Chapter Text
The smell of smoke and blood fill Shadow's senses as the world slowly blurs into view. The bitter taste of dirt along with the metallic twang of blood makes him grimace, and with a grunt he slowly sits up, bones aching. As he takes in his surroundings, he notes the orange tinted sky mixed with clouds of smoke that have started clearing out, the searing pain through his body, and one of his inhibitor rings lying nearby. He coughs, lungs feeling weak and heavy as he stands on his feet, and an unbearable pain shoots through his spine. As he shakily walks over to his ring, yanking it out of the dirt.
He sighs and looks around once again, trying to find out what should be the next course of action. Maybe he should just focus on finding shelter, or maybe Sonic was still around? No, Tom would likely never even want to see Shadow again after earlier. He was thirsty though, maybe find some water? Or--
CRACK.
Immediately, shadow faces the sound, ready for a fight despite his body's aching protests.
"W-Wait! Don't hurt me- please?" Shadow's ears twitch as hears the familiar voice of Stone, Agent Stone.
"..Agent?" He asks, still ready for anything.
"Yeah! I uh, are you.. okay?.." He asks, his voice nervous with a tint of concern. Shadow finally relaxes a bit as Stone steps out from the smoke, a look of genuine worry written on his face. Normally, Shadow would've said he was fine or made some sarcastic quip, but... Stone had been nothing but kind to him since they met.
"...It hurts a bit." He mutters, standing stiffly despite the shooting pain in his back. Stone steps close reaching a hand towards him but not touching him.
"..May I?" Shadow eyes widened, no one since the Ark had wanted to even talk to him. They were scared of him. Yet, here was Stone, who had met no longer than days ago wanting to help him.
Stone must've noticed the confusion in Shadow because he took a step back and apologized, before looking back up at where the Eclipse Cannon had once been. The silence made Shadow uncomfortable, so he cleared his throat.
"Are.. You alright?" Stone's eyebrows raised and he looked surprised, and Shadow immediately regretted asking.
"Me? Oh, I-I'm alright. I just..." He paused and sighed, "Well, the doctor is.. Dead. So I'm not too sure what I'll be doing now." He laughs, but there was no actual joy or happiness put into it. Shadow shifted, he knew all too well how Stone must feel. He couldn't help but think about Maria. He smile, her hugs, her eyes, her--
"Your back looks really badly injured"
"...Excuse me?"
"Oh- you're back, it looks like something might be broken." Stone points to his back, and Shadow reaches a gloved hand and touches the tender skin, hissing in agony as what felt like fire zapped through his spine. "Oh gosh, would you like any help?"
"No!" He growls, a pang of guilt hitting him as he sighs. "I apologize.. I'm not used to this whole... 'help' thing."
"I understand, you don't have to accept help if you don't want it, but I would like to at least get you some water, I have a nice apartment a few blocks away, would you like to join me for dinner?" He gives Shadow a warm smile and he can't help but feel grateful for the man standing before him.
"Would you mind?.." The infamous confidence in the hedgehog's voice faltering for a moment.
"Of course not, I'd love to have you over." He offers his hand once again, and after thinking for a few minutes, he took his hand firmly, wincing after every step.
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They walked in silence for a while before Shadow fell to his knees in pain, letting out a small barely audible whimper.
"Shadow?? Are you okay?" Stone gets on his knees, helping Shadow up carefully.
Shadow wasn't okay, his entire body hurt, and he wasn't sure how much longer her could walk. He so desperately wanted to cry, scream, kick something do anything to cease the pain or even just take his mind off of it. He wanted to tell Stone that everything hurt and he should just leave him there, but deep down Shadow knew Stone would never do that. He continued spiraling before hearing a sigh and feeling two arms wrap around him, one under his legs and the other under his back.
"Does this feel more comfortable?" Stone questioned. His body was warm and he smelled like smoke and cologne, Shadow didn't even realize he had started leaning into him. He silently nodded, hurting too much to speak. Stone smiled kindly and continued walking.
By the time they reached Stone's apartment, Shadow was half asleep and Stone's feet were aching from walking for so long. He unlocked the door with a 'click' and entering. He kicked off his shoes and gently laid Shadow on the couch. Shadow rubbed his eyes, the couch was comfortable, the cushions so plush he basically sunk into them.
"You look tired, would you like to take a shower so you can wash the dirt out before taking a nap?" He squatted down to be at Shadow's eye level. Shadow tried to sit up, but grunted in pain, nodding stiffly. Stone nodded back and scooped him up again, carrying him to the bathroom and filling a tub with warm water. "Do you want a bubble bath?" Shadow groaned in pain, opening one eye as he grimaced in pain.
"Bubble... What?"
"Like, in the water there'll be lots of bubbles" He grins, Shadow just waves a dismissive hand.
"I don't- I don't care." He mutters, rubbing his temples. Stone squeezes some soap into the water, mixing it around to create bubbles. He pulls a towel from under the sink and lays it on the toilet lid.
"I'll step out, here's some towels, my room is down the hall to the right, there'll be a t-shirt there if you want one. That sound good?" Stone gives a thumbs up, and Shadow nods.
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Shadow stepped into the living room, feeling much better. He smelled like strawberries (because that was the only shampoo and conditioner Stone had) and most of the aches in his muscles and bones had been soothed by the warmth of the water. He wore a Taylor Swift t-shirt that reached down to his ankles, the sleeves went down just past his elbows.
"Stone?" Stone immediately turned to see him.
"Shadow! You look much better. Sorry about the shirt, it was the smallest thing I had."
"It's fine."
"Perfect! I made some beef stew, if you would like something else I can make you something else though." He placed two bowls on the table by the kitchen, along with two glasses of iced water. Shadow nodded and climbed up into a chair, his back still stinging. He spent the first few minutes just watching Stone eat. Stone frowns once he realizes Shadow hasn't touched his food.
