Step and Fall

A SasuSaku oneshot

"Dude…he's glaring at you again."

"Tch, why do I care?"

The blonds blue eyes widened. "Because it's not one of those 'jealous of the Uchiha' glares. It's one of those 'wish I could kill you' glares."

Sasuke snorted and rolled his eyes, but cast a quick glance over his shoulder. His eyes immediately landed on a dark-haired teen who glowered straight at the Uchiha. Sasuke sent a return glare, and turned his head back to the blond beside him. "It's just that Seito guy. He's been a jerk since day one. What's so new?"

Naruto held up a finger in an instructing manner. "Just that his eyes have been on you for a while. You heard about what happened to that one guy? What was his name? Toki…Toshi…? The guy who missed school for two weeks because he was in the hospital."

Sasuke rolled his eyes again. "So? You think he could really do that to me? If he tried to touch me I'd kick his ass. No problem."

"But he has a gang. Yeah, it's true he's not all that strong, but with his little group around him, he's really dangerous."

Sasuke smirked. "I'm not scared. If he goes after me with his group, I'm sure we could beat them all."

"Hmmm…probably. But I'm just warning you as a friend. Watch your back."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Hey boys." A voice greeted. Sasuke and Naruto both looked up to see a pink-haired girl standing in front of their table.

Naruto grinned. "Hey Sakura!"

Sakura smiled at the two, and then her eyes flicked behind them. She leaned down and propped her forearms on the table. "Hey Sasuke, that Seito guy is seriously glaring at you."

Sasuke scoffed and Naruto sighed. "We were just talking about that." Naruto responded.

"Who cares?" Sasuke grunted. "He's no threat in my book."

Sakura's brow furrowed in a worried expression. "But what about Tori? The guy he sent to the hospital."

"Tori! That was his name!" Naruto exclaimed, and then shrunk back at his loud outburst.

"Will you two just stop?" Sasuke declared. "I can take care of myself. He won't touch me."

"And if he tries it, I'll be there to back you up! Like that time in fifth grade!" Naruto proclaimed, flexing an arm in emphasis.

"You mean the time when by the end you were wrestling yourself while I had to take on those seventh graders?" Sasuke stated.

"…I remember that day much differently than you. But I'm better now! I bet I could beat up Seito's whole crew! Hell, I bet Sakura could even do it considering she beat up those tenth graders in eighth grade!"

"We're not getting Sakura in on this." Sasuke hissed at the blond.

"Geez, why so harsh?" Naruto replied.

"And I'm still standing right here." Sakura commented.

Sasuke turned to Sakura. "Just don't worry about it. Trust me. I'm not scared of him or his gang. If they go after me, they'll be the ones in the hospital."

Sakura's expression told her that she wasn't quite convinced, but she said nothing more on the issue, and joined the two boys in other conversations.

'"'"'"'"

"So you're not gonna fight Seito, right?" Sakura pressed.

"No, Sakura." Sasuke answered, attempting to assure her. "Not unless he tries to hurt me first." Sakura gave him a look. "Don't worry. I'll try to get out of it, first. Soon as he hits me though, all bets are off."

"I wish you wouldn't do that." Sakura sighed. "Why do guys have to fight each other to get their points across?"

"Hn," Sasuke grunted. The two sat together under a tree in the school. It was lunch time. "Some people are just stupid and can't think of any other way. It's not like girls don't do their fair share of fighting."

"Yeah, but we're more verbal." Sasuke cast her a look. "Yeah, yeah, I admit. Some of us are physical."

"You're one of them."

"What?"

"Like the Dobe said, you were the one that beat up those tenth graders in eighth grade."

"But they were picking on Ino and Hinata." Sakura retorted. "I had to defend them somehow, and I knew just telling them off wasn't going to work."

Sasuke smirked. "I know."

"Besides, you were the one who put them in the hospital afterwards just because I came to school with a black eye."

"Served them right." Sasuke muttered.

Sakura giggled. "No need to protect me, Sasuke. You know I can take care of myself."

"And you know I can take care of myself, too."

Sakura frowned. "Is this about Seito?"

"Not really. I'm just saying, you don't have to worry about me and any troubles between other guys."

Sakura said nothing, and leaned against the tree. "I can't help it. I don't want to see you get hurt."

Sasuke stared at Sakura, a look of understanding crossing his features. Once that subsided, he continued to gaze at her sitting against the tree, observing the brightness of the day around her.

