A Very Mitsu Christmas: Kankuro x OC Kurono
Prompt: Decorating the tree + Oblivious Idiots In Love
A/N: Ngl, Idk if I followed either prompts well. HAHA anyways hope you enjoy buddy. For the lovely and amazing @therantingfangirl who has blessed me with Kurono and KuroKuro and Mitsu.
WC: 2.1k
Light shined through the shades of her windows hitting her on the face. Kurono groaned, she couldn’t remember the last time she slept in until the sun rose. Some days Mitsu would come walking into her mother's room and poke her in the cheek until she woke up.
Most days however she’d be up before Mitsu while it was still dark out, preparing everything for her – putting her homework in her folder, making her lunch, and writing a cute little note that Mitsu wouldn’t be able to read but would understand the heart-shaped symbol in the corner.
Sighing, Kurono flipped over on her bed so the sunlight wouldn’t be in her eyes anymore and then suddenly realized that the sunlight was in her eyes. Meaning, where is Mitsu? She scrambled out of bed tossing the blankets everywhere as she rushed to open her door.
Very faintly she could hear Mitsu’s little laughs in the kitchen followed by Masa’s hushed voice. “Okay, and what do we tell mom when she wakes up?”
“Surprise!” Mitsu shouted in a whisper.
“Very good!” Masa whispered back before seeing Kurono leaning against the wall in the corner of her eye. “Oh, so much for a surprise.” Masa laughed.
“Well, this is still quite a surprise,” Kurono replied and walked over to the two of them.
“Surprise!” Mitsu shouted and hopped off her chair running over to her mom. She stuck her hands above her wanting to be picked up. “We’re gonna decorate a tree!”
Kurono looked over to Masa and furrowed her brows. “A tree?”
Masa smiled, “It’s apparently a tradition around this time of year in some of the other villages. Not here though since trees like that wouldn’t thrive in this climate. However, our lovely Leaf friends just so happened to send one to Gaara’s office. We figured you and Mitsu would like to join us.” Still confused Kurono agreed and went to go get changed out of the baggy shirt she was previously wearing.
Masa, Mitsu, and Kurono walked up to Gaara’s office together, hand in hand, and then once the stairs seemed neverending, Mitsu climbed onto Kurono’s back.
“So you and Gaara huh?” Kurono smirked, “Still going strong?”
Masa smiled and embraced the blush on her cheeks that appears so often around Gaara. “Yes, I’d say so. It helped a lot once the Elders stopped being a little judgemental about our past. So you and –.”
“Don’t say it.” Kurono laughed. It’s been a joke between her and Masa that Kurono should get together with the other Sand brother. Their personalities matched perfectly, she practically became a puddle every time he called her “Red” and she was absolutely in love with him but she knew he wasn’t in love with her.
Kankuro was more flirtatious than the average shinobi and despite the fact that she would love to at least try going on a date with him, she couldn’t. Her daughter loved Kankuro almost as much as she did. If things were to ever go south, she couldn’t do that to Mitsu, she already lost one father.
Masa opened the doors to Gaara’s office revealing an eight-foot-tall spruce tree in the center of the room followed by a few presents wrapped in gift wrap. The gift wrap clearly showed which village it was that sent the gifts, even if she didn’t already know it was a gift from Konoha. There were little Leaf symbols scattered throughout the wrapping paper. Some presents were wrapped in white paper with green Leaf symbols and some were wrapped in green paper with white Leaf symbols.
“Kitty!” Mitsu beamed and shimmied off of Kurono’s back and darted straight towards Kankuro.
Kankuro grunted feeling the impact of a four-year-old barreling into him and picked her up. ”Finally you guys are here.” Kankuro smiled holding a box in his free hand. “All the other boxes are ornaments and gifts but this one is the only one marked with ‘For Kurono Only’ and as much as we’ve tried, it won’t open.”
Kurono smirked and grabbed the box from Kankuro, their fingers brushed against each other slightly. It didn’t snow in the Sand Village but Kurono soon felt chills travel down her body. How she was going to survive all day in the office with Kankuro was beyond her. She cleared her throat, “You mean you tried opening a present marked specifically for me?”
“What can I say, I got curious,” Kankuro smirked and his eyes looked Kurono up and down. She looked beautiful, as always, but even more so when her cheeks became the same color as her hair.
“Well just for that, I won’t tell you what’s inside.” Kurono winked and backed up towards Gaara’s bookshelves. She peeled the seal off the box and opened the lid revealing an evergreen cluster of whorled, thick, leathery leaves. It had tiny yellow flowers on the green pointed stems and a bright red ribbon wrapped around it. Next to it was a small scroll sealed with the Hatake clan symbol. “Masa, can you come hold this?” Kurono asked shaking the box.
Kankuro looked over and pouted. He was going to find out what was in it one way or another.
When Masa retrieved the box from Kurono she looked inside, equally as confused as Kurono was, so she read the scroll over Kurono’s shoulder.
Kuro,
Happy Rinne Festival! Look, I know there isn’t a lot of holiday cheer in the Akatsuki so I’m catching you all up on the traditions of Konoha! This plant is specifically used for…well…we can just say it spreads love and cheer to whoever walks under it together. Now, since Hotaru and I are here with Shino and Iruka-sensei and you’re there with…well, you know. I figured I’d send this your way and maybe speed along the process.
Masa, I know you’re also probably reading this but your gift isn't quite ready yet so you’ll just have to visit me in Konoha.
Send Mitsu my love, I hope she loves decorating a tree for the first time.
P.S the popcorn is definitely stale so don’t let her eat it.
Kurono laughed and twisted the scroll back up, “Ah!” she yelped as the scroll caught fire.
