Chapter Text
Even after a week had passed, that encounter with Shadow still lingered within Sonic’s mind more than it should’ve. It plagued him like a tether in the wind, elusive but ever present and unwilling to leave your side; like how shadows do. And much as he tried to forget about it, he simply couldn’t.
Sonic laid down on a grassy patch with the sun shining upon him, eyes closed as he tried to get some rest. But the world didn’t let him. Much as he tried to avoid it, the sequence played over and over in his head. The way his quills gently rustled in the wind, the way his eyes flickered like a soft candlelight under the moon; little things he saw in him that he found to be endearing. Weirdly, it brought him a sense of peace; to see Shadow like that, calm and undisturbed in a kind moonlight, seemed to stir something within Sonic, but he couldn’t, for the life of him, figure out what.
Unfortunately, as circumstances would have it, Sonic’s break was inevitably cut short once he received word from Tails that there was a base owned by Eggman just nearby the city to be investigated. He’d insisted on going with him, but Sonic encouraged against it. It wasn’t that he disliked additional company—he craved it if anything. He just didn’t want Tails to get hurt. Besides, he had done this charade multiple times, and he always turned out fine at the end of it.
The facility loomed over him like a silent sentinel, imposing and heavy with unspoken threat. His heart heaved, but he knew the sooner he got this over with, the sooner he’d be done with this.
Warily, he opened the door, all too aware of Eggman’s tendency to litter traps in just about everything he puts his name on. It gave with a responding creak, the sound ever unnerving and off-putting to the hedgehog, but he wasn’t taken aback. He stepped in, looking around the dark, narrow hallway, and taking in the distant hum of machinery, the air thick with the scent of metal. Ahead of him seemed to be a spiral staircase leading below.
He heard the echo of the door slamming shut behind him as he proceeded forward, remaining cautious. The door seemed to obstruct any light that threatened to leak through the room, but that didn’t waver Sonic. Sonic never was one to be deterred by the dark. In fact, he often found himself drawn to it.
Just as he reached the staircase, he heard the same familiar creak of the door, and his ears immediately perked up, shifting to the direction of the sound. He tensed as he turned around to be met with a familiar figure of red and black.
“You,” the pair said in sync, ruby eyes coming to meet with piercing emerald ones.
Shadow stepped forward, locking his gaze on Sonic as he took a place near his side, and Sonic could smell that faded yet lucid trace of fresh lavender coming from him.
Shadow’s eyes narrowed. “Why are you here?”
“Received a tip from Tails,” he replied. “Eggman’s been here. Guess you got an invitation from him too?”
“From G.U.N., actually,” he crossed his arms, but his nonchalance and casual tone surprised Sonic. “I was sent to infiltrate the base and gather intel.”
“So, we both had the same idea,” Sonic smirked. “Guess we’re stuck working with each other.”
Shadow scoffed. “I have no interest in working with you.” He shoved him aside to head down the staircase, right before Sonic caught his arm.
“Easy now,” he warned. “We’re both here already. The smartest move would be to team up so we can finish quicker.”
“I’m not in the mood,” he chided, throwing Sonic’s arm off him as he descended into the darkness, his apathy a clear sign telling him not to engage with Shadow.
But Sonic never was particularly good at doing what he was told.
“Shadow,” he followed after him. “There’s traps here. We need to be careful.”
He rolled his eyes, but Sonic was able to catch his slight smirk before he continued descending. “You’re one to talk. But if you can keep up with me, I guess I can tolerate you.”
“It’ll be the other way around, soon,” he teased, a smug smile playing on his lips. He always enjoyed when Shadow dared to challenge him. “But I’m fine with that.”
“Hmph.”
The rest of the way down was made in attentive silence. Once the two reached the bottom, they took a moment to adjust to the environment. The ceilings were high and lined with conduits and cables. The floors were smooth and polished to a shine. The metal walls were adorned with steel panels and tin pipes tracing the enclosure, arrayed with screens displaying that presumptuous Eggman logo, flickering on and off again.
Yup. It was definitely an Eggman base. The only thing that was off to him was just how quiet it was— hauntingly so. Nowhere in sight were any of the typical bots roaming around like with other Eggman bases he had raided in the past; in fact, no threats seemed to be lurking anywhere, really. There was no hint of patrol of any kind in this facility.
