A/N: I'm so sorry it took me so long to update this fanfic. I never planned on giving up on it, but a lot o personal stuff and insecurities got in the middle of it. I hope some of you still want to continue reading this fanfic, I'm giving it my best to write the rest and finish it. Hopefully, it won't take as much time as it took between chapters 3 and 4. Anyways I'm back!
I just want to mention that I edited the first 3 chapters and changed some things. I corrected grammar mistakes (I'm not a native english speaker, I'm portuguese). The major change is that I switched the NaruHina "engagement party" for the real wedding, so I had to re-write some things to fit into the new idea, but in general, it is almost the same.
Chapter Four
Rock Lee entered his small apartment while carrying Tenten on his back, he had some trouble shoving the door open without letting her fall from his back but somehow managed to do it.
Tenten's eyes flickered open but her vision was blurry, and she felt like she was having an out of body experience with all the sluggishness. After helping take her shoes off, he made it to his room and sat her in his bed so she could be safe while he opened his wardrobe, and took off some clean spare clothes for her to sleep in. Lee put the clothes folded beside her and glanced at her worried, watching her having trouble sitting straight and keeping her eyelids open. He doubted she would be able to dress alone, but still asked her to do it, and exited the room to give her privacy.
Stepping into the kitchen, he took a glass from his cabinets and filled it up with water from the tape. He took a sip and rubbed his eyes, allowing an exhausted sigh to escape from his lips, and leaned on the kitchen countertop thinking about his training plan for tomorrow. Shortly after a door opened with a creak and small bare footsteps come out wobbling walking slowly towards his kitchen. Lee sensed Tenten's presence and looked back alarmed just to find her bluntly half-naked in front of him. The world just hit pause button. He spilled all the water inside his mouth and managed at the last second to turn his face away, so he wouldn't spill the liquid on her. He cleaned his mouth and the water that seeped down his chin and neck with the back of his hand and glanced back at her.
"T-tenten!" He almost screamed still startled, and his ears turned pink. "W-where's your clothes?" His eyes flickered away from her body flustered, and he chose to focus his gaze on her face to avoid further looking at her bare skin.
She raised her head to look up at him visibly not in herself and puzzled, her eyelids half-open, her lips parted. Then her expression seemed to swift from confusion to comprehension. "I took them off," she managed to say between slurred words. "It's hot." She stepped forward and invaded his personal space.
He couldn't believe the kind of situation he got himself into. You're going to be the death of me today Tenten…
Trying his best to only stare at her from the neck upwards (because he was a gentleman) Lee grabbed her wrist and rushed her back into his bedroom.
"Tenten, you should dress." Now! "And please don't make me explain why." His hand reached for the spare clothes to help her cover herself, but before he could grab them her lips mashed against his, and his eyes bulged in shock. His lips burned like they were on fire. Hungrily she backed him off until his back hit the wall behind him, and he gasped into her mouth with the impact. She took advantage of this and slipped her tongue inside his mouth gentle but demanding, and it was like something he never felt before. Her insistent mouth sent wild tremors along his nerves, evoking from him sensations he was foreign to. Tenten grabbed the collar of his jacket and deepened the kiss almost desperately like she had been waiting for this all her life. The situation was so bizarre he could not move a muscle. He had just been shoved against the wall and eagerly kissed by his teammate. By his best friend for god's sake! His brain was in short-circuit, could not process the information his body senses were transmitting it, and needed to be quickly rebooted. Before he could register, she moved her hands down his chest and slid them under his black jacket, making him shiver when her cold fingertips gently brushed his abdominal skin. The butterflies in his stomach sent a pleasure feeling along his whole body. Lee tried to push her away, it was not the time or the moment to be indulging in such feelings, but her mouth tasted like sake, and he felt the flavor of alcohol spreading down his throat intoxicating him fast. In less than a minute the alcohol traveled inside his system and got him drunk. Although, curiously, he didn't start breaking everything around him, like usual. Maybe ingesting it indirectly made his drunk condition less aggressive and serious. However, his rational mind got shoved off to a corner of his brain and a more animalistic side took over him.
For the first time, he kissed her back, capturing her bottom lip between his teeth and she growled in pleasure making him build in anticipation. While her hands fought the buttons of his jacket, he reached for her braided buns and loosened her hair, unfolding it, releasing it from the braids, and ran his fingers through it earning a shiver from her body. This ignited a dormant burning fire deep inside him. Rock Lee wasn't called hot-blooded for no reason, but his ardor, passion, and virility showed in other areas than just training. The mixture of alcohol and infatuation was the perfect alchemy to trigger this untouched side of him.
