Getting this in just under the wire for Christmas! I hope you've all had a wonderful day and enjoy this little gift :)

Aiden and Michelle: 8 years old

Elizabeth: 2 years old


Playroom Christmas

"Ooh, toy! Ooh, toy!"

"No, they're not toys, Lizzie! They're ornaments!"

Elizabeth, who had already picked up the delicate figurine, seemed confused by her older sister's correction. "O-ment?"

"Yeah, we have to hang them on the tree," Michelle explained, pointing at the small faux fir standing behind the toddler. The two were sitting together in the playroom of the Cerulean Gym, where their mother had just set up that same tree. Before they could do anything else, however, a challenger had arrived for a battle. In the meantime, Misty had asked Michelle to keep an eye on Elizabeth until she returned.

"Close," Michelle snickered. "Ornaments. They're decorations that you put on the tree; they'll make it look really pretty!"

Elizabeth's eyes lit up at such a description. "P-etty!"

Michelle giggled. She knew that would get Elizabeth interested! Her little sister sure loved things that were "pretty," so just the word alone always managed to capture her attention.

"Pik-chu's p-etty."

Elizabeth was now holding the ornament by its red ribbon, admiring the sculpture of a scarf wearing Pikachu clutching a cookie, a bottle of MooMoo Milk situated by its side.

"That is a pretty ornament," Michelle agreed. "Wanna put it on the tree?"

Grinning, Elizabeth rapidly nodded her head and got to her feet as quickly as her little legs would let her. She approached the tree, studying the faux plant closely to try and determine where to place the ornament.

While the toddler contemplated, Aiden came striding into the room, taking a quick and bewildered glance towards Elizabeth before shrugging and turning towards his twin. "What're you guys doing?"

"Decorating the playroom tree," Michelle replied. "I'm letting Lizzie put the first ornament on!"

"Oh, cool!" Aiden crowed, stepping in front of the box full of ornaments. "I want to do the next one!"

"What?! No way!" Michelle protested. "I get to go next!"

Aiden scowled. "Why should you get to go? I just called it!"

"Because it goes in age order, oldest to youngest," Michelle recited. "And you're always bragging about how you're older than me, so guess what? I get to go second!"

"That's not a rule!" Aiden argued. "You just made that up!"

"So, what if I did?"

"Then it's not real and I don't hafta listen to it!"

"How come I always walk in on you two having some kind of argument?"

Though he looked frustrated, Ash sounded more exhausted than anything else. He was used to the twins' petty squabbling, but it was definitely tiring. And once they got started, it wasn't easy to get them to stop.

"Dad, Michelle made up some dumb rule that she gets to put up an ornament before me because I'm 'older'," Aiden complained, rolling his eyes as he said the last word.

"Only because he's always rubbing it in my face that he's 'older' than me!" Michelle cried. "I'm so sick of hearing it! And since I'm 'younger,' shouldn't I get to go before him? That's why I let Elizabeth go first; she's the youngest one of us all!"

Ash glanced down and realized that Elizabeth was standing nearby, gently placing an ornament on one of the tree's branches. Chuckling, Ash leaned down and picked Elizabeth up, sending the toddler into a fit of giggles. "What a nice place for that ornament! You're like an expert decorator!"

With their father still looking at the tree, Aiden and Michelle stuck their tongues out at each other, neither one willing to back down from their own belief that they were right.

"Y'know, I think this has always been my favorite Christmas tree."

The twins put their tongues back in their mouths and turned to look at their father.

"Even more than the one in our house?" Michelle inquired.

Ash nodded. "It's close, but there's something really special about this one! Your mom thought it would be so cute for you two to have your own little tree in the playroom, one that you could decorate all on your own without us messing with it. Even when you guys were really little and you'd put all the ornaments in one place, we never changed it. Kind of looked silly, but it sure was fun to watch you two get to do something all on your own! Both of you were always so proud of yourselves, and it was so cute." Looking over his shoulder, Ash smirked and added, "I'm sure neither of you remembers that."

"No," Aiden confirmed. "I thought that tree was always in here."

"Nah, this room wasn't even here before you two were," Ash chuckled. "At least, not as a playroom. Your mom did that for you guys, too!"

Aiden and Michelle exchanged wary looks before turning back towards their father.

"Daddy, are you just telling us all this stuff to get us to stop fighting?" Michelle bluntly asked.

Although he was a bit taken back, Ash saw no point in lying. "Yeah, is it working?"

