There was one thing most people almost universally looked forward to. The weekend. And Shadow was no different. Although, he could never be fully sure to get its entirety off thanks to his workplace at G.U.N. He tried to make the best of it regardless.
It was a cloudy middle-autumn Saturday and Shadow was excited to get back to his boyfriend's. He felt an ounce of guilt for the delay of one day, but he already made a promise to himself to make up for the lost time. So, he quickly teleported onto the beautiful floating landscape or more specifically, to the hut located on its surface. The hedgehog knew Knuckles wouldn´t be around at this time and while he didn´t want to waste any more of it not being together with the guardian, he just had to swiftly drop off his stuff before looking where his man was at. He had a pretty good idea though, from knowing the echidna very well by this point.
The season, being what it is, made for a lot of work. Most of it consisted of simply raking leaves. Sounded straightforward enough, though with the number of deciduous trees native to Angel Island it was incredibly time consuming. It was indeed a good thing then, that Knuckles didn´t have to rake the entirety of his beautiful home. With this generous limitation in mind, Shadow went to where he was sure his partner would be. Knuckles' priority was, of course, to keep the shrine and its surroundings as clean as possible and since Shadow didn´t see him from the hut, chances were high the echidna was merely on the other side.
And just like the dark hedgehog anticipated, there his lovable echidna was. Taking care of the fallen leaves seemingly without a single worry on his mind. Shadow swore he even heard him quietly hum when he was approaching him from behind. That made him smile. Slowly he walked up to him and when he felt he was close enough, he announced his presence with a soft but distinctively sassy: "Hey there."
In a blink the humming stopped, followed by that red head lifting at the sound of his voice and Shadow could only guess the initial surprised on his boyfriend's face. With no time to waste Knuckles turned around, his purple eyes wide at the unforeseen arrival of his favorite person. His expression immediately lightened up upon seeing the hedgehog. "Shadow!" the echidna called out in joy but also in little confusion.
The hedgehog in question chuckled when Knuckles let the rake fall into the pile of leaves and made his way over to him. Nevertheless, he opened his arms for the guardian, who gladly took the invitation for an affectionate hug. Like Shadow, Knuckles wrapped his arms around the other and both nuzzled their heads against each other lovingly. Eventually they brought some distance between themselves again to softly gaze into each other eyes, either wearing a warm smile. With the exchange of a short but sweet butterfly kiss on the lips, their little greeting ritual was finally complete. It couldn´t be more obvious that they had missed one another.
Before Knuckles could say anything, Shadow got a hold of one of his hands and spoke up whilst gazing gently into those breathtaking violets. "Forgive me for my absence during the week. It was quite busy," he explained, tenderly brushing over the back of the echidna's gloved hand with his thumb. "Don´t worry though. I didn´t return empty handed."
Knuckles long ago gave up on telling his partner that he didn´t need to apologize every time he didn´t see him for a few days. But that was just one of Shadow's quirks and truth be told, the guardian found it utterly endearing. Occasionally it still made him slightly roll his eyes, even if it was accompanied by a smile. "Oh, really now?" he replied, raising a brow in amusement.
"Yes," the hedgehog answered and took a step away but without letting go of the red one's hand. "Follow me to your humble residence and I'll show you."
What an interesting choice of words that only made Knuckles shake his head and Shadow grin. The sass was strong in this one but that was the ultimate lifeform for you. Nonetheless, the echidna ultimately agreed, which they both knew he would. After all, he was at his task for a while already. Knuckles felt like he deserved a break and with his boyfriend there it was just the more tempting. So, they intertwined their fingers and made their way back to the echidna's hut, which they reached in a few short minutes.
It didn´t take long for the echidna to spot the bag leaning against the outer wall of his shelter. There was a short frown, followed by a raised eyebrow on his face. It was odd for Shadow to bring something with him. But then again, he mentioned the likes of such earlier. Swiftly the dark one grabbed it carefully before the pair entered the housing. Barely being able to contain his curiosity, Knuckles let go of Shadow's hand and turned to him once the entrance closed. He crossed his arms and raised his brow once more. Only this time in entertainment.
"Okay, we're here. So, what cha have there?" the guardian questioned, a mixture between playfulness and impatience in his tone. The response to which was a roll of red eyes, however, accompanied by a smile. Shadow went to the small table to put down his bag and reveal what's inside at last. Even doing so with a small 'Ta-da' to his own and his boyfriend's amusement. A red brow was subsequently rising at what the guardian saw. "…muffins?" A nod. "Why? You know I'm not big on sweets."
That smile on the hedgehog's lips only widened upon hearing it, even turning a tad smug. "I know, but I do recall you saying you were craving some the other day. And what kind of life partner would I be, if I don´t grant your request for teeth-destroying sugar?"
