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Hyuga Manor Guesthouse

July 3 | 0610 UTC

It was a chilly morning - even with the heating cranked up Tenten could feel the cold through her socks, seeping into her bones. Neji was either used to cold mornings or didn't let it bother him as he removed his shoes and stepped in.

Tenten tried to not let the awkwardness overtake her. His back turned, she fixed her hair into two neat buns and slipped a red jumper over her Gryffindor shirt. She massaged her face to make it look a little more alive in front of her boss.

Almost theatrically, Neji turned back around after taking in her living space. He held up the brown paper bag and smiled. "Bagels?"

"Uh-" Tenten started dumbly, "I can do bagels."

"Great, how do you like your coffee?" He immediately moved to her small dining table and settled the food and flask onto it before reaching for the cabinets.

"Black," she watched him retrieve cups and plates without effort. "Have you been here before?"

Neji looked back at her funnily, then registered her confusion. "I used to live in here." He poured the coffee into their cups and sat down, motioning for her to join him.

He had an entire mansion to live in and he chose to live in the guesthouse? For how long?

"I prefer the solitude," he answered the questions flickering across her face. Tenten felt a flush overcome her cheeks. She wasn't usually an open book. "I didn't always live with Hiashi. When I came a year ago the mansion felt like an echoing chamber. Moving in here," he gestured to the homely fireplace, the quaint decor, "Helped me feel grounded."

"Hinata never told me about you." She'd mentioned plenty about Hiashi and Hanabi of course, but didn't mention a cousin at all. For a year, apparently. Then again, Tenten had been protecting Killer B at the time, so they hadn't had many opportunities to catch up in a while.

"No," Neji smiled ruefully, "I'd imagine she wouldn't."

Tenten reached for her cup and sipped at it, trying to ignore the wave of awkwardness coming back up. What did that mean?

Neji cleared his throat, also chomping down on a bagel and easing it down with coffee. "I want to apologise for the other day."

She nearly dropped her cup, flummoxed. "Er-"

"It was your night off and you already had plans. I shouldn't have been upset with you," he paused in thought for a second, "I was being unprofessional. I'm sorry."

Oh.

That's new.

Tenten watched Neji watching her, waiting for a reaction. Anything.

She tried to not let her mouth gape open and closed like a goldfish. Where was this emotional maturity the entire time she'd been protecting him?

"It's okay, really. I appreciate you talking to me about this."

Neji lifted his cup and made a silent toast before downing the rest of his coffee. She bit the bagel - Kami, it was heavenly - contemplatively.

This was new, if not a bit uncomfortable, but if this was Neji underneath all the outrageous behaviour, she could see why Shikamaru and the others were still willing to put their lives on the line to protect him. He was confusing, with how he frequently shifted from promiscuous OK Konoha darling to workaholic, but she could get behind it.

Most clients never bothered with acknowledging bodyguards as anything more than muscle to shield them from mistakes they made, and here Neji was apologising for a minor misunderstanding that she'd already shaken off. Curious.

"So," he broke the silence, "Tell me about yourself."

What.

He chuckled at her shock. "It's been a week and I know we started off on the wrong foot." She thought back to their first meeting, which ended in a headlock for him and mortification for her the next morning. "Usually when I welcome a team member, I try to get to know them first. It seems fair if you're all aware of my every waking moment."

And here she thought he was a human icicle. "Good point," she laughed, not noticing the happy quirk of his upper lip, "I was born in Suna, then moved here as a kid. My parents wanted me to be a doctor like Tsunade but I joined the military instead after high school."

"How did they take that?"

"Not well," she shrugged, remembering their extreme disappointment, "But they came around eventually. I thought it was what I wanted but this was my calling."

"I see. So how did you become a bodyguard then?"

"I left the army after a few years and joined an agency and I've been there ever since."

"ANBU you mean," he looked at her closely. Tenten almost recoiled in shock. Sasuke made a point of keeping every operation on the extreme down-low. They were elite, they very top organisation. Only a select few outsiders even knew ANBU existed. "Like I said, I try to get to know my team first."

"Yes, ANBU. I wasn't aware you knew about it."

"Those who know have known for decades," he replied cryptically. It must have been passed down his family then. She made a mental note to question Sasuke about how the Hyugas managed to get a hold on them later.

"Mhmm," she finished the rest of her cup, trying to change the topic, "It's a good job. You get to meet a lot of people in very stressful situations. It helps a lot more when clients behave though." Tenten smiled at him cheekily.

Neji grinned. "That must have been confusing for you."

"It's been a week. I'm managing."

"Good, I'm glad. I, uh, I spend most of my time outside of work with you and the others," he scratched at the back of his head, uncharacteristically sheepish. He caught her skeptical look, "Honestly. So I wanted to say officially, welcome to the team. We do Board Games Nights every fortnight, if you didn't know about it already."

As a shocking matter of fact, Tenten did not.

"Shikamaru wins every time. You're more than welcome to join next weekend."

"Thanks, I will," she gave him a soft smile. He stared back at her, an indecipherable expression on his face, before returning it.

"I should get back."

Tenten didn't say anything.

Neji sat up and dusted himself off, making his way to the door and opening it. "Thank you for…opening up."

