A long puff of mist whispered up into the air to mingle and play with the softly falling snowflakes before disappearing quickly, snatched away by the greedy wind. Underfoot, snow was crushed by thick boots, sparkling as they were hurriedly packed down by hasty feet. There were no birds to sing today, having flown away many months in advance. But it was still a very clear and beautiful silence that draped across Konoha this morning.

After all.

Another long puff of air was blown out by pursed, cold lips. Mittens were slapped together in an attempt to warm up in the cold day.

After all…

He shook his hair to rid himself of the cold flakes which had settled down and melted into a slightly runny mess. His scarf fluttered behind him, coaxed to dance feebly by a breath of nature.

After all, today was Christmas.

But still, as a ninja, there really was no holiday to celebrate and take days off from. It was still mandatory to meet up at that cold bridge to wait for their teacher, Kakashi. Undoubtedly, he was going to be late again. Now he wondered why he even bothered to turn up early in the first place.

Again, he shook his head, but this time to shake away the thoughts of wanting to go back home to sleep in. He was already three-fourths of the way there anyways.

It was Christmas, but it wasn’t such a great deal anyways, not to him. Christmas was only thoroughly celebrated by shops that wanted to leech people of their money or young lovers. The children with families would celebrate it, maybe, but the adults were mostly immune to the holiday cheer.

But to him, he with no lover or family yet not quite an adult, Christmas was just another day.

Finally, the sight of the oh-so-familiar bridge met up with him. He picked up his speed a little bit. His mittened hands were cupped around his cheeks as he blew warm breath into them. He rubbed them together again, barely even feeling his fingertips rub against each other through the thick material.

Two familiar people were standing up hand. One with her hands placed in the same manner as he, cupped around her cheeks, and the other leaning casually onto the railing of the bridge. By default, he greeted them quickly.

“Good morning, Sakura!” he took away his hands and grinned widely. He got an absent-minded nod in return. He turned automatically at the brooding, and seemingly affected by the cold, figure by the railing. He glared and in turn received a glare. Quickly, he looked away and frowned. No need for a greeting there.

For another half-hour, they stood by the bridge and barely shifted around. If they did, it was only to clear away some snow on their heads or to warm up a bit. He tried a few times to make a futile conversation with his pink-haired teammate, but obviously, she was too concerned with whether or not Sasuke was looking at her, or even realizing that she existed.

He watched her carefully. She kept shifting from foot to foot, glancing and looking away from him. There was a suspicious bulge under her large jacket, carefully concealed with part of her scarf. He couldn’t figure out what Sakura was doing, but he knew something was up.

With blue eyes reflecting the dull grey of the sky, he tried to see what time it was. No use. There was no way to see where the sun was right now.

Slowly and steadily, the snow grew thicker near the end of their half-hour wait. Even Sasuke was shifting uneasily from foot to foot and moving to get warm.

He almost wished that they didn’t have to do any missions today.

Finally, there was a familiar ‘POOF’ and a change in the air.

A loud and clear, “Sorry, sorry,” was said and Kakashi was finally there.

“Hey, hey! You’re late again!” he and Sakura shouted at their teacher.

“Well, see, it is cold today and the roads were all choked with ice and I just happened to see an elderly woman needing to cross the street—”

The rest of his faux apology was drowned out by Sakura and his complaints. Sasuke lingered around the back of the group, almost as if he was trying to hide from the world behind his two teammates. He was scowling.

“Okay, okay,” Kakashi said, pushing the two back with his hands and smiling with his one-eyed smile. “I’ll treat you guys today then, shall I? Since it’s Christmas and all.”

He almost scoffed. Like it really mattered anyways. He bet that Kakashi just wanted to be lazy today.

“Our mission was canceled and since it’s such a nice holiday, I won’t go to the Hokage to fetch another one. You guys will be free for today, how does that sound?” he cajoled with them.

“Terrible!” he screeched. “We stood out here for half an hour to hear that we didn’t have to be here in the first place?”

“Now, now, calm down. You can all go home and snuggle back up into your covers now, can’t you?”

Sakura tilted her head to one side and pouted. “Hey, that’s still not fair, sir!”

“There’s really nothing I can do now, is there?” Kakashi smiled again.

