I'm sorry for taking so long to update! I actually ended up travelling when the chapter was half written, so I kind of worked on the rest of it just when I got back, yesterday, and finished this morning. Anyway, hope you all like iit! We are nearing the en! As the next one is the final chapter! YAY!

I apologize for grammar errors.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Things Getting Serious

Of course, Nomura, that guy was being a stone in her shoe all the time. But how did he get a whiff about her and Neji? Well, that didn't matter at the moment, they would need to deal with it.

"Did he say anything about why he suspects us?" She asked the boys, everyone was still in her room.

"He pointed that Neji isn't an icy bastard with you, that you blush around him too" Sai replied. While it's true that she blushed a lot around him before, nowadays, after they went a step forward with their relationship, she didn't, he had seen everything about her, and she saw everything of him... "Like you're blushing now" Sai commented, and indeed, she could feel the heat on her cheeks. It wasn't her fault that Neji had a body of a Greek God!

"In any case, I suspect that he is asking everyone of the team about you two, and will probably start asking around outside too" Sasuke butted in. Tenten forgot about her blush and frowned, he was spreading rumors, that complicated things. If people started to suspect, they would be paying extra attention to her and Neji, just wonderful. Glancing at Neji, she could tell that he thought the same thing.

"People will start paying more attention to us" he said her exactly thoughts. It would be a pain, she could feel herself starting to get paranoid, and thankful that their group knew the truth, so they could cover up if questioned.

"Best for now is just to act like usual, people will notice if things change" Shikamaru gave his piece of advice. She sighed, easier said than done, if someone already noticed with them acting like this, then more people could as well. On the other hand, it was true that people would also notice if they changed drastically. "Although I recommend that Hyuga stopped glaring to any living soul that neared you" Neji rolled his eyes at him.

"Hn" he didn't look very pleased about that, "in any case, now that everything is clear, would you all leave?" He finally asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Hell no!" Ino yelled, pointing at Tenten, "we have things to do in here!" Both gave her a questioning look. The only people who had things to do in there was her and Neji, as they were cock blocked just a while ago.

"We are sorry, but we will ask for you boys to leave" Sakura gently asked, further increasing their confusion. The other boys apparently knew already what was going on and started to head out.

"Neji, you too. Out" Ino commaned, "It's time for girl talk" Neji and Tenten blinked, so that's what everything is about. He looked at her, who only gave him an apologetic smile, there wasn't much she could do. They would have to resume their little activity later. Grumpily, he got up to leave, forgetting about a little something.

"Neji, wait, you're still shirtless" Tenten reminded him, making him flush from embarrassment.

"Ahh, yeah" she bit the inside of her cheek, he looked so cute embarrassed like that.

"C'mon" she stood up, dragging him into the bathroom, where she could give him back his shirt and put one of hers, ignoring the stares of the three women behin them.

Insie the bathroom, Tenten stripped from his shirt, and she needed to laugh at his face. It was a mixture of happiness, lust, amazement, like he usually looked whenever he saw her bared chested, but now he was pouting as well.

"Do I really need to leave?" He asked pouting.

"Unless you want to be scared for life, you should. I'll text you when they are gone" she winked at him and handed him his shirt while fetching one of her own. He sighed, but put on his shirt, waiting for her to do the same before going out. When they went back to her room, Ino and Sakura looked at them with sly smiles, while Hinata fidget, blushing and not looking at them. Grunting, Neji left them alone.

"Ok, let's start with the most important thing, is he good in bed?" Ino started as soon as Neji left, making Hinata faint and Tenten curse as she was tortured with embarrassing questions to no end.

...

Neji sulked in his room, waiting eagerly for a message from his girlfriend. While waiting, he thought about their problem. It was true that he was less cold with her, but it wasn't reason enough for people to believe they were dating. Plus, he would be damned if he treated her coldly again, that woman was too good for him, he was pretty sure he loved her for hevens sake! Nomura was an asshole, why did he has to bother them? All that was done to him was his own fault, he was the one jealous for Tenten getting the starter position, something she earned, and it was him who attacked her, getting him expelled from the team. He wanted to confront the man himself, but Neji knew wiser, as it would only spark more trouble. A vibration of his phone brought him back to reality. With lighting speed, he answered.

