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Sasuke stood straight, shoulders back, in his montsuki haori hakama, knowing the red and white Uchiha crest stood out beneath his neck, contrasting against the traditional black grooms wear. His family, his clan, the other prominent clan heads, even the Hokage and her counselors surrounded him, watching as the shrine priest began to pray to the Sage of Six Paths.
He held back a sigh and kept any nerves hidden by a placid expression, seeming polite and detached as his whole life was changing.
For as long as anyone could remember, Konoha was protected. Like most of the main villages in each nation, they were contracted with a powerful chakra entity, a bijuu, as a strong deterrent for war hungry factions. For the Village Hidden in the Leaves, they were protected by the revered nine-tailed demon fox, Kurama.
Legends stated that the Sage of Six Paths created the nine bijuu, pulling them from the original Ten-Tails he’d defeated and absorbed. The Ten-Tails was a terrifying monster that was created from the Sage’s mother sacrificing herself to the God Tree so as to absorb all the world’s chakra.
To create balance and peace in the ninja world, the Sage sent the nine bijuu out to cooperate with humanity. It was a tale told to the village children early. Sasuke’s mother had told it to him many nights at his bedside when he was young, while running her fingers gently through his hair. And now, he was somehow a part of the story.
A temple was dedicated to the demon fox – the very temple he was currently getting married in – and a yearly festival honoring him was held every October. But this contract tied the village and Kurama far deeper than shrines and festivals. So that the demon fox never lost sight of the human struggles the villagers went through, he would bind himself to one villager and live out their lifetime with them, see the village through human eyes. Those chosen were known as jinchuuriki and gifted amazing healing, special abilities and strength by Kurama. The hosts lived in the temple but were free to experience life as normally, or as normal as being a demon incarnate can possibly be, and that included marriage. So, as every jinchuuriki came of age, a suitable partner was picked for them. And as Kurama’s host turned twenty, it had become time for that tradition to continue.
Not wishing to take heirs away from the clans, any second child of the major clan heads could be chosen if they were of age, and it had been frustrating but not a surprise when the Uchiha had been “honored” with the task of giving Sasuke to the jinchuuriki.
Sasuke may not have been a prodigy like his brother, but he wasn’t stupid. He heard the angry murmurs in the Uchiha district after they were forced to move from the heart of Konoha to the outskirts. He felt the suspicious gazes of the villagers, civilians and shinobi alike, since it was never fully proven his clan wasn’t behind that attack two decades ago. He saw the steeliness in his father’s eyes and the tenseness in his brother’s shoulders. He knew that some saw Sasuke’s all but forced marriage as a form of penance or revenge or whatever the hell they wanted as they blamed the Uchiha.
Respected as the Fox Demon may be, it was still difficult to give your child up to a demon. And so, Sasuke was gifted and damned twice by inheriting his Uchiha blood and his mother’s beauty. He had her thick, inky black hair, delicate cheekbones and dark eyes. He'd been the obvious choice to be placed on the marriage altar, where he stood now.
Sasuke glanced at his nearly husband out of the corner of his eye. Not that he could see his face. He barely knew his name. (Naruto Uzamaki, he’d been told.)
Naruto wore an intricately painted fox mask that covered him from forehead to chin. And whereas Sasuke wore the customary wedding colors, his counterpart wore cream silk patterned in small foxes embroidered with orange and red threads. The village’s symbol was in the place where his family crest would decorate his haori, though given his last name, the swirl was probably his family’s, Sasuke realized. He'd also noticed that the cord tied around the waist of Naruto's hakama had nine fox tails dangling from it at different lengths.
All he could actually see of his husband’s appearance was the golden blonde hair under the ties of the mask and his large, tan hands as he accepted the first sakazuiki. No sharp claws were seen, as it was rumored by students in his academy days. Only short, normal nails.
It was Sauske’s turn to take the flat sake cup, and he sipped three times before the second one was filled. His parents and brothers watched, and he tried to ignore the way his mother’s hand clutched his father’s sleeve.
The sake-sharing ceremony finished after the third cup, it was time for the shrine maidens' performance before Naruto was to read the vows. Sasuke dutifully faced the dancers but did not take it in fully, too aware of the presence beside him and the eyes on them.
He kept his head held high as Naruto unrolled the ceremonial scroll. Addressing the Sage of Six Paths, a raspy voice, that sounded almost familiar to Sasuke for a moment, spoke out in the quiet room, and though he knew what was written on it, he listened, soaking in the voice of his husband who he was hearing at length for the first time.
