A/N: You know, I was going to do something totally different with this. Then I got a book for Christmas that gave me another idea. Good thing I waited!

Thanks again to IR for brainstorming with me and helping me make this story as amazing as I hope it ends up being.

I've done my best to describe weapons you may be unfamiliar with, but some of them are difficult. Go to Wikipedia for a look.

Sideways

Chapter 2: Running Interference

It felt like a dream, but not a pleasant one. This was ironic, because he'd dreamed of this several times over the last few years. Of course he had always thought, with some confidence, that his wedding would be his way on his own terms. He would have asked the girl, and they would have been able to take their time planning a nice ceremony in each other's company.

Instead he'd spent all morning being rushed this way and that, being fitted for his formal clothing, taught how to walk correctly, what to say. He felt dizzy from all the times he'd be elbowed, and pricked, forced into positions he didn't like and to move in ways that unnaturally restricted the fluidity of movement he was so used to.

Worst of all, he had to watch Hinata go through the same thing, with tears glistening on the surface of her pale eyes. She looked so utterly wretched, and he hated it because he was part of the cause. That he had been chosen instead of someone better.

She hadn't said as much, of course, but the constant threat of tears was enough.

The real kicker of the whole thing was that, while he was unhappy with the circumstances of the affair, the who was a mixed blessing. For the last year he had admired Hinata from a distance, wanting to get close to her but being unwilling to try after Sakura's rejection. Not only had she refused his feelings at first—something in retrospect he could not blame her for as he had been a complete stranger to her—but even after they had gotten to know one another, even become friends, she had taken him with her to confess her feelings to Naruto. She knew how he felt, knew it had not changed, and she had had him come and watch her offer her heart to another. To the boy that was everything Lee wanted to be but could not.

It was three years ago, but still it ached to think that his feelings had counted so little to someone who was not normally a deliberately cruel person. Then and there he had made up his mind that perhaps he, like Guy-sensei, was destined to play the hero who longed for a love that simply would not exist for him. He could appreciate love, like his teammates had found, and defend the idea but never possess it.

Once you got used to the idea, he thought, it wasn't so bad.

Then Hinata had come in the picture. She had started joining their team for training fairly regularly to help herself prepare for the Jounin trials. Sometimes Lee had spared with her, strengthening her taijutsu and speed, and where he could not assist he would referee matches between her and his teammates. Nearly always she was the first one to the practice field, even before himself and Guy-sensei, and the last one to gather her things and leave. Recently he had stayed with her a couple of times, and he'd watched as she pushed herself again and again to get stronger, faster, better in every way.

They hadn't talked much, and she was so focused on her training that Lee doubted she'd really noticed him there at all. He wouldn't say the time spent together had deepened their relationship at all beyond the passing acquaintance they had as ninja around the same age with teams that were occasionally paired up. Even so, he'd found his admiration for her growing. She struggled so hard to prove herself, even though her success was constantly overlooked.

Unlike him, however, she did not react with anger at the injustice and a determination to make them all watch and see her excel. She wasn't trying to change how people viewed her, but herself. Who she was and how she behaved in situations of stress, so that she could better assist those she cared for. It was a key difference, because Lee was quickly discovering that he could be as strong as he wanted to, but he could not make others recognize it. There would be those that saw him as talentless as long as he couldn't do ninjutsu and genjutsu, and there was no amount of hard work that would change that.

Hinata's way seemed gentler to Lee, and it fascinated him. He started noticing her more and more around the village. When he was out shopping he'd catch a glimpse of her helping a child reach something on a high shelf, or out for his morning run he'd see her assisting the flower vendors putting out their displays. He started to watch her, the way she treated those around her. Not like she had something to prove, even if she did, but like she had something to learn from them.

It was like he couldn't take his eyes off of her, and the moments when he did she would drift into his thoughts. What would Hinata think if she saw what he was doing right now? How would she react? Did she mind that he couldn't perform jutsu and was an Academy teacher?

