Hey, so when I said i'd update soon I wasn't lying. I thought yawl deserved a nice double update since I had been so stingy with updating.

As always the only thing I own are my dumb words. Enjoy!

The next day Lee arrived just after twelve. Tenten ran down her stairs when she heard Lee's signature polite knock and pulled open the door just to be swept into a crushing hug by her lithe friend. The pair separated and Tenten quickly led Lee up to her room, the latter shouting a quick hello to her parents in passing.

"I am so very excited for this weekend. We shall have a most wonderful time, I just know it!" Lee cheered as he clenched his fists together.

Tenten closed the door behind them and flopped down on her bed.

"So there's been a slight change of plans," Tenten said as she hugged one of her numerous pillows to her chest.

Lee, who had been sitting at Tenten's vanity looking at her small collection of nail polishes, shot an inquisitive look her way.

"Is Naruto not feeling well? I had wondered why he was not here, but if he is sick then—"

"No, no," Tenten waved off Lee's concern, "It's nothing like that, there's no way he'd miss today, sick or not. You know how Naruto is. But we'll have to delay our initial plans until later tonight. Hinata needs some help with math, so she agreed to let us come to her place so I can giver her a hand," she grinned as she sat up on her bed.

The excitement that lit up Lee's whole face was blinding. He bounded from the vanity and tackled Tenten on her bed. Tenten let out a loud oomph as Lee's full weight hit her. The pair laughed as they continued to bounce on the soft mattress.

"That is a wonderful change of plans! I can not wait to meet Hinata! You have told me so much about her, I feel as if I already know her!"

Another burst of laughter fell from Tenten's mouth at the irony of Lee's comment.

"Trust me Lee, you're not the only one."

Tenten insisted on Lee borrowing some of her clothes before they left. Lee had looked down at his faded green t-shirt and bashfully agreed. Tenten knew Lee didn't put much stock into his own looks, but she also knew that Lee needed to make a good first impression. She couldn't take away Lee's anxiety in that regard, but the least she could do was give him a larger selection of clothes than what was available to him. Tenten had Lee try on a handful of her clothes, throwing in a couple of her more girly tops because she knew Lee loved cute things. Eventually Lee settled on a tight black sleeveless turtleneck paired with an oversized pink cardigan Tenten didn't even remember purchasing. The young teen had pulled his shoulder length hair back into a neat braid, his full bangs framing his soft features nicely. All in all, Lee looked adorable (and if Tenten cried internally about scrawny flat chested Lee fitting her top perfectly, well that was neither here nor there). Tenten had opted for a more casual look, forgoing the glitz and glamour she had been subjecting herself to for the past handful of months. She had gone back to her regular attire, choosing to wear a pair of comfy jeans and a cute purple zip-up that had a faint flowery patterned printed on the fabric. She had even pulled her hair back in the buns she loved so much. In short, Tenten felt great. She was with her best friend and she was finally acting like herself after months of being some other overly feminine girl. She knew the change would be temporary, and as soon as Monday rolled around she'd be curling her hair and and doing her makeup, but for now her shoulders felt lighter then they had in a long while.

Tenten fired off a quick text to Hinata before the pair began their trek over to the female Hyūga's. Lee chatted non-stop the whole way over, flipping back and forth between overly excited and anxious. Tenten reassured Lee that Hinata already knew about him thanks to Naruto and herself, and from what the pale girl had heard she insisted that she liked Lee already. That seemed to help because after that tall male began to drill Tenten on what Hinata liked and how best to interact with her. When they finally arrived Tenten went to knock on the door, but quickly remembered that Hinata's parents were out of town. Generally the only reason Tenten knocked was because Hinata's parents were unbelievably formal and required the highest degree of etiquette at all times. It was stifling to deal with them for the brief moments it took to enter their home and find Hinata; Tenten couldn't even imagine what it would be like to live with them. Naruto, although having been adopted into a rich family similar to the Hyūga's, had lucked out with his absentee parents. At least they weren't around all the time to incite terror and doubt. Tenten shook off the shiver that ran up her spine at the reminder of Hinata's parents and pulled open the door. She jumped into the house eagerly, her giddiness at Lee's excitement and her own spurring on her childish action. What she hadn't anticipated was that Neji would be there.

