Sundown

A/N: So much dialogue... the Uchiha couple have a lot to talk about.

Their hands stay clasp together on the hospital armchairs as they sit beside their daughter, with only machinery and the tiled floors separating the distance between parents and child. He wakes every so often, wanting to be the one with tender eyes his wife first sees, the one to comfort her and to brush her tears away. But alas, it is her thumb he feels stroking his knuckles as he awakens to her touch. He wanted to be the first... but even there he has failed her.

His groggy eyes meets her emerald; they have dulled and there are flecks of black mascara and grey eye bags that sit under her mesmerising irises. But he notices there is still a speck of flame burning in there, and it only grows slightly larger as she forces a smile at him. "Sasuke-kun..." she forced out of her lips, her voice restrained. "Sarada, she... she's okay. I'm sorry I made you worry."

He adjusted himself in his seat so he could look at her properly, and squeezed her fingers. "No, I'm sorry, Sakura," he contested. "If I didn't... If I hadn't... If I had only listened, and not... We could have been in Konoha earlier, and it might not have become...-"

He blamed himself for wasting time for his own selfish desires. By tempting her to make love with him, they had lost sight of the mission. If he had only had his own emotions in check, then maybe they could have been by their daughter's side earlier. How could he have fallen so blind to lust?

"Don't," Sakura began. "Please don't regret loving me. And it's not your fault. There's no way you could have known. This whole situation had nothing to do with you, so you don't need to blame yourself." Sakura smiled reassuringly at him, and he knew it wasn't forced. "It's BECAUSE of you we were able to get here on time, even though you wouldn't listen to me tell you the risks of of a dojutsu user activating their abilities so soon after they had caught the virus... You risked yourself for Sarada, and for that I can only thank you." Tears threatened to spill and her hand trembled as she brought his hand to her lips, showering him with gratitude. Her voice finally broke as she cried out, wavering, "I'm so indebted to you, Sasuke-kun. I thought I would lose one of you last night, if not both. I was so afraid, I-"

He hushed her by plopping himself off his seat, and standing over her as he awkwardly hugged her with his stump caressing her back. She teared up into his arm, leaving wet patches on his dark grey shirt. He hushed at her, "You don't need to say anything. She's fine now. We're fine."

She used her own palms to wipe away her tears, before looking up at her husband, clearly exhausted. "I'm so sorry Sasuke-kun, I ruined your shirt. You should go home and change. Rest while you're at it-" She attempted to get up from her seat, intending to check up on her daughter and run a few tests if necessary "-I'll stay here and watch over Sarada-" But his hand slammed her back down onto her seat as he gripped her shoulder.

"No," he stated, looking down at his wife, his brows threaded close together. "You go home."

"But-"

"No 'buts'. You need to rest. Don't worry, I'll stay with Sarada. If I notice anything I'll give the other doctors a call."

She sighed, defeated. "As you wish. Thank you, darling."

He watched her leave, leaving a kiss on their daughter's forehead on her way.

He could still feel her lips on his jaw that she left as she had propelled herself up from her seat; it tingled him, warming him as if he had finally found a fire amidst a freezing tunnel. He stood over his daughter and stroked her stray hairs that had fallen over her eyelids, tucking it behind her ear. He lowered his lips to her forehead, and planted a soft kiss where his wife had left hers. The three of them were connected. Hearts that beat as one. Before he knew it, the angelic face that lay before him was once again shrouded in splotches of droplets. It took him a while to recognise that he was the culprit. He used one finger to brush his leaks away before using his sleeve to relieve his child from his fears. He never wanted her to face heartbreak like that. He wouldn't be able to bear it. His whole being shivered violently as he let out a straggly breath. He crouched down beside her, until his face was to her level, and whispered stories of his travels to her resting form. He continued to do so until his words tired him out, and he ran out of appropriate stories to tell a worn out two-year old. He rested his head perpendicular to hers, his protective arm cradling her head, as if threatening any other molecular threat to back away.

