Author's Note: Hiyaaa guys, sorry if I haven't submitted anything in the oneshots collection. I've been working on something big and it's keeping me. I promise it won't disappoint you :D
of chamomile and picture frames
by Alex
It all started when Tenten found herself on the road at midnight, on the way to Neji's house.
Her parents have been fighting over the phone, and her car screeched when she heard their shouts on repeat in her head.
She didn't know what she was doing, but it was late night and there was nobody else she could go to. It was raining, and Tenten couldn't see very clearly (due to the pitiful amount of tears that clouded her vision).
She kept on going.
Her pace quickened because she was lonely, and she needed comfort, she needed him, or at least, somebody to hold on to.
The light was dim and lonely in his room and her tears are wiped away by his fingers. He is warm, and she can't help but snuggle into his arms as she kept crying. Neji would look down at her and cradle her cheeks and she would shiver in his touch.
"It's alright. I'm here."
His voice was gentle and soothing enough to hold onto him more, and Tenten thought well enough to finally give in to him and let go of the river.
She tries not to think about why he always had this effect on her. Why she bothered to even come to him in the first place, or the quiet whispering in her head that maybe, just maybe, she needed him for reasons she did not want to think
When he thought she was asleep, he rose above her and draped a blanket over her sleeping form.
When she comes to work, she finds a single rose on her desk with a note attatched dantily onto it. She looks around for anybody who might've sent it, but shrugs and sips her coffee.
Later that evening she find out that it was in fact Uchiha Sasuke who sent the thoughtful package, and she rushes almost immediately back to her seat to read the note.
She overheard from Naruto that her good friend, Sakura Haruno, had left for good, and because of her strict parents. She frowned because he also said that she wasn't going back anytime soon, and that she was engaged, to a man named Sai she never heard of.
It turns out that the Uchiha has called her for purposes rather then work, then smiles in glee when he approaches her holding a set of car keys in one hand.
She wants to decline, knowing that he probably just asked her because his beloved was taken away from him and he just needed company, but this was just a too good opportunity to ignore. She takes his hand and heads to the parking lot.
"Let's go on a date."
The Uchiha is entertaining, she presumes, and she tells herself she hasn't smiled like this in a while. Dinner is bountiful and the restaurant is classy, a secluded place in town that he picked just for them.
Sasuke is an amazing talker. He is smooth and he never offends her, never lets her down, and she notices the way her cheeks heat up every once in a while.
His eyes are dark, obsidian orbs that are mysterious in a way that makes Tenten want to stare. They are powerful and she is entranced, by him, his looks, his voice.
"Your eyes."
He looks up to lift an eyebrow at her and she smiles at him, noticing the way them warm when he looks at her.
"They're beautiful. Like burnt charcoal."
He smirks at her. It is a while before she talkled to him again, aside from being her coworker. He's usually so busy, so he never goes out and she never sees him. She recalls that time when she thought she was in love with him but ended up being a mere crush, a childish infatuation, but his firm gaze made her realize why she felt those things before.
"Is that so?"
Sasuke is healing her and she knows it. Her heart is being mended at the very moment and so is his, and she is safe to assume that she finds comfort in him.
He drives her home that evening and she rewards him with a kiss on the cheek. They linger there on the doorway and then the night is over.
Later Tenten finds herself sprawled in her bed. Uchiha Sasuke is everything she had dreamed of.
(But no matter how handsome and smart he is his eyes will never match the pale thistle she is always used to looking at).
She is his room, again, and Tenten is far from over her date the night before. She decided to tell him all about it because he was the only person she could trust, so she sits comfortably on the edge of his bed in nothing but a white tee and pyjama shorts.
"Do you love him?"
Tenten opens both her eyes to look at him, only to find out that his gaze is too serious for him to be joking. She laughs it off and quickly dismisses the subject before they can venture further.
Later, she decides to stay the night, so Neji willingly agrees to take the couch only to be stopped by Tenten.
She finds herself wrapped in the covers of her best friend's mahogany, complete with his heavy breathing and alpine scent.
"You're way too jumpy."
She decides not to answer to that when she heard the speakers mimic the noises of what seemed to be a monster.
She is frightened and in love.
They are at his living room and Sasuke had invited her over for her to watch a movie, which Tenten excitedly agreed to, even going so far as to pick a horror movie only to be scared of it.
"Shut up. You know it's scary and I like it."
She jumps again and yelps and Sasuke chuckles, gingerly patting her on the head when she snuggles up beside him.
This, Tenten decides, is the life.
It is noon, and she and Neji are at the orphanage. There's a huge hall at the center of the building and they meet there with all of the kids.
She gives out food and smiles when a child hugs her, and she hugs back with just as much fervor. Suddenly, there is a noise and all the kids turn around quickly to gather around the creaky couch out back.
Neji's seated in the center, reading a book about adventure, and all the kids are huddled up and Neji doesn't seem the slightest bit bothered.
