Kingdom Come
Summary: It had been years since Neji saw Tenten. Ever since he randomly moved one day, Neji had always wondered about him and hoped that they could meet again. However, when they met again he wasn't sure what to do.
Request: If you don't mind Korean music, I request Red Velvet's Kingdom Come, the inspiration for this piece, to listen to while reading. Nice chill song. Feels like winter, you know.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own these characters of the manga they originated from.
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The wind blew stronger in winter and everyone seemed bothered by it, everyone except him. With the swift breeze that encased him and rose the skirt of one girl in front of him, he felt that this season suited him best. Unlike the rest of the world with their harsh critiques of the way the winds felt against their exposed skin, he felt that he was always welcomingly wrapped with it rather than suffocated by it, and that it kissed his cheeks and nose instead of slapping them. Sure, he dressed as warm as anyone else on the street; in jeans, sweaters, coats and thick scarves, but he rather preferred to keep his hair out instead of tucked under an uncomfortable beanie. That way, he could feel the cool wind tassel his locks.
"It's like a fairy's playing with your hair!"
He smiled at the memory.
A friend, a real close one, used to tell him that every winter for four years straight, like he forgot every time that he has said it before.
"They should start calling you Fairy King instead of Ice King in school!"
He chuckled to himself and pulled his scarf over his lips more to hide his very open smile.
"Fairy King? Really?"
He smiled from ear to ear. "Don't worry. Fairy King Oberon is a man with power!" He flexed his arms quickly before tucking them back around his body tightly, shivering against the cold. "Plus, he was a lady's man. Much like yourself."
One particularly strong gust of wind made him stand in place, huddling against himself for a moment before he decided to finally take refuge from the cold. The coffee shop he turned into was a complete haven as compared to outside. The heat was on but not too high, like he likes it, and the dim lights added to the aroma of coffee that spread through the small café. He looked around the walls decorated with shelves and shelves of books—some titles he recognized, some he did not. He huffed once before he went to order a cup of coffee, deciding that he liked this place.
"You seem pretty into this Fairy stuff?"
He blushed then shoved his hands in his coat pockets.
Unlike him, his friend was very much so against the cold. He felt attacked by her soft caresses and favored the sweltering heat and its heavy breath against his skin. They couldn't have been any more opposite of one another. Never mind their difference in skin tone; where he was a soft, pale white, his friend was a golden yellow—almost as if the sun had decided that he was the one only one she would love.
"I'm not THAT interested in that stuff, I'm not some girl after all…it's just, out of all the ones I was FORCED to read in our class…that one stuck with me."
"What one?"
He rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine! A Midsummers Night Dream! I like A Midsummers Night Dream. Happy?!"
"I prefer Hamlet."
His friend blinked, unsure of what to do, before he puffed his cheeks and shoved against him playfully, getting him to smile despite his "cold" reputation. He wasn't sure why, but he always softened up when it came down to him and him alone.
"Should've just told me that you were into Shakespeare asshole."
He sighed, unraveling his self slowly, folding his coat and laying it on the chair behind him as he sat back, cross legged, and took in the whole of the place. It was quaint, something he was sure to have mocked outwardly but loved inwardly when he was younger. And before he met him. But, it had been some years since he last saw him. Ten years to be exact.
At first, their split was unexpected and weird. He had spent four long years with the boy, following him every chance he got after their first encounter in their second year of middle school, then suddenly, he wasn't there anymore. His family had just…moved. No one said a word about their move. Even the school was confused about their sudden departure. And he had his speculations about their reasons—after all, he knew his friend best—but, in the end, he never found out why they moved or to where. What made it worse, was that he couldn't even get in contact with the guy afterwards. Even when he called no more than two days after his friend left. His calls maybe lasted the rest of the year afterwards. He called once every day until he finally gave it a rest and considered himself abandoned.
Yet, he still longed to see him again. Just once was enough. If he were to just see him one more time, he could ask him so many questions: Where did you go? Why did you leave so suddenly? You weren't going to tell me? Why didn't you call? How were you? How areyou now? Can we keep in contact or…are we no longer friends? All these questions drowned him in his thoughts whenever he remembered him, and he often found himself frowning greatly by the end of them.
