Neji was heading to the mission board, to get his first assignment away from Team Guy. Thankfully the team had all taken the news pretty well, understanding that it was something he needed to do. Besides, like he'd said, it was probably going to be less than a year that they'd be apart.

His progress was interrupted when Tenten appeared, hurrying down the street.

"Neji! I need to talk to you," she said urgently, yanking him into the shadows. "I've done something really stupid."

In all the time he'd known Tenten, he'd never known her to do anything that could be considered stupid.

"What is it?" he asked, curious more than anything as she didn't appear to be hurt.

Tenten wrung her hands together and blushed.

"I wouldn't have said anything," she said. "Really, I just want to forget it. Except that we're all a team and it's going to be really awkward now. I don't know what to do, Neji."

He still had no idea what had happened.

"What are you talking about, Tenten?"

Her cheeks burned even brighter.

"I slept with Guy sensei!" she blurted out.

"What?" Neji blinked. Telling him that she'd just become the Seventh Hokage would have shocked him less.

"Oh, I know…" she groaned, hiding her face in her hands. "What was I thinking?! Guy sensei of all people…"

"But why?" Neji questioned, still hardly able to believe it. Tenten had always seemed to agree with him that Guy and Lee could be a bit much sometimes. He'd even heard her specifically say that she didn't find Guy attractive.

She looked up, apparently at a loss as much as he was.

"Last night, after you left, Lee left too because we ordered more sake and well, you know what he's like. Anyway, Guy and I were just sharing some drinks, maybe feeling a touch sorry for ourselves about the team breaking up, and… oh Neji, when he walked me home, we'd both had too much to drink, and I don't even really know how it happened."

"You were drunk?"

That makes a bit more sense.

"A little. But when I woke up, I remembered everything, so I just got out of there. I couldn't face him."

"So he could still be at your place right now, waiting for you to come back?"

It was the wrong thing to say, Tenten paled as though that particular thought hadn't crossed her mind yet. Yes, it is a rather disturbing image.

"Do you think he would be? This is a disaster, Neji! What am I going to do?! What if he thinks it meant something? I can't even…"

"Well first of all, calm down. It not a 'disaster'," he assured her. "A display of poor judgement perhaps, but nothing that can't be fixed. You've known Guy sensei a long time and he's always been quite patient with you. And if he'd had too much to drink too, he's probably feeling like you. You're both adults, can't you just write it off as something that shouldn't have happened and not dwell on it?"

"I could try to do that, but what if he thinks it meant more? Neji, do you even know how lucky you are? Finding your special someone when you were fourteen."

"Tenten, you're only twenty-one. And as a matter of fact, I do know how fortunate I am. I'm grateful every day that Naruto and I found each other when we did."

"Oh Neji, what do you think Lee will say?"

"I dare not imagine. So you mean to tell him then?"

"I really don't think this is something I can hide. I don't even know how I'm going to be able to look at Guy again without turning into a beetroot, let alone speak to him or train with him. And missions… I know we need to be able to work together without hesitation. How do I do that now? How do I not read into everything he says and does?"

She had a point there, and there was only one solution Neji could think of that didn't involve Tenten running as fast as she could and never looking back.

"Tenten," he said, gentler this time, touching her shoulder to comfort her. "You have to make it absolutely clear where you stand, which means you're going to have to talk to him about it, even if it's simply to say that it will never happen again."

Tenten bit her lip and gave him a guilty look.

"Tenten!" he admonished. "Are you serious?"

"That's the thing," she said. "If you'd asked me how I felt about him yesterday, I'd have answered completely differently. But I know things now that I didn't know yesterday…"

She was talking about sleeping with Guy, and it sounded as though she hadn't hated the experience.

"Tenten, please stop. I do not need to hear another word about that."

"It doesn't matter anyway," she said, shaking her head. "I can't compromise the team."

"Yes," he said, immensely relieved. "Stick with that."

Apart from the fact that it was weird and unnerving, he thought Tenten could find a more suitable match, certainly someone who wasn't fifteen years older than her.

