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The house rustled with life, loud talking and footsteps banging against floorboards as everyone went on with their morning. Shadow was in the kitchen, cooking a hearty breakfast while the twins argued and wrestled in the living room. Sonic was in their youngest's bedroom, dressing her for the day.
"Myler, quit it! You're pulling my quills out you cabrón! AGH-DAD!" Estrella kicked her twin in the stomach, making the other double over. He released his tight hold on her quills, groaning with his head pressed into the floor. She cracked her knuckles and knocked him in the head. Myler growled, and with his quills bristled, shot forward, biting her hand.
"AHHH! You monster! Get off!" The twins continued to fight, kicking and biting and scratching. Shadow, still in the kitchen, just sighed and plated the eggs. This was the normal for the hedgehog's morning for the past few years. His two eldests were reaching puberty, which means they both fought. A lot. Shadow can't say he didn't know where they got it from, though. He and Sonic still squabbled quite a bit, albeit much less now that Sonic is older.
An echoed screech filled the house, and Shadow slammed down the pan in the sink. Okay, now he was mad. He was okay with fighting, as long as they didn't use their powers in the house, and obviously, they refused to listen. Again. Another scream, this one a terrified male came through, and Shadow's sensitive ears twitched. He's surprised Sonic hasn't come out to beat the twins senseless himself.
He stomped over and looked at the twins killing each other on the floor. The couch was knocked over, and the coffee table was split in two. At least the TV hadn't fallen from it's stand. Sonic would've had a heart attack if that happened again. He cleared his throat, and the two looked over at him, stopping their fighting instantly. He raised a brow at Myler, whom had his ungloved paws wrapped around his sister's neck. Estrella herself had one paw tangled in Myler's quills, the other grasping his snout.
"Get your hands off each other. And fix this living room before your father kills you himself." He paused, listening to the giggling and approaching footsteps of the other two residents of the house. He smirked, and said, "Too late." He laughed, deep and rich, at the twins' struggle to free themselves and hastily fix up the living room.
As Estrella used her chaos power to rewind the broken coffee table, Sonic walked in with a handful of their littlest daughter, Melaina. He smiled at the chosen outfit. She wore a light pink dress with daisies splattered on the skirt. She had a long white ribbon laced in her quills, tied in a neat bow in the back. Her silver inhibitor rings matched the gray button up sweater she had on over the dress. Her matching pink crocs were put on. He'll have to thank Rouge later for buying the outfit later.
The black hedgehog walked up and pecked Sonic on the cheek. "Good morning." He looked to melaina and kissed her forehead. "And good morning o you, Mey-Mey," His voice went soft. Sonic chuckled and gave Melaina over to Shadow. Melaina smiled and squeaked out her own good morning. Shadow lead them to the kitchen, putting her in the one with a booster seat. He looked over his shoulder, and sighed. Sonic had grabbed the twins by the ears and chewed them out with as quiet and stern a voice he could muster without straight out yelling. What a saint he was. Shadow would've lost his temper and screamed, but he digressed.
Soon the three came over with the respective spots, eating quietly. As the kids talked about a new TV show, Sonic leaned towards Shadow, whom sat beside him, and quietly said, "My parents invited me and my siblings over to dinner this morning." Shadow gaped, dropping his fork onto the plate. Sonic never talked about his family, and when he did, it was usually about how his parents called him, demanding he come over. He had never been present for those calls, but he knew by Sonic's shift in mood that they were never good.
How does he go about this conversation? Should he whoop with joy and tell him they should go? Or should he refuse? Thankfully, Sonic answered that for him.
"I...think I want to go, but only if you come with. I'm not sure I wanna go by myself," His voice was soft, almost hesitant about what he was saying. Shadow put his hand over his husband's and smiled.
"I would love to meet your parents, but if you're not ready for me to, than we don't have to," Actually, he really wanted to meet them. He really wanted to. The only family members he had met that wasn't Tails was his twin siblings, Sonia and Manic, but they were usually sparse. The two were present at their wedding and each birth of their children, and sent regular texts to Sonic, but they never called, never actually had conversations with each other. Sonic's parents scarcely called or texted, and wasn't present at their wedding. So Shadow knows that his parents are probably not the best...but he was curious. He couldn't help it.
