Chapter Text
Like the sun faces the moon
i.
Nothing ever really happens the way Tenten wants it to - not her life, and certainly not Neji.
She hasn't been feeling his presence as of late (they only meet once a year, when his spirit becomes tangible during Obon), so Tenten settles for her usual monologue, in the hopes that Neji is listening in today.
"It's kind of strange - Taichi, the guy who lives two floors down, he's been coming up to say hi every so often these days," she muses, stirring a cup of coffee in her kitchen. "I don't think he's interested in me - do you? I mean, it's just friendly conversation..."
There is no swirl of air, no flutter of her curtains to indicate that Neji has heard any of it - or if he did, there's no clue that he's remotely envious of some other man's attention on her.
"I mean, what would you do in this case? Say hi in return, right?" A bubble of laughter rises suddenly in her chest. "Well, you'd just walk away, Neji, but I'm a little nicer to people than you are."
Still no acknowledgement of her words.
Tenten feels a little miffed now, because Neji can't possibly be taking her feelings for him for granted, can he? She's the one to keep talking to him, yet there's no sign of his presence these days, and- Damn it. Tenten decides that she wants a little male attention of the physical sort, if just to remind herself of what it feels like to be appreciated.
When Taichi comes by to invite her to dinner two days later, Tenten agrees to his request without any hesitation.
ii.
Obon is barely two weeks later, and Tenten returns home after a morning errand to a stony silence in the apartment.
"Neji?" she calls, looking around for him.
She finds him sitting cross-legged on her bed, shoes off, arms folded across his chest. He cracks his eyes open at her approach, but does not rise from the mattress.
"What's wrong with you?" she asks, puzzled, until Neji gives her a pointed look. Oh. The dinner with Taichi. Surely Neji can't be- "Are you jealous?" Tenten asks, jaw hanging open.
Neji doesn't reply, so Tenten takes it upon herself to answer the questions in his stead. "No way, you're jealous of Taichi?"
"I am merely questioning your interest in me," he says sourly, his lips almost in a pout.
"Same difference," Tenten responds lightly, a little flutter in her chest. "Admit it, Neji, you did get jealous when I went out to dinner with my neighbor."
"What was I supposed to think about that?" he mutters, looking askance at her.
A smile spreads itself across her lips. "Well, visit more often, for one," she tells him. "Every woman likes to feel wanted, you know."
"I was busy with errands!" he protests, a frown creasing his forehead.
"Errands more important than a visit to your humble teammate?" Tenten teases. Put that way, she really isn't all that significant, after all.
The notion is enough to leave her slumping on the mattress next to him. "Wait, don't answer that."
"There would be consequences if I did not respond immediately to summons," he responds, with a stiff back. "It has nothing to do with what I feel towards you."
Her pulse stumbles. Tenten chances a glance at him. "What do you feel towards me, Neji?" she whispers. Her recent actions have driven a wedge between them, and it's her fault.
He finally shifts from his position on the bed, leaning over to place a silvery hand on either side of her face. Long hair falls gently against her cheeks. Neji's eyes are pale, even in the afterlife. "Do you need me to answer that?" he asks, just as softly.
"Tell me again," she murmurs, not caring that her words make her sound weak. It's been so long since she's seen him, so long since-
He kisses her then, a light touch of his cool lips to hers, and the sensation is enough to draw a gasp from her throat. Neji smirks. "Is that enough of an answer?"
Yes, it is.
"No," Tenten replies, mischievous. "You need to put more effort into proving yourself, Neji."
Amusement flickers across his eyes then, and he slants his lips further against hers, because words are redundant in situations like this.
iii.
The village bells chime, gentle tinkles on the breeze that sweeps through the entirety of Konoha. It is the day of Hinata's wedding to Naruto, and the whole village is abuzz with excitement. Paper lanterns hang on lines criss-crossed over the marketplace, and flowers are everywhere - more acknowledgement than Naruto has ever dreamed of receiving.
Tenten feels the pinch of solitude more starkly than ever today.
She drifts through the streets, waving to Lee and Sakura and Ino, who are bustling around with last-minute decorations and directions and instructions-
It's nice of Hinata to have asked for her help with the wedding preparations, Tenten thinks. She's done polishing the ceremonial weapons on the Hyuuga estate, a task that would have been a joy to do - were Neji alive. She did, however, feel his presence with every stroke of cloth against steel, and took comfort in having him beside her.
