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Shadow rolled his eyes, crossing his arms while Rouge laughed beside him. They watched as Sonic was surrounded by fans once the last robot had gone down in a cloud of black smoke and the all clear was given.
“Why does he always act so shocked?” Shadow grumbled to himself, annoyed by the way Sonic reacted. It was the same every time, a sheepish grin while he rubbed the back of his neck as he was praised for his bravery and quick thinking. He reacted like he didn’t expect to be lavished with attention, though Shadow knew he ate it up each time.
Sonic was attractive, Shadow wasn’t blind, and he played the charming hero role well. He was annoying, persistent, and lacked the ability to stay quiet when asked, but he was loyal, good-natured, and genuinely believed in the best of people. Of course the public would adore him.
“Someone is jealous,” Rouge grinned, voice slow and teasing. She shifted the weight to her left hip, leaning towards Shadow as she always did when she was teasing him.
“Of him? Rouge, please,” Shadow couldn’t believe she would even consider that a possibility. He hated the suffocation that came with crowds like that and unlike Sonic, he didn’t require endless amounts of flattery to survive.
“I meant, jealous of them,” Rouge said, nodding towards the group that was getting all of Sonic’s attention now. “Sonic was taunting you throughout the whole fight. You actually looked like you were enjoying yourself.” Shadow frowned, keeping his arms crossed as he continued to watch Sonic. She was partially right, the fight had been enjoyable, but he wouldn’t consider himself jealous.
Acting that way was pathetic to Shadow. To chase and swarm around one figure, to think that there was something so special about yourself that you would be picked from the crowd.He would never stoop so low to chase after such a sought after person.
Some might think he was prideful, and of course he was as the Ultimate Lifeform, but pride had nothing to do with the feeling he felt when he looked at Sonic and the crowd that surrounded him. He was realistic. He knew his own odds in this game. Sonic was what everyone sought after, the golden dream that everyone chased but few, if any, ever got to grasp.
Sonic’s attention was a fleeting thing, something that no one would ever be able to hold onto for long. Not even the Ultimate Lifeform could capture it and keep it forever.
“More like disgusted by them,” Shadow said, shaking his head as he looked away from the group. Rouge tilted her head, but didn’t say anything more on the subject. “We need to get back to work. C’mon.”
–
“Hey, there you are,” Sonic said, skidding to a stop, blocking Shadow’s view of the ocean in front of him. He merely raised a brow, questioning what Sonic meant. He hadn’t been hiding from Sonic, and it wasn’t as if he had ignored any messages from Sonic asking where he was. In fact, this was a known spot for Shadow. He liked how the palm tree slotted against his back and the smell of the flowers mixing with the salt air.
Sonic continued to stare, green eyes big and questioning. When Shadow first saw them, he immediately thought of Earth, specifically the view that he and Maria had of the planet while up in space. Now, they were an endless pool of greens that reflected the world around him.
“You left so quickly the other day,” Sonic complained, finally giving Shadow some context.
“Why would I stick around?” Shadow asked, getting a huff and an eye roll from Sonic, as if Shadow insulted him in some way. “What is the issue, faker?”
“We were going to race and you bailed,” he complained, putting his hands on his hips as he stood in front of Shadow, blocking his view.
“You were preoccupied,” Shadow muttered, knowing his moment of peace was gone. “I told you I had time for a quick race before I needed to return to work. You decided to play hero, and I had places to be. Next time, be considerate of my time.” Sonic’s ears drooped at the lecture, but Shadow didn’t feel bad for saying it. He could’ve said it a lot harsher. Sonic should feel lucky he wasn’t getting chewed out.
“You sound jealous, Shads,” Sonic quipped, no ounce of remorse or gratitude in his tone. “Which I totalllyyy get! It is nice to be praised.”
“Hmp,” Shadow stood slowly, shaking his head. “Typical. Your lack of perception is ridiculous. Do you really think I would enjoy being surrounded by strangers all crying for a scrap of attention? Really, hedgehog, do you think before you speak?”
