Christmas Chaos
Chapter 10: The Yule Ball
December 24th - 9:03 AM
To say it was a miracle that Tenten and Neji made it in time for their flight was an understatement.
It was not the fact they were lucky enough to quickly find a parking space in the long-term section. It was neither how they ran, Neji pushing their trolley furiously as Tenten ran right behind him with her backpacks. And alas, it wasn't that Tenten knew exactly where to go through Konoha's giant airport maze since she had flown to Suna countlessly since she had moved to Konoha.
No, because even with all of that, they had still arrived three minutes late and the flight attendant was closing her registration desk.
So, if truth be told, and Tenten started really hating the truth, they made their flight because Neji had shamelessly flirted with said flight attendant until she accepted to make an exception for them.
And truth be damned, this had angered Tenten beyond measure. Worst of it all, she was angry that it made her angry so it was like an endless anger cycle she put herself through. Infinite anger she had to swallow with a smile because otherwise, bye-bye Suna, bye-bye seeing her family and bye-bye making her ex regret treating her like shit.
Was it how he had smiled and spoken so charmingly at the lady? Because why did she never get this side of Neji? The side that was handsomely looking straight at, with a fleeting seductive smile and that pronounced her name like it was honey on his lips? Why did she never get the Neji that made her feel like the only girl in the world when he talk to her? The one that smiled so seductively, your knees were jello? Instead, all she got, was frustrating asshole arrogant Neji who told her all the time she was an annoying little shit.
Fine, he was flirting with said woman on her behalf so they wouldn't miss the last flight to her hometown.
Fine, she did deserve the 'annoying little shit' title after all she put him through - in retaliation to his outburst, she'd like to remind, since he started it first.
And fine, fine, fine, why would she even care what side of Neji she got anyway? Not that she gave a flying shit anyway.
Then, why did her hair stand up when he mentioned she was his half-sister.
From fake future wife to fake sibling, real quick. She thought bitterly.
And the worst was Neji noticing her sour mood as they crossed security and it's not like she could defend herself, when in the middle of the crowded hallway leading to their gate, he suddenly turned around, blocking her path.
"Ok, spill." He was less than five centimeters away and his neck was bent to bore into her raised eyes inquisitively. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," She answered in a clipped tone, looking away.
"You seem mad," He did not relent.
Her lips remained firmly pressed in a thin line until she allowed: "I'm great, I'm just tired. We didn't get to sleep last night."
Her tone was a bit too sharp for someone simply tired and it was the summit of audacity to say that to the man who drove all night through raging snow.
Oh god, she hated it. She hated it more than the truth itself when his concerned expression slowly morphed into a smug one.
"Are you jealous, Maito?" He smirked at her.
"Excuse me?" She gave him an incredulous stare, trying to mask her own raging emotions. "I think you're more sleep-deprived than I am." She shoved him out of her way to walk faster to the door.
He caught up without effort. "You are." He smiled wickedly and she could swear real fumes would come out of her nose anytime now.
"Don't be silly, Hyuga." She gritted, preparing her passport as they reached the gate with only a couple of people left in the line to board their flight.
"Hi," Neji spoke for the both of them, showing their tickets. He then proceeded to wrap an arm around her shoulders and bring her closer. "This is for my wife and me."
Tenten choked on air, swiftly turning to look at him until she turned back and stared at the bewildered flight attendant, the exact same woman he had flirted with at the boarding desk earlier.
She gave them their tickets and passport back stunned.
"Are you out of your goddamn mind, Hyuga," She shrugged off from his embrace and wondered what non-slicing items in her backpack she could use to wipe off his victorious smirk.
"I didn't want you to be in a bad mood for the next three hours flight." He shrugged.
"And you thought telling the woman, to whom you said I was your step-sister by the way, that we are married is the way to go?" She glared at him.
Neji raised his eyebrows. "It was the same woman?"
"Can I see your tickets, please?" Another flight attendant asked them.
"She's my wife," Neji repeated, smiling at the lady.
Now, Tenten was about to throw him overboard. He did this to spite and it was… oddly charming?
No, no, no.
And why did the flight attendant blush at a man who just claimed he was married? Tenten shook her head, she was about to explode from all the warring emotions in her, but she was about to board a plane and it is bad form to keep explosive materials with you when boarding a plane; though she couldn't just leave years worth of pent-up tension and recently complicated relationship with her coworker-turned-she-couldn't-name-it-yet over the holidays at the door now could she? Cause if she could, she would have locked it in a triply secured steel chest and thrown it in the sea.
