Disclaimer: I do not own anything.
So here's another chapter of the winter challenge. Reminder that this doesn't have a beta reader to edit grammar and stuff. Sorry it took so long! I was sick.
The prompt was books.
Kululu looked at his co-worker annoyed. She was supposed to be doing her part of the work and working on some vital documents, but just like most of the pekoponians she had become possessed by something the others had called the Christmas spirit. It was frightening.
Instead of looking over paperwork or re-programming errors or communicating with business owners to get some materials, instead he had found another book in her hands. She was reading another pathetic Christmas story. This was the fifth time this week he had found her reading one of those books that had some sort of meaningless lesson or some sort of crap like that.
"Mois, I thought we talked about this." Kululu scolded. "You can read if you wish, even if your tastes are terrible in literature, just not during work."
Angol Mois frowned. "Sorry!" She apologized quickly. "It's just I really wanted to get some reading done before Christmas passes. The Pekoponians have some interesting literature... Some real classic Christmas stories."
Kululu frowned. He didn't really know much about these stories despite the bare minimum. He knew the plot but he hadn't actually ever wasted his time on them. After all, Christmas wasn't a holiday he cared about or celebrated. It was a purely pekoponian holiday and he didn't really understand why Angol Mois was so interested in it.
"Oh?" Kululu raised a brow, ready to tease her. "There is one story I could understand you feeling an interest towards...I assume you've already read the Grinch?" He smirked largely.
Angol Mois frowned. "Kululu, just because they're both green doesn't mean anything!"
"Did you enjoy that one? About a mean, green, childish monster who steals everybody's toys because he himself doesn't like the holiday?" Kululu teased. He could imagine if Keroro wasn't so materialistic trying to ruin Christmas just because he himself didn't enjoy it.
"Uncle and the Grinch are nothing alike!" Angol Mois cried. "And I didn't enjoy that Christmas story."
"Too many similarities to your beloved Uncle?" Kululu teased again. Angol Mois frowned but neither confirmed or denied anything. Kululu assumed he had won that fight.
She finally just stopped speaking to Kululu about the subject, putting her book down and going back to work. Kululu wondered if he should tease her again, but maybe she finally had the idea to stop reading books on the job.
There were a few moments of awkward silence, but finally Kululu decided to bring the subject up again when he saw Angol Mois's hand inching towards her book again, another one of those disgusting Christmas classics- A Christmas Carol.
"Why are you even in this weird Christmas spirit?" Kululu asked, confused. "I mean, let's be real, Mois. You're the most alien of us. Not only an alien to the pekoponians, you're an alien to us keronians. You're not even a native of this dimension! So why have you bonded to this holiday so intensely? It just doesn't make sense. What makes you feel so connected to this dumb holiday?" Kululu asked with genuine curiosity. He could see her look a little shocked at the accusation of her alienness, and almost a little hurt. But it was true. She wasn't connected to the humans or the keronians. Neither of their holidays were hers. And Kululu hadn't celebrated many Angolian holidays, he was still carefully trying to figure out about them and gather information on them before offering to celebrate with her. So he really did wonder why she was making an attempt to get into the spirit of a holiday that she probably didn't fully understand or have any connection to.
After all, she was reading more Christmas books than the Pekoponians or even Keroro with his child-like wonder.
Angol Mois looked startled at his accusation, but finally spoke after stuttering for a moment. "I...I don't feel connected to the holiday." She admitted, putting the book finally down.
"You could have fooled me. You seem more excited for it than Fuyuki and Keroro combined." Kululu pointed out. "You've read so many lame Christmas classics this week that I wonder if there's any others left for you to read."
Angol Mois frowned. She hadn't finished the one she was currently reading, but she didn't know if that counted. "I really don't feel connected to the holiday though. I like the nice parts of it, the romantic ideas of exchanging a gift with a lover, but the rest of the stuff I don't get at all. I just thought that if I got in the spirit of it and tried to read about it, than maybe I could understand what the pekoponians enjoy about the holiday. Because I really don't get it." Angol Mois admitted.
Kululu was a little surprised that she had honestly admitted that she didn't understand the holiday. That she was feeling a disconnect because she was an alien.
"There's no reason to force yourself to feel connected to the holiday. I mean you're not a pekoponian. Maybe you'll never feel a connection to it, just like me. I mean, this planet is going to be destroyed by you someday anyway. Is there a real reason to try to understand their holidays?" Kululu tried to give her both logic and make her feel not so different for feeling disconnected.
Angol Mois nodded. "That's the exact reason." She put her book down and left, feeling a bit down.
And Kululu watched her go.
He tried to put the pieces together. Tried to process it and figure it out. The exact reason for her to be in the Christmas spirit was because of how she was going to destroy the planet?
He supposed it made a little bit of sense. After all she had been on Pekopon for a while. A long time for her. Maybe she wanted to preserve the culture in her own little way through books. Stories were easy to transport, to memorize.