“Fair enough,” Sonic shrugged, letting the insult bounce right off of his quills. “Then you must be jealous of them for getting my attention!” This had Shadow’s brows raising, shoulders tensing at the accusation. He was jealous, and he hated it. To see an endless stream of people chasing after the one thing he wanted was frustrating, to know he was no better than them was even worse. They were all fools who fell for gold.
“It is pointless to argue with you,” Shadow said, knowing something had to be said. If he was silent for too long, Sonic would get the wrong idea. “Is this all you came to bother me with?”
“Don’t be grumpy! I wanted to race,” Sonic said, smiling again at his rival. “C’mon, all the way to that one town with the yummy biscuits filled with cheese. I’ve been craving those alllllllll week!”
“No one has stopped you from going there,” Shadow knew of the town Sonic quite well. They had stumbled upon it at the end of one of their races. The people there didn’t bother them, and when they were there, Shadow could see what things would be like if Sonic wasn’t so beloved by all. It was a dangerous place for him to go.
“C’monnnnnnnnn!!” Sonic whined, grabbing onto Shadow’s arm as if to drag him all the way to town. Shadow waited until Sonic put all of his weight forward before he teleported away, smiling when Sonic hit the ground.
“Last one there has to pay,” Shadow said, smirking before taking off, skates lighting up against the earth. He heard Sonic yell at him, but he was too focused on his goal to care. Soon enough Sonic was right next to him, dirt smeared on his cheek that was more attractive than it should’ve been.
It was honestly frustrating how Sonic never seemed to care about his appearance, yet he always looked good. Shadow always took the time to look presentable, Rogue had instilled in him the importance of pamper days, but he doubted Sonic did that. It didn’t seem to be the blur blue’s style and Shadow doubted it would change a thing about his appearance.
The race ended in a tie, but Sonic gave in and paid for the basket of biscuits when Shadow reminded him that it was Sonic’s poor time management skills that got him here in the first place. “I didn’t say I would buy you a drink,” Sonic muttered as they saw on a stone wall overlooking the ocean. The basket of cheesy biscuits were between them, and Shadow made sure to slurp his drink extra loud to annoy Sonic. “Ha ha, you’re so funny.”
“I’ve watched you do that a million times,” Shadow rolled his eyes, taking a biscuit from the basket. They ate, watching the ocean waves roll in. The air was warmer here and the breeze was gentler, filling his lungs as he took deep breaths. The quiet between them was rare, but not unwanted. Soon though, there was only one biscuit left in the basket, meaning their time together here was coming to an end.
“Rogue’s birthday is comin’ up, wanna help me pick out a gift for her?” Sonic asked, finishing the last of the biscuit before Shadow could grab it. It didn’t bother him so much now that their hangout was getting an extension. “I know I can’t afford anything crazy, but a little something would be nice.”
“Hm, I suppose I could assist,” Shadow said as Sonic stood to throw their trash away. Shadow knew of a few things Rouge would like that would be on the affordable end, and she wouldn’t want him telling people, but the thought truly mattered the most to her. He thought it a little odd that Sonic wanted to buy her something, but he did suppose the two were friends, and Sonic did appreciate his friends.
“I’d appreciate it, ‘cuz I really don’t know what she’d like,” Sonic said, leading Shadow towards the market. It was a bit busier today than it had been the last time they visited, but it didn’t bother them much. The people shopping would smile at them, but didn’t stop to chat or ask for photos. Even as Sonic picked out things that were horribly ugly, Shadow was enjoying himself.
It wasn’t often he and Sonic spent time together in a public setting that didn’t involve them fighting badniks or fighting each other. As enjoyable as it was, it was dangerous to stay here for too long. He’d start imagining things that could never be, things he would never have.
“Oh, hey, what about makeup?” Sonic asked, hand brushing against Shadow’s shoulder to gesture to a makeup stand. He hurried over, leading Shadow to watch him smile at the worker as he looked at the selection. He clearly had no idea what he was doing, the smile the worker gave him was indication enough, but he was taking it seriously.
