Welcome!
Author Notes:
All cannon characters and places mentioned belong to The Pokémon Company. All the OCs in here belong to chipotlepeppers. Visit chipotlepeppers' profile for more stories like this one and for background info on these OCs. I also might write more fanfictions in the future, but now (December 8, 2017) I only have three stories posted, this one, Cruise Blues, Playground Crisis, and Z-Charged. You do not need to read all these stories to understand context, though if you want more of these characters, I suggest checking one or two of them out.
I am a new fic writer and nonprofessional so please be kind.
This symbol "~" I use the same way writer WindStar27 uses it—to draw out a voice. So instead of writing 'Pikachuuu', I'll put 'Pikachu~'.
If something doesn't make sense or you have questions, leave questions in reviews and I will answer them via guest review asap. Or you can PM me if you have an account.
This fic will be dived into four chapters plus a short epilogue. It will be about 22, 500 words TOTAL and chapter length will vary.
I would like to get some feedback, so even if you don't like it, leave a review if you have the spare seconds Just word them kindly, especially if you are responding to someone else's review.
Thank you for clicking!
Glossary for Peeps & Places
Jay Morgan - Son of Jessie and James of Team Rocket. He is 13 on January 1st.
Amber Ketchum- Daughter of Misty Waterflower and Ash Ketchum. She is 12 until May.
Jezz Morgan-Kapule– Distant cousin of Jay's/no parents/ lives with Jay's older sister 'Annastasia' and some other people. He is 14 on January 1st.
The Hales- Jezz's last foster family before he moved in with Annastasia.
Annastasia- Jessie and James' eldest daughter. She is 19. Sometimes she is called: 'A', 'Anna-chan', 'Anna-sama' or 'Annie'. Most of the other characters call her 'A', Amber and Jay especially.
Rose and Silver- Jessie and James' youngest children. They will be one-year-olds on December 22nd.
Jocelyn- Jessie and James' second eldest daughter. She is ten.
Logan- Meowth and Lucy (OC)'s Liepard son. He lives with Annastasia, Jezz, Michio, his partner Peruva and many of his Pokémon friends.
Michio- Annastasia's partner, also roughly 19.
Rumika Winchester- NOT Rumika from the Japanese version of the anime, rather she is Jessiebelle's non-cannon younger sister and she is close with Jessie, James and her family—but not with Jessiebelle.
Keaka- Michio's mother/ human nurse. She lives on The Grange and helps take care of Jezz—will appear briefly later on.
The Grange- Annastasia's home. As the eldest daughter of Jessie and James, she inherited the mansion from James' nanny and pop-pop. It's a large Pokémon sanctuary/ houses tenants.
Pallet House- Restaurant/hotel owned by Jessie and James.
XO
All I Want for Christmas is You
December is finally here and no one is better than Jay at getting into the holiday spirit.
This year was going to be the most memorable holiday season for Jay and for several of his friends so far. This was going to be Rose and Silver's second Christmas, Jezz's first Christmas since his adoption, Annastasia's first Christmas on The Grange, Amber and Jay's last Christmas as 'official kids' and Jay's first Christmas with his latest crush.
The last part is unfortunate for everyone though since it was recently confirmed that in addition to NOT being gay, Jezz is Jay's long-lost cousin.
To Jay, the situation was initially terrible but now bittersweet. Because they are family, Jezz was allowed to be adopted by his barely-legal sister, and that is how the two have remained close. Jay would have to wait for those brotherly emotions to replace the romance he once imagined, but as a generally hopeful person, he wasn't too concerned because sooner or later, he'd get over it.
And because of the tragedy that came with the loss of his last foster family, Jay was determined to make this Christmas Jezz's best Christmas—as well as the best in the world.
As usual, Jay's adventure began with Amber—the childhood friend that was always by his side when he needed her the most.
"What do you think Jezz's favorite thing in the world is?" Jay asked one day as he and Amber were holiday shopping in Twinleaf Town, Sinnoh.
"You are asking me? The one person who doesn't really pay attention to detail? Jay, you are the leader of the Jezz protection squad," Amber replied, confuzzled by Jay's question.
"Yeah, but like, I need a second opinion. What did you get him for Christmas?"
"Nothing."
"What?!"
"It's December first. We still have twenty-three nights before we exchange gifts."
