Summary: Sasuke would always send them gifts to let them know that even when he is away, they are always remembered and they are always loved.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto -
29: 17 : 30
Sarada Uchiha could feel the sunlight even before she opened her eyes. Groggily, her left hand rubbed her eyes while the right reached for her glasses atop her bedside table. Stifling a yawn, she saw something on the table that was not there the night before. Grinning, she reached for the thin leather bound tome and marveled at the intricate cover.
Her mother found her about an hour later, legs crossed on her bed, greedily absorbing every single page. It was a compilation of fairytales from the North and her eyes marveled at the illustrations of frozen giants and humongous white lions, of the snowy mountain peaks and brilliant colorful skies.
"Mama! Mama! This must be where Papa is now!" Sensing her mother, she showed her one of the pages. "Shannaro! It looks so beautiful!"
Sakura smiled at her daughter as she continued skimming through the pages, excitedly telling her the stories while pointing at the illustrations. Of all the gifts she received, books were always her favorite. She had to have glasses at an early age, but she didn't mind for the books always told her of the world outside Konoha.
"Do you like your father's gift?" Sarada just nodded enthusiastically, clutching the book closer.
"Mama, can I bring it to school?"
Sakura nodded, "Of course, just be careful with it."
"I will!" The little girl hurriedly jumped from bed to get ready for school. Meanwhile, Sakura smiled a the small note written on the first page.
20: 09 : 15
Sarada sat at the patio, her eyes entranced on two figures dancing in a predictable pattern. She found the ornate gold and silver music box that morning and she eagerly replayed the melody again and again.
"You are not yet annoyed with that are you?" Sakura took a pause from signing the papers she took home from the hospital to tease her daughter.
"No way, shannaro! There's nothing annoying about the melody," she replied, holding the box as though it was fragile.
Sakura had to agree, the gentle metallic sound was very soothing and helped her concentrate on her paperwork.
"Papa said this is one of the traditional folk melodies of the village he was in. It's really a nice tune to dance with, right Mama?"
"Yes it is," Sakura nodded before returning to work, smiling at the fact that the female dancer has pink hair and her partner has black.
13: 05 : 05
"You eat anymore of that and you'll get fat," Sakura chastised her daughter who kept munching on the dried tomato candies she found on her bedside table that morning. How her husband managed to find tomato flavored candies was beyond her.
"But Mama, they are delicious! Shannaro!" She ate another mouthful and closed her eyes in bliss. "Papa said they are a specialty in one of the villages he passed by."
"Leave it to your father to find a village specializing in tomatoes," Sakura shook her head in exasperation. "Still, its almost time for bed, you can eat the rest tomorrow."
"Fine!" She pouted before sealing the box carefully.
An hour later, Sakura checked in on her daughter and saw her sound asleep surrounded by several books. Carefully, she picked each of them up and tried to look for their usual space in her bookshelf. After placing everything in order, she sighed. They were going to need a new shelf. Maybe with a glass case, dusting everything everyday was starting to get time consuming.
04: 16: 15
"What's wrong Sarada?" Sakura was just about to get ready to leave for work when she saw her daughter staring wistfully out the window.
"The cherry blossoms are starting to bloom," she pointed at the Cherry blossom trees at the garden.
Sakura agreed as she held her daughter's shoulders, "They should be fully bloomed by the end of this week."
When she first heard that Sasuke had sold the old Uchiha district, she felt a combination of worry and relief. It must have been hard for him to let go, but at the same time, it meant he was ready to move on. One day he told her that he bought a building near the center of Konoha, just across the Hokage she asked him why he would need a whole building. In a serious tone, he said he planned to turn it into a condominium. And with a slight tinge on his cheeks, he told her that the penthouse would be his new home and asked her if she would want it as her home too. Unexpected proposal aside (of course she said yes), she didn't see their new home until after their honeymoon. The space was manageable and convenient for a new family, but what surprised her was the roof top garden full cherry blossom trees. Living in the middle of a growing village, gardens were a luxury and it was her most favorite place in their home.
She fixed her daughter's new gift, a red hand knitted with cherry blossoms. At the tip, was an embroidered Uchiha fan.
