Chapter Text
A chilled breeze tumbled amber-tinted leaves around Shadow’s feet. Autumn, it seemed, had finally broken through the last of the lingering summer temperatures. Shadow pulled his jacket tighter around himself. He’d always been quite cold-natured (both literally and figuratively), but his well-worn leather jacket and the warm drink in his hand were helping cut through the wind.
He glanced at his motorcycle parked across the lot. It was almost getting too cold for that bike to be his main mode of transportation—which meant it was back to public transit. Crowded in with too many people and too many noises. Oh, joy. But it was, at the very least, warm.
He glanced up at the sign for the Chao Garden Daycare, hand-painted with portraits of tiny Chao with all sorts of silly expressions. Sonic was about to run late. He had purposefully picked a time slot in the afternoon to spare the ever-tardy hedgehog from the arduous task of waking up early.
He glanced at his watch. Two minutes ‘til.
He bit back the urge to text the punctually-challenged hedgehog and grumble for making him wait. But, he reminded himself, he was supposed to be putting more trust in him. Building that…acquaintanceship. He dare not call it anything else. If he gave Sonic an inch…
One minute ‘til —
Sonic’s form nearly skidded to a halt in front of him, startling him with the sudden appearance.
The kid gave a quick, cheery wave. “How’s it going, Shads? See, told ya—I’m right on time!” He brandished his phone in front of Shadow, gesturing towards the time glowing on its screen as proof of his victory, though he was obviously pretty winded as a result of his punctuality.
“I applaud you for your efforts,” Shadow responded, keeping his tone as blasé as possible, refusing to give away the fact that some part of him did genuinely appreciate said efforts. “Well, shall we get started?” Shadow asked, gesturing to the front entrance.
Sonic clicked his tongue. “Sure—good a time as any,” he said, slapping a hand across Shadow’s extended palm in a ‘low-five’ before striding past him towards the door.
Shadow remained in place for a moment, dumbfounded at the unexpected gesture. But, then again, he supposed he shouldn’t be too surprised at Sonic’s antics. Rolling his eyes, he adjusted his bag and followed him through the entrance.
They were greeted at the front desk with a kind grin and a wave. “Hello there. You two must be the next set of volunteers, right? From Green Hill University?” The peach echidna spoke softly—light and fittingly motherly.
Shadow awkwardly cleared his throat, habitually taking a moment to translate his thoughts into coherent sentences. “Um, yes. We’ve come to assist with the caring of these Chao, I believe,” Shadow finished, cringing at his pompously formal tone.
He threw a side-eye at Sonic’s chuckle. The receptionist, blessedly, seemed to pay no mind.
“Which means…” she scanned her list, “You two must be...Shadow”—she gestured towards the bright blue figure of the lanky track star—“...and Sonic, yes,” she finished, pointing towards Shadow’s own dark and dower form.
The two hedgehogs exchanged a mutual look of bemusement. Sonic held up a finger towards himself. “Uh, ma’am? Actually I’m—”
“Oh, I forgot to introduce myself! I’m Tikal! Sorry, I don’t mean to rush you both, but nap time ends in about,” she checked her watch almost frantically, as if she just remembered, “fifteen minutes, and there is a short orientation all volunteers must complete before working with the Chao.” Her voice was as sweet and kind as before, but there was a hint of frenzy to her words. For Shadow, it only belied the true nature of what was to come for him and Sonic.
And he’d be lying if he said it didn’t bode well with him.
“Everyday the schedule for the Chao in our care is the same,” Tikal began, motioning the two hedgehogs to follow her past the reception desk, and down a hall with various colorful doors. “Morning play time, lesson time, lunch, more play time, more lesson time, nap time, snack time, more play time, garden time, and finally, pick up time.” Tikal stopped suddenly, causing the distracted Sonic to collide with Shadow.
She drew in a breath. “Since it’s already the end of the day, you’ll both just be watching over the Chao until their guardians come for them. It’s nothing too difficult of course. Just play with them, clean up after them, and make sure each and every one of their cute little heads is safe and sound!” Tikal gave a bright smile of reassurance. At least, reassuring for Sonic.
Shadow, on the other hand, could see through her. He couldn’t tell if she was hiding something exactly, but she was definitely not giving the full story. Maria herself had been a handful to help raise in her younger years. Lord only knows what these rowdy Chao had in store for them. A knot was beginning to form in his stomach.
“Here is the staff break room,” she motioned them into a small fluorescent-lit room, filled with some filing cabinets, various arts and craft supplies, a well-used coffee pot with a half-filled snack basket beside it, and a small couch for employees to decompress between bouts of Chao wrangling. There were also a few lockers, marked with what were presumably the names of the regular staff members. Shadow eyed the locker with the peeling sticker labeled ‘Volunteers.’