Sonic sighed, but returned the smile, albeit much smaller. "Okay, but just you and I, I don't know if my parents would be open to meeting the kids. They didn't seem too happy when I talked about them, the last time we called."
Weird.
Shadow didn't dwell on it, and opted to nod encouragingly.
"That's alright. Were they thinking of tonight?" Sonic hummed, taking the last bite of his food. He looked over at their eldest children and frowned. He whistled, loudly, gaining the attention of both. Shadow would never admit it out loud, but when sonic gets stern, he finds it incredibly hot. He wished Sonic would dominate him in be-
Okay. Now is not the time to be aroused. Shadow quietly inhaled and released it slowly.
Myler and Estrella paused in their food fight, staring at Sonic. The blue speedster said lowly, "それを叩きのめす. Eat your food like normal people, for chaos sake."
The twins nodded, eating their food in silence. From the other side of the table, the father hedgehogs's watched as Melaina grabbed a handful of eggs and pushed it into her mouth, barely swallowing before repeating her motions with her sausages. Shadow chuckled as Sonic groaned at their youngest's behavior.
Shadow spoke with amusement, "Oh darling, I wonder where she gets that from."
Sonic scoffed playfully, jabbing the other lightly with an elbow. "Oh whatever, Shads. I'm not that messy!"
Shadow laughed sarcastically, jabbing the other in the same way Sonic did. "Okay, sweetheart."
Soon everyone finished their food, and Sonic forced the twins to clean the dishes. Myler whined, Estrella quietly pouted. Sonic took Melaina into the living room, putting on a cartoon for her. Shadow meanwhile, went to their room to fish out outfits for them both. Should he wear something classy, fancy, or casual? He has plenty of each category, but he admits that he is very nervous. He wants to impress, but he ins't exactly sure what the personalities or Sonic's parents. Are the cool and laid back? Or do they act more like Sonic's angry, moody side? Do they care about clothes? He groaned, stepping back from their closet.
As he was about to just call it quits, Sonic walked through the door with a smirk on his face.
"Hey hun, having some trouble?"
Shadow rolled his eyes. "You have no idea."
"They won't care, not about you, anyway."
Shadow paused his skimming. What did Sonic mean? Why would they care only about how Sonic dressed? From the barely contained irritation seeping through his husband's words, he knows there was some kind of underlying situation he wasn't aware of, but he didn't want to push. I was too early in the morning to be kicked out of the house.
The black speedster only hummed, resuming his sad attempt of looking for the right clothes.
"Alright, but I still feel the need to impress. so, answer honestly. How should I dress?"
Sonic chuckled, moving to sit on the edge of their bed, behind where Shadow was standing. "Hm, something casual, but not too casual. Like we're going on a date to a cafe, kinda, if that helps any."
"No, that was a good way of describing it. Do you want me to pick out some cloths for you too?"
Yeah, that'd be great! I'm gonna tell the kiddos about this, than call Tails and see if he can babysit."
"Okay."
-------------------
A sharp knock on the door rang throughout the house, and Melaina squealed happily. She quickly got up, throwing her crayons down, and ran to open the door. It banged on the wall as it opened, a certain fox standing there with a knowing smile. He stepped in and closed the door much more gently than it had been opened.
"Well, hello there Mey-Mey! I'm happy to see you too!" The fox laughed as the young hoglet latched herself to one of his legs like a koala, purring away happily. The twins were quick to rush down the hallway, pushing each other to stop in front of the fox. They looked up at the kitsune, shouting their hellos at the same time.
"Hi Uncle Tails!"
Tails laughed harder, patting both on the head. "Hey guys! Staying out of trouble, I hope?"
The two nodded in sync. The fox tapped his chin in mock thought and cocked his head with a quirked brow.
