!!!WARNING!!! very soft lemon like I don't even know if you can call that a lemon.
Sunday, 28th of March. Sarada is 1 year old. Sasuke left 13 weeks ago.
"So how are you getting on?"
"Good. Come in and sit." Sakura moved away from the door to let her best friend in. Ino was carrying a cake.
"Living room?" Sakura nodded.
After serving a piece of cake to her friend, she sat on the sofa as well. The two friends were next to each other. She didn't get to hang out with Ino as often as she used to because of work and Sarada. Thanks to Sasuke, she had enough money to stay home if she wanted to. Even if that was an option she still wanted to go to the clinic every now and then to see how the children were doing. The money left by all of the Uchiha was huge but he also decided to give her and Sarada the majority of the money he was making during his missions.
"So," Ino started. "How's life? I haven't seen you in like a month."
"We were busy at the clinic... sorry."
"How are you getting on Sakura? How are you handling it?"
"Not too bad actually. Things could be worse. He writes me a letter every other day so I know that he is fine. He doesn't say much in them other than giving me information about his mission, his location and how things are."
"Does he really write a letter that often?"
"Yeah... but all the letters I sent were brought back. It feels like he concealed his presence and even the Konoha's birds can't find him. I tried to talk to Kakashi-sensei to ask him how he communicates with him but he told me that he didn't. Same thing... Sasuke is the only one sending the letters."
"That's odd. Maybe he is surrounded by enemies and him receiving letters could be too dangerous." offered Ino. Sakura knew that she was probably right but a part of her had a strange feeling. There was this little voice telling her another reason why he wasn't letting anyone contact him.
"Maybe but my other theory is that he simply wants to avoid what I have to say to him because he knows that it will hurt him."
"What do you mean?"
"If I tell him all the things that he is missing... he will get hurt."
"Well... I wouldn't be so sure about that. Maybe it will help him to keep going?"
She appreciated this version of Ino. Since she had married Sai, she had matured a good bit. She was more calm and more serious as well. She needed the both sides of her personality but right now she really needed someone who could listen to her.
"Mh... you know the day he left I told him that he will be here to see Sarada eat proper food and he wasn't there when it happened. I took a photo of her and her face covered in food to send it to him but it was sent back."
"Speaking of photos, Sai told you right?"
"Told me what?" she turned her head towards Ino. Her friend looked back at her.
Ino shook her head angrily. "He promised that he would tell you! I just can't trust him with these kind of things!"
"What did he forget to mention?"
"Ok so..." Ino leaned closer to Sakura. Her face got mysterious. "The night that Sasuke left, he came to our house. He asked Sai, in front of me, if he could paint a portrait of you for him."
"He... did that?"
"Yeah, I was just as surprised as you! Anyway, Sai painted him one and I saw Sasuke put it in his pouch. I guess he still has it."
"That's where he keeps the photo of team 7 and my drawing." she chuckled.
"What drawing?"
"It's gonna sound very stupid but back when I was on mission with him... you know stuck in the dimension while I was pregnant, we had a huge fight. Few days after it, he came back to the tower and I was drawing something-"
"Oh god. I'm surprised that your lack of artistic abilities wasn't the subject of the fight." Ino slapped her shoulder playfully after she took a bite of her cake. It reminded Sakura that she still hadn't touched hers.
"Just shut up!" Sakura laughed. "I offered it to him as a joke but when I washed his clothes few weeks before he left, I found it in his pouch."
"You know what? Sasuke is so cute. Like so so cute. I never thought hat he was so romantic, so caring and thoughtful."
"He only is like that with me though." she stuck out her tongue at her friend.
"That's what's even more adorable."
"Yeah but he is also very absent..."
"He can't be perfect. He is doing everything that he can to make your life comfortable."
"I know... I just wish that I could have him by my side."
"But you do. He is in you and in Sarada. When you look at her just remember that there is a big part of him in her. Well... that child honestly mostly looks like him. I don't know what kind of genes his clan has but they all look very similar. I mean, remember Madara? Sasuke looked like him. Same goes for Itachi."
"I know he is inside of me and in her. But... You know... you can hold Sai in your arms, hug him, touch his hair or even kiss him on the cheek... well I can't do that anymore. I don't have him by my side at night whenever I struggle to fall asleep."
"I'm sorry. I don't know what to tell you. I'm sorry that your husband got some eyes that nearly gets him killed. Thankfully he is strong so you don't have to worry too much."
Sakura looked at her friend and she realised how sad her friend was for her. Ino always somehow understood her, always.