"Pi~ka~," Amber's Pikachu, Pip, giggled.
"I thought I was the only one falling behind. This is a big deal. This is his first Christmas," Jay emphasized.
"No, it's his thirteenth, possibly fourteenth since no one knows for sure when he was born," Amber replied.
He shook off her smartass comeback because he was set on making his point.
"I mean it's his first one with us, his new family. I can hardly believe it because I feel like I have known him my whole life. And Rosie and Sil were only three days old last Christmas, and Michio was still kinda new to the family, and last year Jezz had the Hales," Jay explained.
"Getting him an awesome present isn't going to make up for the fact that the Hales are gone."
"But it will help him know that he's got friends who want to make him smile."
Amber reasoned that Jay was right. She had been thinking a lot about what she wanted to get each of her two best friends as well. Jay is almost impossible to shop for because his family is wealthy and Amb's family hovers just above the poverty line. Jay has either purchased or made almost all of Amber's clothing since they finished up grade school, he pays for the majority of her meals, and get her tons of gifts, including the smartphone she received two years ago—and usually the only explanation he gives is 'I felt like getting/making this for you'. Other than unconditional friendship and endless fun, Amber doesn't have much to offer, at least, that is what she thinks.
And Jezz is a different story entirely. Everything he needs, Annastasia buys, whether it's books, technology, food, games, or Pokémon supplies.
Amber isn't out to impress, but she certainly wants them to know that she cares enough to try.
"This year is different," she whispered.
"What was that?" Jay asked as he leaned into her. "I didn't hear that."
"I'm saying that you are right, this year is different from last year and the year before that. Now we are almost teenagers. Several of our friends are already teenagers. You will be thirteen exactly a month from now, and Jezz will be fourteen. I feel like it's a big deal."
"Because you are in love with Jezz."
"More like because now I have more than one close friend. After our journeys together, no doubt June, Soledad, Takeshi, Tamaki, and I have become closer. I got them all a little gift last year, and I dunno…I feel like I am horrible at picking out presents."
"Same."
"You have an endless budget and mad art skills—you can buy or make whatever you want. I can't."
Jay shut his mouth because he knew there was no point in arguing and he didn't want to argue. This trip was about fun. He picked up a snowball and threw it at her. She smiled and soon they were engaged in battle. Amber released the rest of her Pokémon team after Pip joined the fun, and Jay's Meganium, Togekiss, Tauros, Ambipom, and Monferno couldn't resist the fun either.
They played in the streets for an hour, then they started to get tired and remembered that their curfews were at nine-thirty, and it was already almost eight. They headed to the closest store, which happened to be an evolution stone shop.
"Pip, are you sure you don't want a Thunder Stone?" Jay asked the Pikachu.
"Chu," Pip replied.
"I already have one for him," Amber reminded Jay.
"Just checking. You'd make an awesome Raichu, but I won't push you."
"Pi pi Pikachu~," Pip responded.
"He wouldn't be able to ride on my shoulder if he evolved," Amber interpreted. "And he likes riding on my shoulder."
"Oh yeah."
Amber noted that there were stones for every type. Pokémon technology has been evolving so quickly that even an eager and active trainer like herself sometimes fell behind on knowing what was available. When Pip wasn't looking, she purchased a bag of treats specifically for electric types. When Jay went upstairs, she quickly bought a bag of treats specifically for each of Jay's main teams' types: fairy, grass, fire, normal, ground, poison, and flying. She got water-type treats for her mother to give to her Pokémon, and treats for flying-types for her team. Everything else was too expensive.
"I will be next door," she texted Jay.
"Okay!" he replied a second later with a smiley face.
She would never admit it but his swift and cheesy response made her heart leap out of her chest. She laughed, returned her phone, and moved forward.
Once upstairs, Jay became ecstatic. Above the stone-shop was a store exclusively for holiday items. Mistletoe, wreaths, trees, stockings, wrapping paper, wall paper, ribbons, bows, craft supplies, themed rugs, curtains, couch cushions, and 'try me's' of all sorts were everywhere. His eyes nearly popped out of his head. He was determined to sniff every scented candle and soap, taste every jam, use every lotion, spray every perfume, try on every Santa hat, and chime every bell. He nearly passed out from all the excitement.
