"Christmas Eve will find me
Where the love light gleams.
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams."
– Bing Crosby, "I'll Be Home For Christmas"
Where the Love Light Gleams
"Merry Christmas, Mama!"
Ino Yamanaka couldn't help but giggle at her daughter, who had just run into the family room.
"Aww, thank you, sweetheart," she said with a soft smile, "but Christmas is tomorrow."
The young girl, Inomi, who had eyes like her mother but the bright blonde hair of her father, broke into a childish grin. "Whoopsie…" The four whisker-like marks, two on each cheek, brightened with the rest of her face.
Ino planted a kiss on one of them before getting to her feet. "You're gonna help Mama with the cookies, right?"
"Yay, cookies!"
As her daughter ran into the kitchen, Ino turned to the boy, Haruto, laid out on the sofa, a manga held up close to his face. His spiky hair, poking out above the comic, was the same colour as his mother's. A smirk came to her lips as her hands went to his hips. "You too, mister."
The book slowly lowered, and his tired green eyes he got from his grandfather looked tentatively towards his mother, whose firm expression he had seen a thousand times before. Eventually they shut in defeat as he sighed, closing the manga.
"Fine."
Haruto reluctantly went to the kitchen, and Ino followed him in—but not before her pale blue eyes lingered for a moment on the room she left behind. A Christmas tree, brightly decorated by her and her children, stood tall in the corner of the room. Just beyond it, by the front door, was a window with the curtains pulled back through which she saw her snow-covered street. During the second she found herself looking out, a few strangers passed by.
That's all…
Only strangers.
- W - t - L - L - G -
Christmas in Konoha had always been an odd time of year. Introduced to the village by a traveller from a far-off land just after the Third Great Ninja War, the idea of it took hold rather quickly. People whose lives consisted of blood and battles didn't need much of a reason to celebrate—and yet it was because of their occupation that Christmas itself often got pushed to the wayside. The life of a shinobi, after all, could not be put on hold, even for a single day. So, for a while, Christmas was only enjoyed by the civilians of the village while the shinobi thought of it in passing, if they thought of it at all.
But time passes, and things change; and ever since the end of the Fourth Great Ninja War, the world has entered into an era of relative peace, where people can afford to enjoy things like Christmas.
From the moment her father first put the tree up in their house when she was a child, the time of year was special to Ino. She promised herself that when she had children of her own that she would make Christmas just as wonderful for them, and that meant imparting all of her old traditions—including baking cookies.
She now walked down the snowy streets of Konoha with her children, one hand on one of Inomi's, the other carrying two bags of warm cookies. Haruto, on the opposite side of his sister, begrudgingly held the other. The snow crunched under the many boots that tread overtop of it, and the grey clouds above blocked some of the midday sunlight from reaching the ground—yet, being Christmas Eve, the people were cheery, and the village's liveliness was hushed but ever-present.
"Mama, Mama, look!" Inomi's tiny fingers pointed to a shop on the side of the road selling candy apples. Small bulbs of light, seemingly every colour of the rainbow, hung from the snow-covered awning out front. "Can we get some?" the young girl asked. "Please?"
"Maybe on the way back, dear," Ino said with a smile. "We have to get these cookies to Mama's friends before they get cold."
The head of the Yamanaka Clan had always been beautiful, but now, as she looked ahead to her 30th birthday next year, she seemed to radiate more than ever. Letting her long hair fall freely down her back and opting for a more mature style of makeup only added to her natural good looks, and the warm glances she had learned to give to everyone she passed did nothing but cement their impression of her as a strong but kind woman, and one of the most respected shinobi in Konoha.
Of course, to Haruto and Inomi, she was just Mama.
"I don't get it, Mom," Haruto said quietly. "Why do we have to go to everyone else? Why can't they come to us?"
"It's Christmas, Haruto. Everyone's busy with their own traditions. This is ours." A small laugh escaped her as she turned to her son. "I don't remember you complaining this much last year."
