Hi everyone and welcome to chapter six of this little story. Hope you guys enjoy!
Chapter 6: Holiday Gifts
With the arrival of the winter season came the arrival of cooler winds to the otherwise warm Hoenn region. Although the drop in temperature wasn't as great as one would expect from a region such as Sinnoh, the temperatures had dropped nonetheless. It wasn't cold enough for it to snow, as the temperature hardly ever went below that, but it was enough to warrant the use of pants and jackets. Brendan, who didn't quite exactly like wearing these articles of clothing, still wore shorts and a sweatshirt instead of the enormous monstrosity of a jacket his mother wanted him to wear for his visit to the lab. She had bought it for him back when the family lived in Johto as winters there were colder and longer, but now that the family lived in Hoenn, the use of that huge monstrosity was impractical.
He had barely dodged his mother's attacks to get him in that jacket as he was walking towards the lab to deliver lunch to his dad, who had forgotten it again. If he wasn't so nice, he would of eaten his father's lunch and hand him the empty container.
Even though the walk was short, he realized that maybe he should of worn at least pants as his legs were getting cold.
"Mud?" the small mudfish pokemon asked as he was inside the boy's sweatshirt so he wouldn't freeze. The boy had wanted to put the Pokemon in his pokeball to have him avoid the winter air, but the small pokemon had refused to do so and instead caught a ride inside the boy's sweater.
"Say Skipper, wanna go say hi to May later? Promise not to spray her this time?" he asked, looking down at the water type, giving him a devious smile. Although the boy had tried, tried being the keyword, to get the water type to stop spraying his neighbor, he found that May's expression each time was hilarious everytime it happened and just couldn't continue to stop his pokemon from taking action.
"Mudkip!" the water type exclaimed giving the boy a wink followed by a devious smile. At this point it was like tradition that everytime the two set eyes on each other, one would end up wet while the other would laugh deviously.
He entered the lab doors where the scientists seemed to be running around frantically, throwing papers everywhere, with empty coffee mugs as far as the eye could see. The boy knew that the lab would be closed for the holidays, so the scientists wanted to get as much work done before closing. A couple of them stopped their frantic working to wave at the boy, while others looked like they were about to pass out from exhaustion. The boy waved back with his free hand while the other was carrying his father's lunch.
His father had told him to take the time off, that kids should enjoy their holidays instead of being cooped up in a lab like an adult. Of course this was met with slight protest from the boy, as he would now have less time to study pokemon, but he also knew he could spend more time with his mother and friends.
Over the last couple of months Professor Birch had been taking the boy on his fieldwork trips.
This year's Annual Researcher's Convention took place in Lilycove City at the end of summer. Brendan wasn't particularly interested in the convention as he wanted to go to the Harvest Festival that was held every year at the end of August at Petalburg City. Of course, Professor Birch had promised the boy they would be going to the festival next year, and to make it up to him, he would buy the boy all the food he wanted at the convention. This quickly turned into a huge regret as the boy alone had emptied his pockets just by the sheer amount of food he ate.
He entered his father's office where his father was laying down on his desk face down on a stack of papers.
"Dad," he called out. When the man didn't respond, the boy motioned for his mudkip to use a water attack. The water type fired a water gun, hitting the man straight in the head which immediately woke him up. He waved his arms frantically in front of him trying to stop the water attack until it subsided letting him view the perpetrator.
"I can't tell which one of you is more evil, you or Skipper," the man said mope-fully, standing up to grab a towel to dry himself off.
"Good to see you too dad," the boy sweet fully responded. "Mom said you forgot your lunch, so I bought it for you." He walked over to his father's desk where he placed the lunchbox. "You sure you don't need help? I have nothing to do you know".
"Nah, I'm fine son. You should enjoy your winter vacation while it lasts. You won't be a kid forever," the Professor responded while drying his hair.
"If you say so."
