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Twas the day before Christmas,

And all through the house,

Not a creature was stirring,

Not even a mouse.

Because the lazy bastards were still in bed.

For once, the tamer had woken up without a mouthful of fur. More surprisingly, he also hadn't drooled on his digimon. Ren was lying next to him, curled up and facing the wall.

He gave the fox a gentle rub between the ears, before swinging his legs out from under the covers and sitting up on the edge of the bed.

The tamer had planned to do some last-minute shopping and he wanted to get in early before the mad rush became too chaotic. Originally, he'd thought about going before Ren woke up, but quickly realised the digimon would not be happy with being abandoned like that. So, he settled for just getting ready.

He grabbed some clothes and went through to the bathroom. Despite being comfortable sleeping together, he wasn't quite comfortable enough to get undressed in front of Ren.

He spent some time freshening up, before getting dressed and returning to the bedroom. He sat down on the side of the bed to put his shoes on, with the movement causing Ren to stir.

The digimon blindly felt around for his tamer, but found he wasn't there. Slightly confused, the fox slowly opened his eyes and rolled over, looking to where the tamer should've been and spotting him sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Tamer?"

“Morning sleepyhead."

Ren stared at him for a moment, before realising he was already dressed.

“What are you doing?"

“Well, you know it's Christmas tomorrow."

Ren propped himself up on one elbow, slightly perplexed by the tamer stating what he thought was pretty obvious.

“I know. You told me."

“Right. So, I got a few last errands to run."

“Oh? Where are we going?"

“Uh, well… I was actually just going to go by myself."

The digimon sat himself up fully.

“But I should come with you."

“Yeah… not for this one. Just have a sleep in, ok?"

“But I'm already awake. What if you need me?"

“I'll be fine, Ren. Just… play Minecraft or something. You haven't done that for a while."

“But-"

“No more buts. Stop worrying, I won't even be gone long. Just this once, ok?"

The digimon gave a frustrated huff, but reluctantly agreed.

“If you really have to…"

“I do. I'll see you a bit later, then."

With that, the tamer headed to the garage, leaving a confused and disappointed digimon sitting on the bed.

—

It was several hours before the tamer returned. Much like the first night they met, Ren was waiting in the garage as he pulled in. The digimon was standing with his arms crossed and a disapproving look on his face.

The tamer got out of the car and quickly spotted the expression on Ren's face.

“What's the look for, Ren?"

“You were gone for quite a while, Tamer."

“Tch, you would say that even if I was only gone for ten minutes."

“No I wouldn't. You said you wouldn't be gone long."

“Sorry, alright? It took a bit longer than I expected. I ended up having to go to a few different stores for, uh… supplies… and stuff. But I managed to get everything I wanted."

“I still don't understand why I couldn't come with you."

“Well… because…"

The tamer hesitated, trying to come up with an excuse. Eventually he shook his head and gave a dismissive wave.

“...look, just help me with some of these bags, would ya?"

He moved around to the back of the car, opening the boot to reveal a small hoard of shopping.

Despite his dissatisfaction at the tamer's extended absence, Ren agreed to help bring all the shopping into the house. However, he was confused at how fussy the tamer was being about which bags he was allowed to carry.

He reached for one particular bag, recognising the logo of the department store they'd visited previously.

“Did you forget something when we-"

However, before he could grab it, the tamer snatched it away.

“No-no-no, don't worry about this one. You just, uh… you handle the groceries, alright?"

The fox gave an annoyed look, becoming frustrated at his partner's evasiveness.

“But what's in that one?"

“Nothing! Just… stuff. You'll find out tomorrow, ok?"

Ren's expression didn't change, so the tamer distracted him with some other bags.

“...here, you just carry these to the kitchen."

He handed three weighty shopping bags to the digimon, complaining as he did.

“...man, these birds are heavy."

Ren, once again unperturbed by the weight, just stared curiously.

“You bought birds?"

“Well… sort of. They're turkey buffes. Gotta have turkey at Christmas. I just gotta stuff 'em and get 'em ready to cook tomorrow. Just, uh… put them on the kitchen bench and I'll deal with them in a minute."

Ren gave the tamer another strange look, before relenting and taking the bags through to the kitchen.

Taking the opportunity, the tamer grabbed another bag, before heading to his office and hiding them away from the prying eyes of his digimon.

—

The tamer spent a good part of the afternoon preparing the turkeys, making stuffing and a baste for tomorrow's cooking, before trying to make room to store them in the fridge.

