Updated with added new text.

I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 9: Home Sweet Home; Old Movie And New Company

"You are taking Shino's place?" Kiba said, startled.

Kurenai gave him a faint smile. "Only temporarily. We're one shinobi short, and Kankuro needs to train while he's here. We all have a mutual profit from this arrangement."

Kiba narrowed his eyes in suspicion, obviously not satisfied with the explanation. He glanced at Tenten as if she were guilty of the new situation. Next, his sight shifted to Hinata, then to Kankuro. In a mere second, his face changed — a sly smile creeped over his lips, making his elongated canine teeth visible.

"Well," he said, "if you're going to be part of our team, then you should join our team movie night too."

Kurenai raised her eyebrows but didn't say anything. Hinata slightly blushed, probably at the sudden suggestion.

"Please, elaborate." Kankuro crossed his arms, barely holding his frown back.

"Every Friday evening we gather at my place to watch a movie, eat unhealthy food, and drink a beer or two. If you are part of our team, you should come too."

The sand shinobi turned to Tenten, seeking some help, but she only shrugged. Hinata had informed all the girls about their team evenings, so it wasn't really something new that Kiba created especially for Kankuro.

"You aren't asking for permission for everything you do, right?" Kiba asked.

Kankuro smiled. "It is not about permission in this case but more of a… validation of your intentions. After all, I don't know you well enough, and I'm not sure to what extent I should believe in what you say." He pointed at Tenten. "She knows better."

"And you trust her, don't you, eh?"

"Of course I do," Kankuro confirmed matter-of-factly.

Kiba laughed.

"It may be best if you go," Tenten said, pursing her lips. "The team events are kind of obligatory in Konoha."

"So it's not exactly something I can skip, it seems." Kankuro chuckled and didn't miss the opportunity to hold her gaze with his.

"But…" Hinata spoke quietly, and magically, everyone turned their eyes to her. "Maybe we should do it with both teams? Kurenai and Gai's teams together?"

"Hinata! This is a great idea!" exclaimed Kurenai with palpable relief in her voice.

"If we're doin' it like that, why don't we just invite everyone and make a decent movie evening and then… an afterparty?" Kiba wondered.

"We can't do this, Kiba-kun," Hinata retorted. "We have training on Saturday."

"So we can have a quiet movie evening on Friday evening and a nice party on Saturday evening," Kiba concluded. "Sounds better?"

"It does." The pale-eyed woman nodded. "What do you think, Kurenai-sensei? Tenten-chan? Kankuro-san?"

"I'm coming on Friday, but I have other plans for Saturday evening." The older woman smiled. "Plus, I don't think you'd want an old hag like me to hang around you the whole night, do you?"

Hinata blushed, and Kiba laughed out loud.

"You are not an old hag, sensei!" Hinata protested, but Kurenai dismissively waved a hand.

"Let's call a spade a spade. And no, I'm not coming on Saturday. But you can go ahead and have some fun as we're not training on Sunday."

The Hyuuga heiress shifted her pale eyes to Tenten questioningly.

"I wouldn't mind coming," she said, smiling.

"Then I'm in too, I guess." Kankuro shrugged and winked at Tenten.

She normally didn't react to men trying to flirt with her, but something in his eyes caused a heat wave to rise in her stomach; she blushed.

"Alright then, I'll explain where I live later on." Kiba grinned and started stretching.

"Girls night is on, yeah?" Tenten asked quietly and got affirmation on Hinata's part. "Good."

She stood in place for a few seconds before gathering herself and turning to Kankuro. "Well, see you later, I guess."

"Yes, laters."

She waved goodbye and, with relief written all over her face, jumped on a low branch.

The sand shinobi didn't mind being seen watching after her until she hid from sight. He even made sure to stare at her back long enough.

"You've seemed to pick well," Kurenai said simply.

When Kankuro met her ruby eyes, she smiled slightly. "She's a fine young woman, but I can see you already know that."

He nodded, keeping his amusement to himself. Then he patiently listened to the training plan. They trained every morning, without Sundays. Every second afternoon, they had new ability training or joined one of the other teams. Tomorrow, they were supposed to have a joint afternoon training session with the team Tenten was part of. Just like the rest of the teams here, it was called after their seniors: "Team Gai" in this case. Kankuro felt his curiosity kick in, turning into excitement and anticipation about that particular joint training.

After he got familiar with the schedule, he started to warm up while listening to Kiba's rattle.