Within an hour, Jay ended up spending over two thousand dollars in holiday accessories. He had to teleport from the shop to his home six times just to bring all the items back. He thought about the look on Jezz and Amber's faces when he decorated The Grange to make it look even cheerier than Santa's workshop. He knew his brother and sisters—or at least Jocelyn—would get a kick out of it too.
He met up with Amber at the coffee shop two stores down. They shared a hot cocoa and ice-cream sundae.
"Do you think it was rude for us to come here without even telling Jezz?" Jay asked worriedly.
"No. How are we supposed to get him a present if he's with us?" she replied.
"Oh yeah. Did you and him go shopping without me?"
"No. Why, would you be jealous?" she asked with a mischievous smile.
"No way! I want you two to go out on a date," he replied, embarrassed.
"Neither of us like shopping. I mean, most of the time. I don't know. It's complicated."
"What's complicated is having a crush on your cousin."
"You are the weirdest person I know."
"You have a chance, Amb. You should take it."
"I don't want to…confuse him. He's dealing with a lot now. I don't know what I want. I mean, I want him, but not yet. I want to put him on reserve."
"What is the point of that?"
"Stop interrogating me."
"No, I wanna know. Tell me, please…if you love me, you'll confide, at least confide what's eating you."
"I feel like I am not good enough."
Jay gaped, literally gaped, because that was not something he expected Amber to ever say. 'I am not good enough' has never been a part of her vocabulary before. What had changed?
"How…. why?" Jay asked.
"I know you think that I am the most awesome person in the world, but compared to him, I'm not all that interesting. I make a good friend, but I don't think I can ever be anything else."
"He love-loves you back."
"I know he does."
"I think it's true love. Trust me, I know about true love."
"Then give me advice, love doctor."
"I-I."
Jay had no advice to give her because while he's been obsessed with boys since he was five, he never actually went on a date. He needs more help than she does. Other than him, Jezz is Amber's first crush, and Jay wants to do literally everything in his power to help her. He hates the feeling of being lonely, having no one to go on romantic dates with, and he doesn't want Amber to ever feel lonely, or not enough for someone. Part of it was his own guilt. He wanted to be different for her, but he didn't want to change either. He couldn't change, he tried. He couldn't make himself do it. He didn't even know how.
Jay offered Amber his hand and she took it. Two strangers giggled. An old woman turned to her friend and whispered 'what a cute couple', and both Jay and Amber heard and smiled, and blushed.
"It's not you, Amb, I promise it isn't our fault that I am like this," he told her.
"Like what?"
"It's not your fault that I am not into you that way."
"Oh."
Amber of course knew this already but having Jay remind her is always soothing. Everyone wants to hear that something is not their fault. She knows Jay loves her, and that is enough. Even if she grows up without a partner, she won't have to worry about going unloved.
Amber stopped eating and Jay became more than aware of her intense emotions, for they were mirroring his own. He moved so that he was next to her instead of across, and he gave her time to sort out her emotions as he tried to figure out his.
"Let's go back to shopping," she decided after a break. "I at least need some ideas. Did you figure out what you want to get Jezz?"
"Not his final present, but I have a pre-Christmas gift. I am going to turn The Grange into a winter wonderland," Jay replied. "Oh, and I got him these awesome socks."
"He'll love that."
"Jezz really likes books, and there is an old bookshop around the corner. How about we check it out?"
"Yeah, I'll go for it."
The quaint bookshop had hundreds of books, some of which appealed to Amber, though she doesn't like reading. Jay is neutral to reading; he doesn't mind it, but he rarely reads for fun. He enjoyed looking through the antique books while Amber looked at the ones about science, which is one of Jezz's favorite subjects. When she sighed with frustration, the store's owner approached her.
"Can I help you?" he asked Amber.
"I need a gift for a science nerd," she responded. "He likes everything from time and dimension travel, to Pokémon biology, to political and social science, even though I am not sure what political or social science is."
"Perhaps an almanac," the storekeeper suggested. "I'll show you."
Jay joined Amber as they looked through dozens of books together. The problem with science books is that Amber and Jay couldn't understand what they were talking about. Looking at the pages was like reading a different language. Jezz's IQ is high, and Jay and Amber weren't even close to his level, and they knew it well.
Amber was about to give up, but Jay handed her a small but thick book before she passed through the door.
"He will like this," Jay said as she read the title.
