"I think my tie is trying to choke me," Naruto whined, adjusting it for the millionth time in the last minute. Hinata giggled, reaching up and helping him loosen the restrictive article of clothing. He exhaled loudly as he felt it no longer pinching his neck.
"Is that better?"
He nodded, "Much. Thanks, Hinata-chan."
He smiled widely and bent down to steal a kiss from his wife. His thought process halted as the word sprung up in his mind. HIS WIFE. Hinata-chan was now his wife. He felt a strange sense of pride at thinking those words.
"It's not the only thing that wants to choke you," Shikamaru drawled from where he sat on Naruto's left. Naruto cast an inquisitive glance in his direction to which the lazy genius nodded toward Sakura. The pinkette was gripping her fork so hard, it had bent in half.
"I swear, Naruto, if I hear one more peep from you, I'll rip out your intestines, chop them up into little pieces, and feed it to you," Sakura growled out, breaking the metal fork cleanly in half. Naruto squeaked in fright, cowering behind Hinata. Hinata tried to calm her husband down, reassuring him that Sakura was just kidding.
"She looks pretty serious to me, Hinata-sama," Shikamaru's chuckle was brought to a halt by a smack from Ino, one that sent his head straight into the table, "OW! WHAT WAS THAT FOR, YOU TROUBLESOME WOMAN?"
"No one asked your opinion, smart-mouth," she hissed at her mate, bashing him over the head once more for good measure. Neji snickered before Tenten sent him a chilling glare and he abruptly turned the chuckling into coughing.
"Please, sit back down, Naruto-kun. Everyone is just a little…tense," Hinata ran a soothing hand over Naruto's blonde hair, planting a small kiss on his cheek when he took his seat again.
"A LITTLE? More like a LOT!"
"You didn't have to plan the whole wedding, did you?"
Naruto wisely chose not to answer Tenten's question, instead shrinking down in his seat and shaking in fear. A large hand clapped Naruto's shoulder, almost knocking him off his chair.
"Hey, son!"
Naruto turned around in his chair, flashing a brilliant grin, "Pervy Sage!"
"How do you feel now that you're a permanent slave?"
A spoon flew right into Jiraiya's face with such force that it knocked the white-haired man backwards.
"Ouch, Tenten! Damn! Why are werewolf women so strong?"
"Disregard him," Tsunade glared at her mate, bending down and placing a kiss on Naruto's forehead, "He's an idiot."
"Tsunade-baa-chan!"
Naruto was rewarded with a resounding smack to the back of the head. Hinata couldn't stop the giggle that escaped her mouth. The others just rolled their eyes.
"I've already told you to stop calling me that," she growled, her eyes hard. Naruto whined pitifully, rubbing at his head. Tsunade ignored him and proceeded to congratulate each of the couples. Before she left, Naruto heard her mutter about having to find the sake.
"You're sure you hid all of the sake, Hinata-chan?"
"Don't worry, they're in good hands," Hinata smiled, her eyes twinkling. Naruto grinned back at her, his curiosity piqued.
"Whose?"
Hinata pointed to two people who were weaving through the crowd, their smiles almost diabolical. Naruto blinked as he recognized his own brother and Hanabi.
"Are you sure about letting 'em take care of something like this?"
"Don't worry so much, Naruto-kun," she laughed, "After all, it is your wedding!"
"Why, so it is! Would you like to dance, Hinata-chan?"
"Of course," she giggled, taking his offered hand and letting him pull her up. Ino asked them to wait for her as they moved off, dragging a rather reluctant Shikamaru with her to the dance floor. Neji and Tenten had their heads together, talking in tones too quiet for anyone to hear. Sasuke was watching Sakura scarf down her dinner with a sort of disgusted amusement. Gaara had a content Matsuri in his lap, twirling her hair in his pale fingers.
