"I said 'Always' and I meant it." I smile at her. She's absolutely the most beautiful thing I've ever laid eyes on. The Kimono she wears is a deep violet that matches her eyes, and seems to help light up her smile even more.
She's holding a bouquet of flowers, but I can't be bothered to look at them. My eyes are glued to her face- her wonderful face. Her hair is pulled back and her bangs hang over her eyes. I try to keep this picture in my mind while I try to keep my face from going numb. I can't stop smiling.
I can hardly stand still as we exchange vows and go through all the annoying parts of being married. Her dad's eyes are boring into the back of my skull, but right now it's only a minor thought in my head. I just want to kiss her already.
It's hard enough keeping my eyes toward the priest. Even now, I steal glances back at her.
"Please exchange the rings," he says and gestures to the boy holding our rings. Finally, we're getting closer. I don't think I've ever been this impatient with anything. Except, maybe, waiting for this day to come.
When he says to kiss the bride, a sigh of relief leaves me even though her cheeks flush bright as I lean in. I wrap my arms around her, and I feel her relax as we kiss, and the people in the audience clap and cheer for us.
I feel rice being thrown and slide my arm behind her back, moving the other underneath her knees as I pick her up. She lets out a small noise of surprise and I kiss her again. She's finally mine- forever.
The feeling inside me was a mix of complete rage and happiness. I clutched the branch in front of me tighter as he kissed her. He swept her off her feet, walking back down the aisle. Closing my eyes, I held the image of her smiling face, of her happiness there.
What made me angry was that it was him. I'm glad she's happy… And she's so beautiful today- why wouldn't she be? Every woman should glow on their wedding day.
When I could no longer see them, I knew it was time to leave. I wouldn't come back here to see her again. I had to let go, and let her live her life.
I frowned and jumped away from the church. It was time to get back to the complex.
By now the route back was as familiar to me as holding a sword, I could travel it and barely pay attention to where I was going; be completely lost in thought and still get there.
Naruto…he's perfectly capable of protecting her like she needs. And protecting- a lump was caught in my throat as I thought this- their children, when they had them.
I shake off the thought; I can't deal with the thought of them having kids. I'm not even sure she wants kids, but knowing her, she probably does. I stop myself from going further with the thought.
At the moment, I have to concentrate on what I'm doing. If I don't, I know my mind will wonder…
It's too painful.
I sit outside, enjoying the late afternoon sunshine as I watch Naruto play with our son. The boy looks more like me, but I'd say he acts just like his father. Naruto chases him around the yard, and they through a ball back and forth. Watching them relaxes me.
My daughter simply sits in my lap with her candy. I run my hand through her pale blonde hair, smiling as I lean in to kiss the top of her head.
"You should go play with Daddy," I told her quietly. "I'll hold the sweets."
She spills the few pieces left into my hand and slides down, she runs over to Naruto, tackling him to the ground with the help of her brother. We all let out a laugh.
He picks them both up under his arms and grins over at me as the children hit his legs, yelling to be let go. "I say we all get ramen. I'm gonna be sore in the morning." I roll my eyes and smile wider at him, anticipating the childrens' reactions.
Of course, as I suspected, when he lets them go, they're jumping for joy, shouting "Ichiraku" over and over.
"Alright, alright," He says, and motions for me to come over to him.
His arm wraps around my waist as he kisses the top of my head. I lean into him and hold my son's hand as we all walk to get some ramen.
Authors' Note:
Gods, it's finished! Yoko and I are so glad to have finally finished this story. (For ourselves, and you all.)
She would like to say that it was awesome writing this story, and she's very proud of how it turned out. I'm very proud, too. Hopefully, we'll do another story at some point in the future. While we did a ton of procrastinating, it was still so much fun. And you guys helped that!
I hope everybody enjoyed the story. The next thing you'll see from us is an alternate ending- the suggestion of a wonderful reviewer named Zamoria.
We mostly just wanted this up before the new year, hehe.
Anyway! Happy New Year's, and we hope you enjoyed the story. Thanks for reading, everyone!
