'Sonic... I could be pregnant again.' I didn't know what exactly ran through my mind as I heard those words rolling off his tongue. I didn't know how to react or what to say. All I knew was those words that kept repeating in my mind over and over like a broken record, attempting to make me realise what I had just heard. "What? How?" I finally managed to say after a silence that had been making the hedgehog in front of me nervous with every second that ticked by. "Remember when I was acting weird and a bit distant? It's been a month since we had Silver and... I have been in heat all week. I tried to keep my distance until it was over, but I wasn't able to restrain myself for much longer. So.. there's a slim chance that I might already be pregnant again... Of you." Shadow explained, making sure to add 'of you' at the end of his explanation in case I had doubts of me being the father of his possible fourth child. "Okay..." I answered, trying my best to stay calm. It wasn't that I was mad at him for it. The heat was strong and difficult to resist, especially for someone who's never had to resist it before. So it's not like I could blame Shadow for this. Not to mention that I already had my suspicions, so why was this still so surprising to hear? Is it because hearing someone say it out loud suddenly makes it real? "Sonic?" Shadow called my name as the silence between us was making him feel uncomfortable. I looked at him, trying to figure out what I wanted to say. "Don't worry... Okay? I was just a little shocked. I knew we were going to have another kid, but I just didn't know this soon." I said. "I understand. I didn't really want to tell so early on, though, not until I knew for sure." He told me and looked down. This strange tension hung in the air between the two of us. It stayed silent for a long time. "Well, I guess this explains why mom said I needed to be careful with the two of you. At first, I thought that she was talking about you and Silver, but I think she has some suspicions of her own." I said, trying to break the silence by starting up a conversation. "She does?" Shadow asked and I nodded. "I see..." He muttered and turned to face the bath tub. "Bath is ready. We should probably take it before it gets cold." He said once he noticed that the tub was filled with water. "Yeah... that's sounds like an idea." I responded. I hated the tension that hung between us now. I needed to get over it. Okay, so Shadow is pregnant again. It wasn't like I didn't see it coming. How could he resist something he had always been paid to go along with? Not to mention that he did ask for protection and I think he did try to warn me about his heat before I cut him off in the middle of his sentence. And I did tell him that I would love to have another kid with him in the future. I sighed and placed my hands on my sides. I shouldn't make such a big deal out of this. Well... this was a pretty big deal, but neither one of us could be blamed for it. Nor could we change or deny this possibility. It would be easier for both of us to accept the fact and move on. I wasn't going to let something like this tear us apart, tear him apart. "Shadow..." I started as I placed a hand on his shoulder, making him jump lightly and drop the towel he had been meaning to place on the floor. "I did say that I would love to have another kid with you. And even if it's way too soon, I'm sure this one will be just as loved as Silver." I told him as he looked at me. "Thank you for understanding." He said and placed his hand on top of mine. A slight smile made it's way up on his muzzle. "We should get in bath. Otherwise it'll get cold before we get the chance to enjoy it." Shadow said as he turned his body halfway to look at me. He was waiting for me to go in first. I wasted no time in getting in the tub, feeling the warm water soak my fur as I sat down. "Come on in." I said, looking up to him and waiting for him to join me. Shadow followed my example and carefully got in aswell. As he tried to sit down also, I leant back in the tub, allowing him to lean back against my chest. Once we were both comfortable, I placed my hands on his belly. The gesture emphasised the promise I made only a few moments earlier. Shadow sighed in content as he closed his eyes and let himself enjoy the warm embrace of the water. "I love you. You know that, right? I really do. I'm not faking my feelings because you're doing so much for me. I really do love you." He said, letting his hands rest on mine. "Don't worry, I know that. I love you too." I answered, nuzzling him. It became quiet again. By the time I found a topic to talk about, I discovered that the heat had made Shadow fall asleep.
