*Sonic's POV *
I felt like I was about to faint. My stomach felt empty, and my chest, hands, and face went freezing cold, and I felt as I stumbled back from just hearing Rouge suggest that. It's not like I didn't want to. I did. I was just very, very afraid.

Shadow rested a hand on my lower back when he saw me stumble, then helped me sit down. "I don't think it's such a good idea, Rouge."

"You don't want to see them?" Rouge asked as she sat down as well. I was at the head of the table as Shadow and Rouge sat across each other. Both looking at me.

"It's not that. I do. I really do, but I'm also very scared. They have their own lives. I can't just barge in. Chaos, I was dying when I saw both of you. I hid from Shadow and nearly had a panic attack when you hugged me today." I explained how I felt as I tugged at the hem of my gloves. "I don't know what to even say to them or what."

"How about starting off with Tails? I heard from a coworker that he works for G.U.N. now. Can't you ask your brother if it's true?" My ears went up when Rouge said that.

"You have a job?" Shadow asked Rouge, and she nodded. "Where?"

"I own my own beauty salon." Rouge pulled out a business card from her purse and placed it in the center of the table.

"I didn't know about Tails. I'll ask Manic in the morning. I guess it wouldn't hurt to see him." I sighed then rubbed my face. "We can talk about this in the morning." I stood up, Shadow nodded and stood up as well. "You can take my bed." I said to him as Rouge went into the bathroom to remove her makeup.

"I'm fine on the couch." He said as he went to the living room. "Goodnight." He was back to his usual mood. The coffee beans and the cookies that Lucy baked for us had helped him sober down.

I gave in knowing Shadow wasn't going to budge and went to bed. I woke up the next morning by Rouge shouting at Scourge to "shut the hell up." As she put it.

"What's going on?" I said as I walked out of my room. Shadow was passing by, and I couldn't help but notice he glanced at me up and down. I blushed and fixed up my fur, which was messy from me tossing and turning in my bed.

"Scourge was talking too much to a decaffeinated Rouge." Shadow stretched and groaned quietly. He had just woken up, too. 

"Hey bro, Lucy stopped by to drop off some breakfast for us." Manic passed by. He was about to go into the guest room, but I walked to him.

"Hey. Wait. I needed to ask you something." I said when I caught up.

"Whats up?" He raised a brow as he walked into the room and started to put on G.U.N.s suit again.

"Is it true Tails is working for G.U.N.?" I asked, and he nodded without a second thought.

"Yeah. I recruited him, we needed someone with his skills. He's one of my best workers." He fixed the tie as he looked in the mirror. "Why?"

"I wanted to see if you could pass me his number." I asked a bit quieter than usual.

"Sure. Here." He passed me his phone, and I copied the number into mine. "It's good to see you finally realizing that you should be with your friends again. It sucked to see you leave them, but I'm glad you met Spike and Lucy." Manic patted my back as he grabbed his phone and walked out of the room. "Scourge and I are leaving already. I think Rouge said she was going to stay a bit longer to help you with something. Wasn't paying much attention. I'll tell Ma, Sonia, and Chuck you said hi." And with that said, he left.

I walked to the dining table and sat down as I looked down at my phone. Rouge and Shadow were eating and talking as if no time had passed. Except it did. And they were both different now. Shadow could actually hold a conversation without getting mad, and Rouge was, well, Rouge didn't change much. She was as flirty as she always was and just seemed so happy to have seen us again.

I let them talk and grabbed the plate that said my name. Even though she only served sweets and some sandwiches at her Café, she always took the time to make me a chili dog if I was ever hungry. I started eating and looked down at my phone again, my hands shaking as I clicked on the new contact and decided to send the text.

Me: Hey, Buddy. It's Sonic.

The message was delivered, and as I took another bite of my food, it showed it was read. I quietly chocked on the food as I saw the message bubbles come out and then disappear about 5 different times. When the bubble stopped appearing on my screen, I put my phone down, realizing that Tails did not want to text me back.

"What's wrong, Hun?" I looked up to see Rouge looking at me. "Everything okay?" I was about to answer when my phone started ringing. I picked it up and nearly dropped it when I saw it was Tails, the phone slipping out my hands until Shadow caught it and passed it to me. He motioned for Rouge to stay quiet as he pressed the answer button, knowing I would probably never accept the call myself.

"Sonic?" I heard once I put the phone up to my ear. "Is that you?"

"H-Hey, Tails. Long time." I muttered.

"Chaos. It really is you!" I could hear him dropping something and bumping into stuff. "It's been 8 years since I last saw you or heard from you!" He didn't sound upset.

"I know. I'm sorry." I lowered my ears.

"Is everything okay? You're not dying, are you?" He asked, sounding a bit concerned now. "It's so good to hear your voice again. I miss you."

"I miss you too." I was aware I was being a bit dry with my answers, but I was nervous. My leg was bouncing under the table, and I kept biting my lip, trying to calm myself down. "Hey, Umm - Listen. I - Well -" I couldn't bring myself to talk. I looked up when Shadow put his hand on top of mine and nodded at me. I smiled at him, somehow his touch helping me relax. "I wanted to see if I could meet up with you again. It's been a long time."

"You want to meet up?" Tails asked on the other side of the line. He was quiet for a bit, I could hear him riffle through some papers. "I can do that, I'll just let Manic know. I'm guessing that's where you got my number from."

"Yeah. He gave it to me. Listen, I am actually not alone." I chuckled softly. "Rouge and Shadow are here with me."

"What?" He shouted in shock. "How? Since when?"

"Well, Shadow, for about a week, give or take. And Rouge since last night. There's a lot to catch up on." I looked up at Shadow and squeezed his hand, then softly laughed. "A lot."

"I can see if I can meet you tomorrow. Are they staying with you or something?" I heard him open a door and then start walking, I could hear a lot of people in the background giving me an idea he was at G.U.N. "I think Manic is here. Let me go ask."

"You don't have to ask him. I'll text him letting him know. I'll send you my address." I said, knowing well Manic wasn't there yet since they had just left. "Shadow is. I'm not sure if Rouge is staying here or not." I looked at Rouge, who simply shrugged at me and drank from her coffee.

"Okay then. I'll see you tomorrow?" I nodded.

"I'll see you tomorrow." I hung up the phone then texted him my address. I put the phone down, then my head down as I quietly groaned. "He's coming tomorrow." I said out loud.

"That's great! I know Knuckles is still at the island, but I haven't heard from Amy or even Silver or Blaze. Have you?" Rouge asked Shadow.

"Actually. I did hear something but never looked into it." Shadow said and pulled out his phone to look up something. His ears soon went up, and he hummed in disbelief. "Rumors were true."

"What rumors?" Rouge and I asked as we both leaned over to see what he was looking at. On the screen was a picture of Silver and Mephiles together, they both wore wedding rings as Mephiles was captured in picture as if trying to kill the camera man while Silver held what looked like a baby hedgehog. Impossible.

"I heard that they got married and even adopted a kid. I thought it was fake." He said as Rouge snatched the phone away and took a screenshot, sending it to herself. "I guess I was wrong."