Chapter Text
“Are you sure, Amy? I mean, nothing against you or your tarot cards but-”
“My cards are never wrong, Tails!” She insisted.
Sonic tuned them out for the moment. He looked at their suspect board, emerald eyes lingering on his rival. He pulled out his phone and opened up his photo of said hybrid. He hadn’t gotten a good look at it in the moment. Smiling softly, he took in every small detail. The way his quills were slightly messed up due to the wind. The way his head was tilted back slightly. The crinkle in the corner of his closed eyes. His big, open smile. He even noticed that Shadow had small fangs. That was actually so cute. They suited him.
“What do you think, Sonic?” His brother asked.
“Hm?” The blue hedgehog looked up.
With a sigh and smile, the fox clarified. “What do you think about Amy’s theory? I have to admit the meanings with this bouquet are leaning more romantic this time.”
“They definitely are! Which to me means it’s not Rouge or Espio. Espio for sure likes Silver, so it would be pretty sad for him if Silver is your flower sender, actually, and Rouge has feelings for Knuckles. Although you two do flirt a bit.”
“Not seriously though. Rouge and I flirt in a playful, casual way.” Nodding in agreement, Amy switched Rouge’s card to accomplice. Sonic shrugged, moving to join the others in the living room. “What did your cards tell ya, Ames?” He sat down next to Tails, leaning on the armrest as they waited for a response.
Amy put a hand on her hip. “My reading was to try and figure out this person’s identity. I drew cards for your past, present, and future with them.” She glanced back at the boards. “I think the result supports that it’s either Silver or Shadow. So first off was your past. I got The Sun and The Hanged Man. Then for the present I drew The Devil and Seven of Clubs. Finally, your future cards were The World and Eight of Clubs.” Clearly done, she stared at the two for a beat of silence.
“Okay,” Sonic said slowly. “So, what do those mean?”
“The Sun means ‘strong and sure in character’. Meanwhile, The Hanged Man means ‘a fall awaits if you don’t reconsider’.”
Tails stood and walked over towards the boards as well. “Alright, who on there fits that description in regards to the past? Assuming they both refer to one person.”
“That’s the thing! I think The Sun is actually referring to Sonic. He’s always so sure of himself and what he believes in.”
“Which means The Hanged Man refers to this flower sender then.” Tails put a hand on his chin. “I guess that could refer to either Silver or Shadow, right? I mean Silver has a habit of acting without thinking things through. And Shadow almost destroyed the world when we first met him.”
Amy nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, exactly! The present is a little more abstract, though. The Devil means ‘something holding you back’. The Seven of Clubs means ‘mysterious passion’. I think it’s safe to say both of these are for the secret admirer.”
“Okay, but that doesn’t really help, does it? We already knew words weren’t really their strong suit. Especially since they only left one note that said ‘for Sonic’ on it.” The speedster observed. Amy slowly turned to face him.
“They left a note before?” Sonic nodded in confusion. “Sonic! Why didn’t you mention that?!”
“It didn’t seem important! Like I said, there’s not much on there!” He stood up. “Look, I still have it, so just hang tight, and I’ll go get it.” He dashed off to his room before either of his friends could answer. Pulling open his bedside table, he pushed things aside, trying to find that small piece of paper. He paused in his search as Shadow’s note caught his eye. In a split-second decision, he grabbed it and set it on the table before digging through his drawer once more. Finding the paper at last, he brought both items back to the living room.
“There you are! You could at least let us say something before taking off like that.” Amy chided with crossed arms and a glare.
“Sorry, Ames. But here’s the note just like I said.” He held the smaller paper out with his right hand after moving Shadow’s note to his other one. Tails, of course, noticed as Amy turned her back to pin the note up on the suspect board.
“What’s that other paper, Sonic?” He asked with a small tilt of his head. Sonic looked down at the note for a second before meeting blue eyes again.
“Oh, uh, I grabbed Shadow’s note too. Not really sure why, just had a feeling, I guess.” He shrugged.
“Can I see it?”
With more hesitation than he would like, he handed it over slowly. Tail studied the words carefully before flicking his gaze up to the board and then back to the paper. “What are you looking for exactly?” Sonic asked, placing a hand on his hip.
