Daffodil
by Diana-san

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Tiny breaths and a beating heart. She is the representation of innocence and purity and the reason for everlasting love.

06. Baby's Breath

Sakura watched the slow rise of her baby's chest. It rose in a calm wave like the ocean waters coming in at low tide. Watching her was hypnotizing and almost enchanting. Sakura couldn't tear her eyes away. But she did because Sasuke had walked in with a blanket for Sarada and her as well.

"She's so beautiful," Sakura murmured to him. Sasuke smiles because she had been repeating the same thing over and over for the past hour.

"We'll be able to leave the hospital soon. We have to sign a few papers and then I'll take you two home," Sasuke said.

Sakura nodded as she took the baby blanket and wrapped it around their daughter. They walked down to the lobby of the hospital as Shizune presented them with the papers. Sasuke took out a seal from his pocket as he stamped the Uchiha crest onto each paper and then his own seal with his name on it. Sakura followed with her seal as well.

The walk home was a quiet one as Sasuke did not speak at all. Sakura wondered if something was on his mind but she didn't dare speak in fear of waking Sarada in her arms.

It was not long until they reached their home and Sakura was able to put Sarada down in the new crib that Sasuke had built a few weeks ago. The oak crib was a beautiful shade of a golden brown with the Uchiha symbol painted on the front and back to symbolize the new home that now belongs to Sarada.

She wanted to stay there longer. To continue watching her beautiful baby girl take her first sets of breaths in life. But her eyes were beginning to tire as it was already nightfall and sleep was beckoning to lull her in.

The two of them left the master bedroom to brush their teeth for the night and it was then that Sakura recalled how quiet Sasuke still was. Normally, it was not out of the ordinary for him to be so quiet but tonight, Sakura could tell that something was off. Despite her lack of sleep the past few nights, her mind was still very sharp when it comes to recognizing the feelings of the people important to her. Especially when it comes to her husband, Uchiha Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun, what's the matter?" she asked, a bit worried as her forehead creased a bit in concern. "You're awfully quiet tonight."

Sasuke said nothing as he squeezed out some toothpaste onto his toothbrush. Sakura watched intently as he brought the dark blue toothbrush to his mouth and began to brush. He had handed her the toothpaste and she had followed suit in applying a pea size amount of toothpaste onto her matching pink toothbrush.

But she waited to brush her teeth as she watched her husband continue to brush in silence before spitting in the sink and rinsing his mouth. He splashed some water over his face as he wiped the rest of the dripping water from his chin with the small white towel hanging around his neck. Sasuke gave a quick glance at the mirror as he caught his wife's scrutinizing gaze on him. Their eyes met through the reflection in the mirror and he knew he couldn't keep it in any longer.

"Today is her first day in this home," he murmured with a sigh.

Sakura nodded. "It's our first day together as a whole family."

He gulped. "As I was signing the papers, it sort of hit me. I had to put down her full name. Uchiha Sarada. She's an Uchiha."

It was quiet as he let those words sink in for the both of them. He continued on as his hand gripped the edge of the sink. "She is just a baby now but soon she will grow up with questions that need answers. Answers of who she is and where she is from. Answers of who her family is. Then she'll know of our past… my past."

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura said softly as her hand gently touches Sasuke's back to comfort him. She placed her toothbrush back in its original spot as she nuzzles her nose into the back of his neck as she hugs him from behind. "You can't hide from the truth. Nor can you hide her from the truth in the future," she murmured.

"I'm filled with such darkness but Sarada… she is just a baby. Full of innocence and purity… that it makes me afraid. What if I taint her? What if my past misguidances and wrongdoings can lead her down the wrong path somehow? What if our family is still cursed to go down this path of darkness?" he could barely choke out as a heart-wrenching sob is stuck in the back of his throat.

"Whatever darkness you see in your past… it's what made you who you are today. It's what madeus who we are today," Sakura said as she lifts her head up. "There is no such thing as pure light or pure darkness. Shadows cannot exist without light." Sakura smiles as she reaches out to lift Sasuke's head to face her. "Where there is light, there is also darkness. Where there is darkness, there is always light."

Sasuke gave a sad smile but he seemed comforted by her words. "I'll love her forever. I'll protect her from anything and everything."

Sakura smiled as she straightened up and reached her hand into her pocket. She felt the small pouch in her pocket as she pulled it out. Holding the yellow drawstring pouch in her hand, she opened it as she took out a small bouquet of flowers.

"Baby's breath. Ino gave this to me when she visited me in the hospital. She said it is usually given to new or expectant mothers to express the joy and innocence of a newborn." With a smile, she tucked the small bouquet of baby's breath flowers in Sasuke's hair. "I think it's fitting for you as well. A new father. You and Sarada both bring me great joy. We are starting a new chapter of a new book so all three of us will begin on page one together."

Sasuke reached up to brush his fingers against the flowers in his hair as he smiled and reached out to hug Sakura. "…thank you…as always."

"There's also one more meaning to these flowers. Everlasting love," Sakura said with a smile. Quietly, she whispered to him as she buried her head deep within Sasuke's chest. "I love you, Sasuke-kun," she said in a soft murmur as her cheeks flushed a slight pink. "I always have and I always will." She felt almost giddy inside as if she was back in the body of her twelve-year-old self confessing for the first time. Despite being married to him and having a child together, Sasuke still always had a way of making her heart skip a beat each time.

Sasuke only smiled as his lips touched upon the top of her head with a soft kiss. It was the best he could do at this moment in time. Words tend to get choked up in his throat as he fumbled with words from time to time. He was still slowly finding ways to express his emotions. Even after marriage, words like "I love you" were still hard for him to say. He had wanted to say it on several occasions but always seem to miss the correct timing of it since he had waited too long to reply back each time. But what he failed in saying, he had hoped to express through his actions instead.

He cleared his throat as he pulled away and turned his head slightly so that Sakura couldn't see the redness in his cheeks. "You should wash up first. I'll be in the bedroom," was the only thing he managed to say instead. He left the bathroom as he entered the bedroom again.

Walking towards the crib, he looked over as he peered down at Sarada's sleeping face. He reached out a finger to stroke her tiny head as he felt her smooth hairs against the touch of his skin. Sarada had an outstretch hand open and when he placed his finger against the palm of her hand, it immediately close over his index finger.

It surprised him as he watched the tiny hand completely wrap around his one finger. It was astonishing to see how his one finger was about the size of Sarada's baby fist. He smiled as he felt the flood of love and happiness flowing through him from this one simple moment. This moment made him realize how it was all worth it. He would face his own fears for his daughter's sake.

"If it's one thing I'm sure of… that I can promise the two of you. I'll love you and mama forever," he whispered as he bent down and kissed Sarada gently on the forehead. The baby's breath that was tucked in his hair quickly fell as it landed next to Sarada's head. Sasuke glanced at it as he picked it up and stared at it.

"Everlasting love," he murmured as he held the flowers in his hand. A small smile lit up his face as he chuckled and placed the flowers on top of Sarada's baby blanket. Sitting down in a chair besides the crib, he gazes through the crib in wonder with a single thought in his mind. "When Uchihas love, they love forever."

He wondered if Sarada heard him because at that moment, he could have sworn that he saw a tiny smile lit up her sleeping face.