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Shadow fears. Fears the burning sensation in his chest, his heart catching flame at the sight of cobalt blue as he holds out a welcoming hand.
He fears the way his mouth goes against him, threatening to curl up in a form of a sort of half smile at the sight of the other hedgehog. He hates it. Hates him. He should hate him. But he doesn’t.
His quills stand on edge at the sight of a feral grin that doesn’t quite reach Sonic’s eyes, feeding off of adrenaline and excitement, almost taunting in its wake as he flings himself into another fight.
He should hate it. But he doesn’t. It makes him feel alive. More than anything else. The wind in his quills and the burn in his lungs on late night races where everything simply fades away until it is just the two of them left. He clings onto this feeling, reveling every time Sonic’s eyes linger on his form for a second too long. Neither care to mention it. Or maybe Sonic doesn’t even realize that he does it.
There was no use in running from the fastest thing alive. That doesn’t stop Shadow from trying. The fear is grappling, scared of the what ifs and the possible repercussions that hide behind letting Sonic in.
He was starting to get sick of it.
—-
Sonic throws an arm over Shadow’s shoulder, laughing into his ear and leaning more of his body weight against him when Shadow doesn’t shove him off. Instead he simply listens to the comforting sound of Sonic’s laugh. Bright and steady and so so loud and yet Shadow can’t find it within himself to get even measly irritated. He quickly spares a thought of how he used to hate his laugh. It grated on his ears and echoed in his head long after they had parted ways. What a simpler time.
Now he has to fight off the smile on his face, feigning annoyance and grumbling as the other grips at his shoulder tightly, fingers tapping against it in a quick rhythm. It feels nice. The casual touches and affectionate words. Shadow doesn’t do much reciprocating, though it seems to put no damp in Sonic’s efforts as he remains as amiable and sly as always.
Shadow flounders. He’s completely at a loss at what to do. Without even realizing, annoying blue had slithered under his skin and into his heart and had made a home there. Blue had always been his favorite color.
“Are you good, Shads? I’ve been calling your name for the past minute,” Sonic calls out in concern, that damned hand now softly running up and down his arm and it’s so distracting. Shadow mentally kicks himself and scrambles to form a response.
“Sorry. What were you saying?” He replies instead.
Sonic laughs. “You must be pretty out of it, huh? Penny for your thoughts?” And Shadow would rather bury himself alive than admit what had been running through his mind on end.
“It’s none of your concern,” Shadow forces out. And he almost takes it back at the small crestfallen look he receives.
“What was it that you were saying before?” Sonic seems to let it go –for now at least– and deems him with a response.
“Some party Ames is throwing and I had the amazing idea to have you tag along with me!” He shouts excitedly, trademark grin and shining emerald eyes. Shadow’s instinct was to decline, the very idea almost absurd. He disliked parties. Their loud and crowded nature was usually overwhelming in its intensity. And yet, Sonic had asked him. He suddenly found it very hard to say no to anything the other said. How irritating.
Sonic was still staring at him and awaiting an answer, his foot rapidly tapping against the ground. Force of habit, if anything.
After a few more seconds, Shadow sighs and quietly spits out, “I’ll think about it.”
“That doesn’t mean a yes,” spills off of his lips when Sonic practically tackles him, their quills merging together at their proximity. “It kind of is coming from you,” Sonic points out, prompting a scoff from Shadow.
“You won’t regret it! I promise,” Sonic placates and despite himself, Shadow allows the words to soothe his nerves. Sonic is still hanging off of him.
—-
Shadow had been staring at his ceiling for far too long. He tried to convince himself that it was just a very interesting ceiling to no avail, but he would rather that than pay any mind to the thoughts that had been plaguing him for some time now.
Sonic.
He blindly reaches out for a spare pillow scattered on his bed and smothers his face in it, pretending for just a moment that it could block out wicked smiles and bewitching eyes.
He scowls when it doesn’t work.
His phone lays forgotten beside him, having been almost thrown onto the floor when the first thing Shadow had done was open his messages with Sonic. It was almost laughable.
