Words Hurt

I Do Care

Previously~

"That's the Shadow, I know." Rouge smiled, happy to see him no longer giving up. He deserved happiness just like everyone else, no matter what the Commander said. "Come on, let's go see what those trouble makers outside are doing," she teased, turning to the door.

He rose his head and waved a hand in the direction of the door. "Go ahead. I just need some time."

"Are you sure?" she asked, hesitant to leave him on his own.

He nods, scotting back onto the bed and getting ready to meditate. It always helped when he needed to keep his emotions under wraps. It stopped him dispelling too much energy and helped him think. "Yes."

"Alright. I'll be back to check on you in a little while." And, with that, she left the room, leaving him to meditate.

He smiled, hearing the door shut before he allowed himself to meditate. Unfortually, the peace didn't last that long as his communicator beeped. He peeked down at it, annoyed before pressing a button.

"Hello?"

Shadow pov~

“Where are you?” I demanded, receiving only silence from the blue hedgehog. My body was tense as I waited for an answer that never seemed to come. My thoughts raced, wondering what sort of trouble he stumbled across now. With Sonic, it could be anything from monsters, robots, aliens, even a measly paper cut he claimed to be a battle scar from that time he worked for mehburger. I sighed, just wanting to get things over with. There had been silence on each end for months now, and I was more than ready to break it again.

“Where are you? I’ll come to you,” I offered, the conversation with Rouge enforcing my belief I was doing the right thing.

Seconds later, he sent me coordinates just outside the base. Not too bad, but I would have prefered to have him around other people, in case that psycho found him and decided to attack.

Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I extracted the Chaos Emerald from my quills before teleporting to him.

“You wanted to talk?” I asked, as soon as he appeared in front of him. I gasped inwardly, taking a moment to appreciate his petite form, noticing how he looked exactly the same the moment he left. The only thing that had changed was the bruises and cuts from new battles I haven't even known he fought. Despite this, he seemed just as beautiful as ever, as if he was constructed by Chaos himself.

I reached out to gently turn it to the side so that I could look at it. I absently rubbed my thumb over the bandage as dark thoughts of pain came to my mind. The bastard who harmed him was going to pay. “Did he do this?”

Again, I received no response, verbal or otherwise. Was he hiding something, or was he as shell shocked as I was? Not a good state to be out in the open. I cleared my throat, noticing the beeping of his communicator. My head tilted downwards to see the red light blinking. Probably the fox kit. He always seemed to be able to hack G.U.N’s gear without breaking a sweat. “We should go. The others will be worried about you,” I informed him, thankful for the distraction. Sorry, Rouge, but it looks like the talking would have to come later. 

He followed and nodded, wordlessly. With a shake of my head, I teleported him back to the corridor leading to our quarters. Before he could leave, slipped the inhibitor rings off my wrist and placed them on Sonic’s.

Ever since we started hanging out more frequently, I could tell his Chaos Energy had been calling out, almost interacting with mine. Maybe it was all those times we used the emeralds to transform together into our super forms? Maybe it was the feelings we still possessed for each other? Nothing was exactly clear, but I just wanted to cover all bases. Just as a precaution, I asked the kit to make a spare pair that I could give to Sonic should the need ever arise.