a follow-up to chapter seven, "Amnesia". much, much, MUCH later.

*throws this at you and runs*

Ever since he'd been forced to break up with her, Neji's life had slowed down until the days blended endlessly one into another.

He woke up, went to class, went to work, went back to class, ate a perfunctory meal, studied, and went to bed. It was drudging and joyless, and sometimes he still reached over to the other side of the bed on Thursday mornings to see if she was there again- but she never was.

(He wondered, in his darker thoughts, what she did on Wednesday nights and Thursday mornings now, instead of their weekly date night. Maybe she still had dates, just- not with him, anymore, because he forced her away.)

And he made things all the worse for himself, because he couldn't help but constantly scan for her on campus, because even seeing her from a distance still brightened and pained his day.

The first few weeks after their breakup, when she'd gone along just looking numb and confused, he'd done his best to avoid her, or if that failed then he did his best to avoid looking at her. He'd hurt her so much, and for no real reason.

He felt like the worst person in the world when he bumped into her leaving her lab after a late, unexpected meeting with his advisor, and said words that made her face crack like porcelain before she hurried away; for the time he overheard her quiet conversation with Hinata over the phone and remembered how she used to burrow her face against him in his car on the ride home to whine about work, clinging to his closest hand with both her own; when he'd learned her grandmother had passed away in the middle of a cafe through inadvertent eavesdropping and she had turned and met his stricken gaze, her own eyes wearied and trying their best to hide it-

He wasn't there for her any more, and it was killing him.

But she seemed like she was finally moving on, which was- well, he couldn't decide if he was glad to see her happy again, or if he was devastated that any relationship they had was truly, completely over.

Hiashi's half-apologies did nothing to ease his quiet, seething anger over the fact that he had been forced to end his relationship with the person in the world who made him the happiest, just to soothe the egos of a few clan Elders who wanted to see him "court a woman alike him in standing-"

After their most recent, violent argument, Neji had stormed out of the Hyuga household and decided not to return until his uncle genuinely showed remorse for how much he had allowed the clan to interfere in his life once more. The choice made a leaden stone sink into his gut, because he knew Hiashi would never care enough about Neji's happiness to apologize.

Neji stayed up late working on a project and went to bed at 3:00 AM, then got up early to meditate.

One day he unthinkingly bought a hot chocolate to go along with his tea.

It was her usual order, and he'd become accustomed to getting it with his own, because she'd usually end up at his side sooner or later and accept it gleefully, with a delighted press of her lips to his cheek-

It was a habit that he thought he had broken, and it wrenched at his heart.

He put the hot chocolate in his other cupholder, because he didn't know what else to do with it, and then brought it back to his apartment and stared at it for twenty minutes before Hanabi arrived for their tutoring session and he gave it to her to reheat.

It was while he was watching his cousin frown down at her calculus problems that he had something of a drastic realization, and sent a hurried email to his advisor.

The fallout from informing one's family that one would not be following their predetermined plan to go into the family business and would instead be switching to high school education was, in Neji's experience, drastic.

Things were going very smoothly from his university's end- he was already pursuing a major in mathematics, so he simply dropped the business double major and registered his next semester's classes for education- but the Hyuga family was furious with him, as made excruciatingly evident when he was disowned.

Perhaps the saddest part was that he only felt relief over officially being free from their cloying grasp, even if it meant he no longer had their financial support.

So while he was still uncertain about how exactly he'd be funding his education and paying for his rent and utilities, he was also dizzy with triumph. The university lawyers assuring him that yes, his father's trust couldn't be touched by the clan and was his to claim, certainly helped.

He would comfortably be able to continue his education, at least, but he needed to downsize his apartment and get another job to build up his savings. After talking to his advisors, and to a few of his professors, he applied for a mathematics tutoring position and was quickly hired on.

He found himself enjoying more than he thought he would- the actual mathematics were fairly straightforward, and coaxing his tutees through their lessons offered training for when he was a teacher.

Slowly, his world began to move forward again, and he thought of her less often.

Though he knew she had technically been forbidden by their family from seeing him, Neji was no less surprised when Hinata came barreling out from around a corner and smacked into his arms in a violent form of a hug.

