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While Sonic would never turn down the prospect of inviting Shadow out, he never really did think it would happen. The other hedgehog made it clear that he had no interest in spending time with Sonic and his friends, and their interactions were sparse. He entertained the idea in the back of his mind whenever he got ready to spend time in the night district of whatever city he was in. Again, though, it was just a thought, and on many nights like this, the idea truly occupied just a small place in his head while he focused on other things.
Sonic was currently fixing a quill near the base of his ears while Knuckles talked loudly behind him about something he had encountered during one of his recent travels. Despite it being nearly midnight, Tails's house was bright and full of noise, though the fox was asleep somewhere in it. All of the guests planning on leaving soon were awake, with Knuckles and Sonic being part of the mix.
He gave up on fixing the quill and turned to Knuckles, nodding at the echidna’s last statement. “I would think so, too.” He responded. Knuckles nodded at him in approval.
It wouldn’t be long before they left. Amy was somewhere in the house getting ready as well, so the pair would just wait on her before they set off like they did many, many times before. Knuckles and Sonic left the guest room they had been getting ready in and made their way to the entryway of the home while they waited on Amy to finish sprucing herself up. Sonic leaned against the door while Knuckles fixed something on his shoes.
It was during this small period of rest that the thing occupying a small corner of Sonic’s brain suddenly became a reality, thus setting the scene for this night to take a new, fresh route unlike any other night he had spent before.
The thing knocked on the door, and Sonic’s ears perked up as he got up off of it.
“Who is that?” Knuckles asked, glancing up from his shoe.
Sonic made a noise signifying he did not know and called to Amy, “Ames, is there someone waiting for you?”
A voice from down the hall said, “No.”
Sonic and Knuckles looked at each other quizzically and the hedgehog turned around, unlocking the door curiously and opening it a smidge.
He had been expecting maybe Tangle or perhaps another friend who had a taste for nightlife. Or a stranger looking to invite him for something. Many faces and ideas crossed Sonic’s mind as he peeked through the crack in the doorway, and they all disappeared as his gaze met a familiar face.
“Oh, Shadow’s here,” Sonic said casually, trying to mask his surprise.
“Shadow?” Knuckles repeated loudly.
“Is Shadow here?” Amy called, distant.
Shadow made no effort to respond to their surprised exclamations and instead said directly to Sonic, “I brought drinks.”
He moved his hand into view and Sonic could see the six pack glittering in the porch light from inside the plastic bag Shadow held onto.
“Oh, nice.”
“When are you all leaving?” Shadow met Sonic’s gaze again.
Sonic maintained his poker face despite his ongoing shock at Shadow being here, talking about going out with them. There were so many questions he wanted to ask, so many quips he wanted to unload, so many things to say…but he kept them bottled down so Shadow would not get irritated and leave. It was so easy to push him over the edge, but right now Sonic valued keeping Shadow steady over provoking him for no reason.
“When Amy is done.”
“Ah.”
Shadow moved his free hand onto the door and opened it from the outside, and Sonic let go so he wouldn’t be covered by the door. He hadn’t invited Shadow inside, but he was inside now.
Sonic stood next to the door, Shadow stood in front of it, and Knuckles was still crouched on the ground where he had been fixing his shoe.
One of the beers clinked against the other.
They heard heels clicking against the floor and turned their heads in unison to see Amy coming from around the corner of the hallway. Her quills were curled at the ends and she was sporting earrings the same color as her bracelets, and a red dress similar to what she usually wore but a bit more flashy.
Her mouth dropped a little when she saw Shadow. “Oh, you are here!”
He nodded at her and raised his hand to showcase the beer he brought. It clinked again.
“Let’s drink before we leave.” Shadow said flatly.
Sonic leaned back a bit in order to meet eyes with Knuckles, who was staring at Shadow dumbfounded before he noticed Sonic’s stare. The latter shrugged, and Knuckles turned his attention back to Shadow.
“I’m down.” Sonic said first.
