Archive of Our Own

Shadow shivered as he curled up in the pillow fort Maria had constructed. He hated all of the tests he was forced to endure, but the blood tests were the worst.

The scientists always drained him - as much blood as they could draw without causing him to pass out - and left him feeling sick and cold. Always so unbearably cold.

“Come here, Shadow.” Maria patted the pile of blankets and pillows at her side. The space Shadow had come to know as ‘his spot’.

He laid back against the pillow as Maria settled down next to him. She pulled a few blankets over them, then wrapped her arm around Shadow, holding him close.

Even with the blankets and Maria’s own body heat, Shadow still trembled uncontrollably. Everything hurt and he was so tired, but he couldn’t sleep with the biting cold seeping into his dry veins.

He accidentally let out a quiet, wounded sound when Maria’s arm became too tight. She loosened her grasp immediately, but didn’t move away.

This wasn’t the first time she’d taken care of him after an excruciating round of tests. Through trial and error, she’d learned what to do to help him recover quickly. The scientists never cared enough to help, as long as the test hadn’t knocked him out.

She ran her hand over his quills, then down his back, rubbing soothing circles between his shoulder blades. “You need to relax, Shadow.”

“H-hurts.” Shadow whimpered.

She sighed, her eyes sad as she took in his dull expression and shaking form. “I know. I’m sorry.” She paused, and Shadow instantly knew what she would suggest. “Maybe it would be better if-”

“N-not the t-tube. Don’t wan-na go b-back in.” Soon enough, he’d have to. As miserable as he was right now, he’d still rather suffer by Maria’s side than fall into a restless slumber in a tube of liquid.

He curled up closer to Maria, desperate for warmth. She pressed a kiss to his forehead, then started humming. It was the song she normally played on her guitar. She couldn’t play while she held Shadow together, so she would always hum for him instead.

Shadow never knew how long it took for the cold to pass, the scientists never bothered to tell him how long it took for his blood to regenerate even though he was certain they knew. When it finally faded, all he was left with was a bone-deep exhaustion as his body recovered.

But the cold wasn’t fading this time. If anything, it had steadily gotten worse.

“M-Maria… help…” Shadow’s voice was frail, barely even a whisper.

Maria must not have heard him. She just continued to hum.

Slowly, that hum began to fade, the sound becoming oddly distant even though Maria hadn’t moved from his side. His surroundings became fuzzy, and the only thing that wasn’t slipping away from him was the horrible cold air that blew snow into his quills.

…Wait, snow?

***

“…M-Maria… help….” Shadow mumbled, still half-asleep.

With a jolt, he startled awake, wincing at the pain it caused to move his freezing limbs. He scanned his surroundings frantically, looking for whatever sign of danger that had forced him awake.

He saw nothing, just the blank interior of the cave he’d spent the past few weeks hiding in. The only difference between the cave now and the cave when he’d fallen asleep last night was a large pile of snow building up at the entrance. It wasn’t enough to block the cold wind blowing at him.

He shivered and curled up in the furthest corner he could, but it wasn’t enough to keep him warm. The dirt was cold, and the moss growing from the cave’s walls made a terrible blanket.

Everything hurt. Even just breathing was painful, the cold air biting into his lungs and making his chest constrict. Curling into a ball hardly helped, as all of his natural body heat had already been sapped by the cold ground below him.

He thought about leaving, running to a different state or even a different country, going somewhere warmer even if it was only temporary. But something was keeping him here, though he’d never admit it.

The first few days after Shadow crashed back down to earth, he’d been severely injured, barely able to stay conscious, let alone move. He’d been covered in burn wounds, many of his bones had been bruised or broken, and he’d felt some of the worst pain he’d ever experienced.

He’d crashed in the middle of a grassy field, half-dead and without the Limiter Rings to keep his chaos energy controlled. For once, that may have been to his advantage. Usually, he wore the Limiter Rings to keep his own energy from destroying him from the inside out, but the natural chaos energy his body produced also had the capability to accelerate his body’s healing process. It gave him something to channel his energy into, allowing him to recover enough to move again in only three days.

He was in agony for all of it. He’d faded in an out of consciousness for most of it, and didn’t dare stand up until he could move without blinding pain shooting through his whole body. The first thing he’d done was find his Rings, then he picked a direction and started running.

He didn’t know how he managed to stumble across this little town a couple weeks later, and he nearly passed it entirely, not giving it a second thought. But he paused when he saw a familiar blue blur rush down the street.

He thought he felt his heart stop when he saw the other hedgehog. He’d thought Sonic died when he fell back down to earth, yet there he was, swerving past cars without care. And, Shadow had noted, none of the humans had been shocked by his presence. Some of them had even called out greetings as Sonic ran past them.

The humans of this town weren’t… shocked that an alien was living among them? They weren’t terrified, or disgusted?

Maybe that was why Shadow had chosen to stay, or maybe, buried deep within him, somewhere he refused to acknowledge, he’d chosen to stay because he knew that Sonic was nearby.

Sonic had been… kind to him, after their fight on the moon. He’d made Shadow realize that he didn’t have to just be a pawn in the humans’ game. That he didn’t have to spend the rest of his life seeking revenge, or rotting in his constant state of grief. Sonic showed him another path, even when he hadn’t deserved any sort of help.

Whatever the reason may have been, Shadow had chosen to stay in Green Hills. He hadn’t had anywhere else to go anyway. The only ‘home’ he’d ever known was destroyed in a black hole he’d opened (just another piece of the past, destroyed because of him).

He’d ended up stumbling upon a cave in the nearby woods. Literally. He’d been running through the trees and fell face first into the cave’s entrance.

It was fairly big, hidden, and far enough away from the town that no humans would find him there. For a brief time, it was as close to perfect as Shadow would find. He just wished he’d known he wasn’t the cave’s first inhabitant.

Sonic found him eventually. He didn’t think he’d even been in the cave for a week when the blue hedgehog slipped through the entrance, only to find Shadow standing in the middle of the cave, glaring down at a centipede in disgust.

Apparently, Sonic had believed that Shadow was dead. It wasn’t that surprising of an assumption, but Shadow was used to surviving explosions at this point.

