Disclaimer: This story utilises characters, situations and premises that are copyright Masashi Kishimoto, Shueisha, Shonen Jump and Viz media. No infringement on their respective copyrights pertaining to episodes, novelisations, comics or short stories is intended by KuriQuinn in any way, shape or form. This fan-oriented story is written solely for the author's own amusement and the entertainment of the readers. It is not for profit. Any resemblance to real organizations, institutions, products or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
All plot and Original Characters except for those introduced in the canon books, manga, video games, novelizations and anime, are the sole creation of KuriQuinn. (© KuriQuinn 2016- )
Warning(s): Spoilers for pretty much everything up to Chapter 699. OCs that pop up occasionally (Manako Inuzuka, plus hers and Kakashi's kids)
Canon-Compliance: As close to canon as fanfiction can possibly be. With a few personal additions :P Takes place during the Blank Period.
Author's Note: This is one of two headcanons I have for how Sakura and Sasuke got married. I'm still trying to figure out if I can reconcile them, and if I can't…well, I'll just write both and you readers can decide which one you prefer :)
Chapter Beta: Sakura's Unicorn
"You're getting married?"
Sakura Haruno sighs at the incredulous, sharp tone of her mother's voice as she tries to rein in the temptation to grab Sasuke's hand and squeeze. In part, because she knows he doesn't like displays of affection around strangers, but also because, as nervous as she is, she might crush his fingers by accident.
"Yes. That's what I said," she tells her mother in a patient tone, hoping the strain of irritation in her voice isn't coming through too much.
Sakura and Sasuke sit in her family's immaculate living room, separated from her parents only by a small coffee table laden with tea no one intends to drink. Kizashi Haruno looks a little shell-shocked, frowning like he's wondering if he's heard right.
And her mother, well…
Mebuki stares at Sasuke with an expression eerily similar to the one Sakura saw on a certain ancient chakra-eating deity. Sasuke appears to recognise it too, because his own chakra flares as if expecting an attack. At this, Sakura does reach out, wrapping her hand around his wrist and giving a quick warning squeeze.
Mebuki, of course, notices this gesture and her eyes home in on it with senbon-sharp precision.
"You're pregnant, aren't you?"
"Mom!" Sakura cries, cheeks flaming. Sasuke makes a noise in his throat like he swallowed his tongue and jerks his hand away from her. "You can't just ask that!"
"It's a valid concern these days," Mebuki sniffs. "Do you know how many nice girls have gotten pregnant since the end of this wartime nonsense? I'm surprised no one in your graduating class has yet, especially considering how fast they're all pairing off…"
"We're not pregnant," Sakura insists. We'd need to have sex first, and considering we barely had our first kiss, that's a long way off. She doesn't say that out loud, though, knowing her mother might pounce on any aspect of her relationship she doesn't think is normal. The thing about it is, none of Sakura's relationship with Sasuke has ever been normal, and she doubts the future will be either.
She's felt connected to him since childhood and he recently admitted to her that he felt the same, although it took a while before he understood that. They've been spending more time together recently—not in the exact manner that Sakura or her inner romantic would call real dates, but private moments when it's just the two of them, catching up over dinner or a long walk. Over the past weeks, those moments seemed to stretch, tinged with a tentative intimacy—which both surprises and thrills Sakura, because they've never even held hands before. And yet, despite this reality, somehow every second they've spent together has further cemented a shared but unspoken knowledge.
That they're wasting their time waiting.
And so Sasuke, being as practical as ever, proposed the obvious solution based on rather simple criteria: since neither of them can picture a future without the other in it, the obvious resolution is not to try.
In other words: get married.
Laying it out like that might seem coldly logical and dispassionate, but Sakura knows it's hard to articulate to other people the exact extent of her feelings for the last remaining Uchiha without sounding like a besotted little girl. In fact, she's pretty sure only Naruto actually understands it, and even he has told her repeatedly that she deserves better than Sasuke (sometimes joking, sometimes not, depending on how heartbroken she's been at the time of the conversation). And so, she has to be rational about it.
That's not to say there's no romantic basis for their decision. Sakura has been very clear about her love for Sasuke. And, although he still has trouble getting the words out, Sasuke loves her, too. In an odd, frightening way, it doesn't seem like there's room left in their relationship for the middle-ground of dating.
But try telling that to my mother…
"Why don't you look surprised at this?!" Mebuki rounds on Kizashi who, after the initial shock over the announcement, has settled back and is looking at Sakura in speculation. A moment later, his gaze lands on her…
Fiancé, she supplies with a mental thrill.
