A/N: Happy birthday, Sakura! After a little over a year since my last update (and nearly four years since I published chapter one), we're finally here at the end of Uchiha MC! While the main storyline was already finished, I wanted to add an epilogue to tie up a handful of loose ends and to give a little peek into their happy lives together. I really struggled with this final chapter for a long time because I wanted to include so many ideas but they were all such small scenes. I think I found a perfect work around and you may recognize a similar scene in one of the earlier chapters.
I think in a lot of ways, I had mixed feelings about finishing this and put it off because this story is actually quite meaningful to me. I've mentioned this before but I started writing again after I got out of a bad relationship. I had no idea what love even looked like anymore and I wanted to define what I thought true love looked like. Writing about healthy romance (even in dark situations) helped me cope and, now that I'm putting the final touches on this little love story… I feel really good about what I made and where I am! So thank you for accompanying me along the way.
Turning down the more than familiar road that led home, Madara passed by the same three houses before pulling into his driveway. Shutting off his bike as he fiddled with his keys, he opened the garage door before walking his vehicle inside. Parking next to Sakura's beat up jeep - a vehicle he had put more hours of work into than any vehicle he had ever known - he pushed down the kickstand and steadied his bike.
Slipping off his helmet, a device he still detested but one he wore at his wife and daughter's adamant request, he snapped the strap closed and hooked it around one of the handlebars of his motorcycle. Running his fingers through his graying salt-and-pepper hair, he fixed the creases left behind by his helmet.
Standing, Madara took a moment to reach into his saddle bag and pull out a stack of manilla envelopes: his students' midterm papers. Even though he knew there were dozens of papers and a weekend of nonstop grading waiting for him, it does little to damper his mood.
No matter how many years went by, teaching as a professor at Konoha University had yet to lose its luster.
After all, he had finally been able to accomplish his dream and make use of his degree in history thanks to the truce between the Uchiha and the Senju. Now that he was able to be at the university without worries of constant altercations with the Senju he shared the campus with - both as students and colleagues - he had been able to submit a resume to the school.
Madara never thought he would get to live out his dream so the delight of being a history professor at the university he had graduated from never faded. He had even pushed himself further - encouraged by his wife and daughter - and had earned his Ph.D in History, a degree which presented him with his tenure at Konoha University.
Dr. Uchiha had a very nice ring to it. Even more so considering it was a title he shared with the love of his life.
Closing the garage door behind him, Madara opened the door into his home and stepped inside. Pausing at the hall closet, he toed off his boots and slipped the Uchiha MC cut from his shoulders, stowing both within.
Passing through the entryway leading into the living room, his eyes swept across rows and rows of photos and mementos hanging on the wall. He smiled as his gaze caught on a few in particular, snapshots from the lives of him and his family.
His eyes always found a photo from Sakura's baby shower first when he walked down the hallway into his home. He loved the sight of his glowing fiancée and her enormous belly, Sakura surrounded by a sea of friends and presents. He was always amused by the sight of a scowling Obito lingering in the background like a shadow, only dragged into the light by the beaming face of his wife Toka - the pair only "friends" at this point in their relationship.
Photos from the night when their bachelor and bachelorette parties accidentally merged were hung on the wall next. Madara had gone out bar hopping with his club and gotten effectively wasted but, after collectively deciding they needed to get dinner to celebrate, they had left on foot into the city to find somewhere to eat. He wasn't sure how many blocks they had bumbled down - laughter and chaos following them - before they passed by a wall of glass windows and he spotted his fiancée.
Sakura and her friends had made a reservation at the Akimichi restaurant, the group laughing over something as they ate from a table overflowing with desserts. When Madara had spotted her through the wall of windows, he had decided he needed to kiss her and the whole club had barged into the restaurant - much to the delight of his future wife.
The photo was taken by one of the amused waitresses, the staff won over by the huge orders and hefty tips left by all the club members, and showed them all rowdily overflowing the classy restaurant and brimming with joy.
On the wall next hung a handful of photos from their wedding, all decorating one giant frame and interspersed with flowers and trinkets from the ceremony. At the top is his and Sakura's first kiss as newlyweds and, even now, his heart swells in his chest at the thought of the joy he felt marrying the love of his life.
