Disclaimer- I don't own Sonic and co.
It's the spookiest month of the year, and I couldn't help myself. I have zero self-control.
When Sonic opened the door, he knew that something was off.
Emerald eyes keenly scanned the undisturbed living room as his brow furrowed. Usually when he returned from his morning runs, he could hear Shadow somewhere in their cozy home. On the rare occasions he came back to an empty house, Shadow's fresh scent would linger in the air.
Now, there was barely a hint of that vampire anywhere.
That meant Shadow hadn't gotten out of bed yet, still sleeping. Sonic gently closed the door behind him as mental alarms went off. It was nearly noon, and Shadow never failed to be up by this time.
Sonic perked his ears and sniffed his nose to make sure he hadn't missed anything. The house was silent, and there was nothing but his own earthy smell.
"Shadow?" Sonic called out and received silence in return. The vampire was a notoriously light sleeper, and the walls here weren't thick. Something was definitely up.
Sonic didn't bother to mask his heavy-set footsteps when he navigated his way to their bedroom. He flung the door open and nearly recoiled from surprise when it stopped mid-swing.
A broken groan barely reached his ears. Sonic's breath caught in his throat.
"Shadow!" He managed to squeeze between the door and the frame, eyes snapping down to the prone figure splayed out on the floor. He gasped as he crouched down by the vampire's side. "Wha… Shadow, what happened?!"
In retrospect, he knew better than to ask because the chance of an actual answer was slim. Shadow was hanging onto a thread of consciousness, eyes faded and glassy when they lethargically met Sonic's gaze. His extremely pale muzzle worked open, but no words left those lips.
At this point, after taking in Shadow's condition, all of Sonic's surprise dissipated. His concern was still through the roof, but he knew exactly what was happening.
"Are you serious, Shadow?" Sonic fought to keep the growl out of his voice, but it was hard because this could've been avoided. "I never wanted it to get this bad, but you're so stubborn I swear."
Shadow didn't try to answer this time. His jaw was clenched.
Sonic took a deep breath to calm his nerves. Shadow was going to be fine. No one had somehow attacked him, he wasn't dying – really – and everything was going to be okay.
"C'mere." His voice composed itself, calmer as he gently maneuvered a limp Shadow into his furry arms. Shadow wasn't light by any means, but Sonic easily carried him over to the rustled bed.
He sat on the blankets and maneuvered until his back was up against a wall, Shadow still secure in his hold. That was the one good thing to come out of this situation. Shadow was too weak to fight his help.
Sonic then maneuvered the vampire until he was kneeling in front of him, his only support being Sonic's hands anchoring his sides. Shadow managed to keep his head upright, eyes muddled and breaths ragged. Despite how out-of-it he was, there was a hint of defiance there that had Sonic frowning.
"Why, Shads?" Sonic exhaled harshly at the condition of the strongest person he was lucky enough to know. Lithe yet powerful muscles that could combat the foulest demon barely could twitch by themselves, and the gaze that had caused ghouls and goblins to cower at his feet now wouldn't be able to make a skittish mouse scurry.
Sonic met that stare and gave him a meaningful squeeze; not too hard, but enough to get him to listen. "Why are you doin' this to yourself?"
Again, he was met with silence.
Sonic kept his frustration at bay because Shadow didn't need that. He needed blood. A person's blood.
He didn't know why, but Shadow had always sought out wild animals to drink from. That was what had initially drawn Sonic to him. The other few vampires he had run into weren't as people friendly.
When asked about it, Shadow never revealed the reason why, and Sonic let it go. It seemed like the alternate diet was working for him, until he and Sonic got together.
It didn't start immediately, or at least, Sonic didn't notice right away. However, as months went on, he saw that Shadow became more winded, his reaction times gradually slowed, and he would go on more hunts. He would get better, but only temporarily.
Sonic figured that the diet wasn't working anymore.
He had the idea to offer himself up, but Shadow wasn't having it.
Sonic let it go but brought it back up when the vampire's condition was getting worse. Again, Shadow shot it down.
He continuously disregarded the obvious solution until today, because Sonic was going to fix this right now.
Sonic weaved his fingers into Shadow's head quills, careful of his claws. "I hate seeing you like this." His voice was a near whisper, but his words retained their strength. "You're gonna drink from me," he said with conviction. Those weary scarlets narrowed, but he wasn't deterred. "Whether you want to or not."
He didn't wait for a response because he wasn't going to get one. Sonic carefully brought Shadow against his chest in one swift move, wrapping a solid arm around his lower back and pushing Shadow's muzzle in the crook of his neck.
He felt the vampire's breath stutter against his fur, and the sudden tremble of his weak frame wasn't lost on Sonic. It was obvious that Shadow was battling against every instinct he had not to bite, and Sonic would've been impressed at the self-control any other day.
"I can sit here all day, Shads." Sonic pressed Shadow closer to his body when the shivers strengthened. "So get a little bite, yeah? I promise I won't taste bad."
Sonic's hopes rose when he felt Shadow open his mouth, but instead of sharp fangs, he received a breathy murmur. "Out…side…"
It didn't take a genius to put together the meaning. Sonic shook his head. "No can do. Hunting animals isn't enough for you anymore, and-" The rest of his words died in his throat when a sharp pain emitted from his shoulder. He hissed but refrained from instinctively pushing Shadow off, instead holding him tighter.
