a hedgehogs unlikely crush

ch 6

Perci finished adjusting the moss bed she'd prepared, glancing over at Shadow, who still looked incredibly stubborn as he sat against the wall, the blanket wrapped around him.

"Alright, get on the bed," Perci said, standing up and dusting her hands off. "You need to rest."

Shadow shot her an annoyed glare, tightening the blanket around his shoulders like it was a shield. "I'm not some weakling, bandicoot. I can sit just fine."

Perci rolled her eyes, already losing patience. "My name is Perci, not 'bandicoot.' Now get on the bed or I'll drag your stubborn ass over there myself."

Shadow huffed, his pride clearly bruised. "I'm not getting on some pile of moss you threw together."

Perci's eyes narrowed, her hands on her hips. "Fine. Have it your way."

Before Shadow could respond, Perci reached down, grabbing him by his arm and hoisting him up with surprising strength. "What the hell—" Shadow protested, but she didn't give him a chance to finish. In one swift motion, she picked him up and tossed him onto the makeshift bed.

Shadow landed with a grunt, glaring up at her while trying to shift into a less painful position. "You're crazy, you know that?" he spat, but there was a tinge of discomfort in his voice as he winced, trying to settle his aching body.

Perci ignored his insult, rummaging through his stuff, searching for anything that looked like medicine. "You can keep calling me names all you want, but that's not gonna make me stop helping you," she said, digging through his things. "And where the hell do you keep your meds?"

Shadow watched her, his frown deepening. "Why the hell are you even doing this?" he growled, struggling to find a position that didn't hurt his sore body. "You don't owe me anything. You should've just left me."

Perci paused, glancing back at him for a moment before shaking her head. "You saved me back there, didn't you? Guess I owe you for that. And besides, I'm not the kind of person who just leaves someone when they're sick, even if they're a jerk."

Shadow scoffed, trying to mask his discomfort. "I don't need your pity."

Perci finally found a small bottle that looked like painkillers and tossed it toward him. "It's not pity, it's common sense," she said bluntly. "You're burning up with a fever, and you can barely sit straight. Take the damn medicine, or I'll shove it down your throat myself."

Shadow's eyes narrowed at her, but he knew better than to argue further. With a reluctant grumble, he took the bottle and popped a few pills into his mouth, swallowing them dry.

Perci knelt beside him, her tone softening slightly. "Look, I don't care how tough you think you are. You saved me in that storm, so now I'm making sure you don't collapse from some stupid fever."

Shadow looked away, clearly not used to anyone caring about him like that. "You should just focus on yourself."

Perci gave a small, amused smirk. "Yeah, well, too bad for you, I'm focusing on both of us now." She stood up, grabbing another blanket and tossing it over him before sitting back down near the fire.

Shadow lay there silently for a moment, trying to process everything. He wasn't used to people helping him, especially not someone like Perci. It felt foreign, and it made him uncomfortable, but deep down, he couldn't deny that he needed the rest.

As he shifted to find a more comfortable position, he muttered under his breath, "Still don't know why the hell you're doing this..."

Perci didn't respond, just kept an eye on the fire, the storm still raging outside. Shadow's eyes began to close as the exhaustion took over, his gruff exterior softening just for a moment as sleep pulled him under.