It was dark, and the oil lanterns outside were lit by the public servicemen that patrolled the cobble street like ghosts at midnight. The temperature had dropped more than usual that night, and thick puffs of air could be seen escaping the mouths of the bohemians still lingering outside. Sonic let out a long grunt as he further settled himself into the clay bathtub that was full of steaming water. It was so relieving to feel the warmth splash against his sore bruises from his fight with Shadow. A night bath was something that the cobalt always did to relax himself, but with the expense of water inflating as well, night baths were going to eventually become a thing of the past. Gently grasping the bar of soap in his palm, he lightly scrubbed himself and dissolved the hidden pockets of odor off of his body; first scratching his ears and quills, and then running the ivory soap down his slender but fine toned body. The blue teen was not usually conscious of his attractive looks and depended more on his courteous disposition to attract the ladies (and even the other gentlemen) to himself. But for once, Sonic thought he was rather sexy looking. It was temping to hum out loud while the cobalt was busy washing himself off in the old tub, but he decided to keep his voice down to avoid giving Silver any unintended thoughts.

"Wonder how long we can last with eating only a loaf of bread and an artichoke a day?" He thought nervously to himself. While the water was still hot, Sonic dove down and submerged himself, then wiping off the excess sweat from his forehead and any grim that was lodged behind his ears.

"Poor Silver, what could be going through his mind right now?"

More water trickled off of his ears and chin, and he decided to stay in the tub a little longer to relax some more. He was about to think about Shadow when suddenly he found the ebony hedgehog standing there in the bathroom doorway. He was completely naked with a white towel flung over his shoulder and he only wore a mischievous smile that sent a nervous chill up Sonic's back.

"What the—"

"I see the girly hedgehog is taking his evening bath now…" Shadow was mocking him, but not personally this time. There was a hidden smirk of pride on him, and he appeared to be carefree for the moment.

"You're such a pansy, Sonic." The peculiar word rolled off of his tongue slowly, with an accent and emphasis.

"Oh, really?" Growled Sonic back rather seductively, "I suppose you're here to join me then?" By now, Sonic was really asking for it; and the image of a naked Sonic bathing in a steaming bathtub aroused the ebony hedgehog. Everything previous in the day had seemed to have been forgotten and the two eventually found themselves sharing the water in the tub together. Even if they weren't gay, they couldn't afford having separate bath times and spending more money to maintain the boiler-they might as well enjoy it.

Ever since the two have escaped the government's order of an enlistment into the militia, they have grown closely with each other living under the same roof for years—but sometimes they got a little too close for comfort.

It was especially difficult to contain themselves during the years of sexual adolescence, and there has certainly been some instances of rough play, but after all….they're just companions, aren't they?

"Mmmnnnhf! A-Ah, Shads…t-that feels good…"

"You like it just like that, don't you?" Shadow was not much of a caresser, but his hands were firm enough to serve his counterpart. Sonic faced forward and leaned out of the tub, resting his chin on the polished rim and enjoying the feeling of Shadow rubbing the soreness out of his knotted back. How ironic that Shadow would be treating the injuries that he inflicted on Sonic…

Silver on the other hand, was lying flat on his bed and still staring down at the photo of his family in the solemn darkness of the room. The gleaming moonlight that tore through the cracks in the drapery was the only source of light illuminating the monochrome picture in his paws.

The pain was still lodged in his heart, like a dagger still impaled through his chest. Of all the darned people who lived like him, it had to be him who lost his entire family in one quick night.

"Who could ever love me now?"

….

"I wish I was…dead like them" The other side of his conscience was appalled at what he had just stated, but he ironically felt comfortable with such a bold proposal. "If only I could see them….j-just for one, last, time…"

Then suddenly, as if the devil had skewered another blade through his aching sentiment, Silver burst into a full-fledged sob. Every single cold droplet rolled off his pale muzzle and into the palms that were clawing at his defiled face.

"Mom!" The albino bitterly cried out first, "Dad!" On command, he swung himself violently as he lost control of himself and later flung himself into the wall, cracking the plaster wall as his forehead smashed the rigid paint. The only photo of his family was hurled across the room and the glass frame shattered into pieces once it made contact with the door.

"Aw, screw you, you little horndog!" groaned Shadow as it was Sonic's turned to caress the ebony.

"Hey! Who's the one who's always trying to steal my virginity every night hmmm?"

"Oh, shut up! I'm getting rather impatient now, just you wait!"

The two aroused hedgehogs were about to go onto an all-out wrestle in the tub when they heard the sharp, but muffled noise of glass shattering somewhere in the house. Immediately, the hedgehogs froze and listened carefully through their erect ears. They paused, and there it went again with a another shatter which was followed by a muffled cry of pain.

Sonic's conceited grin suddenly vanished as he was the first one to realize.

"Oh, God….it's Silver."

Driven by their horrors, the two leaped out of the tub, leaving a huge puddle behind as both sped down the hall and tore through Silver's door, all in a split second. It was an indescribable, yet appalling sight.

His room was already in a mess just on his first night staying here. Clay and glass fragments from decorations littered the beige carpet, making it dangerous to walk barefoot there. The once smooth walls were defiled with scribbles from deep clawing and insanity. The one window in his bedroom was also smashed open, explaining why it was so cold in his bedroom.

But most of all, Silver was in a huge disorder too. He was looking paler than before, with his eyes carrying some sort of burden underneath them. There were scattered cuts and bruises that decorated his white body, and there was one deep laceration on the back of his head that was bleeding profusely.

Upon the rash break in by the two hedgehogs, Silver seemed to be undisturbed with their entry for some unknown reason. He simply laid there, curled up in a partial ball and shivering his ass off while he muttered curses to himself.