And so the four sat in the dining room at a small table adjacent to the kitchen, drinking. The clock on the oven said it was 11:05.
He was halfway through his beer when he finally decided to ask Shadow, “So why did you come?”
Amy, who was seated next to him while Knuckles and Shadow sat on the opposite side, turned her head a little bit to give him a disapproving look.
Shadow was still swallowing. He eventually set his beer down, and with a pause, said, “Rouge wasn’t able to go out tonight.”
So you go out with Rouge?
“You go out with Rouge?” Knuckles asked, pushing a lip up.
“Some nights. Today felt like a good one.” Shadow cupped his beer in one hand and had the other rested on his leg. Sonic held a similar position as if they were competing for who looked more aloof.
Sonic drank a bit, and then said, “You don’t seem like the partying type.”
“You’re not someone I’d like to go out with.” Shadow answered almost immediately.
Amy groaned.
Sonic threw his hands up. “I can have a good time. I mean, it’s not like I don’t almost get arrested every other week.”
Knuckles nodded at this.
Amy also nodded.
“Hmm.” Shadow said.
“So why couldn’t Rouge make it out tonight? Is she okay?” Amy asked, trying to steer the conversation away from whatever Sonic and Shadow were getting into.
Shadow nodded slightly. “Work.”
“Ah, that’s too bad.”
They all drank, maybe in Rouge’s honor.
Sonic picked up his bottle and peered through the brown glass to look at the small amount of liquid he had remaining. He finished it off and said, “Well, you came here, so I’m sure you’ll have a decent time tonight, Grandpa.”
Shadow finished his drink and just stared at Sonic with the slightest hint of contempt.
They waited for Knuckles and Amy to finish and all got up, leaving their beers on the table as they left the dining room for the front door.
“Are you driving, Ames?”
“I’m the only one with a car.”
Sonic locked the front door behind them and they walked down the entryway together. They saw Shadow’s motorcycle on the curb in front of the driveway and said nothing. He said nothing, either, silently opting to take Amy’s car instead.
They all walked towards her pink convertible together as she rummaged through her purse for her keys. Knuckles had taken the last two beers with him and offered one to Sonic, who shook his head, and then to Shadow, who took it. Sonic began to count the drinks Shadow had, widening the small spot in the back of his mind reserved for Shadow.
“Who’s riding shotgun?” Amy turned around, dangling her keys in front of the trio of boys.
Usually Sonic rode shotgun, acting as the passenger princess for the night, but today he wanted to mess with Shadow. “I think Knuckles should ride shotgun.” He offered for the echidna.
Knuckles narrowed his eyes at him but said nothing, twisting the cap off his bottle and making his way around the car. Sonic sat behind Amy’s seat and Shadow took the other side.
A few minutes later they were off, the wind ruffling everyone’s quills.
“Where are we going?” Amy asked.
Knuckles and Sonic rattled off a list of possible clubs to start with, and Amy said she would choose one as a surprise. She had been watching from her rearview mirror for the slightest change in Shadow’s expression as names were listed and chose what she believed might have had a reaction.
Sonic had his arm propped against the edge of the door and his body was turned towards Shadow, who was taking a very long swig.
“Can I have some?” Sonic asked for no reason, since he didn’t want any.
“No.” Shadow responded.
“You can have some of mine, Sonic.” Knuckles said from the front seat, leaning around the chair with his beer held out.
“You’re good, Knux, I’m just messing with Shadow.”
“You’re so annoying, Sonic.” Amy said from the front seat.
The trees had given way to the city a while ago, and now they were boxed in between cars and the bright lights of the club district. The noise of the crowds and music were booming. Neon signs were everywhere and occasionally a winged someone looking to avoid the traffic would fly high over their car, casting shadows onto everyone in it.
While they drove slowly through the idling traffic, Sonic fixed his position and said to no one in particular, “We goin’ bar hopping or just dancing tonight?”
“I’d prefer dancing, I spent a long time getting ready.” Amy looked at him through her rearview. “I think I look great under neon lights.”
