Title: Found
Writer: @kairi-chan, Artist: me, laine-o :)
Rating: G
Genre: Family
Summary: fluff, Sarada finds a cat on the side of the road and Sasuke can not say no to his cute little peanut.
Artist’s note: This is a collab between me and the wonderfully talented @kairi-chan for SasuSakuSara Weekend 2020 Day 1: Early Years/Slice of Life. I hope you all enjoy and give the author’s works a read as well which can be found on her Tumblr and she is iBloo on ffnet and ao3! :) (Thank you so much for the writing this short fic/drabble for this collaboration Kairi!!!)
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The late afternoon breeze blew gently, ruffling the leaves on the trees and pushing the clouds across the sky lazily. Azure skies were slowly dimming, welcoming the pink and orange to come.
“Papa…” The toddler’s steps faltered.
He looked down at his daughter. “Hn?”
“Look…there’s a kitty.” Her small hand closed around his finger a little tighter and she stopped in her tracks. Her dark eyes were wide, chubby cheeks rosy.
Sasuke turned back and saw a black kitten by the side of the road, meowing. His daughter turned to look at him. “Can I touch it?”
How could he say no when she was looking at him that way?
“I promise. I’ll just pat it.”
“Okay.” Sasuke still held on to her hand, walking over to the side of the road and approaching the kitten. It shrank back for a moment but continued to meow at them.
Sarada let go of his hand and crouched down slowly, looking at the kitten.
The meowing settled a bit, and the little girl extended her hand towards the kitten. The meowing ceased just as her hand touched its little head. Instead, the kitty started purring, rubbing its head on Sarada’s hand.
“Ooh…” Her eyes widened further, cheeks flushing darker. She turned her gaze over to Sasuke. “Papa…”
She didn’t even need to continue talking for him to know what she would ask of him. Sasuke swallowed. The cat looked abandoned, with no collar around its neck. Certainly young enough to have survived on its own, but too young to be sure to make it by itself for long. He contemplated how his wife might react bringing a stray home… it certainly wouldn’t be the first. The responsibility of caring for it also crossed his mind.
He had made his decision.
“Sarada,” Sasuke started gently.
Tears were already filling her yes. “P—Please!” She begged, already knowing her father would turn down her request. “I will take—take care of it!” Sarada quickly picked up the kitty in her arms, the poor animal looked surprised but didn’t struggle in her hold. Her lower lip trembled, tears flowing freely as she continued to beg her father to keep it.
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Sasuke could never say no to his cute little peanut.
.
.
.
“We’re home.” Sasuke had barely finished speaking as his daughter kicked off her shoes and hurried into their home. Her little footsteps echoed along the halls, and his wife’s voice soon carried over.
“Welcome home—”
“—Mama, look!” Sarada held the kitten up in her arms, a wide smile on her face. She got up on her tiptoes and raised the kitten higher for her mother to get a better look. “Look, look! Isn’t she so cute?” She beamed. “She was so scared and all alone but I saved her!”
Sakura blinked for a moment before putting on a wide smile on her face and stroked her daughter’s hair. “How brave of you, Darling.”
Sarada’s cheeks flushed, responding to her mother’s praise. “I’m going to take good care of you,” she announced to the kitten in her arms and proceeded to walk into the living room, still talking to the cat.
Sasuke walked up to his wife and stood next to her, studying her features. Emerald eyes turned to him, a little crease in her brow.
“Sasuke-kun…” Her voice was soft, hesitant.
“She said she would take care of it,” he replied.
Sakura sighed. “You mean you will.”
He smirked. “Maybe. But this could be a good learning experience for Sarada. It would teach her to be responsible.”
She hummed and peeked at her daughter.
Sarada was now sitting on the floor, dangling a bunch of keys over the kitten’s head, giggling at how it tried to take the key with its paw.
A soft smile slowly bloomed on Sakura’s face. “I guess it’s okay for us to have a pet.” Turning to her husband, her soft smile turned into a teasing grin. “You’ve been wanting one too, right?”
It was barely visible, but he was sure his wife noticed the small pout on his lips. “Hn.”
