"You sure you're going to be okay by yourself?" Knuckles asked as he zipped up his coat.
Tikal was sat on the couch, television in front of her as she was wrapped with a baby blue blanket around her body. Her cheeks were flushed and she kept sniffing, and so it was safe to say she really did catch the flu.
"Yeah..." Tikal gave her cousin a reassuring smile before taking a sip of her honey lemon tea, grimacing at the taste a little as she swallowed it down, "I'll make sure to go to the Master Emerald during lunch time, don't worry."
Knuckles nodded. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to treat you like you don't know what you're doing but... Amy told me what happened yesterday and the day before."
She stiffened before lifting her eyes up at him. "W-What did she say?"
"She just said you weren't really focusing and had a lot on your mind," Knuckles explained, "You kept sneezing a lot too and I don't remember the last time you even had a flu. I don't think you did ever since you came here," he looked down at her wrist, "That cut isn't bothering you too much, is it?"
Blinking at him, Tikal glanced down at her wrist before shaking her head. "No, I'm fine. It's not stinging anymore."
"Okay good," he said and left her phone on the coffee table, "Call me if anything's wrong and make sure to call the Chaotix so they can escort you down to the Master Emerald."
"All right," Tikal watched Knuckles go before smiling, "Have fun with Miss Rouge!"
Her cousin groaned, a heavy blush showing across his muzzle. "Not you too!"
She laughed as Knuckles left, leaving her alone in the house. Her attention went back to the television, a cartoon she liked being shown. As much as she wanted to watch it, Tikal felt her eyes starting to close. She barely slept last night and she was sure there were dark circles underneath her eyelids.
I'll take a short nap...
The sound of the doorbell awoke her from her slumber. Tikal sat up, rubbing her eyes to see that she had napped for at least an hour. It probably would've been more, knowing how much of a sleeper she was. She stood up, wrapping the blanket around herself and shivered when her bare feet padded along the floor to the front door. Though when nearing it, she slowed down her walking. Knuckles always told her to never open the door if no one was expected to come. But... maybe it was the postman? She did remember Knuckles ordering something online and she wasn't sure if it had already arrived.
Her worry vanished when Amy's voice sounded from outside. "Tikal, are you home?"
Tikal sighed in relief before walking over to the front. She unlocked the door and opened it wide enough to see the pink hedgehog on the other side. "Hi Amy," she said, her voice a little sore but she managed to smile nonetheless.
"Oh, it looks like I woke you up. I'm sorry!" Amy said when noticing her droopy eyes.
"It's okay," Tikal ushered the hedgehog inside before closing the door, "I-I thought you were running the café today?"
"I'm having Sonic and Tails handling it right now plus the new people I hired. I wanted to see how you were doing first!" She smiled as they entered into the living room to sit down.
"I'm all right for now," she sniffled and wiped her nose with a tissue, "Thank you for coming..."
"Aw, it's no problem!" Amy made herself comfortable on the couch, "Is Knuckles home?"
"No, he went to work," the echidna answered and looked at the clock, "He won't be back home until later this evening."
Amy nodded. "Okay, that's perfect!"
Tikal knitted her eyes in confusion. "...What do you mean?"
The pink hedgehog crossed her legs against the couch and faced Tikal completely. Her next words almost sent the echidna into a choking session. "You're in love with Shadow."
Her face paled. It was already pale to begin with due to her flu, but it managed to go even paler that she was sure that she looked like a ghost by now. She knew Amy caught on, she knew Amy knew what exactly was going on yesterday. But just... hearing it come out of someone else's mouth instead of her own was...
A little embarrassing.
She appreciated her friend for wanting to talk about it with her, but Tikal didn't really know what to say at the moment. So she stayed quiet, her pale cheeks blossoming into a pinkish red as she stared at Amy, wordlessly confirming her statement.
Amy's eyes lit up but instead of squealing like she normally would with subjects like this, she rested a hand against her own and squeezed it reassuringly, surprising Tikal. "Are you afraid? Of being in love with him?"
"Is that unheard of?" Tikal asked softly, not wanting to beat around the bush this time. If anyone could understand her feelings, it would definitely only be Amy. "I've never spoken a word to him up until that point. H-He never even looked at me until you told me to make his drink."
"Shadow's never been good at socialising," Amy explained with a shrug, "I think the only person he can hold a proper conversation with that's not Rouge and Omega is Tails, and maybe Espio and Silver."
Tikal nodded and looked down at their hands. "I-I know that but..." She bit the corner of her lip, "I don't know how to explain it. I want to get to know him, I want to be able to talk to him. I-I'm just... I'm just scared he'll push me away."
