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The news that the hero of the fourth ninja war was getting married was spread all over the land of fire and beyond with great enthusiasm. So of course it didn’t take long for it to reach Sasuke’s radar, nor did it take long for him to find out whom he was getting married to.
A year.
Sasuke had been away for no more than a year and yet it was enough for Sakura and Naruto to decide to marry each other.
He would be lying if he said he wasn't feeling slightly annoyed that he wasn’t invited. Sure, he wasn't an easy man to reach, as he was always on the move. The last time he had been in a place long enough to receive a letter was five months ago. But still. Naruto should’ve tried. He could’ve tracked him if he wanted to. His occasional letters should be enough to create a trail that would be easy to follow for a skilled ninja like him.
But it was obvious that Sasuke was an unwanted presence in this ceremony.
What did they think he would do? He was too attached to his pride to even consider doing something to prevent the marriage. But, sure, he had to acknowledge that even if he didn’t do anything, his presence could make the groom-and-bride-to-be very nervous. The three of them had history, so to say.
However, in no way was he planning on or had any intention of ruining the happiness of his two friends and of course he was offended that they decided to let him out of it. A simple warning would’ve felt good.
But at the lack of any thereof, he was returning to Konoha at top speed.
When he arrived at the village, it wasn’t hard to spot where the marriage was being held, as there was a large group of fancy-looking people all walking to the same place.
He tried to stay hidden in the branch of a tree, watching from afar, but he was so uneasy that at some point he must have slacked in hiding his chakra, if judging by the way Shikamaru suddenly looked back from where he was sitting in the first row.
Their eyes met for a fraction of a second before Shikamaru turned away and leaned on Choji who was sitting next to him. He must have whispered something, because Choji also looked at Sasuke and soon enough all of Naruto’s friends were whispering and looking at him.
He tried to recognize the people present. Next to Shikamaru and Choji, were Rock Lee and Gaara sitting side by side. On the chairs on the right side were Tenten, Hinata and Kiba. Behind them, sat a guy using a hood that looked familiar, but Sasuke couldn’t quite remember his name. From the group of people he knew to be Naruto’s friends only Ino was missing, but he figured she must be with Sakura.
The only other familiar face was Kakashi, who was standing at the altar, waving at each person as they arrived. It didn’t take long until Rock Lee got up and whispered something to him, but all he did was nod. He didn’t look at Sasuke like the others.
He probably already knew I was here.
Sasuke huffed. It was time to join the party.
He landed carefully on the grass and walked his way to the altar, finding the only spot left in the first row. Eyes followed him, but no one dared to speak. Well, no one but...
“I had the impression I’d see you here today, Sasuke,” Kakashi said.
“I wouldn’t miss my best friends’ marriage,” he said calmly, hiding any trace of resentment from his voice. “Even though I wasn’t invited,” he added.
If Kakashi thought anything about that, he didn’t say. “Well, you got here just in time, we’re about to start.”
Sasuke gulped. He underestimated how much this marriage was messing with his emotions. His heart was suddenly thumping against his ribs as music invaded his ears souding like a death march. Everyone stood up and Sasuke’s body numbly followed.
He couldn’t process what was happening until his eyes found Naruto, arm wrapped around Iruka's, walking down the aisle with a bright smile on his face.
Sasuke felt anger take control of his body.
His right eye flicked red. He felt fire pumping through his veins and his hand started to shake. He hid it inside his pocket, trying his best to calm himself, because he wasn’t going to make a scene. He just wanted them to see him there. He wanted them to know he knew.
It wasn’t until Naruto arrived at the altar that he saw Sasuke. His face was shocked, almost scared, with his lips parted and eyes bigger than they usually were. But it only lasted a few seconds, as Naruto quickly looked away and assumed a more composed posture.
Sasuke gritted his teeth. Naruto saw the sharingan, so he knew how much this was affecting Sasuke and yet he was still standing there, about to get married to Sakura.
