[Ah hello everyone! Happy Sasusaku Month 2017! Ah I can not believe it is already this time again! The year has passed so suddenly, right? Ah anyway here is my first entry for SSM17! I am sorry if it is a little messy, I have not made manga pages in a while ^ ^; Please forgive me! I have not had the time to draw much recently, so I am learning again haha! Please understand if it does not look how I use to draw, hopefully I can fully improve over the course of the month! I am not sure if I can do all the prompts- as usual, right? But I will try my best! Please enjoy your SSmonth and look forward to more art! Take care!]
Summary: When Sasuke and Sakura realise who their daughters first love was and in the process find out about eachothers. (Post Gaiden)
“I think Sarada has a crush on Boruto.”
Sasuke has always taken pride in being a careful person, he’s rarely the kind to let things fall from his only hand and even if on the off chance something does, his reflexes are fast enough for him to catch the item before it hits the ground.
But when Sakura walks into their house after a long shift at the hospital to make one of the most ludicrous announcements he’s heard in a while he can’t help but drop the stirring spoon he held in his hands.
“What?”
His voice is silent and deadly. On a normal mission it’s enough to paralyze whoever is on the receiving end in terror but Sakura simply laughs it off, her husband hardly looks threatening in his his homely blue apron which matches the head band that thier daughter had helped him tie to keep the hair out of his face.
“I’m going to kill him.”
“Oh darling I think you’re over reacting.” Sakura states as she wraps her arms around his waist and stands on her tip toes so that she can peer over his shoulders to see what he’s making (it’s Sarada’s favourite sweet dish) “I think it’s cute that he’s her first love.”
Sasuke sighs, his immediate plans of killing a certain blonde haired idiot (No, not that one, his son) subsiding.
It’s easy to give into his wife in moments like these when they are alone. He knows she’s tired, the soft yawn she tries to stiffle as she presses her cheek to his back is a testament to that.
Sasuke doesn’t have the heart to break out of her grip for he knows that at times like these when Sakura is tired, chakra depleted and cold he’s her favourite pillow.
He’d never admit it out loud but he was quite proud of that particular designation.
Plus it’s not like he’d actually be able to wriggle out of her embrace considering her ungodly strength.
Besides the more time he’s given to think, the more painful he can make that moronic brat’s death.
He suppose Sarada would be mad at him for the first couple of days but he was sure she’d get over it after he taught her a new jutsu.
Sakura hums softly as he stands there letting his brief spike of anger simmer down along with syrup he’s stirring to her soft tune. It’s a lullaby she’s humming, one that he’d sung once to her during her pregnancy days when she had trouble sleeping. It’s the same one Itachi used to sing when he was a child and it’s calming effect still holds true after all these years.
“Darling.” Sakura starts,“Who was your first love?”
Sasuke blinks, all his creative plans to kill Boruto brought to a abrupt stop by her sudden query.
“What do you mean?” Sasuke’s voice is harsher than he means it to be and while he tries to convince it’s because something is stuck in his throat he is well aware that it’s just an excuse to cover up the fact that he’s the slightest bit hurt that even after all these years the answer is still a mystery to Sakura.
“Oh!” She says jerking away from him, her hands falling away as she steps back. Wide veridian eyes stare back at him as he turns around to face her, irritated that she let go.
For a moment she stands there still before she starts stuttering out,“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t realise. I didn’t mean to pry- I was just curious and-”
“Sakura.” He interrupts,“What are you talking about?”
She blinks,“Your first love, she was an Uchiha wasn’t she? I’m sorry I didn’t mean-”
“What gave you that idea?”
She blinks up at him. Even after all these years there are some insecurities she can’t shake off. It this habit of hers that bothers him the most, maybe because every time she displays her unsurity about their relationship Sasuke is overcome with a tidal wave of self loathing for he knows that all her insecurities stem from the fact that he’d treated her like crap through out the course of their childhood.