"Here why don't you go have some fun at the marketplace?" He suggested,taking out his wallet and handing his son some money. "Maybe buy something for May," he teased with a wink and a devious smirk. This caused the boy to go bright red from embarrassment.
"Umm… thanks dad," he managed say as he took the money and making sure not to say anything else as it would make things awkward. He walked out the room with Skipper in tow and waved goodbye to his father, "See ya later tonight dad."
"See ya son," he responded,waving back to the boy as he sat back down on his desk.
The boy entered the main part of the lab, where scientists were still frantically running around getting as much work done as possible. This time however, they seemed to be too preoccupied with their work as not a single one waved at the boy who was leaving the lab.
"Skipper do you want anything for Christmas?" He was currently walking down the street to the marketplace.
The pokemon looked contemplative for a minute responding with a nod and a loud "Mud!"
"Let's find something for you then little buddy," he responded as the pair entered the marketplace that was decorated with christmas lights and decorations. A large Christmas tree stood near the center of the market shining brilliantly even though it was noon.
"Umm can you give me a clue Skipper?"
"Mudkip kip kip," he answered back suspiciously which caused the boy to raise an eyebrow.
"Really that's what you want?" Although the boy didn't fully understand the water type, the pokemon always adopted a suspicious undertone when speaking of May, so he knew it had something to do with her. "If that's what you want, then I won't stop you then." A smile had grown on his face.
"Mud!" the pokemon exclaimed inside the boy's sweatshirt.
After about a minute they entered the toy shop, where he met with one of the owners, Mr. Clarke. The two talked for a moment, mostly about holiday plans before the man returned and gave the boy a small gift bag which contained a small orange chick pokemon plush. The boy had returned the following weeks to see if the stores had gotten a new shipment of the plushies, but he had no luck. The store however, did get a new shipment of Treecko plushies, which the boy immediately bought.
"Wait Mr. Clarke, you're just gonna give it to me cause your wife said she would make me pay every last pokedollar," he said, slightly hesitant to take the toy.
"Hah hah! Don't listen to that grumpy old lady my boy. Consider it a christmas gift on behalf of the store," the man said smiling at the boy who was still slightly reluctant in taking the toy.
"Well thanks , Merry Christmas," he thanked, taking the bag and giving the old man a wide smile.
"Merry Christmas to you too my boy. Please come visit us again."
Brendan walked out of bookshop with a brand new book that the owner had recommended. Although she said it wasn't something that he would normally read, the old lady said that he would enjoy the book nonetheless. She hadn't even charged him for it!
The young boy looked at the book titled Of Love and Ghosts by Shauntal, an aspiring young novelist from the Unova region that was quickly gaining fame and popularity due to her romantic novels. Rumor had it that she was also a great pokemon trainer.
The boy placed the book inside the bag containing the orange chick pokemon plush. He suddenly remembered the money his father had given him, thinking of maybe buying May a gift.
Just like on her birthday, the boy was having a rather difficult time in deciding what to give her. He absentmindedly walked into the small clothing shop where a certain young brunette girl was shopping. He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice the girl hide underneath the clothing racks in an effort to avoid the boy.
"Why is he here?" She asked while making sure she looked as inconspicuous as possible. She had even pulled some of the clothing further down the rack with her free hand to hide her presence. She was currently clutching a white hat with a black headband attached to it with a half pokeball design on the bottom. "I can't let him see me, or he will see his christmas gift", she whispered.
She slowly crawling underneath the racks in an effort to avoid being spotted. Just then she came eye to eye with her worst nightmare. Skipper, who Brendan set down on the floor earlier, had somehow found her and was now staring right at her.
Please don't! Please don't! she thought to herself. If Skipper sprayed her in the face, like he usually did, her position would be given away and her surprise would be ruined.
The pokemon seemed to have taken pity on her as he turned around and walked back to the boy's side who was at the other side of the store.
