A/N: Okay, I literally just thought of this story two hours before Christmas and since I did it… I dunno if I'm cut-out for any fast-paced story. But then again, hope you'll love this!

Her First Winter

"Look at me Sarada-chan! Over here sweetie!"

Uchiha Sakura cooed as she wiggled the teddy bear next to the camera. It was Sarada's first Christmas and the young Uchiha matriarch wanted to capture this special moment but her daughter's not cooperating. Sarada scowled as she squirmed in her red pyjamas; her soft black hair was tied with a white ribbon with the ends curling up. Sakura squealed every time she looked at her daughter... even when she scowled so much for an infant. 'Yep... Sasuke-kun's daughter alright' she mentally sighed as she continued to wiggle the bear in front of Sarada.

The apartment building they owned was right in the middle of Konoha, something her husband protested but she reasoned out that it was more convenient for her since it was near to the hospital and Naruto wanted to visit his godchild every now and then. Sakura was thankful that she got the whole building just for them as well. Sarada may share her papa's brooding silence and frowns but her cries can drive anyone up to the wall. It wasn't that the child was neglected, but the baby always demanded to be carried every single time and will use her impressive set of lungs to make them cater to her wishes. Sakura believed that spoiling a child was always a rookie's mistake; especially if the child was as cute as a button and Sarada will cry and raise her arms every time someone entered the room; which is why she promptly lectured the irate male Uchiha whenever he gives in to his daughter's demands.

"Then how do you suppose we keep her quiet then?" Sasuke asked as they stood in the living room with Sarada hanging on his right shoulder and his sole arm curled around her midsection to prevent her from falling. Sarada made it even more difficult as she tried to fit a whole chubby fist into her mouth; saliva dribbled from her lips to Sasuke's travelling cloak but he didn't mind.

An oncoming migraine had made itself known and Sakura was on the verge of ripping off her hair with irritation; Sasuke was about to leave for his journey, promising her that it will only take for a month or two before he broke one of her rules. Don't spoil the baby. But clearly the mighty Uchiha Sasuke thought he was above her rules. It resulted to a spat, a rare occurrence between them since their daughter's been born. Sakura tried to point out that their baby will now want to be carried every single time whenever someone's in the same room while Sasuke replied with a nonchalant scowl and even said "Then stop bringing people over"

"Wha- what do you want me to do? Board up the doors whenever Naruto comes to visit?" she challenged.

"It never occurred to you?"

All she managed to do was snarl under her breath and slammed the door into their bedroom. They just got into a fight for a stupid reason. But for a moment there, she was actually a bit happy that they got into a squabble for childrearing reasons like a normal married couple would. Usually they would fight about Sasuke's refusal to accept the prosthetic arm her mentor had created almost five years ago (that was still encased in a canister to keep the cells alive) or whether or not Sakura should be moved to the Anbu's Medic division.

"Sarada-chan smile for okaa-chan, please?" Sakura begged as she bounced the toy one last time before she gave a defeated groan and bowed her head next to Sarada's feet. "Mou, you're making it hard for me" she whined at Sarada who, in turn, gurgled and responded by blowing bubbles from her mouth.

Sakura chuckled before she straightened herself up and placed a kiss on Sarada's head, inhaling the scent of baby powder and her body wash. But as she stood up, the front door opened and she turned to see Sasuke walk through the threshold with snow on his shoulders and long hair that she was itching to cut.

He came back from his journey a week ago, his cheeks look hollowed and his hair grew to the middle of his back. Sakura immediately pulled him into the kitchen and forced him to eat two large plates of food. It annoyed him but it also felt nice for someone to take care of him this way. While Sakura had her hands full with her jounin missions and duties to the hospital, she managed to be an attentive and loving mother to their child and still tackle the role of a wife. Sometimes he wondered what his life would have been if he hadn't return from his journey. Would she have married another and start a family with a stranger? The only male he knew that was close to Sakura was Kakashi and Naruto. Kakashi was more of a parental figure for them so he set his suspicions on his blond rival/best friend. It wasn't a secret that they were involved in some love-triangle which Kakashi had noted that it was paralleled to his old team. He knew the emotion of insecurity but the blow of jealousy over a girl was foreign to him. When he travelled around the world on the first year, he stayed away for at least half a year and he would return to Konoha for only three days, five at most before going back to his wandering. Yet all those quiet moments made him think about the certain kunoichi and whether or not she was still devoted to him before he chased them away.