"How long has this been going on?" Sakura asked, snapping Sasuke out of his trance.

"What?"

"How long have we been like this? Friends…watching out for each other."

Sasuke thought for a moment. "Well…we're in eleventh grade now. We met in fifth grade."

"So it's going on seven years." Sakura finished. Sasuke nodded.

Sakura fell silent for a moment.

"You know," she started, "I've kind of been thinking lately…."

Sasuke turned his attention to her. "About what?"

Sakura didn't respond for several moments. Sasuke couldn't quite tell with her hair as a contrast, but her face seemed a little pinker. As Sasuke opened his mouth to ask again, she spoke. "You see, I've been thinking a lot about—"

Ring! Ring!

Sakura almost jolted up. "The bell! Lunch is over already?"

Sasuke stood up. "I guess so."

Sakura followed his motion and Sasuke looked over at her.

"What were you saying?"

"Oh…uh…" Sakura looked away. "I'll tell you later. Bye." She then quickly walked away.

Sasuke stood there for a moment, slightly confused. But at the same time a small smile reached his face as he watched her walk away.

He wouldn't admit it to anyone, except Naruto who forced him to, but he couldn't help but find himself attracted to his pink-haired friend.

'"'"'"'"

Sasuke walked down the road to his house. His head nodded slightly to the music he listened to on his headphones.

Suddenly, a feeling that came from behind made him stop, reach into his pocket, and shut off his music. He threw a glance over his shoulder and mentally huffed as he saw Seito not ten feet behind him.

"What do you want?" He questioned.

Seito made no response. He took a few steps forward to lessen the gap between the two. Sasuke muscles tensed, ready to react and fight if attacked.

Tense silence surrounded the two as they stared each other down.

Finally, Seito opened his mouth. "I don't like you, Uchiha."

Sasuke almost cracked a smirk, but kept his cool composure. "I figured."

"You wanna know why?"

"Don't know if I care, really. A lot of people don't like me." He turned slightly back onto his path.

Sasuke's nonchalant attitude only seemed to fuel Seito's disliking of the Uchiha. "You think you're so tough." He spat.

Mentally Sasuke rolled his eyes. Seito's reasoning was a typical statement to him. It was this same attitude that set those seventh graders on him years ago.

"You think that you're so great. Think you're so strong. Think you can just grab every girl's attention with a snap of your fingers."

The last statement caught Sasuke by surprise. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You." He snarled. "You just stay single to try to rope in more girls. So then you can have a selection to choose from when you think it's time to mess with someone's heart."

Sasuke immediately understood. He couldn't hold back the smirk that reached his face. "Well, your deduction skills suck, and your reasoning's pretty shallow. Whatever girl you like who's got their eyes on me, you don't need to get pissed at me. I don't have a girlfriend because I don't want one."

Sasuke turned to start walking back down the road. He cast one last glance back at Seito.

"Just go ask your girl out and leave me the hell alone."

With that, he left Seito behind.

'"'"'"'"

The next day at school, Sasuke sat at his desk. He stared blankly out a window at the clouds.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of running footsteps, and turned just in time as Naruto skidded in front of his desk and slammed his hands onto it.

"Teme!" Naruto exclaimed.

Sasuke would have replied with a casual "Dobe," but the look on the blonds' face told him he had important news.

"You will not believe what just happened!" Naruto continued to roar.

Sasuke slapped a hand over Naruto's mouth. "Tell me it quietly, if you'd please."

Naruto yanked Sasuke's hand off of his mouth. "This is serious! Seito's making some moves on Sakura!"

Within a second Sasuke was up and out of his seat.

"Where is that jackass?"

'"'"'"'"

"Dude, what if this is what he wants?" Naruto stated as Sasuke stormed down the hall in search of his prey. "What if he's just doing it to set you off? He knows you guys are friends. Hell, he may even know you like her. But I mean—"

"Dobe, shut the hell up and let me handle this." Sasuke hissed. He knew exactly why Seito was hitting on Sakura, and while it had nothing to do with Seito trying to instigate a fight, he knew he was partially to blame for the situation.

"Just go ask your girl out and leave me the hell alone." Sasuke's words from yesterday rang in his head. He clenched his fists at his sides. He couldn't believe how stupid he had been to say that. Then again, he hadn't expected that the one girl Seito had an interest in happened to be Sakura.

Finally, his eyes locked on to his target. Seito stood in the hallway leaned up against a locker with his back to him. In front of him stood a nervous looking Sakura. He felt his raging emotions boiling up inside him.