That was how Sakura found them five hours later. The morning sun spread its light across the land, leaving its dwellers with glimmers of hope. She left a new dark grey shirt on the seat that had her husband's cloak draped across as she sat in the other, marvelling at her family. How did she become so lucky? He would often think the same. She sat there for quite some time, legs crossed over the other and one palm resting under her chin. She was stolen from her thoughts with a gentle knocking on the door.

He jerked his head up and inclined his head towards the door, the arguing that had been brewing behind closed doors had erupted and had infiltrated the private hospital room.

"I don't know how you got past reception, but you are NOT allowed to go see my daughter!"

A deep manly voice pleaded back, "Please, Sakura..."

A female voice accompanied his. "It was a mistake. We had only let her out of our sight for a couple of minutes-"

"DON'T YOU LIE TO ME! ESPECIALLY after last time. I can't believe you would prioritise your stupid drinking games over your granddaughter's safety! What kind of grandparents are you?!"

The female voice attempted to guilt-trip his wife, "Sakura-chan, don't do this to your old feeble parents. Just one look, just let us apologise to her. You don't want to leave your parents alone, do you? Break our hearts?"

"I'll break more than your hearts if you step any closer!"

The male voice attempted to bargain, "Look, we'll apologise and send our wishes, and we won't bother you again. Just this once, for your old man. Give us a chance to redeem ourselves."

"I've already given you a chance, remember? THIS was your chance! And you blew it! After the first time, I sent her off to stay with Naruto and Hinata, and you begged and pleaded and I relented. You told me my child needed family around her. And you're right. She does. NARUTO is family! Hell, he's more than family, more than either of you have ever been. And I'll say this once, don't you EVER. And I mean, EVER, come near me or my family again, or you'll wish you never made me!"

And with a slam she heaved herself back inside the room. Her chest was rising up and down as her hand locked around the handle, violently shaking.

Sasuke stood up and stepped towards Sakura.

"Was that your parents? Is everything okay?"

"They were just leaving," she seethed.

His hand went towards the handle, attempting to pry it open but she swatted him away.

"Sakura. Let me talk to them. Or at least you tell me what's going on."

"No. They won't bother us if they have any sense."

"Sakura," he tried again. "They're family, we can't just cut them out of our daughter's life."

She glared at her husband. "THEY are not our family any longer. My family is right in this room." She gestured towards himself and their child with her chin. He huffed. He wouldn't get anything out of her when she's worked up like this.

He noticed the glow in her jade eyes fade away as she slumped onto the floor. Sasuke lowered himself beside her, waiting, listening.

"I... I always told myself, if I ever became a parent, that I would never be like them..." Sakura inhaled sharply before continuing. Her words were slow as she spilled the cracks in her heart she had thought had been erased. "I just... always wanted to know how it felt to be accepted for who I am. I just wanted them to support my decision to join the Academy as a child...I just wanted to be accepted and acknowledged by a loved one. Ino taught me it was possible, back then. And then, and then I met you." She looked up at him and smiled wryly. "But you probably don't remember..." She looked back down to her hands that had fallen over her knees. Her own words had cast her away into a journal full of broken memories and feelings that had been harboured at the bottom of a dusty old cupboard like crooked stitches that barely linked together. "My parents, they, they've always just made it so difficult to be around them. I've just grown up resenting them. And I know I sound ungrateful, and that's why I've never told you before but their drinking just made it that much worse. They only started paying attention to me once I had made a name for myself. And even though I felt like my relationship with them was broken beyond repair, I still wanted to make an effort. For your sake. And then Sarada's. I know how important family is to you. And I didn't want Sarada to grow up feeling she's missing out on family, but having no family must be better than having toxic family that you can't stand..."

Sasuke watched droplets fall on white leggings and held his wife's hands. His mind flickered back to his elder brother's strained relationship with their father, and his own relationship where he had only wanted acknowledgement but was mostly brushed over. His thoughts then diverted to how he was tormented for so long by his elder brother, Itachi, and that the only love he had understood explicitly from his immediate family was from his gentle mother. Although he couldn't find it in himself to agree with his wife's feelings about family ties, he knew the feeling of vulnerability. She was glass beneath his skin. Over the years she had built walls of glass around her most fragile parts, claiming she was durable and posing a front to the world... but glass was glass after all. No matter how many layers, glass is breakable. And she lay here shattered. Sasuke decided to put aside his own personal feelings about the topic and leave them at the deck, whilst he turned his attention to the sail and worked it so it went against neither the currents nor the wind that guided him along. He would be here for his wife when she needed him the most, and he would sail this ship until they reached the sure-footing of the shore.