Haruto glanced his eyes away and let a soft pout show on his face, a visible breath leaving his nose. His cheeks, decorated with the same marks as his sister's, were red from the cold.
"Yeah, well…it was different last year…"
Ino's mouth opened, and the beginning of a rebuttal came out; but it soon died on the winter air, and she was silent. What was there to say?
He was right, after all.
- W - t - L - L - G -
It wasn't too long of a walk from their house to Hyuga Complex. A knock on the front door of the main building soon brought her face to face with one of her oldest friends. As the screen slid open, a large man came into view. His reddish-brown hair fell past the green robe on his shoulders. A goatee of the same colour looked almost out of place on his chubby face, but somehow, he made it work.
"Ino! What a surprise!"
Inomi practically jumped in her excitement. "Uncle Choji! Uncle Choji!"
Choji, with open arms and a big laugh, reached down and picked up the girl. "Woah, hello there beautiful! You've gotten so big!" He snuggled up closely to her, but she soon pushed him away, giggling.
"Uncle Choji, your beard tickles!"
Ino couldn't help but smile at the scene before her as she handed her friend a bag of cookies. "Hi, Choji. Merry Christmas."
"Wow, thank you," he said, bringing the bag up to his nose and taking a whiff. Suddenly, his face was weak. "Oh, man…why do you do this to me, Ino? They smell as good as always."
"They'd better," she said with a playful smile. "We put a lot of work into them."
"I helped make them, Uncle Choji!" Inomi said from his arms.
"You did?" Choji asked, a look of shock colouring his face. "Well, no wonder they smell so good, then!"
As the two of them laughed together for a moment, Ino turned to her son and put a helpful hand on his back. "Come on. Say hi."
Haruto was pushed forward a step, and he looked up at Choji towering over him, that goofy grin staring him straight in the face. Suddenly Haruto was embarrassed, and he quickly averted his eyes before his weak voice came out.
"H-hi…"
Ino, with all the exasperation of a mother who had dealt with a shy kid many times before, sighed as she narrowed her eyes at her son. Choji couldn't help but laugh at the whole thing.
"I swear, every time I see you guys you get a little bigger. How old are you now, Haruto?"
The boy seemed to be getting redder, either from the cold or from the directness of the question. "E-eight…"
"Wow," Choji said, seeming truly surprised. "Time really does fly, doesn't it?"
"Tell me about it," Ino smiled at him.
Inomi, still in Choji's arms, began to squirm with excitement. "Oooh, guess how old I am, Uncle Choji!"
"Hmm…" He thought about it for a moment, face tense as his mind went to work. "Let's see…Four!"
"No!" Inomi yelled. "I'm five!"
"Five?" Choji repeated, shocked. "Already? Wow! Pretty soon you're gonna be starting at the Academy, aren't you?"
"Haruto's starting in the spring," Ino said, a hand returned to her son's back. "Right, dear?"
The boy's head turned away once again. "Y-yeah…"
"Oh, that's right," Choji said. "You'll be in the same class as Chosuke, then."
Haruto, for some reason, was even more embarrassed by the additional information, and took a tentative step closer to his mother.
"By the way," Ino said, "where is Chosuke?"
"Oh, he's with Hinata right now. She's got him learning the Gentle Fist."
Ino's eyes widened. "What? Already?"
"Yeah," Choji said with a laugh. "He's gonna be a full-fledged Hyuga before I even get a chance to show him the Akimichi stuff."
"Wow," Ino said, scary thoughts whirling in her head. "He's gonna be one terrifying kid."
"Guess what, Uncle Choji," said Inomi. "Mama said she's gonna teach me the Yamanaka jutsu when I get older!"
Choji let his eyes widen as he smiled. "Did she? Well, then, I better get Chosuke in shape or he's not gonna be able to keep up with you!"
The three of them laughed together while Haruto watched, a little too nervous to join in. Choji, noticing this, turned to the boy.
"What about you, Haruto? Has your dad taught you anything yet?"
