title: i can't remember our last kiss
pairing(s): SasuSaku NejiTen NaruHina KibaIno
author's not: i am having way too much fun writing this piece! :D
disclaimier: still do not own Naruto or Grey's Anatomy...

Sakura stretched as she woke up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She could hear Ino snoring away in Tenten's room across the hall—her usual housemate was on a mission. Sakura, who hated sleeping in the big place alone, had invited Ino over and lots cosmos and martinis had been made. Sakura staggered to the bathroom, moaning about the pounding headache she'd developed.

"Hangovers," she cursed, splashing ice cold water on her face.

Sakura got ready for work as Ino grumbled in her sleep, wishing she could stay and just hang out for the day. Sakura looked at her reflection in the mirror, and wished she could stop thinking about certain dark-haired persons. With a sigh, Sakura poured herself a cup of coffee and headed out the door, just as Ino came downstairs.

"Morning sunshine," Sakura chirruped.

Ino cursed at her in response, stumbling towards the coffee machine. Chuckling, Sakura stepped outside.

Only to stop dead at the sight of Sasuke Uchiha standing on her porch, waiting for her.

"God, what do you want?" she snarled, shoving past him. "You spent the better part of our teenage years ignoring me, Sasuke, please don't stop now."

Sasuke frowned at her, catching her elbow.

"Sakura I poured my heart out to you, did you miss that part?" he asked, pulling the pink-haired woman around to face him.

"Nope," she hissed. "No, Sasuke, I didn't miss that part."

"Then what's—,"

"You poured your heart out to me, Sasuke, but that was after you had sex with me and vanished the next morning. After you almost killed Naruto. After you were bent on destroying my village. After you left me on a bench. After I poured my heart out to you."

Sasuke growled at her, "I still did it, didn't I? You annoying woman, do you have any idea how difficult that was for me? But I did it for you. Isn't that enough—?"

"No," Sakura snarled, jerking her elbow out of his grip. "No, it's not enough. I am a sink with an open freaking drain; everything you say runs straight through. Everything is not enough, Sasuke! Did you miss that part?"

And with that, she stormed off. Sasuke watched her go, as Ino stepped out on the porch. Wrapped in a robe, a cup of coffee in her hand, the blonde woman looked quite smug.

"Damn, she tore you apart," she snickered.

"Shut up, Yamanaka."

"You've got your work cut out for you this time, Sasuke, don't you think?"

Sasuke ignored her, but Ino merely laughed before vanishing back inside the house. Cursing women, Sasuke stalked off.

Muttering nastily, Sakura shoved her way through the streets of Konoha. She was furious with stupid Sasuke and his stupid face and stupid words, making her feel stupid for still wanting to believe him. Still wanting to love him.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid."

The pink-haired surgeon was so preoccupied that she didn't even see Hinata hurtling towards her, white-faced and terrified-looking.

"Sakura!" Hinata shrieked, finally breaking her friend's distraction. "Sakura, it's bad. This is so bad. Everything is bad—,"

"Hinata!" Sakura interrupted, grabbing her friend's shoulders. "What's bad?"

Hinata looked up and Sakura's breath caught at the sight of tears streaking down her friend's face.

"Tenten," whispered Hinata, and Sakura's heart stopped. "Sakura, it's Tenten."

An hour later, Hinata sat in the waiting are with an untouched cup of coffee in her hands. Naruto was at her side, an arm around her shaking shoulders. Ino was pacing back and forth; Lee watched her every step. Shikamaru sat next to the taijutsuist, his fingers twirling around each other. Gai-sensei was silent in the corner, staring with unseeing eyes.

Then, Neji burst through the doors.

"What happened?" he shouted at them. "Tell me what happened!"

For a second, Hinata contemplated strangling her cousin for demanding to know about the girl whose heart he broke. The furious glint in Ino's eyes showed the same thought: Tenten wouldn't have been seeking out more and more dangerous missions if Neji hadn't ruined her. But then, Hinata looked down, and Ino resumed her pacing. It was Shikamaru who spoke, in a strangled sort of voice.

"Temari and Tenten were on a mission together," he said. Hinata leaned against Naruto, sick of hearing this story. "They were returning from Suna with documents when some rogue bandits attacked them. Temari is in surgery, and things are nasty. But Tenten…"

"Tenten is in critical care," Lee supplied, in a hollow voice that didn't match his usual tone. "They have been working on her for two hours now. Sakura and Shizune, I mean."

He stopped talking, continuing to watch Ino page. Neji, looking strained, collapsed into an empty seat.

The group of shinobi stayed that way for another half an hour, before their trance was broken once more. This time, it was Kiba, who was coming to check on Hinata. The young Hyuuga had been training with her teammate when Tsunade had contacted her.

