The sunlight had been shining through the warehouse for a few hours by now, illuminating the sleeping form of a cobalt figure. The hedgehog was passed out cold still on his side, drool leaking from his lips but not at all compared to the hefty amount of saliva that was there the evening just passed. A single ear would twitch from time to time, mostly from the pipe still sounding away somewhere close by. Sonic had finally gotten the sleep he desired, the two others letting him rest for a bit.

His rest was cut short without warning, Sonic's eyes snapping open as ice cold water splashed across him. He awoke with a shake of his head, feeling confusion at just why he was so dazed. He blamed it on the hunger already making itself aware by his stomach growling loudly, since he was in the dark about the sedative; but first, to get clarification about the water literally splashing into his face.

"Hey! What in the—" water began to fill his mouth humorously and he attempted to drag himself away on the ground, spitting it out besides him. He was confused to why his legs felt like lead weights, not responding well as he tried to move them so he could get away from his mystery offender.

Third day in the row to a rude awakening; Sonic was not happy. The water stopped assaulting his face when the culprit squeezed the green hose in their fist to cut off the stream, the hero looking up at an unhappy looking hedgehog.

"Shadow," Sonic shivered with the ice cold water dousing him. "I hope you have a pretty good explanation for why you just did that." He spoke eerily calm, taking a deep breath to get a hold of his temper. He told himself that it is more than likely because of something that happened last night, but this does not help his bitter thoughts much. Sonic was hungry, freezing cold, and grumpy once again. The next morning better turn out better than the previous ones or Sonic was going to flip just like his beastly doppelganger. His quills were drooping with frigid water, the hedgehog shivering as he still tried to move his legs, confused to why this was happening.

Shadow merely glared at him, holding the very hose he had used to wash himself off during the night like the weapon it was. He hadn't gotten a wink of sleep, his thoughts having run themselves into the ground and he was very, very unhappy. Shadow was incredibly tempted just to loosen his grip on the hose to let the spray continue assaulting Sonic.

"I figured that if I had to take a freezing hose shower to wash off your slobber, you won't be opposed to such treatment since you slept in the equivalent of a small pool of it," Shadow said blandly, his eyes narrowing challengingly at Sonic. This revenge was petty, but oh it felt so good...

Furthermore, he was shifting uncomfortably from the thick bandages covering his neck and shoulder. Like he had expected, the werehog's assault to his neck had resulted in rather potent hickies that could be seen even through his dark fur. Despite the fact that they were just simple bruises, Shadow rather preferred not to explain to Sonic how he had gotten the rather suggestive injuries. He just hoped his accelerated healing would get its rear in gear so he wouldn't have to walk around with the bandages any longer than he had to.

Sonic tried not to let out an angry laugh towards the ridiculous situation. He looked away with a shake of his head and a lick to his lips, trying to do away with his embarrassment with the lovely thought of slobbering all over faker. After a few moments of working with his legs, they gradually gained more and more movement, letting out a sigh of relief when he could bend both knees.

"Why couldn't I move my legs," He swallowed, hiding his nervousness with a weak smile. Sonic is already sick of this lack of control on his body at night, as well as the loss of his memory. It made him unnerved and restless with his thoughts, which was something the cool, confident hedgehog tried to avoid. Sonic waited to hear this was somehow Werehog related, dreading the outcome that was to be uttered.

He caught sight of the bandages on Shadow's neck and shoulder before quickly averting his eyes. Not wanting to bring attention to it just yet, Sonic knew he was the one to cause the wounds, fighting to swallow the daunting question; his legs aren't working quite right, and he harmed Shadow. Excellent, wonderful morning.

To top it all off, once again, Sonic was bare of any clothing. "I'm hungry." It came out fast, Sonic putting a hand to his stomach to distract these increasingly annoying thoughts. "Please tell me we have something to eat, faker."

Shadow nodded as he watched Sonic readjusting to his deadened limbs until eventually he was gained full mobility, "We were forced to sedate you became too..." Shadow struggled to find the words to describe just what Sonic had become. Horny was a good word to use, but he doubted that would help settle Sonic's mind one bit, "...wild."

"I apologize that we didn't inform you about it, but we didn't know how well the information would have been processed by the Werehog. We didn't want to lose any shred of an advantage," He tossed a towel and a fresh pair of gloves and socks to the naked hedgehog so he could dry up and get dressed, "We have food prepared in the side room for you."

Shadow kept his gaze firmly locked on Sonic, noticing very clearly that the hero was avoiding his gaze. So much the better, if Sonic avoided asking uncomfortable questions, Shadow wouldn't be forced to give uncomfortable answers. The dark agent's stomach flipped tensely as his bruised neck gave a pointed throb under his itchy bandages.

Sonic stared at Shadow for a good minute as he tossed him a towel and clothes before finding his voice again. He spoke after the clothes landed on the ground, taking the towel hesitantly. "Drugged me? You had to drug me?" This was still so surreal to Sonic, and after quickly drying himself, the hedgehog slipped on the gloves and socks. A part of Sonic was slightly annoyed that his friends actually drugged him, but they had a valid point. Sonic let it slide this one time and he swallowed down his frustration. "Alright, you have to get a picture of me like this or something, I'm dying to see what I look like." He smirked a bit despite how horrible the situation was. "Tell me, do I even scare you, faker?" he teased as he stood up on wobbly legs, but happy to see he didn't fall over when walking.