Her father shrugs. "He came to ask my permission about a week ago."
It's Sakura's turn for surprise and she gapes at the reserved man beside her.
"You actually asked my father's permission?" she whispers, impressed and giddy and a little indignant all at once.
Sasuke doesn't answer. Instead, he stares straight ahead as if every shred of his focus is on not using the Rinnegan to portal out of the room. But the back of his neck turns red and his right eye twitches the way she's learned it does when he's embarrassed or caught doing something that he hopes no one will notice.
"Someone asked to marry our daughter, and you didn't tell me?" Mebuki demands.
"I didn't think it would be an issue!"
"It's Sasuke Uchiha! She's been in love with him since they both had baby teeth! Did you really think she was going to say no?!"
"Well… no," Kizashi says, shifting uncomfortably, "but considering how much he beat around the bush when he asked me, I figured it'd be a dog's age before he actually managed to get the words out to her."
"Mom, Dad, you know we can hear you, right?" Sakura reminds them, wondering if Sasuke's about to break his teeth from the amount of jaw clenching going on beside her.
Her mother takes no notice of her. "So, you gave him permission?!"
"What do you think I said?" Kizashi returns, nodding his head at them. "They're here now, telling us they're getting married. They wouldn't be here if I didn't say yes."
"He's a former international criminal—no offence," Mebuki says, like it's an afterthought. "What exactly made you think allowing him to marry our only daughter was a good idea?!"
"I looked him in the eye, and I asked him a question," Kizashi answers.
"A question."
"Yes."
Mebuki crosses her arms and raises an eyebrow, her expression promising that if she isn't impressed with what her husband has to say, she will unleash the fury of seven hells on him. Kizashi, used to this look, seems unfazed as he looks over at Sasuke. Sakura watches with bated breath as her father—a cheery, nonthreatening man who barely made it past genin—meets the gaze of the former nukanin (and, arguably, the most dangerous man alive) without quaking and asks, "Do you love my daughter?"
Utter silence fills the living room.
Sakura freezes, knowing Sasuke has never been the type to voice any kind of emotional attachment to the people he cares about. He still has trouble with it in private, let alone with relative strangers like her parents. He's even less likely to do it to prove a point, so she hurriedly opens her mouth, wanting to point out that she doesn't need to hear it.
"Yes," Sasuke says, the first word he's uttered since Sakura herded everyone into one room to announce their engagement. But the way he says it—the weight of that one syllable—Sakura can perceive everything that he isn't saying. There's a suspicious tightness in her eyes and her vision blurs a little with the film of tears.
Sasuke is no longer returning her father's stare but has tilted his head slightly toward her. Their eyes meet and, for a second, the living room and Sakura's parents fade away. For one eternal moment, it is as if everything is in perfect balance.
And then, almost as one, they both remember that they aren't alone.
Sakura shakes herself and looks away first, aware of her darkening cheeks. When she glances up, she's just in time to see her mother's frown becomes less pronounced; gradually, the agitation drains out of her.
Mebuki chews on Sasuke's response in silence for almost three full minutes, before huffing out a breath through flared nostrils. "When?" she demands.
Sakura blinks. "Huh?"
"When are you getting married?" her mother repeats, impatient.
"Oh, uh… we haven't decided yet," Sakura admits. "I mean, it takes months to plan a wedding properly. And there's so much to consider…
"Yes, there is," her mother says slowly, before brightening up. "And, of course, you'll want to make sure you're all set up before you do settle down. We'll have to plan this—you'll be so busy doing that, sweetheart, I doubt you'll have time for much else." She shoots Sasuke a look as if to address what she means by else then begins to enumerate a hefty list of wedding duties. "We'll have to reserve the venue, come up with a guest list, choose the flowers—"
All of these things are familiar to Sakura since she's helped all of her married girlfriends with their weddings. Every now and again, Mebuki asks a question, pointedly directed at Sakura instead of Sasuke, while Kizashi casually brings out a crossword puzzle. Clearly, he believes the important part of the conversation has passed and he need not pay attention.
Sasuke, however, is like a lump of stone, not reacting to anything her mother says. Even when Mebuki says that it's late, and it's time to go, Sakura has to prod him until he gets to his feet. After shooting her mother an annoyed glare, she leads him from the living room.
"Don't worry about her," she tells him, leading him down the landing. "Mom will warm up to you."
"I don't care if she does," he tells her, a minor edge of waspishness in his voice. Sakura suspects he's not as nonchalant about her mother's comments as he's been pretending.
