Tenten woke to soft sunlight filtering through the thin curtains of her bedroom window, warm and golden everywhere it touched. As she stirred, hopelessly attempting to ignore the glow and go back to sleep, she registered that when she had fallen asleep late last night there had been a warm, toned body pressed securely against her back that was currently absent. Stretching slightly beneath the sheets she pulled herself into a sitting position and ran a hand through her long, unbound hair as she listened for any sign of movement within her apartment. Maybe she had pushed Neji too much last night by asking about his troubles with the clan. He was normally very open with her when they were alone. Most people found him polite but cold and difficult to talk to but Tenten had always found that Neji listened well and spoke more with his eyes and his actions than with actual words.
Still, she mused, he might have taken exception to her comments and left without saying goodbye. He was comfortable with her and could be surprising temperamental and moody when he felt comfortable. Her worries were for nothing though, for no sooner had the idea crossed her mind, than Neji appeared in the doorway, shirtless and dressed only in those old pants he always kept in one of her dresser draws. He stopped short a few steps inside the door when he realised she was awake, then smiled at her in that way that he only used on her, stoking the internal fire that she always felt when Neji was around.
"You thought I left," he stated after noting the surprise that registered on her face. Tenten smiled shyly back and shrugged slightly.
"I wasn't sure when you would be expected back at the compound."
Neji simply looked at her from the doorway, all aglow from the dawn light filtering through the room that made her wavy dark hair shimmer. If he didn't know better he would almost have believed she was some kind of heavenly mirage, but she was real enough, which he proved to himself as he climbed back into the bed and pulled her to him,
"Not for a while. I have nowhere to be this morning," he pulled the sheet over their heads as he rolled on top of her and began reacquainting his lips with her collarbone. The soft groan that escaped Tenten's lips elicited a smirk from Neji as his hands joined in the exploration down at her waist, lifting the hem of her black singlet just high enough for his left palm to sit flat and warm against her stomach. He was using his right hand to prop himself up and hold the sheet down, meaning there was space for Tenten to slide her left arm under his body to run slowly up and down his back. The warm hand on her stomach began working its way higher, lifting her top as it went until she had to sit up so that Neji could pull it over her head.
"Are you sure you want to start this right now?" she asked as he threw the singlet off the edge of the bed.
"Do you have somewhere to be?" his eyes smoldered in a way the Tenten would not have believed possible for their light colouring as he looked at her. She smiled just a little as she slid both arms around his neck and lay down again, pulling him with her.
"Actually I do. I'm having tea with the girls later but I meant did you want to start this now, before you are fully recovered?" she inclined her head towards his bruised side as she spoke.
Neji did a quick twist of his torso to demonstrate full movement before pressing back down on top of her with a smirk.
"You are nothing I cannot handle," he replied before kissing her in that way he had that forced any possible response out of her mind as she surrendered and began kissing him back. As the room rapidly began to heat up and remaining clothes were shed to the floor, Neji couldn't help but savour the opportunity to finally try and make up for all the time he had been away.
When his heaving body eventually collapsed beside Tenten, he was glad of the fact that she was not vocal in the bedroom. Ironically, while Tenten was usually talkative and animated in public she was the complete opposite when it came to sex. At her loudest, Neji was able to elicit the occasional moan, sometimes his whimpered name, but generally the only indication she enjoyed anything he did was the flush of her cheeks and neck, and the change in her breathing. It made her difficult to read sometimes, but on the positive side, it made keeping their relationship a secret much easier. Besides, there was nothing he enjoyed more than a challenge. Right now, he could feel her chest heaving beside him, indicating she had thoroughly appreciated his free time this morning. He turned to his side and reached down to push her sweaty bangs back off her face prompting her to look up at him through her eyelashes, "I guess you really missed me, huh?"
Catching his own breath, Neji rolled onto his back and sighed, "Hn."
Tenten's light little laugh made him smile inwardly as she pushed the sheet back and pulled her robe on. Climbing back onto the bed she leaned over to kiss him gently, sweeping her hair to one side to keep it from falling over his face and said, "I have to get ready. Don't forget, you promised to train with Lee when you got back."
