DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters names used in this story.

Chapter 10

Sleeping proved to be easier said than done for Neji. Many times he would find himself staring at the eye on the wall or listening to the sounds of the maids that scurried around late at night and early in the morning. If he did happen upon the chance to close his eyes for once he would always, ALWAYS, wake up within the hour from his own dreams or near silent noises that came from outside his room. He thought about going to the garden again and meditating till he felt tired, but after doing that for three days in a row, he still found no relief.

He's been exercising with Lee early in the mornings, waking up earlier than even Lee could, and taking long morning jogs through the streets in hopes to tire himself out and it worked. But the thing with Insomnia is that, no matter how tired you actually are, you still can't fall asleep, at least not for long, and to add that to his anxiety brought on from fighting in the war, one could guarantee that he was to never get any real sleep for a long while. Then – as if anxiety and Insomnia weren't enough – his medication didn't come on Saturday like he had hoped it would, and the pharmacies were closed on Sundays, so he would have to wait till Monday, hopefully, to get his medication. Yesterday was also pretty uneventful. He had to go in for psychotherapy with Hiragawa-san and he could easily place it in second place for the most awkward meetings he's had in this month alone – first still being the time he accompanied Tenten to Shino's parents place – only because the man just sat there for the whole of the two or three hours and waited for Neji to speak. Needless to say, nothing was going well for him. In the week that he's been talking to his friends again, nothing good came of it…except one thing.

His fingers itched at the opportunity and he was suddenly feeling grateful that he had a cell phone now. However he still couldn't make himself actually call her. It had been about 5 days since he last saw Tenten and the last thing she told him was to act like nothing happened between the two of them. And he wanted to, but he couldn't keep his promise that easily. It wasn't hard to remember a night like that especially when he didn't want to forget about it in the first place. It's because of that reason alone that he hasn't contacted her in so long. Sure he felt stupid for using that as an excuse, but he was sure that the time spent apart was needed for the both of them…at least for the time being – and with Lee's recent ability to read him so easily, he wasn't sure he wanted to meet her again just yet.

Irregardless of what he thought, he knew he couldn't just keep to himself and lock himself in the comfort of his room again, because he was sure to get bothered by two certain girls who also lived in the house, plus he found that he actually enjoyed being outside. Though Lee's new ability put him on edge he still enjoyed the man's company, and though he never really was one to hang out with the rest of the girls, he would rather be with them then be alone all day. So, if he had to choose between avoiding her and everyone else in order to not make things awkward between them or to just approach her and allow the awkwardness to run dry eventually if it meant that he still got to see everyone, he would easily choose the later of the options.

He jumped, forgetting he had the phone in his hand still, then looked at the screen that shun back at him angrily and sighed in relief and slight agitation when the name that came across the screen wasn't Tenten's but Naruto's.

"Hello? Neji?"

"You rung?"

"We were going to head out and help Choji today. He said he's running low on staff and asked us to help with a stand he plans to have going around the area."

"And?"

There was a scuffle instead of an answer followed by some muffled screams and curses in English before another voice, Sasuke's, came through. "Idiot." He scoffed towards Naruto who was still complaining in the background. "Choji wants to know if you're not too busy to help out."

"I'm not. When does he need me?"

"At your earliest convenience. He's in no hurry but he would like to get the cart out before noon."

"What about everyone else?"

"Kiba won't be able to come at all, neither will Temari. Shikamaru can come after he's done helping her though, and Sakura said she can't stay for long. I haven't heard back from Lee or Tenten yet."

"Did you text them?"

"Yeah."

"Lee will be there then. If he wouldn't he would have called and told you since he can't text. I don't know about Tenten though. Wouldn't she be too busy with Katsurou?"

"I don't know. We'll call again…yeah" He started, talking to someone else in the background – probably Naruto. "Yeah call her again…Naruto's calling her now. So, are you coming?"

"I'll head out now."

