Compassion
"Neji? What are you doing here?" There is worry and confusion in the sound of Tenten's voice as she holds the door open. Her small apartment, warm and well-lit and totally unfamiliar beckons him from behind her.
Tenten is hurt, he can easily see that much as he steps in out of the summer rain. Something about the way she moves, gingerly and favoring her side, indicates that she is not yet healed from her fight with Temari. Neji not surprised, as she was probably discharged from the hospital that very afternoon to make way for some of the more seriously injured students, like Lee. It is lucky for him, because if she had not, he would have no where to go.
A normal person would have apologized for showing up so late, especially when they had never even called before, would have explained themselves and the situation. Neji has never considered himself normal, and he is sort of socially awkward anyway, so he stands there dripping, waiting for his teammate to make the first move. When Tenten shuts the heavy wooden door behind him, rather than hurling him back out into the storm, he knows everything is alright.
She must understand, sort of. Or she is just too compassionate to turn him away.
"Let me get you a towel. And take your shoes off, you can stick them right there." Tenten indicates the empty spot in the nearby shoe cubby with her index finger, then turns and heads off down the hallway. Neji hears a distant, squeaky door open and shut, and he pulls his sopping sandals off just in time to see her returning. The large towel she hands him is pale pink, and he takes it hesitantly. "Sorry if it's not your color. It's the only one I have washed at the moment."
He can't tell if she is being sarcastic or not. He pulls off his heavy tan jacket, leaving him wearing only his damp white t-shirt, and Tenten takes it from him and hangs it upon a high peg as he wipes himself semi-dry with the offending colored towel.
"You should probably take off those bandages, too. They won't do you any good wet."
Neji knows she is trying to be helpful, but already the way she keeps telling him what to do grates upon his frail nerves. Abruptly, he remembers how she gave him a black eye on their first day of academy, and how they had spent the rest of their time in school as rivals, hating one another. They have now been teammates for little more than a year, and Neji is still unsure whether he would even refer to her as a friend. But at the moment, she is all he has, and a way better person than he is. After all, he would never take anyone into his own home.
Time to learn some humility. Neji unwinds the wet bandages from his right arm, revealing pale skin and bruised knuckles. The Gentle Fist art he practices is fairly easy on his body, but the wooden training posts that he strikes so repeatitively are not. He is not embarrassed though, and Tenten does not look away.
"There, I bet that feels better." Tenten looks smug, almost daring him to contradict her.
Neji does not, just moves regally on past her and takes a seat upon the small black futon in her living room. She walks over and sits across from him in the only chair she has, and they lounge there for a long while, her watching him and him watching nothing. The clock on the far wall loudly ticks the moments by. Are they supposed to make polite conversation? Hopefully not, as neither can think of a thing to say. The minutes drag by, and the world is silent save for the ticking and the distant sounds of the storm outside.
Finally, Tenten can stand it no longer. She has never been good at the waiting game, always preferring to do something, and her silent teammate is making her nervous. "Are you thirsty?" she asks too quickly to sound calm. When he nods almost imperceptibly, she stands carefully and heads into the kitchen. Opening the tall refrigerator, she bends over and looks inside. All that Neji can see past the door is her small behind, so he looks away and relies upon his ears as she begins calling out various types of drinks. "I've got water, of course, and soda. There's milk if you want it. Oh, and I have orange juice."
"Do you have tea?" Next to water, it is really the only thing he ever drinks.
"Yeah, but wouldn't you rather have something different for a change?" Once, not long after they were placed together on a team, Hiashi invited Lee and herself to dinner at the Hyuga estate. Tenten remembers that the meal was long and uncomfortable and that Neji's whole family drank a bitter brew that should probably be prohibited by law. No wonder they were all so cranky.
"No." What can Neji say? He is a creature of habit. It's bad enough to be in some strange living room without having to drink something you don't care for.
Well, that's that. Tenten supposes she is making tea. "It's not the kind you like," she tries again feebly. The last thing her tired, broken body wants to do is dig a heavy pot out of the upper cabinets and boil water.
"That's fine." As far as Neji is concerned, sometimes sacrifices must be made.
Damn him and his haughty attitude. Tenten thinks that she should have left his ass standing in the rain.
Neji almost smiles as he hears Tenten puttering around in her kitchen, collecting everything necessary to make tea. Her language leaves something to be desired. Where did she learn some of those foul words she is muttering? One thing is for sure; If she keeps using them, this is going to be an interesting stay.
Roughly an hour later, the dehydrated Neji has drunk most of the pot of tea, and is in desperate need of the toilet. "Tenten?" He is not even sure how to cooly and politely ask where it is. It is not acceptable to just tell a girl you need to piss, even if she is your tomboyish teammate.
