Archive of Our Own

A chill breeze brushed through Sonic’s quills as he sat through what had to be the longest safety talk to ever exist. He was never one for waiting, quick nature and all- but combine it with safety instructions and there’s no way he’s paying attention. The hero watched his foot bob up and down in anticipation for the contest to begin- god could this just end already!

Peering to his side, it seems his rival was finding the lecture just as entertaining as he was- it looked like he had fallen asleep long ago, arms crossed, eyes closed. They sat side by side on a cold metal bench dusted with snowflakes, Sonic swore he must be wearing the weather with how long he’d been waiting.

“Alright! Now let’s start this year’s winter scavenger hunt in three! Two! One! GO!” Finally, the instructor had let their torment come to and end, and before anyone could even blink the two were off.

Series of white trees flashed past the hero as he ploughed through the winter forest. His eyes were peeled, he was never this alert even when fighting Eggman- that was not nearly as important as this.

It had all started because of some immature argument, Sonic insisting he was cooler and Shadow not having any of it. After eons of bickering the hero suggested that they settle this at the annual winter scavenger hunt, whoever found everything on the list first, wins. Shadow thought he was bizarre; he’d rather just beat the shit out of him, or alternatively, race until they physically couldn’t anymore. But alas, Sonic was set on this- claiming it would ‘not only test our speed! But our visual awareness too!’. Besides, the two had raced plenty and never got anything out of it.

So here they were, speeding through the snowy forest, list in hand.  “Not to intimidate you Shads, but I’ve almost finished” Sonic smirked, wiggling a basket full of various leaves and nuts in the air.

“Speak for yourself hedgehog,” His rival replied, fully focused on the environment in front of him “I only need to find one more item”.

“Oh yeah? What’s that then?”

“None of your conce-” He stopped mid sentence- eyes snapping to an unsuspecting bird feather across the forest. He didn’t waste a single second, immediately diving towards his soon to be victory.

But before he knew what was happening his face hit the snow, an unwelcome chill attacking his body. “AGH! Get off of me!” The crushed hedgehog spat as he pushed Sonic off of him. “You’re playing dirty you little-!” He was cut off once again as he spotted the perpetrator reaching for his victory feather- he leaped forwards, crashing into him before they started tumbling down hill.

Sonic was very audibly screaming all the way down until their weight was caught by an unsympathetic tree trunk. Wincing, he tried to stand up and gather his bearings but before he knew it he was back in the snow again as Shadow tackled him with full force. “Not on my watch faker.” The ebon muttered.

Sonic took that as a challenge- tackling him back. If it was Christmas and they were trading gifts, they would be doing great right now- if the gifts were punches.

Shadow was knocked to the ground “What the hell!” Sonic shouted, gasping for air. He curled up into a ball, ready to spin dash the other, but Shadow had already regained his stance. “Chaos spear!” He announced, a series of yellow lights coming down on the other.

He had no time to think, as more and more spears were being fired at him “whoa!” he exclaimed, a huge hole being blasted in a tree where he was just standing. He was charging up for another attack before a loud creek interrupted his concentration.

The tree began tilting, tonnes of snow that was once peacefully sleeping on the branches came thudding down in waves before them. “Shit!” They both cursed in unison, sensing a louder rumbling from higher up the mountain.

The hero shot forward and looked for a clear escape path, the rumbling below his feet becoming more and more intense by the second. Out of the corner of his eye he watched Shadow do the same, dodging various clumps of snow that fell from the trees above them.

“Shadow! Over here!” He spotted a small opening in the ground, signalling his rival over before diving inside. Shadow hopped in, just in time before the entrance was completely covered with a thick layer of snow.

The two stood still for a moment, afraid to move as if the avalanche could hear them through the floor. The clumps of ice and snow bounded down the terrain like a badly conducted rock band, loud thuds wracking their bodies with every second.

Their heartbeats were nearly as loud as the boulders themselves, the adrenaline from battle still furiously pumping through their veins. They panted heavily trying to catch their breath as they watched the cave slowly become darker and darker as the entrance was slowly covered more and more.