And today, more than ever, Tenten wonders what a wedding between Neji and herself would be like. He's visited her not too recently, during Obon, and Tenten was glad for his company.
Someday, I'd like to give you my family name.
His words still resound in her head. There is a dull ache in Tenten's chest, even as she blends in with the gathered guests at the Hyuuga compounds and watches Hiashi give Hinata's hand to Naruto.
The ghost of a breeze brushes against her neck then, and her arm, and Tenten knows that Neji is there with her, soaking in every minute of it.
She isn't one to be ungrateful for small mercies.
iv.
Tenten accompanies Neji to the Hyuuga compound the following Obon. Naruto lives there now, in a separate building with Hinata, and Tenten drops by every so often, at Hinata's request. (Hinata tells her that they're sisters, really - Neji's frequent visits to her apartment during Obon have not gone unnoticed between herself and Hiashi.)
(Tenten doesn't know if she should be embarrassed about that, but then again, she and Neji are both adults now, have been adults ever since they made their first kill.)
They sit at a low table in the entertainment room, across from Naruto and Hinata. There is a rosy flush on Hinata's cheeks that has been around for some time; Tenten comments that Hinata looks much better ever since she got together with Naruto.
Neji is especially quiet during the visit. Tenten angles a look at him, at the tea he leaves untouched (it is more a mark of respect, really, than for his consumption), and wonders if he's contemplating what-ifs between him and her.
"We have some news for you," Hinata begins, shyly, and Naruto grins so widely that his eyes are reduced to slits. Neji perks up at the change in conversation.
"What is it?" he asks, one of the few times he's spoken today.
"We're expecting," Hinata says, dipping her head; her cheeks darken. "Sakura-san tells us that the child will be born in spring."
There is a mix of envy and joy in Tenten's gut, that she sees mirrored in the lines of Neji's face. She reaches over to touch his knee, and the intensity in his eyes steals her breath away.
"Congrats, both of you," Tenten tells Hinata and Naruto, a genuine smile on her face. Neji echos her words. "You'll be an uncle, Neji."
"I look forward to it," Neji returns, though he's really only looking at her now, and Tenten wonders what a child born by him and her would look like.
"Hey, save those eyes for the bedroom," Naruto complains.
"You're one to talk." Neji casts an annoyed stare at him. It's not as if he and Tenten are able to engage in normal bedroom activities like other couples do. (But Tenten has seen that look on his face, and she wishes, not for the first time, that they're able to exchange more than mere kisses and caresses.)
They return to Tenten's apartment later that day, and discover that Neji's state of etherealness just requires a little more creativity when it comes to matters between the sheets.
v.
With the war over and peace restored to several countries, Tenten finds herself for want of a mission more often than not. As the sixth Hokage, the challenge in Kakashi's position comes in the form of finding employment for the shinobi of Konoha, instead of trying to ward evil forces like the Akatsuki away.
She finds herself becoming the owner of a weapons store as a secondary occupation, though income is still tight between being an active jounin and running her shop. (Despite that, Tenten has not agreed to any more dates since the dinner with Taichi.) The momentos from the war now have their very own display case, and she looks forward to the times when Shino or some other instructor from the academy brings kids over for a history lesson on the weapons used in the Great Shinobi War.
Perhaps she should have been an instructor instead - there are always positions to be filled where it comes to health and education, though Tenten can't quite bear to be apart from her precious weapons - maybe she should start inventing new tools, like the old man living on the outskirts of the village.
Neji is aware of her situation; there is little he can do to help, however, short of suggesting new careers and having her stay at the Hyuuga compounds (no way is she living there without him).
Besides, Hinata has just birthed her second child, Himawari, and Tenten isn't sure if she's comfortable spending time there, surrounded by so many people with eyes like Neji's.
vi.
They visit the Hyuuga compound again the following Obon - no one questions Tenten's presence when she accompanies Neji there.
Boruto is a toddler now, a ball of energy that Hinata allows to tear around while she cradles his sister, that resembles her in much the same way Boruto is the spitting image of Naruto. "Why don't you hold her for a while?" Hinata suggests, when Tenten and Neji peer into the cocoon of blankets.