“I just thought-” she sighs breaking off,“Never mind.
“Tch. Annoying.”
She lowers her head,“You’re right that was a stupid.”
He lets his lips curve into a small smile, amused by her reaction. For some reason he never gets tired seeing her like this; embarrassed and shy.
It’s one of the more contrasting things about his wife because while she’s one of the strongest people he knows, nothing less than deadly in battle, she’s also one of the kindest. As a kid he never believed one could be both, strong and kind but in the past fifteen years of their marriage Sakura has spent everyday of it proving him wrong.
While she’s kind to everyone she meets, this side of her, the one where she’s shy and unsure is reserved only for Sasuke and he isn’t ashamed to admit that, that’s just how he likes it.
And that’s why he loves teasing her at times like these because he’s the only one who can and get away with it.
“Who was your first love?“ He asks nonchalantly.
Sakura looks up at him incredulously.
“What?” She asks,“ Is this a joke?”
Sasuke simply shrugs as he turns away from her to add the finishing touches to his dish.
Her eyes are defiant as she pokes her head into his line of sight,“I’ve loved you since we were five years old I’ll have you know. It might have been a superficial crush at first but I’ve only ever liked you.”
“Only me?” Sasuke says as he pours the contents into a bowl,“That’s hard to believe.”
Her eyes narrow,“If not you, then who? It’s only ever been you.”
“Not even Lee when he saved you during the Chunnin exams?”
“No.” She replies,“And if you recall I hugged you then and not him.”
“Not even Naruto when you kissed him?”
“That was CPR by the way.” She counters,“And you kissed him too. Twice.”
“Kakashi?”
“Are you kidding me?” She started,“That’s ridiculous.”
“Sai?”
“Where are these names even coming from?” She huffs,“ This is-”
Before she can finish, Sasuke quickly bends down and brushes his lips against hers shocking her into silence. It’s an awfully short kiss and when Sasuke pulls back he smiles as he looks down at his wife’s closed eyes and puckered lips.
“For the record you were the first and only person I’ve ever loved.” Sasuke states.
Her eyes flutter open and she stares at him confused for a moment before her mouth forms an ‘oh’. Then her questions begin,“Really? How? When? I thoug-”
“Sakura.” He cuts her off giving her a look.
“Right. I’ll shut up.”
“Good, then it’s easier to do this.” He leans down and kisses her again.The tips of his fingers graze against her skin as he cups her cheeks and lifts her face towards him his lips moving against hers effortlessly.
While Sasuke is a reserved man, there is absolutely nothing reserved about his kisses.
Sakura still remembers the first time Sasuke had kissed her she’d felt all her unsurity about their relationship melt away. While his kisses are commanding, they’re all consuming and absolutely and completely honest. He leaves no room for her to doubt his feelings for her because the way he kisses her always makes her feel like he’s laying his soul bare for her to see. Only her to see.
Because in the end for both Sasuke and Sakura it had only ever been each other since the very begining.
Sakura is about to wrap her arms around his neck and pull him closer to deepen their kiss but Sasuke abruptly breaks away once again leaving her hanging.
Sakura pouts as Sasuke starts walking towards the living room. She can’t see the smirk on his face but she knows that he’s thoroughly enjoying messing with her.
“You don’t play fair.” She grumbles as she follows Sasuke.
He sits on the couch and gently pats his lap. Sakura happily bounds towards him, her complains forgotten and takes her place on the couch by lying across it with her head resting on his lap.
They stay like that for a while as Sasuke reads a scroll regarding the latest details of his mission and Sakura stares up at him carefully memorizing all the details of his face for she knows that when he’s gone it’s these moments she’ll cherish the most.
“You know we both married each other’s first love.” Sakura comments offhandedly,“Do you think Sarada will do the same?”
“The brat won’t live long enough.”
Sakura snorts,“You’re not going to kill him, Naruto will never let you hear the end of it if you do.”
