Forgive my delay, folks... damn, it's weird to write about Christmas when the new year has already come! XD But that's typical for me... always being a step behind...
First of all, I hope you all had a very happy New Year indeed and that the first days of 2009 have been good! And especially if they have, I hope it will continue to be that way! ^_^
Secondly, prepare for a long chapter - but this is definitely exceptional, since this merely serves the purpose of getting at least most of the Christmas things out of the way. I guess I won't get around saying a couple of things about December 25th at the beginning of the next chapter, but then I shall continue with the new year in this story as well. To be quite frank, I've been thinking a lot about the things that still need to be written, e.g. the massacre, for instance. Music has really been inspiring me... so I hope this chapter turned out well even though my thoughts were dwelling on such sad outlooks.
Oh, and many, many, many thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far! You're the best, guys!!!
Warning: probably very corny, lots of fluff... blame it on my idealistic fantasies when it comes to Christmas! ;)
Not even a week later, it finally was December 24th; a day that most children wished would pass by quickly so it would be morning again (while that was exactly what the adults were dreading because of the very early awakening).
In the second half of the morning, Sasuke donned his winter attire to steel himself against the bitter cold that would make you swear to have gotten frostbite after just a few minutes. At his feet, a dainty cookie tin wrapped in a nice self-created ribbon was waiting to be brought to a certain parentless blond.
"Don't stay away too long, sweetie, okay? Remember that Shisui and his family will be coming over later on," Mikoto reminded him, making sure that he didn't forget anything he needed to stay warm.
"I won't be too long, okasan," Sasuke promised, wrapping the scarf around his neck and putting on his gloves. Mikoto picked the tin up and gave it to him when he was ready.
"I do hope he'll appreciate this wonderful idea of yours. And tell him that I wish him a merry Christmas."
Smiling cheerfully, Sasuke nodded before venturing outside, out into the enchanting wonderland of whiteness, in search of Naruto.
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He had to nearly go to the other end of the village before he made a find. Yet looking for someone during the Christmas season was much more pleasant than usual, so it was without unease of any sort that Sasuke wandered around, searching for his new friend. He asked a few people if they could help him, but everyone gave him a look as if they wondered why on earth someone would actually be looking for the Jinchuuriki, seeking his presence. Sasuke wondered what the fuss was about, assuming that his guess about their attitude was right. So Naruto was a bit loud-mouthed, big deal. On the other hand, he was brimming with liveliness and cheerfulness, so why avoid him as if he were something one didn't want to step into?
After quite a while of fruitless searching within the crowd, Sasuke left most of the commotion behind him as he reached the lake in the village. A couple of people were gliding across its frozen surface, seemingly betting who could keep their balance the longest. None of them made any effort to invite the lonesome figure at the other end of the lake to join in. Noticing this, Sasuke realized that when he had guessed that Naruto probably was lonely, he has guessed correctly. It made him rather sad to see someone being excluded so deliberately, but before he let it get to him too much, he slid down the slope that led to the lake (so he could avoid the surely slippery stairs) and hurried right past the others. He could feel their unbelieving stares at his back when there was no doubt that he was heading for the blond they were avoiding. Sasuke didn't care – he was determined to make Naruto happy, and nobody would be able to prevent that.
"Hi Naruto!" he exclaimed when he was within earshot.
Surprised, Naruto looked up from something he had been drawing in the snow. "Sasuke! …What are you doing here, dattebayo?" he asked when his black-haired peer had reached him.
"I want to give you something so you can have a merry Christmas too."
Naruto flashed him a broad grin. "Why? I'm doing fine, it is a merry Christmas!"
Sasuke studied that grin critically and shook his head. "You're lying, Naruto. Why do you do that?"
"I'm not lying, dattebayo!"
"Yes, you are. Even though you are smiling… you are lying. How can you be happy? You're all by yourself."
"Is it my fault that no one wants to be with me? I don't know what I ever did to them, but…" Naruto trailed off, casting a remorseful look at the others who could enjoy one another's company. There was no need for him to finish his sentence.
"I don't know what their problem is; you do seem nice enough."
Sasuke was glad to see that his consolation was cheering Naruto up a bit, since the fox-boy's smile had returned.
"Thanks, Sasuke, dattebayo."
"Hey, we're friends, after all. Oh, and this is for you." He offered him the cookie tin.
"What's in there?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Cookies."
At the speed of light, the tin was snatched out of his hands as Naruto whooped happily. He had an extremely happy, almost crazed look in his eyes and was so eager to see if Sasuke really spoke the truth that his frantic attempts to remove the ribbon were in vain.
"Hey, watch it!" Snatch.
"Oi! What's the big idea, teme?!" Naruto exclaimed in dismay when the tin was torn out of his grasp. Sasuke was holding it out of reach in a protectiveness that utterly confused the blond.