He stepped close to Shadow, now openly letting his eyes focus on the bandages he was dying to ask about. "Tell me I didn't hurt you that bad." He said, taking another step closer to try and examine it before Shadow could get away. "Let me see this, it probably looks cool." He said, obviously as a joke, wanting to make some type of light of the dreaded circumstance. The hero was without a doubt hungry, but the guilt he was feeling made him need to hear the answer to how this happened, of course to justify his actions but without failing to poke fun at Shadow.

"You were as frightening as a fountain of slobber can be," The dark racer growled at Sonic, giving his rival a 'hands off' glare.

Shadow's ears pinned back as Sonic darted in close and peeled back the top of his bandages anyway. The hedgehog was so damn grabby! He growled with frustration and took a step back, trying to keep himself out of Sonic's reach. However the blue hero persisted, obviously wanting to see if he had truly hurt Shadow or not.

"Seriously? I sound pretty kick butt in this form, obviously if I can knock you around," he noticed instantly that Shadow did not want to reveal this wound to him one bit, which of course made him smile; Sonic figured the faker knew by now just how unrelenting he could be . "Just show me, Shads. It can't be that ugly." He knew this was going to be a hard task, but he kept on pressing playfully anyway. With his speed, it wasn't hard to take a hold of one of the corners of the bandage, trying to peel it away until a swift hand caught his wrist.

"C'mon Mr. Sensitive, let me see! I can't say sorry unless I see that sucker." He said with a bit of a chuckle.

"No means no hedgehog!" Shadow growled as he swatted at Sonic, edging out of his reach. However, Sonic managed to snag the loosened part of his bandages when Shadow had let go of the hero's wrists for a split second. Shadow's continual movement backwards caused the wrappings to loosen and get pulled off. Shadow froze as his neck and shoulder became exposed and he had to fight the impulse to cover his throat with his hands. There was no use anyway.

Sonic's face was close at the time of unveiling, his eyes at first narrowed until opening in utter shock when the bandages completely came off in his fingers. Sonic was expecting a scratch, maybe a bite, a gash of some sort; there was no such affliction. There was, however, massive welts covering both sides of his neck and some on his shoulder, Sonic staring at it in silent shock for a moment. They were large and dark enough to even see through the hedgehog's midnight fur, and who ever caused them had a pair of lock jaws. His astonished stare lingered there for a while, until meeting Shadow's gaze with a rich, growing smirk.

"Who did you see last night, faker?" he asked; this was too much, Sonic having every intention of poking fun at the more serious of the two. "Silly me thinking you were here trying to help your friend." He gave him a playful push, raising an eyebrow as he waited for Shadow to come up with some sort of defensive retort, all while trying to fight the weird feeling he got in his belly at the idea of the faker taking off and leaving to see someone else; he told himself it was just from his hunger.

"I knew you'd be into this stuff!" he laughed, slapping his hands together in his hysterics, stepping back as he leaned a bit forward in his chuckling before straightening out. "Chaos, check those out. Was she a vampire or something?"

Sonic obviously had no clue of what he did to Shadow last night, continuing to laugh at the others expense unknowingly; little did he know those were the marks of a Werehog, not a vampire, quieting down enough to hear Shadow's answer.

The fact that Sonic was obliviously laughing on about the bites and hickies he had inflicted on Shadow's throat without so much as a tickling memory annoyed the dark hedgehog. Shadow knew he shouldn't take it out on Sonic since it wasn't his fault he had attacked Shadow with all the ardor of a dog in heat, but he wasn't in much of a forgiving mood while the other was busting a gut laughing over the ordeal. He snatched the bandages back from Sonic's limp grip and his lips pulled back in an aggravated sneer.

"Werehog actually. Thanks for asking," Shadow growled as he began to re-wrap his bruised throat.

The little chuckles that were slowing dying down with his laughter had disappeared at that point. Sonic gave Shadow an instantly strange look. "What?" he inquired, obviously still thinking this was a joke. "Haha, you wish." He teased, waiting for something to come from Shadow's frown to rid of the awkwardness, anything.

Shadow just glared at him, Sonic instantly noting the fury he was directing towards him, the older hedgehog looking like he was ready to tear him a new one. Sonic's smile slowly slid off, watching as he began wrapping it up with the bandages he peeled off. "You're kidding me, faker, I imagine."

Sonic hid his nervousness with weak laughter, which really didn't do much to help his cool guise. He eyed Shadow, waiting for an answer, even a cynical mutter; but Shadow just continued to glare him down, the blue hero knowing that the black hedgehog was even more pissed off than when he greeted him.

Shadow merely continued to watch Sonic, pleased to see that the hedgehog was at least starting to sweat now. Sonic knew he was in trouble. Shadow waited a very long and pregnant pause, savoring the feeling of having thrown Sonic out of his ridiculous laughing fit. He narrowed his eyes and prowled towards Sonic, ruby eyes gleaming behind a mask of no emotion.

