25- Epilogue: Sakura's Satisfaction

Sad thing…this is the last chapter! I mean, really and truly the end of the story. I will be in mourning for the drama…

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Sasuke laughed a little as he played with his two year old children. They were both walking and starting to talk…already growing up too fast. Unfortunately, he and Sakura were still staying with the Hyuuga. Neither of them was able to get a job, or even a place to stay, because of the fact that they'd both been slaves.

No one wanted to hire people who'd 'only been freed because of changed laws and sympathetic freaks'.

"Sasuke…!" Sakura ran into the courtyard, carrying a bag.

"What?" He went to her. "What is it?"

"It's not the best, but I finally found a job." He blinked and looked at the bag in her hands. Inside was a maid's uniform.

"No…Sakura, you can't—"

"It's the only job I can get right now, Sasuke. Most employers still refuse to hire freed slaves…"

"I know that, but…" He sighed. "A maid is almost as bad as being a slave. I don't want to see you—" She cut him off with a kiss.

"Sasuke, it's an elderly woman who can't take care of her housework much anymore. All of her children live out of town and rarely visit. And she's a widower. Don't worry, Sasuke." He sighed in relief hearing that. "I really don't even have to wear the uniform…all the time."

"Okay…" He gave a small smile and kissed her lightly. "Well, it's a job."

"Hopefully it won't be long before I can get a better job. Hinata was talking about opening up a gym." She commented before setting her bag down and going to their children.

"Mommy!" Both shouted together and jumped her. Sasuke laughed a little and joined them.

"Maybe…it would be easier for you to get a better job if you were married?"

"Sasuke…are you asking me to marry you?" He gave a look of innocence.

"Did I say that?" Sakura laughed and kissed his cheek.

"You were beating around the bush."

"You mean you haven't met anyone while job-hunting?"

"Why would I? How could I when I don't even look at men anymore." He lifted an eyebrow, feigning confusion.

"Oh?"

"Sasuke…you know that I love you. Why would I have any interest in someone else?" He smiled and kissed her. Sora and Hikari made noises of disgust and went back to playing whatever game they'd been at.

"I know. I just wanted to make sure."

"Honestly, Sasuke…"

"And would you marry me?"

"Of course."

XX

Sakura hummed to herself as she cleaned the large mansion in some grungy jeans and a t-shirt. She was thankful that she didn't have to wear the maid uniform every day—just when her boss was expecting company and she'd be working. It wasn't revealing or anything, considering the black skirt went to her ankles, and it was kind of cute, but Sakura just didn't like wearing dresses all the time. The phone rang and she answered it since the woman she worked for was taking a nap.

"Hello? You've reached the Kitami residence."

"Yes, can I speak with Kitami?"

"May I ask who's calling?" The woman on the phone sighed tiredly.

"This is Haruno Hikari. It's kind of important that I speak with her immediately." Sakura nearly dropped the phone in shock.

"I'm sorry, she's been asked not to be disturbed, ma'am."

"Listen here, you little tramp! I need to speak with Kitami immediately. I don't care if you've been—" Sakura cleared her throat.

"Ma'am, I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't speak to me as though I'm a slave. I am a respectable employee here. My employer has asked not to be disturbed, and I am respectfully asking that you call back at a later time."

"Oh. I'm sorry then. I hadn't realized that Kitami had gotten rid of her slaves. Will you give her a message for me then?" Sakura rolled her eyes and grabbed a pen and pad from nearby.

"Go ahead, Haruno-san."

"I'm in a jam and need my lawyer to come out of retirement. I'll pay whatever you want, but I'll have no one else represent me." She wrote that down with a note of her mother's name and phone number. "Just have her call me back as soon as she can."

"Of course, Ma'am." The line went dead and Sakura laughed uproariously as she hung up the phone. Figures her mother would get herself into trouble—it was probably all her bad Karma coming back to bite her in the ass. She went back to her chores, greatly amused and very satisfied that she didn't snap while on the phone.

XX

Sasuke sighed a little as he tried on his tuxedo. It was a little snug, and he wasn't even sure why they were doing a big wedding. It wasn't like they really had anyone to invite. Outside of the Hyuuga family, Elena was really the only person they would be willing to invite. Sakura's family was out of the question as they were the ones who'd abandoned her at her first major rebellion. And he didn't have any family left as they'd all been murdered when he was six.

