Author's Note: So this totally came out of nowhere. LOL! I know I already said that I might not do a chapter 6 for this anymore, but what could I say to those plot bunnies? xD Hm, I don't have anything more to blabber about so happy reading, everyone! :)

Written on: January 12, 2015

Disclaimer: Naruto and all related characters rightfully belong to Masashi Kishimoto. The tips mentioned in this story are based on 'How to Date a Med Student' by Fox News iMag and can be seen on this site: www -dot- yourtango -dot- com -slash- 200919756 -slash- tips-dating-med-student

Warning(s): AU

How to Date a Med Student

Chapter Six

By Zagoorian Athena

6. A vacation together consists of a trip down the street to Walgreens for new highlighters and printer paper.

"Ready to go?" Sasuke asked, as he buckled himself in and turned to look at his girlfriend sitting in the passenger's seat.

"All set," Sakura happily replied with an excited grin while tapping the thick medical textbook perched on her lap.

Sasuke eyed the book warily one more time before pulling out of the driveway and onto the street to start their 4-hour drive to Otogakure where he and Sakura would be spending Christmas with his family. It wasn't the first time they would be meeting her, so he wasn't the least bit worried about the whole meet-the-parents ordeal; what he was worried about was that thick, rectangular mass of a book that would no doubt keep her attention for the whole duration of their vacation.

When Sasuke brought up the topic of going to Oto with her, she was slightly reluctant to go at first because she was planning on holing herself up in her apartment for most of the holidays to study for her upcoming exams. Eventually, though, he managed to make her agree with promises of delicious food and by guilt-tripping her about how eager his mother was to see her again. It wasn't like Sakura didn't like his family, anyway; in fact, she adored Uchiha Mikoto very much and was just as excited to see the Uchiha matriarch.

A few minutes into their trip, when they were finally in the highway, Sakura opened her book to a dog-eared page full of scribbles of facts mentioned during the lecture that wasn't explicitly stated in the book, and of text highlighted with all the colors of the rainbow.

Sasuke saw her actions from his peripheral vision and scoffed silently before addressing her. "Isn't it bad to read while you're in a moving vehicle?"

"Oh, hush, Sasuke-kun," she said condescendingly as she picked up her handbag by her feet and started rummaging through it. "I know what I'm doing."

"Hn. Will you at least try to keep your studying to a minimum when we reach my parents' house?" he asked her in that commanding tone he used when he wanted to be all passive-aggressive with her.

"Of course I will! What do you take me for? I'm not that rude, you know," she rebutted in a somewhat offended tone. "At least, not to your parents I'm not," she added as an afterthought then sent a childish grin his way before scouring through the depths of her bag again.

He gave her a smirk in reply and was resigned into letting her have her way again. "Is that why you're willing to risk ruining your eyesight by studying in the car, then?" he asked teasingly.

"Well, I've got to kill time during this long-ass drive somehow. I'm just making the most out of this so that I can spend more time eating your mom's delicious meals later on, you know? Anyway, it's not my fault I have an exam on the first day back from winter break. I swear: my professors find pleasure in torturing us students with these insanely hellish tests!"

Sasuke chose to ignore her rant and did a quick sideways glance at her. "What are you even looking for in there?"

"I can't find my stinking highlighters, damn it!" She huffed in frustration as she finally let go of her bag and told him resolutely, "We have to go back, Sasuke-kun."

He merely raised an eyebrow at her foolish request. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me! You know I can't study without my highlighters!" Sakura then started to throw a silent tantrum by crossing her arms over her chest and attempted to threaten him with her glares that, to him, just seemed adorable.

"Sakura, we're in the middle of a highway. The next U-turn slot isn't for a few more miles," Sasuke explained to her as if speaking to a child. Honestly, sometimes it felt like he wasn't dating a full-grown woman at all!

She thus averted her gaze to the scenery outside and gave him the cold shoulder which caused Sasuke to sigh in defeat.

"Tell you what," he bargained, eyes still on the road but watching out for her little non-verbal cues from his peripheral vision. "We'll stop by the next store we come across and I'll buy you some new ones."

