Log: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Who: Hyuuga Hinata, Uzumaki Naruto, Aburame Shino, Haruno Sakura, Tenten, Hyuuga Hizashi, Hyuuga Hiashi, Hyuuga Neji, one giant fucking gingerbread castle (Everybody else GTFO! No I‘m kidding I love you all)
Where: Hinata’s Apartment
What: Christmas Dinner
When: December 25, 2009 (It’s Christmas y’all!)
Why: Because Hinata would like to imagine that her family is capable of having one decent meal together, and that bitch needs some friends to keep the night moderately sane.
Cheat Sheet
Christmas music echoed through the small one-bedroom apartment that Hyuuga Hinata called her home, the volume down low as her iPod ran through the randomized list of songs she’d collected over the last month, the musical repertoire covering everything, from the best of the classics to the newer more popular covers and a number of songs that weren‘t necessarily Christmassy but maintained the calm, peaceful atmosphere that would hopefully hold through the night. The tree was lit and decorated, several boxes in metallic red and green paper places around the tree, the adhesive bows glittering in the light. She’d spent the better part of the last two weeks decorating and cleaning, determined to make everything perfect for her family and friends, and the last 48 hours was spent preparing a Christmas dinner that was probably far too much for a mere seven people. And now, with afternoon slipping into early evening, it seemed that everything was finally ready. There’d been a slip here and there and an occasional burn for the cook-though fortunately not the food-but when all was said and done they were none the worse for wear. The only casualty of the day had one ceramic gravy boat, which had thankfully been empty when the shock of seeing Shino at her door made her drop it, and Hinata was quite proud that she’d made it through the day so far needing only one small bandage.
The Hyuuga heiress glanced at the Band-Aid that wrapped her left pointer finger, recalling her embarrassing show of clumsiness. She’d spent most of the day focusing on cooking without ruining the black slacks and white camisole she’d put on after her shower that morning, opting to wear and actual apron when handling anything particularly messy, and she’d yielded good results thus far. She’d been halfway through unloading the dishwasher of her newly purchased serving dishes when she heard the ominous thud of someone kicking at her door and Naruto‘s yell, taking a moment to clear off the bar top before marching out of the kitchen and into the living room, a simple white gravy boat still in hand. So help her if Naruto had scuffed her door she was going to give him a scolding, especially after she’d spent half a day getting the damned thing white again; you wouldn’t believe all the dirt and scuffs that a door accumulates over the years. She didn’t even realize he’d brought someone with until Naruto took some of the dessert items off his hands, revealing the seemingly helpful stranger to be none other than Shino. She couldn’t quite recall what her precise thought had been upon seeing the Aburame at her door, she vaguely recalled something about the party nearly a month before, and the gallery opening shortly after it, and then some fleeting thought about her birthday before the sound of shattering porcelain sent her thoughts scattering.
She’d bent to pick the pieces up instantly, cradling pile of broken china in her right hand while picking up the shards with her left, ignoring the pinprick points to them. Naruto’s chuckle had made it clear that the surprise was entirely intentional, and naturally that only served to distract her from the task at hand. The pain of one of the sharp, jagged shards slicing into her finger was acute and yet scarcely noticeable, her jolted reaction more instinct than genuine shock, and the tip of her injured finger was trapped in her lips before she had a chance to quell the childish instinct. Hinata flexed her finger absently, recalling the care Shino had shown when cleaning the cut and applying the elastic bandage, having seemed almost worried about her despite her assurance that she was used to it and yes, it did usually bleed that much. She smiled at the memory, finding it sweet that Shino had helped her at all, despite the mildness of the injury, and considered thanking Naruto later, right after she threatened serious bodily harm should he spring a surprise like that on her again. After that, it had been a simple matter of arranging the desserts on the bar and setting the table, putting the food in proper serving dishes in the process. Fortunately she’s been lucky to have all the right tools, having been able to use a toaster oven to cook the vegetables and sides one at a time while the turkey was in the oven, the spiral ham in the slow cooker while all kinds of untold goodies took up the stove.
Now everything was in place, the food still warm on the table and the dishes washed, the last thing she set on the table being the center piece, a platter of ham and turkey carvings, having chosen to slice it down ahead of time for the sake of simplicity. She’d even had a spare moment to snack on a few sweet treats and have some punch, already so nervous that she didn’t even realize there was booze in the drink until she was halfway through her first cup, and by that point she didn’t see the harm in finishing the drink; she hadn’t taken her meds in a long while, so there wasn’t any danger with having a little alcohol, though she now knew better than to have too much, having learned the hard way that booze alone was dangerous for her.
The Hyuuga heiress sipped her ice water dutifully, both to make up for the glass up punch and to keep from ruining her sweater, knowing full well that one misstep would ruin the beautiful ivory cashmere, which was why she’d refused to put on the sweater until after the hard labor was done and she needed only to relax and enjoy the calming atmosphere while it lasted.
