Stepping back to admire the impressive spread she spent most of the afternoon preparing, Sakura dusted her hands off with satisfaction and untied her apron. Hanging it on its designated hook as she floated out of the kitchen, the kunoichi plopped herself onto the sectional in the living room to take a moment to breathe. Sarada would be home any minute, and she wasn't quite sure where Sasuke was, but she assumed he would be home before nightfall as well.

She smiled to herself as she heard the front door bang open behind her, her daughter trumpeting her arrival as she tossed her pack unceremoniously on the floor.

"Sarada, what did we say about leaving our things on the floor," Sakura admonished gently, but it was quite clear the young girl had no ears for anything except for conversation about today's mission.

"It was so cool- We've never had a mission like this before, we were escorting somebody- I mean- Okay, it wasn't very far, but- So there was this little village we had to go to-" A bundle of energy, the genin kept interrupting herself as she struggled to get the story out, eventually stopping to make a much-needed deep breath. Sakura gave her an encouraging pat on the head, ruffling her hair a little, something Sarada hated. She fixed her mother with a firm glare, much akin to the one Sakura had employed earlier that day, her onyx eyes flashing as she thought of how to respond.

Suddenly she was gone with a poof, having used a replacement jutsu to switch her body with a book off of the coffee table. Sakura was impressed. She had seen the hand signs, of course, but she was still proud of her daughter's excellent development when it came to ninjutsu. She had inherited her mother's iron chakra control, something Sakura would never let Sasuke forget, since he was so fond of preening about the Sharingan.

Sakura shut the door Sarada had forgotten to close behind her as she went out onto her front porch, curious as to where her husband could be. The sun was just beginning to set, so there was still plenty of time before nightfall, but the pinkette found herself wondering what he could possibly be doing. It seems like there's always something more important than spending time with his family, she grumbled to herself, a frown crossing her face. She gave her head a slight shake and returned indoors, just in time to hear her daughter in the kitchen squealing over the feast she had prepared. The food would get cold if they waited too long.

"Let's go ahead and start to eat- I don't want the food to go cold, and I'm sure your father will be home shortly," she said confidently to Sarada, feigning good cheer as she loaded up her plate and sat down. The genin was none the wiser to her mother's foul mood, happily chattering in detail about her mission earlier that day while pausing every now and then to praise the food. Sakura seized the opportunity while Sarada was demonstrating a very complicated (and most likely exaggerated) series of interactions to glance out the kitchen window, checking the sun's position. A cold feeling began to settle in her stomach as she realised she had no idea when Sasuke would be back.

The kunoichi found herself jolted awake as a weight appeared suddenly on her bed, partially on top of her feet and sprawled out.

"Hello," a voice mumbled, likely face-down on the duvet and reaking of alcohol.

She stared for a moment, unable to believe what she was bearing witness to. She took a deep breath.

"Are you just now getting home?" she asked in a far nicer tone than was true to her mood, trying to glance through the curtains over the window to see what time it was. It had to be late, or very early, and she was none too pleased.

"Yeah," Sasuke mumbled again, struggling to sit up and fix his wife with a smile. He's tanked, she thought, incredibly disappointed. This wasn't the first time this had happened.

"Okay, let's get you into bed," she said sweetly, switching into medic mode as she hauled him up into bed, tucking him in and standing back to survey her work. He was out cold. A sigh escaped her lips.

Finding herself unwilling to go back to sleep, the kunoichi turned and went downstairs, slipping on her sandals and grabbing a cardigan as she went out the front door, closing it softly behind her so as to not wake Sarada. She was honestly impressed she had slept through her father coming home, but then, she had been pretty tired after her mission. Regarding the moon briefly, she determined it was roughly around 2AM. She supposed it could have been worse.

Thankfully Konoha was not known for its quiet nights- while she lived in a primarily residential district, she was close enough to a pleasure district to meander over and not have gone too far out of her way. She saw a few people she knew here and there, catching up with friends, knocking back a few drinks, enjoying the time they had together. Not wanting to attract too much attention, she ducked into a seedy-looking bar that she had sworn she'd never seen before. Taking a seat at the far end with plenty of space between herself and other patrons, she ordered a gin and tonic, feeling like she deserved a little something to take the edge off.

"I don't think I've seen you here before," came a voice from right behind her, nearly causing her to leap out of her seat. Feigning calm, she turned and regarded Kakashi warily.

"Fancy seeing you here," she replied flatly, glad that her drink arrived at that exact moment. She knocked back a drink and gestured for him to sit.

The copy ninja watched her for a moment, his expression unreadable, before placing his own order for a glass of whiskey as he sat down. Sakura nodded her approval. He raised his eyebrow, as if to say "who asked you?" and she found herself giggling. Wow, it had been awhile since she'd had a drink.

"I don't think I want to know," he remarked, gesturing to indicate his ex-student sitting on a bar stool, clearly getting sloshed. She rolled her eyes.

"Don't be so dramatic," she drawled, her speech slowing as the alcohol in her system started to take effect. "It's not like I never go out." The second the words were out of her mouth she realised they were incredibly untrue. She hadn't been out in literal years. Having emptied her glass, she waved at the bartender to indicate another one.

He shot her his signature eye crinkle and rubbed the back of his head, glancing around, clearly uncomfortable with the situation. She couldn't blame him. She knew she must look ridiculous, but one can only care so much after one's husband has come home, drunk out of his mind and clearly without a care in the world about seeing his family after two years of being away. But who was counting?

As if sensing her dismay, Kakashi set a hand gently on her shoulder, obviously offering what little comfort he could. She sighed and leaned over, resting her head on his shoulder without thinking, nursing her second drink. He froze, hesitating, and then put an arm around her.

"I'm sure whatever it is, it will be better after getting some sleep," the jounin said gently.

Sakura woke well after the sun had risen, her head pounding. She had no memory of getting home. She blinked in irritation as she saw a shadow over the bed as a figure stood at the foot of it.

"What?" she grumbled, rolling over to shield her eyes from the light with her pillow.

"Where were you last night?" Sasuke demanded softly, his voice taught with barely-concealed rage. The kunoichi sat up slowly, staring at him in disbelief.

"Are you serious?" she demanded, the words flying from her mouth as she practically spat them at him. "What does it matter? It's not like you were in any hurry to see us."

He was suddenly right in front of her, his face a few inches from her own. Her eyes widened a fraction, surprised at the speed and sense of urgency.

"I asked. Where you were." he demanded softly. Looking into his eyes, something was there that left a cold feeling at the very core of her being. They glinted harshly.

"I went for a walk after I helped you into bed," she whispered. She suppressed a shiver.

He moved away, standing back as he turned to go downstairs, an expression akin to satisfaction briefly visible on his face.

"I've made breakfast," he informed her as if nothing had happened. He closed the door behind him as he left, leaving a very disconcerted Sakura sat in bed. It was only then that she realised he had made no explanation for whatever he had been doing last night. What was going on?