Christmas morning came, albeit much too slowly for Ren's taste.

The digimon was lying in bed, trying to behave himself by waiting until there was some daylight before waking his tamer.

He kept looking to his side, glancing at the curtains to see if even a sliver of light might be peeking through the gap. Unfortunately, the daylight refused to show itself, leaving Ren to fidget disappointedly in the dark.

He looked to his other side, hoping his partner might be showing some signs of waking up.

The tamer was lying with his back to the fox and the covers pulled up around his shoulders. Despite Ren's optimism, there was no sign his human was awake. The only noticeable activity from the tamer was the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest as he breathed.

The digimon stared back up to the ceiling, giving a long sigh.

—

After lying still for what felt like an eternity, Ren couldn't contain himself any longer. He gave the tamer a nudge on the shoulder.

“Tamer?"

No response.

He gave another shake on the tamer's shoulder, followed by a more insistent call.

“...Tamer."

“Nnghh…"

Unconsciously, the tamer pulled the covers over his face, trying to shut out Ren's nagging.

However, the fox wasn't willing to give in. He sat himself up and knelt next to the tamer, leaning over to try and see if his efforts had worked.

“Are you awake yet?"

The tamer gave another groan, before peeking out from the covers to give an irritated glance up to the digimon looming above him.

“Nnghh… what, Ren?"

The digimon pulled the covers right back.

“What time am I allowed to go through?"

“I told you. Is it daylight yet?"

“Well…"

Ren glanced back to the still-dark curtains.

“...it's almost getting light."

The tamer leaned over to glance at the bedside clock.

5:17AM

He looked back at the digimon.

“Liar. It's not even close."

“But I can't sleep."

The tamer took a deep breath, before letting it out as a long, drowsy yawn.

“You really can't wait, huh?"

“No…"

“Eugh… fine. Come on then."

The digimon was up and out the door before the tamer had even got his legs out of the bed.

Sitting up groggily, he rubbed his eyes.

“So this is what it'd be like to have kids…"

As if to prove the point, Ren came back in to nag at him.

“Are you coming?"

“Yeah, yeah… gimme a minute."

Begrudgingly, he hauled himself to his feet and followed the eager fox through.

In the lounge, Ren had already turned on the lights and was sitting restlessly on the couch, as close to the pile of presents as he could get.

The tamer slowly shuffled past the couch and towards the tree.

As he leaned down to grab one of the presents, he immediately felt a shadow looming above him. He glanced back, seeing Ren leaning on the arm of the couch and hovering right over him. 

The digimon gave a curious look after realising the tamer was staring at him.

“Is something wrong, Tamer?"

“Yeah. I feel like I got a monkey on my shoulder."

Ren stared blankly, not sure what the tamer was talking about.

Turning around fully, he shooed the digimon away.

“...just relax already, will you? 

Ren was taken aback, moodily retreating to a sitting position.

The tamer brought over a small cube-shaped present and offered it to the digimon.

“...alright. Merry Christmas, ya overgrown kid."

Ignoring the verbal jab, Ren reached for the present excitedly, prompting a gentle reminder from the tamer.

“...just be gentle with it, ok?"

Bearing the advice in mind, Ren gingerly took the present, examining the fancy red paper.

“Am I allowed to tear the paper?"

“If you want. It's just going in the bin afterwards."

“But it's really nice."

“You just open it how you want, Ren. I've got a whole roll of it that you can admire."

Using a claw, Ren sliced the tape holding the paper closed at one end. He took a quick peek inside, before carefully extracting the present from the wrapping. Removing the paper, he was left holding a dark blue box, with the only noticeable detail being a gold logo embossed on the top.

Waterford

Ren stared at the logo, before glancing to the tamer in confusion.

The tamer raised an eyebrow at the digimon.

“...go on, open it up."

Carefully, Ren pulled the lid off the box.

Inside, sitting on silk padding that matched the box colour, was the ornament he had wanted.

He looked from the ornament to the tamer.

“You bought it."

The tamer gave a nonchalant shrug.

“I wanted you to have something nice. And it's actually the only time I can really remember when you admitted you wanted something.

“But… it was so expensive."

The tamer moved over to sit next to Ren, leaning up against him.

“Yeah, well… I know after the whole debacle with Yuki and then the stat-dec-"

He hesitated as he felt Ren tense up.

"...sorry. We don't have to talk about it if you don't wanna, Ren."

"I think I know where you're going. About… the way I reacted…"

"Yeah. You did kinda freak out. It obviously bothered you, right?"

The fox gave a sigh.

"I… might have overreacted. I know you wouldn't end our partnership like that. I suppose… it was the thought of being alone again."

“Right. I sorta figured that was the case. So I thought this…"

He reached over and pulled the ornament out of the box, holding it by the ribbon in front of the digimon

“...could be a bit of a promise. To say… I'm not letting you go that easily. Each year you're gonna hang this on the tree, ok?"

Ren looked to the tamer with a gentle smile.

“I… I think I'd like that."

“Me too. So…"

With a nod of his head he motioned for Ren to take the ornament. The digimon reached out, hooking a finger through the ribbon.

“...let's find a spot for it."

