So… Greek weddings are complicated. Apparently there's no suitable historical source to let me know about the order of ceremonies so I went with the order that provides the most tension. This isn't going to be super long, but I'm having fun with it thus far so I hope you all can live with short and sweet as well. Maybe two more chapters and then I'm trying to decide if I should make some followup chapters to my Riding Hood piece since it feels like there's more to say about that weird worldlet.

Index of gods to Naruto characters at the end again for reference.

Disclaimer: see part I

Gamos: Morning

At least her wedding costume was warm. Somehow, without the greenery surrounding them, winter seemed much colder than at home. Sakura's gown had been draped artfully around her and she touched the purple hems of her sleeve with a half-smile ghosting her lips. Being thrifty, she thought it was a shame they couldn't reuse all this for Ino. For one thing, Ino wouldn't stand for it, and for another their parent's pride wouldn't stand for it. Trim the hems and she could probably reuse it herself in spring or fall and no one would be the wiser.

While Hinata fussed with the folds and Ino smoothed out her saffron colored veil, Sakura tried to knock some of the water out of her ears before giving a big yawn. Nervousness didn't allow her to be truly tired, but her body was still insisting that it needed rest. Tiredness was superfluous, her body would carry through the day just fine even if her mind felt like a wreck.

"Don't start that. We had to get up early too, you know." Ino picked up the bridal crown and examined it in the morning light for smudges or scuffs.

"Yeah, well at least you didn't have Kurenai holding your head underwater in a bathtub an hour before dawn."

"Can you blame her? She's was against the clock on that one and you needed the purification bath anyway." Nerves were making Ino more gruff and less sweet than usual.

Hinata fiddled with the same fold of robe for the fifth time, and Sakura reminded herself that she wasn't alone in this. Her sisters would be there for her. "Are you sure you won't eat anything?" Her pale eyes were full of concern.

Even thinking about food made her belly and throat feel like fire. "We'll be at a feast for hours and hours, I'm not worried about food."

One hour at a time, she just needed to take it one hour at a time.

"You hear that?" Ino perked up and practically threw the crown across the room and onto the veil as she ran over to the tall window in the room. Immediately pushing a chair against the wall she climbed up to see the source of the sound and gave what sounded like a combination of a gasp and a shriek. Sakura felt her acidic stomach tie itself into knots. She could hear it now too, horses hooves and creak of wheels.

Hinata was much better at keeping her focus under pressure and wandered over to grab the veil and crown. "One of our aunts explained this to me last night. Hold still, I don't want to poke you with any of these pins…" Gently, hands only trembling the barest amount, Hinata put the veil and crown on and affixed it to her head. It fell to the crook of her arm, she noted, and she wondered idly how eating with it on was going to work today. Once all the pins were in place Sakura gave an experimental shake to her head and when nothing moved she pulled up the front of the veil and gave Hinata as big a smile as she could manage.

Ino meanwhile had gone from gawking out the window to listening at the door. Low voices rose and fell, but Sakura could only make out Asuma's voice clearly punctuated by Kurenai once in a while. "He sure doesn't talk much. They just asked him how his day was, if they could help with feast preparations, and if he expected that many Olympians would be there today to which he answered: Fine, No, and Maybe in that order."

Lowering the veil again, everything took on a yellow sheen and Sakura reminded herself that she'd just have to get used to it today. Until her unveiling this evening she was stuck with it. The movement of fabric over the tip of her nose was already making it itch.

"I'm not sure about this." Sakura couldn't have told anyone if she was talking about Gaara, her wedding, or this stupid self-sabotaging plot her sisters had come up with.

"Just be yourself." Hinata smiled at her wanly.

"Only more." Ino reminded her.

"Just open the door," before I lose my nerve, she finished mentally. Halting her usual self-censorship was going to be difficult, having practiced it for so many years.

