"Sai, you better not have screwed this up," Sasuke muttered under his breath as he stole back to the apartment he and Sakura had just moved into. After getting married, they wanted to live in the Uchiha Compound, but the memories of the place clung to Sasuke too heavily still. She had just smiled and told him she'd look for apartments while he was on his next mission.
A small smile played out of his face as his fingers curled tighter to the frame of the painting he held. The memory of her brought on the grin, of course. How Sasuke ever managed to leave her all those years ago, he couldn't imagine any more.
When he had nightmares of that fateful night he lost his clan and woke up screaming, hand reaching for his katana, she was there to flow soothing chakra through his system and stroke his hair while whispering words of quiet consolation.
When he screwed up something important by being out on missions, or forgot that she hated blueberries and accidentally bought them for her, or even when it was something worse like forgetting to buy that medical book that she'd been eyeing for her months, and ultimately not buying her a birthday present because he waited too late to go shopping, she always had a frustrated grin on her face that said he could make it up later.
And for that, he couldn't help but be appreciate. He couldn't help but love her. So when he finally broke down, swallowed his pride, and asked Sai to paint a picture of Sakura, he was pretty pleased with the results- it captured the light in her eyes, the small curve in her smile, and the way her nose scrunched up when she laughed. That, however, meant that Sai watched Sakura laugh and then painted, which Sasuke would have to clobber him for.
For now, however, he was running late to an important occasion- Sakura had decided to decorate the whole apartment that afternoon, and he was supposed to help. With what, he couldn't imagine, considering she could toss him across the room like a rag doll if she wanted. He supposed it was the thought that counted. If lifting couches and placing a tv there- no wait, maybe there?- would make her happy, he'd consent.
But he couldn't keep the painting a secret any longer, that was for sure. There was a drawing of him they had done by a street vendor on their honeymoon hanging above their lazily placed couch, but no accompanying portrait of Sakura. His idea sprung from that.
He opened the door to their apartment quietly, picked up a hammer and nail from where he kept some basic tools, and stood on the couch to hang this painting level with the other. When he surveyed it again, however, his stomach flopped. In his rush, he hadn't heeded Sai's warning that the paint was still wet. The result, unfortunately, led to a smearing of the careful details of his wife's face. She looked like an abstract artist's plaything by now.
Just as he was sighing and trying to come up with how to hide the failed attempt at sentiment, he heard Sakura's quiet footsteps approaching from their bedroom-
"Oh, Sasuke-kun! There you are-"
A/N: I know I said I'd branch out, but it needed to post this while it was still vaguely on time. Review and the like as usual- I like to read all of your comments!