Work Text:
Everything after the explosion was a blur.
One moment, Shadow was pushing the chaos-induced bomb away from Maria's home planet - ready to accept his fate - the next, he was waking up on the side of a mountain freezing and nearly numb to the aches and pains in his body. His hands tremble and he's reminded he took his rings off in order to get the weapon away quickly. He can feel them here on this planet - each on different corners of the world. Exhausted and in pain, he sets out to locate his rings.
He finds the first just before nightfall in the deserts of Australia. Shadow learns fairly quickly crossing the Pacific Ocean that running across out-of-control waves is a nightmare, but he makes it to the North American continent eventually. His second ring is buried beneath the sand of a beach and he has to fight the salty water to dig it out. Clasping the rings back on helps calm his nerves, his power stabilizing at the familiar blockage the rings create. Satisfied, Shadow starts running.
He runs for hours, exploring the mountains and forests of this continent and wondering where Maria would've lived if she were still alive. The pain in his heart overpowers the pain in his body and he keeps pushing himself, not sure where he's even heading. He just needs to run.
He loses speed as the hours tick by, the partial moon above glaring down at him as he walks through a dark forest. His arms tremble and his legs pulse with aches and pains that have him gasping with each step. His eyes droop as he stumbles through his steps, making note to find a place to sleep soon. He's unsure what dangerous creatures could be lurking about and he doesn't want to find out while resting.
Except he keeps walking. And walking… and walking…
As the sky above shows signs of the sun coming out to play, Shadow's eyes droop one last time and he collapses onto the forest floor below.
Tom grunts as he uses the right side of his body to push the shed door shut, wincing as pain briefly blooms up his ribcage at the action. Maddie will kill him when she finds out he put all the camping gear away without her, especially given his current condition, but he was up bright and early and wanted to get everything done before the kids woke up.
The sun is just peeking over the horizon, casting a pretty orange glow across the sky. Tom smiles as he watches the cloud drift lazily above him, looking back at the house and thankful he has another day with his beautiful wife and boys. If he has anything to say about it, G.U.N. will never be allowed to recruit his boys again. Not after what happened.
As he walks back around to the front of the house, he pauses when he hears rustling in the bushes nearby. Listening for animal noises, he frowns when it stays quiet. Peering through the foliage, he spots a couple of badgers sniffing about. Tom wonders if his boys have seen badgers before or if they also have some sort of humanoid badger from their home world. He's about to leave them be when he notices what exactly they're sniffing at. A lump of black fur is buried in the grass and with the size of the being, he wonders if it's a baby black bear.
Then he notices the red streaks and quills.
Heart dropping, Tom takes a step back, shock coursing through him. From what Sonic told him, Shadow died during the explosion that also took Robotnik. Is this his dead body? It can't be. There's no crater. He didn't fall from the sky right here - did he walk here? Why here? Is he even alive now?
Unable to turn away, Tom pushes through the foliage, scaring the badgers off in the process. He looks down at Shadow's form, noting how he's half on his stomach, he on his side - almost as if he collapsed. Tom kneels next to him, searching for any obvious wounds on the little hedgehog's body. When he spots nothing except for the slow rise and fall of his back, Tom sighs in relief. Despite all that happened, he doesn't wish any harm to this creature. It was clear when Shadow attacked him he did it out of hatred for the man Tom was disguised as. Tom wonders what Commander Walters did to him to invoke such a response.
"God…" Tom sighs, running a hand through his hair. He glances over his shoulder at his home, unsure of what to do. He can't just leave him here, but he's not sure how everyone would react to seeing Shadow again. Sonic said Shadow became good in the end. Is that still true?
Mind made up, Tom gently sets a hand on Shadow's back. His fur is just as soft as Sonic's aside from the quills lining his spine. Shadow doesn't react to his touch aside from a brief twitch behind his eyelids. Awkwardly, Tom bites through the pain in his ribs and manages to wiggle his good arm under Shadow's body, lifting him clumsily until he's resting most of his weight onto his shoulder. Propping his arm under with a hand to his back to keep him in place, Tom rises back to his feet and heads for his home.
