THREE YEARS LATER
'Twas the night before Christmas Eve and everyone in Dorm One at the Kalos Academy had been summoned to the common room by their captain, Moonbyul. Kang Seulgi and her girlfriend Bae Joohyun were among some of the last to file in. Wendy waved when she saw the two of them and motioned with her hand for them to join her, Joy and Yeri. Seulgi squeezed in between Wendy and Yeri while Irene sat perched on the end of the sofa. Moonbyul arrived not a second later with her fiancée Solar, carrying a comically oversized Santa hat and wearing her signature mischievous grin.
"Thanks for coming everyone. Now, as some of you might not know, the holiday season around here is a special time. Every year the dorm captains are in charge of organizing an event to bring together all three dorms to celebrate the holidays, and this year it was Namjoon and I's turn to host." Moonbyul handed the hat to Solar and reached inside, pulling out a pile of tiny slips of paper.
"Everyone's name at the Academy has been written on a piece of paper," Solar explained. "I'll come around with the hat, and all you have to do is pick one. You'll have twenty-four hours from now to find a gift for them, and we'll exchange them tomorrow night at dinner!"
"We've already been around to dorms Two and Three, but that doesn't mean you won't get someone from there. There's also technically not a limit on how much you can spend on your person either but be reasonable and keep in mind that not everyone can afford to gift something extravagant." Moonbyul put back the papers she'd taken out and gave the hat a vigorous shake. Passing the hat off to her fiancée she grinned. "Good luck, and I hope you all have fun finding your presents!"
XXX
Have Yourself a Very Seulrene Christmas
XXX
Ten minutes later everyone had drawn their assigned person, and the common room was empty save for Seulgi, Wendy and a few other students.
"Damn it," Seulgi swore under her breath, crumpling up the bit of paper she'd drawn and stuffing it in her pocket. Out of all the people she could have drawn…
"Don't like who you drew for Secret Santa?" Wendy asked, staring angrily at her own piece of paper like it had insulted her. "I can relate. Who'd you get stuck with, Taeyong?"
Seulgi grimaced, looking around stealthily before beckoning Wendy close. "Honestly I wish, I'd rather shop for him. I got Irene."
Wendy's eyes widened and she smiled. "Why are you so worried then? Out of all the people at this Academy that you could have picked, you picked your girlfriend."
"Because, Wendy, I don't know what to get for the Champion who has everything, or at least has the money to get everything. All Irene has to do is bat her eyes in the direction of a sponsor and they load her up with merchandise and deals. What if I get her something she already has?" By now Seulgi was working herself into a miniature panic attack and Wendy put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Seul, don't think about all that. Just trust yourself, chances are she'll really like it. Even if it is something she already has, it'll mean the world because it's coming from you." That little nugget of holiday wisdom from her best friend made Seulgi's eyes mist up. She pulled the shorter girl close for a hug.
"Thank you, Wendy. What in the world would I do without you?"
"Probably flounder and over-analyze every interaction you have with Irene. However, there's something you can do for me." Wendy showed Seulgi her secret santa and the other girl laughed.
"What are the chances? I knew you had a crush on him." Seulgi thought for a second. "But wait, I thought Joy drew Eunwoo's name from the hat, she was complaining about it earlier to Moonbyul. She even tried to put his name back in the hat."
"Oh, she did," Wendy said. "But I figured this was my golden opportunity so I did some trading, unauthorized of course."
"Whose name did you exchange for Eunwoo's?" Seulgi had a pretty good idea of who Wendy was about to say. "You didn't…really?"
Wendy nodded bashfully, "Yeah, I originally drew Yeri's name, so I may have traded her to Joy in exchange for Eunwoo," she rushed out the last part, avoiding her friend's gaze.
"WENDY!" Several of the other students looked up at the two of them. Seulgi slapped a hand over her mouth and lowered her voice, apologizing for the outburst. "Dude, you are so whipped," she chuckled, slapping Wendy on the back.
Ever since the two of them had been paired on a month-long battle strategy assignment last semester, Wendy developed a huge crush on the attractive boy. Needless to say, it took approximately five minutes for every one of her friends and classmates to realize that she harbored more than "friendly" feelings for the competitive Coordinator. According to Wendy it 'was about damn time I found someone, literally every single one of you guys are gonna get laid this holiday season'.
"Shut up," Wendy hissed under her breath, "I don't want him to know. That's why I need your help."
"Best friends have to stick together, right?" Seulgi wrapped an arm around Wendy's shoulders. "We're gonna have a lot of work to do though, twenty-four hours isn't a lot of time. I'll help you with Eunwoo and you help me with Irene. Deal?"
