Shadow took a deep breath.

He stood in front of the door, nervous. That mission was 8 months longer than expected. Hopefully Mephiles would understand.

Speaking of Mephiles, he was going to get an earful from Shadow. For the first few days of the trip to the mission station, the other soldiers poked fun at Shadow, seeing the hickey that Mephiles had left on his neck. They asked who the "lucky lady" was that would date a "cold, unfeeling robot" like Shadow.

Of course, he didn't tell them. But he couldn't help blushing every time he looked at his neck. Even when it finally disappeared, it stood as a reminder: Mephiles had marked him. He was to return to Mephiles.

Now that he was here, he was on edge. As a peace offering, he had brung some takeout food from one of Mephiles's favorite restaurants. Of course, it wouldn't make up for all the lost time, but hopefully it would help.

Finally opening the door, Shadow stepped inside.

Opposite of what he expected, the house was spotless. Even though his pay hadn't been given for the past 14 months, Mephiles kept doing his job.

It took little time for Shadow to see that something was wrong, though. Mephiles still hadn't come to greet him.

Shadow sat down the food and looked around the silent house, growing worried. He checked the living room.

Nothing.

Kitchen.

Nothing.

Not in his bedroom.

Not in the reading area.

None of the bathrooms.

Neither of the yards.

Feeling extremely worried, Shadow went to his room to think. He opened the door.

There he was. Mephiles was laying on Shadow's bed, deep in sleep.

'Huh.' Shadow thought. 'Normally he never even touches my room. Poor guy must've really missed me. Maybe even more than I missed him, and that's saying something.'

Shadow quickly walked over to Mephiles. He only wanted to hug and kiss him. Then he noticed the book laying open near him. Curious, Shadow picked it up, thinking that it was another "fanfiction", as Mephiles called it.

But he realized that the book was a journal. All of the latest entry pages had tear stains on them. Shadow read them, becoming tearful himself seeing that Mephiles had begun blaming himself for Shadow not coming back.

Shadow tossed the journal down and shook Mephiles. "Wake up. Mephiles, wake up."

Mephiles was still.

Shadow shook desperately. "Mephiles! Please, Mephiles, wake up!"

A low grunt was heard from the still very sleepy hedgehog. "No... Don't go... I'll do better... I'll be better... Please, no, don't leave me again..."

"MEPHILES, WAKE UP!"

Finally, Mephiles jumped up. He confusedly looked around, then froze.

The two looked at each other.

Then Mephiles began crying.

"Nonono. Calm down, Mephiles. What's wrong?" Shadow said, rubbing Mephiles's back and shoulders.

Sobbing, Mephiles answers, "You're finally here! I thought you weren't coming back! I thought you hated me!"

Shadow hugged Mephiles tight, still rubbing his back. "I'm right here. It's okay. Calm down. I'm right here. Stop crying."

Finally, Mephiles's sobs quieted to sniffles.

Kissing Mephiles's cheek, Shadow whispered, "I missed you so much. I'm sorry I was gone so long. I'm so sorry."

Mephiles wiped the rest of the tears off his face. He still badly wanted to please Shadow, just to be sure he wouldn't be abandoned. "Sh-Shadow, were you disappointed?"

Shadow looked up, confused. "What do you mean?"

"When you saw your home. If you want it to be cleaner-"

"Mephiles, you've taken care of the house. Clearly, you haven't been taking enough care of yourself. C'mon, let's take a shower."

Picking up a surprised Mephiles, Shadow carried him to the bathroom.

~Later~

Shadow had helped Mephiles take off his clothes, and was now undressing himself. "Turn the water on, will ya?"

Mephiles was happy to obey, making sure that the water was warm. He stood under the shower head to test the temperature. Once he was satisfied, he turned and saw that Shadow was almost done. Blushing, he watched him finish and step into the tub in front of him.

Seeing that Mephiles was nervous, Shadow asked, "What's the matter? I'm not gonna poke fun at you for your body or anything."

Mephiles had become rather thin since Shadow left.

"It's not that, Shadow. I've never seen you... nude, before."

Shadow pulled Mephiles under the water and put soap on him, beginning to clean Mephiles's quills. "If it makes you uncomfortable, I'm fine with getting out."

"No!"

Shadow looked at Mephiles, surprised at his suddenly loud voice.

Mephiles said calmly, "I mean, I don't mind it. It's just new, that's all... Mm..."

Mephiles marveled at the feeling of Shadow scrubbing his back.

"Hey... Mephiles, I feel I should thank you. Before you came to live here, this place was lonely. More than I like to admit. Of course, I enjoy peace and quiet. And I like having my privacy. But..."

