Author Notes - Merry Christmas and all that! I'm maintaining my tradition of releasing a Christmas-themed Bubble Guppies fanfic for three years running. First it was 'Christmas Eve With Zooli', then it was 'Christmas Carol', and now it's time for a Secret Santa exchange! For once, I actually came up with this idea months in advance. Of course I only started doing proper work on it in December, but still!

Every Christmas story I've written has focused on a different character. That wasn't intentional, but I'm running with it. First it was Zooli, then it was Mr Grumpfish, and now it's both Deema and Nonny. Since I'm still stinging a little from my last 'Deema and Nonny' fic from way back when, I wanna make it clear that this isn't meant to be a shipping fic. If you wanna read it as a 'Neema' story, you're free to do so, but that was not my intent. It's very much just a friendship. And I chose Deema and Nonny because if it was Goby/Deema or Oona/Nonny, I don't think they'd have any issue coming up with gift ideas.

SECRET SANTA

Snow blanketed everything. The citizens wore their warmest coats. The sounds of carolling filled the streets and the smells of cinnamon filled the air. There was no doubt about it - Christmas was coming!

It was early December when the Bubble Guppies decorated their classroom with all sorts of decorations. Molly and Gil hung up lights. Goby cut out cardboard stars to put on the tree. Deema taped mistletoe to the walls. Oona and Zooli put little reindeer and elf toys everywhere. And Bubble Puppy slept by the fire.

Mr Grouper and Nonny, meanwhile, were working together to bake some Christmas cookies. Perhaps Christmas wasn't going to arrive for a little while, but that was no reason not to celebrate! The annual Christmas Eve sleepover was simply too far away to wait for.

The preparations were going normal (aside from Deema going a little wild after catching a whiff of the Christmas cookies), up until the end of the day. When Mr Grouper announced that they would be doing something a little different that Christmas. And what was that, you may ask? Then again, perhaps you're not asking because it's the title of the story. That being…

'A Secret Santa!' Mr Grouper announced, holding an upside-down hat.

A couple of the Guppies cooed with excitement, while a few of them looked a little confused but no less thrilled.

'A Secret Santa!' Deema said. 'That's a great idea, Mr Grouper!'

A few seconds of silence passed.

'Deema,' Molly said. 'You don't know what a Secret Santa is, do you?'

'Not a clue!' Deema admitted, rather cheerfully.

As always, she got the whole class laughing. Even Nonny cracked a little smile.

'It's simple,' Mr Grouper said. 'Each of you has to get a gift for one other person. But here's the fun part. You're the only one who knows who you're getting a present for! Not until after the presents are opened, anyway. In other words, you'll have no idea who's getting you your gift!'

'Oh!' Deema said. 'Hence the secret.'

'Yep! But if we don't organise it, well, it's gonna get confusing. So in this hat, I had written all your names down on pieces of paper. You'll reach in and pick a piece, and open it up when you get home.'

'Aw man,' Gil said. 'Why can't we open them up here? We gotta wait until we get home first?'

'You might risk spoiling the surprise if you opened them up here! Remember, who you get is who you get. No trades! But don't be afraid to ask for help if you're not sure what to buy.'

Molly giggled. 'That won't be a problem, Mr Grouper. We know each other so well!'

Each Guppy reached into the hat and grabbed a piece of paper. It took a lot of restraint not to open it up in the classroom, or while saying goodbye to Mr Grouper for the week. They all rushed home as fast as they could, and opened up their paper as soon as they got back to their rooms.

Molly read the name spelled out on her paper. Goby. She grinned. She got Goby! It didn't take long at all for her mind to be flooded with all sorts of gifts she could get for him. He had two main interests - rocks and construction work. Both provided her with endless options!

'Goby…' She murmured. 'He's gonna love whatever I give him!'

Goby stared at his piece of paper for a moment before opening it up. He already had a few ideas on what to get all his friends, but wasn't sure on any of them. It took a few seconds before he worked up the courage to read the name on the paper. Gil.

He laughed. 'Gil? Oh, that's so easy!'

Gil tore his paper open so quickly that he almost ripped it clean in half. Luckily, he could still read the name written on it. A small part of him was really hoping it'd be Molly, but he was ready for whatever name he got. Oona.

'Oona, huh?' He said, grinning. 'That shouldn't be hard.'

Oona didn't care whose name she got, even if she was secretly hoping it was going to be Nonny. It didn't really matter. All she cared about was bringing a smile to someone's face. So she was as happy as ever to read Zooli on the paper.

'Ooh, Zooli!' She said. 'There's so many things I could give her.'

Zooli didn't think she cared all too much about the 'suspense' leading up to opening the paper. At least until she got back to her room and glanced at the paper, when suddenly the thought scared her just a little. Who would she get? She opened up the paper slowly. Molly.

