Merry Christmas Eve everyone! I'm here with the annual Christmas one shot! I was trying to decide whether to upload it today or tomorrow, but I figured if I did it today, then it covers both. Also, this one predominantly takes place on Christmas Eve so it felt appropriate.
I tried to hit all the different moods on this one: cute, funny, a little bit of angst...all the good stuff!
Aiden and Michelle: 8 years old
Elizabeth: 2 years old
Family Jammies
"Mist, I've got the best idea for Christmas this year, but you can't say anything until you hear the whole thing!"
Misty warily looked away from the TV with an eyebrow raised. "Okay, if you have to beg for me to 'hear the whole idea' before I say anything, it can't be that good of an idea."
"No, it is, I promise," Ash rushed out, plopping down beside his wife.
Sighing, Misty turned to fully face Ash and asked, "what is it?"
Holding his hands up, Ash began, "I was thinking that it would be really fun if we if all had matching pajamas to wear on Christmas Eve."
Misty waited for more, and furrowed her brow when Ash said nothing else. "That's it?"
"Yep!"
"I thought this was going to be some long winded, convoluted idea," Misty muttered. "Why'd you tell me I had to wait for the whole idea when it was only one sentence?"
"Because I thought you'd interrupt me before I even got to the point," Ash plainly replied.
"I'd be insulted, but I do have a nasty habit of doing that," Misty admitted. "Anyway, it's not a bad idea. In fact, I think it's kind of cute! But…I don't know. You really think you can find something that everyone in this family will agree to wear?"
"Who said we had to agree?" Ash asked innocently, causing Misty to cast him a disapproving look. "What?! We're the parents! If we tell the kids to wear something, they'll just wear it."
"Have you met our children?" Misty deadpanned. "There's absolutely no way they'll just wear something because we tell them to. Not even Elizabeth, and she's two."
"Well, I'm sure we can find something," Ash stressed. "It's Christmas, and if everyone in this family has one thing in common, it's that they love Christmas!"
Misty smirked. "I admire your optimism. Try your best!"
"Wait, my best?" Ash cried. "You always say we're a team! Aren't you going to help me get the kids to agree on something?"
She groaned. Ash was right; she said that all the time. Misty had just never really expected it to be thrown back at her. After all, Ash was usually able to handle himself just fine. He didn't tend to need her help, especially when it came to getting through to their children. But this clearly meant a lot to him, as his pleading indicated, and so Misty wasn't about to let him go it alone.
"I usually use that when we need to deal with something serious, but fair enough," Misty conceded, earning a massive grin from Ash. "Consider this an early Christmas gift from me to you!"
"Thank you," Ash sighed, throwing his head back. "Trust me, with you and I working together, I think this will go over pretty well!"
XXX
"There's no way in the whole entire world I'm wearing that."
Aiden frowned. "Why? What's wrong with 'em?"
Michelle was making quite the face in response to a pair of pajamas Aiden had picked out: ones that were emblazoned with some of his favorite superheroes in a fair isle print. "They're for boys."
"No, they're not," Aiden calmly argued. "Everybody can like superheroes!"
"I don't," Michelle huffed.
"Well that's not because you're a girl; it's because you're lame," Aiden taunted.
"Mom!" Michelle whined, whipping around to glower at her mother.
"Would you two quit fighting?" Misty sighed. "We haven't even been here for 10 minutes."
The kids had been totally fine with the idea of matching pajamas, which was nice, but now that they were actually at the store attempting to pick them out, all of the cordiality was no longer on the table. Which, in fairness, was exactly what their parents had been expecting. Still, it was never pleasant to have to diffuse tense situations between them, especially out in public.
"Mom, don't you think these pajamas are so cool?" Aiden asked, holding them out towards her.
"They're cute!" Misty commented, causing Aiden's face to fall. That was clearly not the descriptor he'd been hoping for. "But I think we might be better off going with ones that are a little more…generic. You know, more Christmas-y than with cartoon characters on them."
"Fine," Aiden groaned, returning the pajamas to the rack from where they came.
"I'm sure we'll be able to find something that everyone likes!" Misty assured him, trying to convince herself of this idea as well. "Come on. Let's go find your dad and Elizabeth."
Aiden and Michelle followed after their mother, looking aimlessly around the store as they walked. Neither one was necessarily the biggest fan of shopping, so it wasn't like they were having that good of a time or even trying to find something specific. At the moment, they both just felt that it was simply a better alternative than having to speak to one another.
Interestingly, for a pair of siblings who often butted heads, they actually had a quite a bit in common.
Misty and the twins soon came across Ash and Elizabeth, the latter of whom quickly disappeared into a rack of clothing.
"I see she's playing her favorite game," Misty remarked with a wry smile.
Ash looked towards her and groaned. "She won't stop! I've tried to get her to actually look at things, but she doesn't have much interest. Apparently, hiding from me is a lot more fun."
"Of course, it is," Misty snickered. "Elizabeth may be girly, but she's still too young to appreciate a shopping trip just yet. Torturing her father is definitely more appealing at this point. Honestly, if I were you, I'd appreciate it. The shopping she's gonna put you through once she gets older will probably be much more unbearable."
