This is the chapter most of you probably have been waiting for! It's over 3000 words so it's a long one. Sorry it took so long for me to publish this, I was just too busy!

There must be a few errors in this long chapter that I couldn't detect. If you see one, please tell me :)

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''Has the bleeding stopped?''

Upon hearing his voice, Asami removed the folded towel from her back and looked at it. The small cloth was completely soaked, which scared Asami a bit. The wound on her back had been bleeding for quite a while now, and even though it was less than before, it still wouldn't stop. She squeezed the fabric before she relaxed her fingers, which caused the towel to fall on her lap.

When Madara still didn't get his question answered, he turned around and saw Asami staring at the towel, which was just as wet as her shirt, both covered in blood. He sighed and dropped the corpse he was about to carry downstairs on the ground. The thud startled Asami and she looked up, seeing the body of the man who was strangling her before lying in the doorway.

Just a sight of it made her nauseous. It reminded her of her own actions but also of the feeling of helplessness and fear which she felt at that very moment when she thought she was going to die.

Madara noticed her discomfort and kicked the corpse into the hallway and closed the door, blocking her sight. Asami's gaze moved from the door to Madara, who was now approaching her. ''Turn around.'' He said.

Asami wanted to say something, but no whole words were able to leave her mouth. Only stutters and other incomplete parts of sentences.

''Turn around,'' Madara repeated. ''Let me see the wound.''

His voice sounded rather soft, but the way he said it was still cold and curt. Asami didn't know if that combination made sense, but it didn't matter to her. Once again, Asami tried to reply. This time, it went already better than her attempt from a few seconds ago.

''B-But Kou-''

''Kouta's fine.'' He interrupted her. ''He fell asleep after taking a bath. As you said, I took care of him first, so let me see your injuries now.'' Asami was quite stubborn after they retrieved their son. She insisted that Kouta had to be treated first, even though he was physically unharmed. This whole situation must have been quite a shock for him, though.

Asami silently obeyed and turned around on the stool, which she had taken from the bathroom, showing him her back. She gripped the fabric of her pants tightly, as if that'd lessen the pain somehow. Asami's long hair covered most of her back, which made Madara grunt in annoyance. She did make a ponytail before going to sleep, but it somehow got loose during the fight.

''Hair ties?"

''In the bathroom.'' Asami murmured, stammering slightly. ''Second drawer of the cabinet.''

Madara went from the bedroom into the bathroom. Just as she said, the hair ties were in the second drawer. He picked a random one and returned to her. Carefully, he collected almost all the red strands. Asami secretly enjoyed it; the feeling of his fingers running through her hair. It distracted from the throbbing pain on her back. After he gathered most of the hair on the top of Asami's head, he secured them in the elastic.

One hindrance gone, and one hindrance left.

Madara crouched down behind her and lifted her shirt a little bit so that he could see a small part of the cut. Since everything was covered in blood, it was hard to see if there was any debris or other dirt in the wound. ''At least it stopped bleeding.'' Madara mumbled before he got up. ''Can you take your shirt off? I'll need to clean it before healing it, or else it might get infected.''

Asami pressed her lips together. She felt a bit uncomfortable about his request. It was embarrassing; the scars on her scrawny body. Asami had lost quite some weight after her pregnancy. She had to share the food with Kouta and she always put him first. She never asked Keiji for more. He already had to buy it for them and he also had a family of his own to feed.

Reluctantly, Asami gripped the hem of her shirt and began to lift it. It was when the fabric brushed against the wound that she winced in pain. It already hurt so much, but when touched, it almost became almost unendurable. Asami tried again, keeping quite some distance between the shirt and her back, but even now it didn't work. Raising her arms was an impossible task. It hurt too much. Involuntary tears trickled down her face and she clenched her teeth in order to keep herself back from crying out loud.