Naturally it wasn't long before TenTen started to tease him about having a crush on Neji's cousin, and once she'd put a word to it there had been no going back. He did have a crush, at least of sorts, on Hinata, despite telling himself he would not so easily give his heart next time. Now he was unsure if this mission would prove his vow of solitude wrong or horribly awfully right.

The familiar sound of TenTen's weapons ricocheting off a kaiten grew louder as Lee approached the teams regular training ground. Knowing how much TenTen and Neji valued their moments alone together, he generally left them alone this time of day to enjoy their own odd ritual of courtship. Tsunade had mentioned, however, that Neji had been involved in the choosing of him as Hinata's husband and Lee wanted answers before things went any further.

Mostly information on how his soon-to-be-former best friend could do this to him.

Weapons littered the clearing Neji and TenTen had claimed as their own, sticking into and through nearly every flat surface available. The only standing object that didn't look like a pin cushion was Neji, but even he had some holes in the loose clothing he insisted on wearing. TenTen must have been improving her speed. The kunoichi in question was standing just yards away from their comrade, perched like a little sparrow on the end of her long tsuki nari yari. As Lee watched TenTen launched her attack, pulling the spear so hard as she flipped, spinning it over her body so the sharp end was heading at Neji while she stayed on the top of it.

Neji grunted as the weapon came at him hard and fast, dodging the end and pushing off the wood part with his hand to deflect it. But TenTen had obviously anticipated this. She already had one of her smaller scrolls in her hand and flipped it open with ease. She caught the butterfly swords that appeared with both hands and dropped like a red and white missile onto Neji's head, not fearing his gentle fists attacks with the short, fast and deadly blades between the two of them. These short range fighting techniques were new, but they only increased the deadliness of his fierce friend.

It was a ritual of courtship unique to Neji and TenTen, as far as Lee could tell. Sparring for them was almost what dating was to everyone else in the world. They did go on regular dates, occasionally, but more often than not it was a packed lunch, sharp blades, and a first aid kit that marked his friends' foreplay. They had been dating for two years now and still Lee didn't understand it. Probably why he and TenTen couldn't have ever made it as a couple, whatever his childhood wish had been. He'd give her chocolates, and she'd give them back, laced with poison, and a note that said not to treat her like a girl next time.

"If you have something to say, Lee," Neji offered casually as he dodged a good swipe at his neck and tried to hit some points on TenTen's arms, "now is a good time to do so. We were just about to take a break anyway."

TenTen looked over at him, brown eyes widening in surprise, and quickly found her arms pinned behind her back while she was spun around so Neji was holding them there with his body as well. She let out a high pitched noise of frustration and tried to squirm away, too which the Hyuuga simply smirked. It was going to get him elbowed later.

He wished he had time for pleasantries. Wished that he was here for something other than demanding answers to questions he really didn't want to ask, and shouldn't have to. That he could joke and laugh and interrupt those moments where things between them got a little too heated. Instead, Lee raised his head and squared his shoulders. They weren't children anymore, and if Neji was playing with him like this then they weren't friends. "I talked to Tsunade last night."

All traces of amusement left Neji's face as he jerked his nose away from TenTen's ear, and he sighed. "She's going through with that crazy plan of her's then? I still think it's a ridiculous idea, but she informed me she wasn't asking my opinion." Neji made a slight face, but this probably had more to do with TenTen stepping on his in step than anything else.

"What plan is this?" TenTen demanded, twisting a little to try and get a better look at Lee. Neji obliged her, turning so that she was between the two boys which, Lee realized with some dry amusement, meant that Neji knew exactly why he was here, what he really wanted to do, and he was unabashedly using TenTen as a human shield.

"I just want to know," Lee swallowed, trying not to let the betrayal show on his face. Hinata had forgiven Neji even as he was trying to kill her all those years ago, he should at least give him a chance to explain. "I want to know what you were thinking. How could you do this to Hinata?"

