"I must say, that's probably the longest it's ever taken me to pin you down," I mused, my thighs curling around Neji's hips as I pressed the tip of my kunai to his throat. His pulse vibrated tantalizingly all the way through the handle. Without thinking, I lowered my head and kissed whatever spot happened to be available— and it turned out to be his nose. "Well done."

My brain was telling me to get up and resume this spar, but Neji's torso was telling me how comfortable this position was. Knowing we'd both regret this later, I released my kunai and rested my head on his chest, playing with his shirt. He responded immediately, winding his arms around me and burying his face in my hair.

Why couldn't we just lay here forever?

I'd been in Konoha for so long now— the two-year mark was steadily approaching— and I'd almost convinced myself that if I hadn't remembered my past by now, I probably never would. Then again, this particular reasoning also made me feel like a ticking time-bomb: everything could be slowly building up inside me, waiting for the most inopportune moment to explode.

What was more, Neji had been acting odd these past few weeks; in fact, ever since that evening with Hiashi, he'd been much quieter than usual, and that was saying something. Even his thoughts had become mute.

"Your heart sounds so sad. . ." I whispered against his sternum, taking in his melancholy buh-dummm. Could he feel the clock counting down, too?

"Keiden," he breathed.

Relieved at the sound of his voice, I answered with, "Mmm?"

He moved beneath me, holding the tops of my arms in order to shift me onto his lap. I suddenly felt like a child.

"I just. . . well. . . I want to say that. . ." His heartbeat began drumming faster and faster, which made me extremely nervous.

"Neji?" My fingertips found his cheek.

"I love you," he said faintly.

My spine became rigid. No. . . I didn't just hear that. It's a trick— a joke. "W-what?" I managed.

"I love you, Keiden."

I immediately extracted myself from his embrace, situating myself a few feet from him.

Wait— h-he loves me? He said it! He actually said it! But. . . he's not supposed to feel this way. . . and I. . . I can't.

The ground throbbed beneath the soles of my feet; Neji was getting closer.

"I can't," I croaked, trembling as I echoed my thoughts. I can't love you. And you can't love me. It's not right.

His pulse faltered, and that was all it had taken for me to realize just how much those two words had marred him. I fell to my knees, hating myself for all the pain I'd inflicted upon him since our first kiss. Clutching at my head, I tried to push my whirring thoughts into the deepest, darkest corner of my skull.

Neji loved me. He'd given me his truth. But could I return the favor? You love him, right?

"I do. . ." I moaned. "I do. . ."

I was in his arms once again. "That's all I needed to hear," he murmured, his lips in my hair. We stayed like this for a moment, but then his fingers grazed my jaw before coming to rest upon my cheeks.

Buh-dummmbuh-dummmbuh-dummmbuh-dummmbuh-dummmbuh-dummmbuh-dummm

"Please," he whispered beseechingly. "Marry me."

I nearly choked on my heart, which had launched itself into my throat. Those three words— so simple, yet so profound. The weight I'd been bearing for so long had finally been lifted from my shoulders, but it wasn't completely gone; I could still feel it hovering maliciously over my head. It was as if I'd been waiting to hear this all along: it meant Neji was absolutely certain that my past was exactly that— my past. He wanted to build a new future with me, no matter what I was.

Wrapping my arms around his neck, I held him close, not wanting to let go.

"Yes," I sniffed, tears running down my face and landing with a pit, pit, pit in his hair.