Well, it is Christmas time again, and as a gift I offered to write a request for a friend of mine. She asked me to write a drabble featuring a pairing with Naruto and Hinata and I could not refuse her, she being one of the sweetest young ladies I have ever met. Therefore, I would like to make it known that I am writing this solely for the enjoyment of that one person, not myself or any of you. No offense. For that reason, do not believe that I have converted to NaruHina or that I will fulfill similar requests to anyone else.

Here it is, lass. Merry Christmas. I'm sorry it took so long to complete, but I wanted it to be perfect, and the symbolism was a bit harder to coordinate than I had thought. Let me now if you don't like it, and I'll write you something else.

Thoughtful Nonsense

The flickering lights of the street lamps made snowflakes glow for a brief moment as they blew past the dye-cast iron frames. The warm sight of these lights was comfort to Hinata, who walked briskly through the chilly winter night. Her sly smile was that of a child who had found the key to the liquor cabinet and knew her parents would be out for the night. In her fragile hands was a small white box, clung tightly lest it somehow try to escape. She had found the perfect gift, and now all that was left was to wrap it. She made her way to the northern end of the village, toward a secure home where she could properly wrap her treasure.

It didn't take long to reach the Aburame neighborhood, where the most beautiful gardens in the village grew and the hum of insects was audible even in the winter. Hinata made her way along the thin trail to the large house that belonged to her teammate, Aburame Shino. Akamaru, who had been playing in the front yard since Hinata left, barked happily upon her return and followed her into the warm light emanating from the doorway.

Hinata shook, snow falling from her hair, and draped her jacket over the nearest kitchen chair. She walked into the living room, giddy over her newfound prize. She knelt on a pillow beside Shino and Kiba, who were already hard at work preparing for the inevitable exchange that would go on between their former classmates at the upcoming city-wideparty.

The three of them had exchanged their small gifts weeks earlier, before the mad rush of socialization and commercialism interfered with their good will. Hinata had, as she often did, given both of them vials of handmade ointment, much more effective and practical than that horrible store-bought rubbish. In return, she had gotten a pair of soft leather gloves from Shino and a vial of perfume from Kiba, whose overpowered senses ensured the selection undoubtedly perfect. Kiba and Shino had long ago developed the tradition of giving one another simple kunai. This emerged just after a mission that involved only the two of them and, apparently, held some special symbolism. Hinata didn't understand, but thought it was sweet. Both men simply shrugged off such comments.

Hinata would give most of her friends medicines and ointments for Christmas that year, as hers were widely acclaimed and desperately needed. This one gift, however, was special. She had resolved to give Naruto something special this year, and she would. She had found it: the perfect object to give Naruto as a token of her affection and admiration for him. Shino and Kiba lifted the top of the perfectly white box to steal a peek, and were amazed. Despite its beauty it was not ornate or useless, and yet neither was it something of such unfeeling utility that he might mistake it for a simple gift between friends. Even Shino marveled at her insight. Where she had found this gift they could only imagine.

When probed, Hinata revealed nothing of its origins and simply smiled delicately. It was special. It was a secret only she and Naruto would share. As she rifled through the tubes of wrapping paper, trying to find the most appropriate for such a special gift, Hinata heard a knocking at the front door. Shino, puzzled, rose to his feet and went to welcome whomever had decided to intrude upon their team's yearly wrapping tradition. He returned from the next room a moment later, a look of cool amusement on what could be seen of his face. From behind him came Naruto, covered in snow and grinning madly. Hinata gasped and motioned to hide his gift, but then realized that he had no way of knowing it was for him or, even, what it was.

Naruto entered and set down a small stack of gifts in the corner of the room before explaining himself.

"I'm really sorry, guys," he began, "but I won't be going to the party later. I have a really important mission, you see, and if I'm going to do it properly I have to leave right away."

Hinata let her chin fall a bit. She understood Naruto's duty, of course, but if he had shown up she would have had legitimate time to bond with him. Naruto always seemed to leave before she got a chance to approach him.

Naruto noticed Hinata's immediate despondency and interjected before any harsh feelings could be conjured. "But I brought you presents!" he chirped merrily, turning back to the stack of wrapped boxes he had brought in with him. He grabbed the three gifts and handed them out accordingly. Kiba wasted no time unwrapping his, but looked confused when several large pieces of blank paper and a vial of ink looked back at him from within the box.

"What's this?" he asked, slightly bitter but not showing it at all.

"Blank maps," Naruto explained, a little proud of himself. "I know you like to travel, and I heard you complain about how the city doesn't have any decent maps of the other countries. Tell Tsunade-baachan that I got them for you, and maybe she'll send you to a lot of foreign countries to make the maps."

