["Stephanotis"- Desire to Travel; Happiness in Marriage]

Sai was awake and up before the sun rose, as was proper. But this morning... he didn't have much to do. He clambered out of bed, walking over to the window on silent feet.

There was an empty canvas in front of the windowsill. He hadn't been able to bring himself to paint anything on it yet. Somehow, he felt that it would make things be too real.

It was hard to believe sometimes, the direction his life had gone. He'd thought that he would die in service to ROOT, die with no one to know his name or face. It was hard to think of what to do in life, now that he didn't have a sword hovering ominously above his head.

But maybe that was his new direction. Maybe this was his new chance.

Sai took a look outside at the rising sun, and picked up his paintbrush.

/=\

"Hey, Shin!" a voice called out excitedly, and he turned to see Shisui rushing towards him. "You here to see Sai?"

"Well, what other reason would I be in the Uchiha compound?" Shin teased, leaning forward to grab Shisui's hand.

He pouted. "Oh, I don't know? To see your awesome boyfriend maybe?"

"That doesn't sound like something I would do," Shin said seriously, though he laughed when Shisui let out an offended squawk.

"Man, you're so mean to me!" he complained, puffing his cheeks out like an indignant child. "See if I ever come visit you again."

Shin kissed his cheek, gently. "Oh, you will. My apartment has all of your favorite snacks."

"Damn, you're right."

"I always am," he replied smugly, and laughed again when Shisui only complied with a grumble. Then there was a hand on his chin, and he turned with a bemused look.

Shisui pulled him into a kiss filled with soft things, the opposite of the kind that he'd received on any of his honeytrap missions.

Shin wasn't ashamed to admit that he liked this type of kiss much better.

/=\

"You ready to go?" Naruto questioned, practically bouncing in place with his excitement. "If we don't hurry, the others will beat us there!"

Honoka nodded, smiling back at him after she took a moment to put the rest of her seal designs in the folder.

"Awesome!" Naruto cheered, running down the stairs to head out into the streets. Honoka followed, his chants of 'Ramen, Ramen, Ramen!' making him very easy to track.

Eyes followed them, but how could they not? Naruto was brighter than the sun, and his kindness flowed out of him in waves of golden light.

It was something Honoka had never experienced before. She thought that it was absolutely wonderful.

In the back of her mind, Honoka remembered a village that taught her to be still and silent and pretty. She remembered a man who came to her and whispered, "You can be better, you can be more."

She remembered following him. She remembered regretting it.

But none of that mattered now. Here, in this present time, she was able to create her own existence, make her own path in life. Here, she had family that was willing to care for her even when she didn't follow their every word.

Konohagakure wasn't perfect, by any means. It was pretty on the outside with something fractured deep within. Just the kind of place that she belonged in.

Maybe, Honoka thought to herself, following along with Naruto's exuberant chatter, maybe we can find a way to heal each other.

/=\

Are you happy now, with the way things are?

Tsuchi remembered when Honoka had asked him that, many years ago. He'd just come back from an assassination, covered in blood and filled with shame.

Are you happy now?

No, Tsuchi had very rarely experienced happiness in this life. He'd lived at an overcrowded, understaffed orphanage for the beginning of his childhood, and the rest of it had been spent in the cold barracks of ROOT headquarters. Places like that didn't allow much space for happiness.

"My youthful comrade, let us continue with these wonderful exercises!" Gai boomed, grinning widely at him from where he was upside down in the tree.

Tsuchi laughed. It was a small, choked thing, but it was growing with every day.

Yes. Yes, I'm happy now.

/=\

Yota whistled to himself, walking leisurely through the forest. He tilted his head back with a happy sigh, letting the soft breeze lift up his ponytail.

Man, this was the life.

His falcon trilled above him, going in lazy circles around his head. Today was a good day. It wasn't always. Somedays, Yota looked back to the south. Somedays, he imagined he could see the walls of Konoha in the distance, and cursed himself for turning away.

But on good days, he knew better. On good days, Yota could see all of the beautiful things this world had to offer, things he could never touch if he stayed behind Konoha's gate. On good days, he met people- shinobi, samurai, civilians, survivors, who he never would have met or known or loved if he had stayed there.

On good days, when he was walking down the dirt path and through fields and by rivers, he could hear the sound of marching feet following him. He could hear the laughter of his clansmen on the wind, his nomadic people that had drifted where they pleased and loved with all their hearts.

Yota loved days like that. They reminded him that he was alive.

He let out a shrill whistle, calling his falcon to him.