Shadow's POV
'I can't let you do this! You have no idea what Scourge is capable off! He's going to destroy you personally if you get in his way!' 'Keep your mouth shut! I'm getting sick and tired of your whining!' 'Ya were still a virgin, after all, huh?' 'Don't ya worry, I'm going to make sure that ya'll fit right in.' 'I can make some good money off of you.' 'Oh, Chaos, no. Please don't. Please don't do this to me!' "Shadow!" The voice startled me, waking me up from a dream. Well, nightmare. What my mind's eye just had witness again, could hardly be called a dream. "Hey, take it easy." Sonic stated, gripping my shoulders as I had been looking around in his confusion and apprehension. He thought I had been panicking. I turned my head to look at the hedgehog sitting next to me and let him know that I was fine. We had been sleeping on the mattress in Aleena's and Jules' guest bedroom. When Sonic had noticed that I had fallen asleep in the bathtub, he had woken me up and told me to leave for the bedroom and get some rest. I had followed his advice. But when I woke up, it was dark in the room. I must've slept the rest of the day away. Strange, I was still tired. "You were getting restless in your sleep and I thought that waking you up was the best choice." He said, explaining why he had suddenly called my name. "I see... Well, I'm fine now. You don't need to worry anymore. Good night." I said and pressed my lips against his cheek briefly before turning away from him and lying down on my side, planning on continuing my slumber. But Sonic didn't want me to resume my sleep yet. "You want to talk about it? Your dream?" He suggested, wanting to be a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on if needed. I contemplated for a moment. "Just memories. You don't need to worry." I said, a yawn escaping me as I spoke. I closed my eyes and pretended to sleep. Sonic fell for it and laid down, trying to get back to sleep himself. When the soft sound of snoring reached my ears, I sat up to look at him. He was sound asleep. Good. I lightly placed a kiss on his forehead before I pushed myself up from the matrass and walked over to the crib. Silver was sound asleep aswell. "I love you, Silver, I really do." I told the sleeping child and stroked his top quills for a little while before leaving the room.
My heart was beating firmly in chest as I looked at the flashing lights in front of me. 'Desires of Mobius' That's what it read. That's where my feet had taken me to. These simple words combined was what I feared the most. I took a deep breath, swallowed my fear and emptied my mind of any doubts before I walked in like I had done many times before. The suffocating heat and smell of alcohol and cigarettes hit me like a trainwreck. I had never gotten used to this place. In fact, with each time I entered, the smell and heat seemed to get worse. I wrapped my arms around me in a vain attempt at protecting myself. It had been nearly two months since I last set one foot in this place. One whole month I had spend as an actually mother instead of a prostitute. By the end of this night, I would either leave as a mother or stay here and resume my prostitution. It could either end good, or it could end bad. But the odds were in my favor now. I wasn't prepared in the slightest, but atleast now I knew what I was up against. The realisation of being pregnant for the fourth time and the nightmare that had reminded me of the key element to my freedom had made me decide to come here. I needed to get that tape. I know that Sonic had promised to get it for me, but my fourth child made the importance of getting that cursed thing even larger. I needed to get it and it needed to be now. Call it foolish or not, I wanted to fight for once. A chill ran down my spine. The last time I tried to fight was three years ago, when I tried to save Rouge, but got raped by that bastard Scourge and blackmailed into prostituting myself instead. Now I tried to fight again. I couldn't help but feel the nagging fear that I might end up in an even worse situation this time. I tried my best ignoring the feeling aswell as the looks I received. I knew people recognised me. I knew that they were expecting me to walk out that door dressed up in something disgustingly revealing, but that wouldn't be the case tonight. I even heard Rouge call my name, but I didn't act on it as I walked into that hallway. This was it. I stood in front of the door that had 'Boss' Office' written on it in bold letter. This was Scourge's office. The beating of my heart became greater and I placed my hand on my lower belly in an attempt to calm myself down and remind myself of why I was here. I looked down at my watch. Usually between 12 pm and 1 am, Scourge made use of some of the people he prostituted. I knew as I was unfortunate enough to experience it more than once myself. It was 00:47. I had roughly 13 to 15 minutes to get in that room, find that tape and get out. My lips pressed onto eachother and my eyes narrowed as my ears flattened against my skull, I wondered if that would be enough time. 