Happy New Year's Eve!
FYI: Naruto is a firefighter in this fic. Shifts at a firehouse are usually 24 hrs. Naruto's was 7am-7am. Hinata is a pediatric nurse, Sasuke is a police officer.
The Twelve Days of Christmas
The Third Day of Christmas: December 27th
x
XX
X X
X X
X X
XX
llllllllllllllllllllll
llllllllllllllllllllll
*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*
*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*
*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*
*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*
.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*
*.*.*On the Third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: three French hens*.*.*
*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*
*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*
*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*
*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*
*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*
*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*
*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*
*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*
*.*.*.*
*.*
Tenten had been able to lend Hinata a hand yesterday, which made her feel better about life in general. She'd still been tired, but she'd helped straighten up the Christmas chaos, and minded the kids while Hinata did the laundry from the vacation. She hadn't objected even a little bit when they both decided to turn in for an early night.
By 6:00 AM the next morning, they were sitting like old friends at the kitchen island, Hinata with her book, and Tenten with her laptop and a notepad. Tenten checked her phone. She had a text from Lee last night that had simply said 'friends will be in contact. LMK what you decide.'
She wasn't quite sure what that meant.
"What time will Naruto be home?"
"His shift ends at seven," Hinata glanced at the clock. "He'll be home shortly after that."
"Mm," Tenten hummed into her coffee. "Any plans for today?"
"Grocery shopping," she gave a rueful smile. "I think I have officially gotten as far as I can on left overs, and I purposely depleted our extra freezer before we traveled, just in case there was a power failure."
"Sounds like you're in for a major prep day, then," she sat back in her chair. "I'm guessing you do freezer meals and the like?"
"Yes. Makes it easier when Naruto is at the station. Hanabi and I often prep together."
"I can help," Tenten offered. "In fact, if it's alright with you, I'd like to cook you guys a meal as thanks for all you've done."
"That is very kind," Hinata smiled. "I certainly won't turn down the help, assuming you let me help with dinner."
"Fair enough," she grinned. "What's your preference? Italian? Curry? Stir fry? Fried chicken?"
"So many choices!" Hinata laughed. "You must be quite the chef!"
"Army brat. Dad and I lived all over the world, so we always learned how to make food like the locals. It was just something I kept up with once I enlisted."
"What an experience," Hinata's smile was wistful. "There is something about memories made in a kitchen – they stay with you longer."
"True," Tenten's smile was bittersweet. "Well," she stood to pour herself more coffee, "we have shopping, food prep, and dinner. You and Hanabi can decide what you want to eat."
Hinata tucked her book away and they began working on a shopping list. Naruto arrived home around 7:15 AM, yawning widely.
"Morning, ladies," he poured himself a cup of coffee. "How'd everything go yesterday?"
"Very well. And how was work?"
"Quiet," Naruto grunted, "but I'm not complaining. As a matter of fact, I got called out to do a building inspection. So, I have good news and bad news for you, Tenten."
"Oh?" she cocked her head to the side.
"Yup. The good news is that your power grid will be back online in two days. The bad news is that your building is nowhere near up to code – you're lucky it hasn't gone up in flames before now. The short version of the story is that it is being condemned."
"What about Nekobaa's shop?" her brows drew together. "Is she alright?"
"I'm pretty sure her building will survive the apocalypse," Naruto sipped his coffee. "She'll be back in before the end of the week. She said that you could take one of the apartments upstairs, but she understood if that wouldn't work for you."
"It would be great if I wasn't so allergic to cats," Tenten grimaced. "I have to load up on antihistamines every time I drop by to check on her."
"You don't have any other neighbors?" Hinata asked gently. "Friends?"
"Not many people in my building, and I didn't really know any of them," she admitted. "I wasn't home very much."
"Hard time of year to find a place," Naruto eyed her over his mug. "And hotels are booked solid – I had a friend check."
"I can contact the army base," she drummed her fingers on the countertop. "I might be eligible for some of their housing, as a veteran. I was planning to relocate in the Spring anyway. This just ups my time table a bit."
Hinata and Naruto exchanged a glance.
"Where were you thinking of going?"
"I'm applying for reenlistment," she said simply. "I'm never been one to stay in one place for any length of time."
"Well, until you find a place, I hope you will stay with us."
Tenten frowned. "I couldn't possibly impose."
"It's not an imposition," Hinata protested.
