Ready, Set, Go!

by lovelysimp20

Summary:

Formally known as "It Started With Those Damned Shoes"

Sonic and Shadow are rivals. Sonic is the fun trackstar of the school, and Shadow is the hot bad boy. Their relationship starts with a gift, new shoes for Sonic. They continue to give gifts to each other, first they're obligated but then they start giving gifts on their own accord. They slowly fall in love.

Notes:

This might turn into a slow burn, fair warning.

Anyways hello!!! I've emerged from the Yandere simulator fandom and Hazbin Hotel fandom with a gem; Sonic The Hedgehog. So, now here's a fanfiction about my two silly little gay hedgehogs that desperately need to kiss.

Chapter 1: The Red Pros

The sun shone through the window, casting a vibrant ray of light across Sonic’s face. He groaned and blocked the sun, raising his hand over his eyes to give him some darkness to work with. It didn’t quite work, with the sun blaring through the gaps between his fingers, so he rolled over and shoved his face into his pillow when that didn’t work.

He eventually got up from his bed, rubbing his eyes and yawning. He looked around at his surroundings, the cluttered but tidy space being quite familiar to him. He glanced at his bedside table, reading the time as 6:30 AM. He stretched his arms over his head and got up, grateful he didn’t oversleep again. He was going to skip anyway, but more time meant more experiences waiting for him.

He smoothed down his frizzy blue fur and grabbed a pair of beat up jeans with a white band-tee. The jeans were smooth from the wear and tear they had received over the years. These were his favorite pants.

He quickly got changed, hearing his alarm reminding him to wake up. It was very rude. He rubbed the tiredness from his eyes again and walked out of his room with his jacket, wallet, and phone. He didn’t even bother to bring his backpack with him.

His footsteps were quiet on the wooden floors, his socks cushioning any and all sound from his feet as they set themselves down again and again. The floor was cool to the touch, which was a big relief to Sonic. It was that time of year where the sun would rise early and fall late. It was that time were little kids sped on by with their scooters and bikes, chasing each other and yelping and laughing. The trampolines were full of giggling children and toddlers. The grass had fresh mildew on it, the fresh water from the air running down the thin green blades of the overused plant.

He grabbed a yogurt from his fridge, tearing it open and eating it while checking his phone. May 5th, 2025. Cinco de mayo, right? He opened Instagram, seeing his friends stories before taking off. He slipped on his beat up sneakers and ran out the door. He looked at his calender, glancing at the day and what the week had planned for him. He had track meets Wendesday and Friday, and he had scheduled to watch one of the latest movies with his friends on Tuesday.

He looked up from his phone, noticing a familiar kid walking over to the mall. The kid’s name was Shadow, and he was basically the hottest bad boy in school. In the rural town of Green Hills Illinois, no one really had the guts to dress flashy. His fashion was what you would see walking around New York, the studded belt with the cropped leather jacket. Yep, definitely someone who had grown up in the city.

Sonic huffed. If you wanted your social reputation intact, you would steer clear away from talking to Shadow. And he certainly would rather boil alive than have his position stolen away just because he was empathetic towards the edgy kid. He was loved, semi-popular, and had a decent friend group. He didn't need people thinking he went to crazy parties and smoked cigarettes.

But, he did feel a tinge of pity when he saw Shadow. He was a loner, kept to himself a lot. And Sonic really wanted to get to know the guy, but he knew he wouldn’t live to see the day were he would live it down. He could already hear the jokes Knuckles would spit out.

He glanced back at his phone, turning it on again and texting one of his friends. Knuckles, one of the best wrestlers on the team.

“Hey, you up? I’m going to the hangout spot if you want to join.” He shot a text over Knuckles’ way, to which he immediately responded.

“Yeah! You go and I’ll catch up.” His message popped up, quickly changing from three dots to the sentence that confirmed his company.

Sonic smirked at his message, putting his phone in his pocket before running off to the hangout spot. It was a clearing in the shrubbery northeast from Knuckles’ place, which was a five minute walk to most. But it took him all but a minute to run off and have those itchy vines tangle around his feet.

He struggled with the plants but got into the clearing safe and sound. He huffed, sat down on the soft dirt, and looked up at the sun. The warm light cascaded down on his arms and legs, providing a blanket of comfort from the crisp summer air. He felt his phone buzz, so he grabbed it from his jean pocket and looked at what or who had to audacity to bother him while he was enjoying the serene nature.

It was Tails. Sonic had given his sidekick a communicator so they could keep in touch. The young fox was excited to have the technology at his fingertips and gratefully accepted the gift.

“Hey, I noticed that you left your backpack. You want me to drop it off at your school?”

“Oh, nah. Won't need my backpack today.”

“Alright, I’ll be working on my projects.”

He rolled his eyes and put his phone on mute after that, not wanting to be bugged while he took a few deep breaths. After a couple of minutes of the serene silence, his friend walked into the clearing.

“There you are!” Knuckles smiled his big boisterous smile. “Beautiful day, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.” Sonic nodded, his mind going back to Shadow. His muzzle was sun-kissed yet at the same time had the charm of the moon. His chic black quills with those dashing red highlights… He shook his head lightly to rid his thoughts of the kid.

“You feeling okay? Usually you’re more chatty.” He sat down next to him, looking over at his messy blue quills.

“I’m fine. Did you hear about Amy?” The blue hedgehog asked, shifting the conversation to the topic of one of their best friends.

“That she likes you?” Knuckles asked, making Sonic scoff.

“No, not that. We already know that. She got in a car crash and is in a coma.” He corrected, making the echidna’s face fall. His expression went from teasing to somber.

“Oof, is she brain-dead?” He asked, fidgeting with his gloved hands. He looked down at the grass, his straight down quills framing his face.

“No, she isn’t. The doctors said that she’ll probably be fine in a month or two, but comas can be unpredictable.” Sonic said with a sigh, twirling some grass around his index finger. The feeling of the sticky blades of the fresh grass snagged on his gloves. It grounded him, brought his mind down to earth when he was stressing over his love-sick friend.

“How’s the track team doing? Still number one?” Knuckles teased with a smirk, trying to lighten the mood. He nudged him lightly, making him laugh softly.

“You bet.” He replied, looking over at his friend. His bright red fur stood out against the cool background of the clearing, and the sun beaming down did the color justice. “You know I don’t give up my number one spot for nothing!”

A very cocky smile graced Sonics lips, looking down at his friend’s rugged shirt. It had suffered through a lot, but most notably his messy eating. “You know, Tails is working on another invention again. I tell him to skip grades so he feels more challenged, but he refuses. I mean, I bet he could get his bachelor’s in engineering right now.”

“No kidding, kid’s smart as hell.” Knuckles laughed, the loud rich sound filling the clearing. “Maybe he just likes skipping school to work on his inventions. I think you’re rubbing off on him, Sonic.”

“Am not.” He huffed.

“I think you are, with how much you skip and let your grades slip. You have, what, straight C’s right now?” He continued to tease the hedgehog.

“Yeah, yeah. I already get money from being the town’s hero, and my part-time job. I don’t need to grow up to be a super uber smart guy and get into biochemistry.” He rolled his eyes, “Plus, I have a future as a trackstar.”

“You ain’t gonna get that future if you continue to let those grades slip.”

“They’re passing! You can’t say anything, D-haver.”

“I feel like that contains another meaning.”

“Shut. Up.” Sonic grumbled. “You wanna go and get some food? We have a whole day to run around and do cool stuff.”

“Sure! Chili-dogs?” Knuckles asked, rising to his knees as he got ready to stand up.

“Obviously!” He shouted with enthusiasm and excitement. At this point, they were the standard for whenever they were hanging out. He jumped up and brushed his jeans off, the feeling of the soft grass still present even though he was standing.

They walked out of the clearing, struggling with the sticky plants before arriving to a very familiar side-walk. His tennis shoes clapped against the hard cement as they walked over to his favorite hot-dog truck.

“Two chili-dogs, please!” He exclaimed, pulling out some spare cash from his dark blue wallet. He gave the cashier the bucks, and the cashier nodded before writing down the order. The cashier had a freshly cut bob that was tied back with streaks of aubergine color in their light lavender fur. The streaks weren’t necessarily straight lines; they swirled around in rather interesting patterns. He was wearing a viser that was a dark and rich black, contrasting greatly with the vibrant hot-dog stand.

“Alright, will that be it?” He asked, placing his fingers above and underneath the slip of paper he had written the order on.

“Oh! Make sure there are NO MUSHROOMS!” Sonic exclaimed, waving his hands to grab his attention. He glanced down at the nametag and read the name Candi.

“...” For a moment the cashier–Candi–was a little surprised. The stand didn’t serve chili-dogs with mushrooms. “We don’t serve chili-dogs with mushrooms, Sonic.” It was a bit hard to not look at the blue blur like he was an absolute idiot, but he refrained.

“Oh, okay, then nevermind.” He muttered, a little embarrassed. He looked over to one of the tables and noticed Shadow looking right at him. Now he was ready to curl up in a ball and die, let his friends dig him a twelve-foot grave, and roll right in on his own accord. He gulped slightly and whipped his head back to the cashier, who was now sporting a smug smirk.

“Shadow, eh?” He teased with a smirk.

“What?!” Sonic shook his head violently.

“I’ll get ya your food, Sonic…” He mumbled as he wrote the name on the piece of paper, ripping it from its place on the notepad before giving it to a person in the back.

Knuckles quickly pulled his blue friend away from the truck, standing off to the side to wait for the order. “That cashier sure was something.”

“Yeah, Candi… The kid that effortlessly gets A’s even though he sleeps in class half the time and skips.” He grumbled, his chest bubbling up with envy and hatred.

“You’re just hateful because he’s super successful.” The red echidna said, leaving him to grovel even more.

“Not to mention he also lives like there’s no tomorrow. I see him every weekend going to Rouge’s crazy parties. Have you heard the stuff that happens at those? A few kids got drunk and found thousands of stolen items all over the house because they were snooping.”

“It was one or two items.” He corrected, “He's just having fun.”

Sonic huffed and shook his head, tapping his foot against the pavement while waiting for the chili-dogs to come.

Shadow finished his food, then walked up to him. “I guess we're all hiding from that chemistry test?”

He nearly jumped out of his socks when he heard his voice, which was unusually deep and mature for someone who was supposed to be having voice cracks every syllable. “Chem test?”

“Yeah, the chem test is today, dolt.” The ebony hedgehog smirked, the expression mocking everything about Sonic. “Only reason I'm skipping school is because I already took the test ahead of time”

“You responsibly skip? What's even the point of skipping then?” He sneered back.

“So you can have more days off. Seriously, you need to start treating your available sick days as vacation days instead of just skipping and getting detention. Do you ever think ahead?”

Knuckles was visibly getting angry. Shadow was just trash-talking his friend right in front of him! “Hey-!”

“Don't you say anything, Knuckles. You're worse and you know it.” Shadow cut him off quickly. “You'd probably flunk out of school if it wasn't for your expertise at putting on a show beating kids up.”

He shut up immediately.

“Look, just because you have daddy issues doesn't mean you get to talk like that.”

“Tch. Have fun.” Shadow's lips curved down into the scowl he was known for, and he turned away.

“Ya know, if you hold that scowl your face will get stuck that way!” Sonic called after him, but he didn't even acknowledge his snarky remark.

The cocky blue hedgehog smirked, feeling like he got the last clever quip in.

“Sonic! Two chili-dogs!” Candi called out, making the two walk over to the window to grab their food.

“Thank you!” Knuckles flashed his big goofy smile, taking the two plates from the cashier. Sonic smiled too, though it didn't quite reach his eyes.

They walked over to a table and sat down, immediately digging into their delicious hot-dogs. Sonic stuffed his face, not bothering to really savor the flavor. He was hungry and a little irritated. Despite being proud about having the last word, he still felt rather prickly about what Shadow said. He didn't know why he valued the other hedgehog's opinion, and he didn't know why they seemed to fight and bicker every chance they got. They were rivals, through and through, to the core. It would never change.

He quickly finished his food and realized that Shadow was still lurking nearby. He glared in that stupid guy's direction, which obviously made him emerge again.

“Ugh, leave me alone!” Sonic complained, wiping the edge of his mouth with the back of his hand.

“It's impressive how you can eat a chili-dog so fast. Where do you get your practice?” Shadow just had to tease. “Race, right now.”

He huffed.

“Whatever you say, wannabe trackstar.” He glared deep into his eyes, not finding those red eyes to be threatening in the slightest.

“Says you.” He snorted, grabbing Sonic's hand and tugging him away to an empty field. He followed, obviously. He wouldn't let this stupid emo challenge him without getting his ass beat.

They skidded to a stop when they reached the grassy field, the trees growing tall and wide into the sky. He sighed, breathing in the fresh air from nature. Shadow pointed to a tree in the distance.

“Whoever gets there last has to give the winner a present.” He stated, clearly very confident that he would win.

“Alright.” He nodded.

“Ready,” Shadow started.

“Set,” Sonic said.

“Go!” They both said in unison, dashing towards the tree assigned to be the finish line. They bumped each other, trying to push each other down to gain advantage over the other. Sonic pushed his old beat up sneaks to survive just one more intense race.

They zipped by each other, staring each other in the eyes with utter hatred and a will to win. They didn't want to get each other gifts, no way would they do that.

But, Sonic's sole got caught on a tree root. It ripped off easily, and he tripped. Now all that was protecting his socked foot from the forest floor was the fabric of his sneakers. God damnit.

Shadow took advantage of this, touching his fingers to the rough bark of the tree with a proud smirk. “Hah! I want a…” He was about to declare what he wanted as a gift, but saw Sonic on the ground, which made him trail off with an unfamiliar feeling. Was that concern?

Sonic quickly got up, grabbing the ripped off sole of his shoe so he wouldn't litter. His face dropped into a scowl. “Only reason I lost was because my shoes are fucked up.”

“Language.” He teased. But he felt a pang of something in his chest, maybe he should get him a new pair of shoes. These ones were quite literally falling apart at the seams. He hated to admit it, but he wanted a fair race. “You need new shoes?”

“Yeah, but you aren't gonna get me new ones.”

Fine then, it'll be an anonymous gift. “Alright.”

“Now I have to get you something…”

“No, this one doesn't count. I want you in tip-top shape next time, so it's fair. How can I know the extent of my greatness when you're not at your best?”

He sure had a funny way of showing he cared. “Awh, you care about me?”

“Don't read too much into it, dolt.” The black and red hedgehog shook his head. “Now let's go back to your idiot friend.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Sonic couldn't argue about the ‘idiot’ part. He walked with Shadow, his left shoe getting soaked from the moist soil.

The walk was silent but somewhat tolerable, maybe comfortable. He wouldn't admit it either way. The forest area soon turned into a familiar block, the sun starting to heat his surroundings as the cool nature blended and turned into the hot pavement.

“Hey, Knucks.” He waved weakly, sitting down on the bench. Shadow smiled condescendingly, even though he was planning to buy his rival the best shoes known to man. Their spectator quickly left, heading for the main city to go to the mall.

“Hey, Shadow kinda just dragged you away. Did you win?” He asked, taking a glance at the discarded sole in Sonic's hand.

“No, my stupid shoe had to break on me. It made me trip, which put Shadow in the lead. Ya got any duck tape?”

“Duck tape isn't what you need, what you need is new shoes.” He remarked with a gruff sigh, but got up and gathered their trash. “But yes, I do.”

He rolled his shoulder, signaling to Sonic that he should follow if he wanted that duck tape. The blue hedgehog quickly followed, dirty sole clutched in his hand like it was a precious gem.

They arrived at Knuckles' house, and they walked into the living room. Knuckles pulled out the silvery duck tape and tossed it to him. He caught it with ease and started to tape his sole to the bottom of his shoe.

“How long have you had those shoes?” He asked, sitting down on the plush couch. It was a significant upgrade from those plastic benches.

“Uh… three years? Four?” He said with a hint of shame in his voice. He really needed new shoes…

★★★

Shadow looked down the mall, looking at the stores. He had gone to a few shoe stores before going to the mall, but none of them really met his expectations. If he was gonna give a gift, it was going to be perfect. That meant getting shoes in a color that complemented Sonic's fur color, had a nice color scheme, and were top quality. Or the best quality he could find.

He knew the idiot would be taping up his beloved shoes in a desperate attempt to make them last another week. It wasn't going to last.

He walked into Foot Locker, looking around. The lights were placed strategically to highlight the shoes they had on display. Then, he saw the shoes. The shoes were a bright red with a single white elastic band going over the front, with a golden buckle on the outside of the shoe. He walked over to the display and checked the price, a solid fifty dollars. He had fifty dollars, and he was actually surprised they weren't more. He got a size 6 for the blue hedgehog, checked the quality, and got ready to buy them.

He walked up to the empty cashier station and waited for about thirty seconds before someone occupied it. A young shrew with thick glasses. Her fur was a deep green, shining against the florescent lights of the store. She was wearing some sweatpants with a black band-tee.

“Mm, the Red Pros?” She asked, grabbing the box from his grasp. “Good choice, heard they last a really long time–even with regular wear.”

Shadow grunted with acknowledgement, grabbing his wallet out of his jacket pocket to pull his credit card out. With Sonic, he’s gonna need shoes that last a while. He wasn’t gifting shoes again.

She rung the box up, and the total of 51.50 came up on the payment terminal. He pushed his card into the slot to pay for the shoes. He noticed that the tax was 1.50, which was a little annoying but oh well. If the shoes were higher than that, he would have just stole them. But, lucky for the store, they didn’t overprice their shoes.

“Receipt?” She asked handing the box over to him. He shook his head and nodded, giving the cashier a thumbs up before walking out of the store. He started to walk out of the mall, the lights of the mall shining a faint yellow. It bathed the dirty tile in a warm hue.

He hurried to get to Sonic’s residence. He tapped the backs of his shoes and turned them on, skating at top speed on the cement. He carried the box in his right arm, hugging it to his side as he quickly sped to that god-awful door.

Was it really awful though…?

He heard Tails in the backyard fiddling with something, and he placed the shoes on the porch. He quickly skidded away, not wanting to be seen giving a gift to one of the most rowdy kids in school.

Chapter 2: The Movie and The Race

Summary:

Sonic takes Knuckles and Tails to see a movie, but Shadow is in the same movie theater watching the movie with a new character.

Notes:

Uhm... I was not expecting my first chapter to get so much love. Ten kudos (I think) and a comment after two days up on the platform?! Anyway, enjoy this chapter. I couldn't help myself. I hate seeing that 1/? there. I hate that it's just one chapter. It bugs me.

Sonic had an awesome time with Knuckles. But, when he got home, he wasn't expecting a box of brand new shoes on his porch.

“What…?” He mumbled to himself, picking the box up and glancing at the blocky words. ‘The Red Pros! Feel amazing on your feet!”

The box was light and smooth, so he tucked it under his arm and walked in his house. He opened the box and the smell of fresh shoes hit his sensitive nose. He reached into the box and pulled one shoe out, looking at the fabric of the sneakers. The bright red with the white elastic was eye-catching to him, and he couldn't help but gawk at the color scheme.

He fiddled with the buckle, feeling how it loosened and tightened the white elastic to provide a more secure fit. He was in love with these shoes, and he wanted to know who got them for him.

Tails walked into the house from the backyard door, his fur a little dirty from working on his project. He went to wipe his brown gloves off when he saw Sonic, who was gawking at a new pair of shoes like they were made of gold.

“Did you finally decide to get new shoes?” The fox asked, looking over at the discarded shoes by the door. He noticed the duck tape on them and figured he had tried to repair them, but didn't say anything about it. “Those are nice shoes.”

“Oh, no… these were on the porch when I came home.” He shook his head and pulled both of the shoes out. He pushed his thumbs inside and felt the memory foam, and it was like a cloud. “I don't know who left these.”

“Huh. I didn't hear anything.” His ear flicked a little bit, as if trying to hear who gave the gift even though it was already too late. He left his dirty shoes at the backyard door and walked over, looking at the sneakers Sonic has mysteriously got. “Well, this was nice.”

“Yeah.” He nodded, sitting down on the floor to try them on. He slipped the left shoe on first, tightening the elastic with the golden buckle so it was secure. Then he grabbed the right shoe and did the same.

He got up and stood on his feet, standing on his tippy toes before falling back down on his heels in a swinging motion. He smiled; these shoes felt absolutely amazing. Not to mention they were his size. He crossed his legs and did a little spin in them, the squeaks of the soles rubbing against the wooden floor filling his ears as he tried them out.

“Heh, they're amazing! I love ‘em!” He exclaimed, doing a few dance moves with them on. Tails laughed and giggled at his enthusiasm.

“Look at you go!” The room filled with laughter as Sonic performed more dance moves. He felt so free in these shoes, like he could run forever. It gave him an endless amount of energy, and it felt euphoric.

He stopped after a minute and took them off, placing them by the front door. He sighed. It felt like he could do anything now that these shoes were in his grasp.

★★★

Tuesday morning rolled around, and Sonic performed his usual morning routine. First, he cursed the sun for twenty minutes to let it know how angry he was that it had woke him up. Second, he laid in bed and took at least five one minute naps before Tails woke him up completely. Third, he actually got ready for the day.

He groaned when Tails woke him up, waving his hand and unceremoniously slapped him in the face. It was an accident, and it wasn't a hard slap. His hand stayed there for a few seconds before the little fox laughed and put Sonic's hand down on the bed.

“Get up, sleepyhead. We have that movie today!” He exclaimed, waving his hands up in the air.

“I know, I know…” Sonic finally sat up in bed, squinting at his window for a solid second before his eyes opened up fully. He rubbed his eyes with a huff.

“You better be ready when I come back to check on you.” He said, before leaving the blue hedgehog alone to get ready.

He got up and stretched his arms over his head, his back arching as he yawned. He got down from his tippy toes and made sure to grab his Transformers shirt. Knuckles and Tails wanted to go see the new movie, and Sonic was mildly interested in the franchise, so he agreed to go with them. He had gotten the shirt as a gift from Tails when he was going through one of his hyperfixations.

He slipped the shirt over his head and tugged it down, before grabbing one of his beat up jeans. It wasn't the pair from yesterday, but it looked almost identical. He put those on and fetched a buckle, securing his pants in place that had an obnoxiously big waist. Seriously, what was it with long legged pants having the biggest waistbands?

He decided he was going to wear some jewelry today. He grabbed a moon crescent and a tiger skull necklace before putting them on. Obviously it wasn't a real tiger skull, it was a tiny one made up of stainless steel. It certainly was a steal, considering he got it for 5 bucks at a yard sale.

Then, the final piece to pull this outfit all together. The new Red Pros he got. His shirt had Optimus Prime on it, so it would complement the color nicely.

He got a pair of socks, slipping them on before walking out of his bedroom door. His nose twitched as the smell of Tails' notoriously good baking flooded his senses. Oh, those were crepes. Was he trying to butter him up? Did he plan on begging Sonic for another overly-priced book that had over a thousand pages?

Whatever, he would deal with that later. Right now, he was focused on getting those crepes in his stomach.

He slid down the stairs in a hurry and patiently waited for his serving.

He heard a knock on the door. That must've been Knuckles. He sighed, knowing that he was going to try and get a grape crepe out of Tails and when he refused, he would eat all the grapes in the house.

Sonic walked over to the front door and opened it, letting Knuckles in. And of course, he walked in without a care in the world.

“Ugh, take your shoes off before you dirty the floors, dingbat!” He scolded, which just made the red echidna roll his eyes with a smirk. But, surprisingly, he slipped his mud-ridden shoes off and placed them on the carpet where the other shoes were.

“Alright, alright. They're off. Now I smell crepes, grape crepes?”

“I don't think Tails can physically do that, Knuckles.” He sighed, walking over to the kitchen to check on the little fox. He looked very happy as he worked on the crepes, and Sonic saw a crepe with green jelly on it. He didn't… did he?

“Sure he can! It's not that difficult I would imagine.” He defended himself.

“No, it's just a food abomination.” Sonic said, before turning on his heels.

He walked into the kitchen and tapped Tails’ shoulder, causing him to turn around and look up at him.

“Mm?”

“You didn't make a grape crepe now did you…?” Sonic asked, side-eyeing the green jelly.

“No. I dyed some jelly so Knuckles would think it's grape.” He laughed, “Don't worry.”

“Oh, alright.” He nodded, grabbing the plates to set the table. He set Knuckles' specially made food down at his usual spot, his at his, and Tails at Tails'.

Soon enough, the fox emerged from the kitchen and sat down in his chair. Knuckles strutted on over and looked at his food, and his face lit up. He immediately planted his seat in his chair and started scarfing the food down, thinking it was grapes.

“I told you he would make a grape crepe! Awh, these are the best, man!” He declared innocently.

The blue blur laughed to himself—what an idiot—and sat down in his chair. He dug into his food, tasting the strawberry jelly paired with the thin bread. It was amazing, as always.

The three chit-chatted about various topics, mostly about Knuckles' wrestling competitions and how he hated this certain kid. He said he was a try-hard.

Before they knew it, Knuckles had finished and was wondering when the movie was scheduled to start. He placed his gloves hands on either side of his plate, leaning into the table with curiosity.

“When's the movie gonna start?” He asked with a big burp, not bothering to say excuse me.

“10, and say ‘excuse me’.” Sonic said, looking over at him with a disappointed frown. “I thought I taught you manners.”

“Well, I don't need them when I'm with my friends!” He argued with an exasperated scoff.

He rolled his eyes. It was useless with this guy. You could almost say it was no use.

“Ya know, I heard there's two transfers coming to school next week.” Knuckles said, skipping over the tension in the room.

“Really? Do we know their names?” Sonic's ears perked up, taking a bite of his crepe as he looked over at him expectantly.

“Nah, don't think so.” He said, shaking his head lightly. “All I heard was that there's two transfers.”

“How do you even know all the latest gossip?” He asked, tilting his head with curiosity. “Do you follow Rouge's page?”

“Yeah, I do.” He said. “She's got all the latest stuff. Keeps me updated”

The crew got done eating and headed over to the main city mall. It was around 9:30 AM, so they had a good thirty minutes before the movie started. Sonic was taking his new kicks out for an adventure, a Transformers adventure.

They zipped around the mall, checking out FYE and the other stores that had all the nerdiest stuff known to man. Tails loved it.

He mostly loved the bookstore, and all the old books they had in there. And, just as Sonic suspected, Tails did beg him to get him yet another overly-priced science book. He didn't have the guts to say no. So, he bought it for the little fox even though it was fifty dollars. Seriously, that was outrageous.

But, what they didn't expect was to run into Shadow. Shadow, Rouge, and a cyborg looking Mobian walking into the food court.

“What do you want, Omega?” Rouge asked the young Mobian.

“I want Chinese!” He exclaimed, jumping up and down with excitement. “Chinese!”

“Alright, calm down big guy. We'll get Chinese food.” Shadow leaned down and patted Omega on the head.

“What the hell?!” Sonic yelled out, not realizing that he literally yelled.

Shadow snapped over, his soft expression turning into a heated scowl. The way his face was so soft, looking so kind and happy… His stomach did uncomfortable flips. He felt the acid in his stomach bubble up and hit all of the walls of his stomach. It was uncomfortable as all hell.

“What are you doing here?” He growled, shoving his face in Sonic's personal space. He scowled right back.

“I'm here, hanging out with my friends. What are you doing here?” He shot back.

“I'm doing that, too.” He looked at him like he was the crazy one. Shadow glanced down at his rival's outfit, noticing those shoes. His face flashed with surprise and recognition, but it went away as soon as it came up.

“Well, buzz off!” His fists clenched.

“Hey! Hey!” Rouge butted in with a very disappointed expression. “Do you want to ruin Omega's adoption day? Now c'mon, let's get some of that Chinese food he wants.”

Shadow looked over at her, his face dropping with just a hint of regret. But he still had that scowl on his face.

“This isn't over, Bluey.” He sneered, before turning around and walking away.

Sonic turned back to his friends.

“Now why did you do that?” Tails asked, looking at him like he was so incredibly stupid. “Geez, you guys can't even be in the same vicinity without blowing each other up.”

Knuckles took this time to check what number the clock was at. “Guys, it's almost ten! We've got to get going!”

They all took running to the movie theater. They rushed to buy the tickets, get their drinks and popcorn, and take their seat in the theater.

The movie was action packed, and had Omega practically squirming in his seat with excitement and anticipation. Rouge was watching the movie, acting like she was interested in all the robots and transformers on the large screen. But, all Shadow could think of was Sonic.

His bright blue fur was something that caught his eye from the start. Amongst all the brightly colored Mobians, he stood out the most. That shade of blue was utterly beautiful, and the way Sonic had paired those shoes expertly with the shirt. Maybe he was delusional… yeah he just settled on that.

The scenes of action and explosions reflected in his eyes, but he was dozing off, unable to pay attention to the movie. Every time something that was blue would show up, he would get reminded of that stupid hedgehog and how endearingly annoying he is. Shadow had felt strangely flattered that Sonic had taken such a quick liking to his gift. Well, it wasn't a gift. No, that's what friends give to other friends. It was a mockery present, just Sonic didn't know it was meant to be mockery.

And of course, he was right about that red looking good with his blue quills. Just as he predicted.

The movie came to a close, and Omega jumped in and out of his seat.

“Did you see that! He crushed him, and it went BOOM!” The little Mobian laughed, rising from his seat and perching his hands over his chest like a T-Rex.

“Yeah, pretty cool huh?” Shadow smiled. “Ice-cream?”

“Shadow, you know that stuff makes his circuits go haywire.” She frowned, but then Omega chimed in.

“Nah, I think I'll just spend the rest of the day playing video games. Rouge got me a new game, and I bet it's sick!”

Shadow smiled and nodded. “That sounds like a plan. How about you and Rouge go back to her house? I've got some stuff I want to do.”

“Okay!” He smiled, took her hand, and tugged her along so he could get on his game.

He turned around and stared, finding that iconic blue fur rising out of a seat. The blue hedgehog stretched his arms out and started talking with Knuckles and Tails. He smirked and silently walked up to him, making sure he was as quiet as a mouse before making his presence known.

“Sonic.” He said, and he almost laughed out loud when that stupid hedgehog jumped. He had caught a glimpse of his face before, smiling, all happy. It was as beautiful as a sunflower, but he shoved those feelings down.

“Ugh, you?” He turned around, his emerald green eyes thinning to form a scowl. “What do you want?”

“Another race, same conditions. But, I'll wait till you and Tails finish your nerd day.” He mocked, then walked away before Sonic could squeak out a smart remark.

He walked out of the mall, heading over to Sonic's house. He hid behind a bush and waited.

It took forever for Sonic and Tails to come back home. He was waiting for about two hours, and he was debating just ditching this whole race to go and vandalize the nearest church. But, he saw the familiar orange and that stinking blue that always stood out.

He hopped out of the bush, which made Tails practically jump out of his skin. Shadow felt very proud that he was so good at scaring people.

“Sonic. How ‘bout that race? Same terms.” He reminded the blue hedgehog, who glared over at him.

“You didn't have to scare Tails like that.” He huffed, “Tails, how about you go inside and keep our ice-cream cold and our chili-dogs fresh? Got some unfinished business.”

The orange-yellow fox nodded quickly and went inside the house with the two wrapped up chili-dogs and their enormous shakes.

Shadow smirked and grabbed Sonic's wrist, dragging him over to the empty racetrack behind the school. He didn't want him tripping again. He recognized it as where the track team would race each other and practice and try to improve.

“Oh, and if it's a tie, we both have to get gifts for each other.” He declared, before following it up. “End of the racetrack marks the finish line.”

He nodded, even though he wasn't too happy about the additionary rule. But he knew better. He wouldn't complain with Shadow, because he was as stubborn as an elderly mule.

“Ready…” Shadow said, his voice pouring out of his throat with a million threats. Most were empty.

“Set!” Sonic shouted, moving his legs with anticipation.

“Go!” They both shouted in unison. Blue electricity combined with the yellowish hue of his Chaos power. And they had left about a five inch dent at the start, but oh well.

The energy crackled against each other, and the ebony hedgehog felt an excited warmth flood his being. He blamed it on the surge of energy.

Shadow bumped into Sonic, and he bumped into him right back, both trying to trip each other to gain an advantage. But, they stayed relatively balanced. And each foot they put down stayed on the same line, and it frustrated him to no end.

He went to push himself harder, but then the hedgehog beside him did the same. Either they were too in sync, or his rival knew him a lot better than he thought. Both options made his stomach flip uncomfortably, but he strangely didn't feel sick.

Both right feet hit the finish line at the exact same time.

They both stopped and looked at each other.

“Looks like it was a tie, mm?” Sonic smiled his usual cocky smile, and he felt his heart skip a beat. It was uncomfortable.

“I already gave you your gift.” He said, not wanting to give him yet another gift. He saw the other hedgehog glance down at his new sneakers, and he saw the gears turning in his head. Why did he say that…

“You gave me these sneakers? You were the one who…?” He looked over at him, glancing at those red highlights that practically glowed in the sun.

“Don't look too much into it, idiot. I just wanted our next race to be fair.”

“Well, sorry buddy, but you did that on your own accord. This is obligated now, so you still have to get me something. Make sure it's something good!~” He sang before running off, cutting Shadow off before he could say some snarky remark.

“Goddammit.” He huffed, fluffing up his quills after looking around to make sure no one was watching him. Then, he walked off, thinking about his SECOND gift to Sonic.

Notes:

I hope you guys liked Omega! He's still created by Eggman, but I wanted him to be a Mobian because I don't think the movie theater would let a six foot robot that was previously a weapon of mass destruction into their premises. Hope you enjoyed!

Chapter 3: That Stupid Poster

Summary:

Shadow and Sonic had a tie, and so they both have to get each other gifts. And when Shadow gets him a racecar poster, feelings emerge that they have been pushing down since freshman year.

Notes:

I HAVE HAD THIS COOKING IN MY PAN BROOOOO!!!!!

I REALLY HOPE Y'ALL ENJOY THIS!!

Shadow decided he would get Sonic a poster, a racecar poster. He knew that the hedgehog loved all things fast, so him loving racecars would make sense. They're slick, stylish, and most importantly, speedy.

He didn't know where he would get one, however. He decided that he would hit up Walmart first, AlphaGraphics second, then just go to Amazon and pay for overnight shipping if that didn't work out.

So, he's skating to Walmart in the brisk morning air of the first Wednesday of May. He was confident Sonic wouldn't have his present yet, so it would be just fine if he didn't have his yet.

The music in his air pods made it more bearable. And by it, he means waking up way earlier than he could have ever expected or thought of. He felt the chill air squeeze its way into the crevices of his fur and quills. It felt freeing.

He picked up the pace, the air now forcefully pushing against his muzzle. He took a deep breath and pushed himself for their next race, because it was bound to happen with how competitive Sonic was. And he was going to win. It only made things fair after all, he had already given this bastard a gift.

His shoes shrieked to a stop as he arrived at the main city Walmart. He tapped the backs of them, turning them off before heading on in. The crowds of people made him feel queasy, but he had to push through.

He swallowed the bile rising up in his throat before stepping into the isles. He grabbed some Nutella biscuits to treat himself after this trauma.

Then he started his search for racecar posters.

He looked in the kids toy isle and found those little toy cars, but that wasn't what he was looking for. This was taking forever. Thirty minutes had passed and he had found nothing. So, he turned his shoes back on and started skating through Walmart. He knew it wasn't allowed, but half the workers are underpaid alt kids who just want to buy their Night Before Christmas merch at Hot Topic and Amazon.

But, he was wrong.

“Hey! That ain't allowed!” A worker shouted after him. This one was an old, grumpy man. Of course, just his luck.

Instead of stopping, he went faster. All the kids he passed cheered or jumped with excitement, but the growing workers after him weren't so pleased.

He continued to go faster and faster, easily outrunning that stubborn old man that had called him out in the first place. Seriously, what did he think he had on him? His bones were old and his cartilage was non-existent. And he thought he could catch up to a kid on air shoes?

His eyes still scanned the areas he zipped by for any posters, but he saw nothing. At this point he was just entertaining the poor workers that hated him.

“Get him!” Shadow recognized that stupid deep and gruff voice. The Walmart officer who had gotten him in trouble so many times, too many times to count. First account was when he tried to steal a diamond necklace.

Alright, time to bail. It was fun, but he'll just go to AlphaGraphics.

He performed a sharp turn and made a beeline for the exit. He split a crowd and could have sworn he ran over a kids toe. Oh well, they'll get over it.

He made it out. He felt that crisp air hit his face again, and he took a deep breath before quickly crashing the AlphaGraphics that was about a minute away from the Walmart.

He actually crashed.

His body hit the back wall of the store, and he groaned. He was looking back to make sure that officer wasn't following, which lucky for him, wasn't. But in the process, he rammed into a wall.

He used the tips of his shoes to turn them off, pressing the button on the heel. He huffed, before pulling himself up and onto his feet.

He quickly looked around, making sure absolutely no one saw that embarrassment of a hault.

No one, at least from what he could see.

He rubbed his arm, his shoulder taking the majority of the hit. It was going to be sore for a little bit, he was sure.

He walked into AlphaGraphics and glanced up at the poster designs on the wall. Various musical artists adorned the walls, but what really caught his eye was a Sabrina Carpenter design. It was her latest album Short n’ Sweet… and oh my God he needed it.

He snacked on his accidentally stolen Nutella biscuits as he made his way over, glancing at the printer and seeing the price. Five dollars, which was an absolute steal.

He hurried with his wallet and whipped his credit card out, taping the necessary buttons on the printer before pressing it against the payment terminal.

The whir of the printer started up, coming to life as it worked out the colors, the size, the resolution, and the final film.

It must've been a sight, seeing an emo hedgehog practicing jumping up and down as he waited for a Sabrina Carpenter poster of all things.

He grabbed the receipt as soon as it shot out, and the poster as well. He rolled it up and tucked it under his arm, walking down more of the designs. He glanced at a few of the car related ones, but none of them really fit what he had imagined. Plus, they were so lame.

Eventually, he found a poster that was satisfactory. A blue, slick car grinding against a racetrack, bringing up a flurry of sparks that bathed half the poster in a hot white.

He checked the price, saw it was one buck, tapped his card on the terminal, and watched the machine do its magic. The machine whirred up a storm, pumping out the vibrant colors before pushing the finished product out.

He grabbed the poster and rolled it up just like he did with his poster, grabbed the receipt, and left. Of course, the owner of the store had to check his receipts before he left. He complied.

Afterwards, he pushed back home to put the posters in his room. Once he got there, he picked his backpack up and threw the two posters on his bedroom floor.

★★★

Sonic spent the whole morning thinking about what he was going to get Shadow, and yet nothing came to mind. He heard from the grapevine that he liked Sabrina Carpenter, but he didn't believe that.

Still, what if he got the guy the Short n’ Sweet Deluxe album on disc? It would be pretty funny. He didn't say anything about the gift being serious or heartfelt, he just said that he had to give something.

So, walking through the school halls, he clicked into Sabrina's shop and placed an order for the disc. He walked into his first period class, chemistry. The bane of his existence. At least the teacher was funny.

That class felt like it lasted forever. The teacher roasted a few students and joked around, and those moments sped by pretty quickly, but oh my god. His brain was running at one millimeter per hour by the time he walked out of that hellhole. This is why he hated school, except for his track meets.

Other than that horrid class, school went by pretty fast. Sonic was excited for his track meet, so he bolted outside and waited for the team to arrive.

The coach came along after about ten minutes, and most of the team was there. He didn't look too happy, like at all. The blue hedgehog grumbled to himself; he was gonna make them do military push-ups as punishment for whatever he was angry about.

“Sonic. I need to show you something.” The coach said, his voice gruff and annoyed. All he could do was nod and get up, following his lead.

They stopped at the racetrack that Shadow and him had raced on yesterday, and pointed to the five inch indent on the ground.

“You're glad this wasn't on school property.” He started, his light gray fur bristling slightly. “I know this was you, because no one else could have done this. Just a reminder, don't use your speed on school grounds.”

“Alright, coach.” He nodded, looking off to the side. Whether that be in shame or annoyance at this inconvenience he didn't know, but he didn't want the coach to see his visage.

“Alright. Now let's go back and get started.” He said, starting to walk back and expecting Sonic to follow. Of course, he did follow.

Technically that dent was Shadows fault, but he wasn’t a snitch. So he kept his mouth closed, even though he desperately wanted to tell the coach it wasn’t his fault. The emo hedgehog had dared him to a race, and he couldn’t say no to that!

They walked over to the team, and the coach ordered them to stretch first, before racing and running their laps around the quarter mile track. This gave Sonic time to think, and his thoughts were flooded with that idiot.

His red highlights never failed to glow in the sun, his quills perfectly groomed and curled. His muzzle was a shade or two darker than his, and that just made the appeal all the more exciting. Maybe he could give Shadow’s gift to him in person, maybe through the window like those stupid movies Knuckles loved. Seriously, you would expect such a jock to think that kind of romance is stupid, but you’d be wrong. His dear friend had the ability to shock everyone and anyone.

The image of Shadow in the sun, with the sun curving around his face like it had known it its entire life, was stuck in his brain.

He had just got done stretching with the team, and now they were walking over to the track. His feet shuffled nervously as he waited for the whistle to sound out. But when it did, he was the last to take off. God, pull it together Sonic.

Despite being the last to take off, he surpassed them all and was soon alone with nothing but the slap of pavement and the wind whooshing in his ears. He felt the air resist his speed, but he propelled forward despite it. The air that flew past him weaved through his quills, almost like a hand carefully running through the sharp spikes to soothe him.

He blushed when he thought of Shadow's hand going through his quills instead of the wind, but somehow, it made him more relaxed. It made him feel more free, somehow. His speed kept picking up, and he had to restrain himself from using his powers so it was fair. Not like it was really fair… These kids took track as a hobby, but it was Sonic’s life. It’s what he wanted to do, run around freely forever and ever.

Before he knew it, he had wrapped around the track four times, signalling his one mile mark. But that didn’t matter right now. His mind was straying once again, and it was straying to that ebony hedgehog that he claimed he hated. But, hate wasn’t the word for it. It was more complex… was it grudging admiration?

He shook his head, wanting to rid his head of these confusing thoughts. He accidentally activated his super speed in the heat of the moment, and his surroundings turned into a blur.

He halted before he could really get going, but the coach was already mad.

“Sonic! What did I say?! Second warning!” The gruff voice of the coach made his ears bristle, but he nodded. The first time he had activated his powers was out of spite when he was first starting out freshman year, when one of the seniors was beating him by two miles. After, he got a stern talking to that shook him to his wits and made him never think about doing it again.

“Sorry!” He yelled out, before taking off again–without his super speed. The juniors from last year were complete slackers, so even though they’re big tough seniors right now, they’re last. The now juniors were fair competitors, but Sonic had poured all his time into track last year–which was his freshman year.

