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Chapter 13: The Flaming Power of Love
Tenten walked down the streets of Konoha, searching for Lee. She hadn't seen him in awhile, which was her fault, she knew. After the run in with Neji, she thought it best to put some distance between herself and the taijutsu specialist. She had been annoyed with him for some reason, something that seemed to happen a lot lately. Of course, Lee had found her training, and one thing led to another, and before she knew, they were making out again, right there in the middle of the training field. Her cheeks flushed red – what if someone had come along and seen them again? Thankfully, no one had, and both of them promised not to do it again.
It did happen again though, once more on Saturday night. This time, it occurred in her home. Her parents had been out; Lee had come over for movie night. She wished that Neji had been there – if he had been there, nothing would have happened. But it had. One minute they were sitting on the couch, the next, they had their arms around each other. It had been both a blessing and a curse that the third session happened in her home – a blessing, because no one would see them, and a curse, because as their kissing became more…intense, she was close to suggesting they go all the way. Her entire face broke out into a bright red blush at the thought. She couldn't believe she had actually considered sleeping with Lee. Honestly, what the hell was wrong with her? After that night, she took to avoiding him completely, confused by her own feelings.
However, now that a week had passed, and she hadn't seen him, she thought she had better try and search him out. He was probably wondering what was going on with her, after all, she usually saw him every day. Knowing Lee, he'd probably be getting all dramatic, jumping to conclusions, and she wanted to spare him that. It had nothing to do with the fact that she missed him, because, of course, she didn't miss him.
After searching Konoha for half the morning, and still not finding him, she decided to ask her old sensei if he had seen his miniature self. She found Gai doing push-ups in the village square. Most people would find this odd, but Tenten was used to her teacher's…quirks. He probably lost to Kakashi again.
"Hey Gai-sensei," she called, walking up beside him, ignoring the odd stares her teacher was getting from the various people surrounding him.
"TENTEN!" he shouted in greeting. Tenten winced and wondered how he could be that loud while doing one armed push-ups.
"Tenten, forgive me for not getting up, but I once more lost to my rival, KAKASHI, and this is my punishment: 500 one armed push-ups in the village square," the green clad ninja declared. Tenten sighed and patted his back in a show of support.
"It's all right, sensei; you'll get him next time. Gai-sensei, do you happen to know where Lee is?" she asked.
"Ah, Lee. Yes, I believe he was sent on a mission. He won't be back for another few days," her teacher said. Tenten blinked, and felt a sudden flash of hurt. On a mission? But Lee always told her when he was leaving for a mission, just like she always told him. She frowned and stood up, bidding her sensei a distracted goodbye.
She headed over to the missions office, her hurt giving way to anger. Fine. If Lee didn't want to be around her, she didn't want to be around him. She entered and demanded the first mission that would take longer than a day, and received a three day mission to Sand. She took it and left within the hour. The only person she told where she was going was Neji, and that was just because she saw him on her way out of the village.
"Good luck, Tenten," he said, "Did you say good-bye to Lee?"
"No," she spat at him, and Neji raised an eyebrow at her sudden anger. She ignored it and went on her way.
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Boys were stupid, Ino decided. Really, really stupid. There were the ones that were emotionally constipated, like Sasuke and Neji, and then there were the really dense ones, like Lee and Naruto, and then there were the ones that dropped a sudden declaration of love on you, and then disappeared. She hadn't seen Shikamaru since the day they returned from their mission, and she was starting to get pissed. How dare he drop something like that on her and then disappear? He probably thought that he was giving her space to sort things out, but Ino wasn't like him. She didn't think things through a million and half times, trying to see it from every angle. Shikamaru loved her. She had been surprised at the revelation, but it had only taken her an hour to figure out what to do with it. She didn't need three whole days. Twit.