"I'll tell Choji…wait…" He paused and silence hit Neji's ear making him curious enough to hold him there long enough for Sasuke to come back. "Hello?"

"Still here."

"Naruto sad Tenten will come after she drops Katsurou off at a friends for a birthday party. She doesn't know how long she'll stay though."

"Alright."

"Ask Hinata if she wouldn't mind helping either."

"She's not here."

"Fine. I'll see you later then."

"Bye Neji!"

Sasuke sighed, annoyed possibly. "Naruto said goodbye."

"Hn." He hung up and sighed himself before he moved to take a shower and work off the sweat he made from running with Lee then found himself thinking about the last thing Sasuke told him.

So she'll be there? Looks like I'll have to face her regardless. He thought as he sighed and stripped, dropping his clothes off in a basket near the bathroom door. Just my luck.

He wanted to kiss her but he knew better than to do that. She had someone else now and he wasn't needed for those simple things, but today, he wanted to kiss her. Honestly, in his situation, who wouldn't want to kiss her and every other girl in the class, because, for the school festival, their class was having a cosplay café and she was dressed to look like Kagura, a girl from a popular manga called Gintama – he himself was dressed like Byakuya from Bleach and Lee was dressed as a character from Attack on Titan – and boy was she working it. Words like adorable and cute weren't enough to describe the feeling he held for her when he watched her bounce around, tending to the many guests that were just as caught up on her as he was.

Often times she looked over to him and winked before she turned back around and resumed her act, and that didn't help his situation any. In fact, it only propelled his feelings for her farther.

"But she has Shino." Neji thought as he served his guests, two girls who were rather clingy for some reason. "I can't do anything to her. I would scare her away. Damn! And we finally got a class together and she went and got herself a boyfriend…I don't want to get in their way, but she's going to want to spend the break with me…Damn."

"Neji." Came a soft voice, making him turn in alarm, forgetting that he was to only respond to his character's name not his own. He found that he was slightly annoyed at whoever broke his character so easily then proceeded to grow more annoyed upon seeing who broke him: Shino.

"What? I'm busy." He answered as he stepped aside and let two other guests in.

"Sorry." Shino apologized bowing slightly before he focused out into the crowd, resting his eyes on Tenten's figure. "When does she get out?"

"Same time as me."

"Oh…then you'll probably be with her for the break, huh?"

"Of course." He thought as he turned and nodded to a guest who was calling for him. "But…I can't say that. More so, I shouldn't say that. Should I be selfish today?"

"No. I think she thinks we are but she would be happier if you went with her."

"What about you then?"

"I'll be with Lee. We were going to go check out Hinata's class's play. They're doing Snow White and she wanted me to come see it."

Shino nodded. "When do you get off?"

"In a couple of minutes."

"Can you tell her that I'll be waiting outside in our usual spot?"

"Hn."

"Thank you."

Neji said nothing else. He just walked away, angry for letting this happen.

Being discreet was DEFINITELY easier than sleeping. He could look her dead in the eye and smile and have normal conversations with her. He could bear to stand near her and keep calm despite what recently happened between them, and he could even touch her, casually, just as he used to do when they were younger. He was in his prime moment of his façade. No one would be able to read him.

Now Tenten, she was another story. She couldn't hold eye contact with him nor could she talk to him without stuttering. A blush accompanied her smiles towards him alongside diverted gazes. She couldn't stand next to him for too long and found herself moving about frantically whenever it seemed like they would be alone together which was very noticeable since the three of them – him, her and Lee – were on the cart, walking about the park across the street from Choji's, and, of course, Lee was catching on to her weird actions. Every time she went to move from Neji his eyes followed her before shooting back to Neji in question.

"I'll go ask those kids if they want some samples." She smiled nervously after Neji stepped too close to reach for his water bottle. Frantically, she ran off leaving the two men to watch after her retreating figure.

