[ Haiku (c) Matsuo Basho ]

Epilogue:

Three Little Words

While Kakashi still hadn't quite fully grasped the convoluted logic of how he was the one taking Naruto out on a date when the blonde was the one cooking the meal, choosing the spot where they would eat, as well as literally taking them both there, he also wasn't about to give himself a headache trying to figure it out. Besides, it was Naruto's birthday, so in that respect it made perfect sense that he was the one to pick where he wanted to go and what he wanted to eat. Unfortunately, the only contributions Kakashi seemed capable of offering was a small blanket to sit on, a thermos of tea, a bottle of plum wine - which Naruto had technically paid for... - and a few miscellaneous items he was fairly sure he'd be able to make use of.

When they arrived in a secluded little nook along the top of the Hokage Monument cliffs half an hour before sunset, he smiled and shook his head as Naruto trotted forward to the drop-off and flung his arms out wide with a beaming grin. Kakashi had to admit it was the perfect spot. The spires of rock and scattered trees afforded privacy and a decent windbreak, and the area itself was borderline inaccessible to anyone but a Jounin or someone capable of flight. Walking to the edge of the cliff as he hooked his fingers under the strap over his shoulder, he looked out across the village and stuffed his other hand in his pocket.

"Best view in the whole world," Naruto preened, setting his own knapsack down and sidling up next to the Jounin.

"That it is," he chuckled, leaning over and nipping at the back of Naruto's neck. "Glad I thought of it."

"Pfft, whatever," Naruto snickered, nudging his shoulder into Kakashi's. "You'd have picked somewhere just as good."

"True. We'd have been eating take-out in my apartment, but I still would have gotten the best view in the world," Kakashi said smugly, kissing the end of Naruto's nose as he scrunched it up in confusion a moment before his blue eyes widened and his face blushed scarlet. "Mmm...that color does suit you," he grinned, dragging the tip of a finger across the bridge of Naruto's nose and over his darkened cheek. It was an endless well of delight being able to fluster the young man so easily.

"Sitting on the floor and eating out of a disposable box is not allowed on Date Night," Naruto sputtered, drawing himself up in embarrassed indignation.

"It's downright adorable how you say 'Date Night' like it's a national holiday," he teased, playfully ruffling the gold hair. "Are there any other rules and regulations that I need to be aware of before we commence with the ceremonies?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact there are," Naruto growled, making a valiant attempt at scowling while his lips twitched and curved in frustrated amusement. "The first rule is that we will never, under ANY circumstances, miss Date Night."

"Well, that's a pretty intimidating first rule," Kakashi said, taking a deep breath against the torrent of logic looming over him and telling him that agreeing would just be lying. He glanced out at the village before looking back at Naruto, something inside him breaking at the glimmer of unsure hesitation in those eyes. "But if it's going to be an annual event on this night, then we should both be able to pull enough strings to make it happen," he smiled softly, tugging the shorter man into his arms and convincing himself that he really did have the ability and resources to make it home for Naruto's birthday every year.

"That's right, we will," Naruto sighed in relief, resting his cheek in the hollow of the Jounin's shoulder as he looped his arms around Kakashi's waist. "The second rule is that we take it seriously; absolutely no cheap pre-packaged cardboard meals, and no take-out if it can be avoided. If we're going to get food from a restaurant, then we should eat it there."

"You do realize that includes cup ramen, right?" Kakashi drawled, letting the fingers of one hand trace idle paths across Naruto's back.

"Cup ramen is-"

"A pre-packaged cardboard meal in a disposable box..."

"Damn it, fine! I am willing to make that sacrifice for one day of the year, so you better appreciate it," Naruto huffed, tipping his chin up so he could glare at the man. "The third rule is that all other rules will be made up as we go."

"And the punishment for breaking the rules?"

"No 'dessert'."

"Ouch, that's cruel," Kakashi winced.

"Then you better follow the rules," Naruto smirked, unwinding his arms and reaching for the knapsack on the ground. "Why don't you have a seat, and I'll-"

"Nope," Kakashi said, yanking Naruto back and spinning him around so he was facing the open view. "I'm the one taking you out on this date, remember? So, you have a seat over here, watch the scenery in that direction," he said, pointing out at the village. "And I'll get everything set up."

"At least let me help with-"

"Rule number four: No peeking," he interrupted again, gripping the top of Naruto's head and halting him from turning around.