"Are you sure? A certain dad of yours said I wasn't babysitting for Mey. I'm here to babysit a certain set of twins from staying out of trouble and destroying the house."
Myler spoke up with his chest puffed out and hands on his hips. Tails had to cringe at the familiar posing. No way Myler got that from Sonic in recent years, he must've been watching old videos on HeroTube again.
"No way! We'll be super good! We won't fight each other once!"
Estrella scoffed, her two sets of eyes rolling. "Yeah right. You'll be fighting me for the last candy bar, for all I know." Myler growled, rolling his own eyes. "Yeah, well-"
"Knock it off. Both of you."
The twins startled, looking behind them to find their dads in the entrance of the hallway, both looking unimpressed.
Estrella pouted, saying, "Sorry, dad." Myler stayed quiet, until she elbowed him. He coughed, wheezing out his own apology. Sonic sighed, rubbing his temple with a hand and Shadow merely rolled his eyes. Tails chuckled and gently pushed the youngest off of this leg. He stepped up to Sonic and hugged him, which was returned with twice the force and energy. He wheezed out as his lungs were crushed, but patted the other's back.
He gulped air as he was released, but smiled so wide his cheeks hurt. "Hi Sonic! Hey Shadow!"
Shadow nodded with a small smile, and Sonic rolled on his heels.
"Hi Bud! Okay, so we have to leave in like 10 minutes, and I wanted to go through the rules with the twins again." The said twins groaned, but they weren't paid any mind as the three adults chatted adamantly with each other. But soon, it was time to go, and Sonic kissed his kids' foreheads, bidding them all goodbye. Shadow nodded at all of them, only kneeling down to hug Melaina, than left behind Sonic.
Tails clapped his hands together, smile turning into a smirk.
"Who wants to get beat at Uno first?"
~
Sonic and Shadow ran down empty roads and highways, barely any cars around. It was 7 pm, after all. The humid, June air made their fur stick to their clothes with sweat, but they didn't pay it any mind as they conversed with each other. Sonic's parents lived a couple continents away, on the outskirts of Spagonia. Which meant they were rich. Very rich. Shadow wasn't sure what to make of that, but he didn't pay it too much mind as Sonic explained what he had conversed with his parents earlier today.
"-so they asked me to come over! Bt it's weird, 'cause they never call me for stuff like that, just the usual yearly check-ins. Anyway, I'm just glad Sonia and Manic will be there as well! Man I haven't seen them since Mey's 2nd birthday!"
Shadow nodded along, paying as much attention as he could without falling on the rough, cracked concrete of the highway.
"I'm sure they all missed you."
Sonic hesitated, his smile falling. I came back, almost too quick for Shadow to notice, but he did. And now he was even more confused than before. He's been taking mental notes all day, regarding this whole situation, and nothing was adding up. First, Sonic seemed hesitant even speaking about his parents, then seeming completely frozen from nerves when he talked about the clothing thing, and had been radiating nervous energy all day. He could only hope that it was because his parents were snobby rich, and weren't emotionally stable in his childhood. Gaia, he really, really hoped this wasn't some kind of abuse case. Shadow wold hate to get blood on his nice clothes, after all.
He was interrupted from his thoughts when they made a sharp right turn down a gravel road. Sonic sped ahead, and Shadow didn't question it. He knew by now that it was a way for Sonic to get his nerves out before doing something. After a few minutes, Sonic slowed down, near walking at this point. Shadow stopped beside him, and looked up at the giant country house. He almost whistled at the sheer size of it. It was a light blue color, with black window sills. The porch was lit up in a warm red glow from the setting sun, highlighting the colorful potted plants. The swinging bench was a black color, and a glass circular coffee table sat beside it.
He hummed in approval at the state of their house. It was obviously kept nice, by the short grass, so green it almost matched the intensity of Sonic's eyes, and the new looking paint job of the outside. Even the roof, with gray tiles, looked clean. The driveway was only slightly damaged, with a red Subaru parked in the front. The garage door was opened, giving Shadow the beautiful view of a sleek red motorcycle inside.
