Fireworks
One shot. One life. Do it right. NejiTen New Years fic.
A/N: Sorry if this was horrible, I didn't have a lot of time to write it... I didn't even read it over, cause we have some guests over...
Anyways, Happy New Years to everyone!
When Tenten had jumped in between Neji and Lee during their sparring session, almost taking a kunai to the head, it was to announce a "brilliant" idea.
"Guys, why don't we go to the fireworks show?" she'd asked, blissfully unaware of the danger she was in. "It's only once a year, you know, and I heard it's gonna be really pretty. C'mon, Gai-sensei, can we all go?"
"Ah, Tenten!" Their teacher had cried, "What a youthful idea, what a flowery passion for-"
Neji had covered his ears then and snuck off into the forest to finish training. His poor ears couldn't stand another one of Gai's passionate speeches.
Of course, Tenten found him and just had to ask the question of doom: "Hey Neji, you wanna come with us?"
No, he didn't want to waste his time watching people light dangerous potential bombs and send them into the sky.
He would've said so too, but just then a breeze blew some of the leaves above aside and the sun struck Tenten's face and he was side-tracked thinking how beautiful she was.
He was abruptly brought back to earth, however, when she said (quite angrily) "Well, are you?"
"Um... What? Oh, no, I don't want to go with all of you." Cursing himself for sounding like a fool, Neji abruptly turned and set off towards home.
It was only when, sitting in his room and listening to his cousins get ready for the show, he realized he'd probably hurt Tenten a lot. Not to mention he was quite rude.
I should go, just to say sorry. No, but then, I don't have to go right now, I could always tell her tomorrow.
The clock was slowly ticking towards starting time. The house was silent now; everyone had already left.
But then, I haven't really actually seen a fireworks show before... And this might be the right thing to do...
The clocked showed ten minutes to starting time... Five minutes... Two minutes...
Making a split second decision, Neji abruptly stood (his knees gave a crack of protest at the sudden movement- he'd been still for so long) and darted up to the nearest rooftop.
By the time the crowd at the base of the mountain came into sight, there was thirty seconds to beginning. Desperate times call for desperate measures, Neji reasoned with himself, and had located Tenten with his byakugan in moments.
Weaving through the cheering crowd and tapping Tenten's shoulder, the anxiety of how she'd react, suppressed for so long, finally surfaced.
Tenten's expression when she saw him certainly didn't help. You'd better have a good explanation, it said, or I'll bash your face in.
Leaning close to her so as not to be overheard, he whispered, "Why would I go with Gai and Lee? I just want to be with you."
As the fireworks illuminated her happy face, as the cheering around them swelled louder than ever, Neji couldn't help admitting to himself that yes, this was the right thing to do. The best thing he'd ever done.