"Hinata's right. I made a promise to an old friend – and I never go back on my word."
"Old friend?" Tenten quirked an eyebrow.
"Rock Lee," Naruto's smile was slow and foxlike. "He sent me a text that a friend of his was in need of a place to stay, and I promised I'd help out. We know a bunch of people in town – I'm sure we can find somewhere else for you to stay, but until then, you can hang with us."
Tenten's expression bordered between shocked and helpless.
"I…I don't really know what to say."
"Then say you'll stay with us," Hinata put a gentle hand on her wrist. "I would very much welcome the company, no matter how short the stay."
"And if you are worried about being a guest," Naruto put an arm around Hinata, "You can think of it as being an extra pair of hands. With Hanabi's baby on the way, there is a ton that can be done, and we never turn away a hard worker."
"I..I just…" her eyes darted between them, but she was met with nothing but sincerity. A lesson from long, long ago bubbled up through her consciousness.
"It is just as important to accept kindness as it is to give it," her father's gentle voice reminded her.
"Thank you," she bowed her head. "I am grateful for your kindness."
Neji sat at his desk, lost in thought. A mug of hot tea sat forgotten at his elbow; he had not slept well the night before, and he kept finding his thoughts returning to his conversation with Lee.
"It's not what you think," he assured his friend.
"I'm sure it isn't," Lee said with good humor. "Still, I'd love to know how Tenten ended up staying with Naruto, and what in the world he meant by you being Tenten's fiancé?"
So Neji told Lee the entire story
"I figured she wasn't telling me everything," Lee chuckled, "but I never would've guessed she'd had such a near miss. I'm grateful that your cousin appears to have your observational skills. And you are sure she is alright now?
"Hinata is pleased with her progress. Her inheritance of the more critical aspects of the Huyga nature begins and ends with her evaluation of the well-being and medical conditions of others. If she is satisfied with Tenten's condition, then you can bank on that assurance. Now, perhaps you can clarify something for me, Lee."
"I can try?"
"How does a person go from being career military with no ties to Konoha, to being a waitress at Genin's?"
Lee was silent for a moment before taking a deep breath.
"Tenten is an army brat. Her mother died when she was quite young, so it was just her and her father. The military life is all she's ever known, and there was never any question for her about enlisting. Her father surprised us by retiring from the army a couple of years ago. He started going to his local VA for some health problems, but it didn't seem like anything major – not until last year. Tenten took one of the only leaves of her military career to go visit him, and the doctors there basically told him that they didn't have the facilities to continue his care. They suggested the VA in Konoha."
"Tenten filed for her hardship/dependency discharge that afternoon, had them packed and moved to Konoha within two weeks."
Neji's eyebrows raised.
"Impressive."
"She was always a fast worker. She found them an older but affordable apartment in Sora-ku, and took charge of her father's care. She did all of the shopping, cleaning, cooking, taking him to his appointments - everything. Unfortunately, his condition progressed to where he needed a higher level of care. He moved into an assited living facility, and instead of taking one job, she took several part time ones so she could better arrange her schedule to meet her father's needs while getting enough hours to pay bills."
Neji grimaced.
"And I am guessing all of the living arrangements and treatments were expensive."
"They weren't cheap," Lee agreed, ruefully. "I think Tenten basically spent every waking minute either caring for her father or working. I spoke with him a couple of times, as did Gai-Sensei," he admitted. "According to him, Tenten would often stay the night, help him get dressed in the morning, have breakfast with him, and then work at one of her jobs before coming back in the evening to join him for dinner. Eventually he blamed spending more time in bed on fatigue rather than the atrophying of muscles in his legs, and would only do his physical therapy sessions when she was not around. He started going to bed earlier, and Tenten would sit and keep him company, sometimes doing nothing more than holding his hand for hours at a time. The day he found out that he didn't have the genetic form of the disease he called Gai-Sensei, weeping with relief. His first concern had always been his daughter - just as Tenten's was her father."
Neji was quiet for a respectful moment, before asking the inevitable.
"When did he pass?"
Lee's sigh was heavy. "About two months ago. She is arranging a memorial for him in the Spring; said he wanted his ashes sent back to be buried with her mother. I've already requested leave to be there for her."
"And what will she do now?"
