A/N: This was an old submission for Sasusaku Month 2014 Day 11. Prompt: A Night with No Stars.

Tired was an understatement. Especially for the one named Uchiha Sasuke after coming home from a week-long mission. He had several flesh wounds on his arms and bruises on his abdomen. All he wanted was to take a nice long hot shower, and sleep on his own bed, next to his beloved wife.

Carefully, he slid the door open, trudging the floor as silent as possible. He expected his family to be asleep by now, but he was surprised to hear their voices when he entered the living room.

He glanced around to find the source of the voices. That's when he saw Sakura and their six-year-old daughter, Seiko, lying on the grass and looking up at the pitch black sky. He leaned on the door frame leading to the backyard as he listened to them talking. They didn't seem to notice him yet.

"Okaasan." their daughter finally spoke.

"Hm?"

"Where are the stars?" Seiko asked as her eyes were fixated at the sky.

"They're hiding behind the clouds." replied Sakura.

"Will they come out?"

"Of course they will." Seiko's eyes brightened up at the thought of seeing the bright stars dangling from the sky.

Seiko was much like her mother. She could spend hours looking at the stars and constellations. He remembered the day Seiko saw the stars for the first time, her eyes so marveled at the sight. Ever since then, Sasuke and Sakura hung stars in their daughter's bedroom and Seiko would stare at them until she was asleep.

"You know, your father thinks looking at stars are boring."

"Why?" Seiko didn't think anyone would not enjoy looking at them. After all, they were the prettiest things on this planet! Sakura merely giggled.

"I think it's because they're not moving. He thinks of them as just stars and nothing more. Or maybe because he thinks he could spend his time doing other things." Sakura taps her fingers to her chin.

"Hn." Sasuke finally announced his presence to them. They jerked and straightened their bodies to look at him.

"Otousan! You're back!" Seiko gave a wide smile and ran up to him, hugging his legs. Sasuke ruffled her hair before smiling back at her.

"And you should be in bed." He held her tiny hand as they both walked to her room.

"Goodnight, dad."

"Aa. G'night." He kissed her forehead and closed her bedroom door before joining Sakura who was still sitting on the grass in their backyard. He sprawled on the ground next to her, letting out an exhausted sigh. She gave him a warm smile and moved to begin tending to his wounds.

She lifted his shirt, noticing the cuts and bruises adorning his flesh. Soon, a familiar green glow appeared.

"Good. Just several scratches and bruises. There all fixed!" Trailing her fingers up and down his abdomen, she leaned in to press a quick kiss on his forehead before dropping to the ground again, eyes fixated at the sky starless sky.

His hand moved towards hers, grabbing her hand as they intertwined their fingers. Sakura scootched closer to him, skin finally coming into contact, breathing in the musky forest scent that he carried.

There was nothing on the sky but somehow Sakura felt mesmerized just by looking at its emptiness. She felt that it somehow represented her old self.

"I'm glad you're home."

"Aa. Me too." They lied there side by side in silence, accompanied by the cool night air and the crickets chorusing in the background.

After a moment or two, Sasuke grew tired and finally spoke.

"Sakura."

"Hmm?"

"Let's go inside." Sakura chuckled. He was tired and just wanted to curl up in their soft bed. "There's nothing up there."

"I know." She could see his annoyed look without actually looking at him. "Okay, okay let's go."