"Watch it with the ribbon a bit, dobe! My mother made it herself, and it wasn't done like this!" He snapped his fingers to demonstrate what he meant. They stared at each other almost furiously for a moment, but then Sasuke sighed and brought the tin within Naruto's reaching distance again. "Look, just don't rip it apart like it's nothing, okay? She made this especially for you…"
Somewhat hesitantly, Naruto accepted the tin once again and regarded the beautiful ribbon thoughtfully. "…Gee, I didn't know your mother made this, dattebayo. Sorry… But why did she do this? She doesn't even know me… does she?" he added as an afterthought.
Sasuke shook his head and shrugged, answering: "No, she doesn't. All she knows is that you're my friend. And she likes to make people happy. She wishes you a merry Christmas, by the way."
Hearing that seemed to move Naruto quite a bit, and Sasuke had just begun to wonder if he would be confronted with an emotional outburst when he was hugged vehemently.
"Thanks, Sasuke. No one has ever done something like this for me before… and tell your mother that I thank her very much!"
"I will, Naruto," Sasuke promised, returning the embrace, glad that his idea was appreciated. Neither one of the two noticed the other children pointing at them and whispering on the quiet.
"Hey Sasuke, will you play with me for a bit, dattebayo?" Naruto asked excitedly when they broke apart.
"Oh, um… well, I would, but haha told me not to stay away too long… you see, my cousin's coming over…" Sasuke replied, scratching the back of his head.
"Aw… come on, just for a little while! Pleeeeeeeease?" Naruto begged.
"Well…" Figuring that it would really mean a lot to Naruto if he would agree to stay with him a bit longer, Sasuke agreed. "Fine. But just for a while, okay? I made a promise, after all –"
"Yay! C'mon, dattebayo! I'm sure you've never been on the frozen lake before!" Naruto cheered loudly, quickly half-burying the tin in the snow and putting his orange woolen hat on top of it so he would know for sure if it was still there or not before whirling around and dragging Sasuke to the lake.
"Not so fa– Ungh!" Sasuke grunted as he made a pancake landing on the smooth surface. Naruto had stayed on his feet and slid across the ice a few feet before turning around. He laughed when he saw Sasuke sprawled on the ice, and he laughed even harder when the young Uchiha struggled to get to his feet.
"I knew it! You've never done this before, ne, dattebayo?"
"Yes, I haven't! And if you hadn't gone so fast– Whoa!" Sasuke flailed about when he lost his balance almost as soon as he had wobblingly got to his feet again, and this time he landed on his rear.
"You know what? Stay right there! I'll teach you how to stand up later…"
"Why, what on earth are you doing now? Dobe! No, wait…" Sasuke just couldn't seem to finish his sentences, for he cried out in surprise when Naruto grabbed his shoulders and gave him a hard push, sending him sliding across the ice on his backside. But he wasn't alone: the blond held on to him, laughing out loud. The force of the push sent them halfway across the lake, and by the time they stopped, Sasuke's surprised outcry had become a laugh as well, and when it was over, he clapped his hands happily.
"That was fun!" he exclaimed.
"I know, dattebayo! Wanna do it again?" Naruto asked eagerly.
"Yeah!"
"Gotcha!"
And one hearty push later, they were off again, laughing as if they wouldn't live to see another equally joyful day. The other children scattered when the duo came their way, but at this point in time, both Sasuke and Naruto were too caught up in having fun to take much notice of that. Time itself lost its importance for them, and they temporarily forgot everyone around them. Naruto forgot those who scorned him for reasons he wasn't aware of, and Sasuke… Sasuke forgot his promise.
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For once, Itachi thought, he could really claim that he wasn't thinking about anything as he sat out back, jacket-less as usual and chipping away at the block of ice that had formed around the Christmas tree's trunk. Mikoto insisted on never bringing the tree inside before the 24th, since that would ensure that it lived longer once it was inside, thus they would be able to admire it a little longer. The whole business about preparing the tree to be brought inside and actually dragging it around was actually Fugaku's job, but he was still busy with fetching the large box with the numerous ornaments, so Mikoto had asked Itachi instead to remove the block of ice. Now here he was, kneeling on the cold floor and working on the ice with a kunai. Fugaku, not one who welcomed the Christmas spirit per se, tended to go about that job in a rather hasty, almost brutal fashion, but Itachi took his time, and now the trunk was still practically undamaged.
"Itachi, dear, have you prepared everything for Shisui and his sister?" Mikoto asked when she passed by the slightly open door. She was constantly on the move, undergoing last-minute preparations before their visitors would arrive. It was this one time of the year when even her almost endless patience could quickly run thin.
"Yes, okasan," Itachi answered, not even looking up from his work.
"If only your father would hurry up with those decorations… suppose I should get a few smaller boxes instead of one big one…?"
"There's still plenty of time before Shisui arrives, so you shouldn't be stressing yourself so much," Itachi advised her.
