Pink

A cloud of white dust blinded the kunoichi eyes as she fell to the floor, along with the medium sized bowl in her hands. She blamed the stick of butter that had fallen off the counter a few minutes earlier.

At the time, she had known that it should have been picked up right away, but with so many things to do, and not enough time to do them all, she had decided to just leave it there until she was finished mixing her batter. Unfortunately, she forgot about it, as she walked back and forth between the tea on her stove and the rice balls she was making on the opposite counter. Without realizing it, she had accidentally stepped on the stick of butter, and fallen flat on her butt. If it had been anyone but her, she was certain the bowl of unfinished batter she was carrying, would have shattered to pieces, instead of landing safely in her hands. That, of course, didn’t stop the contents of said bowl from spilling out all over her usually spotless kitchen.

“Tenten?” A familiar voice called out to her from behind the cloud of white-dust.

“Neji!” The flour covered kunoichi yelled out excitedly; eager to see someone who might be able to help her; not even questioning the fact that he’d obviously walked into her apartment despite the fact that the door had been locked. “Oh, no!” She cringed at the sudden realization of why exactly her sparring partner was actually there. “Sorry, sorry, sorry.” Ignoring the dusty mess on her floor, she furiously bowed at the white-eyed shinobi’s heel apologetically.

Looking up at him from behind the cloud of flour, for an instant, Tenten noted how remarkably angelic his noble air made the Hyuga appear in the dusty cloud of white. If she hadn’t caught herself, Tenten would have gasped at the sight. But she was a kunoichi; well trained in concealing emotions. And besides that, she was used to seeing the breathtakingly beautiful shinobi that stood before her, every day. The man she had loved for years. It was hard to believe that he was actually more than just her teammate and sparring partner. He was also her boyfriend.

“Hn.” Neji turned to look over the mess the kunoichi had made in her small kitchen; ignoring the girl’s less than dignified appearance.

“I’m so sorry Neji.” Tenten continued, as she accepted the hand he had offered to help her to her feet. “I meant to send someone to tell you this morning…”

“Tell me?” His right eyebrow arched questioningly.

“Haah.” She sighed exasperatedly. “The girls.” Tenten moaned.

“…” Silently, he waited for her to explain.

“They wanted to get together today for brunch.” Tenten heavily sighed as she began brushing her pink tank top and white yoga pants. “And it’s my turn to play hostess… so I’ve been cleaning and getting everything ready since early this morning,” She gestured to the snacks on her counter, that she’d already finished, as well as the unfinished batter she’d just placed near the sink. “It’s not going too well.” She sighed.

“Hn.” Neji grunted; as if to tell her that he could clearly see that without her needing to explain it to him.

“It’s impossible.” She groaned; closing her eyes and throwing her head back; exhausted from everything she’d had to do all morning.

“Do you require assistance?” He offered from besides the bubbling pot of tea.

“Ne…” Tears began to well up in her eyes. She had always known Neji was not as unemotional as he was usually thought to be, but she was touched by his thoughtfulness at the moment.

She had such a great boyfriend.

“Please.” She nodded; smiling gratefully as he turned off the stove and removed the pot to prevent the tea from completely evaporating.

“Hn.” Neji nodded, as he turned back to the mess that her fall had caused. “You’re not hurt?” He asked; picking up what was left of the crushed stick of butter on the floor.

“No. Yes.” She shook her head. “It was nothing. I’m fine.”

“…” Neji remained motionless; watching her as she moved around the small kitchen; flustered by the mere joy of having him there.

“Umm…” A soft blush slowly colored her features, as she pulled the bowl of batter back over toward the sheet of wax paper she had set up earlier. Though he was her boyfriend, and had thus been in her house many times in the past, it seemed weird to have Neji in her kitchen; even more so, to have the both of them cooking together. It almost felt… “Could you help me mix this batter?” She asked; ignoring the blissful thought had was creeping into her mind as she added some more rice flour and water to the mix. “It needs to be solid enough to make little balls, but not too thick.”

“You’re making dango?” Neji inquired as he eyed the unmixed batter.

“Yeah.” Tenten nodded. “It’s the girls’ favorite.” She added, as way of explanation.

“Hn.” He turned his attention back to the bowl of sweet rice flour.

“Umm…” Tenten hesitated; nervously staring down at the batter covered tiles below her.

“What?” Neji turned questioning at the kunoichi; he could tell she wanted to say something.

“Here.” Tenten extended her left hand out to the Hyuga; holding a folded apron out to him.

“…” The prodigy curiously eyed the piece of cloth in her hand. “Tenten…?”

“You don’t want to get dirty, do you?” Tenten reasoned, as she continued holding the apron out to him.

“It’s pink.” He glared at the offending article of clothes.

“It’s the only one I have…” She smiled wearily; knowing her boyfriend well enough to know the rosy shade was definitely not a color he’d wear willingly.

“It’s pink.” He repeated.

