DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SONIC OR ANY OF THE SONIC CHARACTERS IN ANY WAY.

Author's Note: Btw, guys, do I need to write a disclaimer for EVERY chapter? Just something on my mind. Please answer back, && enjoy the next chapter!

The Stepbrother

Sonic and Tails reached the house, walked in and shut the door.

Sonic threw both of his shoes off to the side recklessly, and Tails carefully placed his own shoes side by side, neatly, next to the front door. Sonic saw this and shook his head at his little brother.

'What a wuss.' He thought. 'He's gotta lighten up.'

Tails grinned proudly at his tidiness and walked up beside Sonic. He soon regretted this because of what happened next.

"MOM! I'M HOME AND TAILS IS WITH ME!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, unconscious of the fact that Tails was right next to him, and probably close to losing his mind. Meanwhile, Sonic's mom came from down the hall, out of her room, and immediately began to glare at Sonic.

"What have I told you about yelling in this house?" Bernadette reprimanded. "And was it sooo hard for you to just come and get me, instead? Hmm?

"Guess I didn't feel like walking." Was the blue hedgehog's reply.

Bernadette rubbed her temples and tried to remember where she had put the aspirin she took from the morning spat she had with her son. She loved her son, dearly, but was it so hard for him to behave?

"Well, I want you to go shower and make sure you're clean. Jules and Shadow will be here in about five minutes."

Sonic huffed and began to trudge off, assuring Tails he would be out in a minute.

"Oh, but Sonic . . . ?" Bernadette called.

"Yea, mom?"

". . . fix your sneakers, first."

Sonic huffed again and, lazily, went to fix his sneakers. Then once again, he walked off in the direction of the bathroom that was in his bedroom. Bernadette also let out a sigh before she turned to Tails and smiled. "Hello, Miles!"

"Hi, Mrs. Hedgehog." Tails greeted back. He preferred the name Tails over Miles, but as far as he was concerned, he didn't have a problem with Sonic's mother calling him that.

"So, did Sonic drag you over here and complain about today's upcoming events?" She asked, knowing that her son had already complained to Tails about Jules and his son.

"Well, actually, I decided to come. And Sonic did complain about today's events. Ha-ha!" He explained. "But I want to meet Jules and Shadow, today. Sonic makes them out to be a hindrance, but as much as I love him, (no homo) I decided I would figure that out for myself."

Bernadette smiled at this. "Well, that's good. I'm glad you choose to find things out for yourself instead of letting others make decisions for you." She said. "And I know you'll like the two of them just like I know that Sonic will."

And with that, she walked off to fix up the last few pieces of the house before the arrival of the visitors. And as she walked off, she thought, 'No homo? What does that mean?'

~.~.~

As the minutes flew by, Sonic still remained in the shower, scrubbing and washing unconsciously. He wasn't unconscious of the fact that he was showering; he was unconscious of the fact that he was still in the shower fifteen minutes after he had first gotten in. The blue hedgehog hated water, but a shower was fine. He didn't like huge bodies of it, such as oceans or pools. He didn't even really like taking baths much unless he felt he needed it to relax.

While Sonic was in the shower, he was thinking about Jules and Shadow, again.

'I wonder what my mom sees in Jules. What's so special about him that he has to come and ruin our family?' He thought. 'And why does he have to bring his deadbeat son along? I know he's gonna be trouble. I can feel it!'

Sonic rinsed himself off and closed his eyes as he allowed the water droplets to freely hit and slide down his face.

'I wonder when they're gonna be here. Mom said they'd be here in five . . .' Sonic stopped his movements for a brief moment before he realized just how long he was in the shower.

"Shoot!" He said to himself. "I was s'posed to be out like ten minutes ago."

He tried to hurriedly dry himself off, but his actions were futile. He, then, came up with the idea that he would sneak out the front door, and dry himself off with a quick 10-second run. 'I just hope they're not here, yet.' He thought to himself.

Sonic grabbed his towel, swung it over his shoulders, and reached for the bathroom doorknob. He turned the knob and walked out of his bathroom and into his actual room. He enjoyed having a bathroom in his bedroom because it was convenient for him to get up in the middle of the night. Another luxury of his bedroom-bathroom was that he would always, always, ALWAYS have privacy, right?

. . . wrong!

