This is the last chapter for this story. Please read the A/N at the end!

Chapter name is dedicated to MCU's Spider Man: Far from Home.

Enjoy! :)

CHAPTER 20 - Far From Home

"Come on," Naruto groans loudly, hiding his face in his hands. Sasuke snickers at him when there's white flour all over his fiancé.

"You're doing it wrong," Sasuke tells him and shows him how to knead the dough properly.

Sakura is sitting on the counter, with her legs dangling in air. "This is taking too long," she complains.

Itachi shoots her a glare from where he is grabbing the tray from the huge oven, wearing mitts, and an apron around his hips. His hair is tied in a bun, black-rimmed glasses – he's begun using it regularly now – and there are all kinds of baking ingredients splattered on his body.

"You're not even doing anything," he snaps at her. "You don't get to complain."

The kitchen is quite hot, she tells herself. The kitchen is hot and that's why she's all hot under her collar. Itachi has nothing to do with it.

Sakura smiles sweetly at him, knowing it will irritate him even further. He rolls his eyes and ignores her existence after that. She gets bored soon, sitting and complaining, so she leaves the kitchen to join the others in the front.

Temari and Hinata are wiping down the tables. Shikamaru is putting up Christmas bobbles around the ceiling. Mrs. Uchiha is outside the entrance door, speaking with an old lady.

"Sakura," Hinata calls out. "Can you get the mop from the back?"

She nods and heads towards the broom closet just behind the kitchen entrance.

Mrs. Uchiha's bakery is small, like Itachi had told her. It has enough space to fit ten tables, the main counter, and the kitchen in the back. Mrs. Uchiha, on the other hand, is nothing like it. She's a kind woman, with black hair and black eyes like the rest of the Uchiha family, a smile that makes you want to cry and spill everything to her. She's also tall, and it's obvious that Itachi got it from her, even though Sasuke got the face.

Sakura thinks that Mr. Uchiha is every bit police as one can get. He's a stiff person, disciplined, and expects nothing less than greatness from everyone around him. He's a proud person, and Sakura understands why he wanted to put Itachi in the school for gifted individuals. And Sakura also understands why Mrs. Uchiha wouldn't have wanted that.

Both had it right in their own way, I suppose, Itachi had said. He was right, as always.

Sakura tries to hand the mop to Hinata, but she shakes her head and frowns. "You're free, aren't you?"

She sighs. She really doesn't feel like doing anything. She thinks that maybe she should be feeling guilty, because everyone else is pulling their weight, but she doesn't care at the moment.

Nonetheless, she starts to mop without further complaints.

Kimimaro enters the bakery at one point, looking haggard and wild. "We have a problem."

Shikamaru addresses him. "What happened?"

"The flowers are taking too long," he says. "They won't come in time."

"How long?" Hinata asks, frowning.

"They said they hit some road block. Holiday rush."

"Let me see," she says and takes out her phone to call. She walks outside the bakery for better reception – or maybe to yell.

"Are the others prepared?" Temari asks Kimimaro.

"Yeah," he confirms. "They're at the venue, getting together everything in time."

"Good. We'll be done soon, too. Can you take Naruto and Sasuke away? They're still in the kitchen, helping out Itachi and Mrs. Uchiha."

Kimimaro nods and heads behind the counter.

Hinata returns. "Sorted. What's next?"

Sakura, Temari, Shikamaru exhchange a look. The bakery is set up like Mrs. Uchiha wanted. Kimimaro will take care of the men. And there are two hours left for the ceremony.

They drag Itachi from the kitchen, remind Mrs. Uchiha that it's time to close for the moment, and decide to go to Itachi's house along with Sasuke and Kimimaro.

xXx

Naruto walks down the aisle with Minato and Kushina, all three of them vibrating with happiness in similar fashion. Itachi and Sakura walk next, Hinata and Kimimaro after them, Temari and Shikamaru are the last of the wedding party, before Sasuke walks down with Mr. and Mrs. Uchiha to join Naruto at the alter.

The ceremony is short and sweet. Sakura can't stop grinning throughout.

The reception is at the bakery. Sasuke was right. Konoha is a pretty small town where everyone knows everyone. The backyard is beautifully lit with Jiraiya's baritone in the background, and people swaying languidly under the large tent.

Sakura is with Hinata, when a woman with brown hair, taller than her, and soft voice approaches them. Sakura tenses slightly, and Hinata nudges her arm lightly.

"Hi," Izumi smiles. "We haven't gotten the chance to properly meet yet. I'm Izumi."

Sakura offers a stiff smile. "Hi. Sakura."

Izumi smiles wider. "I know. You're pretty famous, Dr. Haruno."

Sakura doesn't know what to say to that so she doesn't.

