Look, I posted something! It's only been...a very long time. I decided that I would try my hand at a NejiTen friendship fic. AND, in the future (aka. in a very long time, if ever) I might add more chaps to this, but as of now this fic is complete since I only have vague ideas swirling around in my head.

Disclaimer: I own a Naruto t-shirt. That's right, be jealous. (Idon'townnarutoblah).

Acquaintance

1. March 9th

She would like to know when, and how, they grew so far apart. At twenty one she found it hard to believe that Neji was no longer something constant in her life, like she had expected him to be when she was younger. They were by no means enemies, but were not exactly friends (in her book, at least). Acquaintances, the dreadful word reserved for those you are unfamiliar with, distant from.

"Neji and I are kind of just…acquaintances." She said it with a shrug, eyes downcast, focusing on the grains of the wooden table her elbows were propped against.

"But since when? You guys used to be like this," Sakura asked, and twisted two fingers together to demonstrate her point. Tenten glanced up to give her a dubious look.

"Okay, well, maybe not like this," Sakura amended, untwisting her fingers. "But you two were definitely close, closer than you are now, that's for sure."

"Yeah, well, what can I say?"

"…What happened?"

Tenten shrugged again and looked back down at the table, where her finger was tracing a fine groove in the wood. "I guess time and work and everything else got in the way. We are both jounins now, and we aren't always on the same teams for missions, and one of us is always busy when the other's not."

"Hmm…" Sakura hummed in agreement, pushing a few stray strands of pastel pink hair behind her ears. "That's so sad."

"We've grown up, that's all. Ninjas are always taught about the hindrances of friendship and how such relationships are pointless. Life always gets in the way, in the end."

Sakura frowned. "Yeah, but still…It's not like people actually care about that stupid saying. I have friends, you have friends, hell, even Sasuke has Naruto."

"And you."

"And Neji had you."

Tenten glanced up through her bangs, grown out as the years had passed and swept over from one side. "But not in that way."

The pinkette was grinning now, jade eyes sparkling; Tenten wondered why she seemed so pleased with herself. "Jeez Ten, chill. You'll get premature wrinkles." She reached out and poked Tenten between the eyebrows; the place always creased when she thought hard or was attempting to look defiant.

"Oh no, my one true fear. I've been found out," Tenten said in a monotone, rolling her auburn eyes. Sakura flicked her between the eyes. "Ow! What was that for?"

"That was because you're being lame."

"What? But how?" Tenten pouted, and rested her chin in her arms. She blew absently at her bangs, paying little attention to Sakura ("You don't seem quite as upset about your whole 'Neji situation' as you should be") until the younger girl stood up quickly.

"Shoot, I totally spaced. My shift starts…three minutes ago!"

"Oh wow, think you can make it back in time?" Tenten asked sarcastically.

Sakura tore her gaze away from the clock mounted on the wall above the diner's door. "Maybe before Tsunade-sama notices, at least. Sorry, Tenten!" She threw some money down on the table - enough to pay for her coffee – and headed towards the door, but twisted around suddenly. "Oh, and if I don't have time to see you tomorrow, happy birthday in advance!"

"Ugh, don't remind me."

"Just be happy I let you convince me not to throw you a huge party. And remember what I said about those wrinkles!" she sang over her shoulder, one hand up in a wave as she slipped through the door and down the street.

Tenten let her face fall the rest of the way into the nest her arms had made. "I feel so old," she moaned to no one in particular, unaware of the strange glances she was getting from a waitress who was trying to decide whether or not to ask if Tenten needed a refill of her water.

Her (very calculated, incredibly genius) plan had been to completely avoid her apartment for the entire day. She knew there would most likely be a sizeable pile of gifts waiting for her when she returned, but she was happy to avoid the happy birthday wishers that came with the presents. She didn't enjoy having people remind her that she was twenty two.

She felt as if her teenage years had swept past her without leaving any lasting impressions. They were gone, through, and that was that. And what had she achieved? Besides becoming a chuunin, then jounin, she wasn't exactly sure. Had she left any lasting impressions, made a difference? She didn't feel as though she had.

"Ugh," she sighed heavily, slouching over on the smooth boulder she was sitting on. Her head fell into her hands heavily and she rubbed her eyes tiredly. It was getting late.

"What's wrong?"

She jumped at the smooth, controlled voice coming from behind her. She knew exactly who it was.

"Oh, Neji, hi," she said uncertainly, looking at him over her shoulder. She felt her eyebrows furrow as she questioned his presence silently.

"Hi," he echoed simply, and then added a "happy birthday."

"Oh, um, thank you Neji, that's really nice of you."

He nodded silently but did no more, and Tenten didn't know if she should speak or just let him stand there until he decided to break the silence himself. Finally, when she was sure that she was visible fidgeting because of the awkwardness, she spoke.

