Disclaimer: Naruto. Not Mine. Bummer.

A/N: Hey, minna-san! Here's our next chapter! Enjoy!

Chapter 19: Confessions under a Starry Sky

"Naruto."

"What?"

"Can you scoot over?"

"No."

"Scoot."

"No!"

Tenten flung the blanket aside, arms crossed. She seethed. "Naruto-darling…if you really want our 'relationship' to work, will you please give me a share of OUR blanket?"

Naruto looked over at his shoulder. "No way! It's cold outside, T! If you want to warm yourself up then sneak inside Sasuke-chan's room and ask him to hug you!"

Her cheeks went aflame and she smacked the blond hard on the head. "Don't even try to involve Sasuke! He's with the pink hussy right now. He even warned me to stay away from her." She leaned against the headboard and glared at the ceiling.

Naruto sat up and did the same. "So what? Ah-hah! I know! You're jealous!"

"I'm not!" she instantly snapped then paused. 'No, that wasn't right. It doesn't seem right. But… Naruto's words…'

She bit her lower lip. 'Am I really jealous?'

Naruto sighed, ignoring her sudden reflection. "Oh I see. If you really want the blanket then I'll give it to you! You can even have the bed if you want," the blond immediately sat up then stretched his arms. Tenten glanced confusingly at her supposed 'husband'.

"And where do ya think you're going, foxface?" she inquired, suspiciously.

The young man batted his eyelashes flirtatiously then clasped his hands together in front of his chest. "Why, of course! If you don't want to sneak into Sasuke-chan's room because you don't want to mess with Haruno-chan, then I will do it for you! I've always dreamed of sleeping with Sasuke-chan anyway!" he placed his palms on either side of his cheeks then squealed. "Ooohhh…I can't wait! Ta-ta!"

Naruto floated practically to the door when he felt a hand pull him by his collar. He was thrown to the ground, hitting the center of the bed with a loud THUNK! Groaning from the attack, he rubbed his aching head. He felt a sinister aura coming from in front of him. The blond let out a shaky smile. "Oh, T! How could you? I can't believe you'll resort to battering your own husband!"

His 'wife' cracked her knuckles loud enough for him to feel threatened, which actually worked. "There will be more of that if you keep on acting like Sasuke's your possession or something!"

He pretended to wipe an imaginary tear from his eye. "You're so mean! It's no wonder why Sasuke-chan doesn't notice you! He could probably be thinking that you're one of the boys just like him and a macho chick to boot!"

Stress veins popped in Tenten's temple. She grabbed him again by the collar and socked him on the jaw. "You idiot! I'm going to make you pay for calling me a macho chick! I'm not macho, you nitwit! I'm only lean!"

"Whatever! Ow! T! You're hurting me! Stop!"

"I'm not going to stop! I'll kill you!"

POW!

SPLAT!

KER-PLUNK!

Tenten huffed in a breath as she dropped Naruto on the bed. The poor boy sported several bruises on the face and arms and there was another black eye forming, covering the previous one she made before. A smug smile began to make its way across her face as she kicked her 'husband' to his own side of the bed.

She lied on her side then pulled the blanket close to her body. 'At least the blanket is mine,' she thought inwardly. Her eyelids began to droop slowly and she was beginning to succumb to La-la land when…

"WWWWAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

The teen groggily dragged her body to a sitting position. 'Damn it. Of all the worst things to happen…' she cursed. She then nudged her husband awake. "Oi, Naruto! Stop dreaming about you getting hooked up with Sasuke! Get off the darn bed and calm the baby!" When he didn't answer, she poked and prodded but there was still no response.

She smacked her head, realizing her stupidity. "Shucks! I almost forgot that I beat him into a pulp. LITERALLY."

So with tired eyes and weak legs, Tenten pushed herself out of the bed then went to the nursery. "So much for having a good night sleep…" she muttered.

…………

12:00 MN

Sasuke glared at the mirror. The steam from the shower began to spread freely throughout the entire bathroom. Wiping off moisture from the shiny pane, he couldn't help but stare angrily at his reflection.

"There is no way I'm going to sleep in that same bed with her!" he hissed. Earlier, after screaming out his frustration, he rushed to the bathroom for a long soak then pondered on his next action. He cursed when he glanced again at his reflection.