Sakura's eyes flickered from Seito and widened with surprise when they locked with Sasuke's just a moment before he was on them.

Sasuke grabbed Seito by the shoulder, whirled him around, and pinned him against the lockers with a loud slam.

"What do you think you're doing?" Sasuke growled.

"Sasuke," Sakura gasped, looking around frantically to check for teachers. She didn't want Sasuke getting suspended or expelled for starting a fight.

Seito glared at Sasuke. "I'm doing what you told me to do, Uchiha." He responded coolly.

"I didn't tell you that you could hit on Sakura."

"You said for me to ask out the girl I like, which is what I was about to do until you interrupted me. You didn't single out Sakura as being off the market. After all, it's not like you two are dating or something."

The statement caught Sasuke off guard for a moment. It was true, they weren't dating. Even though inside he secretly wanted them to be. Who was he to dictate who Sakura could and could not see?

"But," he thought, "I'd want it to be anyone but him. Anyone but this jackass who would just ruin her life. I don't want her to be associated with anyone who would just hurt her. That's why I want her to be with me. I want to protect her. This guy won't protect her."

Sasuke grit his teeth as the forces inside his head clashed. His grip on Seito tightened to the extent that the boy winced slightly. Finally, Sasuke thrust his arm to the side, sending Seito toppling to the ground. A moment later Seito's group appeared and came around him.

"Seito," Sasuke called, making him look up at the Uchiha. "You wanted to fight, right?"

Seito looked surprised for a moment, but then a snide grin reached his face. "Yeah."

Sasuke glared sharply at him. "You're on."

Sakura behind him gasped, and took a step towards the Uchiha. However, Naruto, who had joined the scene, held her back, keeping her from getting involved in any crossfire.

Seito's grin widened. "Fine. I'll meet you after school tomorrow. Be in the upstairs clearing at three."

"Bring a stretcher. You'll need it." Sasuke warned.

Seito simply glared at the Uchiha, and then he and his group left.

As soon as they were gone, Naruto let Sakura go and she approached Sasuke. Sasuke turned to her, expecting a lecture or a slap to the face for his rash moves.

Instead, he was met with a different sight. A teary-eyed Sakura. Sasuke froze, unsure of what he was supposed to do.

"Why did you do that?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke couldn't come up with a response, still frozen by the sight of her tears.

Sakura balled up a fist, and he prepared to get punched in the stomach. She didn't strike though.

She wiped at her eyes and sniffled. "I know he deserves what you want to do to him. I know you deserve a hit for being stupid and not thinking everything through. I know now that a fight is unavoidable, but…please…." Sakura took a breath in an attempt to calm her emotions, and then reached out and grasped Sasuke's hand. "Please just don't get hurt. Beat him up, prove your point, and get out of there. Don't get hurt…."

Sasuke stared at Sakura, not knowing what to say. He gripped her hand, reached up with his other hand, and wiped at her eyes.

"Don't worry." He said in a soothing tone. "I'll be fine. Don't cry."

Sakura sniffed again and locked eyes with Sasuke. They held their gaze for a few moments more as Sakura wiped away the last of her tears. "You'd better be. I hate seeing you get hurt…especially on my account."

"This isn't your fault." Sasuke blurted out.

"But…it's because of me that you challenged Seito."

Sasuke bit his tongue, debating about whether he should tell Sakura about his encounter yesterday with Seito. He didn't know what she'd think of his story.

"Uh, Sasuke…you should know the fangirls are glaring at Sakura right now." Naruto suddenly came up and whispered in his friend's ear.

Sasuke looked away from Sakura and saw the mass of people who had gathered around the scene. He saw the jealous looks on a few girls faces directed downwards. He cast his gaze between him and Sakura and noticed that he still held her hand.

A very light blush reached Sasuke's cheeks as he let go of her hand. He turned. "Come on, the bell's going to ring soon."

At Sasuke's statement, Sakura quickly finished pulling herself together, and she, Sasuke, and Naruto left the scene.

'"'"'"'"

"You know you don't really have to do this." Naruto stated.

"I can't back down now. I started it. And even if I didn't it'd just start some crap if I backed out." Sasuke responded. The two stood in the place Seito had designated for them to meet. It was only five minutes until three.

"Fine, yeah, I can see your point. But I mean…what if you lose?"

