Disclaimer: As always, I don't own anything. Except that's mine. Which is this plot...yup.

Thanks for all those who had sent their love! I felt immediately better...though throat is still a bit scratchy.

Alas...but now I'm having an allergic reaction...around my eyes. Ack, it itches...and burns! But n-e-hoo, since I know you guys aren't here to listen to my woes and etc, I'm proud to present chapter three! Please don't get mad at me:)

Alrighty then! Enjoy!

Honey If You Love Me

-

Ino cleared her throat, obviously noticing the surprised looks on each face. "Well," she started, "it's only a game, right? Besides, Tenten wouldn't say no to her…loveable…teammate for wanting to make her smile, now would she?" Looking expectantly at Tenten, Ino raised her eyebrow daring her to say otherwise.

"No…"Tenten said, trailing off, "I have no objections." Mentally, she checked Ino on her 'to-get-back-list'. She was going to pay.

Although…it was just Lee, right? Lee was just her teammate…and somewhat of a brother to her. What could he possibly say that would end up embarrassing her in front of Nej- er…her friends?

"Good," Ino said, looking smug, "now, does anyone else?" Ten pairs of eyes whipped directly where to Neji stood. Some in hope, some mockingly, and other's in curiosity. But sadly, to no avail. Neji did not acknowledge those holes being burned in the back of his head.

Ino looked slightly crestfallen. "Well, let's begin round three then, Lee goes first. Alright Lee, make Tenten smile!"

Tenten watched as Lee was still thinking of his 'speech' or lines that he was going to say. Yes, lines. As in it was most likely going to take a whole minute for him to say it. Which was good, she thought optimistically, then this 'challenge' would be over.

'It's just a game. It's just a game.' She chanted. 'A game that could end horribly disastrous or wonderfully incredible.' She sighed.

Lee cleared his throat as he prepared to say his line. "Tenten, my beloved flower on our team and of Konoha! Please, darling, my honey, if you love me and all my youthful passions, please smile your beautiful, wonderful, amazing, gorgeous," a cough interrupted his ramblings, followed by a couple of sniggers. Lee, totally oblivious, just beamed happily as he saw Tenten flushing slightly. "Ah, and yes, stunning, charming, and lovely smile for me!"

Did she mention that Ino was going to pay? Dearly?

Tenten blushed heavily. How embarrassing! She was definitely going to get Ino back for this. Although…Lee is her teammate…and he's really sweet. Too bad she only liked him as a friend. Or brother.

"Two and a half more minutes," Ino said, obviously entertained by the interesting scene. Oh yes, Ino was definitely going to pay.

Amazing, she thought somewhat optimistically, only a half-a-minute speech.

"Yosh!" cried Lee, "I shall try once again!" Striking a 'thinking' pose, he smiled triumphantly after a moment. "I shall try…the same tactics as Sasuke Uchiha had used!"

Tenten slightly blanched. She was not Sakura, and he was definitely not Sasuke.

"Tenten, darling, please, if you smile for me, I shall buy you a gift?"

"Oh?" Tenten asked, eyebrow raised, "and why would I smile if you bought me something?"

Stumped, Lee leaned towards Sasuke. "Why would Sakura have smiled if you bought her something?" he whispered, trying to seem inconspicuous.

Tenten noticed. So did everyone else. Muffled laughs and smirks were evidently seen soon after.

Slightly miffed, Sasuke answered tentatively, knowing there were four ready and able female ninjas nearby. "Because…they like pretty things?"

Four eyebrows raised.

"And…they like it when boys buy them stuff?"

Four glare-like stares were pointed straight towards him.

"And…because, that's what men do?"

Four eyebrows lowered, the glare-like stares stopped, and the look of satisfaction was seen on each girls face.

Sasuke would live to see another day.

"Oh," Lee said, after a moment. "I am…a man. And I offered to buy Tenten something, but why won't she smile for me?"

"Don't ask me," Sasuke said, slightly irritated, "besides, you are wasting your time, get Tenten to smile."

As Lee turned back to 'win a smile' from Tenten, Sasuke's murmur could be heard to those near him. "Besides, why would she smile at you to buy her stuff when the one she wants to buy her stuff isn't buying it for her?"

"I heard that Sasuke," Tenten said dryly, a flush staining her cheeks, "and I don't want anyone to buy me stuff." After a pause, she added an, "And I'm not a very materialistic girl."

All heads turned as they heard Neji cough slightly.