It quietly dings in the silence of his room and Shadow continues to lie there. Maybe if he ignored it for long enough it would go away. His phone soon starts vibrating, signaling an incoming call and he groans as he reaches out for it.
He doesn’t look at the caller ID and simply accepts the call, immediately regretting it when the person on the other end speaks.
“Heya Shadow! Sorry if this is a bad time but uh- I’ve kind of gotten myself into a situation and could use some help!” The desperation is palpable in Sonic’s voice.
Shadow grinds his teeth when he feels his heart do a flip in his chest. The traitor.
“I’m sure you can handle it, hedgehog.” Is what comes out of his mouth after much effort.
“Please, Shadow! I’ll make it up to you, scouts honor,” and Shadow can practically see the other cross an x over his heart through the phone. He smiles at the mental image. He can already feel his resolve crumbling, not that there was much in the first place when it came to Sonic.
“You aren’t a part of any scouts,” Shadow supplies helpfully.
“It doesn’t matter. But could you meet me at Tails’ lab? It’s something for Tails.” Shadow will admit he feels a tad bit awkward around the fox, having thrown him around as he has. It was all water under the bridge now, but he tended to avoid the kid. He sighs, having already accepted defeat and nods. He feels stupid when he realizes the other can’t see it.
“Fine.” Sonic cheers and he curses his brain when it results in the thought of how he’d do it all again if it meant he could hear that sound again. This truly was becoming a problem.
“See you in a bit then!” Sonic bids goodbye and Shadow is once again left alone in the silence of his room. After a few moments, Shadow realizes he actually has to get up to leave.
“Damn it.”
—-
Shadow had had a long day. Or, well. More like a long couple of weeks. He hadn’t slept a wink –not that he needed to– but it eventually caught up to him, his mind sluggish and desperately needing some rest. He had been sent out on a rare solo mission and had even found himself missing the company of Rouge and Omega, though he’d rather never admit it. Rouge would absolutely never let him live it down. He could almost hear the glee in her voice and shivers.
All he wanted to do was curl up in his bed, even if his sheets were probably wrinkly. He was too tired to care.
He sends a quick message to Rouge to alert her of his return and tosses his phone somewhere in his apartment. Out of sight and out of mind.
He suddenly hears a knock on his door and runs a hand down his face, rubbing at his eyes in an attempt to stave off sleep. He’ll just ignore it. Easy. But then the person’s voice floats in through the door and Shadow could’ve tripped if he hadn’t been standing still.
“Shads? You in there?” Shadow hurriedly searches for his phone and blanches at the only notification that pops up on his screen once he finds it. A singular message from Rouge saying, “you’re welcome ❤.” His heart sinks when he realizes this must mean he hasn’t been nearly as subtle as he thought he had been. He’ll have to have a talk with her soon, though he wouldn’t be surprised if she were to barge in unannounced to milk every last detail from him.
“I know you’re home! Rouge told me!” Accompanied by another knock. Shadow decides he’s going to kill her when he sees her.
“If you want me to leave you alone, I’ll do that,” Sonic promises. Shadow is tired. And yet he can’t bring himself to say no.
He walks up to the door and swings it open quickly before he can regret it.
Sonic blinks at where there was once a door and then smiles at the sight of Shadow.
“Dude! It’s been forever now since I’ve last seen you. You look like death.”
“Gee, thanks. And it’s only been a couple of weeks, not ‘forever.’” Shadow rolls his eyes, emphasizing the word with air quotes.
Sonic has the gall to look a little sheepish, but invites himself inside and Shadow closes the door behind him.
“I did miss you, y’know.” And Shadow doesn’t know how to respond to that, scared of what it could mean. His traitorous heart would take any conclusion and run with it, that much he is certain of. So he doesn’t give it much thought, simply humming in lieu of a proper reply.
“Aww, come on. Don’t I get an ‘I missed you too’ back?”
When had the other gotten so close? Shadow can feel his heat radiating off of him in waves, almost suffocating, the distance between them so short he thinks he could count the individual smaller quills in Sonic’s larger ones.