'Only one way to find out.' I thought as I gripped the doorknob and turned it. The soft clicking sound of the door opening had suddenly become louder. I had barely paid it any mind three years ago as I had practically barged in as soon as Scourge had opened the door. But things were different now. I was different now. That confident hedgehog from before was gone, never to return. All because I decided to disobey for once and not involve the authorities that night. The door slowly swung open. I had almost expected Scourge to sit there, the very thought doubling my fear, but I calmed down a little when I noticed that it was empty. It almost gave me a false sense of security. With an apprehensive feeling, I walked into the room and took a look around. I immediatly spotted the camera from before. It was still on the same spot on the bookcase. I was tempted to smash the thing to species on the floor, but I decided not to. It would've been a bad idea. Scourge would've noticed that it was missing much sooner than a missing tape. I breathed in deeply once or twice and focused on the task at hand. I walked closer to the bookcase and inspected it closely, searching for a clue that might lead me to the location of the tapes. I went to my knees and checked the doors on the bottom that took up about a quarter of the bookcase. One of them had a small lock that obviously needed a key in order to unlock. Try as I might, it would not open. I furrowed my brows. Of course, there was a chance that the more important things could be saved in here. But if tapes were a part of that, that could only be discovered by opening it. That meant that I needed to search for the key. I wasted no time in doing so. First, I searched the desk. I checked the flat surface for a key first, leaving not a single piece of paper or desk uttilities unturned. When the surface was devoid of any keys, I decided to go for the drawers next. There were about four drawers in total. Two on each side. I checked every nook and cranny of them all and felt myself becoming slightly anxious again when I didn't find a key in the third drawer either. But once my eyes fell on a small, silver key on the bottom of the the fourth and last drawer, I became a bit more hopeful. I took it and quickly checked my watch. It was 00:55. I didn't realise I had wasted so much time searching that key. Quickly I made sure that everything was back in it's original place before leaving the desk alone and walking back towards the bookcase. I went to my knees and quickly tried the lock on the door on my right. It opened. My heart fluttered in relief and excitement at the thought that behind these two doors could be the means to my permanent farewell to this place and open up a newer, better chapter in my life. Just the mere thought of that new chapter made me forget all about my fears. But my smile was quickly wiped off of my muzzle when I opened the double doors and found something other than tapes. Heaps and heaps of documents. My hopes dwindled and my excitement faded, but only completely dissapeared upon hearing a familiar voice. "Look who dropped in for a visit." My heart and body froze in place. I could recognise that voice from anywhere. Scourge. I forced myself to move and stood up on my two feet, but I refused to turn and look that hedgehog in the eye. Atleast, not until I was forced to. "What's the matter? Did the time you spend away from this place make ya believe that you're better than any other whore workin' in this place? Face me!" He demanded. And I listened. Slowly, I turned around to face him. My breath got caught in my throat as I laid my eyes on him for the first time in nearly two months. I know that my eyes were wide and my body trembling and stiff in fear. His amused chuckling gave it away. "Why'd ya come back? Miss the feeling of dick in that loose cunt of yours?" He asked and took a swig of what I knew must be alcohol. I shook my head. His smirk grew wider. "Don't tell me you're actually plannin' on bein' rebellious? We both know what happened last time. Or did you forget? I'd be happy to remind ya." He threatened as he approached me, coming to a halt inches in front of my face, forcing me to smell the alcohol on his breath. Of course, I remembered what happened last time. Last time I tried to fight him, I got raped and blackmailed into prostituting myself with the tape I came to get. I glanced away, I didn't want to look at him. My silence and body language only served to amuse him even more. It enraged and frightened me at the same time. Since I was staying quiet, he decided to speak again. "This reminds me of three years ago. The only difference? Instead of those fancy clothes ya wore, ya wear clothes even a hobo wouldn't wear. You're not the stuck-up brat I met either. Instead of that virgin-boy, A whorish mother who abandons his brats stands before me." He smirked at me. He knew that he was hurting me with just his words. "Now that we're on the topic of kids, You're knocked up again, aren't ya? There's no way ya could've made it to the end of your heat without spreading your legs for someone. I wonder if Sonic knows it's not his." "You're wrong... It is his." I surprised both of us by answering. He may insult me all he want, but insulting my possible unborn child was a step too far. His surprised expression turned into the amused one from before. "Can't handle someone talking about your brats, huh? Or maybe it's Sonic? Can't handle someone saying stuff about that bastard?" He asked. I waited until he spoke again. It was obvious to me now that he knew Sonic even before I was 'borrowed' to him. That was the feeling his words gave me. I wanted to wait and see if Scourge would tell me. He was drunk enough for that. "Ya think it's a coincidence that I chose Sonic? I used to know that dick from high school. We were the best of friends until that stuck-up brat decided to tell the teachers that I was constantly picking on that pussy of a brother of his and got me suspended permanently. But I got revenge on that fucker." A chuckling was heard as he took a pause. "Ya