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This is the closest to a holiday fic I'll be writing. And I blew up a coffee shop in it. That's rather telling of my feelings about the holidays.

Told you I would blow the place up.", "writing": "Rose Petals did a modest but profitable business throughout the year thanks to its advantageous location between a clothing store and a fancy jewelry emporium. The coffee addicted young people and coffee addicted rich snobs both found themselves passing through their doors.\n\nBut as it did with every store, the holidays brought a boom of business to the little coffee shop. Most grabbed their coffee and left for the rest of their shopping, but some stayed to escape the cold and warm up with their specialty peppermint mocha.\n\nThe shop’s environment was cozy, warmed by the pleasant people chatting away and the less pleasant keeping to themselves.\n\nIt was just how Sonic liked it.\n\nThere were days during the holiday season when the shop was packed with people looking to get their caffeine fix, and those days were hell on earth. The morning rush had been hectic, but the pace had calmed by now to a lazy Thursday lull.\n\nSonic was wiping down the counter when the cheerful bell above the door tinkled playfully, and the blue hedgehog raised his eyes and stowed his cleaning cloth to greet the new customer.\n\n“Hello! Welcome to Rose Petals, what can I get for you?” He chirped merrily, in a good mood that couldn’t be soured.\n\nThe customers that walked in certainly seemed like they wanted nothing more than to sour said mood. One was a sleek and dark hedgehog, dressed in equally dark clothes, who gazed at him with a neutral expression. Though his face was expressionless, his piercing red eyes were enough to intimidate Sonic, just a little.\n\nBy his side was a light colored bat, and were Sonic so inclined his gaze might have been drawn to her exposed cleavage. Instead, the dark furred man was the one that caught his eye.\n\nHis body was built and firm looking, his crossed arms lined with muscles large enough to be noticed, but still subtle enough to remain sleek. Sonic imagined his clothed abdomen and legs were similarly strong. His face neither glared nor smiled, but his eyes darted from place to place, looking bright and observant of every movement.\n\nBut it was hardly appropriate to ogle the customers, so he blinked rapidly and refocused his attentions to their words.\n\n“I’ll take a small caramel latte, hun.” The bat ordered.\n\n“And the name for that?”\n\n“Rouge.”\n\nSonic scribbled the name on to the side of the cup and set it aside to grab another cup for the hedgehog.\n\n“Peppermint mocha with a shot of expresso. For Shadow.”\n\nSonic did the same for Shadow’s order, took their cash and made change, then grabbed both cups and got to work on their orders.\n\nNeither of those names sounded like something somebody would actually name their children, but he hardly had room to talk with a name like Sonic. People gave him fake names and weird nicknames all the time, it wasn’t too strange to hear something like Rouge and Shadow.\n\nHe completed their drinks on his own, being the only one at the counter once the morning rush was done, having to cringe a little when he pumped the expresso and ruined a perfectly good peppermint mocha.\n\nHe called out their names and they retrieved their order, retreating to a private booth in a corner of the shop. They leaned close to one another and talked lowly. Sonic didn’t catch a word of what they said, but he saw the smirks that graced the beautiful bat’s face.\n\nThey must be a couple, Sonic thought to himself. Shadow remained impassive, but the bat was expressive enough for the both of them. Her eyes glittered and her mouth turned up in an expression promising naughty delights.\n\nSonic dashed any weak hopes he may have had to ask the hedgehog for his number. Shadow wasn’t taking his eyes off Rouge for even a moment.\n\nHe stopped sneaking glances after a while, but the pair remained and chatted for quite some time, never leaning away and never raising their voices. Eventually they left when the lunch crowd began filing in, and Sonic watched the darkly attractive hedgehog saunter off, likely never to see him again.\n\n***\n\nSonic returned home after a long day at work, a small apartment he shared with his little brother. He was greeted by his bouncing brother with a hug and a huge smile. \n\nThey chatted pleasantly over dinner and Sonic tucked Tails into bed with a peck on the forehead. He went to his own room and crawled under his sheets, exhausted as he usually was after a day at work.\n\nHis dreams were plagued by crawling darkness that oozed towards him and wrapped around his legs. His dreaming self tried to kick the darkness away, but it shaped itself into a hand that grasped him tight. A hand the color of darkness streaked with red.\n\nThe darkness shifted until Shadow’s seductive shape formed from it. He let go of Sonic’s leg and crawled forward on all fours, his face bearing a smirk and his eye twinkling with unspoken desires.\n\nSonic laid back and did nothing to fight as Shadow leveled their faces and stroked a single finger across his chest and down his body. The hand unhesitatingly grasped his loins and squeezed. He shuddered, nearly feeling the ghostly dreaming touch.\n\nHis sheath was played with until his cock emerged, and Shadow kept his eyes locked on Sonic as he stroked the length just how Sonic liked it.\n\nShadow’s gaze burned through him, unwavering as it stared him down, making him shrivel into the bed. He was feeling lustful and shamed all at once. It felt as if he were being judged.\n\nHe woke with a jolt when his cock released a stream of cum onto his bed sheets. He groaned in disappointment at discovering it had been an imagining inside his sleeping mind. He’d wanted it to be real so badly.\n\n“Awesome. I want to have sex with Shadow even though I’ll never see again.” He groaned to the blank ceiling.\n\n***\n\nSonic slept on the living room couch to avoid the puddle of his own spunk settling into his sheets and woke up with a sore back.\n\nTails had only given him a fondly exasperated look at discovering Sonic on the couch, figuring his brother was just being his usual strange self. \n\nHe’d overheard Sonic talking to himself when he’d exited his room to retrieve a glass of water, and his brother’s words had sparked some curiosity in him.\n\n“Hey, Sonic?” Tails began, a curious lilt in his voice.\n\nSonic dragged himself from the couch and stretched the kinks in his back out. “Yeah?”\n\n“What is sex?”\n\nSonic fell over his own feet and slammed his face into the ground. He groaned in pain as Tails rushed to his side and fussed over his brother.\n\n“Why would you…ow…ask that all of a sudden?” Sonic demanded to know.\n\n“I heard you say it last night and I was wondering what you meant.”\n\nSonic gaped at his young brother, only eight years of age. Sure, he was a genius at school and his teachers kept telling him he should let him skip a grade, but he was still a kid. He didn’t need to be thinking about sex.\n\n“It’s a grown-up thing.” Sonic tried to save the issue away.\n\n“You’re not a grown-up, Sonic, you’re eighteen.”\n\n“I’m more grown-up than you.” Sonic said defensively.\n\n“I just wanted to know…” Tails affected a pitiful look, full of disappointment and despair that Sonic knew was a complete fabrication. He knew his brother well enough to recognize the slight twitch to his lips that indicated he wasn’t sad in the least.\n\nSonic scooped his beloved little brother up into his arms and delivered a raspberry onto his fluffy stomach. He buzzed his lips until Tails was a giggling mess, then he dropped the fox onto the couch and let him catch his breath.\n\n“Go take a shower, you brat, you have school and I have work. I’ll have breakfast made when you’re done.”\n\nTails skipped away down the hall, his question apparently forgotten. Sonic smiled fondly as he watched him go.\n\nHe had to prepare himself for the day as well. He needed his job to take care of Tails, and his boss, Amy, was already kind enough to give him hours that coincided with Tails’ school schedule so he would be home by the time school let out. He couldn’t afford to take advantage of her leniency by being late.\n\nThey both completed their morning rituals and Sonic dropped Tails off at his bus stop. He hoped, one day, to be able to send Tails to a private school. He was too smart to get only a decent education, he deserved the best. Sonic saved more money than he spent so he could accomplish that goal.\n\nHe arrived at work ten minutes early and Amy gave him a pleased smile at his arrival.