The best things in life are often waiting for you at the exit ramp of your comfort zone- Karen Salmansohn

Sleepless Night III-2

Rock Lee watched from the corner of his eye as his close friend stumbled with his seatbelt. It was sure a rare sight to see Hyuga Neji in such a vulnerable state. In fact, Lee savored these kinds of moments since Neji was so talkative. He could talk for big bunches of time when given the chance. A loud click was heard and the said Hyuga leaned back with a hefty sigh. Running a hand through his long bangs, he mumbled some curses at himself for not realizing how many beers he had drank. The bowl cut man smiled and turned on his head lights before pulling out of his parking spot. There were no cars on the road since it was close to two in the morning. Neji's mumbling had stopped which caused Lee to glance over at him. He's not asleep yet, he thought. The reflection of the passenger window showed the ivory eyes of the Hyuga boy shifting in and out of focus as the houses and trees passed by. His breath was visible on the glass as he breathed.

"So, is Hinata at home waiting up for you?"

Silence.

Lee cleared his throat, suddenly remembering that when Neji was drunk, he also only responded to loud noises as if they were at a normal decibel. So, he repeated himself at a louder volume. The man next to him shook his head; nobody was home waiting for him. The only one who was awake (last time they checked) was Tenten; the one who called him in the first place. His cousin was at her own mansion with his uncle and aunt. His condo was empty of anyone who could possibly be waiting for him. Bushy eyebrows pushed downward as Lee turned a corner. No, he didn't like that idea one bit.

"You should know by now… both you and Tenten, that there is no one at home. You two have known for years since my parents moved out to handle Uncle Hiashi's business overseas...leaving me here." Neji mumbled.

Yes, he remembered. Rock Lee had known Neji since middle school. They weren't that close, nor in any of the same classes, however they were both in many sports clubs together. It carried over into high school, where they had met Tenten; another person Lee had known for a while-however she had lived in the same apartment as him and had only seen him in passing. Almost instantly they had become that stereotypical trio of friends that were the main stars of a nineties sitcom. Tenten was the headstrong cheerleader who didn't fit in with any crowd and chose not to. And yet she had many admirers who follows her around for her sass and bold bravery. Neji has taken the role of the intellectual who had a gift for numbers and speech. He charmed many and was class president of each grade. Even with his smarts, he also held great physical strength that Lee had attempted to match ever since middle school. Then perhaps, Lee fit as the jock who was sort of every sports club and his name was known throughout the whole school. They were the "cool kids", he thought. Unintentional cool kids. Neither of them cared for such a title and never took heed in enforcing it. They were liked, and that was fine with them as long as no one interfered. And with that, Neji had grunted. There was a shift in high school that was noticed by everyone but Tenten. Neji had developed feeling for her. Not just feeling of a simple crush that would disappear in a matter of days ( He has tried very hard to not think of Tenten as anything more as a best friend) he realized that he was in love with her. His eyes would watch her as she smiled brightly at him and his thumb would rub against the lower part of her back whenever she'd hug him.

"It had to be fate that day… that you knew her and introduced me." Neji hummed as he closed his eyes. "I never thought I was capable of true love"

"My friend, true love is nothing but a fairy tail. Besides, you and Tenten argued frequently and had the most petty attitudes towards each other." Lee replied with a laugh.

No, there was no way in hell he was letting Neji stay home by himself if he admitted that it was true love. It went against everything the Hyuga believed in. He had to think quickly since the main intersection was five more long blocks down and they had all lived in three different directions. Lee wished he could take him back to his own apartment, however, he didn't think he wanted Neji to stay up and talk all night; he needed to shut down and rest. Making a right, Lee rolled into a side street. He'll have no choice, he thought. Tenten will have to take care of him. It was only right since-he smirked- Neji wouldn't stop mumbling about her. Perhaps it would be a good thing for them. And since he was pissed drunk, whatever the Hyuga would way to embarrass himself would be dismissed by the bunhead since she knew how trashed he was. After a moment, Neji opened his eyes. Squinting, he surveyed the area before looking over at his friend.

"This isn't my way home." The Hyuga grunted.

"I know. I cannot have you at home by yourself," Lee put his blinkers on as he stopped in front of a small two floor house. "And I cannot have you talking up a storm while I try to sleep."