"Something happen between you two that I should know about?" Lee asked as he watched her leave. He was leaning against the cart and chewing on one of the samples that they were allowed to eat. Neji, who was standing beside him simply shrugged, keeping up his act.

"Not that I know of."

"Well there's something."

"I'm not doing anything though."

"True." Lee sighed as he reached for his water bottle and took a swig, keeping his eyes locked on Tenten as she talked easily with a couple of kids. "This is unlike her though."

"Tell me about it." Neji paused then tore his gaze off of Tenten to focus on Lee now. "You think she finally sees me as a man?"

He laughed, as Neji thought he would, then reached to wipe his face free from the sweat that began to drip. He shook his head before pointing a steady finger at Neji and shaking it the way an old man would. "You are something else, Hyuga."

Neji shrugged again then looked back to Tenten and smirked when he caught her looking away to focus back on the kids. "We don't have enough left for all of them." Lee announced more so to himself as he looked through the small amount of food they had left. "We need to head back."

"I'll fetch Nervous-Nelly then." Neji sighed as he reached back for some fliers then headed her way while Lee busied himself with covering the cart. Neji thought about calling out to her to make his quest shorter and to get out of the heat but decided against it when he found himself just a few inches away. He leaned in then, resting his head on Tenten's shoulder and smirking when she flinched to the proximity of their faces. When he began to hand the fliers to the kids she made to move, but Neji quickly shot her a look that had her standing still. "I'm going to steal her back, okay." He told the kids while he easily wrapped a hand around her waist and pulled her away from the crowd.

She stiffened to his touch and made to move again but he tightened his grip on her and kept her steady as they headed back. Ahead of them, Lee looked to be struggling with covering the cart, so Neji slowed their pace and squeezed her sides to get her attention. "What happened to acting like nothing happened?"

"What are you talking about?" She answered, attempting to hide the blush that died her cheeks.

"Cut the bullshit Tenten, you're as open and readable as a children's book."

"No I'm not!"

"Lee asked me if something happened between us just after you left to go talk to your little entourage of small people." He looked to her, noticing her surprised face before looking back up quickly to see that Lee was still confused. "He's picked up this uncanny gift of being able to read people's inner feelings and pick up on the smallest of details to put together one whole picture. The only problem now is that anyone could have easily seen that you were avoiding me and not in a negative way considering the blush that accompanies your speedy getaways."

"Was I that obvious?"

"If it was going to bother you this much I wouldn't have done it."

She looked at him, hurt just as he stepped away from her and grabbed a corner of the cover from Lee. He shook his head at him when the man shot him an embarrassed look then nodded towards Tenten who was still looking after Neji. She only fixed her face when she noticed Lee staring back at her.

"What's up, Tenten?" He asked as he approached her. "Did Neji do something?"

She looked to Lee then I slight surprise while Neji complained in the background about how he did nothing. She then noticed exactly what Neji meant by Lee being able to read into the smallest of details. "No." She answered simply, smiling. "I was just thinking."

Lee watched her for a moments more before nodding, not believing her, and walking back to where Neji was getting situated between the cart's handles. He nudged him in the side and smiled when he almost dropped the cart handles in surprise before he leaned over and began talking to him quietly, enough so that Tenten couldn't hear what they were saying.

She puffed her cheeks at their closeness and wondered to herself when it was that these two had gotten so close. She had always been the glue that held their little trio together considering she was the closest with both Lee and Neji – before, you couldn't catch those two alone together for long before you saw her coming – but now, as she stood behind them and watched them chat idly about something she didn't understand, she realized that so much had changed in the years they haven't seen each other.

"Yeah right!" Lee laughed aloud, catching her attention again. She looked between the two of them just as Neji looked back at her and smirked. Lee soon joined him and looked her over before laughing again and turning back to Neji and clapping him on the back.

"What the hell." Tenten complained before she stomped up to them. "What are you talking about? Why did you look back at me?"

