Oh my Jashin, I'm sorry! I'm getting all my files from my crashed computer recovered, along with all my half-finished and hopefully some all-the-way finished fics. I'll upload more when I get 'em...
I've been waiting to post this one for a while... So enjoy. I'm in no way fishing for praise here; that's wonderful, but I'd really rather me some concrit! Please.
Tap.
Tap, tap.
The paint bottles make a rhythmic noise as they are switched around on the shelf. Sasori makes sure to tap each exactly three times.
Every few minutes he will stand up, examining the shelf to make sure the bottles are in perfect order. He must have them arranged by the colours of the rainbow, reds to oranges to yellows, to greens to blues to purples; no exceptions.
He has an awful lot of different shades, too, so this is taking some time.
When he woke up this morning he had an amazing picture in his head, and he just had to paint it. For him, painting is a very lengthy ordeal, since, because of his OCD, every shade of paint must be perfect and every stroke calculated exactly. He is not the most patient person, but when he does finish a painting it brings in a lot of money, and it keeps his mind off of things while he is waiting for Deidara to come home.
He steps back, exactly three steps, and examines the shelf again. It is to his liking, and finally he can sit down and paint.
He is halfway through his painting when he hears the front door open. His name rings through the building.
"Sasori!"
The voice forces a smile onto his face. He has been struggling on a certain aspect of his newest masterpiece, and Deidara is a wonderful helper.
"I'm over here, Dei," he calls back.
He puts his brush down and lets the blonde rush over and hug him. When Deidara lets go he points out the picture he has been working on.
"I'm having trouble. Would you mind?"
Deidara looks the painting up and down. "It's beautiful!" he says. "Of course I'll help!"
Sasori nods. "Great."
A few minutes later, Sasori has Deidara doing exactly what he needs the blonde to do, and he himself is back in his spot and painting. There is silence but for the sound of paintbrush strokes as Sasori runs the brush, once, twice, three times over the canvas.
He has such an obsession with the number three.
"...Hey, Sasori, un."
The redhead twitches at the blonde's sudden use of his speech impediment. Usually Deidara can prevent it from happening, since he knows it tries Sasori's nerves, but occasionally it will reappear and Sasori can do nothing about it.
Instead of making a fuss about it, he asks patiently, "Yes, Dei?"
"I love you."
"I love you too, Dei. Thank you for this."
Deidara nods, acknowledging the thanks.
"..."
"You're the only one for me, Sasori."
"You're the only one for me, Dei."
Deidara looks up. "Like, really, un? You're not just repeating my words again?"
Sasori twitches at the 'un.' "Yes, I mean that, Dei. You are the only one for me."
He takes a moment to survey his work on the canvas, and then smiles at Dei.
"And you know how much of a perfectionist I am."
He turns the painting and shows Deidara a near mirror image of himself. The blonde's smile beams back at him, his eyes shining in delight, and Sasori realizes that Deidara, with all of his flaws, is the most perfect thing he will ever know.