Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. Better get those New Year's Resolutions in up. I certainly have some of my own to try and stick to.
Also thanks to everyone for the amount of reviews, follows, and favorites that I have gotten from just the first chapter. HOLY MOLY! If I can get that much attention from this fic then if you guys stick me with me I've got two more stories planned longer and more exciting than this one. But for now I hope this sonadow can be fresh to you in a way others haven't. Also I had trouble finding a good name for this one but just as a reminder this story is about Shadow coping with blindness in the care of his rival.
Tanoshimimasu!
Chapter 2: The Damage Done
Emerald eyes gazed at the amount of people in the hospitals waiting room with a bored expression. He had been sitting there for hours but, he didn't dare leave. It had been three days since the incident at the chemical plant and he had stopped by and sat in the waiting room each day for hours hoping to hear something about how his rival was doing. Rouge pretty frequently visited too though she didn't have quite as much time to stick around for as long as he did.
He couldn't help but feel a bit responsible for the condition the ebony hedgehog was in. He had been about five feet from him when it happened and yet he felt that he let it happen. It was bothering him and until he knew what Shadow's condition was, he wouldn't be able to get over it.
"Mr. Hedgehog?" a human doctor called as he looked up. He stood and followed the doctor who motioned him to come along.
"How is he?" he asked as he tensed for the answer.
"Better than what you think," he responded giving him a small smile. When they reached the agent's room, Sonic was quick to notice the large amount of gauze covering the other's face. He stepped closer to the bed seeing the rise and fall of the others chest. Black ears twitched upon their entry as the doctor pulled out a clipboard before speaking again.
"Shadow can you hear me?" the human doctor asked reviewing the info on the clipboard.
"Yes," he answered simply.
"I have some good news and bad news," he began. "The good news is that your healing factor will allow you to make a full recovery, in fact there are parts of your face that have already healed to such an extent that the scars have almost fully vanished and the fur is growing back over it." Then he paused. "The bad news is that the damage to your eyes is so extensive that they will take considerably longer to heal even with your speed healing. But even with the eyes being such a delicate structure, you are very fortunate that the blindness is only temporary. You should get your sight back within a few months." the doctor finished explaining.
"He'll be blind for several months?" Sonic inquired imagining how hard it might be for the other to have to adjust to not using his eyes. This bit of information wasn't helping his guilt at all. Shadow's ears perked again recognizing the voice for the first time in the past three days.
"Sonic?" he spoke voice croaking from little use.
"Yes, Sonic is in the room with us. He's been here everyday waiting to see if you were alright," the doctor answered. "I'll let your colleague know you're awake," he said before stepping out to leave the two alone.
The two were left in silence again as the blue hero searched for the right words to say. However, whatever thought he may have managed to piece together would be put on hold as the injured hedgehog spoke first.
"So you've been waiting to see me for the past few days?" he asked offhandedly feeling awkward because he was the one to start a conversation.
"Yeah, I actually had something I wanted to say to you since the accident," he admitted. "I wanted to say that I'm sorry for what happened back at the chemical plant. I feel like I was partially responsible for this and-" he was cut off by a rather loud snort.
"Faker your reasoning is seriously flawed, as per usual. If you feel responsible for what happened then perhaps you need a check-up yourself," he stated matter of factly. "It's my own fault for what happened. I should have made sure I knocked Lobo completely out and I didn't."
After that the hero went silent although he did feel like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. He still hated what happened but hearing Shadow say it wasn't his fault made him feel a lot better.
Shadow on the other hand was struggling to deal with the turmoil slowly making itself known the more he thought about it. He was going to be blind, blind. How was he supposed to make it through the next few months like this. He couldn't read, he couldn't write, he sure couldn't fight which meant no missions anytime soon, and worst of all unless he learned to used his other sense to get around and do things, he was going to constantly need help. This meant he was going to need someone in his presence constantly doing things for him like he was a small helpless child. He gritted his teeth frustratingly not looking forward to giving up his privacy (and honestly his sanity) because of his handicap.
Over the next hour the blue blur tried to keep up the conversation by reminiscing about how far their rivalry had come since they first fought. From time to time Shadow would give short concise answers in an effort to end the conversation but part of him was actually glad the other stayed to talk since it took his mind off of coping with his blindness at the moment. Rouge eventually came by later.
"Shadow!" she said walking over to the black hedgehog whose face was still covered in gauze, "The doc told me you're going to make a full recovery even though you'll be blind for a while. I think this is probably the worst injury I've seen you with in while hun. So how are you feeling?"
"About as great as someone who had there face burned off with acid and blinded can be," Sonic snickered at the agents dry humor and Rouge couldn't help but give a laugh herself.
