hot chocolate kisses
~.~.~.~
"When I tell you that this is the best hot chocolate you will ever have the privilege of tasting, I swear on the spirit of Christmas that I am not lying!"
Tenten rolled her eyes at the espresso machine, sighing over Lee's holiday-themed schtick. She heard the customer Lee was helping snicker slightly, but then agreed to the hot chocolate, resulting in her friend letting out his fourth energetic whoop! of the afternoon.
She shook her head and reached for the cup Lee had passed along to her, glancing over the short pen-stroke instructions inscribed in black marker. As she reached for the metal pitcher in which she steamed her milk, her eyes lifted, unbidden, to the night manager who was lingering in the doorway to the backroom, narrowly eying she and Lee. Tenten sighed again and turned back to the espresso machine, pressing her lips together in irritation.
Unlike the other two years she'd worked Christmas shifts at Sunny Spot Coffee Café, this year would be woefully different than the previous she'd shared with Lee—no dancing to Christmas music turned up loud as they spot-cleaned, no laughing over scenes from beloved seasonal movies in the lulls between rushes of customers, no scheming over the perfect hot chocolate recipe. No, this year, it was all for naught because instead of working with Lee for the three days leading up to Christmas like usual, her entire routine would be flipped, working shifts from now until Christmas Eve, sans Lee and their carefully cultivated traditions.
But while Tenten was both jealous and upset that she would be slogging it out behind the espresso machine without her best friend, she was a mite happy for him as well. When not upselling customers and recalibrating the displays by the register, Lee was hard at work perfecting his jujitsu techniques, and this year had paid off big: he was participating in a national tournament, which just so happened to fall during the Christmas holidays.
But it wasn't only that Lee would be absent that had Tenten in a sour mood. No, what made this arrangement all the worse was who would be replacing Lee—because it meant she had to work with Neji.
Neji Hyuga was not only the biggest asshole in probably the entire city, he was also the owner's relative—son, nephew, Tenten couldn't remember, nor did she care, because it only cemented her dislike of him. He was a cold individual, which in itself was a bad mix for the business they were in (people expect warmth from baristas—it's just how it works!), and incessantly irritating, doing the most to get on Tenten's last nerve.
She was lucky they worked together so infrequently. She usually managed the day shift, while he oversaw closing the shop down for the evening. She would see him, sometimes, as he came in for his shift, but often he would stroll in well after Tenten had clocked out, leaving Ino without any supervision for who knew how long.
"Oh, he's always a few minutes late," Ino had said one time that Tenten and Lee had offered to stay until Neji showed up. She had waved them on, completely unbothered, but it had sent an indignant flare of anger up Tenten's spine.
"What a spoiled brat," she had sniped at Lee as they'd left. "Leaving Ino to manage the store by herself like that. He's supposed to be responsible."
Lee had merely shrugged and changed the subject.
In some respects, Neji had a good reputation among everyone else at the shop. For one thing, he was related to the boss, which gave people incentive to be uncharacteristically nice to him. And he didn't hurt to look at either.
Ino had flirted with him a few times, just out of fun and not from any personal investment, and Neji had either ignored her completely or, on one particular occasion, rolled his eyes in such a dramatic fashion Tenten had suspected Ino had just asked him if the world was flat, rather than comment on how his hair made him look handsome.
But all that aside—Neji Hyuga had no redeeming qualities. He had a tic—an obsessive, irksome habit of staring that made Tenten's blood boil. She hated his eyes. Piercing, ever-watchful, always looking over her shoulder to study how she made drinks or side-eying the way she did inventory. Once, he'd even left a note for her after he checked her nightly inventory list, a square yellow Post-It with the words, 'You restocked the lids wrong'. Tenten had promptly crumpled it in her hand and thrown it in the trash.
Dislike aside, her fate was sealed—it would only be she and Neji Hyuga for the next three days—all the way to Christmas Eve when they closed the store for Christmas Day.
"Tenten! Drinks up?" Lee shouted.
Tenten pulled herself from her reverie and snapped into action, switching off the steam and reaching for two cups to fill with ice. She felt Neji's eyes on her back the entire time she filled her orders and gritted her teeth.
~.~.~.~
"You owe me. Big time."
Ino sighed on the other end of the line; Tenten was sure she could detect an eyeroll in there somewhere. "You'll be fine. He's really not that bad."
"You only say that because you think he's cute."
"It does make the hours pass by a lot quicker," Ino replied wistfully.
Tenten scoffed, put upon. "He's the most insufferable, arrogant jerk I've ever met. Really, how can you stand him?"
There was a loud, sonorous call on the end of Ino's line—clearly some type of announcement being made in the airport. "Eh—listen, Ten, I gotta go. My gate just changed. Things are crazy here!"
"Four days before Christmas, who would have thought?" Tenten grumbled.
Ino hummed pleasantly, and Tenten momentarily felt bad for complaining so much. "In a few hours I'm going to be having the best vacation," the blonde sighed wistfully.
Tenten's annoyance returned full force as she stopped outside of the shop. She could see Neji already inside, donning an apron near the back of the store.
"You'll be fine, Ten. Neji's easy to work with, I promise."
Tell that to the Post-It notes, Tenten thought. She mustered a good mood and said cheerfully, "I hope you have a good holiday with your family. I know you haven't seen them in a while."
"Thank you! I'm really looking forward to it. Now, play nice with Neji. I'll be back in a few days."
"Bye. Have a good flight."
"Ciao!"
The call ended and Tenten sucked in a deep breath before setting her hand on the door and strolling in, head held high.
Neji glanced at her over his shoulder, gaze quickly lowering to his watch. As Tenten stowed away her bag in the back room and put on her apron, determinedly ignoring him, Neji pointedly looked at the clock as she approached the counter and said, "You're two minutes late."
Tenten didn't answer, not bothering to point out that Ino had probably never shown up for her shift on time ever, not once. Not to mention all the times he was late for his own shifts. She mollified the offense by sending him a withering look (that he didn't see) as she headed to the espresso machine.
~.~.~.~
They passed the next two hours with a busy rush of holiday shoppers, Tenten's hands sticky with frappe syrup, her bangs plastered to her forehead from the steam emitting out of the espresso machine. Neji had taken the liberty of running the register; Tenten secretly assumed he wanted to garner more tips that way, leaving her the more arduous job of assembling drinks.
