It was the most wonderful time of the year. With snow drifting outside, covering the sidewalks in a thin powder like baker's sugar. The chimneys smoked in unison, creating towers of black clouds that smelled like hickory. Lights decorated roofs and doors of houses in all corners of the world, for even though not everyone celebrated the holidays, the spirit was infectious and could not be ignored.

The sun shone brightly, barely over the horizon in the winter season. The shadows were long, everything an orange color. The setting was perfect and the weather was chilly.

It was Christmas day.

Everyone was packed into the humble abode of Sonic and his little brother Tails. Amy, Rouge, Cream and Vanilla, Vector and the Chaotix team, Big, and the most recent addition, Shadow.

It had been an interesting affair. Sonic had been gone on his own adventure for the longest time. So long that even Tails, who had been used to not seeing Sonic for months at a time, had been close to having a panic attack; was prepared to carry out a search and rescue adventure of his own. But, of course, when the two tailed fox had made his final decision, the blue hedgehog came knocking on the door, arms open to welcome a tight embrace.

Sonic had been the gentlest he'd ever been when telling his friends about his relationship status. Knowing that all the others saw the black hedgehog as a dangerous stranger who would kill one of them without a second thought or regret. But of course, Sonic was the most truthful, persuasive, and most of all, passionate person on Mobius. There was something about the way he worded his sentences, something about the sparkle in his eyes that told Tails and even Amy that his new partnership was okay.

But even though Sonic's closest friends took it okay, they were still apprehensive. The only encounters they'd had with Shadow was when he was on that oh-so important mission to rediscover his past and the whole Black Doom fiasco. And he wasn't exactly the friendliest person in their recollection, and hadn't been friendly, for Shadow was apprehensive also; choosing to be more reclusive, keep to himself, than to try to make peace with Sonic's rag-tag family. Of course, there had been a few times he had come across Sonic with Tails in tow, the two on their latest adventure involving Robotnik or another villain of the same affiliation, but there were few significant words exchanged that could indicate whether the fox kit liked him or not. Shadow seldom cared though, he was quite used to the fact that nobody liked him, that people were afraid of him. Considering that he was trained to be a weapon of mass destruction, it was a given that people were supposed to fear him. Yes there was a sting in his chest whenever he sensed the uneasy feelings of others around him, but it was something he learned to live with. The only people he knew on Mobius that were truly not afraid of him were Sonic and Rouge. The latter one was almost too not afraid of him. Perhaps the bat's affections toward him felt odd simply because he was unfamiliar with people being comfortable around him.

Or maybe she's just easy.

The aforementioned blue hedgehog had invited him to his house to celebrate Christmas with the rest of his so-called family. Sonic had actually been inviting him since early November, but with each attempt at persuasion Shadow had a setback to counter. The most recent one being that Sonic and his friends were not even Christian. But Sonic's argument was that most people of whatever religion he was celebrated Christmas as a "coming together of family". The blue hedgehog had rambled on about it with that trademark passion that Shadow loved so much, pushing him to nearly accept Sonic's invitation. But his final response was that he said he would sleep on it. But Sonic would not give up so easily, would not settle for a 'maybe'. He would get a 'yes' out of Shadow if it killed him.

XXXX

Sonic succeeded with persuading his dark counterpart to attend his holiday celebration, and had succeeded without dying. Shadow had stayed the night on Christmas Eve, and was up with the birds when Tails, Cream, and to his dismay, Sonic came bursting through the door to his bedroom and bounced on his bed until he rose. It was an interesting feeling to wake up to people on Christmas day. Most of the time, he would spend Christmas on the ARK, looking through old photos of his younger self and precious friend Maria. He even managed to pack away and save an old matchbox car- tin frame and all- that Maria had given him on his very first Christmas. But each one without them was an empty, dark day. The space colony seemed quieter than usual on that holiday; no joy or faint smiles being shared by people who would give a special toast even when they were away from home.

That morning, with the [startling] laughs of the young children in his ears, reminded Shadow of his days up in space. When Tails and Cream darted to another room to rouse others, Sonic stood in the door frame with one of the most radiant smiles the black hedgehog had ever seen.

Breakfast had been a quick affair, most of the visitors having stuffed themselves with the sweet foods that Ms. Rabbit had whipped up in hopes that they could all get to the gifts. The children went first, scrambling to their stockings filled with treats. The first sight that Shadow saw in the decorated den was his very own stocking with his name on it in golden stitching, dangling over the fireplace. It had been the very first stocking he'd ever had; he hadn't expected much at all. But it was a pleasant surprise nonetheless.

"Go on, open it." Sonic said from his right side at the bottom of the staircase. Shadow walked over to the red stocking as if in slow motion. He was almost nervous, as if he would find some unwanted prize inside. But when he plucked it off of its hook and reached inside, he pulled out a white card with a red bow on it. Sonic smiled.

"It's kind of personal, but…" The blue hedgehog trailed off as he watched Shadow open the letter. A tiny picture fell out of the card, going unnoticed by the black hedgehog, who was more intent on reading what was inscribed on the paper.

'Dear Shadow, I love you so much and hope that you have a very merry Christmas filled with priceless memories. And I hope that this memory will be a great one too.

Always and forever yours,

Sonic'

Shadow picked up the tiny picture off of the floor and gave it a good look. His lips twitched into a faint smile; it was a fuzzy, black and white photo of a very young Shadow and Maria sitting under a plastic Christmas tree decorated with little plastic ornaments. Both of them with near toothless smiles, holding their new toys in white knuckle grips as if someone would take them away. Shadow's heart felt warm in those few seconds.

