A nocturne is a musical composition inspired by or evocative by the night. It is usually of a single movement played by the piano. The melodies are often simple and singable, expressive, soothing, and sometimes gloomy. Frédéric Chopin popularized the nocturne, writing 21 one of them, the most famous: Op. 9 No. slow-paced and set in 12/8 time, with four groups of triplets, the first one of each triplet a low note, the second two as alto chords. The main melody is heard three times, each on adding more ornamental trills, accompanied by waltz-like chords of the left hand.
It is in the night when Neji throws himself in front of Naruto and Hinata to save them. The sounds he hears are of screams, from the two, from the others dying, and of weapons clashing. As he dies, he sees his mother and his father in the space between life and death. They look so much younger than he remembers seeing them. He expected his father to look more like Hiashi, but they have been restored to the prime of their years after they passed.
Seeing them looking not even that much older than him makes Neji uncomfortable, but when he looks into their eyes, the wisdom and power that the ages bestowed upon them have not changed. Though the wrinkles are gone and the bags under their eyes are lighter, they are still visibly older.
His seal on his forehead isn't gone yet and he doesn't know if that makes him grateful or not. He has the choice to join his parents in the afterlife where there is no war, there is no seal, and he is truly free. Yet if he stays, he doesn't know if he will continue living, or if the life he chooses to continue would be worth living. The choice is hard, but he still has people he loves where danger is possible, so he goes back tearfully.
It is in the night when he wakes up for a brief moment. The sounds he hears are of Lee, crying furiously over his limp body. Though Neji has seen his ridiculous teammate cry over many stupid things in joy or any other emotion, he has never seen him cry in so much distress and helplessness. He hears Tenten choke out Lee's name as if she's going to tell him to stop but her voice cracks and he wonders if she's crying too. But Tenten doesn't cry so he doubts it and when she pulls herself together she tells him to do the same. It's the first time he has seen Lee in so much emotional pain and the first time he hears Gai-sensei telling Lee to hold the tears in. Neji slowly opens his eyes to tell Lee that he's alive.
It takes the chunin in green by surprise and the teammate he formerly thought was useless is speechless for once. Lee breathes a swear, another surprise, just as Neji coughs up blood and Tenten takes his place holding Neji's body as his teammate rushes to get Sakura without any weights on his legs.
She is telling him to stay awake and not to go towards the light again and he can hear her on the verge of tears. He tries telling her not to cry but it comes out as coughing blood into her arms. When Sakura starts to pull the stake out of his chest, he passes out.
It is in the night when he wakes up in the hospital bed the next day after surgery, searing bright light above his head and pain around his whole body. The sounds he hears are of doctors, murmuring around him and the soft whispers of his team. He groans to let them know he's awake and before he can talk to his first family after his parents died, the doctors come rushing above him, calling him a miracle and possibly a huge leap in the medical field.
"He's a person! Stop treating him like a test subject!"
Those words should have come from Tenten, who usually would have said something in his scenario, but instead, the voice is Gai's. It feels like the weapon's mistress was about to say the same thing, but her mouth is only open at shock at their sensei's sudden outburst. Nonetheless, he is thankful that the doctors aren't crowding around him anymore.
"I'm sorry about that, Neji," Gai says, completely back to normal. The fear of losing one of his students must have finally sunk in and he couldn't imagine how hard it was for him. Neji doesn't blame his reaction at all and he smiles weakly in reply.
Lee approaches him next and a few more tears are in his eyes as he grabs Neji's hand. "You would have left so much unfinished between us, my eternal rival. And not only with us, with your clan."
"I really would have," he replies. "I can't let you surpass me that quickly can I?"
He awkwardly laughs at the morbid joke. They all turn to Tenten, who is leaning against the windowsill, looking like she's about to pass out. Her brown eyes were usually full of warmth but they aren't anymore. She shakes for a couple of seconds and he realizes how much of a good idea staying was because heaven doesn't have her.
Neji expects her to replace Lee's side, maybe cry, because she looks like she's about to.
Instead, she crosses her arms and her face reddens. "You asshole! Don't fucking do that again!"
Tenten shakes even harder and he is trying to figure out if she stormed out of the room or fled. At this point, it doesn't really matter because either way, she left.
It hurts that Tenten left when she's the first person he wanted to see when he woke up and this is the second time she disappoints him. His chest aches more painfully than it did before as he stares out the door, praying she'll come back. But he doesn't hear her footsteps nor does he sense her chakra and he turns to his other two teammates instead.
"What was that all about?" he asks.
Lee shrugs. "I don't know if I really understand Tenten like you do, Neji. Only you seemed to connect with our flower."
