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Shadow sat cross-legged on his bed and stared at his bedroom door, as if he were trying to burn a hole in it telepathically. He swore he just heard something in the hall, something different from the normal sounds of the building. His ears were on a constant swivel, acting as mini satellites as his unease only grew. Yet, as the seconds ticked by, he couldn’t hear anything to indicate a threat.
He swore he heard something.
It was probably around 3am. A glance to the clock on his nightstand would confirm this, if only he wasn’t plagued by visions of somebody barging through his door should his eyes leave it.
Though all of Team Dark were chronic night owls (more like insomniacs), everyone had long since retired to their respective spaces and had no reason to be out and about. The only reason Shadow himself hadn’t gone through the motions of trying (and failing) to fall asleep was because he had suddenly been struck with the urge to relearn how to sketch halfway-decent anatomy. There was no reason for someone outside of them three to be in the apartment either.
Shadow’s spines involuntarily flared up. Slowly, as to not make any unnecessary noise, he leaned toward the headboard of his bed, still refusing to take his eyes off the door. He slipped his paw underneath his mass of pillows and reached blindly until his fingers brushed against something hard. His paw closed around the hilt of the knife and brought it close to his chest as he carefully tossed his sketchbook and pencil to the side.
It was probably nothing, his sensitive hearing sometimes played tricks on him, after all. Auditory hallucinations. It wasn’t anything new. He must’ve imagined the noise and was freaking himself out for nothing.
…Which meant it would be perfectly safe for him to go out and check anyway.
Socked feet silently touched the ground as Shadow stood up, wincing at the slight creaking of his bed. He stilled for a moment, the tip of his tail twitching back and forth. Every sound might as well have been an air horn screaming: “I’m over here!” They’d have no trouble finding him now— if they were real, of course.
His grip on the knife tightened.
He tried to breathe deeply yet quietly, steeling himself for what he needed to do. Slowly, cautiously, he approached the door. Before opening it, he hovered near the wood, ears flicking about. He held his breath for a moment as he tried listening for something, anything.
There was only silence.
It didn’t make him feel any safer.
He cracked open the door as steadily as one could with paws that were shaking with the same intensity as a fatal earthquake. His eyes bounced around the dark corridor; he had even opened his, usually hidden, third eye, just for the extra range. Just in case.
The hallway was barren, as expected. Polished wooden floors littered with scrapes made from both metal and keratin, walls lined with framed photos of the team and their friends, and closed doors. No people.
As his gaze swept the area, he glared at any shadowed corners, as if expecting someone to be there to meet his gaze. Razor-thin whiskers twitched as he scented the air for anything unknown, yet all he found was just the normal mixing of his teammates. Fruit and something floral yet sharp; gunpowder, iron and a hint of ozone.
He creeped into the hallway, softly shutting his door as he went. His eyes flicked to the left, to the closet and bathroom doors at the end of the hall a couple steps away, then to the right, toward the rest of the house. In the corner of his eye, he could see small blips of movement, as if there were flies dancing through the hall with him, causing his heart to jump before realizing they weren’t there. Just some minor visual hallucinations brought on by stress. Like what those noises were. Probably.
Swiftly, he moved to the bathroom and pushed the door open. As expected, it was empty. Even behind the shower curtain (which he pushed aside far more aggressively than necessary). Exiting the bathroom, he itched to check the closet even though, logically, the only thing in there was shelves of random toiletries. He opened it anyway. There was hardly space for any surplus supplies much less an actual person. We should really organize that better, a voice in the back of his head mused, momentarily distracted.
Satisfied, Shadow shuffled down the hallway, knife held tight. He forced his shoulders back and his stance to be stiffer, more aggressive. If he pretended to be angry enough, nobody would bother him; a tactic long familiar to him. Even if, in reality, his heart still pounded quietly in his chest.
Slower than he’d ever done before, he entered the living room. With eyes like his, there were minimal truly shadowed areas for anyone to hide in, yet Shadow remained cautious as he-
“SHADOW.”
The hedgehog in question proceeded to jump a foot into the air, quills flaring and ears flattening. The only reason a scream didn’t accompany the action was pure chance.
He whipped around to face his opponent, brandishing the knife. He fell into a defensive position, though his muscles were pulled so taut and his stance was so stiff it would hardly be effective. A feral growl escaped him before he could stop it.
