Under The Circumstances Ch. 1 Nejiten (with Nejiten ending), minimal Leeten.
Tenten was sitting on her bed and lay a hand casually over the delicate contours of her stomach.
She wouldn't cry. He was a shinobi; she should have been more aware that this could occur.
There was one inconceivable reality: Lee was gone.
She allowed herself one tear to fall for the deceased husband she had only been married to for a year. She'd only been his for one year.
She was barely twenty years old and so sure that they would spend the rest of their lives with each other.
Being a kunoichi, she was able to sense the presence in the room. The chakra signature was so familiar, yet she knew it was impossible.
She glanced up furtively to catch a figure standing in the middle of the room. Neji. She hadn't expected to see him here.
Neji glanced at his former teammate. Worry lines were creased. Shockingly, she appeared to be taking it quite well.
Of course, she was supposed to hide her feelings. She's a kunoichi.
He crossed the room of the small apartment, sat down next to her on the bed. Out of habit, she lay her head on his shoulders like she used to do when they were younger.
After all this time, he was still her best friend. "Tenten…" Neji stated, "Let it out. It's not good to bottle emotions up."
He thought of himself at the Chuunin exams. No. It definitely wasn't good to bottle emotions up.
The Suna nin were so few that she and Lee were transferred after the wedding.
Tsunade wasn't happy about losing such great ninja, but Suna and Konoha were on such good terms.
Besides, Lee and Tenten came back to visit quite often.
She had gone to the Kazekage's office to turn in some paperwork.
She hadn't been taking any missions lately, but she helped Gaara with all the paperwork he had to complete.
Gaara may enjoy protecting his village, but he hated paperwork with a passion.
She knew something was wrong when Gaara called her into his office and forced her to sit down.
"Tenten, Lee went down on his last mission after completing it. Some of the villagers recognized his headband.
They knew of our alliance with Konoha and brought his body there. I just got word of it myself."
The Kazekage definitely looked distraught. Despite the past between Gaara and Lee, the duo were certainly the best of friends. They were an unlikely pair, but that didn't make their friendship any less real.
"Why don't you go home and rest? I'll call you back here when we decide what to do with the body and where it should be buried. Konoha? Suna?"
"Konoha," she stated, "It's our home."
Gaara nodded. He understood.
Neji looked around the room. He'd been to Suna before, but he had never seen the apartment.
It was tidy and smelled like home cooked food. It appeared Tenten and Lee had a very comfortable lifestyle.
He glanced down at the former teammate sobbing into his new Hyuuga robes.
It wasn't fair that this had to happen to Lee of all people. Lee was kind and hardworking.
He deserved to live a long and happy life. Even more, It wasn't fair that his beloved former teammate should feel this loss. He glanced casually at her stomach.
One of the reasons why it was so unfair was definitely because of the baby. She should be about five months now.
When Tenten and Lee came on their monthly Konoha visits, Neji would always greet them at the gates if he wasn't on a mission.
Tenten's stamina had improved, and the two usually arrived about half a day before he would expect them.
He waited at the gates. And waited. And continued to wait. Not that he minded. He was meditating. What would take them this long?
He was worried, of course. Five days after he expected them, they arrived. They were hand and hand, giggling.
At first, Neji was angry. What took them so long? Did they stop to pick strawberries every time they had an opportunity?
Neji's anger abated when Lee leaned over and rubbed Tenten's slightly-larger-than-normal belly, claiming it wasn't good for them to travel quickly with her condition.
They had just found out about the baby, and she was three months along. They wouldn't come back until after the baby would be born.
He was going to be Uncle Neji.
After she cleaned up and calmed down, she used her newfound cooking skills to make them lunch. They made conversation.
After all, they hadn't seen each other in two months.
"So... how is ANBU? Have you gone on any exciting missions lately?" she inquired, throwing spices over the panini.
"Actually, I have. Hinata-sama was busy, so I took her little genin team on a C-Rank mission," Neji stated.
He could tell she was trying to distract herself from the pain of losing Lee. Of course, if he could help her in any way, he would.
She stopped working on the paninis for a second. "Neji... why are you here?
Why would they send one of the highest ranked Konoha-nin here?"
Tsunade-sama sat at her desk, which had papers strewn across it in a disorderly fashion. She was in even more of a mess than usual.
"Neji, Lee was sent out on an A-Rank mission to help a village. Unfortunately, he was killed.
The villagers noticed the headband and brought him here."
Neji felt a pang in his chest. Lee was one of his closest friends. Not that he had many close friends.
"Neji, that's not my only worry. Tenten's pregnant, and I'm very worried about her. Stress is not good for unborn babies.
