First Kiss
Alright so here goes with my first theme from 30_kisses. I picked NejiHina as my pairing, and this is the first theme, "perfect blue"
Title: Perfect Blue
Fandom: Naruto
Pairing: NejiHina
Theme: perfect blue, for 30_kisses
Rating/Warnings: PGish
It had started with a stupid questionaire. Nothing of any real importance, merely a piece of simple white paper with printed text on one side. A thing that those who bore the name of ANBU took as simply another task to complete before they went on their next mission. Something that should have made little difference to their newest member, Hyuuga Neji. And on some levels, it didn't make a difference. The reasoning behind the chart was sound. A simple survey test to determine if those who wore the painted masks were still able to cling to what small shreds of sanity remained after so much blood spilled on once-clean hands. It wasn't even the fact that he, who was most certainly stable, should have to fill out this farce when it was obvious to him that there were others who needed sanity-monitoring much more then he did. No, it was the third question on the paper, bold-face words staring up at him mockingly, that seemed to enjoy causing strife to the 20-yr old ANBU.
What is your favourite colour?
Well that in itself wasn't that hard to answer. Blue was a simple enough word, characters easy to write, nothing difficult there. But it was the second portion of the question that seemed to vex him.
What would you define as the "perfect" shade of that colour, and why?
The perfect shade of colour? What was that supposed to mean? Neji assumed it probably meant something to do with his absolute favourite shade of blue. Which would have been simple, had he known what that shade was. Not to mention, why did something so pointless aggravate him so much. Maybe it was the sheer fact that he couldn't seem to answer it. He hated not knowing the answer to anything. Hinata always teased him about it when she brought him tea on those late nights when he would be up finishing reports, trying gently to shoo her work-burdened husband off to bed. What would she do to come up with an answer?
He could picture her, smiling at him as she fixed dinner, shaking her head slightly and sending long dark tresses sliding over one shoulder. She'd probably laugh at him and suggest that he do something easy, like thinking of possibilities and then acting on them. Which...made sense. Afterall, his "perfect" shade of blue must obviously be a shade he had seen. So the only logical conclusion was to determine just what it was in his life that was blue. Flipping the paper over, the long-haired Jounin began making a simple list.
There were the obvious things, of course. The sky, the water of the river that ran through the forest as it reflected that same sky. The blue paint that adorned many a signpost and windowdressing through the streets of Konohagakure. The deep royal blue colour of the hitai-ate worn by the year's newest Genin as they raced through the village, hoping for a "super-mission". But none of those shades proved to be the elusive "perfect colour" that he was looking for.
Thinking harder, Neji tried to think of things closer to home, things that in themselves meant more to him then the mundane and ordinary of every-day existence. Blue was the colour of the lines on his own mask, the cerulean slashes forming into the mimicry of a bird's face. Blue was the colour of the bruises he always seemed to sport when he came home, the ones Hinata worried and fussed over. Blue was even the colour of the band-aid she had smacked onto his cheek that time when he had unwisely tried to suggest that his then-pregnant wife might be over-reacting to a mere cut.
Blue was....the colour of Hinata's hair, reflecting the pale moonlight at night when he wrapped his arms around her from behind and pressed gentle kisses to the nape of her neck. That thick, midnight-deep indigo that fell down her back in long tresses of ink-like smoothness that was mimicked and mirrored in the hair of his twin daughters. Blue was the colour she dressed their infant son in, so proud that she'd been able to finally give him the son he'd wanted. It was the colour she had painted their daughters' bedroom, a soft sky-toned thing set with puffy clouds and the occasional peeking star. He'd been proud of it, and rather awed by the talent for painting that he'd never even known she'd possessed, even though he'd never told her.
Blue was the colour of her favourite kimono, the soft pale shade bringing out the rosey hues of her skin, making her white eyes sparkle, the darker blue flowers embroidered into the silk playing companion to her hair. He'd given it to her the winter after their daughters were born, after finding it in a shop in Yukigakure, and since then she'd refused to wear anything else to winter Matsuri.