His thoughts were interrupted when everyone started to cheer behind him. Sasuke turned around just in time to see Sakura arriving with her father. She was wearing a beautiful white kimono, all worked with lace forming flowers around her torso. It fitted her well. It made him want to throw up.
She’s going to marry Naruto.
Soon, too soon, they were both in front of each other.
Sakura hadn’t seen Sasuke there yet. He didn’t know how she’d react. He didn’t know if she still felt something for him. Maybe she settled for Naruto after Sasuke didn’t show any intention of coming back, but even the mere idea that she'd treat Naruto as a second option angered him to no end.
Sasuke was the last one to sit, finally deactivating his sharingan. The last thing he needed was this torture ingrained forever in his mind.
The love of his life. The only one that could ever be. The one person that he couldn’t imagine himself without. Was getting married and it wasn’t to him.
I’m so stupid, he cursed himself. I’m so stupid for not coming back earlier. Hell, for not staying in the first place.
Kakashi’s words were passing through him like knives. Sasuke never imagined himself getting married. At the back of his mind, he knew he wanted a stable relationship, but he never pictured what it would be like to be at the altar in front of the one he loved the most. But at that moment, as he heard the speech, he resented deeply that it was being said about Naruto and Sakura.
“Naruto Uzumaki, do you accept Sakura Haruno to be your wedded wife to live together in marriage? Do you promise to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, and forsaking all others, be faithful only to her, for as long as you both shall live?” Kakashi proffered.
“I do.” Naruto’s voice was shaky. He looked without blinking to Sakura, but he wasn’t smiling anymore like he had been before. Sasuke’s heart was still hammering hard.
“Sakura Haruno, do you accept Naruto Uzumaki to be your wedded husband to live together in marriage? Do you promise to love him, comfort him, honor and keep him for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health and forsaking all others, be faithful only to him so long as you both shall live?
“I do.” Her voice was cheerful, almost innocent.
It’s really happening. He felt like he was about to faint. If he did, could he blame it on the days he traveled without rest and with little food and water available? Yes, probably. But still, he’d cause a commotion.
But that was what you wanted in the first place, a voice from deep inside him uttered. You came here to stop this, so stop this!
“Before I proceed, should anyone here present know of any reason why these two should not be married? If so, speak now or forever hold your peace.”
After Kakashi’s words, it was like the whole world held its breath, looking around at anyone who could potentially have something to say. It was when Sakura’s eyes first landed on Sasuke and her face was washed down with shock, similar to Naruto’s reaction earlier.
Thump.
It felt like each second went on for a whole year.
Thump.
Sasuke saw Kakashi lower his eyes to his notes, about to continue.
Thump.
From the deepest part of his heart, his voice rang loud and clear, if not with a note of despair. “Stop!”
There was a collective gasp. Sasuke could feel all eyes on him, but he only had eyes for one person. Nothing else mattered.
So he got up and said: “I can't let this marriage happen.”
His sight started to blur as his eyes filled with stupid tears.
“Sasuke-kun…” It was Sakura’s voice. Even from this distance, he could see her eyes were teary and wide open.
“You can’t marry Naruto, Sakura,” he said directly to her.
She took a step away from Naruto and to Sasuke’s direction. She seemed about to say something, but he couldn’t let her. He needed her to understand.
“You can’t marry Naruto, because he’s mine.”
Another loud gasp echoed from the audience.
“Sasuke.” It was Naruto this time. His voice was raspy, filled with emotions.
No one else dared to speak. Sakura was suddenly frozen in place.
“I know I took too long, but I’m here now and I love you and I’m not letting you marry someone else,” Sasuke said all in one breath.
“Is this some kind of joke?” someone asked from behind him. He couldn’t care less. His body was trembling and his eyes were focused on the person who mattered the most.
His one and only.
So he continued. “So, please… please.” His voice broke and he closed his eyes. “Please don’t go on with this.”
