Disclaimer: I don't own any Naruto characters.

Note: Neji and Tenten are my favorite couple, and I happen to like Team Gai a lot, so I decided to write a short story about them. One-shot NejiTenten (and Team Gai friendship). There is also hints of ShikamaruIno, NarutoHinata, and SasukeSakura. There is one light spoiler. Just a warning.

5/23/07- edited.

A Sweet Sixteen

It was her birthday. Her sixteenth birthday to be exact. Sweet sixteen as some like to call it. It was to be a small party, organized by a couple of her good friends, would be held in the afternoon, with a small group of her closest friends. And, of course, he was one of the invited.

The only problem was that he didn't have a gift for her yet.

He scowled inwardly. It was troublesome, as Nara Shikamaru liked to say. Today was especially troublesome for him. His opalescent-colored eyes rolled up towards the sky as he caught his teammate pouncing around excitedly from the corner of his gaze. The two boys were currently walking around the village stores together in search of a gift for their best friend and teammate. He, however, was rather reluctant on going anywhere, especially with his wide-eyed, bubbly comrade.

He made an exception for today.

Hyuuga Neji and Rock Lee walked near each other along the road, near as in Lee practically skipping five feet ahead and Neji walking casually behind. The two boys had agreed to come out and buy her present, even though it was quite late considering that her birthday was today. Neji had actually planned on getting her something earlier, but couldn't decide on what to get her. It was unusual for him to care so much about something so trivial, but somehow, he did care, and the thought of caring so much made him really uncomfortable.

Lee, on the other hand, had forgotten to buy her a gift due to his heavy training menu and was now gawking at all the wonderful items he could give his dear teammate. He would drag Neji into every store and shop, or more like beg Neji to come in with him, and rummaged for possible gifts before leaving with an unsatisfied expression.

Sigh.

And this had been going on for at least an hour already. More than the silent Hyuuga could handle. Although he and Lee had become closer through the years, there was still only so much Neji could handle. He was never really one for the constant rejoicing of youth and green spandex one-pieces. One hour with the taijutsu specialist was more than enough for Neji.

It wasn't as if their searching was all for nothing. Lee was close to figuring out what to get their "precious flower" and Neji was getting a slight idea of what he could get her as well. But they were still farther than Neji had hoped they would be at the given time. A lot farther.

"Hey Neji! Let's go in this store! I think I know what to get her!"

Lee dashed into the store, his eyes sparkling brightly. Neji followed him unenthusiastically, his narrowed eyes glaring at no one (and nothing) in particular. As his comrade searched for the perfect gift, he stood silently and stared out the window. The party was bigger than he had originally thought it would be. He, himself, had actually hoped for a small celebration with just their team, but thanks to Haruno Sakura, Yamanaka Ino, and somewhat to his cousin Hyuuga Hinata, the party was anything but small. Fortunately, it wasn't too large either.

But he still wasn't pleased.

"I've got it! Look Neji! The prefect gift for Tenten-chan! I've finally accomplished my goal!"

Neji snapped out of his thoughts and nodded at Lee. Lee was probably worse than having a younger brother, but Neji didn't have a younger brother, so he would never really know. Thank goodness. But as much as he hated to admit it, he had grown accustomed to Lee's (overwhelming) presence. They shared a male teammate to male teammate bond… an odd one at that.

Lee held up a beautifully decorated bracelet, adorned with tiny ruby blossoms and silver spirals on a simple gold band. Neji frowned inwardly. It looked terribly expensive… how would Lee be able to afford it? Lee beamed at the piece of jewelry and, as if reading Neji's mind, brought out a thick pouch of money. Ah. So Lee had been saving up money just for Tenten's gift. That was… nice of him.

But he still didn't have a gift for her.

"Okay! Now your turn!"

Neji nodded in response. Lee happily walked out of the store with the gift in a fine-looking pouch, after paying most of his savings on the beautiful gift. The two dark haired boys walked down the road once again, this time only one was in search of a gift. Neji closed his powerful eyes, then opened then and turned to his teammate.

