A/N: This is going to be a real quick oneshot. I hope you enjoy!
I don't own anything in this oneshot. All characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
(Please, no ship bashing! Thank you!)
Ho-ly crap, how did I get myself into this situation?
Hiking the ends of her dress higher above her legs, she continued to run, thanking her intuition of getting sandals instead of pumps.
She dared not look back, especially since the wind would probably blow the veil clean off of her face, or she would trip over some uneven sidewalk and dirty this expensive white dress.
So many memories ran through her head, though she tried her best to ignore the tears that were rising in her eyes and kept running.
"Sakura, are you sure you want to do this?"
Echoes of Ino's voice startled her enough to stop beside a bench at a bus stop. She panted, wiping the sweat from her forehead as she hunched over.
"I have to, Ino," she had stated firmly, staring her best friend dead in the eye in the mirror, "he loves me."
"But... do you love him?"
She gingerly wiped at her eyes, trying not to smudge the waterproof mascara that had been so delicately applied just half an hour before.
Someone sat next to her, a movement so sudden she glanced sharply over to them before looking away.
A man, probably around her age, all done up in a gray suit and a white flower tucked into the lapel of the jacket.
She frowned, folding her hands together in her lap. She was dying to say something, but... would he consider it rude?
Maybe he's late for his own wedding, she thought with a bitter smile. Maybe I should leave him be.
He cleared his throat, stealing a glance at the bride.
"You look beautiful," he said quietly, gazing her in the face when she looked at him again. "Are you...?"
"I'm supposed to be getting married in five minutes," she replied with a shaky laugh. "I... I chickened out."
He chuckled for a moment, looking down at the cuffs of his sleeves with a wry smile. "Yeah... I guess I did too."
This time, in her surprise, she stared at him.
"It's so weird," she continued after a minute of looking him over, "he was my childhood friend. He's going to be... so heartbroken."
He didn't answer right away, but instead reached out to tilt her chin up.
A flush came over her cheeks as he gently wiped away the tear that, unbeknownst to her, had begun rolling down her cheek.
"A bride shouldn't be crying like this on her wedding day," he shook his head with a tiny smile.
She had nothing to come back at him with, instead she looked deep into his dark eyes.
"Say," he asked suddenly, letting go of her face. "Why are you getting married today? You don't seem to be... so fond of the groom."
"Well, why are you getting married today?" She shot back in good humor, folding her arms across her chest. "You don't seem to want your bride."
The amusement in his eyes faded, and he frowned. "It was an arranged marriage."
"Yeah..." she looked away. "He's been in love with me since forever."
Neither of them spoke for a few minutes as they watched the cars drive by.
"Well then," he sighed and stood from the bench, getting her attention as he extended his hand. "I suppose we have a few things in common."
She took his hand and allowed him to help her off the bench. She dusted off her back and arched an eyebrow. "Such as?"
"One, we're both running away from our weddings," a smile tugged at his lips, "and two, we both desire more."
"You do have a point," she mused as they began walking down the sidewalk. "Say, what's your name? I don't believe we've met."
"Sasuke." He nodded to her. "Uchiha Sasuke."
"Wait." She stopped in her tracks, forcing him to stop as well. The image she had in her mind's eye of a young boy with hair that stuck up on the back of his head like an eternal cowlick was very, very different than the man standing before her with his bangs covering half of his face and hair that was cut cleanly at his shoulders. "Uchiha Sasuke? You mean Uchiha Sasuke from Kakashi-sensei's homeroom class at Leaf Private Academy?"
"Yes, that's me," he furrowed his brow. "And you are?"
"Haruno Sakura, the girl who always sat in front of you!" Breathy laughter escaped her lips and she beamed at him. "I can't believe it's you!"
"What a coincidence, running into you here." He seemed genuinely happy to see her and he gave her a quick hug. "Has it really been ten years since we graduated?"
"I guess it has," she agreed with a jovial smile. "So who'd you end up getting hitched to? I don't remember you having an interest in anyone from our class."
"Hyuuga Hinata." He replied.
"Oh." She nodded in understanding. "Ohhh... the shy girl who had such a huge crush on Naruto..."
"And I assume you were supposed to be getting married to Uzumaki?" He asked.
She sighed. "Yes, I am."
"In fact," she continued, wrinkling her nose, "I can practically hear Ino screaming at me from here."
He chuckled, letting her take his arm as they walked through the shopping district. "Yamanaka Ino never changed a bit, I see."
"Definitely not," the pinkette giggled in reply. "The only change is that she and Sai finally got together, and while she claims her partying days are behind her, she still drags me to the bar on Wednesday nights."
The two of them garnered quite a few surprised looks from wandering passerby, with some of them whispering and pointing.
Sakura overheard more than one person say, "They make such a lovely couple."
She blushed darker than her hair and kept her head bowed, not wanting people to stare.
"Just ignore them," he said smoothly, feeling her tighten her hold on his arm. "It's not every day you see two people walking down the street in their wedding clothes."
