A/N Hello all! Please realize that this is my first time writing so go easy on me! It you don't like the pairing I will politely ask you to leave. If you don't know how just press the bottom right button (if you're an android user like me) and please don't come back. I only have myself to check through this work so I'll have a few messy parts that I'd like to work through. Constructive criticism will be appreciated as long as it's respectable. AND ANYWAYS ONWARDS! (onwards to me wracking my brain on how to make this work)

22/03/21

It was dark. There was the lingering smell of dried iron - blood. A thick red liquid slithered on her skin. Shouldn't it be healed by now? Right... they took Kurama, and the stupid orange furball left her alive. Between the fluttering of her eyes. She could see the flames of what had once been home. Konoha. Konoha was in flames.

Konohagakure had finally fallen.

"Naruto! NARUTO! Where are you?!" a hoarse voice cried out.

She couldn't really place who it was, but it seemed so painfully familiar, so warm. Its voice sounded like...

Kakashi-sensei

No wait that was wrong. Not sensei anymore. He was koi. My love. Mine till death do us part.

Well at least she knew she wasn't dead. If she had died she'd be running to her Kaa-san and Tou-san, Ero-sennin, Sakura-chan and Sasuke teme. But she wasn't, she was seeing Kakashi's steady stream of tears glide on his pale skin down to his ripped and discarded mask. Her heart twisted. She had made another of her precious people worry that she'd die.

"Mah Naruto-chan stop scaring me like this, you need to take better care of yourself, one of the reasons I miss that stupid fox." tumbled out of his mouth in pure desperation.

She needed to take that awful look of his face, she needed a soft smile, she needed a real smile. She needed to know that she was the reason she wiped another person's smile away.

"I know you're handsome, but you can't show the other ladies this face, Kashi "

A slight pause filled the atmosphere at her delirious comment, disregarding the constant flicker of flames. A dry chuckle ran out of his mouth.

"Maa maa, this wonderful face is just for you koi, just for the most unpredictable kunoichi out there, but maybe you should worry about yourself"

"Hey! Don't forget knuckleheaded." relief clear in her somewhat muted blue eyes. The sparkle had disappeared long ago. Just shining on those few and precious moments.

Kakashi's face somehow was only marred by the scar he received from Obito or Tobi (whatever the bastardsname was) , not much of his 30 years where shown. His pale skin seemed to burn reflecting the flames. Peachy lips (very kissable if you asked Naruto's opinion) quirked upwards softening his stiff face.

"We're nearly there koi, you can rest easy."

The strong hands that had cradled her close, slipped away from small of her back gave way to the motherly arms of Tsunade. A weak smile faced the aged face.

"Rest easy, we'll heal you up in a bit."

With those words, she let herself fall to the darkness but not before gripping the hand of her silver haired husband.

White ceiling. Smell of antiseptic. Beep of a monitor. Firm distinctly male hand gripping her hand. Sigh, a hospital. Again.

She let the minutes pass by, resting, and despite her precious people teasingly calling her impatient, the days where she would demand to be let out of the hospital were long gone. If she was going to win this war she needed her strength, no matter how many comrades... might die. Her mind shuddered whilst finishing that thought, apparently Naruto had been spending too much time with Shikamaru.

Naruto couldn't help but wonder, how lucky she was that her beloved was still alive despite the rest still gone. Sasuke followed Sakura in death leaving her and Kakashi the sole members of team 7 left.

That was what had started it all, the grief, the immense, immense grief. Just sitting in stiff silences. And when one reached a breaking point they'd be there, finding solace in the steady heartbeat of the other. And what they had originally given up eventually grew. From visiting each other after missions (because leave for grief can only last so long), to having meals with the other, and then on to living with each other. They took the chance for something new and hopeful and they let it grow. Thank Kami.

Kakashi had proposed, in his own casually terrified manner at training ground 7, on top of a tree cradling Naruto close to his heart.

"Naruto? I'm about to do something that might set the rest of the village after me with death threats, flying kunai and flaming pitchforks. You willing to join up with me?"

Looking up at the obviously nervous yet terrified man, Naruto couldn't help but smirk mischievously -

"How badly will it mess with them? If very bad then I'm in. I haven't caused real chaos in ages. What is it?"

"Look down at my hand, it's in it."

Curious blue eyes peeked down, and widened to a stellar size, as she saw the wedding ring. A beautiful silvery blue shone out capturing the perfect mix of her and Kakashi's eyes.

"Of course it's yes, you perfect idiot!"

Slender arms snaked around his neck, and he finally let out a sigh of relief, nestling his sorry head into the soft crook of her neck and mumbled out:

"Oh thank the fucking lord, I had no idea what I'd do if you had said no. Apart from running away from Iruka and Tsunade possibly Hinata, and in my death run away from Minato sensei."

"Kashi, baby, you know they don't even know we're dating yet right?"

A wide eyed man sprung up. And started rocking back and forth. As all he could imagine was the killing intent he'd have to run from, if he was going to marry the blonde woman curved behind his currently rocking back.

It was of course their luck, that some idiot had spread it the moment he saw the ring on her finger. It was of course a boisterous reveal after a lot of running and screaming (the occasional squeal of fear from Kakashi) occurred but that was for another time, her beloved had awoken.