"That's what everyone says before there's suddenly too little time left… Oh, and by the way: has Sasuke returned in the meantime?"
"No…"
Mikoto sighed. "He promised he wouldn't stay away too long… Itachi, when you're done with the tree, could you go see if you can find him? He's been away awfully long, considering that he just wanted to hand out some cookies."
The prospect of looking for his treasured little brother brought a small smile to Itachi's face. "It's as good as done, okasan."
"Thank you, honey. Oh, and do put on a jacket, otherwise you'll catch a cold." She shuddered after having stood at the door for that little while and rubbed her arms a bit as she retreated back to the kitchen.
Itachi wisely waited until she was out of earshot before he heaved a sigh and muttered: "And she thinks this is cold…"
Thinking about Sasuke again, he actually hurried up a bit, though still taking enough care not to damage the poor tree's trunk like his father tended to do. As soon as he was done, he quickly went to put on enough winter clothes so his mother wouldn't end up making a fuss and then left the house before his father would get the idea of having him help set up the tree. Itachi made himself scarce whenever that part of the preparation was due: the task, simple as it may be, was often accompanied by lots of yelling and cursing for as long as Itachi could remember. He could even recall his grandfather saying on the Christmas before Kyuubi attacked, when Fugaku for once hadn't been supporting his weight with both feet equally and thus not standing straight:
"Son, you have to be straight before you can determine if the tree is straight."
Especially now, Itachi didn't want to chance hearing something like that from his father if his suspicion was correct and the man suspected something going on between him and Sasuke. And so it was with the sneakiness of a true ninja that he left his home to escape possible innuendos.
Of course, since Itachi didn't know where he had to look for Naruto – he was looking for him because he was fairly sure that wherever the blond currently was, Sasuke could be found as well – it took him almost as long as his little brother to find him. And even when he did, he couldn't just barge in to take Sasuke home, even though that was what Mikoto wanted.
From where he stood at the top of the thinly ice-coated stairs, he had the perfect overview of the lake. As if an invisible line had been drawn across the middle of the frozen water, a bunch of kids were "ice-skating" on one side while only two boys were enjoying themselves on the other side. Naruto and Sasuke were playing tag on the ice. Their voices rang through the air, and Itachi thrust his hands into his pockets as he listened to them.
"C'mon, is that the best you got, dattebayo?!"
"Ha! I'll get you! You'll see!"
"Nyah nyah! Slowpoke!" Naruto teased, waggling his fingers and sticking out his tongue.
"You won't be so cocky anymore when I catch you, dobe!" Sasuke threatened him playfully, trying hard to keep his balance while he chased after his friend.
"Ha! Wanna bet you can't take me down, teme?!"
"I bet I can!"
Clearly feeling overly confident, Naruto quickly turned around and reached out as if he were about to take a bull by the horns. Being faced with this challenge, Sasuke tried to pick up more speed without falling down again, and a moment or two later, they clashed, their fingers entwining and their noses almost being squished against each other as they tried to take one another down. Suddenly, one of Sasuke's feet slipped, and with a whoop of surprise, he made yet another pancake landing. A strangled gasp escaped his lips when a weight collapsed on his back. For a few seconds, both boys were in a slight shock over their sudden and certainly unplanned downfall, but then they burst out laughing.
"Sorry… you alright, dattebayo?" Naruto asked, slightly breathless from all the laughter.
"Sure." Sasuke squirmed, trying to escape Naruto's weight, and when the blond moved, he had enough space to turn around. Their current position could easily be described as suggestive, but neither one of them had second thoughts about it. "Told you I'd take you down," Sasuke remarked with a wink.
"Only because you slipped and clung to me…"
"Otouto, are you alright?" a concerned voice asked.
"Ah!" Sasuke turned around again and beamed at the sight of his brother. "Aniki!" He scrambled to get up, but couldn't do so before Naruto got up as well. The Jinchuuriki even helped to set the young Uchiha on his feet again and gave him a careful push that sent him straight to the edge of the lake, where Itachi spread his arms to welcome him. Naruto idly sidled up to them as they gave each other a short welcome hug.
"Naruto, I don't think you know my brother yet… this is Itachi," Sasuke said proudly.
"Oh yeah… I asked him if he has an instruction manual for you…" Naruto replied sheepishly, scratching his head.
"Why? There's no such thing as manuals for people…"
"Well, since you refuse all the attention, dattebayo…"
"I don't need their attention." Instead of elaborating any further, Sasuke just inched a bit closer to Itachi, who put an arm around him. The action spoke for itself, and even Naruto, who tended to be rather dense concerning nonverbal hints, understood that for Sasuke, Itachi's attention was what he wanted.
"Sasuke, haha was wondering where you were…" the older Uchiha said, explaining his sudden appearance.
Shock overshadowed Sasuke's joy, and he jumped. "Oh no, I forgot the time! I hope she isn't angry!"