"Lee. You can go home. I'll get a gift and meet you at the forest."

Lee nodded, knowing well what Neji meant. Neji would rather get his gift for Tenten-chan alone. But Lee was grateful that Neji actually willed himself to come with him to find a gift. Lee waved a quick goodbye and hurried away. Neji watched quietly as Lee nearly fly away in happiness. Tenten was practically a sister to Lee and it seemed reasonable to Neji that Lee would spend his savings on her.

But then again, it was Lee. The unusual became usual with the taijutsu specialist around, or at least, to Neji they did.

He made his way down the road alone, his mind racing with thoughts on what to buy. As a Hyuuga, he never gave up on anything, and as much as he wanted to, would not give up on finding a gift. Especially since Lee found one… it would be terribly pathetic for him to not have one.

But what would a girl like Tenten want? She was always training with him and near him, but never saw any desire for an item from her. Tenten was the kind of girl who appreciated what she already has, rather than what she needs. And for that, he respected her more than other girls. She concentrated on her training and didn't waste time with crushes or her appearance. She worked to improve her skills and trained with him every day. Because of that, he had trusted her far more than anyone else in his life.

Realization slowly began to dawn upon him.

He wanted to give her something useful… something that would be more significant to her than other gifts. A small smirk appeared on his handsome face when he finally realized what he wanted to give to her.

"N-Naruto-kun! P-P-Please leave the cake alone!"

Naruto reluctantly pulled his hand back when the sound of Hyuuga Hinata's sweet voice lightly reprimanded him. He sent her a cute pout, making her blush furiously. Sakura glared fiercely at Naruto and sharply hit his hand with the wooden spoon in her hand. Naruto yelped and glared at Sakura in return, receiving an extra glare from Sasuke.

"Where's Neji-san!?" Ino shrieked. Hinata winced at the unnatural pitch, avoiding eye contact with the hysterical blond. She was afraid that if she locked gazes with Ino's enraged blue eyes, she might turn to ash on the spot from the burning glare.

Lee's usually bright face was currently occupied with a frown. Where was Neji? It wasn't like Neji to be late for anything, especially for Tenten's birthday. Neji had always bee the first to come in the previous years for Tenten's, and even his and Gai-sensei's birthdays.

"Shikamaru, control your damn girlfriend." Kiba groaned. Akamaru whimpered in agreement. Shikamaru rolled his eyes and continued to let his girlfriend attack everything in her sight. It was much too troublesome to try and stop her. Besides, what was the worst she could do?

"I'll kill him!" Ino shouted. She pushed Naruto out of the tree as she stood and tried to search for the late Hyuuga. He was five minutes late! Ino jumped down, one hand holding a kunai. Her knuckles were white and her cheeks were red with anger.

"Kill who?" Neji glared at her as he walked into the forest clearing where the party was being held. Shikamaru smirked at his girlfriend's face and reached out to grab her hand before she decided to attack Neji. Ino shot a deadly glare in return to Shikamaru, but sat down and sulked deeply pushing aside her original plan of telling off the silent Hyuuga.

"Where's Tenten-chan?" Naruto asked. The fox boy had been to busy trying to get a taste of the cake to even notice that the birthday girl herself was not present. Sasuke rolled his eyes. Idiot. Sakura sighed, but smiled and patiently explained where Tenten was to Naruto.

"It's a surprise party, Naruto-kun. So we're going to surprise her. Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara offered to keep her company and bring her when we are ready," Sakura smiled when Naruto nodded his head excitedly in response. "I think we're just about ready, though."

"I'll call them back!" Choji grinned. Shino, who went unnoticed by Neji until now, glared deeply at Choji through his dark shades when the larger boy accidentally stepped on one of his bugs. Choji muttered an apology before running off to retrieve the last members of the party.

Tenten sighed happily. This had to be the best birthday ever. All her friends and classmates had come to celebrate her special day. Even Neji had managed to somewhat enjoy himself., which said a lot, since she knew he hated to attend large, or in her case a medium sized, gatherings of any sort. He even participated in one of the organized games (although, much to her horror and amusement, the game was hit the apple off Shikamaru's head with a kunai).

