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It was Christmas time in Paldea; Mesagoza had decorations up since the first of the month, and other cities were catching up.
Songs played, TV specials aired, and that warm, fuzzy feeling that came with the holidays was filling everyone.
It was especially exciting for T. While he had memories of the professors' Christmases, they were never what could be considered… ‘typical’.
No spending time with family and friends, outside of work parties. No giving gifts, no all the money went to research. And most importantly…
No Christmases were spent with Arven. Not real ones anyway.
No watching the boy excitedly opening gifts on Christmas morning. No taking him to see lights in the neighborhood. No trimming the tree with him.
T wanted to change that.
He called Arven.
“Yeah, dad?” They were slowly getting more comfortable with the terms.
“Arven, I want a tree. For Christmas. Will you come with me?”
“Ah, sure. You want a real one?”
“For this year, yes.”
“OK, I’ll look up tree farms. I’ll get back to you.”
They said their goodbyes and went on with their days. T thought about going to the store, to pick out decorations, but decided against it.
He wanted to do this with Arven.
Until then, he tended his lilies. He’d brought some inside planters but knew the outside plants would grow again next year. It didn’t snow a great deal in this part of Paldea during winter, but it was enough.
His phone rang.
“Dad, I found a place. You wanna head straight there?”
“No, first we need to go shopping for decorations.”
“You didn’t yet?”
“I wanted to do it with you.”
Arven was quiet for a moment.
“Yeah, I’d like that.”
---
T picked Arven up just outside of the school. They headed to the closest retail store, T listing the kinds of decorations he’d like to get.
“We need tree decorations, maybe skip the tinsel. Some things to set up around the house, maybe smaller blowups? And yard stuff, and lights!”
He was like a kid in a candy store, eyes sparkling with every decoration he saw.
Arven gently talked him away from the more expensive or bigger items, steering him down the tree aisle.
T stood before the colored bulbs, hand on his chin as if this were the hardest decision of his life.
“The red and green are Christmas colors… but the lighter purples and blues would look nice, maybe not together though. Maybe the red and gold? The gold would stand out better than the green…”
“Dad, you know you can get more than one, right? You don’t have to use them all at once, but you can get them.”
T looked stunned, as though this had never occurred to him.
“We can get them, pick what we want to use this year, and use the others next year.”
“Next year…”
T’s eyes shimmered, his version of tears.
“Yeah, dad.” Arven smiled. “Next year.”
T suddenly hugged him. Arven was a little surprised but knew deep down why T was so emotional.
He’d never had anything like this, and probably never thought he would. Arven wasn’t sure exactly what memories he had, but he knew this was special to T.
T pulled away and composed himself, glancing behind him to spot another shopper looking guilty then pass by. They had been watching the scene unfold.
“Yes, well.” He cleared his throat. “Let’s get the red and gold, and the purple. And the blue.”
Arven chuckled as he watched T get his bulbs. It was cute.
They got matching garland, adding silver as well, and a few character ornaments. T smiled goofily as he held up a Mabosstiff ornament. Of course, it was added to the cart. They added multicolored lights, and some plain ones, to the cart as well. And finally a gold star, for the top.
With their tree sorted out, they headed for other decorations.
A minor blowup Santa was put in, a mini singing tree(which Arven did not look forward to constantly hearing). Some smaller decorations made of thick glass, like one of Santa and Mrs. Claus, a tree music box, and finally they headed to the outdoors section.
Good thing we got two carts. Arven fondly shook his head.
T grabbed two white wire and garland Stantler that lit up a multicolored light-up tree, and another, bigger, blowup Santa with a Stantler with a red nose beside it.
And to top it all off, a green wreath with a red bow, for the door.
“Well… this is gonna cost a pretty penny, but I don’t regret it.” T smiled widely, hands on his hips as he looked at the full carts.
“Well, we can get more stuff as time passes, if you want. They’ll probably have some new stuff next year.”
“I’d like that.” T grabbed his cart and they headed to check out.
Sure enough, it was quite a bit of money, but neither minded.
Besides, T thought. I’m going to be spending more on Arven’s gifts soon, too.
He had it all planned.
They took their haul home before setting out for a tree. Less to carry in.
It was just before five when they took a flying taxi to Montenevera to get their tree.
Just outside of the town was a tree farm, and T’s eyes lit up with joy at the sight.
“Look how many there are!”
