It wasn't that Tenten had never thought about boys. She thought about them a lot. That was for sure.

She'd had a sucker crush on her teammate Lee when she was a Genin, and at one point in time, she even thought that Sasuke was cute.

Unfortunately, boys just didn't fit into her current goals. She wanted to become a strong kunoichi like Tsunade and prove to shinobi that kunoichi could be just as strong.

Tenten just wasn't focused on her love life. She'd been on a couple dates with civilians but never shinobi. She much preferred to train with Neji and Lee than worry about whether some guy liked her or not.

She was helping Neji train for the upcoming Jounin exams. They'd not been Chuunin three months when Neji told her that he was recommended for the Jounin exams after going on a mission with Sarutobi Asuma.

She'd been incredibly happy for him. However, some part of her was worried that when he made Jounin, he wouldn't go on missions with the rest of Team Gai anymore.

He'd probably be sent on a few solo missions or missions with other Jounin. He might even be assigned a Genin team! Tenten couldn't help but inwardly laugh at the thought of stoic, quiet Neji dealing with a bunch of troublemaking Genin.

Tenten was trying to keep out of Neji's range, and he was quickly advancing- he activated Byakugan and continued forward.

Tenten sprinted to the left, throwing a barrage of weapons at the Byakugan-user.

He deflected the weapons and continued advancing.

Tenten bit her lip. She might be fast, but he was slightly faster. Suddenly, she heard a voice in the distance call out, "Tenten!"

Neji deactivated Byakugan and both of them turned to see the figure entering the training grounds. "Shikamaru?" Tenten asked in shock.

Sure, Shikamaru was much slower than either her or Neji, but he seemed to be sprinting as if his life depended on it. Knowing Shikamaru would never exert such physical effort unless there was danger, she nodded at Neji. Whatever this was, it couldn't be good!

Shikamaru arrived in front of the pair looking a little worse for wear.

"Tenten! Will you go to the Summer Festival with me?" Shikamaru asked, a tad panicked.

She felt Neji tense next to her, but she brushed the thought aside. Shikamaru, who hardly ever let anything bother him, was panicking.

Tenten's eyebrows furrowed. "Shikamaru, what is wrong and why do you need me to go to the Summer Festival with you?"

Shikamaru straightened up, clearly happy that she agreed to hear him out. "Tsunade-sama is inviting some people from Suna to the festival- among them Temari."

Tenten's eyes widened. She and Shikamaru oftentimes played Shougi, and they were good friends. He constantly called her "the least troublesome kunoichi in Konoha."

He had confided in her recently that Temari wanted to embark on a relationship with him, and Shikamaru felt that he wasn't ready. Tenten didn't like seeing her friend in distress so she nodded.

Besides, it wasn't like someone else was going to ask her anyways.

The look of relief on Shikamaru's face was completely worth it. "Great," Shikamaru stated before sprinting away from the training fields.

Tenten turned back to Neji in hopes of continuing their earlier training session.

He wasn't paying any attention to her and was narrowing his eyes on the shadow-using shinobi casually walking away.

Was he angry at Shikamaru for interrupting their training session? Or... was he angry at her for allowing the interruption?

"Neji!" Tenten cried out, "Snap out of it!"

He turned his gaze towards her... and his gaze softened before hardening again.

"Why are you going with Shikamaru to the Summer Festival?" Neji inquired, his voice icy.

Suddenly, Tenten realized what must be wrong. "Oh, I'm sorry," Tenten stated, placing a hand on the Hyuuga's broad shoulder, "I didn't realize. Were you planning on training that day?"

Neji looked even angrier if that was even possible and proceeded to shove her hand off. "How could you even ask that?" Neji seethed.

Tenten blinked twice at him. "Oh. Are you mad Shikamaru interrupted our training session? What's wrong?"

"Tenten. Do you think the only thing I think about is training?" Neji asked, his cold eyes blazing with anger.

Tenten gulped. "Of course not, Neji. I just know the Jounin exams are important to you-"

"You're important to me too," Neji interrupted.

Tenten's eyes softened. Neji hardly ever showed or stated his affection for anyone. "You're important to me too... which is why I want you to pass," Tenten stated.

"I love you," Neji said without preamble.

Tenten's eyes widened. It was really uncharacteristic for Neji to be so affectionate. "I love you too. You're my teammate, and you're my best friend. I would do anything for you," Tenten responded, meaning every word.

Tenten sensed some hurt in Neji's pale lavender eyes. "No, Tenten. You don't understand."

Tenten's eyebrows creased. "What do you mean? Of course I understand! The bond between a shinobi and his teammates-"

"I'm in love with you," Neji interrupted quickly.

He then stalked off in the same direction Shikamaru went without even waiting for a response.

Tenten was so shocked.

The possibility of Neji having romantic feelings for her had never dawned on her. He'd always been angsty. Even after his fight with Naruto, he was still slightly cold and reserved.

He seemed to only be focused on his goals as a shinobi. It always seemed that Neji was... above romantic feelings and hormones.

Neji was sixteen years old, had never had a girlfriend, and had never even mentioned having romantic feelings.

Tenten stared after him. She obviously had to take some time to think. This... this changed everything. This changed their team dynamic. This changed their relationship.

She closed her eyes in thought. She'd never really seen him as boyfriend material.

One thing was for sure though: she couldn't imagine her life without him.