What Makes A Team

by Eternal Procrastinator

It takes sake and jokes to make a team, but it's the moments they share that keep them together.

It's the day before the latest batch of newly appointed ninja children is to graduate and receive their team placements.

All the jounins gather together at Ichiraku's to celebrate one last night of childless freedom. Bottle after bottle of sake is ordered, each one finished to the very last drop.

One particularly drunk jounin voices an incredibly sobering thought.

"Who'd you think will have to mentor the Hyuuga?"

There's a sudden lull in the excitement. As much as they'd hate to admit, many are either unwilling or scared of having Hyuuga Neji in their group. No one's quite sure how to handle such a kid. The silence is broken by an exuberant shout from Gai.

Somebody snickers. "What if Gai ended up teaching the kid?"

Silence settles in once again, but it doesn't last long before the entire place is filled with uproarious laughter.

"There's no way the kid would even last a week with Gai!"

"Dear Lord, it'd be torture! For the kid!"

"What if he was placed with Rock Lee?"

This brings about another round of laughter as the jounins voice the improbability of that happening. They even begin joking about who the female member of the team should be.

"What about that girl, Tenten?"

"You mean the one who can only throw weapons?"

"Just imagine, a Hyuuga, Rock Lee, and Tenten, all under Gai."

Stifling laughter ripples through the room at the thought of those three working together, under Gai.

The topic is soon dropped as more bottles of sake are presented and other interests are pursued.

Imagine Iruka's surprise when he's reading off the list of teams to find that Hyuuga Neji, Rock Lee, and Tenten are to be placed under Gai.

-.-

"Oh my god. It's the loser. Don't look at him! What if his stupidity rubs off?"

Rock Lee knows that his classmates talk behind his back about his inability to perform ninjutsu and genjutsu.

Everything starts the day they're asked to create a simple kage bushin and he finds that he is unable to produce one. He tries again and again, to produce even just a meager copy of himself, but he finds that no matter how much he tries, he just can't seem to.

Things get worse when they are asked to perform a simple genjutsu on Iruka. Try as he might, Lee just can't seem to conjure up the image required. Iruka merely sighs and tells Lee to take a seat after his tenth consecutive failure.

His classmates whisper and point to him, nicknaming him "the loser". His teachers are much more discreet. They don't mock him, or tease him. Instead they pity him, but they act as if they aren't.

He still knows, but he doesn't let it get to him. Because Lee just knows that even though he may be unable to perform even the most basics of ninjutsu and genjutsu, he still has his taijutsu.

And he knows that even with just taijutsu, if he works hard, he can be just as good as anyone else.

He just knows.

And that's good enough for him

-.-

Tenten loves her family.

She's three when she meets the young couple who were going to adopt. She stares at them, big brown eyes curiously watching as the adults converse and then she's brought out to meet them.

They smile warmly at her and within moments, are quite taken with her. Tenten finds herself soon with a family.

They treat her as they would their own, lavishing her and spoiling her rotten, but still teaching her manners and respect.

-.-

It's because of her foster father that Tenten finds herself holding her first kunai.

She stares with wonder at the weapon in hand, turning it this way and that and is about to run her finger along the edge of the blade before her mother snatches the object out of her hands. Tenten stares, curiously at the glinting metal, as her mother scolds her father.

"Tenten!"

She pulls back and stares into her mother's horrified eyes, cocking her head curiously to the side.

"What's wrong, Mommy?"

Her mom sighs heavily, handing the kunai to her guilty father and begins talking about dangerous items and being safe. Tenten tries to listen, she really does, but the shine of the metal entices her.

Her mother notices that her attention has drifted and follows her daughter's gaze, this time sighing resignedly. Picking up Tenten, she promises that tomorrow they'll go buy her a toy kunai.

Tenten's displeased when she realizes that a toy kunai doesn't shine the way her dad's does.

-.-

Hyuuga Neji is known as a prodigy for being the only branch child to have nearly mastered the secrets to Byakugan despite having no prior training.

His first glimpse of Hakke Rokujuyon Sho was purely accidental. He did not mean to stumble upon one of Hyuuga Hinata's private training session with Hyuuga Hiashi. He watches, wide-eyed and curious as Hinata tries to replicate her father's moves.

He observes, day after day, and practices by himself in secret, long after everyone has gone to bed. He is at first frustrated at his own lack of improvement, and goes back to watch Hinata's training session. He watches with a keen eye, and in the dead of the night, copies the moves exactly as he recalls.

With time, Neji finds himself soon able to perform Hakke Rokujuyon Sho, and subsequently Hakkesho Kaiten, albeit not perfectly.

He is proud to say that Hinata has not yet even mastered the most basics of Byakugan.

-.-

"I'm going to be a talented ninja that specializes in taijutsu!"

Lee's declaration is met with blank stares and silence.

