That City Girl (ShadAmy)

Sign of Life

STH © SEGA/Archie

Sarah, Peter, Samwell, Rosemary & the Wilson Family © Cozy Shadow

Flame, Petunia, Jeffery, and Sunny © Phantomask (on FF)

Italicized brands or names (like food labels, movies, and songs) belong to their rightful owner.

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Chapter Twenty-Six: Sign of Life

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That night had gone by better.

The household had gone to sleep at a decent time, and weren't intruded by any late night calls from the hospital. Everyone slept well - or as well as one can when grieving.

For the majority, everyone was still sleeping by the time seven-thirty rolled around. Silver and Blaze were still fast asleep on the couches by the main entrance. Manic and Sunny were somehow wrapped around each other on the couch in the living room. The other couch was taken up by Butch.

He appeared to be the only other living thing awake besides Shadow.

Shadow had gone out to feed the animals and had come back in. Upon seeing no one else up, he was grateful he'd decided to stay in his pajamas. Sauntering back to his bedroom, he wasn't surprised to see Amy hogging up the bed. Her feet tangled around the blanket as she was curled up in a ball.

The ebony hedgehog went to close the door, stopping the dog from coming in. He didn't want Butch to wake up the dozing female. Unfortunately, Butch had mastered squeezing through the door before Shadow could close it.

"Butch!" Shadow hissed quietly.

The dog paid no attention to his Master. Butch wanted to see his Master's new mate, as it had been a long time since seeing her at dinner.

He hopped up on the bed before Shadow could take another step. Softly, he placed one paw on either side of Amy's body, sniffing at her quills. His tail wagged happily when she swatted at his nose. Butch couldn't resist himself at that moment.

Originally, Amy thought she was swatting at Shadow. But her mind was still in a reverie state when the tongue licked her cheek. It dawned upon her that, despite her and Shadow's unknown future together, the Ultimate Life Form wasn't one to lick someone's cheek.

She moaned in annoyance. "Dog," she merely grumbled, pushing her face into the pillow. "Go away."

Her hand continued to swat at wherever the dog might be. Once she made contact with something, Amy thought it was Butch - and that the whack was hard enough to send the mutt away. Yet luck was not on her side.

"Ow."

This time she opened her eyes a bit. Apologetically, she glanced up at the dark hedgehog that was crawling back into bed. "I thought you were up."

"I was. I fed animals. No one was up yet, and I figured a few more minutes of sleep wouldn't hurt."

She cracked a smile, ignoring the dog heavily breathing behind her now. "It looks like I'm a bad influence on you. Perhaps I should sleep downstairs."

Amy would have been lying if she said butterflies didn't flutter in her stomach as Shadow's arms snaked around her waist and pulled her closer to him. A blush crept up on her cheeks, but she burrowed into his chest fur before he could notice.

Shadow scoffed. "Sonic has managed to persuade me into sleeping in once or twice on cattle drives with the Wilson's. Not particularly the best idea."