She didn't mind it. The 'barista' part of the job was why she'd worked at the shop for so long, besides the money—it was an art, really, one that had to be perfected and manifested through science and focus and skill. Sure, people could do it, but very few did it right, and Tenten knew she could be counted among the few.
However, it was only two hours into their evening and already Tenten found herself at wit's end with Neji's system for writing drink orders. Due to she and Lee's close relationship, they'd developed an understood shorthand for most drink requests when working together, a simple system that only required Tenten to glance at the order written on the cup to know what was being requested. It was efficient, effective, and usually left customers happy with how quickly their order was served up on the counter.
Neji did not know any shorthand. His order system was something akin to trying to discern hieroglyphics, a mishmash of letters and numbers that made zero sense to Tenten. The first few times he'd written out something too complicated to decipher, she'd simply clarified with the customer at the bar with what they wanted, circumventing Neji entirely. But as they got busier, the effort it took to wave over a customer to review their order became an impossible feat, leaving Tenten no choice but to consult with Neji personally.
"What does this mean?" she asked him, turning slightly from her station to hold up a cup with a scrawled jumble of symbols.
Neji was in the middle of a transaction, but he glanced over to her, raising a perturbed eyebrow. His gaze slid to the cup and with a roll of his eyes, said, "Just read it."
Tenten took a deep breath and eased her grip on the plastic cup before she crushed it in her hand. "I did. Several times. I have no idea what this is supposed to mean."
Neji's jaw moved in irritation; Tenten lingered on it, studying the defined line. "I don't have time to teach you about every little thing in the middle of a rush," he said.
"I asked you one question about what this order is supposed to be, and instead, all you've done is patronize me for not knowing how to read your ridiculously convoluted ordering system when I've never dealt with you at the register before. Great. Thanks." She turned back to the machine in a huff and set the cup aside, trying to mentally decode its meaning as she reached for another cup with something fairly simple.
Neji was silent at her back, still taking orders with barely a muttered "Happy Holidays" to the customers he received. A moment later, a slip of paper was slid underneath the complicated order—everything written out in hurried, slanted penmanship.
Tenten analyzed it, mouth pursed. She finished the drink she was working on and reached for the slip of paper, biting the inside of her cheek in concentration. After a few seconds' analyzation, Tenten started on the order, shaking her head.
Forty-five minutes later, Tenten was hit with the same predicament. She stared at the three cups Neji had just crowded onto the counter, his black marker strokes looking more like differential equations than drink orders. She grabbed the three cups and left her post at the end of the bar to approach Neji.
He was hurriedly scanning the contents of the till in-between customers, checking to see if he needed to break any larger bills from the safe in the back room, when she stepped to his side. He paused, meeting her eyes impassively before letting his gaze fall to the cups in her hands. "What now?" he muttered with distaste.
Tenten's cheeks flushed in anger. "Listen, your system isn't working for me. I need to make these quickly, and I don't have time to solve for x or y or whatever the hell this is. Lee and I have a shorthand, it's easy—"
"You and Lee don't follow company protocol when you use that absurd shorthand that I've seen you both scrawling all over the cups. You're lucky I haven't written you both up for using it before now."
Tenten felt her blood rush in her ears, face flaming with indignation. She hissed, just under her breath, "You are wasting the customers' and my time. How am I supposed to know what this means? Crack your head open and look inside?"
"It's not hard," Neji replied, already turning away from her to face the next customer. "Figure it out."
If it were socially acceptable to scream in this instance, Tenten would. She stepped back towards the end of the bar, trying very hard to keep calm, and analyzed the cups again. They mocked her, Neji's thin lines and letters and numbers. Tenten clenched her jaw and set them aside, reaching for the other orders she was able to translate.
When she had completed a handful of orders that had been waiting on the bar, she moved to the register and inserted herself in front of it, effectively cutting Neji off. "What are you doing?" he asked in a low voice.
"Switching tasks. Go make the rest of the orders," she answered.
Neji stared at her for a long moment, Tenten ignoring him, before he finally stepped away with a huff, muttering under his breath. Tenten manned the register for the rest of the evening, distinctly focused on anything besides the boy at the end of the bar.
~.~.~.~
Around eight forty, the shop nearly emptied, Tenten took the opportunity to use her fifteen minute break. She escaped to the back room and punched out, grabbing her phone from her bag and sliding into an empty chair in the small break room.
She and Neji had avoided each other throughout the shift ever since their heated exchange. Tenten had dolefully written clear instructions for the drinks to be made, foregoing her usual shorthand which meant it took her twice as long as usual to send the drinks along. Neji had not turned to face her even once since they'd switched, his back straight and tense as he stood at the far end of the counter.
Tenten frowned and consulted her text messages, attempting to push her coworker far from her mind. Lee had sent her a flurry of photos of him in his jujutsu uniform and shots of the tournament, as well as various snapshots of the food he'd consumed throughout the day—mostly healthy stuff, besides a milk tea.
She tried to call him to vent about Neji, but Lee's phone went straight to voicemail. Sighing, Tenten ran a hand down her face. Only an hour and a half to go, she thought. And two more days. Then I won't have to see his petulant face every day.
Comforted by this thought, Tenten took a quick moment to check in on the characters in her phone game, then got to her feet with a sigh, going over to the sink to wash her hands. She was humming a Christmas song to herself as she scrubbed underneath her fingernails when she heard footsteps echo down the short hallway and pause in the doorway. "Your break was over two minutes ago," said a stern voice at her back.
Tenten frowned and finished washing her hands before turning to him, slowly drying her fingers with a paper towel. Neji stared at her blankly, one eyebrow dangerously close to lifting imperiously.
"Are you the break police too?" she asked, not bothering to hide her disdain.
And yes—the eyebrow lifted, giving Neji a distinctly annoyed expression. "It's irresponsible to leave your team members understaffed while you take five extra minutes to do . . . whatever it is you were doing. Playing on your phone or—"
"It wasn't five minutes, it was two, and I was just about to go back out—"
"You're still late," Neji said with finality. "I'll have to mark it in your file."
Tenten blanched, reddening. "You can't be serious."
Neji lifted his chin ever so slightly in self-importance. "I am. I take my job responsibilities very seriously, unlike some people."
