(5 years ago)

Sakura and Sasuke were never ones to put on a show. She found joy in what was simple and he claimed that he couldn't care less about the ceremony ("All that matters is that you're there," he had said once, when they were planning the wedding over Skype; he had to turn away from the camera as he said it, but the way the tips of his ears reddened failed to escape his wife-to-be, as most things about him did).

The couple gathered their most important people, just a handful of friends and family. There was someone missing though, and Sakura didn't miss the way Sasuke's eyes lingered on the empty seat between his parents where Itachi was supposed to be. She, on the other hand, didn't have parents to speak of. But she had her Ino, her Naruto and his Gaara, her Minato and Kushina−her very own makeshift family. And of course, the man she would call husband for the rest of her life.

The wedding itself was a quick affair. She threw on a simple white dress and he looked dashing in an ordinary white button-up shirt. The judge came and the couple exchanged a few words; promises of forever that dusted Sasuke's pale cheeks with pink and made her green eyes glassy with tears she couldn't shed out of consideration for her makeup. They exchanged rings and a sweet kiss that sealed the deal.

"I love you," she whispered. His reply was drowned out by the thunderous applause in the room.

In a split second, he was snatched from her and she was engulfed in Mikoto Uchiha's arms. Fugaku gave her an approving nod, which was the most she could ask for from her father-in-law. When she looked over her shoulder, she found her husband caught in Naruto's chokehold, knuckles rapping against scalp.

"Old enough to get married and this is still how you kids behave," Kushina Uzumaki came to stand next to her, linking their arms together, looking fondly at her son and his best friend since he was five years old. "You take care of that boy."

"Haven't I always done so?" Sakura scoffed good-naturedly.

The redhead tilted her head and gave her a thoughtful look, before pressing a soft kiss to her temple, the kind that made her miss her own real mother (but missing her has always been something very vague and blurry−confusing, to say the least). "But you need to let him take care of you, too."

The afterparty took place in the same bar where Sasuke had semi-soberly asked her to marry him and she had semi-soberly said yes a few months ago when she had come to Konoha for their monthly rendezvous. It didn't matter to them that they were half-drunk when such commitments were made, and it wasn't something they would regret because it wouldn't have been any different had they been sober. There was only ever Sakura for Sasuke, and Sasuke for Sakura. And now, as their entourage took shot after shot after shot, she sat on top of the bar counter with her legs wrapped around his waist, his tongue exploring the inside of her mouth. Completely sober and ready to consummate their marriage right then and there.

"Get a room!" Naruto had shouted at them, less fondly and more disgusted

("He's about to fuck my own sister right in front of me, man," he grimaced. "Fucking straight people!").

And get a room, they did.

Sakura was awake and dressed and ready to fly before the sun was up. She pressed a kiss to the tip of his nose and she was gone when he woke.

.

"Good morning, Haruno-san!" A nurse chirped from behind the counter as Sakura entered the front doors of Sunagakure General Hospital.

"Hm? Oh, it's actually Uchiha now!" She raised her hand and made an elegant gesture with her fingers. Her ring sparkled blindingly as it caught the light, but her smile shined brighter than diamonds and gold.

a/n: so i should've left this note earlier in the fic, i guess. i originally had a very different plan for this story but i couldn't quite figure out how to properly structure it, and ideas kept flying at me so i couldn't form a coherent structure for the events so i decided to try something i've never done before. so the whole thing, as you can tell, is not in chronological order. the fic as a whole is pretty short and the chapters will vary in length, because i'm just really so indecisive. this is also my first multi-chapter fic, so please let me know what you think because feedback is always well-appreciated.