It's only rated K+ because of a few curse words here and there.
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"If I had a flower every time I thought of you…
I could walk through my garden forever."
– Alfred Tennyson
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They say that when you're in love, it's the little things that matter.
Neji can't agree more.
He isn't sure when he started wholly depending on Tenten, when he couldn't even imagine his life without her, but it was a slow, gradual process, filled with love and anger and everything in between.
And Neji realises, with a jolt, as he sits on the swinging chair on his back porch facing the brilliant sunset, that he and Tenten have been dating each other for eight years already. But they had been together for more than twenty.
Time flies.
.
Neither of them can remember when they first met. Tenten's mother claimed that they attached themselves to one another on the first day of daycare, both four years old. To Neji, Tenten had always been there. She was a constant, never leaving, his memories always twined around hers.
.
"Are you stupid, Neji?" Tenten barked. She hurried over to where he was standing. "You're not supposed to add the choc-chip until later!"
"Huh? But the recipe says–oh."
"Yeah, oh."
Neji grimaced and scratched his head sheepishly. "Sorry."
Tenten huffed and crossed her arms, her face scrunched up in anger, lanky, still-going-through-puberty limbs trembling. "Great, now we gotta start all over again."
"What on earth on going on?" Tenten's mother exclaimed, her head popping through the doorway. Neji thought that Tenten's mother, Rong, was always beautiful, and today she was no less elegant. There was something about the way she moved, her body lilting and flowing gracefully from one place to another. Tenten stated that her mother had once been a dancer, and that was evident in her actions.
Tsking, Rong took one look at the bowl of choc-chips-in-too-early mush, eyed the remaining ingredients, and swept over. Neji held his breath for the scolding that was sure to come.
"It's fine," her mother said brightly. "You are supposed add the chocolate chips at the end, but that's just so when you mix the previous things, it won't get crushed. This can still be saved, my little darlings!"
Tenten perked up at this, but made a face at her mother's dramatics.
"And… hold on a second. When did I ever allow you two to use the kitchen, hm? You troublemakers could have burned the house down and cost me my newly installed oven," Rong pouted, sounding more like a child than they were. It was hard to believe she was thirty-five years old with the unreasonably cute face she was making. Neji then chose not to comment on her odd priorities.
"Mum! We're twelve already. We can handle the kitchen," Tenten complained. "I'm taller than you now!"
"Don't remind me! I'm getting on in my age, and now my daughter's becoming more beautiful than me," Rong wailed, one hand flying up to her forehead in a show of theatrical angst.
"Stop it! Neji's here! You're embarrassing me! I'll pour your perfume collection down the toilet and burn your girly magazines if you don't stop it."
"Tenten, you wouldn't!"
Neji stared at them both and he briefly wonders why he befriended this girl and agreed to come to her house. The mother-daughter dynamics were overwhelming. He was rethinking his decision and thought of maybe making up an excuse to leave early to get away from it all.
But he didn't, and the half-burned and gooey cookies that he, Tenten and Rong ate together later that afternoon in the midst of muggy summer heat and screaming dragonflies ended up tasting better than anything his housemaids ever cooked.
.
They were fourteen years old when Tenten found out about his family problems. She discovered it in a way Neji never wished her to. It cost him a lot that day, but he also gained something else far, far more valuable.
Tenten had always wondered why, after a decade of friendship, Neji had never once invited her over to his place. She had always wondered, but she had never voiced it out loud. It didn't matter that he never invited her; he had his reasons, and Tenten was old enough to respect them.
"Young Master."
Tenten knew that Neji came from a very affluent family. He was extremely rich, his parents owning a large towel-making company. But his parents themselves were unhappy with one another, and, Neji told her, always made it abundantly clear.
Inwardly suppressing a groan, Neji turned back to find his butler standing over him, his shadow blocking out the sun.