"I'm a manager too!" she spat.
Neji snorted, an unbecoming sound that Tenten didn't know whether to laugh at or mock mercilessly. "Yes, and we can both see how good of an example you are to the other employees." He muttered, not quite under his breath, "It's no wonder why the day shift is always such a mess—"
"Excuse me!" Tenten interrupted loudly, infuriated. "I'd love to see the night shift deal with half the shit the day shift does! You wouldn't last a week working days!"
"I already deal with enough on my shifts—cleaning up after you!" Neji retorted. His cheeks have reddened slightly in anger, eyes blazing with dislike. "Don't even get me started on all of the things I could report you to the owner for."
Tenten gaped at him. "God, why do you have to control everything?" she said in a breathless tone.
"I'm doing my job, which is more than I can say for you and the people you work with."
Tenten glared at him, almost speechless. She launched back, "Mine and Lee's process helps things go smoothly! I don't have to stand there deciphering group theory just to make a cup of coffee!"
"You and Lee aren't the only people that work here. The system has to work for everyone, not just you two."
Tenten crossed her arms. "It does work for everyone, if you would just—"
"Oh, really?" Neji interrupted, one hand lifting to gesture to the door, clearly indicating the storage room on the other side of the back hallway. "Every time I do inventory it takes me twice as long to finish because you insist on scattering things around the store, rather than keeping them in the one place where I can find them all and document properly, even though I've told you hundreds of times—"
"I put things around the bar because when we're in the middle of rush we don't have time to dash off to the storeroom to get what we need and check everything off of your little ordering list!" Tenten shouted.
"That list is there because every piece of inventory you unnecessarily use has a cost associated with it. You can't just take things and spread them around the store where I can't find them—it inflates the numbers and then we overorder and then my uncle is asking me why we spent so much on cups when we ordered five hundred previously!" Neji ranted, his fury bringing his face nearer to hers.
"I'm not spreading things around the store! It's one sleeve of cups!" Tenten screeched into his face, red blossoming on her cheeks.
Neji glared at her, nostrils flaring, as she marched out of the break room, throwing her hands up. "I'm not done talking to you about this," Neji said to her back.
"But I'm done listening."
She heard Neji curse as she moved towards the front of the store, her gaze sweeping the room to ensure there were no guests. She walked quickly to the cabinet underneath the espresso machine. With a sick satisfaction, she heard Neji's footsteps following her at a quick pace. Tenten withdrew a sleeve of plastic cups and threw them at Neji's chest; he caught them awkwardly, looking livid.
"There's your missing cups, you jackass. But don't come crying to me when I have to leave the bar in the middle of an order because I ran out."
Neji, it appeared, was so stunned that it took him nearly a full minute to shirk the cups aside, casting them brashly onto the counter before striding forward, staring at Tenten severely. He said, in a low, dangerous tone, "You're impossible to work with. You don't follow procedures, you make up ridiculous ways to process orders that slow other people down. I knew these shifts would be difficult, but you're not even remotely reasonable."
Tenten sidled along the counter until she leaned back against the register, eyeing Neji viciously. Snidely, she said, "I'll tell you what's unreasonable: the fact that you wouldn't know how to run this shop if it weren't for that ridiculous manual you're always carrying underneath your arm. Everyone always fawns over you, don't they—saying 'Neji is so smart', 'he's a genius'—but they've got you all wrong because all you are is your uncle's lackey, following all of the rules he makes you write down in that joke of a manager's guide. I'm going to take a wild guess and say that you want to take over—maybe your uncle even wants you to be owner someday. But all you're going to do is run this place into the ground because you don't know how to work with anything or anyone that isn't some do or don't on a piece of paper."
Neji stilled, looking at her with an unreadable expression. Tenten smirked, a heavy pleasure settling in her gut.
A second passed, then two. A new melody began to play over the speakers in the corners of the room, the beginning notes of "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas". Then, Neji stepped towards her, stopping barely a breath away. He leveled his gaze, features stony, as he replied, "You don't know anything about me. And you're lucky, in a way, that you have Lee to work with. Because who else would want to be stuck working with a brash, selfish, and rude person like you? Certainly not me."
Tenten's face darkened with his assessment of her, blinking quickly to hold her rage at bay. Neji was standing so close to her, looking so stern and flushed and angry. Tenten's gaze flickered up, briefly, to glimpse the clump of mistletoe hanging above them, attached to the light fixture above the register. Ino had hung it up weeks ago in hopes of making a romantic connection during her shifts. Her eyes burned as she looked back to Neji. Filled with anger, Tenten seized Neji by the collar in a forceful grip and kissed him.
Their anger did not fade, only stoked into a rekindling. Tenten heatedly pressed her mouth to his, and Neji responded with as much fervor, hand sliding up to wrap around her throat. Tenten growled and bit his lower lip with her teeth, feeling vicious and hot and wild. Neji let out a small gasp—either from shock or pain, Tenten wasn't sure—and kissed her back, hard.
Tenten dug her fingernails into the thin fabric of his shirt, in the spaces between his ribs. Their kiss grew even more out of control—Tenten's heart thudded as Neji delivered a series of bruising kisses along her lips. He pushed her against the counter, hand shifting from her throat to rest on the back of her neck, his free hand squeezing her hipbone. It was a dizzying effect that only left Tenten angrier. I had too much hot chocolate today, Tenten thought. I'm dreaming. . . This—this can't be happening.
But it felt real enough. Seemingly oblivious to the harsh words they'd exchanged in the last half hour, her body molded to his as she slid her arms around his shoulders, pulling him closer. Neji's hand coasted down her spine, cinching his arm around her waist. She had just parted her lips in invitation when the first notes of the front doorbell resonated in her ear.
In an instant, Tenten fled.
It took her two steps to reach the back room, another to grab her bag, and still another four to lock herself in the shop's bathroom. She locked it and fell back against the door, pressing the heels of her hands into her eye sockets.
Distantly, through the door and the dulcet tones of "The Christmas Waltz", she could hear the whine of the espresso machine, where Neji was undoubtedly assembling a late-night hot chocolate for a customer. Tenten's face reddened to an uncomfortable level of heat. She chanced a glance at her reflection in the bathroom mirror and let out a loud curse for what she saw—a wide-eyed lustful mess, cheeks stained dark as a Christmas berry. She looked away quickly, mortified.
