Christmas Chaos
Chapter 6: The Devil's Drop
December 21st - 5:30 AM
Message from Ino to you, Sakura and Hinata (5:31 AM) : Good morning bitches, I am waiting for my taxi to take me to the airport so I can board my flight for a Christmas under the sun with the sexy radiology resident I've been having fun with. In the meantime, I have decided to bestow my wise holiday predictions on you, you undeserving lot.
Message from Ino to you, Sakura and Hinata (5:33 AM) : Hinata, we all know you will live up to your fairytale with Naruto before New year's Eve, and y'all will probably make some grand public love declarations with romantic gestures straight out from a Disney movie cause that's just who you are. And honestly, if it has to be someone, it should be you, you lil princess.
Message from Ino to you, Sakura and Hinata (5:34 AM) : Sakura, I don't care that you call your coffee meet-ups with Sasuke just "catching up" y'all are going on dates, thirsting for each like 10-years long marathoners without their water source. I invoke Christmas magic, and I manifest it finally helps you lose your v-card to your teenage crush and may thy puthy be dusten (dustied? Dusted?) up by his brooding touch. Amen.
Message from Ino to you, Sakura and Hinata (5:37 AM) : Tenten, Tenten, Tenten. We all know you're gonna end up with Neji. Either because y'all will finally have the maturity to admit how you feel about each other without throwing rocks at the other like kindergarten brats… or because y'all end up together in a ditch in whatever secluded area the Hyugas live, having finally succeeded in killing each other off. In either case, together. Though I'm really cheering for the first option.
Message from Ino to you, Sakura and Hinata (5:39 AM) : I just want to inform you all, one of my prophecies has already been fulfilled. One very hot and bothered Sasuke has just exited Sakura's room through her window, his shirt not yet buttoned (great catch Sakura-forehead!). Bet, the mighty Uchiha didn't think I'd be outside so early to catch him coming out of our cherry blossom's room like a horny bad boy. Oh, to be young and in heat. USE PROTECTION, KIDS.
Tenten groaned, still sleepy, at the buzzing phone on her bedside table in this early hour of the morning, while Neji's room was still as dark as night and the deafening silence comforted her that it was not yet time to wake up.
She didn't even read the texts that had slightly shifted her from her sleep and unceremoniously silenced the device so she could go back to the sweet oblivion sleep provided.
Oblivion she very much needed at the moment to forget she had sex with Neji freaking Hyuga. And it was grandiose. Dammit. If only it sucked. She could call it a mistake and just move on. But now, if that was possible, she was left even more hungry for him than she was before.
The only dark cloud in her sky of pleasure was the post-orgasmic clarity that came with the knowledge she may not be one for casual sex. It had felt weird how automatically cold he had become right after they had done it. But after all, those were the rules she had herself established.
No affection.
No cute words.
No tenderness.
Just sex.
Those words, like an oath, kept turning like a vinyl in her head. But it felt off. She had felt… used. Discarded. This was ridiculous because they had been two consenting adults who had fun. Two very consenting adults, in fact. Even a bit too consenting, he didn't have to know to what exact extent she had been so consenting with all the things she had said when they'd done it.
But the aftermath? It left a bittersweet taste. It was precisely what she had wanted, and yet it left her unsatisfied.
And for the life of her, she couldn't figure out why this realization felt like a heavy stone in the pit of her stomach.
She had hated Hyuga. They were physically attracted to one another. They scratched the itch. And now it's done.
It should be simple, really.
But nothing ever really was.
She didn't understand why she felt so … disappointed?
But it was way too early to face these awakening thoughts, so Tenten pushed them as quickly as they came back in the most profound whole of her subconscious and let herself fall back into a comfortable sleep.
And so she was in slumber when the messages kept accumulating themselves.
December 21st - 5:40 AM
Naruto stirred from sleep because of the repetitive beeps coming from his phone he forgot to put in night mode.
He sighed.
It had to be Ino or Sakura, probably Ino because that woman was too well put together for her own good. No one had their life as much in their hands as Ino Yamanaka did. The superwoman woke up early every given day on this earth to meditate and jog around their neighbourhood before going back home, showering, blending her smoothie of the day, checking half the things off her to-do and all of this before 6AM.
It was annoying, really, how she was healthy of mind, body and soul.
Well, as healthy as one can be when they are overly obsessed with their friends' love lives even though they have a very satisfying one themselves.
Naruto looked at the peacefully sleeping Hinata in his arms, her breath like a gentle breeze lulling him back to sleep. He carefully extended his arm that had been lying on top of her so he could reach his phone on his bedside table without disturbing her slumber.
Message from Ino to you and Sakura: So??? Any update?? I'm in my taxi to the airport, and I'd like something to calm my impatience for the following hours of flight I have.
Naruto rolled his half-closed eyes, ready to fall back asleep anytime now and hazily sent the relentless blond woman the video he had filmed where you could hear the suspicious noise coming from Neji's and Tenten's bedroom, his snickering and the groaning of Hinata in the background.
Without thinking twice, he silenced his phone and let his arm sneak under the cover again, bringing the indigo-hair beauty closer to him, allowing the sweet scent of jasmine and warm vanilla to pull him back to sleep.
December 21st - 6:48 AM
Neji was almost disappointed to wake up on the other side of his bed, his arms empty and his back turned on the woman he had had sex with last night.
