I awoke with a sudden breath. The sharp inhale pierced my lungs, filling my senses with blood and dirt and air. I felt in two places at once, my mind in a distant dream but my body in reality. I looked around and saw Chouji, reaching out to him as he came to, and as I surveyed the rest of the field I knew this universal sense of calm meant we had been saved. Naruto, wherever he was, had saved us.

That calm didn't last long though as whispers then exclamations then cries of joy ran waves through the ninja crowd. Somehow in the middle of it all I heard her voice.

"Shikamaru?" she said. I turned around to see her. She looked tired and hurt and beautiful. "I… I dreamed about you."

"I dreamed about you too," I said. She stepped closer to me, closer than ever before. "Temari," I whispered in the sea of shouts. She looked up at me, at my lips then my eyes and her gaze never left. I brushed her bangs out of her face. "I don't want to have to dream about you."

She grabbed my face gently, pulling me down to her lips and we kissed. "I should have told you sooner," she said pulling away, "that I love you."

I knew what this war had cost the world, and I knew even better what it had cost me. Asuma, Inoichi, and my father - all I had left were memories. With Temari, I wanted to make more. With her, I wanted to make the rest of my life.

"That's the past. This is the future. I love you too."


Author's note: There will definitely be more updates to come. I'm just not sure what kind of scene to write about next. Feel free to leave suggestions and please leave reviews!