In a trice, his jacket was on the floor at their feet and Tenten placed her hands on his chest to slowly slide them down teasingly, on the direction of his navel, instigating his heartbeats. It didn't take them long to get rid of his pants as well.
Lee grabbed her by the shoulders and backed her off slowly, between exchanged hungry kisses, until the back of her legs reached the edge of his bed. He thrust forward and her knees gave in making them fall onto the mattress. Lee's body covered Tenten's, and he was on top of her fitting perfectly between her open legs. Their skins touched, the friction made her moan, and she tipped her head back allowing his lips to burn a trail down her throat all the way to her collar bone, where he lingered for a while before kissing the junction where her shoulder and neck met. Then he proceeded to trail down her arm with soft caresses of his lips until he took her hand in his and kissed it.
She cupped his face with the hand he didn't take and guided him back up to meet her mouth. He intertwined their fingers together and kissed her back with gradual intensity. Once, twice, he was everywhere up her shoulder and over her arms and he was kissing her harder, deeper, with a fervent urgent need he never knew before. Both fuelled by the alcohol circulating on their bloodstreams, and the increasing sexual tension it roused in them. Until Tenten's body couldn't take it any longer and she lost consciousness falling asleep under him. Breathless he stared down at her but, even sloppy drunk, somehow managed to understand she wouldn't wake up so soon, so he rolled to the side and laid down beside her, facing her. It didn't take to long for him to doze off as well.
000
It was almost lunchtime and Tenten found herself standing in front of Lee's apartment complex with a strong desire to crawl into a hole and die. By walking down the path from the bench to where she was standing now, she had been able to recall the memories from the night before. Tenten was mortified, frozen to the spot. She felt too ashamed and couldn't believe the things she remembered had actually happened. She forced herself onto her best friend, pinned him against a wall, kissed him passionately, and even went as far as to undress him! Everything because of that damn sake she drunk ceaselessly to prevent him from embarrassing himself in public. Ironically, she had embarrassed herself instead and it was killing her from the inside out. Her face was so hot she was sure she must've had steam coming out her ears.
Calm down, Tenten! It's alright, at least you didn't go all the way with him...
Apparently not because lack of trying, she cringed mentally, but fortunately she was so hammered she lost consciousness before committing something even more outrageous. Thank God for that. If that's how she acted when drunk, she didn't want to touch a single drop of alcohol ever again. She would rather die than experience that kind of embarrassment twice. She heaved an exasperated sigh. So much trouble to recall her memories, she was left ashamed and seriously regretting having tried.
"Tenten?" A familiar voice sounded behind her, and she didn't need to turn around to identify the person it belonged to. Instantly she felt heat swirling low on her stomach, and her heart beat wildly out of her chest when she looked behind her shoulder.
"Erm, H-hi," she stumbled over her words, stuck between mind and mouth. "Lee…" The sound of her lips pronouncing his name after everything she recalled made her want to curl up with embarrassment. It was too early for a confrontation. She wasn't mentally prepared, and her heart already needed a break. Her mind couldn't stop overthinking all the possible ways her friendship could have been ruined, and it pained her to not be able to predict his reaction. She couldn't read in his expression if he was aware of the events of last night.
They stared at each other awkwardly for a moment, Lee tried to examine her countenance, looking for clues in her stare, but she swiftly avoided his dark eyes in sheer shame.
"Erm," he began apprehensive, testing the waters. "Can we talk?" He scratched the back of his head
Tenten's lips parted and she glanced at him somehow surprised by his question. "Ye-" but her mouth moved before her brain could process. She shook her head. "N-no! I mean, no!" She walked back a step, her cheeks heating up gradually until her whole face and neck turned crimson. "I mean, I can't. You see," she started fidgeting and her mind tried to come up with a good excuse. "I… I have 1000 kunais to polish at home!" She walked back another step, this time a wider one before she turned around. "Anyways, I'm extremely busy! Bye!" And so, she ran away leaving a track of dirt behind her, cursing herself mentally for the lack of emotional restraint. Lee was left there standing, his bushy-brows come together in a frown and his lips pursed.
000
Tenten couldn't exactly precise the moment her admiration, respect, and friendship towards Lee become something more. Her feelings grew gradually, built upon years, and so naturally, she didn't notice them blooming into love.
Unlike Sasuke, or even Naruto now, the feminine population of the village never crushed hard over her teammate, it actually did pretty much the exact opposite. She could imagine his flashy appearance and somehow silly manners didn't help. Thinking about it now she couldn't imagine why, and seriously, she didn't care. In her eyes, he was by far much better in every aspect than the Uchiha could ever dream to be, even if the sharingan user was now making amends with the village for his past mistakes. She felt incredibly lucky for being the only girl aware of her teammate's secret charms.