But Sakura wanted a traditional wedding, and he couldn't refuse her. Besides, it was a rare chance to see her in a fancy dress since she hated wearing dresses often. So, he endured the long and drawn out planning and such. It really wasn't taking very long—apparently Hinata had been waiting for him to get up the nerve to ask Sakura to marry him, so she already had everything planned out and ready to go.

It was like he was going to someone else's party because of that though. Maybe it would feel more real when he was standing at the altar.

"I'll let it out a bit in the shoulders, but that's all it'll need really." The tailor noted, signaling him to get back in his regular clothes. Relieved, he left the room and changed, leaving the tuxedo on its hanger as he went to find his children. He found them in the courtyard with Hinata and Ten-ten.

"Done fitting your tux already, Sasuke?" He nodded and sat down. It was kind of strange, being the only guy out of their circle that stayed home with the kids. Neji had had a job since he graduated and started in college—he was planning to be a lawyer—and Naruto had managed to scrape up a job at the supermarket because of good timing. And when Sakura had gotten a job, someone had to take care of the kids, so Sasuke had opted to give up on the job hunt and be a stay-at-home-dad.

It made for awkward moments sometimes, though. For one, he was a guy, and two, Hinata and Ten-ten had known each other their whole lives while he'd only recently been brought into the picture. He was content with it, though. A door opened and they all looked up, wondering who'd gotten home. It was Sakura, much to Sasuke's relief. Sometimes she had to work late to help her boss entertain guests.

"Well…aren't you guys the lively bunch this afternoon?" She joked, walking over to sit by Sasuke and lean on him. She must have had a hard day at work.

"Long day at work?" She nodded, indicating that she was in the maid uniform she hadn't been wearing when she left that morning.

"Unexpected guest. You know how my boss is a retired lawyer?" They all nodded. "Well, apparently she's represented my mother in the past."

"Your…mother?" Hinata growled. Sasuke stiffened a little and Ten-ten hissed angrily.

"Yea. Karma's finally catching up with her. She got herself in a legal bind and wanted her old lawyer to come out of retirement to help her. Fortunately, Kitami-san flat-out refused."

"Okay, this is probably interesting. What did she do this time?" Sakura laughed.

"She got caught buying a slave off the black market. And it gets better. The slave she bought, turned out to be Ino. Apparently, if she doesn't get a lawyer to sue for unlawful imprisonment or something like that, she and my dad both are going to jail and their slaves freed. And I called Elena on my way home to ask about it, and she said that Ino was returned to her family, but when they turned her out on the street, she tried to drown herself in the river. She's on her way to a padded cell in Clear Rivers Mental Institution."

"Wow…" Was all any of them had to say.

XX

Sakura would have been freaking out over the wedding, if she hadn't been so busy with work and taking care of her kids. She didn't have to worry about anything but fitting into the dress and showing up to say her vows. That was good, because she didn't think she could handle worrying about the wedding too.

She started freaking out on the actual day, fussing over her dress and getting her kids dressed and prettied up. Why she was freaking out, she had no idea. It wasn't like she hadn't been waiting for this to happen for a long time. Maybe it was just the fact that after the wedding she and Sasuke would officially have absolutely nothing to come between them…no reason to worry about either one finding someone else.

"Sakura, it's time." She took a deep breath, fidgeting with her skirt.

"Do I look okay…?" Hinata laughed a little and nodded.

"You look great. Here's hoping Sasuke remembers how to breathe when he sees you." That made her smile and they left the dressing room. Ten-ten was waiting for them with the kids and Hinata's two sisters. "Here goes." They heard the music start and the two younger girls took the twins down the aisle. Ten-ten touched Sakura's hand lightly before following slowly.

"I'm so nervous…" Hinata shook her head a little.

"It'll be over before you know it." She nodded a little and Hinata went down the aisle. Sakura looked into the chapel and saw Sasuke standing there, waiting for her. She didn't even have anyone to give her away…her parents were both in jail and didn't care about her. The small gathering of people stood and she took a deep breath, walking through the doors and marching slowly down the aisle.