\n\nSonic had known Amy since high school, and would be eternally grateful to her for opening this coffee shop. Sonic had no plans for his life after high school and knew he didn’t have the patience for college, so her entrepreneurship had saved him.\n\n“Hey, Sonic.” She greeted happily from atop a ladder. She was stringing tinsel across the ceiling over the counter.\n\n“Morning, Amy.” He returned the greeting.\n\n“Hey, I meant to ask you…” Amy began as she started climbing down the ladder’s steps. Sonic turned to her and was immediately suspicious of the sly look on her face.\n\n“I saw you ogling that hedgehog yesterday. He was cute.”\n\nCute is not the word Sonic would have used. Drop-dead sexy was closer to his line of thinking.\n\n“So?” Sonic tried to play it off casually. It worked about as well as it had with Tails earlier.\n\n“Did you get his number?” She asked with a playful wink.\n\n“What! No! It would be…unprofessional!” The excuse sounded weak even to Sonic’s ears.\n\n“Unprofessional? Sonic, you’ve never cared for proper behavior in any situation since the day I met you.” Amy arched an eyebrow as she called him on his bullshit.\n\n“That woman he came in with has to be his girlfriend, right?” Sonic grumbled, “I’m not gonna ask for somebody’s number if they obviously have someone already.”\n\n“I’m not so sure about that.”\n\nSonic looked up hopefully. Amy was a better judge of character than he was. Sonic tended to blunder his way through life with little regard as to other peoples’ feelings. Romance was the only real obstacle that tended to stop him in his tracks. But Amy was an empathetic person. Whatever advice she had on people was usually spot on.\n\n“If I was dating somebody that hot, I’d be staking my territory, you know? Holding on to him and announcing that he was all mine to the world, stuff like that.” Amy looked a little dreamy for a moment. “But the bat didn’t do anything like that. She didn’t even touch him, not even to hold hands.”\n\n“But…at the table they were leaning in…”\n\n“So? They probably just wanted to keep their conversation private. Plus, the bat kept looking at you. Anybody dating that hedgehog wouldn’t have a wandering gaze.”\n\n“Do [i]you[/i] want his phone number?” Sonic asked, annoyed at her admiring smile.\n\n“No, but I’m not [i]blind[/i]. He’s not my type, anyway. The brooding, mysterious look doesn’t do it for me.”\n\n“Well, then…Maybe I will ask if he comes by again.”\n\nThat was unlikely, but Sonic resolved to grow a pair and flirt if he ever saw Shadow again.\n\nWhich he did an hour into his shift when he and the bat made another appearance. Again, the rush hour was just coming to a close as they entered, and the shop had lulled into a peaceful, almost sleepy atmosphere. Hardly anyone was here having gotten their coffee before speeding off to work.\n\nShadow and Rouge walked up to the counter. Rouge ordered a chai tea after some consideration, and Shadow ordered the same peppermint mocha without a thought.\n\nStrangely, as Shadow moved to order his drink, Rouge gave him a little nudge forward before walking to the same table they had occupied the previous day. Shadow glared daggers at her, but his anger was ignored.\n\nAs Sonic scrawled Shadow’s name and order onto the cup, he asked, “So, is Shadow your real name?”\n\nShadow cocked his head in curiosity, seeming surprised at Sonic making conversation with him. “Yes, it is. Why?”\n\n“It’s a badass name. Sometimes people give me fake names for their order, and I was curious if Shadow was real or not. It’s not like I can knock someone else for having a weird name, though.” Sonic chuckled, hoping Shadow would take the bait.\n\n“What’s your name, then?” Shadow asked exactly as Sonic had hoped.\n\nSonic reached out a hand which Shadow clasped and shook. “Sonic. Nice to meet you Shadow. Hope to see you around some more.”\n\n“You will.” Shadow promised before joining Rouge at the table.\n\nSonic could have jumped for joy at Shadow’s words, the promise of seeing each other again. He shot a smile at Shadow after he sat across from Rouge, and a tiny twitch upwards of his lips made Sonic’s heart soar.\n\nThen he was engrossed in conversation with Rouge, and despite what Amy had asserted, he didn’t notice one glance in his direction. Instead, they seemed to be fascinated with whatever they were talking about.\n\nThey’d managed to pick the best place in the shop for quiet conversation. The wall they were against was shared with the jewelry store, which was much quieter than the wall shared with the clothing store. The noise of spoiled teenagers tended to bleed through that wall.\n\nBut Shadow and Rouge’s corner was isolated from the rest of the store due to only one table fitting into the small nook and the only noise that ever bled through being elegant music the jewelry place played. \n\nRouge knocked a knuckle against the wall a few times, and Sonic speculated they were considering visiting the expensive store next door. Sonic could have recommended they bring Amy with them to judge the jewelry’s quality. She was a trust fund baby most of her life until she struck out on her own with opening Rose Petals; she’d grown up around fancy jewels.\n\nIt was kind of pathetic imagining himself as a part of a conversation he had nothing to do with. Thankfully, another customer came in to distract him.\n\nAn hour passed, and Shadow and Rouge were talking intensely throughout all of it. They eventually got up to leave and, strangely, shook hands firmly before walking for the door.\n\nShadow stopped at the counter after seeing it was empty and asked in a quiet voice that was still somehow demanding, “Could I get your number? I’d like to call you, if I could.”\n\nIt took monumental will to not scream “Yes!” He managed to keep his voice an appropriate level with an appropriate amount of enthusiasm, and jotted his number on the only thing he had readily available, an empty coffee cup.\n\nShadow smirked in amusement and thanked him before turning on his heel and walking out with Rouge. The bat laughed and winked playfully at Sonic as the door shut behind them.\n\n***\n\nShadow texted him that night. The message was only a few words and were just some well-wishing for a peaceful evening. Still, it made Sonic happy to know Shadow was thinking of him. He hoped he’d show up tomorrow as well.\n\nHe was visited once again that night in his dreams, but this time Shadow snuggled him close to his chest and nuzzled his quills tenderly. Shadow whispered sweet nothings into his ear as his thigh rubbed between Sonic’s legs.\n\nHe was gentle with his rubbing, taking time and care to pleasure Sonic thoroughly before getting to the main event.\n\nA main event that was interrupted by the blaring of his alarm clock.\n\nHe groaned in frustration and slammed a fist into his clock, having just been awoken from Shadow making sweet love to him. At least he hadn’t cum in his bed like a horny teenager this time.\n\nA conscience that sounded suspiciously like Tails reminded him he was still a teenager, but he ignored that in favor of waking up the real Tails.\n\nHe disliked having to always wake up Tails early on the weekend, but he had little choice. He had to work Saturdays and couldn’t leave Tails alone. So, Amy was kind enough to let him stay at Rose Petals during Sonic’s shift.\n\nHe was well behaved and quiet, so she insisted it was no trouble. And Tails didn’t mind because she always let him have a few free cookies. \n\nAt Rose Petals, he sat Tails down in a corner seat, the corner opposite of Shadow and Rouge’s usual spot in hopes they would be showing up. Well, in hopes that Shadow would be showing up.\n\nAnd indeed he did, as always, just after the morning rush was over. But this time he arrived alone.\n\nHe shouldn’t ask after the bat, it wasn’t his business, but he needed a opener to conversation and he still had his doubts about whether they were an item.\n\n“Where’s Rouge this morning?” Sonic inquired as Shadow reached the counter.\n\n“Working.” He answered shortly.\n\n“On a weekend? That sucks, I know how that feels.”\n\nThe sound of his voice attracted Tails’ attention, and the little fox looked over to watch his big brother flirt with a customer. He grinned and bounced over, leaving his homework on the table.\n\n“Hi!” He greeted Shadow boldly.\n\nShadow turned to the fox and raised an eyebrow. Sonic figured this would be the ultimate test of Shadow’s date-ability. Being nice to Tails was a requisite for any romantic partner of Sonic’s.\n\n“Hello.” Shadow greeted politely, obviously confused as to why the small fox was speaking to him.