Chapter Text
Dull. Throbbing. Sharp.
The pain radiated through his skull like ice, growing tight around his right eye while his jaw became stiff. Slowly, he rolled his neck in hopes of alleviating the ache that pulsed from his shoulder all the way to the back of his head.
The headache, the blurry vision, the (even more than usual) irritable mood.
And the annoying blue rat opposite him wasn’t helping any of these matters right now.
They had been racing, Sonic getting a sneaky head start with a wide grin plastered on his face as he bounced away, leaving behind a blue trail for the agent to follow. With a sigh, Shadow had followed. Because no matter how often Shadow complained that he was above such petty competitions, who else was there to keep up with the Blue Blur and put him in his place?
At first, he had ignored the persistent tingling in his neck, chalking it all down to excess Chaos energy flowing over his fur as the adrenaline took over. He’d also ignored the initial stiffness of his jaw, simply putting that down to his irritation at his rival for using such low tactics to get a head start.
But it was as they both crossed the proposed finish line, Shadow a hair’s breadth away from Sonic, that the first dull ache creeped into head, finally getting his attention. Shadow didn’t get sick and any pain he’d ever felt in the past was inflicted by injury.
So, what the hell is this?
The pain had distracted him enough to allow Sonic to place a teasing hand on his shoulder as he gloated over his win, rocking Shadow back and forth slightly which only made the pain worse. In his irritation, the hybrid had lashed out, swatting away the hero’s hand probably harder than it warranted.
And that’s where they were now. Fighting, rolling around on the now crumpled grass, and legs kicking out in hopes of hitting any target. Shadow had managed to land a few punches on Sonic, watching in glee as Sonic had simply shaken them off like nothing before retaliating with his own.
Shadow’s own moves were slower than usual, not quite sluggish, but he did not have the brain capacity to think clearly on what moves to pull next. If Sonic had noticed anything strange about the hybrid, he was definitely using it to his advantage.
After a particularly strong throb at the back of Shadow’s head which was accompanied by the appearance of two black dots in his vision, he had winced, dragging one of his hands through his quills in hopes to relieve the tension in his head.
The next thing he knows, Sonic is straddling his stomach, and just as he opens his eye to take note of his next move, a white gloved fist is making contact with his jaw. The force snaps his face to the side and for one blissful second, the pain in his jaw is great enough to distract from whatever is going on in his skull.
He blinks.
And then it all comes rushing back to him. The ringing in his ears, his brain rattling around from the force of the punch, and Sonic sat above him and watching him curiously. Such a heavy and deep wave of fatigue settles across him, and with a groan Shadow goes limp on the floor, no longer having the energy to do anything but close his eyes.
Distantly, he can hear Sonic asking him a question, but the thought of opening his mouth and thinking of words makes another groan escape his lips. Slowly, Shadow brings his hand up to his quills, grabbing onto the emerald hiding there and with a flash he is gone, leaving behind a very confused blue hedgehog.
The next time he’s caught out by his new condition is at Sonic’s birthday party, and quite possibly one of the worst places to be experiencing a headache. Loud music blares away from a speaker in the corner, people’s chatter filters across the space and mix with that dreaded ringing in his ears.
He’d been trying to nap away the ache in his head in the apartment he shared with Rogue, when she had barged in and almost dragged him down into Club Rogue below, reminding him that he’d promised to show himself for at least 20 minutes (which he was now counting down every second of).
Thankfully, people are often happy enough to leave Shadow to brood alone by himself in the corner of one of the booths. Everyone except one, who was currently sliding in beside him.
“Shadow! You made it...” Shadow does not miss the edge of hesitation that creeps into Sonic’s tone.
After all, the last time they had seen each other was when they’d fought, and Sonic had punched the hybrid square in the jaw. From the hero’s point of view, he’d watched his rival (The Ultimate Lifeform, mind you) take a hit that normally he would have shaken off with ease. Yet this time, he’d watched Shadow go limp, groan in pain and then just vanish.
To say he had been concerned had been an understatement. In fact, he’d been so concerned he’d even dropped Rouge a message to make sure she checked in on her roommate once she was home.
Rouge had assured Sonic that her favourite hedgehog was all fine, just sleeping, and yet he remained curious.
Just what did it take to bring down The Ultimate Lifeform like that?