"Hello, Hinata," he mumbled into her forehead as she made her usual choking noises that meant she was fighting back tears. Gingerly, he patted her back, then pulled away and redirected her so they started walking into his building.

Not that it would be his building much longer, as he'd be terminating his lease and moving in two months, but for now it was still his.

He had several new, less expensive apartments in mind, all of which were more than acceptable, but so far the most ideal one was in her building, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to do that to himself, or to her.

He took himself back to the present and held the door open for Hinata, and then for Hanabi as she came sprinting out of the same area where Hinata had been lurking and ducked past him with a wild grin, clomping after her sister.

He rolled his eyes a little. Subtlety had never been one of their strong points.

Hinata tearfully hugged him again after they entered his apartment, while Hanabi started rifling through his pantry with very determinedly nonchalant air, though the furtive looks she kept throwing them ruined the illusion a little bit.

When ten minutes had passed and he still couldn't get any comprehensible words out of Hinata, he turned to Hanabi for an explanation. She was eating a bowl of oatmeal with some banana sliced into it and looking pleased with herself.

"Hanabi, not that I'm not glad to see you both, but why are you here? I know you've both technically been banned from seeing me."

She spooned more oatmeal into her mouth. "Like that was going to stop us."

"True enough, but why is Hinata so upset? I was disowned weeks ago, I'd think she had time to get over it."

Hinata let out a sad gurgle. Neji awkwardly patted her hand.

Hanabi mumbled out, in a voice squishy with half-chewed banana, "She misses you- well, we both do- and upon seeing you again her emotions overwhelmed her."

She swallowed, then added hesitantly, "I think Father-"

Neji stood abruptly. "Hinata, would you like a glass of water?" He strode into the kitchen without waiting for an answer, and Hanabi pursed her lips in grudging acceptance as she settled next to her sister on the couch.

"You'd better not spill," Neji warned her as he handed Hinata her glass. Hinata looked as though he'd yelled at her, and he hastily corrected, "Hanabi, with her oatmeal."

"Yeah, spill as much water as you'd like, Hina."

"That is not what I meant and you know it."

"Sure it is."

Hinata, unnoticed by both as they playfully bickered, smiled into her water.

Lee was as enthusiastic and helpful as ever, despite the awkward situation Neji had put him in- his two best friends, formerly dating, now no longer spoke at all.

But Lee chattered lightly about various, non-ex girlfriend related subjects as they somehow got Neji's couch through the tiny door frame and into his new apartment. Hinata was in the kitchen, organizing his dishes and humming along to the classical music she was playing.

He had several unpacked boxes still sitting in the various places that their contents would go, but once the couch was in and his kitchen was inhabitable Neji would be fine doing the rest himself.

He and Lee had already brought in all the other furniture and placed it, and Hanabi had put all his clothes away for him that morning before she'd had to leave for her tutoring.

(She'd kept slingshotting his underwear at him to amuse herself, so really her help had been a mixed blessing.)

Neji's stomach was still churning, however, because despite his best attempts he had not been able to find a better place than her building, and the chances of encountering her were- astronomically high.

He didn't know what to do- did he contact her to warn her of the possibility, so they could just duck past each other without saying a word? Did he just hope they never saw one another and keep it to himself?

He worried over it as Hinata left after a tight hug goodbye, and Lee began to depart after an even tighter hug goodbye- until Neji abruptly caught his arm and choked out, "Lee, wait."

Lee turned to look at him, his thick eyebrows raised high with enthusiastic patience. Neji knew he had to leave soon, as he had a "study session" with Gaara that night- but he still couldn't formulate the words he needed to say.

Lee read his expression carefully, then gently prompted, "Neji?"

"Will you… please tell her, Lee, I don't want this to be an unpleasant shock."

He didn't quite know what happened- one moment Lee was halfway out the door, his arm caught in Neji's hand, and then Neji was being hugged within an inch of his life. (His feet were off the ground, what on earth was Lee doing?)

"Of course, Neji," he muttered into his ear. "You are a good friend."

Neji said nothing. His throat felt unexpectedly tight.

It had been three months, halfway through the second semester, and they had yet to encounter one another in the building. Neji almost thought he was in the clear, but he knew that as time stretched on his luck (good or bad, he wasn't sure) would not last.

