Not much to say at this point, though I'd like to apologize for the delay. I've started to get really into Bleach anime/manga, and my grandfather died so I had to attend the funeral for a couple days.

This is the last chapter 8) I hope you enjoy! (wow…this is my shortest a/n ever)

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

"That so?" Neji grunted, making his way to Tenten's side. He sat a couple feet away but also leaned up against the trunk of the tree.

She sat in silence for a few moments. Like usual, her mind was over analyzing things. It was trying to figure out the best approach to asking Neji about the kiss. At the same time, she herself was trying to find the courage to do so. Why was this so awkward all of a sudden? Before she could be herself around the prodigy. And now…

Way to go, idiot. You freaking ruined everything with thatTenten thought annoyed. It was so true. She wouldn't even be in this situation if it weren't for him.

"What happened to all these questions?" he asked suddenly without looking at her.

Tenten blushed. "I was getting to that…eventually. If you'd just shut up and let me think"

"Ah. So that's what's holding you up…" he said bluntly. She glared.

"Why….why did you come here? Here, tonight." Her mouth finally managed to blurt out. Neji paused.

"No comment"

She wanted to hit him.

"No way! You can't do that. You have to answer the question!" She yelled at him, flustered and frustrated. He was completely avoiding everything. It was only making her confusion worse.

"Says who?" He was amused. She hated that. That and the fact she had no proper answer. There really was no way to make him answer her questions.

"My….kunai?"

Neji looked at her, pointing to his head. "We've already discussed this once before"

Tenten grumbled in defeat, then stopped to plot. There had to be a way to appeal to his sick, twisted sense of humor and get him into answering.

"Fine. Let's make a deal. If you answer three of my questions, truthfully, then I'll answer any three questions you have for me, also truthfully. But no 'yes or no' answers…or 'hns'"

He wasn't replying yet. That had to be a good sign.

"Fine," came at last.

"Shake on it…" Extending a hand, she waited for him to do the same. Neji reached out and shook briefly before returning his hand to his lap. Tenten felt pathetic. When he touched her she always felt like jelly. But she now could ask him any three questions, no excuses, no exceptions.

She wanted to pump her arms in success, but instead coughed quietly, thinking intensely about the first question. This was like one of those three wish deals you saw in cartoons. But in the cartoons they always seemed to mess them up. Tenten was determined not to let this golden opportunity go.

"Question number one...same question. Why did you come here tonight?"

"…." His reluctance was obvious.

"We made a deal, like it or not. You even shook on it"

"I don't have to keep it, you know. Like we confirmed before, you can't make me"

"True…but then you won't be able to ask me any questions…" she tempted him, tone sickly sweet. Apparently that was a big enough temptation, for his reply came fairly quick.

"I wanted to see how you were holding up since the funeral. And somehow I knew you were here. That enough?"

She nodded, though disappointed. He was answering he questions, but barely. None of her curiosity was satisfied, and she had gotten absolutely nowhere. And Neji wasn't breaking the deal. Damn him.

One question down.

The next ones were going to be the most interesting, yet Tenten couldn't make herself ask them. She was afraid of what his response was going to be.

"Question, uhm, two. Why…" she started, having to calm her nerves again, "why did you do that thing in the hospital?"

Neji chuckled. It shocked her. That was the exact opposite reaction from what she expected. And yet she wasn't sure if it pissed her off or relieved her more.

"What thing?" His eyes twinkled, laughing. Neji knew. Tenten knew he knew. But he was making her say it. God damn him and his stupid personality! He was teasing her when she was being perfectly serious and was so nervous she felt she could faint.

"You know!" Her face reddened. "That…kiss"

"Ah" He paused, then in a surprisingly aloof manner answered with a shrug, "because I wanted to"

How could he take this so lightly? Was she the only one freaking out about the whole thing?

"That's not fair! You're breaking the deal! No way in hell is that a complete honest answer!"

"You'll never know, will you? That's the only answer I have for you right now" He was making this as painful for her as possible while giving her no satisfaction in his answers. Neji always won games. She should've known this would be no different.

Question two down. One to go.

Like any final wish, or in this case, question, Tenten took a longer time to ponder this one over. It was quite a task. The question had to be one that wasn't easily avoided, while also ridding herself of a large portion of her confusion. That was easier said than done, however.

And then she remembered the question she asked him such a long time ago, it seemed, when he rescued her from the fire. She somehow knew that was the perfect final question.

"Why did you save me from the fire? And none of that fate crap" Moments later, without even wanting to, she realized she was crying. Mentioning the fire and her aunt's death brought back so many painful memories that she had been trying to repress for the last two weeks.

Neji looked at her, face suddenly serious and somewhat pained. There was no teasing anymore. She didn't notice when he inched closer.

"Tenten…stop being absurd. Why would I let anyone die?"