"Yes, Neji." She finally gritted back seconds after his question, while he was storing their backpacks in the overhead bin. "It was the same woman," She slid through their row to settle down in her window seat. "How could you not notice?"
She was gorgeous. Tenten thought.
Bright blue eyes, long flowy blond hair, perfect pouty lips. Not the kind of face someone forgot.
Neji shrugged, coming to sit down next to her. "I don't know, I didn't really pay attention, I was kind of busy making sure we made it on this flight." He replied snarkily.
"Whatever," She muttered.
"She's my wife," He repeated, smiling at another flight attendant going down the aisle to check on passenger's seat belts.
The flight attendant nodded, not exactly sure what to do with that information. "Congratulations," He chirped, his professional smile on while moving further down.
"What the hell is happening with you?" She gave him a shocked look.
Neji simply smirked back. "I wouldn't want you to get all jealous and crash this plan with your magnetic aura of hate."
She nudged him with her elbow. "Stop that!" She urged him. "Stop it, right now."
He simply laughed and she fumed a bit more before realizing she could have her fun too.
"Just admit you like calling me that," She gave him a smug smile.
She was deterred when his smirk didn't falter and he simply turned to look at her.
"And what if I do?" He challenged her back.
And damn her tongue for being so thick and useless and simply stammering her disbelief.
Neji's smirk grew deeper at her fluster before reaching down his pocket and pulling out his sleep mask. "Good Night, Tenten"
Of course, Neji knew he was acting rather unusual and out of his natural ways. But there was something about Tenten Maito that made him tap more in his childish, playful teasing side. Side he had never known he had until making her life hell became part of his oath to do no harm.
But if Neji was better at one thing other than cutting open and resewing them shut, it was avoidance. So he carefully avoided the one thing that rung in his head since his grandmother had pulled him apart just before Tenten and he exited Hyuga Manor hours ago in the dead of the night.
"Neji," His grandmother repeated once he was in front of her. "You're going to Suna?"
"Yes, grandmother." He replied, perplexed that his grandmother chose to wake up at this hour to bid him farewell. "We're going to try and pull the same strategy for Tenten." He smirked.
The old woman chuckled before reaching for the ring in her pocket to hand it to Neji, raising her hand to stop his bubbling protests. "It's yours now." She told him, her eyes glistening with emotions Neji couldn't pinpoint.
"I promise, grandmother," He took her hand. "That next time a woman wears your ring it won't be a masquerade."
"Like I told you, Neji." Grandma Sayuri cupped the cheek of her grandson, her lips stretched in that secret smile of hers. "You're a fool if you think I can't tell whether or not you're in love with that girl."
Before he could reply she pushed him to the door. "Hurry up, you know how your uncle gets about wanting to spend the holidays with you." She winked.
Neji let the darkness graciously provided by his sleep mask lead him through the blessed oblivion of sleep. One thing he was not going to think about was Tenten freaking Maito, and how good she looked with his grandmother's ring on her finger.
December 24th - 9:45 AM
Of course, Neji Hyuga slept prettily. Even with a mask on, he was handsome and for someone that had claimed twice he was married to her, he still received too many looks to Tenten's liking.
The poor girl he's gonna end up marrying will need to have zero jealousy gene in her body, Tenten thought.
"Would he like another cover?" The flight attendant asked for the third time.
Tenten rolled her eyes, they had already covered him up five minutes after they took off and reached cruising speed. And from the three nights they slept together, Tenten knew Neji preferred cold temperatures whereas she preferred warm ones. They even fought the first night because Neji wanted to open the window and she wanted to crank up the heating to 27 celsius degrees.
"No," She smiled. "My fiancé is good."
Maybe if she claimed it too they would stop coming around every seven minutes like clockwise.
"Oh, you are engaged! Wow! I-" The flight attendant was at a loss. "I mean, congratulations! Then," She handed her the blanket. "For you then?"
Tenten graciously accepted the blanket, hoping her melatonin gummies would soon kick in so she could rest a bit, unlike Neji who simply needed to close his eyes to fall asleep like a charm.
Gosh, he was too damn perfect. That asshole.
She watched the clouds drift by, reminding her of snow-coated mountains and lakes she already missed and her hands automatically opened her phone in flight mode. She read and re-read the last message Hyuga Hiashi had sent her just before they made it to the airport.
