Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Shadow knew there would be plenty of things he had to step out of his comfort zone for the moment he agreed to date Sonic, and most of those things he honestly didn't mind doing. In fact, Sonic was extremely accommodating when Shadow agreed to any of it; the moment Shadow was uncomfortable and Sonic could tell it was too much, they'd find a spot to relax and either go back to things or just find something more comfortable for the day. 

One thing he really, really hated, however, was the blue hero’s spontaneous thinking and decision-making. Shadow considered himself a fairly organized person, and even if the organization came to be the day of, at least it happened and he's not playing it by ear. He hated playing things by ear. Unfortunately for him, he was dating the one person that made decisions more free than the wind, and if Sonic suddenly wanted ice cream while they were supposed to be heading downtown for errands, then they'd be stopping for ice cream right then and there, not add it to the agenda later. 

If Sonic was suddenly super interested in visiting a store they didn't intend to go to in the first place, they'd be stopping by there really quickly, even if Shadow was in a bit of a rush because he wanted to get to the grocery mart by four to beat the evening rush. 

Shadow didn't want to complain about any of it though, because that was just Sonic being Sonic. A lot of things through these decisions were things Shadow would have never experienced of his own volition, after all, so while new things made him anxious, he'd be willing to try them out. 

He just hated that he let his guard down enough to be disorganized in his own home. 

“Are you sure you just didn't leave it at work or something?” 

“Yes, Rouge, I'm positive I brought it home with me.”

Rouge was laying down on the sofa, watching Shadow pace around their apartment, digging through different areas to try and find the gift bag he had just purchased the day before. Tomorrow night he and Sonic were going out on a date, their first big one, as it was officially their one month of being together. 

Shadow had planned everything to a T; where they'd go to eat, what they'd do after, and of course, the gift he was going to get him. He had the idea in his head for a while, even before he had started dating Sonic, because he had originally wanted to ask the blue hedgehog out after a big night together. Of course plans changed, but it didn't mean it couldn't be special. 

He had even taken up extra hours from G.U.N. to pay for everything, especially after Rouge had sapped a bit of his wallet after finding out how much their trip ended up costing. He shivered remembering how terrifying her eyes looked as she slammed the bill down on the kitchen counter, looking like she was ready to tear him apart. Shadow wasn't really scared of Rouge, he could easily take her on in a fight, but that woman still could terrify him regardless if she put enough effort into it. 

Rouge sat up straight to lean over the back of the sofa, resting her head on one arm as the other dangled over the edge. “Honey, it's not that big of a deal. I'm sure Blue would be happy with just the night out. Hell, he'd be happy even if you two just stayed in.”

“You're the one that asked me what we were doing for our one month. That clearly means it's a big deal,” Shadow snapped. He was moving over a few old storage boxes just to see if for some reason Omega or Rouge, or even himself had placed it away in there without thinking about it. Finding nothing, he let out an annoyed growl, tossing the boxes aside before standing back up. 

“Well, yea, but I meant it by just going on a date or something. You didn't have to go all out for it.”

Shadow frowned, finally turning to look over at his best friend. “Why wouldn't I? I want to show him how important he is to me.”

“I’m sure he understands plenty, hon, if the past few months or so have anything to say about it,” Rouge said. “You don't need to try and blow him out of the park every time. You’re acting like you're still trying to court him.”

“...I am?”

Rouge quirked a brow, giving the hedgehog an unimpressed stare. “You've been planning this for a week straight and dragged me around for hours trying to pick out a gift. Which you've done every time in the past for his birthday, need I remind you. You even made sure that you understood everything about his schedule for this week. Plus don't think I didn’t see you watching those how-to videos on kissing of all things.”

Shadow’s cheeks burnt a bright red in horror. Okay, yes, he may have done some research, but it was for a good purpose. That purpose, mainly being Sonic had made a one off comment about how Shadow clearly had never kissed anyone before, and out of both embarrassment and annoyance at his boyfriend making a rivalry out of their kissing abilities, he ended up spending the next few days after that watching different videos. 

Not that he's actually had a chance to put it into practice as of late. Aside from when Sonic had first asked him out, the most he got was either on his cheek or his forehead. Shadow had stated at one point that he wasn’t particularly fond of PDA when they were discussing some of their boundaries, but even in private Sonic opted more for hugging and cuddling him. 

That was one thing he didn't really understand, but he didn't want to push it, either. He didn't want to push anything, frankly, because he knew how bad it got when one of them upset the other. Despite Sonic’s agreement to work on himself, there was still a lot he wasn't telling Shadow. He couldn't force it out of him, but it frustrated him that Sonic was still hesitant to even open up about the smallest of things bothering him. 

They were dating, and Shadow had no problem talking to Sonic when he needed it. Why couldn't the idiot trust him enough to do the same back?

“Penny for your thoughts?”

Shadow scoffed. “Like that's going to fix the hole you filled in my wallet.”

Rouge held her hands up in defense. “Hey! You both were the ones that ran my paychecks dry. I'm only getting my compensation back. But seriously, what's bugging you about making sure this goes so well?”

The hedgehog rolled his eyes as he walked over to lean on the back of the sofa next to Rouge. “I’m just worried he still doesn't understand that it's okay to be open about things. Especially to me. I want him to know how much I love him so he can understand it's okay to tell me anything no matter what it is.”

“He’s still being stubborn?”

“He thinks I can't see it, but I can tell there's still a mask,” Shadow said with a sigh. He began to fidget with one of the rings around his wrist while the tips of his shoes tried to take turns to burrow into the floor beneath him. “He lets it down more around me, but still nothing fully. All I get is an I'm exhausted, and then we cuddle and he wakes up later completely fine and chipper.”

“He's held onto a lot for years, Hon. It's not an easy one day turnaround,” Rouge pointed out. “It's not that he doesn't want to tell you, it's just that it's hard for him to.”

“What if it's just me he's like that with, though? What if he's able to open up to his friends perfectly fine, but he can't trust his feelings with his own partner?”

“Hey, what did I tell you when it came to being insecure in relationships?” Rouge reached over to gently take one of Shadow's hands in hers, letting her thumb run over his knuckles. “You can't let it fester, you have to snuff it out as soon as you can. The longer you let it sit for, the more paranoid you're going to get, and it's only going to cause an argument down the line. Just talk to him about how you're feeling, he will be there to reassure you.”

“I don't want to be reassured, I want the truth,” Shadow mumbled. “How am I supposed to know he's being honest with me?”

“You won't,” Rouge said. “But that's why you're supposed to trust him. I know if it comes down to it, he will trust his life with you the most, Shadow. Just be patient with him and you'll get there, okay?”

I have been patient with him, though, Shadow wanted to argue, but he knew it would just lead him back to the same spot. Rouge was right, he had to just trust Sonic, but he hated that he couldn't do more for him. Sonic does so much for him that it just felt pathetic that all Shadow could do was wait. 

He was the Ultimate Lifeform, after all, but what did that title mean if he couldn't even keep together his first damn relationship? It doesn't matter if he’s physically better than everyone around him if he can't even keep his own life together. 

The silence that followed between them was interrupted by Rouge’s phone going off. She leaned back to snag it from its place on the coffee table, letting out a curious hum as her eyes scanned over the caller ID. She threw it on speaker, placing it down on the top of the back of the sofa in-between the two of them. “Hey Omega, what's up? You still out and about on errands?”

“I Was On Errands, I May Have Run Into An Issue While On Said Errands,” Omega replied back. “I Am Being Held Captive.”

“What.” Both Shadow and Rouge spoke at the same time, staring down at the phone in mild horror.

“They Demanded To Speak To My Owner, To Which I Told Them I Have No Such Thing And I Am Offended They Would Think Otherwise. They Then Tried To Clarify They Wanted To Speak To Who Created Me, Which Is Even More Offensive.”

“Hey, are you calling for someone to come down here and get you or not?” Another voice on the line spoke. 

Rouge and Shadow looked up at each other, and with a knowing sigh, the bat pinched the bridge of her nose while picking up her phone. “Omega, honey, can you pass me over to whoever that is on the other end?” She turned it off speaker phone, motioning for Shadow to go get ready to leave. 

The hedgehog pushed himself up straight, heading off to his room to clean himself up a little bit. It wasn't uncommon for Omega to get himself into dumb situations when he was alone in public; not everyone knew how to interact with a robot, and Omega definitely didn't know how to interact with people back. Shadow wouldn't be surprised if someone had ended up taking his words too seriously, or if Omega did actually threaten someone. It was usually the first of the two. Omega didn't make enemies for no reason. 

Shadow reached to grab for his own phone when he entered his bedroom, pulling it off the charger and opening it to see if he had any missed texts from Sonic. The two of them had been messaging each other fairly often whenever they weren't together, but over the past two weeks or so their full conversations had shrunken down into an exchange of a few words. 

Shadow was what both Rouge and Sonic, and even Amy would describe as a dry texter. He didn't really understand what that meant, but after enough conversations through his messages with Sonic, he could only assume it was referring to his proper grammar usage. Sonic often spoke with many typos and abbreviations as well as a colorful vocabulary of emoticons. Shadow at some point became too shy to keep asking what everything meant, so he ended up making his own personal dictionary in the notes app on his phone to refer to whenever he needed it. 

At one point Shadow had attempted to be less dry with using his own slang, but it mostly ended up with Sonic teasingly calling him an old man. So okay, no point in using stuff from the 50s, he tried again later to use something Sonic often used. Same teasing. 

He didn't really want to admit that it hurt his feelings a bit, especially when it came to the words he remembered Maria using often with him, so he had just moved on and went back to texting as he usually did. 

They still had full conversations regardless, but Sonic’s messages were beginning to come short and sweet, and at times he'd end up replying hours later if Shadow didn't call him first. His boyfriend had admitted to occasionally forgetting, and while Shadow mostly brushed it off, he couldn't help but worry after the fifth day in a row of it occurring.

He unfortunately wasn't surprised to find that there were no new messages from Sonic, but his boyfriend had wished him a goodnight earlier, so he wasn't too bothered. Mostly. Sonic did have an occasional habit of sending him a goodnight text only to spam him with links to different articles for about twenty minutes after. Bedtime scrolling, as Sonic put it. That was another thing that had weirdly stopped. 

“Okay, Shadow, he’s down at the police station.” Rouge knocked on his door, standing right in the doorway with a hand on her hip. “I found your present for Sonic, too.”

Shadow shut his phone off, tucking it away in his quills, before turning to meet her at the door and usher her out. “Based on the fact that you aren't holding it, I'm assuming its disappearance has something to do with Omega.”

“Yup,” Rouge said with a popped p. “I’ll let him explain what happened when we get there. Everything alright on your end?”

Shadow sighed. “It'll have to be. Let’s get going before Omega gets himself into more trouble.”

___

Unfortunately for Shadow, despite his status within the world, anything that came to legality usually spat itself back in his face. You’d think considering he’s worked with Sonic directly to save everything he wouldn't be looked at with an underlying sense of distrust everywhere he went, especially with those higher up after G.U.N. pardoned him from everything relating to when he first woke up and anything he may have done after, yet here he was. 

He didn't care too much, mainly because the idea of waving around his status as a freelancer occasionally (or at this point full time, with how much he was there over the past two months) working for G.U.N. disgusted him. He did, however, care when it affected those he cared about around him; unable to hide his scowl at the officer eyeing him with apprehension when he approached where Omega was sitting. 

Or, well, was, because that bench was snapped into two. Almost cleanly, actually; Shadow would say it could be considered a free second bench if he had the opportunity to throw in some humor into the situation.

“Why don't you two wait outside while I get everything taken care of?” Rouge offered. “It’ll probably just be a bit of paperwork.” 

“Alright. Come on, Omega.” When Shadow turned to leave, he was stopped by the snapping of some fingers. He sighed loudly, reaching into his quills to pull out his wallet and hand it over to Rouge. “This too?”

“Just until you’ve paid enough stuff to cover what you owe me,” Rouge said. “See you boys in a minute!~”

Shadow scowled, rolling his eyes as he led Omega outside. The robot took a moment to sidestep through the way-too-small of a door, then turned to Shadow who had taken a seat on the bench outside. He raised his arm to pull up a familiar looking gift bag.

“This Is Yours. I Apologize For I Had To Purchase A New One. When I Was Leaving This Evening, It Had Fallen Beneath My Feet And I Tore It On Accident Trying To Pick It Back Up.”

“And I'm assuming you didn't want to tell me because you felt bad?” Shadow took the bag, peeking inside just to double check. All he had gotten Sonic was a newer, nicer jacket compared to the one that they had purchased at the resort; it wasn't a big gift by all means, but he knew Sonic would need it down the line. It wasn't as thick as the one from the resort considering that the weather was nowhere close to being cold yet, but honestly his boyfriend could use a few new items in his wardrobe regardless. 

Shadow had made a mental note to get him more pairs of shoes in the future, too. He had already gotten annoyed enough when Sonic tried to track in dirt the few times he's visited after they started dating. He knew dealing with the doctor was messy work, but come on. At least clean them after. 

“Affirmative. I Went To The Store You Purchased It From And Attempted To Get An Exchange. They Refused. I Refuted By Informing Them Of Their Policies Of Twenty-Four Hour Exchanges, But I Was Told It Was In No Condition To Be Returned.”

“You wouldn't have stolen anything, what did they think you were doing?”