Sonic had seemed oddly relieved that Shadow was alive, but surely he had no reason to care? Shadow had attacked him- attacked his whole family. He could have killed them all. Why would Sonic care about his safety?

Knowing that someone had found him meant that Shadow was no longer safe in the cave, but when he’d told the blue hedgehog as much, Sonic had disagreed.

“Hey, you wanna be left alone, I get it.” Sonic had said. “We won’t bother you. But, if you ever wanna race, you know where to find me!”

True to his word, after that day in the cave, Sonic had left Shadow alone, and none of his other family members had gone after him either. He couldn’t help but feel a little tense knowing that they had his location, but they’d kept their distance so far, so he saw no reason to go through the trouble of finding a new place to hide.

He didn’t necessarily like the cave, but it was relatively safe, and far enough from the town that no noise from the cars or people reached him. It could have been worse, he supposed.

Then, one morning, snow began to fall. It started out as just a few snowflakes blowing in the wind, but quickly became a thick blanket covering the whole town.

By the time Shadow realized he probably should have found a different place to hide, the cold had already started weakening him. He probably could push through it, if he really tried, but where would he have gone? He had nowhere else to go, and if he was discovered in this state, GUN would have no issue finding and capturing him again. He couldn’t risk it.

All he could do now was curl up in the cave and try not to freeze.

So far, he’d failed.

He wasn’t sure if it was the cold itself making him tired, or his body trying to recover from the constant pain it put him in, but he felt like he was in a perpetual state of exhaustion. He slept for as long as he could, and found himself waking at odd times, always only half-aware of his surroundings. Sometimes when he fell asleep, he’d wake up and see only darkness, then he’d briefly shut his eyes and suddenly it was bright outside once more. It was extremely disorienting, he wasn’t sure how many days it had been since the snow first fell.

He didn’t want to admit it, but he was afraid. His whole body ached. His stomach was constantly cramping from hunger, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave the cave for food. He was always shaking now, he didn’t know how to make it stop. If he kept his eyes open for too long, his vision would start blurring, and everything in front of him would shift until it was sickening to look at. He wanted it all to stop.

He wished Maria was here. She would’ve taken care of him.

But she was gone, and he was alone, and all he could do was go back to sleep, and hope his dreams weren’t as painful as his reality.

***

Distantly, Shadow heard something move outside the cave. He tried to look toward the entrance, but the light hurt his eyes, so he just curled back up and hoped that whatever was out there didn’t find him.

A quiet thud made him flinch. It was inside the cave now, far too close to him. He held his breath instinctively, probably too late for it to have not been noticed, but he knew that it wasn’t enough for him to appear still anyway. He couldn’t stop shivering.

“Shadow?” A voice whispered.

Shadow flinched hard, Chaos energy jolting through his quills in warning. It took him a moment too long to realize that whoever had entered his cave had known his name, so it had to be someone who already knew he was here. Regardless, he curled up tighter and hoped that whoever it was would just leave him be. He was miserable enough, he couldn’t deal with anything else right now.

Sadly, nothing could ever be that easy for him.

“It’s Sonic.” The voice continued. Shadow only slightly relaxed at this. At least it wasn’t one of the humans. “I… wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Shadow didn’t respond to that. What was he meant to say? Obviously he wasn’t okay, he was barely surviving, but he wasn’t about to tell Sonic that. He couldn’t tell the other hedgehog how much he was struggling. For all he knew, Sonic would mock him for his weakness.

He’d only known - really known - Sonic for a few minutes, during their conversation on the moon. Sonic was so much stronger than he let on at first glance, but his strength wasn’t all physical. Shadow didn’t know the full story, but he knew that Sonic had lost someone important to him, just as Shadow did. But he didn’t spiral in his rage and grief, lashing out at the entirety of the human race. He became a protector of earth, someone that his lost loved one could be proud of.

Shadow… couldn’t say the same. He nearly destroyed earth, and now he was cowering in a cave like the pathetic creature he was. He already knew he was weak, he didn’t want anyone else to see his weakness, especially not someone like Sonic, who could never be brought down to Shadow’s level.

“I’m not here alone.” Sonic said after a moment. “Do you remember Tom? The human you thought was Commander Walters?”

Every muscle in Shadow’s body tensed. He remembered Tom. He remembered hearing the human’s bones crack as Shadow hit him with every ounce of strength he possessed. He remembered Sonic kneeling over the human’s unconscious body, frantically trying to wake him to no avail, in a scene that was so horrifically familiar it had made Shadow’s stomach churn with nausea. He remembered the pure fury in Sonic’s eyes as they fought, and the brief moment where Shadow genuinely believed (or at the very least, hoped) that Sonic would kill him for what he did.

He thought he killed Tom, but he was alive. He was here.

Shadow’s heart dropped. A human was here.

The cave wasn’t safe anymore.

Shadow uncurled enough to glare at Sonic with one eye, his Chaos energy flaring with his spiraling emotions. Why would Sonic bring Tom here after everything that happened? Especially after he’d said that he would leave Shadow alone? Shadow should have known better than to trust him. He really should have left when he had the chance.

“W-why did you b-bring a human he- here?” Shadow demanded, trying to sound threatening, though he couldn’t stop his teeth from chattering.

“We just wanted to talk to you for a minute.” Sonic said, his voice soft and reassuring. It was almost enough to put Shadow at ease, but he just couldn’t relax, knowing one of the humans he’d been fighting against was so close. “Is it alright if Tom enters the cave?”

Shadow growled before even making the conscious decision to do so. If that human decided to get back at Shadow for hurting him, Shadow would have no way to defend himself. He could barely move right now, and any attempt to escape would be agony. Worst case scenario, he might be able to use what little Chaos energy he had to spare to teleport himself out of the cave, but he wasn’t sure if he could survive it. His energy reserves had been severely depleted since he’d survived the Cannon’s explosion.

He didn’t even want to try leaving. He wanted to stay curled up and sleep. Why couldn’t Sonic just leave him alone?

Sonic didn’t seem the least bit deterred by his growling. His voice dropped to an almost whisper as he said, “I promise, he won’t hurt you.”

Shadow’s eye narrowed, searching Sonic’s face for any sign that he was lying. The edges of Sonic’s mouth were pulled into a frown, and his eyes were filled with worry.