His touch against hers brought her back to reality. She brought her trembling hands to her face and Sasuke noticed how her eyes widened and her mouth fell agape.

"That was so insensitive of me," she rushed out, panic spreading across her face. "I shouldn't have- I'm sorry. I didn't mean..." She bit her lip and stole a glance through her curtain of hair which had fallen over her glassy eyes. "You must really hate me..."

He brought his fingers to her fallen locks and brushed them aside so he could see green again. "I don't," was all he said. It was only half a lie, sure he didn't hate his wife, he couldn't even if he tried. But her words had left a bittersweet taste in his mouth.

He brought himself up and walked away towards the hospital bed. He turned around to look at his wife, signalling for her to join him. Her eyes brightened as she understood, and she picked herself up and slowly made her way to stand by his side. He found her fingers and held them, rubbing them with his thumb in comfort. "Family, huh?" He mused. "You gave that back to me. So thank you."

"I also got you a new shirt", she quipped, indicating that her husband's lack of words had worked their magic.

His onyx eye averted to her slim figure, and air passed through his nose as a small smile broke across his face. "Ah," he said. "Thanks."

It was midday when the fruition of their love stirred. Before she could even peel her eyes open, a single word tumbled out of her lips. "Papa..." She pressed her eyes open as she heard two pairs of footsteps rushing towards her. "Papa! Mama! Papa is hom. Papa is hom. Welcome hom Papa and Mama. Papa and Mama I misst you. Mama. Mama." She was waving her arms at her parents and only stopped talking when Papa picked her up. She tugged at his raven hair in front of him and pulled it away so she was staring at purple spirals. "Ooh," she cooed.

"Does it scare you?" He asked softly.

"No, not scary," she replied in a hushed whisper, clearly mesmerised. "I'm not scared. Papa eye pretty. I want a purple eye. Mama, I want a purple eye, please Mama. Sarada will be a good girl if you give purple eye. MAMA!"

Sasuke looked at his wife with a raised eyebrow, almost as if asking What's gotten into her?

A sweat drop slid over Sakura's head as she raised her palms out in protest. "Oh, Sarada... You really missed your Papa, hmm? How about we go home and you can show him all the purple and red eyes you've drawn? I think Papa will like that." She mouthed a 'sorry' to Sasuke.

Sarada grabbed Sasuke's face and pulled him into a hug, and kissed his forehead. "Yes yes yes! I love you, Papa! Mama alray say she loves Papa and Papa lubs me, and I lub Papa too," she screeched into his hair. "I show Papa new wed shoes. Wed. I love colour wed."

"Papa does love you," he murmured. "Can you let go now?"

"Only if you pwomise to be horsey!"

"Fine," he said.

She squealed in delight.

Sasuke balanced Sarada behind his neck, once she had let go of his head and made his way out.

"You two go on ahead," Mama said. "I just need to sign some paperwork and I'll meet you guys by the ice-cream shop, how does that sound?"

"Hn."

Sarada scrunched up Papa's hair as she squealed once more, "Ice-cream! You're da best, Mama! Love you."

"I love you too, Sarada," Mama smiled.

The sun shone down on father and child, gracing ever being with its heavenly touch. The birds chirped away, tittering about how the wind had blown the most favourable seeds their way. The bees buzzed, humming love stories between folds of petals. And humans walked, their shoes tapping onto pebbles, singing merry songs. A raven haired man with a smaller, female version of himself over his shoulders stopped at a yakisoba stall. The broth of the noodles bubbled up amidst the heat of the cooker.

"Papaaaa!" Sarada whined. "This not ice-cream. Ice-cream over there!" Sarada pointed down the street towards a white shop decorated with pictures of ice-cream flavours.

"We need to get lunch first," Sasuke explained. "You must be starving." Sarada's stomach spoke up in cue, and she flushed a light red.