"Um, Ryota-san? I'm in school," Neji said bluntly. He sat under on of the blooming cherry blossoms, pink petals littering the ground and his head. His small circle of friends stared unashamedly, Tenten most of all. A few passing students paused in their activities as well. After all, it wasn't everyday one saw a well-dressed butler leaning over one of the richest kids in the school.
"I know," Ryota said quietly. He stared at Neji gravely, and the lines on his face seemed deeper than before. "Something has happened with your parents, Young Master. If you would please follow me."
And that was when Neji looked behind his butler and noticed the car that was parked at the front of the school. He knew his mother was inside.
"Excuse me," he said stiffly to his friends. He got up, brushed the grass and petals away, and followed Ryota. He knew Tenten would take care of his things.
The walk to the car seemed like an hour long. When he finally made it and clambered inside, he wasn't surprised that the passenger was indeed his mother. What shocked him was look of utter fury on her face.
Hyuuga Nori bristled with barely suppressed fire; Neji was surprised she didn't burn the seat she sat on. Her hair was impeccably done, wound up in a tight ebony bun at the nape of her neck. Her eyes were heavily lined; foundation and blush coating her face and hid the age behind it. Her dark lips thinned, same-colour nails tapping her thigh impatiently.
"Mother."
"Neji. Your father has filed for a divorce." No hello, no hug. Neji had often caught himself wishing that Rong were his mother, not Nori. He was insanely jealous of Tenten for that.
"Oh." Neji had known that things hadn't been easy between his father and mother for years. He didn't know why it had taken them so long to get to this point.
"I'm taking custody of you. I will also be taking the house. God knows your father has wasted enough of my time and money. I want to make sure that bastard gets nothing. You, Neji, will have to help me. Tell the court that he abuses you–"
"Wait, but he doesn't. It's only physical discipline. Every parent does that–"
"I know he's been sleeping with that bitch of a woman for months already. Does he think I'm stupid or something!"
"Mother–"
"I don't even know why I agreed to this marriage–wait, Neji, where are you going?"
Neji had gritted his teeth and pushed himself out of the car, ignoring his mother's voice and never, never looking back as he made his way back to the gates where a gaggle of people still stared. He spotted Tenten's face among them and couldn't stop the relief that flowed. He heard the door slam and the sound of rushed heels.
Something hard clawed at his shoulder, and then he was spun around. He saw his mother's face, calm but boiling with cold anger underneath, before a resounding slap was struck across his face.
He saw stars.
"Don't walk away when I'm talking to you, Neji," Nori said softly, condescendingly. "I taught you better."
She walked away.
"Neji!"
Public humiliation. Nori always knew that public humiliation worked better than any punishment. That day, Neji lost a lot. His pride, mostly, and he lost his ability to face his friends with a true smile on his face, always afraid that they would judge, that secretly, they looked down upon him too. Just like his mother.
"Neji, oh my god, Neji."
Perhaps the reason why Neji didn't spiral down into depression with everything that went on in his messed-up family was because of the one person who stood by him and helped him stand back up again, who never left, who never questioned anything, but was always there.
"Neji, are you okay?"
Tenten invaded his vision. Her scent–caramel, butter, vanilla, something else that was very sweet–filled his nose, and as she crouched down beside him she gently brushed his cheeks in concern, and then lowered herself again down to his level while everyone else murmured above.
Tenten always did that, he realised. She never stood below or over him, always placing herself beside him.
Neji didn't cry easily. But that day he did. He pulled Tenten close and buried his face into her shoulder to hide the sight.
Because his life was shit. His mother and father didn't love each other, every night at the dinner table figurative daggers were tossed around. The daggers always reached the other, but Neji was also wounded in the process. His older sister abandoned him, choosing to move out to order to escape from the tension that filled his so-called 'home'. The housemaids were distant, and both his parents always tried to get him onto their side. It was only at school that he could relax, and only with certain people.
He was fourteen when his parents divorced. It was ugly, brutal, and Neji found himself resenting both of them.
He was fourteen when he realised just how much Tenten meant to him. She let him cry into her hair, and afterwards she just led him away from the crowd and they sat together on the rooftop. She didn't say anything, but merely wrapped an arm around him as the tears just continued trickling down.
