Planning
"You know, that was fun" Tenten commented as the two approached the gates. It has been a long day for the two of them. They literally searched an entire town for a gift and found it at the very last minute. Despite that, Tenten enjoyed her day with Neji.
She turned around and looked at him and noticed the serious look on his face. Tenten stopped to face him. Neji's brow rose while looking at her. He was carrying the gift they had bought from the village.
"You don't like it?" Tenten asked uneasily. She noticed that Neji has been awfully quite on their walk back to the village. Maybe she was too enthralled on the idea of finding the perfect gift for the couple that she didn't notice Neji's reaction. Tenten bit the inside of her cheeks waiting for his answer.
Neji just chuckled and patted her head. He smiled at her reassuringly and held her hand.
"I love it" Neji said to her as he gave a squeeze on her hand. Tenten didn't looked convinced and continued looking at his face. Looking for indications that Neji was lying.
"Then why do you look like you're constipated or something" Tenten said. Neji just shook his head and picked up her hand to kiss it. Tenten could feel her heart starting to run faster. Granted they were in a secluded area and there weren't anyone but she just couldn't help the feeling.
"I was just thinking of something" Neji replied. Upon seeing Tenten not-so convinced face. Neji release a breath smiled. He fished something from his pocket and let go of Tenten's hand to open the small box.
'Experiencing too much palpitations in one day is really not healthy!' Tenten internally screamed watching the small box on Neji's hand. Her heart was now beating fast, and her hands were beginning to shake. It felt like several tags exploded in her stomach and were now forming fireworks. She wanted to say something, but it felt like something was constricting her airway.
'Oh my gods, really? Here? At this moment?' Tenten frantically thought as her vision was beginning to blur. Maybe it was the heath she was feeling all over her body. Like a rush of hot water rushing around her system.
As Neji faced the box in her direction, Tenten couldn't feel like exploding. Until she saw what was inside the box.
Tenten immediately recognized the jewels inside the box due to the reflecting red light they emitted softly.
"When did you get them?" Tenten asked as her hand reached for the box to look at them closely.
"I saw you looking at them earlier so when you went to the back of the store I bought them for you" Neji said looking at her. Tenten couldn't help but smile. She looked at him and flashed him a shy smile.
"You didn't have to" Tenten commented. She was about to remove the earring and wear them when Neji offered his hand. Tenten gave the box to Neji and let him put the earrings one.
"I was supposed to surprise you with this earlier at that village but then found the store where we bought the gift, so I wasn't able to give it" Neji explained after placing the second earing on her other ear.
"So, you mean to tell me, that was the reason you were silent when we went back and looking like you had some constipation?" Tenten asked as she looked back to Neji. He simply scoffed and scratched with his finger his jaw.
"You like it?" Neji asked. Tenten just shook her head and took Neji's hand so they could continue walking.
"Like it? Neji, I love it" she commented not turning around to see his face. But the primary reason was because of Tenten's face that was almost matching the ruby earring on her ears. She was embarrassed for a lot of things but mainly because of one.
'Neji Hyuuga, I thought you were going to propose to me'
Tenten walked along the roads of the village. Neji went on first to keep their gift for safekeeping. Tenten was still not over from what had happened earlier. Her heart won't calm down and she felt hungry.
Despite the many snacks they ate at the village, Tenten felt incredibly hungry. She was about to enter a shop when she noticed three familiar figures.
"Tenten!" Sakura called out and ran to greet her. Behind here were Hinata and Ino. Tenten waved her hand at them. As Sakura reached her, she held her shoulders and smirked at her.
"How was your date?" Sakura said, it was loud enough for Tenten to hear and mellow enough so Hinata and Ino couldn't. Tenten's face instantly went red and she could feel the fuse in her head popping off.
"Where've you been today Tenten?" Ino asked and looked at her. Tenten avoided her friend's eyes and smiled at her while scratching her head.
"Are you ok Tenten, you look flushed" Hinata asked in concern and approached her to touch her forehead.
"I'm ok you guys! It's just I've been out in the sun this day" Tenten answered as she tried to laugh it off. Thankfully she was able to come up with an excuse. Ino and Hinata seemed convinced and nodded their head.
