The draft of this chapter was at half its current length this evening when I finally had the time to prepare it for posting, and I really wanted to write more for it so... yeah. XD Now I can has longer chapter yay! Hope you'll like it. :D

HAPPYYYYYYYYYY BIRTHDAYYYYYYYYYY TOOOOOOOOOO MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE XD

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And you, too, are home.

They held each other close for a long time, not wanting to let go just yet and content to stay that way, in that comfortable quietness.

"You know, sensei..." Naruto finally spoke, the tip of his nose brushing by Kakashi's ear, and the jounin almost shivered. "I really must demand compensation."

Kakashi reluctantly pulled away to stare at him, confused. "Compensation?"

"Yes, compensation! For, uh, emotional distress!" Naruto crossed his arms and glared at him. "After we get back to Konoha you have to treat me to ramen every day, train with me, spend lots of time with me and be my bolster when I sleep..." Kakashi opened his mouth to protest, bewildered, but Naruto just talked over him. " – and you must never do this again, no arguments allowed, because you're an idiot with a death wish and you keep trying to sacrifice yourself and so as compensation for making me go through all this you have to stay alive! And healthy! And be happy! IS THAT CLEAR?"

"A-aa... um..." Kakashi sweated a little and drooped nervously as the increasingly indignant and intimidating blond loomed over him. "Yes..."

"Great!" Naruto exclaimed cheerfully and grabbed his arm as though intending to drag him off right then – (and Kakashi recalled, with some apprehension that was quickly turning into alarm, how he had often seen his own sensei by a certain temperamental redhead in a similar manner) – but froze in shock after turning around and spotting a very familiar group of people.

"There you are!"

"What're the two of you – "

"Eep!"

"Wait, what?"

And Naruto promptly fell flat on his ass.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH?"

Kakashi staggered a little, almost falling over as well, and winced. Then sat down anyway, because there was no avoiding what came next –

"I knew it."

Twelve (or rather, eleven-and-a-half) pairs of eyes instantly snapped to Tenten, the one who had said those... Deeply Meaningful Words (as described by Lee), and there was a collective blink.

Naruto's face turned scarlet. Kakashi chose not to look at their highly entertained (and unwanted) audience, ignoring someone's loud "AHA!" – and the fact that his own face was in much the same state.

And amidst the giggles, stares and raised eyebrows of their fellow Konoha-nin, Kakashi sighed. He rested his chin on a head of wild blond hair, wrapping his arms around an embarrassed and squirming Naruto, then solemnly pretended to sleep.

Ah. At least his mask hid most of his face...

...Which was especially useful when Naruto finally decided that, argh, enough was enough, and ran off to find some privacy with Kakashi in his arms – because if he had to die of embarrassment he could at least make sure he wasn't the only one, and Kakashi's expression when he pulled down the mask to steal a kiss was priceless.

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"Um, sorry about earlier," Naruto muttered, scratching lightly at his cheek with a sheepish grin. "As in, just now, or maybe not really just now but I mean it's still kind of recent. Er." Kakashi stared at him patiently. "...Uh, right! Y'know, after you saved me from my own Oodama Rasengan and I, er, ehehehehe... I guess I was kind of... forceful, sorry."

"I don't actually mind," came the amused reply, after which Naruto turned bright red and flailed wildly at him.

"...A-anyway," he said hurriedly. "I just remembered something – Tajuu Kage Bunshin!" Kakashi blinked as the whole area was filled with swarms and swarms of Narutos, who all seemed determined to leave no rock unturned. The original Naruto also rushed off to join them, a cloud of dust following him and his over-enthusiasm.

"Naruto?" the confused jounin called, but at the same time there was a loud triumphant yell of "Aha! Found it!" – and the blond came rushing back while all his Kage Bunshin dispelled themselves. He skidded to a stop before Kakashi, and grabbed the travelling cloak to wipe something vigorously on its (relatively cleaner) side.

"You dropped this," Naruto said quietly as he leaned over to tie Kakashi's hitai-ate somewhat loosely onto his head, then tugged it down to its usual angle.

He blinked.

Oh.

"And there's also this," Naruto added, pulling out a pair of silver bells from his pocket and shaking them lightly. The bells swung on the ends of two red strings tied in a knot, and with a wide grin Naruto bounced them off the metal plate of Kakashi's hitai-ate. "We should go home soon, sensei – oof!"

He seemed surprised to be pulled into a sudden hug, tumbling off-balance onto the ground, but Kakashi only smiled and held on.

"Thanks," he murmured, chuckling softly, while Naruto's startled laughter went half-muffled into his shoulder.

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"I think you've made me realise something," Kakashi murmured, patting Naruto's golden hair. "Konoha," he said slowly, "Should not be built solely on death and sacrifice. It should be built on people's bonds with each other, as well as their hopes and dreams."

"Yeah," came the quiet reply. "And what I want to protect... is exactly that. The people we care about, the true Will of Fire, the future."

He smiled as the village's gates slowly came into view.

"Konoha is home. You, too, are home."

fin.

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AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH IT REALLY ENDED /BAWLS

I like to write pushy!Naruto sometimes. 8D We all know Minato was totally henpecked, and never won a single argument until the end... and Kakashi won't fare much better~ ^Q^ Pluuuuuuuus, a ranting Naruto is always way too much fun to write. :D :D :D And Kushina is AWESOME. She just is. ;u;

A bit of irony in how despite what Kakashi promised Naruto as "compensation for emotional distress", he still went ahead and sacrificed himself fighting against Pain. GAH

Windchime, Sky and Regret (upcoming) can be sort of taken as partly within the same continuity? ...Well, Regret will definitely be the counterpart to Sky, while Windchime can serve as a half-prequel to Sky. Maybe. :3

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who has read all the way up to the last chapter, and I really hope you enjoyed this fic. I loved writing it. I love this pairing. I love those two idiots. ;_;

THANK YOU FOR READING!

~rakku^^