naruto sideblog

Darkness seemed to cover the whole world as she ran with her things hidden on her backpack, trying to avoid ruining her scrolls and books, things she used to keep track of stuff going on at her store. But moving was so, so hard with the downpour that blinded her, a thick mist surrounding her. Tenten could barely see her nose as she explored the streets she'd grown in, foreign now in such a bad climate.

Rain fell all over the village, and mud spread on the pavement so there was no way of avoiding getting her shoes and pants dirty. Disgusting, wet, cold rain that poured into her bones and joints, a weather that was more depressing than anything else Tenten had ever witnessed– she closed her store early into the afternoon, knowing well that nobody would dare to explore the streets with such a downpour falling and flooding their village, so she went home without looking back. Rushing to put the security seals inside and hiding them where only an expert would look at, though thankfully everyone was too afraid of a family with an active Jounin and two retired ones to make a futile attempt at robbing her.

All she could think about during the storm was her spouse and their pain, how humidity made it worse; the woman used to enjoy rainy days when she was younger, before the fourth war took place, but now… it only meant pain for Neji. How could she like a climate that made one of her partners hurt so much? That wasn't right. Plus, it was so damn cold! She was definitely getting sick, and she still hadn't optimized the cost of production and profit of her new mithril shurikens just yet, which annoyed her even further. Numbers were so annoying, and numbers in the misty rain were worse. Bad combination.

So as soon as Tenten got home, she took off her shoes and changed into her pajamas, throwing herself to the couch with some chocolate, resting her head on a warm place with a blanket… and only when someone started playing with her hair did the woman realize that she'd pretty much laid down on Neji’s lap, who seemed to brighten up with her presence alone. The woman relaxed with their caresses, her gaze softening after being in the disgusting weather for what seemed an eternity.

Neji was sitting up on the couch, their body tense and unmovable through it all– there was exhaustion on their face, and there was no need for words. Yet they still spoke, trying to comfort her somehow.

“Mm, I'm guessing your day wasn't very good…” her spouse mumbled, his words slow and his voice barely audible, and only then did she realize that he couldn't move as quickly as he usually could. Hashirama-damned rain! If Tenten could kick off the stormy clouds, she would, but unfortunately she was not a rainbow pony with such powers… “Why don't you tell me about it? Maybe it'll make you feel better?”

“It was TERRIBLE, Neji! Nobody is going out with this stupid weather, and it's so annoying to walk in the dumb mud! And– and it's going so bad, Neji… I should've never opened the stupid shop!” she replied in rage but not at it, at herself, her hasty decisions that barely gave her any earnings at all. It was hard not to get so frustrated with her idiotic choices in life. “I hate this so much! Agh!”

“Tenten. There's no need to cry– it's been your dream for a long time to have a weapon shop, you can't just give up because you're not an expert from the start. My Tenten doesn't give up so easily,” Neji exclaimed and only then did she notice the tears on her own face, tears that her partner wiped with the sleeve of its robes. She sat up and hugged it with a sob, curling up on its arms, where she felt safe in a stormy world that conspired against her shop and her goals. “And I have good news for you. I've been thinking… I'm better now that I've got my cane. So maybe I could help you, sometimes. I know you're not very good with math.”

“Yees, I know… and I would actually love that. I'm almost in the reds, love. I brought my receipts and expenses to check on them by myself, but I– I don't even know where to start,” Tenten admitted with a pout, sobbing when her beloved kissed her forehead without a word. “I need your help…”

“Well, don't worry, I'll fix everything for you. Meanwhile you go and apply your estrogen, I didn't see you applying it this morning. It's for today, right?” they replied with a warm smile, and the brunette gasped with realization, quickly nodding in response as she broke apart from the embrace to put her paperwork on the side table and go get her treatment shortly after.

He was always so watchful and attentive to her and Lee, reminding them to take their medicine and remembering which exact day they were due for each of them. He was incredible! That was only one of the many reasons Tenten had asked them for a relationship – Lee and Neji had a more romantic thing with dates and stuff, while she just preferred to cuddle and hang out without anything else. They were queerplatonic partners and she got very annoyed when someone called them ‘just friends’; they were spouses! They had arranged their lives to be together, they had moved their things to a house bought by the three, things that ‘friends’ don't normally do with each other.

Terms were weird for the rest of the people, but the three were happy nonetheless. They understood each other and that was all they needed in the world.

When Tenten got back to the living room area she noticed that Neji had immediately started to read her bills and receipts, and the brunette couldn't help but smile, hugging her from the side. Resting her head on her spouse's shoulder, who just played with her hair and hummed in response, not losing focus on the task at hand. She had lost her attention for a couple of hours, as the Hyuga usually tended to only pay attention to whatever was in her mind instead of the rest of her environment, but she loved her nonetheless.