Sasuke cast a look over at the blond. "Please. Like I said, this guy's mostly talk. It's his group that does all the work."

"Well what if they decide to fight dirty and they get in on the fight?"

"That's why you're here. I'd expect that your fighting skills are better than they were years ago."

Naruto grinned. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm awesome. I could take them all. You just want to be in it for the credit and leave all the work for me."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Well, Sakura said she didn't want me to get hurt. She didn't say anything about you."

"Hey! I'm her second best guy friend! I'm sure it was implied!"

Sasuke smirked just as they heard footsteps approaching. The two boys watched as Seito and his crew came up the stairs and entered the clearing.

Seito smirked snidely at the Uchiha when he saw him. "Ready to get your ass beat?"

Sasuke snorted. "Please. You won't even touch me."

Seito's eyes narrowed. "There goes that 'I'm better than everyone else' attitude. I really hate it."

Sasuke made no response, and moved closer to the group of boys. "Let's get this over with."

A malicious glint reached Seito's eyes. "Sure. One-on-one fight. No rules. First one to get knocked out or to withdraw loses."

"Agreed."

"Great, let's get—"

"Wait!" A voice called. Sasuke froze. He knew exactly who it was.

Sakura came running up the stairs Seito and his gang had come from. When she reached the top she stopped to catch her breath. All eyes fell on her.

Once Sakura regained her breathing, she stood up straight to face the two. "You can't do this."

"Sakura, it's fine." Sasuke responded. "Just—"

"No. It's not fine. A situation where you'll get hurt is never fine." Sakura interjected. "I don't want you to fight. Not over something like this. Not over something that concerns me." She turned to Seito. "Please, just let Sasuke go. I know this started because you wanted to go out with me and Sasuke didn't want that to happen. But…if you let him go…I'll do it. Anything to keep this from happening."

"No, Sakura!" Sasuke exclaimed.

"One for the safety of another?" Seito mused. He smirked. "I think it's negotiable."

Sasuke felt his nerves snap at that moment. He lunged at Seito. However, Seito seemed to have expected it. He balled up his fist and pulled back his arm, ready to strike.

"No!" Sakura screamed, and ran forward.

The next few moves all seemed to happen in slow motion for Sasuke. He had just about reached Seito, who was prepared to strike, when Sakura suddenly jumped at Seito and grabbed his arm in an attempt to keep him from hitting Sasuke. Seito, out of annoyance and trained reaction, jerked his arm back to get her off of him. Sakura stumbled backwards from the force, and then she tripped.

Sasuke watched in frozen horror as Sakura fell back over the edge of the staircase, went down, and disappeared from sight as she tumbled down the stairs.

Every thud that was heard was like a stab in Sasuke's heart. When the thuds stopped, everyone stood in complete shock.

Sasuke snapped. Adrenaline and anger pumped through him, and in a flash he grabbed Seito, punched him in the face, slammed his knee into his stomach, whirled him around, and hurled him at his gang. Everyone in it tumbled as their leader rammed into them. Sasuke stood over them now, ready to unleash his wrath upon them.

"Sakura!" The call of his best friend to his other snapped him back to reality. He cast a loathing glare at Seito and his crew, and then bolted for the stairs.

Sasuke practically leapt down the whole staircase. He was quickly by Sakura's side, who lay crippled and unresponsive on the ground. He felt his stomach clench and nausea overtake him as he saw the red tinge of blood trailing from her mouth and some coming from an unseen wound on her shoulder. Naruto on her other side kept calling her name and shaking her. She didn't stir.

Sasuke stared down, still slightly dazed from shock and his surge of anger. He looked up at Naruto. "Get help. Fast."

Naruto turned his head towards Sasuke. Sasuke could see the deep concern for Sakura's well-being reflected in the blonds' eyes. Naruto quickly stood up and ran in the direction of the nurses' office, shouting for help.

Sasuke's eyes slowly brought him back to Sakura's body. He warily reached out and touched her shoulder that wasn't bleeding.

"Sakura," he called. "Sakura…answer me. Sakura. Sakura. Please…wake up…."

"No need to protect me, Sasuke. You know I can take care of myself." Sakura's words from yesterday played in his mind. His hand clenched into a fist.

"I still should have been able to protect you." He thought. "This shouldn't have happened. I shouldn't have let it. This is my fault…."

Vaguely, he could hear the sound of Naruto's voice calling to him. He felt something touch his shoulder, and people were around him and Sakura. A teacher moved to pick her up, but Sasuke stopped him and told him he would do it. Gently, he slipped his arms under her and picked her up bridal style. He then followed after everyone as they made their way to the nurses' office.