“I can handle the dobe.”
“You’ve been trying to get rid of him for eighteen years now, how’s that working out for you?”
“Tch.”
“If you actually consider it, it’s kind of cute really.” Sakura continues,“Naruto and Hinata’s son with our daughter. Plus Sarada is really open about her feelings too. I thought she’d be like you and be in denial about it for at least five years.”
“I was not in denial about it.”
“If I was your first love that means you must have loved me since we were genin, right?” Sakura prompts,“And you were pretty much an ice cube those days.”
“I wasn’t in denial, I just didn’t show it.”
“So you were in love with me since we were genin.”
“Sakura.”
“Okay fine, I’ll drop it.” Sakura relents,“So anyway today I heard her and Choucho talking about Boruto and that’s how I gussed. They were fawning over how his blonde hair catches the sun rays perfectly and-”
Change of plans, Sasuke was going to first torture the brat and then kill him.
“- just how mature and responsible he is-”
When did he brat become mature and responsible? Just the other day he remembered his daughter complaining how childish and careless the dobe’s son was.
“- how his blue eyes pop perfectly against his white clothes and-”
Sakura stopped abruptly when she saw the look on Sasuke’s face.
“What’s wrong?“she asks lifting herself up from his lap and turning around to face him properly.
“The brat kid only wears black.” Sasuke deadpans,“His training clothes are black and pink.”
“Then…..” Sakura trails off as realisation dawns on her.
For a moment they stare at each other, green against mismatched black and purple.
The next second Sakura is up and Sasuke is right behind her, heading for the door.
“I’m going to kill the dobe.” He mutters poisonously as he opens the door.
Sakura brushes past him,“Not if I get to him first.”
All the way across town in the Hokage’s office, Naruto sneezed.
______
I’ll be honest I really want to see Sasuke appear in the Hokage’s office with his apron and matching headband and beat the hell out of Naruto with his stirring spoon.
Title: we’ll be alright this time
Summary: This is how Sasuke Uchiha falls in love.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Naruto.
Prompt: First Love
Rating: K
A/N: It’s ssmonth guys sobs. I’m a lil late but it’s ok.
It starts in the hospital, the first week into his return. Sasuke is bedridden, confined to a too-white room, still bruised in blacks and blues—but the worst of his wounds have healed for the most part, courtesy of Sakura’s gentle healing hands.
Sakura.
She’s here a lot, he realizes, as each day passes by; not just with him, but in the halls of the hospital and the adjacent rooms, too, treating tired shinobi wounded in war and still-frightened civilians trying to recover from it all. The smile to her lips never ceasing, she doesn’t seem to miss out on any pressing matter, doesn’t actually seem to leave these walls at all—and if Sasuke didn’t so often catch her dozing in the armchair at his bedside, he might even think she never sleeps, either.
And yet, despite her busy schedule, Sakura always finds the time to offer him a visit every day.
Something in him softens at the thought.
“You’re healing very well, Sasuke-kun,” she says to him, one day, as time dictates it necessary to have his bandages changed yet again. “I’m actually pretty surprised. Are you sure you don’t have a hidden tailed beast somewhere inside you helping to patch you up?”
The query is a teasing one—something that Sasuke has yet to grow used to, when it comes to Sakura. She’d always been so shy when it came to him, Sasuke remembers from their years before, so sweet and pure, and eager to impress him; whatever brashness she held inside had only ever been expressed with anger towards their blond best friend whenever he did something she didn’t like—which was often. But the woman that stands here before him now is different, despite in some ways still being the same; kind, and bright, she smiles and jibes playful remarks, seemingly unafraid to make a fool of herself… or, perhaps, driven with a confidence that she can make him smile, too.
Sasuke honestly doesn’t know what to say about that.
(she would probably find it charming, he thinks, if she were to find out that her newfound confidence renders him clueless, unsure—unbalanced by this new dynamic that he, in truth, doesn’t quite find all that surprising.)