So then why was it that Sonic couldn’t seem to shake off this seemingly misplaced, lingering paranoia?
The two came to stand at the middle of an intersection—two corridors on either side of the walls. “Isn’t it weird this place is so empty?” Sonic’s brows furrowed, and his eyes wandered around under the dimming light. “You’d think Eggman would’ve planted traps just about everywhere.”
Shadow said nothing, moving ahead to the corridor parting on his left as he disregarded Sonic.
Sonic turned his attention to him, an eyebrow raised. “How can you be sure that’s the right way?”
“I’m not,” he said curtly, then turned around to meet with Sonic’s stare. “You take the right corridor, and see if you can find what we’re looking for.”
“Shadow, what are we looking for?”
“A control center, preferably. Maybe then we could gather information.” He took a final glance at Sonic before turning away. “Get on with it.”
Sonic’s gaze fixed a little while longer on his distant form before he shrugged and scurried to the right corridor.
The hall was narrow, direly lit, and with seemingly no end. Treading through the passage, the light from behind only grew dimmer and dimmer, casting eerie shadows that shifted with each step he took. He could hear the subtle hum of electricity, the call of machinery and tapping of distant footsteps…
…footsteps?
For a second, he dismissed it as Shadow’s—until he realized the sound wasn’t coming from behind. It was coming from ahead of him.
He stopped dead in his tracks, ears twitching as he listened intently. He could hear the faintest sound of heavy footsteps approaching his way, the clang of metal on metal. That apprehensiveness, that fret he excused as misplaced paranoia… could it be that it wasn't all in his head?
Sonic was almost overwhelmed by this sense of unease. On any other occasion, he would’ve surely gone after the sound, if anything. He was a thrill-seeker; not one to run away from danger, but run towards it. And yet, he could feel his heart eating away at him leisurely.
Somehow, this caused his mind to jump to Shadow. Despite that single attack from Metal last week (which he knew only happened because he was taken off-guard), Shadow was a strong individual; one he knew he could count on. And yet, for some reason, his thoughts were laced with concern for him. He knew ultimately he’d be fine, but… something inside said to stick with him.
Without a second thought, he zipped back to the intersection, breaking into a blur of blue. He knew Shadow would definitely complain, but he was willing to endure it.
He could almost sense his irritation as soon as he caught up. It only solidified with the inadvertent groan he gave, immediately heard by Sonic much as he tried to conceal it. He settled next to Shadow’s side as he walked with him. “Shadow, I think there’s someone else here.”
“Nonsense,” he said hastily. “This place is abandoned.”
“But I—”
“You said it yourself.” His tone was sharp, and he didn’t bother meeting Sonic’s gaze. “If it wasn’t, Eggman would’ve laid out bots and traps everywhere.”
“Okay…” He hesitated, but his adamance was unwavering. “I still think we should stick together.”
Shadow slowed his pace to survey Sonic in silence, eyes locked on him for a thoughtful while. “Hmph,” he responded shortly after, his pace reverting. “Do whatever you want. I don’t care.”
Weirdly, that surprised him. He expected a little more fight from Shadow, ever so persistent on going solo and getting things done on his own. He smiled to himself.
They continued down the hallway, on guard for any traps that could potentially sprout up out of nowhere. Sonic desperately wanted to strike up a conversation, but nothing was coming to mind. He could hear the inside of his mind yelling at him, and even he asked himself what was going on with him. Usually he was so laid-back, so carefree… and yet this unease was taking full sway over him. He figured at least it worked better for Shadow, considering he wasn’t much of a talker.
He wondered if he noticed.
Once they reached the end of the hallway, they were met with the entrance of what appeared to be, in Shadow’s luck, a control center. The only security offered was an inactive Egg Pawn lying on the floor, reduced to a pile of scrap and metal parts. Shadow kicked it aside, a sizzling of sparks resulting from the send as the ebony and cobalt pair wandered into the room.
The room was cluttered, lined with an array of desks and computers, monitors projecting from the walls, papers scattered and consoles housing masses of devices and tools. He spotted a weird red button sat at the corner of the room, but he disregarded it. Sonic strolled over to one of the computers, dragging the mouse to get it to turn on. It didn’t.