Tenten hit Neji with the full weight of her body as she all but tackled him down to the ground. The pair landed awkwardly on the floor, Neji face down with his hands pinned beneath him as he caught himself before completely smashing face first into the spotless tiles. Tenten found herself sprawled over the complete length of his back, caging him in. Lee, who had been hovering just behind her, froze as he watched the two bodies hit the floor, his mouth agape. Tenten was mortified. She squeezed her eyes shut as her face grew uncomfortably warm from the shameful blush that was blooming there. What was Neji doing there? Tenten had been sure Hinata had said it would just be the three of them. But then again, they were cousins so it really wasn't that surprising that Neji would just pop over whenever he felt like it.

"As far as I am aware, I am not in fact furniture," Neji said bitingly, his body stiff with false calm.

Tenten's eyes flew open at the unspoken get off the male's tone had implied and pushed herself back with more force than necessary. The petite brunette ended up launching herself flat on her ass as she scrambled away from the other male.

"O-oh god, Neji I am so sorry, I-I should have knocked, but I just, Hinata's parents were gone so I…" Tenten rambled, her voice shaking in embarrassment. She picked herself off the floor as fast as she could and stood awkwardly just inside the entrance unsure of what to do.

Neji began to pull himself off the ground, his movements fluid and graceful despite his clear irritation. He dusted off his impeccable black jeans and straightened the grey heather long sleeve shirt he wore. Tenten fidgeted as Neji put himself to rights, itching to go over to him and apologize until the irritation melted off his face. Instead she turned to check on Lee, but something about her face must have been truly comical because he couldn't contain the bright bubble of laughter that spilled from his mouth. Normally Tenten would join in on Lee's laughter, especially considering the absurdity of the situation, but in that moment she was completely stricken. Noticing Tenten's pinched face, Lee immediately covered his mouth and shot the brunette an apologetic look.

Tenten turned to face Neji once more and watched as he whipped around at the foreign sound of Lee's laughter. She saw the moment Neji's pale eyes landed on Lee. Tenten expected the other brunette to brush Lee off, to turn around and walk away like he seemed to do with everyone he encountered. Instead, Tenten stood frozen as Neji unmistakably gave Lee a solid once over. His face, which had been pulled in irritation, smoothed out as his eyes tracked Lee from head to toe and back up to lock with Lee's eyes. Neji ran a hand through his long hair, starting at his temple, collecting the long strands and pushing them back from his face in a smooth movement. He seemed to straighten up, pulling his broad shoulders back as he stood at his full height. Tenten couldn't believe her eyes. Her breath stutter in her chest.

"Hello," Neji's deep voice pierced the silence that had gathered in the small space. If it were anyone else, Tenten would have said his tone was almost husky, almost interested. But it was Neji. He didn't do interested. Right?

Lee sprung into action at the clear invitation and stepped forward to better see the other male. Tenten felt Lee's shoulder bush her own but she couldn't stop staring at Neji. She was transfixed. Everything sounded distant to her, like she was hearing through a bubble.

"Hello! I am sorry to have laughed earlier, it was very rude of me. You must be Neji, Tenten has told me so much about you! I am Rock Lee and I hope we can be the best of friends!" Lee beamed, his round cheeks pushing up cutely as he tilted his head in greeting.

Tenten knew what Lee must look like. Tall, thin, cute. A pretty boy with large eyes and pouty lips. Creamy skin and a smattering of freckles. His mannerisms were even cute. As much as Lee thought he was nothing to look at, Tenten knew better. Lee was attractive, and Tenten wasn't the only person who could see that. Naruto would go on and on about how 'damn frickin' cute' Lee was all the time, and how if he 'wasn't as straight as they came he'd be all over that'. It became a running joke between the two of them that Lee could make anyone look twice. But Neji was straight, wasn't he? More importantly, he didn't date. He had made that very clear to any and all potential suitors.

Tenten watched in horror as the other male bit his lip lightly at Lee's actions. Neji nodded politely at Lee's greeting, his eyes sweeping over Lee once more, before turning to hide the growing blush on his face. Tenten couldn't breathe. She felt as though she had been submerged in cold water. This couldn't be happening. She had to be overthinking this, seeing things that weren't there. It couldn't be true.

"Hinata is expecting you, follow me," was all Neji said before walking off into the large house.

Tenten flinched as Lee grabbed her hand. She turned to look at Lee, finally daring to take her eyes off Neji's retreating figure. Lee's face was concerned as his eyes scanned her. She didn't know how she looked, or what kind of expression she wore, but it was enough to have Lee worried.

