Chapter 17:

Naruto trembled before the blond Hokage. He had hoped she would be reasonable, but she already looked angry before he spoke.

I'm doomed! She's going to make me the laughing stock of the village, he thought.

"So…" she began slowly with her fingers interlaced under her chin. Her amber eyes pierced through the jinchuriki, and he began to sweat.

"It's midnight, so it's technically been a month since we made that bet. What do you have to report Uzumaki?" The old hag would count this as the deadline, so she could justify giving him the minimum time to finish his end of the deal.

He giggled nervously and scratched the back of his head. "Well…."
"Get on with it! I don't have all day." A vein arose from her forehead, and her gaze became akin to that of a predator stalking its prey. The change in the Godaime's demeanor urged Naruto to continue talking. It was ironic that she was getting upset with him for not talking because his talking usually caused her anger.

"Fine! I'm really really sorry Baa-chan! I couldn't find any proof that Sasuke and Sakura-chan are an official couple. They disappeared after the wedding before I could talk to them." The blond got down on his knees and clasped his hands together as he started to beg. "Please don't make me do D-rank missions for a month! Sasuke will never let me live it down, and Sakura-chan will-" Tsunade lifted her hand which ceased his apologies.

She sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of her nose and started laughing.

She's finally snapped and gone insane. I'll be her first victim, Naruto thought with terror. Increasing his fright, the female Hokage smirked. "I have no choice but to promote you to jonin rank."

"What?!" Naruto screeched. Did he hear her correctly? How was he getting promoted even though he lost the bet?

"After you left the wedding, Sasuke and Sakura asked me for permission to take a week off from duty to go on a cruise together with Sasuke's parents. Apparently, Fugaku invited them to celebrate the formal introduction of Sasuke and Sakura's courtship to the elders. You won the bet, congratulations." By the end of her explanation, the knucklhead's jaw was practically on the ground. He couldn't believe his luck. He was getting promoted, and his best friends were together!

"Besides, I was going to promote you by the end of the month. You more than proved yourself with your heroic acts during the last war," she added.

Naruto's eyes bulged. He had relentlessly stressed, planned, and schemed for a month for null. What. the. Hell.

"Are you kidding me? I did all of this for nothing?" he questioned.

"Of course not! You're best friends are in a relationship now, and you're being promoted. What's there to be upset about?" Tsunade became visibly annoyed again.

"Ok. You're right. I'm just in shock!" He waved his hands dismissively in surrender. Ultimately, he had gotten what he wanted, so there was no point in getting upset.

Satisfied that Naruto had calmed down, Tsunade smiled.

"As the Godaime of Konoha, I hereby promote you, Naruto Uzumaki, to the rank of jonin. Congratulations!"

X

A week had gone by since Naurto's promotion, and he was on cloud nine. Despite his misgivings about Tsunade's underhanded tactics, she had a point. His best friends were finally together after years of flirting, sexual tension, and poorly hidden crushes. Speaking of them, they arrived home an hour ago, according to Tsunade.

He was going to Sakura's apartment to let her know about his promotion and that he knew about her and Sasuke.

The blond nin knocked on her door. He heard giggles and footsteps approaching the door.

"Naruto! I was just going to call you," his pink-haired friend exclaimed in surprise. He grinned brightly at her until his eyes zeroed in on her right hand holding the door. A large diamond set on a gold band occupied her ring finger. His smile faded into a look of confusion then shock.

"Is that?" he asked softly as he pointed to her hand. Sakura blushed and nodded.

"That's why I was going to call. Sasuke-kun proposed to me last night! Isn't it wonderful?" Finally, Naruto smiled at her because he had never seen his female friend so happy.

An arm encircled Sakura's waist, and she looked up to see her finacé.

"Dobe, get inside. You're letting all of the cold air out," he chastised.

When they got inside, Sakura left the boys in the living room so she could prepare some tea and snacks.

"So, care to explain?" Naruto asked with a sly smirk. Sasuke rolled his eyes, but smirked.

"I've known for awhile that I want to spend the rest of my life with Sakura, and the cruise presented an appropriate setting for me to propose." His explanation was devoid of any juicy or romantic details, but that was just how Sasuke was: logical and to the point.

"Congratulations! I'm really happy for you guys!" Naruto patted the Uchiha on back, and added, "I also kind of called this too."

"Whatever dobe. What matters is that I'm engaged. By the way, when are you going to get the ball rolling on proposing to Hinata?" If Sasuke was honest, he was surprised that his friend hadn't already popped the question. He and Hinata had been dating for a significant amount of time, and Naruto was completely enamoured with her.

