Hullo again! Miss me? Yeah, I figured not. :P Well, for the sake of posting something new again ('till I can get chapter 3 of WTR and chapter 2 of KoMSH posted, anyway...) that I'd post this. It's already up on deviantART, but it hasn't gotten a whole lot of feedback (thank you so much, xsummergirl4235x, mom, dad, and Fred! You guys rock my polka-dot socks! :D) so... I don't know why I think postin' it here will do a world of difference, but, y'know... I dunno. :P Anyway...
Pucca does not belong to me. It belongs to Jetix, Vooz, etc. etc. etc...
Enjoy! *goes to look up Eastern Asian colleges*
"Hmm... What do you think about this one?" Pucca twirled in front of the triple mirrors, her poofy pink dress nearly knocking over one of them.
Ching looked up from her latest edition of Chicken Fancy and examined the dress, rubbing her chin, then shook her head in disapproval. "No, that looks too much like something Cinderella might wear. You want something elegant and fancy, but not too Disney princess-y. After all, Garu already thinks of you as his princess, so why try any harder than you have to?"
Garu's princess... Pucca couldn't keep that smile off of her face as she thought of it. Just a week ago, Garu had FINALLY confessed his true feelings ("Pucca, when I'm running from you, I'm not running from you, I'm running from my feelings... Feelings for you." Yeah, it hadn't been too well-worded, but it was a confession, none the less.), and now, it was finally happening.
The first date.
"Excuse me, ma'am, are you finding everything okay?" An attendance lady appeared suddenly next to her.
Pucca shrugged. "I need a dress-"
"I kinda figured that..."
"-Something fancy and elegant but not too Disney princess-y."
"Wedding?"
"First date."
The attendance lady paused to think, then she tapped her glasses. "Come with me, I may have just what you're looking for." As Pucca followed her to the other side of the store, the lady asked, "So, what does he look like? Handsome? Thin? Muscular? Sure of himself?"
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"I don't know," Garu said, awkwardly staring at his reflection, tugging at his shirt tail. "I understand this is a first date, but a tux? Is this really necessary?"
Abyo laughed. "Of course! You, my friend, have got a way with the ladies. It doesn't hurt to butter 'em up a little bit."
"By dressing up? You know Pucca's probably just gonna wear her normal outfit." Garu flipped his mid-back lengthed hair with his head and sighed. "If you're gonna force me to dress up, can I at least put my hair up?" He reached for his red pigtail holders, only to get his hand slapped.
"No! Garu, I've always wanted to say this- Those pigtails make you look like a girl."
"And yet all the ladies love me."
A long silence followed afterward, then Abyo patted his buddy on the back. "Trust me, you look great. Is someone just a little nervous?"
"A little..." Garu turned back to the mirror, gave himself one final look-over, then sighed and turned around. "Well, guess I should get going- Wish me luck, pal." As he stepped out the door and made his way toward the Goh-Rong, he stopped in his tracks suddenly.
Flowers... I need flowers.
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Standing at the door of the Goh-Rong restaurant, daisies in hand, Garu looked down to make sure his undershirt was tucked in, then, with a shaky breath, he knocked on the door.
Pucca had promised him that this would be the best first date ever. The chefs of the Goh-Rong had closed early and were going to set up the restaurant in a romantic feel. The problem? The chefs were Pucca's uncles, which meant her relatives would see everything that went on between them that night, then if they didn't approve of any of it... You can just fill in the rest.
"Who is it?" The door swung open, and Garu saw Linguini's shadow stepping outside. "Oh, Garu! You look nice. Uh, c'mon in, Pucca's not ready yet, but she'll be here in a moment."
Garu stepped inside and took a look around. Every table had been cleared except for one, which was right at the center, which was covered in a red cloth with a candle. Red paper lanterns hung everywhere, lighted with candles- How the candles didn't burn a hole through the lanterns, Garu had no idea.
Creeeeaaaak... Garu averted his eyes to the top of the staircase leading to the 2nd floor. A long pause followed, and in that time, Garu's mouth dropped open and his eyes went wider than his "honor" look. There, at the top of the stairwell, stood Pucca, in a red satin dress trimmed in gold and golden bands holding up her odangos.
