Hey, I don't own Ninja Storm. That means I don't own Shane (Damn it!) or Dustin (Dude!) or Hunter (*Sigh*) or Blake (Double *sigh*) or Tori ( I would love to hang out with her) or Cam (Darn)…you get the picture.

R2 (Read and Review) and thank you for doing so!

AN: The pairing is Blake/Tori,

ANN: This is a Mature story, because of cussing…sexual hints…and kissing (You'll find out about that later ;)

Twas the afternoon before Christmas and where the hell was he?

Stuck with three teammates, surrounded by fake trees.

Gifts in paper were wrapped with care, with his hope that he could soon get out the hell out of there.

But it wasn't to be, he was stuck.

His only question was: What the fuck?

"Why are we here?"

The rest of the group turned to look at him, giving him strange looks. He sighed; he really didn't want to be here. All the noise, the nasty smell, and not to mention that he hated…

"Dude, we are looking for Tori's Christmas present, remember?" Dustin rolled his eyes as they moved through the crowd to another store

"Are you that dense little brother?" Hunter tapped his head, he swatted his hand away

"To bad Cam's not here, he might actually be of help" Shane added

Lucky bastard, he thought, he did not want to be here. He would rather be at home, finding a present online, which was what Cam was more than likely doing.

He, Blake Bradley, navy thunder ranger and younger brother to the sometimes idiotic Hunter Bradley…was where he hated being.

He was at the mall.

The burning hate that he felt for the place was not uncommon among the male aspect of the human population. Not knowing what to shop for, trying to keep under budget, and finding something that she would love…it was overwhelming.

Now this morning, he had been prepared to brave the people, with the knowing that Tori would be with them. Not that he couldn't do it by himself, but she made everything better. Then he had gotten to ninja ops to find out that not only was the blond not going to be there, they were shopping for her! Considering that he had no idea what to get her and the fear he had of getting something she didn't want, he had tried to back out of the trip.

"Grab him!"

That was all he had heard before being physically dragged into the water ranger's van. After arguing with them and attempting to jump from the vehicle, they were here and there was nothing he could do about it.

So he was now surrounded by too many people, with no interest in looking at shiny things, shopping with three idiots who were not only shopping for Tori…

"What about this?"

He looked to see his brother holding up some very sexy lingerie. It was lacy, very revealing, and the perfect shade of navy. It would look stunning on her, the dark color against her perfectly tanned skin. He tried to shake the thoughts away, but her blond hair snaking down her shoulders was so tempting.

He blushed, the wind ninjas snickered.

…but for him as well.

"I bet Blak- I mean Tori would love that" Dustin coughed to poorly disguise a laugh

Unable to find a good comeback, he did what he was good at. In his younger years, as a little brother, as a ninja, and as an evil power ranger, there was one thing that he was very good at. This specific attack was used as a threat and as a warning to back the fuck off, both applied in this situation

He glared.

But unfortunately for him, his brother had become immune to his gaze and the red and yellow rangers had turned away from him to try to get rid of their giggles. They weren't doing so well, he tried to push the blush from his cheeks.

Emphases on tried.

"I'd take that as a no" The red ranger said while grinning

Hunter, on the other hand, took it as a yes, walking towards the checkout.

"Hunter!" Blake hissed, about to tackle his elder to prevent him from buying the gift

The other members of the shopping party had a different idea, grabbing him to prevent him from stopping the crimson's evil plan. Growling in irritation, the younger thunder ninja struggled against them.

"Chill out" Dustin said, but how could he? His brother was buying an inappropriate gift for his Tori!

"Did I really just think that?" He muttered under his breath

She wasn't his, even if he wanted it to be that way. They had fought side by side, they were good friends, but as far as more than that…Even though the others knew, he never could tell her. He would rather be her friend than the person she rejected. To ruin their relationship would kill him, so here he was. He was shopping for the girl of his dreams, with no idea what to give her so that his crush wasn't shown.

"The idiot will get his ass kicked by Tori on Christmas, after all it will be from him" He relaxed, Shane was right. It would be a hilarious sight, the mighty crimson ranger being chased around ninja ops by a blushing Tori. He really hoped he had a camera for that, no a video…

"Can I have that gift wrapped?" A few feet from the dirty blond, they waited for him to rejoin the group.

The lady he was talking to look worn out from the many customers of the day, but she still asked him two very important questions "What color gift wrap and what's the names?"

Crimson.

To: Tori

From: Hunter

The three members of the group knew the answer.

