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Shadow couldn't sleep.
This was a somewhat common occurrence, but it was irritating regardless. His eyelids were heavy, his eyes felt like sandpaper, his head hurt, and all he wanted was to sink down into wonderful slumber, wrapped in blankets with the quiet sound of white noise emanating from his phone. And yet, he couldn't. His thoughts, however formless or meaningless they were, kept flying in circles around his mind, swirling around in a convoluted mess that refused to stop, no matter how hard he tried. Too much– not enough– stop– couldn't save– so tired– keep going– stop– idiot– useless– hero? villain? solution? problem?
With a sigh, he sat up, yawning hugely before standing, pulling a clean pair of socks and shoes on. A quick glance at his phone told him that it was a little past two in the morning, and he still had a few hours before the sun would come up and the day would begin. There was no point in calling anyone, because any regular person would be fast asleep right about now. He made his bed before grabbing his keys, stuffing them in his quills, and slipping out of his apartment.
The dark hedgehog trotted down the stairwell, trying to stay quiet to avoid waking the entire floor. The parking lot was full but eerily quiet and cold, which he supposed made sense, given the time– but it still made him feel uneasy. Like something invisible and terrible had come through and stolen everyone away, leaving him alone to deal with the silence. He shuddered and quickly moved through the lot, activating his air shoes and blasting forward once he'd gotten far enough away from the complex.
Flying through the city streets at three-hundred miles an hour rarely helped him clear his mind, and tonight was no different. Or was it technically this morning? He couldn't find it in himself to care.
He skated faster and faster until the neon lights of Central City blurred, though he couldn't tell if that was the speed or his tired eyes. In a matter of minutes, he found himself approaching the green signs at the end of the highway, proclaiming that he was reaching the outer limits of the city. He kept going, pushing himself to go even faster. Red energy swirled through and around him, crackling in the air like electricity.
The growing storm of emotions swelled as he hit speeds rivaling his record, and tears pooled at the corner of his vision. He hated the feeling of being overwhelmed like this, like some weakling, and yet it took all of his determination to not crumple to his knees right then and there, to not skid to a stop in this... field?
When had he gotten here?
Finally, Shadow slowed, stopping himself. He angrily brushed the tears from his eyes, forcing himself to push everything down further and focus on his surroundings. Tall, waving grass encircled him, stretching for miles like some kind of green, living ocean. He could see the faint glow of the city in the distance, though he had to have been twenty miles out. The orchestra of crickets and the hissing of grass came from everywhere, filling his ears with its noise. The city didn't have this kind of noise. All it had was honking horns, people shouting, trains coming and going, planes flying overhead, and a million other things, all at the same time. It made the sounds of nature feel calm and tranquil in comparison.
He let out a sigh, controlling his breathing to try and slow his racing heart. As the loud thumping in his ears receded, the flurry of thoughts did as well, along with the ever-boiling pot of emotions he tried so hard to keep buried. No one could know how many feelings he had on a daily basis, how strong they were, how little it took to set him off. If they did, they would all leave him.
He would be alone all over again.
The dark hedgehog twisted one of his Inhibitor Rings anxiously, a nervous habit he'd developed somewhere a few years ago. The constant noise helped ground him against each new wave of fear, anger, sorrow, whatever came next. He slowly laid down, letting the unkempt grass act as a natural mattress.
Staring up at the stars like this always reminded him of Maria.
Another wave of sadness, grief, and loss all rolled into one crashed over him, too powerful to contain. He bit back a sob, a single tear running down the side of his face before he could stop it. With an angry snarl, he furiously rubbed his eyes and sat up, refusing to give in to the emotion, threatening to drown him. He defiantly looked back up, forcing himself to remember the happy times he'd had with his sister, however short they were.
A streak of white shot across the sky, catching his attention immediately. He hadn't known there would be a meteor shower tonight. With a shaky hand, he dried his face and curled his lips back into his trained, uncaring frown. Another flash of white against deep, deep blue, standing out amongst the field of glittering white stars. Another.
