It had started off innocent enough.

"Didn't your shishou teach you all about handling you liquor?" Ino asked her with a cocked eyebrow and a smirk.

Sakura narrowed her eyes at her. "Yes, Ino, but I'm not sure – "

Ino slammed her cup on the counter, already a little ahead of Sakura. "Oh, come on, Sakura! Live a little! It's just a friendly competition."

Sakura couldn't help but smile at her, though she could feel nerves bundling up in her stomach. "But a drinking contest, Ino? Really?"

Ino sighed dramatically and turned her body away from her. "Fine. Forget I said anything."

Sakura knew what she was doing. She could see the laughter in those blue eyes and the corners of her lips threatening to split her face in half.

But she fell for it anyway.

Sakura sighed and gave in, waving a hand at the bar tender. "Alright, Ino, you win. Bring us some shots."

Ino's excited smile at her was almost worth the hangover she had the next day.

At least, she won.

"We're on the verge of turning into Kakashi-sensei and Guy at this point. You realize that, right?" Sakura laughed as she stepped up beside Ino on the large rock.

Ino had a black bikini on and Sakura found it hard to keep her eyes from roaming over all the visible skin and toned muscles. What really got her though, was when she met Ino's eyes and she looked back at her like she knew exactly what she was doing to her.

Ino shrugged, looking over the edge and down at the bottom where the waterfall filled into. "It'll be fun, Sakura. You're not scared, are you?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "No, I am not scared, Ino."

"Then, what's the problem, Forehead?" Ino grinned at her, throwing her hair over her shoulder. Sakura didn't think she ever get enough of that, of Ino's laugh, of her smile. It had taken a while after the war, a few years, but eventually, Ino had gotten a little more carefree. A little happier. She'd finally eased out of that front she used to put up and was just herself.

Sakura's outfit wasn't nearly as attractive as Ino's, just some black spandex and a red bra. But she could feel Ino's on her when she mentioned Sakura needed something sexier. Sakura let herself think it was more than a friendly suggestion. There wasn't any harm in it.

"No one else is even here, Pig. How are we supposed to decide who has the 'cooler tricks'?" Sakura raised an eyebrow at her with a smile.

Ino shrugged at her. "I think we can decide that ourselves."

Sakura rolled her eyes, knowing them they would never come to agreement on that. But it would be fun, and they needed all the fun they could get with the way they lived. Sakura inched closer to her. "If you say so. Do you want to go first?"

Ino paused for a minute and then reached out and grabbed her hand, interlacing their fingers together. They'd been doing that a lot lately, but Sakura still always had the faintest blush every time. Ino raised an eyebrow at her. "Together first?"

Sakura's face softened, and she nodded, squeezing her hand. "Together."

Ino smiled and looked back down at the water. "1… 2… 3! Jump!"

They laughed as their feet left the rock, then screamed all the way down. When they hit the water and came back up, Sakura found Ino a few feet from her trying to get her long hair out of her face. It was matted and tangled, sticking to her skin like a hairy mask. Sakura snorted and made her way over to her and tried to help her, giggling the whole time. Ino glared at her afterwards, but there wasn't any heat to it. Then, Ino declared confidently, directing chakra to her feet and walking on to the side of earth that the waterfall was nestled in, "I'm gonna win this one, Sakura."

Sakura merely shrugged at her and told her in a teasing voice, "Whatever you say, Ino."

Sakura was right. They never decided who won and spent half of dinner arguing about it. But it was still one of the best days Sakura had had in a long time. Her ribs still hurt from laughing so much when she turned in for the night.

"I dare you to," Ino told her with a wicked grin like there was no feasible way anyone could reject a dare. It made Sakura feel warm with affection for her, even though her heart was racing as she looked over at the lake dubiously.

Sakura tried to laugh off her nervousness. "Ino, this is a little –"

Ino groaned and took off her shirt, making any argument Sakura had die in her throat. "It's two in the morning! Barely anyone's even awake right now!"

Sakura rolled her eyes and swallowed down the lump in her throat, forcing her eyes to not wander down Ino's bare chest. "We live in a shinobi village, Ino. Of course, there are people awake."

Ino rolled her eyes back at her and stepped towards her. Sakura felt her breath hitch when Ino's hands gripped the bottom of her shirt. Ino's voice dropped an octave, her face softening at the sound. "Well, no one's going to come over here."

Sakura didn't know why she even bothered arguing with her. She always gave in and Ino had quickly learned she could probably talk her into anything. It was a power Sakura sometimes wished Ino didn't know she had.

But this was still a little out of her comfort zone and she bit her lip, staring at Ino in hesitation.

Ino taunted her with a raised eyebrow and a grin bubbling at her lips, "What? Are you chicken?"

Sakura huffed out a laugh, blushing. She shot back, "Are you five?"

Ino shrugged at her, because yes, Ino had gotten a bit of a childish streak after breaking out of her shell. It probably had a lot to do with all the little challenges they'd been doing lately.

Sakura groaned and looked at her exasperated. "Fine!"

Ino's grin split across her face and she quickly got rid of Sakura's shirt for her. Sakura took a step back after to strip away the rest of her clothes. She didn't need the memory of Ino undressing her.

Ino did the same and then walked a few feet away from the edge of the water. She looked over her shoulder at Sakura and winked before running and jumping into the lake. Sakura didn't immediately go after her and watched her come up from the water, pushing her hair back with the moonlight bouncing off her skin. Sakura felt her heart rate quicken and her breath leave her. Kami, she was beautiful.

All it took was a wide smile and beckoning fingers and Sakura had run into the water with her, leaving her nerves with her clothes.

They'd just been having a night in when Sakura finally gave Ino a challenge of her own.

It was a comedy and Sakura's eyes kept being drawn to the beautiful woman laughing beside her on the couch. Ino's shoulders shook as she laughed, and she didn't let it keep her from trying to stuff as much popcorn as possible into her mouth. There was popcorn all between the cushions now because of it, but it didn't even bother Sakura, at least not in the moment.

At one point, Ino had been laughing at something from the TV screen and turned to Sakura thinking she'd be laughing too. When she just saw her watching her with a small smile, her giggles faded, and her face softened. "What?"

Sakura inched closer to her and Ino's eyes followed her, looking back to her face curiously. Sakura reached out and cupped her face in her hand, watching as Ino forgot all about the movie and her attention fell solely onto her. Sakura told her in a quiet voice, "Kiss me."

Even with the obvious intent, Ino still managed to be a little surprised and she hesitated. Sakura leaned closer to her and Ino's eyes fluttered. She whispered, "Jump."

The feel of Ino's lips finally meeting hers, with both longing and affection, was the most victorious Sakura had felt out of all their challenges.

But really, they both won that one.