Happy Tuesday, friends! So glad you came back!
Force Majeure
Chapter Eight: Facio Ut Facias
facio ut facias: "I do, that you may do." A type of contract wherein one party agrees to do work for the other, in order that the second party can then perform some work for the first in exchange.
-Part One: Shifting gears-
idiom. To suddenly change what you are doing.
When Lee found her, she was underneath a truck.
"You aren't sleeping under there, are you?" he crouched down to peer underneath the vehicle.
"Not yet," she called back before rolling forward until both she and the creeper cleared the truck. She sat up, and leaned on bent knees to study her best friend. "What's up?"
"I have a favor to ask," Lee said sheepishly.
Tenten blinked twice, not sure if she heard correctly; Lee pretty much never asked for favors.
"Everything okay?" she asked, brows drawn together with concern.
"Everything is fine," he assured her, holding out a hand to help her up. She waved him off, holding up her dirty hands as an excuse. "I just need some help."
She stood up and wiped her hands on the rag at her waist. "Name it."
"I have a big anatomy review for the exam, and a practical. I think I have it all memorized, but I need someone to quiz me."
"I can do that," she smiled, motioning him to follow as she headed toward the garage-level office. "When do you need me?"
"That's where the favor part comes in," he rubbed the back of his neck. "It's my long day teaching at the dojo. I won't finish until after 7:00, so by the time I grab a bite to eat and check in on Gai-sensei, it'll be after 8:00. I know I have at least two hours' worth of drilling to get in, and I know you have an early morning, and-"
"And it's not a problem," she cut him off. "Tell you what. I'll go home after work and take a quick nap. Come over to my place after you've cleaned up; I'll make dinner, and we'll study as long as we need to."
"Think we can stay awake at your place," Lee asked. "Or should we hit the library?"
"I'll make the coffee," she assured him.
"I don't need to stay up until next week," he reminded her, "just until we are done studying."
"Got it," she smiled.
"Thanks, Tenten," he smiled brightly. "You're the best!"
True to her word, when Lee arrived that night, Tenten had dinner ready and waiting, as well as a whole pot of coffee. They studied long into the night, finally deciding to call it quits around midnight.
"Crash in the guest room, Lee," Tenten yawned. "We can hit the gym in the morning, and then the library."
Lee was too tired to argue, and was soon passed out, occasionally mumbling out names of muscles, and their origins and insertions. Luckily, both Lee and Tenten kept a stash of supplies and a change of clothes at their respective homes, so he had everything he needed in the morning.
Lee was very much a morning person; Tenten was not. He wisely refrained from speaking to her until she was done with her first cup of coffee, after which she was in a far more approachable state.
Since Lee taught a couple of classes at the University gym, he had keys to the studio spaces. The two of them went through one of Gai-sensei's taijutsu warmups before working a couple of katas and then hitting the ellipticals. It was a shorter workout than Lee normally did, but he was anxious to review the material one more time before his practical that afternoon.
When they entered the library, Tenten automatically headed for one of the smaller study areas, but Lee had already started up the open staircase.
"Lee- wait-!" she tried to snatch the back of his hood, but he was too fast. Swallowing a sigh, she followed after him, looking around nervously as they got closer to her until-recently-usual study spot.
When she got to the fifth floor, Lee was already arranging his things at her table. She reflexively glanced to where Neji normally sat, but his table was empty. Giving a small exhale of thanks to the universe, Tenten joined Lee and set to work.
-Part Two: Per proxima amici-
"by or through the next friend." Employed when an adult brings suit on behalf of a minor, who was unable to maintain an action on his own behalf at common law.
It was a gamble, but Neji arrived at the library early, and made his way to his study spot. He stopped short when he heard an unfamiliar voice reciting anatomical data.
"Erector spinae. Origin: iliac crest, sacrum, transverse and spinous processes of vertebrae and supraspinal ligament. Insertion: angles of the ribs, transverse and spinous processes of vertebrae, posterior aspect of the skull. Action: extends and laterally bends the trunk, neck and head. Innervation: segmentally innervated by dorsal primary rami of spinal nerves C1-S5. Artery: supplied segmentally by: deep cervical artery, posterior intercostal artery, subcostal artery, and lumbar artery."