She held the door ajar as he shuffled back into his shoes. "Neji?" He looked up. His heel finally slotted itself into the shoe. "Happy birthday."

Neji beamed.

Akimichi Household

July 9 | 1800 UTC

Tenten's first time stepping into Chouji's house went a little like this:

"Wow, it's so nice here! Where did you get all of this decor?" Tenten cooed at the strange statues lining his hallway, and the masks hung up tastefully on the walls. Chouji, apparently, had excellent taste in food and home care.

"My wife Karui loves to travel for work. Me? Not so much. I've got this little handful to worry about." He clapped Neji on the back, letting out a hearty guffaw. Neji recovered from his sputtering and grinned, shaking him off.

"You'd be bored without me Chouji."

"Damn right!" Neji narrowly missed being knocked over by the giant Chouji again and stood next to Tenten, where it was safe. "Kiba! You're here, you dog!"

There was a barking noise outside, followed by Kiba and Chouji's muffled shouts.

Neji grinned down at Tenten. "Welcome to Board Games Night?"

"I didn't know you were all such good friends," she beamed up at him. "Are you the reigning champion of anything here?"

"Pai Sho," he shifts slightly, "Split with Shikamaru though. You any good?"

"That's an old man's game," she did not hold back her laugh at Neji's sour expression. "Oh come on. I've seen old men in the park play it. Next to the tai chi group. Every morning."

"Oh really," he edged a bit closer, "I'll show you old man."

"She sure is," Kiba marched in with a giant white samoyed in tow. Tenten looked at him, offended, then took in their matching red cheek tattoos and collapsed in a fit of giggles "Oi," he grabbed Tenten in a gentle headlock, fully aware of her ability to overpower him, "These are warrior's tattoos. Take that back."

"Noo! But they're matching!"

"Kiba, let go of Tenten. You smell like wet dog." Neji smirked.

Kiba pouted, releasing a still giggling Tenten. "Tennie, I'd like you to meet the one and only: Akamaru."

"Aw," she knelt down and ruffled Akamaru's fur, "He looks like a cloud. Aren't you a good boy? Yes you are."

Shikamaru walked in moments later holding a wine bottle. He took in the scene. Chouji was chortling with Kiba in the living room, where Tenten was on the floor rubbing Akamaru's upturned belly and Neji was watching him watching them, amused.

He passed the bottle to Chouji, who welcomed him warmyl, and walked up to Neji.

"Pai Sho rematch?"

"You're on." And proceeded to set out a giant board from nowhere onto Chouji's coffee table.

Akamaru, sensing that he'd lost Tenten's attention, whined and crawled back to Kiba. She followed him. "Why do I get the feeling they do that a lot?"

"Every time."

"Almost exclusively." Kiba looked mildly disgusted. "Nerds."

"Well," Chouji opened a cabinet and pulled out a huge tub of board games. "Now that it's not just us two anymore - what should we play?"

Tenten looked once at the dartboard, once at the wine bottle, and grinned wolfishly.

Sunday, July 10. 9:03AM

From: chouji

Lovely having you around last night Tennie! Dartboard rematch in two weeks!

Sunday, July 10. 12:31 PM

From: kiba

Remind me never to let you near wine and darts again. My head is ruined.

Sunday, July 10. 1:01PM

From: shika

Good game night. Slightly more interesting than pai sho. Slightly.

Hyuga Manor

July 10 | 1:30PM

Tenten woke up with an excruciating headache, a dry throat and an indescribable need to lie on the coldest surface possible.

Last night had started off really well. Chouji brought out food (he was an amazing cook) and they ate in front of Neji and Shikamaru's Pai Sho match (Shikamaru won, of course). And then they played darts, and then…oh yeah. Wine. Tenten hissed, feeling the head throb.

Who's dumb idea was it to drink again? Right. Hers.

She remembered winning (yay!) Several matches because she was Tenten, Queen of Aiming. And then Neji and Shikamaru abandoning their third match to join in. Neji gained the upper hand for a bit, to Tenten's chagrin, and then Akamaru jumped in a licked Neji's face off like a good dog.

Then the details got foggier, mainly because Tenten (Aim Genius, Reigning Dart Champion) decided Neji would not win if they were all drunk. She was right, probably.

Eyes still closed, Tenten reached for the phone at her bedside table…and missed. Groggily opening them up, she shifted around in her blanket to reach for the table and froze.

This was not her blanket. Her mattress was not this soft. Suddenly more alert, Tenten widened her eyes in alarm and sat up. This was not her room.

A far cry from the Hyuga Guesthouse, this room with its grey walls and large windows was definitely not a Registered Location at any point in Tenten's life. She tried keeping her cool, tugging the blanket toward her, and noticed resistance from the other side of the bed.

A grumbling noise came out from under a large lump of sheets.

Gingerly, Tenten reached for the mound and pulled back the blanket.

Neji, feeling the blanket give away to reveal his bare back, hissed from the cold and glared at her.

"Tenten, do you mind?" He turned his back to her grumpily, then froze. "Tenten?"

Their eyes locked together, shocked.

Tenten was the first to find her belongings and leave.

Oh, Kami.

~ Daily Horoscope ~

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