Knuckles shrugged.
Sonic turned to Shadow with expectant eyes, but was met with indifference and crossed arms.
They sat in traffic for a bit longer, and close to 11:40 they pulled into a curb across from a club Sonic thought he’d been to once but not much. It was sandwiched between bars and looked somewhat regal, but also had a twinge of a rundown atmosphere that was further sold by the small groups of surly customers outside waiting to be let in. Despite this, he could see Shadow nod out of the corner of his eye.
Amy turned off her car and they all stepped out. There was a bit of line wrapped around the building, but it wasn’t too long. Knuckles took Shadow’s empty bottle and dumped them into a nearby trashcan before the group crossed the street.
“I’ve been here once,” Sonic said as they entered the line. “It’s pretty nice.”
Shadow nodded, not making eye contact with any of them as he stared ahead. “Rouge and I come here often. Despite its appearances, I like it.”
High praise?
Knuckles dipped his head in agreement. “The batgirl has taken me here, too. I like it.”
“It’s my first time here…thankfully I’ve driven past it enough to know the general area.” Amy added, rummaging through her purse for something but eventually not pulling anything out. “I hope I enjoy it.”
Shadow looked at her and nodded again.
They did not have to wait for very long before they were checked and then let into the place. Amy was able to get in for free somehow, and she gave them a look of pride as they stepped inside.
It was packed, loud, and had neon lights blasting to the energy of the music coming from the front of the room. There was a bar with turquoise backlighting situated to the left of the establishment where some patrons sat and watched the dancing.
It did not look like a place Shadow would frequent.
Sonic looked at the other hedgehog with a devious look, but Shadow was somehow already at the bar ordering drinks. The rest of the group made their way over to him as more guests were pouring through the entrance and shoving their way into the middle of the evergrowing crowd dancing and jumping to the music.
The bartender had already given Shadow something.
“Wow, he knows your order,” Sonic teased. Shadow didn’t say anything.
The bartender returned as Sonic and the others joined Shadow on the counter. He was carrying shot glasses, and soon set them in front of the quartet and poured alcohol into each one.
“Tequila.” Shadow said when Sonic glanced at him. His voice was slightly raised as he competed with the noise surrounding them.
Shadow finished off his drink and gestured, “On me.”
“Dude…do you actually go out and stuff?”
Shadow ignored him and picked up his glass, tapping it against the counter. The rest followed with him and they threw their heads back.
Three—, no, four!
Amy let out a chirp as she swallowed and Knuckles gave a gruff laugh.
“Another round?” He asked them.
They all nodded.
So they had another.
Five!
At this point, Sonic’s face grew a little bit warm, but he considered himself to have a decent metabolism given the speeds he could reach, so he wasn’t concerned. Amy and Knuckles both looked a little less put together than they were earlier. Sonic turned to Shadow, and was surprised to see that the hedgehog had a small grin creeping onto his face.
“I’m going to go dance,” Amy said airily. “Are you all coming?”
Knuckles agreed, and got off his seat with her. Sonic nodded, but responded, “In a bit, I have to ask Shadow something.” Amy smiled at them and joined Knuckles, disappearing into the crowd.
And so Sonic was finally left alone with Shadow, and all the questions he had been brewing over the course of the night were ready to be unleashed against his unsuspecting enemy.
The first of the course was, “How many drinks does Rouge put in you to make you dance?”
Shadow tapped his fingers against the counter.
Refill.
Shots!
Six! Seven! Eight!
Sonic shook his head rapidly, and felt his ears bounce a little bit. Shadow slammed his fist down against the counter and let out a dry laugh that sounded like he smoked a lot. Sonic laughed at this laugh.
“How many drinks, Shadow?”
The DJ put on a song everyone knew, causing a wave of noise to wash over the club as everyone sang along.
“None of your business.” Shadow growled, but it was undercut by a rather playful tone.
