A/N: Okay, it's a bit late, but what the hey? I made it Valentine's Day on one of my fanfictions and maybe I'm planning on posting it on Valentine's, but then again, I might not. Oh, and beware of a lime scene (no, it's not a lemon chapter; I'm not going that far. Lime is just a term for acts that lead to sex, but that's it. Lemon, however, is the real thing.)
The next day, Maru got up really early.
Raven, however, was sleeping on the couch that night (and still is), while the couch was just a few feet in front of the kitchen where Maru was cooking. Pots and pans clattered, making thunder-like noises. This awoke Raven pretty quickly, making him become extremely grouchy. "Maru!"
Maru stopped chopping vegetables for a moment. She looked at Raven. "Yes?"
"What the heck is all that noise?" Apparently, his eyes here only half-open, and he was half-asleep. "I want some sleep…"
Maru blushed. "Oops, I forgot you were sleeping on the couch. Sorry, Raven. I finished making breakfast. It's on the table."
"Can I ask ya sumthin'?" Raven asked groggily.
"Uh, yeah, what is it?"
"Why the freak are you still cooking even though breakfast is on the table!"
"Oh, don't you know? It's Christmas. I'm preparing things for a big feast for Thomas, Van, Fiona, you, me, and hopefully Irvine and Moonbay."
Well, didn't that hit Raven smack hard in the face? Ah, shoot! It's Christmas already! Time flies when you see people doing the same thing, except they're all dead. Ah, man, what should I get Maru? Man, if there were anyone that can fix that, it'd be Fiona. I can have her ask Van for advice for me. If I were to go to Van myself, I'd be in jail quicker than you could say "Charged Particle Cannon!" "Ah, Maru, I'm going out for a walk. I'll be back by around," he looked at the clock, which read 9:00, "Maybe in a half an hour."
Maru smiled. "Have fun!" and then she went back to chopping carrots and papayas.
Raven had his hands in his pockets. It was Christmas and he had nothing to give her. Nothing. He knew he could trust Fiona; she's not the type of girl to have his ass flying in jail within five seconds.
Fiona caught sight of him. "Hi Raven!"
Raven looked up, smiled slightly, then ran up to her. "Hey, I need to ask you a few things."
Fiona titled her head sideways. "Hmm? Okay, I guess."
Raven then escorted her to a coffee shop, where they could discuss things over some coffee and cream/sugar. In Fiona's case, it wouldn't be coffee and salt. It'd be salt and coffee.
"So, what did you want to ask me?" Fiona asked. She then realized that he and Maru have been running up to her for advice about the other person. "I'm guessing it's about Maru."
Raven nodded.
"So what's wrong?"
"I don't know what to get her for Christmas. Time was flying faster than the people I blew up a while back."
Fiona laughed. "You love her, right?"
"Yeah. Why do you ask?"
"How much?"
"I dunno. So much it could make me jump in front of her for a bullet."
"Give her something to show that you love her so much," she suggested.
Raven drank some more of his coffee and Fiona was already done with half her cup and was now asking for some salt. Since it was a coffee shop and no salt was sold, she went to a grocery store and bought half the store's supply of salt. When she came back in for her coffee, she took a quarter of what she bought and poured it into her cup and started sipping.
After a while, Fiona broke the silence. "So, have you decided on what to give her?"
Raven shook his head. Just then, an idea popped in his mind. "Hey, Fiona, how much do you love Van?"
Fiona blushed. "Well, you could say I love him enough to do my best to make him happy, and even if he were to go to some other girl, I'd let him go after I've known the new girl a bit." (Don't ask where I got that, you don't wanna know, trust me)
Raven sipped the last of his coffee. "Thanks Fiona. I'll see you later. Merry Christmas." He stood up and started walking away.
Fiona smiled. "Thank you Raven. Merry Christmas to you, too. Oh, and Raven?"
Raven looked at her. "Yeah?"
"Good luck."
Raven smiled for once in so many years in front of someone. He then walked out.
Hands in his pocket once more, he started walking around once more, thinking about what he should give to her.
Just then, he felt hands placed on his shoulder.
Raven froze. "What do you want?"
