Chapter Text
The joints of your spine almost creaked when you bent to reach for a paper towel that had drifted to the floor. Behind your back, sitting at the dining room table, Shadow's ears perked forward, and he paused, mid-coffee-sip. You pressed your free hand on your lower back and sighed as you stood.
The bacon on the stove sizzled angrily at being neglected, and you quickly flipped them.
"Back bothering you?" A deep voice asked, and you winced.
"Not much," you lied, spine aching even as you braced the heel of your palm against the counter. You balled the dirty paper towel and tossed it toward the trash can, but it bounced off its edge. "Damn."
The silence stretched as you set a clean paper towel onto a plate. As soon as the bacon finished cooking, you scooped them up with the flimsy spatula — Shadow had offered to replace it forever ago, but you'd declined — and set them onto the paper towel, which soaked up the grease.
It suddenly felt as though a bolt of electricity shot up your spine, and your breath caught. You tensed but otherwise remained completely still, not wanting to set off the hedgehog that was still watching you very closely. With a deep breath, you set more strips of bacon on the hot pan.
"Enough," Shadow spoke, standing from his seat. "Go lie down. I will finish cooking."
"Shadow, the last time I let you cook, you permanently charred my counter," you said, gesturing to the black scar on the white marble. "I'm fine."
"It was you who told me that it's okay to need help."
"Yes! And I'm right!" You said quickly, not wanting Shadow to take backward steps on his progress toward emotional vulnerability. "Just... let me finish?"
"There's no need to be stubborn," Shadow said, "but fine. However, once you finish, you're resting."
"Fine, fine," you said. Although you wished you could get away with starting the apartment's necessary chores after finishing breakfast, you knew Shadow better than that. "But only if you keep me company."
"If I must," Shadow spoke solemnly, but you recognized it as an attempt at humor and laughed.
A comfortable silence stretched as you finished cooking the last of the bacon. You served it on the side of some eggs you'd cooked earlier - sunny side up, per Shadow's request - and placed the plate of warm food in front of Shadow.
"Thank you," he said with a nod, still eyeing you.
"You can thank me by not treating me like I'm fragile," you said, smiling to assure him that you weren't truly upset.
"You are anything but," Shadow said, raising his coffee mug to his lips. "I'm simply making sure you aren't damaging yourself."
"Damaging myself," you muttered.
After making yourself a plate of breakfast, you joined Shadow at the table. You exchanged a mostly one-sided conversation about your plans for the day, and were relieved to learn that Shadow had the day free. You recommended that you both go out and have fun, but Shadow declined, claiming he needed to rest his social battery. Nodding, you crunched on your slightly overcooked bacon.
Shadow always ate faster than you, so you were used to his habit of staring you down until you finished. You purposefully ate your last bite very slowly, just to tease him.
"Alright, you're finished. Come," Shadow said, standing.
"Barely," you said through a mouthful of eggs.
Shadow tugged on your arm. It was such a gentle pull that if you hadn't moved with him, you wouldn't have budged. He guided you toward the bedroom and flicked the light switch off. With only a few weak streams of sunlight to guide you, you were led to the bed.
"Lie on your stomach," Shadow said.
"Can I ask why?"
"No."
With a roll of your eyes, you crawled onto the bed. Halfway through, you paused to stare.
Shadow had stripped himself of his gloves, revealing the red stripes that continued past his wrist and enveloped two fingers. His black claws — blunted after too many nicks to your face — shone in the glow from the cracked curtains.
No matter how many times you'd seen them, you never got tired of it. Not only because of their appearance, but because of the silent meaning. Mobians only showed their bare hands to those they truly trusted.
"Lie down completely," Shadow said, fingers twitching with embarrassment.
You smiled at him and plopped down onto the mattress. The soft atmosphere quickly snuffed when you groaned, the rough movement jostling your sore back.
A hand rested on your upper spine, and you tensed.
Without a word, Shadow very, very gently ground his thumb into the muscle directly beside your spine. A shudder wracked through you, and your face pressed into the bed. A soft groan escaped you, and you would have felt embarrassed if Shadow hadn't continued without missing a beat.
The touch was incredibly light, as though Shadow were afraid of hurting you, but it still felt heavenly. The very slight scraping of his claws, the pads on his thumbs, and the pressing of his heel all contributed to you melting into the mattress. Your lagging brain finally caught up with you for a few moments, long enough for fluttering anxiety to kick in.
"You don't have to do this," you mumbled into the sheets. When a long moment passed, you almost thought he hadn't heard you somehow, but then he sighed.
"This is helping with your pain, isn't it?"
"Yes," you said slowly.
"Then why should I stop?"
"Uh..." You hummed delightfully at a particularly rough press of his thumb. Shadow seemed to be making it his mission to keep your brain from functioning, with the way he was increasing his pressure, but you needed to voice your concern. "Because you don't get anything out of it?"