"What?" Tenten asked, quite innocently, "Not usually, that is. But only Neji knows my true weakness."

Once again, heads turned towards Neji to spill her secret. Tenten? Having a secret weakness?

"Wait a minute," Tenten said, drawing the attention back towards her, "we're on a time-limit, remember? Ino, how much longer does Lee have?"

"Oh!" Ino gasped, "that's right, sorry Tenten. Lee, you have two more minutes."

"Yosh!" Lee yelled, "And I have yet to use my other wonderful, youthful tactics!"

All shifted closer, wanting to hear what was going on in Lee's elaborate head. This was going to be good.

"First," he exclaimed, already appearing triumphant, "I shall compliment her, just as the beautiful cherry blossom, Sakura, had to Sasuke!"

Readying herself for an onslaught, of what could be a quite humiliating experience, Tenten braced herself.

"Tenten is a wonderful and skilled Ninja!"

Tenten winced slightly due to his overly excited ramble, "Thanks Lee, but you always tell me that."

"Oh? Well, you are extremely beautiful too! The beautiful flower of our team!"

Once again, Tenten countered, "But you say that to about every girl you meet."

"Oh?" Ino cut in, "He hasn't said that to me." With this statement, she pointedly looked at Neji.

"Don't worry," Neji said mockingly, returning Ino's look with a glare, "someone thinks you are."

And with this Ino quieted, slightly blushing. "One minute and a half, Lee."

"Yosh! You are smart and ingenious!" Lee cried out to Tenten, once more.

"Thanks…but I'm not as smart as Neji," Tenten answered back, modestly.

"Ah, but you are so caring!" He cried out with determination.

"Well…Neji is caring in his own way, too," she answered back, biting her lip.

"But you are more passionate!"

"Neji can be too!"

"Like how?"

"Like when he fights!"

"But you are more friendlier!"

"Neji's friendly too!"

"Not!"

"Yes!"

"When?"

"You just don't know him!" Tenten cried out zealously.

Lee looked at Tenten wide-eyed in surprise and with a mixture of disbelief. "You don't take compliments very well, do you."

"I do," Tenten said, defensively.

"Tenten," Sakura casually commented, "everything that Lee tried on complimenting you on, you turned it around and complimented Neji instead.

"Well," Tenten answered, blushing a slight shade of pink, "I--"

"Tenten," Ino said, cutting in, "Lee's trying to flatter you, not Neji."

"Yes, but--"

"And," Sakura added, pink hair swishing as she tilted her head, "you can always 'challenge' Neji afterward and try complimenting him to get him to smile."

"No," Tenten said, absentmindedly, "Neji doesn't like flatter--hey! Why are we talking about Neji, anyway? Let's get back to the game."

Sakura and Ino giggled in amusement. The guys just rolled their eyes.

"Right," Ino said, after a few moments of exchanging knowing looks and smiles with Sakura, "one more minute Lee."

"Yosh!" He yelled, looking determined, "I know exactly what will make the beautiful Tenten smile!"

All inching closer at his determined look, they waited with baited breath as he beamed his usual grin.

Tenten had a bad feeling about this. In a giddy way. She should stop him…she really should. Before he said anything along the lines of; her, Neji, like, date. Yeah, that would be bad.

And she would be doing him a favor, really.

"Ah," he said as he paused, still beaming, "I know that the lovely Tenten is infatuated with the great Hy-OUCH--"

"CHIHA!" she yelled, trying to cover up Lee's lamenting of secrecy. Tenten quickly used the diversion that she created herself by stepping on Lee's foot, not-so-nicely, to her advantage. She wasn't doing it for herself, no, she was saving Lee from a sure wrath to come. From herself, or Neji, who exactly was to know?

"Uchiha," she said, a crimson red staining her cheeks. Lee was definitely going on her 'to-get-back-list'.

"As in…Sasuke…Uchiha?" Ino wondered aloud pointing towards him in disbelief. "You're…infatuated, with him?"

Ten pairs of eyes stared questioningly at hers. Neji, she noticed, was the only one looking away, seemingly bored.

"Well," she answered uneasily, "I guess?"

"I never would have figured you as a fan girl," Sasuke said, amused, almost teasingly. Being the prodigy he was, or even if he was not, he easily understood what Lee was going to say. Only an idiot would not have.

"Why would you like Sasuke?" Naruto asked, wide-eyed with doubt. "I thought you liked N--"

"No one," she cut him off as she muttered stubbornly, glaring at him, "I like no one."

