Tails groans, sitting up with a hand to his head. He blinks his eyes open, adjusting to the darkness. The room is dimly lit with torches of teal flame lining the walls. Is he in a dungeon? And from the looks of it, he's in a cell, judging by the metal bars. Wait, where is everyone? He stands up, looking around. “Sonic? Knuckles?” He calls out, hoping that he just can’t see his friends and they’re close by. “Silver? Shadow? Is anyone there?” He listens hard for any sounds, but there is nothing. His ears droop when he realizes that he's alone. Alone in a scary, dark palace dungeon ruled by a scary, dark hedgehog. He sits on the ground again, tails swishing behind him anxiously.

His ears perk up when he hears footsteps drawing close. He gets up and rushes over to the bars, gripping them tightly. “Guys, are you there?” He asks with hope in his voice. The person draws closer, and Tails yelps, falling back to get away from the bars. It was that dark hedgehog! Or at least one of his clones. Tails steals his nerves. “Where’s Sonic?” He questions the clone.

The clone doesn't answer and just stares with an empty look in its eyes. It just stands there, watching him.

Tails shudders in fear but doesn't back down. “What have you done with my friends!?”

The clone just tilts its head at the fox curiously. It starts walking forward, body phasing through the cell bars. Tails yelps, scrambling to get away from the approaching figure. He's back against the wall, body trembling as the clone draws closer. It reaches out its hand to touch him. Before it can make contact, it freezes. Its arm falls as it turns to stare in the direction from which it had appeared.

Fast footsteps approach. “Tails!” It was Sonic! He was okay!

“Sonic! Hey!” Tails calls back.

In the back of the fox’s mind, he realizes the clone has disappeared. He runs up to meet his brother. They embrace each other through the cell bars.

“I'm so glad you're alright,” Sonic says, sounding relieved.

Tails pulls back, giving the hedgehog a once-over. “Me? What about you?! You're being enslaved by a psychopath!” He wails, gesticulating wildly.

“I would say I am more in line with being a sociopath if anything.” A voice says from the darkness. Mephiles steps into the light, a steely glare in his eyes. 

“It's you!” Tails startles, backing away from the bars again. He opens his mouth to say something to Sonic when he sees the hedgehog with his head bowed. “Sonic?” He questions in a small voice.

Sonic doesn't meet the fox’s eyes, a look of despair on his face. He doesn't respond, his hand letting go of the cell bars.

Mephiles’ eyes gleam as he pulls on the leash, pulling Sonic to his side. He rests a hand on the blue hedgehog’s waist. Sonic clenched his fists, staring hard at the ground.

“You should be grateful, fox.” Mephiles snares, cupping Sonic’s jaw and caressing his cheek with his thumb. He digs his claws in when Sonic tries to pull away. “Because of your companion’s… willing cooperation, I have chosen to spare your pathetic existence.”

Tails bares his teeth, glaring at Mephiles. “You’re lying! Sonic would never do that!” He looks at the blue hedgehog, a look of contempt in his gaze. “Right, Sonic?”

“I’m sorry, Tails.” Sonic squeezes his eyes shut. “I had to. It’s the only way I could make sure you were okay.”

Tails’s pupils shrink to pinpricks. “No, Sonic, you can’t!” His lip quivers. “You shouldn't have to sacrifice yourself for me!” He wails.

Sonic shakes his head. “You don't understand Tails! If I didn't agree, he was going to hurt you. He forced my hand.” He steps forward, as far as the leash will let him go. “I’m doing this to protect you. So please, just let me do this.” There’s a note of determination in his words.

There are tears in Tails’ eyes, but he nods solemnly.

Mephiles rolls his eyes at the brothers’ exchange. “I’ve had enough of this pity party. Time is up, hedgehog. Say goodbye to your little friend.” He tugs on the leash, urging the blue hedgehog to get moving.

Sonic ignores the tugging for a moment, uncaring of his disobedience. He wasn’t going to leave without reassuring Tails first. “Just one last thing. Please.” He pleads with the dark hedgehog.

Mephiles makes a noise of displeasure. “I will allow it.” He concedes. He slackens his grip on the leash, allowing Sonic to go up to the cell bars again.

