A/N: Hi guys! I started this piece last summer and have been slowly working on it.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

…..

Neji saw her first. It was the loud screech of tires sliding on pavement that brought him out of his half-dazed stupor (the heat was killing him) and caused him to twist in his seat to locate the source of commotion. She was dressed in a cheery yellow skirt and a black off-shoulder top, complimented by her large sunglasses and brown purse (This Neji eyed wearily and tried to gauge just how large of a gun she could fit in what he decided was not a purse, but a sack.) She let out on expletive as she dodged a truck and quickened her pace, her flip-flops sounding loudly with every step.

It was she who had invited him out on this unbearably hot Sunday afternoon, excitedly describing the restaurant in which he was currently seated as a "hipster vegetarian sandwich place". Neji was not hipster, nor was he vegetarian for that matter, but he was interested in the girl he was currently waving down.

They had met about a month before the start of college out of chance really. He was just exiting his new apartment while she was trying to open the door to hers. He could still picture her, a book open in one hand, at least ten grocery bags adorning her arms, all while she tried to jam her key in the lock. Neji was not a very social person in high school, and he still wasn't too anxious about making friends, but leaving her there to struggle bothered him. So with a "here, I'll hold this" he coaxed her book and groceries out of her hands, standing patiently while she opened the door.

"Thanks!" She grinned up at him, taking her things from his arms in one graceful movement. "I'm Tenten," she said, somehow freeing a hand to shake his.

Tenten, he learned, was the most nerdy dork he had ever met, even more so than he. After he became accustomed to her rants on weapons and those weird articles she forwarded to him about parasites and diseases and a whole bunch of other gross stuff he didn't care for, she turned out to be quite pleasant. And she was really good at making hot chocolate. It became a routine of sorts after a while: he would cook (He had tried to teach her once, but that had resulted in a trip to the ER and a few scars. She was a little too good at chopping it seemed) and she would make hot chocolate. Just like that, they had become inseparable.

"Hi!" Her light feminine voice snapped him out of his reminiscence. She dropped her bag into an unceremonious heap on the sidewalk (it made a metallic clink as it hit the ground, immediately putting the Hyuuga on edge) and plopped down in the chair across for him. When she noticed his concerned look, she waved it off with a breezy, "I almost get run over a lot. It's cool." This definitely garnered an eyebrow raise from Neji, but he shook his head. "Not that. What's in your bag?"

"Oh!" she said just as nonchalantly, "Those are my daggers. I just got them sharpened." There was that gleam in her eyes again and Neji prepared himself for another long rant, propping his head on one hand, half listening, half trying to decide what to eat.

"Do you know the history of the dagger? It was developed…"

"Neji, I don't get it," Tenten whined for the nth time, shoving her calculus book away from her and putting her head down on the table.

"Tenten shut up or we'll get kicked out," Neji warned. The two were seated in the library, studying for finals. For two hours, Tenten had done nothing but complain to him about how much math "sucked ass". "Study something else," he told her, flipping through his notes.

"But this is the only thing I have to study for," she said. This was no lie. Tenten was exceptionally gifted in all areas that did not involve numbers. "Can you explain it to me again?"

Sighing and rolling his eyes, he moved to sit in the chair next to her. He nearly elbowed her out of reflex when she suddenly laid her head on his shoulder and hugged his arm, her cool breath tickling his skin, a tingling feeling crawling along the length of his spine. By now he had admitted to himself that he may find Tenten just a wee bit attractive, but he was definitely not ready to tell her that.

So instead, he prayed to kami above that his raging hormones would not ruin this experience and schooled his features into a mask of calmness. Tenten curled up in her chair and leaned her full body against him, brows furrowed in concentration as she listened. For a while, things seemed to be going well.

That is until the librarian caught site of the handle of a revolver in Tenten's backpack and promptly called security.

Neji snorted in amusement, crossing his arms and smirking down at the female sprawled out on the ice before him. "Shut up, Hyuuga," she hissed at him, trying to appear as menacing and dignified as possible.

The two had agreed to meet in New York during their last days of winter vacation, each acknowledging that two weeks with their respective families was more than enough to last them till summer.

"So are you going to stop being an idiot and let me teach you how to skate, or do you need to break an ankle first?" Neji asked, uncrossing his arms, his breath curling in the chilly evening air. Tenten glared stubbornly, but her shoulders sagged in defeat.

Once she finally picked herself off the ground, Neji hesitated for a moment, then shyly entangled his fingers with hers as he shot her a yearning glance (one that she did not see), and tugged her along, gliding gracefully across the ice rink.

Tenten was, in his opinion, breathtakingly gorgeous. Their brief two weeks apart had made him realize just how big his wee crush on her had gotten. As he watched her struggle out of the corner of his eye and then felt himself being sharply tugged downwards as she fell again, he felt laughter bubble in his throat.

"Neji you ass! Take me to the hospital! I'm dying!"

"Shut up. It's not my fault your stupidity is lethal."

Even though he was sure that she had actually broken an ankle this time and he would have to spend the night curled up in a stiff chair in the emergency room, as he glanced down at the girl now cradled in his arms, he was happy.

"Umm… Neji, what's going on?" The Hyuuga fought the urge to bolt and instead kept his feet firmly planted on the sidewalk, telling himself to breathe. This time it was he who had asked Tenten to meet him in front of the "hipster vegetarian sandwich place" after classes. She thought it was just for fun, seeing as it was Valentine's Day and the two didn't really have anyone special to spend it with, but to Neji, this was the most terrifying thing he had ever done.

He was dressed in a suit and tie clutching a bright red bouquet of roses, blushing furiously. The speech he had meticulously prepared the night before died on his lips at the sight of her. This was such a bad idea. Why the hell did I decide to do this? Oh god, she's looking at me funny. I think I'm going to throw up.

"You okay? You're making the 'oh shit I gotta pee' face."

I want to cry. I want to cry.

"So… are you going to ask me out or what?"

Neji blinked completely dumbfounded.

"Uh…" She didn't let him finish.

"Of course I'll be your valentine!" she exclaimed, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Now do you want to order Chinese or pizza? And do you prefer chick flicks or horror movies?" Tenten continued to ramble, grabbing his hand and leading him back to her apartment.

Neji threaded his fingers through hers silently, deciding the next time he fell for a girl, she'd be less of a nerd and she wouldn't like hipster vegetarian sandwiches and she most certainly would not be a telepath.

But then again, there may not be a next time.

…..

A/N: Thank you for reading and please review!

~M.I.