"Reenilist." Lee said with no hestiation. "She would have before now, but she wanted to make sure that she would be available to take care of her father's affairs. I am applying for an instructor position in Konoha, and trying to convince her to join me – she is fantastic with hand-to-hand combat – but I've never known anything or anyone that could keep her in one place."
"I can understand that," Neji shrugged. "After all, what's the point of staying somewhere when it isn't home?"
"An excellent question. Here's another one: What's the point of constantly traveling and never finding a home?"
Half a day later, Neji's was still turning Lee's words over, and over in his mind.
"Touché, old friend," he murmured, lifting his mug of Earl Gray. "Touché."
"Neji!" Hanabi grinned as she opened Hinata's door. "I could get used to this!"
"Don't," he handed her his coat. "I fly out on the seventh."
Hanabi shrugged. "We'll see, Big Brother. Plans have a way of changing."
He eyed his cousin mistrustfully, but was soon distracted by the blond rocket that was his nephew.
"Uncle Neji!" Boruto grabbed his hand and pulled. "Come see, come see!" He followed him into the kitchen where Tenten was carefully icing a cake.
"Well this is a surprise."
"To me, too," she didn't look up from her work. "I just found out it is your cousin's birthday around nine o'clock this morning."
"Isn't it awesome?" Hanabi came in with Himawari on her hip. "We got Sakura to come up with some reason for Hinata to go over to their place. We told her we'd do the grocery shopping,"
"Which we did," Tenten added.
"And we'll prep tomorrow," Hanabi agreed, "but then we came back her to organize her birthday dinner!"
Neji stepped forward and relieved his cousin of his niece with a warning glance. "You'll pull something," he muttered, even as Himawari laid her head on his shoulder and wrapped a chubby fist in his hair. "Where are Naruto and Konohamaru?"
"We told Hinata they got called into the station," Hanabi stretched her hands over her head, "but Naruto insisted on bringing in dinner from somewhere while we worked on a cake. Well. While Tenten worked on a cake. I just hope they picked something I can eat," Hanabi sighed. "This baby is picky."
"I'm sure we can whip something up if we need to," Tenten said easily.
The sound of the garage door alerted them that 'the boys' had returned.
"We're back," Naruto called out triumphantly. "Quick! Help me get this to the table!"
Hanabi looked at the boxes skeptically.
"We couldn't just go out for sushi?"
"Hinata likes her birthdays at home," Naruto started unloading boxes. "And she really missed eating sushi last year. Don't worry – we got all preggo-safe stuff for you. Choji even threw in some herring soba for the Pretty Boy."
Neji glared at Naruto while Tenten's eyes sparked mischief.
"Careful Naruto," she reached for one of the boxes. "I heard that the last person that called him that ended up with their jaw wired shut. Well. The last person beside you or me."
"Yeah, that was pretty funny," Naruto chortled. "Never seen someone look so surprised."
"It was even funnier because the other dude was way bigger than Neji," Konohamaru added. "Beast of a guy. Tried to give us a hard time when we were leaving the hockey game, remember?"
"You like hockey?" Tenten looked Neji over skeptically.
"It has its moments."
"Anyway, Neji pretty much handed this guy his ass – OW!" Konohamaru rubbed his arm and glared at his wife, who darted her eyes to her nephew and back. "Sorry. Either way, it was pretty epic."
"Huh," Tenten looked him up and down. "Who'd've guessed."
"Yeah, he doesn't look like it," Naruto agreed, "but Neji is a martial arts sort of guy. He and Lee had a bunch of records at our old dojo. Isn't his fault that some of us got bigger and brawnier."
"Any time you would like a rematch, I have keys to the dojo," Neji shrugged.
"Can I take winner?" Konohamaru's eyes lit up.
"Nah, you take loser," Tenten's eyes sparked fire. "I'll take winner."
"You're that sure of yourself?" Neji asked coolly.
"I've got almost a decade of army combat training to back me up," she shrugged. "And that's just since I enlisted."
"Oh, I think I want to see this," Hanabi grinned. "Is tomorrow okay?"
Neji shrugged. "I have no obligations."
"No orders from the doctor against it," Tenten added.
"Then it's on," Konohamaru rubbed his hands together. "Time?"
"Eight late enough for you to sleep in?" Neji asked her pointedly.
"I'll manage."
Naruto beamed. "This is awesome!"
"What's awesome?"