“...sincerely thankful for this ceremony. Going forward, we will love and respect each other, trust one another, share joys and sorrows, live in peace together, and swear that this will stay unchanged throughout our lifetime.” Naruto ended it by saying his name, and then Sasuke followed with his own. They both bowed after Naruto returned the scroll to the altar.
The ceremony moved quickly after that as they offered tamagushi, pointing the end of the sasaki branches to the Sage. Sasuke went through the memorized movements, bowing and clapping twice, turning mechanically to Naruto with his hand out, accepting the silver band on his finger.
The warmth of Naruto’s hands nearly startled him, and the buzzing his retreating fingers left on Sasuke's skin nearly made him pause too long before offering Naruto his own ring. That electric hum strengthened as he slid an identical band on Naruto’s thick fingers, his hand lingering a moment before bringing his attention back to those around them. The ring felt strange on his finger.
The shrine maidens were distributing sake to all the guests for them to drink to Naruto’s and his union. For better or worse, he was now the demon fox’s bride.
As Sasuke watched his family take their three sips, his mind’s eye played a scene with his mother three days ago. It was the first time he’d ever seen her remotely drunk
He heard a knock his bedroom door and his mother's soft voice asking to come in. He rose to let her in and was surprised to see the color high on her cheeks and the glassy look of her eyes.
"Do you have a fever?" he asked quickly, placing the back of his hand on her forehead. "You should lie down, and I will make tea..."
He trailed off as she shook her head.
"I am fine, Sasuke," she said and gave him a tiny smile. "I've just had a bit too much wine."
Sasuke's eyebrows knotted together.
"Are you alright?" he pressed. "Has something happened?"
"No, no, I promise" she insisted and patted his shoulder in reassurance, but her smile had turned brittle. "I came to talk with you."
Feeling a bit useless and unsettled, he let her lead him to his neatly made twin-sized bed and took a seat beside her. She wrapped her arms around him a moment later, and he hugged her back, arms tense, convinced she was about to tell him something had happened to Itachi on his mission. But he wanted to be strong for her, so he waited until she cleared her throat and signaled she was ready to talk.
"I want to tell you about my best friend, from when I was a young girl," she began, and Sasuke relaxed a bit in her hold, relieved his brother or father were not mentioned.
"Okay," he said in a quiet voice, and she pulled him into the crook of her neck.
“Kushina was the jinchuuriki from before,” she said softly, chin on top of his head. “She came to Konoha when we were both nine, after her home, Uzushio, was destroyed. She was loud and brave, and I liked her instantly. ”
He gave a small nod and waited for her to continue. He'd made a friend like that once, years ago. They had seemed to understand one another in seconds.
“So she became the jinchuuriki later on?” Sasuke asked, keeping his voice down as well, not wanting to disturb whatever reflective mood his mother seemed to be in. She nodded, her chin digging into his scalp a little, but he ignored it.
“Yes,” she answered. “When she was almost twelve. After the current jinchuuriki, an elderly woman, passed on.”
Sasuke swallowed, not knowing if he should ask and risk upsetting her, but she had to be telling him all of this for a reason.
“What happened to her?” he finally said, and she turned her face into his hair as he did, not responding at first.
“She died in the attack on Kurama and the Leaf, twenty years ago,” she said eventually, voice watery. “She was pregnant, in labor, and the strain made the seal that bound her to the fox vulnerable. The attackers knew that and wanted to try to steal the demon away, control him.”
“I’m sorry,” Sasuke said, not knowing what else to say, feeling a pang in his chest for his grieving mother. Not only had she had to endure the Uchiha wrongfully being under scrutiny but also people accusing the clan of ultimately killing her dear friend.
She released her hold on him and sat up, wiping away tears that had escaped as she talked.
“Me too. But at least, the attack failed in that they didn’t get Kurama,” she said, passing off a trembling tilt of her lips as a grim smile. “Kushina and her husband, the Fourth Hokage, sacrificed their lives to save the village… and their new born son.”
“Her son survived?” he asked, amazed and wondering why she’d never mentioned this boy before. Surely she'd want to know the son of her best friend if she could.
“Yes,” she said, bringing up a hand to cup Sasuke’s face, a thumb running along his cheek. “His name is Naruto.”
His brow furrowed as he processed everything.
“How?” he asked gently, searching his mother’s face, still not understanding what had caused her to come to him now.
A rogue tear ran down her face as she looked at him.
