Author's Notes: Adult Neji/Tenten. PG-13. Limey fresh.

Ode to Athena

Blades flashed in the summer heat, shining steel sliding and hissing against its twin. Sparks were struck as the duelists broke apart, panting, their bodies drenched in sweat after an hour of trying to find weakness in the other and failing. He was tempted, very tempted, to use his eyes to better analyze her moves but he knew he couldn't. The exercise was to build on his skills outside of the Gentle Fist, such as physical weapons training. As always, Tenten was his sparring partner and he had no problem admitting, at least to himself, that she was kicking his ass.

Standing across from him with the perfect distance she used with enemies, her katana was lowered slightly, the edge blinding him momentarily as she shifted, a victorious smile on her face.

"Had enough, Neji?" She put one hand on her hip, wrinkling the pink shirt that was already plastered to her slim frame, emphasizing the curves she normally kept hidden. Her eyes were glimmering at him, her lips slightly parted as she breathed heavily, her chest rising and falling. She was the very picture of battle glory in womanly form, beautiful and strong with naked steel in her hand.

"Never," he answered darkly, smirking, smoky passion in the hollow tones of his voice. Tenten lifted her weapon, grinning with determination.

"Don't you dare, Neji! I'm going to beat you so just give up already." She lunged towards him, meeting and deflecting his blow. "I'm not going to fall for…"

But he was already rotating, dropping his own katana so he could grab her sword arm, a whoosh of chakra forcing her to drop hers as well. She gasped as his spin brought her close against his chest, both of them collapsing into the grass, Neji on top of her.

Catching his breath, he raised himself up on his forearms so as not to crush her, looking down into her amber eyes, amused.

"I win."

She snorted, her fingers sliding up his chest, making him stiffen as his body reacted to her touch. "You cheated," she told him firmly, one hand moving under his shirt to caress the planes of his abdomen. His heart sped up.

"You cheat in other ways," he growled, gripping her wandering hand and trapping it above her head with one of his own. She laughed.

"But you like it when I cheat," she said smugly.

Having no good response that wasn't a complete and utter lie, he simply smirked at her and leaned down to kiss her neck, feeling her body arch against his as a pleased moan left her. Her arms draped themselves around his neck, fingers threading through his hair in a way he never got tired of as he kissed his way to her mouth, swallowing her next groan.

"Lee is going to catch us," she panted, making no effort to escape him. "I promised to run with him this afternoon." Neji ignored her, kissing her hard in an attempt to make her forget any other man, even their teammate. She whimpered against his lips, clutching him, and it was his turn to moan as her nails dug into his back.

Breathless and disheveled, he pulled back so that he could look at her, memorizing the flush of her skin, the shadow of love and lust in her eyes as she gazed back.

"We can't stay here," he said, realizing that he had no intention of stopping and Lee would indeed catch them together if they waited any longer. Tenten smiled and touched his jaw, watching as he leaned into her hand.

"I win," she whispered.

The End.