“OK, dad, remember we have to take size into account. I’m sure you’d love a big tree, but we need about a medium.”
“I know, I know.”
Arven saw him keep glancing back at the bigger trees, but the lighthouse ceiling wasn’t high enough for one.
They wandered around the smaller-to-medium trees, T examining their branches thoroughly. While he understood T’s excitement and commitment to a perfect Christmas tree, Arven was getting annoyed.
“Come one, dad, pick one! None of them are going to be perfect.”
“I know that, but… I want a good one.” T seemed a little cowed by Arven’s annoyance but persisted.
Arven rolled his eyes and sighed heavily, but allowed T to continue.
“This one!” T circled it a few times, like a Maschiff with a new toy. “This is the one!”
Arven sighed again in relief and waved over a worker. “This one please.”
The worker looked at the size of the tree, then at their clipboard. “Alright, that’ll be twenty thousand dollars.”
“Alright,” T said, even as Arven’s jaw dropped.
“Twenty thous- are you sure?”
“Of course, Arven. Choice specs cost far more, it’s not a big deal.”
Arven thought for a moment. “Yeah, you’re right.”
The tree was wrapped and packed, carefully attached to the cab, and they headed home.
They unwrapped it outside, tucking away the tarp and rope, and brought it in, setting it up where the old computer had been, right behind the TV.
“Perfect!” T’s hands were on his hips, looking at the tree with pride. “It’s almost seven. We can make something, or we can order out if you’re hungry.”
“Don’t feel like cooking, let’s order something.” Arven sat on the couch, letting Mabosstiff out of his ball.
“You? Don’t feel like cooking? Are you sure you’re my son?” T teased with a grin.
Arven sarcastically laughed, pulling out his phone. “What are you hungry for?”
“Pizza!” T had recently discovered a love of pizza.
“OK, pizza it is.”
After they ordered they killed time by setting up decorations.
They started with the tree, wrapping the lights through the branches, adding the silver garland, and finally the ornaments. They took turns putting things on, Arven putting the Mabosstiff near the top, in pride of place.
As soon as the last ornament went on the doorbell rang, and Arven ran to get it.
T waited for him to place the pizza on the table and return, handing him the star.
“You do it.” He smiled.
Arven smiled as well, having to stand on his tiptoes to put it on.
Once it was T plugged in the lights, admiring the soft glow of the tree.
Arven nodded and went to get pizza. “Hurry up or I’ll eat it all.”
“Share!” T hurried after him.
---
Over the next few days, Arven had classes, so T set up the rest of the decorations himself. He tested out several displays, and it took a few before he was satisfied.
The outside Santa was placed closest to the house, the Stantler further out in front of it. The other tree was placed a little to the right, all decorations connected with an extension cord and multi-plug.
It was only once he was satisfied that he let himself rest, wrapped in a soft blanket with a warm cup of cocoa, watching Christmas baking shows.
He didn’t even hear when Arven came in, transfixed by the giant Christmas tree cake that was currently falling apart.
“No, no! The back! The back is falling apart!” He babbled as though they could hear him, holding his most recent cup of cocoa.
“Dad? What are you watching?” Arven laughed, putting his backpack down and kicking off his shoes.
“A baking show, the back is falling apart and they don’t even see it!” T quickly glanced at Arven before turning back to make sure he hadn’t missed anything.
Arven laughed a little louder. T was watching a baking show the way people watched sports.
Arven grabbed water and joined T on the couch.
“So we’re running low on milk.”
T paused, mug halfway to his lips and eyes wide with guilt.
“How much cocoa have you had?”
“….. Not sure.”
Arven threw his head back and laughed, flopping against the back of the couch.
“It’s like you’re cocoa powered!”
“What can I say to defend myself? I love cocoa.” T sipped from his mug.
Arven laughed again.
They both ended up getting into the baking show, watching multiple episodes.
---
While Arven finished up the final few days before winter break, T took the chance to start getting presents in order.
He ordered a few online and bought a few himself from the store. T hid them in his room, in the closet, until they could be wrapped.
At night, when Arven was sleeping, he quietly wrapped them, putting little tags on them that read ‘Love, dad’.
In the morning he placed them under the tree after Arven left for school.
When the young man returned he was baffled by the pile of presents by the tree, all perfectly wrapped and tagged.
I need to get dad his presents! I forgot!
Arven hurried back out the door.
When T returned from the school, where he’d been visiting Clavell, he stopped in his tracks.