"I never really understood her either, even when she always seemed to understand me."
He knows that the two can sense the hurt in his voice but he doesn't have enough energy to hide it.
"I think she's just upset," Gai says softly. "It probably scared her pretty badly."
"And I'm the one who almost died," Neji mumbles.
They leave the room to allow the others to visit him, but visiting hours are over and she still hasn't come.
He loses hope and energy and the cycle continues for a few days, where she doesn't show up. Even his teammates haven't seen her. Apparently, she wasn't in her apartment, in the training field, and the weapon store owner hadn't seen her all week. He wonders where she has been.
It is in the night he dreams of her putting a soft kiss on his lips that feels too real to be just a dream. The sounds he hears are of her breathing, but it may as well be the music of a pianoforte. How can a dream depict her shampoo and the soft touch of her hand or her lingering breath? Neji doesn't want to wake up yet he does anyway and he knows he's gonna be met with disappointment.
When he feels a warm pressure on his leg, Neji can hardly believe it. He jerks wide awake and she blinks her eyes open, which are hooded with dark circles more prominent than he has ever seen them. He breathes her name and his lips are still burning from that dream and it occurs to him there is a good possibility that it really wasn't all in his head.
"I'm sorry," she says, and he's just so full of relief that he passes out after the pressure in his chest from her departure is finally lifted.
When he wakes up the next morning, she's still asleep on top of his leg but it's worth it because it's her. For the next week, while he's still hospitalized, she stays by his side, only leaving to get them lunch and after visiting hours are over, only to sneak into his window when the nurses stop checking in on him. Just having her be there is enough for him but it only lasts a few days because she still hasn't told him the reasons she disappeared for five days without any notice.
"Why didn't you visit before?" he asks as she puts a blue vase of origami birds on his windowsill.
"I was busy," she replies.
"I was dying," he says back.
Tenten pauses for a moment and continues to arrange the flowers, pretending like she has something to do. "You were recovering."
"No thanks to you," he spat. Because she left him when she was the last person he would have thought to leave and that hurt just as much as the wounds did.
"I'm sorry," she says again.
"Where were you?"
"I was on a mission,"
Neji scoffs and stares at her with disbelief. "I saw the light. I saw my parents for the first time in over a decade and trust me, I would have stayed with them if I wanted to and never feel pain ever again but I decided to stay because my other family was here. Yet my other family didn't visit because apparently a mission was much more important than my health."
"Neji, Hinata, Lee, Naruto, Gai-sensei all visited." she tried.
"You didn't!"
Tenten swallows. "Does it matter?"
He grits his teeth. "Of course it matters. Especially since Lady Tsunade wouldn't have put you on a mission unless you requested it."
Her face pales as she doesn't respond anymore.
"I needed you, Tenten, but you weren't there. Why?" his tone is awfully close to begging.
She doesn't say anything.
Neji pushes aside all the feelings for her he bottled up and swallows. Because even though she's here now, she wasn't there when he was screaming in pain but they wouldn't give him morphine because he would overdose or get addicted otherwise. Nor was she there when he was rushed into another emergency surgery after his stitches ruptured. No matter how much he wants her to stay, why should she if it hurts him to look at the best friend he thought would have stayed by his side no matter what?
"Leave," he says. It comes out as he wants it to: firm and determined. His voice doesn't crack like he thought it would though he wonders if it hurts her at all for him to sound so angry.
"Neji—"
"If you can't handle seeing me at my worst because it hurts you, you shouldn't even be here!" he yells uncharacteristically. Anger isn't an emotion he has been familiar with in a long time but it's the same feeling of betrayal and the same pressure in his head.
He sees tears run down her face finally but it can't matter to him anymore, no matter how much it breaks his heart to drive her away. Because she was supposed to be there. Because he believes deep down, no, he knows that the penetration wound closest to his heart was the one that ruptured first for a reason.
Neji doesn't know what makes him angrier; the fact that she wasn't there or the fact that when he looks at her he feels the need to apologize for everything, even when he's not the one who has done anything wrong. The familiar burn of his anger travels to his mouth and it slips before he gets a hold on it.
"Tenten, you need to fucking leave before I strangle you. I can't believe you. I really can't believe you'd just—" he voices cracks. "Go on all the missions you'd like. Put your career first, but don't you dare visit me once the hard part is over. I don't want to see you."
She wipes away her tears with her sleeve and quickly walks across his room. Tenten pauses at his door and deep down he wants her to stay, to refuse to listen to him, stay forever. But she always did what he told her to do since they were genin if it involved his personal space, so she left. Back then, the fact that she gave him space when he needed it was why they became friends in the first place, but now, it was the reason they were driven away.
