All Sonic could see were the spots that the blinding succession of lights left in his vision.
The blue hero was, more or less, posing for pictures with his signature grin plastered on his face. Next to him, Shadow stood in the frame of the photographer's shot, but the stubborn hedgehog couldn't even be bothered to face the camera.
"Mr. Shadow? If we could just have one of your face? We'd really appreciate it," the photographer pleaded nervously.
Shadow let out something between a scoff and a groan, angling his head to give the man the bare minimum of a profile.
It only served to intimidate the photographer further than he already seemed to be.
"Don't mind him. It's not you. He's always like that," Sonic offered, in an attempt to excuse the black hedgehog's less than agreeable manners. "You get used to it," he added, shrugging at Shadow.
"It was so great meeting the two of you in person. Thank you so much for your time," the journalist chimed in, finally concluding the interview. "Good day to you, Mr. Sonic. Mr. Shadow."
"No need to be so formal. It was our pleasure!" Sonic replied cheerfully. "I hope your story really gets you to the big time. Good luck!"
The press team acknowledged the hedgehog's wishes, exchanging handshakes and expressing their gratitude once more before leaving.
Once they were out of earshot, Sonic let out a soft sigh of relief.
"Well, that wasn't so bad now, was it? Shadow?"
Shadow had already begun to stalk off in the opposite direction, his only acknowledgement of Sonic's remark being an eye-roll.
"Hey, hold on a minute, Shadow…"
Sonic caught up to the moody hedgehog, stopping him in his tracks.
Shadow didn't take too kindly to being stalled, and made it known with the scowl on his face.
"Speak for yourself, hedgehog. This was a total waste of my time."
"Sure it was," Sonic returned, not believing him for a second. "Com'on, Shadow. If you really felt that way, you wouldn't have agreed to do the interview in the first place. So why'd you do it?"
Shadow hated to admit it, but Sonic put up a valid argument.
"If it'll get you off my back… I did it for the glory… From what I've gathered, I was the one that put an end to that failure of a prototype. As little sense as it makes to me now, I'm not about to let you take the credit for that."
"Seriously?" Sonic couldn't help the snicker that escaped his mouth. "That's what you were worried about? Hey, I always give credit where credit is due." Sonic suddenly shifted tones, mellowing out from his usual cheerfulness. "But I guess, you really wouldn't know anything about that, would you? Shadow, do you remember... anything at all?"
Images of a meek human girl that had haunted Shadow since his revival briefly presented itself in his mind, but the black hedgehog refused to disclose any of that to the blue hero.
"No. Nothing," he answered simply.
For the first time since Shadow's return, Sonic sensed a vulnerability from his rival that he hadn't before. Not that he'd had many chances, seeing as how they'd all parted ways immediately after defeating Metal Sonic's overlord form on the airship.
"Oh. Were you maybe hoping that, hearing my account of what happened on the ARK, would somehow jog your memory?"
"Even if I had, it would've ended up being nothing a feckless venture, so talking about it now is irrelevant. Like I said… Waste of time."
Shadow made a move to shove Sonic out of his way, but in that instant the blue hedgehog felt compelled to lend him a comforting hand.
The black hedgehog nearly recoiled at the gesture, but Sonic didn't back off, giving his shoulder a light caress before offering a few last words of encouragement.
"Shadow… I have no idea what you must feel like right now, but… I want you to know that we're here for you if you ever need us. Me, Tails, Knuckles, Amy. Hell, even Rouge. No, especially her. She knows more than you think, and I'm sure she'd be more than willing to help you, if you'd just let her. We can all help you figure things out."
"Like I'd ever be desperate enough to seek help from your little motley crew. No thanks. I'll take my chances on my own."
"Alright. Well, the door's always open. And, for what it's worth, I really hope you find the answers you're looking for."
Sonic retrieved his hand, smiling confidently at Shadow. Whether it was a glimmer of gratitude he saw in his rival's face, or something else entirely, Sonic couldn't tell. He accepted it and was about to get out of his way, when Shadow suddenly spoke up again.
"Why do you do that?" Shadow asked.
"Do what?"
In Sonic's confusion, Shadow snatched him up by the waist, jerking the blue hedgehog so close to himself that their noses nearly touched.
Sonic was momentarily dazed by the unexpected reaction, gazing into Shadow's eerily vacant eyes before realizing what was happening.
"Shadow—"
Before Sonic could get another word in, Shadow seized his mouth in a lip-crushing kiss.
The blue hero was resistant at first, but the longer it went on, the more passionate Shadow became, knocking tongue against teeth, fingers roaming dangerously low on his hips; Sonic found himself wanting to detach himself from it less and less.
Shadow inevitably eased up, allowing the younger hedgehog catch some air, but even so, Sonic could barely form a coherent sentence.
"What in the hell… what was that?"
Shadow didn't give him an answer, instead lecturing him on where they stood.
"This doesn't make us allies. Don't forget it," he said finally, looking deeply into Sonic's emerald eyes before raising a hand with what the hero presumed was a chaos emerald.
Shadow was gone in a blink, leaving a very flustered Sonic in his wake.
The blue hedgehog surveyed his surroundings, as they had been in the semi-public space of an enclosed café patio, but lucky for him, there hadn't been any patrons outside on that overcast day.
Little did Sonic know, it would be months before he caught sight of the black hedgehog again, but even when he saw him then, he didn't push him for answers. Shadow was on his own journey, seeking resolution to something Sonic would never fully understand.
A/N: Good? Bad? Let me know! Since it's kinda vague, this chapter takes place after Sonic Heroes and before Shadow the Hedgehog. The next part will take place after Shadow the Hedgehog, and since Sonic 06 has been retconned out of existence (thank GOODNESS!), I like to imagine Sonic Riders happened in it's place so it will be mentioned. I hope you enjoy!
I'm guessing this'll only be a two-shot, so please look forward to the next part! After this is done I have two more fics planned for this continuity, a short one focused on Sonuckles and the other (probably more exciting one) will directly follow-up To Choose is To Be Free to tie up Sonic's loose ends with Shadow. Thank you for reading!