Does he shut up at all? The sand shinobi couldn't help thinking. Unnecessary speaking and complaining during the training sessions in Suna were prohibited and could even cause punishment.

His gaze met Hinata's, and she shyly smiled at him. A surprise pierced him when behind the timid expression on her face, Kankuro recognised a burning curiosity in her light lavender eyes.

After a few hours of intensive training, he found himself relieved to be on the way to Tenten's flat.

Kankuro came home physically well but mentally exhausted.

Tenten had come back about half an hour ago, taken a shower, and was now trying to think of what to feed them both for dinner. She was avoiding cooking in general, though she knew she couldn't procrastinate too much. There was no other way to learn than to actually start cooking. Starting now was as good a time as any. Also, she had started to get hungry, so preparing something sounded like a good idea.

When the door shut with a loud thud, she popped her head into the living room. The sight made her laugh — Kankuro stood barefoot in the middle of the living room; his face lifted to the ceiling and his eyes shut; his clothes were torn in a few places, a distinctive reddening bruise on the right side of his jaw.

He cracked an eye open and looked at her, unwillingly noting how she radiated pure light when smiling like this.

"I'm glad I bring you joy," he said.

"Sorry," she barely uttered between laughs.

Even if he wanted to look sullen, his lips still curled up a bit. "Do I look as bad as I feel?"

"Probably worse," she succeeded in saying in her laughing fit.

"I've come to really dislike this guy," Kankuro admitted, his scrolls dropping on the small table.

Tenten took a few deep breaths and wiped away the tears. "Kiba can be annoying," she agreed.

He shook his head in discord.

"Annoying is a polite way to put it." The words were said in a quiet voice.

Removing his hat, he fully turned to her. The dark eyes, hiding teasing flames in their depths, caused the kunoichi to stiffen for a second.

She felt a weird urge to defend a fellow leaf shinobi. "But you've gotta know, he could be quite destructive. He's capable of doing some really bad damage."

Kankuro sighed. He stepped forward and theatrically opened his arms. "The damage he succeeded in doing was mainly to my nerves."

She pointed at his chest, giggling. "Really?"

He followed the direction of her pointer with his eyes to the big gash on his top, and his arms dropped to his sides. "To my gear as well, obviously."

"Yeah, I bet." The kunoichi crossed her arms with a cheeky smile on her face. "Come on, go get a shower."

He shot her a grin. "Or else?"

"Or else you'll stink badly, and I'll send you to sleep outside." She answered.

Kankuro shook his head, still grinning. "Ok, ma'am," he teased, "I'm goin'. Won't dare infect your small domain with my stink and disturb the locals."

Keeping his little performance on, he walked backwards, not letting her eyes out of his sight. When he reached the door to her bedroom, he turned and went straight in. Once inside the bathroom, he peeled the black material off his skin and threw it in the laundry basket. In front of the mirror, he took a good look at his body and the injuries he suffered during the training. If he excluded one shallow scratch on the left side of his chest, the damage was only on his clothes.

He wiped the paint from his face and finally stepped under the running water. The heat forced his body to tighten for a few seconds before it relaxed and let the water work its magic over his strained muscles. The next thing he did was rub soap with a sponge, which he brought from Suna — a quirk of his like the many others he had. His hair needed some extra washing until it satisfactorily softened.

After spending 20 minutes in the shower, he felt refreshed. Kankuro wrapped a towel around his hip before exiting the bathroom. The moment he opened the door, his nose was hit by the smell of something burning; he heard a hiss and a curse. His body moved in an instant; he ran to the kitchen, barely taking the turn. Actually, he had to grab the door frame to stabilise himself.

"What's happening?" He asked, semi-shouting.

"I... I don't know!" she answered, never turning back. "I put the pasta to boil, and… then it just started to burn!" Tenten sounded confused.

That was alarming for him; something wasn't right. Kankuro looked around quickly so he could make a proper assessment.

Tenten started making a fuss, obviously not aware of what exactly she was doing. One of her hands was holding a steaming and hissing pan; the other was full of still hard spaghetti.

He made a few wide strides, halting behind her.

"Give me that," he ordered, snatching the pan from her hand. With a smooth movement, he stuck it into the sink and let the water run inside to put out the remaining flames. He left it there and moved the pot with boiling water away from the hot plate.

"Move!" Kankuro commanded almost rudely, trying to snap Tenten out of her weird, inadequate state.

It worked — flinching, she started to react senselessly. She decreased the heating level of the hot plate and opened the window while still squeezing the spaghetti.