“There are some aprons you can use in there” Tikal called to Shadow, as she began to thumb through one of the filing cabinets. She pulled out a few sheets of paper, attaching it to a clipboard and handing it to Sonic. “This is the class you’ll be responsible for, the Topaz class!” The papers listed the names and pictures of about fifteen different Chao, as well as their ages—all of them 3 years or younger.
Before Tikal had a chance to say anything else, an orange fish girl popped her head through the doorway, a worried expression painting her face. “Tikaaaaaaal, I think we’re out of triangle fruit.”
“Oh jeez, I could have sworn we got a new crate in just yesterday.” Tikal’s brow furrowed, revealing some of the stress she’d been doing so well to mask until then. Taking another, longer breath, Tikal smiled at the boys once more. “I’ll be back in a few minutes. You two can wait here, get changed and…prepare, I guess.”
And then, in a flurry of movement, she was gone and they were left alone with a handful of papers and a head full of responsibilities.
Sonic seemed absolutely giddy, grinning as he pulled the smock over his head. “This is gonna be so much fun! Playing and roughhousing with these lil’ guys? I haven’t gotten to do anything like this since Tails was really small.” He reminisced, the days of unfiltered, unchained brotherly fun playing through his mind.
It occurred to Shadow in that moment that he and Sonic may have very different ideas of what it meant to take care of young ones. Despite her sometimes spirited nature, Maria was far from the hellion he knew small children could be. Even still, Shadow spent most of his youth panicking at any little thing that could harm her. Like caring for a glass dove, Maria, and by extension all small, precious, delicate things required constant vigilance and attention, lest they fall, shatter and…
Shadow quickly shook his head. “No, no, no,” he quickly backpedaled. “Roughhousing is exactly what we will not be doing. Our assignment is to make sure these Chao stay safe and unharmed and—”
“Aw, c’mon, Shads, lighten up.” Sonic gave his companion a light shove, much to Shadow’s chagrin. “We’re not just here to watch them, we’re here to make ‘em happy too!”
Shadow grabbed his apron, hanging his jacket up in its place. He paused for a moment, hands busying themselves with tying the slightly stained fabric around his waist with a deft knot. He eyed Sonic’s own clumsy, lopsided bow. “I’m concerned,” he muttered. “Tikal and that other employee looked… stressed, I suppose. I take that as a sign that we can’t let our guard down. Especially since any mistakes we make are surely going to be reported to our professor.”
Sonic chuckled, shrugging and stepping over to rest a too-casual arm across Shadow’s shoulders. “Oh please, you’ve gotta stop being so dramatic, Shads! It’s just a couple hours with a handful of Chao. What could possibly go wrong?”
“Choo, please get that car out of your mouth. Dusty, stop hitting Griff. No, Crusher, books are for storytime, not for throwing.”
Shadow felt at his wit’s end. With their bellies full of various polygonal fruits, the class full of Chao now seemed to be expending that energy by running Shadow ragged—running around and wreaking whatever childlike havoc they could. He was constantly picking up loose toys to put away, only for the little tots to pull them out again, throwing them across the colorful carpet.
His thoughts couldn’t stop being bombarded by some sort of worst-case scenario with each new series of antics.
Oh no, the blocks have been left on the floor unattended. What if Bobo trips and hits his head on the corner of that cube and hurts themselves?
What if Churdle flies up somewhere and gets themselves stuck?
What if they start crying? Oh god, I can’t handle them crying…
Shadow let out a breath. He didn’t remember Maria being quite this…rambunctious in her youth. But, then again, she had always been one for quieter, calmer activities—reading, arts and crafts. And there was only one of her.
Sonic, on the other hand, seemed like he was having a ball, letting the Chao chase him around and involve him in whatever games of pretend suited their fancy.
“Avast ye scurvy dogs!” Sonic growled in his best imitation of a storybook pirate. “Ye better watch out lest ye face the curse of Captain Whiskers.” He gave a wolfish grin, brandishing an imaginary sword with one hand, and curling the other to resemble a set of claws.
The Chao around him gave gasps of semi-genuine childlike horror, readying their own play weapons and building their righteous defense against Sonic’s impromptu villain of the high seas.
Shadow wanted to be annoyed at Sonic’s lack of help with the constant cleaning and monitoring, but, honestly, he couldn’t find it in him to be too displeased. He was impressed with Sonic’s improvisational entertainment skills, at least. And, to his credit, he was distracting at least half of the Chao, lightening Shadow’s own frantic work.
His eyes moved back towards the pile of abandoned puzzle pieces he was gathering, letting the sound of Sonic’s laughter fade into the background of white noise—
At least until he was bumped into by Captain Whiskers himself.
