Tenten knew she could be hot-headed, but she prided herself on keeping calm in even the most trying of times. However, she was finding it increasingly difficult to stay calm around her boyfriend the longer time passed them by.

Of course, Tenten had known from the start what she was getting into by dating a Hyuga—the Hyuga prodigy, to be exact—but he had changed so much from that arrogant Genin that she thought she could handle it.

She was beginning to wonder if she had made a mistake.

All Tenten wanted was a little bit of affection in their relationship. She knew Neji kept a tight leash on his emotions and rarely shared what he was feeling with others—even his closest friends—but she had thought that perhaps now, as her freaking boyfriend, he would put in a little more effort. Turns out, she had been wrong.

More and more, Tenten began to wonder what exactly they were doing in this relationship. Did he even care about her? Or was he just curious about dating and she was the safest option? That thought hurt, because Tenten knew that she had been in love with him since they were Genin. Yes, even when he was a complete jerk, Tenten had cared for him, and then when he started to change—started to slowly become a better person—that affection she held for him continued to grow.

But how were they supposed to continue a relationship when he barely emoted? It wasn't as though Tenten wanted him to do a complete 180 and start shouting his affection for her from the hilltops. But even the little things—holding hands, cheek kisses, hugs—were far and few between. And never out in public.

They had been dating for almost a year now, and yes, they had become intimate in recent months, but even then, she felt as though something was missing. Like he was holding back. And that continued to make her doubt his feelings for her.

It had taken her a long time—and many crying sessions alone in her room—but finally Tenten knew what she had to do. It wasn't healthy for her to continue dating him when all she felt was stress and anxiety. That wasn't a healthy relationship.

She waited until training had ended for the day, letting Gai and Lee go ahead while she hung behind with Neji. She took deep breaths to calm her erratic heart and willed herself to stay strong during their conversation. She would not cry.

"Is everything all right, Tenten?" Neji asked, seeing the distress on her face.

Right, it was now or never.

Tenten made herself look him in the eye, proud of herself for keeping her voice level as she told him, "We need to talk."

Neji knew right away that something was amiss, his eyes widening a fraction at her words, but he nodded his head and waited for her to continue.

"You know I love you, Neji. I don't think that will ever change. But I can't do this anymore." She inhaled a shaky breath. "I want to break up."

"What?" Neji's usual cool façade dropped as he stared at her, mouth agape. "I do not understand, Tenten. Why so suddenly?"

Tenten wanted to laugh at his question. Really, did he not see how unhappy she had become in their relationship? "It's not sudden, Neji. This is something I've been thinking about for a long time now." She hated seeing the hurt on his face—hated being the one who put that hurt on his face—but she had known this would be difficult for them both.

"I'm not happy, Neji," she continued, forcing herself to keep eye contact. "I don't feel like your girlfriend anymore—I don't think I ever did, if I'm honest."

"What am I doing wrong?"

Tenten shook her head sadly. "I don't really think it's something you're doing wrong. It's your personality, so I shouldn't have been surprised to begin with. Neji, a girl needs to know that they're loved when they're in a relationship. We barely do anything outside of training. We don't hold hands, go on dates, steal kisses while no one's watching. You're barely affectionate with me, and it makes me wonder what where even doing. What I'm even doing."

Neji was frowning at her, as though he couldn't quite wrap his head around what she was saying. "Is that what you want? For me to be more affectionate? Because I can do that, Tenten."

"No. I don't want you to force yourself to change. I know those things make you feel uncomfortable and I don't want you to feel forced into showing me you care. You should be doing it because you want to. Do you know you've never once even told me that you love me?" Try as she might to keep it together, her voice betrayed her by cracking on the last word.

Neji's eyebrows reached his hairline and he took a step towards her. "Tenten, I lo—"

Tenten's glare cut off the rest of his sentence, and he fell back into silence again. "I didn't tell you that for you to say it now, you idiot. Why would I want to hear that now of all times?" She felt a tear trickle down her cheek and she scrubbed it away angrily. "I'm sorry, but there's nothing you can say that will change my mind. I'm breaking up with you, Neji."

With that, she turned and walked away, leaving him to stare at her retreating form. She scrubbed at her eyes again, the tears falling faster and harder the further she walked. She could feel her heart splintering into pieces inside her chest, the pain threatening to overwhelm her and drop her to her knees. Instead, she managed to make her way back home without completely losing it before her legs turned to jelly and she collapsed just inside the entrance.

She stayed there, heartbroken and sobbing for a long time, wondering how she could see him again, let alone remain teammates after she had just ripped her heart out of her chest.

Oooh, what's going to happen next? I've never written a Nejiten story where they break up, so this has been interesting for me, even though the stories are only quite short.

As always, hope you enjoyed!