\n\nSonic laughed and introduced the fox to Shadow, “This is my little brother, Miles.”\n\n“I go by Tails, though.” The fox amended, swishing his pair of tails behind him.\n\n “Ah, it’s nice to meet you.” Shadow said, still perfectly polite but lacking in warmth.\n\nSonic handed Shadow a peppermint mocha with a shot of expresso. He furrowed his brow even more.\n\n“I haven’t ordered yet.”\n\n“But I remember your order.” \n\nShadow took the drink with that tiny smile that made Sonic’s heart to backflips. Tails cocked his head to read the name on the cup.\n\n“Shadow? Your name is Shadow?” Tails asked curiously.\n\n“Yes.” Shadow replied shortly.\n\n“Oh, I heard Sonic say your name before.”\n\nHe had? When had Sonic ever said Shadow’s name…oh no.\n\n“He said he wants to have sex with you, but he won’t tell me what sex is.”\n\nSonic expected Shadow to be embarrassed or angry, but instead a wicked grin stretched across his lips.\n\n“Really? He said that?”\n\n“Tails! Don’t you have homework to do?” Sonic searched desperately for a reason to make Tails stop talking.\n\n“But I want to talk to Shadow!” Tails complained.\n\n“How about I help him with his homework?” Shadow offered, the grin on his face still very much gleefully malicious.\n\n“Okay!”\n\nTails absolutely needed no help at all with his homework, but he skipped off with Shadow trailing behind him anyway. Shadow looked over his shoulder as he went and winked at Sonic, still grinning.\n\nSonic liked the expression on Shadow’s face, it suited him so much better than his usual frown or flat look. But he wished Shadow’s glee wasn’t at Sonic’s expense.\n\nStill, it was fun watching Shadow chat with Tails. Between the two of them, Tails’ work was done at record speed, and they spent the time with conversation as Shadow sipped his coffee. Thankfully, the subject of sex was gracefully avoided as Shadow diverted Tails’ attention to other topics.\n\nSonic wanted to get to know Shadow even more now. He was good to his brother, and that was paramount to Sonic. Tails dealt with so much bullying for his disfigured tails and superior intelligence from his peers. It was nice to see Shadow not even blink at the strange duel appendages as well as respect Tails’ intelligence while they talked.\n\nShadow was physically and emotionally desirable, and he seemed to have an interest in Sonic as well. Sonic was done faffing about, he would ask Shadow out as soon as he got the chance.\n\nSaid chance came at closing time, since Shadow was still at the table with Tails. He’d gotten up a few times to buy them food and refresh his coffee and make use of the facilities, but he stayed all day and Tails enjoyed his company the whole time.\n\nHe got an opportunity to speak with him alone when Tails ran to the bathroom.\n\n“So, you want to have sex with me?” Shadow asked bluntly with a sly smirk.\n\nSonic sputtered for a moment before regaining his composure. “Well, I mean…I don’t [i]just[/i] want to sleep with you…”\n\nShadow’s smirk disappeared to be replaced by a look of shock. Was it really so strange for him to hear that someone wanted to do more than sleep with him? That was a little sad.\n\n“I…oh. I didn’t think…” Now Shadow seemed to lose his cockiness, putting him and Sonic on even ground.\n\n“Maybe we can go for lunch tomorrow?” Sonic offered, since it seemed Shadow had no idea what to say. “I can ask my boss to look after Tails since Rose Petals is closed on Sundays.”\n\n“I…I think I’d like that.” Shadow murmured, a gentle look in his eyes.\n\nThey parted, and Sonic felt as if he were on cloud nine. He had a date set with a handsome hedgehog that was good to his brother and possessed a surprisingly cute side to him. His life couldn’t get better.\n\n***\n\nOf course he dreamed of Shadow again, and this time the dream picked up where it had left off the last time he slept.\n\nShadow hovered over him, the both of them equally hard and horny and ready to get moving. Shadow wasted no time in getting inside of him, thrusting deep into his body.\n\nSonic watched the strong abdomen muscles work with each thrust, watched his arms quiver with the strain.\n\nThey kissed, and it felt heavenly to Sonic’s dream self. He could almost taste the peppermint mocha on Shadow’s tongue. \n\nThey made love until sunrise and the dream faded as Sonic awoke to a hard and weeping dick between his legs. He groaned, but remembered with sudden clarity that his dream might not be so far-fetched any longer.\n\nHe wanted romance first, he wanted to get to know Shadow’s mind intimately before his body, as appealing he knew it was beneath his clothes.\n\nHe spent the morning before his lunch date playing dress up with his entire wardrobe before giving up and waiting for Amy to come over and tell him what to wear.\n\nShe selected a simple look of jeans and a fitted t-shirt with a light scarf stylishly wrapped around his neck and draping over his shoulders. She said it was best to go subtle for a first date, too much meant you were trying too hard.\n\n“But if you’re trying really hard doesn’t that just mean you like the person?” Sonic questioned.\n\n“It also means you’re desperate, and if you like someone enough to be desperate before a first date, then you come off a little obsessive. It’s not very attractive.”\n\n“Okay.” Sonic conceded gloomily, knowing Amy was better informed of such things than he was. And this was one date he didn’t want to mess up.\n\nSonic texted Shadow to meet him at a charming little café he knew of, that is to say, Amy knew of and informed him about.\n\nThe tiny smile appeared on Shadow’s face when they met in front of the café, and they went inside and ordered their food before seating themselves at a table.\n\n“So, you know what my job is. What do you do?” Sonic asked.\n\n“I’m a bodyguard. Of sorts.”\n\nThat got Sonic’s attention. “Is Rouge who you’re guarding?”\n\n“Yes, she is my employer for now.”\n\nSonic wanted to ask what ‘of sorts’ meant, but if Shadow didn’t elaborate on his own them he wouldn’t pry. He didn’t want to seem nosy this early in their relationship. \n\n“That sounds exciting. More exciting than working at a coffee shop.”\n\n“Honestly, the hours are awful and getting shot at gets old very quickly.” The smirk on his face conveyed cockiness, as if being shot at was nothing more than a distraction. “I don’t usually do the kind of work Rouge asks of me, but she made a compelling offer.”\n\nThe way he held himself made Sonic’s body quiver with want. He wondered what kind of scars Shadow had, how they would feel under his fingertips as they slid over Shadow’s muscles while Shadow fucked him. Sonic suppressed his lustful thoughts and cleared his throat.\n\n“What kind of work does Rouge do?”\n\n“I’d rather talk about you, if you don’t mind.”\n\nSonic shrugged, figuring he had some kind of confidentiality agreement with his client. “Sure, but there’s nothing to tell.”\n\n“I was wondering why you care for a brother that’s ten years younger than you and isn’t related to you.”\n\nSonic expected that to come up. It was a strange circumstance, he would admit that. Shadow was right to be curious.\n\n“I adopted him when I was sixteen. I’d been taking care of myself for a while so I figured I could handle a little brother of my own. He’s a great kid, though, so raising him is more fun than hard.”\n\n“How’d you meet?”\n\n“I was out for a jog and found some kids picking on him ‘cause of his tails. His parents died a year before I found him and he’d been living in an orphanage, but the other kids were awful to him. So I took him in.”\n\n“They let a sixteen year old adopt a kid?”\n\n“They wanted him gone, the bastards. Said his tails freaked potential parents out, made them think the other kids were deformed too. Bunch of dicks.” Sonic muttered angrily.\n\n“He seems happy.”\n\n“I’ve done my best, but I wish I had more money to take care of him with. I want to send him to a private school.”\n\nShadow nodded. “He’d do well there. He’s very bright.”\n\nSonic beamed with pride. “He is! I’ve been saving up, but it’s tough. I don’t know if I’ll have enough by the time he’s old enough for a private school. I won’t give up on him, though.”\n\nShadow went silent and looked pensive as he glowered at the table. Sonic let him think and waited for him to continue the conversation.\n\n“I hope it works out. If there’s anything I can do…”\n\nSonic waved him off. “Don’t worry about it, he’s my responsibility.”\n\n“You are…a remarkable individual, Sonic.” Shadow complimented with his tiny, adorable smile.\n\nSonic blushed and shook his head vigorously. “Nah, don’t flatter me, man!”