They danced a little too close. A little too provocatively… Neji and Ino both weren't ones to care what everyone else thought, so as their comrades thoughts floated to various reasons as to why the Hyuuga protégée and the Sasuke fan girl were getting a little too close the strange couple never paid any attention.
It had been weeks since Neji had been home. Another A-Rank mission had gone successful and when he came home he was quickly informed that their old sensei's (Kurenai and Gai mostly) had organized a party for them.
At the time he thought it would be ridiculous. Another useless thing to try and remind them that somewhere deep inside was a regular person. Just like everyone else… But somewhere along the line Neji changed his mind after being forced by his old team to go. He wanted to do something that no one thought he would do, though the Hyuuga still doesn't know where the feeling came from.
Ino hadn't been home in a month. She had been going on one mission after the other to talk in between Temari and Shikamaru, who were having a fight. The blond wanted to make sure her two closest friends made up.
When she came home from this mission of hers Ino was severely happy to learn that a party was going to be thrown for everyone by the end of the week. She couldn't wait to put on a sexy dress and shake it! Show the boys what they're missing!
The night of the party came. Tenten and Lee dragged Neji along, while Ino yelled at Chouji and Temari made sure Shikamaru and the Akimichi wouldn't run.
"You guys! Don't be such losers! Do you know how much we need this party?" Ino complained as they entered the Uchiha compound.
"We don't need anything, Ino." Shikamaru stated, "This whole thing is pointless."
Temari smiled coyly and whispered something in the Nara's ear that made him blush. Shikamaru suddenly seemed to change his opinion.
"Though it won't be such a hassle… There will be lots of food for Chouji and… I'll be just fine…"
Ino smirked at Temari. Her lazy teammate had gotten a lot easier to handle since he got himself a girlfriend. She laughed as she thought about it. Shikamaru always did take after his father.
Lights were pinned along the walls and ceiling. It was dim enough to make it cool and light enough to where everyone could see. The four went their separate ways. Temari and Shikamaru went to dance, Chouji went to get some more food, and Ino went off to talk to Sasuke.
Sasuke hadn't been back for long; just a few weeks where he was occupied with his old team, being interrogated, and the Hokage getting to know him.
A few days after Ino got back she found the time to sit and talk to him. Sasuke was as cold as ever. For the first time since the blond had known the Uchiha she just… wasn't interested in him. They had begun to talk as friends. Sasuke was a much better friend then boyfriend material.
"How are you doing? I can't believe you had the party at your house!!" Ino started as she approached Sasuke. He smirked at her.
"I'm okay. It isn't that big of a deal. I can just crash at Naruto's place if I get too annoyed with everyone."
Since the two had become friends they delighted in teasing each other. "So... Have you bagged Sakura yet or are you going to go for someone who's more psychotic?"
He blushed at her statement, but replied seriously, "I'm not interested in her."
"Too bad, heart throb! I hear Sakura's quite the..."
XXX
Neji hadn't been enjoying himself. He was counting the seconds until he would be able to leave and go home. To pass time the Hyuuga had already listed what he would do for his training tomorrow. Now Neji stood by the wall observing everyone.
Tenten and Lee were in some awkward dance together. Neither of them knew fully how to dance, so they just went with a combination of tai jutsu and regular dancing... It was such a good thing that the couple didn't see who was laughing at them or both of his closest friends would be embarrassed.
Chouji was over at the tables of food gorging on what he could find. Neji sniffed in disgust. Shikamaru and his girlfriend Temari were dancing so tightly together that the Hyuuga could tell where their night would end. The two would probably be gone before the next song started.
Hinata was giggling at something Naruto said as they danced innocently in the middle of the room. Sakura had pawned Naruto off on Neji's cousin, so she could get away and flirt with Sasuke. Inside Neji smiled at the two. Hinata and Naruto complimented each other well, though the elder Hyuuga would never admit it.
Neji observed the rest of the group. Gaara and Kankurou were talking amongst themselves and Shino was standing alone by one of the multi-colored lighted walls.