"Tenten!" He said without looking at the number.

"Huh, no, sorry bro, wrong Amarai" Neji blinked, this voice...

"Tenshi?" He asked, confused.

"Yeah man, sis won't answer me, so I decided to give you a call"

"How did you get my number?"

"You're my little sister's boyfriend, of course I would have asked your number and bothered her until she gave me" he could hear a laugh on the other side of the line. That made sense, he supposed.

"Ok, how may I help you?"

"Wow, too formal man, we are like brothers in law!" For someone who wanted to break his nose two weeks ago, he surely changed from water to wine, "anyway, what is Ten doing? I wanted to talk to her" he whined. Neji chuckled, Tenten had told him how needy her brother was. Apparently, the men in her life were all needy of her, because he too, just wanted to stay by her side.

"She's having a girl talk with my cousin and two friends" he sighed.

"Girl talk? Wait, do they know that she's a woman now?" Tenshi sounded surprised.

"Yeah, long story short, all our group knows it now, courtesy of Nomura raising questions about me and her" Neji was still sulking about not being where he wanted, all because that damned Nomura.

"Nomura? As the guy who sucker hit sis?" Tenshi asked, and Neji could tell that he was as displeased as him by his voice.

"Yeah. He's raising questions to everyone, and that's troublesome as now probably people will be watching us closely" Neji didn't know why he was saying all that to Tenshi, but he figured it would save Tenten from doing it later, meaning they would have more time for themselves.

"I see... what a situation..." Tenshi sounded thoughtful for a while.

"We will work it out" Neji assured him, and the other man hummed.

"I'm sure you will! I'll think about it too, anything to help my precious little sis!" Her brother chirped. Neji smiled, her brother had a golden heart, just like her. "Anyway, if they are having a girls talk, let's have a men talk!" Neji's smile vanished.

...

Tenten survived the girls session, but she was embarrassed to no end. She was glad that Hinata fainted soon, so she wouldn't have to hear the intimate questions about her cousin. By the time the shy girl woke up, the subject changed as to how Tenten managed to do all that she did already, and questions about her past too.

Sighing happily when the girls left, she picked her phone to call Neji, only to find some lost calls from her brother and a message from him.

Your boyfriend is a fun guy to talk! I'll call you tomorrow, love ya sis S2

Rolling her eyes, she could only imagine what her brother pestered Neji about. She didn't want to give him his number, but he wouldn't leave her alone, so she gave in. Thinking that what's done it's done, she called Neji, and no more than five minutes he was in her room already. She laughed at his urgency.

"Did my brother annoy you much?" She asked when he settled by her side.

"He wanted to know my taste for manga and video games" he shrugged, "he was upset when I told him that I don't play much or read mangas" she had to laugh at this, her brother would probably want him to try his video games.

"I'll have to teach you some games so you can kick his ass when he makes you play with him."

"Please do. How was your girl thing?" He asked and chuckled when she made a face.

"The first part was pure torture, and if they look at you weirdly, just ignore. Then it was actually fun, kind of missed hanging out with girls, not to mention that they are way better hanging out with than the ones back at Whirlpool. I did have some friends, but most were too girly and fakes..." she really didn't want to go back after her plan was over, she had such good people around her in here.

"That's why you will stay here" as if reading her mind, Neji assured her. She smiled at him.

"Yeah. But anyway, let's forget about those things for now. I'm exhausted from practice, and you would be surprised how tiring can be hanging out with girl friends." She laid down, silently inviting him to join her.

"As you wish, m'lady" she laughed when he accepted her invitation. Who said Neji Hyuga couldn't be cheesy?

...

"Tenten, you're going to make me gain weight" Neji told her, dead serious. They were lazing on her bed on Sunday evening, he using her as a pillow, his head on the crook of her neck, cuddling her. They had done nothing, aside from eating, watching her movies and getting laid. She gave him an amused look.

"I wouldn't worry about it if I were you... Or do you want to go outside and workout with Lee?" She asked him, lips twitching upwards while watching him with the corner of her eyes.

