Sleyman Rambles Incoherently; Stand-to and prepare to be bored by these words! Plz don't skip over them. Plz, plz.

I well thought that I had finished with this story, but this day has seen an auspicious number. 100 Favourites! I am both awed and troubled by this number, because between it and select reviews requesting I write another chapter, I feel moved to do so.

I'm currently in the midst of one of those urges to make atypical movements and strange noises, so forgive my massive-wall-of-text'ness for now. For I come bearing the gift of an Epilogue for those that desire such.

…BLAST! What am I going to have to do if I get 100 reviews for this fic? An M-rated chapter/one-shot KimiSaku lemon?

NOOOOOO! I suxor at writing lemon!

*Sleyman is consumed by a curious mix of rage, despair, and arousal*

Disclaimer (starring Borat): Naruto is mine-not!

Some people just aren't "morning people." If pushed, Kimimaro would own up to not being much of a "person" at all- an honest statement which evoked amusement from those that knew him, and awkward uneasiness from those that didn't. Such were the tribulations of life.

Kimimaro woke up at approximately twelve minutes to seven, allowed himself four minutes to get his head straight, and rose. That gave him an hour and eight minutes until he was meant to assemble at the gates with his team.

And that meant he had around forty minutes to spend with Sakura before leaving on a mission that was expected to take three weeks. The prospect of being away from Sakura for such a length of time was disheartening, but he had to accept that these things happened. Going through his daily routine of washing, grooming, preparing for his mission and eating in near-record time before stepping out, he made his way to Sakura's house.

He greeted a few other early risers he recognised faintly, but didn't know by name, on the way. His robot-like friendliness was becoming his trademark in the neighbourhood, generally looked upon with good-humoured acceptance and mild amusement.

He reached the Haruno household at fifteen past seven, a time Sakura's father sometimes referred to as "too early for a decent breakfast." Kimimaro wasn't entirely sure he understood this, but at least knew he didn't mean it in a way at all disparaging to Sakura's mother, or her culinary prowess. He knocked on the door, which was answered almost immediately. He smiled. Sakura had been waiting for him.

'Good morning, Sakura.'

'Good morning,' she turned back to her parents, who had evidently been enjoying the view of their daughter waiting by the front door anxiously. 'I'm going out!'

Kimimaro nodded to them respectfully, but felt too pressed for time for any further greetings.

'Be safe!' her mother called back cheerfully. 'Ahh, if only I was twenty years younger...'

Sakura's father grumbled something that Kimimaro didn't catch.

'Ahh, if only my husband was twenty years younger, and less of a grouch!'

'I was only joking, dear...'

Sakura closing the door put and end to the rest of the refreshingly-familiar morning squabble that her parents amused themselves with when the mood caught them. Sakura rolled her eyes, less entertained. Kimimaro had never had a "normal" family, so spending time with Sakura's was an interesting insight which he indulged himself in as often as polite- much to her chagrin. Him being around "encouraged them," or so she said.

'Shall we?' she asked warmly, linking arms with him. He nodded, wanting to spend every second he could with her before he had to leave, and they started walking.

They wandered in an essentially random circuit through the village, doing nothing more than absorbing the atmosphere and enjoying each other's company. As more and more people woke, they recognised faces in the still-drowsy crowd, occasionally pursuing one that promised conversation.

'Heey, Nara!' Sakura called. Shikamaru and father, Shikaku, turned at her voice. They finished their conversation quickly, and the scarred elder Nara excused himself with a smile, a nod and a wave.

''Morning. What brings you two here?' Shikamaru asked, sounding disinterested- but that was just his way, Kimimaro had come to understand.

'Taking a walk' Kimimaro said simply. 'Before we leave,' he added as an afterthought.

'Ah-Right, yeah. Mission. Umm, Sakura? Can you do something about him before you leave? I'd rather not have him moping the whole way there and back.' While it was true that Kimimaro would miss Sakura, it wasn't like he couldn't focus on his mission if he didn't see her every day.

'You're exaggerating, slightly.'

'Puh, right. "Moping" isn't the right word. I meant "pining,"' Shikamaru countered with a grin. Kimimaro snorted, but couldn't think of anything witty or scathing to say.

'Kimimaro will be fine- won't you?' Sakura insisted, before turning in his direction, a pretend-questioning look in her eyes. He smiled back at her.

'All right, no need to gang up on me. I'll see you at the gates.' With that, Shikamaru left, muttering something under his breath. It was a fair guess he was saying something about "troublesome team mates."