Ren watched the process from the opposite side of the bench with keen interest. He was particularly attentive after the tamer mentioned how similar turkey was to chicken, although he couldn't quite believe it was supposed to be better.

As the tamer put the last turkey in the fridge, the digimon took the opportunity to quiz him.

“So… it's like chicken?"

“Uh-huh."

“But better?"

“Yep."

“But… how can it be?"

“Well… for starters you get a lot more of it."

“Is that why you bought three of them? To get more?"

“Uh, well… I actually bought one for each of you."

“You mean…"

“One for Kiyu and one for Yuki."

Ren pouted at the mention of his counterparts. The tamer gave a smirk.

“...unless you'd prefer to just share one between the three of you."

The fox's petulant look quickly turned to a scowl, clearly opposed to the idea.

“No…"

“Well, then that's why I bought three. Besides, everyone deserves a treat at Christmas."

“What about you? What are you getting?"

“I'll be stealing turkey from you three."

The tamer took on a thoughtful tone as he continued.

“...sooo… if you were being clever, it might just be in your interest to let Kiyu and Yuki have some time. You never know, I could get a bit full from sharing their turkey…"

Despite the tamer trying to lighten the mood, the digimon's expression remained downcast as he dwelled on the idea of digivolving. The tamer figured such a simple trick likely wouldn't work to convince Ren to digivolve, so he just asked outright.

“...so… are you going to be willing to digivolve tomorrow?"

The fox gave an exasperated look in return.

“Do I really have to?"

The tamer gave a sigh.

“I don't want you to feel like I'm forcing you to… but I do want the others to have a turn at Christmas. Would it really be the worst thing in the world if you digivolved?"

Ren retorted without hesitation.

“Yes."

“Come on, no it wouldn't."

The fox simply crossed his arms.

The tamer gave another sigh. He wiped his hands on a tea towel before moving around the bench to stand next to Ren.

“...look, I can't force you to do it. But I would really appreciate it if you did. And it would be a nice gesture to Kiyu and Yuki."

The digimon briefly met the tamer's gaze, giving a conflicted look before staring at the ground.

“...anyway, have a think. I've got some stuff to do in my office. I'm gonna close the door, so don't come in, ok?"

Ren gave a solemn nod and the tamer responded with a gentle rub up his back.

“...thanks. And no eavesdropping, alright? Seriously, you keep those ears away from my door."

He pointed a stern finger at the digimon, but the smile on his face showed he was just playing. Ren gave a small smile in return.

The tamer headed for the hallway, giving Ren one last look as he stepped through the door and gesturing as if to say 'I'm watching you'. The digimon just rolled his eyes in response. With that he left the fox to his thoughts and headed through to his office.

—

Ren had left the tamer to his business and taken up a position on the couch to watch TV. Flicking aimlessly through the channels, he found nothing of interest amongst the Christmas drivel.

It was about an hour later when the sound of a door opening caught the digimon's attention. His ears perked and he stared towards the hallway expectantly.

A few moments later, the tamer entered the lounge with an armful of packages wrapped in festive paper of various designs. He headed over to the tree and started arranging the presents, whilst Ren watched curiously, leaning over the side of the couch.

“What is all that, Tamer?"

The tamer turned to glance at the digimon from over his shoulder.

“Hmm? Oh, they're Christmas presents."

“I see that, but who are they for?"

“Just some people I like."

“Oh."

Ren leaned back into the couch with a pensive look, before shortly speaking up again.

“...do you like me?"

The tamer gave the fox a sly grin.

“What do you think?"

“I… I hope you do."

“Because you want me to like you, or because you hope there's a present for you?"

Ren looked away sheepishly.

“Both?"

“Righhtt."

The tamer finished arranging the presents, before turning to face Ren.

“If I told you there was a present with your name on it, would you be happy?"

The digimon's whole demeanour brightened at the implication of the question, sitting up eagerly on the couch.

“There's one for me?"

The tamer gave a nonchalant shrug.

“Maybe. You'll just have to wait til tomorrow."

Ren's brow furrowed, once again vexxed by the tamer's evasiveness.

“But… can't you just tell me?"

“Where's the fun in that?"

The tamer gave a silly smile, enjoying teasing the digimon.

Ren, on the other hand, was not enjoying it. The fox was clearly unamused by the tamer's teasing, giving a grumpy frown and grumbling to himself.

“You don't have to enjoy it so much."

—

The pair went through their usual routine for the rest of the evening. The tamer cooked a simple dinner, and they spent some time watching TV.

