The following April, Shadow found himself being squeezed into a white tuxedo. At age 19, Chris had proposed to Helen and, of course, the hedgehog couple had been invited to the festivities. Chris was tied to a lot of money through his folks, and it definitely showed up in the glamorous wedding. A large church had been rented out for the event, and over 500 guests arrived from points on Earth and Mobius.
"Does Chris even know half the people here?" Shadow asked while fighting the tie Sara was putting on him.
"Nope. A lot of them are her mom and dad's connections," Sara replied patiently, attempting to redo the tie. Shadow grunted stiffly, resenting having his quills lashed down to accommodate the suit. "Aww come on, you know his Mobian friends are on the honored list."
"Easy for you to say, you're one of the bridesmaids...and you don't have your quills squished against your back for a damn suit!" He growled lightly, only to receive a small kiss on his cheek.
"It won't be for long." She smiled softly at him. "Amy told me she was thinking of making Sonic go through a wedding."
"Nnngg... What for? They're mates already."
"She thinks the whole marriage thing is romantic." Sara's hands took Shadow's and her eyes fell on the twin friendship bracelets they wore. It was the closest they had to a wedding ring; they'd exchanged no vows, but the bond was there from the moment they'd become mates.
"You don't want that, do you?" Shadow became a bit worried at the train of thought. This was already a bigger deal than he wanted it to be, and he didn't think they could afford something nearly this elaborate.
"Hmmm... Well, maybe not this big." She smiled softly. "Come on, let's go take our places." Sara turned around and Shadow got a good look at her in the bridesmaid dress. It was a silky gown in pale yellow, which trailed slightly behind her. Her back was bare, with the fabric forming a V down to the small of her back that was held together with white lace straps. The lace and sequins accented her beautiful sky blue form, and he couldn't help feeling a bit awestruck at her beauty.
The wedding ceremony was a lovely one with typical church organs blaring. Sonic had been passed over for best man in favor of Chris' human friend Danny, but the Mobians invited had front row seating to the event. Blitz got to be the ring bearer while Maria made a darling flower girl. She very happily scattered the white rose petals on the floor.
Chris himself had his wild hair tamed down for the event and looked very good in his black tuxedo. Helen was absolutely radiant in her wedding dress. Even if she had to be rolled down the isle by her father, she was a perfect blushing bride, and Chris absolutely could not take his eyes off her.
Touching vows were exchanged as the host of people watched in rapt attention. Amy and Sara were on the edges of their seats, swooning to the lovely words. The promises of forever, of love in all conditions were the promises Mobians made in secret. Sonic and Shadow could tell from their mates' reactions that this public exchange of love was something they desired, and the two felt their quills pinching a bit tighter against their restraints.
The wedding reception was where the guys were allowed to cut loose a bit more and the guests split off into more familiar groups. Tails had come to the wedding on the arm of a beautiful vixen named Fiona; apparently she had distracted him from his scientific studies. Knuckles had finally settled down with his sweetheart Julie-su, and from the looks of her bulging belly, they'd be expecting a little one in the near future.
"Thank you all so much for coming." Chris said as he finally made his way to his preferred guests.
"Not a problem!" Sonic smiled.
"Nice to see we're not the only ones coupled off." The human smiled at the Mobian pairs who'd come along.
"Yeah, about time, don't you think?" Julie-su said with a hint of annoyance at Knuckles.
The red echidna blushed deeply at that. "Hey, I was just waiting for the right timing!"
"Well it looks like you wasted no time," Sara commented, smiling at the bulging tummy.
"Yeah. I'd like to have a couple kids, if he's up to it." The pink echidna smiled fondly.
"How many do you want?" Sara turned to Helen now, who blushed a bit.
"Aahh! We haven't even been on our honeymoon and you're asking that? Well...three maybe," The bride replied with a laugh.
All the talk about babies had Shadow feeling a bit uncomfortable. He glanced down at the cluster of kids next to them. Maria was fiddling with the hem of her dress while Blitz was vocally begging for more food. Rift had been surprisingly quiet but the bluish-purple hedgehog stayed at his brother's side. "...So where are you going?" Shadow asked.
