The clock has hit the dreaded 1 pm long ago, yet Neji hasn't moved an inch from his seat. Promising himself over the weekend that lunches were not to be skipped any longer, he finds himself lacking the motivation to follow through with that promise. Who needs lunch anyway? Not him.

Instead of food, his body is itching to be busy again, to consume the paperwork, to drown himself in worksheets once more. The problem is, he has finished his work long ago, being the overachiever he has always been. The project that's due in one week? It's completed. The meeting with his staff? Also done. The presentation for their upcoming client? You guessed it–covered. All the tasks he needs done are already finished, yet he craves something to keep him busy till it's time to go home.

Hinata scolded him–if scolded was even the right word to describe it–days ago about it too. 'You work too much, Neji, dear. Please don't let that distract you from eating all your meals. Come have lunch with me sometime, too.'

He had promised he would, but it's been maybe a month or two–he can't tell–since then and he has failed to ever meet up with her during one of his lunch breaks.

If she had been here, she would've scolded–no, talked his ear off about how food was so important and all meals were never to be skipped. The stubborn girl didn't practice what she preached though, except Neji couldn't call her out on something he himself didn't do. So all that was left to do back then was to sit down together and eat with each other. However, she's not here to chastise him and annoy him to the point that he eats. She's not here to bicker with him while they struggle to agree on what to eat. She's not here to sit down on the floor of his apartment and eat slowly while feeding him occasionally, despite his protests.

She's not here.

So everything would be done according to his own rules. With his work done and his lunch break long forgotten, he wonders what he can fill his time with, until it's time to go home.

But if he's being honest, he doesn't really wonder. At the back of his mind, there's something he knows he wants to do, desperately so, but he's been putting it off for a few days now as if to spare the last bit of sanity he has left. It's a sad try at both passing time and remembering her, but if he doesn't allow himself to overthink it–then Neji doesn't mind. As agonizing and melancholic as it is, he never minds. Not when it comes to her.

At the thought of her, his tired eyes immediately avert to the last drawer of his desk. It's an odd and maybe obvious hiding place, but in his defense, who would even think of searching the last drawer? All his important work files were elsewhere. Not that the drawer's contents weren't important. They are. To him at least, but no one else needs to know. It's between him and her.

However, just in case anyone got too curious, the drawer was secured with a lock too. Extra security, he thought. A man could never be too cautious when it came to things he valued. Or too paranoid. Finding a place to hide his key had been the really tricky part, though. Not trusting the books resting soundly on his large bookcase or the pot of his close-to-death dracaena plant, he had settled to keep the key with him at all times. If she had been here, she would've laughed at his paranoia and called him silly like she always did. Knowing her, Neji assumed she would've put the key somewhere so obvious where he and anyone with a brain would be able to find it in under five minutes. Like under the carpet. Who hides keys under carpets? She did.

Reaching into the inner pocket of his suit to find the said key, he finds it with ease. He stares at it for a while, it's so small, silver, fragile. For some reason, it reminds him of her characteristics. Like her.

A voice at the back of his head tells him he's gone crazy, so maybe today is not a good day to do this. He's comparing her to a goddamn key. It continues to tell him to not do it, he can busy himself with work again, he can go over his finished work one more time, he can even go out to have that fucking lunch, anything but this. The voice's suggestions go ignored as Neji puts the key in and turns it gently. The man has worked enough for the day. It's time he gets his very much needed break.

The secret drawer opens unceremoniously, revealing a baby blue camera, and some photos scattered around.

It had been her camera. It wasn't the best quality out there; she had gotten it as a joke during her sophomore year; she had told him. That joke soon had turned into memories when she had moved away, the memories were full of her friends. It had been one of those things she had gotten attached to; hence why she couldn't get rid of it. The camera was full of the most random photos ever, Neji had seen it himself. Blurry photos of her, random shots of sunsets and color stained skies, pictures of her friends in high school, Hinata, Sakura, Shikamaru, Chouji, even Naruto was there, pics of the places she had been to, foods she had eaten and drinks she had drank, and the more recent ones (if he could call them that) there were pics of him.

