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firstdegreefangirl · 4 years

Text

Eddie Week Day Four: Between The Sheets

Word Count: 2135

Original Pub Date: 17 June 2020

Relationships: Eddie Diaz/Evan Buckley

Author's Note: This whole thing started with a convo in @rebeccaofsbfarm's inbox, so blame/credit to her for helping me cheat my way through this prompt! Love youuuu

Read on ao3 here

Just like aways, tagging: @eddiediazweek @hearteyesforbuck @thisissirius @hearteyesforbuck @dramamineontopofme @twinien @meloingly @myemergence

Eddie pushes the front door open, almost trips over his own feet trying to step across the threshold. Buck is right behind him, laughing when Eddie doesn’t pick his feet up far enough and catches his toe on the lip of the doorframe.

“Shut up, I just want to shower and go to bed.” He grumbles, leaning both palms against the wall for balance as he toes his shoes off.

They’d stopped at a drive-thru on the way to the house, Eddie riding in the passenger seat of Buck’s Jeep because he was already too exhausted to drive. He’d tried to wave Buck off at the mention of food but Buck ordered for him anyway, shoving a cardboard container of chicken nuggets and fries in his lap and threatening to drive circles around town until he’d eaten it all.

The long shift had drained the last reserves of energy from the entire team, but Eddie had taken a harder hit than the rest, having spent half of the night before sitting up in Christopher’s bed and rubbing his back after a bad dream.

“I know, that’s why I had to drive you home. Thanks for the couch invite, by the way. Way better than another 15 minutes behind the wheel.”

“Anytime, man.” Eddie rocks on his feet as he leans away from the wall, shoulders sagging with exhaustion. “You want first shower?”

“You never leave any hot water.” But Buck’s eyes soften when he sees the way Eddie can barely hold himself up. “But you’re not going to make it if I shower first …" He trails off, and Eddie can feel him mulling something over.

Watching Buck think is only making him more tired, so he leans his back against the wall and sighs.

“What, Buck? You going to say we should shower together?” He turns his head just far enough to see Buck out the corner of his eye.

“I mean, we change together at work. Why not kill two birds with one stone? It’s not like I’ve never seen you naked.”

Eddie thinks about what Buck said, processes the words as they roll through his brain. He’s all but dead on his feet, but he has to admit that there’s a certain amount of logic to what Buck is saying.

They’ve gotten dressed side by side countless times since Eddie joined the 118, stood naked underneath separate showerheads in the open-layout shower at the station.

Buck is right, he’s pretty sure. There’s not much difference between catching a glimpse of your buddy in the locker room and standing in the same bathtub to shower.

Besides, it won’t be weird unless he makes it weird, right?

“True.” Eddie nods and stands back upright, careful not to overbalance himself and faceplant. “Works for me.” He wonders briefly if falling asleep in the shower would be considered “weird,” if Buck would catch him if he toppled over underneath the spray.

It would, but Buck would anyway, he decides as he leads Buck down the hall to the master bath.

They stand next to each other to undress, shoulder-to-shoulder but facing opposite directions. It’s not a production, just the way they wind up, each of them watching behind the other, having each other’s backs.

When the water is hot enough to fog up the mirror, Eddie pulls the door back and they step over the edge to face each other under the showerhead. The air is thick with steam, enough humidity that Buck’s hair starts to curl almost right away. Eddie focuses carefully on a ringlet that’s wrapped around the top of his ear, knows that he has to keep his eyeline above Buck’s shoulders, lest he make his best friend uncomfortable.

Here’s the thing: Eddie’s never thought of his shower as particularly small. It’s got more than enough room for him to maneuver, a showerhead with more settings than he has fingers and a glass door that lets in enough light to open the space up without flooding the bathroom.

But apparently when two grown men stand in it at the same time, it’s just tight enough that Eddie has to think carefully about his every move. How can he reach for the shampoo without touching Buck’s bicep? Can he lean back far enough to rinse the suds out of his hair without invading Buck’s personal space? Can he lean back that far without falling over, on account of the exhaustion dragging through his limbs?

He can, it turns out, but he’s really too tired to have to actively think about it. Maybe Buck’s big idea saved them a few minutes, but by the time they’re painstakingly switching positions, letting Buck run his hair under the water and wash the lather from his body, he’s exponentially more drained than he was when they walked in the front door.

