Life is what happens when you're making other plans
Neji stood on the counter, reaching up at the cupboard. Just a little farther, he thought. The cookies are right there.
His fingers closed around it and he brought it down, triumphant. Peering inside, he only saw one left. The last one is mine, he thought gleefully.
"Neji-niisan," a timid voice called from behind and below. "Can I have a cookie?"
Neji hid his scowl as he plopped the cookie into his cousin's little hands. "Sure, Hinata-sama."
He could hear his father's voice in his head, telling him to listen to her. He stared at the empty jar and sighed.
The key to happiness and success is to have a dream.
I want to be strong like father, Neji thinks the first time he sees Hizashi's byakgan.
I want to be gentle like mother, he thinks the first and last time she hugs him, before she dies of terminal cancer in her lungs.
I want to protect Hinata-sama, he thinks the first time she hides behind her father's legs during her third birthday, right before he is branded.
"Don't you have a dream?" Hinata asks him, years later, when he's grown and she's grown and dreams have long withered into nothing.
The bitterness on his face is hard to miss. "Not anymore."
If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.
They stand next to each other in the little temple. The priest stands before them in his orange robes.
"I do," Hinata whispers quietly to the priest. Her white kimono flutters in the slight breeze. She doesn't want marriage, not quite this soon.
"I do," Neji says quietly, strongly, even. His gray robes contrast with her in a startlingly lovely way. He doesn't want marriage, this level of commitment a shinobi can never promise.
But it's what comes after they want, how they can always be together. If marriage was the only way to have it, then so be it.
You have to wake up in order for your dreams to come true
Their eyes are always emotionless, Hinata thinks. They don't want anything, they don't think about anything. It's like they're asleep. Then she shudders and hurries away from the branch family, from unsettling thoughts.
But she is the one asleep every night. They come to life at night. They whisper until the stars start to disappear. They share dreams. They smile and cry and comfort and confess. They do things. The cousin who is always silent sings. The aunt who is always stuttering paints captivating, wonderful stories. Neji laughs and sketches.
They wake up under the stars and moon.
The only thing worse than an alarm going off is one that doesn't
He should have seen it coming. He should have noticed his daughter's depression, his nephew's protectiveness.
He should have seen how they changed when they were near each other.
He should have seen the way Hinata would smile at him, and Neji would escort them to her garden. He should have noticed something off when Neji showed her his latest sketch.
He should have seen their love.
Now he is left with goodbyes and heartache and empty promises of visits.
Because Hiashi knows they won't risk him not understanding and breaking them apart. He should have seen it years ago.