Noticing her not-so-secret admirer, Pucca's cheeks turned deep red, and she started giggling a bit like she always did around him. The scene was set out just like a movie- Pucca, cloaked in her beautiful gown, made her way down the stairs toward her gapping prince charming. When she reached him, after somewhat recovering, Garu held his hand out, and she accepted it.
"Wow, Pucca... You look... Wow."
Pucca couldn't help but giggle again at his speechlessness. "Thanks... You too. And what's up with the hair?"
"Abyo... He made me wear it down. He said it was either wearing it down or getting it cut and wearing it down anyway." He chuckled nervously. A moment followed after, another you might see in a movie... They both went into silence, getting lost in each other's eyes... Their sparkling, brown and blue eyes... They slowly leaned forward...
"AHEM." And thus the moment was ruined by Uncle Dumpling. The chubby chef popped up between them, shoving Garu out of the way. "As you can see, your table is over there. Menus are provided, too, and we'll be out in a few minutes to... Uhm... Take your order." Uncle Dumpling ducked and slipped back into the kitchen as Pucca and Garu took their seats.
"I, uh, think your uncles liked me better when I didn't show any affection toward you..."
"Nah. They like you, they're just nervous since it's our first date and they want everything to be perfect." She examined the cover of the menu and laughed. "Why do they even bother giving us menus? They should know I've got this whole menu memorized. Working as the delivery girl has its perks."
"Maybe it's another decoration." Garu snorted. He was a regular customer at the Goh-Rong, so he, too, had it well memorized. "Or maybe it's another one of those nervous things." An awkward silence settled over them, one waiting for the other to think of something else to say.
Thankfully, Ho came out right about then. "So, have you two decided on what you want?"
Another pause followed, involving Pucca and Garu trying not to laugh, then Pucca spoke up. "I want a bowl of Ja-Jang noodles and green tea. N-not together, I mean, just... The tea for a drink."
Garu tossed his menu up in the air, caught it, then handed it to Ho. "I'll just take what she's having."
While they were waiting on their food, they tried again to make small talk again. "So... I really like your dress. Isn't that the one you wore at the Little Miss Sooga beauty pageant a few years back?"
"Yeah... I couldn't find anything at the store, because the lady there kept trying to match up our personalities and 'Pour the romance into the dress'. I don't even know what she was talking about! So I looked in my closet, and I found this, tried it on, it still fit..."
A goofy grin spread across Garu's face. "Hmm, reminds me of when you kicked RIng-Ring's sorry butt that night... I'm not gonna lie, that was..." He trailed off awkwardly.
"What? Say it."
"...Okay... That was hot."
Pucca's entire face went red. "Oh, hehe... T-thanks..."
"But you know that's not the only reason I love you. You're truly beautiful and one of a kind..."
Pucca thought she was going to die from both embarrassment and happiness. This was what she had always wanted... But something just wasn't-
"Your meals are ready!" Linguini busted through the doors and practically sprinted to the table, face red, and threw the bowls and drinks onto the tables. "'!" Gasping for another breath, he ran back into the kitchen.
For the millionth time that night, an awkward silence settled over the two. Garu forced his mouth shut, then he said, "...Uh, what was that all about...?"
Pucca thought for a moment, then she gasped and slammed her head into the table. "He heard us. They've been eavesdropping."
Garu blushed, looking down into his bowl, then he sighed. "I-I'm sorry, Pucca... Let's just eat and sort things out later... It's our first date. We should enjoy it."
They spent the next ten minutes focusing intently on their food. Several times one of them would look up and open their mouths to say something, but then they'd quickly shut them for fear of bringing something up that the chefs might find offending (because it wasn't really that hard to tell that they were hiding behind the kitchen doors, waiting for something to be said).
This wasn't how it was supposed to go! It was supposed to be a romantic evening, just her and her lover ninja. This was a catastrophe. Pucca stood suddenly and pushed her chair in. "I, uh, have to go to the bathroom... I'll be right back. She made a mad dash for the bathroom.
Garu watched her until she was hidden by the door and sighed. He knew this wasn't how she had planned the evening, and he was sorry for that, but he really didn't know what he could do to make it better...