Well, this wholesome nature hunt was definitely going to plan.

The noises had eventually ceased after what felt like an eternity, with much relief to Sonic. After the initial shock had settled he tried to gather his thoughts. He had seen situations like this before, it was no biggie- although it was definitely inconvenient it was nothing he couldn’t find his way out of. “Something tells me this isn’t part of the competition.” He joked, not faltering his cocky attitude.

Shadow didn’t reply, his head pounded in his skull as he crouched down to the ground, breathing heavily. His skin ran cold. Sonic couldn’t see him in the darkness surrounding them but his pained breaths couldn’t be missed. Something wasn’t right.

He turned to face him, his heart pounding in his chest as the nerves returned. “Shads, is everything alright?” Suddenly he felt his stomach drop as he heard his rival crash to the floor, almost gasping for air.

He raced over to him, grabbing his heaving body “Shadow? W-whats going on?” he felt his voice crack and throat run dry. Shit, this was not meant to happen!

“Don’t touch me… hedgehog.” Shadow choked out, struggling against his grip and pushing him as far away as possible. The walls were shrinking smaller and smaller- his state became worse and worse, damn- this place was tiny.

Sonic didn’t know what to do, heck, he didn’t even know what was happening! He just panicked on the spot, waving his arms around as if it would help.

Shadow sat on the floor, head in hands as he tried to control his breathing. What was definitely not helping was the hedgehog next to him asking an abundance of questions. “Are you hurt? Did you get hit by the avalanche? Just tell me where it hurts!”

His ears flattened against the top of his head and a small growl escaped his lips, he was… so loud and annoying.

The hero immediately registered his response, heart pounding in his chest even more at the thought of making it worse. Sure, he fought Shadow a lot but he didn’t actually want him to get hurt. They only ever ruffed each other up a bit.

He just wished he could see, maybe then he could spot his injury and figure out what was going on and fix this! He furrowed his eyebrows- about to open his mouth once more, before deciding against it. ‘Alright stay calm… Shadow’s an idiot but he’s not THAT dumb- if he really was in danger he’d let me know right?’ He tried to convince himself to stay back, but the excessive gasping from the body in front of him was not helping. ‘Shit I can’t just stand here and not do anything-’ He panicked.

He reached out a hand to comfort the boy but immediately withdrew it as Shadow started choking on his own breaths. “Shadow! Dude!” Sonic called out, crouching down next to him. “Just try to breathe okay?”

If Shadow was in any condition to be talking right now, he would have spat something out along the lines of ‘If it were that simple I wouldn’t be in this situation right now, idiot’

Sonic only listened to Shadow’s erratic breathing scatter around the cave until it slowly began to smoothen out, if you could even call it smooth. His breaths sounded hoarse and pained, but at least he wasn’t hyperventilating anymore.

The hero waited until he thought it was safe to talk again, muttering out his rival’s name as softly as he could “Shads?”

“I’m fine.” The mentioned hedgehog spat back, or he at least tried to. It came off as more of a frustrated whisper.

“I can’t help if I don’t know what’s going on-”

“I didn’t ask for any of your help.” Shadow immediately cut him off, he just wanted him to stop talking- no he just wanted him to disappear altogether. This was humiliating.

Sonic was a little taken aback, although it wasn’t unusual for Shadow to talk in this manor to him, it still hurt a little. He took the hint and sat down next to the shaken up hedgehog assuming that maybe his company would be comforting enough? After a minute of silence or so he began ruffling around in his quills to see what materials he had. Mostly, it was random bits from the hunt: some berries, pinecones, nuts, a safety flare… a safety flare!

“Hey look! We can call for help with this!” He beamed, gesturing to the flare as if Shadow could see him.

“If you’re holding a flare right now…” He took a long and laborious breath before continuing. “…I would suggest you think more carefully about our situation.” Shadow muttered under his breath, still trying to regain his composure as he spoke.