Maybe it'd help if she saw her best friend."
"Hai," Neji told her, "I understand, and I will leave immediately."
Neji turned to leave, and met eyes with Shikamaru.
"Neji, I don't think you understand the importance of this mission. The most important ninja are the unborn ninja who will carry on the will of fire.
Do not allow your feelings to get in the way of this mission. You lost her to Lee, Neji. Then again, did you even fight?"
Tenten was adding the last of the spices to the panini when a thought occurred to her. "Ah! Neji, I forgot! You like your food unusually bland!"
"It's fine. How spicy are those paninis?" Neji asked.
Tenten shrugged. "Pretty spicy. I've been craving a lot of spicy food lately. No matter, we'll go out! I changed my mind, anyways. I don't want paninis. We can even go for herring soba- your favorite!"
"Are you sure?" Neji inquired. Worry lines creased the Hyuuga prodigy's face.
"Perfectly sure. Besides, I never leave my apartment for fun anymore. I go to the Kazekage's office. I get paperwork. I bring the paperwork home. I do it here. My life is fairly mundane. A little fresh air will do me some good," Tenten stated.
Neji shrugged, and took her hand in his. "Let's go."
They had just finished an intense sparring match. She was putting her shuriken away, then she walked over to where he was sitting and took her hand in his. "Neji, I have something to tell you."
"Hn?" Neji inquired, an eyebrow quirked in curiousity.
Tenten normally didn't act this nervous.
"Lee asked me out on a date," the kunoichi stated, twiddling her thumbs.
Neji's eyes visibly widened. Date?
"Do you... mind?" Tenten queried.
Did he mind? Of course he did! Why would Tenten even think about accepting? She knew this would change their team dynamics!
Even more, he knew there was something... special... there with her.
Ever since he was promoted to Jounin, he noticed he'd been spending less and less time sparring with her. The fact that he barely spent any time with her irritated him.
But he cherished every minute they could spend together.
"Tenten... why would I mind?"
His voice had a challenging tone. He waited to hear her confession. He waited to hear that she loved him.
He prepared himself to accept those feelings... and return them.
She shrugged, starting to put the kunai away. "I don't know. The team dynamics would definitely be changed. But more than that... you're my best friend. I'd like your approval."
He swallowed hard. She really didn't like him? Not even a little bit? His voice was harder, colder.
"You have it. It is Lee we're talking about..."
She laughed, which pained him. Was he really just friendzoned? Hard?
They were taking the scenic route through the park.
"How long will you be here?" she asked him.
In all honesty, he wasn't entirely sure he would be in Suna. Would he be there until the baby was born? Longer? Shorter?
"However long you need me here. We just lost a beloved teammate. More than that, you lost a husband. Under the circumstances, I don't think Tsunade will send me on any missions."
Suddenly, Tenten's foot hit a tree root. Luckily, Neji's reflexes were amazing, and he caught her before she tumbled to the ground.
"Careful," he stated, gesturing to her baby bump, "He's the last thing of Lee's you have. You must be more cautious."
She nodded in gratitude. "Thanks, Neji."
Neji swallowed thickly. Their relationship was so... awkward. Ever since that one night.
It was raining harder than it ever had in Konoha. It was practically a monsoon. Yet, here she was.
Practicing, instead of going to her own bachelorette party.
Neji stood behind her as she pelted the tree with various projectiles.
"Hinata, Sakura, and Ino have been looking everywhere for you.
Temari and Matsuri came all the way from Suna a day early so they could attend your bachelorette party!"
She turned to look at him. "Neji, how'd you know I was here?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. I just knew you'd be here."
He blocked the target with his body. "Stop it. You shouldn't be here."
"Neither should you."
Neji wasn't sure who moved first, but he thought it was probably himself.
Before he could even have the privilege of thought, they locked lips.
Hers were warm even in the bitter cold and rain.
Her lips parted, allowing him entrance. He wound his fingers in her hair, which was down.
It was his first kiss. Like he would kiss girls when he could train instead. Naturally, he was surprised when she broke the kiss for air.
His eyes bore into hers. She was impossibly beautiful, but she wasn't his. "You love me too," he said.
It wasn't a question. It was a statement; an observation. "Yes, Neji. I love you too."
Should upload the next chapter tomorrow. I made some edits, but my roommate Mysterious Smiles wrote this chapter. I... like Nejiten! She's obsessed, and it really grew on me. I'm not really into Leeten anymore. Well, I guess I'm in the dark side now. Oh well. We have Neji. I should upload Ch. 2 tomorrow.