Christmas Chaos

Chapter 16 - The Broken Promise

December 27th - 0:35

Neji ignored the rattling of the ice when he brought the glass to his lips with a shaking hand.

He did it, alright? He did what was expected of him.

After a quick shot of brandy, he had joined Tenten back on that stage like a dutiful fiancé. He had held her hand like a lovesick fool as they shared an excited smile when Shikamaru bent on one knee to propose to Temari.

Something told Neji that even if Temari had already been proposed, the emotions of surprise and bliss were still fresh and authentic. She was so in love with his anesthetist friend that she could be proposed to by him a thousand times over and still swoon and harbour tears of joy. She was just this enamoured with the lazy man.

Shikamaru, in return, was just as foolishly grinning at her. Neji knew that he'd propose to her a thousand times over if he had to. He was just this head over heels for the sandy blonde.

As Neji smiled graciously, covering the depth of his turmoil with soft clapping, he had to ignore the pang in his chest.

Would he ever know what it felt to have his unbound love be returned to him so tremendously? So earnestly?

Somehow, he had a hard time believing it could happen to him. He tempted a quick glance towards Tenten, and he could read her so easily already. He almost scoffed at how ridiculously easy she was to read. She didn't even try to hide her emotions from him. Or maybe he had become just too much of an expert concerning everything her.

But she could have at least tried a bit harder, so that evident sadness was not so obvious.

What did she imagine behind those sorrowful eyes of hers?

'We always thought she'd end up marrying her boyfriend, Deidara.'

That's what her old friend said in that article. Neji couldn't be convinced otherwise that Tenten was probably thinking the same. After all, the closer they got to the wedding, the closer Tenten seemed afflicted.

He did what Tenten expected of him. He had smiled politely, hugged the happy, engaged couple as she did, then stayed on the fringe of the gathering crowd and indulged in small conversation with some old friends of hers.

Eventually, the crowd emptied, and Tenten was successfully occupied with other conversations, so he excused himself quickly before her pleading gaze could prevent him from escaping.

Now, his heart felt hollow. The rage gave way to an obscure, heavy feeling. Something between resignation but not quite despair. An acknowledgement of sorts that this was just the way his life was, and he'd eventually grieve those broken reveries and slide back to the comfort and contentment of his life as he had always known it. A calm, gently flowing river, undisturbed by the hectic mess and wild passion she brought into his life.

He could already feel himself breathing better when he returned to the purple velvety high chairs of the bar he had taken refuge to earlier. Nothing fitted his current gloomy melancholy more than the dimly lit bar, fogged up with residual fumes from cigars and hookah smoking in the lounging area.

This late during the evening and after the phenomenal news of the Sand daughter getting married concluded the Sand Ball, the bar area was almost empty. At least the conversations were more hushed than the loud laughter of earlier.

He didn't have to raise his hand very high for the barman to notice him. Neji Hyuga was used to being quickly seen and promptly served, and even if he tried very hard to not act spoiled by the privileges his social standing and looks had given him, some situations made it very hard for him to accept not getting what he wanted when he wanted.

Tenten.

Which made being surpassed by one obnoxious subpar blond man even more frustrating for Neji and his considerable unadmitted ego.

He gave a quick nod to his uncle and A, talking in the corner of the bar. Hiashi and A were like two ends of the same spectrum, both overbearing uncles, but if one was sly and mischievous, the other was hot-headed and brash.

They returned his nod, and Neji ignored how his uncle seemed to have noticed his change of behaviour. Neji seldom looked thoroughly upset or lost his usual indifferent composure.

Back to his glass in hand, the young heir had one goal and one goal only, drowning whatever fire was ablaze in his soul. If he couldn't soothe it with her touch, he'd bury it in lament.

He didn't particularly enjoy this whole self-pity party thing he had going on for himself at the moment, but he didn't see what else he could do given the fact he desperately wanted someone in love with another.

What a great irony for Neji, who had never had to wonder if someone he was interested in would return his affection, only for him to develop such strong feelings for the one person he hated above all and find them to be the one person he couldn't have.

Cruel.

Fate was cruel. She was never supposed to have embedded herself so deep in his mind. It was just unfair to have found someone that fitted so perfectly in his life, that made him feel ways he hadn't thought possible before, only for it to be ripped away from his hands and heart before it actually had a chance to blossom.

Love?

Neji's first reaction would be to deny it. Someone could not simply fall in love that quickly. Or could he? Could he have had feelings, or at least desire for her all those years? He remembered their first physical contact when he had pressed her against a wall, their first year of residency. Seven years ago, maybe that was the first seed. He would lie if he said he hadn't anticipated with a mixture of excitement and amusement the moments they'd stumble on each other when she was on shift at the ER, and he was on call at the OR.