"I don't know, it seems almost too personal," she decided after reading the book's description.
"Jezz is only out to a few people. He confessed to feeling alone. Perhaps this will help him feel less alone," Jay reasoned. "I can buy it for you."
"I can pay for it…but it's like you said, he's only out to a few people. Other people will see the title, and they'll figure it out…the last thing I want to do is put him on the spot."
"Tell him to open it in private, or just in front of you."
"I suppose. I am worried that if I get him something like this, he'll get this misconception that the fact that he is like that is something that I think about on a regular basis."
"Isn't it?"
"Occasionally it is."
"Jezz told me that he's working on not hiding everything. I like how our friends are okay with the way I am, that they don't act like it is something that I should be ashamed of and cover up. He'll feel better when he gets there—and we need to get him to that place. It's like, our jobs."
That was enough to convince Amber to spend the twenty dollars on the book—except it was forty, and Jay paid for the other half, after convincing the storekeeper to give Amber a 'discount'. Fully satisfied with the purchase, she felt light as a feather as she took Jay's hand and they headed out into the frigid air.
"Do you want my jacket?" he asked her.
"It's okay," she said as she gave him a long hug. "This is fine."
There were more sweet sighs and stares during the embrace, but neither of them were embarrassed. Amber's pride often diminishes when she is around Jay.
Amber called her parents to let her know that she was sleeping at Jay's house, and Jay convinced his parents to let him and Amber to stay out an hour passed curfew. They bought little gifts for the remainder of their friend group, then they stopped by The Grange.
Jezz, Logan, and several of the other Pokémon of The Grange were helping Annastasia place scented candles in the window.
"You started decorating without me!" Jay exclaimed when he caught them in the act.
"The neighbors just brought these over as a belated housewarming gifts, and we are placing them in the windows since they are already out, smell nice, and we want to show our appreciation," Annastasia explained.
Amber and Jay noted the dentist-style facemask covering Jezz's mouth and nose.
"What happened to you?" Amber asked as she lifted the mask.
"Coxsackie is going around," Annastasia said before Jezz could provide an explanation.
"That sounds terrifying. I never heard of cocks-la-hacky before," Jay said sympathetically.
"It's 'coxsackie', and it's highly contagious," said Logan, sounding like a know-it-all.
"But it's not dangerous," said Jezz.
"If it's not dangerous, then what's with the…you know…the thing. On your face?" Amber queried.
"It's different for Jezz. If he catches it, he can be stuck with it for months. If you get it, you can get over it within a week," said Annastasia.
"Oh, ummm so we hope you don't catch it," said Jay.
"I don't think I will," Jezz said as he continued to arrange the candles.
Amber and Jay helped, and so did Annastasia's Plusle and Minun. Everything was going well until Plusle sneezed. She electrocuted everyone and knocked five candles down. It would have caused a fire if it weren't for the fact that Annastasia's Altaria Bleu knows Water Gun and was able to promptly quench the flames.
"She's got the cocky-la-hacky!" Jay exclaimed as he pulled Jezz away from the electric-type.
"No, she has allergies," said Annastasia. "I am sorry, Plus, I forget evergreen is on your list of allergies. We'll stick to the other scents."
"Plusle," the Pokémon sighed with relief.
"You come into our home, you cause a fire, you accuse poor Plusle of endangering Jezz's life…" Logan listed with false admonishment.
"I am so sorry! I just wanted to help," Jay sobbed.
Everyone but Jezz rolled their eyes at Jay. Jezz patted him on the back.
"Life would be very boring without you. I am glad you came," said Jezz. "I was just thinking about you."
Jay warmed at Jezz's touch, and held his breath when he imagined that other people noticed. Jezz backed off once he realized that he was overwhelming his hormonally frustrated cousin. Amber laughed to herself, then wondered if she had that effect on Jezz. She let it go, though, because she promised herself she was going to keep things between them cool…or she'll die trying.
As usual, Annastasia picked up on everything but kept quiet, and also as usual, Logan didn't have a clue. He went on and on about the recent activities of The Grange, which mostly involved meeting new neighbors and interviewing potential tenants.
A half hour after they arrived, the three went up to Jezz's bedroom.
As usual, Jezz's room was spotless and organized. There was a pile of wrapped gifts near his closet, and Jay ran up to them and observed.