"I found it on the ARK. Thought you might like it." Sonic said softly. Shadow closed the card and actually smiled.

"Thank you." He muttered.

XXXX

The unwrapping of gifts went by with as much happiness as the house could contain. The floors getting covered in wrapping papers of red, green, blue, and gold and bows decorating the furniture. Sonic had taken the gifts that he had given to others and hidden them in specific places of the house, giving his friends riddles or rhymes to help them find them. It was as entertaining to Sonic as it was to the others. Even though people like Rouge and Espio claimed that they were too old for that kind of game, they still went hunting around the house with smiles.

"Your gift is in the sun." Sonic had said to an overexcited Tails, who then darted off around the house with Sonic's hint in his mind. The present was cleverly placed outside on the back porch, hanging on a string in the exact place the sun would shine at ten o'clock in the morning. The little fox came trotting in triumphantly with the box over his head like a hunter with his game. Inside was a new welding torch that the fox kit had been begging for so much. It didn't matter how many rings Sonic had to give up for the tool, he just loved to see the beaming azure eyes of his little brother.

Everyone had received their gifts from one another and from Sonic. Amy a new teapot, Cream a fluffy teddy bear, Knuckles a new punching bag. Rouge admired her new bracelet, and Vector his collection of Prince Records, and all the others enjoyed the presents they received. For Shadow, Sonic had taken the labor to find his old motorbike that had been dropped off at the dump when the black hedgehog had crashed it a few months prior; the gift was presented in a tiny box containing the keys and a piece of paper reading 'look outside'. It was the greatest thing anyone had ever given him, or so Shadow thought at the moment. He was unable to show his gratitude to Sonic, but the blue hedgehog knew from the glow in Shadow's eyes.

With the gifts unwrapped and the day stretching on, the visitors spread out. Some going outside to enjoy the snow that had accumulated up to two inches since early morning, and some that were old enough were conversing over a glass of cider. Sonic was busy in the backyard entertaining Tails, Cream, and Charmy with a snowball war. Snow forts turned into tunnels that the four crawled through to get to one another, more and more being erected as more snow fell. An introverted Shadow was merely sitting on the couch in the den enjoying the silence. He simply sat and thought, staring into space, enjoying the warmth of the sun shining through the window at his back. He was quite content as he was in the quiet. The black hedgehog was okay with being around people, but it became exhausting after a while; he needed time to recharge before he interacted again. At least everyone was in the Christmas spirit and seemed comfortable around Shadow.

Black ears twitched at the sound of the glass door opening, followed by the pitter patter of tiny feet.

It sounded as though the children were coming inside to warm up.

Shadow's thoughts fell on air as things went silent again. Nothing piercing the air but the crackle of the fire and the rustling of Vanilla working of the Christmas feast. It wasn't until ten minutes later that little Cream came waddling in with her fuzzy sweater that could have been considered a dress it ran down so long. She said nothing, but walked through the den, tumbled up the stairs, and then came back down with a book in her hands. Shadow didn't notice her for a time when she stood at his feet, but finally did when she stretched out her arms, wanting to be picked up. The dark one was apprehensive at first, looking around to see if there was anyone that she could possibly be gesturing too but couldn't see. But the tiny rabbit stood there with her arms open, book in her left hand.

"You want me to read to you?" Shadow asked in disbelief. But there was no avoiding it, so he reached out both hands, took the little girl by the torso, and hoisted her up onto his lap. It was such an alien feeling; most of his life he had been the one picked up by tall men in white lab coats.

The title of the book was How the Grinch Stole Christmas, A Dr. Seuss classic that every Mobian knew. Shadow began the story, and was pleasantly surprised when little Cream laid her head on his chest fur, one thumb in her mouth, the other hand playing with Shadow's glove.

Sonic, then Vanilla, and later Amy and Knuckles peeped through the door and saw the spectacle; innocent little Cream snuggled up to who they had deemed as a dangerous killer. And Shadow was quite the exciting reader too; creating voices for the characters and earning a giggle out of the rabbit girl from time to time.

XXXX

At ten 'til six, the dining table was dressed in an elegant red cloth in preparation for the
Christmas feast. Perfect white china was filled with foods at each seat, and everyone was standing at their chairs for a toast, always given by Sonic himself. If it weren't for Cream finishing up washing her hands, everyone was ready. The little girl came trotting in with one something behind her back.

"I have a present for Mr. Shadow." She said in a voice as soft as silk. All eyes went to Shadow as he turned around to face the little girl. Sonic nudged him in reassurance.

"Kneel down, please." Shadow complied and went down to one knee so that he was face to face with her. "Close your eyes, please." He had to laugh at the girl's politeness; Vanilla must have really drilled that into the girl. With Shadow's eyes closed, Cream took out a crown woven of Poinsettias and placed it atop his head.

"Merry Christmas Mr. Shadow." Cream said with her hands folded in front of her. Shadow was confused at first, but upon seeing the beams of all the other guests at the table, it was obviously a special gift.

For the first time in what felt like centuries, Shadow gave a full-on smile, teeth and all to the little rabbit girl.

"Thank you." He simply said, patting her atop the head.

"Congrats Shads." Sonic said as soon as everyone was situated again. "Cream only gives her flower crowns to people she likes a lot."

And through the entire, heartfelt speech that Sonic gave with his glass raised, Shadow stood lost in his own thoughts. He smiled softly to himself, finally feeling accepted—no—loved again. Shadow felt his hope coming back, the world filling with color because if someone as innocent and fragile as Cream liked him, how bad could he be?

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BalletGirl537: Got some free time today so I decided to make all of you a little story to enjoy. Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all! :D