a/n: So. I really shouldn't be doing this because I have Heaven to finish, and Precious Things. And I promised myself that the next NejiTen I have in the pipeline would not be published until I'd at least finished PT and written most of it to boot but … I couldn't help myself. This story is an amalgamation of an idea I had recently and another one I had years ago. It's been annoying me ceaselessly so I thought we'd see where it takes us, yeah? I will leave it up to the readers to decide if I should continue this story or if I should stick to the projects I've already got so please let me know if you want me to continue. Since I have so much on my plate updates will be sporadic (the other fics taking precedence) so much as I hate to say it, this will not be continued unless there's interest in it. I think it can stand as a oneshot if necessary. Finally, please note that this is somewhat AU-ish in the sense that some events in the canon timeline did not take place or they took place but the outcomes were different. If there's any confusion about anything let me know!

Warnings: This story is rated M but I will stick within the parameters the site allows. That being said bear the rating in mind and expect anything.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

The Game

It still hurt. Even after all this time. It shouldn't have been this painful – not anymore. Time should have done its job and healed the wounds; the corrosive acid of resentment and anguish should long since have faded. Only real life didn't seem to work that way. Or maybe it was only that Tenten didn't work that way; maybe she wasn't put together the same as other people. She often wondered about it … the trite platitude about time healing all wounds certainly seemed to work for all other residents of Konoha. Through the years she'd watched her friends recover from many emotional scars shinobi life inflicted on them: the loss of a trusted friend to enemy kunai, the failed relationships, splintered friendships, broken promises and shattered dreams … and they all seemed to eventually pick themselves up off the ground. They dusted their battered hearts and returned to the fray.

Maybe time had forgotten to heal her wounds…

The imposing gates loomed ahead of her and, somehow, the delicately intricate steelwork conveyed a sense of strength; of nobility. The Hyuuga compound lay beyond the gates; its beautifully crafted gardens lush and verdant even in the scorching heat of a Konoha summer. The buildings rose from perfect foundations, nestled between sakura trees, as pristine as the white robes the inhabitants habitually wore. Undeniably, undoubtedly, the Hyuuga compound was a beautiful, serene place.

She hated coming here; hated the stupid gates, the stupid trees, the gardens, the fountains … every last goddamn pebble. But most of all she hated the little house that Neji called home. She hated every square inch of its white walls. She wished that the sturdy foundations would crumble, that the roof would cave in and shatter the elegant rooms it sheltered. She wished she was an Uchiha, in possession of a katon powerful enough to incinerate it … to wipe it from the face of the earth as if it had never existed.

Maybe then she would have some measure of peace. Maybe then she wouldn't be plagued by midnight hallucinations. Maybe then she would be able to go one night without torturing herself with images of the domesticity the pretty little house no doubt harboured.

For the millionth time since leaving the Hokage's office Tenten cursed her teammates soundly. It was rare that Gai and Lee could not be found - they were hard to miss. Still, she had been the first member of Team Gai that the ANBU messenger had tracked down and now it fell to her to gather the rest of her team and inform them of the mission they had just been assigned. Tsunade-sama hadn't the time to spare for another briefing once the rest of the team had been tracked down, and since debriefing the other three now essentially formed part of her specific orders Tenten just wasn't comfortable with delegating informing Neji to Gai or Lee.

She was many things; she freely acknowledged that she wasn't necessarily the most compassionate kunoichi of her generation. She didn't wear her heart on her sleeve like Sakura, didn't rush to assist the way Hinata did. She wasn't strictly kind: she didn't have the urge to protect and uplift the way Ino did; couldn't imagine herself reaching out to another person in need. She would not appreciate another intruding on her private anguish so she did not interfere with theirs. She had spent far too many years watching Neji grind Lee into the dust without feeling the slightest bit of remorse for her to pretend at possessing any of the girlish sensibilities most of her peers still displayed from time to time. She was a complete failure as the traditional picture of the fairer sex; but as a kunoichi … Tenten defied anyone to criticize her professional conduct. She hadn't flinched at her first kill; hadn't allowed the less savoury aspects of her chosen career path to negatively impact her naturally friendly and ebullient personality. When she had been younger Gai-sensei had often remarked on this aspect: her almost instinctive ability to compartmentalize. The other girls often urged her to pursue something other than training in her free time. Ino continually wished to take her shopping, Sakura wanted her to appreciate things like art and literature and Hinata would – in her own hesitant way – insist that she spend some time in peaceful, beautiful surroundings to commune with nature.

