"…and a partridge in a pear tree!" She sung harmoniously. I couldn't help but stare. I'd secretly been following her and her friends around all night as they went Christmas caroling, dragging my own friends along.

"This is gay." Karin muttered, stuffing her hands into her jacket pockets. She nuzzled her nose into her scarf. I could call her Rudolf right about now, but it would distract me from…her.

Her hair was let loose like a cascading river of chocolate. Her eyes were as dark as the hot chocolate you could buy at the ramen stall for $1.50. Her lips were cherry red, and her nose was a faint pink from the cold. She was wearing a long v-neck white t-shirt, skinny jeans, white uggs, a blue scarf, and a blue…what's it called…the French hat thing…yes, a knit beret. Soft white air floated up as she spoke in the chilly weather.

"Hnnnnnnnn." Sasuke shivered. That was the most he'd said today, and it was one word.

"I'll warm you up Sasuke baby." Karin cooed. Sasuke nearly threw up, silently of course, and politely rejected her.

Juugo stood on my right side, a bag with a gingerbread man inside. He had seen it and just had to buy it. We didn't dare prevent him from what he wanted.

"Why don't you talk to her?" Juugo asked. He was always the calmest during winter, mostly because it was too cold to do anything.

"She's with her friends." I pointed out, whom all might I add, were male. There was the tall and lanky looking one, who was decked out in more green than I'd ever seen before. His hair was cut odd, and he had Christmas lights hanging from him, claiming it made him look youthful. The next one had pale eyes and pale skin. His long hair reached down his back, and he wore a beanie. He wore a sweatshirt and baggy jeans. She tried to get his attention, but he hardly gave her the time of day. If I ever got to talk to her, I'd give her every second.

Then there was me. Simple me. My skin is pale; my eyes change color from time to time. Today they had settled on an icy blue, an all too appropriate color for this time of year. I wore a black beanie; it covered my silver hair, keeping me warm. I wore a red and black plaid shirt, with a black undershirt underneath, and black skinny jeans. My hands were stuffed deep into my pockets as I observed her. I saw her approaching.

"Hey Sasuke!" She greeted in her high soprano voice. I felt my heart shatter. Of course she went straight to Sasuke.

"Hn." Sasuke's acknowledgement was rushed and forced due to his halfway-frozen condition.

"I just wanted you to know…" She started out, a small smile playing on those lips of hers, those lips that I wanted so badly. I knew she was about to ask him to get hot chocolate or something. I'd be there for her when he rejected her. "…that there's a 'kick me' sign on your back. I think Naruto placed it on you when you guys ran into each other a few houses back."

Kick me sign? She wasn't hitting on Sasuke? Sure enough Karin plucked the sign from Sasuke's back. She stared at him with sympathy.

"Do you guys want to go caroling with Neji, Lee, and I?" She suggested. I stared at Sasuke immediately. Why did he get to make the choices? If he got his way we'd be living in a house made of concrete with neutral colored furniture. Home furnishing was one of the few things I preferred Karin taking control of.

"Sure!" Karin grinned, answering before Sasuke. Karin's 'backup boy' was Neji, or to be more exact, any other guy that walked by whenever she was recently rejected by Sasuke. It had to be Neji, because it sure as hell wasn't the walking Christmas tree.

"Hi Juugo!" She greeted Juugo, extending her arms for a hug.

"Hi Tenten." Juugo reluctantly obliged, causing me to silently fume while Karin pestered the Hyuuga boy, and while Sasuke was pestered by the walking Christmas tree of 'youthfulness' that claimed him as 'his 2nd eternal rival'. She pulled back, staring directly at me. "Suigetsu, right?" She asked.

She knew my name. She knew it! It took me a moment to reply. "Yeah. Tenten, right?" I asked casually, tilting my head up.

"Yep!" She replied cheerfully.

"That's cool…so is your birthday on October 10th or something?" I asked coolly.

"No. March 7th." Tenten laughed, grabbing Juugo's arm and dragging him along to the next house.

"I was close." I muttered, causing her to giggle again.

"Not even." Tenten laughed. "Let's go sing." And she easily got me to sing 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' at Shikamaru Nara's front door…and Chouji Akimichi's…and Kurenai Sarutobi's. You get the point.