Sonic froze “Oh… yeah.” He facepalmed… they were buried under ground. He should really just keep his mouth shut, but obviously he wasn’t going to. “Can’t you just chaos control us outta here?”

“I’d love to but I just wasted my reserves fighting some idiot.”

He froze once more “Yikes.. well.. you didn’t have to say it like that.”

He felt his guilt begin to bubble up inside, if he hadn’t tried to steal that feather they wouldn’t be in this situation right now. Damnit, his ego was really something he couldn’t just ignore, he just had to win didn’t he. Now Shadow had some sort of unknown injury, they had no way out and it was slowly becoming colder by the minute.

His thoughts were interrupted as he heard his rivals breathing starting to become more ragged again. “Alright, you’re not fine Shadow.” He started “Just tell me what’s wrong or I’ll figure it out myself.”

Shadow attempted to shake it off, he’d usually distract himself by looking at his surroundings in a situation like this but there was absolutely nothing. Just complete darkness. It was suffocating. The more he thought about it the worse his state became. ‘Fuck, not around him… please.’ He turned his back to Sonic; he just couldn’t see him like this… he couldn’t.

The icy floor beneath him seeped its unforgiving cold into his skin, he shivered. Not because it was cold, it just… reminded him too much of that disdainful place. The chamber he was trapped in for decades.

It was cold… and dark. There was nothing else to it. Just like this.

The frigid air was surrounding him from every angle, every crevice. ‘no.. its happening again’ he began to panic as the cold touched him more and more like an unwanted disease. He kept telling himself it was going to be fine and he was not about to be put in suspended animation again, but- shit. Nothing was working.

‘Just breathe.’ He told himself, every ounce of his energy contributing to keeping his cool in front of his rival.

He jumped as the blue hedgehog broke his concentration “You asked for it.” Sonic shrugged, obviously not catching the hint that Shadow was trying to keep calm. He gently places his hand on his shoulder, ears perking up as he felt the boy in front of him. “You’re shaking.” He commented, unsure what to do with this information.

“Get off me.” He complained lethargically, feeling the back of his throat tighten as he tried to talk, his eyes begging to let his tears free. Sonic ignored him, firming his grip on his shoulder.

“You’re not injured are you?”

Shadow paused. He breathed in deeply “no…” the whisper was so quiet the hero almost missed it, but as soon as he caught it he realised what was going on.

He knew Shadow would hate him for this, but Sonic was the last person to let a friend suffer in silence. He released his grip on his shaking body, and started drawing small circles on his back with the tip of his finger “just focus on the feeling on your back, forget about everything else.” He said gently as he felt Shadow tense up in front of him.

It was going against every fibre in Shadow’s body to even consider allowing Sonic to help him, let alone touch him in such a gentle manor. It felt so wrong, this was his sworn rival, not some nurse. The same guy he’d tried to kill on multiple occasions, the same guy he had built such an unformidable reputation against.

“Shadow, I’m your friend. You can relax.” He spoke softly, as if he read his mind in that moment.

That’s right… the days of killing each other were far in the past. Sure, they fought here and there but- they never actually wanted to harm one another. He took a shaky breath and relaxed his shoulders, Sonic was too nice for his own good, helping him like this. He really felt he didn’t deserve it.

“Here, try and guess the shapes I’m drawing.” Sonic continued, doing everything in his power to help bring Shadow’s focus to the tactile input and away from his panicked state. And it seemed to be working? At least he hoped it did, he appeared to lessen his trembling as the minutes passed.

They sat in silence for a while as the blue boy gently drew shapes on his friend’s back. As much as he loved talking, Sonic knew he should keep his lips sealed. He couldn’t deny he had a weird feeling in his stomach though. He couldn’t tell what it was, sympathy? Shock? Confusion? The chilli dog he ate for lunch? Whatever it was, he knew he had completely misinterpreted the whole situation and felt like an idiot for it.

