Title: Like father, like son(-in-law)
Shinobi AU
Rating: K+
Words: 2244

Summary: This behaviour of his… it's getting on her nerves. And if he doesn't tone it down, Sakura decides as she glares at her husband, she'll punch him into oblivion. Ugh, not really, but she'll be close to do so, she swears.

This story was inspired by this tumblr ask:

Anonymous asked: I totally can imagine Sakura dad teaching bad jokes to Sasuke lol

Like father, like son(-in-law)

It's not something that came out of nowhere. No, she knows exactly when it started: the day they crossed Konoha's gates with their week-old daughter in her husband's lone arm. Well, to be more precise, it started right after Naruto dragged them to Ichiraku's, insisting they had to celebrate that Team Seven was finally reunited.

Even though she was dead tired, in need of a long bath and dreaming of a warm bed for two, Sakura was truly enjoying their mini "reunion." The food was delicious and better than she recalled, she was surrounded by her favorite people (minus Sarada, who was being spoiled by her grandparents), and the chatter was pleasant.

Nothing out of the ordinary.

Until the moment their mouths were too full of ramen to talk, the same moment that her dear husband decided to fill the silence between mouthfuls. "What do you call a fake noodle?"

Naruto frowned and Sakura did it too, scrunching up her face in confusion. The situation was so unusual; Sasuke's casualty and blank face as he prompted the question, the way he seemed to have picked this particular moment to speak, and since when did Uchiha Sasuke ask mundane questions like that?

Everything was so uncharacteristic of Sasuke that Sakura didn't even consider answering the question – and she was sure that Naruto was in the same boat if his expression could say anything; his jaw slackened, parting his lips as he stared at his best friend with a wary look.

Sasuke gave them about a minute to think, probably less, then the bastard smirked like he was the smartest person in the world, and revealed the answer.

"An impasta."

While Sakura remained silent, a bewildered look on her face as she studied the man she married and wondered what the hell just happened, their loud teammate wheezed and hollered, punched the countertop several times, spilling ramen everywhere.

Days passed after that one-liner. At the time, Sakura thought it would be the first and only joke coming out of Sasuke's mouth. What a short-lived wish.

If she remembers correctly, they were at the Hokage's Tower when it happened again. Since their return, Sakura knew they'd have to report back to the Hokage and discuss their future as leaf shinobi.

On the way to Kakashi's office, Sakura and Sasuke crossed paths with Yamato-taicho, who welcomed them back with an awkward hug and some political gossip.

Apparently Kakashi's assistance to smaller villages and Konoha's fast rebuilding was noticed by the Daimyo who awarded the Rokudaime with an exquisite plaque that symbolizes his gratitude.

While Sakura wasn't surprised by the news, Sasuke seemed a little confused and without hesitation asked:

"Why did Kakashi win an award?"

For a moment, Sakura was convinced that her husband's question was born out of curiosity. He simply wanted to know why exactly this award was given to the laziest Hokage ever, but—

"Because he was outstanding in his field."

—she was clearly wrong.

Yamato blinked a couple times – undoubtedly trying to process the last thirty seconds – but then realization dawned on him. "Oh! Kakashi," her former taicho laughed, a hand coming to rest on her shoulder for support. "A scarecrow outstanding in his field!"

Sakura had never seen such a scary face before, especially when one is laughing like a hyena. Shuddering, she grabbed the back of Sasuke's shirt and pulled him closer. Slowly, they retreated to Kakashi's office, leaving Yamato in the lobby, clutching his stomach and gasping for air.

On a warm summer morning, Sakura finds herself evaluating her husband's newfound "sense of humor" once recalls the handful of events she witnessed in the past couple weeks and it's impossible not to cringe as she does so.

Below her, on the futon, Sarada gurgles and moves her hands around as though the little one wants to get her mother's attention. Sakura's features relax almost instantly.

"Maybe becoming a dad changes things," she mumbles and her baby girl coos in response. "Is that so?"

