A/N: A wise reviewer once said that time skips are a writer's way of saying "I'm too lazy for it." That is somewhat true =) But the part where I time skipped, it was only a little, and I apologize for it. I am done dragging the story out, and nothing interesting would have happened during that small timeframe anyway.

=Here Comes The Bride… Sort of=


By all rights, the next morning should have been a total disaster. Sasuke should have woken up to an empty house and a feeling of deep regret. He should have taken his shower, and gone to the kitchen to find either a very pissed off Sakura, or a note saying that she was going out, or maybe not even a note at all. But none of the things that should have happened, did happen.

Sasuke woke, feeling the regret. With lead in his stomach, he showered until the hot water ran out, and finally and reluctantly made his way to the kitchen to see what sort of trouble he was really into after last night's escapade. To his surprise, Sakura was actually there, sitting at the table as if she were waiting for him. When she looked up at him, there were dark rings under her eyes as if she'd been crying and had lost a lot of sleep. The look she gave him was almost one of guilt, and impulsively he almost started apologizing and groveling right then and there.

But Sakura spoke before he could, and she said something that was very different from any of the things he had expected. "You might want to get your coffee and sit down," she said gravely. And there was a sad look in her eyes that scared him a little.

So he did what she said - he got his coffee and he sat down, and he felt her watching him the entire time. When he was finally across from her and sipping at his caffeine, cream and sugar mixture, she started fiddling with an envelope that he hadn't noticed she was holding before. It was the type of envelope that he always used, but he was wondering what she was doing with it.

She opened her mouth as if to speak, still looking sadly down at the envelope in her hands, and he couldn't help but nervously wonder what kind of bad thing had happened to make her act like this, especially after what had happened the night before. Sakura's brow creased for a moment when she spoke, but she still wouldn't look at him. "This is going to be hard for you to hear Sasuke," she said quietly.

What had happened? Had she and her friends managed to spend all of his money or something? Had someone died…?

Sakura looked up at him then, and her green eyes were shinning just a little from tears. "What is it?" he persisted, and there was a horrible feeling in his gut. Somehow he knew that whatever Sakura was about to tell him, it was going to hit close to home.

It was several moments before she could answer. It looked like she was thinking how best to say it. She kept looking at him, and away, and down at the envelope in her hands. And she kept opening her mouth, but no sound ever came out.

"Naruto's landlady dropped by the house earlier, while you were sleeping." Sasuke's blood immediately froze. It felt as if his entire body had completely quit functioning.

Naruto. Something bad had happened to Naruto. Something was wrong with Naruto. Sasuke's world was crumbling as all the possibilities dawned on him in a single instant. "Sasuke," Sakura whispered, reaching out to take his free hand. He just stared at her, waiting, in the greatest moment of suspense he had ever felt in his entire life, for her to tell him what was wrong.

"Naruto left town yesterday." Sasuke's mind drew a blank, and she must have seen it in his face, because she went on. "He quit his job, gave up his apartment - everything. Apparently he just packed his things and… left. He said goodbyes to a few people around town last night, as he was leaving. Sasuke… he said he's never coming back. The landlady came because… she was cleaning out his apartment to get it ready for somebody else, and she found these…."

Sakura pushed the envelope forward, and Sasuke experienced the shock of his life when he realized that she was holding the five pictures he and Naruto had taken during their date. The very same five pictures in the very same envelope that Sasuke had left in the very same apartment that Naruto had said goodbye to just the night before….

Naruto wasn't dead, like Sasuke had feared. Naruto wasn't dead. But Naruto was gone. Sasuke began to cry.


~Flashback; Sakura's POV~

"Sakura!" Ino called over the crowd and the music. With a grin she shoved and squeezed herself between the bodies of dancing teenagers. The girls of Konoha had, of all things, reserved a bar exclusively for their use, and for Sakura's bachelorette party. Ironically enough, it was the very same bar that they had spent Sasuke's 18th birthday in. Apparently, it wasn't that difficult for eighteen and nineteen year olds to obtain access to a bar in Konoha.

