Hello! I'm alive, who knew? Sorry I haven't updated for ages, took me ages to write this one till one day I just felt like writing and it got finished :) But I hope to keep you entertained with this little snippet.! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: In initial chapter :/

It is a strange thing for someone who is accustomed to their own company to suddenly have almost constant accompaniment. Like a solo guitar - 'rocking out' and minding his own business but is suddenly joined by the unsolicited chiming of an electric triangle.

So it was, complete with crimped frown, the ultimate lifeforms found his bewildered self balancing his chin on the protruding knuckles of his right fist. The other hand hung between his knees, looking up at the right elbow digging into the corresponding knee in jealousy. Shadow loved his couch. It's deep maroon colour greedily absorbing light to the point that it was often mistaken for black. As his small jagged form sunk further into the cushions an even smaller form gave a rather loud sniff, which caused the former to be jerked out of his musings.

With a throaty sigh that racked his uvula, Shadow deepened his frown. The Ultimate Lifeform smacked open his lips as if to speak. At the noise burning emerald eyes bore into his own. Shadow could feel the beginnings of his lip drawing back and his left brow rising, but chose to school his features into an expression that gave out nothing but took in everything.

The piercing glare the other bestowed him with was beginning to irk him. The child's face was like thunder and, while it was quite humorous on a chubby little face with one wobbly tooth, it was not a fitting expression to be worn by one so young.

He'd sharp fix that.

Raising his chiselled jaw higher, blocking his view of the other and allowing him to casually gaze to the left side of the room (as bland as it was), he began to speak. Addressing the other in such a manner that the child on the floor wondered if Shadow was talking to him or if Shadow was talking to Shadow.

"I must admit I am mildly impressed. You've sat statue still, cross legged on my living room floor glaring at me, since we arrived at my apartment. I find it to be a great feat considering you have the attention span of a Gnat."

The elder hedgehog sneaked a peek at the blue hedgehog. Seems wasn't going to give into his goading and talk. Yet.

"And another thing that amazes me. The silence. Usually I can't get you to shut up!"

Sonic was grinding his jaw from side to side. "You want me to talk then?" It took a lot for that sentence to come out sounding like it hadn't been shredded into word mince on the way through his gritted teeth.

"Oh, I didn't say that." The smirk was getting harder to hide. His lips kept quivering, in an attempt to release the smuggest grin Shadow had in his repertoire, until he reigned them in.

Sonic was reduced to feral growling at that.

It took a a little while, both mammals marinating in the atmosphere they each had a hand in seasoning, but one eventually caved.

"I don't want to be here."

Feeling his eyebrows raise, Shadow looked to Sonic with a more neutral expression. Not that the blue hoglet would notice, his eyes were fixed firmly on the cream carpet just in front of his socked feet.

In all honesty, the child needn't have told the government agent. Not because his training allowed him special insight into Sonics psyche, but because of the ordeal that was- Shadow getting his new charge (Sonic) from point A (the Work Shop) to point B (Shadows Apartment).

Though the Ultimate Lifeform wouldn't pronounce it to the world, he didn't believe that any of the intense and highly diverse training he received while on ARK or Earth could have prepared him for the natural disaster that was Sonic the Hedgehog (albeit in miniature).

Up to the point that Sonic no longer though there was even a small hope of Tails hearing his desperate pleas, the hedgehogs 'struggles' had been a minor inconvenience as far as The Ultimate Lifeform was concerned. Other than begging for forgiveness for whatever personal crime the world hero felt he may have committed that had caused the fox to agree to such a fate for his resized brother and making insane and unreasonable promises (like renovating the Work Shop by giving it solid walls of mint candy, though Tails seriously considered this idea for a moment) in the hopes of bribing his way out, the only real fight the hedgehog put up was clinging to every protruding piece of wood he could get his stubby paws onto. At age 4, apparently Sonic hadn't mastered full control of both mind and body. As such, he protracted and retracted his claws against his own will, resulting in his weakened grip often loosening to the point that the larger male merely had to shift their position to unhook the boy.

Yes, it had all been a walk in the park. Till they were (in Sonic's mind) out of the foxes earshot.

Shadow was pleasantly surprised as the screaming stopped and the hedgehog found that his legs were for walking not just dead weights. He still trudged behind him, but thanks to the iron grip around his lower forearm was still heading in the right direction. After a couple of minutes the poorly masked sniffling stopped and Shadow felt an urge to cheer.

That feeling quickly retreated with it's tail between it's legs.

Left arm jerking back, Shadow began to turn confusedly to his plus one.

Sonic had wallowed long enough. Determined expression dried onto his face, he straightened his legs out in front of himself and pulled back. Kicking the heel of a rather expensive looking pair of Hovershoes in the process.

Irked, the adult pivoted intending use his right arm to grab and pick the other up once more. The change of balance in his captor gave the boy the leeway necessary to twist his body and kick the other bluntly in the knee. The red and black joint slightly buckled, the right arm released it's peachy captive but the left stayed clamped. Sonic, now swinging in the air by one arm, squeaked in protest as he clawed at the large white glove keeping his elbow straight. Thankful for his special issue extreme durable gloves, the black mobian began to bring the other closer to himself. Right arm avoiding blue legs that flailed blindly, their owner too focused on his arm to give his legs true purpose, to snake around the others torso.

Sonic gasped as his sensitive underbelly registered that something had looped around it. His quills even stiffer than they had been, head jerking from side to side and arms now attempting to push his body up. Being restrained against the others brick wall torso resulted in less room to manoeuvre and thus less power fuelling the little hedgehogs strikes.

Carrying and dragging the squirming hoglet had been considerably harder than telling him to 'PIPE DOWN, YOU'RE GIVING ME A HEADACHE!'. It got worse each time he had to adjust his hold lest the rioting child slip and fall from his grasp. This clumsy shift in limbs gave many an opportunity for a sneaky bite. Sonic was never one to pass up an opportunity.

If Shadow had expected his unwilling traveller to relent as time passed and his energy fled, he was soon proven wrong. Practically throwing the ball of quills into the darkened hallway, dashing in and using his foot to keep the charging boy at bay, he locked the door.

Sonic still made a beeline for said door and Shadow was happy to leave him to it. Only after pounding on the treated wood and screaming through the keyhole, had Sonic taken his seat in front of the most prestigious and unpredictable agent in the land (well next to rouge).

"I don't suppose you do." Was Shadows only response to Sonic's point out the obvious statement.

Well there you have it! I hope you enjoyed and pleeeeeaaaaaase review! Will you review if I bribe you with a mint candy house? Not that we say candy where I am but whatever! I like to think that Shadow enjoys teasing Sonic as much as he gets annoyed by him ;) If you agree or feel differently let me know!

I promise to knuckle down and get to work on Hedgehog Pie's new chapter! So keep an eye out for that. Also way too many exclamation marks in my comments... I'll work on that.

Take care till next time pallywags :)

Bletherskite