Painstakingly, Tenten waited until she could hear the sound of the shop's front door closing once again before venturing out again. She stepped carefully down the hallway, trying to sort through jumbled thoughts to come up with something, anything, that could get her out of the last ten excruciating minutes of her shift.
Tenten poked her head around the corner of the hallway. Neji was standing at the register, head bowed. He looked up when she appeared, but then quickly glanced away again, tapping at the cash register. Seeming singularly focused, he said, "You can go early. I'll close up."
Tenten almost thanked him aloud for his mercy. She took long strides towards the front of the shop. When she reached the door, she glanced back at him over her shoulder.
Neji was already watching her, a flush on his cheeks as he said, "Thank you." Tenten flinched. Neji blanched and cleared his throat, hurriedly clarifying, "For your help today."
Tenten bobbed her head in a rushed nod and slipped outside into the cold evening, the jingling of the doorbell ringing in her ears. The winter wind stung the flames resting on her cheeks, as comforting as frostbite.
~.~.~.~
It had to have been the hot chocolate. She'd been guzzling the stuff all afternoon in an attempt to entice customers (and the fact that it really was the best recipe ever concocted, Lee's upsell aside), and her head had felt fuzzy, standing so close to Neji all evening, her heart racing in a particularly uncomfortable way when they'd been arguing—a sure sign of sugar overload.
And God, her lips had been chapped! Tenten groaned and traced her lower lip with the tip of her tongue. She winced from the blistered state of it, all cracked and dry from the winter chill. Reflexively, she reached for the chapstick she kept in her coat pocket, but her mittened hand came up empty. "Fuck it all to hell," she grumbled, stomping through the slush pooling on the sidewalk. Her cheeks flushed, remembering the feel of his mouth, the sureness of his hands as he'd wrapped them around her throat, holding her in place— Tenten coughed, clutching at the scarf wound around her neck, suddenly warm. She tightly pressed her lips together in fuming confusion.
It had to have been the sugar, combined with the adrenaline from arguing. That was all it was.
But upon entering the shop for her afternoon shift, it was clear that things had taken on an off-kilter quality. Neji was already manning the cash register as he took down two sisters' orders. He did not look at her as she crossed the room, but out of the corner of her eye, Tenten noticed that his ears were a little redder than usual, though he ignored her completely. Disconcerted, Tenten headed to the back room to stow away her bag and don her apron, trying and failing to put the previous evening out of her mind.
But however tense the atmosphere within the shop, that afternoon's shift began marginally smoother than the previous. As Tenten approached her spot at the end of the counter, she noticed a printed sheet of paper, laminated, with an alphabetical list of references for drink orders and their subsequent abbreviations.
She held it in her hands and stared at it for a moment before chancing a glance at Neji over her shoulder. He was pointedly turned the other way, fiddling with a napkin dispenser. Tenten faced the espresso machine again and carefully placed the laminated sheet beside it for easy reference.
As the afternoon progressed, Tenten scanned the list as she filled drink orders, matching Neji's swift and pointed handwriting to the neatly typed lines on the sheet. She loathed to admit it, but Neji's system was painfully precise once she understood it. Even with she and Lee's system, Tenten was sometimes forced to clarify details for complicated orders. But Neji clearly had it down to a science, every minutiae and customer whim accounted for. Tenten didn't know whether to hate him or admire him for it.
~.~.~.~
The weather outside grew particularly frightful as the minutes ticked on towards evening, leading to Neji and Tenten filling much of their time with various tasks while waiting for an influx of customers desperate for a hot tea or a cup of coffee to renew their spirits.
They danced around each other all afternoon, cleaning windows and sweeping floors, hardly looking in the other's direction, the tension between them as tangible as the gust of winter air that rushed inside with each new customer.
Thankfully, as night fell outside around five, they received renewed business that kept Neji and Tenten busy for the next couple of hours. At eight they hit a lull and Tenten sagged against the counter, wiping her brow free of the steam that had woefully disturbed her bangs. Neji had stepped away into the storeroom to restock for the remainder of the evening.
Hoping to stave off boredom, Tenten decided to use the opportunity to unearth her microeconomics textbook from her bag in the backroom, letting it tumble out of her arms onto the counter with a thud. She flipped it open to the second chapter, scanning the page to pick up where she'd left off earlier that morning as she'd eaten her breakfast and quickly became absorbed, elbows stretched out on the countertop.
It took nearly fifteen minutes before Tenten felt the weight of Neji's gaze; with a low sigh, she glanced at him over her shoulder, raising an irritated eyebrow.
"Are you reading that for fun?" he asked without further prompting, looking curious.
Tenten rolled her eyes. "No," she answered shortly. "I'm preparing myself for next semester."
Neji's interest deepened. "What course are you taking that has you studying before the semester even begins?"
Tenten propped up the front of the textbook wordlessly, watching his eyes flick over the emblazoned title. She didn't know how to take his clearly impressed expression. "Microeconomics? I took that last semester," Neji said, looking thoughtful.
Tenten narrowed her eyes. "When are you graduating?"
"Next year."
Tenten pursed her lips. "How have you managed that? Did you bribe the registrar?"
Neji's mouth twisted into a wry smile. "Not quite. I take summer classes. And I take a full course load in the fall and spring."
Tenten quickly did the math in her head. "I'm guessing 'full course load' is code for maximum amount of credits your advisor will let you take?"
Neji nodded silently, tilting his head to the side in consideration. He gestured loosely back to her textbook. "The concepts in the course aren't hard, necessarily, but it might take some innovation to grasp the applications." He shrugged. "If you need any help next semester, I don't mind—"
"No, thanks," Tenten interrupted, turning her back to him, cheeks pink. "I don't need a rich boy's help."
There was a weighty pause, and then: "What did you say?"
Tenten glared angrily down at her textbook. "I said I don't need your help with microeconomics. I'm sure you have enough to do, what with enjoying a full course load that you don't have to pay for, and working at your uncle's shop, saving up all the money you make."
She cannot resist glancing at him following Neji's intake of breath—he was staring at her with barely concealed ire, his face reddening, jaw clenched. He replied tightly, "As I said last night, you don't know me at all. And I'd appreciate it if you stopped pretending you do."
