He pushed his legs as hard as they would go, beating down dirt and grass as he ran. There was a figure right in front of him that seemed to be within arm's reach, yet every time he flung his arm out his fingertips would fall just short. It was like running on air. No matter how solid the ground felt and how much his muscles burned with effort, nothing brought the dark figure closer. It stood there, stock still and facing the away from him. Yet he wasn't stupid. He'd know that silhouette from miles away.

"Shadow!"

The deafening silence around the two seemed to pop with the exclamation and caused the whole world to slide under his feet. Finally when he reached his hand out he managed to plant it on the other's shoulder. Sonic almost crashed into the other, feeling the momentum suddenly die as if he had run halfway across the continent just to stop on a dime. The space around them seemed to change too, settling on a grassy hillside under a cluster of trees. The birds began to chirp while there was the sound of rushing water somewhere in the distance. It would have been something to appreciate but Sonic was too busy catching his breath in large gulps of air.

"I finally caught up to you, bud. Why'd you run off like that?" The other had yet to make a move as Sonic held firmly onto the dark shoulder. It felt almost like holding onto a statue. As his breathing became regular, Sonic straightened his posture. Was Shadow ignoring him on purpose? He couldn't think of having said anything wrong that would have upset him. With a small tap of his foot Sonic pulled on Shadow's shoulder to try to get the hedgehog to turn and face him, "Shads, c'mon, what's the ma—"

His eyes were cold. Sonic took a step back as the other body turned completely, red eyes staring blankly into his own with such cool intensity that it caused a shiver to roll down Sonic's spine. Those weren't the eyes of his loving partner—there was no connection between them when they met. No spark of emotion that would always play through even if Shadow wasn't trying to express anything. Gone was the inviting feeling and it left Sonic hollow. He knew this look.

How he had hoped he'd never see it again.

"You have no idea who I am….do you?"

Emerald eyes snapped open in time with a sharp intake of breath. For a few seconds he felt numb, as if his body was still asleep while his mind had woken up abruptly. The room was dark aside from the soft red glow of the clock on the nightstand. It took his eyes some time to adjust and for his brain to register why he was suddenly awake. In a moment the dream came flooding back and Sonic had to hold in the gasp at the image of Shadow's eyes. So much could be said with just a look from them, and Sonic prided himself on being able to read them in an instant. Even if Shadow's face was completely expressionless Sonic could tell how he was feeling just by one glance into his eyes. They were the gateway that so few were allowed to use into Shadow's inner feelings.

So to see them as closed off and cold as he had in his dream felt like a shock. As if the one in his dream wasn't the real Shadow. Even during their longest of arguments Shadow had never cut Sonic out as completely as the one in his dream had. But it wasn't just the feeling of being stuck on the outside looking in; it was the dread of what else was missing.

A lack on connection. A lack of recognition.

Ever since Shadow lost his memory once, it became a constant fear in the back of Sonic's mind. He didn't want to see that look ever again—the look of a stranger. It had been hard enough the first time to get his feelings in check while he worked on getting Shadow to remember him and the friendship they had built together. The incident that caused it all was still a sore spot for Sonic especially now that he can look back and recognize his emotions for what they really were. He'd loved Shadow for a long time, and while he hadn't ever been one to believe in love at first sight, retrospect taught him that love is always part of every friendship. Sometimes it just takes its own path and runs a little deeper for some. So when he first saw Shadow after the event it had been a major relief for Sonic. And yet…

"Shadow?!"

"Who are you? And how do you know me?"

Sonic closed his eyes and held his breath for a moment at the memory. It was like a slap in the face and Sonic really didn't want to have to relive that again. It had taken time and a lot of patience to get Shadow's memory back and since then the two grew to be even more inseparable. But why now was Sonic having such a terrible nightmare about one of his deepest fears? Why now as he lay comfortably beside his partner with their anniversary just two weeks away? He tried not to put too much stock in dreams. After all half of his dreams were just him out in the city eating chili dogs or running along some picturesque scenery to no place in particular. It had to be some kind of stress response to all the over thinking his mind had been doing lately. The two of them had agreed on what to do for their anniversary so he knew he shouldn't still be so stressed about that. Life was going great for them! They had a place to call home with everything they could ever need, they had each other, the world was safe and their friends were all happy and approving of their relationship. So what was there to stress?

