Well, here we are.

Naruto was on his way home (it was still a little strange to think of that apartment as home). It was a cold February day, the stores lining his path all proudly displaying their Valentine Day wares. He barely spared them a glance as he shifted his bag, much lighter now than it had been when he left earlier.

He made his way carefully, eyeing the dark sky, wondering if it was going to rain like the news that morning had said it would. It was too cold to be stuck in the pouring rain, and he had completely forgotten to grab his umbrella before he had raced out of the apartment.

If it rained on him, he'd get sick for sure.

His lips twitched upward.

But then, that's how they'd met, wasn't it? Not that he really remembered that first meeting. But it had been rain that had driven them together. Him and Sasuke.

He glanced down at his bag.

It was a fairly new purchase, a nice expensive name brand black bag. Something to carry his manuscript to the publisher's in.

It had actually been kind of disgustingly easy, getting published. Partly because he was Namikaze Minato's son, partly because he was connected to the Uchiha, he had quickly found himself getting offers, even before he had revealed he was finishing his father's work.

At first, the publisher just wanted to see if Naruto was interested in writing up something for a new edition of his father's last book. He had been surprised to get that phone call. He had met the man a few times, but didn't know him too well, his father's editor, a pleasant man named Umino Iruka.

The conversation then turned to how the whole incident would make a great story, especially if Naruto could turn it into a memoir of some sort. It was all so scandalous. New information about all of the dealings the Namikaze had been involved in were coming out every day.

"Ah," Naruto fidgeted nervously, looking up at the ceiling in slight embarrassment. "About that."

"Hm?" Iruka had asked, smiling comfortably. They were meeting in Ichiraku at Naruto's suggestion, and the man seemed to like the food.

"Well, actually…" Naruto swallowed thickly. "You probably know, Iruka-san, my father was working on a book at the… when it happened."

Iruka nodded. "Yes, I recall. I was fortunate to have read a bit of it." He sighed. "A great loss."

"Oh, well… I actually have it. I'm almost done."

Iruka blinked at him for a long while, a vacant sort of smile on his face. "Eh?"

Naruto scratched at the back of his head. "Y-yeah. Apparently, my dad gave it to Ero-er, Jiraiya, before it happened. Jiraiya gave it to me, and I figured, I could probably finish it." Naruto sat up straighter. "I mean, I don't know how much you read, and I know it won't be nearly as good as if my dad had written it, but he left good notes! And I've read everything he's ever written, and I knew him really well! And especially with all this recent stuff, I mean, I could probably write, like, ten more books with all the craziness the Namikaze were involved in. And Orchimaru! Like, he could get twenty volumes all by himself!"

Naruto was aware he was rambling, but he just couldn't seem to stop himself. It was really embarrassing, now, as he spoke it all aloud, and Iruka, kind, quiet, Iruka, was still giving him that vacant smile, like his soul had gone out of him in shock.

So, as Naruto usually did in those kinds of awkwardly silent situations, he proceeded to fill it with whatever came to mind. Usually it was a bunch of random crap, this time he actually had a proper topic! He was unstoppable!

"I mean, I was really relieved the Namikaze hadn't gotten them. But I was really surprised when Jiraiya brought them to me. There's all kinds of notes and stuff. And a bunch of bits and pieces of other started stuff. My dad really was amazing. I always enjoyed reading his stuff. Unfortunately not everything is there, but a lot of it is! Like, really! Plus, there was the letter-"

"Naruto-kun," Iruka finally managed, coming back to himself and sitting up straighter. "Are you telling me," he spoke more slowly, apparently still trying to piece it all together, "that you have Minato sensei's unfinished work, and you're… finishing it?"

"Eh? Isn't that what I said?"

Iruka jumped up. "I have to call my boss. Naruto-kun, how close are you to finishing?"

"Eh? Um… not sure. Maybe another couple of weeks? I mean, it's just a draft."

Iruka nodded. "Bring me what you have to the office. Or no, I'll stop by your place to pick it up. Naruto, this is wonderful. Amazing! Minato sensei's unfinished work, completed by his son! It'll be a bestseller for sure!"

He was suddenly full of energy, and Naruto felt bad thinking it probably wasn't nearly as great as Iruka-san was thinking. Sure, that all sounded good, but what would he say once he actually read it?