The man's sight fell on her left wrist — it was red with a fast-forming blister on it. Biting his lower lip to not give in to his irritation, he placed a heavy hand on her arm to make her stop. She did. Looking over her own shoulder, she raised an eyebrow questioningly. Carefully, he took the pasta from her clutching fingers and led her to the sink. He peeked at her face — by the look of it, she was likely going to lose her nerve.

Kankuro didn't need a panicking woman, definitely. He needed to prevent it at all costs. He didn't have many options, nor did he have time to deliberate the most suitable course of action, so he just forced a smile and carelessly said, "It's good to bathe in hot water, but boiling yourself? Come on, you can do better than a common oyster."

As they stood in front of the sink, he gently moved her damaged arm under the cool water. She hissed, though she didn't try to resist or pull back.

"I know it hurts." His tone was reassuring, and he mindlessly stroked her elbow for comfort.

Tenten flinched at his touch and closed her eyes briefly, sucking in a deep breath.

"I am sorry," she whispered. "I don't know what happened. I just…" I just had my mind fly away to a completely different place. I was thinking about today's training and the way Neji was looking at me with concern, about the way his pale eyes were following me and making my heart throb and falter, about the way he grabbed my elbow and asked me if everything was okay and if there was something he could do. There was no way she'd share all of this with Kankuro. It was shameful, not because she was feeling it but because she had already put it behind her. She was falling down... falling back, and that was terrible. It was going to make pretending so much more painful.

Kankuro's big palm lay on her back, and he leaned a bit closer. "Shush," he said softly. "Let's fix this red spot first, then we'll see what can be saved from the dinner," he offered. "How does that sound?"

His hand was warm and pleasantly heavy, and his voice was calm, confident, and kind. It felt like a balm to her senses, so she could take a breath.

Tenten nodded and bit her lower lip.

"Sounds like a plan," she admitted, turning to look at his face over her shoulder yet again. She failed to hide her amazement; the serious expression and slightly concerned look of his bare face did funny things to her stomach. She couldn't deny he was attractive, so she thought it was all a normal reaction on her side. Any woman would have reacted somehow similar in her place, right? Nothing to be ashamed of, right?

He grinned and said, "Yes, I'm a good planner."

Tenten returned his smile. "Modest, too, obviously," the kunoichi added, and he laughed.

"Yes, that as well. Anyway, stay there and cool your burn. I'll go get dressed and come back in a moment, alright?" He was still holding her arm, and his palm still rested on her back.

"Yes, boss, go get dressed." She froze for a second, realising just now what he'd said. Pink painted her cheeks, and she briefly stared through the window, swallowing.

As if he read her thoughts, he elaborated, "I'm not exclusively naked, you know. I still have a towel covering me." All in all, he couldn't stop his wide grin at her reaction. "Or at least partially."

Tenten's eyes drifted to the mentioned towel as if to confirm he were telling the truth. She started breathing again; she didn't really notice she had stopped.

"I can always remove it," Kankuro teased. "All you've gotta do is ask."

She huffed, partly with irritation and partly with discomfort.

He pulled away from her, and his smile remained on his face while he headed to the living room. Her gaze unwillingly slid over his wide, tanned back; the way his muscles moved under the skin was kind of hypnotising, as she hadn't really let herself watch a man's bare back like that before. Hunger... the feeling she got while her eyes observed his frame resembled a kind of hunger. Anyway, his skin wasn't spared from a few thin scars, scattered mainly on his shoulder blades; she couldn't help but wonder what they would feel like if she touched them. A new blush advanced on her face at this thought. But the distraction was welcome, as she didn't concentrate on the pain in her wrist or the coldness that also started to hurt.

Kankuro returned in less than a minute, exactly as he said he would. First things first, he put the water for the pasta back on the stove to boil.

"So… How do I handle Kiba?" he asked. He was well aware she needed to think of something other than her injury. "You know, so as not to strangle him?"

"Oh, this is a hard one. But maybe you should ask Hinata. She's successfully handled him for years."

"Excellent idea, Ten, I'll do it."

"Ten?" She turned to look at him with wide and terrified eyes.

"You don't like it?" Kankuro glanced at her and directed his attention to the sink.

The girl intensively shook her head.

"Don't you have a nickname?" He asked while examining the burned contents of the pot.

The man received yet another head shake. He stilled his movements and asked, "What do your friends call you?"

"They call me Tenten. I don't have nicknames," she said, frowning.

