Fandom: Sonic the Hedgehog
Pairing: Shadow the Hedgehog x E-123 Omega
Theme set: Beta
Rating: Hopelessly G to T
Warning[s]: Implied hedgehog x male!robot slash with the exception of "Breathing" which is outright slash. Dark themes, but it's tooth-decaying sweet for the most part.
Notes: Written chronologically, but some parts were arranged by continuity and relation. Hope it's not too much of a messy read. ^^; Enjoy!

#01 - Walking
See, the thing about being ageless is, well, you don't age - you don't grow old and die like your aging friends do, and you won't die or catch diseases easily either, so take comfort your pal is still walking by your side after all these years even though he's all bolts and rust now.

#02 - Waltz
Even with alarms blaring out and being surrounded by Egg Pawns, Shadow managed to find the time to shake his head, face hidden in his palm, muttering, "There he goes again, waltzing in enemy territory [the room shook from the ensuing explosions ahead of him] without a care in the world..."

#03 - Wishes
Even Shadow the Ultimate Lifeform has wishes, and one of the many was for Omega to tone down his recklessness because he didn't want the robot to be the - accidental - death of him.

#04 - Wonder
One wonders long and hard about how the reserved, prideful Ultimate Lifeform and the much louder and equally prideful (if not more so) robot could get along so well, while Rouge comes to the simple conclusion that they're both soulmates.

#33 - Stupidity
It's only about time Omega's recklessness decided to bite him in the tailpipe, so now he's in some small dingy room, unable to move and steadily losing awareness, silently fuming over his mistake.

#05 - Worry
Sonic scratches the back of his head and thinks, sure, it had been two years and everyone's changed ('cept himself, he's sure), but seeing Shadow being protective and clearly - dare he say it? - worried towards his robot friend was kind of... unsettling.

#10 - Weddings
But of course, being the ever opportunistic hedgehog he is when it comes to poking Shadow's side with a stick, Sonic just had to say, in mock-hurt, "I can't believe you two went and got married and didn't invite me!" and dodges from the expected Chaos Spear.

#12 - Blessing
"Yes! With the parts from those guardian robots, I can repair him!" Tails exclaimed, and Shadow closed his eyes and let out a quiet sigh of relief through his nose, silently thanking the god he didn't believe in.

#29 - Jewel
'If I didn't know any better, Shadow's being possessive of that walking piece of scrap like Rouge is to her jewelleries or Amy towards Sonic,' Eggman thought with a scoff... then a massive shudder.

#06 - Whimsy
Omega thought he wouldn't be functional to see the day Shadow figure-skates (and they say he was glitchy...)

#07 - Waste/Wasteland
Omega isn't quite sure what's going on, or why he continues to stand by and watch the Black Arms hungrily infest the once lively city, coating it in deep red and sickly green, or why there are lost and confusion now in Shadow's eyes when it had been cold indifference, but when Shadow returns his gaze and asks, tiredly, "Please, just... stay awhile..." then so he will, for now.

#36 - Sordid
A small smile plays on his lips - Omega is laughably curious like a child, but it is far from stupid; it'll be a shame if he ends up having to destroy it like he did to his other 'teammate' as the robot proves to be a much livelier company than those brainless aliens.

#08 - Whiskey and rum
"Sh-shut up, don't say anything," he said, slurring slightly, cheeks tinted pink and scarlet eyes clouded, and wavered, falling on Omega whilst using him as support, "Or... else..." and passed out, leaving a puzzled robot behind.

#09 - War
The battlefield is like a playground to E-123 Omega; the enemies and obstacles his playthings and Shadow is the best combat-partner ever.

#11 - Birthday
They sat in comfortable silence, the basement vaguely vibrating from the techno music blasting away from above, and until Rouge realised that the birthday boy was missing and decided to drag him upstairs Shadow was going to stay here; playing Go Fish with Omega.

#13 - Bias
All homo sapiens and things made of flesh are weak, flammable, and squishy, and Shadow is no exception; he just have tougher skin.

#14 - Burning
"Beautiful," Shadow breathed, awed despite himself, and he thought - as he turned to Omega, his lips curving upwards as the robot switched his clawed hand to a flamethrower in silent anticipation - that it was such a shame the place was currently inhabited by a certain mad scientist.

#15 - Breathing
'Oxygen is central in a meatbag's life; continuous lack of oxygen will cause fainting, potentially severe brain damage and death,' Omega (the E-123 Pilot-In-Identity-Crisis) thought, and it provided a solid reason why Shadow was leaning in far too close, their faces inches apart.

#23 - Question
"Shadow?" For a while the hedgehog didn't turn, ignoring - or perhaps he had forgotten? - that the robot was even there.

#32 - Sorrow
Shadow had been deep in thought - so deep in the pool of jumbled thoughts that he wasn't really thinking at all, numbed, so much so he didn't realised he had eventually moved, turning away from Rouge's grave, and it was until he felt warm air gently blowing against his cold, wet fur that his senses came back.

#16 - Breaking
Shadow felt ridiculously exposed and Omega looking down at him curiously doesn't help matters, yet it was... inexplicably comforting, laying his forehead on his partner's broad frame like this- feeling the heat that blew from the vents, the faint sounds of Omega's innerworkings lulling his disorganised mind to rest... he sighed, closed his eyes, and let the rain to be the tears he would never allow himself to shed.

#18 - Balloon
"Egg Balloon sighted!" said Omega, immediately stopping his dismembering of an Egg Pawn and configured his clawed hands in favour of a pair of gatling guns, and Shadow very easily imagined a maniacal grin on his faceplate.