But Hunter threw a wicked curveball that they really should have seen coming, but didn't. "Navy paper please…"

He froze; there was no way his brother was going to…

"To: Tori…"

The two flanking him tightened their grips once more, but there was still time for Hunter to stop this, to turn back.

But there was no turning back for the fearless, somewhat brooding ranger as he turned to give a smile that could rival Chessur's [AN: He is the cat from Alice in Wonderland] before speaking the last two words.

"From:..."

The two sets of hands holding him slightly relaxed, emphasis on slightly.

"…Blake"

He felt the red flood into his cheeks, slightly from embarrassment, but mostly from anger. Without the thought fully recognized, his legs started to move him forward. But to their credit, Shane and Dustin kept him held back, especially since he was hell bent on stuffing the god damn package down his throat.

"Can you put a message on it?"

The pounding blood fell silent for a moment in his ear; perhaps his brother would be merciful and stop his own beating from happening.

The lady at the counter, who had no idea what the hell the blond in front of her was doing, rolled her eyes and asked in a very sarcastic voice "Of course sir, what would ya like?"

"Hunter, don't do something stupid" Shane hissed loud enough from the other red to hear

Yeah Hunter, Blake thought, don't do anything stupid or I will fucking kill you! He wasn't the most aggressive member of the team nor was he the softest, but one thing was true. And that was that he could kick ass, even his brother's.

"Well?" The lady was getting impatient with the silent, pen in hand

"Can't wait to see you in it Tor-Tor"

The lady wrote it and he saw red.

"HUNTER!"

"You are a fucking idiot!" Dustin snarled as once again he and Shane separated the two brothers. Well actually it was more like they were keeping Blake from pounding his brother's face in.

The only present they had for their female member, not including Cam's (which was probably on the way), was buried at the bottom of a trash can. The navy ninja had wanted to burn it, but Shane had managed to keep all lighters away from him.

The yellow ranger was torn.

On one hand, he wanted Tori to be here. She would restore order in a moment's time, she held that much power. Now he would get a slap upside the head for not stopping Hunter, but it would be much better than what the two brothers would get.

On the other hand, it would be hell trying to explain the situation to her. How would they tell her that they couldn't go shopping without getting in a fight? Or that they went to the mall for her and Hunter just had to push Blake's buttons? And how the fucking hell would they connect all of this to a bra and panties set?

He wished she was here and he was thankful that she wasn't.

Blake lunged again; Dustin stopped the attack…again.

Then out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone glaring at them.

Two blue eyes…

"Shit"

The fight was history; they all turned to see the one person that they feared more than Tori. The person who was the most important person of the day, who they were about to run from. The one flanked by two security guards who were very pissed off.

Red hat, white beard.

Santa.

"Well that was smart" Shane muttered as his best friend peeked around the corner

When approached by the red hat wearing man, they had done the first thin that came to mind…they had bolted. Being four very athletic and in shape men, they had assumed that outrunning the three that wanted their heads would be easy. Like many times in the past, they were proven wrong. Turns out that the two very pissed security guards were the big and bulky…and fast type. They had definitely had fun running through the mall with Santa, tweedledee, and tweedledum on their tails.

So now they were flat against their backs in one of the less busy parts of the mall, their eyes peeled for any sign of a red hat.

"No shit" Hunter shot back

"Dudes, this is totally how I wanted to go shopping; being chased by Santa" The yellow ranger said sarcastically

"Are we good?" Blake wanted to get out of here with out being arrested for fighting in public, get home and bury himself in a blanket. Forget about shopping; tell Tori that he could find anything worth giving to her…because she was that perfect. That would work, he would make it work; it would if he could just get out of here.

"No sign of St. Nick" Dustin replied, sneaking towards the crowds

"Lets just get out of here, where is the van?" The crimson ranger's eyes darted to every piece of red that he saw and considering that it was almost Christmas…every one out of three people had his gaze on them.

"This way" Shane had been given the task to remember where their only form of transportation was, because he would be damned if he forgot.

Two primary colors and two shaded colors made their way towards where the red ranger was sure the van was. During this time, they were on the outlook for any threats; in the form of security guards and…

"Fuck" Blake stared at the main attraction in the center of the floor. There, smothered in shiny tinsel and fake red velvet, seated in a metal chair was the person they had tried to avoid.

…Santa.

"You led us right to him!" Hunter hissed as they quickly took shelter behind a big fake tree.

