Part V

December 25, 2024

It was of course Christmas Day! During each of their breaks from the corresponding jobs, they each went to a nearby store and picked out whatever they could.

On the night before Christmas, Liu actually wanted us to go to bed an hour early, at 9pm instead of the usual 10pm, and even planted a plate of cookies for Santa; however, instead of milk, I actually poured and refrigerated a glass of eggnog for a while, until it was time for bed.

Liu got Aiko a heart-shaped box of chocolates showcasing his love for her and since they both love chocolate! Caro got new baby clothes including blue and white pajamas. At first, Aiko was worried that the candy box was the only thing, but Liu was just getting started, especially when he found her a pair of ruby earrings with a matching ruby necklace, and also a pair of glass swans making a heart! To which Aiko only wanted it safe in the bedroom.

There was also some hot chocolate, especially for Caro which was a first; everyone loved it! Aiko also had eggnog, even making coffee with it, and even leaving out a glass of eggnog for Santa last night to do something different beside Liu's plate of cookies. He too got her a lipstick set with different shades of red since they both love that color the most!

The first new plushie that Caro played with was the Dragonite, and he was impressed it can fly, as shown by Aiko lifting it. Then after lunch of leftover pizza, Caro played with both Piloswine and Mamoswine! I was wondering if he'd get to play and enjoy all his plushies before Christmas is over, even those such as Charizard, the red Yoshi, or Riolu... With that said, Riolu was usually meant for me, as I told him earlier it was my mascot, even though I hardly remembered telling him... Still, I wondered what Liu's Pokémon is, which he'd stated it was in fact Dragonite! I'm surprised he hasn't been turned off by how many times it's been used, let alone Lance having 3 of them, and being mostly weak against Ice and Rock. Hopefully, it'll make me have a change of heart...

We actually had Oreo cake for dessert, and it was mouth-watering! After we played with Caro and his Pokémon, Liu found mistletoe. My heart warmed and I kissed my eternal lover passionately, before we played a lil more before the end of the night.

December 26, 2024

Caro woke up a few minutes after us and he was happy to see us; I asked him if he had a great Christmas in which he smiled and cuddled. After we had breakfast, we played with him and his Pokemon; he loved Donphan, Mamoswine and Piloswine the most, even Aerodactyl for a little while. He adored nearly all his toys but seemed to love the elephants most of all. We also gave him a bath later that night, which I hadn't seen him have in a good long while, at least watch him have one. I was hesitant to wash him on the head, face, and between the horns as I was nervous on getting soap in his eyes, but thankfully, Liu was there to help. He was very affectionate with his dad too; it was very heartwarming. Liu noticed not only he needed a bath, but earlier today, he also Caro was getting chubby; I got a bit shocked thinking on getting back the chocolate milk and switching to apple juice more, even though he assured its only baby fat, though to me it was one of the same... It was assuring he loves taking baths and isn't very fussy like other pets/babies tend to be. Even when he was playing with both ducks.

December 31, 2024

It was the last day of 2024, and Liu and I had pancakes for the New Years Eve breakfast, although I smothered them with the usual blueberry syrup, maybe I'll use chocolate syrup next time! Caro eventually woke up and I wasn't sure if we were actually going to stay up until midnight for the new year, or have Caro go to bed when usual. Liu gave me the answer that for once, we shall stay up until midnight for 2025! It was indeed a first for us, especially for Caro as a baby... We had him take a few naps throughout the day, until Liu decided to order Chinese food for dinner. We were playing with him and his Pokémon until after the scrumptious supper in which I actually taught him how to jump. I figured in order to learn how to use his wings and fly, he should learn how to bend his knees and lift himself first. So, I shown him how with myself, and several of the Pokémon plushies. I'd shown him to bend his knees, it was almost like sitting, then rise fast to lift his feet. He just clapped and laughed while I did it. He was jovial, but I hope he'd get the gist soon.