Sakura was also alone, but for another reason. The medic nin was watching her crush and best friend joke around. Sasuke and Ino smiled at each other, while they laughed about one thing or another. Neji found it unnerving to see this other side of their once enemy, but kept it to himself. He had heard from some others that Ino had wanted to be friends and nothing more, but from the look of Sakura's jealous face Neji wasn't so sure that the information was true.
Sai, a new member of team seven, was talking to Naruto. Neji didn't have anything to say about him.
Neji didn't like to dwell on the subject of Ino much. She was quite annoying in the chunin exams and he didn't want the blond to bother him again. The other time Ino annoyed Neji was a year ago. She had followed him around saying that she needed a partner in a dance class she was taking for her kunochi studies. No one else would do it with her. The blond wouldn't stop bugging the Hyuuga until he became her dance partner. Though it seemed to save Neji some embarrassment when forced to dance by his clan at an engagement party, he would still rather not dance at all.
Even more so Neji didn't want anyone to gain knowledge of that...
Kiba, the last person Neji wanted to pay attention to, came sauntering up to him. "Hey."
"..."
The dog lover smirked before explaining why he was talking to Neji, "I want to make a bet."
"Then you'd best do it elsewhere because I'm not in the mood to waste money on you." Neji replied coldly. Kankurou approached him as well.
"Told you he wouldn't do it. He doesn't have what it takes."
The Hyuuga refused to give in to his curiosity; gladly he didn't have to because Kiba informed him.
"We've noticed how close Sasuke and Ino have gotten lately and we want to see just how far it's gone. Most of us might not get along with Ino, but we definitely don't want her with that ass."
Kankurou finished, "We wanted to see if Sasuke would see whoever danced with Ino as a threat, but no one seemed like a good choice, except for you. Uchiha is competitive against other bloodlines. You know he doesn't think very highly of anything else."
"We'd like to piss him off a little." Kiba snickered. Neji held back from rolling his eyes.
"So? You interested?"
Neji paid the two enough attention to give them a response. "Not in a bet for money. It does intrigue me to get under Uchiha's skin though."
"So you'll do it!?" Kiba's eager gaze annoyed him.
"No. If you're so interested in your bet you two can do it yourselves." Neji was sick of those two idiots, so he calmed down when the two left.
His pupil-less eyes watched the party. Neji was bored out of his mind once again. A few minutes later Kankurou approached Ino and Sasuke as the two friends talked. To say the Hyuuga was amused would be the least. He smirked as Ino shook her head. She pointed to Hinata, who was alone again, and waved her finger at him. Neji guessed that Ino must have told him to dance with her, but warned him to behave.
The long haired man predicted that Kiba would be next to try. He was right. Kiba walked up to the two with confidence and wrapped his arm around Ino. He flirted a little before asking her to dance. With a smile the blond accepted and the two left Sasuke alone with Sakura, who had been trying to get a conversation out of the pretty boy for the past ten minutes.
Whenever Kiba tried to dance too close Ino moved away easily. She teased the dog lover. Everyone who hadn't been dancing watched while Kiba placed his hands on her hips and pulled her close. She smiled, while slipping away.
The song was over fast as a more sensual one replaced it. Ino excused herself to go get a drink of water. Shikamaru and Temari seemed ready to leave to spend the rest of the night in bed together. Neji suddenly pushed himself off the wall he was leaning against. He strolled casually over to where the blond was.
The Hyuuga all the sudden wanted to shock everyone. Amaze them. Give them something to talk about. Do the one thing that no one ever thought he'd do. He wanted to be unpredictable for a split moment and not think about the consequences.
Ino didn't see him coming, so when Neji moved up close to her. The Hyuuga went closer than Kiba or Kankurou dared to go because unlike them he didn't fear her anger or violence. He whispered in her ear with the deep, flowing voice he was bestowed on, "You owe me a dance, Ino."
She jumped slightly and blushed, which was a rare thing for the attention wanting girl to do. Ino regained her pushy confidence right away and replied with a large smile, "Let's go then!"