With a happy giggle Ino half fell into the seat next to Sakura and passed her one of the drinks that she'd barely managed to keep from spilling all the way to their booth from the bar. "Thanks!" Sakura said, and took a sip of the bluish-green mixture. It tasted sweet, like berries, but was unmistakably something that could get her highly intoxicated. After so many long days spent locked up in the house, stressing about the last bits of wedding details, and fighting with Sasuke… this bar was like a haven. The beat of the loud music made her want to get up and join the crowd in their reckless dancing.

Into slung an arm around Sakura, still giggling, and Sakura laughed with her. It was hard to believe that just a years previously the two of them had been rivals. They would have slit each others throats to get to Sasuke, but Sakura had always been the more triumphant in that department. She supposed, though, that she had been the least triumphant as well - everybody got to see her and Sasuke together, but she could never really have him. Thinking about it would just make her depressed - she was getting him now, and that was all that mattered.

"Sakura," Ino said, perking up a little suddenly. Her blonde haired friend took a large drink from her own concoction, making Sakura laugh at her some more. "You know, you never really told me… what's up with your dress." Sakura's buzz was killed instantly, but Ino continued. "Your wedding is next week, and as far as I know, you haven't even tried one on. Well… I think you did that once, right after he proposed. But since then, it's like you haven't even been looking. You get all tight-lipped and pissy whenever anyone asks about it, too."

Sakura gaped at her friend. How had Ino realized so much?

Ino grinned up at her. "I'm your best friend. I just notice these things. Now come on, give me the scoop."

Sakura fidgeted uncomfortably, picking at her clothes, and finally downed the last of her drink. "Alright. I guess I'll let you in on the secret…"


~Flash forward... The Day of the Wedding~

Sakura stared at herself dejectedly in the body sized mirror of one of the rooms upstairs, inside the church. Well, she thought to herself, at least it was white.

Yes, indeed she was in a church. Western style weddings were rather popular (not to mention expensive) in Japan, and it was her wedding day, so therefore, she deserved nothing but the best. They wouldn't actually be getting married inside the church though. Everything would actually be taking place outside, in the most gorgeous courtyard. Still, she couldn't help but feel like a total loser as she stood in dismay at the sight of her reflection. She was supposed to be a beautiful, blushing bride today. And she was still trying to convince herself that she was one.

"This is your wedding day," she told her reflection. "You're getting married to the man of your dreams. Sasuke isn't trying to take away my right to be a bride…. He's just getting one last chance to be himself before we tie the knot…." Besides, there was a dress of her own choosing waiting for the reception afterwards. All she'd have to do is say her vows, kiss the groom, and ta-daa, she was married. Then she could walk arm-in-arm with her husband back down the aisle, high-tail it back upstairs, and change as quickly as possible. She wanted nothing less than to be glowing and gorgeous and where everybody could see her.

There was something off about her facial features though. She should be beaming, but instead her reflection only frowned back at her.

"Sakura?" Ino was knocking at the door. "Sakura, everyone's wondering where you are. Can I come in?"

"Sure," she said unenthusiastically.

Ino stepped in, and when she saw the look on Sakura's face and said, "Oh Sakura," coming over and hugging her. Sakura hugged her back just as enthusiastically as she had let her in. As mentioned before, she and Ino had always fought over Sasuke, and now that Ino knew everything, surely she would do nothing but gloat. Or even worse, she would just have that stupid grin on her face, saying without saying "I won."

No, Sakura was not feeling very friendly with her friend today. Especially since Ino was already done up in her bridesmaid's dress, and looking exceptionally pretty. Sakura kept her mouth shut and tried to keep down the rage of jealousy that was starting to make her feel sick.

"I almost thought you were kidding," Ino said, putting space between her and Sakura so that she could eye her outfit up and down. "You really should have insisted. I know we've wanted Sasuke forever but you should have just told him, this is your big day, and you should be able to wear what you want - no matter what kind of messed up second-life he wants to bring out into the open."

