WARNING! THIS IS A HUMONGOUS PAIRING CHAPTER BECAUSE I COULD STAND IT NO LONGER! BE PREPARED FOR MUCH FUNNINESS AND AWKWARDNESS BETWEEN CHARACTERS. =)
-Rachel
Hyuuga Neji was at the skating rink with Tenten, thinking wistfully of his warm house. She was using her new blades to pull of risky stunts, and he winced every time she leapt into the air.
"Come on, Neji! This is some of the only private ice time I get! Since Lee's not here, you have to do something!" Neji was mildly annoyed that she only thought of him as a replacement for Lee, but the logical part of him said that he would never have come here otherwise.
Reluctantly, he pushed off from the wall, breathing out heavily in the chilly air. "This is pointless," he called to her, circling on the rink. She stuck out her tongue. "It's fun," she said, emphasizing the single syllable, "Which you'd know if you ever had any."
Tenten was in her skating outfit and a hoodie, doing her warm–ups. When she twirled, dipping her torso towards the ice, the grey gloves that protected her fingers brushed the ice.
"Neji, I'll push you if you don't do anything," she threatened, gliding past him on one leg.
Neji pinched the bridge of his nose and started skating in loops, hands locked behind his back. "Is this good enough?" he asked, maneuvering in his hockey skates.
"Hn," Tenten replied and giggled as he slammed into a wall.
"Oof!"
In an extremely rare moment of overconfidence, Hyuuga Neji looked like a fool. The air went out of his lungs and he went sprawling over the ice, face up.
"Jeeze, Neji!" Tenten dug into the ice and skated to his side, putting up a spray of ice. When he turned himself over, she dropped to her knees, brown eyes worried. "Are you okay? Bruised anywhere?" He sighed and nodded, heaving himself off the ice. "I'm fine. The only thing that's bruised is my ego. Remind me why I do this again?"
She helped him stand and said, "Because it's our day off, and Lee's organizing a charity race with Gai. You know, they're thinking about joining a team for next year's Tour de France."
Neji couldn't help it; he allowed himself a slight smile as they started back into Tenten's routine.
"You rent out an entire rink? Twice a week?" Neji asked incredulously, eyebrows furrowed over lilac eyes. He couldn't understand why his usually superb partner would spend her money on something as base as ice skating when she could easily train at the station's gym instead.
Smiling, Tenten nodded in response to his question. "I still love ice skating, whatever my job." When she was sure he was paying attention, she grabbing his hands and went spinning out over the ice again.
I'll never understand, he thought wearily, But I admire you for your dedication. You find something you want and don't let go.
It would have killed Neji to admit it, but her sense of loyalty and distinct definition of 'right' was something he aspired to. He wanted to know that strength of conviction she carried, which gave her the courage to assault a heavily guarded warehouse in order to save a child.
The policeman figured it was time to stop 'the basics', as she called them, when his legs started throbbing. "Okay, enough," Neji panted, gliding to the wall to rest.
His partner came up beside him, wry smile on her face. "What? The infamous Hyuuga Neji can't take more than three hours of basic practice?" His stony glare only made her giggle.
She following him off the ice and helping him to unlace his skates. "You're such a wimp," she taunted, probably the only person who could say it to his face and live to tell the tale. Her nimble fingers unwound the ties as he regained sensation in his feet.
Back on solid ground, he thought sourly, just in time for me not to feel it.
Sighing, the officer pulled off his skates and gave Tenten a look. "We can change over there," she said, correctly interpreting his glance, "But since Lee's not here, I only have the keys to one of them." She groped inside her sweater pocket for a moment, fishing out a jangling set of keys. Neji's expression changed almost perceivably.
"Hn." The monotone wavered as she dragged him into the locker room.
"Calm down," she said, opening the blue locker that held her duffel bag. "Just face that way, and don't peek."
He glared at her again, clearly saying that he would never do something as disrespectful as that, and picked up his own clothes.
As they changed, both felt the tension build. She's right there,the Hyuuga thought, I could just turn and... He didn't want to finish that sentence, so he tried to concentrate on buckling his belt.
Neji began to wish that he had never agreed to this. Tenten had skated during high school, and it was through a 'simple training course' that they had discovered Neji's ineptitude. He remembered the weekends spent icing different body parts and drinking cocoa at Tenten's house. That was when her parents were still around...
"Neji?"
Instinctively, he turned around.
"Sorry, sorry, sorry..." he said, shutting his eyes again and mentally beating himself. In that momentary lapse of judgment, he'd gotten a good glimpse of pink underwear with white hearts.
"Um, it's okay," she said, blushing visibly, "I was just going to ask you if Kankuro had come to see you yet. He said that he had documents from the Suna police force to give to you and Jiraiya."
Neji pulled his shirt on and sat on the bench, being extremely careful not to glance up as he packed his bag. "No, he hasn't. So what do you see in Kankuro?"
Neji blushed a mortified crimson. He had just blurted out the one thing he'd been trying not to say.
WHY IN HELL DID I DO THAT? Inner Hyuuga Neji was not at all amused.
Tenten went still behind him, clearly thinking. "Well, it's like..." she paused, considering, "...it's like the whole 'friends with benefits' thing. We know each other really well, and we like each other anyway." She shrugged. "We're not in love, or anything like that, but it's nice to wake up with a warm body nearby, you know?"
Neji nodded, nearly forgetting that she couldn't see him. "I know." Those last words, uttered almost as an afterthought, made him feel extremely guilty.
