Disclaimer: I do not own Shadow the Hedgehog, Amy Rose or any Sonic Team related characters.

I'd like to thank: Funky Editors 12, Elys, BehindtheShadow, Guardian of Balance, Shida San, Brooke the Vampire, Sonicfan18, TwilightPrincess012, Raicho Hachirobei, Nyago, CrazyShadAmyFan, Kurumi-chan, princesslady, Ivory Rose Illusionist, Xtrasupershadowgirl, Gohstchan and CapAmer07 for the lovely reviews. :3

(A/N: Late, but I was still in the festive/party mood -sweatdrop- The real humour comes in the next chapter X3)

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Chapter Three

Ruby eyes quickly passed back to the female who had inquired about the magical beings on his roof. I knew I should have disposed of them! Frowning more to himself than at her questioning, he walked forwards; deliberately disregarding her observation. As he walked into his living room, he quickly went over to the heath to start a fire for them both, to busy himself and to think. Should he tell her about what he had done? Would she judge him for it, even if he explained what had happened in full detail? Scowling at the soot infested hole in front of him, he couldn't even come up with an answer, or reasonable explanation that Amy would understand. He threw a quick Chaos Spear into the fireplace, the fire igniting instantaneously. Standing from his crouched position, he turned to look for his guest. In seeing her absence from the room, he folded his arms and waited for her.

The female hedgehog sighed at being brushed off like that and slipped her shoes from her feet, placing them under her hanging coat. Sighing again, she walked to the doorway she had seen Shadow disappear though. Perking her ears up, she glanced around the mahogany door frame and found him staring at her. Smiling sheepishly, she shuffled into the room and made her way to him

"In response to your question," he started, eyeing her shoe-less feet "I have no idea what you are talking about," the lie was so smooth, the onyx male had to suppress a smirk "Perhaps it was just a hallucination caused by this time of year and your recent... 'Barrage' of emotions"

"Are you saying I'm crazy?" Amy asked, trying to verify his comments, her emerald orbs staring at his form with hurt dancing in them

"No, I was just pointing out that..." he tried to word his thoughts in a way that wouldn't upset the female further, but ended up giving into a sigh "Never mind"

"I definitely saw something!" she insisted, ignoring his regard to her feelings "So I can either bug you about it or go and see for myself!"

"You are insistent, too insistent," Shadow responded, giving her a bored look "You can't even get onto the roof so your 'threat' is meaningless," he motioned to the sofa, changing the subject "Sit and warm yourself" Puffing out her cheeks, the rose female did as he requested. Slipping her legs under her, she gazed to the still standing hedgehog

"Won't you join me?" she asked, patting the seat beside her

"I prefer to stand"

"You're so difficult!" she complained light-heartedly, smiling when a smirk came to his face. She then scanned the room in interest and saw no decorations or even a hint of the holidays "Not a believer in Christmas I take it?"

"What gave you that idea?" His sarcastic response came to her perked ears. Giggling, she shrugged and played along with his comment; carrying on the observation of the dimly-lit room. Nothing obscure caught her attention before she was drawn back to her host. An awkward silence filled the room, only being broken by the occasional cracking sound from the roaring fire

"Thank you" the pink female broke the silence, a smile coming to her face as she continued to study the mysterious hedgehog

"For what?" he asked, turning his head away from her inquisitive gaze

"For inviting me inside and being a good friend," she answered, lowering her eyes to the floor "I know you have probably heard…"

"Yes, I have heard about what happened. You don't have to say anything about it… Mostly because I don't want you to cry" he stated bluntly. As he was about to continue his speech, a shuffling sound was heard from outside. Looking to the window, the hedge-girl saw a lot of snow falling from above. Knowing that it had fallen from the roof, due to the quantity, she stood and sent a glare towards the ebony male

"I'm going to take another look"

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Pulling on her red and white boots, Amy walked to the door, pulling her coat more tightly around her form. Unlocking and then opening the front door to Shadow's home, she stepped out into the falling snow; shivering slightly at the nip the freezing wind brought to her cheeks. As she made her way across the blanket of white to get a better view of the window, she blinked to make sure she wasn't seeing things. A ladder was placed just to the left of the pane of glass leading up to the roof. Taking a few tentative steps towards it, she gripped the side to make sure it was real. Had she missed it upon her arrival? Moving to stand directly in front of the rungs, a golden plaque caught her attention

"The Rose Suchak Ladder Company?" she read to herself, running a gloved finger over the inscription "That sounds familiar from somewhere…" Shrugging to herself, she pulled herself up onto the wooden object and climbed up; smiling all the while.

Once at the top, she gasped and looked at the magical creatures stood proudly on the roof. The smile returned to her face and as she was about to travel to pet them, Shadow's words rang through her head. Putting her hands on her hips, she cautiously looked over the edge of the edge

"Shadow! Were you lying? Or are you blind?" she called loudly, lifting one hand to the side of her mouth to help her voice travel. She jumped slightly as a flash came from behind her and an un-amused snort let her immediately know who the cause of the light was. The rose female turned to face him and jabbed a finger at the reindeer and sleigh, not saying a word. Crimson eyes followed after her pointing digit, scowling at the creatures, he passed an impassive look to the pink hedgehog

"How did you get up here?" he asked, ignoring the current situation she had placed him in

"The ladder," she pointed over her shoulder to the wooden legs that peeked over the tiles "It was set up like something wanted me to come up here," shrugging, she side-stepped the black and red blockade, intent on getting to the antler- adorned creatures. Shadow ignored her movements and was glaring at the ladder that had appeared against his abode. Had this holiday finally made him lose his mind? "Aw! They are so adorable!" Turning his head towards the admiring voice, he folded his streaked arms

"I wouldn't get too close to them Rose. You do not know where they have been" he stated smartly, getting a small sense of vengeance upon them for still being on his property. Green eyes rolled slightly at hearing the smart-talk from the cerise striped male and was about to reach out to go against his 'orders', when a red object sticking out of the white contrast caught her attention. Stepping closer to inspect it, she could feel the ebony hedgehog's gaze boring into her form. Bending down, she brushed some of the white substance covering it and blinked a few times in at realizing what it was

"Hey," she giggled, lifting the arm of the suit as she looked at him in amusement "Were you going to dress-up as Santa?"

Shadow's left eye twitched as the suggestion hit his ears. Scoffing, he tightened his folded arms and went into thought, averting his gaze to the floor so he wouldn't be distracted. Damn it! Why does she have to interfere?! Maybe I should tell her? Otherwise I will never hear the end of it. Sighing inwardly, he let his arms fall to his sides. Then walking over to the pink female, he picked the coat up and shook it slightly, leaving the sleeve in her fingers

"This isn't a mere costume," he spoke in a calm tone, his ruby eyes travelling to her emerald ones "This suit belonged to someone who, I thought, was trying to burgle my home. Only after that did I find a card saying that the human I had," he paused to find the right word "Disposed of was this 'Santa Claus' that everyone keeps whittling on about" he then waited for his guest to respond, verbally or otherwise. Amy blinked a few times then looked over to the six other mammals on the slippery surface

"And the reindeer?"

"Won't go the hell away! I assume they are waiting for me to follow the cards instructions, to which I refuse!" the tainted male stated, then seeing his companions inquisitive look, elaborated "The card stated that I should put the suit on" he let the red fabric fall from his fingers as he turned his attention to the deer. A smile washed over the rose female's muzzle. Standing with the cloth still her grip, also piling the other articles of clothing into her arms, she trusted the pile out to him, the smile widening

"If that is the case Shadow," she began, stepping directly in front of him to shove the clothes into his chest "Why don't you just put it on?"