Title: Peace and Goodwill
Author: Aerith Queen of Cetra
Chapters: 1/1
Summary: After visiting the local Orphanage on a seasonal afternoon, Naruto makes a promise that he will get them presents for Christmas. A sizeable donation is necessary but… whom will Naruto go to for help? SasuNaru
Genre: Romance/ (slight) Angst
Pairings: SasuNaru
Beta'd: NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO:D
Warnings: Erm… Shonen ai (boyxboy lovings), Um, Angstings, Sasuke? xDDD
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! But I DO own a Sasuke cosplay outfit, a plushie of Naruto, a plushie of Kakashi, Naruto keyrings, Naruto manga and a Naruto poster…but not the show… (GLOOM!!)
Author's Comments: 'Tis the season to be jolly! TRA LA LA LA LA! LA LA LA LA!! Time for my annual Christmas fic, this year, the anime is NARUTO!!! WOO!!! Yes! I'm a Narutard! … Well, it's really a Sasutard but meh! XDD
Peace and Goodwill
I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round, as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.
- Charles Dickens -
Christmas time was always a beautiful time of year for many. Between presents, food, company, decorations and entertainment, there was always something that could appease a person. Almost always, that is.
Travelling down the roads of snow engulfed stone, Uzumaki Naruto stared downwards dolefully. Normally this time of year, at a previous time of life, he would be spending the Christmas season alone with no gifts from anyone, barely any food to go by and little decorations and entertainment.
Since he became a Genin though, things changed. He received gifts, he was allowed to have more seasonal food and…he had company…friends…he had friends now… but that didn't mean he didn't have worries.
He worried about his home. Since Orochimaru's attack on the beautiful Hidden Village of the Leaf, Konoha had left it devastated. Buildings destroyed, forces depleted, and many dead…including the mighty Hokage of whom, Naruto was very close to…
There were also many children left orphaned because of the horrifying attack…
Many left in the old, mangy building known as the orphanage. They were given great care by the ones who worked there but of course, since it was the Christmas season, donations were needed even more so for presents and decorations but because of the slump in funds because of rebuilding the village…
Naruto sighed, he wanted, so badly, to help those children like he promised to. He had gone around to every person he knew for help on this one but they could only give so much, and 'so much' was just not enough.
He had only one person left to visit, and fortunately, this person was a very rich someone but of course, there was a reason he was left until last…
Rubbing his hands together for warmth on the winters night, Naruto stepped through a set of grand gate and walked through to the Uchiha compound…
Sasuke was engulfed by typical stereotypes that night as he sat snuggled by the fire, a blanket over his form, a book on his knee and a cup of hot chocolate pressed to his lips.
A small white ball of fluff leapt up on top of his knees, obstructing his view of his novel as bright green eyes blinked up at him lovingly.
Sasuke allowed his chocolate-coated lips to curve into a pout as he glared at the little kitten his lap.
The kitten mewled happily and crawled up his arm awkwardly, sitting on his broad shoulder and staring down at the novel too.
The Uchiha gave a smirk and shook his head as he turned the page then gently patted the tiny creature on his shoulder that in turn curved its little head closer to the source that gave it such attention, which caused it to roll off his shoulder and in a huge heap on top of his book again.
He blinked in slight worry as it cried before swinging around and climbing back up his arm with even more vigour.
It caused the ice prince to chuckle as he watched it move. Normally, he wouldn't have bothered with such things as pets but since it was a gift left on his doorstep by one of his fangirls, whose name he didn't care to remember, he couldn't just abandon the little creature.
So, Sasuke kept it and in turn, the little kitten adopted the name, 'Rose' because of the huge strangling red ribbon around its neck that held a little rose in its bow.
Naturally, he had taken off the ribbon and thrown the rose away as per usual. So now here he was. Sasuke Uchiha. With a cat. A cat called Rose.
Sighing at the stupidity of it all, he instead elected to play with his little friend by trailing a finger across the pages of his book which Rose immediately caught sight of and pounced upon, but not quickly enough to actually catch it.
As Sasuke's finger continued to evade the kitten's advances, a soft knock at his door interrupted the playtime and allowed Rose the chance to finally sink her teeth into the raven haired boys finger.
Wincing and scowling at the innocent creature, he scooped her up in his arms and fled towards the door, all the while stroking its delicate snowy fur.
Opening the door widely, he blinked when he found an orange clad blond grinning brightly at him.
"Naruto, what are you doing here?" Sasuke demanded, his cold demeanour ever present but the small playful pets upon the tiny kitten in his arms accented a gentler appearance.
Naruto laughed as he noted the creature resting contently in the Uchiha's arms, "Hey Sasuke, aren't you gonna introduce me to your little friend?"
Eyes narrowed in confusion, he looked towards little Rose who purred calmly in his hands before he turned his eyes back towards Naruto in a glare, eyes beginning to dye a threatening scarlet colour.
Sweat dropping, Naruto shook his hands before his chest defensively, "Hey hey hey! Calm down! I'm sorry alright!"
