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Disclaimer: Naruto doesn't belong to me, otherwise the NejiTen would be canon.

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Enjoy.

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Chapter 10. The wedding reception

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Before arriving at the hall, and making it look like an accident, she took off the rose that Toshio had put in her ear, roses reminded her of funerals and she didn't like them.

They arrived at the place, it had been a long time since they last had a party at the village hall, or well, at least since before she left. The hall was beautifully decorated, very similar to the decorations put up at a wedding but a little more festive. On the dais was the main table with the space reserved for her and Toshio, next to them were going to sit Tsunade, Gai and one of the members of the village council.

"Toshio, Tenten!" Tsunade greeted from the table, "Welcome."

"Thank you very much, Tsunade," they went to the designated table without stopping to greet anyone yet, "It is a pleasure to be here."

"Tenten, you look beautiful," said Tsunade giving her a quick hug, "Please sit down."

From the table she took the opportunity to finally take a look at the guests, she could see Hinata and Hanabi with other Hyūga at a table, at another were the senseis of the teams, and the teachers of the academy. At other tables were the Yamanaka, Aburame, Nara, Akimichi, Inouzuka clans and others but without the youngsters, they were at another table Ino, Sakura, Sai, Chōji, Naruto, Lee and Kiba, it was noticeable that the meeting was very important as all the clans of the village were there.

"Attention!" Tsunade said loudly, the whole place was silent. "This is a very special meeting for everyone, today we finally commemorate the union of the Leaf village with the Lightning village, an alliance that we have achieved through the happy marriage of Toshio and Tenten."

Everyone applauded and Toshio stood up to speak to everyone.

"Thank you very much, Tsunade, it has been an honor that you have organized this meeting for us." He paused and raised the glass of champagne, "I have been very fortunate to have a wife as beautiful and intelligent as Tenten is," he held out his hand for her to stand next to him, with the glass in her hand to toast. "And this union will help us all to be better and better, please toast to my wife, to our marriage and to our villages. Cheers!"

"Cheers!" said the attendees in unison and he gave her a light kiss on the cheek.

Dinner was served and after that some of the clan leaders came to their table to pay their respects, at a moment she had to go to the bathroom an ambush attacked her. Hinata, Ino and Sakura entered the bathroom too and locked the door.

"Hello girls," she greeted knowing what was waiting for her.

"No hello or anything," Ino scolded, "How is it possible that we had to find out about your marriage from the Hokage and not from you? We were supposed to be friends!"

"It was something unexpected," she tried to justify herself.

"Why didn't they ask me to do that mission?" asked Sakura, "Your husband is very handsome, he is really as you want him to be."

"That's right! They should have given us the option of doing that mission," complained Ino, "I volunteer!" she shook her head trying not to tell them that she wished they could bring back the time, and make that come true.

"Girls, the choice of the person was Tsunade's, and she had her reasons..."

"But tell us something!" claimed the blonde almost in a shout, "Is he good in bed?"

"Ino!" reprimanded Hinata turning completely red, "have you adapted well to your new life?"

"It's been different, but part of a kunoichi's ability is to know how to adapt to any circumstance."

"Bah! Leave the answer to the manual for others, you can't fool us. Has he a big one?" At that moment there was a knock at the bathroom door.

"Tenten..." Hinata's shy voice was difficult to hear while Ino and Sakura were discussing about Toshio, and which of the two would have been able to conquer him if they met him in the street, "I know a little about what it is to start adapting to another village and other customs," the knocks on the door were more insistent, "if you want you can talk to me... or maybe we can meet in the Sand village."

"Thank you, Hinata," and she meant it, "maybe in the future we can visit that village."

At the insistent knocks she opened the door and took the opportunity to escape back to the table, meditating on the way that Hinata had already been engaged to the Kazekage of the Sand for a year, in a constant back and forth between villages while they left everything ready for her permanent move to that place. She sighed, she had survived her friends' first ambush.

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A while later the music played, and they did the first dance. The truth was quite similar to the day of her marriage with the difference that this time she did know the people she was dancing with, and the conversations revolved around her new married life.

