Mobius wasn't a bad place...it just...wasn't a place Shadow cared to hang out in. He did a few laps around Knothole Village, trying to clear his head, but found things somehow more distracting here. He was used to the cityscapes, the cars, the noises, the technology. The fresh air and chattering birds were...nice...but he felt lost on Mobius. His side of the gate was familiar, and roads were easy to navigate... Dirt paths, winding ways, and half-hidden buildings just made things more difficult.
It was therefore easier for Shadow to suggest Earth-side locations for dates. It would take time for Shadow to learn the Mobian landscape, and he felt confident that Earth would prove more "exotic" and attractive to Sara. If there was one thing he could offer her, it was a cheap travel plan. Still, he considered that there would be times she'd want to come home...even now he longed for his days on the Ark.
He came to a stop in the middle of the Great Forest, deciding to rest against a giant oak. Birds chirped, a soft warm breeze blew, the sky was bright and clear. It was just...perfect…too perfect. He twitched an ear lightly, wondering how long this would last. Peace was not something the dark hedgehog accepted easily, and the few times he had, it hadn't lasted.
He looked over a slightly open space in the forest with sun streaming down through the leaves. The dappled light revealed small shrubs that had lost their flowers and were in the process of making fruits, and trees that had done likewise. Most of the grasses were brown, choked from lack of light, but in the center of the clearing there was a patch of flowers. A few white buds grew bush-like close to the ground in the loamy soil while taller yellow flowers with cone-like petals jutting from the center hung their heads. They caught his interest.
Maybe he'd done the flower thing before, but picking them oneself tended to earn more points.
"Hey! Shadow!" an annoyingly familiar voice called.
An ear twitched, and the black and red hedgehog turned to see the blue pincushion running up at high speeds. His crimson eyes quickly glanced at the patch of flowers and he suddenly stood between the clearing and Sonic, launching a homing attack at him. They sparred for several minutes, Shadow running and taking to the trees, leading him away from the patch of flowers he intended to harvest later, until he finally flung the blue hero into a tree, quills pinned.
Sonic laughed while he attempted to free himself, "Yow, what a workout."
Shadow snorted a reply.
"Talkative as ever." Sonic rolled his eyes. "Whatcha doin' all the way out here?" There was a shrug, and Sonic finally managed to free himself. "Oh, Sara asked me where you wanted to meet up, said you guys never made official plans today."
Sonic suddenly had his full attention, and Shadow cocked an eyebrow. "Would have been nice if you'd told me that to begin with."
"Heh, woulda been nice if you didn't just start attacking me too." He scratched behind an ear idly, still smiling in his usual cocky way. "So where you guys goin' tonight?"
"Umm..."
"No big, I thought as much," Sonic said, getting up in Shadow's face. He couldn't help glaring into Sonic's cool emerald eyes until two slips of paper wound up between them. "Tickets."
He snatched them up and studied the tickets...they were to a concert. "Mina the Songoose?" It was slated for the Knothole Amphitheater at 7PM. He didn't have to ask how Sonic got the tickets, as he was a good friend of the mongoose, titled "songoose." It was also a nice gesture. He remained in stony silence, considering if he wanted to accept the hospitality, but the blue hedgehog saved him the trouble.
"You're welcome," Sonic quipped and sped off. "I'll tell Sara to be ready by six."
In the meantime, Shadow soon found himself in Station Square at a local pizza place, but it wasn't because he was hungry. He didn't mind pizza; he actually liked it, and had some strange ideas about what was a good topping for it along with the marinara and garlic. He was already kicking himself mentally for coming here, but the man who ran Vinnie's Pizza was a reliable one. If he was going to take Sara to points on Earth, he'd need a better cash flow.
The bell had tinkled and sounded his entrance, and the caramel-haired man behind the counter looked down at the Mobian, breaking into a smile. "Why hello there, Shadow!" he greeted cheerfully.
Shadow grunted a reply, hesitating before lifting his flame-red eyes to stare the man down coldly. "I need a job."
"What, again?" the man inquired, laughing softly. He gave a motion to one of his staff, and a meat lover's pizza was soon sliding along the conveyor belt of the pizza oven.
Shadow made some guttural noises that didn't quite constitute speech before shrugging. "I don't have any money," he said matter-of-factly.
The human nodded a bit and leaned on the counter thoughtfully. "It's because of that goil, isn't it?"
"...Yes, Tony," he grudgingly replied, hanging his head a bit in defeat.
