I kind of threw this together last minute on Christmas Day so it's a little rough. Takes place in the Alien Uprising Universe but can be read separately. Ya'll know how this goes. I don't own TMM. I do own all OCs mentioned. Merry Chirstmas!

Santa's Elf

"Hey, Jingle, can you go grab me some more candy-canes?"

Tart took a deep breath. He really, really hated using their elf names. But he smiled at the high-school aged girl who, like him, was dressed in green from the tip of their curled, bell-tipped shoes to the floppy fleece hat on his head. The only deviations from the green was glittery red embroidery around the wrists and ankles and the white puffball at the end of the hat.

"No problem, Twinkle." He said, hurrying away from the continuously growing and loudening line behind him. As he dug through the plastic tub and empty candy-cane boxes, he remembered why he was dressed in such a ridiculous manner.

His girlfriend, Pudding.

As he pulled the candy-canes out of the box and into the felt bag he had brought with him, he thought about her. And what this job was going to bring.

He had been heading to Café Mew Mew after school one day at the beginning of December. There was a small jewelry store that they walked past and Pudding begged him to stop for just a moment because she saw that they had put up the Christmas decorations in the window already and she just wanted a teeny-tiny peek.

He stood to the side, letting Pudding ogle the tinsel and lights, her face and hands pressed up against the glass. He still hadn't figured this 'Christmas' thing out. This was the first time he was truly experiencing the human celebration, and the only other time he was on Earth for the holiday wasn't necessarily a pleasant, happy time.

But while he didn't take too much notice in the decorations, he did notice that Pudding had stopped oohing and aahing over the shiny objects. Or, rather, she was now focusing on a different shiny object.

His brow furrowed, Tart tried to follow where Pudding's gaze was. Then, he finally found it.

It was a simple pair of earrings, gold with diamonds. Simple, but Tart could easily see how much Pudding liked them.

But, then, he also noticed that she looked a bit sad.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

Pudding immediately perked up and grinned at him.

"Nothing, Taru-Taru, na no da!" She said cheerfully.

"Was there something that you saw that you liked?" Tart asked, pretending he hadn't noticed her intense gaze on the earrings.

Pudding's smile seemed to drop ever so slightly.

"This store has a lot of pretty things, na no da," She said, avoiding Tart's question. "But they're very expensive too, na no da."

"Maybe that Santa Claus you keep telling me about will bring you what you want," Tart said, hoping to perk her up. Although he and his older siblings had quickly saw through the whole 'Santa' thing, they pretended to be just as big believers as their younger sister, Rōzu, and the one who got her started on the whole tangent in the first place: Santa's biggest believer, Pudding.

This time, though, Pudding didn't even try to hide the sadness in her smile.

"Maybe not this year, na no da," Pudding said.

"What? Have you sent your list already?" Tart asked with a bit of a grin. He was hoping she'd say no. Hoping that she still thought there was a chance.

"No, Pudding hasn't sent her list to Santa, na no da," Pudding said, shaking her head some. But before Tart could say anything, she added, "But Pudding doesn't want to bother Santa with it anyways, na no da. Pudding doesn't really have a need for something like this, na no da."

Pudding then grabbed his hand and gave him one of her famous wide grins.

"Come on, Taru-Taru, we need to get to the Café, na no da!" She said, grabbing his hand and pulling him along the sidewalk, beginning to babble about something else.

As they headed towards the Café, Tart couldn't stop thinking about the monkey Mew whose hand he was holding. She was always bright and bubbly and cheerful. But he also knew that, as much as she believed in Santa, she wasn't expecting much this Christmas. He knew her family was poor. With six growing kids and only one adult in the family, it was hard on all of them. Even with Mr. Fong having come back to Tokyo and working six days a week, it wasn't enough, not even with the addition of Pudding's circus tricks and Café paychecks. And being a member of the Tokyo Defenders wasn't exactly a paying gig.

Which was Tart resolved then and there that he was going to get those earrings for Pudding. Because she worked so hard, because she never complained, and because she deserved something nice, even if there wasn't really a need for them.

However, he quickly learned that was easier said than done.

On his break that very afternoon, he teleported back to that shop. However, he soon realized that Pudding was right about one thing: the pieces in the window were very, very expensive.

"How much?" Tart said, his eyes wide as he looked at the shop girl in dismay.

The girl calmly repeated the price. The price that Tart had known that he couldn't afford it the first time she said it. He quickly did some calculations. Even working open to close without a break everyday up till Christmas Eve, he couldn't afford the earrings. Not even if he groveled with Ryou for a raise or early paycheck. Ryou already paid them more during December so that they could afford presents and that sort of thing, as well as because the customer traffic greatly increased throughout December.

So he started thinking, thinking really, really hard.

His soccer activities were done for the term, to focus on the end of semester exams. There were a few of clubs that were exclusions.

And Pudding didn't have to know that his wasn't one of them.

So Tart looked at the lady again, grinning widely at his master plan.

"Would it be at all possible," He said. "To have an item set aside for me to purchase at a later date?"