He let a couple of tears trickle down his own face and he grabs the china vase with the origami birds, throwing them against the wall. The glass shatters and he takes the largest pieces and throws them across the room over and over again. Sakura rushes in as he pants, angry and devastated at the same time. He takes in a sharp breath and instead of tears, he feels blood trickling down his wrists from cuts on his palm. Neji didn't even notice the pain.
Hinata brings him a new vase and though it's elaborate and a much better size for the ten paper birds on a stick, they seem to look out of place. He keeps the birds anyways.
The next day, he learns that the Weapon's Mistress has left the village on a 2-year mission as an ambassador of Konoha. She has an impressive resume, charming, wielded many of the Legendary Sage weapons, and doesn't have any obligations other than to do what was best for the village. Tenten is the only one who could have done the job, and that leaves Neji bitter about it.
He sometimes wishes that she wasn't always a perfect shinobi.
It is in the night when he abruptly shows at Lee's apartment, one and a half years later. The sounds he hears are of crickets chirping and some old music his teammate is playing on his radio. It's a strangely calming setting, the crickets, stars, and music he hasn't heard in a while that brings back memories of the earlier days of Team Gai.
It feels like it's a scene out of a movie, but something is extremely off. He doesn't realize that the factor missing is Tenten until Lee opens the door and he glances at Neji's side after looking at him, disappointed that there is no second person. It's definitely Tenten who's missing when he waits for her to speak because usually when they abruptly show up at Lee's apartment, she's the first to talk.
The boys snap out of their daze and Lee grins too widely. "Hello, Neji. How can I help my eternal rival?"
When he can't find words to say, Lee invites him in and makes a mug of his favourite green tea allowing him to sit down on a grey couch. Though he has been in this apartment countless times, it never fails to amaze him how Ino managed to make the forest-green walls seem modern just by painting the trims black and pairing the colour with several more muted shades to balance out the colour.
He sips his tea and his teammate stares at him with analyzing eyes.
"You're here to talk about Tenten, aren't you?"
Funny thing was, he didn't know what he was here for, but it sounded about right.
"What makes you say that?"
"Hinata-chan tells me you haven't talked about her at all since she left. Almost like she never existed. Obviously, that's unhealthy." he said.
Neji set down his mug on a coaster, which is printed as their team photo. "She left. That's all there is to it. She'll be back in a few months."
"She's been gone for over a year," Lee said softly. "I haven't even heard you say her name since she left. And I know that it isn't all there is to it."
He hates the way the ridiculous member of Team Gai can be so wise sometimes.
There is lingering silence between them and he swallows down the last of his tea as if it is sake and sighs. "I made her leave."
"No, you didn't,"
"I did, Lee. I drove her away. It's my fault she's gone."
Lee chuckles to himself and Neji curiously looks at his teammate. "You couldn't make her do anything. We both know that no one could make her do anything even in life or death. She always chooses to do her own thing. So what was powerful enough to make her come to the choice of leaving for two years?"
He stares at the coaster again, a nostalgic feeling in his chest. "I don't want to talk about it."
Lee sighs. "What about your letters? Does she mention anything there?"
"Letters?" he looks up from the coaster.
"Yea, letters." his friend says as if it's obvious.
"She writes to you?" he asks, incredulous.
"To me, Hinata, Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru, Kiba, Shino, Choji, Sai, the weapon store guy, Gai-sensei, Naruto...I won't lie, the first few weeks she didn't send me any either, but when I sent her one, she replied immediately. She replies to anyone who writes her, but obviously to Gai-sensei and me the most since we write her all the time—" Lee pauses in his words and gapes. "You haven't written to her, have you. You haven't heard from her at all and you thought that she was abandoning us all."
He doesn't deny it.
Lee seems to understand that Neji is both too arrogant and too scared to write Tenten a letter and he retreats into his apartment and comes out with a stash of paper, each with her handwriting on them. He shows them to the prodigy and he reads them carefully, one by one, tracing his fingers along with the ink as she describes her adventures and how beautiful each village is. When he's finished reading them, he reads them over another time, his stomach clenching because he can picture her saying these exact words in his head.
Neji crashes over at his friend's apartment and dreams of her, as he always does.
It is in the night when she comes back and he wouldn't have seen her if it weren't for the fact that he crashed over at Lee's house that night for the 109th time since a few months ago. The sounds he hears are of the door being knocked down in one kick, her footsteps, and her high-pitched voice calling Lee's name in a fake Gai-sensei voice. She runs right past him on the couch and into their teammate's room without noticing him and he quietly follows.
