Brothers in Arms

Shadow: You Only Have One Bed

"Probably Andrews, but you can check with me if he's unavailable," I decide, hoping that answer will suffice. It does, and Eclipse gives me an expectant look for the next piece of advice.

"Third, conserve your energy. Don't feel that you have to be flashy or that you have to, say, remove every part of a door when you bust it down. There will be situations where you need as much power as you can muster, and you want to be prepared for them."

"Well, I did figure that. Isn't this a bit of a stealth mission?" He asks, and, trying not be distracted by how he's fiddling with his tail absentmindedly, I blink.

"It depends on how quietly I can infiltrate," I muse, tearing my eyes away from his constantly-moving hands--he really is nervous. "Be prepared to be stealthy, at the very least. I may be ordered to attract as much attention as possible, to cover you. At this point, that's probably still being debated."

"By the Commander," Eclipse guesses, and I nod. "Is that man really human? I've never seen him rest."

"He is, even if he doesn't act like it. I showed up at his house before dawn a few months ago, and he was definitely sporting a bedhead," I tell him, chuckling at the memory. "He looks a lot different in an undershirt. I never realized he was that muscular still."

"Isn't he rather old?"

"For a human, yes. That's why I was surprised he was still that fit."

"Well, he needs to be, doesn't he? To be a good leader and all that, one has to be physically competent as well as mentally. That's 'Leadership 101,' isn't it? You have to be the most powerful of your kind, or you won't stay on top." I stare at him a moment, nearly commenting on that but not sure if I should. Eclipse notices my partially-open mouth, words on the tip of my tongue, and quickly changes the subject. "Well, regardless. Why were you there?" The question is entirely innocent, just a common thing to ask. But, I freeze, suddenly uncomfortable.

"Er... It's not important. It was just a misunderstanding," I say lamely, not thinking he'll buy it for a second. He doesn't.

"Not important?" He frowns, giving me a suspicious look. "It was important enough for you to wake your highest commanding officer at his private residence."

"I don't want to talk about it," I mutter, staring holes in the thin carpet.

"Then don't." Eclipse's mind prods a bit at mine, inviting a simple memory transfer. I resist his touch, raising some mental walls.

"I don't want to think about it, either," I say firmly, feeling my gut twist. The last thing I need is for bad blood to run between us again, especially over something that was my fault.

"Why not?" He asks a little indignantly, not understanding why I'm closing my mind. "Does it have something to do with me?"

"No, but I thought it did. I don't want to talk about it, alright?" I snap, feeling the embarrassment and failure rising like bile in my throat. Eclipse doesn't say anything for a minute, simply staring at me. His fiery golden eyes might as well be shining right through me, reading me like a book for what it feels like. But, I have no idea what he's interpreting or how far he's getting into my closed mind.

"It's probably not as bad as you're thinking," he says at last, shrugging in the lamp light. "You have a tendency to overreact to your mistakes."

"Do I now?" I grumble, trying very hard not to get angry with him. Talking about my failures never helps my mood, and I feel myself getting unreasonably annoyed.

"Shadow, just let me see. It can't possibly be worse than what I already know about you," Eclipse points out, using a surprisingly calm voice for the subject matter. I find myself swayed by his argument, despite my aggravation. He's right; if he doesn't hate me by now, there's not much I can do to make him dislike me any more. I've crossed most every line there is between us.