Message from Hiashi to you: Hiashi sent you a photo.
Message from Hiashi to yo: Looking cute.
She shuddered seeing the picture of her soundly asleep, her head on a cushion in Neji's lap, curling under in a blanket thrown over her while he seemed engrossed reading something on his ipad. She didn't know why, but this text, coming from Hiashi, almost felt like a menace.
She cringed at the thought, yesterday's events. It was just under twenty-four hours ago after they had all settled in the family's living room and Tenten had borrowed one of their books. She had become so used to sitting down next to Neji that it didn't even cross her mind to sit anywhere else now. And Somewhere between being full to the brim after their lunch and the lulling, blazing fireplace; Tenten had dozed off.
Contrarily to Neji, Tenten was not a pretty sleeper. If Neji woke up like Sleeping Beauty, upon waking, she looked more like a mammoth brought from extinction. Her hair always ended up in a frizzy mess, her mascara streaked, she most often than not drooled and her eyes were puffy and hard to open.
"Looked like you really needed sleep." It was Neji that had woken her up from her nap in their living room. She sat up straight right away when she noticed how she was sleeping.
"Looked quite cozy too," Hizashi smiled innocently from the couch in front of them, cozily talking with Shizune.
Neji smirked.
She was about to say something to defend herself when she noticed what he was reading on his ipad.
"Neji," She gave him a stern look. "Are you kidding me?"
"What?" He took his glasses off and Tenten only now notice he wore glasses for reading and they suited him exquisitely well, like everything else he sported.
"It's the holidays, for God's sake, Neji and you're reading articles Pubmed?" Tenten reprimanded, squinting to read the title of his chosen study. "Laparoscopic appendectomy performed by junior surgeons: impact of 3D visualization on surgical outcome. Randomized multicentre clinical trial by Botteri, Ortenzi and all?" She glared at him.
Neji shrugged, closing his laptop. "Trying to lobby Tsunade so she grants us money for 3D medical education equipment for our residents."
Tenten's mouth dropped. "We don't even have enough plaster so our resident can practice and you're asking for fine technology for yours?"
He smirked. "You snooze, you lose, Maito."
Tenten rolled her eyes. "Whatever, that's Naruto's problem, he's the one in charge of the newbies."
"What's my problem?" Naruto called from a chess game he was playing, well losing really, against Hiashi.
"Nothing." Tenten waved it off.
"Ha!" Hiashi exclaimed. "Checkmate!"
"Not again!" Naruto groaned.
"Well," Hiashi got up. "No time to beat you again I'm afraid. Time to get ready for the Yule Ball."
"The what Ball?" Tenten asked.
"The Yule Ball." Neji repeated uselessly.
Tenten rose up, pointing an accusing finger at him. "I'm sorry but this was nowhere in the thirty-eight pages essay you gave me. I know, I memorized every comma of it!"
Neji grinned. "That's fair, I didn't include it in. Thought that after that engagement party you'd have run to Suna and told me to meet you there."
Tenten looked at him, mouth agape. "That was a possibility."
"You toughed it out, soldier. Proud of you." Konohamaru clapped his shoulder, passing her by to go sit next to Hizashi.
"Well, in any case." She gave him a cold gaze. "I have nothing else to wear than that black dress you deemed suitable enough just for casual tea and my pajamas. So really, joke's on you."
"Don't worry about that onee-chan." Hanabi came to the living room, closely followed by Hinata.
"I messaged Haepo's local tailor earlier this week, giving her your picture, jean size and bra size; and she agreed to whip you up something." Hinata smiled at her friend. "I'm glad you woke up Tenten, Fu should be here any second now so we can try out our dresses."
"You messaged Fu?" Neji sprang from his seat.
Tenten's confusion by Neji's reaction must have been evident because Hanabi smirked at her :
"She's Neji-nii-san's first girlfriend when he was still a teenager. They went to prom and all. They dated three years, more than any other girl."
Tenten didn't want to acknowledge why, but this news seemed to squeeze her heart in pain. In the darkest pit on her mind, she thought she may have something a bit more special with Neji. After all, when he talked about his other exes, he always seemed so emotionally detached. It was probably a lot of wishful thinking to believe the last days they had spent together made anything more than platonic courtesy bloom.
"Don't worry Tenten," Hinata giggled. "She's not a competition for you."
