SALVATION

CHAPTER TWO

Four months passed rather quickly. During that time, Infinite had relearned how to walk, finally opened up his morality to something considered "normal". Sure, he and Shadow still had their occasional arguments, but even still... Life had been going smoothly. The two had formed an inexplicably tight bond and became so extremely close over the time it took for Infinites skull to finally heal. They'd become the perfect piece for one another.

Shadow had been keeping them on the move for the past three weeks, being sure not to stay in any one place for more than three or four days to be sure that Infinite was kept under the radar. Of course, he had the contingency plan to escape to the ARK if things turned sour, but that was more or less a last ditch effort.

As of this moment, however; they were staying at the hybrid's backup apartment, and Infinite was making breakfast. He was content in humming to himself as he cooked, waiting for the pan to heat up on the stove before cracking one or two eggs into it. His tail idly swayed behind his back. This domesticity had been something he'd missed, and he was more than happy to have gotten it back, even if it had technically cost his life to return to...

The jackals humming came to a stop as he lost himself in that thought. His eye became ever slightly unfocused as he grabbed a spatula, poking the still mostly-raw eggs around in the pan as though it'd make them cook faster. His free hand reached up to the destroyed left side of his face, touching the crystal that had grown in the empty socket where a brilliant amber once sat. The eggs began to sizzle and cook, yet he seemed almost clueless to it, lost in the smooth feeling of the ruby that'd essentially taken his body over.

Whatever thoughts started brewing didn't last long as a (very tired) Shadow stumbled from his room with a groan, rubbing his eyes. Dragon-like eyes scanned around before landing onto the jackal in the kitchen. "Knew I felt movement," He muttered, snapping Infinite from his own mind as he refocused onto the half-cooked eggs. "It's like... Five? In the morning. Why are you awake?" The hybrid leaned on the arched doorway to the kitchen with a tired stare.

"I couldn't get back to sleep." Infinite replied. His hand pulled away from the crystal and instead held onto the handle of the pan, giving it a wiggle as he attempted to flip the eggs, only succeeding in breaking the yolk and merging the whites together. "Got hungry, thought eggs sounded good. I didn't mean to wake you up." His gaze didn't lift in the slightest, though his tail fell into a slight curl between his legs.

Shadow took notice and tilted his head. "Did I sound upset? Because I'm not." He shrugged. "In fact, could you make me a couple as well?" Of course, he didn't technically need to eat, but it was cute to see Infinite perk up whenever he was offered a chance to make anything for him.

To Infinite, it was like earning "good boy" points, which was something totally normal to want and completely possible to receive. Of course he wouldn't object. "I can do that, yes." The jackal hummed with a nod. "Is there anything else you want? Or..." His voice cut out as Shadow moved from his place in the doorway to stand next to him, raising an eyeridge at the now half-burnt-half-raw eggs in the pan. "Just eggs. Pancakes are too sweet, bacon's too salty." The hybrid clicked his tongue. "I'll take the ones you're making now if you don't mind." Infinite glanced between the pan and Shadow and shook his head. "Ah... I was planning on just throwing these out and-"

Horror spread across his face as he was completely ignored, Shadow reaching his hand into the pan to pull out the disgusting mess of egg just to shove it into his mouth with a huff. A quick glance down to his companion nearly made him choke. Infinite had both the must disgusted and horrified look on his face, eye wide with... Shock? Terror? Who knew, but it made Shadow snort.

"You- the?!" The jackal sputtered and glanced from the pan back to the hedgehog beside him. "That couldn't have tasted good!! You're going to get sick!" He hassled. The hybrid rolled his eyes, swallowing the "food" and crossing his arms. "I can't get sick, remember? I'm also not wasting anything."