Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The alleys behind Club Rouge tended to be quiet most nights. Once the drinkers, dancers and DJ's had their fill and the front doors locked up, only the growls and sirens of distant passing vehicles broke the silence. Tonight, in the very earliest hours of the morning, they were joined by the tap of sneaker soles on concrete.

He wasn't totally sure why he came here - so he told himself. 24 hours prior, he was fighting for the fate of the world and the universe. Then he and his three closest friends hopped on the Tornado and flew back across the sea. The usual.

The whole day had flown by since then. His three friends all returned to their respective homes to start planning and packing. He...

Just started wandering.

Before he knew it, it was dark out. And he was still wide awake. He kept wandering. Eventually, he was here.

He strolled back and forth, arms crossed at his chest, and brow knitted as he figured out what his next move was even going to be. It didn't take long for the clack and slide of a window to answer for him, chilling his blood and perking his ears high in surprise.

“Are you planning to pace outside my room all night?” a low, smoky, impatient voice floated down to him from above.

He stared up at the low-lidded ruby eyes glaring down at him, the frown on tan lips, and the black-furred, red-striped arms silhouetted in low lamplight as they crossed and leaned out over the windowsill. His mouth fell open with a smack, his finger anxiously tapping his arm. “Uh...! Hey, Shads!” He waved with a forced smile. “I was just in the neighborhood. And, uh...”

“I know. You should try knocking. It's less irritating.”

“Yeah... heh...” He pointed sheepishly down the alley to the back door. “I would'a, but... y'know. Late. Didn't wanna wake anyone, or...”

“What do you need, Sonic?” Shadow asked flatly.

He tightened his lips and ran a hand through his quills. “...Can I... come in?”

Shadow's narrowed eyelids loosened imperceptibly. Even in the low light of night, devoid of most lighting as the alley was, he could still see the anxiety creeping along the blue hedgehog a story below. A look most people wouldn't recognize. And if Sonic were luckier, Shadow wouldn't have either.

Sonic's hand slid down to his neck, and his eyes off of his rival to a closed dumpster. “I mean, it's no big deal. I can just go if it's not-”

“Just get up here.” The ruby eyes pulled away from the window and crawled back into the warm light.

Sonic's mouth hung in a speechless O. With a flutter in his belly, he darted towards the wall, leaped high off of thin but powerful - and deceptively sore - legs, and dragged his sneakers and gloved hands along the bricks. Not even two seconds, and his hands found purchase on the windowsill.

Pulling himself up on aching arms, he peered into Shadow's room. The jet black bed was situated right up beside the window, with his rival slipping his legs under the sheets nearer the plain, grey nightstand. A dusty desk lamp sat atop it, and a hefty red tome lay open and overturned at his feet.

Sonic spilled over the windowsill onto the bed, shaking it some. Shadow rolled his eyes as he picked his book up and sat back against one of his two pillows.

“Heh- thanks,” Sonic chuckled lightly, righting himself and sliding the window shut. He clambered to the end of the bed to take off his shoes and gloves. “Had trouble sleeping again.”

Shadow kept his gaze on the pages. “I doubt I will tonight, but you can try.”

“Eh.” Sonic shrugged as he scooted back to the free space beside his rival. “Dunno if I will either. Following the emeralds got kinda crazy. But what's new?”

“Hm,” Shadow grunted, sliding the next page along. He felt the shifting of sheets and bodily weight on the mattress beside him. Then he heard the muffled thump of a head falling back against his second pillow, followed by a slow exhale out of a nose. He hoped that would be the end of it. But Sonic did say he couldn't sleep.

“You got a bigger bed.”

From the corner of his eye, he glared down at the cheeky grin of his bedmate. “Uninvited guests keep showing up,” he grumbled back.

That damn smile only got wider. “Should'a got a worse bed.” He glanced to the thick, red book, a knight on horseback embossed on its aged cover. “How're you likin' it?”