“Argh! First mate Shadow,” Sonic gasped, taking a knee and clutching his ‘wounded’ side. “Help me stave off this mutiny! Join by my side in this battle against these ornery landlubbers!” He was then tackled by some of the more rambunctious Chao in his crew.
Sonic gave his most charming smile, clearly attempting to open the door for Shadow to join in on whatever game was happening.
Shadow rolled his eyes. “Not to knock you back down to earth, Captain , but one of us has to be responsible for making sure your crew here doesn’t end up hurting themselves.” He let out a breath. “There’s more to this assignment than just playing around.”
Sonic broke character with a light chuckle, now with a few passenger Chao on his person. “Who says I’m not doing both?” He shrugged. “I can play and keep an eye on the tykes. Besides, we’re having fun!” He dropped his voice lower, taking on a parody of a serious father—or possibly Shadow himself. “Responsible fun.”
“If you say so,” Shadow muttered, going back to scooping up the scattered bits of spaceship that made up the half-finished puzzle.
There was a pause of quiet between them as the short attention spans of the ever-distractible Chao led them somewhere else to play, now that their game of pretend had fallen apart. Sonic eyed the tensing of Shadow’s shoulders and the frantic way at which he gathered up anything that could even be vaguely perceived as a hazard.
“Hey.” Sonic’s voice was quieter now—softer. “Really, though. You good? You seem kind of stressed out over there.”
Shadow glanced up. Sonic had always been the nicer one between the two of them, but being the direct target of this kind of concern—affixed with the gentleness of this look…
Shadow cleared his throat. “I’m fine.” He tossed a glance over to the group of Chao that had abandoned them. “Your crew over there probably needs you, though. I can handle the organizing over here.” You’re keeping their hijinks safely in check, at the very least.
Sonic pouted, but shrugged. “Alright, if you insist.” He stood back up, brushing off his knees. “But it’s okay to lighten up and have fun sometimes, y’know? If you want to join in, you know where to find us!” He gave a wink before rushing back into the fray, a new space captain character at the ready with a gleeful shout.
Shadow let out a sigh, shoulders slumping. He put the oversized puzzle pieces back in their rightful spot. It was then he caught the eye of a precocious looking purple Chao— Gibber, if he remembered correctly—who was partially obscured, hiding behind one of the shelves of blocks. Shadow paused a moment. The Chao was staring at him, eyes transfixed to his.
He slowly started moving towards the small form, only for them to become startled and weakly fly away. He sighed once more. Shadow knew he was outwardly mean-looking, sometimes even on purpose. But usually that was to deter other adults from interacting with him. It stung a little to see it also worked on innocent Chao.
When he saw how easily Sonic could engage with them, and how happy he made them with such little effort, he felt…ashamed. Or, perhaps more accurately, he felt jealous. It occurred to him that up until now, he had never really felt inferior to Sonic. Shadow, whether he’d realized it or not, had enjoyed his seniority over Sonic—a guiding figure of sorts. It was the role he was used to, after all.
But, it was now he realized where it was that Sonic excelled. His friendliness, quirkiness and overly easy-going attitude. What had been the most irritating things about him upon their first meeting were beginning to stand out as his strengths. Shadow had mistaken those characteristics for immaturity. But, that wasn’t right anymore. It was just… Well, it was Sonic.
Shadow watched as Sonic laughed, head thrown back as one of the Chao found a ticklish spot on his side. He was always so giving with his joy, so free with his goodwill. And, now that Shadow lingered on the thought, he didn’t think Sonic even realized just how amazing a thing his simple, yet ceaseless kindness was. It was magnetic. It pulled in everyone who got near him, making them want in on whatever fun he was having.
And, despite himself, Shadow felt he… might be falling victim to it too.
“Okay everyone!” Sonic and Shadow turned to see Tikal standing in the doorway. “It’s garden time! Everyone, let’s clean up and go outside!” A chorus of happy Chao voices cheered, as some of them cleaned up and most just ran to Tikal. Shadow and Sonic both helped gather up the last of the mess as best they could, with the well-meaning tykes running underfoot.
“Okay, good job guys! High five,” Sonic held out a hand for his little helpers to excitedly high five. Shadow eyed the Chao around him, all of which seemed to scurry away from him as soon as they were finished. He frowned slightly, recomposing his neutral expression quickly as Tikal strode over towards the two of them.
“Okay, Shadow, could you do a quick head count before we head out?” Tikal handed the clipboard of names to Sonic, as she worked to de-escalate a small fight brewing between two Chao.
“Yes ma’am! Alright, there’s Chocola, Choo, Churdle, Crusher, Dusty…” Sonic droned on, lightly patting the tops of each chao’s head, all more or less lined up and as ready to burst as a shaken up can of Chaos Cola. “Aaaaand, last but not least, little Stiglin. That makes fifteen!”
