Hiya.

Sorry to everyone who was expecting a direct continuation from last chapter—this isn't. I've not been game to change any of the plot structure up for fear of this turning into another version of my other story Happy Ending, which took me years to finish the final chapter because I changed the original direction the story was going to end on (mid writing it), and then figuratively lost the plot. So, I hope you all like the happy ending of THIS story.

Also: I got carried away with the smut. More intense than I'd intended but you guys deserve it. ;P

Enjoy. ^_^

…
Chapter Ten.
...

One Year Later.

It had been one a hell of a year. Sakura could barely believe sometimes, all that had happened. But she still bore the physical and emotional scars of it; every screaming match, every threat of renewed war, and every attempt on her life had brought them all to this point.

She was finally married.

Sakura looked out over the ballroom as the guests of her wedding reception danced, gossiped, and imbibed the alcohol her new father-in-law had had imported from the newly established winery in Oto, especially for this occasion. It had a sweet and bitter taste that worked surprisingly well. It reminded her of how hard she and Gaara had fought to even get to this day. She had numerous people to thank for making this possible; all her friends were at this reception, and she had never been surrounded by so much love in her life.

Gaara had been the rock that got her through that first heated argument with Rasa, and her friends had stood by them both. Though she could've done without the twinkling, knowing look Kakashi was giving her when she recounted her winning fight against Gaara to him. She wondered what was going through his head as he congratulated her with no look of surprise. She'd shrugged it off as him having faith in her, but the awkwardness awareness still creeped her out.

Sakura handed her finished drink to a passing waiter and dragged her new husband back onto the dancefloor.

"Enjoying yourself?" Gaara asked, kissing her forehead.

"I am now."

He chuckled as she threw her arms around his neck. They danced for a few songs before Gaara insisted they move off the floor. Sakura returned to greeting, mingling, and observing her guests, a new drink in her hand. Her father was dancing with a lady from Kiri and she playfully batted his hand away every time he moved in for a grope; they both giggled at his antics.

She must be too drunk to be offended, she thought, grinning.

Sakura was used to this from him. She'd been too young to remember her mother when she passed from a plague, and every opportunity he got, Kizashi found himself in the arms of a woman; ugly, average, and beautiful, he didn't care. They were all beautiful to him. Her father was a good soul.

She glanced at Gaara, who wasn't so amused by them. His frown deepened when he noticed her teasing smile, directed at him.

When Gaara found out the Elder who had been merely amused by him that day in her village was Sakura's father, he'd gazed at her with such intense trepidation that he hadn't seen the wide and comical embrace from Kizashi coming when he threw himself at the redhead.

"If I'd known he was your father, I'd have sent you to live him instead of sitting and powdering your nose all day," he'd hissed as the half-naked, tall, and beefy man thanked him somewhat tearily for looking after his little girl, from under his armpit.

Sakura's laughter had lasted for days.

She gripped Gaara's hand as he pouted at her; a dignitary from some small outlying town near the free cities drew his attention and Sakura sighed. Seeing that the bride was unoccupied, a dignitary from Iwa introduced himself, and she spent a few moments trying to avoid the old man's wandering hands before being saved by Ino, who was dolled up for the first time for years (and loving it) and introducing herself as "Lady Ino Yamanaka of Fire". She pompously waved off the dignitary, ignoring his indignant squeaking and locked arms with Sakura.

"So, you finally got your title back, huh?" Sakura grinned at her.

"Almost," Ino said. "I just have to return home to make it official."

With the Uchiha in charge of Fire, Sasuke had offered every clan and individual who'd been ostracised by the last king their positions and citizenship back if they so wished. And Ino so wished. Her parents were ecstatic, which paled in comparison to how she felt at the possibility to be close to the Uchiha again.

"You hung around for my wedding? How sweet."

Ino slapped her arm playfully. "Didn't want to miss the big day I helped make happen."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you keep telling yourself that."

"And I'm going to miss you, forehead girl."

