A little disclaimer: In this story the bears are a few years older than in the series – time has passed! Also, I tried to make this story both sweet and a little dark… kind of like chocolate. Anyways, enjoy!

Summary: It's Christmas in the Glen and everyone is celebrating. But between the food, presents and mistletoes, there is a secret that needs to be told.

Secrets and Mistletoes

She was standing right in front of him, looking more beautiful than ever. He took her hand. She leaned towards him, he could smell the flowers in her hair and…

"Gusto?"

The kind sound of his name made him open his eyes. He must have been halfway asleep. Gusto was lying on his back on the bed, relaxing before the dinner. He had a sketchbook in one hand and a pencil in the other. He lifted his head and saw Tummi standing in the doorway to his room, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"Sorry, did I interrupt you in something?"

"No, not at all," Gusto said, blinking a few times.

"Can I talk to you for at minute?"

"Sure, Tummers, sit down."

Tummi closed the door behind him and sat down in the empty chair in Gusto's room. He looked down for a few seconds. Gusto frowned at him, as he put the sketchbook and the pencil down. Why had he been holding this to begin with? At first, he thought he had dozed off in the middle of a great idea, but sadly the paper was untouched by the pencil.

"Is something wrong?"

"I was wondering if I could have your advice about something."

"Sure."

Gusto sat up on the edge of the bed, looking at the blue bear in front of him. Tummi looked up at him.

"The case is that I'm in love."

"Okay," Gusto nodded friendly. "So, who is she?"

"She's one of the bears from Ursalia. We've been writing letters back and forth to each other for the past two months."

Gusto smiled warmly at him, waiting for the bear to continue.

"She wrote in her last letter, that she hopes to see me soon."

"Well, the barbics are going to spend some of the holidays here at the Glen, so maybe she will join us?" Gusto suggested.

"Yeah, I think she will."

The two young adults exchanged a look.

"So… what did you want my advice about?"

Tummi's eyes shifted.

"Well, when she gets here… what do I do?"

"Just be yourself, Tum."

"I mean, when we're… alone?"

Gusto raised his eyebrows.

"Oh, I see… um…"

He never expected that Tummi would go to him about this. On one hand he was surprised that Tummi didn't talk to Gruffi about these sorts of things. Then again, when he thought about it, Gruffi usually wasn't all that into heart-to-heart conversations. In a strange sort of way this was a big compliment.

"What are you thinking about?" Tummi asked.

Gusto shook his head.

"To be honest, I'm just flattered that you came to me about this."

Tummi looked down for a moment.

"Grammi is the only one who knows that I've been writing with this girl, but I can't talk to her about this…"

Gusto nodded.

"Well, then my guess is that the two of you are going to be alone in your room, so the first thing I would suggest is that you light a few candles. And tidy up your room, make it cozy," Gusto said. He smiled at Tummi. "And then you should just be yourself."

"Will that be enough?"

"C'mon, Tummers," Gusto said, as he leaned forward and padded the bear on the shoulder. "If this girl doesn't like you, when you're just being you, she is not worth it."

Tummi's face lighted up in an instant.

"Thanks!" he said happily, as he stood up and gave Gusto a hug so tight, that it could have choked him. When Tummi let go of him, Gusto couldn't help but chuckle.

"No problem, big guy."

"Oh, boy, am I stuffed!" Tummi said, as he leaned back in the armchair, hands on his belly. Gusto sat beside him, looking into the fireplace, seeming at peace for once.

"Are you sure about that?" Gruffi asked, looking from the table, that had been filled with food, to the blue bear. He had a skeptical spark in his eyes.

"Does everyone have hot chocolate in their mugs?" Grammi asked.

"Oh, I don't," Gruffi stated. He got up from his chair and went to the kitchen.

"Can we open our presents now?" Cubbi asked, eyes beaming with excitement.

"Sure, you can," Grammi answered sweetly. She gently padded Cubbi on the top of his head.

"I'll go first!" Sunni said. She reached out for a tiny box wrapped in yellow paper, with a green bow on top. She turned the tag to read it. "To Sunni, from Gusto."

Gusto snapped out of his thoughts, as he looked back at her. He sent her a little smile, as he held his mug with hot chocolate up in the air.

"Go ahead, open it," he said.

Sunni unwrapped the little present. It was a box. She opened it up to find a necklace inside. It was a gold chain, with a green stone charm hanging from it.

