Jayde the Hedgehog • By Your Side [3]

26: Bonding✔️

Music: Symbolism - Electro-Light

12:52: Luna and Alester's home

Sonic let out a loud burp, rubbing his stomach. Amy nudged him and scowled at his manners in someone else's home, "Sonic."

Knuckles chuckled, "Burping is just the effect of great food!" The two high fived.

The blue blur grinned, "Yeah, those were some amazing chilli dogs, Miss Luna. Thanks!"

"You're welcome, honey." The older hedgehog smiled, watching everyone practically devour the food. None of them had eaten all night or most of yesterday and they were all hungry. Luna had specially made chilli dogs for the cobalt male after a quick discussion with her daughter.

"Miss Luna, may I ask a question?" Amy looked towards Jayde's mother, who nodded in reply, "If you're a hedgehog, why do you have a cat's tail?"

The white hedge-cat smiled at such a frequent question and swished her tail around behind her, "Jayde's grandma was a cat while her grandpa was a hedgehog. The genes only really made it so I was mostly hedgehog."

"The hedgehog genes must've been more dominant then." Tails spoke more or less to himself, suddenly interested in the topic. He turned to the white female, "Do you have any feline traits?"

"You bet she does," Alester spoke, looking up from the food, "She'll sleep in a tree anytime she's alone."

Luna blushed slightly, smacking her husband lightly on the head. The male chuckled, wrapping an arm around her waist to pull her closer. Rouge chuckled, looking at the Protector who was watching the conversations between her parents and friends, "I know a grey hedgehog that's like that, too."

Chuckles spread around the table from everyone except the Ultimate Lifeform. The hazel orbs of Jayde's father looked at the ebony hedgehog, studying him carefully as he stood by the shelf of photographs. The hedgehog seemed to be close to his daughter – too close for his liking. Luna began to pack up the table with the help of Amy and Rouge, leaving the Jayde and the boys to continue talking. Alester stood up and walked over to Shadow who had picked up a photo of Jayde and her twin in their younger years. They looked so happy, with Jayden's arm wrapped around his sister, both pulling a silly face. Alester smiled, "They were as close as could be. They did everything together."

Shadow looked and saw Jayde's father beside him, suddenly feeling slightly intimidated by the jade coloured male. He had never felt intimidated before but the hedgehog knew that he had to make a good impression on the father whether they knew about him and Jayde or not.

"I don't know why she ran that day. Jayde knew that all of us would've been there for her." Alester sighed, taking the picture from Shadow, "But I see that because of this, she has made her own life. Maybe not in the best circumstances, but she matured with it. She has grown into a strong girl."

"She really has." Shadow mumbled, ruby orbs turning to look at the grey Protector as she laughed at something Knuckles and Sonic had said.

"Are you close to her?"

The red striped male looked back, nodding slowly, "Yes. I really care for her." He stated. Alester smiled, holding a hand out for Shadow to shake.

"If she chooses you to be with, I won't stop her," the males hand tightened his hold, causing the ebony hedgehog to flinch a bit, "But if you hurt her, you won't have just me coming after you," Alester glance to the side, staring at his wife as she talked to the rose female, "You'll have her mother too." He chuckled slightly.

Shadow straightened slightly, nodding, "I promise I will never hurt her. It's my job to protect her and always be there for her."

The male grinned at the Ultimate Lifeform, "I thought you had a hard shell when I first saw you. Then I saw how affectionately you looked at my daughter whilst she was telling us everything. You'll be good for her." Alester looked at his daughter, "She may have run off, but she's still the little girl I know."

Jayde felt eyes on her and looked to see her father and Shadow staring at her. She grinned, azure orbs lighting up as she waved before jumping across the sofa to tag the blue hedgehog. For some reason, they had all turned into little kids again, messing around the lounge, jumping from pillow to pillow. Luna came through the kitchen and to her husband, wrapping her arm around his waist, "I missed her so much, Star." She whispered, watching her baby play around like she did with her twin all those years ago.

"She's home where she is, Moon." Alester mumbled back, kissing his wife on the forehead, hugging her tighter.

Shadow watched the couple beside him smile as they watched their remaining child clamber about like a two year old with the hero of Mobius and his proclaimed brother. He knew that Jayde meant the world to them – even more after the death of Jayden. To lose her would devastate them. The Ultimate Lifeform knew then that he had to protect her from anything that came their way. He would allow her to fight and play her own battles, but he would always be in the background, watching in case she needed him.

The three other Mobians observed with raised eyebrows at the three messing around. Amy watched the twin tailed fox as he played with the two hedgehogs, happy that he, for once, was acting his age. Tails was fast to mature in coming into the hero business, Amy knew that, and he had to be brave and helpful just like everyone else – especially in dire times. The rose female only wished he could've had his childhood.

Jade eyes glanced over to the blue blur, acting childish as ever. Both he and Jayde should act their ages but had the tendency to become immature at times. But these traits are what brought the team together – it's what brought Sonic and Jayde closer as friends, like the sibling vibe between the hero and Tails.

Moments like this were cherished within the team. The times when they knew about the hardship outside of the playfulness, the energy drained fighting enemies, but always had time to relax and enjoy themselves in between. But moments like this are never supposed to last for heroes, because there's always something lurking around the corner.

Two canines glistened in the sun as their owner smirked, "Found you, my darling."