Sakura hums and makes kissing sounds as their baby conversation continues. She's fluffing Sarada's new purple dress – a gift from auntie Ino of course – when she hears her husband approaching them.

Sasuke arrives with the matching shoes on his fingers, the tiny pair is too big for his fingertips and Sakura holds back a laugh. She snatches the smallest pair of shoes she's seen in her life and inspects them up-close.

"They are so cute, Sasuke-kun. I can't— " Sakura squeals as she squishes the soft material in her hands. She hears Sasuke snorting but she doesn't care; she's dying to see how her baby will look like wearing the full set. She slips one shoe on and grins, "Sara-chan, you look like a princess!"

Her husband sits beside her and plays with Sarada's tiny fingers while Sakura fusses over the other shoe; Sarada seems happy to see both of her parents and her excitement is transferred to her little limbs. Her legs kick up and about, making it impossible for Sakura to slip on the second shoe.

"What kind of shoes do ninjas wear?"

Sakura doesn't turn her attention away from the wandering foot, so she doesn't notice anything particularly different in Sasuke's tone. He's helping her distract Sarada, although he's not very successful. Once Sakura has a hold of a small foot, she replies, "Hm?"

"Sneakers."

Slowly and deliberately, Sakura raises her head to meet his eyes, letting out a groan when she sees the smallest tilt of his should've known better; the question would have set off alarms in her head if she wasn't so distracted.

Sasuke glances at her as she puffs her cheeks and shakes her head, then his attention is back to their baby girl like nothing happened. Her thoughts from earlier return and she's more convinced this is a dad thing than before, however she has a nagging feeling that something else has influenced Sasuke's unusual behaviour.

Something or someone that—

Oh no.

There's only one person Sakura knows that acts exactly like that. Someone that uses puns excessively, that teaches lessons through jokes and awkward stories, and that often initiates and finishes conversations with dad jokes.

Someone that has spent a lot of time around her husband lately...

Her father.

Haruno Kisazhi hasn't only been strangely warm towards her husband, he has also invited Sasuke to join him in random activities like tea, shoji, and even fishing.

That's probably it... her dad's antics must be rubbing off on Sasuke.

"Anata, can you look after Sarada for a little bit?" Sakura doesn't wait for a reply, she storms downstairs in a hurry. "I'll be right back."

"Thanks for meeting me in such a short notice."

"That's fine, but why didn't you call? That disgusting snail of yours left a slime trail on my carpet."

"It's a slug, Mom." Sakura sighs. "Katsuyu is a slug."

"Same difference." Mebuki shakes her hand in a dismissive manner. "So, where's the fire, sweety?"

"Uh." Sakura's eyes lower as does her voice. "You know how Dad is always making those terrible jokes?" Mebuki nods, a fond smile stretching her lips. "When did that start?"

"Well, your father was always humorous, but I think if I had to pinpoint a date, it would be after you were born. Why?"

Leaning back on the park's bench, Sakura tilts her head and squints at the sun, mulling over the information her mother provided. "I think this is a dad thing then, I don't know." She shakes her head and meets her mother's eyes."Sasuke's doing them too, the jokes."

Mebuki winces at that, probably imagining how eerie must be to see Uchiha Sasuke, heir of a prestigious clan and one of the three new sannin, telling silly jokes. The woman pats Sakura's back gently.

"Does it get better?"

"It does."

"When, Mama?"

"Well, when you were a little older, I think you had just turned five, the jokes became funny."

"Yeah?"

"Mm-hmm, we were able to laugh at the cute faces you made. Ah, I remember how you'd get so mad and flush pink from head to toes, it was adorable."

Sakura groans and shakes her head in disbelief, feeling a little betrayed by her parents. They should be supporting me, shannaro!

That makes her wonder if she, too, will change now that she's a mother. When situations like this one presents themselves, would she make Sarada uncomfortable just to see her cute reactions?

Who is she kidding?! Sakura already tickles those tiny, adorable feet every opportunity she gets just to hear Sarada's giggles.