"No! Mama said ice-cream!"

"Tch. I think I know what my wife meant, Sarada. We're getting lunch first. Your mother's a doctor, even she wouldn't suggest desserts before a main meal."

Sarada growled into Papa's hair.

"Fine, Papa! But I don't want wed squishy tomatoes. That's yucky." Sweat dripped from Sasuke's deadpanned face, it was unfortunate that his daughter didn't inherit his love for tomatoes, but had instead inherited her mother's love for sweets.

He had everything. He was once a boy was born into everything, but then lost it all. Indeed, he had even lost his way. A stream of golden light had flashed before him and shone, showing him the way. Spring fluttered around him even in the coldest winters as he searched for the same light within himself. Once he had, the same stream of light called out to him, but this time it glistened with a new hope. A hope for daylight to also soothe him. And that was where he found her. And she had given him everything again. He sat on the sofa as he watched Sarada rummage through her drawings, looking for her best work to show her Papa. Her Mama rested her pink hair on Papa's lap, stroking his cheek as she looked up at him.

"Hm?" His gaze flickered from daughter to wife.

"I love you, darling," she said.

It didn't matter how many times she told him, it would always feel like the first time: like the world had stopped altogether with those three words and he would abandon everything else just to be with her. Like his whole body threatened to react to her words, and he needed a way to fight her waves of endearment with something sinister. Like if he wasn't careful, then he would melt into her, even it was sundown.

"Yeah," he responded. I know. Thank you.

She lifted her head up from him, and moved her hand from his cheek. He was disappointed by her sudden absence, already missing the tenderness of her touch until she repositioned herself so that she was sitting next to him, her hand grazing his knee. He noticed the light shade of pink that sat on her cheeks as she leaned closer to him, her lips almost brushing against his.

He immediately got up from his seat to avoid the contact, but her hands tugged on his one good arm. A pout had appeared on her beautiful face. "Love me, then", she pouted.

"I'm not going to kiss you... not in front of anyone. So don't even ask," he said.

A pink brow lifted skywards. "Not even in front of your daughter?"

"Especially not in front of her," he warned.

She giggled, "Oh, Sasuke. And what about when she asks about my first kiss? You know young girls wonder about those types of things."

He contemplated this for a moment, eyeing his daughter, wondering if his wife's words held any truth to them. "I guess you'll just have to figure it out. But you don't tell her about us kissing. That's embarrassing," he grumbled. He turned towards his wife and released his arm from her grip, elongating it towards her diamond seal with a touch of two fingers.

"Next time," he smirked.

He padded towards his daughter and sat beside her. She grinned up at him as she told him of what each colourful scribble was. He stroked her hair lovingly, and hummed and nodded at all the right moments. A spark of serenity ignited in him; he really loved his little family.

It was sundown when he took his daughter up to her room and placed her in her cot. He sat in the green armchair as his wife leaned against the door frame.

"So," she purred. "She's not sleeping with us tonight?" She raised a brow suggestively and her lips twisted upwards.

"I'll put her to sleep," he said, averting her flirtations. "I'll meet you in bed in a bit."

Sakura walked over to the cot and planted a kiss on Sarada's cheek. " Goodnight, Sarada." And she left them to it.

"Wait!" Sarada wailed. "Papa, I want you to tell me a stowy."

"Which one?"

"Hmm," she thought, one finger on her chin as she mirrored her mother's habit. "A story about you and Uncle Itachi, and 'nother about the boy who followed a light that changed into a fox and took him to find a pink pwincess."

Sasuke sighed. "Sarada, you know you can only choose one."

Sarada's lower lip stuck out until it formed a pout. "Uncle Naruto right. Papa no fun," she jibed. "Okay tell me about the boy."

She hung onto every word he said, fighting sleep as she clutched onto her teddy. Her eyes glimmered under the light of the lamp. He had just gotten to her favourite part about the pink princess - it didn't matter where she went, be it the snowy mountains or the the darkest caves: it was always spring; a touch of magic, of sorts. Sarada struggled to hide her yawn but her father's piercing eyes could see through everything. "Right, that's enough for tonight."

