"Is that blood?"

Sonic had come to a halt under a large oak tree, skidding up a bit of dirt with his abrupt stop. Shadow sat there, book in hand, as he tried to enjoy what he could of the cool breeze on a warm spring day. It was the first nice day in what felt like a year, as if winter had really overstayed its welcome. He closed the book to break the small silence that hung in the air after his question, looking at the other hedgehog expectantly.

"No?"

Still standing and not at all affected by the sound of the book, Sonic raised an eyeridge at his counterpart. Nothing on his body hurt, so why would he be bleeding?

"You're not supposed to answer a question with another question," Shadow huffed, "Your leg is bleeding."

Sonic looked down at his legs, turning in place to get a look at them from every angle he could. There was a small patch of missing fur on his right kneecap with a good trickle of blood staining down his fur. "Oh yeah. Look at that." It didn't hurt at all, so Sonic hadn't even noticed the blood. He figured it was all dried up from the wind anyway so all he would need was a quick shower.

"I'll go get the first aid kit." Shadow pushed himself up off the grass, book in hand as he walked around towards the house. It was a modest home for what the two of them could afford, with only one story and a basement. It had everything they needed from a kitchen, living room, two bathrooms and three bedrooms. They had opted for the extra space in case they had company.

Sonic huffed a bit as he followed, "It's fine, Shadow! I don't need the first aid kit. I'll just wash it off. It'll be good as new!" The other didn't stop, simply opening the door to their home and expecting Sonic to follow. He could only sigh again as they both went inside.

He sat on the couch in the living room as Shadow went to the first bathroom to rummage for the kit. It was something that Sonic noticed early in their relationship—their friendship even—about Shadow. When they were rivals the two had no problem beating each other down till they were both physically broken and bleeding. However as they learned more about each other and cooperated more in fights against any kind of evil that threatened their world, Sonic noticed that Shadow would check in on him. It evolved as they did, starting with verbal confirmation that the other was still breathing to stitching up gashes after carrying the other off the battlefield.

Shadow had a caring streak in him that only intensified as the two hedgehogs had grown closer.

It wasn't that Sonic minded having someone genuinely care for him, but sometimes Shadow went a little overboard with the treatment.

Shadow came back out into the living room carrying a white plastic box, "Alright, hedgehog, care to tell me how you managed this one?" He knelt down in front of the other so he could lay the box on the floor. When he opened it he was greeted with an array of supplies. With how often the two get beat up he wanted to make sure they always had what they needed to be put back together. He took out two gauze pads, some wrap and the small bottle of hydrogen peroxide, starting off with the last item. "This is going to sting."

Sonic could only roll his eyes at the sight of the entire first aid kit. Did Shadow really need to bring the whole thing out every time Sonic got a tiny scrape? The next time Shadow sneezed Sonic made a mental note to bury the hedgehog in a whole box of tissues. He opened his mouth to answer but closed it quickly with a hiss. Shadow had poured a small amount of the peroxide onto his knee and the clear liquid began to bubble up instantly. Sonic knew that meant there was dirt and debris in his wound. Shadow only patted the side of his leg in response, having warned him already.

"Owww ow ow," was Sonic's only response for a minute as the liquid seeped into his fur, "Well! Long story short, I tripped."

Shadow looked up from tending to the wound, having been gently wiping away the dirt with a gauze pad and coming away with fresh blood. "You tripped?"

Sonic gave the other a sheepish look, rubbing the back of his head as he gave a quick shrug. "Yeah?"

"And how does the fastest thing alive, who has run the same trail every day for over a year manage to trip?" Shadow's expression was flat, not giving away the fact that he really wanted to roll his eyes at his apparently very clumsy partner. He had never seen Sonic trip over his own two feet before and part of him wished that he had. It must have been quite the sight.

"It was, y'know…a..rock. A tiny…..rock," Sonic trailed off very quickly as he explained. "It wasn't there on my first lap around so clearly someone must have put it there on purpose!" He nodded while crossing his arms, suddenly very pleased with his own explanation. There was no way that someone as speedy as him had simply missed the rock on the first lap and then hit it straight on the second time. Absolutely no way the he flailed his arms wildly as he landed on his right knee and skidded to a halt a good number of feet away.

Shadow was caught in a mixture of nodding and shaking his head. He sometimes wondered if Sonic's pride would ever drop to a more manageable level when it was just the two of them. There was no need for embarrassment. He finished wiping away the liquid and all the dirt that came with it, getting the clean gauze to cover over the wound before firmly wrapping it in place. Shadow figured he could do this in his sleep with how many times he'd done it before, taping off the end with brush of his fingers. He closed up the kit and stood up so he could place it on the endtable before plopping down on the couch beside the other. "Right. Of course someone would put a rock in your way. Testing you reflexes," Shadow tapped the new bandaging with his hand, "you failed."

Sonic truly hadn't noticed his injury most of the way home, having hoped that it would heal on its own and he wouldn't have to find an excuse for it. However now that it was clean and bandaged he could feel the pain with every pump of blood through his body. The tap didn't help either. "My reflexes are just fine!" He pouted a little, leaning back into the soft cushions of their couch, "Maybe I was just a little distracted."

