Holiday Highway

Chapter 1

AN: This is written assuming you have a general idea of the general cast of Sonic, though some creative liberties are taken in general. I also don't own anything.

"One, two, three four!"

After two deep breaths, the room remained silent save softly swishing tails and an out of tune whistling duet of 'Hark the Herald Angels Sing'. Sonic and Tails, the impromptu performers of this duet, occupied themselves by taking intermittent breaths and decorating the tree standing in a corner of the room.

Their decorating finished as their whistling did, and the performing duo stepped back to look at their work. Satisfied with the result, Sonic gave a thumbs up to his brother in all but blood and said, "Great work with the decorating, bro! I think you were a little slow on the song, though."

Tails smiled and replied, "Thanks Sonic. But, I think you were just going too fast."

"Me, too fast? You're crazy, bro," Sonic said as he chuckled. "But seriously dude. You know we don't just sing carols, we sing-"

"Super Sonic Carols," Tails finished, smiling at the concept.

"Got that right! There's no way you can have one of those be too fast, right?"

"I guess you're right...this time."

Interest glimmering in Sonic's eyes, he wore a challenging smirk. "'This time'? Is that a challenge?"

Tails returned Sonic's smirk with one of his own. "And if it is?"

"Then challenge accepted!"

Tails laughed and said, "I guess this proves me right from when I said you were too eager to accept a challenge yesterday."

Sonic stepped back in shock, the event Tails mentioning returning to him. "Wait, what!?" Sonic exasperatedly slapped his forehead in defeat. "Darn! I can't believe a forgot that!"

"And you were so serious about proving me wrong," Tails said with a grin. Holding his hand out, he said, "Now pay up."

Sonic narrowed his eyes, thinking carefully before replying, "We didn't bet."

"...Darn. I guess I was pushing my luck a little."

"That you were," turning to look back at the tree, Sonic gazed at it for a while before commenting, "Y'know, something seems...missing."

"Missing?" Tails followed Sonic's gaze and found what spurned Sonic's comment. "Oh, that. Don't you remember? Amy broke our star last year."

"Oh, yeah..." Sonic said as he shuddered at the memory. "She was a little scary. Glad we're not celebrating over here this year."

"A little is a bit of an understatement," Tails replied as he looked at the star-less top of the tree. "Anyway, we should probably go out and get a new one before the weather gets too bad-it's supposed to snow up a storm pretty soon."

"I suppose. We should probably go grocery shopping too-We ran out of buns last night."

Tails grimaced as he remembered the previous night. "Oh yeah. Eating Chili dogs on regular bread was...ugh. We're also out of mustard."

"...Dude, I have no idea how you can eat Chili dogs with mustard on them."

"The same way you eat your Chili dogs with all the stuff you put on yours."

Sonic Shrugged. "Good point," Preparing to run out the door, Sonic said, "anyway, let's go!"

"Sonic wait! Shouldn't we-" Tails tried to say as Sonic left. "Oh forget it. Better hurry up..."

Tails sighed as he rushed outside to catch up to his brother, making sure to close the door.

Cream smiled as she exited her school building, feeling the frigid winter breeze on her face. Though the volume of the exclamations her classmates are making over their temporary recess from school made her involuntarily wince, she too was as jubilant as they were. Thinking of the good times she'll have during her time off of school kept her continuing to walk home despite the noise and cold. A steadily growing group around where guardians would pick up their children piqued her curiosity, especially as her keen hearing picked up a boy in the crowd saying, "Shadow, you're so cool!"

Cream stopped walking and turned to face the area where Shadow supposedly was. Confused what would make the black hedgehog come out to a place like this, she let her curiosity get the better of her and made her way through the crowd (apologizing along the way). As she made it to the front of the crowd, she saw what was indeed Shadow the Hedgehog, sitting on his motorcycle, an expression on his face growing increasingly impatient and annoyed by the second. The young rabbit called out to him, "Mr. Shadow! What are you doing here?"

The hedgehog in question, having heard Cream, turned to face her, though he stopped as he heard a boy in the crowd say, "Oh shut up rabbit girl! Shadow doesn't need a lamer like you cramping his style!"

Shadow turned to the boy. He was an avian who couldn't be that much older than Cream. Shadow narrowed his eyes and clenched his teeth into a threatening glare at the boy. The boy (and most of the other people who were facing Shadow at the time) paled as if they were seeing Death with his scythe raised. The crowd quickly dissipated, commenting on how they had to meet up with their parents, or get home before the weather turned foul. Cream moved closer to Shadow and repeated her previous question.

Shadow faced Cream, smiling at the more favorable condition. "Your mother asked me to pick you up. It's supposed to snow pretty hard soon. And don't call me Mister."