"Thanks for being here," he managed to rasp out.
Tenten turned around and gave him a tender smile. "I always will be."
.
"Have you had your first kiss yet?"
"Nup, have you?"
"Nah."
Tenten frowned. "But I feel like I should have. I mean, most of our other friends have."
Neji snorted. "Well, most of our other friends are kind of dating each other, so it's sort of expected."
"Ugh, don't remind me. I walked in on Naruto and Hinata making out and damn, I wish I didn't know that Hinata could make sounds like that," Tenten groaned, burying her face in her hands.
"My cousin?" Neji asked, revolted. "Naruto? Why do I not know about this?"
"He asked her out ages ago," Tenten said, mumbling an afterthought about how oblivious he was. "You've just been too busy to notice, you douche."
"I'm sorry being school president keeps me from my social life," Neji said darkly. "The amount of work Tsunade-sensei gives me should be illegal." He idly traced the graffiti on the school desk in front of him.
"Have you finished yet?" Tenten asked, swinging her legs from her perch on top of the teacher's table. "Hurry up, I'm starving."
"No one asked you to stay back in school with me," Neji retorted snappishly. His eyes flickered down his watch. "Damn. It's already six. Come on, Tenten. The sun's setting. We should go before it gets too dark."
"Let's go get some cup ramen before we go home!" Tenten said excitedly. "The convenience store down the street sells them really cheap."
Barely waiting for him to stack up the files into his arms, Tenten grabbed him and all but threw him out of the classroom. Neji ignored the little tingle that shot up his spine when she touched him, and instead focused on balancing everything while being towed like a car.
"Alright, alright, calm your tits," Neji sighed loudly.
Neji ended up paying, of course, and the pair sat down at a street bench to eat. The nights were growing chillier, breaths fogging up in the air, and Neji noted that Tenten had forgotten her school jacket.
"You left you jacket on the kitchen counter again, didn't you," Neji smirked. "You always leave it there."
"Oh, shut up. Why don't you be a gentleman for once and give me yours?" Tenten challenged.
"If you say please."
"Neji, we are not playing this game."
Neji grinned. Tenten cracked.
"Please give me your fucking jacket, asshole."
Tenten smiled sweetly at him. Neji rolled his eyes and shrugged out of it, tossing it into her face.
"Hey! Watch the ramen!"
It had barely been a year since Neji had gotten the Butterflies. Yes. The Butterflies. With capital letters. He wasn't dense; he knew what this meant. But that didn't mean he didn't sometimes scream inwardly and shout, 'Why? Why did I have to fall in love with my best friend?'
Because Tenten was his best friend. His closest friend. He had been through a lot with her. He didn't want their friendship to change. He was comfortable as it was now, but his heart seemed to think otherwise.
The Butterflies appeared whenever Tenten was in a three-metre radius of him, which was, unfortunately, most of the day. She was in his form class, and so the long hours of school, plus after school and on the weekends when they went out with friends, meant that there was a lot of casual Neji-Tenten interaction.
Sometimes Neji cursed his life.
"Ew. I accidently put chili powder into my ramen. I can't handle spicy things," Tenten moaned.
Neji resisted the urge to sigh again and wordlessly swapped his cup of ramen with hers. Tenten looked at him, eyebrows raised and warm eyes surprised.
"I like spicy," Neji mumbled. "I didn't put any in mine."
They ate in silence, and above them, the street lamps stuttered into life. Tenten shifted, burying herself deeper into Neji's jacket. He willed himself not to shiver in the cool winter air, but the noodles warmed him up the instant the soup met his lips.
It was seven in the evening when the pair decided to head home. Tenten was unusually quiet next to him, her face absent. Neji didn't say anything either; Tenten sometimes liked to get into thinking moods and hated it if she was interrupted.
They stopped when they reached her house. Both could hear Rong singing away inside as she cleaned the dishes.
