Please see first chapter for disclaimer, etc.

Prompt: Beautiful

Special Thanks: goes out to naash, Awaiting My Prince, DarkAnonymous324, rao hyuga 18, Midnight Insomniac, Franoncrack, and kenzinator for all your reviews, I adore reading them all!

Author's Note: I am so sorry for making you all wait so long between updates! Between being sick and my job, I haven't had much time for writing (though thankfully my job gives me plenty of time to think on ideas while I'm driving), and really no oomph to find inspiration to write. But I feel much better now, and I wanted to write and post something today since it's the first day of NejiTen month over on DeviantArt (so exciting!). Again, so sorry I made you all wait so long, and I hope to keep updates steady from here on out! Thank you so much for your patience, and I hope this prompt was worth the wait!

*~Beautiful~*

How ironic. Even with her eyes clouded with tears, Tenten was still able to hit her target squarely in the center. Her lips twisted because, in the end, that was the problem, wasn't it?

She had thought coming out to the training grounds to throw a few kunai would help. It was just making her feel worse.

Really, this was her own fault. She shouldn't have eavesdropped, but when she heard her name mentioned by a vaguely familiar voice, she couldn't help but listen in. What she'd heard made her wish she hadn't, however.

"So what if you can't get a date? It's not the end of the world, right? Besides, it's not like all the girls in Konoha are taken. What about Tenten?"

"Tenten? You mean the little brunette kunoichi on Gai-sensei's team who's always throwing around weapons? Nah, she's nothing special. Yamanaka Ino or even Haruno Sakura are much prettier, and they don't have that weird fascination with weapons, either. They know how to be real girls."

Was that really how the others in the village saw her? Even fellow shinobi? Tenten's first reaction had been to storm around the corner and give the two men she'd overheard a piece of her mind - particularly the one who'd remarked that she wasn't a "real girl." Yes, she enjoyed working with weapons, and yes, she chose to wear clothes that were slightly baggy on her frame instead of skintight tops and skirts, but what should all of that matter?

Shouting at the two men and beating the stuffing out of them would just have proven their point, Tenten mused as she gave up on her weapons practice. She felt too disheartened to continue. And seeing the looks on their faces when they realized she was listening was an experience she could definitely do without.

Meticulously, she placed all her weapons back in their proper places, though such rapt attention was not needed because she knew exactly where everything went and could organize everything in her sleep. But concentrating on "a place for everything and everything in its place" kept her from thinking about other, less pleasant, things.

Not even picturing the two nameless shinobi's faces in front of her targets had made her feel better. In fact, it had just made her feel worse.

Tenten had never really felt anything one way or the other about the lack of attention she got from guys. Her goal was to be one of the best kunoichi in Konoha, and she liked to think she was well on her way toward accomplishing this objective. However, now that she knew what some thought about her, she had to wonder. Did every male in Konoha (and why stop there, anyway? why not every male in every village she'd ever been to?) see her that way? Was she nothing more than a weapons-obsessed unfeminine object to them?

She knew exactly what Lee and Gai-sensei would say if they heard her saying or thinking such things. They would wax enthusiastic about her beautiful flower of youth, and that looks weren't everything, and that she could easily beat her insulters with her eyes closed and hands tied behind her back, so what did it matter in the end? Even coming from her sensei and one of her closest friends, those words would somehow ring hollow for Tenten - even if that was what they really thought of her.

That line of thought led to yet another. Of the four females in the infamous Konoha 12, she was the only one who was not in a relationship - who had not even been on so much as one date, for that matter. Hinata, Sakura, and Ino all glowed with happiness whenever they talked about their significant others, and Tenten had always been extremely happy for them. That just wasn't what she wanted in her own life … until now.

I'm being ridiculous. Tenten lifted a kunai and polished it with her sleeve, making a face at her reflection before averting her eyes. When I woke up this morning, I was perfectly happy with my life. Now I feel like I need something more. What's the matter with me?

It wasn't hard for her to answer her own question. I'm giving in to the pressure. I'm rethinking my entire life because of something I accidentally overheard, something that doesn't even matter. I am Tenten, Weapons Mistress of Konoha, kunoichi of Team Gai. That's more than enough for me.

She could almost make herself believe it until a big, fat tear rolled down her cheek and landed on her pants, turning the fabric a deep ruby. I haven't felt this alone since my parents died. Since I was six years old, I've taken care of myself, depended on no one but me. Now … I'm all alone, and I don't know what to do.