"I am truly sorry for laughing Tenten, I should not have done that. I do not know what possessed me to do so, but that is no excuse," Lee brought his other hand up to grasp hers more firmly between them both, "Can you forgive me for my actions?"

Tenten looked down at their joined hands and took a moment to collect her chaotic thoughts. It wasn't Lee's fault she was being oversensitive, he didn't deserve the hot jealousy that churned unpleasantly in her gut. She cleared her throat and locked eyes with her friend.

"Lee it's no big deal," at his uncertain frown Tenten hastened her explanation, " No really, I'm not even upset about that, honest. I just feel really bad about slamming into Neji, is all. I should have been more careful." She forced a dry chuckle from her throat as she continued, "it was pretty funny thought, wasn't it? I don't blame you for laughing, if it was the other way around I would have laughed too."

Tenten plastered her signature smile on her face and squeezed Lee's hands with her own. As the jealousy faded down to a simmer, she began to feel ridiculous for how she reacted. It wouldn't be the first time that Tenten had convinced herself that Neji was showing interest when in actuality he wasn't. She pulled Lee along by their joined hands as she led him into the house. She tried her hardest to shake off all the negative feelings that had emerged from the earlier events so that the rest of the afternoon wouldn't be such a disaster. Tenten and Lee quickly caught up to Neji who silently maneuvered them through the labyrinth that was the Hyūga house. They found Hinata sitting in the study, arranging a small plate of cookies next to her school work. The study was a small room near the back of the large complex, far removed from any potential distractions. Hinata had told Tenten that her parents insisted she use the room when she was doing anything school related. Tenten wasn't surprised by that but she still felt bad that Hinata couldn't just go to her room and work on her stuff in peace. Hinata lifted her head when the three teens entered, and a shy smile formed on her face when she spotted Lee.

"H-hello, u-um welcome!" The female Hyūga quietly chirped as she stood and smoothed out the long white dress she wore under a cute cream cardigan.

"Thank you for having me! I am so glad to finally meet you Hinata, Tenten tells me you are a wonderful friend and I only hope we too can be good friends!" Lee tilted his head as he tried to make eye contact with Hinata's downturned face, and smiled when she looked up to meet his eyes.

"Y-yes! I would l-like that too," Hinata replied, her own face lighting up with a matching smile.

Tenten let out a silent sigh of relief, and looked over to Neji to send him a smile of her own, but her face fell once more as she caught sight of him. The elder male was looking fondly at the newly aquatinted pair as they made light small talk. His eyes were soft and his mouth was quirked up gently at the corners. Tenten clenched her jaw and looked away.

The small group sat around the low table in the study; Tenten and Lee on one side and Hinata and Neji on the other. Tenten had been shocked when Neji had actually sat down at the table. Generally the male Hyūga would wander the complex when the three of them were all together, not bothering to socialize unless he was forced to. Hinata seemed to be taken aback as well, and startled when Neji plopped down beside her, but she quickly brushed it off and started to shyly engage with Lee. Tenten jumped into their conversation immediately, eager to push aside her lingering preoccupation with Neji. And for awhile everything felt normal. Neji seldom contributed to the conversation, and spent more time staring out the large window in the back of the small room. And if Tenten caught him stealing glances in Lee's direction, well she told herself it was a normal reaction. Lee was new and yet familiar. Both Hinata and Neji knew so much about the other teen without having ever met him, it must have been novel to finally put a face to the name Naruto and Tenten constantly threw around. That had to be it.

Without them realizing, an hour slipped by as they chatted about everything and nothing. Lee was particularly interested in learning about the ins and outs of high school, which Hinata and Tenten were more than willing to educate him on. Tenten glanced at her cellphone quickly while Hinata and Lee bonded over some obscure topic and gasped when she saw the time.

"I hate to break up this awesome conversation, but we really need to get to work if we want to keep to our schedule," Tenten interjected before a new topic could begin.

"Ah, I am so sorry. I got carried away, I was just having such a fun time conversing. I should have been more diligent with keeping track of the time," Lee apologized and ducked his head bashfully.

Tenten went to reassure Lee but Neji beat her to it.

"If it was really a hassle the conversation would have stopped long ago."

Lee seemed to mull Neji's statement over for a moment before the words really sunk in. "…I suppose you are right, thank you Neji, I feel much better knowing I was not burdening you with my small talk!"

