$1150 Well Spent

MaturePopcorn

Description:

It's Christmas Day, and Tails debates giving a certain hedgehog a gift… Little does he know, that hedgehog is struggling just the same! The two finally meet at Sonic's party, and their worlds change forever.

Warning:

Rated T for fluff and such! And a small kissing scene!

Author's Note I:

Ahhh I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I know this is super short and probably not that good but I can't help it… Sorry!

~Hannah~

Chapter 001

Tails the Fox was startled awake by the freakishly loud sounding of his alarm. He took one sideways glance at the clock and bolted out of bed at once, wearing nothing but his underwear, and cheered loudly, not caring if his downstairs neighbors complained. It was Christmas morning! Though the fox lived alone, he would be attending a party with practically everyone he knew later that day and was extremely excited to exchange presents, swap stories with old friends, eat more than his share of delicious food, and generally have a fun evening. Sonic, Knuckles, Amy, and all his old pals would be there; people he hadn't'd seen in months, having recently moved to Westopolis by himself.

As he rushed to the bathroom to get ready, he tripped and fell into a pile of gifts he had spent the previous night carefully wrapping and rewrapping. Gasping, he quickly got to his knees and inspected the boxes, making sure none were damaged, when something small and black caught his eye from under the bed…

Tails sighed. He was still unsure of whether or not to give Shadow a gift; he knew the hedgehog could be prickly and he didn't want to cause a commotion given the contents of the box. He waddled over on his knees and picked it up, turning it over in his hand and feeling the weight.

"Over $1000, and I don't even know if I'm going to give it to him or not…" Tails thought gloomily. What had begun as a symbolic gesture in the fox's mind had quickly turned into a spending spree that he couldn't afford; Tails had a habit of overdoing things. He thought for a moment, then, shaking his head, he decided once and for all that he would give his friend the present; though as he made this decision, he thought sadly, "Does Shadow even consider me a friend?" He sighed deeply and added the gift to the stack with the others.

As the fox got ready in the bathroom, he played out all sorts of scenarios in his head. Scenarios where Shadow was happy and accepted the gift, ones where he furiously refused, and ones where Tails' wildest dreams came true. The fox's deepest secret, one he had never told anyone, not even Sonic, was that he had madly fallen for Shadow the Hedgehog. Though love was a strong word, it was true that Tails really liked the black and red hedgehog, and he had even toyed with this idea of love before. He wanted desperately for Shadow to merely pay attention to him, but in all his years of liking him, he had barely gotten the time of day. Shadow appeared to have bigger things in his life to deal with.

Tails took a quick shower, brushed his teeth, and brushed his fur before glancing back at the clock, which now read 9:44am. He knew he had plenty of time before the party officially started at noon, but it was an hour drive to Empire City where Sonic and Amy, the parties' hosts, lived, and the fox wanted to be punctual if not early. Bringing the presents into the living room and setting them by the front door of his small, one-bedroom apartment, Tails went to the kitchen and fixed a quick bowl of cereal, wolfing it down. Fantasies of all kind continued to play inside his head, over and over.

At last, the fox pulled his car up to the curb of Sonic and Amy's house. With holiday traffic, the journey had taken him nearly two hours, and his watch now read 11:56. Breathing a sigh of relief, he parked his characteristically orange vehicle and got out, walking around to the trunk. As he began stacking the boxes in his arms, Sonic opened his front door and cheerfully greeted the fox, walking over to the street.

"Hey buddy, you're just in time! Need a hand?"

Tails turned and could just make out the top of his friends' blue quills over the stack of gifts. He said around them, "Yes please, but be careful, some of them are kinda heavy." He nodded his thanks as the hedgehog grabbed the last few boxes from the trunk and closed it for the fox, then led the way back to his house.

Walking inside the large and spacious home, Tails immediately made his way to the absolutely gigantic Christmas tree in the foyer and spilled his presents under it, kneeling. He paused here and searched through the gifts he had just placed and, finding the small black box with red ribbon, he picked it up and placed it in his pocket. Tails stood and walked over to the coat rack, placing his winter jacket and beanie on it, then noticed a distinct buzzing sound getting closer to him.

Turning, Tails smiled and exclaimed, "Charmy! It's been too long!"