She hung her head and bit her lip. Her own helplessness frustrated her greatly. She could give it a few more tries but Asami knew she couldn't do it on her own, so she admitted defeat by indirectly asking the only one who could help her. ''I can't.'' She breathed slowly, her voice trembling. ''It hurts too much.''

Madara had already noticed that Asami was unable to move her arm freely. The cut ran from her lower back to her right shoulder after all. Of course, it'd hurt a lot to move her right arm and shoulder. Madara reached into his pouch and took out a kunai. He had already thought of a solution.

Asami heard Madara's weapons rustle in the small bag and looked over her shoulder. ''You're going to cut it?'' She asked him softly, her voice still wavering slightly.

Madara looked down at her, wrapping his fingers around the handle of the kunai. ''You're not fine with it?''

Asami frowned slightly, surprised at the question, and quickly shook her head. ''It's fine.'' She mumbled, looking back to the wall in front of her. ''The shirt's already ruined so it doesn't really matter.''

When Madara took the hem of her shirt in his hand, he noticed Asami tensing up. He suspected that it was because of the kunai that was nearing her back. It probably reminded her of the unfortunate incident that occurred earlier. Still, it annoyed him that she was afraid of the blade, even though he was the one holding it.

In an attempt to calm her down, he placed one of his hands on her left shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. ''It's just me.'' He muttered gruffly.

To his surprise, he heard Asami let out a few chuckles. She didn't really sound like she found it that funny, but she still chuckled. ''That's pretty ironic, Madara.'' She spoke, and then she sighed. ''Quite a lot of people fear you after all.''

Madara sighed and let go of the hem, grabbing the collar of Asami's shirt instead. ''I see you're already doing better.'' He said before making a vertical cut. It was similar to the one on Asami's back, but this time, fabric was what got cut, and not skin.

Surprised by his sudden action, Asami drew a sharp breath and tensed up again, whimpering when that only increased the pain the wound was giving her. Gritting her teeth, she endured the tremendous pain. She wished she would pass out, just like that time in Konoha. Then she wouldn't feel the pain. She didn't want to suffer anymore.

Near tears, Asami dropped the bloodied towel on the floor and took off the rest of her shirt, throwing it on top of the towel. Madara noticed her hastiness and understood that she didn't want to waste any more time. He went to the bathroom to grab clean cloths.

Each time Madara dabbed the towel against her back, Asami hissed. She tried to keep silent by grinding her teeth together but she couldn't help but whimper every time when the cloth made contact with the cut on her back.

When most of her back was washed, Madara noticed her spine sticking out more than he could remember. Her ribs were also more visible. ''You've gotten thinner.'' He said, brushing his fingers against her side to indicate what he meant. Not had she only lost weight, there were also more scars on her back than before. There were a lot smaller compared to the scar that her current injury would leave, but they were still clearly noticeable even though there were only 2 or 3 of them.

Asami looked down at her lap while Madara proceeded to clean her back until he knew for sure that there were no foreign objects in the wound anymore. ''Kouta is still growing.'' She spoke, playing with her fingers. ''He needs the food more than me.''

Madara narrowed his eyes. That didn't mean that she had to neglect herself. Humming, he held his hands in front of her back, a green glow appearing around them. ''And these scars?'' He started. ''How did you get them?"

''It's happened before.'' Asami answered slowly, pressing her fingers together. ''People coming to this house, I mean. Thieves or just people looking for shelter, they're all the same. I had to fight to protect Kouta, this house and myself.''

''The people that came here today were after the Sharingan.'' Madara said. ''How did they know Kouta's an Uchiha?''

Asami pursed her lips. She wasn't really sure, but she had a feeling. ''Earlier that day, we went for a walk.'' Asami started. ''When I found footprints in the snow, we immediately turned back. I think they might have been us at that moment.''

Madara moved his hands down. ''You're saying they knew he was an Uchiha by looking at him?''

''I think an Uchiha is pretty easily recognizable.'' Asami responded. ''Dark hair, dark eyes. And if you're familiar with the clan, it's even easier to tell.''