One more look at the board seemed to seal the deal for his brother, who walked over to it and turned to face the two hedgehogs. “Shadow wrote both of these.” He declared seriously.
Amy beamed while Sonic felt his jaw drop. “Wha-no. No way. Tails, c’mon, we’ve been over this.”
“Just look for a second.” He pinned up the hybrid’s note next to the flower sender’s. He pointed to Sonic’s name on both papers. “The way they write your name is the same. The handwriting in general is the same. Shadow gets his point across in as few words as possible. So leaving a note that simply says ‘for Sonic’ is perfectly in character for him.”
Amy nodded along. “Makes sense to me!”
“Okay, first of all, those points feel a little circumstantial, right? Second, maybe he wrote it as a favor for someone else. I mean, it would be smart for the person to cover their tracks. Leaving two handwritten notes is too sloppy for Shadow.”
Tails mulled that over for a minute. “That’s true. But…” He paused before meeting Sonic’s eyes. “Sonic, you didn’t see how worried he was when he brought you back. I think he was genuinely convinced you were seriously hurt. The way he was holding you and how gently he placed you on your bed. He kept going over what happened and what he thought might need attention. He set out that glass of water and medicine for you with strict instructions that you take it. I don’t think he was thinking things through as much as he usually would.”
Sonic let that sink in as his muzzle heated up at the thought of Shadow caring for him that much. He stared at his brother before shifting his gaze out the window. “That…that’s hard to dispute. I’ll give you that one, bud. Still, it’s not concrete proof either.” He crossed his arms both in defiance and as an act of self-comfort. His mind was racing as he processed his brother’s words. It was true that the handwriting on both notes was identical.
“Did you have any conversations or moments with Shadow or Silver that line up with the flower meanings, Sonic?” Amy asked curiously. It was a good question, one that had already been asked. He huffed and walked up to the flower board, scanning the meanings while he searched his memory. He hadn’t spent much time with Silver recently, and when he did, it didn’t feel out of the ordinary. Shadow…. His interactions with the hybrid have been different. “Well?” The pink hedgehog prodded.
“I don’t know. None of my hangouts with Silver lately were out of the ordinary. Same as always.” He shrugged. “But Shads has been a little different lately, I guess.”
Amy’s eyes lit up as she leaned toward him excitedly. “Different how? Different in a way that fits your flowers?”
“And the timeline. We have to keep in mind when they showed up too.” Tails added. “But you said it doesn’t line up outside of that night Cream wandered off.”
“Why, what happened?”
Sonic sighed but began filling his friend in on that night in detail. He knew she’d just use her hammer to get the information out of him anyway. When he was done, Amy was practically vibrating with elation. “But that was just one time it happened to fit.” He clarified. “Just a coincidence.”
“But maybe it wasn’t! I swear you are so perceptive and emotionally intelligent most of the time, Sonic! You need to see past your denial. For a moment, just one moment, let yourself believe Shadow is leaving them. Do any conversations stick out to you?” She insisted with her hands on her hips.
Sonic took a deep breath. “Fine. But I don’t think it’ll make a difference for the record.”
“Noted, for the record.” Amy snarked back.
“Okay, let’s see.” He read over the meanings of his first bouquet. “I guess…the only thing sticking out to me is one week before the first one arrived. I had a chat with Shadow about the past and how I forgave him for it.” His eyes were drawn to the third batch of flowers. He gestured towards it. “A few days before this one, we raced through green hills a little. I talked a bit about why I love running around and revisiting places afterwards.”
“See! Those sound like more than coincidences so far.”
Rolling his eyes, the next one to draw his attention was the sixth bouquet. “A week before the sixth one, I told Shadow I thought of him as my friend. The seventh one was around when I was hurt in that explosion not sure if that means anything though. I think that’s about it.” Suddenly, a pillow from the couch hit the side of his face. “Hey! What gives?!”
Tails poked him hard on the shoulder. “Why didn’t you mention all that before?! That is very important information, Sonic!” He picked up another pillow and launched it at the blue hero, who yelped and ducked to avoid another hit while Amy laughed.
