Chapter 2:

To Guest22, Guest and RainingTulips, thank you so much for reviewing the last chapter! I'm glad you liked it!


Tenten wanted to swear off alcohol.

The words 'wanted to' were actually the key words here.

The weekend had come and past, and she was proud to say that she did not, in fact, drink a drop of the addictive substance the whole weekend.

As a matter of fact, she was nothing if not productive the past two days. In trying to keep the letter out of sight, and out of mind, she buried it deep, deep inside one of her living room draws along with other irrelevant papers and knick-knacks she could find.

Once that was done, she took one glance around her living room and decided that it really needs a nice clean up.

Her whole Saturday was spent vacuuming the carpets, throwing the accumulated glass bottles under her sink in the recycling bin, changing the sheets of her bed and all of her curtains. Hell, she even washed them by herself, along with this week's laundry, instead of sending them to the laundry shop.

Of course, what she meant by washing it herself was to go the laundromat and run the machine, read some random magazine and wait until the said machine is done doing the laundering for her. But hey, at least she was the one who folded it. Also, the laundromat was a lot cheaper than the laundry shop.

By dinner, she cooked for the first time since the New Year, she realized drily. Chicken teriyaki and stir-fry rice.

She actually felt proud of herself for accomplishing the little things and this self-care stuff she'd been reading. A little too much actually. It seemed she cooked enough for three starving athletes who'd only had breakfast and no lunch.

Regardless though, she could almost say that she was beaming.

That is, until a knock came at her door.

"Hey, you're Tenten-san right?" said her surprise visitor.

He was a few inches taller than her, and he wore his hair in a spiky ponytail. He had a hand rubbing the back of his neck, and it seemed he had an RBF. A Resting Bored Face. Tenten recognized him as her next door neighbor who moved in just after the holidays.

"Yes, I am." She paused. "I'm sorry but I was never able to catch your name?"

A slightly sheepish look came upon the man in question and he dropped the hand on his nape. "Right, sorry. I'm Shikamaru, the new tenant from next door."

Tenten merely nodded and offered a small smile.

It was quickly wiped off however when he raised his other hand, a letter envelope enclosed in it. She was almost pleading that he wouldn't say the words.

"I think this went to my mailbox by mistake," he told her. "It came yesterday but I only noticed it now." He handed the letter to her.

She numbly accepted it with a slight nod, her head suddenly feeling heavy.

"Sorry 'bout that," Shikamaru said when she accepted the letter. He was saying something else but her attention was locked on the piece of paper clutched in her hands, already crinkling in the area where her fingers was pinching it.

Tenten was still nodding her head when a hand nudged her on the shoulder and she looked up to see said neighbor looking at her with his eye brows raised in question. And just as suddenly, as if cold water was poured unto her being, her mind finally snapped into place.

She quickly gave him a small bow. "Thank you for giving me the letter!" She said to him, and as an afterthought, she added, "And sorry for your trouble!"

Shikamaru waved her off, his expression slacking again into that perpetual bored look. "No problem," he said. "I'll keep you posted if ever your mail wanders into my mailbox again."

"Right, thanks again!"

He nodded at her.

Tenten was about to close the door when she caught him muttering to himself, "Who the hell even writes letters anymore?" And the slam of his door closing echoed in the otherwise empty hallway.

Tenten sighed, who indeed?

Tenten was exhausted come Monday morning. She barely slept Saturday night when she received yet another letter, which made her sleep almost all of Sunday, which of course, means that she barely slept a wink when nightfall came.

Seriously, he's such a dimwit, Tenten couldn't help thinking. Couldn't he see that she didn't want to talk?

The moment the thought made itself known however, her insides became queasy and a heavy feeling settled itself on her stomach. Tenten mostly associated the feeling with a certain emotion – guilt.


The train halted and Tenten frantically checked whether or not she missed her stop in her inattention.

She was glad to find that there was still one station left before it was her time to get off the train.

On the other hand, new passengers were boarding and in no time, Tenten found herself being pushed farther away from the door and squeezed in with other people, shoulders and backs rubbing against her own creating unnecessary friction and a lot of heat in the humid train.

Really, she shouldn't be sweating so much in the middle of January. She should also just opt for a car if she's so uncomfortable in public transportation, her generous salary can surely afford one.

