Chapter Text
Sonic walked across the roof. He was so skilled in doing so without falling, that he seemed to glide with ease. Keeping his hood over his head and staying with the shadows, he managed to get to the skylight just in time for his next meeting with Shadow.
It’s been fun being friends with the crown prince, despite him being the enemy. So far, he’s given him a lot of reasons to trust him, and it seems he has a shared dislike for the king when mentioned in his letters. But, apart from rebellion things and ally talk, Shadow was a good companion to have around. He wondered if after all of this they’d be able to hang out and do normal stuff like friends do. Things like racing or simply walking around the town square. Or play games and spar, Sonic always loved sparring. Did Shadow like sparring? He’d have to ask him in their next letter exchange after this.
There was some self-speculation however, Sonic seemed to have other…feelings toward the crown prince. He figured since he’d been meeting with him for this long, exchanging letters to keep in touch for this long, and so frequently, that he’d grow attached or rather fond of the dark hedgehog. But this was different than the usual platonic infatuation he’d have with his friends. This seemed like something…more. He couldn’t explain it, he didn’t want to explain it. He didn’t want to explain why he thought about Shadow almost every day and every night before he went to sleep, why he dreamt of him, why he would get so giddy on nights he got to sneak into the castle library to see him. He didn’t want to reason with himself on why he thought he was the most gorgeous hedgehog, how often he thought about how soft his chest really was, how charming in personality he was, the way his ears flicked attentively to every word he said. This is just a friend thing!
Sliding the pre-unlocked window with ease (thanks Rouge), he carefully climbed in, swinging his body back onto the bookshelf. It wobbled, he steadied himself. He was being a bit rough with his strength tonight, maybe he should tone it down a bit.
Slowly, to his disliking but to not cause any additional noise, he climbed down the bookshelf. When he hit carpeted floors, he released his grip on the shelf and began to sprint down the halls. Thank Chaos there’s rug!
He decided to take a little detour around the library, before making it to their new meeting spot in the library, the balcony. Sonic decided to head out there while he waited, Shadow knew where to look. Hopefully.
He took a seat on the sofa, arms behind his head looking up at the stars. He smiled and smelled the wind. He missed this part of the library. Nobody used it, therefore, nothing was moved and everything was in its same place. I wonder if our old hideout is still intact in this library.
In his schooldays, he, Sonia, Manic, and Tails made a secret hideout in the library. At first, it was used to help Sonic get away from his studies, as they were much more boring compared to his siblings’. And then it became their usual meeting spot, a place where they’d eat snacks and hang out. Talk about the latest drama of the day with Sonia or have an arm wrestle with Manic. Tails liked taking naps there during that time and Sonic always provided a blanket in case the fox got sleepy during their sessions. He longed for those days now, those days that were ripped from him so suddenly.
“Sonic?”
The hedgehog jumped, startled by the sudden voice, noticing that Shadow had taken a seat across from him on the other sofa. Had he been sitting there the whole time?
“Shadow! Hi!” He sat up, trying not to think about his old hideout again. Any memory he’d had at the castle would jostle tears and he was not in any way ready to cry tonight.
Or in front of Shadow.
“Sorry, I didn’t want to disturb you, you looked really pr-i-in deep thought!” Shadow cleared his throat, looking away sharply. Sonic tilted his head. “Shads? You okay?”
It almost sounded as if he was about to…
“I’m fine.” He held out the book to him, “Here’s the book.”
Sonic took it, flipping through the pages in excitement. “Oh great! I’ll get started right away!”
He and Sonia used to read this book all the time together. Admittedly, this book was intended for younger audiences, but who’s to tell Sonic he can’t read a good children’s book every once in a while. Besides, Shadow seems to enjoy it. He leaned back a bit in his seat, finding the page he’d dogeared and continued the story where they’d left off.
And as he did, he could feel that gaze once more. Looking up as he read the pages, he saw Shadow once again paying close attention to the contents of the story, seemingly enamored by all the plot twists and turns the story had. Sonic found it endearing, as he did the last time he read to the dark hedgehog.
And when he got to the last page, silence filled the space between the two. Most of it was Shadow absorbing the new information bestowed onto him. It wasn’t really a negative kind of silence, but a comfortable one. Sonic slid the book onto the coffee table between them. And then, he spoke finally.
“That was an amazing tale,” he said in awe. “Are there more like this?”
Sonic nodded. “I mean, if you want more elaborate ones like that and are a little more…grown up than this one, there’s a romance section in the library somewhere. I never usually go there a lot so it’s a bit tricky for me to navigate at the moment.”
Shadow hummed. “So that was a romance novel?”
“Children’s romance, yes! My sister loved that one and we read it together all the time.”
Shadow hummed once more in understanding. “So, they had more genres?”
Sonic nodded. “I’d like to call it more of a subgenre. I mean, children's romance is still romance right?”
Shadow nodded in agreement. “I guess so.”
Sonic put the book down. He leaned over attentively, grinning. “I’m interested in what you’ve been up to lately. Our letters can only tell so much, and I want to dive deeper into this friendship.”
Maybe this would open up an opportunity for Shadow to finally open up. The black hedgehog, although friendly and comfortable with the banter in the letters they’ve exchanged, was a very vague figure. Sonic wanted to learn more about him, hell he wanted to learn everything that is Shadow’s life. So, he sat there, looking expectantly at Shadow for a response. And to his luck, he did.
“Well, I’ve been getting less paperwork, I think I’ll take a day to catch up on some of it after I pull a few strings for your next mission-”
“Anything besides resistance stuff, like, I’ll start.”
Sonic stood and paced as he talked, a habit he’d always had whenever he got really into the conversation.
