I thought of this while writting ch10 for always here. I love Kankuro and Tenten so i put them together. I havent seen alot of fics about the two of them together. I like Kankuro being a wise butt so thats how i write him and Tenten well... there isnt much to her right now. first time writing her. but there will be more to her later in other stories.

im thinking of another one for this but yeah... to be seen. XD

So enjoy!

-Felina

Chapter One:

He Blames the Alcohol

"Temari your date is here!" Kankuro yelled while stepping aside for the man at the door to come in. He gave Shikamaru a grin before moving to the living room of the apartment they were given when in Konoha. Shikamaru just rolled his eyes closing the door behind him when the female's voice called out saying she'll be a minute.

"And unlike most girls, she means it." Kankuro mumbled sitting back down in front of his puppet where it laid in different pieces on the table in front of the couch. Shikamaru took to leaning on the wall fiddling with his lighter.

"So you're sure you don't want to come with us? Lord knows you enjoy it." He asked the puppeteer.

"Naw, it isn't fun anymore." Seeing how Temari likes you now. The man thought to himself.

"Alright but it is a fair, you could just go to, I don't know, have a good time?"

"I'll be having a good time soon enough."

"I said no party's while am gone, Kankuro." Temari said coming into the room, fixing her fan behind her wearing the same thing as always as said man rolled his eyes.

"I ain't going to be partyin'." He grinned knowing she hated it when spoke like that with a drawl to his voice. "No really, am not going to throw a party or anything like that. I'm just going to finish cleaning this than hit a bar or two. Heck I'll be home before you."

"I find that hard to believe." Temari mumbled.

"I find it hard to believe your coming home before midnight but hey whatever." The brother said to his sister.

"I am too!" She say turning slightly red.

Shikamaru wisely didn't comment.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah just get going, it's already started, hasn't it?" Kankuro said waving his sister off.

"Fine! Let's go Shikamaru!" Temari growled pulling Shikamaru out the door.

"Thanks a lot." The Nara said dryly before closing the door. Kankuro just shrugged while putting the new piece for the leg on his puppet in than putting it back together. He really wasn't in the mood to be third wheel with them or go to the fair where couples were going to use it as an excuse to make out anywhere. All he wanted was to relax, have a couple beers, see some bars he knew some of the ninjas hang out in and talk with them a little bit before heading back here and having the place to himself for the night. Normal he wouldn't mind going with those two, his sister and her boyfriend weren't like a lot of the couples and seem to love picking on each other more than kissing.

Given the choice between fighting and kissing they would choice fighting just because it has more to it.

Before he would go with them just because it was funny watching the Nara's version of flirting or courting while his sister would throw it back in his face but now it was more like they were trying to find out who would break first and said the three words or take the next step.

Besides who wants to watch their older sister flirt with a lazy guy?

The young man put his puppet away before cleaning up the living room. He than got his shoes on and made sure he had the key and his money before stepping out and shutting the door behind and wiggled the handle, making sure it locked behind him before setting down the hallway of the building. His normal wear was changed for some plain blue jeans and a lose fitting black t-shirt which for the most part he only wore inside his house in Suna but lately it's became his 'I'm being a normal person today' clothes. He didn't even wear his face paint or hat.

Downstairs and out side he went only to stop short before running into a girl that came to his shoulder, making her about five six or five eight. She blinked chocolate eyes up at him for a moment making him raise an brown eye brow in question to her though he could guess why she was a little surprised, he was taller than his siblings and had more meat to his frame making him wide set in his shoulders and chest and had a darker tan than most people around the village and it made a lot of people nervous and wearily of him or it could be he didn't have the normal get up on and she, like him, thought she seen him before.

He did like the first idea though, it helped with his job.

He couldn't quite place a name to the heart shape face before him but he was sure he's seen it before. Her brown hair was down in a wavy mass behind her while she wore a simple white tank top that hugged her form with a floor length red skirt and had a bag worn leather bag hanging from her shoulder. Nothing really caught his eye but something triggered his memory.

