Summary: Sasuke goes on a self-destructive bender and has an unexpected confrontation with his childhood crush, Hinata Hyuuga. AU. Sort of prequel to Kiss and Tell.

The Sand Siblings were rarely ever in Konohagakure and they always threw the wildest ragers upon their return. Chouji Akimichi was still reeling from the last one when he found a pill on the kitchen counter and popped it – expecting a fun time – but discovered later on that it was birth control after he puked nonstop. Birth control works by stopping ovulation and, considering Chouji's body was not designed for that process, his body went into survival mode as it tried to purge the medicine out of him. It was the night that went down in Konohagakure history because the Akimichi lost about half his body weight overnight, the night the Sand Siblings discovered their bathroom was utterly wrecked, and the night that led to Ino's pregnancy scare and everyone realized she and Shikamaru were hooking up.

Safe to say that an event like this wasn't Sasuke Uchiha's usual scene, but he was feeling uncharacteristically self-destructive and his older brother had tagged along just in case he lost control. Itachi's protective duties lasted about ten minutes after Sai approached him and the two fell into a deep conversation.

Sasuke took a shot when he saw his brother and the international student standing in such close proximity and smiling warmly at each other over their plastic red cups. He took another shot from Kankuro, as the boy passed by with a tray, when Sasuke saw his ex, Karin, arrive with his former right hand man, Suigetsu. And then Sasuke stole two shots straight from Rock Lee's hands and took them one after another after he saw Temari had joined Itachi and Sai's conversation – all three of them giving each other those warm looks – and the hostess began leading her guests upstairs.

Sasuke chucked the two shot glasses to the side, grimacing at the taste of cinnamon schnapps burning its way down his throat, as Rock Lee yelled after him, "Uchiha! You'll pay for stealing my drinks or I'll do 1,000 laps around campus!"

Sasuke walked off without even glancing back at his classmate. Feeling significantly lighter and more persuadable, Sasuke stumbled onto the makeshift dance floor where he nodded his head along to the music. Naruto and Kiba made their way to him and adopted him into their group. Sasuke, Naruto, and Kiba all jumped to the beat of the song – what guys do when they can't dance – and eventually Sasuke felt his body sway to the music.

Kiba howled. "Damn Uchiha! You're drunk as hell and fun for once!"

Naruto laughed. "Yeah, you should have more breakups!"

That comment actually stung considering who it was coming from.

Sasuke and Naruto hadn't hung out in years, not since high school and especially since he formed his Team Taka friend group, so he didn't blame the blonde for his tactlessness. He brushed off his former best friend's comment and took another shot.

Thankfully Sasuke was still sober enough to remove himself from a bad situation when Naruto and Kiba began to take off their shirts and swing them wildly over their heads. He had just noped out of their group when he could hear Shikamaru screaming that Naruto's jacket had landed in the lit fireplace.

Sasuke brushed passed his peers through the narrow hallway when Karin stepped into his path. It took all of his control to stop himself before they collided.

"Sasuke," she said, saving her drink before it sloshed over the rim. "How are you doing?"

"I'm doing fine," he muttered, trying to sidestep the girl but she got in his way again. At least he could confirm that their little run-in wasn't coincidental.

"You normally don't stick around for these things let alone get totally trashed at them."

Sasuke stood straighter in a subconscious effort to prove her wrong. "I'm not trashed," he replied, yoinking the cup out of her hand. "But I will be." And he chugged the entire drink right then and there while maintaining eye contact with her.

"Look, I'm worried about you."

"Why? We broke up and you moved on and I'm here being fine."

Her eyes softened. "You don't seem fine. If you're having problems getting over me then there are better ways of dealing with it."

Her comment made his eye twitch. He shook his head too hard and regretted it when he felt everything get a little woozy. "Don't think this is about you."

Suigetsu and Jugo came by and the white-haired boy gave him an uneasy look. "Holy shit man. You sure you need another drink?"

Sasuke shoved the empty cup into the boy's chest. "No, but you can get her another one. She's done."

Jugo moved his broad body out of the way without a word and Sasuke was thankful they didn't try to stop him. He walked off, feeling three sets of eyes on his back, and forced himself to walk in a straight line as he went through the kitchen, through the sliding doors, and didn't stop until he made it to the end of the deck where it was quiet. He crossed his arms on top of the railing, closed his eyes, and then rested his head onto his arms while slowly counting to ten. Sasuke was way too overstimulated and it didn't help that he chugged Karin's lukewarm IPA after taking so many shots. He took a few deep breaths until the world felt solid and unmoving under his feet again.

