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Sonic had to admit, he didn't love going to the store. Things usually moved much too slowly and he hated having to pick what to buy and what not (he usually went with whatever was cheaper, unless Tails told him to get a specific brand).
But he had to admit, he had gotten himself into that situation. He had eaten all of Tails' chips, which, according to the young fox, he had bought for the sleepover he was having that night with Charmy and Cream. So, Sonic had offered to go to the store and get him more chips.
He had already grabbed the exact same ones Tails had bought (and they were really good, by the way, that's why the hedgehog couldn't stop himself after he started eating them!), but now he was looking for some extra ones as a way of saying sorry, because he was a good brother like that, and because he knew there were never enough snacks for a sleepover.
He was trying to choose between two, one peanut flavored, and the other cheese. He was sure they would already have enough cheese flavored snacks, but he also couldn't remember if any of the kids were allergic to peanuts! And he was sure he was getting hung up on something stupid, but he had to buy the best ones! It was the least he could do after eating Tails' chips.
He was just about to give up when he saw a familiar dark silhouette pass by. He curiously peeked by the end of the aisle, and saw none other than Shadow the Hedgehog himself, walking down the store with a shopping basket dangling from his arm.
That quickly grabbed Sonic's attention (as Shadow usually does), and, as he finally decided to just take both snacks he was torn between, he followed the hybrid up to the pet aisle.
"Hey, Shads." He said as he smiled, walking up to the other hedgehog.
"Sonic." Was the only attempt Shadow made to recognise the hero's presence as he kept walking.
That, of course, wouldn't deter Sonic. "What are you doing?" He asked, still following the hybrid and looking into his basket.
He saw a soft blanket folded at the bottom of the basket, fairy lights, paper plates and the just now tossed in bag of cat food.
"Shopping." Shadow shortly said.
"I can see that, yeah." Sonic chuckled. "What do you want all that stuff for?"
The hybrid hummed. "None of your business." He then said as he squinted at the label of yet another bag of cat food.
"Oh, come on! Why does everything have to be top secret with you, huh?" The hero teased.
Shadow sighed. "It's not top secret, it just doesn't concern you."
"Dude, what? Can't you see how concerned I am?" Sonic asked as he pointed to himself.
The hybrid finally turned to look at the other, a tired look in his eyes as he groaned. Sonic simply kept smiling, looking at the other through teasing half lidded eyes as he put his closed fists on his hips (surprisingly not dropping any of the bags of snacks he was holding).
"If I tell you, you have to promise you won't tell anyone else, understood?" Shadow said, with a quieter tone as he quickly looked around.
Sonic quickly nodded with his head. "Yeah!" He smiled even wider and brought a hand up, pointing his pinky finger out and offering it to the other, who looked at it in clear confusion.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm trying to make a pinky promise."
Shadow continued to look at him with a blank expression. "What's that?" He asked somewhat carefully.
Sonic chuckled. "We have to intertwine our pinkies together and then you can be sure I won't break my promise." He explained, pushing his hand closer to Shadow.
The hybrid blinked blankly before sighing and intertwining their pinkies together. He then looked around and stepped a bit closer to Sonic (and if you saw the hero blush then no you didn't).
"There's a pregnant cat near GUN's base, and I think she'll be going into labor soon so I'm trying to get her to my house before that happens." Shadow whispered.
"... A mobian cat?"
Shadow glared at him. "No, not a mobian cat."
"Why?" Sonic whispered back, the smile never leaving his face.
"Why-? Because it's safer for her and the kittens."
Sonic giggled.
"Why are you laughing?" Shadow quickly shot him a deathly glare, making the hero put up his hands in innocence.
"Hey! I'm not laughing at you. I just think it's a cute gesture." He shrugged.
Surprise appeared in Shadow's face for just a second before he quickly hid it and looked away.
"So… Can I help?" Sonic asked, making the other quickly look back at him.
"What?"
"I want to help you."
Shadow shook his head. "I don't need your help."
"Well, then I want to help the cat."
The hybrid stared at him through squinted eyes before sighing once again. "Fine. Try not to disturb."
"You say that as if I ever disturbed anyone."