Haruto's mouth opened for a response, but in a second his face turned cold, and a frown appeared over his mouth. Quickly he turned and walked away from the door.
"Haruto!" Ino called after him. He didn't stop.
Choji, flabbergasted, watched Haruto leave. "Sorry…did I say something wrong?"
Ino watched him go, her angry eyes turning somewhat sad.
"No. It wasn't you…"
- W - t - L - L - G -
"Haruto! Haruto, wait!"
Ino, with Inomi in her arm, ran down the snow-covered road to her son, who moped along slowly. Certainly, he heard her coming, but he made no effort to quicken, and finally she caught up with him, grabbing his shoulder.
"Haruto! What are you doing? That's not very nice, you know!"
At first, Ino was firm with her tone and her expression as she reached her son; but after crouching around to his side and seeing his sad face, somehow it all went away.
"Sorry," the boy said, not taking his eyes off the ground.
Inomi looked at her brother with a child-like concern, not really comprehending the extent of his emotion but understanding that something was wrong.
His mother, on the other hand, knew exactly what he was feeling. Still, she had to ask so that she could hear it from his mouth.
"What is it?" she said softly.
Haruto was quiet for a moment as his eyes tightened on a particular spot on the ground. He did not turn to her as he spoke.
"When's Dad coming home?"
Of course, Ino thought to herself. It wasn't hard to figure out what her son's problem was with Choji's question earlier, with this Christmas overall: there was someone missing at the moment who could simply not be ignored.
Ino sighed. "He's coming, sweetie. He told us he would be home for Christmas, didn't he?"
"Y-yeah…" Haruto still felt down, but his mother was right; his father did promise he would be back, and he never broke a promise.
"Don't worry, Haru!" Inomi said from her mother's arms. Her small blue eyes were fierce. "Daddy will be back for sure!"
Haruto turned to his sister, and his mother's smiling face was right there, too. Though his worries didn't entirely disappear, they were suddenly a lot lighter.
"Right."
"Good," Ino said, standing up tall again. "Now let's finish delivering these cookies!"
"Yeah!" Inomi agreed.
Even Haruto cracked a smile.
But as the three of them walked down the snowy streets of Konoha, the eyes of the six Hokage watching over them from side of the mountain, Ino couldn't help but wish her husband's face would finally be added to the end of the row. It wasn't often Hokage left the village, after all, and he would certainly be here for Christmas, instead of on a mission doing who knows what…who knows where…
Was he even alright…?
No, Ino told herself. No more of that.
She was his wife. Believing in him was part of her job.
- W - t - L - L - G -
"Uncle Fishy!"
Shikamaru sighed as he looked down at the little blonde girl in his doorway. "Remind me again why that's my name?"
Inomi giggled. "Because Mama says you have eyes like a dead fish!"
The dark-haired man turned to his former teammate, who crossed her arms in front of her. "It's true," she said with a smirk. She handed him the second of her two bags. "Merry Christmas, Lazy Bones."
Shikamaru's dead-fish eyes were unchanging as he accepted the bag from Ino. "Thanks," he said dryly. "You too."
"Dear?" a voice called from inside the house. "Who is it?" A moment later, a woman with dirty blonde hair tied into four small pigtails appeared behind Shikamaru. As she laid her eyes upon Ino, a smile appeared on her face. "Ino! How nice to see you."
Ino was surprised to see her. "Temari? I thought you were Suna?"
"Oh, I was," Temari said, "but they don't really do Christmas over there. Especially my dumb brothers…" An annoyed look came over her. "I swear, those two don't have a celebratory bone in their bodies…"
As Temari looked down for the first time, her eyes came to the two children on either side of Ino. "Oh my God, guys! You've gotten so big!"
"Hi, Aunt Temari!" Inomi said brightly.
"H-hello," said Haruto as he turned away. This time, though, the boy didn't look to the ground; his eyes wandered beyond the couple in the doorway, wondering if the third member of their family would be making an appearance.
Shikamaru, noticing this, smirked. "Looking for Shikadai?"
