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“If I’m being absolutely honest,” Shadow began, trying to hold still as Rouge carefully drew the tip of the eyeliner pen across his eyelid, “I’m not much of a Christmas guy,”
Sonic made a ‘guh’ sound from where he sat on the bathroom counter, his jaw dropping.
“What?”
“Never have been,” Shadow sighed, then hissed as Rouge flicked him.
“Stop moving,” she scolded.
“How does someone claim to be not much of a “Christmas guy”, then agree to get a matching make up job done with his boyfriend?” Sonic asked, glaring at Shadow.
Shadow glared back.
“I agreed to this because you were in tears about me saying no,” he accused.
Rouge snickered, and Sonic’s ears flicked back.
“Was not,”
“Were to,”
“Besides the point,” Rouge cut it, meeting Shadow’s eyes as she leaned back, capping the eye liner. “Blue’s got a point. How come you hate Christmas?”
“I didn’t say I hated it,” Shadow argued as Sonic made a triumphant noise. “I just said I wasn’t a Christmas guy.”
“Sure, why?” Rouge pressed, digging through her bag of makeup.
Shadow paused. Why?
Because he wasn’t used to celebrating it with friends. He’d had two Christmas celebrations with Team Dark so far, this would be his first with Sonic. He was used to being alone, which meant he was used to being miserable.
Christmas was just a reminder that he used to be constantly lonely, and it had no meaning. Sitting at home, knowing that what was supposed to be a happy, fun holiday was being spent in a cold apartment with no tree, tended to ruin one’s spirit. Even if he got a tree, it’d be even more depressing to see it sad and alone in his living room, not a single present underneath it. Once he’d tried stringing up some fairy lights, but it’d lead to a teary breakdown and he hadn’t tried again. When he moved in with Rouge, things were better, but the holiday was still slightly off putting. He always felt…isolated. And the thought alone was enough to make him want to give up on the holiday altogether.
“I hate the fudge,” Shadow said finally, with a hint of distaste. “And peppermint’s gross.”
Sonic scoffed, and Rouge smiled as she pulled out a compact of red glitter.
“There’s no way that’s all,” Sonic protested as Rouge snapped it open, carefully selecting a brush.
“I also think some people over do it occasionally,” Shadow added, eyeing the blue hero.
Sonic made an offended noise as Rouge laughed, dusting the brush across the top of the glitter and leaning forward.
“Really don’t move this time,” She said, placing her other hand on the side of his face to ensure he stayed still.
The trio fell into silence as she slowly ran the brush over his eyelid, occasionally using a finger to blend the glitter into his fur before she switched to his other eye.
“Alright,” she said finally, “You’re done,”
She released Shadow and he turned to scrutinize himself in the mirror.
The dark red eyeliner she’d layered over his natural markings sharpened his eyes, outlined by a bold black. The crimson glitter spread over his eyelids sparkled in the bathroom lighting, and his gaze flickered over to Sonic who had a grin plastered over his muzzle, their eyes meeting in the mirror.
The hero’s make up was the exact same, just green instead of red. It brought out his eyes and made his fur pop, and Shadow felt something warm fluter in his chest.
“Awesome!” Sonic cheered, turning to beam at Rouge. “Thanks! We wouldn’t have been able to do it without you,”
“Thank you,” Rouge replied, standing up to fix her own mascara in the mirror, “I love hanging out with you two, you’re great fun.”
Shadow felt a smile start to work its way onto his face as Sonic slid off of the counter, making his way towards him.
“Ok, we need to be there by five, so we gotta get changed,” Shadow reminded him. He brushed his arm as he walked by, his fingers sliding down his forearm to gently tangle with Sonic’s.
“I know, I know,” Sonic replied, turning towards him to press a quick kiss to his lips. “I’m just gonna get, like, the smallest snack ever.”
“Do not smudge your make up,” Rouge reminded him as he pushed through the bathroom door. “I’m not redoing it.”
“Yes, ma’am!” Sonic called back.
—
When Sonic and Shadow arrived downtown in a flash of green, Shadow’s ears were immediately assaulted with the sound of Sonic crying out right in his ear.
“What,” Shadow yelped, gripping Sonic’s shoulders a little tighter. “What’s wrong?”
“Look, Shads,” Sonic pointed, arm slipping around his waist. “Look at how much it’s snowing,”
Shadow turned to find an admittedly large amount of snow than usual slowly drifting down from the sky. Christmas lights wound up around nearby street lamps, and nearby shops spilled warm light onto the cold, dark street, illuminating the falling flakes.
Shadow turned affectionately skeptical eyes back on Sonic as the hero stared up at the sky, almost in awe.
“The snowflakes are so big,” He breathed, and Shadow held out his hand to inspect one.
“I suppose,”
Sonic looked back over at him, leaning forward to gently connect their lips.
Shadow hummed with surprise, stomach doing little flips as Sonic’s fingers inched underneath his jacket to rest on his sides, over his shirt.
Secretly, he hoped the butterflies never went away. The small sparks that lit up in his core whenever Sonic touched him were delightful, and he hoped the thrill that came with holding the blue hero close never faded.
Sonic made a small noise as Shadow leaned forward, not relenting with the kiss. He gently pushed Shadow back, swallowing air as their lips parted.
“Still gotta breathe, baby,” Sonic reminded him, and Shadow felt his tail flick with pleasure at the pet name.
“Right, sorry,” he murmured, a hint of amusement in his voice. “Must suck to be mortal, huh,”
“Oh, shut up,” Sonic laughed, playfully shoving at his arm.
