Chapter Five: A Cosmic Christmas

One prior evening...

Tails grabbed his yellow-mittened hat and his plant green scarf, and sat on one of the stairs on his doorstep. He looked up into the freezing flurry-filled sky and said: "Well, it's time to make my Christmas wish.". He thought long and hard as a few snowflakes blew across him. There was only one thing that the little fox wanted most: A kiss from the girl of his dreams, Cosmo.

"I wish that...Cosmo and I could kiss...just once." Tails focused while looking up at the night sky, he sat for a good five minutes. "...What's the use?" He sighed with the face of disappointment, and walked back inside his house to go to sleep. He grabbed a blanket and slept on the couch. Then, as the fox drifted off to sleep, a big shooting star shot across the sky as fast as Sonic could run. "Goodnight, Tails." A mysterious voice said, echoing through the frozen wind.

Present Day...(No pun intended)

"Ahh...good morning, Mobius..." Tails yawned. He walked out to the kitchen to get some breakfast. Then, the phone rings. Poor Tails is so tired, trying to stay awake to pour his cereal. He slowly but surely walked over to where the phone was, and picked it up. It was Amy. "Hiya, Tails!" The pink hedgehog greeted him cheerfully. "...Hey, Amy." Tails eventually spoke, barely awake.

"Why'ya so tired, bud?" Amy asked him, caring about his current state. "...I stayed up watching the s...uh, SHOW! On TV!" Tails quickly changed what he was gonna say. "Oh, uh...okay. Which one was it?" Amy questioned. "U-Uh, um...Star Trek! Heh...y'know the one!" Tails chuckled nervously. "Oh yeah, Sonic watches that all the time." She agreed.

"But anyways, the main reason I called you is because...we're having a Christmas party at my house!" Amy squealed. "Do ya wanna come?" She offered. "Oh yeah, sure! I'll bring Cosmo, too." Tails replied. "Perfect..." Amy said quietly to herself, thinking the fox wouldn't hear her. "What was that?" Tails questioned. "Oh, nothing! Just...make sure to come, okay?" Amy said. "Okay...When does the party start?" He asked. "Um...at around 6:00-ish?" Amy replied. Tails quickly looked at his watch. It read 10:15AM. "Alright! See you then!".

"Bye, Tails!" Amy said farewell. Tails hung up, and placed the phone next to his cereal bowl. Since he was talking to Amy for quite a while, he went to get a scoopful of cereal to find out that it was all soggy. "Aww, blech!" Tails groaned in disgust as he threw away the cereal, and put his bowl in the sink.

Then, Tails sat on the couch to watch a little bit of Star Trek for real. When all of a sudden...

"Tails..." A mysterious voice spoke. "W-Whoa!" Tails fell onto the floor, frightened. "Wh-Who's there?" Tails spoke timidly. "There's no need to be afraid, Tails. It's me, Earthia. I am Cosmo's mother." She answered. "H-How come I can't see you?" Tails asked while turning his head, looking at his surroundings.

"Because I'm in the form of a spirit." Earthia answered. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm so glad to see someone who takes care of my little girl so much." She added. "Oh, well...I-I try, I mean..." Tails stammered bashfully. "And another thing, you two would make such a great pairing. It's no wonder why you love Cosmo so much!" Earthia complimented Tails. "W-What!? I-I don't love her! I-I mean, like, love her in that way. Uh-!" Tails kept stuttering and had the cheeks of Knuckles' skin. "Alright, Tails, have it your way." She giggled, and then vanished.

"Whoa...that was weird." Tails said with a bit of sweat dripping down from his face. Eventually, he sat back upon the couch, and turned on the TV.

A few hours later...

After calling Cosmo and telling her about the party that their friends were having, Tails flew over to her house, and knocked on the door. Cosmo opens it to reveal that she's wearing a green sweater with a satin red skirt, corresponding with the Christmas theme. "I'm ready, Tails!" Cosmo said. Tails looked at her with a face of pure amazement. "...How do I look, Tails?" Cosmo asked. "Y-You look...amazing..." Tails said in a swoony voice. "Aww. Thank you, Tails." Cosmo replied while blushing a little bit. "Uh...Alright, let's head to this party!" Tails eventually snapped out of his little trance. "Okay!" Cosmo replied.

