Chapter Text
The heavy drumming of rain was steadily growing louder as the storm front finally began its pass over the house. Having been lying in the dark for the better part of an hour, Shadow had been tracking its progress by the flash-to-bang method. Watching as their bedroom lit up in a brilliant display as lightning flashed through the night then counted until the rolling boom of thunder caught up.
Laying on his side, the former G.U.N. agent was more preoccupied with the small huddle opposite him on the bed than the weather. It was a sight that’s amazed him every night for the past six years, ever since Silver had learned to escape his crib. Of course, those breakouts were usually followed by two anxious parents trying to coax a glowing blue, floating, giggling baby down from the ceiling.
Those early years of toddlerhood were as close to a heart attack Shadow was hoping he was ever going to get; but judging by how Silver’s powers were progressing with each passing year, he wasn’t going to be placing any bets.
The white hoglet had been…a happy accident. The little one had come into their lives in a time when neither of them knew what the next day would look like, yet alone any long-term future.
His son was currently curled up in his partner’s arms, face tucked into sand hued chest fur as his other father held him close, both indifferent to the noise outside as they slept. Gaze lingering on royal blue quills shaded a dark navy between flashes of lighting, Shadow had to admit to still being just as starstruck at having the other in the in the bed as he was at having a kid. At having anything, yet alone a family, with Sonic the Hedgehog,
The great hero of Mobius, someone he’d been told was nothing but an obstacle to scrub from existence, who’d willingly chased and poked at his defenses no matter what the darker hedgehog threw back. There’d been relief as Shadow had been pulled into the planet’s atmosphere seven years ago, as he'd watched with blurring vision as Sonic’s golden form had become nothing but a pinprick, before the darkness of unconsciousness had overtaken him. What he’d thought would be the last possible thought on the living plain had been how Sonic would have a chance at life where he’d failed Maria.
Imagine his surprise when he’d opened molten crimson eyes and came face to face with a pair of narrowed emerald green, the orbs swirling with relief and soft with something he hadn’t recognized at the time. The ebony hedgehog hadn’t understood why the look had sent a spark down his spine at the time, but it hadn’t taken long to find out.
For days Sonic had practically catered to Shadow as his body recovered in a safehouse secured by an amused Rouge, had even been patient as the hybrid’s tattered memory started mending in the following weeks.
Given how relentless Sonic had been and still could be, Shadow wasn’t really surprised to be where he is now; a stowaway letting the world think him dead while living in a home concealed from prying eyes. With a kid not even a year after officially dating; a family.
Not that he’d express any of this aloud, not with the way the two of them tended to poke and prod at each other as a form of affection with only the occasional sprinkle of tenderness. Neither had the best upbringing and the tit-for-tat worked for them in keeping balance in the relationship, no matter what shit the reality shows they threw on for cleaning day said.
A particularly close bolt of lightning must have struck near the house if the resulting blare of thunder was any indication. It’d been close enough to rattle the windowpanes, causing the two lumps across from him, who normally slept like rocks, to shift.
Shadow gave a huff of amusement. While it could be said Silver had his longer fur and unusual eye color in the trick of the light, his son’s personality and mannerisms were all absorbed from Sonic. Something he and his other half found endlessly entertaining for vastly different reasons.
A faint sound outside the noise of the raging storm had his ears pricking, a reminder that not all the home’s inhabitants were in the room.
Carefully sitting up, Shadow flipped the thin quilt off himself and onto the prickle next to him to create a double layer in the chilling room. Just as he was getting to his feet a series of what could only be described as high pitched, warbled barking came from the room next door. The cold of the hardwood floor bit at the pads at the soles of his feet as he strode briskly into the hall. He’d have to turn down the AC after checking on his newest charge.
The door was already open, they rarely closed any bedroom doors, and the ceiling and walls were still illuminated by the galaxy themed nightlight. Silver’s chosen contribution.
The whole room was themed in soft colors with most everything touched in some way with stars or tiny cartoon spaceships. Most of it was recycled from Silver except the neatly stacked clothes and crib, something they had to repurchase since neither parent had expected to have another baby in the house.