"Deal"
XXX
THE NEXT DAY
Cha Eunwoo, competitive Coordinator extraordinaire, wound his way through the unfamiliar hallways of Dorm One, searching for room 1203. He was surprised when he had gotten a text from Irene of all people, saying she had a problem and she needed someone impartial to help her out. Any problem that had a Champion vexed must be a hell of a problem, he thought.
"Irene, you there?" he asked, knocking on the door to her dorm room.
"Door's open, come on in," came the reply, and Eunwoo shrugged, letting himself in and almost tripping over a stack of boxes that had been carelessly left by the door. Strange. Irene and Seulgi's room was usually pretty clean, judging from the few times he'd seen it previously.
"What's with all the mess?" Eunwoo carefully moved the boxes by the door so they wouldn't trip up anyone else.
"Eunwoo! Good, you got here just in time." Irene was standing in front of a whiteboard on wheels, biting on the end of a red marker. She reached up on her tiptoes to scribble something in the top left corner. Where and how she had gotten a full-sized whiteboard in her room, Eunwoo would never know. "I need your help. I somehow managed to draw Seulgi's name out of the Secret Santa hat and I have absolutely no idea what to get her. You're impartial, which means you're the only person I can go to for this. I can't go to Wendy, she'd tell Seulgi right away. Joy and Yeri are of no help either, the two of them are too busy staring into each other's eyes and pretending like they aren't in love with each other."
Eunwoo laughed, gently grabbing the marker from Irene's hand and setting it down on the desk so she'd stop obsessively writing notes. "Is that it? Why are you worried about that? The two of you have been dating for more than two years now, out of all the people you might have chosen, you got her. You should be happy, not looking like you're about to have a heart attack."
Irene sighed. "I know, but I can't help it. Seulgi doesn't really care a whole lot about material things, she'd want something that has an emotional value to it. And in case you haven't noticed that area isn't something I have a whole lot of experience in."
"How about this? It just so happens that I could use some advice on what present to get for my Secret Santa. I'll help you if you help me?"
The Kalos Champion held out her hand, looking a lot less stressed now than she did before. "It's a deal, Eunwoo. Now, who did you draw?" Eunwoo blushed before handing Irene the piece of paper he had drawn from the hat. Glancing at it, Irene grinned knowingly. "You drew Wendy," she stated.
"Yeah. So now you see my problem," he replied, running a hand through his hair. "I mean, she doesn't even know that I like her…like that. I don't wanna be too obvious or forward or anything, but I wanna make sure that I get her something great." Irene didn't have the heart to tell him that anyone with two eyes could see that Wendy reciprocated the feeling.
"Well, you're in luck because I happen to have a whole list of places we can go to." Eunwoo looked up to where Irene was pointing and indeed there were about twenty store names scribbled on the whiteboard. "One of them is bound to have something Wendy would like. I can even covertly ask Seulgi if she has any ideas for what Wendy wants."
"Thank Arceus, you're a lifesaver, Irene." He pulled out his phone and quickly shot a text to Wendy while next to him, Irene did the same.
Eunwoo: I'm headed to lunch with a friend and then we're going shopping for this Secret Santa thing. I'll see you tonight at the exchange?
Future Bae?: Yeah, I'll see you tonight. :)
"All right, I've sent out a decoy message. We should be in the clear. Where are we heading first?"
Irene took a picture of her writing with her phone before grabbing a spray bottle and washcloth, erasing all evidence of her brainstorming session. "Teuk is picking me up so we can go shopping and I asked him if you could tag along."
Eunwoo was floored. "Wait, Leeteuk? As in Kalos Champion Leeteuk? I'm hanging out with both of you?" He couldn't believe his luck, he'd be hanging out with celebrities all day. Irene just looked at him, not understanding his reaction. Eunwoo just stood by the door in a daze. With both Kalos Champions at his side there was no way Wendy would get anything less than the best for Christmas.
"Yeah. You're okay with that, right? I find that if both me and him go places, people are more likely to give us good deals on things. Perks of being a Champion and all." Her phone buzzed. "Oh, he's here. You ready to head out?"
He nodded, "Lead on then. How much time do we have before the party?" He checked his tablet and sighed. "Less than four hours. Can we really do this in time?"
XXX
LATER THAT EVENING
Moonbyul cleared her throat loudly, tapping on her microphone to make sure it was working properly. The entire student body was gathered in the main auditorium and as the last few stragglers walked in with their presents, she gestured for Solar to close the doors. Her co-captain Namjoon stood guard by the huge pile of wrapped presents and cards with a clipboard, dutifully marking off the students and adding their offerings to the pile.
