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The members of Team Dark stood idle around Shadow’s post by Asteroid Coaster, sipping a round of slushies Rouge brought with her. Omega got a slushie cup full of toxic sludge, which he did not drink but played with occasionally, mimicking his friends’ motions. He enjoyed the idea rather than the beverage.
“Is it just me, or is Sonic more annoying than usual?” Shadow grumbled after a long sip of blue raspberry.
“Can’t say I’ve noticed a difference.” Rouge shrugged. “Last I saw of him was a blue blur headed after an emerald. Didn’t even say hello,” she added sourly, not exactly burned by this but utterly willing to be.
“What? Isn’t he bothering you too?”
Omega gave a beep-whirr of agreement. “I CONCUR WITH ROUGE. I HAVE NOT SEEN SONIC OR HIS FRIEND TAILS IN SEVERAL DAYS.”
Shadow looked at both of his friends with a mixture of disbelief and disgust. “You’re kidding.”
“I DO NOT POSSESS A KIDDING MECHANISM. SONIC ATTEMPTED MY CHALLENGE ONCE. HE BECAME DISSUADED AFTER HE FAILED AND I UPDATED MY RECORDS TO MORE ACCURATELY REFLECT HIS INABILITY TO KICK ASS.”
Rouge nearly snorted cherry slushie out of her nose, and even Shadow gave a dry chuckle into his drink. Rouge patted at herself with a napkin. “Shadow, hon, I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about, but I would love to hear the juicy details.”
“It’s not— ugh,” Shadow sneered. He chewed at the end of his straw. “I don’t know what’s gotten into Sonic. He shows up here every day. Runs through my whole course like it’s nothing. Then he has the gall to say something snide to me— one of those… stupid… idiot little one-liners— and takes off like I’m just some side attraction on his way to save the universe! Ugh!" Shadow slowly relaxed his death-grip on his slushie. Blue raspberry dribbled down the sides. He licked the sticky mess off his fingers, but in an angry way, in a definitely cool and not dorky way at all.
Rogue pushed her heart-shaped sunglasses up onto her head. “Darling, I think he’s trying to show off.”
“What? That doesn’t make any sense. Omega, what do you think?”
“YOU WANT TO KISS HIM SO BAD IT MAKES YOU LOOK STUPID.”
“I will turn you into paperclips!” Shadow shrieked. “Now both of you get out of here before Sonic shows up. I don’t want your peanut gallery or your piss-poor cupid attempts.”
“Fine, fine. I can tell when I’m not wanted,” Rouge said. She flipped her sunglasses back down. “Come on, Omega. Let’s not wreck the lovebirds’ chances.”
“I don’t have feelings for Sonic!” Shadow shouted after his teammates’ retreating figures. Rouge waved dismissively at him. Shadow sneered. He sat down on a nearby boulder and waited for his inevitable guest.
Shadow figured he could set a damn clock by Sonic’s visits at this point, which was saying something, considering Sonic’s general disregard for schedules. He counted down the seconds in his head. Braced for the dramatic entrance. A bolt of blue light rocketed up to Shadow’s challenge, screeching to a halt a hair shy of the starting line. Sonic grinned wildly at his rival.
“Heya, Shads! One ticket to ride, if ya don’t mind.”
Shadow’s gaze flicked to the curious empty space at Sonic’s side. “Well, aren’t you eager. Where’s that fox of yours?”
“Oh, Tails? He’s chilling with Knuckles. I figure I can blaze through this and be back before he’s done with his second corndog.”
Shadow rolled his eyes. He opened the gate to the challenge behind him; a perilous pool of acid teeming with robots. “Tch, I thought you liked having an audience.”
Sonic dropped into a runner’s stance. His smile turned sharp at the edges. “For somethin’ like this, you’re all the audience I need.”
Sonic exploded from the starting line with a frankly inordinate amount of speed. He dove over the edge of the platform in a free fall, bursting into a cloud of wisp-assisted darkness moments before he met acid. And then, well. It was over. Shadow watched his rival grow like a hurricane with every enemy he ate, all-consuming, all-destroying, like an instability in the universe multiplying before it ruptured. Shadow swore he could feel a faint tugging even from where he stood. It was beautiful. A perfect S-rank. Or, well, it would be perfect and beautiful if it didn’t fill Shadow with scalding anger.
Sonic cantered back to the starting platform with self-assured glee. “So, was that good enough for you?”
“What is your PROBLEM?!” Shadow shouted, the curdle of rage inside of him suddenly spilling over into a monstrous, ungainly thing. “Every! Day! You come down here and— you—” Shadow gestured angrily to the scene of technological carnage behind him. “We get it! You’re strong! You’re capable! You’re a goddamn army of one! What are you trying to prove?”
Sonic cocked his head to the side. “Sheesh, if I haven’t made myself clear already, I could always run this course a couple more times—”
“Are you trying to impress me? Is that it?”
A smug grin slid across Sonic’s face. “Maybe.”
“Why? I know you’re not bothering anyone else half as much—” Shadow stopped short. The truth hit him like a locomotive, like he just laid one foot in a trap meant to eat him whole. How could he be so blind? The challenge, the insults, the constant attempts— he had designed an inconvenience for the hero, and Sonic had made it a playground, a stage— a chance to show off in front of his crush! That sneaky bastard! “You—!” Shadow accused.
Sonic’s grin had become a wide, wild, dangerous line of sharp teeth. “What about me?” he challenged.
A similar dangerous smile twitched at the corners of Shadow’s mouth. His heart pounded in his chest. He couldn’t help it; his whole body felt on the verge of a battle. He wouldn’t let Sonic win this game of love. “You think you can just come in here and show off, hunh?”
“Oh, please. Your snooze-fest of a challenge was begging for some extra spice!”
“Is that so?” Shadow lurched a foot closer to his rival. Sonic’s eyes flashed delightedly, but he didn’t flinch. “Maybe I ought to ditch the challenge business and go back to putting you in your place the old fashioned way.”
Sonic cocked his head to the side. “Aw, and I was just starting to enjoy myself. Well, if you’re giving up life as a carny, you might as well help me take down Egghead.” His eyes narrowed. “I know how much you love a good fight.”
Shadow felt like a burning, delicious arrow had lodged in his chest. His head swam with a crush of emotion. He was going down fast. He pushed back, desperate to throw Sonic off his rhythm, to make the hero stumble before he succumbed. “Why not make it a date, coward?”
Oh, that did the trick. Sonic took a half-step back, breath hitching between his grinning teeth. His entire face flooded red. Nerves threatened to rip the grin right off his face. “You think I’m a coward, hunh?”
“You’ve yet to prove me wrong.”
Lightning flashed through Sonic’s eyes. “You. Me. 7 o’clock. One lap around Planet Wisp.” He leaned in close, so close their foreheads almost touched. “Loser. Buys. Dinner.”
Shadow’s hands curled into fists to keep himself from heaving Sonic over a cliff or making out with him, he couldn’t tell which. He sunk back against a nearby boulder, defeated. It was the best kind of defeat he had suffered in years. “Fine,” he hissed. “Winner picks where we eat.”
Sonic rocked back on his heels, apparently satisfied. “See ya then, Shads.”
“Sonic?”
“Hm?”
Shadow buried his burning face in his hands. “Just text me next time,” he groaned.
Sonic cackled. “Where’s the fun in that?” He gave his former rival a light punch on the shoulder and took off across the park.