Needless to say, Naruto wasn't one of the best dancers. The first time he had ever danced with Hinata had been at Itachi's wedding and he had felt like a bumbling fool, constantly stepping on her toes. Even though Naruto was sure her toes couldn't take so much abuse, she had continued to assure him that she didn't feel anything and that she was just happy to be able to dance with him. They had been having their own private dance lessons since that time. He was sure he would never be able to be the perfect dancing partner but he no longer stepped on her toes, which was a great improvement in his book.
And while they weren't the picture of gracefulness, they were having a lot of fun.
"OUCH WOMAN! WOULD YOU QUIT STEPPING ON MY TOES?"
"SHUT UP AND TAKE IT LIKE A MAN!"
A chuckle drew Naruto and Hinata's attention from the two Naras. They turned to find Itachi and Kana, Itachi chuckling in amusement. He nodded his head in greeting, his onyx eyes sparkling in the room light.
"They sure are a lively duo, aren't they?"
Naruto grinned, "Hey there Itachi! Kana! You guys enjoying the party?"
Kana smiled kindly, her face turning towards the sound of the blonde's voice, "It's very energetic, Uzumaki-san."
"That's a good thing right?"
Kana laughed softly, her voice full of mirth, "A very good thing indeed, Uzumaki-san. Congratulations to the both of you, by the way."
"Thank you, Kana-san," Hinata broke away from Naruto to give the older woman a grateful hug. Kana gently hugged her back, tears slipping from her sightless blue eyes. Stepping back into Naruto's embrace, Hinata tilted her head up and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. Naruto beamed with pleasure, his grin stretching from ear to ear.
"Oh, Uchiha-san," Hinata called out to the retreating figure. He stopped and looked back, patiently waiting for her to speak.
"Have you seen my father?"
A smirk settled over the dark-haired man's features, "I believe I saw him take a step outside with Inoichi, both muttering about how expensive this whole thing turned out."
Hinata blushed and nodded, "Oh…hmmm, thank you."
With a nod of his head, Itachi disappeared into the crowd, leading his angel wife to where his brother sat. Sakura had thankfully stopped eating and was trying to get Sasuke to go dance with her. The Uchiha looked pretty solid on his stance though, his arms tightly folded across his chest. Matsuri was having a bit better luck with Gaara, though not by much. At least the redhead didn't have his arms crossed.
Neji and Tenten were having target practice with the kitchen knives, hurling them toward a wall where various other kitchen utensils were already embedded. Shikamaru and Ino had stopped dancing and were now shouting at each other.
Naruto looked around at all their guests, both vampire and werewolf alike.
Guy was challenging Kakashi to another 'duel, which the vampire was blatantly ignoring, his nose stuck in a little orange book. Lee had started bawling at the beginning of the ceremony and hadn't stopped since, blubbering about lost love and cherry blossoms. Temari was punching Kankuro, probably for a shrewd and quite possibly lewd comment he had made. Chouji had to be tied down to his seat so he wouldn't attack the buffet table. Kiba and Shino were having some sort of contest to see which of their pets were better. Kurenai was holding a small child in her lap, Asuma standing protectively behind her. Tsunade and Jiraiya had started arguing after Tsunade caught him ogling her chest.
Naruto was sure Hanabi and Konohamaru were up to something by the punch table, probably spiking it, if Anko's attetitude was anything to go by. The purple haired vampire was currently demanding that Kakashi marry her or she'd burn all his perverted books.
Needless to say, he agreed.
Hiashi and Inoichi had returned, still speaking in low hushed tones, their expressions almost one of sorrow as they looked around at the decorations.
'All in all,' Naruto thought with a chuckle, 'Everyone looks like they're having fun.'
"What is it, Naruto-kun?"
He turned to his wife again, kissing the top of her head, "I was just thinking that we have one crazy, messed up family."
"Hmmm…That's true…But I wouldn't change it for the world," her eyes shone with sincerity as she mimicked his actions and looked around the large ballroom, her smile soft.
"You know what? Neither would I," bending down, he captured her lips in a breathtaking kiss before spinning them around, surrounded by their large and sometimes insane family.
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*Author's note: I believe the next chapter will be just a quick epilogue. Thank you for all the reviews I've received. Happy reading.