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Sarada had fought aliens, she had protected the village singlehandedly from it’s biggest threat yet, she created a jutsu even her dad’s genius have deemed impossible to achieve, she even managed to see what was under Kakashi’s mask, a feat she is proud of but refuses to admit to anyone what was the price.
Kakashi had already promised to take that secret to his grave, not that she’d ever admit that she was a fan of the Icha Icha series, and possessed a first edition copy of the book that kicked off the series, which she spent three S ranked missions worth of ryo on, only to be traded a few months later with Kakashi.
Totally worth it. Sarada thought
But something as silly as-
Sarada felt her cheeks burn up, not able to even think of what happened without turning completely red.
And now here she is, standing outside her mother’s office for what seemed like hours, attempting to knock for the hundredth time but stopping at the final moment cause she had no idea what to tell her mom.
Sakura had always been Sarada’s best friend, well adult best friend, she always listened to her, giving advice when she asked. To a younger Sarada her mother appeared the wisest, having an answer to everything. Now a 20 year old, Sarada knows that is far from the truth, and that there are many subjects her mother still falters in, nonetheless, she is still a third of the strongest shinobi team ever.
Come on, just do it already, shanaro!
So Sarada took a deep breath and raised her fist to knock, this time determined to do it, until the door flew open in front of her, revealing her mother, with a questioning look on her face.
‘’You’ve been standing outside my door for more than five minutes Sarada.’’ Sakura said, looking at her daughter up and down, accessing for damages, but she couldn’t find anything unusual, other than her reddening face.
‘’I-well I wanted t-to Talk.’’ Sarada stuttered out, mentally berating herself for stuttering like that.
Why do I feel like I've been caught with my hand in a cookie jar?
Confusion was apparent on Sakura’s face as she stepped aside, making way for her red in the neck daughter to pass through before closing the door behind her.
‘’Last time I saw you in this state you asked me if i was pregnant.’’ Sakura said in an attempt to help her daughter relax.
It was 8 years ago when Sarada confronted her parents with the deduction that her mother was pregnant, after noticing that she came home from the hospital early most days, even earlier than the time she arrived home from her daily missions or training sessions and her usually energetic mother was always a bit tired at those times too, her dad changing Boruto’s training schedule to be home at that time didn’t help her assumptions either, thinking he needed that time to take care of her and be by her mother’s side.
Of course Sarada got the fright of her life when Sakura thought that she was saying she gained weight before she explained her reasons for thinking she was pregnant, in which an amused Sasuke intervened that they just decided to dedicate some time to be spent alone. It wasn’t till a couple years later that Sarada caught on to what they meant.
Sarada shuddered at the thought.
‘’Hey I had sufficient reasons to believe so!’’ Sarada blurted out.
‘’Just like you had sufficient reasons to believe I wasn’t your mother.’’ Sakura responded.
She loved her daughter to bits, but detective work was not her forte.
Sarada had the decency to not respond to that, changing the subject instead.
‘’So...something happened…’’ she started, trailing off.
‘’Hm?’’ Sakura leaned forward in her chair, leaning her head on her hands as she gave a small smile to Sarada, a silent way to remind her that she can tell her anything.
‘’Between Boruto and I…’’ Sarada finally continued, fidgeting her hands and gazing at the floor, but she still took glances at her mom, enough to see her look of confusion turn into one of understanding, and maybe even a bit of smugness.
You sure you and Boruto are just friends…? Sarada could almost hear her mother utter that question again, she used to ask her that as far back as the academy days and Sarada of course vehemently denied.
‘’I see…,’’ Sakura said, raising up from her seat behind the desk to sit in front of Sarada on the guest chairs, ‘’Want to tell me what happened?’’
Sarada shook her head, to which Sakura sighed but couldn’t help the small smile that made its way to her lips.
Sometimes she’s just like Sasuke…
‘’Okay then, how do you feel about whatever it is that happened?’’
‘’Confused.’’ Sarada answered immediately. Her eyes were not daring to lift from the floor.
‘’Other than that?’’ Sakura prodded, reaching for her daughter's damaged hand before continuing, ‘’happy? Sad? Mad?’’
Sarada took a moment before answering, “ Happy,...and kinda scared and maybe relieved too…”, her gaze lifting only slightly to meet her mom’s comforting green eyes, then moved to their intertwined hands, getting a flashback to a time a month back. She could still feel the burning pain on her arm, Shizune-san was trying her best to heal it, damage it has suffered being extensive, so extensive an ugly burn scar was still apparent across her arm, while Sakura was holding her hand tightly, kinda like she is now.
