The night was cold and clear, shot through with silver light like the glint off a blade. Neji stood taking deep breaths, trying to find a moment of peace after the cacophony inside. Hinata had rented a grand old hall for the reception, built in the traditional style with a small, meticulously kept garden in the back, and from the little porch where he stood he could just barely make out a few ghostly koi in the ornamental pond. They swam sedately, cocooned in water and tranquility.

Footsteps sounded behind him, a light tread he would know anywhere. It was oddly arrhythmic now, though, and somewhat muffled. Neji turned to see Tenten shuffling toward him with difficulty, obviously unused to the constricting confines of a kimono. Wordlessly he reached out to her.

"This stinks," she panted, accepting his help with a disgruntled expression. "I can hardly move."

She had changed out of the white kimono she wore during the actual wedding ceremony into a more festive scarlet one, embellished with gold thread and painted white cranes. According to Hinata cranes were an auspicious symbol because they mated for life, and she'd been keen on dressing Tenten in something decorated with them. These clothes, like the rented hall, the feast being served to the guests, and every other component of the wedding, were a gift from Lady Hyuuga. It was an act of extravagance from which Neji and Tenten had failed to dissuade her.

"No no, nii-san, don't worry about it," she'd said with a smile. "These have been difficult years, and I'm glad to have a reason to celebrate. It isn't every day that my cousin gets married."

Neji disliked public displays and had rather hoped for something small and private, but Lady Hyuuga insisted. She'd developed an indirect forcefulness, a subtly steely aspect that made it difficult to refuse her. Against the woman who'd overridden all the elders to unite the Main and Branch families and destroy the clan's ancient sealing jutsu, he never stood a chance. In the end he relented.

He was rather glad he had; Tenten had grown up as an orphan, given nothing more than the bare minimum for survival, and despite her protestations he could tell she was enjoying all the pampering. And she was radiant now – Hinata had good taste.

"You look beautiful," he told her, not letting her go.

She blushed so deeply he could see it even in this light, and took back her hand. "It's the obi," she replied, referring to her elaborately tied belt. "Those dressers tied it too tight, so I look thinner than I actually am."

She was unused to compliments that didn't relate to ninjutsu, a failing for which Neji knew he was largely responsible. It wasn't that he didn't think such things fairly often, it was that he rarely gave voice to them. Well, he'd have a whole lifetime to fix it. Tenten was lovely and he'd make sure she knew it.

"Stop staring at me!" she snapped, reddening even more. "Why did you come out here, anyway?"

Neji tore his gaze away from his new wife and gestured out into the garden. "To see this, and clear my head. It was pretty loud in there." Within the hall, it seemed that half of Konoha had assembled to celebrate, and they grew more and more raucous as the sake flowed. And of course they all had to see the happy couple, to congratulate them. Neji had been hugged more times in the last couple hours than the whole rest of his life, and his skin was still crawling. People also kept kissing Tenten on the cheek, which made him irrationally angry for reasons he didn't care to contemplate. All in all it was a desperately uncomfortable occasion.

Tenten sighed. "It's about to get worse. Gai-sensei is going to … recite a poem for us."

He looked at her in horror. "You don't mean one of his haikus, do you? Because they're not any better than Lee's."

"Oh no," she said grimly. "I don't mean one of them. I mean a whole series of them, linked together, that he and Lee are going to recite together. Apparently they've designed some sort of … interpretive movements to go with them."

It was too horrible to imagine. Neji considered grabbing Tenten and fleeing now, then realized there was no running from a hall full of ninjas.

"We could give Lee some alcohol," he suggested. "Then no one will be able to think about poetry."

She shook her head, her hair ornaments tinkling slightly. "Bad idea. If he destroys the hall Hinata will have to pay for it."

"Of course. I didn't think of that."

"That's why you have me."

He turned away to cast one last longing look at the koi, then gasped in surprise as he felt Tenten pressing herself against his back, her arms around his chest and her chin on his shoulder. "I came out here to warn you," she whispered, "that if I have to sit through that performance alone I'll be forced to kill you." She gripped him a little tighter, and suddenly he noticed a sharp pain in his lower back.

"Tenten, are you armed under that thing?"

She chuckled, which he could feel as a wave rippling down her body. Her breath was hot on his ear. "Later I'll let you find out the answer for yourself." Then she released him and spun around to shuffle back inside, leaving him to follow on his own.

The blood was pounding in his ears so loudly he almost didn't hear it, a slight noise like the rattle of leaves on pavement. Instantly he refocused, channeling chakra to his ears and seeking the source of the sound. There it was, behind him and to the left, a rapid heartbeat and careful shallow breathing, like someone trying to sneak up on him. It was moving closer.

