Trust
It was the night of a full moon, at 10:45 exactly. Tails had just gone to bed 15 minutes ago and Sonic was getting ready to head out to meet up with some friends.
Shadow sat on the couch in the living room as he watched his lover stress about. He was always like this on every full moon, always going on about how if he didn't hurry, his friends would be waiting on him, even if he was the fastest thing alive.
"Would you stop stressing, love, you do this every month." Shadow playfully rolled his eyes.
"Sorry, I'm just having trouble finding something." Sonic admitted. "It's pretty important for our group's event."
"What is it? Maybe I can help you find it." Shadow offered as he stood up.
"Oh, wait, I think I know where it is."
Quickly, Sonic ran upstairs and into his room, slamming the door behind him. A few minutes later, he came back out, sporting a brown satchel bag over his shoulder. "Found it, I'll be going now!"
"Mind telling me where you're going this time?" Shadow asked him curiously.
"Sorry Shads, it's strictly between the group and I." Sonic gave an apologetic smile before giving him a quick kiss. "I'll be back later. Late. As always."
"Alright then, baby." Shadow sighed in disappointment. "Have a good time tonight."
"I will. Love you."
"Love you too."
With that, Sonic walked through the front door and left the house. As he walked down the driveway he turned back around to see Shadow peeking out at him through the window. Sonic smiled and blew him a kiss. Shadow smiled and pretended to catch it, holding it to his heart.
"Chaos, I hate lying to him." Sonic sighed sadly as he turned back around and began running to the meeting point. "Maybe tonight will be the night I finally tell him."
Sonic kept running as he made his way into town. He kept running until he finally made it to the meeting point.
Club Rouge.
Sonic sighed and stepped into the bar, a few heads turning to acknowledge him before going back to their own business. Sonic nodded to a few regulars before stepping up to the counter.
"Sonic, there you are." Rouge announced softly when she noticed him.
"Hey Rouge." Sonic greeted the bat. "Is everybody else already here?"
"Yes hun, they're in the back waiting for you."
"Thanks."
Sonic turned away from the counter and began walking away, heading to the back to a wooden door that held a sign that read RESERVED on it. As he opened the door, he was immediately greeted with a soft purple light that filled the entire room.
A small candle chandelier hung on the ceiling, giving off the purple glow. To the left of the room was a separate bar stocked with drinks. In the very middle of the room was a round table with a half circle bench. The table was secure to the floor, as was the bench. The bench was a normal brown with red leather seating, the table however, was a black granite with a white pentagram drawn in the middle. At the table, four others already sat.
A male green salamander named Newt.
A female pink squirrel named Strawberry.
A female blue hedgehog named Maura.
And the last member, a male green hawk that nearly everybody knew, Jet the Hawk!
The four were already drinking and laughing, sporting their pentagram pendants around their necks as they were finally free to be themselves.
"Hey guys." Sonic greeted as he closed the door behind him, gaining their attention.
"Sonic!" The girls squealed at his arrival.
"We almost thought you weren't coming." Jet chuckled as he scooted to make room on the bench.
"Sorry I'm late guys. I couldn't find my satchel." Sonic admitted as he sat next to the hawk.
"Well you're here now." Newt nodded as he handed the hedgehog a drink. "So, anything new to report?"
"Actually, I do have something this time." Sonic nodded as he pulled his own pendant out of the satchel and laid it over his head. He then reached into the satchel again and pulled out a small black book, sliding it across the table to the salamander. "Page 108."
Newt took the book and opened it to said page, his eyes widening at what he saw. "No way, you didn't!"
"I sure did." Sonic laughed as Newt laid the book down for all to see. "I don't think Knuckles and Rouge will be having anymore pregnancy problems."
"You performed a fertility spell?!" Maura gasped in wonder. "For your friends?"
"Oh that's so sweet of you, Sonic!" Strawberry squealed. "I know how much Rouge has been upset about Knuckles failed attempts, so this will definitely help her."
"I just hope she doesn't spill the beans if she were to find out." Sonic sighed, taking a sip of his drink. "What about you guys? Anything new in your Book Of Shadows?"
