LNH: Classic LNH Adventures #311: Pocket Man's Special Gift

[Drew Nilium]

On 12/10/23 4:12 PM, Arthur Spitzer wrote:
<snip>
> And here's the one shot 'Pocket Man's Special Gift' by
> Gary "SAINT" St. Lawrence!
> 
> And it's an X-Mas Tale!  And probably the first LNH Holiday Story
> ever! 

ooooooh :D Wonderful!

> Does the Man who can just rummage through all his pockets
> to find a special gift need to ever do any shopping?!  Will Sing-
> Along Lass get the nickname Singy?!  And who's going to steal
> Christmas?!!  (What?  Different X-mas Special?!  How about Three
> Ghosts?  Tell me there's at least Three Ghosts!!!)

Pulling the Grinch off-panel with a giant hook...

> 	At Christmas, the LNH HQ is a little deserted. The net.heroes who
> have family or loved ones all disperse to the four corners of the universe
> (at least the universes we know about). But there are some who stay behind,
> some out of a sense of duty - acknowledging the Net.need for Net.heroes
> even during the Season of Peace. Others stay because they have nowhere to
> go and no one to go to.
> 	This is the story of how one such Net.hero dealt with the feelings
> that inevitably overcome the single people of the universe at Christmas.

Oh, this is some excellent worldbuilding. I don't think I've ever read this 
story before, but this is definitely part of how I think of life in the LNHQ.

> He usually didn't mind being alone at
> holidays, but the newfound comradery and sense of belonging he'd found
> among his friends in the LNH was something he'd not only grown accustomed
> to, but cherished. Now, when those friends were leaving to be with those
> closest in their lives, Pocket Man realized the value of just being with
> someone to share the joy of the holidays.

aggggggggh that's so good.

> 	"Nah, you go ahead. I've got some gifts to wrap and I need to
> see ... someone ... before they leave. I want to be here so I can be sure
> and see ... them."
> 	"Them meaning Organic Lass, I take it?"

He's called Pocket Man, not Subtle Man.

> 	"Yeah, she's a looker alright," Sarcastic Lad said, now trying to
> get his friend's mind of his dilemma. "I tell ya, if you weren't ... well,
> never mind.

Sarc this may not be the best kind of distraction. X>;;;

> 	"The jewelry store ... Pok! Don't tell me you're gonna ..." Sarc
> said.
> 	"Just get me the box, please? One of the really nice ones."

Hmhmhm, interesting~

> Sing-Along Lass sat on the corner of the
> bed, humming a seasonal tune, gleefully enrapt in the spirit of Christmas.

That feels accurate. X>

> 	"So, what's it like where you're from Ori," Sing-Along Lass chimed.
> 	"Oh, it's beautiful this time of year!" Organic Lass explained
> happily. "There's snow everywhere and everyone's in a good mood. Christmas
> music plays everywhere. It's really nice."
> 	"Same with my home," Sing-Along Lass mused. "Especially about
> the music!

I like how this could be anywhere above a certain latitude. X>

> You know, Pocket Man is staying here over the holidays. He
> volunteered for monitor duty for the whole week. Poor guy. I asked him
> if he'd like to go to my family's house for Christmas, but he said he'd
> feel like he was imposing.

Awwwwww! <3

> 	"Besides, Sarcastic Lad isn't really such a bad guy," Sing-Along
> Lass interjected. "He's possessed by a demon, you know. It's his powers
> that make him a little hard to take sometimes."
> 	"I suppose, if you say so," Organic Lass consented.

Ehhhhhh that's pretty excuse-y. X>

> 	"Yeah, you're probably right. Besides, what am I worried about? All
> these heroes around here shouldn't have a problem with one little demon,
> right?"

Famous last words...

> 	"You're lucky he likes you so much," Singy said. "Could you imagine
> if he ever put someone in one of those pockets of his? They'd never find
> their way out."
> 	"Hmmmm. That *would* be terrible!" Organic Lass said, her eyebrow
> raising and her lip curling into a wry smile. "Unless, of course ....
> if Pok threw himself in there with me ..."
> 	"Ori!" Singy exclaimed.

Horny. X>

> 	"Oh yeah," Pok said. "What are you doing here still? I thought
> you left on the 4 p.m. shuttle."
> 	"I was going to, but my folks called and said they wouldn't be
> home when I got there and asked me to take a later shuttle," she explained.
> "I'm just leaving now and wanted to say "Cya!" So ... Cya," she said,
> her head tilting as she musically mentioned the farewell.