"It seems the wilder side of you finds me appealing," Shadow growled as he eyed the rapidly paling Sonic, "A bit too much actually, enough so we had to sedate you."

The silence in the room was deafening after Shadow's booming proclamation, Sonic taking a ridged step back as his first response. A rush of thoughts went through his head as he chewed anxiously on his bottom lip, looking from left to right.

"Uh," his voice cracked softly, the hedgehog suddenly feeling so small, a far cry from his confident personality. "Wow, okay. I don't…I don't even know what to say." Before he could stop it, he flushed horribly, turning away as he tried to hide it. "Was," he's dreading the answer to this. "Was Knuckles there?"

The hedgehog was bound to tease him for as long as he lived at this rate; he could only imagine the torture Knuckles was going to dish out at him the next time he saw him, which was more than likely very soon. His heart was beating faster as his ears lowered to the back of his skull, looking up at Shadow while trying to fight off a pitiful, guilty gaze.

"Shadow, I'm sorry, I didn't have any control." Sonic spoke rather quickly and softly, his mouth suddenly dry, trying his best to explain himself. "That's…that's not me!" he said defensively; was there a tiny hint of desperation in his voice? He didn't know if he should be angry, upset, or trying to laugh it off, but one thing was for certain; Sonic was mortified.

Shadow didn't give Sonic the comfort of acknowledging his apology or desperate attempts to justify himself. He continued to watch the fidgeting hero impassively, taking secret pleasure in the other's discomfort. The reminder of Knuckles put a bit of a crimp on his joyride though, as the echidna hadn't been able to stop shooting Shadow secret, amused smirks over his shoulder.

"Knuckles saw," More than he ever likely wanted to see in the entirety of his whole life. Shadow's lips twitched in a scowl, "He's the one who got you off of me." He continued ruthlessly, deciding Sonic's feelings on the matter could go straight to hell and burn there for all he cared.

Sonic's temper was gradually rising, which did not help the shame that he was feeling previously. "You know, when someone says sorry over something that, I don't know, they don't have control over, it's usually compassionate to at least recognize it." He snapped back at him, giving a glare despite the blush weakening the effect.

"What do you want me to say? That I enjoy waking up naked and exposed, only to be greeted with a hose full of water in my face? Does that seem right? Do you think it's fair that I have to wake up with no memory to know I put moves on you; that my other friend had to tear me off of you in some ridiculous lust, only to drug me!" all the past frustration from the last few days shot from his mouth before he could rationalize. "I'm glad you're taking this like the sensible, sympathetic creature that you always are, it's making me feel a hell of a lot better!"

There was quiet between the two hedgehogs once more, Sonic tensing before taking a deep breath, the hush in the room producing a buzz in his ears. "I'm sorry," he stated, having more difficulty this time keeping the despair from his voice and face. "This is just a lot to process, I didn't mean to yell; that's obviously not the right way to apologize." He pulled at a few head quills with one hand, looking even more frustrated and ashamed for blowing up so emotionally. It certainly didn't help his case as trying to pass this off as nothing. "I just want food." He turned around, unable to look at the other anymore as he moved to the other room, feeling like his embarrassment and the tension was choking him along with the weight of Shadow's stare.

Shadow sighed as he realized Sonic did have a very valid point. He was simply aggravated after running off of two days of no sleep and elevated levels of stress. Relaxing was a luxury that Shadow very much enjoyed, and his body had grown used to being able to sleep at night. The adjustment would take some getting used to. Be as that may he had no reason to take his frustrations out on Sonic, prime a target as he was.

On top of everything else, the whole ordeal with the Werehog's advances had unsettled him all night long. Shadow had been jumpy the entire night during his watch, whenever the Werehog gave a grunt or twitch, and not for reasons the dark hedgehog was familiar with. It was almost as if he had been... excited, interested... intrigued.

Why hadn't he cared so much about the Werehog's intimate touches? Shadow should have been attempting to blow Sonic's brains out against the wall with any blunt instrument he could get his hands on. That was the reasonable and logical reaction one would have had when they were faced with the prospect of being forcibly mated by a creature about roughly three times the size and girth of himself.

What was aggravating Shadow was the fact that he wasn't all that bothered by it. The idea of being with Sonic in that way wasn't nearly as repulsive as he originally thought it would be... It hadn't been rough and the Werehog hadn't been trying to mistreat him. That wasn't a typical forcible mating. No, the Werehog had been gentle and protective. Ridiculous as the thought was, Shadow couldn't help but wonder what would have happened had Knuckles not interfered. Would Shadow have consented to the Werehog's slobbery advances...?

Shadow was afraid of what the answer could be. The knowledge that he didn't know for a fact what he would have decided was all the more annoying, as that left an uncertainty factor he could not predict.

He eyed the blue hedgehog before him, deciding that perhaps a truce was in order so they wouldn't try to kill one another before lunch. His ears flicked slightly and he turned his head towards the side room where he had retrieved the hose, "Your food is in there."

Sonic heard Shadow's voice behind him and he halted with a wince, taking his time to turn back around on his heel. He stood there, his ear twitching timidly as he shyly looked over towards Shadow. "You comin' with?" inquired Sonic quietly; a small smile accompanied by light pink on his muzzle was thrown the agent's way, rubbing his arm out of further nervousness. "I promise not to slobber on you this time."