Shadow leaned back as well while throwing his arm across the top of the cushions just behind Sonic's head. "That's not a good way to run, Sonic." Usually when they ran he could tell just by a quick glance what the other was focused on. Almost always it was the race or Shadow himself, as his partner would steal quick glances his way.

"I know," once again Sonic looked a bit nervous, "I've just got a lot on my mind today."

There was a short silence between the two. It hung in the air just shy of being awkward before Shadow gently pushed his shoulder against the other's. It was a quiet plea to continue.

Sonic was jostled out of his thoughts, looking up quickly at the other. He gave a smile, knowing he'd been caught. While Shadow wasn't so great at expressing his emotions, Sonic wore them all on the outside. He knew he must have made some kind of face in his thinking so Shadow wasn't going to let him get away with a lame excuse like that.

He began to fidget by wringing his hands together, constantly adjusting the gloves he wore as if they suddenly didn't fit right. "You know what's coming up right?" In just a few short weeks their anniversary would roll around. It would mark a whole year of their relationship being official even though it felt like they were together for so much longer before that. Sonic figured that's just how it is when you go so easily from friendship to relationship. The transition had been natural, as if they didn't need to even say any magic words to make it concrete. They had officially announced their relationship to their friends though after coming to the conclusion that they needed some kind of label. That day was agreed upon as their anniversary.

Shadow knew all that. He knew how to read a calendar and keep track of days. So he knew their anniversary was coming up but he wondered why the thought of it would make Sonic seem so nervous. "Our anniversary."

Sonic nodded, glad they were on the same page and he didn't have to give Shadow the lecture on why anniversaries are important to people. He remembered having to explain to Shadow why it was still important to celebrate birthdays even though he had missed a good number of his own. "I've just been…thinking about it all day. 'Cause I've never actually had one before. A-And this is our first, which is a big deal, but I don't even know what to do for you." Sonic raised his eyes to meet the other's, "I want it to be special. One to remember! But I can't even think of one thing to do that we don't just do normally."

Furrowing his brow, Shadow was at a bit of a loss. He knew that anniversaries were important, and usually involved a celebration. But he also knew that he didn't really need any kind of big party just to celebrate being with Sonic for a year. "Sonic, it doesn't have to be…big." That earned him the beginnings of a glare, so Shadow raised his hand. "I know it's important, so spare me the speech. I'm not saying I haven't been thinking about it too, but we don't need a special thing we only do on this one occasion. We can just stay in and order a pizza. As long as we spend it together, isn't that special enough?"

In truth Shadow wasn't a party person. He hadn't known what to expect the first time Sonic threw him a birthday party, but the hedgehog had gone all out with decorations and food. He had invited all of their collective friends and made everyone wear silly party hats. Shadow had just about jumped out of his skin when he came home that day to a crowded house and everyone yelling at him. He still didn't really like crowded places either, being so used to small environments with a set number of people around. He didn't see the need to go out anywhere, especially if this was supposed to be a special day for just the two of them.

Sonic looked disappointed though, frowning at the idea of just wasting their first anniversary on a quiet night in. He had thought of taking Shadow to a fancy restaurant, or taking him to see a fireworks show on the beach. The more he thought about it, the cheesier it sounded but Shadow wouldn't know that. He would just think there were too many people around. Then there was getting the other a present. How do you get something for someone who doesn't need anything? Shadow clearly had everything he needed to be content, and didn't have any special hobbies. It was moments like these that Sonic thought Shadow was a rather boring person. But he knew that wasn't true from all their late night talks and their own growing brand of humor. He couldn't think of a single thing to get him.

Shadow could see that the other was torn, and so was he. Just wanting to make Sonic happy was all Shadow really needed out of their anniversary. So an idea popped into his head and he gave the other another soft nudge in the shoulder. "Hey. I've got it. How about we split down the middle? We do one thing you want to do and one thing I want to do. That way we can both spend the night how we want to."

Ears perking up at the nudge, Sonic gave the idea some thought. Combining two date ideas could be better than one person calling the shots for the day. "Alright. I think that could work! How about a fancy dinner date?"

A small smile slipped onto Shadow's face at the other agreeing to his idea. "Then a movie here at home, curled up on the couch with snacks."

Sonic's face lit up as the small cloud of gloom lifted from over his head. He should have known talking to Shadow about his worry over their anniversary would have been a much better idea than trying to figure it out all on his own. "Yeah! Now that sounds like a date!" He leaned over, nuzzling himself into the groove of Shadow's body that had been left open for him this entire time. He gave a comfortable sigh as the arm behind his head slipped into place around him. "Thanks Shads, that takes a whole lot of worry off my mind."

Shadow simply nodded before leaning down to place a small kiss on the top of Sonic's head, "Anytime. Now you can worry more about looking out for stray rocks on your afternoon runs."

A small blush crept onto Sonic's cheeks.

"Shut up."