Please see first chapter for disclaimer, etc.
Prompt: Joy
Sequel to: Choices (chapter 9)
Special Thanks: goes out to imjuzakyd, naash, DarkAnonymous324, kenzinator, and SeiraXD for your reviews! You all have helped me almost reach the 100 mark, and I appreciate that and all your kind words, so, so much! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Author's Note: I knew at the end of Choices that I really wanted to write a sequel, and the final three paragraphs of this particular piece have been floating around in my mind since a few days after I first wrote chapter 9. When the rest of the idea finally assembled itself, I was so excited to write it all out and share it with you. I have one more small sequel planned, which might even be out as the next chapter, unless another idea intrudes (which does happen sometimes)… In the meantime, thank you so much for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and alerting my stories, I appreciate you all beyond words. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
*~Joy~*
"It'll be easier this way," Tenten told herself firmly. She met her own gaze in the mirror, lip curling in displeasure when she saw her own uncertainty. "I don't want to do this," she moaned.
Neji's long hair brushed her cheek as he leaned down to gaze at her reflection. "If we break the news to everyone at once, we won't have to worry about doing it multiple times. Or someone hearing it from someone else before we can get to them."
Tenten sighed. "You're right. It's the mob I'm worried about."
Catching her hand, Neji gently pulled her to her feet and firmly tucked her hand in the crook of his arm. "We only have to worry about Lee and Gai-sensei. And maybe Ino."
"The list is growing." She sighed as they slowly descended the stairs, chafing at the pace. She'd rather go faster and get this all over with as quickly as possible.
"You can't hide forever," Neji said reasonably as they reached the bottom of the staircase. His free hand briefly slid across her barely-swollen stomach, a move that had become as familiar as breathing to both of them. Right now, she could still hide her pregnancy with her usual baggy clothes, but as Neji pointed out, that would only last so long. Before long, the secret was going to get out, and then… Well, Tenten wasn't entirely sure what would happen then. It was already going to be bad enough, their friends finding out what they'd been hiding for almost eight months. "It's already enough of a miracle that Sakura and Ino haven't found out yet, since they work at the hospital."
Closing her eyes as they stepped out into the fresh spring air, Tenten slid her hand down Neji's arm to twine her fingers with his, at least until they were outside the gates of the Hyuuga estate. "Well, after tonight we won't have to worry about it any more," she said, determined.
Tightening his fingers around hers when she started to withdraw her hand, Neji closed the gate behind them and turned to start toward the restaurant they'd reserved for the evening. "I think our problems are only beginning," he said. A soft light of amusement glinted in his white eyes.
She groaned. "I'm going home."
Neji slid a gently restraining arm around her waist. "While I'm very glad you think of the estate as home now, I'm not letting you get out of this that easily. We're in this together from start to finish, remember?"
Tenten muttered a reluctant affirmative, and then they settled into comfortable silence the rest of the way to the restaurant. They'd deliberately left early to make sure they arrived well ahead of everyone else, mostly so no one would see the two arriving together.
They'd no sooner settled into their seats at their reserved table in a quiet corner when Hinata, who was already privy to the secret, arrived. Sliding into the seat next to Tenten, she hugged the older kunoichi and smiled happily. "I'm so excited," she whispered. "It's been so hard keeping the secret this past week."
"What secret? Ow!"
Tenten glanced over her shoulder to see Naruto ruefully rubbing the back of his head and Sakura standing next to him, hand still half-raised, eyes narrow. "Don't be nosy," the pink-haired girl growled. Turning back, she smiled as she hugged first Tenten, then Hinata, offering a polite nod to Neji as Naruto held her chair for her to sit. He had the expression of a man who had had to be prompted to do so several times before he thought to do it himself. "It's been far too long since we all got together like this," she sighed.
Sai, who had entered with his teammates but said nothing, bowed politely to Hinata and Tenten before taking his own seat, his smile looking only slightly less awkward than usual. The only hint that he was interested in what was going on around him was the sharp gleam in his inky black eyes.