"Thank God for that," Hanabi raised her eyes to the ceiling. "Most irking woman in all the realm of the Fire Nation. Her designing skills are her only redeeming quality, really."
"I never understood why you hated her so, Hanabi?" Hizashi questioned.
"It's Hanabi, uncle." Konohamaru deadpanned. "Does she need any reason to hate someone she deems dislikable?" He asked rhetorically, earning himself a cushion thrown at his face from his fiancée.
"True," Hizashi agreed.
"No, she is simply too…" Hanabi purled her lips in disgust. "Happy. Like honestly, nobody is that happy and well-balanced in life, it's just sociopathic behaviour."
"Neji? In a relationship with someone that is always happy?" Tenten seemed more shocked by the fact the woman he had dated for three years was a happy one than the length of their relationship.
Hinata giggled again and Tenten felt like there was a joke she was missing.
"Hello, everyone!" A blue-haired girl came swarming in the living, raising her arms, hands full of elegant bags. "Oh, wow!" She squealed. "All the Hyugas in one place, I must be dreaming!" She opened her mouth, silently screaming from extase.
"Oh, fuc-." Hanabi grumbled before Hinata clasped her hand over her little sister's potty mouth.
"We're so glad to see you, Fu!" Hinata grinned, delighted to see an old friend from town.
When Fu's amber eyes finally settled on Tenten, she ran past everyone and nearly crashed into the brown-haired woman, taking her hands in hers. "Let's be friends, Tenten-chan!" She shouted, eyes gleaming. "No! BEST-FRIENDS. I have heard so much about you! The town is buzzing with your intervention at Hanabi's engagement party!"
"Don't pronounce my-" Hanabi wanted to spit but was cut off again by her sister's hand that firmly stayed in place over her mouth even though she had tried to lick and bite it away.
"Well," Hiashi rose, dizzied by the commotion. "The mood in this room suddenly became… too cheerfully positive." He started walking out of the room. "I'll be in my study with a good glass of scotch."
"Wait," Hanabi called after her father. "Pour me one too." She turned to look at Fu. "Dry." She turned again to give her a last glare. "A triple."
"Aw," Fu raised a hand over her heart. "It was nice to see you Hanabi-chan!" She waved merrily.
"Fuck off," The younger woman grunted back.
"Aw," Fu repeated fondly, enlacing Neji's arm. "I think she's starting to warm up to me."
Tenten's mouth was left hanging open, she looked incredulously, back and forth, at Fu and the empty doorway where Hanabi had departed.
"See," Neji muttered to her.
Tenten raised her brows. "No shit you were disconcerted when I told you she was adorable."
Neji gave her a pointed look. "That's how Hanabi usually greets people she meets for the first time. But God knows why with Fu it stayed and God knows why with you it didn't happen."
"Well, in any case, it was very nice to meet you, Fu." Hizashi smiled at her. "I'll go upstairs and prepare with Shizune. Have fun!" He winked.
It didn't take long for Fu to turn from Hizashi to Neji and hug the latter in a bones crushing embrace.
"I have missed you so much!" She squealed and went into a fifteen minutes speech recalling their shared childhood memories, their three summers of love in Haepo, their long-distance relationship in between these summers, each other's proms they went to and all the things she knew by heart of Neji.
Tenten positively wanted to throw up. And unwillingly, she winced everything he smiled, or worse, laughed back. She, too, wanted that power to make him smile by the mere remembrance of a souvenir. It felt somehow humbling and disheartening she knew next to nothing of Neji's little quirks. Like that he didn't like green olives but was fine with the black ones. Or that his favourite book was Soldat Peaceful. Or that he cried when he saw The Notebook for the first time because it had reminded him of his grandfather.
The more Fu talked, the more Tenten felt uneasy until she eventually had to stop Fu from talking.
"Oh wow," Tenten breathed out, interrupting Fu as she was about to tell her about how she lost her virginity to Neji and noticing the bright grin of Konohamaru who must have been reading her troubled mind a bit too well. "I believe it was a very magical experience," Tenten rose up, feeling suddenly all heated up. "I'm parched. Anyone else parched? I'm going to the kitchen."
She quickly departed hoping for some fresh air and alone time to recalibrate her racy heart and fuzzy thoughts that screamed the j-word back at her.
Too bad, too sad, Fu quickly followed her out of the room, on her heels, before linking her arm with hers.