Tails goes up to him, and Sonic grasps his hand in his, holding it tight. He looks into Tails’ frightened blue eyes. “It will be okay, Tails.” He says, voice low. “I’ll get you out of here. We’ll find the others too. This isn't a goodbye. Just, see you later. Okay?”

Tails wipes his eyes with a sniffle. “See you later.”

“Let’s go.” Mephiles growls, pulling on the leash harshly. Sonic stumbles to his side, barely managing to catch himself.

Tails watches in distress as his brother is taken away from him. “Sonic…” He says, reaching out fruitlessly.

Sonic turns to him, a sad smile that doesn't reach his eyes. He gives Tails a peace sign before he disappears into the darkness.

And just like that, Tails is alone in the dark cell again. He sits, legs pulled up and arms around his knees. His tails flick behind him anxiously.

He believes in Sonic. This isn’t the worst situation they’ve found themselves in, he supposes. They’ll find a way out… hopefully.

Silver sighs, head resting in his hands as he watches Knuckles struggling to get out of his confinement. He's been doing this for the past twenty minutes.

Knuckles has been shackled with reinforced steel to the wall in a sitting position. A muzzle is also over his mouth.

“Would you quit that already?” Silver says in exasperation. He has a pair of irremovable bracelets and a collar around his neck made of reinforced steel. The items make him unable to use his powers.

Knuckles growls with bared teeth, kicking his legs before settling down. His face burns with anger. “That asshole is finished the second I get out of here.”

Silver rolls his eyes. “And how do you propose to do that, genius? I can’t use my powers, and you're locked up tighter than an Alcatraz prisoner! The only way we're getting out of here is if someone comes to rescue us.” He stands up, going up to the cell bars. There isn't much to see in the darkness. “Everyone else was captured too.” He turns to look at Knuckles. “Do you have any other friends on the outside that can be of use?”

Knuckles scoffs and goes silent for a moment. “Not really. Even if they found us, I’m not sure they could free us on their own…”

Silver sighs. “Great…” He slumps against the bars. It seems like Mephiles has thought of everything.

They hear light footsteps approaching. Silver strains his eyes to peer into the darkness, trying to discern who it could be. Though he isn't surprised to see their captor. Or maybe it was a clone?

The figure stares into the cell, just watching them. Definitely a clone. Silver grips the bars of the cell tightly, frustration clear on his face. “Hey!” He shouts out, trying to get the clone’s attention.

The clone, of course, doesn't answer and continues to stare, its gaze piercing. Silver shudders from the intense gaze. He steps back from the bars, moving closer to Knuckles. Definitely not because he's scared, of course not…

The ivory hedgehog points an accusing finger at the clone. “I know you can hear me, Mephiles! I demand to know what you want with us.”

The clone steps closer, grabbing onto the cell bars. It presses its face against the bars, gaze steadfast.

“O… kay?” Silver sits down, seeing as it is useless to try conversing with the clone. It seems more keen on just observing them. The silence is deafening as the clone just watches them intently. Silver scoots closer to Knuckles. Not because he was scared. Course not…

Knuckles, admittedly, is starting to feel a little put off as well. “Is he just… going to watch us the whole time?”

“Probably.” Silver frowns. “Creepy…” He says with a shiver.

Knuckles growls again. “This fucking sucks.” He curses. Silver gives him a sidelong look. “We’re stuck in here while that psycho is off doing who knows what to Sonic. I wouldn't put it past him to be into torture…”

Silver’s eyes widened a bit. “We can’t know that for sure. I mean, what would he even gain from that?”

Knuckles rolls his eyes with a scoff. “Don't be so naive, man. Guys like him don't need a reason to explain their shitty actions. He's evil in every sense of the word. It's a wonder he's even keeping us alive at this point…”

Silver ducks his head, staring at the bracelets around his hands in disdain.
“Right…” He says, his voice quiet.

Knuckles looks at Silver for a moment before letting out a sigh. “Don’t look so dejected. You’re making me feel bad…”

Silver pouts, crossing his arms. “I’m sorry that my being miserable is making you feel bad.” He apologizes sarcastically. He glances at the cell bars again, noticing that the clone is gone. “It’s gone.”

“Good riddens.” Knuckles says. He pulls against the chains again. “We need to find a way out of here.”

Silver looks at him, exasperated. “As I said, how?” He waves a hand around the cell. “Do you see any solutions?”

Knuckles growls. “No. Aren’t you supposed to be smart? You figure it out.”