As Sonic took a few steps toward the front of his bed where the bedroom door was, he somehow didn't notice a black figure walking toward him, or to where the bathroom was. And when the two collided, Sonic was the first to open his mouth.

"Hey, Tails. You should watch where you're . . . "Sonic left his statement unfinished as he began to look up at what was in front of him.

In front of the startled azure hedgie stood another hedgehog, except this one was black with red streaks laying here and there on his body. He had gold rings around his wrists, and he wore the sneaker/skates that Sonic saw every so often on those tv commercials. They looked nice up close, Sonic had to admit. The black hedgehog had a white tuft of fur on his chest, and his quills were much like Sonic's; but, all of Sonic's quills were flipped over. A few of this hedgehog's were flipped under. When Sonic looked up into the eyes of the stranger, he also had to admit that they were the most beautiful ruby eyes he had ever seen. But, he almost didn't notice how nice his eyes were because he was so focused on the stranger's mean-looking expression. He was scowling and looking as if he was filled with pure hatred. And he almost startled Sonic, again, when he opened his mouth to talk.

"First of all . . . my name is not Tails, it's Shadow. And secondly . . . I think it'd do you some good if you watch where you're going, first." He stated.

Sonic's eyes widened for a brief second. 'Shadow . . . Shadow . . . where have I heard that name before?' Sonic wrestled with his mind to remember the answer. But as he was thinking, he didn't realize he was still staring in the eyes of the black hedgehog.

"Take a picture, idiot." The onyx hedgie exclaimed. "It should last longer."

Sonic slightly jumped, unconscious that he was staring hard at the hedgehog in front of him. Sonic's facial expression turned to that of annoyance and he opened his mouth to retort. But, the black hedgehog roughly pushed him to the side, and began walking toward Sonic's bathroom.

His bathroom. His bathroom?

'MY BATHROOM?' Sonic thought. He quickly stepped in the way of Shadow's path. "And just where do you think you're goin?" Sonic asked, questioningly.

Shadow looked even meaner than he had a few seconds ago, if Sonic thought that was possible.

"What does it look like, moron? I'm about to use the bathroom. Now, move out of my way." Once again, Shadow pushed Sonic, nearly knocking him into his own dresser. Using his speed, Sonic jumped in front of the black hedgehog and stood a few feet in front of the bathroom door with his arms spread out.

"Well, you can't use my bathroom!"

"Who are you to tell me what I can and can't do?" Shadow asked angrily.

Sonic stood his ground regardless. "It's my bathroom, and it's my bedroom. So, whatever I say goes in here! And I'm saying get the hell outta my room!"

'Shadow . . . Shadow . . . Shadow . . .' Sonic still tried to remember but it was a failing effort.

Shadow opened his mouth to tell off the azure hedgehog, but he thought against it. And then, the corner of his mouth turned slightly upward into a smirk. He began to inch very slowly closer to Sonic. Sonic noticed his opponent moving closer to him, so he nervously began to back up toward the bathroom door. Shadow continued to move forward and Sonic continued to move back until his back came in contact with the door. But, Shadow kept advancing, the smirk evidently remaining on his face. He got closer and closer and closer until he and Sonic were just a few centimeters apart. Sonic's glowing, bright emerald eyes came in contact with Shadow's glittering ruby ones. Shadow placed one hand on the wall as close to Sonic as possible. The other hand moved slowly to Sonic's cheek, caressing it softly. Sonic jumped slightly and startled at the touch of Shadow's warm hand.

'W-what is h-he d-doing?' Sonic thought, unable to keep his mind at ease. He was trapped not only by Shadow's body, but by his gaze as well. Sonic nervously licked his dry lips. Shadow's eyes caught the blue hedgie's wet tongue dart out of his mouth, and his eyes followed it until he returned back to the owner's mouth. Shadow chuckled lightly and it made Sonic uneasy. And then suddenly, Shadow began to lean his head closer to Sonic's. Sonic's eyes widened and he became scared of what he thought was about to happen next. He opened his mouth a little to protest against the black hedgehog, but the words just wouldn't come out. Shadow got closer and closer until his warm breath was just lingering on Sonic's lips. And then, just when Sonic thought the worst was about to happen, Shadow leaned past Sonic's lips and to his ear. His warm breath tickled another part of Sonic's body and Sonic shivered at this warmth.