Sonic was too horrified to do anything at first, but Shadow took the initiative of leaping across the treacherous carpet and onto the albino's bed where he suddenly pinned him against the head of the mattress.

"What the hell has gotten into you, Silver!?"

There wasn't a response except for more shivering and a couple of quiet mumbles to himself. Shadow was holding him firmly, and feared that his friend was possibly suffering hypothermia due to his frozen body and uncontrollable shivers. To remedy this, and the concern that Silver would try to push him away, the aggressor wrapped his entire body around the frail white body and ruffled though the chest fluff. Sonic finally got a hold of his senses and carefully navigated his way to Silver's bed. Even with Shadow wrapped around the Silver, he was still emitting rapid quivers from his feeble self. To help, Sonic climbed onto the bed and without objection from Shadow, wrapped himself around the ivory one too. Neither of the older hedgehogs noticed this, but a small flow of blood returned to Silver's pale muzzle from the heat of the two naked hedgehogs squeezing him tightly and invading his personal space.

"Better?" Asked the cobalt. The quivering hedgehog did not respond, but an answer was given anyway when his shudders came to a gradual halt.

"Please Silv, tell us….is it your family again?"

He nodded, and Shadow gave the albino a soft glare for lying before that he was already 'feeling better.'

Nevertheless, the cobalt and ebony should've known better about Silver's instability.

Midnight was upon them, and Sonic was already getting tired. It was tempting to sleep right there on the bed with Shadow and Silver, but the cold was also starting to get back at the three of them again.

"Uh, Shadow?"

"What?" Growled Shadow.

"We can't keep him in here with a shattered window. How about we-"

"-He should sleep with us." he brusquely filled in. It was certainly not something Sonic had in mind, but it actually sounded good, depending on whether he was sarcastic about his proposal or not. Silver, on the other hand, did not approve of this idea, but knew he had no chance of resisting whatsoever.

Moments later, Silver found himself in the bathroom with Sonic kneeling on all four limbs and wiping away the large puddle left from the tub. Shadow, on the other hand, was standing over Silver and holding a glass bottle rubbing alcohol along with a roll of linen bandages. Slowly the dark ebony scrutinized every single self-inflicted cut on Silver and wiped each of them down with the sterilizer which was followed with a bandage wrapping.

"What the hell did you do to yourself?" chastised Shadow sharply, "Hurting yourself won't get your family back,"

Random cries of pain would be heard from Silver where the alcohol was applied to deeper lacerations, especially the one on the back of his head and underneath his long and slender quills.

Throughout the entire cleaning process, Sonic remained silent as he wiped away excess moisture on the floor and Shadow was implicit, listening to only the painful shouts from his dear companion.

It took another minute until the last bandage was wrapped around Silver's forehead, and Shadow stepped back to observe his handiwork on his patient once more. Silver sat there as the pair of red eyes stared down at him, but he mustered enough courage to tilt his head up and say something graciously.

"T-Thanks, Shadow…"

Even though Silver finally seems to have control of himself again, the other two still refused to trust him alone. The albino gave fierce resistance at first, refusing to sleep with two guys and finding it awkward to be in the middle especially. But as always, Sonic and Shadow were always able to get what they wanted, even if its someone adamant and impulsive like Silver.

Crickets chirped furiously outside, and frogs near the pond sang in a partial harmony with each other as nature conducted its symphony in the bleak night.

Silver was still wide awake, and Shadow and Sonic had their eyes closed shut. Fortunately, both of them were able to give him some respect and allow him some personal room on the full sized bed. But of course, Silver eventually convinced himself to take an advantage of this opportunity.

He wanted to go outside again, and get another breath of fresh air or at least meditate. For some reason, started to feel like a prisoner here, being 'protected' by his two friends that he had known from since youth school. That was, until his family moved and everyone forgot him…..everyone except for Shadow and Sonic, and they still remembered him personally like he was their brother.

But why did they remember him? Why, after so many years? Was he really that good of a friend to them?

His two ears flinched to the sound of light snoring coming from Sonic at first, then heavier snores emitting from Shadows muzzle. He had to admit, Sonic looked rather cute in his sleeping position while he was completely stoned out. Shadow on the other hand, reminded Silver of a sleeping beast, a beast that would never forgive him if he was awakened.

Careful enough to not even disturb the dead, Silver slyly crawled out of the thick cotton blankets and crept across the mattress like a nimble mouse. His hand was on the edge of the bed when he suddenly felt himself being pulled back. A painful sensation was felt on the back of his head as he quietly cried out in pain: Someone was grasping him by the quills!

Desperate, Silver shot his head around to see what was holding him back. It was Shadow, and he was holding him by the quill with simply one hand. There was a dangerous expression on his face, and this made Silver's blood run cold as he swallowed nervously.

"Didn't think you could sneak away like that did you?"

Silver this time let out a full squeal as the captivator leaped out of the blanket and tackled Silver straight on, effectively pinning him tightly against the mattress. Any struggles the weaker hedgehog made were useless, and they only made Shadow tighten his constricting grasp even more. Another cry came from him as he was flipped front side up and the dark hedgehog held him down on all four corners. By now, Sonic was sitting up straight and rubbing his head in confusion, dazed of what was going on between the white and black hedgehog.

"What were doing Silver!?" spat Shadow in his face, "Tell me!"

"P-Please! Don't hurt me! I w-was—"

"Was what!?"

"Shadow, let him go already." the cobalt cut in. The ebony looked at the cobalt with distrust, but unwillingly released his firm grip on the prisoner.

It was a long night for the three of them to get their sleep; everyone had their own troubles to deal with, especially Silver. For the next couple of days, Silver would probably have to sleep in cuffs attached to his companions.