Thankfully, they’re both able to clean themselves up and dry off without bumping into one another. There’s enough space in the open bathroom for them to stand a couple of feet apart as they wrap themselves in fresh towels, and Eddie tosses Buck a clean pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt when he’s digging through his dresser drawers.

They don’t face each other when they’re getting dressed, leave enough space between them again to avoid any unintentional contact. But when Buck stands up, Eddie winces in sympathy at the way his back pops. Through the haze of his exhaustion, he realizes that Buck probably shouldn’t sleep on the couch tonight, especially not if his back is already making sounds like that. A solution pops into his mind and falls out of his mouth all in one fell swoop, before he can realize what he’s saying.

“Sleep in my bed.”

Buck turns around as he pulls the shirt down over his stomach, eyes going wide in surprise.

“What?”

“Your back popped,” like that explains it. “Sleep in my bed.”

“Eddie … I’m not kicking you out of your own room.”

“No, you’re not.” Eddie nods, the fringes of his idea fitting together in his head. “It’s a big bed. We can both fit; I have a king. You’re too tall for the couch, Buck. It’s fine, I’m inviting you.”

Eddie’s tired enough that he’s starting to feel a little drunk with it, but he’s not so far gone that he misses the way he can see Buck struggling with his options.

He sleeps over all the time, but Eddie’s never suggested sharing the bed before. He’s thought about it, in the mornings when he can see Buck trying to work the knots out of his shoulders without Eddie noticing, but he’s always stopped himself before he says anything.

“OK,” Buck nods, but he still doesn’t seem sure. “But only until I convince you to buy a new couch, dude.”

Eddie doesn’t say anything, is suddenly too close to sleep to formulate a response. He steps past Buck, back into the bathroom, ignoring the way their bodies brush against each other as he jams his toothbrush haphazardly around his mouth. As soon as he feels like he’s at least brushed most of his teeth, he’s spitting into the sink and stumbling across the room to pull the blankets back and collapse into bed.

His face is buried in his pillow, but there’s just enough light seeping in at the edges of his vision that he’s still awake. So he waves one arm absently behind him, hoping Buck gets the message.

“Turn th’ light ‘ff, come lay d’wn.” The pillow muffles his voice, even as it carries back to his own ears, but Buck seems to know exactly what he’s asking, because a few seconds later, the room goes black and the mattress dips beside him as Buck settles in.

“You’re sure about this?”

They’re not touching, but Buck is close enough that Eddie can feel his breath hot against the side of his face.

“Yes, Buck ‘m sure.” Eddie groans and rolls over. “We don’t have to cuddle or ‘nything. Just shut up and sleep.”

It’s his last conscious thought, until he wakes up the next morning with an arm slung across Buck’s waist. He looks up slowly, only to find that Buck is already staring down at him, and snatches his hand back.

“Buck! I’m-”

“Don’t worry about it. Doesn’t have to be a thing.” Buck rolls over and stands up, and they don’t speak of it again. Buck makes breakfast, like he always does when he stays over, and they get ready to ride back to the station after dropping Chris off at Pepa’s to catch the bus.

But it does become a thing. Buck doesn’t stay over any more often than he did before, but there’s a whole new routine now.

It turns out that it’s actually really convenient to have someone else in the shower to give Eddie a hand with that strip of skin on his upper back that he can’t quite reach. And there’s nobody in their right mind would sleep on the couch when Eddie’s mattress is on offer right now the hallway.

There’s no deeper meaning to it, other than the convenience of having someone right there beside him. After the long shifts, they’ll lay awake together, reassuring each other that they’d done everything they could. They always start out fully clothed, leaving a careful distance between them, but after a few weeks that changes too.

Now, more nights than not, he and Buck will wake up curled together and find that one or both of them had pulled their shirts off overnight.

It doesn’t have to mean anything though, and every time Eddie tries to decide if it does, he remembers that he’s setting an example for Christopher, showing him that two men can be affectionate and open with each other.

That’s it. That’s all it means.

Which is why he doesn’t think anything of it when he throws Buck’s shirt in his duffel bag before work one morning. Buck had stayed over the night before, but left before Eddie was awake so he could make it across the freeway for an early dentist appointment before work. He’d brought a change of clothes, but Eddie isn’t surprised that he was rushing to get out the door and left his shirt behind.

He isn’t sure why it’s so important that Buck never leaves clothes behind, but that seems to be the line they’ve silently drawn in the sand.