"So…why exactly are you here?"

Neji raised an eyebrow. "Besides wishing you a happy birthday?" He sounded slightly amused.

"Oh, yeah, right…" She looked off to the side, embarrassed.

A quiet rustling reached her ears, and then Neji's voice split the silence. "Actually, I got you something, as well."

Tenten's eyes immediately swiveled to the square box in his hands, slightly smaller than the size of a book. "You did?" she asked, astonished at the motion. Out of all the people she knew, the person she least expected to receive a present from was Neji. He just didn't seem like the gift-giving type.

"I did."

The shock must have been apparent on her face as Neji walked up to her, because as he handed her the gift he asked, "Why is that so surprising?"

Tenten looked at the present as she shrugged her shoulders. "I dunno," she murmured as she traced the ribbon with her index finger. "Can I open it?"

"No, never."

Tenten looked up with a puzzled expression. Neji sighed. "It was a joke."

"When did you get a sense of humor?" Tenten scowled.

"When did you lose yours?"

Ouch. Tenten's scowl turned into a frown. Neji sighed again, but said gently, "Open it."

With nimble fingers, Tenten untied the bow and lifted the lid off of the box. Then she gasped.

"Neji! Are you serious? You remembered?!"

Neji chuckled quietly and sat on the edge of the rock on Tenten's left. "How could I not? What shinobi in their right mind has to contemplate buying kunai over origami paper, and then ends up buying neither?"

Tenten laughed, all earlier unease forgotten. "Yeah, and then you told me that I was being stupid and that the practical choice was to get the kunai. 'What are you going to do with the paper? Give enemies paper cuts?'" Tenten mimicked in a poor imitation of Neji's voice. "But that was over a year ago," she added.

"I tend not to forget things."

"…Thanks, Neji," Tenten said with a warm smile. "But…I don't know how to use this stuff."

"I figured as much. I can teach you sometime, if you want. Hinata taught me. It's better with more light, though."

"Mm, okay, that sounds like fun. But why did you get the origami paper and not the weapons?"

"It just seemed like the right decision."

"Ah, I see."

Tenten smiled wistfully, staring out into the edge of the forest but not seeing anything. Her thoughts were on the past, on her old team and how they were never apart, on Neji and the comfortable friendship they shared (and maybe still did, a little bit).

"What are you thinking about?" Neji asked suddenly. Tenten felt his eyes on her face.

"Nothing. Just…remembering."

"You don't seem happy."

She turned to him. His lips were turned down slightly at the corners. "What do you mean?"

"Whenever I see you now, you look troubled, like something is always on your mind," he clarified. "You seem…" he paused to think of the word, and finally settled on, "distracted."

Tenten looked back down at her hands curled loosely around the box. "I feel unaccomplished," she deadpanned, not one for beating around the bush. "I feel like everyone's done something to stand out, but then there's me, and I kind of fade into the background. I feel like a wallflower. I just-"

She sighed heavily and bit her lip.

"You just what?" Neji urged.

"No, it's nothing. I'll stop whining."

"You underestimate yourself."

"Mm." She didn't sound convinced, but she knew that Neji was trying to make her feel better. "I'm guessing that you already know this, but I really miss you."

"Miss me, as in at this moment, you are still missing me?"

"It's…hard to explain." She looked him in the eyes. "Don't you feel like we've kinda…drifted apart, you and me? I never talk to you anymore, Neji. It's like I've slowly lost my best friend," she finished, her voice getting lower with each word.

"Best friend?" Neji asked, the ghost of a smile on his lips.

Tenten nudged his shoulder. "You already knew that." She rolled her eyes, but quickly became somber again. "But don't you understand where I'm coming from?"

"I understand that we don't have as much time to be around each other because of our duties, but that doesn't mean that our friendship has to suffer, does it?"

"I dunno, does it?"

Neji shook his head. "No, I don't think so. You're still Tenten and I'm still Neji, and we're still able to sit on this rock and have conversations like we used to."

"That reminds me!" Tenten interjected suddenly. "How did you know where to look for me? I've been trying to avoid everybody."

"I guessed," Neji said simply, but the smirk on his face told Tenten that he must have known all along where she would be hiding, which was very typical of him.

"Some things never change," she sighed.

"My point exactly."

"…Thanks, Neji."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "For what?"

Tenten grimaced. "Just thanks."

"For the present? Or…oh. This is one of those 'Thanks, Neji, for everything' thank you-s, isn't it?"

"You're ruining a very heartfelt moment," Tenten said through gritted teeth. "You know how I don't do heartfelt moments. You just killed this one. And stop smirking!"

A single, sharp laugh escaped Neji's throat. "Some things never change."

Tenten tried, and failed, to hold back the smile fighting its way onto her face as she punched him in the shoulder.