Merry Christmas, Mr. Uchiha
Disclaimer: This oneshot was inspired in part by the Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence original theme song, as well as the title, though it in no way resembles the story/movie.
Theme: Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence original theme (I would encourage listening to it near the end of this)
"Where the hell are you?"
"For the last time, I'm caught in the snow. I don't know how long I'm gonna be."
Annoyed, Sasuke brought his cellphone away from his ears as his friend's yelling rang in his right drum.
"That's what you said half an hour ago! If I didn't know better I'd say you were trying to get out of coming to this party!"
Sasuke blew out a tired breath, his right hand clutching the phone, "trust me, avoiding this party is the last thing I want to do. After all the calls, emails, and text messages I was sent, it's really my only option at this point."
"Well!" the voice laughed, "It was the only way we were going to get you out of your house!"
Sasuke rested his head against the headrest of his driver's seat, staring dully at the falling snow. For the hundredth time he attempted to start his car. When life did not come to it, he dropped his keys in defeat. Piles of snow surrounded his Camaro. Snow and Christmas light covered trees illuminated by the street lamps on the aimless, empty road he'd been driving down.
"Well, I'm out, but don't expect me there any time soon."
"No way! You're not bailing on another Christmas party this year! Where are you?! I'm coming to get you!"
"Then you'll just be stuck here with me, your car isn't fit for snow, Naruto."
"So what are you gonna do? Should I ask someone to come and get you? Shikamaru has an SUV," Naruto asked, his voice rising over the noise of the party in the background. "We're all waiting for you."
"No, don't bother. I'll just sit here and wait for a car to come, or I'll call a snow taxi or something."
"What?! You're just gonna wait? Who knows how long it'll take for someone to come by?! It's Christmas Eve! Plus Hinata-chan said the roads are gonna close soon."
"Look, I'll be okay," Sasuke sighed, "besides, it isn't as if I was crazy about going in the first place."
"So what the hell did I do all that begging for?!"
"I said that I'd probably show up. I never meant definitely."
Sasuke sat staring at the falling snow in the safety of his car as the other line turned silent, excluding the Christmas music, laughing, and talking in the background.
"…I know…I know you haven't been too keen on coming out since Kikyo—"
"That doesn't have anything to do with anything, so I'd rather you not bring it up." he snapped coldly.
The line stayed dead for a few more seconds before Naruto finally sighed deeply.
"Fine! Fine! Just…get here as soon as you can! We ARE expecting you because we ARE your friends."
"Fine, sure."
"Later."
"Yeah."
He hung up his phone and tossed it to the passenger seat. Exhausted, Sasuke ran a hand down his face before directing his attention to his car.
Once again he turned the key in the hopes of getting the ignition started so he could, as much as he didn't want to, attend the party Naruto has been forcing on him since the start of December.
He cursed under his breath when for the umpteenth time, the car refused to start, and the wheels refused to turn.
To add to his annoyance, the world EMPTY flashed back at him in a bright red light.
"Damn it…why today…?" he cursed his surroundings, slamming his head onto his steering wheel in irritation.
He raised his brow when a sudden light came upon him from behind. He lifted his head and turned it around, shielding his eyes at the brightened headlights as the sounds of an engine became louder.
He jolted forward, when the incoming headlights abruptly met the back of his own car.
His head bounced off his headrest. He cursed loudly and held the back of his head as the headlights died, as well as the engine.
Infuriated, Sasuke pushed his car door open and stepped out into the bitter cold in a dark blue overcoat.
He looked at the silver Toyota Camry that revealed itself when the headlights finally died out.
Still holding the back of his head, he watched as the front door of the stranger opened. In a moment a woman stepped out, holding the front of her head in a dark pink pea coat.
His glare met the woman with the chin length pink hair, her bangs parted to the left of her face as she looked directly at him.
The moonlight bounced off her deep green eyes, and her glossed lips were complimented by the falling snow.
But, Sasuke ignored that.
She dropped her hand in a frown as they eyes met.
"I'm so sorry!"
He loosened up a bit, his glare falling. The last thing he wanted to do tonight was lose his cool.
She pointed behind her, "I was coming from the road up there and my wheels skidded on the ice! I tried to control it but I couldn't and ended up sliding along the curve and crashing and, and, and…" she breathed, attempting to catch her breath as cold air came in and out.
"I'm sorry."
Sasuke bit his tongue and tsked, dropping his hand from behind his head, though it throbbed a bit.
"It's fine."
