A/N: Received the prompt: Sakura is in the hospital, and Sasuke has to take care of Sarada. I thought this was so cute, and there's not enough PapaSasuke out there. Let me know if you enjoyed reading! Thank you!
When Sasuke had returned to the leaf village, he had planned on making up for lost time with his family. He missed his wife; he missed Sakura's smile and optimism. Being out on the road and along with only his thoughts most days was harder than he would have thought. He'd gotten used to having Sakura around, trying to cheer him up, making his days better.
Naruto had called Sasuke back to Konoha before the Chunin exams, and Sasuke hadn't fought the order. Being away, Sasuke hadn't truly thought about all he was missing at home: Sarada's first steps, first words, first day of school. It had been for the greater good, he'd told himself. A mantra he believed, but made harder to bear with each year.
He was not about to miss his daughter's chunin exams. Sakura had reminded him how much he had wanted his brother, his father, someone to train with him, to teach them all they knew. Some of the few memories Sasuke had of his father was training out at the lake. When he closed his eyes, Sasuke could still hear the sound of Itachi's kunei bouncing off each other to hit the targets.
Sakura made him realize how little he really knew Sarada, and training might just be the way to bring them together. What he hadn't expected was for how much bonding Sasuke and Sarada were about to do.
Being a ninja was dangerous work, and most of the time, Sasuke never thought twice about any of the dangerous missions he was given. However, being married to another ninja brought apprehension. It wasn't that he didn't believe Sakura could hold her own, he knew she was the strongest kunoichi in the entire village. Sasuke just didn't like seeing her get hurt; he wanted to be able to protect her, to help her.
So when Naruto stopped by one afternoon to tell Sasuke that Sakura was in the hospital, recovering from a poison that she had ingested, Sasuke's heart stopped. Sasuke hadn't even listened to the mission briefing Naruto gave him. It barely mattered.
"Where are they?" Sasuke asked, his hand in a fist in his lap. The two friends sat at the Uchiha kitchen table.
Naruto shook his head, "Sakura finished the mission, and the ninja were taken out long before she realized the kunai she had been nicked with had poison coating the blade."
"So what now?" Sarada asked, and Sasuke winced, wishing she hadn't overheard this conversation but being simultaneously glad that he wouldn't have to break the news to her. Sarada moved to his side, placing a hand on his shoulder. He felt as though he should be comforting her, but this felt oddly right.
"She got to the hospital in time and was able to mix together an antidote in time. Granny Tsunade wants to keep her in the hospital for a few days. We've called for Suna to send in their best poison masters. Sakura trained them, and we just want them to make sure she's okay," Naruto answered.
"Is she awake right now?" Sasuke asked.
"Can we see her?" Sarada cut in.
Naruto ran a hand through his hair, "She is awake, and yes, you can see her, I figured I'd take you both there after I broke the news, you know."
"Let's go," Sasuke nodded, standing up.
Naruto wasn't surprised at the sudden movement, and got up, leading the way through the village, to the hospital, and up to Sakura's room.
"Mom!" Sarada cried, rushing to Sakura's side, gingerly giving her a hug. The bags under Sakura's eyes and the sheen of sweat along her face and neck spoke volumes of the pain she must be under.
"Hey!" Sakura smiled, taking Sarada's hand in hers.
"I'm going to go back to the hokage tower. I want to be there in case any news comes in. When I know more, I'll let you know," Naruto squeezed Sasuke's shoulder reassuringly. Then louder, he said to Sakura, "I'll check on you later, Sakura."
"Thanks, Naruto," she called after him, her voice weaker than Sasuke would have liked. Then turning her attention back to the two of them, "Sorry to worry you, but I'm fine. I'm just staying as a precaution."
"I'm just glad you're okay," Sarada told her.
The next twenty minutes, Sarada bombarded Sakura with questions regarding Sakura's mission. Sasuke stood to the side, allowing the two their time together. Finally a nurse poked her head in and told them visiting hours were over.
"I'm going to see if Tsunade is in her office and say hi," Sarada said. "I'll meet you out front, Dad." And then she slipped from the room.