"Why, what are you going to-"

"No 'dessert'..." Kakashi murmured against Naruto's ear, fighting back the urge to cackle and nibble at the swiftly reddening lobe.

"Stupid rules," Naruto groused, hunching his shoulders and flumping to the ground so he could dangle his feet off the edge of the cliff and bang his heels on the rock. "Rule five says we can argue against any unfair rules."

"You can argue all you want to as long as you don't peek," Kakashi said amiably, digging into his knapsack for the blanket so he could spread it over the ground just behind Naruto. "And asking Kurama to spy for you is cheating," he said, grinning at the guilty little noise coming from the blonde. He placed the drinks and cups on the blanket before continuing. "The same goes for clones or summons."

"How do you do that?!" Naruto demanded resentfully.

"I told you before, you're transparent," he chuckled, stepping over to pick up the bag with the food and tapped the top of Naruto's head with his finger. "I can hear you thinking."

"Oh yeah? Well, then you can just listen to this," Naruto grated, folding his arms and falling into a petulant sulking silence.

Kakashi set the bento boxes out and hummed thoughtfully as he rifled through his knapsack for the stack of marker tags he'd taken from his mission supply pouch. "While I'm not saying I'd never like to give bondage and hardcore sadomasochism a try...it's a little early in our relationship to be jumping right into the rough stuff, don't you think?" He mused wickedly, then pitched his voice into a coy scolding tone. "And you call me a pervert."

"THAT IS NOT WHAT I MEANT!" Naruto railed, steam practically smoking from his ears.

"This coming from the man who gave me page 30 as a 'prize for the winner'," Kakashi replied with droll humor, placing the rectangle pieces of paper around the blanket and activating the seals on them with a minuscule flare of chakra so they glowed a warm orange. They were designed for use in caves and unlit tunnels, so they would last a few hours before the stored chakra within the seals burned out.

"Th-that was different!"

"'Why so scrawny, cat? / Starving for fat fish or mice... / Or backyard love?'" Kakashi quoted dryly, taking out a pair of senbon needles and piercing them through the center of the blanket a few feet away from each other.

"I meant the circumstances were different," Naruto grumbled.

"How so?" Kakashi laughed, wrapping two of the marker tags around the ends of the senbon before activating them.

"Do you still have it?"

"Of course I do," he replied, standing and tilting his head so he could eye his work critically. Well, it wasn't exactly a romantic candle-lit dinner in the traditional sense, but it was a fair substitute.

"Do you still have the other two?"

Kakashi couldn't answer, the words got caught in his throat and he had to swallow them back down where they settled like a hard lump in the center of his chest. He looked at Naruto with a sad dawning surprise that ached and burned like frostbite under his skin, and he stepped over to the seated figure. Naruto was looking down over Konoha, absently tapping his heels on the cliff side with his hands loosely laced together in his lap. The sunlight was turning everything bronze, and suddenly it all felt ethereal; beautiful and frightening.

An irrational part of his mind started to get genuinely scared that if he reached out to touch Naruto, his hand would pass right through him. It didn't make sense, it was absurd, but it didn't stop the shiver of fear that got his heart stumbling into a quicker pace. Even though Naruto was the transparent one, Kakashi knew he was the ghost. Ghosts weren't supposed to be able to exist in the sunlight, which was why it was so terrifying, but he could feel himself being drawn in like a moth to a flame as the silence continued to hum in the air.

It was peaceful here, right on the borderlands of chaos and nothingness where ghosts could walk in the sunshine, and he let himself be pulled in by words that weren't spoken and the actions that weren't made because Naruto had a gift for radiating and broadcasting his feelings without ever having to make a sound or move a muscle. Or maybe he was just good at reading the blonde. Kakashi smiled and sat down behind Naruto so he could slide his legs over the edge of the cliff, wrap his arms around that warm solid body, and lean in to breathe in the scent of life.

"Of course you do," Naruto chuckled softly, melting into the embrace with complete surrender.

"You know me too well," Kakashi said quietly, languishing in the sensation of having that vibrant body sinking into his arms and fitting so perfectly against him.

"No, I don't," Naruto grinned and canted his head back to look up at the Jounin. "But I'm working on it."

Kakashi drank in the sight of that smile for a moment, not bothering to hide the tender echo quirking at his own lips. "The food's going to get cold," he said, counting on Naruto to get them both up and moving because he sure as hell wouldn't mind staying just like they were forever.