Where: Hinata’s Apartment
What: Christmas Dinner
When: December 25, 2009 (It’s Christmas y’all!)
Why: Because Hinata would like to imagine that her family is capable of having one decent meal together, and that bitch needs some friends to keep the night moderately sane.
Cheat Sheet
Christmas music echoed through the small one-bedroom apartment that Hyuuga Hinata called her home, the volume down low as her iPod ran through the randomized list of songs she’d collected over the last month, the musical repertoire covering everything, from the best of the classics to the newer more popular covers and a number of songs that weren‘t necessarily Christmassy but maintained the calm, peaceful atmosphere that would hopefully hold through the night. The tree was lit and decorated, several boxes in metallic red and green paper places around the tree, the adhesive bows glittering in the light. She’d spent the better part of the last two weeks decorating and cleaning, determined to make everything perfect for her family and friends, and the last 48 hours was spent preparing a Christmas dinner that was probably far too much for a mere seven people. And now, with afternoon slipping into early evening, it seemed that everything was finally ready. There’d been a slip here and there and an occasional burn for the cook-though fortunately not the food-but when all was said and done they were none the worse for wear. The only casualty of the day had one ceramic gravy boat, which had thankfully been empty when the shock of seeing Shino at her door made her drop it, and Hinata was quite proud that she’d made it through the day so far needing only one small bandage.
The Hyuuga heiress glanced at the Band-Aid that wrapped her left pointer finger, recalling her embarrassing show of clumsiness. She’d spent most of the day focusing on cooking without ruining the black slacks and white camisole she’d put on after her shower that morning, opting to wear and actual apron when handling anything particularly messy, and she’d yielded good results thus far. She’d been halfway through unloading the dishwasher of her newly purchased serving dishes when she heard the ominous thud of someone kicking at her door and Naruto‘s yell, taking a moment to clear off the bar top before marching out of the kitchen and into the living room, a simple white gravy boat still in hand. So help her if Naruto had scuffed her door she was going to give him a scolding, especially after she’d spent half a day getting the damned thing white again; you wouldn’t believe all the dirt and scuffs that a door accumulates over the years. She didn’t even realize he’d brought someone with until Naruto took some of the dessert items off his hands, revealing the seemingly helpful stranger to be none other than Shino. She couldn’t quite recall what her precise thought had been upon seeing the Aburame at her door, she vaguely recalled something about the party nearly a month before, and the gallery opening shortly after it, and then some fleeting thought about her birthday before the sound of shattering porcelain sent her thoughts scattering.
She’d bent to pick the pieces up instantly, cradling pile of broken china in her right hand while picking up the shards with her left, ignoring the pinprick points to them. Naruto’s chuckle had made it clear that the surprise was entirely intentional, and naturally that only served to distract her from the task at hand. The pain of one of the sharp, jagged shards slicing into her finger was acute and yet scarcely noticeable, her jolted reaction more instinct than genuine shock, and the tip of her injured finger was trapped in her lips before she had a chance to quell the childish instinct. Hinata flexed her finger absently, recalling the care Shino had shown when cleaning the cut and applying the elastic bandage, having seemed almost worried about her despite her assurance that she was used to it and yes, it did usually bleed that much. She smiled at the memory, finding it sweet that Shino had helped her at all, despite the mildness of the injury, and considered thanking Naruto later, right after she threatened serious bodily harm should he spring a surprise like that on her again. After that, it had been a simple matter of arranging the desserts on the bar and setting the table, putting the food in proper serving dishes in the process. Fortunately she’s been lucky to have all the right tools, having been able to use a toaster oven to cook the vegetables and sides one at a time while the turkey was in the oven, the spiral ham in the slow cooker while all kinds of untold goodies took up the stove.
Now everything was in place, the food still warm on the table and the dishes washed, the last thing she set on the table being the center piece, a platter of ham and turkey carvings, having chosen to slice it down ahead of time for the sake of simplicity. She’d even had a spare moment to snack on a few sweet treats and have some punch, already so nervous that she didn’t even realize there was booze in the drink until she was halfway through her first cup, and by that point she didn’t see the harm in finishing the drink; she hadn’t taken her meds in a long while, so there wasn’t any danger with having a little alcohol, though she now knew better than to have too much, having learned the hard way that booze alone was dangerous for her.
The Hyuuga heiress sipped her ice water dutifully, both to make up for the glass up punch and to keep from ruining her sweater, knowing full well that one misstep would ruin the beautiful ivory cashmere, which was why she’d refused to put on the sweater until after the hard labor was done and she needed only to relax and enjoy the calming atmosphere while it lasted.