Though she knew they meant well it frustrated Tenten to no end that they seemed to be so completely unable to understand that she just wasn't that forgiving – that nice. But if it made her friends happy to imagine that she would one day lose the serrated edges she'd gained in the last few years; that time would dull the razor-sharp spikes she fairly bristled with these days, then she didn't see the harm in letting them keep their illusions intact.

The sun's rays shifted slightly, molten stripes of gold falling across the walls in front of her and Tenten shook her head to dislodge the dark thoughts. Despite the devil that dwelled within she knew that she was fundamentally incapable of hurting someone or something that had no chance of fighting back. She couldn't attack innocent, defenceless civilians … even if the particular civilian happened to be the most prissy, stuck-up Hyuuga bitch imaginable.

Her shoulders squared almost subconsciously as Tenten readied herself for the veiled confrontation that was sure to come. Another deep breath and she finally left her place in the hidden shadows of a building across the street and approached the gates. She passed through with no problem even though it had been many months since she had come this way; the guards remembered her. There were few enough who were allowed into the Hyuuga sanctum without reserve that they wouldn't forget her in a hurry, but Tenten still couldn't quite keep the smug smirk from pulling at her lips.

No doubt that bothered Neji's pretty, little wife to no end – that Tenten had enough standing to be considered friend to the clan; allowed entrance with no questions asked. It was petty and it was mean-spirited but she couldn't help the swift stabs of bitter pleasure whenever Hinata's gaze passed coldly (as coldly as Hinata was capable of in any case) over her cousin-in-law. Hyuuga Ami was not popular among her husband's peers. Sometimes when Tenten was at her most relaxed she could almost feel pity for the girl who had, after all, done nothing wrong. It simply came down to the fact that their generation of graduates had always been closer than had ever been the norm. No one wanted to choose between Neji and Tenten – no one really had any idea of what had happened between them – but inadvertently they chose regardless. It manifested in small ways: how Ami could never really establish a friendship with any of Neji's friends; how she never quite seemed to fit in. Oh, Tenten knew well enough that the atmosphere eased if she wasn't at a particular friendly gathering; knew that everyone found it easier, and that on those occasions Ami would even manage to enjoy herself.

She knew that they all found her bitchiness bewildering – but what none of them understood was that Tenten could really care less about Hyuuga Ami. She went to those gatherings to torment him, to try and cause him even a fraction of the pain she dealt with daily. It was a sick, vicious cycle … she would flirt with whomever was available – glorying in the fact that Neji's eyes grew steadily darker, his grip on his sake steadily increasing in pressure, until he was openly glaring. Then she would leave, more often than not making it seem as if she was leaving with whomever she'd managed to chat up. Of course she never really left with them, but those were the only nights she fell asleep easily … after she had proved, in some entirely inconclusive and insubstantial manner, that he was indefinably still hers.

Inevitably though, dawn broke through the pretty dream and harsh reality became illuminated again. He wasn't hers … he would never be. In those early morning hours the remorse came, in waves so swift and silent that Tenten couldn't bear it. She'd immediately resolve to approach Ami and apologize for the humiliation she'd had to go through because of the stupid games Tenten and Neji played. But she could never quite bring herself to complete the promises she made to her conscience in the early hours of sanity. In some way, if she did, if she befriended the Hyuuga girl … she would lose him. It would be like admitting defeat, giving up and that was the one thing that Tenten never did. She was not part of Team Gai for nothing.

That Ami hated her was obvious though the other girl was always careful to treat Tenten with courtesy – on the surface, at least. Tenten could not really bring herself to blame the girl for hating her; it had always been a possibility at best, an inevitability at worst. Though Tenten was never ever anything but saccharinely sweet to her teammate's wife they both knew that beneath the polite layers of civility was only pretense. They did not like each other and never would.