"Guys," he said, startling the group out of their revive. "You have to get up. You gotta do something. You'll only go crazy just sitting around. Here, Naruto, take Hinata and grab something to eat. Lee, you, Neji, and Gai-sensei, go take a walk—

"But—,"

"I'll come find you if they tell us something," Kiba promised, before Lee could protest.

Unable to argue with the Inuzuka, the teammates of Tenten walked off. Naruto and Hinata left a second later, as Ino finally gave up on her steps and sat down next to Shikamaru. She reached out and took his hand as Kiba sat on her other side.

"Ino," Shikamaru murmured. "Ino, what do I do if she doesn't make it?"

Neither Ino nor Kiba thought he was talking about Tenten.

"Don't you think like that, Shikamaru," Ino urged. Because, really, what else could she say? "You better think about the Epic Love Declaration and Confession you're gonna give her when she wakes up. You better figure out what you're gonna say to her to explain that there is no you and me. That there is only you and her, all right? That is what you will do, Shikamaru Nara."

The young man flashed her a small, grateful smile as Kiba pretended he hadn't heard anything at all.

"Want me to get you something to eat?" Ino offered after a moment, but Shikamaru shook his head.

"No, I'll go," he said. "I need to take a walk."

Ino smiled at him as her old friend got up and headed in the same direction Naruto and Hinata had gone. Almost as soon as Shikamaru was out of sight, Ino deflated in on herself, burying her face in her hands.

"What a pretty, brave face you have," said Kiba, in a gentle, teasing sort of tone.

Ino smiled faintly and murmured, "All the better to fool you with, my dear."

Kiba grinned, but Ino's lightheartedness did not last long. Her small smile returned to its original taunt, worried, exhausted sort of grimace. She closed her eyes, looking more world-weary that Kiba thought possible for such a beauty queen.

"Hey, come on, Yamanaka," Kiba urged, quietly. "Tenten's made of stronger stuff than this. I know you are, too."

Ino's reply was a poorly concealed, hiccupping sob. Kiba's wild eyes softened as Ino Yamanaka began to fall apart. With a sigh, the Inuzuka reached out and put an arm around her trembling shoulders.

"It's all right, Ino," he soothed, pulling her against his chest. "Sh, it's gonna be okay."

The blonde woman cried quietly into his shoulder, trying to hide her tears in the leather of his jacket. Kiba held her without comment, besides his continuous stream of gentle reassurance. Ino was tough, but anyone would fall apart if one of their best friends' were in critical surgery.

A few more minutes, and Ino composed herself, her tears finally slowing. She made no move to separate herself from Kiba, and he let her leaned on him, still without comment.

"So, Shikamaru and Temari, eh?" he asked, lightly. "Bout time those two got together. The sexual tension was practically killing me."

Despite herself, Ino laughed. Kiba smiled at the sound.

"Temari always gets scared," she explained, after a heartbeat. "She thinks there's something going on between Shikamaru and I." Kiba snorted in disbelief; Ino smiled again. "That was always my reaction, but no one listens to me."

"Blonde hair makes people suspicious, you know," replied Kiba, solemnly. Ino smacked him in response to this, but that faint smile still traced her lips.

Soon enough, the rest of the group returned and they resumed the waiting. Kiba stayed at Ino's side, while Hinata came over and lay her head in the blonde's lap. Naruto sat next to his girlfriend, her feet in his lap, rubbing her back soothingly. Neji seated himself, more composed now, but there was still a desperate gleam to his eyes. Gai and Lee seemed to have regained some of their usual fire, but Shikamaru still looked distant.

Finally, Sakura appeared, looking worn but triumphant.

"Temari is fine," she announced, and all the tension vanished from Shikamaru's body. It was as if all of his bones had melted; he practically slid to the floor. Ino reached around Kiba and gripped his hand. "She'll be awake in about twenty minutes," Sakura continued, "Shikamaru, her room is 312, but be careful with—,"

But he was already off and running, vanishing up the stairs. Shaking her head, Sakura faced the remaining shinobi.

"Tenten," she said, "is perfect."

All of the breath collectively whooshed from everyone's lungs. Hinata sagged against Naruto as Lee and Gai leaped to their feet, shouting with victory. Relief was obvious in Neji's usually impassive face, while Ino hung onto Kiba's hand with a vice-like grasp.

"She's resting right now, but we can all go see her," Sakura said, smiling. "Just be quiet. We can't stress her out."

"Of course Sakura, my blossom!" Lee shouted, as he and Gai took off towards Tenten's pre-assigned room. Rolling their eyes, the rest followed.

Later that night Hinata, Sakura, and Ino were lounging in Tenten's room. The others had left hours ago, but Ino was willing to bet her life that Shikamaru was still with Temari.

