Neji never enjoyed his clan's family meetings. His uncle continued to use the side branch, thinking of them as lesser beings than those born into the main branch. Neji had long ago stopped caring what his uncle thought, but he was unable to refuse his commands to join the meetings; Hiashi had ways of making him comply, which never failed to frustrate Neji.
Walking through the front door of his small apartment he rented with Tenten, Neji was pleased to see her sitting on the couch, cleaning her weapons. Considering she had no upcoming missions, Neji could only guess she was getting ready to shoot anther one of her videos, which he would no doubt have to film.
Tenten glanced up upon hearing the door open, and a huge smile made her face light up. It quickly faded, though, when she noticed how tired he looked.
"That bad?" she asked, putting her kunai aside and walking over to him. She slipped her arms around his waist and leaned into him, her head tilting up to look into his eyes.
Neji instantly found his anger and irritation melt away at her touch. She never failed to calm him, especially after his visits with his uncle.
"Hiashi has opinions that differ greatly from Lady Tsunade's about how the village should be handling the current pandemic," he told his girlfriend, his voice drained. "He wants the Hyuga clan to band together so that Lady Tsunade is forced to listen to us. I do not believe he cares about the larger populace, though; he just wants people to do things his way."
Neji didn't tell her about the other point of conversation that Hiashi had spent a great deal discussing—Neji's relationship with Tenten. When they first started dating, Hiashi had let it slide, thinking Neji was just going through a phase—getting rid of the excess hormones running through his body—but as the years melted into one another, his uncle was beginning to realize that Neji was serious. Hiashi had blindsided Neji at the family meeting, confronting him in front of everyone, and demanded Neji to break up with his girlfriend. Despite being a member of the side branch, Neji was important, and Hiashi expected him to marry someone worthy of the Hyuga title. Neji was livid; how dare his uncle tell him what to do and disrespect Tenten like that! He had gotten into an argument with the older Hyuga, outright refusing to do as he asked, and cautioning him to never interfere with his relationship with Tenten. Hinata had tried to calm both sides, but as timid as she was, she could hardly be heard over the two angry males.
Now, back at home with his lover in his arms, Neji felt like he could breathe again. Tenten was the only person he felt completely comfortable around. The only person he could be his true self with, without having to hide behind a mask. Even with his closest friends and comrades, Neji still kept part of himself hidden, but not from Tenten. She saw and knew parts of him that he had never shown to anyone else.
"I'm sure your uncle wants the best for everyone in the village," Tenten said. "This pandemic is new to everyone; we need all the help we can get to figure out how to handle it."
Neji doubted it, but he also didn't want to disparage her words. He knew she wasn't a fan of his uncle, but she still liked to defend him, to give him the benefit of the doubt. Neji thought it was kind of her, and it was just one of the many things he loved about her.
He sighed, his breath tickling the hairs around her face, but gave her a smile. He didn't want to talk—or think—about his uncle anymore, not when he hadn't seen Tenten all day. He nodded his head in the direction of her weapons lying on the coffee table, raising an eyebrow at her. "What are you planning this time?"
She grinned, always happy to talk about her weapons. "I was planning to show my followers the correct way to look after their weapons in order to keep them in pristine condition. But first," she wiggled out of his embrace and started walking towards the kitchen. "I made your favourite for dinner."
Neji's heart swelled with love at her thoughtfulness. He sometimes couldn't believe that he had gotten so lucky to have her in his life—not just as comrades, but as lovers, as confidants, as family.
He followed her into the kitchen and stood at her back while she got his bowl ready. He wrapped his arms around her front and rested his chin on her shoulder, tilting his head to look at her profile. "I love you," he whispered, kissing her on the cheek.
She turned her head, a smile on her lips, and kissed him, her lips lingering on his before she pulled away. "I love you too. Now, let go and take your bowl. I need your camera skills after dinner."
Neji chuckled, knowing this dinner was more than a kind gesture after having to deal with his uncle; it was her way of buttering him up since she knew he didn't particularly like his role in her videos. He wasn't the greatest with all the new technology constantly bombarding them, but he had learned the basics, for her. He let her go and took his bowl from her before sitting down at the dining table to eat.
He watched as she got her own bowl ready, his mind flashing back to his argument with his uncle. For as long as he could remember, Neji had wanted to change the ways of the Hyuga clan. And he would start by changing their view of who one should marry—because he knew that when the time was right, there was nothing that would be able to stop him from marrying Tenten.
Querencia: a Spanish word for a place from which one's strength is drawn, where you feel most at home; can be your most authentic self
This week's prompts run into each other, as did the first week of prompts. Actually, the first week, this week, and next week are all connected, since I like to write about their story and what is going on in different points of their lives.
I skipped a couple of days (one of which was going to be a little bit... ahem... more adult) since I've been running behind, but I'm now back on track (at least for the next few days). I hope you enjoy today's prompt. Thank you for reading!