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Shadow's vision came back to him slowly. He had landed hard into the ground and could only focus on how dizzy he was. He had to think for a moment, had he survived that blast? Must have. You dont feel this sore all over if you're dead. Shame. He groaned and slowly rolled onto his back and looked up at the sky. It was a vibrant shade of blue, similar to Sonic, he realized. He hoped the idiot was alive as he watched some clouds go by. He was so distracted by his anger the last few days that he had not noticed how the sky looked during the day too. Maria used to tell him how beautiful it was and she was right. He couldn't help a few tears escape as he thought of her.
Soon enough, he could feel the burns on his skin start to finally heal, his hands with the worst of it. He stayed there for a while until the sun began to set. Then he had to force himself up and search for his discarded inhibitor rings. Getting up proved difficult though. His side hurt, his leg hurt. Honestly every single muscle ached. But he forced himself through it. He looked around and luckily, his rings had landed nearby.
Once they were back on his wrists, he tried to figure out where he was. He was in a crater among some tall snow-capped mountains. He had landed in some sort of dense wilderness. The view was wonderful. The sky had turned into vibrant shades of orange and pink. The evergreens near him were still green, but many of the other trees at the lower elevations were almost bare now. The few leaves that did still cling to them were brilliant reds, browns, and yellows though. They glowed in the light from the setting sun. It was autumn, he realized. He remembered it from photos.
The air was starting to get even more of a chill as the sun finally set. His gloves had pretty much disintegrated during his fall through earth's atmosphere, and he could feel the cold on the pads of his hands. His hands ached a lot actually, a combination of taking the full blast of the canon, overusing his chaos energy, and the cold. Honestly, he could feel it down to his core, like his bones were cold. He needed to move.
He checked if his air shoes were still intact enough for him to glide instead of walking, and thankfully, they were. He didn't have enough chaos energy at the moment to just teleport down the mountain. His lower left leg was trying to heal from what he guessed was some sort of fracture or strain, and putting weight on it was incredibly uncomfortable. Even gliding still hurt, but he was able to ignore it for now. He had to.
He stopped to hide in various small caves and under fallen tree roots when he thought he heard humans nearby walking around or needed to rest his leg. He thought he would prefer being alone now, but right now being alone with his thoughts was slowing him down. When he did manage to doze off, he just dreamt of Maria. It hurt. He nearly panicked a few times, having sudden thoughts of her. Every new sight in the forest reminded him of her. He had to ground himself and focus on surviving, he couldn't break down at every new experience he remembered stories about. He could grieve later once he found somewhere dry and safe.
After over a week in the forest, around dusk, he came across a large sign that read, "Welcome to Green Hills." He moved slower as a brief rain and snow shower mix blew through. He encountered a few rainstorms over the last week, but this one felt the coldest. He shivered and tried to stay hidden as he approached town. He realized the glow from the jets in his shoes could give him away, and now he had no choice but to walk, which turned into a limp.
"Fuck, maybe I did break something," he hissed as he stopped to rest again. The lack of food was slowing his healing, water was easy to find with all the streams, but food was not. He ended up taking his shoe off on that foot and carrying it. The weight of it was hurting too much. He discarded what was left of his sock. He realized he had never felt grass under his bare feet before. It was nice, even if it was crunchy and cold. It would help ground him.
He continued walking along the road, just out of sight in the treeline. He was lost in thought looking at the stars when a deer ran out in front of him and startled him enough that he used what little chaos energy he had to move. Big mistake since he didn't have a specific location in mind. He panicked and landed hard on the road, directly in front of a large pickup truck that had swerved to miss the deer from seconds ago, and it did not have time to brake fully. The pain in his leg and blinding headlights in his eyes made him freeze as his ears went flat against his head.
About 10 minutes earlier, Sonic was helping Maddie load some groceries into the back of the truck. Normally, all three boys would tag along, but with Tom still healing and insisting he needed the air, Knuckles and Tails stayed home to prevent any accidental added stress. Sonic tagged along since he did not like leaving Tom's side yet.
Speaking of Tom, there was some short bickering between the two adults, as Tom had snuck into the driver's seat while Maddie was helping load everything into the back.
"It's 20 minutes back home, let me drive. Please? I drive with one arm all the time." Tom pleaded. He just wanted some normalcy.
Sonic laughed, "Yeah, when you were stuffing your face full of donuts, but you could still use both arms."
Maddie groaned, "Actually, you know what? Fine, but if you think that you are so healed and competent now, then you can also make dinner when we get home."
"Deal." Tom couldn't hide his grin, and Maddie looked ready to slap him on the back of his head.
Sonic was seatbelted between them, kicking his legs, happy his family was getting back to normal. He opened the sunroof so he could look at the stars that were peeking out behind some clouds. What was left of the moon was also peeking through. He became lost in thought.
"You thinking about Shadow again, Bud?" Tom finally asked him.
Sonic nodded, "Yeah, I just miss him. We had just become friends. He deserved a second chance, and he didn't even get to fully take it. Doesn't seem fair.”
Maddie pet his head, "I know, sweetie, that whole situation sucked. It made me realize just how lucky we were that we found you before G. U.N. did. We are definitely never trusting them again.”
Sonic leaned against her and watched the stars for another minute or so until they completely disappeared behind some clouds. He wondered if Shadow was at peace now. In the end, he got what he wanted. Sonic knew if Shadow had wanted to, he could have teleported away from the blast at the last second using the emerald, but he obviously hadn't wanted to. He was snapped out of his thoughts when some wet snow hit his face. He quickly closed the sunroof as it started to rain and snow a bit heavier.
He shivered, "I thought I smelled snow. It sure felt cold enough. Winter's coming.”
Maddie sighed, “It's a bit late this year actually.” Then she side eyed her husband, "Thomas, I swear if you crash in this weather, you will never drive again."
Tom laughed nervously, "Relax, it's not even sticking to the road at all. Actually, it looks like it stopped up ahead."
Suddenly, Sonic started sneezing, repeatedly.
Maddie groaned, "Sonic, is there just something in your nose, or is danger coming?"
Tom scoffed, "Oh come on, him sneezing is not a sign of danger, that's just a coincid- ... OH SHIT."
They all screamed as a deer suddenly ran out in front of them, and he had to swerve and brake.
Sonic yelled, "SEE NOT A COINCID- ... LOOK OUT!" Something black and spikey suddenly appeared on the road as well. They were still mid swerve, and Tom could not swerve again without risking flipping the truck. He also was a bit too shocked to see those red eyes glowing at them. All he could think to do was slam on the brakes as hard as he could. They felt one of the front truck tires bounce over something.
Shadow managed to duck his head down in time, but said truck tire went over his already injured leg that he couldn't curl up to his body as fast as the other one. There was a lot of screaming from inside the truck that was now above him. One of the voices sounded familiar. He couldn't chaos control himself again, still entirely too worn out. He was afraid he would land somewhere worse anyway and could only mentally prepare himself to run if need be.