"Oh, nothing much, Raven." It was quite obvious Reese was talking to him. "How come you're thinking about Maru but not me?"
Raven turned around and gave her the coldest stare he could make. "Why is it any of your business?"
"You love me more than Maru, right?"
Raven turned away. "No. Maru is actually the kind of person who wouldn't use any of her Zoidian powers to make me do whatever she wants for entertainment, unlike the bad things you do…" he growled.
Reese hugged him. "What are you talking about, Raven?"
Raven just pushed Reese away form him then kicked her hard enough to make her back up and slam into a tree.
"Don't lie," Raven growled, "You know exactly what I'm talking about. You're the one who totally changed my opinion about you- my love for you. You manipulated me. You sent your damn bugs to go make me your doll!" Raven then started shouting. "Well, Maru is not like that! She actually takes into consideration for other things and people! She cares unlike you do, you hell-loving akuma!" (Akuma means devil in Japanese) He turned away towards the hotel they were in. "I never want to see you again, Reese. Leave and never show your face to me again."
Reese smirked when he was too far to hear her words. "The time will come."
When he got back, Maru was already washing dishes and waiting for some things to finish baking in the oven and things in the stove.
"Sorry I got back late," Raven apologized, "I saw Fiona and we had a long conversation."
"It's okay," Maru said cheerfully. "People tend to do things like that. I don't blame you at all."
Maru then sighed. She then looked at Raven. "You mated with Reese before, haven't you?"
Raven was surprised by the question. "Yeah…we did…but…"
"You enjoyed it, didn't you?"
"Um…"
"Did the two of you ever plan on having a child?" Maru had a distant look in her eyes.
Raven didn't know what to tell her, so he just sat down next to her and told her the truth. "Yes, in fact, we did plan on having a child. One that would look like the both of us. Unfortunately, things just turned completely upside down for us and we never had a child."
Maru smiled. "I'm glad you actually made plans like that. You must've really loved her. Why the change of heart? Was it because of me? I'm so sorry if it was me…"
"N-no! Not at all! It's just that…well…things didn't turn out as expected. It wasn't you; we broke up long before I met you."
"So then why did I find your clothes and Reese's clothes in one pile on the floor one time?"
Raven sweatdropped. Oh great, now how am I gonna tell her?
"I like little boys. They're so adorable and playful. I seem to prefer them to little girls. I wonder what you were like back then?"
Raven thought for a moment. "Um, playful, yet lonely. My parents were always busy with an organoid project. I never really liked Zoids much because an organoid killed my parents then. I was supposed to go on vacation with them, but they died and-"
Maru slammed her fist on the table. "That's it! How about you and me go on a vacation together? I promise I won't die! Just the both of us and we can do whatever you want!"
Raven then pulled her into a hug. "Thanks, Maru. I'd really like that."
Maru smiled. He's happy. That's good. That's all I want from him.
Raven however, had a light bulb lighted on the top of his head. I got it! She loves little boys! I know just the thing! (A/N: Haha, I ain't tellin'! You gotta find out what it is by the end of the chapter!) "I have your Christmas present."
"You do?"
"Yeah. It might take a while to get it, but I'm sure you'll like it a lot."
Maru hugged him back. "Thank you."
Raven sighed. The things I do for love…
Maru then went out to find Fiona and Van and Thomas.
As soon as she found them, she yelled out, "Hey guys!"
Van turned around. "Hey, Maru! What's up?"
"I'm inviting you guys over to the hotel. I made a big dinner for us all."
"At 3 o'clock in the afternoon?"
"No, silly! I put most of the stuff in the oven and stove. They're cooking right now. I put some diced fruit in the fridge, and there's more papaya than any other fruit in there, and we can exchange presents there, and-"
Van, however, wasn't paying attention, for he was already going off towards the hotel. "Papayas, papa is coming!"
Maru grabbed Van's shirt before he even left her side. "Don't even think about it, Mr. Papaya Man."
Van gave her puppy dog eyes. "But I want papayas…"
Maru crossed her arms. "You really want papayas?"
Van now looked like a chibi with huge eyes just sparkling in delight and his hands were balled up into fists in front of his chest, his arms in a horizontal position. "Yeah!"
"You really, really, REALLY want those papayas?"
