Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog or any of the characters in it.

Hello all! I've only recently gotten into the Sonic fandom and this story just would not leave me alone for the longest time. It was meant to be a oneshot, but I guess not anymore...well in anycase it won't be that long. Maybe just another chapter or two longer.

Expectations of a Hero

Chapter 1: Unexpected Confessions

Sonic supposed he should have been happy. The world was in a state of peace ( a welcomed change), and he'd recently asked Amy to marry him (to which she happily agreed.) His wedding day was in three days and currently he was at his bachelor party at his house with the guys. He should have been elated; life was going as it should for the Hero. But it was that fact in itself that was the root of his problems. He was and still is the Hero of Earth, and because of that the people had certain expectations from him. It was why he always kept his mood cheerful and carefree, and why he asked Amy to marry him. It was what he was suppose to do; who he was suppose to be. He'd always known this was going to happened ever since he first save the world and didn't mind, but then something happened that he never expected. Sonic fell in love, and not with Amy. Fuck it he wasn't even in love with another girl (that might have been reasonable.) Sonic the Hedgehog was in love with Shadow the Hedgehog.

He wasn't sure when and how it happened. Hell, he was confused as hell as to where he had time to fall in love with the other to begin with. He'd suspected it after Shadow 'died' during the Ark scenario when he fell into a momentary depression (which no one excluding Tails knew about). But it wasn't until the dark hedgehog's return that he confirmed and realized the truth. Years past by and Sonic hoped that maybe his feelings would die away, but they still remain just as with no signs of dwindling away. Even so he never told Shadow or anyone else about his feelings.

After all he still had to play Hero to the world. He still had to marry 'The Girl', live happily ever after, and have 'The Perfect Family Life' with his wife and kids.

Sonic sighed and took another swig of beer. He looked around his now messy living room and took in his current situation. It was well past midnight and most everyone had gone home earlier that night. The only people left were Knuckles, Tails, and Shadow, and at the moment they were passed out in various positions and places around his house. Sonic figured he should make his friends more comfortable before going to sleep himself. He groggily stood up and pushed Knuckles down so that he was laying on the couch. Tails had fallen asleep in a chair at the dining table so Sonic carried the fox into his room. It took a moment before he could find Shadow, but eventually found him laid out on a bench outside on the back porch. He sighed and gingerly picked up Shadow, shivering as he felt how cold the other was in his arms. The dark hedgehog leaned closer to him and visibly relaxed into his arms. He walked into the guest room and lent down to place the other onto the bed; chuckling softly when Shadow grasped the area around himself looking for the previous warmth surrounding him. Grabbing the end of the blanket Sonic covered Shadow then turned to get up and walk out, but was stopped as he felt a hand grab his arm weakly.

"Sonikku..."

Sonic slowly turned around wondering what might be wrong with Shadow. But when he faced the other hedgehog he saw that Shadow's eyes were still closed. He smiled slightly. He must be dreaming. Then he paused and realized that Shadow had called his name while dreaming. A slight blush formed over his cheeks. What am I blushing for? It's probably nothing - I'm reading too much into it. But what could he be dreaming about? A soft cry brought Sonic out of his thoughts and he gasped lightly as he looked down: Shadow had tears in his eyes. Sonic wiped away the tears then leaned closer to Shadow and strained his ears to hear what Shadow was murmuring.

"S-Sonikku...don't leave...me," His grasp on Sonic's arm tightened, "...I love you."

Sonic gasped and his eyes widened. He'd never expected something like this to happen. Never had he even dared to hope that Shadow might returned his feelings. Again Sonic was shaken out of his thoughts by Shadow's soft sobs.

"Please don't go." He pleaded softly in a desperate voice.

Sonic looked at the sleeping hedgehog with tears in his eyes. He sat on the bed and his hand moved onto the other's head and began running through the black and red quills.

With a slightly quivering voice Sonic whispered into Shadow's ears, "I love you too Shadow. But I can't stay with you, not even in your dreams. So please forget about me...for the sake of both of us."

More tears leaked from Shadow's eyes and his shoulders began to shake more. Tears threatening to fall down his face, Sonic leaned down and placed a light kiss onto Shadow's lips. And with that he took off running from the room and out of the house so quickly that he didn't notice the blur of yellow from the other side of the doorway.

Tbc...

So how's the first chap? Like no like? Plz review even if you don't like it, constructive criticism is always useful.