This would be one major problem. Sleeping with Neji's girl would risk his identity being revealed. He couldn't afford that to happen, now that she had made some connection to his brother. And knowing Itachi…

He shuddered. Now was not the time to think about that.

Closing his eyes, he began to formulate a plan.

…………

Donned with her pastel green pajama pants and top, Sakura fluffed her pillow and placed it on the bed. Sitting down, she yawned. "I wonder what happened to Suke-san…"

She looked at the wall clock. 12:45 AM.

Her head snapped to attention when she heard the bathroom door open. She listened quietly to the sound of light yet dragging footsteps approaching the room. When the door finally opened, she welcomed the newcomer with a smile.

And wore a shocked look on her face.

"Anou…" she swallowed, unable to form a coherent statement. She cocked her head to one side then finally asked, "W-What are you wearing…?"

The boy blinked at her question. He looked over his sleepwear with apathy. "Oh this? It's a nightshirt," he explained, gesturing to his long plaid shirt. He also had matching pants and cap on his head. "This is…uhm, some sort of pajamas. Just like yours."

"Oh I see," Sakura nodded. At first she was startled at the garishness of her husband's sleepwear. She then kept in mind that there were still lots of things that she would have to learn about her newfound friend.

Smiling slightly, she climbed into bed. Patting the space next to her, she coaxed the boy. "Why don't you come here and get some rest?"

Sasuke stiffened. He marched rigidly to where his side of the bed was then grabbed his pillow. Sakura stared at him, surprise evident in her green orbs when she saw him retreating further to the door.

"Where are you going Suke-san?"

He didn't spare a glance. "I'll just sleep on the sofa outside."

She stood up. "No! You can't sleep there."

"Huh? Why?" he mumbled.

"It's too uncomfortable! And besides," Sakura walked towards him and added, "We're partners remember? And I don't want you to feel self-conscious around me."

'That's exactly what I'm feeling right now…' Sasuke thought glumly. He turned to face her through his thick-rimmed glasses. Taking a deep breath, he forced a smile. "It's all right, Haruno-san. For starters, a girl and a boy who are strangers to each other should not share the same bed. It's…kind of awkward. And sometimes, sharing a bed would eventually lead to…"

"Lead to what?"

"Uh…you know uh…" he gritted his teeth. "…actually making the uhm…baby for real, if you understand what I mean."

The pink-haired girl placed a finger under her chin thoughtfully. Naiveté was clearly shown on her features. "Really? I thought…"

"There's nothing to think about." He opened the door then bowed his head in apology. "Oyasumi nasai, Sakura-san."

There was a slight tint of disappointment in the girl's eyes. It was later covered easily with a grin. "Okay. Oyasumi nasai, Suke-san. I'll see you in the morning."

He closed the door.

1:00 AM

Tenten sighed as she watched the stars sparkling in the night sky. She tucked a hand under her chin then leaned on the balcony. She decided to go out of the suite for some fresh air since sleep hadn't claimed her. On the other hand, her darling husband slept like there was no tomorrow and ended up hogging the damn blanket. The nerve!

"That stupid…whatever. Why did he have to state the obvious?" she said to herself as the wind whipped at her face. Yes, earlier when the teacher announced that Sakura would be Sasuke's partner, she was ready to stand up and interfere when that pesky blond stopped her.

Of course Naruto got a black eye for hindering her from hurting the pink-haired hussy and she was satisfied with that. Until in the latter part…when Sasuke told her, no, it seemed like he ordered her to stay away from Sakura! What the hell was that Uchiha thinking! By saying those words, he forbade her from protecting his sorry hide!

Dense Sasuke!

Dumb Sasuke!

Stupid Sasuke…

"Bastard… Sasuke…" she muttered angrily. She imagined hitting the handsome Uchiha's smirking face with her fist. Well, not really hard to leave a bruise but at least to hurt him enough to realize that he was stepping into a trap. A trap made by a bitch by the name of Haruno Sakura.

If Neji's planning on ruining Sasuke by using his pet to do his dirty deeds then she and Naruto must be on guard in order to protect their stoic friend. Sasuke might have the capability of killing Hyuuga right then and there but when it came to dealing with weak simpering girls…

"It still doesn't matter. He's dumb! DUMB!" she screamed to the heavens.