"I think you're right," Ash muttered forlornly.
"Lizzie, let's go!" Misty beckoned. "We need your help picking out pajamas!"
The little girl crawled out from the rack and scurried up to her mother, attaching herself to the woman's legs. "Kay!"
"So, I'm guessing you guys didn't have any luck when you split off from us?" Ash asked.
"No, Michelle wouldn't let me get the pajamas with all the superheroes like Spinarak-Man," Aiden grumbled, folding his arms.
Michelle glared at her brother. "Just so you know, Mom doesn't like him either. Because, you know…he's a bug."
"That's not true, I think Spinarak-Man is fine," Misty sighed. "Also, I'm not scared of him, either. He's not a real bug, Michelle."
"I don't wike soo-hewo!" Elizabeth protested with a whine.
"Well, it doesn't matter, since they were already turned down," Aiden hissed.
Misty smirked at a bemused Ash. "Why yes, this is what I've been dealing with."
"Come on guys, there's no reason to fight over this!" Ash urged. "It's supposed to be fun. So…we're going to have fun!"
Aiden shot his father a deadpan look. "There's nothing fun about shopping."
"That I can agree with," Michelle begrudgingly admitted.
Misty groaned internally but managed to put on a brave face to hide her inner turmoil. "Except we're looking for family pajamas for Christmas! You have to admit that's a little fun."
Neither Aiden nor Michelle seemed ready to acquiesce, but after a moment, Michelle sighed and confessed, "okay, maybe it won't be so bad."
"That's more like it!" Misty cheered. "Now, let's go see what we can find!"
Her doubt quickly took over, however, once the family resumed looking at their options. Anything that was picked out was almost instantly shot down by at least one of the kids and having them pick out some options of their own wasn't working very well either.
"Dis!" Elizabeth cheered, trying to hold up a pair of pajamas that were about three times her size.
Ash chuckled and took the outfit from Elizabeth, holding it up himself so everyone could see it better. "Oh, look! It's a…little soldier guy."
Misty looked closer and giggled. "No, Ash. That's a nutcracker!"
"What, like that boring ballet?" Aiden groaned.
"Well, that'd make sense," Misty replied. "You know how much Lizzie loves dancing! And she's been watching your cousins get ready for their own Nutcracker performance."
"He coot," Elizabeth babbled, pointing towards the pajamas.
"Oh no, I am not wearing anything that comes from a ballet," Aiden refuted. "That's too girly."
"The nutcracker is literally a guy," Michelle deadpanned.
"Still not wearing it!" Aiden bit.
Ash sighed and put the pajamas back, causing Elizabeth to begin throwing a fit. "This isn't working, is it?"
Misty, who had picked Elizabeth up to try and comfort her, admitted, "not really, no."
"I really thought this was a good idea," Ash groaned. "But even with the two of us working together, we can't get the kids to agree on anything!"
"They are definitely stubborn," Misty agreed with a smirk. "Unfortunately, they get that from us."
Not taking that as a compliment for the time being, Ash dejectedly turned around so he would no longer have to face Misty. After all, he didn't want her to see any more of his disappointment than she already had. When he turned, however, he suddenly caught sight of a pair of pajamas he hadn't seen before; a pair that captured his interest more than any of the ones he'd looked at prior.
In a near trance like state, Ash walked over to the pajamas so he could examine them closer. Misty, who noticed this right away, was quick to follow after him, her own interest piqued.
"What is it?" She asked as soon as he stopped.
"Look at these," Ash marveled, gently pulling at one of the sleeves.
Misty finally realized what had caught Ash's attention, and once she took a look herself, a big smile formed on her face. Looking over her shoulder, she called, "Aiden, Michelle, Elizabeth! We might have found something!"
XXX
Christmas Eve finally arrived a few weeks later, and Ash was more than pleased to see his idea come to life.
The last pair of pajamas he had found in the store wound up being a hit with everyone; even Aiden and Michelle didn't waver when both voiced their approval.
They were made of green fleece, with loose fitting bottoms and button up tops, and featured an all over print of snowflakes with poke balls in the center and Pikachu making various faces while wearing a cozy knit hat.
Not overly surprising that Pikachu was the one who managed to bring them all together, but Ash certainly wasn't about to complain. And Pikachu, naturally, had been quite excited about the family's choice of pajamas himself.
It had been a long day full of the usual Christmas Eve activities for the Ketchum family: a fun breakfast, preparing the treats and gifts that would go to Ash's Pokémon at Professor Oak's ranch the next day, having Delia over to bake and decorate cookies before eating dinner together, and then reading a few Christmas stories by the tree. Everything had gone smoothly, and the day was basically a total success. It was growing late now, however, which meant it was time for Misty to make the kids' much dreaded announcement.
"Alright, almost time for you three to go to bed!"
"No!"
"Come on, Mom! It's Christmas Eve!"
"Kim-iss Eve!"
Misty chuckled softly. "Yes, that's why you all have to start getting ready for bed. If you stay up all night, Santa won't come!"
Michelle furrowed her brow. "Is that really true?"
