A/N: Hello all! Have you missed me? I missed me. (Hope I got everyone)
Merry Christmas everyone! And an even more special wish to Fanofthisfiction. The inspiration for this fic...and challenge.
Be sure to check out everyone else who wrote a little piece for this challenge. And stick to the end for more surprises!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. This is in a slightly more modern setting (as in they have modern technology). They are still ninja and the 4th war didn't happen (I'm trying different angles each time) Characters are all 18+. Unbeta-ed
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Akamaru speaks broken english only Kiba understands.
Enjoy! (Please do, I literally banged my head against the table to stop my angst calling)
XxX
Christmas evening
Naruto smiled as he watched Hinata slowly raise her mug to her face. She seemed to inhale the scent of the hot chocolate before sipping it. That was just something she did he noticed. She would smell whatever it was before consuming it. It was a cute habit. Not to mention amusing when she would raise a whole chicken leg to her nose, much to the confusion of everyone else. Except Neji. The Hyugga family seemed to all have the same quirks and habits, so it came as no surprise to Naruto that he did the same.
The blond eventually shifted his gaze from Hinata to Sakura. The pinkette seemed to be making her way over to him. That in of itself was surprising.
"Merry Christmas, Naruto," she smiled, stretching her arms wide as he received her hug. They enveloped each other for what felt like an eternity. He wished it was, but she eventually pulled away, her smile still wide on her face.
"Merry Christmas," he responded equally as happy, if not more.
"This gathering was a great idea," she motioned to the liveliness of the environment that was filled with their friends, practically family. Naruto's small living room was currently clustered with happy people, laughing and teasing. Kiba was challenging Tenten to a game of shots in the corner. The outcome of that could..vary depending on how many drinks either of them have already had. The blond and pinkette could see Shino and Choji on the couch, constantly adjusting their sitting position to allow others to pass in front of them. Ino was parading around the room singing Christmas carols, decked out in a Santa hat and boots. Neji and Hinata stood near the tree, admiring the decorations on it. Shikamaru and Lee were nowhere in sight at the moment, but they knew they were around.
"Okay, most of it was a good idea," she laughed at her best friend's antics.
"I'm just glad you guys agreed," Naruto shouted over all the noise in hopes to be heard.
"Why wouldn't we?"
And to that, he couldn't answer. For Naruto, loneliness had been a lifestyle. It was his only way of living. Save for the few times the Third got around to helping him out, or his beloved Godfather (which wasn't often enough for either), he mostly crawled the grounds of Konoha a hungry child. He had been mistreated and despised for something that wasn't even his fault. And he had hated many of the people just as much as they he, only because it was easier to reciprocate the feelings he received. As a child, how was he to understand the need for difference? And yet, all he ever wanted was for someone to look at him beyond his trapped demon. A child who was lost, confused and lonely. Knowing that Sakura and Sasuke had been forced to be his partners was understandably less than comforting. But when Sasuke looked at him with nothing in his eyes, it was the starting point for Naruto to put something there. But what he desired to be seen as. It was selfish, but it was an opportunity. And when Sakura actually smiled at him, his heart fluttered and he thought he could love. And he did.
The pinkette in question raised her eyebrow as her blond friend seemed to doze off without actually sleeping. She opted to leave him there for a moment and fetch him a drink. Because the party isn't over until nobody is sober...according to Lady Tsunade.
Making her way through the small crowd, she finally squeezed her way into the kitchen area. It was mostly defined by the fridge, sink, cupboards and mini oven. With the counter space mostly taken up, it was hard to find anywhere to place a cup down. Ignoring this tiny inconvenience however, she grabs the red solo cup from the dispenser and goes in search of whoever stole all the alcohol. They weren't that hard to find, since they were the loudest in the room.
Tenten and Kiba were laughing at the top of their lungs, faces rosy and hands gripping unto their cups for dear life. Many discarded alcohol bottles could be seen lying about their feet, and Sakura was mildly alarmed by the thought of just how much the duo may have consumed. She was put to some ease when she noticed Shikamaru as the person monitoring the whole ordeal, but still a little set off.
"Don't you guys go and kill anybody, you hear me?" She warned playfully, holding her cup out to the Nara boy for him to pour a little beverage into it, when she spotted Sai.
"There you are, I wasn't sure where you had been," she noticed how intently the pale boy was watching Tenten and Kiba, so she was scared to think he might be learning from them.
"I was just observing this...peculiar display of emotional change. Moments ago Dog-boy was acting all tough, but now he seems like a squishy. And Buns was speaking Chinese, attempting to educate us on the inner workings of potatoes. I'm not too sure why any of this is relevant to 'Christmas'."
"It's not you punkass! I was simply procrastinating!" Tenten shouted in protest, quite obviously drunk.
"We haven't even been here for a full three hours yet…" Inner Sakura gagged.
"Procrastinating for what?" Shikamaru inquired, very much amused.
"Your baby bums!"
He chuckled a bit at that, uncorking another bottle.
"Had any yet?" Sakura in turn asked him.