Haruto's cheeks flooded, his whisker marks turning red.
"Sorry, Haruto," Temari said with a smile. "I sent him to the store for me. Do you guys want to come in? He won't be too long."
"Thanks," said Ino, "but we've got one more stop." Haruto was reminded of the weight of the bag in his hands.
"Right." Temari turned back to the boy at Ino's side. "Come back in a couple days, Haruto. I'm begging you," she said with a laugh. "Take him out somewhere. That boy needs to get off his butt every once in a while."
Ino ruffled her son's hair. "Sounds familiar."
- W - t - L - L - G -
"Mama," Inomi said in between licks of her candy apple, "why does Aunt Sakura live so far?"
"Hmm…good question, sweetie…"
Haruto poked his head in front of Ino to speak to his sister. "It's 'cause of that man, Inomi. He doesn't like Dad, so he wanted to live far away from him."
The girl was suddenly frightened. "You mean…you mean the big scary man with the weird eye!?"
Ino let out a laugh at the conversation her children were having. "You guys…you can just call him 'Uncle Sasuke,' you know."
"No way," Haruto said. "He scares me."
"Me too, Mama. And besides, why wouldn't he like Daddy? I thought everyone liked Daddy!"
"It's not that, dear," said Ino. "They do like each other." But as she thought about it, thinking back to what her husband once explained his relationship with Sasuke to her, there was still a part of her that was confused by the whole thing.
She sighed. "Well…in a way…"
It was another half an hour before they got to their destination, and for most of that time, Ino was preparing herself to knock on the door. She and Sakura had a bad habit of turning everything they did into a competition, and it wasn't long until the Christmas cookies were just another item on that list. It wasn't a problem, really—all Ino had to do was beat her, and most years, that's just what she did; but even she had to admit that Sakura had made some fantastic cookies last Christmas.
Ino knew this was one battle she couldn't afford to lose. Sakura already had her beat in physical strength and medical jutsu, and worst of all, though she would rather die than admit to it, even looks every once in a while. Ino, on the other hand, had her clan's jutsu and the flower shop, and these cookies—and if she was being completely honest, she liked to believe she had Sakura beat in the husband category, as well.
A long time ago, she couldn't take her eyes off of Sasuke. He danced through her dreams like a white knight who she waited for to sweep her off her feet; but things change, and after the war she couldn't help herself from falling in love with a big blonde idiot. Even though he wasn't here right now, and even though she was happy for Sakura, she knew for certain that her husband was the type to come through far more often than—
"Sasuke!?"
The door opened to reveal a dark-haired Uchiha standing in front of her, his lone visible eye noticing her with curiosity. Haruto and Inomi, now both on her right, looked up with wide eyes as the scary man towered over them.
"Ino," he said with only a hint of surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"Me? What are you doing here?"
Sasuke's eye widened just a touch, and he understood her confusion. "Right…well…"
"Sasuke!" a familiar voice called. "Is that Ino?" A moment later Sakura appeared in the hallway, wearing an apron and a forced smile. "Hey!"
"Hey," said Ino, still unable to wipe the shock off her face. Sakura arrived at the doorway and put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder, letting him know that she would take it from here. Before he went back inside, he gave Ino the slightest of smiles.
"Well…take care." As he turned, he shot a glance down towards the kids. Unfortunately for Sasuke, that was the exact moment the smile disappeared from his face. Haruto and Inomi practically shook in terror as they held on to each other.
Sasuke, realizing what was happening, awkwardly cleared his throat before he disappeared into the house. Ino, who was still in disbelief over his presence, woke up just in time to call after him before he was gone.
"Merry Christmas, Sasuke!" He stopped for a moment, and without turning around, waved with his remaining hand.
Finally, Ino looked to Sakura. "How did you do that?"
"Do what?" Sakura asked.
"Get him to come home. I thought he was on some sort of 'eternal trip' or something."
