Candy Canes & Mistletoe
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. It seems that people do like the mystery aspect of the story, but I doubt that Naruto's identity will remain a secret for much longer. We'll have to see. Anyway, happy reading.
Chapter Notation: Yes, Sasuke remembers what happened on that date. Just not the date itself. You'll understand what I mean soon enough. Maybe, in the next chapter. Though as I said before, nothing is set in stone about this fic yet. Happy reading.
Chapter 10
Gaara couldn't believe he was doing this. It was December 11th and he was already resorting to using a Christmas Miracle. Something that he definitely shouldn't be in possession of, but he was because of Naruto. At the end of the day, Naruto was Naruto. Which meant the man certainly could be unpredictable.
"Add some extra names to the absence sheet that only Sasuke will see." Gaara shakes the snow globe by the computer.
A fluffy of snowflakes emit from the thing and wrap themselves around the computer. Magic could be a beautiful thing. Sadly, it wasn't his own magic. Gaara was still human, but there were definitely some perks that came with being friends with Santa's Son.
He sighs in relief when it was over. "Alright. I should probably get going before Sasuke sees me." The last thing that the red head needed was for Sasuke to catch him in the act.
Luckily, the Uchiha probably wouldn't know what had just happened. Maybe, Sasuke would just think that Gaara had gotten some snow on him. The snow was rapidly disappearing though. He should be in the clear.
With that thought in mind, the red head quickly bounds off in search of Itachi. Only to bump into someone. Maybe, he shouldn't have used his Christmas Miracle this early.
"Oh good morning, Gaara." It was Orochimaru.
Wonderful. The Human Resource Manager was so not in the mood to deal with this Uchiha Stalker. Seriously, Gaara was pretty sure that the older man had some kind of fetish.
Of course, Gaara was a professional. "Good morning, Mr. Sannin." He had to be polite to everyone in this place, no matter how much he despised them.
That excluded Haku. The doe eyed man no longer worked there and that had only been one incident. Besides, everyone had joined in to scare him off. Gaara figured that he was allowed some leeway when it came to his best friend's ex.
So what if he might or might not end up on the Naughty List because of it? It was so worth it. That and he was probably already on the Naughty List because of the things he did with Itachi anyway.
"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that I have to be going." Gaara smiles at him. "If you'll excuse me." The sooner he got away from this cretin, the better.
Orochimaru sighs as he watches him. "Of course. Though I am curious, if you know anything about Sasuke's admirer." Gaara feels himself twitch at that question. "Everyone is talking about it. I believe even his parents have entered the betting pool."
That would be like Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha, Gaara muses. Still, he wasn't going to tell Orochimaru anything.
"I'm not in the habit of engaging in office gossip, especially about my friends." The Human Resource Manager shakes his head. "So unless you want me to write up in incident report about this unseemly inquiry of yours, I would suggest you drop it."
Quiet foot steps. Gaara could hear them. There was no doubt who was behind them. Itachi.
Orochimaru might have an Uchiha Fetish, but the red head actually had one for a lover. "Mr. Sannin, if you insist on cornering my lover like this in dark corners, I'm going to have to agree with Gaara. He should file a harassment report against you." He raises an eyebrow. "Perhaps my brother should also consider a restraining order, if you truly have so little control over yourself."
It wouldn't surprise the red head in the slightest, if Itachi actually did move to file an official restraining order. He had ignored Orochimaru's advances personally, but now that the idiot was hitting on his brother and lover…that might change.
The man actually has the audacity to chuckle. "Forgive me, I do believe that I might have gotten carried away." Might have? There was no might have in this situation as far as Gaara was concerned.
"You're not forgiven and if I catch you stalking Gaara or my brother again, you will be unemployed." Itachi shakes his head as he drags Gaara off.
Most of the time, the other man was a highly composed and dignified individual. Itachi was elegance personified, but when he got angry…well he was still an Uchiha. The man still had a fiery temper.
"I'm surprised you didn't shoot him or something." Gaara shakes his head in disbelief.
