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Shadow was on edge. Forced to attend some pointless GUN training, surrounded by new recruits, he was drained and agitated, quills still slightly pricked up even an hour after he'd left.
It was a known fact that he hated large groups of people, and he'd spent the entirety of today stuck in a room with just that. He almost wondered if Tower made him attend just to make Shadow uncomfortable, because he had truly no reason to be there. He wouldn't put it past the bastard to do that.
As dusk settled in the air, Shadow was out on a walk, having needed to do something to try and ease the discomfort that still settled in him from the exhausting events earlier. Not even a run; somehow, going fast just made it worse for once.
It felt like a slight on his honor, really.
Speaking of going fast, Shadow heard the distant crack of a sound barrier, and before long, an irritatingly familiar blue blur streaked by him. It quickly doubled around, before finally stopping beside him.
Sonic the hedgehog, right in his hour of annoyance. Of course.
"Hey, Shadow! Long time no see!" He greeted brightly, great big grin plastered on his face with the cheesy greeting. Shadow closed his eyes, groaning. "Must you every time?"
"Yup!" He threw his arms behind his head, pleased with himself. "Noticed you're going all slow-like for once. What's the occasion, faker? Finally got too old to keep up with me?"
Shadow growled in warning, ears flattening. "Not in the mood, Sonic. Please leave me alone."
Sonic immediately caught onto Shadow's unusual demeanor, ear flicking. His arms dropped back to his side as he turned to Shadow. "Shads? What's up?"
He didn't intend to dignify sonic with a response, but the words fell out of his mouth before he could stop them. "Had an unpleasant day. I was forced to attend GUN training. Nothing to concern yourself with. I'm simply trying to clear my head."
(Sonic could tell it clearly wasn't working. His quills were half-raised, his shoulders hunched protectively, despite the complete lack of real threats around him.)
"Of course it was GUN." Sonic muttered, more to himself than to Shadow. The black hedgehog still heard him, flicking his ear, but not responding otherwise. He continued walking, expecting that to be the end of it and for Sonic to leave him be, but to his chagrin the other hedgehog simply matched his pace, walking quietly alongside him.
...Though, he supposed it wasn't that bad. His instincts still urged him to push Sonic away like he'd always done before, but lately the two had been growing much closer than he'd ever thought they would. Not quite friendly, but something else entirely. And right now, Sonic's presence was making him feel more at ease than he'd freely admit.
"It's getting late." Shadow finally spoke again, breaking the silence resting between them. "I should get home."
Sonic hummed in acknowledgement. And then, unexpectedly, asked: "You want company?"
Shadow stopped walking for a moment. "Company?" He echoed, confusion evident.
"Yeah. You, uh, seem a little out of it, no offense. Thought you might not want to be alone tonight." He brought a hand up under his quills, rubbing his neck sheepishly. "But, uh, no pressure if you'd rather have me out of your hair."
Shadow was silent, considering his words. Was he really that visibly distressed? Over some stupid training? Unfortunately, he realized Sonic's judgement was right, and the thought of returning to his empty apartment suddenly filled him with dread. This wasn't right. He usually thrived in isloation. He really was out of it, wasn't he?
"...I suppose company does sound rather nice." He hesitantly conceded. Sonic beamed, and that familiar prickle of annoyance was joined by a much less familiar feeling of warmth. "Well, lead the way then!"
-
Sometime after Shadow invited Sonic into his home, the topic of conversation led to Shadow's sleeping habits. Or more notably, his lack thereof. Sonic was appalled to learn that Shadow never slept.
"I was not designed with a need for sleep. I am a weapon, after all." Shadow told the dumbfounded hedgehog before him. Sonic shook his head, disbelieving. "Dude, it doesn't matter if you were supposed to be a weapon or not. You're a living being. There's no way you don't need rest." Sonic paused, just looking at Shadow for a moment. "Have you... ever even tried to sleep?"
Shadow didn't answer at first. He folded his arms over his chest, eyes looking everywhere except towards Sonic.
"...Sometimes." He muttered. "It is not pleasant."
A soft 'oh' left Sonic's mouth. "Nightmares?"
"Something like that."
Truthfully, sleep never came easy to Shadow, if it even came at all. Whenever he laid down to sleep, there was always something off about it, a feeling as if he was missing something. The one time he did manage it, he'd been plagued by nightmares and woke up feeling even less rested somehow. He'd accepted by now that it was an exercise in futility to even attempt to fall asleep.
"You know... I've shared a bed with Tails when he was woken up by nightmares before. It always helps him. Maybe that would help you too?"
Shadow's eyebrows went up. He didn't respond for a moment, pondering Sonic's words.
"Are you... suggesting we share a bed?"
Sonic flushed a bit. "I, uh, just meant in general... but, yeah, if it'll help you then I'll do that."
If it had been any other day, Shadow wouldn't have even entertained the idea. But tonight, Shadow knew he desperately needed to rest. Even if his body could not get tired like a normal mobian's did, he still felt the weight of exhaustion on his body and mind. The idea of giving in to that ever-elusive urge to sleep sounded wonderful.
"I... suppose I can try it."
He led Sonic back to his room, shutting the door behind them. He'd never considered the idea of... sleeping in the same bed as someone else. He recalled fuzzy memories of it on the Ark, sharing a bed with Maria some nights, but the Ark was lifetimes ago now. As he sat down on the bed and Sonic slid on next to him, those memories did nothing for him in this moment, and he was still left unsure of what exactly he was doing. Sonic moved to lie down, but Shadow still sat rigid on top of the covers, wound tight like a coil, staring decidedly down at his own hands.
He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. "You good?"
"I'm..." He clenched his fists, gloves suddenly feeling itchy on his paws. "Still agitated." Everything today still ate at him. It prickled under his skin, refusing to leave him despite everything he tried to alleviate it. Even after letting Sonic into his house, his bedroom, uncharacteristically open for his standards, it wasn't quite helping like it had been. There was no way he was going to get any sleep like this. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe-
Sonic's hand rubbed his shoulder comfortingly, and that train of thought came to an abrupt end as it did. "I can tell. You're so stiff, Shads."
Shadow didn't respond, but the contact made him relax an infinitesimal amount. His shoulders dropped, fists unclenching. Sonic picked up on this, and after shifting to sit fully in front of Shadow, moved both of his hands to Shadow's shoulders to gently massage them. He relaxed into it, a quiet sigh dropping from his nose.
Sonic's hands didn't stop at Shadow's shoulders, either. Before long, Shadow had given in and melted fully into Sonic, head leaning against the other's shoulder as Sonic held him. One hand was curled around Shadow's back, the other stroking gently through his quills, urging them to lie flat against his head from where they had been pricked up in anxiety.
Being held like this made Shadow... almost feel normal. Like he wasn't a military weapon for once, and was simply a hedgehog, just like Sonic was. All those GUN soldiers only saw him for what he had been created for, but Sonic didn't. Sonic was his trusted equal, originating from a fierce rivalry, but now he holding him like he was something precious. Something to be cherished.
Shadow heard a sound coming from deep in his chest. He was... purring. Because of Sonic.
He nuzzled deeper into Sonic's neck. He decided he didn't care. Ego be damned, all of Shadow's stress of the day was finally melting away, and for once, he felt truly relaxed.
...Maybe letting his guard down wasn't so bad. He could get used to this.