Frostbitten

Chapter 9 - Envy

Sunlight streaming in awoke Shadow to a new day. For a moment he lay contentedly remembering the previous night with Blaze. The savory aroma of breakfast cooking then wafted into his room.

Making his way to the kitchen, he found Blaze humming cheerfully as she adeptly cooked eggs and sausages.

"Good morning," she greeted warmly. "I hope you don't mind, I raided your fridge to make us some breakfast."

"Not at all, it smells wonderful," Shadow replied, incredibly touched by her thoughtful gesture. He helped set out plates and utensils, admiring how naturally domestic this felt.

As they ate, golden morning light filtering in, their conversation flowed comfortably. Shadow found himself opening up about small details of his past he had shared with few others. Blaze listened intently, her compassionate nature putting him fully at ease.

When she brought up last night, Shadow flushed in embarrassment. But Blaze quickly took his hand reassuringly.

"There's no rush for anything between us," she said gently. "We can take this as slowly as you need."

Shadow sighed, but felt relieved by her patience and understanding.

"After all, it's not like you can avoid me forever," Blaze added with a playful grin. "I can be very persuasive when I want something. And I have a feeling there will be plenty more opportunities for me to get my way."

She winked as Shadow's cheeks reddened further at her implication. But he also felt a thrill at the promise of intimacy down the road when the time was right.

"Well I'm certainly no match for your charms," Shadow admitted. He was touched by Blaze's consideration for his comfort. With her, he felt safe to be vulnerable while exploring new boundaries.

"But for now, let's just enjoy more mornings like this together." Blaze's eyes shone happily in agreement.

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Shadow and Blaze were cleaning up breakfast when Sonic knocked rapidly on the door before barging in.

"Hey Shads, I gotta steal you for a bit!" Sonic exclaimed. His eyes widened seeing Blaze in Shadow's shirt. "Oh...did I interrupt something?" he asked with a grin.

Shadow flushed while Blaze laughed. "Nothing happened! Now what do you want?" Shadow grumbled.

"Just need to chat with you real quick. In private."

Shadow looked ready to blast him but Blaze intervened. "It's fine, I should get going anyway. I'm meeting Silver this morning," she explained.

As Sonic dragged Shadow out, he repeated himself, though this time there was not a playful tone in his voice, "Hey, I really need to talk to you about something important, buddy."

Shadow tried shaking off his flustered embarrassment. "Alright, what is it?"

"I'll tell you in a sec, let's give the lady some privacy first," Sonic replied. Both hedgehogs waited for Blaze to leave.

After Blaze changed back into her dress, Shadow felt a familiar pang of jealousy rise up which he tried to ignore.

Blaze gave Shadow a quick kiss on the cheek before heading out. Shadow watched her go, taking a deep breath to calm his irrational envy.

Sonic gave him a sympathetic pat. "I know it ain't easy sometimes, but you gotta trust her. Now come on, I really do have something serious I need your help with..."