Tenten was glad her next self-defence class wasn't until Thursday. It meant she had a couple of days to forget about their last encounter, and she focused on making sure her mind—and body—were in full control. Tenten needed to make sure she kept a professional attitude with him at all times.

She spent the next two days at the dojo, washing clothes and cleaning up after lessons. She also accompanied Lee and Guy during some of their lessons, having long since proved to their students that she was just as skilled as her male counterparts.

As the trio readied to leave late on Wednesday evening—after the class, the two men liked to practice sparring before heading home, and Tenten usually hung around to watch—Lee sidled up next to her, sporting a grin.

"Are you looking forward to your lesson tomorrow, Tenten? I told you Neji was great." He said, unaware of the sick feeling he caused at the reminder of the next day's activities.

"He's a good photographer, I'll give him that." She replied, doing her best to keep her face neutral.

"Neji is the best! He's won a ton of awards and he has photos in multiple galleries around town."

Tenten had been doing well distracting herself from her thoughts of him and their inevitable meeting tomorrow, but Lee's reminder sent her heart into overdrive again. She still had no idea what she planned on saying to him.

"Are you okay, Tenten? You look a little pale." Lee stepped closer to her, his concerned face filling her vision.

She smiled at him, waving off his concern. "I'm fine, Lee. Just tired." She backed up a pace and pointed to the entrance of the dojo. "I'm going to head home and get ready for tomorrow's lesson. Goodnight."

"Have a good sleep, Tenten."

Tenten said goodbye to Guy before exiting the building and stepping out onto the bustling evening street. Thanks to her clueless friend, Tenten was once again stressing over what she should say to Neji when she saw him tomorrow. I need a drink, she decided, dialling her best friend's number.

"Do you have any idea what time it is, Tenten?" Temari growled through the phone, having clearly been disturbed.

"Sorry Em, but I really need a drink tonight, and I was hoping you'd accompany me." Tenten felt bad disturbing her friend, but she needed to vent, and Temari was the only person she could talk to. The blonde groaned and Tenten could hear the shuffling of bed sheets as she sat up, accompanied by a low murmured question from someone who was clearly not her. Tenten blushed. "Do you have company?"

"As a matter of fact, I do." The male spoke again and Temari shushed him. "Is everything okay, Ten? You do realize it's Wednesday, right?" She asked, her voice softening. It wasn't often Tenten asked out her for drinks, and never in the middle of a working week.

"I'm sorry, Temari. I didn't realize you were busy. Please ignore me and carry on."

"No way. You want to have a drink with me, so that's what we'll do." She turned her face away from the phone and spoke to her guest. "Shikamaru, babe, you're going home. And you're dropping me off at Tenten's place on the way. Tenten," she continued, speaking down the line again. "I'll be there in ten, okay?"

It was a good thing Tenten only lived around the corner from the dojo; she was already almost home. "Shikamaru?" Tenten asked incredulously. "As in, Shikamaru your manager from work?"

Temari laughed. "He may be the boss at work, but he quite likes being ordered around at home." Her voice had taken on a sensual lilt and Tenten blushed again at the implications of her words. "We're about to leave. I'll see you soon, Ten."

"Okay." Tenten hung up, finally having made it to her front door. She unlocked it and walked through, kicking off her shoes and letting her hair down as she made her way to the bathroom. She wanted a quick shower before Temari arrived, knowing that they would be up for hours talking.

.

.

.

"You had a one-night stand with someone? You? And now you have to work with him temporarily?" Temari barked a laugh, unable to hide her amusement. "Wow Tenten, I'm impressed."

Tenten hid her face in her hands and groaned, a fresh wave of embarrassment overtaking her. "Don't laugh, Temari. This is serious!"

"What are you so afraid of, Ten?" The blonde asked, taking another sip of her beer.

Tenten shot her friend an incredulous look. "I practically ran out on him the last time I saw him, and I have to face him tomorrow. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do!"

Temari leant over to place a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She still found this whole situation extremely entertaining, but she knew teasing the poor brunette wasn't the way to go. "You want to know what to do? Nothing. Don't do anything, Ten."

"I need to do something!" What kind of advice was that?

"No, you don't." Temari replied with a shake of her head. "Greet him as if he were any other worker. Don't bring up what happened last time and only acknowledge him to the extent that you need to. Be professional; he'll get the hint eventually. But Tenten," she added, leaning back and raising an eyebrow at her. "Are you sure you don't want anything to happen with him? I've never seen you this flustered over a guy before."

Tenten rolled her eyes in response. "That's because this sort of thing has never happened to me before! I can't allow anything to happen between the two of us."

"Why not? Would it be so wrong if you were to start a relationship with him, if that's what you both want?"

"How would I know if that's what he wants? He probably seduces women all the time, for all I know. And besides," Tenten averted her gaze, unable to look her friend in the eye. "Even if that is what he wants—and that's a massive if—it wouldn't work out. Not with me."

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Temari's eyes narrowed at Tenten. "This better not be because of—"

Tenten cut her off, knowing where she was heading. "It's not because of anything, Temari. Just leave it, will you?"

Temari glared. "No. When are you going to let go of the past and forgive yourself? It's been seven years already."

How was she supposed to let go of the past? Tenten deserved to wallow in her guilt for the rest of her life. Temari was the only person who knew of Tenten's secret, having known each other their whole lives. They had grown up together in an orphanage along with Temari's two brothers and...

Tenten shook her head, dispelling her thoughts. She didn't want to cry, not here in front of Temari. She knew Tenten was still haunted by what happened, and Tenten did her best to not show her weakness so that Temari wouldn't worry.

"It's fine, Em. I'm fine. I just... don't think it would be a good idea to get involved with him, that's all."

Temari's eyes narrowed but she let it go. She didn't want to argue. "Do you like him?"

"No. Maybe? I don't know." Tenten shrugged. "We've barely even had a proper conversation."

"That's because you've been too busy lusting after each other." Temari replied with a laugh, causing Tenten's cheeks to burn. "If you really don't want anything to happen with him, do as I said earlier. But I think there could be something between the two of you; I've never seen you this preoccupied by a guy before. Maybe you shouldn't write him off just yet."

"Forget it! I'm over this conversation. I want to go to bed." Tenten's emotions were all over the place and she suddenly felt exhausted.

"Fine, let's go to bed. But don't think I'll forget about this conversation just because you're chickening out on me now."

She knew Temari was true to her word and would continue to bring it up until Tenten was honest with her. She just hoped that her two weeks with Neji would go by so fast that she wouldn't have time to deal with her complicated feelings.

Sorry for the short chapter. More interactions with Neji coming up soon. Temari is my favourite kunoichi (apart from Tenten ofc) and I always thought they would be good friends, so I couldn't resist making them besties in this story. Also, I also couldn't resist adding in some Shikatema since they're my second favourite ship. XD

Please R&R if you are liking this story so far!