He had taken two photos of her too. One she had pestered him to take while they had been on their beach date. She had thought she looked cute. She did, she looked beautiful even, but Neji had refused to admit it to her back then, being the jerk that he used to be. Taking the picture was the least he could do. The other photo he had taken himself, without her nagging him to do it (surprisingly!) while she had been painting in his apartment. He himself didn't know why he did it. She had looked so focused, so ethereal, her platinum hair cascading down her face and shoulders while the sun showered her in it's golden hues, it would've been a crime to not capture that. "You're so golden," he had whispered, staring at her afterwards in awe. Her paintbrush had stopped moving, she had glanced at him, giving him one of the softest smiles she could muster.

Memories tend to fade, but that pure smile of hers had been engraved deep in his mind. Over a year later and he could still remember it as if it had happened yesterday. Her golden smile.

Those two photographs are the only ones he has printed. He felt like he would be invading her privacy if he printed the ones she had taken of her friends or of the places or even of her (stupid thought, he knew, considering the fact that he had looked at them several times already). They were too personal; they were hers. Belonging to a time when he hadn't been a part of her life, Neji felt out of place owning them. The ones he had been in though, he felt he had at least the permission to keep with him at all times.

Something to remind him.

Of what he had.

Of what he lost.

Of memories.

Of her.

Neji hadn't printed any of the pics she had taken of him either. He didn't need to. He stared at his own face every day, each day with more and more disappointment. The man that looked at him back in the mirror was only a mere shell of what the man in the photographs used to be. He had changed; he knew this. His grumpy face seemed the same, his annoyed expression was still in its usual place, but yet his eyes were lit up; his several attempts to hide or remove the smile forming at the corner of his lips were also visible. The man in the photographs had been another version of himself, maybe a younger, happier, foolisher self. He missed it. Both him and her. He had lost the two of them in such a short matter of time.

This whole thing isn't about him, though. He may have lost a part of himself, but he still has some other parts left. He still sees his own face each and every day. So no, he didn't need to print his own photographs.

Hers, on the other side, is a different story. Neji needed to print hers. Maybe it was simply his yearning to see her again, or his deep-buried fear that he would forget what she looked like eventually, if he didn't look at her pictures constantly. He felt those two photos captured her best, in her best angles and moments, showcasing her the same way he had seen her long ago. It was bittersweet to him, having those physically with him at all times, but Neji wouldn't have it any other way.

It stings deep inside in his soul to look at her smiling face; he feels his stomach drop at the idea of how happy she had seemed and how badly things had turned out. However, Neji knows. Sulking and wondering what he did wrong won't bring her back.

The pictures inside the drawer stare at him with a bored look. It's you again, huh?

But before he can take them delicately in his hands to stare at them for minutes and wallow himself in sadness and self-pity, his work phone rings. His hand retreats to answer it. His secretary is on the line.

"Mr Hyūga, a friend of yours is here to visit you."

As soon as he hears the word friend, he frowns. Friends coming to visit him means trouble for Neji, means one of them has gotten fed up with him and his attempts to skip whatever gatherings they had planned and distance himself. They recognize he's going through it, Neji knows they know too, yet he wishes they didn't. He can't stand the pitiful looks or the comforting words they try to say or the way some ignore the fact she ever existed. It's hurtful and makes him want to keep all this to himself. It's his business and his business only.

"Who is it?" he asks, bracing himself for the worst. It may be Lee or Naruto, he assumes. It's always those two. The answer he gets back surprises him.

"She said her name is Tenten. Should I let her in?"

Tenten. To say Neji hasn't seen her in a while would be an understatement. The girl had been gone for so long doing god knows what, but Neji hadn't bothered to reach out to her either. Yet now, she is here, wanting to meet him. He wonders what she wants to talk about.

Leaving the thoughts for another time, he shuts the drawer and puts the lock in, knowing if his friend sees it, she'll get curious. And photos of his ex girlfriend are probably the last thing she wants to look at now.

"Yes, let her in," he remembers to reply after he puts the key back in his pocket where it belongs.

He can hear two quick knocks on his door before it opens, revealing Tenten. The brunette is smiley, he notices, maybe she's not here to yell at him this time.

"Hi Neji," she beams cheerfully, closing the door behind her. The button white shirt she's wearing is tucked in her high-waisted brown pants, while her hair is still up in her two significant buns.

"What are you doing here?" he asks without thinking twice, regretting it immediately. Way to sound like an asshole, Neji.

She shoots him a look of disapproval, placing a hand on her heart. "What, not even a 'hello nice to see you too,'? Am I bothering you?"

"No, not really. I've finished work for today, I was-" but she interrupts him before he can finish.

"Calm down, silly," he frowns at the nickname, she used to call him that, "I was just joking."