And so that was how he ended up becoming an elf for the mall Santa. Admittedly, it wasn't his ideal job. But—as Ryou had pointed out when Tart had come to ask if it was okay to take on a second job for a few weeks—his long ears made him perfect for the role of an elf. And, later, after being accepted for the job and feeling some damaged pride, he realized he had really lucked out in that he was hired as a middle school student, not to mention amongst the influx of holiday part-timers. And Ryou was really great about it, too. Ryou had a soft spot for Pudding and agreed with Tart that she should get something special this year. But he had also made it clear that Tart's studies also had to take priority with exams approaching, which Tart agreed with, and let Ryou and Pie help him study at night.

And, besides, if it was for Pudding, he'd pass out candy-canes to loud and excited children all day, even if this shade of green really wasn't his color.

So far, working both jobs was working well. He was doing three afternoons at the mall before quickly changing into his school clothes to teleport to the Café, dampen his hair a bit to make it appear as he got a shower and typically made a show of putting his soccer bag away, all the while griping about the captain being merciless in his drilling. He had even managed to convince his teammates to help him along with the deception, bringing their own bags to school. Everyone in the Café was fully aware of what he was doing, but pretended not to notice. He thought that was the thing that was most helpful to him. Not only were they keeping up the act, but they were letting him do this on his own.

And it was all really paying off. He was getting closer and closer to the end goal. If he had the calculations right (and as they had come from Pie, he was fairly sure that they were) he'd be able to buy the earrings by the end of the week with a whole week to spare till Christmas.

And then I'll be able to say goodbye to this stupid outfit, Tart thought as he handed one of the fresh bags to 'Twinkle'.

He was really getting excited at the prospect of giving Pudding this gift. He knew how badly she wanted the earrings and how much it hurt her to think they weren't going to be under the tree on Christmas morning. He couldn't wait to see her reaction to it, already mentally preparing himself for lots of hugs.

However, he didn't think there was a chance that his surprise would get ruined. Least of all by Pudding herself.

Tart's eyes widened as he saw a very familiar blonde holding the small hand of another very familiar blonde with pigtails and four very familiar and very alike little boys.

He knew instantly what she was doing there, though she had yet to notice him.

She and her siblings were going to get their picture with Santa.

He wanted to bang his head against the nearest wall. Of course she was going to bring in her siblings on this day. It was early on a Sunday. The mall had just opened not thirty minutes before and the line was reasonably short. And the Café didn't open for another two hours. Just enough time for Pudding to get the picture taken, get the little kids back home before she had to be at the Café.

Great, he thought. Just great.

"Sparkle!" He hissed to the elf supervisor, a college-aged girl. "I need to go on my break, now!"

"What? Now?" 'Sparkle' said in confusion. "No, you can't. We haven't even been at this an hour. Besides, we're short an elf since Tinsel called out sick. Besides, you're working a short shift today anyways so you don't get one."

"You don't understand," Tart said, all seriousness. "There is someone in the line right now who cannot see me."

Sparkle frowned.

"Look, I know this isn't the coolest of jobs, but get over it. Think of the kids and Christmas spirit and all that jazz. What's the worst that can happen?"

A lot of things, Tart thought. To start with, my girlfriend realizing I've been lying to her for the past two weeks.

But then, suddenly, Tart had an idea.

Hiding behind one of the large, fake presents that served as a hiding place for the elf's candy-cane stash, Tart poked his head out, trying desperately to make eye contact with one of Pudding's siblings. Finally, Honcha caught his glance and his eyes widened at recognizing him. He opened his mouth to speak but Tart quickly put a finger to his lips, indicating to the boy to be quiet. Honcha closed his mouth.

Distract Onee-Chan, Tart mouthed. Honcha nodded and quickly tugged on Pudding's jacket, pointing at something in the opposite direction, grasping the rest of his siblings' attention as well.

During that time, Tart quickly ran up to the high school boy who was passing out candy-canes to the kids leaving with their parents.

"Figgy, I need to switch places with you for about ten, fifteen minutes," Tart said quickly. "You entertain the kids in line and I'll pass out the treats, okay? At least until the girl with the blonde hair and the five little kids with her are done getting their picture done, okay? When you see them getting the picture taken, you have got to get me."

"Yeah, sure," The boy said, passing off the candy-canes. "What, is it your girlfriend or something?"

"Yes, now hurry or Sparkle's going to yell at us both," Tart said.

"Aw, Jingle's got a girlfriend," Figgy said with a smirk. "And doesn't want her to see him dressed like a dork."

"Shut it, Figgy, and move it!" Tart hissed. With a laugh, the older boy disappeared. Tart breathed a small sigh of relief, if only for a few minutes.

However, it felt way too soon when Figgy came over.

"They're done," He said. "Come on, hurry up if you don't want to get seen."

Tart quickly nodded and passed off the bag. However, out of habit, he went the way he usually did.

And walked smack dab into Pudding.

Everything and everyone around them seemed to get very quiet in those next thirty seconds. Tart felt his heart pounding and his cheeks darkening. Of course. His brilliant plan and he had to mess it up.

