Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

If there were a talent Sonic had that Shadow considered one of the most uncanny, it would be his ability to show up wherever his rival is, no matter how long the black hedgehog has been at the location. A task at a random Dr. Eggman’s base? Sonic. An unexpected shopping trip with Rouge? Sonic. A quiet break at a coffee shop? Sonic. Desperately trying to get away from the city hustle and bustle, only to Chaos Control somewhere based entirely on a feeling?

Oh, would you look at that. Sonic.

Shadow doesn’t recognise the picturesque lavish landscape around him at first – after all, he has never been here before, but he remembers leafing through travel brochures about Emerald Coast, and it looks similar enough. What he does recognise immediately is the blue hedgehog lounging in a plastic beach chair, wearing sunglasses and sipping some cocktail garnished with a slice of orange. To Shadow’s satisfaction though, Sonic looks just as surprised to see him when their roles are technically reversed. He slowly pushes his sunglasses up to his forehead, staring.

“Shadow?”

The Ultimate Lifeform doesn’t grace the dumb question with a response. He looks around, cataloguing the surroundings, and with the exception of his blue rival, his wish for peace and quiet seems to have been fulfilled. There’s no one else. Though of course, it’s very remiss of the universe to have Sonic present. “Peace and quiet” isn’t something Shadow can associate with him.

“Not that I’m unhappy to see you,” the hedgehog starts, proving Shadow right, “but whatcha doing here? Never seen you in Emerald Coast…”

“Not your business,” Shadow bites out, the situation beginning to grate on him again. Maybe the city noises would have been preferable.

“Chill, man, just asking!”

The hero shows his open palms in a clear indication of peace and continues in the same friendly tone of voice:

“If you’re also here for a sand bath, there’s plenty of space on the beach.”

A sand bath? The dark hedgehog frowns even more than before, not liking feeling confused.

“Don’t you mean ‘a sunbath’?” he almost demands the answer.

“Nah, a sand bath! You know…?” as he trails off, something seems to click for Sonic and he throws his sunglasses off completely, leaving them on the chair. “Come on, I’ll show you! I was waiting for the sun to go down a little. Last year I got a nasty sunburn, and let me tell you—”

The hedgehog chatters on, and while Shadow mostly tunes him out, he follows the slender figure anyway to where the beach slopes to resemble a dune pretty much. This place appears to be secluded from the rest of the resort. It is… tranquil.

The moment Sonic walks down, he full-body drops on the white sand, sinking into it, then promptly starts rolling around, half-curling and bristling his spines. Finally, he jumps back into a sitting position, producing small sandy fountains as the particles cling to him. He turns to Shadow.

“That’s a sand bath. All hedgehogs do it, well, most of them. There’s some scientific explanation for it, but it just feels very nice, relaxing,” Sonic says and stretches an arm towards the other. “Try it!”

Shadow’s knee-jerk reaction is to refuse, but after a pause he walks to Sonic and scoops some sand to let it run through his fingers. It’s pleasantly warm. He gingerly sits, then lies down and wiggles a bit, feeling awkward with the green eyes watching him.

“Now roll,” the blue hedgehog instructs.

After giving it a quick thought, Shadow decides fully curling into a ball would be easier and it is indeed, but also a cascade of sand flies into the air, burying Sonic under, who doesn’t wait long to curl up himself. For a few minutes the beach is filled with chugging hedgehog noises as two spiny balls roll around in a weird battle of who throws more sand at the other. Only once the space has a decent amount of pot-holes, do they stop, spreading out on the sand and breathing hard. Sonic is grinning while Shadow can barely hide his own satisfied smile.

“Now I’ve got sand stuck in my spines,” he complains, turning his head to his opponent, who somehow grins even wider.

“That’s exactly the point! Good for the skin or something,” Sonic also turns on his side comfortably. “But it’s nice, right?”

He yawns, prompting Shadow to cover up a yawn as well, and closes his eyes.

“I usually go alone and sleep after… Just don’t sleep when the sun is high, that’s how you get itchy face for days on end…” he murmurs.

It is enlightening to learn Sonic also wanted to be solitary today. Shadow has half a thought to get up and leave but decides it’s the fool’s own fault for inviting him. The sand is really warm and comfortable after all, and the blue hedgehog nearby lets out these cute little snores, lulling him to sleep, too.

It is very, very nice.