Life was perfect.

Life was too perfect.

There hadn't been any serious trouble lately so it was almost like the hero was on vacation. There was no rush to do anything like save the world or help someone in need—not that he wanted anyone to be in danger. But that was just it. Danger was always a constant in his life. He was the hero so whenever someone needed something he would always be there to help. But things had settled down. He had settled down. He wasn't running at full pace anymore just to get as much done as he could. Sonic didn't consider himself an adrenaline junkie, but it was nice to constantly have a purpose and some praise along the way. Now he was settled into his home with someone he cared for more than anything else—completely content for almost a year—and just now he was realizing that he needed something more. Or maybe he needed to come to terms with taking things a little slower. This type of living wasn't something he was used to but that didn't make it bad. He was still a hero! It wasn't like he was retiring just because he was in a relationship and had a house. This was just the beginning.

Yet that nightmare, and those eyes. It sent another shiver down his spine to think of what those eyes had looked like. But he knew it was just in his mind. Shadow wasn't likely to lose his memory all over again, so this was just his mind playing up his fear due to how uneasy and stressed he felt. What he had with Shadow was something he always knew he wanted; a loving and stable relationship with someone who understood him so completely. Just because this was his first one didn't mean it was going to fall apart. Everything with Shadow came naturally, so he knew that he didn't have to try so hard to make sure everything didn't collapse. They were open and honest with each other. It would take an incredible feat to tear them apart.

Like one of them forgetting everything about the other.

Sonic was letting his insecurities get the better of him and his subconscious was taking full advantage. Sometimes he would find himself awake at night, mind running at full speed with possibilities: good times with friends, horrific battles against enemies, how long is forever really, and could they afford another house if they wanted a vacation home? This time it was doubt that gripped him and he could feel himself slipping into a panic—

A warm hand found its way to his side in a gentle hold before slowly running up and down the light curve of his body. It brought Sonic back to himself, as if he had floated away during his revere. He realized that his breathing had gotten loud and quick, his hand gripped firmly under his pillow in an attempt to anchor himself.

"Sonic? I think you had a nightmare. Are you alright?"

Shadow pushed himself up to lean on one arm, trying to look at his partner's face in the dim light of the alarm clock. Sonic had been fussing for at least ten minutes, breathing heavy and shivering in what Shadow had assumed was his sleep. He had waited to see if the nightmare would pass but Sonic seemed to be on the verge of hyperventilating. "Do you want to talk about it?"

At first there was no response aside from the slowing down of Sonic's breath. He didn't know why but Sonic felt almost as if turning to look at Shadow would result in seeing those dead eyes again. But the other had used his name and sounded genuinely concerned so Sonic mustered up his courage in one quick turn. Shadow was hovering over him slightly, crimson eyes looking darker in the low light but not like they had in his dream. He saw tiredness, confusion and concern in those eyes. It had him releasing a small breath that he didn't even know he was holding. "I'm fine. Just…yeah, just a bad dream."

Shadow moved to lay back down, his hand finding a new home on Sonic's other side as they now faced each other. It was silent for a few minutes as they lay there staring at each other. Shadow knew it was more than just a bad dream. It must have been rough if it had Sonic shaking so badly. Yet Shadow wasn't one to pry, he was more of a listener and normally Sonic offered up his feelings quite readily. He let the silence stretch, rubbing the other's side and making small patterns in his fur to show that he was there. He was ready to listen.

