Among The Stars .:Itachi x Fem!Reader:. Soulmate AU

Counting Stars

"Thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three," Neji counts, scanning [Name's] eyes. The two are in the middle of a lunch break at work, and Neji takes time to count the billions of sparkly dots in [Name's] eyes. "Thirty-eight, thirty-nine, forty. Geez [Name], you have so many, I can't even count them all."

"Well, you counted up to forty," [Name] laughs, finally allowing herself to blink. "Yesterday, you kept counting the same ones."

"There's just so many," Neji says. He graces her with a smile. "You have such beautiful eyes."

[Name] has heard this compliment all throughout her life. It seems it's the only compliment she's worthy of. It's always about her eyes; nothing more, nothing less.

"Yes, thank you," she says out of habit, not because she's genuinely accepting the compliment. It's nothing new to her, and the "compliment" seems to dampen her spirits.

Neji continues using his break to count the glittering white dots, restarting after he loses count. [Name] sits there, staring at his concentrated face, loving the little wrinkle between his brows. She wonders what it would be like to be in a relationship with Neji. Private or public, she wants to be with him.

"Neji," she whispers his name, but it's not enough to snap him from his counting trance. "Neji, we should get back to work."

"We still have fifteen minutes. Just wait," Neji says, and it's enough to convince her.

The thing about her love for Neji is that she'll believe anything he says. He could tell her that the sky is yellow and the grass is purple, and she'd trust him despite the facts. It's skewed.

"I need to check some files, Neji. And you have fifteen minutes. My break was over five minutes ago," [Name] says, but makes no initiative to move.

Neji leans closer, his focus zones in on the smaller dots. [Name] twitches and feels heat rush through her body like lava, spewing from the top of her head and flowing down to the tips of her toes.

He's so close. [Name] thinks as Neji moves just a bit closer.

If only Neji were clumsier, then maybe their lips would touch. If only [Name] were braver, then perhaps she'd have the guts to kiss him and call it an accident. If only society accepted her love for him, then maybe, just maybe...

"[Name]! I needed you to bring me some documents a while ago, please hurry up and stop entertaining my nephew!" Hiashi shouts from his office. "Neji, hurry up with your break and stop distracting [Name]!"

She jumps away from Neji, seeing that they were almost caught kissing.

"Yes, sir! Sorry, sir!" They say in unison.

[Name] returns to work, hoping for another break with Neji.

...

Wearing sunglasses at night may seem strange to most people, but to [Name], it's apart of her everyday life. She'd rather receive weird stares than angry glares.

So yes, [Name] struts down the street with glass-like confidence. The moment anyone notices her eyes and the pool of stars sparkling from her irises, she'll run and hide. But for now, she is only trying to reach her car and get home.

Just as she pulls her keys out, she hears a, "Hey!"

Startled from the exclamation, [Name] turns quickly, pointing her key out like it's a knife. Upon realizing it's Neji that called, she relaxes and puts a hand over her heart.

"You scared me," she laughs and leans against her old car. Neji apologizes as he approaches. "What do you need?"

Neji shrugs his shoulders, a kind smile complements his soft features. "Nothing much. I wanted to ask you if you wanted to go out for drinks this weekend."

"That sounds fun. I would love to go."

Neji lingers around for a moment and studies her face. He cocks an eyebrow and points to her sunglasses. "Any reason as to why-"

"Personal reasons, really. Don't worry about it!" She waves it off with her hands and a nervous laugh.

Neji has no knowledge of the distress and absolute hatred she holds for her eyes. He doesn't know that she wants to hide her eyes away from the world and have traditional irises like the majority. He thinks that she wears contacts because of poor eyesight, not cause of this.

"Oh, alright. Well, see you tomorrow!" Neji says and dismisses the thought. He waves at her before walking to his car.

[Name] watches him speed off from the Hyuga Eye Clinic parking lot.

The lot is empty, and she's alone. With a sigh, [Name] enters her car and rips off her sunglasses. In her rearview mirror, she catches the stars in her eyes.

They're a reminder that she cannot be with Neji Hyuga. A reminder that there is someone out there waiting to fall in love with her, waiting to become her soulmate.

She frowns. The dots twinkle. Her contempt grows.

"I hope that whoever you are, you die."

...

A/N: this one was hard to write >_< lol, I'm getting writer's block already.
Love you, bye!