"Oh," said Sakura, growing a little embarrassed. "Well, I kind of got angry at him last time he was here. He's hardly ever around for Christmas, and Sarada really wanted him here, so…I did some convincing—oh my! Inomi, Haruto, look at you!"
Haruto and Inomi each recalled the stories their mother told them of Sakura's brute strength, and as the smiling, pink-haired woman bent down and gave them both a hug, they both began to think that Sakura might just be the most terrifying member of her family.
"Wow," Ino said, for some reason a little more down than when she arrived. "I'm surprised…"
Sakura, rising back to her feet, was distracted by a thought that came to her. "Oh! I almost forgot." She turned back to the house. "Sarada! Auntie Ino is here! Can you bring the cookies?"
After a minute of silence, footsteps began to echo though the hallway. Soon a young girl appeared. She wore glasses and hard short black hair, and her serious expression made her resemblance to her father uncanny. As she approached, though, cookie bag in hand, and laid eyes on Ino, a smile came onto her face.
"Auntie Ino!" Sarada ran to the door and gave Ino a big hug.
"Hello, Sarada, my little cutie!" Ino knelt down and wrapped her arms tightly around the girl, their cheeks squishing together. As Sarada handed her the bag of cookies, Ino's face lit up. "Wow, thank you! Did you help your Mama make these?"
"Of course," Sarada said. "We've been baking all morning. I hope you like them!"
"I'm sure I will, if you made them." Ino gave the girl a warm smile before getting to her feet, and the three children were left alone on the same level.
"Hi, Sarada!" Inomi said, excited.
"Inomi!" The two girls hugged. Though Sarada had a few years on Inomi, the two were good friends—though sisters may have been a more apt description.
Haruto, on the other hand…
"Um…hi," Sarada said to the boy.
Blushing, Haruto turned away. "H-hi…"
The two mothers, watching from above, couldn't help but smile at their kids as Ino reached a hand out towards her son. "Here, Haruto."
Remembering himself, Haruto handed her the bag, which she gave to Sakura.
"Merry Christmas, Sakura."
"Thanks, Ino," her friend responded, slowly lifting the bag to her nose as she smirked. "They smell good—almost as good as mine last year."
Ino felt a vein pop in her head. Here we go. "Oh, really? Well, it's a good thing you had Sarada help you this year, because there's no way you'd be able to fluke it twice in a row."
"Oh yeah, Ino?"
"Yeah!"
Even in the heat the two women gave off, the three kids began to quiver in fear. Mothers are scary…
"Wait a minute," Sakura said, the anger quickly leaving her face. "Aren't you a person short this year?"
Suddenly, a silence came over the Yamanaka family, and the levity of Christmas Eve was snapped for the second time that day. The children's eyes fell to the ground, and Sakura felt her heart drop, afraid she had said something terrible.
Ino, though, put on a smile, trying her best to wave the negativity away. "Oh, he's just away on a mission."
"Oh," said Sakura, a look of somber surprise painting her face. "The one from two weeks ago? But…I thought…"
"Daddy's coming home!"
Everyone froze at Inomi's tense voice piercing the winter air. Her bright blue eyes, staring up at Sakura as if to challenge the woman's impression of the situation, wavered with emotion. "He promised he would…"
"Of course, Inomi," Sakura said, kneeling down to the girl and hugging her softly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you…"
Ino had a gentle, fragile smile pointed towards her daughter and her best friend.
Haruto had already turned away to leave.
- W - t - L - L - G -
It was a quiet dinner at the Yamanaka household. It had been nothing out of the ordinary for the past few days, but the silence felt especially wrong on Christmas Eve. The night came early in the wintertime, and though the lights of the house and the Christmas tree were warm, they seemed a little duller tonight in the darkness outside the window.
"Hey," Ino said, smiling between her children. "You remember Grandma's coming over tomorrow, right?"
Inomi gasped. "I almost forgot! Do you think she's bringing presents, Mama?"
"Hmm…" Ino said, bringing a hand to her chin. "It depends…have you been a good girl this year?"
