Chapter Text
After nearly 6 months away, Sasuke showed up in front of the Uchiha residence unexpectedly on a Thursday evening.
He hasn't seen his family since he left the village to track down the Otsotsukis and frankly he didn't plan on this visitation either. Although a previous conversation with Kakashi made him change his mind.
He knew that their circumstances wasn't the best, but never thought the things going to turn out the way, how Kakashi and Naruto had mentioned. He needed to make sure, their words were nothing just fuss out of consideration of his wife.
"Sakura" he called the woman as he entered the front door. The lights were up in the living room.
No answer, so he removed his shoes and coat, walked through the hallway just to see the sleeping Sakura at the dining table. Her head laid on her arms. The pink curls were messy and greasy, her skin appeared pale and tired. Sasuke couldn't see much of her figure but she seemed thinner than before.
The other members of Team 7 were right about the state of Sakura. He heard about postpartum depression, he didn't know how long it takes, but Sarada was already two years old. She would have gotten over it by now, or not. He wasn't sure and that made him even more upset, how little he knew about the stuff his wife was going through in the past months. Rarely she sent him letters in incognito, but never brought up anything suspicious in those. She was always bragging about Sarada's weight or what she was able to do, or how she acted... Basically she didn't even write about herself.
A loud, disappointed sigh left his mouth.
"Let's continue this meeting tomorrow morning."
Naruto and Sasuke looked up from the map to the masked face. They were both tired, so the announcement was a relief but Sasuke seemed nervous, he would rather finished the meeting than staying in the village for the night.
"I think the both of you have more important places to be." Kakashi looked at Sasuke. "If I were you, I would definitely pay a visit to home."
He seemed confused, after all the hokage was the one, who suggested that during his missions he should be low profile. That meant completely reduced visitations to his family as well. He turned to the blonde man who had an uneasy look on his face.
"What's going on?" Sasuke asked harshly.
"Sakura seemed down recently." he answered shortly.
"Seemed down?" he whispered. The Uzumaki and Kakashi looked at each other, since they both felt the awakening anger in the question. Of course he felt sorry for his wife but a possible visit carried many dangers in it towards them. "So just because she feels down, should I take the risk of putting them in danger?"
"Look Sasuke," Kakashi's voice was calm but the seriousness in it, would make anyone shiver. "I know that we all agreed that your full absence is better and safer than visiting them regularly. However we didn't take into account that raising a young child alone is not an easy task, even for Sakura. Moreover, we are talking about a child who is the only descendant of one of the most powerful clans, which was almost extinct. Because of this, everyone has an opinion on her and with that on you and Sakura as well."
"Sakura doesn't care about these." he said firmly. A loud sigh left Kakashi's mouth and Naruto took over.
"Just to make you understand," Naruto's voice was loud and upset. "she's fucking exhausted from dealing with your child alone while everyone, even her parents say things behind her back like 'she shouldn't have married him or how pitiful, she was always in love with him and he just wanted to fuck her, what a bad luck is that child.' You know how hard is to deal with this? You don't! You don't know any of this!"
Naruto looked directly into the onyx eyes. He wasn't a friend, or teammate at that moment. He looked at him as a father and husband who had a family too, who understood his pain, who wanted to help. Even if that meant, he needs to kick some sense into him. Though it wasn't necessary, the said words left Sasuke's face sour, and before the blonde could continue, he urgently left the room with one person in his mind.
Sasuke didn't try to wake her up again. Instead he went to Sarada's room where she was sleeping peacefully. The room smelled fresh and clean, their daughter looked angelic, well-fed and relaxed. Hopefully none of these rumors reached to her in any form.
He went back to the dining room, Sakura slept sill in the same sitting position on the desk. He couldn't help but think, how many times it looked like this? Their baby was satisfied and happy while his wife was drained til her limits. He decided, the best thing he could do was to help to finish what she had left incomplete. The house was well-kept but still needed a little tidying up. Then he washed the dishes and made some light miso soup with rice on the side for Sakura.
She slowly opened her eyes for the noise what came from the kitchen. Her eyes felt heavy, her head was dizzy from the nap she took. The kunoichi was really exhausted, she didn't even realized for a minute that someone was in their house, only when her husband appeared with a tray of freshly made food.
"Sasuke-kun?!" she said and blinked at least twice more. She couldn't believe that the tall, muscular figure in front of her was the Uchiha. "Am I dreaming?" her voice was so innocent and shocked, Sasuke almost smiled.