Shadow simply shot him a deadpan look before turning around and approaching the cashier.
They both paid for their respective stuff and finally got out of the store.
"Are you bringing those?" The hybrid asked as he pointed to the bag of various snacks Sonic was holding.
"Ah, I guess not. Give me a second." Sonic didn't wait for an answer before blasting off back to Tails' house, quickly opening the door and dropping the bag on the kitchen counter. He was about to run off, however, when he turned around, the young fox was there looking at him with a confused look.
"Hey." The kid said as he walked up to his brother. "You took longer than expected."
Sonic shrugged. "I ran into Shadow, in fact, he's waiting for me back at the store, so I gotta go."
Tails raised a teasing eyebrow. The blue hedgehog blushed furiously, already knowing what kind of comment the fox was about to make.
"Anyways! See ya'! Have fun at your sleepover, don't stay up 'til too late, take care, love ya!" Sonic quickly said, ruffling the kid's bangs before running off.
Even if he was already far away, he could just feel Tails rolling his eyes at him.
When he got back to the store, Shadow was right where he left him, patiently waiting (surprisingly, Sonic had the slight fear of Shadow just leaving without him).
"All ready to go, captain!" He exclaimed, making Shadow turn to look at him.
The hybrid walked up to the other, switching his tote bag (that he had brought with him, apparently?) to the opposite hand, while with the other quickly grabbing Sonic's.
The blue hedgehog simply hoped that the sound of them chaos controlling away covered the pitiful sound of surprise he made.
When Sonic looked around he found that they were now near GUN's base, so he simply followed Shadow, because he himself wasn't super familiar with the area (he didn't like being near GUN in general… Except Team Dark, of course).
Shadow guided him down the street, and then took a turn into an alleyway. Sonic squinted as he looked for any sign of life, however, he only saw trash.
The hybrid took a step forward, grabbing his bag and taking out the paper plates and the cat food. He then turned around and handed Sonic the plates. "Open them. And try to be quiet."
The blue hedgehog gave a thumbs up before proceeding to struggle against the plastic wrapper that protected the plates. Shadow, meanwhile, opened the bag of food, and took some out, slightly shaking his hand to make the pieces of food make sound against each other.
Just as Sonic managed to open the wrapper, a very clearly pregnant cat peeked from behind a trash can, and Shadow quickly knelt down, not without taking one of the paper plates and placing it on the ground.
"Hey." The hybrid said softly. Sonic would've melted if that soft voice had been directed at him. Was it normal that he was a bit jealous of a non-mobian cat?
Shadow poured some of the food on the plate, and just silently waited for the cat to approach on her own. Once she got close enough, he stretched a hand out, letting her inspect it. After a second, the cat herself placed her head under Shadow's flattened hand, sniffling the food being presented to her. The hybrid took the opportunity to gently pet the animal.
Both hedgehogs let out a deep breath once the cat started eating.
"Oh, wow, she's hungry." Sonic whispered.
Shadow turned his head up to look at him. "Of course, she's pregnant." He also whispered.
The blue hedgehog hummed. "Soo… How are we taking her to your house? Do we just… Pick her up, or…?"
"Let's see if she lets me this time…" Sonic couldn't help but notice how that sentence implied that Shadow had been trying to help the cat for longer than he realized.
The hybrid stood up, knees still bent so as to still be able to reach the cat. He waited until all the food on the plate was gone to get closer to the animal, hands out for her to see.
Sonic watched intently as Shadow treated the small animal with surprising gentleness, hands moving softly. Fingers softly petting under the cat's chin to then move lower, careful as to not disturb her. The blue hedgehog couldn't help but smile once the cat was finally picked up.
The hybrid finally stood up upright, turning around to see the other as the cat got comfortable in his arms.
"Look at that." Sonic said as he leaned his head slightly to the side, hands coming up to rest on his hips. "She seems to really trust you, Shads."
"I would hope so, I've been feeding her for the last month."
Sonic's gaze quickly shot up to Shadow's own eyes. He felt himself get lost in their bright red color before he quickly pulled himself out of whatever lovesick state he almost got into.