With a sigh, Shadow slowly uncurled from his quills, forcing himself not to wince at the freezing air hitting his stiff limbs. When he stood up, he realized how heavily he was shaking, and wrapped his arms around himself in an attempt to hide it. It didn’t really work.

“You b-better make this quick-k.” Shadow snapped.

Sonic didn’t even respond before darting out of the cave, too fast for Shadow’s eyes to keep up with. He had to look away from the cave’s entrance, the light quickly hurting his eyes and making him dizzy. He just had to keep it together until Sonic and his human left, then he could collapse back onto the dirt.

He looked back up when he heard footsteps, and watched with apprehension as a towering figure entered the cave. Had Tom been this tall in the GUN facility? Why did he seem so much bigger now? He practically loomed over Shadow, easily blocking off the cave’s entrance just by standing there.

Shadow’s ears pinned back, and he backed away when Tom got a little too close. His quills raised in defense, and a hiss forced its way out of his throat.

“Hey, it’s okay. I don’t wanna hurt you, kid.”

Shadow barely heard the words. All he could focus on was the way Tom raised his hands. It was the same way those GUN scientists used to approach him, as if showing their hands was proof that they weren’t planning on just grabbing Shadow and dragging him back to their labs the moment they got close. Shadow snarled at him, his heart pounding.

Distantly, Shadow heard Sonic’s voice again, but he couldn’t make out the words. Then, slowly, Tom lowered his hands, keeping them down at his sides. He didn’t try getting any closer, so Shadow forced his quills to go down.

“Why are you h-here?” Shadow asked with a scowl. The faster they said what they came for, the faster they’d leave. Shadow wasn’t sure how much longer he could handle standing upright like this.

“We just wanted to check on you.” Tom said. He looked at Shadow the same way Sonic did, but that didn’t make any sense. Why would Tom be worried about him? Hell, why would either of them be worried about him? They had no reason to care about his well-being. “The snow came down pretty heavily last night. Sonic said winters are rough in the cave, we wanted to make sure you were alright.”

Shadow scoffed. They knew he must have been miserable in this cave, why did they bother coming to confirm it? Was it some sort of game to them? Did they just want to see him suffering after how he’d hurt them? Honestly, he couldn’t even blame them. He probably deserved it. He’d treated them far worse.

Sonic must have taken Shadow’s response as doubt, as he said, “Hey, I lived through almost a decade of winters in this cave. I know how horrible it is. You… you shouldn’t have to live through that.”

Was Sonic mocking him now?

“What a-am I meant to d-do?” Shadow sneered. “Not e-everyone has a fam-mily like you. A h-home.”

Sonic looked up to his human with something pleading in his eyes.

Tom knelt down on one knee, now eye level with Shadow. He gave Shadow a reassuring smile. “You don’t need to stay in this cave all winter, Shadow.”

Shadow blinked in confusion. Where else was he meant to go? He could barely move, not that they knew that.

“If you would agree to it,” Tom continued, “you can stay with us during the winter.”

Shadow’s eyes went wide with disbelief. “W… what?”

“We have a guest room back at the house.” Tom continued, which did nothing to clear up Shadow’s confusion. “If you want, you could stay with us until the weather warms up. Or longer.” He shrugged.

Shadow couldn’t believe Tom would actually offer a place in his home for him to stay, but his tone was so genuine, Shadow wanted to believe it.

But he couldn’t forget what happened the last time he’d felt safe around humans. The last time he’d had a seemingly safe place to stay around humans, he’d been poked full of needles, and cut open, and forced to run until he fainted.

For all he knew, there were GUN agents waiting at their house, waiting to drag him back to their labs.

“W-why would you offer that? After what I-I did to you?” Shadow asked. Tom couldn’t possibly look his almost-killer in the eyes and offer him a warm place to stay if he wasn’t getting anything out of it.

Shadow may not know much about humans, but he knew that they were greedy beings. To them, Shadow’s worth came from his powers, nothing more. Tom could hand him over to GUN as revenge, or he could just as easily sell him back to the organization, and call it payment for the suffering Shadow had caused his family. He wanted to believe the offer was real, but he wasn’t nearly desperate enough to risk getting caught again.

On the other hand, if Tom had wanted to hand him over to GUN, wouldn’t he have given away his hiding spot by now? Surely Sonic had told him where Shadow was long before they both came here, yet they’d done nothing to harm him so far.

Shadow didn’t know what to believe- what to trust. He just wanted to go back to sleep.

“Did you mean to hurt me?” Tom asked instead of answering.

“I- no, but-“ Shadow started, caught off guard by the question.

“I forgive you.”

Shadow nearly choked on his own tongue. He- what? How could Tom forgive him? What had he done to earn that forgiveness? Until five minutes ago, he’d thought he murdered Tom over a misunderstanding.

“You made a mistake, kiddo.” Tom said. “I’m not gonna stay mad at you over a mistake. If you need somewhere to stay, you can stay with us.”

Pressure started building behind Shadow’s eyes, and he stared down at the dirt underneath him so neither Tom nor Sonic would notice the tears starting to well up in them. He wanted to trust the offer, he really did, but he couldn’t keep letting himself get hurt by humans. Even Gerald hadn’t been trustworthy, and he’d been the closest thing to a father Shadow remembered ever having.

This was agonizing. It felt as if they’d only come to get his hopes up, dangling warmth and safety in front of him, just out of his reach. He wished they’d just left him to suffer in peace.

“…I… I don’t…” Shadow whimpered quietly.

“I promise you’ll be safe with us, Shadow.” Sonic said. He used that same gentle, understanding tone he’d used when the two hedgehogs had spoken on the surface of the moon, and it made Shadow’s chest ache. He thought he could trust Sonic - the other hedgehog wouldn’t hurt him, even when asked, so he doubted Sonic meant him any harm - but the human Sonic lived with? The other two aliens? He didn’t know them at all, and they only knew him as the Robotniks’ personal attack dog.

And yet… he just couldn’t bring himself to say no. He didn’t know if he could take the risk, but the thought of flat out rejecting the offer had him squeezing his eyes shut to keep his tears from falling.

“I… need to th-think about it.” Shadow decided.

“Do you know where we live?” Tom asked.