Now, for all it may seem, Neji had never adhered to the idea of casual sex. Maybe he had not subscribed to any long-term relationships either, and perhaps he had never been in love with the women he had slept with, but he had always held some sort of affection for them.
Call him too traditional, but it was hard for this young Hyuga to have ended their act the way it did last night. When finally exhausted, they were left heaving, their breath dying on each other's skin; he had the instinct to bend down and pepper her jaw and exposed shoulder with soft kisses. He still wanted to capture her lips and pull them a little between his lips. He wanted to play with the damp strands of hair clinging on her warm skin and trace her jutting collarbone with the tip of his nose.
And above all, he wanted to help her out, bring her a towel. Make sure she was alright. Draw her in when all was done, enlace her in his arms, feel her beating heart slow down, her breath even out as she fell asleep on top of him.
Fine, not that Neji would have said it so straightforwardly, but if he had to, if he absolutely had to, he'd have to admit he just really likes cuddling.
But as he got up on his hands, his hair curtaining them both, he could see all the frenetic thoughts running in her mind, and he was suddenly uncertain.
Maybe she wanted nothing more than to be left alone. After all, she had outlined "just sex, no tender acts."
Thus, he got up entirely, unsure of how to proceed and allowed her the space to decide how she wanted the rest to follow.
She got up, without a sound, without sparing him a glance, and dashed to the bathroom. He decided to replace the sheets in the meantime, and when she came back, she took one side of the bed, sleeping as close to the edge of the bed as possible, giving him her back.
"G'night." She murmured.
"Good night," He whispered back and, in all respect to her wishes, took the other edge of the bed where he fell asleep uneasily.
He had hoped, in the darkest pit of his subconscious, that during the night, they would have shifted closer, maybe against all hopes, she'd have found her way in his arms, and they could just enjoy that hazardous involuntary embrace without overthinking.
Alas, no. They had stubbornly kept their side of the bed, and he woke up looking at her, still giving him her back.
Neji sighed, slowly getting up to not wake her up and went for his clothes.
The house was still eerily quiet in the slumber almost everyone was in. Though it was no surprise for Neji to see his father and uncle already at the breakfast table. Hiashi reading his newspaper and Hizashi reading Rumi's poetry book like both had done for years now at the breakfast table.
"Morning," He muttered and noticed how both his father figures exchanged a stare.
His uncle smirked behind his newspaper, and his father threw him an amused glance over his poetry book.
"Had a good night?" His uncle asked innocently.
Neji groaned.
"I think it fair to assume we have been heard." The young heir concluded, acting unbothered while sitting down and reaching for the coffee pot.
Hiashi snorted, and Hizashi simply smiled at him.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Hizashi sipped his morning coffee, calmly waiting for an answer from his more-than-usual silent son.
"I do," Hiashi replied automatically with a sly smile, earning himself an admonishing look from his brother. "What?"
His father coughed. "You know, Neji," He began. "In one of his poems, Rumi compared love to 'taking a step without feet.'" He smiled as if the words were self-explanatory but sighed in disappointment when both his brother and his son were left blinking, staring blankly at him as if he had just spoken French to them.
"Well, thank you for that so enlightening contribution, dear brother." Hiashi rolled his eyes, turning back to his newspaper. "Will you also start wearing robes and demand we call you Master Yoda?"
Hizashi took a deep breath in, not at all phased by the usual sarcasm of his brother.
"What it means," He looked pointedly at his son with a gentle smile. "Is that, to love someone, is to accept to take a leap of faith. To walk without feet is to accept to stand on immaterial things we cannot control and trust they will still lead us on the right journey."
Neji heard it. Neji felt what his father was trying to tell him in his bones. But he was not ready yet. It had only been twenty-four hours in this holiday madness, and already it felt like the world wouldn't be the same anymore.
"I'll probably hit the slopes this morning." Neji decided instead to change the subject.
It has been some time that he hadn't appreciated the fine powder of Haepo Mountain in the winter and its perfect ski slopes.
"Great idea," Hizashi encouraged, understanding his son's need to process things on his own.
"Just be back before the engagement party," Hiashi warned. "I swear I won't forgive you if you miss it cause you broke your neck going downhill." He gave his nephew a glare. "Every Hyuga from New York to Singapore is going to come back here for Hanabi's engagement, and Aunt Mei will probably try to rally them to her cause."
Neji nodded solemnly, wiping his lips off the few bites of croissant he took with his coffee.
"I won't venture far enough," He said, getting up and pushing his chair.
The Hyuga men nodded. Since the kids were gone, mornings were always spent in the serenity of the basking dawn. Sweet silence and, catching through the sun rays emerging in the manor, the lazily falling, floating dust, like shimmering gold. It was probably the twins' favourite time of the day, even though they often missed the chaotic wake-ups that came with their three children and their often pranks-filled matinal disputes.
"NARUTO, I SWEAR I WILL KILL YOU."
Hiashi smiled, looking up at the ceiling from which Tenten's screaming voice had just echoed, almost nostalgic of old days.
"Ah, just like when the kids were younger." Hizashi sipped his coffee, relishing in old memories when Hanabi used to prank Neji, and he'd wake up shouting the exact same threat.
"So Ino knows," Neji muttered to himself, reaching for the door in his glove hands, ready to brave the cold.
All the more reasons to hurry to his snowboard and glide down a slope away from a situation that got a bit too complicated for his taste.
