"Hey Papa, when did you realize you were in love with Mom?" Sarada asked. Judging by her father's reaction, her question had caught him off guard.
Sarada's father, Sasuke, was away from the village a lot. Sometimes weeks or even months at a time. Once he was gone for over 7 years, missing most of her childhood. However, her mother, Sakura, always tried to assure Sarada that he loved them very much and would be with them if he could. Lately he had been coming home more often, which pleased both mother and daughter.
Sasuke came home the night before, after another mission to look into the Otsutsuki clan. Sarada wasn't allowed to know much more about his missions aside from that, just that they were very important and only something he could do.
She and her team had made plans to train together that morning. Sarada woke up a little earlier than she had planned. After getting ready, she went into the kitchen to get a quick breakfast.
"Papa? What are you doing up this early?" surprised to see him up already.
"Ah Sakura has the day off and I don't need to meet with Naruto until later this afternoon. I thought I would make some breakfast for her. Do you want some?"
Sarada shook her head, "I told Boruto and Mitsuki I'd meet with them in a bit."
Sarada had seen how her friend's parents would act with each other; flirting, holding hands, hugging, sometimes a small kiss. But, her's hardly did any of that. One time, when Sarada and her mother had seen Sasuke off, her mom looked like she wanted him to kiss her, but he just walked away. Although Sarada knew, when her parents were alone, they'd become much more affectionate with each other. Sometimes, after Sarada went to bed, she'd hear her mother laughing late at night when Sasuke was home. When she'd go peek at what was going on, she'd see them cuddling on the couch or joking around.
"Well?" she pressed, waiting for an answer to her question. "When did you know you loved her?"
"That's a…complicated question," Sasuke told her.
But, Sarada wasn't having it. "Complicated? Howso?"
Sasuke continued to cook as his daughter sat at the table, staring him down.
He let out a sigh, knowing she wasn't going to let it go. "You see, Sakura and I have been through a lot together. When we were on the same team, she became someone precious to me. I would always try to protect her during our missions and she'd protect me too when she could. You probably already know she liked me back then."
Sarada nodded.
"At the time, I couldn't return her feelings, even if I wanted to. I willingly took a path that would lead me down a different road from her." Sarada knew what he was referring to, when he had left the village and became a rogue shinobi. It was something he didn't like to talk about with her.
"I had heard she and Naruto were trying to bring me back, but I wouldn't go until I had finished my goal. Yet, when I had gotten what I wanted, I was still trapped in this vicious cycle. It took a good talking-to from a friend, when I realized how wrong I had been."
"Lord seventh?" she asked. Sarada knew her parents were on the same team and friends with the Hokage.
"Despite how much I tried to push her away, Sakura never gave up on me," Sarada could tell by his voice, he regretted his past actions. "After I let go of all my anger and frustrations, I apologized for everything I had put her through and she accepted. It was during this time, I began to accept her feelings for me." A small smile formed on his face.
"I wanted to reconcile with her, however in the end I decided to travel and try to find myself. I wanted to see what the world was like through a different perspective. Sakura wanted to come with me, but she had nothing to do with what I had done."
Sarada continued to listen intently. She had no idea her parents had gone through so much together.
"I planned to return to the village at some point, I just didn't know when that would be. She wrote to me while I was on my journey, just to let me know she was thinking of me or missed me. When I read Sakura's letters, I would think about how much I missed her too. I guess you could say this is when I realized I was already in love with her. So I decided to return to Konoha and be with her."
"Ehhh tell me more!" Sarada pleaded. She'd never seen her dad talk like this and wanted him to continue.
"Well, we didn't start dating right away, it took a bit of time for us to realize we both felt the same way. Though eventually I had to leave again, Sakura asked if she could come with me, and this time I let her. We spent around 9 or 10 months traveling together before coming back here."
Oh…Sarada knew what had happened during this time.
"You already know the rest from there," he said.
"So do you think you always loved mom?" Sarada asked.
Sasuke smiled to himself, "Yeah."
Sarada's heart fluttered from happiness.
"We might not always be together, but our feelings are still connected. Just like they are with you too."
Sarada almost started to cry after hearing this. She probably would have, but her mom had finally woken up.
"What are you two doing up so early?" Sakura asked. "Sasuke-kun, are you making breakfast?"
He nodded and set up two plates on the counter, one for each of them, "I thought since it was your day off you should sleep in."
"Thank you dear," she smiled at him. "What about you, Sarada? Aren't you going to join us?"
"I'm training this morning," she told her mom.
"Hmm I'll have to make something special for all of us tonight then."
"Actually I should get going," Sarada got up from her seat. "I'll see you both tonight!"
Sarada put on her shoes by the doorway and glanced back at her parents. They had begun eating, when Sakura leaned her head against Sasuke's shoulder, and he kissed the top of her head. A smile grew on Sarada's face as she left, giving them some privacy.