[ well, that answers one of tseng's lingering questions from the encounter: whether sasuke had intended tseng to be the one that followed, or whether anyone would have been enough. it makes him feel oddly warm to think that it was targeted, even if the reasons were more complex than simple trust. ]

I wondered, [ tseng admits. ] It would have been an impressive coincidence.

[ for a first time trying intentionally to seduce someone, sasuke really did an incredible job. tseng is still reeling a little from the intensity of the attraction and arousal he'd experienced in the dark of that nightclub.

he takes another bite of his onigiri, chews as he thinks about the question. ]

No, [ is the answer he gives, after a moment. ] If something made me uncomfortable, I wouldn't just push through it for your sake. [ he smiles, briefly. ] I get the impression that you would prefer that I'm honest, after all.

[ it might not always be as simple as saying it aloud, of course. at the club, tseng had gotten the sense from sasuke that any perceived rejection would have been magnified tenfold. but whether it's saying as much aloud or finding a way to redirect things in a direction he is comfortable with—one way or another, tseng has no intention of just gritting his teeth and bearing it. ]