There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart- Jane Austen

Sleepless Night IV

Sakura glanced at her nails. Her choice of nail color for the week was going to clash with the new dress she had bought for tomorrow's brunch. Luckily, Ino had large supply of various polished ranging from dark to pastel. The blonde herself was in the process of getting her long blonde hair braided by Tenten. Hinata was to join them once she finished in the shower. This was their monthly sleepover. At least once a month one of the girls would host the group. It was in effort to separate themselves from the tedious responsibilities of university and actually have some time to themselves… some "girl time" if you will. Ino huffed as she glanced at her phone.

"You know what I don't get," She grunted. "I don't get why some guys promise you the world, and then just drop off the face of the planet for weeks at a time."

Tenten rolled her eyes.

"Ino, Sai is an art major. What do you expect? Art takes time." Sakura stated.

"Says the Med student who we see every other weekend." The blonde side glanced at her. "And we're not supposed to see you all."

Sakura chuckled and picked up a mint green colored bottle. Yes, this color will do. The pink haired young adult began to paint her nails. Tenten tied off the French braid she mustered up and sighed. Out of all of them, Ino was the quickest to get into a relationship. Granted she tended to over react and jump (more like leap) to conclusions, but Sai was a patient man and for some reason he took her attitude insanely lightly. He was weird, they all agreed. Apparently, he was weird enough for Ino, though. Hinata strolled into the room in her matching blue pj set with a towel on her head.

"What's going on?" She asked sitting in Ino's bean bag chair.

"Ino's bitching about her man being productive" Tenten sighed.

Ino rolled her eyes and ran her fingers along the braid that Tenten had just tied off.

"Oh, Tenten. You didn't tell me what happen after my cousin was dumped at your place completely shit faced the other night." Hinata said.

Ino and Sakura looked at the bunhead curiously. It was nothing really, Tenten scratched the back of her neck. Lee didn't want to deal with him being completely shit faced, so he dragged him to her place from the track team get together. He ended up puking for most of the night along with apologizing for being such a bother to her. All she did was make him some tea and they ended up crashing in her room. The next morning, he was hangover enough to cause an impressive attitude, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. The bunhead and her Hyuga counterpart just remained inside all day and ended up going to classes together that Monday. Situations like this were super rare, in fact it was usually Tenten who got drunk and ended up staying with Neji- who had no choice but to deal with her horrendous attitude the next morning of cursing him out and hiding under the covers-especially since she was prone to migraines.

"I'm just surprised he kept apologizing for causing trouble," Tenten hummed. "It was no trouble at all though."

"Well, you know Drunk Neji is like the sweetest person in the world. Unlike his usual sober self." Ino shrugged.

"True, but do you think he was apologizing for that...or something else?" Sakura murmured.

The girls hummed in unison. Sometimes it's not was the Hyuga says out loud that's noticed, it's what he doesn't say that has a bigger effect. Tenten stretched her legs out in front of her. It was hard to think about since Neji was open to her about a lot of things. Sure, sometimes she had to dig a bit to get a straight answer from him, but usually he's quick to state his opinion.

"Well, what else happen?" Ino asked.

"Nothing...we ended up sharing a bed and passing out." Tenten stated nonchalantly.

"What? No hooking up? How boring." The blonde flicked her wrist.

Tenten chuckled. He was usually physical with her- in a gentle way-whenever he got drunk. It's not that she particularly minded that he got handsy, it was just that she was surprised that she liked it when he got handsy with her. His palms fit comfortably on her hips and his fingers gently grasped around her shoulders as he leaned in to whisper something to her. That was the other thing; he spoke in whispers to her. Whispers, growls-whatever the hell it was, her face heated up just thinking about it. Hooking up was never something they did. Neji wasn't the type to, she guessed. He never really showed any romantic interest to anyone (she was blinded by the fact that the Hyuga was showing incredibly obvious attention to her, to which she brushed off and blamed the alcohol). Perhaps she just wasn't his type. Even if she knew what his type was. At this, Hinata let out a scoff.

"You really don't know?" The Hyuga girl asked.

"Know what? His type?" Tenten rested her cheek in her palm. "I would think he'd be into shy, quiet girls with minimal personality qualities. Someone who doesn't venture too far from the nest type deal. The ideal housewife, even."

Hinata laughed which caused the three other girls to raise their eyebrows.

"Quite the opposite actually." She smiled as she removed the damp towel from her head.

"The opposite of that is," Sakura looked at the bunhead. "-you."

