Author Notes: Hello again and Happy New Year, everyone! May this be a better year for all of us. Enjoy this final chapter :)

- Chapter Start -

A sombre group made their way back to the Uzumaki house. In the lead were Naruto and Orochimaru who was carrying a quietly sniffling Himawari. Behind them were a glowering Hiashi and an anxious Hinata. Sasuke and Sarada followed and then Boruto, Sarada and Mitsuki who traded silent looks and shrugs.

Orochimaru could feel all the eyes trained at his back. He supposed the only reason he hadn't been sent flying off into orbit by a well placed Gentle Fist or had a kunai planted right in his back was because it would endanger Himawari... and because of her tearful pleas.

It seemed that even Hiashi Hyuuga, one of the sternest clan leaders in Konoha, wasn't immune to his only granddaughter's tears.

As soon as they stepped inside and Orochimaru set Himawari on her feet, Hinata ushered her towards the stairs.

"Come along, Himawari-chan. You need a hot bath before dinner."

Orochimaru's clothes were also wet from wading through the snow and then crouching down to pick Himawari up, but it didn't bother him.

"Please wait, Kaa-chan!" Himawari grabbed Orochimaru and Hiashi's right hands, and pulled both towards her, ignoring their startled looks.

"Alright!" Boruto cheered. "She wants you two to shake hands, you know! Then we can all eat together!"

Ignoring Hiashi and Orochimaru's increasingly discomfited expressions, Himawari shook her head, her small fingers moving their larger ones to form...

"The unity sign," Mitsuki said.

A pin drop silence ensued as everyone stared down at Hiashi and Orochimaru's hands, still being held by Himawari, and then up at their stunned faces. Hinata caught Naruto and Sasuke exchanging wry grins and wondered if they were recalling a certain fight in the Academy Grounds almost three decades ago.

"Loser," Sasuke muttered out of the corner of his mouth.

"Dobe," Naruto muttered back.

"Ojii-chan, Shiro-chan, I want us all to eat together," Himawari announced. Her eyelashes were still wet, but her voice brooked no refusal.

Sasuke gave a huff of amusement and quickly turned it into a cough.

"Himawari-chan, I-" Hiashi and Orochimaru spoke together and stopped, trading discomfited looks.

"Can you two do that tonight? Please?" Himawari asked, her voice wobbling at the last word.

With a sigh, Orochimaru nodded. With a scowl, Hiashi did the same. They clasped index and middle fingers for exactly one second before releasing.

"Thank you!" Himawari beamed at them before Hinata started hustling her upstairs, leaving behind an awkward silence.

"Alright!" Naruto clapped his hands once. "Let's go sit by the fire, you know!"

"Good idea, Naruto. I'll reheat the miso soup and we can all have some while we wait," Sakura said.

Everyone found seats in the living room while Sarada went to help her mother. Sasuke built up the fire in the hearth with a quick hand seal and looked at Naruto who gave a little shrug. They still had dinner and presents to get through before they could call this evening a success.

- o -

When Hinata and a freshly bathed Himawari came downstairs some twenty minutes later, everyone was more than ready for dinner. Hinata thanked Sakura for keeping the chicken back in the oven and reheating the stew.

Everyone gathered around the large round table purchased for such occasions. Seeing Naruto seating Hiashi on his right and Sasuke on his left, Hinata told Himawari to sit next to Hiashi and placed Orochimaru on her other side. Sakura sat beside Sasuke while Mitsuki sat beside Orochimaru. Boruto and Sarada claimed the next two seats so Hinata took the remaining chair between Sarada and her mother.

This was as good as it was going to get.

As she had suspected, the dinner topics remained safe, if boring and likely repeated. Everyone praised her cooking and complained or were happy about the weather and earlier snowfall. Sakura brought up a new internship program at the hospital and Naruto mentioned next year's plans to add a new wing there and to upgrade the playground at the Academy. Boruto boasted about the snowball fight Team Seven had enjoyed that afternoon where they soundly trounced Konohamaru-nii-chan and Mugino-san until they were half buried in the snow and begging for mercy.

Despite the cheerful voices and Boruto's boisterous laugh, it was the conversation carried out in a piping treble and a gravely voice that everyone found themselves listening to, especially when the topic of next year's Valentine's Day and White Day came up.

If it weren't for Hiashi's disbelieving stare, Hinata might have giggled at the sight of Naruto and Sasuke's synchronised eye twitch when Himawari reminded Orochimaru of his upcoming dates with her. It seemed she owed him chocolates from this year's White Day and hadn't forgotten about it.

- o -

Dinner wound to a close and Hinata and Sakura exchanged relieved smiles. With a bit of prompting, Sakura and Boruto began clearing the table. Sakura went to take her Christmas cake from the fridge while Mitsuki got clean plates and forks.

The light sponge cake decorated with whipped cream and fresh strawberries received due praise and was cut up with a big slice for everyone. Orochimaru took a small bite of his before giving the rest to Himawari.

After that, they cleared the table before gathering in the living room to sip tea and open presents. Only the children received gifts, but Hinata and Sakura did their annual exchange of food hampers containing premium snacks, liqueur filled chocolates and sake.

The gaily wrapped presents were retrieved from the base of the Christmas tree and passed to their recipients. Happy thanks were uttered, accompanied by excited smiles. Over the next half hour, there were the sounds of tearing paper and exclamations of delight.

