Archive of Our Own

Shadow kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. After spending multiple days entirely at the mercy of Sonic the Hedgehog while he was delirious with fever after everything that had gone on in the void and shatterspaces, he kept expecting some kind of terrible fallout. Blackmail, taunting, some sort of demand that he now owed Sonic for very likely saving his life. It wasn't guaranteed, and it was entirely possible that his enhanced body would have survived, but he couldn't have been certain. He was uncomfortably weak when his fever finally broke, and that was with being given food and water at regular intervals. 

But nothing of the sort seemed to happen. Sonic's obnoxious teasing stayed on safe and familiar topics with nearly nothing about the Prism or his ordeal. The only real change seemed to be that now that Sonic knew about some of his food preferences he liked to bug him about going out to grab a burger together, or pester him to join him on one of the semi-frequent beach cookouts. Shadow ignored the invitations, but they were hardly the sort of thing that would actually get under his skin. 

Even when it became clear that Sonic had shared his version of their time in the shatterverse with the others nothing really changed. He mostly found out from Rouge finding him and pestering him for more information on what the shards had been like. It was both a relief, and an irritation in its own way. From the casual way Sonic had touched him, had brushed out his quills, and the fact they had been sleeping in the same bed together he could take a decent guess as to the liberties Sonic had taken with him. Liberties that could very well line up with the snatches of fever dream that might be more based in reality. Of feeling like he was drowning in exhaustion with limbs that refused to obey him, but being held and spoken to so gently it hurt. That when he'd been trapped under the ice and had given up on clawing his way out of the depths, someone else had been there to pull him out and back to solid land. 

He was used to being treated like a specimen, a weapon. Cold and impersonal and sometimes painful. It was what was efficient, the scientists on the ARK never would have forsaken efficiency for sentimentality. The only one who ever cared about that had been Maria. 

How could Sonic have been so kind and then gone back to taunting and challenging him to races like it was nothing? Was that how he was with all his friends if they needed him like that? It gnawed at him, and he wasn't sure what he wanted the answer to be. 

The taunting and challenge was the reason he was headed back to the home and workshop he'd had no plans to visit anytime soon. Sonic was late, which wasn't exactly surprising, but he'd issued a challenge for a race and if he won Shadow would have to bring the food to the next get together, personally. If Shadow won, he would stop pestering him about various get togethers for a month. It seemed fair, since Shadow was certain he'd win, but now the day had come and there was no sign of the other hedgehog. That didn't make much sense, especially since Sonic seemed to think Shadow showing up to socialize was fair after everything they went though. 

Things were quiet, Robotnik had unleashed a robotic menace a few days before so while it wasn't unreasonable that he could have something new in store it wasn't suspicious that it was so quiet. It was also entirely possible that Sonic had made other plans, entirely forgetting about their wager. Shadow hesitated a moment, staring at the door, and then knocked. He didn't expect an answer, and when nearly a minute passed with no sign anyone was home he started to move away. He could check the workshop for signs of occupancy and if Sonic wasn't there then obviously he had forfeited the wager. Just before he could get too far away the door started to open.

"Hello? Shadow? What are you doing here?" Tails stood in the doorway and Shadow's first thought was that he looked exhausted. That in itself wasn't too worrying, he knew the fox had a habit of getting wrapped up in his projects and ignoring regular hours. "if you're here for something to do with Sonic I'm afraid it's a bad time, he's... Oh no," Tails trailed off, turning back from the doorway as Shadow's ear twitched, picking up the unmistakable sound of someone retching. 

Shadow didn't give Tails time to figure out if he should be rude and close the door, stepping inside after him. Tails looked like he wanted to say something, but hurrying back towards Sonic's bedroom was a higher priority. Shadow, naturally, followed.

Shadow paused in the doorway while Tails never stopped, going right to Sonic's side. The other hedgehog looked wretched. He was in bed, quills dull and mussed, and leaning halfway out over a five gallon bucket that had been placed by the bed. His arms were trembling a little, and Shadow could make out the way he was shallowly panting even across the room.

"I've got you Sonic." Tails put a comforting hand on his back, stroking over his quills while he picked up a glass of some sort of clear liquid. Sonic took a mouthful of it, spitting it back into the bucket. Rinsing out his mouth, Shadow realized. 

"I think... I think I'm done for now," Sonic managed, slowly easing back to collapse back on the pillows. 

"So it's safe for me to take the bucket and rinse it?" Tails confirmed before he started to pick it up, holding it gingerly at arm's length. 

"I think so," Sonic said, even if he didn't sound entirely convinced he was telling the truth. 

"I can get it," Shadow spoke then, stepping closer to take the bucket away and getting a startled look from both of them. 

"Shadow? What are you doing here?" Sonic started to push himself up, then flopped back. 

"Rinsing out the bucket." Shadow decided to take the question annoyingly literally, carrying it away before Tails had time to argue.

"Ah, just dump it down the toilet and rinse it in the shower," Tails instructed. 

Shadow nodded, going in to do exactly that. It wasn't exactly a pleasant task, but he'd dealt with far worse. When he returned with the freshly rinsed bucket Sonic was taking slow sips from a cup while Tails sat on the edge of the bed. 

"So like... why are you actually here, Shadow? Because I've been trying to get you to come by for ages and.... oh no, the race. That was today?" Sonic asked, sounding genuinely upset. 

"Sonic's obviously not in any shape to race," Tails pointed out. 

"I can see that," Shadow said dryly. 

