"Again," I commanded before releasing Neji, irritated at the moisture that had accumulated on my palms. At that moment, a frustrating memory decided to run past me again:
"Keiden! As Konoha's Beautiful Green Wild Beast, I challenge you to a most youthful taijutsu spar!" Rock Lee yelled excitedly, his poom-boom thumping happily at the prospect of such a battle.
"Um. . . Lee? It's raining," I replied, my ears hesitantly perking toward the tch tch tch outside.
"Of course it is! We must be prepared to fight in all youthful patterns of weather— and we have not sparred in a great while!" I could easily imagine him jumping up and down. "Please? Neji can join us!"
I sighed. "Well, why not?"
He dragged us to a nearby training ground, amidst the pouring rain. We were drenched in an instant.
"Go for it, Lee!" I shouted. Sparring with Lee was always exhilarating. I immediately attempted to focus on the sound of his energetic heartbeat—
Something solid rammed into my jaw, and I fell to the soggy ground. Shaken, I scrambled to my feet, desperately trying to locate Lee again.
This time, the brick hit my stomach, knocking the wind out of me.
"What the. . .?" I murmured.
And then it struck me: tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch tch. . . That was all I could hear.
The raindrops.
While I'd already managed to land an attack on Neji twice today, I had to make absolutely sure. This stupid rain wasn't going to stop me. "Third time's a charm," I muttered, positioning myself once more.
I didn't hear anything at first, but the moment my ears picked up a tiny squelch, I knew I'd found him. I lunged and jabbed my leg just below his knees, throwing him off balance and pummeling him to the wet grass beneath us. Crawling next to him, I planted a kiss on his too-cold cheek. "Works every time," I said, more to myself than to him.
Suddenly, I sneezed. Oh, great. . .
"We should probably call it a day," Neji said.
Despising the tediousness that always tagged along with a cold, I nodded before standing up and reaching out to him. With that, we raced home, making it to Neji's bathhouse in record time.
I nearly laughed out loud at the sound of my husband's clothes falling to the floor and the resulting splash from his eager jump. After stripping quietly, I took a minute to locate where he was in the water, soon standing silently behind him. I wanted to hold him, to touch him. . . so, feeling bold, I wound my arms around his firm chest. "Anxious, aren't we?" I snickered, pressing my lips to his back.
He'd never forced himself upon me— something I'd be forever grateful for— but I knew he was positively yearning to have me. My confession had messed everything up, and I felt awful. I didn't even want to begin to think about the nightmares; those were things, however, I'd never share. It made me sad, the way he was being so kind to me, making sure I was ready. And the fact that he held me to him every night as I fell asleep assured me that I was safe, which in turn reiterated in my mind just how much I wanted him. Deciding to give it another shot, I nibbled bravely on his earlobe.
"I don't want to be afraid anymore. . ." I told him. I navigated my way around his form, kissing the slightly raised bone that was his clavicle. "I just want you."
As I seized his mouth with my own, he wrapped my thighs around his waist, lifting our intertwined bodies out of the bath. My back soon hit his mattress.
I smiled reassuringly. "It's all right. . ." He was shaking a little, his feverish forehead resting on mine. "It's all right. . ." I took his lips once more, and already his tongue was demanding entrance. I gasped loudly, letting him explore my mouth in such a way that had me clinging desperately to him. He shivered again, this time with ecstatic pleasure, and his rough fingers were everywhere.
A warm pain was inside me, and the bones of Neji's hips gnashed so deliciously against my own. I clutched at his back, wanting to get even closer, and he groaned into my neck, a husky sound that had me moaning right along with him.
The bliss had me exhausted in hardly any time at all; I tried holding onto him for a little while longer, but the attempt was in vain.
I became slack in his grip, the fogs of sleep already clogging my ears.