Kiba blinked, a little embarrassed at his pervious resentment and, actually, entirely pleased with his gift. "Well…I…thank you, Naruto!"

Shino, a bit more reserved, opened his present slowly after giving Naruto his very stoic thanks. He opened his own gift, the smallest of the three, and held up the brass chain contained within. He studied it for a second, then set it back down.

"You wear it, Shino, around your neck," Naruto clarified.

"Yes, I know." Shino didn't move.

"Well, I always thought you could use a little flair, something to add a bit of zest to your look."

"I see. Thank you Naruto." Shino still didn't move. He would never wear such a gaudy item, lest he face humiliation as soon as he stepped outdoors.

"You're welcome!" Naruto exclaimed, not at all understanding why Shino didn't put it on but not really caring either.

Slowly, calmly, Hinata unwrapped her present. Within was an equipment pouch, indistinguishable from the one she wore on her thigh at all times. "Thank you, Naruto-kun," she said politely, puzzled but not at all willing to make Naruto feel unappreciated.

"You're welcome, Hinata-chan. I noticed a while back that you use the one for medics. I thought that was probably to carry around all those medicines you make, but with you getting so much stronger and all I thought you'd want one that held kunai, too."

Hinata looked up at Naruto, then down at her new pouch. She opened it and, sure enough, there were holsters for both medicines and knives in this pouch. She hadn't even seen one like this before. With renewed vigor, she looked back at Naruto and smiled sincerely. "Thank you."

"Uh…you're welcome…again."

Wishing to save his teammate any further discomfort from such insensitive remarks, Shino reached into the small stack of unwrapped presents and pulled out a small slip of paper. "Since you won't be attending the gift exchange, we might as well give you this. It's from our whole team. Merry Christmas." He handed the paper to Naruto. It was a small, colorful coupon for five free bowls at Ichiraku, his favorite ramen stand. From the look on his face, one might've thought Naruto was about to cry.

"Thank you all so much! You know me too well!" Naruto carefully slipped his new treasure into his wallet, into a small, secret fold where the Frog Hermit wouldn't be able to find it.

"We've known you since we were genin, Naruto. I hope we'd know where to send you for food by now," Kiba chuckled, filling a plastic glass from the coffee tale with eggnog. "C'mon, Naruto, sit down. Stay a while."

Naruto looked at the clock on the wall, then took the glass Kiba offered him. With a shrug, he sat on Shino's couch. "Yeah, okay, I got a few minutes." He sipped the eggnog, then got a strange look on his face. "Is this spiked?"

"Of course. Fire's the devil's only friend."

"Oh, good." Naruto sipped at his drink again, watching the others wrap their gifts.

Hinata worked slowly at first, careful not to give away the contents of the box as she wrapped it. She had gotten used to wrapping gifts in front of Kiba and Shino, even Akamaru, but it was odd wrapping something that was from her to Naruto, specifically, and to do it under his very nose. Kiba kept him busy with what she liked to call 'man talk', mostly about Kiba's new girlfriend (whom Hinata was sure he had been dating solely for looks) and the action movie Naruto had just caught the previous day (which she had no desire to see). Gradually, the box's paper shell took form. She crafted it with cautious care, even if it would be torn asunder only minutes later. That didn't really matter; it was the gift itself that was truly beautiful.

A few long minutes after he had entered, Naruto set his plastic cup on the coffee table and stood with a sigh. "Well, I should get going. Don't want to keep the geezer waiting."

One last piece of tape saw Hinata's task completed. Naruto left that same moment, waving goodbye as he went. In a rush, Hinata pulled on her shoes and ran out after him, just catching the tall man in the center of the walkway through the garden. Naruto turned around, a bit surprised, and looked at the box in Hinata's hands. "But…I thought the coupon was my gift," Naruto said slowly.

"This is just…um…from me," Hinata blurted out, unable to really think of what to say in the situation. Naruto took the box cautiously and removed the wrapping. He lifted the lid and stood dumbfounded at the gift inside.

"Are…you're sure…I mean, you're sure you want to give me this?"

"Yes." Hinata blushed, thinking her gift was inadequate or offending or…

"This is amazing!"

…absolutely perfect.

"Do you like it?" Hinata was rather eager for Naruto's approval.

"I love it! Thank you, Hinata-chan!"

"You're welcome, Naruto-kun."

Naruto's wide smile faded a bit. "Just…"

Hinata looked up, worried. "Yes?"

Naruto lowered the lid of the box to look at Hinata. "What is it?"

-The End-

Don't feel obligated to review, but it would be nice all the same. There's only one review I expect to get, and that will be more than enough. Merry Christmas.