Getting the door open is a chore with only one arm while holding the creature, but he makes due after some clumsy maneuvering. All the while, Shadow stays unconscious against his shoulder. The house is still quiet as Tom comes inside, hushing Ozzie as the dog growls at the sight of Shadow. Pain shoots through him as he tilts his body too far to the side in order to get Shadow onto the couch comfortably. He inhales sharply and waits for the pain to pass before he stands again, quietly ushering Ozzie away to leave Shadow alone.
Now for the hard part; telling Maddie.
"-looks dead."
"He's not! Look - he's clearly breathing!"
"Sonic, lower your voice."
"I think the cooler hedgehog is dead. Such a shame."
"Okay, for the last time-!"
"Sonic, don't make me repeat myself. Knuckles, he's fine. He's breathing, see?"
Shadow's ear twitches as the voices grow clearer, his face scrunching up before he manages to peel his eyes open. A hush falls over as his vision clears, and the first thing he spots is a familiar pair of bright green eyes.
Panic scorches through him and he sits up sharply, causing the small crowd to step back. He looks from Sonic to the red echidna to the yellow fox up to the two human adults standing behind them. He recognizes the man - Tom - who's currently sporting a sling for his arm. Brief guilt seeps into his panic and he gets to his feet, ignoring how shaky they feel. "Where am I?"
"Easy, hot topic," Sonic grins, holding his hands up in a placating manner. "You're in Montana! In our home."
"How did I get here?" Shadow asks, still on edge.
"Oh, the Donut Lord- er, Tom found you," Sonic answers, smiling sheepishly.
Shadow looks past them at Tom, his eyes narrowing as the man waves slightly at him with an unnaturally big but uneasy grin. The red echidna takes a step closer, which causes Shadow to back up closer to the couch he was sleeping on previously. "Hedgehog, are you hurt anywhere?"
Shadow glares at him, puffing out his chest. "I never hurt."
Sonic rolls his eyes. The red echidna looks him up and down before nodding curtly. "Let us talk, then."
The woman claps her hands together with a tight-lipped smile. "Okay! I like that plan. Shadow, right? I'm Maddie, and this is Tom." She moves a step closer to set a hand atop the yellow fox's head. "Not sure if you met Tails or Knuckles but I'm certain you met Sonic."
"Unfortunately," Shadow grunts. Sonic gasps in betrayal which nearly makes Shadow smirk in amusement. Nearly. "How did you find me?"
Tom clears his throat, gesturing behind him. "Well, I found you unconscious in the forest. Are you sure you're okay? You look pretty beaten up, kid."
Shadow stares at him, a little taken aback by what he called him. He's not a kid. At least he doesn't think he is. Technically, he's over fifty years old. Sure, he was in stasis the whole time, but he's fought too many battles to be considered a weakling child. He's starting to feel offended the more he thinks about it.
"Maybe you should sit down?" Tails speaks up, sounding a little nervous. His fluffy pair of tails flicker behind him and he gestures to the couch. "You look… tired."
Shadow turns his offended glare onto the fox but Sonic is quick to block the view. "Great idea!" Before Shadow can protest, Sonic grabs his arms and yanks him back onto the couch, sitting side by side on the soft cushion. "And just for our sake, can you let Maddie look you over? I know you're this ultra-powerful alien thing, but you still have bones! And bones can be broken!"
"Not mine," Knuckles boasts, smirking up at Maddie and Tom. "My bones are made of muscles."
"That's… not true," Maddie makes a face. "I think."
"It's not," Tails says helpfully.
"But Tom told me drinking milk will make my bones stronger!" Knuckles narrows his eyes at said man. "Did you not?"
Maddie crosses her arms and looks at Tom who just sighs heavily. "Okay, I'll remember to be more specific next time."
Shadow looks around, perplexed. Here he is - one of the most dangerous weapons Earth found who hurt a majority of this family one way or another, and they're all talking as if he isn't some kind of nuclear bomb. They're even worried he's hurt, which he's most certainly not. Still, he doesn't protest when Maddie comes closer and starts checking his limbs, squeezing her palms around his arms and legs repeatedly to check for broken bones or fractures. She sweeps his fur back in a few spots to look for open wounds as well and even checks behind his quills. Her touch is rather soothing - soft and careful much like Maria's was. He watches her hands as they work, feeling oddly relaxed for the first time since he woke up.
