Possible spoilers for 614.
Kind of a sequel to Lovely Tragedy.
Enjoy.
.:Lovely Heartbreak:.
"Here, Neji. I hope you don't mind I ordered for you. I thought you might like something different for a change." Tenten smiled as she set the steaming dish down in front of him.
"Always the talkative one, aren't you?" she teased letting out a small breathy laugh that ended up sounding more like a sigh.
"You know, I was thinking that maybe I'm going to take on a genin team. It'd be a lot of work and I don't know if I could handle a bunch of snotty nosed brats….but I might be good at it…." She trailed off.
It was quiet for a minute as the wind whipped past her.
"You know I've been thinking of maybe letting my hair down. The buns seem to be getting a bit childish now that I'm an adult, you know?" She mindlessly reached up and pulled at the tatter hair ties holding them up.
"I remember when you gave these to me," her fingers still running over the rough worn fabric. "I just made chunin and you gave them to me as a gift. Something about rubber bands being impractical," she laughed freely at the memory.
There was another long pause. Tenten looked up to the blue sky shining vibrantly above her, not a cloud in sight.
"Ah well, I guess you were right. I've had these forever and they've never broken…" she trailed off watching the steam billow off his dish.
"Lee has a girlfriend!" She said suddenly. "I don't know if he told you already….or maybe you heard from someone else, but yeah he's got one. She's real cute too," Tenten smiled fondly.
"She owns that little curry shop that we went to when we got back from our mission in the…..oh where was it….Tea! Yes that's right, the Tea Country," she thrust her arm dramatically forward in victory as she prattled off the details. "She kinda weird though sometimes. She goes on and on about curry like Naruto and his ramen….but I don't think Lee minds. He told me that," she laughed suddenly, "'It is most youthful to be passionate about one's work!'" She imitated him comically.
"I think he really likes this one," she smiled softly.
She twiddled absently with the chopsticks in her hand trying to come up with something else to talk about.
"I…I think….maybe I should find someone as well. There's this guy he's only a chunin, but he's a year or two older than I am. We've worked a couple missions together. He's got a lot of talent. Of course, nowhere near yours, but he's good. He's asked me to dinner a few times, but I keep saying no….but I was thinking maybe if he asked again I should say yes…"
Her eyes started to blur with burning tears.
"Then again, I don't really think I like him all that much. He's a little too nice for me. I need someone with a bit of an edge, you know?
"I don't think that he could handle me." She finished softly wiping frantically at her eye, trying to bring back the smile she once wore.
"Besides, I'm still in love with somebody else, so I don't think it'll work out." She gurgled pathetically as she continued to wipe away the ceaseless tears.
She coughed trying to work up one last smile. "Well," she cleared her throat, "I think I better get going, I have some mission reports to finish up. I also have a mission tomorrow so I probably won't be back around for a little while, okay?"
She got up on her knees and shuffled awkwardly forward and rested a hand against the cool marble headstone. Her finger's grazed over his name gently. She bent over and placed a small kiss on the tip of the stone. She rested her forehead against the chilled surface and sucked in a shaking breath.
"I will always love you, Neji. No matter what."
Her tears dripped from her eyes and ran down the slanted stone.
"Forever and always, just like we promised."
I think I'm going to start a small collection of NejiTen stories focused around the events of 614 (before and after).
This story is loosely based off of a picture I saw on tumblr.
Let me know what you think.