¿Him or Her? {Sonadow}

Chapter Ten

__Shadow tried to keep his gaze on the menu. He already knew what he wanted since he had been in this restaurant before, but he didn't want to keep staring at Sonic. He would tap his foot slowly under the table until he heard Sonic put his menu down on the table. Shadow did the same when Sonic started talking. "Well, that race was fun, don't you think?" Shadow knew he was just trying to make small talk to fill the awkwardness. He decided to help him out just this once.
__"Sure." He couldn't stop himself from being annoyed, though. He watched Sonic grin awkwardly and sighed. "How's your day?" He asked unenthusiastically.
__"Oh," Sonic leaned back in his chair and looked away. "It's been good so far. A part of having to deal with Milo biting another person today." Shadow snorted. "How 'bout you? Do anything interesting before we raced?"
__Shadow shrugged his shoulders. "Besides my normal routine?" Sonic flattened his ears to add to his awkward smile. Shadow could see the slight panic in his eyes. He had seen Rouge go through this many times when a new agent was hired at work and studied what she did to make the new guy more comfortable. He decided to act like Rouge a bit.
__"So, what's with Milo then?" He asked, with interest this time.
__"Ah, he's just territorial." Sonic straightened himself in his seat and perked his ears. Shadow had allowed himself to make eye contact with him. "He was about a year old when I found him. Chao are usually open to letting other chao live in their pond, but Milo for some reason wanted to kick everyone out. The other chao ended up driving him out and I took him in. He now sees my house as our territory and wants to keep people he doesn't know out." Sonic stopped to giggle. "He even taught himself how to unlock and lock a door." Shadow noticed that Sonic looked more comfortable now. What he was doing was working. It felt weird trying to make someone else comfortable while he was uncomfortable. But he wasn't about to stop.
__A human girl then walked over to their table. She wore a bright smile. "Are you two ready to order?" Sonic looked at Shadow and he nodded to let Sonic know he was. Sonic grinned and began telling the girl what they wanted. While they waited for their food and drinks, they continued to talk. As they went on, Shadow felt a bit comfortable. He didn't like to admit it, but he was enjoying himself.
__They got back to talking about Milo. Shadow didn't know too much about chao, so he thought he could get Sonic to ramble about his own. Sonic was going on about how Milo ate, played, bathed, and slept. He also mentioned other problems he had with Milo while he left him at home alone. Sonic joked about how he would go home now and find that his house would be trashed. Shadow nearly opened his mouth to talk about Navi but forced it shut. He still didn't want to reveal Navi, especially to Sonic. Just not now anyway.
__The same waitress came back with their food and drinks. Shadow had chicken fettuccine alfredo while Sonic had a BLT grilled cheese sandwich. Both had cold water. Shadow tried focusing on his own food while they ate. When Sonic wasn't chewing his food, he still tried talking to Shadow. He didn't mind. This was good practice he didn't know he actually needed.
__Shadow was about to ask Sonic a question when his phone went off. He groaned and expected to see Rouge's name on his phone, but he saw a different phone number; Nate's phone number. What the hell does he want? He wanted to drop the phone call and continue talking with Sonic. But he saw Sonic's concerned expression and decided to answer it, putting it on speaker as he set it on the table. "Is there something you need, commander? I'm in the middle of something." Shadow watched Sonic face turn into confusion.
__"I'm sorry to interrupt whatever it is you're doing, Mr. Shadow," Nate began, still so calm. "But I'm going to have to end your suspension a bit early."
__Sonic perked his ears. "Suspension?" He looked at Shadow. "You're in suspension?"
__Shadow ignored him as he was now focused on his phone. "Has something happened?" He tried not to sound suspicious.
__"This morning I sent your colleagues Rouge and E-123 Omega to a mission," Nate explained. "They have yet to report anything. And when I sent more agents to them, we lost connection with them as well."
__Any anger he was feeling toward Nate quickly dissipated. He was more focused on the fact Rouge and E-123 Omega might be in trouble. "Send me the coordinates and I'll be there right away."
__"Will do," Nate said before hanging up. Once the message was sent, Shadow grabbed his phone and quickly left the table.
__"Shadow, wait!" Sonic scrambled through his wallet before slamming a hundred dollars on the table and quickly followed after him. "Are Rouge and Omega okay?"
__"I don't know." Once they were outside, Shadow stopped and turned to face Sonic. "I have to leave now. You do, too."
__But Sonic shook his head. "I may not work for G.U.N., but Rouge and Omega are my friends, too." There was a strict, yet determined look on his face. Shadow stood there a moment to examine every bit of detail in his expression. Would it make you happy if I let you help? He didn't know why, but he wanted to continue his experiment.
__"Fine, let's go." Shadow turned and started walking.
__"Actually? Like for real?" Sonic asked in disbelief.
__"If you don't follow, I'm leaving you." With that, Sonic quickly went after Shadow. Once they knew where they were going, they both used their super-speed to get there quickly.