The man had a way of smiling that almost seemed as though this admission was a personal triumph to his own ears. "I knew ya had it in ya." he beamed proudly.
Shadow sighed a bit, "Yeah yeah, just give me a stack of pizzas and tell me where to take them."
Tony shook his head. "Not just yet... Since this time it's official, I'll be needing you ta fill out proper forms. Capiché?" Shadow nodded reply. "Bet ya have the paperwork done by the time your pizza's ready. We'll set ya to work sometime tomorrow."
"Fine," Shadow said dryly and shook his head as the slightly freckled man laughed.
"I have it, Dad!" Sara called when she saw Shadow from the window. She made sure she was the first to greet him, though she did it with an arched brow when she met him at the front door, closing it quickly behind her. "I wasn't aware you were into pop-rock."
"I…." Shadow strove for something to say, but just shrugged. "Sonic gave me the tickets."
"That explains it." Sara laughed a bit, and then almost lost balance as the door flew open behind her as she still had a hand on the knob.
"Racing off without letting me say goodbye?" her father, the light blue hedgehog, said in a fatherly tone. While he tried to sound lighthearted, his eyes conveyed how he felt easily. He cleared his throat.
"Ahh...well, the concert's…." Sara started.
"We have time." Shadow shrugged.
"Well...you just seemed...anxious." the older hedgehog turned his deep brown eyes to his daughter. She wasn't glued to the phone like other teens, though she was computer savvy. She wasn't clothes crazy, though Shadow thought her wardrobe was a bit on the loud side. But she was now dating, and that was a very teenage thing. Charles remembered sneaking out of the house to see Sara's mother on more than one occasion, staying out late and...well…not having any form of parental consent when they did make things official.
Sara's expression softened a bit, and even looked a little guilty at her father, Shadow unaware of what was going through their heads. It wasn't like he was going to just...take advantage. "Ahh...sorry, Dad." She gave him a smile and a hug. "I think we'll be back before midnight..."
"Eleven," Charles put in. "Think you can manage that?"
"Yeah. Can we go now?" Shadow turned from the front door and found Sara's arm slipped around his after a moment. He wasn't used to contact like this. A small smile tugged at his lips as a hint of pride shot up in him at the girl clinging to him. He was wanted, and that was a beautiful thing.
Mina's concert was packed with screaming, cheering fans, and Shadow was thoroughly uncomfortable with the situation. Being only about five rows back worsened the effect, and Sara noticed. While others around were grooving to the tunes, the red-streaked hedgehog remained firmly planted. Sara hadn't really been to any concerts, and while she wasn't antisocial like he was, she did feel a bit pressured with so many bodies close by. She most certainly wasn't a dancer either, so she felt self-conscious about that too, and backed up against her date after a while complaining the music was giving her a headache.
Grateful for the excuse to leave, he and Sara took it, after getting their hands stamped on the way out should they wish to return. It was quiet between them, walking down the streets of Knothole, but it was refreshing. The heat of day had faded away, but the air still carried a weight to it that mingled with the silence.
"...Hungry?" Sara ventured after a while. They were now on a cobbled path, a step up from the dirt they'd been on. It was kind of quaint, like some of the older neighborhoods on the outskirts of Station Square, the kind that saw regular festivals and fairs with people dressed in ridiculous outfits, selling 20 varieties of the same kind of food. But this was one of the more developed areas of Knothole, and there was only solid paving in the areas surrounding the palace currently. This street in particular was straighter than others they'd been on and was lined with small shops ranging from hardware to grocery and a couple of eateries.
"Not really."
"Really? You ate enough the other day..." She laughed lightly.
"I was...pushing myself," he commented. He noticed Sara's ear twitched a little and wondered how well this date was going. Most of the shops on the street were closed, but there was an Italian restaurant still open at this hour. "If you're hungry, I guess I could eat a couple garlic sticks..."
A smile grew on the light azure hedgehog's face as she was steered toward Antonio's. "Thanks."
"Thanks...?"
"Yeah...I know this isn't the easiest thing in the world for you...and...you're being awfully considerate."
The two sat across from each other in a booth and were soon given menus to look over. Shadow was unfamiliar with Mobian currency and had noticed a certain amount of dealings were still done through a barter and trade system. However, it was fairly clear this was one establishment that dealt primarily with money. A strange scrawling A with a line through it probably represented the Acorn dollar. While the food types were familiar to him, alfredo, linguini, rigatoni, lasagna, spaghetti, escargot...the money system had him baffled.