"Great! And your notes?"
Neji paused, his breath caught in his throat. That voice, he knew.
"The erector spinae is separated into 3 columns of muscle: iliocostalis laterally, longissimus in an intermediate position and spinalis medially; each of these columns has multiple named parts."
"Perfect!"
Neji slipped unnoticed into the stacks of books, watching Tenten quiz the Guy in Green, who sighed in relief.
"I don't know what you are so worried about, Lee," Tenten gathered up a stack of notecards and handed them to her friend. "You know this stuff cold."
"It is a lot to remember," he took the cards and shuffled through them. "I just want to make sure I'm prepared."
"Lee, there are NASA space launches aren't as prepared as you are," she reached over and tapped his arm. "You're going to do great."
"Thanks, Tenten," he took a deep breath. "I feel much better."
She checked her watch and began to gather her things. "I'm going to head over to the café and snag a coffee before class. Do you want to come with me?"
Lee checked the time. "I want to go through this one more time on my own," he nodded to the cards. "After that, I'll probably just head over to the practical."
"You can't not eat," she put her hands on her hips. "Tell you what. My class doesn't even start until after your practical; I'll meet you outside of your building in 30 minutes. That gives you time to finish here and still get there early enough to eat what I bring you before heading in."
Lee would have protested, but she gave him a knowing warning look.
"Okay, okay," he laughed. "Thanks, Tenten."
"What're best friends for?" she chucked his arm. "Besides. You're still my retirement plan. Who else is going to put up with me in my old age?"
In moments, she was down the stairs. Neji waited a minute or two before retracing his steps and entering the study area as normal, going straight to his usual seat. He unpacked his things, surreptitiously looking over at the Guy in Green, who he supposed must be called Lee.
Lee, meanwhile was flicking through his note cards, quietly reciting information to himself and then checking against the reverse side of the cards. He was focused on his task, so Neji was certain that he didn't notice his attention.
In fact, he was so engrossed in his task, that he paid no attention to the time. Neji watched him automatically silence a vibrating alarm on his phone without even looking up from his cards. He glanced at the clock, and then back at Lee. He had about seven minutes to pack up and go meet Tenten, presuming the allotted thirty minutes was a specific amount of time and not the vague notion of a half an hour or so. Neji strongly suspected that the pair of friends dealt in real time, and that Lee was on the border of being late.
Neji hated being late.
The idea of being late, or of others being late set his nerves on edge. He began to fidget in his seat. He flicked multiple looks to his phone, checking the time. The dull, repeated thunk of the end of his pen against his notepad punctuated his airspace in a subconscious Morse code of warning.
Nothing.
Not even a flinch.
Neji swallowed a sigh and checked his phone again before looking over at the other man again.
Finally, Neji couldn't take it anymore.
"I'm sorry," he said, looking across to the Guy in Green, "but are you getting any signal in here?" he held up his phone. "I seem to be having trouble."
Lee looked up, startled, and then hunted for his phone. "Well, yes, I think I –" He suddenly sucked in an audible gasp of air. "Oh, no," he gasped, and began to scramble for his things.
Neji kept his expression neutral.
"Everything alright?"
"Fine, fine," he said, winding his scarf around his neck and reaching for his coat. "I just have to meet my friend across campus shortly, and I am running behind. I can't believe that I-"
"Time's up, Rock Lee," Tenten's voice floated up the stairs.
She came into sight, her coffee in one hand, a bag of food for him in the other.
"Tenten," Lee breathed in relief. "I am so sorry – I"
"Lost track of time," she waved the notion away. "I knew after you didn't reply to my last two texts that you were still here."
Lee furrowed his significant brows and checked his messages on his phone. He turned bright red, and Tenten laughed.
"See?" she grinned. "I knew if you didn't reply to either of those, you hadn't read them – which meant you were still here. C'mon," she held up the bag of food to show him. "I'll walk with you."
Lee gathered his backpack, but suddenly stopped to look over at Neji.
"Sorry if we disturbed you," he waved a hand between himself and Tenten, who was just noticing that he was there.
"Not at all," Neji shook his head.
"Oh!" he said, fishing out his phone. "To answer your question, yes, I have signal on my phone. If yours isn't working, you can use mine," he offered.
