AN: THIS IS THE FINAL CHAPPY> YEAH! IT's DONE! Oh, I don't own. I would like to personally thank all of my reviewers. You guys keep me going. Believe it.

The best thing about taking off early yesterday is that it required me to be in extra early today. This was fine by me because I avoided seeing him. I feel like hell, I am slightly hung over, and I am not sure how well I covered up the tear tracks from last night. It was better that I stay sequestered in my office all day. When I got here this morning, I had purposefully moved up all of my appointments with Ibiki-san and Godiame-sama. I also made sure I worked straight through lunch. After all, I had to play catch up. Right? But what I found myself doing was drifting off into space thinking of him. His party was tomorrow and I couldn't stop thinking about last night. In fact, last night was the reason I am hung over. I went home, polished off the rest of my vodka supply from my birthday and fell asleep with wet cheeks. I never knew that an unofficial fight with an unofficial boyfriend could be so draining. I looked down at my blue prints on my desk and couldn't focus on the simple physics of a new prototype traveling at X feet per seconds squared down at an enemy with regards to earth's gravitational force and kinetic friction caused to the enemy on impact. Shaking my head clear, I decided to refocus, grab more coffee and get to work. Just as I was sitting down, a knock sounded at the door. Grrr..

"Enter."

I look up and saw three genin walk in. They had a scroll in their hands and that made me nervous. Since when did we start giving them delivery missions?

"Can I help you three?"

"Yes, we were told to deliver this missive to you."

"And where is your jounin instructor?"

"Right here." I look up and see Ino-chan walking in.

"Hey, TenTen-chan, how was last night,eh?" She looks at me and I shake my head.

"Oh hell, what did he do?"

"We will talk later, Ino-chan." I unrolled the scroll, glanced over it, and rolled it back up. Taking a kunai out of my desk drawer, I jabbed it through the scroll, handed it back to the genin, and told them that this was my response. They just looked at me stunned. Ino laughed and winked at me.

"Good job. This should be fun delivering this subtle response. I will see you soon. Come on guys." They headed out and I banged my head on the desk. That was probably one of the most immature things I had ever done, but somehow, it felt good and in some ways it cheered me up. See? I could get over him. I could. I swear. Honest. Snorting to myself I turned around and refigured some numbers and finished up. Three hours later, I was locking the prints away in the vault in Ibiki-san's office and grabbing the finished prototype of my new hinged kunai. I heard a noise behind me. Since only a select few people are allowed in here, I was stunned when a kunai, looking much like the one I had, landed at my feet. Ahh, I was wondering if he got my message.

"Hello Neji-kun. What took you so long?"

"I liked your response by the way. It was even better when it was delivered in front of several of my colleagues. Your friend Ino needs to learn subtlety. I guess that means you don't accept my apology?"

"I know you ANBU are busy people, but written apologies seem so un-you. I thought you would've taken the direct approach. But really, you don't have anything to apologize for. I was the one who stupidly fell for my friend in our own illusion. I blame only myself. I went home and thought about everything and realized that I was only kidding myself. So, if you will excuse me, I need to be on my way to the Hokage's office. I won't be coming to your party tomorrow."

"TenTen-chan…"

I turned and walked past him. He reached out for me but I kept moving. When I reached the elevator, my mind thought of that day and I opted for the stairs. There was no emergency stop button on the stairs. After hiking up 10 flights of stairs, I entered through the side door.

There was the usual guard outside her office. They waved me in Hokage-sama looked up from her piles of work.

"Hokage-sama, we have the prototype finished. If you would like to sign off on it, I can have them commissioned within the week."

"Sure, TenTen-san." She played with it for a few seconds like a kid in a candy store. After she threw it into the wall and it stuck, she then unhinged it by pretending that the apple she had was Jiraya-sama. It exploded and apple bits flew everywhere.

"Ok, I approve. What a great adjustment to the weapon. You really did a good job on this. Have several commissioned, I would like to give a couple as presents at our appreciation dinner next week. Then we will have them fully distributed. Oh, how did the dinner go last night?"

I sat in the chair in front of her.

"Fine I suppose. Hiashi-sama wasn't as scary as I thought he'd be."

"And…? Come on TenTen-san, is that all that happened?"

'No offense Hokage-sama, but I would really like to forego telling anything right now." I looked at her and she got out of her chair. As she rounded her desk, I stood up. I presumed she was leaving, but I was wrong.