Shadow nodded, swallowing back his embarrassment. He… may have followed behind Sonic a few times, always unnoticed, inadvertently learning the location of his home in the process. He’d just wanted to see how the other hedgehog spent his days. He hadn’t actually planned on showing up there.

“Alright,” Tom said without judgment. “If you decide to take us up on our offer, you can come over at any time. Got it?”

Shadow nodded again, his voice failing him. If he tried to speak, he feared the sob caught in his throat would escape.

Tom stood up, nudging Sonic gently. “C’mon bud, let’s go home.”

Sonic cast one last glance to Shadow, his eyes just as worry-filled as they had been when he first entered the cave. Despite this, he said nothing as he followed Tom out.

Shadow waited until he couldn’t hear their footsteps anymore before he laid back down in the dirt, curling up in the furthest corner of the cave he could. The dirt was still just as cold as it had been before. If anything, it had gotten colder, losing what little heat the soil had soaked up from Shadow’s body.

He genuinely considered making his way to Sonic’s home, somehow, and just hoping that it truly hadn’t been a trap. But he just… couldn’t. Tom had seemed willing to help Shadow, but those scientists had been the same way, at one point. Their ‘necessary’ experiments would harm Shadow in some way, and for a very brief period of time, they’d treat him just a little better than usual, claiming that they were only helping him, giving him ‘special treatment’ as a ‘reward’ for being so compliant during their tests. He wished he’d bitten more of them when he had the chance.

Shivering in the dirt, with tears smearing over his muzzle, Shadow fell into a fitful sleep, hoping his little hiding spot would be even a bit warmer when he awoke.

***

Shadow wasn’t sure how many days passed since Sonic had appeared in the cave, but he figured it shouldn’t have been long enough for him to reach his breaking point. Sonic had said he spent a decade in this cave, he’d survived several long winters without any help. Shadow shouldn’t need help.

But he was scared. His whole body was in agony, he couldn’t even curl up in his quills anymore because it was too painful to hold that position. He’d stopped shivering… he didn’t know when, actually, but that couldn’t be a good thing. It wasn’t that he didn’t feel the cold anymore, he just wasn’t… responding to it now. If he stayed perfectly still, he almost felt numb to it.

The cave had filled with more snow, almost completely blocking the entrance now. The snow pile blocked most of the light from the entrance, plunging the cave in near total darkness. That made it easier to sleep, at least.

He was nauseous, no longer feeling hungry, as it was now just a dull pain in his stomach. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to eat right now if he tried. He hadn’t felt this sick since before being forced into stasis.

He couldn’t take this anymore. Maybe he was weak for breaking so easily, but he wasn’t sure how much longer he’d last like this. Even getting attacked by Sonic’s brothers would be preferable to this. At least he’d be warm while getting his ass kicked.

Shadow forced himself to stand up on shaking legs, pain shooting up his limbs with every step. He had to shove past the pile of snow to escape the cave, and he grimaced when he realized he almost couldn’t push past the snow. How had he become this weak?

He took a deep, painful breath before drawing on his Chaos energy, activating his air shoes with what little energy he had reserved. With the way his energy waned quickly, he wasn’t sure he’d even make it to Sonic’s home.

He started running, wincing with every sharp movement. He was significantly slower than he should be, and he was grateful that the other hedgehog couldn’t see him right now.

After several minutes of running (and a few close calls with some cars on the icy road), he stopped in front of a familiar house.

He fell to his knees only a few feet away from the front door, leaning against the rails of the front porch. He didn’t have any energy left to spare, he just needed a minute to recover. He was so close, but he was… so dizzy. So… tired.

His eyes shut for only a moment, yet when he opened them, it was darker outside than it had been when he first arrived. He’d fallen asleep again?

Nobody had spotted him out here? Or, had they seen him, and chose not to do anything? What if Tom hadn’t actually wanted him here after all?

Shadow turned around, considering just running back to the cave, but it was too dark out to see beyond the street. He could barely move when he clearly saw where he was going, he couldn’t make it back to the cave like this.

He sighed and looked back to the front door. He’d come all this way, he might as well see if the human had been telling the truth. If he suspected any ill intent, he’d just run out of the house and find somewhere nearby to hide until morning.

With a trembling hand, Shadow knocked on the front door. The sound was quiet, but he didn’t have enough strength left to knock louder. What if they didn’t hear him? Maybe he’d be left out here until-

The front door opened suddenly, and Shadow barely stopped himself from flinching.

Tom’s eyes widened when he saw Shadow. His eyes scanned over the small hedgehog’s body, his gaze slowly growing more and more concerned. It made Shadow want to squirm.

“Shadow.” Tom said quietly, his tone unreadable. Shadow heard a gasp come from deeper into the house, then Sonic’s voice.

“Shadow’s here?!” The other hedgehog blurted out.

“The more impressive hedgehog dares disturb us?” A separate voice bellowed. Shadow couldn’t put a name to it, but he knew the voice belonged to one of Sonic’s brothers. “I shall-“

Whatever he meant to say was cut off abruptly, followed by Sonic’s harsh whisper of, “Dude, shush!”

Shadow’s ears pinned back. He knew he wouldn’t be welcome here. He shouldn’t have come, why did he-

“Hey, kiddo.” Tom said softly, kneeling down to Shadow’s level. “Are you doing alright?”

Shadow shook his head slowly, and even just that slight movement hurt. He could feel tears welling up in his eyes, and hoped Tom didn’t notice them.

“C’mon, let’s get you warmed up, yeah?” Tom stood up, then moved to the side, letting Shadow enter the house. He looked back, toward someone Shadow couldn’t see. “Can you get a towel?”

Shadow didn’t hear a verbal response, but he did hear someone else walking around deeper into the house.

He hesitated in front of the door. He was… actually being let into their home so easily? This could still be a trap, he reminded himself as he finally walked through the doorway. He had to stop himself from flinching when Tom shut the door behind him. No turning back now.

Just standing in their home, the immediate warmth Shadow felt offered some semblance of relief for the first time in… he didn’t know how long he’d spent in the frigid cave. It became harder to hold back his tears.

