Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own Naruto. But I really like where the anime is going now so I don't care! XD This is it people! Hope you enjoy this!

~~Yes, Naruto, It's Your Wedding Day!~~

~By: Mists~

~Their Place in the Sun~

"Ugh..." grumbled Naruto as he arouse from the depths of his hazy slumber. The blonde reached out a searching hand and nearly smacked his alarm clock right into the freaking wall. His mouth tasted like ass and his body felt like shit.

Reluctantly, Naruto dragged his groggy self out of bed and lumbered over to the kitchen area. The listless man fumbled with coffee maker until he could hear that sweet familiar drip. Its warm, caffeinated scent, slowly began to awaken his other senses.

His body, currently running on auto-pilot, started making his usual morning cup of instant ramen as Naruto's brain finally started to catch up.

"Okay, jeeze. What did I do last night?" He thought, tiredly rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "I remember Kiba-"

The blonde's eyes snapped open, releasing a painful moan. "Ohh... now I remember-"

*Flashback*

"Come on Naruto, it's like tradition!" Kiba slyly wrapped a supportive arm around Naruto's shoulders. "You're going to disappoint everyone if you don't do it..."

"Baka!" He barked, trying to pull away from his friend. "I've told you a thousand times! I don't want a freaking bachelor party! Iruka-sensei, my best man, understands my feelings about this. It'd be wrong to spend an entire night ogling women before spending the rest of my life with Hinata!"

Kiba rolled his eyes to the heavens."Well, Jiraiya-sensei is rolling over in his watery grave!" He raised his right hand and smacked the back of it again Naruto's chest. "Do the perverted wishes of your dearly departed teacher, mean nothing to you?"

"Nope, not at all," he replied with a hooded gaze. "I have the final say, and it's no."

"Oh, come on!" the wolf ninja pleaded. His voice a forlorn whine. "It's really not for your benefit anyway, everyone knows that! Mostly it's for your single friends to cut loose and have some fun!" He threw his hands up in frustration. "Cut me some slack here dude!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow at him in question. "I thought you said you had a date for our wedding. Some cat ninja trainer by the name of-"

"Even more reason to do it now!" Kiba defended. "This could be my final chance to experience something like this as a technically single man!"

"Yeah... my answer is still, no." Naruto snorted with a grin. He had to give his friend credit. Kiba was nothing if not persistent. But there was no way he was taking part in something like that, end of story.

Unfortunately for the future Hokage, it would seem that his friend had other ideas.

"Well, guess what dude? Too bad." Kiba shook his head in mock sorrow. "I tried reasoning with you, but it seems you've left me with no choice." His friend then pulled out a scroll from his jacket and handed it to Naruto.

"Uh... what?" the blonde warily asked, as he slowly tore open the scroll.

The wolf trainer cleared his throat. "By order of the Sixth Hokage, in accordance with Inuzuka clan law; which your soon to be wife is technically a part of- "

Naruto's heart sank as his eyes read over the decree."Oh, you've got to be kidding me."

"Yeah, well, what can I say?" Kiba snickered and shrugged. "Kakashi's single and horny, too."

Ero-kage! thought Naruto as he crushed the note angrily in his fist. Fire wildly burning in his eyes as he imagined all the ways he'd get back at his sensei for this. Mark my words, old man. I'll make you pay!

Needless to say, the night had not gone well at all. Poor Naruto had to stay up all night in the rowdy company of Kakashi and all the single males of the Inuzuka clan. They were thrown out of no less than three bars. There had been an instance involving *shivers* a pair of missing panties. And worst of all, Kakashi-sensei had ordered a scantly clad woman with fox ears and a tail to give Naruto a lap dance.

Kurama's dirty commentary throughout the entire ordeal didn't help any.

*Seductive growl* "Hello, pretty little vixen... are you lost?"

"SHUT UP, BAKA FOX!"

Yeah... it had been the night from hell. Naruto let out a deep sigh as he filled his coffee cup and turned toward his calendar.

He raised the steaming mug to his lips as he thought, "Well at least it's my day off and I have nothing important to-" His eyes caught the red circled date, and did spit-take. Coffee spraying all over the calendar and floor.