"Because your shirt's been on inside out the whole day." Lee chuckled once he got a real good look at her, making her look down at her shirt. She blushed wildly when she realized the seams were on the outside then quickly moved to take it off, glad that she had put an undershirt on today. "How long did you know? Why didn't either one of you tell me?"

Neji shrugged. "I thought you knew."

"What?!"

"You're a mother. Sometimes they do some weird things to satisfy their kid's entertainment. I just thought Katsurou found it funny enough so you did it."

She scoffed as she flipped the shirt back the right way and began buttoning it back up. "Please. Katsurou is a 15 year old in an 8 year old's body. He acts more mature than most would assume. This…" She motioned to her properly buttoned and positioned shirt, "wouldn't even bring a smirk to his face."

"He seems like a hard to please kid." Lee added.

"The only things that makes him really smile is –"

"His father." Neji finished as he backed the cart into its rightful place beside Choji's shop.

Tenten looked at him then and smiled softly. "Yeah…his father." She sighed as she looked up at the blue sky, getting both men to follow suit. "Whenever he hears of someone that knows something about his father, he gets really attached to them and gets to asking so many questions. I never hear him talk so much unless it's about his father."

Lee nodded and let the conversation fall where it was. Neither of them seemed to want to pry any further into the conversation since it could bring up some emotions no one is ready to face at all and Tenten was rather glad that they didn't.

"How is Katsurou?" Neji asked as they walked into the restaurant and headed to the back where the rest of their friends were. "I haven't seen him in about a week."

Tenten looked to him then smiled before she wrapped her arm around his. He looked down at her and could practically see the "Is this good enough for you" attitude she was giving him and had to hold himself back from smirking. "He's been fine. He's asked about you."

"Really?" Neji smirked before he looked back up. "Why?"

"He likes you I'm sure."

"What's there not to like?"

"Oh shut up!" Tenten scoffed before she unraveled her arm from his and popped him once for good measure before she approached Ino and Choji, leaving Neji standing by to stare after her. He watched her as she weaved in and out of the crowd of workers, smiling as she spoke about unimportant things and looking like she was enjoying life and found that he liked seeing her like that.

He sighed just as Lee walked up to him and clapped him on the back, pulling him out of whatever trance he was in. Neji looked to him without batting an eyelash then reached up and pulled a strand of hair out, smirking when he got a yelp out of the man. "What do you want now, Lee?" Neji asked just as Lee was about to pull his hair as well. He stopped when he heard his name then smiled innocently and straightened up till he could rest his arm on Neji and look him in the eye.

"You're going to tell me what happened between you two later."

Neji rolled his eyes. "There's nothing going on between us, Lee."

"Maybe now." Lee added as he wagged his finger at his friend. "But something defiantly HAPPENED between you two, and I don't appreciate being left out."

"You were almost always left out before."

"Which is why I plan to change that all today. Now tell me."

"Lee, nothing happened." Neji sighed as he walked back towards the front of the store, away from everyone else.

Lee followed and eyed him stealthily before he jumped in front of him and looked over his shoulder to check if anyone was listening in. "You can't tell me, can you?"

Neji sighed again. He wasn't one for gossip but Lee was being rather nosey today and shaking him proved harder than usual since the guy decided to grow some and no longer cowered from him whenever he shot him a glare. Plus, by now, he was just about ready to tell him if it meant getting him off his back.

"No. I can't tell."

"So something did happen?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." He shrugged and moved to leave again but Lee stopped him.

"Okay I get it. You can't tell me if anything happened or not. But based off of that information something did happen…something neither of you want to bring up again."

Boy could you be any more wrong. Neji thought as he eyed his friend, making sure to not give away anything in his facial features.

"And if I ask Tenten, she'll probably just avoid the question. She sucks at lying so she would probably just ignore me which doesn't help her case."

"Can I go? I left my phone on the cart."

Lee pouted but moved to let Neji walk off only to follow him again, hoping to get some more information out of him.