Inside the truck, Maddie and Tom slowly looked at each other before finally looking down at the Sonic. Sonic looked just as shocked as them before he finally unbuckled himself and stood up on the seat, "Tom, we told you you shouldn't drive with one arm! You just got out of the hospital yesterday, and you hit a ... a ... hedgehog? wait. Wait. ... was that Shadow. Is he alive? ... oh god, the truck bounced ... OH MY GOD, DAD, DID YOU JUST RUN OVER SHADOW?????." He zipped out of the car in a flash, and Maddie gave her husband an exhausted look before she soon followed.
Tom needed another moment before he got out as well. 'What the hell just happened', he thought. These kids were going to give him a stroke.
Sonic quickly got on the ground behind the truck and looked under the bed. Yep, there was Shadow, curled up between the back tires with his quills sticking out in all crazy directions in defense, clearly giving into the instinct to make himself as big and scary as possible. "Jeez, you look like a wet cat under there. Why are you missing a shoe? Are you okay?"
There were some orange sparks and a low growl before he realized who was talking to him. "... Sonic? What are you -"
Before he could register anything, Sonic grinned and quite literally yanked him out from under the truck by his quills and pulled him into a hug. Shadow almost hissed at him.
"Oh, come on, it's just a hug, relax. And the quill thing was payback for throwing me by mine back at that base." He laughed, and then paused. "... I'm so glad you're alive, Shadow." Sonic sounded almost ready to cry from relief. Shadow could even hear Sonic's tail moving behind him, softly thumping against the damp road.
Shadow sighed. "It's not that," his voice was a bit shaky from adrenaline still. "I hurt my leg in the fall, and then whatever idiot is driving your truck ran it over. If it wasn't broken before, it sure is now."
Sonic pulled away from him and looked over at his leg. It looked swollen, some skin and fur were also scraped off. "Oh, that's why you're holding your shoe. MADDIE, he's hurt. Come quick. Tom ran over his leg."
Shadows quills bristled as she slowly approached with a first aid kit and a flashlight. "Who is she?"
"Shhh, relax, Shadow. I won't hurt you. I'm Maddie. Tom's wife, otherwise known as the idiot who ran you over. You've, uh, met before." Her tone was a little sharper at the end than she meant for it to sound. She felt bad when shadow flinched at her tone. He looked incredibly pathetic with his ears pinned back like that and visibly shivering. He looked so young, probably around Sonic's age. She wondered if they were going to end up keeping this one too.
Sonic was about to reassure Shadow that it was safe when Tom got out of the truck.
"I'm an idiot? Why is he appearing out of thin air into traffic? I didn't even know you kids could do stuff like that" He didn't sound mad. He was even laughing a little, until he saw Shadow's leg. He frowned and knelt down beside them. Shadow backed up into Sonic and growled again. He looked like he just saw a ghost. Tom realized he must have thought he killed him. Both adults felt their heartstrings tug a little. He just looked like a scared kid to them. "Sorry, I didn't mean to hit you. You're safe, don't worry. And I am too."
Shadow stopped growling and just titled his head confused, " wait ... you didn't hit me on purpose? For revenge?"
Sonic rolled his eyes and hugged him again, "Dude, we seriously need to ban that word from your vocabulary."
Tom laughed, "No, of course not." He realized Shadow was being completely serious and not joking. "Wait, why would I purposely try to run you over?"
Shadow glared, "Do you have brain damage? I almost killed you. I thought I had. I'm a little impressed you survived actually." He added dryly, trying not to look any more emotional than he already did over the fact that Tom had actually survived. He heard them say his name, but it didn't fully register that it was that Tom until he stepped out of the truck. He hadn't taken one of the few good humans away from Sonic like G.U.N. had done to him.
"Oh trust me, I remember. You think that means I should try to get back at you though? You're a kid." He seemed concerned about his way of thinking. Especially when Shadow just answered 'yes', like it was the most obvious answer in the world. He even almost seemed annoyed now that this wasn't on purpose.
"I don't need your pity. I would have deserved it." He just leaned into Sonic, quills deflating finally. He was so focused on Tom that he didn't even realize Maddie had begun to check his leg until he felt pain from her moving it. He shot her a warning glare and growled, "I didn't say you could touch me."
Sonic squeezed him, "Hey, easy, she's a vet. If you don't trust her, at least trust me. Besides, if you don't let her splint that, I'll have to. And I'll make Knuckles restrain you." Sonic smiled but also looked completely serious.
Shadow groaned, "is he the red one?" Sonic nodded in response, resting his head on top of Shadow's. He couldn't even use his chaos control now even if he wanted to with Sonic having such a firm grip on him. Something told him Sonic was aware of this too. "Fine, but only because I want that big brute touching me even less."
Maddie laughed a little and finished bandaging his leg. She also examined his bare foot for injuries. "Well, I'll have to properly resplint this later with better supplies, but all your adorable little toe beans look in tact besides being cold." She pulled a couple pine needles out that were stuck around his claws.
Shadow looked at her like she was insane, "what the fuck is a toe bean?" Sonic started laughing into Shadows quills. Even Tom laughed, which startled Shadow. "I don't understand what's so funny."
"Just the way you said it, and it's a cute way to refer to pawpads." Maddie joined in the laughter and rubbed his foot to warm it up a little.
"Stop that. I'm fine. ... and I'm not cute.” All of this affection was messing with his emotions. It was suffocating.
Sonic looked at his face and grinned, "I'm telling you from experience, pouting does not help. They also think that's cute. Humans are weird like that."
Overwhelmed, Shadow tried to finally squirm out of Sonic's embrace, "Can I get up now? The road is cold and staying here will draw too much attention."
Maddie nodded and went to approach Shadow. Shadow quickly put his hands up to stop her. He didn't mean he needed to be picked up. The last human to hold him was Maria. ‘No don't think about her right now’ he had to remind himself. Survive. He just growled at Maddie instead, teeth bared.
Maddie paused and sighed. “Okay we aren't playing this game. Your leg is broken, I am picking you up. You can either let me or fight me, but if you hurt me too I don't think Sonic will be as forgiving. So let me help you.”
Shadow tried to keep staring her down, but he slowly put his hands down and looked away before nodding. He was too tired for this.
She slowly gathered him into her arms. Shadow just looked back at Sonic who gave him a thumbs up. She could feel him shaking from the cold, and how thin he was. Definitely lighter than Sonic and that concerned her. Any frustrations she had were gone. He really needed some help. He felt so small in her arms.
Sonic helped her get him into the truck.
She had to move to the middle so Shadow could rest with his back against the door and his leg over Sonic's lap. Thankfully, him and Sonic were small enough to both fit onto the passenger seat without being too squished. He also obviously trusted Sonic and didn't mind being so close to him. Whether or not he would allow Sonic to keep smothering him once he was warm and healed they would just have to see.
Maddie smiled at the thought and turned up the heat so maybe he would stop shivering so much. "You look cold. Do you want a blanket? I think there is one behind your seat. How long were you in the woods?"
He sighed as Sonic made the decision for him and got the blanket out, and draped it over him. "A week, I think. Maybe longer. I landed in the mountains." He still couldn't look either human in the eye, so he just stared at the blanket instead. It was grey and soft and smelled like the outdoors, with a hint of smoke. There were a few stray pine needles stuck to it that he picked at a little.
