Iced affection

The battle against Robotnik was in fact the most hardest battle that Sonic and his gang was ever challenged with in awhile but after enough team work and communication, they had managed to defeat Robotnik’s new machine that was meant to build his Eggman empire. Sonic was relieved, over the last few months Robotnik’s determination his risen dramatically and no one was ready for another vicious attack not even Sonic.

The bat girl, exhausted and covered with dirt, wiped her outfit which consist of her usual skin tight purple suit with the pink heart across her chest and the white heels with the pink heart at the end of each one, “well,” she groaned, “he just doesn’t give up, does he?”

Shadow, who wasn’t showing any signs of exhaustion or any sort of injuries, just simply rolled his eyes. Rouge had a knack for stating the obvious. Without saying much of a word, Shadow began to walk ahead, leaving the others alone to stare at the debris and find hopes to have the city rebuilt before the upcoming holidays. The ebony hedgehog did not have much care of how the city grounds looked like after the battle as long as the battle ended with a win. That was Shadow for you.

Knuckles, Amy, and Tails also followed Shadow to head back to their homes. The weather was to cold to just sit and chat and if Amy was out for to long then she would most likely start whiny like the immature child that she was and Knuckles didn’t feel like hearing that today. He was to exhausted as well and he needed to head back to Angel Island and continue on his guarding of the Master Emerald.

Deciding, too, that it was time to leave the rest to the president, Sonic quickly sped off towards Shadow’s direction. It had been awhile since those two had actually had a pretty decent conversation, but that wasn’t the blue hedgehog’s fault. It was Shadow’s for being pretty anti-social and chooses to lock himself away from everyone else and to just up and vanish just seconds after a battle.

In over the last few weeks the weather had changed from a pretty relaxed, cool temperature to it quickly dropping to a very cold day. So now it was obvious that winter was here, fall had passed without anyone ever really noticing that it was even here, and that Christmas was to arrive in a matter of two weeks maybe even less.

Sonic was hoping that Shadow wouldn’t think that he was stalking him or anything, he did, in fact, live in the very direction they were both just happening to be going. Knowing Shadow, though, he would take it the wrong way and just snap on Sonic without as much as a warning. But that wasn’t much a of shock to anyone these days. Everyone was tense, no one was sure how the next was to go. Rather if it was to go by pretty smoothly with a single attack or if it would turn into an all out war.

He sighed and stopped his face pace into a much slower, steady pace to think these things through. They just automatically expected Robotnik to just stop attacking during the holidays and that’s where they all went wrong. They dropped their guard and Robotnik knew that. Now it was time to become much more aware of the current situation so that way they were ready for his next attack and end the battle quicker then today’s.

Sonic knew just a way to lighten everyone’s moods and he knew it would work. Everyone else would want to participate, but what about the brooding loner? He would never agree to such a thing because he hated everyone but Omega and Rouge oddly enough. Though he did show some hints of friendship to Sonic.

‘It’s a slim chance that he’ll come over for something as absurd as this, but who knows. Shadow’s pretty unpredictable and just might say yes,’ he thought to himself, ‘it’ll be fun if he could at least give the rest of us a chance, it’s quite obvious he has a lack of trust for us and that’s why he refuses to even hang out on a non-threatening day.’

A small smile inched on his lips as he sped even faster towards Shadow then skidded to a complete stop directly in front of him. Shadow just stared at him, a little confused but just as dumbfounded and he blinked several times, “yes?” he questioned.

The other hedgehog couldn’t help but laugh softly as he thought shadow’s ambiguous expression was rather…cute.

“If you’re not going to state why you nearly tripped me in your sudden stop then I’ll leave,” he spoke in a low tone but just as harsh.

Sonic stopped laughing and he took a very deep breath, “I need your help with something,” he was waiting for some sarcastic comment to leave Shadow’s mouth, but amazingly enough, he remained quiet. He was actually willing to listen to Sonic? Now Sonic was beginning to think that the robot knocked him outside the head and gave him possible brain damaged or a switched personality, “I know a way to relief everyone of their tension.”

Shadow urged Sonic to continue with a small motion of his head.

“A little Christmas party. Sure it’s a few weeks before the actual holiday but what’s the harm, right?” he managed to explain.

This was true, but shadow wasn’t really the holiday spirit hedgehog. Christmas to him was just another day to him aside from the fact that everywhere was red and green which drove him nuts. How could such colours represent a holiday? His first and last Christmas he ever took part in was over fifty years ago.

“Okay,” he spoke slowly, “so where do I come in for this whole party thing?”

“You want to come over and help me decorate the place? Then we could go out and buy the food,” he answered.