“It's fine. Go to sleep.”

“Tch-heh.” Sonic finally rolled onto his side facing the window, shifting as he got comfortable beneath the soft, increasingly warming sheets and relaxing with another content sigh.

The room went quiet from there. Shadow would have assumed the blue nuisance had indeed made it to sleep. Except his breathing stayed the same. It neither slowed to signal that he'd drifted off, nor did it quicken at the sudden onset of frightful dreams. He just lay there.

He declined to prod. Sonic would speak if he needed to. That's how it went in moments like this, too late for prying eyes.

“Do y-...”

Shadow's ears perked at the halted whisper. “What?”

Sonic huffed and pulled the sheets up more. “...Nah... S'a dumb question...”

Shadow set the book down on his lap. He gave the blue hedgehog the first remotely soft look he'd given that night. “But you still want it answered.”

Sonic paused for a moment. He rolled around onto his left to face Shadow, though he was oddly unable to look him in the eye. “...Do you remember anything... after?”

Shadow examined him intently but let him finish his thought.

“...You know... after...” Sonic glanced up at him. “...Falling?”

He furrowed his brow. He turned back to the book. “...No.” He casually turned the page over. “...Last thing I remember is you,” he added calmly. “Then the heat... Then Rouge waking me from the capsule. Nothing in-between.”

“Mm...” He shuffled further into the pillow and the mattress. “Guess that... seems right...” he murmured absentmindedly.

Shadow raised an eyebrow. The weight on the mattress shifted once more as Sonic inched a little closer to him. Curiously, but without protest, he lifted his arm to allow his bedmate to close the distance and nuzzle into his side.

“...Glad you're here, Shads...” He almost didn't hear it.

The room went silent once more. Soon he heard the quiet, telltale rumbling of subconscious breaths. Glancing down, he saw his rival dozing softly, huddled against him with a distressed pinch in his brow and lips.

Before long, Shadow would set the book down on his nightstand, click off the lamp, and pull up the covers himself.

Chapter Text

Sonic stirs, fidgeting and groaning softly as a rhythmic, hollow knocking penetrates the fog of dreams. Green eyes creak open and fail to make conclusive note of the low lit room he's in, yet untouched by most of the early morning sun. He at least snaps to drowsy attention at the sound of a playful voice. “Morning, Big Blue.”

He blinks and shakes his head awake, hoisting the side of his head off the pillow and seeing the white-haired bat, leaning on the doorframe in her finest ensemble of black tank top, pink heart print sweats, and ruffled bedhead.

He sits up with a groan and bashfully runs his hand through his own mussed quills. “Uh, heh... hey, Rouge.”

“You staying for breakfast?” She glances out into the apartment with her usual sly smirk. “Seeing as your gracious host didn't kick you out at first light.”

He doesn't hear the grumpy snort from down the hall, but he could imagine it. He blushes and scratches the back of his neck, embarrassed eyes scanning the room as it fully hits him where he'd found himself sleeping once again. Go figure she noticed. “Ah... I'm imposing enough as it is, ain't I...?”

She shrugged casually. “Up to you, hun. We got a fresh pot of coffee if you do.” A cheeky wink, and she strolled out of sight.

With a deep, readying breath, he tossed the black sheet off his legs and slid down to the foot of the bed to grab his meager clothes. Reaching down for them, bending to slip on his socks and shoes, kneeling to buckle them in place. Everything ached as he moved.

Rising to his feet, his muscles angrily, hotly resisted the movement. He locked up. Eyes, fists and jaw all shut tight. He shuddered through his teeth.

The bedroom disappeared. The whole apartment. The world. For the barest moment, he thought he would too.

“Sonic?”

His eyes snapped open. Shadow stood in the doorway with a steaming, zig-zag patterned mug in his hand, and the most attentive, least dismissive stare on his face Sonic had ever seen. Like he'd seen a ghost.