Cream nodded in acceptance and jumped onto Shadow's motorcycle. "Aren't you cold though?" She asked, referring to Shadow's lack of clothes suitable for winter.

"I'm fine," Shadow replied immediately. In truth, the wind battering him did make him feel a little chilled, but it was mostly tolerable.

Cream, however, didn't have any of that. She said, "Here, you can have my scarf," and continued to wrap it around Shadow's neck before he could even attempt to refuse.

Shadow's pride was thankful that the young rabbit's winter clothes were more focused on practicality rather than fashionability. The solid white scarf certainly warmed him up. "You ready to go?"

Cream wrapped her arms around Shadow's waist and replied, "Yes, let's go."

The duo's ride to Cream's house continued without complications in mutual silence. As Shadow pulled up to Cream's house, Vanilla called out to them, "Cream! Shadow! I presume you had a safe trip?"

Shadow nodded as Cream ran to give her mother a hug. Smiling, Cream told her mother, "I'm finally out of school for the holidays mom! Is Cheese inside?"

Vanilla nodded and said, "Yes, you should get inside and feed him something," Turning to face Shadow, she added, "Thank you for picking up my daughter. It'd be dreadful if she got caught up in bad weather."

After watching the younger rabbit run inside, Shadow replied, "It was no problem. I'll be going now..."

Before Shadow could drive off, Vanilla asked him, "Won't you stay for an early dinner?" Before Shadow could refuse she added, "We're having pot roast."

Shadow paused in his refusal, the prospect of a (in his ultimate opinion) culinary genius cooking one of his favorite foods and his growing (but still tolerable) hunger slowly but surely proving to be more important than any of his nonexistent evening plans. He said, "Well, I suppose I don't have anything better to do today..." with a sigh.

Satisfied with the hedgehog's response, Vanilla beckoned him to come inside and said, "That's great, now come inside before your quills freeze like that."

Holding in a comment about how he doubted that would happen, Shadow followed the elder rabbit inside. Noticing Cream's coat on a nearby coat rack, Shadow took off Cream's scarf and hung it up with the rest of Cream's winter gear. Walking further into the house, he noticed Cream feeding Cheese a square shaped fruit. The young girl, surprised at Shadow's appearance, exclaimed, "Shadow! What are you doing here?"

"I'm going to stay for dinner." A pause. "Do you know when it'll be ready?"

Shadow was able to hear the faint sound of Vanilla's voice coming from the kitchen, though he couldn't make out what she was saying. Cream, however, could. "It'll be ready pretty soon. Ten minutes max." Cream quickly covered her mouth after saying this, quickly adding, "Sorry Shadow! I know you don't like it when mom and I talk like that. Mom's sorry too. We're just kind of used to it-"

Shadow cut her off before she could apologize anymore. "It's fine, it's fine. I'm getting used to it." Shadow paused as he struggled to think of a new topic to talk about.

Cream, noticing that Cheese had finished his fruit, gently scratched the back of the Chao's head. Cheese smiled and gave a content sigh. Satisfied with Cheese's happiness, Cream faced Shadow again. "While we wait, maybe you could tell Cheese and I a story about you and Maria?"

The question wasn't totally out of nowhere-the young rabbit had shown great interest in the many misadventures Shadow and Maria had had during their time together on the Space Colony ARK. Looking into the rabbit's wide eyes, the older hedgehog could see a familiar curiosity in them. 'Curiosity, and a desire to learn...just like Maria...' Smiling as he searched through the memories of the good times he had with Maria, Shadow finally started, "Well, there was one time, when Maria and I found Professor Gerald's stash of candy..."

(Time Break)

...and that's how Maria and I got all of our cherry lollipops."

Cream smiled at Shadow's finish, while Cheese clapped. "That was very interesting Shadow, thank you for telling me," as an afterthought, she added, "Maybe we could get some cherry lollipops someday?"

"Maybe we can," Shadow replied as he softly pet Cheese's head.

Cream stood up, telling Shadow, "I think dinner should be ready now."

Shadow nodded and followed the rabbit into the kitchen. As they walked in, Vanilla gave them their plates already filled with food, along with a smaller plate for Cheese. When Shadow attempted to bring up the generous portion he had been given, Vanilla quickly cut him off and said, "Eat up-you look like you're just skin and bones."

Shadow shifted uncomfortably in his chair for a second, then dug in regardless, feeling much more hungry than he was a while ago. After taking a few bites, Shadow commented, "This is really good. Thank you, Vanilla."

Cream and Cheese both nodded in agreement. Vanilla smiled and thanked the trio. After a pause, she added, "Shadow, can I ask you to do something for me?"

