I got inspired after re watching the Pucca series, and reading a bunch of stories revolving around this adorable pair. Inspiration leads to writing, so here's the end result. Hope y'all enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own none of the Pucca universe (if I did, Garu and Pucca would have gotten together by the end of the series...)

Pucca could hardly believe that today was the day. At the young age of eight, Sooga village's most honorable ninja, Garu, took a vow of silence. Pucca, being the supportive and passionate friend she was, wound up making her own vow to reassure him he wouldn't be alone. But now, it was finally time for him to break it.

She couldn't wait to hear his first words after ten years of being mute. The suspense of what he'd voice first was killing her. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that they'd be important. She'd already decided on hers and knew for a fact how monumental they would be to actually say. She was definitely expressive enough with her actions that everyone in the village was aware of her love for the ninja, but voicing her true feelings to him was still nerve wracking.

She giggled before grabbing a small red and black package from her desk. Glancing up, she caught sight of one of her Garu posters. She gave it a quick kiss before skipping out of her room and down to the restaurant where the village was going to celebrate her and Garu's big day.

"Come on Garu! What's the point in waiting ten more minutes? You know you can talk to me!" Abyo attempted to reason his friend, but was met with a simple grunt of refusal. "Oh I get it, you just want to save your first words so Pucca can hear them, don't you?"

Garu sent him a glare which his friend dutifully ignored.

"Speaking of Pucca," Ching cut in, "are you excited to be able to tell her your true feelings? It'll be so romantic when after all this time the both of you use your first words to convey your undying love for each other. Can't you just imagine it?"

"Hiya!" Abyo cried while ripping off his shirt. "Who cares about all that romantic stuff? We all already know anyways, so what's the big deal with them saying it?"

Garu looked between the two of them as they spoke and felt his face warm up. The fact that they were so sure of the scenario happening was doing wonders to anger him.

"Come on Abyo, you can't tell me it won't be sweet to hear," Ching said.

"Good luck Garu!"

"We can't wait to hear your confession."

"You're going to make Pucca so happy!"

"You two truly are the perfect pair. Over."

"The beautiful thing about love is that you just need to plant it once and nurture it and it shall bloom into blossoms that would cover the valleys."

"May all your ho-ho-hopes and wishes come true together."

"I'm sure you can find your destinies in each other."

"You're a lucky cat to have her."

Each encouragement from the. inhabitants of Sooga village effectively worked Garu up even more. He found it increasingly more difficult to keep up a calm facade with everyone theorizing what he wanted.

A familiar giggle caught his attention immediately and he turned to see the co-subject of everyone's comments make her way down the stairs at breakneck speed and straight for himself. He looked around, but not seeing an escape route due to all the people, sighed and resigned himself to his fate. Less than a second later Garu was tackled to the ground and smothered with kisses.

"They're such a cute couple!"

"Isn't love funny?"

"Go on Garu, tell her how you feel!"

Garu fought to escape Pucca's vice-like grip, but was no match for her inhuman strength. Comments from the peanut gallery continued and rose in volume. He gritted his teeth and tried calming himself.

He wasn't exactly sure what caused it. Maybe it was the villager's wild expectations. It could have been because he'd delt with the girl's forceful pursuits for years on end. Then again, he hadn't been able to voice anything in ten years so perhaps all his bottled thoughts were just ready to burst. Whatever the reason, at that moment Garu snapped.

"ENOUGH!" Pucca started at the sudden sound and hesitantly disentangled herself with him. The room fell into abrupt silence, but Garu was too mad to even notice. "Why won't you just leave me alone? Do you have any clue how bothersome this is? You've been chasing me for ten years, never caring about how I feel, or even simply letting me handle my priorities first. I don't think I've ever met someone as selfish as you. How inconsiderate of others can you be Pucca?!"

The silence seemed to echo after Garu finally finished and Pucca was now standing in from of him. She watched as he stood up, her expression slowly morphed from one of love to shock, confusion, sadness, and settled on anger. Her original plan was thrown out the window from his aggressive tirade.