"Then get up, you goofball," Naruto ordered, squirming and untangling himself so he could push the both of them to their feet. "I worked hard on dinner this time, and we're not going to...eat it...cold..." His words slowed to a stop as he stared at the little picnic, a delicate shade of pink creeping across his face.

"In that case, please allow me to show you to your seat," Kakashi said, feeling a ridiculous surge of giddiness as he took Naruto's hand and swept his other arm out with a flourish. Naruto almost tripped on the first step he took, but he recovered with a bright excited laugh and was instantly dancing forward to pull Kakashi down to sit on the blanket. "I take it that this means rule four won't be argued against and stricken from the books?"

"Well, I'll probably argue against it every time," Naruto shrugged helplessly, grinning from ear to ear as he crossed his legs and almost bounced in place. "But it's definitely there to stay."

"Glad to hear it," he said as he poured a modest amount of plum wine into two cups. "I realize you still have a year to go before you can legally marinate yourself in alcohol, but if this is an official date, then we should have an official toast with an official drink."

"What should we toast to?" Naruto asked, taking the offered cup and sniffing the contents curiously.

"It's your birthday, you pick something."

"Hmm..." Naruto narrowed his eyes contemplatively for a few long seconds, then nodded once and straightened his shoulders as he held out his cup. "This is a toast to you."

"Eh?" Kakashi blinked, his hand stopping just shy of tinking their glasses together, and he felt some of the wine splash onto his fingers at the abrupt halt.

"For giving me the best birthday present ever," Naruto said, tilting a smile that made Kakashi's insides turn to a mushy pool of heated goop.

"I...didn't actually get you a gift..."

"The sixth rule," Naruto said, shifting forward onto his knees and hooking his elbow around Kakashi's forearm. "Is that a toast cannot be disputed," he continued, his smile hitching into a softly playful angle as he pulled the Jounin toward him.

"Ah...well..." Kakashi trailed off as he felt an embarrassing flush of color prickling at his cheeks, then laughed and shook his head before leaning into the gentle insistent tug on his forearm so he could hook his elbow at Naruto's properly. "Alright then."

He took a sip of the wine as Naruto did the same, relishing in the awkwardly comfortable position. The whim struck him randomly as he let his gaze linger on the way Naruto tended to almost kiss the rim of the cup. Without a second thought, he darted his free hand out to grip the back of Naruto's neck as he lunged forward and captured those lips before Naruto swallowed. Not that he was an avid drinker, but in that single moment he could honestly say that plum wine had never tasted so good.

While the rest of the date didn't go flawlessly, it did follow an imperfect winding path of feeling just right. The clouds in the distance that allowed the sunset to paint the sky with a vivid array of stunning color rolled in to block the stars as the wind shifted. They were chased home by the sudden cold rain, and spent the remainder of the evening curled under the blankets to stave off the rapidly plummeting temperatures outside. Kakashi made sure Naruto stayed very warm, and took his time licking the sweat off his skin when things got too hot. It felt like he was snuggled under a kotatsu when they both finally dropped off to sleep with their limbs tangled and wrapped around each other, and it made him feel deliciously muzzy and drunk despite knowing it had nothing to do with the one glass of wine he'd had hours earlier.

When Naruto's clone returned the next morning with a fresh set of clothes, he also brought an envelope that had been slipped under the door to the young man's apartment. The card and accompanying four page letter that Iruka had written absorbed Naruto's attention for the better part of an hour while Kakashi made breakfast, and he was okay with it. Iruka was a very special person in the blonde's life, and he was never going to compete with that. So, he truly did understand on some deep level when Naruto looked up with teary smiling eyes and simply said 'He knows I'm happy!'.

The following weeks were, without a doubt, the best and most awkward Kakashi had ever experienced. One of the defining moments was while he was out shopping by himself, when the little old woman at his favorite vegetable stand actually stood up on the crate she used as a chair and started throwing a collection of unsellable wrinkled potatoes at a trio of youngsters making snide remarks literally right behind his back. What was even more shocking was the diminutive grandmother's unparalleled accuracy and unexpected strength if the wailing complaints of the retreating teenagers were anything to go by. He offered to pay for the wasted vegetables, but she shook her head and tossed an extra eggplant into his bag with a satisfied toothless smile.