The walk through the compound was uneventful; at this time of day few were up and outside and Tenten was spared having to make small talk as she strode purposefully to her destination. She kept her gaze strictly on the path in front of her, on the perfectly laid stones that formed it, but despite her best efforts the past caught up with her and her stride faltered. She tried to resist, so hard, but of her own accord her gaze lifted as she passed the main house. From this angle she could just barely see the towering branches of the tallest tree at the back of the house but it was enough…

Her hands bit into the bark; her grip on the tree the only thing that held her upright as her nails dug deeply into the rough surface. She could feel the nails tearing, the skin breaking, as she pressed closely against the tree, trying to disappear into the shadows it provided but she barely registered the blood that pooled relentlessly to finally drip out from beneath white knuckles. Her knees trembled, threatened to give out from under her, when Neji suddenly glanced up. To everyone present he wouldn't have appeared to move much, but she knew him and, to her, the movement was sharp; clearly defined. His eyes shifted restlessly; pale, pearlescent orbs scanning the edges of the gathering.

He would see her; of course he would. But Tenten found that she really didn't care. Recklessly, she wanted him to see the pain he'd caused … no thought of pride, or of saving it, ever entered her head as her hazel-brown eyes locked unwaveringly on the man she loved. Where Hyuuga Neji was concerned she had no pride.

A thousand dull blades sliced at her from head to toe; the pain was nearly physically crippling. She watched, silently from the shadows, as Neji's eyes finally reached her vantage point. He didn't have the Byakugan activated but she knew the almost preternatural ability of that gaze; knew in her bones that he'd seen her even if he made no movement or gesture to indicate that it was so. She watched in masochistic pleasure-pain as the small lines appeared between his brows; an imperceptible frown, but how often had she reached out to smooth those lines away with her fingertips; laughing as he caught her fingers before she could complete the motion, delight shivering down her spine when his longer fingers tangled briefly with hers before he'd withdraw?

Neji's attention was again focused on the small, dark-haired girl who stood next to him; clad in pristine white. Absently Tenten had to admit that the girl made a beautiful bride. Her blue-black hair gleamed against the heavy white silk, her eyes seemingly magnified by the glaring contrast of black and white. Her Hyuuga eyes. And that fact, that simple genetic trait, was what had made all the difference in the end…

Finally Tenten squeezed her eyelids tightly shut. The priest had reached the vows; the portion of this entire charade that she'd dreaded the most. Her thoughts whirled but her hearing seemed somehow amplified. Some belated sense of self-preservation welled up in her but she'd come this far … had promised herself that it would end today. She would allow herself this one opportunity to wallow in self-pity and rail against the unfairness of it all. She would see it through to the end; take every stab of pain with kunoichi aplomb, and then she would be done with Hyuuga Neji.

So, she pushed the urge to run away and forced herself to listen to the deep timbre of Neji's voice as he promised everlasting devotion to someone who was not her and the final pieces of her shattered heart came loose from their framework. They splintered to shiny shards, tiny teardrops, falling almost silently to the depths of her soul where she promptly buried them.

After all, it was better to have no heart at all. Better to not be able to feel. She didn't notice the silvery track a single tear traced down the paleness of her cheek; she was far too focused on the memories…

Suddenly it was all just incongruously funny. She couldn't help but wonder what everyone would have said if she'd interrupted the ceremony as the priest invited any objections to be aired. She could just imagine it … strolling out from her spot in the shadows, fixing her gaze unflinchingly on the cold-hearted bastard …

"I object on the grounds that he's incapable of fidelity."

She imagined feigning surprise as she faced the startled Hyuuga bride…

"Did he forget to mention that while you were putting on your pretty dress and dreaming beautiful dreams about the future he was fucking me?"

Her lips moved involuntarily, caressing the words she imagined saying, but knew that she would never utter them aloud.

No matter what it had been to Neji – a casual one-time thing, a last grasp at freedom … it had meant more to her than that.

So she stayed silent, forced her eyes open and made herself watch as the ceremony was concluded with the traditional kiss. She was dry-eyed at the end of it, outwardly composed, even though she could still feel the ghost of his touch on her skin, his movements inside of her, his lips against hers…

Her knock was precise; staccato raps of knuckles against wood. No matter that this was Ami's domain, she would not let the other girl intimidate her. It wasn't as if she had come of her own accord. She had no desire to ever set foot in this place again, after the wedding, and Tenten mentally cursed Tsunade roundly; feeling no guilt whatsoever – it was only in her own mind after all. The only place she could ever express her true emotions, her true thoughts.