It never occurred to him that Shadow would be so susceptible to a panic attack like that, he had always viewed him as resilient and unbothered, someone who would be unfazed at the most terrorising situation. So obviously he assumed something had injured him, he didn’t even consider anything else as an option. His mind began to wander as he considered just how often this would even happen to Shadow? Was it normal? Or was it new for him too? He was just baffled that his rival even had a vulnerable side, it made him realise that he too was mobian just like he was... of course he would feel the same as everyone else.

“Hey Shads… Can I ask something?” He gently spoke, receiving no reply he decided to continue “does this happen a lot?” The words resonated within the tiny cave for a few moments before anyone spoke. Sonic continued to draw an array of patterns around his spines, noticing his muscles tense up at the question.

“Yeah”

Sonic felt his stomach drop. He felt so stupid. He had known the boy for so long, been through everything together- and he didn’t even know- let alone consider this side of him. He almost felt guilty for not being there for him. “I’m… sorry… I never knew.”

“It’s not your fault.” Shadow tensed up at the apology, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable.

“No but…” He paused as if he had lost his train of thought, before speaking up again “Can I ask what caused it this time?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” He rejected him bluntly, suddenly standing up. He had let himself be vulnerable in front of sonic for far too long, his cheeks heating up from the embarrassment, luckily no one could see.

“That’s... fine”

Shadow sat back down next to the hero, taking a deep breath “So do you remember any of that safety stuff we were told about earlier?” He desperately tried to change the subject, attempting to sound like his usual nonchalant self- but to his dismay it came out rather wobbly.

“Oh.. uhh well” His rival laughed nervously “I kinda zoned out.”

“I would get mad at you but I did the same thing.” They both chuckled before an uncomfortable silence washed over them. They didn’t have many options other than to sit and wait for their rescue, any attempt to dig themselves out of here would mean immediate suffocation, there was no way the snow wouldn’t bury them completely. And if there was once thing Sonic knew- it was that his friends wouldn’t give up on him that quickly. He had faith in them. But damn he definitely had no faith in himself, the boredom of sitting here was going to slowly kill him- a solitary dripping noise was the only thing that reminded him he was still alive.

His mind kept drifting back to Shadow. He couldn’t stifle his worry. The boy next to him was still breathing weirdly, and the longer it went on the more guilt he felt.

“It reminds me of that chamber I was trapped in.” a small voice murmured under its breath; the hero felt his ears perk up.

“Huh?”

“That suspended animation chamber, it was just like this. Freezing cold, pitch black, small and lonely…” He paused before continuing “That’s why I freaked out.”

“oh… OH.” Sonic fumbled around, lacking the knowledge of how to respond. “I understand...” He played with his glove awkwardly. It was strange… Shadow was opening up to him. Strange, but definitely not unwelcome.

“Yeah…” He mumbled; he must be sitting with his head in his knees because he was almost inaudible at this point. But he was just too embarrassed to show his face whether sonic could see him or not.

Shadow had no time to wallow in his humiliation because he was suddenly hoisted up onto his rival’s lap, he yelped in his surprise and began to squirm around in his arms. “W-what are you doing!” He tried to push him away but Sonic held on firmly.

“Well, I thought, since the cold loneliness made you uncomfortable- I could fix that.”

“Put me back! I’m no child!” he wriggled around, determined on escape.

He sighed, obviously he had seen this coming but that didn’t make it any easier to deal with. “Make a deal with me, if you’re still uncomfortable after five minutes I’ll let you have your way. But you gotta just trust me and at least try it first.” He reasoned, holding the hedgehog in his arms. He didn’t respond, only let out some sort of ‘hmph’ noise which Sonic took as an agreement.

He could tell that the boy was at least somewhat okay with this, considering how he was still in one piece, and considering how little he complained. He was definitely new to physical touch too because he sat in his lap as stiff as a rock. “Shadow, relax” He laughed as he positioned his rival to sit more comfortably.