Thankfully, Sakura doesn’t look as though she expected him to answer at all, and she merely smiles wider, eyes crinkling with a happiness that he still feels startled to see every time. Even now, all Sasuke can think about when Sakura looks at him are all the years of hurt he forced upon her; all the cold and careless words she had to hear… all the times he chose to break her heart for the sake of his selfish goals.
He still doesn’t understand how she can be here at his side, right now, smiling so sweetly at him and with such earnest affection, loving him anyway.
“Any phantom pain today, Sasuke-kun?” she asks, then, her features sobering a little as she turns her attention to the stump of his arm and begins unwrapping the old bindings, eyes taking their medically critical edge. She doesn’t seem unpleased by the state of his arm, at least, when she finally frees it from its confines. Sasuke takes it as a good sign.
“Some," he admits, watching as she wordlessly reaches to lightly palpate the skin. He only barely manages not to hiss when she presses on a particularly sore spot, sending him flinching.
Sakura’s gaze flies up to him, apologetic. “Sorry. Is that still tender?”
He nods stiffly, and looks away.
A warm buzzing energy begins to flow through the stub of him, then, chasing away the ache, and Sasuke feels the tension in him slack, taken with the urge to sigh. It never fails to surprise him how soothing her chakra is—how much it always seems to do more than just chase the ache of his wounds.
“There,” she says, when she deems her work satisfactory and begins wrapping up his arm with new dressings. He doesn’t need to look at her to know she’s smiling. “Better?”
He only nods again, and murmurs his thanks.
“Good! Let me know if it ever comes back again and becomes too bothersome, okay?” Leaning back straight, she reaches for the medical pad at his bedside and notes a few things down, before looking up to him once again. “And keep an eye on that swelling, too. It’s normal that it hasn’t completely gone down yet by now, but if it doesn’t get better in the next few days, it would probably be safe to run some tests.”
He gives a third, wordless nod, watches her smile, and keeps his silence as she bids him goodbye and finally turns to leave him by his lonesome once more.
A few long moments pass, where Sasuke remains still, and the sounds of the clock and tapping footsteps are the only things he hears. After a time, he eventually turns, and touches his newly bandaged stump, mismatched eyes softening at the memory of her warm chakra.
Despite everything that’s changed, Sasuke thinks, mouth lifting lightly at a corner, Sakura still makes him feel much the same.
(if not more, even, now that his heart has opened its doors.)
.
.
Three weeks go by, and Sakura continues to visit him every day, sometimes only to change his bandages and question him on his recovery, but other times just to chat; and he doesn’t mind to hear her talk, Sasuke finds, as more time passes by. She’s a mature girl now—woman, he instantly corrects—and somehow even sweeter than she was in his memories, every trace of the at times bratty little teenager he knew now gone—filled instead with stories and accomplishments he’d honestly never thought he’d get to hear from.
(darkness was a lonely path, after all.)
Sakura’s made a life for herself that she is proud of, that she worked hard for, that she strives in, and as she sits at his bedside and takes the time to share it with him, Sasuke realizes that it wouldn’t bother him should he have to listen to her talk all day.
It feels good, somehow, to know that the lives of his ex-teammates hadn’t halted the moment he’d decided to step out of them. It feels good to know they’d learned to laugh without him.
(It feels good to know that though they could have moved on, they loved him enough not to give up on him.)
.
.
A week later, the hospital discharges him, but the two of them somehow manage to find each other again.
“Sasuke-kun? Oh, hey!” he hears, prompting him to straighten and turn away from the street vendor’s stand, blinking away his slight surprise. He didn’t expect to find her here at this time.
“Sakura,” he acknowledges, inclining his head.
The grin to her lips doesn’t fade in the slightest as she takes the last few hurried steps to join him, and Sasuke also doesn’t miss the flush of her cheeks, either, evidently too happy to see him. It’s a sight he’s grown used to, in these past few weeks, though still at times leaves him bemused, struck by her ease of forgiveness.