Expecting a short, twisted, ugly man with a big bushy beard she was somewhat shocked to lay eyes on Gaara, the only stranger in the room. He wasn't tall, it was true, but bring average height made him a hand taller than her. His slightly sallow complexion and dark rings around his eyes could be attributed to too much time indoors in his workshops and too many late nights without rest. The rust colored hair looked messy and slightly greasy, but she was momentarily befuddled as she met his eyes through the veil: green, just like her eyes, but sleepy and intense. Suddenly she was very grateful she could see him but he couldn't see her. The veil felt like a shield, and she was braver for it.

"We'll follow you to the temple and you and Sakura can make your offerings to Tsunade and Karin together…" Asuma said neutrally before Gaara interrupted him with a hiss.

"Only Tsunade's offerings will be necessary."

His voice was deeper than she expected, and smooth. It made him sound younger than his actual years and yet older than he looked. Gaara's eyes darted over her, searching for some flaw she was sure, but he wasn't going to see it here or now. He didn't ask for introductions and maybe he thought them irrelevant since she was the only one in the wedding costume. Her sisters shifted from foot to foot on either side of her awkwardly as they waited for some signal, not confident that they knew protocol in the presence of an important Olympian.

"Follow me." He ordered and Sakura saw him walk stiffly, hiding his limp well.

She knew she would be riding with him in the chariot to the temple, her family close behind. Ino was sticking out her tongue at Gaara's retreating figure and Sakura stifled a nervous laugh. Hinata and Ino would carry her offerings until they reached the temple: a jug of wine and her favorite winter shawl. There was no way she could guess at what Gaara would give to his mother.

He stood in the chariot, waiting for her with the reins already in hand. He watched her with the same intense stare but did not offer to help her into the bed of the chariot. Lucky, Sakura was an energetic and independent sort of person so she climbed in straight away without pausing to seek his help. He blinked owlishly as the chariot settled under her sudden weight and she took a balanced stance with her legs. Her father rode a chariot every single day, if he thought she wouldn't know how to properly ride in one then he could just adjust his expectations early. The horses looked wrong, as still as they were, and on closer inspection she saw they were made of some kind of metal. One finally shook its head and the mane stayed perfectly still in its artful wave. Had he crafted them himself? If so, Gaara was as talented as people said.

Turning her head towards him she forced herself to say the first thing that occurred to her. "You're not as short as I thought you'd be." He's going to strike me dead right here, her inner voice moaned silently.

Gaara slowly turned his head, and gave her a confused expression as he flicked the reins and they smoothly took off forward.

Tsunade's temple was suitably grand in the small town that sat at the base of his mountain. The village was not large, but he made sure the volcanic soil was fertile and the crops plentiful every year so the mortals made steady improvements over time despite the middling population. A January drizzle made sure not much dust was raised as they passed through the streets. The mortals had enough sense to ignore their small procession to the small temple district.

Sakura's veil streamed behind her, but other than making out a small nose and the outline of her smiling lips all he had was the memory of her face in that cup to remind him there was a real woman under all that fabric.

"Can't this tub go any faster?" she yelled into the wind next to him.

A curious woman at that, he amended. As he snapped the reins smartly to speed up his liquid bronze horses he tried to untangle thoughts about her that he had assumed would be straightforward. She let out a delighted laugh and now those lips under the veil parted in a toothy smile. He had to force himself to watch the road before they crashed because his world had filled up with those golden lips.

Dredging up what her father had said about her that night he had entertained the sun god he tried to bring to mind concrete descriptors: responsible, elegant, demure. Demure seemed the specific one that was obviously inaccurate, unless he meant demure of dress. Her father had failed to add brash to that list, as he thought of the way she had practically hopped into his chariot before taking a practically military stance and proclaiming him "not short." Oddly, he found his lips wanted to quirk up into a smile rather than if he imagined the same thing said by, say, Kankuro who he then imagined being trampled by his bronze horses for the offense.