Sonic inhaled deeply, and let it out through his nose. With a determined expression, he looked at Shadow and nodded with a small smile. Shadow smiled back, and grabbed his hand. The two walked up the steps of the concrete porch, hand in hand.The blue speedster knocked three times, and the door opened almost immediately.
A dark blue female hedgehog with a purple knitted dress, black dress shoes, and bleached bangs looked between the two and frowned. "Hello, Michelle. It's good to finally see you home."
'Michelle? Who is Michelle?' Shadow wondered. Sonic's smile tightened, eyes flicking from Shadow's to his mother's face. He quickly let go of Shadow's hand and laughed nervously. He replied, "Yeah, um, good to be back mom!"
Shadow could tell that he was in fact, not good to be back.
The mother's sharp, icy blue eyes grazed over Shadow. He was left with shivers rolling down his spine, but he pushed the feeling back to stare back, with just as much intensity. After a beat, she nodded ever so slightly, and move out of the way to let them in. Sonic gently pushed Shadow inside by the arm. The door closed behind them, and the mother turned to Shadow.
She reached her hand out and said, "My name is Bernadette. Please, call me Bernie. It's a pleasure to meet you, Shadow." She wore a small smile, her smile lines being pushed up. Shadow took her hand and shook gently. He nodded and replied, "It's a pleasure o meet you as well." He bore a small smile of his own. As they retracted their hands two boisterous voices walked in. Ah. It seems Manic and Sonia were already here.
Sonia walked in first, her purple quills held in a high ponytail. She wore a tight fitted black tank top with a read and blue plaid jacket over it. She wore ripped jeans and white socks. Her ears had simple silver hoops, matching the bracelet on her left wrist. Her silver necklace shined in the light, and Shadow thought it looked similar to Sonic's own. It must be matching, then. He looked at Manic, who stood beside her, who wore his signature red leather jacket and spiked bracelets. He had on a matching pair of ripped jeans and a chain hanging from the belt loops. He, just like Sonia, wore a silver necklace, but in the shape of a drum.
Sonic himself wore a a white t-shirt and a red varsity jacket over it, with white cargo pants. he had in golden hoops in his ears and his red shoes were folded up, so they looked like boots now. He switched his gloves for black leather ones. Shadow thought he looked hot, so so handsome. Shadow wore a red t-shirt and black leather jacket. His black flare jeans covered the majority of his air shoes. He didn't bother with any jewelry, he thought it was a waste of time and effort.
Sonia rushed to Sonic and hugged him tight. "Hey bro! It's been a while! You look good for an old man!" She laughed as Sonic groaned. The blue hedgehog smiled wide and patted her back before releasing their hug.
"I could say the same to you! You don't look a day over 50!"
Sonia laughed and punched his shoulder. She then waved over Manic, who sped towards them and embraced them in a tight bear hug.
Sonic wheeze-laughed, shouting, "Hey man! Good to see you too!" Manic let go and gave him a sharp toothed grin. He ruffled the fur between Sonic's ears and turned to Shadow. The black hedgehog internally blanched at the sudden interaction, but didn't do anything until the other did. After a moment, Manic's grin turned softer and put his hand out for a fist bump. Shadow returned the gesture and smiled.
"Hello, Manic. I saw you're bike outside."
"Oh, yeah! I just bought it a few weeks ago, and got to finally ride it out tonight! I thought you'd like to take a look after dinner, as well." Oh Manic, Shadow thought. This guy just knew him too well. He knew ever since their childhood that Manic had looked up to him, much to Shadow's surprise. He can't say he wasn't impressed by the efforts of gaining his attention when they were younger.
Shadow quirked a brow and smirked. "You know me too well. I should've brought my own bike, we could've raced." A sharp cough interrupted the conversation, and the two looked over from where it came from. Sonic had done it, a pensive look over his face as he looked between Shadow and his mother's face. Shadow tilted his head in confusion, noticing the tight frown now present on Bernie's muzzle. He didn't have too much time to dwell on it, though, when loud footsteps came closer to the entrance of the living room.
