I'd like to preface this by saying that the original idea is from Perfectly Imperfect Love by user Swagasaurus! The initial chapter is the same although I deviate quite a bit, but if you read this, you should also read their story! All credit for the original idea goes to them. This is also entirely separate from my other story! xx

"I, Sakura Haruno, take you, Sasuke Uchiha,

Her voice trembled with happiness.

To have and to hold, for better or for worse,

Light glistened in her eyes like .

For richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health,

The radiance of her face was blinding.

To love and to cherish from this day forward,

Of all the times to feel resentful…

Till death do us part."

This was not one of them.

"You may now kiss the bride!"

Amidst the cheers and applause, he desperately wished for it to end. He wanted to go home, eat a tub of ice cream, and cry himself to sleep like the emotional mess he was. But Naruto Uzumaki wouldn't. He had to ride this out. Never give up, never back down, never run away. His nindo was his life. But hearing her utter those words shattered his heart; the sight of her smile mended it for the moment. As their lips connected, Naruto forced himself to look away. He could feel the tears forming behind his eyelids, but he would not let them fall. This was her wedding day. The beginning of her own happiness, and selfishly, the end of his own. That night…I guess it really was nothing to her.

"Speech, speech, speech!" The crowd called to him. Oh, yeah. I'm the best man. As he shakily walked up to the microphone, he avoided the heavy gazes of all the guests in the room. Especially those who knew of his true feelings, fearing he may somehow give himself away in front of everyone. He was wearing a navy blue tuxedo that complimented his eyes and his hair, now longer, caressed his eyebrows. He cleared his throat and began the speech. Reminiscing about their days as genin, he just about burst into tears as he thought of how strong Sakura's feelings for Sasuke were even then. He lingered on his memories of their closeness after Sasuke's betrayal, never wanting to leave them. Of how he promised to bring him back no matter what. Truly, it was the promise of a lifetime.

The guests erupted into applause, most of them awestruck at Naruto's composure and eloquence. Most would have assumed he'd rambled about ramen and simply yelled in its entirety, but he was certain to carefully construct his words. Claps on the back came from his fellow groomsmen, as well as a smirk from Sasuke. But Sakura was beaming with joy at him, obviously touched at his dedication. He forcibly grinned back at her, determined to keep her as happy as he could on her special day. Though he couldn't help but stare at the Uchiha crest that donned Sasuke's suit, and wondered how long it would be before she would simply be known as the Uchiha matriarch; No longer Sakura Haruno, but now Sakura Uchiha. The thought of it made him nauseous. It sickened him even more to think of the time that Sasuke had secretly been spending with Karin again. When Sakura thought he was out on a secret S-Rank mission, he knew where he really was. He had tried bringing it up to Sakura several times, but was unable to ever get it out, as the innocent look on her face was always enough to make him change the subject. He knew that Karin was a vital part in Sasuke's clan revival; she was even more in love with him than Sakura was. Naruto always hoped he was wrong, but had little room to doubt himself.

An hour later, and countless bottles of sake, the reception was in full swing. The music was loud, the crowd was happy, and Naruto was still miserable. He sat slumped in his chair, ignoring the concerned looks of Kakashi and Yamato. "Naruto, I would have thought by now you would have asked Sakura to dance," Kakashi smirked. He sipped his glass, embracing the gentle buzz of alcohol, and frowned. I can't ask her to dance. If I do, I'll never let her go. He shrugged it off. "Don't know where she is," he mumbled lamely. "I'm right here, dummy." A familiar voice sounded from behind him, and he felt his heart skip a beat. He looked over his should, and sighed when he saw her. She's beautiful…

"Well? You gonna ask, or what?" Sakura jeered, placing her hands on her hips. Her wedding dress was a shade of light pink, perfectly hugging and accenting ever curve her body. He suppressed the urge to groan, and forced himself to smile. All of his cynicism melted away when he saw he lips quirk upwards in happiness. "May I have this dance, Sakura-chan?" he asked. Watching her face glow with radiance, he allowed himself to smile genuinely, if only for a brief moment. He stood up and graciously grabbed her extended hand, and led her to near the closest corner of the room. She flung her arms around her neck, and he reluctantly let his hands fall to her hips. Her wonderful, shapely hi—NO! Naruto shook his roaming thoughts from his head. He knew that this would only hurt him in the end. She rested her head on his shoulder, and he nervously stiffened. Why, why, WHY of all times she chooses to be close to me, it's after she's married?! Kami hates me, I have no other explanation. She sighed in delight, "I'm so happy. Thank you, Naruto. For everything." Her voice trailed off as she relaxed even more in his arms. He grimaced. Passing glances from every couple fell on them as they swayed. He caught the eye of Yamato who, understanding far too well, gave him a sad, knowing smile. "Yeah. I'm happy too," he mumbled unconvincingly. He never was any good at lying to her. She sighed at the sound of his deception. It would break her heart to do this, on today of all days, but it had to be done. This is necessary…for the both of us. "Naruto…I know how you still feel about me," she stated bluntly. His breath hitched in his throat, face hot with embarrassment, while he froze in his tracks. A ball of dread welled in the pit of his stomach, and he wanted desperately to run away. Oh no…no, no, no…