Shadow pulled him back in anyways, pressing a few more kisses across his lips and cheek before finally stepping back. He flicked Sonic’s nose for good measure, and the hero laughed, flicking Shadow back.
As they walked downtown together, the city decorations preening in the dark, Shadow’s eyes traveled over the sky. It was a cloudy night—no stars, but he could feel them up there, hiding behind the snow. Sonic’s fingers curled around his pinky, and Shadow laced them, giving a small squeeze.
As they made their way to the central square, Sonic kept pointing out small things in shop windows, making them both stop to peer through the glass at whatever had caught his attention.
“If you’re trying to drop hints,” Shadow said the fourth time, “I’ve already bought you a present.”
“Aww, thank you,” Sonic cooed, hooking an arm around his elbow. “Me too.”
“Are you lying to me?” Shadow asked, cocking a brow.
“No, this time I’m being for real,” Sonic promised solemnly, and Shadow huffed a laugh.
Internally, his brain was in turmoil. Yes, Rouge had gotten him presents, and yes, he’d gotten her one once, but he was still nervous.
Sonic towed him away from the shop, babbling about wanting to see the Christmas tree the city had put up. Shadow let him, heart beginning to race just a fraction more.
Their feet crunched on the snow, and Sonic finally slowed as they emerged in the square.
Shadow blinked.
The tree was huge, bigger than he had expected. It was dressed in hundreds of fairy lights, and its branches splayed out in the open air, catching the snow greedily. There were so many people downtown, it looked hard to get up close to its glory.
Sonic caught Shadow staring, and a smile broke across his face.
“Isn’t it amazing?”
Heat crept up into his face, and he averted his gaze. “It is,”
Sonic grinned, grabbing his hand again to pull him into the crowd. They made it about half way through until people stoped moving out of their way, and then they were stuck.
Sonic brought Shadow’s hand to his chest.
“Listen,” he said, having to raise his voice to be heard over the chatter and music. “I have something I’ve been meaning to say,”
Shadow’s ear flicked uncertainly. “Ok, and?”
“Uhm,” Sonic tried, looking flustered. “How do I start this—“
He glanced around, then carefully cupped Shadow’s face.
“You are literally the most important person in my life right now—you have been, ever since the day we met and you threw me into that wall. Since we were stupid teenagers, I’ve wanted to be with you and talk to you—actually talk to you, under the stars, and tangled in blankets, not just bickering while pounding each other into the dirt. I wanted to touch you, and hold you, and listen to you talk to me about your past, and why you’re hurting, but also about why you had fun this week, and what you thought about some terrible movie I made you go to.”
Words were tumbling out of Sonic’s mouth now, and Shadow’s eyes widened.
“And now I have all of that and I have you, and I don’t think I could ever let that go. If I lost you, Shadow, I have no idea what I would do with myself,”
Sonic looked up, meeting his eyes.
“I love you so much, and I just thought that maybe I should finally say it instead of freaking my self out about it. It’s just three silly words, right? No need to over think it,”
Shadow swallowed down the choked sound his body threatened to make, fingers curling into Sonic’s jacket.
“Uhm, and so I made this little thing, it really isn’t much but I just thought that whenever you’re away on a mission, or if I’m every gone during an adventure, you could have it to remind you when I’m not there to say it,”
He dug a small flat square out of his quills.
Shadow took it with careful, trembling fingers, ears falling slack as he processed what was in front of him.
Sonic had cut out at least fifteen polaroid photos and glued them onto a piece of framed card stock. Each one was of them.
Shadow dozing in the early morning sun, Sonic stealing a selfie with him before he could shove the camera away, both of them sitting at Shadow’s kitchen counter, unaware of the camera, one of Sonic pressing a kiss to Shadow’s cheek, a 4th of July headband bopper tucked in front of of his ears.
Sharpie doodles littered the shining surface of each one, and Shadow felt his heart constrict.
“Merry Christmas Shads,”
He looked up to find Sonic nervously watching him, ears angled out uncertainly.
“This is…” Shadow began, looking back down at the framed collage. “Sonic…”
A single tear pricked the corner of his eyes and he hastily wiped it away. “I—“
Sonic abruptly pulled him into a hug, and Shadow’s breath caught with surprise.
He felt warmth bloom in his core, seeping into his limbs as he hugged Sonic back, burying his muzzle in the crook of his neck, fighting tears.
“This is perfect,” He murmured, voice muffled. “Thank you so much,”
Sonic hugged him tighter. “You’re welcome,”
Shadow bit down on his tongue, refusing to cry as Sonic leaned back and gently connected their lips. The kiss was slow and gentle, and Shadow felt his heart melt.
“Ok,” he growled hastily as they parted, wiping at his eyes again. “Let’s go to the party, Rouge has been waiting for thirty minutes, and this has been a lot of emotions that I’m done experiencing,”
Sonic laughed, taking Shadow’s hands away from his face to peer at his eyes. “You smudged your make up!”
“Like I care,” Shadow said, tugging Sonic closer as he reached for his emerald.
They disappeared in a blip of green, and the rest of the night was spent in party games and gift exchanges.
When Sonic finally dragged Shadow back to his apartment, insisting on making him hot chocolate before they went to bed, Shadow couldn’t find it in himself to say no.
Long after Sonic had drifted off to sleep curled close into Shadow’s side, the agent lay awake, staring at the ceiling.
He couldn’t be happier.