If only, you know, she knows how to drive, Tenten scowled at the thought. And while driving school was an option, and not at all something to be embarrassed about, it wasn't worth the cost. At least for her frugal self. Also, it wasn't like she wasn't used to it. It was, after all, her mode of transportation since her high school days, when she was still living with –

The train jerked to a halt and Tenten looked up to see that she almost missed her stop. With a lot of shoving and elbowing, she made her way out of the confined, suffocating space of the transit.

Tenten inhaled and welcomed the cold January air. Call her dramatic or immature, but she was starting to get the feeling that she's outgrowing public transportation and commuting, in general.

Yes, driving lessons and her own car sounded divine, she thought even as a yawn escaped her lips and her sleepiness made itself known. She made a mental note to stop by a nearby café before going inside her office building.


"Miss Tenten!" Moegi, her jubilant secretary, exclaimed. "What's gotten you in a sour mood this early in the morning?"

Tenten scowled even more as she almost barked out the recollections of her planned coffee excursion.

She wasn't much fond of coffee giants – it was unreasonably pricey and she wasn't one to indulge in them for social media's sake so what's the point really – but laziness calls for the easiest and most immediate of solutions, a wise woman named Tenten once said.

Whereas she would usually partake in the coziness and homey feeling of the family-owned coffee and pastry shop further down the street, her body needed caffeinating and not to mention she was running late. Although being the department head certainly gave her a lot of leeway in terms of log-ins and tardiness, she didn't want to set a bad example for her subordinates.

And anyways, what were big-name coffee brands for if not for their convenient locations, right?

Such thoughts were occupying her mind as she silently willed the barista to hasten in making her chosen beverage.

"I'm starting to think Friday night wasn't because of the alcohol," someone said from beside her. "You still look beautiful and sad even in day light."

She looked at him with furrowed brows, her frown deepening. She opened her mouth to say something when the man suddenly moved at least two feet away from her, his forearms raised in mock surrender.

"Right," he said in a way that she found to be quite arrogant. "Personal bubble or black hole, right?" He ended with a smug expression topped with a smirk. It made a vein throb in her head, it was too early for this douchebaggery.

"Do I know you?" she snapped at him.

Well, that removed all traces of haughtiness in his face, Tenten noted with satisfaction. Although, he did seem familiar, she just couldn't put her mind to it. Honestly, those lavender eyes should be hard to forget but she was coming up with a blank.

He looked to be annoyed at first, but he settled for mock-hurt instead. "You wound me," he put his hands over his chest, where his heart was supposed to be. "Here I thought our philosophical discussion about personal spaces left quite a memorable first impression."

What the hell is he babbling about? Tenten couldn't help but think.

Seeing the confusion in her face, the man added as an afterthought, "You even had a Venn diagram and everything."

"Oh?" Tenten asked. Then suddenly, drunken memories of her bag spilling on the floor, a pen in her shaky hand and writing on the delicate tissue paper, and having this man's face unbearably close to hers, became vividly clear.

Oh, she thought.

The look on his face just showed that he knew that she remembered. And she remembered alright. The familiar feeling of wanting the ground to swallow her whole was difficult to forget.

Well, he's handsome, even more it seemed, in day light. But she wasn't going to tell him that.

When it became obvious that she had no intention of reliving the experience with him, or even paying him any attention at all, he took it upon himself to continue the conversation.

"Do you work near here?" he asked, gesturing to the corporate jungle outside.

"Yes," she replied tersely. The man just hummed in return whilst nodding in acknowledgement. He returned his attention towards the barista who was taking a long time with their coffee. Tenten did the same.

An uncomfortable silence swallowed the both of them and the strength in which she willed the coffee with her name on it to appear intensified.

This is what she hates about small talk. Once it disappears, the atmosphere becomes awkward and a nagging feeling inside her wanted to say something, if only to break the tension.

But she won't. She didn't want to continue this conversation. As a matter of fact she–

"How about you?" Damn herself for being weak.

He smiled at her, appreciating that she spoke in return. "Yes, well." He appeared to be in thought and curse herself even more if she thought that he looked even more attractive when he smiled.

