XXI.

Sarada was six months old when she first started teething, but surprised both her parents when she didn't wake up screaming in the night because of the pain in her mouth, nor did she wail and cry during the day. All Sarada did when she started cutting teeth was whine and bury her face in the shoulder of whoever was holding her, chewing on her purple teething ring (given to her by her doting aunt Ino). Sasuke almost instantly assumed she had a high pain tolerance, but Sakura wasn't so sure about that. She thought it was, probably that the pain wasn't that bad and she didn't understand what pain was, so it was just a mild discomfort to the infant.

Still, Sasuke figured Sarada didn't care too much about the pain that, while cutting teeth was causing her pain, it wasn't so bad that she would start sobbing over it.

Sarada showed no signs of being distressed over cutting teeth, that is, until she had to spend a few nights away from Sasuke and Sakura. Naruto had decided to send his two best friends on a mission so they could get out of the village for a while, but completely forgot about Sarada until Sakura showed up with the eight-month-old on her hip, pointing to her and saying "Did you forget about her when you set us up for that mission?"

It was so last minute that Sakura was convinced they would not be able to find someone that could watch Sarada, as Ino was busy with her son, Shikamaru and Temari were preparing for the Chunin Exams again, and Hinata and Naruto had to care for Bolt, their sick nine-month-old, while Sakura's parents' were out of the village on vacation.

The only person left was Asuna, who ended up being free the two weeks Sasuke and Sakura needed to be gone, much to the medic's delight.

Sasuke wasn't very sure about this, though. He trusted Asuna very much, but didn't know how Sarada would react to not seeing them for fourteen days, while Sakura tried not to think about it and just packed a suitcase for their daughter.

"Sasuke-kun, she'll be fine. I mean, look at her! She's already crawling and talking, and she even taught herself how to stand up while holding onto something. She'll be fine!"

Sasuke shakes his head, looking back at Sarada, who blinks before laughing and clapping her hands, enjoying her spot on the ground because she can look up at her parents' without a problem.

"Sakura, I know. I just…"

"You're worried. Oh my gosh, you're worried about her!" Sakura laughs without noticing Sasuke's face turning red. She doesn't even pay attention as he picks Sarada up off the floor and sets her on their bed, among all the items Sakura is trying to pack.

"Here, Sarada. Tell your mother she's insane."

Sarada blinks again as Sakura glares at Sasuke, throwing a pillow at him.

"Don't be a jerk! Who knows what she's going to start saying?!"

"Tch. As long as we don't cuss it won't be a problem."

+!+

"Sarada, aren't you excited? You get to spend a whole two weeks with me and Reyke!"

Sarada coos while staring at the woman holding her, barely remembering that this is her Aunt Asuna and that the little boy next to her is her cousin Reyke.

After getting all their items packed, Sakura and Sasuke tried to get some rest before their mission the next morning, but failed in the long run as both were quite worried about how Sarada would react to not having either of her parents around for two weeks.

When they dropped her off with Asuna, Sarada just gurgled and waved as they left, only understanding that her parents' were going somewhere and not that they weren't coming back for a while.

"Mama," Reyke follows Asuna as she walks off to his bedroom, where she had set up a crib for Sarada to sleep in while she was there. "How long is Sarada staying with us?"

"She'll be here for the next two weeks, sweetie."

Nodding, Reyke sits on the edge of his bed while Asuna gets Sarada settled in her crib, knowing that the small girl must be in need of more sleep after having been woken so early.

"There you go, Sarada. You go on to sleep, ok?" Asuna smiles at her tiny niece, as Sarada blinks and coos again, rubbing her eyes before slowly falling back asleep. "Reyke, I'm going to go make breakfast. You be quiet and watch Sarada, all right?"

"Mm-hm!" Reyke nods again with a smile as Asuna leaves, slipping off his bed and walking over to the crib, watching his little cousin as she sleeps. "We're gonna have a lot of fun while you're here, Sarada. Mama will make sure of that."

+!+

Sarada looked around while sitting on the living room floor of her aunt and cousin's home. Reyke was running about putting things in a bag and she had no idea why, but was content with the attention she was receiving from Asuna. It was almost, almost, like Sasuke and Sakura were home with her, yet still not the same.

"Aw, Sarada, I'm gonna miss having you here every day!" Asuna lifted her small niece up and hugged her tight, receiving a hug in return.

The two weeks had gone by quickly and Asuna was surprised when it was time for Sarada to go home. She had done so much with the small girl—taking her to park, letting Reyke watch over Sarada while she cleaned, and Reyke tried to teach his little cousin how to color—that it was shocking when the two weeks ended and Sasuke and Sakura were on their way back home.

That's why Reyke was packing a bag. He was trying to find all of Sarada's stuff and throw it back into her bag, so she could go home right away when Sasuke and Sakura got there in just a little while.

Sarada didn't pay any attention as Asuna stood up a few minutes later to do something, still watching Reyke as he grabbed a few more of her items and put them in her bag.

Well, she didn't pay attention until she noticed someone was standing over her, causing her to look up in confusion before breaking into a smile.

"Pa…papa!"

Sasuke smiled down at Sarada before picking her up and allowing her to hug him. "Hello, Sarada. I missed you so much."

"Papa…" Sarada smiled even more as she hid her face in Sasuke's shoulder, only looking up when she felt someone kiss the top of her head and found it was Sakura. "Mama!"

"Hi there, darling! Did you have fun while we were gone?"

Sarada blinked, not having an answer and cooing as a response. "Mama."

"Yes, darling, we're back. We're gonna go home."

Author's Note: I'm still freaking excited that SasuSaku and NaruHina are canon. ;-; So much happiness, yay.

I did change Keiko to Sarada so it could be closer to canon. Therefore, Naruto and Hinata's son will be named Bolt in this as well.

Also, very sorry for the lateness in this. I have been extremely busy this semester.

Happy Thanksgiving to those that celebrate it along with me. Have a good week and see you next time~!