Hey guys! Yeah, this update took a few months but at least it was quicker than last time, right? I just wanted to thank everyone for reviewing last chapter after my long break. I saw some users who I recognized and have probably stuck around for a long time and I saw some newcomers, and thanks for still reading! I hope you all like this chapter as much as you liked the last one.
You all sent in some really creative prompts, but I liked this one especially, 'cause recently I adopted a new little black and white kitty named Theo! This one is for you, kiddo. So here it is, requested by Insanity Allegra:
K is for Kitten: It's ridiculous, Shadow knows that. But he was actually starting to think he was being replaced by a damn kitten.
The sun was setting. The snow was melting. The breeze was chilling, and Sonic, of course, was running.
The blue hedgehog's mouth widened from a small smile to a full out Cheshire Cat grin, powerful blue legs pumping him faster and faster. The beginning of spring time was creeping up on everybody and Sonic loved the scent of it.
Finally slowing to a stop after a long day of alone time and fresh air, Sonic panted slightly. The sun was almost gone by now, moon growing higher in the sky. He figured it was time to head home. He's been out all day and was eager to get home and annoy the heck out of his partner, Shadow the Hedgehog.
Shivering slightly from the chill as the temperature dropped, Sonic walked along the road, choosing to ignore the dark, creepy alleyway most people have been warned to steer clear of but stopped abruptly at the sound of a small whimpering noise.
His hedgehog ears twitched as he tried to listen harder, and more squeaking and whimpering came. Cautiously, he entered the mysterious darkness, alert for any sign of danger and gasped lightly at what he saw.
Huddled in front of the garbage was a tiny, shivering, weeping and obviously underfed kitten. It was extremely hard to see but as Sonic got closer he could tell his dirty fur was a midnight black all over.
"Hey..." He whispered softly, slowly reaching out a hand to the puff of black. Sonic saddened when the kitten shrunk away, staring up at him fearfully and helplessly. "It's alright, I'm not gonna hurt you."
He dared to reach out his hand further and stroke the kittens back. The kitten relaxed after a moment, sensing the hedgehogs comforting presence and leaned up to the gentle touch, starting to purr. Sonic smiled. "There, there."
He glanced around, looking for a sign that it was someone's cat but nobody was near. When he felt the small animal shiver at a cool breeze that went by he quickly made his decision. "You're gonna bunk with me and Shadow for the night, alright little, um..." He quickly checked the gender of the kitten and smiled. "Alright little guy?"
He carefully scooped the kitten into his arms, frowning at the feeling of ribs and kept him close to his chest. "Don't you worry, I'll get some food in you real soon, you'll see!" He sped away to the nearest pet shop, making sure to keep the kitten secure in his arms.
Meanwhile, Shadow the Hedgehog sat on the couch of his apartment, waiting for Sonic. Usually Sonic was rarely at his own house and was expecting him since he told him he would crash there for the night again. He flicked through the channels on TV and sighed of boredom. He acted like Sonic's antics and teasing were annoying when really, he found it quite endearing and was starting to miss the blue hedgehog, as it was now an hour and a half later than he usually went over at.
Shadow knew Sonic could take very good care of himself, but he couldn't help but worry just a little bit. It was one of the side effects of having a romantic partner, he figured. He was about to get up to phone Tails and see if he maybe he stopped by his place but stopped when his door was knocked on, raising an eyebrow because he remembered leaving the door unlocked for Sonic.
He opened the door, revealing said blue hedgehog. He was carrying a small puff of black in his left arm, and in his right arm he had two bags hanging from his wrist - one containing cat toys, another containing a litter box - and in both hands he held a huge bag of cat food.
"H-Hello, Sonic..." Shadow greeted, utterly confused. Even though Sonic's face was covered by the bag of cat food, he could practically feel his trademark grin light up the entire hallway. "Hey Shads! I told my friend he can stay with us for a little while!"
"I see..." Shadow muttered, making room for the younger hedgehog to walk past him and enter the apartment.
He set the bags down on the kitchen table and plopped on the couch with the kitten in his lap, cooing at it quietly.
