"I'm home." Sarada announced with a sigh after an exhausting mission that she almost thought would never end. But something made her smile the moment she reached their dining area. "That smells nice, mama!"

"Welcome home! Ah, thank you!" Sakura glanced over her shoulder, grinning proudly while stirring the dish she was cooking, until she noticed how tired her daughter was. "Just rest for a bit while I'm preparing dinner, Sarada. Seems like you didn't like today's mission, huh?"

"Oh, right!" The Uchiha daughter plopped into the dining chair with a grunt, not wanting to discuss further about Team 7's cat-related mission. She pursed her lips and put her hands together on the table until her curiosity kicked in just like many times before. "Mama?"

"Hmm?"

"Uh, when you were still a genin, how would you describe papa?"

"Huh?" Sakura chuckled in surprise. Every time her daughter asks about Sasuke, it makes her feel giddy on the inside, albeit a little nervous too. "Well, let me think...your papa's pretty much expressionless most of the time, but I think you already know that by now."

Sarada only scoffed, and Sakura couldn't help but laugh once more at the vivid reminder that her daughter is actually a lot like Sasuke.

A small smile appeared on Sakura's lips. "But I've always known that deep within him is a caring and loving man. He's the kind of man who would do anything to protect the ones he loves and cares for. That's why he's that strong, you know? He did everything to improve and be stronger than he was so he could protect this whole village, including you and me." She sighed, remembering a mixture of both positive and negative memories involving Sasuke when they were younger. Her husband might have made so many wrong decisions back then, but she's sure that he has learned from all that.

"You're right, mama. He's so strong, shannaro!" Sarada pondered about the times she had the rare opportunity of seeing her dad fight with Shin, Kinshiki and Momoshiki. He didn't mind being hurt just so he could save her, her mom, and even the whole Konoha. Her heart fluttered with pride. Even with the strength of Lord Seventh, there are some things that only her dad can do. No wonder why even Boruto's too amazed with him.

"So, you two were talking about me?" Someone suddenly butted in, startling the two ladies who seemed to be very engrossed with their conversation.

"Papa!" Sarada gasped and rushed to hug her dad. "Welcome back! We didn't know you're coming!"

"I was in the area."

Sakura chuckled. "Welcome home, Anata! As usual, Sarada's asking about you."

Sarada sheepishly pulled away, afraid of her father's response. But when he didn't react negatively, she grinned expectantly at her dad and asked his side this time, "How about you, papa? How would you describe mama?" She knew that he doesn't usually talk much in detail, but she likes it when he talks about her mom even the slightest bit.

Sasuke sighed with a small smile hinting on his lips as he sat on the chair beside Sarada. "She's strong from the inside out..." He threw a glance at his wife, which Sarada didn't fail to notice, hence, making her smile. "...patient, loving, and selfless."

Sarada's eyes gleamed. There's really something about the way he talks about Sakura that she couldn't understand, maybe it's the connected feelings they used to tell her about. She bit her lip in excitement to extract more hidden facts from her dad. After all, she rarely gets such chance. Then she uttered her next query, "How did you know you're in love with her?"

The Uchiha couple stared at her in shock. Sarada can always be straightforward whenever she wants to, and sometimes they still get taken aback, especially the emotionless Uchiha.

On the other hand, Sakura fidgeted in the kitchen. Of course she wanted to hear what her husband would say, but she found the need to pretend she's too busy to even linger on listening to the conversation, so she settled on checking the Miso soup on the stove.

"C'mon, papa." Sarada wiggled her brows. "I'm sure you have an answer to that."

Sasuke sighed in resignation, slightly grinning back at his daughter who also caught so much of her mom's personality.

"Well..." he began, giving a brief glimpse to his wife whom he caught staring at him but suddenly turned away. He knew she may be busy cooking, but he was sure that she was also waiting for him to answer. "I guess...I didn't know how it began, but I've always known." His gaze shifted once again to Sakura who was now looking down with a small smile on her face. "However, I've always denied it as well. For the longest time I have seen and experienced how much your mother deeply cared for me. But I've been blinded for quite some time because of what I thought was my purpose in life." He looked away. "I sought after something else, and thought it would be best to have nothing and no one standing in my way, even Sakura."

Sarada furrowed her brows, puzzled. "Something else?"