The bee grinned back, eyes closed, and responded, "Heya, Tails, how have you been~?"

The two exchanged pleasantries as they walked into the open layout kitchen-living room, where many of Tails' friends had gathered to chat and drink. He waved as he received a chorus of, "Hi, Tails," and smiled once more. This faltered quickly, however, as he noticed a distinct absence of a certain hedgehog.

Pouring himself a small glass of champagne from the kitchen counter, he sat on the couch next to Espio the Chameleon and Cream the Rabbit, saying hello to both. Chatting aimlessly, he noticed his eyes darting between the clock and front door; he anxiously hoped Shadow would decide to come at all.

Finally, after finishing his glass and talking aimlessly for over an hour and a half, a knock came at the door. Amy grinned widely and got up from her spot on the couch, calling to no one in particular, "I'll get it!" before walking over to the foyer and opening the door. Tails' heart skipped a beat as he saw the black and red hedgehog enter the house slowly, eyes perpetually half shut. He exchanged pleasantries with the pink hedgehog before making his way into the kitchen and pouring himself a large glass of white wine.

Sitting on a couch but five meters from Tails, Shadow said nothing to the fox. The two glanced at each other, though not at the same time, and neither thought anything of saying a simple, "hello," to the other; they were both too nervous. Tails didn't know it, but Shadow was having a similar dilemma as he.

Sonic suddenly stood and announced, "Well, now that I believe everyone is here," gesturing to his fellow hedgehog who had entered late, "it should be about time to open presents!"

A light cheer went across the rooms, and everyone stood and filed their way into the foyer and family room combo where the Christmas tree stood. They gathered around on couches, chairs, and even the floor as gifts were passed around and opened haphazardly, with seemingly no order to the chaos. Tails himself received a sweater, a new toolkit he had wanted, and several large bars of chocolate safe for canines to eat, among some other small things. He noticed among his gifts that none of them were from Shadow, and he himself withheld giving the hedgehog his gift; he wanted to do that privately.

As the group merrily exchanged presents, Shadow had received a noticeably smaller amount than anyone else. Though it didn't seem to bother the hedgehog, Tails felt guilty for not sharing his gift in front of the others; it would add to his pile and make him seem more included, so the fox's reasoning went.

Yet he held back, waiting.

When everyone had finished opening the last of the boxes, and Tails had received his fair share of, "Thank yous," the fox made his way into the kitchen and poured himself another glass of champagne. Through the walls he heard Sonic announce that it was time for dinner; though only half past three o'clock, Tails found it normal to eat early on holidays and thought nothing of it.

Everyone filed into the kitchen to pile their plates with Amy's homecooked meal, and Tails found himself first in line. As he added the delicious looking food to his plate and sat down at the long, wooden table, the young fox noticed that Shadow was nowhere to be seen. Puzzled, he glanced around at everyone and noticed that Rouge was missing as well. Tails sighed softly and shrugged as he began to eat his food, when suddenly Shadow appeared in the hallway, Rouge just behind him. The two had their heads huddled together, and a light flush could be seen on Shadow's face.

Tails' heart sank as he thought of the obvious; were Shadow and Rouge together? Then, shaking his head minutely so as to not alert the other diners, he came to the quick realization that they simply couldn't be; they would be a terrible match, and besides, Rouge was secretly in love with Blaze! There was no way the two could be dating.

Then, as the hedgehog and bat sat down at the table, the fox noticed his crush making secret glances at him. His heart skipped a beat; what was that all about? He decided he was going to make his move tonight no matter what. After dinner, when Shadow went out to smoke as Tails knew he would, that's when the fox would catch him alone and give him the gift.

Dinner, which lasted less than an hour, felt to the fox like an eternity.

"I'm going out for a smoke," Shadow called aimlessly to no one in particular.

Sonic replied, "Okay buddy, don't be long; it's freezing out there!" before standing from the table. The blue hedgehog cleared his plate in the kitchen and several people, including Tails, followed suit. The fox had not finished eating, but it was time to enact his plan.

Shadow walked out the front door, closing it behind him, and Tails quickly slammed back his remaining second glass of champagne while nobody was looking; he needed all the courage he could get. The fox waited a few moments for good measure, then made his way to the coat rack by the front door in the foyer.