They moved on, encountering more people they recognised. With a little guided wandering, they ended up on one of the small bridges that spanned the canal that meandered lazily through Konoha. The place held special significance for Kimimaro -Sakura, too, hopefully- since it was there that the two of them had first kissed. The memory was still fresh in his mind... not surprising, since it had been quite recently. But that was beside the point. It was now ten minutes to eight.

'...How am I going to last three weeks without you?' It was a line pulled straight from Icha Icha Paradise, and had been well-used in the last few days, but Kimimaro knew of no better way to express himself on the matter. He sometimes feared the day that Sakura would figure out where all his lines were coming from, but he'd deal with that when and if it happened.

'You'll be fine,' she assured him. Again. 'I'll have to manage somehow as well.'

Kimimaro subjected her to the puppy-eyes he had been practising in the mirror for the last few weeks. Apparently, it still had some way to go, since Sakura took one look at him and burst out laughing. The laugh was infectious, and he found himself grinning at how foolish he must have looked.

'Ok, how about we give each other a good-luck charm then?' she said sweetly. Kimimaro froze. He knew that expression from Icha Icha Paradise as well. Had she already found out his secret?

'Uh-uhh, you mean...?' he asked nervously, feeling dumb and nervous. Sakura's face was turning the same colour as her hair. She nodded. Closed her eyes, and stood on her toes to reach his height.

His body melted and his worries evaporated in that short, public display of affection. There weren't many people around -most that were feigned blindness respectfully, but would probably start gossiping inside of five minutes- but someone, somewhere, whistled enthusiastically, effectively ending the moment.

With a face as red as her clothes, Sakura stammered. 'Wh-well, then-n. I'll, uh- I'll see you off from the gates.' She skipped a few hurried steps in the time it took Kimimaro to force his legs into motion.

'You're late,' Shikamaru observed. Sakura had been keeping pace with Kimimaro for the last leg of the walk, and he had been dawdling with an oddly vacant expression on his face.

'Sorry, sorry,' said Sakura, sounding anything but. Kimimaro still wasn't thinking properly.

'…' Shikamaru looked at Kimimaro's face for a few seconds before turning his attention to Sakura. 'Umm, Sakura? When I asked you to "do something about him," I didn't think you'd...empty out his head. He looks a bit strange.'

That seemed to do the trick. The comment was like a fishing net, snagging his consciousness out of what ever sea it had been drifting in. 'Squad Leader, I can't help feeling that you're being unnecessarily critical of me this morning.'

'Oh... Welcome back?'

'…'

'Knock it off you two, shouldn't we be having the 'brief?' It took Kimimaro a moment to realise that Sakura had said something that didn't make sense. She had said that as if she were coming along on the mission. When he turned to her, he was immensely surprised to see that TenTen was helping her strap on her equipment backpack.

Seeing his face, she couldn't help grinning, and had to put a lot of effort into not laughing at him again. The other members of the squad were less reserved.

Kiba stepped up behind him easily and landed a heavy slap across his back, laughing his head off. Kimimaro staggered a half step forward languidly before catching himself. 'Aaah, sorry we kept it from you until now,' he snickered, picturing Kimimaro's expression again. 'Your face just then was totally worth it though!'

Kimimaro grimaced, feeling the full impact of -what seemed to him- a colossal prank that they had played on him. It turned into a smile, however, when he decided that this meant he would be able to see Sakura for the next three weeks after all.

Sakura, now with pack secure, made her way over to him sheepishly. 'I'm sorry... for keeping it a secret.' Things were moving far too fast this morning, Kimimaro decided.

'But...why?' was all he could think to ask. For a moment Sakura seemed to be channelling Hinata doing her nervous dance as she formulated a response.

'Well, you-you only, um, kiss me when you think we won't be able to see each other for a while,' she blurted in one breath. Kimimaro goggled at her. Kiba howled with laughter and clapped him across the back again.

'All right , people,' Shikamaru interrupted, attempting to restore order. 'Remember we're on a missions, now... I don't want to have to hear the two of you making out all the way to the border,' he turned the pep-talk into a joke of his own on a whim. 'Get your pack on, Kimimaro,' he added over the ensuing laughter.

So it was that he walked through the gates of Konoha with a certain spring in his step. He didn't need to be told to focus on the mission. He was a shinobi, after all...

But he would drive Shikamaru crazy, stealing glances at Sakura every time he had a chance.

THE END - AGAIN

Author Ramblings!: BWAAA! Bit short, and not all I could hope for, but this is an Epilogue, damnit!

Thank you all for the 100 favs, and keep them Reviews a'coming! I may actually make good on my lemony promise, depending on how much you spam me and how much effort I can be assed asserting. I might even rewrite the whole thing- upgrade it's schürzen!

Now, I set you fine people loose on the world at large! GOGOGO!