"So who wants to wear this?"

Sonic pointed his thumb at Shadow. "Him."

"Good answer. Agreed. Lets go," Jo quickly replied.

"Hang on.." Shadow started.

"Wait…if he wears that, what do I get to wear?"

"Nothing. You'll be hiding."

"Phew ok. Then yes, let Shadow wear it. He was maid for the role. He'll be maid u-"

"Faker stop."

"…maid up about that!"

.

.

.

"Sonic, I think you maid him mad."

Chapter 12:

Maybe He's Created With it...

The decor of the Green Lion Hotel could be described as outdated at best. The plastered walls were painted a bland shade of pale and were dotted with small framed watercolours that had faded from exposure to sunlight. Shadow had spent his seclusion in the room getting lost in each painting. He had a very vivid imagination thanks to his upbringing with a creative child like Maria, and was always grateful when he could use it to escape reality. Right now, he was a lone pirate captain of a Brigantine cutting through dark choppy seas. It didn't matter that he was heading into a storm or a Naval fleet was on the horizon. All of that was infinitely better than where he was in real life. He shifted his gaze to a tiny flaw in the wall and huffed through his nose.

"This is a bad idea."

The words from the Ultimate Lifeform's mouth were ignored as he sat on a footstool, staring wearily at the magnolia paint on the wall, while Sonic and Jo gave him the Ultimate Makeover. The girl was dotting freckles across his already rouged muzzle with a black eyeliner while his rival circled him, brushing talcum powder onto his fur to give it makeshift highlights.

Sonic had been quick to volunteer Shadow for the role of the maid (victim) and Jo had instantly agreed.

"The police don't properly know what you look like, so you'll be easier to disguise," the girl had insisted, which made Shadow question why she'd bothered to ask which one of them wanted to wear the ridiculous outfit in the first place.

The silky fabric of the dress and the white apron laced with frills seemed far too frivolous. Not at all practical for a house keeping uniform. Also, Shadow was sure that mob caps were no longer worn by modern day maids, unless it was part of a costume.

"Come on we have, like, five minutes," Jo had hurried him, patting a footstool, "please sit."

At first it had tested all of Shadow's patience to tolerate their ministrations. He hated having people invade his personal space and mess with him. It felt like too much of a throwback to being a science experiment in his past. Maria had been the only person with whom he had enjoyed physical contact. The idea of calling it in with GUN (regardless of the problems they'd bring) was more tempting now than ever. Jo must have sensed his unease because she worked quickly, frequently stepping back to give him space.

Sonic, after some apprehension at first, seemed to be content with his role and handled the brush gently. Shadow found he became more tolerant of it than he expected. He was no stranger to makeovers like this. After all he'd been the only companion to a young girl who was as close to him as a sister. The brushing had always been a kind of shared method of relaxation for both Maria and himself. He found his mind wondering if, under different circumstances, Sonic would find it relaxing too. Then he found his mind wondering a bit too far...imagining Sonic being the one to calm him with tender repetitive strokes after a particularly harsh time.

"So how did you meet Shadow, Jo?"

Shadow stopped breathing as the words from the blue one's mouth pulled him out of his unwanted daydream. His felt his heart speed up. With no time to scold his brain for getting embarrassingly carried away, he stared intently at Jo, willing her not to answer the speedster's question. He'd never wished for anyone to read his mind until now. Perhaps Jo could indeed read his thoughts because she simply shrugged and gave a vague answer.

"Oh, you know...Shadow needed a room. There's a big festival here this weekend. We get a lot of tourists visiting."

Shadow breathed again, feeling the tension escape him. He really didn't want to reveal to his rival the details surrounding his disastrous fight at the Green Lion Inn. It would only lead to more questions, more explanations.

"Hmmm...right." Sonic obviously wasn't buying that. The pair were hiding something. That lump in his stomach from earlier decided to make a comeback, growing legs and kicking his insides. He decided not to push it further and instead gritted his teeth and carried on brushing Shadow in silence. Let them have their secrets. Who cares? Got nothing to do with me. But he did care. Why? Shadow was little more than his rival. Ally at best. Was that not enough?

"Ah Sonic, you wanna ease up on Shadow a bit?" Jo's voice cut through his thoughts.

"Huh?"

"You're being a little rough with that brush."

"Ah...my bad." He caught the questioning sideways glare from the made-up agent.

"That'll do, anyway. He looks grey-ish now." She quickly inspected every side of the ebony hedgehog. "And Shadow, it's the best idea... that will cause the least amount of damage to my parents' hotel, letting you slip away without too much attention."

She held up a mirror. "I do believe we've made you look completely unrecognizable."

"But inconspicuous enough?" Shadow raised an incredulous brow, glancing over the other two's efforts.