"Neji and I are going to spar at the dojo tomorrow," Naruto turned to his wife, super excited to tell her about everything. "And then Tenten is totally going to..-when did you get home?!"
"About ten seconds ago?" she tipped her head in confusion. "Did you order sushi?"
"Uh, yeah," Naruto blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. "It was sort of supposed to be a birthday surprise."
Hinata blinked her large eyes. "For me?"
"Well who else would it be for?" Hanabi laughed, coming around the kitchen island to hug her sister. "Happy birthday, sis."
The joy that radiated off of the smaller woman was enough to redirect their attention and hurry them to the table. After the food was gone, and the cake was cut, Tenten stood at the sink doing dishes while Hinata enjoyed sitting with her sister and children.
Experience told her when someone came into her space. The shift in air pressure told her that someone was Neji.
"Lee told me that you are quite the impressive fighter," he said easily, scraping the dishes into the trash before lining them up to be rinsed and washed. "That is not praise he gives lightly."
"I heard the same thing about you," she returned. "Although I didn't know he was speaking of you at the time. I will be curious to see how your current self stands up to his memory."
"I'm no longer in high-school," Neji offered, "so that alone should be an improvement."
"Is he well?"
"Sounds it. Apparently, he is applying for an instructor position at the Konoha base."
"And did he try and enlist your help in convincing me to do the same?"
"No," he shook his head. "Even if he did, I'd be the last person to ever try to convince someone to live in any one place. As it is, I am barely in Konoha."
"Travel for work?"
"Something like that."
"Mm," she hummed.
"My cousin is trying to get me to extend my time here," he added, although he wasn't quite sure why he did. He gave her a truncated account of his conversation with Hanabi as they did the dishes and he helped her dry and put them away.
"I think she's bluffing," Tenten sorted the flatware. "I don't think she has a back-up plan."
"That would be a dangerous bet."
"Not if she is someone that can depend on her family."
"What is that supposed to mean?" he glanced over his shoulder as he opened the cabinet for the glasses.
"I mean that she is counting on you. Why should she come up with a contingency plan if she can depend on you?"
"That is a loaded question."
"No, it's a logic problem. You don't need an alternate solution if the question only has one answer. The only real question is why are you pretending you aren't going to step up?"
He arched an eyebrow at her.
"Please," she scoffed. "You might come off as a cold son-of-a-bitch, but you aren't heartless. From what I hear you were always incredibly loyal to those you care about. Lee mentioned that you had reason to separate from your family, but that your cousins were important to you. I can't see you turning your back on Hanabi when she has come to you directly with something that can jeopardize your family's holdings."
"So when are you taking the instructor position?"
"Why would I?" she put away the last fork and reached for the plates. "I have absolutely no ties to Konoha, and have never lived anywhere for more than three years. The army has always been my life."
"You have Lee," Neji challenged. "And as near as I can tell, he is the closest – probably the only thing – you have left of family. You know as well as I do that you don't have to accept the position on a permanent basis. I think you are afraid."
"Afraid?" she laughed. "Of what?"
"Of settling down somewhere," he took the plate from her and put it to the side, forcing her to face him. "You know that Lee is ready to set down roots. You're terrified that if you come along, for the first time you'll actually have something or someone to leave behind."
"And you are running from anything that can bind you to Konoha, or force you to actually accept a level of involvement in your family that extends beyond 'visiting-uncle,'" she retorted. "So, what are you running from, Neji? Ghosts?"
"Perhaps," Neji's eyes roved over her face settling briefly on her lips before returning to meet her gaze. "But that's the thing about ghosts, isn't it, Tenten? They find you wherever you go."
She held eye-contact unflinchingly, and in the light he was unsure if her eyes were more hazel-gray or green-hazel. When she spoke, her voice was quiet, but sure.
"I don't believe in ghosts, Neji. But after I beat you in our spar, you can tell me about yours."
He arched one eyebrow.
"Is that your condition?"
"Mm."
"Well. You already think I can beat Naruto, so that is something. So, what if I win?"
"You won't."
"But if I do?"
She considered him.
"Then I'll put the application for the assignment to Konoha in with my reenlistment paperwork."
"I look forward to giving Lee the good news tomorrow," he picked up the dish he had set to the side, and reached behind her to put it away.
"So do I," her eyes glittered with challenge. "I can't wait to hear what he has to say when he learns his rival has fallen."
"Hm," a smile tugged at his lips. "We shall see."