Just a little one-shot about my favorite pairing for Valentine's Day. Hope you all enjoy! Reviews would be greatly appreciated!!!
A/N: I don't own Naruto. Sadly.
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'Valentine's Day,' Tenten wrinkled her nose at the thought. Konoha was buzzing with life; the noise of parties filled the air, couples walked hand-in-hand, oblivious to everything around them, and bars were more crowded than any other night of the year, except perhaps New Year's Eve.
The weapons mistress kicked at the dirt as she walked, hands in her pockets. A chill bit in the air bit at her nose and her cheeks, but she barely noticed, deep in the darkness that always seemed to surround her on this day of all things she detested.
It wasn't that she begrudged other people their happiness, she considered. It was just a matter of how it was expressed. Wasn't love supposed to be constant, and ever-present? Why did it have to be rolled into one stupid day, with flowers and chocolate, and so much pink and red it made her head spin?
The path quieted as she got away from the business district. She stared at the flower in her hands, a pink rose that faded to white near the middle. Even with all of her resentment towards this day, she had to admit it was beautiful.
Petals of youth, that's what Lee had called them. A gift for all of the Konoha 11 on his favorite holiday, the day he could express his enthusiasm in full force, and not be looked at as crazy…
…well, maybe a little less crazy than normal, at least.
He had shoved it into her hand, giving a nice guy pose with the biggest smile she had ever seen. "For you, Tenten-chan."
He then lowered his voice, whispering conspiratorially, "I have heard that if you take a petal from this flower and make a wish, then blow it away, your wish will be granted when someone catches the petal."
She had just dismissed it as another of Lee's eccentric stories, but despite herself, she gently plucked a petal from the flower, handling it as gently as glass. She veered off the path and to a route that she knew would lead her to the training grounds.
She wasn't sure why that was where she needed to go, but it felt right, so she let her feet carry her, and she thought about the wish.
What did she need to wish for? Hadn't she gotten everything she'd ever wanted? To become a shinobi of Konoha, and to protect her village… that had been her goal for as long as she could remember. Certainly, she had other aspirations. To be a Kunoichi as great as Tsunade herself, to become a Jonin, to beat Neji in a fight for once in her life… She laughed at that last one. No need to waste a wish on something like that, a goal that would never come to fruition, and the others would come simply with practice.
No, the wish needed to be different.
As she reached the training grounds, she stopped, still clutching the petal. The moon was bright overhead, casting the whole field in a silvery glow. The flower seemed to sparkle and catch the light, and for just a moment, she stood transfixed by its beauty.
Her attention was drawn away by a glinting object a few meters off. She recognized it as a kunai she had lost earlier today, during her sparring session with Neji. Tenten grinned as she picked it up. This was the one that had actually hit Neji today. That smug bastard would never admit it, but she knew it had hit the mark.
It wouldn't have been the same if he had admitted it, she contemplated. Neji just wasn't himself without that cool arrogance that always accompanied his presence, that arrogant smirk, the way his shoulders were always perfectly straight, his nose upturned just slightly, giving a person the feeling that they wouldn't ever be at his level.
"Tenten, what are you doing out here?"
The question was asked without any inflection whatsoever, but coming from Neji, that might as well be indignation. She gave a little half-smile. 'Speak of the devil…'
She turned to Neji, spinning the kunai around her index finger and pocketing it. "Thinking, and recovering weapons. What are you doing here?"
He shrugged, choosing to answer with another question. "Weren't you invited to Ino's party? I assumed you would be there."
It was Tenten's turn to shrug. "I didn't really feel like going. You were invited too, weren't you?"
He gave a grunt of affirmation. "The whole tradition is slightly ridiculous. I don't see the point in going to a party for a holiday I don't observe."
Tenten lowered her head, hiding the smile that crept across her face. At least there was someone else who shared her sentiments about this ridiculous day.
"Lee gave you one of those flowers as well, I see." Neji noted, motioning to the flower in her hand. Self-consciously, Tenten put the hand holding the petal behind her back. Neji wasn't wont to believe in things like making wishes. It had taken him years to be convinced that not everything had to be determined by fate.
"He did. Kind of silly, I suppose, flowers that make your wishes come true." She forced a laugh.
Neji didn't reply like she had expected at all. "Did you make a wish?"
The question threw her off, and it took her mind a few moments to form a response.
"Not yet. I don't really know what to wish for."
Neji nodded solemnly. "I suppose I should get back to the Hyuuga compound. I've been gone long enough. Have a good evening, Tenten."
Tenten watched his retreating back, then glanced down at the petal in her hand. Just one wish…
She looked up. "Hey, Neji?"
Her enigmatic teammate was already gone. She felt her stomach sink a little.
'Liar,' a voice in the back of her head chided. 'You know what to wish for.'
She bit her lip. So, perhaps she was lying to herself a little… and that wasn't the only thing she had been lying about. Her real reasons for hating this day weren't the ones she fed herself.
Maybe she was a little bitter that everyone else had this day to spend with someone. Maybe she was slightly sickened by the fact that every time she saw a couple wandering through the streets of Konoha, she realized that, being a Kunoichi, she could never have that. The hazards of the job made it impossible to be certain that one person or the other would even come back alive.
Or maybe it was the way that her heart beat a little faster every time Neji touched her during training, or the way she let herself get lost in the depths of that cold lavender gaze. She couldn't understand why she felt the way she did. In her rational mind, she was very much aware that Neji was arrogant, cold, and downright cruel at times. Yet, at the same time, she couldn't help thinking that he was also brilliant, handsome, hardworking, and dedicated, and she found herself caught up in the rare moments of compassion that Neji showed for his team and his village.
It was a foolish wish, and she knew it, but wishes were foolish anyways, she decided, so she brought her hand up in front of her face, and wished.
The petal floated off of her hand, and out over the ground, carried away by the wind and into the trees.
Tenten watched it go for a few moments. Then, satisfied with the impossibility of such wishes, she turned to go.
She had only gone a few steps when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She jumped, kunai in hand within seconds.
"Tenten, it's just me." Her brown eyes met his lavender, and she took an unconscious step backwards, letting his hand slip off her shoulder.
"Oh." She put the kunai back in her weapons pouch. "I thought you were going home."
"I was," he said quietly. "But I found another one of your kunai on my way out of the training grounds. I thought you might want it back."
Tenten took it, and he turned to go, so she did the same. As she walked, she examined the kunai, weighing it in her palm. It was the same weight as the custom-made ones she carried, but it was newer, cut evenly and obviously unused…
"Tenten."
She lost her thoughts about the kunai, turning to face Neji once again.
He was far closer than she had expected, and before she had time to react, he placed a hand against her cheek and leaned forward, pressing his lips against hers.
Then, as quickly as it had all happened, he was gone, disappearing into the night. In her shock, she didn't follow him, only touching her lips where his had been, as if to confirm that it truly had happened.
She looked down at the kunai once again; it obviously was new, and now she noticed the inscription on the hilt.
Happy Valentine's Day, my love.
Head still trying to process all that had happened, she had failed to notice that Neji had slipped something else in her hand. A single rose petal, pink fading to white at the center.
A slow warmth spread through her body, and she couldn't help but grin.
Maybe Valentine's Day wasn't so bad after all.