“Oh, come on.” She scoffed; rolling her eyes as she gave the apron another push in his direction. “You’re not, scared of it, are you?” She playfully teased the Hyuga.

“Hn.” His pride winning over his embarrassment, Neji grabbed the offending apron, and quickly pulled it over his head, before turning back to the bowl of batter; saying nothing more about the matter.

As she watched, out of the corner of her eye, Neji calmly used a fork to mix the batter in front of him (attempting to ignore the frilly pink apron that had been force on him), Tenten quickly cleaned the mess she’d made in her kitchen. In a matter of minutes, she put away most of the ingredients she was done with and washed the used dishes in her sink. Before she knew it, everything had been nicely cleaned, and the batter she and Neji had both been working on, had reached a soft, well combined, consistency.

“Okay.” Tenten sighed, as she finished drying off her recently watched hands. “Now we make the dough balls.” She instructed, before putting her freshly cleaned hands into the batter; gently kneading her hands through the dough as Neji turned toward the sink to wash his own hands.

Drying his hands on the pink apron, Neji turned towards her cupboards to look for a pot. She watched, amazed, that he could so easy search through her insanely organized shelves for the correct pot and strainer, despite the fact that he had never before been in her kitchen like this before. It made sense though, she reasoned, since Neji was already more than familiar with her way of thinking, it only stood to reason that he would know where everything was simply by deducing what kind person he knew Tenten was.

Expertly filled the pot he had found with water and placing it on the stove for the dumplings, Neji quickly made his way back over toward the kunoichi’s side.

“Hehe.” Tenten quietly giggled from beside her boyfriend, as Neji took a small chunk of the dough and began rolling it in his hands.

“What?” Neji asked, as her rolled the dough into a perfect circle.

“Nothing.” Tenten turned her gaze back down to the batter.

“What is it?” He sternly repeated; always hating having his questions unanswered.

“I just…” She giggled again. “You seem to … ‘fit’ every where you are.” She explained; without specifying that she what she really thought was that he ‘fit’ into her life so well.

“Even in this pink apron?” Neji uncharacteristically joked.

“hehe.” Tenten smiled cheerfully. “Even in pink frosting.” She teased, as she playfully smeared a bit of frosting from a cupcake on the counter next to her, on the Hyuga’s surprised face.

Lost in the moment, Neji reached out past the kunoichi and pulled another pink cupcake off the counter next to her. Playfully smearing the frosting onto her shocked face, Neji smirked at the girl. “I think it looks better on you.” He replied in turn.

“Oh yeah?” A devilish grin spread over the kunoichi’s face, as she grabbed for the spray of pink frosting that she hadn’t put away yet. “I beg to differ.” She teased; squirting the pink foam onto the Hyuga’s smirking face. “Pink is definitely your color.” She triumphantly smiled, after drawing a pink smiley face on her boyfriend’s cheek.

“Hn.” Without losing a beat, Neji grabbed for the kunoichi’s right wrist, as he pulled out another half empty can of pink frosting and sprayed it over the kunoichi’s nose.

“Ahhh1” Tenten excitedly shrieked, as the two of them began a frosting war; each trying to spray the other with their respective can of frosting.

In a matter of minutes, the two sparring partners were covered in pink frosting; breathlessly rolling on the kitchen floor; having tumbled to the ground during their playful struggle.

“Hehehe.” Tenten giggled at the sight of her usually stoic boyfriend, covered in pink frosting, carefully hovering over her.. Even with his hair a mess and his face covered in foamy sugar, somehow, to Tenten, Neji still seemed the same, noble and elegant man she knew and loved. “Yeah.” She nodded; extending a finger up to whip some frosting off his chin. The two of them were practically on top of each other; she could almost feel his breath on her flushed face. “Pink is definitely your color.” She smirked, before bringing her finger back to her lips; tasting the sugary confection.

“And I reiterate.” Smiling playfully as he leaned down over the kunoichi, the frosting-covered shinobi gently licked the corner of her mouth. “It’s much better on you.” He teased, as he gently lowered himself closer towards her; wrapping his arms around the kunoichi’s waist. “Tastes good too.” He added, as he teasingly brushed his lips over hers.

“Ne-” Tenten gasped; but before she could finish, he quickly covered her mouth with his as he began devouring her lips with his; savoring the combined taste of the sugary frosting and her sweet and salty lips. “Ne-” She panted for breath, as his mouth followed a trail of frosting from her lips down her neck.

“Ahem.” An exaggerated cough from over them pulled the two lovers from their blissful moment. “So are we having Neji for dessert? Or is that just your treat Tenten?” The familiar teasing voice of Tenten’s blond friend questioned from above the pair.

“Haah.” Tenten gasped as she stated up at the three younger girls, who had apparently walked into her apartment without either her or Neji noticing. “I’ve really got to fix that lock.” She moaned in frustration.

“Hn.” Neji grunted his agreement.

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THE END
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