If you asked Sonic the Hedgehog if he had any insecurities, he'd laugh. And laugh and laugh. Until the awkwardness became too much for him to bear; then he'd run away in fear of you actually finding out his real insecurities. In truth, he had plenty but he never did face them. Purposely. No, the only time you'd see him facing his problems was when Tails brought them up over dinner, where he knew Sonic wouldn't run. Why would he? No need to run from food!

"Sonic," badgered the fox. Obviously ignoring him, the hedgehog chomped away at his chicken; not as good as a chilidog, but hey, it was time the two switched it up a bit. "Sonic." Said hedgehog stopped eating.

"What?"

"So…" An eyebrow offered up cluelessness. Tails gave an exasperated sigh. "How'd things with Shadow go?" Sonic blushed. "You know… your black angel, your yin to your yang, your—"

"Shut up, Tails!" He threw a napkin at his little brother, glaring playfully and hiding his blush as he ate. I probably should buy a journal from now on, he thought. "I swear you tell Shadow about any of this…" He took the chicken leg and pretended it was a knife cutting his throat, making a sickening growl as he did so. "But, um, they didn't go so great." He looked down at his plate in disappointment. "You think he'd tell someone about it?" Tails shrugged and Sonic's ears drooped. He slammed down his chicken leg, the clatter of the plate filling the air; mashed potatoes slinging onto the floor. "Dammit," he said tearfully.

"Hey, language." Sonic looked at him, eyes rimmed with tears. Tails sighed. "Hey… it's okay. I promise. Shadow's not that kind of guy."

"How would you know? Maybe he's gone to Rouge in disgust and now he's telling her about it and then she gets mad because they're dating and then she tells Amy because girls like to gossip and because of that Vanilla and Cream find out and then the Chaotic and then Knuckles and then in the end, I just end up dead and- and- and—"

"You worry too much." Sonic stopped, a single tear running down his cheek, and pushed his plate away.

"I'm not hungry anymore." He got up and pushed in his chair. "I'm headed to bed."

"It's only seven!"

"I'm tired." He headed up the stairs and slammed the door of his bedroom as he entered it. Tails looked at Sonic's plate; he'd only taken a few bites from his chicken, his mashed potatoes were on the floor, and his veggies were on the table, cold and forgotten. It looked like a five-year old had eaten from the damn thing. If only, Tails thought. It'd be a lot easier to just solve their problems with cookies and candy! He got up and began cleaning. He remembered when he had taught Sonic to clean (you'd think he'd already know), all in a specific order; Sonic remembered better that way, believe it or not.

First the plates: always scrap then put in the sink, otherwise the home will start to stink (and as childish as it was, Tails always heard Sonic reciting it whenever he has dish duty). Second of all, the table: clean off food, otherwise the bugs, smell, and sight will put you in a bad mood. And last but certainly not least (for those who like to put their hands in water tainted with leftover food): scrub the dishes, nice and clean, or else your health will be real mean. Tails chuckled at himself; the rhyme about cleaning up after dinner was obviously made for kindergarteners, as that was the grade level of the book he'd gotten it from, but Sonic grasped them easily and it therefore made cleaning up less stressful.

Tails scraped the plates into the trashcan and settled them into the sink, grabbing a wet rag and starting to clean off the table. He heard footsteps and looked up. Sonic looked at him with a weak smile. He looked like hell. "You've only been up there for a few minutes. I thought you were tired." He waved it off and began toward the sink.

"I was thinking too much alone. Kept tugging my quills and stuff and…" He met Tails' gaze with annoyance. "No need to look at me like that. I know I look like hell." Tails giggled and continued cleaning the table with a wet, soapy rag. "I think the anxiety was getting to me." Tails smiled in agreement. "Shut up, Tails." The fox laughed.

"Hey, if you're up to it, we can—"

Knock! Knock!

"I got it, bubby." Sonic jogged to the door and opened it. "He—oh." Sonic dropped the dish he was drying and the drying towel he was using to dry it. "H-hey, S-shadow." Shadow nodded and stepped inside, Sonic closing the door behind him.

"I was thinking about your offer and…" He picked up the dish and towel and handed it to Sonic, who grabbed and held them numbly. "…we should, perhaps, hang out. I think it'd be good for me to… make friends, as you'd say." He looked at Sonic with an inquiring eyebrow. "Do you accept?"

"I, um…" Shadow looked the least bit hopeful. "You know, I have plans and—"

"He does! He accepts!" Tails pushed himself in between the two and grinned, clapping a hand over Sonic's mouth to quiet him. "Tomorrow! Pick him up at four and I'll have him ready to go! Movie and dinner?" Shadow hesitated, slightly freaked out.

"I'd assume so… Isn't that a traditional first date?" Sonic squealed.

"Have him home by ten!" Tails opened the door and pushed Shadow out. "Good night!" He slammed the door shut and looked back at Sonic. He was red and panting, smiling and jumping in excitement.

"You bastard… you got me a date!"

"Of course, I did. I am the smart one, aren't I?" Sonic waved him off.

"Shut up, Tails."

"Just tell me when you have sex, I want to hear every single detail!" He winked. Sonic's eyes widened and he blushed. "I bet you'll have beautiful children!"

"Shut. Up. Tails!" He flung the dish he held that shattered against the wall behind the fox.

With Shadow…

Outside of Sonic's and Tails' home, Shadow heard a plate shatter and he flinched. I hope he isn't that crazy on our date, he thought in humor. With a slight smile, he strolled off in stride, much to the dissatisfaction of a certain pink, hammer-wielding hedgehog.