"My intent was not to raise him like this, you smug, spiny little--"

Shadow was cut off in that instant, face ravaged by a little Chao clinging to his cheeks. The little guy had a... rocky relationship with his evil stepmom, that's for sure, but he was still so happy to see him. That, and he was kind of thankful for his pudding stash, too.

For that, he just stood there, hands balled up into fists, yet he took no action. He was sure that would just rile Sonic up, and frankly, he didn't feel like dealing with an angry hedgehog today. He just wanted to catch up on business-oriented matters and get back on track.

Kiiiind of hard to do that with a Chao clinging to his face, though. At least he was looking at Sonic now, the biggest possible grin on his face. Good, Chao, go cling to his face, too. Make it even.