"It's so beautiful here, isn't it, Shadow?"
The young male huffs a bit as he walks beside a young female hedgehog, named Sillow. His hands were behind his back as he admires the surroundings with a serious expression on his face.
"It is."
Sillow looks over to Shadow and smirks a bit at his pouty expression.
"Aw, come on Shadow... give me a smile~"
Shadow continues to pout and makes yet another grunting sound. Sillow sighs a bit and shrugs.
"Alright, Mr Grump..."
As they reach a nearby field full of rainbow-coloured flowers, Sillow smiles and kneels down, sniffing one of them.
"These flowers are gorgeous... how come I have never seen these before?"
Shadow crosses his arms and closes his eyes.
"They are only grown in this particular field..."
Sillow looks up at Shadow and smirks a bit, surprised by his response.
"Since when were you such an expert on flowers, Shadow~?"
Shadow opens his eyes and smirks subtly as he continues to watch Sillow sniff more of the flowers.
"I'm not. This was an area that me and Maria visit--"
The young male soon stops and sighs as he closes his eyes once again, noticing Sillow making a sympathetic expression and looking up at him.
"Never mind."
Sillow lowers her ears as she picks one of the flowers and stands up.
"Shadow... you don't have to talk about Maria if you don't want to. I didn't realise that this place would bring back memories of her..."
Shadow lowers his head as he turns away, opening his eyes once again.
"Thank you. I would prefer not to..."
Sillow smiles as she walks beside him and sniffs the flower once again. A few seconds later, Sillow's ears perk up as she hears a small but deep sneeze. She turns to Shadow and watches as he rubs his nose with his finger. Sillow smiles a bit from his innocent-sounding sneeze but soon gives him a sympathetic expression as another sneeze escapes his nose.
"Shadow, are you allergic to pollen?"
Shadow gives Sillow a serious expression as he gets out a tissue and rubs it against his nose.
"No I'm not... it's just a bit of a tickle."
Sillow sighs a bit and shakes her head as she continues to walk beside Shadow. Shadow looks to her and thinks to himself.
"I can't let her know that my nose doesn't like pollen. Besides, I want her to enjoy this walk..."
Sillow smiles as she notices Shadow looking at her and soon giggles as Shadow turns away, pretending to not look at her.
-------------
A few minutes later, Sillow leads Shadow back to his home. She turns to him and smiles, putting her hands on her hips.
"Thank you for the walk, Shadow. We should do it again sometime..."
Shadow nods as he makes a low humming sound. He then turns to the door of his house and unlocks it before sneezing once again. He groans and rubs his nose with his finger.
"Shadow? Are you sure you're feeling alright? You look a little pale..."
Shadow grunts and looks back to Sillow.
"Yes, I am okay and you're welcome for the walk..."
Sillow smiles and watches as Shadow goes into his house. She waves and winks to him.
"I'll see ya again, Shadow~"
Shadow blushes a bit and smirks as he watches her walk away.
--------------
The next morning, Shadow groans as he holds his head and sits up in his bed. He looks over to the window and attempts to cover his eyes, feeling the sunlight shining into his eyes.
"That sun can be too damn bright sometimes..."
He groans once again as he gets out of his bed and keeps his hand on his head. He lowers his ears a bit as he feels a throbbing sensation inside his head, causing it to hurt.
"Thanks a lot, sun..."
After shutting the curtains, the black-furred hedgehog slowly walks over to his bathroom and looks into the mirror. He makes a face of disgust as he notices a crust forming over his eyes and a slight hue of red on his muzzle.
"Great, now I have hayfever... I knew that damn pollen would irritate my nose. I better get back to bed..."
After taking some medicine and using the toilet, Shadow groans as he holds his head and stumbles back to bed. He was about to sit down when he hears the doorbell ring.
He grits his teeth and stands back up, slowly making his way down the stairs.
"Damnit, why can't everyone just leave me alone?"
After reluctantly opening the door, Shadow sneezes once again and uses a tissue to clean up his nose. He looks outside and notices Sillow stood at the doorway. She smiles a bit but soon lowers her ears as she notices the crust over Shadow's eyes and the slight hue on his muzzle.