So that was it. He wasn't doing anything special for her. Tenten found herself even more depressed, tears flowing freely now. Of course Neji didn't like her. None of his answers gave away any of that. She was so stupid to have a hope like that. Her feelings were destined to be unknown and unreturned. Without that hope…everything just seemed emptier.

"You should've left me there. I wish you had. I was supposed to die twelve years ago, and I was supposed to die now. I would gladly trade my life for theirs. At least I deserve i-"

Maybe it was because her eyes were closed, or maybe it was because she was busy crying, but Tenten didn't notice the distance shrinking between the two. And suddenly she was being shoved roughly against the tree, his hands supporting her from under her arms. Her eyes flew open as she hit the bark and found herself looking into two very angry eyes. She didn't know what scared her the most- the closeness or the intensity that burned behind those full moon eyes. The attitude change was so out of the blue. She had never seen Neji so emotional.

"W-what the hell? Let me go!" Her legs thrashed out towards him, trying to kick him down. Neji pinned her legs down with the rest of his body, leaving nothing between their bodies but their clothes. She was panicking. "Hyuuga…let…me…go"

"Not until you let me finish the answer" His words were quiet, but powerful. He was using that deep serious voice…authoritative and commanding. It was hard to ignore.

"I really don't know why I saved you, to be honest. It was almost like an instinct…it came naturally. Without having a reason, I knew I had to save you. It was so intense…the situation…the emotions. Losing all of my common sense I went into a collapsing building and saved you. And at that time, all I could think was 'Not her. Oh god please not her'. You have no idea how sad I felt, depressed more like, at the thought you could be dead. It felt like I was losing my parents all over again. But when I got you out of there and took you to the hospital…it felt so good, so right, to be carrying you like that. It was something I've never felt before. And that's when I realized that my feelings for you couldn't be just that of competitive friends. But that feeling…I didn't really know what it was. Like I told you, it was something entirely new," his anger wasn't quite gone, instead seeming to recede for now, being stored for later. Tenten didn't know if it was her hundreds of emotions finally clashing or their proximity, but it was starting to become extremely hard to think and breathe.

"When you first ran into me that day, that was the first time I'd ever really talked to you, if you can call that talking. I knew who you were, vaguely, but only from gym class and the fact we'd been in the same schools together for almost all our lives. You must've been right that day, because I really couldn't handle the fact that you weren't fainting at my feet or trying to flirt with me. When I went home that night I couldn't sleep at all. I kept thinking about our meeting but didn't know why. Why couldn't I forget that girl? Surely she wasn't anything special. But despite logic you wouldn't go away"

"And so I did the only thing I could do; I talked to you again. It was against my better judgment. Like any addiction you should stay away from the thing that is causing the problem. Sometimes it felt like a magnet. I had to keep talking to you, even if only briefly. You have…no idea how utterly…refreshing it was to talk to someone with an actual brain. Someone so down to earth, funny...different. I had to become friends with someone like that, even if it was completely out of character. It was hard, I admit, not to talk to you often. I had somewhat of a reputation, I guess you could call it, to keep up. But I couldn't not laugh with you or smile around you. Your cockiness and attitude towards me was something I'd never experienced. I was learning a whole knew range of things I never thought I could feel"

Tenten hated where this was going. Her heart was thumping erratically in her chest. It was so hot…why wouldn't he let her go before she fainted?

"When I carried you away that night, I suddenly realized the definition of everything that had happened between us in only two weeks. Without even knowing it had happened, or wanting it to happen, I realized I was starting to fall in love…with you. And that's why I kissed you. That's why I came here tonight. So don't you dare talk as though you deserve death. That makes me so angry, Tenten. I want to knock that into you but you just don't seem to get it"

Her heart completely stopped at that moment, eyes wide and limbs limp. He was such a liar. He was such an asshole! Here she was, heart as fragile as a freaking china doll, and he was picking it up and toying with it!

"Shut up" Tenten whispered, a single tear following down the paths on her cheeks. It fell onto the grass softly.

"How…how dare you lie?! There's no way in hell someone like you can love someone like me. I'm not…I'm not beautiful…o-or athletic…or girly. I don't like dresses and I have zero coordination. I always embarrass myself and I attract disaster. I'm a miserable…emotional sixteen-year-old with a pathetic love life who was born alone and will die alone. Who can love an ugly orphan like me?" She was on the verge of mental breakdown, so overwhelmed with every feeling from the last few weeks all in a small moment. Tenten was sobbing now.

"You have got to stop putting yourself down like that. Number one, I think you're gorgeous. End of discussion. I've had my fair share of disaster, too. After all, I'm an orphan as well. I live with my uncle," Neji slid an arm out to brush a strand of wet hair clinging to her face aside. He returned it, still keeping her immobile, and leaned forward to rest his forehead against hers. Tenten wanted to faint now. He was so close. Too close. Their noses touched and his eyes looked directly into hers. Those beautiful white eyes. Those all-seeing eyes. She felt as though he was staring straight into her soul. The thought made her move underneath him uncomfortably.

