Okay... so this is a side story set after "Teaching Darknes: Visions", but it's not part three... just so you know...
I wanted to explore Mephiles' softer side, and this story came to mind, but it was only short enough for it to be a one shot... but hey... I promised some one shots :D
Oh... as a side note... did any one notice how in chapter three, I had Shadow drinking tea with sugar and eating toast with jam, wheras Mephy was drinking pure coffee and eating his toast plain? It was just a small detail I put to show how similar but different the two are to each other :D
Hope you like this
Mephiles' eyes fluttered open. It was dark, late… and he couldn't really sleep, his injured ankle, among other things, keeping him up.
It had been a week since the whole incident of his being kidnapped by Doctor Eggman, his possession by Dark, and his near-death experience when he drowned and was considered dead for about six minutes.
He rolled over on his back, crisscrossing his fingers together, and placing them behind his head as he stared at the ceiling, and sighed softly.
Normally, Shadow, in hopes of getting the couch back, would be sleeping on the floor nearby, blankets, pillows and all, hoping that he could take his "rightful" place back. Many nights were spent with him staring at Mephiles, who at first found this a little creepy, but over time had grown quite accustomed to it, feeling it was part of the routine to help him fall asleep; his counting of sheep… if you will.
But tonight was different to him, as Shadow had now given up on trying and had now decided, as soon as Rouge let him, sleep in her room… provided that he sleep on the floor.
And it was this night Mephiles realized just how insecure he felt when he was left alone… especially in the dark.
For no particular reason, he would simply begin to panic out of the blue, the childish part of his mind overwhelming him, and causing him to inhale quickly, but breathe out slowly when he caught himself.
He sat up quickly, and surveyed the area around him, his ears twitching from side to side, catching the sounds of Rouge and Shadow sleeping down the hall. Smiling smally to himself, he muttered: "… lucky…" to no one in particular, and shifted his weight into his left ankle as he attempted to stand up. His foot was feeling a little better, but he didn't want to push his luck, so he had to make this quick.
Holding onto the edge of the couch, he pulled himself up, making sure to keep the majority of his weight on his uninjured foot. He took a deep breath and half hopped his way down the hall, leaning against the walls every couple of feet to give his foot a rest. Finally, after what felt like ten minutes, he made it to the door he wanted to find. He braced himself against the wall, raised his hand, and knocked.
A set of white ears twitched, and the owner of them lifted her head from her pillow slowly, staring in the direction of her door with half open eyes, before staring at her alarm clock. It was half past midnight.
She sighed. Why did it seem that someone always knocked on her door at half past midnight?
She got out of bed, careful to step over Shadow, who was pulling off the whole "road kill special" sleeping position; his tongue half out, one ear drooping, one arm out to the side, the other against his chest, and laying like any hedgehog who had met his end with a car… drooling and snoring softly.
Rouge got to the door, lifting her ears up to make it look like she wasn't too annoyed, and pulled the door open.
Mephiles was leaning against the wall opposite, injured ankle held up off the ground, a light smile on his face.
"Hi…" He said, having not thought out what he was going to say, so he just started off with the generic comment, waving his hand.
Rouge eyed him apprehensively, her eyes darting to his foot, before she looked up at him, Mephiles wearing a nervous smile.
"… You didn't put any weight on your foot, did you?" She asked him, her ears shifting down a small degree. "Rae said you should stay off it for a while, or else it won't get any better for a long time…"
"I know… so I kinda hopped my way here on my good foot…"
Rouge gave him a skeptical look. Mephiles sweat dropped and giggled nervously.
"I'm serious… I did…"
"Still…" Rouge shook her head. "… You should be resting…"
"That's the problem…"
Rouge looked up.
"Is your foot bothering you?"
Mephiles shook his head.
"Not so much as it was the first night…" He said, shifting his eyes downward to stare at the floor. Rouge lifted her ears up a bit more.
"Then what's up?"
Mephiles crossed his arms and lowered his head.
"… You'll laugh…" He said softly, as his ears flipped down, his muzzle deepening a shade of red.
"I won't…" Rouge said, leaning forward to show she was all ears. No one noticed Shadow's ear twitched during this. "I promise…"
Mephiles looked up.
