I would like to thank troublesomeclouds, shiz-chirisaa, dianalovely1995, silvereyeshinobi, blithehaven, kimiko77, wingedmercury, darkanonymous324, smiiley-chan, dreamingsaphhire and catalyticmotion and skittles31 for the reviews. And so sorry to catalyticmotion and skittles31 for not thanking you in the previous chapter.
This is my favourite chapter to date. I have wanted to write this chapter for 4 years. It was always on my mind.
This chapter is dedicated to smiiley-chan.
Heaven's Tale
Chapter 11
2 months later…
"There's just too much to do," Tenten muttered, eying the mess in front of her. Her bedroom looked like it was hit by a hurricane. Balloons filled with helium were seen bumping along her ceiling, various coloured silk ribbons were strewn over her bed and a large, green banner which stated 'Happy Birthday Lee' in bright red letters was on her floor, waiting for the paint to be dried out.
Not to forget, she still had to rearrange the furniture in the living room and cook food for the guests. She took a glance at her wall clock. It was 4pm and the guests would be arriving in 4 hours.
After thoughtful deliberation, she decided to throw a sleepover theme party since Lee had always wanted one since he was younger. Her plan was flawless, while Gaara took Lee to the theme park for his birthday, it would give her ample time to decorate and get ready for the party. This morning, Tenten and Gai celebrated Lee's birthday by giving Lee his present and also a cake. Lee wanted to invite the gang over but they were 'busy' excluding Gaara who, surprisingly, turned up at the house an hour later to take Lee out to a day at a theme park in Tokyo courtesy a private plane. Little did Lee know that Tenten was planning a surprise party.
"Hey, you," a voice, drawled.
Tenten jumped, turning around at the familiar tone. "Sasuke," she asked, her hand over her heart to try to ease her heightened heart beat. "How did you get in?" she looked at her boyfriend, who was leaning against her door frame with his arms crossed.
"The door was unlocked," he told her, his face unhappy.
"Huh," she spoke, her eyes clouded in confusion. "The door's unlock.." she repeated, slowly.
He raised an eyebrow. "hn."
Tenten grinned at him sheepishly. "I must have forgotten to lock it on my way back from the grocery store."
"You should be more careful." Sasuke raked a hand through his raven-coloured hair. "Is otousan in?"
"No," she replied. "he took off for a male bonding trip with Kakashi sensei, Jiraiya-san, Hiashi-san and Asuma-san after celebrating Lee's birthday this morning. He said he didn't want to interfere in our youthful gathering."
Sasuke unfolded his arms and took in the colourful chaos of Tenten's room. "Looks like you got everything covered."
She took in the mess again. "Actually, I'm behind schedule." she sighed. "I still need to prepare the party food and decorate and rearrange the furniture," she told him, exasperatedly. "And exactly where is your sleeping bag?" It was a sleepover party and everyone was told to bring their own sleeping bag.
He smirked. "Can't I sleep in here… with you." Tenten felt heat rise up to her cheeks. He chuckled quietly. "I left it on the couch." He took a few steps closer, smirking as his girlfriend grew more flustered. "I'll help." He saw a smile blossom on his girlfriend's slightly pink face. "Tell me what to do."
2 hours and a half later…
"It looks good," Tenten stated, taking in the newly decorated living room. Since her apartment especially her living room was small, the couch, coffee table and television were placed in Gai's bedroom to accommodate for 12 sleeping bags. Her small dining table was also folded and placed into her own bedroom as with the matching four chairs. Sasuke had released the balloons to the ceiling and pumped in more helium air into more balloons in order to cover every square inch of the ceiling space with them. He, then, taped the silk ribbons on the walls surrounding the living room. The happy birthday banner was hung near the entrance so Lee would see it when he entered his house. "Thank you," she told her boyfriend.
"You worry too much."
"I just want it to be perfect." She told him. "I haven't celebrated his birthday with him for four years."
Sasuke wrapped his arms around his girlfriend's small frame and took in her chocolate-coloured eyes. "It'll be hard to top this one," he reassured her even though his voice did not reveal any emotion.
Tenten sighed, leaning against his form and breathing in his scent. "Hopefully."
Suddenly…
Ding… Dong…
Ding… Dong…
"I got cake…" a muffled voice from behind the main door could be heard.
"Naruto," Sasuke grumbled. It was just like Naruto to appear at the wrong time.
Tenten pulled back from his embrace. "We should open the door."
"He can wait a few more minutes," he told her, gruffily, pulling her closer to him. He hardly saw her during the past 2 months due to work except on Fridays. And those days he saw her, they were with their friends and so they hardly had a moment alone together.
"Teme… I can hear you," the voice continued but in an octave higher.
Tenten laughed. "That's your cue. I'll go finish up with the food." She felt Sasuke's arms retreat and walked in the direction of the kitchen.
Sasuke walked towards the door, unlocked it and opened it impatiently. "You couldn't wait for one minute?" he glared at his best friend.
