#i figured amber was just tiny because she was bat themed

[chilly-lily]

ok wait for real were the BATs ages ever confirmed somewhere outside of the show bc i was like. so sure they were college students at LEAST but everyone on here seems convinced they’re hunter’s age

[bogleech]

Okay here’s the whole entire text of my original pokemon gen concept under a cut (sorry if that screws you up on mobile)

I’ve only ever sketched a tiny number of these (like my fly ideas here), but I can see most of them in my head pretty clearly and might sketch more of them by request someday. I originally set my fan-region in Florida, a place I hated living but still had a lot of interesting characteristics. This changed over once I moved to Oregon, and the thing about Oregon is that it has desert, forest, swamp, coastline and frozen mountaintops that are all pretty vast, ancient and in places relatively untouched compared to the rest of North America. This is not only a perfect setting for some really wild pokemon, but makes a believable choice because our Pacific Northwest is pretty popular in Japan.

The different biomes of this region have "deep" areas where the pokemon change. Some also have "polluted" areas. The region is environmentally themed and heavily deals with human interference on the natural world.

The villains are Team Bio, genetic engineerers lead by a mysterious old woman who narrowly survived the original Mewtwo experiment. Her underlings all use "mutant" pokemon, and she seeks to create a new species of hyper-intelligent, pure-hearted pokemon that will replace humans entirely. Along the way is a strange increase in reports of interstellar pokemon activity... I actually tried hard to minimize how many pokemon in this are just “my kind” of concept, but I think I failed pretty hard. It probably does feel like it leans a little more towards Mortasheen than something Pokemon would actually make, but for basically every pokemon that’s one of my “dream concepts” or “most wanted” I tried to come up with one that I thought would appeal more to somebody else’s taste than mine.

THE STARTERS

Grass Starter: a grass "lumberjack" pterosaur with an axe for a beak. Second stage has more saw-like beak, final stage is a grass/steel quetzalcoatlus (the pterosaur) with a beak and crest forming a chainsaw, no longer flies

Fire type calf whose black cow marks are actually soot. Evolves into cow with craggy black “helmet” and horns of charcoal. Final stage a charcoal-armored minotaur like fire/ground type.

Water Starter is a beady-eyed water shrew with big webbed flipper feet, known to steal shiny objects. Second stage more humanoid, said to dive for treasure. Final stage is water/dark lanky, stripey shrew with a black mask, said to rob boats like a “highwayman” of the river.

Meadows and forest:

Normal type mammal is a spherical porcupine, like a chestnut. Rubs its spines with noxious fruit juices, giving it a multicolored look. Evolved form is a colorful “punk” porcupine.

Early bug is a sticklike inchworm Evolves to cocoon resembling a wooden log on top. Final form is bipedal stick mimic grasshopper, evocative of a cute wooden puppet with a pointed nose.

Basic bird is a hummingbird Evolves to be four-winged and legless, never lands in its whole life. Final hummingbird is a fierce looking hunter that drains energy from grass types like a predator.

Grass type walking bud creature, looks nervous. Evolves to grass/flying orchid-like angelic flower. Alternate evolution is wilted, grey, grass/ghost goth orchid with tattered petals, cute but sad. (evolves this way if it levels up after a battle in which it sustained super-effective damage)

Ground type earthworm sticking out of dirt, cute flower-shaped head. Evolved worm looks like shark sticking out of the dirt, nose looks like its prevo

Electric/dark pikachu-like packrat holding a large coin. Electrically charges its treasure as a booby trap. Actually said to be employed as underlings by the water-type shrew starter.

MISCELLANY:

Bug/poison type grub with fangs. Only encountered in garbage cans. Evolves into a fly pupa Final stage is a gloomy looking, drooling anthropomorphic fly.

Single stage bug/fairy type: a beautiful Maleficent-looking parasitoid wasp. Evolves from any cocoon/pupa pokemon if they're holding a "suspicious egg" item.

Ocean

Water/grass nudibranch with flower on its back. Evolves to a glaucus, each "arm" a colorful flower that absorbs sunlight as it floats.

Water type fish that "sails" on the sea's surface with its fins. Sleepy looking stingray evolution. Final form is water/dragon deep sea fish, combines some traits of anglerfish and viperfish with eyes on stalks. Only evolves from stingray when you're in the sea trench.

