Summary: Their favorite Christmas accessory. Probably AU…
Pairing(s): Sasuke/Sakura mainly. Mentions of Naruto/Hinata, Shikamaru/Ino, and Neji/Tenten.

5th Year

A little girl stood quietly behind her mother. She was, I guess you could say, the timid type. And silent, as she clung to her mother's dress. She had on a red dress, like Santa's little helper only for girls, and a Santa hat- most likely to get in the 'Christmas spirit'. And she stayed unmoved.

"Sakura, sweetie, go play with the others." her mother now referred to a group of kids, about her age, sitting on- or near- the living room couch. The pink haired girl glanced over at them. They all looked happy and enjoying themselves, surrounded with gift wrap/paper and presents. She then looked back at her mother.

"No," she shook her head defiantly. The woman sighed and headed for the kitchen followed by her daughter. She paused between the doorway meeting up with another one of the moms. She had also carried around her child- he followed closely behind, arms crossed, his face saying 'I really don't want to be here right now...'

He looked around until his dark eyes locked on her innocent ones. He stood in one place, simply gawking at her as their mothers were engaged in another 'girl talk' conversation, but they were already out of sight when they looked up once more.

Silence.

He examined her, head to toe. Her adorable, long, bubblegum hair was in two high ponytails, topped with a Santa hat and her petite body complimented the red dress she wore. Her bright, emerald eyes hypnotized his own, and her facial expression got him nervous. She warily entangled her own hands behind her back due to the awkwardness of the moment.

She looked at him intently, waiting for him to do something besides just stand there. His hair was cute, she had to admit. It was dark- only a slightly darker shade than his eyes- and it looked as if it was combed down into a neat, messy style. The frown on his mouth and the glare in his eyes softened.

"HAHA!" they heard an obnoxiously loud laugh behind them and turned to see it was a blonde, about their age/height, looking back at them. He approached them as they gave him a 'what-are-you-laughing-at' look.

"Look!" he pointed above their heads. Of course, a traditional mistletoe hung at the top of the doorway.

"...So...?" Sasuke spoke up. His young voice was yet to get deeper. Another little girl came up to them- her short hair was a dark violet, bringing out her lightly colored purple sweater and scarf.

"Don't y-you know?" she half-bragged, half-explained. "If a-a girl and a b-boy are both under a m-mistletoe, they h-have to k-kiss." she smiled, proud of herself- both for knowing, and enlightening them.

"Yeah," Naruto, was the name, added. They both looked up, to each other, to the two kids in front of them, and then back at each other. Tension rose between them as well as Sakura's little cheeks turning a deep red. "Well...?" he pushed.

The raven-haired boy rolled his eyes, leaned forward, and kissed her. It was a simple cheek-kiss, but it did get them both to blush furiously. "Happy?" Sasuke asked, turning to the two and seeing a satisfied smile plastered on their faces.

"Sure," came a reply. And they left.

He looked back at her, after throwing a glare in Naruto's direction; Her face was the same color as her dress- bright red. He couldn't help but blush terribly as well seeing the look on her face. Being the quiet girl she was, he was the first to speak up.

"Uchiha Sasuke," he held his hand out: the proper way to introduce yourself, especially to a girl.

"Haruno Sakura," she replied taking his hand. Her voice was like an angel's- a young angel, but it was sweet and soft. She smiled cutely at him and he returned it. "Merry Christmas." she added.

--

7th Year

It had been two years since pink-haired beauty met dark-eyed cutie. And yes, those are embarrassing pet-names, courtesy of Ino. But today marked the exact two years since they have first met; December 25th.

Like every year, they all celebrate the holiday together- and by together, I mean everyone they knew. This year over at the Uchiha residence. Man, was the place beautiful! Not to mention large, spacious, elegantly ornamented, and...luxurious. It could make any five-star hotel owner cry. The outskirts of Konoha, Japan-was where it was located. Makes sense though; that's where the bigger houses were.

"Sakura-chan!" her head snapped around to see Naruto running towards her.

"Hm?" she replied. Since she befriended Naruto, the shy, quiet Sakura was replaced with a more outgoing, talkative one. Some influence the boy is...her hair had grown out slightly and was kept down neatly under her old Santa hat. Every year, she'd wear it- telling people 'It's my favorite hat!'. On the other hand, Sasuke hadn't changed much. Same personality. Same likes/dislikes. Same attire. The only thing that really changed was the way he wore his hair. It was now spiked up, imitating a chicken's butt.

