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-Tom pulled over at in-front of the hotel. The dark sky was a contrast to the loud noises and bustling city. It was full of people crossing the street and talking with friends and saying good night.
-And it was certainly full of danger if Sonic walked out. Luckily, the two had some experience hiding the blue hedgehog.
-Tom reached out behind the driver's seat and grabbed out the duffle bag he’d stashed before they had left. Sonic frowned, but didn’t object. Tom’s phone buzzed. Stone.
Will meet you in the lobby; Shadow’s in the room.
-Tom nodded and showed Sonic the message. The blue hedgehog nodded before crawling into the bag. Once Tom was certain he was secure, he zipped it tight.
“Try not to be talking and make me look like a deranged child-kidnapper this time, alright?”
“Fineee; it smelled really bad that time though.”
-Tom chuckled and got out, carrying the duffle bag as he headed into the hotel. As promised, Stone was waiting in the main lobby. His expression seemed border-line friendly, but Tom could spot a trace of hesitance.
-Which was fair. The two had never directly interacted, and the only times they’d been in the same room had been with Robotnik. Tom gave a small wave and hoped his smile was enough to deter any lingering awkwardness.
-Thankfully, it seemed to do the trick. Stone approached him, smile still in place.
“Welcome to Ohio; right this way.”
-Stone gestured towards the elevator, and Tom followed. The two exchanged a small look, and Tom looked at the duffel bag to indicate Sonic.
-Stone inserted his key card into a slot in the elevator and pressed his floor while Tom waited.
-Tom gave a small exhale once the doors opened, Stone gesturing him forward. Tom couldn’t help but look around the long hallway that led to Stone’s room. Another keycard later, and Tom entered the room. He unzipped the duffle bag so Sonic could climb out; once he did, the blue hedgehog shook himself up a bit.
“Gah! I hate riding in duffle bags; too cramped.”
-Tom smiled while Stone walked to the kitchen. He pulled out a small tray with snacks and set it on the counter.
“I figured you might be hungry after the drive.”
-Sonic’s eyes lit up, and he raced over to the tray and grabbed three crackers before Tom had even registered Stone’s words. He shoved one in his mouth, prompting Tom to smile a bit.
-But it quickly faded once he forced himself to remember why he was here. He turned to face Stone.
“Where’s Shadow?”
-Stone tilted his head toward the couch on the other side of the room. He took two steps back.
“I’ll be over here if you need anything, but I won’t intrude; however, I think it’s best if I’m there for the beginning.”
-Sonic’s eyes were darting between the couches and Tom before Tom finally nodded.
- -*-
-Shadow leaned against the couch, his feet tapping against the floor; logic said he should’ve sat on the couch, not leaned against it, but he didn’t really care. Stone hadn’t minded either, so he hadn’t moved from his spot.
-Shadow’s good ear twitched as he listened to the conversation behind him. Heard Tom ask where he was. He crossed his arms over his chest and continued tapping his foot on the floor.
-His good ear twitched as he listened and heard them approach.
-Deep breath.
-Then Tom and Sonic entered his line of vision. Gave him a one-over and sat down. Shadow looked away.
“Hey, Shadow….how are you doing?”
-Shadow didn’t look at them.
“Fine.”
-Stone gave a dry chuckle from behind.
“Just ‘fine’? Man, and here I thought I were perfection incarnate.”
-Shadow’s lips twitched, but he fought it down. Tom seemed to notice and didn’t force the joke any further.
“Soo, Shadow…we came to…welll…”
-Shadow huffed and finally looked at them.
“You came to take me back.”
-Sonic scooted a little closer, unaware of how Shadow tensed.
“We came for you; not to ‘take you back’ or ‘leave you’; just for you.”
-Shadow frowned and shook his head, looking away. Sonic scooted a little closer; this time, he noticed how Shadow stiffened, and moved back.
“Seriously, Shadow; you told us on the phone you had no intention of coming back; we weren’t that far from home; we wouldn’t have lost much time if we’d just turned around; so what do you think we’re for? Kidnapping you, drugging Stone, and taking you both back with us?”
-Tom gave Sonic a sideways look at the same time Shadow looked up.
“Well now I do.”
-Stone gave a good-natured eyeroll as he strolled to the kitchen.
“Ain’t no-one touching me; I’ll just be over here.”
-Shadow felt a sharp ache when Stone left, but said nothing. He pressed himself against the couch.
“I can’t go back.”
-Tom sighed, but didn’t say anything for a moment. After a moment, he lifted one hand, lifting his eyebrow slightly in his silent question. Shadow felt his lips purse together in fear, and Tom understood, dropping his hand. He sighed again, and the sound heightened Shadow’s anxiety more than anything the two had done so far.