The strange barking came again, followed by sniffling and Shadow found himself already responding with a soft shushing sound before he even reached the crib.
A tiny form was sitting up with pastel blue blanket pooled around it, russet fur ruffled from breaking free of the swaddle the hybrid had put him in a few hours before. The baby was watching him with wide watery eyes, a small chest heaving with each hitched breath though there weren’t any tears.
While clearly in distress, he still ran his eyes over the kit for anything out of the obvious and let his eyes linger on not one but two puffed up tails peeking out of a white diaper. A mutation that’d forsaken the baby from a normal life though the ebony hedgehog was selfish enough to admit to being glad it’d lead the little one here, to their home.
Shadow felt a pang in his chest when the fox kit, Miles, made grabby hands when he wasn’t fast enough in picking him up. He made quick work of taking him into his arms, murmuring low words of comfort. The ebony hedgehog was grateful for moments like this that he kept his claws trimmed to the quick as he began rhythmically running a bare thumb over a white tufted cheek, the other arm to hold the small body close.
The results were immediate.
Captivating azure eyes stared up at him as a tiny head came to rest on his shoulder, breathing evening out now that he was being held. Touch starved the doctor’s report had said. The mollified baby’s fur began to settle from being bristled and his breathing began to even out.
Miles almost never cried, but in the rare instances the tiny kit did make his discomfort known, it was always because he’d been set down. Not because he was hungry, not because of a dirty diaper, and not even during those first few days of Silver learning to be gentle with him.
Even as the storm persisted outside, the flares of lighting with blasting thunder didn’t seem to be bothering the baby and there weren’t any unpleasant smells that’d indicated a dirty diaper. Must have been woken by racket and just wanted someone close.
Shadow felt a rhythmic rumble building in his chest, a rare sound he found himself doing more often than not when around his children. Miles perked up, large ears flopping as his head tilted in fascination as blue eyes darted over the hedgehog’s chest looking for the source.
In lieu of an answer, a sound akin to a deck of cards being shuffled began reigniting from the kit. A fox’s version of a purr Shadow recalled from some parenting books, something Miles had only done once before. It’d been memorable enough not just because of what it meant, but that it’d also sent Sonic into a panic thinking the baby had been having respiratory problems.
That first time he’d heard it hadn’t been too different from their current situation, on the first night they’d brought him home. Only Sonic had been the one holding him at the time and after the supposed Hero of Mobius had been done with his freakout, after a few panicked internet searches, there’d been a moment of awe. Much like Shadow was right now; staring in amazement as the small body produced a sound loud enough to rival even the barrage of thunder outside.
They continued their exchange even as the hedgehog began the trek to the kitchen in the dark, the way lit by the raging storm. He knew better than to try and set his cargo down, so it was with practiced ease that he juggled a baby on one arm while palming two pre-opened jars of baby food from the fridge. Eventually the purrs died down as Shadow settled with Miles in a kitchen chair, balancing the tiny kit on a knee before leaning back to open a drawer for a designated little red spoon. They were still exploring flavors but so far it was a tie for carrot or apple, with anything citrus flavored sitting dead last.
Sure enough, almost as soon as both jars were set on the table Miles was pointing a tiny finger at the container holding pale yellow mush without even considering the dark green concoction of mashed green beans. Shadow watched in bemusement as the kit made to curl small fingers around the silicone baby spoon resting between red striped fingers. Clever little thing.
He sat back in the chair, supporting the kit and helping him take small spoonful’s as they both observed each other. Big blue eyes never looked away even as the kit patiently waited for each mouthful, small hands gripping the inhibitor ring on his wrist once it became clear Shadow wasn’t going to let him feed himself yet.
Vastly different from Silver’s much messier eating habits and Sonic’s tendency to scarf down whatever was set in front of him, sometimes as fast as he ran much to his partner’s disgust. It should probably mean something that the baby had better eating habits than a six- and twenty-five-year-old but he digressed. Shadow met his youngest’s gaze, mirroring the curiosity in those eyes as he let his thoughts stray between bites.