"The van's right out there, I didn't know he would be here!" The other red growled back, pointing to a door that was only a few stores past the displayed.

"I wonder how we missed it?" The earth ninja mused, although he knew it was because he had dragged the group very quickly to the first store; giving them no time to take in their surroundings. So that's why they were surprised to see the red nosed man.

"Let's go, we can sneak past" The navy ranger really wanted to get out of here. If they stayed any longer, the guards would probably see them and they would get arrested. Then they would be bailed out by Tori or Cam. Tori would yell at them and Cam would just glare before giving a lecture.

Getting yelled at by an angel? Or getting a lecture by a pissed off Cam?

He'd pick the angel regardless of what she did, just to see…

Agreeing to his plan, Shane darted across. He looked just like another red covered customer weaving through the people without bumping any of them. Blake could have sworn that he saw the male turn back to smirk. That only meant one thing...

"Oh it's on…" Hunter snarled in his typical competitive nature "Time me"

"Time you?" Dustin shot back "We are trying to avoid drawing attention to ourselves, so that we don't get arrested or worse, get on Santa's naughty list and YOU WANT US TO TIME YOU?" The yellow ranger breathed after the outburst, avoiding Shane's gaze (Who was wondering what the heck what was taking them so long) while glaring at Hunter for the ridicules idea.

"You're point?" The elder Bradley brother didn't even flinch to the statement

Blake rolled his eyes; his brother was an idiot "Ready?"

One nod later…"Go"

And the dirty blond was off.

With a slightly longer stride than Shane, the crimson ranger made excellent time, except for the fact that he almost ran into a baby stroller. Clearing the child was easy and he stuck the landing, although people noticed.

"Idiot" Blake grumbled

Shane was not happy and although they had no idea what was being said; it was becoming heated. Hunter on the other hand, completely ignored the other red; looking to them for his time.

"Did you keep track?" The navy ninja asked

"Nope, you?" Dustin replied

After shaking his head, Blake met his brother's gaze.

"How about a minute?"

"He'll be very happy"

He held up one finger and Hunter smiled before turning to rub it in the darker male's face. Shane didn't take it well and their loud voices echoed over to them.

"They are fucking idiots" Blake sighed

"Oh really, because I thought we were trying not to be sneaky" The dirt racing yellow sighed

The two were having a crowd gather around them, which was just flipping fantastic. Dustin went over next, immediately putting himself between the two.

Then there was him.

He wasn't sure how he came to be last in line, perhaps it was just bad luck. It would be part of a life long streak he had. His parents being killed, becoming evil rangers, Hunter had tried to kill him…yup he had very bad luck. But he had thought it had been broken when he and Hunter had become part of the team, they had defeated Lothor and Tori had accepted them. It had been the best day ever for him. Maybe it wasn't bad luck that he was in the back of the line. The attention was on his three companions, he was pretty much invisible.

He could sneak across; hell he could skip across the floor to the outside and not be spotted. Deciding to do so, walk not skip, he was half way through the crowds when…He had been half way to freedom, half way from his hell and then he had seen…

An angel.

Then he wasn't in the mall, he wasn't trying to escape. He froze midstep, focused on one thing. Sounds faded, all there was…

Her.

"Couldn't you just watch where you were going?" Shane shoved the dirty blond

"I was trying! Did I mention that I beat you?" Hunter smiled evilly, which pissed the darker male off even more

"Will you two stop it so we can get out of here?" Dustin hissed, performing his duties of keeping the peace between the two reds. Stealing a direction where Blake had been, the yellow wondered where his backup was. But of course if Blake had been smart, he would have ditched them, which is what he was betting the navy boy did.

Smart move on the dark haired boy's part, but it sucked for him. It meant that he was stuck with the two fighting alpha males.

"Where is Blake anyway?" The others had noticed, which put a temporary hold on their argument and he was grateful for that.

Their eyes scanned for the navy thunder, it was him that finally found. Blake was standing with his eyes fixed on one point, completely out of it to the point where he was becoming an obstacle in the shoppers' path.

Seeing that something was possibly wrong, Dustin went back to where they had started; the others following.

Dude, Blake?" Waving a hand in front of the other's face did nothing

"What is he looking a…" Hunter's sentence ran off as they found what his younger brother was mystified by.

He felt his jaw hit the floor, the sound of the reds following his.

There, snuggled between the fake Christmas tree and presents, next to the cheaply paid Santa, and surrounded by children; was her. A snuggly fit dress, red leather with a white lining, fitted perfectly. Heels made her tower above the kids, a red hat on her head.