Teeth and fists released. The tension in his muscles abated. He finished straightening his back and chuckled, flashing his signature, no-problem grin. “Heh- I'm good. Just kinda sore from the adventure, y'know?” He lifted and pulled his leg up from behind to stretch out those stinging muscles.

Shadow knit his brow as he examined him. “...That so?”

“Yeah, just- ngh- need 'ta loosen up a bit n' I'll be good,” he remarked casually, groaning as he leaned forward to touch his toes. He didn't hear a reply, only the clomp of air shoes against hardwood flooring.

With one or four sharp exhales, he continued stretching and loosening up his overworked limbs. Shadow probably never has to deal with that, he figured. Another breath of relief, and an acceptable enough job done, and he ambled out into the apartment.

Shadow's bedroom was situated across from the bathroom, right next to Rouge's room - probably how she knew - and diagonal to the open dining room and kitchen. His rival leaned on the far counter by the steaming coffee pot, holding his drink by his chest over a crossed arm. They made eye contact, Sonic flashed another easy smile, and Shadow eyed him over a contemplative sip.

He strolled over to his rival, who gestured his drink to a pre-filled mug by the pot, flanked by creamer, agave nectar, and a spoon. He grinned wide and helped himself to a splash of the creamer and a hefty stream of fructose into the coffee. As he stirred everything in, he looked around the open apartment in puzzlement. “No Omega?”

Shadow motioned his head towards the window. “He's at the bakery a block over.”

“Ooh, fresh breakfast?” he asked excitedly.

A mischievous spark shone briefly in Shadow's eye as he brought the jet black drink to his lips. “Sometimes he scares the cashier, and we get it for free.”

Sonic's grin fumbled, unsure what to make of that. “...Huh.” He shrugged internally and joined Shadow against the counter, taking a big, satisfied gulp of coffee and sighing loudly. “Ahh! Hits the spot.”

His rival looked him over from the corner of his eye. “Speaking of, it looked like you took some hits.”

He chuckled nervously. “Heh-heh! A few yeah. Hey, if you were there, you wouldn't criticize. It got hairy.”

Shadow smirked. “Sure I wouldn't, hedgehog.”

Sonic returned it with narrowed eyes, but he quietly laughed it off and took another sip.

The kitchen went quiet, the only sounds the hum of the fridge, the slurp of coffee, and the occasional click and clack from Rouge getting ready for her day in the bathroom. Then Sonic felt Shadow's gaze boring down on his side again.

“...Was that what that was about?”

He glanced to the hedgehog at his right, brow raised. Shadow nodded towards the far bedroom door.

He felt his core run cold and cleared his throat. “Oh- uh... yeah, I guess so.” He didn't need to look back to confirm the unsatisfied stare he received. “Look, there were a lotta big guys- a lotta spikes. You know how it is.”

“What happened out there?”

The low, serious tone of the question froze him. The mug hovered by his lips. He watched the dining table like a hawk. Lookit that- they got doilies on it.

“Sonic?”

He blinked and cleared his throat, shuffling in his spot by the counter. “Ah... y'know. Tracked the emeralds to the Starfall Islands, everyone got scattered, world-ending shenanigans.” He shrugged and smiled to Shadow, spreading his arms. “A week in the life'a Sonic.”

His rival's brow remained furrowed and sharp. “I assume the Doctor was involved.”

“Always is.” He swallowed roughly and conspicuously coughed it away. “But, uh- actually it wasn't him this time. Sorta. He, um...” His front of cheer wavered again. “...Yeah. He didn't... It wasn't his fault.”

“Then what was it?”

Sonic huffed and set his mug between them, making petulant eye contact once more and flopping hands about. “Look, it's taken care of. I'll give GUN a friggin' report if you care that much. I- why do you, anyway? You hate when I yammer at you about that stuff.”

Shadow also set his mug down and crossed his arms, glaring the bratty hedgehog down. “I never had to make you before.”