"I smelt food and my stomach waits for no man," Naruto huffed, holding a large box in his hand.
Sasuke sighed, loudly and turned to head inside. Naruto took this cue to enter the apartment and followed Sasuke to where Tenten was.
"I picked up the cake you ordered," Naruto said, walking towards the woman who had her hair up in twin messy buns. She was chopping some potatoes. Sasuke stood beside his girlfriend, leaning against the kitchen base cabinet. "What you cooking?" he asked her now, watching her turn towards him. He was still holding the cake box in his hand.
"Gyoza, potato salad and yakitori." She smiled. "I ordered 6 large pizzas too." She wiped her hands with a kitchen towel. "Let's see the cake," she told Naruto, watching the man lift open the lid.
All of a sudden, the cake box slipped out of his grasp and Naruto quickly tried to grab a hold of it but accidently knocked the box in Tenten's direction, splattering the cake over her face, oversized t-shirt and her miniskirt. Some cake managed to stain Sasuke's black t-shirt as he tried to block Tenten from harm's way but to no avail. Naruto's mouth hung open in surprise and he watched his friend's faces switch from surprise, to annoyance and, finally, anger.
"The cake," Tenten spoke, in a small yet dangerous voice, her left hand unconsciously reaching the knife placed on the wooden chopping board.
"Naruto," Sasuke voiced out, wiping the cake stain off his black t-shirt and giving him a death glare.
Naruto retreated from the both of them slowly and broke into a run towards the door. "I'll buy another cake."
"You got one hour," Tenten grumbled, going to her knees to clean up the remains of Lee's cake on the floor. She sighed as she scooped up the cake with her bare hands and dump it into the rubbish bin.
She felt a hand on her shoulder. "I'll do this," Sasuke offered.
"You sure," Tenten replied, eying him warily.
"Hn."
"Then, I'll finish up the potato salad." She stood up and tried to brush the icing cream from her t-shirt and miniskirt, dumping the bits into the bin. She, then, washed her hands before proceeding to chop some Chinese cabbages and carrots for the salad. She did not bother to wipe off the icing from her cheeks and neck.
20 minutes passed by…
"You're not changing," Sasuke asked her. Although he knew Tenten took off her stained top to reveal her tank top underneath but her skirt and her face still had icing on them.
"Later…" Tenten replied, putting all the main ingredients of the salad into the bowl and mixing it. From the corner of her brown eyes, she saw her boyfriend take off his black t-shirt and place it on the kitchen counter. She tried to ignore how lean his torso was, focusing on adding the right amount of salt, pepper and mayonnaise into the salad instead.
Sasuke eyed his girlfriend, watching her cheeks turn pink. He smirked before taking 3 strides towards her back and snaking his arms around her waist. "You're filthy," he breathed into her right ear, his head declined.
Tenten's blush deepened at his words and the contact. "Sa-sasuke…" she spoke well more like stuttered.
Sasuke smirked into her neck. He, then, lifted his head and proceeded to take a lick of vanilla icing off her cheek. "I'd love to eat you…" he started again, taking another taste of icing which was on her neck. "but you need to change."
Tenten felt her insides turn to fire. "I need to grill the ya-yakitori," she told him, feeling his lips on her cheek.
Sasuke smirked. "Is that your answer," he pressed, this time nipping on her ear lobe.
"Y-yes," she replied, her voice small. He was good at distracting her. Too good. She felt him lift her tank top slightly; his fingers brushing against her soft skin and fumble against the button of her miniskirt. Tenten's mind went into hyperdrive. He wanted to take her here in the kitchen? He didn't need to undue her skirt. It's not like she was wearing pants. All he needed to do was bend her over and…
Tenten gasped as she felt his hands tug down her skirt, revealing her black silk bikini styled panties. Thank Kami she wore decent underwear today. "Black… sexy…" she heard Sasuke whisper into her ears, she blushed, this time, crimson. Her skirt which pooled around her ankles was discarded a few inches away. Sasuke bent over and picked up her skirt, twirling it around his index finger. "I'll put this in the laundry basket," he revealed, smirking as his girlfriend turned to face him. He picked up his dirty t-shirt on his counter as well as Tenten's oversized t-shirt.
"You did all that just to get me out of a dirty skirt," Tenten spoke her pitch slightly higher than usual. She felt violated.
"Shower in 15 minutes or I will shower you myself." He smirked again.
"You are an evil, evil man," Tenten called out to his retreating back, her face still pink and heart still racing.
Lee was having the best time ever. Sure he wanted to spend a glorious birthday celebration with his friends and his family but going to Disneyland with Gaara was the absolutely best way to spend his birthday. Lee adjusted his black, Mickey Mouse ears head piece that he wore. He made Gaara buy and wear one too so that they would maximize their magical experience. However, Gaara refused and instead settled for a bright purple muppet knit cap with ear covers. (A/N: google it at laughingplacestoredotcom. Its under accessories)
"Ne... Gaara," The green beast of Konoha replied, bouncing energetically on the spot. His face was flushed from the cool mid November winds since it was already winter. His best friend looked at him impassively. Gaara was cold and tired. As much as he enjoyed spending time with Lee, Lee's endless energy was tiring him out. "Let's go on the roller coaster one last time."
