Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, Kankuro and Tenten would confess their feelings to each other.
A/N: Happy early Valentine's Day everyone! Yes, it's just a commercial holiday, but I still count it. This was a kind of rushed one-shot, so it seems very poorly written at many points.
Contains spoilers from right after the time-skip.
"" means speaking '' means thinking
Published February 11, 2007
Between You and Me
"You're late." Tenten said, leaning on a tree with her arms crossed, with her face hidden in the shadow of tree.
"Well, you try to get away from Temari interrogating you about your whereabouts for the night." Kankuro said back.
"It wasn't this hard last year." Tenten pointed out, stepping out of the shadow. She sighed.
There stood a silent pause for what seemed like an eternity which was really only five seconds.
Tenten giggled slightly.
"What's so funny?" Kankuro raised an eyebrow.
"Why do you wear the same outfit all the time?" Tenten asked.
"What are you talking about?! This outfit is totally different!" Kankuro defended.
"Sure it is." Tenten rolled her eyes sarcastically.
"Humph." Kankuro crossed his arms.
"At least I changed my clothes for you." Tenten said.
"Hey! I changed!" Kankuro said.
"Yeah, yeah." Tenten giggled. She loved to play games with his head. "Hey, what's that?" Tenten pointed to Kankuro's hand.
Kankuro sighed and stretched his arm out in front of himself. "Happy Valentine's Day." He said looking up and away from Tenten's eyes.
"Wha--but I thought we weren't giving each other any holiday gifts." Tenten said, surprised, taking the card. "Thanks." She smiled at Kankuro. "You know I didn't get you anything right?"
"Of course I did. You always do what you're told." Kankuro snickered playfully.
"Ugh. That's not true!" Tenten crossed her arms.
"Whatever." Kankuro said.
"You sound like a girl." Tenten giggled.
"What? No I don't!" Kankuro whined.
"You sound like a little girl." Tenten laughed.
"Humph." Kankuro crossed his arms.
"Well, thanks again." Tenten said, opening the card. 'Happy Valentine's Day. Love, Kankuro.'
"It's nothing special. It's just a card." Kankuro said.
"In any case, thank you." Tenten yawned with her arms stretched out. "But since you were so late coming here, I'm getting kind of sleepy. I just finished a mission with Neji and Lee."
"No wonder your hair's a mess." Kankuro chuckled.
"Hey, you're face isn't all that clean either." Tenten put her hands on her hips.
"At least without my paint, I still look hot." Kankuro said.
"Hey, with my hair down, I look so much hotter than you'll ever be." Tenten said.
"At least my outfit looks better than yours." Kankuro said.
"What outfit?! You're just wearing a black suit. How plain." Tenten said.
"Whatever." Kankuro said.
"There you go again! You sound more like a girl than me." Tenten said.
"No I don't!" Kankuro retorted.
"Yes you do!" Tenten argued back.
"Well, since I'm a girl, all I have to say is, talk to the hand!" Kankuro put his hand in front of Tenten's face.
"Thanks for proving my point." Tenten crossed her arms. She walked back to the shadowed tree. "Do you remember this tree?"
"Huh?" Kankuro walked over to Tenten. "What's up with the subject change? Not that I have a problem with it."
"I just thought Valentine's Day should be celebrated with some romance instead of playful arguments. Don't you agree?" Tenten said.
"Eh." Kankuro shrugged.
"Well I think romance is needed." Tenten said. "But really. I remember this tree."
"Yeah…I guess…" Kankuro said, not really paying attention.
"Well I think it's a pretty big part of our relationship." Tenten said.
"A tree?" Kankuro asked.
"Yes, a tree." Tenten said. "This is where we always meet."
"Your point is?" Kankuro asked.
"Kankuro! It's a special tree. The first time we decided to meet here…I remember it like it was yesterday." Tenten looked up at the sky. "It always seems to be a perfectly starry night when we meet."
Kankuro looked to the sky. "Yeah. Wow. I never noticed that before."
She sat down, leaning on the tree. "You better remember this."
"Yeah, yeah. I remember." Kankuro sat down next to Tenten.
"This tree is the middle of everything. Suna and Konoha…" Tenten sighed. "What a coincidence we chose this spot, huh?"
"Yeah…" Kankuro leaned his head on the tree and looked up. "How'd you make it here anyways? If you were gone on a mission, you shouldn't be here yet."
"I had a good reason to be here…I couldn't be late…not today…" Tenten said, getting softer after every pause. "This is getting hard." Tenten sighed, looking at the grass on the ground.
"What is?" Kankuro asked.
"You know." Tenten said.
"No, I don't." Kankuro said honestly.
"This relationship. Ever since Gaara became Kazekage and Temari became a liaison and you became part of the Suna council, we've barely had time together." Tenten sighed. "There are too many people who could find out about us…I'm getting kind of worried someone will follow you here."
"You worry too much." Kankuro said.
"I worry about what I need to worry about." Tenten faced Kankuro. "You on the other hand don't worry about anything."
"What's there to worry about?" Kankuro asked.
"Weren't you listening to a word I just said?" Tenten looked at Kankuro.
"Yeah, yeah. I was just joking." Kankuro said.
Tenten leaned on Kankuro's shoulder. "The first time we met here two years ago…"
"Yeah…it was…weird." Kankuro admitted.
"What do you mean by weird?" Tenten asked, closing her eyes.
"Well, awkward, I guess." Kankuro explained. "I had a crush on you since the Chuunin Exams, but I never thought it would end up like this. We were so young back then…even though it was only a couple years ago…" He sighed heavily. "We spent so little, yet so much time together."
Kankuro continued to talk about their past interactions with each other. "And now we're here…Tenten…I…I love you."
"Tenten?" Kankuro turned his head to Tenten. He sighed. 'You have to fall asleep right when I tell you I love you?'
"I guess this would be a bad time to ask if you'd marry me." Kankuro said half-jokingly. 'I guess I'll ask her next time…Happy Valentine's Day, Tenten.' Kankuro decided to let the moment sink in. He leaned her head on Tenten's and drifted off. Of course, he already had a million traps laid in the forest just in case someone was to come.
'Yes.' Tenten answered. She smiled. 'Happy Valentine's Day, Kankuro.'
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A/N: There's a short one-shot for you! Happy Valentine's Day everyone!