Rather than call him on it, she tries to deflect with a joke. "It'll be a long fifty years then, because I'm pretty sure that's how long she's still intending to live."
Sasuke recognises that she's teasing and rolls his eyes, some of the rigidity leaving his shoulders.
"Let's wait a few days before we tell everyone," Sakura suggests, a minor peace offering. "I kind of like the idea of keeping it just to ourselves for a while."
"It's not as if your parents will brag about it," he agrees tonelessly.
"Don't worry about them. I mean it," she says once the door's closed behind her. Tonight, the sky is starless and without a moon, so the only light comes from the houses along the street. "I'm happy. And I think you're happy, too. That's all that matters."
"They're your family," he reminds her.
"And they'll support me in whatever I choose to do."
"Even elope?" Sasuke suggests, glum, and she can't tell if he's being serious or not.
"Oh, no. They'd kill me dead," she answers blithely. "And you. And the person who performs the marriage. Akatsuki would look like a bunch of rowdy teenagers compared to what my mother would be capable of if we eloped."
Sasuke snorts, but the rest of the tension goes out of his shoulders. His mouth curves upward in that not-quite-smile that drives her crazy, making her entertain elaborate fantasies about kissing it from his face.
A beat later, she realises that she's actually allowed to do that now.
Sakura bites her lip, wondering if she dares, trying to figure out how to ask him.
Maybe he notices something in her expression with those all-seeing eyes of his. It would explain why they flit away from her, scanning the deserted street outside her home, and then snap back. She can almost read the confirmation in his gaze—we're all alone —and wonders if she's imagining the look there: thoughtful, wary, anticipating, as if he's waiting to see what she will do.
Mustering her courage, Sakura leans in with one hand on his chest to steady herself and strains upward on tiptoes—it's not fair that he's so tall!—intending to press a kiss to his mouth. She chickens out at the last second, tilting her face to one side and deciding she'll settle for his cheek instead. But then he moves slightly toward her.
Their lips catch, lingering against one another a half-second too long to be chaste, and then she pulls away. Her cheeks burn, and he is abruptly three feet away from her, avoiding her gaze. But the back of his neck is visibly darker, even in the dim lamplight and she will never get tired of seeing that!
"I-I'll see you tomorrow," she says, trying for casualness. She assumes that, as usual, he will wander by the clinic at the end of the day because he has inexplicably memorised her schedule better than she has. "I should finish work by about six, I think, if you…want to go to dinner…or something."
She tries not to let on that she would very much like 'or something' to involve no dinner at all and more time getting to know the shape of his mouth.
うちは
It might be naivety on his part, but Sasuke does not expect his life to change too much now that he and Sakura are engaged.
Yes, he expects that once they announce it, they'll endure a bombardment of attention from their friends and her family. And he knows that there will be certain expectations as to an actual celebration. He may not have attended a formal wedding since childhood, but he's gotten stories from Sakura, Naruto, and Kakashi about the ones he missed while he was away.
But in the big scheme of things, his life will probably go on in the same vein as it has since he returned to the place of his birth.
No doubt, he will still spend most of his days in his own solitary pursuits, out of personal preference and because he's more useful to Konoha in the shadows. Sasuke will still endure Naruto's idiocies, Kakashi's laziness, and (a more recent addition to his life) Sai's perversions. He will continue to visit the graves of his family and the memorial stone where his brother's name is carved. He will tolerate the curious and often distrustful stares of his neighbours, all while working each day for the peaceful dream that underscores Konoha's Will of Fire.
The only difference, of course, will be that he will be married to Sakura.
Instead of saying goodbye to her at the end of every day, she'll be the one he comes home to. They'll live in the same house, take their meals together, and, basically, do all the same activities they already do, just in a more officially recognised social arrangement. He imagines it'll be like when they were genin on away missions—only this time, he won't ignore her affection or his own inclination to return it.
He realises that weddings are a big deal, but once the event itself is over with, he assumes life will return to some form of normalcy. That aspect of his future he can picture with a comfortable ease that would've boggled his mind ten years ago.
Sakura will work at the hospital and he will…do something he hasn't quite figured out yet.
There's no doubt it will involve shinobi work, but as to what kind, he has yet to sit down and hash it out with Kakashi and Naruto. Somehow, though, he's certain becoming a jōnin instructor or joining ANBU aren't on his list of options. Even if he tolerated the redundant requirement of the exam, both fields require the utter trust of the people around him.