"Really?"
Rouge nodded.
"Okay…" He started. "See… I've gotten so used to Shadow sleeping on the floor in the living room, that now that he's in here… I can't sleep…"
Rouge stared for a moment, before smiling, a soft giggle escaping her.
Mephiles face blushed deeply as he turned away, balancing his weight on his left foot, preparing to hobble back down the hall.
"I knew you'd laugh!" He half barked, frustrated tears starting to form in his eyes. "Even after you said you promised, you still laughed at me…"
As he stated to get ready to make his way down the hall, he felt a hand close onto his shoulder. He turned his head around to stare at Rouge, his eyes narrowed, though she was smiling smally at him.
"I wasn't laughing at you…" She explained, shaking her head. "I was laughing because I thought that was kinda cute…"
"Me not being able to sleep is kinda cute?"
"No… the fact that you can't sleep, and you came my door to tell me that… I think that's cute…" She smiled softly. "It's just like what a little kid would have done…"
"But I'm not a little kid…"
"How old are you?"
Mephiles paused. He had never really thought about his age, given he had been through many periods of time, and his true age would be forever changing. He shrugged.
"I guess, because in this time era…" He started. "The lab accident happened ten years ago… that puts my age at ten years old…"
"And ten years old means you're a kid…"
"Fascinating logic… but I don't think it works that way…"
"Why not?"
"… I just don't…"
"I see…" Said Rouge, before smiling again. "… Wanna know a secret about Shadow's age?" The addressed hedgehog's ear twitched again, and this time his eyes opened just a tiny bit, just enough to see, but not enough to get caught.
Mephiles, shrugged and nodded slowly, Rouge grinning.
"Shadow's actually over fifty years old…"
"You're kidding!"
"No, really… he was created by Professor Gerald Robotnik over fifty years ago, as part of research to help a close friend of his, who was Gerald's granddaughter…"
"But he looks like he's fifteen…"
"He's been in a coma for almost fifty years… He was just woken out of it about two years ago…"
"What happened to him?"
"I can't really tell you that…" She said. "It's Shadow's business, and only he gets to tell…"
Mephiles' ears flattened a little.
"Then I won't get to know… he won't tell me, I know it…"
"You'd be surprised… He might someday…"
"Maybe…"
Shadow rolled over with a "hmph", pulling his blankets over his head. Again… nobody noticed.
"So… can… can I… sleep in here t-tonight? O-on the floor?" Mephiles asked, a little tongue tied as he tried to word what he really wanted to ask, his muzzle turning pink.
"Well, of course!" Rouge laughed as Mephiles eyes lit up Rouge laughed as Mephiles' eyes lit up, and he started to get ready to get his things, before Rouge stopped him, shaking her head.
"I'll do it… you can sit down…"
"Thank you…" Mephiles nodded, and hopped his way to the clear spot of the room, which was on the opposite side of Shadow's placement next to the bed. He plopped down, and leaned all his weight into his hands in front of him, his head tilted slightly.
Within a couple of minutes Rouge returned with his stuff and an extra blanket.
"Here…" She said, handing his pillow to him as she laid out the extra blanket. "This way, you're not sleeping on the floor by itself."
"Again… thank you…"
"It's no problem, really…"
After everything was set up, Mephiles crawled onto his makeshift bed, smiling happily, before he flopped down with a contented sigh.
"Night…" He said, burying his face in the pillow as Rouge got into her bed.
"Good night…" The white bat answered.
He brought his face up a bit, and glanced under the bed, and found, by moonlight, a set of red eyes were staring at him from the other side.
He locked gazes with Shadow, who stayed emotionless for a couple of minutes. Mephiles felt his fur bristle as he began to feel a little uneasy at this action. Suddenly, Shadow gave a soft, scoffing laugh, smiling smally at the shade, and rolled over.
Mephiles smiled back, and rolled over in his side as well, curling up some as he finally let himself fall asleep for the first time that night.
Before Shadow had turned away, he mouthed to Mephiles: "I'll tell you about it tomorrow…"
I really like how this turned out... I really do... Hope you liked a look into a night with Mephy :D