In the aftermath of the wedding she'd retreated, begged a leave of absence, and by the time Neji's honeymoon had been over she'd been herself again. A harder, more brittle version of herself, but Tenten chalked that up to inevitability: wasn't that what growing up really meant? Losing all innocence and trust in people? It made her a stronger kunoichi, of that she was certain … these days she was by far the most ruthless member of Team Gai.

The team had continued as always, if Gai and Lee noticed that she never addressed Neji directly unless it was mission related, if they noticed his persistent attempts to draw her away, to try to talk to her … they didn't mention it. Privately Tenten felt that they were right to simply ignore the frosty, professional silence that coated any interaction between her and Neji. It was better that way. Eventually even Neji had learned; he left her alone these days, didn't try to talk to her, didn't even look at her unless they were forced to fight side by side or if a mission required him to give orders.

It hurt. It shouldn't have. It was what she wanted, after all. But, perversely, she wanted him to continue to try. It was ridiculous, she knew him better than that: knew that even if she had no pride where he was concerned he had enough of that commodity to make up for both of them. He'd simply decided that if she didn't want to speak to him about anything not work-related, if she wanted to pretend they were no more than acquaintances accidentally on the same team, then he would respect her wishes. Sometimes she hated that they were so alike – Neji didn't like anyone probing into his personal issues any more than she did, therefore he backed off as soon as it became apparent that she considered this a very personal issue, indeed.

Tiredly, Tenten sighed, as she waited for someone to answer the door. Truth be told, she didn't even really know what she wanted anymore. She reacted; allowed the hurt, the rage, to dictate her actions. It was unfair to blame Neji – he hadn't had a choice in the marriage any more than she, but somehow … she wanted him to have tried harder. Deep down inside she couldn't still the insidious, serpentine voice hissing poisonously that, if he'd truly loved her, he would have done whatever was necessary to be with her. Rationally she knew that life wasn't that easy, wasn't that compartmentalized; intellectually she understood that she'd never declared herself either – and maybe that was the worst part: the guilt and the self-loathing.

Maybe if she had tried harder …

Neji was unhappy, that much was apparent – to her at least. His eyes were shadowed in a way they hadn't been since his genin days. He was reluctant to return home after training, he jumped at every chance for a long-term mission. He was working himself to death and, stupid as it was, for that she blamed Ami. Didn't the silly girl realize how lucky she was? Didn't she realize that men like Neji were few and far between – why wasn't she trying her hardest to make him as happy as possible, even if they hadn't been in love? She could have been in an arranged marriage with someone a lot worse, after all...

For a moment, Tenten became lost in an entirely sadistic daydream in which Ami found herself married to the worst kind of man Tenten could conjure up…

"Good morning, Tenten-san. How may I help you?"

The way Ami said it … she might as well have said whore instead of Tenten's name. But Tenten forced herself to smile, forced her eyes to stare blankly at the Hyuuga woman who stood in the doorframe, possessively shielding the interior of her home from Tenten's gaze.

"Good morning, Ami-san. I have been sent by the Hokage to summon your husband for a mission," Tenten returned sweetly, suppressing the delight at the crestfallen expression on the other woman's face.'

"Oh, I-I … of course," Ami sighed, but made no move to turn or call for Neji.

Tenten arched an eyebrow, "That is not a problem, is it, Ami-san?"

"We had plans … but nothing that cannot be postponed, I am sure." The smile was insincere; it was the closest Ami had ever come to outright glaring at Tenten.

The smirk refused to be suppressed, even as Tenten begged herself to not do this; to not sink to that level. But she remembered, all too well … a few weeks ago, Hinata had let slip that the pressure was on Ami to produce an heir; that was what was expected, the entire reason why she'd been forced on Neji in the first place. Tenten had pretended not to listen but as soon as she'd been alone with her thoughts … well, everything in her immediate surroundings had been bristling with kunai, like porcupines.