Further into the house, the red echidna was glaring at Shadow from where he sat on a couch. Next to him sat Sonic and the fox kit, both sitting backward on the couch to look at Shadow. Sonic was covering the echidna’s mouth, muffling whatever he was trying to say, until Sonic yelped and pulled his hand back.

“Did you just bite-?” Sonic started, but the echidna quickly cut him off.

“What is he doing here?” He gestured toward Shadow. “Why have you let him in? He is dangerous!”

Shadow swallowed back a wounded noise. He’d already known, GUN had never let him forget his potential as a weapon, but he never wanted this. Only one person had ever made him feel like he could have been something other than a tool for destruction, and that belief had gotten her killed. That must mean she’d been wrong.

Shadow didn’t want the echidna to know how deeply his words got to him, though, so he just rolled his eyes and turned away from the couch.

All of a sudden, another human drew close to the entryway Shadow stood in, carrying a towel in her hands. Shadow didn’t recognize her, but assumed that she must be another member of Sonic’s family. Tom’s wife, if he had to guess. Sonic’s mom.

He nearly took this woman’s husband and kids from her, just because he couldn’t control his own anger. He felt sick.

The woman smiled at Shadow, walking too close. “Hi there, sweetie. Can I help you dry off your quills?”

She held up the towel, reaching for Shadow, and-

- Multiple pairs of hands grabbed him roughly, pinning him to the ground before he could run out of the lab-

- “Don’t let him escape!”-

- A muzzle was shoved over his face, guarding the humans from his sharp fangs. It dug into his skin, too tight, he couldn’t speak-

- Shadow inhaled sharply, backing up until he hit the door behind him. He raised his quills quickly, not taking his eyes off the human for a second. She was too close, he couldn’t let her touch him, he wouldn’t let them experiment on him again.

In a split second, Sonic ran to the human’s side. He said something to her, but Shadow could barely hear his voice over the sound of his heartbeat in his ears.

Sonic grabbed the towel from the woman, then slowly began approaching Shadow. His stomach flipped, but he couldn’t back up any further, so he just watched as Sonic got closer.

“Hey, Shads.” Sonic said, his casual tone clashing with his careful movements. “Quick question: is the eyeliner waterproof, or should we avoid it to keep from smudging it?”

Shadow blinked, and it took him a moment to register the question. “…E-Eyeliner?” What was that supposed to mean?

Sonic gestured to his own face. “The red around your eyes. That is makeup, right? Super cool, by the way.”

Shadow frowned in confusion. He’d heard of makeup before, Maria used to talk about it sometimes, but he thought it was just the red stuff she used to put on her lips. Did Sonic think he smeared some over his eyes? Where the hell would he have even acquired any makeup?

“That isn’t makeup.”

“No? Then, what is it?” Sonic asked.

“How should I know?”

Sonic shrugged. “As far as I know, hedgehogs don’t usually have patterns like that. It looks nice, though.”

“…It does?” Shadow asked quietly. He couldn’t remember ever being told that any part of him looked ‘nice’. Humans had always looked at him like he was some sort of freak, so he just assumed he looked… wrong.

“Yeah, man!” Sonic grinned. “It kinda makes you look like a living stuffed animal.”

Shadow’s eyes widened, and a startled laugh escaped him before he could stop it. A stuffed animal? Maria had owned stuffed animals. They’d been small, and soft, and cute. Things that Shadow wasn’t- and could never be. He didn’t know why the comparison was so funny to him, or why, when he really thought about it, it made something in his chest ache.

Without warning, Sonic pressed the towel against Shadow’s quills. He went rigid, waiting for Sonic to do something. He could have used the towel to blind Shadow, or tie him up, or suffocate him. But he didn’t. He began gently drying off Shadow’s quills, wiping away the stuck on snowflakes and simultaneously brushing some stray quills back into place.

It felt… nice, Shadow supposed, to finally get the snow off his quills and fur. His whole body still ached, but Sonic was surprisingly careful, not pressing too hard against any sore muscles or frost bitten flesh.

Shadow struggled not to sway on his feet. The house was warm, and he was still so tired.

“Alright, boys, time for bed.” The woman said, walking back to the couch. Shadow didn’t relax until she was too far away to touch him.

“You expect me to sleep when there is an enemy within our walls?” The echidna protested.

“I don’t see any enemies.” Tom said without hesitation, shocking the echidna and Shadow.

“But-“

“Knuckles, go to bed. We’ll talk tomorrow. You too, Tails.”

“What about Sonic?” The fox kit - Tails, apparently - spoke up, his twin tails flicking anxiously as he glanced between Sonic and Shadow.

“Sonic is gonna stay up a bit longer.” Tom said. “He’ll join you guys soon.”

The echidna, Knuckles, opened his mouth to argue, but the human woman shot him the same look the GUN scientists used to give Shadow when they wanted him to stop talking. Knuckles just sighed and listened to Tom’s command, though that didn’t stop him from shooting dirty looks toward Shadow and Sonic as he and Tails went up to their room. He glared at Shadow even as he told his family goodnight.

Shadow tried to ignore it, but Knuckles’ open aggression made him anxious. Would the echidna try to attack him in his sleep, if he did stay? He knew he couldn’t defend himself, at the moment.

He felt so pathetic. Hardly a month ago, he shoved a planet-destroying super weapon away from the earth single-handedly, and now he was weakened by fucking snow. How did GUN plan on using him as a weapon, if he was this useless?

Sonic dried off Shadow’s quills and fur thoroughly. Much of his fur was still matted with dirt and twigs, and he could feel several of his quills were loose and out of place, but at least he could actually feel his quills again.

“Feeling any better?” Sonic asked, dropping the towel to the floor.

Shadow shivered suddenly, not really sure where it came from, since he was actually starting to feel warm. His limbs still hurt, but it wasn’t actively getting worse, like it had been in the cave. “Somewhat.”

“Here, come sit on the couch.” Tom said, gesturing toward the living room while he entered the adjacent kitchen. “Do you like tea, Shadow?”

“…Yes.” Shadow lied. He’d never actually had tea before, but he knew that it was warm, and that was all he needed to know right now. Tea could taste like liquified metal for all he cared, he wouldn’t turn down a warm drink, and he didn’t want to risk being denied if he dared ask for something else. These people were already showing him more kindness than he deserved, he had no right to ask for anything more than what he was given.