"Maybe he's going through something, sweety. Just endure it for now, give him a chance and see how it goes or talk to him... Maybe it's a phase or maybe you'll grow fond of it."

"Okay," Sakura chuckles. "But yeah, you're right."

"Of course I am," Mebuki sniffs.

By the time Sakura returns home, it's Sarada's nap time already.

Her hands twitch at her sides, picking at the hem of her dress as she approaches the baby's room. Sakura has thought about her mother's words on her way home, bitterly regretting how she had taken off earlier that day.

When she gets to the door, it's half open. Sasuke holds Sarada on his lone arm, gently rocking her to sleep. He murmurs some words as he does so, as though he's telling her a tale. Her little hand rests on his chest, and the full scene pulls on Sakura's heartstrings.

She slips in the room and walks towards them, approaching her little family slowly, almost afraid that they'd disappear if she's any faster.

The first thing she wants to do is apologize for leaving and then apologize for being so silly. What if he's fond of jokes now? She loves him, all of him – the good, the bad, and the dirty – and she's going to be the most supportive wife ever.

Her fingers reach her husband's arm and she goes on her tiptoes to take a peek at their daughter. Her lips part in awe, something that always happens when she sees Sarada. Then, Sakura looks up at her husband and forgets her planned speech for a moment because there's so much understanding in his eyes, that it feels like the conversation has already happened.

She gives him that smile – blushing a little because his undivided attention is always too much to endure at once – and everything feels right again. She still wants to tell him why she left all of the sudden, but Sasuke speaks first.

"If a child refuses to sleep during nap time," they both look down and see Sarada's coal eyes still wide open. "Are they guilty of resisting a rest?"

Sakura's lips twitch. She wants to laugh but Sasuke spoke in this low tone that's barely above a whisper and she's afraid she'll break the spell. Her eyes find his smile, one that's soft and with a hint of mischief, and she whispers back, "you're impossible."

He offers her Sarada and she takes the baby in her arms. She rocks on her heels, moving in a half moon pattern that seems to work like magic. "When does a joke become a dad joke?" She asks, looking at him expectantly.

Her husband's eyebrow raises slowly. Sasuke's suspicious of her question, no doubt. It doesn't take long for him to answer though. "When it becomes apparent?"

Sakura rolls her eyes, because she can't believe she's joining him on this. She also grins from ear to ear, and Sasuke… well, he steps closer and grins right back at her.

"Did she puff her cheeks and turn all pink?"

"Aa."

"Told ya," Kizashi chirps, eyes not leaving the lake. The man keeps the conversation going despite their quiet activity – talking is not something one does while fishing – although his tone is a lot lower than usual, so Sasuke doesn't comment on it. "Sakura-chan's the cutest when she's mad."

Sasuke agrees silently, feeling his neck warming at the thought.

"You'll see Sarada-chan will be the same or cuter, I bet."

This time, he feels his father-in-law's eyes on him, so he looks up and gives Kizashi his full attention. Sasuke agrees with a nod and a small tilt of his lips, and that's enough for the man that is now part of his family.

"Those moments, son, are the most precious." It still startles him to hear his wife's father call him that. Even with barely healed wounds, the feeling is not all bad. It'll be easy to grow used to it, Sasuke thinks. "Make them laugh, make them mad – in a good way that is – but make them remember you." Kizashi points at him, right at his heart. "You shinobi lead a life of uncertainty, enjoy every second you can."

Sasuke sees his father-in-law in a new light. He looks at his kind face and sees, for the first time, the father of a little girl that grew up too fast. A doting husband, a caring father and grandfather (and probably the oddest father-in-law anyone ever had); all in all, a family man.

"Did you make the one about the arrest?"

Sasuke smirks, "Yes, I did."

"That's a good one," Kizashi pats his shoulder then turns back to his fishing pole. "Ha, I think I got something!"

Yes, that was a good one.

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed this silly ficlet :)

xoxo