Nyahh! It's CHRISTMAS! ...CHRISTMAS!!! (shakes with excitement) Eh heh.. sorry, ignore that. And yes, after being reminded by several readers, I am aware that I didn't live up to my promise YESTERDAY. It's just, I ended up going to the Volunteer Center around oneish, because alot of the people that were supposed to be volunteering already had cancelled. I was just working with things like delivering flowers to the Hospital rooms and stuff, but I ended up staying until like nine..so, it's like ten o' clock and I'm gonna do another fic, so this should be fun! x3

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Rating: M(for foul mouth.. XD)

Pairings: NejiTen, Hints of: LeeKairi, SasuSaku, ShikaTen, NaruHina(Omfg it's all straight pairings?! The world must be ending.)

Warnings: OOC! xD AND A GUEST-APPREANCE FROM NONE OTHER THAN THE PURPLE-HAIRED NINJA HERSELF!

Note: This is a few years forward; Everybody's either 24 or 23, depending on their age during the Chuunin Exams.

Thoughts

" Speaky speaky"

Um... stressed words, I guess?

Regular... yeah.

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A certain brunette leered at the tree infront of him, veins protruding from the sides of his face. In the blink of an eye, five kunai had pierced the tree. He shivered, turning his head upwards to face the falling snow.

It shouldn't snow in the land of Fire.. that's just against the laws of nature. He felt soft material hit the back of his head. " What the.."

" Neji! It's freaking cold! What the hell are you doing out here when it's snowing without a hat or gloves or anything?!" Shrieked a clearly feminine voice as a scarf was thrown over his head, being pulled back in a choking manner. He gagged, pulling on the scarf so it was no longer harshly digging into his neck and turned to glare at said jounin.

" Training."

" No shit. I can clearly tell I interupted something quite 'important' by the murderous look on your face. Why aren't you at Sakura's Christmas party, like every other jounin and chuunin in the village?" Kairi pulled the hat over his head; she herself had come from Village Hidden in the Snow some ten years ago and had been one of Neji's few close friends; hey, someone had to brighten him up, didn't they? Her waist-length purple hair was swept under a santa hat, accompanied by a red tube-top and matching skirt(tinged with white fluff and all).

" Why are you wearing such a skimpy outfit and lecturing me on how to dress?" Neji asked, clearly annoyed and avoiding the subject.

" Tell me. Now."

" .. I've no idea what you're talking about."

" Neji fucking Hyuuga--" The kunoichi's rant-in-the-making was interupted by a heavy sigh from the brunette.

Of course there was something wrong; Sakura's Christmas party was something that everyone had always attended. But this year, oh, this year, there was no way in HELL that he was going; he himself was avoiding one of the few people that could get to him.

" .. you know how TenTen's birthday was today?"(1)

" Neji, you didn't." Kairi gasped, gaping at him; Neji didn't forget; ever.

" I did.." A (rare) embarrassed look graced Neji's face. The brown-haired kunoichi wouldn't speak to him and he wasn't good with confrontations with people that he actually cared about. He looked up in surprise as an exhasperated(sp?) breath escaped the outspoken woman. He had been expecting something more on the shouting side.

" Neji, I've watched you kill Warlords; I've seen you injure some of the most dangerous shinobi in the world; Hell, I've seen you taste the Curry of Life. And yet you can't even get the guts up to ask one girl out?" The purple-haired ninja raised an eyebrow at him, and amused look in her purple eyes.

" Not everybody is as fearless as you are, Kairi." The brunette cast her a glare, pulling the white hat that Kairi had brought him over his head.

" Well, I have to admit that Lee is a little easier than TenTen would be.. BUT. You're still coming to the party; whether you want to or not!"

" Hey-- wait a second!!"

--- --- --- --- --- ---

TenTen stood next to the snack table in Sakura's large living room, glaring into her cup of egg nog. She still couldn't believe that Neji had forgotten her birthday. At least Lee had remembered to get her a gift; the pendant with little green stones in it sat on her chest.

Not that Neji hadn't forgotten her Birthday before, she had seen Gai whisper a warning more than once when she had approached through the snow on that day. But it wasn't just that. She sorta had this little thing for Neji.. just little, though.

Okay, that was a BIG lie. She had been a secret fangirl, just like the many from the village. Her heart had practicly stopped the day twelve years ago when the sensei had announced the teams. She had promised herself that she was going to ask him out. But, nothing had happened yet. Though she didn't see her old teammates much for missions, they quite often got together at the local bar and talked of the week's events.

And she had still failed to ask out the brunette.

As if that wasn't torture enough, the gods seemed to spite her that certain day. Couples sat all around her; Temari sitting on Shikamaru's lap, his cheeks flushed from the amount of spiked eggnog he had consumed, Sakura giggling every time that Sasuke kissed her cheek as a Christmas Present, Hinata's constant stuttering when Naruto grabbed her in a flurry of hugs and butterfly kisses, even Lee had managed to recently hit it off with that Kairi girl, waiting intently for her to return to the party.

But, alas, she was left sulking with Gaara and several others such as Kakashi and Jiraiya in the corner while she wondered where Kairi had gone; she had left a while ago.

Very suddenly, a blowhorn sounded throughout the entire room. Everyone looked towards the fireplace, where Sakura was standing with the source of the noise, a large box next to her.

" TenTen! Come hither!" She exclaimed in a high-pitched(and obviously excited) voice. With a confused look on her face, said kunoichi obeyed and walked to the front of the room, most eyes on her. She reached the box, staring at it in utter confusion. In a flash, Kairi was also next to Sakura, a yelp of joy coming from somewhere in Lee's general direction. The purple-haired jounin cleared her throat loudly.

" On behalf of a certain brunette who had not the guts to show, a gift is presented to the Maiden of Weapons. Enjoy!" TenTen still looked as lost as Louis and Clark without Sakagowea(2) as she hesitantly tugged on the red ribbon atop the green box. Without warning, a red-clad man sprang from the box, gripping the back of her Christmas dress gently, only enough to pull her forward. Soft, flawless lips crashed against hers as her eyes flew open, coming face-to-face with lilac ones. The entire room burst into applause as the two broke apart.

" N-Neji?!"

" Merry Christmas, TenTen. Does this make up for my short term memory loss?"

A pause.

" Only if there's another kiss involved."

And so there was. And, in the manner of a corny ending; they both lived happily ever after; spare a few shinobi-gone-bad every now and then.

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(1): Me has no idea when TenTen's real B-day is; I'm just saying it's Christmas Eve-Day because she strikes me as a Winter person. (cue sweatdrop)

(2): Do they even exist in the Naruto World?

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Kairi: Squeee! I feel so... ACCOMPLISHED! I swear, I did this fic in like an hour. xD I always write so much faster when I'm at my dad's house.. who knows why? And frankly, who cares?! I FINISHED A HUGE-ASS FIC!

Neji: You put me in a box..

Kairi: Be grateful, Destiny Boy. If it weren't for me adn my purpley goodness, you'd still be a single shinobi. (tsks several times)

TenTen: Nyahh!! I loved it!!

Kairi: I knew someone did. x3 Owari; and remember, all flames will simply be thrown atop the pile to help me roast chestnuts, dearies.