A blue, black, and silver robot stepped, and Shadow noticed immediately of the heavy presence of this...person? Sonic and Manic, waving the robot closer. The robot did, standing between the two and in front of Sonic and Shadow. The mother stayed off to the side, sitting on the couch. The mobian/robot looked down- Holy shit this thing was tall- and a deep voice spoke through unseen speakers. It's red eyes looked bright, almost cheery, though. So Shadow counted that as a plus.
"Good evening, Shadow! I am Sonic's father, Jules. Call me whatever you want, I don't care!" His deep voice was excited, bright. Shadow was surprised at the difference, thinking it would be more robot and matched the tense aura Jules permitted when he walked in. Shadow smiled gently and nodded.
"Hello, Jules. It's good to meet you."
Jules just laughed. It sounded kind of odd, but human nonetheless. "Oh, none of that formal talk! I'm happy to finally meet you! I apologize for not being able to sooner, life is busy, the likes." Shadow disagreed, but didn't voice it. He instead nodded again, humming like he was listening. He was more focused on the dejected, tense form of his husband. This whole thing was strange, but he didn't want to ruin the mood, so he instead stepped impossibly closer to Sonic and wrapped an arm around Sonic's waist as discreetly as he could, as to not ruin the flow of his and Jules' conversation.
As Jules stopped his assent of how busy his life was, he finally looked down to Sonic and said, "Hello Mic-um, Maurice! I'm happy to see you." Sonic's ears perked up, and he smiled brightly. He moved to give his father a hug, which was returned immediately. Shadow knew the Maurice name this time. But he still caught the slip up. Once again, he felt the need bubble up in his throat to voice his confusion, but held it down. It could wait.
"Hi dad! I'm happy to see you too! What's been happenin' for all these months since we last talked? Still have your ole boss hanging off your head?"
Jules laughed a boisterous one, clapping his robotic hand on Sonic's shoulder as they released their hug. "Ah, you got that right! Ain't nothin' worse than having an old man tell you what you already know, aye?" Sonic laughed, and Shadow watched with interest how his body instantly released its tense coil. Manic and Sonia entered the conversation, wild chatter spewing left and right. Shadow stood back, watching with a gentle smile.
A clear of a throat came form behind him, and he looked back at Bernie. She patted the cushion beside her, opting him to take a seat. Her eyes still pierced through his soul, but he sat down nonetheless. He could feel her eye burn through him as he walked the short distance and sat down on the edge of the couch beside her. He neatly folded his hands on his lap and kept his back straight. Chaos, it felt like he was in school on the ARK all over again. He distantly thought and prayed she didn't have a ruler on her person, but he didn't tap out the possibility.
She spoke first. "So, I heard you guys have kids. How old are they?" Oh. Shadow's totally got this. He relaxed his posture slightly and smiled. He replied, "Our twins are 15, and our youngest is 4." Bernie seemed to relax her self at this, a soft look glazing her intense blue eyes. She asked, "What are their names? I've been told them before, but my brain is slowly slipping away," She chuckled lightly.
"One twin is Myler, the other is Estrella. Our youngest's name is Melaina."
Bernie giggled behind a hand. "Oh, you'e got some interesting names, dear. Let me guess, Estrella is Spanish, Melaina is Greek, and Myler is Japanese." Her slitted eyes narrowed further in amusement, and Shadow gaped at her. He nodded and chuckled, saying, "That easy, huh? Yeah, Estrella was more my decision, and Sonic chose the other two's names. We wanted to add some sparkle of each our origins. It seemed right." Bernie hummed, eyes shining with... love. It was weird, how easy she could flip a switch. Shadow knows who Sonic gets it from now.
Then the feeling of surprise went away as soon as the woman opened her mouth again.
"Michelle, would you be a dear and prepare the food for the table? Manic, Sonia, help her." Shadow frowned in confusion. Who was Bernie talking about? He looked at Sonic, who frowned and quietly stepped away with slouched shoulders. Sonia and Manic walked beside him, their hand on each of his shoulders. Even the robot seemed irritated, but he didn't know why. Bernie stood up and looked at Shadow, face and eyes back to being intense and seeing through his very being.