He pushed the power button laid on the top of the frame, trying to make it respond to him. No luck. For a base belonging to an evil genius, there was terrible service here.
He looked to his right and spotted Shadow, digging through one of the isolated cabinets sat under the desks, focused on the endeavor. He pulled out a pile of papers and files that seemed to contain drawing sheets and blueprints of Eggman’s inventions.
Sonic stepped over to his side. “What are you up to?”
“Looking around,” he said while scanning through the pile of sheets. “My job requires me to gather intel, so I’m thinking there could be something of value here.” He held up a few and handed them to Sonic. “You can take a look if you want.”
Sonic pried the few that were handed to him and inspected them. One was a drawing sheet of, what he guessed to be, an early prototype of the Death Egg, and his mind was immediately propelled in a nostalgia trip. Laid next to it was one that he recognized to be conceptual art for Eggmanland. Tails would almost certainly have a field day with these.
Oh, Tails. He didn’t want to give him hassle, but admittedly, he missed him.
“I’m thinking if we look deeper, we could get a lead on his next scheme,” Shadow said. He set aside the pile and repeated the process with another drawer. “Can you take the other side?”
“Hmm.” Sonic seemed to be in a trance, staring at the pile blankly before taking a moment to look around the room again, lost in thought. This place was completely rubbing him off the wrong way, but he couldn’t figure out why. He only assumed that—
He heard it again. That same clatter of heavy footsteps. Foreboding. Distant.
Respondingly, Sonic’s ears perked up. “Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?” Shadow didn’t bother taking his eyes off the cabinet, way too enamored with the task at hand.
Sonic whirred his head around, checking for any sign of danger, and he could’ve sworn he heard the sound again. It wasn’t his head playing tricks on him; he had to be sure of it.
“Shadow,” Sonic urged him, keeping his voice low, “I think we need to get out of here. Right now.”
Shadow chuckled unworriedly, his attention fixed on the data scrolls latched in his hand. “Aren’t you the cautious one today?” he teased. “Just a minute.”
“Shadow, I’m serious. We have to go.”
“I’m busy, Sonic.”
He laid a hand on his shoulder, cold to the touch. “Shadow, I—”
“What is with you today?!” he snapped, shooting him a nasty glare as he finally bothered to look him dead in the eye, throwing his hand off. “You’re hearing things, alright? We’re fine. ”
Instinctively Sonic stepped back while his eyes moved from Shadow’s gaze. His expression was unreadable, unsure how to communicate the disappointment that couldn’t be helped. From the corner of his vision, he could view the guilt written all over Shadow’s face as he tried to find his words, fighting to meet his eyes again. Sonic…”
Whatever he was about to say remained kept within him, as his very string of thought was cut off by the door to the control room dramatically slamming open. The two stood in horror as they found themselves staring at Metal Sonic. He strode in grimly, his gaze locked on the cobalt hedgehog.
Sonic could feel the fear surging through him. But he brushed it aside as he forced a fighting stance and grew a smirk, rolling his eyes playfully. “Back for round two?”
Metal wasted no time, launching himself towards Sonic right before Shadow shot in front of him, blocking his punch and knocking him to the other side of the room. Shadow took Sonic’s hand, clutching it tightly. “Let’s go,” he shouted.
Sonic was stunned, but he didn’t hold him back as the pair hastily dashed out of the room. As soon as they left, they heard the abrupt violent ringing of an alarm, echoing throughout the facility. The two turned around, peering back at Metal Sonic standing near the red button at the corner of the room, and they realized in horror that Metal had activated the shutdown protocol. Sonic looked ahead and watched the metal door, their very route to escape, slowly inching its way to the ground with a sickening grind.
“The door’s closing!” he yelled. “We have to go now !”
The two blurred through the narrow hallway, navigating through emerging fissures and gaps on the tiled floor. They weaved through the desolation, unwilling to look back as they made their way towards the exit. They were so close, the door was right there—
Sonic let out a loud yelp as Metal Sonic snatched his leg with a sharp claw, knocking him to the floor. In an instant, he found himself being pulled away from the door, away from Shadow—away from their only hope of escape.
