The Emerald Eyes of Protection.

Chapter 4

A warm bright aura fluttered throughout the small yet sleek bedroom. Shadows' house always had the most beautiful décor and on top of that, everything was so well organized that you could probably find a tiny pin in an instant. Unfortunately, the azure was unable to marvel at the beauty of the area as he had had his eyes tightly shut. It was about 7:15 am and the ebony had forty-five minutes until he had to pack up his things and leave for his mission. He really hoped he wouldn't have to wake the cobalt and tell him goodbye before he left. Waking up Sonic was already a death sentence, add on the fact that Shadow had pretty much cock blocked him last night, and you have yourself a very grumpy hedgehog. In regards to this, the ebony tiptoed his way out of the bedroom and gently shuffled his way to the kitchen to make some breakfast. He looked up at his picture of Maria and gave her a sweet "good morning" before starting to make some pancakes. They weren't Sonic's absolute favorite food but Shadow was certain they were in the top ten. Fluffy and brown with just a little drizzle of fudge sauce. He hoped with every fiber of his being that this would be enough to get the azure up and running.

Sonic lied in a rather contorted position while sleeping away the morning. That was until the waft of delicious pancakes came in contact with his nose... A smell that was more than familiar.

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Sleepy young eyes blinked slowly as a little blue hedgehog was seen sitting slouched over onto the kitchen table. His feet dangling loosely and occasionally tapping against the bottom of the table in boredom. A soft hum could be heard coming from the kitchen, not too far from where he was sitting. The room was very simple and was completely open to the rest of the main living space. The little azure could see right into the kitchen from the dining room, not that he really wanted to. The décor was less than stellar yet enough for a comfortable living. Some of it was even rusty and old but it was still what he called home. He felt downright exhausted after staying up all night waiting for his daddy to come back from work but he fell asleep in the process. He assumed this was not going to be a very good day, especially between him and his father.

"Ay. Sonic, how many pancakes you want?" A slightly feminine yet apparent male voice yelled from the kitchen.

It was always a very sweet even loving voice and it constantly irritated the cobalt child. Trying to take someone seriously with such a submissive speaking voice was certainly a challenge. Sonic always hoped he would just stand his ground for once in his life. He knew soft-spoken people like him often times got misused and the azure couldn't stand the thought even for a second.

"I get to choose this time? Normally, I'm limited to three." The little blue hedgehog replied sarcastically as even the sizzling sound of delicious pancakes wasn't enough to make him forget about the night prior.

"Well, today it's alright. I want you to be happy. You haven't smiled all morning." The man replied gloomily as footsteps echoed into the dining room.

Out came a rather short and pudgy human man. Roughly 5 3' with ivory white skin and hair as red as the blood coursing through his veins with a just a hint of chestnut. His hair was bunched into a rather messy yet cute pony tail and the adorable apron his son made for him at school was tightly wrapped around his waist. It had the cutest little sparkly lettering on it that read "Love you daddy Ivo" with crooked messy hand writing that only made it more endearing. Ivo's luminescent green eyes flickered with a slight regret as he knew exactly the cause of his son distance.

He was forced to work an hour past his shift and on top of that he took a trip to his lover's house. What happened after that was one silly mistake after another, resulting in him returning home half past three with a bottle in hand and very sunken drunk eyes. He had only turned twenty one about three months ago and he had already pushed the boundaries of what was consideredcontrolled drinking. He knew how important being responsible and stable was for a growing boys development but it just wasn't as easy as he thought. Juggling a job from seven to five every day but Sunday was already hard enough but having to take care of his lover and child was more than enough to make him feel unbelievably overwhelmed. But somehow, he always seemed to have that gentle smile pasted onto his ivory-white face. Remaining positive in times of tribulation was absolutely necessary in order to have the happy family he always dreamed of ever since he was a child.