Shadow had grown complacent after going into hiding and while G.U.N. had a strict “no body, no death” policy, years without finding a trace of him had turned the hybrid into an urban legend. It left enough wiggle room for the hedgehog to slip in and out of recon missions with Rouge and E-123 Omega on days Sonic was able to stay home with Silver.
G.U.N. had yet to catch on to his little covert team-ups with Rouge, and by extension Omega who was never far from him anyway, who was consistent in erasing any trace of Shadow’s presence from cameras or witness reports. It was driving higher ups, i.e. Commander Tower, mad and the Ultimate Lifeform took great pleasure in being the instigator after years of being treated like a glorified lab rat. It was as close as he was going to get in satiating the deep-seated bitterness he still had for Maria’s murder without straying from his still fairly new moral compass.
The dark hedgehog would rather live for her and pass on what light she’d been able rub off on him to his own children. It was one of hundreds of conversations he’d had with Sonic, usually in the quiet of night, with only the moon to witness them at their most vulnerable.
It was after such a night that Miles had abruptly crash-landed into their lives.
It’s been five months now since Shadow had received an encrypted tipoff from Rouge, through a tapped vein of a G.U.N. network, that the Doctor had been showing activity in the Emerald Hill Zone. Sonic had insisted on checking it out himself given his favoritism of the area and had spent the rest of that day sprucing up his little red biplane, the Tornado, with their son happily levitating requested tools to and fro.
Why the blue hedgehog even insisted on having a plane was beyond him, but Shadow had given up ragging on his partner years ago after it’d became clear it had some sentimental value. Had even added a hanger for the thing as a way of apologizing, something Sonic had been smug about weeks after parking it in its new home.
A quick kiss, a tickled hoglet and a threatening reminder to at least text when he got there, then the hero was just a red dot flying into a sea of white clouds.
Sonic had little patience for phone calls and Shadow knew this, had categorized it as an automatic emergency if his partner ever bothered to dial. He came as close as he’d ever like to an actual heart attack when, not even twenty-four hours after seeing Sonic off, his phone began ringing.
“Don’t freak out.”
It was a moment Shadow would remember for hoping the idiot was actually in trouble, because that was about the stupidest possible thing he could have opened with.
“Where are you?”
“Ah, well I made to the island! But uh, something came up and it’d be easier if you saw him for yourself. So…see you soon!”
And then he’d just hung up. Shadow had stood there in a moment of stunned silence before whipping the burner phone across the room. The flicker of satisfaction watching it shatter on the living room wall almost beat out the following annoyance that he’d have to get a new one at some point. Looking back, Shadow was surprised he’d missed the other’s wording in his frustration.
What’d followed was a rapid succession of swiping one of the few chaos emeralds collected so far from the floorboards, gathering Silver from the middle of his lunch in the kitchen, and teleporting his son to his Amy’s house. Popping in out of the blue in the middle of her kitchen hadn’t been his best choice judging by the Piko Piko hammer he’d narrowly dodged but Shadow was quick to grab the handle before the pink hedgehog wielding it could take another swing. Silver had at least found it funny, giggling like mad as his father handed him to his designated “Aunt Amy”. She’d automatically dispelled the hammer at receiving an armful of white quills and fur, mouth opening and closing in her bewilderment.
“I-wha-, Shadow? What are you two-”
“Sonic.”
The ebony hedgehog had given her a look of exasperation complete with raised brows – a look they’d sent each other countless times, usually when in the same vicinity of the blue hedgehog. Sonic had an affinity for being brazen when he had an audience and caused secondhand embarrassment for those that actually knew him. And this may have been an emergency drop off, but Amy didn’t need to know that just yet.
Amy heaved a heavy sigh of exasperation, shoulders slumping as she set Silver down and batted her hands at him in a shooing motion. Neither needed an explanation beyond that. Shadow knew while no one could come to them to avoid being compromised, they could always count on her as a safe harbor for moments just like this.
