EDIT: I'm not sure what to say. I have no idea how this got here...too many spiked drinks? Eh. I don't remember writing this. I remember starting a Christmas oneshot, but this wasn't it O.o Yeah. I read it over and it's really mushy. And really choppy and sloppily written. Proceed if you're into that, feel free to flee if you're not.

Garu stared at the unfolded scrap of paper in his hands. He should have known to expect this.

Pucca

It seemed like the fates always corralled them together, no matter how hard he tried to fight it. He'd never wanted to be a part of this silly Secret Santa tradition, but everyone had insisted, and he knew he wouldn't be getting a moment of peace until he complied. He reasoned he might've lucked out and chosen his pal Abyo, or maybe even Ching, but no, he was stuck with Pucca. Like always.

He bowed his head down and pinched the bridge of his nose as Abyo gave him a good-natured thump on the back. "What are you so upset about, buddy? You lucked out. Just give her a quick smooch and you're done! No shopping, no gift wrapping—easy!"

Garu immediately snapped his head back up and glared at his friend. Pucca stole enough kisses from him already, there was no way he was gonna give her the satisfaction of willingly planting one on her. He knew she'd look way too deeply into it and never let him forget it.

Abyo got the message and shrugged. "Whatever. If you wanna do this the hard way, we can go shopping right now. I got Dada, so I guess I should go get a sponge or mop or something. And my dad wants the first season of Cops on DVD."

Garu sighed. He really didn't want to get anything for Pucca, but he knew backing out on the tradition now would be dishonorable, so he got up and followed Abyo through the door of the Goh-Rong. Now that he thought about it, Pucca didn't seem very hard to please. Maybe he could get her a Hello Kitty calendar or something.

Twelve stores. Garu and Abyo had already been to twelve stores, and yet Garu, who realized Pucca wasn't as easy to please as he figured, remained empty-handed. Abyo, however, had two full shopping bags in his hands and was ready to split.

"C'mon, Garu! Would you just pick something already? Why are you being so picky? You don't even like her!"

Garu shrugged him off. 'I may not be her biggest fan, but when I commit myself to something, I do it right,' he thought. 'Besides, she is a nice person. She deserves a gift she'll really like.' Though Garu would never admit it, he did care for Pucca a great deal more than he let on. Sure, she was a bit of a pest, but he did admire her for her dedication, strength, and skill, if nothing else.

"Hey, why don't you get her this!" Abyo called out, motioning for Garu to come over and look at the display window he was by. Getting desperate, Garu made his way over. He twitched.

"That's not funny, Abyo."

"Aww, c'mon, you know she'd love it!"

Without saying another word, Garu trudged away from the engagement ring display. He wanted to make her happy, yes, but there had to be less drastic way of doing so. He sighed.

"I'm beginning to realize I know less about Pucca than I thought."

Abyo shrugged. "So? Just get her some candy and call it a day."

Garu shook his head. "Abyo, I'm gonna do this right. I have 24 hours until we have to exchange presents, and I'm gonna make sure I do the best job possible. I think I owe her that much."

"But if you don't know what to get her now, how are you gonna have any better of an idea in 24 hours?" Abyo pointed out.

About to reply, Garu shut his mouth as he realized Abyo was right. Procrastination wouldn't get him anywhere—he needed to take some action. He nodded to himself, knowing what he had to do.

"You're right," replied Garu, ignoring the bewildered look on his friend's face, "So I guess I'll just have to do some research."

Abyo smirked. "You gonna go running to her uncles?"

Garu shook his head. "And be told she wants an apron or spatula? No. I'm gonna go straight to the source."

And with that Garu made his way out of the mall.

He took a deep breath as he caught sight of Pucca eating some noodles, and slowly made his way toward her. Wordlessly, he took a seat next to her. She looked over and let out a squeal as she realized who was occupying the seat next to her. Before he knew it, Garu had a very love-struck girl resting her head on his shoulder.

"Hey, Garu!" she greeted happily, lifting her head up to give him a peck on the cheek. "Are you hungry? Want me to get you some noodles?"

He was about to reject the offer since he and Abyo had already grabbed a bite, but remembered what his objective was: spend time with Pucca to see what would make a good present for her. And sitting down, eating noodles together was as painless as spending time with a love-sick stalker could get.

He looked back over at her and nodded. "Sure, thanks."

She squealed and nodded excitedly as she sprung up and dashed to the kitchen, eager to get her love's food back and stomach full.

Garu couldn't help but smile. 'She's kinda cute,' he thought, watching her shove Dada out of the way as she charged toward the stove. His eyes widened as he realized what he'd just been thinking.

'Pucca. Is. NOT. Cute!' he reminded himself, trying to shake the thought off. 'Focus!'

Before he knew it, Pucca was back with a steaming bowl of noodles, one arranged in the shape of a heart in the center. Garu began to roll his eyes as he began to remember just how annoying she was, but then raised his eyebrows in surprise as she also presented him with some tea.

"I didn't order this," he blurted out, surprised.

She smiled and nodded, "I know, but you always have black tea with your noodles. It's your favorite, right?"

He was caught of guard by her sincerity and attention to detail. He couldn't help but smile as he nodded. "Yeah…thanks, Pucca."

