Tree

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters in the story.

Character(s): Tails

"Lights – check! Decorations – check! Food and Christmas tree – not yet."

Marking up a bold check mark in the empty boxes of the first two, Tails strolled into the kitchen, briefly lifting his eyes to do a quick assessment of how everything was coming along. From the roast to the cookies, and everything in between; it all had to look good, taste good, and be good enough to not utterly disappoint everyone. That last goal was almost a lost cause at this point, however; they've all been spoiled on Amy and Vanilla's cooking for too long.

At least they gave Tails some of their recipes. Even still, Tails couldn't stop doubting the end result of what would come out of the oven in around thirty minutes. He may have an outline to follow, but that doesn't mean he'll be able to actually make the food. Maybe if the directions were written in the format of a blueprint, but not like this. Not with his lack of knowledge and experience. Especially not with the bar being so high; when everyone walked through that door, they would be expecting food of the utmost quality, each item with a unique, delectable taste that made everyone's mouths water uncontrollably and got everyone to demand seconds, thirds, fourths, and hundredths. That food was good enough that Charmy could actually clean off his entire plate without any external influences (read: threat to ground him from the TV or the consequence of no dessert), which was quite a notable accomplishment, according to the rest of the Chaotix.

How was he supposed to match that? He was a mechanic, not a celebrity chef. The only reason he offered to cook was because he figured that Amy and Vanilla could use a break from always preparing all the food at all their get-togethers; this year would be the first anyone other than those two made all the food. Even when they weren't hosting the party at their humble abodes, they would still pitch in for the dinner and whatnot.

Well, every year besides this one, and boy, was Tails an idiot for saying anything.

Even though it should be obvious to everyone, he never figured that cooking this feast would be that painstakingly difficult. He's learned since then; he's matured in the span of these past few days enough to appreciate all the hard work that goes into this dinner. All in all, it's probably a good thing he's taking up the job this year. Amy and Vanilla have had to do this year after year; after going through all this trouble, Tails more than understands that they deserve a break.

However, that reconciliation still didn't stop him from wishing that he could turn back time, so he could tell his past self to not be so nice.

Oh, well. What's done is done. Besides, everything will look better after all the food is finished and he could reassure himself that he wasn't a complete excuse of a cook. And after he completed all the food, he was practically done with all the party preparations, since this was the last, remaining task on his to-do list! Well, finishing up the tree decorating was still incomplete, but that wouldn't be too hard to finalize, as all he had left to do was to hang the last, few remaining ornaments and tip off the tree with a star.

And he wouldn't even have to do it. A little while ago, Big (and, of course, Froggy) had stopped by, for no real reason, it seems. Or no reason he could tell Tails, at the very least. But since the purple cat had wanted to stay, Tails had assigned him the mission of finishing up the last Christmas tree decorations, a chore that should be nearly finished, if not fully completed, by now.

At the sound of a domino line of crashing objects, the countless noises mixing to form a crescendo, Tails threw this belief away almost as soon as he realized it. His feet flying, Tails raced out of the kitchen, the first sight meeting his eyes causing him to face palm. Everywhere on the living room floor, there were ornaments of various shapes and sizes, a few tree branches scattered here in there, and a giant tied-up cat at the center of the chaos, obliviously lying next to the collapsed Christmas tree as he tried futilely to escape the makeshift rope of Christmas tree lights.

"Big, what were you doing?" Even though it'd be fitting for the situation, Tails couldn't so much bring out an angry tone into his voice as he could slight exasperation; he was used to the cat's clumsiness by now, so it didn't bother him as much. Besides, it was his own fault for allowing Big to help; Tails originally wanted to turn him away – afraid of this exact thing happening – but the cat was so insistent about staying here for a little while.

For a few seconds, the two Mobians couldn't do anything but stare at each other, Big densely tilting his head before smartly answering with a surprising not-so-vague response. "Froggy was trying to put the star on the tree, but then it fell down," he explained, gesturing with his eyes over to the frog, who still held the gold star in his mouth. Oh, the poor star, one of many to fall victim to Froggy's mouth.

Sighing, Tails helped Big get untangled from the lights. As the cat sat back up, Tails shook his head, surveying the damage to his living room. Right now, the floor wasn't really visible, but a little bit of sweeping and vacuuming would take care of that. That's what the fox told himself at least, as he tried to not explode in Big's face; this place was a mess! They might not even be able to get it all cleaned up in time, Tails thought, pondering over whether he should let someone else host the party. Although the temptation of calling Amy was almost too much, he decided against it. It's just a minor setback; we'll be able to clean it up in time. It'll be fine. Besides, just think about how fantastic this place will look once we're done cleaning. It'll be worth it, surely.

Smokestep: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! If you have anything to say, you know where to click!

Responses To Reviews:

ABCSonicKirbyWarriors: No offence taken, so no need to apologize. Either way, thank you.

Karts of Sugar Rush: Well, I don't think anyone other than Sonic would actually have the time or the skills needed to track down the North Pole and Santa in the first place. Anyhow, I'm not sure what you had in mind with Big, but this was the best I could do to fit him in. Hopefully, you like it.

Twin-books: So I pretty much insulted myself for nothing. Gotcha. And I would still technically be right; if you've never read anything else I've written, then this has to be your favorite story of mine. As for the world where "North Pole" takes place, it takes place anywhere where Sonic doesn't believe the North Pole exists. Anyhow, thank you for your input.