“I May Have Knocked Over A Few Shelves In An Attempt To Grab And Purchase A New One. They Thought I Was Becoming Violent. I Told Them They Have Not Seen True Violence Before, And They Took That As A Threat.”

Shadow sighed, reaching up a free hand to rub at his temples. “Okay, maybe let's avoid going into cramped stores next time without someone there with you to make sure you don't hit anything.”

“...Apologies.” 

“Not your fault, Omega. It's just that everyone in this city is annoying.” Shadow glanced back down into the bag, noticing an extra lump of cloth inside. He pulled it out, revealing it to be a red and black striped beanie. 

“That Is Mine. I Wanted A Hat.”

“I never took you for the type. You need help putting it on?” 

“...Yes.”

Shadow couldn't help but smirk. Omega was definitely, well, Omega. He was a guy you just had to love once you got to know him, so of course Shadow would develop a soft spot for him over the years. The hedgehog stood up on the bench, leaning forward to pull the beanie over Omega’s head. It stretched perfectly, and the robot let out a few joyful sounds when Shadow pulled out his phone to show him what he looked like. 

Just for the hell of it, Shadow decided to take a picture of Omega to set it as his contact photo. He was slowly becoming more tech savvy since getting with Sonic, not always necessarily by his own choice. 

“Man, your phone is so boring, dude! You gotta get more stuff on it,” Sonic had told him once while they were cuddling on his sofa during a movie night. Rouge had walked in the room a few minutes later just as he said that, stolen his phone, and taken a selfie to set as her own photo before the two of them teased Shadow for not having any games other than solitaire. In his defense, he didn't see a point in playing games, he only got it to pass the time when he was stuck in debriefings about missions he honestly didn't care about.

Shadow’s smile slowly faded as he slid back down onto the bench. It all came back around to Sonic, didn't it?

He hated how anxious he was about tomorrow. He shouldn't even be, it was supposed to be fun and something to look forward to. Yet he couldn't help but have the worst feeling of a knot in his gut about it all. 

“Has The Blue Hedgehog Upset You Again? I Can Blow Him Up For You If So,” Omega said. “I Still Did Not Get An Opportunity The First Time.”

“No, it's fine, Omega,” Shadow said. “Thank you, though. I'm just worried about tomorrow, that's all.”

“Well, If You Need Someone To Blow Him Up, I Will Be Here.”

“I appreciate it, but please don't blow up my partner.”

“Aw, you know how much he looks forward to it, Hon!” Rouge had finally stepped out of the station, giving them both a tired grin. “I got everything sorted. Thankfully we haven't been banned from that particular store, Omega just freaked the cashier out a bit.”

“Thank You For Your Assistance, Rouge.”

“Don't mention it. Now…” Rouge flew up and around the boys to wrap her arms around them both, pulling them together, her grin growing wider. “Let's forget about Blue for the night and why don't we go have some fun while we're out here? My favorite bar just opened up for the evening and I still haven't gotten you to try their signatures.”

“Rouge, I'm not drinking before I have a date tomorrow.”

“Babes, you are such a heavy weight! You will be fine. Come on. You too, Omega, I'll make sure they can serve you something special!”

“Hooray! Thank You.”

Shadow sighed, letting himself be dragged along by his friends, off to party into the night. Rouge was right, and he couldn't afford to spend all his time and energy worrying about something that was most likely never going to happen nor even be a problem. 

He could do this. He would be fine. 

Chapter Text

The first thing that went wrong was Shadow waking up late. He couldn't be too upset about that, considering Rouge had kept both him and Omega out until one in the morning, but that connected to the second thing that went wrong. 

Shadow slept through his alarm. 

He wasn't a particularly light sleeper by any means, but he wasn't a deep one, either. It wasn't hard to wake him up if you tried. He tried to check if he had maybe pressed the snooze button in his groggy attempts to wake up, but when he saw that the alarm shut itself off on its own because he hadn’t pressed any button, his anxiety was already spiking for the day, and it was only eleven in the morning. 

Shadow sent Sonic a good morning text before climbing out of bed. Thankfully the apartment was still intact, which meant Rouge wasn't awake yet or she had found something easier to make for breakfast that morning. When he made his way into the kitchen, he found the bat slouching over the island with painkillers and her homemade hangover remedy. He let out a snort as he made his way for the coffee machine, pulling out his personal container of beans before reaching to grab a bowl. “I warned you.”

Rouge groaned. “Shut up.”

“I'm not cleaning up any vomit.” Shadow pulled out a spoon from the drawer as he poured himself his breakfast, making sure to seal the container up tightly afterwards. He turned to lean against the counter, scooping up a spoonful to his mouth while he watched his best friend drag herself over to the fridge to grab a glass of water. 

Once she took a few gulps, Rouge looked over at him, wiping her mouth with the back of an ungloved hand. “You slept in today, I’m surprised,” she remarked. “Did you have a rough time going to bed when we got home?”

“No, I slept how I usually did… I think. I just missed my alarm, I guess,” Shadow said. “Not particularly how I wanted to start my day, but it's not like I had any plans prior to tonight. I think my only frustration is that I had intended to shower this morning.” 

“I can help you with your quills if you're worried about time,” Rouge offered. “Especially with your… sheesh, Shadow, I'm about to make us both a nail appointment. You need to get those trimmed.”

Shadow glanced down at his own hands, running a padded thumb across his claws. “I suppose it's been a bit. I may have neglected them more than I should.” 

“Wait, are you agreeing to a mani/pedi with me?” 

The hedgehog shrugged. “I don't see why not, it wouldn't hurt to be refreshed before my date.”

Rouge made a beeline for her phone on the kitchen island. “Holy shit, I've been waiting for this for years! I have just the guy too that specializes in male mobians. He gives his clients their own private room and everything to help you feel comfortable.”

“I don't really mind either way, you know this. It's just so other people aren't uncomfortable.”

“Yeah, yeah, human raised and all, I get it. Okay there, I scheduled one for both of us in about two hours. I'll pay for it this time just because it's a special occasion!” Rouge danced around the kitchen, hangover no longer seeming to affect her. “I'm going to go get myself cleaned up. I call dibs on showering first, since someone likes to take up all the hot water in the apartment.”

Shadow scoffed. “I do not. I just enjoy the time to myself to think.”

“You get plenty of time to yourself to think, Shadow. You just like how the water feels. You'd sit under an actual waterfall for hours if you could. Anyway, I'll let you know when I'm done.”

Shadow watched Rouge leave without another word, his attention suddenly drawing to his phone buzzing from where he placed it on the counter. His ears perked up, but immediately sank the moment he saw that it was from a work contact instead of Sonic. 

That was the third thing that went wrong: he told them not to contact him today, no matter the reason it may be, emergency or not, and that he would be busy. 

He was getting increasingly more nervous about tonight. 

Shadow only saw the word Robotnik before scowling and muting the chat, then went to open up his messages between Sonic’s instead. Staring at them wasn't going to make anything come through faster, but part of him still hoped. Then again, it was only eleven in the morning, and Sonic usually wasn't up and about until noon. 

Usually Shadow was fine waiting until that message came in, considering he woke up so early every day normally, but for some reason waiting for this one made him so much more antsy. He couldn't place why. 

He hesitated for a moment, eventually deciding to place down his breakfast bowl next to him to type out a message.

Shadow: Happy one

month, by the way. Don’t

forget that we have plans

tonight at 5:00. Love you.

Sonic surely wouldn't forget, reminder message or not, but part of Shadow’s stress eased itself the moment he sent it. He let out a sigh, grabbing his bowl once more to finish up his breakfast so he could get ready for the day.

It was around 12:30 when both him and Rouge made their way to the appointment. They both opted to just walk there since it was only twenty minutes away and Shadow could use the fresh air. He tried to pay no mind to the fact that by 12:55, Sonic had still not texted him good morning, nor even tried to call him. 

The door to the salon jingled upon opening, which caused everyone inside to immediately look over. Most of the mobians inside were female, which didn't shock Shadow too much, but he did feel a bit uneasy at the amount of eyes burning holes into him. He stuck close to Rouge as she walked in further, trying to avoid making eye contact with anyone as he noticed a raccoon pop up from the back, raising his arms with glee.

“Rouge! My friend, it's been so long since I've seen you last!” The raccoon chirped out. “I hope you haven't been cheating on us with other salons!”

“Would I ever?” Rouge let out a gasp, grasping at her heart in mock offense. “I have just been busy, that is all. Buuut, I did finally convince someone to come in with me!” She twirled around to grab Shadow by the shoulders, giving him a squeeze as he pushed him towards the raccoon. 

“Oh, yes! You must be Shadow! It is very nice to meet you. I’m Rowan. I've heard so much about you from your bestie here!” When Rowan held out his hand, Shadow hesitantly reached forward to shake it.

“It's… a pleasure. I assume you two have known each other for a while,” Shadow said. “...And Rouge talks about me?”

“All good things, I promise you! Ah, and yes, Rouge has been coming here for years. She’s my sister's best client. Speaking of such, Rosa is actually getting ready for you right now if you would like to walk over to her station. I can bring Shadow with me.”

Shadow glanced over at Rouge with a frown, attempting to be subtle about the way his body suddenly stiffened up at the idea of separating from her in an unfamiliar place. The bat slowly nodded, giving Rowan a patient smile. “Do you think Rosa can set up in the same room? He's a bit on edge today, so I don't wanna push it.”

Shadow's shoulders sagged in relief. She knows me so well. 

“Oh, of course! I will go let her know, you two can take a seat. You know where it is, Rouge.”

“Thanks, Ro’.” 

Rouge led Shadow to a small room in the back, shutting the door behind her before going to remove her gloves. There was a small basket she folded them into, and Shadow watched closely as she moved the basket into a small machine before shutting the lid and turning it on. “They make everything fresh, like I said,” she explained to him. “I personally like cleaning them up with a fruity smell, but they do have a lavender option.” 

“...Will leather be okay?” Shadow carefully clicked off his cuffs, handing his own gloves to Rouge for her to put them in the extra machine beside it. “I don't want to ruin their devices.”

“They have different settings, no need to worry.” Once Rouge had those running, the two of them took a seat at the work station, Rouge pulling up an extra stool to sit next to him. Shadow wasted no time to fish out his phone to check if Sonic had at least read his messages. He sighed at the unread written beneath it. “Blue still hasn't messaged you back?”

“No. He hasn’t even read it. He never sleeps in for this long, so I don't know if something else happened or what. I'm… worried I might've done something to upset him.”

“Have you two gotten into an argument recently?”

Shadow shook his head. “No, not that I'm aware of. I haven't said anything, either, so I don't know what it is.”

“Is this relationship drama I'm sensing?” The two friends looked up to see Rowan entering the room, while a shorter, more dainty raccoon was trailing after him, carrying a box of supplies with her. 

“Oh, I forgot to update you on that!” Rouge said. “Someone's got himself a boyfriend now~ even if he's being a pain in the ass at the moment.” She gave Shadow’s shoulder a teasing poke. 

“Wh- Rouge! You told them?” Shadow hissed. 

“Hey! I can't vent about your boy issues to Omega! Rosa and Rowan here give me a place to let it out!” 

“It's nothing specific, don't worry,” Rosa, the female raccoon, said with a giggle. She grabbed a seat of her own to sit across from Rouge, while Rowan took his place across from Shadow. “I would love to know who the lucky guy is, though! I'm assuming it's someone from your group of friends?”

Rouge placed her hands up on the table, Shadow watching her to replicate the same. He was hesitant as he watched the raccoon across from him take out a few tools, and flinched when a gentle hand took his. “Sorry, I…” I haven't had anyone but Maria actually do my nails before, he almost said. Shadow quickly shook his head and cleared his throat, trying to relax himself. “I'm not used to this.”

“You're fine,” Rowan chuckled. “Most of the men that come here for the first time aren't. There's such a concern around public decency that they forget to take care of themselves and keep themselves well groomed.”

That wasn't really my concern, Shadow thought to himself, but only quietly nodded. 

“You'll get used to it, Hon,” Rouge said. “Maybe you can drag Blue along with you if you end up enjoying it~ Gaia knows that hedgehog needs to be cleaned up more than anyone.”

Rosa gasped. “No way, Sonic the Hedgehog? Is that who you're dating?”

“I thought I told someone that I don't like anyone announcing it,” Shadow growled with a glare directed towards Rouge. “Specifically because people will make a big deal out of it.”

“Please, people were going to wonder and ask anyway. Life long rivals don't suddenly hangout in public together without something going on behind the scenes.”

“Ohh, young me would have been so jealous!” Rosa squeaked. “I had, like, the biggest crush on him a few years ago. I always thought he was such a cutie, and so strong, too! All those videos on the news about Doctor Eggman? I can’t believe he's able to fight that! Let alone all of your guys' friends!”

Shadow’s ears flattened against his head. He knew Sonic had plenty of admirers always interested in him; that was the main reason why he struggled so much with relationships in the first place. Jerks that loved his hero persona so much to the point where they put him on such a high pedestal of expectations, he could never climb down just to take a breather. He despised the ones that hated Sonic after seeing part of his real self. It only made his partner bury it further and further down, not ever feeling safe enough to come out of his shell. 

Shadow flinched when he felt a foot kick at his ankles. He glared over at Rouge once more, receiving an unimpressed stare back. “Relax tiger, it was an innocent one from when she was a kid. She’s only seventeen.”

