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Chapter Thirteen xx

"Ouch."

"Sorry," I said, wrapping the bandages around his arm, trying to be gentler. When Sasuke asked me to take care of his injuries, I couldn't say no. He was Sasuke-kun after all, and watching him in pain bothered the life out of me.

"Why don't you just let me heal them?" I asked.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "Don't."

Figuring this was a bit odd, I asked him why. I didn't get an answer, obviously.

"Okay," I said. "Your arm is finished. Take off your shirt."

He stared at me and raised his eyebrows.

I sighed. "Take off your shirt so I can help your wounds, Sasuke-kun. I'm not trying to get you to do it for my benefit."

He slipped his shirt off without another question. I tried not to stare at his abs. In fact, I tried not to stare at his perfectly sculpted body altogether, so I settled my gaze on his wound, which was a huge and deep cut in the middle of his stomach.

"How the hell did you get this from training?" I asked.

He shrugged, and I began to wrap a bandage around it, hoping my cool fingers against his skin didn't bother him. But I felt him go stiff under my touch.

"Am I hurting you?"

"No," he said through gritted teeth. "Just hurry up."

How fast did he expect me to go? I was doing the best I could. After about a minute or so, I felt Sasuke's hand reach out and grab my wrist.

"Stop," he told me. "Stop."

I stared at him. I let the free hand that he wasn't grasping move to his chest and rest there.

He closed his eyes for a few seconds. "Just heal it."

I nodded and moved my hands to the wound. It healed quickly, and once that was over Sasuke stood up.

"Wait," I called. "Where are you going?"

"Shower," he replied, still walking. I got up and ran in front of him, blocking his path. "What are you doing?" he asked, annoyed.

"You could at least say thank you," I huffed.

"Just move, Sakura."

I crossed my arms defiantly.

"Fine," he hissed. "Thank you."

He said it so bitterly, as if he couldn't stand to say it at all.

"Say it nicely," I told him.

"…You're kidding me, aren't you?"

I shook my head and annoyance flashed in his eyes.

"I said it once," he snapped. "I'm not going to say it again."

"Then you're not going to shower," I replied. "Until you say it."

He muttered something under his breath and I placed my hands on his chest and stood on my tiptoes. "What was that, Sasuke-kun?"

"Sakura, don't touch me."

I pouted. "Why not?"

"Because-" he stopped, as if waiting for his brain to give him an excuse. "Because-"

"Because what?" I teased.

His lips were on mine all of a sudden, and he was kissing me deeply, as if it would be our last kiss and he was drowning and the only way to stop himself was to kiss me. I pressed myself against him, knowing he could hear my heart racing, but not caring whatsoever. I wanted him to wrap his arms around me, something I had never felt Sasuke do. I pressed himself even harder against him, hoping he would get the damn message and put his arms around me.

He didn't, though. I pushed him up against the wall and kept kissing him, and I could've sworn I heard him moan my name when I kissed his neck, but I wasn't too sure.

Why won't he touch me? I could feel his lips kissing me so sweetly; I'd never been kissed this way. But his arms wouldn't budge. He refused to touch me.

I pulled away from him and smiled sheepishly.

"That's why," he breathed.

"W-why what?" I stammered, mind reeling from that amazing kiss.

"You can't touch me," he explained. "Because that's what I'm tempted to do."

So that's why he'd wanted me to just hurry up and heal him. So I wouldn't touch him any further.

"Well…" I said. "Guess that plan backfired, huh?"

"Sakura, we can't do this."

"Do what?" I asked innocently.

"You know what," he said. "I told you I've broken my bonds with everyone. Except, obviously, you. But that needs to stop now."

"You don't like kissing me?"

To my complete and utter shock, there was a faint pink line on his cheeks. Sasuke Uchiha was blushing.

"I didn't say that," he said. "Look, Sakura. If I'm going to restore my clan, I-"

"That's what you want to do, huh?" I asked. "Now that Itachi and Orochimaru are dead you want to restore your clan?"

He shrugged and looked away. "Yeah. So?"

"That requires you getting married," I observed. "And having sex."

"So? What's your point?" he snapped.

"Is it going to be with that slutty red-head?"

Disgust took over his features. "Hell no."

"Then who is it going to be?"

We stood in silence for several moments. His gaze turned to me. "You."

To be honest, I wasn't expecting that at all. "M-me?"

He nodded. "I want you to do it. You are the only one I'd be comfortable with, considering I hate everyone else."

"You love me?"

He paused. "I don't hate you."

So he doesn't love me, but he doesn't hate me. Good to know, I guess.

"S-Sasuke-kun, I can't…"

"Why not?" he asked.

"I mean, getting married is a huge deal, a-and we can't have s-sex before we even get married." I was trying to think of an excuse, any excuse to get him to reconsider. I was so nervous.

"Fine," he said. "Marry me then, Sakura."

My jaw dropped.

"What?" I asked, frozen in spot.

"You heard me," he said. "Marry me."

What a nice way to ask, I wanted to say sarcastically, but I couldn't. My breath was caught in my throat.

"Sasuke," I croaked. "I won't marry you until you come back to Konoha."

His expression turned angry. "Sakura, don't-"

"It's give and take, Sasuke," I interrupted. "I'll help you restore your clan if you come back to Konoha. And you have to promise you won't leave again."

Regular POV

Promise? Sasuke thought. He almost smiled. He had no problem breaking promises. He'd come back, sure. But he was going to leave the second Sakura did what he wanted. He didn't want to be so cruel, but that was who he was, and that's what had to be done.

Sasuke nodded in agreement and Sakura kissed him slowly. He returned the kiss, knowing all too well how much he enjoyed the feeling of her lips on his. When they pulled away, Sakura smiled, thinking she had gotten what she wanted. He almost felt guilt knowing what he was about to do.

Almost felt guilt. But not quite.

Yeah, I know. All SasuSaku here. I wanted to leave you guys waiting for another chapter to see what happened to Tenten. Hehe. Don't hate me, though. The next chapter you'll see everything. Love xx