Sakura felt exasperated. This really wasn't how she had planned on this day going at all. If she weren't going to have the chance to be a beautiful bride, then what was the point of having a big wedding at all? They might as well have just signed some papers and gotten it over with. And Ino was definitely not helping matters.

"Ino I already told you. This is what Sasuke wants, and if it makes him happy, I'm more than willing to give it to him."

The look on Ino's face was flatly disbelieving. "Uh-huh. Then why do you sound pissed off and look so depressed?"

Suddenly there was another knock at the door. Before Sakura knew who it was or could even say yay or nay to them entering, her father poked his pink head in. Dammit, she had forgotten to tell him that he wouldn't be walking her down the aisle. "Hey, it's almost time… Oh," he said in surprise, seeing Sakura's getup.

"Hey daddy," Sakura said tiredly.

"Is this what you're wearing?" he asked, slowly walking into the room. He gently took her hands in his and spread her arms so that he could see the entirety of her outfit. "Well, I certainly hope so, because everyone's seated and waiting." He smiled tenderly.

"This was Sasuke's idea, daddy," Sakura said, gesturing to her outfit helplessly.

The man shook his head. "To each his own," he said, and it made Sakura smile. It was what he'd always said while she was growing up, whenever anyone made a comment about how strange their family was. Then, he kissed her forehead. "You're still a beautiful, blushing bride to me. And it's your wedding day, and I'm your father." He held out his arm to her. "Are you ready?"

Having her father there made her feel significantly better about herself. That he would be so understanding was all that mattered, and she suddenly decided that she would walk with him. With a bright smile, she accepted his arm in hers and said, "Yes."


All of Konoha must have been sitting out there in that courtyard. White wooden chairs set up in perfect rows and columns held each person in the backyard of the humongous church chosen for the wedding. The yard was large enough to seat everybody and then some, with a wide space running directly down the middle to create the aisle. Two identical fountains stood to the left and right, spouting water from the mouths of baby angels. Flowers were everywhere, the red carpet laid out, and a wide raised platform forming a step was fashioned where the bride and groom would be saying their I do's. The courtyard was fenced in by stone walls, and small concrete paths winded their way around the perimeter, some of them leading into white laced gazebos. Encasing the raised platform was the largest of the gazebos; a latticework pavilion awaiting the soon-to-be-newlyweds.

When the music started up, the entire town held its breath. Wasn't it weird that things were starting without the groom present? They had begun to wonder - not a soul had seen him the entire day. But the audience was distracted now. Standing in the doorway to the church were two daughters of close friends of Sakura's. Everyone awwwed as the girls slowly made their way through the crowd and down the aisle; people in the front craning their necks to see. Pretty white dresses and bows in their hair, the two baby faced blonde girls walked like little angels, each of them with one hand holding on to either side of a basket that was nearly as large as they were. They tossed flowers ladylike to the ground, one of the girls even stopping halfway through to place a few petals into the hands of an old man, which of course everyone just thought was so cute.

Behind the two of them came the ring bearer. He was a small child, distantly related to the Haruno family. He held a white velvet pillow, bearing the two golden rings.

Next were the bridesmaids. Their dresses were all soft lavender, and each of them held a small bouquet of flowers. They were all smiling, and even more general aww's echoed from the audience. There were nine bridesmaids total - which the entire town knew that Sasuke Uchiha had found ridiculous. Each of them was a close friend of Sakura's of course - fangirls of the Uchiha who had been subdued by the upcoming wedding. They were all smiling, but some of them had their heads down in a defeated kind of way. Hair colors ranged from deep purple to blonde to striking orange.

The best man standing at the front of the courtyard and already waiting under the roof of the pavilion, was Neji Hyuga, and everyone thought it a great bit of gossip that he had had to replace Naruto Uzumaki. After all, the last anyone had really seen of Naruto, he'd been apparently fighting with Sasuke a week before, at the bachelor party. Word was that he'd left town the very next day, but where could he possibly have gone? And would he ever be coming back?

Finally, the bridesmaids, the best man, the flower girls, and the ring bearer were all in their designated places. Everyone had their heads turned practically all the way around to watch the doors. Where was Sasuke? How could Sakura get married to a groom that wasn't there?