"Urg, you win. I won't bug you about getting food together for a while. Besides, food got me into the mess in the first place. We were cleaning out the fridge and I swear those hotdogs were only a day or two out of date, and they smelled fine and... ok, no more talking about food for a while, ok?" Sonic rambled, and Shadow avoided pointing out he was the one who kept bringing up food, neither he not Tails had said anything yet. 

"He made chilidogs will old hotdogs last night and gave himself food poisoning," Tails clarified. 

"What did I just say?" Sonic asked dramatically, but under the theatrics he really did look queasy, swallowing a couple times before he could manage a bright smile. "So, uh, nothing to do but wait it out?" 

Shadow glanced back and forth between them. Food poisoning could take a while to develop, but between the fact it looked like Tails hadn't gotten much or any sleep, and the fact the bucket contents had been mostly liquid and stomach acid, it looked like they'd both been dealing with this for a while. 

"I'll stay and help out," Shadow said. 

"Are.. are you sure?" Tails asked.

"When did you last sleep?" Shadow asked back, bluntly. Tails and Sonic both looked guilty at that. 

"I was getting ready to go to bed when he started feeling bad," Tails admitted. 

"Then I can stay and take over," Shadow said firmly. It wasn't the same, mild food poisoning wasn't dangerous like a incapacitating multi-day fever, but it would get him closer to paying off his debts. 

"Go get some sleep, Tails. I'll be fine," Sonic insisted. Fine seemed like something of an exageration, but putting others ahead of his own comfort was hardly something new. 

"Alright, there's more ginger ale in the fridge, nothing solid until he's not thrown up for at least a couple hours and then something bland is ok, and you know what to do with the bucket," Tails ticked off the points on his fingers, then gave Sonic's shoulder one more comforting pat. "And if something does go wrong, promise you'll wake me?" 

"Promise." Sonic managed a small smile, and Shadow nodded. Even if he doubted it would be needed. He could handle one sick hedgehog.

Tails finally left and Shadow debated taking his spot, He settled on standing nearby, arms crossed. 

"Are you sure you should be making yourself drink that?" Shadow finally asked, when Sonic resumed taking small reluctant sips of the carbonated liquid. 

"I'm going to be trying to throw up no matter what, and liquid's a lot better than nothing. Nothing coming out hurts more. Plus don't want to get dehydrated," Sonic explained, and Shadow nodded in understanding. "Guess you don't have much experience with this sort of thing." 

Shadow shook his head at that. 

"No, if I do ingest something my body truly can't handle, it purges it efficiently. No lingering effects, and the bacteria on spoiled food isn't too toxic to deal with," Shadow said, even if he wasn't sure why he was volunteering that information. It wasn't any of Sonic's business. Maybe because he'd shown he could keep quiet about those kinds of personal things when it mattered?

"So if you can't, ah, can't get food poisoning, how would you know about, uh, about the other thing?" Sonic seemed to be getting more distracted as he talked, setting the cup down with a shaky hand.

"Scientists in the past were curious about the limits of my abilities," Shadow said a little too matter of fact for the horrified look that crossed Sonic's face.

"Really? Dude, that's sick. I don't know why..." Sonic paused, swallowing hard. "Sorry." 

That was all the warning Shadow had before Sonic was hauling himself up with surprising speed considering how gingerly he was moving before, and grabbing at the bucket to lean over it once more. His whole upper body heaved as ginger ale and more stomach acid splattered out and into the bucket. 

Shadow stood frozen for a moment, watching it play out while his mind searched for the best action to take. He gingerly sat down on the side of the bed, where Tails had been before, placing a hand on Sonic's back. Like this he could feel how his muscles tensed too hard for Sonic to actually get a breath in as his body violently tried to expel anything still in his stomach. Shadow could feel Sonic's arms starting to give and without thinking he brought a hand up to support his chest, trying not to put any sort of pressure on his throat or abdomen. 

"T-thanks," Sonic managed, when he could finally draw in a breath again. "Just... just let me stay like this for a bit, in case it starts again." 

Shadow nodded, holding him steady. Like this he could feel how Sonic's heart was pounding through his fur and the leather of his glove and it was a strangely vulnerable sensation. They often made contact during their scuffles or when circumstances demanded it, but never like this. Sonic had most of his weight resting on him like this, trusting he wouldn't let him fall out of bed, and there was little to distract from his observations. 

The second bout of retching nearly caught him by surprise. Sonic had been right to be cautious, even if there was little to come up any more. Sonic coughed, a line of drool stretching down into the bucket and he raised a hand to shakily try and wipe it away from his muzzle. 

"I think... I wanna lay back down," Sonic mumbled, and Shadow nodded. He helped ease him back up and over, onto the pillows once more. 

"This is awful, this is so awful. I don't know when I'll be able to face chili dogs again, maybe never," Sonic said, trying to sound lighthearted about the last part. 

Shadow picked up the cup, and then realized his small mistake when Sonic took a larger mouthful and then looked back to the bucket. Well, that was easy enough to fix and Shadow lifted it so Sonic only had to turn his head to spit out the mouthful. 

"This won't take long," Shadow assured him, leaving him with the cup. There wasn't much left in it though, and when he got back with the once more clean bucket Sonic was finishing the last few small sips. 

Bucket back in place, Shadow reached for the cup. 

"Thanks, for all of this, and for giving Tails a break," Sonic said, and Shadow nodded.

