A/N: This is my first story, so...please don't hate me. Rated T to be safe. Warning: Character death and childbirth - on that last part, no graphic stuff, so to all you squeamish people, you're OK.
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A Bath Full of Dreams and a Sink Full of Tears
By Kurayami-Tomoshibi
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Tenten gently held herself as she cried. She wrapped her arms around her own belly, inflamed with her clandestine problem. She was due to give birth to a son in just three weeks. Everything was going fine except for one thing.
There was no father.
She was always crying; the tears never stopped. She sobbed in the shower, wept in the washroom, and cried in the closet. There seemed to be no solace for her, not even in her youthful comrade. He always stood outside her door, listening to her cry and shaking his head. He was there to alert anyone should she go into labor.
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She decided to take another shower. She slowly disrobed and turned on the water, getting it as hot as it could be without scalding her. She stepped in, stopping up the drain of the shower with a plug. When the water swirled around her kneecaps, she sat down, leaving the shower on. There she sat, letting the water wash over her. The drops mingled with her tears, the two blending until one couldn't tell the difference between them. Sobs shook her shoulders; she reached a drenched hand up to wipe her eyes clean.
Steam filled the room. Tenten soon could not distinguish between the water and the murky steam in the room. Suddenly, a dark shadow appeared in the fog. It moved closer to her; she shied away from it.
"Tenten, why are you crying?" a gentle but deep voice asked. Tenten recognized the soft, low tone. She heard someone step into the water and felt the ripples lap against her shins as she drew her knees up to her chin. She looked up as the other person came into view and bent down to look at her.
White eyes met her gaze. She felt his long brown hair tickle her chest and shoulders as it fell about her like a chocolate curtain. She lost sight of the ends of her curtain as it was swallowed up by the steam. From his waist down was shrouded in steam, but she knew it was just as bare as his upper half was.
"Because I miss you, Neji."
He knelt before her, his waist and the ends of his long hair shrinking away into the water. Tenten too repositioned herself to rest on her knees. Neji leaned forward and embraced her gently, his hands finding their way to the small of her back. She tossed her arms around his neck, snuggling her face into his shoulder. They stayed that way, the shower drenching their bodies and soaking their unrestrained hair.
She gasped as his hands wandered down to her stomach. He gently rubbed his fingers over her skin, taught with the effort of expanding to accommodate her burden. She whimpered and tightened her grip on his neck, rubbing her nose against the skin of his shoulder. His white eyes held a look of contentment, but sadness and slight pain.
Neji was forced to look up when Tenten gently pulled away from him and lifted his face to hers by putting her fingers beneath his chin. She looked him in the eyes; her gaze was an upset one; she was distraught, angry, and hurt.
"I can't do this without you, Nej!" she cried, taking his face in her hands and brushing her thumbs over his cheekbones. He closed his eyes at her gentle touch, a small groan of contentment welling up from his chest. He brushed his thumbs over her swollen abdomen, smiling as his sensitive touch picked up movement from within. Tenten gave a slight moan as the baby moved around inside her, her cramped organs throbbing slightly as he shifted.
"...you're ready..." Neji murmured, his eyes shadowed with realization. The weapons mistress' eyes opened wide.
"...ready...? For what?" she asked, her voice shrill with anticipation. Neji looked down at her belly, smiled, and looked back up into her eyes.
"Him."
Just seconds after the Hyuuga had uttered his answer, Tenten's stomach throbbed with pain. She gasped as her muscles contracted, tightening and causing her intense pain. Neji ran a hand along her belly; contractions followed his touch wherever it went. Tenten moaned loudly and clutched at her lover's arm.
"I...I'm not...ready for this, Nej!" she cried, her voice barely able to make a complete sentence through her sheer agony. He looked gently at her, his eyes longing to be at her side in the flesh again. She whimpered as a fresh wave of pain pulsed through her abdomen; her fingernails dug into his arm.
"N-not without you..." She whispered, her voice quivering with pain. He looked at her with a gaze that spoke volumes to her soul.
'I can't be here for you anymore...not in the flesh, anyhow. I am always with you in spirit, Ten. Although you can't see me, if you close your eyes you can. Although you can't hear me, if you open your heart you can. I am the tiny spots of light in the darkness behind your eyelids, dancing and lighting up your mind when you sleep. I am the little voice in the back of your mind that tells you right from wrong, whispering strange things and wise tales to your heart. My body may be broken, buried feet beneath the earth in a wooden casket, but I have risen again, like the phoenix, to signal our son's coming to you. You will not go through his birth alone, Ten. I can give you the strength you need to get it over with. I will always be wrapped around your heart.'
With that, he was gone. But in her heart, Tenten felt a new sort of strength. It flooded through her veins, making her feel stronger than ever before. Her eyes burned like fire; she squeezed them shut. Sure enough, the little pinpricks of light that Neji's gaze had mentioned were there, comforting her and reassuring her that everything was going to be okay. For a moment, she thought she felt someone holding her from behind, sure hands caressing her stomach and holding her close. She clung to the moment, fearing for her loss of strength should the feeling go away.
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Somehow, Rock Lee had found out that Tenten was in labor, gotten into the bathroom, and helped his comrade to the hospital. Tenten was in labor for a full 25 hours before giving birth to a boy. She named him Shiro, after the monochrome color of his eyes. Inexplicably, through her whole labor and the delivery, the feeling of someone holding her never left her. When she was lying exhausted in the hospital after her ordeal, she insisted to Lee that someone was standing right next to her bed, watching over her with intent ivory eyes. The hospital staff and many frightened nurses have reported seeing a strange man with long brown hair staring in at the newborn infants, but upon questioning, he simply vanishes. Even now, Tenten sees him. Sometimes, when she lay awake at night, she could've sworn that she heard a haunting lullaby singing Shiro to sleep. She swears to this day that the voice is familiar. Currently Tenten is unmarried and alone with Shiro, who is rather envious of the other boys who have fathers. Tenten listens to her heart as it whispers strange and wonderful things to her, and she enjoys closing her eyes and watching the little spots of light dance before her delighted auburn eyes.
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A/N: Well...? Was it good? NO FLAMES PLEASE!!!