(7 years ago)

It was the most random thing. It came out of nowhere, flying from her mouth like an unbidden secret. Or like a fart she's been holding in. Or like the puke that she was secreting out of her system at the moment.

They were in the bathroom−her, braced against the open mouth of the toilet and him, right behind her, holding her pink hair in place with one hand while the other rubbed her back soothingly.

Her chest was heaving by the time she finished, the taste of bile still lingering in her mouth, a nasty aftertaste. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, feeling as miserable as ever. She felt him move away from her and listened to the sound of water running in the tub, followed by his retreating footsteps, only to hear him come back a few seconds later. He held out a glass of water over her shoulder, which she gladly took and finished in one gulp. She scooted away from the toilet bowl and slumped against the tiled wall next to it.

"I feel gross," she whined. Her breath was stale with liquor and bile, her whole body was clammy with cold sweat, and she just felt so dirty all over. She glared at Sasuke when she heard him chuckle, and he just waved her off before taking a seat next to her.

He looked half-smug and half-sympathetic, but either way, he had that I-told-you-so look in his eyes. After all, he had been the one to say not to drink too much. I need you sober tonight, Sakura, he had said. But once she got started, there was no one that could stop her. She almost wanted to smack herself, because what kind of doctor puts their liver at risk like this?! But then again, she'd shared a sake or two with her own mentor−Tsunade Senju was as much a drunkard as she was a medical genius and scientific pioneer.

Sakura was snapped out of her thoughts by the feeling of his cheek brushing against hers before she felt the tender kiss he planted on the corner of her mouth. She shrieked at the contact and pushed him away. "You're disgusting, Sasuke," she grimaced, wiping at her mouth as if he had been the one puking his guts out.

"Shut up. You're annoying." He hooked an arm under her knees and the other on her back. He lifted her up and she shrieked again as they both sank into the tub, both of them fully-clothed. She immediately pulled away from him and slid to the opposite end of the tub, but he caught her ankle and pulled her close so that she was straddling him.

"You," she breathed out in a quiet laugh, "are a fucking idiot."

She slanted her lips over his, gasping as she felt his strong arms tighten around her waist. Apparently, he did not mind at all that she had just emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet−she was half-grossed out and half-turned on. Her fingers tugged at his hair, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss. His tongue slipped into her mouth and a low moan rumbled at the back of her throat. All the while they were sinking, slowly, until they were both submerged in the water.

She pulled him up after a few moments, both of them gasping for air. She wiped her hand over the length of her face before resting her forehead against his, both of them trying to catch their breaths. But occasionally, he would bite down on her lower lip or she would nip at his jaw. But as their breathing finally calmed, she found herself resting her head tiredly on his shoulder with his hand running up and down her back. She still felt shitfaced from all the drinks she had.

"We're gonna get sick like this," she said. Her hair was plastered onto her cheeks and her neck, her clothes sticking tightly to her whole form. She was already feeling an on-coming hangover; she didn't need to catch a cold, as well. Her hand slid down to the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head, albeit with difficulty because it clung to her like a second skin. She tossed her clothing to the tiled floor and a loud, wet slap resonated throughout the whole bathroom. She wriggled on his lap to take off her bottoms.

"Take your clothes off," she ordered softly. It wasn't suggestive or seductive, more like a doctor telling a patient what to do. She pulled away from him so he could take everything off. Water sloshed out of the tub and she realized that the entire floor was soaked from all their movements. Once everything had been discarded, he grabbed her by the wrist to reclaim her place before him. His legs on either side of her caged her in. She pulled her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on her kneecaps.

He placed her hand on his chest, her fingers splayed right over his heart. She looked at him weird at first, but a sudden gasp escaped her when she felt his heartbeat thrumming under the palm of her hand. It was beating so fast she would've thought he had been running, only he wasn't.

"I love you, too."

The beats went quicker, or maybe it was hers, ringing in her ears. She looked at him in shock. When he asked why she had such a dumbfounded look on her face, she answered that it was because it was the first time he had actually said those words to her. He flicked her on the forehead, a grin playing on his lips and pink coloring in his pale cheeks, as he told her that it wasn't the first time; she just hasn't been listening too well.

He loved her. She wondered for how long, since when, how did he know… but she couldn't ask. Because she herself did not know how long she has loved him, or since when, or how she knew. It was something that just came about, a sudden realization, like waking up one morning and just knowing.

"Does that mean we're boyfriend and girlfriend now?"

Sasuke frowned at her. "Haven't we been?"