As they pulled up in front of the temple, his blushing almost bride leapt off the chariot as it slowed and landed in a crouch before standing again and shaking her skirts to loosen any dust that might have gathered during the drive. She stretched her arms above her then shook them to loosen the muscles before arching her back that made an audible pop.

There was some time they needed to wait before her family caught up. Maybe a ten minutes, considering how much faster they had travelled. The morning mist hadn't yet dissipated and Sakura shone gold out of the corner of his eye. While he was trying not to show overt interest he couldn't help but compare her to the only other woman that he recalled in this situation.

Karin had been ladylike, measured and elegant all day long as she performed her role of bride to be perfectly. It was one of her domains, so naturally she would be the model that all women would try to live up to from her perfectly soft magenta hair that she had brushed hundreds of strokes every morning to her dainty feet that were lotioned and massaged every evening by her servants. If Karin had seemed untouchable it was because that's exactly what she was, at least to Gaara.

Nearby Sakura cleared her throat loudly to get his attention. "Are we going inside? It's not exactly warm out here."

"You're cold." Rarely aware of temperature differences, Gaara found himself incredulous.

"And you're not? I guess you're hot blooded after all."

Was that a joke? Was she implying that he had a bad temper? Her saying that made him angry as well as forced him to hide the fact that she had just made him angry as if he needed to disprove her observation. His lips pulled into a tight frown. They stood in silence as Gaara warred with himself.

A question pulled out of him unexpectedly. "What are you patron of?" He hoped she was patron of running at the mouth otherwise he was going to have trouble understanding how the sun god could have deceived him so. She was lovely enough, he knew that from his vision, but biddable was looking like a bald faced lie.

Sakura sighed, soulfully, and he realized with surprise he had managed to touch upon a sore spot. "It's spl.." She must have said it through clenched teeth because he couldn't make out the word.

Pleased he finally did something to put this strange woman off balance he pushed where he would normally ignore. "Speak louder."

"Splendor!" He was amused again as she appeared to be holding her own temper in check now. "Or rather the 'splendor of a healthy body' and… adornment."

Wanting to show her some of the same courtesy she had shown him he summed it up in the most insulting way he could imagine. "So you're goddess of good teeth and jewelry?"

"And you're god of tinkering around?" she snapped back, before she brought a hand over her mouth that slowly sank back to her side.

The rusty bark that passed through his lips was a laugh, he realized afterwards. And as the sounds of her family's chariot echoed through the fog as they approached, Gaara realized that the day which he had assumed was going to be long and tedious had suddenly taken on a fascinating new dimension. It was his nature to understand the workings of things, but he wasn't wrapping his mind around this woman or her motivations. Normally he would just pull the offending object apart, dissect it, improve upon it, but he found he was content to watch Sakura unfold today.

The quivering mortal priest and priestess escorted the two gods through the receiving chamber to where Tsunade's statue waited. Sakura was particularly fond of Tsunade, knowing as she did that while the Olympian was excessively indulgent in her drink she also tended to all the day to day workings of the palace of the gods while Jiraiya was out chasing women. She was a core of responsibility, even with her flaws, and Sakura respected that strength of character. It was a noble lady that she wanted to emulate, but it was a little weird to think that this paragon was going to be her mother-in-law. It seemed to Sakura that the more important your position the more distant you were forced to become.

Speaking of distant…

Gaara stared up at the statue of Tsunade that towered before them. Her face at this angle was partially obscured by her bosom. The scowl that snapped across his face even as he respectfully bowed and placed his offering in the sacred fire looked much darker and more intimidating than the one he had pointed at her outside not long before her family arrived. Every leaking thought made the next one easier to say, but this Gaara reminded her that he had the potential for violence.

The clay pot that Sakura had placed in the huge brazier finally cracked and steam rose up as the wine evaporated and floated to the heavens. More wine was being donated to her temple as well and this had been just for show. Honestly, the best part about this was finally being near enough to a fire to feel toasty.

