It Started on Lazy Day

Part 41

"You never exactly got to know me." Sonic was already done with their interaction. He was still buzzing with energy from the hit and wanted to go explore to let it out.

"You did nothing to help," Shadow glared at Infinite, "What kind of alpha lets his mate do the fighting?"

"Excuse you!?" Sonic got up, "Infinite doesn't need to fight for me, I can fight my own battles."

"Sonic isn't some helpless damsel in distress," Infinite growled, and wow, Sonic had never heard him growl like that at anyone.

"You still stood back and said nothing. You could have, at least, spoken up," Shadow growled back, "Sonic deserves better than you."

"Shadow, you need to back off," Sonic stepped between them, "You are the last person who should lecture anyone about the treatment of the mates."

"I don't see what you see in him," Shadow growled, "Give me a chance to make this right instead of staying with him."

"I see more in him than I ever saw in you!"

"I can protect you!"

"I can protect myself!"

"Not when you're in heat or sick or injured. What is he going to do if someone tries to hurt you and you can't defend yourself? Ask them nicely to stop? He cannot take care of you! Infinite isn't worth being your mate!"

"Will you just shut the hell up!" Sonic, adrenaline rising again, pushed Shadow back, "You don't even know Infinite! He's strong in his own way!"

"Shadow, leave Sonic out of this," Infinite spoke up again, Shadow's rage increasing as none of this was going how he wanted.

"No! You don't get to decide this alone, I'm just as involved as you!" Sonic didn't step back, now even more pissed off that Infinite was trying to remove him from the argument.

"Fine, then, defend him!" Shadow threw a punch toward Infinite, who took the unexpected hit.

"Ugh, you jackass!" Sonic threw the next punch, hitting Shadow square in the nose.

It evolved into chaos from there. Not even insults, just the aggressive shouts of three students fighting in the dirt. Sonic and Shadow were hitting each other the most, Infinite taking a stray shot or two to try and pull Sonic away or push Shadow away.

"Shit," Knuckles started running as he saw the fighting. He, Amy, Blaze, Ray, and Silver were all finished with their own activities and were coming to hang out with Sonic.

"What in Chaos happened?!" Amy ran over and helped Knuckles by holding Sonic back, and Knuckles grabbed Shadow. Infinite had a bruise forming on his cheek. He landed a last hit on Shadow, and he broke free from Knuckles and went after Sonic again.

"Back off! I'm just as capable of protecting my mate as you are! I, at least, have decency not to hurt him!" Infinite snarled before picking up the ice pack and pressing it against the black eye forming on Sonic, "Why did you start fighting for me?"

"He's a jerk. He needed to be punched," Sonic glared at Shadow, whose nose was still bleeding and possibly broken.

"All three of you, nurse's office, now!" a teacher who was running with Ray not far behind him, "I will be calling your guardians and you will be punished accordingly."

—

"Alright, you three, want to tell me exactly what happened? Sonic, you first," Vanilla had all 3 boys sitting on the ground in front of her. They were all bandaged and had ice packs on various parts of their body.

"I couldn't just let that jerk keep making my classmates uncomfortable. He got physical first. I'm done just letting alphas get away with whatever they want just because they think omegas are weak. We aren't weak just because we get heat cycles," Sonic growled.

"Okay, I understand that, Sonic," Vanilla pinched the bridge between her eyes, "But why did you hit Shadow after that?"

"He insulted Infinite," Sonic deadpanned.

"You really didn't need to hit him," Infinite whispered, anxiously placing a hand on Sonic's shoulder.

"Oh, trust me, he's had it coming-"

"I was trying to apologize to you. We're mates too, you cannot ignore my existence. I want to make things right,t and he is getting in the way of that!" Shadow growled, still holding a tissue to his bleeding nose.

"Infinite is my mate and my boyfriend! I'm not going to ignore him for you," Sonic growled.

"Alright, alright!" Vanilla stopped their fighting before it got any worse, "You three need some time to figure all of this out. Shadow, I've heard some of the rumors of your previous arrangement with Sonic. You are taking the right steps in apologizing, but it'll take more than that to regain Sonic's trust. Sonic, you are completely valid in your feelings; however, that does not give you the excuse to resort to violence against other students. Infinite, it's your turn to speak."

"I.. um..." Infinite relaxed a bit and Sonic squeezed his hand, "I don't appreciate how Shadow treated Sonic in the past... If it's something Sonic wants, I can tolerate his presence. However, I am not going to be tossed aside. I have just as much a right to be with Sonic so long as he desires me."

"Do you three understand what it means to be mates?" Vanilla asked, worryingly, "Sonic, I know we had a short conversation about it before, but I think I should explain it in more detail."

"They're like soul mates," Infinite answered.

"The person you are meant to be paired with," Shadow added, on.

"Don't mates last for life?" Sonic questioned.

"Oh dear," Vanilla sighed, "Misrepresentation in the media has gotten worse. Being someone's mate is not the same as being a soul mate or paired. While it isn't a common occurrence in high school, over time, you will find that several people can have multiple mates throughout their lives. Whether they are years apart, or like you two, met at the same time, and an omega and an alpha can travel the world and find they are mates with a few different mobians. You are not required to fall in love with the 1st mate you meet. And being mates doesn't automatically make you compatible," Vanilla explained, noticing as Shadow deflated a bit, Sonic also seeming a little sad, "On the other hand, there are cases where multiple mates become more than just a pair. While it isn't practiced or romanticized as often as monogamy, polycule mates exist. However, it requires a lot of work and communication. I think that's the 1st step you three need to make. Not today, not here. You're winding down from a fight and still very tense. But, you can plan a weekend where the three of you sit with some relaxing tea and snacks, and discuss what it is you want. Shadow is right, Sonic, you cannot ignore each other. You need to talk this out. Now, you are all on timeout and bed rest for the next half hour to ensure none of you have a concussion."

"Yes, Dr. Vanilla," was the collective answer before they all went to a separate bed surrounded by a privacy curtain.

Shadow glanced at Sonic's bed direction from his curtain, he wasn't going to give up. If he had to learn to tolerate Infinite, so be it.

Infinite lay on his right side, he could see Sonic's silhouette through the curtain. He couldn't let Shadow push him around if Sonic decided he was giving Shadow another chance. He would get stronger, braver, and he would prove he could protect Sonic and deserved to stand by his side.

Sonic lay face down on his pillow and groaned. He had a wonderful boyfriend who was his mate, and Shadow, who was also his mate. There was no way he was going to just forget everything with Shadow. Still... he knew Shadow wasn't all bad. Was it really worth it to give him another chance?

What was he supposed to do?

~~~