Frost
Out of the many good things that came with the winter holidays, Sonic's favorite was the Christmas tree. One reason was he loved the smell of pine in his home. Another was that these special trees had personality. All white trees were majestic with gold and dark blue decorations. Any tree could look energetic with random colors exploding up and down. There were also trees that twinkled like starlight.
The one that was facing Sonic was like a lighthouse beacon. The tree bathed the front porch as the hedgehog fumbled in his coat jacket looking for his key. It didn't help that even through his gloves his hands were shaking in the frigid night air. He hadn't decided if the Christmas tree was either guiding or taunting the short furred hog. Actually, it wasn't even a Christmas tree anymore. It was two days after the day where parents got to see their midnight wrapping littering their floors. However, there was a habit around here where trees weren't taken down until the weekend after New Year's. Should it be a New Year's tree? How about the Holiday tree?
Sonic knew that pondering about this while absent-mindly looking for his keys wasn't going to help him get into warmth. Abandoning the hope of finding them anywhere on his person, he opted for the spare key that was usually placed in a hollow spot on the tree that hung over the porch. The hedgehog flinched as delicate and frost covered branches broke as his gloved hand reached for the object that could very much change his fate. A slight smile and a sound of triumph showed that he had succeeded his mission. However, he didn't turn to the mostly lighted doorway right away. Instead, the speedster stood staring at the mess of branches he made. Even though the flora that overhung his house wasn't even a pine tree it sparkled with Mother Nature's decorations. A little wave of guilt went through him as a bit of wind blew the tiny branches away from the light and hid them in the shadows. The hedgehog sighed and turned to the door. He blew into his hands to warm up the little piece of metal before turning it in the lock.
The light was restrained somewhat from blinding him by the T.V. and sofa. The hedgehog slightly chuckled as his suspicion that Tails fell asleep there was confirmed.
The fox had a habit of falling asleep anywhere but his bed. Sonic wondered how he could sleep with that beacon of a tree right there as he took care not to wake up the reposing fox on the way to the kitchen.
The light from the tree didn't reach the kitchen completely so he was forced to flip the switch on for clearer sight. He instantly went to the cabinet where the hot chocolate was usually kept to warm up faster. But after thinking how the sugar would keep him up, he just grabbed a cup of milk and warmed it up in the microwave. He didn't bother to sit down even after placing the empty glass in the sink. He just watched the light snowfall from the kitchen window.
"Sonic?" The half-asleep voice broke the hedgehog from his trance. The blue figure whipped around to see the owner leaning against the doorframe.
"Tails."
They stood still in silence for a minute, both pairs of eyes looking over each other. Tails broke it by running towards the hedgehog, pinning the latter against the counter.
"Who the hell do you think you are?" Tails snarled. Sonic noted that the fox was fully awake now.
"Tails…I'm sorry…"
"Sorry?" The canine made a sound of disgust and pushed himself away.
"I know what I did was wrong…"
"Sorry?" Tails interrupted. "You run off in the face of danger and leave all your friends to basically a death match and you say 'I'm sorry.' You think that's going to mend everything?" Tails sighed placed his fists on the table.
"You've grown." Sonic murmured.
"No fucking shit!" the fox's hands slammed against the table. " It's been eleven years! Eleven fucking years!" Tails glared at his former friend. "You think that the ten year old that you left would still be here? You think that time stops when you leave? Obviously you do!"
"Tails…I wanted to fix this…" Sonic's voice faltered. The vulpine looked down at the table, seething with rage.
"But what?" The yellow figure asked.
Sonic looked down as well. A pang of guilt went through him as he had the strangest feeling that he couldn't fix this.
"Get…out…" Tails snarled.
"I…"
"Get the fuck out of here!" Tails looked like he was about to kill. "If you could leave me and everyone else out for this long you can for the rest of your life! Now get the fuck out of my life!"
Sonic gazed at the fox one last time before exiting. His breath fogged the air as he stepped out. He glanced once more at his former home before stepping off the porch.
He had left too many things out to be killed in the frost.