"Well, when we get home, you can have a nice warm bath and something to eat. You're probably starving. ... and dehydrated. Oh no have you been without water this whole time?" This kid really didn't seem like he knew how to take care of himself, or maybe he just didn't want to. The thought of that made her heart ache, but considering what Sonic had told them, it was very possible.
Shadow snuggled a bit more into the blanket before answering, "No, water I could find, food was the problem." He still didn't understand why they were being so kind or why she was so concerned. He didn't feel he deserved it. He just kept looking at the blanket while they talked to each other and picked off some fuzz and more pine needles. His emotions were slowly getting more out of control, and he hated it.
They were joking with each other now. He wasn't paying attention specifically to what they were saying, but he noted that they sounded happy. That bothered him too. He almost took that away.
“Sonic, did you finish that song you were learning to play for Shadow? You should play it for him later.” Tom's voice got his attention. Shadow finally looked up at them, but they didn't seem to notice.
“Oh god, the Linkin Park one? It's super sad Tom, and not necessary since he is alive. His dramatic self sacrifice slash thinly veiled suicide attempt failed. Thank god.”
“... why were you learning a song for me?” Shadow willed himself to ask, so quietly that they almost didn't hear him.
Maddie smiled at him, the same kind, genuine comforting smile Maria used to give him when he was upset about something. “He just missed you. It was helping him grieve. He had a little funeral for you too.”
“Don't tell him that, he'll think I'm pathetic.” Sonic was worried she was going to tell Shadow how much he cried over him next.
Maddie ruffled his quills, “No it's sweet. He should know someone here did miss him.”
Shadow just kept staring, he didn't understand. Why would he grieve him, why would they help Sonic grieve him. He could feel his chest tighten, far too tired to fight off the overwhelming guilt bubbling up.
“Yeah, okay, fine, Shadow should know that. Hey! Maybe we should help you have a funeral for Maria! It might make you feel better.” He looked back over at Shadow with a smile, but the smile quickly dropped when he saw the devastated look on Shadow's face. He realized he probably shouldn't have said her name. Shadow looked ready to break. He looked like he was barely even breathing. “Shadow?”
Shadow’s ears went back, his eyes were shimmering. Oh god, Maria. He didn't even know where she was. Where did they take her? “Why?” was all he could manage to get out finally. Half asking why Sonic cared, and half wondering why this was happening. Why any of it happened. It wasn't fair. A lump formed in his throat.
Sonic went to reach for one of his hands but Shadow pushed himself as far against the passenger door as he could. He had the blanket in a vice grip.
“No, no I don't deserve that. I don't deserve any of it.” He shut his eyes tight, trying to will back the emotional pain surging through his chest. Breathing hurt.
Sonic looked back at his parents with a sad expression before trying to reach for Shadow again. “Yes you do, why do you think that you don't?”
Shadow didn't move. He couldn't move. Sonic managed to grab one of his hands, ignoring how sharp his claws were. “Shadow, answer me.”
Still nothing.
“SHADOW.” He shook him. Shadow's eyes finally snapped open. He snapped.
“BECAUSE I HURT HIM, I … I hurt you. I hurt her, I hurt your family.” He could feel hot tears pool in his eyes as he took a sharp breath, continuing before Sonic could interrupt. “I almost took him from you, I almost ruined everything for you. They … He’s … He's your ….” he found it harder and harder to talk, to breathe. He squeezed his eyes shut, causing the pooled up tears to run down his face.
Maddie elbowed Tom and he seemed to understand immediately. He threw the hazard lights on and pulled off to the side of the road. They both looked at Shadow, he sounded like he was fighting a panic attack.
Sonic squeezed his hand, “He's my what Shadow? Just breathe. What are you trying to say?” He didn't like seeing him like this. It was sinking in just how little he had been allowed to grieve. Then it hit him, oh no. Wait. He hasn't had any time to grieve. He was frozen as soon as it happened. Maria dying feels like it just happened. He was in fight or flight mode when he woke up. Now there is nothing to distract him. Now it was finally hitting him. Sonic squeezed his hand again.
Shadow shook his head and held his breath. His face contorted into a pained expression. It was overwhelming. Everything was overwhelming. He wanted to curl up into the blanket and stop existing. It wouldn't hurt if he just stopped existing. Why was he alive when she wasn't.
Maddie put a hand on his knee, “Shadow sweetheart, you need to breathe. Please breathe.”
He did at last, but it came out choked. He hated that noise. He sobbed. He hated that even more. He willed himself to answer Sonic's questions though. He owed them that at least. He inhaled and looked up directly at Tom. “You … you're … you're his Maria, and I almost took you away.” His body shook as more loud sobs escaped, and he buried his face into the blanket. “I did the same thing G.U.N. did.” His breathing was ragged as he tried to get in air between sobs. He hated doing this, but his body was refusing to listen now. He couldn't stop it. The dam had broken and there was no stopping it now. All he could do was cry.
Sonic couldn't take it anymore. Before anyone else could say anything, he grabbed Shadow by the quills again and yanked him into his arms. He held him as tight as he could.
Shadow just about wailed. “I’m sorry. I'm sorry. I almost ruined everything for you, and ... and you're still trying to help me and I … I don't understand why.” He took in a few more sharp breaths, “everything hurts. How do I get it to stop hurting? I just want it to stop.”
Now he was wailing, the heartbreaking cries made Sonic start to cry. He understood. He understood so, so well. He sniffled a little and buried his face into Shadow's quills. “I know it does Shadow, I know. I'm sorry. Just let it out. You have to let this out and it will start to hurt less. Let us help you and it will hurt less. I promise.” He couldn't help a few sobs from escaping. Hearing Shadow like this broke his heart, and reminded him of how he felt when he first got to earth.
Maddie and Tom had tears in their eyes too. Maddie put her arms around both hedgehogs and ran a hand through Shadow’s quills. “Your friend would want us to help you Shadow, and I bet she would want you to let us. So let us. It will be okay.” He somehow started crying even louder, only muffled by the blanket and Sonic's shoulder. Sonic also cried harder. Tom reached over and ran his good hand through Sonic's quills while Maddie kept petting Shadow's.
She looked at her husband, a determined look in her eyes. They were in silent agreement. Kid number four, this was kid number four. There was absolutely no way he was going anywhere else but back to their home. They weren't letting another alien kid grieve alone, they weren't there for Sonic after Longclaw died, or for Knuckles when he lost his family. They had to grieve alone. Shadow wasn't doing that, him and Maddie wouldn't let him. Tom moved his hand to Shadow's head. Finally he cleared his throat and spoke.
“You didn't take anyone away, Shadow. I'm okay, we are all okay. You didn't even know it was me. You thought it was Walters, and after everything I've learned I would probably have hit him too if I were you.”
Maddie let out a choked laugh, “If I ever see him again, I will hit him.”
Tom believed her. He wouldn't even try to stop her either. Hell, he would help. He spoke again. “Also Shadow, you saved us all in the end. Including Sonic, he told us that you pushed him out of the way. I think we're all even. So don't let what happened to me add to your turmoil, alright?”
