"I still can't believe I agreed to come," Shadow grumbled.

Rouge rolled her eyes. "Oh please, Shadow! Not this again! Besides," she indicated the house behind her, "we're here."

"This is a house?" The black and red hedgehog gawked. "It's huge."

"Yep." Sonic had noticed the pair. "It's big enough to fit both of you in separate rooms and still have a lot of room left."

"Humph." Shadow strolled into the mansion-sized house.

Sonic looked at Rouge. "What's his problem?"

"Don't know, hon." Rouge spread her bat wings. "But from my perspective, it has something to do with you."

He shrugged. "Oh well."

Inside, everyone was preparing for the next few hours. "I have a few movies," Tails suggested.

"Good idea!" Amy was all for it. "Cream and I made a lot of treats for tonight."

It took almost 20 minutes for the gang to choose a movie. Most of it was spent trying to keep Knuckles from attacking Rouge. Finally Shadow, who'd had enough, chose a movie and started it. "If you can't decide, then just pick one instead of arguing about it!"

There was awkward silence for a few moments, until Sonic said, "Thanks for that, Shadow."

Shadow made no comment, but Sonic noticed a little color rushing to the other hedgehog's cheeks. It confused Sonic, but he decided not to comment.

'The Last Mobian' played on the screen, but nobody was very interested in the movie; every five seconds, someone would say something that would spark a conversation. In the middle of it, Amy and Rouge started arguing about love. Amy almost smacked the bat upside the head, but Sonic convinced her not to. "It's the last few hours of the year," he said. "Let's all make it a good time."

After the movie, Cream asked, "What was everyone's favorite memories of the year?"

This started a conversation that had everyone reliving their highlights of the year.

Shadow slipped away from the group. Sonic noticed, and followed him.

Shadow found an empty bedroom and fell onto a bed, silent tears dripping into his fur. Why did I come? He thought. I'm not like them. I have nothing in common with them. They're all happy, and I have no idea who I am.

"Shadow?" Sonic sat down beside him. "What's wrong?"

"I…I shouldn't have come," he groaned. "Why did you invite me after all I've done to you this year?"

Sonic answered, "Because I believe that you can change. Yes, you've attacked my friends and I. But I think you can change. You don't have to fight us anymore."

"I don't like it any more than you do." Shadow's head fell onto Sonic's shoulder, surprising the blue hedgehog.

"Shadow…" Sonic didn't know what to say. "I…"

The Ultimate Life-Form was humiliated. What am I doing?

Sonic heard his friends counting down the last seconds of the year. "Five…Four…Three…Two…One…HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

Suddenly, Sonic did something he didn't expect he would ever do: he leaned in and gave Shadow a quick kiss on the cheek. "It's a new year, Shadow." His voice was tinged with something Shadow had never heard before. Was it…affection? For him? "A new start. Whatever you want to call it. A beginning."

As Sonic walked back to his friends, he noticed Shadow's cheeks were turning red again. What do I feel for him? He wondered. It's not what I feel for Amy; but what is it?

Shadow was just as confused as Sonic. What just happened? Did he… did he just kiss me? What is going on?

But then he suddenly felt calmed. Sonic cares for me. He thinks I can…no, he knows that I can change. That I don't want to fight him.

"I love you, Sonic," Shadow muttered, even though the hedgehog was long gone. "Next time we see each other, we'll be friends. Maybe even more."

Shadow held out his Chaos Emerald. "Chaos Control!"

The immortal hedgehog disappeared in a flash of light.

How did I do? This is the first time I've written anything that ships Sonadow. I don't intend to ship it (no offense to those of you who do) but I did enjoy writing this. Happy New Year to you all!