Neji sighed for the umpteenth time as he sat unmoving on the only portion of the couch that wasn't littered with junk. His eyes shifted to the pile of haphazardly sorted books and files on the coffee table. Several pages were nearly falling off their spines, while others had blotch marks and stains whose nature and cause he wouldn't dare to identify.

The sofa he sat on looked like a gigantic glorified pin cushion, littered with scraps of paper, tags, and weapons of all kinds sticking out from random places. His gaze dropped to the floor, noting how the only real free space was the area he had cleared for his feet. He clicked his tongue. He could barely even make out the four corners of the living room with the amount of drawn diagrams, scrolls, torn pages and scribbles. What self-respecting adult would use the walls as a substitute for parchment?

Neji's observation was cut short when a piece of shuriken fell onto the pile of books on the table, bouncing off onto the floor, before lazily rolling under the sofa. Neji eyed the ceiling, pursing his lips at the sight of at least a hundred weapons embedded on the chipping plaster.

Neji couldn't understand how Tenten could be organized in everything other than her research. Her kitchen was spotless and systematized for efficiency. Her bathroom was flawless no matter how many random times he'd use it; and her bedroom was neat, orderly, and always smelled of lavender and chamomile.

He could not fathom how her living room, which basically served as her study, never failed to look like a storm had just passed through. Once he had offered to help her sort things out, no longer able to stand the mess. He moved to grab a book when a senbon needle nearly hit his hand before impaling itself about an inch deep into the floor. Apparently Tenten was the disorganized organized type when it came to studying. He never made any comment on her living room ever since.

Of course he was welcome to wait in her bedroom. He always was. Yet he found it inappropriate being in the premises of such a private space without Tenten in the vicinity. He glanced at his watch. He'd been waiting for about 15 minutes now. He didn't know why she asked him to meet her here last minute, but she was rarely ever late. He hated waiting, and it seemed the longer he stayed in Tenten's chaotic living room, the greater the compulsion to tidy up gnawed at him.

Standing up, he made his way to her bedroom. The kitchen would have been fine, but it still showed him a clear view of the living room. He wanted the offending area out of his sight. Opening the door slowly, Neji felt a twinge of guilt as he invaded her personal space. He shrugged it off by thinking he would have allowed Tenten the same courtesy as well. It was a matter of trust and he knew they both trusted each other with their lives. After all, there was nothing to hide, nothing to be ashamed of.

Neji wanted to roll his eyes at the unevenly rolled blanket chucked off to one side of the mattress. He moved to gingerly pull it up and straighten it out, when the sound of something falling to the floor with a loud thud caught his attention. He craned his neck to where he guessed the item was. A brown leather notebook lay on the floor; its tiny steel deadbolt dangling on one side undone. The fall seemed to have unlocked the strip of metal.

Neji neatly folded the blanket with ease, placing it strategically at the foot of the bed, before bending over to pick up the book. It had no title on it but it looked fairly new. It must have been a favorite of Tenten's if she kept it at her bedside with a lock.

Plucking the unfastened metal off the hook, Neji took a seat on the bed, careful not to get the sheets ruffled. He flipped through it offhandedly, hoping to get a gist of its contents. He could make out some of her writings in the first few pages, but the rest were empty.

Neji eyed the blank covers of the book once again, before heading back to the first page. It must be something new she's investigating. He scanned it with poorly veiled curiosity. Just what was Tenten working on that required such secrecy?

There was a storm today. But that didn't stop our training routine. After all, no natural calamity had ever been capable of changing that part of our schedule. What was a little bit of rain going to do?

Neji's eyes widened a fraction when he realized just what he was reading. It wasn't her research he had in his hands, it was a diary of some sort. Definitely something he had no business reading whatsoever. He moved to close it quickly, but paused when he saw his name.

Neji was relentless, yet again. That much wasn't new. But the way the rain turned his white Hyuga garments translucent made it all the more difficult for me to focus. I couldn't stop myself from wondering how it would feel to have his body on mine, and his fingers doing something else entirely.

Neji swallowed. Did he just read what he thought he read? He blinked. Once. Twice. That was the end of the first entry. His hand hovered over the page before he stopped himself. It was a battle of shame and curiosity. Would he dare?

Neji felt his body temperature rise. He had to hand it to her. She never showed him any indication of interest at all. Everything between them had always seemed platonic. Sure they've had their fill of being teased, and he's lost count of all the compromising positions they've landed on during training. But there was never anything there. They were only ever just friends.

Before Neji knew it, his hand betrayed him and moved the page onto the second entry. It seemed his curiosity overwhelmed his shame.

We're finally back after a three-day mission in Suna. I don't know how any of the people stand it, but the temperature of that place is unbearable. I can't imagine how anyone could actually live that way.

Neji remembered that mission clearly. It happened three months ago. They were both assigned to deliver a scroll to the Kazekage himself, and the mission had been ranked S level. Whatever was in that scroll was definitely enough to warrant that big of a paycheck.