“I understand if we…weren’t the best at all of this; taking in hedgehogs in the middle of a blizzard with one of our kids...not liking it-”
“-That’s putting it lightly-”
“-Yea; well, it can be…hard, I guess. But that doesn’t mean we didn’t want you there.”
-Shadow frowned.
“You took me in out of pity.”
-Sonic shook his head.
“We took you with us because we cared about you; geez, Shads, you make us sound like G.U.N..”
-Shadow scowled.
“They’re not you guys, and I know that much; don’t act like that.”
-Sonic shrugged.
“Well, with all the issues you point out, it sure sounds like it.”
-Shadow looked away, forcing his emotions down into the pit in his gut where they belonged.
“One of you hates my existence; you think that’s paradise?”
-Sonic gave an eyeroll, seeming exasperated.
“Not all of us are Knuckles, Shadow!”
-Shadow pulled his legs closer to his chest.
“I know that.”
-Tom put a hand in front of Sonic when the cobalt hedgehog opened his mouth; Shadow felt a rush of gratitude at Tom grinding this discussion to a halt.
“Shadow, what exactly is it that you want? Not what I want, or Sonic, or Knuckles, or anyone else; you.”
-The words were a blow to thin ice, and he struggled to keep himself together. He took a deep breath and looked up at Tom, barricading any and all emotions from being revealed in his expression.
“Why?”
-Tom startled at Shadow’s tone; if he was being honest with himself, the hard, emotionless voice scared him; he hadn’t known his voice could sound so empty, so devoid of the emotions he despised so much.
-So why did it scare him? If he’d been trying to close himself off so much, why did his accomplishment terrify him so badly?
-Tom’s shrug snapped him out of his mental spiral.
“Well, it seems like, and I could be wrong, but that a lot of this is based on perception instead of desire; you see Knuckles getting angry about all this, but was leaving what you wanted, or what you thought would be best?”
-Shadow flinched at the precision in Tom’s question. Sonic’s eyes widened, as if he was only now realizing this. Shadow looked away. Tom didn’t ask, just scooted an inch closer. Shadow didn’t react.
“Did you want to do that”-Tom gestured to Shadow’s bandaged arms, causing him to try(and fail) to hide it-“or was it something you thought had to be done as a result of whatever you heard in the attic?”
-Shadow stiffened, his good ear twitching; his brain registered a danger in Tom’s questions; they were breaching every and all the walls he’d built around his emotions, his reasons, everything that he kept within himself for himself and everyone else and now Tom was seeing it, seeing him, and what scared him most was the relief he felt at the realization that he was being seen.
“I won’t force you to answer, Shadow, but just think on this; do you want to return with us?”
-Shadow shut his eyes, tears slowly leaking out anyways. He pressed a hand to his mouth to keep the sob restrained. He felt Tom press a gentle hand against his arm, and he opened his eyes and looked at the hand on his.
“I’m here, Shadow; we’re here.”
-A hiccuped sob escaped his throat, and he looked up at Tom without a single care for how messy the tears streaming down his face were when Tom looked up at him with love and whispered
“I see you.”
-Tom extended a hand towards Shadow, and after a moment, Shadow lifted a shaking hand on top, tears still in his eyes when Tom pulled him close and embraced him.
-And with that, the pit where he’d locked his emotions was suddenly filled.
EPILOUGE
-Rosa looked through her phone as she entered her house, cocking her head as she looked at the strange child cosplay she’d seen on the street; the design work was incredible, but also peculiar; in a good way. She grinned as she posted the picture on Instagram, chuckling at her own captioning.
-Saw a child with this cool cosplay on the street; poor guy was clearly looking for his parents(he found them, dw chat /\_/\)-the DETAIL on this is astounding guys! If anyone knows the seamstress, give me their website link! See you all soon babies!!!!
- -*-
-Rockwell was growling as she typed in her daily report; stupid makeup assignments; failing to capture that blasted black hedgehog had led her down to doing makeup work as a sign of disciplinary action and an apology; it was ridiculous, but to find that hedgehog, to lock all the aliens away, it’d be worth it.
-Her phone suddenly buzzed on her desk; a message from her coworker, Thomas.
-Rockwell, you’re going to want to see this.
-With his message he sent a link to an Instagram picture; the blankness in the message told her this was important, prompting her to click the link.
-She almost dropped her phone at the image.
-It was him.
-Her phone buzzed again.
-You’ve been assigned to look into this, effective immediately. I’ve been assigned to join you :)
-Rockwell gave a calculating smile.
-Well, it looked like things were finally turning around.