*Shadow's POV *
"How did you sleep?" Rouge asked me as I walked to the dining room and saw she was cooking. "Here." She walked to me and gave me a small bowl of coffee beans. "Only half a cup." She said and I grunted not wanting to even answer her.
I could feel myself going back to how I used to and I didn't like it. After being with Sonic, I realized I shouldn't be scared of being open to others but after what happened, I couldn't help but build a wall again.
I know I shouldn't around Rouge, after all she knew me the longest amd had put up with me through everything. She had saved me and even given a place to stay while I bought a house but I couldn't help it and she seemed to understand just fine.
I sat down on the couch and ate some of the coffee beans making Rouge laugh softly. "That's still surprising to me. You think Shade will be the same way? Eating the beans instead of making coffee?" She walked to me and gave me a plate of waffles but Ai still walked to the dining room to eat at the table.
"I hope he's nothing like me." I said as I started eating. Rouge kept asking questions about how I was feeling and what I was going to do back at GUN, for the most part I could answer with a shrug or a grunt. Until she asked me about Sonic.
"Do you still love him?" She asked. I nodded. "Then why are you here?"
"Because he's with someone else, Rouge. I love him and me being there does not help him. He tenses up when I'm around, he cries when I leave, it's like back when he was scared I would kill him." I felt calm talking to her about this. "He said Jet he doesn't love me anymore so why do I stay? I told him I would wait for him even if he was never ready, but I want him to be happy, and he will never be happy with me."
"You don't know if he is with Jet though." Rouge said and I shook my head.
"You're right, I don't. But I do know the kids like him and are comfortable with him, Sonic talked to him freely and calmly, maybe I'm just the one holding Sonic back and I don't want that. From now on, I'll only see Sonic when it's drop off day for the kids. They will probably stay with Sonic all week and I get them during the weekends so it doesn't interfere with school." I put my fork down once I finished eating.
"But-" I cut her off.
"Let's go to work." I walked to the door, making sure she knew I didn't want to talk about this anymore.
Going back to work felt a lot calmer than I thought, yet again, this time I didn't have to worry about the doctors experimenting on me or the commander punishing me thanks to Queen Aleena.
Half way through ny shift, I decided I should text Sonic.
Sh: I think I should have the weekends with the kids. That way it doesn't interfere with their school.
S: That's not a bad idea. They're going to continue classes here at the castle.
S: They're asking about you.
Sh: It was better that I no longer stayed at the castle.
Sh: I'll talk to them when I see them on Friday.
S: Shouldn't I be there for this talk?
I looked down at my phone and sighed. He wasn't wrong, we didn't want to confuse the kids further.
S: What exactly are we even going to tell them?
Sh: I think we both need to talk before we talk to the kids.
S: I can meet you somewhere. Where are you?
Sh: I'm staying at Rouges. Meet me at her house tonight. We will talk then.
I put my phone down and rubbed my face. I was thankful Sonic wasn't the type to keep the kids away from me or act out of anger. He was kind even when he was hurt.
"Sonic is coming over after work. We need to talk about what we are going to tell the kids."
"Thank chaos for those kids or you two would never talk to each other again." Rouge mumbled making me roll my eyes. She wasn't wrong.
As the time passed, I caught myself hoping for the day to never end. For once in my life, I wanted to stay at G.U.N. in this office and never leave. I did not want to see Sonic, I was not ready and not prepared for what I was going to say.
What was I even going to tell him?
How exactly did I feel about all of this?
"Let's go, Hun." Rouge snapped me out of my thoughts. "Sonic is probably waiting for you already." I groaned at that but she grabbed my arm and yanked me up. "Now you listen to me, Shadow the Hedgehog, you're not going to snap back into the cold self you used to be, understood? You need to talk to Sonic and try to figure out how the two of you feel." She snapped. I could only stare and blink unsure of what to even say. Before she could say anything else though, I chaos controlled us in her living room.
*Sonic's POV *
I hesitated but knocked on the door later that night. I was a few minutes late than the time we agreed on because I had to make sure the kids were okay. I looked up when I saw the door open only to meet with Rouge.
"Hey Blue. Come in. Shadow's in the living room. I'll be in my room to give you two some privacy. Call me if you need anything." She said as she let me in thwn walked away.
Sure. Privacy. We all knew she'd be having her ear against the wall to listen to the conversation but at this point I didn't care.
"Sit." Shadow said, he was resting against a wall with his arms crossed. My ears perked up at looking at him, he had pierced his ears and now had double helix piercings on his right ear. I guess I stared for too long because he noticed and answered me. "Rouge did that. She always wanted to, I didn't fight back this time."
"Doesn't it hurt?" I asked. This felt normal, my heart was still shattered into pieces but somehow this conversation felt normal.
"No." He said coldly.
That's why it felt normal. Shadow was half treating me like before. Cold. Angry. But I couldn't blame him. I never could. It had always been my fault.
"It looks good on you." I said then looked down. "So..." I started.
"It's over." Shadow said with a sigh. I was expecting this, I mean I was the one that asked him for space but, why did it hurt even more? "Whatever we had after I came back, it's over. I can't be with you anymore." He didn't move from where he was and I tried to remain strong, just like I used to before.
I nodded at him. "Okay..." A single word was all I could manage to say.
"I'll only keep in contact to see the kids, I'm working at G.U.N. again, the commander agreed to leave Shade alone as long as I work for them. Thanks to your mother they will treat me differently this time." He talked and I just listened. "I want to see the kids, all 3 of them, not just Shade. I'm going to be in their lives no matter what."
"I wouldn't keep you from them." I shook my head. "But I also want to spend time with them some weekends. We need to arrange for that." Shadow nodded.
"We will figure that out. Until then does that sound right to you?" I nodded at him.
"What are you going to tell them?" I asked and it was his turn to stay quiet for a bit.
"That we don't love each other anymore."
Why?
Why did that hurt so much to hear?
