Chapter Text
Sonic had never exactly been the cleverest. Being the hero of Mobius, he quite clearly had a vast collection of amazing skills and abilities, but emotional intelligence was, unfortunately, very much not one of them. In fact, his lack of it quite often landed him in rather uncomfortable situations. Much like the one he was currently stuck in.
“Are you even listening to me?” Amy demanded, huffing. Her tidy pink quills fluffed up in a borderline comedic display of her fury. Sonic was rather relieved her hammer was conveniently absent as of now, otherwise he was certain she would not hesitate to crush him into something resembling one of his favorite breakfast foods. It’d be a real shame if he was flattened, really. Who would save the universe otherwise?
With a brazen smile, “Of course! You’re talking about how great I am, I know.” He swirled his hand in a dramatic bow, dipping as low as he could while remaining seated.
The glare she shot him rivaled that of even Shadow, who was coincidentally the subject of this particular argument. Not that they argued very often. Sonic was very good at escaping arguments before they could occur. He’d developed quite the knack for avoiding Amy’s temper tantrums.
“Yes, you are so great for ditching me and Cream in order to race your nemesis, Sonic.”
“Amy! Nemesis is a strong word!” Sonic chastised, putting on his best disappointed look. He did feel bad about flaking on them, really, but if he had to choose between the critiques of Amy and the jabs Shadow would throw during a lap… The choice was obvious.
Groaning emphatically, she threw her hands up and turned away. In Amy’s living room, separated from the kitchen by only a counter, Cream was playing with her tea set. The quiet clinks and her hushed voice as she spoke to Cheese felt somehow melancholic, an odd disconnect forcing itself between Sonic and the scene before him, like he had been severed from himself.
“You also shunted that date we had set up.” Amy said, her tone bitter.
He blinked, pulled back to the present like surfacing from water—which happened to be one of his least favorite feelings—and winced, “You’re still mad about that? I said I’m sorry.”
She shook her head, putting her hands up on her hips. “If you don’t want to go out with me then just say so. It hurts more when you lie.”
He leaned back in his chair, lifting the front two legs off the floor as he did, and stared at some faraway point out the window. The pale blue of the horizon cowered at the encroaching grasp of clouds, every color dulled and cool. There was a mountain only a couple hundred miles away that reached all the way up into the clouds when they hung low, like today.
“Sure, got it.”
“What is up with you lately?” She muttered, half to herself. His ears pinned reflexively, aggravation seeping its red way into his heart. Everyone had been asking him that exact question lately; Tails, Amy, and even Knuckles, for chaos’ sake. Honestly, the only person who wasn’t nagging him about it was Shadow.
The best he had felt lately was when he was running at his heels, throwing taunts back and forth like always. The annoying prick just kept learning new dirty tricks, and the tally was now leaning in his rival’s favor. It was always a thrill to fight back, even when he knew he might get burned for it.
Today was Sonic’s first win all week, but the high faded way too fast. It was close as hell, and Shadow’s sneer brought about possibly Sonic’s first bout of genuine laughter all day, which only caused an even more comical reaction from the sore loser. As soon as Shadow had blinked away in a flash of light, Sonic felt his enthusiasm drain out of him like water from a broken bucket. That damn teleportation trick of his.
“Sonic, you’re doing it again. Totally lost in thought.”
He startled, his chair crashing back down to stand on all four legs, before a fresh bolt of irritation lanced through him. “Aren’t you usually encouraging me to think?” Sonic snapped, his quills briefly rising before he forced them to lay flat again.
Amy’s expression fell slightly, and she crossed her arms defensively. “Yeah, but not like this. You’re sulking, and it’s making me depressed. I’m worried about you, same as everyone else. Not just because you keep ghosting our dates and hangouts, either.”
Pushing himself to his feet, he watched Amy grimace from the sharp screech of the chair legs against the tiled floor. Sonic waved a flippant hand as he headed towards the door, “Relax, Ames. I’m fine and you know it. I’m definitely not sulking, do you even hear yourself?” Leaning against the frame, he threw her a casual smile. “I’m the same handsome hero as always.”
