¿Him or Her? {Sonadow}

Chapter Twenty-two

__For one week Sonic has been coming over to see Shadow. He could tell Shadow was still having nightmares and always tried to his best to lightly comfort him, but Shadow ignored the meaning behind them. It bothered Shadow that Sonic was doing this even after he said he didn't need it, but he couldn't bring himself to make Sonic upset again. After the first morning where Sonic found out he was getting these nightmares, he didn't want to feel those kinds of hugs again.
__Even though Sonic didn't know what these nightmares were, he tried helping Shadow with preventing them. But nothing they did worked. Shadow grew more upset as the days went by. He figured he had somehow did something wrong while being with Sonic that's causing these memories to haunt him. He just didn't understand what.
__"Come on, Shadow," Sonic pleaded. "You need to get out of the house."
__Shadow was slumped on the couch. Sonic had offered to take Shadow out to eat something, but Shadow didn't acknowledge him. His mind was filled with thoughts. He didn't even pay attention to Navi, who had been climbing on his quills. Sonic went to sit next to Shadow and placed his hand on Shadow's thigh. The weird sensation brought him back to reality and he looked at Sonic. "What did you say?"
__Sonic had glared at Shadow, which made him flatten his ears. He forced himself to calm down and tried smiling at him. "Oh, nothing!" He began sarcastically. "It's just that I figured that we should eat out so we wouldn't be stuck in this house all day...again!"
__Shadow perked his ears back up and stared at Sonic in confusion. "Is there something wrong with staying here?"
__"Just the part where you're not getting any vitamin D!" Sonic sighed as he started messing with the fur on Shadow's leg. "You've been cooped up in here all week. You need sunlight and fresh air." Sonic then rested his head on Shadow's. "What you really need is to take your mind off all the things that are bothering you. I know you don't like taking my advice, but you really need this."
__Shadow looked down on Sonic's hand. His mind had two sides fighting against each other. One side didn't want Sonic's hand being so close to his crotch while the other wanted it to stay right where it was. He didn't understand why he was getting all these emotions and alarms.
__Sonic looked at his hand and started pulling it away. "Sorry."
__But Shadow put his hand on Sonic's and put it back. "No, it's fine." He then looked at Sonic. "Where did you have in mind?"
__"Huh?" Sonic's face was a bit red. He shook his head and giggled nervously. "Oh! Right, uh...that same restaurant we went to on our date?"
__Shadow nodded. "Sounds good." They both stood up from the couch and it was then that Shadow realized Navi had clung onto his quills. He grabbed Navi and set her on the couch. "Cheeky." He watched her giggle in delight as he and Sonic left the house.

__At the restaurant they chose a table by the window. They had ordered their meals and talked while they waited. This was the first time in a while Shadow felt relaxed. He was still thinking about the memories, but he tried his best to focus on Sonic.
__"Doesn't it feel better to get out of the house?" Sonic asked brightly.
__Shadow brought his attention to the window. He watched people walking by, but a certain group caught his eye: A mother and father walking with their son. They both held his hands and would sometimes pull him off his feet and swing him back and forth before setting him down again. Shadow didn't want to, but he envied the little boy. He no longer had what that boy has.
__"Shadow?"
__Shadow straightened and looked at Sonic immediately. He flattened his ears and nodded. "Yes, it does."
__Sonic didn't look convinced. "Still upset?"
__"Forget about it," Shadow muttered. "I want to talk about something else."
__"Well, you still haven't told me why this Nathaniel guy is bothering you," Sonic suggested. "Is he why you're upset?"
__Shadow shook his head. "No. Remember that I confronted him about breaking my shoes?" Sonic nodded slowly. "I know he's up to something. I just don't know what. Rouge and Omega stole his files and I have yet to read the locked one Tails already opened."
__"Tails?" Sonic looked at Shadow with hope."
__"Rouge's idea."
__"Oh," Sonic leaned back in his seat and flattened his ears. "What makes you think it was him that broke your shoes?"
__"The first mission he assigned us had to do with an illegal bomb shipment," Shadow explained. "After we returned, I notice how his tone was when asking if anything blew up."
__"But what if he wasn't lying when you confronted him?" Sonic questioned.
__"I always know when someone is lying."
__"Ah. So that's why you were always able figure me out," Sonic giggled. He then leaned forward and set his arms on the table. "Why haven't you read the file yet then?"
__Shadow shrugged his shoulders. "I don't want to ruin things right now."
__"What things would you ruin?" Shadow just shrugged his shoulders again, which made Sonic sigh. "Well, you know what you're doing."
__Shadow copied Sonic's posture and narrowed his eyes. "That's what Rouge keeps saying." He then sighed and shook his head. "Can we talk about something else?"
__Sonic smiled as he locked eyes with Shadow. "I've told you about what I want my future to be like. What about you?"
__"Me?" Shadow leaned back, breaking eye contact. He was stunned. He never once thought about his future. He didn't know what he wanted. He now felt bad. "I never really thought about it."
__Sonic could see Shadow's despair and reached over to grab his hand. "That's okay. You have all the time in the world. Plus, you got me, right?"
__Shadow stared at Sonic in surprise. He felt his heart beating faster as he interlaced his fingers with Sonic. He watched Sonic look down at their hands and back at him. The warmth they were sharing was powerful. It touched Shadow's heart in a weird way. Shadow never felt this way before. Was this love? Did that mean he knew now what he wanted? Yes it does. Shadow's experiment was now over. He felt relief wash over him.
__Shadow had smiled as he narrowed his eyes warmly at Sonic. "Yeah, I do." Sonic's face turned red as he made a big smile. That made Shadow feel big and accomplished.
__"Aw!" Sonic giggled. "Whatever happened to you? You've changed a lot."
__"You made this change," Shadow pointed out.
__"Excuse me, sirs." The waitress had come with their food and drinks and was looking at them awkwardly.
__Neither Shadow nor Sonic thought to pull their hands away from each other as the waitress set everything on the table. Even when they ate they couldn't let go of each other.

__That night Sonic was walking back to his house. He wore a big smile and it seemed to grow bigger with each step. He stopped by a stop sign and looked both ways before crossing the street. He was about to make a turn at another stop sign when he saw a familiar tiger walking towards him. He stopped where he was as the tiger grew closer. "Hey, you're Nathaniel, aren't you? You fired Shadow from the G.U.N."
__Nate stopped in front of Sonic and crossed his arms. His face was calm and collected as he nodded. "Yes, that's me. I'm rather honored that you recognize me."
__Sonic suddenly frowned and crossed his arms as well. "I don't like that you fired him. He was saving my life because I was drowning in the ocean. He didn't mean to be late to your meeting with the president."
__"Is that so?" Nate asked rather darkly. "Look, I don't want to ruin your good mood, but there's something I must tell you about your friend Shadow."
__Sonic shook his head and started walking past Nate. "I don't wanna hear it. No offense, but I don't trust your judgement."
__Nate didn't move. He just smirked as Sonic walked. "So you don't mind the fact that Shadow is obsessing over someone else while you two are in a relationship?"
__Sonic stopped dead in his tracks. He quietly growled as he turned to glare at the tiger. "Have you been spying on us!?"
__Nate turned around to face Sonic. "How I know about you two doesn't matter." He giggled before continuing. "You know, I would be rather disappointed if someone I was that close to was thinking about someone else, especially if he gets nightmares about her."
__Sonic straightened at Nate's big suspicious smirk. "What do you mean? Shadow's not thinking about anyone else like that."
__"I'll tell you what I know," Nate said excitedly, yet quietly. "It is up to you whether you want to believe me or not."