Their house was fucking huge.
Those were the first words that popped into Hinata's head as she stared at the house in front of her. It took some time for her to find it — another train ride to the other side of the city and a few minutes walking down a long winding street of stunning houses. It made Hinata realize how different their lives were from hers.
She could have had this, she knew as much. She could almost hear her father nagging in the back of her head, telling her to take biochemistry or physics seriously, or something similar. Maybe if she had pursued a career in STEM, then she'd also have a big house like this, but she didn't.
Hinata pulled her hair into a small ponytail, combing back her bangs as she mentally checked herself. She looked a mess, out of place standing there in nothing but some cargo pants and a thin short sleeved hoodie. Instead of knocking on the door, she remained standing in the driveway, ready to text Sasuke that she was outside until the sound of the garage opening startled her.
"You're here." Sasuke unintentionally glared at her, the sun in his eyes weren't helping at all. "Why didn't you call?" He flicked on a switch, "you should probably move."
"I was about to." She walked up the driveway, curious as to why he told her to move 'til the sprinklers turned on.
"She's in the backyard waiting for you." Sasuke left the garage door open, not telling her to follow him but she understood the silent words he spoke.
"I hope she wasn't waiting for too long." Hinata mumbled. She almost gasped again once she stepped past the gates leading to the equally large backyard. There was a pool, a beautiful deck, flowerbeds, and a playhouse for Sarada.
She sat inside, talking to herself as she played with her dolls. She stopped what she was doing once she saw Sasuke, her smile widening when Hinata came into view as well. "You brought her!" She ran out of the miniature house.
"She came to see you." Sasuke stepped to the side and let Sarada stand in front of Hinata.
"Did you really?" She held her hand.
"Mhm." Hinata smiled, resting her other hand on top of her head. "You wanted to colour, and I couldn't come last time, so here I am."
"Daddy, can I take her to my room?" She turned to Sasuke, "that's where all my colours are."
"Make sure she doesn't get lost." He chuckled, "I'll be in the garage if you two need me."
"Okay!" Sarada hugged him quickly, "let's go." She grabbed onto Hinata's hand and led the way to the back door. "No boys allowed."
"No boys allowed." Hinata repeated.
The inside of the house was just as big as the outside, Hinata's eyes remained slightly widened the further they walked in. Everything went well together; from the floorboards, the cabinets in the kitchen, the couches in the living room, and the pictures on the wall. Even the potted plants they had fit the entire vibe of the house.
"My room is even prettier." Sarada walked up the stairs with Hinata in tow. "I want to change it, but mommy said 'no'."
"Really? What do you want to change it to?" Hinata asked, glancing into every room with opened doors.
Sarada shrugged, "I don't know, maybe you can help me." She opened the door to her room and turned on the lights.
She was right, her room really was prettier. As pretty as a five year old's room can be. It wasn't pink — that's the first thing Hinata noticed — instead, the room had accents of green. Her bed was elevated on top of extra storage, a shelf of her books were pushed against the same wall, there was a desk under the window and her drawings were on the opposite wall of it all.
"Do you like green?" Hinata put her bag down and sat on the fluffy carpet while Sarada looked through her bookshelf for some colouring books.
"Sometimes, blue is better." She shrugged, settling on two books. She set them down in front of Hinata and went to find her best pencil crayons.
"Who painted your room?" Hinata opened one of the books and flipped through the pages. "Since you want to change it, it means you don't like it."
"My room was painted before I was born. It was nice before, but now..." Sarada sat across from her, placing the bin of colourful assortments in between them.
"Why don't you ask your father instead?"
"He doesn't do anything without mommy." She pouted, "he'd ask her first."
"It's your room though, you should like it, no? Did you tell them you don't like it?"
She nodded. "No painting, no drawing on the walls...so I cover it with drawings instead." She motioned to the large mural, "I like it better."
"You should." Hinata nodded, "it's very pretty."
"Some of them aren't coloured well, but I colour better now!"
"I can see that, good job."
Sarada sat up straight, adjusting her glasses with her cheeks dusted pink. She doesn't really hear praises all too often, only when she does something remarkable at school. To hear Hinata say that she was doing a good job at colouring, even if she didn't think it was that good, it made her blush.
An hour must have passed without them realizing. They talked amongst themselves, mostly about why Hinata's hair was short, who was better at colouring, a stupid boy at daycare, and their favourite things to do.
