Hello,

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and got to spend it with your nearest and dearest.

I'm sorry for the late update, it's been manic the last few weeks, then I wasn't able to upload any chapters onto here! But I'm back!

Thank you everyone for your support so far, hope you enjoy the rest of the story. I will try to update it sooner.

All my love xxx

Sakura groaned loudly as the loud buzzing sound filled the room, causing her head to throb with each beep. "Shut up!" she groaned as she buried her head under her pillow, muffling the sound.

"Get out of bed sleepy head!" a voice shouted and pulled the duvet off Sakura, before grabbing her by her ankles and pulling her out of her bed.

Sakura complained incoherently as she hugged the pillow around her head, "I don't want to get up!" She mumbled from under the pillow.

"Tough, you are getting married soon, and you need to get dressed." The voice said sharply, "unless you would like Mira to come in and help you," they added in a singsong voice.

"You wouldn't dare!" Sakura moaned angrily as she sat up and threw the pillow away from her. She squinted up and stared at Ino. "What are you doing here?"

"Trying to get you ready for your wedding day," Ino held out her hand towards Sakura, "get up."

Sakura grumbled, "don't remind me, plus this is your fault."

"My fault? How did you work that out?" Ino questioned.

"You kept making me drink last night," Sakura grumbled lazily.

"If it makes you get up quicker, then sure, it is all my fault," Ino said, wriggling her outstretched fingers towards Sakura in invitation.

Sakura grabbed Ino's hand, letting her pull her up. "What time is it?"

"Eight thirty, we need to be at the hotel by eleven thirty," Ino informed her as she busied herself getting the makeup ready, "now go and shower so I can do your hair and makeup."

"Yeah, yeah," Sakura waved her off as she made her way into the adjoining bathroom slowly. She grabbed a towel from the cupboard and shut the door behind her. Shower started, she brushed her teeth and washed her face before stepping under the hot spray. She stood under the water, letting it wrap her in warmness before she started to wash her hair and body. Twenty minutes later, she turned off the water, she dried herself, dressed in her underwear before throwing on her gown and wrapped her hair in the towel.

In the bedroom, Ino was stood in a dressing gown and had set up the makeup and ushered Sakura to sit down on the stool. She spent the next hour applying makeup for Sakura, before starting on her hair. She quickly dried it, before styling it in an elegant bun with soft curls falling down her face. "Get your dress on, we haven't got long."

"Why are you rushing me?" Sakura groaned at Ino's reflection.

"Because if you are not ready soon, your dad will be sending his wonderful assistant to find out what is taking so long," Ino smiled sweetly.

"Ugh," Sakura rolled her eyes as she stood up from the stool, "how come you are not dressed then?"

Ino laughed sightly and took off her gown, she wore a blush pink long dress, her hair was styled in a loose bun with curls framing her face and silver heeled sandals.

"You look nice," Sakura said as she took her best friend in.

The bedroom door opened, Tenten and Hinata walked in, both dressed similarly to Ino. Sakura furrowed her brow at them, "what is going on?"

Tenten smirked, "did you think we were going to let you go into this alone?"

"We will always be here for you," Hinata added with a soft smile.

"Now, get your dress on," Ino held up her wedding dress.

Sakura swallowed past the lump that formed in her throat at her friends' words, "I love you guys," she sniffed as her eyes filled with tears.

"Nope, don't you dare cry and ruin my hard work," Ino warned.

Sakura chuckled lightly and blinked away the tears that threatened to fall, "yes, pig." She walked over to the blonde and got into the dress, and Ino helped zip it up.

Just then, her mother walked in, dressed in a beautiful green dress that complemented her green eyes. "You all look lovely," she complemented the women, "thank you for being here for my daughter." She walked up to Sakura and hugged her tightly, "you look beautiful darling."

"Thank you mum."

Mebuki smiled at her and held out a jewellery box for Sakura. "These belonged to my mother, she gave them to me for my wedding, now I am passing them onto you."

Sakura opened the box, and looked at the ivory pearl earrings and matching necklace, "they are gorgeous," she ran her fingers carefully over the pearls, watching the light reflect off them. "Can you help me?" she looked at her mother's reflection.

Mebuki took the necklace out and placed it around Sakura's neck and tied the clasped, before picking out the earrings and helping Sakura put them on.

"Thank you," Sakura said, looking at her friends and mother.

For the first time since the engagement, Sakura felt a bubble of genuine happiness fill her, making her feel lighter than she had over the past few days.

A knock sounded on the door, pulling all their attention to it.

Kizashi gently pushed opened the door and walked in, his eyes falling on his daughter who looked like a vision. "Sakura," he smiled at her, "you look beautiful."