Water/flying marlin with huge, dazzling butterfly like fins.

Water type baby dolphin, fuzzy like a seal pup, only evolves if it has fainted more times than the number of its current level. Evolved form is water/dark, shaggy-furred, fierce looking, battle scarred dolphin with legs instead of flippers, a throwback to the doglike ancestors of delphinidae.

Polluted inlet

Water/poison oil slick with two tentacles and beady white eyes, signature ability changes it to water/fire type if it uses a fire move. Evolved form is an oil slick rising into a cartoon octopus with x's for pupils.

Water/steel fish hook with tiny head and eyes, like a barbed metal worm. Water/steel fishing jig, googly eyes and everything.

Barren Island - just a very big rock in the middle of the inlet

Ghost/poison: a greenish "dodo bird" with a face like a biohazard mask, the ghost of a species that went exinct due to sickness.

Sea Trench

Water/fire bristleworm "snake" Water/fire tube worm "dragon"

Water/ghost wailord skeleton draped in pink fuzz and a garden of one-eyed bone worms.

Swamp

Electric/flying bird resembling a lightbulb kiwi. Evolved form resembling a neon light lawn flamingo.

Grass/fairy giant sloth with sleepy face, completely covered in shaggy moss with various flowers and mushrooms. Protector of the swamp, able to control plant life.

Grass/psychic sundew, just a pair of sundew leaves atop a sleepy looking oddish-esque bulb. Evolved sundew is mostly a big circular sundew rosette, but a humanoid flower rotates in the center like a music box to lure prey.

Water/fighting borzoi pup with long legs, acts like a water strider. Evolved form is an elongated, elegant borzoi "ballerina" that dances atop water

Water/ground red leech slightly evocative of a vacuum cleaner. A healer that sucks poison from the body instead of blood. May mysteriously appear in your team after walking through swamp water.

Deep Forest:

Grass/ground banana slug with colorful mold spots, learns spore. Evolves into mold splotched, brown banana peel creature, more like a big squid.

Grass/dark autumn leaf in the shape of a bat, has levitate. Evolved form redder, bigger "vampire cape" leaf-bat.

Psychic/ghost cheshire cat with Meowth-like proportions, bright crescent smile. Evolved form just huge smile and cat eyes hovering in the air, beastly cat body fading into view only for physical attacks or when struck.

Rock type humanoid made of transparent amber with a strange mayfly-like bug sleeping inside. Outer body can "break" at low HP and release faster, more offensive pure bug form.

Rock: incredibly huge, stony looking moose with long white fur draped over its eyes and back. Comes in size variations like Pumpkaboo line and said to never stop growing. A truly titanic one is used as transportation through the deep forest.

Snowy patches

Bug/ice velvet worm that spews a freezing liquid. Silly looking, almost like wiggler from mario.

Ice/flying fluffy white bird resembling a tiny Japanese style snowman. Evolves to resemble western style snowman with clawed bird feet, pointed beak nose. A flightless pure ice mountain dweller.

Electric/ice with levitate: a crystalline "UFO" sky-jellyfish with many colorful lights, core body looks like a cute pikmin-esque "alien" inside. Catch by fishing off of ledges into the sky. Mistaken by locals for alien activity.

Lava Tube Caves

Psychic type bipedal pink salamander with no eyes. Evolves into beautiful milotic-like psychic/dragon blind olm.

Rock/fighting spearhead with feet, eyes are just round holes through blade. Evolves to gain a stick-figure sort of body.

Abandoned town

Normal/bug filthy dog, a shaggy pile of fur with goofy eyes and pink tongue. Little black specks jump about it. Ability changes normal moves to bug moves. Evolved form more obviously a dog but still very shaggy, surrounded by constant cloud of black specks.

Grass/electric "christmas tree" made of holly and lights. Found in a burned down house, glowing eyes peer out from beneath it.

Ghost: has a colorful quilt for a body and a pincushion for a head. Found inside houses.

