Oolong tea with a teaspoon of honey.

The honey wasn't necessary, her cousin would often tell her in the past; but, still, she had always added it whenever she made tea for him, and he had always drunk it all without complaint. Then they'd sit by the window at her father's minka and look at the garden. If it was nice out, they'd leave the doors open to bring in the fresh breeze. It was their moment of shared peace. Warm tea and cool hearts and the hum of nature at their side.

But then he started smoking.

His taste for tea vanished, along with most foods, and he rarely let her be around him. At first, she was sure it was because he didn't want her to get sick because of the cigarettes; but the years passed and he kept his distance, and she knew it was because he hated her. It shouldn't be a surprise, after all. He had hated her when they were children, ignoring her, leaving her alone in crowds, pushing her when she got something wrong. What would stop him from … hating her again?

It didn't stop until his last year of life, when he was diagnosed with lung cancer. He allowed her, once again, to be back in his life, to make tea for him, which he forced down despite barely liking the taste anymore. And it had been so cruel of him – he pushed her away for so long, only to let her back in when he was quite literally on his deathbed. And she had been the only one at his side the morning he passed, sobbing, holding onto him, begging him not to leave her again.

After that, she hated tea.

But now –

"The honey isn't necessary, Hinata."

She fell into the motions like it hadn't been so long since she's made tea. The small teaspoon stirred the honey, mixing it in, and when she finished, she tapped it on the side of the cup before placing the tea down in front of him.

Neji … was back. Back from the dead.

"I know."

And the warm smell of oolong and honey filled her home.

Chapter 26

Tell Me Why It Happened

If Sasuke alone in her small apartment felt like the middle of a volcano, the two of them together was compared to that of the sun.

If not more.

But Hinata couldn't think of anything hotter, so the sun sufficed.

Her cousin at her table, perched over it with the same grace and precision as he's always had, even in death, was hard to ignore. Neji looked like he had perhaps two years ago, before the cancer began to affect his physical appearance: long hair, sharp and calculating eyes, features that could probably kill a man if they got too close. This was her proud, strong cousin she remembered.

The one … who …

"Leave me alone, Hinata."

"I-I'm so sorry." Her left foot stepped back before she knew what she was doing, and her heart stopped, as if scared its own beating would bother him. Sasuke shot her a frown as Neji blinked up from his swirling, steaming tea.

"Sorry?" he asked. "Why are you … ?"

Yes. That's right. That was long ago. He wasn't that man anymore.

Right?

It was so much easier to just be with him when he was just a soul, she realized. Because he hummed and buzzed and flickered, but did nothing else. No tongue to snap at her. No eyes to glare at her. No lungs to hack and decay before her very eyes.

"Nothing," she whispered, returning to the side of the table to pour the tea for herself and Sasuke. "It was nothing."

Sasuke shot her a look when he took the cup she offered him. "Humans," he sighed. "For once, it would be nice to just hear you speak your mind."

Hinata glided down onto her chair. "I-I don't –"

"Your cousin died before your eyes after four years of ignoring you," Sasuke drawled, then threw his head back to down the tea in one gulp. "Trust me, I know every single thing he did. All the words he said. The sins. The misery. You can't tell me you have nothing to say to him."

Well, in some way, he was right.

She had something to say. Plenty, actually. But it was hard, because it was like a seesaw in her head. One moment, she was on the ground, wallowing in bitterness and wonder; the next, she was in the sky, crying in relief that he was back and wanting nothing more but to hold and hug and cherish him.

It was confusing. She didn't know what to do, what she wanted.

Neji, nudging his untouched tea a bit to the side, faced her across the table and rested his chin in his hand.

"Hinata." Her head snapped up when he said her name. "Go ahead."

Her own cup of tea was sandwiched between her hands, and she let the warmth sink into her palms and try to calm her pulse. "I missed you so much," she whispered. "I'm so glad you're back. I'm so glad I can talk to you. But – but I'm scared. What if you leave me again … like you did before?" She swallowed some of the scalding beverage, barely acknowledging it. "It's been a year since you were gone. Did you hear my prayers? I tried to stay strong and keep my chin up like you always did, but whenever you're gone, I find myself sinking. Those four years – the smoking – when we were kids – I was always at my lowest. And just when I'd be able to pick myself up, you'd come back around. I-I don't know what to think or what to feel. I want you back – when Sasuke said he was making a body, I was so glad. But – But now? I … I feel so conflicted."

He listened, like he always did. Whenever she'd talk to him, she never feared he was ignoring her words or simply nodding along; he always paid attention to her every word and made her feel like she had a voice, a presence in this world. That part about him she loved dearly, missed exceptionally.

But his face was also flat and void of everything. What he thought, what he contemplated – she never knew. It was scary. It always was.