"I'll pay for the damages," she reassured, struggled to get her wallet out of her purse. She stood awkwardly for a moment as Sasuke watched her.
"There's no need. It's just a bump."
"No no! I can't live with myself if I don't," she continued, "If I could just find my wallet…"
She froze when his hand gently settled on the elbow of the arm knee deep in her purse. She lifted her head up to meet his unchanged, dull expression.
"I said it's alright, really," he released her, "frankly you should be more worried about what you're going to do to your own car."
She twisted her head to where her Camry still sat, freezing in the chilling air.
"Oh no!" she cried out, jogging back to her car.
Sasuke watched with his hands in his coat pockets as she climbed into her car and started it. Her wheels skidded on the ice as she attempted to back up, to no avail. He watched the snow and the frustrated woman in silence as she tried for one more time, eventually giving up and slamming her head onto the steering wheel.
He closed his eyes for a moment before he casually walked over to her front door. She opened it and stepped out with her bag and cellphone.
"It looks like this thing isn't going anywhere," she sighed, "you seem to be in a similar situation. We should drive more weather efficient cars, huh?" she laughed. Her laugh quickly became awkward and nervous when he did not crack so much as a smile.
He directed his attention to the road ahead of them, "you should call a taxi or someone, it'll get even colder pretty soon and I'm sure you have somewhere to be."
She frowned and shuffled a bit, crackling her boots on the snow, "I would but I don't have any service around here. I lost it coming down this road." Suddenly she perked up and looked up to him, "would it be any trouble if I borrowed your cellphone?"
He ignored her smile and closed his eyes once more before opening them. He turned and walked the few feet to his front door and opened it as she waited patiently.
He picked his phone up from his seat and attempted to turn it on, only to glare when the battery flashed red.
He cursed Naruto under his breath for keeping him on the phone for so long, badgering him about his and Hinata's party.
He rose from the car and shut the door, sticking his phone into his pocket.
"My phone's dead."
"What are we gonna do now? I don't know my way around these parts, I'm a little new to this town," she admitted, looked around to the city trees that flashed their Christmas lights.
Sasuke mentally sighed. Clearly she wasn't going to fair well on her own.
"It looks like we'll have to walk. The next intersection is just short of a mile up the road. Not many cars come down this road, but the farther we head towards the city, the better chance we'll have of seeing cars and taxis."
She looked at him skeptically for a bit. He blew out a slightly annoyed breath.
"I won't hurt you I swear. I want to get out of the cold as much as you do, and I know this town."
She stayed silent for a few moments. He stood, becoming rather impatient and contemplating simply leaving her.
Finally, she spoke up, "alright…but I warn you! I know judo!"
"Congratulations," he said somewhat harshly as he turned on his heel and stepped onto the sidewalk. She jogged up to him. She turned back and locked her car as he nonchalantly locked his own before they began their walk.
His shoes crunched on the thin snow as he walked with his hands deep in his pockets, while she, on his right, walked with her gloved hands out, her bag on her shoulder, and a small skip in his step, their faces, illuminated from the flashing tree lights and florescent streetlights.
"My name is Sakura Haruno, by the way," she smiled warmly, turning to him after they had walked for a few moments.
He wanted to tell her he hadn't asked, but he thought against being rude to a woman he'd have to walk side by side with.
He was silent for a few bitter moments before he finally responded to her.
"Sasuke. Sasuke Uchiha."
"So Mr. Uchiha, what got you caught up in this hellish weather?"
He nearly bit his tongue. The last thing he wanted was to make conversation. All he wanted was to get this woman where she was going and get himself to the Christmas party, so he could leave faster.
He sucked in his annoyance and looked ahead. Hopefully talking would get them to civilization quicker. But it would also waste heat.
"I was on my way to a Christmas party a friend of mine is hosting with his wife, but my car ran out of gas."
"Ah," she began, "I wouldn't have guessed, you don't sound like you're in much of a rush."
"I'm not much of a party goer."
She laughed a bit, "I did sort of get that vibe from you."
She smiled patiently, looking back and forth at him as if waiting for him to ask what she'd been up too. Sasuke finally caved and sighed a bit.
"So…what…brings you down here."
She brightened and shrugged a bit, "nothing really. I just went to work, now I'm heading home."
He raised a brow, "Interesting, I took you for the party going type."
Sakura laughed again, "I guess you could say that normally I am. My best friend Ino is always hawling me off to parties throughout the year, but this time around isn't really my cup of tea."