It was his own way to show he truly felt horrible for what he attempted on Shadow. The embarrassment was what really got to the hero, knowing deep down exactly why he so eagerly tackled Shadow in choice of a mate. He could tell himself all he wanted that it meant nothing, that this strange Werehog form was just in heat, but it was all just a lie to make himself feel better.

He just knew somewhere, at least in a few parts of him, he liked Shadow just a bit too much. Sonic of course never planned on telling the other hedgehog this, these feelings being harbored to in privacy.

"I could eat a horse," he threw Shadow a playfully pointed look as they made their way to the other room. "Don't respond to that, by the way. What did you and Knux get to eat?"

Shadow kept stride with Sonic, the soles of his jet shoes clicking against the hard warehouse floor. It sounded so loud in comparison to Sonic's socked feet silently padding across the ground. He turned to look at the hero, pushing open the creaking door and walking over to the rickety table. He was purposefully not going to think about the Werehog or Sonic slobbering all over him. It had taken an extremely long time for all that saliva to get removed from his fur.

"Knuckles went to the grocery store about an hour ago to get us something to eat. Tails came over early to drop off your breakfast," Shadow grabbed a paper plate that had an aluminum cover over it. The fox hadn't lingered long as he still had work to do. Tails had wanted to wake up Sonic to say good morning, but Shadow had firmly insisted that he just leave. Sonic hadn't gotten anywhere the amount of sleep he needed over the past few days, and who knew when Sonic would next be able to get to rest.

Shadow crinkled his nose with disgust and crimson eyes narrowed as he surveyed the hot plate in his hands, "Smells like that radioactive chili dog nonsense you enjoy." Shadow pushed the plate over to Sonic, obviously having absolutely no appetite for it.

He was trying not to think about Sonic's previous comment concerning Shadow's habit of being rather callous. The hero was hotheaded, but he didn't typically lose his temper like he had, even if Shadow had been needling him. Sonic was under a lot of stress, and Shadow wasn't helping with his harsh comments and attitude. Shadow was still annoyed and holding a grudge, but he could keep it to himself until they managed to get everything under control.

Shadow wondered if he was still capable of compassion. Obviously he was having difficulty expressing it to the terrified faker. He distractedly threw a bundle of napkins at Sonic, knowing the hedgehog was about to make a mess with his foul smelling food.

After picking one of the chairs for a spot, Sonic watched as napkins landed haphazardly across the table top, some falling to his lap. Shadow showed him his back and Sonic thought he might have detected a thoughtful look in Shadow's eyes before turning away completely; it was almost as if his thoughts were elsewhere. Before Shadow could face back to spot his ogling, Sonic quickly diverted his vision and reached towards the plate sitting directly before him, his stomach alerting him with a growl. He unwrapped the foil only to stare down at the meal Tails had so sweetly brought over for him, sitting still in his seat as he made no action to move.

It was made exactly the way he liked it; there were four of them doused in chili, a little shredded cheddar on top since Tails' was the lover of extra cheese, with onions and peppers sprinkled in the mix. They were still warm thanks to the tin foil, sitting there, begging to be finally eaten…and Sonic just stared.

After a few moments, he narrowed his eyes and took one to pick it up, giving it a sniff. He inspected it, turning it over in his hand and examining every angle of his favorite food before setting it back down on the plate with wide eyes.

"I don't want this." It was muttered in a whisper. He couldn't even stop the words from coming out of his mouth, looking as shocked as the hedgehog across from him.

Slowly Shadow's head jerkily turned almost as if it were made of wood. Ruby eyes fell first on Sonic, then on the chili dogs the hero was so notorious for loving. He merely stared at Sonic for a long moment and then his eyes abruptly narrowed.

"Excuse me?" Shadow asked, almost as if he hadn't heard correctly. Sonic was lifting his nose to chili dogs. Sonic the Hedgehog was turning down the food he was absolutely and heartedly in love with. It didn't even sound right in a sentence. Shadow's eye twitched slightly and he growled slightly, "You haven't eaten in nearly three days. What's stopping you from inhaling them like you typically do?"

He frowned slightly, wondering if perhaps Sonic wasn't feeling so well after all. Perhaps turning into a Werehog had other side effects aside from overactive salivary glands; Shadow couldn't help but be a bit worried over this particular development.

"I don't know," he looked as confused as Shadow. "It just doesn't look right, doesn't smell right; it just doesn't look," he paused as he tried to think of the right word. "Appetizing to me right now."

He picked up another one with a clearly upset frown, as if he was racking his brain to understand where this sudden dislike was coming from, trying to hide his despair. Chili dogs were his favorite food, he had eaten two at least once a day for years; it was like a fix for the hero. But he just couldn't stomach them, and he put it to his lips as they trembled, willing himself to take one bite, before letting it fall to the plate whole.

"What else do you have?" he was up in a blur and already at the fridge before Shadow could answer, digging through the food with reemerging hunger. He picked out a bunch of radishes, making an openly disgusted face. With every vegetable and fruit, he went out of his way to completely ignore or even grimace at until spreading every disinteresting item away from the shelf, his eyes widening at his find.