Shadow nodded as best he could. His sobs started to quiet down at least. A few small ones still escaped but now he was mainly just trying to breathe. He really wanted to argue that he powered the eclipse canon to begin with, but he didn't have the energy to speak. He just wanted to breathe. Why was it so hard to breathe? Maddie began to talk him through it, instructing him to breathe with her. Nice and calm, counting down for each inhale and exhale. Sonic kept holding him. It seemed to work at least.
Tom started driving again now that Shadow wasn't wailing anymore, and he could focus back on the road. Him and Maddie were probably going to hear that in their sleep later. Shadow was getting hugged as often as possible as soon as he was comfortable with them.
He calmed down enough finally that he was just sniffling occasionally. Sonic pulled some tissues out of the glove box and blew his own nose before cleaning off Shadow's face a bit and holding one up to his nose. Shadow tried to open his mouth to apologize after, but nothing would come out. He just tucked his face into Sonic's neck. The blanket still clutched in his hands was damp and gross feeling now. He shivered again.
Sonic seemed to understand though. He adjusted the blanket around him before speaking. “You don't need to apologize. You're fine. … Oh god.” His voice had cracked. Shadow looked back up at him with his head tilted. Sonic just laughed. “Wow my voice is wrecked. Oops. Anyway, Shadow, as long as you're with us you can cry as much as you want. I mean it. Any time, just find one of us.” Shadow groaned at the thought, and dramatically put his head back on Sonic's shoulder. Once was enough.
Maddie pet behind one of Shadow's ears, then began to rub both his ears when she realized they were freezing. “He's right. You can be a terrifying little badass terrorist, and still cry when you need to. You're allowed to do both.”
Tom laughed as he turned into their driveway, “Well maybe not the terrorist part. But if one of us is in legitimate danger, you can maim. Just don't kill. Unless we say so, but we probably won't.”
Shadow let out a long sigh, but looked up at Tom and Maddie finally and gave a small smile. It was a sad smile, but still a smile. Everyone started to pile out of the truck. Maddie pried Shadow out of Sonic's embrace and held him again. He wanted to protest, but he was so tired and achy and sad. His anger was dissipating and leaving him with sadness instead. So he allowed her to adjust him in her arms and cover him with the blanket and carry him inside. As he rested his head on her shoulder, Maddie could hear him softly sniffle again a few times.
Once inside, Sonic got Shadow's other shoe off, and what was left of a very dirty burned sock, and placed both shoes by the door next to his own. He had to resist the urge to comment on how cute his feet were now that he could see them in the light. They were black, with the red stripe continuing down to two of his toes, but stopped there. His actual toes were white. The paw pads on the bottom of his feet were tan like his muzzle, but pink on his toes. His claws were entirely too long, but that could be fixed later.
Knuckles and Tails looked up from the couch as Maddie walked by, and Tom shushed them before they could react too loudly, he pointed at Ozzy and Knuckles held him back. Even though Shadow was mostly covered by the blanket, the other two instantly recognized the fur pattern on his legs and feet. Tails ears were back, clearly concerned about how bad the one leg looked.
"Is that the more impressive hedgehog? Is he alright?" Knuckles finally asked. He also noticed that it looked like everyone had been crying, but he didn't comment on it.
Maddie held Shadow tighter when she felt him tense up, "Yes, and he'll be fine, mostly just cold. I'm going to take him upstairs for a bath and a proper look at his leg. Go help Tom bring the groceries in and get dinner started since he still has his arm in a sling. He'll explain everything. You too, Sonic."
"Yeah, let me tell you both how Tom clearly shouldn't be driving yet and literally ran Shadow over with the truck." Sonic hoped they wouldn't comment on his voice.
Maddie could hear them bicker about it while she walked upstairs. She set Shadow down on the bathroom counter while she got the bath started. His eyes were still a bit wet and sad, but he looked calmer now, just exhausted. She cupped his face in her hands and brushed the stray tears off his muzzle. “You're breaking my heart here, do you want a hug while the tub fills?”
He looked up at her, ears back, and his eyes teared up more at the offer. She pulled him against her chest. He slowly returned the embrace. A few quiet sobs escaped, but ended as quickly as they started. Maybe letting a human hold him again wasn't so bad. Maybe this human was right and Maria would want him to accept this. He forgot how comforting it was.
Maddie let him go again after a few minutes and laughed while looking at his quills, "Gross, it's a good thing you're getting a bath. In addition to the blood and dirt on you, Sonic also got snot in your quills." She could see Shadow scowl up at the top of his head and touch his quills. His sad, grumpy face had no right being so cute. She grabbed some bottles and held them up to his face, "Which of these scents do you like better?"
He wiped the remaining tears off his face with his hand and titled his head as if to ask why. One of his ears flickered. He still couldn't talk, or well, he didn't want to talk. Hopefully Maddie wouldn't force him to like the scientists would.
She didn't seem concerned about it at all. In fact, she was too busy having an internal struggle to resist pinching his face, his confused head tilt was causing her cuteness aggression to kick in already. “I want you to like it, you should like how you smell.”
He slowly sniffed the bottles, and finally picked the lavender ones. He wrapped the blanket tighter around himself while she undid the makeshift splint and checked his leg.
"If you'll trust me, I would like to get this x-rayed tomorrow. Sonic can stay with you. You might need a cast."
He shook his head no and pointed at how the roadburn on his leg had already healed.
She sighed, “Right, you heal fast, faster than even Sonic it seems. Well, I'll keep it splinted for now but if there is no improvement in a few days, I'm taking you in. Deal? Now let's get you in the bath, I'm worried that you're still shaking so much.”
He wanted to tell her the reason he was so cold was because he burned up in the atmosphere before crashing into a snow covered mountain, but he couldn't. His brain really just didn't want him to speak yet. Who knows how he would sound anyway after crying like that. He made some hand gestures instead. Like something exploding, and then falling, and then pointed to himself hoping she would understand.
She stared at him for a moment before it clicked. "Oh. Are you trying to tell me you fell? The eclipse cannon? Shit. Did you fall all the way down to earth?” Shadow nodded at her and she suddenly seemed very, very alarmed. “How are you not burned up or more injured ... how are you even alive?!" She began to palpate him, ignoring how annoyed he seemed by it. She discovered some cracked ribs.
He mouthed out that he was okay, but she didn't believe him.
“No, you're definitely not okay. I really don't understand how you survived that.” She just pet his face.
Shadow shrugged, a bit too sadly. He didn't know either.
Maddie had an even sadder realization as she cupped his face again. “Sonic was right, you didn't want to survive that, did you?”
He didn't respond, but the look in his eyes said that he in fact, did not.
She picked him up and hugged him again for a moment, before bringing him over to the tub and lowering him down, “Well I'm glad you survived. You can't apologize or make up for your mistakes if you're dead. And Sonic would have kept singing sad rock songs on his guitar for you at that makeshift grave he made.”
