Disclaimer= I do not own Naruto.
"I did not write that..."
Tenten went blank. She could not believe that Neji did not write the note.
"If you did not write the note Neji, then who did?"
"I believe you know who wrote it." They enjoyed each others company for a while longer and then Tenten told Neji to leave so she can sleep. After reading a note like that, one would think that the rest of the night would be wonderful and memorable. That was not the case here. Tenten did tell Naruto that all they had was lust. She also told him that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with "someone else." While that someone else treated Tenten nicely and was polite, he was returning the same feelings Tenten was expressing. All that talk about fate that Neji was spitting, Tenten was hoping that his "fate" talk would mention a significant other. Now that she looked at it, she was not sure if Neji would ever show any interest in taking that next step. Tenten cried herself to sleep for being so cruel and mean. She vowed to re-evaluate things and make a new decision; a new, well thought out one. Naruto meanwhile is acting like the world is about to end.
"Nice guys finish last and I do not know why."
"Naruto Naruto Naruto, what you have to understand about girls is that they are incredibly complex." Kiba, Lee, and Shino were at Naruto's house for ramen and sake and also to give him advice.
"That is true; they are harder to read than books."
"I kind of already knew this Kiba and bushy-brows."
"Naruto, do you want us here as just drinking buddies or do you want us to help you out with your girl problem?"
"I could use a good friend right now, yeah."
"Now about Tenten... she is kinda like one of us."
"So, are you guys saying that she is a tomboy?"
"Well yeah; but just because she is a tomboy doesn't mean she has to have a masculine personality. She is masculine only in strength."
"What these fools are trying to say," Shino chimes in, "is that deep down, beyond all of that strength, there is a girly girl dying to be released. You ever head the expression talking about releasing your inhibitions?"
"UMM, not that one, no."
"Looks like Dr. Shino has a student in need of a lecture." Everyone starts to laugh, but when Shino took off his hood, they shut up immediately.
"Just like men, women want that special someone that will allow them to be themselves. They want a guy who is sweet, genuine, and caring. Women want a guy that'll treat them right - -"
"Wow Shino, you just told me the definition of a nice guy, but I unfortunately finished last - -"
"Let me finish. Sometimes it takes an incident or the like to make a woman realize that the nice guy is their desirable one. When this happens, nice guys finish first."
"Tell me Naruto, what happened with Tenten?" Naruto told them everything that happened, up to the rose return.
"Basically, I had a note attached to the rose; it was a well-thought out note mind you. It was a short, simple and sweet note that I did not watch her read."
"AHA! So you do not know how she reacted to the note?"
"Yep."
"That means you do not... wait a minute, did you sign your name at the end?"
"No, but - - "
"You IDIOT! She probably asked Neji if it was him that wrote it and he probably took credit for it."
"Now wait just a minute here," Lee interjected, "I've been Neji's teammate for a long time and he is not the type of personality to take credit for that sort of thing. He is a man driven by his pride (remind you of anyone?)."
"I understand your feelings Naruto, but trust me on this one; he did not take credit for the note."
"I get it now, "Kiba says slamming his fist on the table, "Tenten asks Neji if he wrote the note, he says no and so when she realized that it was Naruto that wrote it, she got all girly inside. She probably cried herself to sleep."
"If thats the case guys, then I should go over there and see if she's okay - -"
"OH HELL NO, thats the LAST thing you want to do. Do you want her to see you as a good friend or more than that?"
"More than a friend, obviously..."
"What you got to understand Naruto is that things like this take time. Don't rush into this. Like when you learned rasengan, your patience in achieving your goal will be rewarded."
"Yeah, but how long will it take to get her back guys because I really love her..."
"Save all of those feelings and release them when the time is right."
"Okay okay; I don't want to lose her, so I'll follow you guys's advice..."
"Surprisingly, Naruto did not have to wait very long. Naruto and Tenten were assigned to several missions together and their interaction developed from the ground up. He cautiously and carefully picked his moments to flirt and stuff. A couple of missions later gave Naruto the perfect opportunity and he took full advantage of it. Their most recent mission had them protecting villagers form a massive landslide. They were there, along with Kiba, Lee, and Shino. As soon as the area was secured, the five dropped in exhaustion. Kiba, Lee, and Shino instinctively go away, leaving Naruto and Tenten resting under a big tree. Tenten's hair was down, as was her head. Naruto's forehead protector was around his neck. He inched closer and put his arm around her.
"Hey... you alright?"
"That was easy. Preventing a landslide? Pure childsplay."
"Then why... wow, thats the first time I've seen you with your hair down... I mean, then why do you look like you've just eaten a cow?"
"FOUR guys and one girl; the difference in our strength is obvious..."
"Tenten, you are really strong, do not downgrade yourself."
"You are always so sweet to me... why are you such a nice guy Naruto?"
"I could not imagine myself acting any other way. Look Tenten, all of these missions that we've gone on have been challenging. Even though they were challenging, it was made fun for me because you were by my side through it all. As long as you are by my side Tenten... anything is possible." Tenten had heard enough. She grabbed Naruto and kissed him with the passion of 1,000 horses.
"Wow, that was... yeah, that was great."
"I've heard enough. I'm sorry for taking you for granted, for taking the love you had for me for granted. That note, when Neji confirmed that he did not write it, told me everything. I have a rough exterior but my interior was exposed. Its like I have strength like a rock, but my interior is all wet tissue - -" Naruto grabbed Tenten and returned the sen-level kissing passion.
"That is not true Tenten. You have a good heart, no, a GREAT heart. You just need to find that one guy to let you be yourself..." (QFT Shino, QFT!!!)
"So what are you waiting for Naruto-kun? Sweep me off my feet... !"
"You need not remind me my angel."