"Of course, it is!" Ash chimed in as he pulled a brush through Pikachu's fur while the electric type cooed happily. "I knew someone growing up who refused to go to sleep on Christmas Eve, and once morning rolled around, Santa hadn't come and he had no presents to open."
Michelle's eyes widened in horror. "Really?!"
"Mmhm," Ash confirmed. "He never made that mistake again!"
"Okay, we'll go to bed soon!" Michelle promised, causing her father to smile.
"Wai-!" Elizabeth cried, gaining everyone's attention.
"What is it, baby?" Misty cooed.
Elizabeth popped up, waving her arms. "Pitch-ure!"
"You want to take pictures?" Misty asked, to which Elizabeth nodded. "But we've already taken lots of pictures, sweetheart!"
"Mowe!" Elizabeth chirped, grinning at her mother.
"She has always loved the camera," Ash chuckled.
"Nuh uh," Elizabeth calmly refuted, although everyone in the room knew that to be true. "I jus- wike my jammies!"
Misty couldn't help but to giggle. "They are cute, aren't they?"
As Elizabeth nodded, Ash commented, "it's really nice that we could all agree on them! I know that doesn't happen very often, but when it does, I think it's pretty great."
While Misty hummed in agreement, the children were initially silent. But then, out of all three of them, Aiden replied, "me too!"
Smiling sheepishly, Michelle murmured, "it's actually a lot more fun than arguing."
"Amazing, isn't it?" Misty asked teasingly.
Michelle just smirked and gave a tepid nod.
Elizabeth suddenly lowered herself back down to the floor, crawling over to Aiden and Michelle and tugging at both of their sleeves. "Wove Denny an- Shelly!"
Giggling, Michelle pulled Elizabeth into a hug and assured her, "we love you too, Lizzie!"
Although Aiden looked a bit embarrassed, he too got in on the embrace and added, "yeah, you're pretty cool for a squirt!"
Ash and Misty looked at one another and exchanged amused looks. Then, with a cluck, Ash commented, "look how sweet the three of you are! It's so nice!"
Covertly, Misty managed to sneak out her phone and take a few pictures. She knew that if the kids saw her, they would immediately pull away (well, Elizabeth probably wouldn't, but the twins definitely would) so she had to be as discreet as possible. Fortunately, none of them seemed to have noticed, and she was able to put her phone away without any incidence.
"As adorable as this is, it's about time for you three to head off to bed," Misty giggled softly. "We don't want to keep Santa waiting!"
This time, the kids popped up without complaint, much to Misty's relief.
"You guys head upstairs," Misty beckoned. "Daddy and I will be right up to tuck you all in."
As the young trio filed out of the room, Ash turned his attention onto Misty and grinned at her, causing the woman to incline her head.
"Did you manage to take a picture of the three of them all snuggled up?" Ash asked wisely.
Misty smirked. "I did. How did you know?"
Ash shrugged. "I just know you; you never pass up the opportunity to get a cute photo of those three!"
"Guilty," Misty giggled, sitting down beside Ash and pulling her phone out. "Want to see?"
"Of course!" Ash chuckled. Misty handed him her phone, where she'd already pulled the pictures up. He scrolled through them, his smile widening with each one. "These are awesome! I think they're even cuter than the family pictures we took."
"I couldn't agree more," Misty quipped, her eyes twinkling as Ash handed her phone back to her. Ash noticed this right away, and now it was his turn to become inquisitive.
"What?"
Misty's smile widened. "Nothing. It's just…this idea of yours. The matching pajamas. It was a really good one!"
Ash's grin soon rivaled Misty's own. "You think?"
She nodded affirmatively. "Did you just see them? Nowadays, I can hardly get Aiden and Michelle to stop picking fights. I know they love one another; my sisters and I did that kind of stuff all the time and we still cared about each other. But that doesn't make it any less disheartening to watch them butting heads all the time. And tonight, they were having so much fun together! They didn't start any trouble with each other, not once. And watching them hug…it was just so precious. It reminded me of when they were still little and were the best of friends."
Although the praise was nice to hear, Ash had to admit, "I'm not so sure if it was the matching pajamas or if it was Elizabeth. She's pretty good at diffusing her big brother and sister."
"Yeah, but even she can't stop them sometimes," Misty sighed. "I'm telling you, it's something about these pajamas! I guess maybe because we all had something in common for once. Those two are so different, and it's hard to get them on the same page most of the time. But they were both really excited to wear those pajamas, and I think that set the tone for the entire day. So…I'm sorry I ever doubted you."
Ash hummed playfully and tilted his head back against the couch, winking at Misty. "I don't ever remember you doubting me!"
Laughing, Misty leaned forward and gave Ash a quick kiss. "That is why you're a happily married man."
"Don't I know it," Ash remarked amusedly, picking his head back up. "So, should we go tuck the kids in?"
"Yeah," Misty replied, getting to her feet. "But when we're done, I want to come back here so we can keep savoring the past few hours! We basically just experienced a Christmas miracle and I am not about to take that for granted."
Hope you all enjoyed this one! Christmas is my favorite holiday so I always like writing and sharing stories about it.