"No, I'm good" she laughed when he buried his head even more on the crook of her neck, hugging her closer.

"Thought so" she mindlessly played with his hair while humming happily. She could get easily used to this. Heck, she was already used to it. Not that they could show off much, but what he didn't show of affection in public, he made sure to show it when they were alone, and to be frank, she much preferred this way, she wasn't fond of showing off in public anyway. He made her feel special, pretty, wanted, loved, always telling her she was beautiful when they were in the heat of the moment, always happily complying to her wishes, always making sure she is ok, happy, making her laugh, and the way he sometimes stared at her, with those lovely light lavender eyes, she couldn't contain the bubbly feeling in her belly and the warmth in her body.

"I think I love you" she thought out loud, widening her eyes and slapping her mouth shut with her hand. She waited for his answer, but when he gave no answer, she noticed he had fallen asleep, with his breathing evenly and body relaxed against her. Sighing in relief, she bit her lower lip. Was it too soon? Only two weeks... sure, she has been crushing on him for a good while, but still, it may be too soon. What if she had scared him away? She knew he liked her, a lot, but love?

"Tenten" his voice yanked her out of her thoughts, startling her.

"Neji! You're awake!" She slightly panicked. He just grunted, raising his head to lightly support his chin on her chest, giving her a sleepy look.

"With you pulling my hair I think I would wake up, is everything alright?" She blushed at the notion that she had woken him up, and with his question. There he goes making sure she is ok before anything. She smiled apologetically to him.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, I was just thinking a lot" he frowned at her, pulling himself up to sit, and before she could question him, he pulled her to sit on his lap, wrapping his arms around her and gently pulling her into a hug, while he rested his head on top of hers.

"What is worrying you?" He asked, gently.

"Nothing important, really, you should get back to sleep. Sorry for waking you" she replied while trying to wriggle out, his hold on her tightened.

"If it were nothing important you wouldn't have almost got me bald, plus, you're nervous, trying to break free from me" he used one hand to lift her head so she could meet his gaze, his gorgeous pale eyes studying her, "now, tell me what worries you" He asked again, melting her with his gaze, but she held strong, not giving in. When he saw that she wouldn't say a thing, he kissed her, slowly, driving her insane. When she moaned, he upset her by breaking the kiss, "please?"

"I think that I love you but I'm afraid that it's too soon and will drive you away by scaring you because it has been only two weeks and I'm pretty sure you're the man of my dreams" still in the dazed state because of the kiss, she spilled her beans, a bit too much too. She blinked, he blinked, both processing what she just said. Oh well, if he was going to run away scared, might as well go now before she could become even more attached to him. For her surprise, he laughed.

...

HELL YEAH!

HELL THE FUCKIN YEAH!

Neji couldn't be happier, she loved him! And he thought that maybe he was the one being a little to fast forward and avoiding telling her that he loved her. For heaven's sake, he was having a hard time not telling her that all the times after they had sex.

"And I've been worried about scaring you away. I love you too!" she looked at him dumbfounded, and he started to kiss her, "my crazy" another kiss, "beautiful" and another kiss, "intelligent" and another one, "funny" another one, "charming" and another one, "sassy" he kissed her and she gave him a funny look and smirk, "beautiful, kind and wonderful woman" he finished, pinning her down on the bed, kissing her fully, then tracing kisses down her jaw, laughing happily. She started to laugh as well when recovered from her shock completely, wrapping her arms around his neck and bringing him closer to her. In the end, they had the best night yet of their lives.

The next morning, Neji had some troubles waking up. He was so tired. Happy, but tired. Plus, he didn't want to leave her warmth. But he knew he should, while no one but Lee was awake, he should sneak out, it was the safest choice. As silent as possible, he tried to not disturb Tenten's sleep, giving her a soft peck on the cheek and climbing out of the bed, putting on his clothes and heading out. Chancing a last glance to the sleeping woman before leaving, he was surprised to see her awake, looking at him with sleepy eyes and a smile on her lips. She patted the bed for him to sit there, and so he did.

"Sorry, I didn't want to wake you up" He apologized when he sat by her side, she only kept smiling at him.