The people of Konoha may consider him a hero, if a wayward one, but they don't trust him.
It's for that reason he's been scouring Konoha's library, trying to find information about Kaguya. Although the Rabbit Goddess was defeated, Sasuke suspects it's not over—Zetsu would not have planned her return for centuries and not had several back-ups in place. More than that, given her strength, it's possible she's not the only one of her kind. But until he can find actual proof and enough information to warrant a mission, he contents himself with basic information gathering.
It's not as bad as he thought it might be, especially given recent events.
Sasuke's been back in Konoha for a month, but now is the first time in recent memory that he's felt particularly good or hopeful about his life.
The village has become more than just a symbol of his clan's betrayal, but the place where his brother's name is honoured among the heroes of the Fourth Great Ninja War. He sees Konoha progress toward its future every day, pioneered by his childhood friends—friends that are once more offering him the branch of companionship he was always too damaged to accept.
That isn't to say he doesn't experience periods of restlessness. On the contrary, wandering the world in search of redemption gave him purpose. Now that he's achieved that—more or less—he feels a lack of definite direction. His entire life, Sasuke's moved from one task or cause to another instantly, without needing to take time to consider it. Here in Konoha, surrounded by people recovering from the damages of combat and gradually rebuilding their lives, there's no need for snap decisions.
He's uncertain how to be a part of this new world and this idea of 'normalcy' that's been absent from his life since before he lost his parents.
Mostly, he's been trying to adjust.
When he asked Sakura to be with him, it was the first big, long-term decision Sasuke committed himself to since returning. Although it's hardly the most drastic move he's ever considered, he can't help thinking it may be the most significant decision that he's made in years. Not least of all because, after ten years of denial and closing himself off to such possibilities, of refusing to acknowledge what he suspected since before he left Konoha the first time, he wholeheartedly returns Sakura's feelings.
It's a strange thing…love.
He always thought it was overwhelming and ruinous, a passionate, scorching emotion meant to consume from the inside out until nothing remains. His love for his brother was that way at times. Even now when he thinks of Itachi, he experiences echoes of that emotion seared into his soul. His bond with Naruto also started out that way, though in the passing years, it's ebbed to a comfortable warmth.
With Sakura, it's different. Being around her is like being surrounded by a cooling balm or quenching a thirst he didn't realise he had.
And that's why, if there is any threat imminent in this world, he has to be able to protect her from it. Not that she can't protect herself—he knows she can and doesn't fancy the idea of having his bones shattered for suggesting otherwise. But if he's able to stop a threat before it becomes a danger, she'll never have to.
Sasuke is on his way to Konoha's library to continue his information gathering, when fate decides to provide a reminder that life is rarely so simple.
"Sasuke-boy! Is that you?"
He falters in his step at being addressed in such manner and turns to find a familiar, diminutive old woman.
"Nekobaa," he greets, only the slight inflexion at the end of the sentence betraying his surprise.
The years haven't changed her at all, except for a few more lines in her craggy face and hair that is snow-white instead of grey.
"It's so good to see you!" she clucks, hugging him around the middle—despite the public nature of the display, he endures it. Nekobaa has known him longer than most people in this village. Even when he was travelling with Taka, she treated him like an unruly nephew instead of a nukanin. "I'd heard you returned to Konoha."
"You are far from Sora-ku," he points out.
"Well, I'm getting older," she dismisses, "and with Tamaki moving here to be with that no-good dog-man of hers, I couldn't very well stay behind."
Sasuke snorts at the accurate description of Kiba. "Did you leave your supply warehouse to someone else then? I had been meaning to make a trip there."
"Oh? What for? I can't imagine there's anything out there that you can't get in this place—Konoha has certainly grown since I was last here!"
"Kamon," Sasuke says, and then in a quieter tone admits, "It's been many years since the village tailors stocked any of my family's emblems."
There hasn't really been a need with no Uchiha around.
Nekobaa blinks at him for a moment, and then her face splits into a warm smile. "Oh, congratulations, Sasuke-boy," she murmurs. "I hope you will make each other extremely happy."
Sasuke is the one who blinks now in surprise. "What?"
"Heh. For the first time in your life, you ask me for embroidery instead of weapons? There's only one reason someone like you would be worrying about that—you've asked that sweet cherry-blossom girl to marry you, haven't you?"
Sasuke can't help glancing around surreptitiously to make sure no one's listening; in a village of shinobi, privacy is a luxury and gossip the norm.
"You must be so excited," she gushes. "And so much is going to change now that there's someone else in your life. Have you decided where you're going to live?"
