“Oh no, I'm-we-we're not,” Tenten’s forefinger flicked back and forth between her and Shino slowly, her brain still trying to catch up and process what they had just assumed. “We're not married.”
Renelda didn’t even blink. “But you are.”
@hate-mail-to-canon - Day 5 Prompt: Any AU
@yearoftheotpevent - September Prompt: “Come here”
Story Warnings: Alcohol. Mild Swearing. Aphrodisiac. Kissing. Sexual Scene. Accidental Marriage. Secret Marriage. Marriage Kink. Divorce.
Alternative Chapter Link: [Ao3🔗]
Read From The Beginning: [Ao3🔗]
Ao3 ✨ |Story Request Bingo Cards 📖 | WIP Game Always Open ✒️| Ko-Fi ☕ | Silly Fanarts 🎨| Reblog Blog 🟢🟢
Neji didn't like hospitals– the stench of blood stuck in his nose, combined with the sterile smell of specific cleaning products he didn't know yet made his nose itch. But he'd been hurt during the failed attempt at rescuing Sasuke, and now he was recovering in a shared room with one of his teammates, who had foolishly gone after everyone to help right after a life-threatening surgery.
A fool with good intentions was still a fool, and Tsunade had to do a second surgery to fix his new wounds– Lee was now sleeping soundly nearby, making no noise at all which was strange. Still under the effects of anesthesia, perhaps? Whatever.
Everything around him was quiet, so quiet that Neji could hear his own heart when he focused just enough. It made him feel like something was crawling underneath his skin, ready to strike at any moment.
The whole hospital seemed… devoid of life, somehow. Lights off and the world stopped, his vision seeing nothing apart from darkness, shadows and nothing else.
His lips were trembling, his eyes were closed as there was no difference between seeing and not to– time would go by slower than a snail with his undefined hospital stay nonetheless, making him feel small and vulnerable through it all.
Neji was defenseless; memories of the past flooded his mind, of his father’s dead body and the same sterile stench that now surrounded him didn’t make things any easier, his stomach turning and his mouth tasting like bile. He wanted to puke everything he’d eaten that day– guilt, nostalgia… whatever feeling it was, it didn’t let the brunet rest at all, neither meditate nor sleep.
The lack of sound made Lee’s sleep-mumbles sound like screams, the proximity not helping. He decided to get up and check on him; after all, he couldn’t do much else, and it was better than laying down just to look at the roof.
Plus, Neji had a secret reason… he wanted to be better towards his teammate. Nicer, like any good friend should be.
Only thin, white curtains separated them, so it wasn’t hard to visit the younger boy; he was still asleep, his body stretched through the hospital bed as if it was his own. His face seemed relaxed as unintelligible whispers escaped from his lips. The Hyuga couldn’t help but get closer, curious as to what his companion was muttering, until he managed to distinguish a faint ‘no…’ between so much babbling.
Lee’s expression was neutral, although a frown had started to show up on his face– his body moving from one side to the other in an insistent way that worried Neji to no avail, pushing his blankets away. A single word, and his instincts told him something was wrong, terribly wrong. But what was it?
His rival was still sleeping soundly right in front of his nose; though he had begun to turn around more with every passing second, throwing his pillow to the ground as if fighting off an invisible enemy of some kind.
“Let… let me go. Stop…” Lee mumbled, denying with his head, and only when tears started to fall through his cheeks did Neji realize what was going on.
A nightmare. How could he be so blind? No matter how much time had passed, his teammate had almost died in the Chunin exams– even if his body had been healed by Tsunade’s miraculous job and expertise, his mind was still reliving his battle against Gaara after weeks.
He… didn’t quite know what to do, apart from making a poor attempt at waking his rival up, gently shaking his body and only receiving pained whines in response.
“It’s me, Lee. You’re safe,” Neji exclaimed in a whisper, reaching the other boy’s hands to avoid being pushed away too much. “You’re having a nightmare. Wake up, Lee.”
Lee didn’t seem to react at first, trembling like a leaf in the middle of a hurricane– his eyelids fluttered for a second and then he was met by a black gaze, covered in tears. It was unknown territory for the brunet; what was he supposed to do, how was he supposed to comfort him? His mind didn’t have time to wander for long as his teammate immediately attached himself to him, hugging him without asking.
… for once, Neji didn’t mind the closeness. Or the snot on his shirt, or anything– he wasn’t the best with feelings, with not being pretty much an asshole towards the younger boy. But he did hide him in his arms, allowing his friend to cry without complaint.
