xXBabyxDollxLaceXx: This is the first time in four years that I have published anything, I kinda just woke up one day and I had this story just buzzing around in my head. So I decided to share with all of you.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything. All Naruto characters belong to Viz and Masashi Kishimoto.

Orange Sherbert

Sitting in the porch of a restaurant under a fan, two of Konoha's shinobi sat reading their menus. It was an unusually hot day and after hours of begging from a certain female teammate to end training early in order to enjoy frozen desserts, Neji succumbed to Tenten's pleas. It was not often his teammate asked to end training early and he knew she was not particularly fond of hot days. She always sparred with him willingly whenever he asked her without complaints, so as a reward he always indulged her requests on days such as this.

The dark haired male had already made a decision and sat patiently waiting on his female counterpart to do the same. Every time he brought her to a new restaurant she felt it necessary to read over the whole menu ever so slowly only to be faced with indecision and have him make a choice for her. He didn't mind her obnoxious habit and he always knew what she would enjoy best. After all, they had been teammates for years and he practically knew her better than she knew herself.

The menu hid her from his unwavering stare. She knew he was staring, it was his way of letting her know he was waiting on her to give up her futile search for a treat. He was the one who was going to make a decision for her anyway, but she couldn't help to slightly lower the menu to assess what she had already expected. That specific look made her head feel light and her body giddy. He never stared at anyone as intensely as when he stared at her, she would privately dream that that specific look was intended just for her. It made her feel special, but she knew how silly a dream like that was, even if he only looked at her that way.

His heart was bound by family duty and his emotions were restrained by his own personal goals. Plus, she knew he would never have feelings for a person like her. She was too insecure, weak during hot days, and his beauty far surpassed her own plain being. Most of all, she was indecisive when it came to making a quick decision which was not at all like him. He was the natural leader of their team because he was able to make a quick concise decision. He had always known what he wanted and she was sure it was never going to be her. That didn't stop him from being dear to her, as a friend, of course. So she had long ago deeply buried her feelings of more than friendship for her teammate and harbored a special comfortable friendship that they both enjoyed. Still, she blushed at the thought of her own girlish reaction, to be nearly twenty and act like a girl half her age should put her shame!

When she lowered the menu and looked over it at him, he could spy a modest blush creep up her cheeks. He supposed it was due to the weather, the heat did always bring on some color to her face, but he always found her blushes very becoming. With rosy cheeks she looked lovely and delicate, unbelievably feminine. It sometimes made him nervous to be near her when she looked that way, it was not that he was unaccustomed to thinking her lovely, but rather what made him uncomfortable was how he reacted to her. He could feel his stare get more intense from curiosity, hoping it wouldn't frighten her leading her to believe he was displeased with her or something silly she always lead herself to believe true. In his way he had to reassure her that nothing at all was amiss.

He smirked and knowingly asked, "Orange sherbert with strawberries?"

She nodded as she put the menu down hoping the blush had subsided by now, but instead now her cheeks were aflame. It was her response to his smirk unbeknownst to him. There was no craving for milk based ice cream today only something citrus-y and sweet and somehow Neji had known just that, just like he always seemed to know what she would want before it was known to her. Gingerly, she tucked away stray hairs behind her left ear and looked away at passersby. She always loved to people watch and never liked to be the center of attention. It was something both Neji and her had in common.

She had a way of exhibiting elegance with the simplest of moves that could entrance a young man's attention. A skill she had developed as an extraordinary kunoichi. No wonder she was Tsunade-sama's favorite to send on undercover missions that often involved seduction. She still had his attention more so now, that she tucked her hair away and looked pensively at pedestrians. Tenten was acting odd today and it was not the heat. The blush had deepened after his smirk which was not all her usual reaction. As a response she would smile back at him and tease him by saying smirking suited him better than brooding, but not today. Today she blushed a deeper shade of red than what he was used to seeing on her. Was she ill?

"Are you feeling alright?"

Tenten's head sharply turned to look at him startled. He caught her off guard, she was obviously not expecting the question. He could tell she was choosing her words carefully.

"I-I'm fine! Its just really hot today. That's all." Lying was not Tenten's forte. He had always payed close attention to her mannerisms and she was giving herself away by biting her bottom lip and brushing her bangs from her face.

"You're lying. Something's bothering you. What is it?"

She knew he knew when she attempted to tell a lie. His words were always tactful but the tone of his voice was menacing. She could never really lie to him. He knew her too well to fall for her weak attempts to change the subject. He knew he had her when she slumped her shoulders and sighed. She opened her mouth to speak when the waitress appeared to take their order. Tenten was a little relieved the waitress had chosen that moment to take their order.

She always felt kind of silly letting him know she had a new mission because he asked her all of the details involved. All of the details: who her target was, how long would it take, what exactly she was supposed to do, how she had to go about completing it successfully, etc. She supposed he just wanted to make sure she planned everything correctly so she could complete it efficiently and safely. If he was unsure of something he would advise her on different strategies, which she was grateful for on numerous occasions. But this specific mission was different. Tsunade had not gone over the mission thoroughly saying that she just wanted to make sure Tenten had not involved herself in a romantic relationship because it would make carrying out this specific mission difficult. She had to be ready for the Hokage to call on her if the mission had developed further for her to become involved.

Tenten could only imagine the kind of mission this would be. Some wealthy sleaze bag was probably buying out some of Konoha's important imports or he was probably going about the country side raping poor defenseless girls and now it would be up to Tenten to deal with him accordingly. She would do so without mercy. The fact that Tsunade-sama had not discussed the mission in detail was unsettling, it meant that it would not be one of the missions she was expecting.