\n\nShadow smiled a little wider and shook his head fondly. Their food arrived and their conversation turned to lighter topics. They chatted in blissful peace until their food was devoured and they departed the café, pleased with the food and each other.\n\nShadow took the initiative and kissed Sonic on the sidewalk, oblivious to the looks they received from passersby. Their lips pressed and rolled together until they ran out of breath, and Sonic swooned like a maiden with the vapors once it was done.\n\nThey parted with a promise of meeting again soon, and Sonic practically skipped his way home.\n\n***\n\nHis good mood continued throughout the week, especially when Shadow arrived for every day of it. Rouge was with him again, and they still spent their time in quiet conversation at the same table. \n\nSonic wondered why a bodyguard had so much to discuss with a client, but he figured they were friends as well. \n\nOn Friday, Shadow left the coffee shop without Rouge, leaving the bat at the table. She didn’t stay there long, as she made for the counter where Sonic was. Sonic watched Shadow go, and saw him turn at the front window towards the jewelry store. He couldn’t see if he entered the place or not since the window’s view didn’t allow him to see that far to the side.\n\nRouge entered his field and sight and leaned on the counter. Her ample bosom was on display in a low cut shirt as it always was, but it did nothing for Sonic.\n\nShe smiled a sultry smile and said, “So, I hear you want to have sex with Shadow.”\n\nSonic groaned in exasperation. Shadow must have told her about Tails’ efforts to humiliate him in front of his crush. Well, his boyfriend rather than crush these days.\n\n“Relax, hun, it’s just some harmless fun. Honestly, I’m happy he’s seeing you. He’s loosened up these past few days, it’s nice to see.”\n\nSonic couldn’t contain his questions. “He said he was your bodyguard, but you seem like friends.”\n\nRouge let out a laugh. “Bodyguard? That’s what he came up with? Okay, we’ll go with that.” Her chuckling continued, and Sonic was even more confused. He wasn’t her bodyguard? Well he did say a bodyguard ‘of sorts.’ That did allow for some wiggle room.\n\n“We do work together, though.” Rouge added lightly, relieving Sonic’s worries. At least she hadn’t announced they were actually dating and he was some sort of side project.\n\n“I see.”\n\n“I told him to flirt a little, maybe get your digits, but then you go and make the first move. He usually scares people, so good on you.” She punched his arm playfully. “He said it’d be a bad idea, but I could see he liked you. You two deserve a shot, despite the circumstances.”\n\nSonic did see her nudge him the day he’d given Shadow his number. So that’s what was going on there. Another mystery of these two strange people solved. They weren’t together, and Rouge even wanted Shadow to flirt with Sonic. But what circumstances was she referring to? It was a very odd thing to say. Every revelation seemed to have another new question attached to it.\n\nHe still wondered what their profession was. They spent a long time just talking in the corner, what kind of job allowed for the amount of free time they seemed to have?\n\n“Well, thanks for the encouragement.” Sonic said sincerely. He was truly happy that the bat had encouraged their blossoming relationship.\n\n“And thanks for providing such quality service. That table of ours will be free for use soon.” Rouge winked and returned to said table.\n\nWhat a strange thing to say. They came here for the coffee and conversation, didn’t they? Why would their daily visits be coming to an end?\n\n***\n\nEverything became clear the next Monday. Sonic had asked Shadow if he wanted to go for another date that Sunday, but he had refused claiming that he had work to do. He regretted not pressing either he nor Rouge for answers concerning their work.\n\nEspecially since he and Amy were greeted the following Monday with a mostly destroyed coffee shop. On the wall that connected the quaint coffee shop with the jewelry store, rather close to the table Rouge and Shadow so often occupied, was a large hole blocked off by police tape.\n\nAn officer on the site informed them that the high-end jewelry store had been robbed the previous day when the coffee shop was closed. The shop’s lock had been broken and the hole had been blown open, then the store had been looted before officers arrived on the scene. The blast had caused significant damage to Rose Petals.\n\nApparently the wall they shared was also filled with wiring that connected to the jewelry store’s security system, so nobody knew what was happening until the employees arrived that morning. But by the time the call was made and the officers arrived, the jewelry emporium was empty and the robbers were gone. \n\nAmy kept her head, managing to stay calm and together as she thought things through. The shop could be fixed up, her parents’ trust fund would see to that. This wouldn’t be much of a hit to them financially.\n\nSonic couldn’t help but think that that was why this place was targeted. Tails had revealed a few days ago that while they were talking, he mentioned to Shadow that Amy’s parents had a lot of money they were rather liberal with. Their little shop wouldn’t be hurt too much by this.\n\nOr maybe Sonic was trying to justify the criminal act in his mind when he knew full well this was his boyfriends’ doing. Rouge had said their business here would be done soon, and Shadow had said he was ‘working’ on Sunday. They had spent their days here at the same wall, the one that was now blown to pieces, secretly talking and inspecting the wall.\n\nAnd Sonic was the only one that could identify them. Amy and his other colleagues weren’t around during the slower service times when Shadow and Rouge were around. He was left alone at the counter, alone to witness the pair planning their robbery.\n\nPerhaps it would be best to be direct. He pulled out his cell phone and tapped Shadow’s name to send him a text.\n\n‘Was it you?’\n\nAny more than that was unnecessary. If Shadow knew to what he was referring, then no more needed to be said.\n\nHis phone buzzed with a reply almost immediately.\n\n‘Yes’\n\nThe blunt confession seemed so like Shadow. There were no excuses, no dancing around the subject, just a straight forward answer.\n\nA follow up text came soon after.\n\n‘We knew about the trust fund. We knew the shop would recover. We didn’t want you to be hurt by this. We were careful.’\n\nAt least that confirmed Sonic’s better thoughts about the pair, about Shadow. He wanted to believe the best of him.\n\nSonic tapped out a reply. ‘I should report you to the police. They’re right here.’\n\nSonic wasn’t sure if it was an empty threat or not. Mostly, he wanted to see what Shadow would say to that.\n\nHis reply was slower to come. ‘I understand. I’ll have to leave town if you do. I’ll miss you.’\n\nThat hurt more than it should have. He didn’t want their fledgling relationship to be cut off like this. He now understood what Rouge had meant about them being together despite the circumstances. Shadow was planning on robbing the place then leaving town, and it rested on Sonic’s shoulders to keep him around or send him away.\n\nHe needed some reassurance that he would make the right choice. Shadow had said this wasn’t normally the work he did, and Sonic believed him. So why had he done this? Sonic wanted to believe it was for a good reason.\n\n‘What are you going to do with the money?’ He texted, wanting a straight answer and trusting Shadow would do that much for him.\n\n‘Donate it once Rouge pawns everything and I get my cut. To NIDS research. I lost a friend recently and I don’t want anyone else to go through the same. And before I leave I’ll send you a check so you can get Tails into a private school.’\n\nSonic had to blink the tears from his eyes. He shouldn’t be touched by such a gesture, but if the money, even stolen money, could get Tails the education he deserved, then Sonic would accept it no matter the source. He’d do anything for his little brother, and Shadow was offering him exactly what he needed.\n\nHis decision was made. He would keep this secret to himself, knowing that Shadow didn’t deserve to be caught for what he did.\n\n‘How about you give me that check during our date next Sunday?’\n\nSonic could picture the tiny smile on Shadow’s face when he received his reply.\n\n‘I’d like that.’", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "Rose Petals did a modest but profitable business throughout the year thanks to its advantageous location between a clothing store and a fancy jewelry emporium. The coffee addicted young people and coffee addicted rich snobs both found themselves passing through their doors.