"Well I performed a health spell for my grandmother." Maura announced. "She should be out of the hospital soon."
"That's great Maura." Jet nodded. "I too had to perform a health spell for Wave."
"Oh no, is she ok?" Sonic asked in a worried tone.
"She's fine, she just laid her first dud egg, that's all."
"Oh, right. The whole egg laying thing for female birds, right?"
"That's right. It was her first time, so she wasn't really prepared. So after she laid, she let me perform a health spell on her to help her get better."
"Wait, wait, wait, she LET you?" Sonic gasped.
"Oh yeah, that's right, you guys don't know yet." Jet laughed. "I finally told Wave and Storm that I'm Wiccan."
"That's great, Jet!" Newt applaud.
"Details! Details!" Strawberry bounced in her seat.
"Yeah, what were their reactions?" Sonic asked curiously.
"Well, they were pretty shocked to hear that I'm a witch, but after a while, they got used to it and Wave even thinks it's kinda cool." Jet explained. "I even showed them my alter. I don't need to keep it hidden aymore."
"That's awesome, Jet!" Sonic smiled for his fellow witch.
"What about you, Sonic?" Newt asked him. "Have you told Shadow and Tails yet?"
"... No… I haven't." Sonic sighed sadly.
"Sonic, you gotta tell them sweetheart." Maura urged. "Now that Jet has told Wave and Storm, you're the only one keeping secret from your loved ones, besides Rouge."
"I know, I know." Sonic sighed. "I was planning on telling him tonight. I think he's starting to lose faith in me. Before I left, he actually wanted to know where I'm was going, but I told him it was supposed to be a secret. You should've seen how disappointed he got."
"Trust, Sonic." Newt frowned. "It's the most important thing in a relationship. If you can't trust your significant other, then you have no relationship."
"I do trust him, though. I just don't think Shadow trusts me."
"Then make it right." Strawberry urged. "When you go home tonight, tell him exactly what is going on. If he really loves you, then he won't care that you're a witch."
"Just like the rest of us." Jet added.
"... This is not gonna be easy." Sonic sighed as he took another swig of his drink.
"It never is." Newt shook his head.
"Would it make it easier if we were there with you?" Maura asked.
"... I think so… yes… if it's not too much trouble?"
"For a fellow witch… anything." Jet nodded.
"Thanks guys."
After a few hours of drinking, performing spells, talking about their Book Of Shadows, and recharging their wands and crystals in the moonlight, the group of Wiccans left Club Rouge and followed Sonic back home.
It was exactly 3 in the morning, so when they walked up the driveway, Sonic was a little surprised to see that some of the lights in the house were still on.
"Looks like he's still awake." He sighed. "Usually he's asleep when I come home… he really has lost his trust in me."
"Just tell him the truth, Sonic." Maura encouraged him. "He'll understand."
"I hope you're right." Sonic sighed as he went up to the door and opened it.
As soon as he opened the door and stepped into the house, he felt a tension in the air. It was so thick that he felt like crying. As the other witches walked in behind him, they too seemed to notice the tension.
"Shadow?"
"In the living room, Faker."
Sonic cringed at the old nickname. Ever since the two had started dating, Shadow hasn't called him Faker unless it was out of love and teasing. But now, with Shadow's tone of voice, it sounded like an insult.
Sonic nodded his head to his friends to have them follow him to the living room. When they entered the living room, Shadow was sitting on the loveseat, his arms crossed over his chest as he glared at his lover. Sonic didn't like that glare. It made him feel vulnerable and insecure, unworthy of his love. Sonic could feel tears coming to his eyes, but he forced them back. He had no reason to cry unless he was guilty of something bad, and he didn't want to give Shadow that thought anymore than he already had.
"I want answers, hedgehog." The ebony sneered at him. "I'm tired of you running off every month without telling me where you're going or what you're doing. I feel betrayed, Sonic. I'm losing my trust in you."
"I know." Sonic nodded as he sat on the couch across from him, trying his hardest not to sniff in pity. "I promise, it's not what you think."