Shadow has warped away after giving his son a quick hug, not wanting to waste anymore time, going from Central City back to Mystic Ruins. He’d then had the dilemma of whether to chaos control across the South Sea or run it.
While more familiar with cities on the mainland, Shadow distinctly remembered a particular race with Sonic that led to one of their first dates on West Side Island. They hadn’t made it to the Emerald Hill Zone, but the hybrid figured sensing the speedster’s chaos energy signature would be enough if he took a lap.
The dark hedgehog had had to fortify himself. While it was easier to teleport shorter distances, cases like this were worth the strain on his energy pool. One moment he was on a beach encompassed by tropical jungle, the next he’d sidestepped into a mountain side sparsely populated with pine trees. There’d been the burn of cold air and a view of below peeking through a layer of clouds that could only indicate the area as Hill Top Zone.
While he hadn’t seen much beyond cliffs breaking through the layer of white, the hybrid had at least remembered some of the island’s layout from . Had known to look for the thick plumes of polluted steam that’d come from the Chemical Plant Zone for a sense of direction thanks to Sonic’s occasional rants.
From that point, Shadow had spent the better part of twenty minutes alternating between cursing Sonic for his shit communication skills and his own stupidity at destroying a phone that would have let him try to call the other to at least chew him out over it. As he’d fought his way downward, raced down rocky slopes, rode flimsy chairlifts supported by vines and jumped on rusty seesaws, Shadow came to a logical conclusion. If this had been the state of just one zone, the rest of the island must be insufferable and as he’d darted through tunnels pooled with lava, the ebony hedgehog swore this would be his last . Sonic could have the it to himself from now on, Shadow would be sticking to the back alleys of the cities.
Finally coming out of a loop that stopped at an outlook below the clouds, a distinct area overlayed with brown smog smeared a large portion of available land. Columns of white haze streamed from thin black pillars that must have been towering smokestacks up close and just beyond the visual smear was a patch of vibrant green that stretched to the edge of the island to the blue of ocean. Emerald Hill Zone had been as self-explanatory as he'd hoped; and he hadn't even needed to talk to anyone.
He really hadn’t wanted to waste any more time, and since he could then visualize where Sonic was likely holding out, Shadow forces himself to concentrate and summoned the last dredges of his chaos energy to make the short jump through time.
A blink, and he had been standing among rolling hills panting with the onset of exhaustion. It’d been easy to see why his partner had a soft spot for the zone, with plenty of loops and high green grass to run for miles on. And as if just thinking about Sonic was enough to conjure him, there’d been a prickling in the corner of his consciousness, an itch that had pointed him in the direction of a distant line of trees.
Counting on his body to recover on the move, the ebony hedgehog had bolted across the outstretched meadow while dodging arrent Badniks in his rush. Breaking through the tree line, his internal compass had pulled him through a thicket of what’d looked like banana trees mixed with other tropical plants that had turned out to be growing around a river. And in clear view, on the opposite bank, a blue hedgehog sat cross-legged while peering at something in his lap.
Besides an ear swiveling in his direction, Sonic had been engrossed in fiddling with…something that’d looked like a wad of tan cloth. Shadow had let relief roll through him at seeing the other in one piece before the exasperation set in. There hadn’t seemed to be any danger, in fact the scene had been peaceful with the sunlight streaked through the surrounding branches and highlighted the stark cobalt blue being that sat in it.
“Well? You just going to stand there all day?”
Shadow had shot him a look, not that Sonic had even been looking. There’d still been a noticeable strain in his limbs and now that his mission objective was in view, seemingly just fine, he had really just wanted to sit down. Chewing out the idiot would come later.
Skating over the running water from one shore to the other, closing the remaining gap between them as the hybrid practically fell into the soft patch of grass beside the other. The heavy weight of his shoes had sunk into the pebbles and rock beside Sonic’s own sneakers where the riverbank cut through forest foliage.
