Happy Accidents

Chapter 31: Amends

Once she'd taken care of and signed for the remains, Sakura was on her way back to Sasuke's, full of fiery determination. She was going over the possibilities in her head as she drove, rehearsing what she wanted to say and put together. He wouldn't be expecting her home for at least another hour, and by the investigation she'd done around the office, he'd been home for at least an hour himself. Saying he was leaving early was the last straw. It was the little bit that tipped her off that something was up.

Making her way up the steps, Sakura took calming deep breaths as she continued to rehearse. She knew what she wanted to say. She wanted to tell him that it was unfair to avoid her and keep things from her. She wasn't going to allow it. He couldn't apologize and then go back to doing the same thing over and over again; if he wanted this to work, and if he wanted to try this, there had to be some give.

She opened the door and stepped in, greeted by the smell of... What was that? It was a smell that made her pause because she couldn't quite put her finger on it. It smelled like... burning? It was a mix of a food-like smell combined with the smell of something that'd clearly been cooked on either too high or for too long. Whatever it was, it didn't smell edible based on the burnt smell.

...if she was honest, it smelled like Ino's cooking. And that was never a good sign.

Making her way toward the kitchen, she peered in to see Sasuke standing there, swearing under his breath about something. She could see that he had a pot on the stove, and the kitchen table was set... in a way she wasn't expecting. There were flowers on the table in a beautiful vase, along with a couple of candles and a nice tablecloth. On one side of the table was a small wrapped gift next to the plate.

"Um... Sasuke?" She asked, looking mildly confused. Had he done all of this just for her? The moment she spoke, he jumped with surprise, turning in her direction. He looked odd standing there with an apron on, and it took every ounce of Sakura's willpower not to chuckle at the visual. Not the sort of look she expected from the detective.

"Oh, I thought--you weren't going to be home for a bit," he asked, glancing around awkwardly. "I just, uh... Thought maybe..." Much to Sakura's surprise, the more he tried to explain, the redder his cheeks turned. He didn't seem like much of a romantic, but this was certainly a very, very valid attempt.

"You did all of this for me?" She asked, looking around. "You didn't have to, you know. Although, um..." She gestured to the stove. "It... kind of smells like it's burning."

His expression turned embarrassed, and he turned the stove off with a sheepish look. "Yeah, I'm not much of a cook." Sakura's only response was a laugh, shaking her head. It was amusing but expected; given the life he'd lived and the way he threw himself into his work, there likely wasn't much time for him to learn to cook properly.

"That's okay," she said as she glanced at the food, trying not to grimace. "We can order something, or maybe... I could teach you to cook something?" She glanced at the time. "Ordering might be a better idea. I don't know about you, but I'm already pretty hungry, so by the time anything gets here, I think we'll both be ravenous."

Sasuke felt incredibly embarrassed by what Sakura had caught him doing. He'd hoped to make her a nice, warm, homemade meal that they could enjoy together. He'd spent all day working on it; hell, he'd avoided her for fear of giving it away. She was too perceptive; he knew that if he spent too much time around her, she would figure it out quickly, ruining the surprise.

He'd screwed up, though. His dinner had been a failure. Damn it, why was it so hard to make one simple meal? How did she manage that kind of trickery?

"Sure. What do you want to order?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. Sakura had to admit; he was kind of adorable when he was like this; his social awkwardness was endearing in a way.