To her immense relief – and yet her displeasure – Neji appeared in the short hallway behind his wife. The moment his eyes lighted on Tenten he nodded once, briskly, and whirled on his heel. Before Ami had a chance to elaborate on her topic – for which Tenten was eternally grateful, she could see the spiteful gleam in the shorter girl's eyes – he had returned; his usual knapsack slung over his shoulder.

"Let's go," he said to Tenten.

But Tenten could not bear to witness even a perfunctory goodbye between them so she quickly shook her head.

"I still need to get my pack. I'll meet you at the gates."

Before he could protest she had disappeared in an almost silent swirl of leaves.

The days had taken on a disturbing regularity, a certain routine, since the end of the war. The mornings were as empty as his afternoons, but nothing could hold a candle to the nights. Granted, some days were better than others; usually the days Naruto managed to set aside for him. They would train and spar, and train and spar, until Sasuke was so bone-tired that the demons couldn't get a foot-and hand-hold for their claws that night. Sometimes he wondered if Naruto knew – if he sensed from afar – when Sasuke was close to breaking point, because whenever it had become just that tad too much to bear Naruto showed up and the darkness retreated for a few days.

Sasuke stared morosely at the bottom of his glass. Every day that wasn't spent with Naruto ended like this no matter how many promises to the contrary he made to himself. He'd realized quickly enough that the right amount of sake was exactly what he needed to balance the demons. So Sasuke had proceeded to find the most run-down bar in all of Konoha – filled with the outcasts of shinobi society, though none of them were quite as outcast as he was – and he spent most of his evenings there getting blind-drunk.

It allowed him to dream and that was really all he could hope for these days. But dreams came slowly to Sasuke, and ended far too quickly.

The bar allowed him his escape and the patrons ignored him as he ignored them. It was perfect. Except for the fact that Kakashi was currently seated next to him; also with a glass of sake in front of him. Sasuke scowled at his old teacher's reflection in the cracked and stained mirror that covered the wall behind the bar.

"How the mighty have fallen," Kakashi murmured as he reached for his glass, his uncovered eye roaming over the dark, smoky interior of the place.

The Uchiha didn't deign to reply. Not only because he hadn't asked for Kakashi's opinion but also because the man was entirely right. The irony wasn't lost on Sasuke, either.

Kakashi sighed, "What are you doing, Sasuke? Since you came back you've shunned everyone except for Naruto."

A sneer lifted his lips but Sasuke only shook his head as he knocked back the drink in front of him. The glass cracked as Sasuke slammed it down onto the bar but he ignored it and instead fixed swirling Sharingan eyes on Kakashi in the mirror. He was spoiling for a fight and Kakashi was asking for it. But the sake coursed warmly through his veins and Sasuke had to concentrate on speaking slowly, to prevent the words from slurring together.

"Give me a reason, sensei."

Kakashi's light, scornful chuckle only added fuel to the flames and Sasuke had to clench his fingers into tight fists to keep from reaching for his sword.

"Please, Sasuke. In the first place, you'll only fall over your own feet in your current condition and second, I taught you. Your basic style hasn't changed."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he turned, carefully, to look directly at Kakashi. Never before had the man addressed him with such contempt, but underlying the judgement was definite notes of disappointment.

"What's eating you?" Kakashi continued, taking a small sip of sake before he replaced his glass on the bar and fixed an unwavering stare on his student via the mirror. "I know you still spar with Naruto regularly, so it's not that. You're searching for absolution in all the wrong places," another distasteful look at their surroundings, "when you should be working on re-establishing the bonds you so rashly broke. Why are you freezing Sakura out?"

There it was; the dreaded name he'd hoped to avoid at all costs. Despite the alcohol, every muscle in his body had tensed up at the mention of Sakura's name and Sasuke knew that Kakashi would have picked up on that.

"What's it to you?" he asked rudely, hoping to deflect the Jounin.

"Well, Sasuke, you see, I had three members on my genin team, and I care about all of them. Why do you think I'm here tonight? Sakura fought just as hard as Naruto to bring you back. Don't you think you owe her something for that, at least?"

