I Will Always Be Waiting

A/N - Hello, everyone! This is my first fanfic and it's, of course, NejiTen. Please tell me what you all think and review! I'll also be happy to put in any ideas you guys might like to put in this story. Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto

Chapter One

It was a beautiful day; a blue sky paled by a haze of white cloud, fallen leaves scattered by the gentle breeze, freshwater springs trickling into flowing rivers and the sweet aroma of honey and spring flowers intoxicated and filled the air. The village of Konoha was in a state of mayhem as everyone busily rushed about to prepare for the upcoming Cherry Blossom Festival; the largest event of the year.

"Lee, slow down, will you!" Tenten yelled over the bustling crowd.

The green clad boy, who was many paces ahead of his two teammates, halted at the mention of his name and turned around to flash them a blinding smile.

"Tenten, you lack perseverance," He chided, though he waited patiently for his companions to catch up with him.

Even though he was jogging lightly on the spot, he looked rather motionless compared to all the other bodies animatedly dashing about around him. Large stalls were being set up by the sidewalk of the streets filled with food, games, prizes and merchandise. Lights were being strung high above everyone's heads and handsome banners were being pinned to buildings.

"We were only summoned to the Hokage's office," Tenten answered once she and Neji had reached Lee who had fallen in step with them. "It's not a race."

"Exactly!" Lee grinned widely. "If the Hokage summoned us, then it must be very important and we have to get there as quickly as possible!"

Tenten narrowed her eyebrows in slight frustration.

"We don't want you to run off ahead and get lost in this crowd. Then Neji and I will have to waste time trying to find you and then we'll all be late to the Hokage's office. You don't want that to happen now, do you?" She gazed up at Neji for support who just gave her a blatant expression, though the loudness of the crowded streets were clearly bothering him.

Rolling her eyes at the lack of help she was receiving, Tenten stared back at Lee who seemed to be working his brain to the absolute maximum to come up with a response.

"No, but...through the power of youth and Neji-kun's Byakugan, I'm sure you'll be able to find me with no trouble or time wasted at all!" Lee concluded loudly with a thumbs up, looking incredibly pleased with himself.

The childishness and naïveté of his response and expression made Tenten burst out laughing, receiving a confused look from Lee and a patronising frown from Neji.

"What?" Lee inquired eagerly. "What is so funny?"

When her laughing subsided she answered shrugging, "Nothing, I was...thinking."

She gazed tenderly back at the enthusiastic boy, who was trying to initiate a chat with Neji, with a smile plastered on her face. She found that she could not argue with him seriously. Or at least with a straight face. Everything about Lee – his personality, his face, even his clothes – screamed immaturity, honesty and innocence which was why it was so difficult to hold an argument with him. His intentions were only for good, no matter how far-fetched and out of this world they were. Tenten had always been fond of Lee and often thought of him as the little brother she never had; babying, spoiling and scolding him like any older sister should. And he had always been there for her in return, comforting her in times of need or looking after her when she was ill.

And then there was Neji. Dark and handsome as always, the Hyuga prodigy had strictly affirmed that they were only to be teammates and sparring partners. Rarely showing emotion, much less affection towards the kunoichi, he would often criticise and disregard her as if she was a bag of laundry that he had to fetch every day. Tenten knew that to him, she was just a supporting pillar to make his life easier and to help him achieve his dreams and when she was not that pillar, she was just another annoyance; easily dismissed and brushed away. But despite all the hurt and suffering he put her through daily, she was in love with him. And it wasn't just an idolising-fangirl crush she had on him when they were children or a simple crush-turned bond when they were teens. Being a full grown woman at age twenty-one she knew there was no other way to express her feelings other than love and admiration for the man. Tenten didn't know if Neji was aware of her feelings towards him but if he did, he made no mention and gave no reaction to the situation at all, so it was quite safe to assume that he did not.

"Hurry up, Tenten!" Lee's chirpy voice came from far away.