Then their circumstances had changed so quickly over the last few days. Maybe it was all Neji had needed so his feelings could reveal themselves.

Neji took another sip of brandy to sink those miserable thoughts away from his conscience, but as the fiery liquid burned a bit of his anguish, a gritting sound made his skin crawl with disgust and fury.

One voice he had heard earlier for the first time but could unmistakably belong only to one pretentious asshole.

Deidara.

His laugh was like nails on a chalkboard, grating his very nerves. Every decibel coming out of his mouth was like a drop of water torturing him. He was waterboarded by the most insipid man known to mankind. Or that was Neji's humble opinion, anyway.

Neji's hand clenched around his glass as the subject of Deidara's conversation with his friends became evident to the Hyuga, who had tried his damn best to ignore their existence.

"Damn, she still was able to pull a Hyuga." One of his friends snickered. "You gotta be mad about that."

Deidara scoffed at Hidan. "Why should I?"

Neji didn't know if the note of insincerity in the blond's voice should be amusing him or not.

"Cause you look like a child who just got their toy stolen," Sasori replied, blaséd by the whole situation.

Deidara shot him a quick glare before regaining his composure quickly. "I couldn't care less about what that girl chooses to do and with who."

"You liked the girl. Just admit it." Sasori couldn't be bothered to look at his seething friend and instead let his gaze wander over the insipidity of another self-indulgent charity event only the decadent tastes of Suna's crème de la crème could produce. "You liked Tenten back then, but you let yourself be bullied by your douchebag friends and what they thought an attractive woman meant."

"Then," The redhead continued for the sole pleasure of getting under his friend's skin. "When they convinced you to dump her-"

"She was very boring, you gotta admit," Hidan interjected. "We barely saw you at parties when you were with her."

"-you were too much of a coward to break up properly, so you had to cheat on her with the first woman around who could elevate your masculinity." Sasori finished, suppressing a slight sadistic smile at seeing his friend so unnerved by his analysis.

"Why do we even care about her anyway?" Hidan genuinely asked. "She was just a stupid dare we did one night when we were both chilling at Sasori's house?"

"A dare that ended up being a how many years relationship? Remind us, please?" Sasori raised a brow at Deidara, who willingly ignored the rhetorical question.

Instead, Deidara's hazy eyes escaped their drunken stupor in reminiscence. "Completely forgot about that." He turned towards Hidan. "We were bored at Sasori's place, and then…." The drunk man took a break, piecing his memories together. "...His cousin, Temari, had Tenten over for the night. She used to crush on Hidan, so we dared him to go talk to her." The blond smirked.

Sasori rolled his eyes. Tenten's crush on Hidan when she was younger had been a recurrent jab they had used to tease Hidan in their younger years.

"It was the first time we realized she had tits." Hidan mimicked squeezed invisible breasts. "But then this little shit," He grinned at Deidara. "Said he could get her to go out with him before I'd do."

"And I won," Deidara's smirk deepened.

"Tch, I didn't put much effort into this chick anyway." Hidan scoffed. "Though now I regret not having a go at it. I almost broke my neck trying to get a glimpse of her tight ass in that dress." He erupted in a burst of loud laughter. "I'd give her the special Jashin treatment if you know what I mean." He raised his fist so Sasori could pump it.

Neji was about this close to lurching at him. But a stern glare from his uncle at the other side of the bar screwed him back down on his stool. He didn't know what was worse, listening to their garbage conversation or hiding his heartbreak in front of Tenten. Part of him, he'd have to admit, just wanted to stay to get even more reasons to hate the guy.

"Wow, getting a naive 21-year-old in your bed. What an accomplishment, Hidan." Sasori ignored the silly grin and fist pump his friend wanted him to make. Instead, his eyes gleamed in interest at the bent back of one Neji Hyuga not too far from their table and hid the small smile that threatened to erupt.

Hidan shook his head dejected. "Sometimes I wonder if we'd have been friends if it weren't for us growing up together."

Sasori's porcelain expression didn't break as he tore his eyes away from the lone Hyuga to look dully at his friend's sour face. "Probably not," He replied coolly.

"Aw, man," Hidan grinned foolishly at the redhead. "You do be playing around a lot, dude." He punched his arm playfully. "Love you still, bro."

"Anyway," Hidan waved the matter at hand. "In my opinion, you definitely upgraded. Lara is a total banger, way more up your league. Tenten was cute, for sure, but not Lara's level. She got her own job, and you'd have to do the whole family-work conciliation bullshit with her. Never date a doctor. Maybe a nurse, and even then, sometimes they get crazy schedules." Hidan widened his eyes. "Talking from experience, bro. Lara is all about you. You'll never have to set your arts ambitions aside for some chick who wants to have a career too."