"No, I'm here." he said softly and placed the tray on the table.
She looked in disbelief at the steaming food and then at the man. Sasuke took a seat across from her and watched as she slowly began to eat.
"It's really good!" her face lit up after the first taste. "Thank you Sasuke-kun!"
His eyes followed every movement, he scanned her graceful face and delicate frame. She wore one of his old shirts what made her look even tinier.
"You look feeble." he said and Sakura instinctively shrank from his curious gaze. "What happened?"
"You know how it is with a toddler..." she started with a nervous laugh. He knew her too well, Sasuke could always tell when she was anxious by the way she pressed her lips together or from the fact that her voice was higher when she felt she was in a tight spot. "It's demanding to manage our life since I needed to go back part-time to the clinic, but there's nothing I couldn't handle! You don't need to worry about us!" she tried her best to sound like a supportive wife. "Just do your things and save the world!" her enthusiasm felt fake.
"Stop this!"
The Uchiha knew the kunoichi wouldn't pressure him with her own difficulties. She always looked out for others, especially for him. Although this time she needed someone to look out for her.
"I'm not sure what you heard but I can handle it. People like to talk." she couldn't keep her frustration under the surface anymore, her fabricated smile started to wear off.
Sakura suspected that her husband was aware of the rumors and the comments she needed to endure in the last few months or at least heard a bit about them, still she tried to avoid the topic. Not because she wanted to hide anything from him, rather because she experienced this as personal failure...again.
"But you don't have to handle it!" he clapped back. He was a prideful man and he wanted his wife to be proud and confident as well. The Sakura he knew was self-assured and collected, the one who was sitting there was wracked. It made him even more upset that indirectly or directly he was the cause of her wavering... again.
"Then what should I do?" her voice trembled as she continued. "I'm not going to acknowledge their comments, I'm not going to fight back. Fortunately Sarada doesn't understand any of this, and as I said," she finally looked in his eyes. "I can handle their bullshits!"
Sakura considered the conversation finished. She stood up and took the left over rice and dirty dishes to the kitchen. She knew, it wasn't mature move to leave Sasuke at the table in the middle of an argument, but she couldn't be in his present any longer. She was angry with him, confused and nervous. She didn't expect him to appear on an average evening and see her in this weakened state. To see her as a failure. Even if she was upset with him to left them alone, she was more annoyed by herself to became unable to control the situation.
"Sakura..." he said her name softly. She was standing next to the sink with a blank face, deep in her thoughts when his body surrounded hers from the back. "I want you to tell me what they've said." his hand gripped the kitchen island, put her in a trap between him and the furniture. "I don't want you to handle everything alone."
The lump in her throat indicated she's going to burst into tears. His company and the words he used, made her vulnerable. The weight of the past six months suddenly dropped on her shoulders. The sleepless nights she spent with crying, the judgmental looks what followed her everywhere she went, her own parents behavior towards their daughter and granddaughter. She lost her appetite and spirit during the days, so she rather stayed at home. Even when she met with friends, her first thought was 'what they are truly thinking about me?'.
"But you're not here..." her response felt like a punch in the gut. "It doesn't make any change if I tell you that people say I'm a fool and you took advantage of my love to have sex. In their head you left me with a child alone because I'm insufferable." her voice turned hysterical. "I heard once, you left me because I can't give you more children and you want to restore your clan with other women. More capable ones." her tears began to flow uncontrollably. She hold onto the kitchen island as her body trembled. Her delicate fingers were so close to his, he wanted to touch them but she pulled away. "My parents don't help me with Sarada because they're scared what the neighbors are going to think about them. They think this child is cursed." Sasuke wanted to say something but she continued the rambling. "I can see the judgmental glares on the street, at the market, even in MY fucking hospital!" she screamed. "I'm exhausted. I'm working part-time, I can't handle Sarada's tantrums... You left me here alone to deal with everything you were running away from!"
Just a moment ago Sasuke wanted to interrupt, now he couldn't form any coherent thought.
He wondered was he really running away from them? From the responsibilities of a family man? From the village? From his reputation? In a way it was true. He would never confess this to her, but it was never his intention to stay in Konoha. However life happened, and they started their relationship. After years in the dark, he finally was able to feel good in the everyday life, because he found Sakura as his new home. Not Konoha, not the villages they visited together, not even the house he built for their growing family. He felt at home when she smiled at him in the morning, when she crawled closer to him in the bed, when she babbled about her day in the living room while he was reading...