"Sir," a girl said, catching his attention. She had warm cinnamon brown eyes as wide as the round pastries themselves, and her brown hair was tied up in two buns on top of her head. It was cute, she almost looked like a panda, he thought.
"Here's your order. One Americano. No cream and one sugar." She practically sung as she spoke. It was so warm and lovely to hear that he found that he didn't want her to leave. Not so soon.
"Thank you, Miss…" He paused, looking at the name badge she had resting cutely off to the side of her right breast. "Fa?" He looked up. "That's different."
She smiled and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, revealing two piercing holes on her lobe. One of them filled, and two more up her cartilage. He wondered if she had the other ear pierced to match.
"I get that often." She smiled before bowing then taking her leave.
He picked up his cup and sipped at it, watching her gently, openly, somehow feeling that she wouldn't mind all too much since his intentions never showed on his face.
"It's like a blessing you have," his friend used to say. "You could be completely engrossed in staring at a girl's ass and she wouldn't even be bothered."
He squished his cheeks, knowing that it would upset him. "Seriously, Hyuga, you lucky dog you—to have both the looks and the most unreadable poker face is something all of us guys wish we had."
She looked up, finally, and he nodded her way, getting a nod back before she went on to talk to the other girls that worked with her. He continued to watch her, having nothing else to do, and sipped leisurely at his coffee. She had any shape to her till you got down to her thighs where she suddenly ballooned out, making her waist and hips looking much thinner than they actually were, something he had always found attractive.
He smiled then turned and continued to watch the few people who seemed to run past the café's window in some attempt to hurry to their destination. He listened to winter's song that blew in one more customer who shivered roughly beneath her thousands of layers. She forced the door closed against the wind and met eyes with him once, bowing shyly when he nodded at her in greeting. After some awkward seconds, she moved to make her order before taking a seat and delayering herself. Occasionally, she would look up and sneak a glance at him before quickly looking back down and preoccupying herself with her phone. He, on the other hand, chose to stare at her head on. With legs crossed and eyes keen, he only looked away two times before finally deciding that, compared to her busty figure, he much rather preferred Miss Fa's pear shape.
"He would have agreed with me." He sighed before finally getting up to take his leave.
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The next weeks proved to be warmer. Not significantly so, but enough that people weren't running or stopping to hold their own against the wind. He still wore no hat and this time opted against wearing a scarf, choosing instead to allow his hair to get caught in his coat and encase his face in its place. His white eyes watched the people pass him by. Some were in cars or buses with fogged windows rolled all the way up, some on bikes wet from the morning dew still, and others were like him, choosing to walk along the sidewalks leisurely—or not. He sighed and watched his breath escape him, feeling like a child once again as he kicked his feet up slowly, slapping them down almost as if moving was too much work for him, and that he wouldn't mind staying outside longer.
He wasn't particularly busy today. It had been two weeks since he last been outside for anything other than grad school and, though it didn't bother him, it did strike him as rather odd. He used to be outside voluntarily when winter hit. Whether to meet his friend or to run random errands for his family. Any excuse wouldn't make a difference to him. But, ever since he started law school, he had less time to just enjoy himself. During the summer, he had literally no leisure time outside—his pale skin vouched for that—and now that winter came through, the same almost happened. Had it not been for his love of the cool wind's caresses, he might have stayed in all season like he did in summer.
"Excuse me! You with the blue coat!"
He paused, turning only his head before he decided to approach the woman that called him out. She was a beautiful woman for her age, one of those teacher-crush worthy women with welcoming eyes and soft features to match her smile. She was standing over a box of brightly lit, and well-organized jewelry. The spread was wide. From the looks of it, she had everything from earrings to anklets all glittering brightly with diamonds and gold and silver.
"You look like the kind of guy that spoils his girlfriend, ne?"