ever wondered why Sonic tells ya so little about the time he spend in high school? It's 'cause I beat that bastard so badly that he couldn't even remember my face if he saw it." He chuckled, seemingly proud at the fact that he had beaten someone so senseless that it caused some sort of headtrauma. The knowledge of this bastard hurting Sonic so badly had whisked any fear away from my mind. Only anger was still left. Scourge noticed by the way my eyes narrowed and my hands tightened into fists. If he noticed that, than I guess he wasn't as drunk as I thought he was. "Getting angry, huh? Can't have that now can we? How about ya spread those legs of yours and I'll help ya appreciate what it feels like to be a hoe. That'll help ya temper." He said, suggesting that I let myself get willingly raped by him again. But I was having none of that. With a huff I walked past him and towards the door, not even glancing at him as I passed. I didn't want to be here anymore, I didn't want to listen to his words any longer, I didn't want anymore problem with him. I should've been scared, but I was too angry to be so. "Where'd ya think yer goin'?" He asked as he took my upper arm in a harsh grip. "I'm leaving! Now let go of me!" I stated and ripped my arm out of his strong grip. Scourge was surprised again. He would have never expected me to do that. Not after all he had put me through. Not after seeing me in complete fear of him for the past three years. His smirk vanished as he began to get angry himself. "Looks like that spoiled brat is still in there. We can't have that now, can we?" The tone in his voice was deep and dark. A sense of alarm overwhelmed me as I thought about my fourth child. I couldn't afford to get in trouble and certainly not before my third month. I ran for the door and gripped the knob. I wanted to turn it, but suddenly felt an arm wrap around my throat. It wasn't tight enough to cut off my air supply, but still tight enough to render me unable to move forward. I gasped and yelped at the same time, my hands grabbed his arm in an attempt to get loose. "Where ya goin'? Ya didn't really think I was gonna let you leave without letting me have another taste? Loose cunt or not, I'd love to rape you over and over again. It's all you whiny rich kids deserve." He growled the threat into my ear. I knew he was going to follow through with his threat as I could already feel his bulging pants pressing up against my lowerback. The feeling and knowledge of it being there made me struggle even more, the feeling made me physically ill. "Let go of me! I refuse to partake in this nonsense any longer!" I stated and elbowed him in the gut. Sonic was right when he said that I needed to fight. And now that I was so close to getting away, I wasn't going to stop so easily now. Scourge grunted and hunched over, letting go of me as he reached for his stomach and mouth. But he was too late to stop his stomach's contents from spilling all over his pants and floor. I guess my medical degree wasn't completely useless. With his stomach full of alcohol that would do him more wrong than good, I knew that a little bit of a 'push' on the 'right' spot would send him vomiting all over himself, giving me the perfect opportunity to escape without a single scratch. I didn't stop running until I was at least a couple of blocks away from the bordello. I panted and hunched over as I leant with my hands on my knees. When I stood back up, I took a look behind me to see if anyone was following me. When I decided that I was truly safe, I couldn't help to yell a small cry and jump of joy. I counted this as my first move to fight back. And, although I didn't get the tape, I felt victorious.
"Shadow!" I heard my name being called as soon as I entered the bakery of Sonic's parents. A pair of arms wrapped themselves around me not too long after as I was pressed against someone's chest. "Sonic." I said as I acknowledged the warmth that enveloped me. But I wasn't allowed to enjoy it for much longer as Sonic pulled away to look me over, keeping my shoulders in his grip as he didn't want me to walk away until he had made sure I was just fine. "Don't worry about me, Sonic. I'm fine." I told him and placed my left hand on his and shot him a smile. Sonic immediatly noticed that something was different with me. He didn't even need to ask what was up before I already answered his question. "Now don't get mad at me, but I went to the 'Desires of Mobius' to try and get that tape." I briefly explained. Sonic did not like it. "You went what?! I was supposed to do that to keep you safe and you go ahead and put your life on the line anyway?! You're pregnant, Shadow! Something could've happened to you or the baby!" He yelled at me. I know that he had no intention to hurt anyone by yelling, but I'm sure that he has probably woken his parents in the process. That was obvious by the sounds that suddenly resonated from the private part of the building. "Will you let me explain? It won't take long." I requested. Sonic didn't calm down, but he allowed me to speak, knowing that I should give my side of the story. "Listen, I know that it was a huge risk, but I had to do it. With the possibility of me being pregnant again, I knew that the importance of getting that tape was even greater now. A nightmare last night gave me the push I needed. So I went over to the 'Desires of Mobius' and tried to find the tape." I tried to explain, but Sonic cut me off in the middle. "But you didn't find it and ran into Scourge instead, right? I swear if that bastard has hurt you again-" "He