Hey again. Short chapter today, since I'm pretty tired and could use some extra rest.
This is mostly a transition chapter. It's not a filler, per se, but let's just say that it's not exactly pertinent to the plot. We'll be entering the metaphorical second arc with this chapter. It's leading us from Shadow and Sonic being enemies into the friends portion.
Many of you may be slamming your fists on the counter and asking "Where the hell is my yaoi, woman?" Well, be patient. I can't make them fall in love in two days (since in all actuality, that's all these nice chapters have amounted to. It's kind of pathetic, really). You'll receive your yaoi in due time. :3
Standard disclaimer applies. Still not mine.
"I can get it from here, really," Sonic insisted.
Shadow stared at him and shook his head a bit. "No. I can't let you carry a twenty-pound bag with one hand up five flights of stairs."
Sonic twitched, glancing at the door to the stairs with a frown. "Well, when you put it that way…"
Shadow snorted, hitching the bag up slightly on his shoulder. "Let's just go. You need to get to the infirmary, correct?"
Sonic hesitated. "Yeah, but… our room isn't exactly clean."
"I'm sure I've seen worse."
The younger laughed nervously. "I don't know about that. It's pretty bad."
Shadow shrugged. "Well, I won't know until I see it. I don't even have to- I can just leave the bag outside, you know."
"No, no, I mean…" Sonic sighed, running his good hand back through his hair. "Never mind. Whatever, let's just get up there." He pushed through the stairwell, taking slow steps as to not jostle his arm. Shadow was patient as he trailed behind, grabbing the door as Sonic struggled to open the heavy metal slab with one hand.
"Thanks," he said. "It's just that one there. Hang on, I gotta get me keys…"
Unclipping the key ring from the strap of his bag, Sonic wiggled the right one into the keyhole, pushing in with his knee and turning the handle at the same time. The door pushed in with a loud squeak, and Shadow kicked the bottom of it. "Stupid thing. Always gives me trouble when I don't need it. Anyway, this is it."
He wasn't kidding when he said it was messy, Shadow discovered. Both bunks were unmade, clothes strewn over the floor and the one computer desk that was shoved in the corner covered with papers and loose wires. Shadow blinked, placing the bag just inside the door and stepping in to look at one paper that caught his eye- a blueprint, something of the quality that Nega would produce, and he had a Master's degree in mechanics. It was also hand drawn, notes in chicken-scratch handwriting surrounding the outline of what appeared to be a laser-equipped nuclear-powered plane.
He turned to Sonic, and he must have looked alarmed, because the boy was sheepish when he said simply, by way of explanation, "Tails likes airplanes."
"The eight-year-old designed this?" He replied. "This is amazing. How could he have the education necessary to know the balance of the engine propulsion and nuclear energy exponentials? Even Ivo has trouble with this, and he's been studying it for years!"
Sonic fidgeted uncomfortably. "What can I say? Tails is a special kid. Intellectually, he probably should be in a PhD program, but I can't allow him to get so out of his league with people so much older than he is. The board doesn't know what to do with him, and really, neither do I. We just try to keep him occupied, and now that he's in the high school, he pretty much gets free reign of the tech lab."
"You try to keep him occupied?" Shadow was almost horrified. "A aircraft like this should be kept an absolute secret. This is an advance in the current technology by at least a decade."
Sonic frowned, becoming uneasy with the way Shadow's scarlet eyes were wide and alarmed. He grabbed the blueprint away, folding it and placing it carefully into his sling. "Look… I know. Sometimes the things Tails says scares the shit out of me. He's so smart that I'm afraid to get his IQ tested. There isn't anything that he doesn't know. He's basically a prodigy, and I just… I don't want him to get taken away. I want him to have as much of a normal life as he can. I don't want him thrown into the spotlight, and he's promised not to build anything illegal again so long as we let him have free reign of his blueprints. Even though I guess it's not illegal if it doesn't exist yet… but the weapons he designs to put on his planes could probably get him in some serious trouble. He already got in trouble once because the government thought he stole a military-issued plane. We got there before he could say that he'd built it himself. We just explained that he was a smart kid who loved planes and that he didn't think he was doing anything wrong. He was underage, so they let him off the hook."
"Why wouldn't you want him to be challenged to the best of his ability?" Shadow asked. "I know you care about him, but why would you have him waste his talents by passing time in a school where he's smarter than the entire school board put together?"
Sonic swallowed, eyes downcast as he began to pace the room. "I want him to be a normal kid. I mean, I found him when he could barely walk, and yet he could already talk in longer sentences than kids four times his age. He built his first fully-functional plane when he was five and was building microtechnology six months later to make it smarter. I mean…" The blue-haired boy sounded helpless. "What was I supposed to do? I didn't want him to get taken away. I love the kid like he's my brother or mine or something."
Shadow swallowed, heart beating a mile a minute under the force of adrenaline and a new respect for the child he'd passed off as just that- a child.
