Do enjoy this little Christmassy oneshot. It's not as Christmassy as I wanted it to be but oh well.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
He was having a rough morning, and he could blame his hyperactive kunoichi of a wife for that. Sasuke had been roughly awoken against his will, even though she knew that he was a light sleeper and didn't need to get pounced on just to get him to open his eyes, and once he had awoken, he had been forced to accompany her on her Christmas shopping endeavours. Being practically dragged around the village with her firm grip on his wrist never once letting go, he had to endure the struggles of trying to get away and being forced to give his opinion on gifts he didn't even want to give.
It was unfortunate that when the brunette did let go since she found something in the store to her liking, she always managed to keep him grounded next to her. Tenten had it in her mind that he would wonder off if she hadn't kept a leash on him, but he found it impractical to think that way because he wasn't the type of person to do that, although the way he was being treated now was slowly asking for it.
Yep, to say he had had it rough would have been an understatement.
The young Uchiha was slowly being driven up the wall, which was quite a feat because he normally didn't get as irritated as he was feeling right now, except when he was around Naruto who always managed to bring out the worst in him. Although, Tenten was beginning to inherit that trait too, much to his annoyance.
"So what do you think?" The voice of said person asked him, bringing him out of his train of thoughts.
Sasuke's midnight orbs eyed the object in her hands in discontent, not because of the gift itself but because of the recipient of the gift. She was holding up a small kunai set the had kunais of different sizes and style. Each kunai knife had their own intricately designed handle to match the type of blade they had and there was a small bottle of poison included if one would ever want to coat the knives with poison.
"I myself was thinking of having the Uzumaki clan symbol engraved on the handles and perhaps maybe his name on the blade too. Naruto would like that wouldn't he? You know him better than I do Sasuke," Tenten remarked, not yet noticing his slight glare.
Sasuke looked up to meet her eyes, his expression contorting into a scowl. "Forget it. We're not buying that dobe a present," he grumbled, crossing his arms stubbornly.
In any normal situation, she would have frowned at the boy's stubbornness and instead have snapped at him for acting so childish, but given how he had gotten to this point in time in the first place, she was willing to give him a little leeway. After all, it was the least she could do after roughly dragging him over to do some Christmas shopping. It really wasn't her fault that the male was absolutely against the idea of going gift shopping for people he never really cared for before. In fact, with his attitude he was definitely asking for it.
So instead of displaying her usual reaction, Tenten let out a loud chuckle, irritating the Uchiha even more. "What's so funny?" He snapped, clearly not finding anything humorous to laugh at, not that he really found anything funny in the first place anyways.
"You," she replied, still chuckling.
His brows furrowed as he pointed confusedly to himself. "Me?"
Tenten nodded. "Yes you. The way you show affection toward Naruto is really amusing," she responded earnestly, watching the male's reaction.
Sasuke face contorted into a disgusted grimace as he glared at her for thinking such a way. "What? You think I hold affection for that idiot?"
"Of course I do. You may seem like you hate him but deep down inside, you don't really. In fact you're grateful for him for saving you from yourself. He's the brother you never really had after all," Tenten explained, her lips curving into a soft smile.
Although Sasuke acted like he hated the blond, he never really did. She was never really involved in Team Seven's affairs over the years but she had an idea of what was happening. And even though she may be a little ways off, she could still see the strong bond shared between the two a long way away. Sasuke and Naruto had that connection, and she didn't even have to be Sakura to realise it.
The Uchiha went quiet as he silently agreed with what she had said. But that didn't mean he was going to go all sappy about it. He may not hate Naruto as much as he made people think, but he sure as hell wasn't giving him a present for Christmas. "I'm still not buying that idiot a present," he said stubbornly after his moment of silence, crossing his arms to emphasise the firmness behind his decision.
Tenten rolled her eyes at her husband's stubbornness; it was getting really annoying at how he could be as stubborn as a mule sometimes. In fact, this particular trait of his seemed to be seeping in a lot more lately, much to her annoyance. "Whatever. I'm still buying this, along with that box of instant ramen I saw before we entered the shop," she waved him off coolly, moving to the front counter to pay for the set.
Sasuke glared at her retreating back in aggravation. If he was stubborn, then what the hell was she? She was even more stubborn than he could ever hope to be. That woman would be the death of him one day.