Sonic mimicked his stance almost exactly, turning away and trying to ignore the angry rush of his pulse. It only raced faster when his rival leaned in and spoke quietly.

“You asked me if I remembered... You never wanted to know until now.”

His face flushed hotter. He clenched his jaw behind tight lips. What could he even say?

“Sonic, what happened?”

Attentions were drawn away by a low thump resonating through the floor. The front door seemingly popped open of its own accord, and Omega marched inside with heavy mechanical stomps and a stuffed brown paper bag presented in his shining claw. Shadow released his tense arms and sighed to himself as the hulking robot approached.

“SUSTENANCE OBTAINED. THE CASHIER WAS KYLE.”

Rouge appeared from the bathroom, dressed for success in her favorite heart-plated suit and brushing her hair. “Tch- damn,” she groused half-jokingly, joining them in the dining room. “Kyle is unflappable,” she noted to Sonic. He only raised an eyebrow as he sunk against the counter.

Team Dark congregated around the table. Shadow took the bag from Omega's outstretched hand and distributed the rolls of baking paper and warm aromas of butter and flour across it. Rouge danced her fingers across the banquet and swiped a long baguette, carrying it over to the fridge and silverware. Omega stomped down the hall, his part in the feast fulfilled.

Sonic watched them and swallowed away a lump in his throat. He glanced to the front door, then began sidling towards it. “You guys enjoy. I'm gonna head out.” He sheepishly waved. “Thanks for letting me stay over, Shads. And the coffee-”

“Wait.”

He froze mid-walk. Shadow searched the pile of pastries and found a particular wrapped rectangle. He tossed it over to Sonic, who caught it in surprise and stared at it, mildly confused.

His rival gave him a just-soft-enough smolder. “Almond croissant. For the road.”

A smile twitched at his lips. “'Precciate it.” Another wave, and he made for the front door. “See you 'round.”

Shadow watched him disappear out of the apartment. He sighed long and quietly, brow tight as his mind swam. He felt a friendly hand on his shoulder.

“You can't force it out of him, hun. You opened the door. He'll step through when he's ready.” Rouge glared smugly. “Trust me. I'm used to it.”

He narrowed his eyes at her. She simply pat him once more and took a dainty bite of buttered bread. As she swiped another anonymous, wrapped pastry, his gaze fixed back on the door.

Chapter Text

“Whoa! 'Holoska?'”

Sonic gawped at a little two-tailed fox as the boy scanned the Tornado's cargo hold. Tails's finger held firm to his chin as he squinted and triple-checked his supplies on the Miles Electric.

“Yup!” he chirped proudly. He straightened his back and shut the hold, turning to Sonic with a confident grin. “I'm gonna rough it for a while. Like we did back in the old days!”

“Heh!” Sonic forced a chuckle. “Never thought you'd want to do that again.”

Tails embarrassedly scratch the back of his head. “Well... I won't be far from the trading post. At least I can get some Sparkle Gelatin.”

Sonic smirked and crossed his arms. “That sounds more right. Think I can dare ya to eat some'a that nasty fish?”

The grimace on Tails's face nearly made him cackle. “If that'll help me at all. So, no!”

He threw his head back with a hearty laugh. Even Tails couldn't help but snicker along with him. He stepped forward and pat the boy on his shoulder, looking deep into big, blue eyes. “You'll do great, lil' bro. You're gonna rock the place.” His own eyes, his confident smile, and even his voice, softened. More than he intended any of them to. His hand stayed put. “Gimme a call once in a while?”

“You bet.” The little fox hopped past his hand and threw his arms around his big brother. “Just 'cuz I want to leave doesn't mean I won't miss you.”

He held back a wobble in his bottom lip and squeezed Tails tight. “I'll miss you too, bud.”

He ruffled him between the ears, making Tails whine and shake his hand away. The two brothers shared a chuckle and a look that made their smiles that much heavier, as the boy hopped into the cockpit and made his last system checks.