"No, but you know her – she's rather stressed, and she wants you to be there when Shisui's family arrives."
"I know, I know; I just got carried away while I was playing," Sasuke apologized.
"That's alright. But we should go now before she sends chichi after us."
"You're right. Sorry, Naruto, but I must go now," Sasuke told his friend.
"It's okay. Thanks for playing with me for a while, dattebayo!" Naruto grinned.
"It was lots of fun. We should do that more often."
The overjoyed smile that graced Naruto's features when he heard that made Sasuke be absolutely sure that his plan had added up, that he had truly succeeded in making Naruto happy. His token of gratitude for that was a bear hug. A rather remorseful thought crossed Sasuke's mind, and just before the embrace was broken, he whispered:
"I wish I could invite you to our place… you shouldn't have to be alone. Especially not at Christmas."
He felt Naruto's grip loosen, and now it was the other who was trying to cheer him up.
"That's okay, Sasuke. You gave me cookies and played with me… what more could I ask for?"
'Someone to celebrate with, for instance,' Sasuke thought.
"Don't worry, otouto – I have a feeling that everything is going to be alright," Itachi whispered into his ear.
"You do, aniki?"
"Mmh-hmm. Greetings, Iruka-san," the elder spoke, straightening up again.
And indeed; a certain brown-haired chuunin had approached them. Sasuke and Naruto, engrossed in their conversation, hadn't noticed him.
"Greetings to you too, Itachi-san. And if it isn't Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun… are you ready for Christmas?" he asked them. It was easy to tell that he was a Christmas person as well.
"We are," the two boys answered in unison, though Naruto's voice almost drowned out Sasuke's.
"Naruto-kun, I was wondering if you would accompany me."
"Why? What did I do, dattebayo?" Naruto asked, slightly suspicious. People hardly ever approached him, and when they did, they usually didn't have something positive to say.
"You didn't do anything, don't worry. But am I right in assuming that you are always up for some… ramen?"
Naruto's blue eyes became twice their size and sparkled brilliantly when he heard that magic word. "Iruka… Iruka-san…"
The one in question merely gave a genuine smile in response, and Naruto realized that this wasn't just a dream, that he could actually be someone's guest at Christmas. As he jumped up and down, whooping with joy, Sasuke heaved a sigh of relief and looked up at Itachi, who couldn't help but smile at the scene too.
"Are you more at ease now, Sasuke?" he inquired quietly.
The boy nodded, too happy to find words just then. Naruto proceeded to hastily dig his cookie tin out of the snow, and then they could finally say goodbye properly.
"Merry Christmas, Naruto."
"Merry Christmas to you too, Sasuke. And thanks again for the cookies, dattebayo!"
"It was nothing…"
And so their ways parted: Naruto holding Iruka's hand and trying to convince him to have a cookie as well, and on the other hand, Sasuke and Itachi, who all too gladly listened to his little brother rambling about all the fun he had had with Naruto. It was only when Sasuke happily talked about them becoming "best friends, maybe even best friends forever" that a pang of conscience briefly overcame him…
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Two hours later, Shisui and his family arrived. They were greeted with apparent enthusiasm from pretty much everybody except for Fugaku, who strictly stayed true to the guideline that ninjas shouldn't show emotions. Positive ones weren't his strong suit anyway.
"Long time no see," Shisui joked as he gave Itachi a welcome squeeze.
"Oh yes, we've got so much to catch up on," Itachi retorted, returning the sarcasm right away.
"Hi, itoko!" Sasuke tugged eagerly at Shisui's shirt.
"Ah, if it isn't my favorite little rascal! I hope everything's A-OK with you…" Of course, Shisui couldn't resist greeting his other cousin in his very own way, and this time he even took the liberty of pinching both of Sasuke's cheeks. Half-hearted attempts were made to swat his hands away, and Sasuke giggled.
"Couldn't be better."
"Hey, nii-san, don't keep him all to yourself! Hi Sasuke!" a girl squealed and practically bowled Sasuke over. Even during the minor tumult, the younger Uchiha managed to breathe a sigh. How could he have been so foolish to let his guard down when he knew perfectly well that Shisui's younger sister was coming along too? She had the iron grip of a crazed fangirl, her brother's carefree spirit and the liveliness of Naruto. In short: she was a handful.
"Missed me, Sasuke? Wow, I haven't seen you in such a long time! Nii-san might not have much to catch up on, but we do! This will be the best Christmas ever!"
"Natsuko… can't… breathe…!" Sasuke panted. He supposed this was what a beached fish must feel like.
"Kachan, tochan, can you say hi to Sasuke now so we can go play? Please, please, please?"
