I Saw Daddy Kissing Santa Claus
Hanami smiled joyously as she carried a tray of food to the guests in the main living room. The sounds of Christmas songs and people laughing together filled her ears, making her first official Christmas with a roomful of people the best she’d ever had. The fire was crackling, the tree was lit up with what looked like hundreds of décor and lights, and the smell of home backed food rushed into her nostrils.
It was a lively Christmas Eve in the large mansion of one of the most prestigious families in town.
Decorations hung up on the high balconies, the master staircase was practically framed and painted with tinsel; the entire room looked like something from a child’s book. It was the perfect setting for the Holiday party of the year. The presence of traditional, real eggnog was not forgotten either. Some of the more influenced guests had to be closely watched.
As soon as she reached the table she finished setting up the last of he appetizers that her mom and given to her to fix up. The seven year old was very careful with her one and only duty; plucking, setting, and making sure everything was just perfect for her mommy. She wanted to have more adult duties following this, after all. The young girl wanted to be a nurse like her mom, that was what she wished Santa for that year. She only hoped that her wish would come true.
Twirling around, her light blue, glittered ridden dress fanning out in the motion, she went off into the large crowd to help whoever needed it. Many people stopped to ask her questions, many of them inquiring her of how well her father was doing, how good he was treating her and her mother, along with many other personal questions that, if she were any older, she would have known better than to say nothing but the truth.
But luckily, young, naïve Hanami knew nothing of the real truth. As far as she knew, her loving mother and caring father were very much in love. They loved each other more than anything in the world that anyone would ever hope to. They were each other’s everything, they kept each other up and running, and when they needed it most, they would go off together for outings to make sure that nothing ill mannered befell them.
And that’s what she said, give or take a word or two.
When appetizers were done, and the guests had long arrived and settled down to the toasty and inviting atmosphere, the real event began in the eyes of a young girl. An even that would make any other kid jealous that she had had all the luck that year, and was given the best gift that any child could ask for.
Santa was there.
Santa was really there.
“Santa!” she called as she ran to the door, her arms outstretched in preparation of a hug.
“Well, if it isn’t little Hanami!” Santa called back while placing his gloved hand on the girl’s back as she clung to his leg. Smiling cheerily under his beard, Santa greeted the rest of the people in the room. Some raised their glasses, while others just smiled warmly at the heartwarming scene.
Hanami raised her green eyes to the scruffy looking Santa. “Santa! Did you bring me anything?” she said while bouncing with joy. She didn’t let go of his leg. Her long, flowing curls swayed with her movements.
“You bet I did!”
Santa dismounted the bag from off his shoulders and let it drop to the ground with a dull ‘thump’. The girl’s eyes lit up with amazement. “Those are all mine?” She seemed stunned. Turning her eyes back up, she grinned. “Oh, thank you, Santa!”
Santa laughed. “Hoho!”
The crowd parted, revealing the man of the hour and his glistening wife . “You’re missing a ho, moron.”
The crowd laughed, and Santa flushed angrily. Luckily, little Hanami was there to defend Santa before he could defend himself, which wouldn’t have boded too well, considering his relationship with the renowned host. “Don’t make fun of Santa, daddy!” She pouted, and the next sentence was mumbled into a red pant leg. “He’ll take all my presents away…”
“Hanami!” The mother of the girl let go of her husband’s arm to scoop up her little girl. “You should know better! Christmas is not all about the presents.”
“Then why does Mommy complain when she doesn’t get any?” she said innocently, making the crowd laugh at her childish cuteness.
The mother cooed, patting her daughters head and laughing. “I guess you’re right. But remember,” she held up a finger. “Family first; presents second.”
Hanami pouted. “Aw…”
While mother and daughter were having a moment of movie-quality exchange of word, the host was calmly walked over to Santa, and was smirking for all he was worth.
“So, Santa, is there anything in there for me?” he said it under his breath, despite no one was paying them any attention.
Santa smirked right back. “You bet your sweet ass there is, Uchiha.”
“Sasuke!” his wife called form the middle of the room. One of the man’s associates was leering at his wife., pushing her glasses up the bridge of his nose as he observed her slimming features. Hanami was glaring at the man, trying her best to keep a scowl off her face.
Sasuke turned around just as a hand reached out for him. “Wait! Here, give this to Hanami.” A blue hat was thrown to him. He inspected it, and then looked up at the other man.
“You made this?” he inquired with a searching look. He earned himself another smirk.
“Yep. I thought it would go with her outfit.” he pointed, motioning to the little girl and her blue dress. The white frills at the bottom fringes were the same as the cap.
Sasuke clutched the hat, eyes slightly downcast, looking away. “Thanks, Naruto. You know, for coming.”
The man in red bunched his eyebrows together. “I did it for the kid. She deserves at least this much.”
“Yeah…”
“Sasuke!” his wife called again.
“You better go,” he smiled again through the sentence, picking up his sack and readjusting his fake beard and gloves. “Don’t keep Sakura waiting.”
Sasuke left without another word and went over to Sakura, where Sai was giving her a look that would make any other man snap in protective fervor. Sasuke did not, only nodded his head and handing his daughter the hat with a smile. She jumped with joy and, when he said who it was from, went to go find Santa again. Sasuke would spend the rest of the night conversing with guests, entertaining them to the best of his ability.