"Holy shit! The wedding! It's today!" He screeched, quickly running through the house to grab his wallet and clothes. A frantic look at the clock told him he should have been at the tuxedo rental place an hour and a half ago!

"Oh my god, the girls are going to kill me!" was the blonde's final thought as he sped half haphazardly dressed out the door. Never even noticing the crow that flew by his window crying out, "Caw! Caw!"

Naruto burst through the tuxedo store's entrance with a flurry of leaves. Panting loudly, he bent over to catch his breath.

"There you are!" Tenten exclaimed, marching over to the blonde. "I was just about to go hunt you down. Do you know how-"

"Yeah, yeah, gomen," Naruto apologized with a sigh. "Slept late. Blame Ero-kage. It was a long night."

Tenten did a double take. "What? Why should I? For once, Kakashi-sensei was actually on time!"

"Ohayō!" The Sixth Hokage cheerily waved to his precious little student. Looking just as bright and fresh as a summer's day. Without even a single sign of exhaustion or hangover in sight.

The blonde simply stared at him in complete shock. "How in hell did he... He and Kiba drank over five bottles of- AND HE ARRIVED ON TIME?!"

As Naruto's brain cells desperately strained to process this, Iruka came over and said, "Indeed, it was quite a surprise for all of us." He reached out a placed a supportive hand on the blonde's shoulder. "But forget about that. How are you feeling? Today's the big day after all."

Stress never seemed to stay with Naruto long whenever Iruka-sensei was around. "All right I guess," he replied with a deep, calming breath. "A little nervous, but hopefully that will pass before the ceremony."

"Don't worry," Iruka reassured with a supportive squeeze of his hand. "I'll help anyway I can."

Naruto nodded in thanks, as Tenten looked over at the clock. "Well now that you're here, I'd better report back to Hinata and the rest of the girls." She then turned to where Gai and Lee were trying on suits. "Everyone is all set up except for these two." Tenten gestured at her teammates with an exasperated tone. "They kept tearing their sleeves in half whenever they struck a stupid pose."

"The freedom of movement is very important for a ninja, Tenten." Lee explained, trying to justify his choice of clothing as he had many times before. "The attire of the Green Beasts is meant to-"

Anger symbols pulsed above her head. "But you've both worn suits before!" She practically screamed. "Remember? When you were helping Naruto propose?"

"Ah, yes..." Gai answered sagely, placing his hand to his chin in thought. "But you see Tenten, that was an entirely different situation than this."

The brown-haired kunoichi's right eye began to twitch. "In what way?" she growled in question.

The dynamic duo sweatdropped, as Lee sheepishly added, "Well... see, we were in character at the time and-"

Tenten whipped out her weapons scroll.

Lee's voice immediately cracked in response,"Or! Uh, Gai and I could think up new ones! T-That would help, right Gai-sensei?"

"H-Hai," the older man agreed with a nervous nod. "We... uh, could be spies! Trying to blend in with crowd."

Lee turned to him with shinning eyes. "Gai-sensei! That's amazing! What an incredible plan!" He gushed happily over his teacher.

Gai sat proudly bathing in the warmth of his student's praise. "Thank you, Lee! But it's your youthful energy that always-"

"Ugh..." Tenten interrupted, knowing full well how long this would go on if she didn't stop them now. "Fine, whatever works for you as long as you're both in freaking suits!"

She then pushed by the exasperating pair and spoke directly to Naruto, "Pick up your tux, then check on the cake and flowers. Sakura and the rest of us girls will meet you at the ceremony site in two hours."

As the brown-haired kunoichi pushed her way though the doors, she yelled threateningly back over her shoulder, "And don't be late!"

Naruto shook his head as he turned back to Iruka and Kakashi with a shared smile. This was really happening. He and Hinata were getting married today. The months of planning and stress had all led up to this. And honestly, at this point, the blonde just really wanted the wedding nonsense to be over and done with. So that he could start sharing the rest of his life with Hinata.

"Just one more day," he told himself. "And it will all be worth it..."

"Naruto-kun!" Nori-chan called out, running to him in her lavender kimono. "Do I look pretty?"

The blonde smiled at the young girl and scooped her up into his arms. "Always, Nori! But especially today! Ready to throw some flowers?"

"Yup!" she chirped. "Except, I... don't have any yet."