Garbage dump - accessible through abandoned town, possibly what drove people away (includes piles of toys you may investigate to encounter a banette, mimikyu or klefki)

Water/poison: cartoony fish with blank eyes and humanoid pair of legs. Fish for in toxic green garbage pools. Evolves into ground/poison skeleton fish with four limbs, walking like a lizard.

Steel/bug rusty orange silverfish. Eats junk metal. Evolved form so big it wears a rusty car for protection with just its legs and feelers sticking out.

MICROPOKEMON - enlarged artificially in a laboratory where you can also take your fossils.

Bug/fighting flea - spiny black flea with big jagged white teeth. Create from the "pest sample" an item carried randomly by the normal/bug dog.

Poison/fairy germ - fuzzy multicolored mold ball with eyes, stalked suckers. Retrieve "germ sample" from the dodo ghost.

Water/fairy tardigrade - transparent, cute bug stylized almost like a "gummy bear."  Retrieve "dew sample" from moss sloth.

Pseudolegendary:

Rock type baby gargoyle creature. Evolves to winged gargoyle with levitate and a few mossy patches. Final form is an elegant griffon-like rock/dragon with an elaborately carved surface

SPACE ARK DRAGON This location is itself a dragon/fairy legendary pokemon so massive you can enter its body. It exists to collect and preserve species from dying worlds. Most common wild pokemon inside is duosion and sometimes Reuniclus. You can also collect "gene samples" from crystalline pods to replicate the ultrabeasts in the same lab you enlarge the microbes and resurrect fossils.

Bug/dark parasitic alien, a little like weird yellow plant suckered to the ground, red flower-like head with an eye on each petal ala the yokai parasite, gyochu.

Bug/dark parasitic alien, a colorful worm with cute eyes and beautiful mothlike wings, a little like the yokai parasite koshi-no-mushi.

Bug/dark parasitic alien, a pale, red and white striped "lizard" with six spindly limbs and a tubular proboscis, inspired by the yokai parasite kagemushi.

Fairy type alien medic, looks like a cute flatwoods monster with heart motif and nurse coat. Flees from all battles unless you have defeated at least one of each of the parasites.

LEGENDARIES:

Dragon/electric: the ark dragon's smaller offspring, looks like an electronic space whale.

Dragon/steel, menacing, sleek black starship creature. Rival to the ark dragon, a "world reaper" that attempts to destroy planets that it thinks are already dying.

Psychic/fairy little white, fluffy mothman-like being, an observer that casts judgment on suffering worlds to call one of the dragons (version based)

Normal type legendary is the most human-like pokemon we've ever seen, a serene floating figure with long hair and black, almond-shaped eyes. A genetic experiment to supplant humans.

Electric/fighting: a hulking humanoid beast, almost frankensteinian with asymmetrical features, a failed early experiment.

A "glitched and scrambled" two dimensional pokemon. The result of the earliest known experiments in digital pokemon transfer. Actually literally typeless.

POISON FUSIONS created in the garbage dump:

Weezodor - poison/flying - Garbodor/weezing hybrid, like a jellyfish bag with smog tentacles.

Mukking - poison/water - Weezing/muk hybrid, like a koffing with slime appendages.

Garmuk - poison/ground - Muk/garbodor hybrid, like a giant slug made of trash.

MUTANT POKEMON: mutations of classic first-stage pokemon into creatures slightly tougher than even their original final stages.

Mutant Caterpie - bug/dragon - huge, dragonlike Caterpie with more menacing eyespots, clawed limbs.

Mutant Paras - pure grass - giant paras with far more mushrooms of different colors, body pure white with no mouth and white sphere eyes, actually made only of fungus.

Mutant Venonat - bug/dark - same old venonat with a big shaggy monster body

Mutant Zubat - Psychic - somewhat larger than crobat, has actual legs and a pair of clawed arms instead of wings. Much bigger ears.

Mutant Voltorb - electric/steel - a Voltorb even bigger than Electrode, otherwise looks normal besides angrier yellow eyes...until it splits open to reveal sharp teeth.

Mutant Tangela - grass/fairy - more like its scrapped Gen II evolution but perhaps a lot taller, with two very very long arms.

Mutant Geodude - rock/fighting - HUGE spiky arms and hands but head/body are the same as always.

Mutant Shellder - water/steel - it's the spiraly slowbro one!

