A's Christmas Surprise

Everything was going great at this year's Christmas Eve sleep over party at Miles and Tia's house.  Everyone had just eaten an enormous Christmas feast and we were all feeling a little more than stuffed.  The 20 or so guests conversed over tea and cookies in the living room, kicking back, relaxing, and tending to their full stomachs.

Wrapped gifts everyone had brought to share with each other were piled as high as the ceiling in all corners of the room.  An enormous Christmas tree stood in front of the picture window, lit with golden lights and decorated with green and blue orbs.  The tree was topped with a pair of snakes, one green, one blue, wrapped around an illuminated, glass star.

This year there were a couple new guests as well: A and his best Pokémon friend in the whole, wide world, Arbok.  Arbok was lying on the soft, warm sofa by the fire, her tail dangling lazily off the edge.  A was lying on top of her, rubbing her dinner-stuffed belly.

"Anyone ready for dessert?" the apron-clad Miles called out, hoping for a response from the room.  He wanted to be a good host after all.  But the response he got was not what he expected: everyone groaned and patted their swollen stomachs, looking up at him from their lax lounging positions on the various sofas and chairs in the rather cozy living room.  "All right then," he continued with a chuckle, "we'll just wait a little while I suppose."  And with that he went back into the kitchen to clean up a bit.  Tia slithered after him to help out.  For the time, the guests were content to talk amongst themselves, sipping tea and digesting their dinners.

After a while, Arbok picked up her head and yawned; she had been nodding off, enjoying her tummy rub.  "How you feelin'?" A asked his pal with a smile as she blinked a few times, waking herself up.

"Oh, just great," the snake responded, nuzzling him gently.  "I'll go get us some tea," she added and slithered off the sofa.

"I can go get it for us," A insisted, standing up.  "You oughta rest your tummy."

"No, no," Arbok replied, giving A little shove with her tail so that he flopped back down onto the soft, fluffy cushions of the couch.  "You're stuffed too," she said, grinning at him.  "Don't worry pal, I got this."

"Alright," A responded with a giggle, perfectly content to kick back and cradle his own full belly.  Arbok slithered into the kitchen and around the corner.  "Let me know if you need any help, buddy!" he called after her.

In the kitchen Arbok slithered over to Miles and Tia who were leaning against the counter waiting for her.  "Is it ready?" she asked.

"Yup!" Tia said excitedly.  "It's set up right overs the fire place.  Oh, I'm so happy for you two!"

"Shhhh, keep it down!" Miles hissed under his breath.  "We don't want him to hear you."  The three of them fixed their eyes on the doorway that led to the living room.  "Go check if he heard, Arbok," Miles said in a stealthy tone.  She slithered over to the door and poked her head around the corner.  All she could see was A's socks dangling over the side of the armrest as he lay lazily on the couch.

"Nope," she said, "he's practically passed out over there.  I think you might have fed him a little too much."

"Nonsense!" Miles quipped.  "He ate it all, didn't he?"

"Anyways," Tia interrupted, annoyed, "shall we discuss the plan?"

"Right, of course," Miles said, returning to a more business like tone.  "So," he continued, addressing Arbok specifically, who turned to face him and listened intently, "Now that Tia's set it up over the fireplace, I'll make the announcement for everyone to change into their PJs and we'll serve dessert."

"Right," Tia and Arbok said together.

"Then," Miles went on, "right as A's getting up to come to the kitchen, you give it to him, right there!"

"Got it," Arbok hissed with a devious grin.

"All right then.  Shall we?" Miles asked rhetorically, heading out to the living room to make the announcement.

"Everyone, may I have your attention?"  The sleepy, satisfied guests looked over.  "It's that time of night everyone!  You can all head upstairs and change into your pajamas.  When you come back down, dessert will be served before bed."  Several of the younger guests licked their lips anxiously and ran upstairs to change.  The other followed soon after.  "Get ready," I whispered to Arbok through the commotion.

A passed by Arbok on his way upstairs to change.  "I'll be right back down, pal," he said running a hand across her scales as he turned and headed upstairs.

"Isn't he just the cutest?" she asked with a dreamy sigh.

Miles waited until everyone had gone upstairs, leaving only Arbok, Tia, and himself in the living room.  "Alright," he said, "let's do it just like we planned.  Arbok, you go wait on the couch over by the fire.  Tia and I will be watching from the kitchen and making sure no one leaves the living room so everyone will see."

"Got it," Arbok said and slithered over to the couch to wait.  Miles and Tia headed to kitchen to wait.

One by one, the guests came back downstairs in their PJs, some yawning and rubbing their eyes, still stuffed from dinner, others looking ready to dig in to some dessert.  Eventually, A came down stairs wearing his red Pokéball pajamas, pants and a button-up shirt.  He still had on his hat, with goggles – his Pokémon trainer signature, of course – and his socks.  He went over and sat down next to Arbok who grinned at him.  "What?" he asked curiously.

"Oh, nothing," she replied, and tried to hide her nervousness.

"Alright, time for dessert!" Miles called from the kitchen.  Everyone began heading to the kitchen, some faster than others, but before they could get inside to chow down, Miles called out, "One more thing!  Could everyone direct their attention to the fireplace for a moment, please?"

The crowd of pajama-clad guests looked over to the fireplace.  Arbok had A cornered in her coils and was holding him in place.  "What's going on?" A asked, feeling a little left out of the loop.

"See for yourself," Miles said with a devious grin, pointing to the mantle above the two of them.  Everyone's gaze, including A's, tilted upward to the beautiful wreath of mistletoe above their heads.  Everyone faces lit up when the realized what was about to happen.

A squirmed in Arbok's coils.  "Did – did you plan this?" he stammered.

"You betcha," she said, beaming at him.  "I did have a little help though."  Miles and Tia smiled and waved from the kitchen doorway.

"Kiss him!" someone called from the audience; murmurs of excitement filled the air.

Arbok giggled, and gave her friend a little squeeze.  She had a sweet, soft look on her face as she leaned in closer, closing her eyes.  A squirmed, and as her lips pressed against his, he blushed.  She was much bigger than he was, and the kiss might have been a little sloppier than he might have liked, but it was long and sweet, and though he struggled in her coils, he couldn't deny that he had wanted this for a long time.  Eventually, he closed his eyes too and gave in to his best friend.

Just from the looks on their faces, everyone knew the two of them were deeply in love.  The scene was positively heartwarming.  When Arbok pulled away, she looked down at A, who still had a big grin on his face.  They turned, blushing, to face the guests who were all smiling back at them.  After a few seconds of silence, someone started to clap, and soon the whole room was filled with applause for the beautiful Christmas kiss.

After a while, the crowd dispersed.  Everyone ate their desserts, including A, Arbok, Miles, and Tia, and curled up with their best friends for a good night's sleep as they waited for Santa.  Tomorrow would be Christmas morning: presents for everyone, candy and chocolate galore, and Miles famous Christmas breakfast.  Tomorrow was a big day, and there was a lot to look forward to.  Full and satisfied, the guests fell asleep.

Last awake lay A and Arbok, curled up with each other, A in Arbok's coils, a big blanket draped across the pair of them.  "Hey, Arbok?" A asked sleepily.

"Yeah, buddy?" she responded in a similar tone.

"Merry Christmas," he said with a smile, snuggling deep into his best friend's coils for a long, comfortable night's sleep with her, curled up warm and tight.

"Merry Christmas," she said back to him, tightening her coils.  She gave him a little kiss on the top of his head.  The pair drifted off to sleep together, not really caring what they'd get for Christmas in the morning, because the both already had exactly what they wanted: a best friend to share it with.