AN: Tenshi-chan's back!

Here you go, guys! The second marshmallow! Like I said, this is in no way connected with the previous fic, so don't wonder.

Nyao! Gobbledygobblegook! Shabalaba dingdong!

(Sorry, I had a random SD moment… -)

This one is about Sasuke deviating from the way he is acting, making him seem OOC to Sakura. She finds out why, and it's to her delight.

I can't really say if Sasuke is OOC in this, but he probably is, considering Sakura will think he is.

Here's the next installment! Enjoy, you guys!

Proposal: The Facts of Life

Disclaimer: I own nothing, not even the computer I'm typing this on. Much less do I own Naruto.

Sakura knew there was something strange going on the minute Sasuke called her.

It was mid-afternoon when it happened. She was sitting in her apartment, looking over the scroll Shikamaru sent her about their next ANBU mission, when her phone rang.

"Hello?" she asked, expecting it to be Ino.

"Sakura. It's me."

Sakura almost dropped the phone. She knew that sexy baritone voice anywhere.

(As the word sexy crossed her mind, she nearly blushed. It must be the heat of the afternoon, she thought.)

"S-sasuke? You're… you're calling me," she said weakly.

"That's blatantly obvious," Sasuke retorted.

(At the phrase blatantly obvious, Sakura almost snorted into the phone. Why did Sasuke have to be so redundant sometimes?)

"So… what's up?" she asked. "Anything wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. I'll go straight to the point," Sasuke replied briskly.

Ah, Sasuke-kun. He never liked beating around the bush.

"I want you to meet me at the park around five-thirty."

Sakura raised a perfectly-shaped eyebrow. "Huh? Say what?"

"I want to meet you at the park at five-thirty," Sasuke repeated, sounding exasperated. "To walk around, or whatever. I need to talk to you."

"Why not here? I mean, on the phone?" Sakura asked, very confused.

"Just because. Now, will you meet me or not?"

(Talk about rude and demanding, Sakura thought. Why the hell is he my boyfriend again?)

"Okay, okay," Sakura said quickly. "No need to get your panties in a tussle." Sasuke growled in the phone. Sakura imagined his expression to have annoyance etched all over it. "So… it's the fountain?"

"Aa. Don't be late. Ja." Without waiting for an answer, Sasuke put down the phone.

Sakura shook her head as she put the receiver back into the cradle. That was the strangest phone call she had ever received, not because of its abruptness, but because it was Sasuke who called her.

Fact 1: Sasuke never called.

In their nine years of knowing each other (three of which was spent as a couple), Sakura did the calling. She often called him when she was bored and alone, or just to hear his voice again. He never called her, and took all the trouble walking to her apartment from the Uchiha compound to talk to her. (For that, Sakura loved him all the more.) In fact, she thought, if it weren't for her, his phone would be entirely unused. She once saw his phone bill, and it was almost quite empty, except for rare calls to the Hokage's office, and it was all work. (Sakura knew the end of the world would come if Sasuke called Tsunade-sama just to hear her voice.)

But Sasuke called her that afternoon. And that was not him, not him at all . Sakura vaguely thought if that was an imposter who called her. She made note that she take a couple of kunai with her just in case.

Fact 2: Sasuke always went to her apartment to talk.

As stated before, he took all the trouble walking from the Uchiha part of town, where his lonesome mansion was situated, to her apartment, which was quite far, as it was located almost way across town. Sakura loved him for that, because it only showed how much he cared to see her face, than just merely to hear her voice. If Sasuke ever asked her to meet him, it was treated as an official date, not as just talk-time.

Which lead to Fact 3: Sasuke never asked for walks, especially not around parks.

Sasuke didn't like public places all that much. Even as Sakura complained that he isolated himself too much, for a twenty-one year old man anyway, he tended to be a very private person. He always wanted to keep things like birthdays and other celebrations to friends. In fact, the only public place he would willingly go to was the Ichiraku, to eat ramen with her, and sometimes, with Naruto in tow. And Sakura was the one who initiated walks, not him. She felt it was her responsibility to drag him out into the sunshine to stretch his legs.

All this was very strange to the pink-haired medic nin. Not that she didn't like changes, though. Looking at it in the big picture, she knew these changes were good, because it served for them to be even closer.

Sakura sighed and resumed analyzing the scroll. She was going to have to ask Sasuke what was the problem sooner or later. (She preferred sooner than later, though.) No matter how good the change was, there had to be a driving force behind it, and she felt that it was most probably a problem.

She didn't know that the changes were only starting.

Fact 4: Sasuke was always on time, if not early.

Sakura sat on the bench fronting the fountain, a frown beset on her soft features. She had never experienced Sasuke late, and now that he was, it was annoying her as much as she had annoyed Sasuke when they were younger, which she suspected amounted a lot.