However, he did feel like he was being watched and looked over to his left. And there was Hinata Hyuuga, staring back at him with her pearl-white eyes.

"Hi Sasuke," she said. She greeted him. She didn't ask "how are you?" or "how much have you had to drink?" and he felt so grateful for such a simple greeting. "Did you need a break from the party too?"

"You could say that." His breath hitched when she looked over him curiously and he wondered if she could sense how nervous she was making him. "Are you having fun?" He said after a pause, not the most interesting question but it was all he could come up with considering his present state.

She shrugged. "I guess. I'm waiting to see what other crazy thing happens." A small smile made its way across her lips. "I saw you dancing with Naruto and Kiba earlier."

Sasuke cringed. He was already regretting his drunken antics and the night wasn't even over.

"Don't worry. It wasn't embarrassing to watch," she reassured, stepping towards him. "You have pretty good moves. And it was nice seeing you and Naruto together again."

And just like that, the effects of her smile and her soothing words wore off. Sasuke stared off into the distance and she could tell something was off. She frowned, a little crease forming between her brows, and she opened her mouth to speak.

Sasuke felt bad. This wasn't her fault. His deep-rooted insecurities that stemmed from his father favouring his brother weren't her fault. The fact that she wanted someone else bothered him, but that wasn't her fault either.

Sasuke couldn't remember a time when he didn't have a crush on Hinata Hyuuga. Ever since they were children, Sasuke's gaze would eventually land on her and he would spend his time observing her every move. Like how she glanced at her feet when she was feeling shy, or how she always sat with perfect posture during class. By the time Sasuke realized he shouldn't let his eyes linger on the Hyuuga for too long, or risk revealing his true feelings, he noticed that Hinata had developed feelings for another person.

He tried not to let it bother him, citing more important things to worry about, such as becoming top of his class or meeting the sky-high expectations set by his older brother, but seeing the Hyuuga heiress blush whenever the class clown spoke made Sasuke clench his fists until his knuckles turned white. Sasuke convinced himself it was all for the best since he couldn't be what Hinata wanted anyway. He wasn't sunny and outgoing and bold like Naruto Uzimaki. He was dark and anti-social and reserved like how his father molded him to be. Eventually he conditioned himself to interpret those feelings of jealousy and bitterness towards Hinata's unrequited love as disdain towards anything related to romance. This attitude only cemented as he grew older, grew into his looks, and attracted more admirers.

Sasuke Uchiha wasn't one for love and that's why he didn't know how to cope when it was presented to him.

Girls never asked him out. They fought over him, complimented him, and vied for his attention, but no one actually made any attempts to be with him. Sasuke found himself in this weird limbo where he was highly revered yet struggling over his own feelings of inadequacy. That's why he had said yes when Karin propositioned him.

His involvement with the redhead only reinforced his standoffish reputation. She was brash and crude and her company meant Suigetsu and Jugo became a part of his social circle. This friend group was an intimidating crew that kept others away and Sasuke tolerated their company since he no longer had to question if people really liked him, or the idea of him. Clearly they liked the idea of him. Ultimately, that relationship became hollow too when Karin realized she was more attracted to Sasuke's looks and mystery and he realized a partnership based on curiosity and loneliness wasn't sustainable. Sasuke gladly parted ways with the closest thing he had to a girlfriend when she hit it off with Suigetsu, and felt a twinge of déjà vu for being overlooked for someone else. An obstacle to someone else's happiness.

He quickly shoved those thoughts away though and waited for Hinata to speak.

Before she could say anything, Sakura, Ino, and Tenten barged through the sliding doors. Sakura had Gaara's ginormous gourd over her shoulder, Tenten keeping a hand on it too to steady it, and Ino held a faucet, a tube, and some other devices.

"Come on, Hinata! Let's do a keg stand!" cried Sakura.

Hinata declined and the girls went on their way, shooting Sasuke some peculiar looks as they passed. Sakura wanted to pause and ask her old friend if he was alright, but she was the one carrying the keg and her past attempts of conversing with him had failed. She left him after deciding his cold shoulder wasn't worth ruining her night and she started setting things up with the encouragement of her friends.

"Whoo! Me first!" Ino hollered.

"No way!" said Tenten. "You go last. You're such a lightweight."

The start of an argument could be overheard.

"Maybe we should go somewhere else where they can't listen in," Hinata said, pulling on Sasuke's sleeve.

Sasuke pushed off the railing and leaned on her for support as they walked down the stairs. She guided him towards the edge of the pool and gently placed him on one of the lawn chairs.

"I wonder why no one is out here if there's a pool available."