Tenten blinked; her gaze darted, briefly, to his mouth. Throat dry, she said, "Are you saying you don't have a full ride? Because that's what everyone says. Ino told me herself."
Neji rolled his eyes at this. "Ino misinterprets things all the time. Like the fact that I was interested in dating her."
Tenten snorted, surprising herself. "Ino flirts with anything that will walk. She's hit on me a couple of times too; you're not special."
Neji said nothing, watching her. Slowly, Tenten shifted her position at the counter to face him, toying with the peeling cover of her textbook. "So, is it true? Do you have a full ride?"
"Yes," Neji answered unapologetically.
Tenten's cheeks heated with renewed injustice. "Must be nice," she muttered under her breath.
Neji crossed his arms. "It is."
Tenten scowled and was about to turn away again, back to her textbook, when Neji went on, "I should enjoy it. I worked hard for it."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Tenten retorted.
Neji looked her over, one eyebrow raised. "Scholarships. A lot less guilt-inducing than bribing the registrar," he answered drily. "As for the money you apparently think I'm rolling in-I have another job in a print shop that I work in the mornings. My uncle likes to keep an eye on me, so he made me a night manager for the store. It was non-negotiable."
With this statement, Neji abruptly turned away from her to return to the back room, presumably to take his break. Tenten reluctantly returned her focus to the textbook, but her mind stayed busy, eyes fixed in one spot.
~.~.~.~
Around nine o'clock, they received the customary influx of night-owls, desperate for a shot of caffeine or a warm, comforting eggnog latte. Tenten and Neji processed these transactions in near silence, the friction from earlier settling on their shoulders like snow.
Neji had returned from his break with an impassive expression, one that Tenten had carefully noted from the corner of her eye. She felt somewhat shamed, assuming what she had about his financial situation. The feeling bothered her enough that she opened her mouth to make amends as Neji emerged behind the counter, but his gaze had swept right through her, leaving her speechless.
The last few customers trickled out around nine forty-five, and Neji quietly began the closing procedures. Tenten mulled over their earlier conversation as she spot-cleaned behind the bar, doing the dishes in the small sink. Her distaste for him had somewhat ebbed, due to her own mischaracterizations. The fact that he had felt the need to explain himself following her indictment of his financial status made her flush with embarrassment. She slowly shook her head at herself; her temper once again had led her to saying stupid things she had no business saying. In a begrudging fashion, she knew the right thing to do would be to apologize. Her station cleaned, Tenten headed to the storeroom to grab coffee cups for restocking up at the counter, running over an apology in her head. She had successfully bundled two sleeves of Styrofoam cups in her arms when she heard the door open and close behind her. Tenten glanced over her shoulder; Neji stood in the doorway, arms crossed.
Tenten looked back to the storage rack and sighed. It had been too good to be true, to think she'd walk out of here tonight without avoiding another awkward conversation. This was further realized when Neji said to her turned back, "We need to talk about what happened yesterday."
Tenten blushed. She steeled herself and faced him, clutching the sleeved cups to her chest. "Listen, Neji," she began, her apology for earlier on her lips, "I'm sorry about what I said earlier. And about yesterday—it was a mistake. I was high on sugar and there was mistletoe right there, and . . . it was a fluke, okay? I'm sorry I surprised you."
Neji stared at her for a moment before coming closer, studying her carefully in the dim light of the storeroom. "A mistake?" he asked in his soft pitch.
Tenten nodded joltingly, clenching her jaw as he stopped in front of her, close enough to touch. She opened her mouth and jabbered on, "You know I've read about how a lot of sugar can really affect your cognitive abilities, and I think that's what happened, because—"
"You got caught up in the moment," Neji deduced, cutting across her. There was a smirk lingering at the corner of his mouth; Tenten did not know what it was for.
She nodded again, silently, eyes flicking between his piercing ones. He studied her for a moment before saying, "You caught me off guard."
"Right," Tenten said, jumping at the chance of this easy out, "I know I did. And I'm sorry—"
"It seems only fair that I get to do the same," Neji interrupted.
Tenten's forehead wrinkled. "What?"
But then it was happening again—his lips against hers with that warm, supple pressure he apparently possessed. The cups were crushed to her chest as Neji leaned her back into the storage rack, his hand gently cupping her cheek, thumb stroking her temple. Tenten closed her eyes and tilted her chin up, giving herself freely to it.
It was slower and deeper, unhurried and quiet, the only sound the stillness of the storeroom and their breathing, the small accents of lips on teeth or a satisfied sigh, the Christmas music from the front muted as it made its way through the crack underneath the door. The previous day it had been all about passion—about getting a word in edgewise and proving a point. But today, Tenten felt she was smoldering in a slow-burning fire. Neji plied her with long, slow kisses, establishing a sweet push and pull between them that left Tenten wanting more with each graze of his lips. Neji drew his fingers up her arm and traced the shell of her ear; Tenten shivered, goosebumps prickling across her flesh. Her arms were trapped holding the cups, but Neji refused to give her space to let them go and take hold of him. He teased her—pulling from her mouth like drawing water from a well, leaving her gasping, before releasing her entirely to lightly brush his lips over her jaw or neck or earlobe.
He gave her one last, lingering kiss on the lips, leaving her dizzy with it, before stepping back and heading for the storeroom door. He cast over his shoulder as he exited, "I'll close the cash register," and shut the door behind him.
Tenten sank back into the storage rack, burning and cold all at once. She shifted the cups in her arms and brushed a thumb across her lower lip. It puckered slightly, still chapped; she'd never found her chapstick.
In a daze, she pulled herself upright and strode to the door, catching Neji's eye as she entered the main room, "I was . . . trying to apologize in there. For earlier."
Neji glanced up from where he was counting the cash in the drawer, his face unreadable. He gave a slight shake of his head. Turning back to the register, he said softly, "We both made some misjudgments. Don't worry about it, Tenten."
Tenten was not one to let things go so quickly, but the air between them, so strained throughout the day, had seemingly evaporated. She sucked in a breath and nodded to herself, walking past to restock the cups.