“Okay everyone, let’s go!” Tikal gave a hearty call, which the Chao gleefully answered in little ’chao-cha-chao!’s. They all marched down the hall, Sonic excitedly leading with Tikal, while Shadow gloomily followed at the rear of the line. He was careful to keep an eye on them all, making sure none of them tried to leave the line.
Once outside, Shadow did feel a little more at ease, with there being no temptingly colorful or cubic hazards. This didn’t last long, however. He quickly realized that the bigger garden area made it much harder to keep track of what they were all doing. Soon, he found himself frantically counting and recounting each of the Chao, practically guarding the little pool area from any of the weaker Chao who may accidentally crawl in.
“Alright guys, ready or not here I come!” Sonic, who had been counting behind the large jungle gym in the corner of the garden, was now on the search for any and all little munchkins he could find. Of course, the self-proclaimed track star could have found and tagged them all easily, but that was hardly any fun for them. “Hmm, now where, oh where, could my little Chao be?”
He spotted a couple small floating dots from behind the slide. “Let’s see, now, could they be… here,” he checked behind a lone tree. A few small giggles sounded from various sources. “How abooooout… here,” he drawled, this time peering under one of the little rocking horse toys. More giggles. “Hmm, well jeez, I just don’t know where all my little Chao could have gone! Unless…” He slowly crept up behind the slide. “Gotcha!” Sonic popped his head out to surprise the Chao, who were nowhere to be seen. “Huh?”
Looking around, he eventually spotted the little ones happily running away. “Haha, very sneaky!” He began chasing after them, lagging behind enough to keep them in the lead. The chase was intense, but eventually the Chao made their way to the safety of the tree, along with all the other Chao that took the chance to reach the impromptu home base. “Oh darn, looks like I lost! Nice game, buds.” He gave a tiny fist bump to his worthy opponents.
“No, Chocola, you can’t swim, it isn’t safe.” Sonic turned at the sound of Shadow’s exasperated tone. He was holding a fussy-looking brown Chao, clearly eager to take a dip, consequences be damned.
Sonic winced. Despite his usual protests, Sonic could tell that Shadow had been on edge all day—more than usual, at least, which was saying something. A mixture of sympathy and guilt weighed down his expression. Sure, Sonic was having an easy time having fun with the li’l guys, but it didn’t seem fair that Shadow should be so stressed in contrast, trying to shoulder all of his perceived responsibilities at once. Maybe he could…
Sonic shot finger guns at one of the Chao who had started to creep away from the tree base. “Crunch,” he called. “You’re it now! Count to ten and let everybody find new hiding spots. If you need help from the hide and seek expert, I’ll be keeping an eye out from right over there.” He tossed his head back to the direction of the pool.
Crunch gave a mock-salute, expression resolute before they tucked their face into the tree and began to count. As the other Chao flew off with mischievous grins, Sonic made his way over to Shadow.
“Hey Shads, how you holding up?” Sonic asked, hands in the pockets of his apron, feigning nonchalance as he raised a brow at Shadow’s struggles.
“I told you, I’m fine. I’m just doing”—Shadow huffed as he wrangled the slippery Chao back into the supposed safety of his grasp—”my job.”
“I don’t think this job means you have to pull your quills out worrying about them constantly.”
Chocola finally wriggled from Shadow’s arms, flying to sit atop Sonic’s head, immediately entertaining themselves by playing with his ears. Shadow visibly sagged and sat on the grass beside the water. For a moment, Sonic couldn’t tell if it was from relief or stress. But if he had to guess…
Sonic glanced up at his new Chao-shaped accessory. “Hey, bub?”
Chocola responded with an inquisitive ‘chao?’
“How ‘bout this? You can go for a swim if you stay near the edge, okay? Don’t go out too far.”
Chocola eagerly nodded, seeming ready to agree to any negotiation as long as it meant a dip in that coveted little pool.
“Pinky swear?” Sonic extended a pinky upwards, which the Chao promptly gripped with both hands. Sonic grinned. “There’s a good li’l guy. Have fun,” he called, as Chocola flew away, splashing around in the shallow end just as they promised.
Sonic plopped down beside Shadow, leaning back on his hands. From here, they had a view of the whole garden, watching as the Chao chased each other around in a newly-formed game of tag. For a few moments, they just sat in a crowded silence, soaking in the last bit of late-afternoon sun, before Shadow uncharacteristically broke first.
“How do you do it?”
Sonic blinked, glancing over at Shadow forlornly staring out at the playtime antics. “Huh?”