"No, please!" She pleaded. "You didn't finish. Papa!"

"Tomorrow," he promised. He kissed her on the brow and waited for her to give in to sleep before taking his leave.

He found Sakura lying on his side of the bed on the right in a satin pink nightdress reading a book about the properties of different medicinal herbs

He sat beside her. "You know you're on my spot," he pointed out.

She put her book down and placed it on the night stand. "Claim it then. You're just going to have to lie on me," she said, airily. "I mean, that is what's going to happen, right, Sasuke?"

"...No. I wanted to talk to you. About a couple of things," he clarified his intentions.

"Hmm, I think I might agree with Sarada. Naruto IS right. You are no fun," she pouted.

He ignored her comment. "Sarada's been acting...really strange. It's clear a lot of things have happened whilst I've been away." His brows knitted together. "Why didn't you mention anything in any of your letters?"

Sakura sighed. "I didn't want to worry you. She's been having a lot of... 'daddy' issues, you know? She's missed you a lot, and I don't think it helped that I've been occupied at the hospital, or on my mission, either."

Sasuke thought this over. The thought of his daughter feeling abandoned, neglected... it hurt him. He hoped she knew how much he loved her, even if he found it difficult to express. He knew that Sakura helped to fill the void, telling their daughter about his love for them, and he only hoped his daughter understood.

He looked back at his wife, his sharingan activated as he asked, "And what about you? Do you have 'daddy' issues?" Have you missed me?

Her saying it once wasn't enough. He needed to hear her words again, it was his oxygen.

"Eh?!" Her face flushed a deep red. "When did you learn to speak like that?!"

"Kakashi." He said it like it was obvious. "In one of his letters, he attached a few pages of those disgusting erotic novels of his. I burned it after I read it, of course."

She buried her reddened face in her hands. "Sensei is such a pervert..." She muttered. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"To be fair, if it wasn't for him I wouldn't have had those dreams about you." The corner of his lip curled upwards as he watched her reaction unfold.

"Huh?!" She had snapped her head out of her hands and stared at her husband. "You're not helping, Sasuke-kun... I'd put Hokage-sama straight, but I don't think I could look him in the eyes ever again." Her head flopped as she hung it in shame.

Sasuke's face grew serious again. There were still other concerns tugging at his mind. "Sakura," he said, lifting her chin up to face him. "Your parents. What happened?"

Her eyes wandered around the room, trying to find an escape route, but alas, her husband entranced her and attracted her attention. There was no escaping. She nibbled at her lip as she struggled to meet his red eye. "Okay, I'll try not to... 'ramble'. Just the facts," she promised. Her fingers found the tips of pink as she twirled it around her fingers. "A few weeks back, Sarada stayed with them whilst I was on a night shift. When I had returned home the next morning, I found the front door cracked. Thankfully we weren't robbed, but when I came to our room I found Sarada asleep on our bed. It turns out she's managed to fuse her chakra in her fists... Sorry, I'm getting side-tracked, aren't I? Anyway, I confronted them later that evening but they were still piss drunk. And that was why Sarada stayed with Naruto and Hinata during my next night shift.

"When Hinata came for her pregnancy check-up she let slip that my pare- they had been pestering Hinata. So I went to have a word with them. Things might have gotten a bit out of hand... but Naruto saved the day as always. He mediated between us. He'll really make a great Hokage. -Oops, I'm doing it again, aren't I? - So thanks to Naruto, we reconciled and I let them have her. They were doing a great job actually, taking her to the parks, meeting up with Boruto and Inojin. I would have loved for Sarada to grow up having a healthy relationship with her grandparents, but this last incident was the last straw. She could have lost her sight for good, Sasuke! I won't let them near her again," she finished.

Sasuke had been listening intently. He wouldn't argue with his wife's decisions. They were her parents after all, and they had let her down, worse still, they had jeopardised their grandchild's safety. He wouldn't risk his daughter's safety just to attempt at forging bonds with his in-laws.

"And do you know about how Sarada caught the virus?" He asked.