She was going to have to destroy the planet, but she could still save a tiny bit of the culture. Even if it was weird holiday stories.
So that was why she was feeling so desperate to connect. She felt like if she had sacrificed a portion of her life to be on Pekopon that people should remember the people of the planet, and perhaps she could pass on the stories. But one couldn't properly pass on those things if they themselves didn't understand.
She was too good of a person. Attempting things that really weren't necessary. And Kululu couldn't relate at all even if he could understand.
He did feel a little guilty for being harsh on her. He had just assumed she was in some sort of high on this Christmas spirit. But she was just feeling as disconnected as him, trying desperately to figure out how to fix that disconnect. But since the holiday meant nothing to either of them there was no real way to fix that disconnect. It was just a hopeless attempt.
And he didn't know if he should tell her that or let her keep on struggling.
"You forgot your book." Kululu sighed. The interesting thing about his relationship with Angol Mois, or the uninteresting thing depending on if you asked Kululu, was how incredibly weak he was towards her. He felt things like guilt if she was sad or fear if she was unhappy. And he tried to fix it.
"Thanks." Angol Mois took her book back from Kululu. He stood at her doorway for an awkward moment, before clearing his throat.
He knew he should tell her the truth. That perhaps she'd never really feel connected to Christmas, but that was okay because it wasn't a holiday special to her, but he didn't want to hurt her feelings. Sometimes truth was a bit harsh.
"So you're trying to read Pekoponian Christmas tales to understand the holiday and preserve the culture?" Kululu finally asked.
Angol Mois gave a quick nod. "I just thought it was something I could do, I mean everybody else- Uncle specifically, seems to love this holiday so much. But I just feel-"
"Apathy." Kululu finished. He understood the feeling. It was his feeling towards most good things. But apathetic was something he would never use to describe Angol Mois. He sighed. "Fine, fine, you can read your book. Is this one the last one?"
Angol Mois nodded. "The last popular one I can find. It's apparently got a better moral lesson than the Nutcracker."
She had found a book adaption of the Nutcracker? That surprised Kululu. He decided not to tell her it was originally a ballet. He didn't need her re-watching everything as movies.
"W-want to read it together?" Kululu finally suggested, "The one you're currently reading, I mean. Not the Nutcracker."
Angol Mois looked shocked that Kululu was offering to help her with her reading. "Why?" She asked.
"Maybe you're feeling a disconnect from the stories because you can't connect with them. Sometimes it helps to fix that by going to a book club or talking to someone about the book. It's supposed to psychologically ignite passion for the literature, even if the literature is not the best." He could probably look at the book as if he was reading something bad. "Or maybe you just need a positive experience to go along with the story, to make it look less grueling of a task. I mean I can totally understand why you wouldn't like these books. Ku, ku, ku. And hanging out with me would definitely make them a lot better." Kululu joked.
Angol Mois smiled. "I would love to read the book with you. I think you'd actually enjoy it a lot. The main character in this one is in a circumstance I could see you in."
Kululu doubted that. After all this book was about someone learning a moral lesson, something he'd never learn. He sighed and decided to just get through it and pretend. "I'm pretty sure that book just preys upon innocent jerks who just want to hoard their money like a normal person. But you can make your case when we're done."
Angol Mois squealed and picked Kululu up to gently drop him onto her bed so that she could sit on it with him and read the book with him.
Kululu sighed. He was in for a long and boring story, but he knew it wouldn't be all bad. After all, spending time with another person did usually make tasks enjoyable.
And if Angol Mois could make work a good experience, she could make Christmas books good too. So Kululu was willing to do this.
And he tried not to cuddle up against her as he listened to her read.
They were in for a long story. But at least as Kululu listened he knew he was helping Angol Mois get more connected to Pekopon, to feel like she could participate in some of their holidays.
"Truth be told, Valentine's Day is actually my favorite of the holidays. I celebrate that one not because I want to preserve a culture, but because it's actually fun!" Angol Mois admitted at the end of the book. "Maybe for that holiday, we could read some stories too?"
Kululu groaned. As he had suspected, his good deed had been taken advantage of. And now he was trapped. He has assumed she just felt like an outsider, but she was as normal as they came. She probably wanted to experience more of the romance of Christmas.
Although he didn't fully regret reading with Angol Mois, he did feel a little frightened. And he hoped this didn't become a new tradition for them. At least she wasn't looking like she felt so disconnected and curious.
And honestly he was happy for that. Even if he had had to listen to a reading of a book that was like reading through molasses. Not the most pleasant experience.
Please review!
Sorry for the bad quality. I've been super dizzy all day for some reason. At least I finished the one-shot though!
I haven't actually read a Christmas Carol, but I read a different Charles Dickens story which was...Like reading through molasses.