Deidara ignored his friends and rising anger by waving his empty whiskey glass to get a waiter's attention.

"Whatever," Sasori's eyes couldn't even begin to portray the depth of boredom he was feeling. "Just proving my point about Deidara's douchebag friends."

"What douchebag friends?" Hidan asked. "We were his friends back then, so you're kind of insulting yourself too."

"Sasori means you and your douchebag fraternity you both were in." Itachi pulled a chair, unbuttoning his tuxedo vest before sitting down.

"Bro," Hidan's pupils expanded more than his toothy grin. "What in Jashin's name are you even doing here? Appearing just like that. Come here!" The old classmate brought an unwilling Uchiha into a hug. "Damn, have you been hitting the gym, bro?" He squeezed his friend's arms.

"I had to make an act of presence." The raven-haired man shrugged himself out of his friend's grasp. "Uchiha Corp is the biggest donor in medical supplies for war-affected areas." Itachi reminded him and sighed at Hidan's clueless face. "This charity ball's purpose is to help raise money and resources for refugees," Itachi added, his cold demeanour betraying a drop of annoyance. "And Izumi wanted to go to the beach with the kids for winter vacation."

Hidan laughed. "Damn, I always forget you're a dad of two toddlers." He gave his friend a pat on the back. "Like I forget this thing is for a good cause. Might as well get another drink then," He winked at his friends. "You know, for the poor people."

Sasori rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure. Getting drunk in the name of charity is the true meaning of Christmas, isn't it." He took his phone. "Nagato says hi, by the way." He looked down at his messages. "He couldn't make it this year. He, Konan and Yahiko are preparing this big case against a textile tycoon mistreating employees or something." He shrugged.

"Wasn't it about how hundreds of employees developed skin conditions because of an unsafe agent used to colour their fabrics or something?" Itachi asked.

Sasori's blank stare met Itachi's. "Yeah, maybe."

"Who cares about them?" Hidan yawned. "Never understood why with all their money, they'd choose to exile themselves in Kiri and do civil law with pro bono cases when they could have stayed in corporate law in Suna. With all the lawsuits and silicon valley startups tearing each other apart: that's where the money is, baby!" The silver-haired man grinned. "But I saw a picture of them in the paper recently. They got a wrongfully accused prisoner out of prison or something? Konan looked smoking hot in that photo. Good for her, keeping it tight after five kids. As far as matrimony shackles go, Yahiko really scored-"

"Will you shut up one day," Sasori sighed.

Itachi chuckled.

"Don't act all mighty," Hidan pointed a finger at Itachi's intention. "You were also one of us when we convinced Deidara to drop Tenten."

Deidara could have strangled his friend for bringing the girl he had tried to forget all evening to the table again.

Neji had almost zoned out of their conversation until Hidan spoke about Tenten again. He was about to pay his tab and leave when Itachi spoke.

"Yes, because Deidara was 28 years old at the time, preying on a 21-year-old," Itachi said as a matter of fact. "Also, Tenten didn't deserve what you'd put her through." The black-haired man cautiously eyed the future groom, unbuttoned the top button of his collar and thanked the server for the bourbon glass.

"And Lara does?" Deidara asked. Even if trying to escape this subject, Itachi's logic eluded him too much to keep his curiosity at bay.

"Lara wants your money, not your love." Itachi stared impassively at his friend's glare. "She doesn't care if you are absent or if you cheat from time to time as long as her social standing doesn't suffer. Which is as good a choice as any to marry someone. As long as both partners are comfortable and honest about it." The Uchiha CEO hissed at his first sip. "Tenten was still a child, thinking you were some sort of true love. You would have broken the poor girl if you'd stayed with her longer. So obviously, I told you to end it, but not for the same reasons as Hidan and the others did."

Sasori raised his eyes from his phone to look at the frozen and guarded expression of Deidara.

"I'm sorry for the bluntness," Itachi said detachedly. "I know you liked her." He added more softly.

"See." Sasori's slight gloat behind his marble expression did not escape Deidara.

"Whatever," The blonde grumbled, trying to find a way to regain composure. "I did not like her, for the record."

Deidara internally winced at how unconvinced he sounded. Like a child throwing a tantrum and claiming he didn't care anyway. Even their designated himbo, Hidan, saw through it and gave him a pitying look.

He gulped the rest of his whiskey like a shot before his face split into a snarky grin. "Plus, who knows what kind of blackmail Tenten has on him."

"Blackmail?" Hidan perked up, leaning in. "You think she blackmailed him?"

Deidara shrugged, happy about regaining control of the situation. Sasori and Itachi exchanged a dubious look.

"What else?" The blonde man twirled his drink as he waved over a couple of his friends who had just entered the bar.

