A/N: Parts that take place in the present are in bold.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
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Shadow of ARK
Chapter 6: School Days
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Rouge frowned as she was forced to get up off of Shadow. She walked to Omega and took the package from him. She hated being interrupted. Especially when she was with Shadow.
"I'll look at this later." She said aloud before placing it next to the photo albums. She looked at Shadow and grinned. With a sigh he lifted his arms so she could sit on his lap again. He picked up another album and handed it to her. They started looking through it together.
They came to a picture that had a much older Shadow than the ones before it. He was standing in his usual pose, arms crossed brows lowered in concentration. Next to him, Maria was sitting in a chair with a book next to her. Shadow outright laughed when he saw that.
"I was wondering what he did with these pictures." He said grinning.
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"Shadow this is impossible." Maria whined to her friend. He chuckled lightly. "Don't laugh at me." She said defensively.
"What's wrong this time?" He asked her.
"This problem grandfather has me working on." She sighed exasperatedly. The hedgehog looked at her book.
"Are-are those even math symbols?" He asked confused. The professor was none to give her unusual problems for her studies but nothing this bizarre. "Where does this thing even begin?"
"You don't know?" Her eyes widened in surprise. Then she pushed the book away from her with a groan. "I told you it's impossible." His eyes sparkled at that.
"This is a challenge from the professor, Maria." He said with a defiant smile. "One I intend to beat." He looked at her. "How about you?" With a grin they set to work on the problem.
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An hour later Shadow was staring at a sheet of paper covered with numbers. Maria was holding an equally marked paper. They hadn't gotten any closer to solving the problem.
"Should we give up?" Maria asked in an exhausted voice.
"No." He sounded just as tired. "We just need a break." He went to the kitchen in her quarters and started making tea. As it brewed he walked up behind her. He crossed his arms as they both stared at the problem. A flash of light interrupted them and Shadow looked up to see Mark with a camera. "Why?" he asked annoyed.
"Gerald asked me to, he was too busy." At their questioning looks he laughed. "He saw you two as he walked passed the door."
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"What was the problem?" She asked Shadow. He grimaced and grabbed a pen and paper. He began writing and didn't stop for two minutes. He handed her the finished paper. "Holy crap." He nodded and turned the pages in the album. She stopped him when she saw a picture of him with a bow on his head. He grinned when he saw it.
"Maria's birthday."
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Shadow raced along the hallways of the ARK. He dodged past the scientists that occasionally opened doors into his path. He was moving in a panic. Late. I'm going to be late. As he rushed down another hallway he tightened his grip on the package he was holding. Brilliant Shadow. Hide it where no one could find it. He snorted. Even yourself. Idiot!
He twisted to take a corner. He slid on the floor and had to use his skates on a high setting in order to avoid crashing into a window. Idiot! He snarled at himself. Need a shortcut. Need a shortcut now.
He spotted one of the airlock gun platforms. Shrugging he activated the airlock and stepped outside. He found himself on the outside of the ARK. Swallowing his amazement, he ran along the outside of the ARK for the first time in his life. He used the zero gravity to his advantage, allowing him to move faster than normal.
He reentered the ARK at the end of the platform's track. From there he followed the hallways to Maria's quarters. He paused to catch his breath, panting lightly. Once he was collected, he knocked on the door. She opened it smiling broadly when she saw him. Blushing lightly, he handed the present to her.
"Happy birthday Maria." She smiled even larger when she saw it. They walked into the main room where the professor was lighting the candles on the cake. "Grandfather! Look what Shadow got me." She showed him the present.
"Open it Maria." The old man said with a smile. She did as he said and found herself holding a dark blue photo album. Inside where several pictures of both the Earth and of Maria and Shadow together. Tears of joy welled up in her eyes as she looked through it.
"Maria?" Shadow asked, worried he had upset her. She wrapped her arms around him in a warm hug.
"Thank you Shadow." She said as the stunned hedgehog hugged her back.
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Rouge hugged Shadow as he told the story. She just loved these sweet stories. She looked at the stack and saw the album he had talked about in his story. She picked it up and handed it to Shadow. She gave him a kiss on the cheek as she did so. Without a word she walked into the kitchen to prepare lunch.
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A/N: A pretty short chapter. Sorry about that.