The pinkette groaned at that nickname. Ever since she'd been freed of servitude to Wind, Ino had taken the opportunity to start treating Sakura with less airs and respect.

"Well I won't miss you, pig."

They glared at each other for a moment before breaking into laughter.

They went their separate ways—Ino to track down Sasuke, who Naruto had convinced Gaara to invite to the wedding (though Gaara insisted he come as a guest as the bride and not the groom) and Sakura to saunter over to her husband and plant a noisy kiss on him while he was in the middle of talking to the dignitaries who were hogging his attention.

She laughed at his stunned expression and the growing blush on his skin.

The dignitaries from Fire were given a wide berth by a lot of people, but otherwise, everything seemed to be going smoothly.

Gaara's father was in a corner with his mother, her hand running through his hair as she whispered in his ear. Sakura was in awe of that woman. If anyone had told her that there was someone who could convince him not to kill people, not to lock up his children for their defiance, and not start a war just for the sake of appearances, she'd have laughed in their face. The man was crazy.

When the redhead announced to his father that he was going to marry the Fire barbarian that Rasa thought he'd been screwing all along, it was Queen Karura who soothed him and talked him into accepting it. When Kankuro—seeing how happy Gaara was with someone he actually loved, and how he'd gotten what he wanted—announced he was divorcing his harpy wife, Queen Karura was the one who settled Rasa down and prevent bloodshed.

She was truly amazing.

A year ago, no-one would've thought the monarch would still be without grandchildren and the existing marriage would soon come to an end. And they never could've predicted that Temari—of all people—would agree (quite readily) to an arranged marriage with a Fire noble.

Ino's best friend.

The cloud watcher had apparently wooed the wind user without meaning to and both nations were in talks over the finer details of their engagement. This was going to ensure a bond between Fire and Wind. One nobody could've seen coming back when they were gearing up to slaughter each other. The irony was that all of the political power Rasa was hoping to gain from an agreement from Oto paled in comparison with what was actually coming out of an accord with Fire.

These were crazy times.

So, by the time Lord Gaara's wedding came around, Sakura had been accepted by the twittering nobles she'd been ignored by before, and thrust into the limelight as people were making bets on who would eventually succeed Rasa: Kankuro or Gaara. Sakura always flushed at the idea that she might one day carry the title of queen, especially since Kankuro had no intention of settling down again (any time soon) and Fire law dictated the King be married and either with a child on the way or in the process of attempts to conceive that child.

"Sakura!" Naruto's voice rang out in the ballroom, turning every eye to him as he pushed his way through the crowd, a shy looking girl following in his wake.

Sakura accepted his hug. "Is this the Hinata I've heard so much about?"

"Oh yeah," Naruto grinned sheepishly and introduced her to his wife.

Hinata curtsied. "Lady Sakura."

"Please, you can just call me Sakura."

"O-okay."

"Congratulations, Sakura-chan," Naruto said, winking at her. "I just knew you crazy kids would get together."

She punched his arm. "Thanks, Naruto."

"Have you seen teme?" He asked. "I thought he might be brooding in a corner or something."

"Teme?" She was confused.

"Oh, that's what I call Sasuke."

"He's talking with your father, Naruto," Hinata said.

Naruto took Hinata's hand and put it in Sakura's. "I'll be right back."

Sakura gave the embarrassed Hyuuga's hand a squeeze before letting go, watching Naruto rush over to his father and friend. She'd seen Sasuke from a distance before and Ino was right about those beautiful features of his. She wondered if the blonde had a chance with him or if he already had a marriage of convenience in the works. As the liberator of Fire, people were pushing for him to be officially crowned and she knew that Fire had a similar law to Wind in that the ruler be married.

She idly remembered her silent wish over a year ago for the Fire monarch to just be deposed and replaced with someone that knew how to listen at the treaty table. Both Naruto and Sasuke were responsible for the uprising that saved thousands of lives in the—almost—bloodless coup. It showed promise for the future.