Sakura chuckled before turning her attention back to Sasuke. "It'll just be you two for the next couple days. Sarada will be so happy."
Sasuke frowned. He hadn't had time to think of that, but now that he was, he wasn't sure what to do. He'd never really been alone with his own daughter before, which was sad to think about.
"Relax," Sakura giggled. "This will give you some time to get to know her, to bond." She reached out for Sasuke's hand, giving him a supportive squeeze.
What he wanted to ask was 'how?'. Instead, he nodded and squeezed her hand back. "We'll be back tomorrow."
"See you then."
The next day, Sasuke was up bright and early. His sleep was fitful, and he was restless. What could he do with Sarada? When they had gotten back to the house the night before, Sarada had gone straight to bed. What did Sakura usually do?
Sasuke figured he'd start with breakfast.
Omelettes were something he knew how to make and something quick and easy to make with what they already had on hand, so he set about his task, finding some bacon to fry up as well. He wondered if Sakura made breakfasts like this. It was pitiful he didn't even know. How much of his own family did he know?
Sasuke wasn't sure if it was the smell that woke Sarada, but she sauntered down the hall and plopped into a seat at the table just as Sasuke was plating the dishes. "Something smells good."
Setting the plate in front of her, Sasuke said, "Hope you like it."
"Thanks." She set to work eating the bacon and had only really moved the omelete around her place before she was up and heading for the door.
"Where are you going?" Sasuke asked as he was sitting down to eat. He had hoped they could enjoy the meal together.
"I've got missions. I'll see you later." And then she was gone.
Blinking after her, Sasuke couldn't help feeling a little defeated. Deciding he didn't want to eat alone, he grabbed some bento boxes and filled it with the breakfast he had made before heading to the hospital.
"Thank you, Sasuke," Sakura said, smiling up at him as she opened the bento box. Grabbing the chopsticks, she took a bite before beaming up at her husband.
Dumbfounded that she could be in such high spirits after being poisoned, Sasuke could only shake his head."Sarada didn't eat much," he commented as he took a seat on the edge of her bed.
Swallowing her mouthful, Sakura winced, "Eggs aren't exactly Sarada's favorite food."
"Ah," Sasuke nodded. Of course they were. Strike one.
"Are you going to do anything with her today?" Sakura tried steering the conversation into a more amicable direction.
Sasuke shrugged.
"You could meet her in town? I think all her missions are supposed to be around the village today. Since breakfast didn't work out, you could see if she'd be free for lunch? She likes Ichiraku Ramen."
"Of course she does," he shook his head. Clearly Sarada spent too much time around Naruto. Still, it was a good thought.
Sakura giggled before focusing on the food. Sasuke took out his own box and in comfortable silence, they ate together.
Of the many things he appreciated about his wife, Sasuke loved that she could fill the silence with chatter or with her presence. She always seemed to know which he needed. Traveling together for that year had gotten them more comfortable with each other than they ever had previously.
Sasuke had always envied Sakura's and Naruto's teamwork and friendship that had formed in his absence. After he had left, they only had each other, and it really showed during missions how well they could both rely upon each other.
Over time, Sasuke had been able to build up that same teamwork with her, and he was grateful.
When he left the hospital, he headed to the hokage tower to check in with Naruto before running errands around town, killing time before he sought out Sarada. He wanted to make up for this morning.
He found her with Konohamaru and her team on the training grounds, and they were breaking for lunch. Perfect timing. He waited on the sidelines for them to finish. Sarada noticed him, hurrying to his side after waving goodbye to her teammates.
"Hey dad," she said as she got closer. "What are you doing here?"
"Want to get lunch?" he asked.
Hesitating a moment, as though she wasn't sure about the motivation, she nodded in agreement, and two made their way through town to Ichiraku Ramen. After ordering, Sasuke asked her about her morning, and Sarada happily relayed her earlier mission. She was free for the afternoon, so Sasuke decided they would spend the whole day together.