Her stomach growling made her blush again in embarrassment. Sarada dropped her pencil and looked at Hinata sheepishly as she touched her cheek, trying to get the woman's attention.
"Are you hungry?" Hinata didn't look at her.
"How did you know?" The young girl said in amazement, "do you have superpowers?"
"My senses were tingling." Hinata jokes, tapping her forehead, "how about a sandwich with some apple juice?"
Sarada gasped, "how did you know I wanted a sandwich."
"That's a secret." Hinata stood up and held her hand out. "Come."
Holding onto her hand, Sarada hummed on their way down the stairs. "Do you like sandwiches?"
"Now you have superpowers too — yes, I love sandwiches. What's your favourite?" They walked into the kitchen. Hinata lifted Sarada up to sit on the counter as she opened the fridge.
"Peanut butter and jelly, or an egg salad sandwich." Sarada answered, "I love egg salad. Ume would make it all the time."
"Ume?"
"My old nanny." She pouted, "mommy and daddy don't like it, not even when I eat it because it makes me gassy sometimes." She giggled.
"Do you want to eat one?"
"Will you make it?"
"If you want."
"Yes please."
Hinata took out the tray of eggs, "where are the pots?"
"I'll get it." Sarada jumped off the counter and opened a cabinet, pulling out the smallest pot she could find. "Is this okay?"
"That's perfect." Hinata took it and filled it with water.
While the two boiled their eggs and spoke, giggling amongst themselves, Sasuke walked into the house. He watched them curiously, more so paying attention to the way Sarada kept smiling and helping out while Hinata guided her through their cooking process.
"What are you two up to?" He asked after they finished making their sandwiches and pouring themselves a glass of juice.
"Hinata was teaching me how to make egg salad."
He grimaced, "don't come near me later."
"Why not?" She brought her food to the table, waiting for Hinata to sit too before eating.
"A certain someone likes being gassy." He opened the fridge, grabbing a bottle of cold water. "Your room will be very stinky, how will I put you to bed tonight?"
"Hinata will! Right?" She turned to the Hyuga woman who was just listening to the two talk while she ate.
"Oh...I have to go home..."
"Awe..."
"One day, I'll put you to bed before I leave." She patted her head.
"Daddy, can Hinata stay with us?"
Chapter Three: Play Date
Hinata stared at the test on the bathroom vanity. She rested her hands on her hips, her shoulders relaxed as she looked back and forth between the pregnancy test and herself in the mirror.
She really shouldn't have been shocked that the insemination worked, but it just further proved that things were going exactly how she had imagined it to. She knew she had to call Sakura, Sasuke and Tsunade to let them know that she was indeed pregnant.
What was next?
She'd have to deal with everything a pregnancy had to offer. The morning sickness, the midnight cravings, the lack of sleep, a sore back and feet. That wasn't going to be pleasant. She lived alone, she had no one at her beck and call, going to the store at ungodly hours because she craved pickles and cheese. Better yet, there was no one to wash her face when she gets too tired to do so after vomiting in the morning.
Anything to make another family happy.
Taking a picture of the test and sending it to both Sasuke and Sakura, with a short message, her phone blew up instantly. It was mostly Sakura texting rabidly about being busy but also excited and grateful, meanwhile Sasuke sent a simple smiley face back at her.
:)
She stared at it for a few seconds, shaking her head at the silly little thing he did. How Sakura could communicate and get him to hold a conversation will forever be a mystery to Hinata. Though, they loved each other, so that must be easy for Sakura to do — otherwise, why were they married? Reacting to the message with a heart, she left her bathroom to make herself breakfast.
Hinata was sure Sakura would call Tsunade before she did, and part of her was happy that someone else would be talking to the blond woman so early in the morning. Today was her day off, which meant Tsunade was shit faced drunk and probably passed out on her living room couch.
Scrolling through YouTube absentmindedly, Hinata made a cup of hot chocolate and settled on eating a croissant. There was nothing to watch these days, it became extremely boring. The only time she's found herself enjoying her day was whenever she was doing art stuff or just talking to an ecstatic Sarada — who surprisingly had a thing for gossip.
She would tell her all about the boys at daycare, occasionally she would speak about the girls but Sarada really disliked one boy in particular. She never says his name, only referring to him as 'stupid boy', and that amuses Hinata.
Her phone rang as she was just about to click on some random video.
