A/N: AAAAAAANNNNNNDDDDDDDDD!

Here's the final chapter.^^

Thank you for those who had supported the oneshot version of this, as well as this multi-chaptered one.

I appreciate it so much.

Thank you for all the reviews too.=)

Summary: [AU, Sasusaku] Sasuke's been avoiding Sakura until finally, she had enough of it. She decided to avoid him too, totally not aware of how it will affect him. How did Sasuke react to her sudden change of actions? Read and find out. Reviews are definitely welcome.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, although he's not in my story. LOL!!

"Words spoken"

'Thoughts'

(Author's notes)

Are You Mad at Me?

Chapter 3: This is How it Ends

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::Recap::

Though things were better than when it first started, Sasuke wasn't satisfied by just this. He wanted the two of them to return to how they were before, when Sakura'd chat with him happily and flash him a beautiful smile.

He wanted their relationship to be like before...or maybe more, though he denied that what he meant by that was just to become "closer" and not exactly something more as in a "romantic relationship".

In which way, Sasuke was sure about two things.

He won't take anything less than what they used to have.

And..

He's done taking the cold shoulder from Sakura.

::End of Recap::

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Just as Sasuke finally made up his mind, he was suddenly asked to fix the books in the library with Sakura.

Sasuke was sure God was with him; for the two years he has been in the same class with Sakura, this must have been only the third time they were partners to do anything in school. Sakura did not protest about it, but she did not look so happy about it either.

On the other hand, Sasuke was happy about it, of course, though he stayed very composed on the outside. The walk to the library was very quiet and awkward. Sakura walked a few paces in front of him, already showing her intentions of staying away.

'Dang it Sakura!' Sasuke thought. 'This is so complicated..'

When they finally reached their destination, Sakura immediately went to a side that was farthest away from him. She fixed that side of the library and for a while, Sasuke let her do so. He fixed another side of the library, thinking of a way to talk to her. They stood like that for about an hour. Finally, Sasuke quietly went to her side of the library, acting as if he was returning some books there.

Sakura took no heed in him. She stood on a ladder, arranging books at the top part of the shelf. Sasuke took a deep breath before speaking, "Sakura."

It took a while for Sakura to answer a simple, "Hn?"

It wasn't what Sasuke was hoping for, but it was better than being ignored. Taking a deep breathe, Sasuke thought, 'Well, might as well get this over with quickly.'

He just had to get it over with.

Another day being treated like that would surely drive him nuts.

"Are you mad at me?" Sasuke asked, taking a moment to look up at her.

"Huh?" Sakura answered with a raised eyebrow although she still did not look at him. She was reading a book so that might explain why she did not understand what he said, but she looked way too composed.

"I said, 'Are you mad at me?'" Sasuke repeated, dropping the book he was holding and now focusing his full attention on her. He was sitting down on the floor, leaning back on the shelf behind him.

Sakura closed the book she was reading, returned it to its place, and took another one, "Why?"

That threw Sasuke off, "...huh?"

"Why are you asking me that?" she asked, now reading the new book she took.

"...I don't know." Sasuke answered, "Because you've been avoiding me for nearly two months now?"

"Hmm..." Sakura returned in a tone that said, "I see"

'He did notice then...' she thought, flipping the page of the book. 'And he cares...?'

Sasuke expected her to say something more but that was all she said. For about five minutes, they stayed silent, Sasuke wondering what to do now, and Sakura simply staying quiet.

Finally, he spoke up again, "Sakura."

"Hn?"

"You didn't answer the question." Sasuke pointed out.

"Oh." She said, returning the new book she took. "What was your question?"

"Are you mad at me?" Sasuke sighed. 'Why is she doing this to me?'

"Hmm..." she returned in the "I see" tone once again.

Another five minutes or so of silence.

"Sakura." Sasuke called between gritted teeth.

"Hn?" she answered once again, as if she knew nothing of what they were talking about.

"Should I take that as a 'yes' or 'no'?" he changed his question, starting to get annoyed. He stood up from his place and crossed his arms. 'When is she going to stop acting cool and clueless?'

He was still looking at her and to his great surprise, Sakura smiled. It wasn't the smile that he was still looking for, but it was a smile none the less, and he hasn't gotten that in a while. She returned the new book that she just got a while ago and started climbing down the stairs. "Take it as a 'maybe'."

Sasuke couldn't help but feel his heart somewhat relax. It has been so long...so long since she spoke to him in a light tone. Though she spoke to him very slightly when needed, her voice then was hard and cold. Her voice now was light, casual; as if she hadn't been avoiding him for nearly two months.

"Maybe yes or maybe no?" Sasuke asked, relieved that he finally got a better answer than "Hmm" or "Hn" from her.