She let out a relieved breath of air as she slowly stood up, glancing slightly over the clothing racks to spot the boy who was in the small girl's department. "Wait, why is he there? Could he be buying something for me as well?" she muttered under her breath as a slight blush took hold of her face. She rapidly made her way to the cashier where a young woman named Gina charged her for the hat. May subtlety glanced back to where Brendan was, and to her utter relief he looked like he was absorbed in the clothing.
I hope he stays like that a bit longer. I don't want him to see the hat she thought to herself.
"Here you go miss, have a Merry Christmas," the young cashier spoke handing May her change and bag. The girl quickly nodded, took the items and ran out of the store.
The cashier who had noticed the entire scene chuckled to her herself, "I think she has a crush on him."
Brendan meanwhile had been too absorbed in the clothing that he hadn't even noticed May. He glanced over the the hats the store had on stock before his eyes zeroed in on a red bandanna with a large white pokeball design. "Say Skipper, do you think May will like this?" He asked the Pokémon who was standing by his side. He took the bandanna off the display so the pokémon could see.
"Kip Kip," he nodded earning a grin from the boy.
"Alright thanks pal," taking the bandana to where the cashier from earlier was standing.
"Will that be all Brendan?" she asked, scanning the item, taking his money, handing his change back then the bag.
"Yeah, thanks Gina, I think May will like this gift," moving his face away from the young woman so she didn't see his blush.
'I'm sure she will. Merry Christmas Brendan."
"Thanks, you too Gina," he responded, placing Skipper back inside his sweatshirt and grabbing the earlier toy bag from the floor.
Once he was out of earshot Gina gushed, "I think he also has a crush on her."
May was rushing back to her home in an effort to avoid Brendan, that was a close call, and she didn't want to take any more chances. The monstrosity of a coat her mom forced on her before she went to the marketplace was making it hard to her to move. She quickly opened the door to the her house quickly shutting it behind her. She was panting as she was leaning against the door, but also relieved that she was home.
"So May, how did shopping for Brendan go?"Caroline asked catching sight of her panting daughter.
"Mom he almost caught me. He entered the clothes store and Skipper almost sprayed me," she panted. She took a moment to calm herself down and removed her large jacket.
"Did he see you though?"
May took a quick breath, "no, I don't think he saw me".
"Then there's nothing to worry about, why don't you show me what you bought?" motioning her daughter into the living room so they could sit on the couch. May pulled out the white hat out of the white bag and gave it to her mother for her to see.
Caroline eyed it for a minute, "I think he will look pretty cute in it, so good buy May!"
May could feel the blush creep on her face. "I really hope so too mommy."
Over at the Birch residence Brendan was getting a similar talk from his mother.
The Birch family had invited the Maple family to their home from Christmas. Both families decided to cook, since they knew that if one just cooked, there wouldn't be enough food to feed their ravenous children. The tall christmas tree in the living room was lined with presents of all sizes all wrapped in different colored paper and bags.
To everyone's surprise, except Brendan's, May was the first to receive her Christmas gift from Skipper as she was greeted with a water gun to the face as soon as she entered the home. Of course she was furious that her hair was messed up, but at this point she should of known to not do her hair nicely.
"Brendan you promised me you would keep Skipper in his Pokeball!" she yelled clenching her fists to her side.
"Well, I also promised Skipper to let him out his ball, so he could enjoy the celebration," running away from the rampaging May as she was chasing him while laughing at her misfortune.
When the feast was ready, both children were quick to sit themselves at the dining table as their mother's handed them large plates filled to the brim with food. May was determined this time around, to finally defeat Brendan in a eating contest. Although she had pulled ahead early on, Brendan's stack of empty plates to his side was quickly catching up and overtaking her own stack. She shoved more food in her mouth in an effort to keep up her small lead but it was all for naught when she saw, to her horror, that Brendan's stack of plates was more than twice her size.
"Looks like I win again May," he teased her a victorious smirk on his face.
"Shut up! It's only because you're a boy and boy's eat more!" pouting that she had lost yet again.