December 21st - 7:15
Tenten didn't intend to wake up so early. She heard the shuffling sound of Neji walking to the door and closing it, and that was enough for the light sleeper that she was to make her wonder what time it was.
Did she expect the thousand of messages coming from Ino? Yes. Obviously.
She's been friends with the psychopath since her second year of medical school. Reading her chains of messages has been part of her morning routine for almost a decade now. She'd read them on the bowl during her morning pee like one would read the news.
Ino always has something to say, some story to share, some morning insight to give. And mostly, Ino Yamanaka always rose before the sun did, as infuriatingly constant in her habits as the planets following their orbits.
So it wasn't the many, many texts she received that alerted her that something was wrong. It was the twenty-four missed calls from her blond friend that froze her blood. Because, if one thing, Ino Yamanaka hated phone calls when they could be avoided.
Tenten was startled to see the face of said friend pop up on her phone screen as the psychiatrist called her yet again.
"Ino?" Tenten answered in her hoarse voice.
"YOU SLUT!" Came the roaring excited voice of her friend, followed by an earth-shattering squeal that might have knocked off Tenten because she didn't hear much of Ino's rant until she caught the words "the video Naruto sent," and everything seemed to click into place.
"NARUTO, I SWEAR I WILL KILL YOU." She yelled instinctively, rushing out of her bed, her phone trapped between her ear and shoulders while Ino continued on her monologue of 'I was right' and 'here what you should do next' that barely registered in Tenten's head as she sped out the room, running down the hall to one of the other rooms and opened it unceremoniously.
"NARUTO!" She yelled again but was disappointed and ashamed to realize she had barged in Hanabi's room instead. Hanabi, who soundly kept sleeping with her earplugs, her silk 'Nap Queen' eye cover, basking in her soothing sounds of waves crashing on the shore coming from her sleeping sound machine.
"'Sup Tenten." Konohamaru was the only one that got up, groggy from sleep, his hair a mess but his grin shining through. "I take it you had fun last night."
Tenten groaned in pure agony before swiftly bringing her hands to her mouth, afraid she woke up the young girl with all the noise she made. That'd be very bad form; after all, it was Hanabi's engagement party today. She should look well-rested at the very least.
Konohamaru chuckled in reassurance. "Don't worry. 'Nabi took like 4 gummies of melatonin before sleeping. She wouldn't wake up even if Haepo Mountain was collapsing in on itself."
"It might happen just yet," Tenten muttered darkly before spinning on her heels.
"NARUTO!" She yelled again, this time entering the correct room and seeing him cower behind a confused Hinata with a severe case of bed hair.
Now, the first time Naruto heard his name, he had jumped out of bed, scared and still groggy from sleep, not understanding what he had done. The second time he heard his name, his eyes widened in pure terror, looking over at Hinata, who woke up just as puzzled as he had been.
He didn't have time to truly contemplate how savagely beautiful Hinata was with her messy hair and flushed out cheeks from sleep that the door opened on a fuming Tenten, and he ran for cover behind the sweet, gentle girl.
"Tenten?" Hinata asked, her voice raspy while she shook off the remaining sleep gripping at her body.
"Naruto!" Tenten began again, her eyes shooting daggers a the sheepish blond boy. "I swear I will-"
"I AM NOT DONE TALKING, TENTEN! TENTEN!!"
The brown-haired woman looked down, horrified at her cellphone.
"This is all your fault," She hissed to Naruto before going back on the phone with her friend.
"I don't have much time," Ino continued. "The flight attendant is already giving me nasty glares. We're taking off in a couple of minutes."
"Ino, I swear it's nothing-"
"If you dare say it's nothing serious, Tenten, I swear I will divert this plane to whatever hell hole you're stuck in." Her friend threatened, then her voice became far off as she laughed nervously at what seemed to be the flight attendant. "I was just joking." She told them.
Tenten rolled her eyes. Her friend was too much, seriously. Also, she felt a sort of urgent need to defend Haepo, as if this was her own hometown. She had grown so attached to it in the few hours she had spent it. It may not have been much, yet she couldn't shake off the anger that spiked when Ino had called it a hell hole. People here were so awfully lovely and the village itself so quaint and charming.
"Tenten, are you listening to me?" Ino called her out of her reverie.
"Yes, yes." She answered, slightly irritated that her friend called her out on her denial.
"I know you," The blonde followed. "You wouldn't sleep with someone unless you really like them. Remember Shino?"
Ugh, of course, she had to bring Shino into this. Tenten looked at her wiggling toes, trying to block out past memories from adding to Ino's sensible advice from tearing down her fortress walls.
"So you just need to remember, little Tenten, to express your needs because-"
"Ma'am, Ma'am, the plane is about to take flight. Please shut it off."
"Yes, just a second, I-"
"No, right now."
"I'll just-"
"Ma'am!"
Tenten frowned at her phone and what seemed to be an altercation between Ino and the exasperated flight attendant.
"Nooo!! Give it back-"
Ino's desperate cry could be heard all over Hinata's room through Tenten's room.
Naruto sighed. "She's so dramatic. And for what?"
"I'm coming for you after Naruto!" Ino's yell could be heard from Tenten's phone, and the man tensed up immediately. "You spent the night with Hinata??"
Naruto's eyes widened at realizing that both Hinata and he could also be heard in the video he sent.
"MA'AM! Gosh, I swear sometimes I hate this job."
The line went dead, and the three adults were left blankly staring at the now disconnected phone in the brunette's hand.
