Merry Christmas Eve! Or Christmas Day, depending on where you're reading this from!
I was really excited about this particular story, so I decided to upload it on Christmas Eve instead of the actual day. I hope you all enjoy this little holiday gift from me to all of you!
Aiden and Michelle: 7 years old
Elizabeth: 16 months old
Mistletoe
"We need red lights, and blue lights, and green lights, and-"
"Shouldn't we just get rainbow lights, then?"
"Oh yeah! That's a good idea!"
Michelle furrowed her brow as she glanced over at the mountain of boxes next to her brother. There had to be at least 10 of them piled up. "Did you take all of those?"
"Yeah, I think they're good," Aiden confirmed, nodding his head.
"Guys, look what I…whoa, that's a lot of lights, champ."
Aiden spun around and beamed at his father. "Our house is gonna look so cool, Dad!"
"It definitely is, but that might be a few too many," Ash chuckled, nodding towards the boxes. Pikachu, who was perched on his shoulder, simply tilted his head. "We do still have some at home, after all."
"But they're not cool like these!" Aiden cried.
"Why are these so cool?" Michelle asked, pointing at Aiden's collection.
"Cause they have a picture of them on the bushes," Aiden explained, motioning towards the photo for emphasis.
Pikachu tittered at the explanation; he thought it was cute. Michelle raised an eyebrow and glanced up at her father, silently pleading for him to tell Aiden that was a stupid reason. Ash, however, was not about to do that, and simply offered his son a polite smile.
"We'll look through them in a minute and decide which ones we want to take home with us," Ash decided. "But I wanted to show you guys something first!"
"What?" Michelle squeaked, tilting her head.
"Is it more lights?" Aiden asked excitedly.
"No," Ash chuckled, holding his hand out. In his possession was a spring of bright green leaves, dotted with red berries and adorned on the stem by a red bow.
"It's a plant," Aiden dully noted.
"Not just a plant," Ash replied, chuckling as Pikachu reached out from his shoulder to bat at it. "Mistletoe!"
"Mistletoe?" Michelle repeated, sounding confused.
"Does it blow up?" Aiden questioned.
"It does not," Ash refuted, smirking. "You hang it up, and whichever two people stand underneath it have to kiss!"
Aiden twisted his face at the explanation. "That's gross."
"No, it's cute!" Ash laughed. "I think I'm going to buy this and bring it home with us."
"Why?" Aiden grumbled.
"Because Mom likes it," Ash explained. "Besides, it'll be a nice decoration for inside the house! We can't only focus on the outside, after all."
Aiden pouted. "But the outside is the best part."
Michelle, on the other hand, beamed at her father. "I think the mistletoe is cute, Daddy!"
Aiden scowled as he glanced over at his twin. "Suck up."
"Aiden, that's not nice," Ash scolded. "If you don't behave, I won't buy any lights."
The young boy instantly perked up, trying to present a happy façade. "Okay, I'll be nice! I like this one, Dad!"
Ash sighed and smirked as his son patted one of the boxes. "Alright, we'll bring that one home too."
XXX
Misty giggled as she watched Elizabeth turn the page of the book that was sitting between them. Pointing at the paper, Misty asked her little daughter, "What's that? Do you know?"
Elizabeth mimicked her mother and pointed at the picture as well. "Twee!"
"That is a tree!" Misty crowed. "But it's a special tree, right? That's a Christmas tree!"
Elizabeth looked over her shoulder and pointed towards the corner of the room. "Twee!"
"Yeah, that's our Christmas tree!" Misty cooed. "It looks like a regular tree now, but Daddy, Aiden, and Michelle are going to come back with all kinds of pretty things we can decorate it with. Then it'll really be a Christmas tree!"
Vaporeon suddenly slunk beneath the pine, whacking at the low hanging branches with one of her paws. Elizabeth began to laugh wildly, highly entertained by the Pokémon. Misty, on the other hand, sighed and got to her feet.
"Vaporeon, what have I said about playing around with the tree?" Misty questioned, folding her arms.
"Vay," Vaporeon purred, emerging from under the tree.
"Thank you," Misty trilled, grinning at her partner.
Suddenly, the jiggling of a lock sounded, and the front door opened, the rest of the family having returned from the store.
"You guys were gone for a while," Misty remarked. "Did you find everything okay?"
"Yeah, maybe a little too well," Ash chuckled. Pikachu jumped off his shoulder and headed straight for Elizabeth's lap, causing the little girl to squeal and hug the mouse.