"Actually," he started, breaking her from her stare but he didn't seem to notice. Or if he did, he finally learned his lesson that being a jerk about it will make him even more of an asshole. If that made sense. Where in her boss' name was her damn coffee?

"My friend is the one who works near here," he said, and a smirk made its appearance on his lips. "But I'm two bus stops away, if you're interested."

"So this guy was the same one who hit on you Friday night?" Moegi asked, and giving it further thought.

"You went drinking by yourself Friday night?" She realized belatedly. "I thought you went straight home?"

Tenten wanted to glare at the girl for her insolence but couldn't bring herself to as it was only out of worry for her well-being.

"Yes, I believe I'm allowed to change my mind about how I spend my evenings, isn't that right Moegi?" She told the secretary instead, an eye brow raised, daring her to argue.

Although Moegi seemed to be cowed, she didn't appear to be less indignant, if that made sense. "Yes, of course. But still, you need to inform at least someone of your plans," she dared admonished.

Tenten was about to retort but Moegi beat her to it, "Like, you can tell me, you know," she said, her words sincere that Tenten couldn't say anything. And at the very least, felt slightly awkward about it.

"Or you know, the Big Boss seems to care enough to know your whereabouts," Moegi teased with a smile and a jab to her side.

"Don't even go there," she nearly groaned out. She would have given the woman the middle finger if it weren't so unprofessional.

"If it weren't for the boss being so openly gay, I would have thought that he had a thing for you," the secretary laughed softly. "How did you even get so close to him?" she asked. "Besides, you know, work?"

"Let's just say we have a mutual friend," she said offhandedly. "Anyways, we're not even talking about him."

"Right, we were talking about Mr. Long Hair from your Friday Night affairs."

"I'd hardly call it that."

"And I'm a brunette," Moegi quipped.

Tenten rolled her eyes at the younger woman, "Stop romanticizing everything."

Moegi looked to be excited as she clasped her hands together and her eyes twinkled as she squealed, "Oh! But this is the first time I've heard you talk about a guy, Miss Tenten! You don't go out on dates and you don't have a boyfriend!"

Sipping her much anticipated coffee, Tenten sardonically said, "Please, you're just saying that because you just went on a date."

"And what a wonderful date it was!" Moegi gushed.

When her secretary finished talking about her own Friday Night affairs, thoughts of the long haired man were gone as she proceeded to her office and started the work for the day.


Closing her laptop, Tenten rotated her neck and almost moaned when a satisfying sound of bone popping into place filled the otherwise silent office. Just in time too, as a short rap came from the door and, without her permission, Moegi came inside.

"Miss Tenten, its lunch time. You wanna go eat out or order in?"

Tenten glanced at the cherry wood of her desk, or what she could see from the pieces of paper littering every inch of the surface. Tenten fought back a wince.

It had been a very busy morning. Papers and files kept coming in and out of her office, the telephone on her desk never seemed to stop blinking and her email was flooded with a deluge of requests and partnership deals. It took a great amount of will power to just slam her laptop shut and cry for a few minutes.

Of course she didn't, because she was a professional and she couldn't allow her subordinates to see her have a mental breakdown.

And thinking about it, Tenten mused, I'm way past beyond that point anyway. She wanted to pat herself on the back for keeping cool.

"Miss Tenten?"

Tenten settled for massaging her head instead and smiled at Moegi.

"I think we ought to eat out," she said. "We had a hectic morning, an hour break from this place seems like a good idea."

Moegi chuckled as she nodded in agreement, "Never heard of a truer statement in my life. Want me to invite the others?"

A part of her didn't want to interact with others, stating she was too tired and she didn't have the mental capacity to do so. But the other part, the reasonable one, kept saying it was good for team morale to eat together after such a tiresome morning.

"Sure," Tenten said, no question there, she supposes.

Tenten knew she made the right choice when Moegi beamed.

"Awesome!" Moegi exclaimed. "I assume we're having Chinese?"

"Of course," Tenten answered and waved Moegi off. "But you guys go on ahead, I need to organize my desk first." She gestured towards the mess around her laptop.

"Got it," Moegi simply nodded, already reaching for her work phone and dialing the Chinese restaurant they frequented.

How her secretary always managed to reserve tables big enough for their team to occupy on such short notice was beyond her.


Ten minutes have passed when Tenten was finally out of her office and into the elevator. She went down two floors when the elevator stopped and opened its doors again.

