Six pompoms, Tenten's pov

It has been so long since the last time I saw you, Temari-chan. How long it has been? One month? It seems a lot longer. Without you I feel so lonely, that you wouldn't even believe if I told you.

You know, Neji is always asking what's wrong with me. He's always so sweet, always so worried about me. Lee too, but he's always worrying about everyone. Besides, he misses our meetings too, because usually those mean that he is able to meet Gaara. You know, those two are best friends, just like us.

Oh, silly me, I'm talking to myself in my thoughts again. And like always, I'm imagining that I'm talking to you. Or, if not actually talking to you, at least I think that you can read my mind, that you can feel my thoughts. That's what you seem to do when we are together. Together…

Temari-chan, I'm not sure if I'd even want you to read all my thoughts. Some of those are kinda… strange. I don't know how you would react to them. Or… I have my suspects. But I'm not sure about them; I just think that things might be like that. It can be that I'm just imagining thing again, that I see only what I want to see. Temari, I like you very much, even love you. That's right, with the most meaningful kind of way.

I don't know why, but somehow I just think that you may feel the same. Some kind of instinct is telling me so. The way you look at me, it's telling me that you are interested in me the same way I'm interested in you. Or maybe I'm just imagining it. But it being imagination or not, I'm enjoying it with all my heart. It makes my heart feel so warm when you look at me like that.

When we're walking on the road and talking, sometimes our hands accidentally collide, we're walking so close to each other. I can hold a poker face, but I have this faint feeling that I have seen you blush a little. Or of course it could be just a normal kind of embarrassment, but maybe… At least my heart is beating a lot faster when it happens. And all I'd want at that moment is to just grab that hand of yours and hold it, walk hand in hand with you. Once I even did it, but with excuse of taking you to buy some ice cream with me. Do you remember, it was the last time when I was in Konoha? At least that time your cheeks were tinted pink, I remember it well. My own face must have been red too or at least I felt like if my face was in fire.

Oh Temari-chan, how did you feel at that moment? Was that blush a sign of that you might feel the same way as I do? Or was it just a sign of embarrassment because I acted like an eight-year-old child when I grabbed you with me like that? Why this has to be this complicated? If one of us were a boy, everything would be so easy, there wouldn't be any problem at all. But now… when we are both girls, it wouldn't just be weird from outsider point of view, it is also very unlikely that we are going to be a couple. However, there is a little sparkle of hope which I really cherish. I want to make it aflame.

"Tenten?" Neji's voice interrupted girl's thoughts. Tenten turned her head from the window to Neji with asking smile on her face. Neji's expression was relieved, which meant that something positive had happened.

"Our mission is officially over and we are able to return to Konoha tomorrow", Neji said with small smile on his lips. Tenten's face lit on delight. He gestured Neji to come next to her and the boy obeyed. Neji closed the door after him and turned to lean towards the windowsill next to Tenten.

"Neji, I thought I'd go straight to Sunagakure instead of returning to Konoha right away", Tenten said taking a glance towards Neji and then turning back to window. It was cloudy night and one could not see stars on the sky of Iwagakure. Moon on the other hand was glowing slightly, bringing a little bit of light to darkness. Hyuuga was also looking out of the window with thoughtful expression on his face.

"Are you going to ask Lee to go with you?" he asked and turned to Tenten. The girl locked her brown eyes with Neji's white ones and nodded with a smile on her face.

"He wouldn't want to miss this opportunity for any cost and you wouldn't want to deal with him if I left to Suna without telling him", Tenten said with soft laughter. Neji chuckled and turned his smiling face towards the window again.

"Alright. Are you going to take separate way from me and Gai-sensei immediately on tomorrow?" Neji asked staring at the all the time darkening night sky. Tenten only answered with quiet nod. She still should ask Lee's opinion, but the answer was so self-evident fact that she really did not have any reason to even ask.

ooooo

Temari-chan, I'm coming. Though the hawk we send from Iwagakure will probably be there before us, so you'll have some time to get ready. At least I suppose that Lee isn't going to increase the speed more than this.

"Tenten, how about if we increase the speed a little? It wouldn't be too hard and we'd save at least one hour! Think about it, one hour earlier in Suna! Tenten?"

You sure are lucky, you don't have the worlds fastest, or at least second fastest, ninja in your team, who on the top of it is in a real hurry to get to our destination. You only have Kankurou and Gaara and I suppose none of them is usually rushing you, which means that you don't have to run with your maximum speed if it isn't some kind of emergency.

"Tenten, are you listening?"

But on the other hand, I'm really eager to see you too.

"Huh? Oh, that's the way to go, Tenten! Yosh! We'll be in Suna in no time!"

ooooo

Suna's on the sight! We did it! Though… shower would really do good for me. Would it be possible to sneak to take a shower in some kind of public baths before Temari gets to know that we're here? What was I thinking again, Gaara will know immediately if there are people coming to town, so Temari will be informed right after and she will be on the gates within a second. I hope the smell of sweat isn't too pungent…

"Yosh! Sunagakure, here I am again! And in a record time! Now I don't have to run 200 laps around the village before I can go to see… Gaara!" Lee was already rambling rather loudly right after they passed through the gates. How did he have all that energy? Wait a minute! Gaara? Temari!