"I'll come with you, Tenten-chan!" She then proceeded to guide her through the tricky hallways of Hyuga Manor as if she had lived there her whole life.
Neji, Hinata, Naruto and Konohamaru had followed suit. Neji more out of worry while the others simply thoroughly entertained.
Tenten looked desperately at all the similar wooden doors hoping to remember against all hope the one that would open one of the three fridges contained bottled water.
"Here!" Fu jumped to the right one immediately, giving her the bottle she so needed.
She almost didn't drink it, out of spite, at seeing Fu so comfortable and knowledgeable of where Neji lived. Suddenly, Tenten felt light-years away from the man she had slept with and almost fooled. He had held her so preciously… They had even pretended to being married in front of his whole family. She would have at least hoped that made her special in his eyes or something, but it didn't.
"Anyway, as I was saying, Tenten-chan," Fu continued, sitting on the kitchen counter's stool, right next to Neji. "The first time we did it," She laughed, tapping Neji's knee.
Tenten couldn't take her eyes away from that hand she wanted to rip and that traveled up to his chest and simply rested there as if she owned him. "Well, it was my lesbian-awakening!" Fu finally spat out and Tenten's eyes darted right back up to Fu's gleaming eyes.
"L-lesbian awakening?" Tenten managed out and it was more than the two cackling hyenas that Naruto and Konohamaru could take to not burst out laughing.
Neji groaned, throwing his head back and covering his face with a hand. "You have to stop just blurting it out to people, Fu."
Was it suddenly hot in here? Because Tenten's mouth felt drier than Suna's desert. She greedily drank from her water bottle while Fu ignored Neji and immediately jumped to link her arm again with Tenten's.
"You know, I taught him everything I know about cunnilingus." She smiled mischievously and Tenten spat out her water on the counter.
"I-I beg your pardon?" She looked bewildered at the fashion designer.
"His" She wiggled her tongue. "They come from me."
"FU!" Neji stood up, furiously blushing.
Well, that's a first.
"So, did he make me proud?" She nudged Tenten.
Said girl was so stunned, so befuddled under the insisting stare of the most unrelenting woman she had ever know, and counting Ino that said a lot, Tenten found no other answer than:
"Huh, yeah, no h-he's g-great." She stammered.
"He is?" Fu asked, brightly.
"I am?" Neji mumbled, dumbstruck by the way the conversation.
"I mean … you… I" Tenten was at a loss of words.
"Yeah … I… I mean you… well…." Neji scratched the back of his neck.
"I'm happy you liked it," Neji finally said after what seemed an eternity of staring at each other and stuttering verbless sentences.
I'm happy you liked it!?
"Well, thank you for your service." Tenten blurted out.
What. WHAT.
"Well, not to flex…" Fu slowly broke their awkward dialogue, eying them both warily. "But as an empath…" She let go of Tenten's arm to wave her hands around. "I'm sensing some kind of tension here."
"Ya think?" Naruto replied sarcastically, leaning on the counter a couple of meters away. "Anyway, weird blue-haired girl-"
"Fu," She grinned at him.
"Yes, Fu," Naruto began again, grinning mischievously. "Tell us more about how Neji was your lesbian-awakening."
"Well," She said matter-of-factly. "Neji does irradiate bi-wife energy." She gave another look at the couple and smiled seductively at Tenten. "So do you, Tenten-chan, actually." She took a business card out of her bra and handed it to the girl. "If Neji is your awakening too, give me a call."
Neji swiftly took the card away and tucked it in the back pocket of his pants. "That won't be necessary." He glared at the girl and she replied with a knowing grin.
"Well, anyhow!" She clapped her hands. "Neji was much more androgyne looking back when we were teenagers. Wish you could have seen him."
"Oh! We still have photo albums." Hinata suggested.
"DID SOMEONE SAY PHOTO ALBUMS?" Hiashi yelled from his study.
"WAIT FOR ME!" Hanabi shouted next and before they knew it, they were seated at the kitchen table going through old albums much to Neji mortification.
"Neji, did you ever smile when you were a kid?" She looked at him.
Hizashi sighed. "No, he did not. It was all very problematic. Couldn't put pictures of him in my office out of fear people would call children protection services on us."
"Oh, my." Tenten commented, turning the page. "OH. MY. GOD." She screamed before bursting into the loudest laughter possible.