Shadow let out a defeated breath, folding his arms on top of his knees. “I know I’ve given you much… grief in the past, for your… shortcomings.” Shadow grimaced, like the words were stuck in his throat and painful to get out. Which wasn’t entirely untrue. But he had started saying them now and couldn’t stop. “But watching you work today has highlighted, I suppose, my own… flaws. In startling clarity,” Shadow sighed, wincing at the sound of his own vulnerability. “It’s not as if I wasn’t aware of exactly the kind of person I am, but… You handled this like you do everything—laughing like you don’t have a care in the world. And you so effortlessly flow with whatever is thrown your way. While I’m here—ill-tempered and off-putting, as always…more of a villain to these Chao than a care provider…”
Sonic took a deeper look into Shadows eyes. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say Shadow seemed…jealous?
Sonic hummed, tilting his head back towards the clouds before pulling his gaze back towards their Chao charges. “Honestly, Shads, I think you just gotta…not worry about everything so much?” He chuckled as Shadow huffed. “Yeah, I know that’s typical coming from me. But I mean it. Don’t focus on what you aren’t, or what you ‘lack’—that won’t get you anywhere. Just be...” Sonic shrugged, “whoever the Shadow you like best is.”
Shadow huffed out something of a dry laugh. “I’ve been informed over the years that even at my ‘best’ I’m very boring.”
Sonic smiled—a soft, bright thing. “I don’t think so.” It was Shadow’s turn to throw a confused look in Sonic's direction. “I mean, you’re really smart and good at making things. You’re good at teaching—when you’re feeling patient,” Sonic cast Shadow a playful smirk, which only caught him an unamused stare. “And you’re not as mean as you make yourself out to be. You may not like running and playing around like me, but just do what makes you happy and I’m sure these li’l guys will appreciate it just as much.” He nudged Shadow’s arm, trying to bring him out of his sulky stupor. “They’ll be able to tell that you’re actually having a good time and then they’ll have fun too.”
Shadow lingered on that for a moment.
Do what makes you happy…
Maria had tried to say as much to him over the years, but it had fallen on deaf ears. What did that matter when he had a purpose , a job to do? It always felt like something frivolous people would say in an attempt at lighthearted, meaningless motivation. But something about the turn of phrase now sat like a rock in the pit of his stomach, filling him with an odd sense of unease. What makes you happy —did he even know what those things were anymore?
Sonic put a hand on Shadow’s shoulder. Their eyes met, Sonic’s smiling with genuine reassurance. “Remember, no agonizing over what you think you should be, right?”
Shadow blinked at the echo of his own words. Sonic had taken the advice to heart, it seemed, and was now handing it back to Shadow, maybe hoping, if nothing else, he would listen to himself. It was oddly...touching.
Sonic stood, giving his shoulders a good stretch. “Weeeeell, that’s a long enough break, I suppose.”
Shadow snorted. “It’s been two minutes at most.”
Sonic shrugged. “What can I say, I’m a speedy dude!” He pretended to move his arms in a high-speed jogging motion. Despite himself, Shadow chuckled at that, the sound rattling out some of the pent-up anxiety that had been bouncing around in his ribcage. Sonic smiled, proud of himself. “The name is Sonic, remember?”
Shadow caught his breath and stood, resuming a more subdued version of his brooding demeanor. “Actually, the term ‘sonic’ doesn’t directly correlate to speed. In fact, it relates to sound, i.e. a sonic boom being the breaking of the sound barrier, and not the…speed… itself,” he drifted off, seeing the emptying of Sonic’s head in real time.
Shadow awkwardly cleared his throat. This is why he didn’t make conversation.
“...Welp, I’m gonna get back to the kiddos.” Sonic clapped, smoothly transitioning with a pair of finger guns. “Take it easy, Shads!”
Groaning at both his awkwardness and the casual use of that cursed nickname leaving Sonic’s mouth, Shadow too got up, deciding to lifeguard for Chocola for the time being.
Sonic, on the other hand, had an idea. Clapping his hands, he gathered the attention of a handful of the Chao. “Alright, little buddies! Who here is ready for a heart-pounding, exhilarating, no-holds barred, Chaaaaao race,” Sonic announced, doing his best impression of a sports announcer.
The Chao rejoiced, little hearts forming above their heads, clearly fans of this idea. Chao races were a time honored tradition of the Chao, with Chao races being held for all ages and types of Chao.
While most Chao races consisted of tests of flight, swimming and even puzzle solving ability, Sonic didn’t think there was nearly enough resources in the little garden for an authentic race. Though, there was still enough room to run.
Sonic gathered all the interested Chao (which was most of them, sans little Chocola, chilling in their pool) and laid out the rules of the race. “Okay, little buddies! This is going to be a foot race! No flying, no climbing and no punching! This isn’t Chao Karate, okay?”
Most of the Chao gave nods of acknowledgement, with only a few smaller Chao sporting question marks above their heads. “The race starts here and goes around the whole garden! Around the square fruit tree, and back here. Okay, y’all ready to race?”
