A/N: Phew! Like i promised, I got this out before I left. I'm too good to you guys :) Sorry if nothing much happened in this chapter and it was a little heavy on the scene setting but this was more of a small little christmas special with a lot of fluff and little plot. Don't worry however, next chapter will be extremely heavy on plot and you won't want to miss what happens next. My first major cliff hanger one might say ;) Anyway, thanks for reading and please review, even if you don't have much to say, any reviews I get mean a lot.
Chapter 12:
Calming Christmas
Christmas time. A time for joy and to be merry. Throughout the small community on the southern end of Mobius, all the citizens prepared for the magical season. Malls and shopping centers stock their shelves full of the latest fashion, books, toys and video games, ready for the impending masses. Shoppers dash through the stores, wrapping paper flying everywhere in a kaleidoscope of colours and snowmen decorations as desperate cashiers try to sedate the crazed crowds.
The spirit of the season doesn't stop when you reach the warm confines of the houses dotting the streets, capped with the icy glare of Jack Frost who blew the freezing winds over the earth. Snow continued to fall throughout the month of December casting white blankets of thick powder which peppered down from the heavens, dancing on the winds. The feverish nights were filled with the bone chilling sounds of white wolves howling at the moon, echoing throughout the atmosphere. Water melted from the snow which was dripping down from the roof, freezing overnight to create icicles that stuck out, protruding from the houses like the long, glassy fingers of an abominable frost creature.
The sweet smell of pine wafted through the inside of Tails' house, mixed with the burning warmth of the open fire and the heavenly aroma dissipating from within the oven, busy at work baking the Christmas dinners. Flashes of Red, silver and gold tinsel dressing the large tree in the middle of the velvet carpeted room captivated the eyes of Tails, casting an array of magical colours with the light from the dancing embers of the crackling and hissing fire. They chased away the encroaching shadows of the darkness, filling the room, and the hearts of the two boys, Tails and Sonic, with merry feelings.
Tails' azure eyes drifted up to the bright, golden star situated atop of the large tree, mirroring the colour of his own fur. Outside the glassy eyes of jolly old Saint Nick fell upon the land. Tails reached down into the depths of the plastic bag, pulling out the last two fluffy, pink marshmallows. He stuck the first one on the sharp end of the protruding stick which he held, clutched in his hand and offered the other one out to Sonic who retrieved it thankfully.
The two boys sat, the reflection of the orange fire, dominated by blackbody radiation of soot, steam and heat engulfed their beings, alight in their eyes. It warmed their spirits. The fire hissed at them as it met with the sugary coating of Sonic's marshmallow, coating it in an auburn brown mix, heating the inside thoroughly. Adjacent, Tails watched in angst as he tried to replicate the careful, precise movements of Sonic's wrist as he maneuvered his marshmallow around the raging flames. As hard as he tried, he couldn't stop his own marshmallow from exploding in a show of fire as a black crust engulfed the colour of pink, burning his own treat to a crisp.
"Here, have mine," Sonic gestured, passing his stick which held his own marshmallow, cooked to perfection. Sincerity and care floated on his words as he uttered them. Tails nodded in thanks as he brought the heated treat to his mouth, filling the cavernous opening with the squishy goodness.
Some of the melted insides slipped from his lips, getting caught in the white fur on his muzzle, sticking to each hair fiber like gum. Tails brought his hand up to his mouth in an attempt to wipe of the residue but to no avail.
"Allow me," Sonic said softly, moving his face up to the young fox's and extended his tongue out. He ran it across Tails' muzzle, lapping up the remaining remnants of the marshmallow before retreating back into the confines of his own mouth.
Tails let out an audible moan, annoyed that Sonic stopped. A clever smirk crossed the cobalt hedgehogs face as he leant back in and repeated his actions, however, this time he allowed his tongue to finish inside Tails' mouth, greeting the fox's tongue warmly. His lips followed suit shortly after, causing a suction seal around the two boys as their lips pressed together and their tongues began to dance the tango of emotions together.
The two could have both easily been content with just sitting like that all night but the sound of a key in the outside lock and the loud creaking of the front door opening caused them to fly apart, sitting back some distance apart from each other.
"Boys, set the table for dinner," Tails' mum beamed at them from the kitchen as she rushed over to the door to great Sonic's parents.
"Stop eating treats before dinner!" Vector snapped angrily, removing his bowler hat and long, cream coloured coat and placed them on the rack next to the door. His mother kicked the snow that coated the soles of her shoes at the entrance before entering the house, giving a quick hug to Tails' mum on the way to the kitchen.
