Wedding Arrangements Chapter 14: Safe, a naruto fanfic

I apologise for my PHAILAGE last chapter.

This shall be fluff-full to compensate.

If you don't like fluff (you know you do)…well. Read this anyway. ;D

BTW;;

I will be willing to answer ANY question you have about WA. Nothing like, "will they get married?" or "when are you next updating?" but things that you don't understand. I had a great example in my reviews this week (can't remember who wrote me, I'm sorry!) that had a tonne of questions in it where I hadn't described it properly. So get asking, people!

Chapter Fourteen: Safe

Neji smiled softly as he tucked the sheets around Tenten's sleeping body. She'd passed out in his arms from exhaustion and stress; being such a gentleman, Neji had carried her to her room and put her to bed.

He stared down at her heart-shaped face and sighed. He still couldn't believe what she'd been through with Itachi. Rolling his fists into balls, he thought to himself.

I'm not going to take this sitting down.

He stood up and headed for the door. When he'd gone, Tenten's eyes snapped open.

"Shit. Neji, wait up. Don't do anything stupid." She muttered quietly, hopping out of bed and padding down the hall after him.

Itachi smiled slyly as he twirled the stem of a rose in between his fingers. From the doorway, Neji glared at him.

"I had a feeling you'd still be here," Neji's cold voice sliced through the silence as he stepped from the shadows into the hazy light of the fairy lights. "Somehow. What do you want with Tenten?"

Itachi's ears twitched, obviously stunned by the presence of another. His look of shock melted back into that same sly smile as he let the rose slip from his grasp.

"To fix things between us." He purred, the words rolling off his tongue like he was reading from a script. "I didn't mean to hurt Tenten, I just - "

"Then why did you?"

This question caught Itachi off guard. He snarled, and stepped closer to Neji. The two unconsciously started circling around each other like a pair of lions preparing for a fight. Neji tossed his nose in the air, not taking his icy glare off of the raven-haired Uchiha.

"Well?" he asked, trying his best to intimidate the elder of the two. "Did you not hear me correctly? Why – did you hurt – Tenten?"

"To make myself seem powerful." Itachi snapped, jerking his head. "I knew that Tenten would be capable of pushing me around, so I took the upper-hand before she could. Okay? Is that so wrong?"

"Yes, that is so wrong." Neji murmured through gritted teeth. "If you didn't treat her like shit, then she wouldn't have to take the upper-hand."

Itachi smirked, therefore crossing the metaphorical chalk line.

Neji lunged forward, fist extended, but Itachi was too quick for the younger. He dodged the punch with such speed, and launched his own fist at Neji's mouth. The brunette was flung backwards, lip bleeding. He was about to get up and fight back, but he didn't have the chance. A piercing scream echoed through the gardens.

"NEJI! Itachi, you BASTARD, what did you DO TO HIM?" Tenten shouted, her voice half an octave higher than usual. She ran to Neji's aid, gently touching his shoulders. Neji smiled up at her.

"I'm okay, Tenten. Just go back to bed…"

"No! No, I won't!" she yelled, standing up again and spinning to face Itachi. "You hurt me, you crash my party, and now you punch my…" she strained her voice as she tried to describe Neji without using the word 'boyfriend'. "My good friend in the face. And you expect me to come crawling back to you? After all that?"

"No." Itachi whispered. He came closer and stroked Tenten's cheek lovingly. "I expect you to give me another chance. What do you say, my princess?"

Tenten clenched her jaw, looking away. After a minute, she looked Itachi in the eye and batted his hand away. "I say, 'go to hell'."

She stormed back to Neji's side. "And only he calls me, 'my princess'."

Neji blinked. I do?

"I see. Well then. If that's how you really feel - "

"I do."

"Then that leaves me no choice. I'll leave." Itachi murmured, turning his head to the ground. Tenten gave a triumphant smile.

"Before you go," she said sharply. "Let me say this. When I say I never want to see you again, I mean, never. And if you touch my Neji ever again…"

She tilted her head upwards to look at him. "I'll kill you."

Neji blushed bright red. My Neji? Is this girl on drugs or something?

"Okay, okay, I get it. Never. Again." Itachi said, backing away with his hands raised. Tenten stalked closer to him; every step he took back, she took one forward.

"Go on." Tenten flapped her hand, signalling for him to run. He turned and marched away, head bowed.

When he was gone, Tenten whipped around and ran back to Neji. She dropped to her knees beside him and grasped his hand.

"Are you okay? I'm so sorry about that." Tenten whispered, putting her hand on his head and gently running her slim fingers through his hair. "Please don't be mad."

"Mad? Are you mad? Why would I be angry at you…my princess?"

Tenten turned pink. "I don't know…I just…it's kind of my fault for slapping him all that time ago."

"Don't worry. I'm okay."

She tutted and rolled her dark chocolate orbs. "No you're not, look, you're lip's bleeding!"

"I'm fine, Tenten, really." Neji rolled his mouth twice before sitting up. Tenten placed a supportive hand on his back and stared at him with sorry, apologetic eyes. "Just a little banged up, you know? Here, let's go find your shoes."