"Ah, Garu!" Garu turned to see Linguini walk out of the kitchen, followed by Ho and Uncle Dumpling. "Now that we've got you alone, we need to have a little... Talk..."
Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Pucca fought back tears as best as she could. She had always been the one making the moves on Garu, so why was this so awkward? Everything was too fancy. They couldn't hold a decent conversation, and her uncles had promised that they would be out of the picture as much as possible, yet here they were, listening to their every word, watching their every move.
"And if you so much as dare to touch our little girl, you'll have to hear from us!" And speaking of her uncles... Pucca ran back into the main room and, sure enough, there were her uncles, cornering a terrified-looking Garu. "And if she comes home crying or with a single bruise or cut-"
"UNCLE DUMPLING! LINGUINI! HO!" The three turned at their niece's voice. "What the heck are you doing? This is our first date! You shouldn't be terrorizing him!"
"B-but Pucca," Ho stuttered, "we're just trying to lay down some rules for him to follow in your relationship!"
"By cornering him and threatening to murder him if he does one little thing wrong?"
"Pucca, I-" Garu started.
"Don't speak!" Uncle Dumpling shouted.
"UNCLE DUMPLING!"
"Linguini?"
"Ask Ho!"
"Garu..."
"I won't hurt her! I swear you can trust me!"
In the midst of all the chaos, they all became aware of the smell of smoke... Pucca lifted her head, turned around, and gasped. One of the paper lanterns was on fire!
"GUYS! FIRE!" They all stopped and turned to look at where Pucca was pointing, then the uncles let out a cry.
"We'll take care of this!" Ho assured as the other two ran to get the fire extinguisher. "Get out! We'll let you know when it's out." With a heavy sigh, the two ran out of the restaurant, free at last.
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Out under the stars and away from the ruckus, Pucca and Garu lay out on the beach by the ocean. They just stared up at the sky for a while, not daring to speak, then Garu chuckled. "I guess this wasn't your idea of a 'perfect first date' either?"
Despite herself, Pucca giggled too. "No, not really. Well, not the over-protective uncles and the lantern catching on fire, anyway." She started laughing now. "But you have to admit, that was pretty funny!"
Garu laughed along with her, flashing back to the three's angry faces as they cracked their knuckles and growled through their teeth. "I think your uncles liked me better when we weren't going out..."
"No, that's not it. It's just that... Well... When my parents died, I was only supposed to stay with them for a little while until they could find me a foster family. But I ended up falling in love with Sooga- and you, of course-" She giggled again- "...Finally this couple offered to take me in, and I almost went with them. But in that time, my uncles realized just how special I was to them, almost like I was really their daughter, and they said I could just stay here forever if I wanted to."
Garu knew that Pucca had moved there years ago because of her parent's death, but he had no idea that she hadn't been supposed to stay. Everything happened for a reason, he guessed.
"And they just want the best for me, because I'm all they have left... That's why they seem so strict. Really, they're just making extra sure no one will hurt me."
She had a point- When Garu was still running from Pucca, she came home crying a lot. He knew because of all those times he had seen her and felt that sharp knife in his heart when he saw her face. Then an idea struck him. "Hey, you know what? Maybe we tried too hard to make our first date perfect. Maybe this was all we needed after all- Sand, stars, stories, and each other."
Even in the semi-darkness, Garu could see Pucca's eyes light up. She rolled over on her side and snuggled up to him. "Yeah, that sounds perfect to me... And I won't lie, you look funny with your hair down."
Garu wrapped his arm around her and brushed a few loose strands of hair from her face. "Yeah, that's what I told Abyo. He didn't listen. At least you know better..." With one more chuckle, he leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers. A few more minutes of kissing and cuddling followed, then Garu pulled away and nuzzled her neck. "Now, here's something you probably didn't know about me..."
Yes, I really, really, REALLY wanna go to college in either China, Hong Kong, South Korea, or Japan. And considering I don't even graduate from grade school for another 5 years, yeah, I know, I'm a freak. XD ANYWHO, who liked the story? :D Well, love it, hate it, like I always say, there's a reason that button's down there!
CLICK IT. YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO. :D
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