I Do Not Own Naruto

Uchiha

Love was bitter sweet, he figured that out after the war, after his travels and after breaking her heart a million times. But Sakura didn't care about her broken heart, he had noticed that she only cried when she was alone or thought no one would notice. But he did.

As a boy he hadn't cared about her, hadn't even noticed her really. Sure he had vague memories of a pink haired girl who would hide with her tears. But she hadn't mattered to him, she had only just been there and he ignored her because she wasn't an Uchiha. They got older and she gained something, he didn't know what it was but she began talking to him. Shyly at first, then more frequently and about nothing in particular but again he ignored her. She meant nothing, nothing at all.

Then his family was massacred, he only knew rage, pain and darkness then as he plotted his revenge against his brother. Itachi would suffer for everything that he had done, of that he had been certain of. Not that he knew all of what his brother suffered, it was difficult to know everything when you were a kid. If he had known then what he knew now he'd have never hated Itachi as intensely as he had, and he'd have never wasted all that time being hateful towards everyone. But he had been a child then and thought it was no excuse it was beyond his understanding at the time.

That was something he understood now, and in his way Itachi had loved and protected him from everything. Though he had no doubt that he had betrayed his brother in a way. But Itachi had forgiven him, he couldn't even forgive himself, it was irritating him now that he was older. Everyone could forgive everything he had done in his life, he couldn't, and it didn't matter to him that he had been a stupid, angry kid who had committed those crimes and betrayals. The point was he had hurt everyone close to him, he knew this for a fact because he had tried to hurt them. He wanted the world to hurt as badly as he had, and because of that he had been able to hurt her the most.

Sakura was an easy target for inflicting pain upon when he had been younger, she had loved him unconditionally and been weak enough for him to hurt. He'd admit that he enjoyed the fact she was rather like a kicked dog, would yelp and lick her wounds and always limp back to him with a smile in place and love in her eyes. Yes, she was rather like a kicked dog, and when he was younger he had enjoyed having her as his personal emotional punching bag because of that. Now that he was older though he hated himself for that, for having been that cruel and bratty to probably one of two people who loved him.

Still, the pinkette was important in his life even when immersed in hatred.

As genin she was still annoying, she talked to him a lot about nothing; as if he needed that, and blushed at every little thing he did or said. She was annoying, but she was cute. And somewhere deep down within him he knew he needed her love so he didn't go insane.

The dobe on the other hand was just a loser and a pain in the ass. Naruto had this annoying need to be loud and boisterous and a flirt with Sakura. He enjoyed having Sakura on his side when he would torment the dobe. But it didn't matter because he came to accept the dobe to be something like a brother to him.

The three of them had been a solid team, though it was mostly him and Naruto doing the grunt work, working to keep her safe. They both cared about her and though Naruto claimed to love her she would brush off his claims, she also brushed off Lee's claims and would stick close to him as if to hide from the others. He hadn't minded, he liked having her near even when he was lashing out to hurt her. Then during the exams she had cared for him and Naruto, he didn't remember the details clearly but he remembered seeing her hair and her face and the blinding rage that filled him.

She was never supposed to look like that! Half her face was swollen and her hair was sticking up in odd angels and was short. The fury that filled him was incomparable to anything he had ever felt as a power filled him and he attacked. The thing that had stopped him from killing the three who had hurt her was her as she hugged him, it was the first time in a long time he had felt loved. She hadn't been afraid of him, she had been afraid for him and he learned the difference quickly enough. Though it didn't help him as they passed the exam and continued working as a team, he craved something more and she didn't understand that she was in his way. Naruto didn't even notice how she stood in their way, but he ignored it for a while until he had to leave. The mark, the brand, the curse demanded he leave and his thirst for Itachi's death was just as great.

He had left the village and her that night, he hadn't looked back after he left her unconscious on that bench and raced off to find the snake so he could gain the power to kill Itachi. After Itachi was dead he'd have let the snake devour his soul if he wanted because he'd have completed his objective and have avenged his clan and his parents and himself. So those years were a blur for him because aside from hatred he didn't remember much about those years; though he did remember trying to kill pink, and she had nearly let him.

