Laying on the sleeping bag near her mother, Sarada listened to the sounds of nighttime. The calls of animals and birds used to set her on edge, but now she enjoyed listening to them. They wouldn’t, or rather, couldn’t hurt her now. She stayed as still as she could and kept her breathing even, hoping to wait until her mother was asleep so she could find where her father went.
He hadn’t spoken much since the end of their mission, and Sarada was beginning to understand that that was usual for him. She’d silently hoped his quietness and brash behavior had actually been due to his concern for Sakura, even though he wouldn’t admit it. Seeing the two together, however, she held out hope that they did really have a strong connection. It was just so mysterious to her, and she felt anxious around her father. Sarada hoped that maybe talking to him one on one while everyone else was sleeping would help.
Apparently, her mother had the same idea, because she quietly rose from her spot next to her and headed out into the trees in the same direction her father went. Sarada waited a minute after she disappeared to make sure she wouldn’t get caught before standing and glancing around at the rest of the group. Everyone was sleeping peacefully, so she crept into the trees after her mother.
Finding Sasuke would be easy enough with her sharingan, but she didn’t want to use chakra and announce her presence. Instead, she kept a sharp eye and tried to track their footprints in the moonlight. After a little time, she found him sitting on a rock overlooking a valley. He seemed otherworldly to Sarada, untouchable in this moment as the dim light washed over him. It was all she could do to stare at him, still not realizing her mother wasn’t there.
“Are you just going to stare at me all night?”
Sarada nearly jumped out of her skin and rushed to hide behind the tree more fully. Certain she was caught she didn’t know how to react. Should she go up to him? Would he be mad? What would she even say? This had been her idea to try to bond with him, but now that she was here, she didn’t know what to do.
While she wracked her brain on what to do, she heard a small laugh coming from the trees to the right of Sasuke and turned to see her mother walk out into the open air.
Still smiling, Sakura walked toward her husband. Their reunion had not been what she hoped and longed for, but she supposed that hardly anything in their relationship had gone according to plan. She wouldn’t change it though for anything. Sasuke didn’t react to her other than to move over on the rock to make room for her to join him.
Sitting on the rock, Sakura replied, “I could. I can’t help but stare. It’s been so long.”
Sasuke reached his hand out and took one of hers carefully, giving it a small squeeze. Sakura could tell that something was bothering him. She hoped he didn’t blame himself for being gone so long. Yes, she would have loved to have him home with her to raise their daughter, but she was also proud of him and understood why he had to take on this burden. It wasn’t fair, but he suffered more than she did.
“Shouldn’t you get some rest?”
“Shouldn’t you?”
“I rest plenty. You’re always out on the road, always looking over your shoulder. You can relax tonight,” Sakura said, hoping he would give in.
She wasn’t surprised, however, when he just said, “Not happening tonight.”
After a few minutes of silence, Sakura tried to reach him again.
“Talk to me,” she started, and when he didn’t react, she brought her other hand up to tilt his face in her direction, so he had to look at her. He held her gaze for a few minutes before sighing and closing his eyes.
“I…. attacked. I didn’t wait, didn’t ask any questions. I just assumed.”
“Assumed what?”
Sighing again, Sasuke opened his eyes and gripped her hand a little harder before answering, “I assumed she was one of them.”
Sakura had spoken privately with Sarada on some of the mission details earlier, so she knew what happened when Sasuke first saw their daughter again. Her heart ached for both of them, and she wanted to just fix everything so they would all be able to move forward. But no one could do that but them. He’d hurt and frightened Sarada, and she couldn’t fix that.
“You didn’t know. Why would you assume she would be at such a remote place when she should be in the village?” Sakura still wanted to try to ease his guilt and pain. He’d gone through enough of that in his life.
Scoffing, Sasuke stood up and looked out at the valley for a minute before running his hand restlessly through his hair. Sakura wanted to go comfort him, but she knew he was not in the mood to receive any type of physical contact. So instead of irritating him and possibly starting a fight, she waited on the rock for him to speak. She knew he would when he got his thoughts together.
His voice came out as a rough whisper, “I didn’t know? Do you even hear what you’re saying? I couldn’t tell that she didn’t have Shin’s grotesque skin? I couldn’t see that she was….”
Sasuke trailed off, too intent on punishing himself to keep going. Looking away from her husband, Sakura debated what to do. She couldn’t leave him like this to agonize and blame himself. He had made a mistake, a big one in fact, but that didn’t mean he had to do this.