“Don’t you dare open that door, Sonic the Hedgehog. You listen to me. I can tell something is wrong, and so can Tails.” She took a steady breath, and he just knew she was gearing up to say something totally inane. “Look, if there’s something bothering you, it’s not a bad idea to pursue therapy. Getting some help is the best way to work through things, and it’s obvious you don't want to talk about it with any of your friends.” Her last words fell with a sour tang, and Sonic mentally rolled his eyes. Trust Amy to get upset about something that wasn’t even happening.
Sonic made a face at her, sticking out his tongue. “Are you kidding? I don’t need therapy, that’s for the real dejects.” Gasping, he cracked a grin, “Like Shadow! Can you imagine him in there talking about the meaningless of life and how the sky is way too bright for him?”
“Be serious, please. Shadow could probably use some therapy too, but right now we’re talking about you.” She pointed a finger at him like some disapproving mother, before her expression softened, and Sonic knew he’d wheedled himself out of the conversation. “Just think about it okay?”
“Hey, you were just getting on my case for thinking too much! Besides, I’m all booked for the day, definitely no room to think about getting therapy. ” Emphasizing his utter disdain with a caricature of disgust, he swung the door open. Even as he shot off, he could hear Amy’s sigh follow him, a twinge of guilt settling into his chest. Hopefully she didn’t add this to her count of him ditching. The last thing he wanted right now was to endure another lecture about how he could improve upon himself or something like that. Really, what was there to improve? He doubted yoga and a diet would somehow enlighten him to the hidden joys of the world. Much less therapy. Sitting in some cramped room and telling a stranger about all your personal nonsense seriously sounded like a method of torture. Especially when there wasn’t even anything wrong to begin with.
The wind whistled in his ear, the sound of an old and cherished friend. While Amy and the others might think there was something up, he knew himself better than they did, and everything was just as it always was. He fought Egghead, bothered Shadow, saved the world here and there, hung out with everybody when they asked. What else was he supposed to do? He never stopped smiling, did it all without rest or breaking a sweat.
Sonic found himself falling into one of his favorite loops, one that took him far from the city and into the wild depths of the forest. A thin trail had been worn here by his feet alone, and he smiled with pride at the thought. Dragging his fingers along the dirt, he took a sharp turn to avoid the river whose current he could hear for just a single moment. After a mere handful of minutes, Sonic skidded to a stop in front of the line where the trees began to grow sparser, leading back towards civilization. He wasn’t quite ready to return yet. The fresh, green air of the woods was too intoxicating, the unbound freedom far too exhilarating. He glanced up at the gray sky, looking like a sherpa blanket across the whole world. Nobody knew where he was; hence, no interruptions or expectations. Only Sonic and the kind, unpopulated realm of nature.
A brief moment of deliberation, then he turned and ran towards the Northeast. The meadow was painted gold by the late afternoon sunlight, bursting fireworks of colorful flowers between the green blades of grass. Tucked into a nook made by two ancient oaks was a treehouse that looked nearly as old. Honestly, “house” might’ve been too generous of a term. The thing didn’t even have walls, just the floating floor and a roof built about six feet above it. Either way, it was one of his favorite places, without a doubt. Second only to the chili dog stand and Tails’ workshop.
Safely hidden beneath a cutting of tarp was a collection of books; a mix of comics and some proper novels. He’d already read all of these, so he made a mental note to replace them sometime soon. Not now, though. For the moment, he settled in for some peaceful relaxation. The dying light was the perfect level of warmth, the sun’s heat calmed by the steady approach of autumn coupled with the cover of clouds. Sonic drank in the fragrant air, stretching his well-used muscles with a wide yawn.
“What a beautiful day,” He told the dark clouds. “Would be better with just a bit more sun, though.” He flicked a leaf to emphasize his point, watching the remaining vestiges of sunlight fall away from the waxy surface.
In response, they let the first drop of rain fall. He heard it thump softly against the roof, and his serene smile fell at the corners. He knew it would rain eventually—the ashen sky made it pretty obvious—but he figured there’d be some more time to soak up the sun, faint as it was.
