rating: K
disclaimer: i don't own naruto.
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42. bento
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Sakura notices more, nowadays, that the kitchen is often taken over by Sarada.
Flicking on the light switch absentmindedly, she proceeds past the threshold of the kitchen, her pace slow as she assesses the hurriedly-stacked plates (that was, admittedly, her own fault for rushing out the door for her shift this morning) and cutting board neatly placed near the racks to dry with the knife Sarada had been slicing vegetables with.
"Here, Papa!" the Sarada in Sakura's memories exclaims, her hands gingerly wrapping a blue cloth around a bento box. "I made you lunch today. Lots of tomatoes for you, just like what Mama told me!"
With a chortle, Sakura marches to the sink and finishes what she'd started with the messy plates, slipping on her gloves and humming to herself a tune for the sake of noise. At times like these, on rare occasions, Sasuke would come home and smile at her and walk to bed as if he didn't just melt her to her knees and remind her that she is the luckiest wife ever.
And if she is the luckiest wife ever, then Sarada must be the luckiest daughter ever.
In the past few days, perhaps stemming from a few weeks ago at best if she remembers right, Sarada had taken a liken to preparing lunches for Sasuke. These lunches are nothing abnormal or extravagant—they're rather normal, complemented with the usual foods that she'd seen Sakura prepare for him, but Sakura has come to see that her daughter always adds three cherry tomatoes in each bento. "Three because there are three of us, Mama," Sarada had told her in a matter-of-factly voice and all Sakura did was laugh and play along. Sasuke himself had no complaints either; after all, tomatoes were his favorite.
In the midst of her recollecting, Sakura already finished most of her cleaning of dishes. She preps a towel to dry them off, offhandedly wishing that someone was home to help her so she doesn't have to play two roles of washing and drying. At least Hinata has Himawari. How does Ino fare? Does Sai help her? Sakura makes mental notes to ask her later.
When the front door opens, she smiles. "Welcome home, Sarada!" She watches her daughter tiredly roll her shoulders to ease some of her tension and feels tempted to ask her what did Boruto do. It's always Boruto's fault, somehow. Sakura isn't sure when that was established, but she's learned not to question it when Sarada is having a bad day. Instead, Sakura looks at the bag clutched in the young girl's hand and tells herself to change subjects despite not having not even voicing it. "Oh, you went shopping?"
"I'm back, Mama." Sakura puts down a plate, and Sarada approaches the fridge after stretching. The bag shifts slightly at the crook of her elbow, allowing Sakura to vaguely make out some colors like red and green. "And yeah, I did. I think we were running low on some things in the fridge and cabinets, so I went to restock."
"Which ones? I think I noticed that too, but I forgot about it after I finally got off work today," Sakura sheepishly smiles, a light blush etched on her cheeks from her blunder. At times like this, she wishes she could clone herself like Naruto, but she also heard from a birdie that it got him in major trouble. Psh. That Naruto.
"Lettuce," Sarada murmurs thoughtfully as she begins to pry the fridge open to orderly stack everything in its proper place. Indeed, it is lettuce she is holding. "Also some carrots, apples, celery…" Sakura quietly helps stash away the apples and celery. "And also some tomatoes for Papa."
Eyes widened, Sakura is incredulous for a moment. "Gee, next time I go grocery shopping, I should just send you. Would save post-it notes," she jokes. She always scribbles a list for herself when she goes shopping, and here is Sarada not even forgetting one thing they need. Maybe old age is affecting— No, Sakura shouldn't think about that yet! She's not old!
"Even if I'm away on missions, Mama?" Sarada raises her eyebrow, semi-sarcastic and semi-joking.
"I suppose the environment will have to suffer from post-it notes disposing," she goes to respond with a shrug, mockingly nonchalant. Sarada laughs and stuffs the empty grocery bag into a drawer for future recycling. "I think we have enough for dinner and breakfast for a few days, solid."
Sakura watches how Sarada's eyes light up. "That means I can make Papa another bento when he's back."
Traversing to another drawer to place her cleaning gloves away, Sakura's curiosity compels her to ask, "What made you feel the need to make Papa a bento every time he's home?" Her back leans against the counter.
"I just wanted to do something nice for him, Mama," Sarada answers simply. "Since he said he'll come back home more often, this means we can start doing family things together, right?" Sarada is quiet for a few seconds. "Families make each other food—and if not food, then gifts—so I thought maybe I can try that too."
Nodding, Sakura hums, "I see." She could understand this. Sakura herself tries to accommodate and make time for Sasuke (but he always has her time, if she's being honest), sometimes subjecting herself to sleeping at the dining table until he gets back to wake her up, and boy, that is not easy. "I'm sure Papa appreciates your efforts, Sarada," she tells the girl, her heart reaching out and her tone all soft and motherly.
She won't tell her, but Sakura sometimes sees Sasuke come home with empty bento boxes that he personally washes up himself if he comes home really late. Sasuke may not have the courage to tell Sarada that her cooking is delicious, but at least he always makes sure he eats it whenever he's out.
"Thanks, Mama." Arms encircling Sakura's waist, Sarada warmly hugs her before relinquishing her to walk away. "I'm going to bed to rest up. Practice was rough today, so I'm going to try harder tomorrow!" When Sakura can't see her anymore past the walls, Sarada's arm waves at her before Sakura hears the click of her bedroom door closing.
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When Sasuke came home, Sakura is awake and she smiles widely when he gives her an odd look as he enters the kitchen. She supposes his reaction is justified; she's often drowsy when he comes home near this time.
"What are you planning?" he casually asks her, setting today's empty bento box near the sink and tucking the blue cloth used to wrap it within a drawer after neatly folding it.
If she wasn't so happy, she would've thrown her arms in the air in some nonsensical manner. "I wasn't planning anything! You make it sound like a bad thing," she nearly whines as he smirks. "I just wanted to know what you would like for lunch tomorrow."
He continues his onslaught of questions, "What for?" Sakura sees him biting his sleeve back and his glove off to wash the bento box, and if she wasn't standing here with a purpose then the floor would've been a great place for her to rest her face.
She would offer her help, but she knows he wants to do this on his own. "Sarada," she replies mindfully, fingering her bangs a bit. "She came back today with plenty of groceries. I figured she's going to wake up early tomorrow to make you another bento, so I thought of setting a few things out for her when she wakes up to save time." Her viridian eyes flicker to his back, Sasuke diligently washing the bento box to, what she believes to be, pristine condition. "Unless you don't want to," she adds, amending any possible objections he may have.
Sasuke takes his time drying his bento box with a towel as he muses about her words. "What she's been making for the past few days is sufficient enough. Go with that."
Rice. Chopped carrots. Tamagoyaki. Three cherry tomatoes. Sakura nods to herself, remembering the list and carefully rearranging all the required ingredients close together so that Sarada can simply take them when she opens the fridge. Sasuke is behind her when she takes the rice cooker out of a cabinet, waiting, and settles his chin on her shoulder.
Sakura smiles again, opting to take his hand and tug him with her so they can prepare for bed.
