Disclaimer: I do not own the cartoon Pucca and this story is purely for entertainment not profit.
Author's Notes: Based on Red Riding Hood fairy tale... and a whole lot of what ifs. TobeXPucca
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P
Pucca parked her scooter at the edge of the forest and got off. She took her picnic basket and proceeded to walk down a marked path. Walking was easier than maneuvering her scooter through the dense forest.
Garu was out chopping some firewood when he saw her. Their eyes connected. Garu had the momentary urge to flee. Of course, he didn't. It was just a reaction everytime he saw her. He guessed it was just hard to squash the habit.
Garu grew up and so did everybody else. Time had a way of turning your world upside down without you really noticing it for a while. Pucca got over her crush on him and stopped chasing him. Abyo stopped flirting with other girls and had gotten serious with Ching. And most surprisingly, Tobe gave up on his mission to destroy Garu and had moved away from Sooga Village.
Garu and Tobe were a long way from being best friends but they had developed a grudging respect for the other.
Garu nodded in greeting. "Good morning, Pucca."
"Hey, Garu."
"Where are you going?"
She looked at him hesitantly, "Just... over there." She gestured awkwardly as she swung her hand beside her. "I'm just going to make a delivery."
"Okay," she didn't seem to want to elaborate so he dropped the subject. "Listen, it's movie night tonight and Abyo said we should come by his house at about 7 pm."
"That sounds great. I'll see you then." Pucca smiled and waved at him before she hurriedly walked away.
Garu knew she was hiding something and he tried to ignore the temptation to follow her. It was none of his business. Unless... she was in trouble. Then, that was his business. They weren't the most chit-chatty friends but they knew they always had each other's backs.
He told himself he just wanted to make sure she was okay. Excuses, excuses... He ignored the small, taunting voice and followed Pucca.
Moving stealthily through the shadows of the trees, he kept his eyes on her. She reminded him of little Red Riding Hood skipping through the woods uncaring of danger. She had a small smile on her face she was trying to supress. She looked both excited and apprehensive.
"God, I shouldn't be feeling like this." Garu could hear her whispering to herself. She sighed.
Garu was always curious how Pucca got over him. Just curious. It wasn't really an ego thing... or maybe a little. It wasn't that she was suddenly his type. It was just that he had grown up always knowing that Pucca really liked him. He never really realized that there would come a time that that would change.
Could she have met someone else she liked? Garu wondered.
More curious than ever, Garu hid behind a tree. Pucca veered off from the path and walked towards a thick growth of flora. What's she doing? She'll get lost.
Deciding to do more action than just watching, Garu pushed himself from his hiding spot and went after her. "Pucca!"
Branches of trees and shrubs scratched him. Some even managed to tear off a piece of his clothing. "Pucca!" He saw a flash of red before it was gone. He couldn't see her anymore through the thick leaves. "Great! What's she up to?"
0o0o0o
Pucca pretended not to hear Garu calling her. She did not want to explain to him what she was doing. Especially since she wasn't sure either. But she was a big girl. She didn't need Garu trying to rescue her everytime. She could take care of herself.
She smiled. She didn't think there would come a time where she would be the one hiding from Garu.
The trail was familiar to her since she'd been using it for three months going back and forth to make the same delivery to the same location and to the same person. The trees that once looked all the same to her became her landmarks so she won't get lost.
Something caught her eye and she turned to see a beautiful white blossom up on a tree. She smiled and wondered if the woman she'd give it to would appreciate it. It was on the lowest branch but it was relatively higher than Pucca. She stood on her tiptoes to reach it but it just touched the tips of her fingers. She placed her basket on the grass and tried again.
Almost there...
"Well, well, well..." She heard a deep baritone coming behind her and she jerked around in surprise. "You're late. Where were you?" Her wide obsidian eyes were met with a cold dark stare.
Tobe.
Her eyes involuntarily drank in the sight of him. Any woman weaker than her would have been intimidated by him. He towered over her with his tall and muscular frame. His shoulders were broad, his hips lean but it was his face that just holds your attention. His dark eyes had that glint of intelligence that cut you down to size. His mouth seemed hard and cruel but it held that obvious sensuality you just know he was capable of. And his scar... It just enhanced his aura of danger and intrigue.
Pucca was the type of girl who was always drawn to danger. She guessed that was the reason why she felt so drawn to him. He had danger and excitement etched in his hard features.
"I'm sorry. I got held up at work." She said apologetically but the coldness in his eyes didn't disappear.
"Really? You didn't meet up with your lover boy back there?" He challenged crossing his arms over his chest.
"What are you talking about?" She asked confused why he was acting this way. She thought they had actually been getting along so well for the past weeks but now she wasn't so sure.