"I—"
"Are you intending to become a Konoha police officer, too? Your father, may the gods rest his soul, did good work here. It would be a shame if the Uchiha legacy didn't carry on. Well, you'll have to do something, of course. A shinobi's work doesn't pay as much as it used to—everyone has to have a second job."
Wait—what?
"But then, from what Tamaki says, Sakura-girl is a doctor now, so perhaps she will support you," the old woman considers. She then shakes her finger at him. "You make sure you give her lots of babies, do you hear?"
He tries to reply to that, but the only sound that escapes him is a strangled croak.
Nekobaa guffaws loudly at his obvious discomfort, irritating him just enough to get his brain functioning again. Overwhelmed and eager to escape the insinuations, Sasuke makes as polite an excuse as he can and hurries away.
"I'll see if I can find those kamon for you, Sasuke-boy!" the old woman calls cheerily after him, and he curses as the back of his neck warms.
Damn it all.
He's been ruminating about his own future prospects, but until Nekobaa's well-meaning questions, he hadn't actually considered finding a place for them to live. And children—
There will be children, right? We never discussed it, but…
He swallows at the idea of having that conversation. There are so many considerations, not the least of which is whether he even deserves to have children after the life he's led. And of course, there's the fact that he's never—
His brain stalls completely when he thinks about the fact that he and Sakura would first have to engage in a certain activity to even cause children. It takes him longer than he'd like to admit recovering from the sudden, fanciful barrage of images in his head. Eventually, though, he manages to force his thoughts back to more practical, immediate matters.
A house. A job. The wedding itself.
He repeats the mantra a few times as he waits for the warmth in his cheeks to subside.
It's possible he's letting himself become intimidated about the whole thing. If Naruto, of all people, can figure out how to be an adult—and a husband at that—Sasuke can, too…or die trying. (He's rather certain that Hinata makes all the important decisions in that marriage, actually, but he wants Sakura to be his partner and not his nursemaid.)
He has no experience—or, to be honest, that much interest—in planning a wedding celebration. But whether they have one of those or not, he and Sakura will need somewhere to live, and it's his duty to find one. Because right now his living arrangements don't well suit a married couple.
Kakashi was kind enough to allow Sasuke to stay in his old, unused apartment when he returned to Konoha, but it's scarce large enough for one person. And as for the other option—living with his soon-to-be in-laws—well, Sasuke will crawl through glass first. They've made it clear already that they aren't entirely pleased with Sakura's choice in husband, Kizashi's character judgements aside.
Once, the prospect of marrying into the Uchiha would have been an honour…
Sasuke and his brother have done a lot to disabuse the world of that notion.
He sighs at this and glances up, only then discovering that his feet have brought him to the ruins of the old Uchiha district. He wonders if there's anything salvageable from the battered, broken apartment that was once his.
Or anything he wants to salvage.
Kakashi's discussed fixing the place up and even mentioned that the Elders once planned to raze it to make room for new residential developments. Konoha is growing, and Sasuke can understand the need to expand, but he still hesitates.
On the one hand, the idea of this place being destroyed angers him because this is where his people lived and died. It's drenched in their blood and, while he saw their bodies buried away from here long ago, their ghosts remain. It doesn't seem right to move Konoha's future generations to a place cursed by that legacy.
He's not religious or superstitious, but he has seen and lived through enough in his life to be cautious.
On the other, he doesn't see himself settling down here with Sakura, either. He doesn't want his future to start off in utter isolation from the rest of the village. And if they do have children…
He shakes his head. To live here would undermine the point of starting over. More than that, Sakura is an important member of the village and an integral part of the hospital. She'll need to live close to her workplace to be most effective. As his importance to the village is significantly less, he decides it's best that their future living space be based on Sakura's needs and not his.
Not here, he decides and turns from the ruined building.
It's not much but narrowing down where he doesn't want to live seems like a start.
つづく
Chapter Title Inspired By: Traditional Wedding Invitations
Seriously, Naruto and Hinata got a whole damn movie to bring them together, and then an entire filler arc about their wedding. I feel that Sakura and Sasuke deserve at least that much, considering their relationship had the foundations laid for it from the first few chapters of the manga. A lot more so than Naruto and Hinata did. And for every person who demands some kind of wedding for these two dorks (and those of us who can't afford to go to Japan to enjoy all the wedding-related celebrating fans there get to do), I am hereby inviting you to the wedding 😊
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I'm only able to keep writing as I do thanks to the support of readers like you, so every bit helps!
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