"I don't think alcohol and an unsupervised pool is a good mix," Hinata said, looking at him kindly. "Especially after last time when Chouji left the bathroom and then vomited in the pool filter."

"Oh yeah! I forgot about that," Sasuke replied. He reclined back into the chair. "I thought it was because Kiba's mutt took a crap in the water though?"

Hinata laughed. "Oh that happened too. Wow I can't believe Gaara and his siblings just let us trash their summer home. And speaking of being trashed…"

"What a segue. How long have you been waiting to use that line on me tonight?"

"Don't get defensive. I just want to make sure you're okay and not going on some kind of bender. This is the perfect place to be enabled."

As if on cue, the two heard Sakura, Ino, and Tenten's group drunkenly screaming at each other to "Chug! Chug! Chug!" followed by the sound of something breaking and the girls scattering.

"Seriously, is everything alright?"

Sasuke sat up, his face completely grim, and motioned her to come closer. Hinata leaned in, suddenly worried, and wasn't expecting him to whisper, "I want to go swimming."

The Uchiha leapt up with more energy than he had before and discarded his shirt before diving head first into the pool. Hinata stood by with her fists on her hips, waiting for him to resurface.

"Sasuke, I can't believe you!" she said when he finally reappeared.

"Come on! Join me!"

"The water is probably freezing. I can hear your teeth chattering from here."

Sasuke pretended to lose control of his limbs. "Oh no, Hinata. I've drank too much. You have to come in or I'll die on your watch!" His head went underwater before he sputtered back. "Do you want everyone to gossip at the next party about how you let me drown?"

Hinata shook her head and the smile fell off Sasuke's lips as he watched her strip out of her dress. Sasuke felt completely sober as he took in the sight of her in nothing but a lavender bra and matching underwear and barely felt the splash washing over him as she jumped in.

She popped up beside him, her bangs nearly in her eyes, and spat some water into his face.

"You are such a dork," she said.

"I thought I'd have to do a lot more convincing before I got you to jump in."

"I know when someone is avoiding answering a simple question." Sasuke chuckled at this but stopped, his expression falling when she said next, "or when someone is avoiding their problems."

Sasuke felt his stomach clench suddenly and wondered if it was due to Hinata interrogating him, or all of the diving and floundering he did on a full stomach of alcohol. He swam away and clung onto the pool's edge. Hinata followed.

"You're avoiding me now too?" she asked.

"Why do you care so much?"

"You were so close to Sakura and Naruto. Sakura is one of my best friends and Naruto –"

"So this is all about Naruto?" he interrupted. "You're trying to get Naruto and I back together to win him over?"

Hinata's face went cold, which unsettled Sasuke and made him wish that she didn't understand what he was implying.

"Naruto and Sakura have been dating for nearly two years. I had a crush on him when I was younger. Why does that bother you?"

"It doesn't."

"It clearly does. What is up with you? And don't evade my question by asking your own question."

Sasuke closed his eyes. He never thought he would have to look Hinata in the eye and tell her how he really felt. She stared back, silently demanding an answer.

"I've always had feelings for you," he started. Her eyes widened by a fraction and liquid courage took over, forcing his mouth to continue before his brain could tell it to stop. "I've liked you for as long as I could remember and it really sucked when I found out you preferred Naruto. So I just – I ignored it. I ignored you. Then I got older and people would compare me to Itachi all the time no matter what I did. I ignored everyone. And then even when I was in this relationship out of… convenience? Karin left me for someone else too. So I'm just here feeling a little shitty, okay? But I'll get over it."

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," she said.

"What?"

"I understand how you feel, Sasuke. I'm not the favourite in my family. My dad loves and rewards Hinabi like crazy despite how much she acts out and even gives my cousin, Neji, more attention than he does me. And my best friend ended up with my crush. But it's not an excuse to push the people who care about you away and to go on some self-destructive bender to validate your own negative feelings about yourself. I know how much it sucks when you're everyone's last pick. But you're not the last pick for me."

Sasuke blinked slowly and thought he had drunk way more than he did if he was hearing things. "What about me being last pick?"

"I like you back," she said in simpler terms, leaning in closer. "Not because Naruto wanted Sakura and I had to move on. I moved on because I started to like you. But then you ignored everyone and started hanging out with people who wouldn't let your old friends anywhere near you. If Naruto couldn't get through to you, what chance did I have? So when I saw you here tonight, alone and drunk out of your mind and obviously not okay, I had to say something."

"How? How is this possible?" he asked. "I'm not like Naruto. I have, like, major issues."

"I'm not asking you to be Naruto. And we all have issues."

"But being with me isn't necessarily going to make them go away, Hinata. I don't know how to be with someone."

