The banquet was almost over. Things began winding down as people left the conference hall. The music changed to something slow and strangely catchy, like something one would hear inside an elevator.
Maria shared a dance with her grandfather before separating from him. He had to meet with the important visitors before accompanying them to the docking area where they would start their return trip to Earth.
She grabbed a cupcake from the buffet and returned to the table she'd shared with Little Abe. Said child was in his seat, head resting on his arms, eyes half-closed. She finished her treat and said, "Looks like you're all tuckered out, Abe."
"Mmm... yeah..." He gave an enormous yawn.
"I'll take you back to your room, then." She leaned in to whisper, "And we can stop by my place to get your stained shirt on the way, so no one will be any the wiser."
He smiled sleepily.
They held hands as they left. They recovered the soiled shirt from her room and made their way to his quarters. She helped him change into his nightwear, then tucked him into bed. He passed out as soon as his head hit the pillow.
"Good night, Little Abe." She petted his hair for a few seconds before slipping back to the conference hall.
She spotted Professor Basin gathering the centerpieces into boxes stacked atop a dolly. The event would officially end soon, so she decided to grab another cupcake and wait for Shadow by the doors. While standing there, she waved goodbye to the woman of many hobbies as she wheeled the dolly through the exit, retiring for the night.
The atmosphere was quiet, calm, and sluggish—nothing like when she first arrived. She glanced around and, not long after, caught sight of Shadow heading her way. They were among the last people to leave.
The walk to her room was silent save for their footsteps. The halls were dim and empty. If they had traveled to the banquet in the beginning, surrounded by crowds and noise, they might've missed out on this peaceful walk and the enjoyment found solely in each other's company.
When they reached her door, she turned to him. In a soft-spoken voice, she said, "Thank you for getting me here safe and sound."
He smirked. "No problem."
She shifted her weight from one foot to the other and idly picked at a spot on her dress, wishing that the night didn't have to end now. Neither of them moved or said good night. She waited for him to show any sign he wanted to head back to his place, but he didn't. Instead, his ears kept twitching uncertainly and his eyes darted between hers and his fancy shoes.
She smiled. "Hey, so... I'm not in a hurry to go to bed. Would you like to stay for a while?"
He gulped. Took a breath. Nodded.
They entered the room and she swept her arm out in a grand gesture, telling him to make himself at home, which he did—but in a way that surprised her.
"Finally," he sighed, reaching for his tie. His fingers quickly unlaced it and tossed it to the ground.
She wasn't sure whether to gasp or laugh, resulting in an oddly strangled snort that she quickly disguised as a cough. He walked past her in the process of removing his jacket, prompting her to clear her throat and say, "I'll... be right back."
She retreated to her bedroom. Her heart beat wildly from a mix of amusement, embarrassment... and, she admitted, excitement. He'd been in her room before, but aside from his careless stripping, something about his presence tonight made her giddy. She shook her head and fanned herself. Once calm, she looked toward her dresser.
Despite the fact she'd be comfortable wearing her formal clothes all night, she figured it was better to follow her guest's example by dressing down. She reached into her drawer and pulled out a pair of cotton-soft, long-sleeved pajamas.
He was sitting on the couch in the living room when she returned, watching television, or rather, flipping through the channels with the remote. All his clothes lay on the floor except for his socks. She settled near him.
He stopped on a detective show. She asked if he was familiar with it, but he wasn't; it caught his interest by coincidence. They spent some time watching it, getting to know the plot and characters.
During a commercial break, Shadow stretched his arms vertically and scrunched up his face. "Tch! I can still feel that suit clinging to me," he grunted, then lowered his arms, cracked his knuckles, and moved his head from side to side.
"Still shaking it off, huh?" Maria pushed a loose strand of her hair behind her ear and scooted closer to him so their legs touched.
His eyes widened.
"Maybe this'll help," she chirped.
She moved her arms and placed her hands on his shoulders. He stiffened. With smooth repetition, she applied pressure and circulated her fingers over and over across his shoulders, coaxing his muscles to relax. She went slow and gentle one minute and faster and firmer the next.
At first, she wasn't sure if this was making him feel better like she hoped. Though his body gradually loosened, he was dead silent and keeping his eyes shut tight. He didn't protest, however.
She focused on giving him a nice massage, pressing with her hands steadily, enjoying the texture of his fur. Once or twice, her fingers accidentally brushed the white tuft on his chest. He tensed when she did that, so she took care to avoid it.
She finished by giving his shoulders a strong squeeze, then reducing her touch to feather-light strokes. She finally learned the outcome of her efforts when he pitched his head back and exhaled a deep breath, long and low, ending in a high whoosh.
He opened his eyes slowly and rolled as much of his head as he could into the crook of her neck. "Thank you."
"You're welcome. Was that soothing enough for you?"
"Yes."
He slid his hand atop her knee and kept it there. She rested her fingers upon his.
The commercial had long since ended, so they were behind on the plot, but also not disappointed or sorry.
She dug her fingers between his, enjoying the contrast of her light skin against his quilt of black. As the show played on, so did their hands. They shared idle motions, flicks, scratches, rubs.
She let her head droop on top of his. Warmth and comfort filled her. She breathed a quiet, content sigh and nuzzled against him. The sounds of the TV grew fuzzy and quiet, but somewhere in the realm of her awareness, she felt Shadow nuzzle her in return.