Tenten caught a glimpse of the brilliant flush forming on Neji's cheeks before he stood and headed to the only door in the room intent on leaving. She watched as he turned the handle and cracked the door before falling still. Neji seemed to hesitate, his hand tightening on the door knob he held in his hand.

"Lee, would you care to join me in the gardens?" Neji asked as he continued to face the door. His voice was low and almost cautionary.

Both Hinata and Tenten stared at the male Hyūga's back in disbelief. Neji never willingly engaged in social interactions. Never. And here he was, inviting Lee of all people, social butterfly Lee, no personal space Lee, to join him for a prolonged period of time. Lee didn't seem to be effected by the tension and confusion growing in the small space, and easily responded to the inquiry.

"I would like that very much!" Lee happily agreed as he got up from the table. He turned to Hinata and gave her a cute thumbs up. "Good luck Hinata! I am confident that with Tenten's guidance you will be able to tackle those numbers in no time!"

Neji's shoulder relaxed at Lee's positive response and he turned to usher Lee through the door before him. His pale hand hovered over Lee's lower back as they left the room, his face turned to Lee as the other talked avidly. Tenten broke out into a cold sweat when the door closed behind them. She felt sick.

"N-Neji has re-really taken a-a liking to Lee," Hinata noted unaware of how her words were affecting Tenten. "He h-has a hard t-time getting along with p-people, so I-it's nice to s-see him connecting with o-others."

Tenten nodded absentmindedly as her thoughts raced to dangerous places. She pulled out her own test and notes, not paying attention to her actions at all. Neji liked Lee.

"L-lee is very nice, I-I really like h-him too. I-I'm glad we c-could finally m-meet."

Tenten barely heard what Hinata was saying, but she managed to nod along at all the right times. All she could focus on was that Neji liked Lee. The jealousy she had pushed aside earlier reared it's ugly head once more. The nauseating anger hit her full force as unwanted thoughts festered in her mind. Tenten forced herself to break out of her sour mood and focus on guiding Hinata through the math test. Hinata needed her help, not her irrational jealousy. The brunette cleared her mind and focused on the familiar equations. She talked Hinata through every step, taking the time to explain anything the other female didn't quite grasp. Soon enough Hinata was flying through the questions she had gotten wrong. The only sound in the room was the lavender haired girl's rapid scribbling. Tenten turned to look out at the gardens.

The Hyūga estate, as cold as it was, had the most beautiful garden Tenten had ever seen. All sorts of flowers grew there in elaborate arrangements. There were roses, lilacs, lillies, carnations, and anything else one could imagine. Tenten's eyes swept the beautiful display before her gaze fell upon the two absent males. She hadn't noticed them at first, but once she spotted them she couldn't look away. Lee was lying on his stomach on the lush grass. He must have taken off Tenten's cardigan at some point because he was just wearing the sleeveless turtleneck. He seemed to be giggling at something, his body shaking faintly with the force of his laughter. Neji was also laughing lightly. The brunette male was sitting against one of the large trees in the garden, his face open and turned to the other teen. Suddenly Lee stretched out on the grass, his arms reaching out in front of him and his legs tucked beneath him. He arched his back like a cat, the curve of his spin noticeable beneath the tight turtleneck he wore. Neji's whole face went crimson and his mouth gaped slightly as he all but ogled the other male. Tenten felt her chest constrict as she watched Neji forcibly remove his eyes from Lee's body and bite his lip. Lee, of course, didn't notice a thing and resumed their conversation once he settled back onto the grass. Tenten wanted to cry. She felt tears prickling at her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She furiously rubbed at them before Hinata could notice. In that moment she truly envied Lee. She envied him more than any of the other girls she had seen interact with Neji. How had he done it? How had Lee been able to do absolutely nothing other than be himself and get Neji's attention. Why couldn't it have been her?

