How I think Naruto should end. ;)

Have a random drabble-product... Don't expect too much of it. This will be a collection of continuations/random ideas/drabbles/what have you that are not polished/edited very well. That said, I hope you enjoy this... And we can't have enough NejiTen, can we? ;) I was looking at NejiTen fanart and awwwww some of them are just so adorable!

Update: Cover image drawn by Nairil on FFN! Thank you so much!

Naruto and its characters do not belong to me.

The air is still when Naruto casts the jutsu that revives the dead from the war - Tenten is a little too groggy, a little too numb to think that this will really work; it's better not to hope, and risk falling - not when it concerns Neji, not when it seems like forever since he's left her behind.

The survivors stagger to where they've piled their dead. Tenten trails behind, seeking out Lee first, and helping him with the heavy, unconscious weight of Gai.

"Do you think-" Lee begins, cautiously, and Tenten shakes her head.

"I don't know if I can bear to raise my hopes, Lee," she tells him tiredly, her footsteps dragging beneath the burden of carrying Gai. At least their sensei is still alive.

"But Naruto can do anything, can't he?" Lee asks. She exhales, purses her lips.

"There's only so much one can do," she responds, and looks at the broken ground, piled with rubble.

Neji opens his eyes and blinks. Agony is sharp in his chest; he gasps his first breath in a long while, and remains lying still for a long time. There is a flurry of activity going on around him, and someone nearby shoves her head in his face.

"This one's come back to life too!" she shouts, and people hurry over - medics, or what's left of them.

Neji feels himself being examined, the hole in his chest slowly being sealed, and wonders how long it's been since he took those stakes. Whether Lee and Gai and Tenten are still alive, if they managed to survive the war-

It suddenly occurs to him that, perhaps, Tenten might not have made it - what would he do without her levelheadedness and sanity and comforting touch-

He reminds himself to calm down, and to wait. They might still be alive, after all. He hopes Tenten won't try to kill him for leaving her. Dying once is enough for this lifetime.

"Hey," Tenten's voice resounds behind him. Neji turns, and he sees the uncertainty in her eyes, the weariness.

"I'm sorry," Neji tells her, and dips his chin. "I had to save Hinata-sama and Naruto - Naruto was the one who could save everyone else."

"I know," she sighs, and drags a grimy hand over her face. "I dreamed of you in the illusion we were put through." At his questioning look, she continues, "We were all cast under a spell and bound in cocoons - it was supposed to make us dream of our perfect world."

"I'm in your perfect world?" Neji questions, intrigued. Tenten flushes slightly, and looks away, waving her hands to dismiss the matter.

"Yeah, you were with me and Lee and Gai knew how to act like mature adults, for once." She gives a wry smile. Slants a look at their teammate and mentor. "I'm glad you're back, Neji. Maybe this is just another dream."

He catches her arm as she makes to turn away, and pulls her against him. "I'm sorry for leaving you behind."

"You did what you had to. I can't fault you for that." Tenten is still for a moment, though she relaxes into him after heartbeats. She is warm, soft. "Lee was sobbing over your dead body."

Neji glances at their teammate, and smiles lightly. Team Gai is still his family, after all. The medics are working on Gai now, slowly healing the severe burns on his body. "What about you?"

She shifts uncomfortably against him, her voice muffled by his shoulder. "I couldn't. We were in the middle of a war, Neji, I couldn't just- I figured that I could mourn over you if I survived."

"You'd mourn over me?" he asks, a faint smile tugging on his lips.

"Well, yeah." She pulls away slightly, to look at him in disbelief. "Did you think I wouldn't?"

"I don't know," he murmurs and shrugs, looking away, a light smirk tugging on his mouth.

Tenten catches sight of his amusement, and Neji doubles over when she punches him in the gut. "Don't you dare laugh at me like that, you jerk-"

"That hurt," he grits, wincing. "I just returned from the dead-"

Her eyes are wide with horror. "I'm sorry!" Tenten gasps, mollified. "I- I didn't mean to, I swear-"

Neji closes his eyes and draws deep, calming breaths, and finally looks at her when the pain has ebbed away. "Thanks," he says dryly, straightening. "I needed proof that you weren't an impostor."

Tenten gapes at him and fumbles for words, and Neji decides that he's had enough of all this skirting around and all the missed opportunities and the subtle flirting that never amounted to much even before the war began.

So he dips his head and catches her lips, effectively shutting her up, and somewhere in the distance, Lee whoops and shouts for joy.

Found the ending hilarious. ;)

Story/drabble suggestions, anyone? I will only write what inspires me, no promises. :P