'Molly?' She said, before smiling widely. 'I get to buy a present for Molly!'

Deema hummed a Christmas carol to herself as she sat down on her bed and opened up her paper. She was brimming with confidence. If there was one thing she knew, it was how to deliver a good quality product to a loyal customer. There were no worries in her mind. Her eyes read the name. Nonny.

'Nonners!' She said. 'I can get him a, um…'

It was at that moment that she realised that she had just received the one name she didn't know what to do with. She had brilliant ideas for all of her friends, except for the quiet little kid who was totally different from her in every way. Quiet. Reserved. Knowledgeable. Stoic. Words that did not describe Deema at all.

'Wait…' She murmured. 'What do I get Nonny?'

At the same time, Nonny opened up his paper. The one he was hoping for was Oona, but he knew he could come up with something for any of them. With one exception, and of course, that one exception was the one written down on the paper in his hand. Deema.

'Oh no…' He said, quietly. 'Deema.'

Of all the Guppies, why her? Why the one Guppy he could never quite understand? Deema was spontaneous. Unpredictable. A wild card. What would the perfect gift for her even be?

Neither Guppy realised it, but they shared the same feelings of worry. The one Guppy they had no idea what to get for a gift, and it just so happened to be each other.

'OONA! OOOOOONAAAAAA!'

Oona awoke early the next day to someone banging very loudly on her door and shouting even louder than that. Her mothers and brother had intended on letting her sleep in a little, but this guest ruined that plan. As soon as her mothers opened the front door, Oona found that all that happened was that the knocking was now on her bedroom door.

'OOOONAAAA!'

Even with early morning fog surrounding her brain, Oona knew exactly who was banging on her bedroom door. Out of all the people she knew, there was only one possible option.

'Give me a minute, Deema!' She said. 'I just woke up!'

Oona got ready as quickly as she could, changing out of her pyjamas and making sure her hair was at least a little presentable. She attempted to put her hair in her signature pigtails, which she could do on her own but wasn't nearly as good at it as her brother was. It's not like she got very far anyway, before-

'OONA!'

-Deema broke into her room, slamming the door so fast that it smacked into the wall. It made Oona jump twice her height.

'Ah!' She yelled.

'Oh, sorry!' Deema said, swimming into the room. 'But it's a Christmas emergency! If I don't figure this out, it's going to be bad. No, not bad. Terrible. No, wait, not even terrible. It'll be a complete CATASTROPHE!'

'Deema!' Oona said, putting her arms up. 'Calm down. Breathe. What's the emergency?'

Deema took a deep breath, in through the nose and out through the mouth. The same way her (also very dramatic) mother taught her. She did it a few more times until she was calm again. For the most part.

'So, uh, you know about the Secret Santa thing, right?' She asked.

Oona giggled. 'Yeah! I'm not going to tell you who I'm shopping for, but I know they're going to like whatever I get them!'

'Yeah, uh, about that. I'm… having trouble.'

Oona gasped. Now this was a Christmas emergency! She invited Deema to sit down at the end of her bed, while Oona herself pulled up the chair from her desk to sit in front of her.

'I-I know we're not supposed to do this,' Deema said, rubbing the back of her neck. 'But I think I need to tell you who I'm buying for.'

'It's not for me, is it?' Oona said. 'Because it would be a little silly if you came to me for advice!'

'Oh, I have no idea who could've received your name. And getting a gift for you would be super easy anyway. No, the guy I have to get a gift is… is Nonny.'

'... Oh.'

Oona wasn't too surprised to hear that answer. There was a reason why the 'Neema' ship was a 'rarepair' in their fandom, and even those who did ship it usually did it comedically or admitted it was because of the contrast. Deema and Nonny were as opposite as you could get. One was loud, dramatic, and goofy. The other was quiet, stoic, and serious. Heck, they were the only two Guppies who didn't get along at all during their first day of school, at least initially.

But she was still a little surprised.

'Well, Nonny is pretty easy to shop for!' She said. 'He loves dinosaurs. They're what he loves most of all! You know that, right? Just get him something dinosaur related!'

'You think I haven't already thought about that?!' Deema said. 'Of course I thought about getting him dinosaur stuff! But the problem is… I have no idea what he does and doesn't have. All I know is that he's got a lot of stuff. So odds are, if I get him something dino-related, he's already going to have it! And do you know how embarrassing it is to receive a Christmas gift that you already have? It's mortifying!'

Oona frowned. Unfortunately, Deema was right. It was the Guppy's signature brand of 'Deema Logic', which often sounded strange on the surface but really made sense when you thought about it. And this certainly made sense.