Neji told the waitress what they wanted and returned to stare at Tenten. She looked as if she was caught in a trance and the blush that adorned her face a few moments earlier had disappeared now. It must be something serious, it just made him all the more curious. He waited as she recollected herself.

"Tsunade-sama gave me a new mission. She didn't tell me much about it, just asked the same question."

"The question concerning your relationship status?"

"Yeah, that very one. She always asks me that before she assigns me a new mission as if my relationship status is going to change, ever." She laughed but it it sounded remotely grim to her own ears. She hoped Neji didn't interpret it that way though. He cocked a brow and she knew he had.

"Why do you think that?" Again the waitress showed up to Tenten's aid. The waitress handed Tenten her orange sherbert and Neji a glass of cool lemonade. Chika, the waitress, winked at Neji as she walked away, which earned Neji a hearty merry-sounding laugh from Tenten. "You really know how to woo women Neji. Its one of your many talents, maybe Tsunade-sama should consider sending you on some of my missions too!"

Neji didn't find it very funny. "I'm not interested in wooing all women. I'm especially not interested in wooing any men." A frown was plastered all over his face.

"I was just teasing you! You are back to brooding and now I will, as always, remind you that smirking fits you better than brooding!"

After letting him know about her new mission she felt at ease and even more so after the incident with the waitress. Unless someone grew to know every aspect of Neji's mannerisms it would be impossible to tell he had just been uncomfortable, but Tenten had become familiar with all of them and could easily spot when he no longer had control of a situation, which as a result, made him uncomfortable and touchy.

She flashed him a big smile and his face no longer exhibited a frown. He smirked back as a response. They looked at each other without uttering a word for several moments. Neji smirking and Tenten happily smiling back at him.

To the people of Konoha Neji and Tenten appeared to be a couple. They were always seen together and it was obvious that when they looked at each other there was a warmth there that did not exist in an ordinary friendship. Everyone could see it but them. They were oblivious to it and just considered each other a close and dependable comrade. Which was why Tsunade-sama always questioned Tenten on the status of her relationship, but she never mentioned that she was inferring to the status of her relationship with Neji. Let those who love each other blindly use their eyes to eventually see what was clear to everyone but them.

Neji didn't mind when Tenten teased him. Really he didn't, he frowned as an automatic response because he knew she would smile back at him if he did and he loved to see her smile. What would it be like to wake up to that smiling face every morning was something he wondered every time he saw her. They had been more than teammates all these years, maybe something more than friends, but they had never acknowledged each other as something else. Was there something else in their friendship? He always made sure that she let him know of her missions in advance in order to asses how prepared she was for them. He knew she found it tedious but he just wanted to make sure she would come back safely to smile at him again. And she always came back smiling and teasing him. So he was not sure if what he felt for her was stronger than just respect and admiration for a comrade. He had to meditate and ponder if these foreign feelings he felt were real or imagined. Neji also wondered if she felt the same.

He was still smirking and he was also obviously thinking. It would pain her to put an end to his thoughts but they were both done, Tenten with her ice cream and Neji with his lemon aid. They had to resume training.

"Neji, we should get going soon before we lose another half an hour of training. Thank you for the sherbert it was refreshing and the entertainment."

"You're welcome."

She was still smiling as they both stood and walked over to the register to pay the bill. Chika was manning the register and handed her phone number to Neji along with his change. Tenten stifled a giggle that threatened to erupt when Neji gave her a warning glance. He bunched up the scrap of paper with Chika's number and tossed in a nearby trash can. Once outside Tenten turned to the direction of the training grounds while Neji stood and watched her go. Not sensing Neji's presence behind her, Tenten stopped walking and turned to look at her stationary teammate.

"Is there some-"

"Meet me at the training grounds tonight to finish training. Its too hot for you to be out there right now so we'll resume training once the temperature cools in the evening."

"OK. Um... What are we gonna do now?"

"I need to meditate. I'll see you then."

Neji never interrupted her and if he did then he must have had something to seriously reconsider if he cut training short to go meditate. Tenten looked a little worried but she brushed it off. She nodded in response and he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Although she was pretty good at deciphering Neji, sometimes he did things that puzzled her. With nothing to do, Tenten headed back to her apartment on the opposite side of the village.

He stood on the roof of the restaurant and watched her go. He recalled a conversation he had with Hiashi a few weeks earlier. They had discussed his future as a member of the Hyuuga clan and his duties. Among those were his impending marriage at the age of twenty and the special privilege Neji had received from his father's willingness to help protect Hiashi, he was allowed to choose his bride. His twentieth birthday was quickly approaching and he had not given selecting a bride much thought, but he did know he did not intend on marrying within the clan. If he was allowed to choose a bride himself he would make sure it was someone he could feel at ease with and respect.

After sitting with Tenten at the restaurant he wondered if she would find the prospect of marrying him repulsive. He respected her as person and admired her for her skills as a shinobi, he also managed to lighten up with her which was almost impossible with others of her sex. She was also very pleasing to the eye. So why not marry Tenten? He did have a choice after all. With his mind made up, Neji made his way to the Hyuuga compound.

xXBabyxDollxLaceXx: So that's the end of the first chapter. This story is sort of experimental, so let me know what you think, should I continue it(I already have chapter two in the works)? Thank you for taking time off your busy lives to read my story. Review.