"Not your fault, I guess is a biological clock now. And also, I wanted to see you off" She said, sitting up, with the blankets covering herself, giving him a hug. He promptly wrapped his arms around her, bringing her closer, delighting himself with her sent. They stayed like that for a while, and Neji thought that she had gone back to sleep until she broke the silence, "I love you"

Neji smiled radiantly. He never thought that those three words could bring so much happiness. When he heard couples proclaiming their love to one another before, he thought of it being sickening and exaggerated. Now, he was the one who couldn't get enough of hearing her say that and couldn't hold himself into telling her that too.

"I love you too" He told her while laying her on bed. He needed to go, so he would have to content himself with a kiss only. Said kiss took a while, but eventually he sulkily walked out of her room.

The walk back to his room was silent as always, not a living soul, aside from his, wandered around the dorm corridors at that time of the morning. Well, Lee was probably already out there doing something, Neji mused. Said person, however, was still in his room when he arrived.

"Lee? Aren't you going for you morning routine?" Neji asked, surprised to see his friend. Lee smiled warmly at him.

"I wanted to talk with you today! Naruto told me that they discovered about Tenten, and I wanted to know from you, about your thoughts and about Nomura…" Ah, there was the name Neji was starting to hate.

"He is asking around and it won't make our lives easier, but we will just behave like usual and deal with it. To be honest, its not Nomura that worries me much, it's the Nationals." Neji said frankly, he could deal with hiding his emotions in public, he did that all his life almost.

"Nationals? Why?" Lee was confused.

"What will Tenten do after that? She can't graduate as Tenshi after all, and I believe it would be kind of awkward to just come out and say she's a girl, Tsunade wouldn't be happy I guess. Not to mention the implications within Nationals itself." Neji would be lying if he said he didn't think about joining her to go to Whirlpool, but his uncle would be pissed at him too. He was supposed to look after Hinata, and Konoha High was one of the tops schools around, close to their home. Lee took a while to process what he said, and nodded, understanding the situation.

"I see, well, if there is anything I can do to help, just let me know!" Lee offered, smiling widely, giving him his signature thumbs up. Neji smiled at his friend, nodding. "Now, I wanna know about you two, how is it going? Any babies coming soon?" Neji almost fainted at this. Now way he was going to tell Lee about their intimate times, and what obsession was this with them and babies?

…

If Tenten though they would have an easy time pretending to have nothing, she was dead wrong. She could feel stares on her back wherever she went. Apparently, Nomura did a great job with the gossip, as practically the whole school watched her and Neji, it was like the walls had eyes now! She could feel herself getting more and more paranoid. Practice was their only safe place, as when Guy and the freshmen left, it was only she, Neji and their group, who already knew the truth, so she could talk with him without a problem.

"I can't believe how fast some rumors spread, it hasn't been even a week and we can't even talk in the hallways anymore without people staring at us!" She complained and Neji sighed.

"Not to mention that now there is now lookouts almost all the time around your room. This is getting annoying." Neji added. Indeed, he hasn't been able to come much to her room the last days, courtesy of her fan club. The rumors didn't make them very happy, and Yuki especially started to get intensive stalker like, even camped outside her room once. Thank God she started to finally lock her door, or she feared that the crazy girl would have invaded her room.

"Hey guys!" Kiba approached them, Sasuke and Naruto with him. She smiled at them and Neji just grunted.

"By the look on your faces, things aren't going well" Sasuke hit jackpot with his comment, and they gave him an exasperate look.

"Cant people mind their own business?" Neji complained angrily. He wasnt angry at the boys, but to everyone at school in general, and she could feel herself starting to share his anger.

"Why don't you just assume it then?" Naruto asked, and Sasuke slapped his head.

"People would go insane, not to mention that they would pester them even more, specially her, and you know, if we discovered who tells that other people wont discover? I wouldn't put past the Hyuga's fan base trying to murder her, I had to protect Sakura sometimes from my own until they eventually got happy with her and shipped us even more" Sasuke said his longest sentence so far, surprising everyone. His words made sense, but damn, that was the longest he talked.

"Wow" Everyone looked at him shocked, until he glared at them all.