"Hmm...I wonder." Sakura still smiled. She was surprisingly but obviously playing with him, acting cool and all. Sasuke was slightly surprised at how quick she could change her personalities. Although her demeanor and aura had lighten up a bit after he started initiating contact, this was still a pretty big change.

'Fine, if you want to play, then I'll play too.' he thought, his playful side kicking in as well. He uncrossed his arms and started slowly walking towards her.

What he said next was a thought that suddenly popped up in his head, "If I tell you I love you will you tell me the answer then?"

What happened next was something he didn't expect to happen. Her cool facade fell completely and she lost her balance, slipping from the ladder. In a blink of an eye, Sasuke was there, catching her in his arms, bridal-style.

Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around his neck tightly, seemingly afraid to let go. Her face was all red, whether from the fall or from what he said, Sasuke did not know. In which way, he couldn't help but smirk down at her.

"Are you alright?" he asked, unconsciously tightening his grip on her. Sakura felt him do so and immediately let go of his neck.

"Y-Yes." she answered, trying not to stutter but obviously failing.

Sasuke's amused expression loosened up for a second, eyes widening ever so slightly.

She just stuttered.

Stuttered like before.

Stuttered like the old Haruno Sakura.

Sakura bit her lip, knowing she just lost it by that one word. Struggling, she tried to return the demeanor she had learned to create in these two months. "Thank you for catching me. Now put me down."

It seemed to be too late though, 'cause his amused expression returned, as well as his smirk.

"How about a 'no'?" he said.

Sakura lost all coolness, knowing it was over.

"How about a 'yes'!" she exclaimed, hitting him once on the chest. "Put me down Uchiha Sasuke!"

Sasuke continued smirking. Oh yeah. She was back.

"No," he answered stubbornly.

"Put me down!!!" Sakura nearly screamed, pounding her small fists on his chest and flinging her feet wildly.

Sasuke laughed. "No, Haruno Sakura, I won't put you down even if you continue hitting me. You're not making much damage by the way."

Sakura blushed, "I— that's because—" she tried to say something.

'Sakura! You baka! (baka = idiot) Just stay calm! C-A-L-M!' she scolded herself. Regaining what little composure she had, she said, "That's because you're a guy!"

Sasuke just laughed again, "That, or maybe it's because you're weaker than me."

Sakura hated being deemed weak, and Sasuke knew it.

God, he nearly forgot how fun it was to tease Sakura.

And Sakura nearly forgot how dominating Sasuke can get.

"I'm not weak!!" she cried out, flinging her feet again. "Just put me down, Sasuke!"

"I will, if you answer my question." Sasuke answered, becoming serious. "Are you mad at me?"

Sakura stopped moving, giving up. Finally, she silently replied with a "Yes."

Sasuke let out a breath, glad to finally have the answer, though he already figured it out. He continued to stare down at her while she tried to avoid his gaze, and went for the bigger question, "Why?"

Her answer was instant.

"Because you're mean." She mumbled, looking down at her hands.

"Huh?" he returned. "Mean?"

Sakura refused to answer to that, so Sasuke spoke up again, "How am I mean?"

"Hmm…You just are." She simply answered, seeming to have grasped her hardheaded personality once again.

Sasuke sighed, exasperated. "So you've been avoiding me because I'm mean?"

"Something like that." she shrugged.

"Sakura..." Sasuke sighed. Seriously, how long was she planning to do this? She wasn't heavy at all and Sasuke liked the feeling of her in his arms, so he had no plans of putting her down any time soon.

"Hn?"

"I'll kiss you if you don't answer me properly." Sasuke threatened her and he felt her body instantly freeze when he said that. He smirked down at her as she tried to stay calm.

"N-no you won't." Sakura returned, turning her head away from him. "You can't do it."

When she said that, she wasn't that confident herself.

Sasuke leaned down, and whispered in her ear, "Really?"

She shivered visibly and stuttered, "Y-y-yes.."

"Hmm..." he said in her "I see" tone. He gently turned her head back to face him, and caught her gaze with his, trapping them. Suddenly, he leaned even lower, nearly touching his lips with hers. Sakura immediately blushed and tried to push him away by placing her hands on his shoulders.

"S-Sa-Sasuke!!!" she exclaimed, closing her eyes tightly. "S-Stop i-it!"

Sasuke smirked, not budging. "I will if you answer me properly."

She seemed to contemplate that, albeit with difficulty, considering their proximity. When Sasuke moved forward a tiny bit more just to tease her, Sakura immediately nodded.

Smiling, he pulled away so that she could open her eyes. She did so and pushed him away even more. Sasuke complied, but still kept close.