Sonic had always hoped that Shadow would be a lightweight. It would be so funny. It would completely stand out from everything that Shadow emulated if he couldn’t hold down his alcohol. And on this beautiful night, he was watching his dreams unfold.
This time Sonic got the bartenders attention.
Nine! Ten!
Shadow let out a long sigh and bent over the counter top, hiding his face away from Sonic.
This was too good!
“I’m going to go join Amy and Knuckles,” Sonic said smoothly, quite unaffected by the alcohol he’d ingested. He couldn’t say the same for Shadow.
The lack of response from Shadow gave Sonic the slightest tinge of worry that maybe he’d loaded him up too much and now he was going to return home before anything happened. Perhaps he had crossed over a boundary that Shadow only let Rouge over. He paused for that brief moment, waiting for movement from Shadow.
“...I’ll go with you.”
Knuckles and Amy were far from the bar, but she had a drink in her hand. Someone must have offered her one.
“This is actually my third,” Amy informed Sonic when he asked. “I knew this dress was perfect right when I tried it on the first time.” Amy had to speak close to Sonic’s ear due to the noise and bustling of the crowd, and a little bit of her drink splashed on his fur while they were close. As he wiped some of it off, she asked him, “Where’s Shadow?”
“What?” They had entered the crowd together. Sonic kept an arm around Amy as he turned and saw only strangers behind him. He looked the other direction and saw Knuckles spinning a girl he hadn’t seen before. There was no sign of Shadow.
“Dude, I literally had my arm on his while we came this way. Where did he go?”
Amy drank a bit more and also looked for Shadow, swaying to the music. Knuckles caught sight of Sonic and moved closer to him while continuing to dance with the girl, asking, “What are you looking for?”
“Shadow!”
“Isn’t he right there?” Knuckles took one of his gloves off of the girl and gestured.
Amy and Sonic turned around but only saw a circle of patrons chanting.
“No way.”
The pair went and pushed their way into the circle and saw exactly what Sonic had entertained in his mind for so long.
“Amy, get your phone out. I’ve never seen Shadow move like that in my life.”
“Oh my goodness.”
“Yo, it took two drinks and eight shots. I wonder what he can do with some more…”
Amy had gotten her phone out with her free hand and was recording Shadow in the middle of the circle.
The song changed and the crowd yelled again, shifting into positions to match the new beat.
Sonic made his way into the circle as it dissipated and grabbed Shadow’s shoulders, shouting, “I never knew you could move like that!”
“Shut up!” Shadow yelled back. His breath was hot.
He took Shadow’s hand and moved him and Amy back over to where Knuckles was. The echidna’s girl had left so he was dancing alone to the song. Sonic pushed Shadow onto him and yelled, “Shadow wants a dance partner!”
“What?” Knuckles yelled, initially shying away from the black hedgehog as if Shadow would rear up and attack him at any given moment before repositioning himself to be next to him. Sonic didn’t doubt that Shadow still had some fight in him, though, and didn’t quite look down on Knuckles’s sudden movement as the space closed between him and a former enemy.
Still, Sonic thought this was hilarious.
“Ames, give Shadow the rest of your drink.”
“Oh my gosh, Sonic…” But she still extended her hand.
He took the glass and gave it to Shadow, who was already dancing along to the music that was playing.
He accepted and drank it as Sonic cheered him on. And then, to his surprise, Shadow held out the remaining amount for Sonic, a drunken smile on his face colored by the flashing neon lights.
Sonic drank some, and then passed the rest to Knuckles, who downed it and set the glass on the floor, nudging it a bit heavily away from them.
And they danced. And danced. And danced. Switching partners in their group and out of their group, shouting, shoving each other. Shadow twirled Amy around with skill that said he’d gone through these motions before. Sonic clapped and cheered for them. They shifted dance partners again, and again, and again. Amy and Knuckles got into a screaming match about something while Shadow danced way too close to Sonic, who had never wished so hard in his life that he had pockets he could hold a phone in.
In a lull between the other’s argument, Sonic yelled, “What time is it?”
