Jirachi's Twin Bonus Stories (btyu and others ♥)

THANKSGIVING SPECIAL | You Are Precious

"Well that's that..." Bede sighed, wiping sweat off of his forehead.

It had taken him several hours, but somehow he'd managed to undecorate the gym lobby all by himself. Halloween had ended weeks ago, but the majority of his staff consisted of older women—meaning he was the one responsible for taking down the high-hanging array of orange streamers and fake cobwebs. It was a chore, but leaving the ornaments hanging around would look tacky otherwise.

"Woah!"

Bede blinked, hearing the cry of awe from far below him at the foot of his ladder.

"You're really high up there, aren'tcha Bede?"

He turned his attention to the voice below and nearly slipped off the top rung.

What is she doing here!?

For whatever reason, the champion of Galar, Gloria, was gawking up at him from the floor of the gym lobby. It wasn't often for her to drop by without warning—she was almost always the type to ask him beforehand if he was available, but for whatever reason, here she was.

"Gloria! Uh—what a surprise!" he coughed singularly into his fist—a habit she'd pointed out to him as a distinct tell when he was nervous. He'd been meaning to quit, "What brings you here? Aren't you aware of the meeting this afternoon in Wyndon? I assumed you would be there by now..."

Gloria shrugged, well aware of the meeting, "I know. Just thought I'd pop by beforehand."

That doesn't give me any information.

"So... what're you doing?"

He carefully began descending down the ladder as he answered her question, "I've been undecorating the lobby. Halloween ended ages ago—I figured it was about time to take everything down," he glanced around once, and lowered his voice, "The ladies that work here are too old to undecorate this blasted place. Half of them I reckon are five minutes from turning to dust, if I'm being honest."

Gloria chuckled, shaking her head, "Wooow, how kind of you. And here I thought you were being chivalrous."

He rolled his eyes and began disassembling the ladder.

"You know..." she began again, staring at a box nearby that he'd filled with orange streamers and origami pumpkins, "You could've left some of them up if you wanted. It's still fall, after all."

"Right," he grunted, "But it's also nearly winter. Figured I'd get a head start."

She blinked curiously at him for a moment, "But Bede—they'd make for perfect Thanksgiving decorations. Now you'll have to redecorate for the holiday all over again."

He rose an eyebrow at her.

"Thanks-what?"

The two stared blankly at one another for a moment, before Gloria's eyes finally widened with realization.

"Oh that's right! You guys don't celebrate that here," she laughed embarrassedly, "Dang—now everyone'll think I took this week off for no reason..."

"Oh," Bede realized there was a cultural barrier blocking his understanding, and bent down to pick up the box of decorations, "So that holiday you mentioned—I reckon it's something you did in Unova. That's where you moved from, correct?"

"Not exactly," Gloria shrugged, "I was born there, but I mostly lived in Alola. Either way though, our family celebrated Thanksgiving. I'm going home to my Mom's place so I can feast with her on Thursday."

"What is the holiday for, exactly?" he asked, starting to exit the lobby and proceed down a hallway.

"Well, I believe the holiday is about a harvest festival early settlers hosted when arriving in Unova, but the holiday itself has been prettied up over the years. Basically, it's an excuse to take a week off and dine like kings with your family," she grinned, "There's Turkey, and cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie for dessert! Not to mention I'm old enough now to try the fancy wine Mom always gets."