"Look," he held out a necklace to show her. She stared at it in awe. "I got it for Hinata for Christmas!" he explained excitedly. Little did they know, 7 year old Sasuke watched them from afar. He was most likely getting the wrong ideas at this time. I wouldn't blame him, he could hardly hear their conversation

"It's beautiful!" she complimented gently taking it from his hands. She inspected it carefully, every detail. Pure gold, she analyzed. The pendant took the shape of the letter 'H'. She held it up against her neck and smiled "She'll love it."

Scowl.

Okay, so little Sasuke had this crush on Sakura, and seeing this made him a little uncomfortable. 'Naruto was supposed to be my best friend' he thought quietly to himself. He looked away, annoyed.

"I have something for you too," he told her, smirking, and pulled her towards the living room. He dragged her a few feet from where they were standing and abandoned her at the doorway- coming back a minute later with Sasuke. "Merry Christmas!" he said lastly before running off in Hinata's direction, the necklace in his hands.

The boy gave a confused look, then realized Sakura was blushing. His eyes widened as he remembered two years ago. He looked up, and sure enough, a small mistletoe was hung above their heads.

"Uh..." he stalled. She giggled and pecked him on the cheek.

"Merry Christmas," she repeated before walking off.

--

10th Year

Sasuke sat, alone, on the couch of the Haruno's living room. Boredom's clearly gotten to the boy again, as he let out a long sigh- sounding as if he had just let out all his breath- and slouched deeper in his seat.

Seven thirty.

--Was the time.

The only ones there were the Uchiha's- including Fukagu, Mikoto, Itachi and Sasuke- the Haruno's (of course...they lived there), and the Uzumaki's. The parents were gladly conversing somewhere around the house, their voices could be slightly heard from where Sasuke sat...Naruto was snooping around the kitchen after being called annoying and told to 'get lost' by Sasuke...and Sakura- according to her mother- was still asleep upstairs.

Then from the corner of his eye, he saw a pink blob on bottom of the stairs.

He turned his head to see it was Sakura- still in her pajamas. Her long, messy bed-hair flew everywhere, she wore a spaghetti strap that showed her thin arms, and finally, her baggy pink pajamas fell to her feet on top of her bunny slippers. She spotted Sasuke, staring at her, and remembered how she had just gotten out of bed.

A little embarrassing...

She changed direction and headed for the bathroom beside the stairs and hastily brushed her teeth, combed her hair, and slipped on a pink sweater before going back outside. She surprised the Uchiha by sitting down comfortably beside him minutes later.

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun," she greeted in a singy-song voice. How he loved hearing the -kun at the end of his name...especially from her.

"Hn," It had recently become a habit for him to answer with one-syllable words, from talking to Naruto more than needed. Or rather, listening to him as he expected an answer every few seconds.

"It's Christmas, Sasuke-kun." she pouted playfully, crossing her arms. "And you answer me like that."

Click. Click. Click.

Reeeel.

Click. Click. Click.

"What the...?" Sakura looked back behind the couch to see Naruto. Oddly enough, he had a fishing pole in his hands. "Naruto?!" she asked confused.

"Heh...heh..." he nervously laughed.

Click...click...

They both looked up, and as strange as it was, there was a mistletoe attached at the end of the fishing line. Sakura rolled her eyes at her friend's ridiculous attempt but at the same time thankful. Without another word, she leaned over and planted a short, chaste kiss on his lips.

Yep. His lips.

Maybe, just maybe- she thought- she was a little old for a 'cheek-kiss'. She did, after all, have a crush on him as well. Their "moment" was ended after a while with the musical doorbell ringing throughout the house. It must be Ino...

She stood up to get the door...

--

13th Year

"Sakura, dear," her mother called from across the kitchen. It was December 25th, ten o'clock in the morning. Since the excitement had overwhelmed the thirteen year old girl, she had come with her mother to the Uzumaki's to help prepare before others got there. Nothing too big, just the desserts and side dishes. "Could you get me one of those serving plates?"

"Sure," she stood on her tip toes and took out a plate- with the diameter of about 14 inches- and handed it to her mother. A large bag of chips lay unopened on the counter along with jars of dip for it.

"Arigato," her mother thanked her as she stepped out of the kitchen with nothing else to do. Naruto was upstairs in his room- most likely playing video games. Something that Sakura didn't find so interesting. At all...Everyone else simply wasn't there.