“Silver at Ames or Rouge’s?” Sonic had asked nonchalantly, but there’d been an undercurrent of something else in that tone. Shadow had been leaning back on his hands, his eyes closed to let himself settle but hearing the undertone, he’d opened an eye in a slit to side-eye his partner.
“Amy has him. Probably pumping him full of sugar and telling him embarrassing stories again. If you had just said what was going on over the phone like a normal person, ” It’d earned him a hum of affirmation but no further comment. Normally he was so talkative Shadow would’ve had a hard time getting a word in edgewise. A feeling of unease had crept in and he’d began to think maybe something’d gone wrong after all.
A crimson eye traced over a head of disheveled quills before dipping down over tense shoulders to see what had been so fascinating-
“…is that a baby? Why do you have a baby?!” Immediately Shadow had bolted up in alarm, wide eyes darting between Sonic’s raised brows and the tiny wriggling being that’d been tucked in a towel.
Where originally he’d thought the improvised blanket to be tan from a distance, it must have been white at some point before Sonic tried wiping the collected dirt blended in with fur almost the same shade of brown. Small watery eyes had been squinted in clear discomfort and there’d still been some discharge clinging in the fur around them. Even then there hadn’t been any sounds, but the babies’ mouth had been worked open in its labored breathing, revealing a few needle point teeth in practically white gums.
The softness of his lover’s voice had still startled him from observing the bundle in growing horror and he’d almost missed the words over the rushing water next to them.
“I found him, in a box.” He’d jerked his head to the side, indicating a nearby tree. It would have been impossible to tell if anything was at the base of the trunk if it hadn’t been pointed out due to the higher grass. A misshapen lump that could have been the remnants of a cardboard box was peeking out. It’d been clear the child hadn’t been taken care of for a while and the obvious abandonment confirmed it.
“I would have run right past him if my shoe hadn’t come loose.” Sonic had laughed with a shake of the head, but there hadn’t been any trace of humor in it. “Figures of all the things I ignore you about and it’s fixing the straps on a shoe that stopped me in just the right spot to see him. I don’t think he can even cry anymore Shadow,” The speedster released a shaky breath, “there was so much gunk on his face and it took me forever to get him cleaned up.”
A moment of stunned silence went by before the older of the pair asked what would end up being the winning question.
“It couldn’t have been left out here too long, it’s-”
“Lil’ guys a he Shads.”
“Well, he looks too small to have been out here for long. Is there a town nearby?”
Shadow had never seen the twisted snarl that marred his partner’s face before, and to this day only a hint of that dark look appeared when the subject of Mile’s birthplace came up.
“Oh, there’s a town all right and there’s nothing but ignorant monsters running it.”
Then Sonic spoke of discovering the twitching soggy box, of trying to wash some of the shocking amount of filth off the small body in the river before walking to a nearby village he knew of. How the first house had chucked the towel at them, still wet from drying dishes after catching sight of the baby.
It’d taken three more houses before someone had snapped at Sonic on how the ‘thing’ was cursed, how returning the deformed creature back where the hedgehog found it was in his best interest. And so it continued, trying to get information or at least a kind soul to take the little one or even explain what the problem had been. The babe hadn’t looked deformed outside of clearly being sickly, so Sonic had been left with unanswered questions on what the problem was; or why a population made up almost entirely of foxes recognized the kit on sight but wanted nothing to do with him.
It wasn’t until Sonic had returned to the river, away from narrowed eyes, to try and give his charge a second assessment that he discovered what might have set a village against one of their own off. Having been more concerned with making sure the baby had a clean breathing way and eyesight, the hero hadn’t bothered with non-vitals with the first makeshift bath, like the tail. Or as it’d turned out, a twin set of tails tied together with fishing wire. It couldn’t have been just some parents ditching their new responsibility, not the way the reactions he’d gotten.
It hadn’t just been a case of stupidity; it’d been a bunch of superstitious fools.