Shadow felt the warmth of Sonic’s body immediately comfort his freezing skin. It was like he had just entered heaven; he didn’t want to admit it but shit he was right- he did need this. He let his shoulders droop and he closed his eyes, damn, Sonic was so strangely comforting, he didn’t smell bad either. Maybe he could just enjoy this moment, it’s not like it was ever going to happen again.

They spent the next few minutes in silence as the two hedgehogs treasured each other’s warmth, Sonic admired the peaceful moment, listening to the once quivering breaths become slow and steady. He had didn’t really touched Shadow other than when they were squabbling, so he never had a moment to appreciate just how soft his fur was.

His brain was screaming at him to not ruin the moment, to not scare Shadow away, but he couldn’t resist raising his hand and stroking his rival’s head. He felt him tense up at the sensation, stifling his breath as he tried to register just what Sonic was doing to him, and why it felt so nice.

He didn’t even register that he was nuzzling his cheek into his rival’s chest until he heard giggling.

Giggling.

“Shadow! I didn’t know you could purr!”

‘Oh god.’

‘Oh no no no no no’

Alright, this had to be his lowest moment, he had never been more mortified in his entire life.

Sonic almost wished he didn’t say anything because as soon as he did, it stopped.

“Shut up… you ass.” He felt his muscles stiffen as he began to move himself to the floor.

“No wait!” The hero stopped him “It’s… nice.” He immediately felt his face heating up, it seems he wasn’t the only hedgehog thankful that they couldn’t see each other right now.

The ebon froze, before laying back down in his rival’s arms. “You’re... strange.”

“Why’s that?”

“I don’t understand… why aren’t you disgusted with me…” he trailed off, sitting uncomfortably.

Sonic was puzzled. Disgusted? It hadn’t even crossed his mind. “Why would I be?”

Shadow sealed his lips shut; he had already said too much. He should just leave this alone and get away as soon as possible. But as much as he wanted to, he found himself opening his mouth “I tricked you.” his voice quivered “I’m not strong at all, just look at me.”

The hero tightened his grip on his body, his heart sinking as he processed the words. Shadow? Not strong? Bullshit. There was no way in hell he actually thought of himself like this, right? Concern and anger bubbled together in his stomach just thinking about it.

“Don’t say that.” He said sternly, a confused scowl patterned his face- almost shocking the ebon. “You’re the strongest person I know, Shadow.”

“But-”

“Having weak moments doesn’t mean you aren’t strong. If anything, it means you’re stronger because you’re able to push through them and still end up on top.” He continued “I have vulnerable moments all the time, heck- I cried at the chao movie the other night!”

He swore he heard Shadow chuckle slightly under his breath at the last comment. He felt his body relax against his once more as his words seemed to reach him, he didn’t respond. Sonic knew his relax was as big of a response as any. He was probably processing a lot right now, so he let him sit quietly in his lap, head resting against his chest.

“I can hear your heart.” He whispered, resulting in the heartbeat immediately quickening as Sonic fumbled with his words in embarrassment. He was such an idiot, it was strangely comforting. He let his eyes close allowing the rhythmic beats in his rival’s chest lull him to a state of calm.

Sonic held him gently, just starting to realise how embarrassing this situation really was. Never in a million years did he think he would be cuddling with Shadow- in any circumstance he would have been ripped to shreds right now. ‘I’m going to be so dead after this.’ He lamented, thinking about the situation he had gotten himself into. It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy it, he just dreaded the aftermath. But he shook it off, thinking like this was not going to help.

In his monologue he hadn’t even realised the boy before him had silently drifted off to sleep. ‘He must be exhausted after everything.’ He thought, almost sadly. He stroked him softly once more, earning small purrs from the unconscious hedgehog, it filled him with joy.

Maybe dealing with the aftermath would be worth it, if he got to sit like this a little longer.