"Huh? Oh...we're going to Japan." Chris smiled, "It should be a lot of fun, we're going to tour the Hokkaido region."
"Ahh! I heard it's lovely there! Would you bring me back some materials?" Sara smiled. She still had her fascination with all things Japanese.
"Sure sure, and a pretty Kimono for Amy I'm sure." the young human smiled.
Everyone in attendance had a good time at the reception. There were plenty of moments caught on film, such as Helen smashing a piece of cake into her new husband's face. Sonic had enjoyed getting back together with his Mobian friends who'd stayed on Mobius, and the kids were happy to meet their parents' friends and relations. Sam Speed, or rather Trace Beat, managed to entertain the kids with his bad jokes for a while. Cake was passed around, and the food and music continued into the wee hours of the dawn. The hedgehog families eventually bade the newlyweds farewell and had to carry sleeping children home from the party.
Summer rolled around hot and heavy as it had the year before. Shadow felt like a change of scenery would be good, so Sara and Maria packed up for a camping trip to Mobius. Boulder Bay was east of Knothole and the chosen location for the getaway. Hidden among the pine and spruce leaves, it also offered shelter from the generally intense heat. The bay's being so close also offered a watery escape.
"You missed Mobius, didn't you?" Shadow said softly while attempting to assemble their tent.
"Yeah. I think it's good for Maria to see where mommy came from." Sara went about clearing up the camp site and setting up a place for the fire later.
Maria busied herself at collecting twigs and sticks and set them in a pile. "Oooh! Snake!"
Shadow and Sara turned to her immediately to find her poking at a garter snake. Shadow grinned a bit and knelt next to her. "I thought you didn't like snakes."
"Snakes at the zoo were really big," Maria replied, trying to grab the snake.
Shadow picked it up and the small snake slithered along his hand. "This kind eats mostly bugs...it's smooth, not slimy, see?"
Maria nodded. "This is Mobius?"
"Yep." Shadow gave her a light hug and then went back to assembling the tent.
The outdoor setting was perfect for Maria to show off her speed. While Shadow had plenty of opportunities to run about, the apartment wasn't a good place for the girl to speed off. For the first time in what seemed like ages, Sara had a good chance to see her mate and child run free. The two of them chased each other through the woods, weaving in and out of the trees effortlessly. Maria seemed to have picked up on her father's speed, and the special shoes he'd had made for her allowed her to glide along just like he did.
At night, s'mores were toasted over the camp fire and ghost stories were told. It was a gorgeous starry night out, and Shadow related a few stories of his time on the Ark. Maria enjoyed hearing stories and soon drifted off to sleep.
Shadow gently moved their daughter into the kiddie tent and into her own sleeping bag, tucking her in carefully. He then backed out of the kiddie tent and headed to the one he'd set up for himself and Sara. She was kneeling at the tent's entrance after he slipped inside. "Hmm?"
"It was nice watching you two run today," Sara said gently.
"Hmm?"
She slipped into the tent and sat next to him, leaving the flap open enough that they could see the stars through the treetops. "I don't get to see you in action much."
"Oh…. I could take you for a run sometime," Shadow replied, placing an arm around her.
"I'd like that," she replied and leaned against him.
"...So what would make this trip perfect?" He lay back and pulled Sara with him in his arms.
"Perfect? I thought things were perfect." Sara smiled softly and lay against him. "Just you, me, and Maria."
"Yeah, and I know you want another one," he said softly in her ear.
Sara's expression wavered momentarily. "Oh...well...it's not that important.."
"Yeah right. Everybody's popping babies left and right...Knuckles and Julie-su…I think Tails and Fiona are expecting...don't think I haven't heard about Rouge. Heck, even Helen's pregnant now." Shadow's tone was surprisingly firm. She remained quiet, hearing him out. "You've been wanting one since Amy was pregnant with Rift." She felt his hand trace along her soft belly.
"Why bring it up now?" she asked softly.
"I was doing some research...they say a relaxing environment can help...stimulate things," he whispered back to her.
Sara's ears perked up. "Ahh...you mean you had more than one reason for this trip?" She blushed.
"What do you think?" He nuzzled her gently and enveloped the two of them in their extra large sleeping bag.