Work Text:
Crowded malls were the absolute worst. Shadow never liked being around too many people – he couldn’t stand the noise and strangers accidentally bumping him as they walked by. Normally he would get out of a situation like this as soon as possible, but Rouge had convinced him to come shopping with her. He had no idea why he had agreed to, but he kept reminding himself that he was doing all of this for his best friend.
Shadow was struggling to hold all the shopping bags – but it wasn’t because of their weight but rather the volume. He grumbled to himself, lagging behind Rouge while she walked through the mall ever so cheerfully, humming under her breath.
Shadow almost bumped into his friend as she stopped suddenly, pointing forward. “Oh, there’s that new café I heard about! Would you like to check it out?” she smirked, “It’ll be my treat. I wanna thank you for coming with me today… And helping me carry my bags.”
Well, the cafeteria seemed a lot quieter than the rest of the mall. Even though Shadow ultimately preferred plain coffee beans, he was still up for a cup or two, so he nodded: “Sure.”
The two found a nice little table, and they didn’t have to wait long until their order arrived. They had both ordered a cup of coffee. What was different in their orders was what they got on the side. Rouge got herself a chocolaty slice of heaven in the form of a slice of cake, while Shadow settled with a simple croissant.
Food and the drinks lived up to the hype. They both ate at a slow pace, just chatting with each other. Or it was more like Rouge making small talk and Shadow simply nodding now and then in response, while occasionally commenting if he had anything to add. Shadow was more than happy to just listen, but he was soon distracted by a very lovey dovey human couple sitting down at a table not too far away from them.
They were loud, so it was hard to ignore them. One of them pulled out a bouquet of roses, handing it to their lover with an almost smug smile on their face. Their partner gasped and clasped their hands. “Oh baby, you shouldn’t have!” Shadow heard them say. He raised a brow, not understanding the choice of words the human was using.
Rouge noticed that Shadow wasn’t listening, so she snapped her fingers in front of his face to get his attention, startling him. He turned back to her with a slightly annoyed expression.
“Hello, Shadow? I know you’re missing Blue, but you shouldn’t stare at random couples like that,” Rouge huffed with a smile as she dug a spoon into what little was left of her cake.
Shadow blushed a little at the mention of his boyfriend. He had been dating Sonic for a few months now, and the moment Rouge had found out she simply couldn’t stop teasing Shadow about it whenever she had the chance.
“I just don’t understand. Why would they call their significant other an infant?” he explained himself, nodding towards the couple.
Rouge held her hand in front of her mouth, clearly trying to hold back her laughter. She couldn’t for long, letting out a gentle chuckle, “It’s a pet name, a pretty common one at that.”
“A pet name?” Shadow asked, squinting his eyes as he took a bite out of his croissant.
“You know, a term of endearment. Don’t you and Sonic ever use those?”
“We do. We call each other Faker.”
Rouge chuckled again, crossing her arms as she raised a brow at Shadow. “Really, Shadow? That’s not very romantic, now is it?”
“It’s our thing,” Shadow replied in his defense. He folded back his ears in embarrassment, staring at the table they were sitting at. “Although I suppose I could try calling him an infant, too, as strange as it sounds. Do you think he’d like it?”
“I’m sure he’d be beyond excited, Casanova. But maybe don’t use the word infant specifically,” Rouge suggested, leaning her cheek against her palm with a playful smirk on her lips.
Shadow scratched his cheek as he thought for a while. Everything about relationships felt so new and confusing to him. There seemed to be so many hidden rules.
“So… Should I choose a synonym for it instead?” he checked before sipping his coffee.
“Uh-huh,” Rouge nodded with a mischievous smile. Part of her wanted to tell Shadow straight that he should just use the word baby or perhaps even babe, but another part of her was curious to find out which word he’d end up using. Luckily Sonic had a good sense of humor and would most likely end up teasing Shadow instead of getting upset.
Shadow nodded. He was already planning on going to visit Sonic, as he had found a little gift for him while they had been shopping. It was just a simple baseball cap with the logo of one of Sonic’s favorite video games; a fantasy RPG Shadow didn’t really understand. But he didn’t have to – all he cared about was that it made Sonic happy. Sure, it wasn’t exactly the most romantic gift like the bouquet of roses, but he knew Sonic would prefer his gift. While Sonic really loved flowers, he preferred them in their natural habitat instead of slowly withering away without their roots.
After the friends finished eating, Shadow decided to Chaos Control Rouge back home considering the number of bags they had to carry. Shadow lifted the bags onto a table while Rouge started unpacking them, humming happily in the process.
“Thank you for your help, we definitely need to do this more often,” she grinned as she turned her gaze from her countless new clothes towards Shadow, “But I believe there’s someone you’re dying to meet, right?”
Shadow only nodded in response, going to one of the bags and searching through it until he found his gift for Sonic. He dusted the cap and examined it just to be sure, before hiding it behind his back.
“See you tomorrow,” he nodded as he took his leave, warping away from Rouge’s apartment.
Rouge kept smiling even after Shadow had vanished. ‘What wouldn’t I pay to see what's about to happen?’ she thought.
Sonic was on his bed, laying on his stomach and kicking his feet in the air as he read a comic book. A sudden light appeared, startling him. But as soon as it turned out to be his brooding boyfriend, now standing there right in front of him, Sonic immediately felt relieved.
“Always needing to make an entrance, huh, Shadow?” Sonic chuckled with the brightest of smiles that made Shadow’s heart melt. Even when he was teasing him, there was something so warm and radiant about him.
“Says the one who once broke my door as he ran through it,” Shadow teased back.
