OPTIMISM

➦                               ❛ - oh!-— - ❜

              there weren’t many words that could describe the slight unnerved sensation sylv felt among his doppel, albeit varied in physical appearances. he hesitated where he had previously been focused, novel lowered to his lap as he stares up awkwardly at the other. to be introduced to another like him within the confines of his own home felt almost surreal, definitely uncomfortable though. imagine knowing the person who broke into your home ; it was that level of discomfort.

The fork at his place setting is swiftly stabbed into a pancake. Being lifted up and having a chunk bitten out of it. 200 years really throws away all your table manners.

Red eyes watched Silver as he sat down beside him. Listening to him fuss on and on with the presentation of his meal, or the lack of “adequate” housing. He nearly choked at Silver’s sudden suggestion of giving up his bed. Oh no, he wasn’t about to do that. 

“Look,” Shadow coughed through his food, hitting his chest a few times to clear his throat. “I don’t have to stay here if it’s gonna be that big of a hassle.” He set the fork down, a half eaten pancake still attached to it. “I just need a place to lay low for a while.” For reasons he obviously wasn’t about to tell his telekinetic acquaintance. 

He sighed, turning back to his food. “This is nice and all, but I’m not looking to impede on your life. I’m here for a while and then I’ll be gone. Like you never seen me.”

➦             the sudden sound of rings hitting the ground ring out as hands suddenly brace shadow’s shoulders, silver leaning over side just to check & ensure he’s not ACTUALLY choking. a soft ‘phew’ escapes him before he lets an almost charming smile creep along his snout. shadow, daring to insinuate his removal from this loving home? where food, warmth, & shelter are offered all at one’s fingertips? ha, the subtle dorime choir hums in lieu.

                               ❛ - what happened to that frizzy bedhead ‘hog who came leaping into my arms just cus he couldn’t stay away? - ❜ well, to be fair, it was more shadow nose-diving & taking silver with him to avoid an projectile’s explosion before both warped ahead to the future. coincidence, but one silver would play off as fate. his tongue flits out between lips in a playful taunt before he’s standing back at attention, arms stretching overhead as an excuse to psychofocus his pouch & collect his rings all under-the-table like. ❛ - b’sides, i thought you liked my pancakes! i make them fluffy, like you. - ❜

highlights from a late night conversation with @eggruler ; we stan eggman in this house.

➦                               ❛ - okay charmy, good form on that last attack! try to focus your swings with parry synchronization next time, alright? you wanna disarm them, THEN go for the gold. - ❜

              downtime in the resistence, a lost courtesy to most. for silver, he typically enjoyed tableside chats or maybe sharing a plate of sandwiches ; but to have the honor of training a younger teammate? oh! his heart soared at the opportunity. he wouldn’t let knuckles down, OR charmy! hands flatten towards the floor as he lifts off & floats over to charmy’s side to the side of the training dummy stuck like a scarecrow in the earth. for charmy, it had been specifically decked out in jockey gear made from scrapped egg drone parts.

➦             something didn’t feel right.

              out of all the times he had fought or interacted with metal sonic, he had always seemed a liiiiittle shorter, though maybe that was his personal perspective — the world’s always changing you know! silver stands on the side of reason, more-over reasoning with himself that he’s just seeing things that aren’t there. he certainly sees neo, but it’s less doubting his existence & more of doubting change. after all, silver’s used to HYPER METAL SONIC, not neo metal sonic.

              his mind panders to this new experience all the probable outcomes of just opening his mouth to say something, nine times out of ten receiving a brute force bruise in the mix. maybe if he just took the lenient route, maybe sprinkled in something nice to say with it? YEAH ; that seemed to make the most sense to him!

➦             hesitation ; that was the element teetering on a whim. as silver held up the diagram made, he had scrawled an atrocious outline of kira in black crayon, scribbled nearly entirely to the top in red. ( you know where this is going. )

                               ❛ - okay, so MAYBE you’ve had a few run-ins with some bad people — BUT!!! we’re starting to move on the up - & - up! i think you might like this next redemption lesson a little more than the vehicle wash. - ❜ up comes a pamphlet from behind the doodle, almost like a magic trick! ( oo! ) levitating it up to unfold, silver lowers his drawing to grab hold of the flyer & showcase it off to the android. ❛ - there’ll be a benefit banquet soon, & i think they might like it if they had someone special to enforce security! there’s been a recent influx of badniks infiltrating the resistence fundraiser events, so i THINK— - ❜

              hesitation ; yet again, it speaks volumes. for silver & for shadow.