“I had some toast for breakfast and took some grapes with me as a snack while I walked around town for a bit. Arm wrestled with one of the resistance members and lost ultimately. Then a took a small nap before the next meeting and then had some stew for dinner before I snuck out to meet you.”
He stopped pacing as he finished speaking and sat on the same sofa Shadow was sitting on, their shoulders brushing against each other.
“Like that,” Sonic ignored the feeling of…whatever that was he felt when he brushed against Shadow’s shoulder. It’s just a friend thing, Sonic!
He did notice the hedgehog flinch a little when he did sit next to him, but his expression didn’t show anything other than a thoughtful expression. Shadow sighed.
“I had a simple day today, went in the garden with my sister really early in the morning before we had our usual breakfast, I ate only one thing though, it wasn’t originally on the table.”
“What did you eat?” Sonic tilted his head, smiling wider now that Shadow was talking about his day other than work.
“Coffee beans.”
There was silence, a confusing silence. “C-Coffee beans?” Sonic tried to make sense of what he just heard.
Shadow nodded, “I like coffee beans.”
“Just straight beans? No water or you know…coffeefication?”
“Yes…did you just say coffeefication?”
“Yeah, when you coffify the beans.”
Shadow cracked a big smile, something Sonic had never seen, as if trying not to burst into laughter. “You mean…brewing the coffee?”
Sonic nudged him, “You know what I meant!”
“Well, anyway,” Shadow sounded as if he was fighting off the urge to laugh at Sonic’s made-up word for brew, “I went back to the garden afterward when my sister left for her studies and just…watched the flowers.”
“Watch the flowers?”
Shadow nodded, “It’s peaceful watching the wind go through them, my favorite to watch are the carnations my sister planted near my lavender.”
“Interesting, what did you do after that?”
“It’s not very eventful, boring actually. I just do work the whole day or read until supper. And then repeat. I’m probably boring you right now, aren’t I?”
“No, no!” Sonic shook his head. “I want to learn more about you! And you’re not boring me at all, the coffee beans were very amusing to me actually, I’ve never heard of a person just eating straight up coffee beans.”
“You don’t have to make me feel better,” Shadow laughed, a sound that made Sonic hitch his breath.
“But you’re not! You’re not boring at all. I find you very interesting. You’re a very captivating person, I mean, you watch flowers for entertainment. That’s cool. You’re cool. And not only that, you look the part too, like your eyes for example. I didn’t think I’d like rubies very much until I saw yours on the roof that night, if I’m being very honest. I’ve never seen anyone with that shade of red.”
He paused, he knew he was rambling but he just had to keep going.
“Not anyone with a pretty shade of red like yours.”
Shadow looked over at Sonic, he’d been looking forward the entire time and Sonic - also facing forward - faced Shadow as well. And then his breath caught when he’d realized how hard he was staring into him. And then he was stuck there, as if every bone in his body froze over completely, unmoving.
He could only stare back at him, taking in every feature on his face, not knowing what else to say or what to do. All of his thoughts were all mushed up, any prior thought he had was mushed up into a confusing mess of words that he couldn’t find or place in a sentence that he could form to add to this conversation.
The two were only a few inches apart, shoulder against shoulder. Shadow leaned in a little more, the space between them - as little as it was - thinning the closer he got. Then he paused, Sonic waited for him to do something. He could feel his breath on his face, that was how close they were.
Sonic felt his heart race faster than it did before, he didn’t think it could beat that fast without him running. He looked down at parted lips, looking back up at Shadow, who’s gaze was also on Sonic’s lips.
Sonic opened his mouth to say something, all he could say was, “You’re not boring at all.” It came out as merely a whisper, only heard by him and Shadow.
And then there was no space between them.
It was soft, a gentle breeze. Sonic could feel his heart pounding in his chest, he clutched the edge of his cloak with his hand. When they parted, it was completely silent once more.
And more.
And more.
The realization then hit Sonic hard and he felt his face begin to heat up, putting the hood of his cloak over his head. “I-I-” He couldn’t speak. Why can’t I say anything?
“A-Are you okay? I’m so sorry.”
Oh no, he’s apologizing!
“You’re fine! Really! I just-wow, I really need to-I gotta go.”
He got up, shaking, he was so nervous he couldn’t even walk, he just stood, legs shaking. He could hear Shadow get up, but he didn’t turn around.
“Wait Sonic,” he took his wrist in his hand before Sonic could take a step towards the door. “I’ll walk you, can I walk you?”
Sonic waited a moment, then he nodded, not saying a word.
The walk back was silent, neither of them making any move to start a conversation after what just happened. Sonic clutched the clasp of his cloak tightly, his mind racing, sweating.
Shadow wasn’t saying anything either. Sonic really didn’t want to end this night on such an awkward note like this. Or was it awkward? He couldn’t really tell at this point, his mind was a fog right now.
When they got to the bookcase below the skylight, Sonic turned to him and sighed. Shadow averted his gaze and kept his eyes to the floor. He fidgeting with his hands, not moving or swaying. He looked…guilty.
Sonic rested his hand on one of his fidgeting fists and Shadow looked back at him finally, as if snapping out of his thoughts. Sonic gazed into those rubies once more, smiling softly. “You’re okay, I promise. Don’t feel so guilty. We can talk about this next time we meet, okay?”
Shadow opened his mouth, but he was left speechless for a short moment, looking away from Sonic before muttering, “Okay.”
And with that, the blue hedgehog scaled up the bookcase, climbing into the half opened skylight and he closed it once he was on the roof.
He doesn’t remember the journey back home, hell, he didn’t even know if he ran or walked, all he could think about was him…and the kiss. His only recollection of ever traveling back to the castle was arriving back at the base and climbing back into his window. And once his shoes quietly met the floor of his bedroom, he slowly slid down and let it all come crashing down at once.
I don’t think this is a friend thing.