He softly chuckled. "You're sweet." He said, and to avoid seeing Shadow's reaction he bent down to pick the paper plate from the ground. "Do you want me to carry your bag?" He offered.
The hybrid took a second to react. "Ah, I guess you could." He muttered as he did his best to get the fabric bag off of his shoulder without disturbing the cat too much.
Sonic hung the bag on his shoulder, and once he was sure it wouldn't fall down, he extended a hand out to Shadow, who simply looked at it with a blank look in his face.
His red eyes then shot back up to the other's face, still expressionless. "What are you doing?"
The hero blushed. "Ah- Are we not teleporting back?" He asked, quickly letting his hand fall back to his side, an embarrassed smile on his face.
Shadow shook his head. "No, I don't know what kind of effects it could have on her or the kittens, so we're walking."
Sonic couldn't say he was opposed to walking with Shadow.
He knew Team Dark's shared home wasn't too far away from GUN's base, and he found himself feeling strangely disappointed by that information (he thinks, as if he didn't know why he was disappointed).
The walk was pleasant, though. It was a nice day, and helping a stray cat in need was definitely much more fun than spending his day watching Tails go back and forth while preparing for his sleepover. And he also got to spend an evening with Shadow, which was always a plus, if you asked him. Especially since he got to watch the hybrid treat the pregnant lady ever so gently.
He knew Shadow liked cats, but he had never seen it for himself, and he could say, he was pleasantly surprised.
Once they (sadly) got to the door of Team Dark's home, Shadow passed Sonic the keys, not wanting to let go of the cat. Once the blue hedgehog opened the door, they were quickly welcomed by Rouge, who was sitting on the couch, with all her makeup supplies scattered in front of her.
"Oh, hey, babe, I didn't know you'd be bringing visits with you." She said as she leaned on the back of the couch, looking at both hedgehogs over it.
"I told you I would try to bring the cat today." Shadow stated.
The bat chuckled. "I know, I meant Blue."
"Ah." The hybrid gave a quick look at the other hedgehog before turning back to his roomate. "Yes, he offered to help."
Sonic smiled as he waved a hand. "Hey, Rouge."
"Heeey." She smiled back.
"Please tell Omega to keep quiet." Shadow said.
However, Omega quickly peeked out by the kitchen door, wearing a cooking apron and holding a spatula. "I cannot promise anything." He said, and the hybrid sighed.
"Closed door it is, then." He muttered with a click of his tongue. Sonic had a hard time ignoring the jump his heart took at that moment.
He had never been in Shadow's room! Let alone just the two of them! Admittedly, this wasn't the most… Romantic circumstance, but he still felt embarrassingly anxious.
Shadow guided him down the hall and opened the door to his room. Sonic was surprised to find that it was rather cozy, instead of edgy like he had originally imagined. This seemed to fit Shadow better.
The dark hedgehog approached a box placed on one corner of the room, gently placing the cat inside. The other followed, kneeling down and leaving the bag aside. Shadow reached for it and took everything out.
"Put some food out for her." He muttered as he opened the fairy lights.
"Okay." Sonic said back as he did as told. "What are the lights for?"
Shadow took a second to answer.
"They're in case she goes into labor at night. I want a softer light so it won't bother her as much." He explained, avoiding eye contact.
The blue hedgehog chuckled. "You're really surprising me today, Shads!"
"There's a lot of things you don't know about me, hedgehog." The hybrid said as if it were a challenge. Big mistake, because if there was something Shadow should know about Sonic is that he would never turn down a challenge, especially one that came from Shadow.
"Yeah, but I guess that's why I like hanging out with you so much, I always learn something new!" He winked teasingly, and Shadow simply blinked at him, face void of expression.
The hybrid then sighed and shook his head. "I'm going to get some water. You look after her." He said as he stood up.
"Will do, boss!" Sonic said as he gave a thumbs up.
And when Shadow left the room, the blue hedgehog let out a big sigh.
Ugh, Shadow and his beautiful red eyes and squishable face and surprisingly sweet heart.
He turned to face the cat, who, on her own, was already watching him intently. He softly stretched out his hand, offering a finger for her to inspect.