Trying to mind his own business sitting on a bar stool a few metres away from their table, Neji dropped his phone on the expertly polished mahogany bar. He had been successfully distracted by a video of Hinata playing monopoly with Naruto's parents that the blonde had sent in the family group chat. You could see a flustered Kushina cussing about having to yet go to prison while Minato tried to calm her, and Hinata offered to play another less emotionally investing game.

But every time Neji successfully tore himself from the men's conversation, a word or a laugh would draw him back. It made it more and more impossible to fight the urge to ram the man's head in the lounge's deep burgundy victorian-patterned wallpaper.

"She probably found something on Hyuga and made this whole farce of a dating thing. I can't be the only one who thinks they're fake-dating, right?" Deidara smugly smirked. "Otherwise, what does someone like him do with someone like her?" He added, challenging his friends to say otherwise. "Mark my words, they'll probably split when this is all over, and he'll find some trophy wife to replace her. A model or some shit. Maybe I should present him with Lara's sister?" The blonde grinned while the boys laughed.

"Or probably some distant relative?" One of them snickered. "Aren't Hyugas into that sort of thing?"

Hidan burst out laughing. "Damn, bro. You're right. I didn't think about that."

Deidara spread his legs with even more confidence, delighted that a few other friends joined their table and started laughing along with Hidan.

"So it's true," One of the newly arrived guys asked. "You dated Hyuga's finance?"

Deidara smirked. "Dated her?" His eyes glistened. "Oh, I did more than that. Way more. If you know what I mean." He crossed his arms over his chest, enjoying how his five or six friends were hanging on his every word.

Hidan snickered.

"How about we stop here?" Itachi warned. "You've had a lot to drink, and you're getting married tomorrow. It would be wise to call it early tonight."

"Yeah," Sasori agreed. "We already had to carry your lamentable ass after your bachelor party, last weekend. Once is enough."

Deidara ignored them, grinning at the other guys nudging themselves and grinning like a pack of wasted wolves.

"I'll tell you that. Did I like the girl in the past? Maybe, maybe not." Deidara waved the matter away as if he couldn't be less bothered. "Of course, you see an ex and always wonder what if, right?"

Itachi eyed his friend apprehensively. Contrarily to him, the Uchiha entrepreneur was very well aware of their surroundings and was listening to them from afar. And his friend's quality had never included subtlety.

"Do I regret her? I'll tell you what I regret…." He leaned in secrecy, and his friends followed suit. "Her ass."

The group roared in laughter.

"I think that's enough," Itachi whispered while getting up, hoping this would stop the flow of the conversation. Sasori followed suit.

Deidara waved his friend away when he placed it on his shoulder to enjoin him to stop.

"No, let me tell you." The blond continued. "Whenever you slapped her ass, that thing would bounce back for days. That I admit, I do reg-"

Neji didn't know what was louder: the sharp warning from his uncle at the other side of the bar the moment he pushed his stool back, letting it fall to the floor in a cacophonous clatter, or his fist colliding with Deidara's jaw.

"Neji!" He heard his uncle's warning again, but it was of no use in Neji's current state.

Yes, he knew nothing could be solved by violence. He also knew Tenten would hate him behaving like this. And truth be told, he didn't react like this for Tenten's sake or some misguided sense of protecting her honour. No, he knew better than this. It was for his own personal pleasure. If he punched the bastard hard enough, he might have his jaw wired shut and give some respite to the world from his insufferable voice.

The hot-blooded Hyuga would have been able to land another punch as soon as the artist got up if it hadn't been for Deidara's friends holding him back.

Neji made sure no sounds of pain escaped his mouth when Deidara took a swing at his jaw in return.

'Coward.' Neji's anger rushed through his veins like poison as he tried to break out from the grasp of four pairs of hands. He could see his uncle and A tearing through the group of boys.

"I hope you like it when she sucks you off." Deidara angrily whispered an inch from Neji's face contorted in fury. "She learned it from me."

Deidara's sadistic grin was the last little push Neji needed to be entirely overwhelmed by adrenaline and free himself from Deidara's friend's clutches.

Hiashi came one second too late to prevent his riled-up nephew from lurching at the arrogant boy, sending both of them crashing on the round wooden table that shattered under their weight.

"Neji!" Hiashi's sharp warning halted him in his blind rage.

Under the commanding voice of his uncle, Neji's hands helplessly grabbed the bloodied collar of the blond man, who still found it in himself to grin back in pervasive viciousness as blood trickled out of his mouth.

His wrists were shaking, trying to control himself from ruthlessly punching Deidara's gloating face until, finally, his usual cold-blooded rationality took over again, and he let go of his shirt, letting the artist's head fall back on the broken table.