(something he could use to learn from her and Naruto, he muses.)
“Are you here to pick up some groceries, too?” she asks, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.
He shakes his head. “Just dinner,” he corrects. “The council still hasn’t gotten around to organizing what I’m owed from the rest of the Uchiha funds, yet. No use in spending money on much food if I don’t have a place of my own.”
Her eyes widen to this, and her mouth drops a little, evidently completely taken off guard. Sasuke simply shrugs in response to her transparently growing worry, and says, “It’s not as bad as it sounds.”
A frown crosses her lips. “That’s still no way to treat you... they should have made arrangements to accommodate you at least. Where have you been living since you’ve been released from the hospital?”
“Hotels and inns, mostly.” He shrugs again. “Sometimes Naruto’s couch, if I don’t feel like spending money, and his place isn’t a complete hovel.”
“Do you have any idea when they’ll reach a decision?”
“The end of this week, they said.”
Her frown deepens for a moment, seemingly mulling over something. And then, Sakura shakes her head and sighs, looking up to him with a smile, once more. “Well, I guess there’s not much we can do to make this go quicker—but I’m not going to let you waste your money on take-out!” Snatching her hand out to his single wrist, she giggles and gives him a gentle, insistent tug, calling out, “Come on! I’ll let you help me make dinner! I’ll call Kakashi and Naruto over, too—and maybe even Sai! We’ll have fun!”
And as she starts down the road, presumably towards her home, Sasuke merely sets his gaze at the back of her head and mutely follows along; feeling slightly amused, but most of all, rushing with that quiet warmth he still can’t properly put a word on.
It is frighteningly easy, he thinks, to let himself be cared for.
.
.
They share dinner at least once a week after that, with or without the other half of their once broken team, and Sasuke finds that he quietly looks forward to every one, craving for the stirrings of these emotions he can’t describe that seem to fill him every time. Whether the four of them, or the two instead, the meal and talk shared on these nights never fail to bring lightness to his heart, and affection to his soul; the feeling of being loved and wholly treasured becoming things Sasuke quickly realizes he still craved for, from the bottom of his heart.
(as he had, once upon a time.)
These dinners become his saving grace, in the times his past catches up to him too fast, trapping him in a world of pain and ghosts he still doesn’t know how to properly chase away on his own. Naruto never tries to badger him, and Kakashi never prods, and Sakura—
Sakura goes out of her way to prepare something she knows he likes, urging the other two to help while she leaves him be to busy his mind with whatever other little tasks left to do.
(sometimes, she even chances a touch to his shoulder, his arm, his back—and it surprises him every time, how much the sensation seems to linger long after her touch has gone, how soft and comforting it all feels; how much he always seems to yearn for it to happen again.)
It takes a few months for him to fully catch on that he likes these nights alone with Sakura a little better.
Sasuke doesn’t know what to make of that, but he begins to understand that his relationship with Sakura has rooted somewhere it never has with anyone else.
.
.
Luck allows their paths to cross once again, one too-early morning after that, but Sakura is astonishingly not the one who initiates their meeting, this time.
“Sakura,” he says, his mind taking a slight, unexpected tumble at the sight of her. It takes a few seconds to recollect his thoughts, and he blinks. “You’re up early.”
In truth, he doesn’t really know if her being awake right now actually means she’s earlier than the usual, but since the past few months Sasuke has returned, he has never known Sakura to be up and about in these ungodly hours.
“Up?” she asks him, a tired grin slipping to her lips. She laughs a delightful little breathless sound that makes his heart stutter. “Sasuke-kun, I’ve been awake for the past thirty-three hours,” she tells him, stretching her limbs out over her head. “I just got off my shift at the hospital, so now I’m going home and in my warm, comfy bed.”