"It's so awesome how you are so ahead. I just finished up my Christmas shopping today," Jay gushed.
"I just started mine today," said Amber.
"I had help from Michio and Annie. They took me into the Celadon Mall, which is the largest mall in Kanto. It felt rather special, being alone with them and experiencing the holidays. I did that with the Hales last year, so it was hard at first, but they made it fun for me."
Amber and Jay quickly got Jezz's mind off the Hales by pulling out playing cards. They played poker, and after Amb took the game, Jezz asked them to sleep over. Jay's parents didn't have any problem with that, so the three got ready for bed.
"Do you like your new pajamas?" Jay asked when Jezz opened his drawer. "I designed and order the prints."
"I love them," Jezz responded. "I didn't know you designed this print. I very much appreciate it."
'I very much appreciate it' is a catchphrase of Jezz's, one that Amber despises. She knows he's grateful, she didn't like how he always had to say it. She's going to work on that.
As they all sat down on Jezz's king-sized bed, Jay asked for a pen and paper. After Jezz retrieved some for him, Jay began his questioning.
"Holiday poll time: what is your favorite type of decoration?" he asked.
"Oh, well, I love Christmas trees," said Jezz. "Amber, are those your favorite too?"
"Mmmhmm," she hummed.
"Awesome, awesome," Jay whispered. "What is your favorite holiday scent and/or flavor?"
"I tried eggnog least year and it was wonderful," Jezz answered. "And gingerbread is a lovely scent."
"Got it," Jay murmured as he added the data to his notes. "What are your thoughts on mistletoes?"
"They're a tradition."
Amber picked up in a nuance in his tone, and a quick flash of his eyes over hers. She knew it. She heated up the way Jay so often did when he was infatuated and turned away for a moment, determined to not become a fangirl.
Jezz answered the rest of Jay's poll, and didn't pry when the poll was over and Jay didn't bother to explain why he needed to know they exact answer to all those questions. Amber didn't confess it out loud, but she found herself grateful for Jay's oddities. She wanted to know those answers as well, and appreciated how Jay got Jezz to divulge it in front of her.
Jezz yawned, and Amber noted his tired eyes. She recalled how keeping Jezz up passed midnight was against Annastasia's rules. She says he needs his sleep more than most kids his age, and Amber figured she was probably right. Jay saw this too, and said:
"You should get to sleep, buddy."
Jezz was already lying down when he said that. It isn't weird for the trio to share a bed, as they have done it many times before. Jay never had any shame in spooning Jezz, and Jezz is too polite to rip Jay off of him. Amber always took to Jay's other side, and usually Jay would somehow manage to squeeze them both in his slumber.
XO
Amber was the first up the next morning. After wriggling out of Jay's boa-constrictor grip, she observed the two boys. She took a photo and laughed. Jezz is too mature to be embarrassed by anything that Jay did, but surely Jay would be an awkward mess when he woke up and realized where his hands were.
Pip remedied the situation by carefully wedging himself between the boys, so when Jay woke up, he was next to and not on top of Jezz. Jezz remained sleeping.
"He's so precious when he sleeps," Jay sighed.
"You are so weird," Amber reminded him.
"I called him 'precious'. That's a perfectly innocent compliment."
Amber showed him the picture. Jay's face turned red.
"Show other people, I dare you. I am not embarrassed," Jay said, his voice cracking halfway through the retort.
"I hope you know that even if your gay rubs off on him, you can't date him because he's your mom's cousin's son."
"I know, I know, I know. I find him aesthetically pleasing. Like a bouquet of flowers, or a baby Pokémon, or a plate of double chocolate-chip cookies."
"Quote of the year."
Amber and Jay let that go and headed downstairs. It was nine, so Annie was well awake and she and Michio were busy decorating. Well, Michio wasn't busy. He didn't appear to have much spunk as he hung ornaments on their Christmas tree.
"Save that for Jezz," Jay said as he took an ornament from Michio's hand. "Christmas trees are his favorite."
"Okay," Michio submitted, not minding the forced reduction of effort.
"We didn't know," said Annastasia.
"He just told me. Look, I polled him," Jay said as he handed his sister the questionnaire.
Annastasia giggled and ruffled Jay's hair. Michio snooped over her shoulder and then sniggered.
"You are looking for love in the wrong place," Michio told him.