"Just a little," he shrugged, fulfilling on her unspoken request.
"Drink some more, I want to hear you singing!" She laughed as he finished, making her way back to Naruto at the sound of the infamous 'Nara snort' and Kiba's cry.
"Hey...Where is Akamaru?!"
The little house the Uzumaki boy owned wasn't airconditioned, and it doesn't snow in Konoha, so everyone forwent the ideal thick sweaters and wore either vests or simple T-shirts ( maintaining the traditional colors however) while heavy rain poured on the outside. On her way back to Naruto, Sakura smashed straight into Ino.
"OMG! Hellooooo friend~" the intoxicated blonde sang.
"Looks like I found another person who should probably trade the drink for something to eat in the meantime."
"Oh don't kill the joy you killjoy."
"How eloquent."
"Come here!" Ino pulled her in for a hug, reeking of alcohol, sweat and a really long lasting perfume.
But Sakura was glad for the embrace. It feels like an eternity was spent on all the hate and 'betrayal' they felt towards each other. It hindered their friendship as children, and it almost prevented their growth as people. There were no words to express just how grateful Sakura was that they had moved past that. And even if the blonde would never admit it, she was 100x happier that they mended the issue.
"Going to swallow up that there?" Ino attempted to grab the cup from Sakura's hand, but her drunk coordination -or lack thereof- caused her to swing around in the other direction.
"Okay, never mind then~" and she scurried off towards whoever was unlucky enough, leaving a confused, but still utterly amused, Sakura behind.
The unlucky sap happened to be Shino...oddly enough. The Yamanaka girl pushed her way through bodies until she came to the couch, which was recently vacated by Choji in search of more snacks, and she threw herself down with just as much grace as a sober person -though she was anything but.
Shino glanced at her for only a second before immediately feeling uncomfortable with the situation. He has had to deal with a drunk-stupid Kiba many times in the past, and it has always been unpleasant. From Kiba stripping naked in record time, to attempting to kiss Shino because he thought he was a 'shy girl', it was never the same experience. And considering that Ino and Kiba were probably the most alike in their friend circle, Shino knew for a fact that the blonde could be no different from his troubling teammate. And he was not about to play babysitter.
Moving to get up from his seat, Shino made an escape plan -one that included getting out of the entire gathering. Though he greatly appreciated being remembered this time, crowded places weren't for him. He had been there for nearly three hours, and he supplied that that had been enough. But before he could get too far, Ino latched onto his arm.
"Don't go yet! Let me tell you about my first boyfriend."
"I am genuinely not interested in that story. Why? Because it doesn't concern me."
"Yeah well, to be fair, no story anybody tells at a party concerns anyone else, but it's just fun to engage in something."
And Shino found it hard to argue with that logic. Akamichi and himself had been making few offhand comments to one another while they had been in the proximity, but nothing much. Since Hinata was on the other side of the room, and Kiba was drunk in some corner, Shino thought it best to allow the Yamanaka to tell her little story, and then he could make a break for it.
Four whole minutes pass as Ino rambles on and on about how Raiko, the guy she first dated, was 'a total asshole with no respect for the female population.' If she was referring to Raiko Tumi, she would indeed be correct about her statements. Shino could recall quite a few occasions in which he had been paired up with the guy for minor C and B rank missions. They work well together in terms of actual work simply because the guy is similar to Kiba in a disposition kind of way. But Shino quite vividly remembers many times in which he was less than happy with his temporary partner's general attitude. It was off putting to say the least. But if he was being honest, he could clearly see why Ino and Raiko would get together. They are both attractive in an objective and subjective way. Shino knew damn well that almost 70% of the Konoha male population would fake their whole personality if it meant they had a shot at getting with Ino. And he didn't blame them. Raiko was no exception.
Turning to see that the blonde beauty had suddenly knocked out, and that she was slumped back, but still somehow managing to look...serene, Shino sighs to himself as he looks away and his eyes connect with Sai's. For a silent second they communicate, despite Sai being unable to actually see Shino's eyes, he knew for a fact that the Aburame was looking at him. They exchange a nod, and then Shino moves from his seat, not once disturbing Ino (because that's how ninja do!).
Sai turns back to the duo of drinking drunks, watching curiously as they strive to push their limits. Shikamaru seemed to be losing interest, but he also seemed mostly distracted by his thoughts. So Sai decided to do him a favor.
"Why don't you let me take over here?" He smiled.
"Probably because you wouldn't know what you're doing?" Shikamaru shrugged half-heartedly. What he said was a little harsh, but it was the truth.
"They don't seem to be too much of a threat at this point," he looked at their quickly sloping postures, "I imagine that they'll be asleep in no more than another hour. I can manage in that time. But perhaps you should go get something to eat? And maybe a drink or two...something is troubling you."
The Nara man looked back at Sai with some confusion.
"Oh don't even try to deny it. Never forget that I have spent mostly my whole life studying others, but I think that anyone else with a coherent thought in their head can see your predicament."
"Why is this such a problem for you?" Shikamaru sighed, a little frustrated at this point.
