Sakura turned her face to the weak, morning sun and clutched her teacup a little tighter.

It's summer! I know it gets cold up north, but...it's summer! She sighed and closed her cloak around her. At least it's not snowing.

Mountains' Graveyard was far away from the luxuriant heat of Konoha summers. But, as she looked toward the tent Sasuke was still sleeping in, she knew she wouldn't trade the pale gray sky above her now for any cobalt blue one in the Leaf Village.

My...husband.

She set her cup down quickly before she spilled as her heart jumped in her chest. Just thinking of Sasuke's new status in her life made her flustered! The last forty-eight hours had been a whirlwind—one that she certainly never expected to end with her becoming his wife.

She remembered two days ago when...

"We can stay the night at the temple," Sasuke mumbled.

Sakura could tell he was even more run down than she was. "Mm-hm. I'll talk to the high priest. Just relax, okay?"

Teleporting them back and forth between dimensions looking for signs of trouble ate up a considerable amount of chakra, and Sasuke had done it four times this week. Coming back this morning, he'd asked if Sakura could use her seal to help with the leap. While she was pleased that he'd asked for help, she was also concerned for his health. Letting his chakra levels drop so low too often certainly wasn't good for him.

The priest recognized them both and announced his pleasure at being able to offer them room and board.

"We can help out first thing tomorrow," Sakura promised, knowing handyman chores were the standard price of a spending the night in a temple.

The monk seemed almost offended. "Uchiha-san, I couldn't possibly accept. After everything the two of you did during the war? It wouldn't be right." He shook his head vigorously. "It's my honor to house you and your husband."

"We're—" Sakura paled and glanced back at Sasuke. "We're not married. It's Haruno, but please, call me Sakura."

"Not married?!" the priest said, slamming shut the door to a room with a single, soft, cloud-like bed. "I'll have to split you up then."

"No." It was the first time Sasuke spoke, but his voice was firm.

"But you're not married. Uchiha-san, this is a temple!"

"We don't split up."

There was no more discussion when Sasuke slid the door open and walked in. Sakura tried to smooth things over with a few tense smiles and deep bows before being tugged into the room.

The high priest's lantern light faded away and the two ninja were left in silent darkness.

"There were better ways of handling that," Sakura chided, cracking open a glowstick to find Sasuke half-undressed and sliding between the sheets. "Oh!" The stick tumbled from her nervous hands. As she searched the floor, she took a deep, steadying breath.

He's low on chakra, Sakura. You need to be ready to defend him, she reminded herself, businesslike.

"Mm-hm. I'm sure there were a thousand better ways," he said, uncharacteristically agreeable. "But let's sleep now and argue about it tomorrow."

"I'm going to hold you to that." She heard a sleepy chuckle as she took off as much as she dared and dove under the covers. Listening until Sasuke's breathing evened out, Sakura systematically relaxed every muscle in her body and drifted into the light doze of a ninja on high alert.

She opened one eye.

Who was she kidding?! She was lying right next to the love of her life! Sure, they'd slept near each other before, but it'd always been out in the open night air around a fire. Traveling these past months had been truly amazing—Sakura felt that they'd really forged a deeper bond. But this situation felt a bit different.

One, they were in a private room.

No Naruto snoring and flailing around to wake or interrupt them.

Two, they were in an actual bed.

She closed her eyes again and inhaled. He's so close, I can smell him!

Three, that scandalized look on the priest's face.

Just thinking of it made her grin wickedly. His face was exactly the same as Ino's when she told her that she was leaving Konoha to travel with Sasuke. Sakura looked back no less than seven times to see her friend's mouth agape and eyes like saucers.

Four, the priest had thought they were married.

Of course, it wasn't true, but the idea of someone else thinking they seemed married was thrill—

The soft patter of footsteps brought Sakura's musings right back down to earth.

Senses on high, she weighed every sound, scent, and gut-feeling. She knew where everything was in the small room, having memorized it when they walked in—it was Ninja Skills 101. She crept out of the bed...

...and stepped on the discarded glow stick! Biting back a curse, she righted herself and crept to the door, ears perked for voices outside.

"They're in here! Hurry up and light it!"

Her eyes widened in alarm. She checked if Sasuke had heard, but he was dead to the world. What should she do? Should she try to wake him? Should she pick him up and attempt an escape? Should she face down the intruders alone?

Sakura shook her head free of questions. She was apprentice to the Fifth Hokage and a hero of the Fourth Ninja War. She loved the man sleeping in that bed more than anything and she'd be damned before she let anyone touch a hair on his head. Decided, Sakura opened the door and stepped into the hall.

"What's going on here?" The corridor glowed green as she held up a chakra-infused fist, both as a beacon and her protection. Two men, one holding a smoking bundle of herbs, jumped back so quickly, they fell to the floor.

"It's Uchiha's harlot!" one man hissed while the other shushed him frantically, both rising to their feet amid the smoke of the burning sage.

Sakura blinked in disbelief. "Uchiha's wh-what?"

"The high priest told us what the two of you are doing in this sacred place! For shame!" the first continued, waving the smoking bundle in front of her like she was some sort of evil spirit.

"Using the temple for carnal sinfulness!" the second man said scornfully. "We'll have to cleanse the whole room as soon as they leave and burn the bed as well!"

"Now, hold on one minute! You think me and Sasuke-kun—"

"Sacrilege!"

"He's not well," Sakura said, trying to reason with them.

"Lies!" Again, the sage was waved in her face.