A group from the IT department came in, a few gave her nods of acknowledgement and a couple of greetings but they mostly ignored her. That is, until an arm wound its way on her shoulder and enveloped her in a side, and no less bone crushing, hug.

"Lee!" Tenten squirmed in the crowded elevator, to the amusement of the other occupants.

"Tenten, I feel like I never see you at all! You don't visit me much and I'm just one floor down!"

Rock Lee, the Training and Development Manager of the company, and also the reason why Tenten always had an adverse reaction to their company outings and team building activities, because it was almost always Lee who was in charge of everything.

While Lee was hardworking and his antics usually did show results, his eccentricity was just too much for her sometimes. The part where he's from the HR department and seems to take his job seriously in regards to ensuring every employee is satisfied and well taken care of to the point of nosy, was just the cherry on top.

Not to mention, he was Tenten's self-proclaimed best friend.

Tenten just sighed and waited for him to loosen the embrace. "We had a busy morning and I seem to remember eating lunch with you in the pantry last Thursday."

Lee released her from her arms and leaned back on the elevator walls, looking at the numbers going down, signifying their descent.

"Well, yeah," he said stupidly, in Tenten's opinion. "But the weekend passed with not one word from you at all! I was texting you and everything."

She had ignored him the entire weekend in favor of making herself busy. It wasn't the first time either. Now Tenten just felt guilty.

Before she could open her mouth though, Lee already beat her to it. "It's okay though, not like I'm pressuring you or anything!"

Lee flashed her a mega-watt smile and Tenten just felt her heart melt at his understanding and the things he left unsaid.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Tenten said offhandedly, "but thanks, I felt like I needed that."

Lee flashed her a smile and gave her a thumbs up and Tenten wanted to roll her eyes. She didn't though.

"I haven't been completely ignoring you," she said jokingly, "I read all two hundred of your texts."

"How unyouthful. It was three hundred!" Lee was quick to point out with an exaggerated wink and this time Tenten did roll her eyes at him but she felt her mouth quirk the slightest bit.

"Whatever," she said as she gave him a light punch on the shoulder. "How's your new car by the way? Seems it's all you've been texting me about the whole weekend."

Like she flipped on a switch, Lee erupted like a volcano with excited jitters.

"I'm so GLAD you asked!" Lee exclaimed and Tenten felt regret wash over her as his loud voice resonated inside the small space. Good thing Lee was from HR, no one would dare antagonize him (an inside joke) but she could feel the annoyed expressions directed at them for the loud disturbance.

Lee was as thick headed as ever.

"I finally finished with the bank transfers and paperwork last Saturday!" He cried out. "I was supposed to pick it up from my dealer yesterday but I was unfortunately out of town. So I asked a friend of mine to get it for me instead."

"I'm going to meet up with him after work to get my new ride," Lee beamed at her and he looked at her as if, god forbid, an idea crossed his mind and she felt dread build up in her stomach. Oh no. No. NO.

"You should come with me!"

At that exact moment, the elevator doors opened.


"On the agenda tomorrow, you have a meeting with the department heads after lunch. The Big Man himself wants to speak with you as well, he didn't say what for but to schedule him anyways. You also need to confirm if you will go to the R&D convention in two weeks…" Moegi was prattling on and on about her schedule for tomorrow but Tenten already tuned her out.

Her eyes were dead set on the analogue clock she had on her wall, following the hand counting the seconds until Rock Lee would come barge in her office.

It read 4:58, and knowing Lee and his excitement, he would clock out at exactly five. It would take less than a minute for him to go from his cubicle to the elevator, but since he would fetch her in her office, Lee would probably take the stairs going up, which take about a minute or less. It takes another minute to get from the stairs to her office, so from her deductions Lee would get here at about 5:02, give or ta–

Knock. Knock.

Drats, Tenten mentally cursed. She glanced at the clock, it was exactly five in the afternoon.

Moegi glanced at her inquiringly, raising an eyebrow. Releasing a short breath, Tenten gestured for her to open the door.

"Are you ready Tenten?"

Well, Lee really wasn't one to disappoint.

"Leaving already, Ms. Tenten?"

Moegi as well, Tenten thought, giving her secretary the eye as the girl looked genuinely, if not mockingly, surprised.