Ding Dong!

Spoke too soon...

She hesitantly headed for the door, let out a combination of a sigh and a yawn, and opened the door with a flick of her wrist. Once it was open, excitement and eagerness washed on her face. The Uchihas.

She bowed courteously to all of them and watched as they orderly entered the house- until the last one stood patiently at the door, waiting to be let in.

"Hi Sasuke-kun!" she nearly yelled.

"Sakura," he replied, his voice deeper than the last time she's seen him; which was, what...months ago? She liked it though, every time he'd talk to her (or simply hn-ed her), she'd blush lightly at her own thoughts; the effects of puberty...And how he's grown a lot since they've first met.

Sakura, too, had changed drastically since she was five. Of course... her long hair had been trimmed short so that it fell on her shoulders in a common Japanese layered hairstyle. She had gotten curves in appropriate places. Enough so she could see Sasuke's eyes on her a little more often. And altogether, she had gotten more mature.

He glanced up subtly, without her noticing, and smiled to himself. Before she could let him in, he set his hands on her shoulders- pulling her closer- and brushed his lips against hers. It lasted no longer than a second, but her cheeks immediately flushed a dark red.

"I...uh..." she stammered uneasily. "Wha-?"

"Mistletoe," he answered, pointing up above their heads. She looked up, still ill at ease from his actions. Eh, she was kinda hoping he had done that...just because. She was about to ask another, probably pointless, question- but dismissed the thought and let him in.

--

15th Year

Hinata's House. December 24th- Nine thirty PM. Of course, it was Christmas Eve, and it was a new tradition they celebrate from December 24 to 25. Everyone was there. In fact, they've been there for a good hour or two, and they had just eaten dinner. Just like it's supposed to be, the kids- or rather teenagers now- stayed in one area, while the adults/parents were elsewhere.

Sasuke, as usual, sat bored in some place, while the others were outside on the giant balcony.

"Hey," he heard a recognizable voice beside him: Itachi.

"What?" he asked, sounding a little more harsh than intended.

"Why are you just sitting there?" he asked, ignoring his brother's tone in his previous reply.

Shrug.

"Come on," he urged. "There's gotta be something you can do."

"And you?" he turned to face him.

"Actually, yeah I do." There was a strange leer on his face. With that, Sasuke knew what he was talking about. A few weeks ago- or month, but who's counting?- Itachi got a girl. Yeah, as in girlfriend. Despite the heartless, cold (and many other adjectives anybody could use) person he was, he didn't even break a sweat getting to her.

"Asuka?" he recalls. He nods in reply. "The pretty, nice, sweet, Asuka?" he asked again, emphasizing all the positive adjectives about his brother's girlfriend.

"Yes,"

"Hn. I don't get it." he teased- and got a punch in the shoulder.

"So, are you going to sit there, or...?" he specifically looked over to a pink-haired girl outside along with everyone else. But she was alone, away from the rest of the group, just...reading a book. No, not any perverted book like Kakashi's... He looked back to his right and raised an eyebrow. "Have fun..." The older Uchiha stood up, robbed of his patience, and left.

Maybe he was right.

Sasuke stood up as well, and went for the door- he then stood beside her, leaning on the railing. There was a beautiful view from his position, but his attention was on the girl beside him.

"You're...reading?" Smooth.

"Huh?" Sakura looked up, evidently not listening. As soon as she met his eyes, he smirked. His signature smirk that gets her heart to skip a few beats and have her go weak at the knees. It's amazing how easily he can manipulate her. At least he doesn't take advantage of that. "Sorry," she smiled after regaining her senses.

"Hn," he looked away. Over the years, that one-syllable word had become an irritating habit for him. Mostly because she felt as if he wasn't really listening whenever he'd say it.

"You know I'm leaving tomorrow." she said sadly, getting his attention back onto her. "Tomorrow morning."

"...Oh yeah..." he remembered. Just then, Naruto approached them.

"Hey look!" he pointed into the view, and as they looked away from him, he slapped a ridiculous-looking hat on Sasuke's head. It was red, of course, and had a mistletoe awkwardly hanging from the top. He sighed- accompanied with a few profanities- and pulled it off.

"No, keep it on," she laughed, stopping his hand from taking it down. "It looks cute on you." she joked. But he kept it on anyway by her request.