'Yeah, that sounds like a problem,' Oona said. 'And you can't really go over to his place to see what he's got.'

'Absolutely not!' Deema said. 'Nonny's a smart kid. He'll figure out exactly what I'm trying to do before I even have the chance to learn anything! So any dinosaur stuff is striked out. But that makes a whole different problem. If you can't give Nonny a dinosaur thing, then what do you give him?'

'Think of other stuff that you know he likes. You've spent a lot of time around him. Try figuring that out on your own.'

Deema sat there, deep in thought. Usually she'd just go with the first thing that popped into her head to (usually) great results, but now she had to really think. And think hard. What else was their bespectacled friend into?

'Hmm… I know he likes knights,' She said. 'The kid is a knight, really! Officially by the queen and everything. His favourite style is casual. His favourite colour is orange. He doesn't like loud noises, but he loves a cloudy day. He doesn't like being near bees cos he's allergic to their stings. Oh, and he-'

Oona giggled. 'Sounds like you already know a lot about him!'

'Yeah, but I feel like I don't really know him for him. Ya know? He's a common customer to my shop, but I gotta know him better as a friend. I gotta-'

She gasped. An idea struck her. Good old 'Deema logic'!

'Thanks, Oona!' She said, standing up. 'I think I know what to do now. See ya later!'

'Wait, what are you-?' Oona asked.

Or at least she tried to. Deema was out the door, and out of the house, in a matter of seconds. Oona could only guess what Deema's plan was.

'... so I need your help.'

Nonny sat down on a chair in Goby's room. Unbeknownst to either of them, he had a very similar idea to Deema. He went straight to Goby's house and relayed his entire problem to him.

'I chose you because you know Deema really well,' He said. 'I know telling you sort of goes against the point of a Secret Santa, but I need help.'

'Mm-hm, okay,' Goby said, nodding. 'Having some trouble figuring out a gift idea, huh?'

'Yes,' Nonny said, nodding. 'Deema is a close friend of mine, but she is unpredictable. I can never guess what she will do next, and her mood changes a lot. It feels like she gets into a new thing every day. I don't know how to get a gift for someone who is so… random.'

'Yeah, makes sense. That's Deema for ya!' He chuckled. 'Being so wild and weird is what makes Deema, well, Deema! But yeah, it can make it hard to get her a gift. Just about anything will get her weeping tears of joy - so have a tissue box on standby - but it's tough to know what will really mean a lot to her.'

Nonny gulped. So far, all Goby had done was make his anxieties a little worse. The task ahead of him seemed treacherous, even more so than the wildest stories they'd play out on the playground. He couldn't help imagining getting Deema the wrong gift and making her cry tears of sorrow instead. It was a thought that made his heart sink.

'Hey, don't worry about it!' Goby said. 'You're a smart kid. The smartest kid I know! You'll figure it out. I just know it.'

Nonny slumped his head. 'Of all the Guppies to get, why Deema?'

'What do you mean?'

'Every other Guppy, I can think of something to get them. And yet, I ended up with the one I'm struggling with. And… And that means that Deema is stuck with me getting her a gift. That isn't fair. She should've gotten you.'

The way Nonny spoke about himself did not make Goby happy. He knew that if Deema was there, she'd grab Nonny by the shoulders and tell him to get himself together, launching into this big dramatic speech about how awesome he is and how he could do this easily. But, obviously, Deema wasn't there. So Goby went about it in a much calmer manner.

'Don't say that about yourself,' He said. 'You're kind, clever, and Deema would not want to hear you talking like this. You can do this.'

'B-But what if I fail?' Nonny asked. 'What if I get her a terrible gift? Or what if I can't think of anything at all and show up empty-handed?'

'Deema's a ray of sunshine. She can handle it. Yeah, she might be sad at first, but you know her. She bounces back like a rubber ball.'

'I don't wanna make her sad at all. Everyone else will be getting cool gifts. It won't be fair if she doesn't get one.'

'You won't make her sad anyway! Just knowing that you tried so hard to get her a good gift will be enough to make her happy.'

'But she deserves more than that.' He paused, for a long while. 'Can you just tell me what to get her?'

Goby cringed. Nonny's voice was as inexpressive as his face, but there was always a way to tell. A subtle way that strangers wouldn't be able to identify, but his friends could see and hear with no effort at all. There was the slightest tremble in his voice.

'I could,' He said. 'But it's a gift from you.'

'Please,' Nonny said. 'Tell me. I don't want to disappoint her.'

'Hm… Tell you what. There's still some time before Christmas. Think about it. If you really can't come up with anything in the next week or so, come back to me. I'll give you some good ideas. That way, if you're still struggling, you don't have to worry about disappointing her.'

The smallest smile you can imagine flashed upon Nonny's face briefly. 'Thank you, Goby. That really helps.'