Being a sophomore wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good either. Everyone was in their slumps, getting drunk every night to drown something out. He didn’t let the so-called ‘sophomore slump’ get to him, no matter how many days he wanted to just stay in bed. Knuckles was too much of an idiot to truly suffer, and Tails wasn’t a teen. So, he really didn’t have anyone to talk to about his looming feelings.

And besides that, he was bad at talking about feelings. He was bad at feelings period. Plus, all those times with stupid Eggman really did a number on his mind. Those times he would capture the hedgehog and try to kill him were implanted in his brain like a weed, infesting the ridges and cracks of his young mind.

He huffed when the run was put to a stop. That whistle pierced the air and beat his eardrums like a violent DJ speaker on full volume. The coach was gathering the team up and giving them their progress from last week, of which they would train to improve during the next meet-up.

“Sonic, you improved a singular mile. Last week was 20, this one 21. Good job, making steady improvements.” The coach gave him a reassuring smile. “But, don’t let me see you using those powers of yours again. You know on the third warning I can warrant a detention. And I really don’t want to do that to you.”

“Understood, coach. Won’t happen again.” He smiled, skidding away with his one mile progress. Even though it wasn’t what he hoped, he still liked the progress.

He made his way home, but stopped when he saw Shadow on his porch.

He leaned a roll of paper up against the door and walked off in the opposite direction, but Sonic wasn’t going to let that slide. Oh no.

“Shadow!” He called out, quickly running over to the ebony hedgehog, this time using his speed buff.

“What do you want?” He huffed, his gravelly voice resonating within the blue blurs ears and head.

“Don’t you wanna watch me receive your gift?” He asked, and before the other could respond, he grabbed his hand and dragged him back to the porch. He felt a tingle in his fingers, a pleasant shot of electricity shooting up his arm and going directly to his brain. Why did he feel so warm now?

Shadow only groaned in response, letting out his dismissive hmph.

Sonic picked the scroll of paper up and slid the elastic off the smooth sheet. He grabbed the top of the poster and the bottom, spreading his arms so he could see the graphics of the poster.

It was a racecar, with sparks flying up in the air because of how sharp the drift was. His eyes lightened up, his smile spreading across his soft cheeks as he squealed.

“Ooooh! I love it! I love it!” He said before he could calm himself down, pulling his rival into a bear hug and lifting him off the ground. “Ack!! I love it! Awh, you’re the best!”

Shadow was shocked, but he found himself relaxing in the blue hedgehog’s hold. He sighed, but didn’t return the hug. His arms were pinned to his sides as Sonic hopped up and down. He couldn’t return the hug even if he wanted to, which he didn’t. He was very uncomfortable.

“Yeah, yeah… Put me down.” He said, his gruff voice going soft for just a split second. His emerald eyes softened as he heard his voice, and slowly put him down.

“Ahem, yeah. Uh… we don’t talk about this.”

He let out a grunt of agreement before turning his shoes on and skating away, leaving Sonic with his reeling mind.

He was positively dazed. But, he hurried the poster into the house. He ran up to his room, grabbing some sticky tack on the way. Somehow, this was his most prized possession, beating the Transformers shirt Tails got him. It was shocking, to say the least.

He quickly got it up, panting slightly from the rush of emotions he just felt. He just felt shock, anticipation, more shock, and then happiness. And then comfort, and then a strange sense that Shadow really did care for him. He braced himself against the wall, the slick feeling of the print beneath his rugged gloves. He tried to breathe, sucking in a deep breath before letting it out with a shaky quality that even he didn’t recognize.

What was this feeling? He felt jittery yet happy. He thought Shadow would have just gotten him something to mock him, maybe like a rock with a sickeningly pink bow on it. But he actually cared enough to do this?

He felt his heart beating a mile a minute, and he felt like he was going to explode and throw up. He pinched his cheek to try and bring him down from the clouds, but that only worked for a second.

He decided to sit down on his bed, maybe take a nap. Everything was too much right now.

Sonic put his face in his hands and groaned. But, before he could push himself to lay down and not run over to Shadow's place, Tails entered his room.

“Hey! I wanna share som-” He paused, noticing how distraught his basically adoptive father was. His eyebrows furrowed, his orange yellow fur creasing in the middle of his forehead. He made his way over to his bed and scaled the side before sitting next to him.

“Are you okay?”

“I-... I’m fine, Tails.” He lied, waving his hands in a dismissive manner. “Really.”

“No, you’re not.” He said, seeing through his little lie.

“It’s just complex emotions, it’s not something you need to worry yourself with. I just…” He sighed. “Well, me and Shadow have been having these races. And the deal is that the loser gets the winner a gift, and if it’s a tie we both get something for each other. I guess as a way to motivate each other to actually try. And our last race, it was a tie. And he got me a racecar poster” He paused–shooting a thumb up to the hung up poster. “I guess I just didn’t expect him to actually care enough to-”

“Sounds like he’s giving himself an excuse to give you things. Was he the one that gave you those shoes?”

“I- yeah, he was. And he won that race…”

“Yeah, he’s giving himself excuses to give things to you.” Tails said. “I called it. He loves you.”

“What?! Tails, you are NOT helping!” His face flushed, and the sly fox laughed it up.

“And that denial tells me those feelings might be returned.”

“Tails!”

★★★

Shadow was reeling after what had just happened, and he was currently pacing his room. He must’ve been pacing for a couple of hours, because the thing that brought him out of his trance was the quickly fading sun.

The sun had been laid down past his window, and with a sigh he grabbed the blinds and looked out at the lush grass. He rubbed his hand against his face, trying to ground himself before he broke down. He hated Sonic. He hated him, end of discussion. Why did he feel so at home in his arms? It’s like that maybe, just maybe, that blue hedgehog might be able to understand his feelings and his grief.

He looked over at the poster he had gotten himself, and decided that he would just jam to Sabrina Carpenter until these feelings went away. He grabbed his phones, his air pods, and then started blasting her music in his earbuds.

He paced around his room as he listened to her music, getting lost in his mind rather quickly. But, he just couldn’t escape his confusing thoughts about Sonic. Every minute that passed was filled with him and the way his hug felt. The way his eyes lit up as he saw the poster, the way he jumped up and down like an excited little kid. It was so adorable.

He audibly groaned when his mind drifted back at that stinking hedgehog. He ran to the bathroom and splashed his face with cold water, pinching himself to try and get rid of these feelings.

Then, his stomach rumbled. He wiped his face off and went down to the kitchen, getting some food. He grabbed some leftover Chinese food that he had saved from Omega's birthday and threw it in the microwave, putting it on for three minutes and waiting for it to heat up all the way.

Ugh… That stupid smile. That stupid cute face. That stupid personality… Why was he in his head? He should be paying rent at this point!

The smell of the Chinese food hit his nose as it warmed up in the microwave, and for a second he stopped as his mind filled with the thought of that delicious food. Oh he could not wait to stuff that food in his mouth. It was going to be absolute heaven.

The microwave beeped, and no camera could capture how fast he got up and snatched his food. He opened the container, and a whiff of the sauce hit his nose with a succulent delight.

He immediately grabbed a fork and started eating it, not caring that it was a thousand degrees and was burning his mouth actively. It stung, but he needed the sustenance and it helped to get his mind off of his feelings.

He finished the food in a whopping two minutes before getting ready for bed. He felt his eyes droop even while he was changing into his night clothes, and while he was walking to his room.

He fell down into the comfy haven that is his bed, and closed his eyes. He felt the fatigue wash over his body, and he soon fell asleep.

Notes:

I really appreciate the attention this fic is getting (even though it's minimal I just haven't had an actual audience in a heck of a while)

Chapter 4: The Gift And The Guitar

Notes:

I feel like I cooked with this one!! I don't know if I'm going too fast for a slow burn, but hey 😔

Sonic dove out of the way, dodging one of Eggman's lasers. Knuckles quickly punched the flying robot, and Tails held his laser gun he had made not a while back.

“Wow, your father would be proud!” He mocked, curling up into a ball and destroying at least five badniks that were after him. This was just one of the many squabbles they have, and it always seemed to be on a Thursday. This time, the doctor was being a real pain in the ass.

“Soon, I’ll have those emeralds and you won’t be able to handle it!” He shouted, whipping out one of his latest inventions. A gun, but it shot antimatter instead of actual bullets. The idea was that when it hit, it would vaporize the target. “I already have two! How many do you hav-”

Shadow skated into the scene and knocked the gun out of his hands with a powerful kick, knocking Eggman off his balance in his floating convertible. Or whatever it was. He quickly grabbed the gun and hijacked the vehicle, pointing it directly at his head in a not-so empty threat.

He pushed the doctor out of the floating vehicle and searched for the emeralds. The doc fell out, and the land would have broken his bones if it wasn't for the rather clever cushioning on his suit that he had implemented. Not to mention the surplus amount of fat around his core.

“Hah!”

“Oh, Shadow’s helping us?” Sonic smirked and hopped into the machinery as well. The space was tight, so their hips bumped into each other as they looked. “I found one! Geez, carrying them with you? Idiot move!”

“So, I was expecting you to have my gift already.” Shadow started, tearing up some wires that made the vehicle turn off and fall to the ground. “Since you are the fastest creature alive.”

“Oh, wait a moment. It’s still shipping.” He rolled his eyes, stuffing the emerald he had found in his satchel. “Find anything yet?”

“Yep, got the second one.” He nods, showing Sonic the gem. It flowed a faint white, the see-through emerald showing itself in the palm of his rival. And of course the blue blur snatched it.

“Hey, I found that fair and square!” He frowned and tackled him, wrestling him for the gem. He would hurt him, but he strangely couldn’t bring himself to punch him or do anything. He didn’t want to see the blue hedgehog in pain, which was rather weird for him.

“Nuh-uh!” He yelped, shoving the gem in his satchel before that ebony hedgehog could take it from him. “What do you even need it for? You have the green one for your Chaos Control!”

“I want it so I can use it to kill Eggman.” He explained wrestling with Sonic.

“Hey, no! You can’t just kill him!” He shouted, pinning Shadow to the floor, effectively moving the match from Eggmans convertible to the soft and plush grass. “That's a crime, Shadow!”

“Oh, please. Eggman wants to destroy everything! Either way, I'm saving the world.” He rolled his eyes.

“Hey! Quit fighting.” Tails ran over and broke it up, grabbing his dear friend and dragging him away from Shadow. “Eggman's gone, by the way. Now quit it.”

The blue blur grumbled and struggled lightly against his genius friend, very unhappy that their fighting was interrupted. He seemed to enjoy their fights, even though it was annoying and repetitive.

“Alriiiight, I'm off!” He complained as he felt the fox tug him again, and rolled his eyes and got up, Shadow hauling himself to his knees a second later.

“Still waiting on that item, whatever you have planned.” He crossed his arms and walked off… no, he strutted off. It didn't help that he was wearing a leather jacket, a GHOST t-shirt, and baggy black cargo pants with white sewing. He looked like he was modeling for the next rock show. Sometimes Sonic wondered what his room looked like, which is what he would be figuring out today.

He had paid a lot extra for the fastest delivery of the disc, and he was going to crash his bedroom to give it to him. At night, of course. He just had a natural flair for the dramatics, what could he say?

He rolled his eyes, shaking his head slightly along with it before walking back to his house with Knuckles and Tails.

“Still got those Chaos Emeralds, right?” Tails asked, encouraging Sonic to feel his satchel to make sure they were there. Surprisingly, they were. Usually, when they got into a scuffle like that, Shadow always stole something of his.

“Huh, still there. Wonder why.” He hummed, a pep in his step. He held the brown strap securely with his right hand. He looked behind him out of suspicion and sighed, that stupid hedgehog was getting way more complicated and confusing the more he spent time with him.

The orange-yellow fox gave him a smirk that basically said ‘see? He’s gaining feelings.’ He responded with a snarky scoff and an overdramatic frown, which made him giggle. Knuckles was too caught up in his thoughts to notice their silent exchange.

The walk home was filled with the chatter of the red echidna's ramblings as he spoke on and on about these two new transfers and how he was excited to meet them.

“So, do we know their names yet?” Sonic asked, making him nod.

“Yeah, Silver and Blaze.” He responded, “Silver is a hedgehog Mobian and Blaze is a cat Mobian.”

“Huh, never seen a cat.” Tails mulled it over in his head, bringing his right hand to his cheek fur to lightly stroke it. It was something he did while he was thinking, bored, stressed, or all of the above.

“I know, right? It’s gonna be so cool! I bet half the students are gonna crowd them.”

“I hope not. New kids don’t need to be smothered, ya know.”

With that, they were on their porch with Knuckles flinging the door open and making himself at home. He plopped down on the couch and grabbed the remote, clicking through the pirated channels they had on their TV before settling on Karate Kid.

Sonic picked up the package that held the disc, which he had instructed to be hidden by their rose bush. He stuffed it in the waist band of his pants, before walking up to his room. Tails sat down on the couch to watch the movie with Knuckles, so he was by himself with no distractions for the time being.

He sat down on his bed and looked up at the racecar poster Shadow had given him, feeling a fuzzy, overwhelming feeling flood his chest. He shook his head and opened the package, making sure the disc was in prime condition before settling it back into its case. The light seafoam blue of the album cover was light on the eyes, so he didn’t really have anything to hold a grudge against to chicken out of this and give this stupid music CD to someone else. Plus, he really wanted to see the interior of his rivals room.

He imagined rock band posters hanging up on the wall, with a CD player in the corner, a speaker, and an electric guitar propped up on a sleek black stand. His walls would be white perhaps, with the bedsheets being that dark red he seemed to love. Maybe his drawers would be black with glow in the dark skulls painted on, but then he was just being stereotypical.

Or, maybe his bedroom would be more light. Maybe it would have a monstera plant in the corner, with a hanging pothos suspended in the air. Maybe instead of an electric guitar it would be an acoustic guitar, or maybe a ukulele. He could imagine that his room would smell of lavender, and maybe he would have a few lavender candles on his desk.

Or, he was a complete femboy and had girly decorations! Sonic was having way to much fun imagining what Shadows room would look like, clutching the case that held the disc in his hands. He felt his hands get sweaty under his gloves, for some odd reason. His pulse was actually rushing like he had just ran a million miles at top speed–which wouldn’t really tire him out, but it would tire out the average Mobian by a mile.

He sighed as he thought about his room, thinking about the many different items or aesthetics his house could be. His sigh was almost lovesick, but he pushed that thought away. He knew he had a crush, that much was obvious. But did Shadow like him back? It was weird enough liking his rival, but the thought that these feelings might not be returned made it even more awkward.

And he surely didn’t want his heart broken.

“Heeeeey, aren’t ya gonna watch Karate Kid with us?” Tails voice piped up from his door, snapping him out of his thoughts about the interior of Shadow’s humble abode.

“Uh, yeah, I’m coming! I was just putting some stuff away.” He wrapped up that poorly made excuse with a sickeningly sweet tone, and he shoved the case in his bedside table before getting up and off his bed. He made his way to the door and opened it, seeing a rather bored and obligated Tails.

“Knuckles send you? He loves that stupid movie.” Sonic smirked, stepping out of his room to walk down the hall with Tails.

“Yeah… I might see myself out to work on some things in my workshop.” He sighed, skipping along beside his friend.

“Well, there ya go little bro. You work on your wacky inventions while me and Knuckles spend some quality time.” He announced, patting the fox's shoulder before picking up the speed. “Just make sure to tell me about that progress!”

“Alright!” Tails couldn't help but smile, parting ways to go to his workshop. He was very grateful that Sonic was so supportive.

He sped on over to the couch, plopping himself down next to Knuckles.

“Ya know, why can't we watch Mission Impossible: Fallout? Or Transformers One? Everyone knows that's the best Transformers movie.” He said with his usual snark, waving a hand in the air dismissively. “We've watched this movie a million times, Knux.”

“Cause it's the best movie ever!” He yelped enthusiastically, throwing his hands in the air like an excited little kid. He did have the brain of one.

“You like any movie with two Mobians fighting each other with brute force.” He rolled his eyes, glancing at the TV and seeing the younger Mobian hitting a punching bag. “Seriously…”

“Whatever.” He huffed and rolled his eyes but didn't change the movie. He was too stubborn to do that.

★★★

Tails was just minding his own business, until Shadow crashed his workshop. The stealthy hedgehog wasn’t even noticed until he tapped the fox on the shoulder.

“So, what else does Sonic like, other than being annoying? You better tell me.” He sneered, making even the most domestic and calm question seem like a threat.

“Wh-What?” He muttered, jumping out of his boots and dropping his wrench. His fur stood on end as he registered just what he was asking. “Are… Are you asking what Sonic likes?” He heard him, of course, but he was just shocked.

“Yes, dimwit. Now tell me before I decide to go fox hunting.” He said, that permanent scowl on his face.

“Well, his favorite color is red. Uhm-” He fidgeted with his hands for a moment. “He also loves to help people. He likes to improve on himself.”

The brooding hedgehog stood there, waiting for him to continue.

“He likes 2000s girl-pop. I probably shouldn’t of told you that.” Tails muttered the last part.

“So… like Little Mix and Britney Spears?”

“Yeah, him and Knuxs listen to Brtiney together on runs.” He nodded. “But he also likes… How do I even explain this genre?”

“Just give me an artist.”

“Mm, alright. McCafferty, but he doesn’t let me listen to it.” He provided, bending over to pick his wrench back up. “Why are you asking?”

“None of your business.” Shadow sneered, thoroughly irritated that the annoying little fox was prying. He turned on his heel and left using his Chaos Control, which made Tails’ energy reader spike like crazy. It beeped a million times a second as the overly powered teen left.

Shadow took a breath in and pulled his phone out, tapping on Spotify to give Sonic's music taste a listen. He had no idea what possessed him to do this, but his body just started moving without thinking. And soon, he was listening to Trees by McCafferty in a desperate attempt to get to know the blue hedgehog better.

And damn, was the song heartbreaking in a beautiful way. Sonic really listened to this depressing stuff?

He pressed the heels of his shoes, taking off to his home before that blue rat noticed him. He didn’t need him teasing him about showing up uninvited, but I guess Tails would tell him even if he said no.

His house quickly came into view, and he sprinted on over to the front door, McCafferty still in his earbuds. He had to admit that he liked the music, rather unexpectedly. He won’t listen to 2000s girl-pop though, no way was he going to damage his precious ears for that. But, Britney wasn’t all the bad. So he supposed he could tolerate it, and by it just Britney.

He wondered what Sonic got him as he opened the door and walked inside, making sure to take off his shoes, as it was common household etiquette. His socks were, rather unfortunately, a bright pink that made his eyes sting. Jesus, what a jumpscare to see such bright and insulting colors. Cream gave them to him as a present, even though at the time they didn’t fit and were NOT his style. However, he managed to stretch them out.

He walked up to his room and yawned. It was getting pretty late, so he figured he would try to get to bed at a reasonable time. He grabbed his nightclothes and quickly threw them on, messing with the fabric until it was comfy and DIDN’T rub against his fur the wrong way. Then, he proceeded to stand there for a solid minute, dreading walking into the bathroom and out of the comfort of his familiar bedroom. But, he did want superbly clean teeth. So, he dragged his poor feet to the bathroom to wet his toothbrush and push out some toothpaste onto the bristles.

He got to brushing, and he didn’t even hear the sound of his bedroom window being lockpicked and forcibly opened. He hummed a quiet tune as he moved the brush against his teeth, making sure they felt minty and fresh before running the brush under the faucet.

“Guess my gift isn’t so bad, thought I blew it when you actually put thought in your gift.” Shadow almost jumped out of his skin when he heard that agitating voice. He whipped his head around with such force that his quills swished behind him.

“Why are you here?!” He shouted, his voice rough with malice and shock. “Why can’t you give a gift like a normal person!?”

“Cause that would be boooooooriiiiing.” Sonic remarked, stretching out the vowels. He held a slim case in his hands, and it looked to be a fresh water blue. He recognized that color immediately, the Short n’ Sweet Deluxe?! But, his palm was covering the picture on the case. “Didn’t take ya for a Sabrina Carpenter fan. Guess this makes my gift look stalkerish.”

“What are you talking about?” He asked, thinking to himself. Did the bitch actually get him a Sabrina disc? He was staring at him with shock.

“Here.” He handed the slim case to him, and he couldn’t believe his eyes. He actually did it!

“...” He stared at the case, wide-eyed as he registered. “You sly little brat.”

“I know, I’m the best.” Sonic flaunted, whipping his quills behind his head like he was in a Maybeline commercial. His chest puffed out in pride as a shit-eating grin spread across his face. Shadow stuffed down a laugh that threatened to bubble up and erupt from his throat, and it felt like he was swallowing a four-by-four stone. He had to get it together.

“Well, whatever. Doesn’t mean much.” He narrowed his eyes at the hedgehog before him. “And you better not of touched my monstera, or my guitar, or-”

“Chillax buddy! All I touched was your doorknob and your window that you so rudely locked.” He rolled his eyes, the bright green shining in the fluorescent light of the bathroom. Shadow had to admit, his eyes were absolutely stunning… I mean a pain in the ass.

“Better.” He muttered bitterly under his breath, his mouth still twitched downward in suspicion. “What kind of crazy person breaks into their rival’s home to give a gift?”

“Me, and I’m not crazy.” That was a lie and he knew it. “Weeeeeelll…”

“Why do you like red?” He asked suddenly, leaving Sonic a bit disoriented before he responded.

“What? Well, its vibrant… I dont know.” He huffed, looking off to the side. But he quickly fixed his gaze back on Shadow again, somehow entranced by him. He never wanted to look away.

“Mm, okay.” He nodded.

“Ugh, no fair. You know my favorite color and I do-”

“It’s green and lavender.” He answered, cutting him off in the process. He had no idea why he said green, it was just the first thing that came to mind. Other than lavender.

“...Oh.” He muttered, and he stood there for a solid second before a sly smirk graced his face. “Care to teach me how to play the guitar?”

“What?” His muzzle scrunched up, forming valleys and mountains on the light fur that covered it. His eyes widened slightly, then hardened to cold slits as he stared Sonic down. It made the blue hedgehog shiver slightly, who knew a stare could be so paralyzing? He suddenly couldn’t think, and he was choked up.

“Well- I-” He tried, looking around anxiously before his eyes gazed back at Shadow, a blush quickly forming on his cheeks. He looked at those burning red eyes, and even though they were glaring, he thought they looked… Nevermind.

“You want me to teach you? Can’t you go to actual lessons?” He asked, the edge of his mouth moving upward with both cockiness and disgust.

“Well, those cost, ya know!” He complained, giving him the puppy eyes. “Please? Why else would I be in your bathroom?”

“Is this so you can play those McCafferty songs you like?” He questioned, leaving Sonic in yet another stump.

“Uh-” An embarrassed and awkward sound escaped the threshold of his throat. He cleared his throat and wiped his palm on his side, feeling his hands grow sweaty within the confines of his gloves. “Now how do you know that?”

“No reason-” But it already clicked with him.

“Oh, Tails told you? He told me about you breaking and entering, which is a di-... Nevermind.” He sighed, avoiding his hypocrisy. “Do your plants have any names?”

“What?” His eyes narrowed again, but he decided to be cooperative. “Maria and Ger.”

“Ger?” He grabbed Shadow’s hand and started dragging him over to the bedroom. “And Maria, I’m assuming that’s after someone?”

“Yes.” He grudgingly let Sonic drag him over to his guitar. He watched as the blue blur picked the instrument off its stand and hold it by the neck. He had the energy of a toddler on Christmas about to get a new doll or car. He found it slightly endearing, just slightly though. He wouldn’t find this stupid hedgehog endearing and cute.

“Care to tell me the story?” He asked, making himself at home on his bed with the guitar. He started to try and pick up a few notes, just playing around with the instrument.

“No, and it’s grossly out of tune. Give it here.” He grabbed the guitar out of the others hand and started twisting the knobs, strumming it in-between twists to see where he made progress or where he needed to improve.

Their hands touched for just a moment, and it shot pleasant electricity up Sonic’s arm. He shivered slightly at the feeling, and he looked over to watch the darker hedgehog mess with the strings to get the tune right. Oh… He felt his chest constrict upon itself as he gazed upon his fingers, how they pushed and strummed and moved around the instrument with expertise. The slick, coated wood of the item glistened in the moonlight from the open window.

The moonlight shone upon Shadow’s face and muzzle, casting dark shadows across his face that accentuated his handsome features. He felt his breath get taken away as he stared, the cool lighting making his fur seem like a dashing gray, and those red stripes practically glowing against his fur. Of course they didn’t actually glow, but it seemed like it in this lighting.

“Now, you hold it like this.” He placed the guitar in his arms, breaking him out of his trance. He grabbed his wrists and made his right arm rest over the body of the guitar with his left arm curving around the neck to press against the strings. “You’re right-handed, right?”

“Im ambidextrous.” He said in a matter-of-factly tone, a pleasant smile blessing his face.

“Okay, well then this is fine.” He said, before tapping some of the strings. “Put your fingers there.”

Sonic did so, mismatching his fingers to stretch and make them conform to the configuration. But, he was halted when Shadow grabbed his fingers to ‘correctly’ place them. He jumped slightly, not expecting his firm grip to suddenly encase his poor fingers.

“That’s wrong. You put your index here-” The ebony hedgehog explained, or at least tried before he got interrupted by a very confused Mobian.

“Why does it matter which finger is where? I’m still doing the note.” He frowned, his eyebrows furrowing into a confused scowl, which made him laugh. The blue blur with a scowl?

“Never thought I’d see a scowl on your pretty face.” He said, before backtracking. “Uh… Blue face.”

He blushed slightly as the sound of Shadow’s compliment went to his ears, and his mind had a hard time registering it. His brain felt like it was slick with butter and marmalade, struggling to move and feeling all sticky.

“... What?” He asked, his voice surprisingly soft. His voice wouldn’t be audible if it wasn’t for the quiet but tense atmosphere that he failed to notice. His fingers were still in his grasp, but his hold had gentled significantly.

“Nothing.” The darker hedgehog said, his voice going stern and commanding as he brushed it off. His body was rigid and tense, as he didn’t even expect to be teaching his arch nemesis how to play the guitar. He snapped his hand away from Sonic’s, and for a moment he thought he saw disappointment on his face. He scoffed and rolled his eyes. “You know I meant blue face.”

“Riiiiight.” Sonic stretched the vowel out with a gravelly tone to his voice, clearly insinuating that he didn’t believe him. “I’m pretty to you?”

“Shut up.” He frowned, his face contorting into his signature scowl. “I don’t even know why I agreed to teach you the guitar. So shut your trap, unless you want to be defenestrated.”

“Defena-what?” He retorted, his sly smirk turning down in even more confusion.

“I’ll throw you out the window, to put it in asinine terms.” Shadow smirked, knowing he was using words that he didn’t quite understand. His intruder huffed and reverted his attention to the guitar.

He placed his fingers on the strings, getting the order right before strumming the instrument. It didn’t sound quite right, so he looked over at his friend for help.

“You’re not pressing hard enough.”

With the correction, Sonic pressed down on the strings until it hurt and then strummed the guitar. This time, it sounded like a G.

“That’s the G note, you can move your finger placement up or down to get a higher or lower G.” He explained, taking a deep breath before releasing it. “Now, let’s do another one.”

He nodded, releasing the strings. He let Shadow guide him through it, placing his index finger behind his middle finger and his ring finger behind his middle, all in the same spot but on adjacent strings. It was uncomfortable, but as he pressed his fingers down and strummed the guitar, a rich note sprung out and into the air.

He started to shift back between G and A, already making up a funky little tune, moving his hands up and down to provide the different pitches the notes came in. He was having a blast, feeling the rough strings against his gloves as he strummed the beloved instrument.

“Already having fun?” The typically brooding hedgehog asked, a rare smirk of amusement gracing his lips. And Sonic quickly became enraptured by the expression, his eyes twinkling in the dim moonlight as he strummed out a rhythm. He started making his own makeshift notes, and suddenly the air was filled with an impulsive tune that exacerbated the tension in the air.

Shadow noticed the tension and got nervous, so he grabbed the guitar by the neck and pulled it out of his grasp. “Well, I think that’s enough for today. I’m tired, and you should go to bed too. Don’t you have a track meet tomorrow?”

“Oh! Right…” He laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head as he put the guitar back on its stand. “Well, cya tomorrow!”

Before he could say anything else, Sonic dashed out the open window to sprint back home.

Chapter 5: Another Race With An Unexpected Prize

Notes:

I hope you guys like this one! I was gonna write way more but decided to split the chapter. It's around 4,000 which is way above my usual 2,000... But my last chapter was also around 4,000 so I suppose I shouldn't worry too much

Sonic yawned and stretched his arms over his head, his fur on his back and neck fluffing up slightly as the muscles in his back spasmed. He had such a pleasant dream. 

The dream was of him playing the guitar, with Shadow by his side guiding him through the notes and the beat. Both his hands would be on his, gently pushing his fingers down to guide him through the song. 

He felt very disappointed when he awoke from his slumber. He wanted to dream more about that, but oh well. With the unrelenting sun mauling his eyes and forcing him awake, he let out a sigh and slowly stood up from his bed. A new Friday comes a new track meet, and he was fairly excited. He would work on his running and do some more endurance training. He would also work on getting his power more under control. 

He grabbed a pair of dull, dark green cargo shorts that looked to be two sizes too big for him. He grabbed one of his black belts to secure the waistband, before grabbing a white shirt and a varsity jacket. He slipped the shirt over his head, his quills frizzing up slightly due to the static electricity. His jacket was red, and so it matched his beloved shoes.

He yawned once again and packed his backpack, stuffing a few pencils in there with the assignments he had gotten done the night prior. They were all late, obviously, but his teachers considered themselves lucky to get one answer on a week-old assignment from him. 

He walked to his door, his feet softly padding down onto the soft and plush carpet. He grabbed the golden doorknob and twisted it, walking out of his room with his packed backpack and an irritated smile on his face. He was not happy to be going to school, but that track meet made it worth it. 

“Hey, Tails!” He called out, knocking on the door of the fox’s bedroom. He heard a couple of shuffles from behind the door before a familiar kid opened the door.

“Mm? Don’t tell me you’re gonna nag me about school…”

“I am. Social security or whatever is gonna kill me if you don’t start going to school at least once a week.” He frowned, sounding like a disappointed and angry father. 

“Ugh, fine. I’ll get ready… But if I get in a fight and you have to pick me up, it’s not my fault. It-”

“It’s the kids’ fault for being so dumb and incompetent.” They both said in unison, Sonic nodding along to his only condition. “Alright, now c’mon. I’ll walk you.”

“Let me get ready!” He whined, closing the door so he could pick out an outfit and pack a bag in peace. The blue hedgehog happily waited, smiling with satisfaction that he wouldn’t have people banging down his door for a stubborn fox that didn’t want to go to school cause all the kids were drooling idiots in his opinion. 

In about two minutes, Tails opened the door again with a poorly packed backpack and a Transformers shirt with baggy jeans. Sonic chuckled at the sight, it was very cute. He was about to squeeze the ever-living heck out of him, but he refrained from doing so. 

“Alright, now let’s go.” He held his hand out for him to take, which he did happily. The two made their way down the steps and walked out the door, the fresh air hitting their noses with delight. Sonic took a deep breath in before walking his friend to the elementary school a few blocks down.

They made it there rather quickly, and Tails reluctantly walked into the building of stupid little kids and smelly preteens. Sonic sighed; oh how they grow up.

He turned on his heel and started to walk, only to bump into Rouge who was dropping Omega off. He stumbled slightly, his mind not yet registering who it was.

“Oh, sorry ma-” He paused when he looked at that lipgloss and her fashionable cropped cardigan. Her big ears flicked, and she turned to face Sonic with a sly smile, her eyelids down half way in her signature look. He decided to make simple conversation. “Is Omega as much of a pain as Tails is?”

“With what, not wanting to go to school? Nah, it’s just a pain getting him off his new Transformers beat-em-up game.” She responded, looking up and down at the hedgehogs attire. “Going with a chill frat-boy look today?”

“What? This is just what I happened to grab.” He said with a light laugh, rolling his eyes a tad.

“Anyway… I heard you and Shadow have been bonding.” She prodded, resting her right hand on her hip as she gave Sonic a knowing glance. “Last night he taught you the guitar. Not to mention those cute gifts you’ve been giving each other. Oh, romance is blossoming!”

“What? Did Shadow tell you?” He asked, his face heating up with a very unfamiliar blush. His tongue suddenly felt like sticky slime, and his throat felt dry and constricted.

“Yes, he did tell me. He’s also told me a few other things…” She remarked, her words leaving the rest to imagination. “He told me all about that disc you got him, and I do have to say. It was sweet.”

“H-he did?” He muttered, his voice going to a higher pitch unwillingly. “What did he say?”

“That, my dear, is confidential.” She was clearly enjoying playing with him. “How about you two have another race? I’m sure it would help you two bond more. Maybe I’ll see you guys making out behind the bleachers”

“Alright!” He started with an uncomfortable laugh. “You won’t find us like that. And just so you know, I’ll win fair and square.” He said, a smug smirk making its way onto his face despite his earlier embarrassment. It comfortably carved into his cheeks like second nature, and his eyebrows furrowed in both competition and cockiness. He had to admit, he had a big ego, but a guy as marvelous as he should have a big ego!

He walked away, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he started walking to his highschool. The backpack on his spine felt heavy and weird; it felt like it was weighing him down. He sped on by the neighborhood houses, coming to a complete stop at the school building. He walked into the hell cleverly disguised by brick walls and unlocked his locker, stuffing his backpack in the compartment and ridding himself of that hideous feeling. 

As he was about to close it, someones hand came down and slammed it shut. He jumped, moving his fingers out of the way at lighting speed to avoid any injuries. 

Shadow. It couldn’t be anyone else.

“What do you want?” His mouth bent downwards into a scowl that didn’t feel right or natural. But, he wanted to keep his reputation clean. So he had to act like he hated the guy’s guts. 

“Mm… A friendly competition, how about that? First one who gets down the block wins. Same conditions.” He announced, placing a hand on his hip in a very sassy fashion. 

“You’re on.” He sneered, a smug smile curving upwards on his fair muzzle. 

“Heh, can’t resist a challenge, can you? I’m gonna pound your ass.” He declared with that same smug smirk Sonic wore. Really, it was almost identical.

“You think.” He scoffed, then Shadow grabbed his forearm roughly to tug him out of the school and over to the start of the block. He shot him one last glare for good measure, to keep those delicate appearances up.

Once they were out of the prying eyes of school, Sonic’s scowl turned into a full-blown grin. He looked over at the ebony hedgehog with twinkling eyes, very excited to have this race. He was starting to look forward to it, strangely enough. It felt like he was bonding with him like Rouge had so devilishly implied, but it was cleverly disguised as ‘just a competition’ so others wouldn’t suspect a thing. 

He knelt down onto the pavement, looking over his shoulder to see Shadow doing the same. He cleared his throat and started, “Ready…”

“Set!” His opponent said urgently, wanting to get to racing his supposed rival. 

“GO!’ They both yelled with excitement, though the hedgehog beside him masked it with a grudging irritation. Their powers started up, and they soon launched themselves across the pavement. The slap of the hard surface against his feet felt almost euphoric, the slight sting of the force his powers exerted onto them was refreshing.

But, he couldn’t help but think that one certain person was the source of most of his content and happiness currently. He felt the crackle of Chaos energy as a reminder on who his opponent was, and that made him speed up further. Shadow seemed to be going slow, a tad too slow for his comfort. He wanted a challenge.

“C’mon! Thought you said you were gonna crush me!” He egged Shadow on, wanting a good and fair race. “Was it a bluff?!”

“No!” He grunted, his gravelly and deep voice resounding throughout the neighborhood, and quite frankly, Sonic’s flushed and flustered mind. He sped up, now matching his speed.

“That’s more like it, emo!” He stuck his tongue out at him, before pushing his legs even more to outrun him. “Now that's a challenge!”

“I’m not emo!” He huffed, reaching out to grab Sonic to pummel him for saying that. But, as soon as he did so, he rounded the corner. Which officially rewarded him the title of first and winner, so he threw his hands up in victory.

“Hah, I won! And I didn’t even break a sweat.” He bragged, his ego boosting even more. It was strange that Shadow was slower than usual, but he didn’t think too much into it. He didn’t want to, because the thought of him wanting to give him things was enough to make him blush. And blushing in front of him was bound to produce embarrassing outcomes.

The brooding hedgehog smirked, his voice lighter and a little higher than usual. “Wo-” he cleared his throat, regaining that dark voice he always had. “Wow, so fast.” He said with sarcasm, not being able to admit he lost even though it was all part of the plan. Seeing the blue hedgehog so happy and victorious made his heart melt inside his chest; he could feel his melted heart seep into his bones and lungs, making it so he couldn’t breathe as clearly as before. 

“Ah, that’s right, sarcasm is your thing. Can’t admit defeat, eh? Well, have fun getting me another gift!” He said with a big smile, not at all resisting the opportunity to gloat and brag about his victory. He was so gonna tell Tails and Knuckles. 

“That’s an empty wish and you know it.” He grunted, and then Sonic took off to head back to school to tell Knuckles about how he had so ferociously conquered Shadow in a race. He skidded to a stop when he reached those big glass doors and walked inside. He wasn’t permitted to use his abilities in school, which sucked.

It wasn’t all that hard to find Knuckles, as he stuck out like a big inflamed thumb. He ran across the hallways, being careful not to ignite his power in the excitement and joy of the moment.

“Knuckles!” He yelped out, tapping his dear friend on the shoulder. He turned around and saw how happy Sonic was, which made him smile and raise his eyebrows.

“Now why are you so happy? I thought you hated school.” He remarked, lightly hitting his shoulder. 

“Because I beat Shadow’s ass in a race, duh!” He shrugged his shoulders, moving his hands up to say ‘isn’t that obvious?’ His smirk was as smug and egotistical as it could get, showing off just how good he felt about his victory.

“Heh, good job. Is Tails at school finally or is he still at home?” He inquired, raising one eyebrow while furrowing the other.

“Oh, I finally got him to school. He’s not happy, but oh well.” The blue hedgehog said with a slight laugh. “He’s like… 50 years above his age.”

“Yeah, kids that are his age are struggling with multiplication. And yet here he is being uber smart, making inventions and stuff.” Knuckles pondered it for a moment, if he was pondering at all. Sonic was convinced that either he had no brain, or he only had a string of neurons meant and build for wrestling. 

The one minute bell rang, making kids hurry and run every which way to their classes. Chemistry… He sucked in a deep breath and started walking up the stairs to his class. He wanted to go hide in a bathroom stall and play on his phone until lunch started, but he digressed and forced his suddenly sluggish feet to that dreaded classroom. 

 

★★★

 

Shadow cleared his throat as he walked into the music store, the hanging ukuleles and shined guitars glistening in their display cases. He assumed that Sonic would crash his place again that night, to be taught some more guitar. So, for his next gift, why not get him one?

His feet brought him to the more brightly colored guitars, the reds and blues and golds standing out against the woody backdrop of the store. 

“Need help finding anything?” A kind employee asked, sporting a shirt that had the words ‘musical nerd’ plastered on. His fur was a minty green with his muzzle being a dark brown. His quills were pulled back with a red headband–which was probably to prevent them from sticking up, Shadow recognized him as a porcupine type Mobian. So his hypothesis made sense. 

He shook his head with a ‘mm-mm’, placing one hand on his waist with the other hanging loosely by his side. “I’m fine, thank you.”

“Alright, tell us if you need help.” He nodded his head, his long exaggerated quills bouncing a little with the movement. Then, he walked away to check out some of the newer discs they had gotten a few days prior. Some where by Set It Off, and some by more conspicuous artists like Delilah Bon. 

He turned his head back to the guitars, glancing at the blue one and almost grabbing it. Almost. That’s when he remembered Sonic’s favorite color was red, and not the striking blue fur he had in his possession. He hesitated, thinking that maybe he would like a wooden one instead. He looked around the section, scanning the area for any red wooden guitars… which would normally be a doozy. 

But, he saw an auburn guitar. The reddish color of the bark did nothing to make it stand out against the array of the other woods, but it would be a combination of the red color and the wood-like quality. He walked over to the display case and saw about three guitars, all of the same shade and size, under the display guitar. He picked one up and rubbed his leather gloves against the surface, feeling the slick finish under his fingertips. The polish reflected the dim store lighting beautifully, and that’s when Shadow knew he had picked the right one.

He looked down at the pricetag, expecting it to be around 200, maybe 300 dollars. But, to his surprise, it was only 100 and was on sale. Maybe people didn’t like the color of it? Eh, didn’t matter. A deal is a deal.

He decided to get a case too, so he trotted on over to the guitar case section to grab one. He held the actual guitar in his hand, making sure it didn’t bump against anything. 

He walked into the glass room with the cases, glancing at the rather boring cloth ones. Tch, he was THE best. His gifts have to measure up, and these cloth cases won’t do. He ventured deeper into the store, finding the more high-grade cases rather quickly due to his critical eye.

He glanced at a black square case and checked the price. It was around 85 dollars, so he opened it to make sure it wasn’t damaged and had sufficient compartments to hold things like picks and tuning tools.

He gaped at the interior of the case, it was red velvet! It had two compartments on the side of where the neck would go, rather big to house pencils and other things. The guitar outline was smack in the middle, the neck going up strategically to separate the two pockets. Was this store insane?! 85 dollars for a red velvet lining, high-quality wood that sounded hollow and rich when you knocked on it, AND two housing compartments for tools?!

He had to be crazy, he just had to hallucinating. Was this the top-tier version of Etsy for music lovers?

He immediately closed and grabbed the case, tucking it under his left arm as he walked over the cashier to buy it. He was still shocked by the price, but he certainly wasn’t complaining. I was spending around 175, which was a miniscule amount to him. He did expect to spend 300 on this gift. 

He set the items on the desk of the cashier, the woman housing the corner grabbing her RF scanners to read the pricetags tacked onto the items. “Enjoying the good deals? A lot of this stuff no one wants, so we’ve been trying to lower our prices to get people to buy here. Seems it’s been working.”

He glanced behind him, noticing around five people in the first part of the store. It did seem more populated than usual. 

“Does seem more popular.” He nodded in agreement. 

“Total is $176.65.” She announced, prompting Shadow to whip out his credit card. He tapped the payment terminal with the thin piece of plastic, the ping of approval sounding out. 

“Thank you.” He smiled politely, grabbing the guitar and putting it into the case before walking out. He breathed a sigh of relief when he got away from the social interaction, activating his shoes to propel himself home faster. 

The block turned into a blur as he sped down the nearly empty streets, the sound of his air shoes whirling in the background as he sped on home.

As soon as he arrived at his house, he opened the door and closed it behind him. He set the case down on the couch and called the school to excuse his absence for the day, picking his phone out of his pocket to do so.