What fascinated me is that with Tenten, she could go to 10 houses in a row, singing the same song, and each time it would be different. She'd sing in the same octave, but she made each version special. It took forever to pry her from singing to the houses, and don't get me wrong, her voice is good, even Karin admits so, but I wanted to talk to her. At the mention of hot-chocolate paid by me, she instantly took up the offer for a break. Us two broke off from the group; heading to Ichiraku's where they sold the cheap yet good quality cocoa.

"What do you want for Christmas?" Tenten asked, once we had received our cocoa. We were huddled in one of those 2 people booths.

I sipped my cocoa, feeling the warm liquid slide down my throat. "I want…Karin to be eaten by a flock of eagles." I stated in a serious tone. Tenten's eyes widened. "Just kidding."

"You're so mean." Tenten smirked. "But I know you don't mean that." She referred to my little wish concerning Karin.

"What makes you think that?" I was curious to know why she thought I was anything but serious when it came to physical injuries and Karin.

"She's your friend. I mean, Lee and Neji drive me insane, but without them I wouldn't be me." She stated cutely, wrinkling her nose.

If Neji and Lee helped that D cup, slim waist, and supple hair, then I'd be sure to kiss the ground they walk on. "What do you want for Christmas?" I asked slowly.

"Oh, you know, world peace, happiness, the whole shebang." Tenten giggled. "But to be realistic…I don't know…flowers." She smiled to herself.

"Flowers?" I repeated aloud. I was kind of confused. That's normally the thing a girl would ask for on her birthday or Valentines Day.

"Flowers." Tenten nodded. "They're sweet and enjoyable, but I can get rid of them after new years. It's also very hard to go wrong with flowers. But no one would get that, because most people are too concerned with materialistic items to see the value in something simple."

I nodded. I understood this. It was perfectly affordable, practical, and pretty. I finished off my cup of cocoa, and offered to throw away Tenten's empty cup. She handed it to me, sliding out of the booth to accompany me. We exited the stall, walking along the dirt pavement. Tenten stared at the stars.

"I'd better be getting home." Tenten whispered.

"I'll…uh…walk you there…if you want." I offered. I was prepared for rejection, until Tenten's arm linked with mine, and she began to walk. "Is that a yes?" I asked, feeling more confident than before.

"I guess it is." Tenten whispered, leaning in closer to me. I resisted the urge to allow my cheeks to heat up, as I'd never had much physical contact with girls, besides Karin when she's trying to kill me. But I never enjoy that.

We reached her house way too soon, though both of us had been strolling along at a very slow pace. Tenten turned to face me when she could move no further without bumping into her front door.

"Thanks for walking me home Suigetsu." She whispered her voice soft, and her eyes sparkling, despite the heavy fog that obscured some view.

"No problem Tenten." I smirked, though my heart was pounding. I knew that I was one lucky guy that Karin wasn't here, or she'd be calling me out. She'd have felt my chakra pumping through faster than average.

The moment of silence that engulfed Tenten and I after that seemed to last for eternity. I stared at her, and she stared back. I knew I shouldn't. She lived with a house of guys, a Hyuuga and a Taijutsu-Specialist slash Christmas tree. But I did. I leaned forward, and pressed my lips to her cold cheek. It was soft and smooth, and I could smell her perfume even more than before. She tensed slightly at my gesture, and I pulled back.

"Sorry." I muttered an apology. I was not sorry, in fact, I was rather giddy. But she wasn't. She stood there watching me, one eyebrow arched, the other flat in confusion.

"It's okay." A small smile made its way to her lips, almost as if in satisfaction. I wish. She then unlocked the door, and entered. At that moment, Neji Hyuuga stepped out, glaring at me. He said nothing, but that only seemed to make him more intimidating. I didn't care. I was too happy.

--

A/N: Yeah, I know. It's fast moving. It's also….NOT CHRISTMAS! Yes, I'm 6 days late. What's even worse on my part is that this is a 2 SHOT! Yes, one more chapter of SuiTen goodness. The next one will be told from TENTEN'S POV. So stay tuned. Happy New Year!