Right now, Shadow simply grunted his reply, glaring daggers at his rival who he was sure felt smug about his last victory.
“So,” Sonic began to tap his gloved fingers against the table as a sly smile spread across his face, “how are you feeling?”
Shadow knew it.
With an eye roll that took a lot more energy than usual, Shadow snarled out and short “Fine.”
“Mmhmm. Jaw not hurting too bad?” accompanied by a smug smirk this time as he leaned closer to try and spot any sign of injury on the other.
At this, a scoff left Shadow’s lips, “You really think you can hurt me ? Don’t make me laugh, Faker.”
“I dunno,” a shrug, “never seen you handle a blow like that before.”
Sonic’s voice droned through his ears like an icy cold knife, slicing its way as it made a path from one ear to the other. The edges of his vision were starting to blur as he squinted against the bright club lights.
With a huff, Shadow placed his head in his hands as he squinted down at the table before finally closing his eyes.
“You just... caught me at a bad time... Is all.” he almost slurred.
This was enough to get Sonic’s attention, as the next thing he felt was a hand squeezing his shoulder.
“Whoa, are you drunk? You’ve barely been here ten minutes.”
At this point, Shadow didn’t even have the energy to shrug away the unwanted touch, actually thankful for the slight pressure Sonic was pressing so close to his stiff neck.
“Sonic,” his voice came out sharp and strained, “go to your friends. Please.” The last part almost sounded desperate, and Shadow inwardly cringed but he was almost beyond caring at this point.
If Sonic wanted to say anything else he didn’t, lingering with his hand still on Shadow’s shoulder for a few more moments before the warmth was pulling away and only the sounds of the club were present to torment him.
Shadow remained in the booth for exactly five more minutes, counting down every single second, before raising slowly and slinking his way out of the club without so much as a nod in anyone’s direction.
He could feel someone’s eyes boring into his back as he trudged away, ignoring it to instead go to his apartment and immediately fall into the darkness of his room and remain there for the next 20 hours.
Shadow startled awake with a gasp, bleary eyes trying to flutter shut again against the bright rays of the shaded sun. He felt his head thunk against the dry bark of a tree behind him, the tickle of grass under the backs of his legs from where he rested slouched and groggy.
The fur on his arms stood on end and his quills were raised in alarm. Something or someone must have woken him up from his impromptu nap. After a few moments of barely concentrated silence as Shadow continued to wake up further, he finally deemed his life in no real threat and relaxed back against the tree. Waiting.
He didn’t have to wait long until he heard,
“Oh, sleeping beauty is finally awake.”
“What do you want, Sonic?”
There were a few moments of silence, where the hero seemed to regard him, watching for something.
“Not like you to be caught sleeping outside like this.” Sonic mused.
“And yet, here I am.”
Sonic hummed, once again watching Shadow carefully.
Shadow didn’t even have the energy to care at this point as that dull throb settled back into his senses again.
“Actually, Rouge told me all about it.”
“Oh?” He hissed as he turned to face the hero, “Enlighten me.”
“You know. The headaches.”
At this, Shadow blanched for a moment, looking over at the hero curiously. He wondered why the other had even cared enough in the first place to ask Rouge, other than to be nosey, of course.
Instead of responding verbally, Shadow just slumped further against the tree, bringing up a hand to rub furious circles into his temples. The motion brought a very slight relief, but the droning sickness return the second he stopped.
“You know, there are ways to help with them? I asked Rouge if you’d tried anything, but she wasn’t sure.”
“Medicine doesn’t work. I’ve tried. I’ll talk to G.U.N about it.” he groaned, closing his eyes again.
“Have you tried anything else?” Sonic tsked, poking the hybrid on his shoulder to prevent him from drifting off again.
Shadow refused to respond, trying to make the most of the sudden comfortable position he’d found himself in and not wanting to ruin the relief. After a moment of silence, he felt Sonic jump up to his feet beside him.
“Well, we’ll figure it out, don’t worry!” and with a gust of wind, he was gone.
However, instead of feeling at peace now the chatterbox was gone, Shadow felt a frown creasing his brow.
We?
It had started a week or so later.
Shadow had come back to the shared apartment alone after a particularly rough mission, his heavy air shoes dragging the last few steps as he approached the door. Something caught his eye, a black plastic bag dangling limply from the door handle.