"You're way too thoughtful."
He chuckles lightly at the comment and Tenten is reminded of Sasuke, but quickly shakes it off when they head on to the local dumpling store to buy food.
"Maybe it's because you are, too."
Late night and she's on her way to his apartment. Earlier, she attended the Dragon Festival with Sasuke and she was limp. Shuffling to his door, she pulled out her keys.
"Okay, Sasuke. Have a good night-"
He clicks.
She finds herself unable to speak when Sasuke's arms curl around her and her lips are overtaken by his. The kiss isn't shy or precious. His lips capture hers hungrily but she obliges.
After all, what more can she ask for?
They open his door and they make way for his room, bumping each other and Sasuke's kisses only become more painful. When they finally make it, it's pitch black and he's flaming. Somehow he had gotten hold of her blouse and she squeaks a little at his touch.
"Sakura..."
She frowns when she hears it, and finally came upon the realization that the kiss wasn't for her. She wants to stop, but her body doesn't, and she forgets all sense of reality.
She wakes up only to find out that she isn't in her room. They are a mess of limbs in the bed, so tangled together that one could not tell where one started and the other one ended.
Tenten, who thought that her heart was mending slowly with him has shattered once again. She is wary of the past, and the present, and she can only smile at his closed eyelids in front of her.
Quiet as early dawn, she tiptoes her way out of his arms and throws the covers around him, flinching when he shifts slightly. She is relieved to see she is still in her clothes, and she pulls on his coat as she heads outside of his room.
(But she can't help but notice the way Sakura's frame hangs a little too perfectly on his door frame).
(She shivers).
She finds herself at Neji's room, again, when she found out that her parents had finally decided to split up.
She is nothing but a crying mess in his arms, and Neji still whispers comfort into her ears. It tugs on her heartstrings and seeps into her soul.
He approached her at work the next day and he asks why he always sees her driving to Neji's house in the middle of the night.
Quickly shoving thoughts of any implications, she explains that she simply needed comforting, and she was going to see him, but her soul shatters when she sees his lips turn into a frown at her words and she finds himself rubbing his hands and telling him it's okay.
(He then asked why she didn't come crying to him for help, but quickly told him that Neji would probably understand her more, being her best friend and all).
(He nods slowly).
It's not far from the day when Sasuke approached her from work and decides to see Neji. They are alone, in their favorite dumpling place, and Tenten chose that time for them to chat.
She talks about Sasuke, and Neji flinches, then she rambles on about weapons and movies and Neji just finds himself at loss for words as she continues talking.
He later snaps out of his own thoughts when Tenten starts asking him why he was treating her so kindly. He furrows his brows and leans further into the seat, and figures that his mind is just as confused as his expression is.
"It's not like you're in love with me or anything, right?"
Neji wisely chooses not to answer.
"Make me ramen."
Tenten widens her eyes when she hears Sasuke say the words. She shakes her head and blinks, but nothing changes.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me."
He is challenging her, she realizes, and she quickly nods her head when she sees him smirk. She prepared the meal quickly and heads back to his room, only to find out he isn't there anymore and there is another note on his table.
"Have a nice meal."
She lifts her head and gasps when she comes face-to-face with a length full of food, ranging from the little sushi rolls to the plump meat of pork. She feels him smirk behind her when the bowl is lifted up from her hands and she hears him whisper into her ear.
"I love your cooking."
(She shudders in jealousy as Sasuke merrily slurps up his ramen and she is stuck there with a shiny apple and lots of fish on her plate. He just looked to good eating it).
They are at the hood of her car, at night, and the air is cool around them. Stars are burning above them and the moon is huge, their arms are tucked into the back of their heads.
She is on fire.
She doesn't know how or why it started but she is pressed on to him, and his lips are soft and smooth, and everything she envisioned them to be. Her eyes flutter close and she feels herself being lifted up, and into light.
(She decides on her own that Neji's kiss is better than any kisses with Sasuke she had ever experienced).
Tenten feels like a traitor, walking up to Sasuke like that, right after kissing her best friend. It's weird, she never considered them a couple but was told that they were.
But Tenten is young, and troubled, and her mind isn't exactly functioning the way it's supposed to, because her problems are bugging her and she just needs warmth.
And warmth she got as her guilt deepened when Sasuke handed her a coffee. She turns to the window and sees that it's snowing outside, snowflakes melting on the windowpane.
"It's alright."
She shifts her gaze to Sasuke who she sees is staring intently. His dark orbs are full of concern and she can only smile at him as she picks up her mug and sips, artificial warmth flowing in her veins.
(She remembers Neji and the nights she drives into his house at midnight and gulps audibly).
Tenten had never remembered anything like this in her life.
She is dangling her feet up in the sky on top of the Hyuga building. It's tall and it's luxurious and has a rooftop, and her feet are dancing in the brilliant fright of being this high.