Although he was surrounding by icy walls, he didn’t feel cold in this moment. He only felt… content as he held his rival in his arms, face buried his chest. Sonic tightened his grip, wishing for their safety. He had spent so long worrying about Shadow he had completely forgotten about their situation. ‘its gonna be fine, it always is.’ He reassured himself, not realising how quickly he had started stroking the boy’s head. He shifted in his sleep at the newfound roughness; immediately snapping the blue hedgehog out of his thoughts. “Shh, its okay.” He whispered as if the other could hear him, before stroking him softly one more.

-

A bright light crashed into the cave, startling the two hedgehogs that had long since fallen asleep.

“I’ve found them!”

There wasn’t much time to process what was going on as the pair were swiftly hoisted out the cave and shoved into rescue vehicles. It was so loud, voices attacked them from every angle like asking questions was the new oxygen. Flashing lights spun round them, overly disorienting them after being in the darkness for so long. Everything was happening so quickly.

“Are you injured?”

“Let me measure your vitals.”

“Any signs of frostbite?”

Sonic ignored their requests as he looked for Shadow among the chaos, finally spotting a mass of black fur. He had never seen him more uncomfortable as he was poked and prodded from every direction, something unpleasant pooled in his stomach.

“Shadow!” He hopped out of the vehicle and approached the other. The mobians ‘assisting’ him were horrified to see him escape, trying to grasp him and call after him. “Stop touching him!” He pleaded to the crowd around his rival, standing defensively between them.

“Let us do our job sir, we have to check he’s okay.” A nurse pushed through.

“We are both fine!”

“Then why is he shaking?” Another nurse pointed toward the ebon, as he trembled uncontrollably on the ledge of the vehicle. Sonic span round, green eyes meeting with red ones. Shadow immediately ducked his head in shame.

“You’re overwhelming him! Just take it one at a time!” He said, desperately. The nurses nodded, but it was all he had to confirm his rival’s safety as he was hastily pulled back into his own vehicle, thermal blankets wrapped round him like a cocoon.

He just hoped Shadow was okay.

-

If the safety talk was boring, Sonic had no way to describe this. Because it was agony.

He hadn’t had a single moment to check on Shadow, because he was being bombarded with debrief after debrief- police interview after police interview- medical check up after medical check up! He had to be cursed!

“That’s all for now, thank you for your cooperation.” He felt his face light up, yes! He was finally getting out of here! “I believe you have some eager visitors.” He finished before leaving the medical tent.

“SONIC!” a chorus of voices sang as a mob of his friends spilled into the tent, bombarding him with hugs and more questions.

He peered past them, looking out the tent opening. A spark of energy pricked his body as he swore he caught side of Shadow outside the opposite tent- along with someone else, Rouge maybe? He watched them converse, ignoring the worried companions surrounding him.

“Sorry guys! I gotta go!” He didn’t waste a second waiting for their response. He sped out of that tent like a race car with five engines, it didn’t seem to bother him just why he was so worried about his rival, all he knew is that he needed to see him right now.

The pair in front of him leaned into a hug- triggering Sonic skid to a halt, he suddenly felt like he had imposed on a touching moment.

“Oh, hey big blue. You alright hun?” Rouge’s rich voice sounded in his ears “Shadow here tells me you were quite the gentleman during your little predicament.” She winked.

“O-oh! It was nothing really!” He waved his arms around, eyes wide “Just helping a friend!” the blue hedgehog insisted. Just what had Shadow told her? Well, knowing Rouge she was trying to embarrass him on purpose.

The bat walked up to him, placing a gloved hand on his shoulder and whispering into his ear. “You’re blushing.” She giggled before walking off “I’ll let you two catch up, meet me in the car when you’re done Shadow.” Waving, she left the scene, rather smug.

Sonic shook it off and let his gaze fall on his rival. Their eyes met briefly before the boy averted his gaze elsewhere, he swore he saw a light blush decorate his cheeks. Sonic hesitated a second, feeling slightly awkward “So you survived the never ending debriefs huh?” He joked, watching the other nod slowly with crossed arms.

“I swear I was in there longer than we were stuck in that cave!” He exclaimed, ignoring the black hedgehogs lack of interest. “But at least everything turned out fine, right?” he said with a cheesy grin, attempting to nurture some sort of response out of the other.