It was a steak, wrapped in plastic and Styrofoam, looking unsuspicious as it did raw; Sonic crouched in his spot, ears perked forward and his eyes wide. His tongue licked his lips but he said nothing to Shadow, watching the piece of meat as if it would spring legs and try and get away.

Shadow quirked an eyeridge as he watched the hero clean the refrigerator of its content except the steak he had been planning on making himself for lunch. It was clear what Sonic had his eyes on and Shadow sighed, reaching over his rival's shoulder to pluck the steak from its spot in the fridge. He waved it in front of Sonic's face with a snort of amusement, watching as jade eyes followed its every movement.

"I wasn't aware you were such a picky eater faker," Shadow muttered as he walked away from the refrigerator with the steak, aware of Sonic on his heels like a hungry animal. It appeared as though Shadow was looking forward to a lunch of frothing and uranium soaked chili dogs while Sonic enjoyed his steak. Shadow resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Only Sonic could manage to stop eating for so long and then finally decide to empty the fridge in a hunt for something 'appetizing.' He was such a drama queen.

As Shadow purposefully wriggled the meat in front of his face, he literally had to suppress the urge to pounce forward and yank it out of his grasp with his teeth. Shadow dangled it tauntingly from his fingers, the hedgehog sniffling yet never taking his eyes away from it, even as Shadow moved to the counter for what Sonic assumed to prepare it.

"I'm," he clearly sounded distracted by the beef sitting defensively in the open, still in its wrapping. "I'm normally not picky at all." With the hero's metabolism, he was a living garbage can when it came to food, eating how much of whatever he wanted. With force, he tore his eyes from the source of his desire to Shadow, his eyes instantly switching to those bandages on his neck; jeez, he felt like a wild animal.

He stood about a foot away from Shadow and the juicy steak on the counter, crouching so he was eye level with the ledge. "I want that." He finally admitted out loud, licking his lips to prevent himself from salivating much like his doppelganger.

"Really, I couldn't tell," Shadow muttered dryly. Seeing how Sonic was eyeing the steak with all the lust of a starved man, Shadow scowled slightly and began to heat up a pan, "Chaos Sonic, at least let me introduce the steak to fire before you attack it, packaging and all." Keeping one eye on Sonic and another on the steak, Shadow carefully began to discard the steak of its wrappings.

If he didn't know any better, he would have thought Sonic would simply attempt to steal the steak and run off with it. Whether to eat it or elope, Shadow really didn't know at this point. He threw some spices in the mix and tossed the steak on the pan, watching it as it sizzled as it was slightly more entertaining than the drooling hedgehog that was hovering nearby.

After a beat, Shadow's gaze flickered over to Sonic, he wasn't going bother asking how the hero wanted it done. The carnivorous look in the hedgehog's eyes was somewhat akin to what Shadow had seen in the Werehog's hungry gaze. Thus it wasn't too far of a leap for the agent to assume Sonic wanted his steak rare done. If even that.

Sonic bit his lip and his ears folded back to his cranium, taking a deep inhale as it fragrantly sizzled in the pan Shadow chose before placing it on the hot coil. His stomach let out an audible growl and the hero had enough embarrassing himself for the day, not thinking it could get anyway worse, what with the previous announcement of lustfully attacking Shadow; the horribleness of this day was proved further with his display of animalistic hunger towards the meat. With one more longing look toward the meat, he stood up and made his way reluctantly to the table.

He sat back down in his previous spot, his eyes constantly looking back to Shadow from the corner of their vision to watch him cook it, the smell driving him internally hysterical. One hand tapped in an antsy fashion on the wood, a show of his usual impatience, the other patting his jiggling leg. It was taking all the power in the usually controlled hedgehog to not stand up and rip it out of the pan and eat it raw; he needed some decency and pride by the end of the day. One ear would twitch from every crackle and sound of the charring meat being turned over, giving in to looking over his shoulder as his anxiety became more apparent as the minutes ticked by.

"You don't have to cook it for long," stated Sonic hurriedly, feeling like the other had been cooking on the stove for hours. He looked over at the clock on the device Shadow stood before; it had only been about seven minutes.

Shadow sighed and looked vaguely back at the impatient hedgehog, and then he turned back to the stove to finish the steak. Whether Sonic liked it or not, the dark racer wasn't going to give him the steak raw and further damage his already starved system. Shadow could survive without sustenance for quite a while, but Sonic on the other hand could not, and he wasn't planning on adding food poisoning to the list of Sonic's ever growing problems.

He didn't need Sonic's vomit on him in addition to his drool.

The sounds of Sonic's anxious shifting from behind him grew all the more pronounced until it got to the point where Shadow couldn't ignore it any longer. The meat was still mooing, but Shadow supposed it was good thoroughly enough so Sonic wouldn't run the risk of spending the rest of the day on a toilet. He put the steak on a plate and strode over to Sonic, "Would you like utensils, or would you prefer to eat it with your hands alone?" His lips pulled at the corner in a smirk.