Shadow turned around, eyes widened as he yelled out, “ Sonic! ”
Immediately Sonic scrambled while clawing the floor, trying to find purchase as he frantically strived to kick Metal away. Shadow latched onto Sonic’s hands, desperately trying to wrench him free from Metal’s grasp. Sonic struggled within the conflicting grips on either side, the pull from opposite directions threatening to tear him into two, like a vicious game of tug of war. “Damn it, Metal! Let go!”
Metal only tightened his grip in response, and Sonic winced from the pain. Metal was going to get both of them killed. And there was no time left, either. The door was about to meet the floor, and there was nothing he could do.
Sonic’s gaze flashed to Shadow’s, meeting with a horror-struck look that mirrored his own. “Shadow, get out of here!”
He grunted with the effort to hold onto Sonic. “I’m… not… leaving you !”
Sonic’s eyes widened. He was going to get both of them killed. He was going to get hurt again. He was going to get hurt again because of him . Instinctively, his mind flashed back to that other time Sonic failed to save him, and he could feel him slipping away from his grasp like how he did so long ago, his strength slowly waning away and his vision threatening to see Shadow leave his side again.
He couldn’t let that happen again. He wouldn’t, under any circumstances, let Shadow get hurt again because of him.
With a vigorous effort, Sonic kicked Metal away, trying to push himself to his feet, before shoving Shadow towards the door, apologies echoing inside his head but he refused to say them aloud.
Once Shadow’s thoughts caught up to him, he immediately retaliated.
“ Soni— ”
That final look of realization and anguish plagued Sonic, before the door echoed shut with a thoughtless finality. He could hear the desperate banging from behind the door, his stomach churning within him in turn.
Sonic panted heavily, his breath heaving as he struggled to stand straight. He reassured himself. It was fine. As long as Shadow was safe, it would all be fine.
The alarms continued blaring wildly in the background like an intense heartbeat. He turned around, fixing his bearings before once again meeting face-to-face with Metal Sonic.
“Alright, Metal,” he smirked, his tenacity resolute. “Let’s dance.”
Metal wasted no time charging at him, and Sonic dodged effortlessly, firing a fierce kick at Metal before he too evaded his effort. Instantly the two were locked in battle, and for the first time Sonic struggled to keep up with him, Metal effectively avoiding each strike with a mechanical precision.
They weren’t going to get anywhere. Sonic needed to take his chances elsewhere. Perhaps if he went back to the control center, he could figure out a way to somehow stop the lockdown protocol.
Sonic wasted no time. He knocked Metal down and bolted away, rushing out of the fray and making a beeline towards the control center. He could feel the ceiling and walls crumbling around him as he slammed the doors open, engaging with the panel. He fidgeted with the buttons, pressing each and every single one of them hastily, trying hard not to lose himself in the midst of the panic. He could’ve sworn he tried them all, but none of them were responding, and he wondered with a sinking desperation if he was even getting anywhere.
If only Tails were here. He was better than him at this type of stuff.
He couldn’t help the screech he let out as Metal inevitably threw him back, head meeting with the wall before falling to the ground with a roaring thud. He gathered his thoughts, feeling the facility falling apart and decay beneath him. Stacks of papers flew out of the drawers, objects laid out on the desks rolled and crashed to the floor. Sonic’s eyes widened, finally realizing the futility of his efforts. He knew the place was going to collapse upon the both of them if they kept this up. And surely, Metal knew this. His goal wasn’t to beat Sonic. His goal was to stall him.
There was no point in fighting Metal. He needed to get out of there. Now.
Sonic rushed away before Metal could make any sudden moves on him. He knew the way out wouldn’t be as straightforward, but damn it, he didn’t have any other choice. He took his chances with the corridor to his left. He sped through intersections, making turn after turn, desperately looking for a way out. The walls blurred around him; he couldn’t even tell where he was going, he just knew he needed to get out.
He could sense the clang of those heavy metal footsteps trailing after him, and he upped his pace as much as he could. He wouldn’t lose to Metal Sonic. He wouldn’t let that happen. He was going to get out of here. He—
He fell to the floor with a thud . Sonic paused as he looked back, realizing he unknowingly stepped over a thin tripwire.