She accepts awkwardly, not wanting to offend Hinata, and holds the fragile bundle that is her almost-niece gingerly, looking to Neji for help (she thinks she prefers the hard edges of her weapons to soft, gurgling babies).
Neji smirks, content to let her fumble around for her motherly instincts while he stands and watches. It's been a long time since Tenten has had to baby her teammates, and even they were never as fragile as an infant.
"I would suck as a mother," she whispers to him, while Hinata chases after a mud-covered Boruto, who is now trailing footprints all over the house.
"You would still be the mother of my children." Neji gives her a significant look, and Tenten blushes, glances away. "We'd learn to care for them together."
The heaviness is there again, deep in her chest. It doesn't take long for her to recover, however.
"You want kids, huh? Not just the process of creating them?" she remarks slyly, and Neji raises a regal brow at her.
"That too," he mutters, a dark tint on his cheeks. Tenten stifles her giggles.
"The three of you look as though you could be a family," Hinata observes quietly when she returns, mud on her apron and Boruto grumbling noisily in the background. She takes Himawari back into her arms.
Tenten flushes again; Neji gives her a satisfied look, like a cat who has got its cream. Hinata smiles.
No one questions the way they leave the compounds together, either.
vii.
She treads slow footsteps back from the cemetery, with the wind in her hair and grass scents on her clothes. Today, Lee and Gai have both volunteered to watch her weapons shop - just for half a day, while she tidies Neji's grave and plucks the weeds surrounding it (but in reality, he's beside her all the time).
Tenten's heart stops when she sees the signboard on the doorway of her shop at an awkward angle; there is smoke spouting from the back and oh Heavens, no, what has Lee done this time?
She dashes into the shop and finds the glass displays broken, weapons still intact. "What the hell happened here?" she shrieks, pulling a dagger from the hidden holster on her thigh.
Lee stumbles out from the back room with his new student and Gai in tow, both older men looking very sheepish indeed. Gai looks thinner than ever in his wheelchair, and crow's feet crinkle at the corners of his eyes.
"My deepest apologies, Tenten, it turns out that this youthful leaf is just as intolerant of alcohol as I am." Lee waves between his student and the bottles she's left behind the counter.
"You're going to pay for all this!" Tenten yells, jerking a miniature scroll on her wrist open. The thrill of an oncoming fight is a little nostalgic in her veins, but this shop is not the place for it. "Get out on the streets right now, Lee. We're going to settle this. You and me."
Lee flashes his thumb in a Nice Guy pose, and grins. "Yosh! Your youth never fades away, my dear lotus!"
She grits her teeth, and faces off against the Green Beast. Beside her, Tenten can almost feel Neji chuckling at her situation. Damn it, Neji, at least have a physical body so I can wipe that smirk off your face!
"Shut up, Neji," she mutters, knowing he'd be able to hear it, and charges at Lee, leaping into the air like she used to so long ago.
viii.
During Obon that year, as they're stretched out on her bed, Tenten says, "At some point, it'll be Gai-sensei's turn to visit me during Obon, you know."
Neji winces. It isn't so much the prospect of death (all shinobi learn to expect it, sooner or later) as the thought of having to share Tenten with their mentor, or worse, having Gai barge into one of their especially intimate moments. There are only twenty-four hours in a year that Tenten sees him, that they're able to speak with their bodies when words fall short, and Neji isn't sure he's willing to give any of that up to Gai's ridiculous antics.
"We'll deal with it when it comes," he allows, and rolls onto her, to bury his face in her neck.
ix.
Tenten hears the news a short while before Lee comes pounding at her door. Like Neji's death so long ago, she doesn't have tears right away (and to be honest, she has expected Gai's departure, had been prepared for it ever since the war, that it doesn't surprise her when he is finally gone).
"Tenten!" Lee wails, hurtling into her. She finds herself pinned to the couch, awkwardly patting Lee's back as he sobs into her shoulder. It'll be a while yet before she breaks down, because Gai is still - had still been - the father figure in her life until recently, and it hasn't sunken in that she won't witness his ridiculous antics any more.
He went peacefully, they said.
