A/N: This is meant to be a prequel to "Shackles" (chpt. 37) as per the request of a few people. A sequel to that chapter will also be coming.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

She is not his poison of choice tonight. He had come into the bar looking for sake, but upon seeing her slumped over a table in the corner, one hand still closed around a bottle, he abandons his initial plan of drinking away the memories of a recent mission.

This is his fault, his as well as Lee's and Gai's. None of them had understood that underneath all her boyishness, Tenten was an orphaned little girl who had never been loved. Neji at least could recall fond memories of time spent with his father, and Gai had taken to treating Lee as a son, but Tenten had been abandoned on the steps of an orphanage hours after her birth. She had never been held, never been fussed over. Living in the orphanage had made her tough and independent, qualities that greatly aided her as a shinobi. But nothing could fulfill her like the love she so desperately needed. After she had left her team in stunned silence three months back with her declaration that she was joining ANBU, it had been Lee who had guiltily voiced that they had failed her in the worst way. They had driven her away because even in them she could not find a family. They had used her, when all she had done was give them everything she had.

Neji maneuvers around the other patrons in the bar until he comes to stand before her.

"Tenten," he gently coaxes the bottle from her grip. "Come on. I'll take you home." He tosses a few bills onto the table then scoots her chair back so he can lift her into his arms. Her eyes are red and she watches him with an empty, glassy stare. He wants to apologize, but knows there is no point in doing so tonight, not when the alcohol will inhibit her from remembering his words.

But as he carries her home, he kisses her forehead and whispers an apology anyway. He is not intending to stay, but something in the way Tenten nestles her head in the crook of his neck, and how comfortably she fits into his arms, prevents him from leaving. She spends the night curled in his lap, and his heart clenches as he watches sleep smooth away all the pain and worry from her features in a way that he never could.

She joins him in the shower the next morning. He is startled out of his thoughts, and doesn't even have time to turn around before she comes up behind him and wraps her arms around his waist. They stand under the spray of the showerhead like that for several minutes.

"I hate it," she admits quietly, her lips brushing his shoulder as she speaks.

"Then come back," he answers, reaching to shut off the water. Tenten snorts and shakes her head.

"Coming back would be worse than ANBU." Neji knows better than to try to reason with her, and instead allows her to lean on him and shed hot, angry tears against his skin. He understands that Tenten needs him, even though he has hurt her. He is all she has. And though he has never thought of himself as more fortunate than she, he is grateful for the sense of belonging his clan provides.

After five tense minutes, Tenten unwinds her arms from around him, and hurriedly wipes her face, embarrassed at how intimate they had just been. She quickly wraps herself with a towel and leaves him alone with his thoughts once again. Neji for his part, says nothing, and makes no indication that their exchange had been out of the ordinary.

By the time he steps out of the bathroom, only clothed by a towel around his waist, Tenten has busied herself with making tea in the kitchen. He leans against the doorframe of the kitchen, watching her, and accepts his mug of tea with a quiet murmur of thanks.

"Thank you, actually, for bringing me home last night," she tells him, avoiding his eyes. Neji only nods, though his gaze never leaves her.

They drink the tea in silence.

"We miss you," Neji admits as he places his mug in the sink.

Tenten snorts, "I'm smarter now. I know better than to believe that."

Her words cut deep, and any hope Neji had of convincing her to accept his apology dies with her dismissal.

He looks at her again, takes in the sight of her small, lean frame in her towel, and the darkened, lifeless eyes that used to captivate him with their warmth and sparkle, and his gut wrenches when he realizes she is a complete stranger now. He loves Tenten, not the woman before him.

"I have a mission later today," Tenten interrupts his thoughts, and Neji takes her words as his cue to leave.

He nods and turns to gather his things. Tenten waits by the door, arms crossed over her chest, intent on seeing him out. As he puts on his sandals and reaches for the doorknob, he pauses.

"I owe you an apology, Tenten. I have failed to be the friend you have always been to me. I'm sorry." Neji cannot leave without at least trying to make amends, but Tenten says nothing.

After a few moments of silence, he exits her apartment, regret weighing heavily on his shoulders. His resolve is shaken by her coldness, but still he refuses to give up on her.

She is an incurable poison forever residing within his veins, and he is helplessly and hopelessly hers to do with as she pleases.

A/N: I've noticed the past few chapters have had the same theme and mood, but I am working on much happier material as well!

Thank you for reading and please review!

~M.I.