‘’Yes?’’
‘’I was relieved cause I thought that he feels the same way.’’ Sarada admitted, knowing fully well the weight of what she just admitted for the first time.
Sakura smiled at her daughter’s words, opening her mouth to say something before someone interrupted.
‘’Sakura- Sama!” Sakura’s assistant barged into the office.
‘’How many times to I have to tell you to fucking knock you dumbass!” Sakura yelled, standing up and glaring at him.
Immediately, he took a couple of steps back, sweat trickling down his face as Sakura continued to glare at him.
Sarada almost pitied the poor man, her mother had a glare that would make her dad cower, other than the fact that that same man was subject to her father’s glare the many times he interrupted their time at home for hospital emergencies.
‘’I’m sorry Sakura sama! But the Suna delegate is here to check up on your joint medic training program, he said he came early because it’s predicted a sand storm will come in the coming hours..’’ He said, taking more steps backwards.
Sakura took a deep breath before she shot Sarada an apologetic look.
‘’I’m sorry Sarada, we’ll continue this talk tonight okay?’’ Sakura said, leaning down to plant a kiss on her daughter’s forehead and poking it as she leant away, but not before whispering something in her ear.
Sarada watched as her mother left the office, leaving her alone with her thoughts.
What the hell does follow your heart supposed to mean?! Mom’s as cryptic as always, shanaro!
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Sarada got out of her mother’s office then straight to her favorite sweets shop, planning on mulling over what her mother told her while sipping through a cup of tea along with her fav dango.
But nothing is that easy in Sarada’s life, cause as soon as she stepped into the sweets shop she found her father at the counter.
Great, this is a new level of bad luck, what are the odds that I’d encounter Sasuke fucking Uchiha in a sweets shop.
But nonetheless, Sarada found herself smiling as she walked towards him, feeling the same joy she always felt when she saw him for the first time after a mission.
Of course his missions are a lot shorter, even so he still makes an effort to keep in contact, even using the cellphone Sakura got him all those years ago when he couldn’t send a hawk.
‘’Welcome home Papa.’’ Sarada said, beaming upwards at Sasuke, who offered a faint smile that wouldn’t be noticeable to anyone but her in this shop.
‘’Sarada.’’ He acknowledged, before turning to the lady at the counter and telling her to double his order and add two cups of tea to go, which they took for free.
‘’Anything for our hero.’’ The shop lady said, looking at Sarada fondly, who thanked her awkwardly, it’s been a month and she still hasn’t gotten used to this treatment from the village people.
A month since she felt truly alone on the battlefield, a month since she had felt like she was the only hope for hundreds of people, people which she swore she will protect and love since she was eleven, a month since she almost lost her arm, and a month since she saw the reason for her recent confusion.
As usual, her father doesn’t like to sit in public very much when has an option of going to a quiet place, which is where they were heading after his order was done and passing by an onigiri shop.
When they arrived at their usual destination, the forest in the Uchiha compound where Sasuke had taught Sarada the chidori and many other things, Sarada sat down on the ground and Sasuke followed after taking off his cloak.
This place used to frighten her, as a kid and as a teen, she knew no one will ever dare come here, this place somehow maintained its frightening aura even after being destroyed in pain’s attack, she knew that she shouldn’t be frightened of this place, because if circumstances were different, she would have lived here.
But she learned to feel at ease here, after her father took her to dock where his father taught him fire jutsu, where he taught her it too, then he showed her his childhood home, which somehow remained intact then finally took her to this forest, where he told her all kinds of stories about her uncle.
It wasn’t until she was 16 did she learn the whole truth, no thanks to her parents of course, she couldn’t blame them though, they are her parents, it’s their job to protect her, and the anguish she felt then rivals only the anguish of losing a loved one.
‘’I would have guessed that Boruto would have found you.’’ Sasuke said suddenly, in his usual monotone.
Sarada’s head snapped up, dango stick she was intently enjoying almost fell from her hand.
‘’Wha-why why would he find me?’’
Sasuke only looked at her with a look bordering on confusion.
‘’Isn’t that what he always does when he gets home from a mission?’’ Sasuke replied, gaze examining his daughter.
Sarada took a moment before she managed to muster a reply.
‘’Oh.’’
She could feel her cheeks turning red.
‘’Do you have a fever?’’He asked, which decreased Sarada’s mortification a bit cause at least her father is too clueless to notice this.
‘’Boruto might be under the weather too, his face was the same color as yours when we arrived home.’’