He didn’t recognize the glowing red eyes of Omega at first. His teammate was sat on the floor near the couch, charging. Or, he was charging, at least. Did Shadow’s patrolling cause enough noise to alert him or had he been awake this whole time? And if so, how hadn’t Shadow noticed him before? Was he seriously so far into his own head he couldn’t hear his friend’s loud ass fans?
The seconds ticked by as both parties simply stared at each other, a slight tension in the air.
Eventually, Shadow’s heart began to calm slightly and he, almost sheepishly, lowered the knife. Omega wasn’t any kind of threat. If anything, his presence was almost like a balm to Shadow’s frazzled nerves. A visual reassurance that he wasn’t facing this threat alone. Even so, his ears still ticked backwards; he knew the kitchen was behind him and he hadn’t had the chance to check it yet. His spines prickled.
Omega seemed to catch onto his restlessness and odd behavior quite quickly. Shadow could see the way Omega’s robotic eyes zoomed in and scanned him. The robot’s head tilted slightly as he observed his friend, a habit Shadow knew Omega had picked up from him and Rouge.
“QUERY: WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Omega eventually asked, surprisingly void of any judgement.
And wasn’t that just the kicker?
What was he doing?
Carrying around a knife—one that wasn’t even from the kitchen, no, it was from underneath his own pillow— and wandering around the apartment looking for things that didn’t exist. Super normal. Totally a sane thing most people partake in.
“I’m fine,” Shadow grit out, his voice slightly raspy from hours of silence, completely ignoring Omega’s question.
“SCANS SHOW AN ELEVATED HEART RATE AND INCREASED LEVELS OF CORTISOL. CHANCES OF BEING QUOTE UNQUOTE ‘FINE’ ARE HIGHLY UNLIKELY.” Omega shot back and, man, Shadow hated when he just scanned them without warning like that.
Omega suddenly leaned forward, eyes visibly focusing on his hand. Belatedly, Shadow shifted so the knife wasn’t quite so visible, though he knew it was futile.
“I KNOW OF EVERY POSSIBLE WEAPON IN THIS RESIDENCE, YET I AM UNFAMILIAR WITH THAT WEAPON. QUERY: WHY DO YOU POSSESS IT?”
Shadow’s eyes narrowed, defensive. “It’s mine. I keep it in my room.”
“WHY.” Omega pressed, matching Shadow’s attitude.
“…Just self defense, nothing else,” Shadow mumbled, glancing away. He just knew what Omega would be thinking at this moment. He didn’t even have to look at him to know the robot was probably checking his forearms.
A heavy silence fell upon the room once more; the tension thick enough to cut through. Shadow’s tail resumed it’s flicking, increasing in speed the longer the silence prevailed. His ears swiveled. He tried not to let the flies on the edge of his vision distract him.
Omega continued to stare at him.
Thankfully, after a few more moments of silence, in which Shadow wanted to die, Omega relented and leaned back. His curiosity, however, wasn’t satiated.
“YOU HAVE AVOIDED THE PREVIOUS QUESTION. REPEATING QUERY: WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”
Shadow kept his eyes on the ground for another moment. Omega wouldn’t take silence for an answer, but which answer was the lesser of two evils? Say the truth and worry his teammates, or make a half baked lie and… still worry his teammates.
He let out a silent sigh.
“I’m checking for people in the apartment,” he admitted and, wow, could he have said that any less normally?
Omega whirred quietly as he processed the response. “THAT IS ILLOGICAL. NO PEOPLE HAVE BEEN INVITED IN RECENTLY. FURTHERMORE, ONE WOULD BE FOOLISH TO ENTER THIS APARTMENT UNWARRANTED,” he stated, “AND, EVEN IF ONE DID, IT WOULD BE HEARD; YOU CREATURES ARE VERY LOUD.”
Shadow bit back a scowl, frustration flickering within him. He knew that. He knew the chances of somebody breaking in were slim; there was no reason for someone to anyway. And, he knew that if somebody did, at least one of them would hear it. He knew that.
But still…
He must’ve been hiding his unease worse than he thought because Omega soon got to his feet, the sudden creaking and whirring totally not making the hedgehog startle. Heavy footsteps echoed in the quiet apartment as the robot came closer. Now they definitely know where we are, Shadow thought, though it didn’t worry him quite as much as it did a few minutes ago.