Familiar arms snaked around Sakura's waist and Hinata curtsied in Gaara's direction; he nodded to her then lowered his mouth to smother the pinkette's making the Hyuuga squirm in embarrassment.

So much for his own embarrassment earlier.

"Hm." Sakura clutched the front of his chángpáo as she returned his passion for a moment later, then pushed at him slightly. "Later," she said breathily. "We still have guests."

He grinned as Hinata's face turned beet red.

"Oh," Sakura said. "Here comes Naruto and Sasuke. Wow. Ino was right. The Uchiha really do look like they were sculpted by the gods. Nice."

It was payback for embarrassing Hinata, and Sakura didn't regret making her new husband growl and glare at her jealously as Sasuke kissed her hand and smiled charmingly as Naruto introduced them. The blond also seemed to be enjoying Gaara's reaction.

Ignoring Gaara, Sasuke held her hand a little longer than necessary. "If you ever get tired of this guy," he cocked his head toward Gaara, "you know where I live." He bowed, smirking as Gaara's aura darkened. "Lady Sakura, Lady Hinata."

He swaggered away and Sakura giggled slightly, taking Gaara's hand when he moved to attack the man.

"He's just riling you up, Gaara," Naruto said, laughing. "And you fall for it every time."

Though he was definitely everything Ino had claimed, Sakura could see why Gaara hated Sasuke. If someone took every opportunity to piss her off like that, she'd want to tear them to shreds, too. But she didn't worry about him, turning to stand in front of Gaara as Naruto and Hinata made their way onto the dancefloor.

She kissed him gently, yelping slightly when he pulled her into a rougher battle of the tongues for a few minutes before they both pulled away, breathing heavily. She regained her equilibrium and stood on tiptoe to whisper in his ear.

"Behave and I'll let you eat me out in Sasuke's guest room when he's occupied later."

That cajoled him and he grinned at her promise. "You're on."

They danced a little more before the large doors opened dramatically and everyone in the ballroom paused to note the late arrivals. A minute later, Sakura found herself surrounded by strangely dressed warriors, taking a moment to recognise them as the Hōzuki Clan. She wasn't sure if she should relax or challenge them to duels, with those intense looks on their faces.

"Sakura."

"Karin!" Sakura threw her arm around Karin as she emerged from behind one of the beefier men. "I didn't see you at the shrine."

"Unfortunately, I can only travel so far so fast," Karin said, tapping her very pregnant stomach, "so we didn't arrive in the city in time to see Gaara's first and last public kiss."

The man in question just rolled his eyes at the attempted dig, but Sakura laughed. She loved this new, proud, and blunt woman standing in front of her. It suited her much better than the shy and downtrodden girl she'd helped escape a tormented future.

"How long can you stay?" Sakura figured Karin wasn't planning on popping her kid out in Suna.

"A day or two," Karin said. "I didn't want to miss this celebration completely."

Sakura hugged her again. "I'm glad you're here now."

Karin smiled back at her and reached behind herself and tugged on someone to come stand beside her. "Sakura, this is my husband, Suigetsu Hōzuki. Suigetsu, this is Sakura."

The man gave a feral grin, his canines digging into his bottom lip and bowed. "Milady."

Sakura could see immediately from the other warriors why the Hōzuki Clan were considered barbarians, but Suigetsu had a more lithe body shape and intelligent air to him which she guessed had attracted Karin to him in the first place. Though he still looked like a barbarian to her, but she wisely kept that to herself—she'd been in his position once and was no-one to judge. What she liked about him though was expression, like he was up to no good.

"Lord Hōzuki," she replied and curtsied, eliciting a genuine smile from him.

A lot had changed since Karin fled the Wind capital, including her country's official recognition of the Hōzuki Clan's status as nobility. They didn't act like nobles, but they were officially just as highly placed as any of the higher clan in the kingdoms.

Sakura and Karin chatted for a bit, as their respective husbands stood next to them, looking bored.

"So, you forgive me?" Sakura asked softly (it could never be public knowledge, what they'd done).