"Thank you all for participating in this year's holiday activity. I know it was a challenge to find a present for your person in less than twenty-four hours but judging by the sheer size of this stack of presents everyone came through! Namjoon, what are the numbers?"
"All three hundred and sixty students are accounted for, great job everyone!" A loud cheer came from the students assembled in the audience.
Seulgi and Wendy were glad they managed to make it to the auditorium on time, searching for their presents ended up taking longer than they thought. Seulgi leaned over to whisper in Wendy's ear as they searched around for a place to sit. The shorter girl was watching Moonbyul call out names one by one. A nervous expression was on her best friend's face. "Still worried?" she asked, making the other girl jump in surprise. "Don't worry, he's going to love it."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive. Besides, if he doesn't know the meaning behind this, he's even dumber than I thought." She laughed as Wendy half-heartedly smacked her arm.
Just past them on the bleachers, Irene and Eunwoo were chatting with Joy and Yeri about their plans for Christmas dinner. All of them had been invited back to the Moon mansion, and now that Moonbyul officially owned the manor she was inviting all of her friends to come by and spend the holidays. Because of course their family's unofficial motto was 'the more the merrier'.
Irene caught sight of her girlfriend whispering conspiratorially with her best friend and called them over. The two barely had time to sit down before Moonbyul read, "Cha Eunwoo."
The Coordinator stood up and walked to the center of the court, watched closely by his friends. He received his present from Namjoon and bowed politely before returning to his seat. He shot a smile to Irene and carefully removed the small card attached to the gift.
Merry Christmas.- Secret Santa. A small, crudely drawn picture of a Sawsbuck had been placed under the short message. Seulgi could almost see the cogs turning in his head and she smiled. Oh man, was Eunwoo going to love this.
He opened the present and gasped in surprise. Sitting in the box was a warm-looking blue knitted scarf that had his initials on it. He pulled out the scarf and immediately wrapped it around his neck, almost missing the second part of his present as it fell out. He picked up the envelope before it hit the ground and opened it. Inside was a voucher for a year's worth of tickets to see performances by the best orchestra in the Kalos region. How did his secret santa know not only his favorite color but one of his favorite pastimes? "Are you kidding me?" Eunwoo almost squealed in delight.
"You're welcome," Wendy said smugly. She was immediately swept up in a tight hug, much to her happiness.
"How…?" was the only question Eunwoo was capable of asking. The orchestra voucher itself was worth a lot of money, how on Earth did Wendy manage to get her hands on one? "Where…?"
Wendy smiled sagely. "Seulgi and I were eating lunch and by accident we managed to come across a couple of the players in the orchestra. They took a liking to Seulgi's Bewear and my Sawsbuck and wanted to battle."
"Yeah," Seulgi chimed in, "And if you couldn't tell, we won. Wendy knew you liked going to their performances so they managed to hook us up with this voucher."
Eunwoo shot Wendy a glance that said we'll talk more later as they returned to watching the gift-giving together.
Joy was called up to receive her present, which she unwrapped to reveal a stuffed dog wearing a Santa hat. Nestled in the dog's paws was a box filled with an absolutely astonishing amount of lip balm in a variety of flavors. From the corner of her eye, Seulgi could see Yeri smiling happily. Good on you, Yeri.
"Son Seungwan." When Wendy returned to her seat clutching a small card she looked a little disappointed. There was a note glued to the front, which she read out loud.
Don't judge a book by its cover. Merry Christmas Wendy. -Eunwoo
"What happened to Secret Santa staying secret?" Irene pointed out.
"You'll see," Eunwoo responded simply.
Wendy opened the card and two shiny tickets fell out. She picked them up to read the inscription, her expression brightening with each word she read. "No. Freaking. Way."
"What?" Seulgi asked, looking over her best friend's shoulder, trying to catch a glimpse, "I wanna know."
"Eunwoo, are these what I think they are?"
The Coordinator beamed. "Yep. VIP tickets to see your favorite band."
"How in the world…?" This time it was Eunwoo's turn to get tackled and hugged.
"I went out with Irene and Leeteuk and they may or may not have used their connections as Champion to score VIP passes."
Wendy was awestruck. "I love it, Eunwoo. But, why are there two of them?"
Eunwoo looked over briefly at Irene who shot him a reassuring look. He blushed, mumbling, "Because I wanted to go with you."
Wendy and Eunwoo stared in each others eyes, realization finally dawning on their faces. "Did you wanna ditch this place?" Wendy asked nonchalantly.
"Totally. We've already gotten our presents, there's no need for us to stick around. We'll see you guys tomorrow at Moonbyul's place?" Eunwoo and Wendy left together hand-in-hand.