"It may not look like it, but Shadow does have a heart and I don't think it's possible for him to push someone like you away, Tikal," the pink hedgehog said with a smile, "He probably didn't notice you then, but he does now. That's what matters. And he'd be lying to himself if he said that he didn't show the slightest bit of interest in you, because those eyes said it all yesterday!"
A deeper shade of red scattered across her cheeks. "He seemed angry..."
"I wouldn't say angry. More like he seemed a little annoyed at himself for getting that kind of reaction out from you."
"I don't understand what you're saying..."
Amy sighed. "Before, Shadow was never liked by anybody. He was called all sorts of things like 'The Black Arms' or 'The Black Alien'. People were afraid of him because of it. It took him a long time to get what he's at right now. More people respect him as a hero, like Sonic! He's just less in the public about it and gets on with his work at the G.U.N."
Tikal solemnly looked at her. "I didn't mean to give off that impression that I was afraid of him," She blushed again as her lips fumbled, "I-I just get really... nervous when I think about him. So when I saw him yesterday and when he actually looked at me, I-I just panicked!"
"And that's completely normal," Amy told her, "Trust me, it is. It's your first time falling in love, Tikal! No one's a professional at being calm in front of their crush."
Rubbing her tired eyes with her palm, Tikal nodded again, feeling a little better after hearing Amy's words. "What am I going to do the next time I see him again? I don't want him to think that I'm afraid of him because of his past..."
"Hmm. This is sorta hard since the both of you have completely different views on things-"
"That won't change my feelings about him," she cut her off gently, her blush returning, "I know the both of us are complete opposites from each other but... that still won't change a thing. I-I can't let it change the way I feel, I can't."
Amy stared at her for a longing moment before another smile crept up her lips. "Then I don't think you'll need me for this, do you?"
Tikal managed to send a small smile back at her. "You mean so much to me, Amy, you really do. But... I want it to come naturally and slowly, no matter how long it takes."
"Take your time then, since the two of you can take as much time as you need!" Amy smirked at her and showed her excitement, "I'll support you every step of the way!"
"Thank you," Tikal laughed but started coughing when her throat clogged up.
"Gosh, you really are sick," Amy said before leaning over to hand her the glass of water, "Do you have any soup? I can heat some up for you before I head back."
She meekly pointed over towards one of the kitchen cupboards. "There should be some in there..."
...
"How did you even get a bruise like this, Knuckles?" Tikal asked her cousin with bemusement as she began tending the bruise that formed on his forehead.
"Ask this one right here," Knuckles seethed through his teeth as he gestured next to Rouge who sat right along beside him.
Rouge only shot him a glare. "I have a name!"
"Yeah, Rouge 'I-only-like-to-get-into-people's-way' the annoying ass damn Bat."
The latter dangerously squinted at him. "I'm sorry Knuckles 'I'm-too-hot-headed-and-too-much-of-a-dumbass-to-realise-Eggman's-robots-were-going-to-kick-my-ass' the shitty mouthy Echidna."
"Shut up! I knew they were behind me!"
"Really? You weren't quick enough to stop them, were you?!"
"I was ready to punch them, what the hell are you on about?!"
"Please, then enlighten me with how you got that big ugly bump on your head?"
"You wanna tell me how you got that ugly cut on your leg?!"
Oh dear.
Luckily, Tikal miraculously somehow managed to calm the two down as she patched their cuts and bruises, leaning into a more softer subject whilst praising them for being so brave and protecting the Master Emerald.
After she was done and smiling when they quietly made up, Tikal made her way over to Tails. He had a swollen eye that was almost turning purple and his arms had a few scrapes.
"Are you all right, Tails?" Tikal sat down on her knees, gently lifting the young fox's chin up with the tip of her fingers as she examined his eye.
"Yup," Tails answered her but winced at the throbbing from his eye. He sent her a sheepish smile. "Well, not really..."
She looked at him with sympathy as she softly dabbed on his eye. "I'm sorry about your plane. I'm just happy you made it out okay before things got worse."
Tails sighed. "It's fine, I can just use some of the parts that didn't get burned and make a new one."
"After you get some much needed rest," Tikal smiled and tapped on the boy's nose, "The last thing I want is you working on that plane with one eye and getting hurt again."
He blushed when she rested an ice pack against his eyes as he held it there. "I-I won't, I promise."
She giggled and dabbed a cotton onto his bruised arms. Tikal was usually careful when she tended everyone, but she was especially considerate with Tails. She knew how his skin and fur were very sensitive when getting a lot of wounds, so she made sure she was extra careful.
After he thanked her and went to Sonic, who was already getting a lecture from Amy by the bench, Tikal stood up and cautiously looked around. Everyone seemed to be treated. Now all that was left was...
Ah.