Shadow stated this in such a deadpan tone, it took the guardian several seconds of staring for him to react. "Oh my god!" the echidna groaned and promptly threw the nearest pillow at his boyfriend.
Shadow tried so hard to repress a rising cackle from the sight of Knuckles' look but could do so no longer when the soft cushion was weaponized against him. Totally worth it though! Especially when the red one's expression became nothing short of endearing. Once the moment was over, Shadow simply gestured with his head to the echidna to come closer. The guardian complied, even if it was with a faint shake of his own head. As soon as Knuckles was close enough the dark hedgehog offered the treats for him to take. Intently he watched the other take a bite and couldn´t stop himself from cheekily smiling when Knuckles' face lit up.
"These are really delicious!" the guardian praised and proceeded in taking another bite. Despite not being much of a sweet tooth, he enjoyed the snack thoroughly. Even taking another of the tasty morsels after finishing the first one.
"I sure hope so. There was a lot of effort going into them," the G.U.N. agent informed with a shadow of a smile visible on his lips while he set the platter back down onto the small table.
Still chewing on his first bite of the second muffin, Knuckles kept his purple eyes on his boyfriend. At the statement he rose a brow, however. "They are house made?" Knuckles asked to which the other simply nodded. "When did you have time to make them? Thought you were busy."
"Oh, don´t misunderstand. I was," the hedgehog replied and sat down on one of the chairs. Something his partner mimicked on the opposite seat. "I had to stay at the HQ longer than usual but when I could finally leave, I didn´t want to disturb you as I'm sure you must have been tired. Since… well. You tend to be quite busy yourself at this time of year." Obviously, Shadow was referring to the time consuming activity of keeping the island's shrine unsoiled. "So, I decided to put my evening to good use and prepare you this gift."
Knuckles was listening very attentively as the other explained his train of thoughts. Though by the end a fond chuckle found its way past the red guardian's lips. Sometimes Shadow was too precious, as ironic as it may seem. "That's nice but you could never bother me, and you know that, Shadow," the echidna assured, wanting to make that clear before his attention shifted to a far more interesting aspect of Shadow's narrative. "Mind telling me how you made them? You don´t have a kitchen."
Curiosity had always been a big part of the red echidna but one shouldn´t underestimate his observation skills either. "You are correct. I don´t have one," the dark hedgehog chuckled. "My solution was to visit Amy and ask for her assistance."
Knuckles was just contemplating if he should let himself have a third treat the moment his partner informed him of this detail. Purple eyes instantly drew back to the other and soon after an amused tilt of the red head followed. "I hope you know you can´t just say that and not tell me how it went," he grinned. There was no way his interest could be more evident.
Having figured as much, Shadow let an expression of serenity settle on his face. Of course, he was aware that Knuckles wouldn´t want to miss out on that story. If he didn´t get to hear it from the ultimate lifeform, the echidna would just go to interrogate the pink hedgehog instead. There was no way he would let that stay unspoken. "Let's just say I definitely didn´t expect to find someone that treats baking the same way as military training."
This simple statement was enough to make the emerald guardian laugh wholeheartedly. "Yep, that sounds like Amy!" he clued up in nothing but fondness for his friend.
At the same time the hedgehog leaned on his hand and hummed in response. In his head he reflected on the events that happened the day prior. Amy was quite surprised to meet Shadow at her door but was also eager to help him out. Little did he know what came shortly afterwards. Upon entering the kitchen, the pink girl went from her usual kindness to a strict, almost scary, baking professional. The first thing she did to the older hedgehog, was to throw an apron into his face, followed by her making it very clear, should Shadow make a mess, he was the one cleaning it up or he'll make friends with her trusty hammer. The threat was unnecessary but it certainly motivated to be mindful with the ingredients. And besides watchful green eyes staring him down occasionally, the evening was pretty successful. Apart from him having royally screwed up the first and ruined the second attempt. Oh well. One can´t be perfect at everything.
By the time the dark hedgehog came back to the present, Knuckles decided to snatch a third muffin after all and watch him in anticipation for the full story. No words were needed for the agent to understand and it made him chuckle. "I'll tell you all of it later," Shadow promised and contently watched his boyfriend nibble on the sweet. "That said, there are two things I learned from this experience though. First, I'm absolutely slaying the apron look. And secondly, all it took was one evening for me to master the art of baking goods as well. I am just that great."
The dark hedgehog looked so proud of himself at that. Knuckles was left smiling in nothing but affection for the other. And being the good partner that he was, he simply had to know. "Amy made those, didn´t she?"
"She absolutely did, yes." Shadow replied without hesitation, still looking as self-pleased as before. A moment later red eyes reopened to the sound of the guardian laughing loudly and it didn´t take long for the ultimate lifeform to join in too.