In the next second he whirled, coming about to face his attacker, naturally falling into the juuken stance. But in the space where his assailant should be there was nothing.

"A murder at a wedding is a bad omen," said a thin clear voice, and then the darkness seemed to thicken, gradually taking the form of a slim girl. She too stood ready for combat, and her face was concealed behind an animal mask –a bird. But her tone was light as she added, "Particularly if it's committed by the groom."

"Hn." Neji dropped his pose and scowled. There was no mistaking that long dark hair or the milky pupils staring out at him through the mask's eyeholes. "Hanabi-sama. Why did you feel it necessary to sneak up on me?"

She also relaxed her stance, then reached up with a black-gloved hand to push her mask up onto her head. The moonlight reflected off her bare white shoulders. She was sixteen, a new jounin and the youngest current member of ANBU, and at the moment, with the night leaching the world of color, she looked like a study in charcoal.

"Only to see if it was possible," she replied. "But I forgot about your enhanced hearing, all those skills you learned while you were blind. I won't forget again."

"Of course not." She was oddly striking in her gray and black ANBU gear. "And that technique you just used – some kind of genjutsu?"

"Transformation, actually. You take on the aspect of whatever's behind you."

"I see." Something occurred to him, a rather embarrassing thought. "How long have you been there?"

"I wanted to congratulate both you and Tenten-san, but I realized that would be … inadvisable."

"Hn." He did not like the idea of being watched at such an intimate moment.

Hanabi cocked her head. "Don't worry, nii-san. It's not as if you were doing anything wrong, and the ANBU know how to keep secrets anyway."

That wasn't the point, of course, but he decided to let it pass. It wasn't as if she'd meant to intrude. "You know, you could have congratulated us much more easily if you'd attended the ceremony or the reception. Lady Hyuuga was looking for you."

"I had a mission. And this sort of thing isn't for me, anyway. It's not for you either, but I guess you had no choice."

"No, I didn't. But as for whether it suits me or not—things change. For everyone."

She regarded him carefully as a silence stretched between them. With someone else such a moment would be uncomfortable, but Neji felt totally at ease with his younger cousin in a way few others did. He understood her as he understood himself, and he was certain that right now she was thinking back on the past, to the events two years ago and all that had changed since then.

Hanabi had come home, had received punishment from the village and forgiveness from her sister, and then moved beyond them both to become a fine ninja in her own right. She was the silent presence at Hinata's side, the first choice for missions of stealth and espionage, the deadly Hyuuga of the shadows. It was a role Neji might have chosen for himself, had things worked out differently, but his life now was far too bright and public for that. It was not without envy that he returned her scrutiny.

"Well, congratulations nii-san," she said at last. "I am happy for you."

"Thank you."

"I will, of course, continue to keep our secret."

She was referring to the events in the Forest of Death, to what had passed between them in that empty building. No one but them knew it in its entirety, not even the Hokage. Naturally they all had their suspicions, particularly Tenten, who'd left Neji believing he was determined to kill, and Hinata, who'd seen their abortive fight, but ultimately they had no choice but to accept the cousins' story -- Hanabi had had a change of heart prompted by a late-blooming loyalty to her sister.

It was essentially true, anyway, minus a few details. Details that could make serious trouble for Neji if Tenten ever found out, and embarrass Hanabi before her stoic ANBU comrades … They both had their reasons for keeping silent. Meanwhile the shared secret formed a bond between them that only strengthened with time.

"I never doubted you would," he replied. "I'm not sure if Tenten trusts you yet, but I do."

She gave a very small smile. "That's enough, then. I actually like the idea that everyone else considers me dangerous." Her weight shifted, a subtle change in body position, and then she pushed off and leaped into the night. Neji watched her go, until she transformed once more and merged with the darkness.

Then he went back inside, to the noise and the light.

A/N: This is the end, at last. Special thanks to reviewers mafalda157, Maerchen Freunde, Afictionado, and StarCatcher1858, who were all kind enough to review multiple times and at great length. Thanks also to my other reviewers -- everyone's comments and reactions were incredibly helpful. Without your support I doubt I could have finished a story of this length, as it's more than twice the size of anything else I've written. You people kept me motivated for every chapter. Originally I planned to make this a three-shot, but the story kept demanding more. I hope this fluff is satisfactory for the Nejiten fans, as I don't consider myself much of a fluff writer ... Thanks again, and I hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!