If Shadow was expecting to be compensated in bed that night, he was sorely mistaken. In spite of her being in particularly good spirits, she played the almighty "I'm tired" card. Shadow's objections were quickly nulled by Maria's crying in the room next to them. She'd been rather wound up for the day, so just getting her to bed was a particularly challenging task that night.
Once again, Shadow awoke to an empty spot on the bed next to him. He hadn't had much sense of humor over Chuck's visit to begin with and was very much blaming him for loss of quality time with his mate. This time, there was no note, but Shadow's nose picked up the scent of a particularly appetizing breakfast.
Drawn out of bed by the smell, he made his way to the kitchenette, finding Sara busy at work over a skillet. A cup of decaf was at her side as usual; he grinned at that. He didn't say anything as he stood behind her, listening to her hum as she cooked. He had better sense than a housecat, though, and stayed a couple of steps behind her, should she suddenly back up at any point. She caught onto his presence in a silent exchange, and eventually backed up against him while holding a spatula in one hand and skillet in the other. "Ohayou, Shadou-kun."
Shadow put his arms around her middle, steadying her, as she'd relied on his being there to keep her balance. "Morning, Sara." He licked her behind the ears, both as a gentle kiss and to reinforce his scent claim on her.
"Mmm...I made your favorite." She flipped the pancake resting in the pan and put it back over the burner.
For the first time, Shadow noticed what she was actually working on. Pancakes, cut up slices of banana, pecans, honey...vanilla cream cheese. "Aren't those a little sweet for breakfast?"
Sara pouted a bit. "I just wanted to... for the other day..."
Realization dawned in Shadow that this was a makeup breakfast. His mind quickly searched for a way to smooth things over. "No, no...it's okay." He couldn't bring himself to say he didn't mind; yesterday was his last day off for a while. "It smells great."
Sara brightened and set the pancake on a plate before starting the next one. "I'll be all done in about fifteen minutes."
Even with Chuck there, breakfast went smoothly enough. All too soon for Shadow's taste, he was kissing Sara goodbye for the day. It felt a bit weird displaying affection to her in front of his father-in-law, but he was not about to be denied the little things to which he'd become accustomed.
The rest of the week went by much the same. Shadow had trouble keeping Sara's attention fixed on him for long before either Maria or Chuck would draw her away. Maria was another thing...Since Chuck was home more than him that week, he'd started responding to her cries, and he found her by her crib even in the evenings when it was Shadow's turn to check on her.
On his lunch breaks, Shadow visited the library and started studying books on poetry. While some of the books were actual poetry books, more of them were commentaries on poetry and what they meant. If Sara was broadcasting some kind of subliminal poetry to him, as Tanaka suggested, then he wanted to understand what the hell she was trying to say to him. Just like dating and relationships, everybody had something different to say about poetry and nobody seemed to agree on a damn thing.
While Sara was taking care of Maria one night, Shadow sat at a desk in their room, looking at the screen of their home computer. Shadow didn't use it very much, but tonight he was doing something that was considered taboo to the two of them. He was sifting through Sara's personal files. An agreement had been set between them that they wouldn't go through each other's stuff without the other present, but there was something specific he was looking for.
Skimming over her art portfolio, he realized she really was a quite talented artist. He smiled at a picture she'd drawn him for Valentine's Day. He knew Chuck would probably have strongly objected to its contents, but it made Shadow smile. He then started digging in her writing folder. A lot of the writing projects had been abandoned or put off some time ago. She kept an online journal that was public, but the private one sitting on the PC in that word folder...that was starting to tempt him. What he was really looking for, though, was a collection of poems she was writing.
File found, he glanced at the door, which was cracked open. His ears strained for noises on the other side. The TV was on and she was chatting with her father. He couldn't tell if Maria was with them, but she was quiet for now. He turned back to the PC and started printing out the pages. For some reason he felt like a thief, an urgency growing with his thirst for hidden knowledge, the crack in the door threatening to open wide and reveal his secrets.
It wasn't like he was viewing Internet porn or anything; he was just printing out a few pages. But even so, he felt the need to cover his tracks. He opened up several files in the word program which were in his personal files, and then closed them one after another. He did the same in the drawing program he'd used to browse Sara's art on. He even cleared the Internet history and emptied the recycle bin. Now there would be no trace that he'd done anything wrong on the PC.
"Shadow?" Sara called from the doorway, just as his hands fell on the small stack of papers printed out next to him. "You're still up?"
"Yeah," he replied, drawing back the papers as casually as possible.
"Whatcha doing?" She walked over to him, Maria cradled in her arms gently.
"Looking through some old files," he said honestly. "I just printed out something for a project I'm working on."
She rested her chin on his head just behind his right ear. "Mmm...all right." She nuzzled him behind the ear lightly. "I'm going to put Maria to bed, then I'll be right with you."
Shadow waited for her to leave the room even before he breathed again. What was it about her that made him feel so...awkward? He put the pages into a folder he used sometimes for work and shut down the PC. His right ear twitched lightly. Maybe, if he wasn't reading her wrong, she was about to make him very happy tonight. Hopes raised, he bounded off to bed in hopeful anticipation.
Amy came over with Blitz a couple weeks later. It was an off day for Shadow, and while he would've liked to have spent some time alone with Sara, Charles' intrusion on his life was starting to teach him he couldn't always have it his way. Chuck was at the Thorndykes', however, for which Shadow was grateful.
"Hi, Amy! How's Sonic doing?" Sara asked, with Maria clinging to her side, balanced on her hip.
"Oh he's good. Tony's making him work today since someone called off." She sighed in an exaggerated way. Blitz was balanced on her hip in similar fashion.
"I'm just fine, thanks for asking," Shadow said dryly at Sara's side.