"It is not, I am just being your friend," Sai smiled again.
In all honesty, that statement made Shikamaru back track a bit. He had always considered Sai a friend mostly by convenience of doing so. It was easier just to respond 'he's my friend' when someone would ask. But he never actually...meant it. At those times, it didn't seem to matter that he would need to; because he never thought it through. It wasn't really important. But in some ways, he supposes, they were 'real friends'. Him and everyone in the room, even if they didn't notice when it happened. He certainly didn't.
Spotting Choji over by the snack table, he opted to go there. Because Sai was right, he was in need of something to eat...and drink.
As Shikamaru walked off, Sai swapped the alcohol beverages in Kiba and Tenten's hands for water. They didn't notice, but they would be thanking someone later when they're sober. And considering that Tenten was just going to go over to the karaoke machine before she took a sip of her water that "tastes like weird juicie" -according to her, Sai was positive she would be thankful for the save from her death by embarrassment.
Kiba apparently just remembered that he didn't know where Akamaru happened to be, so he took to crawling on the floor and sniffing him out. He pushed pass many feet, causing a person (or two...or three) to fall flat unto their butt -needless to say, they weren't happy about it, whoever they even were. At this point, all the legs looked the same.
Akamaru's scent was coming strongly from the bedroom coupled with another less familiar one that seemed a lot like sweat and exercise, and Kiba, naturally, in his drunken state, jumped to conclusions thinking his best friend in the whole wide world was being...taken advantage of…
.
.
.
So he barged into the room screaming at the top of his lungs.
"LEAVE MY FRIEND ALONE YOU GODDAMN INGRIT!" and he pounced on the other scent.
"What the youth?!"
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" he pulled at the other scent's hair with his teeth, using his body weight to hold them to the floor. Throwing aimless fists at...whatever was in his vision, or lack thereof, his coordination, which was greatly encouraged by the alcohol, turned out to be less than professional or tactical.
"Biba bhut ber beck?!" Akamaru barked in surprise.
"Akamaru!" almost instantly, Kiba forgot about whatever he was doing and jumped to his friend. Grabbing the dog around his neck with unnecessary force, he pulled him into a hug.
"I thought I would never see you again! I thought you died and your body was still emitting the same fresh scent!" he cried.
"Biba! Belax byourbelf, be bere bust blaying bards."
"What? Relax myself? You were just playing cards?"
"Indeed we were!" the other scent jumped up now, which turned out to be Lee once Kiba focused.
"Band bi bwas bwinning," Akamaru pouted a bit, a slight weeping sound coming out.
"You were winning?" Kiba repeated what the dog said...for some reason.
"Yes he was! He had won four times before that! Your dog is incredible, but I already knew that! He has the YOUTH WITHIN HIM!" Lee praised, feeling some pride for his friend's achievements.
Lee had always felt pride for his friends' accomplishments. There was always a refreshing feeling whenever he saw that Neji had somehow pushed past his limits. The time Tenten had held her own against Gai, Kakashi and Kurenai after having her chakra greatly depleted in a fight with Neji - all without obtaining a single scratch. Lee had watched with great enthusiasm as Naruto overcame his demons, the literal and figurative ones. All the years that had gone by; all the friends he lost had been tragic;but with the new ones he gained, to him, that felt like his best accomplishment.
Flashing a large grin at Kiba, even though the boy wasn't paying attention, Lee made his way out of Naruto's tiny bedroom, sensing that any further games with Akamaru had been ceased. He found himself at the snack table no more than three seconds later, new company found.
"Choji, my friend!"
The Akamichi boy froze in place, having not expected to be approached by anyone. He turned slowly to face the direction of the green (always) clad boy.
"Oh," he said through a mouthful of fruit cake, "hi Lee."
"What are you eating?"
Choji swallowed before he proceeded.
"Fruit cake, would you like a slice?"
"Yes please!" Lee grabbed a plate in lightning speed, offering it up to him.
Choji made sure first to secure another slice for himself before giving Lee any. No one came before food.
The silence that followed was comfortable. They both kept busy with eating, but soon, that wasn't enough for the bowl cut brunet.
"Congratulations!"
Once again Choji was caught off guard. Asuma would have laughed at his jitteriness had he been there. Rest his soul.
"For what?"
"Just...congratulations! Job well done on everything! Oh, karaoke!" and with that, Lee bounded off to busy himself with the mic.
No one would know just how much that meant to Choji. Somehow, he had envisioned his late Sensei saying those words to him after he lost some weight and got even stronger. It was...heartwarming to have someone tell him that. Even though Shikamaru and Ino wasted no time in telling him, and his Father was actually the first, it still felt like there was some empty space waiting to say those words. Choji knew that it was only Lee, but secretly, he had always admired the Youth loving Gai doppelganger. Lee, more so than anyone else Choji knew, including Shikamaru, had managed to go against all odds. When the world had told him otherwise, much like Naruto, he kept moving anyway. That inspired Choji. The Akamichi boy knew all too well what it was like to have people's expectations be less than desired, but he had also felt that satisfaction of proving them wrong. Even his own Father doubted him once.