She checked her watch. It was currently ten minutes after six. Maybe he said six-thirty, not five-thirty, she thought. That was probably it. Sasuke was never late. Especially not this late.

Besides, why would he be late?

Sakura, whose back had been straight, flopped down like a rag doll onto the backrest of the bench. She rolled her head from side to side. She was growing impatient, though her facial expression didn't show it.

The inner-Sakura, however, was a different story. And he tells me not to be late! she was screaming indignantly. He better have a good explanation for this… I'm getting tired of waiting! Why isn't he here yet?

When Inner-Sakura, in imapatience, was bouncing off the walls of the real Sakura's mind, and Sakura was starting to become worried, Sasuke finally showed up. She restrained her inner-self from jumping all over Sasuke, demanding an explanation. Instead, she stood up, and strode up to him, and gave him the beating of his life by saying…

"Sasuke-kun."

All she had to do was give him a disappointed look to make him putty all over her hands.

"Look, Sakura, I'm sorry I'm late," Sasuke mumbled, pleadingly, or as pleading as Uchiha Sasuke could get. "I'm sorry, okay? It's just that I-" Sakura cut him off by putting a slender finger over his lips and smiling.

"Sasuke, it's okay. It's not like this happens all the time," she said sweetly.

And this better be the last time! the inner-Sakura scolded, though she was never heard, only seen in the real Sakura's eyes. A glimpse of this was enough for Sasuke.

"Come on," he said quietly, taking her hand.

(As Sakura looked into his eyes for a brief second, she saw intense relief. Was he that worried?)

Well, I was worried for nothing, Sakura thought as she fell into step with the Uchiha prodigy. He's quiet as usual, he fell for the 'disappointed look', and he's holding my hand, all the usual, nothing wro-

But wait.

He's sweating. He's sweating badly.

That was true, as Sasuke's hand was slick and cold against hers. Sasuke's face told her he was in deep thought. She frowned as she searched his eyes. There was something wrong, as the worry on his brow and in his onyx eyes had come back.

Fact 5: Uchiha Sasuke was hardly nervous.

There was something wrong. There was really something terribly wrong with her Sasuke-kun. Why would he be nervous? The last time Sasuke was nervous was during his trial for being a missing nin (which ended with him getting six months probation, which, in the Godaime's words, was hardly anything to flinch about). There had to be a reason similar to the trial this time. She had a gut feeling that this was going to be life changing.

"Sasuke-kun, is there something wrong?" she asked worriedly. "You're… cold."

"Huh – what?" Sasuke asked, looking like someone who had been jolted out of his thoughts. "O-oh, nothing – nothing's wrong, Sakura."

She gave him a skeptical look, but decided to let it go. It was her personal rule never to push it with Sasuke. And she never liked deviating from the rules.

A few moments more, and they fell into deep silence. Sakura was comfortable being in his presence, although the comfort made her wonder at times. She could hardly count the people who would never feel comfortable in Sasuke's presence. She was one of the few who could.

Suddenly, she realized something.

Fact 6: Sasuke always went straight to business.

Sasuke still wasn't doing what he came to do with her in the first place. He wasn't telling her anything, which made Sakura feel as though he was hiding something from her.

But then again, Sasuke is a very secretive person. I really shouldn't push it.

She directed her attention instead to the setting sun as it colored the sky pink and orange. It was disappearing slowly beneath the mountains. The cool night air was beginning to settle in. She let the breeze caress her bare arms and whip around her blue civilian dress, one that allowed her to move around, but also helped her to maintain her feminine charm.

Her eyes came to rest on the young children who were still playing by the swings. She watched as two of them, a boy and a girl, laughing as the dark haired boy pushed the redhead girl in the swing high in the air. She gave a small smile. Her eyes darted to the woman seeming to call them. At once, the two stopped, and, still laughing, flung themselves at the woman and the man beside her.

I wonder when I'll be just like that woman… she thought absently, not registering what she had just thought.

(At this point, Sasuke was shaking like crazy, as though someone poured icy cold water over his head.)

Fact 7: Sasuke hardly shook like this.

Sakura decided she couldn't ignore it any longer. There were already seven facts that Sasuke had turned into something like lies. These facts, all along with others, ruled Sasuke and his personality, and this change of his character perturbed her.

They were now alone in the portion of the park, so Sakura didn't worry about causing a scene. She took a deep breath and pulled her hand from Sasuke, though gently, in case he thought she was angry about something, which was not the case.

"Sasuke-kun," she said slowly. He froze. "There's something wrong. I can tell. Please, tell me." She gave him a pleading look. "I told you, if we're going to make this work, we have to be open with each other." She put a hand on his cold cheek, not minding the sweat. "Now, please, tell me."

He took a deep, shuddering breath. "Sakura," he said quickly, grasping her shoulders, surprising her. "This is going to be hard for me."

She gave him a comforting smile. "Take all the time you need."