"We got lots of cool lights, Mom!" Aiden exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air.
"You did?" Misty giggled.
"Yeah, they're awesome," Aiden replied.
"I like the twinkly rainbow ones the best!" Michelle chimed in.
"Hmm, it does sound like the shopping went a bit too well," Misty commented, glancing up at her husband. "Just how many lights did you buy?"
"Not that many," Ash calmly argued. "Like…six boxes."
Misty smirked and shook her head. "Great, so six new boxes to go along with all the boxes we already have?"
"It's not like we had tons of lights before," Ash refuted.
"We had a fair amount," Misty scoffed.
"It's okay, Mom, cause we're gonna have the best house in the whole city!" Aiden cheered.
"Yeah, the brightest and the prettiest!" Michelle agreed.
"Oh, good, we're going to be those people," Misty sighed, though she was smiling.
"Hey, those are the best kind of people!" Ash crowed. "They get so into the holidays, it's awesome! I always wanted to decorate our house like that growing up, but we couldn't afford to buy that many lights."
"You don't have to make your house visible from space to show how much you love Christmas," Misty reasoned with her husband.
"Nah, I know that," Ash agreed. "It's also about the food, and the presents, and-"
"Your family?" Misty interrupted, raising an eyebrow.
"I was getting there," Ash whined. "You cut me off before I could!"
Misty giggled and tilted her head. "Right."
"Oh, Daddy, show Mommy what else we bought!" Michelle cried, tugging at her father's pants.
Misty blinked. "I thought you were only going to get lights."
"That was the plan, but I found something else that I thought would be nice," Ash explained, turning around and kneeling to dig in one of the plastic bags he'd brought inside. He pulled out the mistletoe, catching Misty's interest. It caught Elizabeth's as well, who ambled to her feet and began toddling towards her father.
"Mistletoe?" Misty snickered.
"I thought it was cute," Ash chuckled, taking another close look at the plant.
"It's gross," Aiden complained, sticking his tongue out.
"Well, I happen to like mistletoe!" Misty laughed. "I'm not surprised Daddy does too, even though it took him years to get there."
Aiden and Michelle curiously glanced up at their father, who sheepishly began to rub the back of his neck.
"Daddy, what does Mommy mean?" Michelle asked, tilting her head.
"Uh…"
"When Daddy and I were younger, I used to get him under the mistletoe to try and kiss him," Misty explained, smirking at a flustered Ash. "But he always freaked out and ran off!"
Aiden and Michelle both began to laugh wildly, causing Ash to blush. "Come on, I was just a kid! That's hardly fair."
"So you thought it was gross too!" Aiden cried.
"I did not!" Ash argued, although his blush had intensified. "It just made me nervous, that's all."
Elizabeth, who was too young to laugh at her father's expense like her older siblings, simply attached herself to his leg and rubbed her cheek against his shin. Glancing down, Ash showed off a relieved smile, scooping up the toddler with one arm.
"Hey there, pumpkin," he cooed. "You wanna see the mistletoe?"
He held the spring out towards Elizabeth, whose eyes widened out of curiosity. Like most children her age, Elizabeth was very inquisitive and loved to examine things she was not familiar with. She reached out and gently touched one of the leaves, giggling when she felt how soft it was.
Chuckling, Ash slowly pulled the mistletoe away from his daughter and instead held it above both of their heads. Elizabeth squeaked and tilted her head back to stare at it, watching as the plant gently swayed.
"Now we have to give each other a kiss!" Ash laughed. Elizabeth, however, just looked confused. With a small smile, Ash pressed a delicate kiss against his daughter's forehead, causing her to shriek with delight.
"Dada!" Elizabeth babbled, reaching up to hold onto his cheeks.
"Where's my kiss?" Ash asked the toddler. "Do I get one too?"
Elizabeth smirked and shook her head.
"No?" Ash gasped. Elizabeth shook her head again.
"Just like Daddy when he was little!" Michelle giggled. Aiden looked at her before joining in, leading their father to furrow his brow.
"Alright, that's enough of that for one day," Ash tiredly decided, putting the mistletoe to the side.
"Good, because I have to put Lizzie down for her nap," Misty breathed, gently taking the little girl from Ash's grasp.
"But I thought we were gonna do the decorations!" Aiden whined.
"Sweetheart, relax," Misty sighed, her eyes travelling towards Elizabeth as the toddler put her head down on her mother's shoulder. "We can do a little bit once Elizabeth is asleep. I just don't want us to do something like the tree. Lizzie should be there for that."