He knew, from word of mouth, that she was battling a severe cold right now, and he couldn't help but remember how she used to whimper and cling to him dramatically when she was sick, somehow plying kisses out of him despite his deeply germ-averse nature (which had quickly been established after the time Hanabi sneezed straight into his open mouth when she was a baby) and then giggling unsympathetically at him when he inevitably caught whatever it was she'd had.

And when he got migraines she used to scratch her fingers softly against his scalp, easing the tension and distracting him with her soft mouth-

And it was exactly this type of thinking that kept him where he was now, aching with regrets, picturing her cluttering around her apartment four floors up from him. He forced the thoughts away. Her current illness had nothing to do with him.

At least, that had been his plan.

He ran into Ino Yamanaka on her way out of the building one day- which was terrifying. He hadn't had to face her one-on-one since he'd broken up with Te- with her, and he sure Ino would be rightfully furious with him.

But she surprised him by giving him a short nod and then suddenly making a startled face, like she'd had an abrupt thought, and saying, "Neji, do you have a moment?"

He didn't. "Yes. How may I assist you?"

"It's weird and kind of uncomfortable and it's totally fine if you say no, but- ugh, okay. Bunhead is super sick right now, and we've been taking shifts staying with her, but the way things worked out she's going to be home alone all weekend- can you go check on her once or twice?"

Neji's unreadable mask slammed down over his features even as his mind raced. "I… it's not that I don't want to help, Ino, but I don't think she would want me there."

"Right, but she's so hopped up on cold medicine right now I doubt she'll even notice." She eyed him for a moment, sensing his trepidation, then sighed and dragged her hand down her face. She looked tired.

"Look, I can't make you do this- obviously- but you're in the building and you'd spare us a lot of worrying. Here-" she dug around in her bag and pulled out a key- "I'll get this back from you later. Use it, don't use it, whatever. I'll be back Sunday night, so you'd just need to swing by and check on her during the day on Saturday and Sunday morning. See you around, 'kay?"

She left before he could articulate a response, staring mutely down at the impossibly heavy key in his hand.

Neji stared at the familiar door number in front of him, key clenched in his palm and digging tightly into his skin as he did his best to regulate his breathing and empty his thoughts.

Calm, calm. He would knock, likely end up entering quietly and refilling the pitcher of water in the refrigerator, then leave again with no confrontation whatsoever.

He knocked, waited a few long moments, then knocked again and called quietly, "Hello?"

Silence. He tested the door- unlocked- then slipped in.

It was dark, unsurprisingly, and he could hear the faint sounds of her noise machine drifting down the hallway from her bedroom. He hesitated, then followed the noise.

Her door was partially open, and he knocked hesitantly on the frame. There was no response, so- heart in his throat- he entered her bedroom.

She was asleep with her back to him, blankets bundled over her figure as she snuffled away softly. He could see just a bit of her hair sticking out from her bundle, looking decidedly ruffled and baby bird-ish.

Neji tore his eyes away from the rich color he remembered so fondly and his gaze fell to the nightstand, where an empty glass sat next to a bottle of ibuprofen and a bottle of Dayquil. He hesitated, then picked up the glass and went into the kitchen to refill it.

As he'd suspected, her water pitcher was empty- she was terrible about refilling it- so he brought it over to the sink and filled it again before simply putting tap water with an ice cube into the glass.

He paused in the living room to pick up a coaster from the coffee table, then brought the glass back into the bedroom. Her snores had quieted a little, and he glanced at her briefly before putting the glass down.

She'd rolled just a little more onto her back, and he could see the shape of her cheek and a dark splash of eyelashes in profile- but he looked away quickly.

The glass settled on the coaster with a slight noise, and he straightened to leave.

"Neji?"

He froze.

"Neji." There was a soft touch to his forearm, and he turned to watch as an achingly familiar hand brushed against his skin, just the fingertips but it was enough to make his heart spiral in his chest.

Warm fingers wrapped around his wrist and tugged, and Neji turned to face her.

Doe eyes blinked up at him sleepily, and her grip slid from his wrist to his palm as she considered him. She yawned, teeth glinting, then said in a drowsy voice, "Hi."

He nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Her fingertips traced over the lines of his palm, and even as a thrill went down his spine he couldn't help but anguish over how she would react to his presence when she was awake and sober, how angry and horrified she would be-

Her fingers rose up to scrape gently over his wrist. "Slow down." It was such a non sequitur that his brow pinched in confusion, and- much to his shock- an amused smile shaped her mouth in response. "You're thinking too much about something. Slow down."

She squeezed his hand and closed her eyes, and seemed to fall back asleep. He was about to pull away when she whispered, "Ino said you'd be coming by. S'okay. M'not… not really mad at you anymore anyway-" she yawned again- "...and I'm… I'm glad…" she trailed off, and her hand gently dropped from his.

Neji stared at her sleeping face in shock. After a moment, he numbly reached out and placed her arm next to her on the bed.

He hurried out of her apartment, mind spinning frantically. She was glad? Glad about what?

He checked in again Sunday morning, just as nervous as he had been before. She didn't answer his knock again, so he opened the door cautiously.

The apartment was dark except for the light spilling from the bedroom, the door thrown open. Neji walked down the hallway and eyed all the notes and textbooks strewn across the end of the bed- clearly her illness hadn't prevented her from keeping up with her studies.

Actually stepping into the room showed a different story. She was asleep with her head tipped back against the headboard, her laptop dangerously close to falling off her legs and onto the floor.

He pried it from her loose grip and saved the program she had been working on, then closed it and set it aside. She stirred, and after a moment of frozen contemplation he walked over and turned off the main lights, so the room was only illuminated by her tableside lamp.

Next he cleared the assortment of papers off the edge of her bed, organizing them as best he could on her desk. That accomplished, he turned and his gaze fell on the glass of water- empty again.

He filled it- and the pitcher, which of course was empty- and put in a single ice cube, then walked it back to the room and put it on the table. A thought occurred, and he rattled the ibuprofen container softly. It was half-empty, and he put it back down with a thoughtful furrowing of the brows- perhaps he could pick up more for her, if she seemed to use them rapidly enough.

He took one last look around, to make sure everything was comfortably organized for when she woke up, then allowed himself to look at her again.

She met his gaze with a sleepy smile, and he fought back an instinctive startle- he hadn't realized she was awake.

His heart pounded in his chest. He watched, entranced, as she sat up a little and rubbed her eyes, then beckoned him closer.

Every part of him told him this was a bad idea, but he stepped towards her anyway, until he was within reach. Like before, she reached out and took his hand in her own, twining their fingers together. He only hoped she couldn't feel how rapid his pulse was- but then she slipped the pads of her fingers onto his wrist and he knew he was found out.

Her smile took on a decidedly cunning tilt, and Neji reflexively scowled in response.

(She'd done this all the time when they first started dating. She had liked seeing how flustered he got, although eventually he'd become a little more used to it and could easily keep pace with her acts of affection.

But they'd been broken up for almost seven months and he'd missed her so much, so it felt just as new and nerve-wracking as it had on their first date.

But the dynamic was so easy to slip back into- her, playfully teasing, and him hiding his affection with annoyance.

It was too easy, and too confusing, and it hurt.)

She let her fingers slip back down to rest their palms together, then squeezed his hand. "Thanks for coming by again."

"Of course," he murmured instinctively. Her smile widened, but she ducked her chin to hide it a little.

"I…" Neji watched (and tried not to think about it too hard) as she ran her tongue over her lower lip. "I'm…"

He watched as she struggled to say something, only to suddenly let out a wracking cough that shook her shoulders and left her hunched over and gasping for breath.

He found himself kneeling next to the bed, rubbing her lower back with one hand while she still clutched the other, squeezing it tightly in her pain. She was clearly miserable, and for the first time he noticed the sheen on her skin and the glassy look in her eyes.

Neji gently pulled his hand from her grasp and laid his palm on her forehead, hissing through his teeth when he felt how hot it was under his touch. "You're running a fever. Lay down."

"M'not sleepy," she muttered, pressing her forehead against his hand. "Your hands are cold. S'nice."

"It's not about sleeping, it's about resting. Drink." He grabbed the cup with the hand she wasn't insistently holding to her forehead and passed it to her, making sure she finished it off before setting it aside once more.