"Well…well what do you know about love?" Jay retorted.
Michio pointed to Annastasia, who wasn't paying attention. Jay huffed. Surely Michio had to know something if he managed to convince his stubborn sister that sometimes two is better than one.
"I made eggnog pancakes," said Annastasia. "If you love Jezz so much, why don't you heat some up for him and then deliver them when he wakes up?"
Jay nodded enthusiastically and then sprang into the kitchen. Amber looked to Annastasia.
"I tried to convince him," she whispered.
"Jay will get over it. For Christmas I got him a magazine full of hot guys. Nothing can entertain or distract him better," she whispered back.
"Hopefully the extra testosterone will help our situation," Amber mumbled sarcastically before joining Jay in the kitchen.
She took a pancake in her hands and began eating. Pip followed her lead. Jay tasted some of the maple syrup that Annastasia had placed on the stove.
"He's gonna love this," said Jay. "He loves pancakes almost as much as I do."
"Mmmhmm."
Jezz ended up sleeping much later than expected, and Jay took that opportunity to turn his hallway into an explosion of holiday joy—which is how Jay described it to his other friends. He had two wooden nutcrackers guarding every door, tinsel, garland, and red and green lights suspended in the hall, and giant snow-man and Santa stickers and ribbons on the walls and doors. When Jezz stepped out as his room at eleven-thirty, he was dazzled.
"You did all of this yourself?" he asked Amber and Jay.
"Our Pokémon helped, and my sister gave us all the tape," Jay answered.
"This is very special. I very much appreciate—."
"We know," Amber interrupted. "Go back in your room; we are going to bring breakfast to you."
Jezz returned to his bed without question as Jay and Amber trotted down the hall, down the stairs, and to the kitchen.
"Did you see the look on his face?" Jay asked as he turned on the stove. "His eyes were sparkling. It was so cute. I have to get him under the mistletoe."
"I am not letting you kiss your cousin," Amber remarked.
"Not me and him, you and him!" Jay exclaimed. "What is the point in having straight friends if you can't ship them?"
"I can't kiss him. I might give him cox-sol-aska."
"You mean the cox-so-hacky. OMG! Do you have it?"
"I don't' think so—but I can't take a chance," Amber replied.
Jay didn't let Amber be a killjoy because he had a feeling that she was going to cave. Jezz wants to kiss her, Jay just knew it and he knows for sure that Amber wants to kiss him back. Christmas would be too much vanilla without the spice of romance. As someone who lives for romantic moments, Jay wasn't going to let this go.
"I'll kiss you under the mistletoe," Amber proposed. "If you let go of the fact that I am not kissing Jezz, especially not with you drooling over us."
Jay shuddered. Amber is anything but subtle with her crude remarks.
"Why me and not him?" Jay asked suspiciously.
"Because…I already told you why I don't want me and Jezz to be a couple…yet."
"But why me? Tell me why you want to kiss me!"
Jay was louder than he wanted to be. Michio obviously heard the outburst. He pretended to not be interested as he poured himself a glass of juice. Jay blushed and marched out of the kitchen, not because he was angry, but because he didn't want Pip, Plusle, Minun, Michio, and Amber staring at him as he tried to process his emotions.
"Puberty's a bitch," Amber mumbled. "He's so…like…arg…"
"Hot?" Michio snickered.
"No... it's just…I want things to be normal. I want me and Jay to be seven again, back when the worst thing in the world was being called chicken, and kisses were gross, and hormones didn't exist. We could all live-in peace without…without…"
"Without?" Michio pushed.
"…drama," Amber finished. "I care about Jay a lot, and he's going to end up in pink, glittery, tears on the day it finally hits him."
"The day he processes the fact that he can't marry Jezz."
"Yeah, that. Is it normal for guys to think about love all the time?"
"No."
"Can you expand on that?"
"No."
Amber sighed before picking up the rest of Jezz's breakfast and walking away.
Jezz and Jay were on the bed talking. It was the first time he had taken off the face mask since she and Jay arrived at his home. Jay put distance between them, either paranoid about the coxsackie virus or in response to his conversation with Amber.
"Nice and warm," Amber said as she handed the breakfast tray to Jezz.
"This is very kind. I was hoping to talk and hang out, I wasn't expecting all of this," Jezz responded.