It's broken by Neji's derisive snort. Tenten continues to blink, staring unfocusedly at Lee as she still tries to process Lee's statement. Gai merely grins, gives his "nice guy" pose, and tells Lee that he will help him achieve that status.

-.-

"Don't get in my way."

These are the first words that Neji says to Tenten.

Tenten stares at his retreating back, and fumes silently. She raises a clenched fist and shakes it at him once, as though she was going to punch him. Making a rather sour face, she turns around and stomps towards the nearest training dummies, intent on setting up her multitude of targets.

As she does so, she replays his words over and over in her mind. It continues to infuriate her, and yet she finds herself unable to stop the repetition. She snaps out of it when she hears an audible crack and looks down to see a splintered target in hand.

Throwing the pieces aside, she scoffs to herself, "Who does he think he is?"

She continues to mutter obscenities—or as obscene as a twelve year old could possibly be—as she finishes setting up her practice space. Stepping back a couple paces, she faces her targets and pictures in her mind that the bulls-eyes are Neji's head and lets her kunai fly. She grins in sadistic satisfaction as each one lands on the mark.

"Just because you're a darn genius doesn't mean anything. So what if you've got a bloodline? So what if you graduated top of class?"

She continues the barrage.

"Thinking you're so much better than us. I'd like to see you hit all these targets dead center."

She senses his presence before he even speaks. Even so, she still turns around and flings a kunai at him. "I doubt you can."

Tenten crosses her arms under her barely there chest as he dodges—stupid genius—and scoffs at his statement. "I'll have you know that I happen to have perfect aim."

Neji settles for a slightly raised eyebrow.

"You don't believe me? Watch."

She turns back around and with practiced ease throws her arsenal of weapons. Within seconds her targets all have either a kunai or shuriken embedded in the little red circle. She turns triumphantly to glare haughtily at Neji. "Let's see you try."

Neji stares at her impassively. Tenten purses her lips impatiently, hands settling at her tilted hips, foot tapping as she waits for him to show her his prowess.

"Scared?" she taunts.

Neji snorts, but still doesn't make any move towards the targets. Instead he turns around and trudges back into the forest. Tenten's left staring at his retreating back again.

This time she calls after him.

"Just so you know, just because I respect you as a ninja, doesn't mean I respect you as a human being!"

-.-

"Be here at six tomorrow."

Tenten blinks, once, twice, thrice. "What?"

Neji's looking put off at having to repeat himself, and he enunciates, "Six. Tomorrow."

"What?" Tenten squeaks, reeling back in slight shock.

"Tenten, I will not repeat myself."

She waves a hand dismissively. "You already did, genius."

"Tenten."

"So let me get this straight. You, Hyuuga Neji, want me, Tenten, to train with you?"

Neji merely grunts in response, crossing his arms across his chest as he tilts his head back to stare dispassionately at Tenten.

"When did pigs learn to fly?"

Neji growls lowly, stalking across the field to tower menacingly over Tenten. She holds up her hands in mock surrender.

"Okay. Six. Tomorrow. I'll be here."

Neji backs away and nods once at her.

"Maybe."

-.-

Tenten's staring down at her food in horror.

Lee and Gai have already started eating and Neji murmurs a quiet "itadakimasu" before digging in himself. Tenten can only continue to stare. Resolutely, she picks up her chopsticks and begins to pick out the pickled plums in her dish.

"Do you not eat pickled plums?"

Tenten stops picking long enough to look over at Lee. "Yeah. I don't like them."

"Tenten! One cannot dislike food!" Gai booms. Tenten, startled, drops a pickled plum into her soup.

"Yosh!" Lee agrees.

Tenten smiles tightly as she fishes for the plum. "That being said, I don't like pickled plums."

Gai starts to lecture on how one simply cannot dislike food and Tenten tunes them out, like she has done so many times before. Placing her chopsticks down, she takes the plate of pickled plums and places them out of reach. Clapping her hands together, she murmurs her own "itadakimasu" and goes about eating.

-.-

There's a slight disagreement on sleeping arrangements when they have to share tents.

Neji and Tenten both agree that they will not sleep in the same tent as either Gai or Lee. Tenten, however, is also adamant against sleeping in the same tent as Neji, stating that even though she may tolerate Neji, she doesn't want to be sleeping next to him. Neither Tenten nor Neji are willing to sleep outside, nor are they willing to sleep in the same tent. So while it has been decided that Lee and Gai will be sharing a tent, the situation between Tenten and Neji have yet to be resolved.

"Tenten, Neji, if neither of you are willing to share, then both of you will enjoy the wonders of sleeping under nature with no protection."

They sober up rather quickly at Gai's cheery ultimatum and reluctantly agree to share the tent.

-.-

Tenten arrives late to training, looking rather worse for the wear.