The hedgehog narrows his eyes. “I don’t know where you got that idea from. Also, why is this just on me? We’re both stuck here!”

“I don’t know! You’re from the future. You should know.” The echidna says with a shrug.

“I know you cannot be that stupid.” Silver growls. “Time travel doesn’t work like that!”

“I am not stupid!”

In a room that looks like it belongs in a science faculty rather than a castle, the only thing occupying the space is a large tank hooked up to a console. Inside the tank filled with neon green liquid is a lone figure, floating in unconsciousness. Another figure of similar stature stands in front of the console, watching in silence. Their eyes scan the figure in the tank, then the console. It reaches out to touch before pausing, hand hovering over a blinking red button. It drops its hand before stepping back from the console.

Mephiles glides into the room. His eyes go to the tank before flicking over to his clone. His eyes narrow in suspicion. “What are you doing here? I did not give you orders to be here. You are dismissed.”

The clone fades into the shadows without a sound.

Mephiles stares at the space the clone was for a moment more before turning away. He approaches the console, resting his hands upon it as he looks at the tank. He chuckles darkly. “How are you finding your accommodations? I pulled this one from your memories. Though this containment is much stronger, so there is no way for you to destroy it.”

The figure in the tank obviously doesn't respond.

Mephiles shakes his head. “You poor, foolish hedgehog…” He moves away from the console to pace. “If only you agreed to join me, you would not have to relive your trauma.” He puts his hands behind his back. “We could have ruled this world together. Had whatever you wanted. Even Sonic. I know how you view him. How you wish to claim him as yours.” He looks at the tank, expression gleeful. “I do not like to share, but I would have made an exception.” He walks up to the tank, placing his hand on the cool glass. “We could have ruined him together. Watched the light leave his eyes as he realized he had lost. But,” he closes his eyes, hand not touching the tank, clenching into a fist. “You decided to throw it all away.” He turns his back to the tank. “A shame, really.” He starts to leave the room, holding his hand up in a wave. “Maybe if you are lucky, I will bring him here and show you what you gave away. Farewell.”

The figure in the tank twitches.

Sonic sits with his knees pulled up to his chest, his cheek resting on his knees. Though the bed was soft, it gave him no comfort.

He was told to sit still while Mephiles attended to something. Even though he knew better than to disobey, there was a clone standing in the corner of the room, watching him with blank eyes. The clone filled him with a different kind of dread than the shadow being himself.

He had tried talking to the clone to no avail. The being did not respond. That just made it more obvious that it was a fake. At least Mephiles would respond, though usually in a harsh or mean tone.

Sonic sighs. He misses his friends. He knows they’re okay, for now. But for how long? How long can Sonic keep Mephiles entertained before the copy hedgehog decides to get rid of them? The only reason they’re still alive is because Sonic is cooperating willingly. This sucks.

Sonic’s ear flicks, hearing one of the doors open. Mephiles strolls in, looking smug. Sonic doesn’t like that look at all.

The dark hedgehog doesn’t pay the hero any attention at first. He approaches the clone, dispelling it. He stands facing a large window, hands behind his back. The view outside is a beautiful grassy field, most likely a conjured image like everything else.

Sonic flinches when Mephiles turns to him suddenly. There an expression Sonic can’t quite place on his face.

“Tell me something, Jewel.” Mephiles starts, approaching the bed. “What does that black hedgehog mean to you?”

Well, isn’t that a loaded question.

Ever since they met, Sonic and Shadow have been rivals, friends on a good day. Lately though, things have changed. On the outside, they have a friendly rivalry. But for the two of them, their relationship is more intimate in private.

“We’re just friends.” Sonic answers a little too quickly.

Mephiles narrows his eyes at that. “Just friends you say?” He stops next to the bed, arms crossed and eyes closed as he taps his foot in thought. “Interesting…” He mumbles, mostly talking to himself.

Sonic shifts on the bed, feeling uncomfortable. He feels like there is more to the question, like Mephiles isn’t just asking because he’s curious.

Mephiles opens his eyes, gaze piercing. “Is having sexual relations a normal part of friendship, or are you just a whore?”

Sonic pales a bit at the question. “What?”

