The Difference Between Us SHADAMY

Chapter 35: Where We Stand

Chapter 35: Where We Stand

Shadow hadn't been able to answer her. Hell, even keeping eye contact with her had suddenly turned next to impossible all of sudden. The ultimate life form had been reduced to looking at the ground. He had wanted to keep arguing with her. To tell her how much it had bothered him that she wouldn't tell him what was wrong with her. Yell at her for trying to keep her condition a secret because he couldn't prove that anything was wrong with her without the Connector. Tell her how frustrating it was for him that she had refused to tell him what part the blue hedgehog had had with her injuries. Tell her just how badly he had wanted to force her to tell him why she was so angry with Sonic in the first place.

Instead he suddenly found that he couldn't.

"Shadow."

Instinctively he met her eyes, still unable to figure out how to tell her all of this or even half of it. He couldn't recall any other time that he had ever wanted to talk so much before.

Maria, what on Earth is happening to me?

"Help me up." She groaned, offering her hand as a way to do so.

Without thinking he grabbed it and scoffed as he helped her get to a sitting position. "I don't think I should be-" And suddenly stopped when she pulled her hand free from him and found that he was being hugged.

"Thank you."

The black hedgehog was still, not knowing just how to comprehend how this had happened. Why she was hugging him, why she was this close to him, and why couldn't he seem to move away from her? "For what?"

"'Cause, you didn't have to do all that, but you did."

Still as confused as before, "It was nothing."

"Tails had told me."

He tensed up, not sure what Tails had told her or why she was keeping them like this. "Told you what?"

"That you had been trying to help me and I just didn't get it until now."

"Oh." He was a bit distracted when he felt her put more of her weight on him and he couldn't figure out why in the middle of their hug that she had done that. He tried thinking about that rather than think about what Rouge and Knuckles had done to each other while they were this close. And then there was another movement more leaning towards his right side when he figured it out. "You hurt your leg, too, didn't you?"

"...I'm not letting you check there." She was speaking more into his shoulder than to him but he heard it anyways.

"Fine, but you know that this isn't going to stop me from asking Tails what that mark on your stomach is."

"I know." She groaned.

Shadow put one hand on her side. "Rose."

"Yeah?"

"How long are you going to stay like this?" He asked trying to nudge her off with his right hand.

"Until I can adjust to the pain in my leg."

A small hum. "How long would that take you?"

She hugged him a little tighter after he spoke, something that he had not expected her to do after trying to get her away from him.

"Am I getting better?" It was quiet, but it had almost sounded pained.

He stayed still again, afraid that any extra movement on his part might get another reaction like before. "Hard to tell since you won't let me check. Does your leg hurt that much?" He asked.