The priest and priestess began to drone on with the ritual words, blessing the union, etc etc. They had just gotten to a part talking about the will of the goddess when a voice crackled out, interrupting them.

"That's enough, I can tell them that myself from here." Tsunade was just as buxom in real life, Sakura thought, and it was a good thing that priest staring at her fainted dead away because Sakura imagined Tsunade didn't appreciate people staring too hard and so specifically. The priestess slowly dragged the limp form of the priest out of the worship hall into the outer courtyard to give the deities some space.

"Getting back on the horse, eh?" Tsunade wandered over to Gaara, but they did not embrace. Sakura thought about her own affectionate mother and felt a stab of longing for a hug from her. Tsunade didn't look like the hugging type.

"Last I looked this girl is no horse. Then again I haven't lifted up the veil yet. I've been fooled before." Words fell from Gaara's lips like poison. There was no love lost between mother and son, but Sakura didn't think they'd be so open about it.

Tsunade laughed. "Karin probably wouldn't appreciate the analogy." The full force of her piercing gaze fell on Sakura and she found herself standing up straighter, wanting to measure up. "For what it's worth, I like this one. At least she knows how to give a gift a woman can appreciate."

"I gave you what you asked me for," he nodded to her feet where Sakura saw beautiful sandals of braided gold that sparkled at the heels and reflected the firelight.

"True enough. No more, no less." Tsunade looked over at Sakura again, "Things are busy today and I haven't much time, so I'll make this brief. Good luck, don't take what he says to heart, and remember to take some time for yourself every day." She placed a pomegranate in her hand and smiled at Sakura briefly. "And Gaara, try to be a little less…"

Gaara rolled his eyes as Tsunade trailed off.

"Well, a mother can only convince her grown son of so much." Her grumpy expression reminded Sakura so much of Gaara's grumpy expression that she had to clamp down on a laugh that wanted to escape.

Tsunade stepped into her own scared flame and faded from view.

"She looks just like her statues." Sakura tried to break the silence. Somehow, without Tsunade there it seemed darker and more claustrophobic. Her family was outside, waiting for her to emerge, and the priest and priestess were both still missing. Gaara, for all his slight frame, filled the room with an aura of menace.

Concentrating on the pomegranate in her hand, she was reminded that she hadn't had any breakfast at all. It wasn't real, of course. It turned out to be a box with the shape and feel of a pomegrate and inside was a gold ring that was crowned with a cluster of diamonds that looked like seeds. It was a good wedding gift: diamonds for good fortune in marriage.

"You can leave it with me and I'll put it with the other wedding gifts." Sakura realized he was just behind her and started, taking a step away from him before she got herself under control. His sneer at her spoke volumes as he stretched out his hand. "Afraid I'll bite?"

Allowing herself to be intimidated, to play into her fears, would only mean that this crusade to make herself unmanageable would fail. She had to be bold, she had to let herself react. Closing the box with a snap she placed it in his hand before taking another step so that she was so close she could make out the way his pupils dilated at her proximity.

"Not at all."

It was easy to meet his eyes from under the veil, sheltered by nothing more than fiber. He blinked and slowly drew a breath in and out before his hand whipped out like a snake and grabbed her wrist. The grip was punishing and his eyes were so wide she could make out the whites all around.

"You should be." He said in a voice low and hypnotic before dropping her wrist just as suddenly as he had encircled it.

Sakura, no dummy, was starting to think her plan was more than unwise as she silently cradled her aching wrist and watched him turn and leave. It might very well be suicidal, and for the first time she thought she might be in real danger.

Naruto to Greek God Index (short version for this chapter)

Sakura/Ino/Hinata = the Graces (names vary)

Gaara = Hephaestus, god of smiths

Asuma & Kurenai = Astraeus (Dusk) and Eos (Dawn)

Tsunade = Hera, queen of the gods, patron of mothers and marriages

Karin = Aphrodite, goddess of love