"Damn, Ino really is something." Naruto felt the need to comment.
Suddenly the phone lit up again with an unknown number. Tenten looked at it quizzically, not remembering the number sequence. When her phone finally stopped ringing, Naruto's began with the same odd number sequence.
"Oh my God." He whispered, terrified. "This is how horror movies start."
Tenten rolled her eyes. "It's probably Ino calling with Sai's phone."
"Ino is so persevering." Hinata threw an impressed look at Naruto's phone.
"Now, that's even scarier than an anonymous serial killer." Naruto gasped, throwing his phone at Tenten.
"Don't give it to me!" The brown-haired woman shrieked and threw it to Hinata.
"Please, don't mix me up with Ino!" The other woman whimpered, throwing it back to Naruto.
Ensued a few rounds where the device got passed from one friend to another like a hot potato until Tenten finally groaned in frustration and decided to answer it.
"Ino," She started immediately. "This is getting ridiculous."
"Just listen!" Her blond friend cut in. "I know you Tenten, you're as avoidant as Neji is. Y'all need to act like adults now and communicate. Do that as soon as possible, or else things will get just too awkward! Gotta go now, the flight attendant-"
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU." Tenten heard the phone being snatched from Ino's hands, who gasped. "Your friend will call you after we have landed," This was the flight attendant. "If we don't throw her overboard before that."
The line went dead again, and they stayed in stunned silence, wondering if their overly creative friend would find another way to communicate with them. At this point, they wouldn't be surprised if she had magically developed some telepathic abilities, and they'd hear her voice in their heads.
After what felt like an eternity of them waiting in Hinata's room, not sure of how to proceed, Tenten finally threw her arms up in the air, emitting a desperate wail and went straight to Hinata's closet.
Of course, she had to have a walk-in the size of her bedroom in their Konoha's house. She eyes the ajar door of a little closet meant for party dresses and went straight to it, closing the sliding door as soon as Naruto and Hinata made their way in the walk-in. Here between sequined and silken dresses, Tenten felt a little bit safer to process the unexpected (well, at least for her) turn of events.
Hinata gave a questioning look to Naruto, who simply reassuringly waved his hands.
"Living with three girls has taught me a lot," Naruto said wisely. "Like how they each have their coping mechanisms."
"Oh, really?" Hinata blinked. "Like how?"
"Well," Naruto touched his chin in a pensive manner. "Sakura is well known for her planners." He shuddered. "She used to put together 5 inches binders with 'life-plans' in them. Like financial timelines for debts reimbursement, long-term investments, retiring plans. Or she even has one for her future pregnancies. Like how many kids, the different solutions to every kind of different infertility issues that could arise, even adoption agencies processes… It's a lot." Naruto ended, rolling his eyes.
"Damn," Hinata breathed out. "And I thought I was premature writing my will."
Naruto chuckled. "Oh, no, Sakura did that when she was eighteen."
"Worst part," Came Tenten's voice from Hinata's party dresses' closet. "Is that she'd spent hours reciting them to us and then trying to convince us to do the same."
"Yes!" Naruto groaned. "But thank God, now she stress-eats Twizzlers instead."
"We have been saved," Tenten muttered behind the still-closed doors.
Naruto threw an amused glance at the closet his friend was hiding in. "Tenten is usually very easy, she goes for a run, and she comes back clear-headed." His expression turned nervous. "Unless she can't, then she goes to hide in a closet. There was this one spring where rainstorms were so frequent, we decided to buy her a treadmill for her birthday, so she'd stop hiding in her closet or the pantry, and we'd stop being freaked out."
"Oh, but we do have an indoor gym!" Hinata offered.
"Really!?" Tenten exclaimed.
"Yeah, Neji-nii-san installed it after-"
"No, thank you." Came the swift reply.
Naruto rolled his eyes at his friend's childishness. Like she was in a position to say no.
"What about Ino?" Hinata asked.
"Yeah, Naruto," Tenten taunted him. 'What does Ino do as a coping mechanism?"
He threw a nasty glare at the hidden girl. "Ino," He gritted. "Likes shopping."
"And what does she do when the stores are closed?" He could hear the smile in Tenten's voice.
Naruto passed a hand on his face. "She likes to try out new make-up trends on me." He signed, resigned.
Hinata chuckled behind her hand.
"You should see him with eyeliner and orange eyeshadow on!" Tenten laughed from the closet. "He is so cute!"
Now, Naruto was beet red. It certainly wasn't an image he wanted his crush to have of him.
"People who hide in a closet don't have a say, Tenten!" He yelled back and stiffened instantly when he felt her hand rest on his arm.
"I think it's charming how considerate a friend you are." Hinata smiled at him, and his heartbeat a bit faster.
Maybe that's what gave Naruto the compassion to walk to the closet and sit on his heels. "Tenten," He whispered slowly. "Please open the door, and we'll figure out together what's clouding your mind."
Tenten sighed, her arms hugging her knees tightly brought to her chest. "Fine," She opened her door slowly to see no one other than Hiashi Hyuga, newly arrived and standing behind a freaked-out Naruto.
Said Hyuga was looking at her like a Thanksgiving dinner, his sly grin like a bad omen for what was to come.
"Or," His voice dripped with malice. "Have you ever tried snowboarding, Tenten?"
