Author's Notes:

poetrylover97: 'cause your review for the last chapter was anonymous, I couldn't reply to you, so I thought I'd do it this way! Thank you so, so much for your very kind review! I'm glad you like it. I'm exactly the same as you, I have very high standards for fanfiction and often times I can't find quite what I'm looking for with a certain pairing - with NejiTen especially, since it's not as common as, say, SasuSaku (which is my number two :p ) so I just try to write it myself. ;) I hope you like this chapter just as much, and thanks again for your review, it means the world! :D

Anything else I need to say? Hmmm…. *thinks* I'm thinking of incorporating a little hinting of SasuSaku in one of the later chapters and then doing a short three/four chapter SasuSaku spin-off. Opinions? If enough of you are in favour I'll go through with it… Let me know in a review!

Anyways, all other reviewers (Afictionado, Neguru Sucashi, WinterVines, KNO, SparkDazzleDuez) and readers et cetera also the hugest of thanks to you guys, you rock my world. Hope you like this one as much as you all liked feminist!Tenten. :D My fave chapter is coming up in two or three, so stay tuned and of course as always don't forget to review! You know your words mean the absolute world to me. Enjoy!

P.S.: The dancing meme has come back to haunt me. :p If you've paid attention, this is usually a recurring theme in my work. *sigh* There's no escaping it!

P.P.S.: Some of you have asked me how old Neji and Tenten are in this fic… I'm actually not sure, but something ranging from seventeen to nineteen. Closer to seventeen actually. They'll be nineteen in my next NejiTen fic, Aikouka.

P.P.P.S.: Also, Kishimoto-sensei, if you're reading this… We. Want. More. ROMANCE. 'Cause, you know, I love your series, but you've got a lot of great gals there and a lot of mouthwatering young men, and some random hints towards possible attractions, but I WANT MOAR. The actual stuffs. 'Cause, you know, we've got fanfiction, but the real thing would be nice. Thanks in advance, sir.

P.P.P.P.S.: For those of you that worried about my being sick, I'm perfectly alright again. Still have a pretty bad cough but I'm feeling on top of the world again. :D *hugs* Thanks so much for your concern!

Disclaimer:Nope, no own no Naruto! Ne possédez pas Naruto! Ik bezit Naruto niet! Ich besitze Naruto nicht! That's all the languages I know! Exclamation mark! :D

***

Tawakemono

o11. "I told him you love him."

***

"Hinata? I need to talk to you," Tenten whispered as she caught the heiress' shoulder. All night she'd been trying to create a situation where Hinata was there and Neji was not - not an easily performed feat when one took into account Neji's tendancies to follow his cousin around, especially when he knew Naruto to be there as well. But she had managed, luckily; because they needed to have a conversation and they needed to have it in private.

Hinata blinked, concern instantly evident on her face. "Are you okay?"

Tenten shot another look around the room, breathing a sigh of relief when she didn't see any tall, dark and handsome - except for Sasuke in the corner who was attempting to shadow Sakura. Correction: she couldn't spot her tall, dark and handsome. "Yeah, I'm fine," she replied rapidly, then reconsidered. "Well- I don't really know. Just come with me for a second, alright?"

Nodding, Hinata followed her around the corner into the hallway, away from the flock of friends and family in the main room. As soon as they'd disappeared from sight, Tenten turned towards her friend and fired away.

"Neji is going crazy," she stated, the words he had spoken and moreover the words that his eyes had spoken roaming through her head. He really was. "And I know you said something to him. He told me that much, even though I don't think he really meant to. What happened? I've got to know."

After all, Neji himself had indicated that his questions several days ago had something to do with Hinata's words. She had to know what had been said, but she was rather torn up about what to feel. She needed to know what kind of stakes they were playing with, but on the other side she wasn't sure if she really wanted to hear what had taken place between the two. What if…

She could hardly think about it.

"Don't get mad," Hinata started off, pleading. Tenten gulped. That didn't sound too good.

"Hinata, please?" The suspense was killing her.

Hinata wrung her hands together nervously. Tenten was reminded of the way her friend had been when they were younger, and took a deep anxious breath.

"I…" A short pause followed in which Hinata seemed to search for an easier way to say what she was about to say, and seemingly found none, for she sighed and continued. She avoided Tenten's gaze. "I told him you love him."

