Two years later, it was a Thursday night again. Neji held her close to him, waiting for her breathing to calm, soaking up her energy and scent. She had been on the longest mission yet, taking her away for several months. His Thursday nights had been anguished. More so, because his family had been oblivious to his state. Not that it was their fault. It was impossible to read him and he was incapable of expressing emotional distress if his life depended on it. So, when Tenten asked him how his time had been spent he answered coolly: "I've been kept busy. Went to Suna-Gakure a few times and my uncle is planning a family reunion, which, apparently, requires a lot of meetings wherein which the same content is discussed at length."
Tenten smiled against his bare chest. They lay on her couch, a light blanket draped around her shoulders. She had been away on a secret mission, but she had given him to understand that she had missed the warmth of her home. She had been far up north.
Underneath her he shifted uncomfortably. Surprised Tenten slid off of him. He felt compelled to pull her close again, but he had grown unaccustomed to their romantic interaction. He felt unable to physically express his desire for proximity. He had not shifted because of her weight but because he had something to say and, as always, that gave him a hard time.
"Something peculiar has been happening," he informed her. Tenten's interest was peaked. She sat upright and he followed suit.
"What's that?" she encouraged him to speak.
He hesitated slightly less than before. "We have a distant cousin visiting. My uncle is insisting I spend time with her. It is peculiar because Hinata is the clear choice for this task."
Tenten's heart skipped a beat and it clearly showed on her face. She could tell Neji had noticed but he probably did not grasp what it meant. She pulled the blanket to cover her nakedness. Her bareness felt unsafe to her suddenly. She tried to hide it with an upbeat tone of voice: "So what's she like?"
Neji proceeded to give a report. "She is very pretty and capable at anything related to home economics. She is quiet enough. But…" Tenten was trying hard not to hang on his words. "People are talking behind our backs. I can see it. It seems rather blatant to engage in an action when they know I am more than capable of observing it anyways."
"That's true," Tenten said noncommittal. When he did not continue, she asked: "Are you aware of what it is they're saying?" It sounded more like a statement. Neji did not answer. Instead he confessed: "I am uncertain… about what to do." His gaze was fixated on the folds on her blanket where it bulged over her chest.
"I think you know what to do," Tenten replied curt. He considered her statement.
"Would you accompany me?" His request was so unlike him that at first, she was not sure she had heard him correctly. Lastly, Tenten nodded, but she kept the sheet tightly around her, even as she settled back into his chest. He made sure not to enclose her too tightly.
They had not spoken since but, now, the next morning, Tenten could hear the comfortable baritone of Neji's voice from behind the closed doors. First thing the next morning, they had gotten dressed and walked over to the Hyuuga's large estate. They had done so in silence, taking in the other's presence. The place had been full of bustling life. There were many new, haughty, pretty faces around, so Tenten could not determine whether any of the new arrivals were the lady Neji had mentioned. Apparently, the Hyuga family was full of pretty young women. Navigating their way securely through the high long hallways had been no problem for Neji. He had an aura that practically screamed at passerbys not to approach him. If they were surprised to see Tenten with him, they tried to conceal it with lowered heads and shuffling feet. Only Hinata shot them a puzzling glance as they passed her. Tenten waved and Hinata smiled back but was unable to pull away from some of the servants who demanded her attention on the placement of several banquet tables.
Now Tenten was sitting on the bench with elaborate brocade upholstering in front of Hiashi's office listening him yell incoherent things at his nephew. After thirty minutes, Hinata came to join her. She did not utter a syllable, just placed her hand lightly on Tenten's. They breathed in unison as Hiashi's fit raged on. It was impossible to make out whole sentences through the thick oak doors but certain keywords echoed unmistakingly through the large waiting room. When a particularly harsh insult resounded, Hinata squeezed her friend's fingers. Tenten replied with the lightest of pressure. Every once in a while they could hear Neji reply monosyllably. Even through the seemingly impenetrable office doors Neji's indifference was apparent. It radiated through the entire house.