Lee was one of the sweetest guys around, very caring, passionate, and with a keen sense of humor. He was also very hard-working and determined, showing strong dedication to his promises, a quality she really admired. He respected his opponents, refusing to hold grudges against those who have defeated him, and returning favors to those that have helped him. Despite his passionate nature, Lee also showed strong instincts, staying focused at the task at hand and rarely losing his composure. Tenten always secretly thought he looked very cool while focusing on the things he believed in and worked for. He was also always there for his friends and he could be a gentleman when he wasn't being a dork. Oh, and physically speaking, well, she knew no other man in a ray of 3 miles cultivated his own body more than him, except Gai-sensei maybe. He was built, chiselled from top to bottom, and she knew first-hand... Stop it, Tenten! She mentally scolded herself after realizing where her thoughts had drifted to. A massive heatwave ignited inside her and she felt her skin burn like demonic flames from hell. This is completely ridiculous! I feel like I'm going through second puberty! I need to calm down!
She remembered Gai-sensei lecturing them years ago about the power and vantages of visualization. Well, right now, visualizing Lee was getting her on heat.
"Tenteeeeen!" An enthusiastic loud voice broke her train of thought, calling her name from a distance. It sounded like the person was slowly getting closer. She knew who it was even before he come into her field of sight.
Tenten turned around, she was coming from the direction of Konoha Hospital, when she saw Lee in the distance running towards her, a column of flying dirt following him behind. Her heart was in her mouth and her eyes grew wider at the stare of him. How in the hell did he find her again? In a week this was his tenth, or maybe even his fiftieth time, she seriously lost count of it, running after her. Was he an idiot or was he just simply insane? Couldn't he get a clue she didn't want to be bothered? It seemed running after her was like a challenge to him, he wouldn't stop until he won. At this point, it wasn't so much confusing as it was frightening.
"Tenteeeeen!" His cry was getting louder, which meant he was getting closer.
Tenten ran as fast as her legs could carry her. Her heart pounded to the beat of her feet racing over the hard ground.
"Jezz Lee, don't you know what 'no' means?" She grumbled as she felt a bead of sweat running down her forehead. She zoomed past two local villagers like a rocket, carefully dodged them and rounded a corner. Without a thought, at the intersection, she ducked into a narrow alley, checking behind her shoulder from time to time if he was following her trail. She rounded another corner into the main street and leaned against the wall to catch her breath. "Why are the men in our village so dumb?!" She groaned exasperatedly between breaths.
"I'm feeling offended right now." An unexpected sluggish voice mumbled behind her, startling her like an electric shock. Her head quickly moved, and she found a ninja with narrow brown eyes and black hair tied up in a spiky ponytail looking down at her. He wore his typical bored expression and looked confused.
"Shikamaru," she noted still a bit surprised by his sudden appearance. "Well," she breathed a sigh of tiredness. "You know what I mean." She gave a dismissive wave of her hand, she'd been there, done that.
He half-smirked and commented, "Indeed, 99% of the time you say that you're talking about Lee."
Tenten felt a warm blush rise to her cheeks, and she worried if he noticed it.
"Is it, is it that obvious?" She asked embarrassed playing with her braid. Shikamaru folded his arms and nodded. She sighed heavily with exasperation and covered her face with both hands. It seems obvious to everyone except Lee, she thought bitterly.
"So, what did he do this time?" Shikamaru asked.
Tenten looked suspiciously at him with a raised eyebrow. He seemed oddly curious about the subject which was in some way out-of-character.
"You seem to know a whole lot about this." She pointed.
"Well," he gave a half-shrug. "You and Lee aren't particularly discrete people. Especially Lee." She found the way he laid emphasis on those two words very triggering.
"Excuse me!" Tenten blurted offended.
"I mean," he began. "You two don't go unnoticed on the streets because Lee can't seem to stay quiet for a minute." He had a point, she admitted.
"Well," she sighed again and sweat dropped, defeated. "I can't argue with that." And she really couldn't. Her team was for sure lively. There was no person around who could match Lee and Gai-sensei's high spirits and energy.
"Now you are not seen together on the streets anymore," Shikamaru proceeded, rubbing his chin. "Quite strange isn't it?"
"Well, you see- "
"Tenteeeeeeen!" Lee's distant cry broke her speech. Tenten felt like lightning had hit her along his scream. Her entire body stiffened like she'd just been hit with a lightning release jutsu.
