Your smile is my world - Naruto Fanfiction
Hello everybody! This is my submission for @sakuramonth! The prompt is Milk and Cookies, so yeah, have a little Mamakura sweetness!
Sakura shivers involuntarily as she enters her home. In contrast to the icy winter and freezing winds outside, her home feels much warmer and safe. A sigh escapes her lips in response to the sudden comfort. Though her ears are intently trained on the pitter patter of tiny feet following her and a large smile overcomes her lips.
The warmth that blooms in her chest at the sound of her voice is even sweeter than the one which makes her light up in Sasuke’s presence.
“Come on in quickly, sweetie. I don’t want you to get a cold again.”
Sometimes, Sakura wonders that despite Sasuke’s absence in the raising of their daughter, she still, at times, resembles him uncannily in both looks and mannerisms. It feels as if she’s with a mini version of Sasuke. But Sakura knows – her daughter is much more than that. Incredibly more. She buries her thoughts in some deep corner of her mind and then proceeds to put the brown grocery bags down and run swiftly to close the door. Even a small encounter with the chilling wind of outside frosts her nose. She turns around again to shrug off her coat and observes her daughter struggling to untie the laces of her boots. A pang of wistfulness reminds her that a few months ago, Sasuke was the one to sit and patiently help their child with her boots. But the child succeeds before Sakura could step up to help her. A smile of childish pride comes over her lips as she looks up at Sakura for acknowledgement. And of course, Sakura beams.
After leaving their cold coats behind, the mother-daughter duo enter the house. Their house is larger than necessary for only two people but they don’t mind. The grocery bag is placed on the counter and Sakura occupies herself with pulling and sorting the contents. Sarada drags a chair over, sits, and is content watching her mother dance around the kitchen for a few minutes. But still, she’s a child and the innate tendency of kids of not wanting to stay still or silent for a long while forces her to send a barrage of questions at her mother, like – ‘What is this?, Why do we use them?, Are they healthy?, Why would we add that in our food?’. And the list is endless. Sakura knows that she’s is supposed to feel a little annoyed because the questions keep coming nonstop and at a ferocious pace, but she can’t bring herself too. Her daughter’s endless queries represent a mirror image of the curiosity she, herself, used to display in her childhood.
“So? When are we making them?!” Sarada’s question is bubbling with unbridled excitement.
“Making what?” Sakura feigns a look of complete innocence at the question.
The child pouts at her and Sakura cannot help but burst out laughing.
“Maybe after you take your nap?” Sakura suggests.
“No!” Sarada stubbornly refuses and Sakura notes how the creases between her eyebrows are so hauntingly similar to her father. But she also does not fail to notice the defiant and determined look in her eyes. She knows she’s seen that particular look on the mirror more times than she can count.
“No! I don’t need naps. I’m a big girl.”
“But Boruto takes one too.”
“Aunty Hinata makes him because he always causes troubles!”
Sakura inwardly smirks. That…may be true. With a small baby and a child who is an unstoppable ball of energy, leaves Hinata with no other choice. Boruto’s constant trouble making behaviour and pranking habits are hard to handle. Sakura never knew how a mild mannered woman like Hinata could actually keep up with a family of such hyperactive blondes. But when she looks at Naruto and sees the look of pure delight in his eyes when his children are all over him and the content smile at the presence of his wife, never fails to make her smile. He is happy and Sakura desires nothing more than it to ever last.
“Alright! We can make cookies now but on one condition.” Sakura offers, bending at waist to peer at her daughter.
“Yes! If you’re going to stay awake now then the bed time will come early.”
Sarada stills and pretends to consider the offer quite seriously. Sakura hides her smile at the look of concentration on her small face before her daughter passes a judgemental nod of yes.
“So which ones?” Sakura asks despite being sure of the answer she was going to receive.
“Choco-chips!” the child exclaims and Sarada laughs out loudly. Choco-chip cookies were Sarada’s absolute favourite. The ‘heaven may fall but I’m not changing my opinion’ type of favourite.
Surprisingly, it had been Kakashi-sensei who had made this discovery on a baby-sitting endeavour, when Sarada was and year and half. He had handed over their daughter to Sasuke with a crinkle in his eyes and a statement of, “She likes chocolate, I think. She ate half of the choco-chip cookies in the packet.”
“Fine! Now list off the ingredients we need. I think I don’t remember.” She tells the small child who looks positively thrilled at the prospect of reminding her mother the recipe of her favourite cookies.
“We need choco-chips!” She supplies with a happy grin.
“Only choco-chips?” Sakura pretends to be confused.
“No Mama! No! We need flour, sugar, and brown sugar too! And butter, lots of butter! Vanilla extract! And yes, eggs?”
“Do you want to eat the cookie dough?” Sakura asked, collecting the required ingredients and placing them on the counter. She remembered this particular request which Sarada had made last time when they had baked.
“Yes! Boruto said that it tasted good!”
“Because raw eggs can make you sick.”
Sarada comments and busies herself with whipping up the butter first. Times passes and before they know it, all ingredients have been added they dough comes together. They scoop the dough into small balls, and place them on the prepared baking tray ready to be put into the pre heating oven. Now, having nothing to do but wait.
Sarada had listened with attention and had observed her mother with great concentration, occasionally chiming in once in a while. Sakura was sure that the next time they want cookies, Sarada would be the one insisting on baking them herself.
She let a large grin to be directed at her daughter and started the music player. And when the tunes of “Bare necessities” from jungle book floated into the kitchen Sarada jumped up in uncontained excitement and delight! So happy and eyes so bright that Sakura could not help but grab the tiny child and dance all around the kitchen. Both mother-daughter duo screaming the last lines of the iconic song at the top of their lungs and then dissolving into a fit of giggles and childish laughter.
A few hours later, the cookies baked with utmost perfection – golden and perfect were a feast, nothing short of a delicacy with warm milk. Sarada’s big smile as she dunked her cookie into the milk made Sakura’s heart throb with joy and contentment.
She has seen a lot of things in her life.
Satisfaction and suffering.
But nothing could ever compare to the smile that Sarada gives her while offering her milk soaked, soggy cookie. It’s worth millions of stars. It’s worth all the obstacles they have crossed and all the adversities they have survived.
Hope you enjoyed it! I live for Mommy-baby love here! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!