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The Uchiha living room was unusually lively that afternoon. Toys were scattered across the tatami mats, Sarada was waddling around clutching her stuffed cat, and Sakura was kneeling nearby, trying to clean up the trail of crayons her daughter had left behind.
The door slid open suddenly with a loud bang.
“HEY GUYS!” Naruto’s voice boomed as he ducked inside, holding onto his squirming two-year-old son like a football.
“Papa, ow!” Boruto whined, kicking tiny legs in protest.
Naruto plopped him onto the floor with a grin. “Play nice with Sarada, okay? Believe it!”
Boruto blinked around, then spotted Sarada. His round little face lit up. “’Rada!” he babbled, immediately toddling toward her with all the determination of a shinobi on a mission.
Behind his back, he clutched a handful of slightly wilted daisies he’d picked on the way over (with Naruto’s help, since Boruto had tried to eat them first).
He stumbled forward and shoved the flowers at her chest with the grace of a charging puppy. “Fo’ you!” he squeaked.
Sarada froze, blinking behind her tiny red glasses. Then her cheeks puffed up pink, and she grabbed the flowers with her chubby little hands. “Fo’… me?” she whispered.
Sakura’s hands flew to her mouth as she gasped. “Oh my goodness, that’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen!”
Naruto laughed so hard his shoulders shook. “Ha! Look here, Sasuke-teme. Give it ten years, they’ll be married, dattebayo!”
Sakura giggled. “Maybe we'll all be in-laws some day.”
Sarada squealed with joy, hugging the flowers to her face. Boruto grinned proudly, bouncing on his little feet like he’d just accomplished the mission of the century.
That’s when Sasuke appeared in the doorway. Silent. Sharp-eyed. And definitely not amused.
His gaze went straight to Boruto, who was beaming like sunshine. “Tch,” Sasuke muttered. “So it begins.”
He walked over and scooped Sarada right out of the room, holding her like she was a priceless heirloom. Sarada giggled and waved the daisies at Boruto over her dad’s shoulder.
“Oi, oi, teme!” Naruto barked, still laughing. “Relax. They’re just kids.”
Sasuke’s glare cut toward him. “Your son is already trying to steal my daughter. At two years old.”
Naruto clutched his stomach, wheezing. “Oh man, this is priceless.”
Sakura tried to intervene, though she was giggling too. “Sasuke-kun, they’re babies. It’s innocent.”
But Sasuke wasn’t having it. He tucked Sarada closer. “My princess will not be courted by… Dobe the Second.”
Boruto tilted his head, confused by the scary man’s tone. “Pw’cess?” he asked softly, then waddled closer, arms out. “’Radaaaa!”
Naruto nearly fell over laughing. “Oh, he’s got no fear! Just like his old man!”
Sasuke crouched slightly, glaring at Boruto like he was facing down a dangerous opponent. “Stay. Away.”
Boruto blinked, then pointed at the flowers in Sarada’s hand. “Pwetty.”
Sarada beamed, stuffing the daisies into her dad’s hair like decoration. “Daddy pwetty!”
Naruto howled. Sakura laughed so hard she had to hold onto the wall. Sasuke, however, froze—caught between his pride as the feared Uchiha and the daisies now sticking out of his hair courtesy of his tiny daughter.
Boruto clapped his hands, squealing. “Yay!”
Sasuke’s lips twitched—just barely. Then, as Naruto and Sakura carried the giggling toddlers toward the kitchen, Sasuke reached down one last time.
He placed a hand on Boruto’s messy blond head and ruffled it roughly. “Hn. Don’t think this means I approve,” he muttered.
Boruto just giggled, wobbling on his feet, and chirped, “’Kay!” like he’d just passed some impossible test.
Sasuke exhaled slowly, watching the boy stumble after his daughter.
Maybe… just maybe... Dobe Jr wasn’t so bad. For now.