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That had been a tough day. Shadow didn't work at GUN anymore, it had been a few years now since he had left, however, this came with an agreement between him and the commander; Shadow was free to leave, however, GUN was also free to call them for any important missions, those that required the Ultimate Lifeform’s hand. At first they were called for mundane missions, exactly the same they would do while they were working for the institution, but with time, GUN seemed to catch its footing without the hybrid there, so now they were called for the real relevant stuff.
This, of course, didn't mean he was free of the reunions and paperwork following said missions. Which was what that day mostly consisted of. You see, Shadow had been called to investigate Eggman’s disappearance, which wouldn't usually be too concerning, but as the months went by, everyone grew suspicious of what the doctor’s next attack would be. Easy enough, truly. The issue came with the fact that they found nothing. No clues, no path, absolutely nothing. It was as if Eggman had completely disappeared off the face of Earth.
And that came with a tough debrief meeting. Discussions about the possible mediocre work of the group had him holding his head in his hands, trying to hold back their anger. They had done all that was possible, and yet, they found nothing. It wasn't their fault Eggman seemed to never even exist in the first place, and yet, Commander Tower didn't seem to understand.
This was paired with the soldiers’ weak theories that were accompanied by more screaming, and by thirty minutes in, Shadow wanted to Chaos Blast the entire building and go away. Really, it was a miracle everyone made it out of that meeting in one piece.
With this, you can imagine the relief the hybrid felt when they opened the door to their house and were met with peace and quiet. Of course, it would've been better if his boyfriend and daughter were home, but this was enough. They sighed as they slipped their shoes off, and went to lie face down on the sofa.
He kind of wanted a coffee, but he didn't feel like moving anymore. They could fall asleep right there, he didn't care. In fact, after a few minutes, their eyelids felt heavy and their breathing got deeper and deeper. Ah, yes, a much needed nap.
Shadow didn't even think for a second about the moment his partner and his daughter got back home and saw him face down on the sofa, unmoving. What an image.
He was awakened by a poking finger in his cheek. He could immediately recognize its owner before he even opened his eyes.
“Are you dead?” The little hedgehog asked quietly as she inspected her dad’s face closely. She giggled when he poked his green tongue out. “You’re not! Wake up!” She exclaimed, laughing, as she threw herself on top of the hybrid, poking him on his face with both hands.
Shadow couldn't help but smile, especially when they heard Sonic gasp. “Ems! Leave your dad’s dead body alone!” He dramatically exclaimed, making Emmie giggle once again.
“They’re not dead! Look!” The little girl tried to explain between laughs, trying to grab Shadow's face between her small hands.
“Don't worry, bud, I know what will wake him up.” Sonic assured as he kneeled down next to the couch, he made an exaggerated kissing face and a humming noise and he leaned closer to the hybrid. “Mwah!” He exclaimed as he finally planted a kiss on his partner’s cheek.
And the moment Shadow opened his eyes he reached a hand out and slapped Sonic on the forehead, making Emmie laugh. “Ack-!”
“Don’t kiss dead bodies, hedgehog.”
Sonic rolled his eyes as he rubbed his forehead. “You’re welcome for reviving you, babe.” He said sarcastically, as he smiled.
Shadow sat down, Emmie on their lap, as they looked at the two blue hedgehogs. Both smiled at him, and it was then that he saw the absolute mess in their quills. Their blue spikes stood in every direction as they revealed pieces of grass, flower petals, sticks, leaves, and more that got tangled in that whole mess. Emmie’s quills seemed to do the worst, her usual ponytail almost absolutely destroyed as her spikes threatened to pop out of their place. And yet both she and her dad smiled innocently.
The hybrid squinted their eyes, directing their suspecting gaze towards their boyfriend specifically. “What happened to you two?”
Sonic shrugged as his smile widened. “Oh, you know-” However, before he could answer, the smaller hedgehog quickly stood up and stole the spotlight.
“We went to a flower field!” Emmie happily stated, sitting on the edge of the couch and swinging her legs back and forth.
“I can see that.” Shadow said as they ran their fingers through the small hedgehog’s quills. “Come here.” They then stood up, grabbing Emmie and picking her up while also reaching to grab Sonic’s wrist.
The hybrid guided the two blue hedgehogs to the bathroom, where he passed his daughter to his partner and made him sit down on the floor, in front of the toilet. They then brought the trash bin closer before sitting on top of the closed lid.
“What are we doing, Shads?” Sonic asked, looking at his partner over his shoulder, with a raised brow in question.
“I won't let you two go to bed like this.” The dark hedgehog explained before grabbing Sonic’s face and forcefully turning him to look forward. “You take care of Emmie's quills, I’ll work on this mess.” He then added as he ran a hand through his boyfriend's spikes, flattening them a bit.
“Oh, okay!” Sonic said as he placed the kid on the floor in front of him, and let her quills down from the ponytail. Both of them laughed when her spikes practically flew everywhere, Shadow smiled as they rolled their eyes.
“We saw a pretty bird today.” Emmie said as she played with her fingers absentmindedly, allowing her dad to pluck the stray leaves and more from her head.
