Disclaimer: Masashi-sensei, its the season of giving! *Puppy dog eyes*
Christmas probably doesn't exist in the Narutoverse... But for the sake of the story, pretend it is. :D
Pride and Present Wrapping
"Deck! The halls with boughs of holly- falalalala, lalalala. 'Tis the season to be-"
Tenten was abruptly cut off as someone pounded on her door. Sighing, she set down the shimmering garland and brushed her hair back from her face. "Coming!"
She opened the door to find Naruto standing on her doorstep, his hands fiddling with something behind his back. "Hi," she greeted him cheerfully.
"Hey Tenten!" He grinned at her. Tenten waited for him to say more, but it was obvious he wasn't going to.
"So… why are you here?" She prompted.
"I… I need help," he admitted. "I wanted to give Hinata-chan a present for Christmas, and… Eto..."
"And?"
"Could you give it to her for me?" He looked uncomfortable. "The Hyuuga, they might not… like me, and I wanted to make sure she got it. Please?" He pleaded, fixing her with bright blue eyes. "You're the only I can trust to get it to her."
"What about Neji?" Oh, wait. He was like an insane, overprotective older brother. He'd probably Rokujuuyonshou the poor box before letting it anywhere near his cousin. "Never mind. Here, give it to me. I'll make sure it gets to her."
Naruto grinned brightly. "Thanks, Tenten! I owe you!"
He was gone before she could say anything else. Tenten decided he had been spending too much time with Lee.
No one batted an eyelash when Tenten showed up at the Hyuuga compound with a few boxes. She was a frequent visitor, and everyone assumed she was just here to give out presents.
After delivering Naruto's present to Hinata and promising Hinata she would make sure Naruto got her present, she stopped by Neji's room to give him his.
"Hey Neji! Merry…" Her voice trailed off as she took in the amount of wrapping paper littering the floor.
She heard Neji clear his throat. Her eyes snapped back to him as he stood up, brushing bits of tape off his shirt. "Hello Tenten. Did you need something?"
It was hard to take him seriously when he still had strands of ribbon in his hair. Tenten tried not to giggle.
"Do you need some help?" She offered.
Neji seemed to hesitate for a moment before looking away and nodding. Suppressing laughter, Tenten made her way carefully to where he was standing. "Kami, Neji. You don't need this much wrapping paper for such a little box."
He just scoffed and sat down on his bed, watching as she carefully measured out a rectangle of wrapping paper and folded it carefully around the little box. Those fingers, so skilled with weapons, manipulated the paper just as deftly. She was really good at this, Neji decided. The way she wrapped presents made it look like the most interesting thing in the world- he was almost sorry when she was done.
"There." Tenten held up the little box, neatly wrapped and tied with a bow and grinned at Neji. "Who would've thought?" She teased. "The great Hyuuga Neji, defeated by wrapping paper. Lee will be upset. That's twice now someone's beaten you before he has. Or something, I guess, in this case."
"Y-You're crazy." He scowled and looked away, and this time Tenten didn't hold back her giggles.
Stifling laughter with one hand, she motioned at him with the other. "Turn around."
"Why?"
"Because you've got bits of ribbon in your hair and you look ridiculous."
Neji sent a glare at her before shifting on the bed as she approached him, closing his eyes as she combed the ribbons out. Her fingers lingered in his hair longer than necessary… surely she had finished picking all the ribbons now- was she just stalling? … But it felt nice, and Neji didn't want her to stop…
"Neji-nii-san!" Hinata opened the door to find Neji's eyes closed- in pleasure?- and Tenten running her fingers through his hair. They both jumped a bit at her voice. Tenten immediately pulled her hands away, and Hinata noted the disappointed look on Neji's face.
"Yes, Hinata-sama?"
"Ano… Fa- Hanabi... wanted me to tell you that… she wants… to… to… train with you, tomorrow," Hinata invented. She coughed. "Ah… That's it." Quickly, she closed the door behind her, smiling. Actually, her Father had wanted her to tell Neji-nii-san that there was a clan meeting in an hour, but she was sure that she could convince him to manage this time.
Hinata sighed. Now she had to find Hanabi and convince her to train with Neji-nii-san tomorrow…
This... didn't turn out the way I thought it would. It was originally just Tenten helping Neji wrap a present, but then the other stuff... popped up...
Yeah.
Happy 12/12/12~!