Gai and Lee stop their in place jogging and Neji stops meditating to watch her as she stumbles into the clearing, clutching her abdomen in pain. She leans heavily against a tree, hands fisted tight enough to turn her knuckles white. Straightening, she winces at a particularly sharp stab of pain before schooling her features into an indifferent look.

Strolling all the way into the clearing, she pulls out her scrolls and asks, "Are we going to train or what?"

Neji dusts himself off, and motions for Tenten to follow.

Halfway through sparring, the pain becomes too much for Tenten to handle and she stops barraging Neji with weapons to clutch at her stomach again. Neji stops his Kaiten to stare at Tenten's hunched form. She stays like that for far longer than one normally would.

"What are you doing?"

Tenten doesn't say anything, one hand flying up to cover her mouth. She slowly sinks to the ground, curling up into a ball as she rocks back and forth on her heels. Neji stalks over to her and yanks her up by the arm.

"Get up," Neji orders, growing impatient with her.

Tenten whips her head up to glare rather lethally at the boy. She hisses at him, "You try dealing with the feeling that your stomach is about to come up and sharp pain that courses up your sides and the inability to stand up straight, let alone train, and you tell me if you can get up."

She yanks her arms away, only to groan in pain as she huddles back into a ball again.

Gai notices Tenten's lack of movement and gets worried. When told of her symptoms, he orders her to go home. Tenten protests, unwilling to skip training, until another wave of pain hits and she finally acquiesces.

-.-

"Neji-san, let's spar!"

Neji finds himself dragged, quite literally, into a spar with Lee when the boy takes his noncommittal grunt as affirmation. He already knows that Lee cannot beat him, but Neji is not one to pass up a chance to spar, considering Tenten was unable to train.

Lee soon finds himself with blocked chakra points, but that doesn't hinder him in attacking. The spar takes a more physical turn at some point, both Neji and Lee taking and returning hits. Neji hits Lee with a chakra fused fist, sending him flying into trunk by the impact. Lee struggles to stand, but his knees give out on him and he crumples to the ground.

He shakily raises a hand to give a thumbs-up to Neji. "Nice spar Neji-san. But I shall defeat you someday."

Neji stands over Lee. "You will never beat me. A failure will always be a failure."

-.-

Lee realizes one day, as he's watching Neji and Tenten practice, that he has fallen for Tenten.

It doesn't come to him like a sudden strike of lightning. In fact, it was merely a stray thought about how Tenten's fighting form made her look captivating that made him realize.

But even with this knowledge, Lee doesn't make any moves towards expressing his feelings for Tenten.

Because the same day he realizes that he likes Tenten is the same day that he realizes Neji, in all his oblivious glory, has come to depend on Tenten more than Lee ever would, and it'd be the best in the long run if Lee didn't pursue Tenten.

So Lee takes these feelings of his and stores them away.

-.-

Neji takes one bite of the food and immediately sets his spoon down and reaches for the water.

Tenten glances curiously over at him, her own spoon poised at her mouth. She sets her spoon down and turns to fully face Neji, eyebrows arched as she watches, slightly bemusedly, as he gulps down his water.

"What? Too spicy for you?"

Neji can only glare at Tenten.

Tenten snorts, lifting a hand to muffle her laughter. She glances over at Lee and her chuckles die away in horror as Lee clears his plate of hot curry and even asks for more.

"Okay, that just isn't right."

-.-

"Happy birthday!"

Team Gai raises their cups in cheer, one more reluctantly so than others. Gai and Lee heartily down their cups of tea, while Tenten and Neji sip at theirs in a more refined manner.

Tenten smiles as she sets her cups down. "So Lee, how does it feel to finally be thirteen?"

Lee exuberantly declares, "I feel great! My youthfulness is stronger than ever! Without fail, we shall pass the chunin exams and do Gai-sensei proud!"

"Yosh! That's the spirit Lee!"

-.-

Tenten misses another training.

Neji and Lee are standing at the foot of her bed, staring at the lump that's supposedly Tenten. She groans and shifts, the blankets pulling down far enough for Tenten's bedraggled head to pop out.

"Huh? Neji? Lee?"

"Tenten! We got worried when you did not show up!"

Tenten groans, burying herself deeper into her duvet.

"You were late for training," Neji intones.

Tenten groans again. "I've got cramps. Medicine ran out."

Lee cocks his head innocently to the side. "Did you not just get cramps last month?"

"If this keeps up you are seeing a doctor."

Tenten sighs raggedly, rolling her eyes and pulls her covers so she can pin Neji and Lee with a blank stare. "It's called menstruation, boys. Happens every month, whether I like it or not."

-.-

"Your life's going to change."

Neji can only stare incredulously at Tenten as she lazily twirls the card she's holding between her fingers. She rolls her eyes.

"Don't look at me like that," she says exasperatedly. "I did a tarot reading on you."

Flipping the card around, she holds it out in front of her. She reiterates, "Your life's going to change."