Was Sonic seriously inviting HIM over to his place? This was a rather awkward position for Shadow. He never decorated for anything. Not even on the ARK, he just sat back and watched or spend time with Maria. He never bought food before, Rouge provides him with that and a living space. This was all entirely new for him.

“So, Shadow, what do you say?” he questioned the other hedgehog, “I’m sure you’ll have fun. I can take you to my condo right now and I’ll call up the others saying that it’s tomorrow and it’ll also give us a chance to at least talk about some things.”

Some things as in the biggest confession he was to ever make.

Shadow folded his arms across his chest, Sonic was persistent so if he said yes then it was most likely that Sonic would continue to harass him until he said yes, “fine,” he grumbled, “whatever, I don’t care.”

Sonic chuckled, ‘he said yes. He does care but he wont admit it.’

Once to Sonic’s condo, he unlocked the door and allowed Shadow to enter in first. When Shadow walked in he became totally speechless of the condo’s appearance. He knew the ARK was big, and he knew Rouge’s club was big, but never has he ever seen a house this size.

He faced Sonic and pointed in a random direction, “you live…here?’ he questioned and Sonic nodded with a chuckle, “oh my god this place is huge. How did you…” he paused knowing it wasn’t really his place to ask about Sonic’s personal issues such as money but still he was curious.

The blue hedgehog shrugged and walked in, closing the door shut, “did you forget that I save lives,” he reminded while sitting on the large sofa, “I do get paid for my efforts.”

“I thought you saved lives because you enjoy kicking the doctor’s ass?”

Sonic laughed, “well that to, but the president felt that since we’re going to be stuck on Earth for awhile mind as well pay me and give me this really neat place to live. After all, every time Ro-butt-nik is out and destroying something it usually means the difference between life and death for innocent bystanders and for us, well not so much for you.”

Shadow understood even though he wasn’t paying to much attention to what he was saying. His entire focus was drawn to the huge living room that had snow white walls, a fire place to the left of the sofa, a huge refrigerator that was all metal and had one of those water and ice dispensers on the door, a big screen television set with 5.1 surround sound. He laughed, “unbelievable,” he spoke with a shake of his head. Exploring even more, he left the living room and entered Sonic’s bedroom, automatically freezing in place with sheer disbelief. The entire wall was like a huge window made entirely of glass, but there was a small black handle on the glass door that led to the outdoor balcony which showed a breathless view of all of the city.

Sonic soon followed Shadow, “I don’t spend much time in here or in this condo at all,” he informed, “only when I feel like taking a nap but I prefer roofs,” he grinned.

“Wow,” was all Shadow said, “this is going to be fun to decorate.” he rolled his eyes now regretting ever coming here. He didn’t have time to just stay here and decorate, though it’s not like he had much of choice unless he wanted the other hedgehog constantly hounding over him to do it because he said he would.

Sonic tapped Shadow on his back, “well we best be getting started, huh?”

That was a poor question, Shadow would never be ready to decorate this huge place red and green and all that other Christmas crap everyone seemed to enjoy and yet he couldn’t figure out why. Why was the best holiday of the year also the most depressing and hurtful one? That’s one thing he would never understand with humans.

“Alright,” Sonic spoke as he pulled out tons of old card boarded boxes filled with nothing but holiday junk, “so I called everyone and told them that they should come over tomorrow for the party and they all said that they would which is great so I guess that means we have lots of work to accomplish in the next twenty-four hours.”

Shadow groaned, “you’ve got to be kidding me,” he muttered hoping Sonic couldn’t hear him but he did, “umm I just think that one of us should do one thing and the other one should do the other if that makes sense.”

Sonic glared at him, “you just want to ditch me by buying the food,” he accused with a laugh.

Shadow flinched, then, growled, “don’t accuse me of something, hedgehog!” he snapped and stood from the couch and snatched the box away from Sonic, “I told you I would help, don’t think that I’ll go back on my word. Now if it makes you feel much more secure why don’t you go out and buy the damn food since you know exactly what to provide for this upcoming fiasco that you’re holding.”

Sonic removed his hands from the box and shrugged, “okay okay fine. I’ll go get the food and you can decorate. Heaven forbid I’ll be horrified to come home and see what this place looks like.”

The ebony hedgehog glared at Sonic, “you don’t think I can do it?” he asked his tone becoming vicious and he pointed at Sonic, “I’m completely capable of decorating this Christmas shit while you’re gone. I don’t need to be supervised like a mere child.”