As the minutes passed Sonic only wanted to keep Shadow's gaze locked in his mind. That look of concern and understanding. Even if talking to Shadow was as natural as talking to a mirror Sonic's pride still kept certain things inside. His fear of Shadow's amnesia was one of those things.

The hand on his side was soothing, the real anchor Sonic needed to keep himself grounded in the moment. This was real, this was his life and he wasn't going to screw it up. He would make sure of it. But it wasn't his burden to bear alone. They were equals in this life they had built together, so Shadow deserved to know Sonic's feelings so they could both work on a potential 'solution'. With a shaky sigh he let down a bit of his bravado that had built up after being caught having a nightmare. "It was just…" he paused, trying to avoid the actual contents of the dream, "A nightmare. I'd really rather not talk about it."

Shadow nodded in silent agreement to let the subject of the nightmare drop.

"But…I was thinking after I woke up," Sonic let his gaze drop from Shadow's eyes, "I don't really know what I'm doing." He could feel the questioning stare so he continued, "Like I said before, this is my first relationship. This is the first time in my life where I have something stable that isn't just fighting bad guys. I have you. Our home, our life that we've built and some peace for once—but how do we know it'll stay this way? How do I know I'm not going to mess it up tomorrow or on our anniversary? My whole life things would look like they were going okay and then something would happen and I'd have to start over from square one. I don't want to have to do that with you—" again.

Sonic was getting worked up again, so Shadow tightened his grip on the other's side in the hope it would calm him down a bit. "Sonic. Stop. Breathe."

He did as he was told, taking in a lungful of air. He'd almost let his fear slip in his confession. He hoped that Shadow wouldn't put two and two together.

"I know how you feel. My life has been a whirlwind of terrible things one right after the other. But do you know what helped?"

Sonic could only give a small shake of his head in response.

"You."

Looking into wide emerald eyes Shadow continued, "You barreled your way into my life and became the only constant I had in a long time. I know that I lost that connection with you for a bit but that didn't change the fact that you never left my side. We were rivals, then friends and now we're far more than anything I could have ever hoped to have. You're not going to ruin it, and we're not going to let anything else ruin it."

Sonic tried not to flinch at Shadow's blatant reference to his own amnesia. Yet what he said was true. Once they had found each other again Sonic refused to leave the other alone until his memories were back. They were friends and Sonic would never leave a friend behind just because it involved a lot of work. Sonic had gone to see him every day. They would chat about mundane things as Sonic brought Shadow to places they had visited before in attempts to spark some kind of recognition. It had been like starting fresh on a blank canvas, painting a new base layer of trust and comfort. Until one day it had all come flooding back, filling out the rest of the colors to their canvas. They built their relationship on solid ground so Sonic knew there was no real reason to worry over it.

"You're just nervous. Once our anniversary passes I'm sure you'll be back to your over confident laid back way of thinking." Shadow tried to lighten the mood. Seeing Sonic so gloomy didn't sit right with Shadow. Everybody had fears and doubts, but of all his emotions Sonic hid those the best. It wasn't healthy to always hide it, but it wasn't any better to let it consume one's mind.

"Hey!" Sonic pouted a bit. They had been having a moment and Shadow had to ruin it with his dry humor. It was a welcome change though. He knew that Shadow was just doing his best to cheer him up. It was greatly appreciated. "I'm a healthy level of confident!"

That brought a small smirk to Shadow's lips. "Yeah? Is it healthy to take on a whole fleet of robots by yourself?" That earned him a pillow to the face. He chuckled a bit when the pillow moved to reveal Sonic's pout behind it. "Alright, alright I get it."

The two made adjustments to the bed as the mood around them settled into something quiet and somber. There was more to talk about but it could always wait for another time. For now they needed to get back to sleep. They pulled in close to each other, faces almost lost to the give of their pillows. Sonic closed his eyes hoping he would have a better dream this time. Shadow watched his partner for a while, seeing the subtle changes in his posture and breathing as he slowly drifted off.

"I won't forget you again. I promise."