Fooled To Love

Mornings with a Crazy Badger

The movie was over, but Knuckles didn't want to move a single bit. Why? Well, a certain hedgehog fell asleep, his head laying on the echidna's arm. Knuckles didn't know, but Shadow hadn't slept in a whole week! The dark hedgehog needed the rest, but he knew he was going to curse himself for falling asleep in the morning.

Knuckles carefully picked up Shadow, trying hard not to wake him. He smiled at the hedgehog in his arms as he walked through the night and into the jungle, where Sticks' cave was.

He has been living with Sticks for as long as he could remember. Ever since he was young, the badger has been taking care of him, which makes him wonder how old Sticks really is. He never brought up the question, knowing that girls don't like being asked how old they are (Amy and a lady walrus taught him the hard way).

"Hey, Sticks?" Knuckles asked, knowing she was still up due to her paranoia. "Can Shadow stay here for the night?"

"As long as he doesn't try to kill me while I'm sleeping." The drowsy reply was.

Knuckles nodded and walked towards the back of the cave, where his 'room' was. A bed and a lamp were the only things he had, along with a couple rocks that he used for weight lifting. He gently set Shadow on his bed and covered him with a blanket. Then, he arranged a couple of blankets on the ground to make a comfortable enough bed before laying down on it.

"Goodnight Shadow..." he whispered before falling asleep.

____Knuxadow________

Shadow woke up, his red eyes darting around. This wasn't his house. What happened last night?

'I fell asleep... while watching that movie with the echidna...' he remembered, mentally cursing himself for letting his guard down enough to fall asleep. He found the echidna sleeping on the ground. 'At least he is respectful of my space...'

He looked around again, wondering why the echidna lived in a cave. Something moving caught his attention, and he turned to look there. Sonic's crazy badger friend was standing right there, making him jump slightly.

They both just stared at each other, neither bothering to speak. Sticks set her eyes in a glare, getting into the hedgehog's face. "If you hurt him, I'll come and personally sacrifice you to the aliens."

Shadow was going to make a remark, but he was too creped out to come up with one. The way the badger's crazed eyes bore into him made him feel uncomfortable. Slowly he nodded. "Understood."

Sticks turned around and walked towards the front of the cave, leaving Shadow in a state of unease. Luckily, Knuckles started to wake up, letting Shadow get distracted.

Knuckles rubbed his eyes sleepily. "Did I fall of the bed again...?" He looked at Shadow and instantly brightened up. "Oh, hey Shadow."

Shadow nodded his hello. He then looked back at Sticks, who was preparing breakfast. "You are aware that your badger friend is here?"

"Oh, yeah." Knuckles smiled. "I live with her."

"Excuse me if I misunderstand, but don't two people live together if they are in a relationship?"

"What? No! It's not like that, Shadow!" Knuckles said hurriedly. "She took me in when I was young."

Shadow nodded slowly. He didn't believe Knuckles to be a liar, so he just dropped the subject and stretched some.

Knuckles stared at Shadow as he stretched out his tired muscles. Shadow looked perfect in the morning: his chest fur in a slight mess while his quills remained in perfect condition. His eyes were slightly drooped, but still alert, and the way he stretched showed off the muscles he had under that little body of his. Knuckles blushed and looked away from the ebony hedgehog.

Shadow stepped out of bed and found his rocket skates and gloves set down neatly on the floor. He put them on. "I guess I should be leaving now."

"No! I mean... please stay for some breakfast. It's the most important meal of the day." Knuckles smiled nervously.

'I don't need food to survive...' Shadow thought but nodded. "Okay."

____Knuxadow_______

"What kind of meat is this?" Shadow asked, poking at his food that looked like bacon, but there was no feral pigs on the island.

"Why should I tell you?" Sticks glared at him. "All you'll do is judge me. They all do."

"Nobody judges you, Sticks." Knuckles said.

"Yes they do." Sticks protested. "I can see it in their eyes. They all think I'm crazy, but I know what I saw!"

Shadow would never admit it, but there was only two things he was scared of: experimentation and Sticks. Shadow just stared at his food, not daring to look up into the badger's blue eyes. He stood up. "I better get going..."

"Wait!" Shadow looked back at Knuckles. "I thought that we could spend the day together. It'll be fun, right?"

Shadow sighed and walked back to the echidna, preparing half of a lie in his head. "I wish I could, but I have a meeting with an old friend. I will come back afterwards."

"Promise?" Knuckles asked, and Shadow nodded. "Okay..." he quickly kissed the hedgehog's cheek as a farewell.

Shadow blushed a deep red, not being use to attention like that. He looked away as he chaos controlled out.

_____Knuxadow______

"Your late." A voice was heard from the shadows.

"I had to deal with some things..." Shadow said calmly, sitting on one of his chairs.

"You are taking too long to kill Sonic's team, Shadow."

"It's not going to be fast. I need everyone on that team to trust me before I can find their weaknesses."

The deep voice sighed. "Just make sure it doesn't take too long."

"I don't want to spend that much time with them."

"Good. Because if you do take too long... well, I'll just have to get in contact with the government's scientists, now won't I?"

"You wouldn't dare." Shadow said, his eyes wide.

"Let's not test that theory out, now leave me."

"This is my house."

"I said, leave me!"

Shadow rolled his eyes and chaos controlled away.