didn't, Sonic! Yes, he insulted me, but I actually managed to fight him off this time. I'm... We're just fine." I said, trying to calm him down as Sonic began to growl. The victorious feeling I had felt about escaping from Scourge without being raped or forced to prostitute myself were quickly gone now. Instead I felt bad about doing something so reckless. I sighed. "I'm sorry, okay. I just got a bit desperate and I really wanted to get Scourge in jail before my fourth one came. This last month had been amazing after all I've been through. And I really don't want to prostitute myself again. Nor do I ever want to give up another child. That's why I went for that tape." I said and warped my arms around my belly for comfort. I didn't like it if Sonic was this angry. "What's all that ruckus about?" Jules asked as he came sauntering into the bakery, one of his hands scratching behind his head to get rid of an irritating itch. "Nothing." Sonic said, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Aleena noticed the tense air between me and her son. Not that it was so easy to miss with the way Sonic was glaring at me and how uncomfortable I looked. Jules caught on once he was a bit more awake and raised on of his eyebrows at his son's tone. "All that yelling didn't sound like nothing, son." He said. "It was just a simple difference of oppinion." I answered. "One that we should continue. 'Cause believe it or not, talking to eachother is good, sneaking out in the middle of the night is bad." Sonic growled. He was not planning on letting this go. "Sonic... Please-" "No, Shadow! I've been fighting to get you out of this shit and you waltz right back in there and to top it all off, you had to endanger our baby! And for what?! A stupid tape!" He yelled. He was absolutely furious with me. "Yes, because that tape is the reason I got into this in the first place and it's my ticket out! And I told you everything went just fi-" I tried to reason with him again, but the yelling wasn't doing me much good. I couldn't handle yelling like this as much as I used to. My voice was breaking and I knew I was getting emotional again. "Is that really it, though! How do I know you didn't go for some other reason?! You've been doing it for the past three years now! How do I know you're not just going to abandon Silver with me and go back to Scourge! Wasn't that what you agreed on when you first got pregnant?! How-" The noise of my hand's harsh contact with his cheek was louder than every yell that had been thrown this morning. Sonic's head was turned to the left, shock clearly written on his face. He slowly turned his head to faced me, the expression never leaving his face. My shoulders were shaking as I tried to hold myself back, trying to keep myself from getting emotional again. Sonic quickly realised his mistake. He should've been calm. He shouldn't have let his anger take over. He never wanted to let his anger take over. "Shadow... I..." He didn't know what to say. And neither did his parents. The two of them were just standing there in the doorway, watching us. "Don't you dare say that! I told you the truth! I panicked! I wanted to get that tape! That's all! You have to believe me!" My voice broke as I spoke. I had tried to keep myself from getting emotional again, but the tears slipped from my eyes either way. He nodded. His lips parted as if he wanted to say something, but no words left. "I'm sorry, okay? I wasn't thinking clearly. I realise that it was a stupid idea to go now, I really do. So please... Don't be angry with me anymore." I whimpered patheticly. It stayed silence. Neither one of us knew what to say now. And we didn't need to. Our yelling had woken Silver up and the pup was crying now. He needed me. Without another word, I walked out of the bakery, pushing past the hedgehog couple as I tried to reach the guest bedroom. As I left the three hedgehogs behind me, I could hear Sonic's mother speak to her son. About what, I could not hear. And frankly, that was the least of my concern now.
Sonic's POV
It had been a couple of hours since Shadow and I had that fight. It was now somewhat past 8 in the morning. Dad was busy with the shop, while mom was busy cleaning the dishes from our breakfast. I was still eating mine. Well, I tried to. After my fight with Shadow, I couldn't get myself to swallow a single bite. The hedgehog in question was helping dad in the shop. Probably. In truth, I had no idea where Shadow was. The last time I saw him was when I passed him in the hallway after taking care of Silver. I sighed and decided to give up on my breakfast and instead paid attention to the hedgehog I held in my left arm. Silver was engrossed in sucking on the collar of his t-shirt, but when he noticed that I was looking at him, he looked back at me and reached for me. Apparently I wasn't close enough to his liking. "Don't worry about your mother, alright. I'm gonna fix things with him." I told my son, although, there was no way he could understand me or the situation yet. "You should. Accusing the mother of your son to be a whore is never good for your relationship." My mom said as she came walking into the dining room to take my plate away since I wasn't finishing it. My mom didn't like how I acted to Shadow this morning at all. Of course, she didn't agree with Shadow sneaking out in the middle of night either, but me yelling at him and screaming in his face that he was a whore and a terrible mother was just a tad bit to far for her. "I know and I'm going to apologise, so don't worry about it." I said. I meant wanting to make things right