Sonic stepped back, hands on his hips, eyes on the old red biplane but focusing on no one particular spot, shoulders aching - when an uncertain question floated down. “Hey, Sonic?”

He glanced up with a raised eyebrow. “What's up?”

Tails stared down at the controls, but no one particular spot either. His ears swiveled and twitched as he seemed to ponder. “Do you think... Since Knuckles is leaving soon, too...” He glanced down at his brother, his big blue eyes gleaming with a brand new kind of uncertainty. “...He'd let... me... look after Angel Island for a bit?”

Sonic didn't answer at first. For a lengthy two seconds, a burble in his chest kept him from doing anything but beholding the little fox. It weighed his shoulders down even more- drew that default smirk of presented confidence into something much softer, more sincere, and even more surprised. Tails just... did not look little in that cockpit anymore.

Man. He really got a lot bigger in no time at all, didn't he?

“I bet he'd be cool with that.” Sonic shined his signature pearly whites with a wink. “He'd trust you with it way before me, that's for sure.”

Tails chuckled. “It was just an idea. But... maybe. You know?”

He nodded. “Sure. You have it in you if you do.”

The two brothers shared one last, lingering look. Neither had anything else they could add. A tentative wave, a rumble of the engine, and a rev of the propeller; Sonic stepped back and watched the Tornado rattle along the grass until it lifted into the air, off to meet the line of blue where the ocean met the sky.

The not-so-little dot of orange disappeared first. Then the sound of the engine. Then the dot of red.

Sonic stood there for many more minutes, alone but for the flutter of his chest and lips.

Starlight descended over Central City. Deep in the Night Babylon district, Club Rouge's upstairs apartment door rattled as its owner unlocked it and led her deadly roommates inside.

“They better not call me in tomorrow,” she groused airily, shrugging her plum work bag off her shoulder and tossing it indifferently against the empty coat rack. “I can't keep this club going if they don't let me actually run it.”

Shadow kept his own black laptop bag slung over his shoulder, strolling past her as she plopped onto the couch with a showy sigh. “I doubt they care at all, Rou-”

Her ears flicked at the halt in his speech. She peered over her shoulder at him, Omega stomping into view as he slammed the door shut behind them. They both followed Shadow's surprised gaze to the dining table, where a brown, tall, plastic bottle was perched with a sticky note on its side.

“IDENTIFIED,” Omega helpfully shouted, scanning the intruder from a distance, “OVERPRICED, UNDERPERFORMING COLD BREW COFFEE.”

Shadow cautiously approached the bottle, his eyes on the note and its bold, black letters applied inelegantly by marker - though a buzz at his core drew the rest of him down the hall. His caution abated, replaced by a half-lidded, half-hidden expression of smugness. “A 'thank you' from Sonic.”

Rouge beamed with a smack of her lips. “Tch'awww,” she cooed, smirking knowingly to him over the couch. “I should get him a key. Then you can stop leaving your window unlocked.”

“Yes,” he flatly replied as he stashed the coffee in the fridge. “We wouldn't want someone like a jewel thief breaking in.” He missed the self-amused glare thrown his way, opting instead to investigate the pull towards his room.

Omega made himself comfortable beside the TV, flopping down with a thud and plugging himself into the surge protector to recharge. “ROUGE'S FEAR OF RETRIBUTION - FILED UNDER: 'HILARIOUS'.” He didn't react to a fluffy throw pillow biffing him in the face.

Shadow's door was barely cracked open. He slowly pushed in, the buzz of nearby chaos energy growing more and more familiar. Barely lit by the kitchen light, a blue head of spiky quills revealed themselves in the darkness, tucked up to the chest in Shadow's bed facing the window, and softly, steadily breathing. White gloves and red shoes lay in a messy heap at the foot of the bed.