Mephiles grabs the leash laying on the bed and pulls Sonic forward. The blue hedgehog stumbles, face planting on the bed before steadying himself on his hands. “You know, I do not appreciate liars.” Before Sonic can object, he tugs on the leash, silencing him. “I have not finished speaking, pet.” He says. “I was made in his image. I have glimpsed some of his memories. Many of them involve you.”

Sonic’s eyes widened in fear. Does he have Shadow’s memories? How? …why?

Mephiles chuckles at the fear he can see in Sonic’s face. “Many of his memories are depressing, but the ones involving you are most interesting. So many warm feelings…” He grips Sonic’s chin in his hand, pulling his face close. “I will ask again. Is that hedgehog special to you, or are you just a slut?” The last word is spat with venom, his claws digging into Sonic’s cheeks.

Sonic winces at the harsh treatment. He tears his eyes away from Mephiles’ poison green gaze. He can’t admit to anything. What if that puts Shadow in more danger? Mephiles seems like the jealous type. “…Only a friend.”

Mephiles snarls, pushing Sonic away so he lands on his back. He grabs Sonic’s leg, pulling him halfway off the bed. He leans over the blue hedgehog, holding his arms over his head with one hand, the other keeping him propped up. “So you would willingly spread your legs for anyone?”

Sonic frantically shakes his head. “No.” He says quickly.

“When was the last time?” The shadow being growls out.

“I-I don’t remember.” Sonic says, looking away. He squeaks when Mephiles squeezes his wrists tighter.

“Liar!” Mephiles snarls. “It was with him. I told you, you can not lie to me.” He squeezes tighter. “Admit the truth.”

“Please stop, you’re going to break my wrists!” Sonic whines with tears in his eyes, trying to pull his hands free. He breathes a sigh of relief when Mephiles lets him go and backs away. He sits up, rubbing his aching wrists. He sees Mephiles’ expectant look. He looks away, staring hard at the ground, crossing his arms. “I said I don’t know.”

SMACK

Sonic’s head snaps to the side as he feels pain blossoming on his cheek. He raises a hand, touching the stinging area. He looks up at Mephiles fearfully.

Mephiles doesn’t look angry, more like deathly calm, hand still raised from the strike. “Shall we try again?”

“… I-I-,”

“And do not try to lie again or I will do far worse than just striking you. Understand?” Mephiles warns.

Sonic nods his head. His cheek feels wet, is he crying? He’s taken worse blows before, why is he crying? “I… it was with Shadow…”

“When?”

Sonic wipes under his eyes, trying to get rid of his tears. “A few weeks ago, I think…” He says with a sniffle, voice small.

Mephiles gives a false pleasant expression. “There, now was that so hard, Jewel?” He coos. “I hate to raise a hand to you, but you left me no choice. If you continue to act this way, things will only be worse for you going forward. Now,” he shrugs off his cloak. “Present for me.”

Sonic’s pupils shrink to pinpricks as his body trembles. “N-no, wait, I’m not ready for that.” He stutters, body curling defensively. “C-can’t I do something else for you?”

Mephiles rolls his eyes as he mutters. “Must you be so difficult?” He sighs. “I was not asking, pet. Lay back and spread your legs. Now.”

“No!” He yelps before lowering his voice. “I mean… I don’t want to. You said you wanted a willing participant, remember? I’m not willing.”

“Oh dear, you seem to think you have a choice despite the fact that you have disrespected me.” Mephiles cups Sonic chin, caressing his cheek with his thumb. “When has this ever been about what you want?” He tsks, shoving Sonic down on the bed. He forces blue furred legs apart, sinking his claws in when Sonic tries to close them. “Stay still.” He growls. He releases Sonic’s legs, pleased when the hero stays put. “Things of that nature are only granted to you when you obey me. I will not reward disobedience.” He rests a hand on Sonic’s abdomen, he can feel the muscles trembling under his touch. “I do not plan for penetration if that is what you are so concerned for…” He says with a roll of his eyes.

Sonic scoffs in his mind. Does this psycho think saying that will give him any sense of comfort? Well news flash, it doesn’t. If anything, it just makes Sonic anticipate with fear for when the time he does want that comes.

Mephiles brings his hand to his mouth, pulling his glove off with the teeth of his now visible mouth. He trails his hand down Sonic’s body, cupping between the legs. Sonic, startled, snaps his legs shut. At the heated glare the shadow gives him and the sting of his claws, he slowly opens them again. Mephiles runs the tips of two of his fingers down the blue hedgehog’s slit and back up again. “Interesting…” Mephiles mumbles to himself.

