Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
The thing about Neji and Hinata was, that even though the rest of the world saw them as mere acquaintances at best, they did like to spend time together sometimes. Sometimes, Hinata cried, and Neji let her... occasionally even comforted her. They never talked about it during the day. It had begun by simply running into one another one night. They lived near one another, of course, seeing as all the Hyuga lived within the same vicinity. Neji was thinking, because he could do that best in the quiet of night, and Hinata couldn't sleep.
She'd blushed upon seeing him, and somehow or another, they ended up sitting near each other on the porch. Neji had turned the corner to see her sitting in the place where he himself usually sat, and rather than disturb her or change his own plans, he joined her. Thankfully, Hinata was one of those people who didn't necessarily find the need to strike up a conversation, and the silence between them was comfortable.
Over time, they ended up sitting together frequently at night, and eventually, they began even going out of their way to be near one another during those times of restlessness. If one couldn't sleep, they'd seek the other out. It became like a habit for them, and though they'd already gone through the whole exhausting process of Neji hating her and back again, sometimes it was again the way it had been when they were children. Back then, they'd been quite close. Neji hadn't seen his cousin as weak in those days of innocence, he'd just seen her as a girl who needed protecting, and he'd vowed that he'd be the one to do it.
However, now, as he watched her sleep, he wondered if she still needed protecting. Hinata had grown quite strong since then.
So, maybe she didn't need his protection. But he'd like to offer it anyway. Even if she was strong now, Hinata still looked so fragile to him, and it took him back to a time when he'd wanted to shield her, rather than hurt her. So, in the silence of night, Neji re-made those vows which he had broken before. Whether she needed it or not, he would guard her. Hopefully, one day she'd rely on him. Maybe, one day, he could be her safe harbor.
There was something else he hoped to provide with her as well, but Neji knew she'd never see it the way that he did. She was in love with that idiot Naruto Uzumaki. Carefully, so as not to wake her, Neji softly kissed his sleeping cousin's cheek, and decided that it was probably time for him to get some sleep as well.
What Hinata didn't know... would never tear her simple world apart.
And what Neji didn't know... was the fact that Hinata wasn't sleeping at all. She'd closed her eyes as her eyelids became heavy with the want of sleep, and she'd just began drifting when his lips brushed her cheek. And once he was gone, she sat up silently, placing her fingertips to the spot where he'd kissed her.
Blushing the tiniest bit, Hinata smiled to herself, and snuggled happily beneath her blankets again.