"Selfish? Inconsiderate? Seriously Garu?" Her voice was calm with anger and sadness bubbling just under the surface. "I can understand you being annoyed by my chasing you, but do you have any idea how much I've done for you? When you were taking that noodle around the world, I prevented Tobe from stopping you. I volunteered to be your partner in the ping pong tournament, and avenged you after Mochi cheated. I tracked down a so-called extinct pink bellied crane to free you from the cursed tie. I helped hunt down your skeleton on Halloween, got rid of a ghost, kept Tobe from interrupting your sleep at the expense of my own. The list goes on and on Garu, but you simply couldn't care less. In the moment you're willing to accept my assistance, but then either act as though it never happened to begin with or you're irritated by it. If anyone is selfish here it's you."

Garu flinched at her recollections and the cold calmness of her tone. She was right, he truly didn't know how much she'd done for him. Her next words however are what made him deeply regret what he'd said.

"I haven't spoken for ten years to show you that you weren't alone Garu, that I would always be there for you no matter what it took." Her voice shook with emotions. "I have never once regretted that decision. Not until now. So congratulations Garu, you're finally going to get what you wanted, a life without me in it. I hope you enjoy yourself." With her final words she threw the box she'd been holding on the ground in front of him and stormed out of the restaurant.

He stood there dazed as most of the villagers made their leave as well, being sure to send Garu glares along the way, even Dada despite his normally weak demeanor. No one felt like celebrating after that display aside from Ring Ring who gave Garu a big kiss on the cheek and sincere congratulations before laughing as she left.

Before Garu could say something, a hand met his cheek and a loud slap reverberated throughout the restaurant. He looked down at the culprit, momentarily questioning how he hadn't noticed the attack coming, and saw Ching standing in front of him.

"I can't believe you just said all that." She was practically seething with her anger. "Some 'honorable' ninja you are! Pucca is the most selfless girl in this entire village. Who else here would refuse to speak for years on end simply to support a friend? When she thought you and Ring Ring loved each other and were going to get married she was devastated, but do you know what she did? Nothing! She attended your supposed wedding despite how it was killing her from the inside, determined to support you to the end as long as you were happy. Even now, she's doing what she thinks will make you happy, no matter how much pain she feels. Well she may want you to have a good life, but as far as I'm concerned you can go get eaten by sharks."

"Don't you think that's a bit harsh Ching?" Abyo asked, although his expression showed that he agreed with her to some extent.

"I don't know what happened. I was just so irritated and it all came out before I could stop it," Garu said. He reached down to pick up the package Pucca had thrown and looked it over. He saw a card taped to the front and slowly opened it.

"Congratulations Garu! You've successfully completed your vow of silence! I couldn't be more proud of you. I can hardly believe it's been ten years already. I know I'm a bit of a handful, but I truly enjoy every minute I'm by your side. I've been thinking for a long time about what I want to say to you today, and I know it isn't what most of the village expected, since it wasn't a confession of undying love, but it was honestly the most important thing I needed to tell you. I want you to know, I meant every word of it. I really am glad I met you. You're one of the most important people in my life."

Garu felt a pang in his chest as he read the note. Opening the box, he found a small photo album. Every page held a different picture of the four friends throughout the years. There were a couple of just Pucca and Garu, but for the most part Abyo and Ching were also included. Occasionally, other villagers were in the pictures as well. They were organized chronologically, emphasizing the growing bonds they developed through the years.

"I-I need to go find Pucca." He didn't listen for a reply before sprinting out of the restaurant.

Once out of both sight and earshot of where the villagers had gathered, Pucca let her tears flow freely. Storm clouds quickly gathered due to her negative mood, bringing wind and rain. She ran out of the village boundaries as quickly as her legs would take her in hopes of taking the foul weather with her and preventing the villagers from having to deal with it.

She gave up on trying to control her crying when it became clear there was no point. She hadn't cried even close to this much since she believed everyone had forgotten her birthday all those years ago. Being the impassioned person she was, intense emotions weren't all that uncommon. It was something that just came with the territory. She definitely leaned more towards the positive side of the spectrum.

She finally stopped running in the center of the forest surrounding Sooka. She collapsed into a swayed position under one of the trees and readied herself to stay there until she'd calmed down, however long that took.