"You still haven't answered my question, though."

Tenten raises an eyebrow, putting a hand on her hip and still not answering his question, "Still as grumpy as ever, I see."

He closes his eyes in attempts to calm himself down and not repeat his question. She laughs.

"I thought I'd come and visit you. It's been a while since we last saw each other. I missed you."

And she, of course, was right. He knew it had been weeks since he last met her in person, or any of their other friends for that matter; and as much as he felt bad about it, he couldn't bring himself to contact any of them. He liked the bubble he had created with only him and memories of her. It seemed safe, untouched. It felt different from the despairing reality of his life that was filled with work, loneliness, more work and her absence. She was gone. Being in the presence of their old friend group only served to remind him of her, how she was the light of it and how she was gone.

"Indeed, it's been a while. I guess I've just been too busy," he finally replies.

She gives him a knowing smile, but Neji knows she doesn't buy it. She never does. "Right, you're always so busy. Well, anyway, that's why I'm here. You said you're on your break right now, right?"

He nods, she crosses her arms. "I don't see you eating lunch, though?"

"Oh, I don't really eat lunch," he responds, considering the wall behind her more interesting as he refuses to make eye contact with the girl, "too busy."

"God," Tenten groans, "this work is gonna be the death of you. What good will it be to you when you're dead from malnutrition?" she pauses to stare at him as if to weigh out her options before continuing, "Since you're on your break and haven't eaten anything and we haven't had time to catch up, how about you grab a coffee with me?"

There is the dreaded invitation to hang out that Neji was hoping she'd be too proud to articulate. She wasn't.

"I'd really love to but-" he started, but she immediately interrupted him, shaking her head.

"I know you're gonna come up with some lame excuse now, Neji. The thing is, I wasn't asking. You're coming with me," she walks over to his desk, "You've been cooped up in here and I'll be damned if I let you lose yourself in this cave of yours. Come, we're going out." she demands, grabbing his arm in the process.

Her grip on his arm is strong, though he could get out of it easily if he tried, but Neji supposes he's pushing it. Weeks of avoiding all his friends are starting to come back to bite him in the ass. Damn women and their bossy attitudes. Maybe a coffee and some New York polluted air wouldn't hurt.

His secretary's offer to bring them coffee downstairs from the cafeteria in their building is immediately refused by Tenten, who without a second thought raises her hand in the air and mutters something about Neji having to go out for once. The secretary looks at Neji in confusion, but he signals her it's all under control. Or so he hopes.

"You know," Neji starts to say as soon as they enter the elevator, "our cafeteria is just fine. We can get coffee there."

Her thumb punches the ground button ruthlessly, her eyes giving him a stern look in the process. "No. We are going out."

Raising an eyebrow at that, Neji notices the girl slightly getting nervous. He knows why, of course, yet he chooses to ignore it. His eyebrow, however, stays up, triggering a reaction from her.

"Not like that, you idiot." she rushes to say while Neji murmurs a "Right."

Of course it's not like that. Neji knows. It's never been like that, ever since she came into the picture.

Tenten knows too.

As soon as they are out of the building, she grabs his arm and leads the way. Can't let him get away or take her to one of those snobbish cafes. Tenten would be caught dead before she enters one of those.

"We could drive there, Tenten. Cars were invented for a reason," Neji comments, trying to avoid walking, but Tenten still won't budge. The girl is still as stubborn as ever.

"Shut up, you lazy ass. A bit of walking won't kill you. Actually, it will do you well. We should work out together too, sometimes. Or we can go running."

There it is, another invitation.

"Of course," he says, ironically or not, he doesn't know. All he knows is that he doesn't want to go. Wallowing in despair and deafening loneliness are waiting at home for him to return.

The walk which Neji hopes doesn't last too long–he has things to do, after all–suddenly starts to seem familiar. He notices a pattern; he has walked these steps before; he knows the way.

After giving Tenten a side glance, he wants to ask her where they're going, just to confirm his suspicions. He wonders if she knows. He hopes she doesn't.

Left, right, straight ahead.

Right.

Right again.

He stops.

They're in front of the last place Neji wants to be at the moment.

Tenten stops too and looks at him, giving him a small sincere smile. "It's a really nice cafe! Hinata told me about it once and I've come here ever since."

But her words fail to reach him.

He's already rushing to enter the cafe. As soon as the door opens, the suffocatingly delicate smell of freshly made coffee enters his nostrils, taking him back to the time he first saw her.