Amy had to twist uncomfortably to get her phone from her purse since the song was particularly fast and a lot of people were bumping into them. She yelled back, “Around one!”
“New joint?” Knuckles asked. A new girl had started dancing on him in the brief moment that passed.
It was cold outside, and Shadow kept laughing incredibly loud with a strange smoker crackle after each one. Sonic had to support him on his shoulder. “There’s a good club down the street from here,” Amy said. “A lot more relaxed, good to end the night on.”
“No.” Shadow interjected. Sonic’s mouth curled into a smile as Shadow began to talk. This night just kept getting better. They had only hit up one spot so far and Shadow was already acting so unlike himself. He couldn’t believe Rouge had kept this enigma to herself for so long. Sonic looked up at Amy with pleading eyes begging to let Shadow continue speaking. He needed to soak all this in to ensure that he would never let Shadow live this down.
“Where else, Shadow?” Amy asked, sighing at Sonic’s look.
Shadow pointed behind them all, and said, “There’s a place up there that has a good crowd. Fun. Gives a good time.”
“Let’s do it.” Sonic said fast.
“Don’t go running anywhere, Sonic, before you run over a drunk.” Amy cut in.
And the four of them set off again, down this seedy street, to an establishment that somehow looked more rundown than the previous one. There were a lot of bars and clubs situated around it, though, and they cast artificial light on this place that made their buzzed heads’ hurt just a bit.
They waited in line, and got in.
“This place closes around four,” Shadow informed them. The crowd in this club seemed to be full of people looking for a fight, or it was just due to the time they had entered. There was a lot more pushing and the overall smell of the place was a lot thicker than the other club. Sonic raised an eyebrow as he looked around. Again, this was a place he would find himself in, but never would imagine Shadow to hang out. The black hedgehog stepped away from them.
Sonic, Knuckles, and Amy joined the crowd of dancers and were soon joined by Shadow, who was holding drinks. He passed them around, they all shared them, and began to dance again.
It was a lot louder here than in the other place, and they all had to shout to get each other’s attention. Amy kept turning away from expectant men who repeatedly tried to break into the group’s circle and Knuckles was dancing so much that he kept causing waves behind him from people struggling to not fall over whenever he turned. Sonic was laughing at it all and kept pulling Shadow away from the other dancers as it seemed he was barely functioning from all the drink.
This was a completely different hedgehog than the one who had entered their house hours ago. A dream come true for Sonic. Shadow could actually party. And he could only do it under the influence. He had predicted it, but it was so much different to see in actuality, not just in that little corner of his mind.
Now, they could have kept on dancing like every other night. The club would reach closing time, and the group would eat at whatever back alley place was still open before going home for the night, or booking into a motel so that Tails would not have to see their hungover faces the next morning. The least wasted—usually Sonic—would drive home and try his best to not get pulled over, especially since he had active speeding tickets against him that would never get paid.
This was a typical night out for them. Today, however, they had Shadow, and while Sonic had hypothesized that the amount of drinks in Shadow’s system affected his personality, as did with lots of people, Sonic failed to think that maybe Shadow’s drunken habits went past being flirtatious and were actually a bit destructive. Which wouldn’t be a surprise, but Shadow could handle himself, right?
Sometime around three Shadow had gotten off of Sonic and stepped into the crowd, muttering about something. Sonic danced with Amy for a while, jumping and twirling with her as the music blasted through the club, Knuckles right behind them cheering them on.
There was yelling in the building the whole time they had been there because of alcohol mixing with already drunk patrons, so the trio thought nothing of the screams when they first cut in through the music. But then the shouts got louder, loud enough that a wave started to ripple through the crowd where concerned dancers began to move away from the noise.
“Do you think someone is fighting?” Amy asked, straightening up. Sonic rubbed the back of his neck and leaned to the left, trying to see what was going on.
“Dude, no way.”
And the three of them were running towards the noise as fast as they could because, to their little surprise, Shadow was fighting with someone.