“Ah, I don't blame the poor guy,” Rowan said. He placed the nail file aside, moving to grab the clippers again for Shadow’s other hand. “I've had to ban some customers from here after they kept harassing that one friend of yours about getting Sonic’s number. Poor girl, I ended up offering her discounted appointments for a month.”

“Amy?” Shadow asked. “They were harassing her?”

“Mhhhm. The lengths some people go to just to meet their heroes is ridiculous. You all do a lot for us, so you deserve some breathing room and time to live your lives, too.” Rowan pulled away, grinning down at his handiwork. “Alright, now those are some claws! They look so much nicer on you, my friend.”

Shadow looked down at his hands, letting out a satisfied hum. While they were still sharp, his nails were significantly neater and more trimmed down than before. They hadn't even been this tidy when Maria would pull him along to practice doing nails, or when the scientists trimmed them down to avoid getting hurt when he would accidentally lash out during testing whenever they did something that caused him pain. 

“Looking good, Honey! You should get them painted. I bet a certain someone would love that,” Rouge cooed. 

“What's the point if they're going to be covered?” Shadow asked. “It's not like I really take them off when I'm around him, it's only when I go to bed.”

“It's for fun, Shadow! I get my nails all prettied up all the time even if I do end up covering them after. It just makes me feel nicer.” 

“Ugh, fine. Whatever you think would be a nice color on me.”

Rowan laughed. “You got it!”

The rest of the appointment went by with Shadow sitting mostly in silence as the other three of them all talked, thankfully moving on from the topic of relationships and Sonic. When they finished, Rouge took a picture of both hers and Shadow’s hands together, before getting one of them both separately. By the time they paid and walked out, about two hours had passed. 

The two of them stopped by their favorite cafe, Rouge going to order them their usual while Shadow took a seat at one of the tables, pulling out his phone again.

-- 3:10 p.m --

Shadow: [1 Attachment]

Shadow: Rouge dragged

me along. Do they look good?

Sonic: !!! 

Sonic: shit dude

sorry i didnt wake up

till like an hr ago

Sonic: tails ate smthin 

funny so I was up all night

taking care of him

Sonic: they look amazing btw

---

Shadow let out a sigh. He was thankful Sonic wasn't upset with him and had really just been asleep, but of course Tails had to have gotten sick today of all days. He wasn't upset with either of them, Tails was Sonic's brother and if he needed to be taken care of, that's what came first. 

It just sucks that was the fourth unexpected problem of the day that could lead to their night being entirely cancelled. 

---

Shadow: Is he alright?

I can bring something by

if you need me to. We are

still in town, so I don't mind.

Sonic: nah he should

be ok. hasnt gotten

sick yet today so

Sonic: ill just have

knux check in on him

while im out tonight

Sonic: he gets rlly

clingy tho when hes

sick. fair warning

---

“Uh oh, that doesn’t look like a good expression.” A cup and a plate of food was placed down in front of Shadow, Rouge setting down her own things as she slipped back into her seat. “What’s the damage?”

“Tails is sick,” Shadow said. He placed his phone face down, reaching for his meal. He usually just got a simple turkey sandwich when he was here, as well as a side of the cafe’s special coffee beans and then just some water to drink. “He said he’d have Knuckles keep an eye on him, but…”

“Well shit, count me in! You tell him I'll come over and help Knux and then you two will have an uninterrupted night out. How does that sound?”

Shadow frowned. “Rouge, I don't want you to have to use up your night just for that.”

“Hon, all you had to do was mention Knuckles,” Rouge said, giving Shadow a wink. “It’ll be fine. You won't have to worry about Sonic cancelling on you, and he won't have to worry about his brother.” 

“...If you say so.” 

Shadow was still feeling unconvinced, the anxiety of the entire day already ready to barrel him off a cliff. He sent Sonic a quick text back and just tried to focus on finishing his lunch, ignoring how nauseous he was becoming. It would be fine. Nothing else would happen. He was going to have an amazing date with Sonic, even if it killed him. 

___

“Okay, medicine is in the kitchen, water bottles are in the fridge, and Amy brought over some dinner that's easy on his stomach earlier so you can just warm that up in the microwave. Make sure he stays in bed and if he gets sick just remember to clean the bucket outside with the hose.”

Sonic was standing by the doorway next to Shadow, watching as Rouge got herself comfortable on the couch while Knuckles stood idly by, looking a bit annoyed. “I don't understand why I could not be entrusted to do this on my own,” he had huffed.

“You can, Knuckles, she just wanted to keep you company since Tails is most likely gonna be asleep all night,” Sonic said. “Do not start with the Master Emerald shit,” he quickly snapped when Knuckles opened his mouth to argue. 

“Aw, come on, Knuckles, we’ll have fun, I promise!” Rouge chirped. “I have some good movies lined up for us tonight and everything!”

Knuckles let out an annoyed sigh. “Fine, whatever lets you have some peace of mind tonight.”

“Thank you!” Sonic turned to head out the door with Shadow, but suddenly paused, whipping back around. “So help me, you better make sure this place is spotless by the time I get back.”

“Will do! Get on outta here, you two!” Rouge waved from her spot, blowing both the hedgehogs a kiss as Sonic shut the door behind them and locked it with a sigh.

“...What are they planning on doing that would make a mess?” Shadow asked.

“I don't want to know, Shads, I really don't. Anyway!” Sonic stretched his arms out above his head, turning to his boyfriend with a giant grin. “Happy one month! I can't believe it's been that long already. I know I like stuff going fast, but I kinda felt like it's been going too fast!”

Shadow smiled. Finally, finally, the stress from the day was being lifted from his shoulders. Just seeing Sonic alone made his heart skip a beat. It didn't help that he hadn't actually properly spoken to his boyfriend for over a day or so now, mostly just through scarce text messages. It was kind of sad that he missed hearing Sonic’s voice so quickly, but that didn't matter now. 

Sonic was here, and he had Sonic’s full attention. 

“I don't know if you noticed, by the way.” Sonic spun a little bit, particularly holding out his hands and kicking out his shoes. While the gloves weren't much different from his usual ones, he was wearing red dress shoes. He even had a red bow-tie wrapped around his neck to match. “I felt too stuffy in the suits Ames picked out, but when you told me we were going to a nice place, I figured I'd have to wear something.”

“Ah… I hadn't even thought about that,” Shadow grumbled. He really hadn’t, he was at least cleaned up and looked decent, but seeing Sonic take an extra step just to make their date better…

Well, one, he was extremely happy about it, there's no denying it. He was also unfortunately frustrated by the oversight. It didn't matter, Sonic looked great. Sonic always looked great, but he looked especially great. 

“Hey, someone got his nails all painted and you still cleaned up. I think you look amazing.” Sonic leaned in, giving Shadow a small peck on his cheek. “Smell amazing, too. I love the lavender.”

“Thank you. You look amazing as well.” When Shadow tried to return a kiss back, Sonic seemed to stiffen up for a moment. He kept it to a quick kiss on the cheek before pulling away, struggling to hide the frown that was attempting to form. “Shall… shall we get going?”

“Yeah! Sounds good.” Sonic took Shadow’s hand in his, still grinning from ear to ear. “You wanna walk or teleport us there?”

“We can just teleport. I don't want you to have to run and mess up your outfit.” Shadow squeezed Sonic’s hand, reaching into his quills to pull out the emerald he kept safe on him at all times. 

Moments later, the two found themselves in front of the restaurant Shadow had picked out for them. It wasn't super fancy by any means, but still a nice place, with focus on cuisine from Soleanna. Shadow had found this place specifically after hearing about a trip Sonic had made to the country some time ago, and how much he enjoyed visiting. While he didn't talk too much about the food there compared to everything else, Shadow was still hoping that Sonic enjoyed and perhaps even missed some of it. He had even gone the extra mile to make sure the food was authentic, after all. 

It took about an hour long internet search about the owners of the establishment to find out that they were born and raised in Soleanna and moved over to start a restaurant since there weren't many here. Shadow’s head still hurts from how much fact-checking he had to do. 

“Shit, Shads, this is a nice place,” Sonic remarked as they were seated. “I almost feel too poor eating here!”

Shadow frowned. “You know I'm covering the bill. You don't need to worry—”

“Dude, no, it was a joke. I just meant this place looks really, really nice,” Sonic said. “You don't have to cover all of it either, by the way. I don't mind.”

“No, I said I was treating you tonight, so I'll do it.” 

Sonic shrugged. “Sounds good to me. Rouge still bleeding you dry?”

Shadow rolled his eyes. “Of course she is. The bill was a month's worth of her paychecks. Thankfully I should be out of debt to her by next week.”

“Haha… sorry, I really didn't think that through when I was getting us everything. I thought it would all be covered.”

“It's fine. Just be thankful you aren't the one she chewed out after she received the bill.”

The two of them ordered drinks and Sonic got them an appetizer to try out and share. After looking through the menu for a few minutes, Shadow just decided on a salad, while Sonic was still taking his time to figure out what he wanted. “Soo… how have you been?” He asked, not looking up from his place in the menu.

You would know if you actually tried to text me back and didn't send three word long messages. Shadow bit back the petty comment that threatened to come out, folding his hands together out on the table in front of him. “I've been fine. Took a few extra missions from G.U.N., but they weren't really a big deal. They honestly could've just been assigned to a lower ranking agent but I wanted the money.”

“That's good, that's good.”

“...How have you been? It's been a few days since we've properly talked.”

“Good.”

“...Nothing new happening?”

“Not really.”

Shadow was going to throw him into a wall. 

He reached across the table, grabbing at the menu and pushing it down until the back of it smacked against the cloth covered surface. Sonic looked up at him, brows furrowed together in confusion. “If you're going to talk to me, focus on me while you're doing it, or figure out what you want to eat first,” Shadow said. “Stop trying to do both at the same time.”

“Jeez, okay. I was just trying to make small talk.” Sonic scanned over the menu for a second before snapping it shut. “There, I figured out what I wanted. Happy?”

Shadow sat back in his chair. “Yes. Now can you answer my question properly?” 

“I said I was doing good. Nothing’s really happened. What more do you want me to add?” Sonic asked. “I've literally just been taking care of Tails over the past twenty-four hours. I don't think you wanna hear me go into detail about how sick he got at two in the morning that I almost considered taking him to the hospital.”

God forbid I want to know what my boyfriend does when we aren't talking and hanging out. Shadow dug his fingers into his wrist. He can't screw this up by getting mad over something stupid. This was supposed to be a good night. Yet now he was thinking about the way Sonic stiffened up earlier when Shadow tried to kiss him, and the way Sonic looked so exhausted when he and Rouge had arrived at his place before he quickly threw the mask back on. 

He also thought about the words said to him earlier during his appointment about the extents people would go to just to meet their heroes. Just to be with their heroes. The pedestal that they put them on. He wouldn't consider Sonic his hero by any means; he’s been saved plenty of times before by him, sure, but Shadow wouldn’t put him under that definition. 

At least he thought so, but he was beginning to wonder if maybe he had. 

“You okay, Shads? I’m sorry, I didn't mean to sound snippy there. It was just a long night for me.” 

Shadow shook his head. “No, it's fine. I'm sorry. I've just been worried about you.”

Sonic reached his hand over the table to place it on Shadow’s. “Hey, I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me, okay?” When Shadow looked up to meet his boyfriend's eyes, he hated that he could tell how forced the smile was. Why are you keeping so much together all the time? 

“Have you found any good doctors yet?” Shadow asked. 

Sonic’s smile immediately vanished. He pulled his hand back and sunk into his seat. “Oh. Um. About that.” 

I knew it. “Sonic, you promised—”

“I know, I know, I'm just, uh… I'm working on it.” 

“It's been a month. You said you were going to work on yourself.” 

“I have been! In my, um, own personal way!” Sonic said. “I go on walks, I take time to myself, I'm eating and keeping myself hydrated…”

“That's not what I meant and you know it,” Shadow snapped. “If you don't want to find someone, that's fine, I'm not going to force you, but the least you could do then is talk to me.”

“Talk to you about what, dude? Literally nothing's been bothering me! If something was bugging me then I would, I promise!”

“Then why have you been pulling away so much? Why have our messages for the past two weeks been so dull and lifeless? I haven't even gotten your bedtime scrolling links lately! You’ve kissed me on the mouth only twice since you first asked me out!”

Sonic shrank further into his seat, his eyes fixed on the table while he pinned his ears back. “I-I’m sorry, I… I can do better,” he mumbled out, his voice quivering. “I'm sorry.”

Shadow's eyes widened. No, fuck—

“Sonic I- I didn't mean—”

He was cut off by a chorus of screaming followed by a loud crash. The two of them looked over to see numerous people running away in their direction, while a group of robots flew down from the sky, landing to attack anyone and anything that got in their way. 

“Eggman,” Sonic breathed out. “What the hell is he doing?” 

And tonight of all nights! Damnit! Shadow cursed under his breath, quickly pushing himself to his feet. “Being idiotic, clearly.” He looked over to see Sonic getting to his feet, adjusting his shoes while grumbling under his breath. “Wait, are you just going to run in there?”

“Well, yeah, it's what I do. You handle anything that's back here and make sure people get to safety,” Sonic said. He turned to leave, but in a panic, Shadow reached forward and grabbed him by the wrist.

“Can we talk about all of this later?” He asked. Damnit, now is not the time, Shadow. People are getting hurt. “Please.”

Sonic stared at him for a moment, and Shadow loosened his grip. “I'll see you in a bit,” was all Sonic said before he ran off. 