"Yes?" an irritatted Tenten calls from behind him in the kitchenette, where she is washing up her teacup and some other dishes.
Neji cannot manage an answer. What to say? Their sensei, Gai, would have some flowery speech ready, would somehow manage to hide the primeval need in his voice, but he is not Gai. He isn't even Rock Lee.
Tenten gives a sigh and tries once more, worried that her friend may not have heard her over the sound of the running water. "Neji? Did you need something?"
He is growing desperate now. The large puddle in foyer where he stood earlier is glinting underneath the hall light, giving him ideas. The trickling from the kitchen faucet seems to be the only thing he can hear. Finally, when he is sure his brain must be floating, he sucks it up and spits his question out. "May I use your restroom?"
Unconcerned, Tenten turns off the sink and reaches for a towel. "Sure, it's down the hall and to the left. The first door."
Neji tries not to run.
It is his first time being in a girl's restroom, and he finds it pretty shocking. The room itself, though spartan, is shockingly clean and bright. There are no foul odors emanating from it, the way the Academy restrooms sometimes smell. The toilet seat and lid are closed, something he has never seen before in the big communal bathrooms at home. He lifts them both carefully, almost as though they are booby-trapped, and knowing Tenten, that may very well be the case. As he does his business, he proceeds to look around, furthering his examination.
It is little bigger than a closet, this room. Present are a toilet, sink, mirror, and a medicine cabinet, all the normal things. But there are also some weird things Neji does not know how to explain. For example, why does Tenten have an oddly colored, triple-bladed razor lying on the counter? Why would she, as a female, even need one? And at this age, when he himself doesn't even have to worry about shaving yet? As his mind tries to come up with a reason, he catches a glimpse of his face in the mirror and frowns to see a light blush spreading upon his cheeks. He will not be embarrassed.
Neji flushes the commode, being careful to lower the seat back to its previous position, and leaves. As he closes the door behind him, he resolves to hold it as much as possible during the rest of his stay.
When Neji returns to the immaculate living room, Tenten is nowhere to be found. Not that it bothers him, as he figures he would be a little uncomfortable with her after the things he has seen. He settles himself again on the plush futon and feels his exhaustion come flooding back. How long has it been since he last slept? Days, he thinks.
"Neji?"
He turns sleepy pearl eyes back toward the hallway, and Tenten is standing there wearing a pair of baby blue pajamas, arms crossed over her chest and her hair in two braids rather than the usual buns. Every part of her is decently covered, although a tiny bit of toned and tanned stomach peeks from under the thin camisole. For some reason Neji cannot understand, the temperature in the room seems to climb a few slight degrees.
There is some confusion Tenten's her voice, as though she had though he would be on his way after his little pitstop. "You aren't going home tonight, are you?"
Neji frowns in disbelief. She seriously hadn't noticed? He thought he had made it clear by even coming here that he needed a place to stay? Some nagging voice in the back of his mind tells him that it is not Tenten's fault if she is under the wrong impression. He does have a hard time expressing himself, after all. Neji lets go of his pride for a moment. "I have been… exiled from the estate." And isn't it funny how you're the one I turned to? How I have fallen.
Tenten's eyes widen a little, but that is the only element of surprise she shows. After another second of staring, she closes chocolate eyes and lets her arms drop with a sigh. "I'll get you a blanket then. You can sleep right there." She disappears back the way she came, bare feet padding along the polished wooden floors. The thought had never occurred to Neji that she would not have a guestroom, although he should have known from the size of the apartment. Oh well, the futon he is currently resting on feels comfortable enough. Hell, as tired as he is, he could even share a bed with Lee (who is famous for tossing and turning) and not wake.
Tenten returns with a thick blanket that might be uncomfortable in the hot, humid summer weather, and a fluffy pillow. She hands them both to him, and he takes them with something akin to gratefulness, which is strange, because he has never really been thankful for anything. Propping the pillow up upon the metal arm of the futon, he lays down and pulls the blanket across his body. Its warmth drives out the residual chill still clinging to his skin.
Tenten turns the light out as she leaves the room, and Neji is suddenly alone in darkness with only the ticking of clock audible. Far off, he hears the quiet closing of her own door, and then silence. His mind welcomes the peace, and he begins to drift off. His last coherent thought before sleep takes him is that the pillow smells a lot like Tenten, must be one of her own.
It is oddly soothing.
Alright, that was short, and I know everyone was probably wanting some juicy NejiTen goodness, but they are only thirteen! I figured the most they could do was awkwardness. This is probably the start of many short chapters based on Neji's adventures in Tenten's home.