"He's right," Maddie finally hums, pulling her hands away. Shadow hides his disappointment. "He's not hurt."
"Oh, thank heaven," Sonic sighs in relief. The other two mobians smile as well and Shadow wonders how they all could be so happy for him after everything. He had beaten them without a second thought repeatedly because…
Why did he? They just wanted to talk…
"Shadow?" Maddie's voice brings him out of his thoughts and he focuses on her again. She has a small but slightly worried smile on her face, still kneeling in front of him and Sonic. "Do you have anywhere to go?"
Shadow hesitates, thinking hard about her question. He had a home once, technically, but it's gone now. Even the remains are gone - sucked up in the black hole he created. The only person he could've called family is dead now - which is good in hindsight given his plans, but still. Shadow wasn't even sure where he was going when he started running after finding his rings. He had no plan, no destination, no place to call home.
When Shadow doesn't answer, Sonic leans forward with an excited grin. "He can stay here, right?"
Tails gasps excitedly, his tails spinning briefly behind him. "Oh, please, mom? Can he?"
"It seems the most likely solution," Knuckles hums.
"Guys, hold on," Tom huffs, waving his good hand a bit. "We need to hear what Shadow wants."
What Shadow wants?
What does he want? The idea of living with this family isn't exactly ideal, but where else can he go? He's a fugitive to G.U.N. and they have locations all over the planet. Eventually, they'll find him. If they find him here, would they leave him alone like they leave these three alone?
Swallowing around the growing lump in his throat, Shadow looks up at Maddie and mumbles a small, "Can I?"
Maddie looks surprised by his question and takes a long moment to answer. "Of course," she nods, huffing out a soft laugh of relief. "Of course you can stay, Shadow."
Chaos erupts due to Sonic whooping and flying around the room at super speeds. Tom manages to stop him before he causes too much of a mess. Sonic is back at his side in an instant, eyes bright and smile wide. "Come on! We'll show you our room!"
"We'll make room for you!" Tails adds, quickly leading the way deeper into the house. Sonic takes Shadow's hand and tugs him along without waiting for a response. Shadow stumbles after them and glances over his shoulder to find Knuckles and the house dog following them. He's not entirely sure what he just got himself into, but it can't be worse than what he's already been through.
Shadow watches from Sonic's bed as Tom and Knuckles finish setting up his new bed - similar to the shape of Sonic's race car bed except completely black with red streaks just like his quills. Tom struggled a bit given his left arm is out of commission, but Knuckles was able to lend a helpful hand. Shadow wanted to help as well but he's never built anything before. He's not exactly sure how they're even doing it in the first place.
Sonic zips into the room right to Shadow's side. "Hey, Maddie wants you to come with us to town. Get some stuff you might like and all."
Shadow frowns at him. "Like?"
"Well, things like comic books or music or electronics," Sonic lists, gesturing to the things around the room. "Come on, it'll be fun!"
Shadow's ears twitch. "Isn't it a bad idea for me to be seen by the public right now?"
"Nah, not around here," Tom speaks up, grunting as he clicks something into place. "Green Hills is very private - especially when it comes to these guys. You'll be fine."
Not waiting for Shadow to give him a proper response, Sonic takes his hand and drags him downstairs to where Maddie and Tails are waiting. Without much to say, he reluctantly joins the small group and climbs inside the car to head into town. Maddie has to help him buckle in given he's never been in a car before.
Green Hills is nothing like Tokyo and Shadow wonders why exactly that is. He peers out the window and watches everything that drifts by, tilting his head when he spots a line of small bird-like animals waddling by on the sidewalk after a slightly bigger version of them.
"Those are ducks!" Sonic pipes up, gesturing to the little creatures before they disappear from view. "They basically run this town."
"Really?" Shadow blinks, taken aback by the knowledge such tiny beings could rule a whole town.
The car parks and they all clamber out onto the sidewalk where, surprisingly, no one reacts to their presence. An old lady comes up and happily greets Sonic and Tails before her eyes find Shadow. She looks at Maddie with a bright smile. "New edition, darling?"