Shadow watched him go without moving an inch. He saw robots be smashed apart in a flash of blue before slowly fading into the distance, to wherever Doctor Eggman had situated himself. 

I'm such an idiot. I can't believe I did that. 

Shadow pulled out his wallet, tossing a twenty on the table just to make up for them leaving in the middle of their service, before he dashed forward to follow. 

Well, there was lucky problem number five of the day.

Chapter Text

Shadow had to admit, smashing Eggman's robots was always therapeutic for him. Nothing brought him more peace of mind than watching the machines stagger back before crumpling into metal parts and hearing the doctor shout in frustration in the process. Grabbing the head of one and throwing it into another, he landed himself in the ground before ushering away a few mobians that had gotten caught in the crossfire. He was still incredibly frustrated, but at least something was keeping his mind busy. 

For the most part, anyway, as he turned his head to watch Sonic in action. He had managed to catch up to the blue hero, who was still making his way down the line of enemies. Green eyes glanced back to meet his as Shadow kicked away a robot that was attempting to sneak up behind him. “Didn't think you were gonna show,” Sonic said. 

“Of course I was going to help. Why wouldn't I?”

“Dunno, wouldn't put it past you to try and put a stupid conversation before the lives of innocent people.” 

Shadow gaped at him. What the hell?

“Ah, there you are!” A loud voice boomed from ahead, both hedgehogs turning their heads to see the culprit behind this entire mess slowly lowering himself down inside one of his egg mobiles. “Oh-hoh! You even dressed up all nicely for me today, Sonic! How considerate!”

“Hey, I gotta look my best while I send you running, Egghead!” Sonic shouted back. “What’s your issue for today? Didja wake up on the wrong side of the bed? Your omelette was too cold?” 

“Oh shut your blue rat trap! I'm actually not even here for you!” Eggman snapped. “I am currently in need of a chaos emerald for my latest scheme, and all of my sensors have detected the nearest one in the area was right here in the city! Good evening to you, Shadow! I'm impressed you haven't dropped off the side of the Earth yet.”

Shadow ducked as a robot swung its arm above him, kicking his legs out as it tumbled to the ground. He scowled, glaring back up at the doctor. “What the hell are you going on about?”

“You think I'm not keeping an eye on you pests all the time? I saw you moping about for a month straight! Honestly, I should've taken the opportunity to destroy you then, but I was convinced you were going to do it yourself!” 

What?

Shadow wasn't sure if he had heard him correctly, nor did he realize his name was being shouted until pain struck his backside as rough hands grabbed his arms, barreling him across the concrete. His ears were ringing from the blast, eyes blinking to try and clear the blurriness from his vision. He finally could make out the form of Sonic above him, his own eyes scrunched with concern as he shook the darker hedgehog beneath him, giving him a gentle smack to his cheek. 

“Shads! Shadow! Did you not hear me?”

Shadow swallowed, reaching up a hand to rub at a temple, trying to ease his dizziness. “S-Sorry, I didn't—”

Sonic clicked his tongue, turning to push himself back up as he glared towards Eggman. “Alright, Robotnik, that comment was way too far. I don't know what you're trying to do and frankly, right now I don't care.”

“Oh boo-hoo, did I hurt poor Shadow’s feelings so much that even you have to drop the nickname? How pathetic that such a small thing can tear down The Ultimate Lifeform so quickly! And why do you care so much, anyhow? You can't go five minutes without needing to bicker!”

Shadow slowly sat up, watching Sonic crack his knuckles while taking a few steps towards the doctor. “I thought you were keeping an eye on us. Maybe I can give you credit for staying out of our private lives more than I thought! Maybe it's a good thing we weren't exactly public nor private.”

Eggman sat back in his seat, brows crinkling as realization slowly dawned over his features. The older man scowled, letting his hands fall back to the controls. “Figures. I should have known introducing you both would come back to haunt me eventually. Regardless, the question still stands. I've known you for long enough, Sonic, we both know this is a pathetic thing that won't last longer than a few more days.”

Shadow couldn't help but wince at the words. He looked from Eggman to Sonic, whose lips were curled back into a snarl at that point, hands gripping into fists. Before another word could be said, several of the doctor’s fleet raised their arms to fire directly at Shadow. The darker hedgehog held up his own to block the blow, but he found himself scooped up by Sonic just as the ground where he once sat was exploded into chunks of concrete. 

Shadow flinched, arms wrapping around Sonic’s neck as the blue hero dashed around a corner, narrowly avoiding the blast from several more robots behind him. He skidded to a stop, letting Shadow drop to his feet. 

“I would have been fine,” Shadow huffed. “You didn't have to do that.”

“You were acting like a sitting duck, the fuck do you mean you would have been fine?”

“I would have just teleported away if you hadn't grabbed me.”

“Bullshit. You were clearly just going to tank the blow. What is going on with you today?” 

Shadow looked away. Our relationship… a pathetic thing that won't last more than a few more days…

Is that why Sonic’s been pulling away?

Was… was he planning to—

“I know that look. Don't tell me you believe what he said,” Sonic said. “It’s Eggman, Shadow. He's just trying to get under your skin. I know the joke was fucked up, but you of all people should know he's just talking crap.”

“It’s just… earlier, and the past few weeks,” Shadow began.

“Oh my Gaia, Shadow, we are not having this conversation right now!” Sonic threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. “My mental well-being and our fucking relationship should not come first before making sure Eggman doesn't destroy the city and take over the world!”

“I'm not saying that!” Shadow snapped. “You aren't even listening to me anymore, I'm just trying to express that I'm worried about my own damn boyfriend!”

“And I appreciate it, I really do, but I'm telling you that there's nothing for you to be worrying about! I'm a grown adult and I can take care of myself!”

“You are completely missing the point, Sonic! I don't even know if you even care about me or even want to be with me because the past two weeks you've damn well failed at showing it!”

“Well sorry for trying to be a good friend and older brother to the people I've known for longer!”

The two of them ducked in tandem as more of Eggman’s fleet managed to find where they had hidden. Shadow glared back at Sonic before teleporting behind, kicking them both to the ground and effectively destroying them in the process. “You haven't learned a single thing,” he said. “And that hurts, because you promised. That's all I was trying to say.”

Sonic’s anger was quick to morph into fear. “I— Wait, I didn't mean to actually hurt you—”

Shadow shook his head. “No. You're right, we shouldn't be having this conversation now. I'm sorry for bringing it up. The doctor just struck a nerve more than I expected him to. You distract him from the front and I'll try to get behind him and knock him down.”

“Shadow—”

“Now is not the time for damage control. Get going.” Shadow teleported away without another word, landing on a ledge just a building down from where Eggman was floating. I'm getting reckless about all of this. He's right, the doctor is just talking to talk and get under our skin. I just hate that it's working. 

I can't believe that idiot’s made me lower my guard that much. Pathetic. 

No more thinking about relationship stuff right now, Shadow. You have a job to do. A promise to fulfill. 

Letting out a shaky exhale, Shadow carefully approached the ledge to study the environment before him. Sonic had popped out from his hiding spot moments later, shouting out a taunt towards Eggman that he couldn't exactly make out. It shouldn't bother Shadow seeing how easily his partner was able to switch back into his hero mindset, he should be thankful that Sonic got his head back in the game. 

Why won't his thoughts stop running, damnit! He mentally smacked himself before taking a few steps back to ready a jump towards the doctor, yet just as he began to leap, a robot suddenly slammed itself into the ledge below him. Momentum thrown off, Shadow stumbled forward and over the edge. He was about to teleport his way back to safety when metal claws snapped themselves around him, a choked gasp escaping from his throat as his entire body was threatened to be punctured. 

“Ah-ah-ah, Shadow! I've been tracking you this entire time, remember? A cheap trick like that won't work on me.” The robotic arm swung itself around to face Eggman, his usual cheap, oh-so cocky grin running itself from ear to ear. “It’s unlike you to be so sloppy! Is my grandfather’s greatest creation finally losing its touch?”

Shadow bared his fangs, spitting, “Chaos—” Sharp metal squeezed around him tighter, cutting off his words with a cough while earning an eager chuckle from the doctor before him. A strange wave of exhaustion washed over him, his body feeling almost too relaxed in a way that made him feel sick. Even if he could move enough to struggle in his binds, energy refused to source his muscles any movement. 

“It’s good to see my new tech working! There aren’t very many viable test subjects to use it on, but I was fairly confident it worked anyway! After all, it's no different than those clunky bracelets you treat as a poor fashion statement.”

Shadow’s stomach churned uncomfortably as he slumped forward. A large, oversized inhibitor? It's no wonder he couldn't do anything. But… I shouldn't feel this exhausted. I have to get out of this thing before it kills me!

A weak flick of his ear picked up his name being shouted. Shadow turned his head to see Sonic still fighting, but taking a moment to stop in his tracks to stare up at him in confusion. “What are you doing? Break out already and get down here!” 

“You can have him back when he relinquishes the chaos emerald to me!” Eggman shouted back. “What’ll it be, Shadow? You know it'll be more painful if I tear it out from those quills of yours myself.” 

Shadow glared back at him. “You think I care about that? Over my dead body, doctor. You'll have to put up a better fight than that to get what you want.”

Eggman scoffed, just as he twists the arm around to hang Shadow upside down. “Need I remind you that you are in no position to be threatening me right now?” One shake, nothing falls. Shadow holds back the urge to be sick. “You are completely at my mercy, hedgehog. I prepared more than enough for this.” A second shake, his wallet plummets. Damnit, I'm going to have to get that all reissued. 

He glanced towards Sonic who seems to be watching him nervously. The realization that Shadow was stuck most likely dawned on him now, and all the darker hedgehog could do was hope that his partner was figuring something out and fast. On one hand, Shadow could just give up the emerald knowing that they'll be able to regroup and retrieve it later, but there was no knowing what Eggman wanted to do with it. It wasn’t a risk he was willing to take. On the other, he wasn't sure how Sonic was going to get up to him easily without having to dodge an onslaught of robots blowing his head clean off.

A strange glint to his eye caused Sonic to pause. A quick glance past them both before stumbling back, ducking beneath the swing of an arm. “Shadow, just give him the damn thing already! I can only hold these off on my own for so long!”

What? Shadow's eyes widened as he strained his neck back to get a better look at the ground below. Sonic seemed to be doing fine; moving a bit slower, sure, but there was no way he was actually losing steam, was he? 

“Ohohoho! Is our great hero tiring himself out already?” Eggman sneered. “I expected you to be able to go for longer!” 

“Hey, it's a lot against one guy! I—ooh, ouch! I think I caught my ankle on something, too!”

…No, he just had really bad acting skills.  

Shadow had to resist the urge to visibly relax, knowing if he did so the doctor would likely catch on, and turned his gaze back around to glare at him. “Put me down and I’ll give you the emerald.” 

“I think not! Emerald first and then I’ll put you down.”

A sigh. “Fine, emerald first.” He winced as the arm swung him back around to face Eggman directly. A large hand roughly grabbed him by the quills and Shadow had to bite down on his tongue to prevent himself from injuring the doctor’s hand. It took a moment until it was finally tugged out, its green glow reflecting off both their expressions. 

“Now then, was that so hard?” Eggman leaned back, a sadistic grin already beginning to form as he eagerly pushed a button on his control panel. “Have a fun trip down!”

He's not putting me down—

Shadow’s arms swung out in panic as he was released from his bindings. His eyes widened in horror as he found the ground beneath him getting closer and closer, yet no matter what he did his energy from before would not return to him. I can't- I can’t teleport! I can't slow myself down either—

Suddenly stopping midair, his breath hitched. He was slowly lowered to the ground as Sonic ran over to meet him, catching him in his arms as the strange, familiar teal glow faded from his body. 

“Cutting it a little close, Silv!” Sonic gently rested Shadow on the ground, holding him close as a familiar, silver quilled hedgehog flew and landed down beside him.

“Sorry, sorry! I was making sure all of the other robots were taken care of. It's a lot to focus on at once.” A quick step to the side and a clap of both hands, the rest of Eggman’s army was quickly clumped together and shoved into a giant metal ball. 

“You—! You mangey little bastard!” Eggman shouted, slamming his fists down on his panel. “Those took ages to put together!”

“Hey and Silver only took them down in a matter of minutes! That's a new record for him!” Sonic said. “I mean his previous best time was what? Ten minutes?”

“Ten minutes and thirty-two point five seconds, actually,” Silver said. He suddenly deflated, putting his hands on his hips with a pout. “Aw, wait, I should've brought my stopwatch with me. I wanted to show off next time we saw each other.”

“Aw, I'm sure Tails has something we can use!”

A light caught Shadow's eye as the two hedgehogs with him went back and forth. He suddenly pushed himself up, grabbing at Sonic’s arm to pull him down as a laser fired directly towards them. It was easily eaten up by a psychokinetic forcefield, and as Silver slowly lowered his arms with a glare, Eggman quickly raised a shield of his own over his carrier before backing away and beginning to flee.

“That bastard!” Shadow attempted to shove himself to his feet only for his legs to give out, falling forward as Sonic quickly dove to catch him. “He still has the emerald! Don't let him get away!”

“I’ll go after him, you stay here!” Silver leapt into the air and dashed after, leaving both hedgehogs in the dust as Sonic helped Shadow back into a sitting position. 

“Are… are you okay? What happened?”

Shadow grit his teeth, swallowing the bile that threatened to come up. He pushed Sonic away, trembling while barely rising to his feet. “I'm fine, we need to go after him.”