Neji watches beside her in worry as she keeps smiling.
And when she leans down, almost too much for his liking, he quickly throws his arms around her rather protectively to keep her from falling to her death. She finds herself being lifted up, up from danger and she smiles at him, throwing her arms around him. Neji feels something warm on his chest, and quickly realizes that it's wet.
Because Tenten is lonely, and she is confused, and she doesn't know what to do about her boys.
(Neji quickly realizes that Sasuke had been watching all along).
Tenten suddenly finds herself growing tired of him.
He is leaving too constantly, and his room smells of cherry blossoms. He comes to her later that evening and pecks her forehead quickly, before leaving and telling her he had business to do.
Later that day she and Neji are at the cemetery, silent and putting flowers to graves, and listening to the wind rustle as leaves fly by.
She is sipping tea with Hiashi late in the afternoon, when the sky is a bleary orange and the air starts to chill.
They laugh for a while like old friends, and the tea smells good so she tells him her gratitude. Her laughs and his chuckes start to simmer down slowly, and finally when both of them are at loss for words Hiashi's lips curl into a smile.
"Neji's gotten quite fond of you."
She isn't sure how to react to that, instead giving him a sad smile in return. It hurts inside, it really does.
It's their anniversary, she realizes.
A year has gone by way too fast and even if she thinks she's growing tired of Sasuke, she still loves him and makes the effort to shop for him that day.
And when she enters her room with a watch for him in hand, she is surprised to see Sasuke spreawled out in his bed, clutching a handful of cherry pink hair.
And suddenly, Tenten realizes, that this day was not only made for her. It's also the day that she left, and she frowns when Sasuke looks at her, black orbs full of fire.
Because Sasuke is lonely and so is she, and she quickly comes into the realization that he is not for her. He is merely a thread to her wounded heart and tells herself that they are not permament.
Sometimes she wishes they would be.
So when Sasuke reaches out to her, whispering sayings of someone else's name, she gently puts his hand down and wraps it around hers.
His eyes are damp, and when they look at hers they are pleading, and she wants to cry with him. Wisps of the pink hair fly out of his fingers, and Tenten abruptly stands up, mattress giving way, and Sasuke's expression becomes worried.
"Tenten?"
She makes her face stern, but instead it warps into a one that is hurt and ready to break down, and Sasuke realizes it.
"You are a broken man, Sasuke."
The words feel scratchy in her throat and she turns around to leave, but before she could open the door she turns to him. It's painful, watching him like this.
"You are lonely, sad, and an absolute coward, Sasuke."
The words hurt too much but she decides against it. Sasuke's eyes widen by a fraction and the cherry blossom strands float away.
"You act like you are strong."
She gulps and the words stain her tongue, but she chokes out the rest. She is about to burst, and her eyes are glossy.
"You are just afraid of getting hurt. Because you were scared of me to think you are pathetic. You're not, Sasuke, I know."
She smiles, and the smile scars his heart. Her words are flesh and he is a ghost, and it seeps into his core. It drags him down. He can't explain it.
"Tenten-"
"I know that Uchiha Sasuke's brave and mighty side is just a mask. But the Sasuke I loved is a child who is afraid of being alone."
She nods once and he looks away. Just as she is about to leave, she turns back once and tries to smile, and hands him the rest of the hair, and it's limp and the pinkness is dulling.
"Tenten."
She turns around.
"I loved you."
She smiles.
"So did I."
She finds herself, in her car, driving to his house yet again.
Because she doesn't know where else to go, and she is confused and angry. The rain is falling hard in the windshiels and she makes no effort to try and wipe it off, because the only thing she needs is him.
She stops firmly by his door and knocks once, suddenly finding that she can't do it. Her hand falls limp, but she still does it, and it makes a firm noise on the hard oak.
"Tenten?"
She sees him and suddenly time stops and she freezes. He is at the door and it's wide open, and she can't see him because her eyes are closed and her face morphs into a flurry is tears and she runs quickly into his arms.
Neji feels the pain and pulls her inside, and she's sniffling from the rain and the tears and it's warm and cool on his clothes.
Because Tenten needed warmth and warmth she got.
He wipes away the tears, and cups her face as gently as he can because to him, Tenten is fragile.
"It's alright. I'm here."
His voice was gentle and soothing enough to hold onto him more, and Tenten thought well enough to finally give in to him and let go of the river.
Because as long as he was here, and as long as she would trust in him.
And when he thought she was asleep, he rose above her and draped a blanket over her sleeping form.
Author's Note: Haha, yup, that's it guys.
Hope you enjoyed my pathetic excuse of a drama.
It's actually my first time writing in snippets, and writing in AU is hard. But I'm slowly falling in love with AU, and Aquarius Galuxy is to blame. Seriously.
Inspired by BOYS OVER FLOWERS. I have no regrets.
Reviews would be nice.
Until Then!