Grumbling some light expletives at the spiteful sky, he hopped to his feet and shifted back and forth for a moment. He still didn’t want to go back to his friends and deal with their incessant pestering about his current emotional state. What he did best was run, so he would run from them as long as his feet stayed attached to his legs. It just so happened that he knew a place where he could hide from the rain.
***
All around him, the forest breathed a steady song of leaves and freedom. Forgoing his skates, Shadow moved between the tall, waving trees with reverent hands and lingering eyes. The air smelled of imminent rain and the vivacious aroma of life. Earth was just teeming with life. Even after living here for years now, it still managed to overwhelm him at times. From the Ark, he could see the bright, lush green of the continents juxtaposed to the violent blue of the oceans. An annoyingly familiar set of colors to him now. Scowling, he forced his thoughts away from space colonies and obnoxious hedgehog heroes. Everything was so different on the ground. Nothing he imagined on the Ark could ever have captured it all. The trees parted around a clearing, and he gazed upwards as he walked through it. The first raindrops were certain to fall any moment now.
Shadow picked up speed as he continued through the woods, noting the beginnings of a path being formed beneath his feet. Close to his chest, he clutched a thick blanket and a plush new pillow he had just bought earlier in the week. He couldn’t really even feel the cold, being alien as he was, but the bittersweet nostalgia had compelled him to bring them anyway.
Turning slightly westward, he began to skate towards his destination, the perfect place to wait out a rainstorm. A month ago by now, Sonic had stumbled across him there during a skirmish with Eggman. Shadow had been far from pleased to have his musings so suddenly interrupted by two of the most irritating creatures he knew. The cave was hidden well enough behind greenery and a sparse curtain of vines for him to escape their notice, but he just couldn’t stand their grating gibes and the crashes of their fight. While beating both of them up had been fun, there were still some scorch marks around the area that he hated to look at.
Having reached the drop off of the cliff, he slowed to a stop, taking in the beautiful valley. Far below, an offshoot of the river glimmered even in the dull light, clear and gray. The fabric of his glove dragged against dark fur as he wiped away the first drops of rain, watching it darken and spread through the fibers. With no more stalling, he teleported directly into the cave he knew was right beneath his feet.
An uncouth yelp echoed loudly throughout the enclosed space, startling Shadow into summoning nearly an entire arsenal of chaos spears. A breath before he sent them sailing through the body of whoever dared intrude, he caught a glimpse of puffed up cobalt fur.
“What the hell are you doing here?” he growled, not yet dissipating his spears.
“You just scared me half to death and now you’re being a dick about it, okay, I see how it is.” Sonic flipped his hand through the air, his expression unimpressed despite the certain death feet away. “I’m hiding from the rain, what else!”
“Hiding from the rain. In my cave.”
“Hey, you don’t own this place. Mother Nature does, don’t you know.”
Waving his spears away, Shadow sighed gruffly. “Get out.”
“What? It’s raining! I hate the rain! Even you wouldn’t do that to me, right?” Sonic fixed him with an overly wide and bright smile, shoulders raised in exaggerated pleading. Shadow nearly rolled his eyes out of his head.
“Find some other place to hole up in. This one’s occupied.”
“I was here first, actually, so you should be the one to leave, if anyone.”
“I will throw you out there myself,” Shadow growled, raising his hand in preparation to fight. The absolute last thing he wanted right now was to get stuck with Sonic of all people. The hedgehog in question made no move to leave, only crossing his arms defiantly across his chest.
“I’m the one who hates the rain, so it makes more sense for you to go out there and find some other place.” He said matter-of-factly, as if he’d just caught Shadow in some inescapable trap of logic. The latter only pinched at the space between his eyes. The absolute nerve of this fool to tell him to leave his own hideout just because he couldn’t handle a few drops of water.
“You can run faster than the speed of sound. Why didn’t you just go back to the city, to your house, or anyone else’s house aside from mine?” Shadow questioned, releasing his nose bridge to gesture out his ire.
The shift in Sonic’s demeanor was barely even there, but Shadow’s trained eye noticed each subtle change, down to the minute tightness around his mouth and the tiny backwards twitch of his ears. Sonic shrugged, a languid movement that was just a bit too tense to be as nonchalant as he was trying to make it.