"Of course!" the girl said defiantly. "I'm always good!"
"Then she just might." Ino brought a finger to her daughter's nose and poked it, and the two of them laughed.
The quiet from the other side of the table somehow drowned out the cheer.
Ino gave her son a soft smile as he looked down at his food, most of it still on the plate. "What's wrong?"
Haruto was silent for a moment, and all he eventually said was, "Nothing."
"Come on," Ino pushed. "Tell me."
As he decided whether to speak or not, Haruto's face softened from a look of annoyance to one of sadness.
"A-Aunt Sakura…she…she was surprised that Dad's not back, right?"
Ino knew she was a fool to expect anything else to be bothering her son. "Oh, don't worry about that, Haru. She didn't know about your dad's mission, that's all."
"But," he protested quickly, "it's been too long, hasn't it? Shouldn't he have been back by now?"
Ino tried her best to keep her tone light. "Please, Haruto. Have some faith in your father. He promised us, didn't he? Has he ever—"
"No!" Haruto yelled, rising out of his seat. "He's never broken a promise before! That's why! That's why…" His voice began to shake as the tears finally welled to his eyes. "Something happened, didn't it? Dad's not coming back!"
"Haruto!"
A terrified look quickly spread over Inomi's face. "What…? Daddy's not coming home…?" It wasn't long at all before she began to cry.
Ino shot out of her seat and went to her daughter, picking her up and taking her in her arms. As Inomi cried into her shoulder, she put a hand on her bright blonde hair. "No, no, dear, it's okay…"
At the same time, Haruto felt tears of his own streaming down his face and walked straight out of the kitchen and into the hallway.
"Haruto!" Ino called after him. "Wait!"
A second later, she heard a door slamming, and the house was silent, save for Inomi's tears staining her top.
As the world stopped for a second, Ino felt the need to cry herself, but she held it in and continued to brush her daughter's hair with her hands. "Shh, shh…it's okay, sweetie. Daddy's coming home…I promise."
As Inomi began to settle down, Ino turned back to her son's darkened door at the end of the hallway and berated herself for picking up her husband's bad habit of making promises she wasn't sure she could keep.
- W - t - L - L - G -
The mission had come up out of the blue. The Daimyo had asked him personally—and those who aspired to be Hokage did not refuse the Daimyo.
"I'll be back by Christmas," he said. "I promise."
Despite her hesitancies, Ino believed him—why wouldn't she? They had been married almost ten years, and he had never once gone back on his word. When they were younger, Ino never would have thought twice about it; he said he would be back, so he would be back.
But whether it was her children, or them getting older, or just the time of year, Ino felt a fear in her heart that this was one promise he wouldn't be able to keep.
All of this went through her mind as she stood over her kitchen table late on Christmas Eve, when the only light that shone on her came from the tree in the corner of the family room and the streetlights outside, their dull glow falling in through the window. As quietly as she could, she wrapped the presents she got for her kids. Even this, she recalled, was usually an activity shared with her husband, and her pale blue eyes were sad until she finished with the last gift. Finally, she brought them all under the tree and spread them out nicely, for her kids to find in the morning. She couldn't help but smile as she thought of their bright faces, but…
Would they even care this year…?
Though it was nearly midnight, and nearly Christmas, Ino couldn't bring herself to go to bed yet, and instead sat on the couch for a bit, watching the window by the front door. What she wanted more than anything was to see that idiot's smiling face through the glass, to hear the door open and for him to kick the snow off his boots. Make a mess, made a ruckus; she didn't care. As long as he was home.
But just like this morning, all she saw through the window were the faces of people she didn't know.
So desperately she wanted to hold on to the belief she tried to show to her children, but with each stranger passing through the snow, each rising and falling of the anticipation in her heart, it became harder and harder to not follow her son's line of thinking.
What if something had happened?
What if…
What if he really wasn't coming home?