"Oh no! I just barely managed to escape! Is he even human?!" Tenten jolted upright and went back into action, searching for a place to hide, or momentarily mislead Lee. Out of better options, she settled behind the street vending machine near the tea shop they were standing in front of. Shikamaru raised a quizzical eyebrow, watching the whole process. "I'm going to hide here, ok?" She said in an undertone. "Just make sure you send him away before he notices me."
His expression denoted he didn't want to get dragged into her plans, but he accepted his fate quite fast.
"What a drag." He sighed, scratching the back of his head.
An energetic and fast green dot appeared in Shikamaru's sight, soon it turned into Rock Lee full throttling towards him in a sudden gust of dirt and wind. He blinked several times. Tenten may be used to those particular Leeish displays of emotion, but he wasn't, and he didn't want to deal with it so early in the morning.
"Shikamaaaaaru!" He yelled stopping abruptly in his tracks.
Shikamaru covered his ears annoyed, mentally cursing his bad luck for running into Lee and Tenten when all he wanted was some peace of mind.
"Jeez," he protested. "You don't have to scream."
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Lee bowed while scratching the back of his head, his look apologetic. "I've been looking for Tenten." He confessed, frantically moving his head in every direction. Right and left, up and down, searching for any clue who could lead him to her. "Have you seen her? I'm almost sure she came this way." He put his hand on his forehead scoping the area around Shikamaru.
"Tenten, hm?" Shikamaru feigned ignorance, thinking about a troubled weapon kunoichi squashed flat against a vending machine some meters away. "I think she went that way." He pointed out the opposite direction where she was hiding. Lee followed his gesture and his face brightened.
"Thank you very much Shikamaru-san!" Lee gave him his best signature smile and his hand raised in a thumbs up. "Byeeee!" He waved his hand goodbye, and so as fast as he arrived, he was gone.
"Well, you own me one Tenten." He said as soon as she got out behind the vending machine, exhaling from relief.
She raised an eyebrow puzzled, "I'm your friend, can't I just thank you from the bottom of my heart?" She really didn't understand why but she felt goosebumps when a smirk spread across his face. She hugged herself unconsciously.
"Remember that time you used me to buy weapons?"
Realization hit her like a ton of bricks and her eyes doubled size. She felt like a criminal being unmasked.
"Oh, don't use that card on me, I was really in need!" She retorted gesturing her hands in the air.
"In need?" He chuckled, skeptical. "I recall you saying you spent all your money in costume weapons on a whim." His look turned judgemental.
She felt a jolt of embarrassment. Perhaps she really did go too far, she admitted, but Tenten's rule has always been 'If you're wavering, buy it.' Otherwise, how could she had gotten such a large and valuable weapon collection?
"Well, yes," she swallowed, moving her eyes in various directions. "But now I'm much more responsible with my savings." She tried to sound mature and assumed a confident stance, but he saw right through her.
"Really? So, where's my money?" Shikamaru pressed, enjoying her reactions.
"Erm, " She floundered for words, something to express the indignation that coursed through her, but nothing came. "Well…"
He put his hands on his pockets.
"Bad habits die hard."
The words rang on her ears for several seconds.
"Oh, common! I'll pay you back!" Of course, she would. Who did he think she was? Some kind of indebt and ungrateful person? She may have trouble staying on her budget, but she was not a person to forget to pay off her debts. She would pay him for sure. Eventually. It could just take her a bit longer than expected.
"I think I'll die first by the time that happens."
Tenten collected herself, remembering what her real priorities were now.
"Well…" She proceeded to change the subject. Some people on the street were beginning to stare and she didn't want to lose face. "More importantly, where did you sent Lee?"
Shikamaru sighed and turned to point at the street behind him.
"Ok, good. I think I can still meet Hinata on my way back home." She smiled content at the prospects. "Thanks, Shikamaru! I promise I'll buy you a costume weapon specially chosen by me to repay your kindness today!" Tenten wavered her hand and turned around. "Oh, I can buy a matching weapon for Temari as well!" She teased earning a blush from him.
"Yeah, whatever." Her amused laugh vexed him. Temari was his weak-spot, and everybody knew that by now, but that didn't mean people could tease him all the time.
"Bye-bye!"
Shikamaru shrugged and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"Women are troublesome creatures."
000
Facing forward, Tenten continued sprinting. She darted past people, buildings, and trees. Her ninja sandals pounded heavily across the ground and her braided hair rose behind her as she ran. Her calves burned, and her breath formed clouds in the air, but she couldn't slow down if she wanted to avoid the man in a green jumpsuit running behind her. Thuds of his footfalls, coming closer to her with each bound forward, made adrenaline course through her veins. She knew he would catch up with her sooner or later. She could be the best kunoichi at taijutsu, but she knew very well her physical capabilities and stamina would never beat Rock Lee.