He frowned deeply and crossed his arms stubbornly.

“I suppose I won’t be keeping you three up. Merry Christmas!” and with that he was gone.

“Hey!” he called out, stepping forward to the place where Kakashi was just standing at. He let out an indignant puff of air and turned about face to see Sakura and Sasuke standing there.

Sakura sighed. “Well… I suppose there’s nothing else we can do now…” she said defeatedly.

Sasuke chose not to comment.

He brightened up. “Hey, Sakura! Now that we have a day off, why don’t we go on a date?” he asked excitedly.

“Heck no!” she screeched at him without a second thought.

He was disappointed. But it wasn’t as if he wasn’t used to it or anything. Still, the next breeze that passed them seemed more unforgiving and cold compared to all the other breezes that had passed them in the last half hour.

She flushed brightly and turned to see Sasuke. With a bit of fumbling, she had taken out a brightly wrapped box with a neat bow on top of it. Scrawled with her tedious writing were the words “Merry Christmas, Sasuke!” on a small tag from the box.

She smiled shyly at him and walked towards him with her head slightly bowed. Sasuke watched them slowly.

Somehow, it hurt him just to watch.

“Umm… Sasuke? I… just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas…” she said with her soft voice. She offered the present to him with both hands and timidly looked up.

He could see the faint blush on her cheeks. Had she not been offering the present to Sasuke and not him, he would have thought she looked very pretty that way.

Sasuke stared at her dully for a few seconds before taking the present roughly. “Thanks,” he nearly grunted out. He didn’t even glance at her again before turning away and walking off.

“Oh! Sasuke …” she looked crestfallen. With a downcast face, she watched as her crush left the bridge.

And even though he was rejected by his offer of a date with her and just watched her give Sasuke a gift, he still found the heart to feel bad for Sakura. He walked up to her and quietly said, “Sasuke’s such a jerk. Don’t mind him. If you want, I can—”

She glared at him when he said Sasuke was a jerk but softened up a bit once he started the rest of his sentence. Still, she didn’t let him finish. “That’s sweet of you, Naruto, but no thanks… I’d better go home… Merry Christmas,” she added at the end, almost as an afterthought.

“Merry Christmas, Sakura,” he replied softly. He waved weakly at her.

He was the only one standing there.

The next breath of cold wind that passed by him nearly shattered him into a million pieces and took him away with it.

Silently, he shrugged it off and kicked his boots in a small snow drift. He followed the winding footsteps that Sasuke and Sakura left behind with his eyes. Slowly, he began to walk as well.

His own path was winding and backtracked a lot. Somehow, he didn’t want to go back home.

Home was empty.

He preferred to bask in the brief happiness of young couples walking down the street, or perhaps in the light of some decorated shops. He loved the cheerfulness of hearing a “Merry Christmas!” across the street or seeing an enthusiastic wave of someone to someone else. They, of course, were never for him, but he still loved it regardless.

He dawdled around, not even bothering to eat lunch until he was sure that it should be around time for dinner.

His cheeks were stained with a cold pink by the time he even reached the end of his apartment. The only thing that had accompanied him from the bridge to his apartment was his never-ceasing mists of warm breath and the steady crunching of snow under his boots. The walk was a lonely one.

He fumbled around with his keys for a while before he yanked off his mittens—wincing painfully as the cold bit his fingers and cackled as they stole their scarce warmth—and fished out the right one. He jabbed it into the keyhole and unlocked the door.

Winter days were short and fleeting and already his apartment was infected with shadows.

“I’m home!” he yelled out, expecting the empty echo of his voice ringing in his ears as he kicked off his boots and thought about turning on his radiator to keep warm. His boots landed messily next to another pair of boots, neatly straightened and placed carefully by the side of the door.

He completely stopped halfway to his radiator when he received a response for his usual greeting and the unexpected warmth of his already-on radiator.

“Welcome back,” said the deep, familiar voice.

He was sent into shock as he snapped on his lights and saw Sasuke of all people, lounging on his couch.

The Uchiha didn’t even bother to look up from his comfortable spot on the couch.

“What the heck are you doing here in my house, jerk!” he screamed angrily at him, jabbing a finger at him.

“Your window was open. I closed it for you,” Sasuke said in a monotone voice.