Sakura giggled and gently tapped his cheek. “You go on and join her. Dinner is almost ready. I’ll be out with a bowl of milk for the cat in a while.”
He nodded and walked over to the living room. Sasuke sat on the rug next to Sarada, who was dragging the keys around, squealing in delight as the kitten chased and pounced on the keys. His daughter started running around the room jingling the keys in her hand as the cat followed her. Her joyful squeals filled the house. Sasuke’s lips quirked upward, a gentle warmth blooming in his chest.
Sakura walked out of the kitchen, bringing a bowl of milk. Seeing her, Sasuke stood and watched Sarada drop the keys on the floor. The cat pounced on them, and Sarada wasted no time capturing the cat in her arms. The cat meowed loudly but did not fuss. Sasuke carried Sarada, the little girl beaming at her father. She was having so much fun, and he was glad.
“Sarada, I think your kitty wants a drink.” Sakura smiled, holding out the bowl.
Sarada held onto her cat and slowly extended her arms towards her mama. Sasuke stepped closer to allow the cat to drink the milk.
His daughter settled down, a calm and satisfied smile on her face as she watched the cat drink. Sasuke and Sakura exchanged a look before turning their attention back to their daughter.
The next few hours were not easy for the young couple. Sarada was usually a well-behaved child, never fussing too much when it was time for bed. But in the presence of a new family member, which she had named Neko-chan, Sarada refused to admit she was tired. Sakura had successfully given her a bath, dressed her, and made her brush her teeth, but when it came to bedtime, she refused to stay in bed.
“Mama!” She cried, the covers falling around her tiny waist as she sat up. “Neko-chan might be cold!. Can’t she sleep here with me?”
Sasuke stood by the doorframe, watching his wife soothe their daughter. She was stroking her dark hair, keeping her voice soft as she explained that her precious kitty was fine and already sleeping in the living room. The toddler cried, giving reasons to her mother as to why Neko-chan should be sleeping in her room.
“Mama, Neko-chan wants to sleep here!”
“Sweetie, she is already sleeping in the living room, Sakura reassured, again.
Sarada pouted and tried to look past Sakura, towards the door. "But, if she wakes up, she’ll be scared! I think so!” The toddler argued, pretty upset with the idea that the kitten was not going to stay with her overnight.
Sakura kept her voice kind, and after a few minutes, she managed to successfully convince Sarada to lie back down and close her eyes.
He walked over to the living room, leaving his girls to settle down without his distracting presence. Sasuke moved around, cleaning up the mess from Sarada’s playtime and picked up a book. He had only read a few sentences before his wife joined him, looking tired but relieved that Sarada finally went to sleep.
“She’s knocked out, though I really didn’t want to leave her,” Sakura said. “She really wanted Neko-chan to sleep in her room.”
Sasuke’s gaze drifted to the cat sleeping in the corner, curled up in the blanket that he had placed inside a box for it. “She’s already asleep, and so is Sarada. Maybe tomorrow, after we bring the cat to the vet.”
His wife nodded and agreed to meet them at the vet, after her shift. Sakura left for the bathroom, leaving Sasuke to relax with his books.
After reading a few chapters, he heard Sakura move to their bedroom, and Sasuke put his book away. He noticed the cat stretch and then jump out of the box, quietly walking down the hall and pause at the crack of Sarada’s bedroom door. His brow quirked, and he followed the cat. When he peeked into the room, he saw the cat meow quietly at Sarada but she did not even stir.
Sasuke contemplated taking the cat away, in fear of Sarada waking. But when the cat jumped up to the foot of the bed and circled around a few times before settling down to sleep, he changed his mind. He leaned on the door frame, a soft smile on his face as he watched them sleep together.
“There you are.” Sakura came from behind and kissed his shoulder. “Did Sarada wake up?”
“No.” Sasuke turned and walked with his wife to their bedroom. “She’s asleep, and we should be too.”
Sakura agreed and got into bed, wrapping her arms around him. Sasuke had some thoughts swimming around his mind before he finally fell asleep, but being with his family, and his wife had him thinking of how nice it was to be found and belong.