A little oneshot I came up with from a real life story I heard somewhere. I don't really remember where, but it's a really sweet one! I decided to write this after I dreamed of Sasuke and Sakura last night (I don't even know why I did, I haven't been thinking of Naruto for a while). Enjoy!
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My only daughter Sakura was a complete hopeless romantic. I remembered that when she was a little girl, she used to play princess and told everyone who would listen that she would someday marry a prince, who would make her his princess and take her away on a white horse. She had always pictured herself with a man who would whisper sweet words into her ear and shower her with roses and chocolate. I laughed and told her that it might not come true, but she was stubborn and said that it will come true, she just had to find him.
When she got older, she was always reading romance novels and when it comes to dating, she liked pairing up with the sweetest of guys. She didn't even date very much. I never found out if it was because she was expecting too much, or because she was focusing on her studies. She dated a couple of guys from high school, but neither of them lasted very long. Before we knew it, she went off to Tokyo to study at Keio University and we didn't hear about any of her love exploits since.
That was why it surprised us when she came back from her third year of university and introduced us to her new boyfriend, a boy named Uchiha Sasuke.
Now don't get me wrong, he was a decent boy, educated and coming from a good family, and (even I have to admit) extremely good looking. He was also polite. But something that really set us off was that Sasuke was the complete opposite of Sakura's past boyfriends. He was quiet, preferring to simply nod his approval instead of saying so and he rarely displayed affection with our daughter. I confronted her about it and she just laughed.
"Oh, Mama," she said, "he's just uncomfortable showing emotions, that's all."
I was a little worried to be honest. Sakura had always been an independent soul, but we all know that she liked being showered with affection every now and then. She never mentions anything special about Sasuke, but we could see that she is being well-cared for, so we stopped worrying. Sakura often laughed about it, about how Sasuke was very unromantic and joked that if she didn't love him, she'd have left him in a blink of an eye.
They were still together after graduation and both decided to stay in Tokyo to work. Sasuke's family lived there and Sakura settled into an apartment with her childhood friend Ino.
Two years after Sakura started dating Sasuke, she called me for one of our weekly chats.
"Mom, Sasuke said he wants to come over and see you. Can we come over on Saturday?"
"I guess so. What is it about?"
"I don't know, he won't tell me."
Saturday came, and we were just excited to see our daughter again. She looked radiant that day and we couldn't help but notice that Sasuke was gazing at her the whole time we were having lunch. Sakura and her father decided that they would wash the dishes and flat-out refused to let us help, saying that it was their father-daughter time, so I ushered Sasuke out of the kitchen.
"Sakura says you want to talk to me about something," I began.
He nodded. "Actually, I'm going to ask Sakura to marry me, and she says that you have her grandmother's ring. I was hoping to have it made into a ring for her. She often says that she was close to her grandmother and that she loved her grandmother's ring."
Tears prickled at the corners of my eyes. Sakura remembered her grandmother's ring. My mother passed away before Sakura finished high school, but she had always been close to my daughter.
I told Sasuke to wait, and I went to the bedroom, and took out my jewellery case. There was my mother's silver wedding ring, looking as beautiful as it did when she wore it.
When I got back and showed it to Sasuke, I could see that it was not what he was expecting.
"It might not be the one you were expecting," I told him. "Maybe Sakura was thinking of my mother's engagement ring that had a two carat diamond. My dad kept it for several years but then gave it to my older brother to present to his wife on their anniversary. I also have a white gold ring that Sakura's dad gave me before he could buy me a diamond one. You're welcome to that one if you'd like."
"Thank you very much. If it's okay, may I take both rings? I want to think about this a little more," he asked me. "I'd let you know once I come to a decision."
"Take your time," I said. "I'm sure you'll make Sakura happy."
I didn't hear from him and I thought that he probably bought Sakura a new ring instead.
Sakura called me a month later, squealing that Sasuke had just proposed to her. I didn't give the rings any more thought.
When the happy couple visited again the weekend after their engagement, Sakura ran to me, waving her outstretched hand.
"Look, Mama! Look what Sasuke made for me!" Then on her hand were my engagement ring and my mother's wedding ring intertwined with a diamond band from Sasuke.
My eyes filled with tears as Sakura proudly showed her father her ring and I looked at Sasuke, smiling. He nodded at me and returned his gaze to my daughter. My heart swelled with happiness for my daughter. I knew Sakura had finally found someone who would cherish her forever, even though he was not what she was wishing for when she was a little girl.
He was better.
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Review please? I'm thinking of making a oneshot anthology of sorts… Tell me if I should. I'm posting another one really soon.. (like today) if I finish it!