"Pretty soon actually. I got promoted to jonin last week, so there's nothing stopping me from proposing to Hinata-chan now. It was one one of Hiashi's requirements to propose to her." One of the reasons Naruto had been so set on getting promoted is that Hiashi had stipulated that he needed to be a jonin in order to marry Hinata and join the Hygua clan. He had already purchased the ring months ago, so he was itching to use it.

"Hm. Good for you dobe." Sakura joined the pair with a tray of tea and snacks in tow.

"Did I hear that correctly Naruto? Are you proposing to Hinata soon?!"

"Yeah! Believe it! I already have the ring, and I became a jonin last week. Now, all I have to do is ask and hope she accepts." The usually confident Naruto still had his occasional insecurities, especially when it came to big life decisions. He knew that he could only benefit from marrying his girlfriend, but he had often believed that she could do better. She was the most beautiful, kind-hearted, and gentle woman he had the pleasure of knowing. Not to mention, she was in high social standing as a member of the main Hyuga family.

"Congratulations! And of course she'll say yes baka! She's never been happier since she started dating you." Naruto beamed at Sakura's gentle reminder to be confident.

"You're right! I just can't help being nervous. It's crazy that all of this is happening. Me getting promoted. You guys engaged. Me probably getting engaged."

"It's pretty great. You'll have to let me know ASAP when you propose. Promise?" Sakura was already elated with her own engagement, but she was even more excited that her two long-time friends would be married soon as well. She had always been rooting for Naruto and Hinata because they deserved one another and the happiness a relationship would bring.

"Definitely! After that, we'll have to see who has the best wedding," the jinchuriki challenged.

"There's no competition. Kaa-san will likely plan most of it, and you saw how great my brother's wedding was." Sasuke crossed his arms and glared at his friend. His clan always had the best weddings because they were Uchiha.

"Psh. It's not just about how it looks. A big part is the vows, and I'm much more romantic than you teme." Naruto judged the quality of a wedding based on the romance, and he was much more outwardly romantic than his stoic rival.

"Enough you two! I will not let my wedding become a proxy war for your childish competitiveness." Her stern words and visage silenced the rivals.

"We're kidding Sakura-chan! Both weddings will be equally awesome in different ways. Right, Sasuke?" He glanced warily at his friend hoping his words would assuage their feisty teammate.

"Aa. Don't worry about it, Sakura." He placed a hand on her knee which instantly soothed her. She looked up at him, eyes full of adoration and love. Placing her hand over his, he returned her gaze with equal devotion.

Meanwhile, Naruto looked on at the display and began to feel like he was third wheeling. He awkwardly coughed and announced his leave.

"Um, I've got to head out, but I'll call you tomorrow." His friends were struck out of their love struck stupor.

"Oh, sure! Why don't we just have lunch with the three of us at Ichiraku to celebrate your promotion?" she offered.

"Definitely!" Naruto's eyes lit up with excitement. In his opinion, there was no better way to celebrate things than with Ichiraku.

"After we train in the morning," Sasuke added with a smirk.

"You're on! Bye guys!" Naruto departed the apartment and headed to the bar for a congratulatory drink with Shisui. After he was promoted by Tsunade, he called Shisui back and told him what happened. The body flash nin suggested they meet up for drinks that weekend to celebrate, and Naruto was more than happy to accept the invitation, especially since Hinata was gone on a mission the entire weekend.

"Yo Shisui!" the blond greeted as he walked up to the bar counter.

"Drink?" He handed Naruto a beer, and they toasted to his promotion. Several hours later and several drinks later, Naruto and Shisui became a little more loose lipped.

"I can't believe teme is engaged before me! The guy wouldn't touch a girl a few months ago." In his drunken state, he could admit that he was a bit jealous that his best friend had gotten engaged so quickly and easily, unlike he who had been in a serious relationship much longer and had a strict future-father-in-law as an obstacle.

"That's true. I wonder why he changed?" the Uchiha mused. Sasuke's previous attitude towards women was foreign to Shisui. He couldn't remember a time when he hadn't liked women. They were fascinating creatures. Charming and coy one moment, and then aloof and stubborn the next. He loved a good chase.

Naruto began to chuckle. "Well, I'll tell you why. I set them up without either of them knowing!" Shisui looked at him skeptically.

"You can't tell anyone what I'm about to say. Swear on your Icha Icha copies?"

Shisui nodded fervently.

"Ok. It all started when I bet Baa-chan that if I could get Sasuke and Sakura-chan together in a month, she'd make me a jonin. I tried to see if teme was interested in Sakura and tried to push them together, but nothing was working. So, I figured that I needed to make teme see Sakura as a woman, not just a friend. Which is why I switched the signs on the hot springs and caused him to walk in on Sakura-chan."