Shadow swallowed the portion of food he was eating. "What is it?"

"Would you mind watching Cream for a bit?"

Cream, apparently not knowing anything about this, exclaimed, "Mom!? You'll be leaving?"

"Don't worry Cream, I just have to go out of town for a bit. I'll be home by Christmas Day."

"But..."

Vanilla wrapped a comforting arm around her daughter. "Don't worry Cream... You were planning on spending Christmas Eve with your friends anyway, right? I'll be back soon, I swear."

Cream nodded. "I guess I'll be okay... Stay safe mom!"

Vanilla laughed. "Don't worry, I'll be sure to. Sorry Shadow, what was your response?"

Shadow, having stayed silent through Vanilla comforting her daughter, answered, "Well, since Rouge managed to convince GUN into giving us some time off... It shouldn't be a problem."

"That's good," after saying this, Vanilla took on a stern tone, "Be sure to feed her something other than junk food this time!"

Shadow and Cream looked at each other and laughed nervously.

Blaze wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. What possessed her to even go outside in this weather? Why is it so freaking cold? Questions like this pestered constantly with the crunching of snow beneath her shoes. Looking around her at the remarkably empty streets, Blaze commented to herself, "It's too cold out now... I should probably go home..." Before she could make any plans to get back, a lone occupant of a nearby bench caught her attention. Looking more closely, Blaze noticed snow covered pink quills and a grumpy expression that had to belong to Amy. Hastily brushing off some of the snow on herself, Blaze called out to the other girl as she approached her, "Amy! Hi!"

Amy turned to face Blaze, the grumpy expression quickly leaving her face. Smiling, she said, "Hey Blaze! What are you doing out in this weather?"

"I...don't really know," Blaze flatly stated. Taking a quick look of the surroundings, Blaze found a slightly snow covered set of footprints. Turning back to Amy, the lavender feline asked, "Chasing Sonic again?"

"Yes! He was SO rude this time!" Amy said angrily, sparks of her previous temper flaring back up. "I mean, I just say, 'Hi Sonic! How are you today?' and he just shrieks and grabs Tails and says," at this point she attempted to sound like Sonic, "'Gotta speed, keed!' Honestly! How old does he think he is!?"

Blaze brushed some snow off of the bench and sat beside Amy. "I'm sure he didn't mean anything harmful by it..." As Blaze put a comforting arm around Amy, she quickly recoiled, "You're freezing!"

As if suddenly hit by a burst of cold air, Amy started shivering a little. "Oh? Y-you're right. I g-guess I was too angry t-to notice..."

Blaze paused to think a little. "Y'know, I passed a cafe a block or two ago... How about I treat you to some hot chocolate?"

Pleased with the idea Amy brightened up a little, "Th-that sounds like a g-g-good idea. Thank's Blaze."

Blaze turned away to hide her blush. Standing up, she said, "Good, um... Here, I'll help you up." She then offered her hand to the pink hedgehog.

Amy took her hand and commented, "G-guess I was sitting for longer than I th-thought. Let's g-g-go."

Not wanting to spend another minute in the cold, Blaze quickly led Amy to the cafe. Amy let out a sigh of relief as they entered the cafe clad in holiday decor. Hearing the sounds of holiday music throughout the building and the overall lack of chatter, Blaze turned to Amy and said, "How about you find us somewhere to sit while I order?"

"OK, be sure to say yes if they ask if you want whipped cream."

"I'll be sure to," noticing baked goods for sale as well, Blaze commented to herself softly, "I wonder if Amy is hungry...? Probably, considered she was just chasing Sonic around... She likes croissants, right...? I'll get a couple of those too."

After ordering and receiving her order, Blaze was able to quickly find Amy, sitting alone at a table looking a little grumpy. Noticing Blaze coming, she said, "Blaze, you didn't have to get me anything to eat."

"I thought you'd be hungry...sorry."

Amy sighed. "It's fine."

Handing Amy her hot chocolate and croissant, Blaze looked at the other girl curiously. "Is there something wrong?"

"I'm fine, this song just...rubs me the wrong way, I guess."

Listening to the presently playing song, Blaze commented, "Für Elise? What's wrong with it?"

"I don't know, I just don't like it."

"I guess that's as good a reason as any." Blaze took a sip of her hot chocolate.

The duo warmed up with their hot chocolates in silence as Für Elise ended. Amy brightened up considerably as the next song started. "Ooh! It's O Tannenbaum! I love this song!" Amy started to hum along with the song between her eating and drinking. As the song ended, Amy said, "Thanks for taking me out here, Blaze."

Blaze, who had been watching the cheerful hedgehog with a smile on her face, said, "Huh? Oh, it was nothing. No worries," looking outside of a window, she added, "OK, maybe we should worry about the snow."