"Ah excuse me."

"Yeah…" Kankuro said giving a small smile but either moved. Just when he thought he had an admirer she sighed and shifted her weight while pointing behind him.

"Could you step aside? You're blocking the door." She said with a hint of annoyance. Kankuro looked behind him before stepping to the side, pulling the door open for her only to get a glare before she walked forward. "Thank you."

"Your welcome." He said as nicely as he could and added a toothy smile to it. The girl huffed and gave him a tight line smile that looked more like a sneer before flipping her hair back over her shoulder, walking inside. After he close the door and got half way down the road he noticed he was still smiling.

He sighed.

"I really need a new hobby."

Kankuro hummed slowly to himself as he walked down the road back to the shared apartment. It nighttime already and he had a nice buzz going on and had good spirits. He didn't mean to stay out this long but he found a bar that had some of the rookie nine in it and he stopped to chat with them. It had been fun to say the least and for once he wasn't the one who started to fight between himself and Ino. That was all her.

But than Chouji jumped in and those two started making out so he decided to call it a night. The others were alright drunk and singing off tune to some song that was playing in the background and he really didn't think they made it any better.

But it was relaxing just hanging out with them and laughing at past missions or jokes that flew around the table. Everything had a nice relaxed, joyous feel to it that made you lose track of time.

He came to a stop when he noticed the same girl from earlier, sitting outside of the building on the wall across the street from the apartment. Her face was lifted up, staring up at the sky with her foot lightly bouncing off the wall. Her bag placed next to her with her hands flat to the stone. That was something that was brothering him. He knew he knew her but from where…? There were a lot of girls where brown hair and brown eyes who were slim but not skinny and was small built; so that was no help.

Behind him the fair still raged on and he could hear the laughs of the people having a good time. In front of him was something quiet and seemingly peaceful area. So maybe it was the mood or the drinks resting in his stomach but he moved forward and she became aware he was there with a slight turn of her head and he knew she had ninja training because he was quiet but he still moved till he stood in front of her leaning his rear against the iron fence in front of the building before tilting his head up to stare at her.

And this is where he could blame the alcohol if it went wrong.

"Isn't it a bit weird for someone to sit outside of their apartment at night?" Kankuro asked.

"I don't live here." She answered looking down from the sky to him showing a face with red tinted eyes from tears that passed some time before he came.

"When why are you sitting there? Shouldn't you be having fun at the fair, like everyone else?"

Her eyes shifted to look the way he came before looking back at him. "I was… waiting for someone but now I don't feel like going."

"Oh? Because your boyfriend didn't come?"

"I wasn't waiting for my boyfriend!" she huffed.

"So no boyfriend?"

"No, jezz if you must know, I was waiting for my father."

"He lives here?"

"No… he's girlfriend does. I was with her waiting."

"Well what an asshole."

"What?"

"Your father. Let me guess here… You two set up a time to see each other and to go to this fair but he never showed up, leaving you all alone with his girlfriend who kicked you out after awhile." Kankuro said picking at his shirt.

"How… yeah that's it." She sighed before grabbing her bag and hopping off the wall. "But don't call him an asshole, he's just… a busy man, that's all."

Kankuro stretched at his check. "So how long have you been talking yourself that line?"

"It isn't a line! It's the truth!" The girl huffed out again.

"Right, well listen here, doll. If your father said he would do something than he most likely set aside the time for it no matter how busy he would get he still would have that time to do it. And with the way you said it… it sounds like this isn't the first time hes done something like this." Kankuro explained as he crossed his arms over his chest. "So basically he's an asshole and doesn't care if he lets his daughter down."

"Oh how would you know?!"

"Believe, doll, I know a lot about asshole fathers and how they act." He said with a humorless smile.

"… Quit calling me doll." She sighed out.

"I would if I could… doll." Grin. "But I don't know your name."