"So, where are you girls heading?" Tenten asked.
"Heading for dinner to end the girl's day!" Ino answered enthusiastically. Hinata smiled at it and Sakura grabbed Tenten's arm.
"You're coming with us" Sakura said. Tenten just nodded her head and the four ladies headed to the usual yakiniku place love to go.
The girls were seated in their usual table with the meat searing on the rack. They also ordered some beer and side dishes to match the meat. Tenten was finally able to calm her heart. She slowly sipped her beer and let it hit.
"Tenten, those are nice earrings" Hinata suddenly commented beside her. This caught Sakura and Ino's reaction. Tenten could already feel Sakura's subtle smile while she was flipping the meat.
"You're right, those earrings look good on you Tenten! Where'd you get them?" Ino asked after placing her beer on the table.
'They really had to notice the earrings' Tenten dreaded as she racked her brain to look for an excuse.
"Thanks, they were given to me by a friend" she answered as she downed her glass of beer. She was not prepared if they were interrogating her. Ino was about to say something when they heard a familiar voice.
"Lady Tsunade" the four girls bowed their head to the fifth hokage. Shizune was by her side waving at them.
"Hello ladies, mind if we join?" Tsunade said entering their table with Shizune.
"No problem, Lady Tsunade" Sakura said as the girls moved to provide space to the two ladies.
"Congratulations on your upcoming Hinata" Shizune congratulated Hinata.
Tenten was relieved that the attention wasn't on hers anymore. She breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back. She could always just remove the earrings to not draw attention but… she just didn't want that. Tenten smiled as she thought of her long haired and handsome Hyuuga. She bit back her laugh and bought back her attention to the table to join the talks.
"Thanks!" Tenten bid goodbye to her friends as she walked the opposite direction. Lady Tsunade already went on since she started to get drunk and decided to head to nearby gambling house.
"Tenten, wait up!" Sakura called. Tenten turned around and raised her brow at her. Sakura was already slightly red because of the alcohol. "I'm coming with you since I'm also headed at that direction" Sakura added.
The two walked silently in the now less crowded roads of Konoha. Sakura was humming a song while Tenten was mentally listing the things she has to do for tomorrow.
"So" Sakura suddenly said, "Where did the two of you went?" she asked. Tenten looked at her and smiled as she touched the earrings.
"We went to a nearby village to look for Hinata and Naruto's gift" Tenten answered. Sakura hummed and glanced at her and smiled.
"I guess, he wasn't only there for Naruto and Hinata's gift" Sakura said. Tenten couldn't help but feel shy. Sakura giggled and touched her shoulder.
"They look amazing on you Tenten" Sakura commented. Tenten looked away and bit her lip. Maybe she was a bit tipsy since she couldn't control her emotions. She looked at Sakura and nodded her head in appreciation.
"Ugh, love is really all around me and I'm here all alone!" Sakura commented. Tenten giggled at her and touched Sakura's shoulder to make her look at her.
"Don't worry Sakura, I'm sure Sasuke going to come back, and you won't feel so left out anymore!" Tenten said. She could notice the way Sakura's eyes glistened at the mention of Sasuke.
"Sometimes, I'm not even sure if he's coming back" Sakura said. Tenten swinged her arm around her shoulder and the two walked slowly.
"Sakura, he'll come back. WE all are sure of it" Tenten reassured her. Feeling Sakura still unconvinced she remembered a conversation she had with Neji before.
"Tell you what, Neji told this to me, but you have to promise not to tell him that I told you, ok?" Tenten told her as they stopped. Sakura nodded her head and listened intently to what Tenten was about to say.
"Neji once told me before that even without the byakugan his eyes could clearly see how obvious our peers are when it came to their feelings" Tenten said.
"He once told me that this time around, they wouldn't be needing a retrieval team to bring back Sasuke"
"Neji was sure that he'd come back since he now has a reason to"
"What? Naruto?" Sakura said jokingly which caused to laugh. She lightly pushed Sakura's shoulder and continued.