"Oh my... Shadow, you look really sick!"
Shadow groans and soon speaks, not noticing that his voice was now very hoarse from his cold. He sniffs before speaking.
"Hi Sillow... yes, I have a cold but I'll be alright..."
Sillow gently places a hand on Shadow's head to check his temperature. The black furred hedgehog feels a slight blush appear on his muzzle, but it was unnoticeable due to his already red-hued muzzle.
Sillow lowers her ears as she feels some heat coming off Shadow's head.
"You feel really hot... you better head back to bed."
Shadow groans a bit as he walks back into the house with Sillow's around wrapped around his shoulders. He watches as Sillow goes into the kitchen and comes back with a bag of ice.
"I already told you, Sillow... I'll be fine."
"Don't be so stubborn, Shadow... it's obvious that you need help."
Shadow rolls his eyes as Sillow offers her arm to him. He reluctantly links arms with her and slowly stumbles up the stairs beside her. Once they had reached the top of the stairs, Sillow watches in horror as Shadow soon weakly collapses into a crawling position.
"Shadow! Are you alright?!"
Shadow was about answer when all of a sudden, he groans and begins to vomit onto the floor below him. Sillow winces as she watches the display. Once Shadow had finished, he uses his glove to wipe the vomit from his mouth and lowers his ears as he feels his body begin to shiver.
Sillow kneels down beside him and gently places a hand on his shoulder before helping him up from his crawling position. She sits him down on a nearby chair and grabs a blanket before wrapping it around Shadow's shoulders.
"Stay here, Shadow... I'll go and get you some medicine."
Sillow was about to leave when Shadow suddenly grabs her arm. She gasps and turns back, seeing that his face had turned pale.
"N-no... don't trouble yourself. I'll be fine..."
Sillow lowers her ears a bit as she moves Shadow's hand from her arm.
"But Shadow, you look really bad... you NEED medicine."
Shadow huffs a bit as he watches Sillow head to the bathroom to look for some medicine. He wraps the blanket around his shoulders and holds it as he thinks to himself.
"Why is she helping me? I know I'm ill but..."
Shadow soon gasps as he puts a hand to his head, remembering a past memory.
----------
"Come on, Shadow... you need to rest!"
A little black-furred hedgehoglet pouts and crosses his arms as a blonde-haired girl attempts to hold him. He wriggles around and kicks his feet, attempting to break free.
"Nwo! Me don't wanna!"
The blonde-haired girl, named Maria, sighs as Shadow continues to wriggle around in her arms. She struggles to take him to his bedroom but eventually manages to make it. She lays the hedgehoglet, named Shadow, down in his bed before placing the bed cover over him.
Shadow continues to pout before letting out a small sneeze. He rubs his finger against his nose and scrunches his face up as Maria attempts to wipe his nose with a tissue.
"Shadow, why must you always be so awkward? You're sick and you need rest..."
The little hedgehoglet sniffles as he continues to wriggle around on the spot. He feels a small pool of tears form in his eyes, due to how ill he was feeling. He looks away and crosses his arms again, not wanting Maria to see his tears.
"Me ultwimate wifeform! Me nwo nweed west!"
Maria sighs once again as she sits next to Shadow and wraps an arm around his shoulders.
"Shadow... everyone needs rest when they're ill."
The little hedgehoglet lowers his ears as he feels his throat begin to become sore. He coughs and whimpers slightly as he nuzzles his head into Maria's chest, still not wanting her to see his tears.
Maria gives Shadow a sympathetic look as she notices his tears. She holds him closer to her and uses a tissue to wipe away the tears from his eyes.
"Don't worry, Shadow... you'll be okay. How about if I rest with you?"
Shadow sniffs a bit as he holds onto Maria and nods his head.
"Owk..."
Maria smiles as Shadow soon drifts off to sleep, sucking his thumb.
"Have a nice sleep, Shadow..."
--------------------
"Maria..."
"Did you say something, Shadow?"
The black-furred hedgehog looks up as he notices Sillow stood in front of him with a bottle of medicine and a bucket in her hands.