The rest of the study session passed in a blur. Hinata thanked Tenten profusely when she finished, insisting that she pay her back somehow. Tenten went through the motions of waving her off and assuring her that it was no problem, but her heart wasn't in it. She couldn't stop thinking about everything she had witnessed. The two of them eventually joined Lee and Neji in the garden after they cleaned up the study. They found them sitting close together, foreheads almost touching as they spoke. Tenten clenched her hands into fists at the sight. It was too intimate. Her brain kept screaming wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong! It should have been her. Her sitting close to Neji, her being the cause of the gentle smile on his face, her inciting such emotional responses in him. But it wasn't. She relaxed her clenched fists when she felt her nails break the skin, the pain bringing her marginally back to her senses. Tenten and Lee left shortly after that. Or perhaps it was longer, she couldn't remember. She must have said something about Naruto arriving and them being there before he broke into her house, but she wasn't sure. At the entrance Lee pulled Hinata into a friendly hug, promising that he would talk to her soon, a sentiment she returned easily. Tenten closed her eyes briefly and prayed that Lee would leave it at that. That he would wave to Neji and go. But Lee was a friendly person. Overly friendly. Tenten cursed under her breath as Lee walked up to Neji and wrapped his arms around the slightly taller male's neck. Tenten wished that Neji would push Lee away, grab his arms and unwind them from their hold, snarkily tell him off like all the other girls who tried exactly what Lee was doing. Instead Neji brought his arms up and held Lee securely around his lithe waist. The tanned teen said something quietly to Neji, who nodded and squeezed Lee tighter, before the pair separated. Tenten couldn't take it anymore. She left the house, uncaring if Lee was behind her. She needed to get out of there.

Lee caught up quickly, jogging lightly to keep up with Tenten's infuriated pace. She couldn't look him in the eye. He tried several times to talk to her, but Tenten couldn't bring herself to open her mouth. She knew if she talked now her jealousy would fuel her words. She could taste the vile remarks sitting on the tip of her tongue. She hated it. Tenten kept her head down, looking at her purple sneakers as they hurried back to her house. Eventually Lee fell back, walking behind her at a slight distance. She couldn't bring herself to feel sorry. Tenten flinched when she heard the unmistakable voice of Naruto. He was shouting out an obnoxious greeting that grated on Tenten's already fried nerves. She hunched in on herself, her shoulders coming up to stiffly frame her downturned face. Naruto didn't have the same instincts as Lee did, his default was never to keep quiet, especially when someone looked upset. So of course he shouted in response to Tenten's lack of enthusiasm.

"What crawled up your ass and died? You look miserable!"

She was miserable. She was absolutely devastated. The tears she had fought down earlier began to stream out of her eyes in uncontrollable rivulets. She crumpled to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably into her hands.

"Holy shit! I DIDN'T MEAN TO MAKE YOU CRY!" Naruto screeched.

Tenten felt Lee wrap his arms around her and pull her up. She put all her weight onto him as he guided her into her house. Luckily her parents had gone out, so she didn't have to explain to them through tears why she was having such a messy breakdown. Thank god for small miracles. Tenten could hear Naruto panicking in the background as Lee brought her upstairs and sat her down on her bed. Any other day she'd find the blonde's frantic apologies hilarious, but she was too overwhelmed by her own devastation. Lee managed to hush Naruto, whispering something to him and urging him to take a seat on the floor. She could hear them shuffling around in the background, arranging themselves on the ground. Tenten began taking deep breaths, trying to calm herself down so she could stop her tears. This was supposed to be their weekend. And Tenten had ruined it. Her selfish desires and rampant jealousy had tainted everything. After what felt like hours, Tenten wiped her brown eyes, rubbing the tears from her face with the sleeve of her sweater. She sniffed twice, and swiped at her nose impatiently to prevent a third.

"Soooo…what was that all about?" Naruto broke the silence with his borderline insensitive question.

Tenten stared at her lap. She looked up when Naruto released a loud oomph. Lee had apparently elbowed him none too gently in the side and the blonde was gripping at the spot in pain.

"OW! WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?" The blonde all but shouted.

"Naruto, Tenten is clearly upset. Perhaps you could try and talk to her with more empathy?" Lee scolded lightly.

And that was that. Tenten began to chuckle which quickly became a full blown laugh attack. Naruto and Lee both stopped their squabbling to look at her as if she had lost it. That just made her laugh harder. The interaction was just so familiar to her. So comfortingly them that it made her feel that maybe she hadn't ruined anything. Or at least no permanent damage had been done. She collapsed back on her bed with the force of her laughter. Her laughter quickly died down into brief giggles before stopping all together. She stared at her ceiling, looking at the glow in the dark stars the three of them had plastered up there one day. It had been a fun day. Tenten's mom had bought her a pack of them and they had decided to jump on her bed and try to stick them all up. Soon enough they were challenging each other to see who could jump the furthest off her bed and stick a star on the ceiling without falling. Lee had won, thanks in no small part to his long legs, and Naruto had fallen more than once, but they had all been laughing by the time the bag was empty. These were her best friends. And she had been horrible to them.

