She never expected her wedding day to turn out like this. Sitting on the church steps, rain pouring down and drenching her dress and make up, and the one man she thought that loved her, left her for another woman and a different life.
Yes, Haruno Sakura was left at the altar by Uchiha Sasuke. It was supposed to be the happiest day of her life, but turned out to be a whirlwind of upsetting events.
In the middle of the ceremony Karin came barging into the church, baby in arms, and claiming the child was Sasuke's. It turned out she spoke the truth, the babe looked just like him and with a quick side glance at Sakura, Sasuke fled the church with Karin in tow.
And now she sits on the steps wondering how it all went wrong. Steps echoed in the church halls and Sakura turned her head to see who was coming up behind her.
With an umbrella in hand, Sabaku No Gaara came around the corner to find the object of his searching. What he saw, though, made his heart hurt. Sakura was sitting in the rain, looking up at the sky as her mascara left a delicate pattern of black swirls down her cheeks. Her eyes puffy from her tears and her dress completely ruined.
Gaara walked up to her slowly and held the umbrella over her form. Sakura looked up to his face and saw how his eyes were roaming her drenched figure; she shyly looked averted her gaze towards the rain hitting the pavement.
The two stayed in their positions for a few moments, until Gaara set the umbrella down and scooped a very wet Sakura up in his arms. He walked quickly until he was under the church's roof and then sat her down on a bench. He then ran back outside and grabbed the umbrella, when he returned he found a sobbing Sakura.
Gaara carefully sat down and pulled the crying girl into his arms and in a un-Gaara like way he started to gently rock her back and forth while rubbing her back and muttering soothing words. Eventually she calmed down enough to dry her eyes and look up at him. What Gaara saw in those eyes made his heart stop for a fleeting moment, he saw a broken and confused little girl seeking some form of comfort from him. And for the first time that night he spoke:
"Sakura…you look so beautiful, even with all the mascara and the drenched gown. You're the most amazing bride ever. To hold such a strong character when faced with an extremely difficult situation makes you the strongest woman I've ever met. And don't you dare think that you weren't good enough or that she was better in some way, because you are and she isn't. You are far better than what that Uchiha deserved and he is not a man for treating you in such a way."
Sakura looked on stunned as Gaara said all of this to her, it was the most she had heard him say at one time. And she knew he meant it, because the Kazekage never spoke meaningless words. But as stunned as she was now, Sakura would be absolutely astounded by his next words.
"Sakura, he couldn't appreciate you because he didn't love you the way a man should. A man should respect you, catch you when you fall, appreciate all your strengths and weaknesses, and above all love you endlessly. And I believe that…I'm the man…the man that is meant to love you endlessly."
Gaara finished speaking and starred into her eyes as she tried to comprehend what he was saying. And when it finally came to her, she started to cry again and jumped into his arms. Again she started to cry, but this time because she had found the one to love her.
After that day Sakura started to visit Suna more often and Gaara found every excuse to travel to Konoha. The two grew closer and closer throughout the next couple of years, until finally Gaara popped the question and the two were to be wed in that same church where they had first discovered their love.
Sakura never expected to marry Gaara of the Sand, but then again she never expected a love so profound, so amazing. And so she sits on the steps of the church, the sun shining brightly and the birds singing. Sakura stands from her sitting position and watches as the light catches her princess dress. It's white and sparkles like a million stars in the night sky, the dress is so very different from the one Sasuke had picked out. His was plain and simple, but Gaara wanted her to pick out her own dress. And so she picked out the princess style dress to her fairytale ending.
As she walked down the aisle and took her place next to Gaara, she looked over to see him and saw tenderness in his eyes that he only saved for her. The wedding went on as planned, no interruptions. And as the vows were read, Gaara only had one simple sentence to say:
"Haruno Sakura I promise to love you endlessly."
And everyone in the audience knew that he spoke true words, because the Kazekage of Suna never spoke meaningless words.