sunshineverse | [closed; team gai picnic on family day]

And it was with a simple glance that she caught that familiar glimmer in his eyes. The one that said that he was ready for the unspoken challenge she had set into motion with those words. But then, Tenten should have expected - did expect - for him to turn her simple teasing into something more than it was. Truth be told, there was a part of her that was asking for it, if only to feel that thrill in her blood once more.

All it took was one word - one look - of confirmation to set it into motion, she knew. It was just a matter of deciding if it was appropriate to make a game of this or not. "Careful, Lee. Challenge is a dangerous word to be throwing around in this team."

And with that same quirk of her lips she had found in his grin, Tenten met Lee's gaze. And subsequently lit the fuse.

Edited 2015-02-22 08:41 (UTC)

"You are the one who was spoiling for a challenge," Lee responded, but when his eyes caught Tenten's he realized she was not joking. He slapped the last riceball together then rushed to wash his hands, intent on taking out those fruits with vigor.

When he got to a fresh cutting board Lee had to slow down. As much as he wanted to be done first he had to consider what they were doing. It was food so presentation was just as important as taste and texture. He didn't want to wind up with a pile of mashed bananas and crushed strawberries.

He glanced back at Tenten then got to work, knowing he had to catch up. At least peeling was something he could do quickly without too much fear.

He was not wrong, in the least. As his teammate of several years, Tenten should have known better than to tease and set the idea in his head to prove the remark wrong. But there was a part of her that wanted to prod at his pride in hopes of possibly engaging in a game of sorts. Because it had been months, and a little friendly competition was healthy, wasn't it?

"Maybe because I know you can't resist accepting one." And with an artful spin of the knife in her hand, she set about chopping her way through the vegetables, fingers and hands moving at almost lightning speeds just as Lee had finihsed setting up his station.

It would be quite the competition, indeed.

"Ulterior motives, hmm?" Except not nearly so secret or unexpected. Still, Lee felt it deserved a little teasing.

At the ready, they begun. And then it was a flurry of movement in the kitchen, broken by the sounds of perhaps unnecessary grunts and cries of triumph. The trick of the competition was to be fast but also accurate; again, no one wanted a mush of banana or cucumber so thin it lost its texture.

With a last chop of his blade, Lee held back from stabbing the knife down into the chopping board with triumph. Then he turned to see Tenten's progress, wondering if he had won after being caught up in the flurry of the competition.

Doing nothing to hide the sinister smirk tugging at her lips, the kunoichi did her best to feign innocence on the matter. "I don't know what you're talking about~"

And she might have done a good job of it, if only it were someone who did not know her quite so well.

There was only a moment's pause - a single space of a breath - before they both began at almost the exact same time. There was only a split second of time in which Lee was the first to jump out of the gate. Understandable. He was the fastest of the team, rivaled only by the original Green Beast, himself.

But where she was weaker in speed, the kunoichi excelled in precision and efficiency. Weapons were her specialty, after all. No one could ever best her in knife-work. And that was her advantage. Because while Lee would need to moderate his speed while he prepared the fruit, Tenten could fully trust in her skill and abilities to dice and chop and peel expertly with little conscious thought. All the while pushing to work faster and harder to make up for those milliseconds lost from the start of the race.

And what a race it was, with blurs of motion and flashes of knives in the late morning light.

The downside to both parties being so focused on their own work was in determining who finished first. Especially when both seemed to finish at relatively the same time. Because when Tenten had finished with her own work and eagerly lifted her head to see where the competition stood, she was met with an equally anxious teammate looking over to do the same.

Lee's gaze met with Tenten's just as he turned to look at her, and from the rustle of her hair he could tell she had just turned around as well. There was a pause, and then Lee began to laugh, unable to help himself. Carefully, he set the knife down and allowed himself to indulge in a full body chuckle.

"I suppose we both tie this time around," he said, wiping some tears away from his cheeks with the back of his hand. He was okay with a tie in this instance. Nothing to get torn up about.

"I guess we should pack up the veggies since they are ready. The rice should be done by then..." So they could make more rice balls while he started on getting the chocolate melting.

"This time," she agreed, sliding all of the diced into a container, "But I won't go so easy on you, next time."

There was amusement to be found in the end results. And though it was not quite as full and boisterous as her teammate's reaction, the kunoichi gave a soft chuckle of her own, nonetheless. Because while both Lee and Tenten had their strengths and weaknesses, there could be no mistaking just who had been their instructor. The variant mixture of determination, speed, and a healthy dose of competition was an equation that would always result in Maito Gai. And she, at the very least, could not be more proud of that fact.

As if on cue, the cooker beeped and chimed to signal the completion of the rice, steam pouring out of the vent with that fresh rice smell she had grown fond of. It was the mark of a well-prepared meal. The sign of a home-cooked show of affection that had been missing from her life for quite some time. "...This was a good idea, Lee."

"Then I will need to step up my game for our next match!" Who knew when that would happen, but it still needed to be said. No student of Maito Gai left a challenge without a strong conviction in their own abilities.

Lee was glad his timing had been on; if not, they would have had to stay idle for the rice and waiting for a rice cooker was the same as trying to watch water boil. Never fun.