With that done and out of the way, he walked into the kitchen to make himself a small meal. He grabbed a cutting board and some vegetables, plucking a large knife from the drawer to absolutely massacre the veggies so they were cut into small bites. Shadow also grabbed a pan, preparing to make himself some stir fry. 

The aroma of the rice and cooked vegetables slowly filled the air as he worked, stirring the pan of sizzling produce and checking on the rice in his rice cooker. He turned down the heat on the stove, the knob turning down to one of the lower lines. 

He was so engrossed in his work that he didn’t even notice the fact that the blue hedgehog was rummaging through his fridge. 

“Where’s your Nutella?” That voice made him jump, and the pan almost got dumped down onto the hardwood floors and his shirt.

“God! What are you doing here?!” Shadow yelped from shock and some pain, his struggle with the pan resulted in some of the heated juices getting on his arm. At first he didn’t notice, but the liquid seeped into his fur and touched his skin. He unknowingly placed his other arm under the steaming hot pan as well.

“Guitar lesson, duh! Plus, I’m not sitting through my boring ass classes. I’ll go to school for last period, because Mrs Vanilla is really nice, but other than that? Nuh-uh.” Sonic shook his head, then pointed behind him to the guitar case on the couch. “Is that your guitar case?”

“Oh, no… But don’t open it. It’s private. Just… Just sit down on the couch and don’t do anything, play on your phone if you have to have entertainment. I’ll get my stir fry done in a little bit, and there should be enough for you.” He said, rubbing his forearms as he started to move the vegetables around in the pan again.

“Awh, you care about me!” He cooed, clasping his hands together under his chin. He giggled and walked over to Shadow, looking over his shoulder at the meal in progress. “Mmm, no meat?”

“There is meat in it, obviously. There’s some chicken.” He responded. He felt the others body heat radiate over to him, his chest pressed up against his back. And as he felt Sonic’s arms encase his waist, he blushed and whipped around to slap him with the spatula that had a few red peppers on it. The piece of plastic hit his face with a loud clap. He didn’t even mean to, and felt a pang of disappointment when he backed away.

The blue hedgehog whined and rubbed his cheek, backing off so they was a good foot in between them. “What was that for? Now I have whatever’s in the pan on my face!” He complained, puffing out his lower lip just slightly to form probably one of the cutest pouts known to man. Shadow brushed that thought off and scolded himself, ‘Stop it, you aren’t ready for a relationship.’ and ‘God, I hate this man.’ flooded his mind as he crossed his arms over his chest. He masked his lingering disappointment and slight cuteness aggression with a rather cold and stony glare. 

“Deserved.“ He rolled his eyes and turned his back to Sonic, wiping the spatula off on a towel to get rid of any dirt or loose fur that might have gotten on it. He would be damned if he let even the tiniest piece of Mobian dirt into his pan. 

He huffed and walked over to the couch, sitting down next to the mysterious guitar case. His hand itched to open the dang thing and look at whatever was inside, but he refrained himself. Whatever was in that, he really didn’t want to traumatize himself. For all he knew, a dead body was in there. But it didn’t smell like a rotting corpse.

He sighed again, staring the case down with reluctance and curiosity. What could possibly be in there for Shadow to not want him looking through it? Playboy magazines?

The smell of finished stir fry filled the air, the sweet but unique smell of the dish wafting through the air. He couldn’t help himself and went to peak inside the case, but was interrupted by a loud clearing of the throat.

“Didn’t I tell you not to poke around?” He asked, his gruff voice growing darker with irritation. 

“Oh!” Sonic quickly retracted, staring up at those flaming red eyes that seemed to bore into his skull. “Uhm…”

“Here’s yours.” Shadow proclaimed and extended an arm out to give him the steaming dish, fresh off the stove.

“... Thanks.” He said sheepishly as he grabbed the plate and stared down at the food; it made his mouth water with anticipation. He picked his fork up and gathered some rice and the weird combination of vegetables and meat that was foreign to him. He blew on it, as it was still piping hot, and then took a bite. It was still a little too hot for his liking, it quietly stung his tongue and the roof of his mouth, but not so that he couldn’t taste what the edgy hedgehog had prepared. Speaking of which, is just staring right at him as he takes his first bite.

“Mmm! It’s really good!” He exclaimed once he chewed the bite and swallowed it, humming from contentment at the pleasant flavors that swirled around in his mouth. “Never knew you were such a good cook, Shadow.”

“Mm, thanks.” He grudgingly accepted the compliment and sat down on the love seat over to the couch’s left. He held a plate for himself, the same vegetables and flavor waiting for him on the plate. He had eaten and made this meal about a hundred times, or two hundred… He couldn’t remember. 

He took another bite, blowing on it carefully. He couldn’t wait for the guitar lesson.

Chapter 6: Shock And Doubt

Notes:

I may or may not be setting up a situationship... Whoopsie 😁🤭

That chicken stir fry was absolutely heavenly. The flavoring and the textures were all on par to a five star restaurant, which to Sonic wasn’t a very high standard, but it was a complement nonetheless. 

“That was delicious! I’m definitely putting a five star on the review.” He announced, burping and not bothering to say excuse me after. His stomach was full to the brim, and he was ready for another session of the guitar. He felt warm and cozy after that wonderful dish, and he certainly would be bathing in the residual feeling for at least two hours after this.

“Whatever.” Shadow mused, being as gruff as ever. He snatched his empty plate out of his hands, along with his and set them down on the counter so he could clean them later. Sonic scoffed when his plate was ripped from his possession.

“Wow, such good customer service!” He remarked, before tucking his feet underneath his bottom on the couch. He gave a demeaning smile to the ever-brooding hedgehog’s way, suddenly feeling rather cheeky and full of energy. “I’m really floored by how you treat me with such respect!”

The black and red hedgehog came out of the kitchen and grabbed the guitar case, lifting it up into his arms to make room for the both of them. He sat down in replacement of the wooden structure and dropped it on the blue blurs lap. The action left him aghast.

“What did you do that for?” He asked, glancing over at Shadow before eyeing the case like a hungry vulture. His hands rested on the cool, wooden surface of the guitar case as he glanced over at him. 

“Open it.” He demanded, crossing his arms and waiting.

“You didn’t get my gift that fast, did you?” Sonic asked, his jaw slightly ajar as he stared at the ebony hedgehog in disbelief. “It’s like you’re just itching to give me things!”

“Shut up and open it. The case is yours too.” He responded, his voice dripping with agitation and disdain. Why did he even bother with this cocky bastard?

“Alright! No need to get pushy on me, hotshot!” He chuckled before unlatching the two buckles that pressed against his stomach. He pushed the hood of the enclosure up, revealing that beautiful auburn guitar. His jaw dropped, and he could have sworn his stomach flipped and tangled with his intestines uncomfortably. Was Shadow kidding?! He had to be. The rich lining of velvet in the case practically glowed like a big treasure chest in a stupid mobile ad. His jaw was on the floor at this point. There was absolutely no way Shadow had gotten him something this nice.

“You have to be joking.” He stated, staring at the definitive finish in awe. No way his rival got him a guitar of his own, or should he say friend? Or… He shook his head slightly, trying to rid his mind of the more romantic thoughts that bubbled up inside him. 

“I’m not. I don't want your yucky thumbs and sweat on my guitar.” He scoffed, rolling his eyes. His red markings that looked suspiciously like eyeliner raised up with his eyes as well, making it all the more expressive and utterly sassy. 

“Well, I don’t mean it like I’m ungrateful!” He put his hands up, almost afraid he’d ruin the guitar with his clumsy touch. “I just… First the shoes, the poster… now this? You’ve really put your heart into this, Shadow.”

“Yeah, yeah-” He tried to shut down the conversation, getting a little warm and fuzzy as he felt the entourage of compliments start. He was not used to this, but Sonic wouldn’t allow it. He wouldn’t walk away without giving Shadow a taste of his feelings.

“No, I mean it. I feel really appreciative that you’ve put this much thought into these stupid little race gifts.” The word ‘stupid’ felt out of place and bitter on his tongue, like he didn’t think it was stupid. He really and truly appreciated these little gifts that, at first, he thought was just a petty way to make him actually try. 

“I get it!” Shadow groaned out, his fist clenching and unclenching in irritation. “Now, c’mon.”

“Alright, alright.” He knew better than to push him beyond this point. If he pushed, he was certain that it would end with three consecutive punches to the face. “What notes or songs are we gonna learn now?”

“Let’s first work on your finger flexibility, in short, it sucks.” He said rather bluntly. “Let’s just practice the ones you already know, so it won’t be as much of a stretch when we get to the other, more complex notes and combinations.” 

“Mm, alright. G was this, right…?” He pressed his fingers against the neck of the guitar, putting most of the force on specific strings. But, it was clumsy and uncoordinated. His ring finger was pressing against two strings rather than one, and Shadow knew that little thing could make all the difference. 

“No, G is this.” He grabbed Sonic’s hand and forcefully positioned his fingers to the more correct and optimal order.

“Ow… That’s really uncomfortable.” He whined, looking up at Shadow as he stretched his fingers beyond their normal limits. 

“Well, these are just starter notes. So get used to it.” He remarked, holding his hand for a little too long before releasing it. The blue hedgehog found himself missing the others touch already, his fingers twitching a little for the effervescent touch of his rival. But he took it as his fingers wanted to return to a normal position. And, of course, he didn’t let them.

He started strumming the guitar again, staying in the G note before slowly shifting octaves to create a more dynamic and less boring sound. His hands and fingers were itching to just make up notes and come up with their own beat, but he stayed in-between the lines. He lost himself in the very limited music, his focus shifting from the close proximity of the usually brooding Mobian. 

His fingers started shifting before he could resist it, and soon he was making up his own little notes and his own little beat that consumed his mind. Shadow found himself smiling slightly at the endearing sight, his cheeks growing rather toasty and heated as he watched Sonic really feel the instrument. His fingers fiddled with the red velvet in the case, which sat in-between the two. 

His mind raced as he watched him strum the guitar. It raced with thoughts of future endeavors and their races and their conflicts that seemed rather stupid from the outside. He felt himself growing rather fond of the hedgehog, and he rubbed his face in an attempt to wipe it from his mind. Sonic could never like someone so uncouth and aggressive, he just couldn’t. Everyone knew he liked Amy, and that was that. 

But, his mind still wandered into the fantasy realm of things. He felt his body lean over the barrier between, if only slightly. He found himself wanting to be close to him, to feel what was probably very unkempt and ragged fur. But, it would all feel the same to him. Because it was Sonic’s, and that made it all the more special. He swallowed some spit that had built up in his mouth and let out a soft sigh, watching those half-closed eyes wander around the guitar's neck in concentration.

He was growing slightly jealous of the guitar. It had so much of Sonic’s attention, and he wanted to be that thing. That person, that object that he loved dearly. 

His hand twitched with longing, wanting to run his hands through his quills to grab his attention. But he pushed it all down, because, after all, why could he like him? 

His mind conflicted with itself, chasing after dreams and ideas until finally, he grabbed the guitar from Sonic’s grasp and placed it in the case.

“Why did you do that?” He asked, a frown creasing his face.

“Because I think it’s enough. You’ve had enough practice.” He checked the clock, “And it’s only 11 AM.”

“Are you implying that we actually hang out?” Sonic asked Shadow, eyes widening in disbelief. He suddenly felt jittery, and his hands shook slightly with how nervous and invigorated he felt. “I-”

“Yes, now shut up before I regret it.” He sneered, closing the case and latching it to the bottom of it before setting it down in the lower compartment of his coffee table. He glanced away, looking at a snake plant in the corner of his living room. It wasn’t one of the showy expressive plants, but it felt significant.

“Awh, so why don’t you look at me if you want me here?” He asked, a teasing edge to voice that was carefully crafted to elicit a reaction out of Shadow.

And it sure did, because his whole face flushed with a bright red color that he thought his face was incapable of. He felt that obnoxious heat rise up from his overfilled chest, the blood rushing to his head in a dizzying compliance. He glanced over his shoulder at Sonic, but he couldn’t look for long. 

This made the blue blur think, just for a moment, that there was a possibility that Shadow felt the same way about him. That maybe he did want to touch and hold hands, and that maybe he wanted to grow closer and closer behind the scenes. He sighed, a mixture of fondness and lovesickness present. 

“What’s the matter?” He asked, inching closer to the ebony hedgehog until he was only an inch away from him. He hesitated, his hand hovering over Shadows. He swallowed down his apprehension and placed his hand on his, his thumb rubbing against his palm as he looked at him. His green eyes filled with vulnerability and kindness.

“Nothing, just-” His body stiffened when he felt Sonic’s soothing touch caress his hand. This was taken by the blue blur to release him, but he quickly grabbed his hand and made it stay there. “I don’t know… This isn’t the time to talk about it!” He exclaimed, his voice cracking embarrassingly as his nerves and feeling overwhelmed him. He felt his chest flutter, and it felt like his heart turned into a butterfly that was desperately trying to get out, its wings flapping against the inside of his ribcage with a tickling sensation. 

He flinched and nodded, understanding Shadows request but not letting go of him. Their hands were intertwined, with his hand being sandwiched in between the others hands. “Alright, well let’s go have fun, mm?”

“Yeah, let’s watch a movie. You can pick, over there on the lowest case of the bookshelf.” He pointed, grateful to have something to distract his mind with. He just couldn’t like him. He was so uncivilized and… and just gross. He liked his dumb, idiotic rival. He growled to himself as he saw Sonic run over and pick a Keanu Reeves movie, already regretting this. He would have to spend the next hour and a half with him, facing his feelings head on. He couldn’t handle it. 

His fists clenched and unclenched as the movie was popped into the movie player, the whirling of the DVD player coming to life as it processed the unexpected movie. 

“I absolutely love Keanu Reeves, he’s amazing.” The blue hedgehog declared, scaling the couch easily to sit next to Shadow. He smiled and looked over to him, and that’s when he broke.

“On second thought, get out of here.” He said with an overzealous sneer. “I… I need time alone. Maybe- No. Just go.” He stopped himself before he allowed himself to open up.

“What? But-” His visage fell into an almost somber expression.

“Go. School, remember?” Shadow reminded Sonic, crossing his arms over his chest. He felt his body constrict and tense, almost like his body was protesting that the hedgehog was leaving. The muscles in his chest felt tight, almost cramping. This feeling, he had to just shove it down. “And don’t forget your guitar.”

“O-okay…” He muttered, where had he messed up? Maybe Shadow didn’t want to be friends, or maybe he just didn’t want to be friends behind the scenes. Maybe he didn’t want to hide, but then that was far more unlikely than him just hating him. He swallowed thickly and nodded, grabbing the guitar from the lower part of the coffee table. “See you next time?”

“Sure.” He dismissed him with a wave of his hand, rolling his eyes as he propped one leg upon the other.

With that, Sonic left. His eyes felt dry, they stung with unshed tears as he raced home to put the instrument away. He had felt so loved, so cherished, and yet he wasn’t. He was a fool to think that maybe they could have a budding relationship. No, they were rivals and they will continue to be enemies. 

He felt an odd pang of relief when he arrived home to find that Tails wasn’t there. He was at school, so he couldn’t worry himself over why his friend was crying. God… let it go. He’ll never love you.

He scaled the steps and opened the door to his room, setting the case down on the ground before deciding to run a few laps around the village, powers and all. He huffed and sighed, his breath shaky with emotion and feeling. Why had these feelings progressed to quickly? And why did it hurt so much? His gut churned and wrenched with longing, longing to go back to Shadows house to cuddle up in that irresistible chest fluff he had always wanted to feel. To let his feelings out and cry ugly tears as that stupid hedgehog ran his fingers through his quills.

The thought just made his eyes leak more. Why was he being so damn emotional?! It made him want to punch something, hug something, just do something to alleviate the feelings. He stuffed his tears and feelings down before taking a steady sigh, or as steady as he could make it with all the thoughts swirling around in his head. He knew that Shadow didn’t outright say that he didn’t like him, but what had just happened was enough for Sonic. He was stupid to think that they could be anything more than rivals, they were just rivals. That would be it. No matter how much he wanted to be friends and cuddle in secret, no matter how much he hoped for this all to be a dream. For him to wake up well, free from all these crushing and sickening feelings, it would always linger. The loss of his touch, his presence…

He cleared his throat and stepped outside, walking over to his favorite trail to follow when he just needed to clear his head. He couldn’t be depressed in Mrs. Vanillas class, that would be so utterly shameful. Plus, it would ruin her day. 

He arrived at the overcrowded area, the shrubbery overgrown over the sides of the paved trail because of how he neglected it. Seriously, he made that path with his speed one day and so he started running along that path everyday. 

He sucked in a sharp breath, already feeling the weight of everything slowly fall off his shoulders. He crouched down and dug his gloved fingers into the packed dirt, and then he took off.

A trail of blue electricity and color sped after him, competing with him for who was the fastest. The wind brushed against and through his quills, naturally combing through the stiff and hard pines atop his head. 

The wind took his thoughts with it, blowing past and filling his ears with a wistful sound. That sound was probably his favorite sound, save for his silly stims he performed whenever he felt goofy. He felt his mind clear as his feet beat down against the dirt, repacking it from its neglect that week. The sight of the evergreen trees passing by, a few maple trees scattered here and there. It was perfect. With the coolest of greens surrounding him, he felt at home. 

An uncertain peace washed over him as he rounded a corner, seeing a little more maples now. There was something about how the wind felt, pounding against his face. Something about the cool dirt, and something about how nature cooled its surroundings with a special care that even he couldn’t quite grasp. Heck, Tails couldn’t quite grasp it. He remembered one fond memory, taking the little fox out on this trail to show him a few ruins he found, and the fox was looking up at the tall trees with awe. He wondered how he would react to the towering redwoods of California. 

His mind replayed his most fond and dear memories, playing how Tails’ eyes lit up when he talked about his inventions that Sonic didn’t understand. He prompted him to talk to him about those crazy things just because he loved to see the young Mobian happy. His mind played out how Knuckles was such an idiot sometimes, how they would always get reckless and how Amy had to patch them up after one of their failed adventures. 

It made him chuckle and forget the lingering pain that seemed to fry his nerves. Why did that hurt so bad? It wasn’t a flat out rejection, so why was his heart in his stomach?

 

★★★

 

Shadow immediately felt his heart sink. Why did he do that?! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

He banged his fist on his thigh out of frustration, grimacing at the pain and then halting the pounding. He shoved his face into his hands, rubbing the soft fur of his muzzle and hardened visage. He audibly groaned and sighed, feeling his eyes sting with angry-filled tears. 

He wasn’t angry at Sonic–no–he was angry at himself for breaking and telling his blue little hedgehog to scram. He just couldn’t handle relationships like a normal person, he had to hide behind a wall of feigned hatred to really feel alright. 

He felt his heart crumble and fall apart at his stupidity. He just can’t keep a good thing, can he? His fear of being seen as vulnerable overwhelmed him, and how Sonic acted… How he placed his hand on his, it made him melt and feel seen. It made him feel heard. Like someone cared, but he wasn’t used to that. He would never be used to that. Ever. 

He got off the couch and went into his room, grabbing his guitar to release his emotions in a more healthy way than hitting himself.

The way that stupid hedgehog acted was confusing. In public, he acted like he hated his guts. But in private, intimate moments like the one they just had? He was the sweetest, caring person he had ever met. Sonic was like a dual-sided knife, and both sides were wrenching in deep into his gut and refusing to budge. 

He started off with a G sharp, then followed it up with a few As. A sharp, A flat, A in different octaves. As soon as he started his fingers started to move by themselves, creating a sorrowful but hopeful melody that filled the air around him. He let out a grieving sigh and continued, letting the music flood his mind as it turned up and down. 

The notes flew through his mind, navigating his emotions like he had never before. Soon enough, before he even tried to cope with it all, he started crying. He felt the hot, salty tears flow down his cheeks and trail into his mouth, some of them branching off to fall upon his guitar and hand. He swallowed thickly and started humming along to the tune of the song he had just crafted out of thin air.

He tucked his legs into each other, one ankle over the other in criss-cross-apple-sauce style. He swayed with the music, and he didn’t even know how long he would be there for. 

That is, until the song died out and crumbled into his hands as he slipped up a simple note. He had meant to do a C sharp, but ended up making it flat instead. He sighed as the notes crumbled from his hands and fell from the air, landing dull on the ground as the silence crept in. He looked out the window, the sun still high in the air. It beamed down proudly, without shame. The brisk morning air would turn hot and unbearable soon, that much Shadow knew. So he got up and flicked the air conditioning to a higher setting so he wouldn’t melt like the pathetic snowmen that were out and about two, maybe three months ago. 

His claws scraped and moved against the silver circle on the wall. He always had trouble with these stupid things, he didn’t understand what was hot and what was cold. Sometimes it was orange, sometimes it was blue. Who could know?

Once he was done with the infuriating device, his mind shifted back to Sonic. God, he wants something yet nothing to do with him. He wants everything yet nothing of what he’s got to offer. His mind was torn, a part of it tugging on one side with the other side persistently tugging back. And, to be frank, he didn’t know which side he was rooting for. 

On one side, Sonic was so deliciously sweet and cocky. But, it could get old and boring after a while. The other was that he needed to just focus on school and not get ahead of himself. Maybe he could balance it all, somehow. Maybe he could have something with him and not just give up. 

He brushed the thought off, don’t be stupid, he reminded himself, how could he like me?

He ventured over to his living room, glancing at his plants to try to clear his mind. He pushed his feet to walk over to his big monstera, that he had named Maria. He remembered all the fun times he used to have with his friend. But, alas, her terminal illness caught up with her before he could truly say goodbye. He felt like that by taking care of this plant that it was his way of saying ‘I love you’ to one of the few people he had loved so dearly. So, he named the plant after her.

He smiled fondly and looked down at its soil. His mind started to drift off to more thoughts about Sonic. His mind was so repetitive and predictable, but it didn’t know that. It made him think of that striking blue fur, the way he smiled, big and bright as he ran and shared fond memories with his close knit group of friends. The way his quills would move slightly as he laughed at a ridiculously horrible joke, and how his eyes twinkled at the prospect of car racing and track. How he would ramble on for a while about how his track team needs to get it together. 

Geez, he had been watching him a lot as of late.. It was hard not to, not to gawk and stare as the one of the fastest hedgehogs glanced over in your direction for a split second before giving you a smirk. It was like Sonic knew he was popular, and hot.

He shook his head aggressively. Get it together. He cleared his throat and thought through his day, remembering the music shop and how he would definitely be shopping there again. These low prices and deals were hard to come by, what could he say? Maybe he could get a few more discs for his collection. 

Yeah, that sounded good. 

Chapter 7: A Surprise Visit

Notes:

Anywhoooo... I really like this chapter. I had so much fun writing it! For those of you who are curious, I don't know how many chapters this will be. I kinda just write as I go and revise throughout... I don't really do outlines like I should lmao-

I guess it will end when I don't wanna write it anymore? Idk

The weekend was a blur for Sonic. It was full of running, eating chili dogs with Tails and Knuckles, and fighting off Eggman and his badniks. It wasn’t really notable, though he had seen substantial improvement in his track hustle. He was now on top with five laps to set it in between his track mates.

When the next Monday rolled around, he saw two new students. One white hedgehog with a peculiar taste in boots, and the other one was a remarkably more fashionable cat. He made it his duty to at least talk to them once, though he got no opportunities to really introduce them to his group of friends and invite them, like he always did with new transfers. 

So, here he was, dragging his feet against the sidewalk in a rather dramatic fashion because he couldn’t talk to the new kids. He huffed and pouted like a petulant child, walking into his house before kicking his brightly colored kicks off and onto the rug near the door. 

Only to be met with this rather familiar black and red hedgehog, with Tails trying to bargain with the emo mess to get out of their house. However, Sonic interjected with way too much enthusiasm that would be normal with friends.

“Oh, hey Shadow! Making yourself at home?” He chirped up, walking over to the other hedgehog. A scowl adorned his features, etched into his fur and skin like marble. “And why are you here?”

“Usually you skip school.” He gruffed out, dancing around the question.

Sonic looked over to Tails, giving him an ‘I got this covered’ look, before settling down next to his newly acclaimed best friend.

“Well, yeah, but I was hoping to talk to the two new kids today. Silver and Blaze, right?” He looked over at Shadow, his viridescent eyes piercing his very soul. And to be fair, those ruby eyes did so right back. 

“Yes. You’ve made it a staple to talk and invite every new kid to your table at lunch.” He pronounced every word, speaking slowly like he was mulling it over in his head. His hand twitched a little, like he was getting annoyed that this particular subject was being brought up.

“So, uh, what exactly are we?” He asked, wanting to get to the nitty gritty and just deal with this godforsaken tension they had. Plus, the question had haunted him all weekend.

“I wouldn’t put a name to it yet, hedgehog.” He glared over at Sonic, “I don’t even like you as a friend.”

“Says the guy sitting on MY couch, listening to ME talk and not punching ME in the face.” He remarked, drumming his fingers against his knee as a smug smile tore its way across his lips. “Says the guy giving me guitar lessons, says the guy that just can’t stop looking at me.”

“Shut up.” He sneered, shifting away from the azure hedgehog. But, he wouldn’t allow it. He wrapped his arms around the other and pulled him close.

“But why? We’re at least friends.” No, they were more than friends and they acted like it.

“Friends?” Shadow gave Sonic a quizzical glance before it melted into something more domestic and soft. For a second, a smile blessed his lips, but it immediately turned back to a frown. “Don’t think about it too much, god knows you’ll lose brain cells, and you desperately need those.”

“Oh, come on! I’m not dumb!” He whined out, giving him one last squeeze before releasing him. “So, why are you here?”

“Guitar.” 

“You want it back?”

He let out a tired sigh, “No, lessons. Get yours out.”

“Oh! Right…” He fidgeted with his fingers, before offering the one thing that made his heart skip a beat. “You wanna go to my room? I’m pretty sure Knuckles will be coming over to raid our grapes, and I think he would beat you up because you are technically an intruder.”

“...” A pause fell and hung in the air, and Sonic glanced back at Shadow. That glance met a million things yet none at all. 

“Sure.” He got up from the couch and trailed behind the sapphire coated hedgehog. “Lead the way.” 

He quickly nodded and started to scale the steps to the second floor of his rather non-humble abode. The two ventured through the little bit of hall before stopping in front of Sonic’s door. 

He gripped the brass doorknob, letting out an inaudible sigh before twisting it. A few clicks sounded out and before he knew it, he was in his room with Shadow. His own room. With Shadow. For some reason, it felt different from when he had broke into the darker hedgehog’s room. It felt more intimate and secure–like they had an unspoken bond between them. It felt like he was allowing him into his soul.

The racecar poster hung up on the wall above his bed, and a few things were hung up on his wall. Like his keys, some of his necklaces, and a few other posters of famous track stars and racecar suits. A stack of comic books sat beside his one and only bookshelf, which had some books strewn about here and there. He blushed inwardly as he realized how much of a mess he had left his room in.

“Typical, though I’m surprised you can see the floor.” His partner remarked, his eyes lying on the guitar case that was propped up against his drawers. 

“Typical?” He asked, feigning offense as he lifted the case on his bed. He unhooked the metal latches and took the guitar out with one hand, letting the enclosure slam shut on its own as he hopped onto his bed.

“Yeah, comic books on the floor. That corner is a mess.” He remarked, taking a brave leap to sit next to Sonic. “So, have you been working on the guitar this weekend?”

“Oh, yeah. I did.” He nodded, working to tune the instrument. He learned that the guitar was quite stubborn when it wanted to, so he put more pressure into his hands so that the pegs would turn and twist, tightening and loosening the strings to try and get the sweet spot. “I decided to learn a few more notes, and I learned how to tune.”

“Nice.” Shadow nodded approvingly, “Why don’t you show me those new notes you learned?” 

He nodded and stretched his fingers out, cracking a few of his knuckles in the process. He rested his left hand on the neck of the guitar, with his right one splayed over the side of it. He pressed down on some strings and started strumming, taking a pause between each note to remember the finger positions before playing again.

After he had played about three notes, because let’s be honest, he wasn’t going to learn more than that over the course of two days, Shadow nodded once more.

“Improving, I see your finger flexibility has grown.” He observed, tenderly grabbing Sonic’s hand before placing it in the order of the E note. 

“Are you gonna teach me a song?” He asked, his smile growing exponentially across his face. “Sick!” 

“Yeah, I know.” He nodded, guiding Sonic through the song he had chosen for him. After around six notes, he recognized the song. It was BeachBoy by McCafferty!

“Wait… is this Beachboy?” He asked, his eyebrows furrowed as he looked over to Shadow with a hint of incredulity. No way Shadow knew what his favorite song was, no shot in hell. 

“Yes, isn’t that your favorite song?”

“How are you getting this information?!” He exclaimed, almost dropping the guitar in his disbelief before catching it again. “What, are you stalking me?” He queried with a nervous laugh.

“No, I asked Tails.”

“Again? At least tell me you didn’t threaten him this time.” He looked over at the ebony hedgehog, piercing red eyes stared right back with an unreadable expression.

After thirty seconds of silence, Sonic sighed. Asking Shadow to not threaten Tails was like asking a mole not to dig, it was useless.

“Really? You could just ask me.” He said with a moody huff, the guitar neck now down on his bed and not on level with his shoulders. 

Shadow let out a grunt of acknowledgement, but didn’t respond to that with any eligible words. “Well, wanna learn it or not?”

“Okay, okay. I won’t complain, even if your methods are a little weird.” But they were completely normal for the brooding, edgy, ebony hedgehog he knew.

He guided Sonic through the notes of the song, some of the notes being new ones to learn that stretched the blue hedgehog’s fingers just a bit, but he had gotten used to it. The music came to life in the air while he hummed the words under his breath while Shadow had his hand over his to guide him. That had been rather customary now, even though he knew that it was a very intimate gesture. No one needs a whole hand on theirs to be guided through some simple notes. But he didn’t mind. In fact, he kind of enjoyed it. 

He enjoyed the way his hands felt up against his, gently pressing down on the strings and prompting them to move to the other three strings when needed. It felt comforting to him, the electricity and rushes of heat washed over him pleasantly, and he couldn’t stop the rosy blush from sprouting upon his muzzle. His hands shook slightly as they were carefully felt and guided, and he felt like he might explode. 

Soon enough, it all came to an end. Shadow had pulled his hand away and nodded, his hands hovering just above his. And it left Sonic itching for more contact from the other. His hand twitched against the guitar, wanting so desperately to reach out for his hand and feel it just a little more. To feel the leather of his gloves against the cotton of his, to press the pads of his fingers down to firmly grab Shadow. 

“Well, you were surprisingly cooperative.” He said grudgingly, not wanting to give Sonic a decent compliment. “I’m shocked.”

“Wow, is that how you see me?” The azure hedgehog huffed, placing both hands in the nook of the guitar’s side. The head of it resting gently on his bed, the blankets giving in just slightly to accommodate the instrument. “Just an incompetent swine?”

“Swine? I’m surprised you know that word.” He huffed, his chest puffing out in shock and pride. “I mean, you do have very poor grades. It’s only logical that you would be incompetent.”

“Oh, I am incompetent?” He laughed, before daring fate and saying, “You wanna kiss me so bad it makes you look stupid.”

Shadow’s face flushed noticeably, but he whipped his head away from Sonic’s line of vision to hide the colorful hue adorning his cheeks. He wrapped a gloved paw around the neck of his guitar in embarrassment, trying to find anything to take him down from the utter shock. “Please, like I would want to kiss someone as stupid and asinine as you.” 

“Awh, and why not? I’m kinda the schools hotshot, ya know. Knuckles would be, but people have since realized that he makes me look like a genius with his naivety.” Sonic took the shot again, not being able to help himself. He shamelessly made it clear that he loved how Shadow blushed and squirmed under that single sentence, that single phrase. He adored how it alight his face with the brightest shade of red that probably shouldn’t even be possible. 

“You act like you want a kiss.” The black and maroon hedgehog shot back, now leaving him aghast. 

“You can’t put it onto me! Geez…” He huffed, averting his gaze just like Shadow had done. A hint of vulnerability grazed his evergreen eyes as he suddenly made a certain spot on his bed the most interesting thing he had seen all day. 

“It’s only fair.” His gruff and deep voice resounded through Sonic’s skull, vibrating every piece of brain he had and left it in a rimming, humming dance. His brain was suddenly filled with fog, and for that he could not think.

“It’s not fair!” He whined out, the words definitely sounding more bratty than he had intended them to. He felt his arm twitch and his hands shake just slightly, and he rubbed his socked feet together to try and get his mind off of it. Suddenly Shadow’s voice was the hottest thing he heard, and he just needed him to shut up so he could calm down his beating heart that threatened to leap out. 

Shadow laughed. The laugh was rich and hearty, genuine amusement flowing through the air as he lightly clutched his lower abdomen with mirth. The sound filled his ears, and before he knew it he was glancing over at Shadow’s clenched eyes in awe and admiration. His face softened significantly as his laugh sounded out throughout the room, and his heart was suddenly hammering against his sternum with such force that he felt his ribs might crack.

Sonic cleared his throat awkwardly as silence slowly descended upon the two, bringing his gloved hand up to cover his mouth in the dramatic fashion that he was known for. “You laughed.” He muttered, sounding astounded that Shadow had let that beautiful sound grace his blue ears.

“Yeah, I did.” He nodded, tilting his head to get a better look at his flushed face. “Why are you so shocked?”

“Just, you never laugh.” He announced it as fact, pulling his right hand away from his mouth and setting it back on his auburn guitar. “You’re very closed off, so it’s quite a surprise–and an honor– to hear that sound from you.”

“Oh, whatever, hedgehog.” He sneered at him, the flesh on his muzzle crinkling back into his signature scowl before he spoke again. “I don’t see what the big deal is.”

“Well–It’s nothing! Truly.” Sonic nodded, doing his best to hide his adoration. He swallowed thickly, his gloves suddenly feeling uncomfortable around his digits. He wiggled his fingers to try to rid himself of the feeling before continuing. “Thanks for taking the time to learn the song, and then teach it to me. It shows a lot.”

“...” The dark hedgehog paused, before speaking a phrase he barely uttered. “No problem.” 

“So, do you wanna do anything else? How about we go buy some stickers to put on our guitars?” He offered, chewing his lower lip with nervousness. 

“Stickers on a guitar. That would ruin the lacquered state.” He says, the word ‘lacquered’ sounding absolutely succulent on his tongue. He pronounced every syllable and letter without rush, and it didn’t feel slowed down either. It felt just right.

“Well, if you don’t want to-”

“How about we go to the strip mall in the main city?” He asked, interrupting what would be Sonic’s charade on how Shadow could leave if he really wanted to and how he didn’t mean any offense by the question. 

“The strip mall? There’s a mall there?” He asked, his eyes thinning with bewilderment and confusion. Of course this idiot hadn’t even been out of his hometown, of freaking course.

“Yes.” He scoffed with exasperation. “It’s where I got your shoes.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that. I mean, I’ve been on walks out of town, but it’s only ever been to the more woodsy and scenic areas. I don’t like the look of the city, it’s so dull and gray. It could really use some greenery.” Sonic babbled his mouth until Shadow interjected. 

“Agreed, but it’s where all the cool stuff if. C’mon, I’ll show you a Hot Topic. Maybe a Spencer’s if you dare.” He smirked, standing up and grabbing his hand, jerking him off the bed. The blue hedgehog quickly made sure his guitar securely landed onto his soft and safe bed before facing the same person that would soon accompany him on this adventure. His rival, his enemy, his friend?

He didn’t know for sure at this point. But, he followed Shadow as they exited the house. And of course, he made sure to make a pit stop at Tails’ workshop to notify him of where he was going.

“Yo, little bro! I’m gonna be off at this strip mall in the main city.” He announced while Shadow begrudgingly waited by his side, tapping his foot repeatedly against the hardwood floors as he impatiently stood there, just itching to get out. 

“Uh, okay!” Tails poked his head out of the shop, his blue eyes widening slightly as he saw that Shadow was still in the house. But, he said nothing in fear that he might get chucked across the room. “Have fun!” He smiled, but his voice and cheerful expression was riddled with confusion and skepticism.

“Will do!” He smiled, and just like that his moody little hedgehog started tugging him towards the door. He let a rich and high-pitched laugh rumble up from his throat and make its way to Shadow’s twitching ears. 

The sun of the summer day beat down on the light gray sidewalk, making both of their eyes squint at how bright it was. Children were laughing, running around and riding bikes. A few held ice creams in their hands, licking the delicious treat while talking with their friends. 

Well, now Sonic was craving ice cream. He looked over at Shadow, noticing how he held his hand above his eyes to block some of the sun. His ruby eyes glared out from beneath the makeshift shadow over his hardened visage, scanning the area and watching the happy kids, the preppy pre-teens, and the high schoolers who thought they were too good for their own good.

He scoffed and tugged on his hand, pulling them over to a bus stop that was rarely used. Seriously, there were a hundred cobwebs dotting the inside of the glass hut. The black cheap metal was bolted into the pavement to prevent the structure from falling over.

Shadow tugged Sonic inside much to his dismay. His quills bristled as he stood way too close to the charcoal hedgehog, his hand reflexively squeezing the others as he looked around slowly. 

“So, like, are those cobwebs gonna fall on me?” He asked warily, looking into those sharp eyes that had his heart racing. He became hyper aware of how close they were, their shoulders brushed together slightly, and their hands were still locked together painfully. Not that he minded, of course.

“No.” He looked over attentively to those viridescent eyes that were widened in discomfort. “What are you worrying about? It’s not like spiders are inhabiting those webs.”

“Well, I know but… I just don’t want that in my quills.” He pronounced it with mild disgust, like it was painful to even refer to the abandoned spider houses. 

The light breeze brushed against the glass, pushing past the structure to continue forth in its journey. Birds tweets and toots slowly filled the air, making Sonic’s ears flick in appreciation. His body slowly relaxed against Shadows as he waited, his grip on the others hand becoming more lax as he closed his eyes. He rested his head on his shoulder, making him stiffen up with apprehension and shock.

Shadow wasn’t expecting Sonic to just… blatantly do something so touchy and romantic in public. He had half the mind to push him away and ditch this whole venture altogether, but for some reason he didn’t. He could feel his muzzle flush with something that wasn’t the summer heat, and he started tapping his foot impatiently. He wanted this bus to just come…

But, he liked that right now the azure bundle of surprises wasn’t scared of showing his affections in public. In this town, it was rather rare to see any queer people or queer couples. They either didn’t exist, got bullied out, or hid it in fear of any ridicule and judgement. He was scared too, but his rule was that if his partner couldn’t be proud of him, they weren’t partners at all and were never meant to be. He could feel the situationship rising upon him at a frightening pace. Did he really view them as partners, even lovers? 

The bus skidded to a stop in front of them, breaking Sonic out of his relaxed state. They boarded the bus and tapped their school bus cards against the card reader.

“Let’s go to the back. It’s gonna be a while until they stop at the mall.”

“Ya know, we could have just ran there. We’re both speedy hedgehogs.” He said, plopping himself down into one seat. Shadow scooted in beside him.

“Yeah, well we’re already on.” He answered, short and blunt.

The ocean-colored hedgehog beside him hummed and relaxed against Shadow again, and then asked, “Oh, this is fine, right?”

“Yes.” He found himself saying yes before he could even think. “But, you’re asking now? After you dozed off on my shoulder at the bus stop?”

“Oh… I did do that… Do you think that-” He was about to start rambling on and on about how he’s embarrassed and how it would absolutely ruin his reputation, but Shadow quickly reassured him.

“No one that goes to our school was out. You’ll be fine, I promise.” He said, his gruff and aggressive voice going sweet and soft for once. The bus rumbled and shook beneath him as it started to go, driving along the asphalt as it started to make its way to another stop. 

He felt Sonic nod beside him and rest his head against his shoulder, closing his eyes and relishing in the contact. He knew he was acting super gay, but with Shadow he couldn’t quite help it. He felt so relaxed and comfortable around him, now that those filthy webs were out of the question. He placed his right hand on his bicep, his left reaching down and entangling itself with the others hand. 

He felt those pleasant sparks of electricity shoot up through his veins, bringing a rush of euphoria to his mind as he smiled softly. The thin smile stretched across his muzzle in enjoyment as he nuzzled slightly into the crook of Shadow’s neck.

That’s what made the normally brooding hedgehog blush the most, feeling his soft breaths on the fur covering his neck. His grip on Sonic’s hand instinctively tightened, and his breath was swallowed up by the amount of panic and anxiety he was feeling. His mouth went dry, and he tried to focus on the light chatter from the front of the bus and the deep rumble from the machine. He just couldn’t. 

This whole time had been filled with tense experiences and encounters with this stupid hedgehog, and this entire time he had been falling in love. His hand shook slightly as his mind raced. He remembered the way Sonic’s face brightened whenever they were together, alone and in privacy. He sighed to try and relieve some of the tension in his shoulders, and despite this anxiety and fear, he enjoyed the contact and quality time. He really did enjoy Sonic’s presence, no matter how much he loathed it.

Chapter 8: A Mall Visit and a Cat Plush

Notes:

So, I think I cooked. This chapter was surprisingly easy to write, even though I was hit with soul-crushing writers block. I hope you enjoy this one! (I didn't bother to beta read this one so...)

The hot humid air of the bus flooded out of the open doors as Sonic and Shadow descended the steps. The drive over to the mall was just below twenty minutes, and it made the track player very antsy to get a move on. Yeah, he had a nice little power nap on his buddy’s shoulders, but his legs were just aching to be moving against the dry air.

He stretched his limbs dramatically before sighing out, lifting his hands over his head and arching his back slightly. He tapped his feet against the cement, the bus speeding off behind him. “Well, that was torture. Sitting in that bus has made my legs achey.”

“You’ll be fine.” Shadow dismissed Sonic with a wave of his hand. He grabbed his forearm and started to tug him along to the strip mall.

“Can’t we run there?” He asks, before gasping at the opportunity. “Or, race there?”

Frankly, Shadow was gifted out from getting this needy hedgehog a guitar. So, he would be trying his damndest to win this one. Plus, it would be suspicious if he lost every time. Not to mention he was already starting to catch on.

“Heh, you’re on.” He challenged with a thinning of his eyes. He stretched his left arm over his chest, and then switched off with the right.

“And you better try this time, but Mobius knows I’m gonna win.” A wide, cocky smile infected his face. 

“Oh, trust me, I have a specialty in beating all odds.” He kneeled down, glaring over at Sonic to promote him to kneel as well. 

“Ready…” This time, they both started. Their voices were low with anticipation and excitement, hands flexing against the concrete as they prepared their magnificent take off.

“Set…” They both continued, glancing at each other from the corners of their eyes. Emerald and ruby stared each other down in a haze of competition.

“ GO! ” They both exclaimed, Sonic’s high pitch contrasting with Shadows low pitch. They took a moment to charge their powers a bit more, yellow white flashes of pure chaos combined with hyper blue sparks that emanated from the ground.