Boruto received trading cards, video games, comic books and a jacket to replace his torn one.

"Kaa-chan, my current one is still fine, you know!" He protested.

Sarada received books, gourmet tea flavoured pastries and snacks, and a dress.

"Thank you, mama, papa, but when would I even wear this?"

Mitsuki received trading cards, a shogi set and books. He didn't say anything about not receiving clothes but he did look a little wistfully at Boruto's new black jacket trimmed in blue.

Himawari received decorative hairpins, books, plushies as well as dresses.

After all the presents had been exclaimed over, everyone turned to Orochimaru. With a solemn look, he reached into one of his sleeves and took out something small, half hidden in his palm.

Everyone looked on with curiosity, Naruto even leaning forward a little as if ready to intervene if needed.

"This is for you, Himawari-chan," Orochimaru said. "Close your eyes and hold out your hand."

Himawari was holding Hiashi's gift, a large dog plushie, but she quickly held out her free hand, palm up, and closed her eyes. Her eyes snapped open again when something was dropped onto her palm. A small white snake about six inches long looked back at her, small head raised and bottom half neatly curled up. It had the same eye markings as Orochimaru.

"Oh! A real Shiro-chan just for me!" Himawari cried in excitement, dropping the dog plushie to cradle the snake with both hands. "His pretty eyes are just like yours!"

Hiashi's eyes almost bugged out at both gift and words while Boruto snorted and Sarada giggled. Mitsuki looked pleased.

"It's a she," Orochimaru said, cheeks going pink at the compliment.

"A girl Shiro-chan? Thank you, Shi-uhm, Orochimaru-chan!"

"A snake?" Hiashi demanded, looking displeased.

"She's not... eh, poisonous, is she?" Naruto asked.

"Or a summons?" Sasuke asked, eyes narrowed.

"Of course not, Hokage-sama, Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru replied. "She's a harmless garden snake, albeit an albino one. She's tame, can catch her own food and will remain that size even when full grown."

"Why does she have the same eye markings as you?" Hiashi demanded, pointedly omitting the 'pretty' adjective.

"Ah. I'm afraid that's a trade secret, Hiashi-san," Orochimaru replied with a tiny smirk.

"She's kind of cute, but doesn't she feel slimy?" Sarada asked, wrinkling her nose a bit.

"Not at all, Sarada-nee-chan!" Himawari said. "Her skin is dry and cool just like Orochimaru-chan's when he's a Shiro-chan!"

No one had ever seen Orochimaru blush that particular shade of pink before.

"Would you like touch her?" Himawari asked Sarada who quickly declined.

Boruto was unafraid and reached out a finger, chuckling when the snake's tiny tongue flickered over it before she allowed him to pat her head. Then she curled around Himawari's wrist like a bracelet, looking quite content.

"She looks lovely, Himawari-chan," Hinata said when no one one ventured anything else.

"I love her!" Himawari declared. "Thank you, Orochimaru-chan!"

"You're welcome. Well, it's time I left," Orochimaru and stood up, Mitsuki copying him.

"I will take my leave as well," Mitsuki said.

"You're both welcome to stay longer," Hinata told them, "but it's Himawari's bedtime."

Himawari hugged everyone and thanked them again for their gifts. Finally, she turned to Orochimaru and held out her arms, causing the three male adults to become being twitchy eyed again.

With a wary glance around, Orochimaru knelt on the carpet to oblige, only putting one arm around Himawari's shoulders. It didn't stop her from giving him a tight squeeze.

"I'm growing my hair long, did you notice?" She whispered in his ear before releasing him.

"I did, little one," he assured her. "You look as pretty as a flower."

"Thank you," she said with a sunny smile. "I hope you'll come to the village on New Year's Eve. Mama lets me stay up til midnight to watch the fireworks!"

"I will try, but no promises," Orochimaru told her and got to his feet. He bowed to Naruto.

"Thank you for having me over, Hokage-sama."

He turned to bow to Hinata.

"Thank you for dinner, Hinata-san. As usual, you have outdone yourself."

"You're welcome, Orochimaru-san," Hinata told him, flushed with delight. "We hope to see you around on New Year's Eve."

The others wished Orochimaru and Mitsuki goodnight, but Hiashi only gave a brief unsmiling nod which Orochimaru returned in kind.

- o -

Both parent and child were silent as they made their way to Mitsuki's apartment to wait. There was an hour more to go before Orochimaru met his team at the main gates. The shops and eateries were closed, but the roads still brightly lit.

"It's a pity Hiashi Hyuuga showed up," Orochimaru remarked.

"Would you have fought him if he insisted that you leave?" Mitsuki asked.

With a low chuckle, Orochimaru looked up at the sky. It had started snowing again

"Who knows? I'm sure Naruto-kun would've stopped us since it would've made things unpleasant for all."

"Not to mention Himawari-chan would be very upset," Boruto agreed. His parent preferred peace over fighting, but wouldn't want to lose face either.

"Then it's a good thing her grandfather loves her."

"Like you do?"

"Like we all do," Orochimaru replied calmly.

Mitsuki nodded and didn't say anymore as they walked on through the cold and wintry night.

- Story End -

A/N: Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this little story. Please leave a comment if you did and take care :)