Theme: Snippets of Noblesse Oblige from Neji's POV.
iv. She was the love of his life, the mother of his children, but not his wife.
It was all Hinata in that one-shot so here's how Neji's been coping in the affair. Very short. Like I wanted to write something saying I'm alive for this fandom! For those expecting new content, there's news at the end!
She was in the house, waiting for him. Always waiting.
It had been like that for months since the moment she told him Himawari was his. They had not only a son, but also a daughter. The news had hit him so suddenly, an intangible mess of emotions that he dealt with through sex.
The memory of their last time, the second time, haunted him. She was more welcoming, her body softer and she touched him in return.
It kept him awake for too many nights and there was a small hope that she'd welcome him once more. To maybe allow him to visit Boruto more often. After a long mission, he returned to the compound, resolved to attempt it. Then she appeared with a baby in her arms that looked too young to be Boruto. She was securing her grip, cooing to it. It was hers. And Naruto's. Something in him, likely his very soul, felt crushed and every muscle tensed, telling him to leave, that he needed a woman the instant he got away.
The baby yawned and Neji didn't want to look but Hinata was doing something strange, as if wanting to present her. His heart squeezed and he damned the organ. Despite all the heartache, he could never ignore her. He looked at the child to appear civil instead of obeying his instinct to run away and froze.
There was no mistaking the pure Hyuuga bloodline in her.
She took their daughter away in a room while Neji tried to make sense of it. The world swam. All the details, he'd never forgotten them, came rushing back. He finished in her during that moment of passion but he always assumed she kept a contraceptive jutsu.
Neji cleared his head. He bore half the responsibility and the darkness ate at him again. Did Hinata blame him? Miserable that her daughter – what was her name? – was not Naruto's and she might not be loved as much as Boruto – "She was not a mistake," he told her fiercely.
"Himawari is a blessing."
Relief flooded him. His daughter, her name was Himawari, was just as important to her.
A noise alerted him. Servants were going around the garden and Neji moved closer, to murmur that she didn't need to worry, that he'd stay away this time. But she also leaned in, her face lifting too close. As if wanting a kiss.
The words halted in his throat. "As long as you're happy, Hinata," he said instead.
Watching his children train and play was a miracle, and Hinata wasn't always there. He dreaded seeing her again. After her strange response, he couldn't bring himself to even talk to her. It fed him hope he didn't want. The ring on her finger reminded him of that.
He didn't notice her one time when he stepped out of the shadows when Himawari tripped.
Hinata looked just as surprised.
Fuck.
It was hard. The urge to kiss her, fuck her, came back in full-force. There was a battle Hinata was fighting inside herself, Neji could see, like she didn't know what she wanted. Well. He wasn't going to help her decide.
Neji focused forward.
He had two children in the world. Two. From the woman he loved, still loved for so many years. No matter that she was the wife of the Hokage, someone Neji almost considered a friend.
His punishment was fitting each time he saw Hinata with that damned ring on her finger, each time his son came racing down and called him uncle. Now his daughter was going to call him that too. Naruto was the lucky bastard who neglected her, didn't appreciate her everything. She was at the compound too often and when he hid himself, her head kept shifting to look for him.
He wouldn't act. Guilt still plagued him each time he saw Naruto with her.
...
The years passed quickly. It was a blur to him.
The children grew. He saw Hinata often, sometimes spoke to her and she was smiling more now. It was an easy illusion to fall for when he wasn't careful. After a short mission, he was very efficient and careful now in choosing work, he arrived in the compound, knowing Boruto and Himawari was there after hearing Hiashi's offhand remark.
He heard laughter. A masculine, very familiar laugh. One that he hated.
Every time the Hokage was back, the workload was lax. It also meant his sex partner was available.
It was how he passed time. Sex. More work. Then he would see the children again. Hinata would be there, waiting for him.
Afterwards, he washed every inch of his body and slept. He dreamed of his son, his daughter, calling him father.
She invited him for a meal. It was a week after Naruto's return who also, to Neji's resentment, took the children with him in another tour.
He was going to be alone with her in that house. Nothing could prepare him; there was something building between them and Neji wasn't sure if he could stand it any longer. Hinata was easier to read and Neji knew what she wanted from him - sex, but not his love. It was already hers and he would never say it, and he could try to reject her. Hinata could never be truly his. His heart would break either way.
It was taking time so Neji went to kitchen where she was looking down at something.
He frowned. "Hinata."
She whipped around with a gasp and his gaze went straight down where her hands were. Sliding off the ring on her finger.
Desire flooded him. She also tired of waiting. To his relief, she didn't attempt to put it back on but she hid it, stammering an excuse that he ignored.
He took it off. She stepped closer.
The house was not unfamiliar to him. He knew exactly where to take her and she tried leading, but he scrambled her sanity with a deep kiss, touching his hardness to her soft thighs. All at once she melted to his touch and pressed herself against him.
Whatever deity condemned them, Neji no longer cared. The love of his life, the woman who owned his heart and soul, who was the mother of his children but not his wife, wanted him.
He can't make love to her – he can imitate it, stroke her body gently, made her feel loved. It's the one boundary he won't cross; Naruto made love to her and Neji fucked her. The light was returning in her eyes and it lit up whenever he came to her, but Neji ignored it. It's already too late for them.
But still Neji felt it. Her love. Which was impossible because she was only suppose to want sex. He repeated the lie to himself several times a day.
The missions were making him impatient nowadays. If anyone on his team noticed the violence in his kills, nothing was mentioned in the report. Afterwards, he went to her and took her roughly sometimes, finished in her when it was safe.
This time, her eyes were swollen. His first thought was Naruto, the bastard, hurting her again.
"You're late," she sniffed. "I thought you - you were..."
Dead.
It was another fear that plagued her.
He made love to her that day. Breasts filled his hands, her soft thighs readily accepted him. He kissed her, wanting to tell her all the things he could never say. And when they were sated and the rain poured heavily outside, he took her in his arms.
Neji waited until she was asleep.
He touched her belly and hoped for one last selfish wish. If he didn't make it back one day, she would carry his child once more.
FIN
Do I still got it? :D
I'm excited to say there's going to be a NejiHina Week in tumblr this year on December! Any short one-shots from that week, I'll be posting it here in Anthology like before. The long one/two-shots will be on its own. I'm really desperate to show off even a summary (if the theme is chosen) of one fic but I'm holding back since it will probably stroke your imaginations of how it'll go and when mine is out, it will be completely different and I don't want to raise any expectations. In other news, I haven't abandoned Chastity in Spades, it's just slow writing. I'll do my best to finish writing the chapter!