"Neji? Do you want to order now?" Tenten's voice snaps him out of his daze. He glances at her, finally noticing she had followed him into the cafe. Remembering why they are there in the first place, he nods, tells her to order him whatever coffee she wants and rushes to sit at the first table he finds free.

To say that being here after so long is overwhelming, would be an understatement. After she had left, he had never even thought about this place, let alone come to visit it. It felt sweet, bitter, being at the place where it all had started, where he had first caught a glimpse of her. Granted, she had come for Hinata's engagement back then so they were bound to meet or to at least see each other, even if it was from afar, at least once. It was fate. Fate wanted them to meet. And yet, it was this small in-the-middle-of-giant-buildings cafe that offered them their sweet first meet.

"Still thinking about those paperworks you left unfinished?" Tenten asks him as soon as she's back from ordering their coffees.. She pulls a chair and sits opposite him, wondering why the man is so lost in thoughts. "Don't worry, no one's gonna steal them from you."

Neji gives her an annoying glare, but doesn't respond, nonetheless. Tenten rolls her eyes.

"If I wanted to talk to the walls, I would've just come here alone, Neji."

He gives her a slight smirk, "Maybe you should have."

"Oh, I have, plenty of times. I just thought a change would be nice for once."

Her statement is full of humor, but the sad undertones don't escape Neji's ears. It tells him how the girl has been lonely too–most of them have–now that they've gone their separate ways. He knows, yet it wakes a void, deep inside him. It's empty, something is missing. The glue that held them all together.

As much as he feels sadness for his fellow friend, opening sad discussions or comforting people has never been his forte. The boy, now man, has always been the one to be an asshole and tell others to just suck it up; life gets like that sometimes. But simply because he's a man now, he can't go back to his old arrogant ways. Being nice or showing empathy aren't his strong points either, so he settles for what he's learned to do this whole time: to ignore. Perhaps it's not the right or the mature thing to do, but Neji simply does what works for him. This works for him. She's fine. They all are.

"So what did you order for me?" he asks, in attempts to change the topic, however, after seeing her suspiciously cheerful reaction, he regrets everything.

"I got you a Pumpkin Spice Latte," she replies, happier than ever. Neji wants to pull his own hair out.

"I thought you knew I don't like those."

"I knew," she smiles, "I just wanted you to try it."

He groans, not in the mood to eat or drink anything sweet. Silence ensues.

"So how has your life been?" Tenten asks after a while. It's a sad attempt at breaking the awkward silence, but an attempt nonetheless. Neji can't say he's doing the same. He shoots her a look as if questioning if she's genuinely asking him that. How could his life be?

He settles for a quick answer. "It's been fine."

The girl raises an eyebrow in response. "Really? That's it? Nothing too exciting? No new friends? Girlfriend? Romance? Nothing?"

Neji's expression remains unfigurable, but Tenten knows she's hit a nerve, when she notices him not responding, but still giving her a stare.

Girlfriend.

Romance.

The words linger in his mind longer than they should.

"No," he replies simply, but that turns out to be not enough for the displeased girl in front of him.

"No? Come on, I'm sure you must've had a girlfriend. Or a hook-up. Or friends with benefits. Whatever works for you, really. I won't judge," she says, giving him a reassuring smile.

Neji knows she won't judge. There's nothing to judge in the first place.

"None of that. I haven't had a girlfriend since… a long time."

'Since her' he wants to say, but the words don't make the cut. They go unsaid, although he's aware Tenten has realized it in no time. They had been close, Tenten and her, knowing each other for longer than Neji knew her. Acting like two parallel lines, the girls had gotten on so well with each other, always being in sync, seeming like two roads that would never cross or go against each other.

But life works in strange ways. The parallel lines had crossed.

"You really are married to your job, huh?" she replies after a while, trying to alter the topic which Neji is more than thankful for.

"It's really important to me. I've worked a lot to get to where i am today."

She waves her hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah, I know. But it wouldn't hurt to form new relationships outside your work. You're still young, you need to meet more people."

He thinks the people he has met so far are more than enough to last him a lifetime, not because he's that loyal, but because they are. They wouldn't leave him alone. Part of him is aware he's taking them for granted, yet a part of him hopes they don't give up on him. He's got it together. A bit more time is all he needs.

The barista saves him from having to reply to Tenten as she announces that their order is done and he couldn't be more grateful.