They'd done a decent job considering the time limit. He barely recognized his own reflection. In addition to the makeup and talc, Sonic had managed to pull his spines together and wrap them up using unraveled wire coat hangers in an attempt to disguise his distinctive quills. The hero had earned himself some tears and pulls in his gloves for his efforts.

He eyed Sonic's reflection in the mirror. It hadn't escaped Shadow that his secrecy bothered the hero greatly. But he really couldn't bring himself to let Sonic see how the Ultimate Lifeform had failed, how vulnerable he'd become. Ah well, his furtiveness was something else for Sonic to hold against him... to make sure they couldn't become any closer than rivals. The hero was staring at his own feet. He seemed lost in thought with a little pout stuck on his face. Shadow felt his heart drop.

The girl shrugged, "It's the best we can do last minute."

"I don't even think this is the standard housekeeping uniform." Shadow pulled his attention away from the sulking hedgehog and brushed off loose powder that had fallen on the bright blue dress and white apron he was wearing. "Why the old-fashioned bloomers? Don't your staff wear dark green?"

Jo gave a very sheepish smile before looking at the floor.

"They do. And luckily the last and only pair of shoes I could find seem to be a decent fit but... the tunic would have swamped you and the trousers...well, I had to put something together from our old staff pantomime wardrobe."

"Pantomime?" Shadow blinked.

"Ok, it's from my six-year-old cousin's dress up box but it's top quality. Custom made...expensive..."

She bit her lip to stifle a giggle. "But please post it back to me or my cousin will freak out. It's her favorite. I can sew up the holes we had to cut in it."

Sonic couldn't quite believe his ears. He lost his composure and he exploded with laughter. Jo couldn't hold back her amusement either. Both were almost rolling on the floor in hysterics.

"Pass me your phone," Sonic wheezed through ragged breaths. Jo obliged and he took a quick snap of the agent, mid-scowl. "Make sure you send that one to me."

"Next time I see you unconscious on the floor I'm leaving you there," the agent stated flatly.

"But you look so adorable," Sonic teased, checking the photo before handing the phone back to the girl and wiping tears from his eyes. The dress he wore was somewhere between the color of a clear summer's sky and his own shade of deep royal blue and it complemented Shadow's natural coloring, despite the layers of makeup. He really wasn't lying; Shadow looked cute.

"Hell, I will shoot you with the damn tranquilizer myself."

"Ok, I know you love to nurse my butt back to health, but can you make sure it's the other cheek? This one's taken enough pric-"

"Idiot! I will be aiming for your damn mouth."

"Though I don't think six-year-olds can be trusted with tranquilizer guns..."

Jo glanced between the boys, feeling a little bit like a third wheel. She rapidly packed up her things and took her cue to leave.

"Right," she stood up and headed for the door, "I'll be back in a few with a cart."

"Oh, nearly forgot. Shadow..." she paused, fumbling in her pocket, then pulled out two oranges and tossed them to him, "...you know what to do with these."

"And keep the headpiece. I made it myself." She sent a wink his way before disappearing through the door.

Shadow stared at the fruit in his hands with a blank expression.

"We really don't have time to eat."

'No...I think she means like this..."

Sonic took the fruit and held them up to Shadows chest, cupping them delicately to illustrate.

The agent's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Think again," he growled, before giving his rival a mighty shove across the room, oranges rolling after him on the floor.

"Hey! It's just to change your body shape," Sonic protested, kicking the oranges back towards Shadow. "They're looking someone with a white fluffy chest, not someone with boobs, right?"

"I am NOT wearing fruit." Shadow huffed, slightly regretting his impulsive violent reaction. Sonic had caught him off guard with his much too intimate demonstration.

"Kinda don't have the time to be selective, dude. Unless you can think of something else quick?"

Shadow looked around the room. There really wasn't anything else he could use that would fit into the dress. Reluctantly, he picked up the fruit and stuffed them roughly inside the dress, threatening all kinds of hell if the oranges split and got juice gunk up in his fur.

"Ok then...can I just-?"

Shadow felt something moving up his leg. He looked down to find Sonic sliding one of his gold limiter rings upwards.

"Do you have a death wish, hedgehog?" He hissed through clenched teeth.

"I know you're not supposed to remove them, but they stand out too much. Gold jewelry," he reminded him of the description in the article, "you need to hide them."

"You don't touch those," Shadow scolded, breath hitching slightly. The blue hero was starting to get too close for comfort. He had been teasing him and sending him into fluster after fluster, and somehow making himself more tolerable to Shadow (though that last bit was up for debate now). It was not on at all. It had to stop, otherwise Shadow would start to doubt their established rivalry. He didn't like doubting himself and he'd been doing it far too much lately. "Give me your socks."