Home wasn't a place build by bricks, it was Sakura and the life he was able to experience next to her. Home was also their daughter. Her laughs on his Rinnegan eye, her chunky moves on the floor as she was discovering the world, her desperate cries for a new diaper.
He left them to bring peace, to avoid any more wars, to protect his home. But at what price?
"I didn't mean it like that..." Sakura broke the silence. Sasuke didn't say anything because even if she did, he deserved the outburst. She tended to downplay his actions, so it was time to give voice to her frustrated thoughts. She always tried to make him feel good or at least less worried about the decision he made, but she couldn't keep up with this anymore. His decision eat her up, and he knew he couldn't erase the pain of his absence, but he had this night to show her how much he missed his home.
He wrapped his one arm around the shivering woman from behind and pulled her back closer to his chest. Her head tucked under his chin.
"Let's take a bath." the woman surprised by his words.
They stood in the kitchen for a few more minutes. Her breathing began to even out, and her tears stopped.
"Let's take a bath." she repeated slowly.
It used to be very intimate, now it felt awkward for Sakura to be naked in front of her husband in their spacious bathroom. She wasn't blind, she saw herself in the mirror everyday and recognized the changes on her body after childbirth, or since she stopped breastfeeding. The last few months also effected on her body, she became skinnier, her youthful skin lost it's glowing vitality.
While Sasuke prepared her for the bath she unconsciously tried to become smaller and hide her body from his all-seeing eyes. His touch was gentle and patient. He didn't rush anywhere, took his time with washing her body carefully with the washcloth. When the man's fingers touched her scalp and started to massage the top of her head, she closed her eyes and let out a small sigh. His calm and supportive demeanor was everything she needed. Sakura hasn't felt her husband touch for a long time, she hasn't felt cherished at all since he left. These small but significant gestures almost made her cry again.
He was attentive, he listened how her breathing changed, how her posture became more relaxed.
He rinsed down her, so the kunoichi opened her eyes eventually, like she didn't want this to end.
"Go soak in the bath, I prepare and follow you." he said while took another washcloth from the rack.
Their bathroom included some western elements like a shower or their bathtub, what was definitely bigger than in other Japanese households. Besides these, they had a traditional washing corner with a set of small wooden chairs and buckets what they used for cleaning themselves before bathing. But since Sakura was alone she usually just took a shower, and left the set and the bath untouched.
He never sent her ahead in the past, they always washed each other, almost as a ritual. Even if she found it weird, she stood up from the small chair, handed over the place for Sasuke. His naked body was leaner than six months ago, she attributed this to the effect of the hundreds of kilometers what he had walked on his journey.
He sat facing towards her and started to soap his torso. She caught her eyes off of him, but the blush on her cheeks gave her away. She was used to his naked presence before, there was nothing awkward about it. However now she felt just like in the end of their teenage years, when they started to explore each other bodies and every time she saw his bare skin, it made her heart beat faster.
"I help." She watched his infirm attempts to wash his back long enough, before she took out the cloth from his hand and started to wash his wide shoulders. He tensed under her tender touch. "Is everything okay?" asked in a worrying voice. Her eyes examined his shoulders and back, but there weren't any visible injury.
"Yeah" he breathed.
She continued the smooth motion on his sturdy back with the washcloth, her other hand caressed a faint, old scar on the alabaster skin. His muscles tensed again and Sakura shyly pulled away. She had a concerned expression, then asked him fearfully.
"Sasuke-kun.. You don't want me to touch you anymore?" she sounded so anxious, Sasuke immediately turned to her to see the emerald eyes in tears. The woman he loved more than anything, fell on knees in front of him and cried desperately because of something she made up in her head. Somehow he felt trapped and he realized he needs to learn how to express himself clearly, before she makes any more false assumptions.
"What kind of ridiculous thing you say?" he pinched her reddened cheek in a teasing way with his lone hand. "I want to touch you more than anything." he looked deep in her eyes. "But I was trying to be considerate of everything what's going on... I didn't think you would misunderstand it."
"Really?" she asked between two sobs. "Even now? I look terrible..." tears followed her statement.
Wearily, he raised his fingers to the bridge of his nose, hoping to decrease the tension in his body by pressing that point. He felt so angry with the village, with her friends, with her parents, even with her. How could she ask something like this? What kind of image she has of herself in her mind?