"Who're you calling dumb?"

"It's SASUKE of course! He's…" she immediately faltered when she saw none other than the Uchiha himself.

Tenten swallowed inwardly. 'Quick! Try to come up with something to say!' her mind screamed. She tried to greet him casually with a wave of her hand. "Uh…hi, Sasuke. Fancy meeting you here at this time of the night."

The lad only raised his eyebrow.

Tenten fidgeted, unsure of what to say. When neither one of them took the initiative to talk, Sasuke leaned against the balcony instead. Staring at the stars, he sighed. "You sure are weird, T. What did I do in order for you to call me dumb?" he asked innocently.

"I…it's uhm…" she stammered. 'Shit! Why on earth did he have to hear all of that crap? And why did he have to appear on such a bad time?'

She laughed nervously. "Well…it's uh, you know. The time of the month…"

"Time of the month?" Sasuke blinked, confused. "Was that why you're calling me dumb? Because it's your time of the month?"

Redness seeped her cheeks. "No! That's not what I was trying to say! What I meant was…"

"Ha! Ha! Ha! That's a first, T," he snickered, thinking that it was a joke.

Now Tenten wanted to punch him really hard on the face. But on the bright side, she was the only one who can pull out his weird sense of humor. She smirked. 'Hah! Beat that, you bitch!' she mocked inwardly with Sakura's face fresh in her mind. When Sasuke finally stopped laughing, she sighed. "The very day you laughed this hard had finally came. You rarely do this and I thought it wouldn't appear in a million years."

He stared at her. "Really? I didn't know. Maybe it's been that long since I…" he faltered when he remembered something vague. He then closed his eyes. "Never mind. By the way, aren't you supposed to be with Naruto? You should be sleeping by now."

"I could say the same thing to you, Sasuke! And why on earth did you have to wear that…" she couldn't think of anything decent to say to his pajamas. "…that crap you're wearing!"

"It's called a disguise, T. I got this from Itachi's Halloween party last year. I thought this could be handy one day. And," he smirked, "It worked."

Tenten laughed out hard. "You're so completely…never mind. I don't want to repeat the word dumb anymore."

Sasuke smirked. "That's better. Anyway, we should go and take some rest. Tomorrow, Kurenai-sensei is going to assign us to some career work. And besides, your 'husband' might be looking for you."

"No way! If you're going to say stuff like that again, I'll kill you," she snarled. She blushed furiously. Was Sasuke pairing her up with Naruto? Couldn't he see that the one she wanted was not the loudmouth gay lord? Didn't he know that the one she liked was…

Completely oblivious to the very obvious, the raven-haired yawned. "Well…if you don't want to turn in for the night, I will. It'll be bad if Haruno wakes up and finds me gone. If that happens, I'm going to be in very big trouble." He turned his back on her then raised a hand. "See ya in the morning, T."

Tenten bit her lip. 'Damn, he's walking away! I should tell him now…or else, I would never ever have another chance again!' she scolded herself. Her palms became sweaty, so she instantly closed them into tight fists. He was almost at his suite so she took a deep breath and called him back.

"Wait!"

To her surprise and bad luck, he stopped. He turned around to look at her, his onyx eyes filled with inquiry…and unmistakable tenderness. Needless to say, his expression took her breath away. "What is it?" he asked.

"I…"

Damn! Why can't I say it? Why can't I say what's in my heart? He's here right in front of me with no one around to watch us! Why can't I just spit it all out in front of him? Why can't I tell him that I…

"I…" It's now or never!

The boy on the other hand was still waiting. Adding to her discomfort, he smiled. "If there's something that you need to tell me, go ahead."

'I'm trying, ok?' she angrily thought. She forced air into her lungs then calmed herself down. 'This is it. You can do this Tenten! Tell him now! Tell him that…'

"I…"

"You what?"

"I…." She opened her eyes.

"I like you."

The Next Day…

10:00 AM

"Man, my back hurts."