with him, but I just didn't know what to tell him now. "Don't wait too long. Before you know it, Shadow might be feeling unwelcome enough to make your accusations come true and leave. And knowing his want to have the best for his kids, he's most likely going to leave Silver with you and go back to his old habit of giving into his fear of Scourge." She said before leaving for the kitchen again. I frowned as I knew she was right. I don't know what kind of person Shadow was before all of this, but right now he was the kind of person to give into his fear. And right now his biggest fear was Scourge. If I wanted to prevent him from going back to that bastard, than I needed to do what was necessary and make him feel welcome and wanted. He's given in before, I want to keep him from doing it again. "Say, little guy, do you mind if you stay with your grandma for a while, while I go talk to your mother?" I asked the hedgehog in my arms, but he just looked up to me, probably wondering what I was blabbering about. And searching my mate to talk to him was exactly what I was gonna do. Once my own mom was done with the dishes I asked her to look after Silver for a while as I went to make things right with Shadow. My first stop was the bakkery. "Thank you! Be free to come again soon." My dad said as he handed someone's bread after receiving the money for it. The woman in front of him practically melted from his smile. Hey, there was a reason besides my personality why I was so liked in the neighbourhood. My dad had always been a bit of a heart-throb in his younger days and when you were a son who looked almost exactly like him, of course, people were going to like you for that aswell. "Hey, dad, do you know where Shadow went?" I asked since I didn't see my ebony hedgie here in the bakery. "Shadow? Oh he doesn't work in the bakery as often since a couple of days ago, rambling some nonsense about working on his magic or something." He said before turning his attention to the next costumers. Working his magic? He didn't mean... I left the bakery and searched for the office. It was a room that was only used for financial reasons or whenever Sonia, Manic and I needed to do our homework. And since the latter wasn't necessary anymore, that room was barely used. But if Shadow was doing what I think he was doing, than he might be in there. "Shadow, you in here?" I asked as I knocked on the door. I heard a faint 'yes' coming from behind the door. So I decided to enter. The office wasn't a large room. It only had a desk with a computer and a table behind it with four chairs. Shadow was sitting at the desk with a notepad on top of a large sheet of paper in front of him. He was looking at me, with pencil in his left hand and the eraser in the other. He seemed busy with something. "Hey..." I said, which Shadow returned just the same. It stayed awkwardly silent for a couple of moments before I decided to speak again. "So what're you doing?" I asked, genuinely curious about what he could be doing here. "It was actually supposed to be a surprise to you and your parents, but... I was planning on doing something about the lack of costumers in the bakery. It's obvious that people tend to get their bread from the local supermarket instead of the local bakery. So I decided to do something about it through advertising, something that I have learned quite alot about when working with my parents." Shadow explained. That's right. At the R.Corp Shadow was put in the advertisments department of their company. He knew a thing or two about that. Shadow was about to go right back to work, but I interrupted him again. "Actually there was a reason why I came here." I said and Shadow looked back up to me again, waiting for me to say what it was. "I want to talk to you. But not here. I want to talk to you over some dinner." I said, earning a surprised look from Shadow. "Are you asking me out for a date?" He asked, a hopeful smile wanting to appear, but got restrained instead. "I think that's what a couple does when one asks the other to go out for dinner." I said, earning a smile from Shadow as he jumped up from the chair and wrapped his arms around his neck. "Ah! I can't believe it! I'll be going to my very first date!" Shadow happily said, well almost squealed, as I returned the embrace. A sad smile snaked its way on my muzzle. A first date was supposed to come before having sex, should signal the beginning of a relationship and should definitely come before having three kids. Instead, he had to go through so much before getting his first date, something that alot of people his age already had by now. But just like a part of me was sad, another part of me was glad, glad that Shadow would finally have the opportunity, and determined. Determined to make this the best first date anyone could have. I had no idea what we could do or where we should go, but improvisation was another something I was good at.