Sonic blinked up at the ceramic plate in Shadow's grasp, thinking to himself for a moment. 'That's actually a good—' he cut himself short before the word 'idea' could filter through his mind, his eyes narrowing in annoyance.

"Oh, haha; it's not like I haven't eaten for days or anything," he stuck his tongue out playfully when the plate was placed in front of him, looking down at the steak as if it were a precious artifact. The hero switched his gaze back up to Shadow with wide eyes before he stood for a fork and knife. "Thank you."

He wasted no time as he used his speed to his advantage, standing up and grabbing utensils in a flash before he was back in his seat, slicing the steak crudely. A deep breath was taken by the hedgehog to suppress his hands from trembling, again licking his muzzle to prevent himself from drooling. He couldn't believe how much saliva was rushing from his throat to his mouth, his pupils dilating as the meat in his hold couldn't even be cut fast enough by his standards.

Sonic punctured his fork into a large wedge of the beef and frowned at the 'squish' the action produced, watching tiny rivers of blood leak from the piece as he lifted it off the plate. His stomach again growled for care so Sonic stuck the cut into his mouth, chewing it before swallowing it.

Soon one piece became two, two became three before Sonic was eating it ravenously, the normally talkative hedgehog not once looking up at his rival as he dug in animatedly, completely too focused on the meal before him to pay any care to Shadow.

Shadow watched with a mixture of fascination and awe as Sonic devoured his food. Rolling his eyes, he turned towards the abandoned chili dogs and took one, wrinkling his nose with disgust as he took a bite. He would have to eat lunch sooner or later, even if he didn't want to submit his internal body to the sickening lava that was a chili dog.

He watched as Sonic polished off his plate, quirking a slow eyeridge, "Please don't tell me that you're still hungry. That steak was large enough for two meals." He rapped his fingers idly against the table, taking his time to chew the sloppy meal. Shadow supposed it was... edible. He got up to fill two glasses of water and pushed one towards the satisfied looking hero. Taking a sip of his water, Shadow eyed Sonic idly, he was glad this warehouse was fully equipped for them to crash in. It might not be the most glamorous of places, but at least it had enough working appliances to get rid of the need for them to make too many trips out and draw attention to this place. The less people who knew they were here the better, and now that they knew that this place could withstand a Werehog attack that made it all the more valuable.

Shadow took in the hero's posture. Sonic looked a bit relaxed, if a bit damp from the cold shower he had received earlier in the morning. He leaned an elbow on the table and set the glass down, keeping his gloved fingertips slowly tracing the rim. He focused instead on the glass half empty, looking through it to see Sonic's distorted image through its plastic-like coating – there would be no actual glass stored in the warehouse should the Werehog get a bit rambunctious.

"How're you feeling?" Shadow asked before he could stop himself, never once pulling his gaze away from his cup to look at the hedgehog he was addressing. He closed his eyes and breathed out through his nose, feeling far more conflicted than he had a mere day ago. One full day ago the biggest extents of his problems were the fears that someone would walk in on him while he was reading his sappy romance novel. Now he was here with Sonic, a cursed hero who morphed into an insane Werehog come sunset.

Despite what he might deny, he was worried about the other. There was only so much stress one could take before they reached a breaking point.

Sonic pushed the plate away, finishing the massive slab of meat impressively quick, letting out a content sigh as he patted his full stomach under the table.

"Not bad, Shads," he eyed the chili dogs that were supposed to be his, picking at his teeth a bit with a finger. "Can't stop feeling like you got the better end of the deal." The hero scowled lightly, still upset with his yearning to eat his most precious of meals, but still not being able to bring himself to do it. "I'm plenty full by now."

"I know you're not a fan of those," he motioned towards the food Shadow was taking his time eating, leaning over to a point a paw towards the other. "But Tails learned how to cook those from the best." Sonic's usual grin sprang across his face as he put a thumb to his chest, a refreshing sight in these past few hectic days.

It fell quiet after that, Sonic letting Shadow eat as he tried his best not to focus on those bandages standing blaringly out against his ebony fur. He felt his heart beat strangely fast as he sat back and tried his best to hide his snooping, switching up from his fingers entwined together beneath the furniture to the hidden bruises when he sure Shadow wasn't looking.

For some strange reason, despite the embarrassment those forgotten lustful actions produced, a part of him strongly desired that Shadow wore those welts proudly, like he himself had given Sonic permission to afflict them. He had to fight back a visible flinch as he reminded himself that they weren't at all like that, the courageous blue hero even too frightened to bring them up again in conversation; he imagined Shadow was bitter, possibly even appalled by the idea by them, and his once satisfied stomach twisted painfully.

How could he blame him? At night, he turned into this raging, drooling beast that seemed to not have an ounce of moral or social decency; how could he expect Shadow to enjoy that? Sonic was sure even a tough fighter like himself would keel over if Shadow knew those actions were feelings he harbored locked away somewhere in his psyche, struggling to escape and only finding release through his strange transformation.

He heard Shadow's voice and replied as quickly as possible as he geared away from such thoughts. "Uh," he thought for a moment. "Full and content, happy to say." His stare, which was trained hard on the hands in his lap, suddenly looked back up at Shadow modestly. "How about you?"