"My socks?"

"Now. Then you can bag up our shoes and my gloves."

Sonic did as he was instructed and reluctantly peeled off his last and only foot coverings. He handed them over, cringing. He hadn't changed them in several days so with the amount of grime and stink on them, they probably could have walked over to Shadow themselves. He set about grabbing their items, feeling strangely naked with the faded green carpet directly underfoot, especially compared to his very overdressed rival. Shadow slipped the socks on then rolled the tops over his ankle rings, giving the illusion of large cuffs atop the loafers.

The bands on his wrists had already been pushed up his arms and were held in place by the tie-gathered puff sleeves of the dress. If Shadow was bothered by the state of the hero's socks, he didn't say anything, and Sonic found he was relieved.

"Hey... don't suppose I could...?" He held up Shadow's shoes, with a hopeful grin, "I think we have the same size feet."

Shadow glared at Sonic, holding back the voice in his head screaming over my dead body.

"You gonna let me walk around like this?" Sonic frowned, gesturing to the lower half of his body.

"Fine," he relented eventually, "I guess it would be cruel to make you go around half naked."

"Great!"

Sonic eagerly slipped his feet into the air shoes. They weren't as uncomfortable as they looked on the outside. The cool metallic and leather-like smoothness of the exteriors contrasted the plush cushioned feel inside. Sonic couldn't stop a tiny gasp escaping. They were still warm. All of a sudden, things started to feel surreal. Not that they weren't odd already, but if yesterday someone had told him that Shadow would be allowing him to brush his fur and wear his air shoes today, he would have laughed and told that somebody to go get their head examined.

"Sweet..." Sonic said rather weakly, "no wonder you don't need socks."

"Comfort and style," Shadow mused, eyeing Sonic suspiciously. "Take it easy with them."

'What, no speed skating?"

"As much as I'd like to see you crash and break something, let's not make things more difficult than they already are."

Sonic stood up to allow his feet to settle into the unfamiliar casings. He shuddered as he felt a vibration course through his feet and up his legs. A short gust of air propelled him off the floor for a second, causing him to wobble slightly.

"What's happening?"

"They are adjusting to your chaos energy."

"Of course," Sonic snapped his fingers. He recalled that Shadow had already told him, after he lost a race to the agent many moons ago, how he can channel chaos energy through his body and control the force of it and where it is released. The blue speedster was interested to find out if he could use them in the same way.

"Pretty cool you can do the chaos energy thing."

"So, you've said before."

Sonic smiled at the other's reference to the same conversation he was just thinking about. His eyes locked onto Shadows and, holy heck, did they just manage to exchange a genuine smile? Sonic swore time had stopped for a moment.

Shadow quickly tore his eyes away from Sonic's, focusing his gaze on the far corner of the room instead. He wasn't supposed to let himself get caught up in the faker's joy.

"I guess it's not really a fair exchange," the hero joked to fill the crushing silence that had suddenly fallen between them, "my stinky socks for your chaos powered rocket shoes."

"Faker, you keep those things in one piece, and I will not utter a word of complaint about your grungy whites."

Admittedly, he was curious to see how Sonic could move in his shoes. He caught himself trying to decide whether Sonic suited them or not and gave himself a mental slap.

"Deal," the hero chuckled. He took a few steps forwards, spun around and struck a pose, emulating models on a catwalk. With both hands on hips, looking over his shoulder at Shadow, he grinned, "So do these suit me or what?"

Whatever snarky response Sonic was expecting from the other was nowhere near as amusing as the blazing blush even layers of makeup couldn't hide. Sonic wondered what he'd said to get him in such a state. He must be losing his edge.

Shadow fixed his eyes on the floor before regaining his composure as quickly as it had failed him. He wanted to throw an insult at the idiot for rattling him so but found that unkind words became stuck in his throat. "Your red shoes look better on you," he simply muttered instead.

"Was that a compliment for me?" Sonic beamed.

They were interrupted once more by Jo.

Thank goodness, Shadow thought. He didn't think he could stand much more of Sonic's teasing and giving him those dazzling grins that were becoming harder not to return.

This time, instead of knocking, the girl simply burst through the door wheeling in a cart full of cleaning items.

"Put these on," she instructed, and wasted no time in handing Shadow a pair of bright yellow rubber gloves.

"Sonic, get underneath the cart. The police are spreading out all over the hotel!"

The girl seemed quite formidable giving out her orders, so the hedgehogs did as they were told in silence.

Seconds later, Shadow was pushing the cleaning cart down the hallway towards the elevator with Jo following behind. The tiny lights above the door showed that someone was alighting on their floor and Shadow just knew, before the door even pinged open, that it would be the police...

If you're still reading at this point...thank you...you deserve a sun and a moon medal! :D