"Sonic, please tell me what the hell is going on," the black hedgehog sighed. Sonic grinned and held up the kitten to Shadow who was standing above him. The kittens big green eyes blinked at him.
"Shadow Senior, meet Shadow Junior!" Sonic announced. Shadow took the cat into his own hands, raising an unamused eyebrow at the grinning hedgehog. "Really, Sonic? Shadow Junior?" Sonic nodded his head happily.
"Yeah! He's dark and mysterious and a little grumpy looking, just like you!" He winked. "Plus he has the cutest white spot on his chest so I couldn't resist. Besides, you can just call him Junior for short. He's like your own little mini-me!"
Shadow took a longer look at the kitten and determined it was obviously a stray, judging by the scruffy dirtiness of his fur and how skinny he was. Shadow sighed; it was just like Sonic to bring home a stray animal without thinking twice.
"Where did you find him?" Shadow asked.
"The alleyway on Main Street," Sonic replied distractedly, pouring dry food into a small bowl.
"The alleyway on Main Street?!" Shadow repeated, holding the kitten slightly farther away from him. "Sonic, this thing could be full of diseases and flees!" Sonic snatched the kitten away from Shadow's grasp.
"'This thing' has a vet appointment tomorrow, and I don't think he has flees. Besides, I didn't think it would matter much to you, anyway." Sonic set Junior in front of the bowl of food and smiled as he began to eat hungrily.
"Of course it matters to me, it's my house!" Shadow threw his hands up in frustration. Sonic crossed his arms, giving him a look that said he would not stand for an argument right now. Shadow pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Fine, but he can't stay here forever. Both of us are out too much, we wouldn't have time to take care of him properly," Shadow said calmly now.
"At least until we find him a good home?" Sonic asked, his voice taking on a pleading tone. "Pleeeaaase?" He said softly, walking closer to Shadow and running a hand through his chest fur. Shadow gulped. "Fine," he muttered. Sonic smiled and kissed him thankfully, which really wasn't bad of a reward, and then left to go get the litter box ready. "Thanks Shads!" He called out.
Shadow sighed. Just what was he getting himself into?
He sat on the couch and stared at the kitten, who stopped eating and stared right back. Shadow crossed his arms.
"Hmph... You are quite cute, I suppose."
That night, after kitty-proofing the apartment and making sure he knew where his litter box was (much to Shadow's delight, Junior was already potty trained), Sonic and Shadow settled in bed after a long day for much deserved and needed rest. They kissed goodnight and turned around, trying to find a comfortable position.
Just as Shadow was drifting to a deep sleep, something kind of heavy suddenly attacked his face, causing him to startle and reach up to his attacker before realizing it was just Junior.
Shadow pulled the kitten off his face and growled, hearing Sonic start to laugh rather loudly beside him.
"The Ultimate Lifeform is scared of cats!" Sonic shrieked with laughter, barely able to get the sentence out. "Can it, Faker!" Shadow spat, placing the kitten at the end of the bed and laid back down, huffing. Sonic wiped a tear from his eye and tried to calm his chuckling, trying to fall asleep again...
Until the kitten decided to attack his feet under the covers, causing him to help in pain. This time it was Shadow's turn to laugh, and this went on for most of the night.
The next morning, after Sonic left for his usual run, Shadow was doing the dishes before leaving to go to Club Rouge and help out a bit. He was distracted by the sound of scratching against leather and turned around. "Hey!" He called to Junior, who was using his claws to climb up the back of the leather couch, leaving long claw marks.
"Don't do that!" He shouted, picking the kitten up and putting him on the he floor. He cursed under his breath and ran his fingers along the long, noticeable scratches in the leather.
When he turned around, he heard a loud 'bang!' that made him jump, and he spun back around angrily, only to find out Junior had somehow tugged on the curtains hard enough for the top to break and fall to the floor. He sighed and face palmed.
"Guess I won't be leaving the apartment today..."
Later, after Sonic arrived and helped repair the curtain pole and tie them up, they sat on the couch. Shadow was lazily flipping through the TV channels while Sonic leaned against him, sleepily pointing the laser pointer in different directions and chuckling at Junior's attempts at catching the dot that kept moving. "So I talked to Vanilla today. She said Cream would love to keep Junior, and you know Cream and Vanilla would take great care of him," Shadow said, now watching the tiny kitten, too.