"I have a crush on Neji," Tenten stated in a completely flat voice.

"WHHHAAAAATTTTTT!?" Naruto yelled as he launched himself onto her bed.

She bounced in place from the impact and closed her eyes as Naruto started to hit her with one of her many pillows.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY ANYTHING!?" he demanded as he continued to pummel her.

Tenten peaked one of her eyes open when there was no further strikes from Naruto. Lee, who was kneeling behind the blonde, had snatched the pillow out of his hands and was holding it firmly to his chest.

"I probably deserve that," Tenten huffed as she returned to staring at her ceiling, "I haven't been a very good friend today."

"Tenten…. It—"

"No….no Lee please, it's my fault," she interrupted before Lee could shoulder the blame for her actions. "I…I just, I really like him and….it's been messing me up."

"You mean, all the girly shit right?" Naruto wagered as he pushed his back against the wall, making himself more comfortable.

"Girly….stuff?" Lee questioned, clearly out of the loop.

"I guess you wouldn't know, but Tenten's been dressing all feminine lately. This is the first time in months i've seen her…well look like herself really," Naruto explained to the other male. The blonde directed his next sentence to the brunette. "I just thought you had changed your mind about liking all that crap. I wasn't gonna say anything because you didn't seemed uncomfortable or anything."

Tenten sighed and threw an arm over her eyes. "I…stupidly thought that maybe if I dressed up…he'd notice me," she admitted shamefully. It all sounded so stupid when she said it out loud. All of her dumb decisions. It's not like they worked anyways. "I…I just tried so hard to get him to like me….and I guess in a way he does, but it's…it's not the same."

"What…w-what did I do to make you so upset Tenten? Whatever it is I am very sorry," Lee piped up, his voice small and uncertain.

Tenten ground her teeth together. She didn't want to tell Lee what she had witnessed. What she had felt. It would sound too much like she was blaming Lee for Neji's actions. And in a way…she had been. It wasn't fair to him.

"I….was jealous," she grit out, trying her hardest to be honest without burdening Lee with her irrational thoughts.

"Of bushy brows?" Naruto's voice was shocked and a little angry. Tenten may have been Lee's first friend, but Lee had been Naruto's, and so the blonde was extremely defensive of Lee. It didn't matter that they both had Lee's best intentions at heart, Naruto was quick to defend Lee to anyone. "What could he have done to make you mad at him. BB doesn't do anything without worrying about the outcome, so how could he have wronged you? Besides, I thought you were just helping Hinata with math at her place anyways, what does Neji have to do with your shitty mood?"

Tenten knew that what Naruto had said was true. It hurt to be reminded of such a glaringly obvious point, and by Naruto of all people, but she couldn't deny that she had been purposefully ignoring that aspect of Lee. At the time it had been easier to direct her anger at him for just being oblivious, but she knew he was anything but. Lee may be unaware of certain types of attention, especially attraction, but he was anything but blasé about other people's emotions. The tanned teen was eerily in tune with other's emotions. And while he tended to fall prey to panic and anxiety, his first assessment of other's feelings was always right, he just tended to talk himself out of it.

"Um…well Neji was there…" Lee explained to Naruto in the silence that followed his question.

"You're right," Tenten reluctantly admitted after thinking on the blonde's words.

"Excuse me, did you just say I was right!?" Naruto asked in disbelief.

"Lee," Tenten sat up and locked eyes with the tanned male for the first time in a while, "You didn't do anything wrong, please believe that. I directed my anger at you because….because I was jealous with how easily you got along with Neji."

Lee tore his eyes away from Tenten for a moment, he seemed to be debating what to say next, but soon enough he looked back at her. "…Neji did not speak to me for a very long time after we left. It was not until we had settled in the gardens that he started to talk with me…" he explained.

Tenten knew he was trying to reassure her that he had not warmed up to him as fast as she seemed to think, but Lee didn't know Neji as well as she did.

"Wait a second," Naruto began before Tenten could respond to Lee and attempt to explain just why she was so upset, "Are you saying Neji actually had a conversation with you? Like full on talking in complete sentences?"

Lee looked at Naruto and nodded his head slowly, unsure of the reaction his answer would receive. Naruto turned to face Tenten, a look of realization dawning on his face as he pieced all of the unsaid tidbits together. Tenten stared down at her lap once more.