A call from 'Mister Uchiha' wasn't on her list of things she would ever be used to. He never actually calls her, Sakura does that instead. To see his name pop up on her screen, she had to blink to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Answering before the phone stopped ringing, it wasn't Sasuke on the line.
"Are you coming over today?" Sarada whispered, her voice was extra quiet.
"Did you steal your father's phone?" Hinata sipped on her tea, a smile hidden behind her mug.
"He doesn't know yet, so are you coming?"
"Where are you hiding?"
"In my closet."
"Hm...I don't know. Are you asking me because your mother said 'no'?"
"Maybe..."
"If she said that I can't, then I can't."
"Awe, but I got new colouring books today."
Hinata could almost hear the pout in her voice. "Give the phone to your father and maybe I'll convince him to let me come over."
"You promise?"
"I promise."
"Okay."
She waited and listened, hearing Sarada shuffle out of her closet with soft grunts, and then her loud footsteps on the way to her parent's room. There was some mumbling, an apology, and then complete silence.
"Good morning." Sasuke's voice was an octave deeper than what she was used to.
"Someone just woke up." Hinata got up to put her things away. "Are you awake enough to understand what I'm saying?"
"Hn."
"Sarada wants me to come over."
He turned over in his bed, staring at his daughter who stood awkwardly at the door, trying to eavesdrop. "She told me."
"She said that Sakura told her 'no'."
"You want me to give you permission." He threw his arm over his face, coming home late from work really sucked sometimes.
"Sarada wants you to give me permission."
"Fine."
"Can I take her to the park? You seem like you need more sleep."
He pulled the phone away from his ear, letting out a sigh and then answered her question. "For how long?"
"How much more sleep do you need?"
"Five hours." He mumbled.
"I don't have anything better to do today. I'll take her to the water park since it's hot out, and then we'll grab something to eat. Will that be enough time?"
"Hn."
"I'll be there in an hour, get her ready." Hinata hung up.
Sasuke put his phone down and called for Sarada. She avoided his gaze, thinking that she would get in trouble. He sat up, pulling her to sit on the bed. "Do you know where your bathing suit is?
She nodded, completely confused.
"Good, you need to get ready. Hinata is coming to pick you up so you two can go out." He studied her face for a reaction.
"I thought we were only going to colour." She mumbled.
"Do you want to colour instead?"
She shook her head and grinned, "going out is better! I'll get ready. Are you coming too?"
"No—"
"Good, because no boys are allowed." She kissed his cheek and ran away, "thanks daddy!"
Sasuke watched her and couldn't help but smile. Making himself comfortable once again, he set a timer for a few minutes so he would be awake by the time Hinata arrived.
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"She's been sitting on the stairs waiting for you since I told her you were coming." Sasuke said once he opened the door to find Hinata standing there with sunglasses pushing her hair back.
"Oh—"
"Hi!" Sarada picked up her little backpack and made her way down the stairs as quickly and safely as she could. The moment she stood in front of Hinata, she couldn't keep still. "I've never been to a water park. Daddy said that's where you're taking me."
"You can use the white SUV parked in the driveway." He fished the keys out of his pocket, "taking the bus back will be a hassle." He didn't bother letting her refuse his offer. "Do you need money to get food?" Sasuke was ready to find his wallet and just hand her his card, he had to make sure Sarada was well taken care of without him being there.
"I think we're good." Hinata smiled.
"Yeah, Hinata has money, and I brought money too." Sarada pulled out a five dollar bill.
"See, that's enough to get everything we need. We'll see you later." Hinata opened the door for Sarada. "I'll call if anything."
"Don't give Hinata trouble." Sasuke stood on the porch, watching them enter the vehicle.
"I won't!" Sarada yelled back.
"Go sleep." Hinata waved, backing out of the driveway. "She'd be back before three."
"Fine." He lifted his hand in a lazy attempt at a wave and went back into the house.
"Now that we're alone, how about we play some music?" Hinata paired her phone with the bluetooth speaker. "What song should we listen to?"
"Hold On Tight!"
"From the Tetris movie?" Hinata looked at Sarada in the rear view mirror. "I didn't know you were allowed to watch that."
"I'm not, I heard it playing on the television. Mommy was watching it." Sarada rolled down her window, enjoying the wind in her face.
"I hope it's just the song you heard." Hinata mumbled, knowing that there were a lot of swear words littered throughout the movie. She turned the volume up and laughed as Sarada sang along with incoherent words.