Neji got up and licked his throbbing bottom lip, discerning the unmistakable metallic taste of blood. He passed a thumb on his split lip and threw a last glare at Deidara, who was wiping his bloodstained mouth with his sleeve.

As a safety precaution, uncle A decided to stand in between them.

"Neji," The gigantic man's hoarse voice was a prelude to some darkness the young Hyuga had yet to witness in Tenten's uncle. Somehow, A's stillness was tenfold more terrifying than his habitual hot temper. "Take the car and go. Parking B6."

The dangling car keys produced the only sound in the suddenly and alarmingly silent bar. Everyone could feel and fear the sombre rage emanating from the imposing man. The door had been closed at some point in the dispute. It sealed the less than a dozen men who had been present inside the velvety dim lounge, away from prying eyes and media.

Neji hesitated, still feeling like he had unfinished business here, but in the aftermath of his outburst, his actions' implications had just dawned on him. And if his conscience and disappointment in himself were not enough, the chilling glare coming from his uncle was more than enough to cut his hesitation short.

In one swift movement, Neji took the keys and gave a slight nod to A, who reciprocated it before turning slowly to tower over Deidara, who, even in his drunken state, seemed to start realizing his predicament.

December 27th, 2022 - 1:43 AM

Sure enough, outside the lounge, things went on without a glitch. Still enclosed in the loud music, the rattling chairs and the cacophonic giggles, nobody seemed to be aware that a fight had just taken place a few metres away.

Which was for the best. Neji had no doubt his uncle would find a way to qualm this affair before it reached opportunistic ears. As of now, his uncle's chauffeur and right hand was probably out handing non-disclosure agreement and making veiled threats. Though, if Neji had to bet on it, he was sure uncle A's threatening presence was enough to scare anyone out of talking about anything.

Neji couldn't believe he had let an arrogant ass like Deidara get the best of him. But if he really had someone to blame, Neji knew exactly whose sultry mahogany eyes he could point.

Since he had known her, Tenten has been the eye of a storm of emotions he pained to control. Since he had known this fiery ball of opinions, her gloating little smiles and her soul-crushing eyes, Neji had stopped counting the unusual display of emotions he had lost control over, ranging from fury to abandoned tenderness.

For years he had directed it only as a form of anger or contempt towards her, but the last few days have been eye-opening even if he had tried his damn best to keep them shut.

He was utterly, irremediably, madly in love with Tenten Maito.

His anger towards Deidara may have been a bit misplaced. Don't get Neji wrong, he did not regret one bit serving him what he deserved, mostly with all the appalling things he had sputtered. But if Neji had, to be honest, a part of him was primarily angry at himself.

He had let himself believe a bit too much. He had strayed from reality a bit too much. He thought that maybe his feelings for Tenten were reciprocated, that it could perhaps be the start of something he hadn't dared hope for before.

Love.

Neji felt like throwing up the alcohol he had imbibed. How quickly he became a lovesick idiot, falling head over heels for someone still pining for another.

And pining for who? The most obnoxious jerk Neji had ever met, and that said a lot considering he had to meet his fair share over the years with all the political accolades he had to do and all the mind-numbing conversations with conceited empire heirs he had to indulge in.

Neji was a rational human being. He dealt with each of his problems with implacable logic and cold calculation, which made it even more infuriating that he couldn't use his rule of thumb of life on Tenten.

Tenten.

The angrier he got, the more desperate he was. He just wanted her all to himself one last time, one last moment of losing himself in all of her. His lips travelling her skin, momentarily claiming her land, his fingers brushing through silky-soft hair undone, and her voice. Her voice shackled to his name, whimpering his syllables, calling to him tirelessly, needily. He wanted to know he was the only one she needed.

Was that backwardly possessive of him?

Probably, but he couldn't help it. Which made it all the more scary for him because it was out worldly new to him, not being in perfect control of a situation. Right now, Neji felt the furthest away possible from being in control. He was, in fact, the exact opposite. Primal, animalistic, blinded by rage, and if he had to admit, also lust. Images of

Fuck.

The last thing he needed in this erratic flow of emotions was the very recognizable clacking of heels echoing in this desert parking. He didn't even have to turn around to know to whom this exact cadence of angry steps belonged. Maybe if he walked faster, he'd escape this fate.

"Neji!"

Slim chances.

"Neji!" She repeated. "I know you can hear me."

Her disgruntled voice was a prelude to the unpleasant conversation about to come.

He looked over his shoulders quickly, and the frown, combined with the scowl she was sporting, made it clear he was in for a scolding.

B6.

Neji looked down at the car keys to see what mark A's car was, but Tenten quickly snatched them out of his grasp, gifting him a well-honed glare in the process.