They launched. Sonic felt the wind beat against his face, the slap of his feet against the concrete below him as he neared the mall resounded through the air. He was sure he was winning. He was the fastest hedgehog for a reason. 

The wind felt great, coding his quills in a scent of freedom as he jumped over a few cars. What was weird was that he didn’t even feel a flicker of Shadows energy anymore, which meant that he was gonna be a sore loser. 

But, when he skidded to a stop in front of the mall, he saw him waiting impatiently. Shadow checked his nonexistent watch and tapped his foot against the front steps.

“I thought you said you were gonna win, guess not.” He boasted, puffing out his chest in pride. Using his teleporting power wasn’t cheating, right? Oh well, he didn’t want to give another gift to Sonic. 

“ What ?!” His eyes widened, taking up most of his face like a cartoon as he exclaimed. “That’s impossible!”

“Well, now you have to give me a gift now.” He smirked, placing a hand on his hip like he was expecting the gift right now.

What else did Shadow like other than Sabrina and the color green–or was it blue? He couldn’t remember. He sucked in a breath when he realized that he actually didn’t know Shadow, so he was just falling in love with a stranger cleverly disguised as a friend. 

“Let’s just get in the mall.” He rolled his eyes and huffed, “You probably cheated anyway.”

“As if.” The ebony hedgehog crossed his arms and started walking, Sonic trailing behind him with a nervous pep in his step. Jeez, was he an idiot or what? Yeah, they had a bond, but he didn’t know this guy. Why was he falling so hard for someone that’s basically a stranger?

The two made it in the mall, and his nose was assaulted with the combining smells of perfumes, cosmetics, and bath bombs. He almost physically reeled back when that horrid smell slapped him in the face. “Jesus, ya trying to kill me?”

“No, we just happened to enter in right next to Sephora and Bath and Body Works.” Shadow snickered, grabbing the azure hedgehogs hand and tugging him along. “I know, it’s really strong.”

“God…” He huffed, his lungs and body protesting breathing this in. Slowly, as they walked, the strong smell subsided and left Sonic’s head clear of the fogginess that had been thrust upon him by those hideous smells. 

He looked around and spotted the escalator, oh imagine how scared he would be! He tugged on his friend's hand excitedly towards the machinery, and the way his face contorted from relief to confusion was priceless.

“Now what in Gods name is that?” He asked, watching the moving steps rise up to the second level. “Is that those steps you see in chick flick movies?”

“I guess you could say that.” Shadow shrugged and picked up a foot to get on. He set it down firmly and tumbled slightly as the stairs moved up without a care in the world. His follower tumbled as well and quickly got on, stepping up a few times to get to the stair he was on.

“So, whats all up here?” He asked, his hand itching to grasp Shadows again. But he held back.

“Hot Topic, FYE, Spencer’s.” He listed.

“Spencer’s? Isn’t that the place with the absurdly sexually stuff?” Sonic queried, a frown slightly tugging down at his lips. Was Shadow planning on embarrassing him and making fun of the stuff in there?

“Yeah, you got that from TiKToK? I’m surprised you know what that is, country boy.” He taunted, making the other huff and pout and whine.

“Hey! I can be cool too, ya know!” He placed his hands on his hips in a petulant stance, before getting led off of the moving steps safely by Shadow. “And please don’t tell me were gonna go in there, I really don’t wanna be whacked by dildos.”

He laughed out loud, holding his stomach as he wheezed. “Haha! No, only if you want to.”

“Like I would want to go into a store like that!” He started walking over towards Build-a-Bear. “I have my eyes set on fluffy stuffies.”

They walked over to the shop, with Sonic skipping along and Shadow trailing behind.

The trip to the mall expanded across several hours. They visited multiple stores, including dreaded Spencer’s much to Sonic’s regret. He got curious, and well curiosity killed the cat.

But that was beside the point. Other than that traumatizing experience, he felt very satisfied with what he got. He got a cute fox plush for Tails, and he may or may not have paid extra to have them sew on another tail. Shadow thought it was endearing, seeing Sonic pick up things for his friends. That plush was a nice touch, and it really showed him how much he cared for the people around him. The workers at Build-a-Bear were somewhat confused when Sonic asked for another tail, but he just sighed and let him make an embarrassment of himself.

Over the course of the day, Sonic learned a thing or two about Shadow. He observed that the other hedgehog liked soft textures and would often linger when he felt something fluffy or silky. He also noticed that Shadow liked cats, and there he found what he would be getting his dear racing buddy. A big, huge cat plush. 

He had to make sure it was soft, and he had to make sure it was ginormous. 

The day ended quickly, and much to Sonic’s dismay, Shadow insisted that he would go home, leaving him to go to his own home. He had enjoyed the day and wanted to spend more time with him, but oh well. The guy needed his rest.

When he had gotten home, the sun was set just below the horizon. He clutched the plush he got for Tails in his nimble hands as he wrapped his hand into a fist to knock on the kid’s door.

A very welcome and shiny face appeared after he opened the door. The familiar shade of orange-yellow was a sight for sore eyes. 

“Hey Tails, I got you something!” He smiled big and wide, showing Tails the plush. The young fox grabbed the object and noticed the secondary tail, and his eyes lit up with happiness. He felt the soft fabric beneath the pads of his fingers and smiled right back.

“Thank you!” He hugged the plush to his chest, his smile widening as he relished in the feeling of the soft fabric rubbing against his fur. He made sure to not prolong his claws into the toy, because he would be devastated if he shredded it… not that his claws were that sharp. But still, had to be careful! “It’s so cute. I love it.”

“Heh, I knew I had to get you something. It would be sacrilegious if I didn’t.” Sonic’s smile smoothed down into a smirk, the soft short fur of his muzzle shifting to a more calm state. “You know I love ya, Tails.”

Tails smiled and brought him in an overzealous, excited hug. His arms practically squeezed his guts out, seriously, sometimes he underestimated how strong the young fox was… He let out a laugh and brought a hand up, brushing and petting the fur of his head.

“Eug- You’re gonna crush me!-” He yelped out, his breath coming in short pants as he was getting suffocated. He couldn’t help the wide smile that stretched across his face, etching itself back onto his flesh colored muzzle.

“Sorry… I’m just super happy.” He mumbled, releasing Sonic and putting some space between them. “And it has two tails, like I do!”

“Yeah.” He nodded, looking down at how Tails was fiddling with the plush’s tails. Two tails, not identical but they were the same color and made of the same furry fabric. The synthetic fur definitely wasn’t good for the environment, but it certainly made his little bro feel appreciated and loved.

Tails nodded and retreated back into his room, going over to his cuddle pile to carefully place his newest possession. 

“Well, good night bud! Sweet dreams!” Sonic called into his room before silently closing the door behind him.

He walked over to his bedroom and flopped down on his bed. He let out a grieving sigh before turning over, letting his jeans get rumpled against his legs from the movement. Well, know he wasn’t falling for a complete stranger. He actually knew Shadow now, even if it was a little bit. He knew that the other hedgehog liked soft textures and preferred cats, and that was all.

He felt a pang of disappointment strike his core. Why didn’t he make more of an effort to get to know him? He was somewhat afraid his image of the other hedgehog would change due to the information, a maybe thats why he didn’t pry. Maybe he was just scared he would view Shadow poorly if he knew everything about him. His mind started to wander, his eyes falling against the guitar he had so graciously bought him. The walls hung up trinkets and medals. One shiny gold medal was when he had won a race with his team, and he was voted up as best player. So he got both the best player reward and the first place reward.

Other things hung up on nails or thumbtacks or sticky tack on the walls, providing a very comfy atmosphere for the lorn hedgehog on a vacant bed. The bed felt very empty now to him, his body itching for more time to spend with Shadow. He knew it would come, he just had to go to sleep and rise the next day, but he couldn’t stop the longing tingles that travelled through his arm and into his hand. His hand clenched around a fistful of fluffy blanket as he stuffed his face into his mattress.

The soft fluff of the blanket rubbed against the short hairs on his muzzle, bringing about a calming feeling that had his mind reeling back to the present. It happened so fast he could have sworn he got whiplash.

What was he doing?! Stuffing his face into the mattress like a teenage girl in some shitty movie! He straightened his back and pulled his face out of the fluffy haven, his arms straight and locked as his hands were in between his knees, clutching the fabric beneath him.

I just need some sleep. He muttered to himself, ripping his shirt off and reaching for his night shirt. Yeah, he already laid down in his bed with his day clothes on, but his night clothes provided way more comfort than the flamboyant skinny jeans he was wearing. He tugged his pants off as well, grabbing his baggy sweats and pushing them up and over his hips in an exaggerated fashion. Even in the comfort of his own home, he still felt the need to put on a show. And who could blame him? It was fun. 

Sonic curled up in his blankets and shut his eyes, ready to go to bed.

 

★★★

 

The next day was bleak and slow but filled with an unfamiliar sense of anticipation for Shadow. Obviously he got up from his bed and tugged on some clothes, those clothes being baggy black jeans and a plain band-tee. He had grabbed a few chains to adorn his rather boring outfit, glam it up a bit so he didn’t look like a teenage low life (though one could argue his whole aesthetic screamed future McDonald's employee). 

He waltzed into his bathroom and touched up his red markings around his eyes, making sure they were sharp and elegant. He wouldn’t settle for any less. Yes, he did use his trusty eyeliner, but it wasn’t noticeable. It wasn’t like he looked obnoxious, it was a simple touch up.

He felt his hands gitter with a strange nervousness and excitement, making it twice as hard to make sure his appearance was in perfect condition.

He had messed up with his red eyeliner, a stray line of bright red going off to the side. It looked like a cat wing, but it was a toddler that did it and not a drag queen. His eye twitched from annoyance at how difficult his hands were being.

“Stay still…” He growled to himself, grabbed a cotton pad to wipe the stray eyeliner off. He first dabbed it in some makeup melting lotion to make it an easy removal, then wiped the area three times till the line ceased to exist on his face.

He held his eye open, using his left hand to stretch his eyelid downwards while using his right hand to start lining it again. He had gotten his left eye done with little trouble, but for some reason this one proved to be difficult.

He had to smooth down the fur and basically manhandle the skin around his eye to ensure the lining and details were perfect. 

After he was done, he let out a dramatic sigh. Why had that been so difficult? He had done that for at least a year every day now, and now it was suddenly so hard? Yeah, mistakes happen, but he rarely made mistakes. 

He brushed it off with a dismissive scoff, placing the beloved eyeliner back in his drawer before whipping out his toothbrush and brushing away at his teeth. 

Shadow spit into the sink once he was done, rinsing out his mouth and breathing a few times to get rid of the minty feeling. For some reason, he was hoping he would get his gift today. Maybe it would be in a big spectacle; or maybe it would be behind a tree, secretive and romantic. Maybe Sonic would look him in the eye and grab his hand-

He rubbed his cheek and sighed, wanting all these thoughts to go away. The sounds of his footsteps echoed out through the home, silently vibrating with his signature irritation. Today was Tuesday, so Sonic would normally be staying home. But, Shadow knew better than to hope for that. The blue hedgehog still hasn’t introduced himself to the transfers, and he has made it his sworn duty. 

He can practically feel his body lurch and pull in the direction of the school, every fiber of his being buzzing to see Sonic despite his mind and his supposed thoughts on the hedgehog. He reluctantly followed his urgings, falling into step right by his shoes and grabbing them.

He slipped them on, the gold rings on his ankles highlighting the dashing red and white of his air shoes. The sharp clack of his shoes quickly started as he exited his home, heading on over to his motorcycle. He spotted his worn down backpack resting against the leather seat, with the helmet dangling from the handle.

He snatched the helmet and smoothed down his quills, then he slid the protective headgear over his face. He fiddled with the adjusts until it fit snugly, his fingers found the button and the thick supervisor shot down, covering his carefully manicured face from any harm.

He grabbed his backpack and slung it over his shoulder, hopping onto the flashy vehicle and swiping the break so it would be ready for take-off.

He got situated on the seat, and then pressed against the gas pedals. The motorcycle Rouge had gotten for him, whether it was stolen or actually bought was none of his business. If news got out that his dear friend stole it, he would first be shocked that she succeeded in stealing such a big and guarded item. And then he would ask her what motivated her to steal something for him.

But, he shot down the street at what would have been record speed. It was probably record speed, but no one was there to calculate how fast he was going or what his trajectory was. His metal boots scrapped against the side of the motorcycle, but he ignored the uncomfortable tingles as he forced his ride to break check into the school parking lot.

And, as always, the newer people were staring at him. He spotted that purple cat and white hedgehog look at him as he got off his bike and took his helmet off, and he shook out his quills for extra measure. It added to the scene.

He carefully placed his helmet on his motorcycle handle and walked it to the bike racks to chain it up. So people wouldn’t steal his precious and fabulous ride that attracted stares and attention. He knew it was obnoxious, and he knew it was cocky, but it put on a big show for the new freshies and those two new kids. 

He spotted that same purple cat trailing behind the white hedgehog as he ran over, wanting to start conversation with Shadow. Huh, they would talk to him before speaking with Sonic. Or maybe Sonic already got to to them. Oh well, he didn’t really care.

“Who are you? Are you Shadow?” He chirped, taking the brave opportunity to stand right next to the brooding hedgehog. 

“Yes.” He looked at Silver incredulously, his shoulders instinctively tensing up. This hedgehog smelled like dryer sheets and the fresh smell of metal. 

“Silver!” Blaze huffed, grabbing his shoulder with an exhausted expression. “You can’t just run towards every cool thing you see.”

Shadow chuckled at the display, his shoulders rattling with amusement as he stared at the two. They seemed like good friends, with the cat always having to reel the hedgehog in. His ears flicked as he heard a soft padding in the distance, but swiveled his attention back to the two. 

“You like my motorcycle?” He asked with a cocky smirk, curling one hand inst a fist and resting it on his waist. 

“I do, it’s really cool!” His eyes shone with a child-like curiosity. Silvers hands curled up in fists and were brought up to his abundant chest fluff, it looked like a cape of some sort. Shadow thought that he had a lot of chest fluff, but clearly this new kid was giving him a run for his money. His red eyes glanced over at Blaze, who looked embarrassed and ashamed of how her friend bolted up like he knew everyone. 

“Thanks.” The persistent padding grew into resounding thumps. Ah, Sonic . That’s who was frantically running towards the three as they interacted, now it made sense. 

The blue blur skidded to a stop, his gloved hands wrapped around a ginormous cat stuffie that looked heavenly to touch. He dropped the plush down on Shadow, who fumbled with his hands and caught it. 

“Just so you know, cheating isn’t allowed in our races.” Sonic delcared, turning around to look at the two transfers. “Ah, Silver and Blaze, was it?”

“Yes, me and Silver.” The purple cat nodded, letting out an exhausted sigh. “Silver is a tad excited.”

“Totally excited! I mean, this is a big upgrade from where I’m from. Heh…” He laughed to himself, looking down at the ground in embarrassment as he finally realized just how weird he acted. “Are you two friends?”

“ Friends? Hardly.” Shadow snapped, placing the big plush on his motorcycle seat. Geez, how was he gonne keep the plush safe for the school day? “I just beat him in a race, and so he had to get me a gift. A thoughtful gift.” He clarified, the white hedgehog nodding along.

“I see.” He nodded a third time, glancing over at Sonic. “How did Shadow beat you? I thought you were the fasted hedgie alive.”

“Oh, he used his stupid chaos control. Which is cheating, by the way.” He spat in the gloomy ones direction, feeling very bitter about not figuring that out until he told Tails. The fox had looked at him like an idiot and very slowly said, he can use his chaos to teleport. To which the blye hedgehog took as a massive cheating offense. But, by that time, he had already gotten the plush. And to be fair, he didn’t want a massive cat lounging around his already crowded home.

The dark and red hedgehog snickered, a rare smile of amusement crossing his face for just a split second before turning mischievous and dark. “Awh, you prefer I go easy on you? I thought you told me to give it my best shot.” He teased, swallowing his boisterous laughter with a taunt.

“Yeah, but you should know teleporting is cheating, ass.” He frowned, his muzzle stretching down in a way that was almost uncomfortable for him. 

“Well, I implore you to specify next time.” He said, leaning a little closer on ‘implore’. His grin turned almost sinister as he saw the irritation and frustration on Sonic’s end rising. His fists clenched around the thin air as a long, drawn out moment of heated silence fell over the two. 

Blaze cleared her throat. “You guys good?”

“Oh, we usually bicker like this.” Sonic huffed, turning his full attention to Blaze and her plus one. “Also, I never really got to formally introduce myself. My name is Sonic, I’m part of the track team–and the only one that actually tries. My lunch table is always free if you find yourself wanting some company, or feeling down.” 

“Thanks.” The purple cat hummed softly to herself. She had a certain elegance to her, for sure. “That’s very sweet of you.”

Silver piped up. “Is it the table in the left corner? The one with that giant red guy that kinda looks like Elmo?”

Sonic snorted and laughed at the description. He had heard his best friend called every name under the sun but Elmo was not one of those. “Elmo? Seriously? But, yes. That’s my table.”

“You guys seem like you get along really well.” The fresh-smelling hedgehog commented. “I saw you guys laughing up a storm at something that lemur said. Whats her name?”

“Her name’s Tangle.”

“Tangle. Right.” He smiled. “Well, she seems super fun.”

“Anyway,” Blaze interrupted the friendly chatter with a calm smile. “We should probably get going. I’d like to say hi to Mrs. Vanilia and work on some stuff in there, before we have to head to class of course.”

“Oh, right! I’ll see ya around, Sonic and Shadow!” Silver exclaimed with a big smile, being tugged away by the cat as they made their way to the building.

Shadow turned to look at Sonic, viewing the way the sun beat down on his quills. He looked electric, and he felt his muzzle slowly grow hotter. “You seem to enjoy making yourself as much as an inconvenience as possible. Where am I gonna keep the plush until school’s over?”

“I’m sure one of the teachers would gladly hold it for you, ya know. Or you can just carry around a ridiculously big cat.” Sonic teased, his smirk growing and stretching across his face. A smirk was much more comfortable than an angry-filled frown, he observed.

“Sure.” Shadow huffed, glancing down at the plush that was currently lounging over the leather seat of his motorcycle. It was kind of cute, and he felt that heat spread from his muzzle to his neck. He rubbed the side of his face and sighed, oh boy, this is gonna be a long day.

Chapter 9: Was That A Confession? No, I Could Never Be Loved

Summary:

Hiya! First, I apologize about the lack of chapter last week. I had debilitating cramps, and now I'm down with the cold. And this cold is BAD. I dont know how I got a cold when it's basically summer, but oh well. This is not beta read, so it might be a mess

He was right. It was going to be a very long day. It had only been two hours and he had already had enough of everyone. Everything was too loud, everything was too rowdy. Teenagers were yelping and laughing in the halls, teachers struggling to keep everything under control. It was an earache.

He had dropped off that big cat plush in Mrs. Vanillas classroom, who promised she would watch over it until the school day ended. Which did lessen his burden, but only slightly.

He grew even more restless and fidgety, the pads of his fingers pressing against the leather of his gloves uncomfortably. The way his fur rubbed against the chairs and his clothes, he could have sworn he was going to die. Why was he so restless?

At lunch, he found himself walking over to Sonic’s table. That invitation was meant for Silver and Blaze, not him. But oh well, he couldn’t stop his nervous legs from treading over to that familiar blue fur ball. 

He shoved Sonic over quite roughly, pushing him into his friend Knuckles. He took his seat and set down his lunchbox, not bothering to look over at the two shocked idiots.

“So, look who decided to show up.” He remarked, Knuckles scooting over to accommodate the shift in seating. His lips twitched into a forced frown, his eyebrows furrowing in what looked to be fear masked by disgust. 

“Yeah, well I have no where to sit. Rouge decided her and Omega would skip school and have a day together.” He huffed, zipping his lunchbox open with a gratifying sound. “And I don’t feel like sitting alone right now.”

“Huh, well fine.” He rolled his eyes, though he couldn’t hide the way he subconsciously leaned over into Shadows personal space. 

The dark hedgehog sighed, feeling his hands become less jittery and his legs relax. He let out a relieved sigh without knowing, but Sonic didn’t comment on it. He felt his brain mellow down from he clatter, and instead fall into a peaceful silence as he pulled out his turkey sandwich. He pulled it out of the plastic baggy he had packed it in and started eating. 

The food was a nice distraction from the way his stomach churned and twisted with both anxiety and nervousness. Sonic ate his crappy school potatoes as he talked with Knuckles about his track team. They spoke on and on about techniques he could use to improve his speed without using his super ability, and some of them caught Shadows ear. However, the obnoxious laughter of other kids and teenagers made it hard to focus.

He bit into his sandwich and stared off into space. Even though he was sitting with a group, he still felt alone. He didn’t feel like he fit in, he felt like he was a loner. 

That is until Sonic threw his arm over his shoulder, seemingly forgetting about the other kids staring. He felt his heart flutter at the thought that maybe, just maybe he would be getting over his stupid fear of judgement and just show his affection. It made him feel appreciated, for some odd reason. Usually he didn’t like attention, but when it came to relationships… it was a different story. 

“So, you gonna drop by my place after school? For our guitar lessons ?” He said lessons with way too much innuendo. Shadow felt his throat constrict, all the saliva suddenly drying up and providing a stinging sensation. What the hell was he planning on doing? He was probably just being his flirty self.

“Uh, yeah.” He nodded weakly, fumbling with his sandwich and taking a quick nervous bite. Jesus what were they?!

Sonic smiled and tugged him into the conversation he was having. Knuckles looked positively confused at the weird and affectionate display, but shrugged it off and continued to talk about the latest gossip he had gotten from Rouge’s instagram post. 

“Someone hacked Rouge’s account and posted a bunch of homophobic images.” The red echidna started, capturing Shadow’s attention. “They trashed on Tangle’s and Whisper’s relationship, which is such a shitty thing to do. They’re so cute and they actually have the courage to be proud of it.”

“Yeah, I have a feeling Whisper might ask Tangle to keep a low profile for a bit. They’re also not at school today.” Sonic remarked, looking a little sad. 

“Yeah, I feel bad for them. But, I heard that Rouge has figured out who the hacker was and is tracking them down.” Shadow observed the two conversing friends, looking between the red one and the blue one. Seriously, could they be more colorful? It was almost an eyesore.

“Rouge’s always been cool like that.” He smiled, poking at his half eaten potatoes before taking a bite. The grudging hedgehog beside the blue mass smirked. Damn straight his friend was.

“I hope she ruins that guy’s life.” He spoke up, his voice gruff. It shot through the air and made the entire table quiet, like they didn’t expect him to speak up.

“Well, that’s dark. Maybe she just teaches them to not be a douche?”

“No. Life ruined.” He insisted, pulling away from Sonic’s grasp as soon as he felt his muzzle flush. He had become hyperaware of the close proximity of the pair, and so he panicked and had pushed himself away. A insolent huff escaped his lips, his eyes narrowing as he finished his thought. “People like that don’t have my sympathy.”

“Well, it was a simple mistake, Shadow. They can learn from it.” His hand flinched, hesitating to grab Shadow again and rub his fur soothingly. His fur was just too soft against the ragged yarn of his gloves, he could almost feel the silky softness through the woven threads of his gloves. 

“Sure, but they could easily do it again if they don’t suffer enough.” He argued, making the blue hedgehog beside him frown.

“Shadow, you’re really pessimistic.” He sighed, “We don’t need to ruin their entire life to punish them!”

“Sure, sure. They’ll do it again in the future as soon as they get through the punishment dealt.” The other countered, staring Sonic down with a gaze of determination and anger. His red ruby eyes stared into viridescent ones, creating a line of tension between the two arguing hedgehogs. 

“Okay, but who are we to decide punishment? The school board will handle it.” Knuckles chimed in, wanting to diffuse the situation.

“The school board won’t do shit and you know it.” Shadow snapped. He knew he wasn’t making a good impression on Sonic’s friends, but that one comment just got to him. Throughout his entire life, the school board hasn’t done anything to help with any instance of bullying or hatred. He knew that people have different experiences, but these guys didn’t know those struggles. Those struggles of being ridiculed for being different, and then having authority figures brush it off as ‘kids being kids’. He felt that deep seeded fury rise up again. “When have authority figures ever done something to officially stop something?”

“Well, they’ve expelled kids thats for sure.” The blue one beside him said, hesitantly reaching his arm out and rubbing his bicep.

“Huh.” With that, Shadow backed off. Maybe it was because he didn’t want to deal with a fight about authority, or maybe it was because Sonic had touched him and tried to calm him. He glanced over at him, and for a split second he thought that maybe they would finally get somewhere in their growing but confusing and conflicting relationship.

Lunch went smoothly after that. And Sonic made sure to include him in the ongoing conversations against his will. He grudgingly submitted to his relentless demands and started to make meaningful contributions to the conversation.

Soon, lunch came to an end. He was back to walking through the halls of noisy kids that hurt his eardrums.

He groaned to himself as he pushed through a crowd, heading over to his History class. The class usually focused on history before 1900. So it was rather boring and long, no super Mobians infected with radiation to save the day or whatever. 

 

★★★

 

School came to an end, and he went to Mrs. Vanillas class to pick up the stupidly large plush. Okay, maybe he was hating too much. He actually liked it. He liked it a lot. The material was just right, being the fluffiest and softest he had ever felt; the size was perfect for cuddling at night. (Because, lets face it, Shadow is a big pillow cuddler) And it was cute, the face on the cat was just a little deformed, but it added to the objects charm. 

He stepped into the class to see Sonic and Vector talking, but he ignored the two and ventured to the teachers desk.

“Here to pick up your plush? Who gave it to you?” She asked as she got up, opening up a cabinet behind her and grabbing the big, fluffy black mass. 

“Sonic.” He said with a grudging tone. Mrs. Vanilla smiled and handed the plush to Shadow.

“Really? The kid that always has his feet up on the desks?” She whispered, jerking her thumb over to where the blue hedgehog was talking with Vector.

“Yeah, him.” He nodded, “Thanks.”

“No problem!” She smiled and sat back down in her chair, clicking a few things on her computer.

But, of course, Shadows brisk walk was interrupted by a curious azure Mobian. Sonic smirked and walked up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder to turn him around.

“Awh, already here to pick me up?” He drawled, expanding his words in a teasing way. His eyelids went downward in a flirtatious way that would have poor Amy swooning.

“No, but you can follow me if you’d like.” He shot Vector a look, immediately telling the tech-whiz crocodile to not say a single word. His gaze was sharp and cutting, and it made the jazzy Vector shrug and look the other way.

“So you did come to pick me up, you just can’t admit it.” He leaned in closer to Shadow, so much so that he could have sworn to feel the coarse hairs of his muzzle brush against his own. He bristled and shoved him away, rolling his eyes with more sass than a peacock.

“You wish.” He huffed out and started to walk away, which only made Sonic follow closely behind.

“So, do you know more about me now? Threaten Tails again?” He quipped with a singular eyebrow raise.

“No. We’re just gonna practice your finger flexibility and introduce a few more notes.” He gruffed out, taking a deep breath as the fresh summer air hit his nose. The sun mercilessly beat down on the two, instantly heating up his dark fur.

“Alright.” He chirped, happy to just be near Shadow. He reached a hand out and grabbed his hand, the man before him offering an emotionless grunt in return. 

Curiously, his hand squeezed around the other. The white leather feeling smooth yet ragged to the soft threads of Sonic’s gloves. The clank of his metal shoes contrasting greatly with his soft sneakers, the red ones with the white elastic going down the front. His favorite pair of shoes.

In a flurry of red streaks and black quills, Shadow grabbed Sonic and set him down on his motorcycle in an over dramatic display, stuffing the plush in the bottom compartment of the vehicle in the process. The blue hedgehog was so caught up in the contact and the swirl of feelings that he forgot that they were in front of a few people that could easily spread this across the school. He didn’t hear the group as they snickered, completely focused on the ebony hedgehog as he sat before him and demanded that he wrap his arms around his waist.

“What?” He asked, hesitantly wrapping his arms around him. The blue fur contrasted greatly in the bright light of the sun, the colors more vibrant than ever. “Woah, you’re steaming!”

“Yeah, its cause black absorbs heat.” He gave a simple, blunt answer. That was Shadow, short and biting in taste. With a rev of the engine, they took off.

In blinding speed that Sonic could totally beat, they were at Shadows house. The blur of trees and houses melded together to create a whirlwind of colors and sights that shouldn’t be possible. He had gripped the driver more dearly, wanting some semblance of protection as they sped past the speed limit of 20 miles per hour. He put the flashy thing in park and got off, pulling himself out of the blue ones grasp. He bent down and opened the bottom compartment and pulled the big  cat plush out. He fluffed it up and hugged it to his chest, offering a very cute sight that nearly melted his being. 

“I’m dropping off the plush and getting my guitar.” He answered before walking into his home, leaving the door slightly ajar. Whether that was on purpose or not, Sonic didn’t care. Oh he was taking that opportunity and waltzing on in like he owned the place.

And so he did. He slid off the motorcycle and strutted over to the door like he was in a Maybelline commercial, and then pushed the door open fully. He did it with too much force and bravado, because the door slammed against the little door stopper on the neighboring wall. His face froze in a smile as Shadow whipped his head over to the loud bang.

“God, could you not slam doors? Its loud, hurts my ears, and it damages the house. You could have just walked in without making it known to all of Illinois.” He scoffed, then turned around with a roll of his eyes. He ventured deeper into the house, entering his relaxing bedroom to grab his guitar for the upcoming guitar lesson that would totally just be a lesson and nothing more.

He felt his heart thump when he remembered how Sonic had said it in the moment, with way too much innuendo to be normal. Yeah, he brushed it off as Sonic just being his flirty self. But what if he actually was going to try something? What if he wanted something more than this grudging relationship? His throat went dry with nervousness and fear, and oddly enough, excitement. It coursed through his veins like ecstasy, choking him up and turning him into a flustered mess as he took a whole five minutes to get his guitar. Most of those five minutes were just him spent thinking, and realizing that he didn’t mind Sonic. And maybe, he harbored romantic feelings. It was outlandish, it was insane, and yet it felt right. It felt like the right name for it, but he wouldn’t accept it without a dang fight. 

He finally snapped out of his hazed daze and grabbed his guitar, pulling out its case from underneath his bed and carefully placing it into its soft velvet interior. He had gotten the case from the same store he had gotten Sonic’s, but it was vastly more expensive. Around 300 dollars if he remembered correctly. So, he treated it with extra care.

Once he got his guitar in, he shut the case and clasped it shut. He exited his room to be met with a grouchy Sonic rummaging through his pantry. The hasty hedgehog didn’t even notice Shadow until he loudly cleared his throat, the tension between them rising exponentially.

“Ah-! Well, you were taking forever! And I was getting hungry!” He was quick to defend himself, putting the bag of potato chips back on the shelf. He rolled it up within itself and placed it on the wooden space.

“You ate more than half. That bag wasn’t even opened until now.” He rolled his eyes, though his minds eye couldn’t help but see this as anything but endearing. The way he could just eat anything and not gain weight was baffling to him, not that he didn’t have that skill as well. He just saw so many girls watching what they eat that it really shocked him to find someone that didn’t just eat sushi and grapes.

“I was hungry, dude, we need to work on your listening skills.” He huffed, petulance present in his defiant tone.

“We don’t. I heard you loud and clear.” He held his case closer to his side, feeling the weight of the instrument he was about to take out of his house for the first time. People could say he was paranoid about his beloved instrument getting hurt, stolen, or scratched. But others would get it, he convinced himself. He loved this guitar with his life, in fact, it was the same guitar Maria had.

The thought of Maria brought an unsuspecting pang of sadness and sorrow to him, but he brushed it off. She would want me to have fun, not dwell and live in the past.

“Well, let’s go.” He nudged his thumb over to the door, looking straight into the foresty eyes that seemed to capture his attention wholly. His heart did a strange flutter, and he cleared his throat to prevent it from going up into a godforsaken pitch. “Guitar lessons, right?”

“Oh, yes.” Sonic nodded, a smile spreading across his cheeks. He always had a slight smile to his face, but Shadow found it all the more charming when it stretched across his muzzle and made the skin and fur accommodate his happiness. “Let’s get going, and can we walk there? I can’t be sitting for long, ya know.”

“Yes, we’ll walk there.” Though he had an inkling it was because Sonic had realized his mistake of being affectionate with him in public, so he didn’t want his iconic motorcycle fermenting in his driveway for the whole neighborhood to see. This was a secret thing, after all. He made it clear that it was, and it almost broke his heart. The only thing that hedgehog feared the most other than failure was rejection, and it was showing. He felt a pang of sympathy, but he stomped outside with an azure mass following behind him. 

“Sweet!” He exclaimed, reaching out to grab his hand once again. Shadow was hit with the realization that Sonic had been reaching out and holding his hand a lot more lately, and it could be something if he looked into it. But he didn’t want to think about it. It would make his muzzle flush uncontrollably and make him run away as soon as possible, so he pushed the thought into the back of his mind for later and focused on the twists and turn they took to get to the blue hedgehogs house.

His guitar case bumped against the outer area of his lower thigh, almost hitting the side of his kneecap as they walked. He could feel the sun heat his quills up more and more, making his scalp start to sweat at the unforgivable temperature. He wanted to scratch at his scalp, but his gloves didn;t allow for sufficient scratching AND Sonic was holding his hand hostage.

Shadow turned to look at him, the sun light making the blue of his coat all the more vibrant. Now it looked like a rich lapis color, the contrast against the plain sidewalk and his colorful companion hurt his eyes, so he jerked his head away and focused on the road again. 

They arrived at Sonic’s house, and he made sure to run inside and plop down on the couch and feel the cool air nestle in between his quills and give his scalp a well deserved break. He set his guitar on the ground and relaxed fully into the couch, which only gave Tails a startle from the kitchen.

The quirky hedgehog waltzed in, giving Tails a friendly glance and ignoring the utter confusion and fear carving itself into the young fox’s face.

“Um, Sonic?” He spoke up, his voice sounding just a little congested. Ah, he was probably getting some type of sickness. He always got the cold when summer was on its cusp, however weird it was to other people be damned.

“Yes? Yes, Shadow is supposed to be here. He’s been helping me with the guitar.” He offered reassurance, then walked over to the stairs. He gave the brooding hedgehog on his couch a quick glance, “You coming?”

“Oh- yea.” He nodded a little too quickly. “I’m coming.”

“Alright.” Sonic nodded, walking up the steps to his room. 

Shadow quickly followed him, grabbing his guitar in the process. He breathed in and out as he walked up the steps, trying to calm his brain down. It was only the second time he had been in his room, but he was feeling just as nervous as he had the first time.

His pulse started to quicken as he entered his room, glancing at the familiar posters and comics he had once seen. That sloppy pile of Marvel and DC comics had been taken care of, now hidden behind the bookshelf like a forgotten teddy bear. Almost like Sonic was ashamed of his rather nerdy interests.

The thought of a cocky, arrogant hedgehog being ashamed about liking some comics amused Shadow greatly. It took his mind off of the fact that soon they would be sitting thigh-to-thigh as he helped that same blue menace with his finger flexibility and hand-eye coordination. 

He sat down on the bed, feeling the plush surface bend under his weight, as he watched Sonic retrieve his guitar from its place. His hands flexed in on themselves as he watched, thinking about how his voice would soften ever so slightly as he taught him.

Soon enough, he sat down next to Shadow with his guitar in hand. He wanted to do a duet with him, but he chickened out and dropped his guitar case on the floor beside him.

“So, ready to help little ole me?” He asked, batting his eyelashes in an impish manner. Really, this guy was trying to make him explode. 

“Yeah, yeah. Hands on the guitar, let’s get started.” He waved it off, his hands instinctively reaching out and grasping Sonic’s. He placed those hands on the guitar neck in a certain order, the G note that he seemed to be struggling with. 

“G? Again? I already have that down!” He whined, the sound childish and grating on his ears.

“Yeah, but your fingers still hurt holding it, right?” He asked with a quizzical raise of his eyebrow. He exaggerated the positioning so Sonic could really feel the sting.

“Okay, I guess… But stop pulling my fingers that far! I don’t have to push them that far for the note.”

Shadow surprisingly stopped and let out a sigh. There was this awkward tension about this whole experience, his shoulders were tense and he was more hunched over than usual. Sonic didn’t seem to pick up on it, the idiot, but Shadow sure did. 

He laid his hands down on his lap and looked over at him, that irresistible face with that stupid smile. It was going to kill him one of these days.

So, to ease the tension, he blurted out a question that he wouldn’t have normally let slip. But, he was desperate to get rid of this odd feeling. “What are we?”

“Um, what do you mean? We’re friends, right?” Sonic answered, his face looking more nervous than usual. He would usually pry and demand a truthful answer, but he didn’t this time. “I mean, we’re casual.”

“Alright.” For some odd and unfathomable reason, he felt a sharp pang of hurt strike his chest. He felt his heart crumble unknowingly, and he couldn’t stop his chest from heaving slightly with emotion. Maybe this guitar lesson wasn’t a good idea, maybe he just needed to go home and get his thoughts sorted out.

No, he wanted to be near him. He wanted to feel his gloves under his, he wanted to touch his hands where no one was looking. He wanted it, but would he get it? Was he just hopelessly hoping for someone to love him after Maria had died? He was surely a fool, no one could love a monster such as he. No one knew of his record, but he was still a monster through and through. An alien, infected with Black Arms DNA and with no real dad.

He wouldn’t ever be loved, ever.

Chapter 10: Amy and Excuses

Summary:

Im so sorry for slacking, I was just super sick and didn't want to do anything. But, I have come forth to spoil yall with another chapter (no beta read because im lazy, I should make it a tag at this point)

WARNING: Suggestive dream

I also have a Tumblr!! @alialastor in the search bar, I have no idea how to do those hyper links and I refuse this generation to civilize me.

Sonic didn’t know why, but Shadows' expression once he had said we’re friends pained him. In the moment he had thought nothing of it and kept playing with him, moving his fingers along the neck of the guitar to produce a sullied rhythm that showed how he hadn’t been practicing. Truth was, he hadn’t had the energy to even get out of bed.

That look had stung him to his core, and now they were back where started. A week had passed since that day, and they hadn’t once met again. They had raced and given each other grudging gifts, filled with way too much melancholy and longing. But that was it, they went their separate ways after and hadn’t bothered to even try to reach out.

Tails had noticed his sadness and the increasing dissary of his room, which would have been normal if not given the other factors that plagued his mind. The fleeting thoughts of the black and red hedgehog, the way his fingers tingled and missed the leather texture of his gloves. His body ached to feel that soft fur under his bare fingertips; he had imagined that it would feel like clouds. Those lucious, fluffy type of clouds that just barely covered up the sun on a nice day.

He even was going to school regularly, just to catch a glimpse of Shadow and his undeniable looks. He was tempted to walk up to him and start talking, ask him to come over again and help him gain his motivation back.

Shadow felt the same way, maybe with a little less guilt. His hands ached and yearned just like Sonic’s, but he had reminded himself that all that blue hedgehog saw them as was friends. Nothing more. He couldn’t live with just being friends with him. He had tried to deny his feelings time and time again, but they kept on coming back like a traumatizing memory. Pink-tipped dreams invaded his mindscape, crawling into the crevices of his brain each night to make him long to go over to his house again. 

It was a painful week. He tried a few times to get Sonic alone, but he ran off. Great, he scared him off with that awful question he should have never asked. Every time he saw his red shoes form into an infinity symbol, skipping away from his inevitable demise, he felt a pang in his heart. Maybe it was pain, and maybe it was relief. Whatever it was, it felt weird. It wormed into his chest cavity and stopped the vessels in his heart, making it beat harder and faster to try and get blood through his system. 

But in its attempts to circulate blood, his lungs would clog up with cotton. He could even feel a stinging at the corners of his eyes.

So, he just stopped trying. They went back to being enemies, throwing petty insults at each other during and in-between classes. He longed to be more, but Sonic had made it clear that he didn’t want more.

It was a chilly morning, more so than usual. It was supposed to be summer, burning hot sun during the undeveloped morning, with parents escaping the heat and children giggling. Now, the air held a stillness. It pinched at his cheeks, biting at the flesh under the thin fur of his muzzle. He scoffed at the window, seeing the cloudy atmosphere. He hated it when nature didn’t go as planned.

He grabbed a thin jacket, knowing he wouldn’t need it anyway, and went to slip his bulky shoes on. Then, he heard a knock on his door. Curiously, he got on his tippy toes and looked through the peep-hole, seeing a very distraught blue hedgehog holding two items behind his back. He held his head down, waiting for Shadow to answer.

He was dressed more fashionably than usual, he even had a clip on earring on his ear. Shadow hummed, shrinking back to think about what this meant.

Why was he at my door?! His mind screamed at him, just ignore it and he’ll go away. But he physically couldn’t. His hand shook as it gripped the doorknob, feeling the cool brass underneath his paw pads to show just how cold it was outside. The weather sure was bipolar, which oddly reflected his feelings throughout the week.

It was a Friday, and he was just getting ready for another day of school when he had been so rudely interrupted. He opened the door, and Sonic’s head perked up.

“Finally, what took ya so long to respond?” He glanced down at Shadow’s bare hand, but quickly looked away. Clothes were worn for fashion, but gloves were worn for modesty. To see that bare paw, with white specks dotting the cool black fur like a constellation, and the tanned paw pads. He cleared his throat and brought the two items behind his back into view, a bouquet of flowers and a box of cheesecake. “I don’t know what I did, well I know what I did. I guess I mean to say that I’m sorry for how I’ve ignored you this week.”

That amount of awareness from the blue hedgehog was surprising to Shadow, and he almost thought that Sonic was a different person just trying to be him. But, the waver in his voice and the slight tooth gap made it clear it was in fact him. He breathed out, astonished at the sight. He felt the cool air enter his home, but he didn’t care. He did something that he should have thought through, he leapt into his arms and gave him the tightest hug imaginable. 

Sonic was notably shocked by the hug, and he almost dropped the cheesecake and ruined the flowers with the over the top hug he was thrusted into. He moved them out of the way just in time, and he found himself hugging Shadow back. The hug felt so nice, so warm and so comfortable. Sonic could fall asleep right here right now if it wasn't for him standing.

“My guitar skills have been dropping since we stopped our lessons.” He noted with a laugh, his smile only lessening when Shadow pulled away from the strong hug he had embraced him in.

“You got me flowers, and cheesecake?” He asked, plucking the container of cheesecake from Sonic. From afar, it would've looked like two lovers reunited.

“Yeah, on our trip to the mall you seemed very excited when you saw cheesecake at the food court.” A little excited was a severe understatement. Shadow was practically bouncing on his heels waiting for his cheesecake, and then proceeded to eat the entire thing in one sitting. It was impressive, really.