Tenten felt sure that within an hour the entire village would be aware. Hinata remained silently compassionate with her until the shouting had died down. They could hear Neji talking for slightly longer stretches of time now. Which was still pretty short by anyone else's standards. As she left, Hinata smiled encouragingly and mouthed "Speak to you soon." Her shape was just disappearing around the corner as Neji emerged. He closed the heavy doors behind him carefully.
"He wasn't happy," he informed her needlessly.
"So I heard."
"It's time to move."
Tenten did not know what he expected her to reply to that.
"You should get a place in town."
She raised her eyebrows.
"I don't have the money for that," she retorted stupidly. He had seen her bank statements. Not everyone could be employee of the year, gaining huge bonuses. Some people just worked and did their best. She almost felt insulted that he failed to understand this difference between them.
They heard Hiashi, who presumably already considered them gone, exclaim several profanities. His lower lip twitched.
"You hear that?" Tenten was confused by his question. It was difficult not to hear, even when you were trying your best.
He continued: "I know someone with family trouble, who would… welcome a roommate."
So, they moved in together.
The process itself was not very difficult. They threw all of Tenten's books into a box, all of her partly broken, partly antique and not in a good way kitchenware into the garbage and hired a moving van to deal with the monstrosity of the couch. What was a bit disconcerting was dealing with everyone knowing. As expected, Konoha-Gakure's consternation was boundless. Weird did not even begin to cover it, in everyone's opinion.
The street lights illuminated their living room as Tenten pulled apart the curtains to open a window. The fresh air would do them good after three hours of discussing a mission the three of them had been assigned together. It had been quite some time since Tenten, Neji, and Lee had been on a joint mission. It must have been about five years ago, shortly after they had moved in together. Tenten had always thought that it was one of the ways Tsunade's strange sense of humor was expressed. Of course Lee had spent the entire trip throwing questions such as "But how?", "When did this happen?" and "Are you two for real then?" at them. Luckily, Lee had gotten used to them as an item over the years. Every once in a while they could feel people in the village still looking at the pair of them with an expression of mild confusion, but the worst of it was long behind them. The two of them hardly went out in public anyway. Date night was staying at home on Tenten's ageing couch watching a weapon's documentary.
Lee was clearing away maps and spy reports from the large mahogany dining table when the bell rang. Neji was in the kitchen checking on the food that had been simmering peacefully in a slow cooker. So, it was only Tenten and Lee who exchanged surprised looks.
"Are you expecting something, Neji?" she asked. She had to raise her voice a little because their condo was a lot larger than Tenten's tiny little old apartment had been. The dining and living room alone, connected by three beautiful tall archways, could hold more than thirty people. An indistinct muffled noise indicated a negative response of his. She proceeded towards the front door and found it was a cheerful delivery man, handing her a package and asking to sign for it. When she saw it had been sent from the Hyuuga address, she felt like checking the packing for anthrax. Lee was less concerned.
"Maybe it's from Hinata," he suggested. Tenten found that highly unlikely. They had met her and Naruto for lunch only yesterday. Surely, they would have mentioned anything like this.
Anxiously they waited for Neji to rejoin them at the dining table. Lee could hardly contain his excitement, he was shaking the box close to his ear.
"Is Hiashi still calling you the bitch who stole his prodigy?" he inquired casually. He would never talk like this in public but with just the three of them he felt completely comfortable referencing all the terrible things they had confided in him over the years.
"It has been unusually quiet," Tenten admitted. "The last lawyer's letter we received about 'unlawful cohabitation' arrived more than a year ago." This fact did not make her feel any better though. Finally, Neji returned wiping his hands on his apron. He took one look at the return address and frowned heavily.
"Did you check for anthrax?" he demanded to know. But Lee was done waiting. He rolled his eyes and snatched the package back up into his arms. With the same energy he applied to everything in life he ripped it open, demonstrating remarkable strength and produced a sturdy red box. Undoing the clasp at the side, he flung it open to reveal an oval shaped bottle, with reddish brown fluid, narrowing into a long neck and topped with a cork in the design of the French royal lily.
"Martin? Louis? Who are these people?" Lee read out and wondered aloud.
"It's brandy," Neji informed them. His guard was up, so there was no telling as to what he thought. "It is my uncle's favorite."