She feels Neji's presence beside them, solemn - he is a reminder that Gai has not completely left them.
"Hush, Lee," Tenten tells the broken green mess when he finally quiets down, sitting limply next to her on the couch. "Gai-sensei has only left us physically, you know."
"What do you mean by that?" he asks, sniffling, eyes red and puffy.
She glances to the side then, a smile quirking the corners of her lips. "Because Neji has been with me ever since the war ended."
Even before that, she imagines him correcting her.
"Neji?" Lee frowns, uncomprehending.
"I've never told either of you before, but Neji's spirit is always with me," Tenten explains, her cheeks prickling with heat. Neither she nor Neji has ever enlightened the other half of Team Gai about their relationship, either.
"You mean... he's haunting you?" Lee asks, confused.
"I guess you could put it that way." Tenten gives him a strained smile. 'Haunting' isn't quite the word she'd use to describe Neji's presence. "You'll see Gai-sensei again during Obon, and he'll explain it all to you, trust me."
"Really?" Lee sniffs again, tears welling in his eyes once more.
"Really." Tenten smiles. "He'll always be by your side, Lee."
x.
She wakes up to find Neji in her bed, watching her, with bright rays of sunlight shining through the window behind him. There's no need for good mornings or hellos; he returns her smile and leans in close, sliding his lips slowly across hers. Tingles dance over her skin.
"Slept well?" Neji asks, softly, and she nods.
"How have you been?" Tenten reaches up, touches his silvery cheek.
"Well enough." I missed you, he doesn't say, but his sentiments linger in the air between them, and a sigh escapes her lips when he covers her body with his. The entire length of her frame tingles when he does that - Tenten is used to it, used to the way his nose brushes hers, and how he runs his fingers through her hair.
It's about as perfect a morning as she can get these days, when she parts her lips to his, and he fits his mouth over hers, carefully, so she doesn't unwittingly enter his ghostly form-
Until there's an unholy pounding on her front door, and Neji frowns, pulling slightly away. "Let's ignore it," he suggests, nibbling on her lower lip, and Tenten is happy to comply, allowing his hands to wander over her body-
"Neji! What are you doing to our beautiful lotus?" Gai's voice booms, and Tenten jerks upright in bed, accidentally plunging herself through Neji's ice-cold form.
"What does it look like we're doing?" Neji mutters, sliding off from Tenten. It feels as if she's in cold water that washes out of her a moment later.
"Gai-sensei," she gasps, finding the silvery form of their mentor in her doorway. He looks as Neji does - back in his prime, in his green jumpsuit and vest, with no bandages on his foot. "What are you doing here?"
"It's Obon, or have you forgotten?" Gai asks, rubbing his chin. His gaze lights on Neji, and he snaps his fingers loudly. "That's right, Neji is here - what were you doing with our Tenten, Neji?"
The look Neji sends the ghostly Green Beast is probably more acid than a lemon. He settles on the mattress next to her, arms folded. "I'm spending Obon with Tenten. What else does it look like?"
"Oh?" Gai's bushy eyebrows crawl all the way up his forehead. His gaze swivels over to Tenten, almost accusingly. "Tenten! Why haven't you said anything about you and Neji? Hmm?"
The pounding at the door starts anew, and she deduces that it must be Lee. "Um, I'll go get the door," she says, edging past both Neji and Gai - they follow her into the living room anyway.
"Tenten!" Lee yells, bouncing through the doorway. "Have you seen Gai-sensei? He's back! Oh, Neji-"
Tenten shuts the door and turns to the rest of the team in her living room. Lee is gaping at Neji, and Gai is still looking between Neji and herself.
"Neji! You've never visited me or Gai-sensei during Obon!" Lee cries, injured.
"I did, twice." Neji frowns.
"And who did you visit the rest of the time, hmm?" Gai leans forward slightly, fists propped on his waist. His teeth gleam silver-white. Tenten glances at Neji, and looks away just as quickly. Neither she nor Neji have ever explicitly agreed to spend time with Gai or Lee during Obon - something or other always cropped up; they'd visit the Hyuuga compounds, or end up curled together in her apartment, chatting the night away.
Come to think of it, it's strange that Gai had no idea about them, considering how he must have visited Lee at some point while Tenten hung out with him, and Neji hovers around her most of the time, anyway.