As if on cue, the traditional music of "Here Comes The Bride" playing from the piano drifted over the entire courtyard. The doors to the entrance of the church, which had closed after each departure, swung open wide, and out of the shadows stepped the bride and her father. Everyone gasped in shock.

If anyone had expected anything strange to happen at this wedding -and certainly they had- they had definitely not expected this. The audience should have been filled with the sounds of cooing and congratulations. Cameras should have been flashing left and right, but the only camera flashing so far was the hired photographer, and even he had hesitated.

Sakura walked at the pace of a woman making her way to her deathbed, arm in arm with her father and a small bouquet of flowers in one of her delicate gloved hands. However, rather than the traditional wedding dress, she was wearing a tuxedo; that's right, the full suit-and-tie getup, all in white. Her especially bright pink hair was clipped back so that her bangs were out of her eyes, but rather than a veil on her head she was wearing a hat. All eyes were so glued upon her that everyone failed to notice that the only person not shocked was Ino Yamanaka.

All was quiet, except for the music, and Sakura's delicate smile looked to be faltering. Her wide green eyes shot around inside her head as if searching for the one place she could look without seeing a shocked or scandalized face. She was blushing brightly by the time she and her father reached the end of the aisle, and her smile only returned when the man gave her shoulders a gentle shake, and kissed her lovingly on the cheek. Then, Sakura waited, next to her bridesmaids, all of whom besides Ino were gaping. As if she were the groom, Sakura's eyes were glued to the doors of the church.

The wedding march was still playing on, and as little light bulbs flickered on above each resident of Konoha's head, they all turned to stare, openmouthed, in the direction Sakura was looking. Standing there, in the doorway, was Sasuke Uchiha – the bride.


Sasuke was pacing. He just couldn't sit still.

Back at the beginning, just after he'd first proposed to Sakura, he'd come up with this crazy plan, and in theory it had been a good idea. Shed his old self with one last act of true feminism – or what some people would call, being gay. He would march proudly down that red aisle with all of Konoha watching (or, perhaps not so proudly, but he would do it anyway). Now, however, what had once seemed like a good plan was starting to make him feel more and more like it had been a very bad idea. He was jittery. He was nervous. Frankly – he was freaking out.

He'd only tried the thing on once before, and only because the tailor (who'd been gay, and therefore, totally understanding) had needed his measurements. Wearing it in this little room alone didn't really bother him all that much. It was a little breezy, for someone who was used to wearing pants, but the material felt good against his legs (which were smooth, by the way, because body hair was also something that really freaked him out). As he continued his pacing, and avoiding his reflection in the mirror next to him, he repeated to himself over and over that it was too late to back out now. He'd decided on this months ago, and he would just have to follow through with it like he'd planned. If he wanted to become stronger, more self-confident, then he would just have to sallow his pride and do it.

Suddenly "Here Comes The Bride" started up. He could hear it echoing outside from the window he'd cracked in order to let a breeze in to cool him off. If he thought he'd been sweating before, it really hit him now. He marched over to the door, on the verge of hyperventilating, but he couldn't turn the handle. One of the worst inconveniences of his outfit was the fact that he couldn't open doors on his own whenever he was wearing the slick material gloves on his hands. He grimaced, pulled the things off, and yanked at the door handle again. He had to try a time or two before his sweaty palms would allow a good enough grip to actually turn the thing.

Sakura had already gone out, or else she would have been standing there in front of the door. Rather than getting dressed upstairs, like Sakura and the bridesmaids had, Sasuke had chosen a room just off the one leading outside and onto the aisle. He hadn't wanted to risk anyone seeing him like this before the actual ceremony.

Gathering his breath, knowing that this would be the final plunge, he grabbed up his shoes (another inconvenience) and slipped them on so that he might be comfortable enough with them to walk down the aisle with them on. Sakura was halfway down the aisle already, and for some reason she was walking with her father. It certainly didn't look like a very comfortable atmosphere out there – everybody was in shock at Sakura's tuxedo. Sasuke was even more nervous to walk out there himself. If they were acting this way with a woman in a tux, what would they all do whenever they saw him…?