Why am I thinking like this? he thought angrily, She obviously wants to be with Kankuro! Even if he doesn't know her the way I know her, or see her the way I see her...
Tenten finished tying her tennis shoes and turned, hands on hips.
"I expect you to be here tomorrow, too," she said, a wicked grin adorning her face. Neji groaned, slinging his bag over one shoulder and following her out of the ice rink.
His car keys were in his pocket, but only because Tenten didn't have any. She had a car, a license and had never been in an accident, but when it came to speed limits she was all over the place. She'd been banned from driving in Konoha, Ame, and Iwa. The only reason she didn't have bans in other places was that she'd never been to any other cities. Her fellow officers shivered when she got behind the wheel on a simulator.
When they reached the parking lot, Tenten invited him over for dinner, and the exhausted Hyuuga accepted gratefully.
Surprisingly, Neji had always liked Tenten's house.
It was the complete opposite of his Zen–like style, but it seemed like a place you could call home. The furniture was mismatched, collected from her parents' old house and their attic. The garden was dysfunctional at best, with too many plants for one person to harvest every year.
"Do you want ice water?" she called from the kitchen, where she was making lasagna. "Yes, thank you," he replied taking a seat at her dining room table.
He had learned years ago that Tenten didn't like people in her kitchen, and she liked it even less if they were trying to help. The last time he'd tried, she'd flicked him with a wet towel, leaving a weal on his arm. Now he had contented himself with setting out the silverware and some napkins. She would handle the rest or die trying.
"Here we go!" She came out carrying a whole pan of lasagna, the cheese still sizzling on top.
Neji considered it his guilty pleasure, since each bite was guaranteed to make him have a heart attack. Going into cardiac arrest is alright, in exchange for Tenten's lasagna, he thought as he put his napkin in his lap. It's kind of funny that the only thing she knows how to make tastes better than a restaurant.
Tenten pulled off the cooking mitts she wore after carefully setting down the pan on a trivet. "This one turned out great!" she said as she passed him a glass of water.
A thought struck him as they ate and he realized he'd be damned if anyone else was going to be on his Tenten's mind. They finished the meal silence; both of their mouths were too full for conversation.
"I bought some ice cream if you want dessert," she called, going back into the kitchen for their after–meal beers.
What I'd give to wake up here, for her, with her...
Once she had pulled them out of her fridge, she folded up her dirty apron and splashed some cold water on her face from the sink. This has been such a long day, she thought, Too long for me. She grabbed a towel from a drawer and dried off, grateful that the day was finally coming to an end.
"Tenten?"
She turned, and there he was, inches away.
"Um, yeah Neji? Is something wrong?"
Does he need something? He's standing so close...
"Yes, something is wrong."
Damn it! I knew I cooked the lasagna too long! She licked her lips, trying not to feel so scared.
"What is it?"
I'd be able to think if he weren't so damn close!
"It's just that I'm positive," he said, drawing closer, "I can make you so much happier than Kankuro ever could." His voice was just a whisper as Tenten gripped the granite counter for support.
What's he saying? Why is he...!
Neji closed the gap, placing a callused palm on her cheek and letting his breath tickle her lips. "I... Neji..." she almost whimpered when he kissed her lightly.
Little did she know that he had been breathing in the faint, tantalizing scent of Tenten since the moment they'd stepped into her house.
Why are we... why is this... why can't I stop... is he kissing me...?
She folded into his embrace, eyes fluttering shut. The Hyuuga lifted his partner up, setting her on the kitchen counter. They kissed like they would never see each other again, as if their happiness would depend on the strength of the kiss. When he trailed kisses down her jaw, she leaned back, running her fingers through his fine black hair.
A few moments into the kiss, she could feel something digging into her back, and twisted desperately, trying to dislodge it. There was a crash and a loud hiss.
"Oh shit," Tenten mumbled into Neji's kiss. She backed off for breath and to survey the damage.
She had knocked a beer bottle off the counter, and its contents were now dripping from her cabinets. She turned back to Neji, who she was still wound around and they started laughing. It was carefree laughter, the kind that starts loud and rushes in without notice. It was extremely unusual, and Tenten realized that in all the years she'd known Neji she'd never seen him so relaxed.
Tenten couldn't help but giggle at the scene she was currently participating in. I've been kissed by Hyuuga Neji after getting him to help me practice my ice skating, and I knocked over a glass beer bottle while we were making out in my kitchen. This isn't a romance; it's a farce! They kissed once more and cleaned up the mess, smiling all the while.
Although Tenten sure as hell didn't want him to leave, and Neji didn't exactly want to go, it was comforting to know that they could see each other every day. "See you at work," Neji whispered to her as they kissed goodnight. She flicked his ear, making him wince and grin in alternating sequence. "I'll see youtomorrow, Hyuuga, if you're lucky. IfI don't decide that I like Kankuro better." She tapped her chin. "Or maybe Kiba! You know he used to like me..."
He narrowed his eyes and she laughed at his sour expression. "There's no way I'll let that bastard ever touch you again." She kissed him lightly on the lips. "Jealousy doesn't suit you, Neji. Or are you forgetting that emotions cloud your judgment? I'm my own woman, and I won't hold with unjust anger." She grinned wickedly at him, whispering goodnight and closing the door on him.
Hyuuga Neji just stood on her doorstep for a moment, his eyes warm. Then he put his hands in his pockets, unlocking his car and climbing in. As he drove to his own house, he suddenly felt that a bit of redecorating might be in order.
She could help me, he thought hopefully, and suddenly the next few weeks looked brighter.