The Forbidden City, Part 2

[endless_scrolls]

Title: The Forbidden City, Part 2
Type: Fanfic
Fandom: AU!Naruto
Theme: Bringing you home [ Word count: 1765 ]
Character(s): Tenten, Uzumaki Naruto; brief mentions of Hyuuga Neji
Pairing(s): Small hints of Naruto/Tenten
Warning(s): None.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but these words.
Note: Fic request. Takes place in the same universe as the last_stretch RP comm and meant to stand as a log. Because Naruto and Tenten probably have more logs than everyone else in the comm combined.
Dedicated to: rearrangeable. ♥
Link to Part 1: [ HERE ]

A lot could be said in the silences. With seven years of friendship under their belts, Naruto and Tenten knew that truth, and each other, all too well. It was not in the over exaggerated gestures, but in the little things. Small shifts in their eyes. Barely noticeable flecks of movement in their body language. The downward curl at the very edge that broke the straight, even line of her lips. The way Naruto blinked a little bit more than usual. How he would avoid looking at her one minute by focusing all his attention on Itoshii sitting in his lap, and then steal brief glances in her direction the next. They knew it all. Tenten could read them all. And that realization was both a blessing and a curse.

It soothed the old hurt away and yet only added to the sting.

The walk back to the restaurant was quiet. Wordless as their charged emotions seemed to wash out with the sheets of rain pouring down on them. Draining away into the gutters of Jinli Street where they could no longer burden their owners with shattered beliefs and false resolutions. At least in theory and symbolism.

But oh, if only it were that simple.

Emotions were endless, she decided. They were relentless and unforgiving. Cruelest of all things created on Earth. Because you could not hide from them. And any attempt to mask them only encouraged their cultivation until they became unbeatable monsters. Inner demons that continued to eat away at the soul until there was nothing left but a shell of who you once were. Even in the sanctuary of her temporary home above the restaurant, Tenten could find no solitude from them. Of her old room where she had cried and screamed silently so many nights as a young adolescent child at the monsters that tormented her.

She would rather face them than the creatures that haunted her now. They had been easier to fight.

"I don't know why I didn't tell you. I just... didn't."

"I noticed," she responded flatly.

Gently, she tossed a dry towel in his direction and placed another on top of Itoshii. A small trail of puddles had already been left downstairs, leading up to her very door where the biggest one of all pooled at their feet. Chilling their bones and wreaking havoc on their nerves as the air hit the droplets that still remained. Anger and frustration were one thing, but that was no excuse to risk them all getting sick because of it. And if he would insist on continuing the conversation, then they could at least do it while dry.

"Why does it matter so much?" the blond asked, his voice slightly muffled in the towel.

"...Because," she finally said after a moment of thought, "If you can keep something like this from me, what else..."

" - There's been nothing else, I swear!"

"After all this, can I even trust that?"

The blond quirked his brow. "That's a bit much there, isn't it, Tenny?"

With a huff and a sigh, Tenten plopped down on the soft cushion of her bed. Just a mere few feet away from where Naruto sat. "You and I have always been able to talk about everything. Everything."

At the emphasis, she finally looked -- really looked -- into his deep blue eyes. Focused and intent enough that she could nearly see her own reflection within them. So that he could do the same and see the mixed emotions that were raging within her. Fighting to escape the cage the young woman had placed them in."You broke that. And forgive me for being a little sensitive, but that means something to me."

"It means something to me too!"

Tenten opened her mouth to speak, but stilled instantly at the flash of lightning that streaked across the sky outside. And it was through instinct and some deep rooted fear that the young woman flinched before the crack of thunder boomed and shook the entire room. Like most other times, there was no panic or cause for concern. But she noted with a bit of annoyance that the rate of her heart had sped up an extra beat or two. And the sight of Naruto reaching out a comforting hand to her did nothing to alleviate the spark of anxiety.

It happened before she could make sense of it. Before Tenten could process the signals her brain was sending through her body. And in the next instance, the young woman's hand jerked away from his touch.

Another hundred words spoken without a single breath or sound.

