A/N: Thank you for your response! Well, here we are with the last chapter for this story. I personally really enjoyed writing this one, so I hope you all enjoy reading it too! :3

He looked back.

On his bedside table, lay an unmistakable book. The wind had forced it open. He stared at it. Then, sat up. He extended his hand, pulling it towards him.

The idea hit him like a ton of bricks. Sasuke was stunned. Stunned by his own stupidity. For a minute or two, he could do nothing but stare at the book in his hands. The memory of Sakura lying in his lap with this very book came flooding back. And then, more memories followed.

'I... I love you with all my heart! If you were to stay with me... there would be no regrets. Because every day, we'd so something fun. We'd be happy, I swear!'

He had never been perfect. But Sakura had loved him anyway.

'But I love you! No matter what has happened, I still care for you more than I can bear… if I could have taken all your pain... onto myself to comfort you, I would have...'

She had loved him even without the romantic dinners, fireworks and fancy theatrical performances. She had loved him at his worst.

'This girl here... who you've been more than ready to kill… even now, she's crying tears filled with thoughts of you... because she loves you so much, it's breaking her heart!'

And she had loved him throughout.

'All Sakura wanted just now was to be yours! She only wanted to save you!'

Sakura didn't need a perfect man, a perfect proposal. She just needed… him.

'Please stay with me. I'll even help you with your revenge. I don't know what I could do but I'll try my best to do something. So please, stay with me... or take me with you, if you can't stay here...'

He was enough for her. He always had been.

He flipped through the pages, searching for a bit he was sure he had read here before.

He stopped. And smiled. 'Orange blossom.'

After memorizing the content of the page, he slipped out of bed and put on a shirt.

Yamanaka Hana would surely have a flower as common as that, he mused. But another thought struck him. He turned to look at the clock.

He groaned. It was already past three in the morning. Sasuke knew there was no way anything would be open at this hour. But he also knew there was no way he would be able to wait.

He went out, deciding that he'd find the flower the old fashioned way.

Orange blossoms, as obvious as it seemed, grew on orange trees. Now, where in Konoha could he find orange trees? He closed his eyes, searching his brain for any relevant information it might have stored.

Sasuke quietly sat in the Third Training Ground, meditating.

Thump. Something firm hit his head and he opened his eyes to find Naruto sniggering at him.

He looked down to see a small, orange sphere lying on the ground before him.

'What do you think you're doing?' Sasuke muttered, glaring at Naruto.

'FRUIT FIGHT!' Naruto yelled, before hurling another orange at Sasuke.

Sasuke opened his eyes. He smirked, before dashing off towards the ever so familiar training ground.

.-.-.

Sakura could not sleep. She had spent the last five hours tossing and turning and she just couldn't take any more of it. She jumped out of bed, heading towards the kitchen.

This was all Sasuke's fault. She scowled. She couldn't believe he had just walked out on her like that. Yes, she knew Kakashi's prank had made him angry. It had made her angry too. But did his anger matter more to him than she did? And then he leaves Naruto and Sai to take her home?

'Very nice, Sasuke-kun,' she mumbled. 'Very nice.'

She sighed as she walked into the kitchen and turned on the lights.

Sasuke had been acting unbelievably paradoxical lately. It was beginning to disturb her. What had gotten into him? What was he trying to do? Was he okay? Was something bothering him?

She wished he would just be open with her at this point. What was he scared of? Didn't he know that she would always be there for him? That she would love him no matter what?

She dragged herself towards the freezer and opened it.

.-.-.

It was dark. Too dark. Too dark for anyone who was not a botanist to identify which of these endless trees were orange trees and then, which of the orange trees actually had mature orange blossoms on them.

Now, Sasuke was no botanist, but he was an Uchiha. He blinked, swapping his onyx irises for ruby and lilac ones. The details of his surroundings instantly became clearer.

He jumped up a particular tree, examining one of its branches carefully. He smirked as his fingers felt something smooth around the fruit. He gently plucked one of the flowers and landed back on the ground.

Now, he just had to go see Sakura.

'It's too late,' his voice of reason said. 'You should wait a little longer.'

'Not happening,' Sasuke exhaled before zooming towards Sakura's house.

And as far as he knew, she'd probably be awake too.

.-.-.

