A/N: Not many chapters left now, but I have prewritten most of them! I debated doing a sequel to this for a long time, but it's unlikely I'll get around to doing one, but if anyone is interested in one, let me know :)

Disclaimer: For the millionth time, I don't own Naruto or any of the characters, only my OCs.

The Bride and Groom

Frustrated fingers raked through soft silvery locks, her scarlet eyes seeming to glow in agitation as her mouth pressed into a firm line.

This was probably one of the hardest things Luna had ever had to do. She was so far out of her comfort zone she wasn't sure she even had one anymore. The hybrid knew she was most likely exaggerating things in her head, but Hinata was one of the first people she'd met and really trusted in the Leaf, and Luna knew what this ceremony meant to the Hyuga. And with only three weeks left before the looming deadline, the she-wolf was running out of time to find the perfect gift.

The perfect wedding gift, she should add.

Overhead, the little bell of the flower shop doorway tinkled pleasantly as it announced her arrival, alerting an eager looking blonde to her presence.

"Luna! What brings you here?" Ino greeted, keen to have some distraction from the rose thorns that had been cutting into her fingers as she wove them elegantly into her latest display.

The she-wolf threw her an exasperated help-me look, one that she knew Ino would be hard-pressed to say no to. It had been almost a year since the execution of the Hihanta, and if Luna had learned anything in her time in Konaha, it was that Ino loved a good distress signal.

"Ino, you gotta help me think of something for Hinata and Naruto's wedding." She whined, her voice uncharacteristically squeaky. "Everything I come up with just seems so… generic! And Hinata was one of my first friends here, so this gift is important to me!"

The blonde kunoichi smothered a grin at her friend's strangled plea, sadistic glee overcoming her at the thought of being needed so desperately. "Fear not, my little wolf, you've come to the right place. I run a flower shop, of all things. I pride myself in meaningful gifts."

By the time Ino had finished with her, Luna's head swam with unnecessarily long and complicated names of so many varieties of plants that she hadn't even known existed. She had left empty-handed, deftly defying the Anthophile's disillusioned pout. But Ino had given her lots to think about.

For one thing, she had learned that a flower can say anything and everything from 'I love you' to 'get well soon', and that reflected onto whatever gift she selected for the Hyuga's wedding. Ino had advised her first to find the message she wanted to convey behind her present, which was actually much more helpful than Luna had expected.

As she mulled over what exactly that message was, she almost ran head-first into the Leaf's infamous spangled green ninja with no ninjutsu, who had been engaged in a full blown sprint along the path she'd been crossing.

"Luna! I am so sorry, I did not see you there! I was deep in concentration over my daily youthful training assignment issued by the one and only Guy Sensei: Rock Lee's challenge of twenty-thousand meters at full speed!" Urgently babbled words tumbled out of his mouth, halting only when Luna put her hands up to relieve him.

"It was my fault, Lee, don't worry. I was lost in thought."

"Oh?" Thick black eyebrows pulled down over inquisitive round orbs, suddenly perceptive. "Anything I can help with?"

Pursing her lips, the hybrid tried to imagine Lee giving her advice on picking out a personalised wedding gift. When her mind drew a blank, she let out a soft sigh. "I'm trying to decide on something important, but I'm just not getting anywhere."

Lee's expression morphed into understanding, and then transformed just as quickly into excitement. "When I am having trouble with anything, a good dose of training always gets my brain working faster! Why don't you join me for a while doing laps of the village?"

Although his wording was as confusing as always, the disarmingly friendly grin that followed immediately convinced her to agree. And no sooner than the pair had begun to sprint, she remembered why she avoided training with Rock Lee, when she could help it.

They chattered lightly about nothing in particular for the first ten minutes while Luna struggled to breathe, until Lee brought up the very thing she was trying to resolve.

"So, have you thought of what gift you'll get Naruto and Hinata for their wedding yet?" Lee asked without even one gasp for breath.

Luna shook her head, just barely matching his pace and feeling as though her lungs might implode. "Actually that's… what I've been… debating…" She managed between pants, glowering at how easily her friend was able to speak.