December 21st - 9:00 AM
Never trust Hiashi Hyuga. Ever again. Tenten promised herself, shaking in Hinata's borrowed ski-wear and safely trapped on Hanabi's old snowboard.
Go snowboarding at the top of Haepo Mountain, Tenten. It'll be fun.
Goddammit. She should have paid more attention to Hizashi's wary glance he threw at his brother when, at the breakfast table, Hiashi pounded the idea in her brains until she was left believing it was a good idea.
"Kyo's son, Asahi, he can drive you up the mountain," Hiashi assured her. "He does this for the kids all the time. They practically grew up together. And he's a silver medalist in snowboarding, did I tell you that? He's a great teacher too. Nothing better to take your mind off of …"
"Fine! Fine, just…" Tenten impeded him from finishing his sentence, and he smiled in triumph. She was still chewing the colossal bite of maple syrup-coated waffle she had been considering Hiashi's idea on.
Hiashi was all smiles. "Great!" He grinned, getting up from the table instantly. "I'll go pass a phone call to Asahi. I'm sure he'll be delighted!"
Now one and a half-hour later, she was looking at the mountain down below. A few hundred meters, she could see the little spikes of some turrets at the Hyuga Manor.
Granted, Tenten has been surfing the coasts of Suna with her childhood friend, Temari, since they were four years old. She learned how to stand on a surfboard under the supervision of her youngest uncle when she could walk.
Did she think snowboarding would be a piece of cake because of that? Yes, admittedly and shamefully, yes she did.
Her arrogance and overconfidence would be her downfall one day. And as she looked at the pristine white slope down below, Tenten thought today might be that day.
"Don't be scared," Asahi flashed her his dazzling smile. "I'll be right behind you. Just go slow and keep to the left, okay?"
Tenten nodded, fear clouding her mind more than the anxiety that came with thinking about what happened last night and how this changed her relationship with Neji now.
"Now, bend your knees slowly and let yourself glide." He gave her a light push, and she started slowly descending.
"You're doing great!" She heard him shout behind her. "Have you done this before?"
Tenten wanted to laugh. This was great. Amazing even! She might as well be reconciled with winter over this new sport.
The mechanics of staying balanced on the snowboard were very similar to those with her surfboard. It was actually easier to keep her balance because, unlike water, snow shifted less under her feet, and there weren't waves to throw her off.
She was actually enjoying herself so much, she completely forgot about Asahi until she heard him yell behind her :
"Slow down, Tenten! I'm losing you!"
Now, she started to panic because she completely forgot how to position herself to slow down and in her panicked state, all rational thinking left her brains, mostly when she turned around and realized she couldn't see Asahi anymore.
She almost toppled over but regained her balance just in time to see the very fast approaching forest that divided the slopped in two.
Which side did he say to go?
Tenten didn't have time to think more about it. Between her almost falling and the speed she was going at, she had no choice but to go right.
It was left, right? She whimpered internally.
Of course, it was left because this part of the mountain wasn't arranged like the other was. Trees were more abundant, and the trail wasn't trimmed like it would for tourists and beginners.
"Oh. My. GOD." Tenten screamed when she realized the slop was getting steeper.
Now, when she surfed, Tenten mostly had to follow the wave's direction, and she'd end up landing on the sand sooner or later. Snowboarding was different because she had to give the direction, and she wasn't yet comfortable with that, mainly that when she surfed, she didn't have coral trees sprouting out of nowhere she had to avoid.
Then she saw it down below, a drop in the slop, and she was gliding very fast towards it.
"I'M GONNA DIE." She screamed to the heavens.
What a dumb way to die. She wanted to cry. What do I tell mom once she finds me in heaven? Sorry, mom, I fucked the wrong guy, so to clear out my head, I went and snowboarded for the first time my ass ON THE SLOPE OF DEATH.
"Tenten!"
Great, now she was hallucinating said asshole, who was at the center of this cataclysm.
"TENTEN!"
December 21st - 9:14 AM
"You know," Hiashi smiled at Naruto while Tenten was safely getting ready to ride up Haepo Mountain, all according to his plan.
"Since Hanabi and Konohamaru are overseeing the last preparation for their engagement and Neji and Tenten are hitting the slopes-"
"Wait, what?" Hinata interrupted before realization hit her, and she sighed in exasperation. "Dad!"
"What?" He feigned innocence.
"You know what you did," his daughter shook his head.
"Well, what is done is done, my dear." He turned his gleaming opal eyes on a dumbfounded Naruto. "Maybe you two could go to the little pond down the east trail? It's Hinata's favourite place to ice skate."
Naruto's eyes lit up at the idea, and Hinata blushed furiously.
"That's a great idea!" The blue-eyed man shouted. "I've always wanted to learn."
"O-oh, n-no!" Hinata coughed to settle down her fluster and excitement. "You don't even have skates."
"We have plenty of them in the basement." Hiashi waved it off. "Plus, Hinata is an excellent teacher? She did artistic ice skating until she was twenty years old and even made it to the national team!"
Naruto decided he loved the way Hinata's father was raving about his daughter and that he needed to see it for himself.
"Amazing, Hinata-chan!" He turned towards her, assessing her empty plate and cup before taking her hand and standing up. "Let's go now!"
"Be back before noon, kids!" Hiashi called out after Naruto rushed out of the kitchen and dragged Hinata crimson form by the hand.
"You have to stop meddling in our kids' love lives." Hizashi nonchalantly stated, busy texting someone.