So he takes the shirt to the station, but Buck is already out of the locker room when he walks in. He changes into his uniform, then carries the garment out to the common area, trying not to let himself think about how soft and worn in it feels before he tosses it at the back of Buck’s head.

“Hey, you left this in bed last night. Figured you’d want it back.”

Buck reaches up and pulls the shirt off of his head, turning it over in his hands before folding it neatly and setting it on his knee.

“Thanks, Eds.” He doesn’t say anything else, or react otherwise, but when Eddie looks around, Hen and Chimney are staring between them, mouths agape in twin ‘o’s.

“I’m sorry, what?” It’s Chim who breaks the silence, leaning forward like there’s some remarkable story about to be told.

“What?” Buck blinks at him. “Eddie’s bed is way comfier than his couch, so I sleep there now. I suppose you’re going to say it’s weird that we shower together sometimes too? We’re best friends, we don’t need boundaries.”

He sounds dead serious, and Eddie finds himself relieved to know that Buck isn’t any more hung up on how to describe their routine than he is; they’re friends who share a bed and a shower, who cares?

“It’s not weird,” Hen sets her hand on Buck’s knee, right over the shirt. “It’s just not friends, Buckaroo.”

Buck says something in response, but Eddie isn’t sure what it is, can't make out the words over the sound of the realization ringing in his ears.

It’s not friends.

He’s still reeling from it that night, lying in bed with Buck, whose made himself comfortable tucked into Eddie’s side. Eddie’s arm is around his shoulders, fingers toying lightly with the groove where his bicep and chest are pressed together. He can’t stop thinking about what Hen said earlier, about the freight train that drove straight into his heart.

It’s not friends.

Maybe … just maybe, if it could feel like this, if it could feel more than this, better than this, Eddie thinks he might want to be more than not-friends with Buck.

But sleep is pulling him under, so he decides that’s a thought that can wait until they wake up next to each other in the morning.

#eddie diaz week #buddie #evan buckley #eddie diaz #evan buckley x eddie diaz #eddie diaz x evan buckley #bed sharing #shower sharing #911 #911 fox #911 fanfic #9-1-1 fox #9-1-1 fanfic #9-1-1 #buddie fanfic #katie writes #kw20 #originalcontentfirstdegreefangirl

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needdl · 5 years

Text

Distance

“I think you should go.”

Rated M

Read on FFN or AO3

this has actually been up on ffn and ao3 for a while- along with another piece, actually. i will be posting that one on tumblr as well, probably tomorrow.

“I think you should go.” Neji’s voice was tired- they had been up talking for hours now, but were both unwilling to go to bed.

“But-”

“Tenten.”

She fell quiet, staring at him with such raw emotion in her eyes that his chest echoed dully in response.

“This is such a huge opportunity for you.”

“But- five months.”

“I know.” Neji pulled her into his arms and buried his face in her hair. “But it’s not as though we won’t be in contact. And I can come visit you a few times.”

“Yeah.” She clung to him tightly, hands gripping his shirt in clenched fists. “I’m going to miss you like crazy.”

“I’ll miss you too. But you’re really going to love the work that you’re doing.”

“Mm.” If possible, she held him even tighter. “Still gonna miss you.”

“You won’t leave for another three months. We have some time before we part.”

“‘Before we part.’ You’re very dramatic, my love.”

“And you’re very good at taking the tension out of a situation. Let’s go to bed.”

Tenten used her grip around his neck and shoulders as leverage to raise her legs and wrap them around his waist. “Only if you carry me.”

“Fine.” Neji hooked his hands underneath her thighs and turned them around to walk towards the bed. “Don’t get used to this. You have perfectly fine legs.”

“You certainly seem to think so.”

Neji stopped in the middle of the room, thrown off by the remark. “Pardon?”

He could feel Tenten smirk against his neck. “Don’t to deny it, you ogler. Every time I wear tights I’m twenty minutes late to work because you get all handsy.”

Neji had a brief moment to recollect flashes of tanned skin through sheer black fabric, and realized somewhat grumpily that he couldn’t even deny her statement.

Tenten left for China in February.

They spent their last evening together in their apartment, cooking dinner together and eating it in front of the fireplace. They were both unusually attached to one another- Tenten wound up curled in Neji’s lap, arms around his neck and shoulders as they rested their foreheads together and conversed in low voices.

They mostly ignored the meal they had cooked, although dessert- they had planned on having chocolate fondue- was… used, if not for the purpose they had initially intended.