''This was the first time there were people after Kouta?''

Asami hummed softly in response. ''The ones that came before were only here for shelter, food or money.''

Madara moved his hands further down, healing the remaining parts of the injury. ''You said before that you had to protect Kouta.''

Asami clenched her fist, digging her nails into her palms. It wasn't her intention to hurt herself, but it was a bit painful. ''No matter what they were after, they're criminals. There was only one time when someone from Konoha discovered us. Anyway, they weren't exactly friendly, even to a kid.'' She explained, and then she looked down at her lap again. ''I once let Kouta get hurt. I promised him to never let it happen again, but I-''

''He's safe now.'' Madara interrupted. ''Isn't that what matters?''

Asami didn't know if he spoke so coldly on purpose, but it still hurt a bit. She was used to hearing him talk like it. It had become his usual voice after all. But to hear him talking like that while the safety of their son was the subject, it was like he didn't really care. Asami found that offensive, and also rude and infuriating. It angered her a bit.

''He experienced something horrible!'' Asami exclaimed, angrily looking over her shoulder to glare venomously at the Uchiha. ''This could mean a trauma for him! Seeing dead people in his own house, being kidnapped, and then having a bleeding man on top of him! Don't you dare talk about it like it's nothing!''

The pain her back was causing had ceased so much that she was barely feeling anything but a few stings. Madara grunted and grabbed her shoulder tightly, pushing it so that her back was fully facing him again. ''I didn't mean it like that.'' He grumbled as he continued to heal the last few centimeters. ''If I didn't care then I wouldn't have saved him. I know I barely know him a week but he's still my son. Don't go assuming things.''

Asami didn't reply. What was she supposed to say anyway? Instead, she closed her eyes and pressed her lips together, trying to suppress another load of salty drops.

How long she had been waiting to hear something like this.

Those words meant a lot to Asami. Not only did they prove that she was wrong, something she was secretly hoping for, but they also said a lot about how he felt, something she had been trying to figure out for a while now.

Madara pulled back his hands and looked up when he heard some sniffs. Sighing, he stood up, stretching his legs before looking down. Her shoulders were shaking and she was using one of her hands to cover a part of her face. ''Are you crying again?"

''No.''

Madara heaved a sigh again. It was even more obvious when she was speaking. He didn't know why she was crying this time, but he let her be and walked past her. Asami looked up once she heard his footsteps and saw him opening the closet. ''What are you doing?'' She asked, her voice sounding a bit hoarse.

Madara took a random shirt out of the closet and turned to her. ''Put this on.'' He said, throwing Asami the shirt. She caught it easily, stood up from the stool and put on the dark gray shirt. It already got stained a bit by the blood that was still on Asami's body, but she didn't mind.

Asami moved around a bit, stretching her back. No pain. Not at all. She smiled softly and turned back to Madara. ''Thank you.'' She mumbled, still beaming. ''If you didn't come, Kouta and I would be in a lot of trouble right now.'' Her smile faded slightly and she brought her hands to her neck, brushing her fingers over the marks. ''I don't even know if I'd still be here if it weren't for you.''

Madara stepped forward and took her hand, removing them from her throat. Now that he was standing closer, the bruises were even more visible. They were still small, but there'd definitely be worse tomorrow. Madara took hold of her chin and made Asami look up to get a better view. ''Talking doesn't hurt?''

Asami shook her head.

''Breathing?''

She shook her head again.

Madara hummed and let his hand slide down to her jaw, but made sure to avoid touching the small wound. He tilted her head so he could take a better look at it. ''It's an abrasion.'' He said, holding one hand in front of it. Once again, a green glow appeared and Madara started to heal it. ''Just what did you do to get one there?''

Asami didn't answer. To tell such a great fighter as Madara that she was overpowered for a moment was something she found quite embarrassing.

