Neji stirred and sat up in the chill of the morning, the size of the couch allowed for very little movement and he was starting to come down with a sore neck, one of his hands massaged the crumpled muscles below his hairline. "I'm sorry about yesterday, mom. I didn't know you had a guest over," came the murmur from the foyer.

"It's ok, sweetie, don't worry about that."

Neji stood up and went to the door, making sure to remain hidden in the shadows. He wasn't about to go take a look at the kid again, not after all the trouble he went through at dinner, last night, to avoid the sight of his face. He had to stare all night into his soup bowl, TenTen was too embarrassed to chat and he was too mad to initiate a conversation with her, and the kid was just…it had been more than awkward, and extremely angering. The presence of this boy was a thorn in Neji's side that was becoming increasingly painful. Neji leaned against the wall, crossed his arms over his chest, quietly waiting for TenTen to wave the kid away to school. Do not make assumptions, she'd said, but it was hard not to make assumptions when she had a son that looked exactly like Lee. No, it was worse than that. He didn't just look like Lee, he also had TenTen's bright smile and her eyes. Neji's fingers worried themselves with the fabric of his sleeves, turning and twisting it inside his fist. It stung that TenTen didn't want to talk about it, it's not like she kept the matter from him entirely because she did promise to explain herself once she was ready, but Neji doubted there would be anything to explain at all. Neji heaved a sigh, I'm freaking out over nothing. This has nothing to do with me. He waited for TenTen to head to the kitchen to make breakfast before he slipped out of the house and went to break a good sweat in the yard, hoping to rid himself of some tension.


He didn't know how long he exercised but he wasn't nearly spent enough by the time TenTen popped out of the door to call him inside. He said he was in great need of a shower and excused himself to avoid eating together in silence again, they would only drown themselves in further embarrassment. One glance at TenTen and she obviously wasn't ready to handle that kind of situation even if she tried really hard to look like she was, and Neji certainly wasn't in the right mood either. When he finally came out of the bathroom however, he found TenTen sitting at the table with the food still intact in her plate and another serving in front of Neji's seat. He suddenly felt guilty for making her wait until her breakfast had gone cold. He looked to the side while pulling the chair, "You should have gone ahead and eat," he whispered.

"It's ok," she replied, promptly taking a bite at an apple, "I wanted to wait for you."

Neji found out that he'd been wrong the whole time, TenTen was more than ready to handle the situation. She was a bit uncomfortable at times, but she chatted easily. She told him that Shikamaru wanted to see them at the cemetery to try and find a logical explanation to Neji's sudden return from death. "Also," she said between one sip of tea and the next, "Should you see Sasuke around, don't kill him. He's good now, married Sakura and has a family with her."

Neji brought the cup to his lips, "From what I remember Sakura's stalker-like determination was hardly something one could resist. She must have exasperated him into coming back." TenTen flashed him a smirk and they both chuckled in rhythm while sipping their tea.


As planned, Shikamaru met with them at the cemetery, TenTen followed him to Neji's tombstone while Neji was held behind by Naruto. "Neji," he rubbed the back of his head, "I hope you didn't come back from the dead to kill me after I married your cousin."

"Wouldn't dream of it, you've proven to be a good guy."

"Ah," Naruto grinned, "We also have two kids. Hinata really wanted me to bring them along today but you know how kids are, can't keep a secret. I figured you'd like some privacy to adjust to the present situation little by little."

So Naruto had kids too, and Sasuke, and…TenTen. Damn it, he was constantly being reminded of it, his mood had been foul since the moment he woke up and the exercise had done very little to improve it. It was only natural that his friends and acquaintances had moved on with their life during the past thirteen years, he told himself, but as logical as that was he still couldn't help but feeling sad and angry. Naruto's hand squeezed his shoulder and he looked at him suddenly. "It's normal that you feel uncomfortable, don't force yourself, some things take time. And trust me I would have loved to show you my kids if only Hinata hadn't been filling their brains with 'Uncle Neji' and 'Let's visit uncle Neji's tomb' ever since they were born." Naruto let go of his shoulder and took a few steps forward, "I'm afraid it might be a bit much to handle for them, if they meet you so suddenly."

Neji followed him, the notion of having nieces and nephews had left him relatively unfazed, and he wondered for a minute if it would be rude to ask Naruto now, but…his eyes quickly traveled to where TenTen and Shikamaru were crouched, next to his tombstone, analyzing the cracks and the incoherent kanjis that no longer spelled his name against the slate of marble. Neji's lips pressed into a thin line before finally popping open, "What about TenTen?" He blurted out too suddenly. Naruto turned around and stared at him with such a blank face that for a moment Neji thought he had spoken something incomprehensible.

Naruto raised an eyebrow and spread his arms, "What about her?"

Neji stepped forward and kept his voice low, "TenTen, she has -"

"Hey, you two!"

Naruto peeked over Neji's shoulder, "Oh look! Shikamaru's waving for us to come over. Maybe's found something." And he left before Neji could stop him.