Sasuke winced as he stepped out of the shower. He woke up rather fairly early due to an experienced discomfort from his sleeping arrangements. Forcing his rather large frame on a small dingy chaise was no easy task. It was also tough to sleep in only one position and avoid any injury from falls. When he sneaked inside the bedroom to grab a new set of clothes, he accidentally checked on his 'wife'.

Still in deep slumber, it was amazing that she only slept at her own side of the bed. She was hugging a pillow close to her chest and her breaths were slow and even. Sasuke wanted to avert his gaze from her sleeping face but he was drawn to two things.

Her softly parted lips and long lashes.

'Oh man. What am I thinking? This girl's the one who caused my cooties…er, allergy to come out. If 'nisan won't believe me then that's no longer my problem,' he thought bitterly as he exited the room.

…………

Few minutes later, he was taking his time under the shower. He didn't care that the water was scalding hot. It proved a lot more of a distraction as to what he was thinking about the events last night. Sasuke sighed as he gathered his thoughts. "What was that all about? I really don't understand what Tenten meant by…" he mused as flashbacks plagued his mind.

…………

"I like you."

He didn't bat an eyelid on what he just heard. He only stared at the female in front of him who was getting ready to bolt from the scene. In fact, Tenten looked like she was hyperventilating. After digesting the words from his brain and finally understanding them, the Uchiha gave a reassuring smirk.

Tenten on the other hand was seconds near to fainting. "W-What are you smiling about?" she snapped. Was he going to tease her again?

"Nah, nothing. It's just that, I'm happy that you like me hanging out with you," he answered.

Like me hanging out with you?

She clenched her fist.

He didn't get it!

"Sasuke, what I meant earlier was that," she cleared her throat. "We've been through a lot together. You, foxface and me. I…there are times that what we feel for each other can develop into something…" she looked at him sheepishly, "more than friends."

The raven-haired Uchiha nodded his head as if he understood her completely. "I see…what you're trying to say is that you want the two of us to be more than friends. Is that it?"

Tenten nodded eagerly.

"Well then," Sasuke reached over and grasped her hands. The brown-haired girl almost passed out.

'Why does he have to be so warm? He's really making everything so difficult…but,' she blushed. 'Did he really understand what I'm trying to say…I, I didn't know that this would be easy!'

"Since you said it, I want to say that I like you too…"

And then she fainted.

…………

"But what I don't understand is…" Sasuke asked himself. "Why did she faint? Did I say something wrong?"

He then turned off the shower. Grabbing two towels from the rack, he used one to wrap around his waist and the other to dry his hair.

"First things first. Pick a career job from Kurenai-sensei then do a five-page essay. She's so brutal when it comes to projects like this," Sasuke muttered as he finished drying his hair. He hung the towel on the rack to dry then bent down to retrieve his clothes.

He started dressing when someone knocked on the door. Cursing inwardly, he quickly put his clothes on then grabbed his glasses on top of the sink. Sasuke hastily put them on then flung the door wide to reveal Sakura's half-sleepy face.

The pink-haired girl smiled at him. "Ohayou gozaimasu, Suke-san! I see that you got up early."

"Aa. O-Ohayou…" he answered quietly then sneaked past her. Sakura cocked her head to one side in confusion. Is there something wrong with what she said? She decided to ignore the events earlier and entered the bathroom.

There were lots of things to do especially in the morning.

11:30 AM

The Uzumaki Household

Naruto sighed as he finished eating his breakfast. Earlier, he woke up abruptly because their electronic baby Sachi cried out because Tenten accidentally crushed her while she slept. It seemed that the stupid tomboy forgot to put the baby on her crib last night and because of that…five hours of good sleep was taken away from him.

"That girl…I can't believe she ordered me to tend to Sachi while she sleeps! It's a good thing that I'm a nice guy or else…"

"Or else what?"

"I'll…!" Naruto sweatdropped when he saw Tenten tapping her foot impatiently in front of him with Sachi in her arms. The infant simulator was giving out cooing sounds and the girl sighed as she put it on the high chair next to him.

Tenten sat down then began to eat. Naruto watched her for a few minutes then began to talk. "You look a little glum today, T. Did something happened to you last night?"

When she didn't answer, he continued. "You tossed and turned in your sleep. I'm a little worried; you seemed to be preoccupied about something. If it's not much, can you tell me?"