Smiling to the back of the boy, Choji proceeded to stuff his face, this time with some more satisfaction.
In his movements, he accidentally bumped someone.
"Whoops, sorry."
"That's okay," Tenten grumbled. Her stomach was twisting in ways her body recalled, but not her brain. It was uncomfortable. She watched Lee make his way over to the karaoke machine, and she couldn't but laugh in advance. Somehow, she knew that later on she would be cringing at his awful vocals rather than be amused by them.
"I wonder if he had anything to drink?" she mumbled to herself, only slightly aware of what she was saying.
"BUT WHAT IF HE DIDN'T?!" her outburst was enough to cause the few people around her to jump, but also for her stomach to run wild, and she got the sudden urge to throw up.
"Out of my way people!" Tenten pushed past all those around and made a beeline for the bathroom door. She barely made it to the toilet seat before she was spilling her guts like a little girl to her diary. In her rush, Tenten paid no mind to the timid Hyuugal who had been washing her hands.
"Oh my goodness! Tenten are you alright?" Hinata rushed to the older girl's side, kneeling next to her and patting her back quickly.
"I just feel like an angel, that's all…"
"I'll take that as a no," Hinata giggled, pulling out some of the toilet paper to use as a wipe.
"I think you drank too much."
"There's no such thing as drinking too much child!"
"I'm not that much younger than you," she laughed. Hinata knew that Tenten was probably in some pain, and that it was wrong to laugh at the other girl while she was incoherent enough not to realize it, but she couldn't help herself, something about the usually 'I've got everything under control' Tenten being nothing more than a blubbering baby was amusing. Let heaven curse her soul if this was nothing more than innocent amusement.
"I need a drink," Tenten sighed, a hand rubbing her forehead.
"Sure, alright," Hinata knew better than to give the brunette any more alcohol, so she decided to get some water without telling her. It would probably be best to also get Neji, since she was sure he had more experience with this than her. Practically leaping out the bathroom, she nearly bumped into Shikamaru.
"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry!" She bowed so low her head nearly hit the floor.
"Relax Hinata, I'm not injured," he shrugged it off, hands in his pockets with an indifferent expression.
"Still, I apologize, I was just going to get Neji...and some water."
"You don't need to explain yourself, also, has anyone ever told you that you apologize too much?" he raised his eyebrow with an amused glint.
"Just about everyone," she smiled.
Nodding his head, he patted her shoulder just before she bounced off towards -he assumed- Neji. Hinata was always a nice girl; sweet, kind, well-intending and innocent. She wasn't too extravagant or too plain. She was perfect, almost. But she wasn't...her.
He placed his hand against the bathroom door, making sure that Tenten didn't trying leaving. He knew she was probably too weak to try anything, but it helped his pride to tell himself that he was keeping the door closed rather than keeping himself upright.
He looked up and his eyes connected with Choji's. The Akamichi boy seemed to recognize something on his best friend's face, and the minute he did, he motioned his head to the outside where there was less noise and mouthed, 'call her.'
Shikamaru rolled his eyes and ignored his friend, nevertheless making his way to the front door and keeping his head down to avoid anymore unnecessary eye contact.
"Things shouldn't be this troublesome," he mumbled to himself as he finally stood outside, right under the door's awning. The rain reduced to a mere drizzle at this point, and Shikamaru found himself staring out at the wide expanse of Konoha. The beauty of his beloved village did nothing to calm his raging thoughts however. He pulled out his cellphone and stared at the screen, not taking note of the slowly approaching figure.
"Hey."
The sudden voice startled Shikamaru, and he cursed himself a little inside for it. Once he recognized who it was however, his slight embarrassment was replaced with an unknown feeling.
"Sasuke? What are you doing here?"
The Uchiha boy masked a small smile, "I was invited."
Shikamaru was lost for words. In all honesty, one couldn't blame him. Sasuke had been gone on a mission for almost a year. There had been no contact with him and no one knew what to think. Yet, here he was, alive and well.
Without any further communication, Sasuke walked into the tiny apartment. Somehow, with all the drunk or otherwise engaged people prancing around like a forgotten reindeer, Sasuke still managed to spot the two people he was looking for. On the farthest end of the room from where he stood, Sakura was smiling and laughing with Neji, seemingly talking about the alcohol since she kept motioning to it. She looked serenely peaceful, and a part of him simply wanted to walk over to her and ruin the moment. He knew that the minute she spotted him she would be reduced to a mere sputtering girl; lost for words with a lot to say. But if he was being honest, he wasn't sure what he would say to her. Compliment her naturally pink hair perhaps? There were too many unrecognized feelings between them, and so, Sasuke settled with simply seeing her smile, and that was enough for him.