Mutant Exeggcute - psychic/poison - bigger and more plentiful but "rotten" looking eggs with gloomier eyes and dark purple goo.

Mutant Eevee - normal - bigger than any of the eeveelutions, shaggy and beastly with the "camouflage" ability. Learns strong attacks of every eevee evolution type.

Mutant Doduo - fighting type with only one head

Mutant Luvdisc - the only one based on a non-evolving pokemon. Angry "broken heart" Luvdisc with record offensive stats for the series, but even worse defenses than regular luvdisc.

Mutant Trapinch - dragon/bug - giant turtle-like Trapinch, redder, spiny, second mouth inside jaws.

Mutant Dratini - dragon/fairy - huge long dratini with longer feathery wing ears, identical wings down body.

Mutant Larvitar - dragon/dark - big, armored green reptile, still has larvitar type head with craggier, meaner horn.

Mutant Bagon - dragon - huge, more t-rex proportioned bagon, spiked shell on head.

Mutant Deino - bigger and shaggier with a ring of five long-necked deino heads

Mutant Gible - dragon/fighting - only usually seen as a huge sharky fin sticking out of the ground. When it emerges, its body isn't much bigger than regular gible.

Mutant Goomy - psychic/dragon - giant goomy with gaping mouth, antennae are much longer, green and stripey.

Mutant Jangmo-o - dragon/steel - same old head but more ankylosaur-like big body, entirely a dark iron color with more pitted looking scales.

ENVIRONMENTAL VARIATIONS no mechanical or typing difference, but new color schemes and decorations on existing pokemon, totally an aesthetic change. Have their own shiny forms.

SEA TRENCH FORMS: Entirely pale pink golisopod line with closed eyes transparent red tentacool line with darker red nodules dark maroon inkay line with blue lights red and purple feebas line

CAVE FORMS: White, eyeless venipede line White, eyeless magikarp line

DEEP SWAMP FORMS: crocodile-green Sandile line with lily pad on head black shelled "freshwater" shellder line with green algae growths pure red and purple colored bellsprout line

DEEP FOREST FORMS: braviary with more hawklike colors foongus line with no pokeball pattern...the original foongus? wolf-spider colored joltik line

POLLUTED INLET FORMS: Dewpider line with all black body and limbs, yellow glowing eyes in dirty green water Grey wailmer line draped in red algae, clumps of barnacles (presumably degenerated binacle) Wingull line with grey and black oil-splotched feathers, tin can on head

GARBAGE DUMP FORMS: Bounsweet line with only grey, brown and black colors, dark spoiled looking splotches Black bag trubbish line with green trash, copper colored pipes Rusted looking klink line, rotates only once every few seconds.

----------GYM LEADERS -------------- In this region the gyms are dual type, and bring back past mechanics and gimmicks as their focus.

flying/normal: a blind, wheelchair-bound old man who specializes in dog and bird pokemon. Uses a baton pass team.

Steel/electric: an astronaut commanding his gym by remote feed from the station. Uses Magnezone, Rotom forms and, surprisingly, a random steel or electric ultrabeast.

Poison/bug: a germophobic lady scientist ironically obsessed with pollution pokemon, always wearing a biohazard suit. Has weezing, garbodor, the fly pokemon and Yanmega. Uses Z-moves, but it's random whether she uses a bug or poison one and on which pokemon.

Dark/fire: an elderly biker lady. Has no gym and in fact roams around the region. Surprisingly challenges you to a third-gen style beauty contest with her frightening selection of pokemon.

Grass/fairy: witchy pharmacist and botanist who lives out in the woods, all of her grass types are mushroom based. Unusually has you team up with her in a double battle against a random pokemon of unusual size and strength, like Alola's totem pokemon.

Ground/fighting: an extremely frail little nerdy guy who likes amazingly fearsome pokemon, hates bullies but kind of is one. Makes you face a horde battle with all of his pokemon vs. only one of yours at a time.

Dragon/rock: a boisterous monster movie director who dresses his pokemon in costumes, gym is a cardboard city. Uses a dynamaxed pokemon.

