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Most evenings Nyx was busy working in the labs, writing reports, chasing pokemon, giving tours, visiting team mates in the infirmary, or baking; Not this night, though. No, this was a night that the busy little scientist had decided was all hers--the fact that it was a Holiday helped.

Nyx was curled up on her bed, her back against a pillow, while she read some scientific journal and sipped on hot cocoa. Her room was strangely vacant, most of the normal pokemon inhabitants were away in their pokeballs, insuring that their trainer's evening of relaxation would not be disturbed. Only Tesla, now a Raichu, and a second, shiny Raichu were in the room, sleeping at the foot of the bed.

Everything had been prepared to maximize relaxation, all the way from a single dim lamp, to the soft music playing in the background, down to an apple pie scented incense lit and sitting on the desk.

Nyx was just getting to a particularly engaging part in her book about genetic mutations and modifications (there was even a section about creating glow in the dark cells), when her door was pounded upon. She sighed and put down her book, hefting herself off of the bed with an exaggerated groan.

"What?" She looked unamused when she opened her door, staring at where a person's face was supposed to be, but there was nothing there. "Huh?- Oh." Nyx looked down and noticed the Ivysaur, "Hello, Mai... Where's Mau?" She leaned out of her door and looked down both ends of the hallway.

Nyx leaned her head away from the present when Mai shoved the gift into her face, frowning slightly and not really noticing what exactly the object was.

"Oh!" Her attention quickly turned to Mau as he followed shortly after his pokemon. "Yes. Merry Christmas." Nyx seemed to have forgotten exactly why she had the day off in her frantic rush to relax. She looked from the box and back to Mau; A present? For her? She hadn't even thought to get something for Mau. "Would you like to come in?" Nyx held her door open for the pokemon and its human to enter.

"No, not really." Nyx blinked at the package the Ivysaur was lifting at her again and took the box from it. "Hm? What's this?" She sat down on her bed and examined the wrapping, shaking the box gently to try and hear what was inside. "I just have the day off, and was reading. What is this?" Apparently opening was not a solution to her curiosity that was coming to her, maybe because the idea that Mau had gotten her a present was still a bit perplexing.

The shiny Raichu lifted his head drowsily and looked between the new pokemon and the man. "Rai?" Darwin yawned and stretched out before rolling over onto his back, exposing his fuzzy belly. "Rai."

"What... Is..." Nyx shook the box a few more times, hoping maybe it'd do something besides crinkle, some sort of clue, but finally she seemed to be ready to open the box. She flipped it over onto her lap and carefully started to peel open the wrapping paper, trying not to rip it, folding the paper neatly and sitting it next to her. And then. The box top.

Nyx lifted the top and gasped, then started to make a high pitched noise, like air escaping from a tire.

She really should have been expecting what had been in the box, if she sat down and thought about it, she obviously desired Mau's sheets like they were made of water and she were a man dying of thirst in the middle of a desert. Saying Nyx was pleasantly surprised was an understatement; Her high pitched squealing broke in into a joyous exclamation of 'Eee!' as she yanked the sheets out of the box and out of the plastic bag all sheets are packaged in and clutched them to her face.

Of course she would never be able to have anyone in her room ever again, lest they see the fortress of pink that it would soon become in celebration of her new sheets.

Nyx wasn't quite sure how to react, but then, any of her processes at that moment were purely emotional. Her immediate reaction, after acquainting her face with the sheets, was to drop the present on her lap and quickly lean, but more like tackle, Mau with a hug.

"Thank you!" Pure reaction. That was what it was. Nyx squeezed Mau with another hug in a long series of enthusiastic hugs, craned her neck up, and before she knew what she was doing, kissed his cheek. It took a moment to sink in; Another moment before she relinquished the hug attack and sat up in her own space, blushing furiously, and unable to keep from smiling and looking embarrassed at the same time.

Someone must have drugged her, yes, that was the only explanation for what she had just done. That, or someone had figured out mind-control and made her do that. Those were the only explanations. There was no reason, such as fondness, that would have caused such an event. There was no 'liking' to explain the picnic, the dinner, the carnival, the weeks in the infirmary, or this. Even though whenever Mau was around, Nyx seemed to be in a better mood, even if her mood was almost always chipper. Even though when Mau was around, her palms were moist and her face turned red. Even though Nyx really did enjoy Mau's company and it hurt to see him hurt. It was anything but a budding romance. It had to be. Nyx was stubborn.

They might not have been in grade school, but Nyx certainly had never had a romance any time past that point, so she did everything she could to avoid looking at Mau. "... Um. Uh..." Nyx fidgeted with the corner of her new sheets, trying to think of a way to avoid talking about her little outburst, or a way to make her face stop burning, which would have been easier if she could stop thinking about how nice hugging Mau was--Damn capillaries.

"I- I didn't get you anything." Besides a kiss, and the pleasure of a very flustered dandelion head, "Uh... I- Tea? I have tea. Do you want tea? I really want tea." Yes. Drink to avoid embarrassment!