Chapter Text
Although waning, the moon is still bright enough to color the midnight hour with a ghostly, silver light. It is washed away by the motorcycle’s headlights, but Shadow can see it plainly on the blades of grass in the yard he pulls into. He leans back in the leather seat when the vehicle fully stops, settling its weight on the stone path leading from the dirt road to the house on one side of the fence. Shadow keeps his paws on the handlebars even if he relaxes his grip somewhat. He feels the engine vibrate beneath the fabric of his gloves.
Sonic rises from the porch. He hops down the steps leading to the stone path. He languidly walks closer to the motorcycle, going slower than his usual epithets would have people believe he could go. It could be due to a lack of energy, but Sonic puts his paw on the top of the fence. He swings his legs over the fence, landing in the grass that dips down into the ditch. Sonic steps over the ditch, putting himself right beside the motorcycle and Shadow. He smiles faintly at Shadow. “Hello.”
Shadow nods instead of verbally responding. Sonic doesn’t force him to. He stops talking, too, after all. He puts one paw on Shadow’s shoulder as he swings a leg over the motorcycle. He settles into the seat right behind Shadow. In the beginning, they were a little awkward about how to fit together, but now, Sonic doesn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around Shadow’s waist and sets his head on Shadow’s back, burying himself between the quills. Shadow savors the shared warmth since the nights are only growing colder and colder. His enhanced senses are good for many situations, but they make high or low temperatures a little difficult to deal with.
It also makes him feel every breath Sonic inhales and exhales against his shoulder blades, but Shadow tries not to focus on that too much lest he crashes the motorcycle.
Comfortably situated, Shadow drives them onto the dirt path. He goes relatively slow while doing this, but once the wheels hit the dirt, they are driving forward at a speed more acceptable for a vehicle of this caliber. It is slower than both Shadow and Sonic are familiar with while they’re running, but Sonic hasn’t complained about it once. Shadow, for his part, bought and continues to ride the motorcycle, so he obviously holds no objections to the way it’s designed.
The views surrounding Sonic’s house have become familiar. There is a long stretch of rolling fields. When the wind blows through them, the grass looks like an ocean with choppy waves. If the fields are like a sea, the trees that begin dotting the area are like islands. They are few and far between, but they steadily start grouping together until the dirt path cuts through a forest. The trees are tall, casting long shadows over the road. The patches of moonlight happen every once in a while. The motorcycle’s headlight keeps Shadow from losing his way, though his eyes could have managed just fine on their own in the darkness. The wind blows through the forest, too. The hollow whistling could be considered creepy, but Shadow feels more at peace when he hears them.
The city appears not long after the forest. The trees have been traded for skyscrapers and brick buildings. No matter how late the hour, the streets still have the occasional vehicle or pedestrian walking around. It obviously isn’t as bustling as it would be during the day, but it’s enough that Shadow still has to follow the rules of the road. Stop signs, red lights, legal turns— the sort of stuff he read from a manual once he started to get accustomed to a motorcycle as a viable means of getting places other than running that distance himself.
Shadow pulls to a stop now. He glances over his shoulder at his passenger. He cannot see Sonic’s face, but he doesn’t need to. Sonic’s arms limply hang around his waist. Shadow can feel every long, deep, and slow breath against his quills. It used to take a while, but now it only takes going to the city to get Sonic to fall asleep.
Shadow adjusts them both quickly. When he’s certain Sonic probably won’t fall off, he turns on the street. He knows almost every route in the city from studying for G.U.N. missions and driving them himself. He knows how to get back to Sonic’s house from here. It’s almost muscle memory after how many times they’ve done this.
Shadow drives through the half-awake city. He reaches the dark forest, listening to the wind accompanying him. The whistling reaches a higher pitch to resemble wailing. Shadow’s ears flatten against the top of his head. He makes it through the forest without any ghosts trying to jump out at him. The fields are a welcome sight, even if thin clouds have covered the moon. Even in the dim lighting, the swaying grass looks nice to run around in. Shadow supposes that’s one of the reasons Sonic and Tails decided to live all the way out here instead of anywhere else on the planet.
The house comes into view. Shadow pulls into the part of the stone path. He twists the keys, cutting the engine off. The world is near-silent with the low humming. Shadow could lose his mind in this kind of overwhelmingly expansive silence, but his ears catch on a soft heartbeat. This drumming noise guides Shadow to carefully standing up from the motorcycle. He catches Sonic before the azure hedgehog can faceplant into the handlebars. Shadow tugs Sonic off the bike. Instead of forcing a sleeping hedgehog to walk, Shadow moves an arm beneath the underside of Sonic’s knees and another arm around his shoulders. Shadow cradles Sonic against his chest. Although due to gravity instead of intention, Sonic’s head falls against Shadow’s shoulder, and now that warm breath fans against his throat.
Shadow walks over to the fence. It would be easy enough to open the gate if his arms weren’t full. Shadow debates his options. Sonic shuffles in his hold, and Shadow decides on his chosen path. He braces his sole against the top of the fence. He pushes down, stepping over the fence entirely. He lands gracefully in the grass, collecting dew covering his shoes and ankles. He should convince Sonic to mow the lawn. Since he isn’t going to do that now, he shushes Sonic as the azure hedgehog settles from the landing.
Shadow moves to the porch. He checks the door first because Sonic doesn’t have any sense of danger. And as expected, the door is open. It creaks as it opens. Shadow sighs, rolling his eyes. His pupils land on Shadow, caught between the darkness beneath the porch and the moonlight trying to enter alongside the hedgehogs. Shadow forces his gaze away the second he feels warmth coiling around his cheeks. He steps into the house, shutting the door with his heel.
