He had hoped it would be a small ceremony, something personal with close friends. Apparently, that wasn't much of an option for a sitting Hokage. The village needed something uplifting after the recent attack, so he had compromised. There was a medium sort of affair out in one of the training fields – prettied up with decorations and flowers provided by the Yamanaka clan – but for the rest of the village a pseudo-festival had been called. Right now, stalls were providing games and exotic foods while people walked about in their best yukatas.
They were far from that, surrounded by their friends, close acquaintances and a few important dignitaries the Hokage could hardly have refused. Well, he could have refused them, but the hassle involved with that wasn't worth a few simpering nobles to put up with. It had been a short, heartfelt affair with the Sandaime acting as their judiciary, although Naruto had almost been convinced to do it himself. It wasn't everything they had hoped, but Naruto had forgotten all that standing in front of the woman he loved.
Anko hadn't minded too much either; as she kept reminding him in increasingly sultry and inappropriate tones throughout the ceremony, that the real fun came after the wedding.
He stole a glance over at Anko Namikaze – he loved just repeating that in his head – as his wife, which was equally intoxicating to think, chatted with her bridal entourage. Ami and Sakura looked lovely in their pastel dresses, but Kurenai was sort of stealing the show nearby; Asuma looked distinctly uncomfortable in his formal attire.
None of them held a candle to Anko. With her hair let down – a rarity for her in public when she had spent so long fostering the hard-ass reputation – and some artful touches of make-up to highlight her lips and eyes… Naruto had nearly choked when he first saw her at the ceremony itself. Her dress was, unorthodox, rather more risqué than was traditional, but after months of waddling about with a protruding stomach she had felt the need to reassert her image in the most breathtaking manner possible.
He couldn't argue with the results.
Currently, she was lavishing in the attention from their various guests. A few were sincerer than others, but Anko was having a wonderful time messing the vacuous sycophants about with elaborate word games. Nobody turned insulting the oblivious into an artform quite like his wife.
There was that pleasant thought again.
"Yes, I'll have a think about it," he muttered absently to the man in front of him. Some noble from the capital he hadn't bothered to remember the name of; there were a few lurking about trying to curry favour with the Hokage. The man didn't bother to mask his annoyance at being fobbed off, but the groom didn't care. He could have rationalized that he saw somebody important he needed to talk to, but it was his wedding and he didn't want to talk to this man; that was enough reason for him.
He passed a few people generally enjoying the lively atmosphere, most of them already naturally falling into their groups. There was his team's graduating class looking very out of place in their nice clothes, save for Ino who was drinking in the attention. The other Jounin Sensei and their group of friends, mostly enjoying the alcohol and recounting various stories about the Bride and Groom without any heed paid to the usual decorum of the occasion; he blamed Kakashi for that. Then there was the older crowd, the clan heads and parents, people who had been friendly with Minato and Kushina. They were treating this like any other social function, a chance to scheme and snipe at each other good naturedly.
Naruto skirted around them all, offering pleasantries as he passed but with his eyes reserved for one individual alone.
"Hello there, Mrs Namikaze," he mumbled into her neck, wrapping his arms around her waist and drawing gushing looks from the heavily female crowd.
Anko practically purred at the attention. "Hello yourself, Mr Namikaze."
"Okay, I gotta get a picture of this," Ami said, pulling out a camera before thinking better of it. "Wait, something's missing. Suko-chan!"
Sukoru walked over, looking almost as uncomfortable as Asuma in her dress… although that may have been because of the little bundle in her arms. Fuzzy red hair peeked out of the cloth-wrapped package she gratefully handed it over to the mother. Anko took her daughter with a warm smile.
"Are you having fun at the party Kazehana? Yes you are… Yes you are…"
Naruto forgave his wife the cooing, he indulged in it himself when away from prying eyes. It was hard not to, his daughter was adorable, with her chocolate eyes and two little whisker marks on each cheek. Anko had been nearly insufferable when she had been proved right.
"Come on, scooch in together," Ami called, squaring up the frame to capture the new family together. The result was an adorable picture of the three of them in an intimate embrace.
"Not yet," Naruto called out as she was putting the camera down. "I want a group shot." He ushered everybody in… and completely underestimated who exactly comprised 'everybody', resulting in the most awkward mish-mash of guests imaginable. Naruto and Anko stood at the centre, looking every inch the Hokage and his wife, with their newborn daughter between them. Sukoru smiled at Naruto's side, the expression looking a bit too put-on to be truly genuine, but she was getting better. Next to her stood Sasuke, looking quite happy for once, with an easy smile. Sakura and Ami made up their other side, Sakura graciously allowing Ami to stand next to her mentor. Naturally Haya nestled herself right between her adoptive siblings, but not before making sure to give Kazehana a jealous look.
It was only when Jiraiya, previously schmoozing as many female guests as he could manage, realized a picture was being taken did things get hectic. He naturally dragged Tsunade and Shizune with him, which caught Kakashi's attention, who inevitably drew along Gai and Lee, who in turn pulled in the rest of their graduating class and an embarrassed-looking Kurenai. Komachi felt left out and barged into the front, bringing along Yugao and Tenzo. Hiruzen stood in front of his students, wearing a proud smile, and a few of the clan heads Naruto had grown familiar with over the past few months piled in for good measure, acting decades younger as they jostled to stand near their kids. Even Ensui had shown up – from his, in his own opinion, well-deserved retirement – for the benefit of his one remaining student. By the end of it all Naruto and Anko looked distinctly squished together, but both were beaming brilliantly.
"Why the hell am I taking the picture?" Asuma grumbled from in front of them all.
"Because we want to see people in the photo, not just a cloud of smoke," Anko called back, earning grins and laughter from the entire group.
That was how they were captured; happy, together, enjoying the time they had despite the recent attacks. A village, and a family, that endured