The morning had started out normal—it was a good, breezy autumn day, and it was nice to go out and just admire how beautiful the surrounding areas were with trees painted red, yellow and orange, leaves adorned the ground in clusters and scattered, the occasional bird singing. Pedestrians were out walking in the local park, enjoying the cool, relaxing weather. It had been far too cold the last few days, but today it wasn't as freezing, and the hint of wind added to the atmosphere just right. It was perfect.
Well, it would have been perfect for the civilians, had two certain hedgehogs not decided to tear up the ground behind them in a vicious race.
A black and blue blur screamed through the park in a flash, charging past a young couple walking along the sidewalk and causing the woman to yelp in surprise. Leaves danced and spun in the air behind the trail of wind the hedgehogs left behind.
Sonic and Shadow the Hedgehog were in another game of 'I'm better than you'.
Their vision was glazed over and hazy, neither of them were sure of where they were going, exactly, they just focused on running, as far and fast as they could. What started out as a regular race, had turned a bit more serious, both now determined to prove who was the better racer. They were both sure they had caused a sonic boom by now. Neither of them were angry at one another, they had become so caught up in the challenge of being the fastest thing alive that they had no destination focus. This was just something they did. They ran. Running was everything to them, and they didn't seem to mind running until they could go no farther.
This was a challenge, a race. It was what they were made for, it was something they shared.
The hedgehogs were racing through the city now, darting around corners and over cars, leaping onto roofs and alongside the buildings. Children and others who recognized the two streaks across the city exclaimed and pointed at them before they were gone within the blink of an eye. It was an exciting display for the citizens, and the cheers brought a radiant smile to the azure hero's muzzle. This caught the attention of the streaked one for a moment, and for a single second he mimicked his counterpart and grinned, but it disappeared before the other could see. They were content.
They were in-tune with each other, managing to predict where the other was going to turn or jump, and followed along the chosen path, running alongside one another with ease. This was what they enjoyed, they couldn't do this with anyone else, it was something only they could master, something that only they could have a mutual understanding and love of. They liked the challenge that both offered, they were so much alike, and yet so different in many ways. It drew them to one another, excited them, made them crave that adrenaline rush that only the two could erupt in each other.
It took the two hedgehogs a moment before they realized they had already exited the city, and were now rushing through grassy plains distant from the park. Out of the crowds and skyscrapers, away from the public eye, Sonic concocted a more playful approach to the race. He would win this. He always did, anyway. Shadow always put up one hell of a fight, he couldn't cut him short on that fact.
And that was when Sonic caught a glimpse of the ebony hedgehog's expression. He had taken the incentive to be the one to smile at him first, which was a surprise. But it showed that he was more comfortable away from anyone able to disrupt their game. As the smile was barely visible, he always seemed to have a stern look about him, but it was easy to tell that he was happy with the current situation. This gave the Sonic all the more reason to go through the idea he planned out. It would either piss off his counterpart, or he would respond with equal aggressive amusement.
The hero decided now to come to a very harsh skidding halt, his heels ground into the earth as he tried to brake after running at such break-neck speeds. At the same time it slightly caught Shadow off-guard, only giving him a short moment to try and put on his own brakes. The two had slowed down enough, the blue speedster assumed, and then tackled Shadow into the ground. Initially it was a rough landing, enough to deliver a few scrapes and cuts to their legs and knees, until they rolled several times across the thick grass and finally came to a stop. Much to the Ultimate Lifeform's surprise, he was the one who ended up landing on his back, and Sonic propped up on top of him, grinning with such a smugness it sparked a few areas of annoyance at his unethical choice of ending the race.
"I win."
The loser of the game twisted his face into minor disapproval, only rewarding the winner with a simple "Hmph" as he always did. "I didn't realize you were trying to get us killed during a race."
"What's the matter, can't handle a little tumble?" Sonic mocked with an additional teasing tone.
The ebony hedgehog seemed unperturbed. "I would have preferred to see who could get ahead first."
"Yeah, and I did, I managed to stop you."