“HOWEVER,” Omega started now standing in front of the hedgehog, “WE MAY PATROL THE AREA IF IT WILL EASE YOUR STRANGE ORGANIC WORRIES.”
A part of Shadow was offended. The other part was hiding a snicker. Omega always said ‘organic’ like it was a slur. Shadow thought it was hilarious. He managed a small huff of amusement and nodded before turning to look down the other side of the room.
“Can we check on Rouge first?” he asked.
Omega made a couple beeping noises and Shadow’s ears flicked toward it, intrigued. Turning back toward the robot, Shadow’s eyes widened ever so slightly at the intense stare Omega was giving him.
“SHADOW,” Omega began, “ROUGE IS NOT CURRENTLY PRESENT.”
Shadow stiffened at that. She wasn’t here? Why? He knew she was leaving for an overnight mission soon but that wasn’t for a couple days, right?
…What day was it again?
“Right,” he responded, dragging a paw down the side of his face and taking a slow breath. He couldn’t trust his own mind anymore, it seemed.
He was pulled from his thoughts once more by Omega. “REGARDLESS, WE CAN BEGIN OUR SEARCH IN HER QUARTERS.” Without hesitation, he stomped past Shadow and into the hallway leading to Rouge’s room.
Shadow meant to say something in response. Some kind of agreement. However, his brain couldn’t produce anything comprehensible to send to his mouth and the moment passed. He moved to follow the robot, almost tripping when his left leg lagged a bit.
They methodically made their way through the entirety of the apartment, thoroughly checking each room. Omega barged through every door, metaphorical guns blazing as it would be unwise to damage their own living space, while Shadow hung back to watch their six, knife at the ready. With each room cleared, he found himself able to relax minutely. Once finished with the search, they ended up back in the living room.
“PERIMETER IS SECURE.” Omega reiterated, now standing before the hedgehog, “WE ARE SAFE.” For a moment, he stood still; then, almost hesitantly, he reached a clawed hand forward and tepidly patted Shadow on the head. His metal claws ran through his quills for a moment and it almost seemed like it was trying to be… comforting?
Shadow felt the corner of his mouth tick up slightly. While a bit of an odd execution, he would be lying if he said the thought was not appreciated.
Omega quickly retracted his hand, standing up straight once more. “IN ORDER TO BE IN PEAK MAIMING CONDITION, ADEQUATE SLEEP IS NECESSARY.” He then turned toward the hallway and carefully started to exit the room, his large frame bumping against the doorframe. “COME, WE WILL BARRICADE OURSELVES IN YOUR ROOM.”
Shadow grunted in agreement, sticking close to Omega as the robot shuffled his way through the too small hallway. As they walked, the hybrid couldn’t help but glance behind him every few seconds. Despite the logic running through his mind, despite the fact they both just checked the entire apartment, Shadow still felt unease rolling around in his gut. His paws twitched with the childish urge to grab onto his friend no matter how much he forcefully stamped it down.
He took a deep breath. There shouldn’t be anybody in the living room, they just came from there, after all. And, if somebody tried sneaking up on him, he’d hear them easily and have plenty of time to react. Nobody could beat him in speed. Except, maybe Sonic.
(Shadow kinda wished the blue hedgehog were here. He’d be able to lighten the mood in an instant with one of his dumb jokes or endless rambling.)
He shook his head. It was fine; he was just being paranoid.
He glanced over his shoulder once more.
His resolve cracked. He blindly reached forward until his paw brushed against cool metal. Far more hesitantly than any normal person would be, he lightly gripped the robot’s arm. When Omega didn’t yell at him and simply continued walking, he slowly put a bit more pressure into his hold.
Between one breath and the next, they were in front of and then in Shadow’s room. For a moment, he feared Omega would leave him to his own devices since he was safely back in his space.
Now, Shadow wasn’t an expert in his own mental health, but even he could understand that being alone with his thoughts would be unpleasant for everybody. Thankfully, once Shadow had crossed the threshold, Omega ducked low and lumbered into the room behind him.