“Just felt like getting out, you know?”
Shadow raised an eyebrow, immediately sensing that was only half of what half the truth really was. In spite of himself, he could feel his resolve begin to weaken. He knew what it was like, to ache for some kind of escape. For a while now, there had been a strange weight to Sonic, and it appeared to have grown heavy enough to fracture his mask.
“Fine. But, I will not hesitate to cast you out in an instant.” He dropped his blanket and pillow unceremoniously on the ground, the whooshing thump a nice dramatic flair.
Sonic grinned once more as he saluted him with horrifically improper form. “Roger that, captain!”
Letting his glare linger, Shadow brushed aside the vines as he stepped outside. Distracted by Sonic’s antics, he hadn’t realized how the rain had picked up. It now fell in steady sheets, a hazy veil over everything. Before long at all, he was completely soaked, the upturned tips of his quills weighed downward. Swinging his legs over the ledge, he studied the watercolor clouds through the screen of falling droplets. Behind him, he could hear the plants rustle. Withholding a groan, he squared his shoulders and vehemently refused to turn around.
“So, Shads, do you hang out here often?”
“No,” he lied, pointedly keeping his ears facing forwards. Curse his enhanced hearing. Even over the sound of the rain he could hear even the sound of Sonic’s breath if he focused on it. Not that he would focus on it. There was another blissful lull of silence, during which Shadow let his eyes slip closed, deeply inhaling the damp air and savoring the chilled comfort of the water against his skin.
“Do you like the rain?”
Unable to hold in this groan, he turned around to shoot a virulent look at the pest behind him.
“I’m going to take that as a yes. What’s so great about it?” Sonic was laying on his stomach, supporting his head with one hand and fiddling with leaves in the other. His eyes, brighter than the shade of the vines getting caught on his quills, were fixated on the delicate plants between his fingers.
“I think it’s horrible. Cold and wet and horrible. It’s harder to run, for one thing, and it’s just so uncomfortable.” He looked up at Shadow and smirked, letting the leaves slip from his hand. “I assumed someone as mean as you would hate it too.”
“It shocks me to say that you’re wrong,” Shadow drawled.
Sonic feigned a surprised gasp, “Woah, sarcasm? Don’t you know that’s a form of humor—you know, the stuff you’re allergic to?”
Shadow could already feel a headache beginning to settle in. “You’re just begging me to kick you out. Maybe you’ll find out why I like the rain so much while you’re out there.”
Before he could even lift a threatening hand again, Sonic had vanished from the curtain of vines, leaving only a few swinging in his wake. From deep inside the cave came his call, “Mercy, please!” Followed by rolling laughter that bounced along the stone walls until it sounded like something out of a dream.
Shadow frowned at the now empty space until the last echoes faded away. Taking the opportunity to revel in the quiet, he leaned back on his arms and exhaled as much of his pent up tension he could fit in a single breath. Only a fraction, it seemed. The frigid air gave him the sense he should be shivering, a piercing reminder of what he was.
Why did he like rain? The catharsis of gloom, the white noise, the way it was easier on his eyes than a bright sky? Rain was beautiful, and so, so strange. The concept of it was absurd before he came down to Earth. Small droplets of water falling from clouds sounded like some silly story Maria came up with to get him to make a face.
Once more, his momentary peace was sliced to bits by Sonic’s excited voice. “You have a fire pit in here? Let’s build one, I’m going to freeze to death otherwise.”
“All the more reason not to,” Shadow replied, staying still.
“Aw, come on Shads. I know you don’t actually hate me that much. It’ll be fun!”
Only when he heard ominous clattering and the only slightly muffled slew of curses that spilled from Sonic’s lips did Shadow get up and go inside. The scene before him elicited a mixture of boiling irritation and low amusement. His once neat pile of cleanly chopped firewood, bought from a rather sweet host for the nearby campgrounds, was now strewn about the ring of rocks that served as a makeshift fire pit. The offender himself sat unabashedly amidst the chaos, shoulders covered by the dark blue of Shadow’s blanket.
“Do you even know how to start a fire?” Shadow asked, his tone darkly bemused.
Sonic scoffed, running a hand over his quills. “Hah. Obviously. Who doesn’t know how to make a fire?”