Van, still chibi, started moving his fists up and down, saying, "Yeah!" every time the fist went down.
"Well, guess what?"
"Tell me, tell me, tell me!"
"Too bad! You'll have to wait, Van! Be patient!"
"But…but…but…" Van started to whimper. "I want papayas."
Maru tossed an orange to him. "Here. Eat this while you're waiting."
Van fell Animé style, dropping the orange. When he got up, he walked over to the couch and mumbled something that sounded like, "This is the second time this happened…for cryin' out loud, I don't eat oranges- I'm a papaya guy!" They were already in her hotel room when that happened.
Maru sighed at his over-obsession of papayas, and just sat on a chair. Thomas sat on another chair, and Fiona did the same.
"Maru, I need to speak to you about something," Thomas started.
Maru shook her head. "Please, if it's about Raven, please forgive him. Speak about it, and you will disappoint and possibly kill a damsel in distress."
"Okay, then I won't speak."
"Are you guys thirsty?"
"I'll have some coffee…er…make sure it's not Fiona's 'Special Blend.' I'll never survive it!" Thomas sighed.
"Water for me," Fiona said.
Maru went to fetch the drinks.
Fiona then turned to look at Thomas. "Thomas, please, don't arrest Raven. He hasn't done anything bad in the past month. Give him a break."
Thomas ran his fingers through his hair. "I know, Miss Fiona, but we were assigned to destroy Raven, and we have to do it."
Fiona glanced at Maru, who was looking really happy and was humming a song to herself. "Look at her, Thomas. She's been so happy after Raven's confession. Do you really want to turn that smile upside-down?"
"I don't want to, but I can't neglect it. You know, I'm Lieutenant –"
"I know, I know," Fiona said, "Lieutenant Thomas Richard Schubatlz. You're always depended on because of your older brother's reputation. Please give Raven a chance."
Thomas was thinking about it. He looked at Maru. She looks so happy. Before, well, she was still happy even without Raven, but there's something special about her- I can't quite put my finger as to what it is though. She seems like she's glowing with happiness. I can't take it away. Fiona would feel sad because Moonbay's still out there, with a mallet twice the size of her, extremely pissed off, and trying to beat the hell outta Irvine, and Van and I are frequently busy with our assignments. She also can't talk to Zeke all the time- he's just an Organoid. "Oh, alright, Miss Fiona, I'll give him a chance."
Fiona smiled. "Thank you, Thomas."
Maru went up to them and said she'll go out to fetch some water. "I ran out. You guys stay here and make sure Van doesn't get to the papayas before I come back, okay?"
And with that said, Maru left.
Maru was walking towards a well, humming happily to herself.
When Maru was getting some water when she reached the well, Reese appeared behind her. Maru put the water bucket on the ground gently, then turned around and said, "What do you want from me?"
Reese chuckled. "Good girl; you knew I was behind you without a shadow, a hint, and I didn't have to say anything. But you know what I want, and to get what I want, I need to get an obstacle out of my way."
Maru punched her in the stomach as hard as she could, but it took little effect, for she was never trained in fighting skills before in her village.
Reese backed up a little, not even wincing at her punch. "You have a pretty strong punch for a girl who was never trained!" She smirked.
"You will never be able to kill me, Reese!" Maru yelled.
Specula suddenly dropped in front of her and used her tail to strike Maru in the stomach, making her crash into a tree.
Maru screamed and winced in pain as she slowly fell to the ground.
Reese and Specula walked towards her. "You have guts, kid. A lot of guts. But it's time to destroy my obstacle." Reese snapped her fingers. "Specula! Attack!"
Specula jumped high in the air, ready to land on her and squash Maru like a bug.
Maru raised her arms to protect herself. Please, help me…
Just then, she heard the sound of electrocution and Specula screaming. When Maru opened her eyes Specula was being flown back into a tree, tilting it over.
Maru got up, grabbed her bucket of water, and ran back as fast as she could without spilling any water.
Reese clenched her fists and growled, trying to blow off steam because of what happened to Specula. Within a few seconds, though, she calmed down and started laughing. It wasn't laughter of joy, but of pure evil. Nothing good came out of it.