The blonde spent a few more hours with her and before she left, Ino asked her if she was sure about not having a birthday party. Sakura assured her one more time that she was fine by spending her night alone. Oddly enough she just wanted to be by herself tonight. She felt like crying.
She brought Sarada to her parents and walked back home. She picked up Sasuke's old t-shirt from the crib and lay down in her bed holding it against her face. It didn't smell like him anymore but it was bringing back memories. Memories of a time when the were freshly married and even memories of a time when they were starting to get to know each other again. She wished that she could go back to these times. She fell asleep crying in her bed and alone.
She got woken up shortly after by something poking her cheek. She opened her eyes and it stopped. It took her a second to realise that the bird was Sasuke's summoning. She jumped out of bed and it flew to the window. So he hadn't forgotten about her birthday!
She tried to look for a letter but there was nothing attached to it. The bird simply flew out of the window and without thinking, Sakura grabbed a photo on her bedside table and jumped after it. She followed it towards the forest. She slalomed between the trees until the hawk eventually stopped. She looked around but couldn't see anyone.
"Sasuke..." she said in a quiet voice. She started to fear that he wasn't going to be here.
"Sakura." she looked up to where the voice came from and there he was, sitting on a branch. She let out a laugh and jumped by his side.
"You came."
"It's a shadow clone. I am days away from here."
"You still sent one to find me. It's the first time that we spend my birthday together."
"I know."
Her arms opened widely and to her surprise Sasuke buried himself in them. He had probably missed her as much as she had missed him. She let go of him and she started to do a fully check-up on him but she quickly stopped realising that it was only a clone.
"Is there anything you need? I'll go back home now and bring it to you. Do you need medicines? Food? Water? Do you-" she said. Her voice was shaky and the words poured out of her mouth.
"Sakura." he put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm fine."
"But why can't I send you any letters then?"
"It's too risky. How is Sarada?"
"She's fine... She is starting to stand up on her own but she needs help to keep her balance. I have a photo for you."
"Hn." she put the photo on his lap. His hand slowly took it and he looked at it. His eyes were covered by his hair so she had no way to tell how he was feeling right now.
"And you? How are you? I've been so worried!"
"I'm fine, don't worry about me."
"Why did you wait until it was dark out?"
"I didn't want anyone to see me. People are after me."
"Did you see them? Did you find the ones who are after you?" she hated how desperate she sounded while Sasuke's voice was calm and controlled.
"The real me is currently watching them well, part of them."
"You would be safer in the village with us. Sarada would be safer with you to protect her instead of me. Sasuke I'm not that good of a fighter, I am just a medic."
"You are a defensive and medic ninja and that's what Sarada needs. I can't be here right now and I don't know if I can ever come back. As long as I have these eyes, I am a target."
"So you will aways be a target."
A moment of silence followed her statement. He started to speak first.
"Do you regret it?"
"Regret what?"
"Marrying me."
She considered lying for a second but then she realised that there was no point. If he was asking it was because he already knew the answer. "I'll be honest... I did feel this way three weeks after you left but then I just realised that it was because I saw all of my friends going for dinner with their husbands, I saw Naruto take care of Boruto and all. It was just hard to swallow the fact that our family is the one that needs to sacrifice the most."
"Do you still regret it?"
"A part of me does but I am not mad at you. I think I do in the sense that if I didn't marry you, I wouldn't be suffering but at the same time I wouldn't have anyone or a child. So... no I don't. I don't regret marrying you because even if you have to be away you gave me a daughter, you took care of me while I had my health issues and because a hug from you makes so happy. Not seeing you for a while just enhances what I feel for you and I love that. Ino is getting used to Sai and same goes for Hinata. I'm the only one who still feels like a fourteen year old when I see you."
"Do you go out? Do you see other people?"
"When I have the time for it yes but it is rare. I'm mostly just taking care of Sarada. The day she'll start walking will be a problem, really. Did you come here for my birthday or just to check up on me?"
"Both. I'm sorry."
"Don't be. Just keep doing what you think is right. You have my full support."
She lay her head on his shoulder. It was already late at night and she knew that as soon as the sun will rise he will need to leave again. He was quiet. His hand was resting on her lower back.
"She looks like me."
"Who? Sarada? Yeah... sometimes I even ask myself if she simply didn't take all your genes and none of mine. Tsunade did warn me: Uchihas have very strong genes."
"Hn."
He handed her the photo back but she stopped him by putting her hand on his before taking it. "I will make sure that she knows how much of a hero you are to the village."