"But…I want us to spend some time apart. Us, I mean. We shouldn't…see each other anymore. I don't want to hurt you anymore than I already have." The words unwillingly left her lips, almost as if she really was breaking up with him. As they swayed uncomfortably, Naruto's thoughts drifted to his most painful memory and him and Sakura, rivaled only by her confession in the Land of Iron.

After Naruto's close call with death during the war, Sakura's confusing emotions ran wild, and allowed them to overtake her actions. Feeling desperate, alone, and frightened for his life, she kissed him in the medical tent. All protocol was thrown out of the window, and Naruto's shock at her gesture overcame his need to question it. They shared their bodies with each other. Both despondent and inexperienced, it was a blur of clumsy, passionate, awkward, wistful sex. As he made love to the girl of his dreams, the girl he had loved as long as he had known her, any doubt of his feelings were quickly abolished. That was, until she screamed Sasuke's name instead. Quickly approaching that brief spasm of pleasure, Sakura uttered the Uchiha's name instead of his. It pierced his ears like a knife; the world stopped turning for this wild, abrupt moment. She had used him. After she had pretended he was Sasuke, their friendship was torn asunder. His heart was fractured in a way it had never been before. After the incident, the awkwardness between them was palpable. He vowed to never speak of it again, in a vain effort to salvage what remained of their tattered relationship, but it was never quite the same. They both knew it lingered in their minds whenever they saw each other.

He coldly scoffed, "Too late for that," and dropped his hands to his side. Sakura did the same, and stared at him, doe-eyed. "Naruto, I'm sorry, really I am. But I love Sasuke-kun. We're married now. I don't want to cause you anymore pain. I care for you too, you know…"

He let out a bitter laugh. Jealousy gripped his heart like a vice, entrapping his heartache and molding it into something dark and ugly. For once in his selfless life, he felt like embracing the narcissism and making her see. This was a long time coming. "Yeah, right. You've never cared about me, have you? I was just your tool to get Sasuke. Or, did you care about me when you begged me to bring him back to you? Or when you used my feelings against me in the Land of Iron to deal with him yourself? Or, how about when you practically leapt straight into his arms when I finally brought him—"The palm that struck his cheek was to be expected. He didn't even flinch when she slapped him. Her eyes were filled with tears and her bottom lip quivered. "How…how can you e-even say that? Of course I care. You're…you're just jealous," she accused."Of course I am! I'm jealous, because for some fucking reason, I'm in love with you, and I'm jealous that you've married a guy who hasn't ever deserved you." He glared into her widening eyes. She'd always known he was in love with her, but hearing such a stern admission came as quite a shock. She quickly returned to her jaded expression."Naruto, stop being an idiot," she chided, hiding the begging in her tone. "So that night, after the war, that meant nothing to you?" he whispered, gripping her arm inquisitively. She turned her head away to avoid his gaze, flustered by the memory. Oh no… "Of course it didn't. You just used me once again," he growled, releasing her arm, "But I still loved you. Even when you said his name, I still loved you."

"T-that was a one-time thing! Neither of us were thinking! It was a mistake!"

"You know what's a mistake? You marrying Sasuke! He's only marrying you to have kids, you know."

"Bullshit," she curtly blurted, animosity rattling her delicate voice. "He loves me."

"He doesn't love you, he just wants to revive his clan. He wants you so you can give birth to the next dozen of Uchiha brats, so they'll be strong and healthy and awaken their sharingan early and create another mess for this village."

He glared at her, reveling momentarily at the way she crumbled in front of him. The tears rolled down her cheeks with the force of a river. "And look at me now," he sighed. "I made you cry on your fucking wedding day! Another mistake of mine to add to the list. Ah, well, name one of the kids after me, ne? Goodbye, Sakura-ch…san." Replaying the conversation over again in his head, he turned his back to her and shuffled away. It was just as painful as it had been all those years ago.