He gazed up, finally feeling just a little better. A tiny smile broke out as another meteor passed, slightly more yellow in color. Only, it didn't fade, like how the others did. Every other one he saw only lasted for a moment, the glowing line appearing and vanishing almost instantly. This one kept going before it swerved, then it stopped moving entirely. At least, that's what he thought, before it started growing bigger and bigger.
It's heading straight for me, he realized, frozen in place. There wouldn't be time to get away– it was moving far too fast. He steeled his nerves and stood, crossing his arms and waiting. He wished he'd gotten to say goodbye to at least Rouge and Omega, but he supposed some things just weren't meant to be. They'd been good to him. Probably the best friends he'd ever had.
As Shadow watched it grow in size and brightness, he had to squint to make it out. He expected to see a rock or something underneath the flames, but as it got closer, he realized it wasn't even on fire in the first place. He also couldn't see if there was anything of substance behind the glow.
With a loud crack, a sound he later recognized as a sonic boom, the light came to a stop before Shadow, the wind from its speed hitting him a moment later. The dark hedgehog's quills fluttered as he held a hand up to block both light and dust from reaching his eyes, wondering how he wasn't a vaporized pile of atoms right now. He slowly lowered his hand, surprise and confusion hitting him when he realized what it was.
It was Sonic, in Super form.
"Sonic?" He asked incredulously, ignoring the ridiculous flutter his heart did any time he was near the other hedgehog. He was convinced by this point that it was some sort of heart condition or allergy that only flared up when Sonic was near him, because he couldn't think of any other explanation. "What..." he forced his face into a deep scowl. "What are you doing?"
The other hedgehog, currently bathed in gold instead of his signature blue color, grinned, red eyes flashing brightly. "Just flying around for a bit," he said, shrugging as he drifted downwards, stopping and hovering a few inches above the grass. "I was bored."
Shadow reflexively rolled his eyes. "So you took the Chaos Emeralds and went Super? I thought we agreed that it was too much power, and that they should only be used for emergencies."
Sonic at least had the decency to look sheepish, though the expression quickly returned to a cocky grin, winking at Shadow. "I won't tell anyone if you don't."
The dark hedgehog huffed and turned on his heel, preparing to skate back to the city. A small part of him didn't want to be alone right now, and at this point he would even take Sonic's company. He didn't hate the blue hedgehog. He simply found his presence extremely annoying in the majority of their meetings, though they really didn't spend that much time together. On bad days, when Shadow could hardly get out of bed, he found himself wondering if Sonic would bring him food, if he asked. If Sonic would sit with him and listen while he cried. If Sonic would stay with him, even if he knew the mess Shadow was hiding under his defenses.
It was stupid that he wondered these things. He had Rouge, and she would do all three of those things and more, if Shadow asked. Against his best efforts, he still found himself thinking about the blue hedgehog more and more often.
He shook himself mentally before taking off, leaving Sonic behind. Unsurprisingly, the other hedgehog was instantly by his side, flying on his back with his hands folded behind his head, one eye cracked open and smiling a wide grin at Shadow. The dark hedgehog changed course with a grunt, trying to throw Sonic off, but he effortlessly kept up, giggling as Shadow grew more and more frustrated.
"Not sure what you're trying to accomplish here, Shads, but it's cute," Sonic teased, flipping to his stomach and idly drawing glowing circles in the air, wind whipping through his erect quills. "I could fly around the planet before you reach the edge of the field."
"Then do it," Shadow growled, trying to ignore the cute comment. He was not cute. "And leave me alone."
Sonic laughed good-naturedly, completely ignoring the venom in Shadow's tone. "What are you doing out here, anyway? It's late."
The dark hedgehog didn't give Sonic the satisfaction of a response, instead lunging towards the golden hedgehog with a snarl and grabbing onto his back. His gloves sizzled from the raw energy coursing through Sonic's body, though it didn't burn him. Without a hint of discomfort or pain, Sonic picked up both speed and altitude, forcing the dark hedgehog to hold on or be dropped to the ground, where he would probably roll fifty feet and injure himself.
Bracing for impact, Shadow let go. It was probably stupid, but the close contact with the golden hedgehog brought the stew of emotions dangerously close to the surface, though it was different from normal. It was simmering now, bubbles rising to the surface and popping in a burst of adrenaline, joy, longing, heartache, accompanied by a hundred other things that he did not want to deal with while clinging to Sonic.
