Chapter Eleven; The Heart of Christmas
"I missed you too Naruto." Hinata began. "But why did you stay away for so long?" she wondered. "I was starting to get really worried about you."
"Naruto always worries me." Sakura interjected but Naruto just simply ignored her.
"I know, and I'm sorry Hinata but Sasuke was doing such a good job of taking care of me that I really didn't want to leave. Besides, I didn't want to get you and the kids sick." He explained.
"Oh I see, where is Sasuke?" Hinata asked him.
"He's outside. And that idiot better get his ah_" he began while pointing his thumb back at the door.
"Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed before placing her hands upon her hips and pointing a finger at him. "You can't swear in church!" she snapped.
"Why not? You guys did when you got married remember? You swore on your vows that you would be together forever until death parted you." Naruto told her.
"That's different. I was talking about the use of profanity." She said when all of a sudden Sasuke came inside and Naruto stuck his tongue out at her.
"Uh oh, what are you guys fighting about now? Or do I even want to know?" he questioned them.
"Sakura is such a dumb know-it-all!" Naruto exclaimed while pointing over at her before Sasuke laughed.
"First of all that's an oxymoron." He began.
"Hey! Who exactly are you calling a moron!?" he hollered before starting to cough again.
"Settle down Naruto. An oxymoron just means that you're saying something that contradicts the other thing you said." Sakura told him before he rolled his eyes and threw his arms into the air.
"I rest my case." He said before he folded his arms and turned his back towards her.
"Alright,.. that does it." Sasuke began before he grabbed ahold of his arm and dragged him away.
"Hey!" Naruto hollered while Sasuke dragged him a crossed the room before bringing him into a corner and finally let go of him.
"Look, you already know perfectly well that I love you and Sakura with all of my heart. But this bickering between each other really needs to stop. You two have been going at it all day." He scolded.
"So!? We're brother and sister we're supposed to fight! Besides, you and I fight all the time!" Naruto hollered while pointing a finger at him.
"That's different. Don't remember the story you're reading tonight? The story of Christmas is all about peace on earth and good will toward men. All I'm asking is that none of us fight with each other until after Christmas." He told him. "After all, how can we tell the story of the Nativity if we don't really know it or follow it ourselves." He explained before Naruto took a deep breath and sighed heavily while starting to look down at the floor.
"You're right. I really hate to admit it but you are." He told him before turning his head and glancing over at Sakura. "Hey listen, I'll be right back. There's something that I have to do." He told him before he turned around and hurried back over to Sakura while Sasuke smiled as he watched him. "Hey Sakura listen." He began before Sakura quickly whirled around to face him. "We really shouldn't be fighting on Christmas Eve." He told her.
"I know Naruto you're right. I was just thinking about that. The whole entire reason that Jesus was born in the first place besides becoming the ultimate sacrifice was to teach us things like how to love one another and treat each other fairly. I'm sorry." She apologized while slowly hanging her head.
"Me too." Naruto began. "I really do love you you know." He told her.
"I know." She responded before they both wrapped their arms around each other tightly and embraced. "And I love you too. Of course," she began while glancing over at her husband while he started walking back over to them. "nobody could possibly ever love you as much as Sasuke does." She told him before they broke out of the embrace.
"I know. He risked his life to save mine. I never knew that I could ever have a friend like that. And somebody that loves me that much." He said.
"Well, now you do." Sasuke told him. "I love you both and your children more than you possibly could ever know." He told them.
"You must to have to put up with us all the time." Sakura said.
"Hm." Sasuke began with a grin. "You're the easy one. Naruto's the one who is a bit of a handful. Can't live with him, but at the same time I can't live without him either." He said smiling down at him.
"Hm. And don't you forget it either." Naruto told him while turning to him with a grin. "Well come on guys, we better go get in our costumes before it gets too late. Well, actually I don't but you do." He told him before all three of them turned around and started walking away together. That's when suddenly they ran into Boruto already dressed in his shepherd's outfit and they stopped in front of him. "Hey what are you doing here, you're supposed to be gathering up all of the animals together remember?" he questioned his son before he gave a nervous chuckle.
"Uh yeah, about that." He began while his cheeks blushed beet red.
"Uh oh. What happened?" Sakura asked him reluctantly.
"Well,.. we have a little donkey situation." He said while slowly taking a step backwards.
"That's it Boruto what did you do!?" Sakura cried.
"I,.. err,.. uh,.. I lost the donkey. He ran away and I don't know where he is." He explained.
"What!? How can you lose a donkey?" Sasuke questioned him while raising his eyebrows at him. "I would think that it would be a very difficult thing to do." He said.
"Alright, this is how we're going to handle this. We'll split up. Sasuke and Sakura you search the back of the church and Boruto and I will search the front. He couldn't have gotten too far." Naruto said before Sasuke and Sakura nodded slightly at him.
"Right." Sakura said before Sasuke took her by the hand and they ran in the opposite direction of Naruto and Boruto.
"Wait a second, something just occurred to me." Sasuke began. "What are we supposed to do to catch this thing if we do happen to find him?" he wondered.
"I don't know. Pray for a miracle I guess." Sakura replied before they raced outside through the doors of the church. That's when all of a sudden the donkey galloped out in front of them. The next thing they knew Boruto raced around the corner after it.
"Wait a minute! Come back here you dumb ass!" he hollered before Sasuke and Sakura turned to look at each other and then suddenly busted out laughing.
….
Well eventually Naruto was able to throw a lasso around the donkey and led it back into the stable area. Sasuke and Sakura (playing Joseph and Mary) knelt down in front of the manger with their hands folded where Sasame's old baby doll lay. She stood behind Naruto (playing the angel) while Boruto and Hokori (playing the shepherds) stood on either side of him while he read out of the Bible.
"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round them and they were sore afraid. And the angel said to them,.." he read before Sasame interjected.
"Fear not! For behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign onto you, ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger." She said before Naruto continued to read.
"And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly hosts praising God and saying glory to God in the highest and peace on earth and good will toward men." He finished reading before he gave a nod over to three more people that were playing the wise men and who knelt down in front of the manger and presented the baby Jesus with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. That's when suddenly a heavenly choir sounded in the background and out a sheer coincidence, Naruto glanced up at the sky as the moonlight shone down on the stable and gasped out of amazement and smiled. It was a true Christmas miracle.