“What? No, dude, Silver can handle him. You look like you got the life sucked out of you! You are not running after him,” Sonic said. 

“I would’ve had him if I didn't let him get to my head!” Shadow spat. “That was the stupidest move I've ever pulled-”

“He was clearly targeting you, Shads. We had no idea what he had up his sleeve.”

No, no it shouldn't have happened! I shouldn't have gotten trapped like that, I shouldn’t have been almost blasted to pieces like that! It's all because of what that fucker said… no, it's all because of that damn date that I haven't been able to focus at all! 

When Sonic attempted to reach for him, Shadow smacked his arm away with a glare. “You know what? Maybe if you had done what I actually asked for you to do then we wouldn't be in this situation!” 

“Wh- What are you talking about? If this is about earlier then I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to upset you.”

“Sorry isn't good enough, Sonic! This entire evening wasn't supposed to go this way!”

“Are you seriously blaming me for Eggman attacking in the middle of our fucking date?” Sonic snapped. “Do you think I can just control when he decides to do things? Like, ‘oh, I'm really bored today, I hope that crazy egghead attacks the city!’?”

“Maybe if you didn't keep rubbing it in my face that you have better priorities than me!” Shadow spat. “Do you think I'm fucking dense? I'm not going to just ask you to pause and fix things while people are at risk.”

“You were the one that kept bringing it up! What did you expect me to think?”

“All I asked was for us to have a conversation after everything! You could have just given me an answer instead of blowing me off and then giving me sarcastic remarks after!”

“Fucking hell, I’m sorry!” Sonic shouted. “Okay? I'm sorry. I said something I shouldn't have in the moment. Can you please get off my ass now?”

Shadow fell silent, glancing away as his arms slowly wrapped around to hug himself. Sonic threw his hands up with a scowl. “Okay, you know what? Silver should be back soon. I'm going home and letting everyone know what happened. You two can update us later.”

He's leaving. 

Shadow didn't say anything as Sonic sped off. He swallowed the lump forming in his throat as he sat back down on the ground, burying his face into his hands, waiting for Silver to come back. 

Please don't leave. 

Chapter Text

What was a few minutes felt like hours when Silver finally returned. Shadow had to turn and face away, unable to determine if his face was red and puffy from crying or not as the silver hedgehog landed next to him. 

“Shadow? What happened? Where’s Sonic?” 

Shadow sat up straight, trying to will his voice to stop shaking as he spoke. “He… went to let everyone else know what happened. Did you get the emerald?”

“I… I lost him, I'm sorry. I think he’s figured out a way to cloak himself because when he turned a corner he was suddenly gone, and I was keeping a good pace.”

Shadow sighed. “He seemed to be more prepared than normal. That's not surprising in the slightest. Whatever, the fox should be able to track him down before he does anything.”

“I've never seen him get the upper hand on you like that before,” Silver remarked. “Are you feeling okay?”

“...He described it as a large version of my inhibitor rings.” Shadow stared down at his own, fidgeting with the cuff around his wrist. “There must have been more to its technology, though. It's only supposed to suppress my chaos energy, not drain me of it.”

“I don't see why it can't do both. It’s possible the bigger it is, the more energy it takes. At the same time, you've worn those ones for years. I don't really know how the technology works, but it's likely that they hold a lot of energy on their own while regulating the flow throughout your body. A big, new empty ring that has no energy in it will suck in what it can. If you felt a similar weakness to when you first put those on, it's probably that.”

“Hm. You may be correct. Regardless, that'll be an annoyance in the future. I’ll have to figure something out. I've at least gotten most of my energy back after resting for a bit.”

An awkward silence hung in the air, Silver quietly dragging his shoes into the dirt beneath them. Right. We aren't usually the ones stuck together, Shadow thought to himself. While he wouldn't say he didn't get along with the future hedgehog, it was rare that Shadow actually interacted with him alone for longer than a few moments. Sonic was usually by his side. 

“What did the future look like this time?” Shadow figured he should ask. 

“Oh! Uh… actually, I don't think there's anything wrong? Or well, I'm sure there is, but nothing that I need to be involved in,” Silver said. “I was visiting Blaze for her empire’s annual founding festival! I just can’t time travel in her dimension—well, I can, but it wouldn't be my present, it would be someone else’s, so I had to come back here, then time travel back. Then you know, I figured I'd stop by and say hi to everyone since it would be a bit before I saw you all again! Plus I never usually have the opportunity to actually say hi when nothing bad is happening!”

There was a quick pause. “Oh. Well, maybe something bad is happening now that Doctor Eggman has the emerald.”

Shadow pushed himself to his feet, letting out another sigh. “It’s fine, it's nothing we can't handle. If you want to stick around and help out, do whatever you please.” He intended to begin to leave, but the moment he took a few steps forward, his coordination threw itself out from underneath him. Silver was quick to catch him, but before Shadow could shove him off there was a gag, and he then slumped over the other hedgehog’s arm and vomited. 

“I’ll help you back,” Silver offered. “You should probably have someone take a look.” 

“I'm… fine.” Shadow wiped his mouth, yet made no effort to push himself away from Silver, instead leaning into him for support. “I don't need anyone to look at me.”

“I'm surprised Sonic didn't stick around to make sure you were okay. He looked really worried.” Silver paused, tilting his head to the side. “Are you okay? Other than physically, I mean. He doesn't run off for no reason.”

Shadow scowled, snapping his head away. “I told you, he went to warn everyone else.”

“He never does that. He either waits to do it all together or he sends someone else to.”

“What? You think you know him better than me?” 

Silver raised a hand up, eyes wide. “Woah! No, not at all, Shadow! I mean, Sonic and I are close, sure, but definitely not like you both are. I just mean it’s not like him to speed off like that, world in danger or not. If it’s private you don't have to tell me, you just look upset.”

Shadow watched the other hedgehog carefully for a moment before looking away once more, ears flattening back against his head. Ugh, what am I doing? I shouldn't be taking my frustrations out on him. This whole situation has got my mind all over the place. 

Rouge is probably going to be upset with me later, too… I went against everything she said and ended up getting mad at Sonic anyway. 

Shadow grimaced at his thoughts. He really did just blame his partner for something that was entirely out of his control, didn't he? I should have just kept a better eye on him. I know he promised but it's Sonic. You idiot, Shadow! He’s spent years struggling, of course he's going to need help getting what he needs. 

How was he even supposed to do that? The damn hedgehog barely listens to him in the first place, and it wasn't like Rouge was any better help. Shadow appreciated her, he really did, but her meddling either went too far or offered no help in the slightest to him. You just have to trust him, she says, and it's not like Shadow doesn't, but all that’s gotten him over the past month is more and more silence and then a failed date. 

He wasn't close with any of Sonic’s friends either, so it's not like he could go to them for help. He unfortunately knew Amy fairly well enough to know that she would agree with Rouge as well, so there was no use in asking her. 

Shadow glanced towards Silver once more. He seemed to be in his own little world, staring off in the distance as he supported Shadow while walking along. I’m gonna regret this. “Do you have any relationship experience?” 

That seemed to startle him, catching himself on a quick stumble as he met Shadow’s gaze with confusion. “What? Relationship experience? Me?” 

“No, I'm talking to the rock behind you.”

“...You sound way too serious for me to actually tell if you're being sarcastic or not.”

Shadow’s brows furrowed together. Is he actually this dense? “Of course I'm talking about you. Genuinely, who else would I be talking about?”

“I don't know! I mean, I assumed it was me, but do you know how many times I've also accidentally thought someone was talking to me when they weren't? It's so hard to play that off, it's embarrassing! Plus you looked dead serious while saying that so I really can't tell with you,” Silver said. “But, uh, relationship experience? Like, romantically? Can’t say I really have, no.”

“I could tell based on your reaction earlier.”

Silver let out a huff. “Okay, rude. You've had far more time to learn how to interact with people than me, it's not my fault if I still struggle to pick up on things a little bit. I'm sure I could hold a relationship perfectly fine if there was someone I was interested in! But there isn't, so, there. Hmph.”

“...Whatever you say, hedgehog.” 

“Listen, I'm sure whatever is going on between you and Sonic, you both will figure it out fine. You don't need to worry about anything!” Silver said. “Besides, this is nothing compared to the time you guys—when you… um.” He slowly trailed off the moment he caught Shadow staring at him, jaw agape. Silver sucked in a breath, shoving the darker hedgehog forward before quickly turning around. “Anyway! Uh, looks like you're doing fine, I'm sure you can walk on your own! I better get going, haha!”

“Silver.” 

“Oh my gosh, would you look at that! I found your wallet!” Silver held his hand out, turning around with a way too forced smile as he floated the wallet over and into Shadow's hands. “Lucky you!”

Red eyes burned into his own as they uncomfortably darted everywhere but towards Shadow. The darker hedgehog glanced down at the wallet in his hands before putting it away, taking a step closer. “Do you… know about us in the future?”

“What? No! Of course not. That would be… preposterous! Completely insane!” 

“We only just started dating this month. It's been longer since you were last here,” Shadow said.

“I just saw when I came over to go visit Blaze! The festival lasted only two weeks!” Silver took a step back.

“You would have to have heard it from one of us, yet nobody mentioned ever seeing you. Adding on to that, you wouldn’t miss the opportunity to congratulate Sonic in the slightest if you’re really friends with him.”

“W-Well it was obvious, okay? I just figured since you were asking about relationship advice you had to have been talking about you and Sonic!” 

He almost considered accepting that answer solely from the fact that Shadow didn't want to keep freaking Silver out more than he already was. He wasn't close enough with the other hedgehog as it is, so pushing would probably ruin any chances he had at a closer relationship in the future. 

But… but. 

The way he's fidgeting, the way he refuses to look at me…

Shadow put a hand on his hip, attempting to soften his expression as he tilted his head to one side. “I interrupted you earlier. What were you going to tell me?”

“...Huh?” 

“When you were reassuring me that everything would be okay between Sonic and I. You were saying something and my expression interrupted you.”

Silver quickly waves his hands. “O-Oh! No, I wasn't saying anything. I just know everything will be okay! Positive reassurance, you know? Everyone could use some!”

With a step forward, Shadow reached out and grabbed Silver by the shoulder, causing him to flinch. “No, please, continue,” he began, forcing the politest, yet also the most sinister smile he could muster as the younger hedgehog stared up at him in horror. “You were saying something like I wasn't supposed to know about it yet.”

“I'm uh… really not supposed to tell you,” Silver squeaked out. 

“Oh so you do know.”

Silver quickly glanced away. “M-Maybe a tiny bit, but—ack!” Shadow roughly grabbed him by the arm, pulling him along as he turned and began to make his way back in the direction of his apartment. “I-I shouldn't have said anything in the first place! S-Shadow! Where are we even going?” 

“Back to my place. We’re talking there.”

“Can you not just teleport us instead of ripping my arm off?”

“Without an emerald I can only go so far. Since I'm still recovering from… whatever the doctor did, I’m not sure I can teleport just myself.” Shadow glared back at him. “You're a big boy, you can walk.”

“Isn't the key point in that sentence that I can walk? Without being dragged behind you?”

“And I trust you not to try and run off?”

Silver opened his mouth before promptly shutting it again, growing quiet for the rest of the walk. Shadow knew that this wouldn’t be a good idea, but the idea that someone knew exactly the fate between him and Sonic gave him a strange sense of comfort for the time being. It shouldn't; he shouldn't be doubting his relationship in the first place. What Eggman had said refused to leave his head, though, and with how long it took to even date Sonic in the first place? Not to mention the way they started dating to begin with? Of course Shadow was going to start panicking over every small detail. 

Shadow’s phone was buzzing like crazy by the time they made it back to his place. He opened the door and let Silver inside, motioning for him to sit on the couch as he pulled his phone from his quills to see three missed calls from Rouge as well as a barrage of messages. 

He was about to read them when he heard Silver gasp and make a beeline for the kitchen. “I’ve never been inside a city apartment from your time period before! Oh my gosh, these fridges are considered retro now! Do you know how much they even go for? And you still have a gas stove?”

The darker hedgehog snorted. “You’re making me feel even older now.” 

Silver folded his hands together, squeezing them tight. “You have to let me cook in your kitchen! Just this once! Please, please!”

“...Sure, go for it. I have to take a call anyway. Just pay me back for whatever you use and please don't start a fire.” Silver flew off with an excited spew of thank you’s, Shadow shaking his head in response as he looked back down at his phone. He’ll just talk to him after… whatever this was about. 

Ten panicked messages asking if he was okay, followed along by an angry Rouge yelling how she was going to kill both of them. Sounds about right. Shadow sighed and dialed the bat, holding the phone away from his ear just knowing she would shout the immediate moment that she picked up. 

“Shadow the Hedgehog, when I get home I swear to everything on this planet—”

“Is everything okay?” Shadow took a few steps forward into the living room, finding an open spot to lean against the wall so he had a full view of the kitchen doorway. He watched as Silver hopped around in excitement, floating different ingredients in the air while playing around with different machinery. He really had one of the most powerful hedgehogs in existence in his kitchen getting excited over a gas stovetop. 

He wondered if his younger self would ever believe any of this if he was told. 

“Is everything okay, he says. Not only do I hear that the doctor attacked the city, but I had to hear it from an incredibly upset Blue! Then you ignore my texts and my calls for twenty minutes straight so all I have to do is hope that you're at least alive.”

