Chapter Text
The air was filled with the occasional yelps and growls of a particularly upset ebony hedgehog. His eyes shut with pain and frustration as his arch enemy yanked broken glass from his arm with a pair of tweezers.
“I don’t really need help faker. I could have taken care of this myself.” The ebony hedgehog declared with a solid grunt as he attempted to cross his arms over his body but they were immediately pushed aside by a slightly irritated blue hedgehog.
“And risk your wounds getting infected again? No way, just because you’re the ultimate life form, Shadow, doesn’t mean you’re impervious to bacteria”. The azure hedgehog replied as he pulled out another piece of glass more aggressively than before.
“If you didn’t ram me into a window. We wouldn’t have this problem, Sonic.” Shadow stated with another grunt and a low pitch growl as he noticed the cobalt hedgehog's increasingly angry tone.
"And if YOU weren’t so stubborn Shadow, we could have gotten this done an hour ago. Then you can go back to being your brooding-uninterested self. For now, you’re in my house, show a little respect.” He declared with as his eyes glared straight into the ebonys'.
Shadow sighed with a somewhat peeved nod as he decided to give up. Fighting was just going to make this event take longer, and he knew that’s the last thing he needed. Silence crept through the room like an apparition, making both the hedgehogs uncomfortable as Sonic continued to brush debris from the ebony hedgehog's torso.
Shadow's eyes fell straight to the floor as he felt the cobalt hedgehog touch his abdomen. He attempted with all his might to mask the sensation he was feeling. It wasn’t necessarily a pleasant or unpleasant sensation more like the feeling you get when you snuggle against warm blankets on a cold winter night. It felt slightly... Comforting. Something Shadow hated to admit. For desiring support meant he felt weakness, and he would never admit that to anyone. Well besides one person. His eyes dilated as he remembered his fallen friend. Her beautiful golden hair and bright blue eyes were the only comforts he had in the prison known as the ARK. A testing facility for the most dangerous creatures on the planet back in the 50's and 60's. Thousands of feet into space, cleverly hidden behind the moon. He could remember those last moments... Maria falling to the ground in a pool of blood and him being sent back to the blue planet she had been particularly fond of. His thoughts were soon interrupted by a gentle sigh.
“Whatcha thinking 'bout shads? You seem deep in thought. Not that’s unusual, but I’m curious.” Sonic asked in a gentle and warm tone as he stared at the ebony in slight frustration.
Shadows eyes flickered up to the sapphire hedgehog as he immediately regained his composure.
“Why should I tell you of all people? And don’t call me that.” He replied coldly with his usual i-don't-give-a-crap scowl.
“Because I’m holding tweezers and I'm not afraid to use ‘em.” Sonic responded with a slight smile as he pinched Shadows nose gently with the object.
“Heh, are you trying to threaten me with that pitiful excuse for a weapon? You just keep getting more and more pathetic, faker”. He stated with his eyes looking away from the blue hedgehog's face with a confident frown.
For almost six months he had been watching Sonic from the corner of his eye when they fought. His beautiful emerald eyes were filled with so many secrets, something Shadow was more than familiar with. As he knew, eyes were not made of just one color; they were combinations of different colors united into one predominant color. What was more important, the general outcome or the little events that create the outcome? Sonic had noticed Shadow's sharp glance to the side as he finished up removing the last of the glass.
“Hay shads, don’t look so gloomy. Soon we will get you back home and you can be free to do whatever you want.” Sonic hoped that this slight show of affection would help the ebony feel more relaxed.
He didn’t like it when Shadow felt uncomfortable, which of lately was getting more frequent every time they interacted. The charcoal hedgehog didn’t reply as he grew more and more frustrated and Sonic was more than aware. If he didn’t do something quick, Shadow might chaos spear him in the face. The azure hedgehog patted his shoulder comfortingly and stated with complete honesty.
“What're you hiding from? Am I really that scary?” Sonic exclaimed mockingly as he thought the statement was utterly preposterous but couldn't help notice slight fear resonating in his rivals eyes.
Silence fell like a ton of bricks as Shadow's voice responded quietly.
“Your eyes, they scare me...” He admitted before quickly realizing what he just said.
How could he have lost his self-control so easily and around a stupid kid, nonetheless? His face practically flushed as he tried to take back what he said.
“Um no what I meant is… well…”. His voice weakened as he couldn’t come up with a good excuse.
For almost a minute there was complete silence as Sonic looked deeply into his rival’s eyes and finally, with a concerned look, asked Shadow a question he had wanted to ask since the beginning.
“Who are you, really? Shadow the hedgehog."