Tenten flew around in the air, her body turning and twisting flexibly and elegantly in the air as she showered her opponent with her ninja tools. The man easily dodged the attacks as he flew up beside her and prepared to send chakra into her system. She smirked and quickly, almost effortlessly, surrounded herself with another scroll as a defence and flew to a nearby tree to land on a branch. The man fell back down to the earth for but a second before charging up the tree to get to Tenten. Tenten prepared to attack once more as she jumped to a higher branch, but as her foot hit it, the branch broke unexpectedly and the shocked Tenten began tumbling towards the frosty grass. It was too late to break her fall, her feet flying up above her. She squeezed her eyes shut waiting for the inevitable impact as she flew towards the earth when she felt strong arms grab her underneath her knees and around her shoulders.

Suddenly she was no longer flying. Everything was still. She dared to peek open one of her eyes and found herself staring at her opponent's face.

"Are you alright, Tenten?" Neji asked, his worried eyes betraying him in his attempt to seem indifferent to everything. But the worry was gone when he blinked.

"Y-yeah..." The shaky Tenten replied as Neji sat her upright again on the cold grass. Her breath came in little white clouds in the frosty air as she regained her composure from the shock of the sudden fall. She sighed and closed her eyes before looking back up at the emotionless face of her sparring partner.

"Thanks, Neji," she smiled up at him.

"Hn," Neji repeated his favourite one syllable reply. "Why don't we take a break?" he suggested as he walked over to a tree on the edge of the training field. Tenten straightened up and followed him over the frozen tundra. Neji sat down and leaned his back against the frigid tree as Tenten took a seat beside him and pulled on her gloves. She could see their breath coming out of their mouths and noses in soft puffs of twirling smoke like moisture. Neji pulled out his water bottle and took a quick drink before offering it to Tenten which she willingly accepted. It was like ice running down her throat before settling in the pit of her stomach somehow making her feel even thirstier.

She sighed when finishing, leaning her head back against the tree trunk and breathing in the cool early morning air. It was not yet dawn and with the dead of winter quickly approaching, the temperature was reaching well below -15. (1) Tenten shivered as the icy wind whipped her bangs around her face. She instinctively curled up her legs to her chest and buried her face in her knees to shield it from the cold.

"Are you cold?" Neji inquired an amused look on his face at the oddly positioned girl beside him. Tenten turned her face which was beginning to turn blue from the cold towards him.

"Well, yeah I'm a lot warmer when we're moving around," she replied. "I guess when I have something to concentrate on, like our spars, and the blood is flowing, I don't notice the cold." She shivered again as another cold breeze blew past them and she once more buried her head in her knees. She suddenly felt something warm drape across her shoulders. She looked over and saw Neji wrapping his coat around her, leaving him in only a netted shirt.

"Ne-Neji...Really, you-"she began but stopped short realizing it was always useless to argue with the Hyuga. She sighed and turned back to rest her chin on her knee.

"Thank you," she said. Neji did not reply but simply returned to his previous position. Tenten closed her eyes as she let the warmth of Neji's coat spread over her body. She was already beginning to feel warmer when she felt something wet touch her nose and then melt away. She gasped and opened her eyes to look up at a sky from which dozens of tiny white flakes were falling. She smiled looking around the training field as the snow began to cover it.

"Pretty...," she muttered as she gazed at the icy flakes fall all about her and her teammate. Neji simply quietly nodded in agreement before resting his head back against the tree and closing his eyes.

"Hey Neji?" Tenten asked, hating to disrupt the serene silence.

"Hm?" he replied not even opening his eyes.

"We've been team mates a long time right?"

"Mhm," he mumbled, still not opening his eyes.

"So...when we're in fixed, w help each other, right?"

That got his attention. He opened his silvery eyes and stared at her. She was serious as she looked up at him from under her hair which she had apparently let down into waves while he had had his eyes shut, her eyes smiling. He nodded.

"Good. So then...why haven't you come to me?" The smile left her eyes.

"...What do you mean?"