"I'll be back in a minute." Shadow felt oddly reluctant to leave Sonic alone like that, but the kitchen was close and he would be fine for the time it took to pour more soda and return with it. 

Shadow's intention to just make a quick trip to the kitchen and back was derailed when he smelled coffee as soon as he set foot in the room, and spotted Tails at the table watching the coffee maker. 

"You're supposed to be resting," Shadow pointed out, and Tails shot him a guilty look. 

"I started to lay down, but then I remembered I had some projects that needed to let their code compile for a few hours and I thought I could get that started running while I rested," Tails argued back. 

Shadow considered that as he opened the fridge to get out one of the bottles of soda to refill the cup. On one hand the fox looked terrible and like he should be in bed, but on the other he wasn't responsible for him. They weren't even friends. 

"Fine, but if you pass out I'm not going looking for you," Shadow said. 

"Thanks, Shadow. Ah, can you not tell Sonic? He doesn't need to worry about me when he should be taking care of himself." Tails smiled wanly at him.

"I won't mention it, but if he asks I won't lie for you" Shadow got the soda put back in the fridge and then paused. Something about the fox's posture was sending up cautionary alarms. He was slumped in the chair, but there was a tension about him that didn't quite fit with just exhaustion from lack of sleep. His tails weren't held in a normal position or even hanging limply, they were clamped close to his body. He looked like someone in clear discomfort or even pain. 

It wasn't any of his business, but Shadow still found himself hesitating to leave and go back to Sonic as the coffee machine beeped to indicate it had finished brewing. Tails started to push himself up from the table and then stopped halfway to the counter. 

"Oh no. No..." It was a quiet little whimper and then Tails was falling to his knees, bracing with one hand as he emptied the contents of his stomach all over the kitchen floor. 

Shadow had expected something to be wrong and it shouldn't have come as a surprise but somehow it still caught him off guard. He set the cup down and went to the fox's side to crouch down, putting a hand on his back. 

"S-sorry. I think, just, I think all the puke got to me? I'll clean it up." Tails tried to catch his breath, starting to struggle back up. Shadow gave him a hand, supporting him when he seemed unsteady. 

"You can go lay down," Shadow said firmly. 

"Laying down made it worse before, I thought maybe if I distracted myself..." Tails said, and Shadow's ear twitched. So he'd known he wasn't feeling well. 

"And you didn't share any food with Sonic?" Shadow questioned, even as he started to steer the fox in the direction he knew his bedroom to be even if he'd never been in it.  

"No, nothing! I got food while I was out because I knew it was fridge-cleaning night and the kitchen would be a mess for making anything," Tails said defensively. 

"I believe you." Shadow got him to the door and then paused. "Do you have any more buckets?" 

"Ah, in my workshop, but I'm probably fine now..." Tails sounded more like he was trying to convince himself rather than Shadow. 

"Then you can carry the bucket back after you get some sleep." Shadow didn't wait for an argument to that, leaving him to make it to bed on his own and going in search of a bucket. It didn't take long to find one that was clean enough for the intended purpose and he carried it from the workshop the to bedroom. 

Tail's room was dark, but Shadow didn't have any problem adjusting to the lack of light as he carried the bucket to the bed containing the sad little lump. 

"Here, if you need anything just say so, I'll be able to hear it," Shadow said, setting the bucket down. 

"I will... and thanks, Shadow," Tails whispered. Shadow nodded, even if he likely couldn't see it, going to let himself out and close the door. 

Shadow was about to start looking for cleaning supplies when he was suddenly and harshly reminded of his original task. He grabbed up the cup hurrying back to Sonic's room. Cleaning the floor could wait. 

Sonic was bent over the bucket again, trembling as he dry-heaved. He had long since run out of anything to come up, but his body was determined to try anyway. Shadow immediately set the cup down beside the bed, reaching to support him. It seemed to take forever before Sonic sucked in a shaky breath and then another, eyes squeezed tightly shut to the point tears were starting to dampen the fur under his eyes. 

"Sh-sheesh, did you get lost or something?" Sonic finally managed, panting. 

"I had to deal with Tails," Shadow admitted. He may have agreed not to say anything unprompted about him attempting to work, but the situation had changed. 

"Tails? Is he ok?" Sonic asked, tensing like he was thinking about trying to get up. 

"He threw up, I sent him to bed and got him his own bucket," Shadow explained.

"I should check on him..." Sonic did try to sit up then, and Shadow gave him a little shove back onto the pillows. 

"You should stay right here. I can hear if he needs anything," Shadow ordered.

"Yes, but..." Sonic's stubborn urge to go check in on his best friend visibly warred with the limitations he was currently under and he finally slumped back with a whine. 

 "You'll keep an eye on him too?" Sonic asked, pleading. 

"I will." Shadow held the cup out for Sonic to take. "Can you wait while I go clean up your kitchen?" 

"Clean up? Oh, uh, yeah. The one silver lining is the bucket's still clean? So you don't have to worry about that right now." Sonic took a careful sip. 

"I would rather it wasn't, that was my fault," Shadow admitted. 

"What? No, that's not your fault, I'm glad you took care of Tails when I couldn't. Having something in my stomach makes it easier but it's going to happen either way," Sonic insisted. 

Shadow wasn't quite sure how to reply to that, and ended up just going back to resume his search for cleaning supplies. Tails might not have gotten to his coffee yet, but he still had a substantial amount more in his stomach than Sonic did after throwing up so many times before. Shadow ended up using a dustpan to scrape up the worst of it and dump it into the toilet before going back with paper towels. He washed his gloves off, pausing to listen at Tails' door before making his way back to Sonic's room when he didn't hear anything concerning. 

