Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, nor any places, things, characters, nor ideas therein. The aforementioned belong to Masashi Kishimoto, Viz Media, Shounen Jump, TV Tokyo, etc. I am writing this fic for entertainment purposes only, not monetary gain.
Summary: Business trips, blizzards, four excited children, two hyperactive dogs, and four frazzled adults - what could possibly go wrong? :Gaara x Hinata, Neji x Tenten:
Rating: T
Warning(s): A soft lime later in the story, and one slightly dangerous situation
Pairing(s): Gaara/Hinata, Neji/Tenten
Spoilers: None
Universe: AU
Part: 1/7
Fic Title Song: All I Want For Christmas (Is You) by Mariah Carey
Chapter Title Song: Baby, It's Cold Outside by Vanessa Williams
Author's Note: I had so much fun writing a Christmas story last year, I knew I wanted to do one again this year! This time my favorite Hinata pairing, GaaHina, is involved, whereas last year's was SasuHina (my second-favorite Hinata pairing, but not as much as GaaHina). And I get to do half the story also focused on my all-time favorite Naruto pairing - NejiTen! I actually started out something similar to this three years ago, but never finished it. I dragged it out this year, blew off the dust, changed it up (quite) a bit, and here it is! Each chapter title will be the name of a song, which has a bit to do with the content of the chapter. I'll list each song and its artist (some are done by multiple artists, but I always list my favorite version) at the beginning of each chapter. Thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoy!
*~All I Want for Christmas~*
.:fyd818:.
*~Chapter I~*
~Baby, It's Cold Outside~
"Mama, Mama, it's snowing!"
Sabaku Hinata jolted to full wakefulness, her pale eyes snapping open in the semidarkness of her room. "What?" For as long as she'd lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico (going on seven years now), she hadn't seen a single flake of snow. As far as she knew, the weather forecast didn't show any snow for this Christmas, either, just like for the past several years.
So why in the world did her five-year-old twins think it was snowing?
Hiashi, older than Hoshi by exactly thirteen minutes, flopped on the bed on his mother's left, in the vacant spot usually occupied by his father. "It's snowing in Denver!" he exclaimed.
Hoshi clambered onto the bed and snuggled up against her mother's right side. "And in New York!" she added with a squeal. Her own pale eyes, tinged with a soft mint green, widened. "What about Papa?"
Wiggling her arms free of the blankets, Hinata reached past her daughter to pick up her phone off the nightstand. Waking the screen, she squinted at the time - seven-fifteen (she overslept!) - and made sure she didn't have any missed calls. "Papa hasn't called, sweetie. I'm sure everything's going just as planned."
Poking out his lower lip, Hiashi crossed his arms over his skinny chest. "So he's still gonna meet us at Uncle Neji and Aunt Tenten's house?" he challenged.
Sitting up, Hinata ran her hand through her long, tangled dark hair and gently nudged Hoshi until she moved out of the way. "His plane will probably be taking off in a few minutes, as a matter of fact." This was the closest to Christmas Gaara had had to take a business trip in the entire seven years they'd been married, but Hinata had reassured herself he'd be coming back on December 23rd; plenty of time for Christmas. He would fly into Denver's airport, since it was closest to Neji and Tenten's house; Hinata would drive herself and the twins up to meet him there.
After sending her progeny back to the kitchen to wait for her, Hinata quickly went through her morning routine, glad she had packed her own bags and the twins' the night before. Now all she'd have to do was throw in the last-minute things like makeup and toothbrushes, and then they could leave. She couldn't imagine trying to pack everything this morning, especially since she accidentally overslept.
Pulling her hair back into a ponytail as she left her bedroom, Hinata nearly tripped over Suna, the family's Shiba Inu, whose name was thanks to the golden color of his coat. Wagging his tail happily, the little dog followed her to the kitchen, pouting when she didn't head straight for his food bowl.
"You ate last night," she told him. "We're going on a trip, and you know you get carsick if you eat anything before we go."
Suna's tail drooped, and he went to lie in his doggie bed next to the fireplace in the living room to pout.
Rolling her eyes at the dog's dramatics (she could swear he'd learned to pout from the twins), Hinata ruffled her son's hair as she kissed the top of her daughter's head. "What do you munchkins want for breakfast?" she asked.