"You're sorry? Alright, what do you want this time?" Sasuke deducted as he wandered back into his home, motioning for Naruto to follow.
They both stood before the warm and inviting fire that, Naruto had no doubt, been created by Sasuke's own flaming techniques.
Naruto blinked before turning back to his teammate, smiling sweetly. "Well, I was wonder-"
"No."
The whiskered cheeks inflated. "You didn't even let me finish!"
Sasuke sighed and allowed him to continue.
"Thank you, now as I was sayin-"
"No."
Snarling and bearing his teeth, Naruto clenched his fists and swung them around at his side. "Hey you bastard! You said you'd let me finish!"
"Actually, I just remained quiet, you were the one who assumed that I let you finish." Smirking smugly, Sasuke knelt down on the ground and allowed Rose to leap out of his arms and wander off towards the chair for a nap.
"Besides, why should I listen to you again? You asked me for a loan a while ago for the Ichiraku Ramen Bar, which I haven't gotten back by the way, why should I give you another one?"
"Cos I need it! A lot of kids have been left without parents because of Orochimaru's attack and since there aren't enough donations not everyone will be left with presents, there isn't even enough money for a tree so, a sizable contribution from a wealthy sponsor would be very much appreciated…"
After the very long explanation, Naruto took in a greedy gulp of air and Sasuke stared at him, slightly surprised that Naruto knew that many big words, but then again the speech did seem rehearsed.
Rubbing his temples wearily, Sasuke gave the blond a tired reply. "Naruto, what makes you think I'm that rich that I can afford all of that!"
The orange clad male listed off the reasons on his fingers, "Well, for one thing, you live in a huge compound. Second, your family were so well known and were an important part of Konoha. Third, you certainly act like a spoilt rich kid, you damn bastard."
He barely heard the last comment over the remark that his family were a well-known and important part of the village. Sasuke was seething as he glared down at the slightly shorter boy.
Catching Sasuke's smouldering gaze, Naruto immediately knew he went to far. "Sasuke, okay, sorry about that but come on, surely you can do something for those kids!"
The Uchiha merely turned around and padded over towards the chair, kneeling beside it and scratching behind the ears of the chair's furry inhabitant.
Moments passed in silence…
Growling Naruto stomped off, shouting a, "Fine!" at the obsidian eyed male before slamming the door shut and snatching the kitten's attention away from her owner.
As Rose padded off towards the doorway to investigate the loud noise, Sasuke was left staring at the empty seat with sorrowful eyes.
He was alone again…
The next day, a fuming and perturbed Naruto trudged out of his room in solemn spirits. It was Christmas Eve now and he still hadn't gotten a thing.
He failed in his promise to the orphans that he would definitely get them presents and even a tree for Christmas and as he walked past the several shivering and stripped trees, he vaguely considered shopping one down and covering it in a green blanket. That would do, right?
Frowning as he passed several different homes with their happy families, tasty food and warm beds; he cursed how lucky they were. They didn't have to worry about freezing to death or starving to death or…being lonely…
The blond shook his head, adjusting his loosely fitting headband correctly as he walked on. He knew of course that even happy families could experience bouts of loneliness and depression, sometimes far worse than those without families…sometimes…
Like in Sasuke's case…
Naruto stuck his nose high in the air. It wasn't like he never tried to melt the goddamn ice prince's seemingly frozen heart, it was more like whenever he tried, his own heart would freeze just that little bit.
He just had to face the facts. Sasuke just didn't want to be saved; he had already given up on such things in favour of vengeance.
But then again… that didn't mean that he had to just give up on the brooding youth altogether did it?
Yes, he'd keep going! After all, it was Naruto's 'way of the ninja.'
Naruto's bright optimism took a downturn at Sasuke's lack of help the previous day. No matter how much he thought he understood the Uchiha boy, he still couldn't stand the boy's attitude.
Trudging on to the dull and dark orphanage, Naruto pressed the door open and shook the snow and cold off of his body in the hallway.
The boy discarded his scarf, gloves and coat in the hallway to leave him in his favourite outfit.
The corridors of the orphanage were dark and silent despite the large number of children residing in the old building.
His trained instincts quickly came into effect as he pulled out a kunai from the pouch on his leg and held it at the ready.
Naruto moved along the corridors slowly and carefully before he halted at hearing a shuffling noise coming from the main hall.
He bounded towards the door to the hall stealthily, bursting it open with a loud battle cry, before the loud cries from the people behind the door startled him to the point that he fell backwards on the floor in shock.
Laughter erupted from those in the room as lights flashed around him and a hand reached out to help him up.
"How troublesome you are Naruto…"
"Shikamaru? What're you doing here?" Naruto asked, placing the kunai back in his pouch using one hand and accepting the lift up with the other hand.
He rubbed his aching head and stared around at the other Genin and their respective Jounin teachers, as they positioned themselves randomly across the room which was freshly decorated with several lumps of tinsel, garlands, fairy lights and a huge lavish tree in the corner, resting lopsidedly with decorations threatening to knock it over.