Neji brought Tenten to the airport the next morning. They restrained themselves from causing too much of a scene, just embraced one another for a minute and separated with a short but warm kiss.

“I’ll text when I land, then again at the hotel,” Tenten told him. Her eyes were glimmering, but true to Tenten, she did not cry. Neji tenderly ran his thumb along her cheek.

“I love you,” he told her, resting his forehead against hers.

“I love you too,” she whispered. She leaned up and kissed him again, very softly, before stepping away from him and grabbing her suitcase.

“I’ll miss you,” she said. Neji nodded, stuffing his hands in his pockets and clenching them into fists.

She gave him one last smile and turned towards the terminal, a white-knuckled grip on the handle of her suitcase. Neji watched her go until she disappeared in the crowd.

It certainly wasn’t easy adjusting to their long distance relationship- the first two weeks Tenten was gone, Neji felt a yawning chasm in his life where she normally filled it.

They quickly set a routine- Tenten called or video called him every night after she was done with her work from the day- and from her elated gushing over the phone, it was work that she loved.

They texted each other constantly, with the understanding that they wouldn’t always be able to respond immediately- the time difference between Konoha and Beijing wasn’t too difficult, but Neji’s days operated a few hours ahead of Tenten.

Once a week, they’d set up a Skype date and talk for hours at a time.

(Well, sometimes they did things… other than talk.)

There were the few nights when one of them had a difficult day and wasn’t in the mood for a long conversation, or had something occupying their time. Those nights, they’d settle with a simple text exchange before saying goodnight.

Gradually, the distance between them felt more normal- Neji still missed his partner, of course, very much- but he looked forward to talking to her at the end of the day. At one point he realized that there had been a large uptick in the frequency that Lee invited him out, and strongly suspected a collusion between him and Tenten to keep Neji socialized.

He had to admit that it was working- he and Lee either sparred in the dojo or got drinks together about once a week, which was certainly more than they had previously.

Still, Neji was looking forward to March, when he would be visiting Tenten for a long weekend in Beijing and celebrating her belated birthday.

The weekend after Tenten’s birthday, he took a cab to the airport at about 5:00 AM. His initial flight out was delayed, so he sent Tenten a quick text and settled into a seat to read his book.

He had just absorbed himself in the chapter when Tenten texted him back several sad-face emojis in a row, then sent a quick follow up text.

‘will watch flight info online and meet up w u at airport when u land. i’m excited!!! ❤️❤️❤️’

Neji smiled to himself and tucked his phone back into his pocket.

Naturally, Neji was in first class for his flight- it was a luxury he had grown up with, and he liked it far too much to give it up. His first and only time flying economy class- with Tenten, of course- hadn’t been terrible, but he was too accustomed to first class and had actively avoided economy class ever since.

It may or may not have been a minor point of contention between himself and Tenten- she disliked spending money when there was a cheaper option available, and would pointedly roll her eyes at him when she thought he was being frivolous. He would retort that just because something was less expensive didn’t mean it was a better choice. Tenten tended to buy things that broke down after a very short period of time, and constantly had to replace them. All in all, she was spending just as much, if not more than him on a product.

It was one of the things they fought about most, but once they’d moved in together it had settled over somewhat. Even if their apartment’s rent was more than the rent at Tenten’s old place, splitting it between their two incomes actually meant she was paying less than she had before, and could actually invest in her necessities.

(Neji had taken her to the store where his family bought most of their winter clothes, and Tenten had actually expressed shock over how warm her coat was. It gave Neji some mixed feelings- she definitely could have afforded warmer coats in the past, and he hated that she had just let herself be that cold for the sake of saving money.)

But still- Neji indulged and traveled almost exclusively in first class. (If Tenten was with him, they’d fly business class; a grudging compromise between them.)

Neji tried to do some work on the flight, but he was too distracted to get much done. He was mostly thinking about Tenten.

He hadn’t seen her in almost three weeks, and was eagerly anticipating seeing each other face-to-face again. He knew Tenten had some things she wanted to do with him in the city, and they’d likely spend the second and third days of their time together spending time with Tenten’s group of fellow students, who by all accounts she was becoming close with. But their first day reunited…

The flight attendant handed Neji his drink, stirring him from his (admittedly slightly risque) thoughts. He took it with a nod of thanks and turned his attention to look out the window.

Four hours, then he’d finally see her again.