Neji made a show of checking his phone. "It appears I have reception now," he feigned surprise. "Thank you anyway…?" He lifted his eyebrows in question.
"Lee," he supplied. "And this is my best friend, Tenten."
Neji turned his gaze to the girl he'd spent a whole semester watching. "A pleasure to meet you," he dipped his head. "I'm Neji."
Tenten gave a small smile, and Lee beamed. "Nice to meet you, Neji," he said brightly. "Wow," he scanned the books and papers neatly lined up on his study table. "I can see you are deep in studying. Law student?" he asked, nodding to the book on contract law.
"Yes," Neji answered, keeping Tenten in his periphery. "Second year. And you? Med student?"
"Physical Therapy," he said cheerfully. "Also second year. That means one year left for both of us!"
"I suppose so," Neji said easily. "And you?" he looked over to Tenten, hesitating for only a second before adding, "What have you been working on so diligently all semester," he nodded to her table. "Engineering student?"
"No, not me," she shook her head. "I'm just a mechanic."
"You're not just a mechanic," Lee said with a sudden and enthusiastic loyalty. "You are one of Ibiki's best mechanics - he says so all of the time!"
Tenten began to protest, but Neji sensed and seized an opportunity.
"Morino Ibiki?" he asked.
"Yes!" Lee enthused as Tenten went still. "Do you know him?"
"We met over fall break," Neji said easily. "If I'm not mistaken," he looked back to Tenten with a spark of humor, "you're the one that totaled out my car."
Lee's eyes went wide.
"You were in that wreck?!" he gasped. "I saw the cars when I dropped by the garage the other day. Did you sustain any injury? You do appear to be favoring your left side."
"I am still a bit sore," Neji admitted, "but no permanent damage done."
"Well that is a relief," Lee sighed. "If you are in any discomfort, I can recommend a few stretches and simple exercises to help."
"I may take you up on that," he rubbed his neck ruefully. "I am sorry that I didn't get to speak with you myself," he turned back to Tenten. "I did not know my Father would be back in town, and he did not know how long I would be detained. He seemed more than confident in your analysis, however."
Tenten cleared her throat before giving him a tight smile.
"Glad to hear it."
"You can be sure that if Tenten recommended your car should be totaled, than there was no way it could be made safe," Lee interjected with a defensive enthusiasm.
"I spoke with Ibiki on the day of the accident," Neji returned mildly. "He told me that his mechanics could fix anything, and I am inclined to believe him. In fact, both my Father and Uncle took his recommendation without a second thought. That in and of itself is telling of the confidence that they have in both the establishment and its proprietor - and by extension, any of its employees." He looked back over to Tenten. "My father didn't say much, but you clearly impressed him. He is not an easy man to impress."
"I'll bet," she said absently before shoving up her sleeve to check her watch. "Sorry," she said not-quite-apologetically, "but we'd better go. Lee, you got to get to your practical, and you haven't even eaten yet."
"I didn't mean to keep you," Neji apologized sincerely, looking to them both.
"Not at all," Lee waved the concern away. "Nice to meet you, Neji," he stuck out a hand. "I'm sure we'll see you around!"
"Nice to meet you both," Neji stood to accept the firm handshake. His gaze lingered a second longer on Tenten than he had intended. She still had the bags of food clutched in her hands and against her chest, and had already backed toward the stairs, so he settled for a half wave before returning his hands to his sides in what he hoped was a nonchalant pose. "Good luck on your practical," he pulled his gaze away to nod at Lee before turning back to her, "and your exams."
"Thanks!" Lee enthused while Tenten offered a more decorous response. She turned and hurried across the landing and down the stairs, with Lee on her heels.
As Neji watched them go, his brows drew together.
"Well that could've gone better," he muttered.
-Part Three: Biomechanics-
Biomechanics is the study of the structure and function of biological systems by means of the methods of "mechanics." – which is the branch of physics involving analysis of the actions of forces.
Lee found himself thinking something very similar as his best friend hurried them out of the library. He stopped to hold the door open for an older woman and then had to jog to catch up to Tenten.
"Tenten?"
No answer.
"Ten!"
"Hm? What?" she asked over her shoulder, distracted.