Just his luck.
The world didn’t wait for him to catch up with it. In an instant, he was sent plummeting down an incredibly confining metal chute. His gasp echoed as he looked up in horror to meet Metal’s unwavering gaze—but Sonic knew all too well conceit was hiding beneath that deadpanned look—before the hatch closed above him with a damning echo.
Not a speck of light shone through it, leaving Sonic in the dark. He felt himself falling further and further away from the hatch—away from hope of freedom—before finally plunging into, not solid ground, but water .
Any slight chance Sonic had of survival… that was all taken away from him.
He felt the impact immediately. The water was unforgivingly frigid, and it was as if he’d been stabbed by a thousand knives all over. He felt heavy, slowly sinking deeper and deeper into the chute, submerged in water, his senses slowly deprecating, before he finally plummeted to the bottom. Much as he tried to force himself back to the top, his efforts were all for naught; Sonic never truly learned how to swim.
He finally gave up the labor, legs giving out as the world reverted to a damning silence. Nothing but darkness surrounded him, and time seemed to revert to a torturously slow pace. He couldn’t see, couldn’t talk, couldn’t hear. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t accept this, but the world didn’t seem to care whether or not he did. And to go in such an unceremonious way, too, seemed to be killing him in a different way.
He was going to die, and there was nothing he could do about it.
The silence was driving him crazy, time was moving slower than ever before, and his mind began spiraling. He thought of Tails, the person he always knew he could rely on that he considered a younger brother. He thought of Knuckles, who’d devoted his life to fixing the wrongdoings of his tribe and sacrificed his own freedom to do so. He thought of Amy, and her passion to protect and love the world. Was this what people meant when they said your life flashes before your eyes right before you die? Sonic shivered. He really was dying. Who would protect the world when he was gone? Who would take his place? Would Eggman take over the world again? What would happen to his friends?
He couldn’t die. The world would go into shambles again. Eggman would try to take over it again, and he wouldn’t be there to stop it. His friends would be left alone. And much as he tried to fight it, tried to make any sort of movement in the dark, his body wouldn’t let him. It refused to respond, slowly filling up with more and more water, weighing him down. He could only stare at the hatch above him, before that, too, began to disappear, along with the world around him. He could feel himself slowly being deprived of all of his senses and left alone in the darkness.
He could feel himself finally giving out, and the world slowly faded away from him…
…until he felt strong hands wrap around him gently, pulling him back up to the surface, and suddenly, he could breathe again.
Sonic fought for consciousness as he panted heavily, slowly blinking in and out of awareness while forcing himself awake and meeting the gaze of a worry-struck ebony hedgehog.
“…Shadow?” Sonic’s voice was low, and that single word was all he could bear out.
“Stay awake,” he ordered, fighting to stay calm under the overwhelming wave of panic, while also fighting the piercingly icy water wrestling to keep him under. “I need you to hold onto me so I can get you out.”
“Mm,” Sonic forced, and he tightly settled his hands around stiff, tense shoulders while desperately yearning for breath. With both hands now free, Shadow slipped his gloves off for an easier pursuit and latched himself onto the wall, beginning to climb out of the chute.
It was a draining endeavor, one that involved Shadow basically clawing his way back up to the opening. Despite his efforts, he couldn’t help the stress that was building up beneath him. Shadow had never seen Sonic weak like this, never seen him so helpless, and he found himself missing that cocky smirk, that playfulness that he seemed to radiate when around him.
A foot slipped, and the two relived the sensation of falling before Shadow quickly saved himself, nails clawing harshly against the steel wall and groaning against the two.
“Shadow,” Sonic gasped, eyes widened.
“I’m going to get you out of here,” he vowed under the exertion, sharp claws fastening onto the wall for dear life. “I’m not going to let you drown, I promise.”
Sonic’s eyes widened with awe at Shadow’s resolve, forcing his fears soothed as he tried his best to remain calm, if only for his sake. He clung to him tightly, eyes squeezed shut as he continued to fight for breath, as he continued to fight to stay awake.
Once they finally reached the top, Shadow settled him onto the ground, and he lay there, sprawled onto the floor, body trembling and chest panting violently. Sonic’s head hung low and his shoulders heaved with each strained inhale he could make.