There were new presents under the tree, and he knew they were new, because he’d not only counted, but these were more messily wrapped than the ones he’d put there.
Arven glanced up from the couch.
“Hey, dad. Lydia’s mom invited us over for Christmas dinner. I told her we’d love to go.”
Christmas dinner with friends. He’d already bought a ham, but that could be for Christmas Eve.
“I’ll make something to take.”
“We both can. We’ll put your baking show-watching to use.” Arven laughed softly.
“Yeah, I’d like that.”
---
As Christmas Eve approached, they went to several parties. One for the school as a whole, one held by Nemona’s family(she was very happy to see them), even one for Penny’s family(Poor Penny seemed very uncomfortable, so Arven and the gang stayed near her), and T made some plans for Christmas Eve night. He ran them by Arven, just to be clear.
“So, you wanna hang out in the living room, lights out except the Christmas lights, and watch specials?”
“And open one present.”
“And open one present got it.”
“Is that acceptable?”
“Sure, dad. We can do that.”
The day of Christmas Eve they spent baking; cookies, brownies, anything they could think of.
And, of course, they taste-tested.
“Hmm…” T didn’t seem satisfied. “They could be better.”
“They’re fine, dad. You’ll get better as you practice.”
“Still…”
Arven put his hand on T’s shoulder. “They’re fine, I promise. The others will love them.”
T’s mouth quirked. “If you say so.”
“I do, and after all, I am a master cook after all.” Arven puffed out his chest proudly.
T smiled more. “Yeah, you are.”
Arven deflated a little, seeming surprised.
“Arven?”
“I’m… I’m OK.” He took a breath. “I guess I’m just… not used to it still.”
Not used to being praised in any way by his father. Something he’d never known.
“Arven.” T kept his voice soft. “I’m very proud of you, you know? You are a master cook, and I’m learning a lot from you helping me.”
“Yeah, but, you have all those… sensors and measuring things-”
“And I still made only OK cookies and brownies and other things. Your cookies, on the other hand, I would love to keep them for ourselves! You put more than perfect measurements and ingredients into your food.”
Arven teared up. He threw himself into T’s arms, shoulders shaking.
T smile softly and patted the boys' shoulders, bringing his other arm around to hug Arven.
Once he had calmed down, they made what Arven called linner(‘You know, between lunch and dinner!’), T encouraging Arven to take the lead.
They spent the rest of the day cooking the ham and fixings for dinner, Arven taking Mabosstiff outside to play.
As the daylight faded they came back in for dinner.
T took several servings of stuffing and ham, putting away food as if he had an endless stomach. Arven watched in fascination, wondering where he put it all, wondering how his system could handle so much food.
“Dad, you good?” Arven quickly snagged a piece of ham.
“It’s all so good! I can’t stop eating.” He shoveled more stuffing into his mouth.
“Well, I hate to say it, but you need to stop after that plate. We don’t know how much you can eat without consequence.”
T suddenly looked solemn. “You’re right. These are things I should have thought about.”
“Hey, it’s OK. I’m glad you’re enjoying the food so much, we worked hard on it! But, just like a human, you need to know your limits.”
T cleaned his plate of the remaining food. “You’re right. Now that you say it, I should see if I can find anything about it.”
“That’s for later,” Arven started clearing plates. “For now, let’s enjoy Christmas.”
Once the food was put away and the dishes done they went to the living room. Before they settled themselves in front of the TV, Arven stopped and grabbed a bag from his room.
“I got us something.”
He handed the bag to T, who pulled out a set of red and green pajamas covered in Delibirds. Arven pulled out a matching set.
“Matching pajamas?” T held the set close.
“Yeah, for our first Christmas.” Arven smiled. “Let’s get changed, then we can watch movies.”
Once changed they wrapped themselves in blankets, turning the lights out save for the Christmas lights.
The string of lights around the room, and the Christmas tree, added a surprising amount of light to the room, the soft fade in and out of the different colors oddly soothing.
Arven turned on the streaming service, searching for movies. He found several from his childhood.
“Let’s start with these.” He turned on Rudy the Red-nosed Stantler.
T tried his best not to make comments throughout the movie, but some slipped.
“Why is his nose red?”
“That’s just how it is.”
“Why are they so mean? Just because it’s red? That’s ridiculous.”
“Dad, please.”