"Is it not good? I could always make you something else!" He reaches for Shadow's bowl but Shadow grabs it.
"No, this is fine. Thank you." He picks up the spoon and takes a bite of the stew, the savory flavors dancing on his tongue, his eyes widened, practically sparkling. "This is delicious."
"Aww, really? Thanks!" Stone grins widely, picking up his own bowl and glass and placing them in the sink. Shadow finished the rest of it in a few minutes.
"There's a bit more, are you still hungry?" Stone offers, and Shadow nods. He pours the rest of the pot into his bowl and starts cleaning the dishes. Shadow relished in the calmness of the moment. No violence, not hatred, no enemies, no need to protect himself, just... A hot meal and comforting atmosphere.
As he finished off his second portion he placed his own dishes in the sink as he had seen Stone do.
"I appreciate everything you've done for me today, Agent." Shadow says gruffly, he wasn't used to being vulnerable like this.. But he felt different around Stone. Lighter, more comfortable, almost.. Trusting.
"Of course! I'm really happy you trust me." Stone put his phone down, giving Shadow his full attention.
Shadow nodded slowly, unsure of how to respond. Stone clears his throat.
"I... was thinking." Shadow looked at him, curious as to what he would say next. "The doctor's dead, and you don't exactly have anywhere to go.. Would you like to stay with me..?"
Shadow was stunned. He just stared at Stone.
"Obviously you don't have to! There's no pressure whatsoever, I just want you to be happy." Stone's expression was pure unfiltered honestly.
"I... I don't know."
"That's okay" Stone smiles softly but solemnly. "But, if you make a decision, I'm here."
Shadow just nodded. "I'd like to go to bed now."
Stone nodded "Oh, of course! I don't have a bed right now for you, but you can take the couch! I'll get you some blankets." As Stone walked away he bit his nails, feeling nervous
about how his friendship with Shadow would be affected by this. He sighed as he opened a closet and picked out two blankets for them, walking back to Shadow and handing them to him.
"Thank you. Goodnight." He grumbles, back hurting as he turns on his side, facing away from Stone. Stone sighed quietly as he turned off the light and went to bed himself.
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That night, Shadow struggled to fall asleep. He couldn't stop thinking about what Stone had offered.
Why would he offer something like that? It pissed Shadow off. He understood grieving, but he was no replacement for the doctor. But... Something inside him softened as he thought about it longer.
What would it be like if he was... Adopted by Stone?
He'd been nothing but kind to him since they met, even when he found out he was trying to destroy the world.
He smiled softly to himself as his eyelids grew heavier.
Maybe having Stone as a dad... Wouldn't be such a horrible idea.
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Stone hadn't slept, he felt too guilty about his proposition to Shadow. He stared at his ceiling, spiraling into his thought, ridiculing himself for even considering it. He felt sick to his stomach, as if it was full of cement. He sighed and turned onto his side, looking at the other side of his bed where Ivo had once rested before Sonic arrived and he had started spiraling. He felt the sharp sting of tears prick the back of his eyes as he took a deep breath of his pillow, that still had the faint scent of him.
Warm tears fell down his cheeks as he thought about how fucked his life was now. His best friend was dead, he ruined his only possible chance of friendship with a god damn hedgehog, and he had no idea what he was going to do. A small, choked, sob escaped his mouth as he buried his face in his lovers pillow.
"I'm so, so sorry. I should've saved you" He whispered into the pillow, shoulders trembling as he started to sob silently, trying to keep quiet for Shadow's sake. He froze when he heard grunting and heavy panting. Wiping his tears he shot up in bed and made his way to living room, where Shadow is panting and groaning in pain.
Stone immediately kneeled next to him. "Talk to me, what's wrong Shadow?"
"Back. Hurts." He growls out, pained, frustrated tears running down his cheeks.
"Shit, can- can you take pain killers? N-Never mind, let's just try those and see what happens." He rushes over to his medicine cabinet, panicking. He pushes through the bottles of pills, grabbing a large bottle of Ibuprofen. He grabs a glass of water and sit back down next to Shadow.
"Alright bud, open your mouth for me, okay?" His hands were trembling, Shadow was shaking and sweating in pain, but he shakily opened his mouth, Stone wasted no time place four pills into his mouth and closing it as Shadow swallowed, and handing him the glass of water, which Shadow swallowed in three gulps. Stone held his hands tightly, rubbing circles into his palms, trying to soothe him. "We need to wait 30 minutes, if it still hurt we'll go to the vet ER immediately, if you're alright we'll wait until morning, okay?" Shadow nodded stiffly. Stone sighed, rubbing his hands.
They sat on the couch together, waiting for 30 minutes, Stone whispering reassuring words to him and Shadow occasionally whimpering. Eventually, the time in Stone's phone went off, Shadow flinched but relaxed after a second.
"So how do you feel..?" Stone asked hesitantly.
"..A little better" He mutters. "I heard you crying before all of this. Why?" He questions bluntly.
Stone's eyes widened. "Oh.. I just.. I miss the doctor." He sighs.
Shadow stared ahead. "...I understand. I felt.. Heartbroken, when Maria died." Stone nods, eyes watering again.
They sat in silence for a while.
"I want you to adopt me" "I'm sorry for what I asked earlier" They both say at the same time, before looking at each other with wide eyes.
"...What..?" Stone's voice was quiet, breaking slightly.
"...I would like to stay. Here. With you." Shadow mumbled, and Stone started crying again, hugging him gently.
"Thank you for letting me take care of you." He sniffled, and Shadow hesitantly hugged him back, nodding.
And the two of them held each other as they both slowly drifted off back to sleep