"What about the lights?" Aiden asked.
"We can do those," Misty assured him. "That's something Lizzie is too small to help with anyway. But I also need you and Michelle to try on your Christmas outfits for me."
Aiden pulled a face at that request. "I hate dressing up for Christmas."
"I know you do," Misty scoffed.
"So how come I hafta?" Aiden groaned.
"Because it's a nice holiday, so you should look nice," Misty replied. "Besides, everyone else in the family dresses up!"
Aiden raised an eyebrow. "Then I should be different!"
Misty smirked. "You're very cute, buddy."
The boy's face lit up. "So I don't hafta dress up?"
"No, you still have to."
Aiden sulked as his mother turned towards the stairs. Michelle laughed at her brother's misfortune, causing him to scowl at her.
"You shouldn't laugh," Aiden smartly reminded his twin. "That means you've gotta wear some kinda girly dress."
Michelle quickly stopped giggling, knowing her brother was right. Ash smiled at the two and knelt down to their level.
"Why don't you two head upstairs so you can try on those outfits and get it over with?" Ash suggested. "I promise I won't do any decorating without you!"
"Fine," Aiden grumbled, stomping towards the stairs. Michelle, however, wasn't as quick to move, and stared at her father as she batted her eyelashes.
"What's up, Shelly?" Ash asked. "Aren't you going to go with Aiden?"
"Yeah," Michelle replied slowly. "But Daddy, I have a question."
"Yes, princess?"
Michelle pointed at the mistletoe. "Who made up that whole story about having to kiss people under that thing?"
Ash blinked. "Um…I'm not sure."
"So that means you don't really have to do it, right?"
"Well, no, you don't have to do anything. It's just like a tradition."
"Could we do something else?"
Ash seemed perplexed. "Why do you want to do something else?"
"I don't know," Michelle admitted. "Just cause maybe it'd be fun! I like making up stories. So I can make one up just like whoever made up all that kissy stuff!"
"We'll see," Ash finally relented, smirking at his daughter. "Go try on your outfit, kay?"
"Okay," Michelle squeaked, turning on a heel and running off.
As she ascended the steps, Ash finally put his attention back on the mistletoe. He grew wide eyed, however, when he saw that Vaporeon had jumped on the top of the couch and was slowly inching towards the plant.
"Vaporeon, what are you doing?" Ash asked slowly.
Pikachu noticed this as well and hopped up onto the couch cushion, watching the water type with careful eyes. Vaporeon glanced between the two before continuing her graceful stride towards the mistletoe. Before Ash or Pikachu could process it, Vaporeon had batted it off the couch and jumped down after it, continuing to swat it around the floor.
"Pi-kachu!" Pikachu cried, leaping off the couch and following after the bubble jet Pokémon.
"Vaporeon!" Ash groaned, diving after the water type. She mewled and jumped out of the way, sending Ash face first into the floor.
Pikachu, meanwhile, jumped over his fallen trainer to try and get to Vaporeon. The water type ended up swishing her tail to the side and accidentally smacking the mouse with it, however, sending him back against Ash's head as he picked it up.
Vaporeon, who was completely oblivious to all of the carnage she'd inadvertently caused, rolled over on her back and began tossing the mistletoe in the air using her front paws.
Ash and Pikachu both looked up, grimacing at Misty's precious partner. Vaporeon was a very sweet and loving Pokémon, and an incredibly loyal companion. Unfortunately, her playful side tended to overtake her rather easily, and the bubble jet Pokémon could create an awful lot of trouble and mess without meaning to. That made it pretty easy to get frustrated, but not enough to take it out on the water type.
"We have to get that mistletoe back," Ash declared.
"Pi-ka," Pikachu agreed.
Getting up on his hands and knees, Ash crawled over to Vaporeon, who was still busy playing with the holiday plant. "Hey, Vaporeon, would it be alright if I took that from you? It's part of our Christmas decorations, and I need to hang it up! I'd be happy to give you something else to play with instead!"
Vaporeon halted her paws and turned her head, though she continued to lie on her back with the mistletoe resting in her palms. "Vay?"
"So I can have it?" Ash asked, pointing at the mistletoe before reaching out for it. "That'd be-"
The water type hissed and threw the plant once again, getting up to her feet and smacking it with her tail once it got close enough to her again.
"Great," Ash grumbled as the bubble jet Pokémon scurried off.