It took a long time for Sasuke to reply and when he finally did, something about the weary, jaded tone gave Kakashi pause, though he would have loved nothing more than to smack some sense into the drunk young man sitting next to him.

"I knocked her out and left her on a bench in the middle of the night. Then I repeatedly tried to kill her. Does that sound like someone you want around your precious Sakura-chan?" Sasuke spoke slowly, deliberately, and this time it wasn't just to keep his tongue from slurring the words.

Kakashi stayed silent as the Uchiha pushed away from the bar and stumbled out into the night, alone.

The streets were dark and glistened with the wetness of the rain that had fallen earlier but Sasuke ignored it all. He'd come back to this godforsaken village for Naruto – and for Itachi, because he somehow felt that he owed it to them. But it wasn't fair that he'd been forced to do this. Now his days were all the same empty stretch and his nights never ended except in the bottom of a bottle but what did they expect? Everywhere he went there were reminders … and even when he could get past the memories and the ghosts there was still Naruto.

Naruto – the golden hero of Konoha.

Naruto, the kind and forgiving friend that was much admired for his fair treatment of the monstrous Uchiha who didn't deserve to be treated with respect.

Naruto, the powerful Hokage-to-be; surpassing his father, the Yondaime.

Naruto, the outcast, misfit boy who finally caught the attention of the girl of his dreams.

Naruto and Sakura.

How was it fair that they could expect him to be happy in this cursed place? Had they honestly expected him to smile as he watched Naruto living the life Sasuke should have had?

How pathetic was he? The last Uchiha sinking to being jealous of Naruto, of all people?

"Hey! Watch it!"

The voice was all sharp edges and Sasuke could feel his temper spiking; he'd been suppressing the urge for violence for far too long and if this random kunoichi offered him an outlet through her rudeness then who was he to decline?

"Watch where you're going yourself," he told her, coldly, common sense kicking in at the last moment so that Sasuke merely stepped around the obviously drunk young woman.

He'd barely gone two steps down the road when he froze at the sound of his name.

"Uchiha? Is that you?"

No one spoke to him voluntarily – except for Naruto and Kakashi and they didn't count.

Slowly he turned around, focusing his wavering vision on the girl intently. Twin buns confined chocolate brown hair, heart-shaped face was scrunched into frown lines as she peered blearily at him but he recognized her – vaguely.

"Tenten," he acknowledged finally, dragging her name from the depths of his cloudy memory.

Unexpectedly, she giggled.

"Boy, do you look smashed," she observed, hands rising to her hips as she surveyed him from head to toe.

Sasuke merely shot her a pointed look in return.

"Fair enough," she shrugged.

Another awkward moment passed before Sasuke decided that he'd had enough and he turned to go.

"Hey, Uchiha," Tenten called out after him.

"Next time you wanna get wasted, let me know! I hate drinking alone."

Not bothering to respond Sasuke continued on down the street; wondering why on earth such mundane words from someone he barely even knew would be able to calm the rage his conversation with Kakashi had ignited in his heart.

The news was everywhere.

People whispered about it delightedly in the streets. Every shop she entered there was someone who knew her and wanted to congratulate Neji via his teammate. Of course, it never occurred to anyone that Tenten wouldn't be happy for him. She was his teammate, after all, and it was a well-known fact that the Konoha Eleven were all close friends.

But Tenten was very close to breaking point.

It had been over a month since her last mission with the full Team Gai. In the aftermath; when she'd still been wallowing in the pain of having been that close to Neji, she'd finally decided that it couldn't go on this way. So she'd put her name on the list for ANBU and she'd taken as many solo missions as she could get, to bolster her resume.

She'd been getting better; or the closest to better that she'd been in a long time.

Now this. Just when she'd finally begun to think that she could put it all behind her; that she could move on with her life because Tenten wasn't a vindictive person at heart and she didn't like who she was becoming.

Neji and Ami were expecting their first child.

The announcement had been in the newspaper and everything.

Tenten grimaced as she slipped down a narrow alleyway to avoid Ino and Choji coming down the opposite end of the street. She continued rapidly down the road she emerged onto, uncaring that she was entering the seedier part of town. It was just past three in the afternoon but the moment Tenten's eyes caught sight of the sign she decided that it was late enough.

