Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Pieces Of Me ❯ Plushy Power ( Chapter 11 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
Drabble Eleven

Title: Plushy Power

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, not me. I own nothing mentioned here.

Summary: Naruto finds an anonymous Christmas present underneath his tree. [NaruSaku]

A/N: Another cute little drabble with a pairing I barely do. But I think I'm starting to like it. ^^ But review and tell me what you thought. Ja!


~*Plushy Power*~



Sakura's cheeks were pink from the wind, as pink as her hair, and she was shivering gently. The blond next to her was equally cold, but he had more body mass, which meant he was just a little bit warmer than his teammate. But Naruto moved closer to her anyway, and put his arm around her waist. She just smiled up at him, her arms too full of bags to wrap around the blond boy's waist, to return the favor. They had been doing some last minute Christmas shopping, and both of their arms were leaden with bags of presents for their friends. Naruto had shifted his to keep the pink haired girl warm.

"Are you warm now, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, tilting his head slightly to get a better look at her face. He loved the way her eyes sparkled when she nodded and smiled, like two emerald jewels in the dark. He noticed her cheeks were still pink and pulled her closer. "We'll get some hot chocolate when we get to my apartment." Which I cleaned this morning. His brain supplied, happy that he thought ahead of time.

"And don't forget: we have to wrap the presents." Sakura added, shifting the bags in her arms. The warmth at her side was comforting, and she relaxed in Naruto's hold, glad to have him there. She wouldn't have believed it back when she was twelve, but she really did love the blond. So much can change in so little time.

Naruto's apartment was warm and actually clean for once. There were no dirty shirts cluttering the floor, or the occasional ninja tool hanging from the hooks in his kitchen. After the blond had set his bags down, he went straight for the pots and started to boil some water. Sakura also put her bags down and made herself comfortable on one of the couches, and quietly watched the blond mill about his kitchen.

He had gotten taller over they years, not so much the shrimp she had hated in their earlier years. His hair was longer - the back of it reached his shoulders - and his eyes were sharper, much bluer that she remembered. They reminded her of sapphire diamonds glinting in the dark.

A dark blue mug was set out on the table in front of her, its contents steaming. Sakura thanked the blond as he took a seat next to her, sipping his own hot chocolate. They sat in silence for a moment or two, until finally the blond put his arm over the girl's shoulders and Sakura leaned against his side.

"Do you think everyone will like their presents?" Sakura asked quietly, her mind on one particular person. He wasn't there to buy a present for, and she wasn't sure if she should say anything. After all, Sasuke had been gone for nearly three years, and she knew it was still a tender subject for the blond boy next to her.

"You did a really good job picking out the presents, Sakura-chan. 'Course they're gonna like them." Naruto set his mug down on the table and stood up, slowly stretching out his warming muscles. "All right, it's time to wrap these babies. Then you have to head home and go to sleep so I can see you as soon as possible." Naruto offered the pink haired girl his hand, pulling her up from the couch as she set her mug down next to his.

They had a lot of presents to wrap.

XxX

It was nearly midnight when they were finally done wrapping. A stack of presents sat in the corner of his room, waiting for their recipients to come get them at the party Christmas night. Naruto walked Sakura down the stairs, and kissed her good night at the bottom. He wished her a Merry Christmas and told her to be careful on her way home. The streets were slippery. When she was out of sight, Naruto shoved his hands into his pockets and headed back up the stairs.

He took the mugs from earlier off of the table and put them in the sink, washing them before he changed into a pair of pajamas. When he crawled into bed, he thought about Sasuke, and how the Uchiha wouldn't be celebrating this Christmas with them, either. He had missed the last two as well.

Then he thought about Sakura and how her eyes sparkled when she smiled at him. Her eyes were the last things he pictured before he shut off the lights and let sleep take him.

XxX

The morning brought a blanket of snow outside on the ground. Naruto made his way out of bed, took a shower, and pulled on a pair of black pants and a white shirt. He made himself a cup of ramen, and sat there waiting for Sakura to come. But something was out of place. There was a present underneath his tree, and not with the other one's against his wall. He hadn't seen it there last night.

Curious, the blond walked over to the tree, picked up the brightly wrapped box, and gave it a little shake. He didn't hear anything jingled or thump against the sides. Even more curious, the blond moved over to the couch, sat down, then set the box in his lap.

"Who's this from?" Naruto wondered aloud, as he checked the tag attached to the bow. It only said his name; there was no name for the sender. And the handwriting looked familiar. The blond pulled the ribbon from the top of the box and started to rip off the wrapping paper. He set the ribbon and the wrapping paper to the side, and lifted one of the box's flaps. He peered inside and nearly died of shock.

Inside the box was a tiny, plush fox, its red eyes glowing from inside the dark confines. Naruto pulled the fox plushy out, and his eyes went wide at the words stitched onto the T-shirt it wore: Team 7.

There was a soft knock at the door, but it didn't register to Naruto's ears as he stared at the fox hard. His mind was going through a million thoughts a minute. This fox plush...he knew it was from Sasuke. He didn't think Kakashi would get him something so obvious.

"Naruto?" Sakura called through the door, her voice muffled through the wood. Naruto stood on shaky legs, and walked over to the door, and pulled it open. Before he had time to blink, the pink haired girl had thrown herself into his arms, a cat plush clutched in her hands. The same words were written on its sweater. "I saw him, Naruto! I saw Sasuke-kun! I-I woke up last night, and he was there!"

"You saw him?" Naruto asked, holding the pink haired girl at arm length. Her cheeks were streaked with tears and the girl was still in her pajamas.

"He was right outside my house! And Naruto, he gave me this. There was no name on it, but I know it was from him." Sakura shoved the cat plush in his face, telling him to look at the T-shirt. It was then that Naruto lifted up his fox plush, and showed it to her.

"I know. I got one, too." And then Sakura was crying again and Naruto felt like crying, too, because Sasuke hadn't missed this Christmas, even if he wasn't there.

Maybe there was hope yet.



~Owari~