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Tom woke up to the sound of a loud creak coming from one of the bedrooms upstairs. The sky outside his window was still very dark, twinkling with stars that shone in the night sky above the valley of Green Hills. He turned towards his wife Maddie who lied next to him still fast asleep. Normally Tom would take this opportunity to admire his sleeping wife, but right now he needed to check on their sons.
'It's probably nothing," he thought to himself. After all, when you were the proud father of three brave, strong, and resilient children, you got used to seeing and hearing a lot of strange things. Over the years, he and Maddie had become accustomed to thier sons habits. Habits they adopted from the lives they formerly had before being adopted by Sheriff Thomas Michael Wachowski and his beautiful, kindly wife, veterinarian Maddie Wachowski. Some of the habits they managed to break, others they still kept.
Tails was a genius. A prodigy who could work on his inventions throughout the whole night without food and drink if his parents permitted it-which they didn't. Still on ocassion, he would get hit with a surge inspiration and get up from bed to write down his new ideas into his journals.
Knuckles had lived a hard life filled with danger and betrayal. It was a miracle that the red echidna still had the capacity to trust after everything he went through. It took him a while for Knuckles to finally feel safe in their home, but he still sometimes worried about outlaws raiding their home and hurting everyone. When his instincts were on high alert, Knuckles would get up to patrol the house and farm to make sure there were no bandits and outlaws on their property. Tom didn't like that as something could happen to Knuckles while he was outside all by himself and thus the echidna had promised to only patrol their house.
Although Tom had noticed that during the last couple of years Knuckles had lived with them, he had started sneaking in and out of the house late at night when he thought nobody was looking. And he had a very good feeling it had to do with that pretty Mobian bat woman who worked as a saloon girl in town...
This theory was confirmed when the sheriff saw her usual shade of lipstick stained on his eldest's muzzle.
Knuckles no longer lived with them now. He ran his own ranch at the edge of town. Although Tom knew he enjoyed the solitude, the echidna still made it a point to come visit them and sometimes join them for dinner.
Finally that left Sonic.., As a young boy, Sonic often got himself into some mischief when he snuck out to chase after criminals. Fortunately after a talk with Tom, Sonic stopped and with age became more responsible. He still made mistakes which was to be expected of course. But at the end of it all, Sonic was a kind, smart, and clever young adult hedgehog who still had a rebellious, fun-loving, and mischeivious streak.
He had his own late night habits. As a hoglet he used to get the zoomies a lot. Used to freak Tom and Maddie out seeing their little Blue Devil dart through the house like cat or small dog. He didn't do that anymore thankfully, but he still had some less destructive habits. Often times Sonic would climb up the roof of the house to do some stargazing. Something he did every night since he was a lonely hoglet traveling from place to place. Other times he'd be struck with inspiration to write a song he could sing at the saloon every Friday and Saturday night.
So Tom wasn't really worried about his boys at the moment. One of his sons probably needed to get up to use the bathroom or something.
But still... It was better to be safe than sorry.
Being careful not to wake up Maddie, Tom gently removed the covers before carefully climbing out of the bed. He put on his belt and took out a spare handgun he kept locked in a drawer for safekeeping. He didn't think he would get to see any action tonight, but it was better to be safe than sorry. At this point, Maddie started to stir from her slumber.
"Tom..? Babe what's wrong?"
"Go back to sleep hun," Tom spoke softly. "Just checking to see if our kids are awake." She mumbled something but Tom didn't hear it. He was already walking out of their bedroom and making his way towards the stairs.
As he climbed up each step, Tom remained quiet and vigilant. He listened intently for any noise and stopped when he heard another creak. Still walking at a slow and careful pace, he reached the room and started checking his sons' rooms.
The first son he checked on was Tails. The young fox used to share a room with Sonic since they were younger, but after Knuckles moved out Tails took up the space. Upon reaching his door, Tom gently turned the knob and peered inside.
His heart swelled with fondness for the young kitsune as he slept at his desk. His arms were folded over some designs he had been working on and his face was turned towards Tom which gave the man a perfect view of his innocent expression. Tom carefully snuck into the room and walked over to the bed to grab a blanket. Then he tip-toed over to the sleeping Tails and with ease, gently draped the blanket over him. Tom then lightly ruffled the top of Tails's head before turning to leave.