Hiashi gasped, a hand on his heart. "Oh God, you scared me!" He gave his brother a sly look. "I keep forgetting you're here, dear brother."
Hizashi scoffed, bringing his mug of coffee to his lips. "Wish I could say the same, dear brother." He gave him an equivalent sly smile.
December 21st - 11:00
Two hours later, after Hinata and Naruto had trailed down the quick path to the pond where the snow had previously been shovelled by the staff Hiashi rushed out the side. Hinata couldn't believe her luck.
She simply couldn't believe, after years of pinning on a man, there he was, holding her hands, his eyes glued on hers, trying to keep his balance on his two borrowed skates.
"You're doing great, Naruto-kun."
"That's because I have an awesome teacher." He grinned back, and she blushed at their proximity.
"So," Naruto began again, "Is this your way to cope? You look so at ease on the ice."
Hinata giggled. "Well, a couple years ago, I started ice skating, and since then, yes, I guess you could say this is my closet. Or," She winked at him. "My make-up therapy."
Did seeing Hinata wink make jelly out of Naruto's stomach? Yes, yes, it did. In fact, Hinata could throw him shade 24/7 if that meant he'd see that cute wink all the time. Is this why Neji and Tenten kept harassing each other? Guess the foreplay worked, according to yesterday's muffled whisper they heard.
"Renewed?" Naruto asked once he'd shaken himself off of his daydream.
"Yeah," Hinata looked away for a second. "Like dad said, I was pretty much set on entering the national team."
"What stopped you?" He asked after she had been silent for a while.
"My grandmother." Hinata finally said. "I was still healing from my eating disorder, and it came as a realization that the environment I was in when I competed was not helpful. The pressure to be thin when my body just… well, it just wasn't made that way. And at the same time as I was considering going to medical school, so…"
Naruto nodded. "For what it's worth, I'm happy your journey brought you closer to me."
Yeah, he was done playing coy. All his fears had turned out to be unfounded, and he felt like the dumbest man alive to have avoided reaching out for Hinata for so long.
He looked at her lips and then the apprehension in her eyes. If anything, the only thing holding him back was that he wanted to go according to her readiness.
So instead of reaching for the back of her neck and bringing her closer to him so he could taste her plump rosy lips, he waddled a bit away from her, turning to the trees and the birds.
"Ladies and gentlemen," He exclaimed as if looking at a crowd, Hinata confused at his theatrics. "For one time, and one time only, the sumptuous Hinata Hyuga, in her most awaited performance on ice."
He waddled to the side of the pound, clapping in his hands, shouting, mimicking a cheering crowd.
"Naruto," She smiled bashfully. "I don't think I can…"
He simply smiled back at her. "I know you can."
And there she went, at first hesitantly, but quickly gaining confidence as she gained speed and twirled, spun, her arms delicately swaying.
And here he was, simply amazed, like he always was whenever she was near. This feeling still gripped his stomach, the raging butterflies that made everything feel brighter and more magical since that moment in his car driving up to her home.
Fluffy snowflakes fell like crushed diamonds around them, and even the dark white clouds from which they fell felt like poesy, like reflecting the beauty of her eyes. There was no music, yet a symphony rang in his heart whenever she moved. And it occurred to Naruto he had never felt happier, or even, complete. Like the puzzle pieces finally started fitting with each other after he had tried so many different pieces before. Like every decision they had made in their lives had led us to this exact moment they were sharing.
She stopped abruptly, turned towards him. "Did you hear that?" She said, alarmed.
Naruto blinked. Truth be told, he wouldn't have heard an army invading Haepo, for he was so entranced. But indeed, another sound pierced the silent falling snow.
"It seems to come from the upper side of Haepo Mountain." She turned towards the summit.
"Is it where Tenten went with Asahi?"
Hinata shook her head vehemently. "Impossible, she kept her gaze on the mountain, the noise seemed to come from the Devil's Drop, Asahi would probably have taken Tenten on the other side, towards, the Gentle Slope."
"The Devil's Drop?" He asked.
"Yes," She locked eyes with him again. "It's a sudden drop on a steep hill of the mountain. Lots of thrillseekers come when ski season opens. But it's not a very safe trail. There had been a fair share of death due to the drop over the last decades."
"Damn," Naruto gave another look at the top of the mountain. "Could it be wolves?"
Hinata shrugged. "No one has sighted a wolf in more than twenty years."
Naruto's eyes widened in shock. "What about we head back home, so we're not the first ones to sight one after decades?" He laughed nervously.
Hinata laughed with him, even though she didn't consider the threat seriously. The sound seemed more humane than anything; she was just worried that some stupid young thrillseeker had gone where he shouldn't have gone.
"Yeah, let's go." Hinata smiled and took his hands.
Realizing what she had done so instinctively, she froze in place until Naruto squeezed her hand back.
"I'm following your lead." He told her.
December 21st - 11:03 AM
Neji breathed in the fresh air of the mountain. He was grateful for the smell of pine and freshly fallen snow as it cleared his head a bit.
One thing became apparent, he needed to talk with her. It's just that he needed to understand what he truly wanted to say.
What did he even want with this infuriating woman?
And Neji couldn't help but think the most infuriating about her was when she wasn't near him.
Could he possibly be already missing her?
No, no. Impossible.
Yet…
Yet, even at the hospital, he'd often have this exciting firing up in his belly whenever he went down to the ED, knowing she'd be working. And in the few hours they had spent together, that felt like months now, he had grown … maybe attached?