He almost laughed. He hadn't had a girlfriend since junior year in college. It had been a while since the feeling of "love" decided to knock on his cold heart. But the comment was taken as a compliment nonetheless. Besides the fact that he didn't have anyone to call his own, he was well off and was exactly the kind of guy she labeled him as. The only problem was that, despite that, he could never hold a relationship any longer than a couple of months. His longest one—he called it his miracle—lasted 4 months and three weeks before she finally got tired of trying to read him to no avail. It was through these five or so relationships that he learned showering someone who's serious about you with expensive things wasn't nearly enough to keep them.
"Sir?"
He looked up, eyeing her for only a moment before he waved her off and took his leave, uninterested in the product. Really, after his last relationship, he was no longer interested in the gift giving and buying thing, unless it was necessary. Maybe he was hurt when she left him, maybe not. He didn't know. He just knew that she was the last one to get a gift from him, and the only one to return every single one of them.
Now that he thought about it, his last girlfriend looked a lot like his friend. They both had big, round eyes that spoke of more innocence than the words their owner dared to let slip past their always smiling lips that grew tenfold when complimented. But she was shapely, with thin legs and the perfect, cup-able breasts, and she could fit in his lap and the curve of her back was a perfect resting place for his head when they were both tired. These things were what made her different from his friend just enough to make him not feel weird about wanting her that badly.
Honestly, it was safe to say that, with her leave, he had felt the most pain. So, maybe it really was love. He wondered.
"Welcome!" Came a cheerful voice he had grown accustomed to hearing.
The same girl from the last time, the one with the big doe eyes and twin buns, smiled at him, bowing slightly. They had grown accustomed to each other's presence in the last few weeks since he had taken it upon himself to visit the café whenever he had free time.
"Your usual?" she asked.
He nodded as he made his way to the bookshelf furthest from the door. There was one book there where he read a chapter out of every time he visited. It remained in the same spot with each visit. Even on busy days where the books were often abandoned on the tables they were read at or put back all half-assed, did he still find this one book in the same spot. It was small, but it was something he was happy about.
As he turned to take his usual seat near the wide, front window of the café a second girl walked in. He had caught her eye and she bowed as she walked past him, smiling softly before she made her way to the counter, throwing her bag over towards Ms. Fa. She bumped the other girl's shoulder.
"He found the book you save for him, Ten?"
"Shut. Up."
He smiled just as she brought him his drink. "Here you go."
"Thank you." He hummed as he reached for the warm mug.
He only looked at her for a short second, nodding before taking a sip and relishing in the rush of warmth that washed through him. He was about to go for a second sip when he noticed that the girl was still standing above him. So, he looked up, placing his cup down and cocked his head to the side—a habit of his—silently asking her what it was she wanted. She smiled when he did this then sat across from him. He uncrossed his legs and leaned back a little, confused and on guard, ready for her to say anything. Whether it be her finally asking why he stared at her, or not.
But she said nothing. She just sat there with her head down and her eyes darting from left to right cautiously. Occasionally, she would look up, but when she noticed that he was still looking at her, she looked back down. So, they just sat there, facing one another and saying nothing.
He started to sip at his coffee again, and flipped through the pages of the book some, but he wasn't retaining any of the story, so he closed it and put it down, promising to start where he left off to himself, and took the opportunity given to him to really take her in.
Sitting down, he could tell that her torso made up for her leveled out height, but her legs gave her that push she needed to be just a nudge above that of the girls he usually saw. Her hair seemed soft, well taken care of—he wanted to ask her what products she used—and her bangs were short, barely brushing her brow. He tilted his head down in some attempt to see her face better, but all he could make out was a hint of a freckle that may have spawned from a deeper pool of them somewhere on her face.
Really, as he looked her over, he couldn't help but see some characteristics that reminded him of his friend. Their face shape, their eye color, their hair color. She also had those round doe eyes like him. He hadn't seen her genuinely smile yet—she only ever showed him her professional one—but he was sure that she would undoubtedly look adorable if she had an impish smile as well. One that made her eyes look and feel as warm as a cinnamon bun.
He wanted to check.
"Is there something you wanted to say to me, Miss Fa?"
She looked up, shocked, almost as if she wasn't ready for him to speak, before sighing and placing her hands out on the table. She was about to say something, but her breath hitched and she faced away again, bowing her head in an apology and made to leave when he decided to start their conversation.
"It's warming up, huh?"