“Don’t push your luck.” And Sonic flashes him a wide grin. Shadow has to look away or otherwise he’d find himself blind.
“Alright alright. I know you’ll say it back someday.” Shadow rolls his eyes at that one.
How can you be so sure?
“But seriously, are you alright?” Sonic’s voice is laced with concern, already having grabbed Shadow’s hand to smooth over his gloves in soothing circles. He’d be lying if he said it wasn’t comfortable, the tension in his shoulders and back loosening.
“Nothing I can’t handle,” Shadow replies and Sonic’s eyes bore into him with such intensity that he has to close his eyes to avoid giving into anything the other asks of him. Or at least he hoped he wouldn’t otherwise.
“We’re getting you something to eat,” Sonic decides resolutely, already making his way over to the kitchen, leading a wary Shadow by the hand.
“As long as it’s not chili dogs,” Shadow grumbles.
Sonic gives him a halfhearted glare. “They’re good, okay? S’not my fault you have bad taste.” But he hasn’t let go of his hand, rummaging through his fridge and making himself right at home. Shadow has half a mind to think about how utterly domestic it all feels, sparing a glance down to their still interlocked fingers. Is Sonic doing this on purpose?
Shadow feels what he thinks is fear grab hold of his heart, and he wants to kick Sonic out of his apartment. But he can’t. He doesn’t want to. He berates himself for his brain and heart constantly being at odds. Sonic’s voice is what breaks him out of his head.
“How about an omelette? Those are pretty easy to make and would probably be something you and your sophisticated tastes would stomach,” Sonic can’t help but tease, gently jabbing an elbow into Shadow’s chest. His smile is relaxed, soft around the edges but that telltale glint in his eye remains and it makes Shadow feel so at ease he could almost fall asleep standing up.
He couldn’t possibly kick him out.
Shadow scoffs. “Knowing you, you would just stuff it with cheese and ham.” He has to fight the smile that threatens to break out when Sonic shouts an indignant “hey!”
“Give me some credit here, Shads. I bet it’ll be the most killer omelette you’re ever going to have in your life!” He ends it with a wink, a spark of mischief smoldering in his eyes.
“I’ll believe it when I see it.” Shadow tries to cross his arms, but is stopped by the other gloved hand in his, accidentally tugging on it. Sonic seems to find himself then, having been reminded of how long he had been holding Shadow’s hand and quickly lets go.
“Oh! I’m sorry! I uh- haha, hadn’t realized I was still holding your hand,” he chuckles, rubbing at the back of his neck sheepishly.
Well that answers Shadow’s question. He didn’t know whether to feel disappointed it wasn’t on purpose. His heart supplies the answer for him and a feeling of disappointment washes over him. Figures.
“It’s alright,” because he wants more than anything for the other to keep touching him. It didn’t matter if it was hand holding or a hug or a simple arm thrown over his shoulder.
Sonic’s responding appreciative smile dissipates any sense of awkwardness that had risen.
“Just you wait, I promise it’ll be worth your time.” And when Shadow moves to grab at some cooking utensils to help, Sonic practically shoves him against the counter, ensuing a bright flush from the tips of Shadow’s ears down to his muzzle. He should punch him. He should.
“No, you’re going to sit there and rest,” Sonic demands, pointing at a chair sitting conveniently to the side and Shadow glowers, not happy with that development.
“I can help out just fine.”
Sonic levels him with a stare. The seconds stretch into what feels like minutes where they challenge each other with simply their eyes, not wanting to be the one to back down first.
Eventually, Sonic caves. Shadow wasn’t a lot of things, but he sure could be stubborn.
“Okay okay, fine! I give! But I’m still going to do most of the work,” Sonic says, finality in his voice as he pokes a finger into the other’s chest fur. Shadow opens his mouth to argue, but stops.
Not because the other still had him pinned to the kitchen counter, not at all. And it definitely wasn’t because intense green eyes were starting to get to him or because he had poked him in the chest.
“You’re insufferable.” And if Sonic’s cocky grin helps soothe his ego a bit, no one has to know.