Hesitantly, he had looked around the hall for any signs of people but came up blank. Rouge wasn’t home because she was still away on her own mission, so the hybrid had no idea who could have left a grocery bag here.
Slowly, he peeked inside, a brow raising in confusion at the contents.
An... Icepack?
In confusion, Shadow brought the item inside and dumped it on the nearby kitchen counter. The icepack was currently the least of his worries as he made his way to the shower to wash away the dirt from his travels.
It was only once he was settled onto the couch later that he noticed his phone blinking with a message, wondering who would even be awake at this time.
Sonic:
Did you get my present??
Shadow:
What nonsense are you spouting?
Sonic:
The Icepack!!
I read all about headaches while u were gone
It’ll help
Shadow:
How is this flimsy thing going to be any help?
Sonic:
Well u see the way icepacks work is u put ice inside and then u put it on the area that hurts isn’t that crazy??????
Duh
Shadow stared down at his phone with a scowl, almost wishing the other was here just so he could smack the smug smirk off his face he knew he would be sporting. Shadow’s lack of reply saw another buzz come from his phone a few seconds later.
Sonic:
anywayyy
let me know if it helps or not :)
And so, Shadow had shoved the icepack into a cabinet forgetting all about it for two more weeks, until suddenly he was draped over the couch with his eyes squinting against the offending morning light.
It was only as nausea finally set in that Shadow was prompted to stand up and rummage for something to help with his situation. Blindly, his hands grabbed at anything in the cabinets in hopes that something would work.
A pack of gum, a flashlight, a half melted old candle, an icepack-
The icepack.
Without a second thought, he was ripping it from the shelf and stumbling over to the freezer to dump it full of ice. Once he made it back to the couch, he laid down heavily before pressing the ice pack against his right brow.
A subtle sigh left his mouth as the ice-cold spread across his skull where it made contact with his fur, the slight threat of brain breeze distracting him momentarily from the pain. The pain never actually left, but the relief was enough for Shadow to finally sink into a more peaceful slumber.
When he awoke three hours later, although groggy, it was obvious he had napped himself through the worst of the migraine. As he sat there, with the now melted ice pack sloshing in his lap, he picked up his phone and opened his messages.
Shadow:
The icepack was fine.
Doesn’t stop the pain, but it will do.
The next gift he found waiting for him was a heat pack. Shadow had let slip that his neck would become stiff during his new episodes, and so Sonic had continued his research. On its own, the heat pack didn’t really help much, but a combination with the icepack insured for a good sleep while he waited it out.
Other gifts had followed suit – expensive coffee beans in the hopes that caffeine would work, ginger tea, camomile – but each one did little more than ease some of his symptoms.
It was one completely normal day when the Shadow got a message from the blue hero. He’d been writing up a drab report after a mission, so for once the distraction was welcomed.
Sonic:
I think I’ve run out of headache remedies
Only have one or two solutions left
Shadow:
Well, it won’t hurt to try them at this point.
There was an uncharacteristic silence from Sonic’s end, no new messages coming through for a good twenty minutes, until his phone finally pinged.
Sonic:
I don’t think ur gonna like it tho lol :(
At this, Shadow scowled down at his phone, wondering what could possibly be so bad that he wouldn’t want to try it. At this point, Shadow was willing to do anything to relieve his pain.
Just as Shadow was about to reply, another message came through, this time just a link to a website. He opened the link and skimmed the contents lightly, recognising a lot of the mentioned remedies as ones Sonic had tried already.
Shadow felt his eyes widen as he scanned over the last suggestion on the page, the light prickling of a blush creeping over his muzzle. He blinks. A breath huffs out of his nose. He reads it again.
Step 6. Having an orgasm.
With a scoff, he opens his messages and begins typing.
Shadow:
No.
Sonic:
U won't try it?
Not even once??
Shadow:
The last thing I’m thinking about when my head is about to explode it having an orgasm, Sonic.
I barely have enough energy to keep my eyes open.
There was another stilted moment of silence, in which Shadow watched the three dots appear as Sonic began typing, only to disappear, appear, and then vanish again before his message came through.
Sonic:
What about if someone helped you then?
So you can just relax?
Shadow:
I can’t tell if you’re seriously asking me that.
Don’t piss me off, Faker.