Standing, Sakura joined Sasuke again and looked out over the valley. Without looking at him, she said, “You know, when I first heard about this mission, I wasn’t surprised. I wasn’t exactly overjoyed that you were taking it, but I knew you had no choice. Your whole life you’ve been burdened with things outside of your control. That is what made me angry. You deserve whatever life you want, and if it is to take this mission, then I’ll stand by you. But if you wanted to stay, then fate was just too cruel. That’s why I never asked what you really wanted to do. If I knew the answer, I might have stormed Naruto’s office and brought the whole place down.”
That earned her a chuckle from the man next to her and she smiled brightly at him before continuing, “I didn’t tell Sarada enough about you. I thought it would be easier on her if I kept you elusive and let her imagination fill in the blanks. I knew I’d have to tell her everything eventually, but a lot of that is your story to tell. I wouldn’t do it justice.”
Suddenly, Sakura remembered one conversation with her daughter and giggled, causing her husband to finally look over at her and raise an eyebrow in question.
She returned his gaze and recounted, “One time, she asked me if you’d ever kissed me. I said that something better had happened, and after I cleared up a misunderstanding that I didn’t even know she knew about, I gave her an answer.”
“And that was?”
Sakura’s smile widened until it lit up her whole face. She brought her right hand up and tapped two fingers to her husband’s forehead while saying, “That I’d tell her next time we talked about you.”
To her relief, Sasuke’s anxiousness seemed to wither away at her touch. What she didn’t expect was for him to swoop down and kiss her passionately. It had been years, so long since she’d even been able to see her husband, and she only now realized just how much she missed him. A part of her had locked away some of her feelings so she could carry on with her daily life. This kiss opened that door and let all her emotions out.
She felt Sasuke stiffen in front of her, and she looked up to see a remorseful and sad expression on his face. She didn’t realize she had started crying until his hand came to gently brush away the wetness from her cheeks. Needing him to be closer, she pulled him into a strong hug. When she heard him grunt and mutter something that was probably supposed to be her name, she realized she was squeezing him too hard. Easing up, she offered him an apologetic smile before settling into the embrace.
After a while, she spoke quietly into the darkness, “You two will get past this. I know you will.”
Heaving a tired sigh, Sasuke said, “You didn’t see her face. She looked just like you, each time I’ve hurt you.”
Pulling back to look at his face, Sakura countered, “Don’t do that. I’m not hurt. I’m a grown woman, and we’ve moved past...”
She stopped when he brought his forehead to rest on her own. Looking at her seriously, he replied, “I know. I’m not going down that path, but Sarada hasn’t moved past it. She IS still a child. A strong, smart, strong-willed child who seems to embody the best of both of us, but a child, nonetheless. I never should have been gone so long. I’m sorry. I’ll come back more and stay longer from now on. I thought she’d be safer without me around, but obviously she takes after you and attracts danger.”
Sakura’s heart warmed and she let out a small laugh, looking up at her husband lovingly.
Sarada watched as the two came to an understanding, but she started to feel bad about eavesdropping and turned to go back to the camp. Climbing in her sleeping bag, she resolved that maybe she should give her father another chance. He wasn’t impervious to all these feelings, after all, so maybe she could think about how to make it easier for him rather than only worrying about herself. She snuggled into the warmth and drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, she woke to find her mother asleep beside her and her father nowhere to be found. The others woke one by one, and everyone started getting ready to head out after breakfast. Finally, her father approached out of the trees to walk toward her mother, who handed him some toast and bacon that she saved for him. He took them wordlessly but offered her a small, soft smile.
They headed out toward the village, and Sarada nudged her mother, who was walking between her and her father. Sakura looked at her, and Sarada motioned for her to leave so she could walk alone with Sasuke. Making an excuse about the hospital’s budget, Sakura jogged forward to walk by Naruto.
Sasuke didn’t seem to think anything of it until Sarada slowly grabbed his hand with her smaller one. He flinched and looked down at her with slightly wide eyes, but he didn’t let go. Gathering her courage, she chanced a peek at his face and found his small, soft smile on his face.
She was still embarrassed, but she wanted to close the gap between them. Unsure what to say, Sarada blushed and looked at the ground in front of her feet. To her surprise, Sasuke asked her what her favorite subject was at the academy. She answered, and he asked another question. Smiling a little, she let the conversation go on naturally until they stopped for a break by the river. She may not be ready to fully understand her father, but she could tell he was trying in his own way. They’d just take it one step at a time.