"I'm talking abot Garu, the love of your life, Sooga's golden boy." He sneered. "I heard him trying to find you. Why'd you run out on him?"
"I didn't run out on him... exactly. Not the way you mean." She said hesitantly remembering the way she ignored his calls.
"Yeah?" He asked his voice low and dangerous. "What do I mean exactly?"
"You think I let you wait for me for an hour while I had a date with Garu. That we had a fight so I ran from him to you." She rolled her eyes and he was silent for a moment.
"Didn't you?" There was something in the way he asked her that tugged at her heart. And the vulnerability that replaced the coldness in his gaze made something inside her melt.
"No, I wouldn't do that." For some reason, she felt it was important that he believed that of her. "It was just a busy afternoon and there were many other deliveries I had to make." Pucca ambled towards him and took his hand. "Now, can you please help me get that flower?"
She gave him her sweetest smile. Tobe humphed.
Pucca felt giddy that he didn't let go of her hand as he reached above her and plucked the blossom. "Here." He said handing her the flower.
"Thanks. I wanted to give it to her." She eyed him meaningfully.
Tobe looked away. "You're really something. You know that Pucca? Come on. Let's go to our spot." He said, tugging her hand.
Our spot? Didn't he mean his spot? Pucca wondered as she picked up her basket and followed Tobe.
Weeks ago, Pucca got lost and found his little sanctuary. It was a lake hidden by the surrounding trees. The sunlight streaming through the canopy of leaves sparkled on the clear surface. Except for the twittering birds, everywhere was quiet and peaceful. She found Tobe sleeping under a tree and, against her better judgement, approached him. She was curious about him but as she went nearer, she stepped on a twig and woke him up. Furious at being caught in a vulnerable moment, he told her to leave.
"You're not welcome here." He said rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
"Why not?" Pucca challenged. She knew she should just leave but she couldn't yet. Not when she was in an arguement. Leaving meant losing and she was having none of it.
"This place is... Forget it! I just want to be left alone here, alright?!" He replied heatedly.
"Why is this place so important to you?" Her anger gone, Pucca just asked curiously. Pucca had never seen Tobe this passionate about something before. Except maybe about his mission to destroy Garu but that was another story.
"Because... because this is the place where someone... um, died." He was avoiding her eyes.
Pucca gasped, "Oh my god. Who?"
"My, um... grandmother."
"I'm sorrry."
"Sure. Now could you just leave?"
"I would if I knew the way. I got lost that's why I ended up here,"
Tobe sighed in resignation and gave her directions to Sooga Village. Pucca left but returned the next morning with cookies and cakes she baked. She also brought flowers.
"Stubborn girl. How is it that you're back again?" Tobe growled.
"You gave me directions, remember?"
He shook his head. His lips twitched as if he was trying not to grin. "Didn't I tell you you're not welcome here?"
"Yes you did. But I brought something for your grandmother."
"You what?!" Tobe looked at Pucca transfixed as she laid her flowers and her baked goodies under the tree. "You know she can't eat that."
"It's for you. She can have the flowers." She was about to turn away when Tobe called her.
"Sit." He patted the grass beside him invitingly. "You offered my dead relative flowers and offered me food. That puts you on my good side." He grinned and Pucca noticed how handsome and more approachable he looked when he did that.
Pucca went there every afternoon for months onward enjoying the calm the place gave her. And also enjoying the company.
"Hey. We're here." Tobe announced snapping her out of her trance. She kneeled in front of the tree and reverently laid the white blossom there. Then she placed her basket on the grass and sat beside Tobe.
"Tobe?"
"Pucca?" He turned to look at her.
"I'm sorry I didn't give your grandmother something nicer. I usually give her a bouquet from my garden but I was late and I didn't have enough time-"
Her words were stopped when he placed a finger on her lips. "Sshh..." His finger traced the outline of her lips before he cupped her jaw. His eyes pierced her as they seduced her into their dark depths. "It's beautiful gift. So beautiful..." His voice was husky.
"Pucca!" They heard Garu shout. Pucca jerked away from Tobe whose eyes darkened in anger. "Pucca! There you are."
"Hey Garu." She greeted supressing her irritation. "Excuse me." She told Tobe.
"Oh sure. By all means, go to him." His tone held a barely concealed sarcasm.
Pucca caught Garu's arm and dragged him away until Tobe was out of earshot. "What are you doing here?"
"I thought you got lost and I tried to find you. There are many wild animals out here and I thought you would be in trouble. I was going to rescue you." He held up his ax to show her. "Although, I'm thinking you got tangled up with that wolf over there. Was he trying to take advantage of you?" Pucca rolled her eyes at him. He was getting so paternal.
