The next day...
Both rodents were seated one beside the other, on the right side of a smaller plane. Each row had two seats and each seat had a screen in the back of it; Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs was playing. Instead of plugging his headphones in to watch the movie, Sonic was leaned back in his seat, eyes closed, iPod playing Green Day music at full blast. Anyone would think he was focused on the music and not wondering how soft Shadow's chest fur might be. Shadow himself was on his side, facing the window instead of Sonic, fast asleep in his reclined seat.
Before too long, the pilot announced over the intercom: "Attention all passengers. We're beginning out initial descent into Fort Worth; we'll be landing in 20 minutes. At this time I'm asking all of you to turn off and put away all electronic devices such as iPods, cell phones and DVD players, and please stay seated with your seat belt on for the remainder of the flight. The weather in Fort Worth is very fair today; it's 74 degrees and slightly cloudy with a light breeze blowing.
'Nice weather,' Sonic nodded to himself, stowing his iPod in the side pocket of his carry-on bag. He figured he may as well wake Shadow up. He put one hand on his shoulder and... couldn't resist rubbing it just a little and... giving him a light hug before shaking. "Hey, Shadow." No response. He shook a bit harder. "Shadow, wake up." This time he heard a small groan.
Shadow pulled himself up, rubbing his eyes with one hand and pushing Sonic's arm away with the other, even though part of him didn't want to. "Are we landing?" "In about 20minutes,yeah." "Okay," he yawned, shifting back onto his side. For once, he almost seemed content and not angry.
After the plane landed and they both dragged their luggage off, Amber was waiting for them in the terminal, sitting upright, engrossed in the latest edition of USA Today magazine. As the mismatched pair of hedgehogs approached, her left ear twitched slightly; she glanced up , setting her reading material down in the seat adjacent to hers. "Oh, you two must be Sonic and Shadow." "That we are," Sonic returned the greeting. "Good, then we can go. I have work to do back home." She glanced at what she thought must've been the smallest suitcases she'd ever seen. "Is that all you brought?" Her eyes widened minutely.
"Yeah. Why?" "Oh, it's nothing. That just doesn't seem like much for such a along trip. You two need any help with those?" Both boys shook their heads. "Alright then." She grabbed her purse from under the seat and stood up straight, looking much taller now. "We can stop and get something to eat on the way," she suggested. "Everything in these airports is just so overpriced."
The truck ride wasn't much different from the plane ride. Shadow took that back seat and had his eyes fixed on the window the whole way, feeling bored but looking patient, and didn't say a word unless he was spoken to first. Sonic rode shotgun, glancing out the window every now and then. 'That hawk was right,' he confirmed, already noticing how different the sky looked. It seemed so much bigger without any skyscrapers to block it.
Without the radio on, the truck was awkwardly silent until Amber commented, "You two are just like my own boys. They never said a word in the truck either, just sat there with their iPods and videogames." "We were told they're both in college?" Sonic ventured. "Yep. Athletic scholarships, both of 'em." "What do they play?" "Baseball. Greatest sport in the world," she reflected, remembering her younger days when she herself would play sports during most of her time after school. Sonic couldn't relate; he didn't have much experience in sports, outside of the videogames he'd been put in. "So... We were also told you sell saddles?"
She nodded broadly, keeping her attention on the road. "Yes I do, the best saddles this side of Houston." She must've been right; the house at the end of the long driveway she turned in to was big and impressive. The front yard was covered in lush green grass and a few large pecan trees here and there. The type of stones used to make the sidewalk from the garage to the front porch went well with the stones on the front of the house.
She pulled in to the garage, parked the pickup, unlocked the doors, put the keys away in her purse, and climbed out. "Now I want you two to realize that as long as you're staying here, you're family, so feel at home, okay?" "Thanks." Sonic leaped out and shut the door energetically, while Shadow transported himself behind the vehicle instantaneously, reached up into the bed, hauled his luggage up and over, then finally dropping it by his side. He then did the same for Sonic's luggage. The aforementioned sapphire-pelted rodent sped by, grabbing his suitcase and carry-on bag off the ground and skidding to a halt beside the now open door that led into the kitchen, all within a single second. "Thanks, Shads," he beamed, without getting any response from him in return.
Instead, Shadow calmly and collectively carried his own burden through the doorway, giving Sonic a subtle glance as he passed. The second he was out of the way, Sonic sprinted into the house and through every room he could find, down and upstairs, before making a sharp U-turn back down said stairs into the living room and stopping behind the couch Shadow had just retired to moments before. "This place is nothing to sneeze at," he commented. "Thank you," Amber answered back, strolling into the room. "But there is just one little thing..." "What is it?"