He entered and quietly shut the door the rest of the way, just in time for the noise of the TV to reach the hall. He set his laptop bag on his desk and checked the window, seeing that his guest had locked it after arriving. The sheets shifted, and he saw Sonic pull them up more over his chest. His breathing didn't change.

Shadow sat on the edge beside his nightstand, loosening his inhibitors and removing his gloves and shoes. The sheets shuffled, an uneasy exhale audible.

“I knocked...” Sonic mumbled, his face half-buried in the furthest black pillow. “You weren't home yet. Window was open. So.”

“Then you missed the point of knocking,” Shadow deadpanned. He slid under the sheets as well, propping himself up on his own pillow and unzipping the laptop bag. His foot barely bumped his bedmate's leg. “Rouge thanks you for the gift.”

“Tch-heh,” he chuckled with a scoff, “sure she does.”

The room went quiet while Shadow woke up the laptop and scrolled through work reports and files. In time, the bed shifted in a familiar way.

“Didn't mean to crash here again,” Sonic murmured apologetically, resting his head beside him. “Workshop was just... too empty, y'know?”

Shadow glanced down. His rival kept his eyes averted into the pillow - truthfully at nothing. “So was the apartment until we got home.”

“Not the same thing...”

He studied his rival carefully, visible only to him in the glow of the screen. There was no smile. No cheek. No vibrancy. He furrowed his brow. “No?”

Sonic shrugged lightly, pulling the pillow under his arm. “Tails is off on his own for a while. So's everyone.”

“I thought you were used to being on your own.”

He huffed bitterly. “Yeah... I should be, shouldn't I...?”

More screeching silence. Shadow stopped typing, his hands still on the keys but his eyes on his rival. “...I don't like sharing either.” He caught a glint of emerald in the low light. “If you want to, that's up to you.”

He returned to his endless work, searching and typing. And waiting. The bed moved once more; his bedmate rolled onto his back.

Sonic lay there for a minute, staring up at the ceiling. A wrinkled facsimile of his voice appeared. “...I remember it.”

Shadow's froze. His hands slid away from the keyboard.

“...Been thinkin' about it a lot.”

He sat back on the pillow and watched his rival muse to the air - heard the shiver in his breath.

“...Starfall got rough.” Sonic swallowed roughly. “...I almost didn't make it out.”

Shadow saw his hand grip and wring the sheet. The wrinkle became a crackle.

“I had a moment when I almost...”

In the low light, their eyes finally met. A regretful gentleness betrayed the smolder on Shadow's face. And in Sonic's, a disquieting acceptance.

“...It was small. It happened fast. I just realized... 'Oh... I'm not coming back from this'.”

His eyes trailed off to nothing again. He missed the telltale fall of Shadow's lips, giving away the chill that ran through his blood.

“...And... I made a new friend.” A gentle warmth crossed him, all too briefly. It was gone with a shake of his head. “...She didn't come back.” His far, empty gaze began to glisten in the screen's glow. “They don't sometimes.”

Shadow's fingers instinctively curled, his jaw clenching. In the dark of the room, he saw a hand desperately reach out to him in a hot sea of stars. He heard a sniffle.

“N' now, everyone's goin' off on their own for who knows how long.” He raised his hands off the bed, only to let them flop back down. “...And I'm here.”

They were the last words he said for the rest of the night.

He rolled back onto his side, facing away towards the window. His shaky breaths evened out. He sniffled only twice more before the room was totally silent again.

Unseen to him, the glow of a laptop's screen vanished with a click. The bed shifted beneath him as his rival slid the rest of the way under the covers. He tensed in surprise as he felt a warm arm slide around his waist. A low, smoky, patient voice whispered against his neck.

“...I'm glad you're here too, Sonic.”

He shut his eyes tight. His hand on his rival's, and a few more involuntary sniffles breaking the silence, and he finally drifted off - with much less of a distressed pinch in his brow and lips.