The drive to the water park was perfect; they let music play from Hinata's own playlist — skipping anything inappropriate — and pretended that they were the only two in the world. She had stopped by a McDonald's to get them some drinks while they continued their drive.
"Why won't your mother let you have friends over?" Hinata lowered the volume of the music.
Sarada shrugged, "she's not there to watch me and make sure that I won't get hurt."
"Do you want her to stay home a little bit more?" She stopped at a red light.
"Mommy saves people, that's a lot of work..."
"You still want her to stay home."
"Sometimes. But that's okay!"
"Maybe she'll be home more often when your sibling is born." Hinata smiled.
But Sarada's reaction was melancholic. She frowned and looked out the window with sadness.
"You don't want a sibling?" Hinata frowned as well. She wondered if they even talked to Sarada about any of this. Some kids have a hard time learning that they won't be the only child anymore.
"No...Mommy and Daddy will just focus on them instead." She mumbled.
Hinata turned into the parking lot of the water park. She stopped the car and sat back. "That's not true. They'll focus on the both of you, just in different ways."
"How do you know?" Sarada looked at her with watery eyes. She was scared.
"Do you want to know a secret?" Hinata turned to her, reaching to hold her hand.
"Okay."
"I have a younger sister. She's not like you, or me. I didn't want a sister, or a brother, but when I saw her for the first time — I was so happy that she was born. Having a sibling is nice. You can play together, colour, sing, and protect each other. I'm sure you'll love your sibling too."
"If my parents don't love me anymore, will you?" Sarada rubbed her eyes.
"I will, but I doubt they'll stop loving you." Hinata wiped her tears, "today isn't for crying. We're supposed to have as much fun as we can before it's too late."
Sarada watched her, trying to find fault in what she was saying but the warm look in Hinata's eyes made her feel better. "Okay, let's have fun today."
"Great, the place isn't as packed since it's not Summer Break yet. Hurry." Hinata unbuckled her seatbelt.
The two got their things and quickly got administered into the water park. Sarada was given a special bracelet, making her giggle at the new treasure she got to signify her day with Hinata. They changed into their swimwear and settled in a spot before disregarding every sense of time to enjoy the water.
Hinata sat at the edge of the large pool as Sarada splashed around with some other kids her age. She would always swim back to her side to catch her breath before running around again and going down the smaller slides.
It wasn't until she was practically exhausted and hungry before she rested her head on Hinata's lap and wiped her wet hair out of her face.
"Are you hungry now?" Hinata patted her back.
Sarada nodded, "and tired. I want to go home after we eat."
"You've been playing for nearly three hours, of course your body is tired. Let's get you out of those wet clothes and into some dry ones, then we'll order some pizza and go to a regular park."
"Okay."
"Do you want a piggyback ride?"
"Yes please!" Sarada perked up.
Hinata slipped into the water and waited for Sarada to get on her back before she got out again. Picking up their things, they went into the changing rooms to take a short shower and change their clothes.
The wind blowing made them happy, it dried their dripping wet hair, and it was even better once they were on the road with all the windows down. Hinata picked up the pizza that she had ordered prior, and chose the closest park for them to stop and eat.
She opened the trunk, making a small picnic area inside so they could eat. Sarada sat with her legs crossed, waiting for her slice of pizza and some of the spicy wings they bought.
"Today was fun, wasn't it?" Hinata asked, looking at the children playing.
Sarada didn't even seem interested in running around anymore, she ate her food silently. "It was really fun."
"I'm glad you enjoyed it. Our next play date, you get to decide what we do." She smiled.
"Next?"
"I don't think your father will tell you 'no' as long as you ask me too."
Sarada wiped her hands, taking a sip from her juice. "Can we go watch a movie?"
"I don't see why not."
"Can we listen to music again?"
Hinata took her phone out of her pocket and handed it to her. "Pick any."
Sarada was quiet for just a moment, she grinned to herself, waiting to see Hinata's reaction to the song she chose.
"What do you know about that song?" Hinata laughed, asking her to turn the volume up as well.
"I hear it on the radio." Sarada put the phone down and started doing the dance moves she remembers seeing from the music video. "If you liked it then you should have put a ring on it." She sang.
Hinata got out of the car, dancing the moves as well while Sarada sang. They couldn't help but laugh at their silliness. Hinata's eyes softened seeing Sarada look so happy — it reminded her of why she loved kids so much.
It was a shame that she didn't want any of her own.