The looks of pity and indifference, the disgust that twisted a majority that bothered answering their door. Shadow could feel Sonic’s rage as he described the whole ordeal, and the more he’d heard, the more infuriated he felt himself become.
Did the idiots not realize the repercussions of being landlocked on an island with dozens of chemical plants? How lucky were they that their own children had no outward mutations of their own? But shunning a baby had been justifiable because, from what Sonic had gathered from those willing to throw out a mumbled explanation, the morons’ thought genetics were contagious.
The irony hadn’t been lost to Shadow, who’s own DNA made him a pariah even to his creators. At least until Maria had shown him there was more to life, had been willing to be the first person to hold his hand. The same spark of determination he’d always admired her for was not reflected in Sonic’s eyes as he held the dirty bundle close.
He could just imagine Sonic’s face darkening with each slammed door, each spitting comment through drawn shades, and Shadow knew that the tiny kit in his partners arms would be staying with them indefinitely.
The rumor on the Doctor would be explored later, by Shadow himself, but in that moment the need to get everyone home had begun scratching at his hindbrain.
Sonic had insisted on taking the Tornado back and given how worn Shadow had felt with just chaos controlling the island alone, there was no guarantee on how far he’d have made it with three other lifeforms; or what’d happen if he warped with a baby. Unfortunately, that’d meant topping off fuel, and the only fuel in the vicinity was in the town.
Shadow must have been too enthusiastic in volunteering to fill the can because in a rare swap in dynamic, the speeder had been the one giving the warning to not interact with the locals outside of throwing money at the gas station tenant. Get in, get out.
Naturally he made a detour.
Gas can in hand, the ebony hedgehog had slithered through the shadows of old stone buildings. The village had been small enough to navigate easily and despite the early evening sun, there hadn’t been much foot traffic to avoid. Finding the only building that looked like it held public records and not one of the dozens of restaurants or boutiques had been simple. He’d had to hunt down Sonic’s own birth certificate and was familiar with record keeping from his limited time with G.U.N., so stealing important documents was well in his skillset.
With how small the kit had been, Shadow had known he’d pop up on a public record somewhere and the hybrid needed to have something for the kid’s future. Because they’d never be coming back here. So, he’d slipped through a window, padded past a heavily aged fox asleep on their desk, and darted across the hall to the only other room lined with floor to ceiling office cabinets. Even from the doorway he’d been able to tell the drawers were stuffed by the papers that poked, like a dumbass had crammed centuries worth of historical papers in one room.
Ignorant as they were, they at least kept organized. Handwritten organization labels that’s sped up the deduction process to a cabinet in the far corner with several drawers boasting ‘birth records’ in bright red cursive. It couldn’t have been more perfect unless it had a big red arrow taped on it just for him. It’d taken a few minutes to find the current generations, but years of low birth rates narrowed it down to five rather thin folders.
Given the practical novels of information marking checkups and major growth milestones for each child, Shadow figured he’d be looking for whichever one had a paragraph at best-
One. There was only one birth marked in November of last year that lacked any extra details like the other children. A Miles Prower. Male, fox, born premature November 21st, and had taken his first breath on his own. And that was it.
It’d been disgustingly blank, and he’d found himself using his breathing exercises before he could lose his shit. The baby, Miles, hadn’t even been an afterthought to those who were supposed to protect him the most. Shadow had to pry the now balled up paper from his glove to stash it in his quills but still found some satisfaction by knocked each and every cabinet to the floor before he’d taken his leave. It’d almost been disappointing when Shadow still hadn’t run into anyone on the way out. Even the old office worker had slept through the noise.
The gas station ended up being on the outskirts of the village, which had just sped up his escape after filling the can, dutifully chucked some money at the clerk and skidded back into the forest.
They’d been in the air within fifteen minutes; baby tucked against Sonic with a makeshift sling in the cockpit and Shadow had ridden a wing. The wind whipped through his quills had helped cool his head, letting him think clearly and while his partner had flown them home in silence. Well, almost home.
After the plane had been tucked away, they’d made one extra stop that would solidify little Miles’ fate.