Things settled into a rhythm of grudging acceptance from the people who were most opposed to the open pairing after a few months, when hateful rumors continued to be brought viciously to task so they were stopped, and it remained clearly obvious that neither of the men were going to break off from the relationship, nor were they going to run rampant throughout the streets fornicating in public and corrupting the younger generation. Although, there was a small faction - mostly made up of women - that were somewhat disappointed by that... Regardless, the world did not end. War did not break out. Trade relations with other villages and countries did not stop. Life simply went about its business and kept plugging along, heedless of the fact that two somewhat famous people had decided to spend a great deal of time together.

They both made it back to the village for Date Night the next year, and for five more years after that there was only one time that they were forced to break the rules and eat ration bars behind the muddied walls of an emergency shelter several hours from home. Dessert that night was just being able to see each other for a few minutes, crusted and weighted down with the tragedy and muck of trying to rescue people from the mud slides and floods ravaging the countryside. Kakashi thought Naruto's eyes had never looked so blue, shining from his dirty face with an unbreakable will and coiling readiness to get right back out there into the thick of things.

Naruto thought Kakashi had never looked so strong, covered in mud with his shoulders straight and his head tilted subtly to listen for the call that would send them out into the never ending rains again. The alliances carefully cultivated over the years proved their worth in spades that terrible autumn, and every hidden village answered Tsunade's plea for help. The following year she announced her intention to retire, and on October 10th Uzumaki Naruto was officially indoctrinated as the Rokudaime Hokage at the age of 26.

After the ceremonies were over, Naruto retreated to his office. And holy shit it was HIS OFFICE! The fact that he'd chosen all the furniture, and had moved everything into the room two days before did nothing to dampen his soaring elation at knowing THIS WAS HIS OFFICE AS HOKAGE OF KONOHA! He took a deep breath, flicking the brim of his wide hat so it canted at an impish angle and swept his hands down the sides of his robe. He'd stayed with the traditional white on the outside while the inside was dark brown. But the rich orange trim of flames at the cuffs of the long sleeves reached up to his elbows, and the ones at the bottom hem came nearly to his waist, so he was more than pleased with the compromise of tradition and his own style.

Now...if only Kakashi would hurry up and get there for their date, his day would be perfectly complete. Leaning back against his desk, he tipped his head back and gazed impatiently at the ceiling. He could just feel the whisper of chakra coming from the two ANBU agents hidden up there, and he knew it was because they were deliberately sending out little pulses like heartbeats to let him know they were there. He chewed on his lip thoughtfully, wondering when he'd be able to read and remember the individual chakra signatures so he could identify the invisible operatives without having to call out and ask for their names.

Speaking of names, he was going to have to brush up on his mythology about real or imagined animals if he wanted to carry on the weird ANBU naming tradition Konoha followed. He had just pushed off the desk with a frustrated sigh when the two ANBU abruptly spiked their chakra as if startled, then cycled it down with calculated deliberation before they vanished completely. Naruto scowled and sifted through his memory. He was pretty sure that signal meant they had gone off duty...or at least that they weren't going to hover over his head anymore.

He huffed and crossed his arms. They could have at least told him why they'd left, because he sure as hell didn't have the whole rolodex of subtle codes they used memorized yet! He felt the air pressure change behind him, and he whirled around in surprise, his robes flaring out around his legs. ...but there wasn't anyone there. What the hell was going on?! He opened his mouth to start demanding answers of the walls when he caught the reflection in the window just over his shoulder. His mouth stayed open and his heart sped up, but not a sound came out.

No. Fucking. Way!

He had to keep blinking and refocusing on the reflection, a large part of his mind insisting that what he was seeing wasn't real. It had taken him two years just to get Kakashi to tell him what his codename in ANBU had been. He shook his head, his brain continuing to deny everything until he finally gave up and turned around. It had taken three more years before the man was comfortable enough to be in the same room with the ANBU mask on open display next to his fish tank. Doubt crowded into his head as he gaped at the tall figure decked out in grey and black, and he darted his gaze to the fish tank setting on a small table next to his desk.

The mask should have been there, he'd put it there. He'd seen it when he'd walked into his office, he clearly remembered that! But it wasn't there, and a little chill ran through him because now he couldn't remember what the ANBU standing right in front of him looked like! FUCK! Whipping his gaze back to the man, he sagged a bit in relief. He knew that mask, he knew that hair, and he knew every damn inch of that body. But even as his eyes strayed down to drink in the enticing sight, his mind hit the panic button again, second-guessing what he'd just seen because he couldn't quite remember the pattern painted on the mask or the hair color clearly.