Sonic’s eye twitches at the dry rubbing. He isn’t turned on at all, how could he be? He lets out a quiet gasp as those fingers spread the lips of his pussy open. His face burns as Mephiles stares at his most intimate parts so intensely. He hisses as Mephiles starts flicking his clit. This is probably the least pleasurable foreplay he has ever experienced.

At Sonic’s wince, Mephiles gives the blue hedgehog a curious look. “Is this not pleasurable to you, Jewel?” His tone is purely curious for some reason, like he actually cares. Not like that’s possible.

Sonic rolls his eyes. “Obviously not. Have you even touched another person before?” He asked before realizing how his tone sounded. He clears his throat, voice a little softer. “I’m not going to feel good if you just start messing around like that…”

“I see…” Mephiles is quiet for a moment. “Tell me, how am I to please you?”

Sonic gives him a blank stare for a second, surprised he would even ask. “Well, for starters, you’re going in too dry. You’re not going to get very far without some sort of lubrication…” He looks away, expression seeming to read embarrassment. “Besides… you can’t just rush right in, you gotta lead up to it first…”

Mephiles leans back, attentive. “How do I do that?”

The blue hedgehog makes a disgruntled sound, shifting on the bed uncomfortably. “You gotta, like, touch me. Warm me up to it, you know? I don’t really know how to explain it…” To be honest, out of the two of them, Shadow was the more experienced one. Sonic was usually taking a backseat in their more intimate moments.

Turns out that Mephiles didn’t need much more information than the little that was provided. He rested a hand on Sonic’s chest, startling the blue hedgehog a bit, and squeezed.

Sonic’s reaction was instantaneous. His face is bright red as he sits up, pushing Mephiles’ hand away. “Not like that!” He shrieks in a way he would never admit to doing. He pales in the same instance, realizing what he just did and he tries to backtrack. “I mean… you’re still being too direct.” He mumbles the last bit to himself. “Only a pervert would grope someone like that…”

To Sonic’s surprise, Mephiles looks sheepish. “My apologies. I am not sure I understand. How am I to, ‘warm you up’, if you shy away from my touches?”

Sonic bites his lip, wishing he was anywhere but here, right now… “You… can touch me. Just, be gentle about it…”

“I see…” Mephiles says again. He stares at the hero for a good while, processing. He reaches for Sonic again, this time resting his hand on his side. He moves over his tummy, caressing the soft muscles there.

Sonic makes a soft noise, making Mephiles look up at him questioningly. His face flushes as he says in a small voice. “I'm kinda sensitive there…”

The dark hedgehog hums in interest, hand still running over Sonic’s abdomen. He shifts his touches higher to his round chest. It’s not really round in the sense that he has breasts, that area is more so just, supple. When Mephiles squeezes this time, it’s more gentle, explorative. His thumb rubs over a hidden nipple, making Sonic let out a small hiss. 

Mephiles looks up at Sonic, seeing that he is trying to look anywhere but at Mephiles. “Sensitive?” He asks, raising a brow. Sonic just nods his head a little.

The dark being spends an abnormal amount of time just touching Sonic’s chest before moving back to where he started. He pushes blue furred thighs apart, eyes widening slightly when he sees that the fur around Sonic’s nether region is wet. Curiously, he swipes his fingers along Sonic’s slit, his ear flicking at the gasp it draws, collecting the wetness on his finger tips. And, with only brief hesitation, he licks the gathered slick from his finger.

Sonic covers his eyes, unwilling to watch Mephiles tasting his arousal like it was mere glazing on a cake. When nothing else happens for a while, he peeks through his fingers, seeing Mephiles staring back at him. Well, not at him, more like between his legs. The feeling of hands spreading his thighs open more is the only warning he gets before a hot, long, wet tongue runs up the length of his slit. His eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets, not expecting Mephiles to just dive right in.

“H-hey, you can’t just-” He’s cut off by a full body shudder, moaning when that tongue splits the lips of his pussy open and lave over his clit. He grips the sheets of the bed as the nub of pleasure is relentlessly attacked. “Wait, wait… that's too much…” He whines, head tilting back to openly pant from the onslaught of pleasure that is coming too much and too fast.

