Seemingly without any time passing at all, Tails woke up upon slamming into his bedroom floor with a thud.

"Ow!" Tails sat up rigidly as pain shot through his body. He looked up to a towering angry-looking Shadow the Hedgehog.

"I said get up," he spat through his teeth.

Tails rubbed his head instinctively as pain surged through it. "Well speak up next time. Clearly I didn't hear you."

Shadow didn't acknowledge what Tails said. He spoke coldly. "I've completed the dishes."

"You mean you did them?" Tails corrected as he slowly got up from the ground, his head and back throbbing horribly.

Shadow crossed his arms in defiance. "Isn't that what I said?"

Tails dusted himself off, his annoyance becoming increasingly observable through his tone of voice. "Well no. You said you completed them. But you can't complete dishes. You can do the dishes, but you can't complete them."

Despite Shadow's rigid unchanging expression, his increasing agitation was becoming more apparent through his tone of voice as well. "Well I don't think it matters what I said. You know what I meant."

Tails sighed in frustration as he stalked out of his bedroom.

With Shadow idling in the living room, Tails carefully inspected the stacked and sorted dishes on the kitchen counter. Tails was pleasantly surprised, but he supposed he shouldn't be surprised at all that the ultimate life form would be able to achieve the ultimate level of clean. Though to his disappointment, the dishes were still wet, but he supposed that that was his fault for not indicating a towel acceptable for use. After briefly examining his unblemished reflection in the glass he was holding, he carefully put the glass back on the counter.

"Well done Shadow. You've brought these dishes closer to God." Tails chuckled to himself in a self-deprecating ironic sort of way.

Shadow looked unamused. "There is no God."

Shadow spoke with such a straight face that Tails couldn't help but smile humorously. "No it's just a joke, Shadow. Haven't you heard the expression?"

Shadow continued to glare at Tails. "I'm ready to watch the movie now."

Tails sighed rather sadly. "Of course you are…."

Dejectedly Tails sauntered into the bathroom to retrieve a towel. On his way back to the kitchen he explained to Shadow, "I'll be ready once I can dry the dishes and put them away. In the meantime you can make yourself comfortable, but do me a favor and try not to touch what you don't need to."

"Hmph. How long is it going to take?" Shadow was clearly impatient.

Tails wore a sort of sad grimacing expression. "It won't take more than a few minutes."

Tails yawned while he allowed himself a leisurely stretch before opening the cupboard and setting to work on the tedious process of grabbing a dish, wiping it dry, inspecting it for stray water droplets he might have missed, wiping it again for good measure, then reaching up and putting it in its proper place. Amidst the clanking of dishes Shadow continued to stand rooted to his spot, eyeing his surroundings.

After about a minute of nothing but the sound of Tails's busywork, Tails glanced back at Shadow continuing to stand not doing anything and staring off into space.

"You can sit on the couch if you want to you know. I'm almost done here so we can watch the movie… very… soon…" Tails was struggling to reach the top shelf of the cupboard, standing as high as he could on his toes, a plate balancing between his two longest fingers and the edge of the shelf. The plate wobbled precariously before slipping from Tails's gloved fingers.

Before Tails could even brace himself from the plate's inevitable collision with the floor, Shadow was right behind him with the plate suddenly stationary between his fingers.

Tails gasped involuntarily and stared at Shadow, stupefied. Shadow stared back, his typically brooding expression fixed on his dark face.

"Can't you fly or something?" Shadow asked insinuatingly.

Tails felt himself getting pissed off again. "Can't you see how small this kitchen is? I'd knock everything over!" As Tails said this, he became keenly aware of just how close Shadow was to him in the crowded space.

Shadow's eyes darted to Tails's big fluffy tails, disdainfully and disinterestedly. "Well with tails like those of course you would."

Tails fought the urge to resort to violence, knowing that he would lose. But he could feel his eye twitching with anger. "Gee, thanks for stating the obvious. I hope you feel smart now."

Shadow's lips pursed slightly in irritation as he glowered at Tails again. Tails glowered back, reciprocating Shadow's scorn.

Shadow's eyes shifted again, begrudgingly, to the plate in his hand. With cool indifference he extended his arm and effortlessly placed the plate on the top shelf that Tails couldn't reach. Tails was startled by the unexpected sensation of Shadow's quills brushing against his fur as he casually cut in front of him. His newfound position in the kitchen forced Tails to step back in order to make room for him.

"I'll wrap up things here. You'd be more useful setting up the movie," Shadow said with contempt.

Tails was bewildered by outrage. Unwittingly he bared his clenched teeth. But he stopped himself from blurting out a choice insult—he didn't want to drive Shadow into a dangerous rage by saying something overt. Tails closed his eyes and made a point of taking a deep, controlled breath before speaking again.

"Well, Shadow… I'd like to make some popcorn before the movie. I hope you don't mind."

In passive-aggressive retaliation Tails forced himself back into the kitchen, angrily pushing up against Shadow's spikey back. He stifled a cry of pain as Shadow's sharp quills pressed into his own back and focused on opening the cupboard above the microwave and pulling out a sealed bag of microwave popcorn. In a furious haste he tore apart the plastic covering and yanked open the microwave door. He flung the flattened bag of kernels into the microwave and slammed the door shut. Aggressively he thumbed the buttons and pressed start. Inadvertently he focused on the microwave door's hazy reflection and saw that Shadow's head was turned slightly back at him, his face sharp with cut-throat hatred.

"I suppose it would be stating the obvious again if I said that I did mind."

Tails felt a chill run down his spine at the tone of Shadow's voice, but he tried not to make any show of trepidation. With a deliberate air of placidity, he carefully turned to face Shadow and made a point of looking him straight in the eye.

"Yes. It would be. Good thing you didn't say it."

Shadow's expression darkened as his eyes remained locked with Tails's. With menace he slowly inched closer, exuding a frightening aura of ultimate power. The distance between their faces became dangerously short. Tails stood his ground as he tried not to break eye contact, feeling the air expelling from Shadow's nose as he angrily breathed down on him.

Amidst the sound of nothing but the quiet hum of the microwave and the adversaries' restrained heavy breathing, Shadow's eyes gradually shifted downward, then slowly upward again, perusing Tails's body. Tails could feel his heart pounding—he wondered if Shadow was looking for signs of fear.

Suddenly the popping sound of the first kernel pierced the air. Tails jumped at the noise with a start. Shadow's eyes shifted to the microwave as the kernels began to pop in scattered succession. With his signature cold indifference, Shadow turned away from Tails and back to the remaining dishes on the counter, the popcorn now popping at a steady, rapid pace. Hesitantly, almost reluctantly, Tails turned to face the microwave, peering inside the partially transparent door to watch the bag grow as the timer counted down to zero. They continued their respective tasks in the kitchen without another word.