“The doctor got a hold of the chaos emerald,” Shadow said. “He managed to avoid Silver—”

“I don’t give two shits about the emerald right now, Shadow! What I need to know is why you thought today of all days was a good time to get into an argument?” 

“He started—”

“I don't care who started what! You still argued instead of talking it out like grown fucking men, in the middle of a fight no less! Did you even try to talk to him or did you immediately jump to being harsh and accusing him of shit?”

“I did ask! He deflected me the entire time! How am I supposed to react, Rouge?” Shadow snapped. “He didn’t even say that he cared about me when I told him I felt like he didn't. All he did was shove into my face that he had better priorities.” A cry hitched itself in his throat. “I get that he has things that are important to him. I wasn't trying to undermine that. It just hurts when he doesn't even tell me that he cares about me.”

Rouge went quiet for a moment. On the other end, Shadow could make out the faint sounds of arguing, most likely between Sonic and Knuckles. Shadow reached up and wiped at the corner of his eyes, blinking away any tears threatening to form. 

“...Hon, I'm sure he didn't—”

“If he wants to tell me he didn't mean it and wants to give me a genuine apology then he can fucking do it himself,” Shadow spat. “Don’t give me this shit anymore, Rouge. All it is is white lies that are supposed to make me feel better at the moment.” 

“You know that's not true.”

“He didn't even stay behind to make sure I was okay.”

“Honey, you can't expect him to stick around if you're going to push him away.”

“I know that! I just… he’s never run away after I've been injured before, no matter how many times I've pushed him away and told him I was fine.” He never leaves. Even if he does, he always comes right back. He’s never done that before! Why did I do that? Why did I even say any of that?

“Shadow, I can hear you hyperventilating. You need to calm down,” Rouge said. “Where are you right now?”

“He's never done this before, Rouge! Never! How am I supposed to calm down when I messed everything up? I knew this was going to happen from the beginning! I hurt every single person I love. I always have. I shouldn't have said anything, damnit! I should've just kept it to myself—”

“None of that is true and you know it, Shadow. You can't just go along with the flow and give up everything and expect yourself to be happy. It doesn't matter how much you pretend you're okay, you know that. It'll only make you miserable and put you back in a place you don't want to be in.”

“What else am I supposed to do? No matter what I try I always end up hurting him.”

“You just need to give him time and trust him, hon, he’s—”

“Stop lying to me!” Shadow’s shout echoed off the walls of the apartment, his grip on his phone threatened to split it in two. “Stop lying to me just to make me feel better! Just tell me the truth!” 

“I am telling you the—”

“No you're not! Stop treating this like it's a joke! That's all you ever fucking do! You lie to me, you lead me on, and you laugh about it later! Just tell me the truth. Please.” His voice cracked into a broken sob, his legs trembling beneath him while fighting to hold himself up. His chest hurt so bad that he felt like he was going to be sick again. He hated the rare times he got sick, he hated throwing up.

He probably deserved it at the moment. No, he definitely deserved it. Why couldn't Rouge just admit to that? That he messed up, that he was awful to be around? 

“...I’ll be home in an hour.” 

Shadow didn't get a chance to reply before Rouge hung up. 

Chapter Text

The moment the line was cut, Shadow felt his knees buckle and give out. He fell to the floor in a fit of gasps, digging his fingertips into the wooden floorboards, the thick material of his gloves serving as the only protection from his claws. He couldn't do anything right, could he? All he did was shout and not even try to hear Rouge out.

Why would he even hear her out? She was lying to him. He was a horrible person; he's only done irredeemable things since he woke up. No amount of good would ever outweigh it. His head spun as his vision clouded into blurry shapes, the environment around him turning unrecognizable. His own thoughts in his head felt all too loud and all too real, and he could just feel the people that were saying them breathing down his neck. The room around him was becoming smaller and smaller as he slowly curled in on himself, choking on his own breaths. I don't want to be here. I want to leave. I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to—

A hand brushed his shoulder. Don't touch me. He could hardly move, only able to see out of the corner of his eye an unrecognizable figure that had leaned down towards him. Coming closer to him. Attacking him. 

The hand tried to shake him, and only then did Shadow launch himself into a sitting position, throwing a claw out to grip onto a silver wrist. “I said don’t touch me!” 

Silver held his free hand up in defense. “I'm sorry! I thought you heard me! You looked like you were panicking and I heard you yelling earlier so I wanted to make sure you were okay!”

It's… it's just Silver.

Shadow took in a breath, glancing around at his surroundings. Everything was… fine. Normal. He was still in his apartment, still in the living room. He glanced down at his phone, no new notifications had popped up. It was only half past six. We still could have been eating… he winced at the thought. 

“Um, Shadow? Could you let go?”

“Right. I apologize.” Shadow let his arm fall to his side while Silver rubbed at his sore wrist. “That was… out of character for me. It won't happen again.”

“Are… you okay? It sounded like a lot was going on. I don't think I've ever seen you so upset.” 

Shadow looked away, fixing his gaze onto one of the picture frames hanging up on the wall. It was an older picture, one from around the time he, Rouge, and Omega first became close. He reached up a hand to rub at his eyes, letting out a shaky exhale through his nose. “You… you said I had nothing to worry about when it came to my relationship with Sonic. Are…” he swallowed. “Are we okay in the future?” 

Silver’s expression grew solemn. “I can’t tell you even if I wanted to, Shadow. That's not how it works.”

“Is it really that big of a thing to tell me? Would it affect the future that badly?”

Silver shrugged. “I mean, probably not, but it's not a risk I want to take. My current future… It's the best future for this world. Even if I knew every single event that led up to it becoming the way that it is, everything happens when it does for a reason. If I came back and, for example, helped two people meet before they're supposed to… it could have detrimental changes.” He followed Shadow’s gaze, humming softly. “It doesn't matter if it’s already destined to happen. You can't mess with time like that. That's why I can only come back when I'm meant to.”

“...Wouldn’t this conversation mean you're changing the future, then?”

“It could, but I'm also an anomaly in that sense. It's possible this conversation was meant to happen. That's why time travel is so confusing! There's no way for me to know if I'm actually supposed to be affecting the future or not,” Silver said with a laugh. “So I try to stick to general rules. It's okay for me to just hangout and have fun with you guys as long as I don’t do anything before it’s meant to happen. I try to also not know what's going to happen, outside of anything involved with stopping Eggman, of course. That makes it so my influence on things is natural, if that makes any sense. Anyhow, the things I found out were… kind of on accident.”

“On accident,” Shadow repeated. 

“Well, yea. I'm not going to just read about yours or Sonic's life stories. It just sounds… weird. Like… imagine someone coming back from the future and they know everything about you, from your earliest childhood memories up till the day you die. Doesn’t that sound creepy?”

Shadow gave a noncommittal shrug. “Most people would want to know.”

“Even if they told you about a specific story that you'd never tell anyone? A really traumatizing moment in your life that you went through and future you may have decided to put it into an autobiography later, but the current you would never want to tell anyone about it?”

“Fair point.”

Silver pushed himself back to his feet, brushing off his knees before offering a hand to Shadow. “Anyway, I made some food if you want to try some, otherwise I should probably get going. I've overstayed my welcome as is.”

The darker hedgehog glanced over, looking between Silver’s hand and his face. He should be reassured by that conversation, shouldn't he? Silver confirmed everything would be okay. Even if Shadow didn't know how it would become okay, he knew everything would fix itself. 

But what if I mess up more? 

What if everything becomes worse?

“I know you said you can't tell me,” Shadow began. 

Silver frowned. “Shadow, my answer is still no. I really shouldn't have talked about it in the first place.” 

“I know! I know. You don't need to tell me what happens or what the outcome is. Just…” Shadow took his hand, Silver hesitantly pulling him to his feet. “Could you at least give me advice? Hints? Suggestions? Anything?”

“I don't even know how it happens, so I can't give you hints even if I wanted to.”

“If you don't know then you can help me, correct? You wouldn't be influencing anything to happen earlier than it's supposed to.”

“I mean I guess, but…”

“If it’s still a no, then it's a no,” Shadow said. “All I believe is what you are worried about won't happen because you aren't affecting the future that way. You don't have the answers, we'd be going into this clueless together.” 

“I can't tell if you or Sonic are more persistent.” Silver ran his hands through his quills, blowing out a large puff of air as he turned and stepped away. “If it's really that important to you then I’ll… try to help however I can. The moment something feels off, though, I'm backing out, okay?”

Shadow perked up slightly. “Yes! Yes, understood. Thank you. It… means a lot.” 

Silver stared at him for a moment before letting out a small snicker, only for it to burst into a full fit of giggles. “Sorry, I'm not used to seeing you like this at all! You're always so… grumpy and brooding! It’s like you're an entirely different person.”

Shadow’s ears flattened back with a frown. “Is this funny to you?”

“No, no! I didn't mean it like that. It's just… I guess it's kind of relieving seeing your weak points? I’ve always wanted to get closer with you like I am with Sonic but you aren't really the easiest person to approach,” Silver admitted. “I tend to stick with the people I know the most unless I'm invited… so I guess this'll be a nice chance for us to hang out more.”

“...You are so strange.”

“Yea, I get that a lot. Anyway, game plan! Uh… you didn't actually tell me what you two got into a fight about. I just know Sonic left after—oh crap we forgot about Eggman! We have to get to Tails’ place!” 

“The fox is sick. I'm not sure if Sonic will be willing to let him help us,” Shadow said. “He might have a few things in that workshop of his to track down the emerald, otherwise we’ll have to find a different way to locate the doctor.” I'm also… not sure if I'm ready to see Sonic again just yet.

“Hm. Any other ideas where we can get information?” 

Shadow glanced back down at his phone. “Rouge might know, but she gets most of her intel from others. She wouldn't be able to track it directly.”

“If she has to get her information from Tails anyway, let's just go directly there,” Silver said. “I'm sure someone knows their way around his workshop if he's not feeling well, so it shouldn't be too difficult to find a device that'll help.” There was a loud bing from the kitchen, which elicited a gasp from Silver as he quickly dove over the couch and floated his way in. “We got snacks for the road!”

Shadow rolled his eyes, slowly following after. He kept glancing at his phone, almost hoping that he'd get a message, a call, anything from Sonic, especially considering it had been nearly two hours since their dinner had started. An awful wave of nausea ebbed at him once more. He had to fight to push it down and silence his thoughts in the process. Everything was fine, it had to be. He would talk things out with Sonic after all of this and they would continue like normal. 

Normal? What was normal even supposed to be? Their normal for the past few weeks was radio silence minus a few conversations here and there. They didn't have to talk everyday, sure, but was this how relationships truly worked?

He was interrupted by a bowl being shoved into his face and the overwhelming smell of apples. Looking in he could see what appeared to be a sticky brown mixture of apples along with… he sniffed, cinnamon and sugar. Shadow wasn't aware they owned cinnamon nor sugar. Actually, he didn't know they had any of these ingredients considering he’s never seen Rouge eat anything remotely close. 

“It's apple pie filling!” Silver cheerfully announced.

“You used my stove to make… an apple pie?” 

“No, I don't have the time to make a good crust, so it's just the filling. We can take it with us easier this way, though!”

Shadow pushed the bowl away. “Whatever, just pack it up and let's get going.”

“You aren't gonna try it?” Silver cheeks puffed into a pout. “If you're going to make me help you, the least you could do is try my cooking.” 

Maria, grant me your patience. “I will try it later, okay? Now can you please pack it up?” 

“Oh! Yea, I can share some with the others, too. Good thinking.” As Silver turned back around and rummaged through the kitchen for tupperware, Shadow could only shake his head with a sigh while heading for the door. 

He looked down at his phone again. There was a small thought to not let Rouge know he was leaving, he wasn't sure if it was out of unfair frustration towards her or not. At the same time, he didn't really want to talk with her either. Turning back around for a moment, he went to his bedroom to retrieve a notepad, writing down that he was going out with Silver and that he was fine. He tore the page off and made his way to the kitchen where he pinned it to the fridge with one of the magnets that Rouge had gotten as a work reward from G.U.N.

“You know, if you aren't ready to see him yet, I can just go and handle it myself,” Silver said as Shadow locked the front door behind them both. “We can meet up after, even, so you can still help out and not have to talk to him.”

“It's fine. Knowing him, he’s probably halfway through the Doctor’s base already.” Shadow rounded down the staircase, Silver opting to float down each level instead, tupperware container raised by his head. 

“If he's already there, how come you still want to go? It's not that I mind giving him any support that he needs but I don't want to get in his way, either. It only gets more people hurt.”

“Because I have a fight to pick with that bastard,” Shadow replied through gritted teeth. “In addition, if he was able to immobilize me so easily, he has to have something prepared for Sonic as well.” 

“Crap, you're right! If he doesn't have any backup, who knows what'll happen. We should hurry!” 

The moment Shadow reached the ground floor, Silver was already flying ahead. When Shadow began to run after him, however, he found himself doing just that: running. He paused to look down at his shoes, tapping his heel against the pavement, and while he found a faint glow from beneath, there was otherwise nothing. This… is new. He knelt down, hand hesitantly hovering over the inhibitor rings around his ankles, before he carefully clicked them both off. When attempting to move again, spurts of energy came from the jets on the underside of his shoes, but nothing consistent to keep him moving forward. 

“Um, I said we should hurry!” Silver was suddenly floating backwards, returning to Shadow’s side in a confused instant. “What's going on?” 