Sonic:
I mean it!
Get someone to help u out, no biggie
No biggie, he says.
No biggie.
This conversation alone would be enough to trigger a headache.
Shadow
And just where do you suppose I find someone to just “help me out”?
The hybrid waited a while for a response but when after ten minutes it didn’t come, he busied himself once again with his work. It was only as he was signing out of his laptop and walking over to his room that he glanced down at the notification on his phone.
Sonic:
You have my number ¯\_ ⍩⃝_/¯
Shadow hadn’t responded to the message. In fact, Shadow had been actively avoiding even opening the message, not until he knew exactly how he wanted to respond. And how was he supposed to respond? It’s not every day that the Hero of Mobius offers to nurse you back to full health with an orgasm.
So, he ignored the message. And in the few instances he saw the blue blur in person, neither of them brought it up. In fact, Sonic behaved the same as usual, not a care in the world and with no intent to ignore Shadow. It got to the point where even Shadow had forgotten about the unread message sitting in his notifications, yet he left it there anyway, for reasons he wasn’t sure.
It was after a month of this, that Shadow would finally understand why.
He’d shakily Chaos Controlled his way home after a painfully slow day at work, the sudden teleportation inducing deep nausea in him for perhaps the first time. As he passed the kitchen, he made sure to grab the icepack and hot pack before making his way into his dark bedroom.
Slowly, he lowered himself down onto the bed, having enough mind to throw off his G.U.N issued jacket somewhere, but not finding the energy to remove the baggy combat trousers he hated so much.
He slumped down deep into the pillows, bringing the icepack up to his forehead and sighing with the minute relief it provided. The hot pack rested at the nape of his neck, and he waited patiently for sleep to take him.
He waited.
And he waited.
But no amount of fatigue was distracting him from the current pain throbbing behind his eye and rattling through his skull. He groaned loudly as he rearranged the position of the icepack and hot pack.
Nothing.
The next thing he did was drag himself up and into the kitchen, squinting against the light of the fridge as he worked on making some coffee. Caffeine would surely do the trick. After taking a few large gulps of the steaming, rich coffee that Sonic had bought him, he waited thirty minutes.
Nothing.
OK... then maybe camomile today. It will help me sleep.
Nothing.
He made his way back to his room and sat on the bed, his head in his hands, as he contemplated his options. From experience, he had about fifteen more hours of this at least . An exhausted sigh escaped his lips as he thought about just how much he wanted to sleep right now, yet the pain was too distracting to ignore.
He thought about the list that Sonic had sent him.
No biggie , he had said. Maybe for someone as carefree as the wind, it was ‘No big deal’. But, it was in fact a big deal for Shadow, because how could he just ask his rival for something like that? Their relationship was shaky at most, with most of the effort put in on Sonic’s side as it was.
They had a routine, and they had clear set expectations from one another, but this? Shadow didn’t even know where to begin processing what this would mean.
But the ache and the pain .
Slowly, Shadow reached down to rest a gloved hand on his own thigh, contemplating his next move. Masturbating really was the last thing on his mind right now, but if it would help...
With an exasperated sigh, he moved back to rest on the pillows again and letting his hand rest firmly over where his concealed pouch would be hiding under his combat trousers. With effort he rubbed over the area, the friction from his hand and clothes feeling good against his fur, but nowhere near good enough of a distraction for his condition.
Fruitlessly, he rubbed and rubbed, his hand undoing just the top button of his slacks to dip his hand under the waistband to encourage his length out of the pouch. No matter how much he stroked and grinded, although hard under his fur, his dick refused to slip out on its own.
The pounding in his head had his brows furrowed in frustration, every movement of his own hand seeming to increase the tension behind his eyes instead of releasing it.
It was no use.
Blindly, he used his other hand to grab his phone, opening the message he’d wilfully ignored for the last month with no shame as his fingers typed quickly. He dropped the phone somewhere onto the bed with no care, sinking back down into the pillows with his eyes closed.
Shadow had almost started to doze off when his ears twitched towards his open bedroom door, the sound of the someone typing in the code for the apartment door catching his attention. He heard the door close with a soft click and then the soft pad of socks moving across the wooden floors.