"No he wasn't."
"But I saw him- Oh." Garu looked embarrassed.
"What do you mean 'oh'?" Pucca raised a brow at him.
"You're on a date."
Pucca blushed, "um..." It wasn't exactly a date. But what was that moment earlier before Garu interrupted them? Was Tobe about to kiss her? Did she want him to?
Her blush was all the confirmation he needed. Garu turned red and apologized profusely for bothering them before he left.
Pucca went back to Tobe. "I'm sorry about that. Garu thought I was in trouble and-"
"And being the honorable man that he is, he came to rescue you from the big bad me." He sneered.
"You're not bad... anymore that is." She reasoned out. She sat beside him but Tobe had that cold and distant look in his eyes again.
"Honor." He snorted in disgust. "He always seemed to have what I wanted. I thought that if I tried to lead an honorable life, things would change. For a while I thought it was working." He shot her a pregnant stare. "But I can see that the one I want most would still be his."
Pucca didn't know what to say so she kept silent. She wasn't stupid, he was trying to tell her something. But it was just too great to absorb and the risk of her getting hurt by jumping to conclusions was high.
"I lost my honor months ago when I lied to you. And I guess that's why I might lose you now." Tobe looked at her his face blank trying to mask his pain and regret. "It's hard to say I regret that I lied because if I didn't lie, I would never have this time with you."
"W-what are you saying?" Dread filled her.
"I lied to you about this place." Tobe said seriously. He stood up and walked towards the tree. "Nobody died here."
"WHAT!" Pucca stood up suddenly, her head spinning. When she regained her equilibrium, she stalked towards Tobe who was leaning on the tree. "How could you! How could you lie to me about that?!"
"You asked me why this place is important to me. I didn't want to give you the real reason so I lied. I thought you'd just leave me alone, but you didn't. The real reason was that, this is the place I feel most at peace with myself. The only place I could really be me. That's not something I'm comfortable admitting. Because... I, I just can't—" Tobe swallowed. He really had a hard time expressing himself.
"Look, Pucca. It's just that everywhere else, I feel like I have to put up this barrier between me and everybody else. I know I was a rotten kid back then but I changed. It's just that, in a village as small as Sooga, people don't forget. I feel like everyone's waiting for me to screw up. They expect me to fail at every turn, " Tobe ground out bitterly and Pucca felt a twinge of sympathy in her chest. "But even then, I feel like Sooga's my home. That's why I keep coming back. Especially to this place. I feel at home yet far away from all the problems I have.
"Then you came along and accepted me for who I am now. You didn't judge me for who I was back then. You don't know how much that means to me. But it's tearing me inside to know that you're here under false pretenses." Tobe reached out to hold her hand but she pulled it away from his grasp. "Pucca, please talk to me."
Pucca couldn't look at him. She was so hurt. She remembered the time and effort she wasted trying to make a flower arrangement in honor of the place and the imaginary woman who died there. "You must think I was a fool because I feel like one right now!"
"No! Don't think that!" Tobe held her by her shoulders. She tried to push him away but he won't budge. "I thought you were sweet and caring. I couldn't tell you the truth because then you wouldn't have a reason to come back here. To me."
"You?! I visited your imaginary dead relative not you." Pucca replied her voice dripping with venom.
"Now who's lying? You were gutsy and sweet and you never judged me, Pucca. That's the reason I first let you sit with me here. Admit it. You wanted to be with me. You wanted to see me not the death place of a woman you don't even know."
A tear slid down her cheek. "How could you lie? I-I thought I was special to you or something. I thought I was your friend." Tobe released his grip on her shoulders but before she could turn away, he cupped her jaw with both hands.
Tobe laughed darkly. "I can never be just your friend. I wanted you to love me so much that you wouldn't care that I lied to you about this just as long as I wouldn't lie to you again." His smile was as tender as the look he was giving her. "And you are special, you know."
Then he lowered his face and captured her trembling lips in a kiss that reminded her of heated honey. Hot and sweet. He gently pushed her so she'd be trapped between his body and the tree behind her. Her hands caressed his chest, shoulders, nape and hair. Pucca moaned in protest when his lips left hers. He trailed kissed from her jaw to her earlobe and down her neck. She knew his kisses were going to leave a mark but the thought only excited her.
"Mine." He growled almost like a canine marking his territory.
"Yours. As long as your mine too." She replied hungry for his touch.
"Always."
Author's notes: So, I wasn't really sure of the Pucca and Tobe thing but when idea came out, I was just, "What the heck, write it!"
I'm interested in knowing your thoughts so please, drop a review:)