The ebon pivoted on one foot, back now facing Sonic. He faltered, staring at his feet for a moment “…yeah.” He started walking off in the other direction.

The hero winced at the coldness of his rival. ‘Damn, I already messed up. I should have asked him if he was okay first. No- he wouldn’t have liked that either. Ugh! Now he’s gone back to how he was before!’ Clearly the black hedgehog wanted nothing to do with him as he watched him disappear off into the depths of the camp. He could tell something was wrong, he just didn’t know what it was, and he doubted he could get Shadow to tell him. He was unbelievably hard to read.

Whatever the situation was, the blue hedgehog knew there was no way he was letting Shadow get away- he was too stubborn for that! “Shadow!” He called after him, as he quickened his pace to catch up with the other.

The aforementioned hedgehog stopped in his tracks, still not turning to face the hedgehog desperately standing behind him. “Is something wrong?” the hero asked, concerned laced within every word he spoke.

Shadow paused, “…no.” he said sharply, blatantly ignoring his rival’s worry. He shook his head in an attempt to brush off the guilt he felt for lying.

The blue hedgehog dropped his head in defeat, fiddling with the cuff of his glove “I see…” He muttered, his heart aching at the blunt response.

Shadow took a step forward before stopping himself midway. He sighed, guilt overcoming him. “Listen…” He murmured so quietly Sonic had to strain to hear him. “Thanks for… you know.”

Sonic beamed, watching how the corner of Shadow’s cheek quickly flushed a dark shade of scarlet red. “No need to thank me Shads!” He said, almost a little too happy. Could you blame him? He doesn’t think he had ever received a thank you from him grumpy rival in all their time!

Shadow didn’t dare turn around and let Sonic see his furious blush. Unbeknown to him that he had already seen it. “Whatever… you should probably see your friends.” He reasoned, trying to escape as soon as possible.

“But I came here to see you!”

“Well… you’ve seen me now so…” The ebon trailed off. Sonic desperately wanted to talk to him more about what happened, maybe learn a bit more about this new vulnerable side he had discovered. But he could tell Shadow didn’t want to talk about it, at least not now. And Sonic didn’t plan on forcing him to- he had already stepped outside his comfort zone enough for today.

“You’re not gonna escape from me that easily!” He joked.

The black hedgehog scoffed- it was typical of Sonic to want to check on him. It was almost endearing. “If you think I’m gonna hug you or something, you’re sadly mistaken.” He turned around, crossing his arms in his signature pose.

The hero pouted “Hey no fair! I saw you do it with Rouge!” He complained, drooping his arms as he sulked.

Shadow smirked, shutting his eyes “And I did it with you for hours, if you didn’t notice.”

Sonic immediately felt heat rise into his cheeks, now Shadow wasn’t the only one blushing.

“H-hey! I-I!” He stammered, desperately searching for something coy to say in return. But before he could conjure up anything, he felt a warm embrace enveloped him.

He stood still for a moment, shock washing over him. Wait- he was being hugged.

Slowly, as to not startle the black hedgehog, he returned the embrace. They both stood there for a few moments before Shadow pulled away, much to Sonic’s disappointment. The warmth of Shadow’s body left him once more, leaving him feeling somewhat un-whole.

“Don’t get used to it.” Shadow held up a finger, as if he was disciplining the hero.

Sonic laughed “Whatever you say!” he waved to his rival as he set off in search for Rouge, smiling as he waved back “I guess that means we need to have a rematch!”  He shouted before they lost sight of each other. “I’ll be waiting!” The other yelled back before disappearing off into the camp.

The blue hedgehog chuckled to himself as he wandered back in the direction of his, probably worried sick, friends. As far as near death experiences go, he would definitely rank this one at the top- in fact- he was almost glad it happened. He felt he had started a new chapter with Shadow, maybe they could hang out as close friends and not bickering buffoons.

He smiled at the thought, he couldn’t wait.