"Oh, what a mess," she lamented.

"Indeed," Neji agreed. He might not have announced he was leaving the team if he'd known this would be the consequence. "But I think it's better addressed sooner rather than later."

She gave him a panicked look.

"It's alright," he told her. She was his oldest friend, the one he'd always gotten along with, the one who'd had to listen to him venting when Lee and Guy irritated him, so he wasn't going to leave her to face this alone. "I'll come with you."

Her mouth wobbled and her eyes glistened, then she threw her arms around him.

"Thank you for not giving me a hard time about this," she said.

He returned her embrace, just so she'd know he was on her side.

"You're my best friend, Tenten. I've lost count of the times you've been there for me."

She pulled back and gave him a watery smile.

"You're strong," he reminded her. "This is nothing compared to so many other things we've faced. You can do this."

"Yeah," she agreed with a nervous laugh. "I suppose I'm going to have to."

x

After treating her to a cup of tea to calm her nerves, Neji went with Tenten to the training ground where she was scheduled to meet Lee and Guy this morning. The pair were there, already in the middle of an intense workout.

Noticing their arrival, Lee waved to them. I wonder if he knows.

Neji turned his attention to their sensei, and it briefly flashed through his mind that he might have to fight Guy sensei for real. Neji was confident he could win, but he knew it wouldn't be easy.

"Neji! What are you doing here?" Lee innocently asked, smiling brightly.

"I ran into Tenten," he said, levelling his gaze at Guy to let him know he knew what had happened, and that he wasn't overly impressed that the older ninja didn't have better self-control. Yes, what had happened was consensual, but it was inappropriate to say the least.

"Neji," Guy acknowledged, then his gaze turned to Tenten whose cheeks turned pink with embarrassment. Guy noticed too, and seemed to go through a whole mental process that eventually, surprisingly, seemed to land him on the idea that he was the older and more responsible party in the matter. "Tenten, can we talk?"

Tenten shot a panicked look at Neji, but this was what they'd come here for and it had to be sorted if they wished to remain a team. Hesitation in the field, for any reason, could cost them their lives.

Neji spoke softly and just for her.

"If you want to remain as a team, you have to do this."

He saw determination fill her and she nodded.

"You'll be alright?" he checked.

"Yes," she answered. "And thank you."

"Of course," he nodded.

Tenten and Guy walked away for some privacy and Lee came to stand beside him.

"What was that all about?" Lee cluelessly asked. Neji hadn't doubted it before, but now he had to wonder if the team would survive without him. It hadn't even been twenty-four hours and they were falling apart.

"You'll be here for her. Won't you, Lee?"

"I will, Neji," Lee agreed. "Is everything alright?"

He felt responsible in a way, but as he couldn't do anymore about the Guy and Tenten situation for now, there was one other thing he could do for them all, so he just needed to swallow his pride and do it.

"Yes. I'll see you later, Lee. There's something I need to take care of."

x

Tenten still couldn't believe the situation she'd landed herself in. But like Neji had said, it wasn't the end of the world, it was just embarrassing so she had to push through it for the sake of the team. Because despite anything that had or hadn't happened, she did care about them all, including Guy sensei, and she didn't want to compromise the team. We've been together for so long now.

She forced herself to look Guy in the eye, and immediately wished she hadn't. The look he gave her was too emotional, a combination of guilt, concern, and worst of all, hope.

"Tenten…" he began, but she cut him off, before he could admit to something she couldn't return.

"It was a mistake, Guy sensei," she rushed out, laughing nervously. "I mean we'd both had too much to drink. It happens, right?"

"Right…" he allowed, forcing a laugh too, though obviously disappointed, but accepting of her decision. Still, she wanted to do something to soften the blow.

"It's because I care about you too much as a friend. I don't want to risk our friendship or the team, both are too important. You understand?"

"That much I do understand. I'd never want to do anything to compromise our team either. You three mean the world to me."