She started the engine, and Neji felt a satisfying primal need to see a slim and shiny black R8 Audi roar back to life. Not that he usually cared what car he drove or not, but at this very moment, Neji wouldn't have said no for a little bit of speed to calm his nerves.

"Wouldn't have taken your uncle for the sports car type of guy." Neji unceremoniously took the car keys back.

"Neji." Her stern voice didn't stop him from opening the car door as if nothing. "You look like shit." She added. The sarcastic tone he had always known her to have was back on, and suddenly he was projected back to the beginning of this ungodly adventure. He couldn't help his smirk.

Tenten couldn't believe him right now. His usually flawless hair was a mess, his bottom lip was bloodied and swollen, his tie was undone, and his shirt was halfway out of his pants, but he still found this situation amusing. It's a miracle, really, that no one at the party noticed anything.

"I've never seen your father this mad before." Tenten's dark tone in her voice let it imply that she was probably just as much.

Neji stopped after opening the driver's door, turning to face her with a frown. "My father?"

"Yes," She thrust her chin a bit higher in defiance and slight pride as she finally got to him. "Your uncle went to talk with Temari's dad to make sure the incident was kept silenced by the media that were present, and your dad happened to be talking with him when your uncle came."

Fuck. Neji swore inwardly, knowing damn well his father could be even scarier than Hiashi when it came to that sort of behaviour.

"Are you drunk?" Tenten whispered, appalled at his lack of reaction.

"I had two drinks. I wouldn't be driving otherwise." He gave her a haughty look, and Tenten was almost admirative at how he could remain so pompous when he should be begging forgiveness for acting like a malodorous ogre.

"Well, you stink of whiskey." She crossed her arms over her chest, not unaware of how childishly petty she must have looked, and Neji thought that with her current cleavage, crossing her arms this way was probably not her best idea. It amazed Neji that under such circumstances, he still found a way to be a boneless mass of needs whenever Tenten was near him.

Tenten shivered in her flimsy dress as Neji's glare rummaged over her body. No one had that effect on her quite as he did. No one made her all hot and bothered with a single look.

Damn, did she hate him.

And damn, did she hate not being able to say she hated him, knowing how much of a lie it was now.

"Let's go home." He commanded, bending down to get in the car.

Tenten scoffed. If she hadn't known Neji so much, his confidence in ordering her around after he had such dismaying behaviour would have revolted her.

"Are you kidding me?" She asked back, astonished. "You've just caused a raucous, got into a fight, and now you have the audacity to give me orders?"

Neji knew the best answer to that would have been to look contrite, but he couldn't help his smirk that quickly faltered when Tenten glared in return and turned around on her heels.

"Tenten!" He shouted after her.

Oh, how the tables have turned. Tenten had been running after him, and now he was doing the same just after wishing he could have been left alone, but he couldn't help it. He craved her with terrifying neediness. He just wanted to keep her beside him and away from anyone else.

But that stubborn girl refused to turn around.

"Tenten!" His voice was now lower and hoarse, and it had just the effect he wanted it to have. She halted her stomping and turned around, still glaring.

"What?" She spat, and Neji couldn't stop thinking about how alluring she was in that dress, even if his life depended on him stopping his thirst for her.

"Get in the car," He maintained his cautionary tone, insolently holding her murderous gaze with one of his own.

"No." She inflexibly grunted back.

"Get in the car." He repeated, his jaw painfully constricted, and Tenten had to fight back the urge to come back straight to him.

And maybe straddle him in her uncle's car seat, but that was a whole other matter Tenten wasn't ready to dive into. Yet.

"For fuck's sake." Neji slammed the car's roof, which startled Tenten. "I'm sorry," He added almost instantly, more softly, and Tenten relaxed.

She was used to Neji's aloofness and iciness, so his new fiery anger was odd to her.

"Let's just go home," He continued, tired. He waited a moment, hesitating, before adding: "Please."

And something in Tenten's stomach lurched at how he said, "let's go home," like they had a home to go to. Together.

Tenten felt like she was tearing on the inside, imagining this life they'd share. This home they'd build the two of them, a cocoon they would retire to when they just wanted the comfort of each other after a long day or a strenuous night.

She sighed and walked back to the car, inwardly content when she saw the tension in his muscles dissipate the closer she got back to him.

December 27th, 2022 – 2:03 AM

Neji drove fast.

Really fast.

Tenten was stuck in her seat, looking furtively over in Neji's direction. He seemed so powerful at the moment, in complete control of a dizzyingly fast engine, expertly swerving in between vehicles.

She was, at the same time, awed and terrified.

All his muscles contracted in a tense focus, and what Tenten imagined to be the remaining ire from his previous fight. This moment oddly gave her nostalgia of their drive from Haepo to the airport. When the simple sight of the veins on his forearms was enough to light a fire in her belly.