“She was in the Anbu,” Gaara smiled, “She’s excellent at covering her tracks.”
“She definitely could’ve warned me about the fire first.” Kurono laughed before setting the box down. The lid of the box slid off gently, not covering the mistletoe completely.
She walked over to the tree where there were open presents filled with clay, ceramic, and plastic ornaments. “So, what do we do?”
Kankuro laughed and bent down to pick up a few ornaments. “She said to fill the tree.”
“So fill the tree!” Mitsu laughed as her tiny arm stuck out to the three, her fingers scrambling to hang the ornament that looked a lot like Gaara’s gourd.
Kurono laughed watching her daughter struggle, she was a little afraid that she’d fall out of Kankuro’s arms but the gentle grip Kankuro had on Mitsu calmed her nerves and part of her knew that Kankuro may have attached a few chakra strings to her daughter, just for extra safety.
A few hours into decorating and the tree was beginning to look like a jumbled mess of ornaments, popcorn strings, and tinsel. It wasn’t pretty by any means but the way Mitsu looked at it in pure wonder and awe had both Kurono and Kankuro’s hearts brimming with love. It was times like these that Kankuro thought he would be a good stepdad to Mitsu.
He was positive he loved Mitsu as if she was his own child and he loved her mother as if they were an actual couple but he understood the stakes. This wouldn’t just be any kind of relationship. This relationship had stakes – it had three hearts instead of two.
Masa turned from looking at the tree to looking at Kankuro and Kurono, how those two idiots had no idea of the other's feelings left her completely and utterly confused. Slowly, an idea popped into her head, and surely with the help of Gaara, she could accomplish it. Now, just to get Gaara away from the group.
With a deep breath and flushed cheeks, she took Gaara’s hand and walked back to the window of his office. Kankuro and Kurono were still talking to Mitsu, and Temari was still trying to make the tree look as nice as the one she saw at Shikamaru’s when she last visited the Leaf.
“Masa, are you alright?” Gaara asked her, concern rolling through his voice.
Masa nodded her head, “I need your help.” she whispered, “I need your sand to grab what’s inside of Kuro’s gift and then attach it to the wall above Kuro and Kankuro.”
Gaara’s look questioned her but the hopeful determination on Masa’s face convinced him. His sand slid across the floor and slipped into the gift. Hopefully, Rukia hadn’t set a trap if it sensed someone else’s chakra after it was already open. His sand grabbed hold of the mistletoe and lifted it up to the ceiling above Kurono and Kankuro. He figured he could leave a few grains of sand up there to hold it, though Masa had barely given him any information so he wasn’t sure how long he’d have to hold it for.
“Perfect.” Masa smiled, she hoped this is what Rukia meant. She’d read a few books and many of them always mentioned a mistletoe kiss and if they didn’t kiss on their own, Masa needed a failsafe. “Well,” Masa faked a yawn, “I’m so tired so I think I’ll turn in early.”
Kurono looked up and stared at Masa with wide eyes. There had been many attempts to get her and Kankuro alone together but she didn’t expect her to do it now. Kurono moved to stand up and leave as well but caught a glimpse of a sleeping Mitsu and settled back down on the ground.
Masa noticed and smiled, “You can stay here, Mitsu looks completely tuckered out.”
Kurono clenched her jaw and stared at her friend, “Yeah…I think you’re right.” She took a deep breath, it should be okay. She just has to talk to Kankuro and that was always easy to do. She watched as Masa motioned for Gaara and Temari to follow her out the doors, leaving her, Kankuro, and Mitsu all alone at the tree.
Kankuro chuckled, the room had emptied far too quickly for it to not be a set-up. “So, how are you adjusting?”
Kurono raised her eyebrow at him, Really? Small talk? She sighed, “It’s been easier than I had expected. Aside from a few looks from some –.”
“Who?”
Her cheeks warmed, “I can handle it Kankuro. It’s to be expected.”
Kankuro shook his head and quietly groaned, careful not to wake Mitsu, “Doesn’t have to be though. If it helps, I could walk around town with the two of you, make sure no one gives you those looks anymore.”
“Is that just an excuse for you to spend time with us?”
He looked over at her, “Didn’t know I needed an excuse.”
Kurono laughed lightly and looked over at him, “You don’t. You know that.”
The two of them said nothing but instead looked at each other for a while. Neither one of them was sure how long they’d been looking into each other's eyes but both of them could feel it. Their feelings were strong, were spoken in silence, and were mutual. Kankuro leaned in, his eyes closed accepting that his lips were finally going to be on hers or a punch that will leave him in the hospital for a week was heading his way.
After what felt like an eternity, he felt her lips on his. They were such a contrast to the persona puts she puts on to strangers. They were soft, they were warm, they were her. His hand slowly moved up to her head, cupping her face and deepening the kiss.
When he finally pulled away after a few seconds, Kurono’s face was bright red, her lips were plump, and for once she had nothing to say.
“Looking a little red there, Red.” Kankuro chuckled and smiled, gracefully accepting the gentle slap on his shoulder. He looked over at Kurono and sighed once Mitsu stirred on his lap, they should’ve known she’d wake up soon.
Mitsu yawned and stretched out her arms, she looked at the tree and then at Kurono and Kankuro just as the mistletoe fell from above and landed on top of her head. “What’d I miss?”
Holiday Event tag list: @jordyn-degas @uchihabbynic @silvermadara @mortyvongola2-0 @hashira-mal @nightingaleflow @therantingfangirl @dreamcastgirl99, @cohldhands @delirious-donna @cococola-cocaine @apchmon @itsyoursunshinebabe
