¿Him or Her? {Sonadow}

Chapter Thirty

__Shadow and Sonic were sitting on the couch while discussing what they were going to do about Dr. Eggman and Nate. They were at an advantage since they knew Dr. Eggman was going to wait until Sonic was alone with his guard down. Their plan was for Sonic to wear some kind of communicator everytime he went outside. That way when the ambush started all Shadow had to do was teleport to him. They both knew they could fight off a large group of people, especially since they would do it together. Everything they had planned seemed perfect enough.
__It was still morning, so Sonic offered to make breakfast for them. Of course when Sonic started cooking was when Milo came out of the bedroom. He stayed by Sonic the entire time but he kept his eyes on Shadow. Shadow had been staring at him as well, wondering if somehow he knew if Navi had laid his egg.
__"Does Milo know?" He asked Sonic.
__Sonic didn't look at him as he poured the pancake batter in the frying pan and turned up the temperature a bit. "Know what?" He then looked down at Milo.
__"That Navi laid an egg."
__"I mean I told him, but I don't think he cares," Sonic said awkwardly as he looked back at the stove. "Chao are like people in a way, but Milo acts more like an animal."
__Shadow tilted his head. "How do you mean?"
__"With animals, usually the dad never cares about the children he produced. He would just sit around while the mom would do all the work. Of course not all animals are like that, but some are." Sonic grabbed a spatula and flipped the pancake over. "I'm figuring now that's how Milo is. I just hope he's not like those dad's that kill off the sons when their older to prevent competition."
__Shadow perked his ears as his eyes grew wide a bit. "I doubt chao would do that, even if they acted more like animals."
__"I'm not saying he would," Sonic said promptly. When he finished the pancake he used the spatula to place it on top of another pancake on a plate. There were two plates and each had a stack of two pancakes. He picked them up and set them on the table next to a bottle of syrup. Milo had flown over to Sonic and started pulling on his arm until Sonic grabbed a big enough piece of his pancake and gave it to Milo. He then watched Milo fly over to a corner and start eating it before motioning Shadow to come to the table.
__When Shadow sat down at the table he noticed that Sonic was taking off his gloves before pouring the syrup on his pancakes. Shadow reluctantly copied him and carefully slipped his gloves off while keeping his rings on. He then grabbed the syrup when Sonic handed it to him and saw that he was looking at his hand.
__"I've never seen your bare hands," he said in a suppressed astonishment. "I didn't think your middle fingers would be red."
__Shadow glanced at his hand before pouring the syrup. "Eh."
__"Can I see?" Sonic asked.
__Shadow gave Sonic his left hand while he ate with his right. Shadow could feel Sonic's finger tips moving and pressing against his hand; his thumbs massaged the back of Shadow's hand while his fingers dug into his palm. He was examining the red stripe on the back of the hand before turning it over to see the palm. The red fur was on the other side of his middle finger as well, only it ended where the finger began. Sonic seemed fascinated by this, which confused Shadow.

__Shadow ended up staying at Sonic's house as hours went by. Things between the two hedgehogs seemed perfectly normal, but they hadn't been getting too close or touched each other much. There was still a bit of tension, and Shadow hated it. He really wanted things to be normal again. They both knew that their plan would take maybe a few days. They could try to get back together, but something kept them from doing so.
__It took a while for Sonic to notice Shadow's slight panic. It was like he knew exactly what he wanted. He sat down next to Shadow on the couch and scooted himself closer. He was looking straight into Shadow's eyes. Shadow was a bit uncomfortable but his eyes couldn't break from Sonic's gaze. He felt like he was trapped in some kind of spell. He wasn't going to try to get out of it, though.
__"Hey," Sonic began softly. "Look, we can go back to how things were if you want. I can tell you're panicking. I am, too. Let's be together again. I promise I won't lash out at you on stuff like that again."
__Shadow felt his face heat up as his heart was beating faster. He didn't realize that he was slowly nodding. When he saw that Sonic smiled he did as well.
__"I just want to know one last thing before we continue."
__Shadow frowned when Sonic had this serious look on his face. He got a bit worried. He knew what he wanted to know.
__"Why is it that you're trying so desperately to push Maria away? It's okay to miss her and want her back. I know the way I acted was bad, but you shouldn't have to feel bad for wanting her again."
__Shadow flattened his ears as he looked down. "It wasn't like that at first. After we got together, I wanted to spend all my time with you, yet I wanted so badly to be with her again. Those memories I kept receiving was making everything harder. When we parted I was so mad at her. I didn't even get those memories that night and it made me angry. It was almost like she was trying to..." Shadow's voice had trailed off when he had this sudden realization. Sonic had leaned in a bit, his face showing confusion and concern.
__"Trying to what?" He asked carefully and quietly.
__Shadow sighed before bringing his knees up and hugging them to his chest. He felt the need to hide his face in his knees. "She was making me mad at her so it would be easier for me to want you," he mumbled tiredly. "It makes so much sense now."
__Sonic had stayed quiet. He had brought his arms out and wrapped them around Shadow as tight as he could. Shadow felt that they were both shaking a little. Are you pitying me now? I don't want you to. This is good news in fact. Shadow then lifted his head up when Sonic looked at him.
__"Shadow, you don't have to force yourself to forget her or be mad at her. The other memories you have with her are too precious for you to forget."
__Shadow continued to tremble in Sonic's warmth. "But what if it gets in the way of us again? I don't want that to happen."
__"That won't happen," Sonic reassured him.
__"How do you know that?"
__"Because..." Sonic closed his eyes before pressing his lips lightly against Shadow's cheek. He kept it on there for a few seconds before pecking his lips on them and pulling away. Shadow looked at Sonic and saw the love in his eyes. "This time we're getting serious. Once we deal with Nate and Eggman, we can continue forward. I'll always be there to help you."
__Shadow now felt happy for the first time in a while. This was exactly what he wanted. He and Sonic were back together now. He could still feel the kiss on his cheek as he rested his forehead against Sonic's. He breathed in Sonic's scent before speaking. "That sounds perfect."