Tenten looked up to see that she had fallen metres behind Neji and Lee who waited for her patiently just outside the Hokage's tower. Looking at the two of them together – her friends, her family, minus Gai Sensei, made her heart swell with pride. She jogged briskly up to the two men before entering the tower with both of them on either side of her. Gazing up into their faces, full of determination and conviction, made her smile broaden even more.

Life was alright.

"Come in!" A muffled voice, full of authority, bade them from behind the door.

Together, the three shinobi stepped into Tsunade's office with apprehensive smiles. Or at least Tenten and Lee did. They bowed politely to the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, who stood behind her desk pouring over old scrolls and maps while Shizune stood resignedly in the corner.

"Ah, it's you three! Thank you for coming." Tsunade carelessly swatted the maps and scrolls off of her desk, which Shizune hurriedly picked up off the floor before stowing them away in a large filing cabinet.

"What is it Lady Tsunade?" Lee asked fervently, leaning forward. "Do you have a new mission for us? Or perhaps some vital, top secret information you need share? Or-or is someone getting promoted to Jounin?!"

Tenten straightened up hopefully. A promotion to Jounin was music to her ears. It would certainly make her life a lot easier with better pay, recognition of her abilities and maybe, just maybe, Neji would finally acknowledge her. He was the only from their team to have attained the privilege and honour of becoming a Jounin as well as Sasuke Uchiha from Team 7 and Shikamaru Nara from Team 8.

Tsunade sighed heavily, sitting down in her chair she propped her elbows up on the desk and laced her fingers together delicately before confirming, "No one is receiving any information and no one is getting promoted."

Tenten's hopes shattered at those words and an inaudible sigh escaped her lips. She could see Neji watching her out of the corner of her eye with an unreadable expression.

"But, you are receiving a mission."

In a split second, Lee's expression morphed from unhappiness to joy and his faced glowed with excitement.

"A mission? Oh, I cannot wait! Is it a B rank mission? Or an A? Or is it possibly an S rank mission? Whatever it is, Lady Tsunade, we will conquer it through teamwork, perseverance and the power of youth!" Lee exclaimed as he punched and kicked the air at invisible enemies.

"It's not a difficult mission," Tsunade responded as Lee's movements subsided at Neji's contemptuous glare. "As you three know, the Cherry Blossom Festival is taking place in three days and other villagers from other nations will be travelling to Konoha especially to take part in the festivities."

The three nodded silently and Tsunade continued, "The Kazekage will be among those attending and I want you three to –"

"Watch over him during the festival." Neji dully finished as Tsunade nodded.

"His siblings, Kankuro and Temari, will also be there to guard him, of course. But you can never be too careful with all these other nations around. Past wars has proven that. You will accompany him everywhere he goes, be on your guard and be prepared to fight if you must. Only when he dismisses you from his charge are you allowed to leave him unattended."

"Gaara is coming?" Lee perked up and looked around the room as if Gaara might be hiding somewhere, though there were very little places you could hide in this office.

"He and his siblings will be arriving first thing tomorrow morning so I want all three of you here in my office at 5:00am, sharp! Are we clear?" Tsunade ordered strictly causing all three shinobi to straighten their backs and say, "Yes, ma'am!"

"Oh, but…" Tenten bit her lip to keep herself from speaking and looked down at her shoes.

She had been looking forward to attending the festival, dressing up and doing her own thing. She already knew Naruto had asked the shy, Hyuga heiress to accompany him during the festival which she agreed to rather bashfully as well as the dark, Uchiha prodigy, Sasuke, asking a delighted Sakura. The others were probably wandering around and enjoying celebration as a group. The festival lasted a whole three days and she would miss seeing the sights she wanted to.

It was as if Tsunade had read Tenten's mind for then she said, "You will not miss out on the entire festival. Lord Gaara and I have some matters to discuss with the feudal lords on the first day so you may enjoy the festivities then. Kankuro and Temari will also be able to join you. My ANBU Black Ops will accompany us instead."

"Oh! Thank you, Lady Tsunade!" Tenten exclaimed gratefully.

"That is all. You are dismissed."