The second is a shot of everyone in attendance, a high angle picture looking down on all three hundred or so guests - his entire family, her family, the Senju, the Uzumaki, and every last one of their families and friends.
All of their loved ones made faces and dramatic poses in the background as him and his wife of two minutes stood at the front; him carrying her bridal style and smiling ear to ear and her laughing, tears still streaming down her face. Sakura's bridesmaids - Ino, Sasuke, and Naruto - stood in the front row with her parents, right alongside his groomsmen - Izuna, Fugaku, and Obito.
Various other shots filled the frame, like the photo of Sakura's mother and his brother Fugaku absolutely blitzed drunk and arm wrestling. Fugaku's expression is strained and Mebuki is laughing with her whole face. Mikoto and Kizashi, also drunk, cheered on their spouses as Kizashi poured more tequila into Mikoto's empty champagne flute.
The picture of Obito and Toka always made him chuckle, the Senju curled up in Obito's lap and looking like the cat that caught the canary. His baby cousin is as tense as a piano wire and so red there was no way he was breathing. He remembered when the picture was taken, how Tenten had asked them to pose for the camera and Toka had flopped into Obito's lap, posing dramatically and spilling her entire margarita on the floor. It was shortly after the wedding that they started dating, his best friend falling hard for the headstrong Senju.
It was only a short time after the wedding that Obito and Kakashi had bumped into one another while visiting Rin's grave. It was almost as if the young girl had mediated the two from beyond the grave, the two finally able to sit down and speak honestly about what had happened all those years ago.
Madara was still convinced that they had tried to duke it out at the cemetery before being ashamed they were fistfighting next to the grave of their friend.
It took years after that chance meeting but the two had eventually been able to reconcile their friendship. Madara suspected a massive part of that was Toka's influence, the woman being a guiding light in Obito's life despite her own bloodthirsty nature.
Several other pictures hung in the giant frame - photos of him with his groomsmen, Sakura with her bridesmaids, and their entire families together - but one always caught Madara's attention in particular: a candid shot of Izuna and Tobirama, taken without their knowledge by a surprisingly crafty Tenten.
The two had separated themselves from the party, nearly hiding, and were standing next to each other as they watched the crowd. Tobirama's hand was on Izuna's lower back and the taller man was leaning down to whisper something in his ear, a smile - had he ever seen him smile before then? - on his face. His brother's expression was lit up with happiness as he laughed at whatever Tobirama had said.
When Madara had first seen the picture, he had been ashamed of himself for not noticing sooner. How could he have overlooked his own brother falling in love?
He remembered how happy he was that his baby brother had found love as well and knew that he would tell him if and when he was ready. A moment that came a year later when Izuna stood on the bar in the clubhouse and loudly announced to the entire MC that he and Tobirama were getting married - a declaration that had the club exploding in both questions and celebration.
Madara smiled as he continued his walk down the hallway, his attention drifting across the more colorful mementos carefully stuffed in the limited space of their wall.
Only two photos from their honeymoon in the Land of Whirlpools hung on the wall, interspersed with various keepsakes like their plane tickets, seagull feathers, and pressed island flowers. They were the only pictures they took since they were so wrapped up in alternating between exploring the beach or having sex, sometimes both.
One of the pictures they had asked a passerby to take, the two of them curled up on the same bench together and enjoying lunch in the sunlight at a beachside cafe. The second was one of his favorite pictures of his wife as she laid out on the beach. She found that she could get some relief from the weight of her pregnant belly by digging a hole and lying her belly inside. She had told him that she was ecstatic to finally lay on her stomach again and it was even better than she remembered.
Madara could never forget how Sakura had given him the best wedding gift he could ask for when she told him she had done the math and that their baby had to have been conceived on their "sensei" day at her martial arts studio. He had never laughed harder in his life and he remembered scooping her out of her makeshift nest and carrying her back to their rented beachside cottage.
His prized degree, his Ph.D in History, hung proudly on the wall next to Sakura's Doctor of Medicine. A few years following the Uchiha and Senju truce, he had opened up to Sakura about how he had been thinking of finally putting his degrees to use and becoming a professor like he had once dreamed. Her passionate encouragement and then the babbled praise from Sarada, just an infant at the time, had spurred him onwards and led him to the happiest place in his life.