“Because they didn’t stick out to me that much! I don’t tend to read too much into my interactions with my friends!” He tried to defend himself, but he knew they weren’t the whole truth. He just never considered Shadow as a real option, so he just brushed off all the mentioned moments. “They were just-”
“I swear to Gaia if you say ‘coincidence’ again-”
Amy put a hand on Tails’ shoulder. “Alright! Time out, you two. Let’s all calm down a bit, okay?” She was trying to diffuse the situation, Sonic knew, but the smile on her face worked against that effort.
Tails crossed his arms and sat down heavily on the couch. “I’m calm.” He muttered petulantly.
Amy pinned Sonic with a serious look. “So, think about those moments again, but this time let yourself believe Shadow left the flowers for you. And I mean, seriously think about it, Sonic! I’ll know if you don’t!”
Sonic’s ears pinned back nervously. Doing as he was told for once, he finally let the hope that had been building in his chest for a while now fill him. He ran through everything he knew and did his best to link the information to his rival. Emerald eyes stared unblinking at the floor as they slowly widened. It…was really hard to ignore how well it fit. Their talks and interactions. Shadow’s odd behavior lately. His apparent jealousy of Amy. It all pointed to the agent having some form of feelings for him. But….
“You can see it now, can’t you?” Amy took a step toward him. “It has to be him. I’m sure of it. You know I wouldn’t give you false hope like this.”
Sonic shook his head slightly. “Okay, maybe he does like me a little. But to go so far as to leave me flowers? You have to admit that isn’t in character for him.”
Tails leaned forward and rested his arms on his knees with clasped hands. “Shadow isn’t great with words. His note proves that much. Maybe he wanted to voice these feelings in some way, and flowers struck him as the obvious choice given your appreciation of nature.”
“But that far back?” He asked doubtfully.
Amy sighed as she glanced out the window. “Well, it’s getting late. Why don’t we stop for the night? Give us all time to think this over.”
The two brothers nodded in agreement and wished their friend a good night. Sonic turned to the young fox. “Hey, Tails? I am sorry for not mentioning all those talks and stuff between Shadow and me. I really didn’t think they were that important.”
“It’s alright, Sonic. I know how deep in denial you were. It makes sense you would write all of them off as a coincidence.”
Laughing, they bid each other good night. The next few days passed quickly as the three friends tossed ideas and theories back and forth. Evidence and proof were offered before being reasoned away. Currently, Sonic was sitting on the top of the tallest mountain he could find. The stars were on full display above him. Emerald eyes traced constellations as his racing mind finally slowed a little. He loved stargazing. Even after having been to space, a few times actually, it still couldn’t beat the view from on the ground. He heard the thump of heavy shoes land close behind him.
“What are you doing, Faker?” The deep voice of his rival broke the silence.
Smiling Sonic didn’t turn around as he answered. “Best spot to see the stars.”
Footsteps approached him. “Should’ve guessed you would enjoy stargazing.” He sat down next to the speedster with a sigh. “How many constellations do you know?”
Sonic hummed in thought. “Not many. I know the main ones, but that’s about it. Like the Big Dipper over there.” He pointed vaguely towards a section of the sky.
Shaking his head, the other corrected him. “More to the left.” Sonic shifted his arm. “More.”
“There?” Still not satisfied when Sonic made another adjustment, Shadow huffed and leaned towards him. The blue hedgehog opened his mouth to tease him when the words died on his tongue. Shadow’s fingers closed around his wrist and dragged his arm where he wanted it to be. He was now pointing almost directly in front of the agent’s face.
“Here. Honestly, hedgehog, it’s not that hard to find.” Swallowing nervously, Sonic turned his head slightly, noting how close the two now were.
“O-oh, yeah. I see it now. Thanks, Shads.” Nodding, the broody hedgehog fell back and stared up at the glittering sky. His crimson eyes flickered back and forth, taking as much of it in as possible. Slowly, Sonic copied him.
A beat passed before Shadow spoke again. “Maria loved learning about the stars and constellations.” The hero paused and held his breath for a moment. Shadow didn’t talk about Maria often. Never, actually. He knew he had to tread carefully here. “We couldn’t see them from the ARK, but she had a book of them. We would sit by the viewing window and look through it, trying to picture what it would be like to pick them out from the ground.”
Propping himself up on his elbow, Sonic looked at his rival. “That sounds like fun. Did you enjoy doing stuff like that?”