The dark hedgehog blushed slightly at the memory, but he brushed it off his shoulders and cleared his throat. He grabbed the flowers with his uncovered paw, being careful as to not slice the plastic surrounding the array of flowers. It was a simple bouquet of roses, mix in some yaro and all. His heart fluttered at the thought of Sonic paying that much attention to him, even though it was fairly obvious. Still, the Sonic he knew would have forgotten that detail in a heartbeat. 

“Thanks…” Was all he could say, clutching the flowers in one hand and the cheesecake in the other. “Do you wanna come in?”

The blue hedgehog’s eyes widened, sparkles in his eyes forming as he nodded enthusiastically. “Hell yeah I do! We have a lot of catching up.”

“That we do.” He nodded, walking backward into his house to let Sonic in. He set the flowers on the counter, grabbing a thin vase from a cabinet and pouring water into it. It felt nice to be back together again.

 

★★★

 

When Sonic was getting the gift, he actually had no idea what he was doing. He was letting his heart carry him, carry his feet and his hands untill he held a handsome arrangement of flowers and cheesecake.

He didn't know what compelled him to walk over to the store, grab those two things, buy them and then run off to plan how exactly he was going to go up to Shadow and apologize for completely friend zoning the guy.

But, something in his heart lurched him forward. He ran, bought, and planned without thinking about the dire stakes. What if Shadow didn't accept his apology and slammed the door in his face? 

But, all in all, he was glad he had a fleeting moment of bravery. Because now, him and Shadow were curled up under a blanket finally watching that Keanu Reeves film. He hadn't counted the hours, he didn't deem it necessary. He was basking in the physical affection and the vulnerability Shadow was showing him. 

He gazed down at the black and red hedgehog, tracing a gloved hand along those red stripes that always stood out. Whether that be in the sun or in the fog, they always glowed with a certain magnificence. It creates a threatening aura around him, but Sonic found that he enjoyed these soft moments all the more. 

He was sure that he wanted something more than just friends, that he wanted to feel those lips on his and giggle and laugh as Shadow showered him with pecks. And at this point, he knew Shadow wanted him to. But, two things were holding him back. First, the fear of rejection from his friends and other kids. And second, the fact that he knew he was annoying and rowdy, so he naturally felt like he was infringing.

He also didn't know what he would do if he was actually teathered down to a person, would he be able to fake flirt with his friends all the same? Would he feel trapped, like his freedom was being infringed upon? He was scared that he would feel like that, and then set Shadow up for inevitable heartbreak. 

The explosions and action on the movie faded into a background blur, simply whitenoise to the increasingly lovesick thoughts that entered his mind. Oh, how he wanted to hug Shadow and feel him up against his chest, heavy breathed and shaky. How he wanted something like that, but his heart lurched and gulped like it wasn’t ready. Like it was ultimately scared of being in a committed relationship with the other hedgehog.

Shadow was having similar thoughts too, his mind raced until it went mushy and quiet. His brain conjured up thoughts, terrible thoughts about how Sonic might just be wanting to use him. Or how he was a monster and didn’t deserve love, or how everyone he had loved had died so it would put him in danger. He didn’t want him to be in danger, he wanted to protect him from everything. Even himself and his Black Arms DNA. 

Slowly, Shadows head fell limp and landed on Sonic’s chest. He faintly heard the hero’s heartbeat, until his eyes fluttered shut and he let sleep overtake him. 

His dream started with that pink smoke it always did, swirling around him and filling his nose with an intoxicating scent. He faintly saw Sonic, his peach colored chest and fur moving closer to him. He couldn’t move, but he found himself not wanting to move as the other hedgehog straddled his hips and laid himself down on his chest fluff. He felt the strands of his long chest fur brushing against the blunt, rough hairs of the other's chest. 

He felt weird in the dream, a liquid hot sensation shooting through his body as dream Sonic did something he couldn't quite grasp in the dream. The pink smoke fluttered around the blue hedgehog's face, hearts in his eyes forming.

“Mmh, you look so good like this.” He mutters, grabbing his cheeks and pulling him into a gentle kiss. The pink haze still persisted, making the dream more disorienting than arousing. His lips felt soft and pillowy, softly pushing against his own. He felt that his lips were cracked in the dream, which must be a little weird for this dream Sonic.

He pulled away and went in for another one, this time pushing his tongue out to lightly trace along the seam of his lips. He let him in. He felt the odd feeling of the two tongues rubbing against each other, and the pink haze worsened.

It worsened to the point that he couldn't hear in the dream. It was soundless motions, and when Sonic had grabbed his leg to lift it up for the ‘main course’, he jolted awake. His paws constricted around the light fringe of Sonic's fur, and he was suddenly aware of the position he had fallen asleep in.

Though, he felt that insufferable blue hedgehog trace his fingers along each of his quills, giving each special attention. He relaxed against the touch, and looked over at the TV. The end credits were rolling, showing the actors and the characters they played. The dream left him confused, but he was content to rest in his arms.

“You okay? You kinda jumped there.” Sonic smirked, chuckling to himself as his hand paused its stroking. It hovered about an inch above the soft, tantalizing quills that rested against Shadows scalp.

“Yeah, just had a weird dream.” That was right, but the dream wasn’t anything new. Yeah, each was different, but they still had that confusing and inhibiting pink haze, with the hot pink smoke wafting through the air like smoke from cigarettes. 

He cuddled into Sonic, his mind going away as he let his body seek warmth and comfort. His bare paws curled into a comfortable spot, right in front of his chest. He closed his eyes again and let himself feel the closeness he was allowing. And it felt great. He felt a pleasant wave of happiness and contentment wash over his mind, making him forget about the dream. 

The blue hedgehog hummed and moved Shadow slightly. “C’mon, I’m hungry.”

“Alright… I can make you something, if you’d like.” He mumbled out, pushing himself out of his hold. His legs moved awkwardly, scooting back to release Sonic from the straddle he had unconsciously locked him in. 

“Oooh, please? You’re food is so good, as good as it can get.” He chortled, snickering under his breath. Despite being vulnerable and tender with Shadow just a few moments ago, he couldn’t help but antagonize him.

“Mm, now I won’t, you brat.” He responded, getting ready to settle back down. But, Sonic let out a disappointed whine and flapped his arms like a child. It was comical. 

“Oh, cmon! Please? With a cherry on top?” He said, making his voice turn into a sickly sweet tone that had him rolling his eyes in grudging compliance.

“Alright, because you fainlyy asked nicely.” He nodded, standing up from the couch and walking into the kitchen. He heard the blue hedgehog celebrating his victory, but his mind drowned it out as he got to work.

His brain seized the opportunity and bombarded his fried mind with thoughts that where nothing short of doubtful. What if Sonic is just playing you? Sonic doesn’t actually like you, you’re a monster. The thoughts flooded his mind, but he grabbed a knife and started chopping vegetables anyway. He let his mind wander with his useless thoughts and finally, took some advice from Maria. 

Maria had told him that whenever he was in a mood, or when his mind was thinking negatively, to just observe the thoughts like an outsider looking in. She told him to remain neutral and view these thoughts like a therapist. She had also told him things about his true self, and how everyones self is compassionate and kind. The rest was mumble-jumble, with mind families and alters and systems that he really didn’t want to hurt his head thinking about.

He took a breath in and with each swipe of the knife, listened to his thoughts and just let them be. The thoughts degrading them, and the thoughts fighting those degrading thoughts to try and protect him. He let it all simmer. 

He noticed that when he sat and observed, those thoughts died out and were replaced with more calm thoughts. Thoughts like You know, maybe he does life me. I just need to give it my best shot came over in his mind. It washed over all those deragatory thoughts like a tidal wave, pushing those out and filtering the sand to make way for more peaceful thoughts.

Huh, no wonder.

He hummed a tune as he started to work on the pasta, starting to boil the water so it would be at a sufficient temperature to cook it. He put the vegetables in a bowl and started to break up some lettuce, the crunch of the stiff base filling the kitchen as he did so. 

Sonic was left in the living room to twiddle his thumbs, so naturally he decided to go on his phone for some entertainment. He first texted Tails about his whereabouts, and then went to text Knuckles.

Amy woke up from her coma.

Was all the dang thing read. Seriously, more context? He would appreciate to know if she had imparied memory or something, but no. On the other hand, he was shocked. The doctors told them that she most likely wouldn’t be waking up anytime soon, taking a month at least. But two weeks after the incident and she's already awake?

His fingers flew across the keyboard, typing out a response that was quick and rushed.

Is her memory okay what happened

He didn’t bother to use any punctuation in the text, and lets face it, he usually doesn’t bother with it. It’s too complicated and confusing for a simple text. He glanced up to look at Shadow working in the kitchen, his right arm flexing just slightly as he lifted the knife and set it down into the vegetables. There was a pot of water heating up on the stove, a slight mist covering the top as it boiled to a sufficient temperature for whatever he was making. 

He felt his phone buzz, so he looked down and turned it back on.

So far so good… she seems to remember everything

He noticed the text’s tone degrading down into a more friendly manner, so it wasn’t all too serious. He visibly relaxed and typed up a response.

When will she be getting out

At this rate the doctors say in two days, so on Monday

He felt his heart skip with joy. Ah, Amy was going to get better. Way better. He had been so worried about her throughout this whole ordeal, maybe that’s why he’s been so uptight and actually growing to like Shadow? The behavior was certainly odd for him…

He reminded himself to take his thoughts off of Shadow and on Amy, thinking about what her recovery would look like. If she’s doing this well, then she’ll be completely back to normal in a week max! He felt like a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders. 

That’s good!!!! I’ll try to get there as soon as possible

He sent it out and turned to look at Shadow, his back facing him as he worked calmly. He felt another buzz from his phone.

Where are you

He sucked in a breath. Oh, how would Knuckles react if he found out that he’s in Shadows house and he’s making him food? His thumbs trembled slightly, anxiety taking hold of him. He cleared his throat lightly and began to type.

Oh im at ho-

No that didn’t sound right.

I’m practicing guitar

That didn’t sound right. He pushed down the delete button and stared in thought. He shook his leg as he wracked his brain for something that would sound legit, something that he would have to stay for. He felt guilty making an excuse for this, but he really didn’t want to leave when he just possibly mended what he lost.

I’m getting some food, take out

Ah, that felt nice. He hit the send button and turned his head back to Shadow, contemplating how he was going to tell him. His lips pursed with concentration. He didn’t want to leave, but the meal would provide more sufficient time to spend with him. At least this would buy him a solid ten minutes.

He rose from the couch, standing on his legs. He cracked his knuckles and walked into the kitchen. He was met with the sound of the brooding hedgehogs humming and the smell of amazing pasta salad. His mouth watered as he took a big whiff of the scent, breathing it in and really appreciating it.

“Yo, Shadow.” He quipped awkwardly, moving to stand next to him as he worked on the creamy pasta salad.

“Yes?” He turned to look at Sonic, his red eyes meeting viridescent ones as he cocked his head to the side.

“So, Amy woke up. Ya know, she got hit. And now shes awake and doing fine, so after I eat I have to leave.”

There was a twinge of jealousy in Shadows irises, but he pushed it down and nodded. Amy was his friend after all, and it was only a simpleton rumor that she liked Sonic. It was fine, but he couldn’t help the way his heart twitched at the news. He was having fun, and now Amy would be a distraction.

“Alright.”

Sonic brought Shadow into a hug impulsively. He was definitely pushing his luck, but oh well. He was feeling jitter and nervous at the thought of Amy being okay, and it wasn’t the good kind. He was scared that maybe she was more messed up than what Knuckles made it out to be, or that she just wouldn’t be the same. He sucked in a breath, feeling the normally stand-offish hegdehog hug him back. It was grudgingly, of course, but it meant the world to him.

“Kay, now I need to get this done.” He reminded the blue hedgehog, tapping his shoulder and pushing him away gently. He relented with a sigh, looking back at the couch and to his phone, which probably buzzed with a message by now. 

“It looks good.” He said with a smile, stealing a bite of the pasta before skedaddling off. Shadow only sighed, stupid hedgehog. He went back to taste testing and making sure that the mixture was just right.

He walked back to the couch and checked his phone, reading a simple Sounds good from Knuckles before he fully relaxed

Chapter 11: Jealousy and Understanding

Summary:

Im submitting this in class on my chromebook so... ALSO I HATE GRAMMARLY SOMEONE FUCKING KILL IT IVE BEEN GETTING SO MANY BULLSHIT ADS AND MY DEAD ACCOUNT ON IT KEEPS COMING BACK TO HAUNT MY DOCS AHHHHHHH

He got home after hanging out with Shadow, his stomach filled to the brim with pasta salad. He turned the knob and found it locked, Tails must’ve been notified .

With that being taken care of, he assumed the fox had already made his way to the hospital. So, he started to run over to where Amy was being taken care of. The streets quickly turned into a familiar blur, his Red Pros and legs forming a blur as he pushed himself to his top speed. 

He was there in about two seconds, skidding to a screeching halt. The building stretched up to the sky, the pale white blinding as he stepped towards the pristine glass doors. He grabbed the cool metal and opened the door, observing a waiting room that was nearly empty. The only people there were a stressed old man and the receptionist. 

“Here to see Amy Rose?” The lady behind the desk piped up, “That red echidna told me you might be coming soon.”

“Yeah, I am.” He nodded, placing a paw on his hip as he listened to the receptionist.

“Alright, room number 50 on floor 2.” She answered him, then busied her hands with her keyboard as she began her incessant typing again. The clitter clatter of the keys snapped Sonic’s attention, and she was done speaking. You know, usually people would be shaking in their boots if they were even in the same vicinity as him. Just the treatment of a hero. 

He nodded and walked over to the elevator, scratching his rather itchy neck as he tapped the button with his other hand. After a moment of silence that was far too long, the elevator opened with two Mobians. Espio and Charmy. The little bee buzzed out of the elevator with a gleeful smile, with a tired chameleon treading beside him. Espio was wearing a volunteer lanyard, which would explain why he was here. Oh, and they couldn’t leave Charmy alone at the house for obvious reasons. 

Sonic offered a small wave before hopping into the elevator, hitting the button labeled as ‘#2’. The elevator took a moment to start moving upwards, but when it did he couldn’t help but think it was a piece of junk. It was way too slow, or maybe he was just used to living a face-paced and excited life. 

A ding rang out through the metal capsule, with a robotic voice announcing the floor. “Level 2: Traumatic Brain Injury Center. Please step out of the elevator carefully .” The AI pronounced, and the doors slid open and disappeared into the walls. He kindly and modestly put his hands behind his back and walked, looking for number 50.

The numbering of the rooms was easy to follow, with one being first and whatever number ended the series of pristine hospital rooms. So, he ran speedily through the halls until the number 50 passed in his peripheral vision. He stopped and gazed at the number, suddenly his throat was clogging up and his paws were sweating. 

His mind started racing. Why was it racing? She was just a friend, and he was paying her a simple visit. But he was afraid she would be different, the words playing like a broken record. The words bounced around his head. What if she doesn’t recognize me? What if she’s in a sad state? What if she wasn’t all the way okay?

He shook his head and grabbed the doorknob, opening the door just a crack before fully revealing himself.

“For the fastest thing alive, you sure did take your sweat time.” Knuckles remarked with a snarky laugh. Tails was sitting by Amy’s bedside, asking her a few questions to really determine if she was all there.

“Yeah, the chef was being unusually slow today.” He remarked with a smirk, walking over to the bed to look at Amy. She had slight eye bags, with a bandage wrapped around the top of her head. It wasn’t the best, but she did seem to recognize Sonic.

“Oh, thank goodness you’re here! Anything fun happen while I was out?” She asked, her chipper voice echoing in the rather hollow room. The room was a stale white, with a few monitors beeping to signify that her vitals were good. The only thing that was somewhat colorful was the band around her wrist, and of course the colorful Mobians in the room. 

“Ah, no. Same old same old.” He waved her question off. Other than his rather quick romance with Shadow, nothing of note happened.

“Mmm.” Her eyes squinted at him, making him grow a little nervous. She knew he was lying, he knew that look. “But Tails was just telling me about you and Shadow.”

His mind took a second to process and reboot, but after that he sputtered. If he had coffee, he would have crushed the paper cup and spilled it all over the sheets. He cleared his throat. What all did Tails tell her?!

“Oh, it’s just a few races is all.” He laughed, looking up at the ceiling like the light gray was the most hypnotizing thing in the room. 

“With gifts and strings attached, right? Tails made it sound like it was out of a cheesy romance novel!” She smirked. Oh God.  

“What?” He asked a little too quickly. “Pardon?”

“He told me that Shadow has been teaching you the guitar. And he even told me that he peeked into it and found that the session was a little less friendly, if you catch my drift.”

He felt his face go beet red. Tails did what?!

“Tails!” He exclaimed, feeling his muzzle grow a bright shade of red. It rivaled Knuckles’ coat, and it prompted him to speak.

“Was perhaps that chef Shadow, the one that kept you waiting?” He teased the blue hedgehog.

He suddenly became aware of the disarray he had left his quills in, so he quickly brought his hands up to his head and smoothed them over.

“He’s already picking up behaviors from Shadow.” Amy giggled, observing how he tried to prime his appearance. 

“Guys!” He whined out, his voice losing its cockiness as he was being utterly teased. He fidgeted with his hands, pulling at his gloves lightly as he felt all of their eyes on him. 

“You can tell us, ya know.” The pink hedgehog said, looking over at her beloved friend. “I wouldn’t mind if you were with Shadow.”

Knuckles didn’t seem to agree. “I would mind. He should be here instead of spending his time with his supposed rival.”

“Knuckles, you’ve compared kindergartners to hardened criminals. I do not want to hear your opinion on this.” She piped up, folding her hands over her lap with a very discouraging look. That shut him up. 

“I…” He stuttered, not wanting to admit that he had been spending time with Shadow and that’s what took him so long. But, Amy could see through him all the time. She knew when he was lying, she knew when he was telling the truth. And most importantly, she knew when he was hiding his feelings. “Yeah, I was with Shadow.”

“What did you guys do?” Tails spoke up with a devious smirk, he was obviously planning something. 

“Guitar practice, ya know…” He started, lying through his teeth. Maybe Amy wouldn’t pick up on it this time, but he knew it was futile. 

“That’s a lie.” She stated, looking at Sonic with a mixture of amusement and suspicion. Damn it…

“Well-”

“Did you guys make out?” The sly fox asked, standing up and propping a hand on his hip. He was getting ready to interrogate Sonic, to get to the bottom of exactly why he was lying. Does he seriously tell them that he was cuddling and watching a movie with him?! That would be utterly ridiculous!

But, he digressed. “We watched a movie, and then he made pasta salad. That was it.” He said, his voice taking on a more defensive tone. He felt his muzzle start flushing again, the blood flow in his face increasing with each query. His face quickly grew warm.

“Did you guys cuddle under some blankets? Awhh!” Amy smiled and cooed, almost fangirling at the thought of Sonic cuddling with Shadow. He thought she liked him romantically, so why was she acting so excited for him? It made him confused, but he knew better than to bring it up now, especially in front of their other friends. “Did you watch a romance movie, or was it an action movie?”

“It was an action movie, and we did…cuddle…” He muttered the last part, and she practically exploded at the information. 

“Awh! I’m happy for you.” She announced sincerely, clasping her hands together in front of her chest as she smiled. He felt his heart warm up at her acceptance. He was afraid that he would be met with jealousy and rage, but she was surprisingly supportive. It made him feel safe and nice. 

“So did you guys kiss? You didn’t answer my question.” Tails utterly insisted, crossing his arms over his chest while he sat back down in the chair. He pulled at his lower lip to form a very pouty expression. 

“No, we didn’t.” He stated with a sigh. Sometimes his dear brother could be a big pain in the ass, but he still loved him.

“You should’ve.” He said with a blank expression, making him sputter.

“Seriously, Tails?” Knuckles finally spoke up again with a laugh, facepalming at the fox’s antics. “Let’s not embarrass him too much.” 

 

★★★

 

Shadow waved Sonic goodbye, already feeling disappointed that he had left for Amy. He couldn’t help but feel jealous, was she more important than him? It was unhealthy, he knew that, but his mind ran rampant with these thoughts and feelings. His hand twitched, wanting to go after the blue hedgehog to make sure he didn’t do anything wrong. But he trusted him, strangely enough, to not. He felt a deep tingling in his hand, in the very center of it. It singed his skin and his fur, escaping into his veins and his nerves that only fueled his thoughts. 

The steps echoed as he walked, the soft pat of his socked paws sounding out into his ears. It calmed him yet unnerved him at the same time, but he ignored it and continued to tread up the stairs and into his bedroom. He walked up to his room, swinging the door open and spotting his guitar propped up on its stand. He waltzed over and grabbed his guitar swiftly off its stand. 

He held the neck of the guitar firmly, sitting down on his bed and holding the guitar in his hands. He plucked his gloves off, craving the usual intimate atmosphere he had with his guitar. He strummed the instrument and started to tune it, turning the pegs and making sure it was beautifully tuned before he started.

The strings puffed with dust as he started to strum and produce a melody, the dust spread into the air to create a slightly illuminated puff. The light sunshine of the day peeked out through the barely parted curtains, shining onto the rich color of the guitar. His face stood out against that one sliver of light that hit his face, and he continued to create a tune.

The tune was filled with longing and passion, which was what he was feeling. His mind reeled with the leftover love he had felt, with the leftover fuzziness that Sonic brought with his presence. He hummed along to the tune he was creating, feeling the amplified feelings. He allowed himself to get lost in the notes, his eyes closing with tranquil love. 

He utterly loved the tune he was making, his fingers jumping from note to note on the instrument to fill the air with sorrowful notes. He longed for Sonic’s touch again, to feel his gentle caress and how kindly he took care of him. He wanted to get swallowed whole by the blue hedgehog, perhaps let his very being get lost in those encapsulating arms. 

Once the tune was done, he sat there. He stared out of the window, that chunk of light falling on his red eye as he looked. Outside was radiant, with the sidewalks glowing an eye-burning white and the grass exploding with vibrant greens. The only thing that was dull was the bark of the trees, and even that had its own charm.

He felt the sun seer his eye, but he kept on looking despite the discomfort. The sun only got more intense, as if hating that his eye was looking out to the pleasant outdoors.

Finally, he closed his eyes and moved his head away. The world had been bright lately, with everything having a pink hue over it. He thought about what it meant, and what those dreams that plagued his sleep meant. The nightmares he was used to seeing in his minds eye had disappeared, and now it was just filled with a certain blue hedgehog. 

He wanted more, he needed more from him. But he couldn’t forget how he had said they were just friends, just casual. He had come with flowers and cheesecake, of which he had forgotten about. It was sitting in his fridge, waiting to be eaten. 

He got up from his bed, walking back out into the hall. Shadow tip-toed down the stairs, because for some reason he wanted to keep quiet. He went into his kitchen and grabbed the cheesecake, grabbed a fork and opened the package to dig in. He wasn’t gonna let his treat go to waste. 

He thought about Sonic while he ate, not being able to get him out of his mind. His mind ran rampant with thoughts of him, most of them being purely romantic. He wanted to ask him out on a date, and maybe kiss him, but he didn’t know how to do it. He had never really been a big fan of romance, so he didn’t know how to do stuff like this. He wanted to be romantic, he truly did. Maybe his dark personality had its own romantic charm, strangely? He shook the thought off and continued to eat his dessert.

He hummed with joy, feeling the creamy goodness coat his mouth before going down his throat. The taste and flavor of the cake was so pleasing and heavenly that he couldn’t help but smile greatly. The edges of his lips spread to a grin as he ate some more of it. 

He ate the whole slice in one sitting, it was just that good. Once he was done with it, he threw the plastic container away. 

Suddenly, his phone buzzed. He grabbed it out of his pocket and looked at the caller ID, Rouge . He let out a grieving sigh and pressed the answer button, pulling the phone close to his mouth so he could speak into it. 

“Hello? What do you need?” He asked, a hint of annoyance in his tone. He wanted to just sit here and think, thank you very much. He didn’t need a noisy bat and a cyborg running into his home and ruining the homeostasis of his humble abode. His plants didn’t need all that noise, they needed soft music.

“Omega wants to come over, and I want to know more about Bluey.” She spoke into the phone. It sounded like she was outside, already walking–or flying–with Omega at her side or on her back. She was already coming over before he could even say no, great. 

“Fine, whatever.” He rolled his eyes, “Where are you right now?”

“Flying my way over, Omega wanted a ride.” She briefly explained. 

“Alright, I’ll see you soon I suppose.” With that, he hung up on her and looked over at his monstera, that Shadow named Maria. Oh, Maria . She could handle his other friends for a bit, even though they provided a more chaotic atmosphere that neither of them liked. 

A few minutes passed, and a loud knock sounded from his front door. His ears pulled back, not liking the assault they had just suffered. Why did she have to knock so loudly!? 

He walked over to the door and opened it, which revealed Rouge and Omega standing outside on the sunbaked concrete. Rouge’s muzzle and skin had grown darker, most likely due to her natural tan she had accumulated in the past week. 

“Hello, dear!” She chirped, pushing Omega inside the home as she walked in. “So, how is it with you and Mister Blue?”

“Its… complicated.” He said with a sigh, walking over to his couch with his friend. “He apologized for friend-zoning me with a bouquet and cheesecake. And we cuddled while watching a Reeves film.”

“Awh, sounds like he wants something more.” She cooed, making Shadow shake his head.

“I don’t know… I think he has commitment issues.” He said, “I think he wants to, but then I think he doesn’t.”

“So he’s being contradictory?” Rouge asked for clarification, glancing over at Omega to make sure he wasn’t doing anything bad. He plopped down next to the bat, pulling out his gaming system to play his beat-em-up. 

“Very. He doesn’t really talk to me unless we’re alone, and I think he’s scared that his precious reputation will go to shit if he’s spotted with me.” He looked away. “And, I just don’t feel so confident about all this. I don’t want him to cower in fear, in fear of bullying. But at the same time, I want to accommodate to his needs.”

“Well he needs to accommodate first, get his issues in line, and come to you first, hun.” She started, “It sounds like Bluey here still needs to think some things through. But, once hes met you. You need to meet him.”

“Alright…” He nodded, looking over at his friend. He was always grateful for her, even though she could be rather annoying at times. 

“Buuut, how about you tell me about those cuddles, mm?” She pressed forward, leaning forward slightly as she wondered. 

“Fine.” He sighed. His dear friend wouldn’t leave him alone until he told her what and how stuff went down, so he started. “He picked up the movie we were gonna watch and popped it into the TV, and then insisted that we get a blanket. So, I went and got a blanket. Once we were curled up underneath it, I ended up falling asleep and falling on his chest.”

“And did you have any dreams? Any good dreams?” She pried with a teasing smirk. 

“I-” He felt his face flush just slightly, being reminded of the pink haze that covered that dream. How he had filled in the gaps and figured out just what he was dreaming about… “Yeah…”

“Oh?” She raised an eyebrow, her left hand swiftly grabbing some headphones and giving them to Omega so he could listen to some music. He did so with glee, grabbing Rouge’s phone and playing his tunes as he worked on his video game.

The bat knew him too well. He would have used the excuse that there was a child there, but she fixed that problem with the headphones before he could even open his mouth. “Now why have you done that”

“Because you won’t tell me if I didn’t, now c’mon! I want the details of this dream. Was it romantic, or pleasant, or a little more steamy?” She continued to press, wanting to know everything.

“Rouge-” He put his face in his hands. He didn’t get flustered this easily, but the thought of that blue hedgehog made him prone to it. His muzzle flushed a bright red, and he rubbed his face with his gloved paws.

“What? You have to tell me!” She chortled with a genuine smile. 

“Fine! Fine!” He couldn’t bear to look at her while he was talking about this, he just couldn’t. “The dream was very disorienting, and I’m 99% sure it was something sexual. I couldn’t really tell because the dream was fragmented and filled with this stupid pink haze.” 

“Ah, so it was one of those dreams. Did you wake up with a problem?” She gasped dramatically, “Did he help you with it?”

“What? No!” He groaned, making the woman laugh with amusement. “I did not wake up with that!” 

“It was just a question, geez!” She smiled, looking at Shadow as he started to speak again.

“When I woke up, Sonic asked me to make us something. Obviously with our usual banter, because he can’t resist the urge to antagonize me. But, I made him some pasta salad. Then he had to go because Amy woke up from her coma.”

“Amy’s awake already? Dang, didn’t he say she would be out for a month or so minimum? I know that the one month point is only, what, a week away? But he said at minimum. ” She gaped with astonishment, her hand instinctively coming up to her mouth. “Uh, guess she's a tough cookie.”

“She is.” He nodded, before continuing. “And, I felt strangely jealous. I knew that Sonic doesn’t like her, and her liking him is just a silly little rumor. But my brain just got jealous, maybe it’s because he cut our time short to go visit her. Which is understandable, they are best friends, but something irrational made me feel insanely jealous.” 

She let out a hum. “Ah, your mind is coming to the conclusion that he must care about her more than you? Don’t worry, I’m sure he doesn’t think that. He’s just a really nice guy, deep down I mean. Under all his cockiness.”

“Yeah, he sure is cocky.” He hummed with agreement.

“Sure is. But, it’s normal to feel jealous. Just don’t let it cloud your judgement, ya know. Don’t become a psycho, then he seriously won’t want to date you.” She joked, propping a leg over her knee. 

“I know, but it’s a little strange. I’ve never really felt like that, and even when I did it wasn’t because I was romantically interested.” He said, subtly hinting to Maria and how he would get grumpy when she had to go hang out with her grandfather. It was jealousy, but it was the platonic kind. 

“Just means you care deeply about him, ya know.” She said with a shrug, “To me I think he should just hurry up with getting his shit together and date you already. I hate to watch my friend play the waiting game.” 

“I know, I hope he does too. Maybe something will happen to get him to straighten up and face his fears. But, I realy don’t think he’s that messy. It’s just his fear of being contained, since being in a relationship kind of limits you no matter what. Given the background information that he loves to joke-flirt with his friends, I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case.” He explained, not knowing where this sudden emotional intelligence was coming from. 

“Oh, wow, something I don’t have to explain for once? What a treat.” She snorted, poking fun at her friends before speaking again. “I would have never guessed you were emotionally aware in that thick skull of yours. But, I guess you know him better than I do.” 

“Yeah, so obviously I would be able to deduce those things from it. I am the best at everything, after all.”

“Aaaand there it is, that cockiness you share with Sonic.” She said with a smile. “You guys are more similar than you think.”

Chapter 12: Now That's Confirmation

Summary:

CHAAAAAAAT HELLO!!!

FINALS WEEK IS OVER!!! SKHWHIGLI GG *sighssss*

But now I don't have my usual schedule for when I write, since I usually write in my advisory and after school. So updates might be a little bit off the wire, sorry about that! Oh and OMLOMLOMLOML I played some of Sonic Frontiers and ITS PEAK!!! Ive already beaten kronos and Knuckles' island, so now im with Tails and NOOOO MY POOR BABYYY :'(((((

Sonic is just a tad hot in Sonic Frontiers (WHO SAID THAT)

Amy had pried all of the information about Shadow out of him. About his growing feelings, his denial, and how he fears that he’ll feel trapped in a relationship. Amy had told him that a relationship should feel freeing, and that from what he had told her about how he feels around Shadow, that it would be a good idea to start.

But, Sonic was scared. He was still scared that he would feel trapped, and that he would have to end the relationship because he couldn’t stand it. But, every time they touched or held hands, he felt as free as a bird. He felt like he could breathe in a big breath of fresh air and smell the roses. He thought that maybe it would be good, but then he would chicken out at the last second.

On a lighter note, he was very relieved to see Amy back to her normal self. She had fully recovered, just like the doctors had said she did. He had grown more and more worried about her ever since she went into a coma, but this lifted his spirits. It took a huge weight off his shoulders, and now he had a friend that got what he was feeling.

He was shocked that she didn’t show any jealousy, and that she was fully supportive of him and even helped him articulate his feelings in a letter. The letter was on a light pink postcard paper, with the lettering being as neat as Sonic could make it. Which meant he had to give up his chicken scratch while he wrote it.

Amy had the wonderful idea that he should give the letters and gifts as a secret admirer, but he was already giving Shadow gifts with their racing bets. So he just decided to do the notes instead. Maybe he would give a gift as well, maybe a treat or something. But not for the first note, no, that would be over the top. For a guy that loved being dramatic and over the top, he felt that he couldn’t be that with this. It would make it too obvious.

So, here he was, placing the pink note on Shadows desk. Tails had been extraordinarily difficult to drag to school this morning, so he was already exhausted. Plus, he had to figure out an excuse to his coach for skipping Fridays meet up. 

He already felt the wear and tear pull his bones down as he walked to his class, not wanting to be seen giving his rival a love note. This was all Amy’s idea , he would remind himself, this doesn’t change anything. 

He sat in his seat, next to Knuckles who was bound to give him a talk on what's important and what's not. He had already received one scolding on how he should’ve dropped everything he was doing with Shadow to come to the hospital, but that wasn’t enough for the red echidna. He even reverted back to his old way of saying things: it's dishonor on your name! he would shout. 

He let out a grieving sigh and took out his pencil and the packet they were meant to finish today. He already felt Shadow’s influence on him, making him actually want to go to school instead of just fool around and get stupid Egghead irritated. He twirled his pencil on his thumb out of boredom, watching it turn around and around in never ending circles as he egged it on. 

Soon, class was starting and the teacher was spitting out nonsense that he didn’t understand. He quickly drifted off, thinking about that movie day he had with Shadow. He was so cute, curled up and asleep on him. He would do anything to see that again, but that was a once in a lifetime sight. You never saw him so relaxed unless he felt safe and well with you. 

A thought grazed his mind, does this mean Shadow feels safe with me? Though, he brushed it off as soon as it came. Don’t be ridiculous, that would never happen. Despite all the signs staring him in the face, he couldn’t get himself to accept that he was the one to make that ebony hedgehog feel safe again.

It was an honor, really and truly. After all Shadow had gone through, of what he had admitted that day while they were paying more attention to each other than the movie, it made sense that he would close himself off and never be vulnerable again. But, the image of him sleeping peacefully on his chest was burned into his mind. His brain kept on pestering him, that his crush actually did like him back. 

He put his head down on his desk, gazing out of the window. Today was a sunny day, no shocker in that. But the sun was just a little brighter and more intense than usual, it lit up the streets and the looming canopy of trees. It fed the grass and fried the moss, beaming down in ultraviolet rays that would surely give poor Tails a sunburn… if any of his skin was showing. The little guy was covered head to toe in orange and white fur. He was the perfect cuddle buddy, that was for sure.

The class ended earlier than expected, and Knuckles was talking his ear off about how he should have gone to Amy and blah blah blah . His mind just tuned it out, brushing his friend off while he walked away to his other class.

He caught a glimpse of Shadow, and he was holding that pink postcard and reading it over and over again. He had a slight smile on his face, and Sonic couldn’t help but feel rather proud that his note made the other hedgehog smile. He wanted to gloat it in his face, but these notes were to be strictly anonymous, and if he gloated about them and puffed up his chest, Shadow would know. 

There was a hint of pink on his muzzle, like he was blushing from the note. That made his heart melt, but before he could stare any longer Amy nudged him to get a move on. He practically jumped out of his skin when he felt her playful jab.

“Ack! Ames, you’re supposed to be home?” He turned around, beginning to walk as she trailed on right beside him.

“I’m fine, Sonic. This stupid head injury isn’t gonna stop me, plus, it’s basically all the way healed!” She exclaimed with an amused laugh. 

“But the doctors-” He started, only for her to interrupt him. 

“Trust me, I got this. I’m feeling better than ever.” She smirked, then grabbed Sonic’s forearm to tug him over to his most hated class. Math. It hurt his brain way too much, and he usually skipped it even on days he was at school.

He whined and made a fuss, not wanting to go at all. Seriously, this class was a bummer! “Amy!!!”

“C’mon, you have to go.” She said, pushing him into the classroom and skipping inside after. 

“I don’t wanna…” He pouted, but looked over at his empty seat and sighed with defeat. Of course he was bound to suffer today, he had half the mind to call Tails on their watches and tell him to fill in for him… But they looked nothing alike, and the teacher would notice immediately. 

He sat down, huffing and puffing like a toddler as he went.

 

★★★

 

Shadow’s breath hitched as he caught Sonic staring at him in the halls, before that pink hedgehog nudged him and dragged him away. He was pinned by his gaze, that gaze was so full of emotion. What emotion he didn’t know, but it made him feel fuzzy as well. His tail wagged involuntarily as he walked through the halls. 

His chunky shoes clicked through the halls, his ankles already hurting from not having his braces on. His shoes made it slightly better though, he knew that if he opted for normal shoes he would already have popped an Advill. He thought he could go without his braces for a day, apparently not.

He had a few ankle problems, which was why he loved his dear air shoes. He loved to run, but with his shitty ankles, it made it hard. He still craved to go fast, so Maria had designed him his air shoes. They had arch supports and pad supports, and had a built in ankle brace. Though he couldn’t really tighten them for them to work to their full potential, it helped anyway. 

His ankle pain was actually better when he was flying by with his shoes, because it didn’t put any weight on them. He would usually not turn on his air shoes, but his ankles were hurting. It was against school policy, but he didn’t care.

He clicked them on and started air blading down the halls, causing kids to yelp and laugh. He could already hear it, you’re gonna get in trouble! No he wasn’t, and even if he did Rouge always flew him out of it. 

He was to his class in no time, and he clicked his shoes off and walked to his desk. The teacher was already scolding him for having his shoes on, but he shrugged and tuned it out. His ears went back as he did so, showing that he was not listening at all. 

He sat down in his chair and pulled out his homework that the teacher was bound to ask for. He stared out the window, thinking about that pink note he had received. It was sweet, with a hint of cockiness in it. He couldn't help but hope it was from Sonic, but the annoying hedgehog wouldn't think of doing something so romantic. 

His heart still fluttered hopelessly at the thought, chasing after it like it was its only hope. He sighed inwardly. That movie night was a mistake, it got his hopes up when they shouldn't have been. It allowed him to dream about the stupid blue hedgehog, and made him fall in love more. His heart tugged and pulled at the thought.

His thoughts were interrupted by the bell, and the teacher loudly announcing his detention to the whole class.

“Shadow, I’d like you to stay after class.” She said, her tone sickly sweet with underlying annoyance. Oh he was in for a treat that was for sure. How many times had he done that last week? He couldn't count, so now he was probably going to get yelled at and a detention sentence. 

“Fine.” He offered a simple, blunt answer. It showed his discontentment to stay after, but it also showed that he was going to follow through… if he felt like it after class of course. He would probably just Chaos Control out of there, with his emerald in his quills. He wasn’t supposed to have that either, but they didn’t do any screenings to make sure he didn’t have it on him. So as far as the teachers are concerned, he just zapped out of existence. 

He mindlessly stared at the page in front of him, looking at the nonsensical numbers on the page and the answers that didn’t add up. He probably did it all wrong, considering he did it in the late hours of the night because he procrastinated the damn thing. Being naturally good at everything, he expected that he would be able to do math sleep-deprived. But these answers that were staring at him looked utterly incorrect. So, he quickly ran the numbers in his mind for the thousandth time before losing them and deciding that it could wait.

The bell rang, causing his ears to flicker with annoyance. What was with the bells and being so damn loud?! He scowled down at his paper as the teacher spoke to the whole class.

“Now, let's go over the homework questions. Shadow?” She looked over at the brooding hedgehog, her eyes thinning as she gazed his way. This teacher always had it out for him.

“Number one is imaginary, because there's a negative underneath the square root.” He answered, his voice flat and monotone.

“No, number twenty-four?” She corrected, “Number one is easy.”

He acted like he was thinking for a moment, before answering with a slightly irritated expression. “718.”

She looked just a little mad that he had gotten it right. “But that’s not what you have on your paper.”

He glanced down at his homework and saw a big fat ‘600’ as the answer. This was one of the times where he hated the fact that he didn’t write down his steps, because seeing just that answer and nothing more did nothing to hide his confusion.

“Don’t tell me you looked at another student's paper before class.” She said with the amount of disdain it took for a normal kid to shiver and quake in their boots, but he just shrugged and propped one of his ankles on his knee to rub it. 

“No, I didn’t. I just did it while distracted.” He offered, frowning slightly. “And as for how I got the answer on the spot, have you met my mad scientist?”

She rolled her eyes, but said no further. She walked away from his desk and started teaching the lesson on whatever the crap imaginary numbers do and how to graph them on a plane. Which was really simple, so he opted to stare out the window and think about Sonic instead. 

He thought about how this all started, how it started on a stupid sunny day while Sonic was getting chili dogs with his friend Knuckles. How he had demanded to race, and how that insufferable hedgehog fucked up on of his shoes. And how he had gotten him a new pair of shoes, and how he wears them every day now. His heart gave out a flutter at the thought, about him wearing those shoes every day like they were something to flaunt. He really liked the shoes, enough to wear them like a prize trophy. He didn’t miss how Sonic avoided mud and cleaned his shoes off if they got dirty.

He cared.

He really, really cared…

His chest hiccupped, and for a moment he was reminded of Maria. Her blue dress was the same color as Sonic’s quills. Her desire to help others and grow was akin to his desire, his desire to help people. He felt his eyes grow hot and stingy, notifying him that he was about to cry. He held the tears back, however, and continued to think about how similar Sonic and Maria were. Sure, Maria was more soft-spoken and gentle while the blue rodent was more brash and loud, but they had the same values. And did their demeanor really affect them that much? They do the same things, or would considering Maria is dead now. 

But, they were to their core, rather similar. Maria didn’t have that fear of being contained, considering she grew up like that with her illness. And Sonic didn’t know containment, but they still wanted to do good. They still did good. He sighed, what if Sonic loved him like Maria loved him? Normally he would think that wouldn’t be possible, but all the evidence was staring him in the face. The flowers, the gazes, the sweet words, the questions based on his care for Shadow…

His brain couldn’t handle it, and he forced himself to think of something else. Anything else would suffice, maybe how Omega would laugh and play his game and show Shadow what new achievements he got. Or maybe how Rouge would always gossip with him and drag him to her crazy parties.

But, his mind was persistent. And so, he quickly excused himself.

“I need to go to the bathroom, miss.” He said, before getting up and writing his name down on the stupid catalogs. He grabbed the pass and sought himself out, feigning confidence as he walked down to the bathrooms.

The teacher was probably mad that he didn’t wait for permission, but future him would deal with that. Right now, he needed to get to a safe place where he could let his emotions out freely. The tears didn’t listen for anyone, and soon they were running down his cheeks like cascading waterfalls as he pushed himself in a stall.

He was so caught up in his emotions, the darn things swirling around. But, if Maria taught him anything, it was to be kind. And coming from her, that also meant to be kind to yourself. So, he let his body feel his emotions even though he didn’t want it to. These emotions were probably built up from the week that Sonic friendzoned him, and upon many other instances that left him shaken. 