"Now, now, darling, calm down before he turns blue," Kasumi, Shisui's mother, said as she carefully pried Sasuke out of Natsuko's grip. "Hello, Sasuke-kun. My, you definitely have grown since I last saw you…"
"It's… nice to see… you too… Kasumi… san…" Sasuke managed to say as he caught his breath again. While Kasumi exchanged a few quiet, but certainly scolding words with her overexcited daughter, he briefly greeted Shisui's father, Saburou, as well. No sooner was he done when he got dragged to the backyard by his same-aged cousin. To his dismay, neither Itachi nor Shisui followed as the adults presumably had asked them to stay behind for a while so they could have some "boring grown-up talk", as Natsuko called it when he tried to persuade her to wait for their brothers.
Out back, the first thing she did was run up to Sasuke's still-standing snowman, admiring it.
"Wow, what a good snowman! Did you build it yourself, Sasuke?" she asked, circling it like a predatory animal, inspecting it from all sides.
"Yeah. I made it for Itachi."
"Why didn't you ask him to help you? I would have asked nii-san…" she replied thoughtfully.
"He was on a mission. This was my «welcome back» snowman," Sasuke explained.
"Ooh…" She paused, then really seemed to spaz. "Can we play a game now? Can we, can we? How about a snowball fight? Free for all!"
"Um… sure…" Sasuke sweatdropped and backed off a bit. Her excitement was just about to top Naruto's, even though he had thought that that was impossible.
"Yay! Now beware, itoko, because I have a good aim!" She was already eagerly making a snowball. Sasuke remembered Shisui talking about her trying to kill a fly with shuriken – and apparently missing a lot, otherwise her mother wouldn't treat her with the same suspicion like she treated the men. Maybe she was just exaggerating about her aim–
Splat.
The snowball hit him square in the chest. And whoever thought girls couldn't throw hard would have to admit that they were wrong if they had experienced this throw from Natsuko Uchiha. A practically hyper Natsuko Uchiha, to be precise. Sasuke quickly ran for cover, seeking refuge behind the tree at which he had once flung a shuriken to prove to Fugaku that he wasn't an absolute beginner when it came to that weapon. Luckily, it did the trick, though quite a few snowballs narrowly missed the trunk, whizzing past his face. Sasuke wondered how someone could possibly make so many snowballs that fast and throw them so almost-accurately.
'I might just be doomed,' he concluded, carefully bending over to make a first snowball of his own and wondering when on earth he could return the fire without getting hit again, perhaps even right in the kisser; having gotten a taste of her accuracy, he wouldn't exactly put it past her to aim that well…
Almost three-quarters of an hour later, Itachi and Shisui were finally free to leave the house, and their rather grave expressions quickly vanished from their faces when they found a still raging snowball fight in the backyard. Sasuke's poor snowman had been slightly disfigured: it looked as if an arm had been amputated and its nose had gotten blast off. Then again, it was caught right between the fronts…
Sasuke noticed the two elders first, and he cried triumphantly:
"Nii-san, you're here! Ha! Now the tables will be turned, Natsuko!"
"Being optimistic all of a sudden, eh? Well, don't forget that my brother is here as well!"
"I think that's our signal. Off to war, then," Shisui grinned, rubbing his hands gleefully, clearly looking forward to this welcome change after the prior discussion.
Itachi nodded, raising his eyebrows. "May the best man win."
"May the best team win, you mean."
"The best team, yes, of course…"
They counted to three to give each a fair start, and when they joined their siblings, things got even more heated up. Soon, the air really was thick with flying snowballs while Sasuke shed an imaginary tear each time his snowman had to suffer the consequences of a badly thrown snowball. But since he by now knew that his mother had taken a picture of it in all its glory, he would always be able to look at it again, even if would get horribly disfigured.
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As one could easily imagine, all of them were soaked by the time they finally had enough and went back inside, leaving a snowy battlefield behind them. Their mothers took one short look at them before asking of them to take either a shower or a bath before changing into new, dry clothes. Apparently, both of them showed equal concern for their children's "bad" habit of having a snowball fight without putting on jackets…
After preventing his sister from flooding the bathroom in her ongoing excitement while wondering where on earth she got all that energy from, Shisui was busy helping Natsuko change into a spare shirt and her white skirt with the sewed-on red frills, which she traditionally wore at Christmas. They were in Sasuke's room: unbeknownst to his parents, Itachi had made some slight changes to the sleeping arrangements they had in mind. Instead of him and Shisui sharing a room, he had told his cousin that if it was alright, he would prefer to share his room with Sasuke while Shisui and Natsuko would occupy the one of his younger brother.
"Sure, why not? If it makes you happy…" Shisui had chuckled upon getting informed about that change of plans.
"Scratch the «if»; you know that would make me happy," Itachi had retorted.
"True, true… and just think about how happy that will make Sasuke…"
Itachi had chosen not to make a prediction just then, and when he had told his sibling about the arrangements, Sasuke had clung to him, grinning from ear to ear, and didn't let go until Itachi literally stood in front of the bathtub. Shisui had laughed his head off upon seeing Itachi cross the hallway like that.