He didn’t need to open his eyes to know that someone was stood in the open doorway, feeling the ghost of their gaze wash over him as they observed him, almost cautiously. After only a moment of hesitation, Shadow felt the mattress beside him dip as they made themselves comfortable beside him, making an effort not to touch.
“You awake, Shads?” came the surprisingly quiet whisper beside him.
Even if Shadow had wanted to respond verbally, he couldn’t muster the energy so settled with a quiet grunt and a small nod.
“How are you feeling?”
Shadow felt like this was a stupid question, because if he had been feeling anything other than misery right now, Sonic would not be sitting on his bed. He responded with another grunt.
An amused huff left Sonic’s nose at the response, Shadow noting how he scooted a little closer to the hybrid.
“I’m taking that as Shadow talk for ‘ I am in an immeasurable amount of pain, Faker’.”
This earned him a scoff, one of Shadow’s eyes finally flicking open to regard the other. He was sat with his knees bent up, resting his elbow on the knee lazily as he watched over Shadow.
“Please. It is... merely a... slight distraction.” he scoffed.
“And yet, here I am.” Sonic shrugged, a small smile visible from the little light filtering in through the open window, “You need me to distract you further?”.
Shadow scowled into the dark, “If it will help. I just want to sleep.”
Sonic inched closer again, almost touching the other as he murmured, “I can do that. It’s no biggie, right?”
Sonic didn’t move, as if waiting for Shadow to respond. The hybrid tried to think carefully, trying to push the pain away for second to think rationally.
With a sigh, he relaxed more into the pillows, closing his eyes again and muttering out an almost strained, “Right.”
He felt Sonic reposition himself a final time, laying down on his side with his head propped up on his elbow, his front pressing softly against Shadow’s arm. Shadow waited in anxious anticipation for Sonic to do something, touch him, grab him, anything, but it never came.
He peeked his eye open again to find the hero watching him curiously.
“Is it OK to touch you, Shadow?” This time there was no air of teasing surrounding the other, the questions serious.
“If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t have asked you to come.” Shadow huffed, closing his eyes again and tipping his chin back in an act of arrogance, “So, are you going to do it or not?”
A quiet snort left Sonic’s lips, likely from Shadow’s behaviour which he knew from experience meant the other was feeling out of his element. Sonic raked his eyes over the other hedgehog, taking note of his combat slacks, the top button undone and of course, the gloved hand still trapped under the waistband.
“Shadow,” Sonic almost cooed, “Were you touching yourself?”
A simple “Yes” was mumbled from the hybrid, however the hand retreated from under the waistband, coming to rest across his tense stomach instead.
“Did you feel better?” he asked, genuinely curious if there had been any results.
“Too... tired. Couldn’t-”
“OK, OK. No more thinking from you then, just relax, Shads.”
Sonic brought his hand up to cup firmly over the crotch on Shadow’s cargo’s, whatever arousal had been there before had now completely waned, but that was nothing the hero couldn’t fix.
He presses down with the heel of his palm, grinding pressure down in small circles over Shadow’s pouch. A slow exhale sounds from the other hedgehog, the hero taking this as his sign to keep going.
Sonic could feel the length get firm over time, likely desperate to be released from the pouch. He moved his gloved hand up to the waistband, his fingers playing with the white tuft of fur that trailed down from Shadow’s navel and disappeared under the pants. It was soft, just like the fur that adorned his chest, and it was with a small tug of it that he continued lower, squeezing his gloved hand under the cargo’s.
Blindly he searched for the stiff pouch, stroking gently over the fur there and smiling to himself when he found what felt like the slit already opened. The tip of a wet cock was peeking out, two of Sonic’s fingers rubbing over the head softly to draw it out further. The friction from his gloves dragged a short gasp from the hybrid, a quick glance up seeing Shadow with his eyes still squeezed shut.
As he continued to stroke over the slit, he noted just how wet his glove was getting, the slick making his fingers slide easily over the heated flesh. It was as Sonic added more pressure to the tip of the hybrid’s cock that it finally slipped out, pressed flush against the constraints of the cargo pants.
Sonic marvelled at the new tent, straining uncomfortably against the zipper. He looked big .
Slowly, he pulled his hand out from under the waistband, palming at the tent and taking his time to just feel. His fingers wrapped around the clothed cock, giving it a firm squeeze before rubbing up and down the shaft lightly.
