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It was late, and Sonic couldn’t sleep. That in itself wasn’t unusual. But unlike the other times that this happened, his body was tired enough that he didn’t consider going for a run. But his brain was a different case entirely.
While he was lying on the bed, a thought struck him. Sonic sat up and grabbed his phone off of the bedside table.
[23:46] Sonic: i never properly came out to u, did i?
He tapped send fully intending to just send the message to Shadow, plug his phone back in, and go back to being bored out of his mind while waiting for sleep to never come (again) when a new message popped up.
[23:47] Shadow: No.
[23:47] Shadow: Do you want to?
He didn’t know what he had expected from Shadow. That, probably. The question made him pause.
Did he want to come out to Shadow? Properly, that was. Instead of just alluding to things and hoping that Shadow picked up on it. He probably should. That was the right thing to do with somebody you were really close to saw every day.
[23:47] Sonic: eh. you know already so it doesnt rlly matter if i do or not yk
When Shadow kept tying for minutes after that, it made the blue hedgehog second-guess himself.
[23:49] Sonic: i think??
Shadow finished typing. Finally!
[23:54] Shadow: I know, kind of.
Oh.
Okay. That was better than he’d thought.
That message was far shorter than he’d been expecting it to be, given how long Shadow had been typing for.
[23:52] Sonic: …
[23:53] Sonic: ah fuck. did i just assume you knew this. again??
He was five seconds away from banging his head against the wall, the fact that it was almost midnight notwithstanding. The idiot he was.
[23:54] Shadow: Yes. You did.
Before Shadow could send the message that was being typed out, Sonic tapped send on his own. He had to, because if he didn’t before Shadow sent the next message, then his confidence to actually send this would evaporate into nothingness.
[23:56] Sonic: so u know: trans, nonbinary, ace &…queer?
The speedster tossed his phone onto the bed beside him, the lit screen casting long shadows across his room, so that he didn’t have to see Shadow’s response the second that it came in. He heard more than felt it buzz.
[23:56] Shadow: Okay.
[23:57] Shadow: I believe that I know this already but, what pronouns?
[23:58] Sonic: he/they/whatever. dont rlly care. i’m not tied to any specific set
[00:02] Sonic: honestly i havent rlly given it that much thought
[00:03] Shadow: Okay.
[00:03] Shadow: Inform me when or if that changes, at all.
This next message wasn’t that important, at all, nor would it effect anything in any way, still he typed it out. It was probably overkill, welp, he’d already sent it.
[00:05] Sonic: thx for not making this a big deal or like yk freaking out abt it
[00:05] Sonic: not that i think u’d freak out ofc. ik u’re not like that haha
[00:06] Shadow: Sonic, you do know I am agender, right?
The fact Shadow had somehow managed to put italics in his message was lost to the flabbergastion that took hold of him as he reread it over again.
[00:08] Sonic: …oh
[00:08] Sonic: i didnt know that
[00:09] Shadow: Oh.
By the time Sonic finally turned his phone off for the night (the morning, technically, given that it was well past midnight now), they had resolved any remaining misunderstandings and uncertainties between them. Neither of them brought it up again — except for one morning while their respective teams were heading back home together for once, when he asked after Shadow’s pronouns because in that very early morning tiredness, he had completely forgotten to ask — nor did it affect anything between them. Their conversation had just straighened some things out, which honestly should have been straightened out ages ago.