Girls were screaming, but only loud enough to barely be heard over the music. Their volume was good enough to push away most of the crowd, though. Sonic was able to squeeze through some people and get a clear view of Shadow punching someone quite hard into the dirty floor of the club, his quills messy and fur scruffed up.
“Yo, Knuckles, help me out!” Sonic yelled as he got behind Shadow and began to drag him off. Knuckles pulled the other guy away a lot easier than Sonic was able to and the girls went over to the beaten guy as onlookers just watched.
“Dude, what the hell happened?” Sonic asked Shadow as he dragged him away.
He didn’t get a response, so Amy asked the same thing, only getting a grunt.
They were now near the bathrooms on the opposite side of the club. Shadow was perched against the wall as they questioned him. Sonic couldn't hide the smile forming on his face from how unreal this was.
“Did he say something?” Sonic asked.
Shadow, wiping his nose, growled, “He looked at me wrong.”
Amy and Sonic stole glances at each other, and Sonic stifled a laugh so hard that he felt like a vein might burst.
They continued calming Shadow down as Knuckles broke through the crowd, stomping over to them with the slightest tinge of concern plastered on his flushed face.
“Shadow,” he huffed, “Why did you attack one of the security?”
Amy and Sonic froze.
“He looked at me wrong.” Shadow repeated.
“That was security?” Sonic asked, suddenly feeling very sober.
“Yes, bro, he was telling the other guards that Shadow just jumped on him.”
“He looked at me funny...” Shadow repeated again, drawing out the last word with a gravely voice.
“They’re looking for him right now.” Knuckles continued.
“Dude, you’re going to get us thrown out.” Sonic said lightly, still finding this somewhat hilarious despite the shock that had run through him moments earlier.
However, the phrasing Sonic had chosen made Shadow stiffen, and the group picked up on this. They listened closely as Shadow murmured, “Ah, I’ve been banned from here.”
Now they all froze. The music continued on.
“What?” Amy huffed.
Shadow nodded with his eyes closed, concentrating. “Yes, I came here with Rouge a while back and got banned for starting a fight.”
Sonic couldn’t hold back his laugh and exclaimed, “That’s why they looked at you funny, Shads, you’re not supposed to be here!”
All Shadow did was nod, a smile coming back onto his face.
“Yea, I think they might’ve just noticed us,” they heard Amy say. “We should leave.”
They began to make it to the doorway when suddenly a cop entered, looking around. The four of them tried to sneak back into the crowd as quickly and discreetly as possible.
“Oh my gosh, Shadow, they called the cops! How bad did you beat him up?” Amy hissed.
Sonic was laughing into Shadow’s shoulder as he dragged him closer into the crowd. He felt a tear in his eye.
“He was hit pretty badly.” Knuckles responded.
“What do we do?” Amy asked.
They had security guards looking for them on one side, and cops on the other.
Sonic scoffed. “You guys are scared of cops? Be real.”
And he took Shadow and began to lead him towards the exit, whispering loudly to the others over the music, “Just act natural.”
As they passed by the trio of cops posted by the door, Shadow lunged out of Sonic’s arms and hit one in the stomach as hard as his drunken arms could.
“Shadow!” They all yelled, and the hedgehog in question broke out of Sonic’s grasp and jumped on the cop, fighting him for absolutely no reason while the other officers stood in disbelief at what was happening.
Sonic unfortunately was bent over laughing, unable to respond. Amy told Knuckles in a panic to lift Shadow off of the cop, which the echidna was able to do with ease while Shadow screamed curses and squirmed in his grasp.
Amy smacked Sonic on the back of his head to snap him back into reality and yelled, “We need to get out of here!”
Sonic was still gasping as the four tore out of the club as the cops, minus the one who Shadow had jumped, came out behind them, yelling for them to stop.
“Do you think they’ll recognize us later?” Amy shouted, her heels clicking as she ran.
“They never do!” Sonic yelled back.
Knuckles didn’t say anything as he ran, holding Shadow like luggage under his arm while the hedgehog continued to writhe and curse.