Just as he left Tails alone, Tom heard the noise again. He looked across the dark hallway and guessed correctly that the noise had indeed come from Sonic's room. He walked down the hallway, still keeping his ears out for the noise. When he reached Sonic's door and reached for the knob. Just as he was about to turn it, he heard a distressed whisper.
"No..! Please don't...!
Tom frowned hearing his son's frightened whimpers. Was Sonic having a nightmare?
His blood ran cold when he heard another speak up in the room. A deep and rough voice.
"Quit your struggling!" it growled. "You're making this harder than it has to be."
Tom froze.
Someone was in Sonic's bedroom.
Someone was threatening his boy!
"Where are you taking me?" Tom's heart lurched. His boy sounded frightened. His fury rose when he heard the scoundrel give a wicked chuckle in response to his victim's question.
"Someplace nobody's gonna hear you scream..."
There was a stranger in his son's room. A stranger what was currently attempting to kidnap his son! His fear quickly turned to anger and hatred as a fierce protectiveness overtook him. His blood boiled. If this fiend thought he could steal his child..!
With a determined glare, Tom's other hand reached for his holster as he prepared for action. This sucker was gonna get a taste of how The Wachowski's defended their own.
"You won't get away with this!" Sonic spoke defiantly. Despite his fear, Tom couldn't help the surge of pride he felt towards Sonic's bravery. Pride turned to dread upon hearing the kidnapper's cruel snicker.
"I already have." There was a taunting edge in the outlaw's tone. "You're coming with me Hedgehog," the voice spoke with a sinister edge in his tone. "You're mine to steal."
Tom abruptly swung open the door and drew out his pistol!
"STOP RIGHT THERE!!!"
Time seemed to freeze as his blue eyes instantly locked onto red ones.
The intruder was a black hedgehog with red eyes, sharp fangs, a tan muzzle, black fur with red streaks running along his curved up quills. He hat was black with white markings, and he wore a black jacket with red tassels on his shoulders. He wore a black belt around his waist which held his pistol. On his feet, he wore black and white boots with red rings around the ankles and the soles of the boots were completely red. On the back of the footwear were golden spurs that glinted in the moonlight.
He recognized this young man. This man was a wanted outlaw! A criminal chased out of several different towns and counties!
An outlaw who was currently staring at him with wide eyes like a frightened deer bracing himself for impact.
"...Uhh.., Meow?"
"That isn't going to work Shads..." His "captive" quietly piped up.
It was then Tom's attention drifted to the precious cargo that was cradled in the cowboy's arms.
Sonic had been lifted into the outlaw's arms like a new bride and was held firmly against his chest. He was dressed in a simple white shirt and his favorite red boots with thier golden buckle and spurs. His arms were wrapped around the hedgehog's neck and he was currently staring at Tom with alarmed emerald green eyes.
Seeing that the dark hedgehog had one leg over the windowsill, it was obvious that he had attempted to leave through the window.
"Alright pal! Put my son down and put your hands in the air!"
Surprisingly, Sonic started to wave his hand frantically. "Nonono!!! Its okay Dad its not what it looks like!!!"
The outlaw was internally freaking out. "Sheriff!" Shadow quickly cleared his throat as his voice took on a higher pitch that made him sound squeaky. Flustered, he struggled to compose himself before speaking in his normal voice. "Sheriff! Please let me explain!"
"Tom!?" Both hedgehogs wore horrified expressions as Maddie walked up from behind Tom. "Honey? Is something wrong with Sonic?" As soon as her eyes laid on his son who was still cradled in Shadows arms, her expression went from fear to furious in the span of two seconds.
"PUT MY BABY BOY DOWN RIGHT NOW YOU BASTARD!!! OR ELSE I'LL I'M GONNA NEUTER YOU LIKE A LUSTFUL DOG!!!"
Freaking out, Shadow attempted to back up, only to fall through the window with Sonic still in his arms.