She stubbornly remained sitting upright, clutching his hand to her head and scowling at him when he told her insistently, "Lie down."

She sulked. He fought back a wave of affection (because if their past experiences were any indication, she would gleefully use his feelings against him to get what she wanted, because he turned into a pushover whenever she pouted) and pulled his hand from her grasp.

"Hey!"

"I'll give it back when you lie down," he told her sternly, as if they weren't having an absurd conversation over whether or not she could clutch his hand to her forehead like an ice pack.

She thumped back against her pillows and immediately grabbed his hand again, curling their fingers together as she plastered it against her forehead again. She harrumphed, and he couldn't help but grin.

Something odd came over her expression, but it smoothed over quickly as she yawned. Neji leaned over and clicked the lamp off, to her indignant, "Wha- Neji!"

He ignored the butterflies churning in his stomach (her voice, saying his name) and told her, "Again, you don't have to sleep. I just- I want the lamp off. For me."

"Yeah friggin' right," she muttered.

"I like the darkness."

That made her laugh hoarsely. "Okay, Batman."

"I don't understand that reference."

"You don't- that's such an obvious one! Damn it, Neji, engage in popular culture once in a while-"

He couldn't quite muffle his chuckles, and she fell into a suspicious silence before exclaiming, "You asshole!"

He laughed aloud, then, and couldn't help but squeeze the hand that was still entwined with his. "I'm hurt that you think so little of my pop knowledge."

"Of course I do, you've got the habits of an old man-"

"How rude. I'll have you know that one of my tutor students sent me a meme the other day."

"Ooh, mister big shot over here getting memes- shut up, grandpa. Lower your head." A hand reached up and pulled him down by the back of the neck. Puzzled, he allowed himself to be moved, then inhaled sharply as familiar lips pressed softly against his cheek.

"Thank you for taking care of me. I'll kiss you for real when I'm less sick, germaphobe." Her voice was already drowsy, and she slowly nodded off.

Neji wouldn't have been able to formulate a reply even if he wanted to.

Neji was puzzled to hear a knock on his door at 8:00 in the evening on a Tuesday, so instead of getting up to answer he just stared blankly at his door.

After a moment, the person knocked again, so he set aside his laptop and many papers and got up to answer it. Hopefully whoever it was wouldn't keep him away from his work too late, as he had an early morning class.

He opened the door cautiously and very seriously considered slamming it closed again once he saw the warm brown eyes waiting for him on the other side.

"Hi," she said conversationally. "I'd like to come in."

He wordlessly stepped to the side and allowed her entry, then stood and stared at her, flummoxed. She smiled back at him, slow and sure. "I'd like a drink."

"I have wine."

"Oof. You have terrible taste in wine."

"I have tea…?"

"Wine sounds great, thanks."

He started to walk towards the kitchen to pour them each a glass, and he heard her mutter behind him, "Plus wine makes things sexy."

He stopped short and whirled to look at her again, flushing. "I beg your pardon?"

"Nothing!" She said hastily, her own features pink. "It's not- I didn't- Wine! I would like the wine." She pushed past him into the kitchen, then stopped and windmilled around a little bit. "Um. I don't know where it is."

"I don't suppose you would," he replied, feeling decidedly nervous. He went over to the cupboard and pulled out the red he knew she'd like the most, then grabbed two glasses and poured wine for each of them. She accepted hers and took a very large drink.

Silently, he took it from her grasp and refilled it, then passed it back.

She was completely flushed by then, and as she took the glass back she muttered an embarrassed, "Thanks," that was probably the cutest thing he'd ever heard.

Inwardly, Neji winced at his thoughts- he was never going to be over her, was he?

She took another sip of her wine, and he unconsciously mirrored her, allowing the liquid to roll over his tongue before swallowing. (This particular bottle had been a gift from his uncle- from before he was disowned, of course- that had sat unopened for a long time. He'd debated passing it along to someone else after everything unfolded, but it was a very nice wine and he'd ultimately decided he'd get more vindication out of having it himself. Sharing it with her was an even better turn of events.)