He was certain that she would lash out at him but surprisingly, she didn't. The pigtailed girl sighed as she poked her egg with a fork. "Since you put it that way…you see…I…" she began. Damn it, why couldn't I form a coherent sentence? Even with foxface? She took a few cleansing breaths then tried again.

"Naruto…I…I told Sasuke that I liked him."

She could've sworn that she saw Naruto's jaw dropped.

The blond lowered his head. Then for a while, he chuckled. His chuckles then turned to full-scale laughs. He held on to his sides, as he laughed harder. Tenten bonked him on the head. "Stop that you freak!"

"Okay, okay. Sheesh." Naruto straightened his face. "So you finally told him eh? Aren't we the gutsy type! I'm so happy for you, T! However," he added, "I'm not going to make it easy for you because I love Sasuke-chan too!"

Veins popped in Tenten's temple. "Nitwit! I'm not really joking! And stop saying that Sasuke's yours or anything! Anyhow," her expression softened. "He's a jerk, Naruto. A real jerk."

"Hm?"

"Because…" she clenched her fists. "He told me…"

…………

"Since you said it, I want to say that I like you too..."

She looked at his eyes. There was sincerity there and she couldn't believe it.

As of this night, Sasuke and she were officially a couple!

It was too good to be true!

She was about to say something but he continued…

"…Yeah, I like you to be my best friend. It's hard if I'm going to ask Naruto to be one since he's acting weirder than before, but I know you're not going to take no for an answer! T? Uh…T?"

Yep. After hearing those words, she fainted.

How mortifying.

…………

Naruto didn't know if he would laugh or cry.

Unfortunately, Tenten didn't know either.

Silence passed by for a few minutes then finally broke because of the blond's ear-shattering hoots. "WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I don't believe IT! He's really…he's really…" Naruto snickered, clutching his sides. He wasn't to get a good laugh for the last few days and this was too hilarious!

"He's really a stupid jerk! I can't believe it, the guy's too DENSE!" Tenten murdered her breakfast until it was reduced to mush. "But in the end I gave in to be his best friend. He was…he was…ARGH!"

The blond teen raised a hand. "Hold it. Maybe he's not yet ready for a relationship. Considering that he's dateless ever since we've stepped on our first bikes, it's kinda obvious that he's clueless when it comes to women." He smirked as he fed Sachi with a special milk formula for simulators. Sachi gave a satisfied coo.

"But if he's really clueless, then why is he allowing that 'hussy' to get deep into his skin? Doesn't he know that someday that bitch is going to deliver him to Neji on a silver platter?" Tenten snarled. She was too consumed by her hatred. On the other hand, Naruto appeared calm.

Still feeding Sachi, he took a deep breath. "I know that. Even I'm also worried about him. But, despite your attempts to break Sakura-chan, she's a lot tougher than she looks. But I don't think she'll bring harm to Sasuke-chan. And in addition," he pointed a finger at her. "That's what he was trying to say to you last night when he told you to stay away from her. For you to stop worrying about him and leave the case to himself."

Tenten looked glumly at her now unrecognizable food. Sure, foxface had a point but still…she feared that there would come a time that Sasuke would no longer need them. And that was why…that was why she was so…she hated to admit…

A bit selfish.

But being selfish was an act of love right?

Maybe.

A/N: And that's our chapter 19! It was kind of Tenten-centric. I hope I met your expectations (crosses fingers while smirking)! I really worked hard in creating this chapter, so please don't forget to tell me what you think! Forgive me for my short ramblings but I'm terribly suffering from Writer's Block right now and it's killing me! WAAAHHHH! Oh, and my Valentines Day one-shot Watching You will have a sequel! Yay! But it will be posted on March 14, which is White Day so I hope you will have time reading it. And to my dear readers, I'm still having problems with the pairings though… Hope you can still keep up with my cruelty. Ja ne!

And now I'm giving the entire ceiling to my sadistic beta-reader:

B/N: Hallo! Unfortunately, we don't have an excerpt for now because we are not yet finished with chapter 20. Personally, I had a hard time on deciding how to cut this chapter. And as the author said, we are currently working on the sequel of Watching You. Check out the first part coz' I think the concept was really good (of course, love and praise your own!). Please R & R! Ja!