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It was the middle of the night when Knuckles heard it.
It wasn’t uncommon for him to wake up in the middle of the night, it could have been for any number of reasons. Sometimes storms woke him up, sometimes it was a nightmare, sometimes it was just to use the bathroom, still half-asleep and nearly slamming face-first into the bathroom’s doorway.
Tonight, he hadn’t known why he woke up, but he found that he hadn’t been able to fall back to sleep. He’d turned over several times, pulling the blanket tighter around himself before kicking it off entirely, turning his pillow over to lay on the cold side. Nothing helped.
He’d decided to go downstairs and eat some grapes, hoping a midnight snack would help him get back to sleep.
He only made it halfway down the stairs when an odd sound made him pause. It was quiet, yet high-pitched. It almost sounded like Ozzie’s whining when he wanted to be let out of his kennel. He listened carefully, searching for the source of the noise. Walking further down the stairs, he followed the noise back to-
Shadow’s room.
Knuckles paused outside the door, leaning against it and listening for the noise again. After several moments of nothing, he was ready to turn away and forget about the noise, when it happened again, this time louder.
“…N-no.”
Knuckles frowned. That was the dark hedgehog’s voice, but why was he talking to himself? And what was he saying no to?
“…Don’t. P-please.”
His voice was quiet and breathy, and he didn’t sound fully… aware.
A sudden scream had Knuckles entering the room without a second thought. Normally, he wouldn’t dare intrude on the impressive hedgehog’s space, but he sounded like he was in danger, and as a member of the Wachowski tribe, Knuckles had sworn to protect him.
When he entered the room, his eyes instantly landed on the figure thrashing around on the bed.
“S-stop, stop! No! Maria-“
Shadow was still asleep. He was tangled up in his blanket, struggling against it as if it were the thing attacking him. He was having a nightmare, Knuckles realized. He’d witnessed Sonic’s nightmares in the past, but he never got so… violent during them.
Knuckles placed a hand on the small hedgehog’s shoulder. “Shadow, wake-“
Shadow’s eyes snapped open, and he bolted upright in bed with a gasp.
Shadow backed away from Knuckles with a warning growl, his quills raising and Chaos energy crackling over his body like jagged bolts of electricity. With the thin light from the energy, Knuckles was able to see Shadow’s face. He looked terrified, eyes wide and wet with unshed tears.
“Calm down, hedgehog.” Knuckles said, keeping his voice low. “It is only me.”
The growling cut off abruptly. “…Knuckles?” Shadow whispered, something desperate in his voice. The energy surrounding him faded, and he gradually lowered his quills.
“Are you alright?” Knuckles asked.
Shadow sniffled. “I’m fine, go away.” His voice cracked slightly.
Knuckles frowned. “You are not fine, you screamed in your sleep.”
He heard Shadow shift a bit on the bed. “It’s nothing.” Shadow stressed. “Leave… please.”
Knuckles didn’t leave. In fact, he moved forward and sat down on the bed, right next to Shadow.
A low growl rumbled in Shadow’s chest, but it stopped as soon as it started. Shadow cleared his throat and muttered an apology under his breath.
Knuckles couldn’t really blame Shadow for his reaction to their closer proximity. It had only been a couple weeks since Knuckles had messed up and called Shadow a monster, hurting him far worse than he could have imagined. Shadow didn’t trust him, and Knuckles didn’t blame him for that. They may be part of the same tribe, but he hadn’t earned the hedgehog’s trust.
“I swore to protect you, as you are a member of my tribe. There is clearly something wrong, and I want to help you.” Knuckles said.
Shadow sighed. “You can’t protect me from something that hurt me long before you were born.”
Ah, so that was what the nightmare was about. Knuckles only knew what he’d overheard Shadow say to Sonic, but it was enough to know that Shadow had survived something horrible, and it only made sense that the trauma of it still affected him. Knuckles still had nightmares of losing his first tribe, though he never told their parents that. Only Sonic and Tails knew.
Knuckles hummed. “No, I cannot. But that does not mean I can’t help you in other ways.”
Shadow scoffed weakly. “Why bother? You don’t even like me.”
“I never said that.”
“It was implied.”
Knuckles couldn’t argue against that. “I was cruel to you before, I know. But that does not mean I don’t want us to be friends now.”
Shadow didn’t reply for a long moment. “I… would like that.”
The confession came so quietly, Knuckles almost hadn’t heard him.
“Is there anything I can do to help you?” Knuckles asked.
Shadow shifted on the bed again, his arm bumping into Knuckles’. He thought it might have been an accident, but the small hedgehog did not move away. If anything, Shadow seemed to be leaning into the minuscule touch.
Realization hit Knuckles all at once. Shadow needed contact.
The hedgehog had been locked away for fifty years, meaning he went fifty years alone, without any form of physical contact. Knuckles knew what it was like to go long stretches of time without touch, and even for someone like him, who hated when strangers touched him for any reason, it was very unpleasant. Like a gaping hole in his chest, where the affection of his first tribe was once located.