Neji took her hand and led her into the middle of the dance floor in Uchiha's living room. He took note of everyone's reactions he smirked at the fact that even Shikamaru and Temari stood still to see. Neji turned around to face Ino. When put his hands on the loud girl's hips and pulled her a little bit too close he knew she wouldn't dance away from it like she did with Kiba. Neji wasn't the kind of male to toy with.
The sensual song played inside the blonde's head. Ino didn't expect the night to go this way. Three guys hit on her in one night and one of them was Hyuuga Neji himself. She wasn't about to turn down something that was most likely never going to happen again.
Ino couldn't let go of her smile as Neji placed his hands on her hips as if her body belonged to him. The long haired blond danced with him appropriately, until she couldn't help but slide her hands up his chest and get closer. Neji had become intoxicating to her and Ino wanted to show what all the guys were passing up by not wanting her. She understood that Neji had no real feeling for her, but the attraction she had to him melted her body with heat.
The two weren't all over each other like certain other couples had been, but they weren't as awkward as some of the others were either. Neji's grace and Ino's comfort with her own body made the two look very good dancing together.
Everyone was in a fury of whispers.
"Did you see that?"
"They totally brushed up against each other."
"Well I know who Ino's going to be in bed with tonight!"
Neji's smirk never left as he twirled Ino around near the end of the song. They had never touched each other very intimately while dancing together, but the talk amused him somehow. Or maybe that was just the glares that Sasuke sent him.
A slow song started to play through the speakers. Instead of parting like Ino thought they would Neji pulled her even closer. He felt good about letting go tonight. Without thinking about it he told Ino, "Just let go tonight. We'll be back to our normal lives tomorrow."
"What are you and what have you done with the real Neji Hyuuga?" Ino joked, but took his advice. She knotted her hands through his hair as his own arms wrapped themselves all the way around her petite waist. They melded together like a perfect fit and all the sudden Ino realized it was getting a little too hard for her to think.
Neji never liked being close to people unless he was sparring, but Ino felt different then everything he was ever raised to know. Her chin rested lightly on his shoulder as her hands slipped down to his chest once again. He could feel her quick heartbeat with his own slower one. Neji hoped he wouldn't have to explain to her that dancing with her meant nothing, but he let that thought go. Her scent, as Kiba would put it, smelled like a whole arrangement of flowers that complimented her own personal scent under the perfume.
The song was over and Neji had quite enough of not acting like himself. Ino and he pulled away from each other. "This means..."
"Nothing between us." Ino interrupted him to show she understood. "Don't worry, Neji. I know." The blond turned to walk away from the handsome man she had danced with, but faced him again to say, "You know you're a lot easier to get along with when you loosen up. You could teach quite a few guys about that."
"I highly doubt that."
"Night, Neji!"
The elder Hyuuga left the party slightly early to walk home alone. He cursed himself for giving in to that one simple thought, though he knew internally he was happy about it. A sigh parted from his lips as the long haired boy tried to push the thoughts away.
Ino was still smiling as she laced her arm through Hinata's. "You ready to go spend the night at my place."
"Of course, Ino." The shy girl replied in a small voice. Hinata didn't ask about what happened with her cousin and closest friend. Ino seemed to be in too good a mood for her to spoil it.
Ino gazed at the clock as Hinata and she left Sasuke's house. "Wow! We danced a lot more than I thought we did!"
"It's probably because Kurenai and Gai kept on putting on slower songs…" Replied Hinata.
"Really?" Ino smiled at her friend, "I didn't notice."
Hinata giggled, "I don't think my cousin was very much aware either. You two were in your own world."
XXX
Sasuke ignored everyone as they said their goodbyes. He was too busy staring holes into the spot where Ino and Neji danced most of the night away. The pretty boy didn't want to admit that he was jealous, but if he had to pick an emotion for the stinging anger, then jealousy had a lot to do with it.
He never took anything Ino said seriously. Not even when she told him she just wanted to be friends. Sasuke always thought that the two girls who fought over him would start the rivalry over again and he would choose the strongest one for his clan.
The Uchiha never thought he'd have to… settle… for just one girl… Then again he never thought that Ino would be the one to call it quits…
Either way Sasuke wasn't a very happy man.