His gaze suddenly landed on the remnant of his left arm, reminding him of his younger self and all the wasted years he has given for something that he eventually ended up regretting. He certainly didn't want to dive into full details about his dark era with his daughter, but he didn't want to lie to her as well. She's been kept in the dark about a lot of things for a long time, so he decided that for once, being a little open was the least he could give her as her dad. "Revenge."

His daughter stared at him with mouth agape.

For a moment, Sasuke held his breath, worried of the thoughts that could possibly be circling in his daughter's head right now. There's a point that he wanted to prove though, so he brushed the thought away and decided to continue, "But when Sakura stopped me on that first time I left Konoha, I knew it had made an impact on me, something I didn't want to admit concerning my personal mission at hand back then." And then he slowly smiled. "Your mother was hard to resist, actually. But I was just as stubborn as she is. That's why it took...quite some time."

Sarada couldn't help but beam as she listened to her father talking about his true feelings for her mother. Hearing the complete truth from him now, it made her realize how much of a mess it was when she doubted her parents' relationship back then. "But, if you already had feelings for mama back then, why didn't you bring her with you when you left?"

Sasuke thought about it as he glanced at her. That was a good question. Many times, Sakura mentioned that she'd rather join him than be left alone without him, and if he would be really honest, those moments made him admire her more. He knew she didn't want him to be totally consumed by the darkness that almost took every bit of who he was.

That time after the Fourth Shinobi World War, she also wanted to be with him on his journey of redemption, but he knew he needed to focus on things concerning himself first. He needed to understand himself, and many other things, before he could completely let her in. And thankfully, she understood. She always understood. If he failed to stand his ground and allowed Sakura to join him on his defection and even on his journey of redemption, he knew they wouldn't probably end up with where they are right now.

"Maybe because I knew I wasn't strong enough to protect her yet...even from myself."

Sakura heaved a sigh, watching Sasuke and Sarada get deeper on their conversation that simply started with the young Uchiha's curiosity. Surely, her husband learned a lot from that season of his life. And she knows he wouldn't go down that pit once again anymore. It was quite overwhelming for her to hear him talk about it to their daughter. It was a very tough era to say the least; however, greater things happened after that. She then beamed at the memory of when Sasuke came back, finally ready to live a life with her forever on his side.

As if Sasuke was able to read his wife's mind, he added, "But there was also a time wherein Sakura joined me in travelling. It was actually that time you were conceived and born." He smiled, turning to his little girl and tapping her forehead. "You could say I got to show her the world, but it wasn't too long of a time since we already had you. And the safety of you two matters most to me."

Life was too complicated for the Uchiha survivor, but at least, fate wasn't too cruel to him and still gave him this – a family. A home. And even though he still had to leave every now and then to make sure that there were no threats to the peace among the nations, he was well-content, for he has a wife and a daughter to return to.

Sakura and Sarada were pleased to know that that time meant something to him. And the young Uchiha now fully understood why there was no record of her birth in every hospital in Konoha, confirming the fact that she was born at Orochimaru's hideout.

"So papa," Sarada began once again, pouting as she thought of another question she could shoot at her older version.

"You seem to have lots of questions, Sarada," Sasuke remarked, but thankfully, he wasn't irritated at all.

Sarada giggled and continued to take advantage of a rare chatty Sasuke at home.

"Hmm, who confessed his or her feelings first?"

Sasuke smirked at the recent question thrown at him. "I don't think I'm the one who should answer that."

Sakura suddenly dropped the wooden spoon she was holding, not forgetting to give a scowl to her husband and making Sarada glance back and forth at her parents.

"So it's you, mama?" A playful grin slowly appeared on Sarada's lips. "Uh, hehe." Sakura scratched the back of her neck. "I was young, you know? And your dad's too stubborn to even care. Whether I show it or say it, I always got rejected anyway." She briefly glared at the male Uchiha.

Sasuke shrugged. "At least you now know the side of my story." He continued to smirk before tilting his head to his daughter. "Now, now, let's not infuriate your mother anymore, or else we might need to transfer to another house if this gets destroyed once again."

"W-what?! You know abou—Sarada?! Didn't I tell you not to tell him?"

Now it was Sarada's turn to laugh as she saw her mom put her hands on her hips, "Hey! Papa asked what exactly happened. And you taught me not to lie!"

"Ah, you two!" Sakura rolled her eyes as she brought their meal to the dining table. "If only I don't love you both, you won't have dinner tonight!"

Then they all laughed as they enjoyed the light atmosphere in the Uchiha home, ending Sarada's curiosity for the night...for now.

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© September 2018 AriannJS