"The bloom of youth is flowing in you. You look radiant!" Lee always so effusive as she tried to keep up with the dance steps.

"Thank you, Lee, you look as well..." she hesitated for a moment the adjective, "in shape."

"Thank you! With Gai-sensei we are training hard, we can't let the flame of youth be extinguished."

"May I have this beautiful lady?"

"Of course, Gai-sensei," Lee bowed and kissed her hand, "I leave you in the best hands, Tenten."

"Thank you, Lee," she took her sensei's hand, "It's a nice matching formal suit you chose with Lee," she commented trying not to laugh because it was really like them to wear something so flashy.

"That's right my beautiful flower! It's comfortable and it doesn't hinder your movements," he said while he did a somersault in the middle of the runway to prove it, she laughed.

"It's something very very important," she agreed thinking about all her uncomfortable kimonos.

"But we aren't here for me, today we celebrate your marriage Tenten," she paused and made a serious face, "time is passing and we are all going our own ways, it's good to see an excellent kunoichi like you reaching her achievements."

"Thank you very much, Gai-sensei, it is an honor for me to serve my village."

"The flower of youth must not be extinguished! We only need Neji, so that the team will be together again."

"Neji is on duty, sensei."

"Nonsense! The most powerful ninja in the village are in this place. Nothing will happen just because he comes to dance with you for a few minutes. For old time's sake."

She didn't get to say a full sentence to stop him, Gai had retreated leaving her alone in the middle of the dance floor. She was about to take advantage of the situation to sit down, and rest for a moment when Chōji approached her asking her to dance. She smiled and nodded. They were swaying rhythmically when Gai interrupted them.

"Here he is!" Gai gave Neji a push, and Chōji stepped aside. She could feel that time had stopped at that moment, "don't just stand there, let's dance!"

"Neji," she greeted.

"Tenten," was his simple answer as he extended his hand to her, she took it and they started the dance.

"I... that day I still didn't know that we were coming to the village," she whispered without seeing him, because she could feel a pair of eyes fixed on them.

"Tsunade didn't want me to be in the village for this visit."

"What are you talking about?"

"I requested the mission," he smiled sadly, "maybe I'm a masochist."

"Neji, I..." she wasn't even sure what she wanted to tell him, but she didn't have to think about it much more because a fake cough made them stop.

"Can I have the next piece?" It was Toshio who had interrupted her, "I'd like to get my wife back, if it's not too much trouble."

"Of course, I have to return to my duties," Neji let her go and left the room.

"Are you having a good time?" Toshio asked as he hugged her and began to rock them to the melody.

"I'm a little tired," she confessed, the day had taken forever, "and you?"

"Your friends are a little..." he paused, looking around, "effusive."

"Yes, some of them don't know prudence," she answered thinking of Ino and Sakura who must have riddled him with questions, "I think that today we danced with the majority of the people present here."

"That's right, even with those who should have been in their assigned places."

"It wasn't planned, Toshio-sama," she apologized automatically, "my sensei insisted because it is unlikely that the team will ever meet again."

"Did you tell them that you were part of the training of the students who will take the exam?" he held her chin looking at her in a threatening way, she shook her head, "good girl," and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

There was something that she couldn't define, Toshio wasn't a ninja or at least that was what people said, and clearly he wasn't dedicated to it. But many times the way he moved without being overheard, his menacing look at times, his strength and physical endurance screamed to the four winds that he had the training, but she couldn't be sure what his level would be. The conversation she had caught a glimpse of echoed in her head.

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A random note:

I started writing this story in December 2010, leaving it until chapter 7 (8 without Tsunade's one) before falling into hiatus, in 2015 I tried to pick it up again and that's when I made the smut one... but the inspiration wasn't enough to resume it.

When the quarantine started and in my country we were forced to stay locked up was when I looked for something to occupy my mind or I was going to freak out... just remembering that I had this story unfinished. So this chapter was the first one written upon my return in April 2020.

So, that was it.

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All corrections and comments are always well received, they help me improve a lot.

Hope you like it!

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Regards, Sally K.