"Lee, Tenten can't see me like-"

"You'll be fine. Besides, she already knows you're coming."

At this Neji sighed. Unbuckling his seatbelt, he got out the car and headed for her door. Okay, so maybe Lee lied. But it was so his friend was safe and with capable hands. He'd get the heat from Tenten later for sure, but he'll handle it. Neji raised his fist and knocked on the wooden door. After a few moments of shifting in his spot, the door opened a crack, paused, then opened fully. Tenten had a blanket around her shoulders as she rubbed her eyes. Was she sleeping? Had he woken her up? The Hyuga glanced back at the green car where Lee waved before turning off his blinker and driving off. A small moan reached his ears and caused him to turn around. Tenten was looking up at him curiously with big golden brown eyes. It happen slowly, but something clicked in his mind when Tenten asked him why he wasn't at home.

"Lee… he said…" the Hyuga sighed. "He said you knew I was coming."

Tenten blinked. Oh, Lee had dumped this responsibility onto her… pursing her lips together, she watched as he swayed on his feet. Shit...he was shit faced, she thought. Dealing with him might be troublesome.

"I'll find my way home if it's a bother…" Neji murmured a bit sadly sensing her hesitation.

Tenten shook her head. She grabbed his hand and led him to her kitchen where she put a large cup of water into his hands and demanded that he'd drink at least half of it before going to sleep. While he sat there with the water, she shuffled upstairs and rummaged through her drawers. He had left a pair of clothes here… a complete set. Where did she put it? Groaning, she went to her closet. There was a bag sitting on the floor of it and she pulled out some sweats. He usually slept topless, so this was enough. Now was the issue of where he was going to sleep. She wasn't going to cast him to her couch, not when the Hyuga always gives her his own bed whenever she ended up trashed in his doorstep. But then again, Neji had his own guest room to which he would take over whenever she'd take over his place. Well, she hummed. Her own bed was big enough for both of them, and it wouldn't be any different than sleeping with any of the girls. Besides, even trashed, she would keep his hands to himself… hopefully. Her footsteps were muffled as she went back down to the kitchen to find the Hyuga with his face in his hands, hunched over the counter. The water cup was completely empty...was he nauseous? Plasing the sweat pants on the island in the middle of the kitchen he walked over and put a hand gently on his back. Tenten pursed her lips together when he shook his head to her and moved away. Yes, he was going to puke. The chinese girl took his hand and slowly led him to the small half bathroom near her tiny living room. Neji kneeled before the porcelain toilet and gave a hefty sigh before disposing of the containments of his stomach. Her hands reached forward and grabbed his hair, bringing it away from his face, just as he had done for her numerous times before. After a moment, his up-chucking paused.

"Sorry about this." he breathed. "I tried not to go overboard with the drinks tonight."

"Don't worry about it. You were out with the boys, I wouldn't expect anything less than you coming home trashed." Tenten laughed softly.

Neji let out a groan and he slightly shook his head. Home, he thought. She opened his house to him as if it were his own home; he was forever grateful. His chin lifted a bit as he felt tenten tug on his long locks. Reaching his hand back, he ran his fingers along the high ponytail that she had styled for him. Then his stomach gave again and he hunched over the toilet bowl. Her hand was back in between his shoulder blades, rubbing his back in comfort. It was weird, he thought. The roles were switched around this time and he wasn't sure how he felt about Tenten taking care of him. He was happy, but at the same time he felt as though he was burdening her. Trying to stand, Neji fell back onto his knee with his head spinning. The cheerleader hummed as she pushed him back down. Announcing that she was going to make him some ginger tea, she stood and shuffled back into the kitchen. She turned on her burner to boil water and took out two mugs. Hopefully his stomach will hold this down and she wouldn't have to stay up making sure he doesn't choke on his own bile. A sigh left her lips as she heard the toilet flush and a cough. Reaching for some tea bags, she jumped a bit as she felt hands snake around her waist. His forehead collided with her neck as he leaned into her. Yep, she thought, absolutely trashed. He mumbled something inaudible to her ears as she patted his head. Touchy-Feely, she hummed. Neji was so touchy-feely with her whenever he was drunk. And it was only with her. Dropping the tea bags into the mugs, she served the tea and led him to her couch. She gently pushed him down and gave him the a mug. His eyes watched as she ran back upstairs and grabbed for some unknown reason. After a moment of listening to her shuffling about, he took a sip of his tea. Ginger and lemon graced his tongue to which he gave a pleasant sigh. The warmth of the ginger traveled down his throat and into his stomach with such ease, he was sure he wouldn't feel like shit when he woke up. Tenten ha finally come back down and sat herself next to him. She grabbed her mug of tea and shifted so her legs were resting on her best friend's lap.