'But I don't think you'll have any trouble. You're not just smart. You're kind. You weren't dubbed 'Sir Nonny the Nice' for nothing!'

Nonny left Goby's house feeling apprehensive. He snuggled up tight into his winter clothes and disembarked on his journey back home. As usual, Bubbletucky was receiving very little snow this early in December. Some, but only a little. Didn't make the air any less chilly. The sky was clouded over. Just the way he liked it.

He took a deep breath of the brisk air and started his journey back home. Maybe he could ask his parents about it, even though they knew Deema even less than he did. He let out a sigh just thinking about it.

'Hey, Nonners!'

He came to a dead stop. That voice, that nickname… It came from right behind him. There was only one person in the whole ocean who would greet him like that. He wasn't surprised at all when he turned around.

'H-Hello, Deema.'

There she was. Standing right there, all dressed up for winter. Tiny specks of snow visible on her hair. Thank the cods that he wasn't very expressive, or she'd be able to read the nerves all over his face. He liked to imagine, anyway. Why her? Why now?

'It's a lovely winter day, isn't it?' Deema said, looking around. 'Nice cold air, not too much sun, teeny tiny bits of snow everywhere… How about we take a walk together?'

Nonny's heart began to race. The universe was after him today. First he ended up with a bad choice by sheer luck, and now Deema wanted to take a walk with him? He almost said no. He wanted to say no. But she had that smile he loved so much on her face. A smile so bright and happy that it probably could've melted snow. If he was going to disappoint her with his gift, he certainly wasn't going to disappoint her now.

'Yes,' He said. 'I would like that.'

'Alright!' Deema said. 'Hey, your home's pretty far from here, isn't it? Maybe I could take you there!'

'That is fine with me.'

What Nonny didn't realise, however, was that Deema was just as nervous as he was. If not more so. Her insides were a bubbling mess of stress. But you wouldn't have been able to tell just by looking at her. Her body language and expression exuded joy and confidence. She was using every single bit of her acting prowess, as per her plan. A little walk with Nonny was sure to reveal what he wanted for Christmas! And maybe, it'd make it a little easier for him to figure out his own present. The thought of whoever he was shopping for getting the perfect gift tempered her stress just a little.

Of course, she had no idea that he was shopping for her, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

'Ya know,' Deema said, less than a minute into their 'walk'. 'I don't think we hang out very often.'

'We do,' Nonny said. 'I go to your shop a lot.'

'Yeah, but I mean like friends. When you drop by my shop, you're more of a customer than a real friend. You show up, you ask for something, I take a lot longer to serve you than I probably should,' She stopped to laugh at her own joke. 'And as soon as you get what you came for, you leave. Not really a proper friend-to-friend talk, is it now?'

'I… guess not.'

'Exactly! So I thought it'd be a nice idea to hang out for a bit. Even if it's only for about ten minutes or something.'

Nonny flashed her a little smile. It wasn't a smile that happened on its own, but he wanted her to know that he really did like her company. In spite of how wildly different they were as people. Or, perhaps, because of how different they were.

The quickest way to Nonny's house from Goby's was through the downtown area. Which was looking positively beautiful at that time of year. Like it always did. The citizens all walked around with smiles on their faces, dressed up in garish but colourful Christmas sweaters. The streets were decorated with lights and wreaths, and the smell of Christmas baking was so heavy in the air that Deema could feel her stomach rumbling.

'Mmm… smells like Christmas,' She said.

'Uh, Deema,' Nonny said, pointing to her mouth. 'You're drooling a little.'

'Wait, I am?!'

She wiped the corner of her mouth, and went bright red when she saw a tiny bit of spit on the back of her hand. But, being Deema, she simply laughed it off.

'Hey, it's not my fault that those cookies and cakes smell so good!' She said. 'I think we better get outta here as soon as possible. Otherwise, I might flood the whole town with my drool!'

She laughed at her own joke once again, but all Nonny could do was wince. That was a mental image he'd rather go without. Yet another thing about Deema that astounded him. It seemed like what she found 'funny' or 'too gross to laugh at' varied as wildly as the rest of her did. But he could certainly agree with her point, so the two Guppies swam through the town and refused to stop once. Though Nonny did have to pull Deema back once or twice to make sure that she didn't run into a bakery and end up eating all the baked goods.

'Deema, be careful,' He said. 'Or you'll start a famine.'

He was a little proud of himself for that one. He didn't make jokes very often, or delivered his jokes in a very dry tone, but that didn't mean he wouldn't tell one now and then.

'Oh dang,' Deema said. 'Start a famine? That would be a terrible mistake.'

She stared at him. He stared at her.

'What's a famine?' Deema asked, after an uncomfortably long silence.