Her outfit is different, a qipao lined with pink flames and scroll bracelets. Her hair is still in the two high buns but there are two braids coming from each of them now, winding into one. She tackles Lee off his bed and he is taken by surprise.
"I'm back!" she cries. "I missed you!"
Neji is slightly jealous as they wrestle like little kids.
"Tenten! Your outfit looks very youthful! It is a great change!"
She smiles wider than he has seen since the war. "Thanks, Lee. The girls thought it was cute too. How have you been?"
"I've been great, better now that you're here!" he yells, but then Neji's teammate's dark eyes meet his.
Tenten follows his gaze and steps off of Lee as she sees him. He can tell that her emotions are conflicting with each other as she looks at him. Neji expects her to ignore him after how horrible he was to her, but she smiles and waves at her best friend, if they are still best friends. She doesn't act like nothing has changed, but she isn't letting the past control her. It's such a Tenten thing to do.
It's not that Lee doesn't notice that there's an uncomfortable tension between the two, but he doesn't comment on it.
"I didn't think you'd be back yet!" he cries.
"Lord Kakashi said that I had done an excellent job, far better than expected, and I could come back. And there is no way I'd ever miss Hinata and Naruto's wedding! I already bought them a gift from Kumo." She unravels her summoning bracelet and shows them a large music box decorated with small clouds.
When she opens it, they see little chibi figurines of Naruto and Hinata standing side by side. Tenten twists the bottom and sets the box on Lee's nightstand. Sweet music plays. Though the music is beautiful, Naruto and Hinata's actions are of them killing enemies with Twin Lion Fists and Rasengans. The actions continue to repeat until the music stops.
"It will be perfect for their first child!" she beams and seals it into her scroll as the two don't really know how to tell her that dying figurines might not be the best gift for a newborn. Yet if it's Naruto's child, you would never know.
Neji shakes out of his daze first. "Lee and I still need to find a wedding gift."
Tenten nods and doesn't meet his eyes. "Any ideas?"
"I'm not sure," he says before Lee does. "I think I like the concept of a custom-made gift as well, but I still haven't found anything perfect yet."
"I'll know it when I see it." the jonin clad in green says.
She beams and Neji realizes that this is the closest Team Gai has been since the war. Yet the distance between him and Tenten makes him feel like there is more tension than their first day as genin.
It is in the night when Naruto and Hinata's reception takes place and they are newly married. The sounds he hears are of happy chatter and music throughout the day and though he is happy for his cousin, he can't help but stare at his teammate as she flirts with Kiba.
No, it isn't like Kiba and Tenten are dating nor like they've never flirted before. Yet usually, that mutt is the one who makes a move on the weapon's mistress, not the other way around. Neji tells himself it's not worth getting mad over. Sai has no problem with Ino flirting with other guys and they were together. Then again, the former ANBU had issues and Ino couldn't talk to anyone without flirting.
But when Kiba says something and she laughs, not a fake giggly one like some girls do or a teasing one, a real one that he hasn't heard in a while, his heart sinks and chugs the western alcohol that is a disgustingly cheerful gold colour. Hinata doesn't fail to notice his reaction to their flirting and she puts her hand on his shoulder.
"Just talk to her," she said warmly.
"Please don't concern yourself with my problems on your wedding night, Hinata-sama," he smiles weakly.
He doesn't look back at their table because he doesn't want to find himself losing control over his emotions if he sees the two making out.
After a long night of speeches, from him included, the couple starts dancing to a slow waltz and he finds the tune sickeningly beautiful. Naruto and Hinata's movements are graceful and elegant, the last thing he expected from them. Then again, they had been practising for a long time before the wedding. Slowly, more couples join on the dance floor and he's surprised to see Kiba flirting with a new girl with brown hair and asking her to dance. Even Lee is dancing with a new jonin who appears to have severe self-confidence issues, but he continues to give her encouraging words and they seem to be having a good time.
Soon, the only people who aren't on the dance floor are him and...Tenten?
For the first time, he wonders if his eyes have truly failed him because when he sees her holding a drink in her hand staring longingly at the dance floor, it seems impossible. She is Tenten. She's beautiful, strong, kind, and funny. He tries to wipe the words "beautiful" out of his mind but fails to do so.
Denying it won't make it any less true because it really isn't his opinion, it's a fact.
Neji and many other men have always known that Tenten is an attractive woman. Yet that evening, her yellow, green, and red qipao hugs every one of her curves and her black heels accentuates her legs to make them look even longer than they were before. His pale eyes travel up to the slit in the dress which exposes her thigh and he quickly turns his head away before he starts to imagine anything that is inappropriate.