She fell asleep.
There was peace and nothingness until his cherished voice said her name.
"Maria."
Her eyes opened softly to reveal his face staring down at her. Her head lay on his lap, though she couldn't remember putting it there. The TV was off and he had his fingers in her hair.
"The show's over now."
He pulled back his hand, making her frown. He froze, then slowly returned it to her head and dipped it into her hair, allowing his fingers to slide between the strands, gently brushing them, sometimes passing along her ear as well, making her smile. He gave a small chuckle that showed a glint of one of his pointy teeth.
After a few minutes, she yawned and moved to get up, only for him to lightly press down on her shoulder. "Let me," he whispered and gathered her up as though she weighed nothing.
The action, though sudden, didn't disturb her. Being in his arms was safer and cozier than being on the couch. He carried her bridal style, stepping on his formal outfit as he headed to her bedroom.
Inside, the pane of her window covered her floor, her walls, everything in starlight. He laid her on her bed and tucked her in. He went the extra mile and smoothed out the covers, then fluffed her pillow. When he was done, he met her eyes, contemplating silently.
She touched his arm. "I love you."
The words slipped out before she finished thinking about them. It was unexpected and new, but welcome—wholeheartedly, completely welcome.
It felt natural to say.
Shadow flinched, ears perking upright, but recovered swiftly. He relaxed, stayed still. Looked at her with tenderness. Then he leaned in close, so close that she wondered where he was going to stop...
His nose grazed against hers. Previously unnoticed details of his red eyes made themselves clear as crystal, and then their foreheads met. His breath touched her lips as he uttered, "Maria, you mean everything to me."
Her heart skipped a beat.
Everything?
I mean everything to him?
She repeated the phrase in her head, thought about its meaning, what she meant.
She stared, hardly believing this was real, then sprung her arms around him. "Shadow!"
He surged forward, hugging back just as longingly, taking her breath away. Leaning over the side of the bed, he let his actions support his words. The two souls entwined, blossoming into one, as the rest of existence faded away.
It was all a mass of dark fur and a jumble of blond hair underneath starlight. Their fingers roamed, committing every tactile sensation to memory. She was smothered in the warmth of his hands, his face, her own blankets.
He was breathing shakily and she couldn't hold back a laugh, not because it was funny but because his breaths tickled her. The sound of her voice seemed to encourage him. He stopped leaning over the side of the bed and climbed fully on top, sending her pillow to the floor.
She expected tears of happiness to leak from her eyes, but they were dry, normal. It was like her mind didn't expect him to feel this way about her, but her heart already knew for a long time.
The tip of his nose found hers and gently brushed and rubbed against it. He cradled the back of her head in both his hands, threading his fingers through her golden strands of hair.
Her hands were free to explore the spines on his back and the tuft of fur on his chest. Previously, she suspected he didn't like anything coming into contact with those areas, so she moved slowly and uncertainly. He scrunched up his eyes as she touched them, but when she asked if she was hurting him, he shook his head no. "Just the opposite," he whispered. Relieved, she kept going.
Similar to the way they danced earlier, their movements slowly shifted from clumsy to graceful. It pleasantly surprised her how quickly she adjusted to the way he stroked her body through her soft, cotton pajamas. At times, she became so wrapped up in the warmth and steadiness of his touch that all she could do was relax in it, too saturated in bliss to return the favor. (He didn't mind.)
They moved slower, hugged tighter, cuddled deeper. Neither had felt affection at such a level as they now shared.
She wanted to stay like this with him all night, but something happened that brought their newfound experience to an end. It wasn't bad or scary, but it was as annoying as it was inevitable.
She sighed huffily and tapped the hedgehog rapidly on the shoulder to get his attention. "Hold on."
Shadow sat up, panic in his eyes. "What's wrong? Am I hurting you?"
"No." Despite her best efforts not to, her cheeks blushed a fiery red. "I have to go to the bathroom."
His tenseness evaporated. "Oh. Right." He clambered off the bed to let her get up.
When she came back, he was picking up her pillow and fluffing it.
"Sorry about that," she said sheepishly. As much as she wanted to continue like there was no interruption, she instead asked, "Do you want to go back to your room?"
He didn't meet her eyes. "No, but I should. It's one o'clock in the morning."
She blinked in shock, realizing he was right. Against her wishes, the information took its toll on her like magic. Sleepiness overtook her once again.
He offered her his hand. As she let him tuck her back into bed, a question occurred to her. "Can you go years without sleeping like you can without food?"
He smirked, but shook his head. "I'm just like you in this case. It's best for me to rest every night." He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and used the back of his hand to stroke her face. "Good night, my lady."
She hummed happily. "Good night, good sir."
He gave her hands a loving squeeze and turned to leave.
Suddenly, she changed her mind. Watching him walk away was hard.
"Wait." She reached for him. "Can you please stay here until I fall asleep? I... don't want to see you go."
She bit her lip, wondering if he would think she was being greedy.
He returned to her side, not a hint of judgment on his face, and held her hands again. He touched his forehead to hers and tenderly peered at her with his brightest smile.
They stayed that way until she faded into slumber, into a flow of sweet, wonderful dreams. Dreams where she played with a small boy during the day and danced and shared secrets with a black-and-red hedgehog during the night. They were dreams she'd see come true in the very near future.
The End.