“They made him the jinchuuriki,” she whispered, and Sasuke’s mind reeled. “The fox’s powers saved him.”
A weight was on his arm, and he was pulled out of the memory. He turned to see Naruto’s mask titled down at him, hand gently placed to get his attention.
“Are you ready to go to the reception?” he asked in his throaty voice.
Sasuke looked down at the hand, his eyelashes sweeping down against his cheeks and answered a quiet, “Yes.”
The reception was a tedious formality held in a large hall built on the temple’s grounds. The Uchiha, for their part, treated the whole affair with dignity. His father, Fugaku, was the leader, and only respect would be shown for one of his sons marrying. But they did not give off the same air of celebration as the rest of the guests, drinking merrily and talking with care-free expressions and laughter.
Sasuke sat, speaking sparingly, as the food was served and the fire-breathing dance was given by Uchiha performers. He sipped sake and picked at his plate of food, trying not to notice how Naruto fidgeted beside him. He clapped dutifully after every speech given wished them prosperity and health and rejoiced over strengthening the ties between Konoha and the demon fox.
However, there were some moments, particularly from Naruto, that caught his interest, like when Naruto would carefully lift his mask just enough to take a bite of dinner, revealing a flash of a tan jaw. Or how a man, with brown hair in a neat bun and scar across the bridge of his nose, barely held it together, voice trembling, as he gave his speech about Naruto and how he’d always been like a little brother. He collapsed into the arms of a grey-haired man, half his face covered, when he was finished speaking. The grey-haired man patted him on the back gently and seemed to murmur in his ear. Sasuke heard sniffles coming from behind Naruto’s mask.
Or when a tall older man with wild white hair introduced himself as Naruto’s godfather and proceeded to read an embarrassingly sappy love poem that Sasuke noted made the tips of Naruto’s ears poking out from the mask turn blood red.
Even Lady Tsunade, the Hokage, had a fondness in her voice when giving them a toast, and Sasuke heard him chuckle something about “Baa-chan” that had him glancing once more at the mysterious man he was about to spend the rest of his life with.
Of course, his father and brother gave speeches, too. Itachi teased Sasuke through his and shared some memories of “his foolish little brother” chasing after him, only to finish it by remarking on how Sasuke had grown into a fine man and shinobi. His mother’s speech, though, caught him off guard when she ended it by turning to Naruto with a momentary wistful expression and said, “Welcome to the family, Uzamaki-san.”
When it all finally wound down, when he’d given his short but heartfelt thanks to his parents, to his clan, he almost felt relief at being escorted by Naruto to his private living chambers, just so he could breathe and get away from all the attention. He’d done his duty to his family, after all. To the village.
But there was still one set of eyes on him as they walked, and another duty awaited in Naruto’s, or he amended mentally, their bedroom. He wished then he’d drank more when he had the chance.
He’d never done this. Never had the inclination, for all the admirers he’d apparently had in school. Never sought out that kind of relief after a hard mission in a shared tent. He knew what to expect, of course Sexual education was mandatory for upperclassmen at the academy, and he’d done enough research to prepare, once he’d learned his fate weeks ago.
But theory and practical application were two different things.
Naruto seemed to chuckle to himself as they walked in the night air, a warm Konoha breeze rippling their clothes gently. Sasuke raised an eyebrow as the sound petered out into a sigh and Naruto put his hands behind his head.
“I guess you may not remember me,” he said offhandedly, making Sasuke pause mid step. “Though I’m sure the mask isn’t helping.”
“Should I?” Sasuke prompted, confused. “Have we met before?”
Naruto nodded, his mask tilting down a bit.
“When we were young,” he said, gesturing with one hand toward a distance, toward the past. “Probably when I was about seven.”
He chuckled again as Sasuke racked his brain. Surely he’d remember someone with such bright hair? The Uchiha were known for being more observant than most.
“I was also in disguise,” Naruto added, and Sasuke could hear the smile in his voice, almost picture it in his head. “But I thought you wouldn’t have forgotten your sworn rival so easily.”
Sasuke inhaled deeply, eyes widening as he spun to stare at the man, an image of a short scrawny child superimposed over him in Sasuke’s mind.
Images of a boy with brown hair, blue eyes and scraped knees running ahead of him. Throwing dulled shiruken at each other. Sharing Sasuke’s bento his mom had packed when he went out to train. Lying in the grass, heads together, when they were too sticky and tired from the heat to move. Both of them promising to be rivals forever. A whole summer of memories the year he turned eight played in his head, when he’d met a strange boy while walking in the woods and they’d met up in secret.
