NejiTen "The Consequences of Sleeping"
Uhm, I don't know~♥? Little scene that's been in my head for awhile now with 100% more NEJI!hair love. Companion piece to The Consequences of Waking. It will be helpful to have read that one first, though not entirely necessary. Use your own judgment.
Title: The Consequences of Sleeping
Series: Naruto
Characters/Pairings: Team Gai, NejiTen
Word Count: 824
Rated: PG
THE CONSEQUENCES OF SLEEPING
He wakes with the chiming of the clock - one in the morning - and finds he'd fallen asleep in the chair by Lee's bed. There's a telling crick in his neck but he ignores the faint complaints of his body as he gazes around the dark room, reality flooding back.
Lee is on the bed, his chest rising and falling with measured breaths. He's shirtless, baring the countless number of bandages wrapped around his middle, keeping hard pressure on the stab wound in his side. Tenten lies on her side next to him, eyes closed, her hand on Lee's chest. It's a familiar scene and Neji knows she's not really sleeping. She's making sure Lee is still alive - as long as her hand moves with each breath, she stays still, dozing.
"I didn't have the heart to wake you," she murmurs in the dark. He shifts his gaze to her face and finds her watching him, brown eyes almost black with shadows. "I knew you would want to change, but you were so exhausted..."
She trails off and Neji looks down at his blood-splattered clothes, feels flakes of dried crimson between his fingers as he moves. He remembers then what he's done and feels no remorse. He had killed their last three attackers in a clearing and it had not been the clean, bloodless death of the Jyuuken. No, he'd used kunai and he'd cut arteries and stabbed eyes and it had been so simple. He is a genius at close combat, after all.
"Neji?"
Tenten slides off the bed and limps over to him, worry edging her voice. She touches the bandage at his temple lightly. She does not ask if he's alright. "Come on," she says, after a silent moment, "lets get you cleaned up."
He lets her draw him into the bathroom of their small room, watches as she flips on the light and runs the water in the bathtub. Newly illuminated, he catches the bruises on her skin, the cuts on her hands and forearms. Her leg is the most obvious injury but he knows there are others, smaller ones she hasn't let Sakura treat. Lee comes first.
Neji shrugs out of his clothes, wearing only the loose pants of his Hyuuga attire as he kneels over the rim of the tub and lets Tenten wash his hair. She sits near him, her injured leg stretched out before her, leaning over precociously, her hands full of soap suds. She hums as she works - not cheerfully, but a soothing, solemn tune that sounds almost like a lullaby. Tenten has never been a singer, but she has a sweet, untrained voice that makes the tension leave Neji's shoulders. He closes his eyes and relaxes into her fingers, letting her wash away the evidence of the night's murder.
When she's done, she brings him a spare set of clothes and sets to work on the tangles in his hair with a flimsy comb that came with the room. He leans back against the sink and lets her do as she wishes, his mind full of nothing.
Hers seems to be working for both of them, for he feels her pause after a minute. When he opens his eyes, he's startled to see tears in her lashes, though her expression is determined.
"They deserved to die," she says fiercely, as if expecting him to argue. "They killed Ryujin, they killed a boy, sliced him like-" She breaks off and the comb in her hand shakes, her knuckles white. He closes a hand around hers, easing her desperate grip. The comb clatters into the sink as she lets go, falling forward to hide her face in his shoulder. His free hand comes up to rest on the back of her neck, holding her there.
"He was just a child," she mumbles, "He counted on us to protect him..."
Neji exhales his own pain. "I know." But Ryujin is dead, and so are the men who killed him. There's nothing fair about it, it's just the way things are. Tenten knows this very well, but sometimes the knowing is just not enough. Especially not when their charge had been brutally killed right in front of her.
He can't say how long they stay like that, pressed together, the smell of shampoo in his nose and Tenten's smooth skin under his fingers. It's she who draws away and rubs at her red eyes before smiling crookedly - an apology, though she knows he doesn't need it.
Lee is still sleeping when they step back into the bedroom. Tenten checks his temperature and Neji sits back down in the chair, warm and awake.
"Go to sleep," he tells her, "I'll watch him."
