A/N: I AM ALIVE! What has it been, like five months? I'm sorry! Hopefully I'll be able to update again later this week. Thank you to all of you who have stuck by me through my absence.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

…..

Tenten has never been so afraid. She is panicking, arms flailing, lungs burning because she keeps forgetting to breathe. Her eyes widen when she feels her body tip and spin and suddenly, she is hurtling headfirst towards the ground. She bites her lip, preparing for the inevitable impact, praying to Kami above she'll still retain at least half her brain cells after this. It had been a stupid decision she thinks, to come out here alone without anyone around in order to practice her new jutsu. But she also knows it's safer for everyone else too, because she has yet to find a way to properly control her rain of steel death.

Her body spins and twists again and now she is parallel to the ground. Good, she thinks, at least she'll land flat on her back. She closes her eyes, clearing away thoughts of possible paralysis and brain damage and trying not to flail like a fish out of water lest her body tips forward again.

Then comes the sensation of being snatched from the air, like a feather plucked from the wind. An arm wraps around her torso while the other slides behind her knees. She is pulled tightly against a chest and holds her breath until she feels that her savior has landed on solid ground. Her eyes snap open to meet lilac orbs. Neji. She almost screams in surprise at the sight of him, but hurriedly clamps a hand over her mouth.

"It's our day off," he reminds her, setting her down carefully.

"I know," she replies after her lungs start to function again, and she tries to steady her legs while she explains, "I wanted to work on my jutsu." Tenten feels face heat up, slightly embarrassed that she needs saving from her own stupidity. She and the Hyuuga genius have never spoken much, and Tenten earnestly wishes to make a good impression on the arrogant boy, but all hopes are effectively dashed when Neji's eyes flash with a foreign emotion and his face contorts into a strange look (she learns a few weeks later, when he asks her to train with him, that the look had meant he was slightly impressed).

"I see. I have been working as well." He nods his head in what she assumes is the direction of wherever he had been training. She squints and sees small wisps of smoke curling in the wind. She can faintly trace the outline of a small crater. She doesn't know what to make of it, but she has a hunch it is probably some type of Hyuuga technique. Neji doesn't say another word as he turns to take his leave, but Tenten freezes him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you." Neji is still for a moment, muscles visibly contracting underneath his shirt, a sign that he has acknowledged her gratitude, before he shrugs her hand off his shoulder and stuff his hands in his pockets. He merely nods again, still not facing her, and walks off. Tenten watches him go, silently debating whether or not she should risk further humiliation and attempt her jutsu again. In the end, she decides she might as well because after all, if she does perfect it, Neji will be nearby to see.

Tenten breathes deeply, trying to calm her racing heart. She squeezes her eyes shut as she exhales, feeling jolts of pain shoot through her body. She spreads her arms and legs out on the grass, stretching to hopefully loosen her sore muscles. Inhale.

It has been two weeks since Neji had caught her, and she has done it, completed her jutsu (well, somewhat: she still needs to work on her landing) and despite how much everything hurts right now, a small smile of satisfaction ghosts her lips. She hears Neji's footsteps approach her and she opens her eyes when she feels his shadow splay across her form. He is smirking arrogantly and his eyes are lit with barely concealed mirth.

"Congrats on falling about (he pauses to gauge the distance against the treetops) three stories."

She grins and lets out a laugh. "I didn't fall, genius, I flew."

Neji frowns and tells her sternly that humans can't fly, but she shakes her head, still smiling.

"You'll learn."

The second time Neji catches her, it is mid-battle. Tenten doesn't have time to turn red as a tomato or thank him because there are two very scary men haphazardly swinging axes at her. She backs away as the Hyuuga steps in front of her, sliding into a familiar stance (familiar because they have already started training together), and disappears in a whirl of blue spinning chakra.

Tenten takes this time to steal into the shadows of the trees and open another scroll. She bites her thumb and smears her blood over the black ink seal. Then she leaps and she feels her core contract to steady her. She launches one weapon after another in one seemingly endless fluid motion. She hits the ground hard, but she is still standing and her knees tremble a bit from the blunt shock of impact. She has the luck of seeing Neji's eyes momentarily widen in disbelief.

When the battle is over, Gai-sensei puts a hand on her head as he congratulates their team on successfully completing their first real mission.

An hour later, Tenten finds herself stuffed in a booth, her shoulder pressed against Neji's as their sensei orders a meal fit enough to feed half the population of Konoha. While Lee and Gai exalt their success and avidly reenact battle scenes with flailing limbs, Neji turns to her. He is thoroughly annoyed at being dragged to eat dinner with them and has been silently sulking ever since they arrived at the restaurant. Tenten expects him to complain to her, but instead, he surprises her with a quiet "congratulations".

"For what?"

"For finally landing on your feet."

Within the next year, Tenten becomes alarmingly proficient at landing on her feet and as Neji feels primal stirrings in his heart at the sight of her, he begrudgingly admits to himself that part of him had enjoyed catching her and watching her blush.

When they are seventeen, Tenten tells him she thinks he looks beautiful when he performs the Kaiten.

"What does it feel like?" she asks. Neji is at a loss for words. The feeling of spinning so fast that the world becomes a blur, but yet at the same time being so acutely aware of the presence of the people he is protecting (so acutely aware of her presence in particular)-that feeling is indescribable.

Instead he takes a step forward and pulls her in with trembling hands. Tenten is stiff at first, but then she rests her head on his shoulder and wraps her arms around his waist.

"It feels like this," he tells her, arms tightening around her form as he breathes her in.

"What does it feel like?" he asks her, later that same year, when the two of them are sitting contently under the warm afternoon sun.

"What?"

"Flying. What does it feel like?"

She turns to him and Neji's heart constricts with yearning at the sight of her brown eyes and the way her sweaty bands are plastered to her face. There are no words to describe the sensation of flight so instead, she flashes him a mischievous grin.

"It feels like this," she whispers as she presses her lips to his.

…..

A/N: I am quite satisfied with how this turned out. I hope it somewhat makes up for my not posting anything in nearly half a year. I am so sorry!

Thank you for reading and please review!

~M.I.