“Eyeshadow,” Shadow said, coming over to help. He pointed to the makeup palettes, helping Sonic find what he was referring to. “She prefers cool tones.”
“Got it, got it,” Sonic mumbled, looking over all of his choices. Each time he reached for a warm tone, Shadow would ‘tsk’ or ‘hmp’ until his hand slowly pulled away. He wasn’t sure if Sonic truly didn’t understand what cool tone colors were, or if he was doing it to rile him up, but it took far longer to pick an eyeshadow palette for the bat than necessary.
“Pleased with your purchase?” Shadow asked as Sonic walked away from the stall, smiling at the bag he was carrying. Sonic nodded his head, holding onto the bag tightly. Neither mentioned returning home or other plans, so they continued through the market. None of the stalls captured Shadow’s attention, but he wasn’t that interested in shopping to begin with. Markets were often too crowded for him, with too much going on around him to focus his attention on the items at the stalls. He preferred to stay alert for any dangers, but it was different in this town.
They were treated like any other mobian here, so Shadow didn’t have his attention pulled to people following them or pointing at them from racks of clothes. No one was reaching or calling for Sonic, who stayed beside him yapping about upgrades to the Tornado that he and Tails were working on.
It felt oddly domestic, and far too comfortable to be healthy to his sanity. If Shadow wasn’t careful, he’d imagine that this was their reality, that they would be together like this in public all the time, that a relationship between them would actually work out. Each time their hands or shoulders would brush, Shadow swore he felt a moment of hesitancy from Sonic before he shifted away.
Did Sonic possibly feel the same?
His mind was clouded by the fantasy as they raced home that evening, having had their fill of cheesy biscuits and the almost endless market in the town. They slowed as they reached the city, then transitioned to a walk as they approached Shadow’s apartment complex. Their day was coming to a close, but Shadow was finding it difficult to cut Sonic loose.
Shadow glanced at the blue hedgehog, surprised to see him watching Shadow, and a lot closer than he had been before. His green eyes were intense, pulling Shadow’s attention to them with ease. They were always the thing that made it hard for Shadow to pull his gaze away, as if they were trying to pull him in and keep him there forever.
“Hey, Shads,” Sonic said, green eyes flicking down to look at Shadow’s mouth before they were staring back at him again. Shadow could feel himself losing his grip, the desire rising up like one of the waves in the ocean that they had spent all day near. He turned away, looking back out at the streets, but tilted his head to let Sonic know that he was heard.
“Hey, Sonic!”
Just like that, Shadow was broken free of the fantasies, of the could-be’s and what-if’s that had him in a chokehold since they had stepped foot in that seaside town. They were back home, back in reality, back where Sonic was that desirable gold.
“Goodbye, faker,” Shadow muttered, sharply turning away from the fan that was approaching them.
He was an idiot for even letting himself fall into those thoughts. To race after something everyone wanted, something everyone would always want. It would be a never ending chase, and he couldn’t let himself continue to freefall with the constant fear that at any moment, he would be crushed against the ground if Sonic chose someone else.
“Hey, sorry, I’m busy right now,” Sonic said before gloved fingers were brushing against Shadow’s own in an attempt to pull him back. Shadow glanced back and saw Sonic right behind him and the person who called for him further back, looking just as confused as Shadow felt.
What the hell was he doing? Sonic never turned a fan down.
“What is going on?” Shadow asked, getting an eye roll from Sonic. They weren’t holding hands, but, they almost were with how close Sonic was to him.
“Can’t get rid of me that easily, besides, you lost our race home, so you owe me dinner,” Sonic said, patting his shoulder as he walked by Shadow, only looking back when he realized Shadow wasn’t following. “C’monnnnnn slowpoke! Jeez, you’re slower than that Knucklehead.”
Shadow stared before he huffed and began to follow Sonic, elbowing him as he got closer. He wasn’t sure what was going on, and he wouldn’t allow himself to get his hopes up so quickly, but maybe the gold wasn’t so unattainable after all.