"I'll go get them," she says, getting up from her seat, leaving Neji alone to sigh. He can't wait to go home.

In a few seconds, she's back. The dreadful pumpkin spice latte that he doesn't want to see at the moment is in neither of her hands. He shoots her a questioning look, having expected her to follow through with her word. The girl sends him a smile back.

"I was just messing with you."

"I've never been happier you were," he replies, earning a chuckle from her as she sets his coffee in front of him. Both their focus is on the coffees in front of them as no one speaks for a while. At some point, he even notices her scrolling mindlessly on her phone while sipping coffee occasionally. Their short meetup is coming to an end.

"We should meet up more often," Tenten says as they leave the cafe. Neji has to get back to his office, she has to go somewhere, she says. Where, Neji doesn't bother to ask.

"Of course," he replies, his answer coming off more sarcastic than he intended it to, causing her to frown.

"I'm serious," she continues, "Not just us two, but everyone. Hinata and Naruto and Lee and Sakura, everyone. Just like the old times."

"You should talk to them about that, then. Not me. You know where to find me."

She puts a hand on her hip, sighing. "I will, okay? I'll talk to them. Just promise me you'll come without me having to drag you there."

Neji finally chuckles as if to reassure her, yet he doesn't know if he wants to make a promise he may not be able to keep.

"It'll all depend on my schedule. But I'll come if I'm not busy."

"Yeah, you better," she huffs, "so goodbye?"

"See you," he replies, turning around to leave in the other direction, without even letting the girl hug him goodbye. Tenten resists the urge to physically fight him. He may be an asshole, but he's way taller and possibly stronger than her by now. She can't beat him up even if she tried. Still, as she watches him leave, she hopes this isn't the last time they meet. It isn't.

She won't let that happen.

At 6 pm Neji is finally home. It's been a long, long day, maybe longer than his usual days (Tenten surely has something to do with that) but he's never been happier to be home, if happy is even the right word. If not happy, he's at least at peace. He's alone, no work, no people, just him and his house. The house, however, greets him coldly. Maybe it's the windows he left open before going to work that bring the chilling air inside, maybe it's the emptiness of the rooms that have been staying alone for a while now, or maybe it's the deafening silence, since there's no one there to disrupt that silence.

The cold from outside sends shivers down his spine, so he convinces himself, it's simply the open windows that are to blame for the chilly approach of his apartment. He rushes to close them, not even stopping to spare a glance at the ongoing busy life outside his house.

Today was… weird. That's all Neji can say about it. Meeting Tenten was weird, he hasn't seen her in months, yet their relationship dynamic is almost the same. They both–especially him–have changed during the time they haven't seen each other and yet, their relationship hasn't. He doesn't know why, but he's glad.

With Tenten coming back, Neji knows it won't take long before the others start gathering too. He is certain the brunette will stay true to her word and really attempt to make everything the way it was before. Determined as she is, when Tenten wants something, she gets it done herself. And if he's being honest with himself, he doesn't want to meet anyone or gather anywhere. All he wants is to continue his life the way he's been living it these past months, with no interfering from his friends.

As he realizes he's been standing in the middle of his living room, he figures he can overthink about this later. First, he needs a change of clothes and some food. Going into his room to undress, he suddenly feels a chilly breeze brush past him.

Weird. He remembers closing this window, but as he stares straight ahead, he notices it's still open.

Maybe his memory is failing him, he resonates, maybe he was too tired to notice he hadn't closed this one. Whatever it is, Neji figures it's not worthy of his attention; he should just change.

With the business suit and tie long gone, he finally feels at peace in his sweats. Strolling to the kitchen to make a meal, he wonders what he should cook. As he stands still trying to decide on a meal, he notices the small cactus on the sill of the kitchen window. The cactus she had gotten him. For a moment he's glad it hasn't died yet, till he remembers cactuses don't need much water to survive, which Neji is more than glad for, since he'd forget to water it more times than he's willing to admit. She seemed to have known that, that's why she had gotten him something that didn't require him to look a lot after. She knew him so well.

As he stares at the small "grow it for me" accompanied by a tiny heart, written in her delicate handwriting at the front of the white vase, he sighs.

The cactus has grown, not thanks to Neji, but it made it out on his own. His wistfulness for her has grown together with that cactus too.

The air grows colder.

'I miss you' the words go unsaid as he closes his eyes, letting out a deep, deep sigh, as there's nothing he can do about this now, 'I miss you so much.'