On the other side, however, Naruto could be seen dancing next to the surrogate stage that Lee was performing on. The 'jingle bell rock' song was on and Lee was singing to his heart's desire. He is an awful singer, but Sasuke supposes that no one minded since they were probably just as terrible. He could see the joy in Naruto's face, a happiness well deserved and one he wanted to share in on, so he made his way over to his best friend -and greatest rival. The people around Sasuke were barely there to him as he made his way over; just Naruto, Sakura and himself. The pinkette was in her corner; a beautiful bright place, and Naruto was in his own; somewhere more reachable to the Uchiha boy. He could extend himself to Naruto's world, but it will be a while longer before he can reach Sakura's.
As Sasuke got closer to Naruto, the blond boy turned in his direction, and everyone else faded away.
"Teme?"
"Baka."
The rest seemed to happen in slow motion; Naruto's confused expression turned into a smile and he launched himself into his friend. They hugged...or at least Naruto hugged Sasuke. The brunet simply let him.
No one else seemed to care that Sasuke was back, or perhaps they were simply writing it off as a Christmas miracle. Either way, one of the few people Sasuke actually cared for was happy to see him, and that made him feel right at home. Without even realizing it, Naruto pulled Sasuke over to Sakura, pushing past the other occupants with only a rushed 'sorry'. The Uchiha boy didn't have time to pull away and soon he was facing Sakura. The pinkette did exactly as he expected she would and Neji was forced to the background inadvertently. But instead of remaining dumbfounded, Sakura went from shocked to happy, and Sasuke never felt so warm inside in his life. She pulled him into a hug and Naruto joined because why not. They slowly reduced themselves to a giggling set, but Sasuke blamed to alcohol.
Looking up, he made eye contact with Neji. The other boy simply nodded and mouthed 'welcome back' before walking away to the snack table. The Hyuuga boy felt a sense of general happiness for Team 7. They had been broken apart and put back together so many times that it is a shame. He could only imagine their emotional trauma.
Neji didn't really have any intent of staying for much longer, now that he knew everyone had come and showed Naruto the respect, he was certain that this was an appropriate time to leave. But he was stopped in his tracks when his cousin ran up to him.
"Goodness Neji! I didn't think it would take so long to find you in such a small place," she heaved out.
"Calm down Hinata," he looked at her with concern...and confusion, "what is wrong?"
"Tenten is drunk and she threw up a few times, I thought that you might have more experience with these kinds of things? At least concerning her."
Neji sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "How much did she drink?"
"I don't know, but I gave her some water."
"I told Tenten that she was only allowed three drinks of alcohol," he grumbled, but even Hinata had to raise her eyebrow at that. He looked at her and tried to defend himself.
"She promised she would listen, but I should have known better," another sigh.
'You really expected her to listen?"
"In all honesty, no, but I was hopeful. Where is she?"
Hinata had to smile at Neji's willingness, whether it be because of his own sense of obligation, or because he wanted an excuse to leave, she knew that there was genuine concern in his decision to help.
"In the bathroom."
"But," her smile dropped as he spoke up, "you need to keep an eye on Lee for me."
She turned to see the green clad boy doing what he called 'the YOUTH dance'...and he was sober. Cringing a little, she couldn't help but laugh a little; both at Lee's dancing and Neji's bargain.
"Okay, I'll make sure he'll be okay for the rest of the night," and she was smiling again.
Neji smiled back at her. Hinata had that effect on people, almost as if her very presence was a damned forced causing you positive feelings. He had actively tried avoiding her in an attempt to test this. When she had popped out of nowhere, he had to smile. So he was right.
Making his way from Hinata towards the bathroom, Neji contemplated just how he was going to deal with the situation. Eventually he decided to see how things go once he got a proper read on just how bad things were.
Opening the door to the bathroom slowly in hopes not to startle tenten, he peered through the small crack almost like a child. His efforts to remain undetected were, however, made in vain, as Tenten whipped around the very second he looked inside.
"My pretty princess!" she clapped happily.
Definitely ending this quickly.
"I'm taking you home Tenten," he sighed for what felt like the nth time that day, fully stepping into the bathroom now. The weapons mistress was sprawled out on the floor, hanging on to the toilet seat for dear life.
"Okay," she complied so easily that Neji was taken aback. Usually Tenten was 100x more defiant when she was drunk than when sober, so it came as a massive shock that she just agreed to go. But perhaps she too was tired and wanted to be pampered. He didn't put it past her to think that way.
Grabbing her under her armpits, Neji almost effortlessly hoisted her up onto unsteady feet, but because she was drunk and lacked coordination, she left all her weight to drop. And considering that she never went anywhere without a couple of weapons expertly hidden away on her person, the added weight was a little more than expected for the Hyuuga. Nevertheless, he opted to wait until she managed to at least maintain flat footing. That didn't seem to be happening anytime in the present. Oddly enough, Neji, who earned a reputation for the most patient ninja in Konoha next to Kakashi and Shikamaru, didn't actually have that much patience outside of missions. It was almost frightening just how quickly things frustrated him considering his title. It even went to a point when people thought he was wrongly titled.