“My shoes aren't receiving any energy.” Shadow clicked off the rings around his wrists, only for a similar result, where he was able to go further, only for his shoes to die out and nearly throw off his balance. 

“I thought you said you recovered most of it back?”

“It feels like it, yet when I try to convert any of it into my abilities, I can't…” Shadow held his hand out, clenching his fingers in an attempt to summon a chaos spear. Nothing. He tightened his arm up, gritting his teeth as he strained, and as a small spark of energy zapped from his fingertips, it sizzled out in seconds, taking on no real form. This can't be. I have to still be able to do something. He focused his attention to just a few feet ahead of him, something that was simple. Easy. Child's play. Yet when he tried to will himself to even teleport, pain shot through his head causing him to gasp and stumble back, clutching at his temple. Spots formed in his fuzzying vision, and while he heard Silver say something, he couldn't make a word out before his eyes rolled back and he fell to the floor. 

___

Shadow couldn't exactly pinpoint the last time he actually hated Sonic was. If he was being honest, he wasn't sure if he really hated the other hedgehog at all. Back then his thoughts and memories were too influenced by others for him to say that he really, truly hated him. By the end of their first adventure together, Sonic became nothing but an occasional annoyance. A groan at the mention of his name, an eye roll at hearing any of his cheesy quips. 

Yet one thing always clung to the back of his mind on the constant, every time Sonic was ever mentioned, every time Sonic was ever seen. How when Shadow had accepted his death for the first time, Sonic still tried to reach out to him, still tried to save him. Even after everything he had done. 

It was something he thought about a lot in his stasis afterwards, even with his memories once again being muddled and unable to put together what truly was the truth. There was a long point in time where after being woken up once more, he was unconvinced that the gratefulness he felt towards Sonic's and everyone else’s kindness was truly his own. That it was just a cheap copy of the real Shadow placed within him to make him seem more real. He found himself struggling to reciprocate for the longest time. 

He hated it. He hated that he couldn't return Rouge’s hugs without feeling guilty, that he couldn't look Rose in the eye and thank her for what she did without feeling that he didn't deserve her kindness. 

He hated seeing the pure relief in Sonic's expression the first time the two of them saw one another again, because Shadow truly thought that he wasn’t the real hedgehog everyone wanted to see. Even after finding out that he was the original and not some cheap android copy, it was still something he struggled to hear. Any mention at him being fake sent him into a spiraling breakdown of guilt, like he was lying to the people he cared about constantly. It became an incredibly sore spot for him to the point of any and all jokes were forbidden for him to hear. 

His memories returned to him over time, more often than not becoming his dreams. It was hard for him to sleep at first with how much they hurt to recall, but eventually he found comfort in it all. Even new memories he made would come back to him in his dreams, and it's how he found a fondness for Sonic that slowly began to grow over time. 

The earliest one he could place where he felt less of a disdain for the hero was really just a random day. Shadow had just been getting some fresh air and reflecting over things when he first spotted Sonic going out on what he soon learned to be his regular daily run. Shadow decided to amuse himself in joining him, quickly catching up when he saw Sonic looping back around. He threw a taunt about how it was cute the effort Sonic was putting into practicing to beat him in a race, and the blue hedgehog challenged him on the spot, saying he didn't need practice and could win even in his sleep. 

Their race that day was… inconclusive. Neither of them were sure who made it to the finish line first, and Shadow chalked it up to the fact that there just wasn't a clearly illustrated point for them to cross. It was from then on they decided to meet up semi-regularly, more often impromptu than not. They would either race or fight one another, or both when things got more heated. They would then sit for a bit and just talk while they caught their breaths. 

It was something Shadow found himself looking forward to. Despite how much he struggled with his day to day life and oftentimes found himself wanting to give up, those days where he met with Sonic became his respite. They pulled him from his thoughts, gave him something to wake up to. It was something he felt like he didn't deserve. 

He had asked one day why Sonic still agreed to hangout with him despite everything he had done. He received a confused look in return, the hedgehog responding, “Because we’re friends? Or at least I consider you one.” 

“But why?” Shadow asked. “What I did was… horrible. Unforgivable.”

Sonic had leaned back against the tree they were beneath. Shadow had been standing while he sat, humming to himself in deep thought. “Why do you think I let the Egghead go after giving him a good beating?” 

“Even if you got him arrested, he'd find a way out in a matter of hours.”

“Okay, well, yea, but not what I meant. Nobody is born that way, at least not to my belief. Bad guys are created through the world around them being cruel and unfair. While I'm not saying what Eggman has done and continues to do is forgivable, I also don't want to leave out the option that maybe somewhere there's someone willing to change and be better. It would be a long, hard journey for him considering all the shit he's done, but I'm not going to turn away if he really does decide that he wants to stop being evil.” 

Sonic turned to look up at Shadow, the soft smile across his face making his heart flutter. “I can't convince everyone to change for the better, and that's okay. But when they do I want to be able to welcome it. Give them the opportunity that they couldn't have before. That's why I agreed to do all of this with you, Shadow.”

Sonic let out a yawn, stretching his arms above his head before settling them behind his neck, using them as a makeshift pillow as he rested back against the tree once more, eyes falling shut. “‘Sides, you're fun to race and I like kicking your butt. I wouldn't give this up for the world.”

While Shadow may not have been able to pinpoint when he started to hate Sonic, perhaps it was then when he was able to pinpoint when he began to fall in love. 

It was a fond memory and dream he hoped would never end, wanting to stay at that point in time forever. The point in time where things were still okay between them, before the arguments and before the exchanging of hurtful words. Before either of them really knew how they would eventually feel for each other, just living their day to day as rivals, forever destined to challenge one another and keep them on their toes, helping them live life to the fullest. Shadow cherished it, not wanting to let it go even as the world around him forced him to wake up.

Chapter Text

The first thing Shadow noticed when he came to was the distinct smell of Sonic. He could make out other’s, but something about his partner’s scent was just incredibly strong. The second thing he noticed was an annoying beeping sound that played in a constant, slow, yet even rhythm. It was a sound that was too familiar, and when he began to realize what it was, the beeping sped up. Shadow’s eyes shot open, the light around him blinding, only for them to adjust to find himself in an area unfamiliar to him. 

He sat up with a gasp, heart pounding in his chest as he looked around wildly. No, no, no, I can't be back—I can't be! The sight of a heart monitor, of different medical devices, of the numerous charts and wires, the walls warping themselves into that pristine, horrifying white color of a lab—

Shadow tried to move. He tried to push himself off the bed, to pull the wires off of him and get out, yet no strength came to him. He was stuck. Yet through his panic, Sonic’s scent still stuck, and his eyes shakily looked down to see a blue blanket draped over him. He willed his arms to grasp around it, pulling it close to his chest as his breathing quickened, gasping for air as he squeezed his eyes shut. 

Seconds felt like minutes, minutes felt like hours, just as the sound of a door opened and he could make out his name being called. The beeping stopped as he felt himself being shaken, and when he finally willed his eyes to open, he could see the scared expression of Rouge staring back at him. He let out a steady breath, clutching the blanket tighter as he willed himself to calm down, slowly glancing to his surroundings. 

The room was still unfamiliar to him, but not at all similar to the labs on the ARK. Different machines decorated the area, with gray walls and floors adding to a dark environment. A large computer was the center of it all, colored a familiar yellowish-orange scheme while numerous trinkets and decors scattered themselves across the desk and along the walls. When he glanced over towards the heart monitor, it was colored and designed similarly, with two metal panels in the shape of ears poking out on top. He'd seen the inside of Tails’ workshop before, but this wasn't it. This had to be a different room entirely. 

“Shadow? Are you okay?” 

He swallowed, slowly nodding. “...Yes. I’m sorry.”

“No, no don't be, sweetheart. I'm sorry, I forgot how much this kind of thing freaks you out. I thought the blanket would have been enough.” 

Their attention was quickly diverted when the door opened once more, both turning their heads to see Silver hurrying into the room, followed by an all-too ragged looking Tails. The fox’s fur stood on ends and large bags sagged beneath his eyes, and while he seemed to have most of the color in his face back, it was still faint. Rouge stepped away, allowing for the fox to come over and pull all the medical equipment safely to the side. “Jeez, Rouge, can you be a bit more careful next time? You practically ripped this thing from the wall! I’m almost glad it was only a heart monitor and not an IV!” Tails groaned out. 

“Sorry, sweetheart. I just didn't want Shadow to panic further at the sound.” 

“You're awake! You scared the heck out of me!” Silver gasped as he dashed over. “You were trying to do all of your chaos abilities and then you suddenly collapsed! Your heart sounded like it had stopped and you were barely breathing, so I panicked and rushed you over here.” He glanced towards Tails, scratching at his neck. “Sorry, by the way. I know you weren't feeling well.”

“It's fine,” Tails replied. He grabbed a small device, motioning for the dark hedgehog to look down at him. Shadow was hesitant, and flinched the moment a light was flicked on from the end of the device, but all Tails simply did was shine it in his eyes. “Shadow appeared to be in critical condition, so I wanted to rush and make sure he was okay first. Honestly, I don't think I've ever seen you like that before. I thought you had fast healing properties and your body wasn't affected by this kind of thing.” He clicked the device off and placed it aside, grabbing a pen and scribbling out some words on a paper after. 

“I can still be injured to the point of fainting, but being sick like this… it's not common for me at all,” Shadow explained. He carefully watched Tails continue to write, nervously clutching at Sonic's blanket tighter. This isn't the same. Calm down. “I don't know what the doctor did to me, but it's messing with my entire system. I can still feel the energy but I can't use any of it.”

“You mentioned that he drained your chaos energy, right?” Silver asked. “Do you think that maybe a lot more was taken from you than we thought?”

Tails hummed, making his way over to his desk to grab a stray item that had been placed there. He held it up, revealing it to be one of Shadow’s inhibitor rings. “If you use these to suppress your excess energy, that means your body produces it far more than normal. I imagine if you have these off normally, you might get a significant power boost, but don't feel typically well afterwards?”

“No. It becomes painful if it's for a prolonged period of time,” Shadow said. “If I overuse my energy in certain circumstances, there's a possibility of imploding.” 

“At the same time, your body likely thrives off this energy. That's why you are weaker than your full potential with these on. Which means if Eggman really drained a large amount of energy like you said he did, your body likely doesn't have the extra to use your normal abilities at the moment, because it's using what energy you have currently to keep itself running and regulated.” 

“So he overexerted himself and that's what knocked him out?” Rouge asked. “Shit, was that jerk really going to kill him if he didn't give up the emerald?” 

“That might've not been the intended effect, but I believe so, yes,” Tails said. “Which means he has to be planning something big if he's going through such desperate measures. Silver?” 

“I don't know anything this time, I'm sorry,” Silver said. “I haven't been back to see if my world is intact and I can't recall anything like this happening from what I've studied up on. I'm drawing a blank on things that happen this year.” He let out a groan, reaching his hands up to tug at the outer two quills atop his head. “I'm normally not this unprepared. Ugh, I'm so sorry!”

“It's fine, Silver. We shouldn't expect you to know everything. If we relied on you too much, we’d be too incompetent ourselves,” Shadow said. There was an uncomfortable pause as he looked around the room, gaze slowly snapping itself towards Tails. “Where… where is Sonic? And the echidna?”

The fox hesitated, glancing back towards his computer. “Knuckles went back to make sure the Master Emerald would be safe in case Eggman tried anything.”

“Fox.”

“I—we tried to convince him to at least wait until Amy could come over here since I couldn't go with him, but he was insistent,” Tails said, ears falling to the side. “He has his communicator on him at least, but that's the most I could get him to do.”

“Believe me, we tried,” Rouge grumbled. “I'm sure Blue can handle this himself, hon.”

“No, you don't understand, Rouge. If he has something that can subdue me easily, there is no reason for him not to have something similar for Sonic,” Shadow snapped. “That idiot is putting himself in danger and someone needs to go after him.”

“And what? You think it's going to be you? Absolutely not, mister,” Rouge snapped back. “You expect us to let you go after seeing you basically on death’s door? Amy is on her way and Silver is perfectly capable of going after him as well. You are sitting this one out whether you like it or not.”

Shadow stood, throwing the blanket aside, however Rouge was quick to block his attempts at moving forward. He growled at her but she didn't budge an inch. “This is not an open discussion, Shadow. You do not have the energy or power to fight the doctor right now.”

“I'm not going to sit around knowing that my partner is risking his life! What kind of person does that make me, if not a coward, Rouge? Now move out of my way. I'm going.” 

“You’ll get yourselves both killed if you do go! You might have gotten lucky this time, Shadow, but one wrong move and you might not come back from this! What happens if you faint again in the middle of a fight?” 

“Oh for the love of—just let him come with me! I'll make sure he's fine!” Silver interjected. “The more we argue the more time Doctor Eggman has to conduct his plan. If you force Shadow to stay here he's only going to find a way to come after us regardless, so just let him go.” 

“If Shadow is feeling okay, I don't see a reason not to let him go along,” Tails added. “He might regain his energy back by the time he gets there as long as he's careful. Additionally, I’d wait to put your rings back on until you feel like you're at full power again. That way you can regenerate your chaos energy without any impediment.”

Rouge sighed. “I swear, you stubborn boys! Fine. But!” She whipped back around to face Shadow, shoving a warning finger in his face. “Don't be reckless out there, you hear me? I’ve had far too many scares with you the past year and I don't need any more. If something gets too dangerous, stay out of it.” 