Shadow hummed. “Non-mobian bird?” The little girl hummed in confirmation. “How pretty.” He then commented, squinting his eyes as he worked to untangle a very stubborn stick from his partner's head.
“Yeah.” The small hedgehog yawned, seemingly relaxed by a whole day of running around plus the quiet and warm atmosphere around them and the way Sonic’s hands carefully worked through her quills. “It was blue, and green, and yellow, and…” She yawned again, rubbing her eyes with her small hands. “And pretty.”
Sonic chuckled as he noticed his daughter’s head slightly lowering. “Someone's going to bed early today, huh.” The little girl whined in protest.
“No! I'm awake!” She said as she sat upright again.
Shadow hummed. “We’ll see how long that lasts.”
Turns out, it wasn't long. Emmie continued telling Shadow about their day out, between yawns and small pauses, until eventually she kept quiet, her eyelids lowering, and her body falling back as she finally surrendered to sleep. Fortunately for Sonic, he had already moved on to the front of her head, so it was actually easier to work with Emmie’s back pressed to his chest. And like that, both older hedgehogs continued cleaning up the mess from blue quills in silence, aside from the occasional snores from the kid and hums from either of them as they encountered a particularly tangled leaf or stick.
“Done.” Sonic said softly as his hands lowered to embrace the little girl soundly asleep on his chest. Shadow hummed as he ran a comb through his boyfriend's quills one last time, making sure they were pristine and neat. They knew it wouldn't last long, but it was fair to hope.
Once Shadow's hands lowered to Sonic's shoulders, the blue hedgehog softly poked Emmie on the face, gently rubbing up and down her arm with his free hand. “Hey, Ems?” He called, voice barely above a whisper. The small hedgehog hummed as she pressed closer to her dad. “Go get ready for bed, okay?”
Emmie whined. “But m’not sleepy.” She complained with slurred words, to which the older blue hedgehog simply chuckled, helping her stand up on wobbly legs.
“Yeah, okay, go to bed, sleepyhead.” The hero said as he ushered his daughter out of the bathroom, the dark hedgehog following close behind them.
The small hedgehog went to her room dragging her feet, not without one last whine. Her parents stayed behind, in front of the closed door of the bathroom, as they watched her and made sure she did as told.
Once Emmie closed the door to her room, Shadow sighed, and leaned their head on his boyfriend's shoulder. Sonic’s arm quickly went up to circle around the hybrid, who then decided to go for the full hug.
“Hey.” Sonic mumbled, running a soothing hand through Shadow's back. “How was your day?” He then asked.
The dark hedgehog sighed again, closing their eyes and focusing on Sonic's breathing. “It was fine.” They answered, their voice barely above a whisper.
Sonic gently grabbed Shadow's face and guided him to look up, facing him with his unbelieving smile. “Don’t lie to me, Shads.” He said, and before his partner could protest, he continued. “You were passed out face down on the couch, and you’re clingier than usual.” He explained, making it a point to softly pat on his partner's back, and Shadow groaned as he pulled his face away to hide in the crook of Sonic’s neck.
It was true, he couldn't argue, but he could at least hide.
“Now tell me, what happened?” Sonic asked, holding Shadow closer. “Was it the meeting?”
The hybrid groaned. “They were blaming me for it.” Sonic scoffed.
“You know they’re idiots, it's not your fault they can't believe that maybe Eggman just hasn't done anything.” He complained, and now it was Shadow's turn to soothingly run a hand through Sonic's back. They knew Sonic wasn't particularly fond of GUN in general, especially after learning the way they treated Shadow.
“I know. I still wanted to blow them all up, though.” The hybrid said, making the other chuckle.
“I wouldn't blame you if you did.”
Right as Sonic left a quick peck on Shadow's cheek, Emmie’s door opened and the small hedgehog walked out, now in her pajamas. Both adults let go of each other as they stepped aside, allowing the little girl to go back into the bathroom to brush her teeth. Once she was done, they followed her back to her bedroom, and watched her as she climbed onto bed.
Shadow took a step closer as they moved the girl’s bed covers, so they nearly laid over her and wouldn't fall off the bed. Once they were done with that, they softly ran a hand through Emmie's now pristine quills, making her sigh as she closed her eyes and snuggled closer to her pillow, burying herself further under the covers.
“Buenas noches, cabra chica.” They muttered, and Emmie muttered unintelligible words back.
Sonic also said his goodbyes, and as the small hedgehog quickly fell asleep again, both him and his partner left her bedroom, softly closing the door behind them.
Shadow sighed once again, and noticed as his boyfriend stared at him. He looked back with a raised eyebrow. Sonic reached out and grabbed one of his hands, holding it up close to his chest as he ran a thumb through the back. The hybrid felt a familiar warmth overflow their insides as they watched Sonic’s green eyes looking back at him.
“Have you seen your garden today?” The blue hedgehog asked quietly. Shadow shook his head.