Cheers resounded, even among the smaller Chao, though they seemed unaware of what exactly was happening. Most of the Chao got ready, some just sort of sitting with empty headed looks on their faces, as Sonic prepared a countdown. “Alright, on your marks… get set… GO!”
The Chao were off, the older ones running, smaller ones crawling, all happily trying their best to win the honor of fastest Chao in the garden. It was tense, Dusty, Churdle and even little Gibber were all neck and neck, as they reached the square fruit tree, rounding it and making their way back to the starting point. It was going to be a close one! Until—
“Ah!” Little Gibber squeaked, as he tripped! Right in front of the finish line, too! As the other Chao passed him, they all rejoiced, despite their positions. But little Gibber…
“ Uu…uu… UUWAHHHHH ,” he began wailing, tears falling like droplets from a garden sprinkler.
Both Sonic and Shadow immediately turned to the little Chao, faces belying the panic forming in their chests. They both ran to him, Sonic picking the little one up, holding him in the same way one would hold a football. “Uh, it’s okay little guy! You can’t win them all! You’ll get it next time! Here, wanna go play hide and seek again? That was fun, right?” Sonic frantically smiled with clear discomfort in his eyes. Usually when Tails was feeling down, he could always distract him long enough to get the tears to stop.
But little Gibber wasn’t having any of it. He just continued to bawl and sob, despite Sonic’s overly reassuring attitude.
“Uh, ah, it’s okay little guy! Shush, shush, it’ll be fine,” Sonic continued, just trying to get the little guy to stop before him and Shadow got in trouble for neglect or something. “It’ll all be okay, so please, don’t cry!”
Shadow, too, despite his usual heartless act, hated seeing the little Chao so upset. He knew the feeling… Disappointment in yourself, embarrassment, even for something so small, was hard to deal with. And while Sonic’s intentions were good, you couldn’t just tell someone to be happy and make it so.
Shadow walked up to the two. “Here, let me see him.” Sonic, still distressed at his inability to charm the Chao into being happy, handed him over to Shadow. Shadow took the little one, and held him against his chest like a baby, beginning to gently pat his back.
“I know, I know little one. It isn’t fair right?” he asked, so soft and kind that, for a moment, Sonic couldn’t believe that the gentle tone belonged to Shadow. “It’s okay to cry. Just let it all out…”
Gibber continued on, with some of the Chao flying around him in clear concern for their friend. Shadow looked around, finding exactly what he was looking for; clovers, still growing despite the early chill.
Shadow took the small one over to the patch of wildflowers, Gibber still crying and sniffling, but not as much as before. Setting him down, with a pat on the head, Shadow took a seat, criss-crossed, next to the sniffling Chao.
He began to pick some of the flowers around them. After he had picked what seemed to be enough, he started weaving the flowers together, looping one into the other, making a circle of sorts. Gibber, now only left with the occasional sniffle, came up to Shadow, curiously looking at his work.
The rest of the Chao, too, began walking towards Shadow, wanting to see whatever it was he was making. Sonic also found himself transfixed, making his way with the rest of the Chao.
After only a few minutes, the circle Shadow was making turned into a beautiful crown of flowers. The Chao were amazed. Shadow turned to Gibber, and gently placed the crown on his little head.
Delighted at his special new adornment, Gibber smiled with contentment. Any signs of his crying fit couldn’t be found now—just pure joy and admiration. A look mirrored in Sonic’s own face.
“Whooooa, dude! How did you make that?” Sonic said with a tone of child-like wonder.
Shadow was a bit thrown off by everyone being so dazzled. A simple daisy chain wasn’t anything special, really.
Though, in a way, it was…
Childhood memories of him and Maria guided his hands, as he began work on another crown. They would spend hours, it seemed, in that small meadow, warmed by sunshine and her smile. The repetitive motions and sound of her voice were calming, serene. It was one of the few bright spots they shared before everything went wrong.
Shadow shook his head, laying the knotted flowers to the side.
“Oh…well, it isn’t that hard, honestly,” he said sheepishly as Gibber climbed into his lap, eager perhaps for some of Shadow’s magic to rub off on him.
“Teach me! Teach me teach me teach me,” Sonic excitedly shouted, echoed by the rest of the Chao also eager for their own crowns.
Shadow looked at him, with eyes widened in shock, and even slight embarrassment. He could feel a heat rising to his cheeks. He wasn’t used to this kind of positive attention, especially not from the cute little Chao who had previously been terrified of him.
He felt…honored? Pleased?
…Happy?
He cleared his throat. “Umm…right. Well, first we pick the flowers…”
In only a few moments, the entire class of rambunctious Chao turned into a peaceful flower crown making seminar. Sonic sat close to Shadow, really inspecting the movement of his fingers, trying to crack the code of the flower crown, though it seemed to be escaping him. Occasionally, Sonic would sigh, hitting a wall and Shadow would take it from him, fixing it where need be.