Of course, Naruto took it upon himself to keep their female teammate away from any male's romantic advances; something Sasuke appreciated but never voiced out. He had full confidence in himself that the Haruno will never look at anyone but him. Yet the very thought of someone taking her away from him was a possibility. It took him three years to finally voice out his feelings for her (though he had shown his affections for her with the forehead pokes) and made a move (by the pestering and prodding of a whiskered ninja and a perverted Rokudaime). The wedding itself was a private affair, officiated by Kakashi with Naruto, Hinata and her parents as the witnesses. He haven't even met her parents before that and all he could think of as she introduced him to them was, 'Was she adopted?'

Haruno Mebuki was pleasant woman with honey blond hair and a no-nonsense attitude while Kizashi was… eccentric. From his hair, to his beard, to the insufferable jokes that almost made the whole room freeze with all those bad puns. He stood in front of Sasuke in his full height (though it was a bit awkward since his son-in-law was still taller than him by mere inches) and threatened to kill Sasuke if he should ever make 'his princess' cry and be thankful to every deity from up above that Sakura chose to love him. Sasuke ignored the threats but nodded at his words. Truly, he was lucky to have her by his side even when he was on his travels. Both of them were thrilled when Sakura brought Sarada to them for a visit. It actually gave him a great deal of satisfaction when Sarada squealed angrily whenever Kizashi tried to hold her, preferring the touch of her parents' over others. Naruto had always received the end of the anger; usually with a kick on his face or a rather hard tug on his hair that actually pulled some of the strands from its roots.

Sarada babbled happily as soon as she saw her father enter the room and stood next to her mama. Sakura frowned when she observed this; not only because she seemed to favor Sasuke more- but because she only noticed her father was there when he was already a few feet in front of her. "Aba!" she yelled and raised her arms up. Sakura frowned, knowing that Sasuke couldn't resist his daughter's demand. He may be one of the strongest shinobi to live but he was putty in Sarada's hands. But she decided to let it slide, it was the holidays and her husband's present with them, a big achievement for her. Sasuke lifted the infant to the curve of his neck as she tried to tug at his hair.

"Sasuke-kun, can you make her smile for me?" Sakura pleaded, holding out the new camera she bought for the occasion. At the same time, both Sasuke and Sarada frowned at her words; it was really a funny scene that gave her the giggles. They both looked so much alike and their signature scowl was so uncanny that Sakura snapped a picture of it and held it up for them to see. Sarada took no interest on the gadget, deeming the necklace on her mother's neck more fascinating and tried to jump to her mother's arms but her papa's grip was hard to shake out of. She couldn't understand the words her parents exchanged with each other but she really wanted to go back to her mama's arms but seeing as her papa wouldn't let her, she did the only thing she can do to get what she wants; cry. Very loudly.

Her high-pitched cry bounced off the wall as she tried to push herself away from her papa's grip. It was strange, her mama had two long limbs that support her while papa only has one. She loved her papa dearly but she wanted to be in mama's arms right now; she was warmer than he and not to mention, she smells better. Fortunately her mama succumbed to her cries and placed down the rectangle object on the table and held her up. As if there was a switch on her back, the crying ceased and she curled herself against her chest.

Sakura beamed happily as she swayed from side to side, rocking the fussy Sarada into dreamland with a gently hum. Sasuke's eyes softened as he watched his new family in front of him. As his wife turned around to check on the weather outside, he activated his Sharingan and captured this moment. It was a bit childish as he could've asked for her to take a family picture but he wanted to keep this memory with him during his travels. Call him old-fashioned but he didn't trust the technology that started to grow rapidly each day; and he was sure that that piece of memory will never be misplaced or destroyed by anything.

