[It makes him curious about this alcohol — his reason for abstinence is primarily the effect on cognition and perception, slurring the senses in a way that may prove lethal, or at least lower his defenses enough to make disadvantage possible. It's just nothing he has ever craved to experience. Yet here, where threats of survival are minimal and with a foundation of trust laid out, perhaps he could try it. Gin.

Tseng's question surprises him, but he doesn't turn it away.]

I don't mind. [It's relevant to the conversation, after all. And — it will help them learn about each other.] Initially, when the concept was first described to me, I expected that I would be more dominant for the reasons I already told you.

[That submission is weakness, and dominance victory.]

Once I understood better what it meant in that dynamic, I found that I... enjoyed surrendering power. Control. [It is harder to admit the other side of it; Sasuke's eyes slip down, and though he doesn't shift uncomfortably there is faint color to his face.] And I enjoyed being taken care of, afterward.

[Because that part had been wholly and utterly new.]

With pain especially, there's a certain mindset that I find. I believe the proper term for it is "subspace." I am no longer — aware of anything but sensation, and my thoughts aren't in the way of that experience. Something like that is rare for me otherwise. I'm used to pain, so my tolerance is high. Perhaps that also helps.