Chapter Twenty-two

"Aki! Haru! Lunch is ready! Go wash your hands!"

"Hai okā-chan!" the twins cried.

Sakura looked on at her four-year-old daughter and son for a moment before she shouted at the again. "Today thank you."

"Hai!" They raced off the bathroom and Sakura went in search of her husband and brother-in-law.

"I will never get used to how big this estate is." Sakura said to herself.

"Yes you will."

Sakura yelped as the two brothers popped up behind her. "Don't do that! God Itachi, you're as bad as the twins."

"Hm. I highly doubt that. So what did you say about lunch?"

"Go wash your hands first. You've been training."

Sasuke went after the twins to wash his hands for lunch.

Itachi walked up behind Sakura and rubbed her swollen stomach. "Think we'll have twins again."

"I hope not. It was painful enough getting them out." Itachi laughed against his wife's neck. "Kakashi and Hoshi should be here soon so go and wash up will you?"

"Trying to get rid of me hm Sakura-chan?" Itachi murmured into her cheek.

"Always, Itachi-kun." Sakura teased. "Go on or will I have to force you."

"And how would you do that my cherry blossom?"

"SASUKE! DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH THAT CAKE!" Sakura screamed into the kitchen turning her head away from Itachi.

"How do you always know?" Came Sasuke's reply.

Itachi laughed and pulled Sakura's face around and kissed her pouring his love for her onto her lips. When he pulled back her face was flustered and Itachi pulled her into a strong embrace with warmth and safety in his arms.

"O.K. That's it!" Sakura pulled herself from Itachi embrace and made her way to the kitchen. "If I find one finger print on my cake I will… GET BACK HERE SASUKE!"

Itachi could help but burst out laughing as Sasuke ran out of the kitchen as a frying pan just missed his head. The twins ran after him thinking it was some kind of game.

"HELP! MOODY MOTHER ON RAMPAGE! Hey maybe I should write a newspaper article. That would make a great headline." Sasuke stopped in his tracks. Not a wise move. As not a moment after a sauce pan collided with his head. "OW!"

"THAT'S FOR EATING MY CAKE BAKA!" Sakura shouted storming out of the kitchen. Her kimono flew around her ankles as she made her way towards him with angry strides, her hair pinned on top of her head in a bun had already begun to become loose and strands of pink hair framed her face. Another sauce pan was in her hands.

Sasuke was saved from anymore pain as the door bell rang.

"Oh my god their actually on time. Oh right Hoshi has abolished Kakashi's late appearances. Itachi go and wash up. Aki, Haru, Sasuke come with me."

Itachi went and washed his hand and quickly changed into some clean clothes. When he came out Kakashi and Hoshi were already seated in the dining room. Aki and Haru were seated opposite them with Sasuke at one end of the table with his wife Temari. Sakura went over to the fridge and pulled put a spare cake. Itachi smirked. She always did that so he didn't really quite understand why she got so angry when Sasuke ate some of her first cake. She always had a spare one just in case. Itachi sat at the head of the table and Sakura placed herself, with Itachi's help, gracefully next to him.

Itachi and Sakura had been married for four years now and they were celebrating their anniversary along with Kakashi's and Hoshi's three year anniversary and Sasuke's and Temari's one year anniversary. Sakura was eight months pregnant. Hoshi was six months pregnant. Temari was four months pregnant. All three women spend a lot of time together, mostly so Hoshi and Temari could get advice from the only other woman they knew who had been pregnant about being a mother. This also led the three men to get together a lot so Kakashi and Sasuke could find out how to be a father.

Naruto and Hinata had married two months ago. Shikamaru and Ino four months before that. Rock Lee and Gaara of the sand had gotten together finally getting over the gender boundaries and everyone was happy for them. Neji and Tenten mad married at the same time as Shikamaru and Ino at a double wedding.

Later that night when Sasuke and Temari had gone to bed and Sakura had gotten the twins into bed, she made her way to the balcony off her's and Itachi's room, to watch the sunset with her husband. For four years the Akatsuki hadn't called on them for anything.

"Think they'll ever call on us?" Sakura said sliding her hands up Itachi's broad back and over his shoulders hugging him. Itachi knew who she was talking about.

"They won't ever. I just got this letter from Deidara." Itachi help up a note to show her. "They've found another healer and someone else from the hidden village of snow. Deidara says that leader has released us from our pledge. We're no longer members of the Akatsuki. But they said they will still protect us since we helped with Orochimaru." Itachi pulled Sakura next to him his arm around her shoulders. Her arm around his waist her other hand placed on her stomach. "We can live out our lives together with nothing to fear anymore."

Sakura now twenty-five and Itachi now thirty-two looked out onto the small lake on the Uchiha estate as the sun reflected of it casting red golden ripples of light across the grass.

"Think Temari will have twins or Hoshi?" Itachi asked.

"Maybe, but I hope Temari won't. We already have to deal with our twins." The Uchiha couple laughed and Sakura rested her head on her husband's shoulder and Itachi rested his on his wife's head.

"I hope we have twins again."

"Why?" Sakura asked

"Because think of all the fun we had with Aki and Haru."

Sakura smiled as she also remembered the sleepless nights. But she also remembered the times when Itachi had tried to feed them and they had knocked the bowl out of his hands covering him in baby food. Sakura had to run for her life when she had burst out laughing.

"Yes. It would be nice if we had twins again. But I really would rather not."

Itachi laughed and cupped Sakura's head pulling her closer to him. "Well we just have to wait another month."

"Yes."

Itachi and Sakura looked out across the Uchiha estate and they both knew that from now on life would be good. And as the sun slipped behind the hills and the sky took on a blood red colour, which blended with a dark blue sky and a full moon rose high in the sky with the stars sparkling like candles, Itachi and Sakura remembered all the silent promises they had made to protect one another. Instinctively they pulled eachother closer to eachother and sighed as they watch the last rays of light disappear from the sky.