It seemed to stretch out for an eternity, but when she took Sasuke's hand, time didn't matter. It was almost like an out of body experience, the ceremony. She felt like she was watching herself in slow motion as they went through the vows, exchanged rings—which had belonged to Sasuke's parents, Hiyashi had managed to get hold of just about all of the Uchiha family's belongings, including the deed to their land—and finally the priest finished up and they were kissing.

After that, the reception went by in a blur and they were suddenly on their way to the old Uchiha house with the kids. While Hinata had had a chance to join the mile-high club on her honeymoon, Sakura actually had a job and children to take care of.

XX

Sasuke sighed a little as they turned down the long drive that led to the house he'd been born in. Sakura touched his hand lightly.

"Nervous?" He nodded a little.

"It's been…fourteen years since I've been here…I don't know what to expect…"

"A lot of dust. Unless Hiyashi-san sent someone ahead of us to clean house." He nodded slowly and got out of the car when they parked in the garage. He got their bags while Sakura got Sora and Hikari out of their car seats. She took the twins into the house and probably headed for the nursery to put them to bed.

Sasuke went to the door and paused, taking a deep breath. What if it was the same as it had been the night that—he shook his head a little. He wasn't six years old anymore. He could handle a house.

So he stepped inside and looked around. There wasn't any dust—in fact the place was sparkling clean—so it was obvious that Hiyashi had made sure the house would be clean and ready for them to move in. He walked through the foyer and looked into the front room. It looked warm and cozy enough, but he couldn't help but remember the night of the slaughter—his parents had died right in front of him on the living room floor.

"Sasuke?" He jolted a little at Sakura's voice. "Are you okay?"

"I…I'm fine…it's just…the last time I was here—" She took his hand and he gave her a small smile. "I'll be fine, really."

"If you're sure…" He nodded once.

"I'm sure. Did you get Sora and Hikari settled in the nursery?"

"Yea. And they're both sound asleep. They've had a long day." He nodded and led her to his parents' old bedroom…their bedroom now. He put their bags down by the door and yanked his shirt over his head. "So…we're married now."

"I know." Before he got the chance to say anything else, Sakura pounced on him, pinning him to the wall. "Sakura…?" She grinned and kissed him. He forgot what he'd even been thinking about a moment ago.

"The kids are finally on a normal sleep schedule. And it's been a while." He nodded in agreement and pushed her back.

"Okay then." He eagerly stripped and sat on the bed. Sakura stripped as well—painstakingly slow in his opinion—and joined him. He turned and pushed her onto her back. "You know…just because we're married won't make it any different."

"Yes it will." He rolled his eyes and kissed her passionately. He slowly trailed his hand from her shoulder to her naval and then pressed his fingers at her entrance. Sakura moaned softly and he pushed his fingers inside her. She was already soaking wet.

"You know, you could have told me and I'd have helped you out." He joked, removing his fingers.

"Just shut up and fuck me, Sasuke." She complained, making him laugh a little.

"Okay." He thrust into her and set a grueling pace.

"Oh god…Sasuke…!" Her arms went around him and he felt her fingers digging into his back. He groaned and soon felt about to burst.

"Sakura…I—"

"Go ahead…" He nodded and released inside her. Sakura followed almost instantly in a screaming orgasm and he kissed her to muffle the sound. They both waited in silence, listening for any sign that her shout had woken the kids. Finally, when they didn't hear anything from the direction of the nursery, Sasuke pulled out of her and reached across the bed to turn back the sheets.

"Let's get some sleep. We've got a big day tomorrow, settling in." She nodded in agreement and they both lay down in the bed, pressed close against each other.

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And…We're finished. Sorry if the sex scene there was a little disappointing, but when you've got a full time job, a set of twins, and you just went through a wedding, one round's kind of all you have the energy for. Thank you all for reading to the end and being patient with my long in coming updates. Any final words? Good? Great? Think everyone was way too OOC? You know, the usual. (I really hope no one was so messed up by my twisted story that you can't read or watch Naruto anymore…)

In the words of my amazing lover/co-writer: "Flames will be used to roast 'mallows and wiener-burgers"!