Shisui laughed hysterically. "And let me guess, you needed me to make Sasuke jealous to seal the deal?"

The blond grinned and patted him on the back.

"I have to say. I'm impressed Uzumaki. You're a true student of Jiraiya-sama!" The drunken pair continued to laugh until a dark menacing figure appeared behind them and growled.

"Naruto," Sakura spoke evenly.

"Hey, Sakura-chan! Just curious, how much did you hear?" he asked timidly as he slowly turned to face his friend.

"Enough," she seethed as she pulled him by the arm outside the bar. Slapping some money on the counter, Shisui ran back to his apartment as fast as he could. He had a clan meeting tomorrow and couldn't afford to show up hungover and bruised.

In an alleyway near the bar, Sakura interrogated Naruto about his conversation with Shisui.

"I came here to celebrate my engagement with Ino-pig, and then I find out that you instigated the hot springs incident. I was so upset with Sasuke-kun that we might not have gotten together! And not to mention how embarrassing it was!" As Sakura reamed him out, Naruto sat slouched against the brick wall. In his inebriated state, the yelling was giving him a headache. However, It didn't look like she was letting him leave anytime soon.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" she inquired with her hands on her hips as she looked down at her guilty teammate.

"I'm sorry Sakura-chan! Please forgive me! I was only trying to help you!" he pleaded.

"You're finished."

Eventually the blond got to go home, after Sakura disciplined him with her fists. He had been dreading his morning training session with Sasuke because he feared a similar violent reaction to the reveal of his meddling. Surprisingly, his best friend shrugged and told him not to do anything like that again.

The jinchuriki liked to think that Sasuke secretly appreciated the help, but Sasuke really thought that Sakura had punished Naruto enough for the both of them. His bruises were so numerous and large that the Uchiha felt some pity towards him.

He had spoken to his future bride earlier that morning, and she said she would heal the blond idiot over lunch. She didn't want Hinata to be proposed to by a bruised and battered Naruto. Fortunately, Sakura also forgave Naruto after he apologized profusely and paid for her ramen lunch.

X

Epilogue

One month later, after Sasuke's parents returned from their cruise, Mikoto held a dinner party to commemorate Sasuke taking over as chief of police. The rivals sat on the porch and shared a bottle of sake before food was served.

" It took you long enough, but you finally did it dobe," Sasuke congratulated.

"You're lucky that I took my time. I didn't want my wedding to be so close to yours and overshadow it," he teased as he reclined on his elbow.

"Oh please. We all know who is going to have the best wedding," the raven-haired nin challenged. The pair still made jabs at each other regarding their weddings, but there was no venom behind the remarks.

Sakura sat beside the two and cleared her throat. She had dressed up for the occasion in a form-fitting strapless emerald dress. Her hair was swept into an elaborate updo of curls and braids, and her light makeup accentuated her pink lips and jade eyes. Sasuke gave her a soft smile upon her appearance. His fiancée was nothing short of lovely.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed as he slung an arm around her.

"It's good to see you too," she laughed as she returned the friendly embrace. "Where's Hinata?" she said as she pulled back from the blond.

"She'll be here in a few minutes. She's running a little late from a clan meeting," he explained.

"Good. It would be a shame if she weren't here to celebrate with us!" the kunoichi said in approval. She helped herself to the alcohol and poured herself a cup. "I also can't wait to see the ring!" she gushed.

"The elders will be thrilled to see a Hygua in the clan's main house," Sasuke remarked with a smirk. The other two friends laughed. Annoying the clan elders was a pleasurable pastime for Sasuke. Of course, Itachi was less amused because he took most of the flak as clan head.

"I would like to propose a toast," the blond proclaimed as he raised his glass of sake. The other raised their cups in response.

"To all of us putting down roots and doing awesome things!" Naruto declared.

Their glasses clinked as they all took a moment to appreciate the recent changes in their lives. Naruto and Sasuke had received promotions. The first class of medics from Sakura's groundbreaking training program had graduated. Most notably, each individual was getting married.

Despite the changes and growth, Team 7 would stand strong for their future was full of promises of happiness, joy, and success.

X

Author's note: I can't believe it! I finally finished my first story. Thank you to all of my readers for sticking with me! I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it. Given recent developments in the US with Coronavirus, I'm going to be at home a lot. However, I have more time for a new, more serious story in the works, so stay tuned! Please stay safe, and feel free to review, fav, and/or follow!