Sakura dug her spoon into the ice-cream tub sitting before her on the kitchen table. She had already eaten halfway through it. She stuck the spoon back in her mouth, relishing the mix of strawberry and vanilla on her taste buds.

A sudden knock on the main door startled her. She looked up at the clock on the wall to her right. It was nearly half past four. She jumped out of her seat, seriously alarmed by the idea that someone had actually decided to visit her at such an ungodly hour.

As she hesitantly walked up to the door, hundreds of thoughts filled her head. Had there been some sort of emergency? Did someone need her help? She gasped. What if someone had come to rob her? Well, not like she couldn't take care of it, if they had.

'W-Who is it?' she questioned as he she placed her hand on the handle.

'Sasuke,' an all too familiar voice replied.

Sakura sighed of relief. It was just Sasuke. But wait, why was he here at this time? Had he come to apologize?

'He could've just done it in the morning,' she thought.

She pulled open the door and saw Sasuke standing at an arm's length. Their eyes met.

He extended his arm and unclenched his fist to reveal a small, white flower resting on his palm.

She recognized it. It was an 'orange blossom'. She had seen it in his book just the other day. She strained her memory, trying to remember what the flower represented. And then it came to her. This flower symbolized… marriage.

She looked up at him, eyes watery, mouth agape.

'Marry me,' he said.

Her breath hitched in her throat.

'I'm sorry nothing has gone right in the past few days,' he continued. 'I'm sorry I just... left you like that last night. I couldn't face you.'

Her heart started hammering against her chest.

'I'm sorry this... this took so long.'

Her anger, her hurt, her confusion, her sanity, all began to slip away.

'I'm... flawed. I haven't even managed to say... 'I love you'. But you... you've always accepted me. You... make me better.'

She could hear the blood rushing through her veins.

'I want you to be mine,' he declared.

Her heart skipped a beat.

'Forever. But even more than that, I... want to be yours. I want to be Sakura's... everything.'

A whimper finally escaped her lips.

'Marry me.'

And her tears fell.

.-.-.

She was crying. He had never seen her… so overwhelmed. Not when he had left, not when he had returned. This Sakura… was different. This Sakura… wasn't broken. This Sakura… was complete. And she was beautiful. More beautiful than she had ever been.

He pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her, stroking her hair soothingly.

'I've always wanted to say this to you,' he began as he felt his chest get wet. 'There have been so many times when I told myself to just say it, but I couldn't.'

She stifled a sob and he felt her breathe more evenly now.

'I've always wanted to say... 'Sakura, don't cry. I'm not worth those tears.' But even then, Sakura... say yes,' he finished.

Sakura exhaled, before pulling back and smiling breathtakingly at him. She wiped away her tears.

'Ye…,' she inhaled sharply. 'Yes.'

Sasuke felt fireworks explode deep inside his gut and the fragments rise all the way up to his chest.

And then, it happened.

She stood on her toes and pressed her lips against his, grabbing onto his shoulders for support.

He felt a sudden jolt of electricity blast right through him. He couldn't move. Could barely even return it. His body was as hot as fire, his mind as cold as ice. He was completely, indisputably numb.

As Sakura released him and he regained some of his mental ability, he thought it was insane. Insane how something as slight and quick as that could have had such a massive effect on him. It had paralyzed him.

He panted as he lowered his forehead to rest against hers.

And as the first few rays of sunlight broke through the night sky, for Sasuke and Sakura, it signified much more than the beginning of a new day. It signified… the beginning of their new life. Together.

'I will love you forever, Sasuke-kun,' Sakura whispered.

And Sasuke felt a slight pang in his chest as the familiarity of the situation and her words seeped into him. His eyes stung. He closed them and briefly touched her lips with his again.

'Thank you,' he murmured.

A/N: And tada! This chapter not only wraps up this story, but also the whole trilogy. And I figured what began with some Itachi symbolism should also end with some Itachi symbolism. :3 I had initially planned to add one extra post-marriage chapter to this story but I've decided to put that on hold for now and maybe I'll upload it as a separate one-shot later, simply because it can easily be read without having to read any of these chapters. :) I might also write a one-shot set after Naruto and Sasuke's final battle but before his departure in 699. I can't say when these two works will be put up though, but if you have any requests for them, feel free to let me know!

Thank you for reading this story! I would love to read your thoughts on this chapter, this story and this series as a whole so, if you can, please leave me some feedback! :')