Neji groaned internally at his present situation. How the hell had he gotten here exactly? He was crouching behind a bush, Tenten right beside him with Lee passed out beside her because she had knocked him out since he was being too loud. He peeked over the bush at the bench in front of them where Naruto and Hinata were sitting, whispering amorously to each other.

They had stumbled across the two lovers in the park while all three of them were out at what was supposed to be a picnic but ended up a competition between all three of them to see who could walk on their hands the longest. Neji was starting to think that happened way too often. Anyway, when they had stumbled upon the couple, Lee being the dense idiot he was had wanted to call out to them, so Tenten had hit him in the head by reflex and had accidentally knocked him out. Now they were stuck behind this bush, waiting for them to leave.

Naruto took his head off of Hinata's as she laughed at something he said and smiled at her. He raised a hand to cup her cheek, and started to lean in. Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! That was his cousin, he did not want to see that! He was starting to get up to alert them of his presence to save his eyes when he was yanked down roughly and a hand was placed on his mouth.

He looked up angrily to see that his face was inches away from Tenten's own, his head in her lap as she glanced warily at the bush. Her breath was coming out in short hot gasps as she tried to contain the sound, and one lock  of her chocolate brown hair had come undone from her bun, hanging over her face. Without really thinking about it, he reached up and twirled it around his finger, pulling it slightly. Tenten's gaze flicked to him in slight alarm, and a deep blush stained her cheeks. Realizing what he had done, Neji too blushed furiously, and withdrew his hand quickly.

He looked away from her face, angry at himself. Why had he let himself be carried away like that? A split second, and he had forgotten to restrain himself. Yes, he was restraining himself. The truth was, he really liked Tenten, so much that every time she smiled or laughed, he was sure his feelings were compromised because of how loud his heart was beating. He had only really noticed his feelings for her recently when everyone around him started getting together. That was when he had realized how attached he was to her.

There were several reasons for that. Even when he'd been, for lack of a better word, a jackass before Naruto had beaten some sense into him, she had tolerated him and stayed by his side. She was so patient with him, and was honestly one of the people he most trusted to have his back. She always did what she could to help people, always strived to be stronger. He found it absolutely adorable when she would fangirl over weapons and start explaining the exact craftsmanship, the metals, and everything about them.

Once he had realized his feelings for her, he had been scared shitless because he kept imagining scenarios where he told her, and she rejected him. What if he told her and she freaked out and things changed between them? He didn't want them. So he was careful to control his temptations and had resigned himself to never tell her his feelings. All that mattered to him was that she was happy. Or at least, that's what he'd convinced himself of.

And now he'd gone and blown it. That was just wonderful. Of course he'd slipped u— Neji snapped out of his thoughts as warm hands were placed on both his cheeks, forcing his gaze upwards. Tenten's familiar brown eyes stared down at him, her eyebrows furrowed and cheeks still dusted with pink.

Unable to articulate a word, Neji simply stared up at her, transfixed. Ever so slowly, Tenten's face got closer and closer to his own, her face getting redder and redder in the process. Eventually their noses were touching, and still Neji could not move. He couldn't hear anything besides the drumming of his own heart in his ears.
Was this happening? Was this really and truly happening?

Tenten paused when their noses touched and bit her lip, worry dancing in her eyes. She started to draw away, averting her beautiful doe brown eyes. She couldn't leave Neji hanging like this, on the cusp of believing that she felt what he did, too. He wouldn't let her.

He grabbed her face with both his hands, and she flinched in surprise. She stared at him, batting her eyelashes as she blinked. Her eyes glimmered with an unidentifiable emotion, and she whispered his name with those wonderfully full lips of hers. And that was it.

Neji brought her lips against his before he could change his mind, before doubts started to cloud his mind again. He wanted this more than anything, and when Tenten moved her lips against his, he believed that she did too. The kids was sloppy as neither of them knew what they were doing, but to him, it was perfect.

When they both pulled back for air, Neji regrettes it immediately, wanting to feel her lips against his immediately. The sensation was addictive. But now that he wasn't distracted by pleasure, his doubts resurfaced, and he immediately let go of the brunette's face. She frowned as he did, confusion clouding her eyes.

He sat up quickly and faced her. He wanted to tell her, to tell her that she meant the world to him, that he would do anything just to be able to be by her side. But did he have the right to? Did he have the right to ruin their long friendship in hopes that it would kindle something more? Well, the kiss would probably already do that, so might as well, right?

Neji peered over the bushes to see Naruto and Hinata's retreating backs. He let out a breath and faced Tenten, the blush rising in his neck.

"Tenten, there's something I've been wanting to tell you for a long time now, and I need you to listen to me in full before you say anything. I just need to get it off my chest." He waited a beat for her to say anything, but she simply stared at him, so he forged on.

"We've been by each other's side since we were 13, and I know that we have an amazing friendship, and up until recently I was perfectly content with that." His words were tumbling out of him, faster and faster as if they were spilling out from behind a dam. "I realized that friendship isn't what I want with you. I want to be able to hold your hand as walk side by side, kiss you as I just did, and more. You have always had my back and I couldn't imagine my life without you. What I'm trying to say is—"

Tenten launched herself at him, capturing his lips with hers. Neji closed his eyes almost immediately and melted into the case, placing his hands on her waist to steady her. Tenten pulled back, and Neji struggled to speak, his brain addled.

"Y-You didn't... let me finish," he panted.

"I didn't need to," she said softly, gazing at him warmly. "I love you too."

Neji blinked in disbelief.

"Am I dreaming?" He asked hollowly, a stupid grin making its way across his face.

She laughed, bumping her forehead to his.

"No, silly. This is real."

"Oh..."

He leaned up and touched his lips to hers. She had stolen his line.

"I love you."

Helloooo. Guess who's finally started writing oneshots again??? Me! That's who!
It was both sad and happy writing this, but I'm glad I did. Just a little something for you guys. I hope that I can make much better one-shots in the future, but I'm still new to this so bear with me.
Love you guys! I actually have to study for orals tomorrow so bye!!!