Not much has changed.

But this time, Neji didn't turn around, a smirk playing on his lips. He didn't tease Tenten on whether she was enjoying the view.

Not this time, he was instead driving at a dizzying speed, and she wasn't sure if she was supposed to say something or not. Maybe for the first time, Neji was a bit scary.

Not frighteningly scary, but a destabilizing sort of scary. As long as Tenten had known him, she had always been able to figure him out. Neji was clockwork, methodical, and clear-headed. So you could always figure out the next step with him.

Tenten was not so sure about that anymore.

Lights on the highway flew by them like shooting stars, and the sparse cars they'd outrun buzzed right past them.

"You're going a bit fast, Neji." Tenten finally said, inwardly cursing her meek voice.

Neji quickly looked at her, his furrowed eyebrows relaxed a bit, and he slowed the car down slightly. It was not much, but Tenten understood it was a lot.

"I'm sorry." His soft tone came as a surprise, contrasting crisply with his body language.

"Why did you do it?" Tenten whispered, not wanting to disrupt this newfound calmness.

Neji's eyes darkened. He had no intention of repeating or even paraphrasing anything that came out of Deidara's mouth.

"He deserved it." Neji sufficed to say as he took the highway exit 88.

"Are you kidding me right now?" Tenten's voice rose by quite a few decibels.

"No, I'm not." Neji gritted each syllable. "He was an ass and got what was coming for him."

"Neji, are you out of your goddamn mind?" Tenten shouted, suddenly not caring about trying to keep things calm. To hell with Neji's anger. She had her own.

"We worked so hard to be sure Aunt Mei was not successful in claiming your title so you could still represent Haepo in the House of Lords." She continued in disbelief at his attitude. "And you were ready to just throw it all out, and for what? Some silly things my ex said about me?"

Neji stopped at a red light and turned sharply to look at her. "You have no idea what he said about you." He growled.

"I don't care!" She yelled, utterly exasperated that he cared so much about something so trivial.

"Well, I do!" He roared back, hitting the steering wheel with both hands before grasping it tightly again. Silence fell in the car like a ton of bricks before the light turned green, and Neji took a turn left.

"And so should you." He added in a more subdued tone.

"Well, I don't! So stop treating me like a child or some poor victim that needs saving." She pushed back, her voice rising even more. "I couldn't care less about Deidara and what stupid things he says to his stupid friends. I-" She sighed. "I care about you!"

Neji slowed down, looking at her in between glances at the road. Suddenly at a loss for words to say.

"I care about you not losing something you've worked for your entire life over mindless stupidities a loser like Deidara has to say." She looked at him worried. "You know if this gets out, your political career is over before it even started?"

Neji's jaw clenched. "Yes." He reluctantly admitted, having mentally chastised himself with that exact reflection.

"Whatever he said, it's not worth your future." Tenten finished.

Neji has never wanted to disagree so much with something she said. She was worth more than any seat in any parliament.

But this was one thought he couldn't bring himself to voice yet.

"I," Neji sighed, turning on Tenten's street. "You're right."

Neji parked the car in front of her house.

They got out of the car silently. Their discussion in the car did nothing to calm their respective turmoil. If anything, it made everything worst.

Because it became evident, it wasn't about Deidara. Otherwise, they would have calmed down by now. No, it wasn't about anyone else but them, what they had shared the past few days and what had changed.

It was about what they went through together and what it would mean for the future. Neither one of them was ready for that contemplation. Because that would need them to confront feelings, they didn't dare to voice yet. Too much was at stake, or so that's how it felt.

The tension was palpable as they moved around Tenten's room, trying to get their things and get out of each other's way, but in the most awkward of ways, reminiscent of their first night in Haepo.

"Angry sex," This time, it was Neji who voiced it. "Just pure, unadulterated tension-filled sex." He repeated her exact words that had sealed their fate a week ago.

Tenten took a step closer, assessing him while he took another step toward her.

"You couldn't handle my anger right now, Hyuuga." She said in a low voice.

Neji bent his head, his lips hovering over hers. "Try me."

Tenten had missed this, missed him. It had been only seven days, but she craved him, vied for him as if she had waited seven lifetimes for this.

Desire pooled in her belly like a dark storm. She sucked in Neji's lip as his hands possessively wrapped around her waist, bringing her so flush to his body. Neji's own desire was clearly discernible to Tenten.

If the last time was laced with fury, this time, there was a sense of urgency. An urgent need to get as much of the other as possible. Touch them, taste them, claim them, unclothe them. Every parcel of skin bared, kissed, and bitten was a battle won, and each fought with abandoned oblivion to win this war.

Her smouldering eyes melted his insides and lit him on fire. He wanted all her twisted depths. He yearned to tattoo every inch of her body with his own essence, making it so that no one else could ever dare to graze or peek at her without feeling like trespassing.

