A/N: Originally posted to Ao3 on 30 September 2021.

I don't own Naruto.

Little Surprises

Sasuke stepped through the massive gates of Konohagakure. He took a deep breath of the familiar air, instantly feeling rejuvenated. He was tired, but it felt good to be home. The reconnaissance mission was arguably longer than it needed to be, but he wasn't about to question the orders of the Hokage, much less so when the Hokage was his former sensei.

The Uchiha went straight to a bakery, deciding to pick something up before he went home proper. After two-and-a-half weeks away from home, he figured he ought to surprise his wife with something she would enjoy. Sasuke perused the bakery's assortments. Despite warming up to sweets, he still couldn't quite eat as many as other people could.

It was a special occasion, so he figured he might as well get her favorites. She would probably do what she always did: offer to share, and then eat everything herself anyways. Sasuke chuckled to himself. Eager to get home, he paid for the confections and took off.

Trying to be as quiet as possible, Sasuke unlocked the door to his apartment and slipped inside. After carefully removing his sandals, he tiptoed further in. he didn't have to venture far to catch sight of his wife in the kitchen, no doubt washing the dishes after having lunch. Masking his presence, he snuck over to the table, gingerly setting down the bag from the bakery.

"I'm home, Hinata," he finally announced, making himself known.

She gasped, her deep blue locks dancing as she turned and stared at him with wide lavender eyes. In one fluid motion, Hinata dried her hands off and tossed the towel on the counter, scampering over to her husband.

"Sasuke! You're back!" she cried as she threw her arms around him. Hinata immediately buried her face in his chest, relishing his warmth.

Sasuke returned her embrace, stroking her hair with his bandaged left hand. He smiled warmly. After a moment, he pulled back slightly, cupping her chin and gently pressing his lips against hers. The melted into each other's touch, with Hinata gripping the front of Sasuke's shirt while he moved his hand to cup her cheek.

After they reluctantly separated, they nuzzled their noses together, small smiles gracing their features. Hinata giggled before she peered over his shoulder. She cocked her head when she noticed the paper bag.

"What's that?" she wondered.

Sasuke hummed, releasing his wife, much to her chagrin. "Close your eyes," he instructed.

Hinata did as she was told. She heard some rustling paper and recognized an all-too-familiar aroma. Her mouth watered as she fought the urge to smile from ear to ear. However, that didn't stop her from letting a small smile show itself.

"Open," she heard him say. Again, she did as she was told. No sooner did she feel a warm, sweet confection graze her lips. She let out a happy noise and bit down, taking a sizable chunk out of the cinnamon roll.

She hummed happily as she chewed, reaching up to pluck her favorite treat from Sasuke's hands. Once she finished her bite, she gazed lovingly at her husband.

"They looked fresh, and since I was coming home, I figured I'd surprise you," Sasuke said, trying to keep his cheeks from turning pink.

"Thank you, dear. This is such a nice surprise," Hinata cooed.

"There's a couple more in there for you. I also bought some anpan to snack on, just in case you felt peckish before dinner," Sasuke explained.

She smiled at him. Though, Sasuke noticed this one seemed the slightest bit forced. He thought nothing of it, chalking it up to her probably having a lot of snacks recently. Hinata's love of sweets meant she had a bit of a habit of snacking on various confections and candies throughout the day. She took his hand, leading him to the couch and gesturing for him to sit before gliding back to the kitchen.

After a moment, Hinata returned with two cups of tea. She handed one to Sasuke before sitting next to him and snuggling up. He responded in kind, wrapping an arm around her and kissing the top of her head. The former Hyūga sighed contentedly.

"So, how was your mission?" she asked, peering up at him.

Sasuke heaved a sigh. "Long. Bit boring. It was just a recon mission with Sai. There were some reports of possible insurgents or rogue ninja near the border, so we had to go check it out."

"Did anything come of it?"

"Nope. Honestly, as much as I respect Sai, he really isn't the best at holding a conversation."

"To be fair, dear, he hasn't exactly been around people for a lot of his life. At least not in a normal sense," Hinata reasoned.

"Still, he's been reintegrated for a while now. You'd think he would've learned to at least make small talk," Sasuke grumbled.

His wife giggled, the sound like the ringing of a small bell. Sasuke's heart skipped a beat, and he pulled her a little closer. "What about you? How were things while I was gone?" he asked.

"Oh, things were good. I went to visit Hanabi, Father, and Neji."

"How were they?"

"Good. Hanabi has been doing a great job as the new clan head. Neji has even been helping her. Father's been enjoying his retirement, but he still has a habit of advising Hanabi on every little thing."

"That sounds like your dad, alright. Hanabi must not like that one bit."

Hinata giggled again. "She puts up with it, but she does complain quite a bit to me and Neji." She sat up a little. "Oh, Naruto and Sakura came by, too."

"Please tell me that knucklehead didn't raid our pantry," Sasuke deadpanned.

Hinata gave her husband a playful push. "Be nice. No, they just came to say hello."

"Has Naruto started that project he was talking about?"

"The one with the Uzumaki clan compound? No, I don't think so. At least, he didn't mention it."

"Guess I should ask him about it," Sasuke hummed. "If I know him, he might be waiting until I start restoring the Uchiha compound. You know how he is with stuff like that."

"Well, you two have been friends since we all were in the academy. It only makes sense," Hinata said.

Their tea now finished, Sasuke volunteered to take the empty cups to the sink. "What do you feel like having for dinner?" he asked as he got up.

"Oh, anything is fine," the lavender eyed Uchiha answered.

"Not sure if we have 'anything'. Did you happen to pick some up at the market?" Sasuke teased.