Logically, Naruto knew that his bizarre inability to hold onto details about what KAKASHI looked like was a trick that all ANBU were trained in. It was a manipulation of their own presence and chakra, dimming everything down to present themselves to the world in a state of near non-existence. Any ANBU was capable of walking down the middle of a crowded street in broad daylight without anyone noticing them, and if someone did, they never remembered anything significant. That's because an ANBU was a shadow's ghost, and only another ANBU would be able to really see them when they were trying not to be seen.

He shivered and bit his lip, the almost creepy but still thrilling excitement of hovering on the edge of being just not quite absolutely certain that the man standing in front of him was in fact Kakashi made his skin prickle with goose bumps as his pants got uncomfortably tight. Fighting the urge to order Kakashi to take the mask off and stop messing with him brought another tingling thrill. He was the Rokudaime Hokage. He had command over this man. He could tell Kakashi to do anything, and he would obey. The uniform wasn't there for show. Kakashi was ANBU, his will and his life were in the palm of Naruto's hand.

It was a heady feeling, trickling up his spine and whispering in his ears because he had never held so much power over a person before. And, seriously, what he wanted to do at that precise moment was command Kakashi to ravish him on every available surface until he couldn't see straight, because it was incomprehensibly unfair that the man was just standing there in front of him like sex on legs! He blinked to get his eyes to stop straying and making him continue to question the validity of the vision in his office, and his gaze landed on the ceiling. ...oh, dear god yes...EVERY available surface...

The insanely strong desire to lean back and insinuate himself against his desk with just the right movement so his robes fell off his shoulders was ruthlessly quelled. For over seven years he'd been fantasizing about this, and he'd never once said anything. Stretching out his arm, he slid his fingertips up the center of the flak jacket and hooked them at the top.

"Yosuzume," Naruto grinned, letting the name roll of his tongue with so much heat he had to lick his lips. "Summoner of the Okuri-Inu."

"Hokage-sama," Kakashi replied, his voice rich and rumbling with offers of every conceivable fantasy the blonde could come up with...and a wealth of so many more he couldn't even fathom because his brain was not working right.

Naruto's mouth dropped along with his shoulders, and he was dimly aware of feeling the material of his robe slide down to his elbows. "Oh my god, I'm screwed," he said dazedly. "I'll never be able to hear that title without needing a desk to hide behind."

"I apologize for any trouble I've caused you, Hokage-sama," Kakashi purred, moving forward with so much liquid grace that Naruto couldn't even recall the exact moment he had backed up and sat on his desk with Kakashi's gloved hands resting on the hardwood surface. "Is there anything I can do to make up for it?"

Naruto felt a breathy gasping laugh escape him that was on the verge of maniacal, and his brain just COULD NOT EVEN COMPUTE THIS DREAM COME TRUE! "You are so going to fuck me on the ceiling tonight."

"What?!" Kakashi laughed, straightening up and lifting his ANBU mask so it was perched on the side of his head.

"I don't know!" Naruto wailed, yanking his fingers at the top of the flak jacket and thumping his head into Kakashi's chest. "I can't even think! I just got everything I've ever wanted my whole life, and all I really want to do right now is sprawl out on the desk and tell you to have your way with me!"

"Well, I think I can arrange that," he chuckled, sliding his hips in between Naruto's thighs and lifting the blonde's chin with a finger. "But first I have to give you your present."

"Does it involve sex?"

"Unfortunately, no," Kakashi said dryly, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a familiar little jewelry box.

"You're giving me the Genin test bells again?" Naruto asked in confusion, holding out his hand.

"There was something I couldn't tell you when I gave them to you the first time," Kakashi said, placing the grey box on Naruto's palm. "These are the same bells your father used to test my team."

Naruto jerked his head up, his eyes widening as his fingers clenched around the small box.

"He gave them to me when I was recovering in the hospital after Rin's death," Kakashi continued quietly.

Naruto dropped his gaze back to the jewelry box and traced the seam before opening it carefully, too many feelings winding through him to make a response. And that was okay because he knew all Kakashi wanted at the moment was for him to listen.