She disappeared into the bathroom and Neji groaned at the idea of training with Lee. It wasn't that he had forgotten, he just had hoped that it was a bad dream and he really had not agreed to spend his first day back after a three month mission training with the green beast. Rolling out of bed for the second time that morning he pulled on some clothes that Tenten had washed for him since the last time he stayed before collecting his other belongings and heading towards the door. He had considered leaving through her bedroom window, and in fact earlier in their relationship had done just that, but her neighbours all appeared to have jobs that meant they were either asleep or already at work at the times when Neji came and went. On the odd occasion he did cross paths with someone, nobody seemed concerned since everyone was aware of the pair's close friendship and knew that Neji had always checked up on Tenten because she lived alone. He had no such encounter this morning but smirked as he considered that the sound of Tenten singing loudly in the shower might be of more concern to anyone than his quiet exit.
"Hinata, over here!" called Tenten as she waved her friend over to the corner table of the little tea house.
Her green tea steamed warmly in front of her as Ino and Sakura argued about something inane that Tenten had not really been listening to. Hinata slipped of her jacket and smiled at the two as she took a seat at the small table. The weather was just beginning to get cooler but was still warm enough to allow for light jackets rather than coats.
"Hello Tenten, how are you?" Hinata asked as she smiled shyly at her friend. Though no one really noticed it much anymore, Hinata had gradually grown out of her stutter in the past few years. Through a combination of determined practice and what Tenten suspected was a development in confidence instigated by the young woman's growing relationship with Naruto, the only time Hinata stuttered these days was when she was stressed.
"Pretty good, Hinata. And you? How's Naruto?" she grinned wickedly as Hinata blushed, pleased that while she grew out of her stutter, she never grew out of being shy and easily embarrassed.
"Oh, Naruto is fine, though he has been acting rather strangely these past few weeks. Something to do with Shino and Kiba I suppose, since he has been spending so much time with them." She shrugged a little as she said it before pouring herself a cup of tea and watching in rapt attention as Ino and Sakura continued to argue in rapid sentences.
"Anyway…." drawled Sakura, clearly trying to move the conversation forward, "I heard Neji returned safely from his mission, Hinata?"
For just a split second, Tenten thought she saw Hinata's lavender eyes dart towards her before nodding and answering, "He arrived home last night, although I have not seen him this morning. Apparently it was a very successful mission and he might have some time off for the next few weeks as there are few assignments at the moment. Did he come to see you, Tenten?"
Tenten looked up from her tea at the sudden mention of her name and answered in a practiced, casual way, "Yeah, he came by early this morning to let me know he was back. On his way to train with Lee for the day, I think."
The three women all knew that Tenten got very anxious when either Neji or Lee went away on long missions without her and that they normally dropped by her apartment to let her know they were back, first thing after they came home. It was actually a good cover for Neji's presence at her apartment early in the morning if she ever needed to explain, though it had never really been necessary so far.
Sakura was smiling warmly, her green eyes sparkling as she cooed about how considerate it was that Neji and Lee checked up on her, "it's just so nice that you are all so close after all this time. Naruto and Sasuke never bothered to check up on me for anything - I just found out when they end up in the hospital."
"At least you don't have to try and draw a response out of Shikamaru. He is completely unreliable when it comes to keeping in touch. If I didn't know his mother I would have no idea whether he was alive!" Ino countered, waving her hands dramatically in front of her.
Tenten and Hinata both giggled in response. It was well known that despite his laziness, Shikamaru was not all that disorganised or unreliable and that it was more his inability to get a word in edge-wise with Ino that was the problem. Tenten was fond of them both but Ino could sometimes be a bit too full-on and she tended to understand Shikamaru's assumed disinterest better than her blonde friend. She supposed it probably had something to do with being used to Neji and his similar idiosyncrasies.
The rest of the next few hours continued in the same way, Hinata and Tenten listening quietly in the background while Ino and Sakura caught them up on all the latest gossip since their last monthly 'tea date'. Unless one of them was on a mission, the four women met once a month for tea at the same place, sitting at the same table. This had become a bit of a tradition over the past few years and was a source of reassurance and support to Tenten. Though she was not generally considered to be a particularly feminine woman, she did have the same concerns and problems as any other young woman her age. Having female friends who not only understood and shared her problems, but were also kunoichi, was a particular blessing as they understood better the pressures of the job on her personal life. Their different personalities and interests set them apart, but their common experiences and sense of trust brought them together. Everyone needs support, and these three women were hers.