"My father has this important dinner party this weekend," Neji said, voice low and deep. He suddenly grew nervous, as if he was asking Tenten out on a date. "I need to attend, and he said I could bring a partner. Do you want to come?"
Tenten tore her gaze away from the silhouette of her mother. "I would love to."
Neji gave her one of his rare smiles. "Thank you."
He turned to go. He heard the sound of Tenten's breaths, and then rushed steps. Something firm, but not painful, held onto his shoulder, and then he was spun around. He saw Tenten's face, beautiful and kind, before she leaned forward and her breath ghosted on his lips. They hesitated for a split second, before the distance closed.
It was light, more of a peck than a kiss. But it was there. Tenten tasted like caramel, butter, vanilla, something else that was very sweet, and with it was a hint of chicken ramen.
She pulled away, and Neji dimly felt his lips buzzing. His brain was clouded, still not caught up to the current events.
In front of him, Tenten–stunning, gorgeous Tenten–beamed widely and said, "I'll see you tomorrow, Neji."
She skipped up to her house, leaving Neji standing dumbstruck on the footpath.
He was seventeen years old when he had his first kiss.
.
"I can't believe my little baby is dating," Rong sobbed. "My Tenten is all grown up!"
"Mum, if you don't stop pretending to cry, I'll chuck your makeup sets out the window," Tenten warned.
"Tenten, you wouldn't!"
"And I'm twenty already! You've had three years to get used to the idea of me and Neji."
"My baby!"
Tenten tried not to throw the wooden spoon she was holding at her mother's head and concentrated on the bowl in front of her.
"Choc-chip goes after everything has been mixed," Tenten reminded herself, before grinning fondly at the memory and adding the butter.
.
"Sorry I'm late, Neji!"
Neji looks up from his menu and his eyes light up when he sees Tenten hurrying over.
"You look prettier everyday," Neji says quietly. He finds the red that blossoms across her cheeks very cute and never misses the chance to ignite it. "Pearls look lovely on you."
"Thanks," Tenten smiles. She adjusts her black dress and paused. "Crap, I forgot my–"
"Jacket, which you left on the kitchen counter, I presume," Neji finishes. "I thought so, so I have one that you left at my place the other night."
He fishes the ball of material out from his lap and passes it over.
"Aw, you always have my back," Tenten grins.
They order dinner and talk about mundane things. How was your day? Are you feeling well? I have something exciting planned for tomorrow! The night passes warmly and without incident.
Neji can't imagine his life without Tenten. She had just always been there, without question, as natural as the sky is blue. He would not have it any other way.
That's why, as Neji stands up and takes two steps over to her, he's finally decided to do this. He's ready, and he knows that Tenten is as well. That's why, as he slides down on one knee and opens the smooth velvet box, he's decided to do this for their eighth anniversary, because it's his way of thanking her for twenty-one years of friendship and love, and it's also a promise for so much more. Quite frankly, he would have done this sooner, but took the advice of a happily married Shikamaru and waited.
He sees Tenten's eyes glistening, and he says the words that he's been practicing in front of the mirror for weeks. Finally, it has an audience.
"Huang Tenten, will you marry me?"
Tenten barely manages to choke out a reply. "Y-yeah."
Neji slides the ring onto her finger, small diamond glittering in the light. At that moment, even he felt like crying.
"I love you."
Neji is twenty-five when he proposes, and he knows that he can look forward to a lifetime of happiness.
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It's hard to find the true speaker of those words in the quote at the top of the chapter, but I found it on Goodreads, so yeah. Ehehehe.
I probably have a butt-load of mistakes in here. But whatever, editing later. If you find a mistake please let me know.
I've been reading all these fluffy-fluffy fics recently and wanted to puke rainbows, so this story is sort of me letting everything out. It's been a long time since writing as come to me as nicely at this; nowadays I'm wrestling with words. Ugh. And do not remind me of my currently-ongoing-but-sort-of-on-hiatus stories. I'll get to them later.
Thanks for reading. Reviews would be appreciated :)