"So," Sakura said, turning brilliant jade eyes upon Ino. "what exactly was up with you and Kiba today, huh?"

Ino's face instantly went red.

"What? I—no. No. Nothing!"

Three extremely skeptical faces gazed back at her.

"Shut up," Ino grumbled, staring at the floor. Tenten burst into gales of laughter. "It wasn't anything. He was just…just being…there."

"And cuddly," Tenten added, waggling her eyebrows despite the bandage around her head.

"And sweet," said Hinata, fondly.

"And chivalrous!" Sakura crowed. "Holding the door open for you—who'd have thought? Kiba, of all people!"

Ino blushed again and soon they were all laughing. Hinata composed herself first, wiping the tears of joy from her eyes. She looked up, spotting a tall, long-haired figure in the doorway of Tenten's hospital room.

"Oh," she said, startled.

Immediately, the other three looked up. As soon as she realized who it was, all color drained from Tenten's face. Everyone pretended to ignore the suddenly quick pace of Tenten's heart rate from the monitor. Neji stepped into the room.

"Um, yeah," Ino drawled. "I'm just gonna…I'm just gonna go visit Temari. Yeah."

"Right," Hinata agreed, standing up. "Yeah, um, I'll go, too."

"Me too," Sakura added. "For, um, absolutely no reason. Because we are definitely not trying to avoid an awkward situation. Oh, and if Tenten's heart rate or blood pressure spikes page me immediately."

Rolling her eyes. Ino dragged Sakura from the room. Hinata shot Tenten a significant look before disappearing after them. Neji stepped closed to Tenten's bed.

"Hello," he said quietly.

"Um…hey?" she replied, suspiciously.

Neji sighed, "You almost died today."

Tenten shrugged and looked away from those all-seeing eyes. "Um yeah…I guess…I guess I did almost die today."

Neji simply looked at her and Tenten gazed steadily back at him. There was a pause and Tenten suddenly wished she was different. She wished she was passionate, like Sakura. Fearless, like Ino. Or compassionate, like Hinata. She wished that, just for a second, she could say how she felt—put all these feelings into words.

But only one thing was on her mind.

"I almost died today," she repeated, looking away, and Neji flinched. "And all I could think about was the fact that I don't remember our last kiss. Which is pathetic, because I was being attacked and having my insides all messed up—but all I could think was how I don't remember our last freaking kiss."

Tenten turned tortured eyes upon Neji. He gazed back at her in a certain way that mad her heart ache, that made her want to reach out and pull him against her and never let go. Instead, the brunette firmly folded her arms and waited for Neji to respond.

Neji looked down at his feet, and began to speak quietly.

"It was the Wednesday night before our mission with Gai and Lee. Before I became ANBU Captain. I was about to leave to review some final details for the mission when you pulled me back. You were wearing one of my old T-shirts, and nothing else. Your hair was down and it smelled…it smelled like a waterfall. Crisp. Clean. Beautiful. You smiled at me and said you would see me in the morning, then kissed me goodbye. I left, and you went back inside. That…that was our last kiss."

When he looked up, Tenten was staring at him.

"You…" she began. "You…remember?"

"Of course I remember," Neji replied, desperately. "How could I not remember my last kiss with the woman I love?"

"Gee, maybe because you broke up with me?" Tenten snapped in response.

This time, it was Neji's turn to look tortured. He gazed down at Tenten with such big, sad eyes that Tenten's resolve almost wavered.

Almost.

"Neji—,"

"Tenten," he interrupted, taking her hand. "I'm sorry. I have hated myself a thousand times more than you have hated me this past month. What few nights I have slept, I dream of you. Most, I just lie awake and imagine you are next to me one more. On missions, my only goal is to protect the village, thereby protecting you—,"

"The only thing I need protection from," Tenten snarled, ripping her hand away, "is you."

Neji looked wounded by her comment, yet he did not waver.

"Tenten," he murmured, "I love you. I ended things with you to protect you. Do you think an ANBU Captain can risk having a relationship? A family—?"

"I am a kunoichi, you pompous ass. I can protect myself!"

"I don't want to put you in more danger than you already are in—,"

"And I don't want to hear your excuses!" Tenten shouted, overriding Neji. "I love you, all right? I have never stopped loving, through every bottle of tequila, every stupid tear shed—I have still loved you. And I wish I could stop but I can't because you're there with your beautiful hair and your hard shell that only I can crack so—,"

"So be with me again," Neji murmured, bending closer to her and taking her hand again. "I was a fool. You were rash. We have both made mistakes. I want to try again. Tenten, I love you."

The brunette kunoichi stared at him for a heartbeat longer, before reaching up and dragging his face down to hers.

:D