Naruto snatched the album from her hands and immediately had the same reaction before Neji closed the damned album and held it securely in his hand.
"We were twelve and Hanabi, Hinata, and Fu absolutely wanted to go to that convention. They blackmailed me into doing it with something more compromising." Neji explained, trying to keep his cool.
"More compromising than cosplaying a Sailor Moon squad with your cousins and friend?" Naruto asked, still shaking from laughter.
"Well, I had no idea my uncle would find a way to take a picture and print it." Neji turned to glare at his smiling uncle.
"You make a very pretty Sailor Mars, Neji." Tenten commented under his glare.
The girls then started recounting the day and how Neji was so popular with boys they nicknamed him Nejiko by the end of the day.
Tenten smirked. "I like it, Ne-ji-ko." She took pleasure in pronouncing each syllable of the name and seeing Neji seeth a bit more each time.
It turned out, one hour later, that Hanabi was right. If Fu had one quality it was her designing skills. Tenten felt so elegant yet sexy in the long red dress with her bare back covered only in red laces. And judging from Neji's lingering look, he was not immune to the dress either.
"My, my, Tenten." Fu gave her another seductive smile. "If I had known you were so hot, I would have used less fabric for your dress!"
Tenten giggled, she must admit she liked this turn-table situation and having Neji be the one bothered by Fu seduction tactics on her.
"Look at those." She cupped Tenten's breasts and the brunette gasped. "I could have added so much more cleavage to that dress."
"Ok, that's enough, Fu." Neji snapped, angrily taking her hands away. "You cannot just fondle people's breast, Fu."
Fu raised a brow. "You're just jealous cause I can and you can't."
"That is preposterous." He spat back.
"So…" Tenten decided to cut in. "What's that Yule Ball?"
"It's Haepo's Christmas Ball that the Hyugas have hosted since forever," Fu explained, her merriness back.
"Oh," Tenten said.
"It's grandiose," Fu assured her.
And indeed it was, there were a million lights sparkling around the room and desserts filled the tables for the younger ones while music filled the dancefloor for the older ones. Tenten was so glad Hinata had thought of asking Fu to make her dress because otherwise, she would have been severely underdressed.
Tenten does not remember the last time she had enjoyed a Christmas Ball so much, not that those were lacking in the social functions during the holidays she had to attend with her family and best friend. But the Yule Ball was something else, and twirling in the arms of Neji Hyuga for almost all evening and drinking champagne and laughing at Neji's expense in his arms certainly helped her be in a cheerful mood. Suddenly, she was glad for those dance classes she had taken when she was younger, though she was clearly not as agile in dancing as he was. Obviously, he must have been trained from a young age.
"You need to let me lead, Tenten." He whispered against her ear, smiling at her stubornness.
She shook her head, provocatively at that, he might add. "Make me." Her eyes dug in his.
It was near 2AM and the ballroom was slowly emptying itself out. Fu came to bid her goodbye before she left.
"Tenten-chan!" She squealed, taking the brunette's face in both her hands. She was clearly drunk. "It was so nice meeting you, Tenten-chan! You're so pretty, I could just-"
And what happened next was truly out of anyone's control. Fu just crashed her lips against Tenten's, kissing her wildly before Neji dragged her away by her forearm, leaving a stunned Tenten behind.
"Are you out of your mind?" Now Neji was beyond pissed.
"What?" Fu pouted. "The Russians do it all the time."
"You can't just kiss people and pretext it's because of old traditions - that we don't even know if they're still practiced anymore-, based on a culture that isn't yours." Neji gritted through clenched teeth.
"You've become…" She threw him an assessing glance. "Such a man."
Neji rolled his eyes knowing full well this was the closest to an insult he could get from Fu.
"I'm asking Kyo to drive you home." He muttered before turning around. "And you, go get ready, we leave in less than an hour for Konoha's airport."
Tenten couldn't help but chuckle at seeing Neji so protective of her. Even now as the memories faded away and the pilot's voice grizzled through the speakers of the plane, Tenten couldn't help but, chuckling at her first kiss with a woman.
"What are you laughing at?" Neji raised a brow.
He had just returned from the bathroom and was buckling his seatbelt in preparation for their landing.
Tenten blinked at Neji's new outfit. Cream coloured lin pants with an oversized short-sleeved black blouse. She wanted to die. Of course, he had prepared himself accordingly to Suna's climate unlike her with Haepo's. And of course, he looked like a Versace model doing so.