"I am unsure what to get them as well." He admitted. "Sakura said she is making them a very special food pill, and Chouji is giving them vouchers for a very nice restaurant."

"Those are… really… great…" For them, Luna thought bitterly. Those gifts were perfect for their intended targets, and they each had that personal connection that Luna was looking for in her choice.

Lee hummed in agreement, looking deep in thought for a moment. "Let's take a short break, there's a nice tea house just around this bend!"

Luna had never been more relieved. She knew that her friend had barely even broken a sweat, despite having been running for much longer than she had, and was really only suggesting the break because he could tell she was about to drop dead. She desperately appreciated it.

Her tail rested on the bench at the side of her thigh as she beckoned for a waitress, ignoring the odd stares she was quite used to receiving by now as she ordered the first cold drink on the menu.

"Tenten is most likely going to get them a customized kunai for her gift, I believe her words were actually 'a cute kunai'" Lee told her, and Luna laughed at the phrase.

"Yeah that sounds like Tenten."

She nodded briefly at the waitress who set down a glass of peach iced tea in front of her, practically downing the drink all in one.

"I thought wolves were meant to be built for high stamina…" The black-haired ninja teased lightly, chuckling at the glare he received in response.

"Don't let Kiba hear you say that, I'll never live it down…" She grumbled, shooting up out of her seat when a familiar voice sounded behind her, thick with intrigue.

"Don't let me hear what?"

The Inuzuka lipped his lips in amusement as he watched her fumble for a response, practically throwing herself across the table to slap a hand over Lee's mouth when he started to reply.

"N-nothing! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be talking politics with the elders?"

Kiba rolled his eyes at the subject change, but figured he'd just pry answers out of Lee later. "Yeah, but I got away early to pick up some med supplies for Hana. Besides, things got real boring when they started on about clan traditions."

"That sounds kind of important, though?" Lee commented, in a way that might've been condescending if it hadn't been, well, Lee.

But the dog trainer shrugged. "I know most of it anyway. So what brings you two this side of town?"

"Luna and I were just doing some training, trying to decide on what to get for Naruto and Hinata."

"And failing." The she-wolf added miserably.

Kiba chuckled. "Still coming up blank, huh?"

She nodded as he slid onto the bench beside her, waving over the waitress and raising an eyebrow when Luna cut in with another urgent order of the same drink.

Thankfully, Lee saved her from giving an explanation by asking, "Have you or Shino decided on a gift yet, Kiba?"

The Inu nin nodded. "We're getting a combined present, from the old team 8. Honey wine."

Luna let out a whine. "You've got it so easy, it's not fair! Joint present with Shino, and you grew up with both Hinata and Naruto!"

"You don't have it so hard yourself, you know."

"How?!" She demanded, irritated by his laid-back attitude when he should be stressing with her!

"Hinata was one of the first people you liked here, right? For a wolf, that's pretty huge." Kiba shrugged, as though a gift idea from that statement alone was obvious enough.

Luna glared at him, waiting for him to continue while Lee chuckled at her expression.

"Get her something that shows her that. Like, something to do with your clan or something."

"That is the most vague, unhelpful…" Something sparked in the back of her mind suddenly and her words fizzled out as she pulled together the strings of a thought that was trying to form in her mind.

Kiba watched with unguarded humour as the lightbulb over her head finally flickered to life, and she flew up from her chair.

"I've got it! That's it!" She slammed some money on the table in front of the green-clad ninja, mumbling her thanks for the company. "I've gotta go, see you later, yeah?"

The hybrid barely gave the pair a chance to reply as she all but fled the scene, then halted suddenly as she reached the exit, spun on her heel and ran back over to the table.

"Thanks, Kiba!" She grinned, planting a hurried kiss against his cheek before taking off once again. Their relationship was no secret among Konaha by now, but the display of public affection was rare for the Hangetsu girl. It also wasn't very often she used his actual name, only when she was caught off-guard, or too distracted to come up with a nickname... or an insult.

When she was gone, Lee covered his mouth in a short laugh. "She is like a Leaf hurricane in human form!"