“Alright so I just kinda gently tie it like that…” Sonic mumbled, looking more like someone diffusing a bomb than doing basic arts and crafts. Shadow laughed. Well, more so ‘hmphed’ happily, but still, he was left with a hint of a smile, eyes much lighter than before.
“That’s all there is to it,” Shadow said, finishing off his fifth crown for yet another eager Chao. Sonic let out a breath, finally relaxing. He admired his shoddy, yet stable creation, beaming with pride.
“Man, Shadow, you are just full of surprises,” Sonic giggled. Shadow had a hard time believing that.
“It’s… just a flower crown,” he deadpanned. “I suppose it isn’t the most…stereotypical thing one would imagine me to—”
“Nah, not that,” Sonic swatted the thought away. He tossed his gaze skyward like he was looking for something, but brought his eyes back down when he apparently didn’t find it. “Not sure how to put it exactly… But,” Sonic came up to a kneel, presenting his crown before Shadow. “I hereby dub thee Sir Shadow, knight of flowers and healer of bad vibes,” Sonic boasted in a madrigal voice, placing the crown atop Shadows head.
Shadow didn’t know how to respond to that, so of course, he rolled his eyes. “You know there are bugs crawling all over these flowers.” He gently removed it, quietly taking in Sonic’s snickers.
The two sat like this, for what felt like ages, surrounded by the singing and happiness of the Chao.
It was finally peaceful…at least until—
“Wait.” Shadow looked up from the crown, taking a quick head count. “Where’s Chocola?”
“Oh, Chocola?” Sonic, starting in on a second crown, was hyper-invested in making this one the best it could be. “He’s still in the pool. Right?”
Both of them looked to the spot where Chocola had been swimming, only to see it vacant.
“Chao! Chao chao!”
They looked up.
There was Chocola. At the top of the cliff surrounding the pool. He looked ready to take a dive into the pool below.
“Ah, no, Chocola! The water isn’t deep enough to dive in!” Sonic frantically shouted, dropping his work, rising to his feet as fast as he could. Shadow too, got up and made his way to the pool, moving carefully, wading his way until he was under the little Chao, ready to jump.
Sonic instead opted to make his way up the little cliff, reaching the top of the small cliff edge, barely big enough for him to crawl on. He started to cautiously reach his hand out to Chocola, who happily looked back at Sonic. “Hey, hey, okay little buddy, you probably just climbed up here by mistake, right? Well it’s okay, I can get you down from here safely, if you just let me—”
He was cut off. Chocola turned back towards the pool below, gave a cute cry of glee, and jumped.
“NO!” Both Sonic and Shadow shouted as Chocola took off. In a last ditch effort to catch him, Sonic followed, jumping right off the cliff, fingers just grazing Chocola, before plummeting face first into the pool. Or, rather, plummeting face first into—
“AHHH—oof!”
“Ah!”
SPLASH!
Little Chocola, who was quite adept at flying, landed softly atop Sonic’s head, which was currently smothered face-first into the shallow pool of water.
Or rather, smothered directly into Shadow’s submerged chest.
Chocola flew away, as the two hedgehogs came up for air. Gasping for breath, it seemed neither of them noticed the fact that Shadow, knocked directly onto his back, was sitting below a dripping Sonic. He was practically straddling Shadow’s chest, soaked, breathing heavy—
Then they were all too aware.
“Umm… fancy seeing you here, Shadow,” Sonic quipped between coughs.
“Agh, Sonic, get off me,” Shadow wheezed, pushing Sonic off him, and back into the shallow water.
Shadow pulled himself out first, twisting his apron free of as much water as he could. Sonic eventually dragged his own soaked self out, opting to shake as much water free from his quills as he could. Not unlike a dog. Of course.
“Okay everyone, it’s time to come in! It’s almost pick up time!” The hedgehogs turned to see Tikal waiting at the garden entrance. She gasped as she caught a glimpse of the two. “Oh no… Chocola tried to jump off the cliff again, didn’t he? Well, come on inside. Don’t worry, we have some towels to dry off with!”
Tikal beckoned the boys in as the Chao all happily filed in before them. Sonic, though wet and cold, couldn’t help but laugh at the situation. He patted Shadow on the back, who was noticeably displeased, red in the face.
“Haha, oh come on Shads, that was pretty funny, right?” Sonic chuckled, gently ribbing Shadow in the side. Shadow jerkily pulled away, not breaking eye contact from the door he was walking towards.
“ Hmph ,” was all he could say. A younger Shadow would be on the verge of tears after such an embarrassing display. And an older Shadow still found it hard to control the amount of seething hatred building inside.
“Thank you guys so much for the help today!”
Once all the Chao were picked up, and the classroom cleaned, Tikal escorted the boys out, relieving them of their duties.