Sasuke would never be certain if he should be grateful to the dobe or not for having saved her, she was still annoying but in other ways. Like when he had last seen her and she had merely waved him off at the gate with a smile and then she had disappeared in the village before he could see those emerald eyes of her. It pained him to know how he had hurt her but he wasn't certain if he should be grateful or hurt that she was alive. He was both, in a way; he guessed.

He was grateful, so very grateful that she was alive because in the war she had been the thing to focus on and to keep him sane. And she seemed to love him, still, but she was wary around him like the dog kicked one too many times by the person they loved. Still he was very grateful that she was alive and that she was there as strong as ever; and fearless. She had been alive, vital and dangerous and beautiful to him.

But the moment he tried to kill her again so as to get to the dobe he realized that he wished he had succeeded the first time in his attempt to kill her so he didn't have to stare at those emerald eyes which were wide with pain and sadness and understanding and worse, love. She had looked at him with love as blood slipped from her lips and she stared him in the eyes as he pulled his hand from her body and let her fall to the ground before tearing after Naruto to kill the blonde.

And as he lay there dying he saw her face before his eyes and thought he was being punished for his crimes. Sakura belonged in heaven, he in hell, and yet there she was crying over him pleading with him and Naruto to live. She was sobbing uncontrollably and pleading so frantically he was certain that he was in hell because Sakura crying. He hated it when she cried, even as a genin he hated it because it showed she cared and he didn't want her to care. Still her crying was enough to make him realize that this was indeed reality and that he was in fact alive; not for lack of trying though.

After this he realized he loved her, she still tried to be there for him but she was quieter, a little more wary and a tad less nervous. And he knew, he knew as he lay there in the hospital with her as his attending physician, he loved her and it pained him then. He needed to make it up to the world everything that he had done before he loved her. Still his rebuffing her had given him a blistering lectured from Kakashi who glared at him the entire time, so Sakura was apparently someone everyone in the village protected and cared about. It hurt that they thought that he'd hurt her but he couldn't fault their logic when he had hurt her so often in the past.

On his journey though he learned a lot about the pinkette who had once cried over everything.

She didn't cry, at least when people were around her to see her cry. She didn't break, he was relatively certain he had smashed everything there was to break within her to smithereens and then some. She didn't fall in love, she had always been in love with him. And worse, she didn't smile as much, he only had himself to blame and he knew it.

Still he didn't outwardly express his interest in her as he went about earning his redemption. He needed to be forgiven and it seemed so difficult; but apparently his actions against Madara in the war were part of his saving grace. Not many knew about his attack on Naruto or his actions against Sakura so they didn't judge him for those though he found those actions to be the most difficult to live with. But he was figuring out how to live with it.

Sakura would send him letters; they were brief because she was busy but they were filled with concern and care and antidotes to various poisons because she didn't know where he was. The dobe would send him letters to; though those were more like novels, and they were very entertaining because Naruto had to learn how to be a diplomat if he wanted to be Hokage and it was difficult for the dobe. Yep, it was real difficult for the dobe to be diplomatic; and Sakura's letters insinuated that she was very amused by this. He wrote them back usually, but there was never much for him to say.

His journey for the most part was quiet. He had a lot of time to think about everything that he had done in his life, he reflected on some of his worst moments and realized was bittersweet. Though he had his revenge, he was alone. There were few in this world who would care if he were to die and those few were the ones he thought to be idiots. Mostly he though Naruto, Kakashi were idiots because they just wouldn't give up on him and would lecture too. Holy shit did those two lecture him.

But they really laid in on him after Naruto got married. It was clear what his friend and sensei had an idea of what he should be doing, he wondered if Sakura knew what those two were up to. Probably not, her letters had never indicated she was pursuing him or even cared if he came for her so long as he was happy. Then again he could see her yelling at those two idiots if she knew. But he never told her what those two were shoving him towards. Sakura would've died and gone to cloud nine, knowing her and her desire to marry him.

The years were slow, but the weeks in village seemed to always slip by more quickly than he'd have liked for some reason. It wasn't that he hung out with the married dobe, or the other married couples of the Rookie 9 so he mostly hung out with Sakura. She didn't seem to mind hanging out with him but it didn't seem to be her priority or her joy, still she enjoyed herself. He was certain that she had enjoyed herself when he came to the village but she still seemed distracted. It was as if she didn't mind if he were there or not. Still it was nice but those few weeks would slip by the quickest while the months he was away were as slow a glaciers.