After the fourth day, she decided to do something about it. She wasn't going to wait around for his lazy ass to get in gear, she had a life to live, thank you very much, and this needed to be resolved. She marched around to the back of the Nara residence to where she knew his window was. It was late afternoon, and Shikamaru had the day off (just like she did). She had thought for sure that he would try and see her today, but he hadn't shown up. Well, fine, she would come to him, and he would regret making her do this. She knew on his days off that he liked to sleep, or watch clouds. She had gone to his favourite cloud watching spot, but he wasn't there, and that only left his room. Ino picked up a handful of pebbles and hurled them at his window. After a few minutes of doing this, the window finally opened, and Shikamaru stuck his head out, only to get smacked in the face by a handful of rocks.
"OW! Ino, what the hell?" he yelled.
"Shikamaru, how DARE you tell me you love me and then run away!" she yelled. Shikamaru's face turned red as he heard his father burst out laughing from downstairs. He muttered under his breath and left the window, ignoring Ino's screams telling him to get back there and talk to her. He walked downstairs quickly, ignoring his father's guffaws as he headed outside.
Ino turned on him when he entered the backyard. He swallowed hard when he saw how angry she was. Her hair was flying around her head, her eyes were bright, her cheeks red, her lips pursed into that cute, pissed off pout thing that only she could do. God, she looked hot. He shoved his hands in his pockets as he tried to drive away that thought as it was not conductive to surviving and encounter with an angry Yamanaka Ino.
"Ino, what's wrong?" he asked. She glared at him.
"What's wrong? I told you what's wrong," she said. Shikamaru turned his eyes away and avoided her gaze.
"I thought you needed space…" he trailed off, not wanted to admit that he had run away just to save himself from hearing her rejection.
"You are such an idiot. I didn't need three days, Shika, I knew what I was going to about this in an hour!" she yelled. He scowled at her.
"Oh yeah? So what are you going to do?" he asked, preparing himself for the 'let's be friends' speech.
"This," she yelled, grabbing him by his collar and kissing him. Shikamaru blinked in shock, then smiled against her mouth. She pulled back with a loud smack, glaring at him triumphantly.
"We are now dating, Shikamaru. I've decided that I love you too," she declared, "and you are taking me out tonight, to the most expensive restaurant in town."
"What? Why?" he asked.
"Because you're an idiot," she said matter-of-factly.
Shikamaru wondered briefly what he had just gotten himself into, but decided, as Ino reached up and kissed him again (softer this time) that he didn't particularly care.
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Tenten returned from her mission late in the evening on the third day. She stopped at the Hokage's office briefly to leave off her report, and then went to the hospital to get some wounds looked at. She met Sakura there, who bandaged her up. They left the hospital together, and Tenten got the shock of her life when Sakura met Naruto outside, and the two greeted each other with a brief hug and kiss. She blinked as Sakura blushed.
"Naruto and I are dating," she explained briefly. Tenten nodded dumbly and watched as the two left, her thoughts turning to Lee. Did he know about this? If he did, he'd be devastated. She sighed and headed to her friend's apartment. She didn't want him wallowing in grief over this. She could just see him, and complete mess, eyes full of tears as he wailed over his loss and bemoaned his broken heart.
Honestly, he could be such a drama queen sometimes.
She knocked on his apartment door quietly, a little concerned by the lack of crying. It opened almost immediately. Rock Lee stood there, just staring at her. For the first time, Tenten didn't know what to make of him. She cleared her throat.
"Can I come in?" she asked. He opened the door wider and she followed him inside.
"I just ran into Sakura and Naruto. Do you know…?"
"Yes," he said quietly, watching her. Tenten became nervous at his apparent calmness.
"Look, Lee, I know you mus-" she was cut off as he kissed her, moving so fast she didn't have time to react. She quickly got over her surprise, and sunk into the kiss. He had never kissed her like this before. It was slow, tender, and when he pulled back, she blinked up at him, not sure what to make of it. His face was surprisingly serious.
"I have missed you Tenten," he declared. Tenten sighed and let her head fall on his chest.
"I missed you too, Lee," she said softly. He stepped back from her, watching her, his face unreadable. Tenten was confused. Since when did Lee become unreadable? She was snapped from her thoughts when he spoke.
"Will you stay with me tonight, Tenten?" he asked. She stared at him, a dark red flush creeping across her cheeks, her heart suddenly beating very, very fast. She took a deep breath and stepped back.