She looked up then sat back down, back straight and eyes open wide in curiosity—another similarity—before she slouched and looked outside, visibly getting more comfortable. She placed one elbow on the table to hold her head up before she reached out to touch the window, keeping it there despite the shiver that attacked her when her skin touched the glass.
"It is," she started, "I'm glad."
"You don't like winter?"
She shook her head. "I do. It's an amazing season with great holidays but…" she turned to him, smiling an honest smile, and he felt his heart skip a beat, "I prefer summer."
He scoffed after catching his breath again and leaned forward. Completely entranced by her smile and wanting nothing more than to see it again. "Summer's too hot."
She smirked—not quite a smile but still adorable nonetheless. "Yes, but there's ice cream and Frappuccino's in summer. As well as the summer festivals. And in spring, which might as well be summers older sister, has cherry blossom viewing. So, overall, summer is defiantly better."
"What about Christmas. And New Year's? Hatsumode? The Sapporo Snow Festival?"
"All good selections but they still fall short of getting me to enjoy winter more than summer. Plus, some of those are basically spring's holidays."
He sat back. "I guess we'll just agree to disagree then."
She laughed, squishing her cheeks between her shoulders as they rose, and he couldn't help but smile himself at the sheer beauty of it. As he had wished, her smile was wide and playful, and her eyes squinted and turned into croissants. She was adorable. He was sure of that now.
"So…what was it that you came to talk to me about, Miss Fa?"
She looked at him, flicking her bangs nowhere in particular and unintentionally wafting the smell of her shampoo his way. He recognized that smell. It made him cock his head as he tried to remember.
"Well…I don't know if you'll believe me…or if you'll get, you know…upset with what I'm about to tell you…"
Did someone he know where it before? He crossed his legs trying to remember and bit his bottom lip in concentration.
"Justdontfreakout!" she sputtered, looking nowhere in particular. "But…y-you went to-to Konoha Middle, right?"
What was that smell? Why did it seem so familiar? Why was it bothering him? Was it Lee's? No. He knew that that boy only used what was cheap and at the convenience stores, so the smell always changed…then what?
"I know…because I went there too and…ohgodthisishard"
She looked up at him suddenly, making him snap his attention back to her. His eyes went wide and his mouth fell open as realization hit. With that one snap movement, that quick shock to his eyes he was suddenly frozen with shock as he finally took in the small freckles that danced around her nose and under her eyes, next to them, sat a scar that he remembered making on his friends face in that exact same spot in one of their fights over something stupid, and one of the moles under her left eye stood prouder and darker than the rest of them did…just like it did with his friend…
"N-Neji-kun. It's me…T –"
"Tenten." He murmured. His limbs fell limp beside him. His eyes remained locked on hers, refusing to blink, and she smiled sheepishly, looking exactly like him when he was afraid, shy, embarrassed.
"I've wanted to tell you since you walked in here three weeks ago, but…I was too scared to find out if you would accept me or not…as a girl."
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Had it been a month? That's how long it felt since he's been back to that café where he…she worked. Usually, things didn't get to him—he was known for having an iron will that could never be broken—but finding out that his friend, quite possibly his best friend even, was now a girl, had come as more of a shock than he was prepared for.
It was so shocking that he practically ran out of the place after h-she told him who she was. Nothing else was said. No other words exchanged after the confession, just blank stares and anticipation that drowned the warm room in an awkward silence that was foiled only by the sound of his chair scrapping against the floor when he got up to leave. He was in such a hurry that he didn't even take the time to put his coat on all the way. But he didn't seem to care. Besides, the shock he felt from that information was more deafening and painful than the sting of the winter winds that picked up around him.
He hadn't seen Tenten's face when he left—he couldn't get the courage to turn back when he left—but he was sure that she was hurt. It would have been a face he had seen several times before, one that burned itself into his memory and refused to leave.
His mind played with him, planting the memory of his guy-friend's sad, pitiful face perfectly over the face of that girl. And he could feel his core ache. Tenten always had a way of pouting enough to get a reaction out of him unlike any other, and he had always silently thanked the heavens that he wasn't a girl. But now—oh now!—that he was a she, he knew that all his walls would fall to her, and that frightened him more than anything else. Knowing that he was weak to his friend more than he had ever anticipated himself to be.