Neji is still staring, eyes trained on the picture of The Fool in her hand. He grunts and looks away, instead focusing on the birds around him. "My life is already predetermined. It cannot change."

"Trust me if you will, but my readings have never been wrong."

-.-

Lee winces as Tenten slaps a bandage on his cuts and whines, "Tenten! Must you be so harsh in your bandaging?"

Tenten bites back, "Yeah. Because if I wasn't, you wouldn't learn."

Lee whimpers, wincing again as Tenten rubs disinfectant over his wounds. He glances over at Neji and is about to ask him to persuade Tenten to be more gentle.

"No I will not."

"But Neji, I did not even ask—" Lee cries out as the disinfectant stings.

"You did not have to. My answer would have been the same."

-.-

"And you didn't believe me."

Neji's glaring at Tenten, who's trying her hardest to muffle her laughter. She absently twirls a tarot card between her fingers. "Neji, you really are a fool."

Looking up, she grins at him, unperturbed by his darkening glare. She lets the card flutter down to land at Neji's feet. "Of course, that's not how you interpret the card, but eh, it works."

Neji finds himself soon glaring at the picture of The Fool that's staring, tauntingly, at him.

-.-

The first thing Tenten does when Neji wakes up is smacks his head.

The nurses are horrified and rush in to stop her. "Tenten-san! He's a patient!"

Tenten holds up her hands to quell them. She narrows her eyes at Neji and purses her lips. They stare at each other, Tenten in miffed silence, before she finally says, "I glad you're okay."

Neji grunts, crossing his arms delicately across his chest. Tenten rubs her face tiredly, pulling up a chair to sit by his bed and begins recounting tales of what happened while he was away.

-.-

She does the same to Lee.

The nurses by then are too exasperated to even care that Tenten is smacking their patient.

"You idiot. You knew you weren't healed enough to go after them."

Lee tries to protest, but Tenten won't hear any of it. She leans in, grabs the collar of his shirt, and yanks him forward so that they are but inches apart.

"You knew that if you pushed yourself too much, the possibility that you won't be a ninja would be a reality," she all but growls.

Lee has the decency to look guilty. Tenten sighs and releases him, pulling back to give Lee a quick once over. "I'm just relieved you're fine."

-.-

Tenten yelps and ducks underneath a table as a chair comes flying towards her. She hesitantly peeks out, staring at the mess Lee is creating. She glances over across the room to see Neji blending into the shadows.

Crawling out, she surreptitiously makes her way over to him.

"Do you know what's gotten into him?"

Neji shakes his head.

"It's almost as if he's drunk."

A look of horror passes Tenten's face. "He's…not drunk, is he?"

"Not that I know of. None of us got sake."

Tenten throws a hand out to gesture at the tottering boy. "But look at him, Neji!"

Neji glances over and notices Lee's erratic movements are disappearing. Calmly walking out, Neji goes over to their upturned table and sniffs at the spilled liquid that was in Lee's cup. Tenten watches him curiously over his shoulder.

"Sake," Neji confirms.

"So…he was drunk."

"Yes."

"…Neji?"

"Yes?"

"Never let Lee, ever, have another sip of sake."

"Agreed."

"…How did he get a hold of sake anyways?"

-.-

"Congratulations on making chunin!"

Cheers erupt from Lee and Tenten as they clink their glasses together. Neji grunts lightheartedly, raising his glass as well.

Gai's looking at them with tears in his eyes and he proclaims his joy loudly and exuberantly, blubbering on about how his children are growing up to be such fine young ninjas. Lee is blubbering along with Gai and the two of them drift off into their own little world of sunsets and hugs.

Neji and Tenten are unaffected by it all and dig into their food.

-.-

"We shall be having the talk about the birds and the bees!"

Horror flits across both Neji and Tenten's face. Lee, in all his innocent glory, leans forward excitedly, notebook and pen in hand, ready to write down Gai's words of wisdom.

"NO!"

Tenten is the first to protest.

"Tenten! Now is the perfect time to learn, when your youth is blossoming!"

Tenten shakes her head vigorously. "I don't need this talk."

"Nonsense!"

Tenten is forced to stay.

Neji moves to leave before the talk can even begin, but the death grip Tenten has on his shirt prevents him from walking far. She hisses to him, "If I have to sit through this so do you."

They're both stuck listening to Gai preach about the wonders of sex and how it is performed. His descriptions leave little to the imagination and his metaphors make Tenten just a bit nauseous.

Lee is listening with rapt attention, and Tenten can't help but envy his naivety.

Tenten and Neji are traumatized for life by the time Gai is finished with his talk.

"I am never going to be able to look at Gai-sensei in the same way again."

-.-

"Is that a man-skirt?"

Tenten can't help but stare at the gray apron like article of clothing, cocking her head curiously as she tried to think of what it could possibly be.

"No."

"But Neji, it seriously is like a skirt," she cries, flailing her arms around absently, gesturing wildly at the piece of clothing.