"Well at least I can be assured that your personality is still intact," she said. "You know the doc said you can leave today since most of the severe burns seemed to have healed up for the most part. After all I know how much you'd love to stay here and listen blue flap his lips in your ear for several more hours," she teased.
"Hey! I'm not that much of bore am I?" he asked in mock hurt.
Shadow slowly sat up in the bed already removing some of the thick gauze from his face but being careful to leave the gauze covering his eyes alone. Sonic and Rouge grimaced a bit at the parts of Shadow's face that hadn't fully healed yet. The scaring had shrunk down to the area around his eyes from what they could see, but it was still very noticeable especially on the top part of his muzzle where it stretched downward under each eye like jagged tears. Both mobians were grateful that gauze was covering the rest of the injury.
A black and red striped hand went up to touch his face. He felt the fabric texture of the gauze before gently dragging his fingers down to feel the rough scabs of the scars stretching down his muzzle. There was a dull pain there and he mentally cursed the fact that he couldn't even look in a mirror to see his mutilated complexion no matter how horrible it may be.
This was the second thing denied to him.
He swung his legs over the edge of the bed to stand and Sonic and Rouge were immediately by his side. "Where are my gloves and shoes?" he demanded.
"Well someone's eager to leave, I'll go tell doc you're ready to go," he heard the blue hedgehog say before walking off.
Getting the blind hedgehog home was a bit of a chore. He refused to take a blind walking stick (although Sonic took it for him anyway). He wasn't too thrilled to have to hold on to anyone while he walked and he was definitely against being carried home. It was like trying to talk to a stubborn child who was in the middle of throwing a tantrum. Eventually the stubborn hedgehog settled for the hero holding on to his arm while they ran keeping their pace considerably slower.
"Thanks for the help big blue, we both appreciate it," the albino bat said now that Shadow had been escorted home.
"No problem, I'll make sure to come and check on him while he recovers," Sonic said handing the walking stick to the bat. After he left Rouge turned her attention to her teammate sitting as still as a statue with his arms crossed against his chest. He seemed to have acquired a rather foul mood but after whats happened in the past few days it's understandable.
"Hey hun, Blue's gone, I can spend the rest of the day to help you with anything," she said knowing Shadow would need all the help he can get right now. She walked around the couch to sit beside him.
"I don't need you or faker to babysit me," he said almost under his breath. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Shadow was more than a little peeved about his problem.
"Look Shadow," she began placing a hand lightly on his shoulder watching as his ear flicked at her tone. "I already know how hard this is gonna be for you since you're such a stickler for your privacy and independence but for the rest of this time you're blind you should really try to be more cooperative with Sonic and I, after all we're just trying to help."
The black hedgehog merely sighed. "You don't understand how much this affects me Rouge. On the Ark there were only two people who respected my right as an independent individual. All the other scientists hardly gave me an inch. If they weren't treating me like a dumb animal that needed a leash they were treating me like a dumb child who wasn't intelligent enough to make my own decisions." He clenched his hands recalling another not so fond memory. "And as if that wasn't bad enough G.U.N. hardly treated me any better and their constant need to watch my every move for fear that I would turn on them was irritating. I don't like having some of the simple things that define me as more than an experiment being taken away."
After his small speech Rouge felt that she finally understood why Shadow was so upset about this. Of course anyone would be upset if they were blinded and unable to do simple tasks like make coffee or read normally but she never realized how much meaning the simple things had for the Ultimate Lifeform.
"You learn something new everyday," she thought.
"I see. Well I might not have been able to talk you out your bad mood but maybe I'll have better success in the kitchen. What are you in the mood for handsome?" she asked the flirtatious smile making its way back on her face.
"Tea. Chamomile with honey. That's all." Shadow stood and brushed his fingers along the length of the couch as he walked relying on the memory of the layout of the things in the house to keep from bumping into anything. As he sat at the small table in the kitchen he listened to the sounds of Rouge opening the cabinet and preparing the tea. As it boiled he took in the scent of the chamomile and breathed in deep. It was pleasant and calming and the sensual stimulation was comforting now that he was blind.
In fact Shadow had also picked up a different scent amongst the chamomile. It smelled of perfume the strong kind that didn't smell exactly like flowers or something sweet but was still pleasant enough to not be overwhelming. He took a few moments to ponder where it was coming from before he realized it was Rouge. Oddly enough he began making a comparison between the description of the scent and Rouge herself. The ebony hedgehog had also thought of her as someone who makes an impression but has enough class and modesty to still be a good friend.
Strange, he was beginning to associate a person's personality with scent already.
"Here's your tea," the bat said sliding the steaming hot cup in front of the blind hedgehog. He gingerly picked up the cup feeling the heat seep into his hand and took a sip.
If nothing else these next few months were definitely going to be anything but boring.
Short chapter but there is much more in store ahead.