He hit the ground hard, the impact sending pain shooting through his system. As he rolled, he heard a sickening crack, followed immediately by a sharp, tingling pain in his wrist. He choked back a yelp as he slid to a stop, cradling his arm. His wrist was definitely broken, and the rest of his body hurt nearly as bad. Already he could feel his system, fueled by the Chaos Energy woven through his very being, working to repair the damage, but he knew he was in for a long and painful recovery.
A quiet thump sounded next to him, and he sat up, trying to pretend he was fine even as he winced, putting less weight on his left foot. Great. He'd probably sprained his ankle, too.
"That was a little dumb, even for you, Shadow," Sonic said warmly, a soft smile on his face. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," he snapped, turning to try and locate the city. He couldn't even see the glow of the skyline in the distance anymore, which meant he had absolutely no idea where he was.
His night really was just getting better and better, wasn't it?
A searingly hot sensation flooded his body, starting in his chest and expanding to the rest of his limbs. For a split second, it felt like someone was injecting molten rock into his bones, and he crumpled, crying out in pain before it cooled, transitioning into a feeling of warmth. Bones snapped back into place, bruises faded, and pain disappeared. Shakily, Shadow got to his feet.
Sonic was standing behind him, his hand on Shadow's shoulder. The dark hedgehog hadn't even felt it, but now that he could actually stand without being in agony, he didn't mind it. Still, he shrugged the golden hedgehog's hand off, only taking a single step before Sonic's voice stopped him in his tracks, as if it had grabbed his limbs and forced him to stay frozen. He couldn't move, and he wasn't sure he wanted to. Something about Sonic's voice right now, whether it was the influx of Chaos Energy, Shadow's lack of sleep, or something in between was compelling, full, and light.
"Were you looking at the stars?"
"Yes," the dark hedgehog replied, posture barely relaxing as he turned to face the golden hedgehog, tension bleeding from his shoulders. He noticed that, for the first time in probably weeks, he felt no pain whatsoever. He hadn't realized just how bad he was at taking care of himself until there was nothing. Shadow tightened his shoulders again, blanking his face before Sonic could read further into it. "I couldn't sleep."
"I know a better place to see them than out in the middle of a field," Sonic said, floating into the air and extending a hand. "Wanna come with?"
Shadow hesitated for a moment before stepping forward and taking the golden hedgehog's hand, willingly making non-violent physical contact with Sonic for the first time in years. The last time it had happened was after the Time Eater had wreaked havoc on Sonic's birthday, when the blue hedgehog had given Shadow a hug after hearing what he'd had to go through. The dark hedgehog had begrudgingly let him, and he had a sneaking suspicion that that was the moment his strange heart-fluttering-condition-thing had started.
The golden hedgehog tightened his grip on Shadow's hand before flinging him up into the air, catching the dark hedgehog by surprise. He didn't fly more than three feet up before Sonic caught him, carrying him bridal-style. Shadow was glad it was such an awful hour of the day, because he wouldn't be caught dead being carried like this, by Sonic of all people.
"What is wrong with you?!" Shadow yelled as Sonic picked up speed, breaking the sound barrier in only a few moments.
"What? Can't hear you!" Sonic yelled back, grinning in a way that suggested he very much so had heard him, and was enjoying this greatly. The wind screamed in the dark hedgehog's ears, making conversation of any kind impossible. He considered wiggling out of the golden hedgehog's grasp for a second, though he quickly dismissed the idea. If he'd hurt himself falling fifty feet...
He watched as they flew through a cloud, leaving it behind as they continued picking up speed. He was stuck, along for the ride whether he wanted to or not. He resigned to crossing his arms and scowling, though he had to admit he was kind of enjoying the warmth of Sonic's chest. Only, of course, because as they gained altitude, the air grew colder and colder.
Obviously.