“Do it then.”
“You, uh… wouldn’t happen to have a flamethrower or something, would you?” Sonic asked, his perpetual smile gaining a sheepish quality.
Shadow let out his longest sigh to date. “You can’t be serious.”
“I’m always serious!”
“Move over. While I would love to watch you catch on fire, I don’t want to clean that up.”
“Jeez, okay,” Sonic muttered, scuttling away.
Pausing to rearrange the rounded river rocks that made up the border, Shadow carefully stacked up some logs, leaving ample room for airflow. He pushed some wood chips and bark into the space left underneath the center as kindling, then flicked a miniature chaos spear forward to light it. Off to his right, he could feel Sonic’s eyes following each movement, right up to his gleeful chuckle as the logs began to catch.
“Oh thank chaos, I swear I’m dying of hypothermia right now.” It all spilled out in one breath, accentuated by the ridiculous sounds of Sonic shuffling precariously close to the building flames. Shadow frowned down at the puddle of rainwater that had formed beneath him, pushing himself to his feet and shaking off whatever excess water was left onto the complaining hedgehog beside him.
“Hey, watch it! I’m tryna warm up over here, jackass.”
“I’m certain you won’t die, Faker.” Shadow held his hands over the fire, watching its light flicker across the sodden cloth of his gloves with a disgruntled frown. Normally he could just take his gloves off and set them to dry by the fire, but the presence of a certain blue pest made that, too, unfeasible.
“Have you ever heard of empathy, Shads? I hear it helps you make friends. Maybe you should learn about it.”
Without looking away from his hands, Shadow glowered down at them in response. “Big talk for somebody currently hiding from theirs.”
A crack of thunder interrupted their bickering, just as Sonic’s head snapped up with the first glimmer of actual anger in his eyes. The dramatic timing was almost enough to make Shadow laugh. Through the living curtain, the epileptic flashes of white light illuminated both of them, battling the warm glow of their fire. Silence once again blanketed them, albeit not as peaceful as the kind Shadow had been hoping for.
He watched as the first logs began to turn into burning coals, schooling his deep frown into an impassive line. Sonic had shifted his shoulders away from Shadow, glaring at the wall, his demeanor now grown awfully cold despite the fire. Outside, the rain only fell harder, punctuated by the fierce crashes of thunder and howling of the wind. This storm was proving itself to be much larger than Shadow had anticipated. Unusual for so late in the summer.
Once his gloves and fur had mostly dried, he moved to the back wall, which was just close enough to the fire pit to keep him sufficiently warm. A stolen glance at Sonic confirmed his suspicion that he wasn’t really angry, if his pensive lip-chewing was anything to go by. He repressed the urge to shake his head, knowing logically he didn’t have much solid ground to stand on when it came to open communication. Reaching into his quills instead, Shadow produced his chaos emerald. The swirling verdant green gem sparkled and danced in the unsteady, yellow light. It mirrored the sudden unease which had consumed the air, the ill-fitting disquiet behind Sonic’s eyes.
“Planning on chaos controlling outta here?” The hero’s voice dripped with forced levity, a thick poison that blighted the bright perfection he usually shone with.
“No. I prefer to not just run away from something difficult.” Shadow returned the emerald to its normal place, ignoring the brief dark cast across Sonic’s features. “Tell me, hedgehog, what out there could possibly dampen even your spirits?”
Sonic chuckled, a mechanical sound. “As if. Even if there were such a thing, I’d never tell you. That would backfire on me so badly I don’t even wanna think about it. Telling my rival about a major weakness is stupid enough even for me to realize it’s a bad idea.”
That’s right. The two of them were rivals. Occasional allies, when necessary, but they were nowhere near to being friends. They hated each other. Why exactly was he concerned with discovering the source of Sonic’s problems?
“And yet you haven’t told your trusted companions either.” Shadow observed.
“There’s nothing to tell. What’s with you and trying to make it seem like I’m keeping a secret from my friends?”
In response, Shadow only shrugged. If Sonic refused to address the fact he had an issue, then he was just fine with sitting back and letting him run. It was what Sonic did best after all.