"Sasuke, I'm not some kid with a silly school girl crush who thinks happily ever afters happen once two people get together. I know relationships take work and effort and I think you're worth it. The fact that we're not together isn't because I didn't want you. It's because you're pushing me away when I've chosen you over everyone else."

Sasuke's mind was spinning out of control. All he could feel was the sharp coldness of the water washing over him and his heart beating heavily against his chest as he stared on speechless.

Hinata closed the distance between them, gently grabbing the Uchiha by his face, and kissed him. Sasuke saw what she was doing in slow motion, but he was still taken aback by the girl of his dreams wanting him. Choosing him. Kissing him. He hugged her around the middle, holding her closer to his body, and kissed her back.

The pair shared a few moments of passion before they heard someone scream out, "Geronimo!" A wave hit them with enough shock that they broke apart.

"Ahhhh," sighed Chouji, cheeks rosy pink while floating on his back. "I've missed this pool."

Hinata instantly got out and looked back at Sasuke. When he didn't make any inclination to follow her, she scoffed and walked around the pool to gather her dress.

Sasuke couldn't believe he was blowing his chance when his long-time crush was so concerned for his well-being that she tended to him at his lowest, confessed her love to him, and ardently kissed him in freezing waters. The Uchiha scrambled to get out and chased after Hinata.

Luckily for him, he was able to catch up to her because Hinata, the sweet and caring person that she is, turned back to throw some pool floats and foam noodles at Chouji just in case he was so inebriated that he'd drown.

"Hinata, wait!" cried Sasuke. She looked down at him, one hand on the deck railing, her expression wary. "Look, I know I messed up. I know I have issues and I swear I'll work on them. I am so sorry. I'm not pushing you away now."

"Sasuke…" she trailed off.

"Look," he said desperately. "I don't want to put you on the spot. If you're still willing to give me a chance, meet me in the upstairs bathroom in ten minutes."

She gave him a questioning look.

"I have to dry off my pants," he said, pointing down to his sopping wet pair of black jeans.

The corners of Hinata's lips quirked, giving him hope. "Let's see what happens in ten minutes," she responded cryptically before turning around and entering the house, leaving Sasuke alone in the dark.

Sasuke had just managed to sneak back into the house and up the stairs without anyone questioning why the floors were wet. He tried not to agonize over the minutes passing by, straining his ears for the sound of anyone walking by the bathroom, while he ran a hairdryer over his pants lying across the sink. The Uchiha nearly dropped the hairdryer when he heard a faint knock on the door.

He turned it off. "The bathroom is occupied," he said.

"It's me," said a familiar voice.

Sasuke flung the door open and Hinata laughed at the sight of him in just a t-shirt and underwear. He let her in quickly and locked the door behind them.

Hinata looked over his little set-up. "Do you need help with your pants?"

"I was thinking of doing something else." And he swept her up, throwing his pants out of the way so she could comfortably sit by the sink. "Now where were we?"

Sasuke kissed her slowly and deeply and she eagerly reciprocated. He couldn't remember the last time he was so happy. Unfortunately for him, the devil always kept his word and, in this case, the devil was a drunk Rock Lee.

A loud, hard thump against the bathroom door startled the lovers. Hinata jumped off from her perch and clung closer to Sasuke.

"Who is that?" she asked Sasuke.

"Occupied!" cried Sasuke.

"Uchiha, is that you?" slurred Rock Lee. "You still owe me for my drinks!"

"I said the bathroom is occupied, Bushy Brow!"

Rock Lee kicked the door with so much force that it broke clean off its hinges, sending wood splinters flying. Hinata yelped and Sasuke reminded himself to never steal drinks from Gai-sensei's students again.

"What are you doing?" The Green Beast asked, swaying on his feet. The only thing keeping that boy upright was sheer luck. "Were you two… making out?"

Hinata smacked Sasuke across the face.

"CPR!" she cried. "He's not breathing!"

Sasuke instantly went limp in Hinata's arms and hoped that their theatrics would make Rock Lee go away. It had the opposite effect as Rock Lee stormed in trying to help. Sasuke perked up when Rock Lee assured Hinata that he was a licensed CPR personnel and declared that Sasuke needed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Sasuke scooted back on his hands and feet, feeling the wood splinters from the broken door scraping his backside, as the Green Beast went after him with the body language of a predator. Did Rock Lee seriously think he needed to be revived when Sasuke was actively dodging him, or was locking lips his idea of punishment for the stolen shots?

"Stop it, Lee! I'm fine!" he cried, after the boy crash landed on the sink and took it down with him, the faucet broken and spraying water everywhere.