He stood up and nudged Ren over to the tree.

“...I think somewhere front and centre. Let's take this one off."

He removed one of the generic baubles, making a spot for Ren's decoration.

The digimon carefully looped the ribbon around the free branch, slowly letting it take the weight of the crystal bauble.

He stepped back next to the tamer to admire it.

“It's really nice…"

“Yep. Glad you chose it. Although…"

Ren gave a curious look at the tamer's pause.

“What?"

“Well… I think I'm regretting getting those pick and mix decorations.The reason they were so cheap is probably because they're not very good. Like, sitting next to your decoration, they just look crap."

He gave a sigh.

“...guess I'm gonna have to get nicer ones next year."

“Sorry, Tamer."

“Eh, no big deal."

The digimon thought for a moment, before giving a small smile.

“Maybe I could help you pick some."

The tamer gave a chuckle.

“Yeah, maybe you could.

He wrapped an arm around Ren's back and pulled him close.

“...Merry Christmas Ren."

The fox reciprocated, nuzzling in against the tamer.

“Thank you Tamer, and Merry Christmas to you too."

They stood together for a while, enjoying the closeness.

Eventually Ren spoke up.

“...what do we do now?"

“Well… I guess you could open the other present."

The digimon's ears perked at the thought of another present.

“There's another one for me?"

“Yeah."

The tamer reached for a flat present from the pile. The package flopped as he picked it up and handed it to Ren.

Ren held it curiously, turning it around several times.

“What is it?"

“Open it and find out."

The fox sat down once more and tore open the paper, before pulling out the item within. He held up the item, revealing a pair of trunks with the pattern of a creeper.

“Minecraft… shorts?"

“Yep. Apparently that's what all the cool kids wear."

Ren stared at the trunks with a bemused look.

“That's very… thoughtful, Tamer."

The tamer gave a self-satisfied grin.

“I know, right? So you gonna go try 'em on?"

“I guess…"

Ren put the trunks down on the table, before standing and reaching his fingers into the waistband of the pair he was wearing. The tamer was quick to question the unusual action.

“Uh… what are you doing?"

Ren stopped and stared in confusion.

“Trying them on… like you said?"

“Not here! Jeez. Don't take your pants off in the middle of the lounge."

“Why not?"

“Because. You can't just go around with no pants on."

The digimon glanced down to his waist, before looking back to the tamer with a furrowed brow

“But… I didn't have pants when we first met."

“Uhhh… well, yeah… but that was different. Look, just go change in the bedroom, ok?"

Ren gave a disgruntled look, before picking up the trunks and heading to the bedroom.

“Fine. But I don't see why…"

The tamer rolled his eyes, taking a seat on the couch as the digimon walked off.

—

Ren returned shortly after, wearing the new shorts.

The tamer watched with interest as the digimon entered the room. At first glance it seemed he'd done a good job guessing Ren's size. However, as the digimon came closer, he realised Ren was walking slightly oddly. The fox also had one hand behind his back, seemingly trying to adjust the shorts.

“Do they fit ok, Ren?"

Ren kept fiddling for a moment before responding.

“Hmm… mostly."

“Mostly?"

“Well… they're a bit tight around the back. See?"

The digimon turned and presented his behind to the tamer, causing the tamer to recoil back into the couch.

“Come on, don't shove your bum in my face."

“I was just showing you."

Leaning forward again, the tamer could see the waistband pushing up under the base of Ren's tail. He hooked a finger in and gave a gentle pull, trying to adjust the positioning. From the resistance, he could tell the trunks were putting quite a bit of pressure on the digimon.

“Man, that feels uncomfortable. Guess you're not gonna be wearing them."

Ren gave a dejected look over his shoulder.

“But I really want to, since you bought them for me."

“Yeah, but you don't want to be uncomfortable. And honestly, I really just bought them for a bit of a laugh. I didn't think you'd actually wear them around."

“But I like how they look."

“Well… we could try… I dunno. Maybe we could make a cutout for your tail. But… then the elastic won't hold 'em up."

The digimon gave a depressed whine.

“...sorry, Ren. What did you do with your other pair?"

“I reabsorbed the data."

The tamer stared blankly for a moment, before deciding it would be easier on his brain not to get into the details.

“Yeah… of course. Anyway, I guess you'll have to remake them."

As he spoke, an idea took hold in the tamer's mind.

“...hey, what if you made your own pair of these?"

“Make my own?"

“Yeah. Like how you made your shorts to begin with. This is a pretty simple pattern really. Couldn't you try and copy it? Then you could have a pair that fit perfectly."

“I…"

The digimon thought it over, before his eyes widened with the epiphany.

“...I think I could!"

Excitedly, he stripped out of the store-bought trunks, making the tamer instinctively avert his gaze.

“Ren! Not in the lounge."

Ignoring the tamer's protests, Ren held the pants up to study the pattern.

“Ok, I'm going to try."

He closed his eyes to focus.

After a moment, a glow appeared from around his waist, similar to digivolving, but limited only to his hips.

The glow quickly faded, leaving Ren in his homemade trunks. This time, they were a distinct green pattern, very similar to the pair he was holding.

