The week passes by, dragging Tenten with it by the scruff of his neck. Realistically, he knew he was there, experience everything, but now that he sits at his desk he cannot remember a single moment of the past days. His head has fogged over, thoughts impenetrable even to himself, and he's spent every evening in his bed doing nothing.

It isn't until familiar knocks at the door yank him back, pulling him out from his covers to pad over in mussed up clothes, opening the door and seeing Neji.

Tenten hears his own voice from far away. "Hey."

Neji steps into Tenten's personal space as if he was invited, eyes going from the top of his head to his bare feet with cold apathy.

His nose wrinkled, disgusted by what he saw, and pushed past Tenten to head into his room.

"When was the last time you ate?"

Tenten blinked slowly, still standing at the open doorway. Neji kept walking, heading to his small kitchen and opening the fridge, not hiding his judgement at the lack of food in there, and what remained being expired. He took in all of the dirty clothing piled up on the couch, covering the table that had empty cans of soda and bowls of cup noodles, an icky film on the surface. There was even a porn mag left out, which Neji took and rolled his eyes at.

"The entire internet, and you still spend money on this junk." He rolled it into a baton, going back over to Tenten, shutting the front door, and bonking him on the shoulder.

Tenten blinked again, eyes focusing on Neji slowly before looking down at the fact he was holding his fap material. He squinted. "You don't judge a bro's stash, dude, not cool." Grabbing it, Tenten padded over to return it to its place in his closet, Neji dogging his heels as his eyes take in the state of the other's apartment.

"Did you come over just to bother me? I sort of thought you'd, I don't know, have better hobbies than this." Tenten put his hands on his hips, spinning around to pierce Neji with a expecting look. He had every right to be annoyed right now, having a classmate barge in like a health inspector. "Give me a good reason I shouldn't kick you out right now."

"Because I came here to tutor you, but it seems I'll have to be a maid now as well."

"No thanks," Tenten said, starting to push Neji towards the front door. "I don't need to indebt myself to you of all people."

"You don't," Neji acquiesced, "but you really need to clean your place."

He dug his heels into the floor, making it difficult to get him down the hallway. Tenten strained to get rid of his unwelcomed guest that suddenly became an unmovable, stubborn wall, already at a loss of breath.

"I don't need your help. Also, you were the one to barge in, so you don't get to complain how my place looks."

"As your tutor, since I'll be coming over more often, I do think I have a say in your quality of life."

"Consider yourself fired." Tenten used his legs strength to push Neji to the door, trying to reach past him to open the handle and throw him out. The other, for his part, simply braced himself against the doorframe, reached out, and locked the handle.

Tenten found himself in the uncomfortable position of now caging Neji between his arms, his face painfully near when Neji turned around in place so they faced each other. He leaned back against the door, as if fully aware of their situation.

He smirked, satisfied by Tenten's silence, before frowning and crossing his arms over his chest. "I actually came here to check on you. All week you've been spaced out, and seeing you here confirms my suspicions. Unlike some people, I actually care when my friends are in need of help."

There was an underlying bitterness to his words, yet all Tenten's frazzled mind could latch onto was the last part.

He blinked, stupefied. "Did you just friendzone me?"

Now it was Neji's turn to mirror the same expression.

"It was not my intention."

"Then what is your intention?"

Being so close, Tenten could feel Neji exhaling through his nose. They still haven't moved away from each other, and Tenten found he had unconsciously straightened so their height difference wasn't as stark.

"Look," Tenten said, shoulders slumping. "I don't know if this is some obligation to you, for a friend you don't talk to anymore, or the fact Lee's in the hospital and he was the glue holding us together, but I don't want you to force yourself. I asked you out, you said no, and I got over it. The reason I'm like this now isn't because of you, so you don't have to be here if you don't want to."

He took a step back, returning the space between them where it belonged. "Something's dead inside me," he started, unsure where he was going, but Neji was looking at him so he continued. "It died a while ago, yet I'm still alive. Things don't taste good anymore, I don't have energy to even stand, and my head's numbed like I'm being drowned."

"Does it hurt?" Neji asked, voice barely above a whisper.

Tenten shrugged. "It doesn't feel like anything."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" His voice sounded pleading, and for a moment Tenten realized how much concern tinged the other's words. Did he always sound like this and Tenten just never realized?

Still, he could only shrug again. "I don't know. Like I said, it didn't start because you rejected me."

"I didn't reject you."

Now it was Tenten's turn to frown, eyes narrowing slightly. "I'm pretty sure you said something about not being interested in dating. Anyways, I'm over it now, so it doesn't bother me."

"But I didn't reject you."