Gaara gave him a look. They had already gone on the rollercoaster 20-freaking-times. "We should head back, Lee," the red-haired stated, re-wrapping his scarf over his neck. He saw Lee's dejected face and heaved a sigh. "Only one more," he gave in.
At his words, Lee gave him a blinding smile and a good guy pose. "You have my word as the green beast of Konoha." He then proceeded, to drag Gaara to the 'Big Thunder Mountain roller coaster'.
Gaara inwardly groaned, the feeling of nausea settling at the pit of his stomach as he recalled the startling horizontal drop of the roller coaster ride. For just one minute, he forgot about the degrading head piece that was on top of his head.
Ding… Dong…
Ding… Dong…
"Sasuke…" Tenten called out stepping out from the kitchen. "Someone's at the door." No one answered. She wiped her hands on the hem of her tank top and headed in direction of the front door. "I'm coming," she voiced out, unlocking the door and revealing the arrival of three of the party guests which are Neji, Hinata and Sakura. "You guys are 30 minutes early," she stated, taking in their bundled forms and their overnight back packs.
Hinata yelped at Tenten's appearance.
On the other hand, Neji frowned. Didn't Tenten realise that she was standing before them in her black underwear and a flimsy tank top. And Tenten had, what Neji thought was whipped cream, on her cheeks, neck and chest.
Tenten took in Neji's raised eyebrow, Hinata's flushed face and Sakura's knowing look. After a few seconds, realisation dawned at her. She was not wearing any pants. No wonder she felt cold when she opened her front door despite her heated apartment.
"Kinky," Sakura stated, a smirk mirroring her boyfriend's appearing on her pretty face.
"It's not what you think," Tenten tried to explain, tugging the hem of her tank top to cover whatever decency that already had been exposed. She side stepped and allowed her guests to come in, taking their coats and storing it in the hallway closet. "We had a little accident with the cake."
"uh huh," Sakura winked at her. "Cake, right." She and Hinata took out their sleeping bags and laid it on the living room carpet.
"You should put something on," Neji told Tenten, his voice calm. She was distracting and he was trying very hard to not stare at the toned shapely lower half of her body.
Tenten rolled her eyes. "You don't need to tell me that, Neji." She took a step towards the kitchen. "I'll change after I finished grilling the yakitori." Neji had an urge to drag her to the bedroom to put something on. She was a stubborn woman.
A topless Sasuke wearing a gray loungepants walked into the living room, he acknowledged all of them. "Hyuuga." He smirked greeting a very annoyed looking Neji.
"Uchiha," Neji replied, arms crossed. Obviously, something had happened between Tenten and Sasuke before he turned up.
"Sasuke-kun," Sakura smiled, her inner fangirl celebrating at the sight of her favourite actor's fine form.
Sasuke gave a smirk at Hinata's pink face and gave a nod to Sakura. "Be comfortable," he shortly replied, taking long strides towards the kitchen.
From the living room, Neji heard Tenten's surprise yelp and frowned. What were they doing in there? Out of the blue, Sasuke appeared, carrying a helpless Tenten who was slung over his shoulder. "Sa-sasuke," Tenten said in a voice, knowing very well that her ass was in full view to a certain Hyuuga. She was embarrassed.
"You're taking a bath," he curtly told her, ignoring the surprised looks from Sakura and Hinata.
"The ya-yakitori on the g-grill," she said, weakly, her face red from embarrassment and at Sasuke's suggestive action.
"We'll take care of it," Sakura verbalised back, an arm around the poor Hinata girl who seemed ready to die at the outward display of affection of Sasuke and Tenten.
Then, Naruto came into the apartment, a new package in his hand. "The door is unlocked," he started before his jaw dropped at the sight of a half-naked Sasuke carrying a barely clad Tenten.
"I-I need to check the cake," Tenten tried again but to no avail. Sasuke ignored her, walking past a cheekily grinning Naruto, into the hallway and opened the bathroom door.
"Teme," the blond haired man articulated. "I was gone for barely an hour and this happens."
Sasuke smirked. "She's a stubborn woman." He released Tenten, allowing her to stand upright in the bathroom.
"I am not," Tenten retorted defiantly, her hands pulling at the hem of her tank top, trying to cover her underwear.
"If you had given in, we would have been done 15 minutes ago," Sasuke smirked, knowing that his sentence had sexual connotations to it. Tenten flushed in embarrassment, noticing Neji's burrowed eyebrows. Sasuke, then, proceeded to close the toilet door which muffled Tenten's protest.
"Don't be too loud," Naruto yelled. "I don't want to hear ya."
