Author's Notes: NejiTen. For theTenten LJ Community.
Lace
There's snow in her hair, like stars of fine lace, and blood on her cheeks. She notices neither.
They're standing by the sea, on a beach that is little more than rock and brittle driftwood. Frost covers everything, even her breath as she breathes, tiny puffs of air crystallizing in sweet reassurance that, yes, she is still alive. Neji turns his head away from her and looks out over the water, feeling the cold start to penetrate his wounds, his bones creaking as he moves. He feels old standing there, listening to the waves break at his feet, his mind empty. It's the calm that falls after a heavy battle, a victory that leaves nothing but corpses and silent snowfalls. The katana in his hand is still crimson and he knows he should clean it but he can't make himself move beyond that small, island of time. They're both alive and, for that instant, that is all that matters.
Tenten buries the point of her blade into the grainy sand and kneels in front of it, both hands clasped around the hilt. It's the only concession she'll make to exhaustion and Neji's eyes flick over her and away again. She looks like some ancient princess, kneeling before naked steel as she awaits the coming of some mysterious sea creature that might bear her to heaven. Instead, there is only cold sea spray and the ice on his wrist guard that she leans over to brush away absently.
Her touch is warm.
He opens his mouth to say they should return but swallows the words when he realizes he doesn't want reality back. So he kneels beside her, his long hair whispering over her arm as they look out to sea and a pale gray afternoon.
For those few moments, they'll hold the moon still in her cloudy sky, together.
The End