A/N: Well I wrote this late at night but it's happy and full of fluff so I like it quite a bit.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters associated with it. This is a work of pure fiction.
Summary: He could still remember the day he stood in the training ground and realized the girl he was sparring against was his one. Even in his old age this memory was as clear as the day it had happened.
Tea in the Garden by ThisModernGlitch
Neji sat beside Rock Lee in the Hyuga's vast garden. Together they watched migrating ducks sweep down into the Koi pond, diving for algae as soon as their feet had hit the water.
The two of them were old men by now, Rock Lee still had his blinding smile and Neji's hair was still worn the way it had been in his youth, his eyes still carried their same Hyuga coloring.
But they were unmistakably old. Their skin had ceased it's youthful appearance, allowing sagging wrinkles to appear upon their faces, interrupted only by infamous scars. Reminders of battles long gone and nearly forgotten by most.
These two men were some of the last ones left of their generation, and they were proud even if the younger generation didn't know why. They were proud of their lives. Of their battles, their struggles, and their triumphs.
Both had found wives; a surprise in Lee's case but one that the village had overcome in time.
She had born Lee three children, each gifted with his abilities and his affinities for 'youthfulness'. A sad fact the Hyugas had suffered through their years of affiliation and friendship with the Lees.
Neji married but his marriage had done little to disturb social aspects of the Konoha village.
Tenten, a weapons mistress and former teammate, her companionship and moral conviction had captured him in an inescapable lure.
A woman without a name, she had somehow managed to change opinions Neji had long committed to fact and had, in the process, changed Neji himself.
He could still remember the day he stood in the training ground and realized the girl he was sparring against was his one. Even in his old age this memory was as clear as the day it had happened.
It shocked the public to see the stoic Hyuga sharing a smile with her in local tea houses, a quiet conversation flowing easily and lightly between the two of them. If Neji's attitude had not been so infamous it was more than likely no one would have paid them any heed. They were natural together.
Years forming and shaping one and other left the couple worn and familiar, even after the nature of their relationship had shifted to a more intimate one. The two lingered in a static state of courtship until the minimum social expectations had been met, marrying nearly as soon as it was deemed appropriate.
The delay in their marriage was something his family could be held accountable for as well; the Hyugas had yet to change much in those days. Neji was certain Tenten would have left him long ago had she not know the pains of his family from early childhood. As it was, she stood united with him, putting up with tedious and often times taxing customs and traditions that restricted her entrance into the Hyuga clan.
Change among the Hyugas was something Neji had longed for since Tenten had reshaped his heart but the birth of their first child transformed his whims into a solidified resolve. Grown into a man, Neji's fight for change was much different than his youthful ideals had been. As a man, a father, Neji stood united with Tenten and his cousins, forcing change to come to his family.
Their victory within the clan had been cause for celebration, a long awaited change in the family. The clan had been ready for the Hyuga way to transform, the elders old and almost gone. No one remembered their battles, their victories; an older Neji noted to himself in his old age, revelations coming to him with his years.
Tenten gave him three more children, each born into the reformed Hyuga clan. Three sons to carry on his name.
Tenten was his blessing, his resolve for many more years than he gave her credit for. And she was his guide even in his old age.
Back in the Hyuga garden, Neji and Lee set down their tea, the prospect of eavesdropping upon the scene unfolding before them extremely appetizing. Watching quietly the two men watched a small snippet of youth play out in front of them.
Down at the water's edge a Hyuga son and a Lee daughter approached each other from opposite sides of the pond, quietly winding their path strategically, coming to stand in front of each other.
The Hyuga boy reached out with an unsure hand, carefully lifting the girl's fingers with a sort of reverence. The Lee girl smiled bashfully, too young and inexperienced to conceive the notion of a coy response. She was well matched though, for the boy was just as green as her, neither quite able to understand the soft shudder that flittered between their touch.
Their fathers watched on from their enclosed gazebo, the tea cooling in its ceramic cups. Neither felt the desire to stop the interaction. It was an area still too unexplored by either child to pose a problematic situation. Besides, their families were close, a union between them was not an entirely undesirable prospect for the two houses. Lee, as had been his prerogative for decades, made quite a scene inside the small of the gazebo; ranting quietly to his old friend about the beauty of the youth before them. A small smile of familiarity passed over Neji's stoic lips. It was a speech which he had heard since his own youth, and had, somewhere along the line, become a comforting recital instead of an irritating droning. Neji found even Rock Lee's waterworks merited a small spark of nostalgia. The Hyuga knew by this that he was old.
Neji and Lee were content to speculate on their children's future but Neji's wife was far less enthused by their speculations and unbinding marriage contracts.
Reprimanding her old teammates lightly Tenten took a seat next to her husband and watched along side them as the two children played out a classic tale of youth.
Team Gai's time was over but the future of their children was just beginning. Perhaps their houses would merge in the future, perhaps not. Only the future could tell them what was in store and frankly, the future was a finicky thing. Even after all these years.
- End -
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