"It's not a lie! He needs rest and I'm..." she hesitated a moment, but when she looked into the room and saw him sleeping so peacefully, she continued in a stronger voice. "I'm his teammate. And I will never leave him alone and unprotected."

Suddenly, the two men dropped to the floor in a position of extreme reverence. Sakura was utterly perplexed.

"Haruno-san." a voice said from the darker recesses of the hallway. It was the high priest! Sakura braced herself for an earful. "I apologize."

Even more nonplussed than before, she tilted her head like a bewildered puppy. "Y-you...apologize?"

"Yes." He barked something sharp at the two monks at his feet and they scurried away, bowing repeatedly. "I misjudged you and your...teammate." He smirked knowingly.

"But we haven't— We aren't—"

The orange-clad priest held up a hand to silence her. "Haruno-san, let an old man tell you a story." Sakura nodded, and he continued. "After the war was over, there were many who thought it an opportune time to fill their pockets with the belongings of others. Here in the temple, we are charged with the safekeeping of many holy relics. These opportunists used that time of chaos as a cover to infiltrate our temple and take our most precious treasure.

"I didn't see him myself, but many villagers reported that a demon with many-colored eyes and a handful of lightning leaped through a hole in the sky to catch the thieves." He waited a moment for understanding to dawn on Sakura. "Again, I didn't see this helpful demon, but I do know that our irreplaceable relic was found inside the temple walls the very next day."

She smiled—one more piece of the years Sasuke had spent away from her fell into place. Sakura could picture his determined face, red and purple eyes flashing, as he pursued the criminals by creating a portal through space and time.

The high priest cleared his throat and Sakura flushed bright red to be caught daydreaming.

"If only I could find that demon again. I'd like to thank him by giving him his heart's deepest desire."

"Catching thieves is what we do as ninja. Your demon was only doing his job, I'm sure."

"Haruno-san, I wish that were true of every ninja. There are many who would've abandoned us, just walked on. It wasn't his business, so why should he help?"

"That's ridiculous!" Sakura's anger flared. "Those who abandon their friends are lower than trash!"

He patted her clenched fist, saying, "If only everyone thought like you...and that demon."

Sakura chuckled. "He's really not so demonic when you get to know him."

The old priest smiled indulgently. "I sure. Well, enough of my bedtime stories. You must be tired. I'll personally make sure you are undisturbed until morning." He sat on the floor immediately outside their room as she stepped inside.

Sakura ran a bead of chakra through Sasuke, satisfying herself that he was healthy and building his own chakra supply, before slinking between the sheets and falling into a blissfully deep sleep.

Morning came with a gentle tap on the door and trays of breakfast. She started when she saw that Sasuke's side of the bed was empty.

A very young monk assured her that her friend was meeting with the head monk and would return shortly. Nonetheless, Sakura's fear was only slightly abated, and she barely touched her meal until Sasuke strode in.

"Let's get going. It looks like snow."

"Again?" Sakura could swear Sasuke was smirking at her behind his curtain of hair.

A short rap on the door halted her packing. "A good morning to you, Haruno-san," the high priest said in greeting. "Are you ready?"

"Ready?" she said, puzzled.

Wordlessly, Sasuke took the bag from her hands and deposited it in a corner. "Come on. The old man's got something for us," he said cryptically.

Sakura tried to get a read on the situation as she followed Sasuke to the center of the temple. They entered the main hall and, to her surprise, it was covered in flowers of every color. The high priest stopped in the center as they were led to separate rooms.

"Sasuke-kun?" Alarm caused Sakura's voice to pitch slightly higher at the prospect of being separated from him.

He paused a moment, looking at her like never before, then he chuckled. A thrill ran through her and she knew that whatever was happening here was a good thing.

She allowed herself to be led into the tiny room and found three older women in there; each one set on her, attacking her hair, nails, and face. Before she knew it, Sakura was powdered and primped, hair pinned and adorned with more flowers. The three women prodded her into layers of padding and undersilks until, finally, they wrapped her in a brilliantly white kimono and led her back into the hall.

Her mouth fell open.

At the base of the shrine stood Sasuke, stunningly handsome in a formal kimono. The priest nodded to her, indicating that she should stand beside him. There was apprehension in Sakura's step—what if this all turned out to be a wonderful dream that would disappear when she woke?

Upon seeing her, Sasuke turned his face away—not before she'd seen his pleased flush—and extended his hand. Like a magnet to steel, she was drawn down the aisle, barely breathing in shock.

With the gentle ting of bells and a whiff of incense, the wedding ceremony had begun. The high priest laid his palms over their joined hands and smiled.

"Your hearts are now tied together. You are one, never to be separated by either gods or men."

Sasuke's grip on her hand tightened and his usual smirk slowly lifted to a genuine smile. "We don't split up."

Sakura returned his smile brilliantly. "Ever."

A million and one thanks to the extraordinary Kaze&Kiba, who is the only reason this story got finished. If she hadn't stepped in and written with me, you would not be reading now! K&K is not only an exceptional friend, she's an amazing author. Please do yourself a huge favor and read some of her stories. The only way to describe them is 'action romances.' They are full of love scenes and fight scenes, but have plots you can snuggle up to with a big cup of tea! Get to reading!

Also, a million more thanks to fanofthisfiction for setting up the Show Me the Love Challenge. I know I'm terribly late with this submission, but every time you host a challenge, it gives me the kick in the pants I need to write...so thank you so much for that!

And thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed our efforts here. Let us know how you felt by leaving a review. It's truly appreciated!