It seemed like the rational thing to say, considering Shadow had been nice enough to ask; it was a rarity Sonic wanted to continue, and he hoped it coaxed away these agonizing thoughts that Shadow might be judging him by the intimate kisses he attacked him with. The hero felt slightly guilty as he remembered his harsh words from earlier, frustrated at losing his temper in a time of stress. He was usually so trained, so good at taking the initiative as a leader, being that firm column for people to lean against; to use him for guidance and safety, never one to give into his anxieties. Although yes, this did involve those dead Chaos Emeralds now residing in Tails work shop that were oh so important to the GUN agent, Shadow really didn't have to stick around, help control him, take his horny pent up frustration coming out in the form of a ravenous beast, let alone cook him a steak.

He was slightly envious of his doppelganger. Sonic, who turned away from no fear (except from water) felt like his pride was burned; that the slobbering wolf of a creature could make a move on faker before he. He wondered, what did Shadow feel like? Was his fur as soft as he imagined? How did he taste? Another part of him currently concealed during the light of day sure as hell knew, Sonic contemplated sourly.

Sonic quickly again tried to rid of these ideas, hoping it didn't show on his face as he waited for the other's answer.

Ears twitching at the delayed answer, Shadow eyed Sonic silently. His lips twisting at the corners into a dry smirk as he contemplated his answer. To be honest, he wasn't doing nearly as bad as he could be, in that he didn't turn into a salivating Werehog when the sun set. So if Sonic was doing decently well, then Shadow had no room to complain, "Content as I can be given the situation," He replied easily enough.

Shadow's deep gaze returned to his glass, watching slightly as the surface of his water rippled and fluttered out towards the edges of the cup. "Hm..." He frowned as he noticed how odd that was, he hadn't so much as touched the glass, he eyed Sonic's shifting feet, deciding the hedgehog must have kicked the table. Distracted, Shadow took a sip and scratched at his bandages.

The sound of the warehouse door being lifted up filled Shadow's ears and he let out a soft groan as he realized Knuckles had returned from his errands. The echidna strode into the kitchen and smirked over at Sonic, violet eyes gleaming with mirth as he took in Sonic's disheveled state. It was obvious that the events from the previous night were playing through the Guardian's head, and Shadow knew there was no point in attempting to threaten Knuckles into silence. That would be as effective as intimidating a door knob.

"I bet you slept well," Knuckles looked over at Sonic with mirth as he reloaded the fridge with things they were bound to need.

Sonic lifted his own glass as Shadow inspected his, not really paying mind to the shudder since he was busy taking a sip anyway. The sound of the massive, steel door leading to the building being pulled up and slamming down to the cement floor scent a shockwave of dread through Sonic, his face showing such. His ear twitched and he looked over his shoulder at the ever nearing form of Knuckles before switching quickly back to Shadow sheepishly, feeling like he should say sorry, anything to somehow make up for the teasing the both of them were probably going to endure.

Knuckles and Sonic had always taken punches at each other, both physically and verbally, in part of their competitive friendship and he was preparing himself for the abuse to his pride he was about to be suffering shortly. He looked down at his hands now crossed on the table before switching a pointed look in the echidna's direction when he dared to utter such a phrase, his tongue gleaming over the teeth hidden behind his lips in silent annoyance. He didn't respond to the statement at first, finding clever comments seemed to escape him at first as he tried to think of one appropriate.

"As well as one can sleep as a drug induced werewolf trying to suck at your rivals neck, I assume; not that I'd know with the lack of memory, really." Might as well get rid of that elephant standing awkwardly in the room. He stood with a skid of the chair behind him, taking his plate and depositing it into the sink with a frigid air. "Hope you got plenty of meat, I'm one hungry wolf it seems." He shot half jokingly, but not without a spiteful glint in his eye towards the red fur. He was at this point ignoring Shadow desperately, not able to look at him as he tried greatly to hide his humiliation.

"So in other words you slept like you normally do," Knuckles drawled, leaning against the counter. He picked out a bag of grapes and eyed Blue as he popped one in his mouth. He chewed thoughtfully and smirked, "Although I gotta admit Sonic, I didn't know you had those types of moves in you. Very bold – not that I need the pointers."

Shadow merely ducked his forehead in his palm, feeling rather like he wanted instead to do anything else besides relive the previous night. Even rolling around on broken shards of glass was a notch higher than having Knuckles tease Sonic for his behavior last night. Especially since the net of torment was wide enough to drag Shadow into its grasp. There was no escape.

Sonic instantly went flustered, pink undeniably washing across his muzzle. He tried not to gnash his teeth as he let out an angry breath of air through his nose, feeling tempted to grab that bag of grapes and throw them at the echidna.

"Bet you enjoyed watching, Knucklehead." The usually unmovable hero spat, moving forward to push a muscular shoulder. "I'll try to keep it private next time, unless Shadow doesn't mind the show." Turning on his heel with one more nasty glare towards Red, he went back to his seat to flop back into his spot, shutting his lids to still avoid looking at the other hedgehog. He ran a hand through his damp quills with a frustrated sigh, trying to pat down some of the loose strands. Sonic had little success and he literally just dropped his forehead to the wood with a small 'thud'; one could imagine the annoyed, wavy lines that would have appeared above his messy quills if this were a cartoon.