All the remaining guests had arrived. Kiba and Shino came with 3 large bottles of coke and 12 small bottles of assorted juices. Shikamaru and Ino arrived 5 minutes later with Shikamaru carrying a bag of ice and Ino holding a bouquet of flowers in hand. All four of them were wearing their pyjamas underneath their heavy coats. Because of Lee's birthday, Tenten had told them to wear green pyjamas to coordinate with the birthday boy. Hence, everyone wore a matching green cotton t-shirt with a pair of gray lounge pants or they had to face Tenten's wrath.
Knowing that Hinata could not look at Sasuke and Tenten both in the eye, Tenten told her that nothing happened. And after Hinata had retreated into the kitchen, Sasuke came out of the bathroom to change since he had taken a shower 10 minutes ago. Upon seeing the Hyuuga woman's embarrassed smile, Tenten whacked Sasuke playfully on the arm and forced him to apologise for the awkward situation.
Beep… Beep…
Tenten flipped open her hand phone to check the new text. "Ok," she looked at her guests, nervously. "Gaara said they'll be up in one minute."
Shino switched off the lights and they waited in the darkness.
In the distance, they heard an animated Lee walk towards the apartment. With a twist of the key, Lee opened the door and stepped into the seemingly empty apartment. Gaara was two steps behind him. "Tenten must have gone out," Lee explained to Gaara, his hands searching for the light switch on the wall.
A flicker of the switch and suddenly…
"Surprise!" Several voices exclaimed, Lee looked around the room in amazement. His grin widened every second as he took in the decorations and his friends.
"Happy birthday, Lee," Tenten stepped out from their group of friends, embracing her brother's tall form. "How was Disneyland?"
"We went on the rollercoaster 21 times," Lee told her, putting an arm around a pale looking red-head. Kiba and Naruto snickered in amusement but were immediately silenced by Gaara's penetrating stare. Tenten gave an apologetic look to Lee's best friend. Lee, then, proceeded to hug everyone, enabling a shy blush from Hinata. Although Neji, Shino and Shikamaru were reluctant to let Lee hug him, they allowed the green beast this time since it was Lee's big day. Sasuke did not mind the contact since he was used to Lee's crushing bear hug.
"There's sleeping bags," Lee called out, noticing the 12 sleeping bags on the floor.
Tenten smiled. "It's a sleepover party."
"That's your sleeping bag," Ino told him pointing towards the only green sleeping bag on the floor.
Lee bounced in excitement.
"Who do you want to sleep next to, Lee?" Sakura asked him.
"Gaara," Lee replied immediately, pulling his sleeping bag and placing it next to Gaara's. Inside, Gaara was pleased. Although, he knew that Lee would have picked him anyway.
"You and Gaara should change into your pyjamas. It's on your bed," Tenten responded, her gaze shifting from her bowl cut brother to his blue-eyed best friend.
"Change quickly," Kiba grinned, his canine teeth revealed. "Then, we can get this party started." Naruto and Kiba high-fived.
"Nice hat," Naruto verbalised, pointing towards Gaara's purple muppet knit hat.
Shino, Neji and Sasuke smirked. "Not a word," Gaara replied dangerously, following Lee's retreating back into the bedroom.
"It's cute," Hinata giggled, hiding her smile behind her hand.
"Hey, Gaara," Shikamaru called out. The said man turned around, only to be met by blinding flashing lights.
It took Gaara a second to realise that every occupant in the room had whipped out their cellphone or camera and took a picture of him in this dreaded hat.
"For memories," Shikamaru explained.
"I'm putting this on my wall of shame," Kiba butted in, reminding everyone of his wall where he hangs embarassing pictures of his friends.
"Lee," Ino verbalised, her camera in hand. "Let's have a picture of both you and Gaara wearing those hats."
"Such a brilliant idea," Lee agreed, walking out of the bedroom, and putting an arm around Gaara.
Gaara was not happy as lights flashed again. After Lee went back into the room, Gaara gave off an evil aura. "When you are sleeping, you had better watch your back?" Gaara smirked, conveying his threat to all of them, before closing the door behind him.
"Do you think he's serious?" Naruto gulped.
"Troublesome," Shikamaru simply replied, making a mental note to sleep with one eye open.
"How much?" Sasuke asked, taking out his wallet to pay the gaping pizza delivery guy.
"Uh," the pizza guy fumbled with the receipt to see the total. "10,500 yen," he managed to articulate, his body in shock to see a famous actor in front of him. Sasuke pulled out a bunch of paper money from his wallet and pressed it into the pizza guy's opened palm. "Thanks," the delivery guy conveyed, handing Sasuke the six boxes of pizza.
"Hn," Sasuke replied, giving a nod in his direction before locking the door shut behind him.
"Pizza," Lee cheered, perking up at the sight of the Uchiha male with pizzas at hand.
Tenten stood up and helped her boyfriend put down the pizzas on the plastic picnic blanket in the living room. Everyone had placed their sleeping bags in a circle leaving a large gap in the middle for the food and drinks.