Maddie nods, setting a hand on Shadow's shoulder. "This is Shadow. Shadow, this is Mrs. Lewis."
"Hello," Shadow greets politely.
Mrs. Lewis beams and gives him a half bow. "Nice young man, yes yes. Well, you lot have a wonderful day."
"Bye!" Sonic and Tails wave as she wobbles off.
Shadow watches her go before following Maddie as she heads into the first store by her car. Inside, walls upon walls of books greet him and he looks around with wide eyes at the vast amount of books before him. Tails immediately tugs Sonic into one of the aisles, yapping about some kind of scientific book he's looking for. Shadow nearly jolts when he feels Maddie pat his head, looking up to find her smiling down at him. "Come on. Let's find you something."
When Maddie and Tom come upstairs to bid the boys goodnight, Tails is already curled up and asleep in his plane-shaped bed with his latest project dangling dangerously from his fingers. Maddie scoops it up and drapes his blanket over him before ushering Knuckles into bed. Tom half-heartedly chases Sonic around the room who is jumping around at normal speeds for once. He laughs when Tom manages to wrap an arm around his waist and haul him back to his bed. Shadow watches from his newly made bed as the parents attempt to peacefully put their boys to bed - failing, he might add. Knuckles keeps insisting he doesn't need sleep as he is a warrior or something along those lines.
Shadow goes back to making his bed, arranging the pile of plushies Maddie insisted on buying him after he stared a little too long at a black and purple stuffed bunny. Sonic and Tails took turns picking out more plushies for Shadow, so now he has a collection lining his pillow. Next to his bed is a stack of books he and Maddie picked out at the library. He recalls Maria used to have books but he never got to read them. He wonders if Maddie will read them with him.
"Alright, buddy, your turn." Shadow looks up as Tom walks over, glancing over at Sonic and copying his position as Tom lifts his blanket. Tom smiles and tucks the fluffy purple blanket over his form, patting Shadow's head briefly before moving to turn off the lights.
"Good night, boys," Maddie whispers, planting a kiss on Knuckles and Sonic's heads.
"Night, mother," Knuckles yawns, turning and curling up on his side. His snoring starts up immediately.
"Night, mom," Sonic hums, his eyes drooping as well. "Night, dad."
"Night, buddy," Tom whispers back, heading for the exit.
Before she follows, Maddie comes to Shadow's side and pats his head gently, smoothing the top of his quills. "Good night, Shadow. If you need anything, just come and get us, okay? We're just downstairs."
Shadow nods curtly and watches as the humans leave the room, closing the attic latch behind them. With the lights off, the only light illuminating the room comes from the moon shining through the skylight. Shadow continues to look around the room, listening to the slow breathing and snores coming from the other mobians. He shifts and rolls onto his side, trying to ignore the heavy weight of exhaustion that never fully left him. He reaches up and grabs his new bunny and stares at it for a long moment before he tucks it against his chest with a small sigh.
Before long, his eyes start to droop and he allows himself to succumb to sleep.
For the first week of living with this family, everything was rather… normal. Well, as normal as it could be with four mobians running around.
Shadow was… struggling, frankly.
Nearly every night, he's plagued by the nightmares that haunted him for fifty years. While he doesn't need as much sleep as his roommates, he's beginning to feel the weight of exhaustion bear down on him yet again. Due to this, he mostly stays quiet during family events. During meal times, he'll quietly watch as everyone talks over one another, wrapped up in two or three conversations at once. He tends to find comfort in hanging out with the family dog, Ozzie. The dog also seems to be satisfied with the attention finally put back on him.
Despite his sleep problems and lack of social interaction, he has learned a few things about himself. Reading, for example, is rather enjoyable. Maddie had picked out light-hearted children's books for him and he quite likes them despite how ridiculous some of the stories may be. He mostly likes the ones with pictures.
Even though he doesn't sleep much, he does know he likes to cuddle. He'll curl around his plushies all night and watch in envy as the family cuddles together on the couch for movie night. He wonders how it feels to be held like that. He also likes movies, which he already knew about, but there's much more to watch after fifty years of stasis. They have movie night twice a week apparently and they take turns picking out the movie.