When he glances at her again, he looks at her face and the way her bangs have changed from the choppy ones cut by her own kunai to the neat and wispy ones parted to the side, clearly styled by a hairdresser. Her lashes are coated with mascara and her eyes are smoky, a peach lip complimenting her naturally tanned skin. When she meets his gaze, it occurs to him how close a table away happens to be and he nearly freaks out.
Neji is a skilled jonin, top of his class, and his mission record is nearly impeccable for someone so experienced. A girl with pretty hair and a strained friendship should not scare him as much as it did.
"Why aren't you dancing?" she asks as she sips champagne, stepping a few paces closer; far enough to maintain a respectful distance, close enough for him to hear over the music. Tenten seems to like that choice of alcohol much more than he does.
"I prefer not to participate in such frivolous activities," he said formally, though it comes out more cold than expected. "Why aren't you?"
"I'd say it's quite obvious." she raises an eyebrow.
"Yet I don't seem to see why," he replies.
Tenten laughs lightheartedly, but not like she did with Kiba. "Well, I don't have anyone to dance with."
He wonders what she's getting at, but he tells himself not to get his hopes up. Instead, she sighs, which is painfully familiar. Before the war started, Lee and Neji never understood the nature of her sigh and she usually lost her temper as they failed at comprehending it.
When he doesn't answer, she turns to him again. "Is it out of line for me to ask if you'd like to indulge in a few frivolous activities?"
"I appreciate the offer," Neji says, though he doesn't know whether or not it's just polite or he truly means it. "But I don't dance."
"Oh," she says, but she doesn't seem disappointed. It appears that she expected him to refuse her offer rather than taking it well. "I would have thought that the Hyuga clan would have wired dancing into you."
"Why would they?"
"Well, in stories, noble families always teach their children to waltz so they can attend fancy galas and make connections."
Neji rolls his eyes. "Dancing is a recreation performed only by those who are about to get married in the Hyuga Clan."
"Hinata and Hanabi dance with a grace that cannot be taught in only a few months," she observes. "Strangely enough, I can even say the same for your aunt and uncle. They appear to be fine dancers. Though I must admit, the music is lovely enough for anyone to appear as a good dancer—"
She pauses in her sentence and observes the floor cautiously. "They are all exceptional dancers, it must be hard to meet that expectation. Don't you think, Neji?"
He doesn't sputter, but his facial expression does. Tenten knows him too well and her face breaks out into a large grin.
"Don't tell me you don't know how to dance!" she puts her wrists on her hips. It's a habit she has displayed since their genin days and he feels his heart race when she's looking so happy.
"I—" before he can protest or remember that he's supposed to be mad at her, she pulls his arm towards the dance floor and a couple of heads turn towards him. The stares don't last long and he can't think properly when she takes his hand and wraps it around her back, her hand around his shoulder, and entwines her other hand in his. It's strange but unsurprising that her long fingers seem to fit perfectly in his.
Tenten then pushes against his hand and smiles. "Feel that pressure?"
He nods, terrified and exhilarated at the same time. "Return it and I'll guide you. If you feel it push then you step back. If you feel it pull then you step forwards."
Neji has tried to dance before with no avail and he wants to believe that because it's with Tenten now, he'll finally get the hang of it. But her proximity intoxicates her and when he feels himself getting more and more attached to her by the second, he steps on her toes and bumps into a stranger.
She giggles at his clumsiness all while wincing because she's wearing heels and her toes are the only thing keeping her on balance. Tenten leads him again and when he finally starts to enjoy walking in steps of three instead of two, she lets him take the lead. Dancing with her suddenly feels like second nature. Soon, she tells him to let go of her back on the first beat and raise the hand holding hers above her head. Before she launches into a speech about time signatures in music, he chuckles deeply.
"I may not have learned how to dance but I did learn how to play the pianoforte."
Tenten blushes and he lets go of her back on the third beat and she twirls around elegantly before she wraps herself in the same position, though it takes him a couple of seconds before he adjusts as well. This same process continues and she teaches him to do a few even more complicated steps by letting him twirl her, stretching their arms out, coming back in a twirl the opposite direction, and coming back into position. He finds it getting easier and easier until he realizes that he's dancing with her.
She grins widely and his heart jumps at the sight of her sincere smile, which sure makes him forget being jealous of Kiba. They stop twirling as the piano slows down to end the song and their eyes are locked into place, refusing to move until a new jumpier song begins.
