I Can't Breathe Without You

By Candlelight

"Shadow, I think you've washed them quite enough." Amy giggles, attempting to reach into the sink to pick out the vegetables, that had been resting on the ground moments before.

Shadow swatches her hand away.

"Don't touch." He demands, blocking Amy's access to the sink. She sighs at his stubborn nature.

"I'm sure it's fine by now. It would be nice to start dinner this year, Shadow." Amy teases, quickly pushing past Shadow's firm stance, she manages to grab a single tomato. Shadow's head snaps back in her direction angrily, an annoyed huff escaping his lips as he watches Amy begin to dice up the tomato on a cutting board.

She surprisingly gets it done swiftly, her cooking skills on full display.

Accepting defeat, Shadow removes the remaining vegetables from the sink. Thankfully it was the last of the groceries he needed to wash, having meticulously gone through disinfecting each tin can and pasta packaging.

Amy had tried to argue with the stubborn hedgehog that she was sure nothing had contaminated the items, but Shadow didn't want to take the risk. Not only were they lying on the floor accumulating bacteria while Shadow had his lengthy meltdown, but he couldn't trust the other shopping patrons with their filthy (more than likely) unwashed hands.

Growing up aboard The Ark, Shadow didn't have to worry as much when it came to germs, as the colony was always in pristine conditions. Not only that, but the vacuum of space had no breeding grounds for bacteria.

This left Shadow worry free when it came to microorganisms with Maria, but Amy was going to be a completely different story. Her nativity on the situation was shocking, her lax attitude was already starting to drive Shadow insane.

But his annoyance came only came from the fact that he cared.

Making his way next to the pink hedgehog, he carefully places down the remaining vegetables; some tomatoes, mushrooms and onions.

Amy exchanges an amused look with The Ultimate Lifeform, before stretching out her palm in a grabbing motion.

"Another Tomato, please." She requests Shadow, who despite rolling his eyes, does oblige. Placing the tomato carefully into Amy's outstretched hand, she grips it gently as she places it onto the board, the knife dangling over it menacingly. Amy sideeyes Shadow, ensuring his paying attention.

"So you've never diced a tomato before?" Amy asks, an eyebrow raised. Shadow shakes his head in response. Gesturing her gaze back to the board, Shadow follows, realising Amy's about to begin her training lesson.

"First, keep the tomato steady. Make sure your fingers aren't in the way, the last you want to do is cut yourself." Knowing that Shadow is concentrating, Amy begins the first cut—slicing the tomato, ensuring each cut is eveningly disrupted. The slices flop onto the board, the mess of tomato juice leaking everywhere was extremely unappealing to Shadow, but nonetheless, he doesn't voice his concern.

"Once you've got your slices, you're simply going to cut up each slice into little cubes. Simplest way to do so is by imagining you're drawing a grid, but your pencil is a knife instead." Shadow scoffs at Amy's strange analogy, but sure enough her technique works, as she disseminates the slice into little cubes. Amy uses this technique for a couple more of the slices, before turning to Shadow, outstretching the knife safely towards him.

"Would you like to have a go?" She offers, prompting him to at least have a go. Shadow carefully takes the knife from her, as Amy steps out the way.

Carefully, he grips onto the slice, trying to steady it with his fingers, which proved to be harder than he had anticipated. He manages to successfully make the first cut, which Amy cheers on from the sidelines. Somewhat gaining a confidence boost from her encouragement, Shadow manages to dice up the remaining slices. He turns to Amy triumphantly at his accomplishment, despite how small it felt for him in the grand scheme of things. Amy returns a proud grin.