'A famine is when there isn't enough food to feed everyone,' Nonny replied. 'Usually in a town or a country.'

'Oh.' She laughed. 'Alright, your joke makes a little more sense now!'

Though he was happy that she found the joke funny in the end, Nonny had a feeling she wasn't so happy about it. The pause between his joke and her asking what he meant had been too long. He was certain she must've been embarrassed to have to ask that. Judging by the slight reddening on her cheeks, it seemed his guess was correct.

'It's okay not to know some things,' He said, perhaps a little bluntly.

'I know that,' Deema said, sighing. 'But it seems like you know everything. I think you asked a question, like, once. And that was it. I wish I knew a lot of stuff like you do, but I don't know much at all.'

Nonny got in front of her and stopped her from moving another inch forward.

'That isn't true,' Nonny said. 'You're smart. Don't think you're not.'

'Nonners, let's be real here,' Deema said. 'Yeah, when it comes to ideas, I'm great at 'em. A little bit of Deema Logic goes a long way! But when it comes to words and stuff, I'm hopeless. I wish I knew as many words as you do…'

Nonny's eyes widened, just a little. With how confident and bold Deema was (just about the only thing about her that was consistent), he'd never imagined she'd have insecurities like that underneath her curly surface.

'But let's not worry about that!' Deema said. 'I'm here to get you home. Not ramble on and on about my own problems. Come on!'

Deema had moved on from the discussion, but Nonny hadn't. The things that one little walk could reveal. And it had given him an interesting idea for his Secret Santa. Still, he wasn't certain. Whatever idea he had, though, seemed perfect for Deema's inner predicament. So long as she didn't change her mind between this little walk and Christmas.

Maybe he should call Goby, in order to check?

'Hey, speaking of,' Deema said as they approached a crossroad. 'If I'm gonna ramble about my problems, you should too! You know, if ya want to.'

'Oh, uh,' Nonny stammered. 'Well-'

The light on the crossing turned red, and the cars prepared to drive off. One car in particular must've had a powerful engine, because it boomed like thunder. Deema loved the loudness and laughed along, but Nonny certainly didn't. He clamped his hands over his ears to block out the noise as much as possible, only to find that it only blocked out about half of it. The car zoomed by, no less loudly than before. Deema, recognising his distress, grabbed him by the shoulders and carefully pulled him away.

She waited until the car had zoomed away entirely and Nonny removed his hands from his ears before she said anything.

'You okay there, Nonners?' She asked.

'I'm… okay,' Nonny replied. 'I don't like loud noises.'

Deema huffed. Yet another difference between the two of them. One of them embraced loud noises and loved it when they were unexpected. The other was terrified of them and stressed out when they came out of nowhere. She knew that already, but it wasn't often the problem faced her front-and-centre like this. Poor guy… if only there was a solution.

'If I wasn't so scared of loud noises,' Nonny continued. 'I'd be able to go out more.'

Suddenly, Deema gasped. Lightbulb! The perfect gift for a guy who didn't like loud noises!

'... What's wrong?' Nonny asked, unsure as to why she gasped.

'N-Nothing!' Deema said, doing a poor job of convincing him. 'If you're good to go, then we can keep going. After all, the longer you stay here, the more noises you're gonna have to deal with.' She paused. 'Hey, do you have any headphones or earmuffs or something?'

'Not really, no. Why do you ask?'

'No reason at all!'

Nonny cocked an eyebrow. Deema seemed to be acting even more… Deema-ish than usual. Was she his Secret Santa? He brushed that thought away. After all, what were the odds that they happened to get each other? Besides, this was Deema "You've Certainly Come to the Right Place" Swimmer. As far as Nonny was aware, she'd have no trouble at all.

If only he knew about the inner turmoil she was going through, debating if her choice of gift was even slightly good.

The annual Christmas Eve sleepover had arrived. The day when the Guppies stayed the night with Mr Grouper so they could celebrate Christmas together before heading home to celebrate with their families. Cookies were eaten, carols were sung, snowballs were thrown (Oona was the winner this time around), and - with hot chocolates warming them up through their stomachs - it was time to open the gifts.

Each Guppy had wrapped their present up in secret, with them all agreeing to use the same kind of wrapping paper so it was impossible to tell which one was bought by who. Most of them were a little nervous, but none more so than Deema and Nonny. Totally unaware that they had been given each other, they sat there by the tree trying their best not to let it show.

Deema glanced over to Oona. Nonny to Goby. They both received a reassuring smile in return. It did little to help their nerves. Especially since Nonny hadn't quite worked up the courage to tell Goby about his idea.

'So here's how it's going to work!' Mr Grouper said. 'We all take our gifts and open 'em up at the same time. And then, just for fun, you'll try to guess who got you your present!'