Ghost/psychic: a horror author, Vincent Price like, lives in a mansion and makes visitors face scenes from his books. Instead of a single battle, he has you face a series of singular mega pokemon behind each "scene." THE LABORATORY This location is of course secretly associated with the villain team, but you can free it up from them in the endgame. Here you can make fossil pokemon, micropokemon, regional forms from past generations, ultrabeasts and even mega stones, but all require you to spend one or more “gene crystals.” You’re handed a number of these through the storyline but it would be very challenging to farm more than that  (think Gen 7 bottlecaps). Spending more crystals at the lab would allow you to finally alter abilities, natures and IV’s at a whim, and for an exceptional cost you could upgrade the BASE stats of any L100 pokemon permanently. This is a percentage increase applied across the board to all of its stats at once, and stops at either 100 total points beyond their normal limits, or a final base stat total of 530 (equivalent to a fully evolved starter) MISC STUFF:

Your mom this gen asks you if you hope to have an easy, challenging, or very challenging adventure. You can return to her at any time to adjust the difficulty again.

When you beat the game, you can make a custom trainer for online battles using the models of other NPC trainer types, i.e. you can finally be a swimmer/scientist/grunt/etc. You can unlock some popular ones from past generations.

You can select one pokemon as your main partner, which not only has it following you, but involves it a little more in the storyline (special events based on its first typing) and gives it some in-game perks.

A special item attached to any one of your pokemon allows your whole team to “share strength,” meaning that their weaknesses are mitigated for each teammate they share a type with. This allows for type-themed teams to be more viable but wouldn’t completely eliminate their weaknesses, and the effect diminishes proportionately for every pokemon that faints.

You can designate a seventh pokemon to be your “team mascot,” a non-combat role with different effects depending on species/type.

A single team can have either the mascot, a z-move, a dynamax/gigantamax form or a mega, cannot mix these.

Legendary pokemon now suffer a stat nerf for every other legendary pokemon on the same team. A team of six legendaries would actually be somewhat below-average in stats.

[mysmesomespacechips]

Merry Choi-mas! - Day 12

Summary: 12 days of Choi-mas: A collection of fluffy holiday-themed one-shots with the Choi twins.

Kissing Under the Mistletoe: SaeyoungxMC

@spacechip707

MC was just readjusting the garland on the shelf. It was nothing profound and nothing dazzling about the action. And yet, from her peripheral vision, she could see her husband leaning over the edge of couch. His fingers clutched the cushions, knuckles turning white from the strain of supporting his body. His golden eyes were transfixed on her figure behind his patterned glasses, and his lips moved silently in what sounded like a muttered prayer.

She blew a harsh breath from her nose and whirled around. “You know, if you’re going to check me out, you could do so more subtly.”

Her words must’ve startled him. His grip on the couch slipped, sending his body sprawling forward onto the rug. MC bit back a laugh at his bemoaned whine.

“I wasn’t checking you out,” he replied. He propped himself on one elbow, a cheeky grin splitting his face as he looked up at her. “But if you insist.”

Blazing heat rushed to her cheeks. She grabbed the closest pillow and tossed it onto his face to stop his flirtatious gaze from trailing further down her frame. To her dismay, he caught it midair and neatly tucked it under his head.

MC reclined against the fake fireplace and crossed her arms. “Then, what were you staring at?”

The redhead pushed himself up on both hands, his lower half planking against the ground.  “I’ll tell you if you move ten inches to the left.”

She followed after his eager glances. Expertly fastened inside the streams of fairy lights lining the ceiling was a cluster of green leaves with tiny white berries. Mistletoe.

“That’s a fire hazard,” she commented before stepping in the opposite direction with feign insouciance.

Another anguished cry left her husband’s lips, and MC almost felt sorry for her actions.

“You're doing this on purpose!” He shouted, an accusatory finger wavering towards her.

MC barely suppressed the smirk tugging at the edge of her mouth. She turned her back and pretended to fidget with something on the shelves just so she could uphold her ruse.  

Saeyoung had been trying to catch her under the mistletoe for days now. Originally, her evasion of the leaves had been unintentional, but his increasing exasperation at the missed attempts sparked a mischief in her that she hadn’t engaged in a long time. Besides, with the amount of pranks he’d pulled on her during their entire relationship, he probably deserved it.