Ah, yes. This was the best birthday in her entire life.

All thanks to her good friends Sakura-chan, Ino-chan, and Hinata-chan.

The guests had helped with the clean up and left. But Tenten had stayed behind to admire the stars, something she did every year for as long as she could remember. She smiled when she looked at all the thoughtful gifts she had received. From Naruto was four bowls of instant ramen, originally five (as Hinata told her) but the fox-like teen had gotten hungry along the way and ate one of them. But she didn't mind, after all, it was the thought that counted.

Sasuke and Sakura pitched in to get her a weapon sharpening kit, which was the exact one she had been planning to buy. Hinata, Shino, and Kiba got her books and scrolls (Akamaru gave her one of his dog bones, much to Kiba-kun's embarrassment). Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji got her a beautiful new Chinese-styled top and a bouquet of flowers, which had almost made her cry at the thoughtfulness.

The three from the Hidden Sand gave her a sword from their village, specifically made for her. The sword was light in her hands, had intricate designs, and her name engraved on it. Kakashi-sensei gave her a scroll filled with weapon information and weapon techniques. She was quite surprised at the gift and thanked Kakashi-sensei generously.

Gai-sensei had grinned excitedly as he handed her a sleek, pink spandex body suit. Lee's face held brightness and was equally as excited as her sensei, as she gingerly took the presented gift. Neji's face, on the other hand, held disgust and she stifled a laugh as he rolled his eyes.

Lee had given her a very stunning bracelet, which she was currently wearing, and her heart melted for her bubbly teammate. He must have spent a lot of money on it and she would treasure it forever. She had given him a sincere hug and thanked him warmly.

Neji had not given her anything, but his mere attendance was more than enough for her.

Tenten grinned. She felt like the luckiest girl in the world. She resettled herself on the grass and looked back towards the sky to return her gaze up at the stars. A few seconds later, she felt a presence behind her a couple of minutes later and her body tensed in anticipation.

"It's just me."

At the sound of his voice, Tenten relaxed and patted the ground next to her, motioning for the person to take a seat. She smiled and turned toward the reserved boy.

"Is something the matter, Neji?"

Tenten turned and faced the boy. His alabaster face and pearl colored eyes showed a slightly agitated emotion. Tenten repressed an amused look, not wanting to scare the boy off. The Neji Hyuuga agitated or nervous? Impossible.

"If this is about not getting me a gift, then you had better be sorry, Neji!" Tenten teased with a laugh. Neji scowled lightly and then grunted. He paused and looked into her warm chocolate brown eyes. Her cheeks peach colored cheeks were slightly pink from laughing and he felt his face move ever so slowly towards hers.

Her breath hitched and eyes widened at their lips touched.

He captured hers in a gentle kiss, pulling away slowly as if he were trying to memorize her taste..

He shoved a small package in her hand, then stood up casually and walked away.

"See you tomorrow."

Tenten watched the young Hyuuga's back as he walked away, his figure getting smaller and smaller. She was still stunned, her heart still pounding quickly. When he was finally out of her line of sight, she looked down at the small package in her lap. It was a simple red pouch, embroidered with gold and silver thread. She opened the pouch and smiled at the gift inside.

Inside were two long silk hair ribbons. The ribbons were a beautiful pearl color and were long enough to securely tie her hair into her trademark buns. On the end of one of the ribbon, lightly tied on, was a beautiful silver ring. It was a simple silver band with an engraving on the inner side of the band. Tenten, Lee, Neji. Team Gai.

Tenten grinned and tied the ribbons on each of her buns, testing them out, and then placed the ring around her right ring finger. She was pleased to find that the ring slipped on perfectly and felt secure on her finger.

She decided that she would wear the ribbons everyday, although the pearl colored would probably get dirty easily, and clean the ribbons every so often. She would wear both her bracelet from Lee and her ring from Neji, and that way everywhere she went, her team would always be with her.

It was perfect.

And lastly, she touched her slightly swollen lips gently.

Yes, today was definitely the best birthday ever.

end