Their parents let out a bout of laughter at their children's interactions. They could never figure out how both children were still so small and skinny, even if they did eat like a Snorlax.
Brendan pulled May out of the dinning room and into the living room where there was a Christmas movie playing.
"It's actually my favorite movie May. It's a story of a Halloween Gengar who wants to bring joy to everyone on Christmas, so he has Delibird kidnapped so he can give gifts in his place. Gengar's lover, Froslass, tries to stop him on multiple occasions but he never listens. Things don't turn out as he planned and he realizes he made a huge mistake by kidnapping Delibird. From there he frees Delibird from the clutches of Bennete and he returns Christmas to all the children."
"Sounds boring."
"You sound boring."
The pair continued watching Christmas movies on the television while their parents were back in the dining room discussing who knows what. Norman and Caroline were the first to make their way to the living room, joining the pair in watching movies. Lisa and Birch followed soon after. Although both children wanted to sleep, they also had a bigger urge to open their presents. They both stared at the clock on the wall, waiting for the clock to hit 12:00 AM.
Their eyes were already starting to close before a loud shout of "Merry Christmas" from their parents jerked them back awake. The two children who were still dozy from being abruptly woken up jumped to their feet looking at their parents like they were crazy. They looked at the clock noticing that it was now Christmas day, and rushed towards the presents underneath the tree. Both children opened the gifts like there was no tomorrow. Their parents soon to follow behind them. The boxes revealed gifts such as clothes, books, videogames, purses, perfume, chocolates, and even a blue blanket for Skipper. Skipper meanwhile was already asleep in Brendan's room, refusing to wait for their present opening.
"Umm Brendan."
"May," both children said at practically the same moment.
They laughed for a short moment, their hands behind their backs. "I got you this," they both said, handing each other a gift bag where they were quick to take the contents outside. Brendan took out the white hat out his bag, while May took out her red bandanna. They both eyed their gifts for a moment before saying, "thanks."
Brendan was the first to try on his new hat. He placed it on top of his head noticing that it was a bit too big, but he knew he would grow into it. May, with a bit of help from her mother, wrapped the red bandanna around her head. They both looked back to each other, enveloping each other in a hug.
"Merry Christmas," they both said, heading back to the living room where Brendan had gotten a new gaming console and a new version of "Mario Kart."
Like before, Brendan taught May the controls incorrectly and watched with amusement as she struggled to control her racer. This time, she knew without a doubt that the boy taught her the wrong controls and smacked him lightly on the arm, only earning a small laugh from the boy.
They soon fell asleep on the couch, leaning against each other. Their mothers of course were the first to take action at their children's sleeping form. They immediately grabbed their cameras and began taking multiple pictures of their children. They both still had the headgear the other had been given making the picture more adorable. Norman and Birch watched from a side smiling at their wives and children.
"So Norman, looks like we will be grandparents soon," Birch joked.
"Looks like you're right Birch."
The following morning was an awkward one between the the two six year olds. They had both fallen asleep on the couch and were practically hugging each other when they woke up. They both had jumped away from each other as if they carried some disease. After some awkward silence Brendan finally spoke.
"Guess we'll see each other in new years," he said,still looking away as a small blush was present on his face.
May nodded a "yeah" while still keeping her face looking away from his.
What neither of them expected was that they would both contract the flu during new years.
Lisa said, "I told you so" while taking care of her son, clearly reminding him as to why he has to wear that monstrosity of a jacket. Skipper was sleeping to the side of Brendan before a loud sneeze from the boy woke him up.
Caroline and May were in a similar position. She told May, "May you really gotta get Skipper to stop hating you."
She let out a groan and pulled the blanket over her head. "Stupid Brendan. Stupid Skipper," she muttered before sneezing into her tissue.
Hope you guys enjoyed that chapter. Updates will probably take longer since school started back up and the professors are already being relentless. I will still try to update weekly though but no promises. Anyway thanks again for reading and leave a review if you like the story. Till next time!