Kankuro tilted his head and bore his eyes into hers. The expression he wore just before speaking was so serious that she tensed in anticipation.

Leaning in, he whispered, "Oh, but you do, youthful flower!" The grin that followed threatened to connect his ears.

"Don't you dare!" She hissed and punched his shoulder with her free hand.

Laughing, he rubbed the place and pulled back a bit, leaving the pot unattended in the sink.

"Can I call you 'Ten'?" His wiser self forced him to step away and go to the fridge, all in order to put some physical distance between them.

"No!"

Her yell made him halt. He shrugged before adding, "Alright, no nicknames, got it."

Kankuro took out some butter and two types of cheese, which he placed on the table.

"I believe it's enough cooling for your pretty red spot. Where do you keep the ointment for burns?"

He casually set the ready-to-eat spaghetti on the table next to the cheese.

Tenten sighed and gave him the instructions he wanted: "Bedroom, second drawer on the bathroom wall."

"I'll be right back. Make yourself comfortable." Kankuro gestured towards the table and pulled out a chair for her on his way out of the room.

While he was gone, Tenten stopped the water and moved to the chair. She couldn't help but assess the incident and Kankuro's reaction to it. The truth was that he had approached the current situation quite well, even with surprising tenderness and attention. Technically, there wasn't anything she could complain about. So, she tried to put him in one of the familiar categories in which she would list the men around her. He was not as enthusiastic as Lee and Naruto, for example, but he was still energetic. He wasn't trying to be funny all the time like Kiba, but he still liked to joke around. He was mature, like Neji in a way, though he probably would never be as mature, smart, or... Tenten's breath hitched in her throat. She desperately needed to find something about Kankuro she liked that Neji didn't have.

One of the worst things was the knowledge that she needed to just pretend to like Kankuro; she didn't need to really like him by all means. At the same time, she was terrified that she might like him for real at some point, sexual attraction aside. If that happened, she may actually develop deeper feelings for him and eventually fall in love. If she did, that would most likely result in her being left with a broken heart, as their arrangement would be over in a year or so. After the mission's term ran out, they were both going to return to their lives. But in case she fell for him, he would continue with his life, and she would suffer through yet another unreciprocated love.

Tenten could try to hate him instead, to protect her heart and prevent deepening her still superficial feelings of liking. But… she already knew this wouldn't work — he was too nice to her and didn't deserve her hatred. For fuck's sake, he was doing all of this out of duty and love for his sister! How could she possibly despise anyone with such motivation?

"Alright, ma'am, let's apply some of that, shall we?" Kankuro entered the kitchen, opening the little jar of ointment before sitting.

When he saw her face, he halted. Pure concern crossed his features and quickly changed to an almost tender expression; his voice was soft as he asked, "What's wrong? Are you feeling sick?"

She shook her head and let a small smile grace her lips. "No, I just fell into… some thoughts."

"Should be quite a depressive thought, if it makes you look like that," he noted and slowly reached for her hand.

Tenten nodded. "It was."

"Do you… want to share?" he asked hesitatingly.

"Maybe another time."

She sighed and took the little jar from his hand, careful not to touch him. After sticking a finger from her non-injured hand inside, she started to apply the ointment to her burned skin.

Tenten didn't notice him move and flinched when his hand gently poked her forehead. His thumb smoothed her frown.

"Better," he announced with a smile.

She felt a heat creep over her face. Her chest filled up with both embarrassment and exasperation over his volatile actions. It was difficult to react properly, so Tenten bit her lip and kept silent, refusing to react at all.

Kankuro suppressed a chuckle. The best thing to do was let her deal with her own emotions, which were obviously a bit overwhelming. He stepped out of her closest physical space for a few moments, moving aside to fill two plates with spaghetti, some butter, and cheese. Her plate was then carefully placed in front of her.

"You're welcome," the sand shinobi said.

She huffed. "Thank you, I guess."

He grinned instead of answering and sat opposite her.

They ate in silence until he cleared his throat and spoke up hesitatingly, "We're going to train together tomorrow afternoon."

Tenten looked into his eyes, swallowing. "Yes, we do that almost every week. It's not a big deal."

"I guess it's not," he agreed. "Is there anything I have to know in advance?"

"You mean about the arrangement, or do you have something else in mind?"

"More of... I mean, is there anything I have to know about your teammates' fighting styles, strengths, and maybe other abilities?"

The kunoichi eyed him, but... the strict shinobi talk was something she could lean on right now. She nodded slowly.

