"Wow Shadow you make great pyr-pyro—"

"Piroshkys, Sonic," Tails concluded for him.

Sonic digging into his food wolfishly,"Yeah, whatever Tails just said."

"It wasn't all my doing, Knuckles should take a bow here too— I couldn't have kneaded all that dough myself." Shadow attempted to remove the attention from himself, as a way to gain back Knuckles's tolerance of him.

The echidna begrudgingly nodded his head,"This beats the spaghetti I had planned," Knuckles then added,"Though if you think these little reverse sandwiches can hold a candle to my tamales I will actually punch you through the house."

Shadow cleared the counters and wiped up the flour they used for the dough before taking the spot across from Sonic. Not saying much Shadow instead took in the moment that he was sitting amongst people who actually functioned closely to what a family resembled. Not that Shadow viewed Rogue and Omega as less than his family, they often didn't come around as Shadow has liked.

Wow, he really was a clingy grandpa on the verge of being put in a home. He snickered at the thought, then took a bite from his piroshky.

Strangely he felt almost flooded with emotion as the taste of the mashed potato filling tucked into a glazed bread roll, reminded him of the scientists. The emotion wasn't good or bad— it just washed over him completely as a calm and nostalgic moment in the darkness of space. It had twinges of pain but was buried with the feeling of community he had been missing for awhile.

Sonic looked to his partner as he slowed down his carb intake to shower more praise upon his boyfriend— only to notice the way his eyes looked somewhat glazed. Though the tiny smile that was etched on his face suggested the opposite of what his eyes were saying.

Sonic cleared his throat,"Hey Knuckles, would you mind trading seats with me, I think Junior here needs some help cutting his food."

Which was a half-lie, as Tails had shed most of his baby canines but still had trouble reaching the table despite sitting on a phonebook.

"Wha?" Knuckles paused mid bite, as he was in the boat of trying to find a nonexistent thing to critique about Shadow's recipe.

Kicking Knuckles under the table Sonic gestured to Shadow with his eyes and shoulders. Trying to remain somewhat subtle for Shadow's dignity.

The echidna hissed,"Ow! What the he—" Knucklehead finally picked up on the cue once he got a clear read of the atmosphere,"Oh… yeah sure dude."

Tails attempted to protest, but couldn't be seen as the table was still too tall.

Sonic quickly switched seats, grateful to now be closer to his partner. He picked up the second sandwich from his plate, as if he was surveying where to take the best bite from.

To distract him, Sonic remarked,"You made these for our anime night last week right? You gotta teach me how to make these Shads!"

Shadow looked to his partner first with surprised as he had been pulled out of the memory, then perhaps a double surprise as Sonic actually remembered that. He felt his face flush,"I— I would very much enjoy that."

Knuckles watched them both. And they call him clueless! They were so in love with each other it was almost sickening. He gave a humorous sigh from his nose, as he began to cut Tails's piroshky into fourths.

Once Tails finally got a small enough portion to fit into his baby hands he queried,"Where did you learn how to make these?"

"I wasn't going to be made by a man named 'Ivo' and not know how to make passable Russian cuisine."

There was a hearty laugh shared across the table over Shadow's somewhat dry and humorless delivery of the anecdote. Shadow wondered if he was making a good impression though Sonic's friends really seemed to laugh at anything— the thought of them laughing at him was in the equation. Though considering that they are such foolhardy paragons it wouldn't even crossed their minds.

Sharing a meal between people was nice. It was that simple. It wasn't much to ask of a group of people to share themselves with each other.

Shadow didn't say much as he just observed. Quite honestly there was nothing going through his head, he just watched.

Eating like an uncaged carnival bear, Sonic had grabbed several piroshkys determined to finish them all. Everyone was aware of how the hedgehog ate like a monster but it still was impressive to see. Olympic sprinters often carried around small pouches of all sorts of finger foods to keep themselves energized— Sonic instead chose to forgo that method and eat as if he had never been fed before at meal time. He was a vacuum— or as Shadow put it, a garbage disposal because Sonic probably would make a funny noise if he accidentally ate his own fork.

Tails ate slowly, counting bites in his head for optimal digestion. If he was going to finish the tornado upgrade he needed to be methodical about how he ate and when he ate as any excessive breaks would cause delays!

Then lastly there was Knuckles who weirdly enough ate a sandwich with a fork and knife. Shadow couldn't fathom why Knuckles was only delicate in this aspect of his life.

Freaks and weirdos, all of them.

Once Shadow appeared to be finished, Sonic was positively bursting with restlessness. In the blink of an eye Sonic placed both their plates in the sink and turned on the faucet.

Linking arms with the other hedgehog he declared,"We are going on a walk," the facetiously he added," as that is what couples do!"

Shadow looked off to the wall blushing sheepishly.

Tails groaned,"Gross!" Then proceeded to get up from the table.

"While we're gone I hope you guys at least put a dent in those dishes." Sonic reminded, trying for once in his life to be stern.

Tails threw up his arms in protest,"I've been doing them for the past week! Why did I even make a chore wheel if everyone is going to ignore it?!"

Knuckles, trying to posture himself to be more responsible in front of the company than his roommates lead on, placed a hand on Tails's shoulders,"I'll help you out."

"Thanks Red." Sonic said with a slight bow of gratitude, before turning Shadow and him toward the door,"Don't wait up fellas!"

—

The walk was still and quiet. The rain had subsided long enough for the sun to flitter through the clouds to light up the sky with a myriad of oranges.