'What are we waiting for?' Zooli said. 'Let's open 'em up!'

Each Guppy swam to the tree and grabbed their present from the pile while Mr Grouper tossed Bubble Puppy a very chewy bone. Bits of torn wrapping paper scattered through the air and onto the floor. It didn't take long at all for the first Guppy to tear through his wrapping paper.

'Oh, cool!' He said, lining up three books. 'The whole 'Secret Agent Stories' trilogy. No more having to borrow them from the library!'

The next one, perhaps not-so-surprisingly, was Oona. There was a small box inside and she tossed the lid over her shoulder. Almost hitting Bubble Puppy. Inside were plenty of packets. Seed packets, each for a lovely species of flower of all sorts of colours.

'Seeds!' She cried, holding the box up. 'Oh, I love it!' (She didn't see Gil beaming like the sun.)

Zooli's gift was also in a box, and when she opened it up she wasn't sure what it was at first. A couple little castles, a tiny ceramic recreation of SpongeBob's pineapple, a bag full of multi-coloured pebbles… But the longer she looked, the more she understood it.

'It's all for Zelda's tank!' She said. 'She's going to love this!'

Molly opened up her gift carefully, revealing a toy packaging. But it wasn't just a toy. It was a detailed figurine. And it wasn't just any ordinary figurine. It was a figurine of none other than Stylee, depicting her wigless 'Stylee Style'. As soon as Molly laid her eyes on it, she - and Mr Grouper too - unleashed a squeal so joyous and so high-pitched that it's a miracle that the windows didn't shatter.

'OHMYGOSH!' She yelled. 'I didn't even know they had made a figurine of this style yet!'

Goby unwrapped the paper from his present carefully, partially because it was really pretty and he wanted to make some crafts with it. So he was one of the last to open his gift. The box made a curious rattling sound that made Goby's intense imagination come up with all sorts of ideas. When he opened up the box, he was greeted with loads and loads of LEGO pieces. Pieces of all colours and sizes. Enough pieces to make almost anything he'd ever want.

'Awesome!' He said. 'Finally, enough pieces to really work with!'

That left Deema and Nonny, who were so distracted by their own nerves that they almost forgot to open their own gifts. As soon as Deema remembered what she was supposed to be doing, she ripped through the paper like a shark devouring its prey. … Uh, perhaps not the best metaphor to use. It turned out to be a book. But not a fun fiction book collection like Gil's present. A big, hulking book almost an inch thick. There were a few words on the cover, but one was particularly prominent - DICTIONARY.

'A dictionary?' Deema said, lifting it up. 'Hmmm…'

Nonny's heart almost exploded. She wasn't smiling. Oh no. Oh nooooo. She didn't like it. The other Guppies seemed to agree, because almost all of them had confused and incredulous looks on their faces.

'A dictionary?' Molly said. 'That's a weird gift for her.'

'Did she get Nonny's gift by mistake?' Zooli asked.

But one Guppy wasn't making that face, and that was Goby. He was smiling. It was the one thing that stopped Nonny from completely losing it and being overwhelmed by the sensation of a grave failure. And right before Nonny was about to apologise for his bad idea-

'I LOVE IT!' Deema shouted, suddenly.

Nonny almost had a heart attack. So did most of the other Guppies. And Mr Grouper. Heck, even Goby wasn't quite expecting that kind of response.

'You… You do?' Gil asked.

'Yeah!' Deema said. 'I'm not very good at knowing words. But a dictionary is full of words! If I read this enough, then I'll be good with words just like Nonny is! I-It's so… n-nice!'

Nonny saw the tears beginning to gather in the corners of her eyes. Happy tears. No one seemed to notice that he was blushing. Even when everyone looked to him, since he was the only one who hadn't opened his present yet. And who was he to keep them waiting?

Inside his wrapping paper was a branded box. And on that box was a big picture of what it contained: headphones. A pair of headphones with a little fluff on the earmuffs, and the ability to connect to almost any music-making device. But that wasn't all. Advertised right there on the box, was the noise-cancelling feature. Now, 'noise-cancelling' wasn't perfect. It really only blocked constant background noise, like chatter or rumbling machinery. But anything not cancelled-out would still be dampened by how thick the earmuffs were.

'I like it!' He said, raising his voice just a little higher than usual.

When he expressed an excitement he so rarely expressed, the others knew that he loved it. And Deema almost fainted on the spot.

'Well, looks like our first ever Secret Santa was a successful one!' Mr Grouper said. 'Now it's time for us to guess. Just say the name of the Guppy you think got you your gift, and then we'll see if you're right after everyone's had a guess!'

Nonny looked at the gift in his hands, trying to figure out who it was.