As she obligingly poured cereal into bowls while simultaneously starting some toast for herself, Hinata turned her attention to the little television in the corner. The twins had already turned it on to the weather channel, where the national forecast currently showed.
Hinata cringed as she poured milk into Hoshi's bowl, not even smiling at the trademark snap! crackle! pop! she tended to giggle at with her daughter. Apparently it had already been snowing in New York all night, thanks to a surprise storm which had blown in from the northwest. It had also started snowing in Denver. Hinata winced at the realization she and the twins would be arriving right about the time it would turn from flurries and snow showers to a full-out storm.
"Okay, boys and girls," she said, plopping a bowl in front of each twin. "I need you to eat fast, okay? We need to get on the road as soon as possible."
She was just about to butter her hot toast when her phone rang. A glance at the caller ID made her stomach cramp when she saw Gaara's name, especially since she knew his flight was supposed to leave in less than half an hour. "Hello?" She stepped out of the kitchen, and the sound of the television and the twins' excited chattering dropped considerably.
"Hinata." Gaara's voice sounded raspier than usual, and her name came across the line on a long sigh. "I'm at the airport. But I have bad news."
Closing her eyes, Hinata immediately started shaking her head. "No," she moaned. "Don't tell me, don't tell me-"
"They've canceled my flight." Gaara paused a moment as an announcement sounded on his side, though Hinata couldn't make out the words. "Though it's still snowing here, it's slacked off enough that they were able to clear off the runways enough to get some planes in the air, with delays. But my flight would be landing in Denver right about the time a big snowstorm hits, so they've canceled the flight. I asked at the desk, but the woman there told me she didn't know if they'd be able to get any flights out tomorrow, either, and they won't be able to make a final decision anyway until in the morning, and they see how bad things are."
Hinata felt her shoulders slump. Her eyes dropped closed as she sagged against the wall next to the swinging door into the kitchen. "So there's a chance you might be able to fly in tomorrow?" she asked hopefully. It would be Christmas Eve and cutting things very close, but Gaara would still be there for Christmas morning. They wouldn't have to miss spending the holiday together, though a lot of their Christmas Eve traditions would probably have to go by the wayside.
Gaara was silent a little too long for Hinata's peace of mind. "To be honest, I'm not that hopeful. We're in a little gap in the storm here right now, but around five this afternoon it's supposed to pick up again. And if it snows all night tonight like it did last night..." He trailed off with another tired sigh. "Not to mention the fact Denver's supposed to be having a big snowstorm, too. It wasn't so bad before the surprise storm, because my plane would have taken off here in time for it to land there before the worst of it hit. But now, it looks like there's just no way."
"What about another flight?" Hinata grabbed on to the thought and clung to it with both hands. "What about if you fly in somewhere else, still close? Like maybe Colorado Springs? It's not supposed to get as bad there." She'd seen that much of the weather report, anyway, before Gaara called.
"I'm still checking into alternate options, but it's not looking promising. This close to Christmas, everyone and their brother's cousin's enemies are flying out to see family. So many flights are already full, but I'm going to hunker down here at the airport and hope a seat on an alternate flight pops up." Gaara went quiet for a few moments as another announcement came on the loudspeaker. Then, quietly, he whispered, "I'm sorry, Hinata."
She closed her eyes against the prickling feeling at the back of her eyes. "It's not your fault," she whispered. "You needed to be there."
"That may be so, but I need to be there, too," he replied. "Listen, sweetheart: someway, somehow, I'll find a way. I will be there for Christmas, okay?"
Hinata bit her lower lip. "Don't do anything dangerous," she cautioned.
"I won't," he promised. "Don't you do anything dangerous either, okay? You and the twins will probably get to Neji and Tenten's right about the same time the storm really fires up."
"We'll be careful, I promise." Hinata opened her eyes and pushed away from the wall, ready to put on a happy face for the twins. "I love you, Gaara."
"I love you, too. Don't lose hope, Hinata. I'll be there." Gaara hung up.
Pressing her phone against her chest, Hinata let out a long breath and tried not to think about how hopeless the prospects really were for Gaara actually finding a flight in time for Christmas.