Shadow had been sitting by the tree stump, eyes closed and arms crossed in his signature manner. She remembered him being pretty injured in the battle, which many deemed impossible since he was Shadow the Hedgehog. He wasn't as hurt as the rest but, he was still in a somewhat bad shape.
Tikal gnawed on her lip. She had never tended him before.
Usually, she and Vanilla were the ones treating everyone's wounds after a battle with Eggman. And she'd purposely avoid him and sometimes take a long time to treat someone just so she'd have enough time not to go to him. And then Vanilla would be the one cleaning up his injuries.
However, Vanilla wasn't here. Cream caught the cold and so she was looking after her.
Meaning, Tikal was on her own. And she had to do it.
A lump started forming against her throat. Should she go to him? Of course she should since she literally patched up everyone else but... would he want her to tend him? Especially after what happened earlier this week?
Chaos, Tikal. Just go to him!
She pressed her lips and let out a breath, her eyes trailing along over to Amy. The pink hedgehog had been watching her and smiled, giving her an encouraging thumbs up before walking out of frame.
Tikal remembered the conversation she had with Amy and took another deep breath, her nervous tentative steps making their way to the black hedgehog. As she was walking, he had yet realise she was coming. Though when her footsteps shuffled louder against the grass, she saw his ears twitch and immediately his eyes snapped open as he locked them onto her.
It had actually startled her. It startled her to the point where she yelped and almost tripped on her two feet. She stopped walking, keeping the box of first aid steady in her hands as she timidly focused her eyes back onto him.
Shadow didn't seem the least bit amused by her reaction. Instead, he just kept on pinning his eyes onto her, as if he was daring her to take another step. Tikal nibbled on her bottom lip and decided to swallow her fears down, her feet moving again as she knelt down in front of him. She cringed knowing she just ruined her chances to prove to him that she wasn't afraid of him. But... he was so unknowingly intimidating and different from everyone else that she couldn't help to feel so small.
Trying her best to look anywhere but his eyes, Tikal began examining his bruises before gingerly lifting her hand to dab the side of his face. The silence was deafening and she already felt the heat arising her cheeks again. It was so awkward yet she wanted to pave through it, not wanting to back down this time.
He had a small gash underneath his right eye. And the bleeding wasn't going to stop anytime soon. She wondered how he got it. Maybe he wasn't paying attention? That... didn't sound like him. She always saw how he fought and every attack he did was so precise and concentrated. What must've distracted him?
With the cotton in hand, she swabbed the gash and tried not ignore the fact how close she was to him. She probably looked so ridiculous, doing this after all that had happened this week. She was happy that her flu was gone otherwise it would've been even more embarrassing for him to see her look so awful.
After she was done, she searched for a plaster and then placed it onto the gash, pressing it gently so it was on properly.
"Tikal, was it?"
Her whole body had seized up for a moment, not sure if she'd heard correctly and maybe that her flu was coming back because there was no way-
She trailed her gaze at Shadow and indeed she wasn't imagining things. He spoke... to her. He spoke to her.
And he said her name.
The butterflies were quickly growing inside her stomach and Tikal found that she couldn't reduce them, her palms growing with sweat. Her chest... her heart felt like it was skipping a few beats and it took all that she had to refrain herself from scattering away.
"Y-Yes..." She fumbled out from her mouth followed by giving him a small nod. Her hands naturally went to her dreads, nervously kneading her fingers through them out of habit.
Shadow continued staring at her before breaking it, his eyes suddenly locking themselves onto her wrist. "How is your wrist?" he asked.
Surprised by the question, Tikal followed his gaze down to her wrist. She had taken the bandage off just yesterday but the scar was still painted there, still fresh. "It's fine..." She answered and then looked back at him, "It was just a small cut."
The hedgehog flickered his look to her, his lips thinning into a frown. Perhaps there was a sheen of guilt on him, but if there was Tikal had never caught it as it quickly went before he nodded. Though, a low groan had escaped past his mouth when he began sitting up.
Tikal blinked down at the source of the problem and noticed an ugly bruise on his left leg. "W-Wait," she said when he made signs of standing up, "You're still injured."
Shadow glared down at his leg before saying, "It's fine, I can take it."
But Tikal found her voice. "No," she said, her tone becoming a little firmer. He shot his eyes back up at her, but he wasn't glaring at her nor was he showcasing any sort of distaste towards her retaliation. It made her... let out a smile as she shook her head. "Let me help you."
She gently applied ointment on it and then quietly told him to lift his leg up a little. He did so without hassle as she wrapped a bandage around it. "There," she said.
Shadow remained quiet, glancing at his leg before back at her. And then slowly but surely, he muttered out a, "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Tikal smiled at him again and then stood up, box in hand as she walked away from him, there being a slight bounce in her steps.