notes: modified and fixed typos! (12/27/2018)

rating: K

disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

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5. glass

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Her patience is like a glass window, fragile and could break from just a few harsh taps. Sarada's withdrawn eyes peer through the window of the living room, pressing her thin finger pads on its surface. Her ears pick up the cheery chirps the baby birds emit from a nearby tree, and she lazily counts all four of them. A few frozen pieces of precipitation falls delicately from above, but only a small coat of the cold whiteness covers the whole Uchiha compound. All was quiet, a little too quiet for her liking—this is rare, because she generally liked the silence. But not today.

Here she was, all alone, waiting for her parents' return.

Before leaving to the Hokage's office to discuss battle strategies with Shikamaru and Naruto, Sakura left a little post-it on the refrigerator door to inform her daughter of her whereabouts. It had been around 5pm, a little bit after Sakura's usual dismissal from the hospital. Naruto thought it was funny to summon her after that, to his office, when Shikamaru chimed, in a languid manner, that they needed some new strategies to go by ("Naruto, sorry, but this plan seriously sucks and I've seen bad plans before."). Back in the Academy, Sakura's intelligence had been praised for, envied by many, so it would only be natural they would choose her to call up. Sarada remembered how her Mama's reluctance to go was shown through her sluggish stride and struggling gaze whenever Sarada had glanced at her.

Really, summoning her on the day Sarada got out of school early?

Sarada's lips morphs into a lonely pout, which makes her remember the time when Uzumaki Boruto was found defacing the Hokage faces and was scolded heavily by his father in front of mostly everyone. She really meant her words when she said she and Boruto were alike. Except Sarada, being the more sophisticated one of the two, never whines; she never risked anything dangerous as defacing the Hokages' faces, she never disobeyed her parents. Sarada's yearn for her Papa to stay home for more than two hours strengthens overtime, but she was never really completely alone. She has her mother with her; Sakura provides her with plenty of motherly love and hugs each day.

However, this still doesn't stops Sarada from having glass-like patience as she wistfully sighs because she only spots the pink hair of her Mama sliding the door open. No sign of her Papa, but she still waits because the sentence, "I'll be back before dinner," was written in his incredibly neat handwriting on another blue post-it next to Sakura's one.

Sasuke always did prefer leaving around the early hours of morning, when Sarada is still stuck in her state of slumber. Maybe, just maybe, he left early so he can be back in time for dinner today.

"Mama, welcome back!"