"No, I was just... thinking out loud."
Sillow smirks a bit as she pours out a bit of medicine onto a spoon.
"Alright... open up, tough guy~"
Shadow huffs as he opens his mouth, allowing Sillow to feed him the medicine. Sillow continues to smirk as he drinks it.
"You're being very obedient now, Shadow... did you get a change of heart~?"
The black-furred hedgehog looks away and recalls the memory of Maria before looking back to Sillow.
"No, I just didn't want to be awkward for you..."
Sillow giggles a bit as she wraps an arm around Shadow's shoulders, leading him back to his bedroom.
"Aw, well I appreciate that..."
Shadow huffs once again as Sillow helps him into bed. She puts the bed cover over him and soon notices him put a hand over his mouth, making a retching sound. Sillow quickly hands the bucket to Shadow and lowers her ears as he vomits inside it.
"You poor thing..."
A few seconds later, Shadow groans as he raises his head from the bucket and holds it with his hand. His ears were still lowered and his lips had a bit of vomit around them.
"Ngh... what the hell did I eat last night?"
Sillow makes a sympathetic expression as she grabs a tissue and uses it to clean Shadow's mouth. She throws the tissue away before gently placing a hand on top of Shadow's, which was still holding his head. The two hedgehogs blush as they feel their hands being touched. Sillow quickly pulls her hand away and clears her throat as she watches Shadow pick up a mint and begin to eat it.
"I-it may not be something you ate... it could just be a stomach bug or something..."
Shadow turns away as he feels his muzzle become warmer from the blush. He clears his throat also before beginning to cough a bit. Sillow lowers her ears as she notices Shadow lay back into his bed, weakly resting his head against the pillow.
"Poor thing, he looks so weak..."
Sillow turns to Shadow's bedside table and takes a wet cloth from it, gently placing it onto Shadow's head. Shadow winces from the cold but soon sighs from the cool sensation. He looks up at Sillow and feels a blush appear again.
"T-thank you, Sillow... f-for looking after me, I mean."
Sillow, who had noticed the blush on Shadow's muzzle, smiles as she holds the cloth on his head. She feels a blush appear on her muzzle too and looks away, slightly, attempting to hide it.
"It's no problem..."
Shadow looks back at Sillow and notices her looking away. He gently reaches out a hand, weakly, and uses it to touch Sillow's muzzle.
"No-one has ever been this kind to me, except for... Maria."
Sillow, who felt sorry for Shadow, gently places her hand on top of his, still blushing but smiling also.
"You deserve more kindness, Shadow..."
Shadow smirks a bit as his and Sillow's eyes meet. He gently runs his hand across her muzzle.
"So do you, Sillow..."
"No... you're the one who deserves it more."
Sillow smiles softly as she looks away from Shadow, shyly. Shadow, who was still feeling a bit weak, uses his hand to pull Sillow's face closer to his. He smiles a bit as he whispers into Sillow's ear.
"Don't be shy... you're a beautiful girl and you deserve all of the kindness."
Sillow giggles a bit and soon blushes brighter as her nose was touching Shadow's. She hears Shadow breathing softly and leans her head closer to his muzzle. After a few seconds, the two hedgehogs' lips meet one another and they share a kiss.
Shadow weakly puts his hand behind Sillow's head as he makes a small humming sound from the kiss. Sillow purrs softly as she moves closer, gently placing her hand on Shadow's back. The two mobians soon break apart and Sillow smiles softly as Shadow rubs his nose against hers.
"Shadow..."
Shadow, who was blushing and turned away, puts his hand to his muzzle, trying to cover his blush.
"I am sorry if that was a very hasty action, Sillow. I was... well, Maria taught me about kissing and I have always wanted to know how it felt. I know that it is something that a male and female do when they're in love though..."
Sillow smiles and places a hand on Shadow's muzzle.
"Well... I think you did very well for your first try. And..."
"And?"
Shadow turns back as he notices Sillow place a hand on top of his.
"I have a feeling that we're closer than we realise..."
Sillow gasps a bit as she feels Shadow's other hand on top of hers.
"I feel the same way, Sillow."