Now all essential baths and showers had been taken, and Itachi was sitting on his bed, waiting for Sasuke to come back from the bathroom. When the younger Uchiha strode into view, the first thing he did was yawn while rubbing at his eyes a bit. Since it was just a small yawn, little more than a mewl escaped his lips as he did so, but even that noise was all it took for Itachi to want to kiss him senseless in a nonverbal praise of his cuteness. He wanted to kiss him in a silent way of expressing all his love for him, but Itachi actually doubted that one touch would be able to mirror his feelings for Sasuke. Or maybe he doubted that he would be able to muster all the necessary tenderness and passion. It was there, within him, undoubtedly, but assuming he would manage to perfectly express himself in such a manner, he wanted Sasuke to understand. He wanted Sasuke to know what this was about. No more «kiss now, explain later» scenarios; it would be perfect when Sasuke knew more about «being in love» and could talk about it. But it was still too early to be dreaming of such a situation; the fact remained that Sasuke was six and he was eleven. It was a rare occasion on which Itachi truly thought that reality did bite.
"Sasuke, you're not going to fall asleep on me, now, are you?" he asked, keeping a straight face despite the thoughts that were running through his head.
"But nii-san, I am tired… I mean, first Naruto, now Natsuko…" Sasuke shook his head as he sat down beside Itachi.
"I know this was and still is an exciting day for you, but if you fall asleep now, you won't be able to do so when it's really time for bed. And you know what they say about… about Santa…"
"He doesn't come if you're not asleep," Sasuke finished the sentence for him.
"Precisely."
"Can I at least take a nap for a while?"
"Perhaps that can be arranged. However, there is something you should take notice of first."
"What is that, aniki?"
Itachi merely pointed upwards, and Sasuke looked up at the ceiling only to discover a twig of mistletoe. It had been fastened to a shuriken, which his brother had obviously flung at the ceiling, knowing that it would get stuck there from the get-go. A pink hue adorned his cheeks as he looked back at Itachi, who smiled at him in a way that would have made any girl in Sasuke's place faint on the spot.
"My otouto… I love you so much…" he whispered as he drew ever closer, and when he no longer felt the youngster's warm breath as the boy was holding it in anticipation, he added even more quietly: "…More than you can imagine…" And before Sasuke could ask what that was supposed to mean (presuming that he had heard it) he kissed him – and the world around them ceased to exist.
Itachi savored each and every kiss he shared with Sasuke, but this one was really, really special. That mixture of tenderness and passion… of love and adornment… dare he call it perfect? But there was something else too, something he could neither quite grasp nor explain… He granted Sasuke a split second to catch at least some of his breath before he moved in again, welcoming the softness of the younger one's lips. This sensation he couldn't explain… Itachi gave up trying to logically define it and simply decided that it was a pinch of Christmas magic, the only type of magic he allowed himself to believe in. If there was such a thing as heaven on earth, then this might as well be it.
Slowly but gradually letting his kisses become a bit more forceful, a bit more passionate and demanding, Itachi put his hands on Sasuke's shoulders as if wanting to ensure that the youngster couldn't go away even though there was nothing that could have made Sasuke want to escape. Moaning a bit as he noticed how Itachi's kisses changed somewhat, he dug his fingers into his brother's shirt. It was all for the sake of support, but as if he had given another signal by doing that, he noticed how Itachi applied more pressure to his shoulders until he ended up lying down on the sheets – like back when Itachi had returned after Fugaku's "lesson", only this time, Itachi was on top. Oxygen was beginning to be a problem for them, yet their kissing became more feverish, more eager – almost desperate – and Itachi's hands left his shoulders, slowly traveling down his sides, the touch teasing him even through the fabric of his shirt, and–
Childish laughter could be heard from the hallway, and practically in the same second, the door to Itachi's room was opened with a clatter, and Natsuko stormed inside like the little whirlwind she was. Spotting the two brothers, however, she froze in mid-run and stared at them for several seconds before blushing bright red and looking down at the floor, shuffling her feet. Like Sasuke too, she still was innocent concerning love and all that came with it, but she did somehow know that she had intruded on something private.
"Imouto, not so fast– Hoo boy!" Shisui exclaimed when he entered the room as well, having chased after his sister. "Um… pardon our intrusion, but a certain someone was overcome with a sudden desire to ask if you wanted to play a game before dinner…" He shot a mildly reprimanding look at Natsuko, who shrugged, but remained flustered all the same.
Itachi's lips had left Sasuke's almost as soon as their divine moment had been shattered, but he still remained within kissing distance of his special someone as he watched Shisui enter the scene as well. Now he looked down at the panting boy and asked, slightly out of breath himself:
"What do you say to that, otouto? It would help to keep you awake." 'And so did this, I daresay,' he thought as he noticed how this different sort of excitement had chased away most of the fatigue in the other's black eyes.