"Tenten," he intones darkly, "this is traditional Hyuuga wear. You do not call it a skirt."

"Look at it. With no Hyuuga mindset. It's a skirt. A man-skirt," she enunciates.

"Tenten."

"Okay! Okay! It's not a skirt. Then what is it?"

"It's an apron."

Tenten blinks then settles him with a deadpan stare. "Like an apron is any better than a man-skirt."

-.-

"You're a jounin!"

Tenten throws herself at Neji, enveloping him in a hug. He awkwardly returns it, arms winding around her waist to hold her steady.

She pulls back and beams at Neji, ushering him into her house as she offers him some tea. He accepts and follows her to the kitchen.

Settling across from each other, Neji asks, "Is something wrong?"

Tenten blinks and shakes her head. "Of course not. Why do you ask?"

Neji mulls over his choice of words before slowing answering, "You do not seem…as cheerful…as you normally do."

"I can assure you, Neji, that I am absolutely, perfectly fine."

"I don't believe you."

Tenten rolls her eyes halfheartedly. "You never do."

"That is a blatant lie and you know it."

"Yes."

"Something is bothering you."

She gives a wry smile. "You don't give up, do you?"

"No."

"Stubborn bastard," Tenten mumbles into her cup. She then sighs. "I guess…it's just an irrational fear, really. Now that's you're jounin, it's not like you're going to have time to spend with Lee and I. We won't have many—or any—missions together."

Neji hums.

"I guess I'm just worried about our team breaking apart and losing touch with each other."

"Neither you nor Lee, not to mention Gai-sensei, would allow that to happen," he utters quietly.

Tenten lets out a short laugh. "I suppose. Anyways, we should get going. Gai-sensei's treating us to soba tonight."

-.-

Tenten jerks awake, sweating and panting, eyes darting around every inch of her room in terror.

Taking calming deep breaths, she places a hand over her heart to feel its beat gradually slow. She runs a hand tiredly over her face, eyes shifting to glance out at the moonlit night.

She doesn't bother trying to go back to sleep, knowing that even if she did, her nightmares would continue to plague her.

The aftershocks of almost drowning still trouble her. She's been losing countless hours of sleep these past few days and it will not do, not when they plan on leaving the day after for Konoha.

Sighing, she crawls out of bed and strides, confidently yet hesitantly, to the room where Neji and Lee are staying. She pushes the door open just enough for her to slip through and closes it with a soft click.

Neji stirs first and props himself up onto his elbows to look at Tenten. Lee does the same a moment later, albeit a bit more sleepily.

"What's wrong?"

Tenten trudges quietly over to stand at the edge of Neji's bed. "I…I can't sleep."

She shuffles awkwardly underneath the stares her teammates pin her with. "I keep dreaming about…drowning, ever since the fight with that Akatsuki. I...it haunts me. The knowledge that I could have…would have…died."

Neji is silent, and surprisingly, so is Lee.

She keeps her eyes downcast, but hears Neji shift. Looking up, she notices that Neji had moved closer to the wall, making space for her.

He stares at her and with a slight tilt of his head, indicates that he wants her to come over.

She hesitantly crawls in beside him, feeling the mattress dip as Lee clamors in as well.

Tenten takes in Neji and Lee on either side of her, feeling just slightly more at ease, and closes her eyes to try and sleep.

-.-

They wake up the next morning to find that Lee had slung an arm and leg over Tenten, who had in turn slung herself over Neji, whose arm is now trapped underneath his two teammates.

-.-

Neji and Tenten barely blink as Gai and Lee shrink into the horizon, nonplussed that their sensei and teammate had just taken off, inadvertently kidnapping Kakashi.

"Those two are such kids."

Tenten snorts in laughter. "Yeah. And you so don't want to join in."

Neji huffs. "Of course not."

A grin stretches across her face as she leans in, eyes narrowing in glee. Neji instinctively turns his head away. "Is that why you're just itching to run with them?"

He grinds his teeth and bites out, "No."

"Aw how cute," Tenten coos, reaching up to pinch his flushing cheeks."Neji's actually shy."

He grumpily bats her hands away. Tenten laughs, and they along with Naruto and Sakura continue their trek home.

-.-

Neji is accustomed to having to sleep in the same bed as Tenten and Lee, however, he is not prepared for the sudden onslaught of feelings he gets when Tenten unconsciously rubs her cold feet against the crook of his knee.

He has trouble controlling his breathing, trying to take deep, slow breaths to calm the sudden jump in his heart rate. Her feet shift to seek out more warmth and he tenses, waiting for her to stop moving. She doesn't.

"Neji, will you relax? Lee's on watch duty, not you," she mumbles drowsily.

Neji grunts quietly and tries to relax, but it's hard to do so when her cold feet are still rubbing against his legs.

"Will you stop that?"

"Stop what?"

"Rubbing your feet against my legs."