"Well," she began, "my sons would be upset with me if I let anyone stay in their rooms, and," she hesitated a little, "there's only one bed in the guest room." 'This just gets better and better!' Sonic had to strain himself to keep his tail from wagging. Shadow, for the most part, didn't like the idea, but he did nothing to give away the strange part of him that did. "But I have a blow-up mattress and some extra blankets and pillows," she offered, shrugging. Suddenly Sonic didn't have so much trouble keeping his tail calm.
Later that evening, the same problem came up. The moment was a little awkward; they both stood in front of the bed, trying not to make eye contact. Eventually Shadow broke the silence. "I'm taking the bed." He took a seat on the edge of the mattress and it sank a little. "But I can't sleep on a blow-up mattress!" Sonic protested. "It's too close to the floor and I'll freeze." "So get some extra blankets." His rival rolled his eyes in annoyance at Sonic's whining, already fixing the covers the way he wanted them while Sonic struggled to come up with another excuse to share the bed... and then an ingenious little idea snuck its way out of the dark corners of his mind when he saw Shadow remove his gloves.
"Fine, you win," he lied, stifling a smirk and casually making his way out of the room, stopping when he reached the hall closet and opening it. He yanked the mattress, blankets and pillows off the shelves and dragged them back into the room. He then set the mattress down and pressed the button on the side that inflates it. Within a minute or two it was filled up with as much air as it could hold, so he disabled the inflation, climbed on, laid on his back, letting his quills dig in and... POP!
In a matter of seconds all the air hissed out and Sonic may as well have been laying on a rug. 'Perfect,' he sneered to himself. "Shadow?" "I know..." the answer came as a low growl and he scooted over to make room; now his nose was only a few inches away from the wall texture.
Sonic pulled off everything he was wearing, dug around in his suitcase a little, and pulled out the familiar pair of solid forest-green boxers he usually slept in. He slipped into them before slipping under the covers next to his crush. "Goodnight, Shadow." His tone was low and soothing, so much so that Shadow wanted to hear more, but he ignored it and closed his eyes. 'Goodnight, Sonic...'
It was official. Sonic could not sleep. Lying half-naked in bed so close to Shadow was just too intense; it was more than he'd expected at first. He'd given up on trying to sleep an hour ago and had instead been listening to Shadow's slow, regular breathing. Obviously he was having an easier time getting some rest.
Now, staying awake longer than one should can do strange things to even the healthiest mind. Before long, Sonic was no longer in control of his movements. As if unconsciously, his arms snaked around Shadow's chest, pulling himself closer; close enough to feel smooth, warm fur brush against his stomach.
Shadow's consciousness crawled back; he awoke and felt something across his chest. It took a few moments until he realized it was Sonic embracing him in a hug. He was too groggy to resist anymore. He ended up shifting onto his other side and returning the hug. Sonic then nuzzled his face into Shadow's white chest, inhaling deeply, taking in the scent, savoring the dreamlike moment. He let his hands wander freely around parts once foreign to him; his emotions took over completely.
Then suddenly, his chin was pulled upward and something soft and damp pressed against his lips-Shadow's. He closed his eyes, allowing his tongue to slip out of his own mouth and into the other's. Their tongues entwined, almost as if frolicking. For the first time in a long while, both of them were very aroused; they each wanted more from the other. Within a few minutes Shadow was on top of him, each with one of the other's legs in between their own, rubbing one another, grabbing, licking, caressing.
This went on for a moment or two, the pleasure intensifying with each passing second, the heat and friction causing them both to perspire. Then Sonic was able to grasp the full reality of what he was doing. He was used to keeping things fast, but this was different. He pulled away, shattering the connection between Shadow's lips and his own. "Sh-Shadow, this is a little too much..." His voice trailed off, and he received a disappointed sigh in response; the weight was taken off his body. "If you say so..." Shadow's voice droned, while he himself turned back over onto his other side again.
Sonic felt a twinge of guilt. He scooted a bit closer and stroked the damp quills that rested only centimeters away from his face. "Shadow? Are you alright?" "I'm fine, Sonic. Go to sleep." "How can I?" He hugged him just as before. "I get too excited being this close to you..." "It's really not as difficult as you're making it. Just close your eyes and take a deep breath," he reassured him. Sonic did as he was told, letting his eyelids creep closer, drawing in a few deep breaths. "Goodnight, Sonic...