The amount of time that had passed was not important to Shadow. But, what was is the fact that Sonic had gone to the bathroom and was now goofing off in front of the mirror. In front of the stall that he was in. Goddamnit. Can’t a man feel in peace?!

“Mmm… Now does that look good?” Sonic asked himself, leaving the emotional hedgehog to wonder just what he was doing.

“Dang, makeup is hard.” He mumbled as he leaned against the counter. Wait, what? “Why did Amy convince me to do this again…”

At this point Shadow had stopped crying. His face was contorted with confusion as he heard the blue hedgehog think out loud.

“I think Shadow noticed… It’d be embarrassing if he didn’t.” He fumbled with a bag and took something out. “I wonder what he thought of that note… He was blushing while reading it so…”

He struggled a little with the item he held for a moment, before putting it back in the bag. “There.. Now it looks decent.”

Steps sounded out throughout the bathroom, the slight squeak of his Red Pros slowly disappearing.

Shadow’s mind raced. This only confirmed that Sonic liked him, and that he was actually trying to look good for him and impress him? He was still feeling the high of his emotions when Sonic came into the bathroom and started talking to himself about impressing Shadow and oh how he was so nervous that the hedgehog wouldn’t like him . Which made him scoff.

He felt he had made it quite obvious that he liked that stinking blue hedgehog, and here he is doubting that? Sure, he showed his affection in a… not so normal way. But wasn’t it obvious? I mean, this is what people do in those romance movies. And, Rouge told him to play the waiting game! Why wasn’t it working? He was about to catch up to Sonic and ask him what the hell that was all about. But he couldn’t move.

He was so shocked and overwhelmed that he couldn’t move. Nevermind his shitty ankles, he had something new that was keeping him locked in place. Okay, just act normal. It’s fine, it’s cool… it's not like the person that is supposed to be your rival actually has a big fat crush on you and you just heard them ramble to themselves about that said crush. No! It was fine! 

He cleared his throat and stood up in the bathroom stall. He opened the door and walked out of the small, cramped room that was a pathetic excuse of privacy. He saw himself in the mirror and scoffed, wiping at his eyes to dry out his fur so he wouldn’t look like he had melted like some snowman. 

The hallways of the school were empty and barren, save for the photos of graduates adorning the boring brick. There was the class of 2020, the class of 2024, and finally the earliest class of graduates they had. 1991 was the year this school was funded and officially brought into business. Him and Sonic hadn’t been born yet, or woken up in Shadow’s case. He was still in cryo-sleep or whatever it's called. He was very grateful he learned tons of stuff on the ARK, otherwise he would probably still be in middle school. And that would be straight up embarrassing. A 16, almost 17 year old boy in middle school? Yeah, he passed hard on that. He was even lucky the school took him in. He was a minor, without a parent guardian, and technically a parent? If Omega counted. 

Still, he was shocked when the school allowed him to attend around a year and a half ago, in his freshman year. He remembered how stupid he was then, how he had (and still has) a massive crush on Sonic. How he thought that he was so cool, and just so pretty. He looked gorgeous without makeup on, why would he be needing makeup.

That thought jolted his mind to the fact that Sonic was touching up his makeup in the bathroom. Why was he doing his makeup?! He looked fine as is! He looked just perfect without makeup! Oh, now he wanted to slap that hedgehog. Was he getting self conscious of his appearance, did he cause it?!

Okay, chill. He told himself, taking in a sigh and walking the halls. He soon found his class, and was relieved to find that it was still in session. He hung the pass back up on the hook and then walked to his desk. A sharp pain shot up from his ankle, which made him walk faster to his desk.

Once he was there, he half considered being excused and checked out so he could grab his braces. But, he opted for a Tylenol and grabbed his water bottle to take it. The pill went down with ease, as he’s been swallowing stupid pain meds for a while because of his blasted body and the random aches and pains he experienced. 

After he took the pill, he looked down at the new worksheet on his desk. He whipped his pencil out and got to work, scribbling down on the paper like it was the last thing on earth. He did the math in his head, like always, and stuffed the paper in his backpack once he was done.

He needed to talk to Sonic about his whole makeup thing, but how? Did he tell him that he had been in a bathroom stall while he was checking out his appearance? He could, but that would also disclose the information that he now knew of his feelings. He was just tired of the conundrums he found himself in lately. His confusing thoughts had gotten more confusing over time, with his growing realization that yes, Sonic cared for him and he liked the guy with his whole being. 

He was snapped out of his thoughts when the bell rang once again, signaling the end of the period. He could only smile with relief that math was over, and he went on his merry way to biology.

Chapter 13: Those Sweet, Sweet Words

Summary:

YOLO!!! I'm now on the fifth island for Sonic Frontiers, and it's sooooo good. The fifth island is way hard though, I feel so underpowered 😭

Anywho! Hope y'all enjoy this chapter!

School was unbearable today, Sonic just wanted to run and let the wind blow through his quills. Well, it was his lucky day, because it was a Monday. Which meant that he had a track meet to attend to, and he was ecstatic. He bolted to the track and waited till the clock hit four, and in the meantime he set up a timer and counted how many laps he could do.

He started at the bleachers, turning on the stopwatch and getting into position on that delectable packed dirt track. Seriously, he could kiss it after today. It was that special to him. Then, with all of his leg strength, he bolted down it. His feet slammed against the stained asphalt, shooting a pleasant sting up his legs as he completed his first lap with ease. 

He had forgotten the makeup he wore, so he neverminded his mild sweat and continued. He wiped his brow around the third lap, rubbing a bit of the eyeliner and mascara. Amy had used a pencil instead of liquid, because the liquid was hard to get out of fur and was overall a piece of shit to deal with. But that also meant that it smudged.

He picked up the pace, in order to get over his score of 21 laps. He could hear his footsteps pounding in his ear, and it made it all the more exhilarating. The footsteps synced with his heartbeat, thumping against his chest as the wind combed through his quills. He felt stuffed, ragged breaths sucking in and out of his lungs as the air rushed past. He felt like he couldn’t breathe with how fast he was going, the force of the air suffocating him. But, if he could survive space he could survive this, right?

By his fifth lap, he started getting lost in his thoughts. Usually running was something he did to ground himself and bring him to the present moment, but too long running would make his thinking juices running. Oh, and that pun was totally intended. 

He thought about Shadow, that faint blush that dusted his cheeks when he held his pink-clad note. The way he noticed his stare and whipped his head away out of embarrassment. It was all too cute, and he adored every second of it. He wished he could see that blush, but instead it would be because of him. It wouldn’t be indirect either, it would be direct. Maybe when he kissed him, he would blush up a storm. Or maybe something a bit more touchy, Sonic touching his arm or his leg, and he would resist the urge to squirm and blush like a cute little middle schooler with a crush.

That thought made him trip up. Luckily he caught himself before he could go face first into the dirt packed road, but it sure did give him a fright. He breathed and got up on his knees, rubbing his now dirty gloves together to try and alleviate the sting he felt. That really hurt.

He could hear his track teammates talk in the distance which meant that the coach was coming soon. He got up from his knees and ran over to his phone, looking at the stopwatch to see how much time had passed. Six and a half minutes had gone by, and at that rate he would probably double his record. Sweet! He congratulated himself, stopping the watch and putting his phone in his backpack.

The coach appeared behind him, seemingly out of thin air, and cleared his throat.

“Why weren’t you here Friday? You usually don’t skip meets.” He said, looking down at Sonic with a concerned yet disappointed expression. Either his excuse was going to be serious and pressing, or it was going to be pathetic.

“Oh, Amy woke up from her coma way earlier than expected. Sorry, but I had to go see her.” He explained, getting up from his crouching position and turning around to look his coach in the eye. He had some smudged eyeliner, but the coach paid it no mind. Heck, Sonic didn’t even know that his makeup was starting to get smudged and therefore noticeable.

“Oh, I figured. I saw her today while I was teaching P.E for some freshman.” He said with a nod, “How did ya do while you were waiting?”

“Oh, my laps? Five in six minutes.” He answered. It was amateur numbers to the big leagues. But this wasn’t a big team, and they hardly participated in all the fancy championships. And, it was a personal new record for him, and the team. But the team was a bunch of slugs wanting to look good on their future college applications, which wasn't bad… It was just a little frustrating when Sonic actually wanted to win a school vs school tournament to get into the district tournaments. 

“Good job, Sonic! Now, c’mon team! Let’s do some warm ups and stretches!” He announced, making the group of teenagers gather at the bleachers for their instructed warm ups. 

The azure hedgehog sat down and started stretching his legs, feeling his hamstrings stretch until it hurt mildly. That was something the coach always highlighted, stretches shouldn’t hurt too much, but they should be slightly uncomfortable. That way your body would adapt naturally, with no real threats and concerns for injury. 

He felt stares that made his quills prickle, but he sighed and shook it off. He was used to getting stared at, so why was this staring making him uncomfortable? He swallowed thickly and stretched his arms nervously, was his makeup noticeable? That noticeable? He feared that maybe they knew about it, but he scoffed in his mind. How would they know? Besides, why do their opinions matter? He thought to himself as he stretched his arms to their full extent before standing up.

He bent down and touched the ground, holding it for about thirty seconds before giving his legs a ten second break. He still felt eyes on him, burrowing holes into the back of his head and metaphorically searing his quills. 

He felt very uncomfortable, and then he heard two sophomores giggling. One of them was his horrid faker and impersonator, Scourge, and the other one was one of his goons. He was a massive bully, and overall has a nasty rep. But, people are gullible to believe anything he says. So Sonic had a justified reason to suspect something from the green hedgehog.

“What are you giggling about?” He turns his head and stares him in the eye, glaring him down. Which just made his enemy laugh all the more.

“Oh, I’m sorry! I can’t take you seriously!” He held his stomach as he belly laughed, two of his friends laughing behind their raised hands. Sonic rolled his eyes and huffed.

“And why can’t you take me seriously?” He pried, ready to shoot down anything. He wasn’t prepared at all for what Scourge would say. 

“I can’t take you seriously with all that makeup! Your eyeliner is smudged!” He cackled, and the azure hedgehog's face lit up with embarrassment. The racket had attracted a few of the other team members, and they gasped lightly before speaking in hushed tones. “What are you, gay?”

He knew that grass-colored hedgehog couldn’t be talking, but he would suffer immense bullying if he said anything about his little hookups and affairs that were kept under wraps.

“What?! No!” He was quick to defend himself, which made some of their spectators laugh. Oh boy… He could feel his social image being lowered now. In this downtown rural area, there was homophobia rampant. If the team got talking about this and made up rumors that he was gay, he would be doomed. He knew that Knuckles and Amy and his friends wouldn’t leave him, but his beloved popularity would be stripped from him. He would be walking the halls, self conscious of who was looking at him and who was not. His quills shivered and twitched at the mere thought.

“With that response, so quick to defend yourself… I think you are! Who ya like, mm? Is it that red meathead?” He pried condescending, making Sonic feel small and vulnerable. 

“No. I just thought-” He huffed. Oh, what was the point with these people? “I lost a bet, okay?”

“Dang, poor friend, dare you to wear makeup during school.” He laughed, but otherwise left him alone. He touched the side of his face, feeling around for the smudged eyeliner. Oh, he was a fool. Why did he think wearing makeup was a good idea, especially with how athletic he is? He mentally scolded himself as he did a couple more stretches and warm ups, then he moved on to endurance and speed exercises. 

He tried to take his mind off of the laughs and the giggles, the hushed whispers that he could still hear now. He could just imagine what they said, and he didn’t want to think about it. ‘He’s gay?’ ‘Who knew, what a weirdo.’ ‘That's unnatural.’

He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to just ignore it and be the confident hedgehog they all knew him to be. Confident, defiant, and apparently straight. It… kind of stung, actually. And no, it didn’t sting that they didn’t know who he was. It stung because he knew that if this got out to the big news reporters, it would be plastered all over and then people would question whether or not he actually saved the world. They would ask ‘How could a gay person do that?’, heck his team was probably asking that same question now. It stung because he knew the bigotry that would occur. And he knew that gay people could do impressive feats, I mean… Look at Sonic, the one and only for an example! And it just hurt that people would view him less because of this, and that people hate others just because of who they like.

He took another deep breath and started doing some step-ups on the benches, stepping up with one foot then stepping back down with the other until his legs were sore. He felt the burning need to just make him forget what happened, and right now exercise was the most formidable bet.

Sonic ran home and wiped that dreaded makeup off immediately. Seriously, who decided that makeup and fur was a good combo? It felt like grains of sand were in his eyelids! He splashed the water in his face, rubbing aggressively until he felt semi-clean. 

He looked in the mirror and sighed, he looked better without makeup anyway. Amy was just a little coo-coo sometimes. She insisted that guys like Shadow love makeup, and that he should start wearing some to really win his heart. But… he didn’t think so. Plus, the hedgehog was very clearly in love with him, with or without the makeup. He just couldn’t bring himself to say anything, or do anything for that matter. He was still irrationally scared that he would be a bad partner, that he wouldn’t be perfect like how he wanted to be for Shadow. 

He knew he was flawed, and that was exactly what was holding him back. He felt inferior, like he didn’t deserve to be with Shadow or even in his presence. But then, he felt like maybe this was just his fear of commitment showing, and that he wasn’t actually worried about any of this at all. He supposed that he felt like he was annoying to Shadow, and that there would be no way that he actually liked him despite all the evidence in his face.

He whipped his head over to the hall when he heard the front door knock. It was loud and abrasive, most likely Knuckles wanting more of their grapes. So, he neverminded how he looked–because he looked like a drowned rat–and waltzed on over to the door. He grabbed the doorknob and opened it, absolutely sure it was that big red idiot-

Shadow. On his doorstep. 

Sonic froze, the light breeze from the nice summer evening seemed to still. After a long, drawn out pause. Shadow spoke up, his voice as gruff as ever.

“Want to tell me why you were wearing makeup today? Who are you trying to impress?” He asked with a scowl, pushing the azure hedgehog aside so he could walk into the house. “And why do you look like you just drenched your face? Did you take the makeup off?”

He felt like he was being interrogated with how the questions were coming, left and right and up and down. “Whoa, woah! Where is all of this coming from?”

“Just answer the questions. Why were you wearing makeup? And are you trying to impress someone?” His voice came out in a gruff snarl, his upper lip hitching up his jaw in irritation. 

“Well, I was… but-” He immediately tried to reword his sentence, if it could be called that. But the brooding hedgehog in front of him rolled his eyes in dismissal. 

“Really? After ignoring you for a week after you friendzoned me you have the audacity to try and impress someone else?! Do you just have no regard for my feelings, trying to impress stupid Amy?” He spat out.

“What?!” He exclaimed, waving his hands and shaking his head. “You’ve got it all wrong, Shadow! She’s just a friend!”

“Well then who are you trying to impress? Knuckles?” He pried, his red eyes narrowing in disbelief and suspicion. 

“No! I-...” He paused, panicking slightly before taking the plunge. What else did he have to lose? Either lose Shadow as a friend, or potentially have a romantic confession that could alter his life. I mean, who would say no to him? “It’s for you! Okay? But, I feel like I annoy you too much and that-”

“You don’t annoy me, Sonic.” He said, the name rolling off his tongue like it was meant to be. “You don’t annoy me.”

He paused, his eyes widening before going back to a more calm and confused expression. “But, you always call me ‘dumbass’ and you push me away sometimes and-”

“That’s because I don’t know how to show love, or how to handle it anymore.” Shadow said, letting his emotions fall out on the table. He felt like he deserved to know, after all. Plus, a key point of relationships is good communication, right? He would need to work on that. 

“Oh…” He mumbled, looking at the ebony hedgehog with concern. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” He reassured, hesitantly taking a step towards his insufferable blue rodent. His eyes softened ever so slightly, flashing with a love filled sorrow, if that was even possible. He almost looked distraught. “I…”

He wrapped Sonic up in a hug, ignoring the pain in his ankles for now as he held him as tightly as he could. He felt tears starting to flow, and this time he didn’t hold them back. He felt safe with him, and he needed to stop being so emotionally constipated. 

He stiffened for a moment, then relaxed into the hug and returned it. He wrapped his blue arms around black fur, nuzzling his head into his fluffy chest. He felt Shadow sigh with relief. Sonic constricted his arms around the other hedgehog, making the hug tighter and tighter until he was content with how close they were. Their chests were flush against each other, Shadows white chest fur plastered onto his peachy chest. 

For a moment, he could have sworn that he could feel Sonic’s heart beat against his chest, but maybe it was just his own heart. 

“We really need to work on how you show you care. Number one lesson, you don’t call them names and you don’t push me away without communicating why.” The azure hedgehog in his arms said, a joking tone lingering within the air of his breath. 

“Alright. I’ll try.” He sighed, pulling away for a moment to look him in the eyes. “So… Are we dating now?”

“Do you want to go on a date?” He asked. Of course he was gonna make Shadow say it, of course. His eyes narrowed as he thought about giving into his demands, looking into those teasing green eyes that always pierced his soul. Seriously, they were too green. But he loved them anyway, somehow they still made his heart flutter.

“Really?” He let out a scoff. “Fine, fine. I… would love to go on a date with you.” He said with grudging compliance, a scowl etched deep within his face as he looked away. He felt his tan colored muzzle heat up and change into a very dark red hue, showing just how flustered he was to be admitting his feelings out loud. His feelings that he had suppressed for years on end, and now he was admitting them.

“Mm, where do you wanna go?” He asked with a smirk. He had gotten progressively more sly and flirtatious these past weeks, was it Shadow’s imagination or was he actually flirting with him all these weeks?

“Well… maybe we could go to the mall?” He offered weakly, a shy smile gracing his lips as he let his angry facade fade and drop.

“We’ve already done that! It was basically a date, I mean I saw it as such…” Sonic muttered the last part, but Shadow’s enhanced hearing picked it up clearly.

“What? You saw it as a date?” He pried curiously, raising an eyebrow and furrowing the other.

“Well- why else would you let me rest my head on your shoulder on the bus?” He defended himself, looking at Shadow with an impossibly more quizzical expression.

“Because that’s common courtesy?” He huffed out, his slight smile going back to a frown. Awh, Sonic had been enjoying his smile. It was like the sun on a cold winter day, it beamed down through a crack in the clouds and you would stand in that beam for its warmth. Most times you didn’t feel the warmth, but other times you did, and that's what made it special. When it offered you warmth, you felt loved. That’s how Sonic felt each and every time he saw Shadow’s smile. 

“The Shadow I know would have pushed me out of the seat, let me bruise my pelvis, and look pathetic on the bus.” He countered. It was true, if the blue menace had done that any other time Shadow would have personally shoved him off and let him whine and pout about it. But, in that moment, he was perfectly fine and content to let him rest his weary head.

“Fair.” He agreed, though he didn’t want to agree. But as much as he hated it, he had a point.

“So, how long have you liked me?” Sonic pried, his hands resting comfortably on Shadow’s waist. His thumb lightly brushed against his fur, providing a weird sense of calm. 

“Since… Since we saved Earth from the Eclipse Cannon.” He muttered. It was truly embarrassing how long he had harbored these feelings, but he deserved an honest answer.

“Woah, that long? Hah, we were what, 13?” He offered with a smile.

“You don’t have to remind me, ya know.” He grumbled, but there was no malice present in his voice, only fondness. “You? How long have you liked me?”

“Hah… Since freshman year.” He said, “When you decided to continue your education and were going through that process.” 

“Freshman year…” He muttered, pondering on this newfound knowledge. They had harbored feelings for a year, at least. It was something that boggled his mind, because how could 14 year old Sonic with stars in his eyes really like a struggling fool like him? “So that’s why you became a nuisance. Because you liked me?”

“Yeah, I mean… That's usually how people like me.” He smiled, looking into Shadow’s ruby eyes. They looked like gems, and they were oddly romantic. Oh he just knew this man would be a romance junkie as soon as he knew what it was. 

“Well, you’re infuriatingly right, hedgehog.” He said with a fond smile, though he tried to hide it. He brought his hand up to his face with a huff, but Sonic grabbed said paw and pulled the appendage down.

“Are you trying to hide that adorable smile from me? C’mon, don’t tell me the Ultimate Lifeform is embarrassed?” He teased, his own smirk growing and stretching at the corners of his lips. 

“I'm not embarrassed!” He squealed, his voice going into a high pitch that was nothing short of humiliating and completely unmanly. Shadow swallowed thickly, feeling even more embarrassed that his voice went so high.

“I think you are…” Sonic was relentless with his fortifications. “Look at you~”

He pushed his face into his chest, not wanting him to look at his face right now. He let out an indistinguishable sound, hugging him tight as he hid.

It made the azure hedgehog smile and caress the other's quills, slowly playing with them and scraping the tips of his claws against his scalp. It made Shadow shiver. Sonic thought about telling him about how his track team found out about his makeup, and that Scourge practically humiliated him in front of the entire group.

The ebony hedgehog practically purred at the contact. Oh, how he felt weak at the knees for this idiotic hedgehog. His loathing for him increased with his feelings, but his feelings eventually took over and forced his body and mind to relax.

But, Shadow's mind sensed something amidst. Sonic had grown stuff, rigid. It was unlike him, the carefree and relaxed hedgehog he came to know and admire. He did everything with practiced ease, and yet he was stiff and uncharacteristically nervous.

“What's on your mind? And before you say ‘nothing’, I know it's something. You usually don't go stiff all of a sudden for nothing. So tell me.” He pulled his head out of his chest and looked Sonic in his eyes, their viridescent hue staring back with shock and trepidation.

“I… my track team figured out about my makeup. Scourge, he… he humiliated me in front of the entire group. And, I have a feeling that tomorrow is going to be rough for me.” He said with a sigh, clearing his throat nervously as he stared down into his dark, ruby eyes. They narrowed and twinkled with anger and resentment.

“Scourge… what?” He asked, an undercurrent of pure fury present in his voice. It sent a shiver down his spine, that rage flowing out in tidal waves.

“You don't need to do anything, I promise!-” He started, but was abruptly cut off by Shadow shoving him away and stomping off to the front door.

“Oh he's getting a face full of my iron shoes.” He sneered, reaching out to twist the doorknob and run out to, for all Sonic knew, beat the ever living shit out of that green faker.

Chapter 14: Empowerment

Summary:

Perhaps I had the most fun writing this, specifically Tails. Hope yall enjoy!!!

Shadow walked out of Sonic’s house and zipped to his residence. He was going to find this bastard's house and he was going to pay him a visit. He clicked his air shoes on and sped down the sidewalk, making it to his house in no time.

He had spyware, and no it wasn’t what those teachers use. He meant that he could hack certain files and find out where Scourge lived in around thirty minutes, he could also use a people finder but those were rather finicky and hard to look through. Most of them claimed to be free but were hidden behind a paywall, and they didn’t put minors on the sites either. So he opted to do something illegal instead.

He sat in his office chair, logging into the computer before opening up the necessary software to hack into the school's system. The school had the students' information, and so it would have Scourge’s address. It took a bit, but soon he was in and perusing student files trying to find that green bastard. 

He clicked the search bar and started typing his name. He wasn’t in the mood to scroll through a thousand names just to get to this one guy. He wanted to do this, and quickly. He typed out his full first name, then clicked on ‘Scourge’.

A page appeared on the screen, documenting the hedgehog’s grades and his classes. It also told Shadow what extracurriculars he took and how many times he’s gotten expelled or suspended in his educational career. Shockingly, he only got suspended twice in middle school and expelled once in grade school. His eyebrows raised at that information, but he skimmed the rest.

“Aha! There it is…” He quickly found his address, grabbing his phone to punch it into his maps app. He opened said app and looked up at the computer screen, copying the address into his phone and entering it into the app so it could lead him there.

He got up quickly and abruptly, following the instructions his phone had set out for him. 

Once he got out of his house, the sun beamed down with an aggravating presence. Damned summer weather, always hot and sunny. He brought an arm up to his eyes to shield them, but otherwise continued walking. His thick shoes clacked against the concrete, almost threatening to break the solid material as he walked furiously, and with determination. 

He was not going to let this slide, oh no. You didn’t just shame, humiliate, and bully Sonic unless you wanted trouble. And the fact that he did it in front of other people that were bound to tell was nothing short of infuriating. His eyes narrowed the more he thought about it, and the more he thought about it the more he wanted to shatter his phone with rage. 

He growled under his breath as he followed the map on his phone, thinking about how those people would spread the fact that Sonic might be gay. Sonic was gay, but he didn’t deserve to have that part of him outed and put on blast. Especially here, where people were bound to give him uncertain stares and now claim that he was a threat. Which he kinda is… But not in the sense they would think. They would think he would somehow turn their children gay, as if it worked like that. Or they would throw more profane insults his way, claiming he was a child predator of sorts. Which was utterly idiotic, but the brains of closed-minded people didn’t make any sense, they often never did.

Shadow looked down at his phone, noticing that it was a long way to walk. Scourge was a coward and an idiot if he thought that nothing would happen to him after his actions. He could just tell the school, but they wouldn’t do anything. Heck, the principal might even side with him instead of getting him in trouble. So no, he was going to take care of this his way. And he was going to make a pretty buck out of it as well.

He was also planning to rob Scourge, steal all his stupid gold jewelry he would flaunt and sell it to pawn shops. And if he found illicit substances, he would just give them to Rouge. Her parties seemed wild enough for that anyway. 

He wasn’t going to get caught trying to sell drugs. Plus, he could get enough money from the jewelry anyway. 

With a renewed pep in his step, he sped up. He clicked his shoes on, the blasts of air forming under his feet as he lifted ever so slightly in the air. Then, he started skating down the column of concrete. He pushed with the air lifting him, providing for a much faster way of transportation.

He glanced at his phone, noticing now that his destination was now only nine minutes away. Ah, what a relief it was to be fast. He had almost forgotten he could speed on over in the midst of his rage. 

The wind hitting his muzzle felt great, with the coarse, short hair dotting his muzzle laying flat against his skin as it succumbed to the wind's force. It combed through his velvety quills, slightly calming him down in his rage.

He thought. Maybe doing this wouldn’t make it better. He hummed and shook his head at that, no, if he did this Scourge would know not to mess with Sonic. So, he quickly brushed those annoying doubts off his brain and pushed even harder to get there.

He should really be giving his ankle a rest, but that could wait. His mind spun with random and unrelated thoughts as he skated off. 

Finally, he made it to his house. It was small and quaint, with a well taken care of yard and rose bushes in the flower beds. His mom was probably a sweetheart, but Shadow wouldn’t even be confronting her with his plan. 

He immediately got into the backyard, where he looked for a bedroom window. Eventually, he did find a rather dark, gloomy, and messy bedroom through one of the windows. That must be his bedroom; he didn’t look like the neat type of guy. He hummed and grabbed a crowbar from their shed, then pried the window open with an ungodly amount of force. He was shocked the plastic didn’t break with how much power he put into it, but he was grateful it didn’t.

Luckily, the bed was right by the window, so he had a very soft and welcoming landing. Then, he started looking.

He raided the guy's jewelry cases, his drawers, his mystery treasure chest that he really shouldn’t have looked in, and his closet. He had to step over dirty clothes and other items to not make a noise with his silent robbing. What he found would probably rack up a thousand bucks, and that's a modest estimate. He stuffed a hefty golden necklace in his pockets, along with a few rings and bracelets. He grabbed anything valuable that was in sight, and that included those bags filled with sour white powder. Rouge knew how to have a good time, but this was most likely crack. She was more into things like Percocet or Molly, not straight stimulants like this. Weed was also her main go to, but that wasn’t highly illegal like this was. Jeez, where would he even sell this, or store it?

He just decided to leave it and let Scourge wallow in his crack addiction. It seemed like a fitting fate for the bastard. 

Now, time to find him and beat the ever living shit out of him. He listened for any movement from the dining room and kitchen, but found it to be sorely silent. Shadow concluded that his mother was not there, and deemed it safe to roam the halls.

Now that he thought of it, beating him up right now probably wasn’t the best thing in the world. It risked a run in with the cops, but he would probably give him a concussion so he wouldn’t remember.

He nodded to himself. He knew he was just making up excuses to do this all in one trip, so he wouldn’t back down and be a coward. But could you really blame him? He wanted to beat this green son of a bitch up, and he wanted to do it now before reason spoke up and convinced him not to. 

He listened around the house, and heard some humming from the bathroom. The hums were masculine enough to be Scourge, but would Scourge really hum California Girls by Katy Perry while in the bathroom?

He thought about it. The humming did sound like him, it was immature enough to be a teenage boy but… Y’know, maybe it was him. Maybe he had a secret side to him, like most people in this town did.

Shadow snickered at the thought, finding it incredibly amusing. Was Scourge gay? He had heard rumors about him sleeping with guys–that would explain the delights he found in that chest–but was it really factual? No guy listens to Katy Perry and hums her songs while in the bathroom unless they’re gay. 

He stopped his thought process. He was stereotyping, that’s bad for everyone involved. He silently told his mind to shut the fuck up and stop, gosh this shitty town was getting to him. Chin up, soldier, only gets worse from here.

His steps echoed in the hallway, resonating with the wooden floors with a horrifying chill. It told way too many things yet too little, there was an intruder. 

And that’s when the humming stopped, when Shadow let his presence be known.

“Mom?” Scourge called out from the bathroom, opening the door with a comb stuck in his quills. He looked like he just got out of the shower. He wore no shirt, only baggy sweatpants as he gazed down the hallway and found two glowing red eyes that just spelled out his demise. 

The green hedgehog’s throat tightened up, and he suddenly couldn’t scream as Shadow stalked closer. His footsteps got louder, crescendoing into a death symphony. His red stripes were in view now, and he let out an undignified noise. 

“Who are you?” He asked, his voice shaky with anxiety as he took a step back into the bathroom. “What are you doing in my house?”

“Awh, you don’t know who I am?” He smirked sadistically, shooting an arm out and grabbing that green menace by the wrist. He yanked him out of the bathroom, the comb flying out of his wet quills as they stared at each other. He glared deep into those infuriating eyes, they were a bright light blue. They reminded him of Tails’ eyes, which he hated. He was oddly jealous of the orange fox; he got so much of Sonic’s attention it was unfair. 

“N-No?” He asked, unsure of whether that would earn him a beating or mercy. His hands trembled close to his chin, anxiety and fear filling his being. 

“Mm. I’m Shadow, ring a bell?” He tilted his head, grabbing Scourge by the scruff so he couldn’t squirm away. He fell limp, as all Mobians did if you grabbed that spot.

“That guy that smokes and likes to party…?” That wasn’t necessarily wrong… Shadow did smoke, and he often went to Rouge’s parties as an unpaid cop. So, reasonably he had earned a certain reputation.

“Yes, that guy.” He nodded, then punched him square in the face. His eyes squeezed shut on impact, watering slightly as the pain shot through his nose. “That’s for humiliating and bullying Sonic.”

“This is about Sonic?!” He yelped, unable to rub his nose from being limp. His eyes widened. “What, you his boyfriend or something?”

“No. But I don’t like homophobia and bullying, so that’s my reason. Honestly, I should have done this sooner.” He responded with a cold laugh, raising his fist and punching him again. This time he put in some Chaos energy, and it definitely did some damage. He could already see the bruises forming around his eyes and nose from it.

“Wait, I’m sorry! I-I gotta keep up that facade, ya know?!” He tried to reason, but it fell on deaf ears as Shadow wound his fist again. It hovered over his face as he spoke again.

“I don’t want to hear your excuses, filthy hedgehog. Even after the shower you still got dirt all over you.” He snarked out through terse lips, letting his fist fall with an ungodly amount of strength. He promised himself that he wouldn’t kill him, maybe break his nose and give him some minor brain damage… Hehe, it would probably make him smarter at this point. 

“Ack!” The green hedgehog exclaimed, bringing a hand over his face. Only for it to be punched into his eye, and the impact left his vision blurry. Scourge groaned as he felt his head spin, the dull ache in his face pulsing and telling him that further damage would probably land a hospital visit.

Shadow grunted as he smiled, sadistic enjoyment filled him as he landed another punch to his bruised face. His nose started to bleed, but that only egged him on and filled him with triumph. 

“Please!” He begged, his voice choked up and saddening as another Chaos fueled punch slammed into his face. He could feel his bruises start to swell as he was beaten black and blue.

“You’re pathetic.” He snarled out, pinning him down against the cold hallway floor as he got in his face. “So, what is it? Do you promise to leave Sonic alone, to not spread that filthy hatred around?”

“I promise!” He said unknowingly. The pain was too great, that dull throb turning into an agonizing pounding in his skull. His thoughts were scrambled, and he didn’t even know what he was saying. 

“Oh really?” He thrusted his fist into his swollen face again. “Think about it! Are you really sorry? Apologize!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” He didn’t dare open his eyes, and instead squeezed them shut from fear and pain. He rasped in deep breaths, his throat protesting the dry, cold air in sharpening pain.

“Mm.” He hummed, before letting Scourge fall to the floor. “You better be. If I see you again, spreading hatred or bullying, it’s on sight. Got that?”

He nodded weakly.

“And don’t tell anyone about this.” He huffed, turning his nose up in disgust as he turned around and started walking through the hall. His footsteps receded, leaving a beaten up Mobian and a robbed bedroom in its wake. 

He soon found the front door and strutted out. He nabbed his phone from his pocket so it could lead him back to his home, or Sonic’s home. He wanted to go and get cuddles from his beloved anyway, now that they had established a few things, it shouldn’t be weird… right? 

 

★★★

 

Sonic huffed and sat on the couch. He knew that he couldn’t convince Shadow to stay and NOT beat the crap out of Scourge. So, he sat wistfully on his boyfriend-less couch and stared up at the ceiling. 

He was extraordinarily lucky that Tails didn’t walk in when they were having their moment and embarrass him and or tease. That little fox could be a little shit when he wanted to, which he had proved several times over the course of these past few weeks. 

He let out a grieving sigh as he waited, thinking about his Shadow. He probably was fighting that green son of a bitch right now, and he probably looked hot doing it. His scowl would deepen, carve marble like lines into his muzzle as he raised his fist and beat it down onto his face. 

He hummed with an almost lovesick air, thinking about it while staring off into space.

Light footsteps came from the entrance to the garage, and a small fox came into view. Tails observed Sonic, his eyes glazed over as he got lost in his mind. He abruptly cleared his throat, making the blue hedgehog jump and squeal slightly.

“Ack! Tails! What the heck?!” He yelped, immediately sitting up straight just in case his little bro told him that there was something dangerous, like a new badnik or something. 

But, the little orange fox only giggled with delight. “Awh, whatcha thinking about? Thinking about Shadow?”

“What? No!” He stumbled over his words, which basically said yes I am in fact thinking about my supposed to be rival and I have no idea how you are okay with that. He blushed slightly.

“Mm, I think you are.” He pried, teasing his poor, poor friend as he leaned in close. “So, when are you gonna tell him about your precious feelings?”

“Tails, why are you so interested?” He asked, thinking about what just happened about an hour ago. How he hugged him so tight he felt he might burst, and how Shadow actually returned the hug. It was almost magical to him. How he could see the vulnerable and the good of the brooding hedgehog. How he craved and wanted affection, but was perhaps too scared to voice his wants and needs.

“Well, it just looks like you’re thinking about some stuff. Have you already told Shadow?” He queried with a raised eyebrow, clasping his hands together in feigned patience. But really, it was to tease and annoy Sonic. He knew this. 

“Well, no- well yes?- Tails!” He covered his face with his gloved hands, rubbing his cheeks with the pads of his paws as he flushed. He probably looked pathetic, unsure of whether what just happened was him telling Shadow. He knew it was, but he just had to be sure . It never hurt, right? Just to be on the safe side? 

“Wow, are you in a situationship?” He asked, now placing his right hand on his hip. The little fox was having way too much fun with this.

“Well, I guess. I told him I just… need to make sure.” He mumbled, gathering enough courage to bring his face out of his hands to look at his adoptive brother. 

“So you’re being a pussy.” 

“ Tails! Where did you learn that?! ” He unknowingly snapped, very shocked and flabbergasted that an eight year old knew that word.

“Uh… Knuckles.” He answered, which caused Sonic to sigh. He was going to have a talk with that stupid echidna sooner or later.

“God, of course…” He grumbled. “Don’t say that word again, please. You’re too young to be saying those words. It has a very bad meaning.” 

“Oh, okay.” He nodded. He probably knew what the word meant, and just chose to say it anyway. But… Sonic could only do so much. 

“I’m definitely gonna have a talk with Knuckles.” He said to himself, thinking about how he had scolded him for his shitty move of not leaving to see Amy as soon as he got the message. Well, now he would be getting scolded. So hah!

“Well, you’ve yet to give me the juicy details.” He started again, giving Sonic an expecting look. He was going to have to spill the beans, to tell his little brother all about how he and Shadow had hugged and confessed an hour ago and how he was still doubting himself and that beautiful hedgehog. He cleared his throat and looked away, fidgeting with a loose thread off the couch arm rest. 

“Well, Shadow followed me home and asked me why I had makeup on. He got all jealous and started to question who I was trying to impress.” He started, and Tails nodded along with the utmost attention. “And he was being all confrontational. He asked me if I was trying to impress Amy, or someone else. And I gathered up the courage to blurt out that I was trying to impress him. And then he shut up, and he hugged me, and he told me that he loved me and… and I asked him out and-”

“That sounds like you’re an item now, ya know.” Tails shot back suddenly, making Sonic freeze. Yes, technically that meant they were a thing. But he knew that they would have to hide, and that they would always have to be wary of who knew and how they would present themselves at school. They wouldn’t be able to share matching charms like the other couples, and they just wouldn’t be able to act normal. They wouldn’t be accepted, and frankly, he didn’t think Shadow wanted that. Shadow probably wanted to be proud and out despite all the prejudice, but not him.

“Well… I guess my problem is about school and how people are gonna react. What if people see us together, and they laugh and call us names?” He started to spiral, but the fox shook his head.

“Where’s the Sonic I know? The one that is so unapologetically him. The one that would glare someone down if they ever did so much as insinuate bullying. Mm?” He pried, his blue eyes inquisitive as ever. “All out or nothing. Are you gonna go all out, or back out of your date?”

“Uh-” Damn it all, Tails was using his own pride and logic against him! He practically short-circuited on the spot from the fox’s clever words. “You can’t do this, you sly little brat.”

“What is it, mm?” He promptly ignored Sonic, egging him on further. He knew what that stupid fox was doing, and it was working against his own will.

“I always want to go all in.” He answered, his voice low and thoughtful. “But I can’t-”

“You can’t, or you won’t?” He rephrased for him. “C’mon, what's this on your heroic reputation? People will be forced to accept that someone who is gay is good at heart. And look at what it would do for other people out there, someone they look up to and admire is someone like them. On their side.”

He was speechless, at a loss for words as Tails blabbered on about how being out would be beneficial, beneficial to what he stood for. His mind was being convinced, he could feel it bend to the pressure and make way for this new perspective. And he found himself actually wanting to be out and proud, despite the fact that it will effectively ruin his reputation at his school. It would blow over soon enough, and… He wasn’t a coward. He wouldn’t just stand by and hide in the dark out of this stupid fear. When he was scared, he faced his problems head on, he didn’t cower.

“You have a point.” He admitted, looking down at his hands as he clasped them together in his lap. He rested his elbows on each adjacent knee, letting his hands hang in between as he pondered. “I don’t cower. That’s not how I roll.”

“That’s not how you roll.” He repeated, driving the point home. Damn him and his knowledge, because now he was going to strut down those hallways showing Shadow off like a prize, his prize. He would hug him by the waist and walk him to class like the damn gentleman he was, and he would spit in anyone's face that thought they had anything on him. 

Shadow was now his, and he was going to be a normal couple with him. Damn anyone who thought otherwise.

Chapter 15: School and Love

Summary:

CHAAAAT IM SO SORRY!!! I tried to get this out last week but it was just sooo busy.

Anyway... I went to my grandpas birthday party and I took like half the week traveling to his house. Yep, very busy. The week before that, I was taking a little break that ended up extended TWO FREAKING WEEKS. It was only meant to be three day :sob:

The next day, the school was buzzing with the rumors about Sonic and his makeup. They all theorized about him being ‘one of those’ types of guys, like they couldn't even say gay.

He should have expected less from this run down school. He knew it wasn't really run down, it was in fact one of the better schools in Illinois. But, that didn't stop the opinions of others to quickly downgrade the school. That didn't stop the utter bullshit that was spreading.

He was just grateful they weren't calling him slurs yet. That would probably happen around the third day, when the rumors would reach the more… how should he say this… gutsy ones. The ones that wouldn't mind getting into trouble and probably saw suspensions as extra school breaks. The kind that would pour the expired, chocolate milk all down your fur.

It was brutal, and he was sure to be living every second of it.

Did you hear about Sonic? I heard he's… one of those.

Sonic, he's a filthy drag queen.

You know what they say about guys who wear makeup.

I can't believe he was the hero we once knew…

All the whispers swirled around his ears, penetrating his perfectly crafted persona. He could feel his confidence diminishing under the scrutiny of his fellow classmates. But, he stuck his nose up high and walked the halls just like he would. Like he owned this damn school.

Still as cocky as ever…

Now that people thought he was gay, his cockiness was no longer charming but a nuisance. 

He just scoffed. These jerks didn't know anything about him, let alone his personal life. They were as fake as they came; they would support someone until they came out as gay or trans. They would do it with their full chest, until they said one little thing. One little thing and it would all crumble down, that was the life of a celebrity.

Shadow tapped his shoulder, rather surprisingly. Sonic turned around and greeted him with a smile, masking his downward mood like he always did.

“Oh, hey.” He said. He wasn't sure if he would call Shadow an endearing nickname yet, but he felt that their relationship wasn't to that level. To calling each other nicknames in public, he meant.

“Hey, Sonic. Which class are you headed to?” He asked, walking beside the blue hedgehog as they started walking with each other. It was nice, but he felt so vulnerable in this position. He felt everyone's eyes on his back, burning into his fur and searing it a dark brown. Usually he basked in attention, but this wasn't the attention he liked. No, he liked to be stared at with admiration, not disgust. He could already feel the theories about him and Shadow forming in their minds.

“Ah, Creative Writing.” He answered.

“Writing? Never took you for a writer.” The dark hedgehog teased, a slight smirk racing his lips as he gazed upon the azure hedgehog. That damn smirk, it made him weak. 

“Heh, just took it for the free A.” Sonic responded with a roll of his eyes, glancing over at Shadow as they walked. “You have Math first, correct?”

“Yep, boring class. But it's a class I usually just sleep in, it's nothing new anyway.” He answered the question, his voice dipping down into a bored and uninterested tone.