While Madara made a living teaching at the university, he still used his skills as an engineer and a mechanic to help his club and to help out around the house. A task that was sometimes bittersweet, like when Sakura's derelict piece of crap Jeep breaks down yet again and she turns those eyes on him. How could he say no when she argued her vehicle was part of the family too?
Next hung a framed screenshot from his computer of when they paid off the mortgage of their family home. A home that he himself, as well as his brothers, had grown up in. He never thought he'd see the day but, shortly after their return to Konoha following their honeymoon, they had been searching for a larger home to accommodate their growing family. He still couldn't believe how lucky he was that the house had gone on the market after the previous owners had remodeled.
Madara and his brothers had lost their childhood home when their parents were killed, none of them old enough and well off enough to maintain the mortgage payments. After they had defaulted, the bank had taken back the house and sold it. It had been a source of distant heartbreak, losing the house he had last seen his parents in - and seeing the opportunity to reclaim it appear had been yet another joy of that year.
When him and Sakura had gone on the tour of the house - a massive home with two floors and four bedrooms - he told her stories from every room. Helping his father cook in the kitchen, family dinners in the dining room, playing as a toddler in the living room, barbeques in the backyard, watching his mother work on her bike in the garage. He told her stories of how him and Izuna had shared a bedroom growing up and how thrilled his brother had been when he finally moved out.
Having watched the happiness on his face as he reminisced about his childhood and his family home, Sakura had asked if he wanted the house. They placed their bid that day and got the deed that following week.
In the ensuing years, Madara had perhaps gone a little overboard dumping his years of life savings into securing ownership of the home, but watching Sakura burst into tears of joy when he showed her this paper had been worth it. He liked to think he had made his younger self proud as well, ensuring his family would never lose the house again.
A large decorative frame filled with nine pictures of Sakura hung on the wall after, one for each month of her pregnancy. His eyes flicked over each picture - her making breakfast, her napping on the couch, her blissed out expression as he held up her growing belly to give her some relief - his smile growing with every photo.
He had loved taking care of his wife while she was pregnant; it felt good to be able to help the woman he loved while she carried their child. He would frequently massage her feet to help with the swelling and leg cramps and he would gladly indulge any food craving she had. Any opportunity he could find to ease the burden of her pregnancy, he would take it.
Madara had loved to ask how their kitten was doing that day and, when Sarada got big enough to kick and play in her belly, his hellcat would tell him to ask her himself.
Sarada's birth certificate hung next to Sakura's pregnancy photos and even the sight of it made him feel a zing of anxiety. Her birth had gone extremely well, there were no complications, but he could still remember the sheer helplessness he had felt watching Sakura give birth. The fear that something was going to go wrong and that the world was going to take away his wife and child sat so heavily on his heart that it wasn't until he heard Sarada cry that he finally breathed.
The moment he had laid eyes on his daughter for the first time, protectively wrapped up in the loving arms of his beautiful wife, he had fallen in love. It was as he stared at the two most precious women in his life that he decided he would do anything to protect them. He would never let anything threaten the most precious things in his life, the lights of his life. Whatever it took, he would keep his wife and his daughter safe.
Just like Hashirama had promised would happen, Madara had cried when Sakura placed their daughter in his arms.
Hanging next to Sarada's birth certificate was her elementary and middle school diplomas, honor roll awards, and awards from spelling bees and science fairs. From a young age, they were delighted to find that their daughter had inherited both of their curious minds and a thirst for knowledge. From chemistry to creative writing and from piano lessons to martial arts training, they made sure she had every opportunity to learn anything she wanted.
Madara frequently thought that he didn't know how he could possibly become even more proud of his daughter but, every time, Sarada proved him wrong.
The final addition to sll the mementos, next to the smallest sliver of blank space remaining in the overcrowded wall, was a photo from his fifty-fifth birthday. Sarada had taken it with her polaroid camera, a recent interest of hers completely encouraged by her doting mother, and she had impressed them both by baking his cake herself. Sakura had been singing him happy birthday - Sarada singing behind the camera - and, even though he looked sheepish, he also looked happy.
He also looked quite a bit older than his wife, Sakura still only thirty-nine and him well into his fifties. Even though she liked to tease him, calling him her old man when his hair started to gray, their love for each other never faded even fourteen years later.
Glancing down at the several empty photo frames leaning against the bottom of the wall, Madara wondered what Sakura had planned next - and more importantly how she expected to fit in on their already overflowing wall.