As the two walked, they held each other's hands. "Brr..." Cosmo shivered as a huge gust of Winter wind breezed through her whole body. "Oh! Here..." Tails said as he opened one half of the coat he was wearing. "Sonic gave this to me. So, it's...kinda big." He then wrapped the half around Cosmo, and shared it. "Th-Th-Th-Thank you, T-Tails..." Cosmo was still shivering from the cold. Tails then wrapped his two tails around her for extra warmth until they got there.

"Well, this is the place!" Tails said as the two ran up to the door, and knocked. Sonic answered the door. "Hey, bro!" He said to Tails. Then, he looked to the right of him to see Cosmo. "I see you brought your girly-friend with'cha!" Sonic taunted. "Sonic! Cut it out!" Tails blushed, but chuckled. "Well, c'mon in! The more the merrier! Especially at this time of year!" Sonic invited them in, and hung their coat.

"Amy!" Sonic yelled. Amy was in the kitchen, making eggnog. "What is it?" She said. "Tails is here, and he also brought a friend!" Sonic said. Amy immediately knew who the friend was, and ran right out to the front door. "Hi, guys!" Amy said. "Hi, Amy!" Tails and Cosmo said at the same time. "Jinx!" They both laughed as they sat down in the living room.

"Amy, I gotta tell ya something!" Sonic whispered. "What is it?" Amy said as she and Sonic walked back into the kitchen for a moment. "Y'know my old coat I gave to Tails?" Sonic said. "Yeah...?" Amy replied. "They shared it while walking over here." Sonic said in excitement. "Are you kidding!?" Amy screamed. Sonic tried to shush her, but of course, Tails and Cosmo overheard. "Why'd ya scream!?" Tails asked. "Uh...Sonic was...telling me a joke!" Amy chuckled nervously. "Y-Yeah! Heh, that ol' chicken's always up to something..." Sonic said, blending in. "Okay, then...?" Tails said. "Um...You guys want a drink?" Amy quickly changed the subject. "I'll take one. What do you have?" Cosmo asked.

"Well, I'm making eggnog right now. So, for now, I have fruit punch, soda, and water." Amy replied. "I'll have some water." Cosmo said. "And I'll take some punch." Tails added. "One water and one punch, comin' right up!" Amy replied. Many thoughts were going through Tails' head, most of which were about Cosmo. The first one pops in, and Tails gasps. "Oh no! I forgot Cosmo's gift! I left it at home!" He thought to himself, worried. "Uh...I-I'll be right back." Tails said to Cosmo. "Where are you going, Tails?" Cosmo asked. "I-I...forgot something important." Tails replied as he ran off back to his house. "Okay." Cosmo understood.

Tails eventually arrives at his house. He looked all over for the gift that he ever-so wanted to give to his girl. "Oh, where is it!?" Tails stressed, until he finally realized where he put it. Tails hid the gift next to the picture of him and Cosmo in his bedroom. "There it is! Phew..." Tails was relieved. He grabbed the galaxy paper covered box, and quickly flew back to Sonic and Amy's place without anyone noticing. While everybody else was in the kitchen, Tails hid the present in between the coat rack.

"I'm back..." Tails panted. "Where did ya go, bud?" Sonic asked. "Just...back at my house." Tails replied. "Why?" He asked again. "Uh...I forgot my scarf!" Tails lied, since Cosmo was in the kitchen as well, and he didn't want to accidentally give anything away. "Okay...?" Sonic said. "Tails, since you're here, can you try out my eggnog?" Amy asked. "Oh, sure!" Tails replied. He took some with his finger and gave it a lick. "Hey, that's really good!" Tails said excitingly. "Alright! See, Sonic? I am good at cooking!" Amy yelled at Sonic. Sonic chuckled impishly. "Grr..." Amy started to run towards him, until Sonic pulled out a mistletoe. She immediately stopped, and stood there for about five seconds. "So, uh...you gonna hit me, Ames?" Sonic asked tauntingly. "You know what? You're good." Amy smooched him. "Thanks..." Sonic said.

"My, what's that?" Cosmo asked in amazement. "What? That thing that Sonic's holding?" Tails questioned. "Yeah, it looks very pretty." Cosmo replied. "That's a mistletoe. The rule is if two people are under it, they have to kiss." Tails answered her question. "Wow...this holiday is filled with so many beautiful things." Cosmo said. "Yeah, you said it..." Tails replied. Cosmo leaned over his shoulder. Tails blushed, then sighed in a relaxed matter.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt your little moment here..." Sonic chuckled. "...But I hope you brought gifts, 'cause we're just about ready to trade 'em!"