If anything, Neji had to admit there was more to her than he saw at the hospital. And more he wanted to discover.
Neji sighed, shaking his head. The snowflakes that had accumulated on his hair fell on the ground. He slowly got up from his sitting position on the little rock jutting out of the snow and clipped his boot back on his skis, ready to start his descent.
That's when he heard her.
"Oh. My. GOD."
Was he even hallucinating her now? It must be that cause he damn well knew this stupid woman wouldn't be suicidal enough to…
"I'M GONNA DIE!"
A string of insults rushed in Neji's head, but he didn't have time to indulge in voice them out as he sped through the snow in his skis trying to catch up to the incredibly dumb woman who was going down at an alluring speed to the Devil's Drop, something he had only attempted five or six times himself and he was a very experimented skier.
"Tenten!" He yelled at her. "TENTEN!" He yelled again.
She turned her head, shocked, her eyes entirely drawn by pure fear.
He bent his knees a little more and handed her his ski stick.
"Take my stick!" He yelled at her. "Take it!"
She tried to reach for the baton one time, two times, three times. Each time a failure.
Neji grunted; the cliff was nearing, he bent forward a bit more, and her fingers grazed his baton. He went forward a little more, a bit more, and he knew he would lose his balance, and she'd be lost.
Thankfully, she was able to grab it this time. He yanked her right into his arms and used the little equilibrium left he had to change their trajectory on the left side just in time to join back the remnants trail of the Gentle Slope before they started toppling over in the snow.
They glided and rolled over for almost a minute until the slope became practically flat. Neji got up, his heart still racing, hurrying to look for Tenten.
He sighed in relief when he saw her a couple of meters down, trying to get on her elbows but wincing in pain.
"You stupid, stupid, woman." He bellowed in rage, taking purposeful steps towards her and bending down to unlock her snowboard for her. "What in the lack of survival instinct, talent to threaten your life, death wish IS WRONG WITH YOU?"
She winced in pain again, too focused on her throbbing right ankle to say anything back. Neji's heart suddenly wrenched at seeing her helpless eyes looking back at him.
"My ankle," She breathed out.
Neji hurried to look at where she said it hurt. He touched the deformed articulation, and she gasped in pain.
"Ah fuck," He looked down, then straight at her eyes. "It appears there is a peroneal subluxation."
Tenten groaned out in frustration. She knew she should just be happy that she at least didn't die on this mountain, but really a subluxation meant one thing and one thing only…
"I'll have to reduce it, Tenten." He confirmed her worst fear.
She scoffed. "Unless you have 50 mg of ketamine stuffed in your pockets, like hell you will."
She yelled out as another spasm of pain shook her.
"Tenten," Neji spoke softly, and she realized it may as well be the first time he did. "I could carry you to the Manor, but you'll be more in pain if we wait to reduce than if we do now."
She hit the snow in frustration. Neji being right was the worst kind of Neji. Oh, how she hated that Neji.
She caught his worried look and couldn't help a small laugh through the hurt. "Look at you; you almost look worried."
Neji gave her a dark look. "Of course, I'm worried, Maito."
She snorted. "If you continue like this, I'll start believing you actually care about me."
"Wouldn't you?" He challenged back. "If the roles were reversed."
She swallowed hard under the intensity of his gaze, searching her own. "Yeah, I would." She finally admitted.
"Take your mitten and bite it," He advised as he prepared his hands on her foot.
"Wait! Wait" She stopped him. "I'll do it. I reduce those at least three times a week."
Neji rolled his eyes. "Really, there is only you to be in such a position and yet still be a pain in the ass of the person trying to help you."
She bit back her retort, knowing he was not wrong.
"We need a strong traction to reduce it, and you wouldn't be able to do that on your own ankle, mostly that it'd be better if you held your leg against the force I'm going to apply."
Tenten breathed heavily. "Fine, fine, do it." She held her knee.
"Okay." He gave her a last look. "One, two…"
"AH! MOTHER-"
"All done," He went back to palping her ankle, and she let her back fall back in the snow, exhausted from the pain of it all.
"It doesn't look broken." He assured her. "Can you walk on it?"
When he was satisfied with the seven steps he took, he called her back.
"The manor is just down the hill." He pointed to the pale grey rocks in the distance. "It's about a fifteen minutes walk. I'll carry you."
"Like hell, you will." She laughed sarcastically. "I can walk just fine. It has no signs of fracture."
"Yes, but if you walk, it'll get more swollen. Your tendon took a hit with the trauma. Better not use your foot until we can give you ibuprofen and put some ice on it."
It really wasn't up for discussion because the next thing she knew, he was lifting her up bridal style.
"Neji!" She gasped, tapping on his shoulder. "Neji! Put me back down this instant."
"Can you just-" He looked at her irritated and immediately lost his breath.
Fucking Tenten Maito, as pretty as ever, in his arms, an inch away from his face and all the naughty things her lips did to him last night, said lips only a tilt of head away from his.
"Just stay still," He muttered under his breath, looking away.
"Fine," She relented, herself was shaken by the moment that just passed. She wrapped her arms around his neck to help him have a better grip. He tossed her up a bit to rearrange his hands around her waist her knees, holding her closer and more firmly to him.
"Neji! Neji!" They turned around to see Asahi going down the hill.
"The hell just happened," Neji growled at the other man, and Tenten almost cowered.