Christmas really was Hyuuga Tenten's favorite time of year. With carols playing on the radio twenty-four/seven, lights and decorations everywhere she looked, and big, fluffy white flakes falling from the sky, it made her feel like a little kid again and again. It never got old.
Humming along to Baby, It's Cold Outside, Tenten smiled as she tweaked the shiny silver bow on one of the presents already under the tree. The number would double when Gaara, Hinata, and their twins arrived. Plus then they'd have two dogs to try to keep away, instead of just one.
Across the room, the Hyuuga family dog - a rescued Belgian Malinois/boxer mix named Konoha - lay with her head on her paws, staring at the tree with a longing expression. She knew one of those brightly wrapped gifts was hers, and Tenten could see her doggie brain ticking away with a plan behind her big, sad brown eyes.
"Don't even think about it, girl," Tenten muttered. She and Neji had put Konoha's new squeaky toys in a big bag at the very back of the tree to make sure she couldn't get to it, though the dog had tried a few times. Her abnormally high intelligence meant she didn't give up easily - and she loved solving puzzles.
Christmas usually gave her the biggest ones of the whole year.
"It's snowing!" Tenten's seven-year-old daughter, Kanae, ran into the room dressed in her heaviest coat, a bright red scarf wrapped around her neck and a matching hat on her head. Her four-year-old brother, Hizashi, followed, bundled up in his own winter wear, a big grin on his face. "Mom, can we please go out and play in it?" Kanae held up her hands prayerfully in front of her, pleading eyes open as wide as they could go.
"Guys, it's barely light outside." Tenten threw open the drapes on the big floor-to-ceiling windows at the back of the room so they could all three see the big white flakes falling from the sky. Though the sun had appeared over the horizon, the heavy, battleship-grey clouds above them blocked out most of its brilliance. "And besides, there's not enough on the ground to do anything with. Why don't you wait until later, okay? Your cousins will be here this afternoon, and then you can all take the dogs out and play together."
"What about Dad?" Though obviously disappointed, Kanae pulled off her hat and ran her hand through her soft, straight brown hair, smoothing it down. "D'you think he's still going to be able to fly in, thanks to all this snow?"
"He's just flying from Portland." Tenten moved over to the mantle and straightened the bright strand of red and gold garland draped in swags from the same hooks which would house the children's stockings in just a few hours. "He'll be here in plenty of time, before the weather gets really bad. It's your Uncle Gaara I'm worried about. He's coming all the way from New York - and that's a long way away. The storm will really be firing up just about the same time he's supposed to land."
Tenten's husband Neji, a prestigious heart surgeon despite his young age, had had to fly to Portland to give a discourse about his work at a cardiology seminar. It had been rescheduled, and though the timing had been a little too close to Christmas for the Hyuuga family's tastes, Neji was the keynote speaker and had to be there. Thankfully he'd managed to book a flight on the twenty-third, so he'd be home in plenty of time for all their Christmas Eve traditions, too.
"What about Aunt Hinata and the twins?" Though only seven, Kanae was unusually perceptive for her age. She tended to catch on to things faster than other kids her age, especially if the things were worrisome to adults.
"They should be fine. They'll be cutting it close-" she decided not to say just how close "-but they should beat the worst of the storm." If the snow kept falling the way it was now, with big flakes but at a relatively lazy pace, it shouldn't accumulate on the roads too quickly. The road crews had already put down cinders and brine, so Tenten hoped the roads would stay clear long enough for Hinata, the twins, and their dog to get to the house safely.
Gaara, on the other hand... Tenten had flown from New York to Denver before. She knew how long the flight took, and unless the plane had already taken off, she knew there was no way he would beat the storm.
And since the holidays meant more flight delays than usual... Oh, this does not bode well.
Tenten's phone rang. Feeling a little shiver of apprehension shoot up her spine, she pulled the device out of her pocket and checked the screen. A tiny guilty part of her was glad to see Hinata's name instead of Neji's on the screen. Had it been the latter, it would mean he wasn't on his flight in the air, as he was supposed to be. She answered it. "Hi, Hinata, what's going on?"