Tails grabbed his beanie and coat and put them on quickly, his heart hammering in his chest; it was now or never. He didn't know when he would get another chance with the hedgehog alone. Slipping the black giftbox into his coat's left pocket, he walked over, gripped the doorknob, and drew in a shaky breath as the effects of the champagne finally washed over him.

Tails timidly opened the front door a crack, peeking his head into the cold winter afternoon. A light dusting of snow had fallen during dinner, and more snowflakes were gently floating to the ground from the sky above. He spotted Shadow across the street just as the hedgehog took a large puff of his cigarette. Blowing a large cloud of smoke into the biting wind, he glanced over and noticed the fox behind the door and snickered to himself.

Shouting across the street, he yelled, "I can see you, Tails. Whaddya want?"

Opening the door further and taking a shaky step on to the porch, the fox's heart fluttered upward, and he nervously chuckled to himself in an attempt to relieve his anxiety. The fox made his way across the street and stood in front of Shadow, breath visible on the air. They stared for a few moments before the black and red hedgehog broke the silence by saying, "Well?"

Tails blinked. Was that apprehension in his friends' voice? He steeled his courage and before he could hesitate any further, he retrieved the small black box from his coat pocket and thrust it outwards at the hedgehog, eyes shut.

"Th-this is for you. I didn't give it to you when we were all exchanging gifts be-because… Because, uh…" Tails faltered, voice trailing off to a whisper. Blinking open his eyes but not looking directly at Shadow for fear of his reaction, he reached into his other pocket and pulled out a plain white envelope. "H-here, just read this and…" he trailed off again before quickly blurting out, "I'll be inside."

Shadow grabbed the fox's arm as he turned, and they both blushed, though it could not be seen in the dimness of the late winter afternoon. Shadow laughed nervously, growling, "No, you're staying right there while I open this." He released the fox from his grip and took another drag of his cigarette.

Tails whimpered yet remained where he stood. Turning to face the hedgehog once more, he lowered his head and waited as he heard the sound of wrapping paper being torn open. The lid of the box slid off easily… Then fell to the snowy ground below. Tails, blinking in confusion, looked up at Shadow and now noticed despite the darkness that his friend was indeed blushing as well as smiling sweetly and genuinely, something he rarely saw him do.

The fox smiled weakly in worry, saying, "I, uh… I hope you like it… I was going to get something smaller but thought of you when I saw that and simply had to get it." His cheeks flushed the color of newly ripened cherries and he chuckled nervously again, though the butterflies in his stomach continued swirling.

Shadow picked the item out of the box. In his hand, he held a real gold chain necklace with a deep green emerald pendant in the center; it sparkled brilliantly off the Christmas lights coming from the neighborhood houses. Shadow was speechless for a moment. Then, in a murmur, he bluntly asked, "Did this cost you $1150?"

Tails frowned in bewilderment. "How could Shadow possibly know that?" he thought. His answer came when Shadow dropped his cigarette, which put itself out in the snow, and with his now free hand retrieved a small orange box from his coat, done up with white ribbon.

"No…" Tails whispered softly, barely audible.

Shadow laughed shortly, "Yes." Handing the box to the fox, he waited as his friend opened it and smiled as he gasped softly at its contents. Inside was the same gold chain and emerald pendant, identical to the one in Shadow's hand.

Looking up into Shadows' eyes, the two stared at each other for a long while in bemused silence. Shadow looked at the card in his hand and began to tear it open when the fox in front of him began anxiously bouncing. He glanced up and asked humorously, "Why are you so jittery all of a sudden?"

His friend whimpered back, "Can you read that in private?"

Shadow sighed. "I guess, though I'd really prefer…" he trailed off as Tails dashed for the front door, entering the house and slamming it shut. He shook his head, eyes soft, and opened the letter. Tails wasn't exactly the most poetic of creatures, and his letter to Shadow was very short and very simple; though while reading it in his head, his heart began to hammer wildly.

"Dear Shadow,

I sincerely hope you enjoy your present this year; I hope you find it special. I know I'm not much in the way of words, and I'm terrible at speaking up for myself, so I wanted to give you this letter to say what I could not say in person for so many years.

I like you. A lot.

