A/N: Merry Christmas, everyone! I was sitting at the computer eating cheese pizza when I thought I should write a holiday story for you all. I was also thinking that I should make another story about Kankuro and Tenten. When I took these two thoughts together and combined them… BAM! This is what I got: a holiday story about Kankuro and Tenten!
(This is the 5th story in the "Kankuro Falls" series but if you didn't read the first four you'll understand this story anyway.)
(PS. The Sand Siblings live in Konoha in this story.)
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any Christmas specials or Jingle Bells or Christmas itself. Or Spiderman.
"Kankuro, you've got mail!" Temari called.
I was sitting on the couch in my pajamas and slippers watching A Charlie Brown Christmas with Gaara. Christmas was approaching fast and snow was beginning to fall in Konoha. Shops were packed with holiday shoppers every day and everyone wore earmuffs outside. Heaters were turned on in houses and stores all over the village.
"Ugh!" Lucy exclaimed on the television. "I've been kissed by a dog!"
"Kankuro!" Temari called, louder this time, "You've got mail!" After a pause she added, "It's from Tenten!"
I jumped off the couch and Temari handed me the envelope. I frantically tore it open and pulled out a card that read, "You're Invited!" I opened the card and read the inside:
"Kankuro, Temari and Gaara: You are all invited to my Christmas party on December 22nd from 6—11pm. There will be games, movies, food and music. Feel free to bring anything that you think will be fun (movies, games and/or CDs you enjoy, etc.). I hope you all can come!"Your friend, Tenten."
"Temari! Gaara!" I looked up from the card and grinned. "Tenten invited us to a Christmas party tomorr—" I stopped when I realized Temari wasn't in the room. "Temari?"
Then something icy-cold and slushy hit me in the back of the neck. I let out a loud yelp as the stuff began to trickle down my back. Whirling around, I found Temari right outside the door and armed with snowballs.
"Ha!" Temari laughed at me. "I gotcha!" She threw another one at my arm.
I didn't know what it was about snow that made Temari so, um, different.
Temari stood on a snow pile she made herself and declared, "I am Temari, Queen of Snow!"
Maybe it was the Christmas spirit kicking in, or the cool fact that frozen water was falling from the sky, but whatever it was, Temari had what Gaara and I liked to call Frosty Fever.
"I challenge you—King of Puppet—and you—Prince of Gourd—to a duel! The winner shall be declared Master of Frost!"
"Gee, Queen of Snow," I said, heading into the kitchen, "I'd love to taketh part in this duel you speak of, but I have a Christmas special to watch. Come on, Gourd Prince." Gaara followed me into the kitchen.
"Oh, come on guys! The snow could melt tomorrow! For all you know, this could be the last day of snow this year!" Temari complained. She dropped the snow in her hands and raced into the house. The minute she entered the kitchen, Gaara and I bombarded her with the snowballs we were keeping in the fridge.
After I ran out of snowballs, I struck a pose and pointed to myself. "I, the Puppet King and soon-to-be Master of Frost, accept your challenge, Queen of Snow!"
I guess I had a bit of the Frosty Fever, too.
Gaara hurled a giant ball of snow at my head. "Hey!" I shouted at him. "I thought you were on my side!" He shrugged, threw another snowball at me, and then went to his room.
Gaara didn't have Frosty Fever. He just liked throwing snowballs.
The Next Day, on the way to Tenten's Christmas party
I cupped my hand over the mug of hot chocolate I planned on giving to Tenten when I got there. It was my secret special recipe that everyone liked, and I knew Tenten would love it.
I had a bit of a crush on Tenten, ever since the first day I saw her. We'd become good friends since then, even if I freaked her out at times; on the first day I met her I was too nervous to talk to her and kept saying strange things, and during the Forest of Death part of the Chunin Exam I fell in a pile of potato chips. Then one day I stepped in dog poop in front of her, and on Valentines Day… well, I'd rather not talk about it.
However, through all those embarrassing moments, I gained a friendship with Tenten. And on Valentines Day she gave me a kiss on the cheek after I gave her my gift! The only trouble between Tenten and I was how nervous I got in front of her because I hadn't yet told her how I felt about her.
"There it is," Temari said, pointing to Tenten's house. We walked up to her front door and Temari rang the doorbell.
"What's that?" Gaara asked, pointing at the top of the door.
"Oh, that?" Temari said. "Mistletoe."
My stomach gave a large flip-flop as Tenten opened the door. She was talking to us but I couldn't hear a word; I just kept my eyes on the mistletoe above her head. My knees began to shake and when Tenten's eyes met mine I spilled the hot chocolate all over my shirt.
"YAHH!" I screamed, wishing the coca was cooler. I threw myself into the deep snow on her front lawn and began to roll around in it. "Ow, ow, ow, OW!"
"Kankuro!" Tenten exclaimed. She and Temari rushed over to me. Once I realized Tenten was right next to me I quickly sat up and handed her the cup in my hand. My shoulders slumped when I realized it was now empty.