From all of the noise and commotion, all of the partygoers left their stations to see what on earth was happening on the second floor. Neji looked on with braids in his hair, Gaara had burnt off his eyebrows and someone had inexpertly tattooed the Chinese symbol for love on his temple (that was going to get infected for sure), and Shino had broken his sunglasses to reveal his (shockingly?) handsome face to everyone. But within this drunken lot of weirdoes, everyone could agree that a highly inebriated Rock Lee on top of a pant-less Sasuke Uchiha trying to give the latter mouth-to-mouth was stranger than fiction.

Itachi, Sai, and Temari were the last ones to show up. Itachi immediately pushed himself to the front and pried off the offending green person from his brother. Sai observed the whole situation passively with a queer, little smirk.

"My, my," he said, "who knew the great Sasuke Uchiha was a bottom?"

Temari was yanking on her upper pigtails from frustration. "What is with you people and destroying our bathroom?"

"That's it!" Kankuro shrieked. "Out! Out! Everyone out! The party's over!"

Sasuke woke up the next morning feeling like his body had doubled in weight. When he felt strong enough to push himself into a sitting position, he saw that he was in his own bed with his brother face-planted on the floor in a pile of laundry. He wanted to bury himself when he looked at his phone, the bright light hurting his eyes, and saw an endless scroll of pictures from the previous night. Most of them featuring his assault from Rock Lee. Some pictures were a blur with his legs in motion to kick the boy off. Others focused on his or Rock Lee's faces in determination, the former trying to escape while the latter had puckered lips. And some had Itachi with clawed hands in Lee's green spandex, yanking the boy off, with Hinata Hyuuga in the background with a pair of pants draped over one arm.

"You had quite the night," laughed Hinata over the phone. It nearly took an entire day for Sasuke to become a functioning human again, but he called her the instant his head stopped aching.

"We're still okay, right? I didn't blow my chances?"

"We're good. I can't wait to see you. Whenever that may be." He could hear the smile in her voice.

He groaned. His father, Fugaku Uchiha, had lost his shit when he saw the bill from the Sand Siblings for the broken sink, door and doorframe, and the cost to fix the ceiling when the water bled through from the second floor. The only reason why Sasuke wasn't throttled was because Itachi had vouched for him and claimed that he was partly to blame for the property damage. His father cooled down after that and said that they'd both have to work additional hours at the family company for the rest of the summer. This obvious example of favouritism normally would have sent Sasuke down another self-hating spiral, but hearing Hinata's calming words over the phone and knowing that she was there for him softened the blow. He would never regret attending that party and acting like a fool if it all led to her. Seeing his brother from the corner of his eye, he didn't think Itachi regretted that night either, although Sasuke seriously hoped his brother didn't engage in a threesome.

"I can't wait to see you too. I don't have to work weekends so I'm good for next Saturday if you are."

The fact that Sasuke didn't have to work overtime was thanks to his mother. After Fugaku had left his youngest son to stew in his shame, Mikoto Uchiha hugged him and told him that she never liked Karin anyway. ("I'd much prefer Rock Lee over her!" she said, winking at him, and left with trembling shoulders from failing to contain her guffaw.)

"I think I'm busy Saturday but I'll let you know. If not, Sunday is good for me!" Beeps could be heard from her end of the line. "Sorry, Sasuke. Talk to you later? Sakura is calling me."

The two said their goodbyes and with the mention of Sakura, Sasuke realized there was another person he had to call.

"Hey Naruto," he greeted. "Do you have time to catch up?"

ClockRepair Message: Fun fact: the birth control story happened to an old friend. He said he thought he was dying and WRECKED his friend's bathroom.

I don't know how this happened. I'm MIA from fanfic writing for forever and then I pen two stories within a week. Thank you so much for everyone who read, liked, and left a review. I am so grateful for all of you during these tough times. This story ended up being a prequel for my other fic, Kiss and Tell, and somehow I find myself writing a connected universe between this, Kiss and Tell, and another fic called Meet Cute. I guess I just write that many generic AUs that some of them can be theoretically from the same timeline. Marvel cinematic universe, who?

I wanted to write something a little different. I wrote so many fluffy stories where Sasuke and Hinata got together and everything was expected to be perfect afterward. I wanted to draw on Sasuke's insecurities, rather than displaying him as a socially awkward dork like I usually do, and made Hinata bolder. She's usually the one confessing to him anyway, but I wanted her to kiss him first while giving him a serious reality check. This is more than a story of romance, but one of rekindling broken friendships too, so that's why I wanted to address Sasuke's broken friendship with Naruto and Sakura and that he was reaching out again.

Hope you enjoyed.