A visit to a favored back-alley doctor, a retired badger who offered free care to children, revealed what the first few months of life had really been like. The child, just a baby, was deducted to be in his first year at the most thanks to Shadow’s snooping, but without that paper, the doctor claimed the malnutrition would have made deducing his age by size alone nearly impossible. The little kit had been undersized, and after a physical exam heavily supervised by both hedgehogs, the extent of the abuse was shown to be extensive.
Having been abandoned on a riverbank for who knows how long, the adults had only stood there in horror as further examination the true extent of Miles suffering. The doctor had been grave as they revealed what the couple had initially missed under the layer of dirt still clinging to the baby’s fur; clusters of molten bruises, a barrage of fleas, a diaper rash so bad there’d been open sores, and a sinus infection.
But worst of it was on one of the kit’s tails. It would have been easy to overlook if a professional hadn’t been in the room to explain what they’d been seeing.
A ring of missing fur at the base of one of the appendages had just looked like a new rash cropping up, the skin pink and irritated but relatively clean. The haggard breath the doctor let escape said otherwise.
They then explained the process of docking. Toeing the lines of being illegal in most Mobian societies outside of emergencies, the practice was seen as barbaric. Mostly because the most effective way to remove a limb was when they were young enough for a quick recovery. And since most medical professionals refused to give the surgery for cosmetic reasons, most willing to put children through it had to report to the old fashion way of banding the base of a tail until it inevitably fell off.
In Miles case, someone had tied some sort of restriction where one tail began and had left it on long enough to leave a lasting mark and remove fur. Whether as the only act of mercy they’d ever gifted the baby, or the sadly more likely scenario of having grown tired of the crying and screaming, someone had broken the tie off before the process had completely cut blood circulation.
They’d been quick to bombard the doctor with questions about what they needed, what they could do, and what to expect. The only question they hadn’t bothered to ask was where the kit would go. Years of watching Sonic in the aftermath of a fight and raising their son taught Shadow that as cocky and aloof as the speedster could be, he was compassionate and protective in his core.
It’s what’d hauled the ebony hedgehog into the hero’s orbit in the first place, and he was under no illusion Miles had been counted as ‘theirs’ not long after being tucked into that plane’s cockpit. Shadow hadn’t been one hundred percent sure himself, mostly cautious at having another kid with their lifestyle, but he’d trusted his lovers’ instincts. He wouldn’t have anything at all in this life if it wasn’t for that intuition.
So no, there’d been no question Miles would be coming home with them. They never talked about having more kids but how could they trust anyone else with the kit?
What if they developed the same prejudice the village had? What if he needed extra care growing up, got sick more often and they couldn’t handle it, couldn’t understand he wasn’t defined by something out of his control?
What if they never learned to love him?
So, Miles had come home with them, along with handfuls of informational pamphlets and medications. Was given what had probably been the first proper bath of his life, fur gently groomed as muddy fur gave way to a coat of russet brown. Had met a starstruck six-year-old that had been instantly enthralled by him and been introduced to caring people that whispered soft promises of protection.
And had been secreted away by a new set of parents who knew what it was like to be different, had gone through being ostracized for it before finding each other and were willing to see their kid, now kids, come out better for it.
The kit had even been given the nickname ‘Tails’ by his newly self-appointed big brother, proclaiming ‘Miles’ an old guy name. Silver wouldn’t tell anyone why, just thought Tails was much more fitting in the six-year-old’s opinion. Sonic had picked up using it not long after. Shadow thought Miles was more dignified but didn’t fight anyone when the name had picked up steam.
It'd been a good starting point in rebuilding Miles, or Tails, new life.
A small hand batting at his own brought his focus back to the much healthier, much happier, kit sitting in his lap. Shadow was still holding the spoon aloft, having been going through the motions of topping off the spoon and feeding it to his charge while his mind drifted. Judging by the insistent tapping he’d hazard a guess that Miles was now done.