Growling a little as Tenten stumbled (despite not moving) like a child, Neji swooped his hands under her feet and behind her back to carry her bridal style. Tenten automatically wrapped her hands around his neck, but other than that she appeared like a corpse as her head hung back a little and her eyes remained shut. He shook his head, having already gotten accustomed to this part of the 'take care of poor drunk Tenten boohoo' routine that Ino so graciously dubbed.
Walking out of the bathroom and back into the small mass of bodies, Neji could just barely see the front door. Making a quick sweep with his eyes, he realized that everyone who had been invited was still there. It would be the polite thing to go around bidding everyone a goodnight, but Neji was far too tired after spending the whole day of the personal responsibility of making sure that neither Lee nor Hinata drank anything that they really shouldn't. He didn't care that they were well above the legal age to drink, Lee was too much of a reckless handful when drunk and he never wants Hinata to experience a hangover. No one deserved all the trouble that would cause.
Taking in a deep breath, he shouted, "a goodnight to you all, we're off!"
Most responded in like fashion, but Naruto and Lee quickly ran over with Sai in tow.
"Leaving already Neji?" Naruto pouted.
"I'm afraid so, Tenten has reached her limit," he motioned to the girl in his arms who was now squashing her ear to his chest and using one of her hands to block her other ear, clearly bothered by the noise, "so I must take her home."
"Then let us YOUTH!"
"That's quite alright Lee, you may stay back if you wish to...uh..youth some longer," Neji was trying hard to word his sentence properly. He knew that the minute both he and Lee had left Hinata would be making her way out also. He didn't want his cousin to miss another opportunity. So tasking her with the care of Lee had really been double intended, because he knew his teammate wouldn't leave until everyone else had. Looking back at Naruto as Lee responded with rapid nods, he smiled a small one.
"Thank you Naruto, for everything, I did enjoy myself."
"Me too cupcake!" Tenten shot up suddenly.
Naruto laughed at the expense of Neji with Tenten's antics before giving his signature look, "just you wait until next year!"
Naruto is a magnet, Neji thought to himself as he gave one last look at all the people who had gathered, all of different backgrounds and families who somehow now all hold similar morals, goals and values. Needless to say, Naruto was the major instigator of all that.
"Goodnight," he said one last time as he nodded them off. Lee and Sai went to resume whatever it had been they were doing previously while Naruto stood to watch them go.
Stepping outside, Neji noticed Shikamaru who had a lit cigarette between his fingers.
"You gone?" the Nara asked.
"Indeed," again Neji motioned to Tenten in his arms, gearing up to make a minor leap from the apartment, "and you should call her."
Shikamaru could have groaned in that instance. Everyone was sounding like his mother.
"Call who?" Tenten piped up, "Temari? If so, tell her that her brothers are hot!"
A pang of jealousy isn't enough of a reason to drop her, Neji decided.
As the Hyuuga jumped off, Shikamaru had to shake his head. With the rain gone and the sky clear, the clouds ever so slowly drifted away, but he watched as two bundles, though separated, seemed to be moving the same way, matching each other as they moved towards one another.
So deciding for himself, after being continually annoyed by everyone telling him to do it (his mother and Ino first), Shikamaru dialed her number and waited nervously for her to answer. The ringing seemed to go on forever and just as he was about to chicken out, he hears her voice.
"What do you want?" she spoke quickly, waiting for his response.
"Merry Christmas Temari," he practically sighs into the phone before giving a cough.
She rolls her eyes and tries to hide a smile. She had been hoping he would swallow his pride and call, because Lord knows she couldn't. Their last conversation had been over two months ago and it hadn't ended nicely, hence the reason for the big gap in interaction. At this point she couldn't even remember what they were mad about. What she had been mad about. But he called her and everything made sense again. Two months of being miserable. Kankuro had called her a masochist and she didn't correct him.
"Were you smoking?" she raised her eyebrow as she dropped herself down on the couch, pressing the phone tightly to her ear as she listened to him breath. Two months of nonsense.
"How did you know?" his question didn't feel like one, just conversation.
"Because, I know you," she bit her lip, impatiently wanting to hear his voice.
"Troublesome woman," another sigh, "I knew I shouldn't have called."
"Don't hang up," she pleaded, very uncharacteristically, though it sounded more like a command -more like her.
"I wouldn't...but you might."
"I have those rights," she smirked.
"Stop smirking."
"How did...nevermind."
"I'm going to answer that anyway; 'because I know you, Temari'."
She both loved and hated how easily her name rolled off his tongue, and she over all just missed him...but she couldn't tell him that. Pride is a moron.
"How have you been?" she asked, hoping most dearly that he would talk nonstop.
"Miserable...to say the least, you?"
"Ditto," she frowned, looking down at her knees in a rare moment of shame.
"Look, I shouldn't have called, I-"
"I'm sorry," she spoke quietly, finally slapping her pride shut for two seconds to fix the problem. She was just so tired of being isolated and away from things that made her happy. She had spent enough of her life miserable, there was no need to add more time to that list of years.
"I'm sorry too…"
She knew that Shikamaru didn't do anything wrong...well...probably didn't do anything. She still smiled at his apology though.
