A/N: Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Neji finds himself in a better mood than usual. He leans relaxedly into his chair, his left hand curled around a steaming mug of green tea. His right arm is in a sling against his chest.
Life after the war is quiet, and Neji surprisingly has come to enjoy these brief moments of idle time. Given his broken arm, Tenten and Lee have offered to help him move into his new apartment, and for the past hour he has been supervising them as they carry and arrange his things.
"A little more to the right, Lee." Lee answers with a salute, and pushes the couch closer to the window.
He has just begun lecturing Lee about not damaging his new furniture when Tenten reemerges from where she had been unboxing things in his bedroom.
"You still have this?" she asks, grinning as she takes his tea so that he can hold the framed photograph. It is their team photo, from when they were genin. Lee hovers over his shoulder, and together he and Tenten coo at how young they were.
Neji examines the photo with mild amusement. At thirteen and still so consumed with anger, he had been indignant that he was required to be a part of something so silly and sentimental. In the photo he is scowling, his body slightly angled away from his team while Lee leans closer, fists clenched in a show of determination. Tenten, the only cooperative member of the group according to the photographer, squats slightly between them, eyes bright and hopeful. Gai is as jubilant as ever, one hand on Neji's shoulder, the other on Lee's.
He sets the photo aside and takes a sip of his tea as Lee and Tenten resume unpacking. How much they have all grown, he muses.
It is evening by the time they finish. He makes tea for Lee and Tenten while they sprawl on the floor of the living room, exhausted more so from all his meticulous orders than the physical work. As they sit up to accept their mugs, and he settles onto the floor next to them, he smirks at their surprised faces when he raises his own mug for a toast. "To the future," he says simply.
Lee pumps his fist into the air and Tenten lets out a laugh, but they both exuberantly repeat his words as they clink their mugs against his.
"To the future."
A/N: Thank you for reading and please review!
~M.I.