~.~.~.~
Something about Christmas Eve always enticed people to be out and about. Neji had texted Tenten two hours before her shift was supposed to start, requesting if she could come in early. Tenten had arrived at the shop within thirty minutes to find it a madhouse, Neji and their resident high school part-timer, Konohamaru, doing their best to keep up. She jumped in without a word, brushing up against Neji as he worked at the espresso machine. She swallowed at the zing that raced up her arm from the contact.
It was a cramped space at the end of the bar, but they made it work, barely speaking as they assembled orders side-by-side, wordlessly handing each other supplies for what the recipes called for. As they neared the end of the cups Tenten had restocked the night before, she turned to go to the storeroom for more. Neji stopped her with a hand around her wrist, gesturing to the cabinet underneath the bar with his chin.
Tenten crouched and withdrew a sleeve, eyeing Neji skeptically. "Two days ago, I remember someone citing how this is a protocol violation," she said slowly.
Neji remained unfazed. "You were right," he told her, reaching out to make a fresh pot of decaf coffee. "It's much easier this way."
Tenten took out the sleeve of cups and quickly restocked, unable to help the grin spreading across her lips. Neji noticed; she heard him release an amused laugh under his breath. "It's just cups, Tenten," he muttered.
Tenten shrugged and began prepping the next order, a hot caramel latte.
~.~.~.~
Around five they released Konohamaru, wishing him a restful holiday with his family. Left to their own devices, Tenten took over the register, while Neji stayed on bar.
"Excuse me? This tastes off."
Tenten looked over her shoulder to where Neji was standing at the counter by the espresso machine. A customer was holding out her drink, lips pursed.
Tenten hurriedly finished with the customer standing before her at the register and walked the length of the bar, reaching out for the drink. "What seems to be the issue?" Tenten asked, popping off the lid to peer inside.
"Just doesn't taste right," said the customer. "Could you remake it?"
Tenten nodded absently, studying the somewhat granular texture of the liquid in the cup. She turned to Neji, who already looked offended. Tenten gestured for him to move onto the other drink she'd just processed, and took his place at the espresso machine, reaching for the milk in the cooler underneath the bar.
~.~.~.~
Business kept a steady pace until around seven, when most people submitted themselves to their Christmas Eve traditions with their friends and family. With a loud sigh, Tenten sank back against the register as the last customer filed out, stretching her arms above her head. "That was something."
Neji silently agreed with a nod, already reaching for a broom to do a sweep of the main floor. He called over his shoulder as he went, tone curious, "Why do you always work the holiday shifts?"
Tenten shrugged, leaning her elbows tiredly on the counter. "The holiday pay, for one. These semesters won't pay for themselves." She paused and chewed on her bottom lip, still slightly embarrassed of her accusations from the previous day. Tentatively, she changed the subject, "My family lives kind of far away. I don't get to see them very often."
"What do you do then? For holidays?"
"Usually it's just me and Lee and Uncle Gai. They're kind of like my surrogate family."
"Makes sense, seeing how well you and Lee get along," Neji said, head bent as he shifted a table to locate any wayward crumbs or bits of paper.
"What about you?" Tenten asked, studying his profile as he swept trash into a small pile.
Neji's mouth twisted into a not-quite smile. "Holidays are . . . complicated."
Tenten waited a beat, pained with curiosity, before venturing, "Because of your uncle?"
Neji permitted a single nod, crouching to sweep the pile into the dustpan. Tenten watched him, feeling slightly guilty. When Neji straightened, he says, "My dad died when I was around twelve. He and my uncle were estranged when he passed away, so our relationship has always been a bit . . . strained."
Tenten nodded at this, shifting to cradle her chin in her palm. "Makes sense."
Neji shot her a small smile. "Does it? Seems like you had a different impression yesterday."
Tenten sighed. "About that . . . sorry. Again. I have a tendency of saying stuff without thinking sometimes."
Neji approached the counter, broom and dustpan in hand. He paused by where she was splayed out, looking down at her with a teasing smirk. "Is that so?" he said softly. "I hardly noticed."
She rolled her eyes, unable to wish away the pink that was slowly coloring her cheeks. She opened her mouth to say something further, something that would surely push him back onto his toes, and definitely not entice him to kiss her again, when the door opened and a flurry of customers entered, bringing with them several blustery snowflakes.
Meeting Neji's gaze with a sigh, Tenten retreated to her place at the cash register and asked if anyone would like to try the hot chocolate.
~.~.~.~
Guests began to trickle out of the shop by nine, and Tenten was closing the cash register when she heard Neji clear his throat pointedly. She lifted her gaze to find him leaning against the bar next to the espresso machine, looking expectant. "Will you show me what I did wrong today? With that customer's drink?"
Tenten studied the slight crease in his brow, a visible line of consternation. She pushed down a smile. "Sure."
She finished at the register and washed her hands in the sink, slowly moving to his side. Carefully, she reached for the metal pitcher they used to steam milk. "I doubt most customers would notice, but she did—the milk wasn't aerated properly. It was too grainy."
Neji snorted, but Tenten paid him no mind, pulling the milk from the refrigerated cabinet below and pouring a little into the pitcher. She handed it to him. "After you purge the steam wand, you need to make sure you put the pitcher in exactly this spot—and don't move." She shuffled him into position, guiding the hand holding the pitcher up to envelope the steam wand. "You don't want it too deep, maybe halfway. And you want some space between the pitcher wall and the wand, so the air can get in there."
Neji nodded, his movements still under her guidance. Trying not to stare, Tenten instructed, "Turn the steam on."
Neji turned the knob. Steam erupted into the quiet room, making a squelching noise that was usually so hard to distinguish when the shop was busy. In anticipation, Tenten pressed her hand into the small of Neji's back, keeping him in place. "Don't move," she said into his ear. "You want it right there so the air gets in at the right angle."
At the corner of her eye, she watched Neji's throat bob as he swallowed. Her hand was sweaty, fisted into the back of his shirt, but if she let go now, he might move and destroy the entire process—wasting time and inventory. So, she sucked in a deep breath and tightened her grasp on him, reaching up to keep the pitcher balanced.
The squelching sound of aeration filled the quiet shop. Tenten eyed Neji, whose gaze had not left the pitcher since they'd begun, focused entirely on the steam in process. In a low voice, she told him, "We want to hear this sound, and look for the whirlpool—see there?" She nodded with her chin to the smooth circling of milk around the steam wand. "Feel the bottom of the pitcher, and when the temperature is right, we'll move it slightly up."
