Epilogue: You and me won't be unhappy

Minato Namikaze awoke to a tiny sliver of light streaming through the curtain and the obnoxious beeps of a nearby alarm. After disabling the offending clock and rolling away from the window he swung an arm towards the undisturbed and cold side of the bed, blindly reaching for someone who wasn't there, and hadn't been for quite some time. He sat up and gave a small grunt in frustration, agitated at the habit that had yet to be broken and languidly stretched his arms over his head before shuffling over to a half opened chest of drawers and an overflowing laundry basket. After finding a relatively unwrinkled set of standard blues and taking a quick shower he glanced towards the clock and gave a small curse.

Deciding he was running late he dressed quickly, a standard uniform followed by his beloved white jacket (which in all technicalities was probably the third or fourth version at this point) before running for the door. He gave a look towards the kitchen, pointedly ignoring the lone ramen cup left on the table, and came to the conclusion he would take an early lunch instead of risking being late. An oversized hat left a hook and made its way to his yellow hair as he locked the front door.

Making his way down the landscaped path he made a mental note to hire a genin team to tend to the lawn he left his large empty home. Taking to the rooftops he ran quickly, opting to not use his famous technique and instead marvel at how well his beloved village had rebuilt after that fateful night that changed everything forever. His eyes were immediately drawn to the large cherry blossom tree near the heart of the village that served as a memorial, its branches encouraged to grow ever larger with aided jutsu from a certain wood user and pale buds readying themselves to bloom.

As he passed closer to the impressive tree he noticed his former student Obito lying a small offering of flowers at the base and gave him a small nod when he caught his eye. His small nod quickly turned to a wave in return to the one flung his way by his female student Rin, who smiled brightly at him as she went to thread her fingers through Obito's hand before walking away.

He soon arrived at the tower that had served as his workplace for nearly five years now. Passing through the main entrance he made sure to stop and exchange simple pleasantries with civilians and shinobi alike. Once he finally reached his office he gave a small contented sigh as he slumped into the comfortable chair eyeing the small stack of paperwork that awaited him. He gave his chair an experimental spin, as was ritual before gazing out the oversized windows and giving a great pleased sigh. The road of reconstruction had been long and the memories of that fateful night still lingered painfully in most people's minds yet they had never prospered more. Peace had truly been good to his home.

Hours later his stomach made a small gurgle as he gave a sheepish smile and dismissed the genin team he had just hired for yard work. The three young nin were beyond ecstatic to be chosen for the job, however benign it might have been, by the Hokage himself. Leaving his obnoxious hat on his desk he quickly made his way past his assistant, letting her know he was leaving early and made a steady pace through the village. Giving small greetings and absent nods to the shinobi and civilians alike he made his way towards a certain ramen restaurant, one that had long ago outgrown it's simple stand and had to upgrade.

His eyes swept carefully at his villagers as he walked, taking in the looks of contentedness on each of their faces. He noticed a certain blond head of hair bouncing its way through the crowd, attempting and failing to evade a silver haired jonin who was easily keeping pace with him.

"Naruto!" he called, his shout nearly lost in the din of the crowd around him yet loud enough to catch the attention of his son. The energetic five year old quickly rushed his way, leapt into his open arms, and wrapped tiny arms around his neck before letting out excited babble so fast he was hard pressed to catch any of it. "Whoa, whoa kiddo slow down." He chided gently, secretly loving the feeling of his son within his arms, knowing that if things had gone differently he wouldn't have been there to enjoy it.

"Sasuke and I had so much fun last night! Thank you thank you thank you for letting me stay over there. His mom made cookies and we had a kunai throwing contest but he won because he's a butt and he trains more with his older brother." He found himself mindlessly nodding along as his son rambled on "And Kakashi is being a big fat meanie and is trying to make me train on my birthday" the final bit was said in an exasperated whine as he pointed a small finger towards the offending party.

Minato looked to the jonin, one eyebrow slightly cocked in amusement. Kakashi in return gave a small shrug both eyes looking towards him benignly. "Academy lessons let out early today for the festival, just trying to keep him out of trouble." Minato felt the breeze in his blond locks as he nodded in acceptance before turning his attention back to the lively child clinging to his hip.

"Ichiraku?" he questioned the ball of energy who in turn gave a whoop and jumped from his father's arms before running off in the direction of the stand, Minato and Kakashi following without any words needing said.

Once the orders were in he found himself once more being inundated with inane stories from the night before and pretending not to notice Kakashi and the owner's eldest daughter attempting to catch each other's eyes. His lack of attention eventually led him to unknowingly agreeing to take a trip to the playground once the meal was finished. Catching his sons' brilliant blue eyes he silently motioned for them to leave, signaling to the owner that Kakashi, who was too distracted by kind brown eyes and soft hair to notice, would be picking up the bill.

He sat and watched them all, the children of this beautiful village playing together and laughing joyously. The small content smile on his face only grew larger as he noticed his son was at the center of it all, treated equally without fear despite the demon trapped within him. He couldn't have counted the hours he spent agonizing over how the boy would be treated if he had tried, the worry never quite leaving its entrenched spot in his brain. He felt the bench shift slightly as someone else joined him without any preamble.

A soft wind caused an all to familiar scent to drift towards him as he turned and felt his breath catch at the vision before him, one that had been absent for far too many weeks. Her once brilliant red locks had been turned prematurely grey and her skin abnormally pale, her chakra coils burned out and her body never able to be physically capable of being a Kunoichi again, yet he never loved her more. He couldn't recall a moment she had looked more beautiful than when he had returned from the historic standoff with their newborn and realized she, and he in reality, had survived it all.

"You're home early." He stated having found his voice, his arm snaking around her waist until it lye against her hip naturally relishing the feeling of her next to him. "I trust this doesn't mean we are at war now." He continued referring to her official position as one of his ambassadors, something that he sometimes regretted given the temper that while it didn't match her hair never quite left her lithe form.

"I couldn't miss Naruto's birthday, a boy only turns five once you know," Kushina Namikaze returned cheerfully before waving a hand blithely towards her son. "And no, no international incidents this time. The Kazekage did request I bring Naruto along next time, I think I finally convinced him that his boy needs a friend." Anything else she would have said was quickly cut off by a yell of 'Kaa-san' from the small blond running quickly towards her and tackling her in an enthusiastic hug.

Minato watched lovingly at the look of contentment and adoration that flickered over his wife's face once she held their son before his attention was drawn elsewhere. His eyes caught a flash of color off by a tree and realized exactly which child it was that was off by themselves. He tapped his son on the shoulder and gave him a whispered command, pointing towards the lonely figure as his son nodded and ran off smiling.

"Is that who I think it is?" Kushina asked, once more leaning into her husband's embrace as he gave a small nod in affirmation.

There at the opposite side of the playground on the fifth anniversary of the Kyuubi attack a young Naruto Namikaze asked an equally small and young Sakura Haruno to be his friend.