Sonic had his eyes closed, slumped on the pillows and half-curled protectively around his middle, and Shadow had momentary hopes that he had managed to get comfortable enough to fall asleep. Those hopes were dashed when Sonic stirred at his quiet footfalls. 

"H-hey." Sonic said quietly, as Shadow sat back down on the edge of the bed.  

"If you want to try and sleep I can stay outside the room," Shadow offered. 

"No. I feel too lousy to fall asleep, and I know this is probably awful for you, but I'm really glad you're here." Sonic managed a small smile. 

"I'm sure any of your friends would be here if you bothered to ask them," Shadow pointed out. 

"Yeah, but I'm still glad it's you," Sonic said and Shadow tried to ignore the strange flutters those words caused. He couldn't even blame the strange feelings on taking care of them, he didn't get sick or food poisoning and he wasn't bothered by vomit the way some people were. It was a mystery he was strangely reluctant to explore.

 "I don't like that there's nothing I can do besides clean up after you," Shadow finally admitted. It was true that anyone could have done this. As long as she wasn't squeamish someone like Amy would likely have been thrilled for the opportunity. He was only there out of chance. 

"Yeah, nothing to do but wait it out." Sonic managed a tired laugh. "And you really don't seem like the type to want to hold my hand and pet me and tell me everything's going to be ok." 

"Are you that type?" Shadow asked, curious. Sonic seemed like he'd mean well, but lack the patience to actually sit with someone if there wasn't anything meaningful he could do. 

"Uh, are you asking if I did that while you were sick? Because I'll only answer that if you promise you're not going to punch me," Sonic said.

"I'm not going to punch you like this," Shadow said truthfully.

"Then yeah, I ended up kinda hugging you a lot, but mostly because you were delirious and it kept you calm and resting?" Sonic explained. 

Shadow made a soft thoughtful sound. He'd suspected it, but the confirmation was appreciated. He didn't think Sonic would lie about that when he was worried about the reaction he'd get. After a moment's thought he reached to stroke over Sonic's mussed quills, willing to make an attempt. 

"Uh, are you petting me?" Sonic asked, and Shadow growled softly, pulling his hand back. "Wait, no, you can keep going, it feels nice." 

  Shadow waited a beat and resumed the gentle stroking. After a moment Sonic closed his eyes, relaxing into it. 

"I just want this to end," Sonic mumbled into the pillow. "Uh, the food poisoning part, not you being here."

 "If it was the second one I'd already have left," Shadow said. Debts or not if this wasn't welcome he wouldn't even be making an attempt. 

Sonic huffed out a louder laugh at that and then winced. He curled up a little more with a soft groan. 

"I have sore muscles I didn't even know I had from all of this," Sonic complained. "And it's getting worse again." 

"Getting worse?" Shadow asked. 

"Feeling like I'm going to barf. After it happens I'm kind of ok for a little while then the feeling starts coming back. I keep hoping maybe it'll be the last time. 

"Eventually it will be," Shadow said. "Tell me when you want to lean over the bucket again and I'll brace you."

"I will, it's a lot easier to lean on you," Sonic admitted. "My arms are getting kinda shaky." 

"I'm not going to let you fall," Shadow said with quiet conviction. 

"Thanks, Shadow." Sonic smiled a little, then made a soft sound. "Maybe we better go ahead and move."

Shadow was ready, and it was easier without having to race against time to get him in position. Once more he cupped his hand against Sonic's chest, supporting most of his weight. 

"Y-yeah, this is easier." Sonic swallowed and then coughed. Coughing turned into once more attempting to empty out a stomach long since empty of anything solid and Shadow hated that the only thing he could do was hold him like this. He rubbed over his back, petting his quills down and doing his best to help him ride through the violent muscle spasms. 

Once he was finally able to ease Sonic back onto the pillows and press the cup of ginger ale on him he grabbed the bucket intending to take it and rinse it when he paused, ear-flicking. 

"What is it?" Sonic asked. 

"I'm going to check in Tails after this," Shadow said, going to finish rinsing out the bucket and returning it. He planned on being back before Sonic needed to use it again, but there was no use temping fate and potentially needing to clean the floor or bed. 

"Tails? Do you think he's ok? He doesn't usually like people hovering over him while he's sick, but..." Sonic sounded frustrated, hands clenching in the blankets. 

"That's what I'm going to find out," Shadow said, leaving the clean bucket and making his way to the other bedroom. It was entirely possible he was being overly concerned. He hadn't heard the young fox say anything, but he had heard a whimper. Either it was nothing, potentially a bad dream, or Tails might be in for as rough a time as Sonic. 

Shadow was hoping for the bad dream, but his hopes were dashed when stepping into the dim room he could make out Tails hunched over the bucket. 

"S-sorry, I know Sonic needs you right now," Tails forced the words out, obviously tense. 

"He should be fine for a time," Shadow said, not sure if he should come closer or not. Tails was obviously less comfortable with his presence than Sonic was and it was entirely possible he preferred to suffer in private. Sonic did say he didn't like to be fussed over when he was ill.

Tails wasn't really looking at him though, staring down into the bucket and gripping the top edge tightly. Fighting the urge to throw up, Shadow realized. 

"It'll be easier if you get it over with," Shadow prompted, trying to sound sympathetic rather than curt, and not sure how well he managed. 

