The wedding was perfect, it was everything she dreamed of as a little girl and more. Sure, it hadn't always been Naruto she pictured waiting for her at the end of the aisle but now she couldn't imagine it any different. In her dreams it had been a smaller wedding but it was a big deal to marry a Hokage and not only that, a war hero. She didn't care about that. She would have married him right after the war before he was even nominated as the next Hokage. As far as the war hero, he had always been like that, on missions, fighting Pain, and even just around the village once he grew out of his bratty phase.

At the reception she stayed on his arm as he greeted different people from all the different countries of Allied Forces. She felt like a princess being escorted by a handsome prince. Everyone loved the dress Naruto picked out. He looked good in his dress clothes, she even let him wear his Hokage coat like his father's. All of other Kages were in attendance, it had been a long time since they were all together. Of them, Gaara was probably the most happy for his friend. He and his siblings came up to the happy couple.

"Gaara, you sly raccoon, its good to see you again," Sakura teased at they hugged and Gaara kissed her on the cheek.

"Congratulations, I'm glad to see you you made your way home. But Suna will welcome you back anytime," the Fifth Wind Shadow smiled.

"Well, if I get such wonderful treatment again, I might just have to," she beamed.

Naruto felt there was a story behind their friendly manner.

"It probably been a while since you've seen her," Naruto started digging. The last time that he knew she was there was after the war with him and they were not this easy going with each other then.

"A couple years, she came to our aid when we sent out a request for doctors during that plague that ravished our village. She was instrumental in finding the cure. I almost didn't let her leave," the kazekage confessed still holding the rosette's hands. She blushed at the compliment.

"She had enough proposals, I was surprised she didn't accept any of them," Temari stated with a little mischief.

"Proposals?" Naruto inquired.

"Gaara offered me a very nice position in the hospital," Sakura answered, trying to not start something but she had a feeling the quirky blond woman wasn't going to let it go.

"And about every other single man in the village asked for her hand, even Kankuro here," she jeered as she shoved her brother a bit.

"Don't go telling her husband that!" he snapped.

"Well, you shouldn't have proposed to the Hokage's girl!" his sister shot back.

"She wasn't part of the Leaf then and we were drunk, so I don't think it counts," he retorted looking cross.

Sakura's hand went to her face. Him saying it like that wasn't going to make it not count, it was going to make it so she was going to do some serious explaining. She was sure the puppet master had just dug them a deep hole that she didn't know if he could get them out of.

"Oh really," Naruto commented, waiting for them to finish the story. Sakura gave the eldest brother a warning look that he better fix things fast or he was going to get a face full of chakra.

"She wouldn't tell me what happened in the cave with Granny Chiyo and Sasori, so I figured a few drinks would help her talk about it and sure enough, this ones real chatty with a few bottles of sake in her," he remarked shaking a finger as the bride, "I finally got the details of the battle. Between what she did for me when I was poisoned, defeating Sassori and just having saved hundreds of lives in the village I figured I'd try to keep her in Suna, so I popped the question," Kankuro explained nervously. He didn't tell the groom the whole story. Just enough, he hoped, to satisfy the man. Kankuro didn't want to be the target of one of the most powerful ninja in the world and now her husband.

"I proposed to her sober, so you can't be too mad at him," Gaara informed his friend matter-oh-factually.

"What?" the stunned party yelled. The only ones who knew that Gaara had asked for her hand were him and her. The two older sand siblings were more shocked than the blond Kage.

Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose, here his brother had just moved them out of a hot spot because of their sister and Gaara had to open his mouth and shoved her back in the fire. She was beginning to feel like that was her comfort zone with the man next to her. If one of them wasn't in trouble, she wasn't sure if they would function as a couple.

"She had been away from the Leaf a long time, which surprised me but what amazed me was that you hadn't gone after her at all. So before she left I asked her to stay as my wife. She graciously declined, saying something about her heart still belonging to an idiot back in the Leaf. You left her out in the world that long, she was fair game," the redhead concluded.

"I was game, huh?" she glared at the sand master. The look he returned no one but the rosette and the redhead understood. The blond was just too much fun to pick on. If he didn't give such explosive reactions people wouldn't do it so much. It was also part of his charm.

Gaara knew both sides of the story about the fight and Sakura's exodus from the village of the Leaf. Naruto had confided in him soon after the fight and later when she was in Suna, she had told him her side.

"I can't believe either of you! I've seen you since then and you never told me you even saw her!" the Hokage growled loudly at the sand ninjas.

"You never asked," was the Kazekages' simple answer.

"I need a drink," Naruto grumbled leaving the group.

Gaara smirked triumphantly and walked off after his long time friend. He got an odd sense of joy torturing the man.

"Thanks a lot Temari," Sakura scowled.

"I was just having a bit of fun," the instigator smiled.

"It wouldn't have been a problem if I had told him about it. Guess this was more my fault," the bride signed.

She saw Haruko and Raiden looking like kids in a candy store at a table close by. Pure joy on the little devil's face at how the drama was unfolding and she didn't even have to be the one to stir the pot. Sakura made a mental note to never let Temari and Haruko chat. At least the demon was behaving herself and acting like a real date to the sandy blond and not causing trouble.