"Fu's kiss." She decided to answer his question, knowing anger would come right back once she brought the memory back.
As expected, Neji glared at her.
"Oh come on," Tenten did something she never thought she'd do so easily. She hugged his waist. "You know you're the only woman for me," She winked, grinning maniacally. "Ne-ji-ko."
December 24th - 1:13
Tenten should have prepared Neji better, really after all the detailed explanation, she should have told him about it. She did tell him all about his uncle and aunts, but somehow she forgot to talk about her parents in more depth.
She should have told him they were huggers. But not simply huggers, the worst kind. The kind that lifted you off your feet, didn't let you breath, and blabbered endlessly about how welcome you are in the family.
She should have also told him they kiss both his cheeks, as was customary in Suna.
Well, she should have, but to Tenten's defense, the hilarious traumatized reaction of Neji was worth her silence.
"Oh my gosh, Gai." Tenten's mother turned towards her husband. "Here, let me do a live of me reuniting with Tenten and presenting her boyfriend."
'A live?' Neji mouthed her.
Tenten was about to respond but her mother was already sprinting towards exactly like she did the first time she had actually come out of the arrivals door.
"Tenten, my love!" She shouted loud enough for the camera.
"Put your arm over her," Tenten's mother whispered to Neji who immediately obliged while Gai Maito approached the trio.
At the same moment, one of the flight attendants from their flight caught up to them.
"Oh thank the heavens," She was out of breath. "I found you. You dropped down this in the airplane." She gave Neji his grandmother's ring back that must had slipped out of his pocket when he changed clothes. "And congrats again on your engagement, you're a lovely couple."
Tenten's mouth formed an 'O' and even Neji's showed shock, but nothing compared to the earth-shattering, ear-piercing, glass-breaking shriek that escaped Tenten's mother.
"My daughter is getting married!" She squealed back at the camera still held by her husband while the crowd around stopped to clap at the couple. "This is the best Christmas gift ever!" She told her followers before running back to the appalled couple and hugging them tightly.
Gai ended his wife's Instagram live on that image and ran to scoop the family in a bear hug, welcoming his new youthful son with a booming voice that put his wife's cry to shame.
"CONGRATULATIONS MY YOUTHFUL DAUGHTER!" He added, openly sobbing now to Neji's startled expression.
Both her parents had tears pearling their eyes as Tenten's mother quickly snapped a selfie, and was already writing the caption to go with the picture.
"Hashtag blessed. Hashtag thankful. Hashtag Tis the season for love. Hashtag future mother of the bride. Hashtag surprise engagement. Hashtag Love at Suna airport. Hashtag Suna airport surprise engagement." She muttered before clicking send.
Neji quickly noticed how horrified Tenten was. "Are you ok?" He whispered. "If you're worried about this misunderstanding, we can clear it up."
"You don't understand." Tenten shook her head solemnly, as his the end of days were upon them. "My mom is…" She rolled her eyes, this felt so dumb to say. "My mom is an influencer."
"An influencer?" He repeated, underwhelmed by the magnitude of her confession.
"Yes, an influencer." She repeated. "She's like Suna's Martha Stewart. She even appeared in two seasons of Housewives of Suna's Green Valley."
"Tenten," Neji swallowed with difficulty, slowly piecing together the predicament they were in. "How many followers does your mom have?"
Tenten winced. "Millions."
Neji groaned. "And how many people watch her live."
She shrugged, feeling smaller than ever. "Tens of thousands."
Suddenly both their phones started vibrating with many incoming messages.
Message from Ino to you, Hinata and Sakura: EXCUSE YOU? ENGAGED? TO NEJI HYUGA?
Message from Ino to you, Hinata and Sakura: Ino sent you a video.
Message from Sakura to you, Ino and Hinata: WHAT IS HAPPENING I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO HAD ELOPED!
Message from Ino to you, Hinata and Sakura: YOU WHAT?
Message from Hinata to you, Sakura and Ino: Sakura you eloped?
Message from Hanabi to you: ONEE-CHAN! Hinata just showed me. You made it official with your folks, congrats, you really are taking one of the team. The Hyugas owe you one.
Message from Hiashi to you: When do we get to meet the in-laws?
Message from Hiashi to you: Hiashi sent you a photo.
Tenten looked horrified at the selfie of the smiling twins and by the looks of it Neji must have received a similar amount of messages.