Before anyone could say anything else, Ino bounced into the room, her teammates moving at a more sedate pace behind her. "Finally!" the blonde cried, throwing her arms around Tenten.
The brunette froze, eyes wide, as she looked at Neji. Does she know? From the look on her husband's face, he was just as confused as she as to how the Yamanaka could have figured it out.
"I'm so glad one of us finally got us all to organize our schedules so we could get together." Ino bounced her way around the table and dropped down into the chair across from Tenten's, blue eyes sparkling. Tenten let out her breath in relief, glad her and Neji's secret was still safe - for a little while longer, anyway.
After that, everyone else showed up fairly quickly. Lee, surprisingly, was the last to get there - while not late, he wasn't early like usual, either. Bowing deeply and formally at the waist, he apologized repeatedly for his "grave injustice," before his two teammates finally got him settled down enough to sit.
Tenten and Neji had decided to wait until after the meal to reveal the news, so at least they would be able to eat peacefully. Conversation flowed comfortably around the group as they fell into the easy camaraderie they shared. For the most part, Tenten sat quietly and listened, mostly sipping her tea since food still tended to make her feel sick at the most inconvenient times. But sitting there among her friends, with her husband at her side, made her feel good. She'd been an orphan for her entire life, but with these people, she had a family, and there was nothing better in the world than that feeling.
After the frenzy of conversations tapered off and the dishes had been removed, Tenten and Neji traded a meaningful look. Clearing his throat, the latter called all attention to him as silence descended over the table.
Very deliberately, Neji reached out and took Tenten's hand, resting them on the table between them so everyone could see. "We organized this get-together tonight because we have a very important announcement to make," he said.
Across the table, Ino let out a little squeak. Scowling, Shikamaru reached over and clapped his hand over her mouth. The blonde immediately slapped him away, clasped her hands in front of her chest, and leaned forward, eyes sparkling in anticipation. Sakura was quiet, but she, too, was leaning forward in keen interest. Hinata sat smiling shyly but widely, already privy to the secret since she was a Hyuuga.
"About eight months ago, the Elders in my family began pressuring me to get married," Neji started quietly. "Truthfully, Tenten and I have been seeing each other for over two years now, so I immediately said I wanted to marry her. But they thought she was not 'suitable.'" His pale eyes flashed in anger at the memory. "However, we weren't willing to give up that easily. So, the next time a report was due at Suna, Tenten and I went together, and Lord Gaara married us."
On the other side of Hinata, Sakura narrowed her eyes. "Wait a second," she said, waving a forestalling hand in the air. "Are you telling us that you guys have been married for eight months, and you haven't said a word?"
Tenten nodded slowly. "We couldn't," she stated quietly. "We could not even tell the Elders at first, since they could still have our marriage annulled. Neji and I had to wait for - ah - some rather fortuitous circumstances to arrive first."
This time Sakura was the one who let out a soft noise, though she covered her own mouth before someone else could do it for her.
Squeezing Neji's hand a little tighter and settling her free hand on her stomach, Tenten let out her breath and said confidently, "In a few short months, Neji and I are going to become parents."
For a few seconds, complete silence reigned at the table. Then Sakura and Ino let out matching squeals and leaped up, descending on Tenten to hug her and shower her with congratulations and well wishes and offers to help when it was time for the baby to arrive. Lee was only a step behind, and he threw his arms around her with his usual exuberance, joyful tears streaming down his face, as he babbled on about how excited he was about the "springtime of his teammates' wonderful, youthful love."
Neji finally stepped in, wrapping a protective arm around Tenten's shoulders as the other males around the table, far more reserved than the females and Lee, offered their own congratulations.
"So the Elders all know now?" Shikamaru asked lazily as everyone settled back into their seats at the table.
Neji nodded. "We confronted them a few days ago. Tenten is now a member of the Hyuuga family."