"Don't tell anyone," Sonic begged, face fallen to the point of despair. "Please. I'm doing everything I can for him, and I want him to have everything, but… not yet. Just not yet. He doesn't understand that some people are just bad. He thinks that everyone can be fixed and that everything should be fixed. I don't want him to get taken advantage of, especially not by something like the military where he won't be able to pull himself back out once he's in."
"I won't tell, but…" Shadow paused, searching his mind for options, possibilities. "You need to watch him. When it comes to intellect like this, he could certainly construct something that could cause astronomical damage."
Sonic sat heavily on the edge of the lower bunk. "I know. He would never do it on purpose, though. He's a good kid."
"That may be so, but that alone isn't cause for assurance." Shadow leaned back against the wall. "It could just start as an emotional situation that got out of hand. Then, before you know it, chaos erupts and people are dead. You need to be very careful."
Sonic sighed, good hand rubbing over his face. "I know, I know. It happens faster than you can stop, even if you know it's happening- I'm familiar with it. Tails was the only one who was with us when it happened, so, to an extent, he knows it, too. Even so, he says that he wouldn't have what he needs to build these designs, anyway. Something about solar panels and a twelve-cylinder engine- I can't really keep up. I just have confidence in him."
They were silent for a few long minutes, tension echoing between white-washed walls. Shadow could see the distress on Sonic's face as he rested his temple against one metal support of the bunk bed.
"I apologize," he started softly. "I can see that you're distressed. It's really none of my business."
Sonic shrugged. "I always knew Tails was designing things that could be dangerous. I guess it just never really occurred to me how out of my league I am with him."
Shadow sighed- he'd fucked it up, this time. Sonic had obviously worried about this before, and he had confirmed his worst fears. "If he's made it this far, I'm sure he'll be fine. He was a sense of reason, and I'm sure he won't do anything rash. He cares about you too much to put you and the others in danger."
"Yeah," Sonic mumbled dejectedly, obviously not convinced. "Anyway… I really have to go get my bandages changed. My arm is starting to itch."
"Do you want me to go with you?"
The boy shrugged. "You don't have to. I mean, you can if you want to, but… it's pretty gross."
"I can handle it," the elder insisted with a wry smile, stepping forward to help the other to his feet.
Sonic blinked, staring at him for a moment before asking, "So… does this mean that we're friends?"
Shadow's smile faded slightly. "I don't know. Do you want to be?"
The blue-haired boy tilted his head, considering. "Yeah, I guess I do." Sonic fought the urge to grin when the uncertainty on the other's face faded and his eyes lit up.
"Then we are." Shadow swallowed back the sudden wave of… happiness that welled up.
"Cool. Now you get to see my arm, if you still think you can handle it." Sonic grinned, heading to the door. "I'll warn you, it's pretty disgusting. Just try not to throw up."
"I have a strong stomach," Shadow countered. "Just try not to cry too much."
"Cry- Are you kidding me? I didn't even cry when I got it." Sonic pouted indignantly, holding the door open with his foot as Shadow followed him out, closing it behind them. "I'm a strong motherfucker. I don't cry for anything, unlike you, emo-child. Come on, what the hell kind of clothes are these? You looked like you just fell out of Marilyn Manson's closet."
Shadow settled into the banter with surprising ease. "Hey, Marilyn Manson was an excellent musician."
"Yeah, maybe, if you like whine-asses that scream into a microphone. Seriously- I can't imagine why that kind of music was ever popular!"
"Maybe because it was an innovation to the tired old system of rock and roll. Oh, but I suppose you like that generic style."
"Rock and roll is not generic. It's a great style, and it has stayed pretty constant throughout the hundred-plus years it's been around. But seriously, you really need a new wardrobe."
"What are you, Queer Eye? Have you looked in a mirror? You look terrible."
"Hey! I'm injured, and no thanks to you-"
"Oh, shut it. If you didn't turn me in, you don't get to whine about it."
"But-! Oh, you jackass!"
Sonic was surprised to find that he actually enjoyed the other boy's company. For being so uptight, he really did seem to have a lot of opinions and experience in everything from sports to music.
He seemed to pay so much more attention to him than Knuckles did- half the time with the redhead, Sonic had to repeat what he'd said four or five times before it actually sunk in. Shadow never missed a word, and it was refreshing as well as sort of alarming.
He noticed every shift in his expression, every twitch of his lips, and he interpreted each and every one perfectly. The elder boy could read him like a book, and Sonic had never felt so vulnerable.
Maybe the other really could read his thoughts, at least if he was looking closely enough.
Sonic had to admit, though, that it was actually kind of thrilling to be paid such close attention to. He and Knuckles were always looking after the kids, and Silver and Blaze were too caught up in avoiding their attraction that Sonic was lucky if they noticed him sitting next to them.
Even sitting in the nurse's office, Shadow was paying close attention. The woman swabbed his ripped skin with straight alcohol, and though Sonic made no noise, he knew that Shadow saw the expression on his face when he winced in sympathy.
It was a little strange, yes, and Sonic wasn't exactly used to such attention, but he couldn't deny that he appreciated that someone was looking out for him.
It was… nice.