But it wasn't any her, it wasn't any female…

It wasn't just a her, it was…

It was Tori.

It was his best friend, his eyes grew.

Looking over to Shane, the red ranger met his gaze; showing the same shock he did. Never had she shown that much skin, she was a tom boy. The most they would ever see was when she was wearing a bathing suit when surfing, and even that was board shorts and a top.

"I think he's drooling"

The sentence from the crimson ranger brought them back to reality, they focused on Blake. The younger Bradley brother was speechless and it showed. Shane rubbed his hands together with an evil look on his face. Slowly but surely the wind ninja pushed the unresponsive ranger towards the line to meet with Santa. Hunter caught on and with a evil smirk, helped Shane to put his brother in line.

"Dudes" Dustin shook his head, they weren't really going to? But then an idea hit him, he rushed into a store. Quickly buying what he needed, he waited. Because something was going to happen, something always did.

And this time, he was going to get it on film.

She was so beautiful.

The light spilled around her, her blond hair seemed to glow. His eyes traced the curves outlined in red, his mind removing the dress to reveal…He mentally slapped himself, he shouldn't be thinking about that, but he really couldn't help himself. Trying to take his mind off her, he thought about the guys; he wondered if it had turned into a brawl by now.

But to him it didn't really matter; she took his full attention once more.

An angel…

"Sir?"

Snapping out of daydreaming, he saw a short man in an elf costume looking at him. Taking in his surroundings, he saw that Santa's eyes were glaring at him. When did he get in line?

"You better go bro, before the mommies eat you alive" Hunter smirked before moving back to where Dustin was, Shane followed.

Seeing that he had to do something, despite his desire to smack them; he walked up to Santa. The man's eyes narrowed, Tori's went wide.

"Blake?" He heard her gasp, he showed a meek smile

He really didn't want to be here, but he was.

"What so you want for Christmas?"

The gruff sentence was delivered while he was standing, him sitting on somebody else's lap wasn't happening.

He wasn't sure what to say, his eyes ended up resting on her.

She smiled and so did he.

"A kiss from the lovely lady?" Somebody called from the crowd, a not so random person.

They both turned to glare at a grinning Dustin, a snickering pair of rangers beside him. The crowd chuckled, but they wanted to know; what was he going to get?

He turned back to her, finding that she was only inches away.

"So, what do you want?"

"Nice one" Hunter gave him a high five, he smirked

"I try" There was no way that Blake was going to ask for anything of that sort, the closet thing being a hug. He was most likely going to be mauled later for the comment, but it was worth it.

Then a ringing from Shane's pocket brought their attention from the awkward scene on stage. Opening the phone, it turned out to be Cam.

"What's up Cam?"

During this time, the two rangers beside him decided to engage in a 'who can do the best Ho-Ho-Ho competition', which was pointlessly fun to them.

"Ho, Ho, Ho" Dustin began

"Too high…Ho, Ho, Ho" Hunter's slightly deeper tone sounded a bit better; although the yellow ranger wasn't about to be beaten.

Back with Shane, there was a very brief pause before…

"Is there any specific reason why Tori and Blake are MAKING OUT ON TV!"

The sentence registered, he raised an eyebrow "Cam, they are not…"

Then he saw a news station camera, he followed where it was pointed; right to them.

"Ho, Ho…" He interrupted his friend

"Holy Shit"

He could believe what he was seeing, neither did the others.

There was the resident couple, or at least they were considered that, lip locked like a bush of mistletoe was hanging above them. Blake was holding her close; a few mothers covered their children's eyes.

"GO BLAKE!" Hunter yelled

After the initial shock, the wind rangers broke out in wide smiles. Tori was happy, Blake was definitely happy…that was the best present they could give.

Adding to the crimson ranger's outburst, Shane let out a loud whistle.

Dustin on the other hand, took the disposable camera he had bought earlier and quickly snapped all the pictures on the roll. It would make a great memory…

…and great blackmail.

Everything else didn't matter, there was only her.

It was perfect.

No matter the horrified gasps coming from the crowd

Or the glares from the mall workers

Even the hoots and hollering coming from their teammates didn't phase the moment.

"Perfect" She whispered during a breath

He couldn't agree more.

The day had started with a need for a perfect present and he had found one.

Other than the fact that he had her in his arms, there was one thing that he knew to be true in the moment.

That this year, this December he would remember for being…

The Best Christmas ever.

Reviews? Please!