For a few minutes, she just looked at me. No wonder men found her attractive. From a females standpoint, she was gorgeous. Even though she used a jutsu, underneath of it, you really could see the strength behind her looks. But what really caught me off guard was her demeanor. She was cunning, intelligent and powerful. But somewhere, I felt we had a connection. There was a warmth beneath her eyes that was rarely seen and I think she saw through my façade as well.

"You missed a spot with your makeup."

I shook my head.

"Huh, I am sorry. What did you say?" I was so lost in thought, I didn't really hear her.

"You missed a spot with your make up. I will commend you once again on your ability to mask your emotion. It is hard for a woman to do jobs like we do. The one thing that separates a woman from a man is the size of our hearts. With the pressures we face daily, it's a wonder any of us want the daunting task of being a shinobi. To say that a person can't show emotion because it makes them vulnerable is a dangerous assumption. I feel that if we don't show emotion, we become very introverted. Granted, in battle is reprehensible, but in everyday circumstances that are non life threatening, being who you are and feeling what you feel takes bravery. I forgot this after the death of my little brother and my fiancee. It wasn't until a boy showed me that showing your true feelings and self, did I realize how much of a coward I had become. I ran from responsibility and once I found myself again, I vowed never to return to that weak and cold woman again. I never had an outlet other than alcohol and gambling, but you do. I tell this to a lot of my female colleagues. If you need anyone to talk to, I am here. I am leader of this village. One distracted kunoichi, can be the downfall of any mission. It's better to vent and move on, rather than let it linger. I've learned that, hopefully you will take some sage advice and move on. I talked with Ibiki-san today. He said that in your meeting you were distracted. He brought up the tear tracks, but wasn't going to mention it to you. He never misses a detail. So go fix your makeup so no one else sees them. Just remember, drowning yourself in alcohol solves nothing. Face your problems head on and you will be much happier. I guarantee it."

I just looked at her after her speech. Advice from my childhood hero was something I had never anticipated. I was grateful to be working alongside her, but to receive such advice was a big deal to me.

"If I may ask, Hokage-sama, who was the boy that made the difference?"

"Your future Rokudiame, Naruto-kun." Wow, Neji was always talking about the way Naruto-kun changed is views in life. It seems he has helped a lot of people. She patted me on the shoulder and told me I was excused. I took my paper work and prototype to the Corps of Engineers. I grabbed a coffee and headed home.

I strolled through the market and remembered all the times Gai-sensei had us run around it. I remember my first festival as a teenager and the dance that took place in the square. He wasn't there of course. Lee was and we danced my one dance. I saw Ichiraku and remembered the times we ate there as a team or after training. I saw my house up ahead and thought back a few nights ago at the almost seduction, but he and his damn self control stopped a wonderful thing. I felt a stab of pain at the wonderful feelings I had then. I thought it was for show, but a part of me hoped it was for real. Somewhere the lines blurred and I got hurt. I knew that our whole lives were a part of each other's. We've spent so much of our lives together, it hurt me to think that we will never be the friends we used to be. Never date your friends, they tell us, but yet, I did. Sort of. I opened my door and headed up to my room after saying hello to my father. He was on his way to the shop and that was great because what I was about to do, would be very difficult. I had to let go and move on. He doesn't love you. He never did, accept it and move on I thought to myself.

I reached under my bed and opened an old sandal box that held various artifacts. After grabbing what I needed, I straightened my attire, checked for tracks, which there were none, and headed east towards the newly built condo's. Once I reached his floor, I took a deep breath and knocked on his door. I waited patiently and after a few minutes, it was apparent that he was still out in the field. I headed back home and started supper. I could always give it to him tomorrow before everyone showed up at his place.

Later that night, I found myself looking at that hitate of his. I ran my finger countless times over the leaf symbol and kept thinking about him. I kept picturing that cynical smirk of his, and his cold attitude. I thought of the first time I saw him in a jounin fatigues. I about had a heart attack. I thought of the way he looked at dinner and how gentlemanly he was. Then I pictured the ice cube form of my teammate. The way he could shift his attitude and feelings in the blink of an eye. The wall, as I termed it, could crush an opponent and many hearts with his harsh words. He crushed mine so easily. Would I still be able to see him as the boy who accepted fate, then the man who changed it? I wasn't so sure anymore. I didn't really know him at all. Maybe through my love for him, I built him up to be something he's not? I kept running that question over and over in my head. Frustrated with my self, I made some warmed milk, drank it, and went to bed. Things would be more clear in the morning.

The next day, I got up early, went to work and came home as usual. I knew he was going home so I grabbed the forehead protector and headed back to his place. I heard a rustling behind the door and knew he was home. I bravely knocked and got queasy thinking of the future five minutes. They would be the biggest challenge of my career. I see him look through the peep hole. He waited a few seconds before unlocking the door. Apparently, he has been anticipating this as much as me.