‘’What!? Really!?’’ Sarada exclaimed, her dango stick layed forgotten on the ground.
‘’I met up with him about a day away from Konoha,said he was on his way home from an important mission.’’ Sasuke said, a smirk still apparent on his face.
‘’Ohh,’’ Again that was all Sarada managed to say before continuing moments later,’’ He had to go on a mission a couple of days after that creep attacked Konoha.’’
Sasuke’s smirk again, this time out of pride rather than amusement, his daughter, the future of the Uchiha clan, stood up to an alien who wanted to destroy Konoha in vengeance of he and Naruto’s previous actions, both of them weren’t there, Sarada being the only thing that stood against them as Boruto went to free them from Kawaki’s seal.
‘’I know, though that doesn’t explain why his face turned to the same shade as yours right now when your name got brought up.’’ Sasuke said in a matter of fact way, almost sounding genuine.
But Sarada knew her father, knew that amused glint in his eyes, the way he smirks when he knows he’s on to something. She used to enjoy it when he was like that with her mother back when she was still getting used to him, but soon after he started teasing her too, even uniting with her mother against her, which often left Sarada a mumbling mess.
Sarada sighed, resigned to the fact that her father knew something was going on, focussing instead on the extent of his knowledge.
‘’Not funny papa.’’Sarada said, in the straightest tone she could manage.
‘’Hm.’’ Sasuke looked at Sarada’s half hearted glare, lips shaped into a pout and arms crossed, and suddenly all he could see was a younger version of Sakura.
She’s just like Sakura. He thought.
‘’You’ve been upset since I saw you.’’ Sasuke remarked, getting straight to the point.
At that Sarada’s shoulder slackened and her gaze went downwards for a few moments, but Sasuke didn’t pressure her, knowing that just like him, she needs time before talking.
A minute later she started to talk.
‘’Before Boruto went after Kawaki and I went to confront that creepy god like thing, we were together, and…,’’ Sarada took a breath before she continued her phrase, ‘’...We had a moment.’’ She admitted.
Sasuke raised his eyebrow slightly in an expression Sarada knows is curiosity, but as usual, he waited for her to continue instead of asking.
Other than the difficulty she faced when talking about this subject, she now has another difficulty in which she doesn’t know how her father would react to this particular thing.
Atleast with Mama I could predict her reaction…
Sasuke cleared his throat to get attention, taking the final bite from his onigiri pack.
Sarada seemed to get a bit of courage and looked at him, her mouth opening to say something but a moment later she reverted to her previous state, which is a blushing mess.
Sasuke sighed.
Definitely takes after her mother…
‘’Do you mean an intimate moment?’’ Sasuke asked, to which Sarada’s eyes widened, but she nodded.
‘’How intimate?’’
‘’Emmm…’’
‘’Sarada.’’
‘’He kissed me, and I kissed him back and before he left I poked his forehead like you do to Mama!’’
Sarada finally admitted for the first time since that day.
She could still feel it, still feel his lips on hers, still feel his skin’s warmth on her fingers, the feeling of pure passion and fire she felt when he looked at her, when he made her promise that she’ll be okay.
That was the last time she saw him, she knew from her mother that he stayed by her bedside the two first days of her unconsciousness, but he had to leave for an important mission, though he wouldn’t leave without making Sakura promise to write him a letter informing him of Sarada’s state.
Sarada woke up a week after he left, two days later, her father went on his mission.
‘’And why are you upset?’’ Her father’s voice took her out of her stupor.
‘’Cause this feels weird, I always knew I loved him, but I don’t know when it progressed to being in love with him, I expected love to be a strong feeling, but not like this, not this scary...not …’’ Sarada struggled for a moment as tears fell from her eyes, ‘’...intense and deep and passionate and-and...I’m scared cause this is the first time I feel like this, I’m scared cause this might ruin us, scared of feeling something so strong but....’’
Sasuke only stared at her, almost knowing what she would say next.
‘’I love him Papa.’’
Sasuke’s gaze softened, as he stood up from his seat and went towards his sniffling daughter.
‘’You should go find him.’’ Sasuke said, wiping the tears off of Sarada’s face, he waited till she nodded before he poked her forehead and smiled at her, he then leaned down to pick the dango box.
Sarada knew where to find him, it was nearing evening, and he knew where she would be normally at this time, and he would be waiting for her there, like he always did.
‘’Thank you Papa,’’ Sarada said, before straightening up and taking a step away from her father towards her destination, but she suddenly stopped and looked at Sasuke again, ‘’ Tell Mama I’m sorry, I know she likes her dango warm.’’