He stared straight ahead, their feet mashing the snow back and forth as they passed a tree wrapped in red lights.
"You mean Christmas?"
She nodded.
"What? You don't do the tree decorating, stocking hanging, song singing bullshit that everyone else does for a mass of three months?"
He mentally cursed himself for not catching himself before he spouted his sentence. Normally it was easy for him to keep his displeasure for the holidays at bay.
"No, I don't," she smiled sweetly, ignoring his banter. "I prefer hot tea and legal dramas."
He glanced down to her, not missing the glint in her eyes when they passed a tree lit with green lights. She looked around his age, young, late-twenties, and seemingly active. It was surprising that someone like her wasn't big on the holidays.
"But right now I just want to get home and get under some warm blankets!" she said aloud, shivering a bit, "I have papers to look over!"
"What do you do?" he found himself asking.
"I'm a nurse right now," she said, pleased he had asked. "But I'm going back to get my degree in medicine to become a general doctor."
Though he was a bit confused, his face did not falter.
"What would make you want to go back? You must be in at least your mid-twenties. Not to say it's too late, but you do appear to have a stable job already."
He was quickly becoming annoyed with himself. He rarely spoke so much with a stranger. But speaking began distracted him from the freezing cold.
She was quiet, and for a moment, he thought he had said something he shouldn't have. But she quickly spoke again.
"It's just something I've always wanted to do. I went into nursing because I didn't have the time or money to go to medical school, but now I have my chance."
"I see."
"And you, Mr. Uchiha?" she continued, "what's your profession? You seem a hard at work business man."
She missed the faint smirk that passed his lips, "where would you get that?"
"You give off that vibe."
"Well, Miss. Haruno." He began, "your hunch is somewhat right. I work for my father's company."
"Ooooh," she said in slightly mock awe.
"I'm the COO. When my father steps down, my brother, who's chairman, will take his place as CEO if he chooses to."
"Sounds fancy and important," she snickered.
"If you say so."
"Do you do those important meetings and have a pretty assistant and all that?"
"Yes, and if my assistant is anything she's annoying, much less pretty."
She laughed brightly, cold air blowing out through her lips that still glistened with the soft gloss. Elves riding reindeer made of lights passed them.
"Are you married?"
The mood almost instantly matched the weather around them, if not colder. Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed and his expression fell down to an even darker look.
Sakura, upon noticing, cleared her throat a bit.
"No, Miss. Haruno. Not anymore."
"I'm sorry, touchy subject?" she said, feeling a bit guilty.
"It's alright."
"Well," she laughed a bit. "It does sort of fit the whole 'scary business man' kinda look huh? I didn't really get that married vibe from you."
"You seem to regularly get vibes from me. It's almost as if you know me." He said sarcastically, harshly.
But, the tone flew over her head, "Oh I can be really good with people!" she said with excitement, walking ahead a bit. "Sometimes I can tell the kind of person someone is just from a glance! In fact my husband used to say—"
Sasuke raised a brow when she stopped, not only her sentence, but her walking as well.
He stopped about two feet behind her, her back to him.
"Touchy subject…?" he asked cautiously, regretting asking.
After a beat she turned around and smiled at him, "It's…okay. No, Mr. Uchiha, I'm not married anymore."
"I see," he said as they continued walking again.
"We seem to have a couple things in common, Mr. Uchiha," Sakura laughed, "except I could never see myself in an office, and you're not much of a talker."
"I get that often."
"The office thing?"
"No. The second thing."
"Ah."
They next few minutes they walked in a slightly awkward silence. Sasuke felt somewhat relieved, believing she had run out of things to say.
In the midst of those moments, the cascading snow began to falter. As seconds passed the falls became shorter, until the white droplets finally stopped all together.
Sakura held her gloved hand out as a brightening light began to come into their view.
She continued to hold her hand out as they walked a few more steps. Sasuke sub-consciously glanced back to her, noticing that her eyes seemed lifted up to the cloudy skies.
He blew out a chilled breath, "something on your mind?"
She didn't answer, nor did she make any move to indicate that she'd heard him.
"You had better watch where you're walking. The ground is covered in ice."
He was increasingly annoyed with himself, he was blatantly pushing her to talk to him. But really, he was wondering what could be on her mind.
He shut his eyes for a moment of bitterness before he reopened them. The moment he did, he tsked and shut his right eye in irritation, holding his right hand over his face to shield away the blinding light that hit him.
It was at that moment he heard her footsteps stop. He glanced back to see her catch a single, lonely snowflake.
