Time Heals All Things

Chapter Four: Seperating Fact From Fiction

"So.. How do you plan to take care of yourself now you are on your own? You have no job, no source of income.." Shadow was asking Sonic as he shaped meatballs out of finely minced beef that was seasoned with salt, pepper and a mix of fresh herbs and grated garlic. Once they were shaped he placed them carefully on a tray lightly drizzled with olive oil.

"True but I do have a trust fund that my mother entrusted to me when I was twenty-one." Sonic replied from the seat against the island breakfast nook.

"Wasn't that affected by the terms of your divorce settlement?" Shadow asked him curiously as the meatballs went into the oven to cook. He then began boiling the kettle to put the spaghetti on to boil and pulled out the air-tight translucent jar the pasta was kept in.

"No. My mom insisted on a prenup before the wedding. But to be honest Amy only wants what she felt she was entitled to which is the money she put into our martial home. That's all the furniture since she picked it out and bought most of it along with the money she invested into the home itself which is half of it's value. I kind of added a bit extra onto that so she could get herself a decent home when the settlement comes through and added on her pink bug car. It's technically mine since I bought it for her but what use do I have for it and she can do what she wants with the engagement and wedding rings. I don't want to see them ever again.." The blue hedgehog frowned at the thought of the meeting with their lawyers. The two of them had not uttered a word to each other, the only thing they had agreed on was that they wanted as acrimonious a split as possible. Neither of them wanted this drawn out any more than they needed to be but it was obviously going to take some time before the two of them were ready to speak again. The atmosphere had been strained between them, the raw feelings of hurt and emotional pain still made the air thick. That would take time to heal..

"That was generous of you.." Shadow raised both brows slightly impressed as he pulled out a large handful of spaghetti and then slowly added the pasta so that it carefully bent around the pot.

"I wasn't a great husband so I just want to make sure she is taken care of now and hopefully we can be friends when all of this calms down.." The blue hedgehog replied then sighed dipping his ears a little. He had never intended to hurt Amy but at the same time he could not deny that their marriage had completely broken down, it would have done them both no favours to draw it out..

"Ever the optimist, aren't you Hedgehog?" Shadow responded with the ghost of a smile gracing his lips as he left the spaghetti to boil, turning his attention to preparing the sauce that would bring his spaghetti and meatballs together. He started to pull chopped tinned tomatoes and various other ingredients out that he would need to make his spicy tomato sauce.

"Is that such a bad thing?" Sonic asked looking at Shadow curiously, his tone had not given much indication on his feelings.

"Hmm? Oh no...." The black and red hedgehog murmured in response, glancing up at the middle-aged blue adult hedgehog. "Actually, it's um.. what I admire about you. Hmh, you remind me of Maria, she used to be an optimist too.." With these words Shadow kept his eyes on the small pot of chopped onion in oil until they were cooked before adding garlic, the tinned tomatoes and began cooking then through slowly.

"Oh.." Sonic sounded in surprise, dazed by Shadow's slightly vulnerable stance. He had never heard his counterpart compare him to the girl that meant so much to him before. It was almost as if Shadow was confessing his something of his inner feelings to him. The black hedgehog cared about him. It was touching. "Thank you..." He replied simply and the two fell silent, both unsure of how to continue the conversation after such an emotional epiphany..

When the sauce was almost done and Shadow was adding the freshly chopped herbs and chilli flakes into the red mixture he stirred it all up and set it on a simmer before turning to Sonic who had been playing an app game on his cell to fill the gap in the conversation.