Please see first chapter for disclaimer, etc.

Prompt: Almost

Special Thanks: goes out to rao hyuga 18, DarkAnonymous324, Kari-Kateora, naash, kenzinator, thatCHICKyouUSEDtoKNOW, Gendy, and kimbi07 for the reviews! You all are amazing!

Author's Notes: I originally had something else lined up for today's update, but I woke up with this idea in my head, and I knew I had to write it in honor of Father's Day. It's kind of bittersweet at first, but I promise the ending is more lighthearted. Thank you again so much for reading, reviewing, alerting, and favoriting my story, and I hope you enjoy Almost!

*~Almost~*

He woke before the sun lit the horizon.

For a few minutes Neji lay quietly, enjoying the early morning stillness both inside and outside the house. Most mornings, he rose early because he had somewhere to go or someone to meet, but it was the ones where he could lie still and enjoy the quiet that he enjoyed the most.

As the first rays of the sun lit the horizon, Neji rolled over and planted a very soft kiss on his sleeping wife's cheek. Then he slipped out of bed, quietly dressed, and quietly left the house.

The air was cool, but not uncomfortably so, as Neji ambled his way across the still-quiet Hyuuga compound. Birds were just waking and shaking off the last vestiges of sleep, starting their comforting morning songs. The sound brought a brief smile to his lips, but it vanished as he reached his destination.

At the very back of the estate, hidden by the walls and gardens, stood a memorial stone, similar to those erected in the village's training grounds to honor the fallen. This one differed in only one way: the only names on it belonged to fallen Hyuuga only.

Neji knelt before the stone, studying all the names on it, paying his silent respects, before he settled on one in particular: Hyuuga Hizashi.

"Good morning, Father." He spoke quietly so he wouldn't break the morning's soft silence. "It's been a while since I was here last time, I know. But ... I thought today would be a good day to come."

The stone never answered, and he'd never expected it to. But he liked to think he could hear his father's laughter in the wind, or in the call of the birds.

"Tenten's doing well. Lee's going to be joining ANBU next week. Gai-sensei is so proud of him, and Tenten and I are, too. Lee's just happy he got accepted, though we all knew he would. Naruto's doing a good job as Hokage, and he's surrounded himself with some of the smartest and bravest people in the village." He smiled slightly. "I just got back from a mission a few days ago. Did I tell you last time that I'm thinking about resigning from ANBU, now that Lee's being inducted? I haven't made up my mind yet, and I haven't said anything to Tenten. I should, though, and soon."

He settled back into silence. Over the years, Neji had found it increasingly hard to find things to say, especially since he was forgetting details about his father. He had been so young when Hizashi had died, it was amazing that he'd remembered as much as he had.

"Lady Hanabi got married last week," Neji finally continued. "He's the descendant of a Hokage, so Uncle is happy enough with the marriage. Lady Hinata has been esctatic. There were times when I wondered if it were she, rather than her sister, getting married though, because she was so excited to help plan the wedding." He chuckled. "I have a feeling she's going to get engaged soon enough, though. Both the Kazekage of the Sand and her former teammate, Kiba, have been trying to court her. Lady Hinata is flustered but flattered by the attention, she told me. As for whom she will choose ... I think only she knows, though I often hear her and Tenten discussing the merits of both men."

Neji sat quietly for a while longer, until the sun had fully appeared over the horizon. "Tenten will be waking soon. I will go now, but I promise not to stay away so long next time." Leaning forward, he brushed his fingers over his father's engraved name, then stood. "Good day, Father." He bowed once, formally, then turned and made his way back to his and Tenten's house, steps just as slow as they had been going.

He'd left the door unlocked when he'd exited, so all he had to do was slide it open and step into the house. Only half-thinking about what he was doing, he closed the door, slipped off his shoes, turned...

...And was immediately bombarded by two bright-eyed, smiling children. "Father, Father!" they exclaimed, each latching on to a leg. "Happy Father's Day," the girl on the left said, as the girl on his right simply smiled shyly and nodded.

Tenten appeared in the doorway of the kitchen, her eyes soft with understanding - she knew, then, where he'd been - even as she smiled playfully. "They've been crouching around the corner for the past half hour," she laughed. "Just waiting to pounce on you."

Placing his hands on his daughter's heads of dark hair, Neji lumbered his way across the hall, pretending the four-year-old and three-year-old were heavier than they really were. "You've both grown so much," he said, trying not to laugh. "I don't know how much longer we'll be able to keep doing this." Stopping before his wife, he swooped down to capture a girl with each arm, swooping them up so he could kiss their cheeks. "Good morning."

Atsuko happily returned the kiss - sloppily - as Kyoko wrapped her arms around her father's neck and hugged as tightly as her small arms could. "Love you," they both sighed.

Neji kissed them again before setting them down. "Love you, too," he said. "And I love your mother, too." Smiling, he drew Tenten into his arms and kissed her, a little more lingeringly than normal just to hear his daughters squeal in protest.

Tenten wrapped her arms around his neck and hung on when Neji started to let go of her. "Happy Father's Day," she whispered. One of her hands slid down his arm to take his, guiding it between them to rest on her toned stomach. "I'm pregnant."

Kyoko and Atsuko shouted in surprised as their father snatched up their mother and swung her around, his laughter filling the air. "What, what?" they demanded, confused.

Grasping Tenten's hand in his, Neji knelt down so he was on eye level with his daughters. "In a few months, you two are going to have a baby brother or sister," he announced.

The girls stared at him for a long moment with their matching lavender eyes. Then they grinned and jumped up and down, screaming so loudly that whatever peaceful quiet had been lingering over the Hyuuga estate was completely shattered.

"It will be a boy," Kyoko declared.

Atsuko nodded in agreement. "A baby brother!"

Maybe... Neji thought. He looked up, and caught the same expression in Tenten's eyes that was in his heart.

If it was a boy, they already had the name picked out:

Hyuuga Hizashi.

*~The End~*

Author's Ending Notes: Another somewhat lighthearted piece in honor of Father's Day. This idea was in my head when I woke up this morning, and I knew I had to write it and post it, even though I'd already had another piece partially written in preparation to update. I hope you enjoyed it, and thanks for reading!