"I... I know that." Tails gritted out, "But I know how bad it feels. I can't..."  

"You can," Shadow assured him, stepping over to place a hand on his tense back. Tails made a sound almost like a sob before either he stopped resisting or his body forced the issue. Shadow stayed where he was, waiting until Tails started to pull back to help ease him back onto the bed. Tails lay back limply while Shadow grabbed the bucket. 

After the bucket was cleaned he made a brief detour to grab a fresh cup of ginger ale. Tails would want to rinse his mouth and have something to drink, assuming he was in for as rough a time as Sonic was. 

"Thank you," Tails took the cup carefully, rinsing his mouth and spitting into the bucket with an unhappy sound. Shadow placed it back where he could easily lean over it. 

"Don't mention it," Shadow said. Tails had been part of finding him and helping him during his fever, after all. 

"I just don't understand how I could have food poisoning too, we didn't share anything," Tails said, sounding distraught. 

"Food poisoning can take a day or two to show symptoms, it could have easily been something other than the hot dogs," Shadow said. 

"But I've been thinking, I don't think we had any shared food for a couple days now. Sonic's been out running around for a few days and I haven't seen him for meals, that's why the stuff in the fridge had a chance to get old and need to be thrown out," Tails curled up a little more in the bed. "So why am I sick too?" 

Shadow turned that over in his head. He'd easily accepted the food poisoning explanation without question. Sonic was known to have questionable judgement about food, and living together with Tails meant the odds of sharing a meal went up. 

"You didn't even get food from the same restaurant where a shared ingredient might have been bad?" Shadow asked, and Tails shook his head a little. 

"I'm going to look into something," Shadow said. 

He'd been considering it with the fact that Sonic seemed to be getting weaker and was unable to keep liquid down, but with Tails getting sick as well it was time to consult someone with more knowledge of the situation. He had a phone call to make. 

"That does sound like the exact symptoms we've been dealing with all week. There's a viral gastroenteritis going around that's put a number of agents out of commission." The G.U.N. medical personnel on the other end of the line sounded resigned. 

"What's the treatment?" Shadow got right to the point, taking a long sip from the coffee Tails had abandoned when he'd gotten sick. No use letting it go to waste.

"Supportive care. Medication to treat the symptoms, running fluids if they're dehydrated. The worst should be over in roughly 24 hours and then they should take it easy for several days until they feel fully recovered. Sticking to bland foods that will avoid irritating their digestive system further for a time is recommended." 

"Where can I get the medication?" Shadow demanded.

"Normally for civilians I would suggest taking them to a standard doctor or hospital..." There was a pause, as if they were thinking over the possible consequences of forcing Shadow to deal with the medical system. "Under these circumstances though I'm sure we could authorize you to receive and administer them. That would limit potential further spread of the virus."

"Understood." Shadow said. Good, he wasn't actually well equipped for transporting both Sonic and Tails to get medical care. Tails could likely still ride behind him on his bike, but he doubted Sonic's ability to hold on at the moment. Trying to get both of them on his bike and to the hospital was out of the question, same with carrying them both.

"You can pick them up yourself or we'll send them by courier."

Now that was a more difficult decision than it should have been. Shadow knew he'd be faster and they both could get the medicine sooner. However, he didn't know how long it would take for it to be ready and he might run into delays. He was reluctant to leave them both alone for longer than a few minutes, while a trip out could very well take more than that. 

"Send a courier," Shadow decided, ending the call and heading back to Sonic's room. 

"How's Tails?" Sonic asked immediately, even if he looked absolutely terrible himself. 

"He's sick as well," Shadow said bluntly, sitting back down on the bed.

"Oh no, I don't want him going through this. How'd he get food poisoning too?" Sonic asked.

"It's likely not food poisoning, I called a doctor who said the symptoms sound more like viral gastroenteritis," Shadow explained and Sonic looked worried.

"That sounds really bad..." 

"It's also known as 'stomach flu' I've been told," Shadow explained.

"Oh. Oh yeah, that sucks but it shouldn't be fatal or anything." Sonic relaxed a little.  

"They're sending medicine that should help with the nausea. As long as that's under control you should recover without issue," Shadow explained. Sonic brightened up as much as he could in his state. 

"You're getting us medicine for this? Really? You're the best. I tried taking some over the counter stuff earlier and it didn't do anything," Sonic said. 

Shadow looked away at the unnecessary praise. 

"It should be more effective than that was." Shadow hoped so at least. He also hoped it would act quickly, as he doubted Sonic's ability to keep anything down long enough for a pill to dissolve and give an effective dose. It might also be something injectable, he could administer that without issue. 

"Good," Sonic smiled a little, but the brief rally brought on by concern and then hope of future relief was fading fast and for half a moment Shadow wished he'd picked the other option so he could get the medication sooner. 

Shadow stroked over his quills as Sonic visibly wilted a little back into the pillows. 

"You know, I really am lucky you're the one who showed up. It's awful enough Tails probably caught it from me, but you don't need to worry about that," Sonic said quietly. 

"You're right, I won't. Now stop talking and try to rest," Shadow ordered. 

It felt like forever before there was finally a knock at the door, someone from G.U.N. finally showing up with a large paper bag stapled shut. Shadow grabbed it, closing the door without bothering to acknowledge the courier.  He'd had to hold Sonic through another bout over the bucket and he wasn't eager to deal with another if relief was close. 

