Title: i missed you so
Summary: While looking for picture most precious to her in the wreckage of her house, Sakura comes face to face with the unexpected.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Prompt: When Sasuke comes home, I really want Sakura to try to slap him, then Sasuke catches her hand, kisses the inside of it and says: "I'm home."
Rating: K+

It had been a hard week, with Sarada growing distant and questioning whether or not she really was her mom, and further trivialities with the contractors Shizune had contacted for her. Sakura was restless with worry, growing more and more concerned about her daughter's well-being, tossing and turning around in her sheets at night as she thought about the options she had. Sarada was a growing girl, entering the stage of teenage-hood, and Sakura remembered that at her age, she had not appreciated any of her parent's nagging and suffocating concern.

Stepping over a broken wall shelf, Sakura crouched down and summoned chakra to her hand, lifting a heavy piece of fallen rubble and examining what laid beneath it. When she didn't find what she was looking for, she frowned and stood up once more, maneuvering herself towards to couch to crouch down again and tip it backwards.

"Where are you?" she muttered to herself, straightening her form and scrutinizing the ruins around her that, from her calculations, should have been the living room.

When she turned on her heels to continue her search further, however, she was stopped short at the sight she was met with.

He stood there in the moonlight, amidst the remains of their house that he had build for her, his eyes still impossibly dark, but tinged with the mark of weariness and misery that she knew could only come from years spent alone, longing for the presence of his family that he'd barely been able to grasp before he found himself having to leave again, once their safety has been compromised.

He was skinnier than how she remembered him, the lines of his face more defined but less strong. He looked older, of course, but he hadn't simply aged–Sakura found that it looked like the years had worn him down.

Slowly, his hand reached out to hand her something. She let her eyes drift down, breath catching in her throat as she noticed that it was the picture frame she'd been looking for.

How had he known that she…?

Sakura took the broken frame from him, murmuring a soft, "Thank you." She brushed away the shattered glass, and delicately pulled out the photo, tucking it to her chest. When their eyes met again, she felt tears prickling at the corners, her heart squeezing tight as the softness of his gaze washed over her.

He had missed her, so very, very much.

("Mom… I've been meaning to ask you… are you really Dad's wife?")

The tightness became more severe, and she clutched at the picture tighter, shutting her eyes tight.

("What's weird is the relationship between you and Dad. And not just a little weird, but abso-fucking-lutely crazy weird!")

A rough, calloused pad gently brushed across her left cheek, wiping off the wetness there. She snapped her eyes open and stiffened, taking a step backwards, away from him. Rage filled her heart, years of pent up anger of being alone and raising their daughter on her own finally surfacing, mixing with all of the pain and sadness of missing him and wishing he was here instead–

Before she knew it, she'd lifted a hand and moved to strike a blow to his cheek.

She wasn't surprised when he caught hold of her, long fingers wrapped firmly around her wrist while the other grabbed her forearm. Half a sob pressed to her throat as she watched him slowly kiss along the length of her fingers, his dark, dark eyes of his holding her own with affection and a most sweet longing. He cradled the back of her hand with his own, fingers slipping between hers to interlock them, eyes fluttering shut softly as he laid a long, tender kiss to the center of her palm.

"I'm home," he murmured, opening his eyes to look at her again.

She slapped her free hand over her mouth to muffle a sob, tears slipping down her cheeks uncontrollably, squeezing her fingers around his tightly.

The hand on her forearm slipped to her waist, before Sasuke wrapped his arm around her and carefully pulled her close, fisting the back of her shirt tight. His forehead bumped to her own, and he breathed her in for a moment, before leaning to kiss a tear track away.

"I'm home, Sakura."

She flung her arms around his neck and pushed her face to his nape, molding her body to his own as she wept silently in the safety of his embrace. When one of his hands dug into her hair, threading through her pink locks soothingly, Sakura pulled him even closer, and stammered wetly, "W-Welcome back, Sasuke-kun… I missed you so m-much…"

The way he tightened his hold on her so desperately and buried his face in her hair held no question as to how much he had missed them, too.

I can't wait for their reunion. Though it's not gonna happen like this, I had to comply to anon's wishes.

DeepPoeticGirl