"Haven't you seen Neji around, Gai-sensei?" Tenten asks with a frown.
"Ah, I have been busy visiting old friends and supervising Lee," Gai tells her guiltily. "I've only seen Neji in heaven these days."
"Well, he's been watching over me," Tenten finally says, settling down on her couch. "Remember what I told you about Neji always being with me, Lee?"
The younger Green Beast nods emphatically. "Gai-sensei has explained it to me. So... are you and Neji..."
She exchanges a glance with Neji. He dips his chin by a fraction of an inch.
"Yeah." It's Tenten's turn to give a sheepish smile. "Well, since the war ended, actually-"
"And you didn't tell us?" Lee howls, offended, until Neji stands with narrowed eyes.
"We were sharing a- private moment, before you interrupted us," he states, staring accusingly at Gai, who begins to chuckle uncomfortably.
"Well, we should return later, Lee, it appears that we've come at a bad time," Gai begins, looking towards his precious student.
"Why don't we meet at the old training grounds later?" Tenten suggests, and the greener half of Team Gai is only too happy to oblige.
"Anything for you, dearest Tenten!" Lee waves, and disappears out her front door with Gai.
"I feel bad for chasing them away so early, though. Especially because it's Gai-sensei's first Obon," she murmurs, turning to Neji.
"We'll see them later," Neji replies. Tenten doesn't protest when he leans in to resume what they've started - there's little she's been able to deny him, after all.
xi.
Tenten doesn't realize how much more time she spends with Lee after Gai's death, in between the rigorous training with his protege, until he leaves the realm of the living one day.
It is quiet - so very quiet - because there isn't even Lee shouting about youth anymore, and the gravity of being the only one left of Team Gai is suffocating.
"I mean, I know you're all around me, especially Neji, but it's really lonely when you guys aren't responding, you know?" Tenten mumbles, slouching in her seat in the weapons shop. Boruto and Himawari are growing older now, and Tenten is grabbing whatever mission she can get her hands on, to get her mind off her departed teammates. The other females her age talk mostly about their kids - she feels left out whenever she joins them for tea.
Days like today, though, when there's no mission to be had, see Tenten idling away, taking inventory of her weapon supply.
There's a knock on the door.
"Aunt Tenten?" Himawari calls, hesitant.
Tenten pulls herself bodily out of a low cabinet, and bumps her head on its wooden ceiling. "Ow. Himawari? What is it?"
The younger of Hinata's two children is a lovely teenager now, with her pale eyes and long hair, looking almost like a replica of Hinata herself. Himawari comes to stand by the counter, tracing patterns on the glass case with a finger. "Well, I asked Mom about it, but I wanted to hear what you thought, as well."
Curious, Tenten flops into her chair, observing her almost-niece. Himawari isn't looking her in the eye, and there's a slight blush on her cheeks. "Boy troubles?" she guesses.
"H-how did you know?" Himawari glances up at her, nervous.
She barely suppresses a chuckle. "You're just like your mom when she was younger, you know. Hinata used to faint all the time when we teased her too much about Naruto."
Surprised, Himawari pulls a spare chair over, and takes a seat across from Tenten. "Really?"
"So, who's the lucky guy?" Tenten probes with a grin. Neji is likely eavesdropping on this conversation, ready to hunt said male down at a moment's notice.
"Well, no one important, really," Himawari mumbles, looking down. "Have you ever been in love, Aunt Tenten?"
She blinks at Himawari, her lips frozen in a smile. "Ah, that."
Neji's probably listening really hard right now.
Himawari looks a little worried. "Should I not ask about it?"
"Do you want to hear about how it started, or what happened in the end?" Tenten offers with a weak grin. It's amazing to think how far back she and Neji go, after all these years.
Himawari nods. "How it started, please."
She sees the blue whirl of chakra, hears the clink of metal as her weapons bounce off his absolute defense. Still smells the gunpowder in her explosives, and the musky scent of sweat, as if it was just yesterday that they were all still fourteen, and training together as a team.
"Your uncle Neji and I were on the same genin team - and he was the most arrogant jerk, if you must know." Tenten smiles, and closes her eyes. "But he always tolerated me for some reason, and we trained together so much that I found out about his blind spot, and ended up protecting it."