It was the colour of the shirt she'd worn to watch the Chuunin exams, and even then when his heart had still been full of rage and hatred, he'd still noticed it. Still thought the shade suited her. Blue was the colour of that ridiculous apron she'd made him wear the first anniversary of their marriage, when he'd stubbornly insisted that he would fix their anniversary dinner because he most certainly could cook. Blue was also the colour of the tablecloth at the restaurant he had taken her to after his rather embarassing and spectacular culinary failures. He'd decided after that to rather graciously accept the fact that perhaps there were things that he was unable to master.
And Hinata...Hinata herself was blue. Not just in the tint of her hair or the shade of her dress or the fabric of the hitai-ate she still wore around her neck even though her days of missioning were mostly over. Her spirit was blue. In childhood and youth, it had been the deep blue of sadness and depression, washing over her in frigid waves of doubt and despair. And when that had slid away, the depth of colour had given way to the cool crisp blue of a summer sky, as she tossed her dreams heavenward regardless of the numerous times others aimed to crush them.
But there were other blues to the woman he had made his wife. Blues Neji had never noticed, never appreciated. The soft, pale blue of skylight reflected in the new-fallen snow that was as pure as her heart and as gentle as her hands. The bright and clear colour of concentrated chakra as she worked to heal wounds given to him or to others she cared for. The steely-cold flash of blue that lurked behind white eyes and darted it's head out in those rare occasions when Hyuuga Neji learned that Hyuuga Hinata did, in fact, possess both backbone and temper. And the deep, boundless sea of calm that rushed so close beneath the surface of his wife. His "perfect blue".
With a smile and a whimsical look in his eye, Neji put pencil to paper, no longer vexed by such a simple question. Afterall, the answer, in his eyes, was just as simple.
Cross-posted to chuunin, narutofans, fanfic_no_jutsu, naruto_het, narufanfic, hyugacest, inter_clan, sunnyday_love, hinatafans, 30_kisses, and naruto_fanworks
Title: Perfect Blue
Fandom: Naruto
Pairing: NejiHina
Theme: perfect blue, for 30_kisses
Rating/Warnings: PGish
It had started with a stupid questionaire. Nothing of any real importance, merely a piece of simple white paper with printed text on one side. A thing that those who bore the name of ANBU took as simply another task to complete before they went on their next mission. Something that should have made little difference to their newest member, Hyuuga Neji. And on some levels, it didn't make a difference. The reasoning behind the chart was sound. A simple survey test to determine if those who wore the painted masks were still able to cling to what small shreds of sanity remained after so much blood spilled on once-clean hands. It wasn't even the fact that he, who was most certainly stable, should have to fill out this farce when it was obvious to him that there were others who needed sanity-monitoring much more then he did. No, it was the third question on the paper, bold-face words staring up at him mockingly, that seemed to enjoy causing strife to the 20-yr old ANBU.
What is your favourite colour?
Well that in itself wasn't that hard to answer. Blue was a simple enough word, characters easy to write, nothing difficult there. But it was the second portion of the question that seemed to vex him.
What would you define as the "perfect" shade of that colour, and why?
The perfect shade of colour? What was that supposed to mean? Neji assumed it probably meant something to do with his absolute favourite shade of blue. Which would have been simple, had he known what that shade was. Not to mention, why did something so pointless aggravate him so much. Maybe it was the sheer fact that he couldn't seem to answer it. He hated not knowing the answer to anything. Hinata always teased him about it when she brought him tea on those late nights when he would be up finishing reports, trying gently to shoo her work-burdened husband off to bed. What would she do to come up with an answer?
He could picture her, smiling at him as she fixed dinner, shaking her head slightly and sending long dark tresses sliding over one shoulder. She'd probably laugh at him and suggest that he do something easy, like thinking of possibilities and then acting on them. Which...made sense. Afterall, his "perfect" shade of blue must obviously be a shade he had seen. So the only logical conclusion was to determine just what it was in his life that was blue. Flipping the paper over, the long-haired Jounin began making a simple list.