Naruto had been in school for literature, but he didn't have the skill his father did. He just hoped he wasn't completely ruining it. Sasuke seemed to like it, and that did mean something to him, but he also knew Sasuke loved him and knew saying it was awful would hurt Naruto. So while he wasn't usually easily pleasable or wasn't one to usually sugarcoat things, who knew what he'd do when it came to someone he actually loved.

So Naruto wasn't sure he could entirely believe that.

He had considered having Jiraiya or Kakashi, or hell even Itachi, read it, but that scared him for other reasons. For now, Sasuke was really the only one he was comfortable showing it to.

But Iruka was already on the phone, talking insanely fast to his boss, who Naruto could almost hear just as clearly as Iruka, so loud and excited was he. Well, he figured, as he watched, that's what editors were for, right? To tell you it's crap and then help you fix it?

Naruto shrugged, then went back to eating his ramen.

That was end of January. He had finished the draft the day before and now taken it to Iruka's office, and Iruka had sat with him in a tiny cube as the man read to the end. He wasn't sure what to think of the sniffling he heard from Iruka as the man reached the last page, but he hoped it wasn't tears of disappointment.

They had enjoyed a nice talk after that, and it really did sound like they were planning on publishing it. He couldn't help but hope, now as he walked home in the cold, that he wouldn't disappoint his father's fans. That he wouldn't put out something that would shame his father.

But then, there was the letter.

It had taken him a while to get through all of his father's notes. All of the things he had left behind. After hearing what the Namikaze had done, Naruto had decided to go through them all again. And as he looked at the notes with new eyes, he realized something. They weren't really notes for a story, they were memories. Notes to recall.

He'd had to stop and sit back for a little while, just taking it in.

When he had resumed his search, he noticed a small scrap of paper at the bottom of the box. Something he had missed before.

When he opened it, his eyes went wide.

A letter.

A letter handwritten by his father.

Addressed to him.

He put it down, took deep breaths. He stood, paced, then went back to the table. He glanced down at it, turned to pace again.

A handwritten letter for him from his father. What could it say? Could he handle reading it?

He bit his lip, then returned to stare down at it again. Such a small, innocuous little piece of paper.

Finally, he gathered his courage and picked it up, opened it.

And then he read.

Naruto-

I can only imagine what you must be thinking right now.

There's so much I want to say. But I suppose first, I should apologize.

There's so much I wanted to tell you. So much I think you needed to hear, but I never could say it. One thing you definitely need to know, I love you. Your mother, too, she loved you more than anything.

Naruto, you might not understand, but I wanted to give you what I could. I gave this box to Jiraiya sensei for you, and I hope, once you've read everything in here, that you'll understand. I know better than anyone, you aren't as dumb as you pretend to be. But maybe I shouldn't be writing that in a goodbye letter, huh?

I think… this is a goodbye letter, Naruto. I have a bad feeling. Maybe it's a writer's intuition. I've written a lot of stories, and I can feel a 'the end' coming. And I'm sorry about that. But so long as you're safe, and happy, then I think it can be a happy end.

I'm entrusting all of this to you. I know you can handle it. I'm sure you, my son, can see the truth in it.

So that's it, I suppose.

But if I can ask one thing of you, Naruto?

Just be happy.

Dad

It had taken a long while to get himself back together after he'd read it. It had been a while since he had last cried so much. And he couldn't help but wonder, how long before it happened had he written it?

He sighed heavily, just as he felt a drop hit his face. He looked up at the thick clouds, and another drop of water got him in the eye. He rubbed it and started sprinting, just as the sky opened and the droplets all began a race to see which would reach the ground first (trophy to the ones who got Naruto soaked the most).

The apartment building Konoha Villa came into view, and Naruto made a run for it, clutching his now empty bag close as he reached the doorway and rushed inside.

By the time he made it to his door, he was dripping and shaking. He brushed wet blond bangs out of his eyes and fumbled in his pocket for the keys. He opened the door, noting the warmth of the room- Mariko-san must have turned the heat on. She was a married woman now, but she was still the maid- and dumped his shoes and bag by the door. He pulled off his socks as he made his way further in, shedding his jacket and scarf somewhere along the way.

A quick bath and change of clothes later, he was back in the kitchen, hunting for something warm to drink. He haphazardly turned the TV on, letting the noise of random commercials fill the room.

His phone rang and he answered, putting it on speaker and placing it next to his picture of ramen on the counter, then turned back to his mission of something warm.

"Yeah?"

"What are you doing?" Kiba's voice filled the room.