But he looked up as he popped open the cooker, his eyes blinking curiously. "Good idea?"

"A picnic. With everyone." And whether or not Lee picked up on it, the words were said with a soft sort of sentiment - a rare thing to behold coming from the normally hard-edged kunoichi. But it would be a lie to say that the thought of her team didn't manage to bring out a softer side in Tenten, from time to time. Especially when their gatherings were few and far in between, these days. "It was a good idea. Even despite the freaky weather."

She flashed him an equally soft smile at that. "I'd forgotten how much fun we used to have together."

Edited 2015-04-09 09:28 (UTC)

"Oh. Yes, I am glad things seemed to work out..." They had to work around Gai-sensei's schedule a bit, but at least everyone had the day off for the holiday, basically. Still, it was a drag they had to use a holiday as an excuse to get together.

When did they start growing apart?

He smiled back, chuckling. "Hopefully today will be a good start for us to have more team time together."

And so they started working on the final rice balls, the two of them making quick work of the rice at a speed they never would have accomplished alone.

If there was one thing Tenten was particularly good at, it was time management and organization. Because she had goals and ambitions in mind, as well as a stubborn streak just as wide and long as either one of her boys. Team Gai had been a squad built on dreamers and overachievers, after all. And not a single one of its members were ever left wanting for anything better than their very best.

So it was only natural and expected for things to come together as they did for this one, precious day. Even if she would have to threaten maiming and injury to get it. Because it had been too long, and she had grown to miss them far too much to accept any more excuses.

"Hopefully. Even if it's only for a few hours in the dead of snow." She chuckled at that. Because only they would have a picnic during one of the worse winters Konoha had seen in years.

Only Team Gai.

The riceballs completed and set aside in their bento, Lee moved to the stove and started on getting the chocolate melting. They had white, dark and milk chocolate, and for dippers they had strawberries, bananas, vanilla cookies, and a few other goodies. They were going to make the best dessert as well as be the perfect gift for their sensei's special people.

Three pots simmered and settled on the stove, lined up side by side for ease of comfort and convenience. Each contained a different variance of chocolate to speed up the process, adding a little spontaneity to the dipping choices. it would take far too long to heat up and dip the chocolates separately. And this also allowed them to experiment with different mixtures and layers.

Humming softly, she snatched up a piece of banana, slowly snacking on the various fruits while waiting for the chocolates to melt.

Lee glanced over at Tenten as he stirred the chocolates to help with the melting process. A smile quirked on the corner of his lips.

"If you eat too much there won't be anything for the picnic. And you won't be able to eat anything when we get there."

He was right, of course. And after all the time and effort they had put into making the bentos and loading them with a variety of delicious foods, filling herself up on sweets would be a complete shame.

Still, regardless of knowing his words to be true, there was no helping the more mischievous side of her from having the last word on the matter. And so, with a bite of strawberry still wedged into one side of her cheek, the kunoichi feigned a pathetic pout and played the part of disappointed child.

"But the chocolate is the best part..."

Lee laughed at that, unable to help himself. He took his attention away from the boiling pots enough to reach back and give her cheek a tender poke with his forefinger.

"There will be chocolate aplenty left over, but let us prepare the desserts before we clean up, hmm?" He supposed he could let her lick the stirring spoon once they were finished, after all.

For now, the chocolate had reached a good consistency and it seemed like a good time to get started. Lee moved to spread a sheet of parchment paper and started on dipping bits of strawberry into the dark chocolate.

The prod of his finger was met with a grimace as she pulled away from the touch. But all in good, playful fun as the smile returned in full force, if only softer and more subtle than before.

"Fine..." She gave an exasperated sigh and a quick roll of her eyes as if resigning herself to such a cruel fate. "If I absolutely have to."

Lining up her arsenal of treats as well, the kunoichi began dipping the various fruits, experimenting with designs and mixes every now and then when the first layer had cooled enough to turn fairly solid.

"Patience, Tenten," Lee chided once again before setting down to work.

Lee tended to favor dark chocolate over the sweeter options but he made an effort to equally dip his offerings in all the batches. It was a tedious process but fun in its own way. By the time they had coated all their dessert selections their hands were a gooey mess but there was still some chocolate left, as Lee had predicted.

"Excellent work, Tenten!" He grinned at her, wiping sweat from his brow with the back of his forearm. "Now we need to clean up and place the desserts in the refrigerator to cool."

"You didn't do too bad, yourself." With plenty of chocolate left after dipping all of the fruits, Tenten had no qualms about swiping a bit of melted dark chocolate from a nearby spoon, enjoying the sweet taste as a sort of treat for all their hard work.

It had been a steady and somewhat lengthy process. But in the end, she found, it was still quite entertaining. And it was always nice to have either Lee or Neji over. There were days where she missed spending any time with either boys. And it was with that thought in mind, Tenten reached over for another streak of chocolate... and proceeded to deposit a dot of it onto his nose.

"Keep it up and I might have to start asking you to cook for me, instead."

[closed; team gai picnic on family day]

omg, Tenten, what are you doing challenging Lee?

Re: omg, Tenten, what are you doing challenging Lee?

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