Sonic's head thudded against the wall as he gritted his teeth because yeah, the pain was there. But there also was the full-on shivers that traveled up and down his spine, the breathlessness as Shadow shifted against him, and the way his toes curled when those fangs dug in deeper.
This couldn't be normal. No way. Sonic had heard screams of absolute terror and agony when someone was attacked by a vampire, not this. Nowhere close to this.
Shadow pressed harder into him, his recovering arms sliding up Sonic's chest and fisting handfuls of long fur. Sonic panted as the vampire huffed against his skin, closing his eyes because he absolutely wasn't expecting this.
Sonic lowered his hand from Shadow's head since it wasn't needed anymore. Instead, relocated to his shoulder blades for comfort and support.
He swallowed thickly when he felt blood trickle down from the wound, some escaping Shadow's mouth. Sonic took the deepest breaths he could as the vampire continued to drink, and he let him until his head started to feel dizzy.
"Hey…" Sonic's voice was more guttural than he remembered, and he cleared his throat. "I know that I'm pretty good, but are you back to a hundred percent yet?"
At first, he believed Shadow was too busy to hear him – or to care – but Sonic winced when the fangs disconnected. A sigh then rushed past his lips when a tongue slowly lapped at his shoulder, probably cleaning up the inevitable mess left behind.
When Shadow eventually sat up, Sonic lazily smiled at the flushed cheeks and the crisp scarlet irises glaring at him. Sharpened canines were bared, still a bit stained, and Sonic chuckled. "See? Not too bad, right?"
"You're a damn idiot." Shadow snarled, and Sonic blinked in confusion when his chest hair was painfully yanked. "You have no idea what you just-" He was speechless when Shadow not-so-gently pushed away from him, growling. "I'm leaving."
"Wha-?" Sonic tightened his hold on him, unsure about what he did, besides the obvious. Shadow was worked up about it though, and he knew just the thing to calm him down. "You can't!" Shadow began to resist; he threw him a wolfish grin. "It's my turn next."
The vampire paused to process that, and Sonic pounced. He quickly leaned forward and tucked his muzzle under Shadow's chin, licking a broad stipe over his Adam's apple. Two hands planted against Sonic's shoulder and squeezed, but they didn't shove him away.
Sonic smirked before peppering kisses down Shadow's jaw and throat, nipping here and there to make his fingers twitch.
Funny how a vampire's weakest spot was his neck.
Satisfied there, Sonic pulled back and gave the vampire a peck on the lips. He grinned at the glare that never let up, but Shadow wasn't making a move to leave anymore. Mission accomplished.
"Now…" Sonic tilted his head, the high from everything still lingering in his system. "Why was feeding from me a bad idea again?"
Shadow crossed his arms with a prominent frown, clearly not happy. "Because I won't be able to feed off of anything else," he snapped.
Sonic had to be missing something here. "Okay? I don't care, if that's what you were worried about." He chuckled. "I mean-"
And then Shadow was in his face, hissing with his quills bristled. "I could kill you."
Sonic just stared at him until all of it clicked. "That's what you're worried about?" A placating smile grew. "C'mon, Shads! You know how hard it is to kill me!" The vampire wasn't buying it, eyes swirling with heat. "I wouldn't just let you drain me, and you even stopped yourself! You have enough self-control to-"
"I don't." Shadow spat, glaring at the adjacent wall. "If you hadn't said anything, I wouldn't have stopped."
"I don't believe that for a sec-"
"I've done it before." Shadow met his gaze again, and Sonic was taken aback by the guilt mixing in with the hot anger. "You haven't been lost in it. You block everything out while you feed. The struggling, the screams, the begging." He clenched his jaw. "You're lost until it's too late."
It was then that Sonic knew. Shadow hadn't limited his hunt to animals on a whim. He had killed someone, someone he regretted to this day.
Sonic closed the distance again, nuzzling Shadow's cheek. "But you heard me," he whispered when the vampire leaned into him. He wasn't going to go into Shadow's past right now. That could wait another day.
His grin was lopsided when he finished. "I can handle it, Shads. Trust me. And plus, I wasn't exactly screaming, was I?" Shadow simply grunted. His anger wasn't as potent anymore, but it was replaced by a far-away look. Sonic wanted to get rid of it so he couldn't be bogged down by bad memories. He asked, "Why was that? You don't really hear about victims kinda enjoying the process…"
Shadow tensed as he glanced away. "Because victims aren't usually mates. The bond formed by the bite makes it…"
He didn't finish, but Sonic didn't need him to. "Oh." His smile widened as his tail wagged. "Aw, Shadow! That's so sweet!" He released an exaggerated sigh. "There's nothing more romantic than sparing me most of the pain of getting my blood drained!"
He laughed and let an exasperated Shadow slide out of the bed. "While you stay here and enjoy your own immature company, I'm going to find demons to kill."
"Love you too!"
Sonic waved at Shadow's back until he disappeared from sight. Then, he gently placed his hand over where he had been bitten. The puncture had healed, but the memory remained clear in his mind.
Mealtimes would definitely be interesting from here on out.
These two will be the death of me, I swear.