Tenten chewed her lip in anticipation, eyes fixed to the entrance of the baggage claim area. Neji’s delayed flight had thrown her off a little. She’d been a bundle of nerves all week, unable to focus on her work and even getting a few inquiries from her colleagues about her behavior.

They’d all smirked a little bit when she told them her boyfriend was coming to visit her- apparently, she talked about Neji more than she realized. She’d left the night before amid wolf-whistles, knowing looks, and one loud, “Enjoy your weekend!”

And she was planning to, but first her boyfriend needed to arrive.

A flood of people came through the doors, and Tenten perked up eagerly only to sulk in disappointment when it became clear that Neji wasn’t among them. His flight had landed about half an hour ago, he should be at the baggage claim any second-

A few stragglers from the last crowd entered, but still no sign of Neji. Tenten was tempted to go through and find him herself.

Her phone buzzed, and she checked it hastily in case it was from Neji. It was just an email notification- once upon a time, Ino had nagged Tenten into signing up for a clothing store’s membership program, and now she was constantly getting spam.

Scrunching up her nose in vexation, Tenten tapped her way through unsubscribing from the store. She never used the discounts anyway; there really wasn’t a point to it anymore. Task complete, she put her phone back in her pocket and glanced back up at the entrance.

Her heart stopped in her throat. In the minute she’d been distracted, Neji had entered, and he was walking towards her now with his eyes fixed to her face.

For a few seconds, Tenten couldn’t get her feet to move at all.

Logically, she knew his appearance hadn’t changed- she had video called him two days ago, after all, and he looked much the same as he had then.

But something about seeing Neji in person- for the first time in three weeks - made her want to cradle his face in her hands and memorize its nuances.

(He was so handsome - how did she not fully remember that?)

After those first few seconds spent drinking in the sight of him, Tenten lurched into movement. She didn’t quite run to him, but they reached one another with a flurry of movement that ended with Tenten clinging desperately to Neji's shoulders as he leaned her back and kissed her with such urgency that she was left gasping for air.

He pulled back slightly and shifted her so she was upright again, pressing a few slower, more controlled kisses to her lips. Her head was swimming, but she did her best to reciprocate, feeling rather like one of the trembling maidens on the covers of the books Sakura pretended not to read.

Neji parted from her and rested his forehead against her own, eyes staring into hers.

“Hi,” Tenten whispered, biting her lip in an effort to contain the wide grin stretching across her face.

“Hi,” he echoed. He kissed her again, very softly, before finally stepping away and slipping his hand into hers. They stood and grinned at each other like idiots for a minute, before remembering the crowd around them and the luggage that still needed to be collected.

They were getting a few fish-eyed looks from the people around them, but as Tenten tucked herself against Neji's side while he grabbed his luggage, she realized that she definitely didn't care.

Tenten drove them back from the airport in a colleague’s borrowed car, filling up the air with excited chatter about her work, and showing him around, and how happy she was to see him.

He couldn’t have gotten a word in edgewise if he’d tried- Tenten still maintained that she didn’t talk as much as, say, Naruto or Ino, but once she got started on something, it was hard to stop her.

Not that Neji wanted to. He was, quite frankly, starstruck at the sight of her, and was still drinking in the fact that he was back in her presence. He sat quietly in the passenger’s side of the car and watched her speak, letting her words wash over him and feeling the gap in his life slowly fill up again.

He must have been gazing at her like a man starved, because every time she glanced over at him she’d quickly dart her face away again, a flush slowly rising on her face.

They reached the building where Tenten was staying and parked in the alloted spot, then sat in the car and kissed one another for a good half an hour.

Neji was a little embarrassed when he pulled apart from Tenten- for a brief moment, he needed to catch his breath- and realized how much time had passed since they had arrived. The sight of Tenten’s face easily persuaded him to lean over again, her mouth a puckered red and her hair a tousled mess from where he had been cupping her head. She also had such a languid, wanton look on her face that Neji really had no choice but to swoop back in and tease a moan from her throat.

They finally got out of the car- both flushed red and feeling a little light-headed- and went up the stairs and towards Tenten’s apartment. They committed to some level of decorum once they entered the building and kept themselves the slightest bit apart. Tenten had fallen rather quiet, but based off the expression on her face- biting her lip, a dark flush, brows just the slightest bit cinched- she was filled with anticipation.