X>

> 	As soon as Sing-Along Lass was out of sight, Pocket Man put the
> monitors on auto-relay to his and Organic Lass' quarters. He hurried to
> his quarters and retrieved the carefully wrapped present he had for
> Organic Lass. He walked toward her quarters and waved his hand before the
> palm-print-activated doorbell.

Cuuuuuuute

> 	"Pok! Hi! Come on in. I was just about to head out to the shuttle
> deck and was going to stop into the monitor room to cya before I left," she
> said.

cya~

> 	Pocket Man stood motionless for a long moment, staring at Organic
> Lass, but not really looking *at* her. His eyes gleamed.
> 	"Pok?" she said. "You okay?"
> 	"Huh? Oh, uhh ... yeah. I'm fine," he said, quickly regaining
> his concentration. He wondered how often she'd caught him staring at her
> like that, and walked toward her at the table.

D'awwwwww.

> 	Organic Lass curiously reached for the box and gently took it from
> Pok's hand. "You didn't have to do this, you know."
> 	"I know," he said. "I wanted to."

Awwwwwww! <# <3 <3

> 	She opened the box and found not a ring, but certainly a jewel
> of some kind. it sparkled and was a deep, rich cobalt blue in color. There
> was a faint, incandescent glow around the gem.
> 	"Oh Pok it's beautiful! You shouldn't have gone to so much trouble,"
> she said, holding the gem to the light to marvel at its color and clarity.
> 	"Oh, it was no trouble really," Pok said, not convincing her that
> he hadn't gone to great lengths to secure the lovely stone.

X> <3 <3 <3

> 	"I wanted to give you something that nobody else had," he said.
> "I decided on this." He pointed to the stone. "It's an Alteganian Joy Jewel.
> If you touch it and think good thoughts, the stone washes a feeling of joy
> over you. Every time you touch it, it puts you in a happy, joyful mood and
> makes you feel really good physically as well. Try it!"
> 	Pocket Man stood shakily, wondering if Organic Lass would like the
> gift. He watched intently as she began to gently touch the top of the stone.
> A faint azure glow washed over her and he could see her physically relax.
> The smile on her lovely face told him that the stone did what he'd been told.
> 	"Oh Pok, this is wo-o-o-onderful," she said dreamily.

Fascinating. I didn't expect it to be something so straightforward.

> 	"You can talk to it too," he said. "Anytime you want to tell it
> something, it can kind of record it for you. But what you tell it has to
> be some kind of happy memory or event. It stores the feelings of what you're
> talking about and will let you feel them again any time you want. It's
> really rare, too. There are only three of them known to exist in all the
> universes."

Wow, that's straining the limits of "can pull *anything* out of his pockets". Neat!

> 	"It's wonderful Pok. You're wonderful. But there's a problem," she
> said, looking him in the eye. "It doesn't make me feel anywhere near as
> good as you just did this minute."

Awwwwwwww <3

> 	"I have to leave if I'm going to make that shuttle. My folks are
> expecting me, so I have to go! Would you like to go with me? I'm sure
> my family would love to have you with us!"
> 	"Wow. I would love to. But I have to stay here for monitor duty," he
> said. "I volunteered for the whole weekend. I figured even Multi-Tasking Man
> needs a break every once in awhile. You go and have the time of your
> life. I'll be okay here."

Awwwwww. :>

> 	Organic Lass smiled and kissed him again. "You are such a nice
> guy! Where've you been all my life." she asked playfully.
> 	Pocket Man grinned and blushed, looking at the floor.

Cute!

> 	"Now I feel terrible. I didn't get you anything," she said with a
> tone of disappointment. "Can I make it up to you when I get back?"
> 	"You don't have to give me anything, really," he said assuringly.
> "Just have a good Christmas and ... shuttle safely."

Awwwwwww. :D

> 	Pocket Man stood on the deck, watching the shuttle gradually turn
> into a dot on the darkening horizon. He felt warm despite the bitter
> winter winds that crisscrossed the flattened platform. He thought of the
> look on Organic Lass' face as she touched the Joy Jewel and he smiled. As he
> walked back toward the Monitor Room, he thought of her apology for not
> getting him a gift. He chuckled.
> 	"Best gift in the universe," he thought to himself, noting that
> Organic Lass would return to LNH HQ in just a few short days. "Best gift
> I ever got!"

^.^ Okay, this is good actually.

Drew "pocket the change" Nilium