Tenten quickly scanned the surrounding area and finally spotted Temari. The girl was concentrated on Lee's and Gaara's… very "Lee-like" reunion, so Tenten got time to catch her breath and fix her hair and clothes. Luckily even few seconds were long time for a ninja.

"Temari, how lovely to see you again", Tenten said when the blond sandnin turned towards her giving her the undivided attention of hers. Tenten outstretched her arms and closed Temari in a hug which radiated all that longing which she has been feeling the whole month.

"Yeah, same here Tenten…" Tenten heard Temari's soft voice just next to her ear. Hearing the girls voice was all Tenten needed to recover after the long trip. In the same time she felt how Temari's grip on her got tighter and she was engaged into deeper hug. Tenten's heart was singing out of joy and happiness, maybe this was exactly what she was wishing for… But unfortunately it wasn't time for it now that they were in the middle of the street, in public. She must release Temari, leave from the warm embrace. With a bit of sadness Tenten squeezed the girl one more time and let go. She felt how Temari's hands slide down her back slowly and unwillingly. Temari-chan…

"You must be tired after that trip. How about we start this day with a refreshing shower?" Temari asked with a big smile on her face. Tenten really appreciated the offer, if she was in need of something, it was most definitely shower. Thank you, Temari-chan, you really do know how to read my mind.

ooooo

Temari, you're lucky to live in a house this big and beautiful. I must have mentioned to you once, haven't I? I also like your room a lot, it's comfortably spacey and it is decorated harmoniously. Room really do mirror its owner, at least your room does. Or actually every room of my friends tells a lot about them. But your room is the one I like the most, like you.

Tenten sat on the edge of Temari's bed and watched how she pottered around. Soon the blond haired girl sat right next to her and put four towels on the edge of the bed.

"You go first 'cause you're the one in need of a shower anyway", Temari said with laughter. Tenten liked her laugh; it was nicely ringing, like the chime of sleigh bells. Tenten started to tinker her buns open absent-minded, but Temari interrupted her by pushing her hands away. Temari slid her fingers beneath Tenten's hair and carefully undid the pompoms from her hair. If the hug before was something unbelievable lovely, then this was even more lovely.

When Tenten's long dark brown hair finally got free, the girl shook her head a little making her hair to flow in a sweep to her left shoulder. Tenten closed her eyes for a while and then turned her face towards Temari.

"Now that you opened my hair, I shall get a revenge", Tenten said and winked. Her heart was beating so fast. This was so wonderful! Brown haired girl dug her fingers in Temari's rough hair and started to undo the pompoms from her hair slowly and gently. Temari's hair was so different compared to her own. Tenten's hair was silky and taken care of, smooth and shiny. Temari's hair in the other hand was sticking to every possible direction, rough and dry like the desert of Sunagakure. Tenten liked it the way it was.

She put Temari's four light blue pompoms in the middle of the bed, next to her own pink ones. After that she turned her face towards the girl just to note how she was staring at her with dreamy expression on her face.

"Have I ever told you that you're so beautiful when your hair is down?" Temari said out of nowhere. Tenten could have squealed out of joy and faint right there. Temari really…! She…!

The vigorous blush rose on Temari's face and the girl looked both baffled and shocked. She looked like if she had just let out her biggest secret. What she probably did. And Tenten couldn't possibly have been happier about it. Happy smile rose on her lips and tears tried to fall out of her brown eyes. But she managed to cease that from happening.

"… You haven't. Well, have I told you that you have a beautiful smile?" Tenten asked with a small blush creeping on her face at the same time. Now was the time! Now it really was the time! Her wish was just about to come true.

"Temari… I have been planning to tell you this for a long time now… I really like you. I really like you", Tenten said and leaned closer to other girl. Now or never. This would be the decisive step, and then they'd see how this was going to turn out. Kami-sama…

Tenten pressed her lips against Temari's, at first cautiously and shyly and then braver. This was her first kiss. She hadn't have kissed anyone before, this was saved only for Temari. But that didn't matter, some kind of instinct was guiding her, made her move her lips just a tiny little bit, just enough so their lips brushed against each other and made the kiss to be something more than just a normal touch. It made it to be just amazing. But what made the kiss perfect was the fact that Temari answered to it without hesitation.

"Temari…" Tenten muttered against other girl's lips. The every quiver of Temari's lips made pulsing vibrations go through Tenten's whole body. The beating of her heart suddenly calmed down as surprising relaxed feeling came over her. The game was over and she had won. That knowledge brought the balance and peacefulness to her very soul and body, even when it was against all "the physical laws". Tenten leaned away from Temari, looked at her eyes and smiled with the smile the new feeling alone gave to her.

"Shall we go take that shower we were about to take?" she asked. As an answer she got the most beautiful smile she had ever seen and a little nod from the girl she loved, Temari. Her Temari.