The pelting rain was still steadily beating against the house and flashes of lightning occasionally lit the kitchen, but in the few minutes of his reminiscing the booming echoes of thunder had begun to space out. The eye of the storm was moving on.
Now that Miles was full and seemed much more content, Shadow figured it was time to get back to bed. Leaning the kit against his shoulder and gently rubbing the soft fur between small shoulder blades, the hybrid replaced the jars in the fridge and ditched the spoon in the sink for later in the morning. Making the trek back through the hallway with the storm lighting the way, he took his time as an internal countdown began reaching its end. 6…5…4…
A small burp sounded against his shoulder.
“Excuse you.” Shadow couldn’t help but laugh, giving the baby a slight jolt in mock outrage.
“’Cuth oo.” The kit’s high-pitched voice was soft, as it always was, but was officially void of any of the distress that he’d first woken with.
Miles couldn’t quite pronounce full words yet, something Silver had issues with too even now due to his lisp, but it didn’t really stop either of them from trying. It even turned into a game between the kids, both leaning against each other with one of Silver’s speech books open over their laps.
Shadow wasn’t ashamed that most of the pictures that took up his phone memory were of such “study sessions”.
Now that the kit had been fed and had a clean diaper that Sonic must have changed before he’d handed him off to Shadow for bed, it was time to rejoin the rest of the family.
Walking into the bedroom, took in the new state of the bed since he’d been gone. At some point Silver had rolled away from Sonic to sprawl on his stomach in the center of the bed, a hand and foot encroaching on Shadow’s vacant spot. Sonic himself was still curled up in his end, almost in the fetal position, but had a peach hand resting on his son’s shoulder. Never too far, even in sleep.
Gently nudging the hoglet’s loose appendages over, the ebony hedgehog laid his youngest flush with Silver to keep him from rolling. Big blue eyes followed his movements, showing no trace of being tired but seemingly satisfied to just lay on the bed next to his brother.
Normally baby books and websites recommend a pacifier to help soothe a baby back to sleep, but their go-to doctor claimed the kit was an outlier. Having no evidence of being given one before, starting on oral toys this late would ruin future teeth alignment.
Not that Miles knew or cared about such trivial adult things. The kit usually had no issues with drifting off as long as he was being held while doing so.
In the time between putting the baby down and arranging himself in the bed in the sliver of space left on the mattress, Silver had unconsciously zeroed in on the new heat source and had wrapped an arm around Miles and had tucked him closer.
Given the content look on the kit’s face and the state of relaxation of the hoglet, neither would be moving the rest of the night…or morning given the indicated ‘4:32’ on their wall clock.
Shadow let out a long-winded breath has he let himself sink into the sheets. He wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep but closing his eyes and dozing off would help in wasting time before the house came alive again.
A popping sound had him opening his eyes again only to be met with a case of déjà vu at the tiny hand making grabbing potions at him.
Miles was still staring at him, expectantly now, still trapped against fluffy white fur as he made his demands obvious.
The hybrid’s voice was smokey as he tried to keep his voice in a whisper, barely audible over the light rain and now distant rumble of thunder. But he knew Miles could hear him just fine with the overly large ears.
“You’re going to be a spoiled little thing, you know that?”
If anything, the grabby hand became more determined. With a snort, Shadow reached around both his kids to scoop under a lax Silver and began to slowly drag them closer, dislodging his partner’s own hand.
Once close enough, both of his children fit easily in his embrace, the father planted a small kiss on each forehead before closing his eyes again. He didn't bother with dragging the quilt back, knowing his body temperature ran warm and the summer humidity would begin to seep back into their little pile.
Outside the weather was still going steady, rain pitter-pattering and lighting still streaked through the windows, but it’d noticeably begin to calm. Thunder rolled longer and longer after each strike as the storm made its way inland. Eyes still closed, Shadow groped blindly with his outstretched hand until bumping into the other source of warmth he knew would be there and curled his fingers through Sonic’s own loose digits.
Now all finally connected and safely tucked away, he let his mind drift back to memories old and new, good and bad; and waited.