Naruto put her back down with a snort and tweaked her nose. "Well don't you worry about that. I'll make sure you get some soon."

Nori giggled at him. "Thank you!" and gave him a little kiss on the cheek, before running off to find her father.

With a confident stride, Naruto then walked up to the rental counter."Yoshi!" the blonde excitedly declared, rubbing his hands together. "Time to get down to business! First tux, then check with Choji and Shikamaru about the cake. Let's get this wedding started, Dattebayo!"

Luckily, the rental place had everything in order. And it wasn't long before Naruto left the store with his tux safely in hand. The bakery wasn't too far away, considering it was located in the same central district.

In no time at all, Naruto's feet solidly landed on the welcome mat in front of the store.

The little silver bell tinkled as the blonde walked through the door and into... utter and complete chaos!

Shikamaru was frantically trying to calm down the red faced owner. While Kiba stood worriedly over a frosting covered dog, and a partially devoured cake.

"Akamaru! What's gotten into you?" the wolf trainer scolded his companion. "You know better than to eat human food! Especially, when it's clearly not meant for you!"

Akamaru whined pathetically at his owner in response.

Kiba threw up his hands into the air. "I don't care how yummy it looked! This was for Hinata-chan's wedding, dude! How could you?"

The wolf-dog whined sadly at his master again.

"Aww..." he replied in a condescending tone. "Does puppy have a tummy ache? Well, guess, what? I don't care! Shino and the girls are- oh..." He suddenly straightened up and turned towards Naruto, finally noticing that he was there.

"I... and- t-the c-cake... how?" the blonde stuttered in shock. "What the heck happened?!"

"So uh, well..." Kiba rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "With the bachelor party and all, I kinda neglected to feed Akamaru last night... And in the hungover rush to get here and help... I sorta forgot to do it again." He shyly brought his hands up and began to touch the tips of his index fingers together. "Which then led to extremely hungry doggy and super yummy cake and yeah... that's where we're at now."

"Kiba!" Naruto threateningly growled, reaching out to grab his friend's hooded jacket. "You better have a plan to fix this or I swear-"

"Oi, calm down," Shikamaru called, turning to address the blonde. "Always so troublesome. Choji's already on it."

"Hai!" His other friend exclaimed, popping up from behind the counter; complete with apron and mixing bowl in hand. "Fear not, it shall be my greatest confectionery creation yet!" Choji saluted Naruto with his mixing spoon and hurried back into the kitchen to continue his work.

"Kiba!" the larger ninja cried out a moment later. "I'm going to need your help making the frosting. So stop fretting over Akamaru and get your ass in here!"

The wolf trainer jumped to immediate attention, and extracted himself from Naruto's grasp.

"You heard the man," Kiba told the blonde as he ran. "Don't worry, Choji and I've got this. We'll have it fixed before the reception. No prob!"

As he disappeared from the future hokage's sight, Naruto slowly turned his forlorn eyes to Shikamaru for guidance.

The dark-haired man took a deep, calming breath. "Look," he said, while pinching the bridge of his nose in pain. "Focus on the rest of the wedding, okay? As you know, prioritizing is one of the most important aspects of being a leader. Ino still needs help transporting the flowers. Hopefully by then, we'll have this fixed. All right?"

Naruto closed his eyes and steadied himself. Shikamaru was right. What's done is done. Accept it and move on from there. "Yeah, okay."

The blonde slung his tux over his shoulder and turned towards the door. "I'm counting on you guys. See you soon." And once again, Naruto sped off into the village streets. He was going to get one thing right today, or so help him...

"There you are!" Ino exclaimed, clacking towards him in her high, stiletto heels. "Hurry up, we've only got half an hour before the guests start to arrive." She grabbed his arm and practically dragged him behind the store. "Sai and Shino already moved all the flowers outside, so all you have to do in make your shadow clones and- "

The second Ino and Naruto rounded the corner, the pair immediately froze. Their screams of absolute horror echoed throughout the entire village.

Every last colorful bud and vibrate bloom had been stripped away by the cloud of raging insects swirling above them. All that was left of the once beautiful flowers were the green and brown stems still resting bare in their water buckets. But even they were slowly being devoured by the ravenous swarm engulfing them.