"Wow!" she said in surprise. "How… how did…?"

"Calla helped me out," Gusto answered, still smiling at her. He placed his mug on the table nearby, got up from his chair and sat down next to Sunni, helping her get the necklace out of the box. "I have to try repainting King Gregor again at some point to return the favor." He smiled, as he gently placed the necklace around Sunni's slender neck. "There you go."

Sunni looked down at the green stone.

"It's beautiful," she said. She looked back at him and gently touched his cheek. "Thank you."

"Wait… what?"

All bears looked up at Gruffi, standing just few feet away from them.

"Why did you give her that?"

Gusto raised an eyebrow.

"It's just a necklace, Gruff."

"Does that make you two a couple now?!" Gruffi asked, seeming upset.

"Would you calm down, Gruffi Gummi?" Grammi protested. Zummi nodded in agreement.

"No, I won't!"

Gusto stood up from his position next to Sunni and walked closer to Gruffi. He crossed his arms.

"Why are you getting so upset about this, Gruffster?"

"She's too young for you."

"Oh, give me a break, Gruffi," Sunni answered. "I was too young for him five years ago. It's different now."

Cubbi and Tummi sent each other a look and then nodded in Gruffi's direction.

"That doesn't answer my question!" Gruffi said, moving his glance to Gusto. He pointed at the painter, forcing him to take few steps back. "Are you two a couple, yes or no?"

Gusto smiled nervously at him, holding his hands up in defense as he backed away from him.

"C'mon, Gruff, don't be like that!"

"Answer me!"

Suddenly Gruffi looked up over their heads and realized where he had just pushed Gusto to.

"Oh no…"

They stood in one of the doorways. Over them hung a mistletoe. Gusto sighed relieved.

"That's good," Gusto said as he looked up at the decoration. "Back in my warren the mistletoe was a sign of truce. If two bears stood under it, they had to give up old grudges and make peace." He looked back at Gruffi. "Looks like you have to find another time to get mad at me."

"You know, in our tradition it means that the two bears standing under it has to kiss," Grammi chuckled, as she stepped closer to them.

"Kiss?" Gusto said slowly, looking from Grammi to Gruffi.

"No way!" Gruffi protested.

"C'mon, Gruff, relax already!" Gusto said, crossing his arms as he leaned against the door opening. He sent the brown bear a smile. "If I didn't know you better, I'd worry that you really disliked me, given the situation."

"No, it has nothing to do with that," Gruffi answered.

"What then?"

"It's just not how the ancient gummies did it."

"You can't use that excuse every time something happens, that you don't agree with," Grammi pointed out. Zummi walked up next to her.

"She's right, Gruffi. You could chive it a gance… uh, I mean, give it a chance."

"Well, in my opinion, that's not the gummi way!"

"Oh, just shut up, you stubborn bear!" Gusto said. He pushed his back off the door opening and put one hand on each side of Gruffi's head as he placed a short kiss on the brown bear's cheek. Gusto then let go of him and padded him on the shoulder.

"There. That wasn't so hard, was it?" he chuckled. "Now, if you don't mind, I have someone else I want to kiss." He then walked over and sat down by the fireplace next to Sunni. Zummi and Grammi exchanged a quick smile before they sat down with the rest of the group, leaving Gruffi stranded under the mistletoe.

"I… I… uh… I need more hot chocolate," Gruffi mumbled, but instead of going to the kitchen, he walked off to his room.

Grammi placed the last dirty plates on the kitchen table. She yawned as she looked at the mess. Did she really have to do this now? Cubbi was tugged in, Tummi was in his room, in some way regretting how much he had eaten, and Sunni was still in the living room completely infatuated by the necklace. And they hadn't seen Zummi for an hour. He was probably in the library reading one of his new books. Grammi took one of the plates up to put it in the soapy water in the sink. Then Gusto entered the kitchen with his mug.

"You look tired, Gramms," Gusto said, as he looked at the orange bear standing next to him at the kitchen table. The matriarch yawned again. Gusto reassuringly put his hand on her shoulder. "Just go to bed. I can take care of this."

"Are you sure?" she asked. "Usually I'm the one who cleans everything up..."

"Well, in that case, you can take a break from it tonight. Go sleep, I'll clean it for you," Gusto said. Grammi looked unsurely at him. "C'mon, Gramms. I'm a nightowl anyway."