They entered the apartment quietly, and stopped a few feet into the foyer. Tenten seemed a little awkward now, as if she hadn’t planned for what they’d do after they got back to her place.

Fortunately, Neji had some ideas.

He set his bags down carelessly and snagged Tenten by the waist, stepping closer and ducking his head down to mouth at her pulse. She inhaled sharply, throwing one hand over his shoulders and wrapping her other arm around him to grip the fabric covering his mid-back.

They spent several more minutes like that, kissing rather desperately and with quite a bit of tongue. Finally, Tenten pulled away with a gasp.

“O-oh-” She panted against his shoulder for a minute, her grip slowly easing where her hand had twined itself into his hair. Sensing a shift in their affection, Neji relaxed his own stance so he was cradling her close to him, slowly rubbing her back.

There was less tension between them now, replaced by tenderness and- fulfillment. After a moment, Tenten lifted her head again and pressed her lips very gently against his.

They kissed sweetly for a minute or two, then Neji slowly eased back. “Give me the tour?”

“Sure,” Tenten said, somewhat breathlessly. She grabbed his larger suitcase and dragged it behind her as she went further into the apartment. Neji grabbed his other bag and followed her into the kitchen silently.

It was small but well furnished, with surprisingly new-looking countertops. Neji could see another room and a hallway leading off from where he was, but the door was partially closed and the lights dimmed, making the contents difficult to make out.

The kitchen flowed into the sitting area, which held a plush-looking sofa, a coffee table, a bookshelf, and the TV on the armoire. There was also a side table with a lamp and a few knickknacks, as well as a shelf holding a few plants and a couple of picture frames.

He couldn’t see them perfectly, but one of the pictures was definitely a picture of them from Temari’s birthday party a few years ago, both dressed nicely and looking- well, Tenten looked beautiful, Neji supposed he had looked handsome.

It was towards the end of the evening, and they’d both had a few drinks in them when Sakura had snapped the picture. They were seated at the table and Tenten was leaning into Neji’s side, head propped up on one hand with the other tucked into the crook of her elbow. Neji was sitting with one arm over the back of her chair and the other resting on the table. Sakura had told them to “say cheese!” before she took the photo, and in an unusually public display of affection Neji had pressed his lips to Tenten’s temple before turning to face the camera.

Sakura had photographed the moment Tenten had understood his actions, and so the picture showed her smiling impossibly affectionately up at Neji as he in turn smiled warmly up at the camera.

Lee had said, once he saw the picture, that Tenten had “heart eyes”, which Neji didn’t really understand but made Tenten flush and get all squeaky.

It was one of his favorite photos of them, and it filled him with fondness that Tenten seemingly liked it so much as well.

“Well, this is the kitchen-” Tenten gestured around them rather vaguely- “then the sitting area, and through there is the office slash laundry room, and then that hallway leads to the bathroom and bedroom. Oh, I cleared out some space for your stuff, I know you’re only here for four days but I know how you like to organize your things…”

Neji hummed in agreement.

“Speaking of which, let’s go have sex.”

Neji was mid-agreement hum when he realized what she said, and choked off rather abruptly.

Tenten snorted. “Dork. But also, I’m serious. I put on silk sheets and everything.”

“Tenten, it is-” He paused and checked her watch. “A little after 1:00.”

“I’ve always found that to be a particularly sexy time of day…”

“It’s practically lunchtime.”

“Mmm. And I know what I want to eat.”

Neji's responding flush made Tenten laugh and kiss his cheek. Fondly, she told him, “C’mon, babe. I want to stretch you out and admire you.”

Neji’s flush made its way down his neck and over his ears, but it certainly didn’t stop him from following Tenten into the bedroom.

Tenten woke up the next morning with sun streaming in through the window and Neji’s mouth on her clit.

She threw her head back into her pillow and let out a hiss, her hands flying up to twine into the hair on Neji’s head and pull. He responded in kind, sucking at tender skin and squeezing her hips hard in his hands.

She came undone almost embarrassingly quickly- but they’d been up all night after an entire month spent apart, so she was admittedly a little tender and her stamina was lower.

But Neji was trying his damndest to increase it as much as he could in a single week. And though at the moment Tenten wasn’t able to walk without her knees wobbling, she certainly was enjoying herself immensely.

Neji pulled away from her, but she didn’t dare to look at him- she just knew he’d be licking at his lips and looking insufferably smug.

After a moment of silence, he said amicably, “Good morning.”