Kiba smirked as she skirted around a waiter with a precariously balanced tray in each hand, and snorted in agreement. "Yeah, you're telling me…"

Back at the Inuzuka compound, Luna stood back from her work in the kitchenette of her little house.

Several months back, when it had become clear that Luna no longer wanted to leave the Leaf village, Tsume had ordered a house be built especially for her, not too far from the main household, but not so close that she was under their noses. It was perfect for the she-wolf, with her own private garden at the back that caught the sun in the afternoon and the moonlight in the dead of night.

She still found herself to be restless on most nights, but sleep came much easier to her in the darkness now than it had when she'd first arrived here.

The gift was laid out on the work space between the kitchen units and the living area, a circle of twigs woven together with a mesh of twine filling the centre, and an array of brown leather tassels hung from the bottom rim of the circumference. As a finishing touch, Luna had wrapped several strands of material together in the middle of the twined centre, to form the shape of a wolf, howling at the moon.

She lifted the item from a loop of leather at the top, watching as it twirled slowly in front of her assessing gaze, until finally, she was satisfied.

Yes, this was the perfect gift for her friend's wedding.

A dream-catcher, woven in the way her Grandmother had taught her when she was young. It would catch any negative aura's that threatened their new household, and protect them from evil, or so the elders of her village had used to say. She wasn't sure Hinata – and definitely not Naruto – would know of the relevance of the item to her kind, but she knew in her heart that this gift was exactly what she'd been trying to convey. She wished them all the luck in the world, and she wanted them to be happy, and safe. Hinata deserved to be happy.

So much seemed to have changed over the course of the past year, from everything between Tsunade stepping down from Hokage and a jounin named Kakashi taking her place, to Naruto and Hinata's engagement. The Hihanta's execution had been a small, private affair, with only Tsunade, Tsume, and a select few trusted Anbu Black ops present. Kiba had been sure to keep Luna particularly busy on that day, almost enough to completely take her mind off it.

The announcement of Hinata and Naruto's engagement had followed only a few months after that, and after another few months, Ino revealed a secret relationship with Sai, which Luna had been shocked to find out about. They had certainly kept that under lock and key.

While it stung her slightly at how easily the world was moving on from the death of her clan, Luna was growing more and more comfortable in her new home as time went on. And although the grief still washed over her in heavy waves of overbearing grief every so often, she no longer felt so alone. Not to mention, she had Hana and Kiba and the other Inuzukas literally at her doorstep for anytime she was feeling particularly miserable.

Hana was always glad of the company, being constantly rushed off her feet with the increase in ninken pups recently, and of course Luna was always happy to help out with them. Despite all the added work, the older Inuzuka never seemed to age a day, her rounded eyes always bright and alert.

And as for Kiba, although his physical appearance had barely changed, he had matured considerably in his interest in clan politics. As next in line for the leading role of his family, Tsume often chastised him for his seeming lack of attention to the needs of the pack, calling him irresponsible and careless. But Luna could see the changes in him. She wasn't sure how or when, but he had begun learning almost everyone's names and their immediate family members in the compound, having a relevant, genuine greeting for almost all of them these days.

Luna knew it was only a matter of time before he would finally challenge his mother for the role of Alpha, as did the whole clan. It was painstakingly obvious that tensions were rising in the main household. Every conversation between mother and son grew more and more tense, jaws snapping and arguments increasing tenfold, especially over the last few weeks.

Whether it was the pressure of all the extra missions he'd been taking lately to cover for Hinata being off-duty, or that he was nearing a decision to challenge Tsume, Luna wasn't sure.

Either way, something would have to change soon, before they said or did something they wouldn't be able to take back.

Although it seemed as though it would never arrive, the day of Naruto and Hinata's wedding was finally upon them.

Shuffling excitedly in her seat between Kiba and Tenten, Luna could barely contain her grin as she watched her first real friend of the Leaf village meet her life-long love at the altar.