If there was ever an occasion where drowning her sorrows were required then this was it.

Sasuke slipped silently into the smoke and shadow-filled interior; the only haven he had in Konoha. No one seemed to care that he'd arrived; only the bartender reacted by reaching for the bottle of Sasuke's favourite drink and pouring a shot that he put in front of the Uchiha's usual seat.

The only thing that was out of place was the fact that for a second time in a month the seat next to Sasuke's was occupied.

The Uchiha frowned at the unknown girl's back but she paid the glare, and his entrance, no mind so he decided that it wouldn't matter if he took his usual seat. He wasn't planning on more than a couple of drinks, anyway.

Yeah right.

The snort was barely suppressed as Sasuke slid into the chair and reached for the glass, but still the kunoichi didn't react and he decided to ignore her presence completely. She was bound to leave soon. He'd never seen kunoichi in here for longer than it took to finish the drink they'd unwisely ordered. He dismissed her from his thoughts and focused on all the rage burning endlessly in his heart; tried to quench it with copious amounts of alcohol.

By the third round Sasuke could no longer ignore the events that had driven him to seek solace in a bottle despite his training session with Naruto earlier that day.

Naruto was planning to propose to Sakura. He had the ring picked out and everything. And Sasuke hadn't known what to say or do because Naruto was his only friend and he knew that he should be happy for him but the envy had overwhelmed him.

Kakashi had always said that Sasuke had a simultaneous superiority and inferiority complex.

The Uchiha did snort into his drink this time, though the sound contained absolutely no amusement. It was strange how he'd missed Konoha so much at times – when he'd been on the road – that it had manifested in a physical ache; now that he was home, he hated every brick of the place.

Slowly Sasuke became aware of eyes lingering on his face and he automatically turned to scowl at the woman on his left but surprise blanketed the frown lines before he'd really begun.

Her hair was in loose waves down to her waist; his first irrational thought was that the different hairstyle was the reason he hadn't recognized her. The chocolate strands were mussed as if she'd repeatedly run her fingers through the shining length and her eyes were unfocused from the contents of the array of glasses lined up in front of her.

"Long time, Uchiha," she drawled, knocking back the sake as if it was water.

Sasuke inclined his head because he couldn't very well pretend he didn't know Tenten but he was damned if he was going to strike up a conversation with her.

She seemed to get the hint that he just wanted to be left alone and she returned to her thoughts and her drinks.

Perversely, Sasuke found he couldn't contain his curiosity. It had been a long time since anything different had happened on these binge sessions and he was becoming increasingly more desperate for a distraction. The more he drank the less he could control his thoughts and he was done thinking about the romantic setup Naruto had planned for Sakura that night.

"What are you doing here," he demanded, finally.

"Free country, isn't it." Tenten arched an eyebrow at him, "I can drink wherever I damn well please and I was here first so if you don't like it – not my problem."

It had been an even longer time since anyone hadn't backed down when Sasuke was feeling confrontational and for a moment the Uchiha was at a complete loss for what to say or do. The silence stretched as he watched the kunoichi reaching for another glass, her hand so unsteady that she nearly spilled it five times before it reached her mouth.

"Thanks though," she finally broke the silence.

"For what," Sasuke asked, irritably, because this little altercation was not going his way at all and he hated it when everything didn't fall into the precisely delineated boxes that he'd designated them to.

"Since you've graciously allowed me to sit next to you, I haven't had to resist any advances."

Sasuke didn't know what to say; how to respond to that so he stayed quiet and signalled for another drink.

For the first time he didn't really want the drink he'd ordered.

Tenten was aware of the Uchiha's sidelong glances; she could almost hear the unspoken questions that kept running through his mind. After all, what was a kunoichi like her doing in a place like this? It wouldn't have been remarked upon if someone like Anko frequented this establishment. But Tenten wasn't that kind of girl.

She snorted in dark amusement.

No one knew what kind of girl she was – least of all herself. Apparently she was the kind of girl that would begrudge an unborn child its life; the kind of person that wished harm to befall innocent civilian women who hadn't had a choice in who they married; the kind of woman that would open her legs for someone she wasn't formally linked to in a romantic way …

It was really rather fitting that she'd ended up here; drinking next to the vilest betrayer she could find. Even if she had found him by accident.