'"'"'"'"

Sasuke sat at Sakura's bedside. After bandaging her up, they had transported her to the hospital. The doctors said she may have hit her head hard when she fell down the stairs, and she may have a concussion. In addition, she had a fractured arm and a sprained ankle on top of the cut she received on her shoulder from hitting something sharp as she went down the stairs. They say she got off rather lucky considering the height of the stairs, but Sasuke disagreed. She was unlucky, because it never should have happened in the first place. Concern and guilt kept him glued to her side.

It had been several hours since they had arrived at the hospital. He stared down at her numbly, holding her hand and feeling her pulse beating.

Behind his unfocused gaze, Sasuke saw Sakura falling down the stairs over and over again. The scene was burned into his mind. Seito flinging her off of him, Sakura stumbling backwards and losing her balance, the look of surprise and horror on Sakura's face as she fell, the numerous emotions that raged through him as the scene took place. He'd probably never forget any of it for as long as he lived. Neither would he forget the stabbing feeling of guilt in his chest as the scene finished playing in his head.

"I'm so sorry, Sakura." Sasuke muttered, gripping her hand tighter. "I should have listened to you. I shouldn't have challenged Seito. I should have just…let you reject him and move on. I should have thought things through. I should have…" He lowered his head. "I'm just so sorry. This is all my fault."

"Don't say that."

Sasuke's head whipped up at the voice. His eyes locked with green ones. Sakura looked up at him with a half-dazed expression, probably due to her being unconscious for so long and the medications the doctors had given her to help with the pain.

"Sakura," Sasuke breathed, feeling relief wash over him to see her awake. "How do you feel?"

"On a scale of one to ten…I feel like crap."

Sasuke chuckled. "Do you want me to get a nurse?"

Sakura shook her head. "No…but I would like to be able to sit up."

"Do you think you could? You're hurt pretty badly."

"I think so. The only thing that really hurts is that you're gripping my hand pretty tightly right now."

Sasuke released her hand, feeling heat creep into his cheeks in embarrassment. This just made Sakura laugh. He stood and helped her into a sitting position. When she was comfortable, he took his seat.

"So…what happened? I mean…after I fell down the stairs?" Sakura asked.

"Well, for one, I beat the shit out of Seito. Like I promised, he didn't even touch me. It was over in a second, and then I quickly went to help you. Naruto got the nurse and a teacher, and after bandaging you up we took you here to the hospital."

"I see…." Sakura trailed off and gazed fixedly at the brace on her fractured arm. Silence fell between them for several moments.

"…Sakura?" Sasuke called.

Sakura pulled her gaze away from her arm and focused on Sasuke. "Hm?"

"I…I really am sorry." He stated. "This was my fault. If I hadn't challenged Seito, you wouldn't have tried to intervene, and then we wouldn't be here."

"Sasuke…" Sakura responded. "I don't blame you for what happened. Truthfully, I knew full well what could happen if I got in the way of you two. Granted, I didn't expect to fall down the stairs. I was fully prepared to take a punch or get knocked to the ground."

"But why?"

Sakura looked away. This time Sasuke was positive he saw her cheeks grow pink. "Because…I didn't want you to get hurt."

The look on Sasuke's face told Sakura that he didn't quite understand what she meant. Sakura's good hand fiddled with the sheets of her bed.

"Well…you know…um…I…I care about you. I don't want to see you get hurt. So…when I knew Seito was going to hit you, I wanted to make sure it didn't happen."

Sakura's face only seemed to get pinker, and Sasuke suddenly felt his heart thumping in his chest. He felt himself inching closer to the edge of his seat towards her. Next thing he knew, he was on his feet, leaning slightly over the bed.

Sakura's cheeks continued to grow pink. She forced herself to look up and meet eyes with him. They held each other's gaze for a long time.

"Yesterday," Sasuke declared, "what is it you were going to tell me at lunch?"

It took a moment for Sakura to remember what he was referring to. Once she did, her eyes closed halfway and Sasuke leaned in closer to her.

"I've been thinking about," Sakura murmured, "about…how I feel about you."

"Hm," Sasuke hummed as he drew closer. Their noses were just inches away from each other.

"I think…I might…" Sakura stopped speaking as Sasuke pressed his lips to hers. She responded immediately, her good hand finding one of his and trailing up his arm to grip his shoulder.

