If a picture paints a thousand words then why can't I paint you?

- Bread

Paper

Every ninja had their own way of winding down from their adrenaline filled days.

Naruto ate ramen.

Choji, well… he just ate.

Ino arranged flowers.

Tenten polished weapons.

Lee ran with his hands.

Kakashi read.

...and Neji drew.

Not many knew about it, but Sai was not the only ninja in Konoha with artistic talents. Sai drew for fighting; and his illustrations were quick, swift and brief; created by mere flicks of the wrists and swishes of horse-haired brushes.

But Neji's were far from that. He strived to make exact copies of what he saw; of faces, bodies, scenery… He was proud to say he was a perfectionist, and his drawings reflected that. Every strand of hair and every freckle could not escape his eyes, and there had never been anything he could not draw… until now.

Neji found Tenten impossible to draw.

He caught her one day, heavily pregnant; striding calmly in the Hyuuga gardens. Her hair was shining soft, chocolate brown in the sunlight, caressed by the wind. Her skin was glowing. He felt himself swell with pride as he noticed the Hyuuga clan symbol on the kimono wrapped gracefully around her body. She looked so beautiful and delicate, it almost hurt him. At that moment, he knew he wanted to capture the moment forever. Locking a mental image of her inside his head, he waited until she returned indoors before scrambling in after her to find his drawing pencils and charcoals.

He spent the next few nights trying to recreate the image, but failed with every attempt. Somehow, he could never get it right. He had her face etched into his head; the hair he loved to run his fingers through; the mouth he kissed; the eyes he loved to look at; and yet, physically, he could not recreate it on paper.

"Neji?" Tenten poked a head into his study after the second day. "There you are. I've been looking for you…"

She paused at the sight of him surrounded by scattered pieces of papers littered across the floor. She picked up one close to her feet and looked at it, and he watched as her lips parted in awe.

"It's me." She stated breathlessly. She tried to reach for another one, but her ballooned belly made it difficult for her to bend. He quickly scrambled to her side before she toppled over.

"Ha, thanks Neji." She laughed, taking the drawings from his hand. Her eyes glowed as she scanned each one.

"They're all of me."

"No…." He mumbled.

"Well, unless you married my identical twin, it sure damn looks like me." she shrugged, a hint of a smile playing on her lips; which he could not help but press his own against.

"It's not you." He breathed against her skin. She frowned at him.

"Well I'm jealous now." She teased. "Have you been spending the last day and a half trying to draw some random woman I don't know of? Naughty, Neji, and here I am, carrying all this weight with me…" He pressed his lips against hers again.

"You know I don't see any other women." He replied solemnly. Taking the drawings from her, his jaws tightened. Damn him for even attempting to draw her. It was fooling with the fates; trying to perfect perfection was impossible. What was he even thinking? He crumpled them up in an angry fist.

"You're too perfect, it's impossible to draw you." He said, hoping she would understand.

She didn't.

"Neji, you idiot!" she almost screamed as she snatched the drawings back towards her.

"Don't you dare." She flattened the papers out on the table next to her.

"Well, I don't care if you don't like them. I do, and they're all mine now. Don't you dare ruin them."

And she left quickly with a stack in her arms.

A/N: I thought you might want to know where my inspiration came from. Below is the transcript; 'Neji' is an alias for a friend who was in my art class – he's one helluvan artist, I won't lie. 'Tenten' is an alias for his girlfriend.

Me (to Tenten one day at lunch): you know, your face would actually be really easy to draw.

Tenten: a lot of people tell me that.

Me: yeah, cuz you've got really nice and clear features, like a really straight nose and defined bone structure. (YES, I AM AN ART GEEK SOMETIMES, OK?)

Tenten: Sakura (another alias) tells me that. (Sakura is a major art boff)

Neji: are you fucking joking me? Her face is the most difficult thing to draw!

Me: why, have you tried?

Neji: as a matter of fact, yes.

And it kinda led to that.

Cheers!