Message from Temari to you: Temari shared a link.
Message from Temari to you: GIRL. YOU GOT SOME EXPLAINING TO DO.
Neji groaned just as much as Tenten did at his own messages.
Message from Kiba to you: DAMN NEJI, I SAID MAKE-UP SEX NOT WEDDING SEX. Though nothing sexier than a lady in white... I'm your best-man right?
Message from Shikamaru to you: Neji, I am actually in Suna and just saw this news of you from my girlfriend.
Message from Shikamaru to you: Shikamaru shared a link.
Message from Shikamaru to you: Please tell me you didn't choose Kiba as your best man. Not that I volunteer, nothing seems more troublesome, but I'm clearly the better choice.
Message from Shikamaru to you: What a drag. Anyway, let's meet.
Message from Father to your group Family: Your relatives in Suna saw this on their feed.
Message from Little Cousin to your group Family: Little Cousin shared a link.
Message from Konohamaru to your group Family: Oh, for real? I made it to the family group.
Message from Little Cousin to your group Family: Don't push it, honey. I'll kick you out myself.
Message from Uncle to your group Family: Well, thanks to that stunt, words have travelled all around the different Hyugas Whatsapp groups. All the way to Jordania where your weird uncle Kiho is excavating some artifacts there.
Message from Uncle to your group Family: If anyone had doubts about your engagement they have all been but quelled.
Message from Naruto to your group Family: Wait I have been added to your family texting group?
Message from Konohamaru to your group Family: Unfair.
Message from Hiashi to your group Family: Don't worry, it's just an incentive for Naruto. Since we are about to meet Hinata's in-laws in not more than two hours.
Both Neji and Tenten closed their phones, the rising amount of texts and even emails from some coworkers had been overwhelming, to say the least.
"Well," Neji said after a long break. "At least now no Hyuga believes we faked our engagement."
"Great," She replied meekly.
"Oh, look!" Tenten's mother raised her phone. "Your video is trending, how sweet! And so is the hashtag LoveAtSunasAirport. I've already received a message from their marketing team and they'd like to sponsor your honeymoon."
"My daughter," Gai bawled. "Growing up so fast."
"Oh dear Lord, Tenten muttered, not believing how a split second caused as much mess, if not more, than all the days at Hyuga manor combined. "This is truly the most chaotic Christmas."
"Won't argue with you there," Neji replied, both of them blankly staring ahead, wondering if there was a single chance in hell they could make it out of this Christmas Chaos unscathed.
So the article's title cited in the chapter actually comes from a real one, here is the exhaustive citation cause this author does not mess with plagiarism:
Botteri E, Ortenzi M, Alemanno G, Giordano A, Travaglio E, Turolo C, Castiglioni S, Treppiedi E, Rosso E, Gattolin A, Caracino V, Prosperi P, Valeri A, Guerrieri M, Vettoretto N. Laparoscopic Appendectomy Performed by junior SUrgeonS: impact of 3D visualization on surgical outcome. Randomized multicentre clinical trial. (LAPSUS TRIAL). Surg Endosc. 2021 Feb;35(2):710-717. doi: 10.1007/s00464-020-07436-4. Epub 2020 Feb 14. PMID: 32060747. E, Ortenzi M, Alemanno G, Giordano A, Travaglio E, Turolo C, Castiglioni S, Treppiedi E, Rosso E, Gattolin A, Caracino V, Prosperi P, Valeri A, Guerrieri M, Vettoretto N. Laparoscopic Appendectomy Performed by junior SUrgeonS: impact of 3D visualization on surgical outcome. Randomized multicentre clinical trial. (LAPSUS TRIAL). Surg Endosc. 2021 Feb;35(2):710-717. doi: 10.1007/s00464-020-07436-4. Epub 2020 Feb 14. PMID: 32060747.
Sorry for the typos and mistakes, I promise I'll review them carefully once I'm done writing this story, or else I'm scared I'm never going to finish. Ok, I know I lied by saying the Maitos were coming in my A/N of chapter 8 (sorry!) but to my defense I did give the two chapters leading to their apparition straight up.
Hopefully, ideas will stop swarming in so I can conclude this story in the next three chapters and maybe an epilogue!
I also apologize for not being able to finish this story for the holidays, I sincerely thought it would only last five chapters, but err, it got out of hand. Oopsie.
As always, your reviews are so encouraging!