The wedding was set up in the training field where their generation had grown up, flowers and ribbons and bows decorating every archway and every painted bench, with a long carpet of white laid out in the middle as an elegant aisle, fit for a princess. Every single seat was full, with a small crowd of ninja still having to stand at the back and around the sides. Akamaru was sitting on Kiba's left at the end of their bench, on the outside edge of the field, giving up his seat for more humans to squeeze in at the other end.

Hinata, dressed in a pure white ceremonial kimono, looked absolutely beautiful. Her long, indigo hair was pinned delicately with lilac coloured kanzashi, leaving two curled strands loose at the front which framed her heart-shaped face stunningly.

Luna couldn't hold back the soft smile as her heart swelled for the Hyuga and her husband-to-be as they exchanged their vows, and at some point, Kiba's hand wound around hers.

Somewhere between the ceremony and the celebration party afterwards, Luna had lost sight of both Kiba and Akamaru, including the few other people she knew and liked, finding herself alone and out of her league for social skills at the bar. She stirred her glass of lemonade anxiously, shuffling out of the way when a pair of older jounin started a 'shot competition'.

Uncomfortable scarlet irises scanned the room, landing with some relief on a familiar Inuzuka who was engaged in an animated conversation with Neji, Lee and Tenten. Akamaru seemed to be nodding along with his partner, tongue lolled out to the side as he sat by Kiba's feet. Before she even realised, a smile had slipped onto her mouth as she watched him wave his arms in the air in what might have been excitement had it not been for the facepalm that followed.

She wondered absently what they were talking about, forehead creasing as she strained her hearing momentarily over the buzz of the crowded room.

Luna smirked as she picked up on words such as 'buffet' and 'Chouji', guessing the rest of the way that their conversation was headed. Her eyes lingered on the brunette a moment longer, both impressed and slightly jealous at how easy he found it to be himself in such a busy room. Kiba was unpredictable, wild and unruly like no one else she'd ever met, and impulsive at the oddest of times. But even from this distance, his mere presence seemed to bring about a calm on the she-wolf that she'd never have expected from someone outside her own blood.

"Oh, my boyfriend is so dreamy!"

"I could just stare at him all day long!"

A pair of sing-song voices sounded from behind her, Ino and Sakura's mocking faces baring down on her as she flushed and tore her eyes from the dog trainer.

"Sh-shut up. I was not staring!" Luna grumbled, crossing her arms defensively. "And he's not my boyfriend!"

Ino scoffed. "Yeah, right. And Sai isn't my fiancé. Just like Forehead here is giving up on her pining after Sasuke."

"Hey! I do not pine!"

While the Hangetsu had still never met this infamous Uchiha she heard so much about from the pinkette, it was obvious she was head over heels for him.

Luna sniggered as the pair began to bicker among themselves, relieved to have the attention shifted from her. It was true, Kiba and her had moved on from the coarsely dubbed 'friend-zone' from the blonde beside her, but they had yet to label whatever this thing was between them. Not that she didn't want a 'thing', but it had taken her long enough to accept that their 'thing' even existed, and she wasn't sure when or how to broach the next stage, whatever that was. Besides, she wasn't sure she was ready to.

"So, you gonna stand back here alone all day?" Sakura asked, drawing her back into the conversation. "Let's go find Naruto and Hinata!"

Now that, Luna was happy to agree to.

It was sometime after the dancing had rolled into cheesy drunken party songs that Kiba came to find her. She could not have been more relieved, his timing being impeccable as she had been seconds away from being dragged up onto the dance floor herself by one of the intoxicated teens.

He had guessed the meaning behind the look of helpless gratitude she'd thrown him, snickering as he tugged her around the maze of tables and out onto the balcony at the back.

The warm evening atmosphere enveloped her as they emerged outside, and Kiba didn't miss the sigh of relief as the air reached her lungs.

"Something told me you aren't one for dancing." He smirked, amusement lacing his tone as he released her wrist and leaned back on his elbows against the waist-high balcony banister.

Luna made a disgusted noise in the back of her throat. "Not on my life."

"Then, your welcome."

She flashed him a grin, leaning forward over the railings on her forearms, the back-to-front of his position. "Was it all too much for Akamaru?"