Somehow, his words caught her off guard, and a lump of emotion threatened to choke her.

"Okay then," she managed, forcing a smile. "So we both agree it'll never happen again. Great. That's great." She heard herself laughing again, a fake tinny sound that she couldn't control. "We better get back to training, huh?"

"Sure, Tenten."

"What was that about?" Lee questioned, when they reappeared.

"Oh nothing," Tenten dismissed. "Just a mix up with last night's bill."

"But Neji pa-"

"The sake. So, did you want to work on some defence now? I have a new jutsu there's no way you'll be able to block, I'm not even sure Neji could."

"Really?" Lee said excitedly, thankfully taking the bait. "Then bring it on, Tenten! Just try to get past my leaf hurricane!"

She cast one last glance at their sensei before beginning, finding him uncharacteristically pensive. He deserves better but I don't have anything to give him.

x

Neji arrived at the compound to find Hinata training. She might not be the strongest member of the clan, but he had to give her this, she trained as hard as any ninja he knew.

"Lady Hinata."

She looked up, eyes widening when she recognised him.

"Father isn't here," she rushed out.

"Actually, it's you I came to see."

"M- Me?"

"Yes," he confirmed. And this was it, the part where he had to swallow his pride for the sake of his teammates. "I need to ask you something."

"O- Okay…"

Her meekness annoyed him, but he took a breath and let it go. She was one of the very few people he could ask to do this.

"As you know, I'm expecting a child. I need to step away from Team Guy for the foreseeable future, and I was hoping that you might consent to filling in for me. The team has become accustomed to operating with the byakugan, so that's why I'd like you to replace me for now."

Her eyes widened more as she stared at him, seemingly struck dumb by his request. Asking her to do this wasn't a perfect solution, he worried that she wasn't capable of keeping up with his elite squad, but he hoped the byakugan outweighed all that.

"Hinata, please…"

In his whole life he'd never asked her for anything. Especially not since the village was attacked and she'd been there for Naruto when he hadn't been. Did she understand how hard this was for him? To admit that he needed her in some capacity.

"Really? You really believe I'm good enough to take your place?"

He couldn't bring himself to say yes, she was nowhere near the ninja he was, in terms of skill and battle experience she wasn't close to being his equal, but she was uniquely qualified, and he had to say something.

"You have a lot of potential, Hinata. Team Guy will push you to meet it. I know you possess the dedication to do it."

It was the closest he'd ever come to praising her, and she lit up because of it.

"Of course, cousin," she bowed. "I'd be honoured. Thank you."

"Thank you," he returned, truly grateful because he already felt as though a weight had been lifted, which meant he could focus more of his energy on Naruto and the baby. "Take care of them, Hinata. I'm trusting you with the lives of my closest friends."

"I won't let you down," she vowed, and for the first time ever he felt a sort of camaraderie with her.

"I'm counting on it."

x

In his female form, Naruto's hair was even longer than Neji's, and he was terrible at taking care of it. A while ago, Neji had suggested they try cutting it off, but Naruto was worried about upsetting the balance of the jutsu so it remained. Now it had become a nightly ritual for Neji to brush it out and braid it while they caught up on each other's days.

"You won't believe the day I had," Neji commented, reflecting on the bizarreness of it.

"Did you get your new assignment?"

"Yes, once I finally made it to headquarters…"

Then he told Naruto everything that had happened from Tenten's shocking admission to the tentative foundations of a bridge between himself and his cousin.

When he'd finished his story, Naruto turned to him.

"Something happened to me today too," he smiled, kneeling up and folding his arms around Neji's neck, eyes sparkling.

Neji laid his hands on Naruto's hips and smiled back, pressing a soft kiss to his mouth.

"Tell me."

Naruto reached down and touched his hand, guiding it over his belly.

"I felt our baby move. It's really in there, Neji, growing inside me."

No matter what, he always manages to surprise and delight me.

"Okay, you win," he smiled, catching Naruto's mouth in an appreciative kiss.