2 years, 18 days ago
Neji's fingers were gentle as they threaded through her hair and she sighed softly at his touch. He smiled sadly and moved closer to her, his other hand stroking up her arm. She shivered and tightened her grip on his hips, fisting her hands into the material of his pants. He pressed tender kisses to her eyelids and she bit her lip to keep her tears at bay. He rested his forehead against hers and they breathed each other in in silence, their hearts pounding against their ribs.
"It all ends tomorrow." He exhaled against her and she shook her head, scooting herself even closer to him.
"It doesn't have to." He let out a bitter laugh.
"Our fate was sealed long ago." She moved her hands to cup his cheeks and opened her eyes, looking straight into his.
"And how many times do I have to tell you that I don't believe in fate?" He didn't answer but kissed her instead and she kissed him back, letting the words they were forbidden to say pour into him. When they pulled back to breathe, she ran her thumbs over his cheekbones and tried to drink in the sight of him with her eyes, imprinting his image onto her heart.
"If there is such thing as fate, then I'll find you again Neji, I promise. If things are meant to be, then we are meant to be. This isn't the end," she whispered kissing him softly, "It'll never be the end."
Love is a crime. Duty is all that matters.
Present
The sky was orange today. Things were always worse on days when the sky was orange.
Tenten watched as Sasuke wound the bandage tightly around his arm, mouth twisted into a bitter frown. He was never an overly peppy person, not that she knew why (it'd been two years, but she wasn't allowed to ask) but on orange days he was worse than usual and she sometimes wondered why, wondered what it was about these days that made his temper so much fouler. Was it just the weather? Or maybe he had a memory of another orange day, a memory that hurt to think of.
All of Tenten's memories hurt to think of.
The morning had started off poorly, Sasuke slicing into his arm with the hunting knife, blood pooling around him and she knew they'd be in horrid trouble if anyone found out. She'd hurried into the house, grabbing a bandage and rags and a sewing kit that had belonged to someone she wasn't allowed to think of. Sasuke had held the rag on his wound to staunch the bleeding and she'd mopped up the mess he'd made, scrubbing to erase any trace from the knife and the ground, digging up the dirt and grass she couldn't clean. She'd tossed it all into the fire pit and prayed no one came by until after noontime when she'd be able to burn it. She turned to Sasuke then, opening up the kit and pulling out needles and thread. She'd always been terrible with sewing, but she did her best, stitching up his arm as hastily as she could. He gritted his teeth but never once complained or tried to pull away, but then, he knew it'd be worse if he did. She'd left him with the bandages and tossed the bloodied rags into the fire pit and hurried to replace the sewing kit before anyone realised she'd used it.
The sky turned into darker orange as she watched and she turned back to her chores, lest she be accused of slacking and that's what happened to her last time the sky'd been like this and Tenten remembered how that ended. Sasuke finished tying his arm and stood to leave, off to hunt and he was so behind and they'd be in so much trouble if anyone ever found out. She tried to console herself with thoughts of how prodigiously talented Sasuke was, of how even though he had gotten a late start, he was sure to be able to catch enough that no one would be suspicious.
She was washing his shirts because he had to be presentable, if he wasn't, if he wasn't he'd end up just like, well, she couldn't let that happen. She scrubbed so hard her hands were raw and she had to stop because if she bled she'd not only ruin the water but break a cardinal rule and she could never afford that, especially not on an orange day. She cleaned instead for a bit, sweeping mostly because it didn't work her hands until she felt she could get back to the clothes without issue. When she'd finished up she hung them to dry and went back inside to finish her cleaning. The place was eerie when she was alone but she always was this time of day, what with only her and Sasuke left. It was better when...well, it didn't matter. She checked the time as often as she could, because she needed it to be noontime, because noontime meant she could start the fire and then she could hide the evidence.
She readied potatoes for lunch, one for the each of them and finally Sasuke returned, exactly on time, exactly at noon. She hurried to the yard and set the fire, pot of potatoes ready in one hand to be boiled. Sasuke slipped to the back of the house to prepare the meat and she kept a careful eye on the bloody rags, willing them to burn quicker. When the fire settled enough for boiling, she put the pot over and lucky too as she saw them coming just as she did.
They were two men, tall but narrow shouldered, their uniforms crisp and freshly pressed. An inspection. Of course. It was an orange day after all and bad things always happened on orange days. She kept her body turned to the fire but watched discreetly from the corner of her eye.
"Look at this, a hardworking citizen, just as she should be." One of the men commented and the mirth in his tone made her body taught with anger. The other man nodded and the first focused his look on her.
"Any comments on that?" He asked her and she ignored him, kept her mouth shut and her eyes glued to her potatoes. He laughed.
"And quiet too, as she should be. We won't have to do with this one what we did with the one next door." The man laughed as he moved on to survey the yard and inspect what Sasuke was doing and she felt cold fear settle in her belly. Next door? Which girl next door? Temari? No, she was too smart to talk to any of the officers. Hanabi then? Yes, she was young and tempestuous, they might've caught her. Tenten's stomach sunk at the thought and the way the man had laughed when he spoke of it. So many rules and all so easy to break, they never had a chance, did they?
God, she hated orange days.
There is no hate. Only your responsibilities.