Once Sakura had finally taken her place at the front of the crowd, Sasuke took another deep breath, and one small hesitant step out into the open. He had expected everyone to turn immediately to him, gasping in shock and staring, maybe some babies crying and a few women running in fright. Perhaps a few religious psychos shouting "blasphemy!" But none of that happened. Everyone was still too busy staring at Sakura. And Sakura was staring right at him.

Sasuke flinched. He could almost feel the heat coming off her eyes. She would most definitely get back at him for this later, but he couldn't let himself worry about that right now. Slowly, everyone was turning around in their seats to look at him.

For a moment, Sasuke honestly considered getting the crap out of there. It's not too late to run away! his brain shouted frantically, the alarms in his head going off like crazy.

However, once it seemed that most eyes were upon him, Sasuke gulped hard, and held his chin high. He felt like running back inside, locking himself up and hyperventilating without reserve, maybe even letting himself sob for a bit. But that didn't happen either. Instead, he walked. He just walked, and he tried hard not to cry. Sasuke really didn't like attention, especially gratuitous amounts of it (although, it wasn't like he'd ever gotten anything else for the entirety of his life).

That's right. If you guessed it, then you guessed correctly. Sasuke Uchiha was wearing a wedding dress. He had to admit that it looked good on him. If he stared at his reflection long enough he could almost even convince himself that he was a girl. Many people in the crowd were blinking at him as though they didn't recognize him at all, and he couldn't blame them. He looked nothing like the Uchiha they all knew. He was wearing a veil and everything, with the silk gloves coming up all the way past his elbows, and the largest bouquet of flowers clasped in his hands.

As beautiful a day as it was, it had rained two days before, and the ground beneath the red carpet was still a little soft, and he definitely wasn't used to these damned shoes yet. He'd only had enough guts to try them on once before as well (when buying them) and now he was having difficulty not only staying on his feet, but keeping his heels from sinking into the ground. He stumbled up the aisle rather than walking it. It was not how he'd imagined things going at all.

Eventually though, he made it, and Sakura smiled at him somewhat grudgingly – a tight-lipped little smile that spoke volumes; sarcastically saying well that went well. It couldn't have been any worse if she'd reached out and patted his shoulder. But it wasn't until he was standing there, before the entire crowd, that he realized their audience wasn't so quiet anymore. A gale of whispered voices had swept through the crowd like a wildfire at his passing, and now everybody was chatting amongst themselves – some of them looking excited, others looking angry, and more of them than he wished he could say seemed like they were laughing at him. Sakura and the bridesmaids stared unhappily out at the crowd.

The raw self-conscious shame that roiled inside Sasuke's stomach was enough to shock him, make him want to cry and throw up at the same time. He'd thought, if anything, the worst part of this experience would be revealing his true self to the world. He'd known that it would be embarrassing, of course, but still… he hadn't expected this. He hadn't expected to be laughed at. Tears were stinging his eyes before he could hold them back.


"STOP THE WEDDING!" Naruto cried, bursting through the front doors like he had death on his heels. He was an explosion of Naruto orange and yellow, breathing hard and standing unsteadily as he gulped fresh air into his lungs.

And his outburst would have been quite impressive, if there had been an audience there to see it. As it turned out, Naruto had had no prior knowledge to the fact that Sakura and Sasuke's wedding would be outside – therefore, when he'd seen the church, his one and only plan of action had been to bust in and crash the party. Now that he was standing there before a large empty room, he felt a little winded and confused. Where was everybody?

Of course! Where was that room with the chapels and the pews? Breathlessly, but still determined, he began opening door after door until he finally stumbled upon the room that he was looking for. However, when he barged in the only thing he found were empty benches lined with Christian Bibles, and a small group of children and their minister all gaping up at him. He grinned foolishly, feeling his face heat up, and immediately smiled and apologized, backing out of the room. He sighed. Well, that had been an experience.