The hero is given a reprieve for a moment as Mephiles pulls back, licking the slick off his teeth. Sonic looks down at him, eyes half mast. He’s half tempted to knee the other hedgehog in the face, he only holds back knowing there would be hell to pay if he tried that.

Mephiles caresses Sonic’s thighs, in a strangely soothing gesture. “You taste divine, my Jewel.” He marvels.

Sonic hides his disgust of that statement by covering his face. He mutters, “Don’t say stuff like that…”

The dark hedgehog pays Sonic no mind, ducking back down to indulge in his favorite meal. Instead of going back to his previous actions, he probes the small opening with his tongue.

Sonic jolts, peeking through his fingers again. “Hey, what are you doing!?” His question turns into a yelp as the tip of Mephiles’ tongue penetrates his hole. Okay. This is a little different… He whimpers, feeling the tongue sliding deeper, taking up space inside of him in a way that he’s never felt before. He clenches down on the intruding appendage, letting out a restrained moan at the new feeling of pleasure. He’s never had a tongue so deep inside of him before. And it keeps going, only stopping when he feels it pressing against his cervix. Freaky shadow anatomy.

Sonic moves his hands from his face, only to grip the sheets again as the tongue starts moving, thrusting into him shallowly. All he can do is hold on and bite his lip to keep down the humiliating sounds he was making. How is it that the guy that didn’t even understand foreplay ten minutes ago is so good at eating pussy? One of life’s greatest mysteries…

The hero can’t hold back the moan that is ripped from his throat as Mephiles’ tongue brushes against a bundle of nerves inside of him. The dark hedgehog takes notice of this, shifting his efforts to hit that spot on every thrust. He moves one of his hands from one of Sonic’s thigh, thumb flicking over his clit, adding dual sensations of pleasure.

Sonic could feel the end close by.

Sonic feels his heart jackrabbiting in his chest, he didn’t realize he was getting so worked up. He finally gets the will to look down at Mephiles and he's not sure if he should have or not. The dark hedgehog’s muzzle was soaked with his slick, the damp fur a few shades darker. His vision wavers when Mephiles’ tongue rams into his cervix. He goes crosseyed and for a moment, instead of seeing dusky gray and teal, he sees ebony and crimson.

“Shadow…”

The word is whisper quiet. The only indication that Mephiles heard was a twitch of his ear. As if in retaliation, he pinches the blue hedgehog’s clit. The pleasure pain of the action makes Sonic cry out, his body jolting violently as a wave of fluid arcs into the air. Mephiles barely has any time to move back before his face is soaked even farther in squirt. The first spray is copious and peters off into smaller ones.

Sonic arms shake before he loses strength, collapsing back onto the bed as his chest heaves with his pants.

Mephiles sits up, wiping his face with the back of his arm as he stares down at the blue hedgehog’s prone form. His eyes were cold, the intensity of his expression lessened by the wetness around his face. He waits until Sonic’s breathing calms before speaking. “You were thinking of him.” It was a statement, not a question.

Sonic drags his gaze over to Mephiles, flinching at his harsh expression. “Wha?” He questions, brain barely working to comprehend what the dark hedgehog meant.

“You said his name.” Mephiles continues.

Sonic is silent for a bit, the dots connecting in his head finally as his eyes widen. 

He said Shadow’s name.

Before the hero can try to defend himself, Mephiles is hovering over his body, hand around his neck. Mephiles’ eyes were hard and fiery. “I shall let it slide, this time.” He says, hand tightening. Sonic grips his wrist in a desperate attempt to stop him from getting choked out. “But,” he continues. “If you utter his name again while laying in my bed, I will beat you. Understand?”

Sonic nods as best as he can, shaken with fear, intaking a gasp of air when he is released. He sits up as Mephiles gets off the bed.

The dark hedgehog nods his head to the door he hadn’t entered from. “Go clean yourself up. I want you to be presentable.” He snaps his fingers and the mess he was covered with disappears and his teal cape drapes over his shoulders. “I will return to fetch you for dinner.” He says before exiting the room, leaving Sonic alone once more.

Sonic rubs his arm awkwardly, the haze of pleasure finally dissipating. He felt… disgusted with himself and his situation. He looked at the door to what was presumably a bathroom. He hopes a hot shower can wash away the feeling of shame on his body…