"Alright, if you insist," Grammi answered, as she put the plate, she was holding, down. "Thank you, Gusto."

The orange bear walked away from him to exit the kitchen. As she opened the door, she realized that someone was standing on the other side, looking into the kitchen. She smiled and let him pass through the open door, before she shut the door behind her.

"Gusto…"

The sky-blue bear turned around and looked at the brown bear standing in the middle of the kitchen with his mug in his hand.

"Oh. Hey, Gruff. I thought you went to bed?"

"No, I… I didn't."

Gusto sent him a quick smile before turning around to continue his work by the sink. Gruffi just stood there, feeling self-conscious. However, if he didn't say what he had intended, he wouldn't be able to sleep all night. He placed his empty mug on the small kitchen table nearby.

"Gusto, about before…"

The bear in question turned around to face him, leaning against the sink as he wiped a mug with a dishtowel. Gruffi rubbed the back of his neck before looking directly at Gusto.

"I'm… sorry if I gave you the impression that I don't like you."

"Don't worry about it, Gruff," Gusto replied. He put the clean mug down on the kitchen table and began drying another one. "I already knew."

First, he was surprised. Then suddenly Gruffi frowned at him.

"Is that really what you think?"

"C'mon, Gruffi, be real with me," Gusto said, smile fading for once. He lifted his head to really look at the brown bear, his dark eyebrows making a concerned look upon his face. "You and I always disagree on everything, and you call me a maniac, which isn't exactly a compliment. You criticize just about everything I do, and now you try to tell me, that Sunni and I can't be together after all these years. What am I supposed to think?"

Gruffi sat down at the small table in the kitchen, still looking at him. Gusto placed the mug on the table.

"Some of the things you do are irresponsible, Gusto, whether you like it or not."

"That does not justify you calling me names, Gruffi!" Gusto said, slightly raising his voice, as he threw the dishtowel on the table. "I was also called a lot of names when I was younger. Those kinds of labels stick, you know."

"What names?"

"All kinds of things! That I was weird and a bastard child, that my parents didn't want me, and that crazy runs in the family... and..."

Gusto sighed in frustration, as he realized what he had just said.

"Was it true?" Gruffi asked in shock.

"Which part of it?" Gusto whispered, looking down.

"Any of it?"

"Look, that doesn't matter. As I see it, there is nothing wrong with being different. But it does not give anyone the right to lie about you or calling you names. And the last damn label I want to be stuck with me forever is that I'm a coward, for never admitting to Sunni how I feel about her! And I intend on keeping that promise to myself and her. Alright?"

Gruffi stared at him. He just sat there with a jaw that almost dropped to his chest.

"I'm sorry if this upsets you, but I'm not backing away from this," Gusto said in a nicer tone. He turned around to wash a plate, facing away from Gruffi. The brown bear was just finding his words again.

"You're really serious, aren't you?" he said in a low voice. Gusto turned around to look at him.

"I love her, Gruffi," he said. "I really do."

"You do?"

A female voice broke into their conversation. Sunni stood in the doorway to the kitchen, sending Gusto a surprised look. Gusto's eyes widened.

"Oh, man… this really wasn't how I planned on telling you."

He slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand, completely forgetting how much soapy foam it was filled with. He coughed and spluttered, as some of the foam accidentally hit his mouth, getting both Sunni and Gruffi to laugh. As he had finally removed the soap from his face, he couldn't help but chuckle either.

"I'll let you two be alone for now," Gruffi said, still with a smile on his face, as he got up from his chair. Before leaving the kitchen, he turned around to look directly at Gusto.

"I'm sorry, Gusto," he said reassuringly. "I guess I have to give up my old grudges, for now at least." Then he shut the door behind him.

Sunni looked from the door to Gusto. He still had foam in his forelock.

"I think he meant it," Gusto said, sending her a little smile.

"Either way he'll accept it at some point," Sunni answered. She stepped closer to him and gently touched his shoulders. "And what about you?"

"I am currently dying of embarrassment," Gusto answered bluntly. He just looked at her for a few seconds. Then one thought entered his mind:

"C'mon, say it again."

He sighed and then put his arms around her, before looking at her.

"I meant it. I do. I love you."

Then he drew her closer and kissed her. Her clothes and hair quickly became wet from the water on his hands, but that didn't really matter.

Because for five years of waiting… this was perfect.