"Then what is it, Sonic?" Shadow frowned, looking at the others in the room, his eyes settling on Jet and he growled. "Who are these people, and why is Jet here?"
"They're my friends, Newt the Salamander, Maura the Hedgehog, and Strawberry the Squirrel. Jet is one of us. They're here for moral support, because tonight is the night I finally want to tell you the truth."
"What truth? Sonic what have you been hiding from me?"
"Shadow… I'm… I'm…"
Seeing his fellow witch struggling, Jet sneakily dug around his satchel, bringing out a small orange dish candle and a sandalwood incense. Concealing both the candle and incense so that nobody could see it, Jet used his lighter and lit them both, the tiny smoke fumes flowing from the fuse to fill the air, bringing a sense of peace and confidence over the blue hedgehog.
The scent of the sandalwood seemed to calm Shadow down as well as he relaxed into the loveseat and traveled his eyes over his lover and his friends once more. However, as he did so, he suddenly noticed the pentacle pendants hanging around their necks, including Sonic's.
"You're in a cult?!" He gasped.
"What?!" Sonic gasped, offended by such an accusation. "No I'm not in a cult! What makes you think that?!"
"The pentagrams around your necks! Faker that's a sign of evil!"
"No it's not Shadow! Only if it's upside down, resembling a goat's head. These pentacles are right side up to resemble a person. I'm not in a cult, I'm Wiccan dammit!"
Sweatdropping a little, Jet pulled out another sandalwood incense and lit it, joining it with the other and the candle. The smell of the two burning sticks brought the tension down and both hedgehogs relaxed.
"You're what?" Shadow asked calmly.
"I'm a witch, Shadow." Sonic sighed. "A witch in the Wiccan religion. My friends and I are not a cult. We're a Coven. We meet every full moon at Club Rouge to talk about our abilities and just have fun and be ourselves."
Shadow was shocked. Out of every possibility he could've thought of, he never would've thought that his lover was a witch.
"Why didn't you just tell me?"
"Because I was scared." Sonic admitted, tears slowly running down his cheeks as he was unable to hold them back anymore. "I thought that once you knew that I was involved with something that most people find evil, you wouldn't love me anymore."
"Oh baby." Shadow sighed sadly as he stood up from his seat and walked over to the couch, sitting down and pulling his crying lover onto his lap, holding him in a tight hug. "There is nothing you could do that will make me stop loving you. I don't care about your religion. You are you and that's what I love about you. If anything, the fact that you're a witch makes you even more unique and gives me more of a reason to love you. You are not bland and boring. You're unique and full of surprises. That's what I love about you."
"Oh Shadow." Sonic sobbed happily as he buried his face into his lover's chest. "I love you too."
"See, I told you he would understand." Maura chuckled.
Sonic gave a light laugh and looked up to his friends.
"Thank you guys for being here to support me." He said to them before turning his full attention to Jet. "And Jet, thank you for the orange candle and sandalwood incense."
"Orange candle to help with self-confidence and communication and sandalwood incense to help with relaxation and settling distress." The hawk smiled. "Anything to help a fellow witch."
"We'll be on our way now." Newt nodded. "Enjoy the rest of your night, you two."
"Don't forget the red and pink candles and ylang-ylang incense, Sonic!" Strawberry teased.
"Strawberry!" Sonic gasped and blushed a deep red as his friends left the house, laughing.
"What does she mean, Sonic?" Shadow asked curiously.
Sonic looked up to his ebony lover and smiled at his innocence of Wiccan knowledge. His blush faded to a lighter pink and he left his eyes half-lidded as he stared seductively into his lover's eyes.
"Why don't we go upstairs to my room and I'll show you." He whispered huskily.
Shadow blushed and stared half-lidded back, a seductive smirk on his lips.
"I think I like the sound of that… my little witch."
With those final words the two hedgehogs engaged in a passionate kiss. Their lips locked together in love and passion as Shadow picked up his blue lover and carried him up the stairs to the bedroom, where they would be staying for the rest of the night.