What Shadow struggles with the most, however, is how to interact with everyone. He wants nothing more than to hold hands or be hugged or cuddled or carried to bed and read a bedtime story during a stormy night because the thunder frightened them. He knows Sonic sometimes disappears from bed to go sleep with his parents and Shadow wonders if they'd let him do that too. Should he? Would their presence even help?
Shadow considers this as he curls his knees against his chest, listening to his roommates snore gently in their beds. He winces as the memories from his nightmare play fresh in his mind, reminding him how Maria's scream of terror sounded.
"Shadow?" He looks up sharply at Sonic's sleep question, finding the blue hedgehog sitting up in bed and rubbing his eyes. He yawns for a moment before tilting his head. "Can't sleep?"
"No," Shadow answers quietly, looking away.
Sonic hums softly. "Wanna come lay with me?"
Yes. "Why?" he growls.
Sonis shrugs. "Sometimes when I can't sleep, I go and cuddle with Tom and sleep there for the rest of the night. Calms me, I guess." Ah, that explains his occasional disappearances. Shadow shifts, unsure. Sonic hums sleepily, shifting closer to the edge of his bed. "Tails will sometimes crawl into my bed or Knuckles. We all do it, so they won't think anything if you do too."
That oddly comforts Shadow enough to finally slide out of his bed and quietly make his way to Sonic's. The blue hedgehog doesn't look surprised and waits until Shadow climbs in next to him to drop the blanket and settle back down. Shadow stays on his side, his back flush with Sonic's. His heat and gentle breathing feels nice and Shadow now understands why the family does this a lot. He realizes quickly Sonic is already asleep again, his snores muffled into his pillow. Shadow watches Tails shift in bed next to him, his ears twitching and tails tucking around him more tightly. Shadow lifts his head to look back at Knuckles, finding the echidna splayed out on his bed awkwardly with his mouth hanging open - snoring away.
Amused, Shadow settles back down and lets his eyes fall shut once more. Sleep comes much easier than usual.
"Sonic, your turn!" Maddie calls from her and Tom's bedroom just as Tails scampers out.
Sonic groans in dismay and reluctantly slides off the couch. Tails snickers as they pass one another and Sonic sticks his tongue out at him. Tails takes Sonic's spot on the couch next to Shadow and beams at the other, his tails swishing happily behind him. Shadow looks at him in confusion. "What's that about?"
"Oh, Maddie says we need to be brushed once a week," Tails explains. Now that Shadow's looking, he can tell the silky yellow fur has been groomed properly. "Sonic and Knuckles aren't huge fans because their quills shed a lot. We have a whole chest full of their quills!"
Shadow is perplexed by this information. Tails ends up showing him the chest and he was not lying when he said it was nearly full. The quills spark gently with red and blue power, but some at the bottom have dulled. Shadow wonders if their constant shedding is what made Maddie groom them weekly. Tails, at least, is only fur, but he sheds as much as the dog does which results in Tom constantly lint-rolling the furniture.
He can faintly hear Sonic complaining in the other room and feels tension build up. Is the process painful? Does Maddie expect him to be groomed as well?
He sits rigidly in the living room with Tails until Sonic finally comes back. He's pouting but his fur looks silky smooth and his quills aren't tangled anymore. Shadow wonders how many he must've lost from the grooming process. He cringes at the idea. "Where's Knuckles?" Sonic asks, scratching behind his ear. "Maddie says it's his turn."
"In our room, I think," Tails answers.
A loud thump from above signals that Tails was correct. Sonic smirks, setting his hands on his hips. "Come on, Tails. I can't drag him down by myself."
Shadow watches as the two snicker and rush upstairs. He frowns when more thumps and yelling follow, making it clear Knuckles is not a fan of being groomed. Apprehension fills him and Shadow wonders if he should hide as well, but he's not a runner. Realizing the other two will be chasing Knuckles for a while, he puffs out his chest and makes his way to the master bedroom.
Maddie looks up as soon as he appears in the doorway, surprise clear on her face. "Oh, Shadow! Where's Knuckles?"
He shrugs. "I don't think he likes being groomed."