"I forgive you."
"Lucky me," his sarcasm was the only was he could hide his excitement.
"And Shikamaru."
"Yeah?"
"Merry Christmas to you too," she said it warmly, feeling the emptiness from before fade away at his voice and attention. She deserved to be happy just like everyone else. Screw misery, it's terrible company anyway.
"Oh my God, gag," Kankuro pretended to throw up as he leaned against the door frame, staring boredly at his sister.
Temari rolled her eyes as she outwardly groaned, "don't you have some God forsaken wood to go carve?"
"As a matter of fact, I do," he huffed as he pushed himself off of the wall, moving away from the living room at a relaxed pace.
"Kankuro, wait!" she put her hand over the mouth part of her phone, sighing a bit at her own rudeness. She remembered a time when Shikamaru had explained to her what Christmas meant to the people of Konoha and just how baffled she was at how greatly it differed from what it meant in Suna. So she decided to try it a new way, for the sake of building more on family.
"Merry Christmas," she smiled, slightly.
At this point the puppeteer was genuinely shocked, he hadn't expected Temari, of all people, to take the holiday in a 'family love' kind of way. But then again, she was dating -by technicality- a Konohan, and he knew the history of their village almost as well as he knew his own. But in truth, for Sunans, Christmas was more of a time of remembrance rather than giving. They would all move to the center of the village with one candle in hand, and as they stood, they would light the candle for thirty seconds which would represent the life of one person that they lost. They would keep lighting and outing the fire until they have lit it for every person that they could remember, and then they all go back to their lives. There was no special feast, or gift giving or dumbass song singing. Just symbolism, and a whole lot of crying. Maybe some beers later. But not much joy.
"Uh...ditto," he didn't know how to react or respond, but, he supposes, it was a nice change. They as a family -which they haven't been much of for basically their whole lives- were always...disconnected. It didn't matter that Gaara was no longer possessed by some Goddamn demon, or that Temari didn't have to carry the weight of their family image on her shoulders anymore. Heck, it didn't even matter that Kankuro was forgotten half the time! It become less about them individually as they finally defeated their personal demons, and more about them as a family. Yet, here they were, still three steps behind that full closure. But with Temari's out-of-the-blue wish for a happy day, it felt like she was raising the leg to make those steps, and Kankuro would be damned if he didn't raise too.
Making his way from Temari to the only other person that meant anything to him (besides Baki, hayoo!), Kankuro kept replaying the moment that just occurred in his head. There was a sudden gladness in his heart, a comforting feeling after all their morbid days. And he knew just the person who needed this feeling. It was sappy, but who cares.
"Hey Gaara!"
The red head looked up from his book, staring at his brother with shielded affection as he maintained a blank face.
"Temari and I wish you a Merry Christmas," and with that, he moved over to Gaara kind of awkwardly, grabbing him into a quick hug that meant more than anything longer.
Gaara didn't respond, but Kankuro had expected that, so he just smiled a smile filled with brotherly love and went on his way.
Gaara sat quietly in his chair, seeing faintly his phone in the corner of his eye. He was… grateful for this newfound feeling -though he was sure he had felt it once before. Temari and Kankuro were the only family he had left in the world (or probably ever since they all disowned their father), but it hadn't seemed that way in a long time. Mostly, they were strangers. But there was one person who had seen past that, someone who went in a brought Gaara out of his state where he thought there was no return, and the red head loved him as a best friend instantly for that.
Mentally thanking both his siblings, the sand nin picked up his phone from his desk and dialed a number. It rang only three times before being picked up.
"Hello?" Naruto answered distractedly, removing some discarded cups from his little coffee table.
Gaara smiled ever so slightly, "a merry Christmas to you my friend."
"Gaara!" he recognized the voice, holding the phone to his ear with his shoulder. The music was just faded sounds in the background since the lime was over and most had left.
"Hey buddy, merry Christmas!"
"I couldn't let the whole day go by without calling."
"Hey if you didn't I would've," Naruto laughed, quickly running on to the topic of the lime, "I was going to invite you, but I thought it would be inappropriate for the Kazekage to leave his village to go drinking with some friends. But next year I'm bringing the party to you!"
"Thank you Naruto, I look forward to then."
The blond gave a toothy grin, "anything, believe it!"
"It was nice to just call, but I must be going now."
Somehow their conversations were never that long, and as sad as Naruto wanted to be about it, he knew that it wasn't anything personal. In all honesty, just the fact that Gaara even called was enough for him, so he settled with that.
"No problem, but don't act surprised if I just show up in your village in the next few days!"
"I will look out for you," Gaara sounded like he was chuckling.
"Merry Christmas again buddy."
"Merry Christmas."
And with that, they hung up. To the untrained person, it was just a call and go, but for Naruto and Gaara, two people who had spent their lives in forced isolation, it was always a nice thing to talk to someone, better yet if it was somebody who understood them. Their calls to one another was the best thing they could ever give each other and they were fine with just that.