"...Things are never gonna be the same again, are they?" he asked softly, his hand poised in the air for another split second before pulling it back. Rubbing through Itoshii's fur in an attempt to will away the sting of rejection, she supposed.

"...I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" His voice sounded strained. Desperate. Angered. Exactly everything that she was feeling and more. And it broke Tenten's heart to know that he was suffering through this as well. "You know everything, Tenny - "

"I don't know, ok?!" Bolting up from where she sat, Tenten began pacing the length of her old room. More likely than not, it did nothing to help the situation. But at the very least, it would give her something to do. Something to control.

She wanted to fix it. To repair what was broken. Because more than anything, Tenten wanted her best friend back. Wanted all of them to go back to when they were all friends and happy and... not this. Not living in this suspended limbo of an existence. But there was nothing either one could do. At least not now. "Look, I wanna say yes. I wanna believe that we can go back to how it was before. But... "

"But?"

These were the consequences of his choices. Of their choices. All that could be done was to simply wait and see where the path took them.

"...It's too soon." It was still painful to think of it. It still made no sense. She was still hurt and there were too many intangible factors that could easily influence her decision on the matter. Too many variables and not enough time to account for them all before making the final verdict. And frankly, Tenten was in no mood at that moment to find a resolution. "I need time. And you have to give it to me. It's the least you can do."

Naruto sighed and looked down at their adoptive daughter of a kitten. In consideration. In thought. In defeat. It was hard to tell, really. And she was in no position to guess. "...Fine."

And for now, that would be enough. For now, that was all they had.

"...Do you even know what this is?" she inquired, breaking the long stretch of silence that had come after, "This thing between you and Neji?"

"...No."

"Right. And being who you are, neither one of you have figured it out yet, have you?"

"Nope."

"Of course not."

Sighing softly, she knelt down in front of the blond and reached out a slender hand to the kitten contently purring in his lap. Ever the protective mother and so accustomed to having her near by at all times and there to happily greet her after the end of a hard day of working, the young woman had missed Itoshii. Had wondered how she was fairing without Tenten. After all, Naruto was a very caring and doting father figure. But it had been a long time since he had spent any time with the kitten on his own. He had always come to Tenten when he wanted his daughters love and affections. When he wanted to spoil both of his girls with attention.

"Were you ever gonna come back?" he asked suddenly, "If I hadn't come to get you?"

And Tenten had to stop and think about that for a moment. Because there was no way to be certain now that he was here. She had wanted time away, after all. To think and to process. To simply be away long enough so that these things would not effect her so much. But no matter how much time she might have needed, there was also school to consider. And work. And the fact that Tenten could not stay with her uncle forever. "...I was gonna come back next week."

Not exactly the full truth. But it the nod he gave said that it was believable enough.

"...Good. Then we can go back together."

She wanted to protest the idea. To argue that Naruto had missed enough school already with the classes he had been forced to skip in order to pick up extra shifts at his place of work. But just as she was about to vocalize against the concept, Tenten caught the gleam of determination in the blond's eyes. They were unmovable. Unrelenting. They said that he could not be persuaded otherwise from his intent.

They meant, she realized with a sigh, that there would be no argument on this matter. And it took everything within Tenten not to smile fondly at it.

Giving Itoshii's fur one last stroke, she stood up and reached for the extra apron that was hanging over the edge of her desk. Without much thought or any sort of explanation, Tenten pressed it against Naruto's damp chest and began walking out of the room. "Come on, we've got work to do."

"H-huh?" was his reaction as he fumbled with the fabric, ultimately jostling Itoshii out of his lap.

"Well, if you're gonna be staying here for the week, you're gonna have to earn your keep. Now hurry up and get changed before my Uncle Katsuro starts yelling."

It was, perhaps, a small step to who they used to be. Maybe who they would once be again. And the look on Naruto's face was telling of his hope that they would have that sort of friendship again. But in truth, she was already beginning to realize. Things could never be exactly the same as they were before. They could be similar. They could be parallel. But after all the events that led up to that point, to remain the same -- unchanged and unaffected -- would be to disrespect the lessons that this incident had taught them.

"I don't know if we can go back to how it was before. But I'll always be your friend, Naruto. We can work from there."