But then Gaara had come into the picture. According to the Hokage and the dobe he might not have a shot at Sakura much longer, apparently the Kazekage had an interest in her. This did not improve his mood and he was really unhappy reading letters from Sakura because they didn't elude to whether or not the dobe and the pervert were blowing smoke up his ass or not. So he had to return to the village. He was greeted by Sakura, it was simple enough to see her there but how he reacted was another matter.

True it was normal for her to hug him but he just about lost it when he walked to the gate to see her with the Kazekage. When she came forward to hug him, to smile and to greet him like she normally did he hugged her back for the first time ever. And he glared at Gaara the entire time, when they walked in the village he stayed close to Sakura, she happily filled him in on all that had been happening in the village and he would internally file the information away for later purposes just in case. He wasn't stupid enough to actually ignore her now when she could be stolen from him. The Kazekage appeared to be doing the exact same thing as he as they walked down the street with her.

Unsurprisingly she was completely unaware of everything going on between him and Gaara, they both glared though when she ran up to walk with Sai. The married man talked with his pink teammate while he and Gaara tried not to lose control and kill one another.

He stayed longer than he intended, way longer than he intended actually, and ended up luring Sakura away from Gaara most of the time. It wasn't until there was the threat of the Kazekage proposing that he eloped with Sakura. She was shocked and demanded what was going on as he dragged her to the Hokage to officiate the marriage. Sakura had been thrilled, shocked, but thrilled all the same and he could breathe a sigh of relief knowing no one would ever take her from him.

Or at least he had thought no one would try to take her from him.

That fucking snake interfered and one mission while he was away Orochimaru came for her. Sakura put up a hell of a fight, nearly leveled a city block according to Naruto but she was just no match for the snake. By the time the news had reached him she was missing for two weeks, he wasted no time tracking her down then. And come hell or high water he'd rip the snake to shreds if his wife was hurt in anyway, there would be no mercy from him because Sakura was his and his only. She had been his since they had been genin and it was staying that way.

When he finally found her she was battered, bloodied, and barely breathing, the snake was gone. He tended to his wife first, getting her to the village and to her master, Tsunade, who wanted to beat him to a bloody pulp but refrained because she had to attend to Sakura. He knew that the woman's care for Sakura was the only reason he wasn't beaten to death by the woman.

He tracked the snake down, but to actually kill Orochimaru would take power that he didn't possess. So he settled for breaking the snake, Orochimaru would never be the same after the beating Sasuke delivered. Of this he was certain because no one ever laid a finger on what was his and Sakura was most certainly his. Returning to the village was still difficult, he was still pained by what had happened to Itachi and all the suffering his brother must've endured but Sakura was here and he needed her. So he shoved his pain away as he returned to her then, she was barely conscious when he returned to her. But she smiled.

It was something he didn't deserve but was grateful for all the same. Sakura's smile meant a lot to him, it always had though in different ways when he was younger than now. And after everything they had down, and all the pain he had inflicted on her he knew he was the cause of a lot of her tears which she would hide from them all. So for her to smile at him it meant a lot to him and it made him feel a tad bit better.

A few years passed before people started having kids, Sakura left with him immediately when all of her friends got pregnant. She didn't think she'd have any children with her seal and she'd rather roam with him than be caged by her friends. The thought was…odd. Though he had advocated the desire to build his clan again he hadn't exactly thought of it as an importance, now Sakura feared not being able to have any children so he didn't bring the matter up with her. He'd rather have her than a child so he was content with this arrangement.

Their travels were short lived though, when Sakura actually got pregnant. They hadn't expected it, but she was thrilled and he was terrified. Not that he was willing to say that he was scared but he was terrified of being a father. The months were fast, he endured all of her pregnancy and decided men were not given enough credit for what the endured. True the woman was the one who carried the kid and had the invasion of the body snatcher but the guy was the one to endure the morning sickness, the cravings, the mood swings, and ducking Sakura's monstrous temper when it was unleashed because if he got hit it would hurt like hell.

Sarada was born in the Land of Water where they had hidden from some trackers. She nearly killed her mother but Sakura loved her anyway. He on the other hand was not certain how this was going to work now that they had a new born with them.