Bowing politely, the three exited the room and made their way back onto the streets of Konoha.

"I cannot wait!" Lee shouted energetically. "It has been such a long time since we have seen our friends from the Sand!"

Tenten nodded in agreement, smiling happily.

"Yes, I can't wait to see them too. Kankuro and Temari will certainly add a lot of fun to the mix." She giggled slightly at the memory the last time those two had come to Konoha.

Kankuro had pulled a prank on Temari by tricking her into entering a broom closet with the Nara prodigy himself, who was more than surprised to say the least, and locking the door. The end result was a destroyed apartment and Temari's revenge by stealing Kankuro's clothes while he was in the shower and him chasing her, basically naked except for a newspaper sheet covering the better parts of him, through the entire Leaf Village. Tenten didn't even know why the boy didn't have enough sense just get another set of clothes from his room instead of chasing his sister, whilst naked, around the village and making a fool of himself.

"Yes, they are certainly filled with the power of youth!" Lee grinned. "What about you, Neji my eternal rival? Are you not excited about Gaara's arrival?"

"We have enough lunatics here as it is," the white-eyed prodigy replied warily, obviously finding no point to the conversation. "I don't see why Lady Tsunade needs to bring in more from different nations."

"Neji! How can you say that?" Lee exclaimed with shock. "They are your friends!"

When Neji didn't reply, Lee opened his mouth to retaliate until Tenten nudged him in the ribs none to gently.

"Ow! Tenten, what was that for?!" He complained hugging his rib cage with a pout and wide eyes.

"Leave it, Lee." Tenten responded shaking her head before rounding on Neji. "You too, Neji. Be polite."

Neji turned to Tenten and gave her a look of incredulity.

"Aren't you sick of the craziness that goes on around here already?" He asked in a voice low enough for only her to hear, jerking his chin towards Lee who was beside them, feet in the air and using his hands to walk on the ground.

"I would've thought you'd have gotten used to this by now, Neji," Tenten teased with a smile. "Especially since we already have two – ah…'youth fests' on our team."

Neji scoffed in disdain.

"Who could possibly become used to that level of intensity? It is inhuman."

"You are certainly not in a good mood today, huh?"

"Is it because Neji hasn't found anyone to go to the festival with yet?" Lee suggested happily before flopping down back onto his feet.

Neji glared daggers at the boy who grinned innocently.

"I seriously doubt that, Lee," Tenten spoke up trying to keep the awkwardness out of her voice.

"Have you found anyone to go with Tenten-chan?" Lee asked, intrigued.

"Me?" Tenten raised her eyebrows in surprise. "What? No, of course not! Who in their right mind would ask me?"

"That is not true, Tenten!" Lee shouted defensively with a look of pain on his normally joyful face. "There are plenty of young men out there who would be incredibly fortunate to have a beautiful, intelligent flower such as yourself on their arm."

Tenten laughed softly.

"Yeah, I'm not so sure about that Lee." She muttered embarrassedly, glancing at the ground and shuffling her feet uncomfortably.

"Nonsense, Tenten! If I could, I would ask you to go with me but I've already devoted myself to asking the beautiful Sakura-san!" Lee flipped her a thumbs up and a dashing smile.

Tenten managed to chuckle slightly.

"Thank you, Lee. But didn't you hear that Sasuke –" She stopped herself short when he continued to beam at her with all innocence, waiting patiently to hear what she had to say.

Lee obviously didn't know that Sakura was already going to be attending the festival with Sasuke. Tenten couldn't bear the thought of Lee's expression if she told him the breaking news; he would be heartbroken. But still, better to hear it from a friend than for him to ask Sakura and find out. Tenten drew in a long breath, closing her eyes, mentally preparing how she was going to relay the information to the boy without causing him to break down into tears. But before she could even open her mouth to speak, Neji said flatly, "You do know that Haruno is already attending the festival with Uchiha, don't you?"

Tenten scowled heavily in Neji's direction who completely ignored her whilst Lee attempted to mask his hurt and shock with a brave smile.

