The sound of clattering dish and silverware fills the kitchen along with the humming of a pink-haired female. "It's been a long time hasn't it, dear?" She smiles from the kitchen, eyeing her husband near the sink. She was glad he was back, even if it was just for a while.
Sasuke finishes washing his hand, drying it with a towel, and moves towards the table, taking a seat. "It has." He glances towards the hall. "Is Sarada still in her room?"
Sakura sighs and moves towards the stove. "She is." She says, mixing the soup with a large wooden spoon. "I'm sure she'll be out." She reassures. "Probably just getting cleaned up."
Sasuke eyes linger on the hall before turning back to his wife.
Almost immediately, Sakura notices his gaze on her and laughs lightly when he looks away. "I know."
Sasuke closes his eyes and smiles. She knew him too well.
::
Sarada places the frame down on her desk and sits down on her bed with a sigh. "I can't believe I doubted mama… and papa too… " She murmurs. Truth be told, she felt guilty. She glances over at the door and pushes herself off the bed, heading for the exit. Her hand rests on the doorknob and she closes her eyes for a moment before swinging the door open and heading out towards the kitchen.
::
"Ah, what took you so long? The food is getting cold." Scolds Sakura, upon seeing Sarada.
Sarada heads over to the sink and washes her hands. "Just getting cleaned up."
Sakura's and Sasuke's eyes meet and Sakura giggles to herself, earning a strange look from her daughter.
Sarada glances over at her mother, drying her hands with the towel. "Why did you laugh?" She asks, curious.
Sakura waves her hand in front of her and smiles. "Oh, nothing."
She raises an eyebrow, but doesn't question it. Instead her attention turns to the pot of food. "Which ones should I take to the table?" She asks, eyeing the bowls near the stove. Her attention turns over to the chopped tomatoes on the other side of the stove, noticing that there are a lot more than usual. She doesn't ask about it though.
Sakura smiles and shakes her head. "You just have a seat and catch up with your father."
Sarada eyes her mother in confusion, before heading over to the table, taking a seat beside her father. Her mother almost always let her help. She glances at her father, who's eyes are trained on the boxes. "That's my fault." She admits, looking off to the side embarrassed. "Mama lost her temper because of me and… well… she destroyed the house."
"It's not the first time." Says Sasuke, turning to Sarada with a soft smile.
::
Sarada stares at the table blankly. "Mama… " She begins. "I'm sorry I doubted you."
Sakura pauses before picking up the bowls, placing them in a tray, and heading towards the table. "I understand why you did. I never really did tell you much about your father." She chuckles, glancing down at the bowls.
Sarada's eyes wander off to the side. "The man in the picture… he told me that my mother was the girl with the red hair… " She murmurs. "But… " She glances up at her mother.
"Seriously... cha, you guys." Smiles Sakura, setting down two bowls, one in front of her husband and the other in front of her daughter. "Of course, you are really and truly my daughter. You're so silly." She says, smiling at Sarada.
Sarada smiles back at her mother before looking down at the table again sadly. She glances at her father. "I'm sorry too, papa."
Sasuke, who was quietly observing his wife and daughter, smiles at Sarada. "Don't worry about it. You probably took after me in that respect."
Sarada brightens up and a smile graces her face again.
Sakura smiles fondly at the both of them.
::
The three have light chatter as they have their family dinner.
"How has the academy been?" Asks Sasuke, picking up a halved grape tomato in his soup and eating it first.
Sarada smiles. "It's been good overall. I have good grades, attendance, and behavior."
Sasuke picks another up another tomato. "Do you have any good friends?"
"Mhmm." Sarada waves her chopsticks in the air. "There's Chocho, the class rep, and a few others."
Sasuke smiles. "Good friends are important."
Sakura also smiles. "Boruto is also in her class. I heard that he's quite the troublemaker and Sarada is the one who has to set him straight."
Sarada shakes her head and sighs. "He's so annoying."
Sasuke chokes on his food at her words, but covers it up with a cough.
Sakura, seeing through his cover up, laughs at the similarity between her husband and daughter.
Sarada raises an eyebrow at her parents in confusion, but dismisses it thinking it could just be her imagination. "His father is the seventh hokage." She begins. "I don't understand why he'd want to embarrass his father like that... "
Sakura and Sasuke glance at each other.
"He probably just misses him." Says Sakura. "Being hokage is an important job after all."
Sarada stares at her soup in thought, disregarding the tomatoes she pushed to the side. She never really understood why her mother would always add them and every time she asked about it, her mother would reply with 'it's a special ingredient' without explaining why. They were probably her least favorite food, so she'd usually either push them to the side or not add them at all. She glances over at her parents bowls, taking note of the pile of tomatoes in her father's bowl. It was much more than either her or her mother had. "Hey, papa?" She calls, curious.
Sasuke glances over, his chopsticks poking another tomato.
"Do you like tomatoes?" She wonders. "You have a lot more in your bowl than mama and I do."
He glances down at his bowl and then to the rest of the bowls.
Sakura pokes at a piece of meat in her soup. "It's one of his favorites." She smiles.
Sarada turns to her mother, eyes widening at her smile. And then she understood.
::
Omake:
"Do you not like tomatoes?" Asks Sasuke, pointing towards the pile of disregarded tomatoes at side of Sarada's bowl.
Sarada looks over to the side, mixing her soup around with the chopsticks sheepishly. "Not really."
Sakura laughs to herself as she watches Sasuke's face turn to the side, dejectedly. "Don't take it so personally, dear."
Sarada glances over at her father in confusion. Noticing his expression, she waves her arms on front of her nervously. "Eh, papa! It's just a tomato!"
One shot!
(Image belongs to Studio Perriot, Masashi Kishimoto, and basically to it's rightful owners. I'm not making money off of it or anything.) (I'd make my own digital art, but my device is broken... still... ) (Will change image once I have one.)
The idea popped into my head and I just had to share it. Yeah, it's short, but it's a one shot I suppose. *shrugs shoulders*
Also, for me, Sarada saying 'Mama' and 'Papa' just feels more… natural or suits her more than 'Mom' and 'Dad' but again, maybe that's just me…
Watch out for another story I'm working on called 'Sarada' or 'Uchiha.' I haven't decided on the name. I just love the Uchiha family, alright.
Might even work on one called 'Uzumaki' or something if I ever find a good enough story for it.
Almost forgot that Sasuke only had one hand. *facepalm*
Other than that,
Thank you to those that read, reviewed, followed, favorited, or just took the time to just check this out!
Thanks for reading!