"Yeah, he seemed pretty tired so he went home about an hour ago. Or maybe he just had the good sense to avoid all that…" He gestured dismissively towards the doors, where music still blasted out from inside.

"That sounds more likely." Akamaru was smart. She should have been like Akamaru. "Remind me again why I'm still here?"

Kiba chuckled, turning around to lean forward over the banister too, nudging her arm playfully. "Because you promised to help Hinata at the end of the night. And because I'm still here, obviously."

"Oh obviously." She rolled her eyes at the latter reason, but frowned at the first. She, Sakura, Ino and Tenten had agreed to accompany the Hyuga after the party, to help her change and get her ready for the rest of her life. They had agreed weeks ago, but Hinata, it seemed, was no longer anywhere to be found. "Where is Hinata, anyway? Come to think of it, I haven't seen Naruto for a while either…"

She frowned deeper, thinking back. She'd seen Sakura, Ino and Tenten at one of the tables they'd passed on their way outside, but even in the emptying room, Hinata and Naruto no longer stood out.

"I hate to break it to you, but I think they left about an hour ago…"

Luna whirled on him. "What?!"

The Inuzuka chuckled at her sudden outrage. In truth, he'd seen the pair sneak out together earlier, giggling and hurrying like naughty school children. He hadn't the heart to give them up, even having covered for them a few times when people started to notice their absence.

"You knew they were gone and you didn't tell me! I could have left ages ago!" She groaned, hands sliding down over her face. "Why didn't you say anything?!"

"Because it was far too amusing watching you dodge every attempt people were making to involve you on the dance floor. I have to admit though, even I was pretty impressed with how you switched your own arm with Ino's before when that guy tried to pull you up."

Her irritation spiked, a soft growl lacing her words. "That was ages ago! You've been watching me suffer all that time and you didn't think to come save me!"

Kiba laughed out loud at her wording. "Wow, never thought I'd hear you actually ask to be saved, Princess! Spoken like a true damsel in distress."

"Kiba!" She whined, eyes flashing miserably.

He turned and pulled her into his chest suddenly, a laugh still rumbling in his ribcage. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry. But I saved you in the end, didn't I?"

She pouted, muttering grumpily, "I guess."

He smiled into her hair as she relaxed against him, the proximity no longer causing her to stiffen as it once had. She'd hardly seen him since the actual wedding ceremony, and honestly, she'd kind of missed him.

Music boomed on, slightly muffled from inside the building as Kiba's teasing shifted into something more gentle. Pulling back slowly, their eyes met momentarily and then he dropped her gaze, looking sheepish.

"I know I haven't seen you much tonight, and I know how much you hate any sort of social situation," he started, seeming to read her mind and prominently ignoring her glower. "But, you seemed to be doing alright on your own. For once."

So, that was why.

"You make me sound like an alien. Learning the ways of human interaction." She said dryly, but she appreciated the notion. It was true, if Kiba had been by her side all night, she would have just been using him as her crutch as she usually did, bouncing off his playful nature and light-hearted conversations. But tonight, he'd purposely stayed away so that she was forced to socialise on her own. And as much as she hated to admit it, she knew he was right to do so.

Kiba bared his teeth in lop-sided smile. "My little alien, all grown up!"

Luna knew he was messing with her again, but she couldn't fight the blush that crept over her cheeks when he called her his. Teasing or not, the implications were enough for her to avert her eyes.

Dipping her chin to hide the flush, her tail twitched nervously behind her as his fingers brushed the side of her face, pushing a stray strand of hair out of her face that was normally held back by a red hair-clip. Vermillion irises widened, barely noticeably to the untrained eye, as he tilted her head back upwards.

Her heart hammered in her chest as she tasted the faint tracings of alcohol on his mouth, vaguely aware of one hand pushing against the small of her back. Small hands clutched at the collar of his leather jacket, subconsciously pulling him closer as their lips parted and his tongue twisted with hers.