Wide-eyed in shock, Naruto and Ino turned in unison to their friends for answers.

Shino, attempting to hide in a shaded corner by the shop, had shame-lines coming off of him in droves. Appearing to be completely ready for the ground to simply open up and swallow him whole.

Seeing that they weren't going to get anything from Shino, the pair then set their sights on Sai.

The pale man held up placating hands and sweatdropped. "Ahh... yes, so... I know at first glance, this seems to be quite bad."

The temperamental blondes' stares became glares.

Sai visibly gulped as the size of his sweatdrop increased. "B-But before you kill us, let me explain..."

Apparently, while Ino had been gone helping Hinata and her family prepare, a swarm of angry bees had descended upon the floral arrangements. Since Sai, and several other party attendees were known to be allergic, this had become a terrible situation indeed. So Shino reacted instinctively and released a swarm of harmless insects to drive the bees away.

Except the bug user did not take into account, that while harmless to humans, the impact the locusts would have on the flowers they had been sent to collect. Stripping them of every single last petal.

Needless to say, the insects were treated to quite the tasty meal. And poor Shino and Sai had been left with one huge mess.

Naruto and Ino sagged their shoulders and sighed. What the heck were they going to do now? After all that time and planning everything was falling apart. Could nothing in Naruto's life go the way he planned it? Was it too much for him to actually completely succeed at a goal, just once?

"Well that wouldn't be my life now would it?" the blonde thought, with a rueful shake of his head. "But then again; if it had, I wouldn't be the same person I am today."

Naruto's back then straightened up in resolve. "Yosh!" he cried, smacking his open palm against his fist. "We've faced way worse than this. And we'll solve this like we always do, together!"

Ino, Sai, and Shino looked to their leader. His determination and perseverance once again, became their own.

"Hai!" Ino exclaimed in excitement. "For Hinata!"

"For Hinata," the others repeated.

Shino nodded his head in agreement and asked, "So what is the plan?"

"Well... we aren't totally screwed when it comes to flowers," Naruto mused, hand against his chin in thought. "It's actually pretty lucky that it happened here and not at the park. The sakura blossoms should be more than enough to satisfy people. And the red flowers for the wedding party should still be safely there."

"Oh, that's true." Ino suddenly snapped her fingers as an idea struck. "And you know what? We can use Sai's jutsu to put ink flowers and birds around the seating area instead!"

"Excellent idea, Beautiful," complimented Sai, whipping out his brush and scroll. "Just tell me what you need."

Naruto pumped his fist in excitement. "All right! We have very little time, and lots of stuff left to do! So let's get to the ceremony and get this show on the road, Dattebayo!"

And with that, they all headed to wedding site.

Once Naruto had arrived, he quickly gathered everyone together and filled them in on what needed to be done. Being every bit the leader he aspired to be, Naruto took charge. The wedding party got dressed and helped place Sai's artwork around the seating area. With the added help of the blonde's shadow clones, the entire space was finished in no time.

It also turned out that Choji, Kiba, and Shikamaru had been successful. Seeing that the newly prepared cake now sat proudly on display in the reception tent. Choji had done an amazing job. His detailed decorations were far superior than the original's design. One less worry off of Naruto's troubled mind.

Sakura came by and collected Hinata's bouquet of ink flowers and cherry blossoms. She had been assisting the bride and the rest of her family in their preparations the whole day.

Bee, Yamato, Gai, and Lee directed people to their seats, as Konohamaru and his team played with Mirai and Nori-chan. Kakashi-sensei glanced fondly at Naruto as both he and Iruka got into place.

"Your mother and father would be so proud, Naruto." He whispered, trying to blink back the tears threatening to fill his eyes. "Know that they are watching, even if they aren't physically present. Let the strength of your joy reach them in the heavens."

Naruto wiped furiously at his eyes. Nope, he wasn't going cry! "Arigato, Kakashi-sensei." Iruka gave the blonde a hearty pat on the back as they waited for the wedding to finally begin.

Sakura gently knocked on Hinata's dressing room door.

"Come in," she softly said, turning towards Sakura-chan as she entered. Hinata was dressed in a simple, pure white kimono. Her hair was down and two red flowers rested above her left ear. The sash around her waist was the same shade of lavender as Nori's dress. Her friend stood in front of the mirror smiling and lightly blushing, looking every bit the beautiful bride.