"Yes, but..." She bit her lip. "Oh, I hope Naruto's not too mad."
He hummed in response.
"You know," she spoke again. "I remember I had the biggest crush on you in middle school."
"Did you?" He raised an eyebrow in reply. "I hardly remember."
"Of course you wouldn't," she rolled her eyes with an amused smile. "Like I said, you never paid much attention to the girls in our class. I'm surprised you remember me at all."
"You were one of the smartest in our class, how couldn't I?" He chuckled once more. "I remember always vying for the top spot with you, Neji, and Shikamaru."
"Ah, I remember." She sighed. "Man, I haven't seen Shikamaru since college."
"As I've heard, he's doing fine in taking over his family business."
"Probably a drag for him." She smiled softly. "I remember how much he hated working for his father."
The two kept going, conversing as they went, until they came to a tiny church near a lake.
"Hey."
"Hm?" She looked up at Sasuke with question. "What?"
"Since we're both in wedding attire," he gestured to their clothing, "and there's a church right here, how about we both get married?"
"Wha- right now?" She choked. "Don't we need to get a marriage license first?"
"There was a courthouse just up the way," he replied, taking her tiny hand in his. "If we hurry, we can get married. No one will have to know."
She blushed. "A-Are you sure about this?"
"Sakura." Her name rolling off of his tongue made a shiver go up her back.
"I wouldn't suggest it if I didn't want to." He smirked down at her flushed demeanor and tugged gently on her hand. "C'mon."
"Okay."
Poor Hinata was an absolute mess.
She hurried as fast as she could towards town, looking this way and that, hoping to find her husband-to-be.
Today was just not going how she wished it would.
First Tenten accidentally manages to cut her leg, then she finds that the dress they ordered for her was a size too big, and now her groom doesn't show up?
She tried to swallow past the lump in her throat, but she felt the tears rising, clouding her vision.
"Hinata, wait!" Tenten's voice shouted from behind her as said maid-of-honor stumbled to a stop, gasping for air. "Boy, for someone in pumps, you sure run fast!"
The heiress nearly smiled at her wit, but her amusement was squelched by her fears. "What if we don't find him, Tenten?"
"Aw c'mon, Sasuke doesn't hate you!" The brunette encouraged, gently patting her on the back. "I doubt he would ditch his own wedding unless he had a reason!"
"B-But I could tell that he was against this marriage from the beginning..." Hinata facepalmed with a tiny moan of discouragement. "Oh, why didn't I confront him about it? Why didn't I call it off?"
"Because your dad would have killed you." Tenten answered matter-of-factly. "Now c'mon, we have a husband to catch!"
When Hinata looked up, her eyes widened. "Ino? What are she doing here?"
Said blonde was running up the path, anger radiating off of her in waves. But when she saw the noirette, she stopped in her path in disbelief.
"Wait, Hinata?" She blinked before giving the girl a beaming grin. "I haven't seen you since high school! How have you been?"
"I've been better," she admitted with a tiny smile as she hugged the girl. "Have you seen Sasuke? He's-"
"Ino, why'd you stop?"
Hinata gaped and her face went red. "N-Na-Na-"
"Oh, hey, Hinata-chan!" Naruto greeted her with a smile, patting her on the back. "We're looking for Sakura-chan. Have you seen her anywhere?"
"No; have you seen Sasuke?" Tenten answered with a frown. "He's supposed to be with us."
"Oh, that Forehead girl!" Ino grumbled, clenching her fists. "When I find her-!"
"Say, Naruto, I didn't know you were getting married today." Tenten changed the subject. "Your suit looks good."
"Aw, thanks!" He rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish grin. "But... I guess Sakura-chan didn't want to marry me after all..."
"Don't give up now, Naruto!" Ino glared, gripping his shoulder.
"What's the point in looking?" Hinata sighed. "We're already half an hour late to the wedding, and I don't believe we'll find Sasuke any time soon. I say we call it off."
"Wait." Tenten stopped her. "If Naruto's supposed to be getting married..."
"And Hinata's supposed to be getting married..." Ino caught on quickly.
"Then why don't we marry the two of you in private?" Tenten offered. "Better than putting today to waste!"
"Are you sure?" Naruto gave her a weak smile.
"Positive, Ramen-head. Let's go to the courthouse to get you married!" Ino pushed him in the direction of the court.
Hinata was stuck blushing at the thought of marrying Naruto. "I- u-uh..."
"Well, c'mon, Hinata-chan!" Naruto extended his arm with a smile. "Shall we?"
She contemplated it for a few moments before gently wiping her tears away and returning his smile, taking his arm. "Yes."
A/N: And so, a happy ending for both couples! Oh, and I forgot to mention earlier, but this was supposed to be a birthday oneshot for Sasuke. Guess I accidentally overshot it ^^; Guess I'll just upload it on my birthday.
Please tell me how I did, and thanks for reading!