"You use your own money. I'm not playing any part in this," he called out when she arrived at the counter. He couldn't see her face because her back was facing him but he knew that she was rolling his eyes at him for his cantankerous attitude. It wasn't his fault that she went completely against his desires to not purchase the knucklehead a gift in the first place. Naruto didn't deserve to have his money spent on him. Actually maybe he did, but he was too hard-headed to admit that so he just settled for his single-minded views.
When she was done paying for her items, Sasuke eyed the plastic bag she was carrying in contempt as she walked toward him with a satisfied expression. She had noted his glare but paid no heed to it. The boy was acting as moody as always but she didn't mind. It was Christmas season after all, and she was in the mood for some giving.
"We're shopping for Sakura next," she told him as she dragged him out the store by his arm.
Sasuke scowled. "I thought you already got her something, along with Ino's and Hinata's," he pointed out, trying to resist her pull.
But she was adamant and impressively stronger as the hours droned by. "Nope, I was saving your team for last. I bought the rest of the other team's presents earlier this morning in that one big store I dragged you into this morning, remember? You were leaning against the shelf full of scrolls, about to fall asleep," she answered, amusement evident in her voice.
"It wasn't my fault you dragged me out so early in the morning on such short notice," he grumbled quietly to himself, not noticing that they were getting closer to their destination.
"Says the early bird who wakes up at what, four thirty in the morning daily? You shouldn't even be that tired if you're used to waking up so early. Plus we left at eight Sasuke, that's four hours past your normal wake up time. You have no excuses you big baby," she retorted acerbically, though it was all in good nature.
He huffed silently to himself in indignation. He couldn't really retaliate properly to that. Everything she had pointed out was true after all. Sasuke was used to waking up so early in the morning so why should he be complaining about getting pounced on at eight? It was surprising he even slept in that morning too. But he did have an inkling as to why he was so tired, and he blamed it solely on the season of joy.
Christmas was not his favourite holiday, and it would never be. It was much too joyous and too festive for his liking. But then again, his wife was kind of similar which was probably why he was becoming more tolerable of the holiday. That still didn't mean he actually enjoyed Christmas, especially when he had been forced to give presents to people he had either never talked to or never really liked, which was probably everyone with the exception of Tenten.
And speaking of Tenten, he had only just realised that he hadn't bought her a Christmas gift yet. Yeah, he had been so caught up with complaining about every little thing that morning that buying a gift for the only person he could ever really stand had completely slipped his mind. He frowned to himself, completely ignoring the fact that they had already arrived at their destination and the said brunette was searching for the perfect gift for his pink haired teammate, a firm grip still around his wrist.
Tenten had been so caught up with giving gifts to others that she probably wouldn't really notice that she hadn't bought something for herself, not that you were supposed to anyway. She had been so generous and so determined to spend as much time, effort and money necessary making her friends happy on Christmas that she probably didn't really care if she didn't receive something in return or not. This caused his frown to deepen. That would definitely not do. The kunoichi deserved to be acknowledged for her efforts and he believed he was the only one able to do so.
With that thought, a newfound determination entered Sasuke's being as a quick excuse popped up in his mind. "Tenten, I'll go look for something to buy for Kakashi while you look for Sakura's gift," he intoned coolly.
Without a second thought, she quickly released his grip and waved him off, obviously too caught up with trying to find a gift for Sakura. "Sure, you do that Sasuke. Go ahead. Now where can I find a different colour of this?" She mumbled to herself, leaving Sasuke to his own devices.
Glad that he was finally free and able to do what he wanted, he immediately walked out the store with a new determination in mind. He was going to give Tenten the best goddamned present she would ever receive and there was nothing she could say or do about it. Sasuke was absolutely, positively, certain that she would appreciate his efforts. He was at least trying to get into the spirit of Christmas right?
The young Uchiha passed by a few stores with a contemplative expression on his face. What was he supposed to get her? She didn't like any of the generic female stuff that one would usually give to any of their female companions. No, she was more into weaponry and any dangerous steel objects of the sort.
A lightbulb flicked in his head as he immediately had a destination in mind, all the while scolding himself for being so stupid as to realising so late. Tenten was the weapons mistress after all. Of course weapons would be the gift of choice, wouldn't it?