So this was Neji when he was genuinely furious? So what had she made him all those years? Because right now, she was scared for Asahi.
"It's my fault," She intervened. "He told me to go left, and I went right."
"I tried catching up to her. She went faster than I thought she'd go for a beginner. Then I lost her, and I speed down the Gentle Slope, not thinking she'd have gone right to the Devil's Drop."
"Well, you thought wrong," Neji spat in Asahi's direction. "And you," He turned to her big brown eyes. "Can you, for once in your goddamn life, listen to someone? Why do you make it so hard to just keep you alive?"
Tenten blinked a few times, unsure of how she felt at all the rage pouring out of him. That only showed how scared he was for her and her belly was on fire again. Mostly so securely nested in his arms. His hold was stronger and sturdier than anything she had ever known and safer than she had ever felt.
"I'm sorry." She mumbled back, and he seemed to relax a bit.
"Could you bring the skis and snowboard back to the manor?" He asked the other man, more gently.
"S-sure!" Asahi followed their steps.
December 21st - 11:08
Hiashi snickered, and his brother sighed.
"You know," Hizashi started. "When you told me you wanted to convert one of the turrets into an astronomy tower, I was so proud of you. Finally, a hobby outside the company." He shook his head. "If I had known, you'd use the telescope to spy on our kids, though..."
"Oh, step off your high horse Hizashi." Hiashi admonished, his eyes still glued on the telescope's eyepiece. "I know you're dying just as much as me to see what they're up to."
"Fine," Hizashi admitted, closing his book and getting up his sofa to join his brother near the telescope.
"Look down there," Hiashi moved so his twin could see. "That's Hinata and Naruto, aren't they so cute? She ice skating for him."
"That's indeed adorable," Hizashi fondly said.
Then a noise coming up the mountains alerted them both.
Hiashi quickly took the telescope back and pointed it towards the Devil's Drop. "Oh no, that stupid girl." He gasped.
"What, what is it?" Hizashi asked, alarmed.
"Tenten's headed for the Devil's Drop!" Hiashi almost yelled.
"WHAT!" His brother shouted in shock. "She can't make it if-"
"Neji!" Hiashi exclaimed. "Neji's going after her!! He got her and not they're toppling over the snow and-"
"We should go find them right now. Maybe they need assistance or-"
"No, I can see Asahi going down after them." Hiashi moved the telescope lower. "Neji and Tenten are both okay. He's helping her get up…. Oh! OH!!"
"What is it now?" Hizashi's heart was beating fast.
"This is so cute!" Hiashi's voice went up an octave. "He's carrying her like a bride."
"Let me see!" Hizashi pushed his twin. "They have no right being that adorable."
Hiashi pushed his twin back. "They're walking back home. Let's wait for them downstairs."
December 21st - 11:37
Soon Neji, Tenten and Asahi reached a minor road not far from the house.
"You're heavier than you look like, Maito." He teased her once they stepped on the road.
Her heart released a tension she didn't know it had been holding once she saw him smile.
"It's all muscles," She smiled back.
She was relieved to see they could still go back to their usual banter. In a way, Neji was a source of comfort when he teased her mercilessly.
"I'd argue," He smirked and looked at her. "That it's all the audacity you carry with you."
She snorted and hid her face in his scarf, not wanting him to see her laugh.
He tsked at her. "Just admit you find me funny."
She would have lied if she said she didn't love how his grave voice resonated in his thorax when she kept her ear pressed against his coat.
"You have your moments," She admitted.
He would have lied if he said he didn't love the way her head rested on his shoulder, how she snuggled in his arms so perfectly against him.
"I can carry Ms. Tenten for you if you want, Neji!" Asahi offered from behind.
"No!" Came both their swift replies.
They looked oddly at each other before Neji answered first to Asahi.
"No, it's okay." He said in a clipped tone. "She's my girl-"He shut his mouth, his jaw all tensed up. "She's my guest." He rectified.
"Oh, o-okay." Asahi replied.
Neji gave a questioning look to Tenten.
"I mean," She tried justifying her own objection. "You're the one who dragged me here. It seems only fitting that you have to carry the burden."
Neji laughed, the sound pure and true. "Oh, Maito. You're not a burden," His soft eyes landed on hers, and her breath caught up in her throat. "You're a calamity." He finished by saying, his lips stretching in a silly grin.
Tenten couldn't help it. She burst out laughing alongside him. The laughter was only caught short when they arrived in front of the manor and heard someone call for Neji.
He looked up to see his uncle waiting for them at the door.
"Oh dear, oh dear." He heard his uncle mutter, and a swarm of maids came to their aid.
"It was your idea, wasn't it?" He threw his uncle a reproachful glare once Tenten was safely brought inside.
"My, my. Neji." His uncle smiled. "You never get mad at me. She must be quite someone for you to worry over her."
Neji's glare hardened. "She could have been severely hurt."
Hiashi's smile disappeared, and his tone was more remorseful. "I know. I know. Thank God then," He gave a fond look in direction to his nephew. "That your fates are more intertwined than you thought they were."
A/N: Merry Christmas/Happy holidays everyone! I'm trying to update as fast as I can during the holidays so it stay in thematic, but it's taking longer than I anticipated because ideas keep rushing to my head every time I start writing. This chapter was not even supposed to exist, but I couldn't resist, it was too funny in my head. Hope you enjoyed it!