Neji snaps out of his daze and he swallows thickly because though she is so beautiful and he hasn't felt this way about anyone else ever, he wonders how many more times she will leave him. Back when they were taking the second chunin exams, the feeling was there but it was a little weaker, not to mention he never thought she'd ever leave so he wasn't afraid. He knows it's ridiculous to be so afraid of commitment but when it hurts him so badly, he knows that his choice is understandable. Though the way he sees her has barely changed since he was fifteen years old, he still hasn't put a name to the feelings. If the calming feeling of being with her has been with him this long and it still hurts so much when he looks at her, the only explanation is love.
For shinobi, it is dangerous for them to let their guard down because he can feel himself being consumed by the way he feels. It's dangerous to get used to something and he knows that if he lets himself love her he will easily get used to it. He knows that if she hurts him again, it will be too much to bear.
Neji rips himself away from her and excuses himself, hating how the music is so out of place and cheery when he's breaking his own heart.
She's now alone on the dance floor because he tells himself he can't feel sorry when he's doing this for his own good. Even though every inch of his skin is longing for her again, he won't give in. If leaving for five days breaks him when they aren't together, he will be shattered if she does if there is a relationship.
Neji splashes water on his face over and over but none of it washes away his thoughts.
It is in the night when Lee, Tenten, and he are finally on a mission together, just like the old days. The sounds he hears are of the popular songs playing through Tenten's earbud, even though it is turned quiet and stuffed into her ears. They sleep with their heads together in the triangle, sprawled out on the wooden floor of an abandoned building. Lee is already asleep so he doesn't hear it, but Neji can pin every word about heartbreak in the song. Though they aren't nearly as close as they used to be, he's grateful that their team isn't completely destroyed yet.
"You should sleep." he reaches across to the side and nudges her attention to him.
Tenten's eyes snap open and she pulls out her earbuds. "What?"
"You should sleep. It's getting late. The music isn't going to help." he hisses.
"Why aren't you sleeping?" she hisses back.
"I can hear your music!"
She glares at him and stuffs the earbuds back into ears but switches the song to classical music, which actually soothes him a little. Neji stares at her a little longer and he recognizes the faint tune as Frederic Chopin, a composer he enjoyed playing.
He reaches over her shoulder and pulls out an earbud, then puts it into his so he can listen with her. "I didn't know you listened to Chopin."
"Chopin?"
"Yea," he says softly. "You're listening to his Heroic Polonaise. It's a beautiful composition."
"I didn't know that was what it's called," she said.
"You don't know who composes the music you listen to?" he scoffed.
"It's a playlist of classical music, ok?" she growls and turns around, nearly about to put in her other earbud until he wraps his hand around hers to stop her.
"A Polonaise is a Polish Waltz."
Tenten gives him a strange look.
"Have you ever danced to one?"
That's how they end up the next room down, sharing an earbud, and trying to dance to Chopin's Polonaise, though they end up failing dramatically. The song is so abrupt and complicated that they may as well have woken up Lee with how badly they moved.
"Did I ever tell you that Polonaises are for professional dancers?" he breaths.
"You—"
And Neji laughs quietly, not a chuckle, but a laugh. Her eyes glaze over in admiration. She then smiles at him and sighs.
He pulls out his own mp3 and digs through the files until he finds a playlist of Chopin pieces. "These should be easier."
So they sway to music from the 19th century and dance by the faint music of one earbud each. He knows he's the one who initiates this time. She is the one trying to push back. But she's so intoxicating and he wonders how her lips will feel when he's awake, rather than the burn from after he wakes.
Tenten catches him staring at her lips and she doesn't move, he just waits for him to choose. She knows that because he was the one who pushed her away, he has to be the one to pull her back. The choice is already made in his heart, but his head wants him to think otherwise. Yet his head also knows to listen to the heart so he lowers their hands and squeezes, then slowly tilts towards her.
This kiss is soft and steady. Fireworks go off in his chest and when he pulls away he wants more. Tenten doesn't smile, she just looks lonely, and he kisses her again to make the expression go away. The reluctance is still there and he pulls her closer to his chest and wraps his arms around her to try and assure her he isn't going to push her away again.
She lets out a shaky breath but doesn't move, she is merely letting him hold her. "Neji, I think we should sleep."
Dancing in the middle of the night while sharing earbuds start becoming a routine for them, but they are too cautious with their feelings to make it any more than that.
It is in the night when Neji cannot sleep because of a girl haunting his thoughts every second of the day. The sounds he hears are of Chopin's Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 and a knock on his door. He pauses the music and opens the door, relieved to see her because he has been letting himself hope that it's Tenten.
"Do you have your mp3 with you?" she asks softly. Because Tenten prefers his music to hers and she knows he'll let her dance with him again.