"Okay, Sonic." Tails said. "Psst...can you guys keep a secret?" Sonic asked. Tails and Cosmo nodded in response. "Don't tell Amy, but...I got her a bracelet." Sonic whispered. "We won't." Tails and Cosmo whispered back.

"Eggnog's ready!" Amy shouted. "Ooh...yum!" Tails replied, licking his lips. "Cosmo, you gotta try this!" Tails said to Cosmo. "Okay. I'll have a glass." She replied to Amy. "Alright, then! Sonic, do you want something to drink?" Amy asked him. "Sure, I'll take a soda." Sonic replied. "Okay!" Amy said.

She filled in everyone's orders. "Here are your drinks!" She said while handing them out. "Thanks, Amy!" Everyone replied. "Who's ready to open gifts?" Amy asked. "We are!" Tails and Cosmo shouted excitedly in response. Sonic was already at the table, ready to go. "Here's mine, Ames." He gave his gift to her.

Amy opened the box. "Wh-...what is this?' Amy asked, almost starting to cry. "Do you remember that bracelet you made for me, back when we were at the beach?" Sonic said. Amy nodded lightly. "Well...think of this as a special thank you for that." He added. Inside the box was a bracelet that was half blue and half pink. The pink part read "Best Friends" and the blue part read "Forever". It took Amy a minute to speak again. "Oh...thank you, Sonic!" Amy cried as she hugged him as hard as she could. "Ugh-! ...You're welcome, Amy." Sonic choked. "Oh, sorry, Sonic." She apologized. "Nah, it's no big deal. I'm used to it." Sonic coughed.

"Alright. Your turn, Amy." He said. "Alrighty!" Amy replied as she handed him a card holder. Sonic opened it. "What is this?" Sonic asked. "It's a gift card. You can get chili dogs with it!" Amy replied. "Hey, look at that! The place is even called 'Sonic'!" Sonic said. "Thanks, Ames!" Sonic hugged her back. "Oh-! You're welcome, Sonic..." Amy giggled to herself, swooningly. "Sorry we didn't get you guys a gift." Sonic said to Tails and Cosmo. "It was supposed to come about a week ago, but the stupid delivery got delayed." Amy said angrily. "So, you guys will have to wait until Christmas." Sonic added. "It's alright." Cosmo replied. "It's no big deal!" Tails replied.

"Here you go, Tails. I...hope you like it." Cosmo handed her gift to Tails. He opened the capsule. Inside, there was a Chaos Emerald. "Wh-What's this for?" Tails asked. "It's for your plane, I overheard you talk about your plans. I found it in the bushes when I went for a walk one day." Cosmo replied. "You said it needed Chaos Energy, right?" She asked. "Yes, you're right. Thank you, Cosmo." Tails hugged her. "Wow, she gave me quite the gift. I hope she likes mine..." He thought to himself, still hugging Cosmo. He couldn't believe that she gave him something like that.

Tails walked over to the coat rack, and grabbed the gift that was lurking behind it. "Well, uh...h-here's mine!" Tails said nervously. Cosmo opened the box. there were two rose bud hair clips laying inside. "D-Do you like 'em?" Tails asked. "...I love them, Tails!" Cosmo replied. "But...why are there two?" She asked. "Uh, one is, uh...for your mom." Tails replied.

"Oh, Tails...you thought of Mother." Cosmo said. "I could just..." She looked up and saw a mistletoe. And since Tails didn't have a quick enough reaction time to see it, she kissed him right on the lips. Tails couldn't believe what she was doing. He sunk in his chair, blushing bright red, giggling. "Uh-oh!" Sonic ran next to him in case he fell on the floor. "S-S-S-Sonic, heh-heh, heh...I think I'm gonna pass out." Tails said, almost sounding a little drunk. "D-Did I do something wrong?" Cosmo asked, worried. "Quite the opposite, actually." Sonic replied.

He picked Tails up, and walked him back home. "Sonic, sh-she...she kissed me...hee-hee..." Tails kept repeating along the way. "I think someone's had a little too much eggnog." Sonic walked upstairs, and laid him on the bed. "Merry Christmas, bud..." He patted him on the head, and ran back to his house. "Sh-She kissed me. Hee-hee...hee...hee..." Tails continued giggling as he drifted to sleep.

A few hours into the night, a glowing figure was standing beside Tails' bed. It was Cosmo's mother, Earthia, wearing the rose bud clipping he had given her.

"Good night, Tails..." She said as she gave him a kiss on the forehead. She then started to fade away in the snowy night sky.