When lunch was over, the two meandered through the village, window shopping mostly. When they stumbled across a few shops, Sasuke asked if Sarada would like to go in, Sarada reminded him she wasn't five years old, and hurried down the street, away from the doll shop.
Right. What did twelve year old girls enjoy?
He thought back to Sakura at that age. What had she been in to? Sasuke had spent most of that time trying to stay away from girls. He knew she mostly tried to get Sasuke's attention back then. She had been interested in flowers, clothes, boys? Or one in particular.
Sighing, Sasuke hurried after his daughter, checking out the shops as they went. "How about this one?" he asked, pointing to a dress shop.
Sarada eyed the shop, "I'm okay. Wouldn't have many occasions to wear any of those."
Every shop Sasuke tried pointing out was either too childish, too boring, or too embarrassing. It was hard not to feel defeated, but Sasuke had no idea how to get through to her.
Strike two.
After several hours, Sasuke noticed the village was starting to set up for the festival he just now remembered Naruto mentioning previously. "Should we check out the festival?"
"I guess," she shrugged.
Grabbing some kebabs, he handed one to Sarada, who ate it gratefully. Street foods were Sakura's favorite; he was happy to see Sarada shared that trait.
It turned out the rides were for kids, and the games were rigged. Sarada humored him for some of the games, but mostly, she was quiet and sullen. After a while, they came across ChoCho and her father Choji walking around the festival.
"Dad, is it okay if I hang out with ChoCho for a while?" Sarada asked.
He nodded, and she ran off.
Strike three.
When Sasuke relayed the events of the day to Sakura, she gave him a knowing look. "Sasuke, when you were a kid, when you were with your family, what did you want the most from your father?"
"I wanted him to train with me; I wanted to be like Itachi," he told her, understanding where she was going with that.
"You don't need to try and plan out everything with her. She just wants to be with you. Doing normal things, not trying to make up for lost time." The advice was sound, and Sasuke felt stupid for not having thought of it sooner. Training, he could do. There was already so much he wished to show her, to teach her.
Sakura had trained their daughter well, teaching her chakra control and how to direct it into her fists or feet for powerful attacks. But only Sasuke could teach her about the Sharingan.
Sarada got home too late to do any training that night, but when he asked her if she would like to go to the training grounds with him in the morning, she jumped at the chance. Her eagerness boosted Sasuke's morale, and he slept the best he had weeks.
When Sasuke went into the kitchen bright and early, Sarada was already waiting for him, snacking on leftovers for breakfast. "I was too excited to sleep," she confessed.
Smiling, Sasuke nodded. "Let's go."
So absorbed they were in the training, that they had lost track of time. Sasuke couldn't have been prouder of his daughter. She was an eager learner and picked up on his training rather quickly. She was a true Uchiha; she was very obviously his and Sakura's daughter.
"You two look like you could use a break," came a voice, and when they turned, they found Sakura holding up a bag.
"Mom!" Sarada disengaged from Sasuke, running to her mother. "Why didn't you tell us you were getting released today?"
"The poison masters cleared me, and I knew where you two would be. I wasn't about to wait for you to come get me," Sakura laughed. "Are you hungry?"
"Starving!" Sarada grabbed the bag and sat beneath one of the trees.
Sasuke nodded to Sakura, sitting beside Sarada. If Sakura said she was okay, he trusted her. She knew her body better than anyone else. "You're okay."
She smiled, nodding her head. "I am." Turning to Sarada, she asked, "So what have you and your dad been up to while I've been out of commission?"
Sarada side-eyed Sasuke, "We've just… gotten familiar with each other again. And he's teaching me some moves, I can't wait to try out." She smiled up at Sasuke.
Returning the smile, he looked to Sakura, hoping she understood how grateful he was for her advice, for being his wife, for being the mother of their daughter, for being his love. She never gave up on him, even when Sasuke had long given up on himself.
Sasuke had a lot of regrets in his life. But as he looked at the two most important people in his life, he realized he wouldn't change a thing. The hard path he had gone down led him to this moment.
It was worth it.