"Mmmm…" he breathed, inhaling the scent of her shampoo that radiated from her loose hair that flowed down her back. Ever so slowly he brushed his lips along her jaw line, making her shiver. She didn't need to be held into place; even if he let her go, she'd be paralyzed.

"An orphan loving an orphan…" he paused, returning his gaze to her eyes, "wouldn't you say that's fate?"

"H-how do I know this isn't some sick joke?" She was surprised she could even say the words. Even her blood felt frozen in her veins. When he raised his eyebrows, amused, Tenten knew she had just screwed herself. Every gap between them, body and face, closed.

And Neji kissed her.

As though a dam had broken open, she found his lips moving skillfully against hers, passionately, mercilessly. This was something he had wanted. She had just given him the perfect opportunity to get it. In so many ways it was unlike the other two. One, he wasn't breaking apart. Two, there was some edge of ferocity to it. And three, there was so much emotion poured into it that that itself unfroze every part of her, sending tingles down her spine. All frustrations were being let loose.

Tenten kissed back.

Once the shock was over, she found herself unconsciously moving her lips with his, matching his emotion and passion…every ounce of it. She realized this was exactly what she dreamed of…it was so unreal. How could she, who had never kissed anyone besides her dog, be kissing the Neji Hyuuga? Not only that, but be almost as good as him…though she'd never admit he was doing most of the guiding.

Feeling the response, he took his chance to further the state of things, removing both hands but pushing harder against her so his body alone could keep her in place. One of his hands gently cupped her face while the other settled on her waist. Tenten followed and wrapped both arms around his neck, pulling herself up deeper.

How did this happen? She couldn't help but to wonder. How could she go from a sarcastic rivalry to making out and being two seconds away from…well…"It"? Was this a dream? She was in pajamas, after all. Hardly ever having had a dream, she had no idea whether one could be so vivid, but could only hope that for once in her life, she wasn't having one.

Tenten turned her head to break away, gasping for breath. Up until five minutes ago her lungs had hardly received any oxygen.

"You still…you still haven't asked your questions yet," she pointed out, without really knowing why. It wasn't a good thing to remind someone with a mind like Neji's.

He laughed softly against her lips, eyes smiling. "Only you can think about that at a time like this". His lips moved up to skim against the bridge of her nose.

"I like it…when you laugh, I mean" she struggled to say, again left breathless just by their closeness.

"I told you," Neji pointed out matter-of-factly, "I can't help it when I'm with you"

He kissed her again, only to break away moments later. Tenten pouted inwardly.

"Question one: Do you love me?" This time she raised her eyebrows.

"How could you possibly think I don't? You should know me decently enough to know I don't do this to every guy"

"Well I'm the only one who has actually said it. I don't consider that fair," he pushed.

"Fine," she mumbled, subjecting, "I love you". Then quieter, "even if you are an asshole"

He smirked, as though expecting just that, then started up again, almost more possessively this time.

"You are a monster," she panted slightly, glaring. Untangling a hand, she touched her bottom lip gently. It hurt. Neji grinned. The fact that he took pride in this only furthered her conclusion that he had a sick mind.

"Question two: How long have you loved me?"

"…you're full of yourself," she pointed out, but as part of the deal had to answer. It took her a minute to count. "I've liked you since I was maybe…eleven, but I started loving you about the same time as you did me"

"Hm," Neji pondered aloud, "you've had to wait five years longer than me. I'll have to make it up to you, then". Suddenly their positions were swapped, and Neji was back leaning against the trunk on the ground, this time having Tenten in his lap, arms laced around her stomach to hold her to him. He released them for only a moment to turn her head backwards, then they continued.

The fact that Neji had a side like this was what shocked Tenten the most. She always thought Neji would be the kind of 'straight to the point' person who would pick a girl, propose, have sex once to bear a child, then never speak to his wife again. Yet he could make someone like her feel amazingly unreal, as though she was some angel in heaven. Even though it was mid-November now, she didn't feel cold at all.

"Last question: What do you like best about me?"

"…god Neji, you are full of yourself" she sighed, grateful for the break, and leaned her head back against that perfectly muscled chest. He rested cheek on her hair.

"Hm. It must be your kind, fun-loving attitude. The way you never say rude things and are never an asshole and never piss anyone off," Tenten's voiced drowned in sarcasm. "I must say you wasted your three questions. Good job, Barbie"

She didn't like the way his forehead creased. Her attempt to escape was foiled when he yanked her back down and tickled her. Curse him for figuring out her greatest weakness. Somehow they ended up toppled to the ground, Tenten kicking furiously to get away. Neji, however, bound her to his chest with his arms and they began to roll down the hill. They crashed at the bottom, her body still against Neji's. He stopped tickling her and instead laid her by his side, turning over to look at the back of her head.