Neji said nothing, immobile, as he watched the steam wand do its work to the milk. They were standing so close together that Tenten could smell the faint scent of his soap—some type of spice, like bergamot or sandalwood—and the scent of coffee permeating the shop. She caught herself inhaling deeply, her chest rising as she filled her lungs with it, and Neji briefly glanced at her. His eyes met hers and tripped, for the barest of seconds, to her mouth, before flicking away again, back to the pitcher. He set his fingertips along the bottom of the pitcher. Somewhat breathless, Tenten asked, "How's it feel?"
"Good," he said in a low tone. "I mean—ah, warm. To the touch."
Tenten flushed but silently guided Neji's arm up the steam wand with her free hand. "When it gets too hot to touch, you need to turn the steam off," she instructed.
Neji nodded, concentrating on the process in front of him. After a few long seconds, he reached up and switched off the knob. Quiet filled in again around them, the light notes of Christmas music once again able to be heard flowing out of the speakers above their heads.
Neji carefully lowered the pitcher and set it on the counter. Tenten tapped a finger to the container's metal side. "You'll want to check the temperature again, just in case it's too hot to drink, but if it's right, then you pour it in the cup with the sauce and stir."
Neji reached for a cup and smoothly poured in the milk and sauce together. Tenten distractedly cleaned the steam wand, wetting her lips as she kept one eye on Neji as he methodically stirred with a spoon, watching the liquid meld into a warm, inviting brown. Wordlessly, Neji withdrew the spoon and held the cup out to her. Gingerly, Tenten took it and sipped, staring straight at him.
"Do you like it?" he asked in his soft voice, practically a whisper in the deserted shop.
Tenten swallowed, feeling the creamy texture of the milk fill her mouth and slide down her throat. "Yes."
There was no deliberation—only action. One moment, they were simply regarding one another, weighing out intentions, and the next they were kissing, wrapped around each other so much like the other night in the storage room. Neji's hands rested on Tenten's neck, cradling her head back to take full advantage of his height, pressing her back into the bar.
He tasted sweet, like the hot chocolate they'd just made, with an undercurrent of bitterness, most likely due to the espresso he'd had earlier that afternoon. Tenten leaned forward for another taste, body humming with anticipation. Neji pressed closer, surrounding her in a tight embrace. Tenten threaded her hands into Neji's hair, thumb tracing his ear, her throat making a sound of satisfaction without her accord.
Neji's hand floated down her arm to take hold of her waist, securing her to him. Tenten's entire body thrummed, like the espresso machine's vibrations when extracting a pull of espresso. With one last lingering kiss, she pulled back to study him.
Neji's forehead was smooth, free of its usual irritation. His eyes held her steady, searching her with a thread of urgency. His mouth pursed, and Tenten could tell there was something weighty there, waiting for him to voice it. Neji reached out, tracing a finger along her brow, and swallowed, opening his mouth to say—
The jingle of the front doorbell was particularly jarring, after such sleepy quiet. Neji reluctantly let Tenten go and turned, halfway to the register before stopping dead in his tracks.
Tenten smoothed her hair back with one hand and moved further to the front counter, thrown by Neji's reaction. A girl stood inside the door, her short hair tucked into the thick lavender scarf wrapped snugly around her throat. She appeared anxious, her hands tightly intertwined in front of her, as she stared at Neji.
Neji's forehead furrowed as he asked, bewildered, "What are you doing here, Hinata?"
The girl took a deep, measured breath, as if steeling herself, and said, "I'm here to invite you home tomorrow. For Christmas."
Tenten watched the girl sag a little from relief, like it zapped all her energy to say the words. She glanced curiously at Neji. He was frowning deeply, jaw clenched with that unshakable resolve that so often irritated her. He said flatly, "You know that every time I walk into that house there's an argument. I'd rather spare myself that particular holiday tradition."
Hinata stepped closer to the counter, looking at Neji imploringly. "Please, Neji. It's Christmas. You should spend it with us, with your family."
Neji did not respond right away; Tenten saw his shoulders tighten. "I don't want to spend my only day off having a shouting match with Uncle," he replied.
Hinata's gaze flickered, briefly, to Tenten. Her face reddened and she moved backward towards the front door, pleading, "Please think about it, Neji? We all want to see you and spend time with you. Even—even Father. Please come." With one last entreating glance over her shoulder, the girl exited, leaving the shop in silence.
Tenten let a beat pass before glancing at Neji. He was standing in the same spot, rooted to the floor. His mouth was a thin line, eyebrows drawn in faint displeasure. Awkwardly, Tenten cleared her throat and said, "Well, I guess you weren't joking when you said holidays are complicated."
He released a small smile that did not reach his eyes. With a weary sigh, Neji ran a hand down his face and said, "I wasn't. Unfortunately."
Tenten nodded and folded her arms across her chest, leaning against the counter. "I got that. Do you—do you want to talk about it?" She winced at her uncertain tone.
Neji let out a short laugh. "Tenten—"
She quickly replied, "I mean it. We can. If you want to."
Neji studied her for a long moment, the corner of his mouth twitching. He shrugged loosely, some of the tautness in his shoulders ebbing. "You know, a few days ago, the last thing I would have expected was that by Christmas Eve the girl that hated me the most in the world would be asking about my family drama with any kind of sincerity."
Tenten shrugged, cheeks darkening with a blush. "Christmas miracle," she suggested.
"Must be," Neji replied. He gazed at her for another few seconds before saying, "My uncle and I don't agree on a lot of things. Mostly because he thinks I should be treated, and therefore managed, as a full-fledged member of his family even though . . . I'm not. His biggest issue with me, for the last few years at least, is that I secured all my college scholarships by myself. I kept him out of the entire process, actually. He found out what college I was going to after I'd already enrolled and completed all of the paperwork—financials and all. He took offense to that. Still does, honestly."
Tenten mulled this over, unwaveringly focused on him. When he said nothing else, she ventured, "Seems like a dead horse to beat, if you ask me. You're graduating next year after all."
Neji released a fatigued smile. "A perspective I've shared many times, only to make him more angry." He shook his head and walked out from behind the counter, flipping the sign on the door to 'Closed'.