"Don't drag me into this foolishness," Shadow said shortly, his heart giving a rather strange flutter at Sonic's last statement. What did that stupid Faker mean by 'keeping it private unless Shadow didn't mind'? His thoughts spun with the suggestions and Shadow took to glaring a hole into Sonic's forehead.

"Well someone has to chaperone you frisky kids," Knuckles snorted, not at all affected by Sonic's glancing shove. He folded his arms over his chest, even as he popped another grape in his mouth. Obviously the echidna was delighting in Sonic's discomfort. The fact that Shadow was also subject to his teasing was only an additional bonus.

Sonic finally lifted his head. "Don't you have an emerald to make love to?" the hedgehog declared defensively, quickly cutting off his response with another inquiry. "Do I have an extra pair of sneakers anywhere? As much as I adore spending time in some moist, stinking cement prison, I would love for some fresh air."

"What was this place originally, anyway? Some type of hangar?" he was curious, wondering just why it was abandoned. His feet were firmly on the ground and a small shudder just barely glimpsed under his socks, not thinking much of it; maybe the place was falling apart, it seemed feasible.

"Yeah, the same place where you left them yesterday" Shadow snorted and jerked his head back into the room they had been in previously. He was certainly glad Sonic had managed to divert the attention away from the fiasco that had been last night's display of debauchery and onto topics that were a bit more G-friendly.

Knuckles jerked his head, disappointed the game had been deterred for the moment but deciding to let it go for now. He could always bring it up again for another round of teasing, there would no doubt be plenty of opportunities, "Tails looked up the license for this place while we were setting things up. Apparently this place used to be some kind of butchery. We haven't had a chance to explore a lot of it, but there's supposedly even a huge meat locker." His lips twitched slightly, "So yeah Sonic. If you get really hungry we can store your meals there."

"I wouldn't see the point of going there. Sonic isn't going to be a Werehog long enough for that place to be of any use to us," Shadow muttered. He on the other hand had stilled slightly at the mention of the meat locker. That wasn't knowledge he had been made aware of when selecting the place to contain Sonic. His frown deepened slightly and his fingers tapped against his arm, not at all willing to go anywhere near something that could simulate the freezing effects of a stasis chamber. Those feelings were just a bit too haunting for Shadow to handle and he was going to draw the line somewhere before it became an issue.

"Sounds perfect; y'know, I could of swore I smelt this scent of dead animal that just wafted in the air here. What a fitting place for a Werehog." Jade eyes rolled in their sockets. Shadow looked unhappy at Knuckle's previous statement, but the blue hedgehog decided to spare himself being berated at even mentioning Shadow looked anything resembling upset, the black hedgehog probably not wanting to speak of it anyhow. He stood from his spot again, running his fingers through the back of his head quills with a stretch and a sigh.

"Alright, I think you both saw enough of me last night, I'm heading out of here." He moved towards the doorway, looking over his shoulder. "Try not to miss me too much." He winked back at both of them before making his way towards his shoes, wanting to get out of their before Knuckles could continue the teasing he probably wanted to dish out further on the hero.

As soon as Sonic was out of earshot, Shadow turned towards Knuckles impassively, his face an unreadable mask. He waited a beat, ears straining as he listened for the crack of a sonic boom, signifying the blue hero was well on his way and had no chance of coming back in to overhear the conversation.

Knuckles was still chuckling quietly, obviously thinking something to himself that would make Shadow a very unhappy hedgehog. Thus Shadow chose not to think about whatever the Guardian was and decided to get down to business. It was clear that thanks to the Werehog's previous actions the night before, they would have to take measures to ensure something like that didn't happen again. This time Sonic would be expecting to wake up slightly drugged. However while the plan remained the same, they would change it up a bit...

Shadow did not want to find himself in a powerless situation like he had been in last night. Being trapped underneath the Werehog had forced Shadow to think of things he had no business contemplating. Such was his nature and Shadow was comfortable with the way things were.

"The instant Sonic comes back, we're going to drug him," Shadow said flatly, "Without warning. Hopefully that'll be enough to keep him properly sedated throughout the night."

Knuckles started at the abruptness of Shadow's declaration, looking over at him in surprise, "And how do you suppose we do that? I'm not going to be the one chasing that hyperactive nut around with a syringe." He knew as well as Shadow did that Sonic's first reaction would be to get the heck out of dodge before he could be properly drugged.

"I don't care what we have to do to pacify him," Shadow growled, "Sprinkle it on his steaks or give it to him as an enema – just so long as he doesn't have the ability to tear up this place."

Knuckles looked thoughtful for a moment, popping another grape in his mouth as he made a face. "Sprinkling some in his food should work fine enough; knowing his appetite, another steak will work just fine. He's not going to be happy when he finds out." He warned, but Knuckles couldn't help but smirk. "But I don't blame you for worrying, Shadow."

Shadow threw him a thick glare before standing up himself, already sick of enduring Knuckles sneers alone; besides, he thought, he had to get back to his home for a bit.

He had some reading to do.