The two boys jumped up, tossing the bag haphazardly into the fire, watching it slowly shrink and disappear in flames as darkened smoke erupted from it, billowing out through the chimney. They rushed into the kitchen, setting the table with napkins, decorated with snow and gingerbread man, knives, forks, spoons, plates, glasses and, of course, Christmas crackers.
A loud ding could be heard as Tails' mum removed the steaming turkey from the oven and placed it in the middle of the table.
Knock, Knock, Knock. The sound of knuckles rattling against the hard wood door. Tails ran over to open the door, greeting Knuckles, Tikal and her family into their home.
"Is that everybody?" Sonic asked from the kitchen.
"Not quite," Tails replied. "We are just waiting on B…" he was interrupted by more knocking. Tails face lit up when he saw the violet feline standing at the door, presents in hand.
"No silver?" Tails asked.
"Family stuff. Don't ask," Blaze answered, slipping into the warm house and huddling up by the fire for warmth, trying to shed the shivers that had plagued her body throughout her walk in the icy cold night.
The group began to dig in to the delectable turkey that lay in front of them. "Hey, Tails. Crackle?" Sonic offered, holding the other end of the symmetrical device to his friend, with the other end clamped tightly in his own hand.
Tails grabbed it and they both pulled. A loud bang erupted from the device but Sonic retained the longer end of the contraption. He reached inside, pulling out his emerald paper crown, creating parallels between it and his irises, and a small paper with a joke on it. One by one, all the members of the table played the traditional game, placing the paper crowns on their heads after they won.
"Who wants to read their joke first?" Tikal asked, laughing at her own.
"Since Tails invited us all over, I think he should go first," Blaze motioned to him who smiled warmly in return.
"Okay. Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off?" he said, pausing for a few moments before continuing. "He's all right now!"
The sounds of laughter and groans erupted from the table.
"That's horrible. I love it," Sonic laughed.
"I don't get it? How could he be alright if he is missing half his body?" Knuckles queried.
"Don't you get it baby? He is all RIGHT now. Like the direction," Tikal tried to explain but Knuckles simply shrugged his shoulders, the humor going straight over his head, like always.
"Did you hear about the guy who got hit in the head with a can of soda?" Sonic began next. "He was lucky it was a soft drink." More laughs and groans could be heard throughout the table as Tails slapped his face with the palm of his hand at the corniness of the joke. Sonic was loving it all.
"How could it be soft? Metal cans are very hard and would hurt a lot if somebody got hit by one."
"Poor old Knucklehead. It's called a soft drink," Sonic laughed, enjoying the banter between his other closest friends. One by one they all read out their horrible jokes and the reaction continued to be the same.
Slowly the night grew long and the fire started to simmer down, casting creepy shadows on the walls of Tails' abode. Tikal, Blaze, Knuckles and their families all left shortly after, leaving just the 5 of them left.
"Mum, can I stay at Tails' tonight?" Sonic whined, running up to his mother to give her a pleasing hug.
"No you can't! It's Christmas tomorrow!" Vector snapped angrily, shedding his happy façade now that the festivities had drawn to a close.
"I promise I'll wake up early and run home so we can spend the morning together," he begged again.
"If it's alright with you," she motioned to Tails' mum who nodded enthusiastically, always pleased when Sonic was staying because it made Tails so much happier.
"Then it's settled. 8 am! No later," she finished, grabbing Vector before he could interject and exiting the house, closing the door softly behind her.
"I'm going to bed," Tails' mother yawned, stretching her limbs as she began to climb the winding staircase to the second story of their house. "Don't stay up too late. Goodnight boys."
And with that, Sonic and Tails were left alone, staring into the dying light of the struggling fire which had already used up the last of its wooden fuel in a desperate attempt to stay alight.
"Sonic," Tails began cautiously.
"Yeah pal?"
"Do you think that… maybe… umm…?" Tails tried to speak but he kept getting cut off by the lump in his throat. The words were being forced out of the bowels of his being, up through his cylindrical throat but he could not bring himself to say it.
"Tails," Sonic replied concerning, placing a hand on the young kit's shoulder, pressing his thumbs firmly into his muscles soothingly. Tails purred softly as his muscles relaxed and he calmed down slightly.
"That is the third time this week that we have almost been caught…" he trailed off.
"What are you trying to say, buddy?"
"Maybe we should… take a break and be more careful," he suggested, shuddering as he pushed the words out, relinquishing away from Sonic as if the external force of his words had caused him to fall backwards. Small gasps emerged from his mouth as tears filled up his eyes, gently trickling down his face like a struggling brook in the hot summer sun.
"Tails, please." Sonic tried to calm down his friend but Tails kept trying to keep his distance, struggling to not burst into tears, only keeping his composure because of the fear that his mother would hear him.