As Pucca sat, she thought over what Garu had said. She was fully aware of how impulsive she was, but had no clue he hated her to that extent. She'd always believed he was often irritated by her antics, but still considered her as a friend, preferably one of his closest ones. So much for that theory.

"I can't. . . believe. . . I was. . . looking forward. . . to today so much," she muttered to herself. "I should. . . have seen this. . . coming." Her words were frequently interrupted by sobs, but she knew if she didn't get them out now they'd continue to fester, eating her from the inside out. "I'm. . . such. . . an. . . idiot."

"Pucca!" She jumped at the sound of her name coming from a voice that she'd only just heard today. "Pucca, are you out here?!" She stood up, planning to make a run for it. Before she could, Garu made his way from behind a tree and caught sight of her. "Pucca." The relief on his face and in his voice made her shrink into herself.

"Stop giving me false hope already," she thought.

His expression turned into one of regret as he saw her red eyes and tear-stained cheeks.

"Leave me alone Garu," she forced out. "You've already made yourself clear. Don't worry I won't b-bother you anymore." She flinched at her slight stutter and hoped in vain he hadn't picked up on it. "I'd appreciate it if you showed the same courtesy." She turned away in defiance so she wouldn't have to watch him walk away, but was surprised to feel his hand on her elbow.

"Pucca. I am so sorry. Every word I said was out of anger. I wasn't in my right mind. You know me, I'd never intentionally hurt you. It wasn't an honorable thing to do, and for that I can never apologize enough."

Instead of calming her, he was taken by surprise when she stiffly turned to face him with pure rage radiating off her. "Honorable? It wasn't honorable?" She barked through gritted teeth. "You're ridiculous. You don't care that you hurt me at all. You're only concerned by how your actions are seen. Well I hate to tell you this Garu, but I'm not going to forgive you just so you can save face; that isn't how it works."

He nearly released his hold on her, but something in her eyes stopped him. She was angry, that much was obvious, but a thinly veiled sadness was projected through her eyes and it was so powerful he found himself frozen where he stood. He looked inside himself to determine whether he was apologizing in order to save face or if there was a different reason behind it, and was surprised by the answer he came to.

"It's true that honor's important to me, but Pucca I-" He tightened his grip slightly and took a deep breath before continuing. "I don't want to lose you. I can't. You were right earlier. I've been being selfish, and I still am; maybe it's part of my nature, but if it keeps you from leaving then I'm okay with that."Her eyes widened as she considered his words. "I want you to stay by my side. We can support each other equally going forward. I need you Pucca. I need your passionate mind, your impulsiveness, your strong will, even your hardheadedness. But most of all, I-I need you. I love you Pucca." Garu's face was bright red by the end of his impromptu speech, but he refused to look away in hopes it would convey his sincerity.

"Garu. . . You had better not be lying to me right now, because I swear to Soo if you are, I won't hesitate to give you the beating of a lifetime." Pucca's entire being shook as she spoke with emotions Garu couldn't put a name to.

"I would never lie about this Pucca. I promise you that."

Taking a page out of his companion's book, Garu slowly leaned in, being sure to give her more than enough time to back away if she wanted, and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. The weather instantly cleared up, leaving the sun smiling down on them. Garu pulled back and was relieved to see the anger and sadness gone from her features.

"I love you Pucca."

"I love you too."

They made their way back through Sooka hand in hand and were met by relieved villagers along the way. Between their joined hands and the light blush on each of their faces, it was clear the couple had made up.

"By the way Pucca, what had you been planning on telling me before. . ." Garu asked as they neared the Go-Rong, his voice tapering off at the recollection of his earlier actions.

"Oh, well it's a little awkward now, but I can tell you if you really want to know I guess." Garu nodded, prompting her to continue. "I know you might not feel the same, but meeting you was the best thing to happen to me. My life wouldn't be complete without you. We have our ups and downs, but it's worth it. Even if it's just as a friend, I hope you'll allow me to stay in your life." Her gaze was trained on the ground as she spoke, and Garu couldn't help but smile at the uncharacteristic shyness.

"I feel the same way. Although, I don't think I'd be satisfied with you being my friend, how about girlfriend instead."

Pucca let out an excited squeal before throwing herself at her new boyfriend and peppering kisses across his face, which were readily returned.