"SONIC!!!" Tom and Maddie rushed towards the window just as the screaming hedgehogs disappeared through and looked outside... They both sighed with relief when they saw that they had landed safely in the bushes with Shadow taking the brunt of the landing and keeping his arms wrapped securely around Sonic. The two raced down the stairs to catch the outlaw.
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"So... You two are dating?" The two humans sat on one end of the kitchen table while the hedgehogs were seated on the other end.
"Yes." Sonic nodded while Shadow kept his head down.
Tom and Maddie remained silent as they slowly processed this.
"But what about the threats I heard earlier?" Tom asked in bewilderment. "It sounded an awful like you being kidnapped."
Both of the hedgehogs blushed at this. "We were kind of... Role-playing a little," the blush on their cheeks burned brighter with Sonic's admission. "I wasn't really being kidnapped. We were just going to sneak away for a little while."
Tom narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Have you done this before? Sneaking out the house in the middle of the night with... Him?"
Shadow flinched, but nodded along with Sonic. "Yes we have. A couple of other times actually."
After that, there was only silence between the four of them until Maddie spoke up.
"Could you two please excuse us?" She didn't wait to hear a response before she and her husband exited the kitchen and walked into the living room.
"...So..," Maddie clasped her hands together. "Our child... Our sweet, energetic, and reckless child... is dating an outlaw."
"...Seems so..," Tom said nodding along looking just as uncomfortable as his wife.
"Tom..."
"Yes..?"
"What the hell!?" Maddie hissed. "Sonic can't be with an outlaw!"
"I know I know hun," Tom ran his fingers through his hair. "...Do you think this is just a phase?"
Maddie shook her head. "No, no, nuh uh. Clearly this gentleman seduced our kid. That and he probably told him a sob story about how his puppy was killed by bandits and it sent him on a killing spree."
"You know we can hear you Mom!" The two adults froze. Were they truly being that loud?
"I don't think your parents like me Sonic." The despondent tone in the outlaw's voice made the Wachowski's feel a little bit guilty. Just a little bit.
"What do we do?" Tom asked hopefully a lot quieter this time.
"You're going to have to lay down the law on them Tom. Literally."
Tom nodded. As sheriff he had a duty to protect his town from outlaws. But still... "I don't think Sonic is going to like this." No doubt the blue hedgehog would try to vouch for Shadow. Insist to everyone that he wasn't a threat to anyone in this house. But Tom wasn't willing to take that chance.
Maddie shook her head. "He won't, but in time he'll understand you did what you had to do." The two elder Wachowski's gave each other a nod before marching back towards the kitchen to read Shadow his rights. Only one problem though...
"Where'd Shadow go?" They asked Sonic as he was the only one at the table.
"He left." He looked out towards the kitchen window where the curtains blew lightly with the wind.
The husband and wife duo stared at the open window before turning towards each other. Tom sighed. "I'll chase after him in the morning." He would allow the dark hedgehog to have a headstart before he hunted him down himself. He then turned towards Sonic and gave him a stern look. "We're gonna have to talk about this later, okay buddy?" Sonic nodded looking sheepish.
"Get back to bed Sonic," Maddie lightly ordered. This whole thing was surreal, like waking up to a strange dream. But they were all gonna have to talk about this eventually.
As the two adults went back to bed, Sonic let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in. It wasn't as disastrous as he thought their first meeting was going to be, but he still had a lot to answer for.
Tails, who had woken up upon hearing the commotion and had snuck downstairs to listen in on the whole conversation, poked his head in through the kitchen doorway. "You're still gonna be seeing him aren't you?"
Tails hadn't been surprised when he learned of Sonic's romantic relationship with Shadow. Heck, he's known the whole time!
"Why yes Tails.., yes I am." They'd both have to wait until the heat dies down, but Sonic was determined to see Shadow again.
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Meanwhile in the saloon...
"You're still gonna be seeing him aren't you?" The white bat asked their guest for the evening.
"Why yes Rouge, yes I am." Shadow knew he was being a fool, but he was a fool in love. Sonic was truly his to steal for the blue hedgehog had stolen his heart first.
He'd figure out a way to win over the Sheriff and his wife... Eventually...
First, he needed to stay for the night and lay low before skipping town temporarily. When he'd come back, he'd be sure to properly whisk his blue hedgehog away.