I know that may be hard to believe, given how little time we spend together, but it's true. Please find these words in earnest; if you don't return them, I'd like to remain friends. Though… Admittedly, that may be hard for me.

P.S. If you don't feel this way about me, please keep this letter a secret.

-Tails"

Shadow breathed heavily and nearly dropped the paper in a daze. He quickly stuffed in in his pocket along with the necklace and hurried his way back to Sonic's house, heart still pounding. He threw the door open and called, "Tails?" as a hush fell across the house, the chattering dulling to a quiet murmur. The fox had sat back down on one of the couches in an attempt to camouflage himself among the other guests.

This did not work, however, as Shadow spotted him immediately. He took short, rapid steps towards his orange and white friend and, upon reaching him, held out his hand. Tails only blinked back in confusion, then hesitantly took it with his own.

Pulling the fox to a standing position, Shadow leaned his head in and pressed his lips softly to Tails'. Everyone in the room gasped, the loudest of which came from Knuckles, as everyone fell completely silent. Staring into Shadows' half-closed eyes with a mixture of happiness and awe, the fox squeezed his friends' hand tightly and wrapped his other arm around the hedgehogs' shoulder. The two stayed embraced in this position for not more than ten seconds before they parted and, panting, Tails took a step back.

Shadow stood awkwardly as everyone in the room stared. Then, a soft voice came from across the room, "I'm proud of you, guys." This was Silver, the only openly gay person in the room up until that point, and he smiled widely and held his glass of champagne in the air.

People followed suit, with whatever they were drinking, and toasted the newfound relationship with vigor and earnestness; they were all truly happy for the young fox and hedgehog. As the noise died down and the two idled awkwardly in the center of the room, Knuckles voice piped up from behind Silver. "So are you two dating now, or…?" he inquired, a glint of humor on his voice.

Shadow's cheeks flushed at this and he glanced at the fox beside him, asking in barely a whisper, "Are we?"

Giggling, Tails leaned his head on the hedgehog's shoulder and sighed, "I'd like to think so," before closing his eyes gently and breathing in the scent of champagne and cigarette smoke that clung to his new boyfriend's coat.

People began milling around once more, though somewhat more cheerfully, as if the new relationship had sparked a shift in mood among the group. Rouge took this opportunity to walk over to the new couple and congratulate them, a twinkle of amusement in her eyes. As she giggled, Tails tilted his head slightly and asked the bat, "What's so funny?"

Rouge answered plainly, "I've known Shady had a crush on you for years and was just too scared to admit it. I guess I'm just proud of him is all." At this, Shadow sputtered indignantly as the bat laughed, continuing, "Though I'm surprised you got together the way you did."

"What do you mean?" Tails inquired, puzzled.

"Well," the bat began, "Me and Shady had a little chat before dinner, and we decided it would be best for him to give his gift after the party had ended. But it looks like you beat him to the punch on that one," she finished with a smirk.

Blushing slightly, Tails smiled awkwardly and put his hand behind his head. Shadow, cheeks flush with color as well, quietly slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out the pendant. Glancing at Tails, he said softly, "Well, should we put these on? We could match, if you'd want to."

The fox smiled warmly. "Of course," he beamed back, "That would be awesome!"

Shadow blushed still harder at his new boyfriend's enthusiasm and flashed a rare grin of excitement as he put the necklace on the fox, reaching his arms around his neck and feeling his soft fur brush against his hands. His cheeks now fully red as the evening sun, he quickly brought back his arms and glanced away in embarrassment. Tails chuckled and boldly grabbed the hedgehog's hand with his, earning an inaudible intake of breath from him. Shadow tensed at first, not used to this type of physical contact, then loosened and allowed the fox to hold his hand. He muttered, "I need another smoke after all that," and began walking towards the front door, his smiling boyfriend in hand.

The two indeed began dating after that, going on various outings whenever they got the chance. They moved slowly and at their own pace, yet before they knew it, they were moving in together in a small apartment downtown with high hopes for the future. They ate together, fought evil together, they did everything together; they even shared a bed. They never forgot that day at Sonic's house, which they considered their first date, and they wore their pendant necklaces every day from then on out.

Author's Note II:

Yes, I know it was way too short, but that was the point. *Sigh* I'm so exhausted, I need a smoke break myself… See you all in the next story!