“Yeah. Uh, hi.”

Neji’s hands pulled away from her thighs, and a few moments later he was shifting himself up so he was propped over her on his elbows. His hair fell over his shoulders in a tousled mess, and Tenten was a little regretful she hadn’t woken up in time to see it tangled across his shirtless back- one of her favorite sights in the world, and one she had been badly missing in the past month.

But then again, she thought to herself as Neji dipped his head to thoroughly kiss her breathless, this was nice too.

Neji pulled away from her and shifted so he laid on the bed next to her, one arm draped over her waist. He tucked his head back against her neck and collarbone, then, after a moment of consideration, grazed her warm skin with his teeth.

Tenten wiggled at the sensation. “Neji-”

“I meant to ask you last night,” he interrupted with a murmur (and normally she’d be irritated, because she hated it when people interrupted her, and when Neji did it she disliked it even more- but right now she was still riding the high of her pleasant awakening, and Neji smelled quite good, and it was just post-coital talk, nothing important, so she’d let it slide) “This necklace-” he reached to hook his fingers under the delicate gold chain that was tumbling down her neck and over the tops of her breasts. “You didn’t have this when you first left, did you? I don’t recognize it.”

Oh. Tenten flushed a little, because that was true, and the way she had gotten it was one of the most embarrassingly sentimental, lovelorn, sappy things she’d ever done.

“Uh-” her mind stuttered for excuses. “It’s, uh-”

Neji waited patiently, running his fingers over the chain (and coincidentally, her skin). He wasn’t looking at her face at all, which made it easier for her to blurt out, “Okay, you can’t laugh.”

His fingers never ceased stroking her skin. “All right.”

“Well-” Ugh, this was so cheesy. Tenten kept her gaze on the ceiling, refusing to look at Neji. No way would she be able to get it out if she had to actually look at him. “It was the first couple of weeks after I had left Konoha, and- I mean, you remember what it was like, I missed you a lot-”

The movement of Neji’s fingers slowed minutely, and Tenten got the impression he was listening very intently. “And- well- I was out with a few colleagues just touring around, and a few of us wanted to check out some shops and we went into this little jewelry shop and I just- I saw it, and I was thinking of you, and then I bought it.” She glared defiantly at the ceiling.

Neji’s hands stopped moving completely, and after a moment he said, “I missed you too, Tenten but I still don’t see how the necklace has anything to do with that.”

Tenten rolled her eyes at the brusqueness of his statement, but reached up and pushed his hand away to grab the necklace and show him the tiny, minuscule capital N that dangled off the delicate chain.

Neji lifted his head from her neck to look at it closer. “That’s- an ‘N’? Why...”

Tenten waited for his genius brain to kick in.

Neji paused, then asked haltingly, “Is that… is it… does the ‘N’...”

Tenten’s cheeks burned, and she muttered, “It’s really not too difficult of a connection, Nnnneji.” The emphasis was a tad obvious, but she wanted to get the conversation over with.

“I- I see.” Neji’s hand, which he had settled over her hip when she moved it, minutely tightened its grip. In the next few seconds he flipped them both over so Tenten was lying haphazardly under him while he buried his face in the space between her neck and shoulder, holding her in his embrace so tightly it was almost painful.

Tenten blinked a few times, a little startled at the reaction. Cautiously, she raised a hand to smooth down the strands of hair at the base of his neck. “Neji?”

If possible, he held her even closer. After a moment he lifted his head and pressed a lingering kiss to her temple, then abruptly got up and walked out of the room without a word.

Tenten squinted after him. “Neji? You okay?” He’d had only his briefs on, so he definitely wasn't planning on just walking out of the apartment.

He came sweeping back in a minute later and sat back down on the bed, then leaned over her and set something down on her stomach.

“Marry me.”

Tenten’s head, which she had been craning awkwardly to see what he had brought her, snapped back up. There wasn’t a trace amount of anything other than seriousness in his expression- but then, she hadn’t expected there to be anything else.

“Huh,” she said, grabbing what she now realized was a small velvet box off of her stomach and popping it open. The ring wasn’t extravagant- just a simple band of platinum with diamonds, rubies, and aquamarines studded into it.

(Keyword being extravagant- that’s not to say it wasn’t expensive.)

“I will.” Tenten said absently, picking the ring out of the box. “Marry you, I mean,” she clarified, sliding it onto her ring finger and giving an experimental wiggle. It didn’t have any parts that would stick out and catch on anything, which she appreciated.