Confusion overtook him as she stared at her glove before the light caught his eye again. He turned back to it, squinting before his eyes adjusted to what they stood next to.
A shining, life size two person Christmas light sculpture shone on them. It stood of a pink lit ballerina with her arms gracefully in the air, as she was dipped by her male, blue lit partner.
Behind the two dancers sat an array of various light sculptures that brightened the park where few, unlit trees sat. Santa and his sleigh, a small family, three reindeer, and an elf were a few of the many among the shining area.
"It's ridiculous how much is put into a day that holds no real meaning." Sasuke bit.
Sakura stayed silent, simply staring at the ballerina with a blank expression. Sasuke glanced to the road ahead and behind them, waiting for her to decide whether to keep walking or just stay.
He cleared his throat after waiting for nearly a minute, "Miss. Haruno. If you're just going to stare I can g—"
"Tell me Mr. Uchiha…" she began, barely above a whisper, catching him off guard.
"Tell you what." He said coldly.
"When did you realize you hated Christmas."
He raised a brow before narrowing his eyes at her.
"When did you," she repeated, "begin to believe that it's…nothing more than…a day?"
A harsh wind picked up. Sakura visibly shivered but barely moved. Sasuke did not move at all, but simply stared at her.
She waited patiently for him to speak, not for a second taking her eyes off the sculpture, nor did her, on her.
After some time, his eyes drifted to the sculpture as well, and his mouth opened.
"Two years ago, on Christmas morning, I found my wife with another man."
Sakura did not move, and her dazed expression did not falter.
"I had to work the night of Christmas eve, so I didn't get home until early morning. I wanted to surprise her with the necklace she'd asked for by waking her up in our bedroom…but then..."
His bare hands came out of his coat and clenched into fists so tight they reddened.
His eyes drifted down to the man's arms around the ballerina's waist as he put them back into his pockets to protect them from the cold.
"She left me that day. She packed her things, telling me about everything we could have had, as if I was the one who wronged her, while I sat on the couch by the tree and he waited outside for her. By noon she was gone, and I haven't seen her since." He spoke in a deadpanned voice as his eyes seemed dilated.
"I sat there until midnight, staring out the window, holding her gift, watching the snow, listening to songs about love and family on a record player, hoping she would come back home. When she didn't, come midnight, I burned everything. The tree, the records, the gifts, the necklace."
They stood in stalk silence once again. Both pairs of eyes planted straight on the couple before them.
Sasuke made no move of his own when her head lifted to the sky.
"My husband killed himself three Christmases ago."
Sasuke remained trained on the waist of the ballerina.
"I can't exactly say I saw it coming, nothing about him showed any sign of sadness, discomfort, or anything. He was just…average." She spoke with a small beat to her voice, as if it was a story she's about as used to telling as when someone asks what the weather's going to be.
"He treated me right. Helped me through school. Called me every day from work. Smiled. got angry. Got upset. Always told me what he was feeling. He was just, normal, so I never learned or understood why. Or why it had to be that day."
She tilted her head to the side a bit.
"We woke up together Christmas morning. He was smiling so much I thought his face was going to burst. The very first thing, and last thing, he said to me was 'Merry Christmas, Sakura.'"
She straightened her head.
"I went down to the kitchen to make us breakfast. Made a few general Merry Christmas calls. Looked at the presents. Then I went back upstairs, and there he was, dangling by a rope from the ceiling fan in our room."
She dropped her head back to the couple, matching Sasuke's eyes at the waist as another chill picked up.
"I guess sometimes you just don't know people." She shrugged a bit. "I don't say 'Merry Christmas' anymore, ever. It bothers me too much. And I hate when people say it to me. Most of my friends and family know to just say, 'happy holidays' and such."
For the tenth time that night, silence overtook them. Both even thought they heard caroling in the distance.
"I'm sorry," Sasuke deadpanned.
"What's there to be sorry about? I stopped being sorry Christmases ago."
"How many?" he said.
"Too many. Or not enough. I don't know anymore. Not enough time has passed, I think."
Finally, she turned to him.
"I think I understand your feelings for the holidays Mr. Uchiha. What happened that day must have hurt, a lot. I can see why going to that party would be difficult."
"It's not so much that it's difficult. It's that it's confusing and stressful." He said, not moving his eyes.
"Meaning?"
"Looking at all these people. Laughing. Smiling. Going about as if this is the purest day life can offer. While you stand on the sidelines, wondering when and why it went wrong for you. Christmas is the most special day of the year, for family, and love. But ironically, it is also the loneliest day of the year. For some, like me, loneliness is something you grow so accustomed to, the happiness of others becomes disgusting."