"Neji?" she sighed, looking at the moon. Her eyelids suddenly felt very heavy.

"Hn?"

"Can we…er…sleep now?"

"Mhmmm...on one condition"

"What's that?" her heart stopped, perverted side trying to edge into her thoughts.

"No more nightmares"

The next day at school, after arriving two hours late due to waking in a forest and trying to sneak through town with suspiciously rumpled pajamas, Tenten told Sakura what happened. Her best friend could hardly believe the tale. After all, the idea of Neji being able to make out came as a huge shock.

"It's true. He can. And he's amazing at it," she smirked. Sakura's face was hilarious, after all. It felt kind of nice to win the bet, though at this point it hardly mattered anymore. "I can only wonder what else he's amazing at…" Tenten trailed off, wanting to rub this is as much as possible.

"….Tenten?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up…" Sakura stalked away, angry. She was so sure she'd win that thing! After all, her beauty and wonderful personality was slowly melting Sasuke's heart. But now she had to go out with Lee. What would Sasuke think?!

Sakura found Lee in the cafeteria, a rather perfect situation for the bet to take place, seeing as the deal had to take place 'in front of the whole school'. Climbing the stairs to the stage, she tapped the microphone nervously.

"Uhm. Hi everyone. Can I have your attention please?" Tenten whispered something quietly to Neji, who was sitting next to her, and he raised an eyebrow. Sakura glared at her.

"I just wanted to say…" Ugh. She couldn't even think the words, let alone say them. They were caught in her throat. "I just wanted to say…that I have suddenly realized my feelings for the amazing…uhm…hot…and sexalicious Rock Lee…" her voice was low and sickeningly fake. But Tenten told her she had to be extremely complimentative.

"So..uhm…Lee…would you got out with me?" Sakura swallowed, wanting to punch something very badly. The whole cafeteria went deadly silent, some comments being exchanged in undertone.

The green clad boy stood up from his seat, eyes twinkling.

"OH SAKURA MY ROSE PETAL OF YOUTH!! I THINK YOU ARE SEXALICIOUS TOO!! BUT I HAVE ALREADY FOUND A YOUTHFUL PARTNER OF YOUTH THAT I EXCHANGE YOUTH WITH. SO FOR THAT I AM SORRY AND MUST ONLY BE YOUR YOUTHFUL FRIEND!!"

The cafeteria erupted into laughter.

Sakura nearly died for three reasons. One, he had called her sexalicious…out of that ugly loud mouth. Two, he was jumping up and down and acting excited even when rejecting someone. Three, he was rejecting her. If Lee could get a girlfriend and was rejecting Sakura…then she might as well have a lower social status than the cafeteria's refried beans (a/n: watch out. Those things are dangerous)

When the lunch bell rang, Sakura stormed out, determined to find Sasuke and have him console her. After all, if she explained to him why she did that, surely he'd understand. They still had a chance, right?

Sasuke wasn't near his locker, nor was he already in his classroom (yes, she had memorized his schedule). He wasn't even in the bathroom. Sakura had no idea where to find her emo love. This left her feeling even more abandoned.

After the bell rang for the beginning of class, she still shuffled around every hall. After all, facing the class wouldn't be any better. She'd rather have detention.

And then she heard it.

"Oh Sasuke…my youthful love…"

"Shut up, loser. They'll hear us"

Yes! Sasuke was around here. But who was that with him? Who the hell was stealing her Sasuke?!

She ran around the corner, fist clenched and eyes burning, expecting to find some little hot fangirl with Sasuke. Instead it was worse. Much worse.

Replace the image of blonde flowing locks with a bowl cut, beautiful clear blue eyes with freaky pupiless ones, perfectly sculpted face with caterpillar eyebrows, and a skanky outfit with spandex, and you will have your culprit. And that culprit was making out with Sasuke by a water fountain.

Tenten, who had followed Sakura out of curiosity and concern, now stood nearly as open-mouthed as Sakura. She stepped out to put a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"See? Told you he was gay"

Sakura lost her hottie to Lee. That was a fact her body couldn't handle.

For that reason Sakura nearly died again. But instead she just had a seizure.

Ze End.

Tada! xDDD So many things to say now, though I'll cut it short. One, thanks so much for reading this…it was so fun for me to write this and I hope you got that same joy by reading it.

This chapter was a little…fluffy…I know, but I'm a sucker for fluff 8) I had to add a comical ending though, so I hoped that was okay…? Poor Sakura 8( -cheers for Lee and Sasuke quietly in a corner because it's funny-

Again, thank you thank you thank you. And please review:DDD

The one and only

Fang