Turning to look back at his place he smiled at the scene; Ino had been taken from the couch by Sai almost immediately after Neji and Tenten left, and he carried her exactly as Neji had with Tenten -he was learning. Shikamaru and Choji followed soon after, and Naruto was certain it was because they weren't sure what the hell Sai was up to. The thought made him laugh. Akamaru had taken Kiba home, since the Inuzuka boy was basically brain dead. All that were left were Hinata, Shino, Lee, Sakura and Sasuke. They all agreed to help with clean up -which Naruto couldn't be more grateful for. He was a terrible cleaner.
"Naruto," Sakura whisper yelled at him from the kitchen, when he turned to look at her, she motioned quite violently at him to come over. Gulping at her actions, he followed her silent orders.
"Yes….Sakura-chan?" he was weary.
"No need to be afraid Naruto," she giggled, "but I noticed that Hinata is still here."
"Yeah I know, more help in cleaning!" he gave her a thumbs up.
"No you dolt!" she slapped him, which drew the attention of the others in the room, though she was mostly embarrassed by Sasuke's intense stare, "nothing to see here!" she sweat dropped.
Everyone resumed work, not really surprised by Sakura's abuse of Naruto. (XD)
She turned back to the blond, "walk her home."
"What? Why?" he was basically pouting, having wanted to go to bed right after everyone left.
"Because," she hissed, "she likes you Naruto, you know this!"
He winced a little, he did know, had known for some years no, he just wasn't sure how to...proceed.
Placing a hand on his shoulder gently, she spoke more comforting this time, "and I know you like her too. She's been waiting long enough Naruto, you both have, so don't wait any longer, it's Christmas, which means now is the perfect time."
He needed the push. And Sakura, like always, was the one in his corner to give it to him.
Smiling at her, he nodded, "alright Sakura...but you're in charge of the cleaning!"
She smiled as Sasuke came up behind her, "go get her, baka."
Naruto gave a thumbs up and a toothy grin, bolting off to grab his and Hinata's coat, "come on Hinata," he quickly grabbed her hand, "let's take you home!"
The scene was comical, just as Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand, the girl's face went beat red with blush, and she practically flew out the apartment as he pulled her along; Shino looked up with a dark aura and clearly...didn't approve of the whole ordeal. Lee started cheering once he realized that his NaruHina coupling might FINALLY be happening. And Sakura and Sasuke shared a laugh.
Running hand in hand with Naruto gave the blunette a rush of energy, something she found happened often when it came to the blond. And she smiled, running now to match his speed, face still beat red. She tried not to focus too much on the fact that they were holding hands, since she was 100% positive that she would pass out.
Naruto looked back at her quickly and laughed, feeling some kind of newfound rush as well.
"Naruto," it was Kurama. The demon didn't often converse with Naruto about anything, so he was always pleasantly surprised at any communication outside of battle.
"Yes?" he answered mentally.
"Your parents would be proud of everything that you've done," he growled.
Naruto wasn't sure why Kurama was talking to him, even if he did consider him a friend, but his words warmed his heart -though it also distracted him since he nearly ran into a tree.
"Thanks."
"Also...we've come a long way, but this isn't the end. We will keep fighting, and no matter what happens, we will always have each other."
"Very touching...but why are you telling me this? It's very uncharacteristic of you, especially now that I'm trying to focus on not smashing into anything," he almost pouted again, pulling Hinata along some more.
"Because the intent was for you to crash into something. But for now I will settle for the struggle not to," he roared with laughter...kind of.
"You're the best," he deadpanned, gearing himself up to make a mighty leap over a small river that ran to the outskirts of Konoha. He looked back at Hinata for a brief second to make sure that she knew what was coming. She nodded and he sped up.
"I know...and by the way," Kurama smirked, his own self somehow proud of Naruto in a way he didn't think he would be, "merry Christmas."
The Uzumaki boy smirked also, this time shouting for the whole village to hear and he jumped, "MERRY CHRISTMAS!"
End.
"I have no more words to say FOTF. Thank you so much for creating the FRM. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. You are simply amazing, believe it!"
~Poodie
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~iBloo
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~fricasee
"Hey Fanofthisfiction,
It's me. I'm here to say thank you so much for all you have done for the community you have established. I know I have told you many times how awesome you are but I just can't say it enough. I wish I could dedicate a story to you but as you know I can't in the moment. Thus I hope this greeting is acceptable.
Have a nice one and Happy Christmas to you."
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~Love, Miri
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~Rui
"It's rather strange how some people can unexpectedly change your life. If someone told me three years ago I would be writing and publishing fanfiction of my own I would question their sanity. I just read whatever crossed my way and discussed ideas and fan theories through the internet. I really never imagined that one day, I would contribute to the fandoms I loved. And if there is someone who can take all the credit, that person is Fanofthisfiction. I made good friends from my readers, entered a whole different community, worked on my linguistic skills and practiced my storytelling. All this wouldn't be possible without the positive encouragement I had from Fanofthisfiction. From the bottom of my heart, thank you, you wonderful person and I hope 2019 treats you well because you deserve it."
~Fanfictioner22
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