Irene and Seulgi watched them leave as the newfound couple discreetly made their exit, talking all the while about music and whether or not blue was the superior color.
"That turned out nicely," Irene commented. "Do you think tonight finally drilled some understanding into the two of them?"
"It better have," Seulgi growled. "God, they're almost as bad as we were when we first went out."
Irene laughed jovially, pressing a soft kiss to their entwined hands. Moonbyul called out both of their names at the same time and they got up to receive their presents.
There were no notes or cards attached to either one of their gifts, just their names written simply on the wrapping paper in marker.
"Together?" Seulgi asked.
"Together."
As one, they opened their presents.
"Seulgi, is this what I think this is?" Irene held a familiar looking Heart Scale gently in her hand. It glowed softly with a blue light. "You told me you lost this like a year ago after we started officially going out."
"My Ninetales found it buried under a pile of my knick-knacks when we moved dorm rooms, I held off on telling you. Turn it over."
Irene did as she was told and flipped over the scale, her breath catching in her throat. A set of dates had been carefully etched on the surface of the scale, along with the initials BJH and KS. "You got our anniversary engraved on it."
"Do you like it? I know it's not the most flashy present but I—" Seulgi was cut off as Irene pulled her in for a kiss. She melted into the Champion's strong embrace.
The students around them didn't even bat an eyelash anymore whenever the two of them showed affection, they'd long since been accustomed to Irene kissing her roommate.
"It's perfect." Irene assured her. They broke apart and Irene nudged at Seulgi's present with her foot. "Now it's your turn."
Seulgi reluctantly pulled away from her girlfriend and opened her present. It was a framed picture of herself, Irene, Wendy, Joy, Yeri, Moonbyul, Solar, Jihyo and Daniel that had been taken several years ago, the first time they had all visited Moonbyul's family manor. Next to the picture was a depiction of the night sky that evening, when Seulgi and Irene had finally confessed to each other.
Seulgi-
Our destinies were always written in the stars. This is just the proof. I love you Seul-bear.
-Joohyun
"Joohyun…" Seulgi felt tears prickling at the edge of her eyes. She couldn't have dreamed for a better present from her girlfriend. That week had proven to be one of the best in recent memory, and now she had something to forever remember it by. If only the Seulgi then could see where they are now. "Thank you so much."
Irene's eyes were similarly tearing up. She wiped them away with her hand and sniffled. "Well, now that we've suitably made each other cry, let's go back to our room for the rest of your present."
Seulgi raised an eyebrow as they gathered up their things and snuck out the side entrance. "There's more?"
"I wondered for the longest time what to get you for Secret Santa, and with a little help from Eunwoo I figured it out."
"Babe, you're the only present I need this year," Seulgi said, leaning in for another kiss.
"I know," Irene smirked. "And you'll get plenty of me after dinner at Moonbyul's place tomorrow. You and I will just happen to be in the Orange Islands."
"No. Way." Seulgi froze mid-step. "Joohyun, that's too much." She knew Irene loved to spoil her, but to give her a trip to the Orange Islands as a Christmas present was just…wow.
"Nothing's too much when it comes to you, Seulgi." Irene wrapped an arm around her girlfriend's waist and they walked quickly back to their dorm to avoid getting too cold.
Seulgi pouted, "But now I feel bad that I didn't get you anything extravagant."
"Don't be. You gave me the best present I could have possibly imagined, and that's to spend the holidays with you. I don't need anything expensive or rare because as long as I have you, you're everything I could have ever wished for."
"Aw, baby."
They walked the rest of the way in relative silence, just basking in each other's presence. Upon reaching their shared room, Seulgi hung up her new picture above her desk so she could always look at it. Irene placed the Heart Scale right next to her Charizard's worn out Champion medal, a place of honor where she put only the most important of things.
They turned to look at each other. "The night's still early, Joohyun. And I've got something else to give you too," Seulgi purred, arching one perfect eyebrow and slowly removing her shirt.
"Oh, do you?" Irene stuttered. No matter how many times she saw Seulgi like this, no matter how many times they slept together, she always felt the same gratitude and love welling up inside of her, threatening to burst out. Irene copied Seulgi and started taking off her own clothing. "By all means, Seulgi. Show me."
The couple retreated to Irene's bed on the lower level and they melted into each other's embrace.
"Merry Christmas, Joohyun."
"Merry Christmas, Seulgi."
Is this canon? Is this not? Who knows, but I wanted to share a fluffy little bonus with everyone to celebrate the holidays and the release of our girls' newest comeback. Seriously, Psycho is great. Listen to it all the time. And from me to you, I hope you have a great holiday season. Drache out.