"I know about that mark on your head. I've seen it when you've adjusted your head band when you thought no one was paying attention. I've seen you train before I get here and then suddenly stop and get tense. For someone so observant, you really don't notice anything."

"Hn." He didn't want to talk about this now. Not with her. Not with anyone. But his heart ached to share the pain of the Hyuga curse mark. Yet he couldn't...he couldn't share his pain with someone he hated to see get hurt.

Tenten placed a hand on his shoulder. "Neji...talk to me about it?"

"No." was the only reply he could come up with and he turned his milky eyes back to the training field and falling snow. Tenten removed her hand, sighing and he felt her turn her gaze away from him. He hadn't wanted to hurt her feelings...but this was something he could not discuss.

They sat in silence for awhile simply enjoying each other's company as the awkward situation melted from their memory, unlike the snow floating around them. Neji finally closed his eyes and sat there lost in his thoughts.

Neji's consciousness slowly came back to him. He still felt the chilly air around him, the frigid tree behind him, and the cold earth beneath him. But he didn't feel the warmth of Tenten's body beside him anymore. He slowly opened his eyes, squinting at the glaring sunlight that welcomed him. He let his eyes adjust to the new light before looking around. He was still in the training field, though it was now blanketed with snow, and still against the same tree. The snow all about him glistened vibrantly in the light of the rising sun as the wet cold flakes continued to tumble around him. But as he looked to his right where Tenten had been, he saw no trace that she had been there in the first place.

He looked back across the field when he caught sight of her in the middle of the clearing. She was looking at him with her honey eyes, smiling at him. He didn't move or even blink. She continued gazing at him and finally lifted her head to look into the heavens and the still falling slow. Slowly she began twirling around in a circle, her arms held out above her catching flakes here and there, twisting them in a dance, her head still raised to the sky. Neji gazed with wonder at the beautiful sight before him, watching Tenten perform her dance. This dance was different than her weapons dance; softer, gentler, and more beautiful. She continued to twirl slowly in a circle, a soft smile painted on her face. Neji wished nothing more than to join her in this winter ballet but he couldn't seem to find the courage to move to where she was. He could only watch as the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen dance in the snow before him.

Neji?

Neji vaguely heard his name being called by a familiar voice

Hey, Neji!

He groaned not wanting to be waked from this tranquil dream

Neji...Neji...Neji...

He mumbled something incoherently, groaning once more.

NEJI!

"WHAT?" he roared as he jolted awake, nearly hitting his head on Tenten's. But thankfully she was quick enough and threw back her head in time. He blinked and looked around. He was still leaning back against the tree, but it was no longer snowing and the morning sun had not yet begun to rise. He turned to his right where Tenten sat and noticed that behind her their other teammate Lee sat squatting on the ground. He stood up as Neji met his gaze.

"You fell asleep, silly," Tenten giggled, her eyes glimmering from her amusement.

"Ugh," Neji groaned, rubbing his sleepy eyes. It had all been a dream...but a lovely dream at that. Why did they have to wake him up from it?

"Hey, Neji, listen up," Tenten popped her head in front of his to get his attention. He stopped rubbing his eyes and looked into her face.

"Uh, Neji? You ok?" She asked waving her hand in front of his face.

"Huh? Oh, yeah," he said fully waking up.

"What am I going to do with you two...," Tenten sighed rising and putting her hands on her hips as she looked between her two boys. "Anyways, Neji, Lady Tsunade has summoned us to her office. Lee says that she has a mission for us," she said waving her hand in Lee's direction.

"That's right! And a very youthful mission I'm sure it will be, indeed!" Lee said, pumping his fist in the air.

Neji simply rose from his spot, brushing off the few flakes of snow that had landed on him as he had sat there. Suddenly he realized something and quickly turned to Tenten. She was already holding out the item he was looking for.

"Here," she smiled, holding out his coat for him. He took it from her and wrapped it back around his own body.

"Thank you," he said, her smile deepening at his words.

"No problem. I've always got your back, Neji."

(1) - Measured in degrees Celsius, not Fahrenheit!