"Oh, thank you, Kankuro!" she said as she examined the mug, which had cartoon pandas all over it, "I love it! Merry Christmas!" She and Temari helped me onto my feet.
"Oh, no," Temari said, "Kankuro, you ruined your only white shirt. I'll never get that stain out."
I looked down and to my horror the shirt read, "Kiss Me, I'm Irish!" in bright green lettering.
"I'll go home and change!" I announced. "You guys go to the party and I'll be right back!" I sprinted to my house without waiting for a reply from the others.
Once I got home I went to my room and pulled on a new black shirt that read, "Party Animal!" in white letters. Then I brushed my teeth fifteen times and ate mints until my mouth went numb, but I was still nervous. I had been kissed by Tenten before, on the cheek, but I didn't know she was going to until she did. Now that I knew there was mistletoe over her front door I was more nervous than I'd ever been before.
I had to avoid that mistletoe if it was the last thing I did.
At Tenten's Party
"Kankuro sure is taking a while," Temari said to her brother. When he didn't respond she looked at him and saw that he was watching Ino with a troubled expression on his face. "Gaara, are you okay?"
Gaara shook his head, hid behind Temari and whispered, "Look at Ino's new headband."
Temari did, and realized Ino's new red headband had a spring attached on the top that was holding mistletoe above her head. Temari looked behind her at Gaara, who was biting his nails. "I have to avoid her if it's the last thing I do," he said.
Temari laughed. "Gaara, I think it's just something silly she saw at the store. It's not like she wore it to be kissed."
"Hey, Sakura," Ino said to her friend, "Like my headband? I wore it so that all the lucky guys at this party would have the chance to kiss yours truly tonight!"
Gaara raised a non-eyebrow at his sister. Temari laughed again. "Well, it's not like she has you in mind…"
"…I'd like for Sasuke and that Gaara boy from Suna to see it," Ino continued, "Gaara sure is a cutie, isn't he? His hair is so wonderfully red!"
Gaara raised both non-eyebrows at Temari, who laughed a third time. "Well, it's not like she'll be searching for you…"
"Gaaaaaaaara!" Ino sang out, "Where aaaaaaaaare you?"
Gaara sped off and hid in the bathroom.
Sometime Later, Outside of the House
Outside of Tenten's house I was doing my army-crawl in the snow, trying to find a window. There was no way I was entering that house through the front door, and if I went through a window then I would avoid that mistletoe and my mission would be accomplished.
Finally I found a window and stood on my feet. I knocked on it until I got a response. Unfortunately the response I got was sand seeping through the cracks and picking me up by the foot. "Gaara!" I called, upside-down. "Gaara, it's me! It's Kankuro! Let me in!"
The window opened and Gaara's sand brought me inside. Gaara was sitting on the counter next to the sink and his gourd was on the floor. His head was in his hands. "Gaara?" I said. "Are you hiding? And in the bathroom?"
Gaara nodded. "Ino brought her own mistletoe. There's no way I'm going out there, Kankuro."
"Well that's okay, but… couldn't you have picked a different place to hide?" I asked.
"How come?"
There were loud rapid pounds on the door, followed by a voice that called, "Hey, Buddy! I've been waiting out here for twenty stinkin' minutes and I'm about to explode! Hurry it up or I'll use Rasengan to bust this door open!"
Poor Naruto. "I'm letting him in," I told an irritated Gaara. I unlocked the door and quickly directed my chakra to my feet, climbing up on the ceiling. Naruto opened the door and I climbed out of the room above him like Spiderman.
Once outside I fell to the floor, landing on my feet like a cat. "I found Kankuro!" a girl's voice called out. Ino approached me and smiled. I bit my lip when I saw her headband. "Merry Christmas, Kankuro!" she said to me, and kissed my cheek.
"Hey, Kankuro! There you are!" Tenten said, coming closer. "We're having an eggnog-drinking contest! Come on!"
Ino's face lit up. "Gaara!" she said, waving at him. Gaara ran past us to find a new hiding spot and Ino followed him. "Wait, I have to give you my special Christmas gift!"
"Your poor brother," Tenten said to me, "I'm sure he's the last person who wants a girl kissing him."
"Ha! Yeah, anyway, how about that eggnog?" I said, trying to change the subject.
"Oh yeah! We need you for the contest!" Tenten took my hand (I sighed dreamily in my mind when she did) and brought me to the living room, where everyone was in a circle for the eggnog drinking contest except for Naruto, Gaara and Ino. Tenten and I sat down and she gave me a carton of eggnog.
"Yum!" I said. I was about to chug the eggnog like I've never chugged before when I remembered my breath. If Tenten and I did end up under the mistletoe I didn't want to smell like eggnog. "Oh, actually, my, uh stomach is f-feeling a little, er, upset." I handed the 'nog to Kiba.
"Are you okay?" Tenten asked me.