Gripping the kunai tightly, she drove the point of it into the ground by her leg viciously, grinding her teeth as the muscles in her hands protested her stranglehold on her weapon. Stop being such a child, Tenten.

"Tenten?"

Immediately, her body stiffened in recognition of the surprised voice from behind her. "Neji. I'm sorry, just let me clean up the rest of my weapons, and then I'll leave the training grounds to y-"

A warm hand wrapped around hers, still clutching her kunai. "You're crying." Neji's other hand reached up, thumb brushing her skin to capture the renegade tear following the path of its predecessor.

"I-I'm not-" But she couldn't realistically deny it. "It's just an off day for me." It was a lame excuse, and one she knew Neji would not accept. A quick glance at his face proved her correct.

"You don't have off days. Besides, you were fine this morning." Neji shifted, folding his legs until he was seated in his usual meditation pose. His hand massaged hers until her cramping fingers relaxed, releasing her kunai. "What happened, Tenten?"

Were it Lee or Gai-sensei asking that question, she might have spilled every last one of her thoughts. In some strange way, they would understand, and maybe even make her feel better. But Neji was … well, Neji. There was no way he could possibly understand, or make her feel better about this.

Easily pulling the kunai from the ground, Neji wiped off the dirt and grass clinging to it before picking up her hand and carefully placing its handle in her grip. All the while he watched her with those startlingly pale eyes that missed nothing.

Tenten forced herself to look away, devoting all her attention on putting her last few weapons away. "Nothing important."

"Come on." Neji abruptly stood, extending his hand down toward her to help her up.

Staring at it in confusion, Tenten rolled up her scroll out of habit. "What-?"

"Let's practice for a while."

"I was actually just about to go home. I'm tired. Maybe tomorrow." She knew even as the words exited her lips that that had been the wrong thing to say.

Withdrawing his hand, Neji calmly crossed his arms over his chest and arched an eyebrow. "Something is wrong, Tenten. Tell me."

Why, out of her three teammates, did it have to be Neji who found her like this? The one person she couldn't talk to so easily, despite the fact that they'd discussed everything from their favorite foods, to books they read, to death (the scariest topic in the world), all without feeling the slightest bit uncomfortable? Perhaps because the subject of their feelings about love and relationships in general had been taboo for them, and now it made her terrified to admit that she felt unwanted because of one conversation - two small sentences, at that - she'd accidentally overheard.

"What's your favorite flower, Neji?"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him blink in confusion. "I - never really thought about it." The look on his face clearly questioned her sanity, and his unspoken, Why does this matter? hung in the air between them.

"I've always wondered what made one flower more beautiful than another. But it's all in the eye of the beholder, isn't it? The world is filled with beautiful flowers: roses, lilies, lilacs, amaryllis. And then there are the weeds. Dandelions, violets, things that pop up and become nuisances in a garden filled with the beautiful flowers that everyone loves." Getting to her feet, Tenten slung the strap of her scroll over her shoulder and shrugged.

"Lady Hinata's favorite flowers are violets," Neji said quietly. "She's always out picking them - she'll even go out of her way sometimes just to grab a handful of them. Just because they're classified as 'weeds' doesn't mean they can't be the most beautiful flowers in the world, even if it is only to one person."

Tenten blinked. "What…?"

Neji sighed. "I heard what those two shinobi said earlier, too. And then I saw you leaving." Stepping forward, he pressed a kiss to her forehead, at the same time tucking something into her hair. "Not everyone in Konoha thinks that way, Tenten. You are beautiful, and never let anyone tell you otherwise."

Before Tenten could get past her speechlessness, Neji had offered her a smile and then vanished as quickly as he'd come.

Her breath rushed out in an unsteady whoosh, and she lifted one shaky hand to her hair to see what he had put there earlier. When she withdrew to look, she held a delicately beautiful violet in her fingers.

Just because they're classified as 'weeds' doesn't mean they can't be the most beautiful flowers in the world, even if it is only to one person.

*~The End~*

Author's Ending Notes: I am so sorry again for the long time between updates! I really hope this one was worth the wait. Right now, I just want to say that I personally adore Tenten, I think she's the prettiest of all the girls in Naruto, and I'm not sure what prompted me to write this prompt in this way. But I got the idea, and I just kind of wanted to run with it and see what happened. Again, so sorry for the long wait - I hope to have the next one up much sooner! Thanks for your patience, and for reading!