He opened it and just stood there looking at me. I started to fidget, which is something I never do.

"Hey TenTen-chan, you told me you weren't coming. Glad you made it."

"Um, hey Neji-kun, um, actually I am not staying. I just wanted to give you this." I held out the box with the hitate in it and waited while he opened it.

"It's your old forehead protector. I figured you would want it back at some point, and since there is no more need for me to have it, um, here." I turned to leave and he told me to wait for a few seconds. He shut the door and I took off. It was hard enough for me to do this, I had to make my break while I still could.

I was almost to the bridge when he caught up to me.

"I turn to grab my shoes and you take off."

"Well, I did what I needed to do, and felt the conversation was over. So I left."

"It wasn't. Listen, I really think we need to talk. I don't like this side of you. It's not the TenTen I know."

"What are you getting at? The TenTen you know showed a week of sheer stupidity. She is no more. She isn't the love struck female that you trampled on." For some reason, the words were flowing out of me like a fountain. It was an out of body experience. I didn't recognize my own voice. It's as if my inner self was speaking and my outer self was just a pawn for it's use. "I've moved on Hyuuga, so have no fear of my illusions of grandeur."

"Why the headband? Why give it back to me now, when until a week ago, I didn't realize you had it."

"That's what it took for me to get over you. I fell in my own trap and stupid as that was, I realized it may have been the best thing for me. It showed me who I was and who you truly were. I guess childish daydreams should be left in the past."

"TenTen, I don't know where all of this anger is coming from, but we can move past this and still be friends if that is what you want."

"Do you honestly think we can be the friends we used to be? There will always be the sexual tension between us. There will always be the "shouldacouldawoulda" between us. Do you think that will go away?"

"You're right, it won't go away, but we can change that. True we will never be the friends we were, but we can be more than that. I realized over the last two days, that I want us to be more. I didn't realize how blind I have been until a few friends of mine opened my eyes."

"I just don't know, Neji-kun. How do I know you aren't saving face by acting like this? Is this your true self or are going to revert back to the ice cube again? If that is the case, then I am not interested. Find some other fan girl to play games with, I am not gonna play your game. I was in love with you for so long, but I need to move on so I can be happy with myself again. The forehead protector was how I let go. You've never shown this much emotion. It's so un-you. Why change now?"

"Because, I see that the one person that means so much to me, is falling out of my grasp and I am not comfortable with that. I've had a hard time with love. It's never come easy to me because of my family situation. The ice cube as you say, was a way for me to mask the true pain I was in. I didn't want pity, I wanted to show how strong I was. I failed myself when I said those words the other night. It was cowardly, I admit. I was taking the easy way out and I hurt you. I am sorry for that. All I ask is your forgiveness. I don't hold you responsible for this mess. I blurred the lines along the way and confused you as to my intentions."

"Why should I forgive you? Why? You hurt me in more ways than one. I was over you, or at least I thought I was. Now you are saying you want to be more than friends?" Tears at this point were running down very familiar tracks on my face.

"I don't know if I can ever forgive you, let alone be more than friends. It hurts too much to think about it."

"Please, I beg of you, reconsider." Maybe it was the way he said it, but something clicked inside of me. Sighing heavily I turned towards him and found myself wrapped in his embrace. I melted on the spot.

The words "I forgive you" were uttered before I could think clearly. He spoke the words then that I've been waiting to hear my whole life.

"I never want to make you cry again. Thank you for forgiving me. It means so much to me. You truly are precious to me and losing you would be the worst thing that could ever happen. So I am going to ask you officially, TenTen-chan, will you go out with me officially?" I pull back in his arms to look up at him and I new the minute I saw his eyes, he was serious.

"Yes." I sighed and before I knew it, his lips captured mine and I knew that everything would turn out OK in the end.

"So does this mean you are coming to my party?"

"Yes, I am coming. After all, Konoha's number one couple should be there together."

Later that night after much merriment and carousing, I headed out to his balcony that overlooked the village. The wine was getting to me. I thought to myself as he joined me and put his arms around me, my dad told me not to do anything I that I would regret in the morning. I thought I had regretted my actions, but looking back now, I regret nothing and if I had to do it again, I wouldn't change a thing. Leaning back against him, the girl in me giggled. I silently thanked Hokage-sama for her advice, but I decided I couldn't move on and didn't want to move on. I was happy right where I was. Heehee, I thought to myself.