Naruto threw a quick one back and poured a second cup of sake. Gaara joined him and quietly drank a cup of his own. He wasn't really mad about her being proposed to, it didn't surprise him in the least men had sought her. She was worth seeking. He was more mad at himself, if he had manned up all those years ago she wouldn't have had to turn down all those men, she would have never met most of them. If his friend had told him she was in Suna he would have rushed there to bring her home. Gaara being like a brother to him he was hurt that he tried to steal the woman he loved more than anything.

"Why did you propose to her? Why didn't you tell me she was in Suna? And don't tell me cause I didn't ask!" the blond demanded, the sake doing nothing to quail his anger.

"If I had thought she would say yes I probably wouldn't have asked. I just wanted to know why she turned down my brother more than anything. They had spent a lot of time together, working on poisons for his puppets, sparing, and teaching some of his students medical ninja stuff. My brother had a fan boy crush, she defeated Sasori's puppets and that really impressed him. He saw the carnage of dolls she left in her wake. You know he never beat her once in all the times they trained," Gaara stated.

Naruto was a little impressed. He knew she had grown since their days on the original Team Seven but he had no idea she was still trying to stay ahead of him and Sasuke. Even in self inflicted exile she was doing everything possible to surpass them as ninja.

"Once again she's got me looking at her back, but I don't mind the view," the Hokage grinned to himself.

"Anyways, I just wanted to know where she stood. She was in Suna the last time I was here procuring medical supplies. I didn't tell you because she was always talking about leaving. She had told me she hadn't stayed in one place for very long since she left here. I thought if I brought you back with me she'd take off. We were lucky we got her to stay as long as we did," Gaara explained to the disgruntled man.

"What would you have done if she said yes?" the groom asked, still annoyed but his curiosity was getting the better of him.

"I would have married her and been a good husband. We would have had a bunch of kids, named the first one that came out blond Naruto," Gaara taunted.

This earned him an angry glare from the Hokage who had been previously staring at his cup of sake.

"Our village has a lot of respect for her. She's practically a legend there. My brother wasn't the only one to work closely with her. Her and I spent a lot of time going over reports, her demanding things for medical research on the plague, getting permission to learn some of our medical secrets and she was a guest in my house. Temari spent a lot of time with her too, sparing and such. She was almost a member of the family there. Can't blame us for trying to keep her for personal reasons or as a skilled medical ninja," his friend smiled.

"No, I can't blame you. I should have done more to keep her here. I should have simply gone after, instead of waiting for her to return," the Hokage lamented as the tossed the sake he had been staring down back.

"If you're going to be mad at someone, be mad at me, not her. She never encouraged romantic feeling from anyone in Suna. Or you can be mad at Temari for bringing it up. Think she wanted to see Sakura's temper again. Its pretty exciting," Gaara mused, watching the blond closely.

Naruto stared after his wife, she was laughing with the other sand siblings still. Her smile lit up the room in his mind. Temari whispered something in her ear and her cheeks turned the a beautiful shade of pink. He caught her glancing his way and she blushed harder. He moved away from the bar to go capture his wife. He wanted a word or two with her. Gaara motioned for his brother and sister to join him and give the couple a minute.

"Done being mad already, think that's a new record," she snipped as he embraced her.

"Not yet, after you tell me why this is the first I'm hearing that you've been proposed to before," he stated.

"I didn't tell you because none of them meant anything to me. Almost every village I spent time in, someone asked for my hand in marriage. At first it was flattering but then it got old, so I forgot about them. It was painful for strangers to propose and not the man I loved," she reasoned looking up at him with charming green eyes.

"Wow, I know you're beautiful but guess they never saw your temper in action," he teased tensing up to take a hit trying to lighten the mood. He peeked open an eye to see her looking less than amused but not angry.

"Listen you, I had everyone from village elders to young boys your students age asking for my hand. Most of them were political for my skill. Even half of them in Suna were because of what I can do, not who I am. But to be honest I only slightly considered accepting two of them. But I decided that accepting a proposal from your friend the Kazekage or his brother would hurt you. I couldn't do anything I though would hurt you because for some dumb reason, I was and always will be in love with you," she confessed.

"Now I'm done being mad," he teased before he kissed her, "why were they the only two you considered?"

"They were the only two to bother getting to know me first and they saw my temper in action," she laughed.

"It does take a Kage to handle the brunt of that," he joked.

She glared and stuck out her tongue. The groom just laughed at his childish bride. The rest of the evening went without incidents, despite everyone's best efforts to torment the new couple. There was more than one drunk speech giving the new couple words of wisdom, bad suggestions, and warnings. Most of the warnings were to not piss off his new wife. Lots of people wished them many fat babies. Just before the party was over he stole her away from everyone to enjoy the night air.

"Here, I had this made for you," he said as he handed her a little black velvet box. She opened it carefully, inside was a silver chain necklace with a clear crystal heart with a splash of yellow pendent. On closer examination she noticed the pendent was the exact same color as his hair.

"Is this what I think it is?" she wondered.

"If you think its a lock of my hair encased in there, then yes, and I have this," he smiled as he held up his wrist. There was a bracelet of black beads except for one that was mostly pink. It had her hair swirled around in it.

"I guess real men do wear pink," she giggled as she reached up for a kiss.

"Now, we'll always have a piece of each other no matter where life takes us," he spoke softly into her pink locks as he placed the necklace around her graceful neck.

She liked the thought but she knew she would never be satisfied with just a piece of him anymore. She was done settling for less than everything.