Spooky

Chapter 45

{Author's Note: I'm gonna stop adding in lil "oh sorry this is late" notes like............ my life is chaos, okay, updates are hit or miss. Still love y'all! Please stay patient!}

-Shadow's POV-

I wake up the morning of my birthday and I feel that awful, familiar weight inside my chest. Not today, I groan inwardly, not today, of all days... The bed is oddly cold, and feels weirdly large until I realize I'm alone in it and I've woken up before the alarm. Did Scourge wake me up by getting up to pee? I can't figure that out, so I just close my eyes again, trying to will the heaviness away. Even though I know that never fuckin' works. It doesn't matter; I'll try anyways.

I think I fall asleep again, because my eyes open again when I hear our door creak open. Lifting my head up, I look over tiredly, and see him trying his best to quietly close the door behind him; he glances over and flashes me a smile. I offer the best I can muster in return, and he trots over. I notice a box in his hand, and my ears prick, curious, as he kicks his shoes off quickly, climbing back into bed. "Good morning, love," he purrs, "Happy birthday."

"Good morning t'you too," I mumble back, trying to sit up. He shuffles a bit, shrugging off his jacket, and tosses it off the bed, setting down the box between us. "Donuts...?"

"Donuts, and I called us in sick." He replies, and I smile in relief, leaning against him with a little hum. Scourge nuzzles me lovingly, draping an arm over my shoulders. "We can go back to bed for now, and eat them later, if you'd like."

"I think if I go to sleep now, I won't wake up until past noon," I respond, rubbing at an eye.

"Still tired?" He tips his head to one side with a smile.

I shrug, looking away, "Guess so."

There's a pause, and I feel a hand in my quills, gently brushing them off my shoulder. "You feelin' okay, love?"

"...Not really," I admit, looking back over, "but I don't exactly know why, either." He gives me a sympathetic stare, lifting the donut box off the bed.

"That's alright," he runs a hand across the side of my head, passing over my ear and quills, and it's oddly comforting. I tilt my head into it, closing my eyes. "We can sleep as long as you'd like. Today is your day."

"Hmmmh," I flop over on top of him, wrapping him in a hug, and he giggles, leaning a bit to put the donut box on the nightstand. He knocks some stuff over, but I don't really bother looking over.

He lies down, giving me a little kiss, and we cuddle together for a while; I pass out at some point, and, as predicted, it turns into a big ol' depression-sleep. I wake up to Scourge humming a tune, earbuds in his ears, our bodies almost completely pressed together. His arms are beneath mine, and he's doing something behind my back; his chin rests on my shoulder, our legs are tangled together, and the weight in my chest has lessened. I shift slightly, taking a deep breath, and his ears perk. He moves his head back to look at me, and I feel his voice reverberate in his chest as he asks, "Feeling better, Stripes?"

"A little," I answer, lifting my arms to hug him. Something thumps on the bed behind me, and I think he was using his phone. My stomach rumbles. "...Can we have those donuts now?"

"Absolutely," he chuckles, disentangling himself from me. I roll over, reaching beneath me to pull his phone up and give it to him, then roll further over to fetch the box. Plopping it between us, I pry it open, and my tail starts wagging at the sight of the pastries. I waste no time picking up a chocolate-frosted one and biting into it; it tastes amazing, and I purr happily. He picks one up too, a powdered donut, and bites into it; I feel his other hand snake behind me to give me a side-hug, resting on my hip. I lean into him with a satisfied little sigh, closing my eyes again. He nuzzles the top of my head, and my volume increases. We eat a couple donuts in silence, just enjoying each other's company, until we've had enough; with breakfast done, we lie back down, snuggling close. Scourge takes my face in his hands, squishing my cheeks lovingly, and I smile a little, resting my hands on his shoulder blades. We're quite close, legs tangled together, foreheads almost touching, and I feel...okay. At peace. The weight is slowly draining from my chest the longer I lie here, and I close my eyes again. I know sometime after school ends, Rouge will want to do something, so I need to recharge before then. "You're adorable," Scourge murmurs, rubbing my cheeks.