"Put me down first." She demanded, face flushed from his sadistic act a while ago. Not wanting to torture her too much, he did as she wanted, but kept her in his arms. They both sat down on the floor, both of Sasuke's arms encircled around Sakura's petite waist. She didn't protest anymore, since she knew it was hopeless.

There was a short silence, in which Sasuke waited patiently.

"I was avoiding you..." Sakura finally spoke. "Because...you were avoiding me."

Sasuke's heart froze for a second at that.

"I don't know if you meant to or not, or whether you noticed it or not." she quickly continued, not wanting to give Sasuke a chance to speak. "But you were avoiding me...and no matter how much I tried to deny it, it hurt."

Her voice stopped shaking, and was now serious.

"I couldn't figure out why you were doing it, until it started to just annoy me. Being suddenly avoided like that, it was nearly insulting…degrading...so I finally decided to do the same…since I thought you hated me anyway and that you won't care..."

She ended it at that and remained silent. Sasuke did not know how to answer. Partly because he couldn't believe how stupid he was for not noticing that that was probably the reason for her sudden coldness towards him. Mainly, though, it was because he didn't know how to reply to it.

Sure, it was because things felt awkward after Itachi opened his eyes to the truth towards Sakura's feelings, but maybe there was something more that he was trying to deny.

And Sasuke just realized that now.

It was awkward and it felt weird, but more on, he suddenly didn't know how to respond to anything she does, or anything connected to her. He wasn't ready to respond to her feelings, because even he didn't know how he felt towards her.

Or, rather, he didn't want to admit it.

But now, he was seeing it all so clearly. And after throwing away a great big deal of his pride for her, he was admitting it as well.

It was what Itachi saw that he couldn't.

What his brother deemed him as foolish and dense for.

For not seeing his own feelings towards his female companion.

As thoughts and feelings rushed through him, Sasuke looked down at Sakura and noticed that her eyes were slowly filling up with tears. He doubted it was from pain, and decided that it must have been because of embarrassment; embarrassment from her confession of being hurt.

And Sasuke knew that what he was about to do now would be equally embarrassing, but somewhere in his mind, he also knew that the relief and joy that will come afterwards is enough to cover that embarrassment up.

He had to answer now so that things will be settled. He waited for so long. Denied obvious things for too long. It was time to end all of the confusion. His mind was clear now, and his heart was open. There were only three words that stood clearly in his mind, and he could feel them on the tip of his tongue.

It was now or never.

"Sakura," he started, catching her attention. "I'm sorry for avoiding you."

He sighed as he continued, "I don't hate you and as you have probably noticed, I care about you and what you do to me. If I hated you and did not care about it, then I won't be here hugging you."

Sakura blushed at the "hugging you" part as she listened to his explanation, "I avoided you because…" —Sasuke paused, having a hard time to continue— "…I avoided you because I did not know how to react to your feelings."

Sakura's eyes widened slightly, before her face flushed a deeper red.

"I...some time during our times as friends, I...found out about your feelings...for me." Sasuke spoke slowly, not wanting to embarrass her any further.

It didn't help though, because as soon as his words were out, her eyes became even more teary. She bit her lip to stop crying, for sure, and immediately made a move to stand up. Seeing this, Sasuke wrapped his arms tighter around her waist and pulled her closer.

"Just hear me out, Sakura."

"No..!" she protested, struggling. She didn't want to hear more after what he just said. Sasuke knew about her feelings. Sasuke knew she loved him. Worse, it was as she expected. It was the reason why he avoided her.

She had thought about the possibility of it, but no matter how hard she tried to act as if it was nothing, it wasn't. It hurt too much to know that the guy you loved avoided you because he found out you loved him. It only lead to one thing: the guy doesn't want you. And that was too horrifying to face.

And Sakura wasn't ready for a rejection from him yet.

"Sakura..!" Sasuke said, trying to stop her movements. He managed to do so as he held her flush against his chest, her arms pinned between the two of them. She continued to struggle for a few seconds, but finally gave up and slumped against him. "Sakura, please. You have to hear me out."

She was crying now, he could tell. Her shoulders shook, though she tried hard not to let out any sobs. She must've been thinking of something else; getting the wrong idea.

This thought in mind, Sasuke immediately continued, "After finding out about your feelings, things started feeling awkward, but most of all, complicated." Sasuke said, confessing it all. "That was the main reason why I started avoiding you. It wasn't because I thought of you badly after knowing about your feelings or what, Sakura. I'll repeat it again and again, I don't hate you."

She gave off a small nod after a short pause, and Sasuke relaxed a bit.

"It was complicated. It really was. I didn't understand a lot of things back then, and I denied a lot as well." he said. "There were too many questions running in my head. When you talk to me, how am I supposed to answer to everything you say? Heck, I don't even know if I'm saying the right thing when I talk to you." Sasuke continued, hugging her tighter and blushing ever so slightly. "When you hug me, how am I supposed to hug you back? Should I hug you like when the dobe forces me to hug him back or hug you tighter?"