Pikachu ambled over to his trainer and hopped up onto the man's shoulder, dropping his ears. "Pikapi, pikachu."
"Yeah, I know," Ash sighed, shaking his head. "It was worth a shot, though."
"What's Vaporeon got?"
Ash looked over his shoulder just in time to see Michelle hopping down the stairs, sporting a navy blue dress printed with red roses and green leaves and sporting a red rosette at the green lined waist. The little girl didn't give her father time to respond, however, before asking a follow up question: "is that the mistletoe?"
"Hey, I like that way better than kissing!"
Aiden was laughing wildly as he pulled up beside his sister, wearing a red sweater with plaid shoulder patches and dark gray dress pants.
"Guys, come on, it's not funny!" Ash whined. "I need help getting it back!"
"Why don't you just ask?" Michelle suggested.
"I already tried that," Ash begrudgingly admitted.
Michelle thought about it for a moment before her face lit up. "I know! Let's make this our tradition with the mistletoe!"
"What, have Vaporeon destroy it?!" Ash cried.
Michelle grinned and nodded her head.
"Yeah, I like that!" Aiden continued laughing.
Misty came slowly down the stairs, silently watching as Vaporeon continued to run around with the mistletoe as the twins giggled and Ash and Pikachu both fretted. Once she reached the bottom, the gym leader shook her head and approached her Pokémon, kneeling down and gently plucking the spring from the water type's mouth. Vaporeon mewled sadly, but stopped as soon as Misty pet her head.
"This isn't a toy, Vaporeon," Misty gently informed her partner. "You can always play with something else!"
As she stood back up, Aiden groaned. "Aw, why'd you stop her?"
"Because the mistletoe isn't a toy, just like I told her," Misty replied. "I know you guys think it's a little silly, but Daddy and I really like it."
"I don't think it's silly, Mommy," Michelle refuted. "I just wanted to make up something that's just for our family!"
"Which was very sweet," Misty assured her. "But our family has lots of traditions that are special just to us! The mistletoe may be something that a lot of families do, but it can still be very special."
Turning towards Ash, Misty held the mistletoe out towards him. "Why don't you hang this up so it's out of Vaporeon's reach?"
Ash blinked, but took the plant out of her hand and got to his feet, walking towards the doorway between the living room and the foyer. "What do you think? Right here?"
Misty hummed and glanced down at the twins. "Do you guys like that spot?"
Michelle's eyes shimmered as she rapidly nodded her head. "Yeah! It's perfect!"
Aiden, on the other hand, was nowhere near as excited, though he was willing to give his input. "That's fine."
With the placement decided, Ash tied the mistletoe's bright red ribbon around a small, barely visible hook in the very top of the doorway. Once he was done, he took a step back and placed his hands on his hips, examining his work.
"Pi-ka!" Pikachu squeaked.
Ash chuckled and rubbed under his partner's chin. "Yeah, I think it looks good too!"
Misty beamed at the man and his Pokémon, and then down at her children. "You two are such a big help! Thank you!"
"Of course!" Michelle chirped, leading Misty to giggle.
"Now, why don't we get you out of those nice clothes so we can really start decorating?" Misty suggested.
They both cheered loudly, causing Vaporeon to pick her head up from the spot on the floor where she'd now busied herself with one of Elizabeth's stray toys.
"Go upstairs quietly," Misty instructed. "I don't want you to wake up your little sister. I'll be there in just a minute."
Aiden and Michelle nodded before clamoring up the stairs. Once they were out of sight, Misty strode towards Ash, who had turned towards her with an innocent look plastered on his face. Sensing the woman was on a mission, Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder and made his way over to Vaporeon to get out of the way. Smirking, Misty reached out and gently pushed Ash until they were both standing in the nearest doorway. Ash waited for her to do something, and was surprised when all she did was tilt her head back. He did the same, and chuckled when he realized she was staring at the mistletoe.
"So…you like it?" Ash asked, smiling slyly at his wife.
Without a word, Misty grabbed the material of his shirt and yanked him forward, catching his lips in her own. Ash smiled against the kiss, reaching up to gently touch her face. Once Misty pulled away, she smiled softly at him and rested her forehead against his.
"No. I love it. And I love you."
Ash laughed and closed his eyes. "I love you, too."
I always think about Under the Mistletoe when it comes to Ash and Misty. I think that would be something like a little joke between them, but something that also has a lot of meaning.
Merry Christmas to all of you! Hope you have a fun and happy holiday!