—-
The smell of oil and smoke loiters in the air, infiltrating Shadow’s sense of smell. Very likely a result of the scattered badniks, smashed and torn into small pieces.
His fur is ruffled and his quills stick out in odd shapes, but he is otherwise fine and quietly brushes off some rubble on his arm. His eyes scan for a sign of bright blue, immediately running over once spotting Sonic, the other engaged in combat with even more robots.
Sonic is still smiling, even as his leg pierces through hard metal that surely would injure a normal mobian. Shadow rapidly skates over, taking notice of a robot aiming right for Sonic’s head.
He changes his trajectory without even thinking, barreling into the badnik. He punches right through its head, eyes narrowed in irritation as he watches its eyes fizzle out. Logically, he knows Sonic could’ve very well dodged. He knows he would have, but still.
Sonic’s eyes widen for a fraction of a second as he looks back over his shoulder, taking notice of the dismantled robot at his feet and then turning his gaze back up to Shadow. His eyes light up, seemingly having connected the dots.
“Was someone protective over me?”
Shadow bristles and crosses his arms, turning his nose away.
“You wish.” Shadow’s heart beats rapidly in his chest as the other hedgehog approaches, feeling almost like prey being cornered by a predator.
Sonic arrives where he is standing and punches Shadow on the shoulder, eyes once again simmering with mischief.
“Down to race to see who takes down Eggman first? Just don’t be too angry when I win,” his voice is twinged with mirth, but also taunting as he cocks an eyebrow, leaning into Shadow’s space.
He scoffs, “don’t get too ahead of yourself. We both know I’ll win.” Adrenaline starts to course through his body, nerves alight with anticipation. And Sonic practically glows.
There is no countdown, and yet they shoot off at the same time, clouds of smoke feathering out in all directions. Sonic’s laughter rings out in the air and it pulls a smile unbidden on Shadow’s face. He doesn’t try to stop it this time.
They fight in tandem, no words needing to be exchanged as they leave a trail of battered badniks behind.
Sonic ducks right as Shadow aims a high kick at where he once was, sending a badnik flying meters away. Eventually, they catch sight of Dr. Eggman who is watching in unadulterated glee at the destruction around him.
“Look who finally showed up!” Eggman shouts as he catches sight of Sonic. He stops at the sight of Shadow, the hybrid skating in sync with the blue hedgehog. A knowing smirk stretches on his features.
“And you even brought a special someone, how delightful,” and Sonic’s smile turns wistful. If you were to ask Shadow, he’d say it was a trick of the light or his heart playing tricks on him to bring his hopes up.
“Yeah…he’s pretty special, huh?”
Shadow’s mouth runs dry. He snaps his head to stare at Sonic, mouth agape in shock.
“Careful there Shadow, you might catch flies,” Sonic teases, shooting him a wink.
Shadow glares, his hand tightening into a fist that he has no intention of actually using to punch Sonic.
“Don’t humor the fool, you fool!”
“I’m being honest!”
“You know as fun as this is, I’d rather not watch you two continuously make heart eyes at each other,” Eggman complains, pointing an accusatory finger and making a face of disgust.
Shadow thinks he might combust if he has to hear anymore comments about his… whatever it is he has with Sonic, especially from Eggman of all people. He was mortified as it is.
“Aww come on Eggy, you’re not homophobic are you,” Sonic jokes, but then frowns. “Right?”
Shadow notes Sonic’s lack of denial at the heart eyes comment and decides he won’t be acknowledging it either. He rolls his eyes fondly at the other’s words. Of course that’s what he’s focusing on.
“I frankly could care less, you blasted hedgehog!” And Sonic heaves a sigh of relief and Shadow has to refrain from exhaling an almost laugh at his expense.
Everything moves like a blur from then on. Shadow doesn’t know who moved first, bright light of blue and yellow streaking across the sky. Sonic ends up taking Eggman down and he taunts Shadow every chance he gets, but Shadow doesn’t get angry for once.
He had a few things to think about.
—-
Shadow stares up at the sky littered with stars, fully lying down, quills pillowing his head from the ground. He was far out from any city, quietly appreciating the silence and the feeling of the grass underneath him. It was peaceful.