However, seeing as this was Naruto Uzumaki, he'd been through far more embarrassing situations before and come out just fine, so he simply shook it off and continued on. He thought, surely he hadn't gotten the place mixed up with somewhere else. He'd been up all night, pacing his hotel room for sleepless hours, and he'd practically run the entire way to bust up this wedding. He wasn't going to be deterred now.

Naruto headed through an opening leading deeper into the large, brightly lit church. The place was nice – clean, sensible, and obviously belonged to the ridiculously wealthy. Only the richest people would be able to afford a wedding in this place. It was all to Sakura's exact taste and style, so obviously, he was at the right church. But where the hell was there a room in the building big enough to hold an entire town for a wedding ceremony? Considering the size of the place, it could be hours before he found it!

But Naruto just sighed. He knew he'd keep looking, and he'd hope like hell that he found the party before it was over.


Everyone in Konoha turned, a bit confused, to stare at the entryway back to the church as an obviously loud, but muffled shout came from somewhere inside. (After all, the doorway leading out the back was only two rooms apart from the very first room in the building, where Naruto had come charging in like a bull). The music had just drawn to a close when, as if on cue, they had all heard it. Sasuke, though, was too far away from the doors to recognize the voice for whom it belonged to. He simply stared, confused, like everybody else.

It was a minute or two before anyone moved. Shikamaru Nara, who was sitting near the front in his best, albeit sloppily thrown on tuxedo, was the one who got up, saying with a shrug that he'd go inside and check out what was going on. The rest of Konoha turned their attention back to the very odd couple standing beneath the beautiful pavilion at the head of the crowd. Sasuke had his eyes downward when he accepted Sakura's hands in his, and he could feel through her cold touch that this wedding was not at all going how she had planned it either, and she was very dissatisfied. She would try to hide it of course, try to look happy, but Sasuke was and always would be her best friend. He noticed the tiny signals of body language that nobody else registered about her.

That's why he couldn't look at her as they spoke their vows.

Like the greatest of all clichés that it was, Sasuke was on the very verge of saying "I do," when Shikamaru and Naruto busted out. Someone must have closed those doors simply so that Naruto could have another go at his grand entrance, shouting "STOP THE WEDDING!" at the top of his lungs while Sasuke stood there nervous and confused. What the hell was Naruto doing here? And what was with the self-satisfied smirk on Shikamaru's face?

All things considered, Naruto looked a little rough for wear as he stood there by the church entrance. Having that rush of adrenaline finally out of his system, he leaned breathing heavily against the doorframe, staring at the wedding couple in shock as he took in the odd situation. After a moment he seemed to regain his posture a bit, and Naruto – Naruto Uzumaki, there in the flesh – came marching determinedly up the red carpet, and he didn't stop until he was looming directly over Sasuke.

"You can't marry her," he said simply, staring directly into Sasuke's eyes with those pools of blue. There was nothing in his voice that said he was being anything but completely and utterly serious.

So Sasuke took his large bouquet of flowers, and smacked him over the head with it. The audience gasped as if they were watching a TV drama.

"Who do you think you are?" Sasuke demanded. A flash of a smile on Sakura's face caught his attention, and he was glad to see that at least she was still on his side. Probably though she just felt better about the whole thing now that Sasuke was openly choosing her over Naruto.

Naruto stared at Sasuke in shock, mouth agape, so Sasuke hit him again for good measure. "Do you really think that you can just burst in here and break up our wedding?" It was the angriest (honest-to-Kami) that Sasuke had ever felt, especially at Naruto. He was so angry… so angry… suddenly more tears started to come. Hot, angry tears that he still hadn't shaken off from the ridicule he'd received from the audience.

Naruto seemed to take it all in all at once. Nobody would ever believe it, but Naruto Uzumaki was actually quite intelligent, and he was nothing if not perceptive. Sasuke was one of the very few people in the world who knew it.

Naruto could guess what had happened. He eyed Sasuke's gown up and down again, and Sasuke could see the light bulb coming on upstairs.