She smiled more widely. "Anything for you, Garu."

And so they began to eat. Pucca could hardly believe Garu was willingly sitting next to her, and couldn't help but push her luck—she scooted her seat a little closer to his, looking casually down at her bowl of noodles as she did so. But of course, possessing the keen ninja senses he did, the seemingly subtle movement did not go by unnoticed by Garu; he felt the distance between them get smaller.

But he didn't move away.

Instead, he swallowed before asking, "So, Pucca, what have you been up to lately?"

She shot him a quick stare, a bit surprised he was actually initiating some conversation with her. She swallowed and thought for a second before replying, "I got Tobe as my Secret Santa. Ugh. I have no idea what I should get him."

Garu couldn't help but let out a chuckle. 'So I'm not the only one who got gypped with the whole Secret Santa thing.'

"You could get him some coupons for the restaurant," he suggested mildly.

Pucca perked up. "That's a good idea!" she exclaimed. "I was thinking more along the lines of an ugly scarf or something, but your idea takes even less effort—and oh! Maybe I could even get him some old expired ones. Because I really don't want him in here, actually."

Garu grinned, both happy to have helped her come up with a gift that would give Tobe his comeuppance. 'She's not nearly as bad as I thought.'

Their impromptu lunch had begun at a quarter past noon, and Garu was surprised to look up at the clock and see it was just past seven. Had he really spent the whole day with her?

He looked down at his empty bowl of noodles. The bowl that had been empty for the past few hours—not that he had noticed. He'd actually been thoroughly engrossed in conversation with Pucca and enjoying every minute of it.

'Huh?' Garu thought to himself, slightly scared. 'Since when do I like being around Pucca?'

"…and so anyway, then I told her, 'But if you do that, Muji can—'" Pucca paused, noticing Garu's surprised distant expression. "Garu? Are you listening to me?"

Garu perked up. "I was, Pucca," he replied honestly, "I've actually had a lot of fun talking with you today—too much in fact. I gotta get going."

She looked up at the clock, surprised by how quickly time has flown by. "Oh, okay," she replied, trying not to let her disappointment show too easily; they'd been having such a good time. "But, I'll see you here tomorrow, right?"

Garu nodded, smiling at the thought. For some reason, he couldn't wait to get back and see her again. "Yeah, see ya then. Nice talking to you." He waved and made his way out the door.

Pucca smiled as she watched Garu head out the exit.

"You too," she whispered to herself.

It was the big day—the Goh-Rong was covered in lights and decorations, the whole place glowing with Christmas spirit. Dumpling, Ho, and Linguini were working on some last minute touch ups, perfecting the place, when the doorbell rang.

"That must be our first guest!" exclaimed a very excited Uncle Dumpling. "Let the festivities begin!"

Before long, the place was chock full of mingling crowds. Pucca watched the action from the stairway, anxious for a certain someone to arrive. In a couple of minutes the exchanging of the Secret Santa gifts would commence, and she wanted him to be there to see Tobe unwrap the gift he'd helped her come up with.

But where was he?

Her lips bent into a frown—it wasn't like Garu to be late. She was sure he had a valid excuse though, so she shrugged it off as best she could and made her way over to the refreshment table. As she poured herself some punch, she jumped slightly as she felt someone tap her shoulder.

She turned around and broke into a brilliant smile as she realized who it was. "Garu! You made it!"

Garu blushed a bit as she looked at her—she was dressed up in a red and white Christmas dress, looking even cuter than usual. He tilted her head slightly, gazing at her. 'She looks really pretty.'

However, noticing she seemed to be getting concerned by his seemingly vacant staring, he quickly snapped out of his stupor. He nodded. "Yeah, sorry I'm late. I was having a little trouble finding—"

He was cut off by Santa, who merrily announced to the crowd, "Ho, ho, ho! Time for the gift exchange! Everyone, feel free to find your present under the tree!"

Pucca shrugged. "You wanna go get our stuff?" she asked Garu nonchalantly.

He swallowed a little before answering her, "You're not going to find your gift under there, Pucca."

She blinked. "Huh?"

"It's…it's here," he said, nervously removing a small box from his pocket and handing it to her.

She completely lit up—Garu had chosen her name out of the hat? What luck! 'I'll love anything he gives me.'

She smiled at him before opening the box excitedly and removing its content.

Her smile weakened a bit. "Oh, parsley! That…should go pretty good with my salad."

Garu couldn't help but laugh a little, in spite of his nervousness. "That's not parsley, Pucca. I'd think you of all people would be able to recognize it."

She squinted her eyes as she examined the green plant more closely. "…Arugula?"

Garu wordlessly took the plant from her and held it over their heads. Pucca's eyes shot open in understanding.

"Oh! It's—" She was cut off as she felt a pair of familiar lips press over her own, effectively silencing her. She shut her eyes and leaned into the kiss, sighing slightly as Garu gently wrapped an arm around her.

After about a minute or so, Garu pulled away, blushing. "Merry Christmas, Pucca."

Done and done. There we go, a little Christmas fluff for the holidays—a little rushed and a day late, perhaps, but hey, we were all busy yesterday, right? :P Hope you guys all had a good one :D