He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, fully immersing himself in the environment. His ear twitches at the soft sound of footsteps approaching, but he remains unbothered and keeps his eyes closed. He feels the presence of someone standing over him and can feel their eyes examining him, but still doesn’t move a muscle.
“Hey.”
Shadow slowly opens his eyes to meet green ones that practically glow in the surrounding darkness. He nods in acknowledgement and closes his eyes again.
He feels more than hears the other moving to lie down next to him.
Their arms brush for a moment. Shadow doesn’t pull away, letting himself revel in the feeling. Sonic responds by pressing their arms even closer together.
Shadow’s breath gets stolen from his lungs. He finally opens his eyes to get a good look at the other who is now smiling and staring up at the sky. The stars are reflected in his eyes and Shadow thinks he hasn’t seen anything more beautiful in his life. He turns his head to face forward again, taking in the serenity of it all. Of course, Sonic is the one to break the silence.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this,” Sonic muses, rolling over to face Shadow.
“Don’t look at me, look at the sky.”
“And what if I don’t want to?”
Shadow stops, and then fully turns his own body to face Sonic, their hands laying in between their bodies. Sonic subtly moves his own a bit closer.
Sonic’s face is devoid of its usual cheekiness, stripped bare until all that’s left is a calm disposition. Shadow breathes, taken aback by the show of vulnerability and can’t help but examine the other’s face for every miniscule detail; from the curve of his eyes to the soft peach of his muzzle. Sonic lets him, merely staring back with a soft expression. Shadow decides to meet him halfway. He offers a small smile of his own, and Sonic practically beams back with the force of a thousand suns.
“I’ve never seen you like this, either,” Shadow admits into the silence. Sonic hums.
“What do you mean by that?”
“You’re always running around. Can hardly stand still long enough,” he scoffs, but there is no malice or annoyance in his voice. If anything, he finds it endearing.
“Hm, true. But I have a feeling that’s not exactly what you meant.”
“Smarter than I give you credit for, hedgehog.” That seems to break the spell they were under. Sonic lightly kicks him in the shin, laughing quietly under his breath.
“Jerk.”
They fall into a comfortable silence. They roll back to face the sky again and Sonic finally closes the distance between them, gently grabbing hold of Shadow’s hand to interlock their fingers. Sonic starts running his thumb up and down against the other’s hand and Shadow wonders when it had become a habit of his.
His mind wanders. Certainly this all had to mean something, right? Shadow can feel his heart start to race when thinking of the inevitable conclusion it had kept leading him towards.
He loves Sonic.
Lying down in the grass, holding hands with the person he couldn’t stop thinking about as he finally admitted what he had been feeling. He felt a freeing sense of relief, as if something had been lifted off of his shoulders. Where did he go from here?
Sonic suddenly moves to stand up. Shadow mourns the loss of fingers in his, but stops himself when cobalt blue reaches out a hand.
“Care for a race?”
Shadow sneers. “What did I say? Can’t stand still,” but gingerly accepts the hand and Sonic pulls him up swiftly.
“You know me, always looking for a thrill,” he responds, grinning as he points his thumb at himself. Shadow shakes his head, eyes soft as he sighs out in exasperation.
“Where are we racing?” And Sonic raises his hand to his mouth in contemplation. He turns around to stare out into their surroundings, squinting. Shadow takes this chance to eye the other’s form, from every dip in muscle to his scuffed shoes.
Sonic turns back to him and Shadow quickly looks away, heart thundering in his chest.
“I think this location actually works out pretty well for us, don’t you think?” Shadow tries not to pay much mind to the word ‘us’, and crosses his arms, nodding towards the slope of the hill they were on.
“Your call, faker,” Shadow approves.
“First one to the bottom of the hill wins. Deal?” Sonic rubs at his nose, voice lilting up in anticipation. He shuffles a bit on his feet, buzzing with energy.
“Deal,” Shadow agrees. A smile creeps onto his face. “How about you do the honors?”
Sonic blinks. “What?”
“I meant counting down, idiot,” Shadow rolls his eyes.