They somewhat awkwardly adjourned to his sitting room, with Neji hastily arranging his paperwork to the side so they had room to settle on the couch. She watched him over her glass as she took another sip, her cheeks still pink, and he tried not to think too hard about that, or the fact that she was wearing a slightly too-big sweater that'd he'd always adored on her.

Eventually, she broke the silence with a little cough and said, "Thank you. For taking care of me this weekend."

"You're welcome," he muttered, averting his eyes.

She sighed, and the silence welled. He peered up at her from underneath his eyelashes, trying not to seem obvious in his staring.

Her gaze darted to his, and he hastily looked away.

Abruptly, she said, "Oh, hell-" and put her wine down so forcefully that he flinched. Before he could admonish her, however, she was moving across the couch to sit next to him, prying the glass from his hand, and suddenly she was leaning up towards his face-

Her lips had just barely brushed against his own when he jerked away, and in his panic at the fact that there was no room for him back away on the couch, he instead surged to his feet and took a few tumbling steps back.

They stared at one another for several long moments. Neji's chest was heaving.

Her face slowly tensed, and she looked down. "Right." A smile twisted her lips, wry and unhappy and bleak, and she stood. "I'll stop bothering you, then."

He was at her side instantly, cupping her elbow in his hand and choking out a desperate "Wait."

She stilled, and when he didn't say anything else, let out a slow sigh and leaned forward to carefully rest her face against the crook of his neck. Her breath was warm, and he shivered.

"You broke up with me," she said slowly, and Neji closed his eyes against the inevitable.

"...because your family was making you." It wasn't what he had expected, but it was still true, so he said slowly, "Yes."

"And then something went on in your genius, complex brain, and rather than telling me about what was going on you just… actually broke up with me."

Neji wasn't sure what direction she was going in, so he remained silent.

"And I found out about that, and I was fucking furious with you, because- well. My boyfriend's family- which is admittedly a cesspool of horrible people- demanded that he break up with me, and he just did, so I figured that showed how much I meant to him."

Too much. She meant too much.

"But then-" She moved away from him, but only long enough to drape her arms over his shoulders before settling her head back on his neck. "-I find out that my ex-boyfriend hasn't spoken to his uncle since the family made the decision, which is significant given that the uncle practically raised him and they're pretty close, all things considered. Not only that, but he also dropped out of the family business to get a degree in teaching."

Having the painful events of the past few months so neatly summed up left Neji feeling rather hollow. She continued, "...which went over very poorly with his family, and his refusal to switch back to a business major, plus his apparent 'disrespect', led to him being disowned.

"And my source- who is very worried about her dear cousin-" Hinata. Of course. "-tells me that he hasn't looked back once." She moved her hand over to the back of his neck, and tangled her fingers very gently in his hair.

"Which means that his family didn't mean that much to him after all, and maybe the fact that they made him break up with me was enough to finally drive him away.

"So here's a question for you to answer. Why didn't you tell me anything, either before we broke up, or after you finally got out of that hellhole and they couldn't hold things over your head anymore?"

"How could I?" The words burst from Neji before he could even consciously think of an answer, and he instinctively backed away to meet her eyes. "If I told you and we tried to work around them, the Hyuga clan would only pressure us until they got their way again. And then, after everything, how could I come back to you, after hurting you so much, and demand so much of you again?"

"Because I love you." She said the words easily, like they hadn't completely knocked the breath from his lungs, like he was still everything she wanted. "And I was hurt, and I'm still angry, and I want to work this out."

Her gaze and voice were both steady, and Neji was crumbling.

"Tenten," he whispered.

"And you love me too," she murmured, completely confident (and she was right, of course she was right). "And I- I want to try. Us. I want to try 'us' again." For the first time, uncertainty crossed her features, and she started chewing her lip. "If- I mean, if that's what you want too."

Too much. He did the only thing he could think of and raised his hand to her face, gently pried her bitten-red lip from her teeth with his thumb, and kissed her.

An immeasurable amount of time later, he drew back again. They were intimately entwined together, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist and lower back, and she had her hands knotted in his hair.

He didn't dare open his eyes, but rested his forehead against hers, feeling her breath puff against his chin. "I love you," he breathed.

"I love you," she echoed. She kissed him again.