"Be a dear and come help me?"
Shadow wanted to decline. He wanted to go to Sonic and comfort him, even though he isn't sure why he would be. He has a nagging feeling, one the burns in his chest, that Bernie is not who she seems. But he just nods, and stands up to follow her down the hallway. At the very end, she opens a closet and takes out table cloths. She hands one to Shadow, waiting politely for his hands to come up and grab it. He does, and she grabs a wine bottle form the back. As she closes it, she says, "Thank you. Now come along! We have a table to prepare."
He doesn't sigh, but he wants to. It gets caught in his throat, and release it quietly through his nose. He follows her back to the kitchen, and unravels the white and blue checkered table cloth, putting it over the large wooden table. He distantly notices the vintage style of the legs, how the wood had been carved into pretty swirls. He looked at the chairs and saw the same pattern on the legs. He finishes setting the table with the cloth and steps back to let the triplets put the food on it.
As Sonic passed by him, he manages to sneak a small peck on his lips. The blue hedgehog giggles quietly and kisses him again before rushing back to the kitchen. Shadow smiles and catches Jules' eye. He flushes at the wink of one of his red, digital eyes and looks away bashfully. Soon, the triplets finish setting the table and all of them sit down. Jules sits at the head of the table, with Bernie on the other head side. Sonia and Manic sit on the right side, Sonic and Shadow on the left.
The dinner itself looked beautifully made, with chicken and Steak stacked and plated. Mashed potatoes and gravy sit together on one side, corn on the other. It all smelled wonderful, and Shadow felt bad that he wasn't going to eat most of it. If he were mortal, he's sure he would have devoured all of this by now. He suppressed a laugh at Sonic's starry eyed face, mouth drooling slightly. Everyone plated their dishes, and began eating while chatting about mundane things like the weather and how their life had been since they've seen each other.
Every time Bernie called out the Michelle name, Shadow would refuse to voice his confusion, opting to look at other's reactions every time. Jules's robotic eyes would roll or flick between Sonic and his wife. Sonia and Manic would get worried looks on their faces. Sonic himself, though, made Shadow's heart break. He could see a panic attack from a mile away. He could see discomfort from a whole universe away. But why was Sonic so confused?
Shadow doesn't think himself as dumb, but he knows when he's missing something, such as a social cue or has taken something too literally. But this is ridiculous. Watching this ordeal play out makes him want to pull his quills out in frustration. For the first time in forever, he feels helpless, and so hopelessly dumb.
Bernie speaks up, tongue sharp. "So Michelle, I heard from Shadow that you guys have another child. A four year old, correct?"
Sonic looks incredibly nervous, Shadow notes. "Oh, yes! She's an angel, really."
Bernie quirks a brow and narrows her eyes. "Sure, yes. When will we get to meet these children of yours?"
The blue speedster's smile tightens, narrowing his own eyes. Shadow can feel the rage waving off of his husband. It's unsettling how fast he turned into his mother. He looks almost identical, now that he's looking, when he scrunches his face like that. Shadow absently thinks he'd have his throat slit and dumped on the side of the road is he said that out loud.
"Maybe when you reach out more often. They barely know you guys," his tone sounds final, clipped. Shadow dare say accusing, which Shadow can agree with. He feels the same, to be honest; Bernie is making it sound like Sonic is the one who is keeping their children away from her. A sharp scowl adorns Bernie's muzzle.
She responds just as tightly, "That's no excuse. Why haven't you reached out as well? It's a two way street, you know. A few pictures would be nice." She paused, eyes lighting up in what Shadow thinks is her own chaos power. "Are they adopted? Is that why you don't want me to se them? After all, someone like you could never have kids naturally."