"You're probably right… okay…"
Suddenly, all of them froze when they heard someone coming up the stairs. Suspecting the worst, Itachi quickly sat upright again, giving Sasuke enough space to sit up as well, and Shisui quickly began to fan Itachi, who after all was rather heavily pink in the face.
"Imouto, quick, do the same with Sasuke!" he hissed.
"Right!" Looking anxious to make up for her barging in, Natsuko eagerly began to fan Sasuke, who even leaned back a bit to avoid her hands making contact with his face.
A moment or two later, Saborou appeared in the doorway.
"I am supposed to tell you that dinner will be ready in about fifteen minutes, okay?" Noticing what his children were doing, he paused, giving them a scrutinizing look. "What on earth are you doing?"
"Um… we…"
"Well…"
"You see…"
They were all trying to come up with an excuse at once, and Saborou raised an eyebrow.
"I told them a really funny joke, and they were laughing so hard!" Shisui suddenly burst out, wanting to put an end to the suspense. "And… uh… we didn't open the window so our mothers wouldn't get worried again that we'd catch a cold!"
"…I… see…" Saburou said slowly. It was completely evident that he didn't believe his son, but for the sake of this special holiday, he considered the matter closed. "Whatever. Just remember: fifteen minutes."
"Gotcha."
The man left, and the four young Uchihas heaved a universal sigh of relief.
"You're a bad liar," Itachi commented.
Shisui shrugged rather helplessly. "Well, I'm more used to telling the truth… and you wouldn't have wanted me to tell him that you were…" Noticing that his sister was all ears, he cleared his throat before continuing: "…you know, doing your thing."
"Don't get me wrong… I'm glad you covered up for us…"
"Doing your thing… hmm… you mean how they were… kissing?" Natsuko asked curiously.
Shisui was about to answer when Sasuke did that for him: "Don't tell anybody, okay? Especially not our parents. They wouldn't understand."
"How do you know that?" she asked, sitting down in front of the bed, looking up at him like a little kid looking up to a wise old man telling a story.
"Because nii-san said so, and I trust what nii-san says," Sasuke answered, smiling at his brother. Itachi tousled his hair affectionately in return.
"Oh." Natsuko considered that for a moment, then said brightly: "A very good reason! Big brothers are the best, ne, itoko?" She held out her hand palm-up.
Sasuke grinned and gave her five. "The best!"
Sniffing, Shisui sat down next to Itachi, who couldn't really determine if that sniff was exaggerated or not – probably because he was very close to reacting like that as well.
"Aren't they just the cutest angels?"
"A blessing to us all, my friend…"
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Christmas dinner was a peaceful ordeal, which surprised Itachi and Mikoto in particular. More often than not, Fugaku found something he could rant about, and sadly enough, neither of them would have been too surprised to hear him discuss certain affairs that were thorns in his side. But he said nothing of the sort, luckily. In fact, he didn't say anything that could have a negative impact on the high spirits that were in the air, so the whole evening went by with perhaps only a minor little argument or two here and there. They sat together around the Christmas tree, reminisced about the year that was almost over and exchanged what they wished for the others in the upcoming year. After a while, it was Sasuke's time to shine, even if it wasn't exactly in the way Fugaku wanted it to be: Mikoto proudly told the others about how he had diligently practiced "The twelve days of Christmas" and would like to grace them with that song. Fugaku shifted in his chair, scowling ever so slightly (compared to his usual expression), but a warning glance from his wife told him that if he knew what was good for him, he wouldn't say a word.
It was an enchanting duet, to say the least. Although Sasuke knew both the words and the melody, he was glad that his mother helped him out with the five gold rings. Mikoto was practically glowing with pride and adoration for her younger son, but the same could easily be said for Itachi as well. Even though he was sitting next to his father, he couldn't help but lose himself in the innocence of his brother. The sparkle in his eyes, the melody and words sung with his voice and that adorable bout of nervousness he showed because this was the real thing and not a mere practice anymore… it was to die for. He had sworn to enjoy this Christmas as if it were his last, and that included not giving a damn if someone caught him watching Sasuke – after all, the others were doing the same too. To pretty much everyone's surprise, he even contributed a line to the song: it was sung not only once, but twice, but in the second go, they went around in circles as they recalled all the things this one true love was giving.
"On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me… seven swans a-swimming," Mikoto sang, prompting the others.
"Six geese a-laying…"
"Five gold rings…" Little Natsuko did her best to sing as beautifully as Mikoto and her own mother, and Shisui gave her shoulder a congratulating pat when she was done, which made her beam like mad.
"Four colly birds…"
"Three French hens…"
Then it was actually Fugaku's turn, but he was far from being enough in the spirit to make a worthy contribution. He grunted, signaling that they wouldn't hear anything else from him. Mikoto gave him a stern look, but then Itachi took over:
"Two turtle doves…"
Everyone stared at him, and it was with an expression of awe that Sasuke finished that verse: "And a partridge in a pear tree."
