Please see first chapter for disclaimer, etc.

Prompt: Spirit

Special Thanks: goes out to rao hyuga 18, DarkAnonymous324, Zyrr, thatCHICKyouUSEDtoKNOW, 1996irl, and kimbi07 for the reviews! And this time, an additional special thanks goes out to the awesome Mama Jo, whose piece Gentle Awakening, written a while back, inspired a good deal of this fic - and who, over the years, has helped me grow so much as a writer and a person. Thanks, Mom!

Author's Note: This is a fluffy little piece that I loved writing so much. It's probably in my top 5 personal favorite pieces in this entire collection, actually. Thanks again so much for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and alerting my story, and I hope you enjoy!

*~Spirit~*

The Hyuuga estate was quiet during the day, but at night it was dead silent. Neji always got the feeling that he was creeping through the land of the dead when he got home late from a mission. Every step echoed, and at any moment he expected someone to shout for him to be quiet.

At least he didn't live in the main house any more. That helped, since he didn't have to worry about waking his uncle and cousins...

Neji wasn't able to really breathe easily until he had closed the door to his own house behind him. It was nothing fancy, just a small two-story affair toward the back of the estate. He liked it because it offered privacy, something he'd been longing for his entire life.

Slipping off his shoes, he quietly made his way through the house, habitually checking each room to make sure all was in order before he moved on. After he finished his check of the lower level, he headed up the stairs, carefully avoiding the four creaky spots thanks to practice. Skipping the first two rooms, he entered the third, trying to quietly open and close the door so he wouldn't wake the sleeping occupant in the bed.

His wife lay on her side, dark hair splayed across her pillow, a shaft of moonlight perfectly highlighting her features. She lay with her legs slightly curled under the blankets, her hands tucked together under her chin. Her breathing remained soft and even - he hadn't woken her.

Thanks to the moonlight, he was able to gather his nightclothes and make it into the bathroom without tripping over anything and making noise. For a moment he stared at his reflection in the mirror, wishing the grime and blood splattered on his skin and clothes would magically vanish on its own without him having to expend the effort to take a shower.

Thirteen minutes and a good scrubbing later, Neji crept his way back across the bedroom to crawl into bed next to his still-sleeping wife. He let out his breath as he eased onto the mattress, ears listening hard for any changes in her breathing pattern. Letting out his breath in a relieved sigh, he rolled onto his side and closed his eyes.

Only a few seconds later, a warm body snuggled against him as Tenten planted a soft kiss between his shoulder blades. "Aren't you going to kiss me hello?" she whispered sleepily.

Neji chuckled. "You're getting better at fooling me." Ignoring the soreness starting to manifest itself in several points of his body, he rolled over, wrapped his arms around Tenten, and pulled her into a kiss. "Hello."

Smiling satisfactorily, she snuggled against his side, her head tucked against his shoulder. "Hmm. I'm glad you're home safe." One eye popped open. "You are safe, right?"

He pressed another reassuring kiss to her forehead. "Nothing that won't fade within the next couple of days."

Tenten idly played with the fingers of the hand holding hers. "Did you go to the hospital?"

"No. I know the difference between merely very painful injuries and life-threatening ones, Tenten. Besides, only the emergency staff is on duty right now, and I'd really rather not scare them all by coming in this late, and making them busy when there might be someone else coming in with truly serious injuries."

His wife sighed gustily, and he knew that she was conceding his point ... reluctantly. Chuckling, he stroked his hand through her hair until her breathing eased into the even rhythm of sleep, then followed her into slumber himself.

Thump.

Neji jolted awake, body tensing as he activated his Byakugan. He scanned the dark interior of his and Tenten's bedroom, tilting his head ever-so-slightly to compensate for his blind spot.

Nothing.

Perhaps he had imagined it?

And then...

Thump-thump-thump!

This time it was three rapid, albeit soft, strikes against his lower back. Blinking blearily, he deactivated his bloodlimit, knowing he hadn't imagined that one. Is Tenten trying to get my attention?

He listened intently, all but holding his breath, waiting for the motion to repeat itself. It did not, and his silence allowed him to hear the still-even rhythm of his wife's breathing. She was still deeply asleep.

Then what...?

THUMP!

Neji's breath escaped in a half-gasp, half-laugh. Somehow he'd rolled over in his sleep, and Tenten had tucked herself up against his back, her head between his shoulders, legs curled with his, arm over his waist, her stomach pressed against the small of his back.

Shifting his hand, he gently squeezed Tenten's fingers. "Ten."

"Hmph," she muttered into the fabric of his shirt. Her head burrowed a little tighter against him.

"Tenten. Wake up."

"What?"

He twisted in her semi-tight hold, working his hand between them to rest on her stomach. "Didn't you feel it?" he asked, tone hushed in awe.

"What are you-" Her question ended in a soft squeak as the thump yet again repeated itself. "N-Neji, th-that's..." Her hand quickly moved to her stomach, fingers splaying to half-intertwine with his.

A wide grin worked its way onto his lips, bursting up from deep inside him. "Our baby is moving." He was afraid to speak louder than the softest of whispers, lest the movements stop.

Tenten's hand clenched into a fist around the fabric of her nightshirt. "Our baby is moving," she echoed in agreement. The moonlight still trickling in the windows made the tears in her eyes sparkle.

Neji laughed as their child kicked out one more time, then was quiet. "We definitely have a future shinobi on our hands," he said.

"How do you know? It might be a kunoichi." Though Tenten's tone was cross, the smile on her face belied her joy.

"I know she will be beautiful, just like her mother." He kissed her conveniently-placed nose.

Now that their baby had gone quiet again, Tenten's eyes were beginning to droop. "A boy would be very handsome ... like his father... Hmm." She tucked her head against his neck, immediately falling back to sleep.

As Neji drifted off to sleep once more, his earlier aches and pains forgotten, he mused that he wouldn't mind waking up to his and Tenten's baby kicking every day between now and his or her birth.

And throughout the night, and the nights to follow for the next four months, their hands remained linked protectively over their child.

*~The End~*

Author's Ending Notes: As with the last chapter, I have the next three pieces planned out, and the next one a little over half-written, so expect another update really soon! Thanks again for taking the time to read, and I hope you enjoyed!