“There, there. You’ll be alright,” the Hyuga whispered, remembering words his own father had said in the past, when he didn’t need to worry about a cursed mark or ranks of any type. Gently patting Lee’s back. “I’m here. It was only a bad dream.”
A sob was the only response he received, and his companion simply moved closer, hiding his face on the crook of his neck. His body slowly stopped shaking yet Lee was still quiet, too quiet yet awake and safe. That was all that mattered, in his mind.
“Can… can you stay with me? Please,” Lee mumbled in an odd tone after some minutes that seemed almost eternal, soft and insecure, unlike his normal self. Strange and not unexpected. “I… I do not want to be alone, Neji. Gaara, he–”
At the mention of the red-haired boy, Neji felt his jaw tensing up; he wasn’t able to step in to protect his teammate, not with the Sand ninja nor against Orochimaru’s Sound minions. He couldn’t do his job as a pseudo-leader, as Tenten liked to say between jokes.
A reminder of yet another of his mistakes. He’d been frozen in place due to fear in one situation, and had arrived way too late in the other.
“He’s not here. I won’t let him hurt you again,” the brunet whispered, slowly laying down on the hospital bed, noticing that his friend quickly rested his face on his chest.
Lee seemed smaller, weaker– he wasn’t. He was just a scared boy, like him. Afraid of someone who had tried to murder him twice, mercilessly.
“Mm… thank you,” his rival whispered, closing his eyes again. His breath slowly got slower and calmer, no more tears falling through his cheeks. His words were slurred between his anxiety and tiredness, and Neji had to make an effort to understand, still patting his back. “You are nice… my friend…”
“It’s what friends do,” Neji replied, letting out a soft smile.
Calling someone anything but ‘teammate’ was unknown in the Hyuga’s mind. But honestly, he liked it.
“Oh no, I'm-we-we're not,” Tenten’s forefinger flicked back and forth between her and Shino slowly, her brain still trying to catch up and process what they had just assumed. “We're not married.”
Renelda didn’t even blink. “But you are.”
@hate-mail-to-canon - Day 1 Prompt: Up To Chance
@yearoftheotpevent - August Prompt: “You’re thinking too much”
Story Warnings: Alcohol. Mild Swearing. Aphrodisiac. Kissing. Sexual Scene. Accidental Marriage. Secret Marriage. Marriage Kink. Divorce.
Alternative Chapter Link: [Ao3🔗]
Read From The Beginning: [Ao3🔗]
Ao3 ✨ |Story Request Bingo Cards 📖 | WIP Game Always Open ✒️| Ko-Fi ☕ | Silly Fanarts 🎨| Reblog Blog 🟢🟢
It's here, it's here! This application is open to EVERYONE July 28th until September 28th; within this application is every piece of needed information regarding the upcoming season.
Akatsuki Gift Exchange '25 - '26 Application Link
Please reach out to us with any questions and share with your friends! We're excited for another spectacular season!
Interest check has closed and we shall be releasing prompts by the evening of Monday, July 7! Some folks offered prompt suggestions in the I.C, which the mod will curate three prompts per day for this event.
Thank you everyone for the continued interest...we will also be tweaking the event's name a smidge to make it less Americana (the mod is a Midwest person, oops), so if you have any casual suggestions, feel free to drop an ask. If not, we've got plenty of options to pick from already ;)
When is the Labour Day weekend? Does that mean if the event goes ahead, it would be from the 30th of August to the 1st of September? Or is it the weekend before? I'm not American, so please forgive me! 😂
Sending good vibes your wayyyyyy! ✨
You're all good! Truthfully, we should change the event's name (perhaps more of a "dog days of summer" mini event 🤔) at this point.
Posting will occur Friday, 8/29 Monday, 9/01. We'll reblog late work until Friday, 9/07!
Crossing our fingers for this one, hope this helps!
A Labor Day weekend event welcoming all headcanons and canon-divergent works; closes 6/30 @ 9PM CST.
We had a smaller turn-out last summer,
Wanted to pass this along to see if folks are interested this summer! We had a smaller crowd last year, so I wanted to get a good idea of what we would be working with.
A Labor Day weekend event welcoming all headcanons and canon-divergent works; closes 6/30 @ 9PM CST.
We had a smaller turn-out last summer,
Wanted to pass this along to see if folks are interested this summer! We had a smaller crowd last year, so I wanted to get a good idea of what we would be working with.
origamiaround
baratheonpilled
discoholicmusic
janainaart
tangentwithtanner
areudirty