They arrived without fail in less than a day, just as the sun began to set. They forwent any form of rest, which, as luck would have it, had been a good decision. A vicious sandstorm enveloped the dessert within an hour of their arrival. Its rage lasted for the next two nights, forcing them to postpone their return to Konoha.

It was torture enough that the temperature alone could boil an egg, but I just had to be stuck in a room with Neji for two nights because of a sandstorm. Thank God I had the heat to blame because my cheeks would not stop burning as he stripped off one article of clothing after another.

Neji paused in confusion. He remembered that too. They were both too hot so they opted to don minimal clothing – him in his boxers, and her in her bra top and boy shorts. But he never felt the indication that it made her feel uncomfortable. She just ranted about the heat relentlessly.

I don't know what kind of deity was after my head, but those two nights were the pinnacle of my self-control – the very epitome of restraint. It was hard enough that he was only in his boxers, but to watch beads of sweat drip from his forehead, sliding down his throat before dipping into the hollow of junction of his neck, tilting over the expanse between his collar bones, then travelling painfully slow down his chest, the ripples of his abs and onto his waist band… I never thought it was possible to want to fuck and kill someone at the same time.

The writing of the passage looked more jumbled as it went on. Neji didn't realize that his jaw had dropped at the highly graphic way his longtime teammate described a drop of perspiration. He felt his cheeks color slightly. He never knew she was capable of looking at him in that way.

On our first day alone nearly half naked, I thought I wouldn't last. It literally took every ounce of control to not grab his hair and kiss him senseless. Needless to say, the nights were harder. We shared a bed, like we always did on missions. But it never involved limited clothing, high amounts of temperature, and my raging hormones. Who would have thought I would finally experience what the rest of the girls had been talking about? And at 19 at that. I had to make excuses to go the bathroom to wash off the heat, but no amount of bathing would rid me of the itch. Each time I had my fingers in my pussy, moaning Neji's name, trying to muffle the sounds I made with my hand and the rushing water.

Neji froze. His eyes reached the end of the page. She had made a few weird noises in the bathroom, but he always brushed them off as her complaints over the scorching weather.

Neji felt another wave of heat course through his body. He felt dirty and ashamed for reading Tenten's most inner thoughts, but at the same time, he was incredibly aroused. He was yet again at an impasse. Would he read on? Would his conscience really let him? Before he could rationalize things further, his hand flipped onto the next page. Traitor! It seemed his curiosity won this round yet again.

The second day had been worse. The lights went out and they had given us rose scented candles, apologizing that all the regular ones had been used up. ROSE. FUCKING. SCENTED. They gave the room a warm pink glow! The universe was conspiring against me I just knew it!

Neji couldn't help but chuckle at the apparent exasperation seeping through the paragraph. He never told Tenten, but just before they left, Temari quietly asked him if they enjoyed the king sized bed and the scented candles. The telling look she gave him said it all. The romantic atmosphere was a set up. They could have easily arranged for two separate bedrooms. He didn't give the Sunagakure kunoichi the satisfaction of a response.

It was getting too much. I was so close to sleeping in the bathroom floor if it meant my senses could have some reprieve from Neji. But I knew he wouldn't have it. So I stayed as quiet as I could that day, kept my eyes closed and pretended to meditate to fight off the heat. But with my eyes closed, I could feel every shift he made on the mattress – every turn, every single movement of his sinful body. Then just like always, my thoughts would drift to the feel of his lips. Are they as soft as they look? I imagine he'd use his tongue to coax mine out to play. I would feel the weight of his body crushing me onto the bed, his lustful fingers finding the entrance to my dripping wet core. He'd start with one. Slowly. Then add another one. Still torturously slow. Then he'd thrust a third one forcefully, making me scream in ecstasy. Again. And again. And… Again.

Neji slammed the book close as he felt his member stand into full attention. Never before had he been so aroused by a written material ever in his life. As he read on, gone was the shame. All that was left was an endless curiosity and a lust he never knew he was capable of feeling towards his teammate. He gritted his teeth, willing it to go away but it wouldn't.

It was too late now. The images that flooded his mind, thanks to Tenten's creative use of words, would haunt him for a long time. Closing his eyes, he opened the book once again, choosing to ignore the throbbing problem between his legs.

But just as I'm about to come, he draws back, then looks at me with those piercing eyes chuckling. "So wet. So easy to please." I'd whimper. "Please Neji." I'd beg. He'd chuckle once more in that deep baritone voice of his that never fails to get me wet and wanting. "Please what?" He'd tease. I'd whimper yet again. "Please take me." I'd feel his manhood at my entrance and I let out a moan as I try to fill myself up. He catches my hip and stills me. "What do you want?" He'd whisper in my ear, and I'd feel my arousal drip onto my thighs. "Neji." I'd moan. I was at my limit. "Tell me how you want it." He repeated in that demanding tone of his. "Make me come screaming." I somehow manage to whisper. In an instant, he fills me up and I come undone.

