Two weeks ago

"Sarada-chan, It's chichi no hi in two weeks." Sakura cooed to her little one and a half year old daughter, scooping her up in her arms and smiled at her sweetly. Sarada only gurgled, she was still accustomed to baby talk but she was starting to say a few words like 'papa' and 'mama' and the form of 'Hiya' wasn't very distinctive yet. "But papa isn't back for another good while..."

Sakura had became an Uchiha short of only three years ago, and her dear husband was gone for a good majority of that time which she still hadn't approved of since he hardly ever sees his own daughter. She hadn't minded about not seeing Sasuke, although she had and it hurt her everyday to the point that she had to think in that way, it was more important that he spent time with his daughter - because a daughter needs to know her father.

Sakura smiled brightly at Sarada again. "We should do something sentimental for him, ne?" She asked, knowing that she would not get a proper answer other than the times that Sarada would throw her little hands down onto Sakura's shoulders. Mebuki, Sakura's mother and Sarada's grandmother, had said that it was just a stage that babies go through just as Sakura had when she was a baby.

She stood up from her seat on the cream sofa - which she had convinced Sasuke to buy for the newly furbished Uchiha Mansion in Konoha - and walked over to the cabinet at the other side of the room where she found blank white paper and some paint that Sai, regretfully, bought her for a wedding gift. The past few times he had been to the mansion to paint portraits of her and Sasuke - and later on Sarada - he had found the paint and seemed to emotionlessly mourn for them, if that was possible.

She swayed back towards the small coffee table where she lay the supplies and Sarada on the floor so she could go retrieve a plastic plate from the kitchen, this would be a vital part in their fabulous artwork...

"Finger painting!" Sakura shouted happily, receiving a giggle from Sarada who lay on her back on the floor. Sakura rushed over to Sarada, throwing the plastic plate onto the sofa like a Frisbee, picked her up and kissed her daughter's cheek which earned her another giggle. The pink haired mother finally placed her daughter onto her lap and squirted some paint into the plate, before taking Sarada's hand and put her hand onto the plate. The young black haired girl now had yellow paint all over her hand, Sakura did the same with some pink paint and showed her daughter the art of finger painting.

The Present

Sasuke had been travelling for as long as he could remember, it felt like he had been away from his family for so long. His usually cool exterior around people who were outside of his family had broken over the past three months, and he had gone into a state of depression. He wished that he could see them soon, and actually live with them but being a wanderer-nin made that harder for him. He had to rehabilitate himself so he could be a good person, a good father and a good husband. Wanting to achieve just that, he pushed himself forward - not even giving himself a break.

"Sasuke."

Sasuke turned to face the elderly woman that he was helping her to become healthier. When he had met her; her hair was shoulder-length and greying and her clothes barely clung to her skin because she was so thin, but now she had seemed to look younger than what she looked. She was a very strong woman, just like his wife.

Yes, Sakura had many problems during her pregnancy and childbirth that he didn't want to risk having another child with her if it meant that she was going to be in so much pain. But she constantly reminded him that the time was also precious to her, because knowing that new life was growing inside of her had excited her and that it was their first child so of course it would be very difficult. Sasuke had just felt that he hadn't been there for her enough, that she always has to take care of herself, Sarada and also balance a job while he was away.

"This letter came in this morning from the leaf village." She said, reaching into her apron pocket and retrieving a small white letter which bore the Uchiha Crest on the flap.

...Sakura?

He knew that she could only send him letters every few weeks, but he had only just sent her a letter at least seven days ago. So how come he has received a letter so early?

"Chichi no hi omede tou!" A small kid in the street ran up to an older man who looked overly tired, but he put a smile on his face and scooped his son up into his arms.

"Thank you son!"

"Kaa-chan and I have made you your favourite; Bacon and Eggs!"

Sasuke widened his eyes at the scene. It's Chichi no hi?

"You're a father, right? Chichi no hi." The old lady smiled brightly, and stalked off in the other direction.

Sasuke opened up the envelope cautiously, making sure he didn't rip the content inside. What he saw nearly had him drop the whole thing onto the ground. There was a picture of a small yellow hand which was labelled 'Sarada' and a larger pink hand which was labelled 'Sakura' in a neat scroll. Inside the two hands were small stick people who were all holding hands; one with pink hair and a pink body, one with a shoulder length black hair and a yellow body, and the last one had black hair and a blue body. At the top of the page, the title said 'Chichi no hi!' and in the corner of the picture there was small writing in a clearly distinctive pink men; 'We love you'

Sasuke hadn't really cried much in his life after the Uchiha Clan Massacre, in fact he could possibly count the amount of times on just five of his fingers. This was just another to add to the few times.

"You should go home." The small boy from before called out while he was in his fathers arms, Sasuke had talked to him a few times and even taught him a little of kunai throwing. "You should go home to Sakura~senpai and Sarada~chan."

He didn't need the boy to tell him twice, as soon as he was cleared from the short removal of his mission - as he promised that he would be back after he spent a good amount of time with his family - he rushed home and as quick as his legs would carry him.

The Next Day

"Okay, Sarada~chan. It's time to go to aunty Ino." Sakura smiled to her little daughter, walking through the busy marketplace to make it to the Yamanaka Flower Shop where Ino would be with Sai and their son Inojin.

The sun was scorching, and it was very warm so Sakura was decked out in her usual red Kimono. Sarada wore a cute yellow top with a monkey print and a pink diaper - she refused to wear the thin blue sweat pants that Sakura had tried to get on her and continuously wailed and kicked them off - that made Sarada look like she wasn't even a Uchiha at all.

"It's such a nice day! I wish we could spend it together in the park honey, but I need to go to work." Sakura exclaimed drearily, sniffing the air around her - the smell of stall sweets and the nearby Shushuya which piled food onto large plates at least a mountain high - and shook her head. "The air is just so tempting-"

"Sakura." A voice panted behind her.

Sakura turned around, her long pink hair like a whip and a short distance away was her out of breath and slightly dishevelled husband. He wasn't even trying to uphold his cool which surprised her a little. She stood in shock at the sight in front of her.

"S-Sasuke...?" She managed.

"Papa~!" Sarada gurgled excitedly.

He showed her the picture that he received and he smiled. "I'm home."

Tears started to form at the corners of her eyes as she ran towards him and he held out his hands, he took her face into his hands and kissed her passionately - forgetting that there was people on the street watching. When he pulled away ever so slightly, he smiled warmly at Sakura.

"I love you too." He stated as if it wasn't the most difficult thing in the world to say - like he had previously - and looked down at his daughter, he brushed his hands through her black hair and cupped her small chubby cheeks. The eyes which were the same as his own looked up at him, and happily. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

1529 words :O WHAT ATROCITY HAVE I CREATED?! XD

Anyway, hope you like it. This is my first SasuSakuFam one-shot, since the last one didn't actually have Sarada in it though she was mentioned (I THINK she wasn't in it, please correct me if I'm wrong I have a horrible memory with these things.)

I spent 2 hours making this though, it was something I just had to get out of my head because it has been annoying me for a couple of weeks. So if you liked it, please comment (as I prefer to know what I can improve on), heart and follow (just...cause)

Love, GoldenFlameAlice 3