-existent stain on their kitchen tile.
"Tenten?", Neji asked after he had groggily entered their kitchen.
"Hm?"
"What are you doing?" His pajama'd legs turned up in front of her face, demanding her attention. So, she graced him with a look from her deep brown eyes.
"What does it look like? I'm cleaning."
"We are supposed to have brunch across the city in an hour."
"I know." She sounded more defiant than she had intended. Angry at herself, she tossed the sponge into her cleaning bucket. There was a satisfying gulp as the water swallowed and expelled the yellow utensil.
"Are you aware that you are acting strange?" Neji crouched down next to her as he said this.
Tenten wanted to throw the same question into his face. Instead, she did nothing. Aware that this was not their agreed upon procedure for worries, Tenten could not help herself.
"Are you angry at me for anything?" Neji knew his lines well. Living together for so long had really taught him what questions might produce desirable results.
But this time he was disappointed because she shook her head decidedly.
"No, let's go."
Without looking at him, Tenten got up from her knees and went into her room to change. Neji leaned against her loudly shut door. His fingertips traced intricate, invisible symbols on the lacquered wood. He had the strangest sensation of something calling out to him from beyond the entrance.
Whatever may have caused this, he knew, Tenten was not it.
This was only too obvious minutes later. She impatiently yanked the door open and did not even apologize for Neji's inconvenienced stance, who had still been waiting for her. Her plan was to breeze past him in her new brunch outfit, leisure jacket only up one arm, but he disagreed. He showed her by pulling her back towards him with one strong grip of his hand. It hurt physically, but even more emotionally because the gesture was unusual for Neji and only helped intensify the tension between them.
Neji could be rough around the edges, but it was their rule he would always treat her with the level of respect she demanded. His face came so close to hers that she smelled his spearmint toothpaste as his lips parted. He was going to say something, wanted to say something. But nothing came out. His speechlessness produced its likeness in Tenten, so neither one knew what to say. Finally, Tenten put a hand on his chest and drew even nearer, then carefully molded her jaw to his collarbone, sinking into the soft wool of his sweater.
"I'm strange because you're strange. Is there something you should've been telling me?"
The unusual closeness was necessary, so Tenten would not have to look into his eyes as she asked.
She heard his heartbeat strong, echoing into her ear, leaving her relieved and even more worried than before.
To Tenten's immense surprise, Neji clasped his arms around her, resting his palms in the small of her back. The mass of his body pushed her first back into her room and then up against a wall. Tenten looked behind him, trying to locate an instigator for this behavior. It meant she didn't notice his head bend down. Only when it was too late to turn away did Tenten become aware of his lips brushing hers.
Her body went rigid, expecting him to pull back because the touch had been a mistake. He had actually intended to do something else; she just had not discovered what yet. But this assessment turned out to be wrong. When she didn't resist, his mouth came down on hers completely. It was a clumsy attempt at a kiss, but its intensity was a simulacra of need. Only that because it could not possibly be the real thing. Tenten had never been so bewildered until she felt her frame slacken in his embrace, her body shying away from the wall and towards him. Her hand was still stuck between their bodies at an uncomfortable angle and as she tried to pull it free, she unintentionally jerked it out and disrupted their lips' hungry caress. Neji backed away from her as if she had burned him.
"I…" Uncharacteristically, he left the subject hanging without the rest of a sentence.
"What was that?" Tenten wanted to know urgently. Though she did not seem angry, more confused, Neji felt guilt surge through him like an electrical shock.
He opened his mouth again, in agony.
"I don't know," he croaked. She could already detect his usual modus operandi: concealment and retreat.
"Are you ok?" She wanted to come closer again, but he carefully took a few steps back. As if fighting with inner turmoil, he laid a hand on his stomach and pressed his eyelids shut.
"I don't feel good," he confessed, swallowing hard.
"I knew something was wrong," Tenten muttered and rushed to support him. Frightened by the possibility of her proximity, Neji fled her room. A little later she heard him retch in his bathroom.
Instead of following him when he obviously wanted her less than near, his doting wife rushed to the telephone receiver. She had to redial twice as her shaky fingers kept pushing the wrong buttons.
"Hello? Tsunade? Yes, I'm going to tell you a few symptoms now and you need to let me know what could be causing them… Also, we need to move up our appointment. To now."
Neji vomited three bouts of stomach acid. They had both skipped breakfast in anticipation of a lavish Hyuga brunch. After picking him up from his bathroom floor, Tenten deposited her husband on the emergency transport Tsunade sent. Tenten hopped in without any of the personnel daring to disagree. They had all heard stories about Neji and Tenten.
At the hospital Tsunade greeted them personally at the entrance. Neji was rushed inside and Tenten banished to the waiting room. Instead of staying there, she wandered the hospital hallways. Aimlessly, dazed, worried, confused. Upon her return to the waiting area, Tsunade was already looking for her. They entered over into the hokage's private wing, where she had her home attached to the hospital itself. Tenten sat down on the same chaise lounge Neji had slept on not too long ago.
"So, what's going on?" she wanted to know. Tsunade was silent for a while, then said:
"Haven't got a clue."
"Fantastic," Tenten murmured sarcastically. It was not a snarky remark, none of this was Tsunade's fault. The infinitely elder woman came to sit down next to Tenten.
"What you told me…" she began. "Are you sure that some of it was not just him? I mean, can we exclude that it was not a symptom of your… condition at all?"
Tenten's gaze still lingered across the room on a random wooden bowl, prodding it with an emptied look. "The sleeping, vomiting or the physical stuff?"
The healer seemed reluctant to answer. "Well, I was thinking more of the ... physical stuff, as you called it just now."
Tenten shook her head.
"Absolutely not. You know us. We've been married for twenty years and never, ever have we crossed that line."
Tenten's gaze still clung worryingly steadfast to the wooden bowl.
"And things couldn't have changed?" Tsunade hinted carefully. This got Tenten's attention, though not in a good way.
"No," she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Tsunade attempted to veil her emotions on the subject, but Tenten was a quick observer.
"We're not hormonal children anymore. We like each other with all the appreciation and respect we can muster." When Tsunade averted her gaze, Tenten stood up to look down on her superior. The irony would not be lost on Tsunade later.
"Do you think it's been easy?" Tenten's voice was dangerously low, her shoulders rose striving for her earlobes.
"That anything we've done has ever been easy? Our duty records are impeccable, but our personal situation was unique. And no one - not even you - gets to judge us. Is that clear?"
Tsunade felt some bile rise in the back of her throat. She was never the kind of gal to take more than she would hand out. But in this case, she made an exception. She had been there and knew their story, in all its gory details.
She nodded and watched Tenten turn on her heel and storm out.
"Call me when he's up," she growled over her shoulder, smashing the door closed behind her.
Tsunade stayed put on her floor, leaned the back of her head against the chaise-lounge and took a deep breath. She stayed that way longer than anticipated, because the next time she opened her eyes, her assistant had tentatively knocked and upon not receiving an answer entered, alarmed.
"Uhm. Tenten left the hospital. Did you know about this? She looked quite upset. Scared the heck out of an intern."
"Let her be." Tsunade got up, moved the wooden bowl a few inches to the right, "She'll come around. Oh - but get me Suna-Gakure on the phone, please."
The capable Shizune wasted no time. She was good in a crisis, but usually those included animosity between completely different parties. Such internal turmoil was very disturbing to her.