And thus the song was saved and a possible conflict was avoided. Once again, Itachi was a hero – at least to Sasuke, he was.
A little more than an hour later, Sasuke and Natsuko in particular were asked to go to bed.
"Aw man… nii-san, will you come with me? Will you read me the story again? Please, please, pretty please?" Natsuko begged, tugging at her brother's sleeve.
"All right, all right, I'll come, don't worry," Shisui laughed.
"You read her a story?" Sasuke asked as they went upstairs. He hadn't even needed to ask Itachi to come along; dutifully ignoring the rather disgruntled look of their father, the prodigy had willingly left the adults to themselves.
"You bet. I read her «The Night Before Christmas»… are you sure you're not tired of that yet, imouto?" he inquired with a theatrical sigh.
"Don't be silly, nii-san… I brought the book along, so why would I do that if I wouldn't want to hear it?" Natsuko laughed.
"Touché…"
"Will you read it to me as well, itoko?" Sasuke pleaded, making use of the puppy-eyes, just in case.
"Sure; why not? If that is what you want…"
"Yay!"
They went straight to Sasuke's room, where Shisui waited until his sister had fetched the book and lain down before he sat down on a chair beside the bed. At the foot of the bed, Itachi sat down tailor fashion, and once his little brother was sitting on his lap, he wrapped his arms around his middle in a tender yet possessive embrace.
"Ready, everyone?" Shisui asked, opening the book. Nods from the other three. "Okay… 'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse…"
He read it very well – he did have plenty of experience, after all – and although Sasuke and Natsuko started out with listening attentively, like all children, they eventually got drowsy. Their eyelids drooped as they began to nod off, and Natsuko yawned first, soon followed by Sasuke. He was feeling so comfortable that he wished these moments would never end: spending the best Christmas ever with his brother and his cousin's family. In addition, Itachi was rocking him back and forth a bit to make him even sleepier. With success. By the time Shisui was done, he was really just about to fall asleep.
"…But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight: «Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night»," Shisui finished quietly before noiselessly closing the book. He looked up to see his sister make herself a bit more comfortable on her pillow, her eyes already closed and a small, happy smile on her face. Turning his gaze on his cousin, he saw that Itachi was holding an equally sleepy Sasuke.
"Thank you, Shisui. That was wonderful," Itachi whispered. "I'll go put Sasuke to bed now."
"Okay. See you in a bit."
Itachi nodded and carefully repositioned Sasuke so he could pick him up bridal style. Leaving Shisui to say goodnight to his sister, he silently exited the room and brought Sasuke to his room, where he tucked him in. Opening an eye that was bleary with sleepiness, Sasuke mumbled:
"Nii-san…"
"Ssh. Go to sleep, Sasuke," Itachi quietly told him, brushing a bang out of his sibling's face.
"Don't stay up… too long… or else Santa…" Sasuke yawned, hardly able to stay awake any longer.
"Or else he won't come." The tables were turned as this time it was Itachi who finished that sentence. "I know. I'll just be a little while longer, okay?"
"Mmh. Merry Christmas, nii-san…" Sasuke muttered, his words barely audible anymore.
"Merry Christmas, otouto." Softly, Itachi kissed his cheek before adding in a whisper right next to Sasuke's ear: "I love you."
A faint hum was all he got in response, but he didn't need anything more. He lightly caressed the boy's hand lightly once more, then he crept out of the room and rejoined the adults with Shisui. But even though he was downstairs, most of his thoughts along with his heart remained upstairs in his room, where later on, after placing his presents underneath the tree, he would ever so carefully get into bed beside Sasuke and tenderly embrace him before falling asleep as well, lulled to sleep by the warmth and pure contentment he felt that made him relax completely.
Eheh... I take full responsibility for everything that either was unfitting or didn't make sense in this chapter! Aside from that, I do hope you liked it! Reviews are greatly appreciated!
Aw cripes, tomorrow... (looks at clock) ...today, in fact (-.-), I already gotta go to work again. Bummer. I sure love holidays... I'll miss staying up until 3 am, writing and reading! ;D
Lol, we had this decoration downstairs for New Year's Eve... you know these sparkly things you sometimes get with a cocktail you order? They look like sparkling palms, kinda... that decoration consisted of six or seven of those things attached to a string. I was so happy and totally spazzed for reasons I can't quite explain, and I started playing with it... then my bro came along and saw me and even dared to claim that I was probably high on LSD or something! XD But I can assure you, my friends, that I was not high on LSD! I don't do drugs... or at least, my drugs aren't the expensive type you buy on the streets and that can shatter your life. My drugs are music and fanfiction, it's as simple as that! :)
That's all from me for now. See ya next time! ^^
