Fate's Wretched Odyssey

IV

Shadow got home, one hand dragging down his tired face as he shirked his blazer and carelessly tossed it aside to deal with sometime the next day. Rouge would be coming soon, and she always took so long in the shower, so Shadow was going to use this opportunity to clean up first, shave a little bit, and get all cozied up for a night of much deserved rest.

The black hedgehog unbuttoned his shirt as he marched up the stairs to his shared bedroom with Rouge, that piece of garment also being thrown across the room without a single ounce of gentleness. He groaned and undressed himself completely before entering the large ensuite bathroom.

He started the shower so it could warm up while he relieved himself in the toilet before he stepped under its warm rain and began washing all the smells and stains of the day from his messy quills. Soap was rubbed carefully into his downy fur, clearing away the day's filth.

Once he was finished, he grabbed a red bathrobe from the back of the door and walked out just in time to see a red echidna leading Rouge into their room. "Knuckles. You know I don't appreciate guests unannounced," he said smoothly to his employee with little disdain, though there was still some that lingered behind his words.

"I know, Shadow. But she's had some to drink and she started getting chatty about you with the new guy," he explained without going into detail. Shadow just grunted and walked over to his wife. "Rouge, go take a shower," he instructed. The bat waved him off dismissively, "Yeah, yeah. Give me a sec, handsome." Knuckles rolled his eyes.

"So, why'd you hire that blue boy?" Shadow hadn't expected the question. "I mean, you just seemed so disappointed by his work," his red employee said, one hand helping Rouge up as she struggled to grab at it. "He wasn't too bad. But it's clear that his exterior is soft. I was just trying to rough him up a little," Shadow said nonchalantly and sat down on his side of the bed.

His red eyes watched as Knuckles led Rouge to the bathroom and let her enter before he closed the door for the sake of her privacy — despite the two having already been intimate several times — and returned his full attention to his manager. "I guess that makes sense. He does look pretty scrawny. Worse than Silver, and that's saying something."

"True, but Silver still has his height going for him. This man was just so unlucky with his size, especially for a wolf," Shadow chuckled.

Knuckles crossed his arms. "Eh? He's a wolf? Thought he was a porcupine or something with how long his quills were and his sharp teeth," he admitted with a small grunt. Shadow laid back on his bed, closing his eyes. "He's a crossbreed between a hedgehog and a wolf apparently. Some kind of rare chimera abomination if I had to guess, seeing as I've never heard of a mobian with spliced genes before, not to mention between an herbivore and a carnivore," he said.

That seemed like the only possible explanation, a rare occurrence in his genes and chromosomes. It would also explain why he was so measly. Perhaps something to do with the fact that he just wasn't a regular mobian. That said, it was also possible that because of his unbelievably rare gene splicing that he could have gone through some health difficulties when younger.

Shadow shrugged all those thoughts aside. That wasn't his business. Sonic was just small, and that was all there was to it. "Feel free to leave whenever. Rouge's yours to babysit tomorrow. I want to have the house to myself so I can get some work done regarding the casino," the dark hedgehog mumbled as he pulled the covers over himself.

"Alright, boss. See ya on Monday." Shadow never went to the casino on weekends. He left the management up to Rouge and his trusted employees for those two days while he rested up at home after having a long week of dealing with his grotesque clientele.

Knuckles left, and Shadow was beginning to doze off when Rouge hobbled out of the bathroom with her pajamas on. She dropped onto her own side of the bed and reached for her eye mask, just about ready to hit the hay as well.