"Sakura!" he brushed his fingers over her lips, her cheeks to her ears down on her neck. "Since I'm next to you again, I feel like a weak man." whispered. He didn't want her to see his hesitation. Pulled her closer by the back of her neck to his upper body, his fingers played with her hair. Her arms supported her on his tights, her face was so close to his chest, he probably felt her breaths. "I don't know how to help on you, what to say or do to make you feel better. I left you here to deal with everything alone, I didn't even think about the consequences or how strangers will see this." confessed. "I'm just a failed husband."
"Sasuke-kun.." she said and wrapped her arms around his torso.
"Don't ever think that I don't want you.." he continued and his usually stern voice was like a weak whisper. She understood this wasn't about being physical with her. These were the words of a man, who missed his only family. The Uchiha sacrificed being close to them, just to protect them. But who's going to protect him from the feeling of loneliness again? "You don't know how hard is to be away from you, from Sarada.." he could say more but he was still an emotionally constipated man, even these words were much more than she ever expected from him.
Sasuke let his arm fell next to him, she was still kneeling on the cold tile. The situation started to feel intimate as they became aware of their nudity, and the closeness between their figures. She raised her body, leaning on his tights to look into his eyes again. Her lips parted, she almost felt guilty, how beautiful she thought his broken expression was. His eyes softened, it made his face and his whole being exposed. He wasn't the usual confident Last Uchiha, he was a tortured man in his lover hands. She tried to say something to reassure him of her devotion, but words didn't come.
The man's dump hair clung to his face, the corners of his mouth twitched as Sakura's fingers approached him. He closed his eyes under her soft touch, her delicate fingers brushed his nose, his high cheekbones and swap away a wet black lock from his eyes. He didn't see, but her tender gaze radiated love and understanding as she watched the changing lines of his face.
"But now you're here." She held the back of his neck and pulled herself closer until their noses rubbed together.
Sasuke didn't think anything intimate would happen between them that evening, but Sakura's hitching breath as if she was waiting for something, suggested the opposite. Since he was still just a man, who hasn't seen his wife in months, he was starving for her warm. He couldn't keep up his composure, his body moved on its own. In spite their heated discussion before she gladly snuggled into his hand, when he slowly closed the gap between their lips.
Soft lips moved cautiously over hers. Their kiss was slow, delicate and full with questions. Do you still angry? Do you want me just as I want you? Do you regret this life with me?
The questions he would never say out loud, just let them linger between them and she would perceive them. She learnt over the years to read him. She could feel how doubted he is by the way his lone hand grabbed her face to pull her even closer.
Their kiss was like they were performing a long forgotten dance. Some of their moves were uncertain or hesitant, some were bold and curious. Both of them tried to recall the right moves, just like trying to remember the steps of a dance.
Sasuke's tongue forced its way through her lips. His movements became greedier in every second. As he pushed his tongue further into her mouth, his fingers found and curled around her smooth neck, that made her moan into the kiss. They knew there was no turning back from now. They let their hunger lead their moves, and their dance turned into something animalistic.
The raw sounds she let out, fueled the fire in the man. He lowered his palm from her neck to her chest. She was never satisfied with her breasts, contrary he impatiently cupped one, while his mouth discovered the thin skin of her neck. She breathed heavily as his thumb stroked her nipple in a circular motion, while the palm of his hand lifted and squeezed the bouncy flesh around it.
"Sasuke-kun..." She threw her head back, when his teeth dug into her soft skin. "Let's go to the bedroom..." she pleaded.
He acted like he didn't hear a thing. He was way too busy with leaving marks on her collarbone and chest, his mouth worked eagerly on the creamy skin. His touches weren't gentle anymore, he roughly twisted and pinched the already sensitive nipples. Her whimpering was music to his ears, he wanted to hear more.
"Sasuke.. please.." the word got stuck in her throat, as he finally suck in her left nipple, while his fingers played with the other one. He teasingly looked up to her blushed face, while swirled his tongue around the swollen bud.
Sakura couldn't take off her eyes of his smug expression. Experiencing every touch, every whisper, his skillful mouth and clever fingers all at once, was way too overwhelming. She felt drunk in his embrace, her hands searched for a point to hold on to, before she lose her balance.