She yawns to this, and her tired grin becomes a little more crooked, evidently affected by her lack of energy. And despite the fact that she is a ninja, that this exhaustion is in a likelihood something of the norm with her busy schedule, that she has evidently managed to handle her own for years—Sasuke cannot help but to wonder to himself if she has enough energy to get herself home safe on her own.
The thought alone is what pushes him to forgo his early morning training, if only just for now, feet shifting until he faces the direction he’s just come from. Her mouth parts with immediate comprehension, and he tilts his head indicatively in return.
“I’ll walk you,” he says, and feels something like satisfaction bubbling in his chest as her cheeks bloom with delight.
.
.
He begins to consider that maybe he has feelings for Sakura on the evening she falls asleep on her couch a mere hour after she’s invited him in for tea.
Sasuke stares at her curled up form in thoughtful silence, lets his gaze run over the peaceful slumbering features of her face, and feels himself succumb to a slow wave of pure, earnest affection—one that has his throat closing up. Pushing himself to his feet, he moves and reaches for the blanket strewn about at her side, slipping it over her small form. The sigh she lets out then incites his gaze to soften and his hand to linger, shifting to ever so slightly touch her cheek as she burrows deeper into the couch.
Letting out a quiet sigh of his own, Sasuke muses that though he may have feelings for her, he can’t take care of her as he is like this. He can’t give her what she wants when he has not found atonement for his sins.
Perhaps leaving the village won’t be any easier this time around either, he acquiesces.
.
.
The look on her face when he is forced to deny her request makes his chest tighten. He doesn’t want her to be disappointed, doesn’t want her to think that it has anything to do with what he thinks of her, so he reaches out and hopes to reassure her in the only way he can think of: by tapping two fingers to her forehead, in the same way his too-loved brother once used to do to him, and offering a smile.
The gesture holds a promise that he intends to keep; the promise to come back to her when he finally feels ready.
.
.
Though she is no longer at his side, Sakura continues to be with him throughout the roads and the cities and the nature he encounters in the form of cherry blossom trees, of sweet tasting apples, of ripe-red strawberries, and medical buildings.
It is a strange, but welcome comfort, Sasuke finds.
.
.
The whole of him rushes with tender warmth with every letter she sends, curling the slightest smile to his lips.
Though he never knows what to reply, he hopes Sakura understands the appreciation (and affection) he harbors for her, anyway.
.
.
The moment Sasuke realizes he is in love, he is sitting at quiet tea venue in a hidden little village, watching the world rouse with life in the streets that surround him; a young family comes to view, all smiles and laughs and radiating of exciting news, gushing at a small bundle in the woman’s arms. A family heading home with a new addition to their household, Sasuke realizes, eyes soft as he wordlessly takes a sip of his favored matcha tea. He stares as he sees the newly-proud-again father pulling his wife close, pressing his lips to her temple sweetly, free hand reaching out to gently stroke his newborn child’s face; stares as the woman turns her head and beams widely at her husband, whispering something tender and sweet.
Images of this moment flash to mind, but with different faces, and different streets: it’s him kissing Sakura’s temple in Konoha’s streets, this time, and her that looks up to him with the most loving, shining smile, while a young dark haired child begs to hold its new sibling. It’s a dream, it’s a hope, it’s a future that he realizes now that he truly desires—and with no one but her.
He knows, in that moment, what word to use to call this warmth that rushes over him, this feeling that makes his heart skip and stutter and race, this sensation that leaves him light and buzzing.
Sakura Haruno is his first love, and, he thinks (knows), also his last.
A/N: Lol woops sorry this is a day late, but I definitely wanted to participate in at least a few prompts for SS month! Hopefully you guys like it!
Sasuke clearly remembers the day Sakura told him she was pregnant.