Sasuke grunted, clear annoyance at being caught red handed, but he smiled again looking at the Uchiha symbol of his daughter’s back, sheer pride taking over him at what his daughter has become.
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As she expected he was there, standing on the hokage mountain, on the empty space near lord seventh, where she would normally spend her evenings.
He sensed her coming, but didn’t turn around till she was about next to him.
‘’Hello hero.’’
‘’Hey Bo.’’
They stood in silence, each sneaking glances at the other before their eyes finally met, they both blushed a deep shade of red and looked onwards again.
Sarada didn’t know what to do, what to say, so she decided to just act like she would normally.
‘’You stink.’’ She remarked.
Boruto almost fell off the edge, he expected anything, anything but this.
‘’Excuse me! I just got back from a month long mission, dattebaseh!’’
‘’Well you could have stopped by your house and took a shower shanaro!.’’ she responded, turning her body so her eyes could meet his.
‘’I’m sorry! I was left hanging last time I was in the village so kinda wanted to see what was up with that!’’
‘’I would have waited till the end of time, a shower is nothing!.’’ Sarada didn’t realise what she said until she saw Boruto’s expression turn from annoyance to confusion to shyness.
And then he was staring at her again, giving her the same look he gave that day a month ago, and then she felt it again, that intensity, passion, like a fire was burning inside her heart.
From the way he was looking at her, she knew he felt it too.
He took her hand in his, fingers reaching up to trace the scar on her arm, eyes never leaving hers as his other hand caressed her cheek.
‘’I’m sorry I had to go.’’ he muttered finally, in that soft tone he always used with her, just with her and no one else.
‘’It’s okay, you have your hero duties too.’’ she replied, a pure deep sense of satisfaction travelled through her body when his fingers descended from her arm to her hand, extending it, accessing the damage there.
That’s right, it was in bandages last time he saw me…
Sarada suddenly pushed her hand forward and put it over his heart, feeling an immediate sense of comfort at the thumping sensation she felt, his hand was still over hers, pure blue eyes she loves so much looking deep into her soul, making her feel like they were the only two people in the world, just them, in this frozen moment in time.
In a sudden bout of courage, she circled her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her height, as one of his hands travelled towards her waist, the other still on her cheek, eyes never breaking apart except when their faces were inches apart, and then it happened, their lips met for the second time, time froze for the second time, they were connected for the second time.
A few seconds later they pulled apart, Sarada immediately buried her head in his chest, hiding her blush as he leaned his head on her shoulder.
The wind picked up, small pecks of water descended on them, but they both refused to pull apart, having waited too long for this.
Though a few minutes later they were drenched from head to toe and they had to pull apart.
Stupid rain! Sarada thought.
‘’You kept nagging about me taking a shower and look what happened.’’ Boruto teased, still close to Sarada, closer than he used to stand, his grasping Sarada’s, tangling their fingers together.
‘’Way to ruin the moment baka.’’ Sarada said, tossing him a glare, to which he laughed before looking into her eyes.
‘’I love you Sarada Uchiha.’’ he said, feeling like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders as he has been trying to say these five words since forever.
She looked at him, deep into his eyes, and she couldn’t help keep her sharingan at bay as it appeared out of instinct, upon feeling a strong emotion.
‘’I love you Boruto Uzumaki.’’
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Sarada leaned her back against the door of her family home, a smile spreading across her face at what just happened, hands still in the pockets of the jacket he gave her, fingers still tingling from his touch, lips still warm from his, the soft thumps of his heart still in her ears.
It wasn’t until a couple of minutes of sitting there did she realise that the lights of the living room were on, which was weird since it was the middle of night, both her parents would be asleep by now, her mother for her morning shift and her father for his early morning report.
She walked quietly towards the lit room, afraid to wake her parents in case they were asleep on the couch again, which till this day she can’t comprehend how two full grown adults fit on their tiny couch.
To her surprise they were both awake and sitting on the couch, tea cups in hand and looking expectantly at her, both sprouting devious grins, Sasuke to a lesser extent of course.
‘’What!?’’ Sarada asked, looking between the two.
‘’Nice jacket.’’ Sakura remarked, grin turning into a full smile.
Sarada blushed and looked at the floor.
‘’Yeah yeah...’’ Sarada said, cheeks turning red fir what must have been the millionth time today before turning her body towards the stairs, but before she was out of sight she said something.
‘’Thank you.’’