She went back through the door of her hotel room, slammed it, and then leaned back on it and sighed.
Fiona, Van, and Thomas gave her a confused and blank look. All three blinked.
Maru blushed as she put the water bucket in its proper place. "Eheh…" she started. "I brought the water!" She looked at the nearest clock. "I wonder where Raven is…"
The door opened. In came Raven and Shadow.
Maru ran over and hugged him. "Hiya, Raven!" she said happily.
Shadow gave a look that looked like he despised it, but he made a small smile that wasn't noticeable thinking that the scene was too cute to get mad at; I mean, Raven was speechless and was blushing furiously as Maru still hugged him and was talking about the dinner and all that.
Thomas and Van looked at each other, already knowing what question they had in mind: Arrest Raven or not? Both shook their heads as they looked at Maru. Fiona saw this. She smiled. This will be one Christmas that I know we'll all enjoy…
"Okay!" Maru said as she brushed everything on the table aside and tried to put all the stuff on the table as fast as she could. Raven and Shadow were taking their time putting all the things on the table. Maru lightly slapped his back saying, "C'mon, Raven, I know you can do faster than that!" she giggled as she went back to setting the table.
Raven was blushing more and Shadow was just laughing. While Shadow was walking, Raven stuck his foot out, causing him to trip. The plate he was holding went flying, but Raven caught it with one hand. "Oops," Raven said jokingly as Shadow was belly down on the floor. The three adults in the GF were just laughing.
"Aw…" Maru said as she helped Shadow up. "I'm sorry…" She gave him a hug. Shadow stuck his tongue out when she wasn't looking and Raven put the stuff on the table and gave him the finger. Shadow fell backwards laughing.
Maru stood up quickly and backed up to Raven. "Is he okay?"
Raven laughed, one rare thing you'd see. "Yeah, he's okay, he just needs someone to check his sanity level…"
When they sat down to eat, Thomas asked, "Please don't tell me you're like Fiona and made all of these 'special'…"
Maru shook her head. "Naw, I'm not the person to load salt on things. That's why I bought a lot of salt earlier!"
The boys just looked at her as she poured a little bit of salt, tasted her food, then unscrewed the cap and put the whole thing in.
They blinked, but went back to eating anyway.
Suddenly, they hear someone chowing down on food like a wolf.
Ah, well, no duh, it was Van, eating a papaya and some chicken, then he stuffed himself with bread. With his mouth full, he said, "Hey Maru!" he swallowed. "I haven't eaten food this good in years! I remember when Fiona and I were trying to catch fish for our dinner! Ha!" Then he kept on eating.
After dinner, they were talking about some funny events, including the papaya and alligator trick that was played earlier. Zeeke was a total sucker for those kinds of stories.
Van pulled out a deck of cards and said, "You better bet papayas because I'm gonna win!"
Twenty minutes later…
Van sighed. "Hit me."
Raven drew him a card and gave it to him.
Shadow growled.
Raven drew him a card as well.
"Hit me," Maru said.
He drew her a card.
"Hit me," Thomas and Fiona said at the same time.
Zeeke poked Raven on the shoulder.
Raven gave them cards too.
"Everyone ready?" Raven asked.
They nodded.
Zeeke went first. 12.
Thomas and Fiona put down their cards. Both read 16.
Raven and Maru dropped their cards, both reading 19.
Van hit twenty. "Ha! I beat all of you!!!!!!!!!!"
Shadow poked him on the shoulder.
Van stopped his victory scream and looked at Shadow. "What?"
Shadow dropped his cards.
Van looked at them and fell over.
They all glanced over and they too fell. Shadow laughed hysterically as he collected Fiona's salt, Thomas' money, Zeeke's Zoid treats, Van's papaya's and Maru and Raven's couch. His cards? A and 10.
Van sat back up and whimpered. "C'mon, Shadow! That's the 50th time you've won! Give us a break!"
Shadow laughed evilly as he shook his head fast. He took the papaya and ate a big chunk of it. Van whimpered and begged him to give back the papaya, but Shadow had already eaten the whole thing.
Zeeke poked him on the shoulder. Shadow looked at him as he softly growled something. Shadow nodded and gave back Zeeke's Zoid treats.