Point proved. Naruto was officially a moron. To him, anyway.

"So…why would Lee say you were infatuated with him?" Naruto asked, curious.

Darn him. He was making everything so difficult.

Neji glanced back to survey the scene before him. Tenten looking quite frustrated, Naruto, being his usually ignorant self. Lee, his foot looking like it was slightly throbbing, and Ino, still gaping. Hinata was poking her fingers idly together while Shino and Kiba looked on with slight interest.

Neji also noticed as Sakura moved towards Sasuke, about a step or too, most likely in a territorial reflex. Neji just smirked.

Then he looked at Sasuke…looking back at him. Neji tilted his head, silently gesturing with his eyes. 'What?'

Sasuke just looked smartly back at Neji. His eyes seemed to mockingly state the obvious. 'You're jealous.'

'Not.'

'Yes.'

Neji's glare heightened. Why would he be jealous of Sasuke? That was stupid. Yeah.

Neji turned his back to the scene defiantly.

Glaring at Lee, Tenten answered honestly. "Well, the first time I saw him, I thought he was cute." But that was the first time. And she really did think he was cute, but it wasn't like she liked him.

Sakura and Ino stared, obviously surprised. Sasuke smirked as Hinata blushed, Shikamaru rolled his eyes upward focusing once again on the clouds, and Chouji shrugged, still eating his chips. Kiba, Naruto, and Shino all glanced towards Neji, considering whether they needed to run, and Lee still looked confused at her last statement.

Neji's indication of hearing that remark was just the tightening of his fists. Oh, and that quick glare of resentment that he sent towards Sasuke before turning his back on the group.

But that was all.

"And what of me, Tenten?" Lee asked, a hopeful gaze in his eyes.

"Er…what about you?" Tenten asked mildly.

"Did you think I was cute? Are you be happy to be in my company?" He questioned, a spark of hope lighting his eyes.

Uh oh. Would she have to pull out that infamous 'You're a great kid, but you're like a brother to me' speech?

"Why," Tenten said slowly, swallowing hard, "of course I do, Lee. I like being friends."

"Ten seconds," Ino said, counting down.

"No!" Lee cried out, "I have not made the beautiful Tenten smile!"

"Eight seconds."

"I must think of a plan," he rambled.

"Six seconds."

"Yosh! I've got it!" Lee yelled, excitedly.

"Four seconds."

"My beautiful Tenten," he started.

"Three."

"Will you allow me to buy you food?" Lee asked, looking at her hopefully.

"Two."

"Would you go out with me?"

"WHAT!"

Both teams looked in astonishment as Lee had finished his question.

Tenten did not blush, but burned, red. This was definitely horribly disastrous. Had she mentioned before, that she will make Ino pay? Well, she was.

Ino and Sakura were caught off guard, once again, and Hinata didn't know whether to blush or jab her fingers in confusion. Sasuke did not just glance, but stared at Neji, waiting to see his reaction, while Shikamaru looked amidst the scene before him. Shino, already sending his bugs to find their nests and stay there, began backing away slowly.

Sensing danger somewhat before-hand, Kiba had told Akamaru to run and hide. Quickly.

Who knew that Neji's real adversary was on his own team!

Tenten answered as intelligently as she possibly could in a time like this. "Err…"

Or not.

Snapping out of her stupor after a couple of moments, Tenten looked uncertainly at Lee. "I, uh, well--"

"Enough."

Each head whipped back towards the low, apparently annoyed filled voice.

"Don't answer that question, Tenten." The Hyuuga prodigy was standing, eyes glaring, fists clenched.

"Neji?" Tenten asked a little confused, but hopeful. She just hoped right now that he would save her from this undesirable-somewhat-humiliating question. Lee was like a brother! And what about Sakura!

Ino smiled behind her hand smugly. This was definitely turning out to be interesting.

VxS

Sorry there is no Neji/Tenten romance...yet. Because they're in the next chapter! When I was writing it, I was like..."whoa...this thing's going to be really long." So I had to cut it into two parts. Sorry guys! But yeah, I liked this 'use Lee sorta to make Neji realize how much he wants to 'challenge' Tenten' plan. Muaha. And it worked! ...er...well, if you didn't know that, it did. :)

Still slightly sick, but somewhat recovered before my school banquet. It was sooo much fun! I absolutely had...a really really really good time. Hehe.

Thank you to all those who had reviewed! It makes me sooo happy that people like this...story. You guys are so fabulous!

Umm...well, yeah, you know the drill. You read, now review!