There were the obvious things, of course. The sky, the water of the river that ran through the forest as it reflected that same sky. The blue paint that adorned many a signpost and windowdressing through the streets of Konohagakure. The deep royal blue colour of the hitai-ate worn by the year's newest Genin as they raced through the village, hoping for a "super-mission". But none of those shades proved to be the elusive "perfect colour" that he was looking for.
Thinking harder, Neji tried to think of things closer to home, things that in themselves meant more to him then the mundane and ordinary of every-day existence. Blue was the colour of the lines on his own mask, the cerulean slashes forming into the mimicry of a bird's face. Blue was the colour of the bruises he always seemed to sport when he came home, the ones Hinata worried and fussed over. Blue was even the colour of the band-aid she had smacked onto his cheek that time when he had unwisely tried to suggest that his then-pregnant wife might be over-reacting to a mere cut.
Blue was....the colour of Hinata's hair, reflecting the pale moonlight at night when he wrapped his arms around her from behind and pressed gentle kisses to the nape of her neck. That thick, midnight-deep indigo that fell down her back in long tresses of ink-like smoothness that was mimicked and mirrored in the hair of his twin daughters. Blue was the colour she dressed their infant son in, so proud that she'd been able to finally give him the son he'd wanted. It was the colour she had painted their daughters' bedroom, a soft sky-toned thing set with puffy clouds and the occasional peeking star. He'd been proud of it, and rather awed by the talent for painting that he'd never even known she'd possessed, even though he'd never told her.
Blue was the colour of her favourite kimono, the soft pale shade bringing out the rosey hues of her skin, making her white eyes sparkle, the darker blue flowers embroidered into the silk playing companion to her hair. He'd given it to her the winter after their daughters were born, after finding it in a shop in Yukigakure, and since then she'd refused to wear anything else to winter Matsuri.
It was the colour of the shirt she'd worn to watch the Chuunin exams, and even then when his heart had still been full of rage and hatred, he'd still noticed it. Still thought the shade suited her. Blue was the colour of that ridiculous apron she'd made him wear the first anniversary of their marriage, when he'd stubbornly insisted that he would fix their anniversary dinner because he most certainly could cook. Blue was also the colour of the tablecloth at the restaurant he had taken her to after his rather embarassing and spectacular culinary failures. He'd decided after that to rather graciously accept the fact that perhaps there were things that he was unable to master.
And Hinata...Hinata herself was blue. Not just in the tint of her hair or the shade of her dress or the fabric of the hitai-ate she still wore around her neck even though her days of missioning were mostly over. Her spirit was blue. In childhood and youth, it had been the deep blue of sadness and depression, washing over her in frigid waves of doubt and despair. And when that had slid away, the depth of colour had given way to the cool crisp blue of a summer sky, as she tossed her dreams heavenward regardless of the numerous times others aimed to crush them.
But there were other blues to the woman he had made his wife. Blues Neji had never noticed, never appreciated. The soft, pale blue of skylight reflected in the new-fallen snow that was as pure as her heart and as gentle as her hands. The bright and clear colour of concentrated chakra as she worked to heal wounds given to him or to others she cared for. The steely-cold flash of blue that lurked behind white eyes and darted it's head out in those rare occasions when Hyuuga Neji learned that Hyuuga Hinata did, in fact, possess both backbone and temper. And the deep, boundless sea of calm that rushed so close beneath the surface of his wife. His "perfect blue".
With a smile and a whimsical look in his eye, Neji put pencil to paper, no longer vexed by such a simple question. Afterall, the answer, in his eyes, was just as simple.
Cross-posted to chuunin, narutofans, fanfic_no_jutsu, naruto_het, narufanfic, hyugacest, inter_clan, sunnyday_love, hinatafans, 30_kisses, and naruto_fanworks