The bag contained two different containers of medicine, some sort of squeeze tube, and disposable gloves. No syringes, but it looked like the doctor may have been smart enough to consider needing a non-oral delivery system if they'd provided something like a gel that could be absorbed through the skin. Sonic took out the information packet to review it. 

The first bit of information was normal enough, instructions to call a doctor or seek medical care if there was an adverse reaction to the medication, or if the vomiting persisted even after the medication had taken effect or continued for several days. 

Then it went on with instructions for the two different medication formulations and how to administrate them. The first was easy enough, pills for if the patient could keep them down. The second, for if either patient wasn't able to take it orally he curled his lip up as he read. Finally he shoved the second package in the fridge where it was supposed to stay cold, taking the first pill bottle. They would try it this way first. 

Part of him wanted to go right to Sonic since he was the one in worse shape, but he grabbed a fresh cup of ginger ale and went to Tails' door first. Since he was a little less exhausted and sore from repeated vomiting he might be better able to keep it down on the first try, 

The fox was curled into an unhappy lump on the bed but he stirred a little when Shadow came in. 

"I got medicine for the nausea," Shadow set down the cup, and then showed Tails the bottle. 

"Where did you get that?" Tails sounded confused, taking the prescription bottle to read it. 

"I called G.U.N, their doctor said there was a stomach virus going around and the symptoms match. This should stop the vomiting," Shadow explained. 

"Is that even legal?" Tails asked. Shadow shrugged. 

"If you'd rather get on the back of a motorcycle and wait to be seen by a doctor while potentially infecting everyone else in the waiting room, that's an option too," Shadow pointed out and Tails grimaced. 

"I'm going to trust the doctor knows what they're talking about then," Tails twisted off the cap and took out one pill, taking a sip of the soda to swallow it down as Shadow took it back. "Now what?"

"Try not to throw it up before it has a chance to work, but once it kicks in your symptoms should improve," Shadow stated, before adding. "You might get drowsy." 

Tails snorted softly at that. 

"I'd really love to get some sleep, I'm so tired, but... yeah. Thanks, Shadow. I hope this works," Tails said, settling back into a lump on the bed.

"I do too," Shadow admitted, before leaving to deal with Sonic.

"I have it," Shadow announced as he came into the room. He expected Sonic to look up, maybe perk up at the good news. It was mildly concerning that he didn't even try. He'd slid down some on the pillows that helped keep him propped up to make drinking easier. 

"Really? That's great. You have no idea how glad I am that this might finally be over," Sonic said, even if he didn't try to move. 

"I'm going to help you sit up some more so you can swallow this," Shadow said, taking one of the pills out as he sat on the bed. He tried his best to be gentle, not wanting to move too quickly and trigger more nausea but Sonic still tensed a little with a soft groan. 

"I'll do my best," Sonic promised, taking the pill and then the cup with hands that trembled. He tried tossing it back and chasing it with a mouthful of soda, but almost immediately Shadow could see it go wrong.

Sonic choked, coughing and Shadow rushed to get Sonic turned to the side so he wouldn't accidentally inhale any more of the liquid or worse as the coughing turned into another fit of retching. 

Shadow had been afraid of this, though he hadn't expected it to happen so quickly. All he could do was support him until Sonic was finally able to get himself under control again. More than a few tears dampened his muzzle when Sonic was finally able to lay back, panting for breath and Shadow hesitated, then gently scrubbed them away with the back of his glove. 

"Ok that... that sucked. My throat's so raw from all this it's hard to swallow," Sonic admitted quietly. "Give me a minute, that wasn't the only pill was it?" 

"No, but I don't think we should try that again," Shadow said and Sonic gave him a desperate pleading look. 

"I'll be more careful, but I'm not sure how much more of this I can take. Please, Shadow."

 "The pills aren't the only option," Shadow admitted, trying not to let him see how much seeing Sonic in such rough shape was getting to him. "One would be to take you to a medical center, either G.U.N. or something closer. They could take better care of you there." It hadn't been his first choice, but he could possibly manage to transport just Sonic, even if he had to carry him and run. 

"I hate hospitals, but.... what are the other options?" Sonic asked. 

"They sent two versions of the medication depending on ability to take it. There's the pills that Tails was able to swallow and you weren't, or there's suppositories." Shadow had really hoped he'd been able to handle the pills rather than submit him to that indignity. 

"Does that mean what I think it means?" Sonic asked.

"That it goes in opposite from your mouth?" 

Sonic swallowed, quiet for a long moment. 

"I just really really want to stop throwing up," Sonic finally said, and Shadow understood. 

Shadow got one of the does of medication out of the fridge, swapping one of his gloves for the disposable one. It was thankfully designed well for paws, not only being sized correctly but with the material thick and cushioned at the tip to keep his claws from ripping through and possibly hurting him. 

"Are you sure you don't want to do this yourself?" Shadow asked, and Sonic huffed an almost-laugh. 

"Are you kidding?" Sonic held up a hand a little so he could see how shaky he was. "If I thought for a second I could manage this I wouldn't be asking this of you. And at this point I wouldn't care if you killed me if I finally stopped puking. " 

"You'll have to tell me if anything hurts," Shadow warned him, ignoring the last bit. He tugged the blankets back and helped Sonic stretch onto his side with his legs tucked up a little, putting his other hand at his hip. 

"Believe me if something hurts you'll be the first to know," Sonic said, trying to sound flippant. 