She didn't say anything. She looked incredibly confused, though. And a bit hurt. Which made Tart want to kick himself. Because he had lied to her.

"I'm sorry," He said softly, and he wasn't sure if it was about walking into her or lying to her. But he was fairly sure it was the second of the two.

She didn't say anything and pulled Heicha on by him.

Tart didn't feel very holly or jolly the rest of his shift.

When he arrived at the Café later that day, he was immediately greeted with:

"You didn't say that your other gig was as an elf."

Tart glared at Kish, who was smirking.

"Can it," Tart snapped. "So Pudding told you, huh?"

"Nope. Not a word from her," Kish said. "Ryou let it slip this morning. Ichigo about died laughing."

"Great," Tart said dryly. "Just great."

He stormed past Kish and quickly went to change. As he stepped out of the locker room, he once again was face to face with Pudding.

"Hi," She said shyly.

"Hi," Tart said, feeling his blush return.

They were quiet and then,

"Pudding, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you."

"It's okay, na no da," Pudding said with a smile. "Pudding understands why, na no da."

"You… You do?" Tart said, now very confused.

"Yep!" Pudding said. "You didn't want us to know you were pretending to be one of Santa's Elves for the little kids, na no da. But that's okay, na no da. Like Pudding said, she understands, na no da."

Then she quickly kissed his cheek and started to skip off. However, before she could, Tart said,

"Why do you think I got that job?"

Pudding turned to him and grinned.

"Because Taru-Taru didn't send a list, na no da."

Tart blinked. However, before he could ask, Pudding continued,

"Taru-Taru got so busy with soccer and fighting and working and school that he forgot to send Santa Claus a list, na no da. So Taru-Taru is working with him at the mall so that he can tell Santa what he wants for Christmas, na no da."

Tart couldn't help it. He grinned.

"You got me," He said, a bit sheepishly. "Yeah, I forgot to write a list to Santa."

"That's okay, though, na no da," Pudding said. "Pudding and Santa know you'll remember next year, na no da."

With that, she continued to skip away. And Tart breathed a small sigh of relief.

Thank the stars for Pudding's dead-set and innocent belief in Santa Claus.

Tart awoke late on Christmas morning as he stumbled downstairs. He was still worn out from the fight the night before, not to mention that he had only fallen asleep at nearly two in the morning. His siblings were all still asleep, as were Ryou and Keiichiro, many presents still untouched under the tree, though Rōzu had gotten into a few before passing out on the floor. She still had her arms curled around the teddy bear that had a similar outfit to Warrior Rose.

Tart smiled at her and glanced at the clock. He thought of the small package tucked into his dresser drawer upstairs. It wasn't too early to pay a visit to the Fong household.

So he got dressed and teleported. He knocked on the door to have Chincha open it and announce his presence to the rest of the household. Apparently, they had already broken into the Christmas candy and everyone was on a sugar high. Pudding looked just as bouncy as she had the night before, maybe even more so.

"Merry Christmas, Taru-Taru!" She said, throwing her arms around him.

"Merry Christmas, Pudding," Tart said, returning the hug. He took her hand. "Will you come with me for a few minutes?"

Pudding nodded and quickly grabbed her jacket and boots. They walked along the edge of the property and Tart said,

"So, did Santa bring you everything on the list you sent him?"

"Oh, yes!" Pudding said excitedly. "Pudding got a new pair of shoes and some clothes and a medical dictionary and anatomy book… It makes her so excited to be a doctor all over again, na no da!"

"That's great, Pudding," Tart said with a grin. "But, was there anything that wasn't on your list?"

Pudding thought for a second and said,

"The chocolate wasn't on the list, but Pudding was happy to see that, na no da. Why?"

"Well, I just got to thinking," Tart said, staring at the frosty ground. "Santa knew we needed those plane tickets for the spring, right? Well, none of us asked for them. So how did he know if they weren't on a list? But still something that someone really, really wanted?"

"Like what, na no da?" Pudding asked with a furrowed brow.

"Why don't you open this," Tart said, pulling out the box from his jacket pocket. "And find out?"

Still confused, Pudding took the box from Tart and carefully undid the ribbon and the paper. Then she opened the box and her eyes widened.

"Taru-Taru," She breathed as she looked up at him.

"Merry Christmas, Pudding," Tart said.

"This… This is why Taru-Taru really was working as an elf, wasn't it?" Pudding said.

"Well, yeah, I mean, all I really had to do was tell Santa..." Tart said with a small shrug.

"No, no Taru-Taru didn't ask Santa," Pudding said, shaking her head, eyes welling up with tears as she smiled. "Taru-Taru got these for Pudding himself, didn't he?"

Tart blushed. He was done lying to her.

"Yes," He said, not able to look at her. To his surprise, he was suddenly knocked off balance by her hug. She held him to her for a long time and he could feel her warm tears.

"Arigato, Taruto," She whispered. "Pudding loves them so much…"

And as Tart wrapped his arms around her, he felt his smile grow even wider.

"You're welcome, Pudding," He whispered. "I love you so much."

It was all worth it, he thought. Just to have this moment.