Right, Neji?
xii.
There's a crowd in her apartment when Obon rolls around that year - Neji sits next to her, as he always does, and Lee hugs Tenten with the widest smile. Gai watches them proudly, as he's always done.
"Neji doesn't let me follow you around all the time," Lee whines, and Tenten glances at Neji in surprise.
"Not while you're taking baths," Neji mutters, his forehead creased. Tenten suppresses a laugh.
"What about you, then?" she challenges with a grin.
"I stand guard in the bathroom, just in case."
Tenten rolls her eyes. Lee shakes his head, matching Neji's frown. "Well, not just while you're bathing, even on missions too!"
"Well, sometimes," Neji agrees. And in a lower murmur, "I like having you to myself."
She elbows him fondly. It's like sinking her joint into ice. "I'm all yours, Neji, you know that."
"Lee can spend some time with Gai, or his student," Neji responds mulishly, pale eyes narrowed.
"You're jealous, aren't you?" she teases, and both Gai and Lee grin, holding their thumbs up in Nice Guy poses.
"You're still youthful, Neji, even after all these years!" Lee crows.
"Never let your flames extinguish!" Gai adds, and claps Neji on the back. Tenten sighs exasperatedly. She shouldn't have been surprised that they'd remain the same, even in the afterlife.
Gai and Lee continue to chatter, and she notices the way Neji's gaze flickers between her and them with increasing frequency, until he's all but glowering at them, because it's now late afternoon, and they haven't spent any time alone yet.
"Lee, Gai-sensei, you know I love you guys," Tenten begins, standing, "But Neji and I would like to have some time to ourselves right now."
Neji remains by her side, watching smugly as they eventually leave, crying tears of joy and blathering all over again about springtime and youthfulness. Tenten exhales. "Where were we again?" she asks, and Neji smiles the little smile that he's always saved for her alone.
"Where did you want us to be?" he asks, touching his forehead to hers. There is a promise of forever in his eyes, and Tenten can't look away.
xiii.
Tenten finds herself in a misty place when she opens her eyes, expecting to see the shadowy forms of her enemies, but finding white emptiness instead. It is a little longer before her eyes adjust to the brightness; there are tall, white gates in the distance, and figures milling behind that, so she walks briskly there, lighter on her feet than she's been for years.
There's no question about it - this is heaven.
With that comes the realization that Neji, Gai and Lee are all somewhere around, and Tenten almost trips in her haste to reach the gates, because somehow, her gut tells her that she will find her answers there. The outlines beyond the gates sharpen as she gets closer; Tenten feels her breath catch when she recognizes the tall figure standing by himself, complete with lilac eyes and cascading ebony hair.
There are others drifting alongside her towards the gates, but she is running - flying - past them, through the silver-wrought structures, until she slams bodily into Neji and he wraps his warm arms around her, lifting her off her feet and swinging her around in a circle.
"Neji," she breathes, caressing his face with tremulous fingertips. His eyes are no longer silvery, and his lips are pink, moist, curved in a smile-
She cups his cheeks and kisses him for a long time. He smells clean, of soap and pine, and she doesn't want to let him go, doesn't want to lose him ever again.
"Marry me," are the first words out of his lips. Tenten grins, giddily, and Neji is smirking and setting her on her feet, leading her along by her hand. "My parents are waiting to meet you."
"What have you been telling them about me?" she asks, squeezing his fingers. "Nothing embarrassing, I hope."
"Will you agree to be my wife?" Neji presses, impatient, still wearing that smirk. "I've been waiting a long time, Tenten."
"Yes, yes, you know my answer already, Neji." She smacks him lightly on the arm. "Are we meeting your parents first?"
He smiles again at her, looking every bit as young and unscarred as the day they left for war. "No, we're going home. I've built us a house by the forest."
"Large enough for children?" she teases, smoothing her fingers over his palm.
Neji pulls her close then, and kisses her again, still with that solemn, intense look in his eyes. "I want to have you to myself for a little while first," he murmurs, and she remembers awkward, fumbling, ice-cold moments on her bed, knows what exactly he means.
Tenten doesn't glance away from him - he has always been there, for better or for worse.
So the Earth will spin