Shadow removed the medicine from its protective wrapper, squeezing out a little body safe lubricant from the tube he'd hoped had been a gel form of the same medicine so he could avoid this. He wanted to use enough to make it easy, but not so much that he made a mess or worse lost his grip on the medicine itself. Under his free hand he could feel how Sonic had tensed in anticipation. Trying to do anything like this wouldn't be ideal, but Sonic didn't seem the type to relax just because he was ordered to. 

"Is, uh, everything alright? It seems like it's taking a while," Sonic asked, clearly nervous.

"You might be surprised to find out I haven't exactly done anything like this, and it's not exactly the same as cleaning and oiling a gun," Shadow said dryly. It was true, he'd helped encourage Maria to take liquid medicine or swallow pills on her own, but anything more involved than that had happened with doctors in the room and him outside of it. 

"Did... was that a joke? Did you just make...." Sonic breathed out, finally relaxing under his hand and Shadow took the opportunity to press under his tail. "Ah, that's cold!" 

Shadow waited out the flinch and then carefully pushed the medication in deeper to hold it in place. As much as he tried to detach himself from the situation it was hard. He could feel Sonic squeeze tight around his finger and then relax a little even as a soft whimper escaped him. 

"It, ah, doesn't hurt, but man that feels weird," Sonic said, right after the whimper as if to cover it up. Shadow made a soft huff of acknowledgement, slowly easing his finger out once he was fairly sure the medication would stay in place. 

"There, that should kick in soon." Shadow grabbed some tissue to clean up where despite his care some of the goop had gotten on Sonic's fur and pulled the disposable glove off, then he tugged the blanket back up. Task accomplished, and both of them were still fine. Everything was fine.

"It better," Sonic managed. "Every time I throw up I think it can't make my stomach muscles hurt any more, and then it does." 

Shadow considered that. Sonic had complained about that a few times which meant it really had to be bothering him. He leaned in, sliding his hand under the blanket and not missing Sonic's small flinch. 

"Here?" Shadow stroked through the fur over his stomach, feeling how tense the muscles under it were. Knotted from repeated unfamiliar exertion and unable to fully relax. 

"Yeah, there. You know I didn't really think you'd be the type to give tummy rubs?" Sonic asked, then continued quickly when Shadow stilled his hand. "But, uh, I won't turn it down? It feels nice as long as you don't, ah, don't put too much pressure." 

Permission given Shadow kept up the slow movements. As tender as Sonic was he couldn't press firmly enough to properly force the muscles to loosen, but even keeping it light he could coax them to relax, he'd just need to be more patient about it. 

It wasn't sure exactly how long he sat close slowly petting over the surprisingly soft tan fur before Sonic's breathing started to even out. 

"Sonic?" Shadow said out loud, getting an ear-twitch and a sleep hmmm. "How are you feeling?"

"Better. A lot better. Thanks. I mean it, I mean I know you must hate this..." 

"I do," Shadow confirmed, feeling a twitch under his hand. "And you should drink something before you fall asleep, since you should be able to keep it down now."

Sonic nodded, looking less than happy about sitting back up and slowly draining the rest of the cup of soda. It was likely the medicine though, combined with fact he'd already been exhausted that made him unhappy about waiting longer to fall asleep. Once that was accomplished he let him lay back down and Sonic immediately closed his eyes again, hunkering down. Shadow tugged his glove back on, stepping out to let him sleep.

Shadow stood in the kitchen, realizing he suddenly had nothing pressing to do. Between the lack of sleep the night before and the medication he wouldn't be surprised if both Sonic and Tails were asleep for hours. He didn't plan to leave until he was certain they were close to recovering and could take care of themselves, but he wasn't quite sure what to do while he waited. He had finally decided to swing by the library before it got too late and pick out a book to keep him occupied when the phone rang. 

"Yes?" Shadow picked it up expecting that it could be the doctor calling back to check in, but instead a familiar female voice spoke. 

"Sonic? Is that you?" Amy sounded confused, and Shadow could dimly hear what sounded like machinery in the background. 

"No," Shadow said. "It's not."

"Who are you? What have you done with Sonic?! Wait... Shadow?" 

"Yes. What do you need with Sonic?" Shadow asked. Whatever it was he doubted it was worth waking him up to tell him about. 

"Robotnik's attacked a town and taken several people hostage, there's too many for me to handle without putting the hostages in danger, I need Sonic and Tails here to help," Amy said, and Shadow's ear twitched.  

Amy was a formidable fighter, but for a hostage situation she wasn't the best suited, nor was Knuckles if she called him in. Rouge would be better, but there was no telling if she was available. It was even possible that she might have caught the same virus through her work with G.U.N. But both Sonic and Tails were in no shape to get out of bed, much less fight. That really only left one option. 

"Where?" Shadow asked. Startled, Amy named the town. "I'll be there." 

Shadow hung up, cutting off her questions. He made one more quick check into both bedrooms, making sure there was a full cup if they woke up, and the bucket was in place if the medicine failed. Then all he could do was hope his earlier prediction about them sleeping for hours was true as he left. 

Getting to stretch his legs and smash some robots did wonders to clear Shadow's head. It was satisfying to take out some of his frustrations at not being able to just fix the others on some deserving badniks. The only negative to the whole situation was that once Robotnik retreated and the hostages were freed Amy cornered him with an entire list of questions. Some he even answered curtly, he was there because Sonic and Tails were sick. They were fine, it was just a stomach flu. No, she should not visit, not unless she wanted to spend time puking her guts out too. Why was he there? Because he couldn't catch something pathetic as a standard virus. 