"What do you think, buddy? Do I have a chance?" Sonic muttered after a few seconds of just watching the cat sniff his finger.
"A chance to do what?" Shadow's voice came from the door.
The blue hedgehog quickly turned around to find the other carrying a small bowl with water, obviously for the cat.
"Uhm- A chance to hold her, like you did." Sonic shrugged. "I want her to like me too."
Shadow hummed as he kneeled down on the ground, next to the other hedgehog.
"Don't get your hopes up, she only likes cool people."
Sonic laughed. "Well, that's exactly why she would like me! Everyone knows I'm the coolest hedgehog out there." He smiled widely. "And the others are just fakers." He then winked teasingly, making the other roll his eyes.
They fell into a short silence as they watched the cat drink some water while Shadow scratched between her ears, making her purr contentedly.
"Are you gonna name her?" Sonic suddenly asked.
"Why me?"
"You know her better, you would know what name would fit her best." The hero explained.
The hybrid stared at him expressionless for a second, ears slightly pushed back, only barely, as his wide red eyes made him look like a wet kitten.
"I wouldn't know what name to give to a cat…" He muttered as he looked down, almost as if ashamed.
"Just think of something cute."
"Cute?"
"Yeah! You know how Cream named both of her chao after food? That's kind of cute." Sonic explained, shrugging as he gestured with his hands.
"Food…" Shadow said softly to himself as he looked down at the cat, which was now licking her paws absentmindedly. The hybrid hummed with lips pressed in a thin line. "Raisin."
"Huh?" The hero said, taken aback by seeing the other actually attempt to give the small animal a cute name.
"Her name is Raisin." Shadow declared as he gave a short nod with his head, as if to support his words.
"That's good!" Sonic smiled widely, pleasantly surprised by the hybrid's choice.
"I didn't ask for your opinion." The dark hedgehog said, but the other could easily notice the lack of edge in his words. He was only playing around, and that, for some reason, only made Sonic's heart beat faster.
The blue hedgehog leaned closer to the small cat, and smiled when she looked at him. “Hey, Raisin.” He almost whispered. Raisin leaned closer to him, smelling him. Sonic silently gasped in delight. “Shads?” He called, and the other hedgehog hummed. “Are you keeping her?”
Shadow frowned in confusion. “I can’t.”
The blue hedgehog gasped. “What? Why?”
“She’s not my cat.” The hybrid said as if it was obvious.
“But she could be.” Sonic stated back as he leaned closer to the other, pushing him lightly as their shoulders touched. “I mean, she clearly likes you already.” He then shrugged.
Shadow hummed as he looked down at the cat in silence.
“Think about it!” Sonic insisted, sitting straight up, taking the dark hedgehog by surprise with his enthusiasm. “We could be grandparents, Shads!”
“We?”
“Uhm-!”
He really just said that, didn't he?
Uuugh , he really needed to start thinking before speaking, he couldn't keep throwing himself into situations like this!
Although Shadow’s embarrassed expression came pretty close to making it worth it…
“I mean-” Sonic tried to say when his throat started working again. “Not unless you don't want to, but, you know-” His eyes darted anywhere but to Shadow, who kept looking at him with those impossibly bright red eyes off his. “We’re uhm- Helping her and- I don't know!”
A loud meowing noise broke the tension between the two hedgehogs.
Both of them looked down at Raisin, who was squirming and complaining on her place.
“I think it's happening.” Shadow muttered, and right after came another cry from the clearly uncomfortable cat as confirmation.
“Ah- Okay, what do we do?” Sonic hurriedly asked as he now kneeled on the floor, anxiously looking at the squirming cat.
Shadow quickly stood up and grabbed a towel that had been laying on his bed before handing it to Sonic.
“It's best to leave her alone unless she's struggling.” He quickly said, voice monotone and calm, as if he had switched ‘nurse mode’ on. “I'll check on the kittens as they come out, you’ll wipe them and leave them on the blanket.” He explained, pointing at the bag they brought from the store earlier.
“Okay! I can do that, yeah.” The blue hedgehog said, mostly to himself as he grabbed said blanket and placed it on the floor next to him. “Can I name them?”
Shadow turned to look at him with a confused expression on his face.