At that moment he pulled back and stood up. Grabbed by the wrists and pulled her up to the same level. She walked on shaky legs, as he lead her to their shower. Sasuke didn't let her hands, instead he raised her clasped wrists above her head and pressed the skinny figure to the tile of their shower. She whined from the contact of the cold material to her heated skin.
"What please?" he asked with a smirk on his face. She arched her back, so the perky tits were on full display. In these moments he regretted, he didn't accept the artificial arm, what Tsunade suggested. He could have hold her wrists and play with her at the same time. He licked her face, hinted kisses on it, while pressed their interlocked hands higher to the wall, thus forcing the woman to stand on tiptoes. She tried to beg again to take this to their room, but he didn't let her finish. The Uchiha immediately attacked her lips again. She was moaning into their kisses, as he sank his teeth in her bottom lip.
The man towered over her frame, his robust body leaned on hers, and she trembled when finally felt his already hard member pressed to her stomach. She desperately wanted to touch him, but he didn't let her hands, so she frantically rubbed her body to his manhood.
"Sasuke... let me.." he could tell how desperate she was. Sasuke liked to tease, but he grew impatient as well, so eventually freed her wrists and she didn't waste any time to seize what hers. Sakura was always obsessed with him, but she was relatively modest about it, until they started their intimate relationship. It became clear fast, she liked to worship him in every way she could, and he enjoyed everything what she offered.
She passionately caressed his ribs with feather light touches, to leave a ticklish sensation all under his skin. His jaw stiffened, didn't like the way she toyed with him, he was ready for her to finally hold his hardness, but she had other plans. For Sasuke's surprise, she slowly licked his nipple. Flicked on them a few times with her tongue and they hardened. When he thought it couldn't be better, she clenched one between her teeth, while her hands brushed him lower.
Finally, Sakura took him in her palm, he was heavy. Sasuke let out a moan as she used both of her hands to stroke the base of his shaft and make circles on the tip with her index finger. He felt how her lips turned into a smile around his aroused nipple as he bucked his hips.
She grabbed it tighter and moved her hand faster. Left kisses on his stomach as she was going lower. Sasuke knew her intention well, so he grasped a handful of her hair by the time she ended on her knees. After all, he was there to help.
She knelt down in front of the man, and just from the position, felt the warmth spread in her lower abdomen. She was looking at his manhood like she was starving for a long time, that filled him with an odd satisfaction.
"Do you want this?" he asked huskily and pushed her face closer to his arousal until it pressed to her cheeks. She looked up with hungry eyes, nodded, then approached him with her tongue.
Sakura licked his length back and forth a few times, followed the way of the veins, then payed some extra attention to the head. She sucked on the sensitive pink area, until it reddened.
"Sakura.. more" he whispered and she felt his fingers hold her hair tighter.
He slowly pushed his thick member between her lips, while her small hands continued stroking the base. She gradually tried to swallow more of him with every stroke. Sasuke dropped his head back from the overwhelming feeling of her wet mouth. The only problem, he couldn't bear the sluggish pace she dictated, so he eagerly pulled closer. Her eyes filled with tears from the shocking fullness in her mouth. The head of him was in her throat, she could barely breathe.
She held onto his hips with her hands, trying to keep up with the rough pace he started. Sasuke moved her head by the pink locks in his fist, sometimes she made pleading sounds, when he pulled it harder. The vibration of her moans made his member twitch in her mouth. He groaned, then glanced down with hazy eyes on his wife, got mesmerized by the naughty look on her face. Her salvia flowed down on the sides of her mouth, and the sight made him fuck her throat faster.
He was close to his own orgasm, when he caught her right hand disappear between her thighs. She opened her legs wider in her kneeling position, to get better access for her fingers. She caressed her center playfully, looked for the little bundle of nerves what would have gave her the pleasure she wanted. It was so erotic just to look at.
Sasuke was glad that he could bring out this sensual side of Sakura during this unpleasant time. Seeing his worked up wife, as she was riding her own fingers, while sucking him was a satisfying sight in itself. But the fact he was able to make her forget about the world around them was another fulfillment.
He gave out a loud sigh before pulled her head away. She gasped for air in and looked at him in surprise, waiting for his next command. His eyes were full with lust, what made her swallow in excitement. He looked at her like a predator to its prey.
"Stand up! I had something in mind, but you interrupted me.." She did as he told, and didn't flinch under his scanning gaze. "Let's continue where we left off." he grabbed her waist and devoured her lips with the previous intensity.