Alright, ya'll. First Naruto fan fiction ever on this site! Hope all you Gaara x Hinata fans enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

(I do not own Naruto or any of the characters...)

When the World Stopped Turning

Hinata stood alone, the snow gracefully floating down to the ground around her, covering the earth in a thick sheet of fluff. The raven haired girl looked around at the beautiful scenery. Winter was the most amazing season... Everything was so quiet, so peaceful... She sighed and pulled her jacket tighter around her small waist.

It was almost Christmas time... Hinata thought for a moment... She had never actually done anything memorable for Christmas in her fifteen years on this planet. This year she planned to change that. She wanted to enjoy this holiday. Trade gifts with someone special to her. Spend the day in his company...

A certain face came to mind as she pictured herself in these joyous future moments. Gaara...

She smiled to herself as she thought of the red head. He was everything to her, even if he didn't know it.

How could she spend Christmas with him, though, if she didn't speak up and tell him her hidden feelings?

Hinata sighed in defeat. There was no way she could ever speak those three words to him. Besides, he probably wouldn't accept her, anyway... He needed no one. He was a loner.

She wondered if he had ever even had a Christmas before...

Hinata turned and opened the sliding door leading back into the cabin that she was sharing with her class for the holidays. She slowly shut the door behind her. It was early morning, and everyone was more than likely still sleeping.

As soon as she entered the main room she was proven wrong.

There sat the person she had just spent literally hours on end thinking about. He was sitting on the hardwood floor next to the roaring flames of the fireplace, staring blankly off into the dancing embers. Hinata froze in her tracks. She found herself growing anxious. Should she take a seat in the main room with him, or leave him be?

The girl tried to tip-toe off, her nerves getting the best of her, when Gaara turned around and his eyes met hers.

Hinata couldn't fight back her sudden blush. Those eyes were so beautiful... Just like the snow... Cold, yet a mysterious warmth to them.

"You can come sit down." he said, his voice low and lacking emotion.

Hinata took a deep breath as she made her way across the room and sat next to the red head.

The moment then turned silent, and for the most part, awkward. At least for the Hyuga girl.

"Wh-What are you doing up so early, Gaara?" she shakily asked him.

He shrugged.

"Couldn't sleep." (..does he even sleep at all? It's been a while since I've seen Naruto)

"Me, neither."

She suddenly felt compelled to ask him if he had ever really celebrated Christmas before. He shook his head.

"Can't say that I have."

"I've never done much of anything for it, either."

It grew silent again. Hinata averted her eyes. Maybe he just didn't like talking to her?

"Why do you ask?"

The girl was taken aback by the question a bit, not expecting him to be the first one to say anything.

"Oh... Well... Um... I was just wondering, is all..." she squeaked.

Gaara looked over at her, and the unthinkable happened. He smiled at her...

It was as if, in that one moment, the world had stopped turning; time stood still, but only for them. And Hinata, captivated by his charm, lost all her senses. She forgot her fears, everything holding her back, and leaned into Gaara, having every intent to steal a kiss from his soft lips... But before she reached her destination, he turned his head away, causing Hinata's moment to come crashing down around her. She looked down at the ground, feeling like a complete and total fool. Why had she done that?

"I'm sorry..." the boy that she had been admiring for as long as she could remember muttered, "You don't want anything to do with me... Trust me."

Gaara glanced over to see tears streaming down the dark haired girl's pale cheeks.

He got to his feet and hurried out of the room.

Hinata bit her bottom lip, wishing she could just disappear, or rewind and delete what had just happened from her life. Wow, she had never been rejected like that before... It hurt so badly...

Christmas morning rolled around agonizingly slow after that. Hinata had given up celebrating the occasion, or spending it with anyone. Of course, since she was here with her class, she would go downstairs for a bit and exchange presents with her friends... But it was different... She wanted someone special... Her heart ached with the sheer realization that she had no one...

As she finished getting ready to go downstairs for the day and began to head out of her room, she looked down and saw a small, neatly wrapped present sitting outside her door. She smiled as she bent down and picked it up. It had her name written on it, but not the name of who had sent it. Hinata warily opened it, slowly ripping at the pretty paper.

What was this? Mistletoe?

Hinata held the mistletoe up in confusion. Who in the world-?

Suddenly a familiar red head came around the corner and approached her. She looked up into his eyes as he snaked his arms around her waist, leaned down, and gently planted a kiss on her lips, causing her heart to skip a beat.

As soon as he pulled away, Hinata was beyond confused.

"I'm sorry I hurt you before..." he whispered.

"So... This... was from you...?"

He slowly nodded and held her close to him.

"I'm not good at expressing my feelings... But, I hope this made up for it..." he sheepishly admitted.

Hinata smiled and she shook her head.

"I thought you didn't-"

"Shh." he interrupted, "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas!" she exclaimed, burying her face in his chest.

She could barely contain her happiness. She would be able to spend this joyous day with him after all...