“Oh, Sa--nta!” Hanami called, cupping her hands around her mouth to increase the volume of it. She went around the stairs to a more secluded area of the house where the noise was filtered by the walls. She found Santa next to the large tree, placing presents carefully under the branches. She snickered and crept up slowly. Pausing before she pounced, she cried out in triumph, “Gotcha!”
“Omph!” Santa puffed out a breath as he was tackled by a seven year old. Good thing he realized who it was before he started cursing. “Hello again, Hanami!”
“Hi, Santa!” She smiled, holding onto her new hat the was perched proudly on her pretty head of curls. “Thanks for the hat!”
Santa grinned and sat down, placing the girl in his lap. She started to list all the many things that she hoped she was getting, and then what she wanted for her mother and father. Just as she got to the end of her long list, Santa began to get worried.
“And I hope they stay together forever and ever! And that they know that I want a puppy next year… I don’t think they remembered that I wanted one this year.” she huffed and crossed her arms. “I said I wanted a Husky, but they got me a yucky worm! It doesn’t even do anything but eat and sleep.”
Santa tried to smile, but he worried over her and her last wish. He almost looked like he wanted to cry.
Hanami noticed. “Santa! Did I do something wrong? I’m sorry! I can live without a puppy, honest!” Her eyes were honest and sad for what she believed she had done; Santa was crying because of her. She clutched on tightly to his red jacket and pleaded to him.
Santa looked shocked for a moment before snapping out of his stupor and laughing it off, sufficiently ending Hanami’s cries. The little girl blinked and started to laugh with him, and they then began to place the presents under the tree together out of Santa’s sack. Seeing the presents, Hanami couldn’t wait any longer and decided to open one of them without her parents knowledge. Santa wouldn’t tell, of course, since he’d be in just as much trouble as the girl.
After they were done all the guests were called to dinner. Santa announced that it was his time to go in the dining room.
“But Santa!” Hanami protested. “You can’t go! You just got here.”
Sakura smiled at her daughter. “It’s late, honey, and I’m sure Santa has a lot of other houses to go to.”
The girl pouted, but said nothing past that.
Santa left, and the night went on as usual with the dinner guests in the Uchiha household. Eventually, everyone left and Hanami was sent to bed. Her parents let her stay up later than usual, so when it was time for her to head to her room she did not protest and did what her parents told her to do. Her mother and father followed her approach to getting some shuteye after a long night soon after.
And everything was quiet.
“…water.” Hanami squirmed in bed as her dry mouth itched for something to quench her thirst. Letting her pajama lined feet touch the cold hardwood floor, she threw the covers off and padded to her door. Swinging it open to make sure it did not make a sound as it opened, she quietly ad her way down the dark hallways, the walls and moonlight her only guidance through the house.
She didn’t even notice that her parents door, which was always shut in the winter, was wide open, and her mother was alone in bed.
Hanami squinted in the dark, her eyes tired after waking so late in the night, and after such a long day. Her movements were slow, and her thinking even slower. As soon as she reached the cupboards, using a chair to reach her desired Barbie cup, she turned on the water and made sure it was at the right temperature before filer her small cup to the brim. She drank in complete silence, eyes closed and weary.
“….ke.”
The girl started as a sound, not from her, came from the quiet house. She blinked and made sure it really wasn’t her before becoming curious, and a bit scared. Being a child and the daughter of the fearless Uchiha, you can guess which emotion took over.
She dumped the rest of her water into the sink and placed her cup on the table before rounding the corner to the living room. How she had missed anything in there when she passed it was a mystery.
Hanami peeked around the corner, making sure that nothing would be able to see her small body in the dark. She made sure she was very quiet and strained her ears to hear what she couldn’t see. Unfortunately, the dull winter moon light flooding in from the large window didn’t reach far enough into the dark corners of the equally large room.
“…have fun?”
“No.”
A laugh. And then, “Sakura looked like she enjoyed herself.”
This time a snort. “Sakura enjoys everything that involves Sai. But…”
“But what…?”
“I can’t say I blame her. After all, I’m the same way about you.”
No talking this time; just some wet noises, heavy breathing, and grunts that a young girl like Hanami could never understand until she was older. Some more words were exchanged but, again, a girl that age wouldn’t understand them to analyze them correctly. She stayed quiet and confused on her place by the wall.
But, just then, for the smallest of moments, she seen something that forever changed her perspective of the jolly man she had seen just a few hours ago. Something that made her stunned for quite a time as the image stuck in her head, made her blink several times, made her giggle into her hand when she was done being confused and glued to her place, the same gaping fish expression planted on her features.
Daddy was kissing Santa Claus--
And Santa Claus was kissing him back.
She giggled just a bit more before she went upstairs and buried herself under her covers, thinking that she was just like Sherlock Homes and discovered something that would rock the world off its axis.
A child’s mind like hers just wouldn’t understand something that fragile.
Not even when she told her mom the next morning, and her mother just smiled as she said:
“Santa loves to share his love, that’s all, sweetheart.”
“Like you love to share your love with uncle Sai?” she asked next.
“Exactly.”
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Thanks for reading!