They left the atmosphere soon after, zooming towards a pale, white orb that rapidly grew larger as they approached. The Earth had shrunk considerably, but they could make out the continents and huge whorls of clouds, covering the landmasses and oceans. Sonic touched down on the surface of the Moon, white, lunar dust spraying away from them in a cloud where he landed. Shadow was grateful for the alien DNA that made up a good portion of his genes– normally, he despised it and didn't even want to think about where he'd come from, but in times like this, he could appreciate his ability to "breathe", or rather, "not suffocate" in space a little more.
Due to a lack of atmosphere or air, any sound uttered by either hedgehog was swallowed by the void of the vacuum. Sonic beckoned with a hand, bounding across the Moon's surface like a little kid, gleefully launching himself ten feet into the air with a single, powerful jump. The dark hedgehog took small, controlled steps as he followed Sonic, eventually giving up on the slow pace and simply using his air shoes to propel himself through the low-gravity.
After a few minutes of following Sonic, who kept twisting midair, silently giggling, and continuing on, they approached a stark, black line on the surface. It was entirely shadows, acting as the border between where they were and the dark side of the Moon.
I know a better place to see them, Sonic's voice echoed in Shadow's head. He'd assumed the golden hedgehog had meant somewhere nearby, where it would be darker– not the literal dark side of the Moon.
Shadow landed softly next to Sonic, who'd stopped as well and was admiring the glowing field of stars in front of them, arranged in a better display than they would ever find on Earth. A faint blue and purple strip, filled with more stars than Shadow could count, sliced across the sky– the Milky Way. He'd never seen so many stars. Not even when he'd been in the ARK fifty years ago.
The golden hedgehog barely reacted to Shadow's company, only leaning slightly closer. Close enough that their hands brushed, close enough that the dark hedgehog's heart skipped, close enough that he pulled away. He noticed the smallest flicker of a frown cross Sonic's face before it disappeared, replaced once again by the arrogant grin that Shadow secretly loved.
He could neither explain it nor deny it. But something about Sonic's confidence in himself and others was infectious. When he was with the blue hedgehog, he truly felt like he could do almost anything, as long as they were together. Shadow snuck glance after glance at Sonic, whose golden, radiant glow outshone the stars above. He looked otherworldly and beautiful, all without trying.
Sonic turned his attention back to the dazzling array of stars, simply letting his eyes take in the view. The dark hedgehog eventually sat, and Sonic did the same. After a whopping forty-seven seconds (Shadow counted) Sonic got bored again and poked Shadow's shoulder. When he responded with a questioning and annoyed look, the golden hedgehog's face turned a warm red color.
He pointed to himself– I, then to Shadow– You, then... he shrugged, palms facing up. He was asking Shadow a question, and it seemed to be something along the lines of What are we?
The dark hedgehog tilted his head in confusion, staring at Sonic. He thought the answer was rather clear– rivals, right? When he slowed down to think about it, though, the question wormed its way further into his mind. Were they rivals anymore? Did they consider each other friends? That wasn't even touching on the subject of Shadow's weird emotional slop, either.
Finally, he repeated the action of pointing at both of them, followed by a thumbs up. We're good.
Sonic gave a small smile before once again pointing to himself, but this time, there was another gesture. Shadow watched as the golden hedgehog pointed– I, then made a heart with his shaking fingers, clearly nervous, then he pointed to Shadow, the tip of his finger resting on the dark hedgehog's chest.
I
Love
You.
As if a gate crashed open in Shadow's chest, the emotional stew spilled, sloshing over the sides. Warmth and validation and glee and hysteria and excitement and eagerness and fear and above everything else, happiness, crashed through him. He finally put two and two together for the first time, realizing that his heart condition was simply his body reacting to Sonic's presence before he himself knew about his feelings. Very real, very powerful feelings.
For Sonic.
Shadow's world flipped as he saw everything Sonic had done for the last few years of their lives in a new light. That time the blue hedgehog had invited Shadow to a concert, and he'd begrudgingly gone and ended up enjoying himself. The way Sonic made Shadow feel seen and heard, like he genuinely mattered. The way Sonic made Shadow feel, and the way he made Shadow okay with feeling.
Slowly, as if the air had turned to syrup, Shadow lifted his hands, signing each word and ending by holding two fingers up. It wasn't technically grammatically correct, but it got the point across just fine.
I
Love
You
Too.