STANDARD DISCLAIMER APPLIED
W i s h M e M y P e r f e c t C h r i s t m a s
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Hinata loved the night sky.
It was so dark, like an inky black substance had blotted out the sun; the moon shone down on her, like a ghostly coin and the stars winked knowingly.
She could do anything down there, in the dark, and the moon would be the only witness.
She could be anyone.
And the silence was best.
There was no need for her to talk; no need for her to stutter in her simpering high-pitched voice- if there was anything she hated, it was her stutter.
(He thought it was cute.)
The night could be enjoyed perfectly by one's self…
She shivered as someone pressed their warm hand on hers, lacing their fingers between hers, and she heard him sigh with happiness.
…Or with a friend.
She turned to gaze at him, her heart aching with joy; it was happening, it was really, really happening-!
His eyes locked onto hers and she shuddered; she'd seen those eyes before, when they were young and he'd been so alone. So isolated from the world.
"N-Naruto?"
That stutter.
Back again, huh?
"Ah, Hinata!" His voice was the same; happy and loud and boisterous. But those eyes were so different, so piercing, so misunderstood…
"Isn't the n-night beautiful?" She whispered.
He nodded.
"Beautiful, Hinata."
She smiled gently, pleased that he was back to normal.
"-But not as beautiful as you."
Her eyes widened and his face was so close, so, so close…!
Their noses were almost touching; she closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side, her heartbeat getting faster and faster, but she never let go of his hand and he never let go of hers. They inched towards each other, nervous and hesitant.
…
And then she woke up, blushing and spluttering.
"I-It was just a-a dream…?"
Blink, blink.
Gasp!
"No!"
"It was j-just a d-dream!"
x
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Fourth Wish
Dreams Can Come True!
"I-I'd love to w-watch the stars u-until midnight, N-Naruto; especially w-with you."
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"Hinata."
Neji scowled, rolling his eyes as he tried once again to wake his younger cousin up.
"Hinata."
She shook her head and turned over, her back to him, and mumbled something incomprehensible.
"…"
He tapped his chin in annoyance.
"Hinata, I will not say your name again."
Absolutely no response.
"You have five seconds to get up and get dressed…"
Ignored.
He furrowed his brow and continued with his threat.
"…Before I let Uzumaki in."
Her reaction was a lot faster than he'd thought it would be; she rolled over, stumbled out of bed, and skidded out of the room with a quick "S-Sorry, N-Neji!" as she passed. He listened for a few seconds as she bustled around in the bathroom, before wandering out of the room.
The funny thing was Naruto wasn't even there.
He paused, his hands still in his pockets as he considered this interesting piece of information. Naruto wasn't there…? He blinked.
The hyperactive blonde was supposed to have appeared a few minutes ago.
He frowned.
"Uzumaki, you'd better hurry up," He murmured to no one in particular. "Otherwise Hinata will be very… disappointed."
He shrugged and continued walking, leaving a rather worried Hanabi behind him.
His youngest cousin blinked, raising an eyebrow in a typical-Neji fashion.
"God, they're all so weird."
-
-
Naruto yawned, rolling over and stretching slightly. Sharp objects pressed against his back and he twitched, turning over again; the sharp objects pressed harder against him, until he stumbled to his feet and glared down at his bed.
"…?"
That wasn't his bed.
He rubbed his eyes and frowned, completely confused. Twigs and leaves littered the dirt he'd been lying on and he twisted around, wondering where he was.
Then he noticed three familiar wooden logs, stuck irregularly into the ground, and scratched the back of his neck in disbelief.
"I must have been training last night," He frowned. "And I fell asleep in the snow?"
He could already hear Sakura; "that's really dangerous, Naruto, you could have caught pneumonia and become seriously ill! What am I going to do with you?" but that didn't matter to him.
"I c-can't have a p-perfect Christmas i-if you don't l-love the snow a-as much a-as I d-do."
Why?
He'd puzzled over that as he'd trained, hot and sweaty in the freezing cold. His mind had been raging as he punched the log in front of him; three quick sharp jabs (why'd she say that?), four quick little kicks (what's wrong with her?) and a couple of dodges.
He'd contemplated asking Sakura.
Or Ino.
They were girls, right? They'd understand Hinata.
Or he could have asked Kiba. But then the wolf-nin would surely tease him and, bam! He'd forget what he was asking.
So…
He blinked, rubbed his eyes, and then had an idea.
It was quite a good idea, if he did say so himself.
He'd thought for a second before coming up with it.
If Ino, Tenten and Sakura couldn't help, and he couldn't ask Kiba or Shino, there were plenty of other people to ask. Kakashi-sensei, for one.
(Nope, bound to get teased.)
Or Iruka.
(He'd want to know who.)
He could ask Chouji?
(He'd be busy eating.)
Or Tsunade-granny?
(She's the Hokage, dumbass! Too busy!)
Or Neji?
(He'd know who.)
Then again, it was better to ask someone who'd have at least some type of theory; a genius, to put it lightly, with an IQ of over 200 (preferably).
So, who…?
…
"Shikamaru! I'll ask Shikamaru!"
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Shikamaru yawned, glancing blearily around him, as he was woken from his slumber by a familiar orange blur violently shaking his shoulders.