He slowly sank down into the water, covering himself up to his chin. He looked up at her and mouthed out, ‘Why?”. Why did Sonic care so much?
She began to wash his quills and detangle them. She was a pro at this after having to help Sonic with his so often. “If you're asking why he did all that, we told you. He missed you. He hasn't stopped talking about you. The first thing he did when Tom woke up was tell him about what you two did. It was a bit funny to see Tom's face over his son gushing about the guy who tried to kill him. I’m actually starting to think he has some sort of crush on you."
Shadow made a face at her suggesting Sonic would like him like that. Clearly, this woman was just stupid. He shook his head. He allowed himself to finally relax though. The bath was so very warm. His bones were aching less. He could feel his tail softly thump against the bottom of the tub as she washed his quills and scrubbed his head, at least until something fell out of his quills and startled them both. He slowly lifted a green gemstone out of the water. He just stared at it, how did he not even realize it was there? How messed up were his quills?
Maddie laughed, "Oh my god, that's where the last one has been. They've been looking for days. Knuckles will bear hug you when he finds out it's safe."
Shadow made a face again at the idea of that as well.
She went back to detangling his quills and scrubbing his head, "You know, you'll have to get used to them all since you'll be staying here now."
He scowled in protest. He tried to mouth out that he hadn't actually decided on that yet, but she happened to scratch his head in just the right spot as he went to open his mouth, and a purr mixed with a clicking sound escaped instead. He looked a bit surprised by the noise, as did she.
Maddie grabbed his face and laughed, “oh my god you're as adorable as Sonic when he's relaxed. And don't look at me like that. You're cute and I'm going to keep reminding you that you are.” She gently poked his nose and went back to work. He couldn't even make himself be angry about it. Humans were usually afraid of him, calling him a monster, but here this one was calling him adorable instead. Maria did that too. It could be worse.
“And just so we're clear,” she began with a more serious tone, “you're staying here. Where would you even stay if not here anyway? This is the safest place from G.U.N.. Any weird energy outputs and we can just blame it on Sonic. Unless you want to live outside. During the winter. It gets very cold here." She knew if he was like Sonic, he would hate that level of cold. It was November and it was coming soon.
Shadow shivered at the thought, and nodded his head in agreement. Why she insisted after he almost killed her husband, though, was still strange. They were all strange. He really was starting to think they all had brain damage. He relaxed again though. He tried not to think about how his tail was wagging again or that he was purring a bit. He was trusting her far faster than he should, but she was treating him how Maria did so it was hard not to trust her. He was sad and if he couldn't have his sister, then maybe this was the next best thing.
"You know,” Maddie began again, "Tom and I don't think you're a bad kid, Shadow. You're just, well, a teenager.” She laughed sadly at that realization. “A very traumatized one at that. And we probably don't even know half of it yet. So you deserve a second chance. Besides, Sonic wouldn't forgive us if we didn't try. Especially after what happened in the truck. I don't like to think about it, but he could have easily ended up like you. So we're helping you and that's that. No more arguments. Okay?”
He sighed and mouthed out ‘Fine.’ It was clearly going to take some work to get him to feel like he deserved kindness. He rested his head on the side of the tub while she finished washing his back, then she let him do the rest. She slipped out to get some clean socks and gloves for him.
Once he was finished, she wrapped him in a big towel and placed him back by the sink. She put a proper splint on his leg after she blow dried and brushed him as much as he would allow before getting overwhelmed by the noise. She attempted to at least clip his toenails, but his quills completely puffed out when she picked up the clippers and she decided against it. They weren't digging into the pads yet, so it could wait. She instead put some socks on him first, then held up the gloves. “Do you want these on? It would help warm you up. Sonic doesn't wear this pair, so if your claws go through them it's fine.”
He looked at his hands for a moment before shrugging and putting them on. He didn't care about wearing gloves, but his hands were getting cold again so he took them. His claws did just about go through them, but they were warm. He very softly whispered out, “Thank you”. He could at least make himself say that. And he was right, his voice did sound awful. Even worse than Sonic's.
Maddie noticed too, but just smiled. She picked him up again, he wasn't fighting her anymore at least. He just wrapped his arms around her neck. “I’ll make you something for your throat. It's probably pretty raw.”
He nodded and rested his head on her. He couldn't help but yawn. Maddie made a mental note about how sharp his teeth were, not quite as similar to Sonic as they first assumed. She thought about suggesting taking him to bed as they entered the hallway, but the smell of food downstairs seemed to wake him up, especially his stomach. His nose twitched as his ears perked forward and flickered, so she descended down the stairs instead.
Tails and Knuckles were sitting at the table. Sonic had been telling them what happened and to be nice to Shadow since he was still processing losing Maria. No one actually fully understood who Maria was besides being Gerald's granddaughter that Shadow was friends with, but that could be asked about another day. Sonic hadn't planned to tell the other two the part about the breakdown, but Tails asked why they looked like they had all been crying. Sonic tried to deny it, but then they just pointed out how his voice sounded. Of course they noticed.
“Okay, fine we were. So what.” he cringed at his voice still betraying him. “I accidentally brought up Maria, and that seemed to break him. It was sad, so we all cried a little with him. It's fine. We're fine.” Tails wrapped his tails around Sonic to comfort him. He could see how sad he still looked about it.
Tom groaned from the kitchen and sat down with them for a moment. “It was hard not to honestly, he was wailing, loudly, which made this one also start. I had to pull the truck over.”
“I didn't wail, I barely sniffled. And only because I know how he feels.” Sonic leaned against Tails.
Knuckles sighed, “I understand his pain as well. I did something similar when I realized my family wasn't returning home. The superior hedgehog is welcome here. I'll help him through this too. Grieving alone is hard.”
Tom got up and hugged him. Knuckles looked up at him confused. “You alright donut lord?”
Tom laughed sadly, “Yes, I don't think Shadow is ready for me to hug him, so I'm going to hug you instead, big guy.” He didn't even want to think about Knuckles making the same sounds Shadow was making. He would start bawling if he did. He hated that these kids had been through so much. And Tails was basically abandoned, which was a different kind of heartbreaking.
Everyone went in for a group hug upon seeing how sad Tom looked. Sonic was relieved they all were okay with Shadow staying. Knuckles even commented after that he wanted a rematch once the black hedgehog was healed. By the time they heard footsteps down the stairs, they were now less sad and were talking about what they wanted for dessert.
When Maddie walked into the dining room still holding him, Tom couldn't help but laugh, "Oh my god, he gets even fluffier than Sonic does. He doesn't look as small now."
She smiled at him, "Right? And look at these cute little ear tufts too. He's more Maine Coon cat than he is hedgehog. I keep grabbing his little face. Thank god he doesn't seem to mind because his teeth look very sharp."
Shadow scowled as one of his ears twitched, clearly offended at being compared to a cat again. Maria used to do it too. He never understood, but she was right, he didn't mind the aggressive affection. At least from her anyway. Only her. He had hurt her husband, so if the worst thing she was going to do was grab his face or call him cute, then he really couldn't complain. She ignored the scowl he was making and carefully sat him down on a chair beside Tails.
