[closed]

[awokentospring]

Who: Rock Lee and Tenten
When: backdated to May 17th
Where: At Konoha's gates, moving back to Lee's apartment
What: A reunion between teammates during a hard time.

So, it seemed they were on the verge of war. Lee wasn't afraid, but he wasn't happy about it either.

It had been about a month since he had last seen Tenten. He had started on his vacation mid-April, and then by the beginning of May everything had gone downhill. When he arrived back it was to find that his teammate was busy with missions of her own. At least that had given him enough time to heal from his new injuries before she saw him again.

But he missed her so, so much. He still wasn't ready to see Neji, and Gai-sensei was busy with both working on mission and preparing for his wedding. Lee managed to see a few other village friends in that time, but it was nothing like visiting with his team.

Then Lee had gotten the news; Tenten was returning! Sometime today she was going to be home, though Lee wasn't sure what time exactly. So he had hung around the gates all morning, then skipped lunch in order to catch her should she be back soon. It wasn't until around three in the afternoon that he finally saw the on-coming shapes of traveling shinobi. Grinning, Lee happily waited, knowing it wouldn't be much longer before he could greet her properly.

Comments

[tenten_san]

A lot could happen in a month's time. That much, Tenten understood; possibly more than most. She had only taken a handful of missions in that time. But even so, that was not to say that the kunoichi had been idle with her time, in the least. Team Gai was bred on hard work, after all. And between failed missions, rescue assignments, and being sent to represent the Leaf in a Diplomatic Envoy, she had still managed to keep up with her training and research.

Still, as she made her trek home from the burning sands of the Wind Country, the young woman could feel the pressure starting to take its toll. So the kunoichi had been glad to see the Village Gates within sight, managing better than the others as far as maintaining stamina throughout the entire trip. But there was no ignoring the slight ache in her shoulder where the strap of the pack weighed down on the muscle. Or the familiar pinch in her spine after a particularly harsh sparring match with the Grumpy Puppetmaster from Suna.

The memory of it brought a faint smirk to her tired lips, a smug fondness over having managed to defeat him again filling Tenten with a sense of satisfaction in their trip. Certainly, nothing more.

All the same, it was good to be home.

Her thoughts began drifting to images of warm baths and soft beds as they crested over the last hill towards the Western Gates. A visit to Ichiraiku was certainly in order. And it was in the middle of mulling over whether it was best to visit Tae-san before or after having a bowl of ramen when a familiar blur of green caught her eye.

[awokentospring]

"TENTEN!!!" Lee cried out, rushing at her the moment he knew she wouldn't be able to out-run his velocity with having the upperhand of space coming between them.

His attack was quick, swift, dragging her into a hug that would have knocked lesser beings out cold. Tenten was made of hardier stuff, though, so Lee could let loose a little.

"I am so glad you have returned! Welcome home, Tenten!"

[tenten_san]

True, there had been plenty of time and opportunity to acknowledge his approach. Unfortunately for Tenten, there had been very little time for her to prepare for the oncoming embrace she knew would result from their unexpected reunion. And so, the kunoichi had found herself stumbling under the force of Lee's hug, having to take a few steps back to keep her balance.

"Lee - umph!"

And then came the near bone-crushing squeeze of his arms that they all were more than familiar with. Granted, his were nothing compared to Gai Sensei's enthusiastic displays of affection for his students. And for that, Tenten could only feel grateful.

"Lee," she tried again with a soft laugh, "What are you doing here?"