Ah, his garden. One he had started not long after they left GUN and found themselves with too much time on their hands. Emmie had joined him almost as soon as she learned how to walk, and it was now their pride and joy. They mostly grew flowers, but also tomatoes and cabbages, and they were planning on adding some more fruit to the mix, right now their stronger contender were pears.
They had been busy the past week, with this mission GUN had required his help with, and he hadn't even looked outside to check on their garden, trusting Emmie to take care of it. Believe it or not, even at her young age, she had quite an ability to take care of plants, only occasionally asking for help from her dad, mostly with heavy stuff she was too small to carry herself. Sonic had a blast just watching her work. Her focused look reminded him a lot of Shadow.
The blue hedgehog took a step back, not letting go of the hybrid's hand, as he guided them to the garden in their backyard. He opened the door, and let the other step outside first. Shadow wordlessly stepped into their garden, looking around. He had been right to trust Emmie with it.
“Hey.” Sonic called from behind, to which Shadow quickly turned around, finding him next to the door, pointing to a drawing that was taped to the outside of the door.
They stepped closer to the drawing, illuminated by a light over the door. A small smile graced their features as they closely inspected the drawing Emmie had clearly made of their little family. Sonic and Shadow both smiled as they held Emmie up, declaring that this was their garden, and to be careful with it. The lines were shaky, and the figures clumsily colored, but it was perfect.
“She was really proud of it.” Sonic said, bringing a hand to his partner's side, pulling them closer. “Of course I had to put it here, it's like a welcome sign, isn't it?”
Shadow chuckled softly, soft eyes still scanning over the picture. “It is.” He conceded with a short nod.
After a few seconds, the hybrid once again hugged his boyfriend. “Hey, you sure you’re okay? Did something else happen?” Sonic asked, not doubting for a second to embrace the other.
“I’m fine.” Shadow muttered. “I’m fine now.”
Because truly, the moment he had awakened to the sight of his daughter and his boyfriend, both smiling at him, all the stress from the day had been left behind. Their heart fluttered as a comforting warmth replaced the stiffness, their insides feeling tingly, in a good way, as they listened to Emmie tell them about their day. And oh, to be embraced by Sonic, it truly made it all better.
This was home, a place and people he could always fall back to. People he trusted would make his day better without even trying. Emmie made him smile and Sonic made him pull down his walls, to reveal the most vulnerable and soft version of himself. He could embrace them both and everything was okay. They could all sit in silence and it still made him feel so many emotions.
Shadow loved his little family, and that was something they thought they would never be able to experience again.
Hugging his partner as he looked at the drawing his daughter had made, it gave them such a warm feeling, they were sure Sonic could feel their heart running.
“Hey, Shads?” The blue hedgehog called, his voice quiet and incredibly soft. Shadow hummed. “You remember that time I kind of, accidentally, proposed to you? On Amy and Blaze’s wedding?”
… Oh?
“How could I forget?” Was the hybrid's answer, making the other chuckle.
“So… I've been thinking…”
Oh.
Sonic pulled away from their embrace, and kneeled down on one knee, looking up at his partner, still holding their hands between his, smiling widely.
Oh!
“Yes.” The word quickly spilled out from Shadow's lips before he could even think about it, catching both hedgehogs by surprise, the two of them looking at each other with wide eyes and mouths hanging open.
After a second of silence, Sonic laughed. “Hey, you didn't even let me ask!” He jokingly complained, taking the other out of their trance.
Shadow brought a hand up to his face as he also laughed, looking away. “Sorry.” They muttered, a bit embarrassed by their display of impatience.
“Hey, look at me.” The blue hedgehog said, and the other quickly did as told as if put under a spell. But hey, he was being proposed to! Basically the same thing, right?
Sonic took a deep breath before speaking. “I don't have a ring right now, because yeah, I've been thinking about it, but doing it right now was not part of the plan.” He started, nervously chuckling. “But you know the way I roll, I just go with the flow, and, well, right now, I really wanted to ask you this.”
He cleared his throat, before giving Shadow the most lovestruck look anyone had ever seen. The softest green eyes accompanied by the most loving smile ever. The night sky gave a certain glow to his pretty blue quills, making him stand out from all the greenery that surrounded him. Sonic looked magical, and Shadow wanted nothing more than to kiss him silly.
But he couldn't interrupt him again, could he?
“Shadow.” Their name had never been uttered with so much love, ever. “Would you marry me?”
And Shadow smiled wider than ever as they jumped to hug the other hedgehog, pushing him back to the grass below them. They couldn't help but think of how much effort he had just put into cleaning Sonic’s quills, but he didn't care, because he could, and would, do it a million times again, if it meant getting to experience moments like this.
“Yes.” He said firmly, as if to not leave any room for doubt, as they leaned over their fiancé. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
Sonic smiled back just as widely before pulling his fiancé in for a kiss.
And Shadow could confidently say, as he kissed the guy that just proposed to him, laying on the grass of their garden, under the moon, as their daughter slept soundly in her room waiting to spend her next day with her now compromised parents, that his fiancé and his daughter could brighten up any day, as long as he had them with him.