Sonic brought over a glass of water. “Dude, you look exhausted, maybe I should have brought you coffee.” Shadow just shrugged, trying not to look at the rest of the colorful trio yet.
Maddie smiled, “Water is fine, you read my mind Sonic. Drink some water Shadow. I'll heat up some bone broth for you too. When was the last time you ate anything? What was it?”
He drank the whole glass, faster than he probably should have and coughed a little. He looked deep in thought for a moment after, unsure how to actually communicate the answers to her questions.
“Still don't want to talk? That's fine. Tom, can you bring over the little whiteboard we keep on the fridge?” While she wasn't qualified to diagnose fluffy alien teenagers, she knew selective mutism was common with emotional and physical abuse so she wasn't going to push him to speak. Considering he was basically a science experiment, she was betting he probably experienced both.
“Sure,” he pulled it off the fridge, with the marker, and brought it to the table. “Why isn't he talking? Is he alright?” He placed his hand on top of Shadow's head, ruffling gently. “You good, kiddo?” Shadow nodded, still a little tense around Tom, but he seemed genuine enough.
“I think it's just an emotional thing. Can you write Shadow?” She hoped those bastards in that lab at least taught him something useful.
He nodded again and started to write something, then handed it back to her. His handwriting was a bit shaky, but easy enough to read.
She smiled at him and began reading it out loud, “‘Popcorn. 50 years ago’ …. wait … WHAT.” She looked very alarmed now.
Sonic choked on the glass of water he had gotten for himself upon hearing Shadow's response. “I should have guessed that was his answer. Jeez, did the Eggmen or Stone not feed you?” Tom patted Sonic's back as he coughed some more.
Shadow started writing something else, but seemed to be struggling with spelling it out.
Maddie spoke while she waited for him to figure it out, “Shit, no, no they had to have given him some sort of nutrients. Right? Or is this a Steve Rogers situation?” She looked at Tails as she asked that.
“Uh, if you want a simple answer, then yes. He was in a form of frozen animation. Stasis. At least that's what I gathered since he looks like he's Sonic's age still.” He looked a bit concerned though, as did Knuckles.
Shadow sighed, giving up, and handed the whiteboard to Sonic this time since he was answering his question.
“‘Stone tried to make me revenge gack? guack? It's green, I think he mentioned avakados? I know I'm spelling those wrong so get that look off your face or I'll hit you.’” Sonic just laughed, “wow, your grumpiness comes through when you write too. Wait, do you mean guacamole? What is 'revenge guac'? Is it just made with bitterness instead of love?”
Maddie couldn't help but cackle, “Sonic, don't be a brat, my god.” Tom laughed as well and called him a smartass while very aggressively ruffling his quills, Sonic playfully swatted at him.
Shadow huffed as Tails rolled his eyes, and Knuckles laughed and asked, “What is the guac? Is it good?”
Maddie stood up and sighed, “I can make some for movie night on Saturday.” Then she looked back at Shadow. “Ugh. 50 years. No wonder you're so thin, your muscles and joints must be bothering you too. You shouldn't even be able to walk or fight. Okay well one thing at a time, you're only having liquids tonight until I can figure out if solid food will make you sick or not.”
Shadow nodded and took the whiteboard and wrote something else.
She looked at what he wrote. “‘Whatever you're willing to give me will be fine. Thank you.’ Ugh why are you so polite too. I can't.” She aggressively kissed his forehead and went to the kitchen to heat up some soup and Tom followed. The pasta he was baking was just about done.
Shadow made an annoyed face as she did so, but his tail betrayed him by wagging slightly against the rungs of the chair. The other three definitely noticed because they were all smiling at him and snickering a little. He glared at them to keep quiet.
Sonic just laughed, “Tom I think you're probably good to hug him if he’s letting Maddie kiss his head. He's already a mama's boy.”
Shadow growled and gave him a more piercing glare, but it was ignored. The audacity to be teasing him right now after he cried on him the way he did. Or maybe he deserved the teasing because of that. He wasn't sure.
Tom chuckled from the kitchen, “That's alright, I'll wait until my arm is out of this sling so I can give him a proper Wachowski welcome home bear hug.”
Shadow winced at the thought. Until he was very suddenly jolted out of his thoughts when a cold nose went into his side and then barked. He was pretty sure his soul left his body for a moment. He nearly lept out of the chair. He hissed before he even realized he was doing it. Not a small one either, a loud, guttural, full body hiss. His quills completely puffed out. The offending creature didn’t even seem phased and just wagged its tail at him. The nerve. Was he intimidating to anyone in this house?
Sonic couldn't help but double over laughing as Tom and Maddie ran back in. “Oh my god, Ozzy scared him. You should have seen his face. And he hissed.”
Knuckles joined in on the laughter too. “Maybe he is part feline.”
“Tails you should DNA test one of his quills.” Sonic added.
Tails giggled, “Only if he wants me too. This is Ozzy by the way, Shadow. He's a dog, but not like us. He's a pet. He won't hurt you.”
Shadow wrote something else down and held it up.
Sonic read it out loud, “‘He smells’. Wow rude, you didn't smell much better like an hour ago. I know, my face was in your quills.”
Shadow could hear Tom cackle behind him as he as huffed and slowly pet the dogs head. Okay the dog wasn't so bad. Then suddenly he jumped up and licked Shadow's face. Okay that he absolutely did not like. Gross. His quills puffed back out.
Maddie joined in with the laughter this time, “Sorry Shadow, that's just how he says hello. Ozzy, come get your dinner and leave the poor kid alone. His face looks more disgusted then when we try to feed Sonic a vegetable.”
Shadow watched the dog follow her and Tom back into the kitchen, he was attempting to get the slobber off his face when Tails got his attention again.
“Oh by the way, I noticed your shoes by the door. They look really cool. Want me to fix them up for you? They look a little burnt up. Where did you get them? How do they work?” He had gotten closer with each question.
Shadow looked a little overwhelmed, but slowly, he tilted his head.
Knuckles caught on to Shadow's body language and pulled Tails back properly into his seat and gave him a stern look. “Ask one question at a time, Fox.”
“Oh sorry.” He laughed a little, his two tails swaying behind him. “They looked important to you, so I wanted to ask.”
Shadow sighed and began writing everything down on the whiteboard. Finally he handed it to the fox.
Tails read it to everyone. “‘They are important. Maria made them for me. I power the jets with my chaos energy. You can fix them if you want to, but why do you want to?’” Tails thought for a moment, then just smiled at him, "Well, Sonic trusts you so I will too, and you saved us all so you can't be that bad. Therefore, I want to help you." Knuckles nodded in agreement.
Shadow just blinked at him. Then he took the whiteboard back and wrote something else. He looked frustrated.
Tails read what wrote, "’I kicked you and threw a car at you.’”
Knuckles laughed, "That was nothing for me and my muscles. Besides, when I first met the fox, he hit me with a police car. It's practically tradition at this point."
Shadow looked surprised, and more confused.
"I was trying to kill the less impressive hedgehog. I even put a hole through that wall." He laughed as he said this and pointed at Sonic. "The fox was protecting him."
