#crimson flower petal (sarada)

[musesofchaos]

Welp, I blame @hana-akari for enabling my urge to adding Sarada as a muse lmao. Itachi you have another niece to fond over!

[musesofchaos]

“He did.” Sasuke would answer calmly, noting the surprised look on Deidara’s face. He truthfully wasn’t one to be interested in crafts and such, but if there was a way to get the tension out of the room he’d take it. So he politely nods along, paying attention to the blonde’s words. Trying not to smirk at the idea of a clay bird seating between vases and bowls.

Though, it’s his turn to be surprised when Deidara suddenly invites the idea of the children stopping by for pottery lessons. Itachi is surprised himself, having been carefully lessoning in as he tried to give all his nieces and nephews equal attention. Rambling on about their lives and what they’ve learned and such.

Sarada has also seemed to be listening in, as the girl suddenly perks up at the idea. Eyes shining in wonder. “Can we, Papa?” She asks. She may not look it, but she had recently developed an interest in the world of art. Sasuke see’s the hope in his daughter’s eyes and he couldn’t help but smile. “I don’t see why not.”

The happiness and excitement on his niece’s face makes Itachi’s expression soften. Glancing at Deidara and mouthing a silent thank you.

Taiyo grinned awkwardly at the question. Taking a small step back. “Not exactly… um…”

Thankfully, Ame interrupts before Sasuke things he needs to step in. Humming softly as he watches the interaction between mother and son. Noticing the silent but tense atmosphere between the duo as the boy went to stand beside his brother. It makes him frown slightly, casting Itachi a questioning glance before, again, attempting to make peaceful conversation with the blonde.

“Itachi tells me you have a pottery shop now. That sounds nice. What kind of things do you make?” Sasuke asks politely. Itachi is just gratefully that his brother is trying.

[musesofchaos]

Sakura steps out of Deidara's way, laughing a little awkwardly at the blonde's blunt demand. "I could pour you a glass, if that is what you'd like." She tells him honestly, trying to make a good impression. However, her attempts are soon forted when a shout calls her back to the kitchen. "Saku, foods steaming up!" A small squeak escapes the kunoichi. Quickly covering her and excusing herself. "Sorry, please make yourselves at home!" The medical-nin then promptly ran back to the kitchen. ...Only then to soon return? No, no, that wasn't possible. The woman looked similar to Sakura, but her hair was shorter, to her shoulders, eyes blue instead of green. "Whew, sorry about that." She puts her hands on her hips, giving the group a grin. "Hello. I'm Daria, also named after a flower and also forced into this family against my will." Itachi should have expected it, yet is still taken off guard and nearly breaks out into laughter. "Wow, I am very touched by your sentiment, Daria-chan." The kunoichi waved her hand. "Don't worry, Itachi, your okay. I swear I love my nieces and nephews." Her eyes fall onto the boy beside him. "And this must be Ame. He does look like you. I thought Sakura was exaggerating!" She gives him a smile. "Congratulations on graduating. Your Dad tells me you got a decent punch. If you ever wanted lessons-" Daria proudly flex an arm, showing off her decent amount of muscle. "I can give you a tip or two." Kaia's eyes comedically get wide for a moment, quickly catching herself and blushing in embarrassment. Awkwardly coughing and hiding her face.

"Uchiha's have the eyes, Haruno's have the strength." Sarada says, having returned with two wiggly little boys in her arms. "That's what Aunt Daria says." "Damn right, kiddo!" Sarada places her brothers on the floor and they make a dash for Itachi with a cry of "Uncle Tachi!" as Katsutaka and Ashitaka smash into both of his legs. "Hiii~!" The more extroverted of the two, Katsu, turns to their older cousin excitedly. "Ame! Teach us all the cool stuff you learned!" Daria sighs, giving Kaia a look. "Be happy he's still small." She says, pointing at Suzaku. Kaia releases a nervous laugh. "Noted..."

Deidara isn’t the only one feeling anxious. Sakura finally comes down the hallway toward the living room once she’s composed herself. Taking a deep breath once she quickly peaks inside, heart speeding up a little when she saw Deidara. After all these years, and he still…

She feels fifteen again, standing in that cave, seeing the blonde sitting on a dead Gaara’s corpse. She had truly hated him and Sasori, for what they put everyone through, for what they had put her through.

But if Itachi and Sasuke could reform, then so could anyone else in the Akatsuki, the kunoichi reminds herself. Taking one last deep breathe before putting in a smile and walking into the room to greet her guests.