It appeared to be fine though and his daughter was very attached to him, she liked being held by him and secretly he reveled in holding her close. Sarada looked just like her mother, well, not completely like Sakura, sarada had black hair and black eyes but she looked at him with her mother's face and smile. Life got really challenging for him though when she learned to walk, him and Sakura didn't have time to chase after missing-nin or Orochimaru when they were trying to keep up with their daughter. This was most difficult for him, and very nerve wracking because Sarada had natural chakra control and would wobble up trees, making him and Sakura panic.

Their first year as parents was challenging but Sarada was an easy baby, she just wanted to be held, fed and changed. He read nightmare letters from Naruto who was trying to keep up with his son, Sarada was a low maintence baby. She crawled, chewed, laughed and giggled, and gurgled; but she mostly remained indifferent and liked to be held by him or Sakura.

Her second year was more challenging because she wanted to walk on her own and do everything on her own. She definitely got that from her mother, who had a challenging time keeping their daughter in their camps to keep her safe. Sarada wanted to explore, and she seemed to have a knack for impeccable timing, she always wanted to explore when they were on a mission.

She was three though when he and Sakura learned their worst fear. Some ninja they had been tracking kidnapped Sarada, and she screamed bloody murder. When he and Sakura got to her, her Sharingan was activated and she was crying. He killed the men who had threatened his family while Sakura had run off with their daughter to keep her safe.

It was when he returned to the camp to see Sarada clinging to Sakura that he realized what was to come. He didn't fight it, but he didn't encourage her as he let her decide. He couldn't return to the village with them, he wanted to but he knew he couldn't, not with the threats looming over the world. Sasuke never wanted his daughter to fear for her life or to worry about a war or to cry because she would be an outcast with him in the village.

Sakura's and his' last night together was passionate as they said their goodbyes. They were quiet but he never left her alone that night.

He walked her to the gate, though he didn't walk her all the way to the gate. He said goodbye to his girls then resumed hid hunt for the threats against his village. However, he turned around and teleported over the village gate to see Sakura and Sarada greeted by Naruto Kakashiwho just stared at Sarada.

Which was where he where he was right now.

"Sakura! Who's this?" Naruto asked as he looked equally dumbfounded as Kakashi

"This is Sarada, Sarada can you say hello to Kakashi and Naruto?" Sakura asked their daughter. The toddler shyly shook her black head as she stepped behind her mother. "She's shy, takes after her papa that way."

"Papa?" Naruto asked only for Kakashi to whack the dobe upside the back of the head, Sasuke was glaring daggers at the dobe though.

"Yes, this is Sarada Uchiha," Sakura said patiently. Kakashi knelt down to his daughter's level. Sarada hugged her mother tighter then and pressed herself closer to Sakura's legs.

"Hey," Kakashi said, the toddler peeked at his former sensei who was watching her. Sasuke watched his daughter then reach out and yank down Kakashi's mask, Sakura gasped, the dobe tried to sneak a peek along with him at Kakashi's face but Kakashi rearranged his masked.

"Why you wear mask? You're not ugly," Sarada asked timidly, and he smirked. Kakashi gave a nervous laugh then looked at Sakura.

"Smart kid," was all the Hokage said, Sasuke sensed the smile behind his sensei's mask. Sakura just smiled a bit as they walked into the village and he watched them go. Part of him was breaking, another part of him was quick to leave before he could be discovered. At least his girls were safe, he thought and when he looked over the last few years he realized that he had had it pretty good.

Running through the forest he pondered a few things momentarily. Itachi would've loved being an uncle, he'd have probably liked Sakura. Though he'd have probably liked Sakura a bit too much. His parents would have loved Sarada and Sakura and though his pink wife was far from the normal of the Uchiha clan she'd have been liked and loved. He had little doubt of that. But at this moment he wouldn't make his family proud, they'd probably hate him and he hated himself because there was this very real possibility of him never returning. Perhaps one day though he'd be able to explain why he left to Sarada because Sakura already knew why he was leaving.

Still he was breaking as he ran after the unknown threats.

Tips for posting:

1.) Have a decent story

2.) Enjoy what you write

3.) Actually post it

4.) Pay internet bill so as to post chapter...

And that's all it takes to post a story folks! I found this out today when I learned I forgot the internet bill...

Oh well, shit happens! Anyways, I might use this as a post for one shots and what not that I think up.

That's all for now folks!

Enjoy Uchiha! =)