At around 8pm, there was a sudden rainstorm with a heavy progression, thunder and lightning; Aiko muttered that Raiden is busy and she misses the sagacious Thunder God... By 10pm, the storm died down. She was surprised that Caro never noticed and wasn't nervous of the weather at all. She still trained Caro to jump. By 11pm, Caro yawned and was growing tired; Aiko and Liu got him ready for his late bedtime and were the only ones who stayed up for the New Year, 2025. We actually drank for once; Liu hardly ever drinks, so this was indeed a first for him, as for me as I only drink twice a year (New Year's and my birthday, Jan 31). He even took me outside the Temple to see the fireworks for a while before we counted down 10 seconds to the New Year! He reflected on Caro hatching in my arms... I said it was on some platform, but he reflected when I held him the first time; the best moment was when he changed as he first became a dad... Caro was indeed a miracle for us, especially being born during the Chinese Year of the Dragon. And I reflected on not only his birth, but also our engagement and our marriage... By the time 2025 began, we kissed passionately. My heart was melting, and I became emotional, wishing we'd stay like this forever, always being by our sides... I lost sleep for an hour and overslept by 30 mins late.

January 1, 2025

I woke up about 30 mins late, and Liu was a bit worried as I hardly oversleep. We actually cuddled for a while before the baby woke up at around 9am, which was very nice since we hardly have intimacy. I've kept wishing we'd stay as a family whatever happens, even if life, work, or the Elder Gods forbid another invasion like with Titan Havik or Noob Saibot. I actually started to train Caro on how to jump; in order to fly, he'd need to lift himself from the ground first, so since he got used to walking, I thought jumping'd be the next step. I've kept teaching him from myself, as well as other Pokémon plushies, even trying to walk him thru by bending his knees and rising quickly. He actually did try once, but he fell. I was startled and I immediately went to tend to him as I held him comfortably, used my heart gem for curing, and even feeding him a chocolate milk bottle to help soothe him. It has been a challenge; he hasn't tried much... Perhaps he's too nervous on hurting himself again...

January 6th, 2025

This was the day of Caro's first-ever snowfall! Not necessarily a blizzard, but rather an accumulating snow shower. I had Caro play out in the snow for a lil while, and he was curious on the flakes and the mounds. He wasn't too bitterly cold, even licked some of the snow as if people would lick a snow cone. He actually enjoyed the snow for several minutes before I'd made tomato soup which he also loved; it was from a can, but I think I added a cup of milk to it.

January 10th, 2025

I'd been taking Caro out after his first snowstorm, and he loved playing with the snow! He wasn't cold at all! But he did notice lesser snow due to it melting but mostly turning into sludge... He became upset about it... It was difficult calming him down and assuring him for the next snow; thankfully dad helped distract him from his angsts on missing the snow... I've forgotten how kids appreciate it aside from school closures...

January 20th, 2025

A few days before that, Liu got sick, so he needed to rest in the Fire Temple with the Jinsei close to him, and it was a good thing I had some tomato soup handy from inside the freezer. He was just fatigued that he didn't feel like playing very much. But after having it, which Caro loved too, he was starting to be on the mend. Last night, though, there was a snowstorm expected to hit, which came down hard but lasted a few hours; it was also late, and the frigidity soon followed. But it wasn't until today that Caro had a fun snow day! He was outside for about 15 minutes, and I almost forgot to gift him the old plush elephant I used to have as a toddler, Fisher Price's Ellie the Elephant.

January 22nd, 2025

While Aiko was playing with Caro and his mammoth family, Liu suddenly took out the Eevee plushie. The cute foxlike Pokémon was frolicking with Caro and Aiko had it to teach the baby tag. It's been implied by Liu that Eevee's a female and not male like she thought; as when she was 12, the last Eevee plush she encountered was played by another boy.

January 23rd, 2025

Even though it's mostly banned, we somehow saw Looney Tunes of Pepe Le Pew, and thanks to him jumping as he chases after Penelope, Caro actually tried to mimic him and made some small hops!

A/N: ...It just ended here, the roleplay... On January 24th, my Liu Kang roleplaying partner just moved into a new apartment with an old friend of his, another guy no less... But he's actually bisexual, my partner, and unfortunately life always came first... This would greatly hinder our times together now, and I hope it would still move forward and won't be the last straw... I'll surely miss those tender moments we used to have together, and his exotic ideas... I'm just dealing with too much stress and upset, on account of this, and future housing plans, as well as protecting my disability benefits from SSDI with every appointment turning us down... I'd been staying off of Twitter for a while, and the Unaliving Liu Kang roleplayer who was another dear friend had left me too, and I hope my Canadian partner'd make time for this soon... I pray to the Elder Gods we can still be friends and continue from here... :'(