He breathed slowly, as though he was calming himself down. Sakura's trained nin ears could hear his heart pounding wildly.

Suddenly, he took her hand and knelt in front of her.

"Haruno Sakura," he said as though each word weighed a ton on his tongue, "will you do me the honor of spending each day with me from the moment you wake to the moment you sleep, to nag at me everyday to take walks and eat ramen, to take care of our children to come and help them become the best ninjas and brag to them about the way I am proposing to you, to help me clean up the Uchiha home and wash dishes and cook, to help me restore my clan? In other words, Sakura, will you be my wife?"

With that, he brandished a box in front of her, containing a single golden band set with a single diamond.

Fact 8: Sasuke has never proposed to anyone, much less to her.

And even if all the facts Sakura knew of Sasuke had been turned upside down, all was right in the world, in that moment, in that place.

All the facts were accounted for, after all.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun… of course I'll nag and brag and love you for the rest of my life!"

She raised a dazed Sasuke from his knees, took the ring, and kissed him passionately as though there was no tomorrow.

All was right in the world.

The most constant thing in the world is change.

AN: I do wonder how my boyfriend (if I ever get one) is going to propose to me…

Anyway, I'd like to respond to people…

Silver Kitsune6291 – Yeah, I so totally agree with you, sasusaku rocks my world! Thanks for thinking it's cute! When this idea got into my mind, I thought it was rather cute too!

kurama-kawai – Yeah, it was a bit long, wasn't it? Think of it as a pillow-sized marshmallow… Oh, was Sasuke OOC? But I thought I made him as in-character as possible… but you're right, it wouldn't work well if he weren't just a teensy-bit OOC. After all, that chapter was about a change of heart. A lot of fics about SasuSaku are about a change of heart. – smiles – There are a lot of fics I'd like to see in the anime. Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed! (Anyway, if you need more sasusaku, I have another fic posted… just click my name!) Ciao for now!

Krissel Himura – Thanks for thinking so! I like NejiTen too, but I'm not so crazy about them as I am about SasuSaku. Anyway, to each her own, right? I never meant for Sasuke to have an inner-Sasuke, that voice was his conscience, but still, I don't mind if people think that. Maybe inner-people are sort of consciences. I dunno.

(PS - Himura? Are you a Rurouni Kenshin fan too? If you are, then kudos to you! Nyao!)

Kawaii Koneko92 – Yupyupyup, fluffy, ne? Mmm, yummy marshmallows…

psychedelic aya – Clean writing style? I'll take this as a compliment, but I don't really understand what you mean. – laughs psychotically – I'm not as smart as my twin or my onii-sama, so, will you excuse me? - Yup, like Kawaii Koneko92 said, this is meant to be a fluff lover's dream. You and kurama-kawai should have a conference… he/she (sorry, I don't know) says that Sasuke was a bit OOC. Ah, I don't mind though. - Yeah, I pride myself for having a good choice of words, 'coz I remember my English teacher saying the same thing about my speech.

Yummei-chan: psychedelic aya, don't mind her. She has a very low self-esteem and needs to brag once in a while.

What? – pummels twin – Trust Yummei-chan to burst my bubble.

cooldot – I thought it was a bit too long, and I think you might notice that each part got shorter and shorter as the fic reached its end. But thank you for thinking I did the fic justice! I totally appreciate it. My works have never been described as having good imagery, so I love you for that. Here's more of me!

(That last line was a feeble attempt at a joke. I'm not a very funny person.)

jess– I hope this next fic lived up to the cuteness you have come to expect! Hehe!

Jellybean89 – THANKS THANKS THANKS! Sankyuu for adding me to your faves! 'Preciate it!

koori no tenshi – Wow! A fellow Tenshi! Thanks for the compliment!

Ori – That was a short review. - More fluffiness ahead! Um, question though, was it okay? (coughfishingforcomplimentscough)

Princess Sakura Haruno – You don't have to promise… - Omedeto for being a fellow SasuSaku lover! Here's the next ficcie!

Oukaru Hanako – You're welcome! - I like light and fluffiness… that explains this fic… Yummei-chan, my twin, likes death and darkness though… Okay, you didn't need to know that. And thank you for adding this to your favorite stories list!

cuito – Is that a good or bad thing? Kidding!

For everyone who reviewed, here's a chibi Sasuke rag doll for all of you! – throws the dolls everywhere -

Some explanations:

When I said all was accounted for, I mean Sakura found a reason for every fact that was upturned.

Reason to:

Fact 1 and 2 and 5: It's, as Sasuke said, blatantly obvious.

Fact 3: He couldn't propose in Ichiraku or over the phone, now could he?

Fact 4 and 6: He was building up the courage, and having second thoughts. Wouldn't anyone, right?

Fact 7: It was a joke.

Right, that's it, I think. Any questions, please ask in a review! Ja ne for now! This Little Angel of Blossoms will be waiting for your review!