She snorts softly, picking up the last of Sonic's quills off of the floor. "Yeah, I'm aware, but it's needed in order to lessen how many quills are left out in the woods. Knuckles should know better than any of us given his quills were collected by some crime lords."
Shadow blinks, perplexed. "There are bad guys collecting their quills?"
"Mhm. So it's a needed process," she hums. She hesitates and shoots him a small smile. "I don't want to push it, but this does apply to you as well."
Shadow presses his lips together and nods slowly. "Will it hurt?"
Maddie laughs slightly. "Oh- God, no. Why would you think that?" Shadow jerks his chin up at the ceiling where the other boys' faint screaming can be heard. Maddie rolls her eyes. "They're just drama queens. Come on, sit down here."
Shadow follows her instruction and climbs onto the bed next to her, turning so his back is to her. He stiffens when she grabs the tool with quills on it, curling his fists against his lap and waiting anxiously. Gently, the plastic quills brush down the softer fur of his back. Shadow blinks in confusion as she strokes the tool down over his spine a few more times before moving to the right. Shadow has no idea how Sonic and Knuckles could hate this. He's already melting at the touch, a low rumble building in his chest as the tension leaves his body completely. Maddie chuckles behind him. "See? Not so bad, yeah?"
They listen to the chaos upstairs as Maddie grooms him slowly and carefully. It hardly hurts even when she drags the tool through his quills, carefully plucking out loose quills and setting them aside. "It's interesting how your quills swoop up instead of down like Sonic's," Maddie comments, running her fingers through his freshly groomed swoop. Shadow briefly worries about hurting her but she goes back to using the tool. "Do you mind me asking some personal questions?"
Shadow looks over his shoulder at her. "I guess not."
Maddie smiles and ushers him to turn back around so she can continue. "Did you come from the same world as the other boys?"
Shadow frowns. "I don't know. I don't have any memories before Earth - if there were any."
"Oh?"
He sighs, shaking his quills out a bit. "I crash-landed here inside a meteor in Oklahoma fifty years ago. They took me to a secret base to experiment on me and my chaos energy." Maddie's hands pause in their movements and Shadow glares down at his hands, memories of those few months inside that facility coming back. "It wasn't all bad. I had a friend. Maria… She helped me cope with the pain."
Maddie slowly starts grooming him again, her voice quiet. "What was Maria like?"
Shadow's shoulders droop, knowing Maddie picked up on his past tense words. "She was… fun. She never stopped smiling. The first time she saw me, she drew a goofy face over the glass tube I was in. She thought my 'permanent glower' was funny, I guess." Maddie hums softly, a note of amusement in the noise. Shadow fiddles with the rings around his wrists, sighing. "She liked music and monster movies. She sometimes stole the professor's badge so we could go look at the stars together. I enjoyed that the most."
"Remind me to take you on the trail at night," Maddie murmurs, smoothing down the top of his head. "The stars out here are beautiful."
Shadow's lips twitch. "Okay… I'd like that."
"So…" Maddie hesitates. "May I ask what happened fifty years ago?" When Shadow's body goes rigid, she quickly squeezes his shoulder reassuringly. "You don't have to. I'm just… I just want to understand."
A tense minute passes before Shadow swallows and closes his eyes, shaking his head slightly. "The government deemed me too dangerous and wanted to take me away. The professor tried to help me escape with Maria, but a soldier shot at us and caused an explosion. It…" His voice breaks off, the memories swarming dangerously behind his eyelids. His hands clench around his knees and his chest starts to feel tighter and tighter-
His eyes snap open when he's pulled back into a warm embrace. He looks up at Maddie in surprise, squished against her chest with one arm secured around his body while the other smooths his quills back in a comforting touch. "I'm so sorry, Shadow," she whispers, her eyes glistening with pain. "That's just… awful."
Shadow stares at her for a long moment before turning and burying his nose against her collarbone, feeling her heartbeat and sinking into her hold. His ear twitches when footsteps come closer and he looks up in shock to find the three other mobians climbing onto the bed next to them, their eyes glowing with sadness. Panic briefly blossoms in his chest as he realizes they were listening in, but Maddie reaches out to them and the boys fall into the hug, smothering Shadow in the middle.