Tenten noticed an envelope that had sailed to the floor during Lee's violent unpacking efforts. Hastily she collected it, unfolded and read it.
"On your five-year anniversary. I miss my nephew. Please visit for dinner sometime. Both of you. Signed Hyuuga Hiashi, current head of the Hyuuga family clan and city council and heritage restoration member of the village of Konoha. Ps: Hinata is very persuasive. Congratulations." There was silence among the three after Tenten had finished but of course Lee was the first to break it.
"Does this mean the feud is over?"
Tenten interjected "I'd hardly call it a feud", who found such words belonged in older times. Neji, who had been raised more traditionally, said "I would", but they ignored him. He seemed reluctant to forgive his uncle for his past grievances. Tenten had an inkling that Neji suspected a trap of some kind. But Tenten found the letter sincere and convincing given everything that had happened. Hinata had not invited her own father to her and Naruto's ceremony in favor of Neji and Tenten. The latter could fathom that it had struck the family man hard. Not only did his eldest daughter marry outside the family but she also disregarded any forms of decorum. Say what you want about Hiashi but when it came down to it, he was a practical man. She reckoned, he was beginning to understand that ruling with a firm hand was less effective with a generation not dependent on inheriting the family fortune. It was either die alone a bitter old man or wrap up a bottle of his finest. While Neji continued to inspect the bottle and the inside of its packaging suspiciously, she could not help but smile.
Wholly unprepared were they hit by Lee's questions:
"Does this mean you two will finally dare to kiss in public now?"
Neji stopped dead in his tracks. He was obviously uncomfortable and chose to leave abruptly to check in with dinner again. He would not dignify such a question with an answer, which left Tenten to the unpleasant task of doing so.
"That's not... We don't…" She decided to start over. "Hiashi's disapproval is not the reason for our lack of public displays of affection."
"Then what is? What's stopping you?"
Tenten scoffed and began clearing away the remnants of Lee's unpacking frenzy. "Have you met Neji?", she replied ironically, winking at him. Lee did admit to seeing her point. As Neji was returning with a large hotplate to keep the stew warm, Tenten was just saying "We're just not ready for that."
Neji proceeded to set the table as if this entire conversation had nothing to do with him.
Later that night, he buried his nose deep in her hair. Their bedroom was a dream of cream color and beige dominated by a monstrosity of a king size bed. A cool breeze swayed the chiffon curtains insufficiently detaining the moonlight.
"Neji?" she whispered softly.
"Hm?"
"Are you aware that we are distinctly different from any other couples our age?"
His shoulder moved in a way that could be a shrug or agreement. She stopped speaking. When Neji realized it had not been because she had fallen asleep, he ventured to ask: "Do you consider it a problem?"
"Not sure," she answered honestly. "What do you think?"
Neji did not think. Again, he failed to see the issue. He was what he was. There was no changing him. It was pointless to wish to be different.
"Don't you ever feel strange?", she asked a follow-up.
"Not so much anymore", he replied and removed his leg from on top of hers. The blankets shifted creating a new pattern of shadows from the reemerging folds. He had felt very strange the first few years.
"But neither of us has any experience outside of us. Even if we were doing it wrong, how would we know?"
Neji contemplated this concern. His response was practical to the core: "Problems one is not aware of do not exist. If you are not aware of it, it cannot be a problem. By definition."
Tenten considered this. He often made a lot of sense. It was in his nature to make sense. Absentmindedly she stroked his infinite black hair.
"Maybe you are right," she caved. "It just strikes me as strange sometimes that we've never even flirted with anyone else before."
"We never flirt with each other either," he held against that. Flirting was a concept lost on Neji.
"True," Tenten sighed. Her body was warm to the touch underneath the blanket. As she scooted closer to him, he heard himself asking as if steered externally: "Are you worried?"
She chuckled. "No, not at all." As her lips found his, Neji realized that he was though. An unfamiliar thought entered his mind. Sometimes only time would tell whether something was a problem or not. Like a ticking time bomb. Tenten would never have trouble finding anyone else with her pleasant disposition. For Neji, this was it. There could never be anyone else. Confetti or destruction. Only time would tell.