"Mm, looking for something warm to drink. I got soaked." He pulled out some hot chocolate mix and milk, then set to work warming it.

"Moron. Didn't you have an umbrella? They've been saying it was gonna rain for days."

"I know. Just forgot."

"You'll get sick."

"'s fine. Sasuke's got money. He can even afford baa-chan."

"Fine. But if you get laid up, don't expect me to visit."

"Whatever. You'd show up anyway, just to use my TV."

"Like you said, your guy has money. He should share the wealth."

"He is. With me. Mutt."

Kiba snorted into the phone. "Whatever. So how'd the book thing go?"

Naruto shrugged as his milk began to boil. "Alright, I guess. I think they really plan on publishing it."

"Ehhh?" He could hear Kiba fussing with his dog. "Seriously? Are they crazy?"

Naruto pouted, then sighed. "Maybe. I think they think they can make a lot of money off of it. Even if it isn't good."

"Have they said it's not good?"

"Not really. But Iruka-san is super really nice. Ugh, I really hope it's not awful. I'd feel so guilty making him have to tell me it's bad. I can just imagine how bad he'd feel."

"Then you should have written it better."

"I tried to! Do you have any idea how hard it is to write? Especially when it's dad's stuff." Naruto sighed as he pulled the milk off of the stove and began putting his hot chocolate together. He realized belatedly he should have just gone to the bookstore so Temari-san could make it for him. She made delicious hot chocolate.

He shrugged, then picked up his phone as he headed over to the couch. Once he was seated he switched off speaker and lounged, taking furtive sips as Kiba rambled on. "If you weren't happy with it, you shouldn't have taken it to them yet."

Naruto scowled. "But Sasuke said I'd never be happy with it. That it was better to take it and let Iruka do his job."

"Loverboy said that? Or wait, was that Sugar Daddy? What were we calling him?"

"We're not calling him any of those things! Geez."

Kiba laughed, and the conversation turned to other things as Naruto flipped channels, drank his hot chocolate and bickered with his friend. But his mind kept drifting back to what he had written, wondering if it was really okay as he'd left it.

He thought it was a good ending. And as he had told Iruka before, there was still lots more he could write in later books. His father had so many notes left hanging, too. And pieces he had started. His notes were nearly endless.

But they weren't endless. Naruto fiddled with the empty mug as the thought hit him again.

He liked working on his father's books. It made him feel like they were still connected. He could hear his father speaking through them. But then, maybe that was the point.

He just knew, if he could, he wanted to spend the rest of his life writing them.

He took a deep breath.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Hm? Oh, falling asleep," Naruto murmured.

"Stupid," Kiba grumbled. "Oh, shit! Look at that rain!"

"Eh?" Naruto turned to look out of the window, and sure enough, the rain was falling in torrents, blocking out the normally clear and wide view of Tokyo.

"Sure looks like it's gonna be a crazy storm," Kiba grumbled.

"Yeah." Naruto checked the time. "Hey, Sasuke should be getting home soon. I'll talk to you later."

"Huh? But he's not back yet, right?"

"Not yet. Later."

"Wha-" But he hung up the phone and quickly sat up. He was feeling energy bubbling up again, and he rushed to put on shoes and his jacket.

Soon he was standing by the front door of Konoha Villa, waiting for the first sign of him, watching for his car to pull in and park.

He didn't wait long, and he rushed out into the pouring rain.

Sasuke was hurrying to get out of the storm, holding up his umbrella to stop as many of the drops as he could, even as the wind picked up and tried to push it away. Naruto could see his scowl already, and he grinned.

Then Sasuke turned his gaze forward and their eyes met.

Sasuke's dark eyes widened, and Naruto wondered if he was thinking of the day they'd met. His grin grew.

"Welcome home," he said.

"Tch, idiot. You'll get sick." Sasuke leaned forward, covering them both with his umbrella, their lips meeting for a brief moment.

"I'm home."

The End

*Cries* How long did it take me to finish this? Geez…

But, as promised, I finished it! I probably left some stuff hanging, but this is everything I really wanted to do for this story. I hope you all enjoyed it, and thanks for sticking with me, especially with that five year hiatus!

Ayakashi will resume next week, for those interested.

And finally...

End note: It didn't come up, but the 'final nail', for those of you curious… It was a list of every visible and invisible ally of the Namikaze. .One. Telling the Namikaze they have nowhere left to go. The Uchiha had them completely trapped. Yup