At that, Shadow paused. When you subtly frowned, he started up again.
"You could use that very argument against making me breakfast this morning. Why did you make me a plate if you got nothing from it?"
Shadow adjusted his form, pressing his hard knuckle into your muscle. It hurt in such a good way, and you groaned. You could feel Shadow's smug smile without having to turn and look at him.
"Because..." you mumbled, falling quiet as you melted into putty, allowing Shadow to do with you as he pleased. The pain of your spine slowly ebbed, and a soft whine slipped through your lips. "Because I love you?"
Again, Shadow paused, but he wasted less time before resuming.
"Mhm," Shadow hummed, and you knew him well enough to understand that that was his way of saying it back. "Exactly."
You'd expected the pampering to end after half an hour. Anybody's hands would tire after that long, even Shadow's. However, every time you tried to reluctantly end the massage, Shadow shoved your head back into the mattress and wordlessly continued. Even an hour later, after you'd expressed that your back no longer hurt, Shadow simply moved on to massage other parts of your body. His hands squeezed and rubbed at your shoulders, and a low hum rose in your throat.
"You're such..." Shadow moved onto your upper arms, and you sighed happily. "You're such a good boyfriend."
Shadow huffed, and you smiled. You gently grasped Shadow's hand and turned to look at him. Although it was impossible to see if he was blushing beneath his thick, black fur, you could tell by his slightly furrowed eyebrows that he was feeling shy.
"Let me return the favor," you said, moving to sit up. Again, Shadow shoved you back down.
"Please. As if I need anything from you."
You frowned, and Shadow paused.
"Did that not come out right?"
"Don't think so, babe."
"Ah." Shadow focused back on his work, gently massaging your forearms. "What I meant by that was... You don't need to do anything for me. I am content the way we are."
"But I want to make you happy. Can't I do that?"
"I..."
You stared at Shadow over your shoulder, and he slowed to a stop.
"If... it would make you happy, then... I suppose I could indulge you. What is it that you want to do?" Shadow asked, sitting on the bed and resting his hands in his lap.
"To return the favor, obviously," You said, sitting up. You braced to be shoved down again, but when Shadow only raised an eyebrow at you, you relaxed.
"Don't push your luck."
"How about... only for fifteen minutes?"
"Five."
"Ten?"
"Fine," Shadow grumbled.
"Stop being so stiff," you said, teasingly poking Shadow's tense shoulder. "Lie on your stomach. No, you cannot ask why."
Shadow rolled his eyes, but he couldn't suppress a small smirk.
After some maneuvering, you now sat beside Shadow, who rested on his stomach, his head on his folded arms. Your joints felt as though they were floating after Shadow's heavenly massage, but you still cracked your knuckles for dramatic effect. You rested your hands on Shadow's lower back, and you felt the muscles beneath your palm stiffen.
"Ready?" You asked.
"For a massage?" Shadow asked with a huff. "Yes."
Although you'd only massaged a select few people in your life, you willed all your lackluster skills to come together to make this a good experience for Shadow. You doubt that he'd ever had a massage before, and you were determined to make him want more. Just the idea of Shadow shyly approaching you to ask for another massage had you smiling from ear to ear. So, you repeatedly pressed your thumbs into the stiff muscles of Shadow's back, carefully avoiding his quills.
After a few minutes of complete silence, Shadow groaned.
You opened your mouth to tease him, but when he shot a glare over his shoulder, you quickly snapped it shut.
The more time that passed, the noisier Shadow became. Finally, exactly at the nine-minute mark, Shadow abruptly sat up, waving your roaming hands away.
"Enough, enough," he said, breathless.
"But we aren't finished!" You argued, glancing at the clock. "You agreed to one more minute!"
"Yes, well, I've changed my mind," Shadow muttered, turning away. His shoulders were hunched, and he avoided looking you in the eye. You lowered your hands and sighed.
"Shadow," you cooed, and Shadow deflated slightly. "Please don't tell me you're embarrassed that you enjoyed it."
"I'm not-" Shadow cut himself off when he turned to look at you, and he sighed. "I'm not... embarrassed. I'm only trying to keep whatever dignity I have left."
"I promise you haven't lost any dignity." You placed a hand on Shadow's shoulder. "But, if that's what you want, then we'll end this here for now, yeah? Get our lazy day started?" You said, scooting closer so you could nudge against Shadow. Shadow leaned into your presence. "Just promise you'll let me finish that single minute up sometime, yeah?"
Shadow scoffed, smiling.
"Fine. Yes. I agree."
You placed a kiss on Shadow's cheek, and he turned his head to steal a kiss from your lips. You hummed against his mouth, and you felt him smiling against you.
"You know how I feel toward you, right?" Shadow whispered, and you quickly slammed forward to kiss him harder. As soon as you'd pulled away, Shadow returned the favor by pressing kisses to your cheeks. "Good."