“Hello! Sorry about that, dinner has been quite the hassle this evening. Welcome! Ame, I’m so happy to have you here.” The medical nin smiles at the teen before focusing her attention on the man besides him… who honestly didn’t look all so scary anymore. Deidara had changed. Daresay looking better than he had when he was in the Akatsuki.

“Deidara. I’m happy you could join us for Christmas. I hope the train ride wasn’t too bad, I know from experience things can get pretty hectic this time of year.” She gives a nervous little chuckle, turning her attention to Kaia. “And you must be Kaia! And this little guy…” her eyes shone at how cute the baby was.

“Hi!” Kaia smiled at the pretty medical nin, holding up her son. “Yep, he’s the one. Suzaku, meet the nice lady who broke your dad’s jaw!”

Itachi bites back a smile.

Sakura flushes, letting out an embarrassed laugh. “Oh, is that what I’m known for now? He’s so adorable. Hi baby!” She cooes, waving at the little redhead, who gives her a cute little smile. “He’s nothing like his father. He must get his personality from you!”

It was Kaia’s turn to flush. “Haha, that’s what I’m hoping…”

“Dinner is unfortunately gonna take a bit longer, but please feel welcome to help yourselves to anything. Snacks on the table.” She pointed at the little table by the entrance of the living room. “If you wanted anything to drink, I can get it for you.”

[musesofchaos]

Itachi smiles and nods. "Mhm! She remembered how much you liked it last time and asked if she should make it again to celebrate our first Christmas together." Sakura was always so considerate of others. That's why he liked her so, and was happy that Sasuke married her. The bitterness is practically rolling off of Deidara, making Kaia wince. She didn't understand why he was getting so upset. Shouldn't he be glad that Itachi's family was being so considerate of Ame? Especially with her nephew being a bit of a picky either. It's a positive sign, isn't it? The taller blonde gets a gentle nudge is the ribs and a glare from his sister, for both his tone and startling her son, before she smiles apologetically at Itachi. "Are we, Itachi-san?" "Yes, yes, sorry. Just around the corner here." The fan of the Uchiha soon appeared before the group, Itachi leading them up to walk way to a decently big home. Christmas lights littered the roof and sides, with cartoon-like blowups on the lawn. Everything is calm. Until it isn't. Itachi can make out a crashing sound and the voice of his sister-in-law yelling out a her trademark "shannaro!" and for people to stop running in the house. Causing the older Uchiha to sweat and smile nervously at their guests. He goes to ring the doorbell to announce their arrival, only for it to open on it's own and reveal an annoyed looking Sarada. "You said you would train me today, Oijisan!" She says, pointing an accusatory finger at her uncle, who smiled at her apologetically. "I'm sorry, Sarada. Things got busy. I had to go get Ame, remember?" The pre-teen loses her annoyed pout when she not only see's her older cousin, but the rest of their guests as well. Obsidan eyes widening slightly when she catches sight of Deidara. He looks different from the pictures she saw in the book about the Akatsuki, but her trained eyes can make out his face. Suddenly, she becomes more shy, flushing in embarrassment at her childish outburst. Bowing politely. "Hello. Sorry about that, welcome..." She straightens herself up, moving out of the way to let them inside. "Please come in. Mama's making dinner."

It's not very hard to catch Ame's mixed feelings about his new baby cousin. At least not for Itachi. And glancing back at Deidara, seeing how his mood immediately brighten at Suzaku's adorable giggles, it's not hard to place why. The same problem arose when the boy met Sasuke's children for the first time. Watching them clamber around Itachi excitedly with a frown. "Ame." He starts gently, looking at his son with soft eyes. Giving him a soft tap on the forehead, as he had done with Sasuke when he was younger. "Our hearts aren't limited with space. We have enough love for all of you." He tells him in a hushed tone, before looking ahead and acting casual, like nothing happened. The Christmas spirit is practically bursting as they enter the main streets of konoha. Decorations covering buliding, shops littered with green and red merchandise. Kaia's face light up like a childs, small as bright as could be. "Oooooh, Dei! Isn't it so pretty!" She gently tugs on her brothers arm, just as she had when they were children. And it seemed that her son shared in her sentiment. Little eyes wide with wonder as the baby watched the glowing lights. Itachi smiles, pleased by the reactions. "Sakura made that meal you liked again." He comments to Ame. His sister-in-law had been very welcoming towards his son, and he was so grateful for that. Not that his brother wasn't, of course. It just seemed that the weight of the knowledge he was an uncle hit him harder when meeting his son for the first time.