Someone put a hand on Sasuke’s shoulder. He turned around and saw Shikamaru with a stern look on his face.
“I need you to leave,” he gritted through his teeth.
“Take your fucking hands off me.” Sasuke got out of Shikamaru’s grip and took a step towards the altar. “Naruto, tell me. Tell me you don’t love me anymore and I’ll leave and I won’t say a single thing about this joke of a marriage ever again,” he spit out, feeling the bitter taste of the words on his tongue.
Sakura finally snapped out of it and looked at her groom-to-be.
“Naruto…” She didn’t sound hurt, but confused.
“Sakura,” he replied, looking at her. Sasuke’s heart skipped a beat. “I’m really sorry. You’re the nicest girl in the world and I thought that maybe… maybe I could feel something for you again if I tried. But…” He looked at Sasuke. “There’s only one person I am truly capable of loving to my fullest.”
Chairs started to move around them and people started to walk out uttering exasperated complaints.
“Then, I declare this marriage cancelled,” Kakashi announced, throwing his annotations away. Iruka approached him and they started to whisper something. Sakura fell to her knees, eyes fixated on the floor.
But none of this mattered, because the whole world vanished before Sasuke’s eyes and all he could see was Naruto. He watched as the man turned away and left the altar, not hesitating for a second to follow him.
“So…” Naruto broke the silence that had fallen between them.
“You’re so stupid,” Sasuke breathed out.
“I’m stupid? You just crashed my marriage.”
They were sitting on the head of the Fourth Hokage, looking down at the village, close enough for their arms to brush against each other.
“You were really going to marry Sakura.” It was impossible to hide the hurt and betrayal from his voice.
“Hey, you left! I was lonely and—Ouch!” Naruto complained when Sasuke elbowed his stomach.
“I said I was coming back, dumbass.”
“And I missed you. I wanted you to come back already.”
Sasuke turned his head to look at Naruto and scrunched his eyes as he tried to uncover a hidden meaning in what Naruto said.
“Am I crazy or did you just imply that you planned this wedding to trick me into coming back?”
Naruto looked the other way to avoid meeting Sasuke’s gaze.
“Naruto, tell me I’m wrong or I’m going to kill you.” It was an empty threat, because Sasuke felt more amused than angry, but still, he couldn’t let Naruto get away with it.
“Well, since you asked, you are kinda crazy,” he started, but Sasuke interrupted him by slapping his arm. “Ok, ok, sorry.” He raised his arms in defeat. “I was just… desperate. But don’t worry, I didn’t deceive everyone by doing this, some of them were part of the plan,” Naruto explained.
“Who knew?” Sasuke planned to show a piece of his mind to each person who helped Naruto with such a stupid plan. And maybe thank them. He wasn’t sure yet.
“Sakura, obviously. She’s a really good actress, I was impressed the first time we practiced.”
“You practiced?” He was completely and utterly dumbfounded.
“Of course! But we couldn’t really tell all the guests, or gossip would fly and the plan would fail miserably, so I trusted the truth only to Kakashi and Iruka.”
Sasuke huffed. “Iruka sensei too?”
“It was hard to convince him, I’ll tell you that.” Naruto laughed, but then it died on his lips. “I had to get creative. How else was I to bring you back home?”
Sasuke rolled his eyes. “This place is not home for me.”
Naruto looked down as his cheeks assumed a light shade of red. “Not the place, idiot. Me.”
Sasuke’s eyes widened as the meaning of those words sank in.
Of course.
What is home if not where you always wish to come back to?
What is home if not where you feel comfortable enough to be yourself?
What is home to Sasuke if not… Blue eyes, blond hair, whiskers and a dumb smile.
Sasuke blushed and hid his face in his hand.
“Argh, I really hate you sometimes, you know that?”
“I love you, too, bastard.” Naruto chuckled and nudged Sasuke with his elbow. “I just couldn’t… I couldn’t let you keep punishing yourself when you didn’t do anything wrong to begin with.”