He pulled himself to his feet, leaving the girl stooped on the floor, knees dusted with scratchy grey gravel. After realising that she was still on the ground, Neji turned and grinned at her, wiping his lip free of blood with his sleeve. "You coming?"

Tenten's lip quivered, but she refused to cry. She nodded and sprinted to catch up with him, latching onto his arm. Neji stopped walking for a moment, and Tenten frowned.

"Is something - " she was cut off by Neji's lips pressing against hers in a sweet kiss. She felt her eyes widen, then close as she leaned into the kiss. When she pulled away, red, she grinned at him. "What was that for?"

"Thank you for caring, Tenten." Neji said softly. "I don't think anyone has ever fought for me. No-one's ever…looked at me with such compassion as you have. Thank you, thank you, thank you."

Neji bowed his head as low as he could, silver tears forming in the corners of his eyes. Tenten stared at his hair, stunned. Then, she laughed, and hugged him loosely.

"You're welcome." She breathed, tucking his head under her neck, followed by a pause. "You're welcome, you're welcome, you're welcome."

Behind his hair, Neji smiled.

"Good morning, princess!"

Tenten groaned and rolled over, waving her hand blindly at the pair of bright-eyed maids and forcing a sleepy smile. "Morn…in…uh…"

"Did you sleep well?" the maid on the left asked, cocking her head. Tenten nodded.

"Was your party fun?" the other asked, also cocking her head. Tenten hesitated, then nodded.

"Miss Hyuuga is waiting for you downstairs in the lobby. Would you like us to send her up?" Tenten snuggled down further into the satin sheets.

"Yes please…" she sighed, smiling to herself. Today's going to be a good day.

Today is a bad day.

"Foreign languages?" Tenten spat, running a brush through her messy brown curls. "Are you kidding?"

"No, I'm not." Hinata teased. "All good royals can speak at least three languages, not including their own."

"How can I become fluent in three languages in a day?"

"You can't become fluent in a day. So I'm going to teach you the basics of Italian, French, and Spanish. Then we can build up from that."

This, Tenten slumped her shoulders. Is going to be a really bad day.

Italian 101 with Hyuuga Hinata.

"Ciao."

"Chow."

"No, you say it ciao."

"I said it like that! CHOW!"

"No!" Hinata yelled back, exasperated. "C-i-a-o, ciao. Not c-h-o-w."

"Why didn't you say so?" Tenten asked, rolling her dark orbs to the ceiling. "Ciao."

"I – I did – ugh, never mind!"

French 101 with Hyuuga Hinata.

"Comment."

"Allez."

"Vou."

"Comment allez vou."

"Common aller boo."

"No."

Spanish 101 with Hyuuga Hinata.

"Me llamo Hinata. Now your turn." Hinata prompted. Tenten looked at her, confused.

"Llamo? That sounds like llama. Were you just calling yourself a llama?"

"No, I wasn't, I was - "

"Hehe. Hinata the llama."

"Stop it - "

"Hinata is a pretty purple llama."

"…I give up."

Tenten sighed, laying back on her bed and throwing out her arms. "I'm sorry, I just find this stuff so-ooooo boring."

"Me too, but I took the time to appreciate the languages." Hinata paused. "Did you know that I'm fluent in Italian, Spanish and French?"

"Really?" Tenten perked up.

"And Thai. And German."

"Wow, I didn't know that!" Tenten cried. "Teach me."

"Are you willing to learn?" Hinata asked, her tone serious but her face twitching into a smile. Tenten nodded, the broken smile contagious.

"I am, sensei."

"Let's do it."

Night fall came. Hinata left with a grin on her face, clutching her textbooks to her chest. Neji phoned Tenten at exactly nine o' clock, as promised the previous night.

"Hey, princess." He cooed, lolling on the sofa. "How are you?"

"Tired. Irritated. Hating Italy."

"I see." Neji laughed softly. "Other than that..?"

"I'm fine." Tenten confirmed with a nod. "What about you? How's that lip treating you?"

"It's okay, Tenten, really, don't worry about it. It's a little bruised, but it's fine. Nothing I can't take care of."

"Maybe…a kiss could make it better?" Tenten said suggestively, cocking her eyebrow and smiling. "I got Chap Stick."

"Is it cherry flavoured?"

"It's cherry flavoured."

"I'll be waiting for that kiss."

Tenten paced up and down, biting her nails on one hand and pulling at her hair with the other.

Are Neji and I an item then? Does protecting a guy make you an item? No, of course it doesn't, Tenten, don't be stupid. It just makes you kind. And kickass, baby, kick. ASS. But that's not the point. He has a love for cherry Chap Stick. I love cherry Chap Stick. Does that make us Chap Stick buddies?

Ugh. This sucks.

I mean, Chap Stick buddies? What? I don't even know.

I think I'm going insane.

Wow, the chapters just get shorter and shorter! Well, I fulfilled some people's wish for a showdown between Itachi and Neji. Not that great, but whatever, I like how this chapter came out as a whole. Even if it was pretty short.

R&R, please! x