"Hey, pal," he said, stroking the bird's feathers with gentle hands. "Mind making a quick delivery for me? I think I've finally worked up the courage, now."

/=\

"Oh, going on lunch break already?" Kabuto said, smiling that damn, insincere grin of his. "Well, I suppose someone in your position has to take all the opportunities you can."

Yūto wanted to stab him. Forget Danzo, Kabuto was more of a thorn in his side than that old bastard could ever be.

"Yes, I am actually," Yūto said, hiding his murderous impulses behind a saccharine grin. "So if you have a question for me, as your senior officer, I'd really appreciate it if you could wait until I'm done."

Kabuto's expression soured. Yūto tried not to be too overtly gleeful about it.

"Actually, I came to give you this," Kabuto handed over a small scroll, tied with a golden ribbon. "A falcon dropped it off for you at the front desk. Don't worry, I didn't peek."

But for once, Yūto didn't care about that.

That's Yota's ribbon, he thought, and found himself grow cold.

With a sigh, he took it. He unfurled the scroll, taking special care of the ribbon, and read the message inside with a heavy heart.

I know that you're angry with me. I know you expected me to stay. But I've worked too hard and lost too much to let someone dictate my actions now. I won't ask you to forgive me, but I will say this: the next time we meet, I hope it will be as equals.

I hope someday we can be friends, and we won't be afraid of ourselves anymore.

-Y

Yūto just stared, for a moment. This was... perhaps the last thing that he had expected. It was true, though. When Yota had left, he had felt so angry. But more than that, he'd been sad. He'd thought that his partner was abandoning him, that he'd done something wrong.

Of course, he knew that it wasn't true. That nothing could fully contain the storm Yota had grown to be, and Yūto would be a fool to try and cage him.

It has taken me far too long, Yūto thought to himself ruefully, to realize that I cannot control other people. That I can't own a human being.

He remembered being young and ill, so afraid to die that he would do anything for help, including work for a man who tried to own him. Own all of them.

Yūto liked to think that he was better than that, now.

"So, tell me- what is it?" Kabuto asked, curiosity in the lines of his face as he tried to lean over Yūto's shoulder. "Did someone send you a love letter?"

"It's a reminder," Yūto said simply, and took great joy in the momentary confusion overtaking the other's expression.

/=\

Fū looked at Torune, giving his partner's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. They were standing in front of the Aburame compound.

Fū may have had no interest in his own birth family, but Torune was not the same as him. And he would be here to support his best friend, to help him try and regain the love he'd once sacrificed everything for.

"Hey, you got this. And I'm here for you. So, together?"

Torune grinned shyly back, the expression barely visible over his high-necked jacket.

"Together."

They walked through the gate, heads held high. Shino was waiting for them on the other side.

/=\

Yakumo sat cross-legged on the bench on her balcony, looking down at the village. Somehow, the world just seemed so small.

Danzo is dead, and I'm still here, she thought to herself in an almost disbelieving tone.

"Never quite thought we'd make it this far, huh?" Izumi muttered, unknowingly echoing Yakumo's thoughts.

"Mm," she hummed in reply, turning to look at her partner. She reached out, gently placing a hand on Izumi's cheek. "No, not really. But I couldn't be any more grateful that we did."

Izumi blushed violently, sputtering at the display of affection. Yakumo laughed, leaning forward and giving them a quick kiss.

"As long as I'm here with you, I'm happy."

Izumi grumbled good-naturedly, returning the kiss. "Yeah... me too."

Yakumo beamed, linking their hands together. Things were so much easier now. No more hiding, no more lying. Her clan had tried to bring her back to their compound, but Yakumo had adamantly refused. She wanted nothing to do with the Kurama's- the relatives who had used and abused her as a child simply because she was able to properly use their kekkai genkai.

The Uchiha clan had thankfully left them alone. They'd offered assistance if the two of them needed it, but otherwise kept their peace. Yakumo suspected it was because Izumi hadn't completely disappeared from the eyes of the clan once they had joined ROOT. The perceived 'loss' didn't hit them quite as hard.

She was glad of it. She'd had enough of people trying to control her life. Izumi may have been willing to return to active duty, but Yakumo hadn't been the least bit interested. She was working at the library now. It was almost like working in the archives, but without the imminent threat of her identity being uncovered.

In other words, it was perfect.

Yakumo let out a deep sigh of contentment, a smile tugging at her lips as she watched the sun set on the Hokage mountain. Izumi was sitting next to her, looking like they were about to fall face first into their cup of tea, but staying awake with her nonetheless.