The base continued to crumble around them, and Shadow knew they could only spare so much time. Once his breath recovered, he whisked Sonic up as if he were but a feather in the wind, carrying him bridal style before working to navigate through the facility. He identified the route back and followed suit, holding Sonic close to his chest as he swiftly dodged flying debris and rubble falling to the ground. Sonic’s eyes scattered around the vibrating corridors that seemed to blur together. Somewhere along the way, they fell onto a pile of steel parts that seemed to resemble Metal Sonic, and his eyes lit with astonishment as he figured Shadow must’ve torn through everything in his pursuit for him.
Shadow dashed through the metal door that had been reduced to a thin steel frame, and blurred through the stairs and the hallways before finally seeing sunshine again, and he ran through fields of grass that fluttered in sync with the wind, moving to a hillside that perched upon the far slope of the field.
Shadow laid Sonic gently on a patch of grass, settling himself next to him while the facility collapsed to a pile of rubble and ruin in the distance. The two took a few minutes to catch their breaths, staring at the fading light in the sky painted a bright orange and gold hue as they, for a moment, simply sat in silence.
Surprisingly, Shadow was the one to break it this time. “Are you alright?” he asked, not a hint of malice hidden in his voice.
Sonic nodded, incapable of forming words. His chest heaved not just from lack of air, but from the sheer emotional turmoil he had endured through, and his eyes seemed to be locked upon the canvas of orange and purple laid upon him in the sky, casting amber shadows over the both of them.
“Sonic.”
The way he said his name, the way he sounded those two syllables so thoughtfully was like a warm match lit in an icy terrain. His attention finally diverted from the setting sun to him, forcing himself to relax as his quills billowed softly in the wind. Shadow’s expression was calm, and his eyes were kindling with compassion, a sight he was not accustomed to with the stoic hedgehog. His hands were out, gloves ditched long ago in the middle of the havoc.
“I should’ve listened to you,” he said solely after a moment’s hesitation. “I’ll never question your judgment ever again. I’m sorry.”
Shadow looked at Sonic with a sincerity that he’d only seen so many times from him. And to hear him apologize was not a common occurrence, either. He appreciated it.
Sonic simply shook his head and smiled. “Hey, don’t worry about it. We’re okay now. That’s all that matters.”
Actually, that was technically a half-lie. Sonic’s own safety didn’t matter to him that much—except in the context of the world. As long as Shadow wasn’t hurt, they’d be fine.
Sonic looked at Shadow with a soft consideration as he asked, “Did you… get the data?”
Shadow said nothing for a while, eyes thoughtfully wandering off to the view of the golden lavender sunset beyond him, before he—to Sonic’s surprise—laughed.
“I left it behind,” he smiled. “I forgot about it in the middle of trying to save you.”
“No…” Sonic’s face fell. “Shadow, your mission—”
“Nevermind that.” He stared off into the sky as the sun touched the horizon. “Besides,” he smirked as he teased, “it makes us even.”
Sonic laughed, an unease linked to his voice but still genuine enough, and Shadow was relieved to hear it again. “I guess you’re right.”
Sonic took appreciation in the remoteness. He was used to being around people, comforting others, always playing a part. With Shadow, he didn’t have to do any of that. He was alone with him, and yet, it didn’t feel like solitude at all. Even if he thought he didn’t deserve his kindness after what he’d put him through, he still managed to make him feel reassured.
Sonic looked towards the horizon again as he said, “Shadow.”
He turned at the gentle sound of his name, but his gaze was unmet.
“Why did, um… why did you come back for me?”
Shadow’s gaze flickered in a moment of consideration. He remained quiet for a while, before he finally admitted, “Because you’re important to me, Sonic.”
He dared a quick glance at Shadow from the corner of his vision, and looked down quietly. He had always suspected it, always knew from the back of his mind that Shadow did truly care about him. To hear him say it, however, was another thing entirely.
Sonic smiled. “You’re important to me, too, Shadow.”
Shadow couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from forming into a smile; couldn’t stop the elation he felt from being told that, and neither could Sonic. He chuckled to himself.