Being an Uchiha, Sasuke had never once been mocked, or had to deal with ridicule, or even shame. Sure he'd been shy and hopeless, but nobody had ever openly scorned him (other than Naruto himself, of course, but Sasuke had been too in love with the boy at the time to really let it bother him. Not to mention the fact that Naruto had been a bit ridiculous about it). Of course he would get upset because a few people laughed at him. It was just not something he'd never dealt with like normal kids did.

"You left," Sasuke said, and even he was surprised at how much heat was still in his voice. Oh yes, he was still pissed off – he was just very hurt and upset as well. "You left without a word to me or really anybody else, and you said that you weren't ever coming back. So what are you doing here Naruto?"

"You can't marry Sakura," Naruto said, obviously still convinced that whatever was going on inside his head was still the right thing. That was so like Naruto – he was stubborn to the point of it being either the best thing about him or the worst. It was something that Sasuke still loved about Naruto – and didn't that dobe understand that that was why he couldn't be here saying things like that? That it would be all too easy for Naruto to tell him to turn away from all of this, and actually convince Sasuke to leave it behind…?


The look on Sasuke's face was enough to tell Naruto that it was going to take something big – something drawn-out and perhaps a bit melodramatic (and also undoubtedly gay) – for Naruto to be able to convince him to do this. Leaving Sakura behind for the sake of his own happiness was the right thing for Sasuke to do – Naruto knew it now, he just wished it hadn't taken so damn long for him to figure it out.

Without hesitating a bit, he dropped down to one knee and grabbed one of Sasuke's gloved hands in his. Sasuke's hands were so little and delicate that Naruto almost could believe that he was a girl. "Sasuke look, I'm sorry," Naruto said, quietly, but his voice carried out all the same. He was looking up into Sasuke's eyes with what he was purposefully putting on as a don't I look so cute that you have to please believe me expression. "I am the biggest idiot in the world."

"You are," Sasuke agreed, but the heat in his voice sounded much more forced than it had a moment ago. "What made you come back?" Sasuke demanded.

It honestly wasn't a question that Naruto had expected to hear so suddenly; he should have, but somehow he'd thought he'd be able to put it off for a while. Like, forever maybe. Just forget he'd ever left town in the first place, forget all about his night pacing his hotel room, and then his scrambled scurrying about to get all his things packed before dawn. He'd jumped on the first bus heading to Konoha.

Somehow he wasn't exactly prepared to answer Sasuke's question. "I just… didn't think it was right," he said. "You know you can't be happy with Sakura. I mean, yeah, she's your friend and you love her but… she's too into dudes to want to marry such a chick." Naruto gave Sasuke a mischievous, lopsided smile. He was surprised that Sasuke didn't use his free hand to hit him with the flowers again.

"Look Sasuke I just thought a lot about it okay? You shouldn't marry Sakura and you know it."

"No I don't," Sasuke retorted, tears threatening to overflow. "What really makes you think that this isn't the right thing for us? You were all for it just a week or two ago. Hell, you've been all for it pretty much ever since you found out about it. I need Sakura, because she loves me, and she will give me the children that I want so that I can rebuild the Uchiha clan."

"It takes two to tango Sasuke," a voice said quietly from out of nowhere. Together, Sasuke and Naruto and anybody else close enough to hear (including the gaping priest, who hadn't been able to hide his shock since the moment he saw that he'd be marrying two people dressed in drag), turned to stare at Sakura. She was looking at Sasuke gravely.

"I know that Sakura wants to make you happy," Naruto interrupted the silence, and all eyes slid back to him, including one very shaken Uchiha's. "And I know that you think you need her, but you don't."

As much as it hurt him to see that look on Sasuke's face again, the raven was crying. Tears were falling endlessly from those squinting Onyx eyes. He brokenly bowed his head, sobbing quietly, and said, "She's the only person who loves me."

Almost as if he wanted to reenact that night of the bachelor party, Naruto stood back up and took Sasuke in his arms. The Uchiha cried on his shoulder, quietly, but so much more brokenhearted than he had that night. Naruto could feel Sasuke's exhaustion, his will to just give up on everything and let himself drown just completely engulfing him. "No she's not," Naruto said gruffly. He wished he could turn back time (yes, like the song by Cher) and change everything he'd said to Sasuke in the kitchen that night. Naruto should have told him then and there that marrying Sakura was the wrong thing to do.... "I love you too, you know."