It was amazing how he could still raise her pulse to near-dangerous levels even after almost a full year. His kisses still left her breathless and wanting more, a fire igniting in her stomach that she never realised she possessed. His mouth broke away from hers to trail of series of wet kisses down to the base of her neck, a low growl rumbling between them as she tightened her grip on his jacket. She lifted one hand to grip the back of his hair, fingers revelling at the soft texture and enjoying the sensation of his hot breath against her skin.

He nipped lightly at the side of her throat, and her heart nearly leapt from her chest as he returned to her lips, pressing his mouth against hers fully. Her back leaned against the railings behind her as she arched backwards, and suddenly she was hoisted upwards with a yelp. Kiba chuckled under his breath, her legs wrapping around his hips as she perched on the banister, her face now hovering just higher than his.

He smirked as she recomposed herself, hands sliding over his shoulders and the back of his neck, her lips as eager as his. A shiver shot up her spine as he ran a hand down the full length of her tail, and the dog trainer grinned against her mouth at the reaction he'd discovered he could draw from her with this motion a few weeks ago. Her tongue dragged across his in retaliation, her hands coming to rest on either side of his face. Her thumbs softly traced the curve of each red triangle on his cheeks, drawing a similar reaction to hers from the Inuzuka.

His eyes flickered open, meeting hers, a dark look flashing through them. From up close, Luna had discovered an ever-so-slight golden hue around the outer rim of his pupils, his eyes actually an extremely dark shade of brown.

The intensity behind the brief eye-contact dawned on the she-wolf heavily, and she was suddenly very aware that they were just outside a room full of drunken ninja.

"K-Kiba…" She mumbled against him, his mouth having returned to hers hungrily.

Her voice only seemed to encourage him, emitting a soft growl as he pressed a palm against her back, their fronts now fully flushed together.

It took all of her willpower to push him away, her hands weak against his chest and weaker still when he groaned in protest.

Still, she persisted and he reluctantly complied, lifting her back to the ground gently and just in the nick of time for Ino to come bursting through the doors into the garden.

"There you are, Lu– Oh… er, am I interrupting something…?" She trailed off awkwardly, but the sly smirk on her face read otherwise.

"No!"

"Yes."

Luna sent the dog trainer a scowl at his contradicting answer, who merely grinned at her lazily. "What's up, Ino?"

The blonde's smirk dropped instantly and was replace with a frown and a hand on her hip. "We can't find Hinata anywhere, we think she left already."

"Oh, I guess we aren't needed then…" Luna hinted, not wanting to risk being dragged back into the fray of the after party.

Ino sighed. "No, I guess not. Me and Sakura are heading home soon, just came to let you know."

"Thanks, Ino. See you, tomorrow."

The incessant Yamanaka had demanded that a few of them meet up the following morning to interrogate all the details out of the poor Hyuga girl. Luna wouldn't be surprised if Hinata didn't even show up, and she wouldn't blame her.

"What's tomorrow?" Kiba questioned after the blonde had already disappeared back into the building with a suggestive wink.

"Er, just coffee with Ino and co." She mumbled, hoping he wouldn't catch why. She didn't want to have to explain that it was to harass his newly wed teammate on her first – or second? – day of marriage.

The Inu nin seemed to accept her answer with a nod, then cocked his head to the side in the direction of the building. "Come on then, I think you've suffered enough socialising for one day. Let's head home."

Her face lit up at the prospect of escape, missing the amused head-shake Kiba gave her as she eagerly made for the exit.

He walked her right up to her door on the Inuzuka compound, and as they reached the porch, she half expected him to sweep her back off her feet and kiss her senseless again. But he surprised her with a sweet, chaste kiss on her forehead instead, directly over her crescent moon symbol. The mark tingled as his lips hovered there momentarily, and when he pulled back, her cheeks were dusted with light pink.

"Good night, Princess." He murmured.

She smiled despite the nickname, standing on her tiptoes momentarily to touch her forehead to his. "Good night, Mongrel."

He flashed her a lazy grin and backed up a few steps, then turned with a backwards wave and disappeared into the night.

A/N: There is most probably definitely only one more chapter left after this, since there's one last thing left for Kiba to do.

See you then! :)