“Usuratonkachi,” he breathed out the old insult, amazed. “Memna.”
“Teme,” Naruto said smugly, and Sasuke suddenly, vehemently wanted to him to take off the fox mask off so he could see if his smile was just as cocky as it had been at seven.
“Take it off,” he whispered, hand reaching out and then pulling back when he remembered himself. His heart thumped in his chest. Never did he think he’d be reunited with his old friend. His best friend. His one and only, really, besides his big brother.
Slowly, Naruto lifted his hands, and Sasuke found himself holding his breath as he watched him pushed the mask up and off his face. Naruto brought it down with one hand at his side.
The moon illuminated his face in full. He looked different yet the same. Blonde instead of brown but still in unruly spikes. Sauske did not recall he scarred or tattooed whisker patterns on his cheeks rom before, but those eyes… No one else had eyes that color. He stared into them, looking for answers.
“Why did you disappear?” Sasuke asked, stepping closer, remembering the disappointment of his younger self. “And why didn’t you tell me your real name?”
Naruto bit his lip, looking apologetic, as he scratched at the back of his neck.
“I got caught by my guards,” he said, a soft smile pulling his lips. “They weren’t too happy with me. They worked hard to keep my identity hidden, in case anyone wanted to kidnap me. Even sneaking out, I couldn’t risk not using a basic henge. Though really, all I could do then was hide my marks and change my hair. I knew if I told you who I was, I could get you in trouble, too.”
Sasuke crossed his arms, taking all of Naruto’s words in.
“But how did you sneak out for so long?” he said, brows furrowed. “We ran around the whole summer.”
“Ah…I left a clone,” he supplied, laughing, and Sasuke had to smirk at that cleverness. He knew that raspy sound had been familiar.
“You dobe,” Sasuke said. “You should have tried to at least get me a letter. I worried you’d gotten yourself hurt or something.”
“I wanted to,” Naruto said, tone softer as he gazed into Sasuke’s face and then looked down, blushing. “You wouldn’t believe how happy I was to hear it was going to be you. That I wouldn’t have to marry a complete stranger.”
Sasuke felt a warmth seep in his chest. He completely understood the sentiment. And now, he was happier too, to know this face behind the fox mask. Naruto glanced back up then, his eyes narrowed mischievously.
“I thought for sure that pink haired girl would have proposed to you by now,” he snickered, and Sasuke scoffed, rolling his eyes and pushing at Naruto’s shoulder.
“Ugh… don’t remind me. All those girls were so annoying, trying to follow me,” he said.
Naruto’s eyes shone with amusement, but Sasuke saw how the look morphed into something else as they smiled at each other. There was a tension present again, but this one was not from awkwardness.
“Not that I can blame them now, ya know,” Naruto said lowly, his eyes roving over Sasuke’s features, studying them. “You always were stupidly beautiful.”
Sasuke clicked his tongue in a show of irritation, but he could not stop the heat blooming in his cheeks.
“Sasuke,” Naruto murmured his name, reaching out a tentative hand, and Sasuke felt and allowed those rough fingers to slide between his own. “I missed you.”
“Hn.”
Sasuke could only acknowledge the words, not sure what to say. Not sure, even with Naruto’s hand in his, how to correctly read that statement.
Naruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath, the blush spreading further on his face now.
“I want you to know,” he said low but firm, opening his eyes. “That this is enough for me. Just because we’re married doesn’t mean I expect anything from you. I - I have my friend back. That’s more than I could hope for.”
Sasuke took a step back automatically in surprise, his hand loosened from Naruto’s, but he was quick to catch Naruto's again, reconnect them, before the blonde's expression could fall, and held their clasped hands between them.
“Naruto… I -” he broke off, throat working to push out words. “We can go slow. This –” he gave their hands a gentle shake as he spoke – “Is fine. Tonight, though, maybe we only talk. Tomorrow or the next, we can take them as they come.”
Naruto nodded enthusiastically.
“Of course! Talking would be great,” he said in a rush, reminding Sasuke of that talkative kid those summers ago. “We’ve got a few years to catch up on, ya know?”
“Lead the way, then, usuratonkachi,” he said, cocking an eyebrow in challenge, making Naruto huff with a grin before he was pulling on their locked hands through a courtyard. Sasuke focused on the warm press of their palms, the charged hum through his nerves, and the ease of how they fell into old banter. He appreciated the familiarity and newness of Naruto, the realness of him, no longer feeling like he was stuck in some fairytale.