"Snow worries, huh?" Amy joked, eliciting a giggle from Blaze. "It can't be too bad. Next round is on me, okay?"

Rouge's ears twitched as she walked through her residence, book under her arm. Checking every corner, listening for any sound. Satisfied with whatever result she got, the bat walked to a sitting room and took a seat with a lamp nearby. A soft, mechanical humming making his presence known, E-123 Omega asked her, "Are you going to proceed with your reading?"

"Yes Omega, thanks for asking," Rouge replied as she searched through a nearby side table.

"Your procedure for this activity is illogical."

"I suppose I might go a little overboard with it, but..." Finding what she was looking for, a pair of reading glasses, she turned to Omega and said, "We all have our little quirks that make us who we are."

"I suppose." The robot replied as Rouge put on her glasses.

"Besides, I look like an idiot in these."

Omega remained silent for a moment, save for the hum of his machinery. He then responded, "Databanks show that glasses traditionally make a person look intelligent."

Fondly smiling at the robot, Rouge opened her book and said, "Oh Omega, you can be such a dear."

"Incorrect-I am a robot, not a deer."

A sigh. "I meant you're dear to me."

"Understood."

Still smiling from their exchange, Rouge started to read her book. After staring down the first page for a few minutes, Rouge closed the book. Omega turned to her at this sound and asked, "Is there a problem?"

"I don't know, I just feel distracted." Rouge looked around the room they were in. Most notable were the several shelves containing pictures. Walking over to a nearby shelf, Rouge observed the pictures. There were about four pictures on the shelf, all of them containing pictures of her family.

The first picture was of her mother, sisters, and herself about 10 years ago. Rouge smiled at the family of bats in the picture, she was fond of attention at that age. The next picture was of Rouge and her two sisters, one younger and one older, all smiling at the camera. The picture was a little more recent than the previous one. The third was of Rouge's mother giving a young Rouge her first piece of jewelry. Rouge laughed softly at that picture. The final picture was the most recent-Rouge's mother standing next to her when she had first joined GUN. Rouge looked fondly on her past memories, but couldn't help but feel something was missing. "Omega, does something seem...missing on this shelf to you?"

The robot turned to face the shelf, running measurements and algorithms as he looked at it. "Calculations determine that if all objects are moved approximately 5.36 centimeters to the left, one more picture can be added to the shelf."

Rouge frowned a little at the mostly unhelpful answer. Rouge tapped her foot against the floor as she thought about the problem. Soon enough, she was struck by an epiphany. Moving the pictures to the left as Omega had previously suggested, she walked to another shelf in the room, grabbing a picture from there and moving it to the now open spot. Rouge smiled at the new picture, taken much more recently than all the other ones-in fact, it was only about a month prior. The picture was of Shadow and Rouge riding on Omega's shoulders, with Cream sitting on Rouge's lap. The two girls were smiling at the camera, while Shadow was simply looking at it. Omega, unfortunately, didn't have a proper face, but Rouge was sure he'd be smiling if he did. "There, that looks better." Rouge said with a smile, content at her small bout of redecorating.

As Rouge sat down to return to her book, Omega asked her, "Will rearranging pictures become part of your reading procedure?"

A sigh. "No Omega, I think this was a one time thing."

"Understood."

A/N-Finished. I think I have several problems with this, but a huge pile of emo at the end of story isn't attractive to read. Though I feel the Shadow & Cream part was just obnoxious in length, and the Sonic & Tails part borrows too much from Sonic Colors. Shadow's food preferences come from the fact that I had pot roast the other day, and the best result I got from googling 'Shadow's favorite food' was 'Those big cherry lollipops Maria used to give him'. I left out a couple of comments, but I suppose those can wait.

I say this is a slice of life, and by that I mean that this is mostly intended to be just an average Christmas for the cast, maybe not the most interesting, but I like it well enough. There will be more chapters though. I realize some of the bonds I've chosen to give the characters can be iffy with some people, but I hope I can make them seem good enough to read. I personally like all of them, but I'm not everyone, so I guess it doesn't really matter.

Holiday Highway kind of sounds like the name of a Sonic stage, doesn't it? I like it a lot, though I don't feel it fits the story very well.

I kind of had a fit of Christmas spirit and decided to write fanfiction... Now I just have to try and finish this by Christmas! CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. I don't think I made too many fuck ups with grammar, so...

I don't think I have anything else to say, so leave a review and tell me something you liked, or a question you have (I feel that I left some things a little unclear, but I think that's just paranoia), or (most importantly) something you thought I could do better (or any combo of the three). Or you could point out the stupid jokes I made!

Peace.