He plugs one headphone in his ear and another in hers, brushing back her bangs in the process. She freezes at his touch until his arm wraps around her back and rewinds his music a few songs back. They dance in silence like they always do, mostly because they are terrified of what they'll say to each other if they talk.
When the song he was listening to previously plays again, she pauses midway because Tenten hasn't heard a song of such beauty. She slowly reaches into his pocket, pulls out the music player, then slowly plugs it into a speaker so she can listen to it in both ears.
Neji watches her sit on his couch, all while entranced by the music. Her eyes drift closed while listening and he feels his breath catch in his throat. She's completely immersed in the music and he sits beside her. When he listens and analyzes the emotions flickering on her face as the music turns desperate, it's finally one of those moments where he feels everything she is feeling.
High notes descend into rapid trills and she takes a sharp breath before sliding her fingers into his as the song ends. Her eyes are closed even as the room is filled with another song not nearly as beautiful. When her eyelids finally flutter open, she looks straight into his eyes. He is lost in a sea of brown and he feels himself losing control of his emotions after such an intimate moment.
She can do anything to him now that he has lost count of reality and he will let her. Tenten runs her hand up his chest and kisses him without hesitation, then pulls away to test his reaction. His breathing is shallow and his body is tense, but the way he looks at her must give it away so she kisses him again, with more tongue and with more hands.
She makes her way closer to him, straddling his hips and pinning his shoulder lightly to the couch. Her mouth fits perfectly in his and he feels more and more desire clouding his senses before he pushes her away slightly, much to her surprise. He can't think of anything but her. Everything is slipping out of his grasp and she's the only one who can make him feel like he's in flames, yet also the only one who can extinguish them.
As her chest heaves, she searches his eyes for a reason for pulling away. Tenten looks hurt but he breathes her name and she understands. She understands that if she lets him give into his desire she has to try and stay no matter what.
He's giving her a chance to leave first but she doesn't take it. Instead, she waits for him, to see if he really wants to take that chance after she left him once, to see if he will push her away further. She can make his bones bend and make his muscles tear if she really wants because he knows he will always be a puppet playing on her strings, moving with every twitch, even if it is unintentional. Yet she's asking him if he wants her to move him forwards or back.
He chooses forwards.
Neji rejoins her lips much more desperately this time and he lifts her from the couch. She clings onto his neck and refuses to let go, even when he drops her on his bed and kisses her with far more fervour. Her lips are sweeter than he remembers, his mouth burns as her tongue glides across his, her hands leave imprints in his soul. Something in his chest is tightening and it feels like it will explode.
He trails his lips down her throat and sucks at her jaw, a breathy moan escaping her lips. Her skin is soft, tastes like ambrosia under his teeth. Neji wants more. He fucking needs more. He quickly starts peeling off her clothes and though they are supposed to make her warmer, it only seems to suppress the heat her body gives off as their skin brushes. Her hands claw at his shirt until it reaches under the fabric and fingers brush his skin, then lifts the shirt over her head.
He presses kisses down her collarbone then to the crevice between her breasts looks up to her. Tenten's chest heaves and she arches her back so he can reach under and unclasp her bra. He quickly tosses her undergarment to the side and her eyes are pleading with him to go on.
He takes her breast in his mouth and she moans, reaching up to grab her pillow, sighing as he sucks and licks, then moves onto the other. Blood is pooling towards his groin but he ignores it and light bites on her hard nipple. He feels her fingers grab at his hair and then release again. Neji quickly moves down to her abdomen and shoves down her pants and throws them off her ankles in one swift motion.
She has no time to prepare when he pushes back the curls between her legs and quickly sucks her clit.
"Oh shit…" Tenten trails off in a moan and when he pulls his head back to see her reaction she immediately grabs him by the hair and pushes his face back towards where she needs him. She is so wet for him and it makes him so hard but he is going to take his sweet time with her.
Neji smiles as he swipes his tongue over her nub again and again, sucking it once in a while to tease a moan from her. She starts to thrust her hips closer repeatedly and he takes this as his cue to insert two fingers into her.
Tenten nearly screams and she pants as he speeds up the pace of his tongue and fingers. He feels her body tensing up and her whimpers quickening until she arches her back for a long second then grabs at the sheets. She swears and says his name so many times. Gods his name sounds so fucking erotic coming from her mouth as like that and it makes him more eager to suck on her clit harder. Her body quivers as she contracts around his fingers over and over again. He doesn't slow down and drags her from the height of her sensitivity before quickly unbuttoning his pants.