Shadow relished in the friction, his head tilting further back into the pillows, his brow creased as he focused on the feel of Sonic’s large hand working him slowly.
“Let me get that for you.” Sonic grinned, fingers moving to grab the zipper and pull it down carefully from the tented pants.
A sigh of relief slipped past Shadow’s lips as the pressure was released, the cold air of his bedroom finally hitting his bare cock as it popped out to rest on his stomach.
“There’s no way all of that was hiding under there this whole time.” Sonic almost sounded bewildered, fingers immediately coming back to the shaft.
His gloves stroked over the various bumps and ridges that lined the underside of his cock, coming up to a tapered and soft head, meanwhile thickening at the base. Sonic watched in awe as slick beaded from the tip, almost a continuous stream of it as it fell down the shaft to soak into his gloves.
“You’re so wet .”
He didn’t even give Shadow the time to process his words before his hand was moving up and down the length, fingers curled in a tight hold as they dragged over each ridge and vein. Wet sounds filled the dark room as his hand moved, and Sonic couldn’t help dragging his eyes up the hybrid’s body as he worked.
Shadow’s stomach muscles fluttered as his arousal made itself known, the hand that still rested there curled into a fist. The black hedgehog’s neck was tilted back into the pillows, his quills splayed out, meanwhile his other arm was draped across his eyes.
Sonic watched him intently as he picked up the pace of his hand, biting his own lip to keep in his own noises as Shadow panted open mouthed into the air. Hearing his rival’s stuttered sighs as he worked a hand over him almost had Sonic spiralling, not yet fully processing just what he was experiencing.
“Does it feel good?”
An aborted groan, followed by a long hum was his answer, the hero taking note when Shadow’s hips started to thrust up minutely into his hand, desperate to get as much out of it as possible. Shadow’s thrusts were slow and languid, opposite of how fast Sonic’s hand was rubbing along his shaft.
The first moan that slipped out from tan lips washed over Sonic like a wave, sending a jolt down his spine as he watched Shadow get closer to the edge. Sonic squeezed his thighs together at the feel of his own arousal, trying so hard to focus on the needs of the hybrid even as the fur between his own thighs became damp.
“That’s it, Shads. Take what you need.” He cooed, twisting his hand on the upstroke to drag more slick from the cock, and earning a whine from the other.
Sonic pressed himself closer, resting his head next to Shadow’s ear that was currently twitching, breathing compliments directly into his ear as he stroked and stroked. A series of “You’re doing so well”, “Almost there” and “C’mon Shads, let me hear you” whispered hotly across Shadow’s fur had him moaning even louder. Distantly, he could feel Sonic nosing along his muzzle, inhaling his scent before a wet tongue draped across the salt of his neck, humming in content at the taste.
The feel of Sonic’s warm hand wrapped around him and paired with his words had Shadow’s hips stuttering in their movements, warm jolts tingling down his spine as he grew closer and closer to the edge.
The pain in his head had faded to mere background noise as he focused on his upcoming release, grateful for the arm draped across his eyes to hide his fluttering lashes and rolling eyes.
It was with a gasp, as Sonic rubbed over one of the bumps under his cock, that he finally came. Distantly, he felt himself spilling all over those white gloves, but he was distracted entirely by the feelings in his head.
As he hit his peak, the rush of endorphins almost sent him spiralling, wrapping around the base of his skull like a comforting hand before travelling all the way up to the tips of his ears and down to his toes.
He could vaguely hear Sonic still whispering praises into his ear as he stroked him through it, but the sudden rush of blood to his head blocked out any noises, and his vision blurred. Instead of fighting the fatigue that washed over him, he released himself to it, allowing himself to go limp in the pillows and relishing in the very real relief from his pain.
The next time his eyes fluttered open, the morning sun was beginning to peak in from behind the clouds, bathing his room in a fresh yellow glow. Blinking away his confusion he had looked around the room for any traces of last night but found none.
He noted that his cargos were no longer on his legs, and the icepack rested close to his head as if someone had placed it there new, still slightly cold from being refilled with ice. He also noted that his headache was completely gone, and while still groggy, his condition was faring much better than before.
So, it had worked.
It was with a groan that he sunk back into bed, pulling the blankets around him to hide himself from the new reality of his situation. The worst possible outcome had been achieved, and he was sure to never live it down.
Sonic had been right .