AN: And this one is kinda romantic. Please review.
After a mission, the two genin were left sitting next to the fire. Gai had run off with Lee to do something that was a combination of training and youthful celebration at the mission's success. Tenten and Neji had begged off on the grounds of being hungry.
Tenten had caught a few fish earlier, speared them with a harpoon that she had stored in one of the scrolls. Now they were roasting it on a stick above the firepit. They seemed to cook very slowly to Tenten.
The silence would have been awkward a few months ago, when they had first met. Back then, Tenten had considered Neji an arrogant jerk, who was silent because he felt himself superior to the point of not honoring the others around him with his words.
Now Tenten knew that it was because he was careful with his words. He felt around them gingerly, and if he wasn't sure what to say or didn't want to force the situation, he was silent. This was most of the time. Gai could usually get him to talk a bit more, but at the same time his wild antics often left Neji glad for a rest.
Tenten was glad for a rest herself. The mission had been tiring enough without Lee and Gai adding chaos afterwards. She sighed and leaned against Neji.
He stiffened.
She glanced up. He was making a very frigid and deliberately controlled face.
"What?"
He coughed. "You, um…This is awkward."
"Why? It's not awkward for me. We're teammates. Getting up close and personal is part of the job description."
"You're a girl." To him, this seemed to clinch the argument.
"So?"
"A girl and a boy leaning against each other is a…sort of a…romantic gesture. It looks like we like each other."
"I don't see anything wrong with that."
Neji's inward struggle was clear on his face. His voice was strained as he spoke. She imagined it wasn't the kind of thing he'd usually talk about. "I mean…like…like."
"Like I said, I don't see anything wrong with that." Tenten was outwardly bland, but inwardly smirking.
"It looks like we're in love!" Neji almost yelled.
Tenten leaned in closer, so that their faces almost touched. "Like I said, Neji-kun," she murmured. "I don't mind."
He froze there, leaving her practically lying in her lap. No answer. The fire continued to burn until the fish were probably overcooked and started to run out of fuel, to sputter, to die out.
A few months ago, Tenten might have thought the silence was awkward. Now, she knew the silence was awkward. But at least it was more awkward for Neji than it was for her.