Tenten groans, throwing an arm across his body and hums, "But you warm."

Neji tenses even more. Tenten sighs, pushing herself up into a sitting position. "Roll over."

"…What?"

"Roll over," she commands, using one of her hands to push against his back to help her point get across. "If you won't relax on your own, I will make you."

Neji's too tired to argue and allows her to help roll him over. He stiffens at the feel of her weight settling on his lower back, loosening up only at the feel of her calloused hands kneading into his shoulder muscles. Tenten clicks her tongue.

"You've got a lot of knots."

Neji murmurs unintelligibly into his pillow.

"I totally understand." The humor is evident in her voice, even to Neji sleep addled mind.

Neji doesn't know when he fell asleep, but he wakes up to the dipping of the mattress and glances over to find Tenten slipping out and Lee slipping in.

-.-

Lee is the first to notice that Neji is starting to fall in love with Tenten.

He notices the lingering looks, the subtle touches, and the just barely there smiles. He also recognizes the fact that Neji himself doesn't know he's doing it.

Lee can only sigh, and hope that one day his teammate would wise up enough to realize his feelings. In the meantime, Lee's just going to keep quiet and watch.

-.-

Neji is displeased when Tenten walks out of the bathroom donned in a slim black dress, her hair loose and curling elegantly around her face.

"Should you be showing this much skin?"

Tenten rolls her eyes. "If we want this mission to succeed, then yes, Neji, I do."

Neji grumbles darkly, arms crossed across his chest. Tenten pins his with a stare, holding his dark gaze until she turns back to the mirror to apply the make-up.

"Quit grumbling Neji. It's not as though I was asked to have sex with the guy."

Neji only grunts.

"Look, the sooner I seduce, the sooner we finish. So let's go."

-.-

"Neji, he is not going to die just because you are glaring at him."

Neji averts his gaze to land upon Lee, who's smiling. "I'm not glaring, I'm watching."

Lee hums and takes a sip of his water. Neji can tell Lee does not believe him.

"Tenten looks very nice, does she not?"

"I still think she's showing too much skin."

"Maybe, but it is required for her to do so for this mission."

They are both silent, Neji still watching the transaction between Tenten and their target through his Byakugan.

"Neji, how do you feel about Tenten?"

Neji is taken aback, but doesn't tear his eyes away from Tenten. "Why are you asking?"

"It is a simple question, Neji."

"She's a teammate, a friend—"

Neji stops talking at Lee's dejected shake of his head. "True, you see her as a friend. But that is not what I mean."

Neji is silent for a moment. "I have not thought about her that way."

"I am sure you haven't, consciously at least," Lee assents. "However, subconsciously is another story."

"Must we talk about this now?"

Lee chuckles and shakes his head, slipping off the stool to disappear into the crowd, no doubt heading over to Tenten. "I suppose not."

-.-

Tenten trudges tiredly home, hand rubbing at her sore neck, kneading at the muscles there to try and relieve the pain.

Having to rush back to Konoha to assist in defending Konoha against the Akatsuki and the constant worrying about Hinata had taken a lot more out of her than thought possible. Mumbling a quick greeting to her parents, she scrambles up the stairs and strips off her outfit, relaxing as she lets scalding water wash over her. She proceeds to wash off all the dirt and grime that's accumulated.

"Tenten! Neji and Lee are here to see you!"

Tenten quickly towels herself dry as she slips on a pair of sweats and a tank. She ambles down the stairs, waving at Neji and Lee who are having tea with her mother.

"What's up?"

"The village is getting ready to celebrate Naruto's victory over the Akatsuki," Lee explains cheerily.

"Now?"

Neji nods.

"But the fight ended not even three hours ago," Tenten voices. "Half our village is destroyed, and they choose now to celebrate?"

"It seems so."

"Oh Tenten," her mother exclaims exasperatedly. "Just go and enjoy yourself. It's the least you deserve for helping beat the Akatsuki."

Tenten turns a halfhearted glare on her mother. "Shouldn't you be more worried about the fact that I'm exhausted, physically and mentally?"

Her mother waves a dismissive hand as she clears her cup. "Your father and I brought you up better than that. Now go before I chase you out."

Tenten can only gape at her mother's retreating back. She brings a hand up to rub wearily at her forehead. "I wonder about my mom sometimes."

Groaning, she pushes herself out of the chair and motions with a tilt of her head for the three of them to leave for the celebrations. "Come on. Before Mom really does come back with a broom."

-.-

"Was it really necessary to invite both Lee and I to the Hyuuga Manor for dinner?"

"Trust me, I tried talking Hiashi-sama out of it."

"Apparently not hard enough," Tenten mumbles under her breath, picking at a loose thread on her kimono. Picking up her cup she goes to take a sip, stopping short as the smell of the liquid wafts into her nose.

"Neji, is this sake?"