“Well, excuse me for not walking where you want me to,” she snorted. She heard Saeyoung climb back to the couch, the metal rods creaking under his weight.

“It’s impossible for you to have missed every single spot by accident,” he ranted. “I put it above your desk, and you happen to take off from party planning--that day. I put it above our bedroom door, and you fell asleep on the couch. You never fall asleep on the couch!”

She turned back around just in time to see him flop backwards onto the seat, limbs haphazardly dangling from the sides. His eyes darted about the ceiling, confusion and bewilderment clouding their usual brightness. “I even put it in the fridge. Do you know Saeran found it and almost punched me--again!”

MC couldn’t hold back the snigger at his expense, but she hurriedly composed herself when he shot her an unamused look. “Babe, if you want to kiss me, feel free.”

“But—But—“ He spluttered, gesturing to the mistletoe in question. “Tradition!”

He was getting so red and so worked up. It was too cute. As cruel as it sounded, his aggravation warmed her heart. At one time, trying to get him to even decorate a tiny tree resulted in wistful remarks and solemn frowns. It was a stark contrast to the zeal that flared within him now.

It was wonderful…and the perfect excuse to test his limits just a little longer.  

“The tradition is to kiss when two people get caught underneath it,” MC said. She shrugged her shoulders with the same dismissive attitude she had assumed all week. “You haven’t caught me yet.”

Something grave flickered behind his eyes, their color darkening from bright gold to deep amber. His brows quirked upwards and his nails dug into the cloth cushion in his hold. “Is that a challenge, dear?” he said, his honeyed voice not matching the rapacious glimmer in his stare.

Her insides clenched, knowing that look was only reserved for when a particularly ruthless idea was forming in his brilliant mind. Still, she fought against her quivering bravery, pressing her fingertips against her side to appear calm.

“Take it as you will,” she replied with as much coyness as before.

He held her captive under his fiery glare just a few moments longer, almost as though he could sense her accelerated heart rate. His short huff was a relief to MC as her husband averted his attentions away from her shuddering person and stood to his feet.

He shoved his hands into his pockets and ambled past her to one of the cabinets. The doors chirred, intermingling with the strangle medley of “Silent Night” and “Frosty the Snowman” floating from his closed mouth.

MC furrowed her brows as he rummaged through the mess of trinkets. Her instincts advised her to run for it. Saeyoung could be very determined when he wanted something. Dangerously determined.  But her curiosity kept her firmly in place.

When he finally turned, MC started a few paces back. He twisted what appeared to be a reindeer headband in his hands, shooting a tentative glance towards his wife as if permitting her to get a head start.

Foolishly, she stayed.

MC’s stomach plummeted when he crowned himself, openly displaying the the ears and the thin rod jutting out from the center. A smirk dangled at the edge of his mouth, and mistletoe dangled above his mop of red hair.

“Oh, MC,” he sung. He puckered his lips and made exaggerated kissing sounds.

She wasn’t sure if the thrill coursing through her veins was due to his adorable expression or because she now acknowledged her impending doom. She decided it was both when Saeyoung bounded towards without warning.

A laugh and a shriek simultaneously tore from her throat as she pivoted on her heel. He lunged towards her, but his grappling hands only brushed the cloth of her sweater.

“You have to catch me first!” MC called behind her before barreling through the nearest hallway.

And so the chase began.

Adrenaline and excitement pulsed through her limbs and carried her legs all around the bunker. She did her best to out-maneuver him--ducking into various rooms, bolting over furniture, tossing the occasional stuffed animal in attempts to displace the eyesore on his head.

But Saeyoung was as skilled in pursuit as she was in avoidance--if not more so.

Her lungs burned from the effort and eventually forced her to skid to a stop near the coat closet. She debated on hiding inside, but didn’t think she would fit with the overflowing chaos leaking from the atrociously unorganized cabinet.

Instead, she waved her arms in front of her, her breath leaving faster than she could speak. Her back pressed against the cool wall with Saeyoung appearing just a few feet away.

“Wait,” she panted. “Just…second…”

He didn’t oblige. He crept forward in slow, long strides like an animal would its prey. Although, he looked anything but feral. His cheeks and nose were flushed, and his teeth flashed behind a cheesy grin rather than a snarl. Still, he was close.

