OKAY, SO I JUST BINJED THE HELL OUT OF NARUTO AND MAN DID I COME TO REALLY LOVE IT. It bothered me that there wasn't more Sasuke/Sakura stuff, so I decided to fill in some gaps myself for some peace of mind. Like, I've spent some mad amount of time thinking about how and what happened between Sasuke and Sakura between the end of the 4th great ninja war and the start of Boruto. And, well, here's my two-sense on what exactly went on between them during that time. It's not the best thing I've written, so I can hope you can at least get some satisfaction out of this.
I OWN NOTHING, ALL YOU KISHIMOTO
Precious Memories
It was a a perfect spring day. The cherry blossoms had just started blooming, and there hadn't been many threats or leads lately, making me feel a bit less on edge than I normally was. I found a good tree and slumped down against it, allowing myself to have a small break. A day like this brought me back to Sakura.
I remember that first time I truly decided to return back to Konoha. Everyone was very surprised by my sudden reappearance in the village. Some still regarded me coldly, it couldn't be helped, and I just accepted it because I knew I deserved it. Naruto was out on a mission, so Sakura was the first only one to to welcome me back home, and did so with open arms. "Welcome back, Sasuke-kun" I can still hear her greeting ringing through my ears. And there was a warmth that came along with the greeting that at the time, made me want to drop my guard and smile warmly back. I gave her whatever I could muster, that being a half smile that more than likely hadn't nearly reciprocated her warmth, but she accepted it wholeheartedly despite that. Despite everything I did to her. Despite how much I hurt her over the years, she regarded me with impossibly loving warmth.
I remember spending a lot of time with Sakura when I returned, and with Naruto as well of course, but a lot of it went to Sakura. And most of that was due to the fact that I ended up staying at her house since I didn't have a place of my own in the village anymore and I didn't want to disturb Naruto's now married life.
At first, it was weird as hell staying with Sakura, but it made sense since she was my teammate and she had the room as she had just freshly moved out from her parents' house and into a nice apartment of her own. But even if it was awkward at first, strangely enough, her couch, her home, eventually felt normal to me. She'd be working a lot at the hospital and the clinics she and Ino ran, but at night, she'd come home, and I'd come back from whatever business I would be taking care of, and we'd have late dinners. And eventually, I would accompany her to the hospital, and walk her back when she was finished, and later I'd make sure she had a nice, hot meal waiting for her when she returned. It was a small gesture, but it was also the least thing I could do for her after everything she'd ever done for me. And at first, conversation was minimal, I wasn't used to talking much, or even being around people in general those last few years, but my social skills came back to me when I was with her and conversation became natural. There were also times we didn't talk, which was also awkward at first as well, but was something that eventually became a comfort. Whenever I'd come back to the village, I'd come back to her. She was my home. When Kakashi offered to give me a place of my own in the village, I refused his offer, telling him that there'd be no point if I wasn't back all of the time anyway. When I told him this, he looked at me suspiciously, but knowingly, and then smiled slightly, "you're right Sasuke, that makes a lot more sense".
And then things started to become a little more intimate. At her house, we'd sit closer to one another, or lean in a little bit more whenever we would talk face to face, and then it kinda just took off from there. I knew I was in love with Sakura, but never had I fully acknowledged it until that point in my life. And the next thing I knew, I was taking up space on her bed rather than on her couch. The closer I got to her, the more I felt at home. The more I remembered the love I once had in my life. The more I understood the love she had harbored for me all these years. And behind closed doors, hugs and kisses were becoming a regular thing. And when when I'd walk her to the hospital, I'd hold her hand.
After being back at the village on and off throughout the year, Sakura finally asked if she could accompany me on my journey, and this time, I accepted.
"I'll accept on one condition. Marry me"
Sakura's eyes became huge and she froze, even forgetting to breath.
"Wh...what?" she asked, eyes huge.
"I don't have a ring for you, but I want you to wear something more meaningful and important. Something that's a big part of me and I want to share it with you. Will you wear the Uchiha crest on the back of you clothes for the rest of your life? Sakura, will you marry me?"
