Silver Heritage

Asking Permission

    After a lot of bickering and shouting movie titles, the gang finally decided on a movie and collected the snacks Shadow had organized from the kitchen. However, halfway through the first movie, Silver began to look nervous about something, and he would fidget every so often. 

     "Shadow?" he whispered, "Can I ask you something?"

     Though no one could see it in the dark, the older hedgehog rose an eyebrow at him, "Sure. What about?" 

    Silver looked over his shoulder at the group, who ignored his conversation, "Can I ask you somewhere private?" 

    Shadow nodded and quietly stood from his place, and the two hedgehogs retreated back into the kitchen, which was becoming more and more as Shadow's private sanctuary. The two sat down at the table, and ruby eyes instantly trained on Silver. 

          "Okay, what's this all about?"

   The younger of the two became all the more nervous under the other's intense gaze. This was a stupid idea, he thought. 

    "Well, uh, it's about...it's about Blaze," he sighed in defeat. This only increased Shadow's curiosity. He wasn't expecting it. 

                 "What about Blaze?"

    "Well," he stumbled over his words, "what do you think about her?"

    Shadow's glare darkened. Did they seriously rope his son into their little quest? Was he supposed to help them eliminate the girls from the party off the list? Silver shrunk back underneath his gaze, not understanding what was going on. 

     "Why are you asking me this?" he demanded sternly, making the younger hedgehog shudder. Why did his mentor have to be so scary? 

          "Well...um....you see...uh..."

   "Quit stuttering and spill it out already!" Shadow snapped. 

    "I really like her, okay!" Silver answered, finally finding his words. Something registered in his mind, and Shadow softened his gaze back to normal. Silver only looked confused at the sudden change. 

     "And what does this have to do with me?" 

   The white hedgehog bit his lip, "Well, I wanted to know what you thought about her."

         "Why?" he asked with his arms crossed. 

    "Because I wanted your approval before I asked her out," he sighed in a voice barely above a whisper. Shadow was beyond surprised, but he managed to hide it. 

        "Why would you need my approval?"

   "Well..," he hesitated. How was he supposed to say this? "I really look up to you, and I won't date her if you don't want me to. I know you didn't want me to have any distractions during training, but I promise she won't be!" 

    Realization suddenly came over Shadow. This was a conversation normally held between father and son. If Silver was already starting to see him in that light without anyone telling him, then maybe the truth could come out sooner than he thought. But how was he supposed to handle this current situation? No one had ever asked his permission for such a thing before. Blaze was a good kid, in his opinion. Maybe a little too quiet for Silver, but there was nothing bad about her. 

     "Shadow? Did I say something wrong?" Silver asked worriedly, snapping him out of his train of thought. 

    "I don't see any reason why you shouldn't pursue her," he replied, "You have my permission, although I didn't think you would need it." 

    Shadow didn't have enough time to react when he was suddenly tackled out of his chair in a back-breaking hug by the younger hedgehog. 

     "Thank you, Shadow! Thank you! You're the best!" Silver rambled before releasing him and running back into the living room. Without saying a word, he grabbed Blaze's hand and steered her down the hall so they could talk privately. 

     Shadow stood up from the floor and crossed his arms as he thought. For someone who grew up in an apocalyptic future with no parental guidance, Silver was probably the best kid he knew. He closed his eyes, unaware that he was smiling at the thought of how good his future son would turn out to be. 

     And that was how Sonic found his rival: standing tall, arms crossed, eyes closed, and with a genuine smile on his tan muzzle. He had no idea what had made his rival so happy, but he was determined to find out. 

     "Hey, Shads. What's got you in such a good mood?" he asked casually. A girly squeal echoed from some other point in the house, and Shadow's smile grew into a knowing smirk. 

                              "That."

    The two rivals strode into the living room to find Silver and Blaze with beaming smiles and hands clasped together. 

      "We are officially dating!" Silver declared, and Blaze hugged him. It may have been out of character for the reserved cat, but she had been waiting to hear him ask her out for far too long. The others cheered, and the girls awed at the sight. 

     "I'm so happy for you two," Amy beamed. Her emerald eyes briefly glanced to Shadow, who was smirking like he had just won a war. Something told her that he had somehow helped the couple, but she wasn't sure how. 

    Silver looked away from the group, and his eyes locked on his mentor's. He smiled and mouthed a 'thank you' to which Shadow nodded. And for the first time in a long while, the dark hero felt content. If only it could stay that way. 

     Rouge glanced at her sable partner in slight wonder. After Shadow and Silver had left in the middle of the movie, she had no idea what they were talking about and decided to do a little friendly eavesdropping. She didn't think it would have anything to do with Silver's love life, but she was more surprised that he had gone to Shadow first. The two truly were very close. Rouge was only afraid that Sonic's plan would mess everything up and possibly drive them apart.

Author's Note: Sorry this chapter was so short. Mainly just father and son fluff between Shadow and Silver with a touch of Silvaze. Please send in your comments and reviews! I would love to know what you think of the story so far.