"Dear Kami, are you sure?" I asked Hinata through the bathroom door.
There was a sniffle. "Yes," she sobbed out, and I felt my moth turn dry and my tongue grow sticky.
The door slowly opened, and I slipped in quickly. My stomach dropped at the sight of my friend in such a distressed state. Her dark hair was in complete disarray, and her pale lavender eyes were red and puffy from so much crying.
She plopped down on the toilet, and I knelt before her. The pregnancy test dangled from her shaking fingers, and I took it from her gently. It was indeed positive.
"This..this could be defective, you know," I said, doing my best to reassure her and myself at the same time.
"No, Tenten," she said softly. "This is the second one to be positive. I'm pregnant. Kami, I'm pregnant, and I'm only eighteen." Her shoulders began to shake once more, and she hid her face in her hands.
I shook my head, not that she could see or anything, unwilling to accept that answer. "First off," I began. "You'll be nineteen in five months. Second, this stupid piece of plastic isn't going to decide whether or not you've got a kid growing inside you. We're going to make an appointment with Sakura to be completely sure."
I tossed the pregnancy test into the trash can along with the other one and grabbed Hinata's hands. She looked at me sadly, and I felt my throat close painfully.
"What do I do now, Tenten?" she asked in a hoarse voice. "My father will be furious if he finds. I don't know how Naruto will react, and Neji-" She stopped and looked at me fearfully for a second. "You can't tell Neji. He'll kill Naruto. Please, promise me you won't tell him, Ten."
I remained silent for a moment, uncomfortable with keeping such a big secret from my boyfriend. But when I looked at Hinata's face and saw the desperation and stress burning in her eyes, I knew I had to do whatever possible to help my friend.
"I promise."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Hinata left only a few minutes before Neji arrived back to our apartment. I'd spent hours trying to console her, while she paced my room frantically. She didn't even live with Naruto yet, instead remaining in the Hyuuga household. Naruto lived on his own, and I'd had a growing feeling for the past few months that he'd be asking her to move in with him soon. But were they really ready for a child?
He was a well respected shinobi here in Konoha, strong and dependable, but I didn't have the slightest clue on how he'd react to being told that he would be a father. He loved her, that much I was sure of. The two of them shared a strong bond, just as strong as Sakura and Sasuke did, and I prayed that the test had defected and would spare Hinata the wrath of her father and Neji.
"Hey," I said when Neji entered the living room. My heart was pounding a bit too harshly in my chest, and I hoped I didn't look suspicious or anything.
He looked tired from the hours of training he'd just done but still managed to remain just as gorgeous. Still, I was worried. Usually, he didn't get at all tired when we trained together.
"Missed you at training today," he stated, slipping off his shoes and striding over to the couch where I sat. He sprawled his lean and well toned body across the cushions and rested his head in my lap.
I slid my fingers through his dark brown strands, loving the barely noticeable shudder that ran through his body. But I noticed everything that he did.
"Sorry," I said. "I got caught up talking with Hinata, you know, girl stuff." Well, at least that wasn't a complete lie.
"You left me alone with Lee," he said with his eyes closed, and I felt the guilt stab at me. Not telling him something as important as Hinata's possible pregnancy was hard for me.
"Sorry," I apologized once more. "I hope I can make it up to you later."
I leaned forward, letting my lips hover above his for a second as his opaque eyes opened slowly. My breath caught for a second. He had that effect on me.
I leaned down further, finally capturing his lips with my own. His tongue immediately slid across my lips, and I parted them for him without hesitation. When his tongue tangled with mine, I temporarily forgot about Hinata and relished in the pleasant tingles that ran down my spine.
He pulled back suddenly to gaze into my eyes with an intense stare that made me shift uncomfortably. "Is there something wrong?" he asked, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear.
"No," I said, hoping my voice was steady. "I'm fine."
He seemed to buy it and dropped the subject, but I noticed the small frown that creased his brow. "What?" I asked.
"I'm going on another mission," he said, and I sighed.
What was with Tsunade lately? She'd been sending Neji on so many missions, that I almost had to be penciled into his schedule.
"That's not it," I stated when the frown didn't disappear.
"No," he said simply, and I waited. "It's going to be for seven months."
My hand stopped stroking his hair. "Seven months," I repeated in a distraught tone.
That was his longest mission yet. I'd expected that he would be gone a lot as an ANBU captain, but that was just ridiculous.
"When do you leave?"I asked, already feeling teary eyed.
"Two days," he answered quietly, and I bit my lip to keep from crying.
What kind of kunoichi cried over stuff like this? Me, obviously, but I couldn't give a damn at the moment.
Neji raised his head out of my lap and kissed me long and hard, as if to apologize for something that wasn't his fault. "How about we go out to dinner tonight," he proposed, and I sniffled and nodded with a small smile.
He returned the smile and kissed my temple before standing. "Just let me shower first."
I watched him retreat into the bathroom and sunk into the couch. Now it would be a hell of a lot easier to keep that secret from him. Oh, karma was a bitch.
This was all truly unfair. This day was definitely not one of the best in my life, and when Neji came out of the bathroom holding a pregnancy test, I knew it was about to get alot worse.
A/N: Tenten and Neji! I can't get enough of them. Haha. So coming up is more tears, a total misapprehension, and a secret that's only a few hours old blows up in Tenten's face. Damn. Lol. But it'll get better….or will it? Hmmm…..