"Yes. I went to visit Hokage-sama after I showered this morning. It turns out a few civilians had spotted her alone outside of their houses. During a lockdown! Apparently she had been wandering around the village calling out 'Papa' and 'Mama' for a couple of hours. By the time someone had reported it to Kakashi-Sensei, her eyes had dilated, indicating that she had been having a series of headaches. When Shizune-sama had been monitoring her at the hospital, she found that Sarada had a high fever... I'm so glad I found you when I did, Sasuke. If I hadn't, then..." Her voice trailed off and her hands trembled. It was at that moment that he cast her into a genjutsu and calmed her down, showing her his memories of Sarada that promised the future would only be brighter. When he was sure she had calmed down, he broke off the genjutsu and let his sharingan spiral back into onyx.

"Thank you, darling...", she whispered.

Her words gave him the confidence for him to bring his hand to her left foot and massage it. Pressing down on it in all the right places, allowing a satisfying sigh to escape her perfect lips.

"Sakura," he said, regaining her attention. "Who will look after Sarada when we're both occupied with our duties?"

"Don't worry, darling, I've already thought about that," she replied. "I know Hinata will insist on looking after Sarada, but honestly, that girl is too kind for her own good. She's seven months pregnant so I won't allow her to. If she asks again, I'm just going to threaten Naruto, I know he's scared of me. But Ino came by earlier to the house and she agreed she'll take care of Sarada. Apparently Choji suggested too, but I'll have to see if Karui is okay with that."

"Hn," was all Sasuke said. His wife had dealt with all of this on her own, and he admired her for that. She was strong in so many ways, and he loved her for it.

"There's something else that's been bothering me, Sakura."

"What is it?"

"When we met up with Karin, I read in a scroll that activating certain dojutsus can have adverse effects on a person who's immune system has been weakened by a virus that effects the optical nerves, even if they've been cured from it. You pretty much said the same thing. And what happened to me after I used my rinnengan only proved that to be true... So, I was wondering, if Sarada ever activates the sharingan would... Would there be any complications?" His eyes narrowed.

Sakura leaned over and held her husband's arm and shone a reassuring smile at him. "She would only suffer complications if she were to activate her sharingan any time soon. Which I don't think will be the case. So you don't have to worry, Sasuke-kun. Although..." Her smile slipped away, and in it's place her lips puckered upwards as a finger sat on her chin. "We still need to do more research into this, but from what me and Karin concluded is that if someone else uses a dojutsu on someone who's suffered from the virus quite soon after - we're not sure on the timescale, just yet - then the symptoms may surface again. But we still need to run a few more tests to be sure. But even then, Sarada will be okay, as I'm sure you won't use your sharingan on her, and neither will she be going on any missions for another decade."

She rubbed his shoulder to console him, relieving him of any doubts that still lingered.

"And another thing," she continued. "Whilst we were with Sarada last night, Shizune and the rest of the medic team have been using the vaccines, ointments, and jutsu formulas on everyone in the village and from what I've heard it's been a success. That's why as you guys saw this morning, lockdown had been lifted. Karin, Orochimaru and Captain Yamato should be rewarded with a huge sum of money soon for helping Konoha." Sakura stretched her arms above her head and cracked her neck on both sides.

"Okay, are we done with the talking now?" She asked bluntly. "Are you going to fuck me or not?"

Her bluntness caught Sasuke by surprise. Despite her rational comfort of words, guilt still shrouded him. He still felt that by letting his desires consume him, he had failed his family. "I'd rather not," he retorted.

Sakura was taken aback. "Seriously? Let me guess, 'next time'?"

He turned his head away to hide his smirk. He leaned back, and let his head fall to the covers of the bed, so he lay perpendicular to her lower body. He saw the quizzical look on his wife's face, and then flashed a purple gleam of his rinnengan with her. He had swapped their places.

He looked up at the ceiling and said, "I don't mind if you take the reigns though."