“Asshole! You weren’t clear,” Sonic chides, but quickly stretches out his legs, all while grinning from ear to ear.
Shadow follows suit, though he doesn’t think he needs to stretch out all too much in the first place. His thoughts drift to the blue hedgehog again and he sighs.
“Alright! You ready, Shads?” Shadow nods, stepping up to an imaginary start line. Sonic stands next to him, flexing his ankles and cracking his fingers.
“On go,” Sonic begins and Shadow watches the other’s mouth attentively.
“3, 2-” but right as Sonic opens his mouth to say “1,” Shadow shoots off, rustling the surrounding greenery in the resulting gust of air. Sonic stares blankly at where Shadow once was and then quickly shakes his head.
“You ass!” Sonic shouts indignantly and Shadow can’t help but laugh.
“Try to catch up, hedgehog,” he shouts back.
Sonic kicks off of the ground with force, spinning his body into a ball to build momentum, shooting off in a high burst of speed. He quickly reaches Shadow -–the latter’s eyes slightly widening in surprise– and tackles him to the ground in a messy tumble of limbs.
Sonic laughs, thrilled and quills mussed up to no end as he pins Shadow’s arms over his head in one hand.
He grins down at Shadow. “Two can play at that game,” rolls off his tongue and Shadow can only pay half a mind to it before bucking up his hips to get Sonic off, causing the latter to yelp in surprise. Sonic quickly regains his center of gravity and wipes at his mouth, standing a mere feet away.
The air is laced with electricity, heavy with tension so thick you could cut it with a knife.
Shadow moves first, aiming for Sonic’s knee with a swift kick. Sonic easily dodges and returns it with a kick of his own, eyes burning with excitement.
Shadow could almost laugh at how quickly their supposed race had been abandoned in favor of a spar, though he knows the other didn’t mind. He surely didn’t. It didn’t matter what they did, he always seemed to enjoy it if it was with Sonic. He smiles, and Sonic raises an eyebrow.
“Oh? Getting cocky are we,” Sonic jabs.
“Hardly,” Shadow answers and rolls his shoulders, all while staring Sonic down who is watching him intently right back.
Shadow grabs at his own shoulder in show of stretching it, but then quickly reaches into his quills for the green chaos emerald. He teleports right in front of Sonic, fist aiming straight for the other’s stomach. Sonic catches his fist with both of his hands and leans into Shadow’s space.
“Will have to do better than that,” he clicks his tongue and Shadow can almost imagine Sonic wagging his finger at him in disapproval.
“Haven’t seen you throw any punches first,” Shadow points out, and the other is still gripping onto his hand.
“Haven’t given me enough of a challenge yet,” he replies simply, smiling lazily.
Shadow snarls and leans all of his weight forward, catching Sonic off guard and causing them to tumble down the hill.
“Only fair that I tackle you back,” Shadow shouts to be heard above the swishing of the wind in their ears.
Sonic’s eyes seem to soften at the edges, stealing Shadow’s breath from his lungs for what seems like the hundredth time that day.
“Yeah? I suppose so.”
Sonic holds onto him and interlocks their fingers, moving his center of gravity to pin the other down, still toppling down the hill. Shadow grips him back tightly, baring his teeth as Sonic laughs in exhilaration, leaning his head back with the force of it. Crimson eyes watch intently, enraptured by the way it seemed to echo around them. His senses seemed so full of Sonic; all he could hear; all he could see; all he could feel. The strong muscles of his legs are still trying to pin his own.
They are nearing the bottom of the slope and in a burst of strength, Shadow turns them over so that Sonic is below him, smiling smugly as he meets the other’s gaze. Sonic has gone quiet, cheeks flushed from exertion and their breaths mingle in the air between them. Shadow pants, moving his legs to settle on top of Sonic’s.
Sonic doesn’t move.
“You’re infuriating.”
“You know you love me,” Sonic teases. Shadow knows he means it as a joke, or simply a platonic form of love, but can’t help but think otherwise. Shadow wants to deny it. He doesn’t. Sonic had probably been expecting some sort of rebuttal and his eyes widen when he doesn’t get one. The words hang heavy in the air and Shadow still has him pinned to the ground.