"I feel the same way about you, for allowing me here. That cave was my living space, but it wasn't a home. And when you left for your mission, the house felt empty. I felt empty. I'm so glad you're back..."

Shadow gave Mephiles the soap so he could finish bathing and quickly cleaned himself. When they were both finished, Shadow turned to Mephiles and pinned him to the wall.

"Um... Shadow, what are you planning?" Mephiles questioned.

Shadow smiled. "I haven't been able to do so much as look at you for over a year. Can't I have a little fun?"

As Shadow moved to his neck, Mephiles gasped, "Shouldn't we 'have fun' in... ooh... in a different room? The bathroom doesn't seem in any way appropriate..."

Respecting Mephiles's wishes, Shadow stopped. "Okay. Where, then?"

"Let's get dressed and go to the living room."

A few minutes later, the two were sitting on their couch. Seeing that Mephiles hadn't been eating as he should, Shadow was going to make him eat until he was full.

Which didn't take long. "Alright, Shadow. I can't continue eating, my stomach will begin hurting."

Nodding, Shadow took the leftovers and put them in the refrigerator.

While Shadow was busy, Mephiles relaxed, laying on his back. Being completely full was a new feeling for him. Normally, he wouldn't eat so much at once. Now that he had, he learned that it made him want sleep.

Suddenly, Mephiles heard Shadow laughing quietly. He opened his eyes, seeing his look-alike standing over him.

"Look at you." Shadow kissed Mephiles's forehead. "Tired?"

Shifting his arms so that Shadow could rub his full belly, Mephiles nodded.

For a moment, Shadow said nothing. He laid his head against Mephiles, holding one of his hands and massaging his tummy. He blushed when he felt a hand slowly brushing his ears, reaching to comb through his quills.

He turned to Mephiles, smiling, "Why are you petting me?"

"Because you make me feel special. You're precious to me, Shadow. I hope you realize that."

Shadow quickly turned away.

Mephiles frowned. "Did I say something offensive?"

"No."

Mephiles was confused. He took Shadow's face and turned him so that they could face each other.

Shadow's face was bright pink and smiling.

"*gasp* you're bashful..." Mephiles realized.

Knowing that there was no point in denying it, Shadow nodded.

Mephiles giggled. "You look adorable when you're embarrassed. You're face is so pink!"

Even more embarrassed with Mephiles laughing at him, Shadow decided that it was time for some well-deserved payback.

One hand on either side of Mephiles's chest, Shadow swung himself over the blue-striped hedgehog's body.

Mephiles's eyes widened in uncertainty.

"Mephiles, care to explain something to me?"

Blushing at Shadow's tone, Mephiles lifted his ears.

"Why is it, that for almost a week into my mission, I was laughed at?"

Mephiles responded that he couldn't think of any reason for that.

"Oh? That so? Then do you recall what you did to me the night before?"

That's when it came to Mephiles. Shadow was talking about, "The hickey?"

"That's right. You left a big, purple, bruise on my neck. And it was perfectly visible, too. You'd think it would be difficult with my quill color, but nope. Almost everyone that had to speak to me could see it. Now why would you leave such a noticable spot on me?"

Mephiles was quiet.

"Hm. Was it to embarass me? Was it to keep me thinking of you every time I looked in the mirror? Or maybe..." Shadow leaned closer. "Was it to mark me as yours?"

"U-Um, well yes. All of those things, really. But about the 'marking'... Iwasmarkingyouasmyowner."

Shadow froze in shock. "Wait... What did you say?"

"I was marking you as my owner. I've no urge to try to dominate you, because I want you to own me. In case you've forgotten, I even used to imagine myself wearing a collar that had the words 'Shadow's Pet' on the tag. I stayed here all this time because of my feelings for you."

Shadow thought for a moment. "I need to show you something."

Confused, Mephiles watched as Shadow walked towards a different sofa. He soon saw that Shadow was really walking toward his red vase, which he dragged back to their couch.

"Mephiles, I'm going to show you this, and I want to see if you recognize it."

Shadow reached into the vase. What he pulled out appeared to be broken pieces of some very large, shiny gem. Once a few of the shards were in his hand, Mephiles began to recognize:

"They're... They're the shards from my Crystal!"

Indeed. These were fragments from the stone Mephiles was released from.

Shadow nods. "I kept the remains. I never let you catch on, but I've had a crush on you since just before I had to help Sonic and Silver 'destroy' you. I just never thought I'd get the chance to express myself since I thought you were dead. Once I saw that by some miracle you came back, I was so confused, even a bit scared, but I was so happy."