"Papa said that around this month, there are usually flu outbreaks. I should be careful," Salad said, trying to readjust the scarf.
"He is right, so don't stay in the cold too long."
"I will, bye Mama."
02: 10: 30
"Sarada-chan is still at the Academy, Sakura-san?" Nana, their housekeeper asked.
Sakura nodded as she carefully dusted the top shelves full of boxes covered with stamps.
"Sakura-san, you should let me do that. I know you are always tired from the hospital," Nana offered as she placed the plate of sliced tomatoes she prepared for Sarada on the table.
"It's okay, this is something I have to do," Sakura replied, her hand lingered on a beautiful set of medical books. "These are very special treasures I have to take care myself."
"If you say so, Sakura-san," Nana smiled, "I'm done for the day, the food for your dinner is on the kitchen table."
"Thank you Nana, you may go."
Sighing, she stepped down the ladder and placed the duster in a table. Years ago, the penthouse was almost empty. Now almost every nook and cranny is filled with shelves, memorabilia and souvenirs from Sasuke's travels. As much as she misses him, he made it very hard to forget him. She slowly walked towards her bedroom and opened the cabinet. Inside lay a huge almost empty box. In the wee hours of that morning, she took a doll and placed it on Sarada's bedside table. Only a few items lay inside now.
1: 00 : 00
There was only one item left inside the box. Sakura pressed the soft cashmere in her cheek and the pale pink color blended with her hair. While father and daughter possessed the impossibly good Uchiha looks, for some reason, Sasuke would always choose bright colors for Sarada. Maybe its the sexist side of Sasuke preferring various shades of pink for their daughter, but Sakura would like to think that he wanted to see her in their daughter since she takes after him so much. A part of Sarada possibly wanted that too, choosing red frames for glasses to remind people that she is both Uchiha and Haruno.
Quietly, Sakura tiptoed to her daughter's room and placed the cashmere and a letter on top.
Every time Sasuke leaves, he would send a package soon after. In every package, there would be individually wrapped gifts. Each gift would have an accompanying letter. In return, every night before Sarada goes to bed, she would write a letter to her father. Every midnight, Sakura would place a gift on her daughter's bedside table after taking a letter Sarada had written. It was one way their bonds stayed strong.
It was hard having a father who was always away, but she understood that with Sasuke's past, he still had a lot to do in order to heal. But despite that, with every gift he sent them, he made sure that every day he was still a part of their lives.
0: 00 : 00
There was no longer any items left in the box, so Sakura just sat on the patio and watched the cherry blossoms in the moonlight.
"You'll catch a cold," she heard a whisper from behind.
Sakura just smiled and held his hand, "Welcome home, Sasuke-kun."
Sasuke just grinned and gave her his customary tap on her forehead and together they watched the cherry blossoms in silence.
That morning, Salad woke up not finding anything on her bedside. Instead she screamed and ran and hugged the man sitting on their dining table.
After a chatty meal, Salad kissed her parents goodbye and left for the academy.
"You are spoiling her," Sakura chided her husband. "She only gets what she deserves," he smirked back, he raised some of Salad's letters, "This Boruto is Dobe's kid, right?"
"Yes."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed, "She calls him annoying."
Sakura just laughed in reply, "Don't barge in on Naruto, okay?"
"Hn."
Sakura placed her hand on his shoulder, "She's a smart girl, she will make good choices."
Sasuke nodded, "You are raising her well."
Sakura shook her head, "We are raising her well."
"Do you think we're ready to raise another?"
-
A/N Omg, I haven't written for a long time. I've been trying to but every week, the Naruto chapters zapped my inspirations away. I swore to myself when it is over, I will concentrate on my stories again.
I do understand my stories are AU now, but well, I'll finish what I started XD Anyway, this is a sort of comeback fic. It's too slice of life, I was a bit uncomfortable, I am used to angst. But I saw this post on tumblr about the packages and it made me recall my childhood. My parents were not around, but I felt their love everyday because my nanny would place a gift from their packages in my bedside table. So this is a tribute to celebrate sasusaku for being canon and a personal thank you to my parents who never made me feel I was abandoned.