But as it did with every store, the holidays brought a boom of business to the little coffee shop. Most grabbed their coffee and left for the rest of their shopping, but some stayed to escape the cold and warm up with their specialty peppermint mocha.

The shop’s environment was cozy, warmed by the pleasant people chatting away and the less pleasant keeping to themselves.

It was just how Sonic liked it.

There were days during the holiday season when the shop was packed with people looking to get their caffeine fix, and those days were hell on earth. The morning rush had been hectic, but the pace had calmed by now to a lazy Thursday lull.

Sonic was wiping down the counter when the cheerful bell above the door tinkled playfully, and the blue hedgehog raised his eyes and stowed his cleaning cloth to greet the new customer.

“Hello! Welcome to Rose Petals, what can I get for you?” He chirped merrily, in a good mood that couldn’t be soured.

The customers that walked in certainly seemed like they wanted nothing more than to sour said mood. One was a sleek and dark hedgehog, dressed in equally dark clothes, who gazed at him with a neutral expression. Though his face was expressionless, his piercing red eyes were enough to intimidate Sonic, just a little.

By his side was a light colored bat, and were Sonic so inclined his gaze might have been drawn to her exposed cleavage. Instead, the dark furred man was the one that caught his eye.

His body was built and firm looking, his crossed arms lined with muscles large enough to be noticed, but still subtle enough to remain sleek. Sonic imagined his clothed abdomen and legs were similarly strong. His face neither glared nor smiled, but his eyes darted from place to place, looking bright and observant of every movement.

But it was hardly appropriate to ogle the customers, so he blinked rapidly and refocused his attentions to their words.

“I’ll take a small caramel latte, hun.” The bat ordered.

“And the name for that?”

“Rouge.”

Sonic scribbled the name on to the side of the cup and set it aside to grab another cup for the hedgehog.

“Peppermint mocha with a shot of expresso. For Shadow.”

Sonic did the same for Shadow’s order, took their cash and made change, then grabbed both cups and got to work on their orders.

Neither of those names sounded like something somebody would actually name their children, but he hardly had room to talk with a name like Sonic. People gave him fake names and weird nicknames all the time, it wasn’t too strange to hear something like Rouge and Shadow.

He completed their drinks on his own, being the only one at the counter once the morning rush was done, having to cringe a little when he pumped the expresso and ruined a perfectly good peppermint mocha.

He called out their names and they retrieved their order, retreating to a private booth in a corner of the shop. They leaned close to one another and talked lowly. Sonic didn’t catch a word of what they said, but he saw the smirks that graced the beautiful bat’s face.

They must be a couple, Sonic thought to himself. Shadow remained impassive, but the bat was expressive enough for the both of them. Her eyes glittered and her mouth turned up in an expression promising naughty delights.

Sonic dashed any weak hopes he may have had to ask the hedgehog for his number. Shadow wasn’t taking his eyes off Rouge for even a moment.

He stopped sneaking glances after a while, but the pair remained and chatted for quite some time, never leaning away and never raising their voices. Eventually they left when the lunch crowd began filing in, and Sonic watched the darkly attractive hedgehog saunter off, likely never to see him again.

***

Sonic returned home after a long day at work, a small apartment he shared with his little brother. He was greeted by his bouncing brother with a hug and a huge smile.

They chatted pleasantly over dinner and Sonic tucked Tails into bed with a peck on the forehead. He went to his own room and crawled under his sheets, exhausted as he usually was after a day at work.

His dreams were plagued by crawling darkness that oozed towards him and wrapped around his legs. His dreaming self tried to kick the darkness away, but it shaped itself into a hand that grasped him tight. A hand the color of darkness streaked with red.

The darkness shifted until Shadow’s seductive shape formed from it. He let go of Sonic’s leg and crawled forward on all fours, his face bearing a smirk and his eye twinkling with unspoken desires.

Sonic laid back and did nothing to fight as Shadow leveled their faces and stroked a single finger across his chest and down his body. The hand unhesitatingly grasped his loins and squeezed. He shuddered, nearly feeling the ghostly dreaming touch.

His sheath was played with until his cock emerged, and Shadow kept his eyes locked on Sonic as he stroked the length just how Sonic liked it.

Shadow’s gaze burned through him, unwavering as it stared him down, making him shrivel into the bed. He was feeling lustful and shamed all at once. It felt as if he were being judged.

He woke with a jolt when his cock released a stream of cum onto his bed sheets. He groaned in disappointment at discovering it had been an imagining inside his sleeping mind. He’d wanted it to be real so badly.

“Awesome. I want to have sex with Shadow even though I’ll never see again.” He groaned to the blank ceiling.

***

Sonic slept on the living room couch to avoid the puddle of his own spunk settling into his sheets and woke up with a sore back.

Tails had only given him a fondly exasperated look at discovering Sonic on the couch, figuring his brother was just being his usual strange self.

He’d overheard Sonic talking to himself when he’d exited his room to retrieve a glass of water, and his brother’s words had sparked some curiosity in him.

“Hey, Sonic?” Tails began, a curious lilt in his voice.

Sonic dragged himself from the couch and stretched the kinks in his back out. “Yeah?”

“What is sex?”

Sonic fell over his own feet and slammed his face into the ground. He groaned in pain as Tails rushed to his side and fussed over his brother.

“Why would you…ow…ask that all of a sudden?” Sonic demanded to know.

“I heard you say it last night and I was wondering what you meant.”

Sonic gaped at his young brother, only eight years of age. Sure, he was a genius at school and his teachers kept telling him he should let him skip a grade, but he was still a kid. He didn’t need to be thinking about sex.

“It’s a grown-up thing.” Sonic tried to save the issue away.

“You’re not a grown-up, Sonic, you’re eighteen.”

“I’m more grown-up than you.” Sonic said defensively.

“I just wanted to know…” Tails affected a pitiful look, full of disappointment and despair that Sonic knew was a complete fabrication. He knew his brother well enough to recognize the slight twitch to his lips that indicated he wasn’t sad in the least.

Sonic scooped his beloved little brother up into his arms and delivered a raspberry onto his fluffy stomach. He buzzed his lips until Tails was a giggling mess, then he dropped the fox onto the couch and let him catch his breath.

“Go take a shower, you brat, you have school and I have work. I’ll have breakfast made when you’re done.”

Tails skipped away down the hall, his question apparently forgotten. Sonic smiled fondly as he watched him go.