"You can't visit your relatives some other time?" he asked, pouting. Oops, Uchihas never pout. Or beg. Or give in to emotions. Well, crap- looks like Sasuke's broken all those rules. "Christmas won't be the same without you." he said as monotone as possible, but his voice cracked somewhere in mid-sentence.

It was true though, that they have spent every Christmas together, somehow. And he wasn't planning on stopping that now.

"Oh, will you quit being a baby?" she teased, but she quickly got serious again. "I'll be back by New Year...I think..."

"Sakura!" they heard a faint voice, sounding much like her mother's, calling from downstairs.

"Yeah, I gotta go," she said unhappily and walked away. He stopped her though, by pulling her arm and catching her lips with his. It lasted for a good ten seconds, probably more, until he pulled back. She looked dazed, but at the same time confused. He just...kissed her. Why?

"The mistletoe," he answered her mental questions. "-remember?" he tried to smile.

"Merry Christmas." She hugged him one last time before disappearing through the door.

--

17th Year

Sakura sat lazily on the couch. Wait, Sakura? It was normally Sasuke who would detach himself from everyone by, well...sitting on a couch, isolated from most people. There was an arm around her shoulder- of course, it was Sasuke's.

So you want to hear what happened?

Long story short, as 16 year olds- or somewhere along that time, Naruto and Sasuke were assigned a mission. Strangely enough, it was a mission involving a...camp...? Yeah, a camp. There were suspicions going on around the vicinity, so the two were required to rent a trailer and camp out for a whole two months. If that wasn't annoying enough for him, Naruto kept telling him it was "an experience".

He was right about that though.

In some bizarre...odd...awkward way, it could have also been considered 'bonding' for the two friends. They haven't talked in a while, since Team 7 was...kinda gone...so the mission gave them time to 'talk'. Like girl talk, only for guys. No, not guy talk- that sounds weird. Eventually, Naruto got his ex-teammate (but still close friend) to finally talk about a certain pink-haired girl. Don't ask how- because you probably don't want to know how, but he got him to admit that:

1.) He liked her.

Scratch that- he loved her.

2.) He had liked (er- loved) her since they were little.

And 3.) He would ask her out when they got back.

To Naruto, that was probably his favorite mission.

Now back to the present. Where was I...? Oh yeah, Sakura sat on the couch in her boyfriend's arms. All was normal: Naruto being oblivious to Hinata's liking towards him, Shikamaru and Ino heatedly making out on another chair, and Neji and Tenten making last minute adjustments on the Christmas tree.

"...Poor chair," Sakura joked, referring to the chair that held both Shikamaru and Ino.

"Hn...you're probably just jealous of them," he replied, showing he did in fact have a sense of humor. He pulled her closer and whispered in her ear, "I think we can do better than that...we'll just go up to my room and-"

"Pervert!" she turned to him and slapped him in the leg. Her face glowing bright crimson. "I bet you've been reading Kakashi's Icha Icha books haven't you?" she accused while trying to hold a laugh.

"Ew, no." his nose scrunched up at the thought of their sensei and his books. Shudder...Speaking of Kakashi and that book, he was sitting nearby, his book securely in his hand and his eyes focused on it. "And you do know I was kidding, right?"

"Sure..." she rolled her eyes and something caught her attention. "Look." They both looked up and saw a mistletoe hung from a piece of string. That wasn't there before...Sakura turned around to see Neji- a wide grin on his face and Tenten smiling, two fingers making a 'peace' sign.

Weird. It was usually Naruto's job to get them near a mistletoe. Oh well...

Sakura shrugged, leaned over, and- OMG, no way- kissed him. It started off gentle, until Sasuke- being the demanding boyfriend he was- turned it a bit more, er, passionate- to where there was tongue...and teeth...and some inappropriate touching...

"Horny, much?" Tenten muttered over to Neji, who burst into hysterical laughter. I mean come on, Sasuke? Horny? He looked at him- no, glared at the Hyuga.

"I uh...she said it, I didn't." he muttered quickly. A little too quickly. 'Whatever', he thought and resumed his little make-out session with his girlfriend. Uninterested and disturbed, everyone left, giving them their privacy for the night.

"I love you..." he whispered shifting his lips down to her neck.

"I love you too, Sasuke-kun." she smiled in pleasure. "Merry Christmas."

So yeah, my little Christmas/New Years gift to every SasuSaku fan out there!! The best X-mas gift you all can return is a simple review :D! Tell me you hate it...tell me you love it- either way, I'm happy :).

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
FilipinaChick29
-"Proud to be Pinoy"