"Dude, just say our names. You know our names. And that's nothing. Tom shot me when we first met." Sonic finally fully settled into his seat on the other side of Shadow.
Shadow just slowly looked over at Tom, who was carrying some food in, using his cast like an oven mitt, much to Maddie’s annoyance. "With a tranquilizer gun! No bullets. Jeez. Sonic, please stop leaving that part out." He carefully set the baked ziti down on the center of the table. Sonic laughed while picking some cheese off the side of the dish.
"The fuck is wrong with your family, Sonic?" Shadow finally commented, he looked bewildered. He realized he had actually spoken. His voice sounded so bad. His ears went back a bit as he coughed and rubbed his throat.
They all laughed at his response. Tom put a hand on Shadow's shoulder, "Well, maybe now you can see why I don't hold a grudge for you punching me. I'm pretty used to this kind of chaos. Man your voice is rough though. Maddie is bringing your soup over now. It should help.”
Shadow still thought they were all a bit crazy, but he stopped fighting it. Especially when two mugs were placed in front of him.
“This one is just bone broth, and this one is broth with some roasted vegetables blended in. Should be more filling. Drink them slowly. Let me know if you feel sick at all. You're probably fine being … you … but I want to be careful anyway.” Maddie squeezed his hand before sitting down.
He slowly drank them both while everyone else talked to each other and ate their food. Sonic snuck some warm, gooey cheese off his pasta into one of the soup mugs. Shadow raised an eyebrow but very happily ate it. He had no idea what it was, but it was nice with the soup.
Maddie sighed, but couldn't even will herself to lecture them because it was incredibly cute. She knew these two were going to be insufferable at some point with their rivalry, so why not enjoy the adorable comradery for now. She caved as well and gave Shadow a small piece of bread to dip in his soup.
The conversations continued and Shadow just continued to observe, tilting his head occasionally when he didn't understand something. No one was sure if he was even aware he was doing it.
Tom just couldn't help himself, “Does it make more sense at a 45 degree angle, bud?”
Maddie snorted and slapped his arm while Shadow just tilted his head the other way, “What?” He was definitely completely unaware he was doing it. His ear twitched again at the same time.
Sonic laughed, "Shads, my dude, you tilt your head whenever you're confused about something. That also doesn't help the cute thing. Even I think that's a bit adorable. Why is your ear doing that?"
Shadow scowled and swatted at him when he tried to touch his ear, "Stop calling me cute, I am not cute. I am the ultimate lifeform." Except his voice cracked, and he did not actually feel like the ultimate lifeform at the moment.
Sonic snickered and Maddie burst out laughing before stopping, "Oh my god, oh. … Tom, I think he's serious. … Of course you are, honey."
Shadow growled, but she didn't seem phased. "Okay one, growl at me again and I will pinch your grumpy little face. Two, you know if you are in fact the ultimate lifeform, then you would be the best at everything, including being adorable. Yes?"
Shadow slowly relaxed and stared at her for a moment as he seriously contemplated her words. "I suppose I can't argue with that. Fine."
Sonic huffed and faked being offended, "Are you implying that you think he's cuter than me? Mom."
Knuckles laughed loudly, "Well, he clearly is the superior hedgehog."
Sonic actually looked offended now as everyone laughed. Even Shadow smiled a little. His ego was happy that he was still considered superior, despite his current state.
After dinner, Shadow got Knuckle's attention and slowly handed him the missing emerald, "I was told this belongs to you."
Knuckles looked beyond surprised and thrilled, "The last one! It is not lost forever after all! I will visit Wade tomorrow and reform the Master Emerald." He went to hug Shadow.
Shadow quickly put his hands up, "No, no, broken ribs. Hug Sonic instead in my place"
Before Sonic could register what was happening, he was pulled into a bone crushing hug. Literally you could hear them cracking. Sonic groaned. "Please let me go, I'm not dying like this."
Knuckles laughed and put him down, "Don't be so dramatic blue hedgehog. This is the best news we have had all week! We can continue our pact to protect the emerald. Thank you, Shadow.”
Shadow gave him a small smile before Sonic interrupted, "What, you can't call me by my name. Why are you so weird?"
Before Knuckles could respond, Shadow got off the chair, using it to support his weight so he could keep his leg off the ground. He flicked Sonic's forehead, "He probably does it because you get so worked up. You're an easy target.”
"Wow, rude. I am not ... wait" Sonic suddenly realized how much shorter Shadow looked. He grinned ear to ear, "Oh my god, am I taller than you? Aren't you older than me?"
Shadow scowled, "Absolutely not ... okay, maybe. Barely. Fuck off.” He wanted to deny it, but Sonic was in fact just a little bit taller.
Sonic just laughed as Shadow started to pout. "I told you pouting also makes you look cute. Especially combined with the ear twitch.”
Shadow covered his ears and growled at both Sonic and Knuckles, who was also laughing loudly. Even Tails laughed a little but kept some distance.
Maddie and Tom interrupted them before the bickering got any louder, especially since Shadow was starting to spark. "Okay, enough picking on each other for one night, go settle in the living room, we'll play some games before bed.”
Maddie approached Shadow, “Not you, no walking for you half pint.” She scooped Shadow back up. He was still covering his ears and looked even more grumpy. She smiled at him though and poked his nose.
He made a face at her, but removed his hands from his ears. “Why is he taller than me?”
She laughed, “Because you need to eat to grow. Real food, not whatever bullshit they probably gave you at that lab 50 years ago. Also probably genetics. Humans are also different heights.”
“Fine, I will eat whatever food you give me then.” He looked determined. Sonic was not winning this.
“Well, if you don't like something, please don't force yourself. You absorb more nutrients from foods you enjoy eating.” She walked him over to the couch, then sighed. “Sonic move, let him have the cozier corner.”
Sonic huffed, “We can share, he looks all fluffy and soft now anyway.” He patted the couch cushion he was sitting on. He looked absolutely determined to see how much cuddling Shadow would allow in one day while he was this tired.
Maddie sighed and moved to put him down, but Shadow hooked his claws into her shirt. Yep, they did in fact go through the gloves finally. Shadow glared at Sonic. Maddie wondered if he had hit his limit.
Sonic pouted, “oh come on, Hot Topic, you didn't mind in the truck. I literally held you. Just come here.” He was definitely pushing his luck, he had that trademark mischievous grin on his face.
Maddie rolled her eyes and was about to make Sonic move when Shadow spoke.
“On one condition, never mention my height again.” He looked dead serious. Serious enough he wasn't even asking about the nickname he didn't understand. Maddie cackled a bit at the fact that Shadow wasn't opposed to more cuddling, he was just still mad about being called short.
Sonic smiled, his tail rapidly going behind him and hitting the couch. “Okay! Deal.” He put his arms out.
Shadow rolled his eyes this time, and allowed Maddie put him down. She put a blanket over them and went back to the kitchen as Sonic pulled Shadow tightly against him.
Sonic looked thrilled. “I finally get to cuddle another hedgehog. Even if he is the most grumpy one ever.”