"Oh!" Sakura gushed as her launched herself at Hinata. Drawing her into a warm embrace. "I'm so happy for you!"

Hinata couldn't help but smile. Today was the day she had always dreamed of. She was marrying the only person for whom her heart would always belong. Nervous and excited energy ran through every inch of her body. In her youth, Hinata had never thought this day would truly come. But now, her deepest and dearest wish was about to become reality.

"And look! The guys brought your bouquet!" Sakura raised up the ink and cherry blossom arrangement in her hands.

Shyly, Hinata took it from her grasp. "Oh my, it's lovely Sakura-chan. But wait... why is-"

"Argh... j-just don't ask," the pink-haired woman insisted with a rueful shake of her head. "All that matters is that you like it. Enough said."

Hinata giggled lightly into her hand as she turned back toward the mirror. She stared at her reflection for a moment, and couldn't help but feel a bit sad. This was the kind of happiness the woman wanted everyone she loved to share in. But as is the way of life, it gives and it takes. It will never be perfect, Hinata knew that. The reality of that, was something she always found difficult to bear.

"I wish my mother and Neji nii-chan were here to see this," she sadly confessed as tears welled in her eyes. "But especially, poor Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke had tried to make it back for the wedding, but a recent injury while on his journey had made it impossible. He was recovering fairly well, but was ordered not to travel or use jutsu of any kind for at least a week.

That had been two days ago, and this point, the wedding could not be postponed. Too many high ranking dignitaries from the various ninja nations were attending. At event of this magnitude could not be postponed for a single man.

"I know," Sakura replied, placing a supportive hand on her shoulder. "But some things can't be changed." She gave Hinata a sad smile. "They're smiling down on you. Even if they aren't physically here, they are all with you in spirit."

"Hai," Hinata agreed and then turned to face Sakura with determined eyes. "I'm ready."

Sakura nodded in returned and guided her friend toward the door. "Your father is waiting with your sister in the procession line."

With a deep breath, Hinata pushed down her nervous energy and stepped out with Sakura into the warm sunlight.

As she walked, Hinata took in every detail. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom, energizing the world with their vibrant color. The sky was a clear, startling blue. Sai's ink birds flew through the sakura petals as they danced in the breeze. All of Hinata's senses felt heightened. The sun seemed brighter, the air warmer, and the sweet scent of spring filled her lungs anew.

"My daughter," Hiashi stated as she slowly approached. "You look exquisite." He inclined his head to her in a slight bow, before straightening again. "Your mother would have been so proud."

"Oh, Nee-chan!" Hanabi squealed, launching herself at her sister. The teen flat out refused to act the prim and proper heir that day. Her sister was getting married to the man of her dreams and she could not contain her excitement. "I'm so happy for you!"

"Hanabi, please-"

"Oh, father, just let it be." She waved her hand, in dismissal. "This is Hinata's big day and I wish to enjoy it."

Hiashi let out a laboring sigh. "Very well." Merrily, the sisters giggled at his annoyance. Reminding them both of happier, simpler times.

"Places everyone!" Kurenai called, before sweeping Hinata into a quick embrace. "Oh, sweetheart! I'd always hoped this day would come. Enjoy every moment of it."

"Hai," Hinata agreed as her sensei took charge of the wedding party. "All right, Mirai and Nori," she kindly addressed the young girls, "that's your cue!"

Mirai nodded at her mother, and took Nori's hand. The flower girls then began their walk down the aisle, tossing out sakura petals from the large basket held between their two hands. Naruto had used his clones to collect a bunch of flowers from the trees so the girls would at least have a little something to throw.

Hanabi quickly excused herself and rushed back over to Konohamaru's side. He gave her a sly wink and extended to her his arm. Naruto had asked him if he would escort Hanabi. To which the young man readily agreed.

With an exasperated roll of her eyes, Hanabi accepted and then calmly stood beside him, ready to begin.

Meanwhile, a million worries were whizzing through Hinata's head. Had everyone arrived on time? She didn't want any of their friends to miss the ceremony. Was there anything she had forgotten in her rush to-

"Oh, dear," Hinata thought, eyes growing wide. Sakura hadn't given her something blue! Frantically, she looked for Sakura, but Iruka had already started walking her down the aisle.