Neji picks up his own cup and takes a sip. Making a face at his cup he answers, "It seems so."

"Lee!"

They whip their heads to stare, Tenten with wide-eyed horror and Neji with impassive horror. Lee's face is flushed, and he starts tottering dangerously in his seat. The rest of the table stops eating to stare bewilderedly as Tenten rushes out of her seat to grab a hold of Lee's arms before he can slip into the drunken fist.

Tenten can only smile nervously at Hiashi. Politely bowing to the head of the Hyuuga house, she drags Lee with effort out of the dining hall. Neji swiftly follows to help make sure Lee doesn't trash the compound.

Lee finally sobers up an hour later and Tenten commands him to go home to sleep off the rest of the alcohol that's in his system. Just as Tenten's about to leave with Lee, she remembers why they were at the Hyuuga house in the first place.

"Oh, that's right! Happy seventeenth birthday, Neji!"

-.-

"I like you."

Neji pauses in splintering a training dummy in half and stares in wonder at Tenten who's still calmly sitting on a rock, polishing her kunai. She glances up and locks gazes with him, repeating, "I like you."

He straightens out of his fighting stance. "What brought this on?"

She shrugs, pocketing the kunai and grabbing her katana. "I just thought I'd tell someone—preferably someone who doesn't already know—I like you. So, I like you."

"What if I already knew?"

Tenten rolls her eyes. "You are about as oblivious as Naruto. There's no way you would have known unless it tied itself to a fish and slapped you in the face."

-.-

She's dirty, she sore, and all she wants to do is sleep.

That doesn't seem to stop Neji from assaulting her mouth the minute she walked through Konoha's gate. She assumes it may have something to do with her somewhat less-than-earth-shattering confession right before the mission.

Tenten has half the mind to just lean in and let him hold her weight as she kisses him back. However, the need for a comfortable bed overrides the feeling of Neji kissing her.

She pushed him away with a rough shove. "I get it. You like me. And I like you. But can we please do this some other time? Preferably when I don't hear a comfortable bed calling my name?"

-.-

Tenten grins as she tucks a final flower into Neji's hair. Pulling back, she admires her handiwork with smug pride.

Lee walks back into the room, fiddling with her mother's camera, various flowers also tucked into his hair. Neji takes one look at the camera and begins to protest.

"I never agreed to photos, Tenten."

"Oh come on," she whines, adjusting some of the flowers in her own hair. "Just one. To commemorate the day Hyuuga Neji allowed someone other than himself to touch his oh-so-precious hair."

Lee agrees with a nod of his head. "It is just one picture Neji!"

Neji scoffs, crossing his arms moodily under his chest, glaring at the offending object that's currently being set up across the room. "With you, one picture means ten."

Tenten pouts indignantly. "It does not!"

Lee finishes adjusting the camera, making sure that Tenten and Neji are centered and focused before bustling over, careful not to mess up his hair, the shutter button in hand.

"Kay! Smile!"

-.-

"Kitchen, Lee."

Lee obliges, making his way through the multiple boxes littering the living room to get to the kitchen, and sets the box down onto a countertop. Tenten appears after him with another box.

"Thanks for helping me move."

"No problem!" Lee says cheerfully."I just wish Neji was not away so that he can see you new home as well."

"There's not much that can be done about a mission."

"He will not be too happy to find out he missed your housewarming party."

"He doesn't do parties. Now help me set up my bed."

It takes some time—what with Tenten unable to decide where she wanted to place her furniture and the constant "No there. Wait, there. No over a bit more"—but soon her new apartment is ready for living. She treats Lee to a home cooked meal, the first ever in her apartment, as thanks.

-.-

Tenten's mumbling obscenities as she makes her way through the wedding hall. She's unsteady on her feet and she nearly topples ungracefully, slamming a hand onto the nearest wall to steady herself.

"Stupid, fucking heels." She's glaring at the offending footwear. "Why three inch? Why not two? Or flat?"

"Need help?"

She turns her glare to the leaning figure of Neji and struggles to right herself, haughtily crossing her arms under her chest. She totters unsteadily for a moment before regaining her balance.

"No," she huffs. "I can handle these heels just fine, thank you."

Neji watches bemusedly as Tenten tries to walk as regally as possibly without falling, stumbling every couple of steps when her heel lands wrong on the hardwood floor. He can see the moment when she takes a deep breath and forces herself to turn, a strained smile plastered on her face.

"Neji?"

He hums, a smirk growing.

"Help me to the nearest chair?"

"I thought you didn't want help."

She grits her teeth and her smile strains even more. "Please?"

Neji strolls over and places one hand on the crook of her elbow and the other on her waist, helping her hobble over to the chair. She plops down inelegantly, slipping her heels off in relief. Grabbing her leg, she pulls it up onto her lap, rubbing at her aching muscles without a care.

"How refined," Neji drawls.

"Shush," she chides, "it's the quickest way to relieve sore muscles."