"For taking advantage of me for your own personal gain? Sure." Karin laughed then whispered, "I'd have done the same thing. And you gave me what I wanted most in the world. Suigetsu suggested if this is a girl," she gently touched her stomach, "to name her after you. And I agreed."

Sakura bit her lip to keep from crying. "You're amazing."

"Of course."

Gaara gave a curt nod to Karin as she and Suigetsu moved away, glancing at her bulging stomach. "Congratulations."

She smiled warily at him. "Thank-you." She nodded to Sakura. "You too."

"Huh?"

"She meant our wedding," Sakura said at Gaara's paled expression. "I'm not pregnant. And I won't be for a good while, thank-you very much."

She planned to join the efforts to clean up the rebel factions that had been forming—they were loose ends from the power vacuum between the kingdoms, as was to be expected in a war-torn world. And she wasn't going to miss the last chance she had to be part of battles of importance. Whether Rasa named Gaara his official successor or not, popping out heirs could wait. She knew what herbs to take to prevent conception because there was no way she was going to remain celibate until she was ready to get pregnant.

Gaara looked relieved and took her hand to lead her back onto the dancefloor.

They eventually made their rounds as the party was dying down; Sakura's father gave Gaara a long speech about plucking cherry blossoms delicately (pretending he didn't know his daughter had already been plucked) and Rasa seemed to have finally calmed down long enough to give her a curt nod and then tell his son to not shame him by doing it wrong. Karura kissed Sakura's cheek and wished her to, "have fun with him. He's all yours now," before taking her husband by the hand and floating away. Others were more or less a mixture of cheeky and respectful. Kakashi had disappeared after telling Gaara that he hoped they had lots of really great sex and the hundreds of guests laughed at the booming response from Naruto about how, "you're a pervert, Kakashi-sensei! Stop acting like grandpa Jiraiya!".

And finally, all eyes were on the bickering pair just on the fringes of the dancefloor as Ino's voice carried over to them. Kankuro was flirting with her, and badly, it seemed. Gaara had come to the realisation that he was better at it when he'd been married.

Ino slapped his brother and people started whispering behind their hands.

Kankuro didn't let that stop him. "I can—"

"No!" Ino snapped.

"I'm sure you'd like what I—"

She stepped on his foot and ignored his cry of pain. "I said no!"

Ino stalked away amid twitters and giggles of those around her but didn't care. As soon as this wedding was over, she was out of here. The only thing in Suna she was going to miss was Sakura. And they were not going to lose touch, so it was fine. She was more than ready to leave this whole bloody place behind.

Sakura giggled and Gaara smirked as Ino made her way over to Sasuke, who had been watching the exchange in a standoffish fascination—much more like the personality that Ino and Naruto had told Sakura he had.

Sakura threw her arms around Gaara's shoulder and they touched their foreheads together. "I love you, husband."

"I love you, wife." Gaara lowered his lips to hers.

...

"Help me with this, will you?"

Gaara undid the ties holding her cheongsam in place; there were various styles of this dress and Sakura had bought this cherry blossom themed one with the image of him removing it from her person, in mind. He loved that they always seemed to match their clothes using a cheongsam and chángpáo. Her actual wedding dress had been more elaborate and Gaara imagined fumbling trying to get her out of that.

Her reception dress was much better.

Gaara tugged on the cheongsam and unwrapped her, his fingers skimming over her breasts as he went, earning himself a smirk from his new wife.

Wife.

He still couldn't believe his luck.

Sakura reached up and kissed him as her dress fell from her body, leaving her in scant lingerie. Her hands slowly undressed him as they kept their mouths busy. His thumbs pressed against her nipples and she gasped, breaking their kiss before stepping away. She slowly removed her lingerie before sauntering over to their bed, a sway in her naked hips and enjoying the way he was salivating over her.

"Hm."

