Please see first chapter for disclaimer, etc.
Prompt: Glimpse
Special Thanks: goes out to naash, rao hyuga 18, Lucky, kenzinator, and DarkAnonymous324 for your reviews! You all are awesome!
Author's Note: After the somewhat heavy material I've offered in the past few chapters, I decided it was time to switch the mood around a bit and give you all some fluff. This chapter was great fun to write, so I really hope that it's as enjoyable to read! Thanks again for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and alerting this story, and I hope you like this piece!
*~Glimpse~*
Tenten hummed to herself as she pulled her hair back and up into a high ponytail, then slipped into some old clothes. Her next stop was the closet for a huge armful of towels and three bottles of special shampoo. Then she exited the back door of the apartment, threw back her head, and let out a sharp whistle.
As if waiting for that cue, Rock Lee popped over the fence, wide eyes filled with enthusiasm for the upcoming "mission." "Good morning, youthful flower!"
Dropping the towels and shampoo, Tenten whistled again as she unwound the garden hose from its place coiled on the hanger on the side of the building. "Morning, Lee. Thanks for coming to help me."
Lee paused next to her, wide grin reminiscent of that of his hero as he declared, "Oh, I didn't come alone!" He proudly turned to motion toward the fence.
"What are you doing here?" Tenten was so surprised to see Lee's "help" that she almost dropped the hose.
Neji crossed the lawn toward her, warily eyeing the hose, bottles, and towels. "Lee invited me," he said. "What are you doing?" His expression seemed to question her sanity, silently asking her if she had lost her mind and joined the greener half of their team in their insane antics.
Holding up the hose in as innocent a way as possible, she smiled. "It's bath day."
The Hyuuga's face assumed an alarmed expression. "Excuse me?"
Not bothering to hide his glee, Lee took pity on his teammate and explained. "Our most youthful teammate has made an agreement with Gai-sensei's unyouthful rival. Tenten gives Kakashi-sensei's ninken their baths."
A wry voice made itself known from the vicinity of Tenten's shin. "The worst day of the month," Pakkun moaned. "Especially when she decides we're really dirty after a mission and gives us another one."
"Don't you dare try to run again," Tenten said, snatching up the little pug before he could take off. Growing up in Kakashi's care, she'd gotten used to all of his dogs around her. When they weren't in "mission mode," they became the most loveable, affectionate dogs in the world. She loved to get down on the floor and play with them, help Kakashi train them, or even just lie down and take a nap with them around her. Akino even went so far as to sleep at the end of her bed sometimes.
But on bath day, all that changed. Instead of running to her, begging for affection, treats, and to play, they ran from her, begging for freedom from the Evils of the bath. Lee had started helping her a couple of years before, finding the whole excercise completely "youthful." In fact, he usually wound up wetter than the dogs, which never seemed to bother him.
The one thing that never ceased to amuse Tenten was the fact that, though Kakashi had complete control over his dogs in the field, he couldn't get them to behave even remotely during a bath. When she'd gotten old enough, he'd enlisted her help, knowing how they all felt about her. She hadn't had much more success than he, but at least they hadn't escaped to the hills. Since then, she'd been their official bath-giver, and probably would continue to hold that title into the far future.
Pakkun sighed as he eyed Lee and Neji. He greeted the former with the resignation due on Bath Day (he much preferred when the younger Green Beast came over to play), then eyed Neji with undisguised interest. "What are you doing here?" he asked, repeating Tenten's question.
Neji gazed back at the dog with narrow eyes and a set jaw. "I'm not entirely sure," he said. "Lee told me that Gai-sensei had some additional training for us today." He turned an accusing stare on his teammate.
Lee grinned unrepentantly. "Gai-sensei says we must be ready for all situations and problems. Giving a pack of ninken a bath certainly keeps us youthful and ready for any strange situation, yes?"
"Oh, great, now we're strange and problematic," Pakkun muttered. "Just get this over with, Tenten." He squeezed his eyes shut, ears drooping more than usual, head hanging.
The other dogs came slowly slinking after the smallest, Bull lumbering along last. He was the only one who never seemed phased by bath day, which was a blessing since Tenten wasn't sure how she could possibly control or catch the huge dog if he decided he didn't like it. She always hoped he would become something of a role model for the others, but she wasn't holding her breath.
Reaching for the hose, Tenten made sure everyone was present and accounted for before she squeezed the handle. "All right, everyone, let's do this!"
Neji had seen Kakashi-sensei's ninken before, having worked with the man's team a few times when the dogs' presence were necessary. They had all been the picture of businesslike efficiency, attentative to every order Kakashi had given, following each word without question or hesitation.
He found it difficult to believe he was looking at the same pack right then. They all had their heads down, ears laid back, tails tucked, looking like they'd rather be whipped than given a bath. Only the biggest one - Bull, if he remembered correctly - looked like he couldn't care less what was going on around him. He even opened his mouth to catch some water for a drink when Tenten turned the hose on him.
He'd always held nothing less than the highest respect and admiration for his kunoichi partner. At first those emotions had been present out of necessity - it was either train with her or Gai-sensei and Lee, and she had certainly seemed like the lesser of two evils - but as time wore on, he had truly begun to appreciate her for the person she was.
Now... Well, now he wasn't really sure what to think. She was dressed in clothes that looked like they'd seen many bath days, her ponytail half-falling out and dripping wet, bare feet squishing in the wet grass. But her eyes were alight with a happiness he only rarely glimpsed during their training, when she had mastered a new and difficult technique or had managed to get the upper hand on him. She looked happy, like she was where she belonged, doing what she really wanted to do.