Sasuke gave a little half-hysterical laugh. "So you want to marry me instead?"

Despite the intensity of the moment, Naruto grinned. Hell yes was the honest reply he wanted to give. "You remember the first time you told me you loved me?" Naruto said quietly, so that only Sasuke could hear. He felt the Uchiha stiffen in his arms. "You really shouldn't have run away so suddenly. If you'd just have given me a little more time to think about it, instead of running off and asking the first person you saw to marry you, I'm sure I would have come around a lot sooner."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke said, backing away a bit and staring into Naruto's face. Oh, but Naruto wasn't letting him go just yet. If it were up to him, he'd never let Sasuke go again.

"Sasuke, the entire time I was gone the only thing I could think about was you. What were you doing, how were you feeling… that kind of thing. Ever since that day, you're the only thing that I've wanted. Sure I went out and partied a lot, flirted with plenty of women, but I ended up ditching them all because none of them were you."

Sasuke, after staring at Naruto's face in flat disbelief for a moment, started crying again and shaking his head. "Don't tell me things like that," Sasuke said. "You can't tell me things like that or I'll start to believe you."

Another hand reached out to touch one of Sasuke's shaking shoulders. Sasuke turned to Sakura with big fat tears in his eyes and makeup smearing (he'd even gone so far as to put on makeup? Naruto had to wonder why, as Sasuke looked enough like a girl without it). "I think Naruto means it Sasuke," Sakura told him, her brow creased. "I promise its okay. He's what you really want."

And just like that, Sakura walked back up the aisle, probably so that she could be alone whenever she broke down and started to cry. Naruto knew that he'd upset her by crashing her wedding, and he knew that he'd probably pay for it later. For right now he didn't care. He was just concerned about Sasuke, really. And he was getting sick of the suspense and the stress of the moment. Naruto was getting so tired of seeing Sasuke looking so tired and depressed. The whole point of this whole crazy thing was to make the guy happy, and somehow it had spun out into this ridiculous over-blown event that had only made Sasuke feel worse about himself.

"Can I just kiss you now?" Naruto asked with his usual impatience. He could actually feel his legs shifting restlessly. He didn't like all these people watching him, but they'd come to see a wedding – he might as well give them something to applaud about.

Sasuke was stifling his little cries and sniffling quietly. He made a small sound that was like a cross between a scoff and a laugh. Naruto, taking that for a yes, grinned and picked Sasuke up into his arms and planted one square on his lips. Not even hesitating, Sasuke threw his arms around Naruto's neck and kissed him back with a zeal that would have embarrassed him under normal circumstances. But as this was already a day for shocks and shame, he must not have really cared.

"Come on," Naruto said in Sasuke's ear when he finally put him down. "Let's go to your place so that I can take that dress off of you now."

Sasuke, who was already out of breath from the long kiss, blushed a bright pink, and Naruto couldn't help but think it ironic – he really was the blushing bride. And he really did look like a chick. "My place?" Sasuke repeated somewhat shakily.

"Well we obviously can't go back to mine," Naruto said, still grinning. "Looks like I'll be staying with you for a while. If that's okay."

For the first time in a long time, Sasuke's entire face lit up with the brightest smile. "That's more than okay," he replied.

And as they ran through one very confused crowd hand-in-hand together (Sasuke had yanked off his heels and tossed them to an unsuspecting bridesmaid) Naruto said, "That dress really does look good on you Sasuke. You plan on wearing that to our wedding?"


A/N: IMPORTANT

I plan on writing an epilogue =) But you guys are going to have to tell me yay or nay. What kind of epilogue would you like? Something soft and sweet and totally fluff-filled?

Or some sexy time with Sasuke and Naruto? ;)

Even with the sexy time, I'd probably incorporate some sweet moments. It would be a full chapter on the wedding aftermath, not just a complete smut scene. Still, it's up to you! Let me know!