Tenten blinked and shook her head. Nah, there was no way. And if it was possible, the chances of it being her specifically were minimal. She was certain of it; after all, they were best friends. True, she had no idea what kind of girls he was into or what he liked in a partner, but to her defense she never thought to ask.

"So how about we ask him?" Ino chirped.

"Like… right now?" Tenten asked.

The blonde nodded and grabbed the bunhead's phone from her dresser. Tossing it over, she told the bunhead to call him. Tenten puffed up her cheeks. Why would she call him? She can ask him at anytime she wanted. Then again, it was his business and may choose not to talk about it. Sakura rolled her green eyes and told her friend that the worst the Hyuga can say is that he didn't want to talk about it. It's not like he was going to flip out on her or anything, he wasn't that type of person. Pressing in the Hyuga's number, she hummed.

Neji sat back in his desk chair. He was in the middle of a Skype call with the track team about setting up some fundraisers as well as pick a non-profit organization to donate to. It was tradition that once every two months each sports team did their donation polls and held meeting to find a good cause to bring forward. At the start of the semester, they had selected an organization that was associated with Kiba's family. The Inuzuka family was full of veterinarians and had some military ties. So, they raised money to a local shelter that made pet adoptions easy and affordable for returning Military Veterans. Right now, they are trying to find another charity that will donate all of the funds they give, not just half or less than half. It was hard, yes, but not impossible. They were able to narrow it down to two and just needed to pick one.

"I believe the Games for Kids will be the better choice," Shikamaru's voice sounded from his laptop. "All funds go to table games like dungeons and dragons and Go to help promote collaborative play as well as problem solving."

"I think the Senior home is a better idea," Kiba rang in. "They've been having some issues with getting funds from the city to renovate some of the homes. They could use the money to at least start making changes."

"I second with Shikamaru. The children would benefit more than the elders I feel. Just to renovate a building seems to be less of priority than education." Shino stated.

"The elders could use some new equipment to make them comfortable. Tons of people already donate to organizations involving kids. Elders now a days get no attention." Sasuke mused.

Neji let loose an audible sigh. They were getting nowhere with this. He was allowing them to debate with each other; really he didn't have an opinion since both options were acceptable. It was that his team that needed to agree with each other. Suddenly, his phone rang. Simple and Clean sounded form his phone as it vibrated next to his laptop. Looking at the caller ID, he cocked an eyebrow. Raising the phone to his ear, he waited.

"Hey, Neji. Are you busy?" Tenten's voice sounded from the other line.

"No… not exactly. What's wrong?" He mused.

"Oh, well. Nothing is really wrong-"

"Did you need me to do something for you?"

Tenten hummed in his ear.

"You can answer my question." She stated.

Neji grunted in an affirmative response.

"So…. I was wondering-" he could practically picture her twirling a lock of hair in between her fingers right now. "- what kind of girls are you into?"

The Hyuga blinked. That's what she wanted to know? He checked his caller ID again, just to make sure it was actually Tenten who was calling him and he didn't just imagine her calling him. But alas, the emojis he placed for her ID were present and it was indeed her. Scratching the back of his head, he felt a light blush creep up on his cheeks.

"Neji?"

"Why are you asking me this, Tenten?" He murmured.

"Oh...well. I was talking to the girls and we were trying to guess. But Hinata said all of our guesses were wrong so… I just decided to call and ask." She explained a bit hesitantly.

Hinata, he sucked his teeth. Of course she had something to do with it. His younger cousin knew from the start he fell in love with the bun head and he made her promise to keep her mouth shut about it. Sometimes, however, she'd play her little games with the girls by planting some personal information about him that left the girls questioning. But besides that, she did ask a valid question.

"Hm… what is my type of girl?" He hummed as he leaned back in his chair.

Well, obviously Tenten. However, there were key aspects that he found incredibly attractive that really anyone can have. Scratching the back of his head, Neji attempted to make a checklist in his mind before reciting it. He found confidence to be attractive. As well as the ability to argue a point of view affectively. The idea of challenging an opinion strongly showed him that there was a heavy belief in the opinion which put forward the trait of independence and independent thinking. But to compliment that, there needed to be the ability to be open minded. Trust as well was a huge trait, then again, that was a basic. Tenten hummed on the other line so he continued. Even though it was a pain at times, stubbornness was something he liked. With stubbornness came loyalty and a good sense of adventure. With adventure game the tiniest amount of childlike wonder. He also found romance to be more on the subtle side and wasn't one for flaunting it; he preferred a private form of displaying affection. But most importantly, he needed someone who stimulated his mind by keeping him guessing while at the same time was so easy to read. It was a contradiction, however it was possible.

