Written for animeandvideogamesandstuff for the secret santa on tumblr

It was while watching television that Pearl Fey hatched the most brilliant and ingenious plan a nine year old could hatch. It was the first time Pearl had been in the city at Christmas time and Mystic Maya had promised to show her the large Christmas tree in the centre of town. But not before she cleaned Mr. Nick's office. He'd gone out attending to 'lawyer business' and after over an hour of waiting, Mystic Maya had grown extremely bored. She'd decided that shredding all of Mr. Nick's old files into small pieces was the appropriate way of making up for that lack of real snow outside. And a very annoyed Mr. Nick had charged her with the clean up.

The latest episode of Kid's Masterpiece Theatre ended, but Mystic Maya hadn't finished her chore. Pearl had offered her assistance, but her cousin had waved her away, telling her to relax and watch some more TV.

Pearl resettled herself on the couch. A new show had just begun, the opening credits melody chiming slowly. 'The Young and the Restless' appeared on screen when the music stopped. Pearl watched with fascination; she hadn't seen many shows besides Kid's Masterpiece Theatre and The Steel Samurai.

A man and a woman were walking slowly through the snow, talking in hushed tones.

"I don't know if I can do that, Phyllis. It doesn't seem right." The woman – Phyllis – looked at the man incredulously.

"Nick, don't bail on me now," she warned.

"Look, let's discuss this after Christmas. Right now, let's just enjoy the holiday."

Phyllis snorted but didn't comment further. They approached a house and went inside, shrugging off their coats. The redhead froze, her eyes drifting up to the ceiling. The man followed her gaze. The camera panned to a leafy plant that was hanging from the chandelier.

"Mistletoe," Phyllis observed wryly. The two stared at each other for a moment before kissing. A few seconds later, the camera cut to a new scene with different people.

Pearl frowned. Mistletoe? What was that? Growing up, her mother had sheltered her from most of the outside world; she'd celebrated Christmas, but not with all complicated rules and traditions of the city. She turned to Mr. Nick's office as Mystic Maya was sweeping the last of the paper snow in the bin.

"Mystic Maya," she called.

"Yes, Pearly? I'm almost done – we'll leave soon."

"What's mistletoe?" she asked, tucking her feet under herself.

Maya dusted off her hands and walked over to her little cousin.

"Mistletoe? Well, it's a Christmas tradition. You hang it in a doorway and when two people stand under it at the same time they have to kiss each other." She shrugged on her coat, holding out Pearl's so that the girl could slip into it. "So, you ready to go?"

Pearl nodded, taking her cousin's hand as they left the office. As Mystic Maya showed her around the city, pointing out all the Christmas decorations, little Pearl had only one thing on her mind: where do I get some mistletoe?

The next morning, Pearl snuck out of her bed, tiptoeing passed Mr. Nick's sleeping form on the couch, quietly slinking out of the apartment. Unlike Pearl, Mystic Maya and Mr. Nick were never early risers when there wasn't a case to be solved and Pearl was confident that she could sneak out, buy the mistletoe and come back without either ever knowing she'd left.

Pearl had a very keen sense of direction, easily finding the hustle and bustle of the city centre (after all, she had run by herself from Kurain to the courtroom before). She weaved quickly through the crowd, searching for the shop most likely to sell mistletoe. She paused in front of a shop that had miniature Christmas trees lined up outside and after a moment's consideration, stepped inside. Even smaller trees lined the walls decorated with tinsel and tiny baubles. A woman was seated behind the counter and smiled warmly as Pearl approached.

"What can I do for you, young lady?"

"I'm looking for some mistletoe. Do you have any, ma'am?"

The woman stood. "Right this way, little miss."

Pearl was right: Mystic Maya and Mr. Nick had been completely unaware of her little expedition. Mr. Nick was still asleep on the couch and Pearl could hear Mystic Maya's soft snores drifting down the hall. Taking her booty from its plastic bag, Pearl crept around the apartment looking for the best spot to hang it. It couldn't be too obvious a place, just subtle enough that it wouldn't be immediately noticeable. She decided on the doorframe of the front hallway, the mistletoe slightly obscured by the gold tinsel already hanging there. Pearl grinned mischievously to herself, tiptoeing into the kitchen to make her breakfast.

Mystic Maya was the next to wake. She had a quick shower before kicking Mr. Nick awake demanding he make her pancakes. He grumbled about her being a lazy glutton, rolling over to face the couch. Mystic Maya shook him more insistently and began singing the Steel Samurai theme song off-key and at the top of her lungs. Despite his continued grumbling, Mr. Nick got up and did indeed make her pancakes – four of them! Pearl sighed. Ah, true love…

After much argument Mystic Maya and Mr. Nick agreed on going ice-skating. Pearl was practically jumping up and down with excitement.

"Well, someone's eager," Mr. Nick remarked.

"I am, I am," Pearl replied though not for what he thought. To go ice-skating they had to go outside. And to go outside they had to walk through the hall. And to walk through the hall they had stand under the mistletoe.

Pearl skipped to the front door and pulled on her jacket. Mystic Maya and Mr. Nick followed arguing whether they should walk or take a taxi.

"Stop! Wait!" Pearl cried as the two approached the front door. They both gave her very puzzled looks. She pointed up to where the mistletoe hung.

"What? What is it?" Mr. Nick asked, concerned. His eyes narrowed when he spotted the plant amongst the tinsel. "Is that… mistletoe?"

"Yep, yep, yep!" Pearl chimed. "Now you have to kiss!"

Mr. Nick and Mystic Maya scoffed. "Very funny, Pearls. C'mon, let's go before it gets too cold." But he paused when he saw the utter heartbreak on Pearl's face.

"B-but Mystic Maya said you have to kiss!"

Mr. Nick threw the elder spirit channeler an accusing look.

"H-hey! Don't blame me, she just asked what it was after seeing it on TV!"

Mr. Nick looked back to Pearl who was on the verge of tears. He sighed. "Alright, fine." Mystic Maya's eyes widened.

Pearl leant forward in anticipation as the two turned to face each other. She held her breath as they leant closer to each other…

And let it out in frustration when, at the last second, Mr. Nick changed direction and kissed his assistant on the cheek.

"Okay," he said too loudly. "Let's go ice-skating!" Mystic Maya let out a whoop and the two led a very dissatisfied little girl into the chilly streets of the city.

-End-