"No, I did not know that, Neji-kun. Thank you for telling me." Lee managed. "I'm sure she'll have a better time with Sasuke-kun than she would with me anyway."

"Oh, Lee," Tenten sighed before hugging the boy.

For some reason she felt more teared up than he did. Lee was such an honest, selfless and genuine person it hurt her to see him masking his own pain.

"I know you'll find the perfect girl someday even if it's not Sakura."

"Thank you, Tenten," Lee said rather gratefully as she pulled away. "I know that someday you'll find a man worthy of your affections and treat you like a princess too! I guarantee it! And I don't think he's too far away."

At his last sentence, Lee's eyes, ever so slightly, drifted towards the Hyuga prodigy which Tenten failed to see but didn't go unmissed by Neji himself.

Tenten cocked her head to one side and furrowed her eyebrows at his last statement. What did he mean by he's not too far away? Was he implying something? Did he know about her feelings for Neji?

Taking advantage of Tenten's confusion Lee clapped his hands together rather loudly before announcing, "Well, my fellow teammates! I'm going to Ickirachu's for some lunch. Would you care to join me?"

"I'm going to train." Neji replied automatically before gazing at Tenten who had seemed to have finally snapped out of her reverie.

"Oh!" Tenten said biting her lip.

She had known Neji long enough to know that whenever he said I'm going to train also meant that she was inclined to join him. But she wasn't in the mood to train or to join Lee for ramen. Her head was filled with too many thoughts that she would most likely be distracted and injure herself during training and being around a crowd of people would give her a headache.

Instead she smiled apologetically at both men before saying, "I think I'd rather go home. I'm feeling a little off."

Neji raised a disconcerting eyebrow whilst Lee's face fell once again.

"But, Tenten –!" Lee began but it was too late. She was already off in the opposite direction.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow!" She called, waving, before disappearing into the swarming crowd.

Lee sighed in disappointment. He knew what he had said to Tenten had affected her greatly and that she didn't believe a word of it. That was why had offered for her to join him at Ickirachu ramen so they could discuss it together. He knew Neji would decline his offer straight away to go train so it would've been the perfect opportunity to talk to her. Tenten was a sweet girl and Lee meant what he said. He knew what she was thinking when he had said that plenty of young men would be extremely fortunate to have her on their arm.

When they were much younger Tenten used to be always asked out by other boys which she would politely decline due to her crush on the Hyuga prodigy. But as she grew older and much more graceful, she was beginning to catch even the eye of Neji himself, though he would never admit it. Soon later, he became a protective, looming shadow, glaring at any man who dared look at her. Lee still wasn't sure of how Neji felt towards the kunoichi but he knew he cared for her. Tenten was obviously oblivious and confused about Neji's intentions towards her and she believed he didn't care for her at all. Neji was never one to show such emotion but if you had known him long enough you'd just be able to spot that he was always a step in front of her when they walked together, a gesture that said possession slightly more than protection or that he would break out in sweat (which he rarely does) and his eyebrows would furrow worriedly if she was ever wounded.

Lee turned to find the white-eyed prodigy, still beside him, gazing tenderly back at the crowd where Tenten had departed.

"Neji," Lee spoke up which caught his attention. "Maybe you should have asked her to the festival."

Neji scoffed loudly before answering, "And why would I do that?"

But even Lee could hear the falseness and tightness in his voice at his reply.

"Tenten is a truly beautiful flower. She won't always be waiting nor will she always be single." Lee chose his words very carefully, watchfully analysing his expression.

Neji narrowed his eyes sharply

"I don't –" He began but Lee cut him off.

"She is someone important to you. A friend. So treat her like one!" Lee said with such finality and emotion that Neji blinked at him in surprise before he swivelled around and briskly walked off to Ickirachu Ramen leaving Neji isolated in a crowded street more confused and shocked than ever.

-X-

A/N – I hope you all enjoyed my first chapter of the story! Like I said, this is my first ever fanfiction so please feel free to review and input any ideas or advice. I'd be happy to hear from you!

See Ya!