"But you can also search for your own happiness," Sakura threw in.
"It's not easy when it was ripped away from you at one time, and you're still left wondering where it went, and why it left in the first place."
When he continued to feel her eyes trained on him, he turned to her, allowing them to both face one another.
He froze in place when her gloved hand lifted up slowly, rising until it rested on his right cheek.
He looked down to her, his eyes dead.
"You and I seem to find more and more in common, Mr. Uchiha. We hurt the same way. We hurt with a pain that's only amplified, because it's on a day that was once so important. But, once again, a difference lies between us. I want to find my happiness, Mr. Uchiha, and I think you should too."
A soft smile touched her face.
"My husband used to tell me that I had a way of understanding people, and catching their vibes from a first glance."
"Well…" he said slowly. "What did you see when you first saw me?"
Her soft smile became sad as he hand began to fall.
"I saw someone broken."
His dark eyes bore into her sparkling green ones.
"But I also saw someone who wanted to find that happiness they had lost. They just didn't know how."
The lights of the dancing couple flickered before them, as they stared at each other, seemly caught in trance from one another's eyes.
"Why do you believe you know me, Miss. Haruno? We just met. By chance."
Sakura's smile became soft again, she stuck her hands into her coat pockets and shrugged, glancing to the lights.
"I don't think I know you very well at all, Mr. Uchiha. I just think we're in the same world, fighting the same war. But, for as little faith as I have in this holiday, I think we were meant to meet."
"You mean you were meant to hit my car?"
She laughed aloud, her cheeks reddening as she threw her head back in joy.
Before she could retort, both their eyes fell on incoming headlights, and the sounds of an engine.
"Oh thank goodness!" Sakura said aloud as a taxi came to appear from the road behind them.
She waved her hand as Sasuke stood with his in his pockets. The taxicab stopped at the curb, slowly, devoid of snow.
The passenger window rolled down, and an elderly man looked at them, smiling a kind smile as his grayed hair covered his head and around his mouth.
"You folks caught up in the snow?"
"Yes!" Sakura said, "Our cars ran out of gas and got stuck in the snow, we were going to walk up to the city!"
"Oh no need!" he said merrily. "You're lucky, I'm making a few runs before the clock strikes twelve, just to make sure there aren't any folks like you lost on Christmas! Hop in! I'll give you a lift anywhere you wanna go, free of charge!"
Sakura blew out a relieved breath, "thank you so much!"
She turned around and smiled to Sasuke, "We'd better get going."
He looked at her for a few beats before he nodded his head to the taxi.
"You go, I think I'll walk the rest of the way."
"What?" she frowned, "are you nuts?! It's freezing! And it's late!"
He shrugged lightly, "I'll manage, a little cold doesn't affect me. When I get into the city I'll call my friend, his home is close by."
"Are you sure mister?" the old man called.
Sasuke nodded to him before turning back to a concerned Sakura.
The old man rolled up the passenger window as Sakura stared at him.
"I'll be alright Miss. Haruno," he reassured. "I'm not done with my walk yet though."
She sighed, "if that's what you want. I don't see you as someone who takes no for an answer."
"Another vibe?" he smirked.
She smiled, "I do have a way with people."
After a moment, both their expressions fell.
"Take…" Sakura began, looking his straight into the eye, "take care of yourself, Mr. Uchiha. I know the winter's hard, but there is a spring waiting for you at the end of the road. Before you know it, the cherry blossoms will be in full bloom again."
He nodded to her.
"Enjoy that party you're heading too, because I think a lot of people want to see you happy. I want to be happy again someday." She said softly. "Someday, I want to love Christmas again."
"So do I, Miss. Haruno." He found himself saying.
She nodded to him before turning around and opening the door. She stepped in and sat down, adjusting herself and her belt before closing the door.
Before the driver could go, a knock came onto the window. She rolled it down, blinking as Sasuke took a couple steps back from it.
"Yes?" she asked.
"Merry…" he caught himself for a moment and cleared his throat. "Um…happy holidays, Miss. Haruno." He said gruffly.
She smiled a smile, though half-hearted, shined as when the sun did through the cold winter sky, just as the taxi began to move.
The wind chill picked up and the clouded sky began to cascade snowflakes once again as her last words faded down the road she disappeared, and he stared down.
"Merry Christmas, Mr. Uchiha."
~**.**~