"The smoking," he began, then stopped, eyes lowering a tad.

"Why?" she pushed. "Why did you start?"

It cooled a bit as his thumb hung over the rim of his cup of tea. "I thought I deserved it," he said, meeting her eye, sucking her into every word he uttered. "How I treated you when we were kids – I left you behind. You could have been kidnapped, killed. I –" His hand went over his chest, where his soul rumbled, "I remember the grief, the guilt. For years, I tried to ignore it and continue to live with the second chance you gave me. But it got to me. I started smoking knowing damn well my lungs would die on me, and I pushed you away so that you'd hate me when I left."

Left. Died.

This whole time …

"Neji." She barely heard her own words, they were so wobbly and quiet. "Never – I – I never thought that way. I love you."

His face remained still, but his eyes swam with something sorrowful.

"By the time I realized that, I was already dying." He sighed, and the steam that left his mouth reminded her of smoke. "And like a selfish bastard, and dragged you back in and hurt you even more."

Her gaze dropped with her stomach, and she drank the rest of her tea without tasting anything.

"I'm sorry, Hinata," he said, voice ringing with honesty and heat. It blasted through the room and almost caught everything on fire. "Hell is where I belong for what I did. I'm sorry."

"H-Hell?"

Her eyes snapped over to where Sasuke had been, but he was gone.

"You were in Hell?"

"What?" Neji barked a bitter laugh. "You think I deserve Heaven after all that?"

That wasn't her right to judge – and she was too busy forcing the pieces together. Obviously, Sasuke made the body. Obviously, no matter what, Neji was stuck in Hell now. The horns twisting over his head and the ears pointing, long and tall, towards the ceiling, told her that much. Demon. Her cousin was a demon. But before it all – before the body – she had thought Sasuke had gotten his soul from Limbo, at the very least.

"And from what I hear," Neji continued, pulling her back into the conversation, "he wants you to come with him to Hell one day. Damn bastard."

"You … know about that?"

"The devil likes to brag." Neji crossed his arms and grimaced. "Bringing his girlfriend to Hell, where she'll plant the first ever garden. What a hotspot, huh? And don't get me started on all the shit he's told me about you –"

"N-Neji!" Her face was red and hidden behind her hands. "I don't want to hear it."

"Nor did I, and yet here we are."

"P-Please don't tell me it was anything –"

"Oh, yes," Neji hummed. "I heard it all. Apparently, you're simply obsessed with his horns, Hinata. Now isn't that a puzzle?"

Squeaking, she looked at him through her fingers and saw his devilish smirk that he couldn't hide behind the rim of his cup. Her hands dropped with her jaw. "Neji!"

"You should expect it by now. I'm officially a demon, after all."

And Hinata couldn't help but smile and pour more tea into her cup. Outside, snow gathered on the windowsill, contrasting with the black background. It was no garden, and the weather was certainly not good enough to keep the door open; but, still, it was nice.

Peace, oolong tea with honey, and her demon of a cousin.

…

"Happiness."

Sasuke sat on her bed and traced her smile with his eyes, humming to himself.

"Am I right?"

"Yes," she said, sitting up to be at his eye level. "Mostly."

"Mostly?" He scowled.

Her hands climbed into the air and grabbed his horns, and she said, "I'm not obsessed with these."

Sasuke snorted, leaning into her. "We can pretend that, if you'd like."

"It's the only thing I can touch without getting burned."

"For now." Promise was in his gaze, and something close to a smile grazed his lips. "Afterwards, you'll be obsessed with all of me."

He pressed her against the mattress and hovered over her, his left hand catching her wrist and pinning it down. His hips were against hers and his mouth grazed her shoulder, and Hinata sighed and placed a hand on the back of his skull, the nest of hair keeping her hand safe from his sweltering skin.

"Sasuke, don't talk to my cousin about me."

He pulled away just enough to show her the subtle, disappointed furrow of his brows.

"Fine," he said, "then I'll tell Naruto."

Her eyes widened. "N-Not him, either!"

"Not that it matters," he muttered. "He already sees everything."

She moved under him, and a hot breath fanned over her exposed neck as he chuckled at her startled expression.

"Sasuke –"

"Next time," he said, pressing his nose into her hair, "give me more tea."

"You can't even taste it –"

"More than Neji."

Hinata patted his shoulder. "You're being jealous."

"I'm the Devil," he reminded her, though he really didn't have to. She was well aware of that fact. "I'm many things, angelus."

…

The next morning, as she was getting ready for school, she made green tea and stood out on the porch, watching the snow slowly melt under the clear, bright sky. Neji was next to her, steam rolling off him as he drank his tea slowly and thoughtfully, and behind her, in the house, she heard Sasuke down the rest of the tea she had left him in the pot.

Chapter 26 - End