The same must be for Shadow, right? Surely he and the loved one he lost had been affectionate with each other. But now that she was gone, the only touch Shadow had known before coming to live with the Wachowskis was abuse from the GUN soldiers.
It filled Knuckles with pride, knowing that Shadow was now turning to him for comfort. He’d been determined to make things right with Shadow, and this felt like a step in the right direction.
Without hesitation, Knuckles wrapped an arm around Shadow, pulling the small hedgehog closer to him. Shadow tensed, but he did not raise his quills. After a few long moments, he slowly started to relax, resting his head on Knuckles’ shoulder.
Knuckles rubbed his arm in a way he hoped was soothing, and he had to stop himself from startling when he heard a quiet clicking noise come from Shadow.
He knew what hedgehog purrs sounded like, he’d heard Sonic purr enough times in the past, but he was shocked to hear it from Shadow. The sound was inconsistent, almost sounding like Shadow was unaccustomed to making the sound, or just hesitant to.
They stayed like that, sitting on the bed in silence as Shadow calmed down from the nightmare.
“‘M sorry.” Shadow mumbled suddenly.
Knuckles frowned. “For what?”
“You don’t have to stay with me, you know. It’s late, you could be sleeping right now.”
Knuckles scoffed lightly. “Sleep is far less important than protecting my tribe.”
That got a small laugh out of Shadow. He sounded tired. Knuckles wondered how often nightmares interrupted his sleep.
“You should try to get more rest.” Knuckles suggested.
He felt Shadow shake his head against his shoulder. “Can’t. I’ll just have another nightmare.”
“So, you plan to just stay up?”
Shadow shrugged. “Might as well.”
Knuckles contemplated this for a moment before nudging Shadow gently. “Then I will stay up with you.”
“Wh- you don’t have to-“
“I know, but I have already decided it.”
Shadow scoffed, though it lacked any real heat. “Oh, yeah? And what are you gonna do all night?”
“We could watch a movie.”
Shadow paused. “…That… isn’t a horrible idea. But if I have to watch John Wick one more time-“
“Those movies are fantastic, you are just annoyed that you sound like the main character.” Knuckles teased.
“No, I’m annoyed by how often you all remind me.”
“Actually, you’re going to pick the movie.”
Shadow went quiet for a few seconds, seemingly stunned into silence. “Me? Why?”
“You never pick, not even when dad said you should have a turn picking for movie night.” That, and Knuckles was hoping that watching something familiar to him might help comfort Shadow, though he didn’t mention that part.
Shadow shifted where he sat. “I just… don’t think you guys would enjoy the movies I like. They’re all old and… I guess boring, compared to what you usually watch.”
“I’d still like to watch them.”
“…Okay.”
About five minutes later, Knuckles and Shadow were sitting on the couch in the living room, a large bowl of popcorn between them, as Shadow turned on a movie called ‘Grease’.
***
“Why the hell is the car flying?” Knuckles scoffed. “How does that even make sense? Magic was not established in this universe!”
Shadow snorted. “No idea, it just happened and everyone accepted it.” He shrugged before shoving popcorn into his mouth.
“That is completely stupid. Why do you like this movie?”
Shadow swallowed the popcorn in his mouth before replying. “It was one of Maria’s favorites. I always thought it was kinda dumb, but she liked cheesy romances. And shitty, low-budget horror movies.”
That caught Knuckles’ interest. “Horror movies? Wait.” He narrowed his eyes at the hedgehog. “Do any of them contain ghosts?”
Shadow’s lips twitched, like he was trying to fight a grin. “A couple. There’s this one that doesn’t have any, but it’s really, really terrible.”
“Put it on immediately.”
Shadow chuckled before turning off the terrible romance movie and switching it to a black-and-white movie called ‘Attack of the Bio-Lizard’.
***
Tom yawned as he walked out of his bedroom. Maddie was still asleep, so he went about making a pot of coffee.
As he walked into the kitchen, movement in the living room caught his eye. Someone had turned the TV on, and put on some movie Tom had never seen, or even heard of. But one glance over the couch revealed the culprits.
Shadow and Knuckles were both passed out on opposite ends of the couch, a mostly empty bowl of popcorn separating them. They were both covered in blankets taken from Shadow’s room.
Tom smiled down at his boys before turning the TV off and making his way back to the kitchen. It wasn’t uncommon for any of his kids to struggle with sleeping through the night, so he could guess the reason for the impromptu movie night fairly easily. Although he was surprised to see that Knuckles and Shadow had spent the night together, after what had happened a couple weeks back.
At least they were finally spending time together, and weren’t fighting. They’d both gone through too much pain for one lifetime.
But there was still one thing to be concerned about: Shadow’s taste in movies. Maybe it was for the best that he passed up on picking the movie for movie night. What the hell even was a ‘Bio-Lizard’?