Itachi sighs as he wraps his arm around his lover's waist. "Don't be foolish. I'm a pacifist." He smiles at the red head serenely. "I wouldn't shoot him. I did think about kicking him below the waist, but it's really such a small target that I didn't see the point in bothering."
"Itachi, have I told you how much I love you lately?" The red head smiles at him. "Because I do."
Itachi smiles and kisses his cheek. "Yes, but I never tire of hearing it." He sighs as he looks around to ensure Orochimaru wasn't following them. "It seems that we have given your stalker the slip for now." Thank goodness. Gaara really couldn't wait for the day when Orochimaru retired or something.
Naruto sighs back in the North Pole. He already missed Sasuke horribly. He loved it up here, but he had kinda been in the middle of something important. Really, important.
"Don't you think it's time that you just told him how you feel?" Minato chuckles as he they continue making their rounds together.
The rounds in this case meant going throughout the North Pole to speak with the elves in charge of various departments and to make small talk with any of the elves that approached them.
This had always been something that Naruto adored doing, but his heart just wasn't in it at the moment. He'd rather be leaving Sasuke another gift. Hopefully, Gaara would be able to keep the other man from guessing while he was away though.
"Maybe." Naruto sighs and then smiles brightly at his father. "I think that he's the sort who enjoys a challenge though. So this kinda thing is like…well you know?"
Santa nods knowledgeably at him. "Fun for him." Right. That was one way to put it. His dad really was too innocent sometimes. There was a reason why Santa almost never ended up on the Naughty List, after all.
Speaking of that, Naruto wondered if Sasuke had figured out his biggest clue yet. The watch.
He smiles at that thought. The blonde could remember the day so clearly, even if it had happened years ago.
"Loser, why the Hell are you doing on my desk?" Sasuke glared at the blonde.
In hindsight, it had been a natural question to ask. Naruto had been crouching on the other man's desk like a tiger, after all. It was for a good reason though.
"Why the Hell didn't you go to the interview I scheduled for you?" The blonde was furious. "You know that going on that show is great publicity for the company." It had taken him months to schedule that thing.
Sasuke rolled his eyes at him. "You know the only reason why they want me to go on that show is to ask about my love life." Yeah. The one that didn't exist.
It was a shame that his boss was that hot and apparently had the sex drive of a pet rock. Well as far as Naruto could see.
Stupid bastard with his sexy voice, smirk, and ass. He was a stupid bastard with a great ass. That just wasn't right. The least the idiot could do was go to the damn interview.
"Yeah." Naruto actually growled at him. "So what? Everyone hams it up for the press now and then. Itachi used to do it all the time." Before Gaara conveniently, got into Naruto's computer and cancelled those kinds of public appearances for Itachi.
Seriously, the red head had it almost as bad as he did. Unfortunately, Gaara was also a lot more devious than him. Naruto would never pull something like that. It would get him on the Naughty List so fast his head would spin.
It was hard to be bad, when your dad was Santa. Naruto never got away with anything. It just wasn't right.
"I'm not doing it." Sasuke glared daggers at him. "So stop scheduling stupid appearances like that. I'm a Marketing Director, not a stripper." Well, Sasuke might actually make more money as a stripper, but Naruto decided not to tell him that.
Naruto nodded. Fine. He'd just have to egg Sasuke into it. He'd done harder sells. The blonde knew that he could do this.
"Right." He smirked at him. "Strippers aren't nearly as shy as you. You're just a big scaredy-cat." Now, it was time to go in for the kill. "I mean, if you're scared of the press, I can just not book you interviews. I didn't realize you were that much of a wallflower. Sorry."
Sasuke had been about to tell him off, when the door opened. The door opened and Jugo came inside. "Sorry." The giant bumped into Naruto. "Just here to deliver your mail, Sasuke. Whoops."
Whoops was right. Jugo had bumped Naruto into Sasuke and their lips connected. Granted, it hadn't been the most romantic first kiss in the world, but Naruto had definitely felt the fireworks.