He blinked once and his onyx orb reverted back to its original state before Sakura yelled out, "Sasuke-kun get the camera!"

Sasuke opened his mouth to argue but it was drowned out with a firm "Sasuke-kun!" With a grunt, he grabbed the infernal object and went towards them before he stopped. Sarada was sitting on the window sill, her black eyes shimmered with awe and happiness as she tapped the window with her pudgy hand. Outside the glass was a flurry of snow that fell from the heavens into a gentle shower. Certainly Sarada had never seen snow like this before; she only saw it as a lump of cold, white stuff that was stuck on her parents' hair and clothes. Sasuke heard a faint 'Click!' and saw Sakura press her fingertips against her lips and holding the camera with the other hand.

She felt her husband's presence behind her and she leaned back to revel on his body heat. It was such a peaceful picture and never in her life had she thought that her childish fantasy had become a hard-earned reality. But it was more than that; all the hardships, the pain, anger and sorrow made this all the more special. It was better than what she had ever dreamed of. Sasuke could hear the slight hitch of her breath and the sudden sniffles indicated the oncoming tears. This woman was so emotional; there were tears of sadness, loss and anger, even frustration… but he knew that those were the tears of happiness and he will make sure that nothing and no one will ever harm them. He will never tell her that even if he had turned away from the path of darkness; he won't hesitate to kill anyone who poses as a threat to them.

He felt her shift against his chest and she looked up at him with shining bright green eyes, "We're happy, aren't we?"

Sasuke was silent but his eyes said a thousand words that only she could translate. He leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead before they watched their daughter marvel at the snow.

Six years later

"Okaa-chan, may I borrow the camera?"

A pregnant Sakura looked up from the scroll she was reading to raise a brow at her eldest child, "For what Sarada-chan?" Sarada shifted her weight from one foot to the other before answering, "I saw a couple of white birds by the trees outside, I think they're going to leave once winter comes" Sakura nodded and pointed to the shelf where the camera sat. She was proud of her daughter; bright, inquisitive and stubborn as a mule- the traits her parents had was passed down to her. Sasuke was yet to return but she knew- just knew that he will be back soon. Especially since she's now pregnant with twins. Sarada was jubilant with the news but was horrified when her mama told her that she might have two baby brothers. Sarada tried to bargain that one should at least be a girl but Sakura couldn't answer that question without embarrassing herself as well.

"Mama…" the child started.

"Hmmm?" Sakura hummed before she turned around to see Sarada pointing at the image inside the device. It was the picture of her papa and her when she was still a baby. "Oh, I almost forgot about that one" Sakura said, mentally smacking herself since she had a nagging feeling that she had forgotten something. "It was supposed to be our Christmas card but your papa was so against it."

Sarada raised a brow before she adjusted her glasses to the bridge of her nose, "Can I have this?"

"I don't see why not" she answered.

The girl smiled before she ran up to her room and threw the curtains back from her window. A pair of pure white birds was still roosting on the branch; she opened the window as silently as she could and took a picture of it before she noticed a tall dark figure below moving towards their apartment. "Papa!" she cried out, alerting the sleeping birds before she ran out of the bedroom and through the front door, ignoring her mama's alarmed calls and threw herself to her father. Sasuke mussed her dark hair with his hand and turned to Sakura who was trying to keep up with their daughter although she failed since the weight of the babies slowed her movements dramatically. Sarada grinned happily as she intertwined her fingers with her papa's much larger ones and proceeded to retreat into their home.

The first snow of the year began to fall as the family of three, soon to be five; settled themselves into the couch and started another memory to keep.

END

A/N: I dunno if I'm going to make a sequel though but the thought of a baby Sarada-chan was too good to pass up. My first Christmas piece and I hope you enjoyed it. Merry Christmas everyone!