She nods and closes her eyes but doesn't sleep, her hand resting over Lee's heart, always feeling for that steady beat. Neji lets her be.
He doesn't want to lose anyone else, either.
THE END.
Title: The Consequences of Sleeping
Series: Naruto
Characters/Pairings: Team Gai, NejiTen
Word Count: 824
Rated: PG
THE CONSEQUENCES OF SLEEPING
He wakes with the chiming of the clock - one in the morning - and finds he'd fallen asleep in the chair by Lee's bed. There's a telling crick in his neck but he ignores the faint complaints of his body as he gazes around the dark room, reality flooding back.
Lee is on the bed, his chest rising and falling with measured breaths. He's shirtless, baring the countless number of bandages wrapped around his middle, keeping hard pressure on the stab wound in his side. Tenten lies on her side next to him, eyes closed, her hand on Lee's chest. It's a familiar scene and Neji knows she's not really sleeping. She's making sure Lee is still alive - as long as her hand moves with each breath, she stays still, dozing.
"I didn't have the heart to wake you," she murmurs in the dark. He shifts his gaze to her face and finds her watching him, brown eyes almost black with shadows. "I knew you would want to change, but you were so exhausted..."
She trails off and Neji looks down at his blood-splattered clothes, feels flakes of dried crimson between his fingers as he moves. He remembers then what he's done and feels no remorse. He had killed their last three attackers in a clearing and it had not been the clean, bloodless death of the Jyuuken. No, he'd used kunai and he'd cut arteries and stabbed eyes and it had been so simple. He is a genius at close combat, after all.
"Neji?"
Tenten slides off the bed and limps over to him, worry edging her voice. She touches the bandage at his temple lightly. She does not ask if he's alright. "Come on," she says, after a silent moment, "lets get you cleaned up."
He lets her draw him into the bathroom of their small room, watches as she flips on the light and runs the water in the bathtub. Newly illuminated, he catches the bruises on her skin, the cuts on her hands and forearms. Her leg is the most obvious injury but he knows there are others, smaller ones she hasn't let Sakura treat. Lee comes first.
Neji shrugs out of his clothes, wearing only the loose pants of his Hyuuga attire as he kneels over the rim of the tub and lets Tenten wash his hair. She sits near him, her injured leg stretched out before her, leaning over precociously, her hands full of soap suds. She hums as she works - not cheerfully, but a soothing, solemn tune that sounds almost like a lullaby. Tenten has never been a singer, but she has a sweet, untrained voice that makes the tension leave Neji's shoulders. He closes his eyes and relaxes into her fingers, letting her wash away the evidence of the night's murder.
When she's done, she brings him a spare set of clothes and sets to work on the tangles in his hair with a flimsy comb that came with the room. He leans back against the sink and lets her do as she wishes, his mind full of nothing.
Hers seems to be working for both of them, for he feels her pause after a minute. When he opens his eyes, he's startled to see tears in her lashes, though her expression is determined.
"They deserved to die," she says fiercely, as if expecting him to argue. "They killed Ryujin, they killed a boy, sliced him like-" She breaks off and the comb in her hand shakes, her knuckles white. He closes a hand around hers, easing her desperate grip. The comb clatters into the sink as she lets go, falling forward to hide her face in his shoulder. His free hand comes up to rest on the back of her neck, holding her there.
"He was just a child," she mumbles, "He counted on us to protect him..."
Neji exhales his own pain. "I know." But Ryujin is dead, and so are the men who killed him. There's nothing fair about it, it's just the way things are. Tenten knows this very well, but sometimes the knowing is just not enough. Especially not when their charge had been brutally killed right in front of her.
He can't say how long they stay like that, pressed together, the smell of shampoo in his nose and Tenten's smooth skin under his fingers. It's she who draws away and rubs at her red eyes before smiling crookedly - an apology, though she knows he doesn't need it.
Lee is still sleeping when they step back into the bedroom. Tenten checks his temperature and Neji sits back down in the chair, warm and awake.
"Go to sleep," he tells her, "I'll watch him."
She nods and closes her eyes but doesn't sleep, her hand resting over Lee's heart, always feeling for that steady beat. Neji lets her be.
He doesn't want to lose anyone else, either.
THE END.