❅ ᴡɪɴᴛᴇʀ ꜱɴɪꜰꜰʟᴇꜱ || ꜱᴏɴᴀᴅᴏᴡ ❅

1

"I'm sorry, WHAT?" Shadow growled, crossing his arms. Tails and Rouge had dropped by his house because they supposedly had an important task for him, however, he didn't expect to hear them say that they needed him to watch over that pesky blue hedgehog.

"We need you to take care of Sonic fo-"

"Take care of him? What, is he a child?"

"Shadow please, just calm down." Tails picked at the hem of his gloves, obviously on edge. "He's sick and he called me asking if I could help him, problem is I don't wanna catch what he's got, I've got too much to do."

"And that's where you come in" Rouge patted Tails on the head, turning to face Shadow. "Need I remind you that you're the ultimate lifeform? You can't get sick."

"He isn't my problem." Shadow retorted. "Why must I busy myself taking care of some snotball hedgehog?"

"Why must I busy myself talking to some bratty hedgehog? Quit throwing a fit Shadow." She handed him a mesh bag, which contained a first aid kit and some cans. "It's not like you're doing anything better this week."

"Fine. But only cause I have nothing better to do." Shadow growled, picking up the mesh bag and walking out the door, slamming it behind him.

It was cold outside, the frost nipping at his nose. He scurried over to his car, hopping inside and cranking up the heat. He just hoped Sonic's apartment had heat.

☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Shadow knocked at the door of Sonic's apartment, anxious to get inside. He had to walk up 2 flights of stairs and the cold was freezing his joints, so running up the steps wasn't really an option. A few seconds later, a sniffly Sonic wrapped in a blanket opened the door.

"Shads? What are you doing here?" His voice was raspy and didn't have its usual pep to it. "Do you wanna come inside? It's awfully cold out there."

"I'm here to ensure your condition remains stable and supervise you while doing so." Shadow grunted, shuffling in Sonic's place. "If you require something I will provide it for you."

"Look Shads I know you're a smart guy but could you speak in more simple terms?" Sonic coughed, plopping onto the couch and wrapping himself in more blankets. "I'm not exactly at my best right now."

"I'm, uh- I'm here to make sure you stay healthy and take care of you while you're ill." Shadow muttered, feeling angry at the fact that he somehow sounded more affectionate.

"Oh, are you sure?" Sonic wheezed again, shuttering under the blankets. "I don't wanna burden you but I really could use some help. I'm starting to feel too weak to take care of myself."

"It's no problem, faker. Why don't you show me around your place?"

"Sure thing!" Sonic stood from his place on the couch, a few used Kleenexes falling off his lap. He opened his mouth the say something but quickly moved his hands to his head, a sour expression painted on his face. He reached out to Shadow for support before deciding to plop onto the ground.

"Are you alright?" Shadow crouched down next time him, his hands resting on his knees.

"I just got up too fast-" Sonic stammered, hit with another coughing fit. "Like I said, I'm feeling rather weak right now."

"That's fine." Shadow wrapped his arms around the blue hedgehog and hoisted him up, Sonic grabbing onto the latter's shoulders. "I can just carry you. Don't get used to it though." He scowled.

"Thanks Shadow, I really appreciate it." Sonic smiled, leaning his head on the other's shoulder. He smelled good, it was a nice lemony-grapefruit smell that penetrated Sonic's clogged nose because it was citrusy. Shadow stiffened up at the touch, exhaling before standing up and walking the two of them around the house. First they went to the kitchen, as the living room had already been introduced.

"This is the kitchen, as you can tell." Sonic started, turning his head and pointing at the room. The countertops were a smooth white quartz that contrasted nicely with the black wood, decorated with a few potted succubi and some magazines. The stove and dishwasher were a nice silver/black color, and his refrigerator matched the mellow vibes of the room as well. "There's some seasoning in the cabinets, but I can't really cook. Amy comes over here and cooks me chili sometimes but I gave her strict orders to stay away while I'm sick like this. Hell, this is probably the only time I'll get a break from her." He sighed.

"I like your plants." Shadow noted, holding onto Sonic with one arm as he reached out his other hand to touch a particular fuzzy cactus that caught his eye, light green in color with beautiful orange blooms. "What's this one called?"

"Rebutia Muscula, but most people call it the orange snowball." Sonic cheerfully replied, his tail wagging. "It's a cactus."

"I didn't know you liked this type of thing."

"Yeah well, you usually turn me down when I try to be friendly with you."

"Sorry." Shadow apologized. "You're less obnoxious than I thought."

"Don't get used to it... Faker. " Sonic coughed, wheezing out the last part. "Why don't we go to a different room?"

"Fine with me. Where to next?" Sonic pointed to a hallway, motioning for them to enter the first room. It was rather empty, only containing a bed and an unoccupied nightstand decorated with more succubi.

"This your room or something?" Shadow asked, surprised at the bareness of the room.

"No, it's a guest room." Sonic answered. "I'm not sure what your plans were but if you intended to stay the night here then this is where you'd stay. Sorry if it's a little... empty."

"No it's fine." Shadow reassured. "It's nice of you to offer me the room."

"You're taking care of my sorry ass, it's the least I can do." He smiled sheepishly, nudging Shadow a little. Shadow didn't really respond, rather he moved to the next room down the hallway. It was a bathroom equipped with a light dimmer and a luxury bathtub.

"Nice bathroom." Shadow complimented.

"It gets better, when you turn on the tub, there's a light feature that makes the water look like it's glowing. If you add some vegetable-based food coloring then you can change the colors too."

"Of course you're the type of guy who puts food coloring in his god damn bathtub."

"What?" Sonic shrugged. "I live alone, I get bored. It was bound to happen."

Shadow chuckled, making his way to the last room at the end of the hall. Inside, the door was decorated with lots of stickers, and the walls were lined with shelves that once again, housed plants. A laptop and a pair of noise-canceling headphones sat on the bed, the home screen was a blurry picture of a much younger Tails trying to fit an entire chili dog in his mouth. Entertaining to say the least.

"This has got to be none other than your room." Shadow stated. "The stickers all over the door give off a very you vibe." The door, was in fact, covered top to bottom in stickers. He could make out cartoon characters, plants, a rainbow flag, a jar of peanut butter, a youtube button, and many more things. Some were a little odd but Shadow decided it'd be best if he didn't question it.

"Yeah, I just have a tendency to collect stickers I find cool and I just ended up sticking them all right there."

"Sonic you have a peanut butter sticker. What's cool about that?"

"I just like Peanut Butter. It makes my mouth feel weird."

"You're a weirdo."

"Thanks, you too." Sonic smiled, sneezing and rubbing his eyes. "Can we go back to the living room? My spot on the couch misses me."

"Whatever." Shadow huffed, carrying the blue hedgehog back to the family room. Shadow didn't want to admit it but this wasn't too bad so far. Maybe Sonic wasn't as annoying as he thought after all.