"Yes, shocking isn't it?" huffed Tenten as she stood up and shouldered her bag. Going around the table, she patted Moegi on the shoulder and said, "Can you just send me the time table for the next two days in an email? I don't really understand why you have the need to debrief me at the end of the day."

Moegi rolled her eyes.

"When have you ever checked your emails at home?" quipped Moegi.

"You know, if you weren't so efficient, I'd file a report against you by now for insubordination," admonished Tenten with a smile. "I have a really close friend in HR."

"Right Lee?" she flashed a smile towards the man in question.

Lee returned her smile with his beaming one. "That can be arranged," supported Lee, giving his signature thumbs-up for emphasis.

Moegi's cheeks redden and Tenten felt her become flustered as the secretary shook her head.

"You wouldn't. You can't get anything done without me and you know it!"

Tenten chuckled as she went pass the girl. Moegi was always fun to tease, mainly because she never failed to fight back.

"Do I?" she questioned sardonically.

Moegi pouted at her and crossed her arms, making Tenten laugh.

"Oh calm down. Don't get your panties in a twist. We wouldn't do that, right?"

Lee nodded his head.

"It would be unyouthful, not to mention unethical, to do so," Lee added as an afterthought.

The secretary simply rolled her eyes. "I stake my claim, you won't survive without me."

"Don't tempt me," Tenten joked, closing her office door behind her with the satisfying click locking it into place.

Moegi stuck out her tongue and ducked into her own cubicle, preparing her own stuff to leave.

"We better hurry, Tenten. We don't want to keep my new car waiting!" Lee practically bounced on his heels, hooking his arm with hers and enthusiastically waved goodbye to Moegi. "Bye Moegi-san! See you tomorrow!"

Before Tenten could even say a proper farewell, Lee already dragged her towards the elevator, her subordinates' passing glances and greetings cut short as the two whisked passed them.

"Christ Lee, slow down," Tenten admonished, sighing in relief when they finally stopped near the elevators. Taking the opportunity, she snatched her arm out of his grip.

"Where are we gonna meet this new car anyways?" she asked, stretching her arm and rotating it since Lee took the liberty to pull it out of its socket. "And who will be taking it there?"

Lee checked his phone, swiping the menu as he looked for the messaging icon amongst the clutter that is his phone's menu screen.

"He said to meet at this fancy café and restaurant uptown. Just two bus stops away, get dinner while we're at it as well."

"Isn't it too early for dinner? It's barely even five yet." Heaven's forbid, she was not whining. It was just so out of the blue and unplanned that it made her want to go straight home even more.

Plus, a feeling of dread was nagging her at the back of her mind and she didn't know what. It sounded like bad news and she knew it. She wanted it over as quickly as possible.

Lee of course, had other plans.

"There's no such thing as too early for a meal," Lee waved her off. "Besides, I haven't been able to talk with my friend for a while, I sorely missed him. I'm sure he feels the same. And," Tenten was surprised when he looked pointedly at her.

"You need friends Tenten! You're too cooped up in your office and in your apartment, you need to go out more."

Oh there we go again, Tenten thought. It was not the first the subject was broached, nor would it be the last. Normally, she would just shrug it off and let it pass, since it was just Lee being, well, Lee.

But right then, she was annoyed that she was being dragged into Lee's errands when she just wanted to go home. She was not going to get lectured through all of it.

So, oddly defensive as they entered the cramped elevator, she crossed her arms and said to Lee in a lowered voice, "No I don't need to 'go out' more, and I do so have friends!"

Lee was still on his phone when he retorted, "Oh yeah, who?"

Tenten opened her mouth to give Lee a list of names when he cut her off.

"Moegi or anyone from work does not count. Even yours truly," he added, still typing on his phone.

Tenten promptly closed her mouth and ducked her chin, hands burying deeper into her crossed arms as she glared at him from the corner of her eye.

She was still sulking when they stopped at a floor and made space for the new boarders before they descended again.

The elevator chimed as they were finally in the ground floor, just as a name popped in her head.

"Shikamaru!" Lee looked at her confused, phone in his pocket. Never mind that Lee's taunts were five minutes ago, she had a name on her mind and she's not gonna let it go.

"What?"