The dark-haired woman felt her heart sink. It wasn't that she necessarily believed in the silly superstition. But... it was tradition and so many things in her life had gone wrong, that she did want to leave anything to chance.

Hinata released a nervous sigh. Her father turned to address her, "Is everything all right?" A bit of worry, was clearly etched onto his normally stoic face.

"Hai," she answered. Shaking her head in an attempt to dispel her ridiculous fears. "I just-"

It was then that Hinata's eyes caught a bright speck of blue peaking out from between the flowers of her bouquet. Her eyes narrowed. "What could that be?" she curiously thought. With a gentle hand, Hinata reached out and pushed back the painted petals.

She let out a gasp of shock. For there, lovingly nestled within the folds of the leaves; was a small, origami figure... of a blue crane.

Hinata felt her lavender eyes fill with tears.

"Daughter?" Hiashi questioned, as she wiped at her eyes. "Is something wrong?"

"No, not at all." She smiled at her father is reassurance. "Everything is perfect."

But before Hiashi could ask her anything further, Kurenai exclaimed, "There! That's your music cue! Go!"

Both father and daughter gave one another a final glance. Then as one, they took slow, steadying breaths, and began to follow the rest of the procession.

Naruto tried his best not to twitch nervously as he stood in front of his family and peers. His excited energy only grew as gradually his friends made their way down the petal covered aisle. Iruka took his place calmly at Naruto's side, as Kakashi-sensei gave him a wink. He turned his head to look at Kiba and Shino. They both gave him reassuring nods.

The music faded out, and the anticipation in the crowd grew. Everyone, waiting on baited breath for her to arrive. Naruto could feel the sweat dripping down the back of his neck as the music suddenly returned and changed.

Then, from around the corner, the most beautiful woman in the world stepped forth. His radiant bride, took her rightful place in the sun. Hinata was positively aglow in a halo of heavenly light. Her happiness filled Naruto with a profound sense of love and pride. Because he was the reason for her profound bliss. Hinata's shimmering joy mirrored his own.

When she reached the end of the aisle, both he and Hinata simply stood there, lovely gazing into one another's eyes.

"Ahem!" Hiashi coughed loudly, bringing the pair back to reality. He then released Hinata's arm, offered it to Naruto, and returned to his seat. As one, the couple turned toward Kakashi. His words rushed past them like a flowing stream. When later asked, the pair confessed they had barely heard anything Kakashi-sensei said. The entire ceremony felt like a surreal dream. They went through the motions. Neither had a speech prepared, because honestly there was no need. Naruto and Hinata knew what they meant to each other. No words were left to be said.

At long last, Kakashi-sensei finally said the words, "- and with my deepest honor, I now pronounce you, both husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

"Finally," Naruto shakily gasped. While Hinata breathlessly giggled into her hand. The pair turned to face one another.

Lovingly, the blonde reached out and embraced his bride; catching her lips up in his own. The kiss, deep and meaningful. It held all of their shared love and passion within. The rest of the world faded away, and for a time it was just them. Locked in a moment that they would both eternally cherish. The missing piece they had each searched for, had been filled at last.

They were complete.

And no matter what may come, they would face it together.

From now, and forever more.

Author's Notes: Well there you have it guys. Hope you liked it! The Sasuke and Sakura epilogue is coming soon! Don't know if I'll write another Naruto piece but we'll see where my muse takes me. Thanks again to everyone for all the awesome support from my fans!

And now, finally, I have time to catch up on Digimon Tri! I still have to see movies 3 and 4! LOL! See you!

And as always please remember to read, fave and review! Feed the fanfic muse!

Japanese Word Key:

Baka: Idiot

Ohayō: Good day or Hello

Nee-chan: Big sister

Nii-chan: Big brother

Hai: Yes

Gomen: Sorry

Arigato: Thank You

Ero-kage: Pervered Hokage (My nickname for Kakashi)

Sensei: Teacher

Kunoichi: Female Ninja

Yosh: Huzzah! Rally cry.

Dattebayo: Naruto's catchphrase in Japanese. Though doesn't literally translate to "Believe it!"

Sakura: Cherry Blossoms