He had to prepare himself for the day as well. He needed his job to take care of Tails, and his boss, Amy, was already kind enough to give him hours that coincided with Tails’ school schedule so he would be home by the time school let out. He couldn’t afford to take advantage of her leniency by being late.

They both completed their morning rituals and Sonic dropped Tails off at his bus stop. He hoped, one day, to be able to send Tails to a private school. He was too smart to get only a decent education, he deserved the best. Sonic saved more money than he spent so he could accomplish that goal.

He arrived at work ten minutes early and Amy gave him a pleased smile at his arrival.

Sonic had known Amy since high school, and would be eternally grateful to her for opening this coffee shop. Sonic had no plans for his life after high school and knew he didn’t have the patience for college, so her entrepreneurship had saved him.

“Hey, Sonic.” She greeted happily from atop a ladder. She was stringing tinsel across the ceiling over the counter.

“Morning, Amy.” He returned the greeting.

“Hey, I meant to ask you…” Amy began as she started climbing down the ladder’s steps. Sonic turned to her and was immediately suspicious of the sly look on her face.

“I saw you ogling that hedgehog yesterday. He was cute.”

Cute is not the word Sonic would have used. Drop-dead sexy was closer to his line of thinking.

“So?” Sonic tried to play it off casually. It worked about as well as it had with Tails earlier.

“Did you get his number?” She asked with a playful wink.

“What! No! It would be…unprofessional!” The excuse sounded weak even to Sonic’s ears.

“Unprofessional? Sonic, you’ve never cared for proper behavior in any situation since the day I met you.” Amy arched an eyebrow as she called him on his bullshit.

“That woman he came in with has to be his girlfriend, right?” Sonic grumbled, “I’m not gonna ask for somebody’s number if they obviously have someone already.”

“I’m not so sure about that.”

Sonic looked up hopefully. Amy was a better judge of character than he was. Sonic tended to blunder his way through life with little regard as to other peoples’ feelings. Romance was the only real obstacle that tended to stop him in his tracks. But Amy was an empathetic person. Whatever advice she had on people was usually spot on.

“If I was dating somebody that hot, I’d be staking my territory, you know? Holding on to him and announcing that he was all mine to the world, stuff like that.” Amy looked a little dreamy for a moment. “But the bat didn’t do anything like that. She didn’t even touch him, not even to hold hands.”

“But…at the table they were leaning in…”

“So? They probably just wanted to keep their conversation private. Plus, the bat kept looking at you. Anybody dating that hedgehog wouldn’t have a wandering gaze.”

“Do you want his phone number?” Sonic asked, annoyed at her admiring smile.

“No, but I’m not blind. He’s not my type, anyway. The brooding, mysterious look doesn’t do it for me.”

“Well, then…Maybe I will ask if he comes by again.”

That was unlikely, but Sonic resolved to grow a pair and flirt if he ever saw Shadow again.

Which he did an hour into his shift when he and the bat made another appearance. Again, the rush hour was just coming to a close as they entered, and the shop had lulled into a peaceful, almost sleepy atmosphere. Hardly anyone was here having gotten their coffee before speeding off to work.

Shadow and Rouge walked up to the counter. Rouge ordered a chai tea after some consideration, and Shadow ordered the same peppermint mocha without a thought.

Strangely, as Shadow moved to order his drink, Rouge gave him a little nudge forward before walking to the same table they had occupied the previous day. Shadow glared daggers at her, but his anger was ignored.

As Sonic scrawled Shadow’s name and order onto the cup, he asked, “So, is Shadow your real name?”

Shadow cocked his head in curiosity, seeming surprised at Sonic making conversation with him. “Yes, it is. Why?”

“It’s a badass name. Sometimes people give me fake names for their order, and I was curious if Shadow was real or not. It’s not like I can knock someone else for having a weird name, though.” Sonic chuckled, hoping Shadow would take the bait.

“What’s your name, then?” Shadow asked exactly as Sonic had hoped.

Sonic reached out a hand which Shadow clasped and shook. “Sonic. Nice to meet you Shadow. Hope to see you around some more.”

“You will.” Shadow promised before joining Rouge at the table.

Sonic could have jumped for joy at Shadow’s words, the promise of seeing each other again. He shot a smile at Shadow after he sat across from Rouge, and a tiny twitch upwards of his lips made Sonic’s heart soar.

Then he was engrossed in conversation with Rouge, and despite what Amy had asserted, he didn’t notice one glance in his direction. Instead, they seemed to be fascinated with whatever they were talking about.

They’d managed to pick the best place in the shop for quiet conversation. The wall they were against was shared with the jewelry store, which was much quieter than the wall shared with the clothing store. The noise of spoiled teenagers tended to bleed through that wall.

But Shadow and Rouge’s corner was isolated from the rest of the store due to only one table fitting into the small nook and the only noise that ever bled through being elegant music the jewelry place played.

Rouge knocked a knuckle against the wall a few times, and Sonic speculated they were considering visiting the expensive store next door. Sonic could have recommended they bring Amy with them to judge the jewelry’s quality. She was a trust fund baby most of her life until she struck out on her own with opening Rose Petals; she’d grown up around fancy jewels.

It was kind of pathetic imagining himself as a part of a conversation he had nothing to do with. Thankfully, another customer came in to distract him.

An hour passed, and Shadow and Rouge were talking intensely throughout all of it. They eventually got up to leave and, strangely, shook hands firmly before walking for the door.

Shadow stopped at the counter after seeing it was empty and asked in a quiet voice that was still somehow demanding, “Could I get your number? I’d like to call you, if I could.”

It took monumental will to not scream “Yes!” He managed to keep his voice an appropriate level with an appropriate amount of enthusiasm, and jotted his number on the only thing he had readily available, an empty coffee cup.

Shadow smirked in amusement and thanked him before turning on his heel and walking out with Rouge. The bat laughed and winked playfully at Sonic as the door shut behind them.

***

Shadow texted him that night. The message was only a few words and were just some well-wishing for a peaceful evening. Still, it made Sonic happy to know Shadow was thinking of him. He hoped he’d show up tomorrow as well.

He was visited once again that night in his dreams, but this time Shadow snuggled him close to his chest and nuzzled his quills tenderly. Shadow whispered sweet nothings into his ear as his thigh rubbed between Sonic’s legs.

He was gentle with his rubbing, taking time and care to pleasure Sonic thoroughly before getting to the main event.

A main event that was interrupted by the blaring of his alarm clock.

He groaned in frustration and slammed a fist into his clock, having just been awoken from Shadow making sweet love to him. At least he hadn’t cum in his bed like a horny teenager this time.

A conscience that sounded suspiciously like Tails reminded him he was still a teenager, but he ignored that in favor of waking up the real Tails.

He disliked having to always wake up Tails early on the weekend, but he had little choice. He had to work Saturdays and couldn’t leave Tails alone. So, Amy was kind enough to let him stay at Rose Petals during Sonic’s shift.

He was well behaved and quiet, so she insisted it was no trouble. And Tails didn’t mind because she always let him have a few free cookies.

At Rose Petals, he sat Tails down in a corner seat, the corner opposite of Shadow and Rouge’s usual spot in hopes they would be showing up. Well, in hopes that Shadow would be showing up.

And indeed he did, as always, just after the morning rush was over. But this time he arrived alone.

He shouldn’t ask after the bat, it wasn’t his business, but he needed a opener to conversation and he still had his doubts about whether they were an item.

“Where’s Rouge this morning?” Sonic inquired as Shadow reached the counter.

“Working.” He answered shortly.

“On a weekend? That sucks, I know how that feels.”

