Scene 28
The leaves are turning. It is that time of year again, where the weather chills [Name] to the bone in the morning, but the afternoon sun makes her so hot. The trees rep different colors from gold to brown, trying to hang onto the last bit of green for the season. The colors give her inspiration for her next best selling piece, but here in the city, trees are few and far between, and those that stand tall are nearly barren. It's the one thing she hates most about Neji's penthouse. All she sees is the grey of the buildings and splatters of green off in the distance, making her crave for home.
It's not that she can't go home, rather, as the months went by, she has spent more time with the Hyuga, leading to extended stays at his place. They're cordial with one another, tethering that line of friendship and fuck buddies. What has weirded her out more than anything else is that she's kissing him more than she's having sex with him. She wonders, as she stares out to the city streets below on his veranda, if they've hit a wall.
Her heart thumps in her chest. She shakes her head.
She returns to the inside, not braving the cold any longer than needed. The inside of his penthouse is spacious and not completely a bachelor pad. He, for sure, has some class. Low yellow lights and a monochromatic interior design has her feeling like she's in some snazzy, exclusive club. However, you can still tell his place belongs to a man by the size of the TV mounted on the wall.
[Name] hears a ding and watches Ace scamper across the floor to see who's coming through the front door. Obviously, it's going to be Neji, but the little cat loves to see who comes through. Sometimes it's a bellhop, sometimes it's room service, sometimes it's just Neji tired from the day.
The cat receives scratches to her head from Neji as he steps in from the private lobby and into the foyer. He greets [Name] with a wave. "'Morning."
"Hey."
"I brought you breakfast," he holds up a bag and shrugs, "Or I suppose brunch."
"Food is food," she says, following him past the kitchen and to the dining room. He unpacks all sorts of food. The scent overtakes the air, filling [Name's] nose as her stomach cries out to her. He hurries to the kitchen to grab utensils and plates, packing her plate with food before she has the chance to grab anything.
There's a dreaded moment of silence as [Name] watches him do this. Not too many people have fixed her plate before, and those that have were usually caretakers and/or boyfriends. She tilts her head, sucking her teeth absently.
"What's wrong?" He asks, peering at her. "Not a fan of kiwi?"
"Nothing." He slides her plate over to her and hands her utensils. "Just thinking."
Ace comes along and rubs her body against Neji's leg. He pieces off a little meat for her to chew on much to [Name's] dismay. Sometimes, [Name] thinks the cat is too friendly for her own good. She'd probably befriend a thief as long as they give her a treat.
He continues their conversation, "What'cha thinking about?"
"It's nothing, really."
Neji hums. He stares blankly at her, knowing there's something going on in that brain of hers. She's bad at hiding her feelings. She wears them so casually at times, it astonishes him how genuine she can be. "Last chance to speak your mind."
"What are we?"
Oh, god, he thinks. The detested question no one wants to hear. Now he wishes she had kept that to herself. He scratches his head, trying to find the right words to say. Their relationship isn't that ambiguous. They like having sex with one another and that's it. Lately, though, he's caring for her far more than any other girl in the past. He releases a heavy breath, shrugging his shoulders, "I don't know. Friends?"
He watches her deflate in relief, and unknowingly, he does the same.
"Great. That's all I was thinking about," she says, finally feeling comfortable enough to dig in.
"You've been thinking about that a lot lately," he comments, absorbed in the way she gobbles down her food, thinking of other things she can gobble. "Every time you ask, I panic."
Finding a point where her mouth isn't so full, she says, "Cause you do shit that's hella romantic sometimes and our relationship is already messy enough."
He covers his mouth his hand, holding back a snicker. "My bad, didn't know caring about someone is toxic."
"Well, it is!" She jokes. "Maybe next time, think before you act!"
Neji makes his plate after seeing [Name] finish hers. She goes in for seconds, going so far to steal some fruit from his plate as Ace distracts him for another treat. By the time he notices, she's already gnawing on it. He sucks his teeth before picking up the previous topic again.
"Have you tried seeing other people? Maybe that'll help."
She raises an eyebrow at him. "Like who?"
"I dunno. Ex-partners, your coworkers, friends we know."
[Name] scoffs. "Why do I have to do it? Why not you?"
Neji chuckles, prodding his food with chopsticks. "Why're you assuming I haven't? You're the only one having issues with our F.W.B."
He's lying, but [Name] can't tell. It's not like he's head over heels in love with her, but he can see their benefits are blurring the lines of their friendship. Never has he had a girl stay in his home for so long, and he doesn't feel the need to kick her out either. It's like she knows when she's overstayed her welcome, but also knows when he needs her around the most. The kisses they share are a bit more heated now too. It's scary to the both of them how sex means nothing, but the kisses mean everything.
"Spread your wings a little bit," he opens his arms wide, stretching them out, "No one will ever be as good as me, but, you can definitely find a close second."
"Ha ha ha," there's no humor in her voice when she says this. She stares dead on at Neji, showing him how amused she is. And with a sigh, she agrees, "Sure. Whatever. Let's take a break."
"Deal."
"But before that," she points at him with a cheesy smile, "Can you help me with something?"
She made the something seem small, but Neji finds himself carrying heavy boxes into her house two days later. It's brand new items for her office. He helps set them down and then cracks his back.
"I didn't know you were gonna have me doing manual labor," he grumbles as she opens up the nearest box. She ignores him as she rushes around unloading new equipment for the office. There's a lot to set up and her brain has no time for his bullshit.