They had been traveling together through a small, unmemorable town in Land of Wind. They’d walked through the shopping areas, picking up necessities and replacing their worn down items. Sometimes they’d take care of their errands together, other times they’d just separate naturally, always managing to find one another once they’d completed their tasks. On this particular day, Sasuke had seen Sakura walk into a seamstress shop, emerging with nothing about a half hour later. He’d thought that a bit strange at the time, but didn’t deem it worth asking about. Once she’d successfully located him, they’d left together.
They’d then spent a week in Wind making their way through the desert, as they’d had some business to take care of in Suna. Their last night in the desert together, they’d been sitting near the fire that Sasuke had built, deciding to take a quick break to eat before making it to the hidden village by morning.
“Sasuke-kun, is it okay if I have some clothes tailored while we’re in Suna?”
They had only recently married in the past few months, so Sakura continued to ask his approval, though she knew she didn’t need it. They both had reasonable desires, which meant that were no outlandish requests either of them had to say no to.
“Sure, if you happen to find the time to,” was his response.
“Well actually,” she started, “I was hoping you’d come with me.” She smiled at him sweetly, her eyes telling him she wanted him to say yes.
This was definitely strange. He raises his eyebrow slightly, encouraging her to explain.
Sakura rummages through her pack before pulling out a cloth uchiwa fan, the type she’d taken to having sewn into the back of her tops since they’d been married. This one, though, was exceptionally small. It looked more like one that belonged on the sleeve, or maybe in front of the breast.
“Are you trying something new?” Why was she being so elaborate about having some tailoring done?
She smiles, looking away from him sheepishly. “Well, yes, definitely something new.”
“I see. Well, the sleeve or chest isn’t the most popular placement for them, but if that’s what you’d like.” He shrugs his shoulders, figuring that it was a strange conversation but one that’d ended, his gaze moving back to the fire in front of them.
“No. This one’ll be on the back too.”
He looked back at her, thoroughly perplexed now. Such a small piece of cloth for her size, unless…
“That…looks like it’s made for an exceptionally small piece of clothing.”
She was having trouble stifling her giggle. “You would be correct about that.”
He only stares at her, waiting for her to confirm his thoughts.
Her face beams as she places the small piece of cloth in his lone hand, closing hers over it.
“Someday soon, there’ll be an exceptionally small Uchiha to bear this crest on his/her back.”
His eyes had widened a fraction, and he can still remember the way his throat felt like it’d been closing as he pulled her to him. Her excited laugh still rings through his ears, the way her green eyes shined even in the darkness, ever so captivating.
Unknowingly, his lips had curled into a smile. A genuine, wholehearted smile; one that he’d felt from the depths within his blockaded heart, underneath the ash that blanketed his listless soul.
She had brought a light into his life when she showed him forgiveness and patience. She had kindled a fire in his stomach when she admitted her love for him - his own version of butterflies. She had filled his chest with pride when he first witnessed her proud display of his family’s crest on her back. And now? She would help fill the emptiness left behind from his childhood tragedy, with a child of his own. He had always expressed his gratitude to her in words, but that didn’t feel like enough for an occasion such as this.
He had grasped her chin and kissed her fiercely, full on the lips, hoping that she would understand his message. Though he was never a man for forward gestures that were fueled by emotion, he also hadn’t felt this excited for anything in a long time. And he loved her, God he loved her for bringing this new sense of…wholeness into his life.
She had pulled back from their kiss, red-faced and giddy as they sat there together for a few moments longer, savoring the moment that brought them closer than they’d ever been.
-
A few months later, they had decided that they wanted to know the gender of the child. It didn’t matter to either of them what they had, so long as the child was healthy and strong, but their excitement left them curious.
She had smiled at him warmly when the ultrasound tech had placed the transducer on her growing belly, moving it around to find the best position for a clear picture. Sakura had figured it out before the tech said anything.
He still remembers the gentle look on her face when she’d murmured, “a girl…”
They had both forgotten the tech at that moment, when he’d asked for confirmation. “A girl?”
