title: Born to Be Three
prompt: SASUSAKU MONTH 2015
rating: K-M

summary: o20: Sasuke reminisces about his wedding anniversary as the day approaches.

dedicated to: my baes on tumblr - i love you all!

NOTE THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE MONTH: I wanted to add Sarada in many of these prompts, because she's a part of this beautiful family too /sobs forever at my babies having babies/ but sometimes I either couldn't find a way to fit her in and, to be honest, I have little experience writing about her! Hopefully that will change

.o20.
Anniversary

.

Sasuke reminisces about his wedding anniversary as the day approaches.

.

Sometimes, when he finds a fallen tree, he stops in his journeys and takes a seat on the rugged bark. Things move quickly in his world—if there isn't a threat to be eliminated right now, there will be—but he figures he deserves a break. Hell, even the Hokage gets a few minutes off to spend time with the wife, so, Sasuke figures, why shouldn't he?

In fact, there's nothing Sasuke would like more than to be at home with Sakura right now. He can't fathom the surprise on her face if he should come home early. Surely, he knows, she'd drop whatever she was doing, frozen in shock. The tears would come, and of course, as she jumps into his arms and hugs him, he would tell her that she's not allowed to cry over him anymore.

They'd spend the day catching up on all the things impossible to put into letters—he'd spit out his tea when Sakura reveals that a patient she's been taking care of has shown an interest in her ("What's his name.").

Then, in the dead of night when all things have ceased and it's just them, alone…

Sasuke misses her warmth. He buries himself deeper in his cloak, ignoring the faint chill of wind slapping against his cheeks. From his bag, he removes Polaroids of his wife he took as the days went on. At first, he was simply learning how the camera worked ("You have to focus it like this, Sasuke-kun, and then when you want to take the shot, you press the button!"). Sakura had taken unflattering shots of him—one where he was halfway in the middle of a sneeze, eyes somewhat open, or eating, or just looking at her funny.

She saved them all.

Now here he was, looking at pictures he'd taken of her. Likewise, not all of them were the best photos, but they were the true sides of Sakura that couldn't be captured in a smiling portrait.

His eyes close. Nearly this time, two years ago, he was preparing in the back room of the Hokage's office. Kakashi, Naruto, and Sai gathered around him and began their unwanted touches on his hair spikes, or the boutonniere on his chest, and for Sai, the sneaky hand slips in the back pockets—"just in case there was something there."

And Sakura, surely undergoing the same treatment from the Yamanaka and Hyuuga girls, probably had it worse than he, although he guaranteed that neither one of her friends tried to touch her butt "just in case."

The ceremony was fairly quick, or maybe it was his nerves that made it seem shorter than it really was. It was a mostly traditional wedding, kimonos and yukatas and all, but Sakura wished to have a bouquet and veil. Sasuke was fine with that.

If she asked him now, he wouldn't remember the types of flowers they had adorning the ceremony, or the exact people who were there besides his own close friends, or even the color of his own boutonniere. But if Sakura had asked him what she wore, he remembered it all.

Her kimono was red, with small imprints of gold blossoms stamped from the left shoulder to the waist. The sash tied around her waist was a pure, virginal white, almost like a chastity belt he'd get to take off—Sasuke gulped, knowing this was most likely Ino's doing.

She wore little makeup: only a swipe of blush and mascara, with pale coral eyeshadow to match. Her lips were painted a fiery red, catching Sasuke off guard. She'd never worn such bold colors before.

Her hair, hidden underneath the white veil, was tied up in an immaculate bun. Twisting braids spiraled around the center and drooped down the side of her face, framing it nicely.

She was—is beautiful.

Sasuke fondly remembers undoing the white sash and watching it drop to the floor. He remembers the awkward joining of their unexperienced bodies touching each other in places unknown, and the small hints of blood signaling her loyalty to him.

What he treasures the most, though, isn't the preparation or the ceremony or even the first night. No, it's when he stood next to her, hand in hand, heart racing with adrenaline and anxiety as he finishes his vows and unfurls the veil, exposing her completely to him.

She is smiling. Her dream of finally being together with Sasuke is about to come true. And she knows that he shares the same dream as she.

"I love you," he says for the first time out loud. Only she can hear it, and it remains a private, whispered conversation just between them.

Then, with a laugh, he scolds her for crying over him again.

updates come regularly on tumblr for each day. I'm lazy at uploading on ff, but rest assured everything will be up by the end of this month. XD

note: chapter 12, white flag, has been replaced :)