"Help me put this together." She points to the disassembled desk and the instructions. He sucks his teeth and with a sigh, he begins helping her.
He can't say no to a friend.
"Why do you sound so angry?" He asks. From the moment she stepped into her house, it's like she's been on edge. Perhaps she hasn't noticed, but the emotional transition from his penthouse to her home was gradual but noticeable.
"I'm not," she defends herself easily, pulling out a new monitor to use for later. At some point, her art stopped being a side hustle and more of a second career. Sometimes she wonders if she should stop being a librarian altogether and fully support herself off this new art gig. However, Neji explained to her that it would be a bad idea this early in her career since art trends come and go and art connoisseurs are pretty picky nowadays.
"You just sound curt."
The way [Name] glares at him leaves him immobile. For what feels like forever, they're frozen like that. But with a huff, she acquiesces and throws her arms up. "I dunno, man. Every time I step into this room I just get upset. It really has nothing to do with you, so sorry if I'm snappy."
"It's because of your brother, right?" He hits the mark without even trying. He reads through the first instruction, dumping out plastic bags full of little segments that fit together. He starts assembling, reading carefully as he goes.
She nods so hard she thinks her head will pop off. "Yes! I'm so wound up and so far nothing can fix it."
A smirk stretches out his face. "Nothing, huh?"
She guffaws, "Your dick isn't a saving grace, Neji. Get your head outta your ass for once."
"Jokes! I'm just joking, [Name]."
She flops to the floor, helping him sort and unwrap pieces. Her face falls thinking of her younger brother. "I don't want to hold onto this grudge, but I feel like I can't forgive him. He just left me. It's stupid, I know, but it's like we were meant to live and die in this house, so, why did he leave me with these ghosts? He was supposed to help me with these burdens---we were supposed to do this together."
Neji taps his fingers against his arms. "You learn to live with it."
She looks at him, trying to discern the meaning behind his words, but finds nothing. He dutifully assembles her desk step by step as she wonders what goes on in his head. In all the months she's known him, he hasn't spoken much about his past. Their parents share a similar fate, but that's all she knows about him. His family and tutelage is lost to her. She wants to ask him about it, but because he doesn't elaborate any further, she bows out of it.
"Then I'll learn to cope, I suppose."
She presses her lips into a thin smile and he does the same.
...
On the Sasuke front, there's been no news. Six and a half months have passed and fall is in full swing with its bitter cold mornings and reluctantly soft evenings. The days already feel shorter and it almost plummets [Name's] mood into a depression. Nevertheless, she keeps up her spirits by hanging out with friends and partying the nights away. And with Neji's and Reena's help, they get her office up and running within a week. So things are looking up for [Name] despite the weather.
Today is a little different though. Naruto invites her to have dinner at his parents' and being the guest of honor, she sits at the head of the table. She remembers the first time she came over to their house. Sasuke had invited her and the Uzumaki family was boisterous and hysterical.
This time, not so much. Sasuke's empty seat at the table leaves a cold pit in [Name's] stomach. Kushina plates up dinner at his vacant spot regardless of his absence.
"Just in case he comes waltzing in," she laughs the pain away, but the joy never reaches her eyes. Minato allows the woman to cope as best as she can, knowing the amount of sleepless nights she has had over Sasuke's disappearance.
Their family changed drastically over the few months since [Name] has known them. Their laughter isn't as loud, and their jokes are few. Naruto picks at his food, staring worryingly at Sasuke's chair.
"Hey, chin up, son," Minato breaks the silence that suffocates them all. It's not like Sasuke is a ray of sunshine or the light of anyone's life, but he fills the family like no other person can. "They said runaways usually return home in the winter."
Naruto nods but doesn't take his father's words to heart. [Name] feels awkward sitting here. Sasuke is a dear friend to her. For the short months she's known him, they've gotten pretty close. Even still, watching this family crumble over losing him left her burdensome on the proper words to say. It's unknown if she should mourn him, or if she should raise their spirits. From the last time her and Naruto spoke, she only weighed him down further, so now she keeps her lips tight and nibbles on the food.
Kushina grabs her husband's hand from beneath the table, casting a gaze at everyone, lingering a little longer at the empty chair. "Ah, I suppose Naruto filled you in on why you're here, right?"
[Name] glances at Naruto then back at Kushina. "Uh, no?"
Normally, Kushina would glower at her son or smack him over the head with a spoon. But today is different. The fatigue in her grows by the day. "Ah, well, no worries. We're going to host another art exhibit and hoping to display some of your works. You won't be the featured artist, so don't worry about the amount. Just a few will do, but only if you're up to it."
[Name] agrees, because how can she say no? At a time like this, when they're all looking at the entrance to the dining room, hoping Sasuke will show his face, sit at the table and act as if nothing has happened---how can she possibly say no?
What the Uzumakis don't tell her is that they're doing another art auction for the sole purpose of hunting down Sasuke. He was the biggest supporter the last time, possibly due to [Name's] presence and influence, so if they mention her as a returning small artist, he'll show up. Or that's what they're hoping for.
"Great!" Kushina exclaims, squeezing Minato's hand. "It'll be in a few month's time, so you have plenty to prepare. I'll send you an email of all the details once we've figured out our theme."
[Name] nods, looking across the table to Sasuke's empty spot. Her only thought being, His food will grow cold if he doesn't show up soon.
...
A/N: literally just trust me.
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