i forgot how my characters were supposed to be like spare m e

surprise!! but deleting at the end of tomorrow 

"Look, it's s-snowing!"

The white-haired boy watched in amusement as his friend pointed frantically at the white-covered world beyond the Pokemon Center's glass doors. She was a child sometimes, despite her appearance, and he made sure to let her know every bit of it.

"Yeah," he deadpanned, grinning as she turned back to him with a scandalised expression. "I thought all that white were meteors from space. Truly amazing observation you have there, Celery."

She pouted. "Celeana."

"I said it right, Celebi."

"Would you stop—?" The girl aimed a playful swat at him, and he dodged her arm while sticking his tongue out at her. "Let me enjoy this day!"

"Christmas isn't anything special," Ryou sighed, but Celeana's tangible excitement was starting to get to him. "I mean, it's just a day where people put trees in their houses and make everything shiny, right? Not to mention the fact that it's freezing out here."

"Then put on more layers and stop being a wet blanket." The coordinator hummed a vaguely familiar tune as she dug around her bag for a few seconds. "Let's take the day off and wander around Slateport, alright?"

He raised an eyebrow as he caught the scarf she threw at him. "Nice to know that your sense of fashion improved," he commented, wrapping it around his neck. "At least this thing doesn't look as terrible as the last shirt you bought."

"Says the guy who refused to take his jacket off in the middle of summer," Celeana bit back. He blinked—had she been picking up on his smart remarks all this time? "There, we're even."

"Can we go?" Quinn interrupted from behind them, her amber eyes unimpressed with both of their antics. "I'll go anywhere that isn't noisy."

One miffed sigh from the blue-haired teenager made him chuckle. "What about we drop you off in the library? We can pick you up when it's evening and there aren't as many people around."

The child contemplated the suggestion. "Acceptable."

"See? Now you can go and walk around or do things that Celeanas typically do on Christmas." He paused for a moment. "Not that I know what you want to do, but still."

"Let's explore the Slateport Christmas Market," she implored. "I've always wanted to go there. Oh, and there's some kind of fireworks show at night, so we can all watch that."

He grinned. "Sounds feasible. Let's go, then."

• • •

"So," he stated, interrupting the awkward silence between them as he walked and Celeana ate, "what do Celeanas typically do on Christmas?"

"Well, I wasn't allowed out of the hospital much," the girl replied. "But there was always a huge Christmas party at the end of the year, and we held it in the garden. All the staff would attend, and it was really fun just talking to everyone."

Ryou leaned over and swiped a crepe from his friend. "That's surprisingly...normal. Wow."

"Why do you look so incredulous?" Celeana huffed. "What do you do on Christmas?"

"Nah, never celebrated it." He'd have dodged the topic before, but things were getting better and the girl understood his situation. "My mother didn't care much about it and the Devon Corporation was busy with work."

"T-That's terrible!" his friend exclaimed, grabbing his arm and staring at him with a shocked expression. "We'll have to make up by having lots of fun today, then!"

The boy laughed—he was having enough fun just seeing her get worked up over such a simple issue.

"I'll be in your debt, then," he teased, lowering himself in a sweeping bow and winking at her. "I'm expecting great things from you, Felony."

"It's Celeana!"

• • •

"You bought way too many things."

"I didn't," Celeana defended, but the bags in her hands told a different story. Quinn was with them now, and the three of them weren't doing much; they'd run out of steam too fast and now they were taking a break with hot chocolate in their hands. "I paid for your drink, so shut up or I'll take it back."

"Please don't," Ryou begged, holding the plastic cup closer to his chest. "I'm in a long-standing relationship with it. Don't destroy fourteen years of a healthy romance."

The child between them choked. "Bullshit."

"Since when did you start swearing?" Celeana managed to get out. "Ryou, did you influence her?"

"Damn," he answered. "I guess I did."

The three of them sat in silence after that. It was dark out, and the stars in the sky glittered just as brightly as the Christmas lights that decorated Slateport. Celeana could hear a choir's rendition of a Christmas carol in the distance, and the night breeze calmed her down as it nipped at her skin.

"So." Ryou deflated even more from the cold atmosphere. "What are we going to do now? Exchange presents?"

Quinn studied them with a forlorn expression. "I didn't get anything."

"Ah, I think I picked up a book for you at the Christmas market. It had some information about Celebi, so I just bought it. Many Shitmas, Quinn."

Celeana buried her face in her hands. "What even is that name?"

"Don't worry, I got something for you too. Don't feel left out." The boy brushed past a few items in his bag before taking something out. "You seem to like those tacky friendship things that middle-schoolers like, so here."

"Are these..." She studied the contents of the jar more closely. "Paper stars?"

His heart almost stopped as she fumbled with the glass container for a few seconds. "Drop it and I'll seriously consider killing you."

"S-Sorry!" she yelped, curling her fingers tightly around the object. "Did you fold all of them yourself?"

"No, I gave up after the first nine and bought the rest." His tone was sarcastic as he spoke, and he didn't get how Celeana still looked like she believed his words. "Yes, you idiot. You sleep at absurdly early times, so there's no chance of you catching what I do after ten."

The short-haired girl between them glanced up for a moment. "Did you get anything?"

"Thank you, R—" Celeana was cut off by Quinn's question. "Uh, I did do something for you guys, but it's a little hard to explain."

She took a few seconds to think before standing up and grabbing their hands. "Come on, let's go to the shrine!"

"There's a shrine here?" he found himself questioning, but he didn't have time to ponder that as Celeana started to run, leaving him little choice but to seize Quinn's hand and follow her lead reluctantly. "What in the name of Arceus are you even knowing?"

"Hurry up!" The girl was suddenly excited. "At the very least, the exercise will warm your body!"

They must have looked like madmen to the passersby on the streets. After all, it wasn't every day that a girl was seen sprinting up the path to the local shrine, holding on to two confused teenagers who didn't have a clue as to what was going on.

Somehow, the three of them made their way up the stairs, arriving at the small piece of flat land that he hadn't been aware of before.

"Here." The blue-haired girl's voice was a mix of relief and childish excitement, and he had to jog to catch up to where she was standing. "It's over here."

He didn't know what to think of the wooden plaque she was holding—and he certainly didn't know how to respond on the message written on it.

Let's be friends forever!

It was so short, so simple; so Celeana-like, and it made a chuckle rise in his throat. Next to him, Quinn had the barest ghost of a smile on her face, and the oldest of the trio looked at them in worry.

"I heard that your wish would come true or something if you wrote it on the plaque and hanged it here," she admitted. "I also wrote a card for each of you, since this wasn't really a gift, and I think there's a talisman somewhere in my bag—"

She slid a piece of paper into his hands, and it took him seconds to scan the contents of the note.

It was heartfelt, and that was all he could say about it. The letter was riddled with grammar mistakes, and there were some parts that he had to reread a few times, but other than that, it filled him with a certain warmth he never knew he needed.

"Hey, why do you look like you're going to cry?" Celeana asked. "Was it really that bad?"

"No, it's not that," he reassured. "It's just...your handwriting really sucks."

"Is that really the most appropriate thing to say?"

Ryou laughed at that, watching as the snowflakes filled the night sky with patterns and dances of their own. It hadn't been the most appropriate, but it was the only thing he could have blurted out.

"Thanks, though." The words were almost lost to the expanse of the shrine. "Merry Christmas, you two."

many shitmas u guys