The sound of his voice attracted Tails’ attention, and the little fox looked over to watch his big brother flirt with a customer. He grinned and bounced over, leaving his homework on the table.

“Hi!” He greeted Shadow boldly.

Shadow turned to the fox and raised an eyebrow. Sonic figured this would be the ultimate test of Shadow’s date-ability. Being nice to Tails was a requisite for any romantic partner of Sonic’s.

“Hello.” Shadow greeted politely, obviously confused as to why the small fox was speaking to him.

Sonic laughed and introduced the fox to Shadow, “This is my little brother, Miles.”

“I go by Tails, though.” The fox amended, swishing his pair of tails behind him.

 “Ah, it’s nice to meet you.” Shadow said, still perfectly polite but lacking in warmth.

Sonic handed Shadow a peppermint mocha with a shot of expresso. He furrowed his brow even more.

“I haven’t ordered yet.”

“But I remember your order.”

Shadow took the drink with that tiny smile that made Sonic’s heart to backflips. Tails cocked his head to read the name on the cup.

“Shadow? Your name is Shadow?” Tails asked curiously.

“Yes.” Shadow replied shortly.

“Oh, I heard Sonic say your name before.”

He had? When had Sonic ever said Shadow’s name…oh no.

“He said he wants to have sex with you, but he won’t tell me what sex is.”

Sonic expected Shadow to be embarrassed or angry, but instead a wicked grin stretched across his lips.

“Really? He said that?”

“Tails! Don’t you have homework to do?” Sonic searched desperately for a reason to make Tails stop talking.

“But I want to talk to Shadow!” Tails complained.

“How about I help him with his homework?” Shadow offered, the grin on his face still very much gleefully malicious.

“Okay!”

Tails absolutely needed no help at all with his homework, but he skipped off with Shadow trailing behind him anyway. Shadow looked over his shoulder as he went and winked at Sonic, still grinning.

Sonic liked the expression on Shadow’s face, it suited him so much better than his usual frown or flat look. But he wished Shadow’s glee wasn’t at Sonic’s expense.

Still, it was fun watching Shadow chat with Tails. Between the two of them, Tails’ work was done at record speed, and they spent the time with conversation as Shadow sipped his coffee. Thankfully, the subject of sex was gracefully avoided as Shadow diverted Tails’ attention to other topics.

Sonic wanted to get to know Shadow even more now. He was good to his brother, and that was paramount to Sonic. Tails dealt with so much bullying for his disfigured tails and superior intelligence from his peers. It was nice to see Shadow not even blink at the strange duel appendages as well as respect Tails’ intelligence while they talked.

Shadow was physically and emotionally desirable, and he seemed to have an interest in Sonic as well. Sonic was done faffing about, he would ask Shadow out as soon as he got the chance.

Said chance came at closing time, since Shadow was still at the table with Tails. He’d gotten up a few times to buy them food and refresh his coffee and make use of the facilities, but he stayed all day and Tails enjoyed his company the whole time.

He got an opportunity to speak with him alone when Tails ran to the bathroom.

“So, you want to have sex with me?” Shadow asked bluntly with a sly smirk.

Sonic sputtered for a moment before regaining his composure. “Well, I mean…I don’t just want to sleep with you…”

Shadow’s smirk disappeared to be replaced by a look of shock. Was it really so strange for him to hear that someone wanted to do more than sleep with him? That was a little sad.

“I…oh. I didn’t think…” Now Shadow seemed to lose his cockiness, putting him and Sonic on even ground.

“Maybe we can go for lunch tomorrow?” Sonic offered, since it seemed Shadow had no idea what to say. “I can ask my boss to look after Tails since Rose Petals is closed on Sundays.”

“I…I think I’d like that.” Shadow murmured, a gentle look in his eyes.

They parted, and Sonic felt as if he were on cloud nine. He had a date set with a handsome hedgehog that was good to his brother and possessed a surprisingly cute side to him. His life couldn’t get better.

***

Of course he dreamed of Shadow again, and this time the dream picked up where it had left off the last time he slept.

Shadow hovered over him, the both of them equally hard and horny and ready to get moving. Shadow wasted no time in getting inside of him, thrusting deep into his body.

Sonic watched the strong abdomen muscles work with each thrust, watched his arms quiver with the strain.

They kissed, and it felt heavenly to Sonic’s dream self. He could almost taste the peppermint mocha on Shadow’s tongue.

They made love until sunrise and the dream faded as Sonic awoke to a hard and weeping dick between his legs. He groaned, but remembered with sudden clarity that his dream might not be so far-fetched any longer.

He wanted romance first, he wanted to get to know Shadow’s mind intimately before his body, as appealing he knew it was beneath his clothes.

He spent the morning before his lunch date playing dress up with his entire wardrobe before giving up and waiting for Amy to come over and tell him what to wear.

She selected a simple look of jeans and a fitted t-shirt with a light scarf stylishly wrapped around his neck and draping over his shoulders. She said it was best to go subtle for a first date, too much meant you were trying too hard.

“But if you’re trying really hard doesn’t that just mean you like the person?” Sonic questioned.

“It also means you’re desperate, and if you like someone enough to be desperate before a first date, then you come off a little obsessive. It’s not very attractive.”

“Okay.” Sonic conceded gloomily, knowing Amy was better informed of such things than he was. And this was one date he didn’t want to mess up.

Sonic texted Shadow to meet him at a charming little café he knew of, that is to say, Amy knew of and informed him about.

The tiny smile appeared on Shadow’s face when they met in front of the café, and they went inside and ordered their food before seating themselves at a table.

“So, you know what my job is. What do you do?” Sonic asked.

“I’m a bodyguard. Of sorts.”

That got Sonic’s attention. “Is Rouge who you’re guarding?”

“Yes, she is my employer for now.”

Sonic wanted to ask what ‘of sorts’ meant, but if Shadow didn’t elaborate on his own them he wouldn’t pry. He didn’t want to seem nosy this early in their relationship.

“That sounds exciting. More exciting than working at a coffee shop.”

“Honestly, the hours are awful and getting shot at gets old very quickly.” The smirk on his face conveyed cockiness, as if being shot at was nothing more than a distraction. “I don’t usually do the kind of work Rouge asks of me, but she made a compelling offer.”

The way he held himself made Sonic’s body quiver with want. He wondered what kind of scars Shadow had, how they would feel under his fingertips as they slid over Shadow’s muscles while Shadow fucked him. Sonic suppressed his lustful thoughts and cleared his throat.

“What kind of work does Rouge do?”

“I’d rather talk about you, if you don’t mind.”

Sonic shrugged, figuring he had some kind of confidentiality agreement with his client. “Sure, but there’s nothing to tell.”

“I was wondering why you care for a brother that’s ten years younger than you and isn’t related to you.”

Sonic expected that to come up. It was a strange circumstance, he would admit that. Shadow was right to be curious.

“I adopted him when I was sixteen. I’d been taking care of myself for a while so I figured I could handle a little brother of my own. He’s a great kid, though, so raising him is more fun than hard.”

“How’d you meet?”

“I was out for a jog and found some kids picking on him ‘cause of his tails. His parents died a year before I found him and he’d been living in an orphanage, but the other kids were awful to him. So I took him in.”

“They let a sixteen year old adopt a kid?”

“They wanted him gone, the bastards. Said his tails freaked potential parents out, made them think the other kids were deformed too. Bunch of dicks.” Sonic muttered angrily.

“He seems happy.”

“I’ve done my best, but I wish I had more money to take care of him with. I want to send him to a private school.”

