A submission for NejiTen month; just a little drabble!

L'appel du vide

L'appel du vide: "The call of the void" is this French expression's literal translation, but more significantly it's used to describe the instinctive urge to jump from high places.

"I absolutely refuse."

"Oh, come on, Neji!" she coaxed. "It will be fun!"

"No," Neji set his jaw firmly, and she knew he would not be moved.

"Ok," she shrugged. "Suit yourself. Lee," she called over to him. "You in?"

"Of course!" he jumped down from his perch high in the trees somersaulting to land next to her.

"Are you sure, Neji?" Lee looked up to where their remaining teammate sat stubbornly in a tree, arms crossed, back straight, eyes closed.

"Positive," he said coolly.

"C'mon, Lee," Tenten started to walk away. "He can't help it if he's scared."

Lee's eyes went wider than saucers.

"Eternal rival," he clenched a fist and called up to Neji. "Is this true?"

Neji grimaced.

"Of course not, Lee," he said stiffly. "I simply find no merit or justification in undertaking reckless risks – particularly those that can break the neck of the risk taker."

"So, scared," Tenten said flatly. "It's okay. We get it. Lee – hurry up!"

Lee gave one last look at Neji before hurrying after her.

Neji ground his teeth and activated his Byakugan.

He watched as they strode through the woods to a nearby cliff.

They didn't have to go far.

They were in the Land of Waterfalls.

Everywhere was a nearby cliff.

This particular waterfall was not egregiously high, and the pool below it was deep and safe for swimming. The locals had marked it on their map, and he had double checked it with his Byakugan.

He simply saw no point into diving into it from such a height – no matter what the locals said or did.

Lee rushed to pull off his leg weights and usual uniform, and Neji was thankful he had perfected the art of how to use his Byakugan in layers.

Luckily, Lee forewent Gai's preferred selection of swimwear, and instead followed Tenten's advice.

"You'll freeze your youth off," she warned him when she saw the speedo he had initially packed for the hike. "Take that instead," she pointed to the short green bodysuit. "There are rocks along the banks, and it's too early in the season for the water to have warmed up yet."

She had been right, of course. The air temperature was warm, but the water would be cold.

He shifted his gaze to her.

Always prepared, Tenten had worn the bottom of a bathing suit instead of underwear. In seconds, she'd expertly swapped out her sports bra for the top of her suit (and had he been standing next to her, he still wouldn't have seen anything indecent) and then wriggled into her own short bodysuit. It was sky blue with navy on the sides, and it reminded him of outfits from their genin days.

Lee let out a wild whoop, and raced to the edge of the cliff before taking a flying dive and flipping into the water.

He surfaced and shook out his shiny bowl cut and gave Tenten a thumbs up.

"The water's fine!" he assured her.

Tenten grinned brightly and prepared her dive.

He'd seen her do it a thousand times, and it always made him catch his breath.

It was a combination of concern and admiration for her.

Heights didn't bother Tenten – not that they bothered Neji, really.

But falling from them did.

No. That wasn't quite it.

When Neji stood at the edge of a cliff, or somewhere insanely high, there was always some small voice in the recesses of his mind that whispered:

"Jump."

It was nonsense, of course.

He chalked it up to intellectual curiosity, but secretly he knew it was more than that.

It was a suppressed need to take a mindless risk.

To do something insane.

To fly.

And as she spread her arms and swan dived off of the cliff, she appeared not to fall, but to soar, as if any moment she could lift up and skim across the water before racing into the clouds and the sun.

His heart always beat faster when she jumped, and his breath returned when she plunged cleanly into the water, resurfacing a moment later.

She and Lee were laughing and enjoying a swim before climbing back up – because one dive was never enough for them.

And that, Neji supposed, was the danger of Tenten.

She liked to live on edges.

Neji lived firmly in between the lines.

She brought her sunshine and freedom into his confines, and was gradually bringing him out.

She was the only one who could coax him to the edge.

She made him want to leap.

It was ludicrous.

Still, as he watched her and Lee race up the hill and prepare to dive again, he couldn't keep from smiling.

"Tenten!" Lee stretched enthusiastically. "If I do not jump twice as far this time, I shall do 500 laps around the village before dinner!"

Moments later – to both Tenten and Neji's relief – Lee waved triumphantly from the water.

Tenten waved back, smiling brightly.

Neji watched her as she stepped back from the edge and looked around.

She stopped when she pinpointed where he must be, and waved.

She was too far away to see him, but she knew he'd be watching.

She trusted him to be watching.

When she leaps to take flight, it for both of them.

Neji sighed his relief when she resurfaced.

He leaned back against the tree, looked up to the sky and thought:

"She is teaching me to fly."

The realization is warm under his skin, and he finds himself hoping

that maybe one day,

they would take a different kind of leap

Together.

Thanks for reading!