“Heh, good luck there! What teacher do you have?” The blue hedgehog averted his eyes from Shadow, nervously glancing at some of the other kids roaming the halls. Most were running to class and making sure they had everything, but some were staring at him and talking with each other. Their eyes made him feel fidgety, restless. And before he could calm himself down and look back at those ruby eyes, he cleared his throat and narrowed his eyes with suspicion. 

“Hey, are you okay?” Shadow asked, grabbing ahold of his hand. It made him blush, not from excitement but from embarrassment. People were watching, and he just couldn’t get over his damn anxiety. 

“I'm fine, Shads. Really. Just…” He glanced over at a particular group of girls, who were texting on their phones and probably taking pictures of him to post on instagram or some other platform. If they were, he couldn’t tell. “A little anxious about this, a lot of people are looking at me…”

“When has that ever affected you?” He asked with incredulity, looking over into the other's green eyes. No matter the situation, they always made his heart flutter. 

“Shadow-” He sighed, “I can handle admiring, but disgust? Hatred? I feel exposed.” He muttered, leaning into Shadow’s ear so no one could hear. 

“But, you had the whole world against you when you were 14. How is this any different?” He asked. He wasn’t getting it! 

“Yeah, but these people, I’m with until I graduate.” He spoke through barely concealed frustration. Out of all the people he could talk to, how could he not get it? “They’ll bully me, harass me-”

“ Not on my fucking watch. ” He growled out, making Sonic go still with silence. He stopped walking for some odd reason, thinking about it. ‘Not on my watch’, that sounded like both a promise and a threat. 

Almost immediately, Shadow noticed that his companion had stopped. He had only gotten one footstep away from his side, and he turned his head around with confusion.

“What?” He tilted his head. He was always so cute when he did that, looking like a confused puppy trying to understand human language. But right now, he needed to stay serious. And that meant not cooing and squishing his cheeks aggressively.

“Scourge, he’s not at school today… What did you do?” He spoke cautiously, his hands subconsciously raising to the apex of his chest. He thought that he would just throw a few punches, not put someone in the hospital for crossing him. 

“I dealt with him.” He stated coldly. Okay, now he was making it sound like he murdered the green nuisance!

“You’re making it sound like you killed him!” He whisper-yelled, walking over to Shadow and placing his hands on his biceps. “Please tell me you didn’t kill him.”

“I wanted to.” He grumbled. Okay, good, he didn’t kill him. But Sonic was still rather worried. Again, he had thought that Shadow only gave Scourge a punch, if that. Seems he underestimated his dear boyfriend… Could he even call him that? They hadn’t gone on any dates yet, but does this count?

“Okay, so you didn’t kill him. But why is he not at school?” He asked, but started speaking again before Shadow could speak up and tell him some bullshit. “And don’t tell me you didn’t have a hand in it.”

“...” A pause, a flicker of resignation crossing his face. He couldn’t escape the scolding and disappointment this time. “He probably has a concussion. He’ll be fine in a week or two.” 

“ What?! ” The azure mobian yelped, almost shaking the ebony one out of sheer frustration and shock. “What did you do?!”

“I beat him up until his face was swollen and red.” He answered, his voice steady and stagnant. 

He let out a grieving sigh, a dollop of full blown exasperation. He was in for a ride, that’s for sure. He cleared his throat and released Shadow from his hold, his hands falling to his side as he started speaking again. “Okay, so next time don’t do that .”

Shadow rolled his eyes, giving off an aura of sassiness and moodiness. He was like an edgy teenager, which in some aspects he was. He had a great deal of black clothing and chains and studded belts, and he was sixteen. He also had the brattiness of one, with all his eye rolling and scoffing. 

“And don’t give me that attitude.” Sonic stated, his voice way more strict than he meant it. “Next time, I would prefer it if you stay with me and comfort me. Not go off and beat a guy half near death.”

He sighed and nodded.

“Fine, but I was really angry. I wasn’t thinking straight, and I was seeing red.” He explained himself, his head hung low as he looked up at his partner. “Next time, I'll try to get a level head and stay with you. Kay?”

“Thank you. Now let’s head to class.” He answered. He linked his arm with Shadow’s, tugging him along with a newfound smile. It was as bright as the sun to the ebony hedgehog, and his heart couldn’t help but give a flutter. He scoffed at it and pushed it down, though he stayed admiring Sonic as they walked through the halls to their classes. 

He admired his bright cobalt quills, the way his green eye flickered and glowed with excitement, how the emotions highlighted certain hues in those emerald eyes. When sadness swept over him, the darker hues would show and present a full evergreen forest. But when he was happy, the lighter tones showed like the sun on a summer day. They shimmered like beach water, and most of the time they did feel like that cool water. Those twinkling eyes could cool him off when he was heated with emotion, and they could do so much more. 

He had always felt this way about Sonic, but this moment it flooded his heart with an overwhelming feeling of adoration and love. He almost couldn’t take it, but he swallowed and managed. 

Shadow was dreading his math class. He wanted to spend more time with him , but he was actually trying to get good attendance this year.

Once they made it to his math class, he looked over at Sonic for a little too long. He wanted to walk more with Sonic, to spend more time in his presence and bathe in his light. 

“I’ll meet you after school, kay?” He said, letting go of Shadows hand to let him walk into his math class. 

He nodded and turned around, walking into his math class. Their hands lingered in each other's hold for a little longer, before slipping out as the distance between them grew. The blue hedgehog sighed and walked away after he was in his classroom.

He was lucky that his day started with Creative Writing. That meant that he wouldn’t have to put a lot of brain power into the start of his day, which was amazing for him. He hated working on mundane things like math, and he hated listening to lectures. He’d much rather do experiments and learn along the way, but these teachers didn’t quite understand that. 

Sonic walked the halls with his head held high, showing these idiots that he wasn’t affected at all by their stares and whispers. Heck, maybe he’d come to school in a dress just to spite these people. They tended to back off when their victim showed that they were confident and proud of who they were, and they tended to close in when they spotted a weakness. He knew how these people worked, because he had seen it before. They preyed on others like lions, and it utterly sickened him. So he learned their patterns quickly in order to stand up for others when he had the chance. 

But, with this topic, about him being gay, they might not back off. The prejudice was high here, and it seemed like everyone hated difference. He let out a sigh as he found his class.

All he could think about was Tails. He didn’t want him to be affected by the hatred in this town, and he didn’t want his buddy to think anything differently about himself if he happened to like the same gender. He wanted him utterly and completely unaffected and sheltered from the unfairness of it all. But, he knew that wouldn’t work. Life was filled with these types of things, and he also wanted Tails to know that and mature. 

It was a conundrum. He was stuck, and he couldn’t talk to Tails about it. He knew what his response would be. I can take care of myself just fine! It won’t affect me! But Sonic saw how the orange fox was insecure, he saw how he thought himself a burden. He saw it even though the fox thought he was being clever and hiding it. One thing he wasn’t good at was hiding his emotions and insecurities. The only reason he hadn’t talked to him about it is because every time he brought it up Tails insisted he was fine and was feeling happy. But Sonic knew better. 

He sat down in his chair, setting his notebook down on his desk as he opened his computer. The whiteboard was empty as always, and the teacher was probably printing some sheets to teach her students how to brainstorm. Her goal was that by the end of the semester, each and every student would have a short story to submit for their final. It was a light load, for sure. One that Sonic deeply appreciated. 

As he predicted, Mrs. Hopenter walked in with a stack of papers. Half the teachers were rabbit type mobians, it was hilarious to him. Guess that one rabbit trait didn’t evolve out, mm?

She set the papers on her desk with a sigh, looking around at the half filled classroom and putting that into the computer. She always liked to get the attendance chart ahead of time, but she would also update it throughout the class. So if anyone that was late came through, she would put them as late or present. 

The one minute bell rang, and several students started filing into the room. They were talking with each other and joking around as they walked in. Though, the chatter stopped as soon as they saw their seats, it was on command like that. They walked to their seats and sat down, setting down their respective notebooks with a thud as they waited for class to start. 

On cue, Hopenter clicked a few things on her computer. The class stayed like this until the actual bell rang, signaling the start of class.

She cleared her throat and grabbed a good chunk of the stack of papers, walking up in front of the class. 

“So, today we’ll be brainstorming the side characters of our stories. How they push the main character, and how some of them hold the MC back.” She announced, glancing at the sheet before continuing. “There are four boxes for each side character you will start on today. They can be any character, like the main character’s friend or mother or someone else. It all depends on what stories you are developing.”

A freshman raised her hand. She was an evergreen rabbit named Olivia, big brown eyes that were filled with curiosity. Sonic liked her, she was refreshing. She was kind and honest and stood up for what she thought was right, all traits he admired greatly. 

“Yes, Olivia?” The teacher called on her, allowing her to speak.

“For clarification, a side character would also be a sidekick, correct?” She asked. Most of the time, Olivia knew the answer. But she was anxiety ridden and needed clarification. 

“Yes, if the sidekick is the opposition. If they're with the main character, they might be another main character that you’ll have to develop more fully.” Hopenter answered her question, earning a nod from the green rabbit. She always had that relieved look on her face after one of her questions was answered.

“Thank you.” She responded, looking down at her notebook for a moment before nodding a second time and settling down.  

Sonic looked at his computer as it loaded his document for the story. He wasn’t a good writer at all, heck he’d be better at trying to draw a shih tzu by memory than writing a decent story. But, this teacher graded on progress, not quality. If it is obvious you progressed in the class, then you got a big fat A. If you didn’t, then you would be graded on the quality of your story. He felt that he had improved greatly, if not exponentially. So he was fairly confident he would get an A in this class. 

 

★★★

 

Shadow sat down in math, ready to have his mind bored out for the day. Math literally ate at his brain for fun, and it wasn’t a good type of eat. It made him irritable and snappy. 

He grabbed the sheet early, snatching it off the teacher’s desk while she wasn’t looking. It was a sheet about circles and parabolas and how to graph them. It showed the equation, and then had an empty graph for the students to use. It was simple enough for him, so he started on it immediately. He already knew this stuff from when he was on the ARC, Maria had taught him grades ahead. So it was like a review to him, but not to the other students. 

He scribbled on the graphs as the teacher got the lesson ready, jotting down the answers much to the other students' amazement. He ignored the others, finishing the paper up in no time. 

“Shadow, how about you tell us the answer to question 10?” The teacher asked, referring to last night's homework. But, the ebony hedgehog failed to notice and told the answer to this night's worksheet.

“So, the center is (2, 2). The radius is 6, and the diam-” He pointed to the graph and started to explain, but the teacher cut him off.

“That’s tonight's homework.” She stated, looking at Shadow with disapproval and confusion. “How do you know that? I haven’t taught you it yet.”

“Talk to Doom.” He retorted, looking back at his work to double check it. 

The teacher groaned. He could have sworn she was angry because he was succeeding and not struggling like most of the students. Which was some backwards logic right there, teachers are supposed to be proud that their students are succeeding, not angry.

“Don’t give me sass, Shadow. Not everyone can solve things like you can.” He could tell the teacher wanted to call him an alien, a freak of nature, but she couldn’t without losing her job. So he just smirked and laughed.

“I know others can’t do what I can. If you want to see someone get an answer wrong, don’t come to me.” He responded. Detention was on its way, rolling at him full speed if he kept this attitude up. But he found that he didn’t really care about that, what he cared more about was the teacher leaving him the fuck alone. Why she insisted on bugging him to try and get him to fail, he had no idea. But it irritated him to no end. 

“Hmph.” The teacher scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Well-” 

“Out of detention calls?” Now Shadow was asking for it, but maybe if he was hostile enough she would back off. He made sure to lather his response up with sarcasm and annoyance, just to make it more… how should he say this… cocky? Yeah, cocky.

The teacher turned around and walked to the front of the class, leaving the ebony hedgehog and all his sassy remarks to rest. 

The rest of class was a pain in the ass, and so was school. Really, it all flew by in an irritated hue. Lunch was a treat, though, as he got to sit by Sonic and talk about how school was just boring the heck out of him. Though he did it in a way that was both passive aggressive and wanting, which probably confused Sonic to no end. 

Lunch was his only breathing point throughout the whole day, or at least his school day. 

As soon as school ended, Sonic grabbed his arm and dragged him to his house for whatever purpose. 

“Where are you taking me?” Shadow asked with a laugh, which made the blue hedgehog blush and smile so brightly he thought he might be blind after. 

“To my house, of course!” He answered, only when the kids from school were out of earshot. “For our guitar lessons, and a race of course.”

“Guitar lessons.” He repeated, nodding along as he thought about all their recent lessons and their races. Looking back, he felt that romantic tension, even in the moment he felt it. But he was just more focused on teaching Sonic and getting it out of the way to really pay attention to how he gazed upon him. He also remembered his grand scheme, a race in exchange for gifts. So that random gifts from a rival didn’t look too odd, he thought it was pretty clever. But he could tell the fox caught onto it by the second race. 

“You know, I have a question, Sonic.” He said, walking with him in toe as he looked over to his side. His eyes met those green ones he loved, and right now they shone with happiness. It made the lighter hues stand out, and it made his heart flutter strangely. 

“Yes?” He looked back, piercing straight through his soul. Sometimes he could have sworn those green eyes have stolen souls before with how bright they were. 

“The races, did Tails ever say anything about them?” He cocked his head to the side, but refocused his attention to the road as they inched closer to his house.

“Haha! Yeah, he did. He told me it was a ploy so you giving me gifts wasn’t suspicious! At the time I thought he was crazy, but now? I think he was onto something. So you tell me, was he right?” He asked teasingly, not bothering to focus on the sidewalk as they inched closer. He knew this part of the neighborhood like the back of his hand, so he didn’t bother with being cautious. 

Shadow blushed. So that damned sly fox caught on. He was forever glad that Sonic didn’t look further into it at the time, because if he did? He would have freaked out and ran away. He would have run away out of embarrassment and swear to never come back. But maybe Sonic would follow him…

“Yeah, he was right…” He mumbled, looking away as the hue of his muzzle increased with vigor. “I knew that fox would have figured it out… Damn him and his smarts.”

All the azure hedgehog did was laugh, his chuckle a light and rambunctious sound that echoed in the ebony hedgehog's ears. It soothed his soul, in a way. It made his heart feel fuzzy, and his stomach twisted around like it had some sort of insect in it. Butterflies, Sonic would probably call this feeling. The feeling of his head being light on his shoulders, his stomach feeling unusually light, and his lips feeling empty. 

“Hmph, so he was right! I knew he was onto something, heh…” He laughed to himself, looking down at the sidewalk before glancing back at Shadow. “I’m so proud of him, ya know. He’s made so many inventions, I can’t help it but brag. He’s a genius.”

He couldn’t help but smile softly. As much as he was jealous of the little mobian, he couldn’t help but be happy whenever Sonic was happy. And right now, he was feeling proud and happy about Tails and his progress and his smarts. So he listened and pushed his jealousy down, letting himself feel happy for him instead. 

“He found the Tornado, and fixed it up by himself. He’s made many machines that have helped me, and us in taking down Eggman and his shitty plans.” He started to ramble on and on about Tails’ accomplishments, and how he was so grateful for the little fox.

Soon, they arrived at Sonic’s house. And soon, they would be playing the guitar together. Shadow was excited, maybe a little too excited. 

He loved spending time with him, and this was no different.

Chapter 16: Heart Stitches

Summary:

CHAT SUMMER RUINED MY UPLOAD SCHEDULE. Cause usually i write after school, so without that indicator i was so lost... SO SORRY FOR THE VERY OVERDUE CHAPTER

Two knees met the soft, plush earth. One blue, the other black as they got into stance. Sonic smirked as the scent of the fresh earth wafted up to his nose, gracing him with a clear mind for this challenge. Shadow grunted, subtly clearing his throat as he tightened his inhibitor rings around his wrists and ankles. And he made sure to tighten his ankle braces.

“You ready to be absolutely destroyed?” The blue hedgehog teased the ebony one with a wide smirk. “I won’t go easy this time, ya know. You’re competing against the blue blur!”

“And you're competing against the ultimate lifeform.” He shot back, his voice gruff with anticipation. “With how much you’re talking, one would assume you’re nervous to start. It’s because you know you’ll lose.”

He scoffed and laughed. “In your dreams, faker.”

“You’re the fake hedgehog around here.” Shadow rolled his eyes at the use of that old name, seriously, he thought they had gotten over it. Perhaps Sonic was just trying to get on his nerves, that was probably what was happening.

“Hah! Ready…” The azure Mobian started, only for his partner to go speeding ahead. “Wait! I didn’t say you could go yet!” He sprang to his feet and started running, feeling the crackle of his energy shoot through his bones and power his muscles to continue.

“You should know, I don’t play by the rules.” He said when he got close enough. “And you said give it your all. And now that I'm not trying to find an excuse to give you things, I will beat you by any means necessary.” He let out a stiff ‘hmph’ and ignited his chaos powers, letting the stray bouts of electricity flicker onto Sonic, which gave him a rude shock. He smirked and sped on.

He renewed his efforts, his shoes pounding against the soft soil–sorry earth–as he fought for first place with his opponent. The soles of his Red Pros were getting quite dirty, and after they would be in for a washing he was sure of it. Shadow did give them to him, and they were what he had been wanting for a while. So it was no brainer that he would try to take care of them, try being a very valuable keyword here.

The rocket-like adapters on his air shoes blew against the earth, flicking stray pieces of dirt and twigs up from the ground. You know, Sonic never got to asking about why he insisted on doing races with his rollerblades on, or air shoes. He never really understood the difference, they acted the same, so they are the same, right? Whatever, he was focused on getting to the mountain top before him, so he didn’t have time to dwell. Which was another thing to note, he had picked a faraway finish line so he could get an enjoyable amount of time in.

Shadow grunted and used just a little more of his chaos powers, or used as much as his inhibitors allowed him to. Sonic was around a foot behind, but it wasn’t something he was worried about. He would boost at the end of the race. See, the ebony hedgehog gets cocky whenever he sees himself winning, so he slows down subtly and takes it easy. He was using it against him, pretty smart if he did say so himself.

His rival was none the wiser, going at a fast pace as they neared the summit. His red quills shimmered in the sunlight, the air quickly turning cold. It had a bite, but it was the good type of bite. It fringed his cheeks, the blunt fur doing nothing to protect his precious muzzle from the chilly air.

Sonic then sped up, easily surpassing the ultimate lifeform and placing his foot on the rock that marked the peak. He grinned and boasted.

“Hah! Who’s the ultimate lifeform now, huh?” he teased, his grin growing wider as he stared at Shadow who was a little more than a foot away.

“You only won using a cheap trick.” He growled, walking up the track and grabbing the azure nuisance by the bicep. His fingers bounced against the slim but firm flesh and muscle. Even though his rival looked skinny, he was fairly strong. He pressed his palm into his arm. “Seriously, cheap.”

He smirked, his heart fluttering lightly in his chest at the contact. “I think you’re just sour that you didn’t think of it first.” He said, puffing his chest out like a proud bird that just preened its feathers.

“That’s not true! You’re just a filthy cheater. I demand a rematch.” He protested, starting to drag Sonic down the trail that led to his house.

“We’ll have that rematch soon, but I won fair and square. You’re just a sore loser.” He emphasized ‘loser’ to really get on his nerves. He just scoffed and continued tugging, making his feet move in sync. A silence quickly followed, with Sonic looking around at the adoring nature. He was enjoying this peaceful walk down, even though he preferred things fast.

A question popped up in his head, and he decided now what a good time to ask. “So, why do you insist on wearing your rollerskates when we race?”

“They’re air shoes.” He correctly with enough emotion a vigor to make Sonic question if being alone with him was a good idea right now. “And it’s because they unleash my full potential. It wouldn’t be fair for you to be at your best but for me to lack.”

“So they’re aids? You got ankle problems?” He teased, and Shadow’s face quickly scrunched up into a scowl as he growled.

“No.” He lied through clenched teeth, and much to his surprise the blue hedgehog dropped it. Maybe he figured he better not pry.

Until he didn’t drop it. It was only a pause, and then he spoke up again. “Well, I wouldn’t be mean about it if you did, ya know? It’s fine, a ton of people got problems like that. I-” His glare only seemed to grow more intense with each passing word, and that’s when he finally decided to drop it. “Okay… Don’t want to talk about it.”

From the ebony hedgehog's reaction alone, he could tell he hit a sore spot. Maybe he did and was just embarrassed? Well, whatever it was, it should be handled with care. Admittedly, he probably wouldn’t ever handle it with enough care, but he could try.

Shadow and Sonic walked into his home, the scents of machinery and potato chips hitting his nose as a welcome home.

“Oh, Tails must be home. I’ve been thinking about putting him online for his schooling, cause he seems to utterly hate the thought of going to public school. It’s a pain to keep the state off my back with his refusal.” Sonic said with a sigh, snatching Shadow's hand with his and leading him up the stairs.

“Yeah?” He nodded, showing that he was listening to the hyperactive hedgehog. He led him to his room, opening the door to reveal his familiar abode. The walls were a welcoming blue, with multiple posters up on the wall, which included that race car poster Shadow had given him all those weeks ago. And, of course, there was his bookshelf that was filled with comics and the like.

“Yep, he thinks all the kids in his class are idiots.” He responds, plopping down on his bed and patting the space next to him. ”Which, compared to him, he’s right. But that’s not a good thought to have about your classmates, ya know?”

Shadow nodded in agreement and sat down next to him, glancing at the redwood guitar that was leaned up against the wall. He honestly forgot what type of wood it was, but it looked like Red Heart or something like that now that he got a good look at it.

“He’s a great kid.” Sonic added, grabbing his guitar and shifting so he’s turned to face his partner. It felt great to call him his, to call him his partner and boyfriend. “Now, how about we play the guitar? How about you teach me how to tune it, even though I’ll probably forget and not even use it.”

He laughed slightly and shook his head, looking at him fondly. “Sure, so strum the guitar.”

He did as told, strumming the guitar once. To him, it sounded fine, but not to Shadow. He shook his head

“Looks like the C string is higher than it should be.” He commented, "Loosen the peg to that string.”

“How could you tell that?” He asked, but turned the peg anyway to loosen it slightly. Then he strummed it again.
“You can tell once you play the guitar long enough.” He answered, listening to the guitar for a moment before nodding his head. “Well, it looks like the only string that was out of tune was that string.”

Sonic smiled like he had done it all on his own, radiating an air of cockiness as he boasted. “Hah! Guess I’m just that good. Who knew? Oh right, everyone.”

“Okay, cocky bastard.” Shadow rolled his eyes and grabbed his hands for his attention, looking into his evergreen eyes. “Now, how about we start reviewing the notes?”

He laughed, the sound high and filled with joy and amusement as it echoed throughout the room. “Okay, sure!”

Sonic grabbed the neck of the guitar and strummed it twice, just to get into the rhythm before he started playing his notes. He played the G note, strumming for a moment before moving onto the next few notes. His fingers twisted on the strings, but the stretch wasn’t uncomfortable this time. That was a good sign, that meant that his fingers were finally adjusting to the unnatural positioning.

“Good, it looks like your fingers are finally adjusting.” Shadow nodded with approval, but his visage quickly snapped to a more neutral and brooding look.

“Awh, are you warming up to me? Here I thought all you could feel was anger and resentment.” The blue hedgehog chortled with amusement, finding pleasure in the way his cheeks lit up with embarrassment. His eyebrows knitted across his brow line, his fur ruffling up within the crevices of his skin.

“Don't get ahead of yourself.” He shot back, but there was no real bite to his tone. He knew the hedgehog before him was just playing around.

“What if I want to?” He teased, strumming the guitar idly with his left hand as he pursed his lips. Half in thought, and half in teasing.

Shadow rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Don't.”

Sonic relented, letting his viridescent eyes go back down to the neck of the guitar. He knew better than to push him. “Alright, alright. No need to get snappy with me.”

And then he got an idea. The corners of his mouth twitched mischievously as he started plucking out some notes. It wasn't perfect, but soon the notes blended together in a serenade. And for a moment time seemed to stop, the air growing thin around their faces. It shrunk, and it brought their faces together to fill the thinning air.

He could have sworn he heard a sharp but quiet gasp from the darker hedgehog when he realized what he was doing.

“Sonic!” He exclaimed, smacking his hands against the guitar neck to stop the music. Then they both erupted in laughter.

The azure hedgehog was struck solid as Shadow’s laughter filled his ears, and he laughed back. The air went light, filling up with the joyous sound the duo was creating. If time stopped before, then time sped up and then halted to give him whiplash this time around. His head felt light and dizzy, but he didn't care. He didn't care that he felt heady with his happiness and content, he didn't care. As long as it meant he got to bask in his warmness time and time again.

The ebony hedgehog felt his heart lift with his voice, reaching new heights as the moment stretched on. Finally, he had someone that he could be genuine with. Ever since the ARC, his heart shattered and crumbled right in between his lungs. He was convinced he could never feel loved again, but he was wrong. Yes, it was new and consequently uncomfortable, but it felt good. And now, he had someone he could be himself with. Someone that would embrace him through all odds. Someone that finally made him feel loved.

They could have sat there with their laughter for millennia, but like all things, it soon came to an end. Shadow found himself starving lovingly into those emerald eyes that never failed to capture and rapture him. Sonic gazed back, getting lost in those dazzling rubies he had for eyes.

The red and black Mobian let out a small sigh, and he shook his head. “Now what was that for, mm? Trying to make me fall more?”

That little detail shouldn't have affected Sonic so much. More. It rang in his head, and it melted into his brain for the second time that Shadow loved him. That he didn't see him as some indestructible hero, that he saw him for him and himself only. His heart beat against his chest, hammering on his ribcage as it threatened to leap out and leave him dead.

“Sure, if that means you'll stay with me for a little longer.” He chortled, masking his surprise and love with a teasing and cocky energy.

“Longer? Dang, how long do you want me over here?” He asked, lowering his eyelids slightly. They laughed again; they couldn’t help it. The air was light around, prompting more giggles. It was such a sight for him, to see the usually brooding hedgehog let loose. To see his usual frown disappear just to be replaced with a smile, teeth and all, shining at him in all its glory. He felt like the sun was beaming down on him, warming his fur and his skin to an overwhelming degree.

“Maybe forever.” He replied teasingly, adoring how it seemed to cause the ebony hedgehog to blush slightly and smile even more. It must’ve hurt, how intensely he was smiling. But oh, he wouldn’t have it any other way. Despite the fears of prejudice, this is what he wanted.

“Aren’t you greedy.” He leaned back, looking at Sonic with soft eyes. “How about we work on learning another song, mm?”

His face lit up. “Sure! What songs? Are you gonna teach me a Chappel Roan song? Not that I mind, she is pretty cool. Did you hear about her cussing the paparazzi out? Oh it was golden!”

Shadow listened to him as he rambled about how he just found out about her not taking any shit. He already knew, of course, but it was still endearing to watch Sonic go on and on about things that have been long since talked about. He shook his head slightly, his smile relaxing and turning fond. Fond of the blue hedgehog right before him.

 

★★★

 

The next day was possibly more grueling than the last. As soon as Sonic stepped foot in that dreaded building, he could hear the whispers and snide remarks. Something about how he must be a pervert. But he didn’t listen and just scoffed under his breath, stuffing his fists into his worn out jeans. He thumbed the embroidery Amy had done on the pockets, feeling the texture of the thread that was shaped into hearts.

He remembered the day she had done it. It was a cozy winter in, a snow day because the school was not going to battle the whopping six inches of snow. Knuckles and Amy had slept over the night before, so they were officially stuck until the snow went down. Tails was curled up with some hot chocolate before a heater with his favorite blanket, and the pink hedgehog was adorned with an ugly Christmas sweater Knuckles had tried to knit. Neither of them had the heart to tell him it was sloppy and poorly done.

The red buffoon was in the kitchen eating cold grapes, like the weirdo he is. Sonic and her would whisper about how he’s crazy, eating something cold on a cold day. Sadly, the blue hedgehog had fallen ill with a mild fever. It wasn’t a lot, but it sure was bothersome. He just wanted to breathe fully again.

That's when Amy came out of the guest bedroom with a new pair of jeans, placing them on Sonic’s lap with a needle and thread.

“What’s this, Ames?” He asked, looking over at his friend beside him. She was wearing a big smile on her face, and with an excited whisper, she told him this.
“I’m going to teach you how to do embroidery!" She exclaimed, plopping herself down next to Sonic on the sofa. He sniffed and sneezed a little, the sound high pitched and way too feminine then he would have liked to admit.

“Embroidery? Like the cute designs they have on girls’ shorts?” He asked, looking over as Amy grabbed his hands and started to walk him through how to thread the needle.

“And pants too, usually they use a machine. But we’ll just do it by hand.” She said, and then she pointed to the tip of the needle with the hole in it. “You’re gonna wanna get three even strands of the thread, then tie them through the hole.”

“Um, okay.” He didn't have the energy to argue, so he grabbed the spool of thread and started to pull a hefty amount of string from it. After he pulled it until it was way longer than necessary, he grabbed the string and zigzagged it so there were three lines. Two going up, one going down. It looked like an elongated and squished N. Then he grabbed the scissors and snipped the bends, and that’s how he got three even strings to thread the needle.

“Thats a way of doing it.” She commented with a hum, not complaining about the obscene amount of thread he had pulled and was using.

He grabbed the three strings as they were, lined up and squished together so they acted as one. He then tried to thread it through the hole, which proved to be a challenge due to how uncoordinated he got while sick.

“Ugh, I can’t do it.” He groaned, his voice sounded congested as he sniffled once again. He threw his head back and shoved it in his elbow, sneezing pretty hard onto the old blue hoodie he was wearing. “Ew, now I have snot all over my clothes!”

Amy laughed lightly, then got up and climbed the stairs. She grabbed the tissue box him and Tails kept in the bathroom, then rushed back downstairs. Sonic’s ears flicked as she returned to his side, plucking a few tissues from the box and wiping his sleeve.

“Awh, poor baby!” She cooed as she grabbed a clean tissue and wiped his nose, teasing the hell out of him. She went to blow his nose for him, and that's when he started complaining.

“Ugh, I’m not a baby! I don’t need to be doted on!” He complained with a huff, grabbing the tissue and blowing his nose by himself. Her ears went back as she laughed with her full chest, boisterous and loud as she reveled in the blue hedgehog's grumpy demeanor.

“Yeah, yeah…” He grumbled to himself, grabbing the dirtied tissues and tossing them in the trash. Or more so threw them at Knuckles so he could trash them in the kitchen.

He heard the echidna groan, but he picked the ball off wadded up tissue and threw it away for him. “Sonic!”

He giggled, wheezing like a tea kettle as he did so. Then he coughed, and coughed, and coughed. After he felt like he hacked up a lung. He just cleared his throat and looked over at Amy. “So, where were we? Threading the needle?”

“Yes.” She nodded, then the memory faded away as he walked into a puddle. He hadn’t even realized it was raining while he was walking to school, and now his shoes were all wet. The fond memory rippled away like the ripples he had caused in the puddle.

He groaned, the sound very familiar to him as he slowly stepped out of the puddle and shook his feet off. Now he was gonna have to endure relentless teasing and stares AND wet feet to top it all off. Just his luck.

He decided he would skip school today, because there was no way he was gonna walk around in sopping wet shoes. Also- when did he get outside?! He looked around, trying to remember just what brought him outside.

Oh, right, he was walking around the school parameters after putting his things in his locker. That was right. He sighed heavily and walked away from the school building, there was really no point of coming today anyway. Knuckles was skipping and Shadow and Rouge wouldn’t be there, even if to mildly entertain him.

So, he headed home in the pouring rain. His school backpack just held his school things, it really didn’t have anything he needed when he went home. Actually, he could probably just leave the damned thing at school. He didn’t bring a pencil in the backpack, since he tended to lose them in that black hole. It was akin to Dora’s backpack with how much he lost in it. Everyday he just survived off the scraps in the hallways; he didn’t care if said scraps were chewed on or shoved up someone's ass. As long as they were usable, he would ravage them like a rabid dog.

And every day he was lucky to find perfectly usable pencils on the ground, so he found no need to keep a pencil pouch or anything of the sort. Only loose papers and homework sheets could be found in his bag, not an ounce of money or valuables in there.

He pulled his hood over his head and quills as he walked, the rain beating down like bullets against his head and back. It made his quills bristle with disgust and displeasure, but he endured it. After he got home, he could cozy on up in his bed and lay down for the unforeseeable future.

His hoodie was soaking wet in about five seconds, and he audibly groaned when it touched his precious fur. Gods, could this day get any worse? Nothing had happened yet and he was already tired of everyone and everything in all of existence. Was this how Shadow felt? Did he feel like this everyday? Damn, that was kinda sad. No wonder he was so grumpy all the time. This was terrible.

Footstep after footstep, he slowly inched closer to his home. He could have sworn he heard the school bell in the distance. Whatever, he rolled his eyes.

Chapter 17: The Thread Through The Pants

Summary:

CHAAAAT I NEED TO START STUDYING FOR THE TESTSSS THE PSAT AND THE ACT!!! As a result, less chapters per month. I'm very sorry!! >~<

This past week went by in a blur, the whispers around him and the judging faces grew exponentially every day. He could barely handle it, the stares he got just because he tried something new. It was deafening, and he was neck deep in it all. Of course, Shadow and he kept in touch. But it felt hollow, like all the fun and whimsy of the romance he had found himself in had been sucked out of it. He wanted to be nice to Scourge now that he had recovered from an assault. No one knows who did it, but Sonic had a big idea on who did it. But. that was beside the point. The green hedgehog had really messed with his grove in this school, and he was kinda glad Shadow had put him in his place. 

But, now he was looking at his pants for just a moment. He thought about picking up that embroidery habit again, maybe sew in a couple of charms that were a tribute to his new relationship. He also had a few scrapes of red and blue thread hanging around someplace, he just had to dig around and find it. His paws brushed across his old, worn out pants that had those hearts from when Amy taught him. He remembered that was how those rumors started, about how the pink hedgehog supposedly had a crush on him. He actually believed them for a bit, until she woke up from her coma and showed tremendous support for his little crush on Shadow. 

His hand suddenly clenched around a pair of jeans, thinking about that ebony hedgehog that had wedged his way into his heart unexpectedly. Before he could think about where his thread was, he had thrown the jeans on his bed and started to tear apart his closet looking for his kit. Amy had gifted it to him for his birthday after she had taught him. 

He found it, surprisingly. His closet was like a black hole, not like his backpack but it came uncomfortably close. He really needed to stop putting things in his closet, but he never disciplined himself enough to do so. So everything he didn’t immediately need and wasn’t a decoration was thrown into the fabric abyss, waiting for someone to grab it. And if they didn’t, they would vanish into thin air. Such is the way of life. 

“Ah, there you are…” He mumbled under his breath, grabbing the cookie tin from behind his hamper. Another note, Amy had made it herself. So it had more of a personalized touch, and he loved that little detail. He much preferred handmade gifts over store bought, it was a testament to the time they had put into the present. Store bought? You just ran over to your local Walmart and bought the first thing that caught your eye, not really loving in Sonic’s opinion. But with people like Knuckles, it was a miracle if he even remembered special dates like birthdays and holidays. He had other, much more important things on his mind. 

He sat down on his bed, the plush surface sinking just slightly as he pulled the kit to his lap to open it. Once he did, he was met with a container of sewing needles, and a threader for said needles, some extra spools of thread, and practice fabric that he had practically left untouched. They were pristine, perfect to test out designs on them. He plucked the plastic cylinder that held the needles and pulled one out, the thin piece of metal gleaming just slightly in the light of the sun shining through his window. 

Thankfully, he had left the red and blue and black threads in the cookie tin, so he wouldn’t have to tear apart the house looking for said materials. With a sigh of relief, he grabbed the three spools and a spare piece of fabric. He remembered how to thread the needle for embroidery, three pieces of string cut evenly. So he wouldn’t be looking at any youtube tutorials today, no sir, he was an independent man after all. He remembered the markers in the kit and grabbed those too, they were washable so he didn’t have any issues marking where to start and where to end on his jeans.

And with this new material, he decided he didn’t need the extra squares of fabric and put them back. He slid the metal tin off his lap and onto the space next to him, grabbing yet another thing he forgot. The threader. It was a life saver, because he didn’t have enough dexterity to thread the needle by himself. So it really was an essential for him. 

He placed the spools of thread and the needle and the threader right beside him, on the other side. And then he grabbed his jeans, ready to mark it up with his washable marker. He first drew x’s where he wanted Shadow’s quills to go, and then he started to outline the shape. It was utter shit. But he tried to touch it up.

Two strokes of black marker turned into four, and soon his pants were a mess of scribbles that were incoherent to anyone else but him, what mattered is that he knew what they were. So it was a-okay. He grabbed his spools of thread and started snipping them, pulling them into a squished N before cutting the folds off of it. Then he had three even pieces of string of the red color. Grabbing it and making sure it was all lined up, he pushed the string into the threader, then he pushed that into the eye of the needle. He pulled the string away from it, officially threading the needle without any unnecessary struggle. He thought for a moment to recall how to tie the knot, so it wouldn’t budge on the needle. But once he did, he was set to sew in those striking red streaks. 

He pushed the needle through the fabric of the jeans, on one of the jumbled lines to start. And from there, it was child’s play. The needle seemed to move by itself as he weaved it through the tough fabric of the jeans, slowly bringing the sloppy sketch to life as the red thread filled in all the parts he loved. Once he got to the eyes, he realized he would need some white thread. Did he have white thread? He hummed in thought; he didn’t know if he did or not. He didn’t recall having white string, but he could very well be hiding some. He forgot what he owned and had all the time, so he couldn’t really trust his memory and intuition on this one. 

The bed creaked as he got up, finishing the red in the embroidery design before setting his supplies down to go ask Tails if he remembered. He tip toed down the stairs, finding it much easier and faster to do so. That’s what he did in school and he could go down those stairs in a matter of two seconds, tops. So these measly steps stood no chance. 

The door to the workshop opened; the workshop was basically the fox’s little home inside their collective home. If he could sleep there, he would. Sonic was sure of it. 

“Do we have any white string?” He asked, glancing at Tails as he worked on an engine. He was trying to make it so he would never have to fill up the gas again, which was beyond the blue hedgehogs intellect. He thought it broke all the laws of the universe, but not his smart little brother. Seriously, his genius was beyond anything he had seen. 

“Mm… I don’t think so. Why? What do you need white thread for?” He asked, looking up from his work bench. His fur was a little greasy from all the oiland other dirt and grim on engines. They had their own little microbiome at this point, with how dirty people got when they worked on it. Personally, Sonic would never touch one. It was way out of his element, for one, and for two? He didn’t want his fur to become caked with the grease. 

“Just wondering.” He responded. Sonic didn’t know why he felt the need to hide his relationship away from his bro, but he also felt he would be judged all the more if he was open about it. People would whisper about how he shouldn’t be so open, how he should just conform to societal standards and stop making people uncomfortable. But Tails wouldn’t do that, right? He knew the fox, he wasn’t mean or anything. But he felt his chest cavity squeeze around his heart and lungs every time he thought about telling him. He was a coward, and so he always chickened out. And this time it was no different. 

“Mm, well Amy should have some.” He told him, leaning back over his contraption and grabbing a wrench. He reached into the metal behemoth and worked on it like he knew all of the twists and turns of it. He did, but it wasn’t any less fascinating to watch.

Sonic nodded and tread out of the workshop. Amy lived about two houses down, so he wouldn’t have to walk far. He slipped on his red shoes over his socks and opened the door to the outside, and the sun practically blinded him. It bounced off the light concrete and landed directly into his eyes; he groaned and rubbed his face in protest to the light. God, could the sun calm down any time soon? He knew he was asking for much, as it was summer now, but still!

After complaining for a moment, he forced his legs to move outside. He shut the door behind him, the desert like heat wafting around him like thick smoke. He scratched the top of his head, suddenly feeling rather tired.

He still walked over to Amy’s house, the light pink walls standing out against the very boring, cookie cutter houses. He sneezed, his head going forward fast as his body jerked with the power of the contraction. He shivered slightly and shook his head, coming up on the dark wood door that most certainly had a pink hedgehog behind it. 

He knocked on the door, his gloved paws racking against the polished wood as the sound reverbrated through the house. In about a minute, Amy answered. Her face light up as she spotted the familiar blue hedgehog, and she beamed.

“Oh, Sonic! What do you need? Have you come over to tell me more about Shadow? Oh, and I’m sorry about all the drama going on about you wearing that makeup, I should’ve thought about it befo-” She rambled, her words jumbling together as she spoke fast and earnestly.

“No, Ames, it’s fine. You were just trying to help, ya know. I don’t blame you one bit, actually I blame my track meets. They mad me sweaty and made me rub my eyes, which made the eyeliner smudge.” He put his hand up, cutting his friend off as he replied with a fond smile. His dear friend was always so worried about everyone, she was the mom friend of the group. 

“Alright, if you say so. Come on in! It’s been forever since we’ve had time to talk, with my studying and your slacking…” She murmured the last part, making Sonic huff and elbow her in the side. He walked into the home and kicked his sneakers off, placing them rather sloppily on the welcome mat. 

“I just have more important things to do, like hanging out with Tails and saving the world.” He boasted, making her snort and chuckle.

“Always the same excuse, nothing has happened this year!” She shook her head fondly, placing her hands behind her back while she did so. 

“Well, I have plans of becoming a trackstar! With hero on the side, as always.” He responded with a growing smirk, clearly very proud of his fool-proof plan that wasn’t so fool-proof. “Anyways, do you have any white thread? I’m going some embroidery and I need white, but I don’t have any.”

“As a matter of fact, I do. Just let me grab it.” She nodded her head, skipping ahead of Sonic to go find the white string he needed. This also allowed Sticks to come down and give him a hello. She had moved in with Amy when she had dragged the badger out of her den in the woods, to try and give her a taste of modern society and try to nurture her. But it had failed spectacularly, as shes just a wild animal that can’t be tamed.

“Oh, hello Sonic!” She said, brushing off some dirt from her fur. “Amy keeps on telling me all her ‘studying’ isn’t infecting her, she’s doing witch craft on the board!” She screeches, throwing her hands in the air. “X?! Whos x?! They’ve got to be an alien if they can go on a two dimensional plane! It’s all alien witch craft infecting your mind!”

“Tell me about it, studying is a waste of time. And that math stuff is a bunch of mumbo jumbo.” He nodded, agreeing with her. She said the most crazy things, but she was right eighty percent of the time. So he listened, because on the off chance that she was right, he would want to be protected.

“I keep telling Amy that she needs to stop it, that it’s ruining her brain. She should drop out! Why is this torture even allowed?” Sticks rambled some more, her voice high and erratic as always as she spewed hatred towards math. 

“I don’t know why it’s allowed.” He agreed, pretending to be deep in thought about it. All he knew was that some guy back in the day decided schooling was a necessity, which to him was a bunch of bull. He knew how to read, that was enough. He didn’t need to know about imaginary planes and numbers! 