"Are you staying until New Years?" Izumi continues in the same soft voice.

"No," Sakura shakes her head. "I'm leaving tomorrow. Can't miss work during the holidays."

The Drunken Surgeries. Sakura can't wait to see what's on the menu this time.

"You sound like Itachi," Izumi laughs softly. "Is he heading back with you?"

"Yes," Sakura replies, feeling awkward. "He has to leave again right after New Years."

"Right, right. Well, it's very nice to finally meet you, Sakura."

"You, too."

When Izumi leaves, Hinata raises her eyebrows, and Sakura shrugs at her. Naruto and Sasuke are still dancing away in their own bubble. Sakura searches for Itachi and finds him speaking with Shikamaru and Anko.

She goes to him, feeling a rush of déjà vu, interrupting the Best Man during a wedding.

Itachi sees her coming and opens his right arm. Sakura wraps her hands around his waist automatically and he pulls her close.

He offers her his glass of champagne.

"How's married life for you, Sakura?" Anko smirks at her. "Itachi was just telling us how much he loved Iceland, and can't wait to visit again."

Sakura beams at her. "We have our moments, Anko. I can't wait to remove weird stuff from inside human bodies once I go back to work."

Shikamaru snorts, and Anko looks disgusted at the image. Sakura sips at the champagne and immediately spits it out.

"What's wrong?" Itachi frowns.

"Nothing," she replies quickly, mentally going over everything from the last few days.

Itachi proposed to her during one of their trips three years ago in Uzbekistan. They were in an abandoned ship on a tiny island, an empty tourist spot. There was sand between their toes, hundreds of stars above their heads, and it felt like standing at the edge of the world, the silence surrounding them, and Itachi was wearing a loose white shirt, flip flops, and knee length shorts. His sunkissed hair was in a messy bun, black-rimmed glasses, the necklace – a permanent jewellery now – on his caramel throat.

The wedding ceremony was huge. A destination wedding on the beaches of Malibu, in fact. Kakashi and Uncle Obito walked her down the aisle, and Itachi was standing at the end of it in a white tux. I respect Queen Victoria as much as the women do, he'd smiled goofily at her.

You know what they say about the sands.

As they eat at Sasuke and Naruto's wedding in Konoha, Sakura wonders how this will work for them. Itachi is still the CEO, but his team is so large that he doesn't have to stay and take care of every little thing. He's finally appointed himself a secretary when he realised that he can't attend every event when he's on the road, traveling wherever. Sakura, on the other hand, is an Attendant. She doesn't have to slave as much, but she still tries to snag as many surgeries as possible because Dr. Tsunade is this close to retiring and Sakura cannot miss this opportunity. She knows that she's well on the list to be selected, she's already applied as a candidate, and her chances are pretty good.

As Izumi had said, you're pretty famous, Dr. Haruno.

xXx

Sakura stares at the counter. She keeps staring for a good ten minutes, until Itachi knocks on the bathroom door to ask if everything is okay.

"Yeah. Be out in a minute."

She steps out and hears Itachi in the kitchen. She walks around their bedroom nervously, trying to work out the energy and the adrenalin rush. It helps a little because the bedroom is quite spacious with a king sized bed, large walk-in closet, a small couch, a working desk – Itachi's because Sakura has a separate study room, all tastefully decorated by a famous designer. There's a wide balcony to the right, looking out over the city, complete with a patio set and potted plants.

Sakura supposes that finances are hardly the concern.

Itachi is setting out plates on the dining table when she finally comes out. Sakura watches him a little, moving around the space, black-rimmed glasses, hair in a bun, casual home clothes, and thinks –

"I think you're going to be a father."

He freezes and slowly looks up at her. "What?"

"You heard me, genius."

"Say it again."

So Sakura repeats it, enunciating each and every syllable clearly, and it doesn't help all that much because he's staring at her so blankly that she wonders whether she should hit him.

"Life just became domestic, Mr. Uchiha," she tells him when he doesn't respond. "You up for that?"

Itachi finally smirks a small smirk, and says, trying to be cool and casual and failing miserably, "Life just became extraordinary, Dr. Haruno. Are you up for that?"

And Sakura laughs, feeling something for this man, and Itachi joins her, picking her up and spinning in circles.

THE END

Wow. Here we are, at last. I'd like to thank everyone who followed the story, favourite-d it, wrote those wonderful reviews, and read the story – and everyone who will ever read the story in future.

I hope you all enjoyed this short journey as much as I enjoyed writing it. I truly am grateful for all the encouragement, support, and love that you have showed the characters and me. Before I get too emotional and begin a rant, I'm going to stop here. *.*

Much love and always,

StarsAndCrows