Sasuke stared at Naruto at a loss of words, still mesmerized at how he managed to be so understanding and forgiving when it came to him. Even after everything.
“I want you here, Sasuke,” he went on. “Where we can make things right together. Or, if you’d wish, we could leave. But you’re not stepping a single foot outside this village if I’m not by your side. I won’t let you again.” Naruto was the most serious Sasuke had ever seen him. He could feel the truth to those words and it made him feel good. Naruto was giving him an option, but still wasn’t going to give up on him.
Maybe… Maybe that was what Sasuke had wanted the blond boy to have done in the first place when he announced he was leaving.
Still, as much as Sasuke was glad to be back, he couldn’t ignore the madness of what Naruto pulled on him.
“I spent days… days agonizing with the idea of losing you. And you were here practicing for your little theatre.” Sasuke tugged his own hair in exasperation.
“Ha, that’s just come back for the much you made me chase after you.”
Sasuke shook his head and looked at Naruto’s smug face. “Uh-uh, we’re not even.”
“What will you do, fight me?” Naruto raised his eyebrow in defiance.
In the blink of an eye, Sasuke got up on his knees and shoved Naruto down with his only arm.
“Oh, you bet.”
Naruto opened a big smile right before yanking Sasuke down by the collar, their faces stopping millimeters away from each other. It was the first time Sasuke looked at his blue eyes from so close. It made his breath get caught in his throat and his mind wander to places he had not yet explored.
“I missed you,” Naruto whispered.
“I missed you too,” Sasuke said, almost like a confession. “But you can’t fake marry your friend to get what you want, you know?” He scowled at him. “What if I didn’t show up?”
Naruto chuckled and Sasuke could feel his chest moving beneath him. “Well, we didn’t get official papers, it would have no validity.”
Sasuke shook his head, once again having a hard time believing everything Naruto had done. But when he did that, their noses brushed against each other and his heart skipped a beat.
“You,” he paused to lick his lips, still considering his words, “are very lucky you’re cute.”
Naruto’s mouth cracked in a smile as beautiful as the sunset that colored the sky around them. “The same could be said about you.”
Sasuke couldn’t hold himself anymore. He wanted to kiss Naruto so badly. Had wanted it for so long.
So he closed the gap between them and crashed their lips together. Naruto was quick to answer, kissing back just as eagerly and passing his arms around Sasuke’s waist.
And they kissed until they ran out of breath, then kissed some more and smiled a lot while doing it.
It felt like second nature to kiss Naruto. It was as easy as breathing. It made him ache for all the time he had lost being away. It made him hate even more all the shit that went down in their lives, all the people who had hurt them, because they almost took this away from him. They almost made him give up on the only thing that still mattered.
An hour went by and they were still lying on the Hokage’s monument, now looking at the dark sky side by side, Sasuke’s head rested on Naruto’s shoulder.
It was peaceful, like few moments in life tend to be and Sasuke was glad he got to share that with Naruto.
Then, something occurred to him.
“How did you even convince Sakura to join this?”
Naruto hesitated.
“Well… I didn’t really tell her the whole truth.”
Sasuke immediately got up and looked down at Naruto with wide eyes. “What?!”
“Hm, yeah, I kinda told her that if we spread the word that we were getting married you’d come back running… because of her.” Naruto had a guilty grin on his face that looked adorable. Sasuke wanted to kiss it, but at the same time he was very worried about the piece of information he was being handed.
“Please, tell me you’re lying.”
“She will probably kill both of us now. But it’s worth it if I get to be your boyfriend for at least a few hours.”
Sasuke blushed and looked away to hide it. “Boyfriend, uh?”
“What, you’re too cool for that?"
“Hm. I don’t know. But if we’re dying, we could go down as husbands.” He looked at Naruto with a smirk.
“Is this your way of asking me to marry you?”
“Maybe.”
“I’m down.”