Tenten could hold her drink, but even so she was beginning to feel the effects of the alcohol so she pushed her latest glass away from her with a squeamish grimace. With the ill-advised confidence one only gains when drunk, she turned to her unwilling companion.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, "I thought you didn't care for anything except power. The way I heard it, something like getting drunk is far beneath the great Uchiha Sasuke."

She was unprepared for the flash of rage that passed over his face; for the Sharingan that activated almost simultaneously before Sasuke, with visible effort, controlled himself and smoothed his features back to blankness, his eyes shadowed pools once again.

"Anyway, you shouldn't come here alone. It's not safe," Tenten lectured, wincing internally, but she hadn't known what else to say to diffuse the suddenly volatile atmosphere.

Sasuke smirked sideways, "The same could be said of you," he countered smoothly.

"I'm not burdened with an entire clan's fortune," she retorted, almost immediately regretting her words when a flash of barely-there sadness crossed her companion's face.

"I-I'm sorry," Tenten spoke softly into the silence, "that was uncalled for. To tell you the truth I'd like to blame it on the alcohol but lately I've realized that I'm really just a horrible person but even so … that comment was thoughtless and I apologize."

To her surprise Sasuke merely shrugged after another drawn out silence.

"I'm sure you're not a horrible person – and I am rich, it's just a fact."

The intent look he levelled at her took Tenten by surprise and she quickly fumbled to cover it.

"Still … let me buy the next round to make up for it."

Sasuke had never thought that he would stumble out of his haunting ground (as he'd begun to think of the rundown bar) with a decidedly drunk kunoichi clinging to his arm (because she couldn't seem to put one foot in front of the other for more than two consecutive steps). Somehow, he didn't mind. It hadn't been as bad as he'd thought, drinking with Tenten. After her apology round they'd somehow fallen into a sporadic-conversation-and-frequent-refill routine that had worked fairly well.

He was still caught off guard when she suddenly stumbled sideways and pulled him with her into a shadowed alley just off the main thoroughfare. He was even more surprised when she pushed him against the wall and pressed herself against him.

Her fingertips trailed over his eyes, down his cheeks to rest on his lips and he closed his eyes because he couldn't deny that the touch felt impossibly good.

"You're really perfect, aren't you," she whispered and the awareness of her gaze resting heavily on his features sparked along Sasuke's nerve-endings.

"Every line in perfect symmetry. Rich, gorgeous, smart, powerful … is there anything you don't have, Uchiha Sasuke?"

Everything.

The answer almost fell from his lips and Sasuke didn't know if it was to shut her up or to shut himself up, but he did the only thing he could think of to stop the conversation before he said things he'd regret.

He kissed her.

Tenten was almost surprised when Sasuke kissed her; but it had been so long since someone had touched her like this so she forgot about being practical for the time-being.

She didn't want to think about Neji, but since she had no one else to compare this to, it was inevitable and she allowed the thoughts to pass fleetingly through her brain without emotion.

Neji had touched her gently – almost as if he was afraid that the slightest touch would hurt her. Sasuke wasn't gentle – he touched her roughly, his mouth demanding as he slanted his lips over hers; his hands insistent as they swept down her sides to rest on her hips.

Neji had waited for encouragement before he'd let his true intentions be known but Sasuke demanded what he wanted – and then proceeded to take it anyway.

And abruptly Tenten was angry. Irrationally angry but angry nonetheless.

Neji had never touched her like this; filled with overwhelming passion barely leashed with restraint. Sasuke kissed her as if his life depended on it; as if he wanted to disappear into her … as if he could never have enough.

They drew apart for gasping breaths; staring at each other with somewhat shell-shocked gazes but as Sasuke's eyes raked her from the top of her dishevelled head down to her toes Tenten decided that she didn't care that they were drunk. She didn't even care that this was Uchiha Sasuke.

All she cared about was the flame he'd ignited deep inside of her, that was consuming her piece by piece. All she cared about was how incredible it felt when Sasuke touched her, when he kissed her.

So she decided to stop thinking all together.

a/n: how'd I do? Worth seeing where this story takes us?