'Gil!' Molly said. 'It had to have been my Gilly!'

Oona giggled, looking at the way Gil smiled sheepishly at her. 'I dunno, Molly. I'm pretty sure Gil got my gift!'

His first guess was Oona, of course, the Guppy in the class who knew him the best.

'I was gonna say Gil,' Goby said. 'But Oona sounds pretty sure of herself. So, I'm gonna guess… Molly? I know one of her cousins really likes LEGO too.'

Receiving headphones was kind of funny, actually. Only a few days ago, Deema had randomly asked if he had any headphones. What a coincide- His eyes widened, just a bit. Deema had asked if he had headphones already, completely out of the blue. And she had seemed rather nervous after he gave his answer.

'Oona for me!' Zooli said. 'She always knew what was best for animals.'

'Molly has to be mine, right?' Gil said. 'She knows me way too well for it to be anyone else.'

Zooli chuckled. 'The odds of you getting each other aren't very high.'

No one had guessed Deema or Nonny. None of them seemed to realise what that meant. He could hardly believe what was happening, but the clues were adding up. Deema was HIS Secret Santa!

THEY GOT EACH OTHER!

'As for my gift,' Deema said, blissfully unaware of the situation. 'Goby's the only one around here who would know that I'd want a dictionary. I don't talk about those kinds of things to just anyone!'

Nonny's face was so stoic that no one noticed his internal spiralling. Certainly not Deema.

'Who do you think your Secret Santa is, Nonny?' Mr Grouper asked.

Nonny almost forgot to say something. He knew that as soon as he gave out his guess, he'd cause Deema to freak out when she managed to put two-and-two together. So his voice came out a little quiet as he spoke,

'Um… Deema?'

'Deema, huh?' Zooli said. 'Huh. I thought you would've said Oona or something. After all, I could be wrong!'

Deema chuckled. 'You guessed me? You know, that's really funny, cos I-'

She stopped herself from giving away her 'secret' too early, not because she realised she was about to but because she gasped very loudly. Nonny could practically pin-point the exact moment that she realised the same thing he did.

'Now that we've all made our guesses,' Mr Grouper said. 'It's time to see if you were right! Molly, who'd you get a gift for?'

'Goby got it right!' Molly said. 'It was from me! My cousin Myra has so many LEGO pieces that she donated a whole bunch.'

Goby did a little fist-pump, looking very proud of himself. There may have been a little blush on his cheeks if his skin wasn't too dark to show it.

'Aw man,' Gil said, in exaggerated and fake disappointment. 'And here I thought Molly and I got each other.'

'So you got Molly, then?' Goby asked. 'Cos I got you.'

Gil responded with a laugh. 'Nah, I didn't get her. I just thought it'd be funny! No, I, uh…' He laughed with embarrassment. 'Oona was right.'

'I knew it!' Oona said. 'I could tell by that look you were giving me that it had to be you! And speaking of being right, Zooli nailed it!'

Zooli gasped. 'I did? Oh, that's awesome!'

'So who got me?' Molly asked.

Zooli wanted to keep it quiet for a bit, to build up the suspense, but she couldn't handle it. Not when her recipient was her idol!

'IT WAS ME!' Zooli said, practically squealing. 'I was the one who got you that Stylee figurine!'

'Well, good job, Zooli!' Molly said. 'Good call in choosing something Stylee related!'

'Wait, hold on,' Goby said. 'So, I got Gil. Gil got Oona. Oona got Zooli. Zooli got Molly. And Molly got me. It's a whole circle! But that's only five of us. There's just two left. Which means that-'

One by one, the Guppies realised something. That same something that Deema and Nonny had already figured out. The five others, and Mr Grouper, slowly glanced over to Deema and Nonny like there was a ghost behind them. Even Oona and Goby couldn't believe that they got each other, since they had never talked between them about the issue. And why would they? They had no reason to assume that they were both in that position.

'With only two Guppies left…' Molly said. 'The only possibility is-'

'That they got each other?!' Gil cried.

Deema and Nonny went bright red. Well, that confirmed it then. With only two Guppies outside of that 'loop', it was indeed the only possibility.

'Y-Yep,' Deema said. 'I got Nonny. And by the looks of it, Nonny got me.'

'Y-Yes,' Nonny said, unable to say much else.

'Now wait a minute!' Zooli said, putting her arms up. 'You two got… each other? Each other. The only two members of this band who have almost nothing in common, who are as different as day and night… got each other. And somehow, despite being so wildly different in every way, they not only managed to come up with ideas for gifts but also got gifts that worked out really well?!'

'W-Well,' Deema said. 'Oona helped.'

'G-Goby helped out a lot as well,' Nonny said. 'I, uh, didn't realise how similar our circumstances were.'