"Lee is really fast and hits really hard," she said after mulling over his question for a few seconds. "I mean it. Really hard."

"So I shouldn't let him get to me at all?"

"It's wise not to. Though it's hardly possible as he's really fast, as well." Tenten shrugged. "Neji is really precise, so if he hits you, there is a good chance you'll be left disabled."

"I know he can manipulate the chakra channels." Kankuro nodded. "His style probably resembles Hinata's?" The woman smiled in affirmation.

"What will you tell me about your fighting style?" She suddenly asked with genuine interest.

His lips pulled a bit. "Well, I'm a ranged fighter." Then he leaned forward and grinned. "Like you."

Her body hair stood up to the intensity of his gaze. She couldn't remember anyone looking at her this way. It was as if he were interested in her, as if he wanted to know more about her. She felt… desired… in every single sense — her presence, her company, her body, her emotions, her thoughts — everything that she was. It was a strange feeling that scared the hell out of her.

She leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. "Yeah, I guess I'm a ranged fighter."

Kankuro chuckled and also pushed himself a bit back.

"It was alright," Tenten said, gaining a confused look at first.

The man narrowed his eyes. "The spaghetti?" he guessed.

"Yes." She got up hastily. She needed to move away. "Let me clean up."

He also got up, his mouth pressed in a firm line. "No, I'll do it. Let your burn heal."

Tenten had a frown on her face when she slowly sat back down and watched as he picked up the rest of the food and put it in a box, then into the fridge. He moved the plates into the sink and washed them, but he let her help with wiping them dry.

When the kitchen was clean, Kankuro turned to her, asking, "Now what? What do you usually do?"

"I watch a movie or read a book, if that's what you ask about."

His eyebrows raised, and yet again she was stunned at how lively his bare face was. "Only these two options? Really?"

"Oh, well… I sometimes go out with the girls; I often go out to eat with the boys — my teammates, I mean; Lee in particular," she added slowly.

"No boyfriend's sleepover?" he asked nonchalantly.

"Nope."

"Hmmm…"

Her body language told Kankuro that her guarding walls were about to rise up, and he decided to drop the topic for the moment. "I don't feel like reading, so let's watch a movie?"

"A movie?" Tenten crossed her arms.

He grinned. "I'll let ya pick it."

She laughed at the offer. But why not? Watching a movie was a safe, quiet, and pleasant thing to do. She'd heard from his friends, Ino in particular, that "watching a movie" can be used as an innuendo for make-out. But she very much doubted Kankuro meant it in this way. Also, the movies she owned were many things, but a background for a make-out session wasn't one of them.

"Alright. Let me make some tea, and I'll come pick a movie."

"Nah. Go pick it. I'll make the tea." He waved at her dismissively and turned the hot plate on.

"You spoil me," she whined, mockery audible in her voice.

He smiled and winked before confiding in her, "I do spoil my girlfriends."

Kankuro turned and started preparing the tea. The kunoichi stood there for a few moments. She wasn't used to having someone do something useful in the kitchen. She wasn't used to someone treating her as a girlfriend either. Both things were… weird.

Tenten was quick to put on her pyjamas and return to the living room. She was already going through her small movie collection when Kankuro appeared with two steaming mugs of good-smelling tea. He placed them on the table and sat on the couch, a bit stiff, as Tenten noticed from the corner of her eye.

"What do you think?" she asked, and showed him two movies.

The man took the two videotapes from her hands while she flopped down on the sofa beside him and read the descriptions: one was an action movie with a lot of choreography, the other was a history one.

"Honestly?" He shot her a crooked smile and returned the boxes to her; she nodded. "I think they're equally boring."

"You don't understand a thing about a good show!" she said, mockingly hitting him on the chest with one of the tapes.

He instantly lifted his hands in a feigned defence, gaining a stare from her, which she tried hard to be a stern one. She failed to keep a serious face and surrendered to the upcoming smile.

He laughed heartily. "Ok. Enlighten me, then."

"I'll make sure I do!" she nagged, waving her pointer finger in front of his face.

She chose the action movie and got up on her feet. Her TV was stored in a low cupboard, placed on a really small table with wheels. She pulled it out and dragged it ahead — it was old, box-like, with a small, convex screen. When she switched it on from a big green button because she didn't have a remote, Kankuro noticed a little black spit in the upper right corner. The movie player was also old, but at least it had a remote.

Tenten carefully pushed the tape into the respective slot. She still remembered Lee's excitement when she shared that she had bought a second-hand TV and movie player. Neji expressed... let's call it a vague curiosity.