TenTen groaned, rolling her dark eyes heavenward. "What did you do now, Neji?"

"Nothing," the Hyuuga protested, sulkily resting his chin on TenTen's shoulder. To anyone else, it would look Neji was simply tightening his hold on TenTen's wrists, but Lee knew better. "Tsunade just needed a husband for Hinata."

"Oh, Lee," TenTen's expression softened, and Neji released her as she relaxed. "I'm so sorry. But you always knew she was a potential political bargaining chip. You'll find someone else who will love you, I know it."

If only that was the problem. "No, TenTen. Neji picked me."

"What?"

"No, I didn't." Neji protested, finally stepping out from behind his shield. "Naruto picked you. I just couldn't come up with any reason why it shouldn't be you."

There were a lot of reasons Lee could think of. He'd even let Neji borrow some if he wanted. "Well, what's wrong with Kiba-kun or Shino-kun? Wouldn't Hinata be more comfortable with someone she already knows well?"

"Kiba is out of the question. I don't trust him." Neji said flatly, and beside him TenTen giggled.

Lee couldn't quite hold back the sigh of exasperation. Just because Kiba had dated TenTen for a month, and broken her heart at the end, didn't automatically make him an untrustworthy ninja. It seemed that everyone except Neji had forgiven the boy. "Shino-kun then."

"Shino doesn't work for two reasons. One, he's already out on a mission."

"That's convenient for him," TenTen said brightly, tucking her hands behind her back. "He does always seem to be gone when something big is going on. Must be irksome for him."

"The second reason," Neji continued, as though she hadn't spoken at all, "is that Hyuuga don't marry Aburame. Our clan techniques cancel out, it simply doesn't make sense. Hiashi-sama would never allow his potential heirs to not be wielders of Byakugan."

It would have been easy to ask why he, with his inability to do even the most basic ninjutsu, wouldn't be considered a problem, but they both knew the answer already. His problem wasn't genetic, but the result of a failed abortion attempt by his mother late in her pregnancy. Any other potential objections were being handled by the fact that the wedding was deliberately made to seem as though he and Hinata had eloped, taking the need for her to get married and leave the village as the perfect opportunity.

It was all very elaborately staged, really.

"Chouji-kun? Shikamaru-kun? Even Sai-kun could…"

"Hinata is scared to death of Chouji. Ino has claimed Shikamaru, and Naruto and I didn't feel like fighting her. I wouldn't allow Sai on the same planet as Hinata-sama if I didn't have to, never mind the same bed." Neji's frown deepened. "And if you dare suggest Naruto, you're never allowed to call me cruel again."

Lee had stopped listening well before the last sentence. The realization that not only would he be married to Hinata but be expected to act like they were married, to kiss her and lay beside her, made him suddenly quite dizzy.

"Way to break him," TenTen muttered as she walked over, pulling Lee into a tight embrace. He couldn't help feeling a little better in spite of the situation. No matter the problem, TenTen's hugs could always cheer him because he knew that she had suffered much in her short life, and still she could hope. As long as she was holding on, so could he. "Consider this a blessing, Lee. This will give Hinata a chance to get to know you, and it's not uncommon for arranged marriages to turn into love. All she needs is a chance to see who you are, and I know she'll get it."

Resting his chin on her head, Lee looked over at Neji who was standing there with a surprisingly soft look on his face. He wouldn't say he was sorry, but then there wasn't really a need. "I would be honored if you would both attend the ceremony. Guy-sensei will be performing it."

"Well, that's certain to prove entertaining." She smiled up at him, standing on her tip-toes to plant a kiss on his cheek before whirling to face Neji. "So, am I going to have to get Tsunade to authorize our wedding too, or are you going to suddenly develop testosterone enough to do it yourself?"

He'd come here for revenge, and while it wasn't painful, that choking noise Neji made was good enough.