Furufuru Future

Wide green eyes stared into Shadow’s face, pupils dilated in curiosity as he felt heat rise to his face.

The proximity of his muzzle to that of hers made his nose twitch, something which was strange to him but not necessarily unwelcome. This was her stomping grounds after all, and what guest would he be if he didn’t oblige her?

She was silent but non-judgemental, his hands under her shoulders as if he were holding a stuffed animal. She seemed worldly with her gaze, as if she could see every single thought he had ever had in his life, and that... scared him.

Would she like it if he were to feign dropping her from this distance, or would she yelp and swat at him as her fur stood straight on end?

"Hey, look at what I got!"

A bright voice broke the silence, and like that, Misty slunk out of Shadow’s grasp, the old calico shaking herself off with a yawn as she padded across the plush rug of the floor towards Amy Rose.

Well, that's to be expected. Unlike Shadow, Amy was a natural at breaking the ice. Maybe grabbing someone suddenly and making eye contact for a long time isn't how you make people like you...

“Come on over here,” Amy cooed, giggling as the cat swatted a few times at the fake blue bird on the other end of the stick.

But then again, that's how Shadow first met Amy, and just look at him now – pining over her as she teasingly swung the stuffed creature in circles just out of reach of Le Café Chat's greatest showgirl.

Striding across the carpet was a gray-and-white colored cat, darker stripes of gray across its back and notable white socks at its feet. It gave Misty no regard as it began to walk up towards Amy’s lap, subtly pawing at her calves as she pulled the toy away from Misty, the veteran entertainer swatting lazily at ‘Flicky’ as Rascal gave a loud, startling mewl.

Guess that was his cue.

“So... you’re a regular here?” He spoke, stiff and somewhat cold as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Uhm, yeah?” A quirked eyebrow at his tone, and Shadow cursed himself internally as his ears flicked down, Rascal's demanding howls filling the room as Amy narrowed her eyes at Shadow.

His flat affect was good at back-talking Rouge during disagreements on dinner for the night. It was not good for starting conversation, and he instantly clammed up, curling his legs to his chest as Amy's eyes softened at him, cat wand lowering enough for Misty to grab at the blue bird with both paws.

“Oh sorry,” Amy cleared her throat, idly flicking the toy away from Misty as the old girl meowed, "Do you not like cats?"

'Don't try to course-correct', Shadow wanted to say, but as Amy's hands settled towards Rascal's head, he noticed how her knuckles seemed to tense up. She was going to pretend she didn't have an appropriate reaction so as to keep the conversation up, and rather than make it awkward by dismissing her anxieties, it was up to Shadow to continue the conversation. He had to think really long and hard about his reply, his eyes darting around the room.

“Not... particularly…”

"Oh..."

Sad. Shadow looked out towards the window, cursing himself for making the situation awkward – if only he had the sense to lie, but whatever.

“More of a dog person?”

“No, just…” He trailed off, his eyes wandering towards the streetcars.

Oh, the weather was horrid. The rain picked up as the windshield wipers of cars went back-and-forth, like a metronome keeping the rhythm of the conversation… And Shadow was off-beat, comically so.

“...I never really had contact with domestic animals is all,” He finished, looking back at Amy as Rascal climbed onto her lap with no care for her feelings on the matter.

"None at all?"

"None at all... I kind of..."

He cringed, recalling the sterile rooms, the many rounds of needles, and the freeze-dried meals.

"...was the domestic animal, for a while. And Rouge hates pets."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. That's just how it is."

"Well, I would have taken us someplace more fun, if not for the rain," She stated glumly, "It's just my luck that things get nasty the one day we're both free, huh?"

Silence fell over the two as the conversation, along with Amy's awkward laughter, died down.

Shadow's eyes settled on Amy as she averted eye contact and began to indulge Rascal's need for attention, the cat wand long discarded and Misty going back to mingle with the other cats in the room.

That’s how Shadow knew Rascal was a guy – he was getting too frisky with a girl that gave him undivided attention. Since he dropped the ball on having a heart-to-heart, Amy was gladly indulging in the tom, rubbing at the cat's back, belly and tail wildly as he squirmed on top of her lap, his fur shedding on her dress.

Come to think of it, this wasn’t an outfit Shadow usually saw her in. It was the off-red one she had worn for sports events, with the cross-laced pink sneakers and the thin white straps. Was she trying to be extra-cute for today? Was Shadow imagining things?

He took her to a place she frequents regularly, she made sure the room was available at the entrance, she looked for something nice on the menu he'd like... Not too sweet, not too plain-tasting...

“Wha—! Shadow?!”

With one fell move, Rascal was pulled from Amy’s embrace and placed at Shadow’s feet, the black hedgehog giving an unimpressed ‘hmph’ at the hissing little pest as he rested his head where Rascal’s body was.

“Well, you can resume what you were doing, Rose.”

Amy shot a glare down at Shadow, rolling her eyes as she begrudgingly began to run her hands through his quills, his ears flattening as he lie in her lap, a crowd of curious felines steadily surrounding the two as the rain picked up outside.

"You know, we could have gone to my place if you wanted some TLC," She chided.

"No, you know what you're doing. I trust your intuition."