a hedgehogs unlikely crush

ch 7

Shadow stirred, his body aching as he blinked himself awake. The fire was still crackling softly nearby, but the first thing he noticed was Perci leaning over him, pressing something cool against his forehead.

"The hell are you doing?" he growled, his voice rough from sleep, instantly on guard.

"Relax," Perci replied, not even flinching at his tone. "Just taking your temp. You were burning up earlier, so I wanted to make sure you weren't getting worse."

Shadow swatted her hand away, trying to sit up but feeling the wave of dizziness hit him. "I'm fine," he grumbled, glaring at her like she'd just committed some grave offense.

Perci raised an eyebrow, standing up and walking over to the fire. She grabbed a small bowl of soup she'd made while he was out and held it out toward him. "Here. Eat this."

Shadow stared at it like she'd offered him poison. "I'm not eating that."

Perci rolled her eyes. "Don't be a damn idiot, Shadow. You need to eat something."

"I don't need anything from you," Shadow snapped, his stubbornness kicking in full force.

Perci sighed, clearly reaching the end of her patience. She crossed her arms and fixed him with a hard stare. "Alright, fine. If you don't eat, I'll call Sonic and the rest of the gang and let them deal with your ass."

Shadow's eyes narrowed, anger flashing across his face. "You wouldn't dare."

"Oh, try me," she shot back. "I don't care how tough you act, you need food if you want to stop acting like you're invincible. I'll call Sonic in a heartbeat."

For a moment, they glared at each other in silence, neither one backing down. Shadow clenched his fists, clearly wanting to argue, but the threat of dealing with Sonic was enough to make him swallow his pride—for now.

"Fine," he muttered through gritted teeth, taking the bowl from her hands and downing the soup without looking at her.

Perci watched him eat, and after a few moments of silence, she leaned back against the wall, arms still crossed. "You know, you don't always have to act like this. It wouldn't kill you to smile once in a while."

Shadow shot her a dark look but didn't respond. He finished the soup and handed the empty bowl back to her, his expression as cold as ever.

"Or laugh," she added, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

"I don't laugh," Shadow said flatly. "There's nothing funny about this world."

Perci shook her head. "Wow. You must be a riot at parties."

Shadow didn't dignify that with a response, turning his head to look out at the storm that had died down, the wind still howling softly outside.

After a few beats of silence, Perci spoke up again. "Look, you can't stay here. You're sick, and this cave isn't exactly five-star accommodation." She paused, then added with a smirk, "I insist you come with me to my house."

Shadow, expecting another argument, opened his mouth to protest, but something about the way she said it—so casually, like it wasn't a big deal—made him pause. He stared at her for a moment, and surprisingly, the words came out before he could stop them.

"Fine," he muttered.

Perci blinked, clearly caught off guard. "Wait... did you just say yes?"

"Don't make me regret it," Shadow growled, standing up slowly, still feeling the ache in his muscles. He grabbed his things, clearly not wanting to seem weak but too tired to argue further.

Perci couldn't help the small smile that crept onto her face. "Alright then. Let's get going before you change your mind."

Shadow shot her a warning glare but didn't say anything as they headed out of the cave, the tension between them still there, but somehow, the walls they'd built were starting to crack—just a little.