Neji stared at the end of the second passage not sure exactly what to feel. He was painfully hard by now, nearly impossible for him to ignore. He gritted his teeth hating the way Tenten's words were affecting him. If he were to be completely honest, he'd say that he did find her attractive. Being teammates with her for such a long time, he knew exactly how much she had grown into a woman.

Once when they were 15, he lent her a shirt during training because she had fallen into the lake and had no extra clothes to spare. That was the first time it visually registered to him that she had gone through puberty. Her baggy clothes were successful in hiding her figure; but when all she had on was his thin black shirt stretching tightly on her chest, barely reaching her midthigh, he was rendered speechless. It was a good thing he had to leave for her apartment to get her something else to change into.

Neji closed his eyes as he massaged his temples. Just what in the hell was he thinking? Scratch that. What the fuck was he doing? Reading his teammates journal and getting a raging hard on, while sitting on her bed. Just how perverse could he get?

Scanning the rest of the book, he was glad to note that there was just one more entry left. Yet again he was torn. He knew he really should stop. He was invading her privacy in so many ways. If it had been the other way around, he knew he would be beyond mortified. But once again, his hand had a mind of its own, turning onto the last passage before he could even finish his train of thought.

If there really was a god, I'm sure she or he or it really hates me. That, or perhaps god has a sick sense of humor. I was out on mission just the other day with Neji, as usual. We get paired up a lot during reconnaissance missions because it's easy for us to act as couple, making us smoothly blend in. This wasn't the first time we've used that kind of cover, but it was definitely the first time we got snowed in during the middle of winter. And it was also the first time I got delirious because of a fever.

Neji paused. This particular mission ended just three weeks ago. It was at a mountainous province several thousand feet above sea level, covered in ice and snow. They were trapped for a full four days because of a blizzard. They were lucky to have enough rations to last them a week, but the chill of area's perpetual winter was nearly impossible to fight off. They were able to keep a fire going but their wood stock kept getting riddled with frost. The first day was fairly easy, but when night came, Tenten fell ill. They had no supply of medicine. All Neji could do was repeatedly heat up a bowl of chicken soup and hope she got better. It was one of the few moments in his life that he felt so useless.

I could hear Neji repeatedly telling me that my body temperature kept rising, but all I could feel was a chilling numbness. My insides were shaking, my teeth were rattling, and I was beginning to spout random nonsense. My mind was spinning. It felt as if I was flying. Or was it falling? I couldn't really tell anymore. I don't even remember what happened from the point wherein I was sure I was going to die, to waking up without any article of clothing in the arms of an equally naked Neji Hyuga.

Neji felt his face burn at the memory. Her temperature was spiraling out of control and she would freeze if he did nothing. It was survival 101 – body heat. He remembered gathering all the clothing, cushions and sheets that they had to spare, creating a cocoon of warmth by the fire with Tenten in the middle.

Blindfolding himself, he began stripping the clothes off his freezing teammate, before tucking her under the mountain of fabrics. Ripping the scrap of fabric away from his eyes, he hurriedly took off his clothes. Gritting his teeth at the sudden invasion of the cold, he rushed to put his warm garments over her body before enveloping her further with everything he could get his hands on.

Crawling under the covers, he wrapped his limbs around her, pressing his body flush against her own. He clenched his jaw at the feel of her ice-cold skin. Closing his eyes, he focused on emanating his chakra in gentle waves of warmth, hoping it would be enough to get her to stop shivering. He thanked the heavens silently when her teeth finally stopped clattering, drifting into a more peaceful state of slumber.

He was still sleeping. To say I was shocked would be the biggest understatement of the century. There he was, in all his naked glory, sleeping like an angel without a care in the world. He had me in his arms, and I've never felt so happy in my entire life. I willed the tears to stop. I didn't want to miss a moment of this. I wanted to burn the image in my head.

I've loved him for almost three years now, maybe even longer. I can't exactly remember when it all began. One day I woke up and it all just made sense. My feelings may be unrequited, but it's moments like these that make me think, perhaps it's enough. This is enough.

Never in his life did Neji feel like he was an asshole. Until now. He closed the book in remorse, feeling the tension in his pants gradually withdraw at the mortification of what he had just done.

He overstepped a line when he opened Tenten's journal, but he was so far gone he hadn't realized just how far a line he had crossed. She loved him. No. She was in love with him. And here he was invading her most intimate thoughts like they meant nothing. How could he do this? Why did he even allow himself to do this?

"Neji?"

Pearl eyes met amber ones. Each mirrored a silent shock.

Neji watched in mortification as Tenten's gaze shifted onto the brown leather book he hon his lap. He didn't dare to move. He didn't even dare to breathe.

"Just what…?" Tenten's voice came out barely above a whisper. Her chest heaved as she continued to stare at her journal sitting comfortably on Neji's lap. She was breathless. She felt as if she had just finished Gai's one thousand laps around Konoha challenge. Twice.

For once, Neji was truly and utterly speechless.