The twins glanced at one another again, quickly bursting into giggles. From her father's arms, Elizabeth began to giggle too, and Ash himself was just relieved he had actually succeeded in getting the older two to relax.

"Aiden, I have the best idea!" Michelle squealed, her eyes sparkling. "Let's decorate the whole tree before Mommy comes back from her battle; it'll be the best surprise ever!"

"Yeah!" Aiden agreed. "She'll love it!"

"I he-p!" Elizabeth cried, throwing both her arms up and hitting Ash in the face with one of her little hands.

Wincing, Ash commented, "sounds like a plan," before placing Elizabeth by his feet and rubbing at his nose. When he lowered his hands, he found that Aiden and Michelle had dived right into decorating the tree, helping Elizabeth out along the way. It was pretty funny to him how fiercely Aiden and Michelle could fight and then get along like nothing ever happened only minutes later; he definitely preferred it when they were being amicable with one another.

He must've lost track of time watching the kids decorate the tree, because before he knew it, Misty was striding up beside him with an accomplished smile on her face.

"Hey!" Ash greeted, his own face lighting up as soon as he saw her. "How'd the battle go?"

"Great!" Misty cheerfully replied. "I won, but the kid put up a pretty good fight. He was very determined and was great at communicating with his Pokémon. Reminded me a lot of you, actually."

Ash puffed his chest out at the compliment. "They do say I'm a positive influence on the young trainers of today!"

"Yeah, I've been meaning to talk to all those publications about that," Misty sighed. "I'm afraid your head is going to get too big to fit through the doors."

Pikachu, who was perched on Misty's shoulder, snickered at the insinuation. Ash playfully rolled his eyes before asking, "how did you like cheering Misty on during her match?"

"Pi-ka!" The mouse exclaimed.

"He's the most perfect cheerleader!" Misty boasted. "I think Vaporeon was particularly reinvigorated by him. Right, sweetie?"

"Vay!" Vaporeon chirped, coiling herself around Misty's legs. When she got to her trainer's shins and peered into the playroom, the water type's ears flicked, and she darted into the room without so much as a sound. Pikachu was the first to notice Vaporeon's sudden move, and when he realized why she had left, he grinned and hopped off of Misty's shoulder, following closely behind.

Once Pikachu went flying by them, Ash and Misty turned their heads to see what had intrigued the Pokémon. As soon as Misty saw it, she squealed in delight, clasping her hands beside her cheek. "Oh, how cute!"

The excited shriek caught the attention of the children, the older two of whom became visibly upset. "Mom! This was supposed to be a surprise!"

"Aw, Aiden, I'm sorry," Misty apologized. "But it's still a really nice surprise! I've always loved seeing how you guys decorate the tree. And now you have Lizzie helping out too; it's so sweet!"

"Yeah?" Aiden asked, glancing back at the tree.

"That makes sense!" Michelle chirped. "Daddy said Mommy got this tree just for us!"

"Well, he's right about that!" Misty giggled, stepping further into the playroom. "I always thought of it as a fun way for you and your brother to express your creativity. That's the number one rule about this tree: we never move anything once it's been placed on the tree by one of you!"

"P-etty!"

Aiden and Michelle glanced down at their sister, both of them pulling a pained face as soon as they saw her handiwork: a sea of ornaments all clumped in one spot, basically hanging on top of one another.

"So…we can't change any of that?" Michelle asked, sheepishly pointing at the crowded corner of the tree.

"Nope," Ash confirmed with a chuckle. "That is what Lizzie wanted!"

"Just like the two of you when you were little," Misty sighed, beaming at a still stunned Aiden and Michelle.

"Oh…" Michelle murmured, slowly lowering her arm. "That's going to drive me crazy."

"Yeah," Misty agreed with a smirk. "You and I are very much alike! But I'll tell you a secret that'll make it a little easier for you to accept: look at your little sister's face."

Still grimacing, Michelle looked down again, this time paying more attention to Elizabeth than the tree. The toddler was positively beaming, her eyes shining as she stared at all of the ornaments she had placed. Elizabeth was still very young, so Michelle wasn't used to seeing her with a look of what could only be described as pride. It was very new…and it was very cute.

"She's super happy," Michelle noted with a small giggle. "And proud of herself!"

"Right, because she did it all on her own," Misty replied. "That's the exact same look you and your brother used to have when you decorated that tree! And the tree looked exactly the same, too."

Michelle smirked and folded her arms. "Okay, so maybe the tree isn't so bad."


Michelle may be a perfectionist, but seeing her little sister happy is much more important to her!