Sonic lived in a pretty cozy culdesac, the neighborhood was pretty nice. It was a slower pace than Shadow would've thought but in a way it suited Sonic. Something about the lush greenery felt more lively, than say the concrete jungle of paperwork and skyscrapers Shadow became accustomed to.

They passed by Vanilla and Cream's residence. Sonic felt the need to point this out and give a small summary of hearsay and his general impressions of what types of people he lived around. Cream was a sweetheart, she often brought out the child in Tails that Sonic often missed from his little brother.

A life of going fast meant nothing if you couldn't stop and smell the roses.

Speaking of roses. Amy came around, she was looking happier. Sonic of course couldn't ignore the urge to hide.

"Should I be worried about my safety?" Shadow teased, when he found Sonic shrinking behind him.

Elbowing Shadow's rib,"Hey she'd go easy on you!" Sonic suggested. Though once he lingered on Amy's house and he saw her take in her groceries. There was just something with the way she carried herself now that made her seem more mature. More mature and a lifetime more wearier. It was easy to forget that the entire world was war locked against Eggman for almost six months. Half a year.

Half a year where he didn't hear a familiar voice or see a friendly face. Seeing as when he wasn't being poked at like a lab rat or electrocuted he was put into solitary he had a lot of time to reflect. Sonic found himself thinking about the promises he made to his friends.

When he found Tails, the hedgehog promised him that he would never leave his side— there was nothing Tails feared more than being alone despite his introverted attitude. Tails was abandoned when he was small… well smaller and couldn't fathom going through it again.

For Knuckles, it was a promise of loyalty. Knuckles had to many people fall through on him; the gullible echidna often beat himself up for it. Sonic promised that he would never hurt Knuckles. So far he kept that promise— though there were some days, that's for sure. But with Sonic gone who was there to keep him out of trouble?

Strangely enough his promise to Amy was at the front of his mind the most. As kids, Amy somehow got it in her head that she would never be loved by another person, thank the schoolyard maturity of fourth graders.

Rather stupidly Sonic offered up a pinky saying that she wouldn't ever be alone because they were to be married, at the proper age of course. They were both were young and still barely figure out how to coordinate themselves. Sonic was impressed and often regretted how she never forgot.

Now that they had grown up somewhat he felt that he had failed for some other reason. He saw Blaze appear from Amy's house helping her load in her heavier items. They were just talking about the daily inconsequential things. Blaze kissed Amy on the cheek and they both headed inside.

"I'm glad she found someone to fulfill that promise." Sonic looked on sullenly. His heart twinged slightly when he realized that some people really do move on. Some people really do change. People don't stay on pause for you.

During their first few hangouts Sonic did mention his time in Zavok's prison— and these promises. It wasn't something that Sonic talked much about but Shadow still hung on every word. So for Sonic to suddenly mention them... Shadow was always curious to know if Sonic thought about him at all during those times, but realized how selfish that was. Sonic stopped hiding behind Shadow, as they both continued their walk. In the afterglow of the storm.

Feeling a moment of insecurity Sonic felt the need to ask,"… are you mad at me?"

"What?" Shadow snapped out his own little world long enough to register what his partner said,"Of course not."

"You've just been really— not saying a whole lot."

There was a stiff chuckle.

Shadow's hand found Sonic's and gave it a reassuring squeeze,"I'm just, lost in thought, yknow?"

Sonic nodded, feeling his heart skip maybe one too many beats. The blue hedgehog smiled, mollified somewhat,"Where do you go when you're lost, huh?"

"Strangely enough, nowhere bad— I'm sorry if it's a bit much but I honestly feel like… being together with you has made me think more about the future and less about the past." Shadow unsure what to do with his other hand gestured vaguely to the wet path in front of them.

"... yeah I get that Shads. I'm really glad that we get along better than we used to."

"Well anything is better than—"

"Calling each other names?"

"Yes," Shadow snickered,"I think anything is better than that."

"I'm just really surprised that you remembered that," Sonic admitted.

Shadow combed his fingers through his white chest fur,"Rogue apparently bugged my fluff with a body cam."

"Oh so that's what you call it?" The blue hedgehog let out while keeping back a laugh.

Shadow shot a knowing glance to his boyfriend, causing Sonic to stop in his tracks to crack with laughter.

Waiting for Sonic to compose himself, Shadow murmured,"That really is my favorite sound."

Sonic now bright pink, the flirting being something he wasn't particularly used to, shoved his partner's shoulder,"Oh my god, shut up."

"Make me," Shadow challenged.

Their first fight was issued by a challenge it only makes sense if their first kiss came about in the same way. Sonic tightened his grip on Shadow's shoulder. Looking at him with dead seriousness despite his body shaking like earthquakes ripping through his nerves.

Shadow blinked not really sure if this was indeed the moment or not. He found his fists balling to his sides, what is he supposed to do? He can't let Sonic take the lead than that proves that Shadow has no idea what he's doing!

They both went for it— faces darting in suddenly.

There was a dull but present smack. The pair's foreheads had collided.

Sonic was the first to pull back,"OW! JEEZ! WHY!?"

While on the other hand Shadow's career as a detective his pain tolerance was spiked up exponentially in comparison to his peers. He still continued to blink now with bright spots of embarrassment dotting his cheeks. Was this still the moment?!

Shadow reached out to help Sonic up and so he could get a better look at the wound— If there was one.

It was then the pair heard a soft sound coming from the bus stop from the parallel sidewalk. They both froze in place, their ears snapping to attention.