At that point, tears had started streaming down her face. Once she regained herself, she ran straight into my arms and hugged me tight.
"Yes" she whispered.
I snaked my good arm around her and pressed her closer, her tears soaking my shirt, but I couldn't give more of a damn, and kissed her head. "thank you" thank waiting for me. Thank you for your patience. Thank you for your forgiveness. Thank you for your love.
We married quickly. It wasn't anything fancy, not many people other than the hokage, Naruto and Hinata came, and it was all officially overlooked and approved by the hokage himself. To think that Kakashi would be the one to overlook MY wedding. We left very soon after that.
There was a lot of time for us to be alone together on this journey of ours. And that meant exploring the love between us as well. I was never good with my words, so some of the time, I'd act upon my love instead. One thing led to another and
"I'm pregnant"
I'm pregnant.
My wife is pregnant.
I was so scared. Scared to take that next step and become a father. Scared that there may be one day I wouldn't be able to control myself and go back to that dark side once again. Scared because I knew that I wasn't going to be around for that baby, to see my child grow up, scared I'd lose this baby like I lost everything else. I didn't even know if I COULD become a proper father. To this day, I still don't. And I knew, for a fact, that I was not going to always be there to watch my child grow up. They will have Sakura.
But there was one thing I did know for certain though, was that there was now no way Sakura was leaving my side until she had the baby. I would protect her and this child until the baby was born and that was absolute.
Nine months later, she was brought into the world.
She was so precious. And so small. And so beautiful. I had never held anything in my hands that was so delicate as her in my life. She had my black hair. And my black eyes. She looked like me. But she also looked like Sakura. Tears welled and spilled over. I'd never dreamt of feeling anything close to this in my life. Nii-san, are you seeing this? Nii-san, I am a father now. You would have been an uncle. You would have given my daughter so much love. You could have been there for her when I couldn't be.
"Sarada….her name will be Sarada. She will be the oil to light the fire of the Uchiha clan." In that moment I loved her so much, it hurt. I loved her mother who brought her into this world more than the world itself. I loved both of these beautiful girls more than anyone one person would ever know.
I looked to Sakura with warmth, but she also saw how scared I must have looked as well. She looked back at me with love and warmth and reassurance and said softly "she will know the love you hold for her and will come to understand why you were gone. She will eventually be connected through her feelings to both of us like we are now."
I smiled warmly back at Sakura and for a second, I believed her.
I accompanied both my wife and my new daughter back to Konoha, where I knew both of them belonged. I stayed as well, and we stayed together as a family for a few years. It was a wonderful time together, but at the same time, I knew I needed to get back to my mission. I knew that with this new life I had just been given, I had to do everything that was in my power to protect it. I had to protect my wife. I had to protect Naruto. I had to protect my village. I had to protect everyone in this world. Sakura was sad, but she understood why I needed to go back and continue this journey, and why I couldn't take my wife and my new child with me. Why returning often and staying for long periods of time would be bad.
But even if I knew it. Even if Sakura knew it. Even if Naruto knew it. And even if Kakashi knew it, it was, to this day, the hardest decision I had to make in my entire life. I had to bury the my broken heart and lock it away deep within myself, something I was already so good at. Emotions only gets in the way of a shinobi's mission.
So I went on. I went on my journey. I'd come back, but not for long. And not for months, even years at a time.
And here I am now, on a sunny beautiful spring day, recalling my home. Only for a small, fleeting moment, did I allow myself to miss my wife and child. To miss Naruto and Kakashi. To allow myself to regret my decision. To miss my home with the two most important woman of my life.
When the world is finally safe, I will return for you both. Please wait for me. Please be patient. I love you both more than anything.
LOL for as much as I think Sasuke is still a little bitch and a bad father, I can't help but love him and understand his point of view and his character. It was kind of liberating to write something like this, so as to fill in that Sasuke/Sakura gap. Anyways, thanks so much for reading, I hope you liked it!