After Madara was done, he moved her head back and placed his one of his hands on Asami's cheek, pressing his thumb softly against her lips, which surprised her and made her flinch slightly in pain. ''It isn't that swollen yet.'' He muttered, moving his gaze to her eyes. ''Does it hurt much?''

Asami nodded slowly. ''It does hurt, but only a bit.''

She didn't have the confidence to look at his face. Not in this situation. Asami didn't understand why he was being so caring. She'd never seen him like this before. Even though his voice sounded standoffish and his face barely displayed emotion besides annoyance, his actions proved that he was a good man, unlike many people thought.

He was getting her hopes up by touching her face so gently and brushing his fingers over her lips. Even though she was sort of rejected last time, when she told him she loved him, he was the one who made her think she stood a chance. Was there even a chance? She didn't even know what to call the two of them. What were they now anyway?

Madara placed his fingers against her lips and started to heal them, too. Asami slowly looked up to him, but he didn't look back. Not at her eyes. He was too focused on her lips to be even noticing her looking at him, which was odd for the usually very observant Uchiha.

When the small wound on her lips was healed as well, Madara finally noticed the gaze directed at him. Still holding her face, Madara looked right back. He knew what she wanted.

He knew all too well.

There was tension in the room, even though Asami was the only one feeling it. She didn't think that he'd stare back at her like that. It made her feel a bit nervous, but it also added to her hope; her desire to continue where they left off three years ago and her wish to become a real family.

Never had she been this eager before.

Madara leaned forward, letting his hands glide down to Asami's shoulders which made goosebumps rise up on her skin. As the gap between them lessened, Madara looked at Asami to see if he could find any signs of objection on her face, but there were none. Instead, she was waiting for him to come even closer, something that Madara didn't mind doing.

He tilted his head so their noses wouldn't bump and closed the remaining space between them. A mere brush, that was what it was at first, but Madara already quickly pressed his lips firmer against hers. Asami's eyes fluttered closed and she tipped her head upward to make it easier for the both of them to continue the 'activity'.

Her heart was beating against her chest, but she barely heard the loud thumps. There was too much on her mind to notice anything but the wonderful feeling of his lips against hers.

She slowly slipped her arms over his shoulders, letting her hands run through his unruly hair. Even though she already got to touch it a lot when she had to cut his hair, this felt different somehow, in a good way of course.

When Madara wanted to pull his head back, Asami grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him right back down. Gently and careful, naturally

Asami knew she was being greedy, but she didn't want to come over as such. She was just very needy. In need for his presence, his attention, his love and so much more. During the past three years, she had been yearning for the most stupid things; she wanted to see the way he'd always furrow his eyebrows in annoyance or confusion, that dumb smirk of his and she even wanted to see his angry face, just because she couldn't remember it very well.

Madara wasn't bothered by Asami's sudden action. He could still remember their first kiss very vividly. She was too shocked to do anything back then, while she was actively participating now. There was also no embarrassment, no reluctance, and no restraint. They weren't going further than just a kiss, though.

This time, Asami was the one who ended it. She pressed her forehead against his chest before he could take a look at her and she closed her eyes tightly. Her lips were tingling and her heart was still racing. Asami couldn't believe what just happened, what she just did. She didn't think she had it in her, especially not after being separated for so long.

While Asami was still fazed and perplexed by her own actions, Madara looked down at her. He was wrong. Asami'd never not be embarrassed by things like this. Very obvious or faint, there'd always be a blush on her cheeks.

''Idiot.'' Asami muttered, clenching his shirt. ''Don't go rejecting me if it's actually like this.''

Madara sighed and put one of his hand on top of her head. ''It's fine now, isn't it?'' He mumbled.

There was a short silence before Asami opened her mouth again.

''You better make up for lost time.''

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Was Madara OOC? I ask this a lot but I find it really important for him to be in character >.<

As always, feedback is very appreciated! I want to keep improving so your opinion would be really helpful ^^