"Wakeupwakeupwake-."
Shikamaru scowled.
"How troublesome…" A pause. "Naruto, what did you want?"
"Wake up-! …Huh?" The blonde blinked and scratched his head. "What…? Oh yeah, I remember!"
Shikamaru rolled his eyes.
"What does this mean?" Naruto paused, before coughing. "'I c-can't have a p-perfect Christmas i-if you don't l-love the snow a-as much a-as I d-do.'" He grinned; talking in a fake high-pitched voice in what could only be a very bad imitation of Hinata.
Shikamaru's eye twitched. "Figure it out yourself."
"No, what-?!" Naruto complained, before grabbing the other's shirt desperately. "You have to help me out! Please, please, pleeeaaase!"
Shikamaru shrugged. "Listen up, Naruto. This is something you have to figure out on your own, no matter how troublesome it is. Buy her some flowers, say thanks for helping you love the snow or whatever, and then continue on your merry way."
"…"
"…" Shikamaru sighed.
"…?"
"Buy her some flowers and say thanks," Sigh. "Now leave me alone."
"Okay! Thanks Shikamaru!"
The lazy boy watched in disbelief as Naruto raced away, obviously very pleased with Shikamaru's unhelpful suggestion; the lazier teenager had no idea what Naruto was asking him anyway but, being a genius and all, he'd figured it out.
He scratched his head.
"Though, honestly, I don't know what Hinata sees in him."
…
"…How troublesome."
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"N-Neji…?"
"Hn."
"Do you think N-Naruto is j-just late?"
A pause.
"Probably."
"H-He might n-not be coming."
"…"
Hinata shuffled uneasily in her seat.
"Hinata, stop worrying," Neji murmured, picking his book back up. "Naruto promised you that he'd fulfil all of your wishes and turn your Christmas into the best Christmas ever. He will do just that, you can count on it."
"…"
"…"
"Thank you, N-Neji."
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"Yo, Ino!"
Said blonde blinked, looking up from her magazine to see a bundle of dizzying orange joy and laughter race towards her; he practically knocked the counter over as he skidded to a halt.
"What, Naruto?"
"I need some flowers!" He blinked, before adding shyly, "For a girl."
Blink, blink.
What?
"Pardon?"
"I need some flowers for Hinata to say thank-you," Naruto croaked and it was as though he'd lost all confidence in himself; his voice was a dry rasp.
"Hinata?!"
So she finally confessed?!
And about time too!
Ino shook her head, gazing closely at Naruto. No, she hadn't confessed; she'd simply done something extremely kind for the Uzumaki boy.
Good thing, too.
"Would you like a rose, Naruto? They're a symbol for all things romantic."
"R-Really…?"
How cute! He has no experience in anything romantic, whatsoever.
"I'll take five of those!"
"Done!"
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It had to be about ten 'o' clock. It was dark outside and the stars were out.
And Naruto still wasn't there.
Knock, knock!
Neji scowled. "About time, too," He mumbled, ready to get up and open the door for the hyperactive blonde who was no- doubt going to come barraging through.
However, he was beaten by Hinata.
He blinked, raised an eyebrow, and then disappeared off to the safety of his room.
This was going to be so troublesome…
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"For you!"
"N-Naruto…" Hinata gasped, gazing down at the bundle of soft, rich red roses is utter appreciation. "You r-really shouldn't h-have."
"Nah, it was no biggie." The blonde grinned bashfully, scratching the back of his neck. "I had to thank you for what you did yesterday anyway."
"Can I a-ask for m-my wish n-now?"
"Of course!"
"M-Meet me on the r-roof," She smiled, flicking her long hair out of her eyes. "I'll j-just put these a-away and then I'll j-join you. I'll grab s-some blankets and p-pillows, too."
"Why, Hinata?"
"I-I'd love to w-watch the stars u-until midnight, N-Naruto; especially w-with you." She blushed as he nodded.
"Make sure to bring lots of blankets, but I'll cuddle you if it gets too cold!"
Her blush darkened and she watched him race up the stairs; she waited until she could no long hear his footsteps, before gazing at the roses.
Roses are red
Violets are blue…
She giggled childishly, before wandering around. She found herself a pretty glass vase and filled it with water; it took her barely any time to trim the roses and make sure they were arranged their best, before setting the vase on her bedroom window. She busied herself with finding everything she needed, knocked once on Neji's door to say goodnight, and then hurried up the stairs and out to Naruto.
They stayed up 'til midnight, just watching the stars. Watching in silence and happiness.
It was much better than her dream.
True to his word, Naruto cuddled her the moment she shivered and she fell asleep happy and peaceful.
Fell asleep in his arms.
Author's Note:
I came so, so close to not finishing this.
I came so close to yelling 'screw it all!' and snapping my memory stick into lots of little pieces.
Why?
BECAUSE IT SEEMED SO SWEET AND CUTE IN MY HEAD, BUT NO!
IT ENDED UP BEING REALLY QUICK AND THE ACTUAL FLUFF WAS TINY!
I have failed you.
Nonetheless, reviews will be worshipped.
And check out my newest fic; 'My Zombie Boyfriend'!
NejiTen fans unite!
xxx
She Who Must Not Be Named
xxx