After informing my parents about our date and asking them if they could look after Silver today, we quickly left the house. "So where exactly are you taking me?" Shadow asked, barely able to contain his excitement. "Well, first off all, we're going to take a walk and see where we'll end up." I said, looking over at the smaller hedgehog walking next to me. I could see that he had expected something a little more than a simple walk, but he kept quiet and looked in front of him, probably thinking that a first date shouldn't be all that much. I smiled. Of course, I had more in mind than a just short walk, but I couldn't tell him that. No, he had to see and find out for himself. But that could wait for at least a moment. This date wasn't just to take Shadow out, it was also meant as a moment for ourselves to talk. "Shadow... About this morning... I'm very sorry for calling you a terrible mother and a whore. I was angry and jumping to conclusions. I shouldn't have said it." I apologised. The slight content smile Shadow wore, dissapeared of his muzzle as I began to talk to him about our fight this morning. "But did you mean it?" He asked and looked back at me. I shook my head and wrapped my arm around his shoulder. "No, I didn't. And even if I did, I would be wrong. Besides having no experience at being a parent, you're trying your best for Silver and I know you'll do the same for Ebony and Mephiles." I said, which made that small smile return. "You will too. You're just the kind of person who wants to help others. So even though my first two aren't yours, you'll still help me take care of them. You're just that kind of person." Shadow said, making me smile. "Yeah, the first two might not be mine, but Silver is. And so is the one you're carrying now." I said. If Shadow had any regret that Ebony and Mephiles weren't mine, than I hope he would feel differently knowing that he would soon have second one from me. I, on the other hand, had no hard feelings towards him. From complete strangers or not, I was going to be there to raise them. Those strangers weren't their father, I would be. Our walk was peaceful. Now that our fight had been resolved we talked about all sorts of other things. Shadow explained what he had in mind for the bakery. He wanted to start with something simple first. Like simply advertising through a simple poster or something like that. He was in the middle of designing said poster when I asked him out on a date. Once it was finished, he wanted to ask the help of a local newspaper company and try to get an ad posted along with the poster. It was probably gonna cost him money, but he was willingly to try it. "Are we going to the movies too?" Shadow asked after a long half an hour walk when he saw me heading over to the cinema. "Yeah. I have no idea which movies are playing, but we'll find out soon, won't we?" I said as I glanced at the hedgehog next to me again. "You didn't plan any of this, did you?" He asked and I shook my head, admitting that I hadn't planned any of this at all. "Improvisation. Doesn't sound like the best idea, but it could work." He said. I held the door open for Shadow and he thanked me before entering. We both looked at the wallpapers of several movies as we made our way to the middle of the entrance hall and watched the trailers play on one of the screens that hung up on a wall. "So what do you have in mind? Action? Comedy? Horror?" Shadow asked as he watched the several trailers. "Well, we're on a date. Does this mean we have to watch romantic movies?" I asked, looking over to him. Shadow shook his head. "I don't really like romance movies. I prefer action and horror." He said. "You do? I like action aswell. Wanna watch one of those?" I suggested and he nodded. Not too long after I bought us our tickets while Shadow got us our popcorn and drinks. But because the movie was already busy, we had to wait a couple of hours before we could go in. We filled that time by talking, watching trailers and having a look around the shop. Once the movie was over, we quickly occupied our seats in one of the many theater rooms, awaiting the moment that the movie would finally start. "You know, mother and father were always so busy with work, but they also made sure to spend enough time with me. And sometimes, when they had a day off, they would take me to watch a movie in the cinema. Have you gone to the movies before?" Shadow asked he took his eyes off of the bottle he was trying to open to glance at me for a moment. "Of course, loads of times, but it stills stays fun. You need help with that bottle?" I asked, to which Shadow responded by handing it over to me. "Brought any of your dates here too?" He asked and took the bottle back with a quick 'thank you' once it was open and took a sip. "Oh yeah, I brought alot of them here. And every single time I would try that trick you often see on tv. You know, that move where the guy pretends to yawn and tries to wrap his arm around their date's shoulder. Like this." I said before showing Shadow exactly what I meant; wrapping my arm around his shoulder and pulling him close. "And did it ever work?" He asked. "No, my dates usually got freaked out and hit me because they thought someone was gonna get them." I answered. "Oh?" Shadow's simply said. "Yeah, that move doesn't work all that well during horror movies." I said and Shadow couldn't help laugh a little. I smiled as I heard him laugh. As short as it was, it was the first time I had actually heard it. Of course, I've heard Shadow fake it before when I had paid him for his services, but this time it sounded genuine. "You know... Someday I want to come here with the kids." He said as he let his head rest on my shoulder. I was right to take him out on a date. He looked relaxed now that he didn't have the kids, the bakery or Scourge to worry about. He could finally enjoy himself for once. And I was enjoying this aswell. So hey, it was a win for everyone, right? The commercials started, signaling the beginning of the movie. Shadow and I straightened up in our seats as it wasn't exactly comfortable hugging eachother with an arm rest between us. Throughout the whole movie, we held eachother hands, only parting whenever one of us wanted popcorn or sip from our drink.