Saying nothing more on the subject, Neji silently began cleaning tables and stacking chairs as Tenten handled the cleaning behind the counter. She shut the register down as Neji drew water for mopping. As he rolled the bucket to the front, he told her to go home early. Tenten protested, "I can stay and help do everything else."
"No, it's fine. I—need the time. To think."
Disappointed and doing a poor job at hiding it, Tenten retrieved her things, walking to the front door.
"Tenten."
She paused, looking at him with a raised eyebrow, hopeful. Neji was holding the mop in his hand, searching her face. "What do you think—is it possible to get two Christmas miracles out of one holiday?"
Tenten smiled at him over her shoulder as she walked out the door. "Merry Christmas, Neji."
He echoed the saying after her, wearing an incomprehensible expression. The door fell shut behind Tenten as she emerged out onto the cold sidewalk. Frowning, she pulled her coat tighter around her. If circumstances had been different, she'd hoped he would have walked her home and kissed her in the slowly falling snow.
~.~.~.~
True to his nature, Lee was jubilant on Christmas morning, not because of any amount of presents, but because of the gold medal he proudly wore around his neck when Tenten knocked on he and Gai's apartment door. He ushered her in with a bone-crushing hug and loud, happy greetings, leading her straight to the kitchen where Gai was making his customary Christmas pancakes.
It was a lazy, warm day that Tenten greatly enjoyed. Her presents exchange with Gai and Lee went about as well as she expected it to, all of her instructions on everyone opening at once deteriorating after about five seconds. Lee was overjoyed to receive a crisp new jujutsu uniform from Gai, as well as the small, picture frame Tenten had gotten him, featuring the two of them from the previous Christmas, dressed in matching scarves that had also been gifts from Gai. Tenten was pleased with her gifts as well—money from Gai (because he always gave her money), and a new pair of boots from Lee.
They spent the afternoon snacking in Gai and Lee's cramped living room, making cookies and eating popcorn, watching Christmas movies and rewinding the parts that gave them nostalgia. Tenten stayed until it was too late to make it home, falling asleep on the couch ensconced in a fuzzy, warm blanket, dreams centered around a certain barista with piercing, pale eyes, serving her hot chocolate.
~.~.~.~
Tenten received the following day off as well, though Lee did not; both he and Ino's shifts resumed directly after the holidays. Tenten spent the morning going over next semester's class schedule with Gai as they ate breakfast, listening to his war stories of his nearly ten years as a secondary school athletic coach.
In the afternoon, when Lee returned from his shift, he gave her a strange look that made Tenten immediately flush. He waited until they departed from the apartment for a short shopping trip before asking, "Did something happen with Neji while I was gone?"
Tenten's blush deepened. "Why do you ask?"
Lee raised his eyebrows, her answer far from the vehement denial he'd been expecting. "No reason," he replied slowly. "He only asked about you, and I wondered why."
Tenten cleared her throat and reached for the chapstick in her pocket; she'd finally found it in the breakroom at the shop the previous day, lying lonely and forgotten on the floor. As she applied it to her cracked lips, she said, attempting disinterest, "Oh, yeah? What did you say?"
"That we spent Christmas together, like we always do." Lee scratched his head; the pom atop the hat he was wearing swung jauntily back-and-forth. "He seemed very interested in the snacks."
Tenten snorted. "You told him everything we ate yesterday? I bet he was appalled."
Lee shrugged. "He was intrigued, that much was clear." Lee eyed her again. "You did not answer my question. Did something happen while I was gone?"
Tenten fiddled with her scarf, unsure of how to mention the fact she'd essentially made out with her mortal enemy three days in a row while at work, and she was as of yet unsure where things stood between them. She reached out and squeezed Lee's hand for a brief second. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. But I'll tell you as soon as I figure it out myself. Okay?"
Lee nodded gamely and pulled her towards a row of shops.
~.~.~.~
It was nearly ten thirty when Tenten made her way to the shop. Inside, the lights were dimmed, not a soul in sight. Slightly worried she'd missed him, Tenten set her hand against the glass to knock, but then Neji emerged from the back, flipping off the lights to the backroom. He saw her as he approached the door and faltered slightly.
Tenten stepped back to give him space to exit, watching him turn off the lights to the main room. The string of Christmas lights outlining the windows stayed on, bathing the sidewalk in a hazy, warm light. "Hi," she said as Neji shut the door behind him.
The corners of Neji's mouth lifted slightly. "How was your day off? And your holiday?" he asked.
"Good. Lee already told me that he gave you every detail."
Neji's smile grew. "He did. I'm surprised you don't have salmonella from all that cookie dough you consumed."
"That's a myth," Tenten replied, excitement brewing in her chest.
Neji rolled his eyes. "Science is not a myth."
Her smile matched his. After a beat, she asked slowly, "So . . . how did everything go with you? Yesterday?"
Neji shrugged, noncommittal. His gaze floated, briefly, over her shoulder. "I went. I stayed about an hour, and then I left. Argued with my uncle for about twenty minutes." He looked back to her. "Not quite a Christmas miracle. Nothing out of the ordinary, but not as bad as it could have been."
Tenten hummed, watching as Neji turned to lock the front door. "Where's Ino?"
"I let her go early. Something about a Christmas party she was in charge of."
Tenten shuffled some snow along the sidewalk with the toe of her boot. "Pretty generous of you. For a rich boy."
Neji scoffed, but Tenten could distinguish its geniality. Maybe it was his response that made Tenten push her luck, or maybe it was the anticipation of his answer. Nonetheless, she asked, "Any plans yet for who you'll kiss on New Year's Eve?"
She said it jokingly, smiling to herself as he tested the lock, but as he turned Tenten could see the mischievous smirk scrawled across his mouth. Her mirth faded a little as he faced her, dropping the store keys in his pocket.
He said nothing anything as he grasped her waist, not a word as he looked at her, that smug smile still lingering. Tenten grinned back. Neji leaned forward, pressing his lips to hers and Tenten slid her hands deep into the pockets of his coat, a laugh at the back of her throat.
It was a kiss as warm and comforting as the most perfect cup of hot chocolate. One that would have surely earned a Lee-approved whoop!
Happy holidays! This is a NejiTen Secret Santa gift for gracie-buns! Hope you enjoyed it!