Her mouth dried. Her stomach fell. An emptiness, brought on by the dull lights that cooled the darkness, filled her, and suddenly she was angry: angry at her husband for not being here with his family; angry at the Daimyo for pulling him away; angry at her friends for all being happy and together; angry at Christmas for coming right now, for not waiting for him to return.
But most of all she was angry at herself for not being strong enough to hold back her tears, and as she cried into her hands, Ino's pained voice muttered out a prayer into the darkness.
"Naruto…please…"
- W - t - L - L - G -
Ino woke up the next morning in an empty bed and a pit in her stomach. Truthfully, she expected the sleep to solve her worries—but they seemed to only make things worse.
A look out her window told her it was snowing, and the greyish white clouds above still kept the sunlight from fully shining down. It certainly looked like Christmas.
It certainly didn't feel like it.
It was only a minute later that her door burst open and Inomi came running in. "Mama!" The young girl ran to her mother's bed and jumped atop of it, leaping right into Ino's open arms.
"Merry Christmas, Mama!"
"Merry Christmas, baby," Ino said with a warm smile. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
Ino quickly put on a robe as her daughter led her out of her room. Ino was glad that at least Inomi was still excited. On the way to the family room for breakfast and presents, Ino knocked on her son's door. The memory of the night before was still fresh in her mind, but it was a new day, and they couldn't be down forever.
"Wake up, sleepyhead. Christmas time."
It was a moment later that Haruto appeared at his door, a tired look on his face. Ino bent down to give him a kiss and a hug, and he wrapped his arms tightly around his mother—tighter than usual. Ino understood.
"Merry Christmas, sweetheart. I love you."
"Mmm," said Haruto. "Love you too."
She stood tall once again, but Haruto's eyes were still sleepy.
"You can stay in bed if you want," Ino said with a smirk. "Just more presents for your sister."
His expression didn't change much, but she knew he was seriously thinking about it. Eventually he closed the door behind him, and the three of them made their way down the hallway.
Ino saw that the main part of the house looked bright—had she forgotten to close the curtains over the window last night? Oh well, she thought. It didn't really matter.
Christmas had arrived, and it was still just the three of them.
Time to get through the day, she told herself. Time to be strong again.
As she recalled sitting on the couch alone in the dark, she made another promise with herself:
No crying today.
The three of them came out of the hallway together, and into the kitchen area. It was only as they rounded the table that they saw the man sitting on their couch, and all of them froze.
He was a mess. His snowy shoes left wet marks all over the carpet. Dirt covered his white cloak and his face, and the whisker-like marks on his cheeks were nearly impossible to make out. His left arm hung in front of him, wrapped in a blue sling that tied around his neck. His thick, spiky blonde hair was unruly and badly needed a wash; but on top of his head sat a green bow, as if his smiling face itself was the present.
For his family, it was.
"Hey, guys," he said, getting to his feet. "Merry Christmas!"
Haruto's eyes widened, his voice shaking immediately. "Dad…?"
"Daddy!"
Inomi was the first to run, and Haruto followed just behind. The children reached their father at the same time, tackling him to the couch in a giant hug. The laughter of the kids and their dad rang out through the house.
It took no time at all for the tears to run to Ino's eyes, and her hands to rise to her mouth.
After a moment of joy, Naruto finally looked to his wife, standing at the edge of the family room, shaking in her tears. His kids let him stand. As he walked over to her slowly, he smiled.
Neither of them needed to say anything as she fell into his open arm. The broken one that hung at his front ached under her weight.
He didn't mind one bit.
"Hi, Ino. Merry Christmas."
Ino's tears flowed and flowed, all of them drying quickly on Naruto's cloak. She let them slow before she finally spoke.
"Merry Christmas, you idiot…"
It is Christmas Day as I'm posting this, which is nuts because this idea only came to me yesterday morning. But I'm not really into Christmas-y stuff after the 25th so I wanted to write it out by today or I was gonna be disappointed.
So, here you go. Hope you enjoyed!
P.S. Chapter 30 of Obscured By Clouds should be out in a few days.
Thanks for reading, and Happy Holidays!