Shortly after her announcement, she invited them to watch a movie together at her place, and Neji had the audacity to snort — he could be such an insensitive jerk sometimes. For him, such technical devices were something normal, and she knew that in the Hyuuga compound they were supplied with modern and good-quality mechanisms. That's why she was carefully watching Kankuro's reaction, which, for the record, was none. He seemingly accepted her choice of purchase and didn't let out a single dismissive comment.

"My sister used to have the same TV," he informed her.

"Used to?"

He shrugged. "Yeah… It stopped working about a year ago. I'm not sure she bought a new one at all."

"What about you?" Tenten returned to the couch and sat as far away from him as possible, making sure not to accidentally touch him.

"What about me?" His lips playfully tugged upward.

Tenten let out an exasperated sigh. "Do you own a TV back home?"

She didn't know what she had expected, but him shaking his head in denial was not it. Wasn't he some kind of prince? He was the previous kazekage's son and the current kazekage's brother, right? And he didn't own a TV? That sounded improbable.

"I thought the Kazekage home was supplied with all the modern devices?" she probed.

"It is." He nodded with a smile. "I still have a reserved part of the family wing there."

Tenten eyed him. Enlightenment and understanding gleamed into the depths of her hazel pools when she asked slowly, "But you don't live there, do you?"

Kankuro shook his head. A small but genuine smile rewarded her for her conclusion.

She successfully suppressed the 'why' question, as it kind of felt like sticking her nose in something too personal. Inquiring about his home choice was going to be too improper at this stage.

"Anyway, let's see what so fascinating you find in this movie." That was a polite signal and confirmation that he didn't want to talk about this.

Tenten pushed the play button of the remote and reached for her tea. She folded her right leg and let it lay on the seat between Kankuro and herself.

His eyes unwillingly drifted to her bare-skinned knee. It looked so smooth and… alluring that he had a hard time self-restraining from touching her. Instead, he tangled his fingers and relaxed his hands on his stomach, leaning back into the couch.

When the movie started, so did her comments and explanations. Obviously, she had watched it too many times. Way too many times.

Kankuro listened to her with annoyance at first. She added some facts and supplements to every cascade. It was unbelievable how many details she knew about this movie.

After the first ten minutes, surprisingly, he realised the irritation had subsided and he actually started to enjoy her voice. He admitted that the comments were curious and informative.

Somewhere around the middle of the movie, she moved uncomfortably and changed her position, folding her other knee. Inevitably, this brought her closer to him, so there would be a place left for her leg.

Kankuro wanted to believe she felt more comfortable in his presence, even if that wasn't the case.

When the movie was over, she let out a happy sigh, confiding, "It's a great movie." She directed a serious gaze at him and waited for him to look back at her. "Did you change your mind?"

"It wasn't that bad," he admitted under his breath, a smile on his lips.

"See! You could be cultivated!"

He huffed. "You think I'm a savage and uneducated dork, don't you?"

"Well…" She blushed slightly. Trying to deny that would be a lie since this thought did cross her mind. It felt like he caught her in the act of stealing candy before dinner. He really had proven capable of being straightforward, and that felt stingingly uneasy. But… Did she actually offend him?

Getting up on his feet, he shrugged. "You can think whatever you want."

Tenten's head snapped, and her wide-opened eyes bore into his nape.

"It won't change who I am." He glanced at her before grabbing the empty tea mugs from the table.

Tenten contemplated what she should say — or should she say anything at all — and decided to stay silent. In the meantime, Kankuro brought the mugs to the kitchen, and by the sound of running water, she knew he was washing them. When he returned, she had already taken out the tape from the player.

"I will leave you to rest now," she said.

He nodded and didn't honour her with an answer.

Tenten went to her bedroom when he started setting up the couch for sleep. Though she didn't feel like sleeping at all. She felt guilty for accusing him of a lack of knowledge and education. Because, frankly, that was what she hinted at; at least she didn't deny it when he accused her of doing so. The kunoichi didn't know enough about him to draw such conclusions; she was aware of that unfair and rushed judgement. She'd behaved impolitely; he didn't deserve it, and that didn't let her rest. Tenten thought the best she could do under the current circumstances was pick one of her books to read a bit.

For a change, her night was relatively peaceful, her guilt aside. She didn't have nightmares, nor did she cry.

Thank you, mfw_no_gf! (btw, you can find her story on Ao3) :))