In her panic, MC swept the nearest item off the floor, which happened to be a hat sewn in the likeness of a cat. With a few delighted squeals, she whipped it in front of her to keep him at a distance.

“MC, come on!” He said, jerking away from the flailing cloth. “It’s just one little kiss.”

A stifled laugh slipped past her lips at his heavy footsteps. She had lifted the hat to shield her face, but an idea sparked in her mind, prompting her to lower it. He paused in his trek, his eyes narrowing to slits as he suspected her tricks.

“Fine,” she said, feigning annoyance. “You’ll get a kiss.”

Thoroughly convinced by the act, he flaunted his triumphant smile and glided across the slick floors on his mismatched socks. His hands slammed against the wall behind her, barely stopping his body from crashing into hers. In one smooth movement, they slid to her hips and tugged her closer. “Finally,” he muttered.

MC gripped the hat to her chest, remaining perfectly composed under another of his dubious inspections. “I won’t run,” she reassured him.

Hesitating only a moment longer, Saeyoung leaned towards her. His lashes fluttered against his cheek. His lips pursed expectantly. MC watched him come closer and closer until their noses were almost brushing. With a soft sigh, she closed her own eyes and finally....

Shoved the hat against his mouth.

He recoiled sharply, spluttering and cringing in disgust while MC clutched her sides aching from laughter.  His hands batted against his tongue to remove the stray pieces of yarn that stuck to it.

“Aww, did you not like kissing the kitty?” she said, tilting her head with as much innocence as she could muster.

He didn’t find it cute. In fact, he looked very...very pissed.

“No fair,” He said in a low growl.

“Technically it was,” she said. “My hat was directly under the mistletoe—not me.”

“That’s not how it works!” he exasperated with an almost crestfallen expression. MC hated when he gave that look. It sent a pang of guilt to her chest, but she buried it inside her cold intentions and spun around to walk away. Out of sight, out of mind, right?

Her twinging heart said otherwise. No, she couldn’t succumb to his puppy eyes now.

“It’s tradition, isn’t it?” she said starting to walk past.

She didn’t get far. A scarf wrapped around her stomach, and before she could register what had happened, she was yanked backwards into a stronghold. In one swift movement, the hands on her hips spun her around with such force that she should’ve been dizzy. She was dizzy, but not for those reasons.

Wide-eyed, she stared straight into Saeyoung’s face.

Something serious mingled with his teasing smile. It made the soft graze of his hands against the small of her back so much more powerful than it was, prompting her to stumble closer at just a light push. Her palms flattened against his chest--the only wedge between them.Short spurts of air puffed from his parted mouth as he was obviously a little breathless himself.

Saeyoung glanced up at mistletoe on his headband. It swung back and forth like a pendulum, occasionally catch the strands of her hair.

“Mistletoe, check,” he said. His gaze carried down to her face where his eyes once again pierced hers. His lips curved just a little higher. “MC directly under the mistletoe. Check. I think you have no choice now, my little reindeer.”

“Okay,” she conceded, shifting her hands to rest on his shoulders.

“Okay, what?” he prodded with a little jab to her side.

Stray giggles tumbled from her mouth. “You win,” she said, unable to feel the weight of her loss when his face was practically beaming. “You can have your kiss--from me.”

His eyes widened, and he sucked in a dramatic breath. “Kiss?” he sputtered. “Only one kiss after all that I went through? So stingy!”

“Two,” she offered, another giggle betraying the solemn expression she was trying to hold.

He shrugged. “It’ll do...for now.”

MC waited for her fate, fully expecting him to upkeep the light atmosphere. Perhaps scouring her face with sloppy kisses. Or emphasizing each kiss with loud smacking noises. He would call it revenge.

But she was wrong.

Nothing but gentleness permeated from his index finger as it slid under her chin and guided her face towards his. In the same manner, his thumb ran across the surface of her lips while his eyes studied them with the same detail.

This was revenge enough, MC thought, her body jolting with intense heat under his smoldering scrutiny.

He lingered just inches away from her face. His warm breath smelled like cookies—the ones he no doubt stole from the kitchen earlier. The scent grew stronger as he drew closer until finally the taste of vanilla reached her mouth.