“Hey! I thought me helping with the repairs meant that we’d put it behind us!” Sonic huffed, crossing his arms as he got up from the bed.
He approached Shadow, almost crashing into him as he wrapped his arms around him and pulled him into a tight hug. A startled grunt escaped from Shadow’s throat, but it was soon followed by a contented huff as he wrapped one hand around Sonic in turn and hugged him back. Shadow rarely enjoyed being touched, but for reasons he couldn’t explain, Sonic’s touch never bothered him. Sometimes it was a bit overwhelming to receive such gentle attention from his rival-turned-boyfriend as he knew very well from their fights just how powerful Sonic could be. But he found himself enjoying this tenderness in their relationship, even though it still felt so new and almost foreign.
Sonic had felt only one arm around him, which was a clear sign that Shadow had something on his mind. Or behind his back, in this case. He pulled back from the hug and placed his hands on his hips, grinning at his partner. “Are you hiding something from me?”
“Perhaps,” Shadow smirked back. He slowly moved his hand from behind his back, placing the baseball cap onto Sonic’s head.
Sonic’s eyes widened as he took the hat from his head to see it. As soon as he saw the familiar logo, he started smiling from ear to ear.
“You remembered my fave game series!” Sonic exclaimed happily, placing the hat back onto his head. “I love it! Thanks!”
“Hmh, don’t mention it,” Shadow hummed with a smug smile, “Of course I did… Hoglet.”
Sonic was quiet for a while, just staring at Shadow with a confused look. He blinked his eyes a couple of times in confusion before bursting into loud laughter. He was clearly trying to stop himself but to no avail.
He kept snickering, wiping away tears from the corners of his eyes: “Shadow… What the heck was that?”
Shadow felt his face quickly turn red. Did he not do it right? Rouge had said it was common to refer to one’s significant other with such words.
“Couples call each other by words that are synonymous with infant, do they not?” he asked, folding back his ears.
“I mean, yeah,” Sonic nodded, unable to hold back another snort, “But they usually say baby.”
Shadow turned his gaze towards the floor as shame washed over him. He crossed his arms, letting out a quick exhale through his nose. Sonic seemed to immediately notice the change in his boyfriend’s mood, so he snuck his arm around Shadow’s shoulder and pulled him closer.
“Hey now, don’t feel embarrassed. It was kinda cute,” Sonic smiled warmly, guiding Shadow towards his bed, and sitting him down. He settled right next to him, arm still around him. “What made you wanna try a new pet name?”
“I’m… Still new to all these romance and relationship things,” Shadow admitted, his gaze turned away. His hands rested on his lap as he picked the fabric of his gloves to calm his nerves. “Rouge told me that calling your significant other a baby is common, and that Faker isn’t a very romantic term of endearment.”
“Shadow… I don’t really mind what pet name you prefer using, and let’s face it… Baby would sound really weird coming out of your mouth. And I mean, calling each other Faker is kinda our thing,” Sonic reassured him, squeezing his shoulder gently.
“That’s what I told her,” Shadow grumbled.
“Besides… There’s not one right way of dating. You don’t have to do things a certain way just because others do,” Sonic continued, “I mean… I definitely don’t like the type of dating others think is ‘normal’. I’m not into the idea of publicly holding hands and kissing, or eating at fancy restaurants in candlelight…”
This wasn’t the first time Sonic admitted that. When they had started dating, he had made it very clear that huge commitments scared him, and romance wasn’t really his strong suit. Shadow had felt the same way and still did.
He turned his gaze back to his boyfriend, nodding in understanding. “Neither am I.”
“Exactly! So why would we need to be romantic in the way others expect us to? I’m definitely happy with the way we are right now. I love our cuddles and kisses, but there’s just something so special in our races and sparring.”
Shadow was silent as he thought for a while. Why did those weird terms of endearment make him so worried? He knew Sonic, he should’ve realized that he was just as unconventional as Shadow himself when it came to such things. Being with him felt simply natural, like they were the two sides of a coin. While they were almost opposites in many aspects – such as Shadow being more serious and quieter and Sonic more carefree and talkative – they also couldn’t imagine their lives without each other. It almost felt like they were meant to complement one another.
Shadow closed his eyes and leaned closer to Sonic, pressing their foreheads together. He shivered a little as Sonic’s fur brushed against his, but he still enjoyed the closeness. “I am very happy with how we are as well. I feel comfortable in your presence, like I don’t have to hide who I am.”
“Right back at ya, Faker,” Sonic hummed, “We just sorta have this weird connection, like we can really understand each other. I really love you lots.”
“Hm. I love you too, hoglet,” Shadow smirked as he opened his eyes.
“Hah… I think I’m actually starting to like that pet name now,” Sonic snickered, “I really gotta come up with something to call you in turn!”
“Tch… As if you could outdo mine,” Shadow huffed, pushing Sonic onto the floor.
Sonic blinked in surprise before pushing himself up. “Ha! Is that a challenge? Because I know I’ll win for sure!” he grinned before tackling Shadow, starting to wrestle him, and making them both fall off from the bed.
The two hedgehogs kept rolling and wrestling one another, occasionally sneaking in a quick kiss. It was during moments like these that Shadow truly realized that Sonic was simply meant for him. There were no demands or specific expectations coming from him, and they could move in the relationship at their own pace. They were both still learning and bound to make mistakes. It felt relieving to know he had someone he could feel safe around, someone who wouldn’t get upset over minor things or inevitable misunderstandings.
And well, Rouge had been right about one thing; Sonic being excited about his new pet name.