Sasuke sat cross legged on his sleeping bag. Tenten followed suit sitting in between Neji and Sasuke. Soon, everyone started munching on the food.
"So," Naruto started, his hand scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "What does one do at a sleepover?" He took a bite out of his chicken and mushroom pizza and stuffed his mouth with a piece of gyoza.
"We can do makeovers to one another," Ino suggested, chewing thoughtfully on her yakiniku.
All the male occupants had a look of disdain. It was not something that they wanted to do. Well each and every one of them except Lee. "Such a youthful idea," Lee agreed. Gaara had a sudden urge to strangle his best friend. He did not want make up and glitter on his face and a tacky wig stuck to his head.
Sakura eyes brightened as she had a sudden epiphany. "We could play drag queen. Let the guys beautify themselves to become females and whoever comes closest to look like a woman wins."
No man in the room was happy well except Lee. "Sakura-chan!" he declared. "I shall win or I will do 100 sit-ups in 1 minute."
"That's the spirit." Sakura beamed.
Hinata quietly nibbled on her slice of pizza as she felt anger radiate from several occupants of the room.
Tenten shook her head. "I think that's a bad idea." She smirked. "Besides, we all know Neji would win." Neji glared at Tenten at her statement.
Ino, Sakura, Kiba, Naruto and Lee doubled up with laughter, all of them clutching their stomachs. On the other hand, Sasuke, Gaara, Shino and Shikamaru chuckled. Yes, it was that funny. Although Hinata was too scared to laugh since her cousin looked ready to commit murder, she still had to stifle back a grin.
"That's right," Kiba guffawed, wiping the tears from his eyes. "Hyuuga has an advantage what with that silky smooth long hair, big eyes and thick eyelashes."
Neji crossed his arms defiantly. "I would not play such a stupid game to begin with."
"You would," Sakura challenged him, pummelling her right fist into her left palm. Tenten and Ino cracked their knuckles for added effect. It was then that Neji realised he would play the stupid game due to the presence of 3 very hormonal females.
"I hate all of you," Neji finalised, stabbing his fork into a piece of gyoza.
"No you don't," Tenten laughed. "You're such a drama queen." And this time everyone laughed.
After everyone settled down, Hinata had an idea. "Why don't we watch a movie?" She blushed and took a sip of her Apple juice as she felt 11 pair of eyes on her.
"Good idea," Shikamaru approved. He could sneak in an hour of shut eye.
"What should we watch?" Tenten asked, her eyes sparkling in excitement. "Otousan has a huge DVD collection. I haven't watched half of it yet."
"Horror," Naruto suggested, pumping his fist in the air.
"What?" Sakura screeched. "No way." She hated horror. It gives her nightmares.
"Don't be such a wuss," Kiba retorted, his face in a grin. Sakura rolled her eyes, balled a paper napkin and threw it at him.
"We should let Lee pick. It's his party," Ino suggested, bringing a spoon of potato salad to her lips.
Lee straightened up upon hearing his name. "Let's watch Ice Age," he expressed. Lee loved to watch the squirrel go after the acorn. Tenten groaned as did everyone else. They had watched that movie at least 5 times already.
"All in favour of horror," Ino stated. And that was how Lee was outvoted by 10 people.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh." A person that sounded a lot like Kiba screamed which made everyone else jump.
Shikamaru grimaced. So much for being able to take a short nap. So far for the past hour and a half, his nap was interrupted by screams, a few unintentional kicks to his ass and a strong chokehold from Ino and Lee. This is not his idea of relaxation.
As if his prayer was answered, the movie ended and the credit rolled in. In the darkness, someone stood up and switch on the lights. "That was an interesting movie," Tenten gulped from where she stood near the switch and proceeded to switch off the television. Then, she took the DVD out from the DVD player. Since the TV and DVD player was in Gai's bedroom, Shino and Sasuke helped move it out to the living room so everyone could watch the horror movie that Tenten had chose from Gai's extensive movie collection.
Gaara looked down at the hand that clutched his own tightly. "Some movie huh," the owner of the hand spoke out, eyes wide. The red haired looked over to see the hand owner and cringed. It was Naruto and Gaara quickly released Naruto's hand, hoping no one noticed. He had thought the hand belonged to a female's or Ino's for that matter. He could not believe that he held hands with a guy.
"Who's the wuss now Kiba," Sakura pointed out, noticing the tight grip the Inuzuka male had on Shino.
"Did you see how that that guy skinned a dog alive?" Kiba cried out. "The horror."
Shino sighed, prying Kiba's arm from his body.
Hinata had her eyes welded shut. The movie was too much. 10 minutes in and she grabbed the person next to her thinking it was Neji, never releasing her grip once.
"The movie's ended," the person that she latched on, stiffly said.