The other hedgehog knew this was true, “relax, I’m only kidding with you. Jesus, you’re to serious, Shadow,” he responded while nudging Shadow in his hips, causing him to quickly react by moving away.

"Don't touch me," he ordered simply and Sonic shrugged again.

"Okay, fine. I wont touch you if that's what makes you happy and to not snap on me," he replied and Shadow just glared at him.

This hedgehog was trying to drive Shadow to the ledge of homicide and Sonic was going to be the one that he was going to kill way before the little party even began.

"Just go and buy the damn food. I got this," he reassured Sonic by opening the only box that was filled with the material he would need to decorate this condo for tomorrow though it was pointless since it would all be taken down within the next few weeks anyway.

Sonic couldn't help but take him up on his word and he grabbed some money before walking out the door, at least hoping that what he was to come home to was a decent job for the party. He wanted everyone to relax but Shadow was doing the complete opposite. Didn't that guy know how to even relax? Either way the fact Sonic could spend this much time with shadow was the best for him. He was enjoying it and wished that time would just pause because he knew that after this party was done Shadow wouldn't have anymore to do with...or will he? He wasn't quite sure. Turns out he hardly knew much about Shadow yet he was someone that he deeply cared for enough to hide every emotion from him. There were times when he just wanted to reach out and embrace Shadow, but he couldn't. He always managed to fight that overwhelming emotion and keep his posture of a strong, cocky hero.

The grocery shopping could have gone much worse. That's what Sonic told himself. The place was packed and selves were almost empty completely. He did, though, managed to find another store that he the food that he needed for a much better deal. Somehow, he forced the door open with his filled hands and quickly laid the food on the floor before dropping the bags on the ground which could've caused an even bigger problem. When he actually walked into the living, a smile inched his pale lips and he placed his hands onto his hips.

"I knew i could count on you to get the job done," Sonic spoke when he noticed Shadow just sitting there on the couch looking highly annoyed with the rest of the decorations.

"Good! You're home!" he shouted and stood up, throwing the items onto the ground, "because you can handle the rest. That shit is driving me nuts!"

Sonic laughed and looked around, "you're done, shadow. No more decorations will be needed, trust me. You did a great job for a first time decorator."

Shadow took a deep breath, then, released it. He never expected putting up a tree to be so hard. It just kept falling on him. He was beginning to get to the point where he was just going to leave it rest there until Sonic came home but if he were to have done that, Sonic would've came up with some smart ass comment and he would've punched him right in the face. Hard. Sonic forced Shadow to sit on the sofa and he handed him a cup that contained some coffee.

"It's cold so this'll warm you up," he reassured sitting beside him with some coffee as well and took a sip of the hot, black liquid. Shadow did as follow, "you really did do a great job, Shads," Sonic continued while giving Shadow a little pet name but not trying to annoy him. Fortunately, Shadow didn't seem to mind the little nickname that he was just given, but focused all of his thoughts on Sonic's voice and drinking the liquid.

Shadow pulled the cup away from his lips and narrowed his eyes, "in a creepy way, this was rather fun. The most irritating part though was that damn tree."

The blue hedgehog laughed as he too pulled the cup away from his face, "that's what everybody says," he told the other male hedgehog and sat the cup on the table beside him, "nobody enjoys putting the tree up."

Shadow remained quiet as he took yet another sip from the coffee not to bothered by the taste which was a first. He hated coffee. It was the worst tasting drink he has ever drunken and was never quite sure how that bat girl of a Rouge could stand to drink such thing yet today he wasn't as bothered by it. Maybe he just didn't care because he was cold, he didn't know nor did he care.

From the corner of his eye, Sonic carefully watched Shadow as more of those sudden urges risen deep within his conscious. Some telling him to admit his feelings to him right now, one telling him to just pull himself in, and the last to not even say anything and leave Shadow clueless of Sonic's true feelings regarding him. He didn't have the slightest clue of which feeling to follow but all he knew was that he couldn't just leave Shadow without him knowing that he loved him. His hands balled into a tight fist on his lap knowing that he had to decide something and soon.

Shadow, who was compeletly unaware of the entire situation, sat down his cup and stood up, "i best be going. No point in sticking around if th..."

Sonic quickly stood up and connected lips with shadow's. He didn't mean to do that but he just reacted on sudden impulse. Slowly, he broke the kiss and Shadow's eyes were widened with confusion but Sonic could've sworn he saw pure terror just as well and he was ashamed of what he had just done.

"Oh god," Shadow whispered when Sonic had completely pulled away.

"Shadow, i'm sorry that i did that...but...there's something that you must know!" he roughly took the shocked filled hedgehog by his shoulders, "i know it's hard to believe but the truth is is that i love you!"