Shadow nodded. “He’d do well there. He’s very bright.”

Sonic beamed with pride. “He is! I’ve been saving up, but it’s tough. I don’t know if I’ll have enough by the time he’s old enough for a private school. I won’t give up on him, though.”

Shadow went silent and looked pensive as he glowered at the table. Sonic let him think and waited for him to continue the conversation.

“I hope it works out. If there’s anything I can do…”

Sonic waved him off. “Don’t worry about it, he’s my responsibility.”

“You are…a remarkable individual, Sonic.” Shadow complimented with his tiny, adorable smile.

Sonic blushed and shook his head vigorously. “Nah, don’t flatter me, man!”

Shadow smiled a little wider and shook his head fondly. Their food arrived and their conversation turned to lighter topics. They chatted in blissful peace until their food was devoured and they departed the café, pleased with the food and each other.

Shadow took the initiative and kissed Sonic on the sidewalk, oblivious to the looks they received from passersby. Their lips pressed and rolled together until they ran out of breath, and Sonic swooned like a maiden with the vapors once it was done.

They parted with a promise of meeting again soon, and Sonic practically skipped his way home.

***

His good mood continued throughout the week, especially when Shadow arrived for every day of it. Rouge was with him again, and they still spent their time in quiet conversation at the same table.

Sonic wondered why a bodyguard had so much to discuss with a client, but he figured they were friends as well.

On Friday, Shadow left the coffee shop without Rouge, leaving the bat at the table. She didn’t stay there long, as she made for the counter where Sonic was. Sonic watched Shadow go, and saw him turn at the front window towards the jewelry store. He couldn’t see if he entered the place or not since the window’s view didn’t allow him to see that far to the side.

Rouge entered his field and sight and leaned on the counter. Her ample bosom was on display in a low cut shirt as it always was, but it did nothing for Sonic.

She smiled a sultry smile and said, “So, I hear you want to have sex with Shadow.”

Sonic groaned in exasperation. Shadow must have told her about Tails’ efforts to humiliate him in front of his crush. Well, his boyfriend rather than crush these days.

“Relax, hun, it’s just some harmless fun. Honestly, I’m happy he’s seeing you. He’s loosened up these past few days, it’s nice to see.”

Sonic couldn’t contain his questions. “He said he was your bodyguard, but you seem like friends.”

Rouge let out a laugh. “Bodyguard? That’s what he came up with? Okay, we’ll go with that.” Her chuckling continued, and Sonic was even more confused. He wasn’t her bodyguard? Well he did say a bodyguard ‘of sorts.’ That did allow for some wiggle room.

“We do work together, though.” Rouge added lightly, relieving Sonic’s worries. At least she hadn’t announced they were actually dating and he was some sort of side project.

“I see.”

“I told him to flirt a little, maybe get your digits, but then you go and make the first move. He usually scares people, so good on you.” She punched his arm playfully. “He said it’d be a bad idea, but I could see he liked you. You two deserve a shot, despite the circumstances.”

Sonic did see her nudge him the day he’d given Shadow his number. So that’s what was going on there. Another mystery of these two strange people solved. They weren’t together, and Rouge even wanted Shadow to flirt with Sonic. But what circumstances was she referring to? It was a very odd thing to say. Every revelation seemed to have another new question attached to it.

He still wondered what their profession was. They spent a long time just talking in the corner, what kind of job allowed for the amount of free time they seemed to have?

“Well, thanks for the encouragement.” Sonic said sincerely. He was truly happy that the bat had encouraged their blossoming relationship.

“And thanks for providing such quality service. That table of ours will be free for use soon.” Rouge winked and returned to said table.

What a strange thing to say. They came here for the coffee and conversation, didn’t they? Why would their daily visits be coming to an end?

***

Everything became clear the next Monday. Sonic had asked Shadow if he wanted to go for another date that Sunday, but he had refused claiming that he had work to do. He regretted not pressing either he nor Rouge for answers concerning their work.

Especially since he and Amy were greeted the following Monday with a mostly destroyed coffee shop. On the wall that connected the quaint coffee shop with the jewelry store, rather close to the table Rouge and Shadow so often occupied, was a large hole blocked off by police tape.

An officer on the site informed them that the high-end jewelry store had been robbed the previous day when the coffee shop was closed. The shop’s lock had been broken and the hole had been blown open, then the store had been looted before officers arrived on the scene. The blast had caused significant damage to Rose Petals.

Apparently the wall they shared was also filled with wiring that connected to the jewelry store’s security system, so nobody knew what was happening until the employees arrived that morning. But by the time the call was made and the officers arrived, the jewelry emporium was empty and the robbers were gone.

Amy kept her head, managing to stay calm and together as she thought things through. The shop could be fixed up, her parents’ trust fund would see to that. This wouldn’t be much of a hit to them financially.

Sonic couldn’t help but think that that was why this place was targeted. Tails had revealed a few days ago that while they were talking, he mentioned to Shadow that Amy’s parents had a lot of money they were rather liberal with. Their little shop wouldn’t be hurt too much by this.

Or maybe Sonic was trying to justify the criminal act in his mind when he knew full well this was his boyfriends’ doing. Rouge had said their business here would be done soon, and Shadow had said he was ‘working’ on Sunday. They had spent their days here at the same wall, the one that was now blown to pieces, secretly talking and inspecting the wall.

And Sonic was the only one that could identify them. Amy and his other colleagues weren’t around during the slower service times when Shadow and Rouge were around. He was left alone at the counter, alone to witness the pair planning their robbery.

Perhaps it would be best to be direct. He pulled out his cell phone and tapped Shadow’s name to send him a text.

‘Was it you?’

Any more than that was unnecessary. If Shadow knew to what he was referring, then no more needed to be said.

His phone buzzed with a reply almost immediately.

‘Yes’

The blunt confession seemed so like Shadow. There were no excuses, no dancing around the subject, just a straight forward answer.

A follow up text came soon after.

‘We knew about the trust fund. We knew the shop would recover. We didn’t want you to be hurt by this. We were careful.’

At least that confirmed Sonic’s better thoughts about the pair, about Shadow. He wanted to believe the best of him.

Sonic tapped out a reply. ‘I should report you to the police. They’re right here.’

Sonic wasn’t sure if it was an empty threat or not. Mostly, he wanted to see what Shadow would say to that.

His reply was slower to come. ‘I understand. I’ll have to leave town if you do. I’ll miss you.’

That hurt more than it should have. He didn’t want their fledgling relationship to be cut off like this. He now understood what Rouge had meant about them being together despite the circumstances. Shadow was planning on robbing the place then leaving town, and it rested on Sonic’s shoulders to keep him around or send him away.

He needed some reassurance that he would make the right choice. Shadow had said this wasn’t normally the work he did, and Sonic believed him. So why had he done this? Sonic wanted to believe it was for a good reason.

‘What are you going to do with the money?’ He texted, wanting a straight answer and trusting Shadow would do that much for him.

‘Donate it once Rouge pawns everything and I get my cut. To NIDS research.  I lost a friend recently and I don’t want anyone else to go through the same. And before I leave I’ll send you a check so you can get Tails into a private school.’

Sonic had to blink the tears from his eyes. He shouldn’t be touched by such a gesture, but if the money, even stolen money, could get Tails the education he deserved, then Sonic would accept it no matter the source. He’d do anything for his little brother, and Shadow was offering him exactly what he needed.

His decision was made. He would keep this secret to himself, knowing that Shadow didn’t deserve to be caught for what he did.

‘How about you give me that check during our date next Sunday?’

Sonic could picture the tiny smile on Shadow’s face when he received his reply.

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