Hinata slowly opened her eyes and found onyx eyes stare down at her. She released her grip in surprise. "Sa-sa-sas," she managed to say. "Sasuke-kun." He looked back at her in amusement. "I-I thought you were Ne-neji-ni-san," she gulped, anticipating a glare from the usually cold male.
"I know," Sasuke replied. He had thought that the person latching on him was Tenten. But after 5 minutes, he realised that Tenten sat to his right and the person who hugged his arm was to his left. Besides, Tenten was not one to spook easily.
"Go-gomenasai," Hinata apologised, embarrassed.
"Hn," Sasuke responded.
"What should we do now?" Naruto asked, aloud, stretching his limbs.
"I'll bring out the cake," Tenten grinned as Lee looked just about ready to die from happiness.
"I'll help," Hinata stood up following Tenten to the kitchen.
"So," Ino looked at her male friends. "Which one of you boys are going to move that TV and DVD player to the other room?"
Shikamaru sighed as he felt Ino's cerulean eyes bore into his skull. "Troublesome. I'll do it." Gaara stood up as well, feeling Ino's hand nudge his back.
A few minutes later, Tenten appeared from the kitchen with a lit cake in hand. Hinata, who followed her closely behind, was carrying 12 small plates, a cake knife and 12 dessert forks.
"Happy birthday to you…." Tenten sang, placing the cake in front of Lee who sat cross legged. Soon, the entire gang joined in by singing the birthday song to Lee.
"Make a wish," Ino told Lee, holding a camera and snapping Lee's picture as well as everyone else's.
Lee closed his eyes shut; his hands clasped in front of him and wished hard. He opened his brown eyes to see the familiar faces he now called family and blew the 21 candles in front of him. He, then, took the knife from Hinata's small hand and cut a slice of cake.
20 minutes later…
Naruto patted his satisfied stomach. "The cake was good." True to his words, no one left a slice of cake. Every crumb was eaten.
Sakura and Ino came back from the kitchen having disposed the plates into the sink. "Let's give Lee his presents now," Sakura suggested, as an envelope appeared in her hand. "This is from Neji and I."
Lee tore open the wrapper and squealed at the sight of a 20000 yen gift voucher from his favourite martial arts store.
Hinata and Shino, on the other hand, presented him with a box of newly concocted salve meant for sore muscles. "For after training," Shino simply said to a beaming Lee.
Ino gave him a bouquet of light pink roses since it represented youth and energy. She also gave him a black Burberry trench coat for him to wear during winter. "To keep you warm," she stated, knowing very well that Lee would always wear his green training gear. Therefore, if she were to buy him clothes, it should be outerwear.
Kiba handed Lee a handwritten card which said 'free drinks for two months in Mad Dogs.'
Shikamaru gave Lee a small box. The green beast of Konoha unwrapped it to reveal an ipod nano with a black armband. "For motivation," Shikamaru shrugged, watching Lee's expression carefully. He was relieved to see Lee's smiling face.
Gaara gave Lee a mickey mouse pyjama set as he saw his best friend stare at it at the Disneyland memorabilia store earlier that day. Lee hugged the new pyjamas to his chest, exclaiming that Gaara knew exactly what he wanted.
"Tenten said you needed new training shoes," Sasuke spoke, handing him 3 boxes of Nike sneakers. Lee's eyes widened at the sight of 3 pairs of limited edition sneakers.
"Everyone's presents are really good," Naruto verbalised, nervous that his gift was not up to par. "Here," the blond haired stated, handing Lee a beat up shoebox that was tied with a green ribbon.
Lee pulled the ribbon apart and opened the box to reveal a thick photo album. He, then, flipped open the book to give the contents a quick scan. "It's a photo album of all the pics that were taken when Tenten and I were in university." Naruto looked at Lee sheepishly. "It'll be just like your there."
Lee's grin widened. "Thank you Naruto," Lee began. "This is a most splendid gift."
"Geez. Naruto," Kiba stated, smiling that canine like smile.
"You completely outdid all of us," Tenten replied, rolling her eyes. Tenten and Gai had gotten Lee two pairs of track suits.
"Yeah," Ino flipped her blond hair over her shoulders. "And I thought Burberry would outdo everyone's gift."
"Regardless," Lee began with a shy smile on his face. "I would like to thank everyone for all the wonderful presents. I love them all," he sincerely stated. "I would like to make a speech." Gaara raised his non-existent eyebrows. These days Lee has a thing about making speeches.
"What is it, Lee?" Tenten asked.
"Today," Lee started, standing on his feet. "You have moved me as faith can move mountains." Behind Lee, the sun began to set. Everyone stared at the scenery in disbelief as it was already midnight. Lee seemed to have that affect on nature. "In this gathering of friendship among men, I would like to propose a proposition."
"And that is," Shikamaru yawned, wanting Lee to hurry up so he could sleep.
"We shall give one gift to one person on Christmas eve," Lee explained, his teeth pinging in the process.
"I don't get it," Kiba scratched his head.