Sasuke pressed hungrily closer until Sakura couldn't go any farther back. His hand slid over to her waist and slowly trailed up her side. The only thing that kept him from pressing onto her fully was his concern for her injuries.

They held the kiss for as long as they could before they had to pull away to breathe. The two held each other's gaze for a long time as they both caught their breath. Sasuke's hand came up and he let his fingers trail down her cheek. He leaned in and kissed her again, gentler this time.

"Think you might what?" He asked against her lips.

Sakura hummed in response, twined her fingers through his hair, and pulled him in for another kiss. When she pulled away, she responded, "I think I might like you…a lot."

Sasuke smirked and let his lips trail across her cheek till he kissed her jaw. Sakura pulled him closer as he continued to trail from her jaw to her neck. He slowly dipped down to her collar as his hand started to find its way up.

"A-hem." Someone cleared their throat, effectively breaking up their moment. They both turned their heads to the side to see Naruto leaned up against the doorframe.

"Naruto," Sakura half-gasped, surprised to see him there, and wondering just how long the blond had been watching them.

"Heh, I'd tell you guys to get a room, but you're sort of already in one." Naruto chuckled.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at Naruto's attempt at making a joke. "What do you want, Dobe?"

"What? I'm not allowed to be here to rejoice that Sakura has woken up?" Naruto feigned a hurt expression. "I mean, if you wanted a moment, you could have always locked the door."

The couple made no response. Naruto laughed to himself and stepped farther into the room.

"But anyway, how're you feeling, Sakura?" He beamed.

"Um…okay, I guess." She and Sasuke's eyes both flickered towards each other. A small smile reached her face. "At least, I'm getting better."

"Yeah, I bet." Naruto responded, glancing between the two. "Oh yeah, Sasuke, you should know Seito's got a room on the floor below us. You really smashed up his face. Broken nose, bruises, you know."

"Served him right." Sasuke muttered vengefully. Sakura reached out and grasped his hand.

Naruto saw the gesture, and glanced down at an imaginary watch on his wrist. "Well, look at the time. I guess I'd better be going."

"Okay, I'll see you at school." Sakura answered.

"See you around, Dobe." Sasuke responded.

Naruto stuck out his tongue. "Teme." He waved. "Bye. Get well soon, Sakura!" With that, he left the room.

Sakura looked over at Sasuke. "Well, I guess you're gonna have to take double notes in our classes for a bit." She chuckled.

"Actually, you're gonna have to get those notes from another source. I'll be here making sure you recover well."

Sakura's brow rose. "But you have to go to school."

Sasuke shook his head. "Nope. At least not for the next couple weeks. I've been in here the whole time, but the Dobe told me. I got suspended for fighting. Of course Seito's in the same boat. He got suspended for what he did to you."

"Oh," Sakura breathed. "…I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For putting us in this situation."

Sasuke stared at Sakura for a moment, and then smirked, leaned in, and gave her a light kiss. "This wasn't your fault. It was mine. I don't blame you at all."

Sakura looked about to retort, but then changed her mind. Sasuke sensed this, and scooted closer to her.

"So, what do you want to do for these next few days we'll have together?" Sasuke inquired.

Sakura smiled. "Well, I can tell you what I want to do from now on."

Sasuke's brow rose, but he smirked, feeling like he knew what she was going to say. Sakura traced her finger along the collar of Sasuke's shirt, gripped it, and pulled him in for a kiss.

When the couple pulled away, they kept their lips close. "I want us to stay together, forever."

Sasuke's eyes softened as he held eye contact with her. He caressed her cheek and ran a thumb over the corner of her lips.

"Always."

THE END

Complete! So how was this? Hopefully entertaining. I've been holding on to this for months. And it has served a purpose, entertaining people while I say I am so sorry! Man, my fanfiction writing has been pathetic! I barely have anything written for the next chapter of AtR, and I know it's been a really long time, but it's just not there. I'm on summer vacation as of nearly two weeks ago, and I just haven't been able to pull off writing this stuff. (Though I have started a little fantasy story of my own, over 90 pages in these two weeks. And I wonder where my writing time has gone….) I'm praying that maybe I can finally pick myself up soon because in less than two weeks I'm going on vacation with no laptop. (I won't even have my cellphone because it wouldn't work.) So if I don't get anything out in two weeks, don't expect anything for another two at the least. Sigh…depressing. Hopefully till later readers.