So, he never went back.
He knew that it was wrong, and he wouldn't accept an apology if it had been him in Tenten's situation, but something in him held him away from returning to that café despite himself. And it wasn't like the grip was firm either! It was soft, coddling almost. Something that he could easily break out of…It's just that he didn't want to. So, now, instead of finishing that chapter he ended on, and sipping his coffee made just the way he liked it, he sat silently to himself at his apartment and waited on his roommate to return from his afternoon jog.
He sighed, looking at his watch for what felt like the tenth time in that hour alone, before moving to his phone and checking his messages. Lee, his roommate, had to make a stop by his Sensei's house after his jog, and Neji wasn't sure how long those jogs of his lasted to begin with. So, he had no idea when he was getting back, thus, no idea for when he would be free from his own prison.
"…would you accept me or not…if I was a girl."
He groaned, throwing himself down on the couch in a rather uncharacteristic manor, then took a pillow and held it close to his chest. He wondered if Tenten's decision to get a sex change was something that he…she was hinting at this whole time, and if it was his fault for not realizing it. But, as far as he was concerned, Tenten played the part of being a boy very well. He didn't show interest in any of the guys around when they changed for gym…then again, he didn't show interest in the girls at the school either.
He sat up, sighing as he ran a hand through his messy hair. Now that he thought about it, just because Tenten was a transgender woman now didn't mean that her sexuality changed with it. It's very possible that she felt like she didn't fit a male's body but still has a thing for girls…
He groaned again, throwing himself back against the couch rougher than last time. All this thinking about the situation with Tenten was complicated. He didn't know how to address hi-HER now. He didn't know if he was going to even see her again…or rather if he deserved to. It had been a month almost. Visiting her after a month of not seeing her and immediately asking her all the questions he had was not something any sane person would have the gall to do.
But Lee was taking too long and there was nothing on T.V. that caught his attention long enough to distract him from the very real, very serious situation he was facing. Every flip of the channel brought something new for him to focus on. But none of it caught his attention long enough to distract him, so his thoughts eventually went back to her. And her awkward smile, the blush that graced her cheeks, her big brown eyes that wondered in an effort to avoid looking at him…the sound of her voice—a sound that lilted like it was being carried by the wind, the kind that made his core soften and warm him down to his bones—all of it was too new and yet, very familiar. Because he remembered how Tenten used to sound when he heard her speak. It was just the same, but with a deeper tone to it. And his Kansai accent was strong, sometimes overbearing when he got embarrassed and started rambling, but it was always music to Neji's ears. He remembered laughing at himself when he realized that he loved to hear him talk just because it sounded like he was dancing.
He shifted, forcing his attention back to the screen ahead of him, but his mind had other thoughts, and slowly, but surely, drifted back to her. He had seen the realization hit her before he felt it in his self and left. It was a slow, creeping look of sadness that dyed those earthy brown eyes in a matter of seconds. Her eyes had gotten the hint before the rest of her face, and he didn't get the chance to see that for himself…since he left like some idiot.
Honestly, he was the one who wanted to see him again. And, sure seeing him as a girl was not what he was expecting but still! He got what he wanted, right! So, what was he so upset about? Was he even upset to begin with? He didn't know.
Sure, he wasn't ecstatic about seeing his friend as a girl that he would definitely hit on had she given him the chance but was that reason enough to be upset. Was he even upset? Could he call what he was feeling "upset"?
He sat up and looked at his phone. It hadn't even been five minutes. The last time he sent Lee a text was no less than 20 minutes ago, and he got a response almost immediately saying that he was going to be later than usual, so, sending him another text 20 minutes later would make him sound like a clingy person, which he wasn't, at least not with Lee. He used to be though. With Ten…
He huffed throwing the pillow to the side before standing and stomping towards the door, grabbing his coat from the coat rack roughly and almost knocking it down. He decided that enough was enough. Sitting there was torture, especially when all he ever thought about, all he could think about, was her. So, he put his foot down.
He was going to her.
