Sasuke’s Punishment [private w/ zenith]
 

Sasuke had been dealing with threats outside the village, but right about now he had a problem. He’d been gone a week or so, maybe even more(he lost track). He assumed Sakura would understand; he was just doing his job. It wasn’t like he’d cheated on her or anything. With that in mind, he returned to the village, and approached his wife Sakura, who was standing nearby. Maybe, if he snuck past her, she wouldn’t see what a mess he’d made of himself?

Filthy and matted, his hair a total disaster, he looked like he’d been through hell. His eyes were bloodshot and rimmed with dark bags, and he kept on tripping over his own feet; he must be tired. Hopefully, Sakura wouldn’t be too upset. They could forget about this unfortunate mishap.

Sakura saw that Sasuke was near and took in his disheveled appearance and sighed to herself. "Look Sasuke, I understand that there are threats you have to deal with. I accept that. But what I don't accept is you trying to avoid me!" She then picked him up and held him by the ear. "Come on. We're going home and you are getting a bath mister," she said as she pulled him toward their house, annoyed her husband couldn't just come in through the door himself.

Sasuke shifted uneasily when Sakura started scolding him for trying to sneak past her. Before he could try explaining himself, and tell her what happened, she seized him by the ear and dragged him away. Squirming, the man tried to ignore the pain in his ear as she unceremoniously hauled him off towards their house, saying he’d be getting a bath. Chastised, he flushed but tried to walk with her, not wanting to make Sakura even madder. “Can’t we just do this inside, honey? It’s not like I left on purpose.”

"I'm not mad that you left," Sakura corrected. "I'm mad that you tried to sneak past me instead of greeting me like a husband should. That's unacceptable," she declared as the many onlookers started laughing at Sasuke as he was dragged to his house and into the bathroom. Sakura started to run a bath as she looked at her husband. "Take off your clothes now or I will strip you myself," she warned, not in the mood for Sasuke's nonsense right now. Then a small smile graced her face. Sarada might be.

Sasuke blushed deeply when onlookers laughed at his plight, shifting on his feet uncomfortably while his annoyed wife corrected him and hauled him inside. She took him to the bathroom and abruptly asked him to strip out of his clothes or she’d do it herself, making him shiver. Scowling, Sasuke removed his clothing and got into the bathtub, feeling more than a little foolish for obeying her. He mumbled something about not wanting to under his breath, folding his arms as he sank into the warm water.

Sakura then called upstairs. "Sarada," she called, "Can you please take care of your father? I need to get dinner ready." Sarada rushed downstairs, happy to see Sasuke again, and also happy at being able to baby the older ninja. She then looked at her father in the bathtub and smiled at him. "Don't worry," she said. "I promise to take good care of papa," she said as she grabbed a scrubbing brush and some soap. "Let's begin, shall we?" she asked Sasuke after Sakura left.

Sasuke scowled; he didn’t need to be taken care of! He was happy to see his daughter again, but at the same time, why was his wife treating him this way? When Sarada walked over and smiled at him as he lay in the bathtub, saying she’d take good care of him, he sighed. “Sarada..I can wash myself.” He protested after seeing the scrub brush and soap in her hands. “Your mother is just upset with me right now, and I do not know what she hopes to achieve by having you do this.”

"Oh, I don't either papa," Sarada said truthfully as she lifted up Sasuke's arm, and began to scrub his armpit. "But I think she wants me to take more responsibility around the house. And you...well, I have a new class project from the academy and am supposed to show responsibility." She rolled her eyes. "So I thought it would be a good idea if I just showed I was responsible for you! That way I will definitely get a passing grade!"

Sasuke really didn’t want to bug his daughter; he hasn’t spent much time with her, and well..if this was for school, maybe it’d be fine? Besides, the last thing he wanted was for his daughter to get a failing grade in the academy. “Fine. I’ll allow you to take responsibility for me, then, as long as it’s for the academy.” He informed Sarada, laying back in the bath and letting the girl wash him up. It felt unusual, having the girl wash him like this, but also...nice. The warm water against his skin and the brush rubbing his armpit as she lifted his arm, the gentle way she scrubbed him clean...Sasuke enjoyed it. He let out a pleased grunt, visibly relaxing.

Sara then pet Sasuke on the head. 'Good boy," she said. "Don't worry, I will take really good care of you," she promised as she began to scrub Sasuke's back. "I will dress you and feed you and clean you," she promised. Honestly, this wasn't that hard. Sasuke was really beginning to look like a big baby, just sitting in the tub and letting Sarada scrub him. He didn't even ask why she didn't get a pet! "Now please lean over, papa," Sarada asked. "I need to scrub your backside and it is a little hard to do when you are sitting on it," she pointed out.