“Don’t get me started on imaginary planes and numbers! Every number is imaginary, why are they different?! What do you mean we don’t know what it is?! They’re spies!” She yelped out, throwing her hands up in the air before putting them on her cheeks, her eyes as wide as saucers as she expressed her feelings. 

Amy came down the steps and sighed, walking over to the badger and placing a hand on her shoulder. “Sticks, calm down. We are not under attack.”

She looked over at the hedgehog and tried taking deep breaths, following Amy’s example for calming down. Sonic smiled fondly as he watched the scene. Sticks was always crazy, but somehow his friend managed to calm her down. It was her charm after all, she was very social and could calm down just about anyone. 

“So, do you have that white thread?” He pried, wanting to get that string fast so he could run back home and finish his little project that he started on a whim. 

“Yeah, here. Have fun with your project! You’ll have to show me when you get done.” She sang out, placing the spool of thread in Sonic’s gloved hand. 

“Oh, is he spinning wool?” The other girl asked, glancing at the string in his hand with curiosity. “What is he doing? That weird thing you do, threading jeans that are already threaded? Why do you do that?” 

“Well, it’s fun and it takes up free time. When we have nothing else to do.” Amy explained to her. 

“Well, I go outside!” She exclaimed, looking at the item in the blue hedgehogs hand. “You guys can go outside too, ya know. Why fiddle with things that are already crafted?”

“Oh, Sticks. Because its fun for us!” She said with a small laugh, somehow finding the badger endearing. She shook her head and started to talk about, but it got quieter. 

Sonic slipped away from the two, then walked out of the home with his newfound thread. Zhe thought about his embroidery design of Shadow and how it would turn out, and he envisioned it to be a masterpiece.

 

★★★

 

It wasn’t as glorious as he would have hoped. The pupils were sloppy, and the quills looked unkempt and unruly, but it was the best he could do. And another update, he ditched the idea of threading his portrait to. It sounded like a thousand dumbbells after he got Shadow done, so he threw that idea away and put the supplies in the tin so he wouldn’t have to look at it. It was an eyesore. 

He stretched his back out, a series of pops and cracks coming from his poor spine; apparently hunching over for an hour made your back sore and stiff. He let out a small ‘oof’ as he felt the tension and pain release from his back, and then he shook his arms out and ran a paw pad along the Shadow print. 

The thread felt therapeutic against his fingers, the soft ridges and lumps running along his skin that provided a tactile sensation. He sucked in some air, then let it out as he stared at his jeans. This would be risky, wearing it in public and at school. It would basically announce that they were together, and he was scared. He was terrified. He was terrified of the judgement and the ridicule he would face just because he decided that he wanted to date a boy. 

He sucked another cold breath, the air filling his lungs and cooling himself down slightly. He didn’t need to worry about that right now, he was Sonic the Hedgehog for Gaia’s sake! He couldn’t be intimidated by a bunch of insecure, immature teens that have nothing better to do! He was hero, someone that saved the world from complete annihilation AND befriended two of the villains. He couldn’t just let some nobodies bring him down and tug down his pride. Yeah, he was dating a boy, but why do they care? They should be happy that the hero has found someone, not nitpicking at his preferences. Yeah, his boyfriend once wanted to blow the world up, but he’s changed! 

He shook his head lightly, and his ears twitched in response to the light knocking coming from the main floor. For some reason, he shot up and skipped down the stairs as quickly as possible. He knew that knock, it was Shadow. His tail was already wagging as he sprinted to the door and threw it wide open. 

It was Shadow, but someone was with him. Rouge, and she was dressed in a cropped tank top. The picture on the shirt was just a simple red heart, complementing the flesh pink of the fabric. The pants were athletic wear, with the top band being a hot pink and the stripes down the sides a white. The flared out at her ankles, bringing attention to her tan colored sandals. Sonic tilted his head slightly.

“Shadow, why is Rouge here?” He asked, letting the two into the house. He moved over to the side and Shadow walked in with Rouge behind him.

“She insisted on talking to you, something about how she wants to make sure this is right for me. She’s being overprotective.” He muttered to the blue hedgehog, crossing his arms with a huff. “I’ll be hiding in your bedroom.” 

He was left, somewhat stunned and shocked as Shadow then burst up the stairs and into his room. Why was Rouge interrogating him? Well, this was odd. But, he supposed he’ll just answer her questions to the best of his ability. 

“So…” She drawled out, sitting down on the comforted chair in the living room. “You won’t just abandon Shadow for unknown reasons, right?”

“No! Why would I do that?” He spoke up immediately, a frown etching into his cheeks. Is that what he thought? That he would just throw him away? “Is that what he thinks?” 

“Good.” She nodded like she was taking notes, like she was storing the information in her mind for later and maybe use against him in the future. “I don’t know what he thinks, I just want to make sure you won’t break his heart.”

“I would never.” He shook his head vehemently, crossing his arms over his chest. Now he was worried about what he thought and how insecure he really was, and he had nothing to be insecure about! He was amazing to him, and he wouldn’t drop such a precious gem. 

“Alright. Now, are the rumors true? That Amy likes you?” She asked, her eyes thinning slightly as she looked across the room. It felt like she was carving into his soul, digging around for any hints of deception and hesitation. 

“No, I don’t think so. I mean, when I told her about Shadow she was ecstatic. She didn’t seem to be sad or jealous or anything, she was genuinely happy for me.” He said, which made Rouge’s eyes widen a little. And then he added, “I only told her about my feelings, not the new relationship.”

“Ah, are you waiting for Shadow’s permission?” She asked, her voice going from stern and stiff to a more lax tone. 

“Yes, I am. I was actually gonna ask him about that when I saw him again.” He nodded, his quills bobbing slightly with the movement. 

“Alright, I guess I’ll leave you two be. I need to go watch Omega, make sure he isn’t blowing up any G.U.N buildings.” She nodded, then got up from the couch and made her way to the door. “I’ll see you later, if you wanna show up at school that is. Finals are coming up!”

“I knooow…” He groaned as he was once again reminded of the upcoming tests, they seemed to loom over him these past couple of days. Usually he was more carefree, free from those worries. But lately they had been haunting him, he thought that maybe it was because of all the other stuff happening currently. 

The door clicked shut, and Sonic immediately went over to the stairs and started scaling them with urgency. He wanted to see and spend time with Shadow, damn it!

When he opened the door to his room, he saw Shadow on his bed looking down at the embroidery he has done. He was looking at his threaded face, looking astonished and soft. He ran a paw pad across it, and then he looked up at Sonic.

“Did you do this?” He asked. 

Chapter 18: The Stitches and The Thread

Summary:

GAHHHHHHHH HELLO PEOPLEEEEE

I have not been studying for the PSAT or the ACT lmao, but here's another chapter for y'all. Hope you enjoy what I have cooking up! Ive been thinking about ending this fic at 20 chapters, but we'll see if I decide to go through with that. I don't want to part just yet! But if I do end this, there will be a sequel to when they are older. (And I may or may not write smut in that one. I've been wanting to write it for a while but its iffy when they're minors SOOOO- idk i might just do a oneshot or something, we'll see)

“Did you do this?” He asked. 

He froze, suddenly becoming self conscious about his poor craftsmanship. He ran over and grabbed the pants, hugging the design to his chest while a deep red flushed across muzzle. Shadow’s eyes widened slightly at the sudden defensiveness, but just looked curious instead. God, that innocent look was going to kill him. The way his eyes shone in the dim light of his bedroom, and the way his ears stuck up more and the way he leaned in… It melted his heart past comprehension. 

“I-” He didn’t know why his throat was clogged up, and he didn’t know why he was acting like this. All he knew was that his heart studdered and his paws were shaking slightly. Maybe it was because of how cute it was, or maybe it was because he was seeing his horrible craftsmanship. But either way, he was nervous.

Shadow raised an eyebrow, prompting Sonic to speak. His lips pressed together and formed a thin line across his face. 

“It-...” He looked at the ground. He was making a fool of himself! “Yes, I did.”

“Finally. I was getting tired of watching you stumble over your words.” The ebony hedgehog retorted, a frown adorning his features. Oh, Sonic hated that frown! It made him frown too!

“Well-I just-” He cleared his throat, gaining enough courage to look him in the eyes. “You just looked really cute!”

That made the other hedgehog do a double take, his eyebrow that was now resting raising once again as he looked at the blue Mobain before him. This wasn’t like him at all. 

“Is something wrong?” Shadow asked, getting over his initial flusteredness. He looked at him wit scrutiny, thinning his eyes to read into him. “What did Rouge say?”

“Uh- Well she asked me if I would leave you for something stupid and if Amy had a crush on me.” He answered, looking back at him with a nervous expression. What he really wanted to know was if those were legitimate worries he had or if it was just the bat being overprotective. 

“Oh.” He hummed, looking back at Sonic. “And what did you respond with?”

He took this as a yes to his previous questions. “Shadow, I would never leave you or think you’re just something I can flaunt around. And as for Amy, no. I really don’t think she has a crush on me. When I told her about my feelings for you she was ecstatic and demanded every detail. I wouldn’t expect that from someone who likes me.”

His frown softened, just for a second, before putting it back up again. Gosh, he was putting his walls up again! They had made progress with that! “And I don’t believe you?”

“Dear, look at me.” The blue hedgehog said, not noticing the pet name that had slipped. He went straight to reassuring the other hedgehog, even though his muzzle was flushed a light red. “I would never abandon you. I don’t care that you’re ‘not normal’, I don’t care that you have alien DNA, I don’t care about your past. You’ve changed, and I think its pretty damn obvious it was in a positive direction. You’ve settled down, you no longer want to blow the earth up, and you’ve been a major help to me. Don’t degrade yourself for some mistake you made in the past; you were blinded by revenge and justice. And you were being manipulated!”

Shadow sat there as Sonic gave him a side hug, pulling him into his side as he rambled about how he had changed. He felt his muzzle flush more, the heat in his face rising as he listened and hung onto every word he said. Was that really what he thought? How he felt? 

“Is… is that how you really feel? That apparently I’ve helped you?” He asked, trying to muster a more loud and dominant voice. But all he could manage was a whisper. 

“Yes, that is.” He nodded, leaving no room for hesitation or argument. “I don’t know how you don’t see it, but you have. You gave me an example of someone who was perceived as long gone, but still salvageable. I’ve learned from you. And I’ve learned that people aren’t just three characteristics, that people ae complex and well… Not as plain as I thought.” 

“Is that an insult to Knuckles?” He replied with a snort, and Sonic laughed too.

“Ha ha! No, its just in that time of my life I didn’t realize that antagonists had a background. I know it sounds shallow of me, but that’s what I thought. After you, I started thinking about how Eggman might have a backstory that would justify his actions, and if he was savable.” He elaborated on his previous statements.

“So, before me you were just doing all this for fun. But after, you started thinking more deeply about it?” He nodded.

“I kinda gained my consciousness after that. Like, I actually realized that people have their own fleshed out lives. You don’t really think about that, ya know.” He said with a hum, “But now, I think about it all the time. You know, maybe some kids have bad home lives and thats why they bully. Not saying it’s an excuse, but your perceptive of people just change after you start thinking.”  

Shadow listened intently, thinking about what he was rambling on about. It did make sense, how it could heighten his empathy and make it so he perceives the world differently. Sonic did change after the debacle with the Eclipse Cannon, he became more mature in a way. He went from carefree, acting on a whim, to empathetic and sassy. How those two mixed, he had no clue. But somehow the blue rodent was both. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” He asked suddenly, snapping the darker hedgehog out of his thoughts. He looked into his emerald eyes and swallowed thickly.

“It makes sense. You’ve changed.” He stated while looking back. Their eyes met, and they both smiled. Sonic’s smile was brighter, but Shadow had smiled too. 

“I’ve changed? Hopefully in a good way.” He smirked, the corners of his mouth twitching up into a sly expression. 

He thought for a moment, before hesitantly nodding his head. He wasn’t one to compliment, but he would do it for him. “Yeah, I’d say so.”

“I love you.” He said, his tooth gap showing as he spoke without thinking. And before he could even register what he said, the other mobain hugged him tightly. He did it in a way that he could rest his ear against his chest, to hear his heart beat.

Finally, he realized what he said. And his face flushed once again; his face was already a little warm from just being near him, but him accidentally saying that ? Yeah, they’re together, but it’s a whole other thing to just blatantly say it. He started to stumble over his words, but then he felt a hand travel up and in between his back quills. He felt the leather gloves of his beloved lightly scratch and rub, which calmed him down immensely. 

He let out a breath he hadn’t known he had been holding, and he hugged back. He rested his paws against the others lower back, pulling him in as he scratched and rubbed his back. The quills there were extra sensitive, and so having them touched was a really soothing feeling and experience. 

“I love you too.” Shadow mumbled, not wanting Sonic to hear him return the affectionate statement, but against his wishes, he did. He let his head hang low, stuffing his nose and muzzle into his dark quills. He was enveloped by the fur, and he took a strong whiff of it. It smelled like lavender. 

He started to nuzzle against him. He didn’t mean to, but it was his subconscious that made it so he couldn’t resist. He couldn’t resist trying to combine their scents even though he wasn’t even sure if he was okay with it. But he heard purring come from him, and so he assumed that he liked it and kept going. 

He really wanted to kiss him, he wanted to just press his lips against those ones. But he didn’t want to do it so suddenly, he wanted it to be perfect. He wanted the moment to be picture perfect, straight out of a movie. But maybe this moment would be that perfect. 

Shadow looked up at Sonic, propping his chin in the middle of his chest. He looked adorable like that, like a baby kitten or a puppy just wanting its owners attention. 

“What?” He asked, looking down at those red eyes. They seemed almost brown right now, but that was besides the point. His voice was a soft whisper as he spoke, the honey and affection dripping from his throat. 

“Nothing…” He mumbled, but continued to look at him like an attention starved animal. 

“Nothing? You’re sure about that? You look like a cute little puppy.” He teased, poking Shadow’s side for a moment. The ebony hedgehog squirmed lightly as he was poked, then rested again.

“No poking. That tickles.” He said, his paws stroking Sonic’s back quills. 

“C’mon gorgeous, tell me what you want.” He spoke so sweetly he felt his heart melt and heat raise to his cheeks. Now they were both blushing, but neither of them felt like pointing it out. 

“Really layering the pet names…” He huffs while hiding his face again, but he didn’t like that. He trailed a finger down Shadow’s ear, making it twitch and flicker.

“C’mon… Don’t hide from me.” He cooed. His fingers trailed down to his chin, gently lifting it so those pretty ruby eyes were staring up at him. 

“It’s fine, stop it.” He grumbled, but Sonic stubbornly refused that answer. No, he wanted something and he wanted to figure it out. 

He groaned and shoved him away, getting out of his lap with a huff. “Pushy.” Shadow remarked, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“Alright, you don’t want to talk about it.” He huffed and rolled his eyes, deciding to be pouty too. “You were looking at me like you wanted something, and I wanted to know what was going on in you’re little head.” 

“Mm.” He hummed, but didn’t move and didn’t look back at him. 

He sighed and tugged Shadow closer, nuzzling into his neck as he spoke. “I’ve been meaning to ask you, do you want to be public? Or do you want to be private?”

He thought for a moment, before responding. “Well, like a casual public. Like we act like any normal couple, but we act like it’s just normal. Like we’re any couple. Like- you know what I’m saying?”

“Yes, yes I do know what you’re saying.” He nodded, “So my pants don’t bother you?”

“No, they don’t bother me.” He shook his head, looking back at Sonic as he rested his head against his shoulder. “They don’t bother me at all.”

“So, what are you comfortable with in terms of PDA? Like, can I hold your hand and hug you? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.” He spoke, the vibrations from his chest almost feeling like a purr as he asked his questions.

“I’m okay with holding hands, no hugging though. Not unless we haven’t seen each other in a bit or if it’s dire.” He responded gruffly, turning around in the blue rodents hold. He always found himself wanting to rest his head on his chest, and maybe to look into those emerald green eyes and get lost in them. They were like a forest; they completely infatuated him and made him forget about all his worries and fears. And they did it in no more than one second, just completely wrapping him up in a velvety embrace and making his chest feel fuzzy and warm. 

“And that means never, got it.” Sonic nodded, picking up on Shadow’s roundabout way of saying no hugs in public. He hummed and nuzzled into his cheek, feeling content with just sitting here and having the other Mobian in his embrace. 

“Wow, maybe you’re not so dense.” He remarked with a laugh, pushing a hand up and through the blue hedgehogs quills. His head was rested on his shoulder, so it wasn’t a stretch for him to start petting him. 

 

★★★

 

Sonic was starting to get restless from all the gossip and the rumors. He wanted to do something to get people to back off, to just leave him be. But he didn’t know how to do so without utterly ruining his reputation. He could own it, but then he wouldn’t be that cool trackstar of the school like he wanted to be. He could just try to let it pass, but it was unlikely these kids would drop the damn thing. They were judgemental, and the few that weren’t were not loud enough. 

He tried to just ignore it, but it became clear that he needed to address the rumors and either make it abundantly clear they were correct or that they were wrong. And he wasn’t one for lying, so he opted to make sure everyone knew that it was correct and he harbored no shame for who he loved. 

He thought about wearing feminine clothing, or maybe just showing up in full drag attire. But he knew dresses like that were itchy, and even for a guy that was bold and explosive… It was too much. It would probably give everyone a heart attack, so no, he wouldn’t be showing up in a ball gown like the total queen he is. 

Now that he thought about it, Whisper and Tangle have been going back to school and making it clear the homophobic comments didn’t get them, even for someone so timid as the wolf she was still firm and strong in her stance. She wasn’t going to change under the pressure of the bullying, so it eventually stopped. Yeah, they got the occasional nasty look, but it wasn’t oppressive. 

Another thing he was worried about, was how would his friends react? He knew they weren’t homophobic, but how would they react to the knowledge that he’s dating Shadow ? That he’s dating someone that caused so much chaos and disparities. He knew Tails would be iffy, or maybe scared. The two didn’t have the best relationship. Knuckles would probably shrug and say he didn’t care, but he would let it fester and then it would blow up in his face. He would ask him why, or maybe he would be a little mean to his partner to try and deter them. 

Though, he knew Amy and Rouge are more than okay with it. There was still a slight chance that the pink hedgehog might be weird about it, but that was a tiny percentage. And the bat had already made her support clear, especially after that little interrogation.

So, here Sonic was, his snout stuffed into yet another comic book to try and forget about all the swirling thoughts that whisked and turned in his brain, creating a thunderstorm of calamitous suggestions and ideas. It had been about an hour after spending some time with his beloved, but it already felt like an eternity as he tried to get sucked into the fantasy world about futuristic Mobian-kind.

The comic panels jumped out at his eyes and mind, but it didn’t succeed in pulling him into that creative but forgetful headspace he desired. His brain was too filled, too occupied with all of his troubles that he just couldn’t enjoy the fine piece of literature and art in his hands. Seriously, the amount of work that went into these panels is insane. 

A sigh escaped his lips as he placed the thin volume down with a frown. He just couldn’t escape his mind, now could he? He pulled himself out of his bean bag chair and started to pace his room, phone in hand as he debated contacting Tangle. He didn’t know how she just kept a smile on her face through all the ridicule the two had received. How did she do it? Was she suffering like he was behind the scenes?

He clicked into her contact, the photo being a goofy and very unflattering image of the lemur from a .5 view. His paws hovered over the keyboard as he thought about how to phrase his message and how to make it sound casual and not like a desperate plea for help. But his thumbs moved fast across the phone screen before he could think, and he sent a message with several spelling errors that sounded like he was dying. 

Before he could send a follow up message, her icon in the corner popped up with those three flashing dots. She was quick, Sonic had to give her that. So he waited for her reply, not bothering to try and fix his text or to try and correct his spelling errors. 

In about thirty seconds, the lemur had replied. He looked down as his phone buzzed, reading the message. 

I posted a photo on my instagram at a pride festival with Whisper. 

He hummed in thought. He could do that, and then it would force himself out of the closet and out into the open. So he had no choice but to own it. 

So you just were bold about it you didn’t care about the consequences

I did, but I decided that living free and true was more important than my reputation

Sonic let out a heavy sigh. That was just his dilemma; does he ruin his reputation or does he suffer with the rumors? His reputation was already ruined anyway, but did he try to salvage it or just let loose and go with the flow like he always did?

He thought the answer was obvious. 

Thanks I appreciate you telling me what you did

Did he know of any pride festivals? Yes, he did. And he was going to take Shadow with him and convince him to get a photo of them kissing to post to his account. It would blow up, and it would pull his boyfriend out of the closet too. But he seemed okay with acting like a normal couple, and couples did post photos of each other on social media. 

So, he clicked out of Tangles profile and clicked into Shadow’s. He cleared his throat and started typing, asking him about going to one of the pride festivals in another town. Once again, there were spelling errors in his messages. But it wasn’t as bad as when he texted Tangle. 

After about a minute of pacing and staring at his phone screen, the three flashing dots appeared. He felt his stomach unravel from the tightly bound knot it had gotten itself in and his chest relax. 

Another minute passed, and finally Shadow responded to his message.

Sure, that’s in two days, correct? 

He smiled and quickly responded. 

Yep in two days

He found it charming how Shadow insisted on using correct grammar and spelling even while texting casually. It was unnecessary but cute. 

This has been spurred on by the rumors. Why do you feel the need to prove yourself? 

The hedgehog on the other side of the phone shot back, this time only taking a minute instead of two. Sonic did a slight double take at the message, and he wondered how he knew that just from his message. Was it the suddenness of it?

No I just wanna spend time with you

He wrote back, his paws fidgeting as those three flashing dots reappeared on the screen. 

Well, I do too. But don’t do things for other people. Do them for yourself.

He was doing it for himself, so he could release the weighing burden this had on him. It made him feel queasy and sick, knowing that people think he’ll just sit down and let these rumors expand into something they aren’t. He wasn’t going to just let himself retreat into the shadows when that wasn’t who he was, well he didn’t mind being wrapped up in Shadow’s arms, but that wasn’t what he meant! 

I know

He send back, shutting his phone off before sitting down on his bed. He could feel his thoughts and ideas start to recede, now satisfied with what he had planned. Maybe that’s why he did things so impulsively, he followed his heart and pressure more than his rational mind. But that was just who he was. 

His phone buzzed again, so he grabbed it from where it had been haphazardly thrown onto the bed and opened it up. It was Shadow, but this time it was just him trying to connect. No one would know it, but that hedgehog was a clingy partner. He tried to mask it under a guise, saying that he just likes socialization and that he has nothing else to do. But Sonic knew better. Shadow was notorious for avoiding social interaction at all costs, so that was a flimsy excuse at best and a complete lie at worst. 

So, what are you doing? 

The text read, and the blue hedgehog smiled fondly before replying. 

Thinking about you what else would I be doing??

He add two question marks for emphasis, relishing in the idea that his brooding hedgehog was blushing behind the screen. His smile turned into a mischievous smirk as he saw the dots appear, disappear, and then reappear like his brain was short circuting. 

That’s new. I thought you had nothing in that brain of yours.

As always, he resorted to petty insults when flustered. It made him laugh. 

Oh cut me some slack I think about plenty

Like what? Chili dogs?

They continued to banter back and forth on messages, both of them smirking and smiling as they bickered over telephone. Shadow found it endearing how Sonic would seemingly try to cheer him up, or that he would try to get him to smile and fluster even though the blue hedgehog wasn’t there to see it. It made him feel happy, loved even. But he didn’t dare use that word, because he was sure that everything he ever loved would soon fall between his fingers. So he settled on like, he only liked him. It was to protect him from the tricks of the universe who just seemed to want to make him suffer. 

The big monstera plant in the corner of his room filtered out the stuffy air, making it more bearable for the black hedgehog as he turned over in his bed and giggled at something Sonic had texted. He would never allow himself to act like this in front of him, so he did it behind a screen. Some moments he had broken through, but he was still rather protective of his heart. 

He started thinking about Maria, and how she would be happy for him that he had finally found someone he could be romantically interested in. The thought didn’t come with it’s usual bitter sting though, maybe talking to Sonic dulled that sensation in his chest whenever he remembered the ARC and what was essentially his deceased family. 

He thought about that pride festival Sonic had invited him to, and with it came a rush of euphoria. He had actually asked him to go to an event! It felt silly, but he felt so happy about it. He felt wanted.

Chapter 19: Fireworks

Summary:

I GOT SICK I WOULD HAVE HAD THIS OUT YESTERDAY BUUUUUUUUUUT ALAS....

Anyway, they kiss! Hope yall enjoy

The sun beamed down on the sidewalk, making the concrete glow brightly as the two challenged each other to another race. Two days had passed, and that pride festival was starting in the next town over. But they decided to make a fun challenge out of it.

“Ready to eat my dust?” Sonic quipped playfully, kneeling down to get into a runners stance. He already felt the surge of energy through him, the blue electricity flowing through his veins and zapping his muscles into a positive overdrive. He smirked, the smile a wide and tooth filled one as he relished in the feeling this gave him. 

“Yeah right, you’re gonna eat the grass I kick in your face after this.” Shadow growled out, cracking his knuckles and stretching his ankles to get ready for this legendary race. Every race was legendary between them, especially when the better counterpart won. 

The blue hedgehog took off, knowing that his opponent would get a headstart if he didn’t cheat. The ebony hedgehog growled and skated after him.

“Cheater!” He yelled after him, his lips coming up in a baring motion. 

“Don’t like that, huh? Maybe think about that next time!” He shouted with a boisterous laugh, feeling his legs rejuvenate with energy as his powers kicked in. He could feel the blue electricity crackle off of his body, the rubber in his shoes soaking up some of the energy and shooting it right up into his legs. It felt amazing to run with his powers, and he felt the familiar feeling of Shadow’s chaos energy sneaking up behind him. 

“I’ll get you!” He heard a guttural growl from behind him, and then another surge of chaos energy. He was shocked it didn’t go through the road and burn the town's electricity out; Sonic did that once. 

“Why don’t you come and get me?!” He giggled, his feet slapping and pounding against the sidewalk. He strayed off into the grass and some trees, twisting and turning with a deadly precision as he felt the soil beneath his shoes. The soft crunch of the grass filled his ears, and for a moment it was just him and nature. It was just him and the hot air and the crows cawing and the birds chirping. 

Shadow clenched his jaw and followed after the annoying blue menace. He traversed the earthy terrain with ease, keeping steely focus on his opponent as he neared him. He knew he felt his chaos energy, because he let out another burst of energy to separate them. There was around five feet in between them. 

The sun peaked through the canopy of all the trees, yellow spots here and there heating up the leaves and the soil where it could. But for the most part, the trees protected the ground and kept it cool and icey, perfect for a hot summers day. 

Soon, his shoes met concrete once again as they neared the exit of their tiny town. There was a headstone marking the enter and exit of the area, and so he sped right by the stone structure. A second later Shadow did the same, with a scowl on his face. It was a flash of blue, then a flash of warm yellow as the two superpowered hedgehogs raced each other.

Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, Shadow gained on Sonic. Now they were shoulder to shoulder, bumping into each other to try and throw the other off. His grin contrasted with his frown, complete opposites that somehow found comfort in one another. 

“What was that about me eating your dust?” He asked, taunting the other for letting him keep up. 

“Oh, you’ll see soon enough.” He said, that stupid smirk still plastered to his face. His tooth gap showed and shined in the blaring sunlight. 

“Will I now?” He huffed, rolling his eyes before turning his head to face the road ahead of them. A pebble kicked up in one of the rockets in his air shoes, which effectively clogged his shoes and made him trip on nothing. The uneven force of the rockets threw him off balance, so down he went. 

He unceremoniously faceplanted into some dirt, thank god they had swerved back into the grassy areas, or he would have hit concrete and gotten a bloody nose. 

Sonic skidded to a halt, looking back at Shadow to make sure he was okay. He coughed and sputtered, quite literally eating his dust as he got the grass out of his mouth. That was unpleasant to say the least, but he got back up. 

“Hah! Now that’s what I call karma! See ya at the festival!” He cheered, boosting away before his opponent could even register what he had said. Bastard.

He quickly got up and kicked his shoes back on, but they malfunctioned and sputtered. God damnit. He didn’t have time to try and fix his shoes, so he kicked the pieces of junk against the ground and turned them on again.

They fired, not as strong as they could’ve been but it would last him. He skidded off, and now they had a significant space between them. With both of them going at their fastest, Sonic would still get there first. And he had almost won too! He groaned under his breath from frustration, damn that stupid hedgehog.

When he got there, that blue menace had already gotten them ice creams. He scowled.

“What’s with the frown? I got us treats!” He said, handing the brooding hedgehog his ice cream. It was strawberry with chocolate chips, which was one of his favorite ice creams. So his sour mood did go down, just a little bit. 

“Yeah, but my shoes malfunctioned. It wasn’t fair.” He huffed, starting to eat his ice cream with a pout. The hedgehog before him thought for a moment, before making him sit down next to him and grabbing his feet. “Hey! What are you doing!”

“I’m going to try and fix it, a pebble might be blocking it or something?” He offered, looking at the mini rockets on the shoes. Shadow let him, but he wasn’t happy at all. He continued to eat his ice cream like a spoiled brat. 

After a moment, Sonic found the problem. It was a pebble, like he had predicted. Looks like Tails had rubbed off on him! So he stuck his finger in there and quickly got it out, which made the other hedgehog scowl and rip his feet away.

“Why did you do that? What if it shot at you?!” He screeched, firmly planting his shoes on the ground and looking at him with angry concern. 

“Well, it was a pebble. It needed to get out!” He said with a sigh, “What, are you actually concerned?” 

“No!” He frowned, his cheeks flushing a bright red. The corners of his lips turning down with embarrassment while he looked away. 

“Mm, sure sounded like you were concerned. One would assume you even… care about me.” He said slyly, his smirk extending across his face as he leaned forward. Now they were around seven inches apart, and that made Shadow lean backwards and stand up.

“C’mon, lets go have some fun.” He said, still rather grumpy from the race. He was being a sore loser and he knew it, but he didn’t really care. 

“But I was having fun!” He whined, but followed his lead. One foot before the other, he followed after his partner as he scarfed down his strawberry ice cream. 

Shadow’s red streaks glowed in the sunlight, which stole his breath away. Yeah, he was moody and bratty, but he was a pretty brat. And most important of all, he was his brat. And he looked ethereal in the sun, like a divine being that just decided to bless all of Mobius with his presence. His red eyes were easy to pick out, with his natural red eyeliner that defined his face and brought attention to everything good and drowned out everything bad. His silky black fur looked like a deep blue in the warm sunlight, striking. It definitely stood out, and Sonic found himself getting slightly jealous of all the other people that got to see him. 

He tread behind him, grabbing a leather clad paw with a non-chalant expression. He squeezed the hand in his hold, looking around the semi-crouded booths and sights. This wasn’t the most common pride festival, but it still worked for what he had planned. And oh, he was determined. He would be kissing those pouty lips today. 

“So, how about we check out the face painting tent?” He asked, fully intent on donning many rainbows in this photo. He hesitated for a moment; this would push him out of the closet for good. He wouldn’t be able to take it back. What if he regretted it? No, he wouldn’t do that. He would regret not doing it.

He shook his head a little at his stupid thoughts and opted to look at Shadow instead, scanning his face for any emotions that lay beneath. 

“Mm, sure.” He nodded in agreement, placing both his hands behind his back and clasping them together. The ebony hedgehog cleared his throat suddenly, scanning the area for those face painting tents Sonic spoke of. But he didn’t see any, so he looked positively confused.

“Wondering where they are? We’ll find them, just gotta look around a bit.” He looked up and down his body. “Sure you aren’t hot? Black fur has got to suck.”

“I’m fine, thank you.” He nodded, taking another bite of his strawberry ice cream. He wondered how Sonic knew that this was his favorite ice cream flavor, but he would ask later. Right now, he wanted to focus on the event and spend some time with Sonic.

“You know, your fur looks kinda cool under the sunlight. Color-wise, I mean. It looks like a very deep blue.” He mused out loud, starting to walk alongside his partner as they traversed the social event together. 

“It does? Always just thought it was plain black.” He hummed, looking over at his green eyes. Ruby and Emerald, truly a striking combo. It made him feel fuzzy inside, how those eyes were just his favorite shade of green. How they were somehow so dumb but so tantalizing and perfect. 

“I think it’s pretty sweet.” The blue hedgehog commented, looking aside as he avoided Shadow’s gaze. Those red eyes were sometimes way too intimidating for his own good, but they were also just as hypnotic. It was terrifying how they drew him in, made him forget about the world around him… Made him want to hold him close and kiss him. This tension was not good for him; he knew it. 

“Do you?” He said, tilting his head like a confused puppy when Sonic refused to look him in the eyes. “Why aren’t you looking at me?”

“Well- I-” He felt his muzzle flush. Yes, he was already hot from the sun, but oh boy, was this a different type of heat. It was the type of heat that would warm up the coldest of skin, the chilliest of rooms, and the most frozen over hearts. He stumbled over his words, not knowing what to say. “You know, just trying to avoid your hypnotic eyes that seem to just pull me in.” 

It was right, but he said it with such swaggering confidence and bravado that it seemed like he was joking. But, he looked over at Shadow for what was the second time that day, and he already felt his heart begin to swoon and fly over the moon.

“Yeah? You just can't let yourself get lost in my red orbs, mm?” He said in a mocking and teasing tone; he was certainly making fun of something, but what that something was flew over the azure hedgehog's head.

“What? Orbs? ” He asked incredulously, raising one eyebrow while furrowing the other. A boisterous laugh left him as he rolled his eyes, fully convinced Shadow had gone crazy. “Are a few marbles loose?”

Shadow giggled too. “Didn’t get that joke, huh?”

Sonic rolled his eyes and decided to ignore it, glancing at the tents. Young teens and other people were already lining up to get shirts and other goodies, the multi-colored tents luminous in the sun's rays. 

He spotted the face painting tent, the workers were wearing colorful tie-dye with white shorts. The tie-dye made sense, but the shorts seemed risky. Guess it was to complement the white lettering on their T-shirts? Eh, he didn’t really care. As far as he knew, face paint could wash out of clothes. 

“Hey, there’s the face painting tent.” He pointed it out, starting to tug Shadow over to the blue tent. 

“Oh, course. The squirrels with tie-dye.” The ebony hedgehog nodded. Sonic couldn’t tell whether or not he was being mean or just his normal self. So mean or mean, tough battle. 

“Was that mockery I heard?” The ocean-blue hedgehog pried, raising his eyebrows. 

“No, just an observation. Half the workers here are squirrels.” He pointed it out, making the other look around and notice that yeah… Most workers at the tents were squirrels of some kind. Just your common woodland squirrels, but still. His face relaxed as he hummed.

“Guess they love the outside, can’t blame them!” He let out a laugh before tugging his partner into the shade of the face painting tent. A young woman with reddish fur waved and walked over to them.

“You guys here for face painting?” She asked with a smile, the tips of her buck teeth peaking through her lips. “There’s a menu type thing over in the corner, go ahead and check it out.” 

The two nodded, and they turned to look at one of the corners of the tent. There were two laminated menus, posted on the heavy poles they had planted to keep the fabric up. And of course, they were covered in rainbows. 

“Which one do you want Shadow?” He asked, looking over at the beautiful hedgehog beside him as he looked at the menus.

“I might get the rainbows on the cheeks. You?” He looked over, his ruby eyes meeting emerald once again. Sonic just couldn't get enough of those gorgeous eyes, and he smiled while a light blush came back once again. His face was going to be very red by the time they were done, either from sunburn or from something else was yet to be decided. 

“I might get the clouds, the ones with the MLM lining.” He told him, pointing to the cloud design. 

“Oh, that’s what that flag is.” He mused. Did he not even know which flags were which? 

“Do you not even know your flag?” He asked with an incredulous look, and before Shadow could respond, he was already on a tangent. “Well, if you like both genders you would have the flag with the blue, purple, and pink. If you’re gay, you would either have the rainbow flag or the blue one; it really depends on your preferences. If you’re a lesbian, you would have the warmer one, the one that looks like a sunset. And asexual is a whole spectrum, but the greyish with purple one is that flag. Aromantic is the same one except it has green in it.”

The other nodded as he listened. He knew the titles and what they meant, but he didn’t know the flags and such. So he was happy to listen without any questions. He looked at the azure hedgehog as he explained and pointed to the flags on the menu, noticing the sparkle in his eyes as he got to spend time with him. His heart was flooded with this uncomfortable sense of feeling wanted and loved, and for a moment, he thought he was going to cry. He had never felt so intensely ever since Maria and the ARC, so to have his mind washed over with this rush of euphoria was almost unfamiliar. But it was, he remembered the bond he and Maria shared and how he felt wanted and loved. But that was a different type of care and love; this was something else entirely. It still made him feel fuzzy inside, but it was way more intense. It was way more consuming and mind-boggling. 

Sonic seemed to notice the hidden emotion under the guise of his blood red eyes, and he tilted his head. 

“What’cha thinking?” He asked, that tooth gap showing once again. It was so cute, way too cute for an annoying bastard like Sonic The Hedgehog. 

“Nothing.” He immediately said, a little too hastily. 

“You know you can tell me these things, right?” 

He let out a sigh, looking over at the menu and now recognizing the different colored flags. “I was just thinking about… about how I feel.”

“And how are you feeling? I hope good, right?” He leaned forward, hanging on every word Shadow spoke like a toddler clutching onto their mama’s pant leg. 

“Good, yes. I feel-” He hesitated, before plunging into the vulnerable deep end he found himself in. “Loved.” 

Sonic’s eyes practically lit up at how honest Shadow was being, and at what he said as well. He couldn’t help himself, and he brought him into a hug. It was tight, almost unbearable as he squeezed the life out of him right then and there. 

“Okay!- Okay-” He patted his arm. He could hardly breathe with how much strength and force he was putting into this hug. “I can’t breathe!” 

The other hedgehog reluctantly removed his hands, releasing him from his grip as he sighed. “What? Just wanted to give you a hug!”

“Yeah, squeeze the life force outta me while you’re at it.” He huffed, then cleared his throat. Despite his complaints, he quite liked the hug. It represented Sonic perfectly, brash and full of passion. Yep, that was his stupid blue hedgehog. 

“You’re so cute when you’re pouty, ya know that?” He teased, causing a soft blush to adorn his features. He just rolled his eyes. 

“How about we go get that face paint, mm?” He tilted his head, to which the azure hedgehog nodded enthusiastically.

“Yes, we should do that!” He smiled, making Shadow’s heart flutter. 

 

★★★

 

They played a ton of games, trading tickets and coins for extra shots. And since Shadow wanted to try his luck at the lottery, where you win a self-care kit, used his tickets at that too. The sun quickly set, bathing the land in much-needed cool air. Sonic was positively sunburned, and his partner made fun of that every chance he could get. 

Their face paint stayed on the entire time; clearly, they had used some black magic to make it stay for so long! The clouds on his cheeks looked as good as when he got them, and so did Shadow’s rainbow flags. He didn’t want to get the MLM flag; he didn’t want to have Sonic’s colors on him. That made the blue hedgehog roll his eyes and laugh. 

He also got some flags, and he made him carry the MLM flag he got. It was very clever, he thought. But the ebony hedgehog didn’t think so.

“Why did you have me carry the blue flag?” He huffed. For someone who didn’t mind being a public couple, he was awfully pressed about carrying a blue flag when a certain blue hedgehog was sitting right next to them. 

“Becaaaause I got a flag for Amy.” He responded, holding the bisexual flag to his chest as they laid out their blanket. They were going to watch the fireworks, as after that they would be announcing the winners of the kit that Shadow so desperately wanted. “And I can’t carry two flags at once, now can I?” 

He saw his quills bristle, spiking up a little bit at Amy’s name. Jealous bastard. “Amy?” 

“Yeah, what, you jealous?” Sonic jeered at him, smirking while he sat down on the soft blanket. His partner had teleported to his home and came back with a very soft and plush blanket,. To protect them from the prickly, over-mowed grass. He hated how people seemed to be obsessed with mowing lawns; it made the grass prickly and stand up. And that wasn’t a good feeling, like, at all. Not to mention it looked ugly half the time. 

He liked it when the grass had those buds or seeds on it, that’s when you knew the grass is a nice length. But, obviously, the majority of people don’t like that. They say the grass itches their legs when they walk through it when it’s that long, but Sonic didn’t think so. He always shrugged it off. 

“No, just…” He trailed off, looking into the dark sky to hopefully see if the firework show had started. It hadn’t, it wouldn’t start until ten minutes later. But a guy could hope, right?

“What? I already told you, me and Amy are just friends.” He reassured him, grabbing his bicep as he looked into his fire-red eyes. His soft emerald eyes were a soothing balm to the hedgehog's jealousy, and he soon found himself relaxing into the touch and purring slightly. 

“I know, that’s why I’m not jealous.” He said. He totally didn’t wish he had that type of companionship with Sonic, no, that was ridiculous! He was already dating the hog; he already had that connection.

“Awh, is that purring I hear? It sounds like a Geiger Counter.” He teased lightly, letting go of his arm and wrapping him up in an embrace. Shadow’s ears went back as he blushed, and he nuzzled into Sonic to hide from everyone so they wouldn’t see how embarrassed he got. Even though his state was already pitiful. 

“Whatever, at least I don’t have a god awful sunburn.” He remarked with a growl, trapping the blue hedgehog there to be his pillow. 

“Now that’s dirty!” He shouted out, shaking his head slightly. He got his phone out and snuck just a tiny photo of his partner, it wouldn’t hurt! Plus, he looked so adorable like this. “C’mon, look me in the eyes.”

“No.” He pouted, his voice tiny and utterly bewitching. He let out a lovesick sigh and used one of his hands to grab Shadow’s chin, then he lightly encouraged him to look up at him. 

His ear twitched as he heard a boom from the first fireworks starting. Looks like they were starting early. Oh well, he smiled as he leaned closer, making the black and red hedgehog blush even more. 

“What are you doing?” He asked quickly. 

“What am I doing?” He questioned, making Shadow answer that for himself. He brought him closer, their chests pressed together. They’re bodies had a rim of red and gold as the fireworks shot up, casting a faint glow on the land beneath them. His quills, black and red, flashed with colors and lit up as they looked into each others eyes. 

“I don’t know…” He mumbled, looking absolutely starstruck. 

He guided Shadow up to his face, their noses brushing together as Sonic’s smirk widened. Then, he captured him in a kiss. He felt his partner tense up, then relax into it and kiss back.

The kiss was done with haste, and confused love and passion as they let the fireworks in front of them go. And it seemed like it lasted for only a second before they pulled away from each other. 

He wasn’t worried about taking a picture of this moment, as he had already taken a plethora of pictures while they had fun. 

A silence filled the air as they looked at each other, still as close as they were before. And then,

SNAP.

Notes:

Thank you for reading!!! I'll try to do biweekly updates, but with prepping for the ACT and the PSAT it might be difficult.