For as long as he'd been alive, Neji was sure an early bird but this morning for some reason, he was still fast asleep when the sound of the door closing woke him up. His head rose from the pillow rather unwillingly, his bleary eyes made out the shape of TenTen at the end of the couch, waving at him. "-ji…Nejii," she was murmuring. Neji blinked to clear his vision and only then noticed the two people in tow standing behind TenTen, "Someone's here to see you-"
He scrambled to stand in haste, the blankets had tangled up in his towel and almost accidentally yanked it off in the process. Neji caught it before it could expose him but TenTen's jaw was already slack, her hands about to cover her eyes, and his uncle was regarding him with his head bend to the side and a painful expression like he just bit his tongue. Neji cleared his voice. He looked down, trying to fix the towel as best he could, the thing was awfully small and it still hung precariously despite Neji kept it fastened on his hip with one hand. "..Uhm, Uncle," he stated lamely. And then he realized his state, what it must have looked like to find man, naked, in single woman's house. "It's not-" he tried again, but Hiashi waved him off and took a few steps in his direction. Neji gripped the towel tighter, mindful not to let it slip another inch.
"Neji, can I touch you?"
Neji stared at his long hated uncle, at his hand now trembling as it protruded timidly towards the biggest scar, the one just underneath his ribcage. Neji gave a small nod and felt his uncle's cool fingers land on the rugged skin. It occurred to him that he'd never touched his own scars, so absentmindedly he ran his own thumb in circles over a smaller scar on the other side of his chest, the texture was rough, all bumps and lumps beyond unpleasant , like it wasn't even skin anymore. Neji clenched his jaw disgusted, but his eyes started stinging and in the back of his mind he felt relieved, because perhaps this proved even more then his hammering heart or his flowing pulse, that he was alive. He found himself staring at Hiashi, hot rivers striking down his face unbidden, Hiashi chuckled, he put his hands on either of Neji's cheeks, pulling him slightly lower and gently brushing the tears away. "I'm so glad to have you back."
Hinata that had been standing in the corner this whole time, finally moved forward with a handful of clothes. Neji immediately apologized for being in such a dishevelment but Hinata simply smiled and shook her head, handing him the clothes, "It's nobody's fault."
"But Neji, I don't understand how…?"
"Neither do I, uncle. All I know is that yesterday night I woke up in Konoha's cemetery, it was pouring so I came to the closest house I could find. Coincidentally, it was TenTen's."
Hiashi and TenTen had come to the agreement that it was better for the moment if Neji stayed at her house, a quieter place than the crowded Hyuga compound. Neji showed up in the kitchen after wearing the clothes he'd been given. He leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest, letting TenTen take in the sight of him. "I wonder if this is what my father looked like when he was my age," his white eyes fixed her intently. TenTen put the plates down and walked to him, her palm briefly rested on his cheek.
"Does it matter?" She nudged at the clothes, clearly borrowed from Hiashi's private stock, "For over ten years I had to ask myself what you would have looked like at this age," she fisted the collar of his kimono until her knuckles turned white, "I realized that I would have taken you any possible way if only I could have you back. And now that I do have you back, you look just like you should to me, you look like Neji." As soon as she spoke, TenTen felt a surge of heat rise from her neck and on impulse she immediately released his fabric, turning away to hide the blush that was spreading too quickly across her face. "I'm sorry," she said, placing her palms flat on the table, "I spoke out of turn, you said nothing wrong." The room fell silent, it seemed forever before the floor finally creaked, TenTen thought Neji was leaving, instead she felt his fingers on her the back of her neck where it joined the hairline, curling around some loose ends.
"You wear them braided now," he stated, noting the style of the hair.
"Yeah," she breathed out, "It was time for a change."
Her cheeks were burning, it didn't help that Neji let his finger slide down the side of her neck, and that she knew he'd heard the little gasp she made when his touch caught her by surprise yet said nothing. She kept her back turned for a few more seconds, trying to concentrate on the smooth surface of the table beneath her palms, on the cool air coming in from the slightly open window. But she found her thoughts kept straying to the small sound of Neji's breathing, the warmth that radiated from his body. She realized he must have been very close and pivoted around on impulse. There he was, a mere hand span away, the edge of the table dag in her lower back, remind TenTen that she had no room to escape. Her eyes raked the sliver of his exposed chest, the elegant slope of his collarbone, the strong line of his jaw. Before TenTen could get a grasp on herself she was already closing her eyes, and standing on the tip of her toes and –
The entrance door suddenly slammed. TenTen jumped back to her feet, looking in the direction of the sound. "Mom, I'm home!" Neji's hand moved from her neck to her shoulder and gave it a squeeze, she met his gaze as if by command.
Neji was gaping at her, "Mom?" He asked.
"Neji…"
"Mom, are you here?"
Neji turned around suddenly and stared at the kid who was standing at the entrance of the kitchen, eyes wide with stupor, his lips stammered but no words came out. TenTen took advantage of Neji's momentary confusion to step away from him. "Hey sweetie," she smiled, patting the kid's head, "Go change, dinner's almost ready."
As soon as the kid was gone she tuned back to Neji and looked him straight in the eyes, "He is my child, please don't tell anyone."
Neji pointed an accusatory hand towards her, "TenTen, you have a son?!"
"Don't ask anything. And don't make assumptions," she crossed her arms, reading his thoughts as if were written onto his face, "I'll talk to you about it when I'm ready."