#19 - Balcony
There are days Shadow the Hedgehog wanted - badly - to toss his robot teammate off the balcony or some other high places, as well as there are days Shadow valued the near-childish simplicity that is E-123 Omega.

#20 - Bane
"You're going to be the bane of my existence if you keep this up," said Shadow in exasperation, with a teeny bit of affection.

#21 - Quiet
All was quiet then- just the harsh sounds of his ragged breathing, his rapidly beating heart, and all he could was... stare, just stare and stare at the broken body at his feet for what felt an eternity while hoping for a sign; hoping Omega would get up, just - get up! and - and he fell on his knees, shattered.

#22 - Quirks
E-123 Omega is a careless robot- brash and borderline insane with a superiority complex to boot, and Shadow surprises himself once he realises that he didn't want his partner in any other way.

#24 - Quarrel
Rouge sighed, running a hand down her face; it had been amusing at first, but now this was just plain ridiculous, and it seemed she'll have to step in if they weren't going to kiss and make up already.

#25 - Quitting
"I couldn't save Maria- I couldn't save Rouge." Shadow turned to face Omega. pretended that he couldn't decipher what was going through his friend's processor; pretended that the thing before him was just a statue, and said, quietly, with a small smile as he brought the gun to his head, "I can't do this anymore."

#26 - Jump
Something indefinable triggered off in Omega (panicdesperationfearWhat will my purpose be?) and he scrambled to the hedgehog and swatted the gun away, a loud bang echoing through the dark sky.

#27 - Jester
'That oversized tin-can can be such a clown sometimes,' Shadow mused with a carefully hidden smile.

#28 - Jousting
"The tournament will begin soon, Sir Lancelot," Omega graciously reminded the knight with a sharp poke on the shoulder, a faint edge of impatience and excitement in its dull, gruff voice, and Lancelot casted an annoyed glare at his comrade and figured all golems were like this: lovers of all things combat, no matter the shape and form.

#30 - Just
Shadow idly twirled the flower between his thumb and index finger, feeling strangely flattered and touched by Omega's attempt to cheer him up... now he'll just have to explain to the robot that Valentine's Day were shared only between lovers, and that whatever Rouge told him was a lie.

#31 - Smirk
Omega liked it when Shadow smiled like that because it meant- well, usually meant someone's going to have things blown up in their faces.

#34 - Serenade
He'd been serenaded by countless girls - and some guys - before and a few were actually pretty good, but - as Shadow reclined into his chair with his hands behind his head and an amused smirk on his face - he'd choose Omega's songs of bullets shooting away on his latest diehard admirer any day.

#35 - Sarcasm
"It's useless to make sarcastic remarks to Omega; it'll either fly ten feet over his head or it'll backfire on you, figuratively and literally... but I guess it's too late to tell you that."

#37 - Soliloquy
Even as Omega witnessed Shadow at his wits end - spoke of building an android empire with a mad glint in his red, red eyes; forced out a laughter that sounded oddly choked; brought his hand down hard on the Doctor's skull [crack] - Omega merely intoned, "He was my kill..."

#38 - Sojourn
Before, Omega would often say along the lines of, "I'll stay in your petty little team just this once then I'm out of here", but Shadow knew what he'd really meant, so he would only give the robot the briefest of smiles and nod.

#39 - Share
Rouge couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy whenever she thinks of Shadow sharing a little more of himself to the robot than he does to her.

#45 - Natural
Shadow smiled amusingly up at the robot at the threat of being turned into linked sausages, feeling oddly at ease despite the tussle they had earlier and the mission ending up a failure.

#49 - Victory
"What do you do know," Shadow laughed brokenly, and with one good eye he looks up at his partner- at the gaping hole of the gun, "You won."

#50 - Defeat
Omega vented out air, like a sigh, as Shadow had yet again chose to race with that blue hedgehog over sparring.

#47 - Valiant
Shadow was having second thoughts about Omega going after Mephiles alone- it's not like he doubted the robot's capabilities, but the last time Shadow had fought the creature on his own he'd been beaten badly, and when his partner appeared he was like some knight in shining armour.

#46 - Horizon
Finally he saw Omega's bulky figure in the horizon, fully intact and seemingly unscathed, and Shadow let out a breath of relief.

#17 - Belief
Omega refused to believe it still, his pride and ego wouldn't let him; there's no way he could be captured and reprogrammed by fearful humans that easily...

#43 - Nuance
Shadow tried not to overestimate the extent of the robot's emotional capacity, but he couldn't ignore how strangely silent Omega was throughout their hunt for Mephiles.

#48 - Virtuous
"I don't blame them," Shadow had answered, shrugging, and when he'd noticed Omega seemed to be expecting an explanation he'd said, "I tried to destroy the world once, when I was awaken the first time."

#40 - Solitary
"It's just us now, huh?" said Shadow, more to himself than anything, curling further into himself as he regenerated from his wounds- just the feared Ultimate Lifeform and the robot against the world.

#42 - Neutral
"You're getting rusty," Shadow commented, Omega easily detected concern behind the hedgehog's flat tone and shrugged one shoulder since his other one had fell off earlier- and probably trampled by G.U.N robots by now.

#41 - Nowhere
Shadow gritted his teeth, anger and frustration rapidly clawing its way up his chest, and he screamed when it reached his throat: "Don't you get it Omega? We've been running around in circles! We're going absolutely NOWHERE!"

#44 - Near
"We are nearing our destination. We made it Shadow," said Omega, and Shadow was uncertain what their 'destination' exactly was, but listening to his friend - voice too low and crackling between his words yet still held so much hope - Shadow dragged on along with Omega, who might as well be delirious.