He didn't say anything about his debt he was repaying, because that would have meant letting her know that Sonic had done something for him. Finally he reluctantly took on a 'care package' Amy pressed on him, and left. It helped that he pointed out that the longer he was here, the longer the two of them were alone. Even if he doubted they'd notice his absence, she didn't need to know that. 

The only downside was the excursion left him with no time to pick up a book, but he'd endured worse than a little boredom. Back in the kitchen he unpacked the bag, finding an assortment of plain crackers and a jug of some kind of electrolyte drink. That made sense, the soda might be easier on a nauseous stomach, but the electrolytes would help with dehydration more efficiently. He put it in the fridge to chill while he went to check on the two of them. 

Tails was sleeping peacefully so he took care not to disturb him. He wished he'd thought to talk to the doctor earlier, for Sonic's sake, but at least the fox had been spared a great deal of the discomfort. 

Sonic was dozing, but he stirred when Shadow came into the room. 

"Hey you're back, I think. Did you go somewhere before?" Sonic asked, and he sounded a great deal better. Still weaker than Shadow would have liked, but less like talking was a monumental effort he was making to sound normal. 

"I did. One of your friends called to ask for your assistance. Since you obviously couldn't go, I took care of the problem." Shadow took his familiar spot sitting on the edge of the bed so he wasn't just standing and staring down at him

"You... took care of the problem?" Sonic laughed softly, and it sounded more like him. "I'll bet you did." Sonic reached up towards Shadow's face and before he could blink or ask what he thought he was doing Sonic had brushed through his quills and come out with a screw. "You still have some robot bits in your quills" 

Shadow snorted at that. 

"I'll make use of your shower later," Shadow said.

"Yeah, you're welcome to it. But Shadow... why did you come back?" Sonic asked. 

Shadow just looked at him, confused. Hadn't he made it perfectly clear that he planned to keep taking care of him? Just one dose of medicine wasn't enough to fix everything. 

"I mean, you said you hate it here, doing this, and I don't blame you. So..." 

"I don't hate being here. I hate seeing you so pathetic," Shadow stated. "And I'm here because I still owe you."

"You don't... wait, what do you owe me for?" Sonic asked and Shadow stared at him once more. Maybe being sick was affecting his thinking?

"You helped me when I'd been poisoned with void energy," Shadow reminded him, and Sonic blinked.

"Yeah? But that was my fault in the first place. You never would have gotten stuck in the void, or had to fight evil robots, or nearly fallen into endless darkness if I hadn't shattered the Prism. I was just making things right," Sonic explained. 

"Then why do you keep asking me to do things if you don't think I owe you?" Shadow demanded. 

"Do things... like hang out? Because I like your company. Because when you're not punching me in the face you're nice to be around. And even the punching thing is a lot of fun when I have the time for it." Sonic laughed softly. "You're the only one who can challenge me properly and I want a rain check of the race I missed today, soon as I'm back on my feet." 

"Same wager?" Shadow asked, and Sonic suddenly looked a little unsure. 

"Do you want it to be the same wager?"

"Not particularly," Shadow admitted. 

"We'll think of something new then. Maybe something like... when I win, you have to pay for the movie night food?" Sonic smiled, then put a hand protectively over his middle "Once I'm able to have something more than just soda." 

"And when I win, you'll be buying," Shadow said, getting a wider smile from Sonic. Or maybe more of a smirk, the other hedgehog looked awfully smug for someone so sick. 

This was what he wanted, he realized. Even if there wasn't a debt to repay he wanted to be there. He was glad he was the one to show up and take charge of the situation, and he would have especially hated anyone else seeing Sonic so vulnerable. He wanted this, all of this, and was there really any reason to deny himself?

Without really thinking he was leaning in, pressing his lips against Sonic's to wipe that smug look off his face. 

Sonic made a surprised sound, then he was kissing back eagerly, and just when Shadow was coming to terms with what he'd just done Sonic made a distressed sound, trying to turn away. 

"What?" Thoughts flitted quickly through Shadow's head, had he guessed wrong and Sonic didn't want that? Was the medicine not working and he felt sick again?

"Dude, I appreciate that more than you can ever imagine, but I am disgusting right now. I haven't brushed my teeth since last night," Sonic said, making a face. 

"Do you think I care about that?" Shadow asked, reaching up to touch his cheek. 

"You might not, but I do," Sonic said, and Shadow shrugged.

"I'll help you to the bathroom so you can brush your teeth, when you're ready. Or I can bring your toothbrush to you here." 

"That would be great. And I'm really looking forward to that. Ah, assuming you want to keep doing that after I brush my teeth?" Sonic paused, waiting for the nod. "And you're going to stay?" 

"Assuming there's not more trouble that I need to fill in for you, yes." Shadow said. "And I'd be coming back afterwards if there was." 

"Good. That's great." Sonic laughed softly. "I wish we weren't having this conversation while I feel like I've been run over by a truck and could sleep for a week." 

Shadow watched him. He really should get himself cleaned up, but... he started easing down on top of the blankets beside Sonic. 

"You can sleep, I'll be here," Shadow promised, holding still as Sonic tentatively reached out to drape an arm over him, cuddling a little closer. 

"You better be," Sonic mumbled, and conscious of his earlier objections Shadow placed his next kiss on his forehead. 

"Shut up and go to sleep, Sonic" 

"Love you too, Shadow."