A/N: More light-hearted, more dialogue, and slight fangirl wish fulfillment on my part. Sigh.

Prompt: My Mistake

"Noooo Sasuke-kun, my hair isn't pink, it's coral," Sakura slurred insistently.

"My mistake," he drawled, rolling his eyes.

Drunk Sakura was in equal parts annoying and entertaining, Sasuke mused, as he half carried, half dragged the stumbling girl to her apartment. They had been out celebrating Naruto's 20th birthday, and after Sakura had climbed onto a table and attempted to serenade the rest of the bar, Sasuke had decided it was time for her to head home.

"Hey…hey Sas…"

"Yes, Sakura?"

"I got a ques…I got a question."

"No, Sakura, I am not going to tell you where I'm ticklish."

"Hey how'd you know I was gon' ask that?"

"…You always ask that when you're drunk, you annoying woman."

"Oh yeah… so why won' you tell me?"

"Because then you would be trying to tickle me."

"Heh…oh yeah."

"Tch."

"Hey…Sasu-chan…can I ask somethin' else?"

A twitch. "Yes."

"Why don't…Why don't you love me?"

Sasuke stopped short, effectively pulling Sakura back as well. She looked up at him questioningly. The Uchiha swallowed and continued walking.

Haltingly, "You don't want to be in love with someone like me, Sakura."

"Hey, don' tell me who I wan' be in love with!"

"…"

"Of course I wan' be in love with you, Sasu-chan! You're smart an' handsome an' funny an' sometimes you're mean an' kinda scary but mostly you're jus' funny an' cute an'-"

"Cute?"

"Yes! An' you're nice to me sometimes…an' when Kashi sensei ruffles your hair you act mad but not really that mad 'cuz you kinda like it an' even though you tried to kill Nar'to you never really could an' now you always have ramen in your kitchen for when he comes over…oh an' you always look kinda worried when I get hurt trainin' and you never never ever let other people down ever!"

A pause. "I always let you down."

"Yeah but not when it mattered 'cuz when it really mattered you were always there Sas'ke an' that always makes me so so happy!

A few seconds, and then, "Oh, I gotta hurl Sasuk-"

Only reflexes honed with years of training by the Uchiha prodigy allowed him to avoid the contents of Sakura's stomach as she promptly emptied them all over her dress and onto the ground. Sasuke only rubbed her back and sighed.

They walked another block and arrived at Sakura's apartment. As soon as they entered, he steered her to the bedroom, grabbed a clean pair of clothes from a drawer, and shoved them at his female teammate.

"Change," he demanded.

Sakura stared blankly at the clothes, and then looked back him for a moment before handing them back and raising her arms.

"You can't be serious," Sasuke bit out.

"Too tired…room's spinnin'…help me Sas'ke," she pleaded.

With an irritated huff, Sasuke efficiently pulled off her dress and helped her into a loose pair of pajamas. In truth, this had not been the first time he had been required to help her get into clean clothes, and he always made sure to finish the task quickly and while looking away, his ears slightly pink.

Sakura crawled into her bed and sighed sleepily. She tugged at Sasuke's sleeve and patted the other side of her mattress.

"Stay awhile," she mumbled. He sat down and Sakura turned to face him. She babbled quietly about her work at the hospital and about how Ino was doing and about a dozen other things. There were times when Sasuke had no idea what the girl was saying, but he listened and nodded and "hn"-ed nonetheless.

There was a lull in the (mostly one-sided) conversation. In a sudden moment of lucidity, Sakura's eyes flashed open and she directed her gaze towards Sasuke contemplatively.

"Do you think you could ever love me back?" she asked quietly.

There was no reply.

She closed her eyes. "I mean, I wouldn't stop loving you either way, but if there was any hope maybe it would be a little easier, you know?"

Sakura was already half asleep by the time she heard a soft "I could."

...

She woke the next morning to a killer headache and last night's dress sitting freshly laundered at her bedside.