This isn’t the first time Shadow has been inside the house. Because of their little arrangement, Shadow has been here plenty of times when the rooms and halls are as dark as a moonless night. Shadow doesn’t need anyone to guide him to the room he’s searching for, and tonight, he carries Sonic to his bedroom.
Shadow nudges the door open with his foot. He tries not to look too closely at the messy room, but there are certain details that stand out in his peripheral vision. The half-eaten food on the dishes, the clothes strewn about without any care, the overturned pictures on the nightstand. Shadow should ask about them one day, but he never does.
Shadow sets Sonic down on the bed. He pulls the blanket over him. Sonic’s sleeping mind searches for warmth more than it does individuals, so he releases Shadow’s chest fur once his blanket traps his body heat in the hollow crevice with him. Sonic sinks into the mattress and his pillow. Shadow remains beside the bed for a moment longer than he needs to. He brushes the fur on Sonic’s cheek with the back of his fingers. Sonic doesn’t react to the touch. Shadow doubts he would react to anything in his current state, though.
Shadow huffs. He understands that Sonic needs this. Every few days, Sonic will message him about riding the motorcycle together. In those days when he doesn’t text, Shadow knows Sonic is struggling to sleep on his own. If he even goes through the process of struggling. He might just laze around, searching for any other way to pass the time at night other than sleeping. His energy levels will fray until he’s forced to ask Shadow for another favor.
Shadow drops his paw. He turns around. He would clean the room at least a little bit, but Sonic was upset about Shadow doing that the one time he did it. Shadow doesn’t fully understand why. Then again, he doesn’t understand most of the situation happening to Sonic.
Shadow closes the bedroom door behind him. When he leaves the front door, retrieves the emergency key to lock it behind him. Just because Sonic won’t do it, doesn’t mean Shadow can’t.
Shadow returns to his motorcycle. He should probably head back to Team Dark’s apartment, but he finds himself driving around the area for a little while longer just to get his thoughts back in order.
The credits begin rolling across the screen. Shadow carefully reaches to the coffee table. His fingers snag on the remote. He pulls it into his palm. He presses the off button, plunging the living room into near-complete darkness. Shadow drops the remote onto the ground. He hears it hit the carpet with a muffled noise. Shadow returns to lying completely on the couch with a throw pillow beneath his head and his quills pressing into the cushions.
The reason for his carefulness lies right on top of him. Sonic sleeps peacefully against Shadow’s chest. His head is turned to the television, but Shadow doubts he saw the back half of the movie. One of Sonic’s arms hangs off the couch. The other one is between their bodies and the couch’s back, hidden in the folds of the blanket Shadow pulled off the back to drape over them both. Shadow pets Sonic’s azure quills. His touch is gentle, mainly because he doesn’t want to wake up Sonic but also because he’s doing it absentmindedly.
Shadow turns his gaze toward the ceiling. He’s trapped, but Shadow finds that he doesn’t mind. The warmth and weight are both grounding. They are comforting, even. Shadow doesn’t need to sleep for long bouts of time, but he feels like he could right now. The only reason he doesn’t is a thought that continues to needle at his mind. An observation, more like, one that Shadow doesn’t really want to think about any longer.
Time passes. Shadow doesn’t know how much exactly. He knows morning hasn’t arrived yet, at least. The sun is still below the horizon when Sonic starts shuffling. He makes a quiet, groggy noise. He pulls his arm from the blankets. He sets his elbow on the cushion beside Shadow’s shoulder. He sets his chin against the heel of his paw. He gives Shadow a somnolent smile when he makes eye contact with him. “What’s happening?”
Shadow brows furrow together. He decidedly doesn’t like that smile or the way sleep coats Sonic’s voice (which is to say, he likes it a little too much). “You fell asleep while we were watching a movie.”
Sonic nods slowly. Shadow realizes that his paw is still moving across Sonic’s back. Sonic hasn’t said anything about it, though, so Shadow doesn’t stop as he continues. “You didn’t need the motorcycle this time.”
Sonic frowns. His eyes fall shut. He hums in confusion. Shadow returns the frown. “The motorcycle. You usually need to be riding it to fall asleep.”
Sonic is silent for so long that Shadow thinks he’s fallen asleep with his head propped up. Shadow finds this isn’t the case when Sonic gently laughs, the sound wispy from how little energy is traversing Sonic’s body. “I don’t need the motorcycle to sleep, silly. It’s your heartbeat.”
Shadow’s expression twists. “If you only needed my heartbeat, why did you ask about riding the motorcycle?”
“You wouldn’t have agreed if I asked to cuddle,” Sonic answers. His eyes crack open slightly. His emerald irises look darker in the low lighting. He meets Shadow’s eyes with a squint.
“I agreed to drive you around on a motorcycle,” Shadow argues.
“That’s different.” Sonic shakes his head. He tries, too, anyway. He isn’t too coordinated right now.
Shadow rolls his eyes. “We’ll talk about this in the morning. Go back to sleep.”
Shadow grabs the back of Sonic’s head. He forces the azure hedgehog to lie back down. Sonic makes a noise of protest, but he quickly succumbs to sleep. Shadow moves his paw from Sonic’s head to his quills. He pets through them while thinking about the situation as he understands it.
After a while, Shadow gives up. He decides that he really will have to wait until a more wakeful Sonic can give him answers in the morning. Until then, Shadow sinks into a half-conscious state, as close to restful sleep as he can get.