"Please stop avoiding me Tenten!" He cried aloud from behind her. A thin layer of sweat covered his forehead.
It had somehow become a routine this hide and seek game between them, an unexplainable outcome that developed throughout the last few days. By now the villagers had gotten used to their flamboyant dynamics so they assumed it to be a new kind of special training. It was nothing she felt proud of personally, but it had been unavoidable since Lee didn't seem to understand the concept of boundaries. She didn't know how to explain why, but she had a gut feeling Gai-sensei had something to do with it.
"I'm not avoiding you!" She screamed out of breath.
"Then why are you running away?" He pushed forward.
"I'm not, I just felt like jogging ok?!"
She rolled her eyes at her own ridiculous words. The worst lie ever, Tenten.
"I really want to know what happened that night."
Tenten automatically flinched from embarrassment and she felt like dying when several curious heads turned around to look at them. Afterall a good gossip would please a considerable chunk of the population.
"I mean, how can I take responsibility if you don't tell me what happened?"
A vein popped in her forehead, that was the last straw that set her on edge. She grabbed his arm, dragged him away to a narrow, dark alley and pushed him hard against the wall. He gasped with the hit.
"How can you blurt such things out loud in public?!" She grumbled upset, cornering him with her body. Just thinking about the situation made her flesh creep.
Lee felt a bit uncomfortable with Tenten's closeness, but she didn't seem to have noticed it. Rage occupied the whole scope of her mind.
"At least you're talking to me now." He noted staring down at her. Her face was surprisingly close, he could feel her breath on his skin and smell her lotus fragrance.
His words popped the irritation bubble that had engulfed her for the past minutes. She noticed how close her body was to his, and the way she was cornering him against the wall. The situation seemed oddly familiar, and it took her few seconds to realize that the same thing happened on the fatal night she had been so desperately trying to forget. Tenten cringed and retreated in an awkward way, acting as if he had just given her a sudden onset of hives.
"Tenten," He began hesitant, shifting his glance around. "Let's talk." His earnestness distressed her.
Tenten swallowed several times. She knew she couldn't avoid confrontation forever; however, she couldn't help but feel a compulsion to flee again. She realized she let it show when he suddenly got closer. The proximity made her hair stand on end.
"A-are breaking boundaries the only way you know how to strike a conversation?" Tenten folded her arms over her chest and tried to look composed, but she couldn't bring herself to look him straight in the eyes. He sighed.
"If you weren't avoiding me for so long this wouldn't have happened." Breaking through her defense mechanisms was proving to be a tricky task, especially for him who was better with actions than with words.
"Are you blaming me?" She admitted she was being stubborn, but that didn't mean he could just make a scene on a public street.
"I'm just saying all of this could have been avoided." Tenten remained silent. Lee felt a pang of distress in his solar plexus. "Will you tell me what happened?" She looked down and away, biting her bottom lip. "Tenten, I need to know." He pressed, there was an edge to his voice now.
"It's not that simple." She snapped looking back at him with squint eyes.
Lee heaved a deep sigh. She was too focused on her own mortification to spare a thought about his feelings. If only she could understand how not having memories was driving him crazy. The fact that their best friend's dynamic was over was also being difficult for him to handle.
"I know, but we can try?" He looked her straight in the eyes. His straightforwardness made her shiver.
Tenten understood his eagerness for answers but expressing what she remembered of that night in words seemed like an impossible task. Lee started talking again before she could get up the courage to open her mouth and speak anything. She couldn't make out the meaning of his words, her mind was looping over overwhelming emotions and distressing thoughts. By now, her heart was pounding so hard that it was tiring. Her palms were sweaty and her breathing quickened. The pressure was killing her. She wasn't the kind of person with the knowledge to process such emotions. All her anxiety and embarrassment were channeled down into an unexpected single action. She grabbed him by the collar and kissed him full on the lips.
"This is 10% of what happened that night." She said.
The world just hit pause button. Lee blinked twice, utterly shocked. He stood there baffled, fumbling for words, while Tenten wished she could turn invisible. "W-what does that mean?" His brain couldn't make sense of what had just happened, and the memory of her lips was still fresh on his mouth.
"I wouldn't kiss a man I wasn't interested in." She blurted, face flushed red. "If you can't figure out what that means you're really an idiot."
PLEASE REVIEW!
Once I saw a LeeTen doodle on Tumblr where Tenten was drunk and kissed Lee, and he got drunk with the kiss. The concept of Lee getting drunk only by a kiss from a drunk person (because of his low tolerance to alcohol) was so funny this fanfic was born. xD