The other mulled that over. “I think I mostly enjoyed how excited she was about it. There wasn’t much we could do for entertainment, so any joy was treasured. She would point them out on the page and tell me all she knew about the constellation she was focusing on this time. The origins and reasoning behind their creation.” He turned his head to meet Sonic’s eyes. “I like to stargaze occasionally because of this. Sometimes I can almost hear her explaining them to me again.” He whispered that last sentence.
Smiling slightly, Sonic lay back again. “When Tails and I were little, we used to sleep outside all the time. Most nights were clear, so we spent a lot of time looking at the stars. I didn’t know any constellations or anything, but he asked me to help look for them once.” He heard shifting next to him but didn’t comment on it as he continued. “So, I just started making them up. I would connect random stars and assign them a shape. Tails definitely knew they were all fake and what the real ones were, but he played along. He asked me to tell him the stories behind them and eventually started making up his own.” His smile widened. “Those were my favorite nights. They were just so normal. I felt like a normal kid just hanging out with my brother, ya know?”
He heard a quiet laugh. “Sounds like something you would do. You care about him a lot. It doesn't surprise me that you'd go out of your way to make him happy."
Sonic smiled as his eyes traced the sky. “I'm glad you told me about that memory with Maria Shads. I know how hard it is for you to talk about her." The other didn't respond. Nervous he'd accidentally upset the dark hedgehog, Sonic tried to think of a way to shift the conversation. "Hey.” He looked at Shadow with barely concealed hope. He received an arched brow in response. “Can you tell me about the constellations? The real ones.” He asked carefully. Shadow’s eyes widened slightly. “Only if you want to, obviously. No pressure.”
When he didn’t get an immediate answer, he quickly looked back at the sky. He was just about to tell Shadow to forget it when a black arm stretched in front of him. “The Little Dipper is over there by the Big Dipper. They are the easiest to spot.” He delved into the myth behind the two before moving on to another one. Sonic hung on his every word and obediently looked where he was directed to. It wasn’t often that Shadow went on a rant. He saw the other relax as he spoke out of the corner of his eye. A smile tugged at the hybrid’s lips as he talked.
They stayed like that for hours. It wasn’t until after midnight, when exhaustion had caused Sonic to lay his head on a black shoulder, that Shadow finally paused. He glanced down at the hero in shock. Sonic spoke around a yawn. “Sorry, Shads. Guess I’m getting a little tired. You can keep goin’, it’s fine.”
“I don’t want to keep you up…”
Waving him off, Sonic settled further against his rival unconsciously. “No, I’m listenin’ I-” He yawned again. “I promise. I like hearing you talk like this. You have a nice voice, ‘specially when you get passionate about somethin’.” He mumbled sleepily.
“You…like my voice?” He asked slowly. He got a soft ‘mmhmm’ followed by a single nod. Blue ears twitched as Shadow began talking again. He couldn’t really make out what he was saying as he drifted off.
He woke to a bright light. Blinking open his eyes, he found he was still on the mountain. Looking around in confusion, he noted that he was alone as well. Stretching, he rose to his feet. The memories of the night before returned slowly, causing a smile to cross his face before it fell as he remembered his half-asleep confession and sleepy cuddling with his rival. He groaned and pressed his hands to his eyes. “Great. Just great. Might as well have just told him I like him there and then.” He grumbled to himself. Not wanting to dwell on it anymore, he ran in the direction of the workshop. Within the hour, he was pushing the door open. He checked his phone to see if it needed a charge yet when he saw a new message.
Ultimate Killjoy: I apologize for leaving you on the mountain all night. You seemed comfortable, and I didn’t wish to disturb you. I got called in for a mission, so I will be unreachable until it’s completed. It shouldn’t be as long as the last one.
Ultimate Killjoy: I enjoyed talking with you and stargazing. Thank you for sharing that memory with me.
Sonic smiled. That second message seemed like it was a last-minute decision. Before he could send a reply, he glanced at the counter. He wasn’t even surprised when he found new flowers waiting for him in an array of pink, purple, and white. Quickly adding them to the board before starting on breakfast.
Bouquet #10
Larkspur (purple) = first love
Gardenia = secret love
Rose (pink) = gentle affection