Hinata pouted at first, but couldn't stop herself from breaking into a fit of giggles. "Pork soup, please."

"You okay with tomatoes?"

"Of course," Hinata replied.

"Alright. I'll get started soon so it'll be ready in time," Sasuke announced, reemerging from the kitchen. He reached into the paper bag, retrieving an anpan before joining his wife on the couch once more. Taking a bite, he wrapped his bandaged arm around her again.

"You want a bite?" he offered, holding up the red bean stuffed bun.

"Oh, no thank you, dear. You can have it," Hinata said sweetly.

Sasuke arched an eyebrow. "You sure?"

"Yes yes, I'd rather save room for dinner, anyways," Hinata said placatingly.

The raven-haired man shrugged, taking another bite. This time, he noticed Hinata scrunch her nose up slightly. He paused his chewing to steal a glance at his wife, who was clearly uncomfortable. Swallowing his bite, he wondered how she could be so patient as to hide her own discomfort for his sake.

"You feeling okay?" Sasuke prompted.

"Oh, yes, I'm fine," his wife answered.

"Would you rather me eat this in the kitchen?" He held up the anpan.

Dark blue locks danced as she shook her head. "No, no, it's alright. I promise." She stood up. "Just…give me a second?"

She disappeared down the hall, leaving Sasuke with a half-eaten anpan and a good deal of confusion. He could've sworn she liked anpan. After all, she loved sweet red bean soup and sweet bean jam. He glanced at the confection in his hand, giving it a cursory sniff to see if it had somehow gone off. It was baked fresh that morning, so there was no way it could have spoiled in such a short amount of time. Even artisanal pastry could hold its own for a few hours.

A few minutes passed since Hinata got up. The anpan sat on the coffee table, still half eaten, while Sasuke twiddled his thumbs. He was never one to be terribly anxious, but he had to admit that his wife was acting strange. The gears in his mind turned as he combed through his memories. He had a sneaking suspicion of something, but the likelihood of it was slim. Or was it?

After what felt like an eternity, Hinata reemerged. She was anxious, judging by the way she stared at the floor and kept her hands behind her back. Sasuke sprung up and gently gripped her shoulders.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Y-yes, I'm sure," she meekly answered.

Sasuke's brow furrowed slightly, his mouth twisting into a dubious expression. "You don't seem like it."

Hinata pressed her lips into a tight line, still refusing to meet her husband's onyx gaze. Softening his features, Sasuke gently cupped her chin, coaxing her head up. "Hinata, please. Tell me what's wrong," he says softly.

She shook her head. "Nothing is wrong, dear. I promise."

"Then why did you react the way you did to the anpan? And why did you get up and walk away like that?"

A thick silence settled between them. Hinata quickly averted her lavender gaze, taking a deep breath and gathering her courage.

"Sasuke…I…"

Her words hung in the air as she wiped at one of her eyes. Sasuke's grip on her shoulders tightened slightly.

"I…" She finally met her husband's concerned gaze. "I'm pregnant."

Sasuke blinked, his jaw going slack, his heart skipping a beat. "You're…pregnant?"

Hinata gave a tiny nod, producing a used pregnancy test from behind her. She held it up to him. Positive.

The father to be glanced between the two lines and his wife, who was on the verge of tears. "I…you…we…we're gonna be…"

"Parents," Hinata choked out.

The parents to be threw their arms around each other. Hinata immediately started sobbing into Sasuke's shoulder. They stood there holding each other tightly, Hinata's tears of joy staining Sasuke's shirt.

Sasuke finally pulled back, cupping her face in his hands and capturing her lips with his own in a passionate kiss. When they separated, Sasuke wiped her tears with his thumbs before resting his forehead against hers.

"Does anyone else know?" he asked.

"No. Just us."

"Is that why you didn't want the anpan?"

Hinata let out a small giggle, sniffling immediately afterwards. "I noticed I was feeling queasy one morning. Next thing I knew I didn't like the smell of anpan."

"Why not tell me as soon as I came home?" Sasuke punctuated his question with a kiss on her forehead.

"I figured you would be tired. I wanted you to rest before I told you anything."

"I'd never be too tired to find out I'm going to be a father, Hinata," Sasuke stated. He leaned down and kissed his wife again. When they separated once more, Sasuke wrapped his arms around her. Hinata returned the embrace, resting her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

After a moment, Hinata peered up at him. "Do you think it'll be a boy or a girl?"

"Doesn't matter to me. As long as it's healthy."

Hinata hummed, snuggling up against him again while he stroked her hair. All too soon, Sasuke pulled back slightly. "Come on, you can sit and relax while I get dinner started. Don't worry about the anpan, I'll eat them. You can have the cinnamon rolls," he reassured.

The mother to be smiled warmly as he took her by the hand, leading her to the couch and letting her sit. He took the half-eaten anpan and finished it off in one bite. Just before he was about to head to the kitchen, Hinata grabbed his hand, stopping him.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked, turning to his seated wife.

She took his hand in both of hers, kissing his knuckles. "I love you, Sasuke. So much. I'm sorry I worried you."

Sasuke took a knee, taking her hands in his, kissing both of hers in return. "It's okay. I'm just so so happy that we're going to have our own little family soon. I love you, too, Hinata. So much."

The parents to be exchanged another smile. They would announce the pregnancy soon. The first order of business was to enjoy a nice dinner together.

A/N: I adore writing fluff so much. And I especially adore writing domestic, sappy, married fluff that can give cavities. I hope the subtle notes on how this is an AU come through. (Hint: Hinata mentions it.) Also, I absolutely lobe the idea of Sasuke and Hinata having a very calm but passionate and loving relationship and marriage. Just checks all the right boxes, for me. Thanks so much for reading!