“What?” He asked.
Sonic's eyes darted away for a second. “I want to name the kittens.” He explained. “You got to name Raisin.”
The hybrid rolled his eyes before turning back to the squirming cat. “Just don't call them something stupid.”
“I would never!”
“Uh-huh.” Shadow simply hummed with a tint of sarcasm.
That was the last thing that was said between both hedgehogs before they switched their attention to Raisin. Luckily it didn't take too long before Shadow had the first kitten in his hands.
Sonic could’ve melted when he saw the gentleness the dark hedgehog was using with the small animal. He held it with care and looked at it with adoration. The kitten eventually mewed and Shadow smiled before handing it to Sonic.
“That one’s a girl.” He told the blue hedgehog without turning to look at him, voice surprisingly soft, velvety smooth, which made the hero freeze in place for a second, taking a bit too long to grab the kitten being handed to him.
“Hi.” Sonic murmured to the tiny cat as he brought her closer to his face. “Your name is Grape, to go with your mom.” He decided before starting cleaning the kitten with the towel and then gently placing Grape on the blanket.
He made note to remember the soft look Shadow shot his way.
It went on for a little longer. Luckily Raisin didn't seem to be having too much trouble, but, honestly, with Shadow whispering sweet praises to her and occasionally -when she reached out to him- petting her, who would? Sonic certainly wouldn't.
If Sonic was being frank, he really believed that if he had Shadow whispering praises to him with that smooth voice of his he could do just about anything.
Eventually, all of the kittens were out, clean, and weakly meowing for their mom, who for a second laid, leaning her head on Shadow's hand, apparently tired from the whole event.
The hybrid sighed when Raisin began purring. “Hey, you did so good.” He said softly, petting the cat’s head. “You want to go see your kittens?”
Almost as if Raisin was able to understand his words, she stood up and approached the groups of small kittens, all laying together on the soft blanket.
Sonic smiled proudly when both Raisin and Shadow inspected the kittens. The two of them looked satisfied with what they saw.
Shadow sat closer to Sonic as he watched the cats. “So, what did you name them?” He asked.
“That one's Grape.” The blue hedgehog said as he pointed to said kitten. “Then there's Bubble, Dexter, Lila, April and June.” He finished introducing the rest of the kittens; six in total, all equally small and cute.
The dark hedgehog hummed as he gave a short nod with his head. “They’re not as stupid as I thought they would be.” He said, making the other shortly laugh. “Keep that up and I'll let you name our great-grandchildren as well, hedgehog.” He then leaned his head on Sonic’s shoulder.
And Sonic could've bursted right there, in all honesty. He could almost feel his brain short-circuit for a second.
He nervously laughed, his whole body stiff as he wondered what he was supposed to do with his hands. “So, you are keeping Raisin?”
Shadow hummed. “I think so, yes.” He answered with a soft and loving tone of voice as she watched Raisin interact with her kittens.
“I’m assuming I get to come see her whenever I want, after all, I am her dad too!” Sonic said half jokingly as he lightly pushed the other hedgehog, who simply rolled his eyes.
“Sure, but I’m the favorite.”
“Not for long.” Sonic said as he turned to face the hybrid, who simply looked back at him with the smallest smile ever, but also the cutest.
“That's a challenge, Sonic.” Shadow said before standing up from the floor and opening the door. “Omega, Rouge, come look at the kittens!” He called.
“What?! They're already here?!” Rouge answered. It wasn't long before the two other members of Team Dark appeared in the room.
The hybrid sat back down next to the hero, and as his roommates were distracted with all the adorable kittens and their mom, he quietly placed his hand over the other hedgehog’s. Sonic, feeling bold, turned his hand around and instead intertwined their fingers together and gave a short squeeze.
The blue hedgehog sighed content when Shadow returned the squeeze. He could do this more often… Well, maybe not the helping a cat give birth, that was a bit stressful… And also minus the shopping part…
But being like this with Shadow? Yeah, he could do that a million times and he believed he would never get tired of it. And well, now he had an excuse to come over more often.
He needed to thank Raisin later for being his wingman... Wingwoman...? Wingcat.
Whatever.