“Great work you two,” Tikal beamed, now seemingly more relaxed with everything settled for the day. “It’s usually so understaffed here, it’s nice to have the help!”
“Ah, it’s no problemo! It was actually super fun! Right, Sonic?” Sonic turned to Shadow, giving him a wink, continuing the mix-up bit from earlier. Shadow rolled his eyes, only just recovered from the pool incident.
“Well, if you two ever want to come back, we’d be happy to have you!” Tikal gave one final beaming grin before seeing the two off and returning inside the kindergarten.
The early fall chill was setting in, the twilight sky dimming faster by the second. While neither of the hedgehogs had fully dried off from their disastrous dip in the pond, only Shadow still seemed to still feel the chill of…embarrassment? Horror? He still had trouble naming those feelings that accompanied the autumn cold seeping into his core.
“Brrr, when’d it get so cold all of a sudden?” Sonic chattered, catching Shadow's attention. He looked the underdressed hedgehog up, hugging himself for warmth, clinging to his damp shirt. Shadow was over being surprised with Sonic’s apparent lack of foresight. The very thing that sent him crashing into Shadow and soaking them both was also probably the reason he hadn’t thought to wear a jacket on a clearly chilly day.
He did pity him. Sonic was smiling even as his lips and body trembled from the cold.
“Perhaps you should have…brought a jacket,” Shadow awkwardly stated, pointing out the obvious. Not that it would’ve done Sonic much good; his own jacket was only just keeping him warm.
Sonic rolled his eyes. “Well jeez, that sure helps now,” he teased, sticking his tongue out.
But Sonic knew he still had a long way to go on his self-proclaimed quest for maturity, even down to something as simple as remembering to bring a jacket on a cold day. He threw a glance at Shadow.
“You know,” Sonic started, “earlier you asked me how I do it?’” Looking Shadow in the eye, Sonic gave a genuine smile. “The funny thing is, I’ve been thinking the same thing about you for a while now.”
Shadow’s heart skipped a beat. He didn’t know how to respond to this, aside from an awkwardly coy silence.
Sonic paid it no mind. “You really are something, Shadow. You work so hard each day. I can’t even begin to imagine the amount of classwork you do. Not to mention working at a hospital?! Like, dude, that’s insane!” Sonic again was beaming.
He couldn’t handle this. Sure, Shadow got occasional admiration from Rouge and Maria (well, mostly a gentle worry mixed with praise). But this kind of praise was…new. He couldn’t stop blushing. He felt like he was losing all grasp on his composure. “Ah, well, r-really, it’s nothing that special, I just do what I need to, for—”
“Shadow.” Sonic laid a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay to take the compliment.” He winked with his signature thumbs-up, like some hero from a cartoon.
Staring at the ground, Shadow relented. “...Thank you.”
“Yaaaay, now it’s my turn!” Sonic declared giving a final pat of Shadow’s shoulder before heading back towards the kindergarten.
Flustered, bewildered, Shadow whipped around to watch him go.
“I too need to do what I can,” Sonic clarified. “For myself, and my little bro.”
Blinking in confusion, Shadow asked slowly “...And what exactly is it you need to do?”
“Oh, well, the ‘rents sorta cut me off allowance-wise, so it’s about time I got a job for myself,” Sonic chuckled, bashfully rubbing his neck. “It looks like they could use some more hands on deck. And hey, I think I’m not too shabby at the kindergarten game, right?”
Shadow snorted. “I suppose it suits you.” He ran a sharp gaze over the kid’s still-damp form, brimming with equal parts spunk and potential. No, he corrected, not kid. If Sonic had shown him anything over the past week, it was that he at least deserved more than Shadow’s petty monikers. He shook his head. “But I’d refrain from any more brash stunts or dramatic falls, even if it's for the Chao.”
“Haha, no promises. Not unless Sir Shadow, my knight in shining armor is there to catch me.” Sonic gave a cheeky wink and little finger hearts.
What —
He laughed, like it was a joke, unaware of the way everything suddenly stilled for Shadow.
“Well, have a safe trip home! I’m hoping after this, the jog home will be able to warm me up,” Sonic chuckled, shivering once more before reentering the chao kindergarten. “See you around, Shadow!”
My knight in shining armor —
An arrow pierced his heart. A warmth spread from his core to his toes. That fluttering feeling in his stomach reached a fever pitch. Shadow walked to his bike, everything playing through his mind. Everything. The bar, the library, the hospital. Sonic’s indignation, his whimsy, his carefree attitude. His smile. That smile.
The shocked, unguarded eyes that looked down at him, as his dripping quills framed his face. It all shot through him, like a bullet.
No.
All at once, the cocktail of feelings that had been swirling in him all day had a name. It wasn’t embarrassment or loathing or anxiety. It was something much worse.