'He didn't thank us in that funny style of his. Maybe he's realizing he doesn't need to,' Amber thought to herself. 'He didn't use any fancy words either, and this isn't the first time.'
"Jezz and I want to go ice skating, in fact, we came up with a lot of ideas. Because Jezz never had a super-awesome-mega-ultra Christmas with us before, we are going to give it to him. You. Me. Him. And of course, anyone who wants to join the fun."
"What sorta things did you guys think of?" Amber asked as she began eating her own pancakes.
"Jezz has only ever seen one Christmas movie," Jay said dramatically.
"I am uncultured," Jezz told her.
Amber smiled at Jezz's rare use of sarcasm.
"I watched 'It's a Wonderful Life' with the Hales last year," said Jezz. He paused for a moment then said: "I'll watch any movie but that one."
"You know that most of those movies are for five-year-olds, right?" Amber responded. "Even Jocelyn has grown out of them."
"We didn't watch any Christmas movies last year except for the 'grown up ones'," Jay replied. Using air quotes on the last three words. "Sil and Rosie will be one, and we can watch it with them since they haven't seen any either."
"Your parents have that weird paranoia about letting them watch TV that young," Amber recalled.
"Because it interferes with depth perception," said Jezz.
"I don't think a few hours of movies spread over one month will interfere with their…whatever you just said before," Jay replied.
"Probably not," Jezz agreed.
"Okay, so I'll do it," Amber said, though she wasn't looking forward to it—minus the fact that she'll be with her favorite boys. "What else?"
"We have to watch the holiday specials on our favorite cartoons growing up too," Jay added. "Ice skating tomorrow, skiing and ice-fishing next weekend, and I also want to take Jezz caroling."
"Singing? No thanks. I don't sing," said Amber.
"Neither do I," said Jezz.
"But you love music," said Jay.
"I can play musical instruments, but I can't sing," Jezz explained.
"Have you ever tried?"
"Leave it, Jay. Why don't you teach Jezz some Christmas songs on your guitar and piano instead, then you can play them on Christmas Eve," Amber suggested.
"Awesome idea," Jay said as he wrote that idea down next to the others. "Sledding, we have to do that. We have an awesome hill for it, and we have to have a one-horse open sleigh. In Cerulean City they do it with Rapidash."
"In Alola they do it with Mudsdale," said Jezz. "I almost asked the Hales if we could do it…but I never did. I didn't think they would want to, that it would be too childish."
Amber thought it was too babyish, but there was no way she was going to smack Jezz and Jay down like that.
"There is the Pokémon Trainer Christmas Ball too," said Jay. "It is held every year in Celadon City. There is a Junior Ball and Senior Ball. The Junior Ball is for kids twelve to sixteen. That's us. Amb, I know it's not your thing, but I really want to go."
"Jezz, do you want to go?" Amber inquired.
"I am not sure," said Jezz.
"You know how to dance, you learned it in etiquette school," said Jay.
Jezz didn't want to admit that he wanted to go and he wanted Amber to be his date. He didn't want to say that he wanted to show off, or how even though he was required to only learn the female role at his etiquette school, he taught himself the male's role, and he never got to test it out…
"You can take your time on that one," Jay said when Jezz was silent. "It's not until December 23rd, and we don't have to register until December 20th, and we can always back out last minute, or just go for a little while. I'll buy our tickets."
"It is a kind offer. I'll consider it," said Jezz.
Jay listed more activities and Amber and Jezz gave their 'yeses' and 'nos'. By the time Jay and Amber left to go home, Jay had scheduled over two-dozen holiday-related activities for them to pursue.
"Aren't you concerned that you'll overdose on holiday spirit?" Amber joked as Jay walked her to the door of her home.
"Huh?"
"It's a pun. Are you sure you want to do all of this?"
"I want to make up for thirteen years of bad luck and half-decent holidays," Jay asserted. "I'm determined. I want to figure out what Jezz's favorite thing in the world is, and I want to give it to him."
"Okay," Amber said as she rolled her eyes. "See ya, Mr. Jay."
"Bye."
XO
Notes:
+ There is more to come later this weekend:) I hope you all like so far.
+ Please review if you got a few extra minutes. Fellow writers: if you have a fic you want me to check out, send me a PM and I'll take a look.
+ Merry pre-Christmas!