Let's go Pikachu ✨ Part Fouuuuur✨

Memory lane

Lillie walked into my room and sat on the bed. " Mia?"

" Hm?"

" Blue told me to ask you something."

" Ask away."

" What's this?"

I turned and saw the picture.

I blinked.

Then I smiled

" That's the picture I made Blue for his tenth birthday."

Lillie blinked, studying the wrinkled drawing carefully. It was clearly old, the colors a little faded, the paper soft from years of being held and maybe even hugged a few times. Little stick figures with spiky hair and way-too-big smiles stood together, names scribbled in a five-year-old's handwriting beneath each one.

"You drew this?" she asked, tracing a finger gently over the crayon-blue sky.

"Yup!" I said proudly, sitting up straighter on my bed. "I worked really, really hard on it. It was supposed to be a surprise for Blue's birthday, but I thought it wasn't good enough, so I threw it away."

Lillie frowned. "But... it's adorable. Why would you think that?"

I shrugged, a little sheepishly. "Leaf had this nice, shiny gift and I thought... mine was dumb in comparison."

"And then what happened?" Lillie asked softly.

I smiled, looking up at the ceiling like I could still see it happening. "Blue found me crying in bed that night. And when I told him what happened... he dug the picture out of the trash, flattened it out, and taped it next to his bed."

Lillie blinked, touched. "He kept it?"

"For years," I said. "He even packed it in a special folder when he traveled. Said it was the best present he ever got."

She glanced down at the picture again, smiling. "He's sentimental. He pretends not to be, but he totally is."

"Tell me about it," I giggled. "He didn't even get mad about the glitter glue explosion."

Lillie's eyes widened. "You glitter-glued that thing?!"

"Oh, it was everywhere. I was five, Lillie. I thought glitter was a requirement for art."

She laughed. "Well, it is beautiful, Mia. And... really sweet."

I looked at the picture fondly. "Yeah... it's not perfect, but it's ours. And that's all that matters."

Lillie nodded, carefully setting the picture on my nightstand. "You're lucky, you know? You and Blue. That bond's really special."

I grinned. "Yeah. He's like my big bro... and I'd do anything for him."

And deep down, I knew he felt the exact same way.