"I wonder if he remembers the date?" Naruto sighs as he looks around the workshop.
It was at best a 50-50 chance. Still, it was the most distinctive clue that he had given Sasuke yet. Sasuke was supposed to be a genius and he had a good memory, right? Sooner or later, he'd connect the dots.
This was ridiculous. "I can't believe there were this many people absent." Sasuke sighs.
There were at least a dozen people who missed work today and most of them were male. Some of whom, the young Uchiha knew were gay.
"Alright." He frowns at the screen. "That does narrow the list down considerably."
What was he missing though? Sasuke felt like he was missing an important clue. The date on the watch had to mean something right?
That combined with the fact that whoever it was, wouldn't be working today should be enough for him to put the pieces of the puzzle together.
"It really shouldn't be this hard." Sasuke twitches as something occurs to him. "Gaara. He probably altered the records." Most likely, he and Itachi had already bet on the outcome of his admirer and the red head wanted to up his odds.
"That sneaky son of a bitch." Sasuke felt like punching something.
Alright. That wasn't fair. Gaara's mother was a lovely woman, but still the raven haired man felt rather justified in being pissed. His future Brother-In-Law was abusing his position to keep secrets from him.
Nevermind the fact that Sasuke had also been planning to abuse his position. He had a legitimate reason for doing so. Gaara was just messing with him. Oh he was going to give that Human Resource Manger quite the thorough tongue lashing.
With that thought in mind, Sasuke immediately storms off towards Gaara's Office. The door wasn't locked, so he came marching right in.
"Gaara, I swear if you altered the attendance records, I'm going to kick your ass." Sasuke Uchiha was ready to fight.
Unfortunately, Gaara was already in the middle of another kind of battle. One that involved his brother's tongue. Damn it. Sasuke felt like he was going to be sick.
Immediately, Itachi pulls away from his lover and shoots the other man an amused look. "Foolish little brother, you should always knock first." To add insult to injury, his brother proceeds to roll his eyes at Sasuke.
That only makes his blood boil more. "Don't roll your eyes at me as if I'm some sort of poorly behaved child." He most certainly was not. It was Gaara and Itachi who apparently couldn't keep their hands off of each other during work hours. "You're the ones who were making out like a pair of teenagers while you were on the clock." Really, what was wrong with them?
Gaara sighs and shakes his head. "I really hope that you figure out who your Secret Santa is soon." He smiles at him slyly. "As Suigetsu is so fond of saying, you really need to get laid."
The red head, he had a death wish. That was the only logical explanation. Sasuke probably would have granted it, if Itachi wasn't so madly in love with the other man.
"Yes, I hope the same thing." Itachi smiles cheerfully. "Back to the matter at hand, Sasuke you should know that Gaara would never do anything as unprofessional as that. Come, let's have a look at those records."
He had to be joking. Sasuke had seen them with his own eyes. "Fine. I'm telling you that, he altered them though." The Human Resource Manager just didn't want Sasuke to figure out who his Secret Santa was. He was sure of it. That was why Gaara had been sneaky and changed the attendance sheet.
Itachi shakes his head and boots up the computer. "I don't see anything out of the ordinary." Sasuke twitches at that.
He didn't even see Gaara shake a snow globe in his pocket as he quickly glances over the screen. "What the Hell? There were way more people absent than this when I looked at it earlier." He had just looked at it only five minutes ago.
Gaara smiles at him serenely. "Everyone has an off day once in awhile." Uh huh. "You shouldn't take it so hard. Maybe, you're the one who should use up a vacation day or something."
Red heads. They were evil, Sasuke decides. Pure evil.
He didn't know how Gaara had changed the records and then changed them back again, but the other man had. It didn't matter though. One way or another, Sasuke was going to figure out who his secret Santa was.
The watch would be the most important clue. That date sounded so familiar to him. He just had to remember why that was the case.
"Well I'll see you guys later." Sasuke sighs. "I'm gonna clock out early. I didn't get enough sleep last night." It was a lie, but he didn't want them to know the truth. He was going to check out that scrapbook his mother had made for the company.