Tenten felt his mouth curl into a sneer, really tempted to throw Neji out now, maybe toss him off the building. "I'm still over you then, so either make yourself useful and get some trash bags, or get the hell out of my life."

Neji gave a similar look, nodding as if they shared some cruel little joke between themselves. Tenten showed him where the trash bags were and the other cleaning supplies. He found a clipboard to begin taking notes with, mostly making a list of things he needs to restock. Guh, he was missing a lot of stuff.

"We'll go shopping after this," Neji offered, leaning over Tenten's shoulder to see.

The windows were opened and fresh air finally filtered through the rooms for the first time in months, only further reminding Tenten of how far he's fallen.

Yet – Neji was still here.

The sudden thought that Neji, perhaps one of his closest friends, was going through all this trouble for him, flew into Tenten's heart like a missile. He'd pushed him away, and yet Neji kept coming back– because he cared.

Tenten stared at the taller man, who was reading down the list of items, with a mix of bewilderment and something else. His throat tightened, air refusing to make its way to his lungs. The pen in his grip creaked at the sudden pressure around it, his grip turning knuckle-white.

"It shouldn't be too hard, we can get a cart and… are you alright?" Neji finally looked over, brow knitting together as he saw Tenten. The tears slipped down his cheeks without reserve, falling to the floor recklessly. It was such an effort to breath that he had begun shaking violently, still staring like a frightened animal until the clatter of the clipboard hitting the ground. Without it he took off, sprinting to his bathroom where he slammed the door shut and locked it, knees giving out he slid to the floor and screamed.

XXX

"Thanks for the meal."

Tenten shoveled the freshly made food into his mouth, tasting absolutely nothing but the weight in his tongue that slid down his throat. He didn't feel hungry, but he hadn't been hungry all week and he needed to eat.

Sitting across from him at his living room table was Neji, also putting a spoonful of rice into his mouth and chewing. It's been several hours later but Tenten couldn't say he felt he personally experienced any of it, despite being there through every agonizing second. The proof was there though, from his rough, scratchy throat, to his severely puffy and red-rimmed eyes.

"How is it?" Neji asked.

"It's good. I'm surprised you can cook." Tenten said, taking another bite.

"I like cooking," Neji supplied, voice effortless and smooth. "I think having at least a few basic recipes is handy to have, especially once I began living alone."

Tenten considered it, nodding. "Huh, probably. I usually just get take-out, it's easier, but maybe I should learn some." He smiled, feeling utterly drained. "Do you know how to make anything with fish?"

"Fish? No, but there's got to be a recipe online I can look up. Anything in particular?"

Resting his elbow on the table so he can place his cheek in his palm, Tenten grunted. "Something grilled, maybe salmon? Now I want fish instead."

Neji chuckled. "Sorry, it's too late to go out again. You'll have to make do with me for now." He stopped smiling then, going silent so Tenten was aware what underlying meaning, as if laying it on the table so they were both aware of it, yet not one of them made a move to notice it.

"True, thanks again for doing all the shopping on your own. I'll remember to pay you back later." Tenten didn't meet Neji's gaze, sliding his brown eyes instead over to the pile of plastic bags on the floor, mostly of cleaning supplies. The fridge was now fully stocked, and he even got him a new bottle of shampoo. Taking a glance to the window he gave a thoughtful click of the tongue. "Too late to go back home now, you'll have to stay over. I think I got a guest futon in the closet."

"Sounds like a plan." And that was the end of that.

Neji ended up tutoring him after dinner, helping Tenten grasp the equations and concepts that troubled him, converting the teacher's endless ramblings into coherent sentences that clicked together. There really was something about Neji that kept reassuring him, a constant presence in Tenten's life even as it ebbed and flow like a storm.

So it's no wonder he found himself straddling the other's waist, crushing their lips together as if his life depended on it. It was amateurish, obvious from the fact he's never done this kind of thing before, yet Neji allowed him to explore recklessly and remained receptive to each sloppy kiss.

He breathed only because he had to, otherwise his mouth was occupied, taking as much as he could without restraint. His heart felt like a thunderstorm, beating so hard he could feel the pulse in his ears and thrumming through his fingertips as they slid through Neji's long, dark hair.

Tenten needed to be closer, so close, and it wasn't until Neji had to physically push Tenten off so he could breath, did he finally stop his frenzy. Sitting back on his legs, Tenten looked down at Neji, panting slightly on the couch, eyes unfocused but making an effort to look back.

"I thought you rejected me?" he questioned.

Neji gulped a few more lungfuls of air. "I never said I rejected you."

"Then why now?"

His mouth moved but no words came out, unable to form an answer that'd be believable to either of them. So Tenten allowed him a few more seconds before leaning down and going back to kissing him.