Sakura clenched her jaw at the sight of her father, "thank you," she replied tersely. The bubble popping, the illusion of her happiness disappearing and the reality of the day settled upon her, like a rock that sunk to the bottom a river.

Kizashi's smile faltered, he nodded at her, "the car is ready to take us to the hotel." He turned and walked out the room and down the stairs.

Sakura closed her eyes and took in a deep breath before forcing it out. "Let's go," she said as she marched out of her bedroom for the last time and walked down the stairs into the waiting car.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Itachi wiped the sweat off his brow as he placed down the barbell he was lifting. He tapped his earbuds, stopping the loud music thumping in his ears as he took in a deep breath, letting it fill his lungs before slowly letting it out. He grabbed his bottle and took a large sip, his eyes falling on Shisui, who had entered the room and was standing against the wall, a smirk gracing his lips.

"You know you are getting married in less than two hours," Shisui said as she pushed away from the wall.

Itachi ignored the comment as he lifted the barbell onto his shoulders, tapped his earbuds and let the music fill him as he began to squat to the beat of the song, counting each rep in his mind.

"I made him aware of this already," Kisame said as he walked into his gym, "but he pretended like he did not hear me," the large man smirked, "clearly he wants to look his best for his bride."

Itachi grunted as he completed the last rep and stared at his friends, "do you guys have anything else to do?"

"No," Shisui smiled wide.

"It shows," Itachi placed the barbell on its holder and ran the towel over his face before placing it on his shoulders. He moved his neck side to side, letting some of the tension out that had been building. He took out the earbuds and placed them in their holders and looked at his friends.

"You have been here for over two hours man," Kisame said, "you need to go and get ready."

"I have got time," Itachi replied indifferently.

"Your father will be out looking for you in the next ten minutes," Shisui warned, "he has already been on the phone to me asking for your whereabouts. Unless you want daddy dearest to come and get you, I suggest you go home, shower and make yourself pretty in the next ten minutes."

Itachi clenched his jaw at the news. He wanted to stay and work out, lose himself in his music while he worked out his frustrations. Part of him craved to go against his father's wishes, to do whatever he wanted to, but another part, the part that had been moulded to be the perfect son, knew that he needed to go and get ready. He warred with himself over what he wanted to do against what was expected of him to do. He clenched his hands into tight balls as he made his decision, the only decision that he could make, to follow orders. He reached down and pocketed his earbuds, grabbed his bottle and bag, and made his way out of the gym. Shisui and Kisame following him.

"Where are you guys going?" Itachi asked as he unlocked his car, threw his gym bag in the boot, and got in.

"We are going with you," they said in unison as they got in the car, while Shisui added, "to make sure you make yourself pretty."

"Plus, we are going to be your best men," Kisame added with a large smirk.

"I never asked you to be my best men," Itachi told them. He started the car and drove to his house.

"You didn't have to, we knew you wanted us there to hold your hand," Shisui said as he barked out a laugh.

Itachi parked his car in his driveway and got out, "are you two planning on going to the wedding like that?" Itachi questioned as he eyed them getting out of his car.

"Don't you worry about us pretty boy," Shisui winked as he walked to the front door, "we need to get you looking perfect for your bride."

Itachi's jaw clenched at Shisui's words. He grabbed his keys out of his pocket and opened the front door, and made his way to his room. He grabbed his towel and walked into his bathroom and started his shower running.

He made quick work of washing his hair and body, turned off the shower and wrapped the towel around his waist, while using the other to run it through his wet hair. He placed the towel around his shoulders and walked back into his room, when Shisui walked in with a suit bag in his hands.

"Your father sent this for you," he told Itachi as he set the bag on the bed.

"Of course, he did," Itachi replied bitterly. He walked to his chest of drawers and grabbed a pair of boxers and socks.

"I'll leave you to get pretty, let me know if you need me to style your beautiful long locks," Shisui smirked.

"Get out," Itachi warned.

Shisui laughed heartily as he walked out of the room.

Itachi dried his body, applied his aftershave, and wore his boxers and socks. He walked to his bed and unzipped the bag, finding a charcoal grey suit, paired with a black button-down shirt, red tie with the Uchiha insignia stitched onto it. He made quick work of getting dressed, ran his comb through his hair and tied it back. He put on his watch and walked out into the living room, finding Shisui and Kisame dressed similarly to him. His eyes jumped between the men before landing on Shisui, "I knew I would regret giving you a key to my house."

Shisui feigned a hurt look, "I have not done anything wrong."

"When did you stop by with your suits?" Itachi questioned as he pocketed his keys and phone.

"When you were at the gym," Shisui smiled wide, "there is a car waiting for us outside," he added.

"Let me guess, father dearest doesn't trust me to make my way to the hotel by myself," Itachi said acrimoniously as he, Kisame and Shisui walked out of the house and into the waiting SUV.