Three and a half hours later, the movie was over. "It's already time for dinner. Should we go home?" Shadow asked as he dropped his empty bottle in a trashcan on our way out of the cinema. We were still holding eachother's hand. "What? No, of course not! Haven't you ever gone out in high school? We won't go back until It's atleast 8 or 9 pm!" I joked. Usually teens stayed out much longer, but not us. We had a son to go back to. And even though Shadow prepared bottles for Silver for as long as we were gone, neither one of us wanted to stay away for too long. "No, I was the kind of teen who stayed at home studying because he wanted to make his parents proud." Shadow answered. "Oh right." I muttered as I remembered that Shadow had once told me that before. "What else do you have in mind if we're not going home yet?" He asked. "Well, you said it yourself that it was almost time for dinner, right? So why won't we go and eat as a restaurant somewhere?" I suggested. "Can we?"He asked, obviously concerned as we had already spend my money and what little money he has on watching a movie. "Of course we can. We need to eat, don't we?" I stated before pulling him along to a nice little restaurant I so happen to know. As we arrived, I could see that it was pretty crowded in there, but there was still one free table for two. Deciding not to test our luck any further, we quickly entered and took our seat at the table. "Any idea what you're going to get?" I asked as I looked at the menu. "N-No..." I heard him mutter. I placed my menu down to look at my date. He was holding his own menu. But he wasn't just looking at the menu. He was hiding behind it. "That man sitting there in the corner with his wife..." Shadow said before I even needed to open my mouth to question him. I looked behind me at the man Shadow was referring to. He wore a neat costume that seemed to fit the arrogant air around him. The woman sitting opposite to him with her fancy red dress and jewels seemed just as egotistical as him, if not even more. They both wore a golden ring around their finger. They were obviously married. But it was also obvious the man used to be one of Shadow's customers by the way Shadow referred him. I looked back at Shadow. I wanted to say something to cheer him up a little, but Shadow interrupted me before I could even begin to talk again. "That man used to be a regular customers of mine. His wife found out when I was about 5 months far with Mephiles. She had followed her husband to the bordello and she, thankfully, came in when we were about to start. She saw that I was pregnant and thought it was her husband's. So she got angry at me." Shadow took a pause, moving the menu so he could look at me, but still stay out of view of those two. "I tried to calm her down. I grew up believing that people from the 'higher society' like me were supposed to be educated and understanding like my parents. But she lost her temper and began screaming at me in anger. She was accusing me of seducing her husband and getting pregnant to get his money. I tried calming her down, but it didn't work. She did leave after a while, but she must be the scariest woman I've ever met." He said. He felt uncomfortable to see this woman again. This so-called sophisticated woman. My frown turned into a light smirk as I took Shadow's menu, folded it and placed it back down on the table. "What're y-" "I'm not going to let you give in. If those two see us, than good. I want them to see you. I want them to see us. You're turning your life around for the better, right? No shame in that." I said, taking his hand into my own in comfort. Shadow gave me a light smile and didn't try to prop the menu up again. He did take it, but when he did, it was too see what he was going to get. A waiter came by to take our orders and soon enough we had our drink and food placed in front of us. We talked and talked throughout our whole dinner date. Shadow had long forgotten about the arrogant couples sitting a table or two away from us and allowed himself to relax. Although, he did start to worry about Silver and I soon found myself thinking about the kid more and more aswell. I often caught myself wondering how he was holding up. After another short hour, we decided to call it a night and go back home, go back to Silver. And so we left the restaurant after I had offered to pay for our food. We only had another street or two to go before Shadow suddenly halted. I did the same and looked ahead. Rouge was standing there. She smiled when she saw us and ran up to us. She wasn't wearing the same clothes she did when I saw her last time. She wore normal, decent clothes instead. "Rouge, I haven't seen you in so long already! I have so much to tell you!" Shadow stated, obviously glad to see his best friend again. I would've smiled too if I didn't feel like something was off about her. Rouge kept up the nice act as she listened to her friend talk about Silver, getting Ebony and Mephiles back and the project he had started for my parents' bakery. In turn she told us little things about her and Knuckles' wedding. I didn't buy it. Shadow might not notice Rouge's strange behaviour, but I did. And I was going to question it. If she was here for Scourge, than I was going to interfere. Shadow and the baby would not be exposed to further harm. Once the two were done catching up, I decided to speak. "So why're you here?" I asked. A deep frown was visible on my muzzle, showing my distrust for her presence. Shadow glanced at me in confusion for a moment before looking at Rouge. She was looking down at the sidewalk. She was hiding something in her purse. "Rouge?" Shadow called her name as he became suspicious of her silence. Rouge took a deep breath before pulling a small black square item from her purse and handing it over to Shadow. "The tape..." He muttered and took it from her. The tape seemed to be a disc instead, hidden in a cover with no name. He looked back up to his friend to thank her, but saw that she was still staring at the ground, wearing a guilty expression. I didn't say anything, but my eyes did narrow and my ears bent back to pin down on my head. I didn't like this at all. Rouge muttered something, but it was so silent that neither one of us had heard a single word. "You have to speak louder, Rouge." I said. "I knew." She simply said. "Knew what? Rouge, just tell me what's going on!" Shadow said. "I knew that Scourge had recorded you that day... So.. when I learned of his plan to blackmail you with it..." Her words trailed off, but Shadow still knew what she was trying to tell him. A look off utter shock was present on his face. His voice was so soft when he spoke, but I could still hear it as clear as day. "Scourge never had the tape."
What is this?! Shadow's POV without a flashback?! You better believe it! And also, PLOT TWIST!!!! And let's not forget! The next story that will be updated is probably Jailed By heart 3!
Also, I would really appreciate it if you guys placed a comment down below to tell me what you guys think about the story so far!
Hmmm I see the issue. I could see both sides, y'know like Sonic deciding the kid needs a dad, however the whole story has been spent with Shadow being alone and independent despite help from Rouge every now and then. Idk
Hmmm I see the issue. I could see both sides, y'know like Sonic deciding the kid needs a dad, howeve
