Author's Note: Slight spoilers for Boruto: Naruto the Movie ahead! For those who've watched the film, remember the scene when Sasuke walks down the dark alley after visiting the Uzumaki household? Yup, that part when adorkable Boruto asks Uncle Sasuke to mentor him. Our caped avenger was obviously coming home for the first time in years, but the movie didn't elaborate on that. This is a little drabble that speculates on what may have/could've/should've happened if the scenes for Sasuke's homecoming panned out in the film. Please read and review, thank you! ( x x love, MP)

homecoming blues

Miss Perspicacious

She overcooked the rice again tonight and the nikujaga was a teaspoon saltier than the last time. Her daughter somehow managed to get through dinner without complaining and so did she. Next time, she was really going to take time off work to focus on her cooking. She didn't want to disappoint a certain someone when he finally came home. The last thing Sakura needed is to have Sasuke thinking that bland tavern food has more flavor than her dishes.

Sakura was soaping the plates when a wind gently gushed through her kitchen. It was a cold night in the village so she had shut the windows in the living room earlier. She never opens the one near the backdoor for security reasons. The backdoor that led to the kitchen remained locked, and she knew only one person who would insist in making a stealthy, but nonetheless dramatic entrance using the kitchen window.

She held her breath for a few moments and then went back to rinsing the dishes. She smiled, knowing that Sasuke had just found his way home.

xXx

Lying on her bed, Sarada sensed footfalls going up the stairs and noticed something quite different; they sounded heavier than Mama's. When the door swung open, her Sharingan clashed with an odd pair of eyes. She relaxed her grip on her kunai.

She had missed this for a very long time, being greeted by her Papa's unique mismatched eyes. His tall, imposing figure would send children running to the other direction, but not her, she was no longer that young when he had last left her. She's grown a lot since.

"What have you been doing?" Sasuke stood by the door, asking nonchalantly.

"Just… I was just…" Sarada struggled to find an answer. What does one say to a father who has not been home in years? "The Chuunin exams are coming up," she said. She set her kunai down on a corner table.

"I see," replied Sasuke. "May I come in?"

Sarada sidestepped and he took it as his cue to enter.

It occurred to her that this was probably her Papa's first time visiting her room. He was looking around as if he was inspecting the place for something. Pink pastel sheets? Or perhaps fluffy carpeting or posters of cute, foreign shinobis? For a second there, Sarada felt ashamed that she did not meet her father's expectations of a teenage girl with blossoming hormones. She was a kunoichi with big ambitions and there was simply no time for any of that.

"May I sit down?" he asked.

"Of course," she replied.

She watched her father settle down on her bed, his weight sinking down only on the edge of the mattress. He was already inside their home, but he still hasn't taken off his dark cape and his muddy sandals that had tracked earth all over the floor. Something was up and he looked like he would take flight again anytime soon.

Her mother had warned her about her father's cool, unfazed character. But she chose to play along with her father's pretense.

"This Saturday," she said. "Yes. With Boruto and Mitsuki. Yes. Mama's been cheering me on right from the very start. (How about you?) Yes. I've mastered it. The Sharingan's quite the doujutsu. No. I don't mind. Mama taught me a jutsu which can relieve the fatigue caused by Sharingan overuse."

And for Sasuke's final question, she answered, full of faith, "Yes. I know I'm ready."

Sasuke did not smile. He put his hand on top of her head instead. "I didn't really have to ask that, did I?"

Sarada blushed. Sasuke took one last look around her room and she swore she heard him sigh. He was already out of the door when he said, "By the way, how old is that Boruto kid?"

"Same age as I am. Why?"

The sound of his cape fluttered in his wake. His heavy footfalls echoed further down the narrow hall.

xXx

Sakura still hasn't seen her husband, not even his shadow, ever since he arrived. She presumed he would be upstairs in their room, to greet her with a warm embrace. Her wildest imagination drove her to hope that upon turning the handle of this door, she would see a handsome Sasuke on the bed—naked and ready for sexy time. The husband had so much to make up for.

The wife frowned upon seeing the lone proof of her husband's presence in this household. His cape was folded neatly on a chair, along with the rest of his soiled garments. It was a nice consolation, at least, that his dirty clothing was not left lying haphazardly on the floor. She felt sorry for Hinata who had once mentioned that being married to Naruto made her realize that she married his habits as well.

She turned her heel to the direction of the bathroom where she could hear the refreshing sound of water rushing. It had been a long day and all she can think of was soaking her tired muscles in a relaxing, warm bath. Problem was, the bathroom was apparently occupied.

The door was left unlock and the shower curtains were pushed to either side to accommodate the man sitting on the edge of the tub. He shut off the water as soon as Sakura walked in, the tub already filled halfway.

"Come here," he said.

Sakura couldn't point out the source of the overwhelming feeling that suddenly swelled in her chest, whether it came from seeing her husband clad in her pink, cotton bathrobe, or from simply being welcomed into his world.

"I couldn't find it," he told her, hands clasped in reverie.

It took a while for Sakura to realize that Sasuke was referring to his own bathrobe, the blue and black striped, satin one.

"It's right where it's supposed to be," she said. In the cabinet right above the sink, right next to you.

She noticed the way his shoulders were bunched up. Uneasy lines drew across his forehead and at the corners of his eyes and mouth. Wherever Sasuke went, a tense atmosphere followed him around.

But Sakura's learned how to undo the tight strings clenching around his hardened heart. She approached him and knelt beside him. She rested her head on thigh and cooed, "Tell me, Sasuke-kun. Tell me everything."

They stayed there for some time. The water rippled across the tub for every time Sasuke flinched as he narrated events. Sakura listened. Her attention did not waver.

How long does it take for the Intel Force to decode Kaguya's scroll?

How many are they this time?

Konoha is not ready for another war.

I want to protect this new generation.

—speaking of which, do you know how often Sarada spends outside training?

(Almost all the time, she told him, just like you when you were her age).

With Boruto? he said. Boruto—he's not good enough for Sarada. By that I mean he won't be able to beat her. Later on, Sakura learned that he's taken Boruto as his disciple, much to her curiosity.

"Anyway, how is Sarada handling your cooking?"

Sakura made a 'hmph' sound and stood up to take off her clothes. Sasuke was watching eagerly in silence, but she made a poor attempt at seduction when she simply immersed herself in the tub. The water was already lukewarm.

"As a family," she whispered.

Sasuke turned to her. She tugged at the soft seams of the pink bathrobe he wore.

"We'll get through this as a family," said Sakura.

She took his hand in hers. She could tell he was looking for answers—he always was. But tonight, one step at time, they would solve one problem at a time.

Sasuke kissed his wife and began to undo his robe. Sakura's lips were warm and soft and inviting. On those long, cold nights alone, when his mind and spirit grew tired of searching, he yearned for this kind of familiarity. Her love bore no prejudice, and that was exactly what he needed.

He wasn't running away anymore. But just for now, the rest of the world could wait.