“Who gave you the permission to get in here! And use my electricity, my couch, and—!” he scowled at Sasuke, pointed at the radiator and the couch respectively as he listed off his complaints. Suddenly, his speech was cut off.

There was a small feast placed out on the kitchen’s table. It was still warm. Now that he calmed down a bit, he noticed that the couch wasn’t even all sunken in yet, as if Sasuke had barely even sat down.

Sasuke finally looked up at him. “You won’t continue?”

His arm dropped. “What are you doing here?”

“I already told you, moron. Your window was open.”

He stood there dumbly as Sasuke sat there silently.

“Dinner will get cold if you keep standing there like the idiot you are,” Sasuke stated simply and stood up.

The blond watched silently as Sasuke walked slowly to the kitchen. He still wasn’t over the fact that Sasuke had broken into his house.

Numb from cold and shock, he followed Sasuke. He was still staring incredulously at Sasuke when he sat down. Sasuke returned his unbroken gaze.

The Uchiha pressed his hands together and quietly said, “Thank you for the meal,” before he picked up his chopsticks.

It was only then when he looked down on the table and saw the food that was laid out.

Everything was in small portions, but it was still a wonderful sight for someone who hardly ever ate anything other than ramen. Meats with glistening sauces and gravy, small pies with small indents in the crust, jams and breads…

“Th-thank you for the meal…” he muttered as well, finally dragging his eyes away from the food. When he saw that Sasuke was waiting for him to start, he immediately began to eat.

He didn’t ask Sasuke again why he was in his house. Or why he had made dinner for the both of them. Or why they weren’t trying to kill each other at that moment. He didn’t understand, but he didn’t ask.

When dinner was finished, he automatically began to clear up the plates and put it into his, surprisingly, clean sink. Sasuke had slinked off to some other part of the kitchen and was boiling some hot milk. He could only stand there stupidly as he watched Sasuke skillfully maneuver around his kitchen.

Once Sasuke was done, he finally realized that he had made two cups of hot chocolate.

Sasuke glanced at him before he walked back out to the living room.

He followed him.

Sasuke sat down on the couch and placed the two cups onto the low table before picking one up and waiting for the other to join him.

Carefully, he walked around the couch and sat, a small distance away, from Sasuke.

“Thanks…” he murmured.

“Hn,” was his reply.

“But… why?”

“I felt like it.”

“You have weird urges.”

Sasuke didn’t answer. He took a small sip from his drink instead.

No longer was he cold or lonely. The room was comfortably warm from the heat of the radiator. He had someone next to him now. He picked up the cup from the table and tucked his knees up to his chest.

“Did you open Sakura’s present yet?” he asked idly.

“No.”

“Why don’t you?”

“Why should I?”

“You—” he nearly spilled the hot chocolate on himself as he started to yell again. He stopped when he saw how terribly sad Sasuke looked.

“It’s not as if it really matters. Isn’t that right?” the Uchiha asked him without looking up. He seemed to be immensely interested in his drink.

“I…” he began, but didn’t finish. He settled for scalding his tongue off by gulping down half his drink. He almost missed the pain of getting burned before Kyuubi healed him again. He felt it, but it was very fleeting.

He could almost feel the seconds trickling away as they sat there, so close, yet so far away. It wasn’t too long before Sasuke started to shift around and he could hear some paper rustling. He looked over to his right.

Sasuke was looking at him again. It was such an empty, yet intense, look. His hands held a small, wrapped box. It wasn’t perfect, which surprised him, since Uchihas were supposed to be perfect or something.

It didn’t appear as if Sasuke was used to wrapping up presents. There were too many pieces of tape sticking out of the box and the bow was haphazardly slapped on.

He almost laughed when he saw that the print on the paper were Uchiha fans. He didn’t though. Instead, he put his chocolate onto the table and took the present with both his hands.

“Merry Christmas.”

“Thank you,” he thanked. “This… You just said that it didn’t really matter…” he said, somewhat confused.

“It’s different, idiot.”

“Don’t call me that, you jerk.”

Sasuke’s lips pressed together thinly.

He immediately realized his mistake and tried to fix it. “This is my first present, you know?”

Still, Sasuke didn’t answer.

“Sorry… I don’t have something for you… I don’t really celebrate Christmas,” said he with an apologetic look.