Walking into a reputable weapons store he had frequented often, Sasuke set to work as he flicked through the long mental lists he had of the weapons the kunoichi had in her vast collection. He knew that she had enough shurikens, of all shapes and sizes, to last her a century as well as stacks of paper bombs that he didn't think would run out any time soon. She had a few katanas and sais in her collection, but he didn't think he had seen her ever use them in battle. She was more prone to using her throwing weapons as they were easier to handle, he had remembered saying to him before.
Tenten did have a bō staff and a pair of nunchaku too, although he did think they were becoming rusted the last time they had a sparring session together. With a faint idea as to what he wanted to buy now, he called for the store clerk for assistance.
"Yes sir?" The clerk asked, a little intimidated after recognising the man.
"Do you have any bō staffs and nunchaku in your collection? Preferably metal, but wood would do," he asked frankly, ignoring the clerk's fearful expression.
He nodded nervously. "I think we do. Please wait here just for a moment while I fetch them for you," he replied before scurrying off into the storage room at the back, leaving Sasuke to observe all the other weapons found in the store.
He was thinking of getting her something that would amplify the usage of her ninjutsu since she rarely used it as much, relying more on her bukijutsu and her taijutsu instead. Sasuke knew she had lightning typed chakra after attempting the chakra nature test with her a long while ago, so he figured he should purchase something that would allow her to use her lightning nature with her weapons. Having lightning typed chakra nature as well, Sasuke knew exactly how to amplify one's attacks using both weapons and lightning attacks.
It was then that his eyes spotted a beautifully carved katana sitting on display near the back. It's handle had been intricately designed with what he observed to be tiny dragons and the blade was especially shiny and especially sharp, perfect for slicing and stabbing. As well as that, he noticed that the sword appeared to be a good conductor for electricity which brought a rare smile onto his face.
Grabbing the sword gently, he picked it up as he brought it to the counter, noticing the bō staff and the nunchaku already placed there. Sasuke paid for the items smoothly, proud at his purchases as he walked out the store feeling especially enlightened. However, before he stepped out of the store, he realised then that the weapons were too obvious and Tenten would get suspicious. Trying to rattle his head for ideas on how to disguise the weapons, he soon realised that he was married to an expert at hiding weapons using scrolls. Without a moment to waste, he took out a scroll from one of his holsters and sealed the newly purchased within the scrolls before setting off once more.
The Sharingan wielder walked back to the store his wife was shopping in, making sure to stop by at a bookstore to purchase the newest edition from the Icha Icha series he knew Kakashi liked after seeing him read it during their initial genin test with him a long time ago. When he was sure he had purchased everything, he made his way back to the store where his wife was waiting, a new bag in had with what he expected to be Sakura's present.
"Done?" He nodded before taking a few bags off her to carry back to the house.
As they traveled back toward the Uchiha household, Sasuke felt one of the bags continuously bang against his skin. He paused for a moment, looking down and opening the bag to see its contents. Noting the familiar box that the kunai set Tenten had bought for Naruto earlier was inside, a sudden idea entered his mind as a devious smirk pasted itself onto his face.
"You coming Sasuke? My arms are sort of killing me," Tenten complained when she noticed her husband stop abruptly. He looked up before nodding, jogging up to her to catch up, the smirk never leaving his face.
"Sasuke!"
The sound of a particularly frantic weapons wielder burst through the abode of the Uchiha, resonating loudly around the paper walls. Sasuke turned around to see his frantic wife, a look of concern flashing over his face as he walked up to her curiously.
"What is it?" He asked bluntly, but not unkindly.
She stared at him with frenzied eyes, increasing his concern even more. As he was about to speak up, she interjected quickly. "I can't find Naruto's present! It's the kunai set one, have you seen it? I still need to get it personalised," she blurted in slight agitation, beginning to pace the area.
Tenten was too overcome with her panicked emotions that she didn't notice the sudden devious smile that had spread across her husband's lips.
"Nope, sorry Ten. I haven't seen it," he replied calmly, his expression not giving anything away. She let out a frustrated groan before walking out of the room on her wits end, ready to pull her hair out.
This left Sasuke to walk over to a corner of the room where he had expertly hidden the kunai set she was looking for. Without her knowledge, it had already been personalised but for a different person than originally intended. Instead of the Uzumaki clan symbol on the handle and the name 'Naruto' on the blade, it had an Uchiha clan symbol on the handle and the name 'Tenten' on the blade, along with a small engraving of a dragon that was usually associated with her.
Sasuke smirked to himself in triumph.
"As if I'm getting that idiot a present. He can go buy one for himself for all I care."