"I think I get it. Damn, its hard being popular with the girls, I'm lucky no one tried to harm Hina-chan" They were probably scared of Neji in any case. Naruto may be oblivious to this, but he had a fan club himself. A much nicer, less obsessed, fan club.

"You guys just need to hold for more three weeks, then its Nationals time!" Kiba offered, but it somehow managed to sour their mood even more.

"In any case, how long can a rumor last, right? Maybe they will leave us alone soon?" Tenten tried to be optimistic, but she had a gut feeling that it wouldn't be that easy.

And almost another week had passed, and she was practically climbing walls.

"The fuck! Don't these jackasses don't have anything better to do?" She huffed. She was with Neji, finally alone, in a classroom. They couldn't use her room anymore as now there was a member of her fan club camping outside it everyday, and the same went for Neji's, as his fandom was as crazy as hers.

"Calm down Tenten, we will overcome this" Neji tried to calm her own, handing her a chocolate. She thanked him. He was a smart man, and she was sure that he was counting on her period days like she did, and right now she was PSM'ing, hard.

"I just don't understand how someone can be so obsessed with another person, especially when they don't even acknowledge them or know them, to come to a point where they need to sleep outside someone's room!" Neji sighed loudly, bringing her for a hug. She buried her head on his chest, God how she missed it.

"After Nationals is over… I will go with you to Whirlpool if needed" He told her, making her head snap upwards to meet his eyes.

"Really? But isn't here like your home? Aren't you supposed to watch over Hinata?" She wanted him? Fuck yeah she wanted him, but she wasn't so selfish at a point to get him into trouble with his family. He smiled gently at her.

"I'll have to convince my uncle. Naruto is already watching over my cousin, plus, she is a grown up, capable woman, she can handle herself. In any case, Kiba and Shino would beat the crap out of Naruto in my stead if he did her wrong in any way" He assured her, a hand caressing her cheek, "And I would rather be with my woman" He kissed her gently, making her melt against him. He was so good to her, goddammit!

"We should leave, before they find us. I'm sure they will be checking security cameras whenever they get the chance, those psychos" She told him, sulking. He pouted too, but nodded. They needed to be safe, it was the last stretch, just a little more. That little kiss gave them a little more of fuel to go on without going crazy.

…

Unbeknown to them, there was a person watching them. Nomura couldn't believe his ears, and eyes, spying from the keyhole. Tenshi name was actually Tenten! And he was a woman! Well, now this woman was about to get into serious trouble, as he was even more pissed with her. How could a woman have the starting position in a men's team, he was stronger than her, and better! He was sure of it. Not to mention the sting on his pride for her beating him in the drinking contest.

So he waited for the perfect opportunity. It didn't take long, as the next Monday, Tenshi, or rather Tenten, walked alone into the cafeteria, the messy bun with headband as always, and the tie horribly tied, like always. It was his chance, to unmask her in front of everyone.

"Well, well, well, who we have here" He almost yelled, sure that everyone was looking at him and the person in front of him.

"Uhh, whazzup mate?" Tenshi faked a man voices, and he smirked. He could fake all he could, but he wouldn't get away from this.

"Nothing, my dear man, or I mean, woman" He said as loud as he could, and he could hear some people gasp and murmur around them. Tenshi gave him a shocked look, and he smirked in victory.

"The hell man, I'm no woman!" Ha! Fake all the voice you want, there is no escaping that!

"Really, so explain me this" Sure, his action may be extreme, but he wanted so bad to humiliate her. She could hide a chest, but there was something she couldn't hide, or rather, the lack of something. In a swift movement, Nomura pulled down the person's pants.

…

Neji was a little late to the cafeteria with his group that monday, but when they got there, all they could hear were gasps and screams. A bad feeling washed over him, and he quickly pushed through the mass of people, his friends close behind. A sight of hell greeted him. There was Nomura, crouched, pulling Tenshi's pants own.

"Well, that's one way to prove it"

WHAT THE HELL?

OHHHH BOY

Next chapter is the last one! Yay! Hope you all liked it! Please, leave your review and let me know your thoughts so far!

I'll be seeing you on the next chapter, be well!