"Oh, that's great," Sonic said, but he seemed distracted. Shadow frowned. "What's the matter?"
Sonic shook his head. "Nothing, I guess I'm just getting too attached to him, that's all. But I know we can't keep him, we're always too busy with Eggman," Shadow nodded.
Junior started to slow his actions, a tell-take sign of exhaustion. He started to curl up on the carpet and Sonic breathed a sigh of relief as his breathing slowed. "Finally." He sighed. He leaned over and set the laser pointer on the coffee table and then sat back in the position he was in, leaning against Shadow's chest. Shadow closed his arm around him, running his arm, showing an unusual display of affection that most people have never seen before.
Nights like this, quiet, slow and long were Sonic and Shadow's favourite kind of nights. They were all alone and could do whatever they wanted together. They could be as intimate as they want, and nobody could tell them what to do. It was relaxing and refreshing for the both of them.
They sat in silence for a while, before Shadow spoke up. "You know... We should take advantage of this, he's finally asleep,"
"Oh yeah? And do what?" Sonic leaned up while Shadow looked down and their noses were almost touching. Shadow's eyelids lowered and he smiled at Sonic softly, and whispered, "I think you know." And then their lips touched.
Sonic, now beneath Shadow, slid his hands up and down Shadow's sides, mindful of his quills. Shadow's hands were cupping Sonic's face and their lips never left each other...
Until a certain kitten decided to wake up at that moment and jump on Sonic's chest. He began gently clawing at Shadow's chest fur, biting and scratching. Sonic began to howl with laugher yet again and Shadow just stared at Junior who continued to play with his fur, annoyed. "Sonic, if he doesn't stop, I will throw him across the room," he muttered.
Sonic gently pushed at Shadow's shoulder, motioning him so sit up. Shadow sat up which gave room for Sonic to unwrap his legs from Shadow's hips and sit up as well, placing Junior in his lap. "He attacks anything that moves!" He exclaimed, tickling the kitten.
"Um, Sonic? Can we continue?" Shadow asked, annoyed now at this point.
"Actually Shads, I'm pretty beat. I took a different shortcut today during my run which actually turned out to be pretty long so I'm just gonna head up to bed, wanna come?" Sonic explained, Junior still in his arms. Shadow gritted his teeth. "I guess I'll just watch TV. I'm not that tired," he mumbled.
Sonic shrugged. "Alright, then. Looks like you'll be sleeping in Shadow's place for now!" He cooed, attention turned on the kitten now. Junior purred in response.
Sonic turned and headed for the bedroom and Shadow stared at his retreating form, unable to believe he'd just been cockblocked by Junior.
It's ridiculous, Shadow knows that. But he was actually starting to think he was being replaced by a damn kitten.
The next day they stopped by Vanillas, who was now ready to take Junior. They walked into the small house and Sonic smiled when Cream came rushing down the stairs.
"Mr. Sonic! Mr. Shadow! Do you have the kitty?" The little bunny asked. "Settle down!" Vanilla chuckled. Sonic leaned down, handing Junior to her. "Sure do, Cream! You get to name him and everything!" Cream's face broke out into a huge smile as she gently took the kitten and squealed.
"He's so cute! What do you think, Cheese?" She held up the kitten so the tiny chao could see and he crossed his arms and huffed, seemingly jealous of the new member of the family. Cream gave him a stern look. "Don't be like that!"
"Sweetie, what are you going to name him?" Asked her mother. Cream stuck her tongue out as she thought hard and stared at the kitten.
"He really looks like Mr. Shadow!"
Everyone broke out into laughter, and even Shadow had to chuckle at that.
And that's all for this one, guys! Was it good? Bad? Let me know in your review, and don't forget to leave suggestions for L!
Btw, is anyone else's PM system messing up? Because for a while now I've been getting notifications of people sending me PMs but when I check there's nothing. It's weird. Anyway, just letting you know in case anyone's trying to PM me, I'm sure it'll be fixed soon.
Thanks for reading! :)