Deema laughed. 'We even solved the problem the same way! Maybe we're not so different after all.'

She opened up the dictionary and flicked through the pages, managing to read a surprising amount of words in a very small amount of time. A big advantage of having a brain that ran as fast as hers, even if retaining the information could be tough for her.

'How'd ya come up with the idea of a dictionary in the first place?' She asked. 'I mean, I thought Goby was the only one who knew that I wanted to know more words like you. And most people would never even think to get me something like this!'

'Uh, during our walk,' Nonny replied. 'After I made the joke about the famine, you admitted to me that you don't know a lot of words and that upset you. So I thought that you might like a dictionary, so you wouldn't have to rely on me to learn new words.'

'T-That's… that's so SWEET of you!'

Uh oh. Just as Goby warned him. Tears were coming to her eyes again, except this time they were threatening to fall for real. Goby knew this was going to happen and had already fetched a box of tissues for her. Right on time, too, because suddenly those tears were running down her face like a dam had collapsed.

'Y-YOU LISBENED BO BE AND GOB BE A BIG-TION-ARY!' Deema wailed.

She was sobbing tears of joy so hard that Nonny could barely understand her. Another thing that made the two of them so different. Nonny hardly ever expressed his emotions, though he certainly felt them, while Deema expressed her emotions in extremes. Tears were trickling down so fast that they could fill up a river, and Nonny tried not to wince when he realised that her nose was running quite a lot too.

Goby handed her the tissue box and she took the whole thing, ploughing through about five tissues in one minute. Mr Grouper had to grab the bin and move it closer to her, so she wouldn't just leave the (very soaked) tissues on the floor. Before swimming off back to his spot, Goby leaned over to Nonny.

'You did good, Nonny,' He whispered, while Deema blew her nose very loudly. 'She really loves it.'

Nonny smiled. 'Thank you.'

After five more tissues later, Deema finally got her emotions under control. She opened up to a random page in the book, still sniffling a little but beaming like the sun. It had been opened to the 'G's.

'H-Hey,' She said, sniffling again. 'Here's a word that suits really well. Grat-i-tude. To have gratitude means being thankful. I-I have so much gratitude, Nonners!'

Nonny blushed, hard. 'Y-You're welcome. And, uh, thanks for the headphones.'

'So how'd you figure out it was me anyway?'

'The same day you told me you'd like to know more words, you nervously asked me if I already had any good headphones. When I saw that my present was headphones, I thought it must've been you. I wondered if you were my Secret Santa, but I dismissed it. It didn't seem likely. But, uh, I was right.'

'Ooh, you're clever! I never would've figured that out. You- Hold on,' She flickered back and forth through the pages. 'You must have a lot of in-telly-gents to figure that one out!'

Since she was using his gift, Nonny decided to use hers. He took the headphones out of the box and placed them upon his ears. They were a wonderful fit, and so comfortable too. The few headphones he had tried before always rested awkwardly on his (slightly larger than average) ears, but these were so soft and warm. Even without the batteries needed to power the noise-cancelling, they already dampened the noises of the other Guppies chattering.

'They're working good, right!' Deema said, raising her voice quite a bit.

'I can hear you just fine, Deema,' Nonny said. 'No need to yell.'

'Oh. Sorry. But they're working, right? I know they need a battery to really do their thing, but-'

'They're working well.'

A simple response like that may not sound like much, but Deema knew it meant a lot coming from Nonny. It almost turned the waterworks on again. And she would've started crying profusely for a second time had Mr Grouper not interrupted.

'Now that our first Secret Santa has concluded,' He said. 'I think it's time for Christmas cookies!'

'Christmas cookies?!' Deema and Nonny shouted at once excitedly.

Zooli chuckled. 'Looks like you guys do have something in common after all!'

THE END!

Author Notes - I've always liked putting Deema and Nonny together in scenes due to their contrast. That was why when I wrote 'Get Ready for School', I chose to have them struggle to get along at first. So finally, here's an entire fic about that contrast! But perhaps they're not so different after all. Once again, this was intended to be platonic rather than romantic, but you can read it as you see fit.

While I obviously chose for Deema and Nonny to get each other, the other Guppies were chosen at random. Like with 'Christmas Eve With Zooli', I thought a lot about what gifts to give them, with most of them being references to the show. The most interesting 'pair-up' ended up being Gil getting a present for Oona, I think.

By the way, 'Deema Logic' is a direct reference to 'Luigi Logic' from Mario & Luigi: Brothership, a game I have been playing a lot and recently finished. Had a fantastic time with it, and I couldn't help noticing that both Luigi and Deema have a 'really goofy and dopey on the surface but great at wild yet brilliant ideas' thing going on.