Walking through the living room, he noted a popular anime about ninjas on pause on the living room television: a sure sign that his daughter was nearby. Heading into the kitchen, he found his suspicions proved correct when he found his daughter sitting at the bar, eating a sandwich as she tapped away at her phone.
"Hey kitten," Madara greeted, ruffling her hair as he walked passed to distract her from her texting.
"Hey papa," Sarada grumbled as she swatted his hand away without looking, "How was your lecture?"
"Productive," he answered as he dropped his keys and wallet into a bowl on the counter, "Today was the deadline for their midterms."
"Try to go easy on them," she suggested as she took a bite of her sandwich.
"I should be harder on them, they're too familiar with me," he grumbled, flipping through some of the manilla envelopes, "I had thought being the Uchiha MC president would afford me some sort of intimidation factor but it's quite the opposite."
"I think you and Uncle Hashi lost your intimidation factor when you did that rally at the rehab center. That picture of you playing shuffleboard with Mr. Onoki was in the paper," Sarada pointed out, her phone beeping as she tapped on the screen.
"Ah, perhaps I lost just a small amount…" he sighed in resignation as he set the stack of envelopes on the counter before quirking an eyebrow as her phone pinged several times in a row, "Big plans?"
"I'm in a group chat with my friends."
"Are you all still going camping this weekend with Obito, Toka, and Kakashi?"
"Chocho said there was no fast food in the woods so she said no. Shikadai never responded so that's a no," she listed, counting her fingers, "Inojin said he'd rather die."
"Shisui isn't teaching his brat any manners," Madara grumbled at the mention of Shisui and Ino's tactless son.
"Boruto and Mitsuki are coming though and Kawaki might come too," Sarada continued before adding on, "I already told Uncle Obi."
"Naruto's kid is a bit… odd," he phrased gently.
"Yeah, he's kind of obsessed with you guys. Uncle Sasuke especially?" she sighed, shaking her head, "He doesn't seem to get he can't join the club."
"He could likely join the Senju MC if he wanted since his great aunt is married to Hashirama," he explained, not understanding why the boy would be so invested in joining a club that wasn't even part of his family, "The Uzumaki and the Senju have always had close ties."
"He wants to join your club. He says it's cooler."
Madara snorted in amusement. "Do your old dad a favor and don't let Toka hear that while you're out there. Not only will she kick Boruto's ass but she'll kick her husband's ass too. I need my Sergeant at Arms in one piece."
"I won't say anything but I won't be held accountable if Boruto digs his own grave," Sarada sing-songed, taking another bite of her sandwich before an alert prompted her to switch apps on her phone.
"I can only ask for so much," he shrugged before changing the subject, "I'm making inarizushi for dinner tonight."
"Can you make some more black boba tea for me too?"
"Sure, just make sure we have tapioca flour."
"Thanks papa," she answered with a smile before she added, "Don't forget to let mama know so she comes out of the office. She got a few new cases today and got sucked into her work again."
"Will do," Madara replied with a smile, already heading to where he knew his wife would be.
Making his way further into their home, he paused in front of her office, the door cracked and the sound of typing coming from within. Pushing open the door with his foot, he leaned against the frame, smiling as he quietly watched Sakura work at her desk.
Numerous books and charts surrounded her, her laptop open and her desktop computer running right next to it. She typed a few lines into her laptop before turning a handful of pages in her medical text, noting a spot before double checking the information on her computer. From the times when he had watched her study for medical school to watching her create plans of care for her patients now, he had always enjoyed watching her wrapped up in her studies.
Sakura had come a long way since being a medical student, his wife of thirteen years having earned her place as one of the most renowned doctors in the country. Her endless dedication and brilliant mind won her a place as the most respected surgeon in Konoha Regional Hospital, people traveling from far and wide to seek her expertise.
The war between the Uchiha and the Senju was a distant nightmare now, the uneasy alliance having taken years to truly grow into comradery. The first few years of their truce hadn't been the bloodless peace they had hoped for.
The Uchiha and the Senju both went through many falling outs and even had alterations with outside clubs following their alliance, some of the organizations their families had allied with taking offense to the treaty. There were even club members who abandoned their families or who had to be ousted, too overwhelmed with their rage at the opposing family to tolerate peace with them.