"It's impolite to ask someone their name before giving your own." She said giving an answering grin. "Sweetheart." He grinned before making a mock wounded look, placing a hand over his heart, making her roll her eyes but smile.

"My names Kankuro."

"Oh… Oh! Kankuro! Wow I didn't even…" She looked surprised looking him up and down before adapting pink to her cheeks to which he looked at her questioningly for a second time in one day. "You look different without your get up." She said waving her hand up and down at him.

"And you are…?"

"Oh, right." The pink stayed on her cheeks while her free hand went to her hair and she looked down at herself. "I guess we both look different without the normal stuff. It's Tenten, am teamed with Lee and Neji."

"Shit." Kankuro said quietly while blinking at her before laughing loudly. "I knew you looked familiar! I just couldn't place the damn name." They both laughed at themselves for a moment after she agreed with him. Tenten sighed before looking away and he knew she was thinking about that guy again making him frown.

"Hey. Don't let him get to you."

"What are you talking about now?" Tenten asked with a sigh.

"Your dad and what he did." When she continued to look away he spoke again. "I mean it don't let it because you'll just make yourself feel bad and depressed. Guys like that are not worth your time."

"He's my father."

"So? It doesn't give him the right to dismiss you like that. It doesn't give him the right to tell you he'll meet up with you and bring you out so the both of you can hang out together than drop you. If he doesn't care enough to keep his word with you and leave you hanging on his words that he's 'sorry but something came up' than you shouldn't wait for him thinking he'll show up or believe his lies. Personal? I think you're pretty cool." He said with a shrug when she looked back at him.

"Back when we were kids? It was tough luck that you went against my sister but out of the females from here you seemed more skilled."

"I'm older than them."

"So? I went up against Shino and lost and am older than him. I know for a fact that if I messed with some of those rookies I would get my ass handed to me. But besides that, what I was getting at was this; your cool, you can keep your head on your shoulders and be a damn good ninja. I for one don't want anything to do with that 'scroll of pain' you got."

Tenten giggles at that. "Scroll of pain?"

"Flying weapons everything? That would suck to be caught in." Kankuro said with another shrugged. It was true, that would blow to get that many weapons thrown at you and it was plain dumb luck that she got his sister, who controls the wind, for that match.

"If your dad doesn't see how good you are and wont make time to be with you than don't waste your time waiting for him because you could be in for a long wait. Believe me; I know this for a fact."

They fall back into silence while he let his words sink in. He for one hated how people did that and the hate became worse when it was a father doing it to his child while the child said they knew he would come or that he was a busy man. Unless the guy was dying, got thrown in jail, or was kidnapped or got on the wrong side of some and didn't bother to tell their kid, than he really shouldn't be putting their child's hopes up only to crush them and make them feel like dirt and second best to their work.

Even after Gaara became the Kazekage when he said he'll be home or he'll do some with one or both of his siblings, he does it and when he can't, he sends a message to them. So if he could run a village but still do family things or send a message than Kankuro knew that their father was just a lair and he also knew if he could do all that than Tenten's father was just being an ass to her and leaving her hanging.

"You know what, Kankuro, your right." Tenten said.

"Well duh. Of course am right." Kankuro said grinning widely.

"Don't let it get to your head." Tenten said rolling her eyes. "But yeah he is being an asshole and I shouldn't waste my time on something like that. Knowing him he's probably out cheating on this girlfriend."

"Damn. A lousy father and a cheating boyfriend, he is scum."

"Yeah he is." She said smiling. "Well I guess I better go plan a come back for tonight." She commented with a smirk which he answered.

"Doll, if you want to get back at someone, come with me." Kankuro offered, pushing away from the fence and moving to the door. "I know some great tricks."

"No Kankuro-"

"Ah zip it and come on, doll. You'll learn something." He said while opening the door and walking in. His grin widen when the door was opened again and her foot steps was heard behind him. He gave another loud, throaty laugh when she punched him in the back.

"I said don't call me doll!"

"Sure thing, sweetie, sure thing."