“We should have a longer engagement, though- maybe a year and a half? That way I can finish up in China, then we’ll have time to plan things out- I’m sure your family has a lot of traditions, so we’ll have to haggle that out with them...”

She glanced up at Neji for the first time since she’d put the ring on. He was staring at her ring finger, seemingly transfixed, looking so open and vulnerable that her heart clenched.

“Hey.” Tenten leaned over and placed her left hand over his. He jerked his head up to meet her gaze, and she grinned at him.

“We’re engaged.”

Slowly, he grinned back, looking both triumphant and boyishly sheepish. “We’re engaged.” He turned his hand over to lace their fingers together, then brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it tenderly.

Tenten could only stand the affection for a few seconds before she had to jump up and get away from him to hide her flush. “You want breakfast?”

She peeked at Neji out of the corner of her eye. He was watching her with his head tilted to the side, that same exultant smile tugging in his lips.

“If you’re making it dressed like that, definitely.”

Tenten paused and glanced down at her fully nude figure, then shrugged and continued towards the kitchen. “Fine, but I’m going to wear an apron for protective purposes.”

“Even better.” She could hear him shuffle around on the bed, presumably swinging his legs over and standing up.

Three steps out of the bedroom, Tenten paused and stared at the contents of Neji’s suitcase where they were scattered across the floor. “Uh-”

“Ah.” Neji placed a hand on her waist and looked over her shoulder at the mess. “I was in a hurry to get the ring. I’ll put my things away while you make breakfast.” He paused for a second, then thoughtfully dropped his head down and pressed a kiss to her neck.

The slightest shiver went up Tenten’s spine. “That eager to get me affianced, huh?”

“You have no idea.” Neji stepped back from her and knelt in front of his luggage. “I started ring shopping after our six-month anniversary.”

Tenten’s foot caught itself over the air, and she stumbled. “What?”

Neji just smirked up at her. “It was a good date.”

“I mean-” Tenten thought back to the sight of her office filled with flowers in the morning, followed by a delivery of her favorite lunch, and Neji picking her up at a little after five to take her to dinner at a very nice restaurant. (Plus, well, they’d gone back to his place- to exchange gifts, among… other things.)

It was a good date, but it wasn’t as if it had so spectacular that she was suddenly irresistible to Neji- after all, he’d informed her a few weeks prior to their anniversary that he loved her.

(She was on her way out of her apartment that morning, already running a few minutes late because someone didn’t want to let her out of their shower. Neji didn’t have to leave for work until later, and was making a point of walking around clad only in a towel, his wet hair dripping some very distracting trails of water down his chest. Tenten had paused to kiss him goodbye, and after he pulled away he told her, “You should know that I love you.”

“’Kay,” she replied, and left, clicking the door shut behind her to make sure it latched.

She was halfway down the stairs before she realized what he said.)

Tenten frowned at Neji in contemplation. “What was so significant about our anniversary? It was a nice night, but it wasn’t super unusual for us.”

Neji’s attention was suddenly diverted with laser-like intensity to neatly folding a sweater. “Hn.”

Tenten let out a little sputter, half amused and half offended. She hadn’t heard him say that in a while.

“Excuse you-”

“It was the first time you’d spent the night at my home.” Neji’s sweater was extremely folded. “It just… made me realize… that I wanted you in my life for as long as you would have me in yours.”

Ugh, Neji . Every once in a while, he’d turn a phrase that made her heart go pitter-pat in her chest. And he always meant them so earnestly- Tenten knew that her presence in Neji’s life had lightened it considerably, but he was still one of the most serious people she knew. But it meant that everything he did, he committed himself to fully. Romance included.

She didn’t tell Neji this, of course. Tenten got all flushed and squirmy when Neji’s intense affection was directed at her for too long.

Instead she leaned over and patted his head. “Save it for the vows, babe.” She turned around and started to walk into the kitchen, only to let out a shriek as Neji suddenly looped his arms under her ass and sort of tackle-dropped her on the ground.

“‘Save it for the vows’,” he muttered, hooking one of her thighs around his waist. He laced her left hand with his right and pinned it to the ground near her head. “You’re ridiculous.”

Tenten grinned up at him. “I’m one-hundred percent original, bay-beeee.”

Neji very effectively used his mouth to shut her up.

#nejiten #neji #tenten #fanfic #my writing

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