People didn’t understand Neji’s decision to break it off with Tenten. They were even more baffled when he met Sasuke and, instead of killing each other, they began dating, not that either of them would call it that.
Tenten was a wholesome girl. Kind, intelligent. One could say a very light and happy girl. Yes, light. That’s what Neji associated with her. The same way Neji was associated with a bird.
Sasuke, on the other hand, had a darker edge to himself. It wasn’t complete darkness, or he would have stayed with Orochimaru, but it was there. It was in Sasuke, writhing and pulsing, its tendrils wrapping around Neji and trapping his wings to his body.
Her eyes were open and warm.
His eyes mesmerized Neji, completely endless, the pools drowning his mind in black until he could see nothing else.
Tenten was simply happy to be near him. They looked good together and she was content with Neji.
Sasuke, whether he chose to admit or not, needed him. While Neji was not particularly kind and cuddly, he had a certain calm about him that was a balm over Sasuke’s wounds. Neji’s very presence immediately calmed him when previously all he had wanted to do was rain destruction on his surroundings and claw out the eyes he had stolen from his brother.
Tenten let him go.
Sasuke wouldn’t.
And Neji was fine with that.