Sonic banged his knee on the under side of the table, a sharp smile grazing his lips. His fists curled tightly on the table, and pushed himself up. "Excuse me." With that, he got up and stiffly walked to the front door and left, barely containing his anger seeping through the way he slammed it shut. Everyone except Shadow flinched at the sound. He's become immune, since his teenagers do it so often. Now Shadow knows who they pick it up from.
Back to the point.
Jules sighs heavily, and his red eye gleam with anger. Sonia and Manic look at their mother with disdain, snouts shriveled up in poorly disguised disgust. Shadow can tell that what Bernie said was meant to hurt, supposed to pinch a nerve. He just doesn't know why. They were talking about their kids, were they not? He wasn't even breathing at this point, with how much he clenched his esophagus shut from word vomiting his every waking thought on this dinner.
Jules' voice held a firm tone, angrier than Shadow thought was humanely possible. "Bernadette, that was uncalled for, and you know it. Mi-Maurice is trying his best, and you keep ruining it. You either try to understand his situation or leave. I will not tolerate prejudice in the house I have built with my bare hands."
Bernie slumped back in her seat, scowling at Jules from across the table. Her Icey blue irises were barely visible, with the way they lit up and matched the white of her sclera. Smoke poured through her teeth as she inhaled and exhaled deeply, evidently trying to clam her nerves. Shadow wondered what chaos energy gave her in terms of power.
"...Fine. I still do not agree with what she is doing, but I will...try to understand what is going on in that head of hers."
Oh. Oh Shit.
Shadow wants to punch himself until he passes out. Bernie had been dead-naming Sonic this whole time. Sonic's own mother was purposefully berating her and making his husband feel like shit. A whole different kind of rage he had never felt before filled his veins. He had to control his own burst of chaos energy from seeping out and blasting the house and everything within a mile radius. Just like Jules, he doesn't want to ruin this beautiful home that was obviously so well loved. He took a deep breath and stood up. Stiffly he nodded at the two triplets and smiled gently.
Then he dropped it and and stared blankly at Jules and Bernie. With a cold voice, he said, "It's been a pleasure meeting you, Jules. Bernadette, I thank you for the food, but please understand that I have grown a hatred for you, and will not tolerate you berating my husband. We will be taking out leave. Have a good rest of your night."
Then he walked out, closing the door behind him with much less force, but still enough to get his point across. He turned his head to the side and saw his love on the swinging bench, knees curled up and his head resting on them as his shoulders shook with silent sobs. He frowned and walked over, sitting beside him. He didn't say a word as he wrapped the other in a warm hug, shielding him from the outside world. His ears licked as her heard shouting form inside, but didn't bother to try to decipher it. He had more important matters in hand. He whispered sweet reassurances and peppered kisses along the other's head and shoulder as he hugged Sonic through his moment of weakness.
When Sonic lifted his head, Shadow smiled gently as said, as quiet as he could, "There's my Sonic. Those beautiful eyes of yours. How are you feeling, my love?"
Sonic shrugged, mouth pressed into a thin line. From the way his throat bobbed, and the frustrated look in gleaming emerald eyes, Shadow knows he's gone mute. But that's okay, because his love needs to listen, not speak. He pressed a gentle kiss on the other's lips, tasting the salt of tears. Sonic hummed gratefully, slowly uncurling himself. Shadow pressed in harder, reaching a hand to cup a peach muzzle.
Sonic sighed softly, and pulled back. He lifted a hand and pressed his fingers to his chin, pulling away. Shadow smiled and replied, "your welcome. You're mother is very rude." He paused. "I...apologize for not realizing sooner, what was going on. I admit, I am still not that good with these kinds of things." Sonic giggled and put up the okay sign with his hand. Then he signed, 'Let's get out of here. I want to see the kids.'
Shadow sighed, and rummaged through his quills for something. Sonic looked in confusion, but didn't interrupt. Shadow took out a blue chaos emerald and took the other's hand. By the offended look from Sonic, Shadow huffed a lugh through his nose and said, "Hey, I just wanted to go sight seeing on the way."
With a whisper of 'chaos control', they went home, hand in hand.
Shadow will never let Sonic's mother hurt him ever again.