"I asked them here you idiot."
Turning around with a bad-tempered expression to the one who produced that heinous word, he ended up blinking in surprise when he realised it was his team mate, rival and best friend, Sasuke who stood before him with a smirk on his face and a familiar little kitten tucked carefully in his arms.
Before he could say anything, a large group of young children jumped up onto his back and clung to his legs screaming and shouting phrases in excited hysteria.
"Big Brother Naruto!"
"You did it!"
"You got our presents!"
"And our tree!"
"I knew you could do it!"
"No you didn't!"
"Shut up! Of course I did!"
As the youngsters committed themselves to the argument and rolled away in a flurry of punching limbs with a trail of cheerleaders racing after them, Naruto blinked in surprise as he gazed up at the raven-haired boy who stared back down at him.
"Um…Sasuke…can I talk to you for a second." Naruto stated more than questioned as he leapt to his feet and pulled the increasingly irritated raven-haired boy to an unoccupied part of the room, noting briefly that the tiny kitten had been taken away by one of the girls and was being petted carefully.
"So…uh…Sasuke…you uh…did all of this?" He asked in slight humiliation as he gestured randomly to the strangely decorated room.
"Yes I did," was the simple, uninterested response.
"I thought you weren't rich?"
"When did I say that?" Sasuke asked, a mockingly surprised tone in his voice.
"Whe-" Naruto began but suddenly realised that Sasuke hadn't said that he wasn't rich. Naruto grumbled in defeat, "Damn bastard…thanks…"
Sasuke merely continued smirking, "You're welcome…idiot…"
Just as Naruto was about to shout a retort, the children suddenly found interest in the two of them again.
"Big Brother Naruto!"
"Mr Sasuke sir!"
"Guess what! Guess what!"
Naruto stuck out his tongue at the Uchiha secretly before turning to the children again, "What is it?"
All at once, ten hands pointed towards the ceiling above the two Genin at the small green and white blur above their heads. The accursed plant. Mistletoe.
"That means you two have to kiss!"
"Yeah you do!"
"It's trad-tradit-tra-Oh! It's a rule!"
Naruto suddenly seemed nervous when the little, civilised children suddenly turned to savages and began chanting, "Kiss him! Kiss him! Kiss him!"
Sasuke merely arched an eyebrow at the children before sighing, "They're not going to let us go you know?"
"Then what are we going to do!" A scarlet-faced Naruto squealed out, only to be rushed with the reply of another loud "Kiss him!!"
Seeing that Naruto wasn't going to do anything except shake at the 'terrifying' youths, Sasuke took initiative.
Grabbing the orange-sleeved arm, he swirled the blond around and pulled Naruto into his arms and their lips met once more.
Naruto would have gasped in surprise had his lips permitted him to move them. He never expected that he would be doing this twice in one lifetime. Kissing Sasuke. And he never, ever expected…that he'd like it.
His tensed body relaxed and his eyes fluttered closed, Sasuke's own closing soon after, as both sets of lips opened slightly and yet another battle between the two began, each determined to be the victor.
The sounds of the squealing children melted away as Naruto wrapped his arms around the pale and slender neck of the Uchiha who in turn slipped his arms down to the blonde's waist and massaged circles upon they boy's body.
It was only when Naruto let out the smallest of noises resembling a moan that Sasuke broke away and removed his wandering hands.
He turned to the kids and gave them a look similar to a glare with his hazy obsidian eyes, "There? Are you happy now?"
They all nodded.
"Good, now scram!"
The kids gave mock screams of terror before giggling and running off, saluting each other all the way.
Sasuke, meanwhile, turned back to the still stunned Naruto. "They're gone now, idiot. Snap out of it."
Naruto rolled back to reality and merely stared at him in surprise, "Why did you do that…?"
He received a shrug in reply. "Because they wouldn't leave us alone if we didn't. So, consider it payback for the last time you kissed me."
"That was an accident." Naruto blurted out, face still red. Sasuke chuckled and began a retort.
"Sure it was. Just like this one was?"
"No that wasn't an accident because yo-"
"So it wasn't an accident."
"No but-"
"I know you love me and all, but please. Control yourself!"
"Me control myself?"
"Yes, after all, it's not my fault you're a sore loser"
"Sore loser?!?!?!"
"Yes. Moaning away like that! You lost"
"I did not lose!"
"Yes you did."
"Why? Want a rematch? You'll just lose again…"
"Not a chance! You and me right here right now!"
Sasuke smirked. "I thought you'd never ask, idiot…"
With that he pulled Naruto close again, lips once again engulfing the blonde's. They definitely didn't need mistletoe this time…
That ending seemed random! So did the kitten but my friend forced me to put it there! XDDD
Sorry if it seems rushed…wait…Darn it! I don't care! I've a freaking hangover! You got your Christmas fic! You got your shonen ai! Now, gimme reviews! Hee hee! Merry Christmas guys!