The Gang's All Here

9: ...Stay

After Sonic had hung up the phone, Manic couldn't resist the urge to cry. He'd really tried to have a conversation, but it seemed like either Sonic didn't care to listen, or didn't care about him.

Manic was contemplating taking too many pills when he heard his phone ringing. He looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Silver.

"Hey, Manic!" Silver cheerfully said once Manic picked up.

Manic had attempted to sound calm. "Hey, Silver."

"I decided to call you before I started searching. Were you able to talk to Sonic?"

He didn't mean to, and he didn't want to, but Manic began crying again.

"Oh! No, don't panic, I'll start looking for him, now!"

His voice breaking, Manic said, "*sniff* No, Silver. Sonic's fine, that's not why I'm crying."

Once Manic explained what had happened over the phone, Silver was speechless. How could anyone, let alone Sonic of all people, be so nonchalant about what Manic had said? It was so hard to believe, but Silver knew that Manic wasn't lying about any of it.

At that moment, Silver knew what he wanted. He wanted to be the brother figure that Manic desperately needed, or the closest thing to it. And if things went well, he could get Shadow and Manic to be more comfortable with each other, and he knew that would help both of his mentally-troubled friends.

Now, it's been a little over two months since the last phone call.

Ever since, Silver has tried to include Manic on his errands or nights out. Shadow was usually willing to tag along, unless he was busy or tired. Manic began recognizing Shadow as his friend, and Silver became both his friend and means of serious emotional support.

But every time he remembered that it was Silver, rather than his brother, that seemed to truly care about him, he wanted to cry.

Not that he was ungrateful for Silver's help, of course. It just never felt good knowing that someone of close family was ignoring him.

Besides that, however, Manic's mental health was starting to improve. He wasn't as jumpy with everyone, he was more talkative, and had less bad thoughts. Not much less, but less still.

Shadow was a different case.

Now, he was improving. Shadow was also more talkative and more willing to open up to Silver and Manic (whom he now saw as his friend). He enjoyed spending more time out rather than being alone in his house.

To be honest, however, he still had a small problem.

Shadow was uncomfortable in his house. He couldn't understand why, but for the last two weeks, he felt a sense of dread whenever he went home. He'd swear he'd see something out of the corner of his eye, but nothing would be there when he turned his head. And he'd begun having nightmares, noticably more when he was at home...

...

Well, no, not home. Shadow's house wasn't home to him, anymore. Not only because his own house was creeping him out, but he'd noticed a while back that he more enjoyed being in Silver's house than his own.

Mind you, Silver's house was much smaller than his. The neighbors also lived much closer. Really, the house just didn't seem like something Shadow would like.

However, Silver's house was nice. It always seemed warmer, slightly more kept, and gave an overall "Welcome home!" feel. And, whenever Shadow was at Silver's house, he didn't feel so lonely. As much as he hated it and hated to admit it, Shadow often felt lonely. Or sad, or bored, or just wanting to talk to someone. Spending time with Silver made him feel better, because Silver was good at helping others.

In fact, that's whom Shadow was calling on the phone.

Silver finally picked up. "Hey, Shadow. You okay? You've never called this late, before."

Indeed it was late. It was past midnight and Shadow couldn't get comfortable. "Yeah, I'm not hurt or anything, nothing to worry about. I just can't sleep."

There was a pause before Silver sighed. "I can't either. I've been having trouble sleeping for a while, now. I keep staying up until about three in the morning."

This came as surprise to Shadow. "How? Don't you wake up at 7:30 every morning?"

"Yeah, that's why it's confusing. I go to bed at 10:30 every night, and I keep myself busy during the day. I should be tired enough to sleep fine. Yet, I'm running on less than four hours of sleep right now and I'm still not sleepy."

Shadow thought. "Maybe I'm still a little paranoid. I don't think you'd need my help if... what happened ends up happening, again. But here we are."

"Shadow, do you remember what I said? Before you went home a few months ago?"

"You said you were okay, if I remember right. That you didn't need me there?"

"Well, yeah, I said that I was okay. But I also specified: you were still welcome to stay. You didn't have to leave just then if you didn't want-"

The phone hung up.

Silver looked at his phone, feeling surprised, then embarrassed. What was he thinking, offering for Shadow to come back and spend more nights, when he didn't need to? There was no good reason for Shadow to come over, he probably thought Silver was stupid and-

Silver's thoughts were interrupted when he heard a familiar teleporting sound effect in front of him. He looked up to see that Shadow had teleported into his room, holding a pillow.

"Scoot over."

Silver was taken off guard. "What?"

"Scoot. Over." Shadow repeated.

Then it occurred to Silver: Shadow wanted to sleep in his bed, beside him.

Surprised, Silver moved over to make room. Shadow got under the covers and lied on his pillow, facing away from Silver.

For a while, neither spoke.

Shadow didn't show it, but he was incredibly nervous. Wanting to sleep beside Silver already felt risky, but telling Silver to scoot over was a beyond bold move. It was a miracle to him that Silver hadn't kicked him out then and there.

Silver was nervous, too. He didn't know how to handle Shadow being like this, as Shadow had never done anything so intimate, before. Sure, Shadow's hugged him a few times in the past. But actually being in the same bed, regardless of nothing about it being sexual, was a whole new level.

After some time, though, they both relaxed a bit. Silver tugged his blanket back toward himself, and instead of pulling it back, Shadow took it as the invitation it was to get closer. This was perfect, as Silver could now reach his arm around Shadow's waist to hug him from behind.

When the arm was put around him, Shadow turned a bit to look at Silver in pleasant surprise. Not knowing what to say, Silver gave him a nervous smile. Shadow smiled back and lied down again, enjoying Silver's warmth.

Without the realization that they were cuddling at this point, smiling and still a bit bashful, Shadow and Silver had a much-needed good night's sleep.

Quick A/N: Hello, lovely Mints! In case anyone thinks the way I did a few years ago, intimate actually doesn't mean "sexual," it really means "private and/or personal." In other words, really close.