Amy blushed a bit, realizing she hadn't included him. "Oh hi, Shadow, I...didn't see you there."
He shrugged. "How long are you staying?"
"Umm..." Amy glanced at Sara, who gave a slightly annoyed look at Shadow.
"Come on in, Amy, you can stay as long as you want." Sara smiled.
Shadow decided to go out for a run while the girls were together. It was still a good way to relieve stress for him, another reason he rather enjoyed his job. While running, he passed Sonic a few times. The rival sparring was always on hold when one of them was on the clock, but he wondered how his relationship compared to the Blue Blur's.
As far as Shadow knew, neither of their parents were either around or cared to visit, so that right there put him in a position where he had a better chance at physical relations. Amy was also extremely clingy and affectionate. He'd noted the pink pincushion clinging to Sonic every time they were together. Even at the Thorndykes', he recalled Amy leaning up against Sonic at every possible opportunity. While not very outwardly affectionate, especially in public, Shadow found his possessive streak seemed to silently demand attention at a moment's notice.
Upon returning home, Shadow entered the apartment very quietly. Amy was still there, and the two were seated on the living room floor, each with cooing babies perched in their laps. As Shadow hadn't drawn their attention yet, he stayed out of sight by the closet and listened in.
"So how's Shadow adjusting to having your dad around?" Amy asked nonchalantly. Blitz was trying to squirm out of her lap. He was still not able to crawl, but he was very anxious to give it a try. Maria seemed to pick up on this and mirror his attempts.
"Ohh...well as can be expected I guess." Sara chuckled and held Maria back gently.
"Nnn... Actually I don't know what to expect from him." She gently set Blitz on the floor. The anxious babe managed to flip himself from his back to his tummy pretty quickly, but the concept of forward momentum seemed to escape him.
"Eh? What's that supposed to mean?" Sara lay Maria down next to him, and she proceeded to practice curling into a spiny ball. Her quills were anything but hard still, so she didn't discourage the action. Blitz quickly copied her.
"Well..." Amy paused:It's just...I can't imagine..." she started, "well, I can't see Shadow being very affectionate."
Sara burst out laughing, "Amy? Weren't you the one who defended him after that horrible first meeting on Mobius?"
"I know, I know!" Amy ran her fingers through her quills. "But still, I mean...none of us really know Shadow very well, and he's never been very...social, so I just want to know...you know, that I didn't make a mistake getting you two together."
Sara's ears twitched lightly. "No, I don't think so." She gingerly slipped her fingers between Maria's quills, knowing exactly how not to get poked, and tickled the babe, causing her to uncurl immediately in a fit of laughter.
"So what is he like?" Amy watched Blitz uncoil enough to see Maria giggling next to him with some measure of jealousy.
"Shadow? Well…." She turned her assault on Blitz as well, having both hedgebabies paralyzed with laughter. "He's actually very physical in private," she began. "Not very talkative, but I've gotten used to that."
"Very physical?" Amy grinned. "Ooooh?"
Sara laughed a bit, "Yes, yes, really." She leaned in and nuzzled both babies. "Aww aren't you so cute??"
"Come on!" Amy continued, "You can't just leave it at that, I have to know more."
"Ahh...and what about Sonic? Isn't he physical enough for you?" Sara sat back up, drawing Maria into her arms and stroking her gently to calm her.
The pink one blushed, "Well... actually he's not as...well I mean, he..." She twitched an ear lightly while she thought about it. "I'm usually the instigator as far as affection goes." She picked Blitz up and attempted to calm him, though he was distinctly more restless than Maria. "Ahh! But once Sonic gets started he's hard to stop."
Sara chuckled again. "Shadow is a bit...insistent." Sara shrugged, "But I kind of like that. He lets me know he needs me." A warm smile drew on her face. "Even though he doesn't say it, I see it in his eyes all the time." Her voice soft and filled with pride. "I know it seems like he spaces out sometimes, but he's just thinking... He's surprisingly thoughtful. I love him," she said with finality to it.
"Aww...now I'm jealous!" Amy shook her head.
Sara laughed lightly, "I'm sure Sonic needs you too. It's just, you and Shadow are alike." She laughed again at Amy's face. Even Shadow did a double take at that, as if he hadn't heard right. "Well, you and Shadow had a lot more to gain or lose by taking a risk on a mate. So, of course, you feel like you need to work hard at keeping it going."
She nodded a bit. "So you're saying, I don't have to worry about it?"
"No...I mean, relationships are a two way street, it's just...you're not the only one walking that path." Maria gave one of her hungry cries. "Ahh, you mind?"
Amy shook her head and Sara unbuttoned her blouse so Maria could feed. "You know, Uncle Chuck's still not sure he's good for you...that's why I'm being so nosey." Shadow didn't like hearing that Daddy Dearest had sent Amy to spy. "Sorry."
"It's okay, he's just being protective." She chuckled. "I wonder what Shadow will be like when Maria's old enough to date?"
"Shadow?" Amy's eyes went wide. "Ohh my, I feel sorry for whoever wants to go out with her!" The two laughed.
Shadow decided he'd heard enough and opened and closed the front door again with far less stealth. "Sara? I'm back…." He walked over to the living room.
"Hi, Shadow!" Amy greeted.
"Hi," he replied with an icy cold stare. A shiver ran through her spine as though her blood had just turned to ice water. Yeah...really friendly guy... He sat next to Sara and Maia, putting an arm around her and resting his head on her shoulder. "Miss me?"
Sara leaned up against Shadow, and Amy had a momentary glimpse of how he was around her. It was as though he had completely blocked Amy's presence from his mind so that only Sara and Maria existed in his sight. "Yeah. Welcome home."