Chapter Text
Shadow, the black and red hedgehog, was sitting in a field of lavender, gazing up at the stars and brooding. He was far too deep in his thought, he realized, when he finally came back to Earth and noticed someone was sitting beside him—leaning against him, even.
It was Sonic.
Now, Sonic and Shadow had been rivals since they met. They fought, what seemed like, all the time, even if there was those few times where they would team up and conquer something together. Sonic and Shadow never thought they had any chemistry and they never thought it could work out even if that was a possibility. Their looks were different, their personality, thoughts, mental state was different... Everything about them was different.
Positive and negative.
Good and bad.
Up and down.
And so on.
However, even with their differences, there was an underlying tension between them. A good tension.
Subtle flirts, touches... Maybe even holding hands subconsciously because they feel safe with one another.
Though, even with the rumor spreading around that they liked each other, both quickly dismissed it. There was just no way. They were too different to be in love.
But opposites attract, don't they?
They balance each other out.
Shadow hummed quietly at the touch, but he didn't move away. Instead, he just turned his head and gave Sonic a dismissive, faux annoyed grunt. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "This is where I get my peace. I don't need the likes of you around."
Sonic laughed with amusement at Shadow's words. "Hey, relax! I was just coming to see where you were at. You never responded to my text. I want a race," he said.
"Hmph," Shadow grunted. "Now??"
The blue hedgehog nudged Shadow. "Obviously! So what do you say? Think you could beat me, second place?"
The dark hedgehog growled, his fists clenching as Sonic stood up ran off. He quickly followed suit, using his air shoes to give himself and extra boost to chase after Sonic.
They raced all through Green Hills. From Hedgehog's Pass to the loop-de-loop and so on.
Sonic couldn't help the smile on his face as he stared at the hedgehog next to him, completely in awe. Shadow was so... beautiful, it was just insane! The moonlight shining on his quills looked gorgeous, and Sonic had to admit that he didn't enjoy anything more than seeing Shadow running next to him in such a focuses way. It made his stomach flutter.
No way! Sonic shook his head. Don't think that! he told himself before he kept running.
Eventually, they crashed somewhere on the beach, getting covered in sand after falling on the ground. Shadow was beneath Sonic, and Sonic was on top of him. Both were completely out of breath from laughter. Such a stupid thing that happened! It was hilarious.
Their laughter died down, and they paused, staring into each other's eyes. Sonic's were like emeralds, glistening just as bright as his lively nature.
Shadow furrowed his eyebrows and pushed Sonic away suddenly with an irritated grunt, his face flushing greatly at what just happened. Shadow was too close to getting his walls down. Too close to Sonic. He needed to fix that. "Hmph... We'll have the winner undeclared for now. I have work to do," he hissed before skating away, leaving Sonic at the beach by himself, who scoffed at Shadow's sudden departure and stood up, making his way to Tails' workshop to sleep there for the night. I think it's time I talk to him, Sonic decided, and I think it's time we really slow down.
...
The next morning, after deep, stressful thought about what happened, Shadow decided to distance himself from Sonic. He, embarrassingly, let his guard down in front of his rival. Only people like Omega, Rouge, and Maria had ever seen him with his guard down. And maybe Amy, too, sometimes, but only during concerts or tea parties. Anyway, those were people he trusted and love. People who he knew were safe. So being like that with Sonic... It was just weird! And the feelings he felt he had never felt before. It, degradingly, made him feel like a shy high school girl.
Shadow didn't even want to put a name on the feeling he had right now. He just knew that he needed to distance himself from Sonic. He needed to keep Sonic away. It was better that way. No matter what he did or felt, the only goal was to stay away from Sonic.
Unbeknownst to Shadow, however, this decision would have a major impact on not only Sonic, but himself, as well. It may even temporarily ruin his life.