Mephiles was straining to hold back happy tears.

"Then, once we started living together, I think my crush may have turned into something bigger. As a token of that, I want to give you something."

Shadow reached into the vase again, This time pulling out a small, rectangular box. "Now, before I give you this, I want to acknowledge that I do not see you as anything less than me. I ONLY give you this because you've expressed that you wanted it. Understand?"

"Understood." Mephiles said, unsure of what to expect.

Shadow handed him the box.

Mephiles opened it.

"*gasp*..."

Inside was a red collar, with a tag that read 'Mephiles'.

"Oh... Oh my goodness..."

Shadow smiled nervously. "Well?"

His voice reduced to a faint squeal, Mephiles replied, "I love it."

Shadow tilted his head, thinking. "What does it say?"

Mephiles read his name from the collar.

Smiling wider, Shadow said, "Turn it over."

After doing what he was told, Mephiles gave up on holding his tears.

As he'd dreamed for so long, the tag, on the collar that Shadow gave him, read 'Shadow's Pet'.

Mephiles snapped back to attention when Shadow leaned over and kissed his forehead. It was immediately his mission to smother Shadow with kisses.

Shuddering from happiness, Mephiles squeaked,"Thank you so much, Shadow! Ooh, could you put it on for me?"

Taking the collar, Shadow froze. Then, he smiled mischievously. "Before I put it on..."

Before Mephiles could say anything, Shadow's face was buried in his neck.

"*gasp* Ah! Shadow, that- ...it... Yes. Oh, yes, like that..." Mephiles was already weak with love for Shadow, and the long, soft kisses being planted to his shamefully sensitive neck was making him want to lay back and completely expose himself. He was aching to let Shadow take care of him, fulfill his desires...

'No.' Mephiles thought to himself. 'This feels amazing, it truly does, but I will not submit to it. I have to at least act like I can take this without falling to pieces.'

"May I?" Shadow asked, barely the tips of his fingers going under the loose-fitting shirt that he had let Mephiles borrow.

Trying so hard to not begin shuddering in anticipation, Mephiles nodded. He tried to hug Shadow or caress his quills, but was stopped.

"Oh, no you don't. Until I get back at you for leaving that hickey on me, you aren't to touch me."

Mephiles nodded and went along with this.

Until Shadow licked a trail from Mephiles's belly button to his right nipple, gently biting and sucking on it.

"Please mark me, Shadow!"

There. He did it. Mephiles submitted. He'd fallen to pieces. 'Mephiles, you had one job.' he thought to himself.

Faking a confused look, Shadow asked, "Mark you?"

"Yes! I marked you as my owner, I want you to do the same for me! Please, mark me as yours!"

Shadow blinked. This had to be a dream. A moment this adorable couldn't be real. "That would make you happy?"

Nodding excitedly, Mephiles exposed his neck. "I want to be yours, Shadow. Please."

Shadow smiled, making Mephiles shudder by lightly stroking his newly exposed canvas. "So beautiful. My poor dark baby, having to wait for so long. I'll make it up to you."

With that, Shadow got to work. Mephiles didn't bother holding back the soft moans pouring from his mouth as Shadow began roughly kissing his neck. He tried to keep his hands away, but it was increasingly difficult.

Shadow must've felt the same way. He reached and found Mephiles's hands, holding onto them tightly. He mumbled something that Mephiles couldn't quite hear, then sucked hard on the sensitive skin in front of him.

"Shadow... Mm... Shadow..." Mephiles faintly moaned. He was touched that Shadow wasn't fazed by his territorial ways, and on top of that, assented to it. The thought alone of Shadow marking him as his own aroused Mephiles, but it actually happening...

There was a *pop!* sound as Shadow pulled away. Mephiles looked to him, blushing from his earlier words, when he got a good look at Shadow's face. Shadow was smiling.

But this wasn't the sweet, loving smile that he showed a while ago. This was a mischievous smile. Shadow finally put the collar on Mephiles's neck.

"Good. You won't be able to hide it." he said proudly.

Mephiles was confused. "Hide what, Shadow?"

Shadow handed Mephiles a mirror and quickly ran off.

When Mephiles took a look in the mirror, he was mortified. There was a huge, dark purple bruise on his neck, reaching from his jaw to his collarbone. With Shadow finally returning after being gone for so long, people were going to be visiting him.

Even if he wore the collar (which he wouldn't with guests around) everyone would see this mark.

"Shadow, I'm about to KILL you!"