“Don't make me regret this, you blue idiot.” Shadow let himself relax into it though. He truthfully didn't mind. He was finding himself to be incredibly touch starved, he just wasn't about to admit that. This was a good compromise.
Maddie returned with a tray of mugs of cocoa and tea, along with a package of oreos. She let everyone take their mugs, and then handed one to Shadow. “That is camomile tea, with some honey. It should help you relax and help your throat.” She looked at everyone else. “So what should we play? Probably UNO? Sonic won't have to move for that. And watching Tom struggle with one arm might be funny.”
Tom laughed, “Wow, why do you want me to suffer suddenly?”
She kissed his cheek as she sat on the floor beside him, “because you're a smartass, and you let something that small and adorable one hit KO you.”
He looked back at Shadow, who was now fully cuddled into Sonic and drinking his tea peacefully. “Yeah, that's fair.”
Knuckles laughed, “Don't feel bad, he also did that to me. Twice.”
“Three times actually.” Shadow spoke, smirking a bit. “I also scared you at the base and then knocked you out.”
Tails laughed, and started shuffling the Uno deck. “That's right, how did he get you Knuckles? We never asked.”
“It was a close fight, but he had the advantage with it being so dark.”
Shadow scoffed, “Close? Please. I snuck up behind him and said boo. He then screamed and I punched him in the face. It wasn't close at all.”
Sonic laughed as Knuckles huffed a bit, “oh man. Don't feel bad, big guy, he pinned me down, said he was tired of giving me warnings, whatever edgy bullshit that meant, and then threw me by my quills. Wait, what did you do to Tails?”
Knuckles looked concerned, “Hedgehog, did you hurt him?”
“No, relax. I scared him and Stone and then they just surrendered when I made a motion to hit them. Why are you babying him though? Don't take him on missions if you don't want him to fight.”
Tails smiled, “Wow finally someone might take me seriously around here. Besides, I got back at him by flooding the crab.”
Shadow rolled his eyes, “Don't think that means you are any bit of a challenge, I just won't treat you differently than the other two.”
Tails gave the UNO deck one last shuffle, “I'm pretty sure you just insulted all three of us, but I'm going to take it as a good thing anyway.”
Sonic laughed, “I don't know why he's acting so confident still. I think Ozzy could take him in his current state.” Ozzy looked up briefly from his dog bed by the window, and then went back to sleep.
“I'll take you all on tomorrow, I can still win even with a broken leg.” Shadow went back to drinking his tea again. He liked it more than he expected to. It was sweet, but in a pleasant floral way.
Maddie and Tom both sighed together. “Can we even stop them from sparring? He might end up in a full cast.” Tom glanced at the hedgehogs, wondering how long they would sit peacefully together.
Maddie snickered, “or one of the others might. Oh god, four superpowered kids, and three are teenagers. We must be crazy.”
Knuckles laughed and banged his fist on the coffee table, rattling the mugs. “I accept your challenge hedgehog.”
Shadow startled at the noise and choked on the last of his tea, getting some on his face. He glared at Knuckles as Maddie took his empty mug and set it on the floor. “I will fight you first then, Echidna.”
Sonic laughed, and then just stared at Shadow’s muzzle where he was unsuccessfully trying to lick the tea off. Instincts took over. Knuckles and Tails had a hunch about what he was about to do, but everyone else did not. Sonic grabbed Shadow and ran his tongue across his face. He licked the drops of tea off before anyone could process what he was doing.
Shadow just slowly turned to look at him with an incredibly confused face. Sonic's face went red, or as red as it could with his fur. “... Did I really just do that? Why did I do that?" He wanted to die. Why did he just lick Shadow, and why did he let him.
Shadow just blinked at him a few times, “What was that?” His voice a slightly higher pitch than normal. He didn't know what was worse, being licked again, or the fact that he didn't mind Sonic doing it. Not that he was ever going to admit it.
Sonic hid his face in his hands, “We’re just going to call it a weird hedgehog thing and not mention it again.” Shadow just slowly nodded in agreement and settled back into the couch.
Tails giggled, “I mean it was. You just tried to groom him. It means you like him a lot. Gross.” He giggled more. Knuckles laughed. Sonic groaned in even more embarrassment.
Maddie seemed to finally process what just happened, and grabbed Tom and shook him, “shut the fuck up, that's so cute. You groom each other like cats?”
Tom laughed at her, “Maddie, jeez language.”
“Let me have my cuteness aggression, Tom. He tried to kill you, so I get to call him adorable all I want. That's the deal.” She looked completely serious. Shadow didn't even protest.
Tails interrupted them. “I've been ready to deal the cards out for like five minutes. Can we play now?”
Knuckles pounded his fists on the coffee table again, “Yes enough weirdness. Let us play UNO already.” Sonic was so glad Tails had gotten impatient enough to bring attention back to the game and off him and Shadow. He was almost regretting cuddling with him. Almost.
Tails passed the cards around. Shadow ended up holding Sonic's cocoa for him during the first round so he could hold his cards and explain the rules to him. Sonic also snuck Shadow a cookie while Maddie was distracted choosing a card to play after Tom made her have to pick up four cards.
She turned around just in time to see Shadow nibble at the cookie in Sonic's hand. “Stop being so adorable when my back is turned. And don't give him that whole thing, I'm trying to ease him back to solid food.”
Sonic rolled his eyes, “ugh fine buzzkill. Sorry Shads. No oreos for you.” He stuffed the rest of the cookie into his own mouth and finished off his cocoa.
“It's fine, a little too sweet for me anyway.” He played a few rounds after Sonic explained the rules, he even won one. He adjusted himself against Sonic and slowly drifted off a little as they played a few more rounds after that, the laughter and occasional shouts didn't even bother him. He could get used to this maybe. Eventually everyone was instructed to get ready for bed when Maddie saw both hedgehogs yawn almost in unison, Sonic absentmindedly petting Shadow's quills.
This time Sonic carried Shadow to the bathroom, he was far too tired to protest. He handed him his own toothbrush and showed him what to do. Shadow was happy to get to wash his face finally after being licked twice. Sonic also took advantage of Shadow’s groggy state by convincing him to let him shorten his nails a little that were sticking out from the gloves. Shadow woke up a bit more, remembering how the scientists used to cut his nails without caring if it hurt him or not, but relaxed when he saw Sonic hold up a file and not clippers. Sonic also took off Shadows socks and filed the claws on his toes as well, smiling at his work.
“Why are you looking at my feet like that you weirdo.” He had to resist kicking him in the face.
Sonic laughed, “You have cool fur patterns, my feet are just blue and tan. The pink toe beans are way too cute for your personality though.”
Shadow did finally kick him with his good leg. Not hard though considering he was fighting falling asleep sitting there.
Sonic gave him a playful shove back before helping him get his socks back on and carried him upstairs. Sonic tucked him in beside him, while Tails and Knuckles crawled into their own beds. Sonic pulled him close, Shadow was pretty sure Sonic just wanted to keep a hold of him so he wouldn't chaos control himself out of there in the middle of the night. He did consider it briefly, but he also felt safe and warm for the first time in a very long time. And he let himself finally rest.