"I am not a hero. I am simply avoiding a problem by staying away."
"And you sacrifice everything for that. In your eyes Itachi was a hero for doing exactly what you are doing now."
"Itachi did more than me."
Sakura shook her head and took his hand. "No he simply had to do more horrible things but at the end of the day the two of you sacrificed the same thing: a family."
"What would he tell me to do if he was here?"
"He would probably tell you to live your life while he takes care of everything."
"Probably."
"You know that I love you, right?" she declared out of nowhere.
"I know."
"Will it kill you to let me know that you love me too then?" she bumped his shoulder with hers after moving her head away from him. When she saw his confused face she laughed. "Don't worry about it. I know you well enough but it still feels good to hear it once in a while."
"I understand."
She snapped her head towards him not knowing if he was being serious or not. She saw a smirk on his face and she tapped his shoulder gently.
"Hey! Don't play with my feelings like that! Honestly... how lonely do you feel?"
"Depends on the day. I am used to being alone."
"So you don't miss anything? You don't miss me climbing on top of you while I try to fall asleep?" she pushed him against the trunk of the tree and sat on his lap, her legs dangling in the air. "You don't miss my hand playing with your hair until you fall asleep?" she passed her hand in his hair. Sasuke closed his eyes and she smirked. "And you're telling me that you don't miss my lips on your skin?" she gently kissed the sensitive spot on her neck. His body stiffened under her touch. She smiled against his skin.
"You know I am just a shadow clone right?"
"And when you will disappear all of that will be sent to the real one. I know he will be angry that he wasn't the one present for all of that."
"I thought that you saw it as creepy, the whole shadow clone thing."
"No, I said that it was creepy if a clone and Sasuke kiss. I don't find it creepy if I kiss you just stop reminding me that you are not the real one."
"To answer all of your questions, I don't miss a single thing."
She looked at him provocatively. "Not a single thing?"
"Not a single one of them."
She saw that he was teasing her with his eyes. God if only Sasuke knew what she was doing, he would kill his own clone and it made her laugh. That could be a good way of messing with him while he was away.
She sat a bit higher on his lap until her thighs were touching his intimate area.
"So everything that is happening here will be sent to him once you disappear? Everything?"
"Everything."
"Will it see the memories exactly the way he would if he saw it with his own eyes?"
"Yes."
"Good."
(Lemon starts, it's very soft. There isn't any actual sex.)
"Why?"
She pressed her hand against his member. She was on top of the clothes.
"You can't tell me that he didn't miss that."
Sasuke's clone threw his head back.
"He obviously did."
"And what about that?"
She moved higher again and sat on it. She leaned in, grabbed his face with her two hands and landed a kiss on his lips. The fact the her legs were not resting on something made it impossible for her to move on him but she did managed to move her hips in circles. Sasuke moaned.
"Don't enjoy yourself too much. I want him to be frustrated."
"You're cruel."
"Yeah I know. I miss having someone I can be annoying to. "
She moved her face to his neck and sucked on the skin. That will disappear with the clone anyway so she didn't care about leaving bruises. As expected the skin turned purple as soon as she moved away. Sasuke's hand was on her hip and he was helping her move. She laughed and kissed him again.
"That's enough. If he wants more he'll have to tell me where he is so I can come and join him for a few days. Before you go!"
She grabbed his face again and kissed him one more time. This time her kiss was a simple goodbye kiss. It was the kind of kiss that will mean a lot to him.
"You can go and tell him that I will send him a letter later during the day. I would love it if he could accept it. Just this once."
"Hn."
She bumped his nose with hers. "I will see you soon."
"Sakura."
"Mh?"
"Happy birthday."
She smiled and jumped down from the tree. She watched as the figure of her husband disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
She laughed thinking about the possible frustration and anger that he was going to feel in a few seconds.
-----------------------------------
So I know it will be hard to satisfy everyone especially since I decided to follow what's canon and make Sasuke leave his family but I will try my best here. Tell me if you enjoy this format like this where we see a bit of Sakura's life alone and a bit that is related to Sasuke. I will make variations of this kind of format if you guys are happy enough with it.
I also read and someone commented that Sasuke does come back for a while when she is 3-4 years old. I will add that. Also the time skips will be bigger because we need to go over 12 years and I can't write 200 chapters just about that because you guys will get bored and I will rip out my hair from trying to come up with scenarios that are always different ahah
Anyway just let me know what you think so I can adapt the chapters to satisfy as many people as possible xx