When Sasuke Met Naruto (SasuNaru)

- Chapter 52 -

WARNING: lemon in this chapter. If you don't like it, I suggest you skip the last part of this one, since it gets a bit steamy.
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Gaara, Lee, Temari, and Kankuro sat around their small, artificial tree in the living room of their house Christmas morning, a modest pile of gifts sitting in their midst. Lee had stopped by for the morning, though he would have to head home for the festivities with his family early in the afternoon. As for the Subakuno siblings, they were all sitting around in their robes, having only just woken up an hour or so before.

For Gaara, it felt very strange having Christmas without their father. He imagined Temari and Kankuro shared this sentiment – as though a piece of their family were missing. Still, the redhead knew that they were together. Their family wasn't broken, but only altered. Change wasn't necessarily a bad thing, either. Gaara could remember their father sitting in his armchair, watching the present opening like a referee. Each child was allowed to open one gift at a time, and only on his word – violating this rule resulted in the loss of said gift. It was typical of Mr. Subakuno's authoritarian style of parenting, and it was the one aspect of Christmas Gaara did not in any way miss.

Then, of course, there was Lee. That was certainly a welcomed change. It had been a rough couple of months in the aftermath of that accident. They had lost a parent, but both Temari and Gaara had gained new loves. As for Kankuro, he had found at least some success with his puppet shows. Sure, he wasn't making Muppet-level fortunes, but he was at least happy and doing what he loved.

It's time to move on, I suppose... we'll make sure next year is only full of happy memories that we can remember fondly years from now...

Sitting cross-legged on the floor, Temari pulled the edge of her black robe down and reached for the first gift. "Okay, this first gift is from me to Kankuro. Merry Christmas!"

Grinning, Kankuro rose to his knees, his blue robe flapping open to reveal his t-shirt and green boxers. After taking the box, he tore off the wrapping paper and stared at the box within for a second. He laughed. "How'd you know?"

"Oh! What is it?" Lee asked excitedly, sitting up to take a better look.

Equally intrigued, Gaara leaned forward ever so slightly as his brother lifted the package for all to see. Inside was a package of socks of various colors. Lee looked disappointed. "Socks?"

"They're for my puppet show," Kankuro explained, setting the gift off to the side. "I like to use some variety – marionettes, ventriloquist dolls, and, yes, sock puppets. The little kids really like the sock puppets." Turning to Temari, the brunet smiled softly. "Thanks, sis."

"You're welcome, Kankuro. Now, moving right along," Temari began, picking up another package. "Why, this one's for me! What are the odds? 'To Temari from Shikamaru.'"

"Too bad he couldn't be here in person," Kankuro said in a high-pitched voice as he tested out one of his new sock puppets.

"Yeah, but he said his mom would kill him if he missed Christmas – something tells me she meant it, too," the blonde replied as she ripped off the red wrapping paper. She raised an eyebrow as she pulled out its various contents: several brightly colored scrunchies, a brush, lipstick, perfume, and several tubes of chap stick. "Oh, Shika... practical as always."

"They're all your colors, right?" Gaara asked, scanning the assorted items from across the circle.

"Well, yeah. Still, you'd think he'd try something a bit more romantic than chap stick..." Temari began, only to trail off after noticing a small card at the bottom of the box. She picked it up curiously and unfolded it. "What do we have here?"

Watching his sister silently read the letter, Gaara could only guess at its contents. Of course, it wasn't too hard to guess, based on Temari's reactions. At first she seemed confused. Then touched. Then she blushed profusely. Finally, a single tear rolled down her cheek. She sealed the card shut, only to realize that everyone in the room was staring right at her.