Shadow chuckled again at this. He kind of liked the feeling that was emitting from his captive. And just as Sonic was wondering what would happen next, Shadow opened his mouth and whispered to Sonic.

"Make me, bitch."

Sonic's face slowly turned from frightened to confused all at once.

"H-h-huh?" Sonic stuttered.

Shadow pulled back to look at Sonic's face. "I said make me . . . bitch." He smirked.

At first, Sonic didn't know what Shadow was talking about. After Shadow scared Sonic with his little performance, Sonic's memory became a bit hazy. But then, it hit him. He remembered why Shadow gave him such a response.

*Flashback*

"And just where do you think you're goin?" Sonic asked, questioningly.

"What does it look like, moron? I'm about to use the bathroom. Now, move out of my way." Once again, Shadow pushed Sonic, nearly knocking him into his own dresser. Using his speed, Sonic jumped in front of the black hedgehog and stood a few feet in front of the bathroom door with his arms spread out.

"Well, you can't use my bathroom!"

"Who are you to tell me what I can and can't do?" Shadow asked angrily.

"It's my bathroom, and it's my bedroom. So, whatever I say goes in here! And I'm saying get the hell outta my room!"

*End Flashback*

And that was when Sonic's face turned from confused to furious. "Bitch?"

"That's what I said, isn't it?"

Sonic couldn't take it with this guy, anymore. He lost all control and tackled him to the floor. There was a loud THUD that could be heard from anywhere around the house. Bernadette, Jules, and Tails popped up from their spots in the living room, and they ran to Sonic's room to see what was going on. When Bernadette threw the door open, she gasped at what she saw. Shadow was laying out on the floor while Sonic was straddling his hips. The whole scene would've looked a bit suggestive if Sonic didn't have his fist in the air looking like he was about to punch the daylights out of Shadow.

"SONIC! What are you doing on Shadow?" Bernadette yelled. "Get off of him! Is this anyway to treat your stepbrother?"

. . . stepbrother? Shadow? Sonic's eyes widened as he finally realized.

'This BASTARD'S my STEPBROTHER?' Sonic thought. Just because he solved the mystery that was eating at him a few minutes ago, didn't mean he was any less angry as his 'stepbrother'. Shadow was ignorant to Sonic and that wasn't something that Sonic was going to easily forgive.

"But mom, he . . . "

"I don't wanna hear about it, Sonic. Now, get off of him."

Sonic turned from his mother to glare down at Shadow. Shadow was still smirking at Sonic in a taunting manner. Sonic pulled up and got off of Shadow, annoyed.

"Now," Jules added. "You two need to learn to get along with one another. If we're gonna be a family, you two can't constantly be arguing with each other."

'Who said anything about us being a family, anyway!' Sonic thought.

"Jules is right. So, keep it together, Sonic. And behave yourself."

She took Shadow's side. Sonic's own mother took Shadow's side. Wasn't she supposed to be on her son's side? Her real son's side? She didn't even give Sonic time to talk!

As Jules and Bernadette walked out of the room, Tails started to follow them. But then, he turned around to look at the blue hedgie.

"Coming, Sonic?" He asked.

Sonic nodded his head and Tails walked out the door. Just as Sonic was about to walk out of the room, Sonic's older stepbrother grabbed him by the arm and, inconspicuously but roughly, slammed Sonic into the wall beside the bedroom entrance. This went unnoticed by Jules, Bernadette, and Tails who were already out of the room. Shadow leaned down to Sonic's ear like before and whispered.

"Terrible how your own mom didn't hear you out, huh?" He whispered. "He-he! I just arrived at this house a mere half hour ago and she already likes me more than you."

Sonic became even more angry at hearing Shadow. He knew what Shadow was saying wasn't true. He just knew it. But, he was beginning to doubt.

"It's okay, though." Shadow continued to whisper. "Everyone falls in love with sooner or later. Even you will. I already know how much you enjoyed straddling me a minute ago." Sonic's face heated up and he blushed a bright red color. Shadow's chuckle at Sonic's immediate reaction made Sonic shiver, and Shadow proceeded to join the others in the living room.

'I enjoyed straddling him? Yeah right! I wasn't even straddling that jackass!' Sonic thought, angrily.

Sonic calmed himself down really quick, took a deep breath, and walked out of his room to join everyone in the living room, also.

He could already tell that he was going to have a hard time dealing with his new 'brother'.