Tenten felt as though someone had suddenly slapped her in the face - there was no pain, but the feeling of shock was the same. The silence fell like a heavy blanket over the both of them, blocking the cheers and the music coming from the next room. In fact, it wasn't only sound - every one of her senses felt strangely muted, as though her mind was too preoccupied to be bothered with them. It took several moments for the words to sink in and somehow it was only after Hinata nodded in confirmation at her incredulous stare that she began to realise what those words grouped together in that order really meant.

"Wha..?" It was the only word she could find to express the many questions; why, how, when, why?

Hinata struggled to speak, looking Tenten in the eye now. "It's just that he's as much of an idiot as Naruto-kun was when it comes to this, and I... I figured he needed a little push, and…" she trailed off.

"Hinata-chan!"

Tenten almost had a heart attack when Naruto appeared, slipping round the corner as inconspicuously as he could - which, considering Naruto's infamous colour palette, wasn't very inconspicuous at all. She watched, feeling rather embarrassed, as he kissed Hinata on the cheek. Naruto was a good man, Tenten knew that, but she wasn't sure if she wanted him to know her dirty, personal laundry and who knew how much he'd heard?

"I was missing you," Naruto hummed when he pulled away.

Hinata shook her head, but there was a slight smile on her face. "Liar."

"I was!" he huffed, slipping an arm around his girlfriend's waist. "We all are. Anyway, I came to suggest a change of subject." He directed the latter part at Tenten, tilting his head towards the doorway.

"What?" Tenten felt thoroughly confused and annoyed at herself - she wasn't one to be stunned and reduced to one-word sentences this easily.

Naruto produced a big white grin that consisted of equal parts 'It's going to be fine' and 'Please don't kill me'. "Yeah, err... I'm in on it too." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "So unless you want Mr. Grump to listen in…"

Tenten glanced round the corner and spotted him instantly. It wasn't hard - Neji had a habit of standing out in crowds. She recoiled back into her hiding place, nodding at Naruto. "Thank you… Mr Grump, though?" she questioned, eyebrow raised.

"He's been grumping all night. Probably 'cause you keep disappearing."

Tenten found that for someone who was generally considered to be rather dense, Naruto was incredibly insightful. She leaned her head back against the cool wall and regarded the couple standing before her, expectant smiles on their faces. "He's going to murder me," she sighed. "He's going to murder me emotionally."

Hinata shook her head, an encouraging smile in place. "No, he's not."

Tenten frowned. "What makes you say that?"

But Hinata's gaze shifted to a poin behind her shoulder and Tenten knew what was coming before it came, steeling her nerves.

"Tenten?" He caught her shoulder gently and she turned around to face him; her feet felt like they were made out of concrete. Technically nothing had changed from ten minutes ago when she hadn't known, but in reality it felt as though the world had been spun upside down.

His eyes were like cold fire. "Just one dance," he spoke in that way that told her it was more a demand than a request. Tenten struggled to keep the vulnerability she felt from showing, but under a scrutiny that intense she wasn't sure if she succeeded.

She had slipped her hand into his before she'd even realised it. Somehow the thought of a dance with him was alluring enough to risk it.

"But no talking," she insisted. She wasn't sure what she'd blurt out if he started asking questions now - she needed to be in a semi-right mind for that impending confrontation.

Neji wasn't pleased, she could tell easily as he stared down at her. It was all he needed to get his point across - his point that she couldn't keep running forever, and besides running wasn't something that suited her at all.

"Please, Neji? Not tonight."

"Tomorrow," he suggested, catching her eye to see if she answered truthfully. Apparently, a concession from him would demand one from her in return.

"Tomorrow," she assented as she allowed him to tug her along to the dance floor, albeit reluctantly. He oriented himself to the music for a moment before catching her waist and setting out into the dance.

It didn't take long for her to surrender to the hurricane of feeling in her gut and draw him closer to her, laying her cheek against his shoulder. It wasn't as though they didn't both know she wanted to, and she'd be damned if she didn't at least enjoy this.

His hands on the small of her back and his luxurious hair slipping between her fingers as she wove them together behind his head felt like a blessing and a curse at the same time.

***

Reviews, my darlings? ;) Hope you enjoyed it! (L)