Unlike their usual routine though, Ren claimed he was tired and needed to go to bed. The tamer glanced at his phone, seeing it had only just past ten o'clock. He looked back at the digimon curiously.

“Are you sure, Ren? It's only ten."

“I am. I need to get some sleep."

The tamer stared for a moment. To him, Ren looked alert as usual and it hadn't been a particularly busy day. But if the digimon said he wanted to sleep, the tamer wasn't going to stop him.

“Uh… sure. It's up to you I guess. I'll join you a bit later."

Ren headed off to the bedroom, leaving the tamer to watch TV by himself.

Sitting by himself, he couldn't help but notice Ren had been quite antsy for most of the day. At first he thought it might've just been the excitement of getting a present, much like a kid at Christmas, but quickly remembered Ren had only known that for a short time. The digimon had also been in a bit of a mood well before that.

“Maybe he really didn't like being left alone… or maybe it's the thought of digivolving. Should I keep pushing for him to go through with it? I don't know…"

He spent another hour watching cheesy Christmas TV, with his attention drifting between the late-night programming and his internal quandary.

Eventually he became fed up and decided to call it a night, turning everything off and heading through to join Ren in his bed.

He gave a snort as he entered the bedroom. Thoughtfully, Ren had left the tamer's bedside lamp on, meaning he could see the mess the digimon had made of the blanket. The fox had managed to wrap the blanket fully around himself, leaving very little for the tamer.

He stepped over to the side of the bed, leaning over and whispering to see if the digimon was awake.

“Ren?"

The blanket bundle moved and Ren's head popped out the end.

“Yes?"

“Still awake, huh?"

“Mmhmm."

“How'd you manage to get yourself all wrapped up like that?"

“I…"

The digimon paused, taking a moment for some introspection.

“...I don't really know. It just… happened."

“Well, can I have some blankets?"

“Oh… of course."

The digimon extricated himself from the bundle, before shuffling the blankets toward the tamer's side of the bed.

The tamer grabbed the edge of the blanket and tidied it up a bit, before getting in and settling himself under the covers.

“Alright, see you in the morning."

“Goodnight, Tamer."

“Goodnight, Ren."

The tamer rolled to reach his lamp, turning it off and pulling the covers up to his head.

As he closed his eyes and lay his head on the pillow, he pondered how much Ren must've been fidgeting to get wrapped up like that.

Not long later, it seemed he was in for a firsthand demonstration.

From his position tucked under the covers, the tamer could feel the digimon tossing and turning. Ren would lie still for a moment, shuffle around and then settle again. The movement repeated several times over, before the tamer finally got fed up with it.

He flipped the covers back and looked over to the fox in annoyance.

“Ren?"

In the darkness, the digimon was currently lying on his back and staring at the ceiling, but he glanced towards the tamer.

“Yes?"

“That's really annoying."

“Oh… sorry. I can't get comfortable."

“Yeah, I noticed."

Ren remained quiet and still for a moment.

“I was just thinking… about tomorrow."

“You excited?"

The digimon briefly thought over his feelings.

“I am. No one's ever got me a present before. But I was wondering… did you buy gifts for Kiyu and Yuki?"

“Do you think it would be fair if I didn't?"

“I…"

Ren gave a sigh, staring back up at the ceiling.

“...no."

“Right. And you know how you're getting a bit riled up right now?"

“I can't help it."

“I know. You're excited, it's natural. But I'm sure it's the same for them. They would probably be excited about getting something too, right?"

Ren sat silently, not responding immediately as he thought over the tamer's words.

A few moments later, he rolled onto his side to face the tamer.

“If I digivolved… would I still get to spend time with you tomorrow?"

“Of course! I'm not expecting you to give up the whole day for them. I just want everyone to have some time."

Once again, Ren hesitated before responding.

“I suppose I could digivolve…"

“You will?"

“I… yes."

The tamer leaned over and wrapped an arm around the digimon, squeezing him briefly in a makeshift hug.

“Thank you Ren."

“But you definitely owe me for this."

“Heh. Can I pay you in pizza?"

“I could live with that."

The tamer let go and rolled back to his own side of the bed.

“...alright, we'll work something out after Christmas. For now try to get some sleep. It'll be morning before you know it."

He laid back down, before a final thought passed through his mind.

“...and don't wake me up at least until there's some daylight. No wakeup calls at three in the morning, ok?"

A pause, and then a begrudging reply from the digimon.

“Fine…"