The tamer studied the digimon's new look, impressed by how close he'd come to matching the official pattern on his first try.

“Hey, that's pretty good, Ren. And I know you said you could make stuff out of data, but it's totally weird watching you actually do it."

Ren looked at the tamer with concern.

“Does it bother you?"

“No-no, it's totally amazing. It's just… I really can't understand how you can possibly do it."

“It's just manipulating data, really."

“Yeah. And I'm not gonna bother trying to understand it. But…"

“But what?"

“Could you change other stuff?"

“I thought you said you didn't want me to change?"

“Yeah, not yourself. But like… how about your gloves?"

Ren put the store-bought shorts down on the table and held his hands out to stare at the gloves for a moment. His expression slowly turned into a grin.

He closed his eyes again and his gloves glowed for a moment, before quickly fading to reveal the new pattern.

The Minecraft creeper design covered the gloves entirely, and the Yin Yang symbols had been replaced with creeper faces.

The tamer gawked.

“...hell yeah! Now that is a cool look."

Ren beamed at the compliment.

“You like it?"

“Yeah. Hey…"

The tamer gestured to Ren's modified gloves.

“...Renamon, Minecraft mode!"

The digimon looked dubious about the new moniker.

“I guess it could be. But I don't really think the name is important. I just like the look."

He looked down at his shorts and gloves, grinning happily to himself. However, his expression fell as his gaze moved to the discarded shorts on the table. He turned to the tamer with a troubled look on his face.

“...but I feel bad that you bought those ones, and now I'm not going to wear them."

The tamer gave a dismissive wave.

“Eh, they were only twenty bucks. And besides, if they inspired this, then I think it's money well spent."

“Are you sure?"

“Yeah.

“Alright."

The digimon came and sat down next to the tamer. His attention shifted back to the shorts and his expression turned more thoughtful.

“...what are you going to do with them?"

The tamer gave a shrug.

“I dunno. You're not gonna wear them, and they definitely won't fit me. Maybe I'll make Kiyu wear them on his head."

“Snnrk."

As soon as Ren let out the snort, his eyes went wide and he quickly covered his mouth.

The tamer raised an eyebrow, before giving a casual smirk at the unexpected little outburst.

“You like that idea, huh?"

The fox was quick to deny it.

“No! Kiyu will get mad."

“So I should definitely do it then…"

The digimon gave an exasperated look.

“At least don't tell him I laughed."

“Come on, Ren. You of all people know it's too late for that."

Ren gave a groan, knowing Kiyu would be able to see the whole conversation as soon as he digivolved.

“I know. It's just… wishful thinking."

“Yeah, I get it. But you don't need to worry. Worst thing that might happen is he'll have a whinge at me."

“I guess."

“Anyway… speaking of Kiyu, I was hoping that you would digivolve maybe after 8 o'clock… if that's alright."

“So soon?"

“It's barely 6, Ren. You've still got two hours."

Seeing the bothered look on the digimon's face, the tamer prompted an explanation.

“...what's getting you all stressed out?"

“I thought we'd have more time together."

“Yeah, we will this evening."

“What?"

The tamer had a moment of realisation.

“Alright, maybe I should've shared my plans. In my head I was thinking you'd digivolve around 8. Then Kiyu gets time for presents and turkey. I think that'll take us to around midday. Then I ask him to change to Yuki, and he gets the same. Then maybe around 4 I ask him to change back to you and we finish off the last turkey around 8."

The tamer took a breath.

“...phew… sound fair?"

“I guess so. What do we do til then?"

“We could go play some Minecraft…"

Ren gave a little grin.

“I suppose it would be a bit hypocritical not to when I'm dressed like this."

—

The pair spent the next two hours playing Minecraft. They were sitting on what the tamer called Ren's bed, although the digimon didn't really use it anymore since the new arrangement sleeping in the tamer's bed.

As the time passed 8 o'clock, the tamer tried to encourage Ren to finish up so he could digivolve, but the digimon kept stalling.

“Alright. Are you ready to finish up and switch with Kiyu?"

“I just need to finish this one thing."

“You said that five minutes ago

Ren looked at the tamer, before staring at the ground in depression.

“...hey… I'll make sure you're back this evening, alright? You can pick it up later."

The digimon looked up glumly.

“You promise?"

“Would I lie to you?"

Ren gave a small smile.

“If you were making a joke."

“Heh. Yeah, alright. I guess that's fair."

The tamer hauled himself to his feet, before offering a hand to the digimon.

“...but I promise. I'll make sure you don't miss out on my terrible cooking, ok?"

“Fine."

Somewhat begrudgingly, Ren took the offered hand and the tamer helped him up.

“Look, I get that you're not keen on it, but I do appreciate you doing this, ok?"

“I know. But you owe me… like… a hundred pizzas for this."

The tamer gave a chuckle.

“Yeah, alright. I'll work on it."

He opened his arms wide and Ren gladly accepted the hug, before letting go and moving to a clear area of the floor.

“Kiyu better appreciate me doing this."

“Of course he will, Ren."

The tamer could make out one last dubious glare from the digimon before he was engulfed in a bright light.

“Renamon digivolve to…"