There was something on Sarada's mind, a question she was hesitating to ask him and it bothered him. He had seen Sarada with her mother she would not hesitate to even argue with her mother. Yet, with him she always held back as if she feared her words would make him run. This felt like one of those occasions, they were resting after training watching the sunset, Sakura had been called on an emergency, only leaving them a quick note.

Now they sat, with whatever was on Sarada's mind weighing on him the same if not more than on her. Finally, she took a deep breath, in preparation, and he felt himself hold his own. "How did you know mama was the one for you?"

Confused and relieved at the question, he did not answer, instead he asked his own question, "what brought this on?"

"It's just, I've been asked out a lot." Sarada was not looking at him, her gaze firm on the horizon, she missed the frown that marred his face, " and I've never been tempted to say yes. Usually it just makes me uncomfortable."

"This seems more like a conversation to have with your mother." Afraid that his words may push her away he was quick to add, "I am not the best at these types of conversations."

"I did try to go to mama, she said she was never asked out and that she always only ever liked you, and sent me to you because you had more experience in turning dates down. I find it strange though," she added as an afterthought, "mama has always been really pretty, like really really pretty."

There were reasons for that, the first was Kakashi who had always been extra protective of Sakura specifically. "Memories of my past mistakes," he had told him once. The second was he himself, he had told himself that it was for the good of the team that if Sakura dated that she would be distracted. Which hindsight was truly the best teacher. The third being Naruto, who had a crush on her and was truly unashamedly admitting what he was up to.

He would like it if team 7 had been the barrier that kept the bugs away, but he knew damn well that they were the final line of defense. The first was Sakura herself, not that she did anything in particular. It was just Sakura was ridiculously beautiful. Difficult to approach type of pretty, and those rare ones that did think they could approach were often met with a member of team 7.

Not about to explain something he never confessed to his wife to his daughter he simply replied, "very strange indeed." Which was the wrong thing to say, because his girls could read him too easily and he knew those three words were almost as incriminating as an actual confession. Sasuke felt his daughter's heavy gaze on him but said nothing.

"Papa I never knew you were the jealous type." Her words made his ears go red he had no doubt, especially by the laughter Sarada had been struck by. "So," she began once her laughter had subsided, "how did you know?"

"I am not the best to come to, after all I turned down your mother's invitations a lot."

"Why?"

He thought of the best way to word it, for moment and settled on the simple. "Timing."

"Timing?" She questioned dumbfounded by his one word answer.

"You may not have feelings for those boys," he reminded himself to ask Sakura about those boys. "But, you may develop them later, or you may never."

"Okay, but how did you know?"

"Do you remember the first time you summoned the chidori?"

"Yes," she recalled the sensation, the power, the exhilaration, the nerves. She also remembered how amazing it felt to know she was the only other who could wield it. It also felt like when she destroyed the ground beneath her feet. Something in her felt like those abilities were hers, a natural extension of who she was, skills and ability she had not realized she had been missing. Now that she had those abilities she could not imagine a world where she was incapable of them.

Sasuke waited for Sarada to understand, there was no one else but Sakura for him. He had been foolish as a boy. Blind to the world he had been lucky enough to fall into after his initial one had been destroyed. Once he did it was amazing how quickly everything fell into place.

"Oh," she finally spoke, "I think I get it."

"It's something you just know." He finished, even when you live in denial, you know.

A/N: my mind has been in a weird place lately idk how to describe it other than that so sorryfor the silence... anyway i have a whole week of nothing of coming up so I am hoping to use that time to write

as always thanks for reading :)