“It’s okay.”

“Okay… Uhm… Can I open it right now?”

The Uchiha shrugged.

He smiled slightly before he carefully removed the bow and scratched off the many pieces of tape off the Uchiha fan-printed wrapping off the box. He opened the box and grinned widely. A new set of weapons, huh?

“Thanks!” he said again, his eyes sparkling with appreciation.

“No problem,” Sasuke shrugged once more.

He placed the wrapping, bow, and weapon set carefully onto the table next to his chocolate. He fingered the ribbon of the bow nervously.

“Erm… Are you lonely, Sasuke?” Is this why you’re here? he wanted to ask as well, but he didn’t.

Sasuke looked away from him and at the ceiling instead. “Sometimes.”

“I see.”

A somewhat oppressive silence enveloped them.

“Hey, Sasuke?”

“Hn?”

“Want to hear something funny?”

“Hn.”

He grinned at the replies he got but continued on enthusiastically anyways. He didn’t like the silence, so he resorted back to the best way he dealt with the silence: with stories.

Somewhere between the stories he told, he had turned on the couch and crossed his legs to face Sasuke. The Uchiha had done the same. Then Sasuke had gotten up to turn off the lights, leaving only the natural light of the thin moon to illuminate the room. And when he had sat down again, they were closer than they were previously.

He couldn’t help but to note how haunting Sasuke looked with sharp shadows cut across his face, his shoulders slightly hunched that way, his hands placed on his bare feet with his fingers stretched across the rough fabric of the old couch. Sasuke kept his head down, as if he was examining the back of his hands very carefully.

Eventually, even he had to look down and his voice grew softer as well. His body positioning imitated that of Sasuke’s. He rocked back and forth on his bottom, his hands clutching at his bare feet. The stories grew to be more solemn until the point where they were almost tragic.

And all Sasuke did was sit there and listen.

And that was all he needed that night. Someone to just listen.

Sasuke began to worry the metal latch on his arm warmer as he listened to his stories. Suddenly, Sasuke’s fingertips brushed up against his.

He stiffened slightly and his story jolted to a brief stop before Sasuke’s fingers retracted. He brushed it off as accidental touch.

Then he realized that it wasn’t so very accidental after the third, fourth, fifth time their fingers touched. His stories completely stopped when Sasuke simply traced his warm fingers over the back of his hands and wrists.

The Uchiha took his rough hands into his own and rubbed them carefully.

“Sasuke…?”

Sasuke didn’t look up, but only shook his head.

For how long they sat there like that, he didn’t know. But it was still very nice and comforting to just be there. He didn’t know how odd it was, truly, to have Sasuke holding his hands and rubbing them like that, his eyebrows slightly furrowed as if he was thinking about a math problem and trying to figure it out.

He simply watched with his clear blue eyes at his friend.

Soon, however, the good meal, the warm chocolate, and the gentle caressing of Sasuke’s hands made him feel very sleepy. He nodded off while sitting up.

He didn’t know when Sasuke had picked him up and carried him to his room. Or when Sasuke had placed him onto his bed and pulled up the covers onto him. Or when Sasuke had rummaged around his room to find even more blankets to place over his thin one. Or when Sasuke had tucked him in with the utmost care. Or when Sasuke had simply sat there on the edge of his bed quietly, watching him as he slept.

He half-woke up with a fuzzy and bleary mind. He saw the soft silhouette of his friend sitting there, gazing at him with that stern expression.

“Sasuke,” he said quietly, not quite coherently. He pulled his hand from under the many blanket Sasuke had placed over him and reached out to touch Sasuke’s hands. Cold. It surprised him. Suddenly, he felt compelled to say, “don’t leave…”

Sasuke didn’t answer.

In the half-lit room, he thought he saw Sasuke… almost, almost smile.

“I’m sorry for not getting you a gift…”

He closed his eyes again and was already falling back to sleep again from the fuzzy warmness of his blankets when he thought he heard Sasuke say, “Thank you.”

There was a slight pressure on his lips, but he didn’t know what it was. He vaguely remembered furrowing his eyebrows at the warm roughness of the pressure before he had fallen asleep again.

The next morning when was woken up by Shikamaru, he realized that Sasuke was gone.