"I don't know if that would be…appropriate," she said softly, still watching him. He eyed her quizzically for a moment.
"You've stayed the night before, Tenten. You sleep on my couch, since you always refuse to take the bed. Please, I wish to have you near…" he trailed off awkwardly, and Tenten mentally smacked herself. Of course that was what he meant, he just wanted company. He didn't want…that.
"All right," she agreed, setting her pack down and moving towards the couch. She dropped down, and Lee followed her. They were quiet for a few moments, and Tenten couldn't remember ever feeling this awkward around him. It was weird. She was relieved when he suggested they watch a movie, and she quickly agreed. He put something on, she didn't pay attention to what though. She was so tired – physically from her mission, and emotionally from her rollercoaster feelings about her friend. She felt her eyes slip shut, and she promised herself that she would only close them for a few moments…
She woke up the next morning still on the couch. She was very warm, and right near the edge. When she pushed herself back away from it, she met with resistance. Turning, she saw Lee behind her with his arm draped across her waist. She watched him while he slept. As the sun shone through the window and landed on his dark head, it hit her.
She loved him.
She felt like crying and yelling at the same time. She didn't want to love Lee for god's sake, he was so…so…just so Lee! He had a stupid haircut and bushy eyebrows and creepy eyes. He wore green spandex and orange leg warmers and thought that Gai-sensei was the greatest ninja ever! He gave ridiculous speeches and was overly dramatic all the time.
And he loved Sakura.
Crying won out, and Tenten quickly gathered her clothes and left before he could wake up and see the mess she had made of their relationship.
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Neji found her. She had been beating the crap our some poor unsuspecting tree trunk, trying to bury her pain under anger. He watched her for a bit before speaking.
"Lover's spat?" he asked. She growled at him, throwing her kunai at the target. Her aim was off, and she scowled.
"You need a lover to have one of those," she muttered, stalking over to the tree and ripping out the kunai.
"You do have one. I know about you and Lee," he said, calmly. Tenten didn't look at him, feeling a blush light up her cheeks. Of course he knew, Neji always knew. She sighed.
"It doesn't matter, it's over," she muttered.
"Why?"
"Because Lee doesn't love me, he loves Sakura," she said.
"I don't think he does. I was there when he found out about Sakura and Naruto. He was surprisingly calm. I think his affections have shifted. You should talk to him," and with that, he left her.
Tenten stayed still, her weapons left unused on the ground as she stared at nothing, pondering her team mate's words. After a few moments, her jaw and shoulders squared as she came to a decision. She packed her stuff and away and set off in search of Lee. After wondering around Konoha for awhile, she finally found him. Ironically, it was in the same spot where it had all started. She allowed herself a brief smile at the memory, and then cleared her throat to announce her presence. He had been training, like she had been, but stopped when she entered the clearing.
"Tenten," he said softly. She smiled at him, and then took a deep breath. This was it.
"Lee. I'm sorry I left like that. I want to tell you something," she took another deep breath, and then plunged in.
"I love you. I have for awhile; I just didn't want to acknowledge it. That's why I kissed you that day, that's why I keep coming back to you. I just thought you should know."
It was an abrupt declaration, but then, lengthy speeches weren't really her style. Those were Lee's specialty. After she said her piece, he stared at her for a few moments, and she began to despair. Suddenly, he let out a whoop and swooped her up in his arms, swinging her around. Tenten barely had time to realize that he had just swooped her (seriously?) before he set her down.
"Tenten my love, you have no idea how happy you have made me. For sometime, my devotion to Sakura has been waning, and I found myself thinking more and more of you. Then, when I saw Sakura with Naruto, I realized that you had become my special person, more special than anyone. The flame of love that has ignited in me for you is strong and everlasting, I promise to protect you always, even in the face of –" this time she cut of him off with a kiss. His arms wrapped around her carefully as he returned it, and she smiled.
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K, so this chapter is a bit of rush job, I wanted to get it up before I leave for England. Sorry if it substandard, and look for Hinata/Sasuke moments in the next one.
Thanks for reading!
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