Inwardly cringing, he glanced down at himself. Sure enough, he didn't look much better. He'd come dressed for "intensive training," as Lee had put it, but that description seemed oddly understated, at least as far as Lee's descriptions usually went. His shirt and pants were dripping, his hair was hanging in wet strings over his shoulders and around his face, and he could feel mud squishing in his sandals. He couldn't remember ever feeling so grimy and ruffled.
Surprisingly enough, though, he realized he was actually enjoying this.
Grabbing another clean towel, Neji briskly rubbed it over Bisuke's fur. The ninken craned his neck around, occasionally catching Neji's arm or cheek with his tongue with grateful licks. Occasionally he would throw in a forceful shake, trying to rid his fur of all traces of liquid as quickly as possible. Three other dogs lined up behind him, anxiously awaiting their turn to be dried. Tenten and Lee were still running around with the others through the yard, laughing as they tried to hurriedly soap them and then rinse them before they slipped away again.
As soon as everyone was washed and dried (even the humans, though they sadly lacked the drying portion of the excercise), the dogs retreated to dry, shady spots under the trees as they watched everyone else clean up after the cleaning process. Lee bailed on them halfway through, bowing repeatedly and apologizing, saying if he didn't leave right then he would be late for a training session with Gai-sensei. Tenten laughingly waved him off as she tossed a particularly soggy towel spotted with black fur onto the growing pile by the back door.
After Lee had left, Tenten looked over at him as she tucked a wet lock of hair behind her ear. "Thank you for helping, Neji," she said softly. "It goes so much faster and easier, the more people I have helping me."
Neji tracked down the empty shampoo bottles and tossed them in the trash can. "Why doesn't Kakashi-sensei help?" he asked. "They are his ninken."
"Kakashi has complete control of his pack in the field, but on bath day, he turns tail and runs even more than the dogs. You'd think he was the one getting the bath, instead of his dogs." Tenten turned a fond gaze to the group sprawled under the trees in various postures of exhausted sleep. "But really, I don't mind. They're real sweethearts, and I love them all."
Pausing in the process of coiling the hose to return it to its hanger on the wall, Neji studied Tenten. He'd never seen her like this before, with her cheeks pink from happiness and activity, her eyes glowing with affection, her lips curled in the sweetest smile he'd ever seen. Her dark hair was free from its usual buns, and since she'd pulled the band out of her ponytail, her tresses fell in damp waves over her shoulders, perfectly framing her face. He opened his mouth to say something, then realized he'd completely forgotten what it was. The sight of Tenten this way had made him speechless.
Pulling her loose shirt away from her body, Tenten sat down on the steps leading up on the small back porch and motioned for Neji to join her. "C'mon," she said, patting the space next to her. "Let's take a breather for a minute or two."
Neji swallowed back the urge to run for it as he forced his feet to carry him toward her. He carefully lowered himself down, unintentionally wincing when their shoulders brushed. "You do this every month?" he asked.
"Sometimes more, if some of them come back from a mission dirty." Tenten pushed her hair off her face and smiled. "Thanks again for your help, Neji. I really appreciate it."
I'm in love with her. The realization shocked him. The feelings must have been growing inside him for quite some time, waiting for this exact moment to manifest themselves. "Any time you need help, let me know," he replied. He was surprised at how smooth and normal his voice sounded.
Tenten grinned, then leaned over to peck his cheek with a kiss. Before he could stop himself, he'd grasped her face in his hands to hold her still, then pressed his lips to hers. She let out a startled little squeak, hands flying up to grasp his upper arms. For a moment her fingers bit into his skin warningly, but then she relaxed into his kiss.
"Well, isn't this cozy."
Neji and Tenten separated violently, a distinct pop from their lips marking the end of their kiss with an audible exclamation point. "Kakashi!" Tenten cried, her cheeks flaming bright red now.
The mirror-nin crouched on the edge of the railing, mask not even close to hiding his grin. "Did you two bother to wash the dogs, or should I stay and supervise to make sure you get it done?"
Tenten stood up quickly, rubbing her hands on her loose pants nervously. "The dogs are clean," she said, somewhat defensively. "Lee helped, too, but he had to go train with Gai-sensei as soon as we were finished."
Neji sat silently, fighting to smother the uncharacteristic urge to blush. He decided it might be best to stay quiet, since he wasn't sure how Kakashi, as Tenten's older brother figure, would react to seeing his "little sister" being kissed - and by her teammate, at that.
Kakashi calmly stepped off the railing, landing on the deck with nary a sound. "Well, they look clean. And you both - don't." He eyed them both, then shrugged, pulled out his copy of Make Out Paradise, whipped it open, and headed for the back door. "I'm watching you two," he warned right before he slid the door shut behind him.
Across the lawn, a chorus of growls from the ninken backed up their master's threat.
Spinning on her heel, Tenten transferred her glare from her brother's retreating form to them. "Oh, mind your own business," she snapped. Then she flopped down next to Neji, grasped the front of his wet shirt, and kissed him.
Somewhere behind him, Neji heard Kakashi laugh, echoed by an odd chuffing sound that just might have been canine laughter.
He decided that he might enjoy coming back next month for bath day, especially if this was his reward.
*~The End~*
Author's Ending Notes: This piece was actually inspired by my own dog, Jazz. While I was giving him a bath the other day, I suddenly started wondering what bath day would be like in one of the universes I write where Kakashi is Tenten's older brother figure. And since the last few chapters I've given you all have been rather emotionally heavy, I decided it was time to treat you all with some fluff. I had a great time writing this, so I hope you all enjoyed it, too! Thanks for reading!