She had nodded at him, her gentle features taking on a look of pure joy. Sasuke had smirked to himself, unable to hide his pride and excitement. He wasn’t one for displays of affection in front of others, but he placed a firm kiss on her forehead when she confirmed they’d be having a girl.
He remembers that on the next day, Sakura had told him she wanted to go shopping for some baby clothes now that they knew the gender. Normally, he wouldn’t accompany her on such trips, but he’d felt the desire to on this particular occasion.
He’d looked, and felt, out of place in a shop that was decorated in pastels, soft stuffed animals adorning the walls, and sweet faces of baby models in every direction he turned.
As Sakura perused the racks full of tiny dresses and outfits, Sasuke decided it might be best to wait outside. Just as he opened his mouth to let her know, a young clerk walked up to the two of them, asking if they’d needed any assistance. Sakura politely declined, even though the shop was mostly empty, save for the two of them and another woman.
“So, are you having a girl? I’m assuming that’s why you’re in this section.” She was a young girl, no older than maybe fifteen. She had smiled at the two of them, waiting for one of them to confirm her thoughts.
Though Sasuke’s face remained neutral, Sakura was feeling a bit playful.
“What makes you think I’m pregnant? I’m perfectly in shape!” She feigned indignity at the supposed insult.
“Oh, no! I wasn’t- I didn’t- I just- since you were shopping- you know, most couples…” she trailed off, red-faced, embarrassed for having unintentionally insulted her customer.
Sakura began to laugh, unable to keep the joke going. The corners of Sasuke’s mouth had lifted slightly at his wife’s antics. He almost rolled his eyes at the reaction of the young girl. No one knew who they were in this town, otherwise her reaction would be much more different for having possibly insulted one of the strongest women in the world.
Sakura smiled softly at the young girl, her fit of laughter having subsided. She placed a hand on her swelling stomach and confirmed the clerk’s thoughts. “We are having a girl.”
The signs of relief on the girl’s face were visible.
“Well, you know what they say about girls and their fathers,” the young clerk had stated, her gaze flickering over to Sasuke. He hadn’t said a word during their entire exchange, so she decided to address him herself.
Sasuke only gave her a bored expression, ready to take his leave.
“Every girl’s first love is her father!” She then told the two of them to let her know if they had any questions and went to check on other customers.
Sakura was a bit surprised at the odd comment, but looked at him and shrugged it off. He told her then that he’d wait outside while she shopped, and left the store feeling a bit shaken.
Her first love, huh?
-
He thought he’d understood the implications of that when he’d heard it from the clerk. Of course, their family would never be normal, as shinobi families never were. But still, was he equipped to raise a little girl? Was he worthy of being her role model? Did he have the emotional capacity to bring up a child, let alone a sweet young girl?
Sakura had always reassured him, telling him that no matter what, they’d figure it out together. And he was thankful for that. Though doubts clouded his emotions from time to time throughout Sakura’s pregnancy, she somehow always knew what to say to bring him confidence in his impending fatherhood.
All of these memories flood him now as he looks down at the beautiful bundle that’s been passed into his arm. His perfect baby girl looked up at him and began to cry, and he was sure that he’d never heard a sound so sweet. A tear slipped down his own cheek as he fell into a natural rhythm of rocking her for comfort. Sakura’s eyes filled with tears as she watched the two of them, her whole world right in front of her: her family. Together they’d created a beautiful, small, perfect family. Sasuke leans over to kiss Sakura’s hair, her exhaustion from the birth still noticeable by the sweat covering her brow and her uneven breathing. He’d never be able to thank her properly for all that she has given to him. She had helped him rebuild his life, and his family. She was the love of his life, and she had now shown him a love even greater than that. The tiny baby girl in his arms was only proof of that.
As his daughter’s cries begin to subside, Sasuke understands that the bond between him and his wife has only been strengthened, but he decides that there is no first love greater than the one between a parent and child.