Sakura stiffened at this and slowly turned towards him once more, eyeing him suspiciously as if she didn't believe a word he was saying.

"Really?" she prodded.

"Hn."

Counting his grunt as an affirmation, her demeanor quickly changed into a hopeful one as she gave him her puppy eyes. "Will you buy me colored pens, too?"

"What? How's that even going to help you—"

"And post-its, as well?" she cut in before he could ask her why she needed them.

"Fine," he surrendered. "I will buy you highlighters and colored pens and post-its, then. Are you happy now?"

She nodded childishly, all signs of her tantrum long-gone as she sat quietly in her seat with a now-closed textbook on her lap.

'The things this woman makes me agree to', he thought fondly as he glanced at her briefly once more, the edge of his lips tilted upward slightly into a small smile.

"Sasuke-kun, I'm bored," Sakura whined for the sixth time already. It hadn't even been 30 minutes yet since the topic of her highlighters was dropped and she was already fidgeting in her seat.

"I still haven't seen a store we can stop by for your stuff," he told her in a surprisingly calm manner. It must be those relaxation techniques I taught him, Sakura concluded when she realized this.

"Well, if things are going to continue on like this, then I'm gonna start singing," she threatened, as if it would actually evoke some sort of reaction from him.

It worked, though. "Sakura—"

"My body has many parts, and this is where it starts: phalanges I have ten and metatarsals then…" she belted out off-tune.

"I can't believe you're singing a song from Hannah Montana," he berated.

"I can't believe you even know that the song is from Hannah Montana," she countered.

This caused him to shut up, the tips of his ears glowing red. He didn't know why he knew the song from that blasted teen's show either, but in any case, his girlfriend stopped singing but not before sniggering at his embarrassment.

A little over an hour later, she spotted the sign for a grocery store from a distance and Sasuke switched lanes when Sakura pointed this out, bouncing in her seat at the thought of new study materials.

"Nerd," he lightly teased her with a smirk as he pulled up into the parking lot. He went ignored, though, for she was already used to his lighthearted remarks on her weird love for school supplies.

Five new highlighters of varying colors, two packs of colored pens, and a huge stack of post-its later, Sakura and Sasuke were on the road again, him focusing on driving and her reading the textbook on her lap with her seat slightly reclined and her leggings-clad legs stretched out in front of her.

The rest of their trip carried on with a comfortable silence between them, with the stereo turned off because Sasuke knew Sakura wouldn't be able to concentrate otherwise. There were times when the Uchiha caught her dozing off but he didn't bother waking her up knowing how tired she was from trying to get in as many of her readings as she could before the trip. Besides, if she wanted him to wake her up, she would have said so.

"The fibula is next…" she muttered in her sleep. Sasuke's eyes widened for a bit, recognizing the lyrics to the same song she was singing earlier, but visibly relaxed when he realized she was just sleep talking.

Christmas came and went and so did their winter break. Between looking at childhood photos of Sasuke that Mikoto had "randomly" unearthed from their attic, and indulging in her wonderful cooking, Sakura wasn't able to do much studying. Not that she minded, though—family was more important, anyway, and Sasuke silently thanked her for that.

When they were back in Konoha again, Sakura finally got around to studying a few days before her exams, causing Sasuke's time with her to be limited to short visits to bring her food she would have otherwise neglected to buy for herself. He supposed he was used to it, though. Such was his fate for dating a med student whom he loved regardless.

…And the result of Sakura's exams? Top of the class, as usual, which they celebrated with a steamy, passion-filled night together as Sakura palpated various muscles and bony landmarks across her boyfriend's body. Again, such was his fate for dating a med student whom he loved regardless.

THE END

A/N: Okay, so the context ended up totally different, but it would have been boring if they'd just gone to a store to buy highlighters, the end. Hahaha! Thanks a bunch to those who put HTDAMS on their alert list even though I already said that I might not be continuing with this anymore. Chapter 7 may or may not come… I don't really know anymore. I have other stories I want to write first so it would depend on my motivation level. Hahaha. Anyway, reviews are love, you guys. :D