He followed Sonic into the living room, sitting down on the couch with his arms wrapped around himself.

“Sonic,” Tom called from the kitchen. “Do you remember how to light the fireplace?”

“Yep!” Sonic replied, instantly setting to work.

Shadow watched as Sonic sped around the living room, lighting the logs in the fireplace and grabbing a couple cushions off the couch. He set the cushions on the floor a few feet from the fireplace, then moved back to the couch. He gestured for Shadow to join him at the fireplace, letting Shadow pick a cushion to sit on. He grabbed a blue blanket off the couch before finally joining Shadow in front of the fire.

“Here.” Sonic said, wrapping the blanket around Shadow. “This should warm you up.”

The blanket was thick and soft, and already warm from the body heat of whoever had been using it before. Maria used to keep blankets like this on her bed. Shadow remembered them vividly, because she always used the softest ones as the ‘floor’ of her pillow forts, since the tile of the base was too cold to lay on directly.

“…Thank you.” Shadow whispered, pulling the blanket tighter around himself. He was starting to shiver again, but he didn’t know why. He hadn’t been shivering for a while, even though he’d been freezing. Why did he shiver now, when he was finally warming up?

Sonic grinned. “No problem, Shads.”

Shadow let out an annoyed huff. “Don’t call me that.”

“Why not?”

“It’s stupid.”

Sonic’s grin only grew wider. “Too bad. It’s that or Hot Topic.”

Shadow couldn’t stifle a quiet laugh. He still had no idea what a ‘Hot Topic’ was, he never thought to ask either of the Robotniks about it the first time Sonic had called him that, but something about the way Sonic said it was amusing.

His fleeting humor was gone when he remembered the circumstances surrounding the first time Sonic had called him that. He’d almost gotten Sonic and his brothers sucked into a black hole. It was just one of multiple times he had almost killed Sonic and his family, yet they’d still allowed Shadow into their home? Sonic should hate Shadow, but here he was, wrapping him up in blankets and teasing him like all of this was normal, like he was used to opening his home to his would-be murderers.

Guilt made Shadow’s chest tighten, and he frowned as he stared into the fire. “I’m sorry.”

Sonic blinked. “For what?” He asked, his voice filled with confusion.

“I- ugh.” Shadow groaned, frustrated. With himself or his situation, he couldn’t say. “I shouldn’t… be here. I shouldn’t need… help. My presence here is an unnecessary burden-“

“Whoa, okay, stop there.” Sonic said, cutting off Shadow’s words quickly. “You’re not a burden, Shadow, and there’s nothing wrong with needing help. Everybody needs help sometimes.”

Shadow scoffed. Right, everybody needs help, said earth’s perfect hero. He doubted Sonic had ever had to ask for anyone’s help. He helped others, he stopped people who sought to cause harm (people like the Robotniks, like Shadow), he put his own life on the line to prevent mass destruction. Sonic was strong, and brave, and everything Shadow wasn’t. How could he possibly say there was nothing wrong with needing help?

“Even you?” Shadow asked, not really expecting an answer. Maybe that was why it was so shocking when he got one.

“Yeah, Shads. Even me.” Sonic replied, not even slightly hesitant to admit it. He chuckled softly. “Especially me.”

Shadow’s eyes widened. “…Really?”

“Mhm.” Sonic nodded. “In fact, that’s actually how I met Tom.” He glanced over to the kitchen, giving the human a small smile before turning back to Shadow. “GUN found out about me, and they weren’t very happy about me… existing. Heh, guess I reminded them of somebody.”

Shadow snorted despite himself. Briefly, he wondered if GUN had gone after Sonic to kill him, or capture him, and use him as a replacement for Shadow. Knowing the disgusting greed of those humans, he figured it was the latter.

“They tracked me back to the cave, and I panicked, so I ran to this house, broke into Tom’s shed and hid there.” Sonic continued. “I was going to use a ring to leave earth, but Tom found me and shot me with some sort of dart.” Shadow hoped Sonic didn’t notice his flinch. “I passed out, lost my rings, and woke up in a dog cage. I didn’t know how to get my rings back, so Tom had to help me.” His eyes lit up as his grin returned. “We went on the coolest road trip ever!”

“That road trip was not cool.” Tom argued, but he had a smile on his face. “GUN was after us the whole time, Sonic started a bar fight, and Robotnik nearly destroyed our little town.”

Sonic waved a hand dismissively toward Tom. “The road trip had its ups and downs.” He looked back to Shadow. “My point is, I needed help and Tom helped me. And he’s continued to help me since. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Shadow’s ears flattened slightly, and he looked away from the blue hedgehog. It sounded like he’d gone through a lot, and became stronger for it. Sonic seemed so close to these humans, it was hard to believe there was a time where he also avoided them for his own safety. What had he told Shadow a few days before? That he’d spent a decade in that cave? How could he have spent a decade alone in there, then get attacked by humans, and still end up trusting them? Sure, Tom had helped him, but how could he have trusted that, at any point during their road trip, Tom wouldn’t change his mind and hand Sonic over to GUN?

And why had Tom helped a random alien he didn’t know? Did he not see Sonic as a monster when they first met? Was his first reaction not fear? Shadow assumed that all humans feared creatures like them (except for Maria, but she was different. Kinder). Was there a chance that those scientists had been… crueler than most humans?

Before Shadow could get dragged back into his memories of those horrible labs, Tom came into the living room, carrying a mug filled with pale gold liquid.

“Here, bud. This should help warm you up.” He said, setting the mug on the floor next to Shadow. Took a few steps back after he saw the way Shadow tensed when he got close.

Shadow forced himself to relax. “Thank you.” He said, grabbing the mug and taking a small sip of the mysterious liquid and steeling himself in case it was revolting.

Its flavor was actually more mild than he was expecting. He didn’t really know what it tasted like, as it was unlike anything he’d had in the past. The closest thing he could compare it to was the scent of the flowers that had once grown near the GUN base.

He closed his eyes, sighing softly as he remembered lying down in those same flowers with Maria by his side. She used to pick the flowers and weave them into his quills, claiming they made him look ‘cute’. It had infuriated the scientists when they found those flowers scattered across the floors of their labs, and they’d shouted at Shadow for making a mess, but he never once asked Maria to stop.