The moment his lips touched hers, she melted. The kiss was tender. Barely there. And yet her breath fled her lungs at the brief contact.

“One,” he mumbled, barely leaving space to speak.

His mouth glided over hers a second time, capturing it with more force but with all the sweetness from before. No, it was sweeter...deeper.

It was a kiss that made MC regret the past few days. Despite the fun and the teasing, this sent a heavier rush from her head down to her weakened knees. Long after he withdrew, the intoxicating taste of chocolate and sugar stained her tongue leaving her both intensely satisfied and yet craving a hundred kisses more.

“Two,” he counted, his hoarse whisper dragging her from her euphoria.

When she opened her eyes, a softer smile replaced his cocky simper from earlier. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. His fingertips skimmed down the line of her jaw until finding purchase at her neck.

“Happy now?” She said, finding her voice after so much oxygen had abandoned her.

He hummed in agreement and pulled her against his chest. “Only took three days.”

She snorted and snuggled into the crook of his neck. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll make it up to you. If you catch me under the mistletoe again, I won’t run or avoid it. I promise.”

He surfaced from her hold, his eyes narrowing with rightfully deserved skepticism. “Promise, promise?”

She nodded before removing the band from his head and tossing it aside. “Just please don't put mistletoe in the fridge again.”

His laughter wasn’t reassuring. But still, a part of her hoped he might try again. It was one of her favorite traditions after all.

MC flicked off the last light switch in the house, calling out a general goodnight to Saeran as she passed his closed door. She hadn’t seen her husband for hours, but judging by the glow coming from their bedroom, she assumed he had gotten caught up working on some last minute project.

She was beginning to grow suspicious, however, when she neared the room and heard silence instead of a keyboard clacking. Still on high alert for one of his pranks, she inched towards the doorway and only revealed her head. “Saeyoung, what have you been doing all this…”

Her words died on her lips as she spotted her husband waiting expectantly on their bed. He sat cross-legged on top of the covers with that silly, mistletoe headband in his hair again.

“Very funny, dear,” she chuckled, albeit unnerved at the impish curve of his lips.

He leaned back on his palms, his head angled to one side. “Do you remember what you said earlier about catching you under some mistletoe?”

MC walked towards him, hands outstretched. He obliged and intertwined his fingers with her own.

“I do,” she replied. “Why? Is there mistletoe above me right now?”

He sucked air between his teeth, his eyes dipping down to examine her lips and sending butterflies fluttering through her stomach from anticipation. “You could say that.”

MC hesitated before tilting her head upwards to check above her. Her breath hitched.

The entire ceiling had become a curtain of green. Mistletoe was draped on strings spanning the entire room with little if no space between them.

“Oh…my…” the words barely formed on her paralyzed tongue.

Saeyoung drew her from her reverie with a sharp tug onto the mattress. His hands wandered down to her waist, an insistent pressure behind his fingertips. “Exactly a hundred,” he informed, casually tossing his glasses onto the nightstand. “I wanted 707, but I settled.”

“No way,” MC breathed, still trying to estimate the number from her sight alone. But she couldn’t. There were too many. Besides, she didn’t doubt Saeyoung would actually buy the absurd amount just to make a point...and one heck of an evening.

“It’s true,” he returned, his nose gently bumping with her own. “I think this’ll make up for all your antics.”

Her chest heaved another laugh, affection tickling at her stomach. It was a ridiculous gesture—insane even. But it was so Saeyoung-- of course, she loved it. She loved him.

“Is a hundred kisses the maximum amount due?” MC said, tearing her eyes from the decorated ceiling back to the redhead hovering over her.

“Minimum,” he hummed, placing a languid kiss to her jaw. “There is no limit after that.”

“Interesting,” she returned. “Well, I guess a promise is a promise. But wouldn’t it be nice if I did reach 707?”

He smiled so wide against her skin, she thought her heart would burst. “It would be a gift,” he said.

She threaded her fingers through his hair, her gentle tugs leading his face closer to hers until their breaths mingled in the centimetres remaining.

“Well then,” she whispered. “Merry Christmas, Saeyoung.”

She brought his lips down to her own, and started counting.