"By physically mauling me into the ground."
"Spoilsport." Sonic huffed and folded his arms, plopping down on his side to lie on the ground next to the ebony one.
They simply laid there for a moment. Not speaking, not moving, just taking a well-needed break from their hour long run. They were able to listen to their surroundings without the sound of the wind whipping violently against their ears due to such high velocity. The gentle breeze brushing against the grass and the leaves on the trees, a few dropping off the branches here and there and fluttering overhead. The sun wasn't blaring into their eyes, there were just enough clouds in the sky to shade it and create a calm, relaxing atmosphere.
Shadow hadn't realized that the way Sonic had lied down positioned his muzzle just barely against the azure speedster's peach stomach, whose arms were folded over the top of Shadow's head. He unconsciously chose to shift to lie on his own side, to where he was fully staring at the crumpled grass beneath sapphire fur. He was uncharacteristically close to his rival. He wasn't even sure why he hadn't recoiled from the contact. Sonic didn't seem to mind, either, so he figured it was safe enough to stay where he was.
It was...oddly comforting. The elder hedgehog couldn't put his finger on it, it just assured a sense of peace inside him by being so close to the hero. Such thoughts weren't entirely new either, but he never really had the time to stop and think about such things. Naturally he may have drawn back and kicked Sonic to the side, but now...he didn't seem to mind the closeness of the two. Things were fine the way they were for him. It was almost as if Sonic was on a mutual level of understanding, like no words had to be spoken in order for him to understand exactly what the other was thinking.
The ultimate lifeform suddenly became all the more aware of the other's presence, drooping his eyelids and looking down. He had allowed himself to nuzzle slightly against the belly of his rival, seemingly still leaving Sonic undisturbed. The azure hedgehog appeared to lean into it, pressing their bodies further together as he folded his arms tighter and pressed them against the top of Shadow's head, as if he wanted him to scoot closer. Neither of them seemed to be in any state of discomfort, and were perfectly content, albeit slightly confused, with where they were.
"It was...nice."
Sonic's response was an inquisitive "Mm?" from his throat.
"The race. Usually I'm indifferent when I run." He spoke quietly, not seeing any need to raise his voice.
"Not even when GUN sends you off on missions?"
"No. I'm just running towards wherever the mission leads me. I have to think upon the objective, then."
Sonic pondered this for a minute, unsure if Shadow had just tried to compliment him or not, but it didn't stop the tiny flutter of the heart he got. It sounded as though he was saying the speedster allowed him to relax. Shadow liked being kept busy, but he did like time off to himself from time to time. But, he was an unusually calm one for the most part. Sonic didn't doubt there were times he would become stressed, but he very rarely ever made it known to those around him. He was the type who bottled everything in and tried putting a dead-bolt lock on the top of it...and sometimes threw away the key. Trying to get him to open up would mean having to either find said key, or smash the bottle open. The latter was the worst way to go about it, but there had been times where Sonic could have ripped his own quills out from trying to get Shadow to just ease up and talk.
A gentle smile appeared on Sonic's lips, his eyelids falling slightly. "Yeah, it's been a while since we had a good race."
Shadow nodded against his stomach. "I've missed it."
Right now was a very welcome change. It told Sonic that Shadow was actually leaning towards him, even though he was making small talk he was still taking the initiative to start it. Sonic hadn't really known himself as to why he had tried so hard before to get Shadow to loosen up. Normally he would have just shrugged it off, called him a 'mopester', and dart off with a grin. It seemed, however, that the longer they knew each other, the more he simply wanted Shadow to know that he wasn't alone.
A very long silence hung, the two possibly trying to think of something else to say. Sonic was considering the wording of his upcoming question, while Shadow appeared to simply be content in the fact that they could be this close without any kind of negative reaction.
"Hey..." Sonic piped up, feeling Shadow's ears perk against his arms at hearing his hesitant, soft tone. "You know you're not alone, right?"