"That's not his fault though! He can't help that Neji decided to pull his head out of his ass now!" Naruto insisted, his defensive streak coming back. "Lee can't control whether or not someone is atra—"

"I know that!" Tenten shouted in frustration, interrupting Naruto's dangerous statement. The last thing she needed Lee to know was that the reason Neji didn't like her was because he was apparently attracted to him. The guilt would be too much for Lee to handle. "I know that it's not his fault, okay! And it was shitty of me to put that on Lee. There's no excuse for me doing that, but it happened, I can't change that, but I feel horrible about it!"

Lee had been following their back and forth with apprehensive eyes. He had hunched in on himself, holding his knees to his chest to make him appear smaller. He was protecting himself, Tenten noted. And she had done that to him. She had always been the one that defended Lee from attacks. She had never caused them. Until now. She shut her mouth with an audible clack as she reined in her temper once more.

"I know that," she said more calmly after collecting herself. "I'm so sorry Lee. I don't like the person I've become lately, and I think it's time for me to make a change for the better."

"I accept your apology Tenten," Lee finally said after a moment of tense silence. "I am still somewhat confused. But that does not matter, what is important is you are hurting. You can not just get over someone like that Tenten, It is not good for your heart."

"I'm not going to get over it anytime soon, that's for sure," Tenten whispered as she rubbed at her chest absentmindedly, "but I can return to being who I was before this stupid crush happened."

"Why don't you just tell the dumb shit? Maybe Mr. Stick up his ass might actually be interested," Naruto suggested unhelpfully.

Lee elbowed him once more, softer than the first time but still hard enough to have Naruto grunting at the force.

"I don't think it works that way Naruto," Tenten laughed lightly. It would be a lie to say she felt better. She did however, feel lighter, that was for sure. Finally getting everything out in the open was liberating. But she was still hurt by how the events had unfolded, and she was especially upset with how she had reacted. "I'm sorry I ruined our weekend," Tenten apologized meekly.

"Tenten, we still have three glorious days left of this long weekend, you have not ruined anything. Besides, when your heart is hurting it is up to us, your friends, to listen to your pain. I am only sorry we were too deaf to hear it before," Lee leaned over the scant space between them and pulled Tenten into a much needed hug. She buried her face in Lee's neck, holding her friend tightly.

"Yeah, what BB said! I'm sorry and junk for jumping down your throat there, but you haven't ruined anything, we still have the rest of the night to totally pig out and watch a shit ton of movies!" Naruto tackled Tenten and Lee, nearly sending the three of them falling off the bed.

"Everything's fine now, right? We can go back to being good friends that have fun and not ones that fight, right?" Naruto urged, clearly itching to start doing all the things they had planned.

"Yes Naruto," Tenten rolled her eyes as she flicked the blonde's forehead.

"Are you sure you would not rather talk about this more Tenten," Lee inquired softly, keeping his voice even and calm. "It is a very heavy topic that seems to have been burdening you for a long time."

"Nah," Tenten closed her eyes before shifting her weight and pinning her two male friends to the bed. Both of them shrieked at the sudden action, clearly not expecting what had happened. "I'd rather just move on, i've let this dumb crush control to much of my life for too long. I just want to have fun with my friends."

"Yosh! Then we shall have so much fun we will not be able to stop smiling all week!" Lee promised with his signature thumbs up.

"ALRIGHT!" Naruto screamed as wriggled out from Tenten's grasp. He vaulted off the bed and shouted: "LAST ONE DOWNSTAIRS HAS TO BUY ALL THE SNACKS!"

"I will surely beat you Naruto!" Lee called happily as he sprinted after the blonde, easily overtaking his lead on the stairs.

Tenten stared after her friends and her smile faltered slightly. Things weren't as okay as she had promised, but they were looking better. She hadn't been lying when she had said all she wanted was to have fun with her friends, and so she jumped off her own bed and chased her friends down the stairs.

"Ha, as if you'd ever win Naruto. You're the slowest person I know," she teased as she flew past an indigent looking Naruto.

Things would get better, of that Tenten was sure.

And there you have it. I'm such a sucker for everyone liking Lee, I'm sorry i'm trash. The next chapter will be back set back in the present. If you thought this was unnecessarily dramatic, just wait until the next chapter. It's going to be a bit of a doozy!

Thanks again for all the continued support this story has garnered! Reading your comments gives me life, I am so happy at anything you deign to leave!