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Uchiha Sasuke is not the type of person to back down from a difficult situation. Even through all his right and wrong choices, that sentiment has remained true to this day—at least, he would like to think so.
He's not really fond of all the new "tech" being developed in his own village, but he does understand that times are changing, and this is a necessary path they need to take.
And well, here he is, in his living room, sitting beside his beautiful pink-haired wife and their lovely 5-year-old daughter, listening to his wife chatter about the new tech in her hand.
"And here you can just set it to all mute, so it won't even vibrate or make a sound when someone contact you, you can change it again when you're not in urgent situation! And this is the text message, you can see it as sending message through Hawk you know, write it down here and-" Sakura explain while showing Sasuke the little rectangle device that he just purchase a few hours ago.
His brows furrowed in concentration, following Sakura's every movement. However, it didn’t last long, as it was interrupted by his daughter's actions. Uchiha Sarada, now five years old, can almost speak clearly, with just a few exceptions—specifically the letter "r." She's sitting on Sakura's lap, mimicking her mother's movements, her small voice trailing behind Sakura's words. His smart daughter knows not to interrupt her mother. He know he is at the mercy of his daughter; despite all his own traits, despite all the traits she had inherited from him, he knew the rest of her was all Sakura. Thinking about his wife, his attention shifts to her.
She still looks as radiant as ever. Sasuke thinks about how amazing she is—she still chooses him after all this time, and even now, with more obstacles in their way, she never falters.
Her delicate fingers navigate through the little device—so delicate when caring for their daughter, yet so strong in the face of their enemies. The hands that wrap around his face so gently, radiating warm healing energy to his eyes from time to time—he could go on and on, but his focus shifts again to her soft pink lips, still moving as she speaks, explaining things that he definitely should be paying attention to right now.
But thinking about how she still has a faint blush each time he presses his lips to hers just makes him want to do it again at this moment. And he really doesn’t think he would get scolded for that action, even if it means interrupting her.
Sakura's eyes glance briefly at him, making him shift his focus to her eyes—her mesmerizing, bright emerald eyes, a stark contrast to his dark and cold black ones. If she knew what he was thinking right now, she would protest and say she prefers his eyes, adding how happy she is that their daughter inherited them. They have that conversation quite frequently.
That memory makes him let out a quiet, muffled chuckle, and of course, with how close they are right now, she notices it.
"..."
"Darling?"
"....I'll try my best."
Sakura chuckles upon seeing the stiff look on Sasuke's face. "Well, there are still a few more days for you to familiarize yourself with it. We'll take it slow, yeah?" She puts the phone on the table in front of them, shifting Sarada slightly in her lap.
"Mm." Sasuke hums in agreement and reaches for Sarada, who immediately moves toward his lap and starts talking their ears off about what she did earlier that Sasuke missed. Basking in the closeness of his family, he gives a small smile. If only this moment could last forever.
*Ping*
Sasuke glances at the sound of his phone going off. Looking at his daughter, who is still focused on watching TV, he grabs the phone and looks at the lit-up screen.
My Bestest Friend
He frowns at the name. He doesn’t remember saving anyone’s name like that, and he definitely wouldn’t do it himself. He clicks on the message—after all, as far as he knows, you can’t be attacked through a phone.
With that in mind, he opens the message, and what he sees is a picture of a small blonde boy with blue eyes and two whisker marks on his cheeks, his wide smile almost reaching his eyes. He is showing off his new toy train.
The message below the picture reads: Isn’t he just the cutest?
Now that Sasuke sees the boy—Boruto, Naruto’s son—he knows exactly who the contact is from. Makes sense, he thinks to himself. Besides Sakura, he does remember Naruto holding onto his phone yesterday. He should have known.
Ignoring Naruto’s ridiculous contact name, I’ll ask Sakura about changing contact's name that later, he clicks on the small icon beside the message bar. He remembers this function quickly because he quite enjoys taking pictures of his daughter and wife. Mostly, he uses the camera function outside of the messaging app, but on occasions like today—when Sakura is working at the hospital—he sends her pictures of Sarada.
He points the camera toward his daughter.
"Sarada," he calls.
She turns toward him in response, sees the camera, and gives a toothy grin.
"For Mama again?" she asks when she sees Sasuke start typing on his phone.
I have to disagree. My daughter exists, after all. That’s what he writes under Sarada’s picture before sending it.
"Papa is competing with Uncle Naruto," Sasuke says finally, showing Sarada the picture of Boruto from before.
She frowns, looks at the picture intently, and after a while, finally asks, "But how?"
"It’s a cutest contest."
"Huh… Am I the cutest?"
"Absolutely," Sasuke answers without missing a beat.
Sarada giggles at his response, walks over to him, and gives him a kiss on the cheek.
"And you’re the coolest, Papa!"
She hugs him, then walks back, bouncing in her step as she returns to watching TV.
Sasuke shakes his head at Sarada’s behavior, a smile plastered on his face. Just then, another notification rings from his phone.
As he expects, it’s from Naruto.
Awwww, little Sarada is cute, but let’s be honest here, Sasuke. She’s only cute because she takes after Sakura. :D Now, Boruto, on the other hand—you can see all of me in him. Of course, my beautiful and cutest wife is also a big factor. So, you know, not to be harsh or anything, but you don’t have a single cute bone in your body, which unfortunately passed down a tiny little bit to little Sarada. :(
With an eye roll, Sasuke types his reply:
You idiot. That’s obvious. The fact that she’s still cute despite what you said about me not having "cute bones" already proves that Sakura and Sarada are the cutest, and I won’t have any more arguments about this. I’d rather spend time with my CUTE daughter! Don’t you have any work to do? Is preparing to be the leader of our village really that relaxing? Maybe I should have a word with Kakashi.
Before he can overthink his reply, his thumb reflexively clicks the send button.
"Ah…" He wonders briefly if he has said too much, but then again, this is about his daughter and wife—so nothing is too much.
Shrugging his shoulders, he puts his phone down on the table, ready to ignore whatever Naruto will send next. He should also ask Sakura about that different ringtone for a specific contact.
In the middle of a lush forest, river streams flow, and sunlight breaks through the cracks between the trees. All of these signs are perfectly normal for Sasuke when he’s on the road. What’s new, however, is the unexpected sound of birds chirping—coming from his phone.
He smiles as he opens the picture Sakura just sent him. Of course, it’s a picture of both Sakura and Sarada. They must have flipped the camera, not literally, to take a selfie. While Sasuke doesn’t use that mode very often, he tries to remember it—especially after how many times Sakura reminded him before he left on his journey months ago.
"Remember! When you have the time, take a picture of yourself. Not just for me, but for Sarada too—she wants to see her Papa!"
Focusing back on the picture, he sees both of them, their cheeks squished together with wide smiles on their faces. Looking at them, how can Sasuke not feel happy? Sometimes, he still wonders if he deserves the both of them.
He shakes his head. He likes to think he isn’t a sentimental person, but his girls prove him otherwise every time.
With a much lighter step, he sets off again—this time, not just with thoughts of his family in his head, but with their picture tucked safely in his pocket.