He looked up to Tom, swallowing thickly when he realized the human was already looking down at him with a concerned look in his eyes.

“I still don’t understand why you would help me.” Shadow said. “We aren’t friends, you aren’t… gaining anything from this.” His eyes briefly darted toward the front door, half expecting GUN agents to walk through at any moment, weapons and glass cage in hand.

Tom’s brows furrowed. “You think we need incentive to help you?”

Shadow shrugged, staring down at the carpet. His muzzle heated with embarrassment. These people had done nothing but help him so far, he didn’t have any real reason to suspect they meant any harm. But there was still that small voice in the back of his mind, screaming ‘what if?’

Tom crossed his arms, a curious expression on his face. “Do you think of yourself as a kid, Shadow?” He asked suddenly.

Shadow’s eyes widened. “What?”

“Did you ever… get the chance to be a kid?”

He asked the question like he knew something Shadow didn’t, and it made him want to curl up in a ball just to avoid Tom’s knowing gaze.

Shadow considered the question for a moment. He never really thought about his own age in the past, as he couldn’t remember anything about his life from before he crashed to earth. Was he a kid? He didn’t really feel like it. The scientists certainly didn’t treat him like one, and the only person to ever call him a kid in the past was… Walters.

Shadow’s ears flattened. “I barely even got the chance to be a person. The scientists only saw me as a means for power, an endless supply of Chaos energy. I was only ever treated well by them if I performed well. Any failure meant… p-punishment.” He swallowed around the lump forming in his throat. “They saw me as dangerous. They- they looked at me like I was a m-monster.”

Sonic looked devastated. His hand twitched like he meant to reach out to Shadow, but he didn’t.

“It’s not like that here.” Sonic said. “Not with us. We aren’t helping you because we expect anything in return.”

There was something so soft and genuine in Sonic’s eyes as he looked at Shadow, the dark hedgehog had to look away. Only one other person ever looked at him like that. It hurt to think about, but Sonic reminded him so much of Maria. He shared her unwavering kindness and strong sense of justice. She would have loved him.

Sonic nudged Shadow’s shoulder gently, and didn’t continue speaking until Shadow looked back to him. “Shadow, I promise, I’ll never let anyone hurt you like that again. Okay?”

Shadow’s breath hitched. Sonic was offering to… protect him? His first reaction was to believe it was a lie, but the way Sonic looked at him, like he was someone worth protecting, made him want to trust it. He didn’t understand why Sonic would offer this, but Shadow had spent so long alone, and he… didn’t want that anymore.

Shadow wasn’t sure when the tears had started welling up in his eyes. He set his mug of tea on the floor, his hands shaking, and covered his face, hoping to hide the shameful tears that began to spill down his muzzle. He struggled to muffle his sobs, accidentally letting one slip.

He didn’t know why he was crying, and he forced himself to hold back as much of it as he could. He found himself tensing, waiting for some sort of reprimand for allowing himself to show such weakness. He knew it wasn’t allowed, he knew why it was bad, and the last thing he wanted to do was hurt Sonic and his family more because he’d been too pathetic to keep his emotions in check.

But that reprimand never came. Instead, Sonic wrapped his arms around Shadow, his touch gentle but firm.

Shadow stiffened when he felt the arms around him, but when he saw that it was the blue hedgehog holding him, he leaned into the touch, letting Sonic comfort him.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been hugged. It felt warm, and protective, like Sonic would use himself as a shield to defend Shadow from everything that sought to hurt him. He let out another sob without meaning to, burying his face in Sonic’s shoulder.

When he took a shuddering inhale, he was almost overwhelmed by Sonic’s scent. It was earthy and sweet, like some sort of fruit, but sharper. Sonic nuzzled against Shadow’s cheek and neck, rubbing his scent on Shadow. He wasn’t sure why, but it was surprisingly soothing, being surrounded by it. It made him feel safe for reasons he couldn’t explain. He let his eyes shut, his small sobs slowly tapering off into quiet hiccups.

The combined warmth of the blanket around him and Sonic’s own body heat made him drowsy. It was only amplified when he felt a soft rumbling against his chest as Sonic purred. He had to force his eyes open again, to keep from falling asleep against the blue hedgehog. He wasn’t even crying anymore, yet Sonic didn’t stop holding him, either not noticing how close to passing out Shadow was, or just not caring if he did fall asleep on him.

Shadow wiped the tears off his muzzle, rubbing his eyes roughly to keep himself awake.

“You okay, Shads?” Sonic asked softly, the quiet clicks of his purr slowly fading.

Shadow nodded. “I’m fine, I just…” he sighed. “I… hate feeling this weak.”

Sonic frowned. “Weak? What do you mean?”

“I’m not supposed to cry like that.” Shadow mumbled, feeling foolish for admitting such a thing out loud.

Sonic’s eyes widened. “What? Who told you it’s not okay to cry?”

“Professor Gerald.”

“You’re gonna take emotional advice from a crazy old man?” Sonic snorted. “I’m sorry to say this, Shads, but you might be a little stupid.”

Shadow laughed quietly, nuzzling against Sonic’s shoulder. “You’re the worst.”

“You love me.” Sonic said, his voice teasing.

“I do not.” Shadow said unconvincingly.

“You wound me, Shads.” Sonic said, finally letting Shadow go so he could flop back on the floor dramatically.

Shadow just rolled his eyes fondly before grabbing his mug of tea.

While finishing his tea, Shadow listened to Sonic babble excitedly about all the things he wanted to show Shadow, since he had fifty years of humanity to catch up on. He talked about all these games he wanted to play with Shadow, and these movies he wanted to watch with him. Shadow just sat there and listened, still filled with disbelief that he was actually welcome here. Not only that, but Sonic seemed genuinely happy that Shadow was here. Warmth spread through his chest, allowing himself to feel the cautious hope blooming within him.

“We should binge watch Star Wars, too!” Sonic gasped. “Or, the first two trilogies, at least. You don’t deserve to be tortured with the third one. The first movie actually came out in the seventies, I think you missed it by a couple years.”