She took a sip of hot chocolate, letting the warm liquid drip down her throat. It tasted like victory.

/=\

"Y'know," Tonbo said, when the silence had once again grown too oppressive. "You don't have to stay."

Kinoto made a startled noise, the coffee in his cup sloshing around when he jumped. "U-um, what?"

"You don't have to stay," he repeated patiently. He'd been doing that a lot more recently. Being patient. Patient while he waited to find out where he would be living, patient as he was evaluated for the ability to do his goddamn job, patient while he was poked and prodded and asked gentle questions.

Patience, Tonbo had found, was a very hard thing to do.

"But where would I go?" Kinoto asked, for once a genuine question instead of a bitter oath. "My mother is here. My village is here. I may have joined ROOT, but I did it out of loyalty to my home, not despite it."

"Yeah," Tonbo said, shoulders hunching up as he thought of dirty streets and cruel people. "I know. You were pretty obvious about it. But that's not everything, is it?"

"...What do you mean?"

"I mean, what about you? What about what you want? You've been living your whole life trying to help this village-" and see what it's done for you, done to you "-and I don't think anyone would blame for if you needed to get away from it all, even if only for a little bit."

Kinoto stiffened, and his face was suddenly painted with an ugly grin. "What, like Raiden? Not all of us can just run away from our problems."

"Don't you dare," Tonbo snarled, slamming his cup back down on the table. "Don't do that to him. Don't discredit him like that. Yeah, you joined ROOT to get stronger and protect the village, but in case you forgot, most of us didn't have a choice! Raiden was literally born into it, and if I hadn't joined I would have been dead within a month. Not everyone got the same opportunities as you, so don't go standing on the moral high ground just because Raiden didn't want to stick around when the dust started to settle. He had every right to make that choice, and he deserves better than to have you smear his name just because you're jealous!"

There was a ringing silence. Kinoto made a broken sound, like the desperate gasping for air of a drowning man.

"H-he's my partner," Kinoto whispered hoarsely. "He's my partner."

Tonbo stood resolute, refusing to bend even in the face of such pain. "Then go find him, and tell him that."

I'm tired of watching you wither away. I'm still working on finding my place in this world, but I refuse to let it bury you too.

/=\

When he saw Raiden again, he looked different. His hair was shorter, and he didn't bother wearing a cloak. He no longer tried to avert his eyes, had stopped trying to fold himself away or smother his personality into something smaller, more manageable.

He looked happy.

"Uh, hi," Kinoto said, giving a short wave. He had a sudden flashback to the first time they had met, remembered being just as awkward and uncertain then.

"Kinoto?" Raiden gawked, eyes wide with disbelief. "Why are you here? Did you get sent out on a mission or something?"

"No, I was just, uh," he dug into the sand with the toe his boot, feeling a bit foolish. "I wanted to find you?"

When there was no reply, he looked up. Raiden had the most torn look on his face, half between wonder and suspicion. Kinoto didn't blame him. Their parting had not been kind.

"Really?" he asked, and in that moment his voice was so small.

"Really," Kinoto said firmly, when they both knew he couldn't have answered anything else. "If you're willing to put up with me again, I'd like to stay."

With you, was the unspoken words, but they both heard it clearly.

"Well, if you insist," Raiden said with a teasing grin, and suddenly it felt like something in his heart just clicked back into place.

Later that night, they were sitting on the edge of a beach. Kinoto had never seen the stars reflected in the ocean before. There was a lot of things he hadn't seen before. Was this what Raiden had been doing, all this time alone? Discovering these things about the world, about himself?

"Hey, Kin?"

Kinoto made an enquiring noise and looked over, tightening his grip on Raiden's hand. The younger shinobi had never looked quite as happy as when he was staring up at the starry night sky.

"Have you ever thought about what it would be like to fly?"

notes:

Well, here we are! Finally at the end. It's kinda strange, really. I had no idea that I was gonna make it this far! I had the story all planned out before I started writing, but as I was working a ton of twists and turns popped up that I had never anticipated!

So, I want to thank you all so much for sticking with me. It meant so much to me to see your comments and reactions. I managed to have some very pleasant conversations because of this story, and I'm incredibly grateful for that.

Thanks again, and I hope you enjoyed Raiden's story! Have a lovely new year, and I'll see you all in 2017. xx

(and hey! if you feel like learning some of the behind the scenes stuff on this story, check out my tumblr- [mm-mendell] I'll be doing a little 'in review' thing to talk about the story's stats and what the writing process was like!)