Maybe he was done running.
Shadow stares into Sonic’s eyes, unwavering in his resolve. A small part of him still wants to refuse, wants to run away and pretend that nothing was wrong, but he was done being afraid.
He slowly leans down to be almost nose to nose with Sonic but keeps his grip on the other loose if he were to want to leave at any moment. He hopes he doesn’t. His mouth runs dry and he licks at his lips to moisten them. He doesn’t miss the way Sonic’s eyes seem to follow the movement.
Sonic raises a curious eyebrow but otherwise doesn’t say anything, perfectly content in the soft grass with the ebony hedgehog boxing him in from all slides.
“Cat got your tongue?” Sonic teases after a moment of silence and Shadow glares unimpressed.
“Be patient,” Shadow spits out, though it’s impatient in of itself. Sonic can’t help the snort that escapes him at the irony.
“Alright, alright,” he says in between laughs. “Floor is yours.”
Shadow’s heart is threatening to burst out of his chest, but one glance into understanding green eyes helps him regain his bearings. He knew the other wouldn’t hold it against him. Whatever the outcome was, he wouldn’t regret it.
“You… are infuriating.” Great start.
“You just can’t seem to leave me alone, can you?” Though Shadow doesn’t actually wait for a response and continues. Sonic can’t even begin to feel hurt at the words.
“You’re always on my mind and when we race, it’s the most freeing I’ve ever felt. It doesn’t even have to be a race, anything! Can be anything at all, as long as it’s with you, my heart races and I don’t even know what to do with myself,” and maybe it’s more than what he meant to say, but maybe he should just get used to anomalies when it comes to the blue hedgehog.
“It’s annoying,” is what Shadow trails off with and he meets Sonic’s eyes. The latter is silent, wide-eyed, and his ears are twitching. His voice is breathy when he finally speaks.
“Do I understand what you’re getting at?” Shadow could chew through concrete. But then Sonic smiles so brightly and the stars are still reflected in his damn eyes.
“Never took you for the sentimental type, Shads,” Sonic’s voice almost seems hoarse as he loops his arms around Shadow’s shoulders, bringing their faces even closer together. Shadow’s heart thumps. He smothers the other’s face with his hand.
“You do like surprises.” He takes his hand off when Sonic threatens to lick his glove.
All Shadow has time to see is the resulting grin when all of a sudden he is pulled into a kiss that is almost bruising in its intensity. Sonic tightens his hold around his shoulders, and Shadow has to quickly place a hand on the ground next to Sonic’s head to keep himself upright lest he fall on top of him.
His mind is reeling and all he can do is reciprocate the kiss, angling his head to deepen it. He had never kissed someone before. How fitting of Sonic to take it. Sonic starts to smile so broadly that it wasn’t really a kiss anymore and more a mess of their mouths pressing together. This causes Sonic to laugh. Shadow frowns.
“Something the matter?” And Sonic tugs him down to roll them onto their sides facing each other, reminiscent of their conversation from earlier.
“No no, I’m just… happy,” Sonic responds earnestly. He quickly moves his arms to loop around Shadow’s waist and nuzzles into his chest fur.
“And I can finally do this,” Sonic mouths into his fur. Shadow rolls his eyes, but softly starts running his hand through blue quills, causing the other to close his eyes in contentment, not unlike a cat.
“Bit bold are we now,” though Shadow lets the other do as he pleases, the hint of a smile on his muzzle.
“You know me. Not afraid to try new things. Sometimes you just have to go for it, y’know?”
“Yes, I do,” Shadow acquiesces. He had done so just a mere moments ago in fact. He finds his eyelids closing on him without permission and Sonic yawns. He can feel deep vibrations through where they are chest to chest. Huh. Sonic purring.
They continue to lie in the grass until the sun starts to peek over the horizon, eventually having fallen asleep, content in each other’s arms and legs tangled together. Shadow is sure he will wake up to a barrage of messages from Rouge, but that was a problem for tomorrow.