"Yeah, I'll be fine," I answered, "It, uh, must've been those two-dozen Hershey Kiss— I MEAN HERSHEY CHOCOLATES!" Everyone looked at me. I cleared my throat. "…that I ate today. Ha. No biggie. Heh-heh." I grinned.
Hinata ended up winning the eggnog chugging contest, and then it was time to watch A Charlie Brown Christmas (for me it was the fifth time this week). I was sitting next to Tenten and all was going well until Lucy began talking about Jingle Bells.
"…And mistletoe and presents to pretty girls…" Lucy was saying.
I got up from the couch and hurriedly went to the bathroom door. I knocked on it and Gaara said, "Don't come in!"
"Gaara, quit hiding in there!" I yelled at him.
"I can't go out there! Ino's looking for me!"
"Just let me in!" The door opened and I entered the bathroom. Gaara sat back down on the counter next to the sink and I took a seat next to him. "Gaara, what's the big deal? It's just a kiss from Ino."
"Just listen to yourself," Gaara said. "You're worried about the kiss you might get from Tenten and you're telling me not to worry about—"
Gaara was right. I couldn't give my little brother advice that I couldn't follow myself. I wouldn't be a very good older brother if I did that. I put my hand on his shoulder and said, "Gaara, you're absolutely right."
"Of course I am."
"I'm worried about Tenten kissing me…"
"Of course you are."
"…And you're worried about Ino kissing you…"
"Who wouldn't be?"
"…So we're both going to be brave…"
"Right."
"…And we're going to go out there, and I'm going to kiss Tenten and you're going to kiss Ino."
"That's—" Gaara glared at me. "I'm not kissing Ino! Yuck!"
I shook my head and picked up Gaara by the armpits. The door was open and I carried Gaara out of the bathroom and into the living room. "Ino!" I called.
Gaara's eyes widened. "Kankuro, you wouldn't dare."
"Gaara!" Ino happily exclaimed, rushing over to us.
"Please, no!" Gaara begged, kicking and squirming. "I'll do anything!"
"You have to be brave, Gaara," I told him.
"No!"
Ino took a step closer. Gaara winced and squeezed his eyes shut as Ino gave him a kiss on his forehead. "You're such a cutie, Gaara!" she giggled, ruffling his hair. She then went back to watch the movie.
I put Gaara down, and he turned around to face me. "You'll rue the day, Brother," he said to me, "You'll rue the day." And with that he went to the living room to watch A Charlie Brown Christmas.
A Few Hours Later
"Thank you all for coming!" Tenten said to the teen ninja as they left the party. "Thank you Hinata, thank you Sakura, thank you Lee, thank you Neji…"
I watched as the guests left the party, growing even more nervous as some took part in the tradition of mistletoe. Of course Sasuke refused when Sakura and Ino were under the mistletoe, but everyone else who was caught under the mistletoe followed the tradition; Naruto and Kiba each kissed Hinata on her cheek, Sakura agreed to kiss both Naruto and Lee on theirs', Ino even got into the Christmas spirit and decided to kiss Chouji.
"Thanks for coming, Shikamaru," Tenten said to him.
"It was fun," Shikamaru said to her. Then he turned beet red when he realized he and Temari were under the mistletoe. Temari blushed as well. "Uh…" he said, "Well… um…"
"Go on," Tenten said, "It's Christmas tradition." Shikamaru and Temari shyly took a step closer to each other and kissed.
"Shikamaaaaru's got a giiiiirlfriend!" Naruto sang.
Shikamaru turned even redder, muttered a "see you later" to Temari and left. Temari angrily chased Naruto around the house with her fan.
Finally everyone was gone except for Tenten, Temari, Gaara and me. "Thanks for coming, Temari and Gaara," Tenten said to them as they walked out the door. My heart pounded like a drum as I entered the doorway. I took a deep breath. "Thanks for coming, Kankuro," Tenten said to me.
"I had a great time," I replied, my voice shaking. "Y-You sure throw g-great parties."
Tenten smiled. "You're so sweet."
So there we were, Tenten and I, standing under the mistletoe. My heart pounded faster and harder every second and I was worried that she could hear it. It seemed she and I were going to be standing there for an eternity until Temari said, "Kankuro, it's getting cold."
I took a giant gulp and said, "Goodbye, Tenten."
She nodded. "Goodbye, Kankuro."
But I kept standing there and my knees continued to shake. Finally I gathered up my courage, took a step closer to Tenten, and kissed her cheek.
I was sure my face was redder than Rudolph's nose when I pulled back, but I didn't care. "Merry Christmas," I told her.
She smiled at me. "Merry Christmas."
A/N: Awww. How cute!
I was seriously thinking of having all the Naruto characters line up at the end and sing "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" or some other Christmas carol like the characters of Charlie Brown did. But I decided not to.
Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad and Joyeux Noel to everyone on FFN! And a very Happy Birthday to my wonderful friend Temari!
Please review! It's Christmas!