"Wow. I only know one person who it's that category." Another voice sounded from Tenten's phone.

Neji's lips pursed together.

"You… have me on speaker, don't you?" He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

The girls laughed in greeting and told Neji to go back to whatever he was doing.

"Neji…"

"Yes?" He grunted.

"What did you mean by a private form of affection?" Tenten asked quietly.

Neji's face softened. He didn't mind holding hands or kissing in public, however he was a firm believer that whatever went on between them, stayed between them. The Hyuga also felt as if they were to treat each other as if they were they only people in the world who were meant for each other. He'd give his whole heart and attention to whoever he loved and would do everything in his power to make sure his significant other was appreciated and protected both sexually and emotionally. Why else would he waste his time and attention on others who don't fit into his idea of what he wanted as a partner? He had standards, and he only associated with people who fit into his standards whether it be as friends, or as a significant other. As for the latter, he only planned on being married once. If finding the right person took forever then so be it. It's better than being misleaded and manipulated for his family money and name.

"O-oh." Tenten's voice sounded.

"Was… that what you were looking for?" He asked.

"Yeah, I guess so. I'll let you go now then." She murmured.

"I'll text you in the morning." Neji stated.

"Good night, Neji."

The Hyuga wished his best friend good night before glancing at the phone in his hands. What an odd out of the blue question, he thought. He hoped he was able to relay his thoughts eloquently enough. There was a cough heard from his laptop. Shit, he clenched his jaw.

"So," Sasuke hummed. "I never took you as the Romantic type. You had us all hot and bothered over here with your talks of protection and loyalty, Hyuga."

There was a ripple of chuckles from the team.

Neji rolled his eyes and huffed. "Fuck off."

"I'm sure once he tells Tenten how he feels, he'll be less bitchy." Naruto chuckled.

"From the sound of it, I'm thinking she may like you back." Kiba stated.

"Well, why else would she ask what his type was? The girls play that shit all the time whenever they try to hook people up. It's troublesome." Shikamaru groaned.

Neji flares his nostrils. He doubted that was the case. She was with the girls after all, they probably got on the subject because someone was talking (complaining) about their significant other. Dismissing the thought, he told them to shut the fuck up and pick a damn charity so he could go to bed. And so, the arguing commenced.

Tenten's face was a bit heated as she placed her phone down next to her. She wasn't expecting him to be so thorough in his description. And she definitely wasn't expecting him to be into someone who was adventurous and yet stubborn as hell. Yet his response on a private romance was very appealing to her. It was almost too good to be true, she thought. There was no way Neji was the ideal boyfriend she had always wanted; well... that was a lie, but she meant that she didn't think it was possible for him to be her ideal type at first. But now... Everyone he didn't know got his cold shoulder and yet when it came to her-his best friend-she received the VIP treatment of having all his attention and whatever affection he would slip her; whether it was the smiles or rare hugs he would give her. Or the laughs and dinners he'd pay for. The. There was the touches and whispers from him being drunk. She sighed.

"In all honesty, if I didn't know you and you told me you weren't dating him, I'd definitely not believe you." Sakura stayed after a moment.

Tenten hummed.

"Yeah, he treats you and Hinata like damn princesses. I wonder how he would spoil his girlfriend." Ino grinned.

Hinata offered a small smile to Tenten. The Hyuga girl had made a huge promise to her older cousin to keep her lips sealed. Loyalty was a Hyuga family value, so of course she'd never break it. But she'd push as close to the line as possible without crossing it. She considered Tenten a best friend in her group. She knew Neji would be her number one but within the group of girls they had, Hinata was probably the closest to the Hua girl. And as a little sister type figure to Neji, she knew he'd pick Tenten over anyone anyday.

"Hinata, why don't you ask your cousin if he likes Tenten." Ino turned to the ravenette.

"Why?" The Hyuga girl blinked curiously.

"Well, why not? You are family and he's bound to tell you something." Sakura replied.

Hinata glanced over at Tenten. She sat there staring at the ceiling, looking a bit conflicted. She could only guess what was going through her mind right now. Tenten was very self critical. She probably already attempted to write herself off as not the ideal girl for Neji. Or was she trying to sort her own feelings out about if Neji liked her like that? Hinata won't be able to tell unless she asked, but she was not going to ask; it wasn't her place to.