“...I will, Rouge. I promise.” Shadow gently pushed her hand away, brushing past her to collect his inhibitors from Tails. The fox paused to fly past him, grabbing at a few objects off his shelves before yanking one of his bags off the wall, tossing them all in and handing it to Shadow. He then turned to grab two watches, handing one each to the hedgehogs. 

“Keep the inhibitor rings out of your quills just to be safe, and you have some gadgets in here to defend yourself in case of emergency,” Tails explained. “The watches are communicators and tracking devices. It'll help me keep an eye on where you are as well as lead you to the emerald.”

“Are you not coming?” Silver asked Rouge. 

The bat shrugged. “The moment Blue left the building the need for stealth was thrown out the window. I can hold my own, but there's certainly better firepower to send out. I'll just stay here and keep Tails company until you get back.”

“When Amy gets here we can go over the game plan,” Tails said. “In the meantime, I'll try to get a hold of Sonic and get him to hopefully slow down.”

“He better,” Shadow muttered. “I'm going to kill him the moment I see him.” His eyes went towards the computer screen, watching the tab that Tails already had opened when he first woke up. It appeared to be the tracker that he had referred to, with the numerous emeralds displayed and if their signals were picked up in the area or not. There was one with a red dot pulsing over its location, meanwhile a smaller blue dot seemed to be moving towards it at record speed. 

He took in a breath. Stop Eggman, then make it up to Sonic. That's all he had to do. Silver was here to help him and he wouldn't mess things up again. Then after it was all done, he could enjoy a simple date with his boyfriend and they'll finally fix what they were struggling with. 

___

“Let me guess, Sonic was too antsy to wait around and figured since he's beaten Eggman before on his own then he can surely do it again, and then proceeded to run off regardless of what everyone said?”

Tails, Rouge, and Silver all gave Amy a resounding yup. The pink hedgehog sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose before she turned to face Shadow. “And knowing you, there's no way to persuade you to stay here, either.”

“No.” 

“Gaia above, you both are going to be the death of me. Alright, Tails, what's the situation look like? Are we just smashing our way through or are we taking a different approach?” As Amy walked over to Tails' side, Shadow found himself taking a step towards Silver. 

“Thank you for getting her to back off, by the way,” Shadow murmured to him. 

“I just wanted you to stop arguing,” Silver muttered back, arms crossed. “If we're divided when the world needs us then the world is doomed. I'll still help you out with Sonic, but you have to promise you aren't going to start an argument with him the moment we get there. It's only going to make things worse.”

Shadow huffed. “He's the argumentative one.”

“You're proving my point.” 

“...Why are you suddenly so snippy with me?”

Silver sighed, letting his arms fall to his sides as he watched Tails and Amy go back and forth with Rouge occasionally popping in. “You really freaked me out earlier. If I had it my way, I wouldn't let you go either. But I know you. The moment someone took their eyes off you, you would find your own way. Both you and Sonic are stubborn like that. The worst part is that I am, too, so I know I'd do the same exact thing if I was in your shoes.”

Shadow blinked in surprise. He knew Silver to be kind-hearted and one that often grew close and attached to others quickly considering, as far as Shadow knew, he didn't have much growing up. However, he was always closer with Sonic than he ever was with him. It just came naturally to the blue hero to befriend everyone, unlike Shadow, so hearing Silver’s concern felt strange to him. He wasn't sure whether or not to welcome it. “I didn't think you cared that much.”

“You're my friend. We just aren't that close right now, that's all.” 

Silence loomed in the air until Amy called out their names, the two of them glancing at one another before joining the group. “We've figured out the fastest method to catch up to Sonic right now is if we take my car,” Amy explained. “Since Shadow isn’t able to move as fast as he usually does, it’ll also help all of us preserve our energy for when we get there.”

“That sounds good to me. What are we going to do once we find Sonic?” Silver asked. 

“Well, firstly pray that he hasn't gone head first into danger,” Amy said with a snort. “Tails was able to pull up a satellite image of where Eggman seems to have taken the emerald.” 

“It's rather remote and further up north.” Tails clicked around on his computer screen, pulling up a zoomed in image of an older rounded shed, with rusted metal walls and scratched off paint that faintly resembled Eggman’s usual logo. “I believe it's one of his abandoned bases and it's possible he's using it as a way to avoid detection. I’d still be careful regardless.”

“Is that the only entrance?” Shadow asked. 

“It appears so, yes. Even if you wanted to sneak in, the moment you open that door you'll likely set off any security system that Eggman has in place. So you’ll either have to fight your way in, which is what we want to avoid with your current condition, or have both Sonic and Silver rush through to grab the emerald,” Tails said. “While Doctor Eggman might be expecting Sonic, there's no way for him to have something prepared for Silver. He’ll be our trump card in all of this.”

“We’ll park a ways away and be the getaway vehicle and any additional backup they’ll need,” Amy added. “I’ll have my hammer with me, obviously, so I can smash through whatever we need. Then we’ll just have to hope you've recovered your energy by then, Shadow.”

“I’d be on the lookout for anything that might reverse your symptoms, too,” Rouge said. “Tails said you were recovering all of your energy back, but part of me has a feeling that's not all there is to it.”

Shadow frowned. “What, that the doctor did something to me that permanently disables my abilities?” 

“Maybe, maybe not. If you want my advice, if you're able to make a quick stop by a computer room, I’d hack the data there.” 

Tails’ ears perked at this. “We might be able to figure out what he's doing too if we did that! I'll send a usb with you guys, but don't make it your top priority. Get the emerald and get out safely first and foremost.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Amy said. She turned to both hedgehogs with a wide, determined smile. “You both ready?”

“As we can be!” Silver chirped. “Let's get going!”

Anxiety ate at Shadow as he bid Rouge and Tails farewell, promising to be careful before he followed Amy and Silver to the car. Everything about their whole plan felt simple, too simple. He knew that there were no other leads for them to have, yet staring down at his bare wrists, inhibitor rings safely kept in the yellowish-orange colored bag that hung at his side, he couldn't help but think that there was more to this. 

Why did the doctor target him specifically? Why was he so much more prepared than usual with a device that nearly took him out of commission? Shadow wasn't one to fall for Eggman’s tricks easily. Most words that were thrown in his direction were usually brushed off, and perhaps Shadow could just chalk up earlier to the fact that he was mentally weak from the anxiety he had endured up to that point, yet it still felt off. 

There was no way for the doctor to know about his attempts but not know that he and Sonic were formally together, or at least were close friends. It was as Sonic had stated: they were neither private nor public. They just went about as they pleased and lived their lives. Sonic even stated that he didn't want to go boasting about their relationship on social media because he knew the kind of backlash the two of them would get from everything, but it wasn't like you couldn't put two and two together by seeing them regularly hanging out more often. 

Shadow slid into the back seat of Amy’s car, Silver taking the front next to her, leaving him alone. Not that he minded, he was probably going to rest his eyes for the entire drive. It was about an hour ETA, which made him a little anxious knowing that Sonic was nearly there, but after Amy slammed her foot down on the gas, he knew that they'd likely be there in less than twenty minutes. 

There wasn't much talking between the three of them for the first few minutes of the drive. Silver was mostly keeping to himself, fidgeting with the tupperware he had decided to bring along in his lap. Shadow was leaning against the door, head resting against his knuckles as he let his eyes flutter shut and relax with the wind around him. Then, Amy cleared her throat. 

“So other than physically… are you doing okay, Shadow?”

He sighed inwardly. Right, the others probably told her everything. Of course she was going to be worried. 

“You’ll have to be more specific. If you mean doing okay in hoping that my boyfriend isn't about to get himself killed, then no, no I'm not.”

“Well, I mean more about earlier, but that too, I guess. You know, he was really excited about today. He was the one that asked me to help him dress up and look nice and everything. I don't suppose you guys got to give each other your gifts yet, did you?” 

Shadow opened his eyes at that. “Gift?”

“Yeah! The dummy forgot to order it until a few days ago so it's still in the mail, but he was going to show you pictures and even got you something smaller as a way to make up for it. He's been helping me out and picking up a few late-night odd jobs around town to pay for it and everything.” 

Shadow sat up straight, frown deepening. Is… is that why he hasn't been as responsive to me? He's just been incredibly busy outside of our hangouts? No, but… why would he be so unresponsive to any affection otherwise if he's not growing tired of me?

He glanced over towards Silver, who looked back at him with a small smile of see? I told you everything would be alright. It still unnerved him, and he was going to make a further comment before Amy suddenly gasped. “Oh! That's right, Silver, you probably didn't know! Sonic and Shadow are together now! It only took them forever, but you know how they are.”

“I figured,” Silver chuckled. “No matter how much I've seen you both go head to head, you always seem inseparable. Sonic seems like a really great guy to be with, too.” 

“Ohhh, you should see some of the pictures Shadow’s shown me!” Amy squeals. “It's so cute! And so refreshing after everyone else that's tried to cling themselves to him. Shadow’s the best boyfriend he's ever had!” 

I wouldn't say the best, Shadow considered mumbling out. Not after earlier. He quickly shook the self deprecating thoughts away, urging himself to focus on having a light conversation. 

Knowing what Amy was going to ask next, he pulled out his phone and opened up his camera roll, handing it up to Silver in the front seat. A lot of the pictures were from earlier in their relationship, around the first two weeks of when they had started dating. Most were selfies taken by Sonic, but Shadow found himself just taking pictures of the world around him every date they went on, and sometimes he took pictures of Sonic himself. His favorite ones were when Sonic didn't realize he was taking the picture, to see his partner just acting naturally in photo-form that he could hold onto forever always made his heart flutter.

Silver was flipping through them, and it only occurred to Shadow halfway through watching the other hedgehog that there were probably pictures he didn't want him to see. Silver suddenly let out a giggle to prove him right, leaning over to show Amy, to Shadow's absolute horror.

Sonic had a habit of getting into his camera while Shadow wasn’t aware. Shadow usually went in and deleted them all after, much to Sonic's dismay, but he must have missed a few as the picture being shown was of his partner taking dumb selfies next to his sleeping form while stacking numerous items on his chest to see how much he could get away with before Shadow was woken up. 

Shadow faintly remembered that day in particular. It was after a long shift at G.U.N. that he volunteered to take after several workers within the office itself called out. Shadow wasn't particularly fond of doing any office work, but he needed the money, so he sucked it up and worked a twelve hour shift only to go on a date with Sonic afterwards. He thought he would have had enough energy considering he's done longer without rest, yet something about that day completely drained him and all he wanted to do was stay in. 

So they watched a movie and cuddled, and Shadow ended up falling asleep when Sonic got up to use the bathroom. 

He was very unhappy to wake up to his entire living room being a mess from the amount of things Sonic had snatched, making his partner spend the rest of the evening helping him clean everything up before eventually staying the night. It was the first time either of them had actually stayed over at the other’s place, he recalled, with a faint blush forming over his cheeks. It was late by the time they finished and he didn't want Sonic to have to go all the way home, and it wasn't a problem considering Shadow had the day off the next day. 

Yet they may have gotten into a small scuffle about where Sonic should sleep because the idea of them sharing a bed only two weeks into dating startled him. They had napped together plenty of times before, sure, but something about a full night's rest felt way more intimate and he couldn't help but be flustered. The worst part was the morning after because of course Rouge and Omega happened to be home, and while Sonic was quick to confirm that they didn't do anything, he was far too happy to boast about how Shadow little-spooned. Rouge couldn't help but coo and hold it over his head for ages. 

Shadow silently thanked whatever god was out there when Tails’ voice suddenly spoke up through their communicators, quickly quieting down Silver’s and Amy’s giggling. “Tails to uh… no, I'm not going with that name, Rouge. Ugh, let's do… Tails to Team Hedgehog, I managed to get a hold of Sonic, over.”

“We're here, Tails. What's up?” Amy replied back. “We're about ten minutes from the spot.”

“Over,” Silver quickly adds on, earning a confused look from the pink hedgehog. “You’re supposed to—”

“Fox, update, now,” Shadow interrupted, leaning forward in his seat. “Is he okay?” 

“Yes! He’s waiting a safe distance away at a rendezvous point. I warned him about what Eggman might be capable of and that you all were coming.”

A small fit of anxiety pooled into his chest. “Did… did you tell him about what happened to me?” 

“Not exactly, no, I wanted to update you all as soon as possible. I’ll go explain it to him—”

“No, don't. If that idiot thinks I'm not capable of defending myself, he’ll only put himself into harm's way to make sure I'm okay,” Shadow said. “We need him to be focused.”

“Is that really a good idea?” Amy asked. “He's only going to get mad if you don't tell him, Shadow.”

“He can be mad at me all he wants after. I don't need him or Silver getting themselves killed because they think I can't keep myself safe. As long as he knows that the doctor might have a trap for him then he’ll be fine.” 

“As much as I hate to say it, I agree,” Silver said. “We can't be focusing on the wrong thing here when there's likely a lot at risk. If it keeps Sonic's mind on the mission, then I don't see the issue in leaving it a secret for now.”

“...Whatever you guys want to do, as long as you're safe,” Tails replied. “I'll update you on his coordinates and debrief him on the plan in the meantime.” 

Shadow was handed back his phone moments later, allowing him to rest back in his seat with a sigh. He stared down at the picture still open on his screen; eyes fixed onto the green gaze staring back at him. At least he's safe and not running headfirst into danger. That's what's important.