Before he can do anything, she trails her long fingers down his abdomen and under his waistband. Neji bites his lip and inhales sharply as she pulls down his pants and his engorged member springs free. Tenten looks up at him and smirks as she pushes him to the bed, inching closer and closer to where he needs her.
"Tenten—"
When her hands wrap around him he hisses at the contact. She's going so slow but even though he wants to be inside her and wants to hear her scream, it feels nearly too good. He moans as she rubs her thumb over the tip and takes him into her mouth. He can't think when her head is bobbing up and down and she shoves him deep into her throat, then caresses his sac with her hands. There's a pressure in his abdomen that he's trying to hold back but when she strokes him even faster, he nearly loses it.
Neji quickly pulls away, much to her surprise, but he flips their positions and enters her roughly and her screams fill the room. It's good, it's so good. Tenten rakes her nails down his back and he reaches his hand between them, rubbing her clit quickly as he fucks her with all the desperation he has bottled up. Their bodies fit perfectly together and she's driving him to the edge with the way she whispers into his ear. He groans into her neck and she pants louder and harder with each animalistic thrust.
"Don't stop, Neji. Don't stop. Make me cum." she says to him quickly. He hits the back of her walls with more force until she shudders and tightens around him. He groans loudly and spills inside of her as his thrusts grow sloppier before collapsing beside her to catch his breath.
They fall asleep in each other's arms, and he isn't going to let her go anytime soon.
It is in the morning when he finds himself beaming for a weird reason. The sounds he hears are of birds singing and soft breathing. He doesn't so much hear the breathing rather than feel it tickle his chest. Then it occurs to him what has happened last night and he wants to groan in frustration because he lost control again.
But when he clings onto his chest and whispers "stay a little longer", he knows he absolutely doesn't regret it.
It's bad for him. Of course, it is bad for him, he's letting himself fall into a trap. He's diving head-first into a trap willingly.
She seems to know he wants to pull away and she buries her face into his collarbone without any ill intention. Tenten is fighting for him to stay and he sees how vulnerable she is. He feels tears on his chest and he freezes.
No one on Team Gai is experienced with her tears and usually, it is Gai who ends up making her feel better.
What scares him the most, is not that she's crying, it's that he's never seen her cry like this. She's crying like she hates herself and none of it seems to be because they slept together.
Well, that probably is part of the reason, but probably not the only reason. She pleads with him to stay even though it's his own home, even though she's the one who will be leaving, even though he hasn't moved or said a word. Her pleads are reduced to small whispers of "please" and Neji soon finds that even if she doesn't realize it, she isn't asking him to stay today, she's asking him to stay forever. She doesn't want him to push away anymore, and in return, she seems to be saying that she won't either.
He knows that the pain of him almost dying probably hurt her immensely and he understands that. He knows that nothing can excuse her absence when he needed her most. Yet he was also a jerk for continuing to push her away and letting her continue to kill herself as she tried to make amends. He knows that if he leaves now, if he makes her leave he will destroy her before she can destroy him
That's not what he wants.
She's begging him of three things with one word: to give her another chance, to forgive her, and not to break her.
Neji wraps his arms around her and holds her tightly and she seems to be crying in relief now.
"Did you know that I really love you?" she asks and he kisses her on the forehead.
"I did," he admits, maybe even surprised by his own answer. "I really love you too."
It is in the night when Neji finally masters Nocturne Op. 9 No.2. The sounds he hears are of footsteps coming as his voice calls out to his teammate, now lover. He wants her to listen to him. It has been more than a year of gruelling practise, but it is a difficult song and was difficult to learn.
She listens as he plays and feels every emotion again and again, relives their love, and lets the music heal them. Tenten watches his fingers drift across the keyboard, the hammers hitting the strings, and the shifting of the pedals as the keys move left and right.
When he finishes, the light in her brown eyes are confirmation enough that the music has reached her. A smile is on her lips and she takes his hand into hers then twirls the wedding band around his finger gingerly. Tenten then stares out the window and looks at the moon.
"Beautiful things happen at night," she whispers.
He thinks of the music and how it's called a nocturne, usually inspired by the night. She inspires him. Inspires how he plays and how he lives.
"You're beautiful, Tenten."
"My birth certificate says I was born at 6AM."
Neji chuckles lightheartedly. "Yet I'm sure Chopin has never seen a night that compares to you."
She blushes but kisses him on the nose anyways.
Deep down, he believes that Tenten inspires all the Nocturnes.
Though Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 is in the pace and rhythm of a waltz and can be danced to, the piece is usually played "rubato" which means robbed time, so the pianist will usually slow parts down and speed parts up without indication to become more expressive, making the music much more enjoyable to listen to than to dance to.