Shadow's eyes focused back on the tiny quills on the hero's stomach, before they shifted up to look at the horizon just over Sonic's side. The question was sort of out of the blue, he thought about it carefully, trying to decipher it in several ways. He stopped himself quickly to scold himself for looking far too deep into such a simple question.
Except it wasn't that simple for him. Ever since his beloved Maria had perished, he had convinced himself that becoming too close to anyone else again would only bring him pain, loss, such unbearable sorrow to the point of depression. He wasn't keen on having to deal with more hallucinations, and he wasn't sure he could deal with the suffering again. The only other person he had managed to develop a soft side for was Rouge, who had made it clear that she would stick by him. Staying silent seemed to be the only effective way to remain distant. He had succeeded so far.
Until Sonic strolled along and decided to spinball through the defenses he built.
He hesitated, opening his mouth to speak, but no words seemed to come out. Sonic could feel the motion on his fur, and imagined that he was attempting to respond. Shadow closed his mouth and swallowed, completely unsure of how to reply to the question.
"Sometimes...I forget." Was all he could muster up. It was the best way to describe it, he reassured himself.
Sonic sighed softly. He then realized how tense Shadow seemed to become after his question. He knew that it was a difficult subject to speak of, but he didn't want to make the ebony hedgehog uncomfortable. Against his better judgment, he carefully unfolded his arms and used one hand to gently run his fingers along Shadow's dark pelt, occasionally scratching behind his ears. Sonic wasn't the best with words, he knew, but he at least wanted to try and have the ability to comfort.
Suddenly, he felt a tiny pulsating within his stomach that resonated to his chest. Confused, he momentarily halted the petting, and the buzzing stopped. He moved to press his fingers into the quills on top of Shadow's head and ran them through, halfway massaging the area. The light vibrating erupted again.
Shadow was purring. The realization striking the azure hero made the former smile turn into a full fledged grin, pleased that he had managed to succeed in getting some form of contentment from his rival. Shadow grunted slightly and shifted a little, seemingly irritated that Sonic managed to draw this reaction from him. This only granted the blue one another smile. He could imagine Shadow's face right now—a puffed up cheek while glaring at the ground. Probably thinking of clocking him in the jaw, too.
"Why...are you doing that..." Was the flustered hedgehog's response.
"Because, faker, you're about as tense and tangled as a fully stretched bungee cord. I'm not gonna bite you or anything." He was rewarded with a very minor guttural growl from the ultimate lifeform. It sounded like more of a pout than it was an angry retort, which made it all the more amusing. "But hey..."
His ears perked again, eyes glancing from the ground back up to the azure pelt covering his eyesight.
"I'm here, and so are the others. As long as we look out for each other, we'll be fine, right?"
Shadow's gaze lowered slowly, once again. The last person who was in my care died because I failed to look out for them...
"And before you go off into your own self-deprecating monologuing, whatever happens, happens. Best not to worry about what we don't know, yeah? Besides..." His smile faded into a gentle one, barely visible. "We always come out of our battles together. Even if we're off on separate missions, we're strong enough to make it out alive on our own. Always."
Shadow found he couldn't respond to this. He felt like the sapphire hedgehog was just gently strumming and tugging on the strings of his heart. He wondered for a moment if Sonic was aware of how sappy this had become, but he brushed it off and simply enjoyed the feeling he was receiving from Sonic's words. There had been some very rough patches in battles before, but Sonic was right one way or the other. If it weren't true, well, then they wouldn't exactly still be alive, still breathing, or still able to lie in the half-embrace of their rival.
Always...
It was then Shadow hesitantly, cautiously, lifted his free arm and slowly moved it to carefully place his hand on Sonic's side, running his palm and fingers along his counterpart's fur softly. Sonic resisted the reaction to the slight tickling he felt from the touch, and chose to lie his cheek against the top of Shadow's head. The elder hedgehog responded by curling his face further into Sonic's stomach, like he was trying to get closer than he already could. Sonic then closed his eyes in peace, and was happy to feel his rival's lips curve into a faint smile against his fur.
"Thank you, Sonic."