She continues to rub at her feet, shooting occasional glares at the lounging Neji, Neji rolls his eyes, pushing himself off the wall and crouches in front of her, smoothly removing her hands to pull her feet towards him.

"How wonderful, Neji! Rubbing Tenten's feet for her!"

Tenten waves cheerily at an equally cheery Lee. "He's such a good boy, isn't he?"

Neji grunts, removing her leg from his lap to let it swing lazily. "Do you need something, Lee?"

"Yes! Naruto-san wishes for his groomsmen to gather!"

Tenten laughs. "You'd better hurry. You know how impatient your soon-to-be cousin-in-law is."

Neji merely grumbles as he follows after Lee. "Don't remind me."

-.-

"Marry me."

Tenten stops dragging the unconscious missing nin across the ground, staring blankly at Neji. She's covered in grime and blood, her clothes ripped and unfixable. Neji's not any better, standing amidst fallen ninjas, with battered clothes and cuts scattered across his body.

"What?"

"Marry. Me."

Tenten groans, dropping the nin at her feet, one bloodied hand reaching up to run through her bangs. "And you couldn't have chosen a better place?"

"Answer the question."

"What question?" she grumbles. "You didn't ask me anything."

"Ask you what?"

They turn their heads to witness Lee walking into the clearing, having retrieved the scroll they were sent after. Tenten fully turns around, throwing her hands dramatically over her head.

"This guy just demanded that I marry him," she rants. "He didn't even have the gall to ask. He just demanded! Like I'm obligated to marry him!"

Lee clucks his tongue at Neji. "Neji! One does not demand marriage! Have you not been listening to Gai-sensei?"

"No," Neji deadpans.

"Neji!"

Neji shifts his attention back to Tenten. "Marry me."

"You do not win a woman's affection by demanding, Neji," Lee points out, undaunted by Neji's glare.

"Ask," Tenten declares, "nicely."

"Tenten."

Tenten sticks firmly by her decision. "I'm not answering unless you ask."

Neji grits his teeth and grinds out, "Will you marry me?"

Tenten looks contemplative for a moment, before sighing. "Oh I suppose so. If I don't, no one else will."

-.-

Tenten laughs joyously as Lee whirling her around the dance floor. Lee laughs along with her, the two of them twirling carelessly across the dance floor.

Leaning up, she gives him a quick peck on the cheek before spinning back into Neji's arms, still laughing all the while.

Lee glances over, smiling as he watches his newlywed teammates lean into each other, before returning his attention back to his new dance partner.

-.-

"You're a right bastard."

Tenten's glaring at Neji, ignoring Lee who's trying to calm her down. "You've never given a damn about any of my missions before."

Lee tries to placate Tenten. "Now, Tenten, I am sure Neji has a reason for doing so."

"I'd love to hear them."

Neji sighs. "You aren't well enough to participate in any missions."

Tenten rolls her eyes exasperatedly and grounds out, "A-rank, B-rank missions, fine. I understand. But D-rank, babysitting missions?"

"Neji, are you sure it was wise to talk the Hokage into not allowing Tenten any missions?"

"You never know when you won't feel well."

"Oh for the love of god," Tenten huffs, "I'm pregnant, not on my deathbed, Neji. I think I can handle a couple of kids for a few hours."

-.-

Lee walks into the ward when given the okay. Tenten's lying wearily on the bed, but there's a happy glow to her, and Neji's standing beside her, the newborn baby cradled in his arms.

"Did you decide on a name?"

Tenten hums tiredly. "Not yet."

"What about Lee? Or Gai?"

"We are not naming our son after you or Gai-sensei."

Tenten laughs breathlessly as she watches Neji and Lee bicker about the baby's name. Lee eventually backs down and instead inquires about godparents.

"Hinata agreed to be the godmother," Tenten answers, "and we were hoping you'd be the godfather."

Lee doesn't hesitate in saying "Yes."

-.-

It's raining.

The three of them gather at their old training field, disregarding the cold weather as they sit and reminisce about all the old times. They stay well past the afternoon talking, and it's only when Tenten needs to pick up her son from Hinata that they get up and leave the field. Before going their separate ways, they stop by the tombstone.

They stand and stare in silence.

The name "Maito Gai" doesn't change.

-.-

Lee introduces his own genin team to Tenten. She finds that they oddly resemble themselves back in the day.

-.-

Lee takes the stinging slap with stride.

Tenten breaks down, falling into a sobbing mess into Lee arms. Her children gather around, all watching somberly as their normally cheerful mother cries.

"Neji has one last message for you."

-.-

"I guess it's just me now."

Tenten finds herself standing alone in front of the tombstone, staring at the three names of her teammates and sensei.

She sighs tiredly, running a hand across the smooth marble and the grooves.

-.-

The next time the tombstone is visited, it's by their children, and there's been a new addition of Tenten's name.