She laid herself down and spread her legs, fingering herself as he moved to stand at the end of the bed, just watching her, entranced. She groaned, tweaking her nipples and lifting her knees, parting them for better access. Gaara watched her come undone under his stare before climbing onto the bed and burying his head between her thighs. He lapped at her, cleaning her out as she wriggled and tugged on his hair, making whinnying noises. She came again, this time harder and faster; his fingers aiding in her release.

"Mm. Gaara."

He crawled up her body, kissing, licking, and teasing her as he went, before finally pressing his mouth against hers. She groaned, reached down, and started pumping him; his hips moved with her and they lay like that for a few minutes before Sakura pushed at him, rolling him onto his back.

Gaara groaned. "Your training is unfair."

Sakura smirked. She'd learnt from an old friend of Naruto's—Lady Tsunade—how to focus her chakra to enhance her strength. She'd already played around with the theory before, but it was an amazing tool once perfected. And it left Gaara at her mercy when she wanted it to.

"That's not all Tsunade taught me," she said. He was curious for only a moment before she shifted downward, heading to his dick. He was almost ready, and grinned as she grasped it.

"Really?"

She nodded. "Just you wait."

She pushed her chakra into his penis, and he moaned at the sensation of his blood pumping faster through it. That's all an erection was really: blood flow. This made him instantly hard and lightly woozy and he muttered, "this better not be a genjutsu."

"No," she promised. "It's very real."

"Come here then, vixen."

This was what a year of really great sex had done to Gaara. He was still often grumpy and standoffish (depending on the circumstances), but he'd developed a brazen, cheeky attitude in their bedroom she'd had never guessed him capable of, before they'd slept together that first time.

"Yes, sir." She saluted him then straddled his hips, giving him an expectant look.

He took the hint and took control, grasping himself as he lowered her onto him, slowly, inch by inch.

"Fuck," he groaned.

"That's the plan," she said, and immediately began moving on top of him, at a languid pace. "Hm."

Gaara hissed at the spasms in his dick when she gyrated her hips and leant forward to kiss him, changing his angle. He held her hips, moving them faster and trying to shift his own to heighten the adrenaline running through his body. When she threw her head back, coming hard, he pulled her torso down to suckle on her nipples and she cried out, loudly.

Gaara held her but with one hand before pushing her onto her back without rolling them over, now thrusting into her like a man possessed. She started screaming, lifting her hips in time with his and clawing at his back. His male pride swelled, and he positioned her leg over his shoulder before picking up speed again and kissing her deeply. She cried into his mouth, murmuring his name over and over.

When he slowed down, finally, Sakura sighed, stretching her body out as though she was warming up for a sparring session. No matter how many times they did this, he never got tired of seeing her stretched out beneath him. She was a goddess.

His mind went back to that day they first met, to how his body had reacted to every inch of her flawless and smooth skin, her green eyes that were brighter than his, her cherry blossom hair: her beauty. She was a warrior, but she looked soft enough to be a noblewoman who'd never seen a battle.

Gaara groaned, spilling into her unexpectedly.

Gotta look out for that.

He'd come immediately, to that memory.

Sakura continued moving her hips, milking him to get another orgasm for herself; it worked a moment later and he felt her quim flutter and squeeze him before she sighed in contentment.

He moved off of her and pulled her to him.

He rolled her onto her back and stared down into her questioning eyes. "I love you, wife."

She smiled. "I love you, husband."

The kiss was slow and loving.

Gaara waited patiently as they lay in silence, just enjoying each other's company, wanting his erection to come back again on its own this time. He wanted to show her over and over again just how much he loved her. How much her existence meant to his existence.

He had time. They both had time. They had the rest of their lives.

…

XXX

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AN: So, this is finished now. You might notice the word count is above what I'd originally said it would be—that's because every time I edited a chapter for posting I couldn't help but add more to each one. Worked out fine though. Thanks to everyone who read/reviewed, etc. I had a lot of fun writing, editing, and posting in this manner. I think I'm going to do it again, with another unposted wip soon. *cross your fingers*

R&R

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