*I'm so sorry this took me as long as it did to write! I go in phases of being really into fan fics and then not so much. I didn't want to ruin the story so I waited until I felt that I could write it. So, here you go.

Aglow

The whole town was buzzing with excitement. Word of how Naruto had finally won Sakura over had long since reached every nook and cranny in Konoha and the speculation about what he would do on their wedding night was rampant. There were bets circulating with people guessing what wild thing Naruto had cooked up.

Summer was ending quickly and fall could be felt on the wind. Sakura had been unusually glad to have her own personal heater sleeping inches from her most nights now and she was looking forward to feeling his warmth for the rest of her life. She could remember nights when they were young genin and she would see Naruto sleeping in the most outrageous positions and become annoyed with him. Now she enjoyed watching him sprawled out, hand on a bare stomach and his mouth wide open. She would watch him and smile and remember why she loved him. Naruto couldn't remember a time in his life when he hadn't felt love, lust and joy when his eyes fell on Sakura and those feelings had only gotten stronger lately.

He would never forget the night not so long ago that they truly spent together as one for the first time. Their friends had immediately noticed a change in them both and it was a running joke for days to accuse them of "glowing". They had a rosy, happy, healthy glow about them ever since that night and no one could let a chance slip by to point it out. It got so bad that even the stoic Neji began joining in. This was where Sakura's patience wore thin and the hospital gained a few extra patients for the day. Naruto grinned at the memory and wiped the sweat off his brow. He had a long day ahead of him and today seemed to be shaping up to be a real scorcher. Yes, fall was on the way but there were still a few brutal days left before summer left them for another year.

Naruto was a little stunned still. He had managed to do what he had long thought was impossible and convince Sakura to give him a chance. Now that every day had been better than the last he had made his mind up to make their big day the biggest anyone in Konoha had ever seen. Sakura had been sequestered away for the day with Ino, Hinata, TenTen and Temari, all of whom were getting pampered in the morning. Afterwards they would spend hours getting ready together; even Tsunade was going to help out. Though Sakura thought that meant she would stand around barking orders.

Naruto hadn't really realized how much work this would be, but he knew that he could pull it off and that it would be completely worth it. It was an unusually hot day for this time of year. Naruto had banked on this being the case and was particularly pleased with his timing. As the sun began to rise in the sky he saw that he would soon be done. He was about to be subjected to his own personal torture of extreme cleaning and scrubbing. Afterwards he would need all the help he could get to figure out his sure-to-be-difficult attire.

Sakura's nerves hadn't hit her yet as Ino and Temari fussed over getting her hair perfect. Hinata smiled up at her while she was fixing Sakura's nails and Sakura noticed nearly all of her shyness had disappeared lately. That made the pinkette smile, she was deeply happy for Hinata. She had found such strength these past few years and she had blossomed even more since her own wedding. She even teased Neji now, much to TenTen and Lee's delight. Preparations were nearly complete when the door slammed open and Tsunade strode in. It was time for her inspection. Sakura exhaled in relief as Tsunade grinned at her. Sakura swore she saw a one-eyed, silver-haired head peak around the door briefly but she wasn't sure.

It was finally time.

Naruto had been poked, prodded and forced into an outfit that he hoped would be acceptable. He was beyond nervous about getting this all right. What if Sakura took one look at what he had done and changed her mind? The thought was enough to nearly double him over in an effort to breathe. He had wanted this for as long as he could remember. That he was getting the chance was more than he had ever realistically thought possible. Now, that he was so close to one of his sweetest dreams, he was terrified of losing it. Losing her.

Sakura's nerves had begun to hit her. Everything had been just fine, she wasn't nervous at all. She was marrying her best friend. The man who made her laugh constantly, the man who she would lay her life on the line for and the man that she knew would do the same for her. There had been no reason to be nervous. However, as the time drew closer and the bigger the deal people made about this the more nervous she became. A thousand what-ifs ricocheted around her head. All of the things that she had done wrong stuck out in her memory. Could she actually do this? Could she walk down that aisle...would there be an aisle? The uncertainty brought her back to reality a little bit. It didn't matter, nothing mattered! Except that she was going to walk to Naruto soon and marry him. Yup, the nerves were normal and she would ignore them.

The whole town had gathered. Naruto stood where he would be joined with Sakura next to all his friends. His idea of groomsmen was a little outrageous, but so was nearly every idea he had. Sakura's bridesmaids walked out first, equally ignorant to what they would see. First TenTen, then Hinata, then Temari and then it was just Ino left before Sakura's turn. Ino looked back and smiled deviously at Sakura and winked once before she walked out into the unknown. Sakura would later thank her for that smile, since it knocked the nerves out of her and made her contemplate violence, which was a much more comfortable feeling for Sakura. Then it was her turn, no time to waste! She took her first step towards her new life.

When she stepped outside she nearly stumbled when she saw what Naruto had done. He had re-created the festival that had started this amazing life for them. There were strings of white lights hanging from everywhere. The townspeople were dressed in festival clothing and the smell of festival food was wafting from somewhere nearby. But, the most breath-taking part of the festival, which had been such a private thing for them, was now on display for the whole town. Everything was encased in a glimmering layer of ice and because it was high noon the sun glittered off of everything. It was perhaps the most stunning thing she had ever seen. On the gentle and surprisingly hot breeze, small petals made entirely of ice floated through the area. She caught one, momentarily forgetting where she was or that she was supposed to move forward. It was a sakura petal.

She smiled so genuinely that a quiet "aww" rumbled through the crowd. It was then that she remembered where she was, blushed and looked up. Instead of seeing the crowd, or the decorations, or a rather long line of her friends, she saw only Naruto who was smiling at her, beaming really. All of his fears had disappeared when he saw her reaction. He must have done something right for once. Sakura's fears melted when her eyes locked with his. He was the most amazing man she had ever laid eyes on today but that wasn't what mattered anymore. He could have been fresh home from a sparring session and she still would have felt this feeling when her emerald eyes locked with his azure orbs.

This was it.

All of the years of trouble, all of the pain and the hurting and the wars disappeared. All of her worries about what he actually thought about some of the things that she had done vanished. What she saw was the other half of her life, her heart, and her soul. Sakura gathered whatever garment she had been dressed in (she'd forgotten) and rocketed down the aisle. The crowd may have chuckled, but she didn't hear them. Instead of standing across from Naruto, she barreled into him and kissed him a little too deeply. After a moment, Tsunade separated them and began the ceremony that would change their lives forever.

The party afterwards lasted all day and well into the night. When it was time to say good night, Naruto swooped Sakura off of her feet and began carrying her towards their home. As soon as he began walking away with her, fireworks were set off, re-illuminating the crystallized town. Konoha had never been so beautiful as it was that night. Though it was lost on the two Uzumakis who were lost in each other's eyes.

*Thank you for reading! This was supposed to be a one-shot but I ended up really enjoying this story. I tried so hard to finish this last chapter and it took me way too long, sorry! I wanted it to be perfect and I realized that I just couldn't envision perfect. So I ended it with the same way I began it, which came from waking up to find the forest encased in ice and watching the sun glitter off the branches...which was how the idea for this story came to me. I've changed the story to "complete". What this means from me is that the main story is done and I feel no more "obligation" if you will, to continue it. I have on other stories added epilogue like chapters, but there is no promise of that.