She was meticulous about it. The woman always dated everything. Surely, that would jog his memory.
Mikoto raises an eyebrow at her husband. "You're rather confident, I see." She couldn't believe that Fugaku had gone and done that.
The man had actually purchased Super Bowl tickets in advance. Her husband apparently was quite certain that he would win the bet. He'd do well to remember that it was never a good idea to count your chicken before they hatched.
"Oh yes, quite confident." Fugaku chuckles at her. "I'm sure that it will be a wonderful game this year."
Honestly, she failed to see the appeal of football. Mikoto was fine with other people watching it, but she had no interest. Which was why, the raven haired woman was sincerely hoping that she was right about Suigetsu.
That would take the wind out of the CEO's sails rather quickly. He should know better than to bet against her. The had been married for over thirty years.
Mikoto shakes her head. "I'm sure that Paris will be even lovelier though." She smiles at him mischievously. "Just try not to be too disappointed when you lose."
It was far more bluster on her part than Mikoto really wanted to admit to. Still, one had to fake it until they made it sometimes. She had learned that lesson many years ago, in high school. (Far more years than she cared to admit).
"I was about to say the same to you." He shakes his head in amusement.
Pft. They would see who had the last laugh. The eyelashes didn't lie. Mikoto was (mostly) convinced of this.
"I think that Itachi traumatized Orochimaru again." Kisame blinks as he Suigetsu nods in agreement.
They had both been on their way to one of the break rooms when they saw Mr. Sannin brooding in a corner. A lot. That could mean only one thing. Itachi had decided to get rough with him in some fashion.
Oh Itachi never used violence. Well at least not as far as Suigetsu knew, but he was the master of something even more brutal. The mindfuck.
Suigetsu laughs and nods. "He was probably creeping on Sasuke again." True enough. Itachi was very, very protective of his brother.
Which was why Kisame kept telling Suigetsu that Naruto had his work cut out for him. The blue skinned man was convinced that the blonde was Sasuke's real Secret Santa. All he had to do was wait to see if he was correct and if he was lucky, that thousand dollars was his or so Kisame kept saying, anyway.
Suigetsu had won the first bet and he knew that he'd win the second. Really, it was written in the stars. That sword was all his.
"I wouldn't doubt it." Kisame shakes his head. "That guy will never learn." The man was creepy, even by Suigetsu's admittedly loose standards and that was certainly saying something.
The white haired man nods. "So I can't wait to get that bet money." Ha. Kisame wouldn't win this time. "That sword is going to be so totally awesome."
Poor Kisame, the sword lover thinks to himself. Did he actually believe he was going to win this one? How Kisame couldn't see what was right in front of his face was beyond Suigetsu's understanding, but oh well. He had no issue making easy money.
"You two are really focused on that bet." Sai smiles at them as he walks down the hall. "You're always talking about swords and things like that. Are you two dating? Out of curiosity, who has the bigger sword?"
On second thought, forget about Orochimaru. This idiot really had it coming. Suigetsu twitches and was just about to smack the ever living Hell out of these strange pervert, when Kisame stops him.
"It's tempting and all, but you don't want to lose your job over this guy." Dark eyes lock with his own. "Do you? Because he'll probably cry like a baby and run straight to Gaara and report you."
Hmm. That was a good point. Suigetsu did like this job. It paid well and it was fun messing with his coworkers.
"I would not cry like a baby." Sai looks mildly insulted.
Pft. Like Suigetsu believed that for a second. The weirdest ones were usually the first to crack. Well the strange weird ones, not the awesome weird ones like himself. There were exceptions to every rule.
Kisame drags Suigetsu off. "Let's just ignore that guy." He grins at him. "Oh and make sure you have my money ready because there's no way I'm losing this bet."
"That's what you think." Suigetsu snorts as the two of them leave Sai behind.
The poor, bewildered artist likely had no idea what was going on. Which was just fine with Suigetsu. He did love to mess with people. It was his favorite hobby. Well other than collecting swords. Swords were awesome.