It was during these altercations that Sakura secretly acted as their doctor, aiding injured clan members from both the Uchiha and the Senju MCs. It was because of her skills as a surgeon and her empathy as a person that she was able to make incredible strides in their alliance.
The Senju saw how the Uchiha had allowed their president's wife to assist them with their medical needs following battles that happened because of their alliance. This gesture of trust, and Sakura's vital assistance as a doctor, forged a stronger partnership between the clubs that helped them become the steadfast allies they considered themselves today.
Madara would always be indebted to Sakura for everything she did for him and his family but, even more than that, he would always be in awe of her.
She had saved Izuna's life, his life, and the lives of a dozen Uchiha and Senju over the years. She had helped him accomplish his dream of creating peace and stuck by his side even during the bloody aftermath of their alliance. She had given birth to their beautiful daughter and had helped protect her and raise her into the brilliant young woman she was today.
Even when they had both sat awake at night in bed with their sleeping baby curled up between them, terrified for her safety in a world that was still so violent, she loved him and stood with him. And somehow, throughout all of the chaos and uncertainty, she had found time for her patients at work and her family at home.
Times such as now, his wife so completely immersed in her studies and her planning that she didn't even notice him watching her from the doorway, a gentle smile on his face.
"Working hard?" Madara asked as he stepped inside her office, finally breaking the silence and drawing her attention away from her work.
Turning away from her laptop and looking up at him, Sakura smiled when she met his eyes, his heart still doing a little flip in his chest even all these years later. He'd never grow tired of her smiling up at him, his hellcat as beautiful to him now as she was when they first met. She was beginning to get fine lines around her eyes and around her lips but all they did was show how much she smiled. She had so much joy in her aging face and he promised to keep it that way as they continued to grow older together.
Taking off her reading glasses, Sakura set them on top of a stack of papers before standing and doing a little stretch. Reaching out to him in the middle of her stretch, he chuckled and stepped forward into her embrace.
"Busy as always," she laughed, looping her arms around his neck as he wrapped his around her waist, "Welcome home, Dara."
"It's good to be home," Madara answered before pecking her on the lips.
"How was your lecture? Their midterms were due today, right?"
"They were, I'll be grading all weekend," he replied before glancing over at the several cups of coffee on her desk, "When did you last take a break?"
"Hmm, what time is it?" she hummed as she rested her cheek against his chest, nuzzling his neck with a pleased sigh.
"Too long then," he chuckled, kissing her hairline, "I'm making dinner soon, come keep me company while I cook."
"Give me fifteen minutes to finish up and I'll come down," she bargained.
"I'm holding you to it."
Sakura pulled back, pausing for a moment to reach up and cup his face. She smiled up at him warmly, adoration in her gaze as she mused, "Who would have thought getting into a bar fight would lead to our happy family."
"I'll never forget how beautiful you looked, breaking the chair over that Senju," Madara teased with a grin.
She laughed before teasing back, "I'll never forget that ride leaving the bar."
"What about what came after?" he flirted, gently grasping one of her hands and kissing her wrist.
"How could I forget?" she purred with a coy smile and, after a moment of thought, she added, "I'm proud of you, Dara. I don't know if I tell you that often enough."
"You made quite a gamble on me, all those years ago. Choosing to stand with me despite everything," he pointed out, his thoughts from earlier returning.
"I believed in you and your dream," Sakura assured with a smile, running her thumb along the line of his jaw.
"What could I have possibly done for a woman like you to believe in a man like me?" Madara pondered aloud, lovingly gazing down at her.
"You're a good man, Dara. Even during the bad times, I could always see that," she comforted lovingly.
"Having you at my side inspires me," he confessed, knowing he never could have done any of this without her; that he'd never have this happy life without her at his side.
"Keep the flattery coming," she joked and he laughed.
"I love you, Hellcat," he hummed happily, pressing his forehead to hers as he gazed into her viridian eyes.
"I love you too, Dara," she answered, looping her arms around his neck pulling him into a kiss.
A/N: It's been a long ride but I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I loved writing it! While this is the end of the story, there is tons of art and even a oneshot that I have posted to my Tumblr Astroavis.
Thank you to everyone who stuck around with me since the beginning and a HUGE thank you to everyone who showed me so much love and support along the way! All of your comments mean the world to me, I read and cherish every word!