Despite being known for his impeccable organization skills, his room was something of a controlled mess. He had never truly had his own space on the Ark besides a tube, and most of the rooms were kept sterile and freakishly neat— or more accurately: barren. He may have considered Maria’s room a shared space between the two, but physically, with all the machines and equipment to manage her sickness, it was curated to her. Once he began living with his team and had his own room (and got over the fact that he had his own room) he had been eager to personalize.
The room had a vague blue theme going on with a navy carpet and walls. Childish glow-in-the-dark stars dotted the ceiling in Shadow’s best attempts at actual constellations. A wardrobe they had grabbed off somebody’s lawn was sitting to one side of the room, half filled with clothes mostly picked out and bought by Rouge. On the opposite side of the room was a desk with a trinket collection beginning to form on its surface along with various art supplies and medical textbooks tucked into its drawers. A not-quite-dirty-but-has-been-worn-a-couple-times pile of clothing was tossed onto the chair nearby.
The bed was on the far side, right near the window, something Shadow switched between being nervous about and glad he was close to. It was loaded with blankets and plushies either timidly bought by Shadow with encouragement from Rouge or crocheted by Omega. His sketchbook still sat innocently at the foot of the bed where he had tossed it before.
Sidestepping the ice skates he had carelessly thrown on the floor however long ago, Shadow picked his way to the bed. He shoved the knife back under his pillows, feeling Omega’s red eyes follow his every move.
The apartment was quiet.
If he were being honest, Shadow wasn’t really sure what to do now. He was back in his room, the apartment was… safe (it was), and Omega was here to keep him company.
His eyes roved over his bed, tracing the folds in the blankets in a mindless pattern, tail flicking restlessly.
It was unlikely he would be able to get any sleep tonight; not that the chances were particularly high in the first place. He didn’t really feel like doing anymore drawing either.
He turned his attention to the window just to his left, peeking through the gap in between the black curtains. He couldn’t help the slight wariness he felt looking out over the city, as if the world beyond that thin pane of glass was crawling with people praying on his downfall. Hell, it probably was. He knew he wasn’t that popular with the public. A scapegoat to some, an actual villain to others.
Not that those claims were entirely unfounded.
He shook his head lightly. Those thoughts were counterproductive.
Turning his back on the city, he looked at Omega once more and startled at the realization he was no longer standing by the door. Sometime between his musings, Omega had migrated closer and sat down cross-legged next to Shadow’s nightstand. Or at least, as crossed as he could get. There was a gap between his legs and, considering his size, was plenty big for somebody to sit in. It could almost be described as inviting.
Maybe he could…?
No, that would be weird, right? They were friends, yes, but that just seems…odd. He didn’t want to overstep any boundaries.
Then again, Shadow’s sat on Omega’s shoulders plenty of times, crawled around his chassis, and hung off his arms when he was feeling particularly annoying. The large bot made an excellent on-the-go perch for his other teammates, especially when joint pain flared or the desire simply arose.
Before he could spiral into even more overthinking than he already was, Shadow grabbed one of the blankets off of his bed and wrapped it around his shoulders, his sketchbook fluttering to the floor. Briskly, he waddled back toward Omega and sat down in the space between his legs.
The robot stiffened slightly at the unexpected action, movements becoming even more robotic than usual for just a moment. Shadow chose to ignore it, for his own sanity. Instead, he closed his eyes and leaned against Omega’s torso, pressing his cheek against the metal and listening to the inner workings of his friend. The low humming had old memories daring to show their faces. Not ones of invasive tests and pain, but of golden hair and quiet nights under the stars.
After a moment of this, Shadow heard a different kind of whirring and soon felt a heavy weight lay itself on top of him. He cracked open an eye and glanced down to see one of Omega’s arms resting across his torso, almost as if holding him close.
“FEAR NOT,” Omega said above him,“ANY THREATS WILL BE SWIFTLY VANQUISHED.” The sound of gears turning and metal plates shifting filled the room as Omega’s free arm turned into a machine gun. He pointed it idly at the door.
“YOU MAY REST NOW.”
A tired huff of amusement left Shadow as he settled a bit more into his spot, pulling the blanket around him tighter. Slowly, he let his eyes slip shut, finally allowing some tension to be released from his muscles.
Electricity zoomed through the wires of his friend. His circuits a buzzing chorus, singing a long forgotten lullaby Shadow didn’t know the words to anymore. Though he swore that, if he listened hard enough, he could almost hear them in the voice of a young girl.