"I mean Shikamaru, my new next door neighbor," she said matter-of-factly. "He just moved in after the New Year and we've become such good friends since!"

"Right," Lee nodded, smile on his face and actually pleased that she was meeting new people. "That's splendid! What's his last name?"

"His last name, uh," Tenten stumbled a bit as they were walking towards the bus stop. "Yeah, he has a last name," she said for a lack of words. Tenten winced at that.

Lee's expectant look morphed into a knowing smile making her grimace.

Dammit.

The bus arrived at the stop and they boarded. Despite the few vacant chairs here and there, Lee and Tenten opted to stand up for the ride.

And all the while, Lee still had that smile on his face that told her he was up to no good.

"Since you're such close friends," Lee exacerbated. Tenten groaned but he didn't seem to mind.

"Surely, you can ask for his last name and tell me, hmm," Lee pretended to think about it, "the day after tomorrow?"

Exhausted of Lee's plotting to improve her well-being, but also wanting this conversation to be over with, Tenten just rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she mumbled under her breath and Lee took it as affirmation, which it wasn't.

The rest of the ride passed as Lee kept talking and talking about the features of his new car, its engine, the leather seats, and oh Tenten, it can go from zero to a hundred in just 3.5 seconds!

If she wasn't already aware that Lee was a speed maniac, she would never have agreed to come meet his death trap.

But to be honest, she'd always wanted to ride a sports car.

"It's not exactly a sports car, more of a sports sedan," Lee was quick to correct.

"Oh sorry. I meant I've always always wanted to ride a sports sedan," Tenten snarked, sarcasm dripping off her tongue.

"Oh don't be a sourpuss Tenten, I'll drive you home today so you can tick that off your bucket list."

Annoyance gone, Tenten embarrassingly squealed as she grabbed at his shoulder, "Really?"

Lee nodded his head, "As thank you for coming with me today." He winked at her and gave her his signature thumbs up pose and beaming smile.

Well, she certainly couldn't stop the grin on her face. "You're the best Lee!"

But then a thought occurred to her, even better than riding the car, "Can I drive it instead?"

"As much as I love you Tenten, I'm not ready to let go of my new car just yet and knowing you...," Lee trailed off, earning him a pinch on the side.


When they arrived at the place, it was more café than restaurant, she was quick to notice. Lee asked her to get them a table while he ordered. Moving to get her wallet from her bag, Lee shook his head and stopped her.

"It's on me," he said.

With a shrug of her shoulders, she merely asked for a Caramel Macchiato and a club sandwich and left him on the line.

The café wasn't as full as she thought it would be, and she was quick to spot a four seater table near the windows.

Who knows, I might even see his car before he does, Tenten thought as she sat down.

Looking out the window, Tenten observed as people went and gone. Used to dining alone, there was a comfort to be found in observing other people interact with each other. Some people go in big groups, there were those who were only as big as three people, a smattering of couples here and there, and on some occasions, another lone wolf such as herself.

I hear your doing great at work. I'm just sad, and a bit annoyed really, that I didn't hear it from you.

Oh gods. Stop her line of thought. Tenten placed both her arms on the table and buried her head in it.

Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it.

From the far recesses of her consciousness, she heard Lee's loud greeting. His friend had arrived it seemed, but Tenten was too preoccupied to care.

Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it.

Eyes still closed, Tenten sat upright and did a short breathing exercise to clear her mind.

By the first breath, the muscles on her forehead had relaxed. By the third one, the tension on her shoulders was released. By the fifth, her mind was blank and she could appreciate the comforting aroma of coffee in the air.

By the seventh breath, an image had formed in her mind. Pale eyes, long hair, smirk. The man from Friday night, and this morning.

Oh gods no don't think about him!

Come on, she could do less with embarrassing thoughts, she pleaded.

The sound of chair scraping on tile told her that Lee was already seated in front of her.

She opened her eyes and JESUS FUCKING CHRIST.

Pale eyes. Long hair.

"Well."

Tenten's eye twitched at that smirk.

A hand landed a few scant centimeters near her own. Her pinky twitched and if possible, his smirk only widened at the involuntary action.

"If this isn't fate, I don't know what is."

Motherfucker. Kill her now.


A/N: I hope you liked that last part HAHAHA.