"What just happened?"
"When?" Tenten asked.
"Just now," Lee pressed. "Back there. Tenten, what is going on?"
"What do you mean?"
Lee got in front of her, easily keeping her pace while jogging backward.
"I mean, you are all but running away from the library. Did I miss something?"
"I'm not running away," Tenten scoffed. "I'm trying to make sure you get to your practical so you can ace it."
Lee stopped where he was, hands on hips.
"Then why are we walking in the opposite direction?"
"We aren't -!" Tenten retorted before stopping dead in her tracks. "Oh. Oh, we are."
Lee moseyed up behind her and crossed his arms.
"You going to tell me what's going on?"
Tenten swallowed. "Just frazzled," she sighed, turning on her heel and heading back the way they came.
Lee followed in silence, waiting until they reached his building to sit at a picnic table and wolf down some breakfast.
"Thanks, Tenten," he said throwing away the bag. "Dinner on me tonight. I'll bring it by your place."
"That'd be nice," she gave a small smile. "I'll get my studying done early, and we can watch a movie after we eat."
"I'll see you at seven," he slung his bag on his shoulder and gave her a thumbs up.
"At seven," she repeated mechanically, and they parted ways.
Lee pursed his lips and considered her for a moment before heading in to his practical. He had managed to compartmentalize and put all thoughts of anything but his work out of his mind, but the minute he handed in his paper, his thoughts turned back to Tenten.
Lee was a kind, openly loving soul, who naturally saw the best in everyone. This led many to believe he was naïve, or unobservant.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Lee was incredibly insightful, especially when it came to his foster sister. Not that he needed to be, he mused. This time things were pretty obvious.
"This calls for strategy," he declared.
True to his word, Lee showed up at 6:45 with her favorite Chinese carryout and a bag of goodies – one of which went directly into the freezer. Dinner conversation was light, and Tenten seemed less distracted than she had been earlier in the day.
Of course the fact that she made a point to avoid discussing anything earlier in the day told Lee he had correctly assessed the situation.
After dinner, he cleared the dishes, preheated the oven, and announced they would kick off movie night with dessert.
He instructed Tenten to key up one of their favorite old kung fu movies. She was curled up on the couch in her coziest PJ's when he handed her a bowl of her favorite ice cream, and put a plate of fresh cookies on the coffee table.
Her eyes widened appreciatively.
"You really are the best," she sighed happily.
Lee took his seat on the other end of the couch.
"So now that you're comfy, you have to figure out where to start."
"Where to start what?" she asked, adjusting a cozy blanket around her legs
"Where to start explaining to me about Neji, and why you didn't tell me you like someone."
Tenten flushed bright red. "I don't like anyone, Lee."
"That is a terrible place to start," he advised, pointing his spoon at her. "And it also isn't true."
Tenten flopped her head against the back of the couch with a groan. "Lee...!"
"I know what I saw, Tenten," he shrugged. "So fill me in."
Tenten sighed up at the ceiling.
The ice cream.
The cookies.
The movie...
She smiled ruefully and looked into the knowing eyes of her best friend.
She knew when she was cornered.
"Which part do you want to hear first?" she asked, picking out a chunk of something chocolate in her bowl. "The part where I was an accomplice in his dad getting shot 10 years ago? Or how about the part where I just ran into his dad who not only knew who I was, but took the time to introduce himself, and now I don't think I can ever face his son again - never mind that today was really the first time we spoke ever and I've been mooning over him like an idiot this whole semester?"
Lee held her gaze for a moment eyebrows lifted.
"You're not joking, are you?" he half stated half asked.
"Not even a little bit," she grumbled, poking at her ice cream with her spoon.
"Wow," he blinked. After a few moments of thought, he put down his ice cream and went into the kitchen.
He returned with the carton of ice cream and put it on the coffee table. He made sure they had ample supplies. He then started the movie - they'd watched it hundreds of times, and used to talk through it as kids, stopping to watch their favorite parts and then going back to whatever they were discussing.
"So," Lee picked his ice cream back up and got comfortable. "Ten years ago?"
Tenten gave him a resigned sigh and a grateful smile.
"Ten years ago."
I am convinced that Lee would be the most loyal, amazing best friend.
ggg