The ebony hedgehog was speechless from fear, shock. He didn't know how to react to this, well, he did but he just couldn't admit to anything yet. He took Sonic by his hands and narrowed his eyes, it was time for him to lie his way out of this one, "Sonic..." he mumbled but managed to make his voice louder so he could hear what he had to say, "but i can't...i just can't return your feelings..." he broke free from the grasp Sonic had him through and took a few steps back.

Sonic looked away in utter sadness. He had finally managed to tell Shadow how he truly felt but it still wasn't enough, "Shadow, i know what you're trying to do. I know you're afraid of G.U.N, of Niezheg, and Twilight. But if you're deeply that afraid of all of them, then you're afraid to fall in love."

Shadow flinched and he backed even further away, "I'm not afraid," he lied.

He faced shadow, "doesn't seem that way to me."

"Stop acting like you know what you're talking about because you don't!" he screamed and opened the front door almost ready to leave.

"Shadow..."

"Have fun at your little party, Faker! because i sure as hell wont be there!" he shouted before slamming the door shut and Sonic looked away from the door as tears formed in his emerald eyes.

The next night the following day and Sonic wasn't in much of a very good mood. Shadow had kept his word and never appeared so they couldn't discuss things out as he had planned. Everyone else was there but the only person he really wanted to see. Maybe it was best if Shadow and Sonic were just 'friends' but now, after that little kiss, they weren't even that and he couldn't bear to never see Shadow again. He couldn't help but repeat in his own mind how terribly sorry he was for pulling such a stunt and wished he could take it all back, but he can't. What's done is done and he hated the end result. His fingers touched his lips and his eyelids closed shut, 'his lips were so warm and tasteful,' he thought. That's what he always wanted to do was to kiss Shadow, but not if Shadow didn't want it. It wasn't the same if only one wanted something like that.

'But now it doesn't even matter because i wont ever be kissing him again,' he thought to himself as tears appeared in his eyes.

When he became alert of the tears he quickly wiped them away and took a deep breath to try and relax himself. While everybody was having their own fun indoors in the warmth, he stood outside in the cold on the balcony. Seconds later, when he convinced himself that he was alone and no one was going to disturbed him, he heard the door open that was soon followed by a set of heavy footsteps.

Knuckles.

"Hey there," he greeted and leaned on the balcony just beside the depressed hedgehog, "you're the host of this party, why aren't you inside...hosting?"

Sonic sighed, "I'm not in the hosting mood," he told it the way it was.

"Might i ask you why?"

The hedgehog just looked at him while faking a reassuring smile, "it's nothing important. Go back inside, it's freezing out here, and I'll be in very soon."

Knuckles nodded and he pushed himself away from the balcony and headed back inside, touching Sonic's back as he did so.

Taking another deep breath, Sonic was about to take himself inside as well but a certain red and black hedgehog jumped down from the roof's condo and directly in front of Sonic, "hey..." Sonic greeted, "you came..."

Shadow's eyes narrowed, "yeah, well, i did make a certain hedgehog that i know a promise that i would arrive at this party that he's holding," he spoke seriously and Sonic looked away, "i thought about what you said."

Sonic sighed and decided to lean back against the balcony, he wanted to hear what Shadow had to say, but he was rather fearful, too.

"I'm not afraid to fall in love, Sonic," he began but Sonic just rolled his eyes, already deciding that he has heard enough and went to head indoors, "because i already have!" he quickly finished just as Sonic's hand touched the handle.

Sonic paused and faced Shadow, "what was that?"

The ebony hedgehog took a step closer to Sonic and placed a hand onto Sonic's cold, red cheek. His hand felt so warm on Sonic's face, and Sonic's eyes closed as he buried more of his face into Shadow's hand, "it's you, Sonic."

"But then why did you always treat me like dirt?" he whispered.

He pulled Sonic into an embrace and rested his cheek upon Sonic's head, "because I didn't want anyone to know that you had any type of connection with me: least of all G.U.N. If they ever were to know that you..."

Sonic pulled away, "Shadow, i can take care of myself. I'm not afraid of G.U.N or anybody."

He knew was this true and he gently pulled Sonic closer to him just before connecting his lips with his, then, pulled away for a breath. Sonic just stared at Shadow with a warm smile on his lips, he had actually forgotten how cold he was and didn't even remember until Shadow had completely pulled away. Sonic took his hand and smiled even more tenderly, "come on, you're late for the party. Lets get it done and over with so we can have time to ourselves."

Shadow grinned, "I'm okay with that," he agreed and they headed indoors where all the others were having fun as well.