Smokescreen: A Collection of Vignettes

Chapter 9

Sakura sighed happily. There was nothing better than the warm afternoon sun in the window, sitting at the table with pastries and tea and the company of an absolute cinnamon roll that was her husband, Tomas. His brother's wife, Harumi, had a few leftover pastries that she had and had given them to him to take home to his own wife. Sakura had always enjoyed Harumi's creations whenever she would visit.

"I need to get Harumi to teach me how to make these." Sakura said. "These are just so good!"

"I'll tell her that you said that. She'll be pleased."

Tomas gazed at his wife. He felt lucky and blessed to have met such a beautiful and kind woman. It had been a few rough years for him, from having not only losing his family, but from having to deal with Bi-Han's betrayal as well. It was just before Kuai Liang had formed the Shirai Ryu that he had met his now-wife. As it turned out, Sakura and Harumi were friends and she had been visiting Harumi when Tomas came upon her.

He couldn't lie to himself, but he fell in love with her the moment she turned her violet eyes upon him. It was like the Elder Gods had decided to finally bless him with happiness after all of the loss he had faced in his life. Harumi had conveniently excused herself, she would tell him, under the guise of retrieving something from her then-fiancé. In reality, it turned out that she was playing matchmaker. She had confessed that Sakura and he would make a beautiful couple.

It had been two years since they married. Tomas still had to thank Harumi.

"Are you alright, Tomas?" Sakura asked. "You're spacing out."

"Mm. I'm fine. Just thinking about my lovely wife, is all."

Pink colored her cheeks. Her husband was a sweet talker and knew how to make her feel good. She delicately bit into another pastry as she turned away. Yes, Tomas Vrbada was, indeed, a cinnamon roll. One she would happily gobble down in one bite.

Sakura choked on her own tea as heat ran to her face. Where did that thought come from? Her husband looked on in concern, patting her back. She tried to play it off as smoothly as she could once she recovered, pretending that she simply swallowed wrong. Of course, with the way he was smirking, he didn't quite buy it. He planted a kiss on her cheek.

"Well, seeing that you're alright now..."

The ashen-haired man got up and threw his young wife over his shoulder, making her squeal in surprise. Sakura was an open book. It didn't take much for him to figure out what was going through her mind. He hauled her off to their bedroom and kicked the door closed behind him.