“You pushed me through the door, just to save me.” He shook his head. “I didn’t deserve it.”
“Of course you did, Shadow.” Sonic met his gaze. “You mean a lot to me. If you got hurt… I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.”
Shadow stared at him intently. “Don’t do that to yourself, Sonic.”
Sonic’s vision shifted. “Do what?”
“Downplay your own wellbeing just because you think you can take it.” He looked at him with a soft sincerity. “You’re just as important as everyone else.”
Something within Sonic’s heart began to tug at him, and his emerald eyes seemed to glimmer in the darkness, the light reflecting off of them. His ears slightly twitched as he felt Shadow’s bare hand slowly and carefully running through his quills, stroking his azure fur softly under the final rays of sunlight. Sonic stared at him, his expression unreadable. Typically, Sonic was one to run away from physical contact. It wasn’t that he didn’t like it, at least usually. He just wasn’t used to it.
But this time, he didn’t run away; he leaned into it.
Under the moonlight, Shadow looked… at peace. The red in his quills seemed to stand out in the night, and his eyes were ignited with a rare compassion, a sympathy that Sonic cherished from him. Sonic often found himself fascinated by the dark. Shadow’s was no different. He felt him slowly and considerately stroking his quills and relished each and every movement he made. His heart waned with a feeling that he didn’t recognize; a longing for something that he finally had, and he wanted more of it.
He wanted to bathe in it; soak it up and keep it all to himself, forever. He wanted to stay by his side and never leave it. And the world didn’t need to indulge in it; for all he cared, truly, the world had no need for that. This feeling was for him and him alone. He didn’t need to give it to the world, share it with anyone else; it was all for him. It was the most at peace with himself he had ever felt. He wanted to lean into his touch even further, he wanted to—
“I have to go.”
He rose as the words were said, cutting off his train of thought before he could dare to finish it.
Shadow blinked, and as he caught his breath Sonic noticed something beginning to wash over him. “Did I do something wrong?”
Sonic’s chest tightened as he met his stare. “No, of course not,” he quickly responded, his ears shifting. “I just, um… I have somewhere I need to go.”
He had nowhere to go, in fact. He just didn’t want to confront this overwhelming emotion that he seemed to feel when around him.
Shadow looked at him with a hidden misbelief, and Sonic could tell he knew he was lying. It frustrated him; the way they understood each other without needing to say anything.
He did his best not to live with regrets, but… every time he was with Shadow, he felt an unswerving sense of just that. Regret for what happened that day on the ark. Regret for letting him fall to Earth. Regret for not being able to save him.
He was the reason why Shadow was this way, and he could never let it go, no matter how many times he tried to convince himself. And yet, for some reason, the world always seemed to bring him back to him. And every time he talked to him, or bantered, or shared a kind moment with him, the guilt seemed to tear him apart from the inside all over again, like how the sun tears away from the horizon as it rises.
Which was fine with him. Sonic deserved it, after all. But he couldn’t stop himself from wanting to be with him regardless. Nevermind the fact that with Shadow, he felt understood and seen in a way that he never had before. Nevermind the fact that, when he was with Shadow, he didn’t need to put up a front like how he typically did, or the fact that with him, he felt like he finally had someone to rely on.
Sonic didn’t deserve it. He didn’t deserve any of it. He felt guilty, and it only grew worse as the distance between them began to expand. He looked back at Shadow, both stood in the midst of the fading sun, and Sonic smiled as he told Shadow, “Thanks again for saving me, Shadow. I owe you one.”
Shadow scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous. You don’t owe me anything. You’ve saved my life more than enough.”
Sonic chuckled as he shifted, and his blush couldn’t be helped as he shrugged. “If you insist.”
He stood for a while longer, reading his eyes. That gaze seemed to be telling him the same thing his own mind was: to stay, even if for only a little while longer, and remain hidden and unnoticed from the rest of the world. To blend into the darkness with each other, like how shadows do.
But Sonic never was particularly good at doing what he was told.
Those same crimson eyes lingered on him for a while longer just before Sonic turned and waved to him. “I’ll see you around,” he smiled.
Shadow let him go, and he watched as Sonic left his side and transformed to a blur of blue in the distance as the sun finally dipped below the skyline.