“Alright, that’s gonna have to wait until tomorrow.” Tom said, coming back into the living room. Shadow hadn’t even noticed he’d left. “Get ready for bed, Sonic. I’ll help Shadow get settled.” He grabbed the empty mug off the floor and brought it to the kitchen.

Shadow’s heart stuttered. Sonic would have to leave him alone with the human. The last time he’d been alone with Tom, he nearly killed him. His stomach clenched with guilt and panic.

“Aww.” Sonic protested, his ears twitching with disappointment.

“C’mon, bud. You need sleep, and so does Shadow.”

“Fine.” Sonic sighed. Shadow startled when Sonic wrapped his arms around him suddenly. “Goodnight, Shadow.”

Shadow blinked. “Goodnight?”

Sonic ran to the staircase, calling out a quick, “Night, dad!” before entering his bedroom.

“Ready for bed, kiddo?” Tom asked, turning to Shadow.

Shadow stiffened, looking away. “I’m sorry.” He blurted out, his gnawing guilt forcing the words out of his mouth.

Tom blinked, looking surprised. “Sorry?”

“For hurting you.” Shadow continued. “I didn’t know- I thought you were-“ to his horror, he could feel his previous tears returning. Frustrated, he clenched his jaw, knowing he couldn’t speak further without starting to cry again. He couldn’t let himself cry in front of this human. He’d made that mistake in the past, but he knew better now.

“Hey, I already told you, I forgive you. It’s okay, Shadow.”

No it isn’t, Shadow wanted to say, but he couldn’t bring himself to open his mouth. He was shaking. He didn’t know why, but it wouldn’t stop, no matter how hard he tried to stay still. His body still ached, and he wished Sonic hadn’t left him here. He didn’t want to be alone with a human. He was cold and tired and-

Scared. That was why his chest felt so tight, why he couldn’t seem to take a deep breath, why he couldn’t stop himself from shaking. He was terrified.

Tom hadn’t hurt him or shouted at him, or even scolded him for his horrible acts. He wasn’t acting at all like Shadow was used to humans acting toward him, and he didn’t understand. This wasn’t right.

Tom knelt down a few feet from Shadow, his mouth pulled into a concerned frown. Wordlessly, he opened his arms, and it took Shadow a moment to realize what he was doing.

Shadow’s eyes widened. He searched Tom’s face, looking for any sign that this was a trap, but all he found was that same undeserved worry that Tom had shown since he first saw Shadow in the cave.

Hesitantly, he walked into Tom’s embrace, letting the human wrap his arms around Shadow. He had to remind himself not to raise his quills in defense. Sometimes he forgot how small he was compared to humans, but the way Tom’s arms surrounded him effortlessly was an instant reminder.

He’d always hated it when the scientists made him feel small, but something about Tom’s embrace felt… protective, almost. He didn’t feel trapped in his arms, like he thought he would. But he still couldn’t bring himself to relax.

“You don’t have to worry here, Shadow.” Tom murmured, rubbing a hand over Shadow’s tense shoulders.

Shadow’s chest constricted, his breath hitching as he listened to Tom’s words. He didn’t believe it, he couldn’t believe it. He’d earned their wrath, and he deserved whatever pain they wanted to cause him.

…But he wanted to trust that Tom was telling the truth.

“Nobody’s mad at you.”

He wanted to trust this human. And that realization scared the hell out of him. Humans only ever brought him pain.

“Nobody wants to hurt you.”

But if there was even a chance that he would be taken care of, instead of hurt, or abandoned… maybe it was worth the risk.

Maybe this human was different.

“You’re safe, I promise.”

…Safe.

He was safe.

I believe you, Shadow wanted to say.

But he wasn’t able to speak. He ended up bursting into tears, too many emotions overwhelming him.

Tom didn’t judge him for it, didn’t tell him that he wasn’t allowed to cry like this. He held Shadow against his chest as he let out loud, painful sobs that made his ribs hurt. He feared the rest of Sonic’s family would hear him, but he couldn’t stop.

Shadow clung to Tom, gripping his shirt like that would be enough to keep him there, if he chose to push Shadow away. But he didn’t. He held Shadow tighter, running a hand over his quills in a repetitive, soothing motion.

Maria used to pet him like that. Gerald had always told her that she shouldn’t treat Shadow like a ‘house pet’, but he never minded it. The scientists were never physically affectionate, so he’d always cherished the moments where Maria would cuddle him, and pet him, and brush his quills. He hadn’t realized how much he missed it until now.

Shadow melted into Tom’s hold as his cries quieted. Tom was warm, and the way he held Shadow against his chest was comfortable. Shadow felt a gentle rumble building in his chest, and he shut his eyes as he started purring. He thought he heard Tom let out an amused huff.

“Feeling better, kiddo?” Tom asked, still petting the top of Shadow’s head.

“Mm.” Shadow hummed, not opening his eyes. “Y’r warm.”

Tom chuckled before lifting Shadow in his arms, one arm around his back and one under his legs.

“Nooooo.” Shadow whined, barely awake. “I can walk.” He probably couldn’t, but it didn’t matter, as Tom ignored his protests anyway.

Shadow peeked his eyes open, and watched as Tom carried him into a mostly empty room. It only had a bed against the wall, and another piece of furniture that Shadow didn’t have a name for.

Even as empty as the room was, it was still more than the scientists had ever given him, always forcing him to sleep in that tube of liquid. He’d only ever slept in a bed a couple times, when Maria had successfully begged the scientists to let them have a ‘slumber party’.

Tom pulled back the big blanket, gently setting Shadow on the bed before removing his shoes and putting them on the floor next to the bed. He covered Shadow with the blanket, petting his head once more when he was done. Shadow let out an embarrassingly loud purr, struggling to keep his eyes open. The bed was warm and soft, and far more comfortable than the dirt he’d been sleeping on before.

“Get some rest, kiddo.” Tom whispered.

Right before Tom left the room, Shadow called out to him.

“T- Tom?” Shadow said, only half-conscious at this point.

Tom stopped at the door. “Yeah?”

“…Thank you.” It came out as an almost inaudible mumble, but he’d needed to say it. He couldn’t put into words how grateful he was for the kindness Tom had shown him - especially not now, seconds away from passing out - but he still wanted him to know.

He fell asleep before he could hear Tom’s response.