Another hand smoothes down the top of his head and he peers up to find Tom there as well. Despite the suffocating feeling, Shadow can't help but sink into the warmth of the family, comforted by their care. How could they care for him so much already? After all the pain he caused them, they're so quick to help chase his pain away. Is that what families do?
Is he part of their family now?
Shadow jolts awake and sits up sharply, panting as his heart rate starts to slow after the memories from his dream fade away. He looks around to find it's still dark outside and the other mobians are still asleep. He clutches his chest briefly, forcing his breathing to quiet back down before one of them wakes up.
Not wanting to wake Sonic yet again - which he has done twice in the last few days - he quietly slips on his shoes and leaves the attic. He heads into the kitchen and stops to pet Ozzie before opening the fridge. Using his air shoes, he rises off the ground until he's level with the top shelf where the jug of milk is waiting for him. He manages to pour himself a glass before the lights switch on and he nearly teleports away in surprise. Tom squints at him from the doorway, his left arm hovering over his stomach despite no longer wearing a sling. As far as Shadow knows, he's still unable to move his arm much. "Shadow? You okay, buddy?"
"Can't sleep," Shadow answers, lowering back down to the ground with a grimace. "Was thirsty."
"Ah," Tom nods, walking over until he's standing opposite of Shadow around the kitchen island. Shadow lowers his eyes and sips at his drink, uncomfortable with Tom's curious gaze. The silence stretches for a minute before Tom reaches over for the jug of milk and takes it back to the fridge. "Wanna talk about it?"
"Talk about what?" Shadow mumbles around the rim of the glass.
"Why can't you sleep?" Tom clarifies, leaning back against the fridge door.
Shadow frowns, tightening his grip on the glass. "I…"
"Sonic has nightmares, sometimes," Tom says suddenly, looking at the hedgehog thoughtfully. "His mother - Longclaw - had sacrificed herself for him. Even though it's been years, he still dreams of that day." Shadow looks up at him, eyes narrowed but curious. Tom sighs heavily, ruffling his bed hair absently. "Knuckles and Tails do, too. Everyone has bad memories, Shadow. That's nothing to be ashamed of. So…" he moves closer to Shadow, setting a hand on his shoulder with a comforting smile, "if you have bad dreams, you can always come to us, okay?"
Warmth blooms in his chest at his words. Shadow finally meets his eyes and nods slowly to show he understands, at a loss for words. Tom's smile widens briefly before he lets out a yawn, stretching an arm over his shoulder. "Now, finish your drink so we can go back to bed."
"We?" Shadow mumbles, ears twitching. He does as he's told though and finishes his glass, letting Tom take it and rinse it in the sink. When Tom holds out a hand to him, Shadow doesn't hesitate to take his hand. He follows Tom as he leads him back out of the kitchen, switching the lights off as they go. He expects Tom to lead him back up to the attic, but instead, Tom takes him to his and Maddie's room. Shadow's ears flatten a bit as they approach the bed where Maddie starts to stir awake. Guilt hits him for disturbing their sleep so late into the night.
"Up we go," Tom whispers, and Shadow squeaks when the man lifts him onto the bed. He shoots him a bewildered look as Tom helps him remove his shoes. As Tom climbs back under the covers, Maddie rolls over so she's facing Tom and finally opens up her eyes to find Shadow there between them. She reaches for him sleepily and Shadow hesitantly crawls closer between them.
Tom lifts the blanket and Shadow settles underneath it, reaching up to try and flatten his quills that are taking up a lot of pillow space. Still, Maddie drapes an arm over him and pulls him closer, her breathing already starting to slow back down. Tom scoots closer and rests his arm over both of them, forming a cocoon around Shadow.
Looking between them, Shadow can't help but feel happy. These kind people were so patient and so caring despite what he did to them and their boys. How Shadow could have won their forgiveness so easily, he'll never know, but there's no way he'll break their trust now.
Soothed by their slow breathing and steady heartbeats, Shadow's eyes droop and he presses his muzzle into Tom's chest, settling into a deep dreamless sleep for the first time since he awoke from stasis.