"Sonic, I love you too much. I couldn't bare for you to get caught."
"Well if we ever get caught, I would just say that I fell in love with you and you never felt the same so I forced myself onto you. People would believe it because I'm stronger and you could live in peace." Tails' eyes widened in horror, the light blue pupils turning a darker shade to mirror the malice that he felt in his heart. At that phrase, the tears held back no longer and shot out of his eye sockets like small bullets, pelting against the warm, fuzzy fur of Tails' legs.
"I could never let you do that. If we get discovered, I'm going down with you. Together… forever," Tails choked, rushing over to Sonic and burying his face into Sonic's slowly moving chest. Tails could feel the thudding beat of his heart as he tried to dry his tears on Sonic's bare chest. Sonic frowned sadly, looking at the shivering body of his little buddy. He brought his hand over Tails head and ruffled his hair gently.
"Tails, love is when the other person's happiness is more important than your own. I don't care what happens to me as long as you stay happy and safe," Sonic smiled warmly at Tails as he looked up at his hero.
"You don't understand Sonic. Without you, I won't ever be happy! I'd want us to be together forever."
"But what if things turn bad?"
"Sonic, even if the two of us fall from heaven, I'd gladly walk through hell with you by my side."
"Tails…" Sonic stared off, his heart swelling with the kind words of his love, his soulmate. "I Love you, so much."
"And I, you, Sonic."
Sonic gently leant his head down and placed his lips against Tails'. As much as Tails wanted to give himself completely into the kiss, there was something he wanted to get done first. Besides, they had all night to snuggle up together under the blankets.
"Presents first?" Tails asked as he pulled away from Sonic's warm embrace. Sonic frowned slightly, annoyed that Tails had left him but he nodded in agreement.
"Me first," he laughed reaching behind him and pulling out a wrapped present, decorated with a red coloured paper with green Christmas trees dotting the exterior. Tails retrieved the gift and slowly pulled one end of the maroon bow. It came apart seconds later and Tails made quick work of the rest of the paper, revealing the gift that was hidden underneath.
"Do you like it?" Sonic asked, a twinkle in his eye as he held his breath, waiting for Tails' reaction.
"No," Tails replied softly. Sonic felt his heart skip a beat, slowly dying a little as guilt and anxiety gripped his whole body, making it hard for him to speak. Tails, in that very moment, stripped away the veneer of Sonic's outward coolness to reveal the scared soul beneath, clambering for his loves approval above all else. He had worked so hard on the gift and knew that Tails would have loved it. But he didn't. The pain he felt was indescribable. "I love it!" Tails giggled, wrapping his arms around Sonic and gave a tight squeeze, laughing as he heard Sonic give out a large, audible sigh.
Tails stepped back and marveled at the gift. He held up the small frame, hand crafted out of the finest wood on all of Mobius and painted an eggshell white with the word 'forever' carved into the bottom part. In the middle, contained by the frame, sat a rectangular picture of Sonic, winking at the camera and flashing his traditional thumbs up with his other arm around the smaller fox's shoulder who was grinning sheepishly. Their pitched tent sat behind them.
"This was the picture your mother took of us right after you cheered me on our camping trip isn't it?" Tails asked in awe.
"You got it, buddy. You have no idea how long it took me to construct that frame," he joked.
"My present is going to look horrible in comparison," Tails sighed, twirling his fore finger in between his three out strutting bangs nervously.
"If it came from you, I know that I'll love it," Sonic smiled in reply. Tails reached behind him and pulled out his small diary and handed it to Sonic.
"This is full of every thought I have ever had. All my hopes, dreams, memories and fears are all locked up in this diary. I want you to have it."
Sonic looked at Tails. For once in his life, he had no retort. No clever metaphor, sweet compliment or snappy comeback. He was unable to utter even a single syllable. He had never had somebody in his life trust him so fully to give him something that essentially revealed every little detail about them.
"Do… you really trust me this much," Sonic bit his lip, trying so hard to hide the tears of joy from emerging.
"Always."
Sonic couldn't take it any longer. He grabbed Tails by the waist and pulled him in to the most intense, passionate and pleasurable kiss that the kit had ever experienced in his entire life. The fire fizzled out and crackled its last flame before the two boys broke apart from each other, collapsing on their backs on the ground, lapping up the cool oxygen that they so desperately desired.
"Merry Christmas, Sonic," Tails whispered finally after regaining his breath partially.
"Merry Christmas, Tails."
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this Christmas special. Get ready for a very plot heavy chapter! And if you would like to listen along, i have an audio book series of this on youtube. It's always a few chapters behind but if audio books are your thing, give it a look. See you next chapter, I've got to go finish chapter 7 of Sonic High before I leave!