"No, you dummy, it's you!" Tenten said and looked at Sakura. "If he doesn't, I'm sure Naruto will drag his ass together with the others back here in Konoha!" Tenten told her. Maybe it was due to the intoxication but the two decided what Tenten said was funny and laughed.
"Enough about me Tenten, tell me about you two now" Sakura said as she wiggled her eyebrows that just made Tenten laugh more.
She wiped the tears on her eyes and tried to regain her breathe. Once she was stable Tenten looked at the stars and smiled to herself as she remembered how her and Neji reached the point they were in.
"It was after the war, Neji was gravely injured, and I accidentally expressed my feelings to him" Tenten said. She could still remember the way she just blurted it out after throwing numerous threats and colorful words at Neji for the reckless stunt he pulled.
"You must be so mad at him that you blurted it out" Sakura chuckled.
"Definitely, I was going on how stupid he was that he didn't use his genius brain" Tenten laughed as she remembered how Neji's face reddened and how he averted his eyes. Tenten could taste her own tears while ranting to him.
"At the end I was so frustrated that I was near breaking down said, I wouldn't forgive him that he died, and I wouldn't forgive myself for not telling him that I love him" Tenten said. If she weren't intoxicated right now, there was no way she would say that without being a mumbling mess. Right now, her inhibitions were loosened, and it felt good sharing her feelings to a friend.
"That's cute Tenten!" Sakura commented as he held both Tenten's hand.
"I'm rooting for the both of you!" she said seriously as she looked straight to Tenten's eyes. Tenten nodded vigorously and released her hands from Sakura's hold to hold Sakura's hands.
"I'm also rooting for you! You and Sasuke" Tenten said. After a moment the two laughed it out.
"I'll be going first Tenten! Stay safe" Sakura was about to go but she turned around to Tenten and smirked at her. "Oh, never mind, you'll really be safe since Neji's here" Sakura said before going on.
The two met and Sakura just smiled and gave Neji a thumbs up before walking away. Neji looked at Sakura's direction before shaking his head and walked towards Tenten.
Even with the minimum light the streetlamps were giving, Neji looked glowing. It was like watching the moon lighting up the night skies and casting upon a soft glow on the dark crevices of the earth. The way his heart perfectly dropped and his pearly white eyes that hid his pupils looked ethereal. Tenten could swear that Neji was an angel of death taking her.
This reminded Tenten of almost losing Neji. The thought itself always makes her emotional. She could feel her eyes stinging with tears. Neji's eyes widened and ran to Tenten.
Her hands immediately snaked around his waist as she let her face burry on his chest. She was wondering if he could feel her stream of tears continuously pouring. Tenten could feel Neji's hand on her hair, slowly soothing her. She could feel Neji's heart beating. She could feel his warmth engulfing her body from the cold night winds.
It was enough for her. Him being there, breathing, living, and existing. It was already so enough that him hugging here in the middle of a deserted road felt like a bonus. She tightened her hold on his waist before her tears slowly stopped.
"What happened?" Neji gently asked. His whisper felt like feather caressing her skin. She could feel the hair all over her body standing up. She collected a shivering breathe before pulling herself away from his hug.
Tenten stared at his eyes before tiptoeing and kissing him in the lips. She could feel Neji's hands hold her face as he returned her kiss. Tenten cursed the need for air as she separated from him. She hugged him back and let his heartbeat ran through her ears.
"Nothing, I'm just glad you're here and alive" Tenten said. She could feel Neji's hands enclosing her in a tight hug.
"I'll always be here" he says. Tenten pulled away and held his hands. Neji looked at her and smiled as he tucks her hair.
"You drinked, didn't you?" Neji asked. Tenten nodded and bit her lip. She was sure she wasn't that drunk, she might feel a bit intoxicated, but she wasn't drunk.
"Let's get you home" Neji said as the two walked hand in hand. Tenten felt at peace and comfort. She took in the crisp wind the night bought.
"I'm already home"
A/N
Hi! Thanks for reading this, I'll reveal the gift on the wedding. Also, just yesterday my phone pulled a Jiraiya and its now chilling in the middle of the ocean. Almost lost this file but thankfully I backed it up on the laptop. Thanks again for reading and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!