Innocence (Sonadow)

Chapter 11

Amy, Knuckles, and Tails all followed Sonic upstairs to Shadow's room. When they entered, Shadow perked up a little and gave them a shy smile.

"Hi guys." He greeted softly.

"Hey Shadow," Knuckles greeted back. "How are you feeling bud?"

"A little better than yesterday." Shadow answered. "I've gotten the hang of walking by myself. I'm not as hungry anymore, either, Sonic and Tails keep me pretty well-fed. I tried making breakfast today, but ended up burning it the first time. Sonic helped me with the second batch though. And… oh! I switched my sheets over to the dryer all by myself earlier!"

"That's very good, Shadow." Amy praised happily.

"Why were your sheets in the wash in the first place?" Knuckles frowned curiously. "And what's with the plastic bed sheet? I don't remember Tails and I putting it on there yesterday."

"Knuckles, that's none of your…" Sonic started, but Shadow quickly cut him off.

"No, it's ok." Shadow sighed sadly. "I… kinda wanna talk about it anyway."

Sonic frowned in disapproval, until he realized what exactly he wanted to talk about.

"Shadow, are you sure?" He asked him.

"Yes, I'm sure." Shadow sighed. "It's why I wanted them up here to begin with."

The room was silent.

"What's going on?" Tails asked.

"... I had a nightmare last night." Shadow sighed. "A nightmare so bad that I wet the bed. That's why my sheets were in the wash."

Silence.

"What was it about?" Amy cautiously asked.

Shadow sighed and began telling his friends about his awful nightmare, word for word, recalling the terror, and the sense of helplessness and betrayal. When he had finished, his friends were shocked and Shadow was crying once more. Sonic was by his side the moment the first tear dropped.

"Ssshhhh, it's ok, it's ok." Sonic whispered gently, holding Shadow tight. "It's ok. It was a nightmare. That'll never happen."

"Sonic's right, Shadow." Tails agreed. "We're friends until the end."

"We'd never abandon you, Shadow." Knuckles added.

"And if you ever feel that way, you come to us straight away, and we'll purge those awful thoughts with our love." Amy promised.

Shadow sniffed and sat up, wiping his tears out of his eyes. He looked up at his friends and smiled.

"Thank you, guys."

"Hey, it's what we do." Sonic purred, touching his forehead against Shadow's once more. Shadow purred and gently rubbed his face against Sonic's, a bright red blush appearing on both of their cheeks.

"Hehe, you sure you guys aren't lovehogs?" Tails teased.

"Yes Tails, I'm sure we're not." Sonic huffed in annoyance. "I'm pretty sure I'd know if we were, and I doubt Shadow even knows what that means."

At this, Shadow whimpered. He really liked the idea of lovehogs, especially with Sonic, even if Sonic was right and he didn't really know what it meant. He liked the feeling he got whenever Sonic showed him his kindness and care. It made him feel warm and fuzzy inside. Was this what friendship was? If so, then why didn't he feel this way with Amy, or Knuckles, or even Tails? Was there something more to it?

Shadow's audible whimper immediately caught Sonic's attention.

"I'm sorry, Shadow." He apologized quickly. "Did I yell in your ear?"

Shadow began to mentally panic. He couldn't tell Sonic that he wanted to be lovehogs, he was certain he'd get mad. He needed to think of an excuse, without making Sonic feel guilty for nothing.

"Uh, no." He stuttered slowly. "I just… have to use the bathroom."

Sonic gave a gentle smile and gently pulled Shadow to his feet.

"Then go ahead and go, I'll go downstairs and figure out who to bring up first. Unless there's a particular order you wanna meet them?"

"Umm…" Shadow thought as he pretended to cross his legs, keeping his charade up. "I think I'd like to meet the cat first. She seemed nice and quiet."

"Ok," Sonic nodded and gently patted his back. "Then hurry and run to the bathroom, and I'll go downstairs and bring her up. Go on now, before you have an accident."

Shadow nodded and quickly ran to the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

He sat with his back against the door, killing time until Sonic would bring the cat upstairs to his room. He didn't really need to go, an act put up just so that he wouldn't have to tell Sonic about his unusual feelings for him.

Was this normal?

And if not...

Was something wrong with him?