"So, how was it?" Tenten asked after taking a sip.

"Just as you'd expect it to be with them," he murmured bringing his lips to the mug once more. "The food was actually pretty good and overall they all behaved."

"Oh, shocker." Tenten hummed.

Neji rolled his eyes. Yes, his team had a reputation at university parties to...get a bit reckless. He never really joined in unless Tenten was present with her cheer team. They would make some kind of agreement of who got to get trashed and who would be driving the other home. It was usually Tenten who would be found with bottles and grinning to some stranger from the division one basketball team, to which he would look about from a distance just in case. And if they decided to both get trashed, they'd have Lee drive them to whomever's house was available and it was usually Neji's.

"I was shocked that Sasuke went through your phone to call me," Tenten said carefully. "I was hoping to not bother you guys. That's why I texted Lee."

"You texting me is never a bother, Tenten." He breathed.

"You've...been avoiding me."

Neji's ivory eyes snapped to hers. With whatever focus he could muster up, he locked eyes with hers. Tenten blinked awkwardly as the Hyuga searched her face. After a moment he sighed and placed the mug on the coffee table. Bringing his hand to his face, he rubbed his eye.

"It's just… I've been…" he trailed off trying to find the right words.

"It's because of Sasuke isn't it?"

"Perhaps. I didn't expect that little announcement so… casually. Nor did I ever think it'd bother me like it did." He confessed putting a hand on her knee.

Tenten's eyebrows shot upward. It bothered him that she slept with Sasuke that much? Image if she were to get a boyfriend, would that cause him to separate himself from her? Was he really that selfish with it came to her? The cheerleader rested her hand on top of his.

"Neji, it was nothing. It meant nothing. We were drunk and in the spur of the moment." She stated firmly. "You're reading too much into it."

Neji sighed and leaned back against the couch. He was going to take her word for it like he always does. After they drowned the rest of their tea, she grabbed his sweats from the counter. Tenten led him upstairs to the bathroom and left him with a towel. She propped herself on the window side of her bed and waited for him. Neji was drying his hair as he entered her room. Upon seeing the space she had made for him on her bed, he paused.

"I could sleep on the couch." He offered. "I was the one who dropped in unexpected."

"Nah, it's fine. You're too trashed to handle the couch you might roll off." She grinned.

Neji rolled his eyes and draped the damp towel on her desk chair. The bed shifted as he settled on his back next to her. The clock on her wall read what he had thought said four am. Grunting, turned to his side where Tenten was on her phone with her bottom lip protruding.

"Are you not tired?" He asked quietly.

"Not really. You and Lee woke me up when I was finally getting ready to sleep. I'll be up for at least another hour." She replied.

The Hyuga hummed in response.

"But I will lay down." She added putting her phone on her windowsill and shifting herself.

Neji stared wide eyed at her at his current situation. This was the first time he was sharing a bed with Tenten. His high school fantasies were coming true and he had no idea what to do to not make this moment super awkward. Her back was to him as she laid on her side, facing the window. He lifted his hand and reached for her, but he paused when she sneezed. Would… would it be weird? He had always wondered how she was able to fit so perfectly into the mold of his body, how she was so warm to the touch. But before he could talk himself out of it, a string had tugged his hand forward, and wrapped itself around her waist. Tenten didn't jump as she felt his arms snake around her, as if she was expecting it. And it didn't bother her. Her back collided with his chest and their legs tangled together. Neji's heart was beating fast, waiting for her to push him off or to verbally tell him to back up. But she didn't, so he held her close and closed his eyes. Not seeing the smile she had on her face.