Hinata fidgeted for a moment before reaching over to hug Tenten. "I already knew," she admitted. "But I'm just as happy that Tenten is part of my family now as I was when I first found out a week ago."
Lee wiped his eyes again and leaned forward. "Does Gai-sensei know yet?"
Tenten shook her head quickly. "We're planning on telling him first thing tomorrow morning."
Everyone settled back into conversations, but most were concentrated on Neji and Tenten and their happy news. For her part, Tenten felt embarrassed at the attention, almost wishing she'd told just one person and let the rumor mill take care of the rest. But the genuine joy on her friends' faces made her glad that Neji had talked her into doing it this way, even if she didn't like having most of the attention focused on her.
By the time she and Neji started walking home a couple of hours later, Tenten was ready to admit that she was happy her husband had talked her into the dinner. "It's nice to not have to keep the secret any longer," she said.
Sliding his jacket off his shoulders, he wrapped it around hers, leaving his arm around her as well since the night had turned chilly. "Just think of all the aunts and uncles our baby is going to have. He or she is going to be so spoiled." He laughed softly.
Tenten leaned her head against him, smiling at the sound of his laugh. She thought he didn't do that nearly enough, especially since he had a wonderful laugh. "I never thought I'd hear you wishing for a spoiled child," she teased lightly.
Neji turned thoughtful, his hand absently rubbing up and down her arm as they strolled. "I want our baby to grow up in a family where he or she will be loved, and appreciated, and told every day how important he or she is just for being who they are, and not…" He trailed off, but his unspoken words hung heavily in the air for a long moment.
Reaching up, Tenten grasped his hand and squeezed gently. "Our child is going to be the happiest and freest in the world," she whispered.
He opened the gate leading into the Hyuuga estate, guided them through, then closed it behind them. Once they were hidden from any prying eyes outside, Neji took her face in his hands and kissed her, and Tenten allowed herself to linger. They loved each other with all their hearts, just as they loved their unborn child more every day, and they were both determined to make as good a life for the newest Hyuuga as they could.
"I'm going to miss training," Tenten sighed as she and Neji neared the training grounds early the next morning. Mist still hung low over the ground and trees, softening the edges of everything. "And missions. And generally being a kunoichi."
"It's not going to last forever," Neji reminded. Though Tenten knew he still had reservations about them both continuing their work for Konoha as parents, she appreciated his supporting her decision to continue her duties after their baby was born.
She squeezed his hand gratefully. "I know. I still miss it. Though now I suppose I'm at liberty to sit back and watch you train … then point out all your mistakes." She laughed as Neji glared at her, knowing she was the only one who could get away with teasing him like that.
Unable to hold on to his serious expression, he smiled grudgingly and kissed her temple. "That means I get to doe the same thing when you go back to training. You'll have gotten rusty, I'm sure."
Tenten shot him a glare of her own. "You wish," she scoffed.
"Tenten! Neji!" A blur of green and orange shot across the training grounds toward them, and before the couple knew it, they had been pulled into a crushingly enthusiastic hug by Konoha's Green Beast, Maito Gai himself. "I'm so happy for you both!" he half-sobbed. "My youthful students, finally realizing after all this time that the springtime of love has found you and now there will be a little one, a product of your union, a youth whom will benefit from the training of-"
Pulling away from their teacher, who was still waxing verbose, Neji and Tenten exchanged one look. They knew without a doubt who was responsible for letting the proverbial cat out of the bag before they could gently break the news.
"Lee!"
*~The End~*
Author's Ending Notes: Okay, I'm so sorry if it's mean to leave it where I did, but I couldn't help it! I had that ending in mind way before I was able to assemble the rest of this oneshot. Anyway, I really enjoyed writing this piece, and I hope it lived up to Choices, and any expectations you all had for a potential sequel. Thank you all so much for reading this, and I hope you enjoyed it!