As the movie ended and Rudy joined Santa’s team T seemed to calm down a little.
Arven put on the next one.
“The Kricketot on the Hearth. This one’s a little sillier than most.” Arven chuckled.
Once more T had questions.
“Why can it talk?”
“It’s the narrator.”
“Why is it lucky?”
“I… don’t actually know.”
“Hmm…”
When Bertha went blind T added what he knew.
“Hysterical blindness is a real thing, you know.”
“Is it? Huh.” Arven adjusted his blanket.
As long as the initial questions were answered T was content to watch the movie.
The next movie was Frosty the Snowman.
By now T seemed to be fine with just watching, though Arven suspected he’d have a few questions to answer afterward.
They went through all of Arven’s childhood specials before moving on to newer films.
This went on through the night until T suddenly sat up.
“Present! We were going to open a present tonight!”
“It’s fine, we can open them all tomorrow.”
“Are you sure?” T was already relaxing again.
“Yeah.” Arven yawned. “It’s getting late, we should turn in, we’re going to Lydia’s tomorrow.”
“Yes, you’re right. We’ll finish this movie, it’s almost over.”
Once the film ended they hugged, said goodnight, and were off to bed.
---
In the morning T found he regretted eating so much.
His systems were sluggish and overloaded.
“Ar4en… I n33d h3lp.” He staggered out of his room.
“Dad!” Arven caught him as he fell, moving to a more comfortable position.
“1 ne3d to flu5h my sy5tem…”
Arven nodded. He needed Mabosstiff to help him, but they got to the system T used to keep himself functioning. Following his father's instructions Arven hooked him up. It was… unsettling to see the ports in his back.
It took an hour, and several tanks of ground-up food that couldn’t be converted, but finally T was no longer malfunctioning.
“Thank you. I’m sorry you had to see that.” T hugged Arven tightly. “I’m so sorry you had to do that.”
“Please, please be more careful, dad. I can’t…”
“I know, I’m so sorry.”
They hugged for a while, T documenting the event well.
Once T was out of the danger zone and they had both calmed down they went back to the living room. T declined breakfast, Arven ate light, and they went to the tree.
“How do you want to do this?” Arven petted Mabosstiff. He was still a little worked up.
“How about we take turns? You open a gift, then I do?”
“Alright. I saw a few for Mabosstiff too.”
“Yes,” T grinned.
They sat by the tree, T handing Arven a gift.
The young man slowly opened it.
“An early copy of the latest cookbook by Katy, the gym leader of Cortondo?” Arven’s eyes were sparkling.
“Look in the cover.”
“A cookbook signed by Katy of Cortondo?! How did you get this?!” Arven held the book close.
“I asked nicely. I said it was a gift for you, and she signed it.”
Arven looked like he was going to cry. “This is the latest edition, and signed? Thank you so much!”
T smiled and reached over to pull Arven into a hug.
When they parted Arven wiped his eyes and grabbed a present for T.
It was a large white mug.
“Number 1 dad?” He held it close. “Arven…”
“It’s only been half a year, but you’re the best dad I could ever wish for.”
T’s eyes shimmered. He set the mug aside and hugged Arven again, at a loss for words.
“I love you, dad.”
“I love you too, son.”
The rest of the gifts went similarly.
Arven got a few more cookbooks and a subscription to an ingredients service for a whole year.
T got more comfy sweaters, some holiday-themed ones (‘A Halloween sweater? Where did you get this at this time of year?’ ‘There are places that sell them year-round.’), and several boxes of various cocoa mix.
And of course, many new toys for Mabosstiff.
T looked at Mabosstiff thoughtfully.
“Arven, I was thinking about getting a pokemon.”
“A pokemon? Which one?” Arven was playing tug-of-war with Mabosstiff.
“… A Liligant.”
“That sounds great! She could help you with your plants! Are you gonna catch a Petilil yourself?”
“Yes, though you might have to help me.”
“I will. When do you want to do it?” Arven let Mabosstiff have the rope.
“I’m not sure. Soon, I hope. As we saw today, I need to learn to take better care of myself before I get a pokemon.” T looked down. “My actions had serious consequences, but they could have been worse.”
“It’s OK dad. We had a scare, but we’ve learned from it.” Arven reached out and patted T on the shoulder. “Anyway, we need to get ready to go soon. We’re expected at Lydia’s around noon.”
T nodded the solemn air lifting.
“Yes, let’s get ready.”