"Bad news." Hinata sighed gustily. "Gaara's stuck in New York. His flight's been canceled, and it doesn't look good on rescheduling to tomorrow, what with snow storms in New York and there in Denver. He's looking into getting a different flight, close enough to drive the rest of the way, but that's not promising, either."
Oh no. Just as Tenten had feared. When she'd turned on the weather channel this morning to check the status of the snowstorm headed for Denver, she'd instead been greeted by news of a surprise overnight storm in New York. It hadn't been supposed to hit until after Gaara's flight left - tonight, instead of last night. But it had moved a little faster than the meteorologists expected it would (and since when were they right, anyway?). Now Gaara was stuck over halfway across the country from his family, with Christmas only two days away.
"Oh, Hinata. There's nothing?" Tenten's eyes drifted toward her laptop, sitting in sleep mode on the coffee table in front of the couch. Perhaps she could check some other airlines, help Gaara find something quicker...
"Not yet. Gaara's going to stay at the airport, just in case a seat opens up at the last minute. Fortunately the woman at the front desk with whom he spoke seemed helpful, albeit a little stressed. She said she'd page him if anything popped up, but she couldn't promise." Hinata stopped to hush Suna, who was barking in the background. When she came back, she said, "Do you still want me and the twins to come? Is Neji on his way?"
"Yes. He would have texted or called me by now if his flight was canceled. It was supposed to take off two hours ago, which means it probably only left half an hour ago, but he'll be home well before the worst of the storm gets here." Tenten felt guilty sharing that news with Hinata, since it meant her husband would be able to be home for Christmas when it looked like Hinata's wouldn't. "But we still want you and the twins to come, definitely."
"Are you sure?" Hinata still sounded uncertain even after Tenten heartily assured her she, Neji, and the kids wouldn't have it any other way. "I'll kick us all into high gear, then, I guess. We just have to finish packing things we needed this morning, and I already put most of the presents in the van last night. So we'll load everything else in and then leave. We should be on the road in the next half hour or so."
"Okay. See you in about eight and a half hours, then?" Tenten hated how long the drive between Albuquerque and Denver was, but it couldn't be helped.
"Probably more like ten," Hinata said with a groan. "We've got to stop somewhere for food on the way, plus there'll probably be traffic. Add in the weather..." She clicked her tongue. "It'll be a while, but we'll get there. I promise to be careful, and I'll call you when we're almost there."
"Sounds good. Be careful. Love you guys; see you soon." Tenten hung up the phone and forced a smile for Kanae and Hizashi, who were watching their mother with wide eyes. They'd both squirmed out of most of their winter gear, though they still wore their thick pants, sweaters, and heavy wool socks. "Well, Aunt Hinata and the twins are still coming, but Uncle Gaara is stuck in the airport in New York. His flight was canceled because of the weather, but he's hoping to get something else."
Hizashi cheered, but Kanae looked worried. She glanced at her brother, then gave her mother a significant look, filled with questions.
Tenten closed her eyes and shook her head once, sharply, in response. "Okay," she said, picking up her son and cradling him close in hopes he wouldn't notice his sister and mother's preoccupation. "Who wants to help me make sugar cookies?"
The trio headed to the kitchen, and Tenten hoped she could keep her kids busy until Neji got home from the airport. Then she could enlist his help in keeping them occupied until Hinata, Hiashi, and Hoshi got there.
It was going to be a long, long day.
*~To Be Continued~*
Author's Ending Notes: I love the dogs! I adore the Shiba Inu breed, I think they're some of the prettiest dogs on the planet. And Konoha is based on my own dog, also a (rescued) Belgian Malinois/boxer mix, though Jazz is male. But he's also wickedly smart, and loves solving puzzles, which makes Christmas and hiding his presents an adventure every year. (It says something profound when you have to try really hard to outsmart your dog.) Anyway, back on topic. There are seven chapters total in this fic, and I'll update this every Wednesday and Sunday (my fic Entanglements will have a new chapter each Friday as scheduled throughout this story, too) with the final chapter going up on Christmas Eve. The title of each chapter will be from a Christmas song, and I'll list each one at the beginning of the chapter, and the group who sings my favorite version. So until Sunday, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this first chapter!