Amy’s car thankfully wasn’t far, but the cops were not that far away. Getting into the car ran a risk of them getting caught, and although Sonic definitely had the speed to get away with ease, he couldn’t do much about Knuckles or Shadow even if he carried Amy with him as he ran.
As they neared her car, Sonic yelled, “Ames, start the car fast and Knuckles, get in. Once it's going I’m gonna give you guys a boost.”
“That’s a horrible idea, Sonic, these roads are a mess!”
“Stop! Stop right now!” The cops screamed.
“Don’t worry, just steer!”
“I’m not doing that!”
The shouting grew closer to them.
“Let me drive, then!”
“Absolutely not, you’ll run over someone or get us pulled over!”
Amy bounded over the passenger side and into the driver’s side, her keys already in her hands ready to start the car. Knuckles sat with Shadow still in his grasp as Sonic got into the shotgun seat, his arms crossed. “We gotta go, Ames, they’re right there!” He laughed.
And the car started and they were going, going, going as fast as they could. Apparently the cops had arrived on foot so once Amy pulled out, there wasn’t much more they could do. Sonic had gotten her phone out shortly after the car began to move and took a candid photo of their getaway, Knuckles’s arm clamped around Shadow who was now apparently passed out on him.
They rode out in silence for half of the ride. At 4:20ish they made it onto the highway, and Sonic opened his mouth.
“It was so funny when Shadow jumped on that cop.”
“Oh my goodness, Sonic.” Amy groaned.
Knuckles laughed in the backseat.
“Why do you think he did that?” Sonic continued.
“I don’t even know.” Amy responded. She paused, and then added, “It was funny, though.”
Shadow let out an uneven breath and went back to being silent as he slept.
“He can’t even speak for himself.” Sonic said.
“No wonder Rouge brings him out so much. She loves the drama.” Amy responded. “I don’t think I could do that every other week. He came so relaxed, so put together. What even happened…” She shook her head in sadness.
“I wouldn’t say I didn’t suspect it. Shadow can’t always be…Shadow.” Sonic replied.
“He does seem like the type to hit a guy in uniform.”
“I did it for no reason.”
Amy and Sonic both whipped their heads around and stared at Shadow, who had apparently woken up for this moment of brief clarity. Knuckles was looking down at him too.
“...What?” Sonic spoke up first.
Shadow sniffed, buried deep into the crook of Knuckles’s body. “I thought it’d be funny. Catch you all off guard.” He said this plainly, more sober than he had been since they left at midnight hours ago.
And he closed his eyes again, not offering anything else.
Sonic woke up around nine the next morning on the floor in the living area of Tails’s home. Amy was nowhere to be seen, but Knuckles was sleeping on the opposite side of the space. Despite his claimed tolerance to alcohol, Sonic woke up with a headache.
He heard light footsteps and saw Tails entering the room with two mugs in his hands.
“What happened last night? You look rough.” He asked softly, offering him the cup.
Sonic thanked him and drank the tea, squinting from the pain in his head. Knuckles was snoring kind of loud on the other side of the room.
“We went out with Shadow.” Sonic said after he swallowed. His voice was thick and gravelly, matched nicely with his appearance.
Tails sat down on the couch. “Oh, wow. I didn’t see him at all this morning. I guess he went home after you all came back.”
Sonic got up, his legs shaking a little, and walked over to the window, shielding his eyes from the sunlight pouring in. Shadow’s motorcycle was gone from the driveway. “Wow, I guess he drove himself home last night. That’s kinda scary.” Sonic mused.
He turned to Tails. “Dude, you should have seen him. It was like a whole ‘nother hedgehog…” Sonic stopped and contemplated the night’s events. He then corrected himself, stating, “Actually, it was like a drunk Shadow. If you imagine Shadow drunk, you probably get what we had last night.”
Tails had a sip from his mug and asked, “Are you going to go out with him again?”
Sonic considered this.
“Yes.”
He then replayed the events in his mind.
“But not for a while.”