A few gasps later, he found himself looking at swirls of pink and pools of green. Soft lips matched his own, and he escaped into an ethereal illusion of his own. Except it wasn't an illusion. She was right here, draped across him, leaving her delicate touches all over him. Undressing him one moment, and the next he was clothed in only her. Her hair. Her scent. Her love. She uttered his name, a hushed whisper, and then louder. Louder. He peeled his eyes open from bliss and clamped his hand over her mouth. "What have I told you about not waking Sarada up? Shut up," he hissed. But to his unfortunate arousal, his aggressive behaviour only seemed to send her into another galaxy of euphoria. He found other ways to shut her up.

Once the deed was the done, they lay panting together, side by side. She had fallen onto her side of the mattress, and he ran his fingers lightly over her smooth skin. "Sakura," he panted, her name rolling off his tongue seamlessly, sending flutters all over her body. "Thank you for everything."

She murmured something inaudible, but he swore he heard the word 'love'. He kissed her on the shoulder and stole himself away into a much needed shower. The water may have washed away bodily fluids, but the scent of romance still remained. He concealed himself in the only bathrobe he found and made his way to the kitchen to make dinner for him and his wife, as Sarada had already been fed.

He opened the fridge to see what his wife had stored away whilst he's been away, and took out a few ingredients. It was only when he closed the fridge that he noticed it. Underneath a magnet rested an old picture which he hadn't seen for a couple of years. It was of Team Taka: he was cloaked in the infamous Akatsuki robes and a scowl that could kill, and surrounding him was his old team; a flustered Karin, a smug Suigestu, and a cool and composed Jugo, He frowned at the picture, wondering how it had ended up in his humble abode. The memories of himself back then sometimes still haunted him when he was on his missions. He was stolen from his thoughts when an arm encircled his waist.

"Sasuke-kun," she hummed into his back. "I was wondering what had happened to my new bathrobe. You really do look pretty in pink," she giggled.

"Sakura," he greeted, acknowledging her presence. "Where did you get this?"

She peeled herself away from him and looked over to what he was staring at.

"Oh! Karin gave it to me. She told me I should have it as you hate having your photo taken. Which is evident by that scowl," she teased.

Sasuke turned his gaze away from the insulting photo and peeked at his wife stood beside him. He was amused to find that her modesty was covered with a white towel that barely hid much.

"I don't want Sarada to see this. You need to throw it away or put it somewhere safe. Or I will."

"Huh? But why?" She whined. "But you look so handsome."

Sasuke used his rinnengan to swap places with his wife so that she was cloaked in her bathrobe, and he had the towel encased around his lower body. She blinked in surprise. "Wow."

"Sakura, I wasn't in my right mind then. I was an international criminal. I thought we agreed that none of the new generation of kids would learn about that. Especially our own daughter. I don't want her getting ideas into her head or anything. She might already be a target when she enrols at school for being an Uchiha, she doesn't need the burden of knowing that her father was once a-"

"Sasuke," Sakura comforted, as she swirled his name around her tongue. "It's okay. You don't have to worry. If you really feel that strongly about it, I can use this picture and put it behind mine and Sarada's in that frame Ino got me for my birthday. That way only you will be shown, and not your crimes - which you've redeemed yourself from, by the way. How does that sound?"

He contemplated her suggestion for a moment, before agreeing. "Hn. We could do that."

She smiled at him and looked at the food he had produced from the fridge. "Right, so I'm guessing we're having rice balls with tomatoes?" She clamped her hands together.

"Yeah," he said with a smile. "Read a book or something. I'll call you when it's done."

"Oh my, is Sasuke Uchiha spoiling me?" She fluttered her eyelashes at him and gestured her hands around dramatically.

"It's no different to anything I've ever done before. Quit being so dramatic," he responded in a dull tone whilst washing the tomatoes.

She stood on her tiptoes and pecked his cheek before nudging him, whispering, "I know you love it, really." She winked and ran upstairs, light on her feet.

The moon hung in the sky, gracing the Uchiha's with light, leaving promises of the breaking of dawn. The only sound that could be heard was the hooting of owls outside, and the frying of the pan that sizzled away. Him and his wife had restored peace to their small family, and his heart recited a steady rhythm of poetry. Life was good. What could go wrong?

A/N: The next chapter is one that I've been planning for a looooong time. Let's hope I do it justice.

Please leave a review. Is there any way I could improve?