She drove him insane.

"You insufferable woman," He took her jaw between his jaw to draw her to him, fervently kissing her.

Tenten almost swooned when he spun her around, his muscled arm wrapped around her belly, tightly pressing her back onto his abdomen. She could feel him harden against her. His other travelled up her throat, tilting her head back onto his shoulder as his lips started caressing her ear lobe, telling her all the things he'd do to her.

Already feeling like her body had given up on her, she couldn't even bring herself to find more intelligent responses than whimpers and moans. Her breath hitched as Neji's fingers slowly descended her stomach, jolting each of her muscles on the way to her panty line. She instinctively rolled her hips forward, desperately wanting his touch.

His fingers crept closer and closer. "What is it you want?" He breathed at the nape of her neck.

"Fuck off, Neji," Tenten shot back in between pants. She was in no mood to play games. She just needed immediate satisfaction. But then again, the slow-burning games were all the fun with Neji. It's just that right now, she couldn't think clearly for her life, and his merciless teasing was driving her on edge.

He withdrew his fingers and let them gently wander from her sides to the valley of her breasts.

"Tut-tut," Neji disapproved as if he was scolding her petulant student, and she hated how she could feel him smirk against his skin and even hear it in his amused voice.

He was slowly, exquisitely torturing her with butterfly touches.

"Just," She started breathlessly, trying to conjure up words in her empty mind, writhing in his hold.

His lips pressed her earlobes. "Use your words, Little Tenten."

Neji using her childish surname shouldn't have turned on like it did, but fire exploded in her belly when all she could mutter was "Please."

December 27th, 2022 – 3:36 AM

Tenten heard the hum of the cars slowly parking in the driveway. The car lights drew the trees' branches on her curtains before shutting off. She followed the hushed whispers of her family getting home and shuffling through the house, excitedly murmuring about the highs and lows of this most anticipated ball.

Neji had not forgotten; he had pulled her in and held her close to him. Hell, he was even clutching on to her for dear life, as if she would fly away if he loosened his grip by just a millimetre.

With her head resting on his torso, she felt every expansion and collapse of his lungs, she could even auscultate his heartbeats, and in the aftermaths of what happened, she could lull herself into believing each of them was for her. She played with the tip of his hair; his breathing had evened out a few minutes ago, so he was positive he had fallen asleep.

He seemed exhausted, and truth be told, so was she. All the pent-up tension of the day craving him had evaporated with each of his ministrations, leaving her in complete contentment and peacefulness.

Yet, no matter how tired she was, Tenten couldn't find sleep because something was gnawing at her insides in the pit of her stomach. And as much as she tried to ignore it and go back to sleep, a dread would pull her out of slumber anytime she drifted too close to rest.

He had broken their pact.

Pure unadulterated, tension-filled sex. No tender touch, no cute words, no affection. Just sex.

Tenten had been able to feel it, in the way he slowed at times, in the way he looked at her, in the way Neji let his lips roam her, in the soft hues in which he spoke to her.

Neji broke his promise, and she didn't know how to feel about it. The absolute devastating truth was in the ending. Their relentless journey, all that they lived together, would find its conclusion tomorrow. He'd be gone in a few hours, back to his life where she wouldn't belong anymore. Unaware of how much turmoil this last night of make-believe had left her in.

He shouldn't have touched her the way he did. For him, it was probably just how he always acted with other women, generous and worshiping. He probably didn't even think twice about it. For her, it had sent her disarray. No man had made love to her the way he did, and she had fallen helplessly for him once again.

It would have been infuriating if it wasn't so heart-shattering.

She thought it too cruel that Neji made her believe with his loving touch, he probably thought nothing of, that he loved her the way she wished he did. Now she was paralyzed, not wanting to disrupt the few more hours she could still have him and yet, wanting to push him away because Tenten didn't know how much of the heartbreak she would be able to stand when it was all over.

When she'd helplessly go back to memories of him because that is all that she'll have left of him, how she'll have to pretend she is fine with it all while working alongside him, and worse when he'll finally find a woman he wouldn't have to act with; how she'll have to play it as if she didn't care.

If to him she was just a means to an end, to her, he had become so much more.

Too much more.

A/N: It is a miracle that I was able to FINALLY finish this chapter. I have been trying to complete this story since March but believe me I hadn't had time at all. It was hectic! I'm sooo happy to finally be able to share the conclusion of this story, two chapters left that still need to be written.

Please give all your encouragement so I can stop procrastinating and finally complete this story in time for Christmas this year!

ALSO HAPPY TAYLOR SWIFT BIRTHDAY, for those who celebrate it. Merry start of the 12 days of SWIFTMAS.