Baby

Title: 赤ん坊 Baby
Pairing: NejiTen
Summary: Every child is a hope. NejiTen baby fic.
Disclaimer: Kishimoto owns Naruto I am just playing around with them.
A/N: I wanted to write up an example for the cotest I'm holding on my dA group Teneji

Tenten picked up the brush, letting the weight of it settle in her hands. The large calligraphy brush was nearly the size of a sword. It was as heavy as one and this particular one, she noted, was weighted similarly. It was the eighth one she had examined. "This one."

Beside her, Neji raised an eyebrow then nodded. Pulling out several coins he handed them over to the vendor silently.

Looking towards the beach and stepping away from the beach side stall, Tenten smiled. Wood and stone cut toys littered the otherwise empty beach. She could see a name carved on one that laid half buried in the sand a few feet from her. Kaiya. Forgiveness. The fear that had filled her for over a year now slipped away replaced with certainty she hadn't felt in all those days or the months before. 'This will work.' The thought startled her, her steps faltering for a moment, and she wondered for a moment if she had said it out loud.

Neji's hand slipped to her waist, his fingers curving around her hips. "What's wrong?"

The worry in his voice was something only she and the other two members of Team Gai were allowed to hear. Stopping, she turned to look at him. His shoulders were stiff, held back in an overly-formal manner that she recognized as the way he held himself in front of the elders. It gave away his anxiety. He had dark circles under his eyes which only seemed to stand out even more due to the paleness of the already light skin and the hollowness in his soft lavender eyes. Even the darkness of his hair seemed to add to the effect, making him look more tired and more run down.

She hadn't really looked at him in months. She couldn't. It had hurt too much to see her pain echoed in his face. He hadn't cried the way she had. When she'd been torn apart, when she'd had her strength ripped from her he'd remained as stalwart as ever. There had been times she'd envied his ability to remain strong, moments she'd outright resented him for it because she felt weak, and days she had pitied him because of his need to hold onto it.

Now, looking at him, she finally understood. They were partners, they had been before they'd been lovers, before they'd been married. When she had thought she'd lost her strength he'd been right there beside her, holding her up.

"Nothing." For once she meant it. It wasn't some lie to make other people feel better or keep herself from feeling worse. "I just had a thought..." Tenten had never been afraid to speak her mind, not until a year ago, and she hesitated. Saying what she thought, speaking the hope that had crossed her mind with such certainty could jinx it.

Neji relaxed his shoulders, it extended to his eyes and his lips curved up in a very slight smile. "What was that?"

"Just..." She stopped, waiting for the fear to sneak up on her and overwhelm her again. It didn't and she wondered if the place really was magic the way the myths claimed. "That this will work."

He closed his eyes and nodded. "I thought the same thing."

"When you told me about this place I thought it was crazy." She had thought he was patronizing her. When he'd requested leave for them both from the village she'd gone along with it only because it was the anniversary and she knew couldn't take being there, in the village with everyone's sympathy weighing her down, but she hadn't believed. The idea that writing a wish for a baby in the sand would do anything except get the person's hopes up had seemed ridiculous. The toys though, they were gifts given only after the wish had come true. The beach was covered with them and it made her wonder how she had ever doubted Neji. If he said something was true, then it was.

Neji's eyes lit with amusement and he shook his head at her. Releasing his hold on her, he gently pushed her towards the water again.

Picking her way through the toys, shells, and rocks, Tenten walked up to the large black rock. It looked like any other inkstone though the size was more than would be necessary even for the large brush she had. She estimated it to be nearly ten feet across and fifteen long. Water filled the reservoir and white salt crusted on the black stone.

The story was that the couple who had originally lived here had, after years of trying and several miscarriages, carved it as a show of their earnest wish for a child. Then they had written their prayer to the gods in the sand and waited. She'd had a child within a year.

She knew how they felt. To hope after such loss had seemed impossible, but somebody had done it once and if this place was evidence of that, then so many more had since. It made her feel less alone.

Tenten dipped the tip of her brush into the water and then carefully she stepped down into the soft sand beside it that had been cleared of debris and toys. Her heart caught for a moment and she realized they hadn't agreed on a name. She looked at Neji, who only smiled back at her, and wondered if she should ask him. The moment she lifted her foot to go to him, the name came to her and like the knowledge that it would work she knew. Her step changed and instead she stepped forward and pushed the bristles through the sand. Finishing it she stepped back and looked at it.

Neji came up behind her and slid both of his arms around her waist. "Kotori. I like it."

"Our little bird of luck." Tenten smiled and leaned into his embrace. The water would wash it away by morning, but she knew then they'd be back with a toy. In her heart she could see no other possible outcome.

-End-