"Minato-sensei received them from Jiraiya-sama when he passed his Jounin exam."

Naruto tried to blink back a haze of tears as he stared at the contents of the box in stunned silence, but it didn't work. His cheeks got wet and his breath hitched as his chest tightened with a flood of emotions he couldn't begin to try to explain. Biting his lip to try to stop it from quivering, Naruto shook his head and kept reminding himself to take deep breaths so he could calm down and wrap his mind around all of it. His stupid fingers betrayed him and trembled as he picked up the red string, the bells jangling in his grasp.

"The Sandaime Hokage-sama passed them down to Jiraiya-sama before he left the village," Kakashi said, taking the empty box and setting it on the desk.

Naruto quickly wiped his eyes on his sleeve, trying so hard to pull himself together so the bells would stop bouncing and making a ridiculous amount of cheerful noise. It was difficult hearing the history of the frighteningly delicate bells he had first scoffed at so many years ago, it made him want to just cradle them and somehow absorb their legacy. But the real problem was getting his damn hands to stop shaking long enough so he could work on untying the dark silver ring from the red threads.

"So, it goes without saying that this is very very precious to me," Kakashi whispered, trailing his fingers over Naruto's quivering hands and slipping the ring over the blonde's finger so the bells rested against the back of his hand with a sweet tinkling sound.

Naruto coughed out a laugh, his whole body tingling and buzzing at the feel of the wide band of cool metal settled over his finger. He could already sense it warming to his skin and thrumming as his nerves clattered so much that his chakra was spiking. It was the same kind of metal Asuma's knives had been made of, so there was no risk of it getting damaged when he used his rasengan. The impossibly bright, clear, PERFECT orange gem almost glowed where it was inset within the dark ring so it wouldn't catch on anything. It was practical and masculine. It was an ordinary flashy topaz in a metal band that had no significant value outside of a shinobi weapon's shop. It. Was. PERFECT!

"And I know that I can trust you to keep it safe, right?" Kakashi asked, taking the ANBU mask off his head and reaching out to drop it gently into the fish tank where the reeds billowed and wrapped around the painted ceramic surface as the goldfish swam in frantic circles at the sudden intrusion.

Naruto smiled at the mask, knowing it was never going to leave that fish tank until he had to clean it. It had been returned to the water and weeds that he'd pulled it from, but now it was safely within reach where it could bask in the sunlight. Taking a deep shaky breath, he looked up at Kakashi and slid his fingers across the pale cheek, twining his fingers in the wild silver hair with the bells jingling against the back of his hand. His smile widened at the feel of Kakashi leaning into the touch, and Naruto tilted his head as he said the three little words that silly, stubborn, beautiful, and surprising man just couldn't seem to hear often enough.

"It's a promise."

END

[ OMG, you guys have no idea how excited I am to be able to say that this story is COMPLETE! XDDDDD That means no more updates here for 'Things Just Ain't the Same...' However...I do have nefarious plans for a few shorter multi-chapter stories that will be a part of this world, as well as some one-shots. But! That will come slowly, cause I need a little break after taking this epic journey. XD

Ah, a little note on the goofy ANBU names I've been using! Onigawara are the Japanese equivalent to a gargoyle, they're the creepy ogre faces and scary animals you see on the rooftops of temples. Yosuzume and Okuri-Inu are actually a connected pair of mythological 'demons'. Yosuzume are a flock of sparrows that chirp and swarm around travelers walking through forests or down remote paths at night, the name can be literally translated into 'night sparrow'. While they, themselves, cause no harm, their presence announces a much deadlier threat; that the Okuri-Inu is nearby.

Okuri-Inu is translated as 'sending-off dog', and what it does is stalk you all the way down the path at night until you've reached your destination. However, if you happen to trip while you walk, it pounces on you and rips you to shreds. It's a ferocious enough creature that all other wild animals and monsters stay clear of it, so as long as you keep your footing and don't stumble along the path you'll make it home safely. I really want to explain why I chose Kakashi's ANBU name, but it's kind of a big part of one of those little multi-chapter additions, and I don't want to spoil it. =P

I would like to again say THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to everyone who hit 'favorite', 'follow', left a review, or just plain muscled their way to the end of this story! I GIVE YOU ALL CYBER-KISSES AND E-HUGS CAUSE I LOVE YOU THAT MUCH! AND HAPPY NEW YEAR! XD ]