"Umm...is something wrong?" Sara asked, looking up from her menu. "I know we're not exactly dressed for a fancy restaurant but..."
"...How...does one...pay for stuff here?"
Sara looked at him in slight shock. She spent a moment considering things then picked through her fanny pack before drawing out a billfold and a change purse. "Sorry, I forgot you're not from around here." She smiled and slid a couple bills across to him. They had the faces of the Acorn monarchy on them and the coins she showed him had differing faces, which she explained belonged to important historical figures on the heads side, while the tails side contained significant landmarks or items unique to the Acorn Kingdom. These ranged from an image of the old palace from Mobotropolis, local flowers, and the Acorn family crest. They all had equivalents in American cash, which Shadow quickly caught onto. "I'm just not sure about the exchange rates."
"...Do you still want to eat here?"
Sara looked up at him again, her brown eyes clearly set, but only as uncertain as he was. "Yeah, why not?"
"I don't have any money..." Shadow admitted with a sigh. The tickets had been free, the meals he'd gotten so far were on other people's good graces. What he did know of dating usually involved the guy paying. He couldn't do that, not here...and he hadn't started work yet so….
"I'll pay," Sara replied firmly and leaned back against the plush booth seat. "My treat." She smiled radiantly, though Shadow arched a dubious brow.
"You shouldn't have to..."
"Ahh, that whole 'guys should provide' thing?" Sara grinned. "You can treat me out some other time, okay?"
"So where'd you get the money?" Shadow said, returning to the menu. The prices didn't look very encouraging...he hadn't realized what a high end place this was. Sara's statement about their dress code was just now setting in as he noticed other Mobian couples staring at them. They were dressed in evening gowns and fancy coats….
"Dad mostly, he has me help out at the restaurant sometimes," she responded, smiling now that she'd made a more definite choice in what she wanted. "Ahh, feel free to order whatever you want."
"...So what else do you do?" His question elicited an off-guard look from his brown-banged date. "I mean...aside singing." He attempted an assuring smile, but it didn't quite have the affect he wanted.
The moment was interrupted by a waiter who then took their order. There was more silence that followed, until Sara had a bit of her water, letting him have the extra lemon slice. "You really want to know what I do?"
Was this a trick question? Shadow wondered. One minute things were going okay, then the next, things were awkward. "Why not?"
"Well, it's just...I'm not sure it's something I can do on the other side of the gate."
Shadow took on a genuinely curious look now. "What? I know we're shorter than humans, but I don't know any jobs off-limits to us."
There was a distinct blush on Sara's face. "...A vet."
"A vet...?"
Sara nodded. "Yeah...I don't think I have the qualifications on Earth, but I do here."
Shadow returned to deep thought over that. He knew there were animals on Mobius that were like Earth animals. He just hadn't thought about it much... Somehow seeing more of his own kind seemed more unusual than passing a farm to him, but he wasn't from this world, even if half his genetic code was. "...What got you interested in that?"
"Ahh!" Sara lit up. "It was Muttski." She paused, looking for his reaction before continuing. "Muttski was Sonic's dog a while ago." Shadow was trying to imagine Sonic with a pet dog, but most of the dogs he'd known were security animals, and he couldn't help thinking of them being less than favorable toward the blue blur. A pet dog? "Honestly, he spent more time at our house, so I learned how to take care of him...started with grooming and such 'til he got sick from eating one of Sonic's socks." She laughed, but her expression then sank a bit and she helped herself to a free breadstick.
"So what's wrong with that? Sounds like you're good at it...and I can imagine Earth has a higher demand for veterinarians."
Sara smiled a bit more faintly. "Well...I did go into one veterinary clinic while I was on Earth..." she began, twirling her bangs around a finger idly, "...they thought I was a patient."
Shadow snorted. "Their loss." He was rewarded with another smile from her, a lingering and content one; he liked it.
After dinner, they arrived back at Sara's house just a few minutes before 11. It was dark but for a light in the window to Charles' room, and the porch light. In some ways, the day had been hit and miss. She was the one putting her arms around him, leading him in the dance rather than the other way around. It was a relief, and far more helpful than Amy's tips... Sara was able to communicate her feelings and emotional cues more freely than he'd thought and she seemed to sense when he was feeling put on the spot. He made a mental note to have the next date on Earth, where he knew the ropes better. Speaking of ropes, the rules of dating dictated that kiss he'd been waiting for all night, and was pleased to see this one lingered a bit longer than the last one…. Somehow...he didn't want to let go.