Neji had never felt such despair in his seventeen years of living. Not even his feelings for his clan could compare to this—and he had many, varying feelings for the Hyuga clan.

No, this was something he was unfamiliar with, and Neji didn't know what he was supposed to do.

It had been a month since Tenten had broken up with him—something that he hadn't foreseen, and something he still struggled to believe even happened. She refused to listen to him when he tried to apologize, to make it right. She was adamant that this was permanent. That she was done with him.

No, Neji wouldn't accept that. Not without a fight, anyway. And Neji was more than prepared to fight for Tenten. But even still, nothing he did proved effective, and Neji began to feel despondent after so many failures.

They still trained together, of course. They had to, being teammates and all. But it was strained. Which wasn't ideal, considering they were partners—her being his go-to training partner as her skills were the best match for honing his own.

Even Gai and Lee weren't sure what to do with them. They had known straight away that something had happened, and when they found out the pair had broken up, they had looked just as distraught as he felt.

Neji knew he wasn't the most affectionate of people to be around. He had tried to let his guard down with Tenten, but maybe that hadn't been enough. No, not maybe. She had broken up with him because she hadn't felt loved in their relationship.

It was hard for him to show that he cared. Neji had never realized he had to show her, since he had always assumed she knew. He grew up in a family that never said 'I love you' to one another, and he wasn't aware that was what Tenten wanted to hear. Of course he loved her. He wouldn't have asked her out if he didn't.

The breakup was so unexpected to Neji because when he asked her out, that was it. In his mind, they would stay together, until death separated them.

And yet, here he was, longing for her back. He didn't care if showing more affection made him uncomfortable—he would do anything to prove his feelings for Tenten. If she wanted him to hold hands more, than that's what they would do. And he figured, the more affectionate he was with her, the easier and more natural it would feel.

Neji glanced over at where Tenten was conversing with their sensei, Gai's booming voice filling the air and almost overshadowing the lilting sound of her laughter. But Neji heard it. It was a sound he would be able to recognize in a sea of voices. And he longed for her to share it with him again.

There were many things he longed for when it came to Tenten, but mainly, he longed for her to be his again. To eat with her, talk with her, hold her. He understood now that he had done wrong. He hadn't realized she needed more than just his presence. She needed confirmation of his feelings, just as she confirmed her feelings for him on a regular basis.

He would get her back. And he wouldn't mess up a second time. He would tell her every day that he loved her, if that was what she wished.

Strengthening his resolve, Neji started planning just how he would win back his Weapons Mistress.

Desiderium: a feeling of longing, especially grief.

Each day the POV changes (if you haven't noticed that already). I like getting into the minds of both characters, and usually with a longer story I will change the POV throughout, but these are fairly short fics this week since they all run into each other, so I decided to just leave the POV on one of them each day.

As always, thank you for reading! Reviews are welcomed and appreciated!