Van screamed. "Zeeke! How come…! Aw, Shadow, I want my papaya back!"
Raven sighed. "Look, Van, that's not the only papaya around here."
Van grabbed Raven by the shoulders and shook him vigorously. "But that was the biggest papaya in the area! And I paid big bucks for it, too!"
"Well, that's the catch for gambling. It's a game of chance. Hey, Shadow, can we have the couch back? I'll buy you more treats when we stop by the store."
Shadow nodded quickly and Van fell over. "I don't think I'll survive…!"
Maru looked at the clock and yawned. "Why don't we exchange gifts now? I'm getting tired…"
"Me too…" Fiona said.
Thomas stood up. "I'm going first! This is for Fiona!" He ran out, then back in as he had the big papaya the he got before he fell into the ditch.
Fiona blushed. "Why, thank you, Thomas."
Van stood up and pointed to him. "Oh yeah?!? I've got an even better present!" He reached in his pocket and gave her the nicely wrapped gift.
Fiona opened it slowly because she liked the paper. There was a box. Fiona opened it and there was a saltshaker! You could twist one part of the top to close it, perfect for travel! Fiona hugged him and thanked him.
Van held up his index finger. "That's not all…" He went on one knee and took something from his bottom pocket. He opened up what he was holding and said, "Fiona, will you marry me?"
Fiona was flattered, surprised, and, well, blushing. She was also speechless, as I might add. All Fiona could do was nod.
Maru sighed in happiness as she was watching this. She leaned back on the couch, resting a bit on Raven. "That's so romantic, isn't it?"
Raven just looked at her, then back at Van who was putting the ring on Fiona's finger. "Yeah…I guess."
Fiona then walked up to Maru, full of delight. "Maru, I'm engaged to Van!"
Maru stood up and hugged her. "Congratulations! Oh my gosh, you need to invite me to your wedding! I'll make the food and everything!"
Fiona and Maru squealed before hugging each other again.
Fiona broke the hug. "Oh, yeah, I almost forgot!" She gave her a wrapped present. "It's from us. Open it."
Maru opened it, curious as to what it was. "Wow," she said. It was a nicely decorated glass picture frame. It was a little bigger than her hand, but there was no picture…
"I'm taking pictures now!" Fiona said. And there she was, telling the others to get in certain poses. Thomas and Van both had obnoxious grins on their faces, making the peace sign. There was another picture where Thomas was getting a noogie from Van and Raven and Maru were just in the background, laughing. Some others had two to three people, all in different poses and combinations of people. But lastly, Fiona took a few pictures of Raven and Maru together.
"Bai-Bai!!!" Maru said childishly as Fiona and the others waved and walked off to the place they were staying.
Raven had his arms wrapped around her neck as she closed the door. "Shadow has these treats that he likes, right?"
Raven nodded.
Maru pulled something out of the pantry. "I hope these will do! Shadow!" she called.
Shadow peeked a little out the door and saw Maru.
"I hope you like these. Merry Christmas!"
Shadow ran over and grabbed the rather large bag of treats, but nudged Maru a bit as a sign of gratitude as he went off to his room to enjoy what he won from gambling and the big bag of treats, growling in delight.
Maru yawned. "I'm sleepy…"
Raven lowered his head to whisper in her ear. "Don't get sleepy just yet Maru."
Maru let go of his light grip and walked over to the room that they were supposedly sharing. "C'mon Raven, I'm tired…"
Raven followed and wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close. "This is part of my Christmas present, but the real one might not come for a while…" He lifted her chin slightly and kissed her.
That warm embrace…the soft kiss…To Maru, she felt as light as a feather. To Raven, however, he felt that her lips were sweeter than honey and he wanted every last drop of it. It was driving him insane; his libido was going to run loose, but Raven tried his best to keep it in control. When Maru raised her hands up to his neck, he felt like he couldn't handle this feeling anymore. His lips trailed lower to her neck and Maru gasped. With every kiss he made, Maru whimpered softly. Her fingers ran through his hair. She felt his hands go under her shirt and on her back. Unable to stand anymore, she fell back onto the bed with Raven still kissing her…
And that night was one of the best for Maru.