Shadow baby-sits Cream

Afraid

At the end of their pillow fight, Shadow and Cream collapsed on the couch, panting.
"I hate being tired...," Cream panted. "Same...," Shadow panted. "Who knew...that something so childish...could be so exhausting...?" "Like...taking care of me...?" Cream asked, looking at him. Shadow looked back at her. "No.... Of course not...." "You don't have to lie, Mr. Shadow," Cream said. Shadow sat in silence, staring at her. "Mr. Shadow. If you were tired of taking care of me, why didn't you tell me? You know I would understand. Or would I not understand because I'm a...little brat?" Shadow's eyes widened. Who knew children were so wise? (That's actually a fact. Children can be a lot more wise than adults.)
"Cream," Shadow began. "I knew you would understand. But just because you sometimes act like a brat, doesn't mean that you aren't smart. The truth is...forget it." "No. Tell me.... Please...?" Cream asked, holding Shadow's hand as he turned away. A minute later, Shadow sighed, and said, "The truth is...I was just...afraid to tell you."
Cream turned her face into a look of confusion. "Afraid?" She asked. "Is that a lie? Because how can you be afraid? You're the bravest hedgehog I've ever met. And to me, the only one." Shadow looked at Cream. "Cream," he began. "You can be the most bravest, most toughest, even the most scariest thing ever in the world, but you could still be afraid. Everyone's afraid of something. Even me." Cream's eyes widened. "So like...Mr. Sonic is afraid of water?" She asked. "Right," Shadow said. "And basically twelve-year-old girls...," he muttered. "What?" Cream asked. "Nothing," he said, chuckling. Cream giggled too. (She did hear him.)
"Is...Dr. Eggman afraid of something?" Cream asked. "Of course he is," Shadow said. "He's afraid of what goes wrong. Like his plans getting ruined. And losing." "I get it now," Cream said. "But...what are you afraid of?" Shadow slowly sighed, and said, "I'm afraid...of...letting my friends down.... Making them cry.... Because...I made a promise to Maria...saying that I should help people...and be their friend. And now...look at me.... I'm here...doing what is probably the easiest thing to do in the world, and I'm making a fuss about it. I hate it. I hated myself a lot more when I yelled at you than you being a brat and telling me what to do."
Shadow looked down, and away from Cream. "Mr. Shadow," Cream began softly. Just then, she had an idea. She then ran upstairs, ran to her room, and grabbed something. She then came downstairs, and got back on the couch.
"Mr. Shadow, I brought you something," she smiled. "What is it?" Shadow said, turning back. Suddenly, his eyes widened. In Cream's hands, was a Maria plush doll! Cream then put the doll in Shadow's hands, and Shadow picked it up, looking at it. "Cream...," he began. And then, Cream crawled to him, and hugged him.  Shadow slowly hugged back, still looking at the doll. He then smiled, and closed his eyes.
"Thank you," he said, softly. "You're welcome," Cream said, smiling.