Sakura blushed at this, unconsciously clutching Sasuke's shirt. Her tears stopped flowing and her eyes were open now, waiting for what he was going to say next.

"When you place a hand on my shoulder or those kind of touching stuff, how am I supposed to act?" Sasuke went on, loosening his hold on her. "I just get so confused when you're near me, Sakura. To add to those, I couldn't stop thinking about you. What was worse was that, being a guy like me, I was trying to force the truth down instead of just accepting it."

"That was why I decided to avoid you, Sakura." he finished, sighing. "It made everything easier, or so I thought."

Slightly stunned, Sakura's movement was hesitant, but she slowly pulled away from his hug to look up at him. He evaded her questioning gaze, embarrassed after such confession. It was very slight, but surely enough, there was a red tint on his cheeks.

Forcing it all down, Sasuke turned his gaze to her, meeting her emerald orbs. She was unsure; it was clearly shown on her face.

Sasuke gulped, 'Do I really have to do this?'

Deciding he did, he gently took hold of Sakura's head in his hands, lifting her face slightly towards him, leaving their faces only inches apart. Sakura was instantly nervous. Being this close to her, it was all too obvious. "S-Sasu—"

"What I mean is," Sasuke cut in, not wanting to delay it any longer. Sakura closed her mouth shut and looked up at Sasuke, trying with all her might to not avoid his gaze. It was a bad habit of her, one which Sasuke knew and secretly enjoyed.

"What I mean to say," he repeated, slowly leaning down. "is that...I love you, Sakura."

With that said, Sasuke leaned all the way in and crushed his lips to hers, kissing her. He pulled away shortly after, blushing more than before and Sakura blushing madly.

She just stared at him, not knowing how to react.

"Sakura," Sasuke breathed out as he rested his head on the crook of her neck, his breath tickling her. "Say something or I'll kiss you again."

"I-I…" Sakura immediately said, not really knowing if she wanted that or not. Sasuke lifted up his head and gazed into her emerald orbs. "I…love you too, Sasuke-kun."

The unconscious return of the way she usually calls him made Sasuke's heart leap in joy. He would admit it just this once, but he missed her calling him that so much.

Still blushing, Sakura shyly looked back into his eyes. Sasuke's face broke into a gentle smile, before he leaned forward and pecked her on the lips, "I know."

Sakura smiled back as she relaxed into his arms, hugging him back. Sasuke simply embraced her tighter, swearing mentally to never let her go. He held her close, her head resting on his chest while he rested his head on top of hers.

There was a peaceful silence between the two of them until Sasuke broke it by saying, "You owe me kisses for two months."

"What!?" Sakura exclaimed, moving back to raise her head up, but he wouldn't allow her. Knowing it was hopeless, she complied to his will and placed her head on his chest once again. "Why?"

She heard and felt him chuckle, "Because you avoided me that long."

Sakura let out a familiar giggle, "You were counting, Sasuke-kun?"

"Hn." Sasuke replied his usual answer, glad that the tables were returned to normal.

Sakura couldn't help but smile, "Fine. I'll try."

"You better do." Sasuke smiled back. They still haven't moved an inch from their position as another silence came up.

"Sakura," Sasuke, yet again, destroyed the silence.

"Hmm…?" Sakura mumbled, opening her closed eyes. She was tired and sleepy that she nearly fell asleep. Sasuke's arms were just so comfortable.

"Are you mad at me?" Sasuke asked in a teasing way.

Sakura's face broke into a smile once again, "No, I love you, remember?"

The smile that Sasuke's been wearing since a while ago never left him, "I said that first."—he paused for a moment to kiss her on the forehead— "I love you too, Sakura."

=END=

[[EXTRA]]

"Sakura?"

Said girl opened her heavy lids with some difficulty. She was just drifting off.

"Hmm..?" she mumbled sleepily.

"You're only allowed to call me 'Sasuke-kun' and no other, okay?"

Sakura couldn't help but giggle at his demand.

"Mou, Sasuke-kun, stop ruining the moment." she pouted playfully, making herself even more comfortable in his arms.

Sasuke chuckled, before leaning back on the shelves behind him and finally letting the moment last.

Unknown to the two of them, right at that time, they both thought of the same thing before letting sleep take over.

'I love you..'

A/N: Whew! Yeah, that was a lot of work.

How was it? Reviews please~!

For those who prefer the oneshot of this, or simply want that version posted too, please tell me. I'll post it again for you guys.

Once again, thank you for all of the support. I really appreciated it.^^

Love you lots,

Kaze no Shoujo