"Secret santa," Shino stated, his voice in monotone, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Yes, Shino-kun," Lee replied excitedly. "Everyone shall have a secret santa. And the goal is to move them as you have all moved me."
"That actually seems like a good idea," Sakura first spoke.
"Yeah," Kiba agreed. "Beats buying 11 different gifts."
Lee beamed, sitting back down on his sleeping bag and tore 12 bits of pieces from a gift wrapper. He, then, proceeded to jot down everyone's name with a pen that was handed over by Neji. After folding the pieces of paper twice, he placed it on his opened palm and everyone took a piece of folded paper. "This is who you are being a secret santa for," Lee explained, opening his own wad of paper to see who it was. Everyone else followed suit.
Tenten took once glance at the name on the paper and scrunched it up again. "Well, this ought to be interesting."
Yes, it would be interesting indeed.
"Shikamaru," Ino scolded at her best friend who was wrapped in his sleeping bag. "It's only 12.30am. It's too early to sleep."
"Troublesome," Shikamaru replied, agitated as he sat up again.
"Let's play truth or dare before we sleep," Sakura suggested.
"What are we 12," Kiba shot at her before clamping his mouth shut at the sight of Neji's glare.
Sakura shrugged. "It's what people play in sleepovers."
"Why not play truths then?" Hinata spoke, in a tiny voice.
"How do you play that?" Naruto asked, as his interest is perked.
HInata fiddled with her fingers. "W-well," she stuttered, it only happens when Naruto talks to her. "W-we can ask questions that w-we n-never dared to ask."
Ino smiled. "I love it," she eyed everyone mischievously. "I know most of you for only a few months. This way I get to know all the intimate details."
"Hn," Neji agreed, having nothing to hide.
"How should we play?" Sakura asked, her eyes landing on everyone's sitting form.
"Since we're sitting in a circle, why not have the person across of you ask the question that you have to answer?" Tenten suggested.
"Yosh," Lee agreed, pumping his fist in the air. "Let this bottle decide who will start the course of the game." He took an empty bottle and twirled it.
It spun for a good 15 seconds before it landed on Tenten.
Tenten frowned as she saw Sakura's thoughtful expression. This would not be good. "Who was your first kiss and how did it happen?" Sakura said suddenly.
Ino protested and the boys groaned. "You're given one question and this is what you've come up with." Ino gave Sakura a defiant stare. "We all know its Sasuke."
"She never told me," Sakura argued back. "Well not in detail anyway."
"Actually…" Tenten said, slowly. "Sasuke was not the person who I had my first kiss with."
Jaws dropped and Sasuke narrowed his eyes. He always thought that he was her first kiss.
"Who is it?" Hinata asked, leaning forward. She guessed that it would be Neji since Tenten and Neji often hung out together.
"The person you least expected," Tenten revealed, a little embarrassed.
"Well," Ino asked impatiently.
"Shikamaru…" Tenten confessed.
Upon hearing his name, Shikamaru smirked as everyone turned to look at him with a shocked expression.
"It was 2 months after I entered Tokyo University. There was a carnival to raise funds for a new science building and I had to take care of a kissing booth…"
Tenten looked at the empty crowd with disdain. Just when it was her turn to mend the booth, the crowd had dispersed as they left the carnival to go to the auditorium to catch a glimpse of the model Ino and actor Sasuke who were supposed to give their speeches in order to help raise funds. Besides, she doubted that any guy would pay 300 yen to kiss her anyway even if there was a crowd. She was a tomboy and had absolutely no fashion sense. She swiped her bangs to the side in frustration. Maybe it was time for a change.
"You there," a voice broke the silence. Tenten jerked her head up to see a tall male with his hands slouched in his pockets stand in front of her booth. He had his long brown hair up in a ponytail and his face was in a scowl.
"Y-yes," Tenten stuttered wondering if he wanted to pay for her kiss. He was good looking she admitted.
"Where's the auditorium?" he asked, impatiently.
"Excuse me," Tenten responded, her eyebrows furrowed.
"Troublesome," he stated, noticing how the light in her eyes dimmed. "The auditorium. Where is it?" he asked again.
"Sorry," Tenten forced a smile. "I just thought that… I mean this is a kiss-," she stopped herself as she noticed him raise an eyebrow. "It's that big white building over there," Tenten explained, pointing towards the direction of the structure. He nodded before heading off in that direction. Tenten sighed. "I guess I wasn't even worth it."
Unbeknownst to her, the male overheard her and backtracked to where she was.
"You…" a gruff voice called out again.
"Huh," Tenten mumbled as a hand tilted her head up slightly and soft lips were pressed against her own.
The male pulled back to reveal a stunned Tenten. "Some people are worth it," he smirked, placing a couple of 100 yen coins into her palm.
Tenten watched his retreating back, a small smile on her face.
"Kyaaaah," Sakura swooned. "That sounded like it was from the movies."