➦                               ❛ - oh goodie! - ❜ floating down from his position atop a stepladder — which he should’ve climbed down rather than show off — silver quickly tossed a loop of christmas lights around his friend’s shoulders. a slighted bout of merriment he’d come to regret soon, no doubt. ❛ - happy december, shadow! good tidings, good will, good cheer for the holidays! - ❜ hands rush to pinch at silver’s own cheeks before he’s paying attention, noticing how blatantly he had ensnared his companion in string. OH.

              hands steady out to telekinetically remove the lights from shadow’s visage & hover them up onto the awaiting hooks along the ceiling’s rim, only letting his attention retract once the decorations are secure. to stripes his golden gaze falls, sheepish for his childish antics. ❛ - sorry ; force of habit. but it’s. . . really good to see you again! how’ve you been all this time? - ❜ silver softly ‘oh’s before mindlessly touching a hand to shadow’s upper arm, gesturing back towards the homestead’s table set up with snacks & beverages.

➦             words fell swiftly as the lone timekeeper stood before the seedarian, fingers pressing firmer against the plant pot. chiseled clay baked into an elegant display kept the tulips housed & cozy in their soil, though suddenly flowers seemed like a horrible attempt for a thoughtful gift. biting the tip of his tongue, silver stands on the precipice between alien life & his homestead. he had heard tale & winds of cosmo, she who spread life through whims & joy. . . yet he stemmed from a bleak future he only recently saved from calamity.

              facing someone as pious in their hope for the future as him almost seemed like a fever dream suddenly. for a moment his palm slips, quickly catching the bottom of the pot before he chokes aloud, eyes thrown to cosmo in an instant. he’s NERVOUS, afraid to take the grace of the first move. she’s not as fragile as she seems — only because he refuses to doubt her strength — yet silver’s mortified of a bad impression. dopiness aside, he’ll have to make amends with his grief at a later time.

              hands release the plant as telekinesis wavers to light, letting the gift drift across the ebb of a breeze through the field they stand in, only to peacefully rest at the seedarian’s feet. letting his fear bottle up, the savior lets his expression bloom into delight. ❛ - the pot’s just for transport ; i think all forms of life should be allowed the proper space to grow as they please! - ❜ something light-hearted, though maybe too political. ( dang it! ) he’ll have to recover.

Another long night.

As if he wasn’t used to those. They’d been…more frequent as of late. His own thoughts betrayed him. Tormented him in his sleep. Or what little sleep he got. The cot also wasn’t entirely comfortable. Not that he was ungrateful, quite the contrary. He enjoyed sleeping in a house. Somewhere he didn’t have to keep one eye open all the time. But it did give him an awful cramp in his shoulder. A cramp that, no matter what way he stretched wouldn’t fully work itself out. Irritating.

He huffed, standing slowly, glancing around the mostly empty spare room. He was lucky Silver even had the space to house him. Suppose he owed him one. 

Rusty metal shoes clanked against the floor, carrying him across the hall and down the stairs. Eyes lidded, tired as they looked around the house. He hadn’t gotten a good scout of the place when he arrived last night. Only briefly looking around before retreating to the spare room for the night.

A sudden wall of smell smacked him upside the face, returning him to reality. It was a good smell, a relaxing smell. A smell that took him back to a time long past. He stopped at the kitchen, staring quizzically at his telekinetic roommate. 

“And I see you’re chipper as ever.” He groaned, cocking a brow as Silver hastily hurried over, presenting him with a plate of food.

His ears perked, glancing between the food and Silver’s all too bubbly smile. It had been…a long time since someone made breakfast for him. His first instinct was to refuse it. He didn’t need food, it was a luxury for him. 

And yet, clearly Silver took the time and resources to make something specifically for him. Another huff passed his nostrils, moving slowly towards the table and sat down. 

“Don’t worry about it.” He mumbled, picking up a strawberry and tossing it into his mouth. God, he hadn’t had good food like this in months. Maybe he was pretty hungry.

➦                               ❛ - chipper’s one way of putting it, - ❜ his host titters, pressing a finger to the fluff of shadow’s cheek. taking up refuge in the seat aside, silver refers to his cocoa yet again for a little sippy. ( slrp! )

              as someone who could be trusted & remained faithful in others, seeing shadow able to indulge in the simple mundane things really made his day a little brighter. or maybe that was the flames that still tickled at the corners of his eyes from seeing disaster for so many years. . . whatever the case, the hedgehog decided to humble himself along with his guest by savoring his chocolate delight. little sips pass him by as he tries to be mindful not to spectate or just plain observe shadow eating ; after all, the other certainly liked his comforts in privacy. instead, silver mostly found his silence pertaining to looking at little knick-knacks he kept, or glancing to the small painting of sunflowers he had personally made & hung on his wall.

              when he DOES break the quiet, it’s only to disturb if necessary. little things, possibly just checking up on his roommate : ❛ - did you find everything alright? - ❜, ❛ - hope it’s still warm, - ❜ in referral to his plate, & a chided ❛ - maybe i should figure out a better place for you to sleep on, that cot’s a little rickety if i remember right. . . - ❜ always fussing over the little things, silver brought himself to stand, abandoning his partial remains of hot chocolate. he slips by cautiously as not to further arouse shadow’s awareness while he takes his time eating, the home owner heading out into the bulk of his room’s space. just the living room, a bookshelf & armchair to spare, & a kind rug to dig one’s fingers into for a good stomach-side lounge.