Ino ignored Sakura's outburst and turned to glare at her best male friend. "You didn't even tell me something this important," she screeched at Shikamaru. "I thought we tell each other everything."
"Everyone knows now," Shikamaru retorted, feeling Sasuke stare at him with equal distaste.
"Give Shikamaru a break," Tenten defended her friend. "It was way before I became your friend," she looked at Ino. "and your girlfriend," she added, to her irritated boyfriend. "and I'm sure I wasn't your first either."
Sasuke crossed his arms. "That was work."
Tenten nodded. "I was working the kissing booth too remember."
"How many people did you kiss?" Sakura asked curious.
"Actually I was minding the kissing booth for my friend for 5 minutes so she can go catch a glimpse of her Sasuke-kun making a speech," Tenten explained, emphasizing her boyfriend's name. "So I only kissed one guy." Tenten gave Sasuke a look. "Happy." Sasuke did not respond but he was relieved.
"Next," Lee exclaimed, spinning the bottle again. It pointed towards Kiba. This time it was Ino's turn to think of a question.
"How did you and Shino become best of friends?" Ino asked. "I don't mean this the wrong way but you're an odd pair."
Kiba roared with laughter. "I thought Gaara and Lee was the odd pair." No one denied that statement, since Gaara and Lee was, indeed, the weirdest combination of friendship. "I met Shino when we were just 7 years old and Akamaru was a mere puppy…"
A chibi Shino was observing his ant farm which he had gotten as a gift from his parents for his birthday. It was a hot day and he had set the glass container on the grass underneath the shade of an old Oak tree.
Suddenly, a brown puppy came scampering out of a nearby bush and darted to where Shino sat. "Arf! Arf!," it softly barked, pressing its tiny nose on Shino's arm. Shino stiffened at the contact. He had never been this close to an animal other than insects before.
All of a sudden, it noticed the glass container that held the ants and took a few sniffs. Without further notice, the puppy paced 10 puppy steps behind. It, then, slowly crept forward towards the container before pouncing on the ant farm, making the glass shatter underneath the puppy's weight. The ant's slowly made their escape to the world.
Kiba, on the other hand, was searching for his puppy when he heard a sound of breaking glass. Thinking, that Akamaru had gotten into an accident, Kiba ran as fast as his short legs could carry him. "Akamaru!" Kiba scolded upon seeing the puppy on top of a broken glass. The puppy whimpered. "Sorry," the boy apologised, picking up his puppy and brushing away the pieces of glass from the puppy's fur. "Did my puppy do that?"
Shino nodded. He stood up and brushed the dirt from his pants.
"Bad Akamaru," Kiba scolded the puppy again making the puppy whimper in remorse. Kiba noticed that the ants were making their way out of their container. "I could have Akamaru pee in a circle," Kiba tried."He can do that you know. I trained him." Shino looked at the strange boy with red marks on his cheek. He recognised the boy as the boy was in his class and was very loud in nature. "That way we can have the ants trapped."
Shino shook his head. "They belong to nature."
"You're Shino," Kiba asked, smiling. "We're in the same class," Kiba stated. Shino looked at him in surprise. He thought no one knew his name since he did not have even a single friend. "I'm Kiba."
"I know," Shino answered.
"You like bugs?" Kiba asked him. Shino nodded. "I like dogs." Kiba smiled, his two front teeth missing. Shino thought as much. "Akamaru here can smell real good." Kiba patted the puppy on its head. "I can find you a new bug if you like." The loud boy, then, flashed him a shy toothless grin. "We can find it together and maybe you can tell me what that bug is called."
Shino nodded, wanting that very much. No one had ever shown much interest in bugs let alone him other than his parents.
Kiba went on all fours and proceeded to sniff the ground. "I smell something other than trees," Kiba said excitedly, standing upright and making a dash towards a piece of rock. "Look there's a gazillion legs on this bug." He pointed.
"It's a Centipede," Shino replied, crouching beside the boy.
And that was how their friendship began…
"Pee in a circle," Ino said, disgusted.
"Hey," Kiba smiled, not taking offense at all. "That took me 3 weeks to teach Akamaru."
"Yosh," Lee exclaimed. "With Kiba's hard work and dedication, Akamaru has become a splendid dog."
Shino adjusted his sunglasses on the bridge of his nose, allowing a small smile to escape on his face. It sure did bring back memories. If it were not for that fateful day, Shino was sure that he would become a recluse. Sure he was stoic and emotionless but with the presence of Kiba, his days were filled with smiles and jokes even if it happened to be one-sided. Even by looking at this moment now, Shino did not know how his life went from being with not a single friend, to one best friend and a room filled with friends. He knew that much of it was thanks to Kiba.
Tenten smiled. "Moving on." Tenten placed the bottle on the ground and twirled it around. "And the next person is…"
TBC…
Please review
Lee's bday chapter is longer than I have expected so the next chapter would continue where I left off. I can only update in between my exams again since I have a 9 day break.
Exams suck
naash