Chapter 14: A Date?

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Sonic put away his mug, glancing at the doorway. And then, precisely at the perfect moment, just when Sonic was going to go away and do something else, Shadow appeared. Came walking in, just as casually and effortlessly handsome as usual, and with his clothes on. And seeing as he had been without clothes in Sonic's presence so much recently clothes was now something that Sonic noticed…

And mind you, that was not meant to sound perverted.

Shadow's gaze found Sonic almost immediately, and Sonic gave a small wave, and smiled. And then Shadow walked past him, to the fridge, and took out some juice.

Sonic was a tad bit disappointed at that, but that feeling quickly went away. Now he had more important matters to tend to anyway, like proposing to take Shadow on a date without sounding too obvious. Yes. Dates were important. Or so had Sonic read. And heard, from a certain pink female who-

-oh shit

What if Amy comes back today? Sonic thought, with just a slight bit of panic. Okay, scratch that, with a look of utter horror is more accurate anyway. If Amy came back, then she would probably be all sunshine and rainbows again, and then she would try and take him on a date. And then Shadow would most likely murder her or something equally terrifying, and Sonic had obviously no desire for anything like that to happen (even though seeing a jealous Shadow would be cute).

And, as usual, the only solution to that problem that he could think of would be to run away, Sonic concluded. And then Sonic thought just a little bit farther ahead and realised that, yes, this is super-convenient.

If he and Shadow went on a date (ASAP, preferably) then Amy wouldn't be able to find them.

So, Sonic then turned back to Shadow, and asked, "Hey Shads? Have ya been to Soleanna lately?"

"Soleanna?" Shadow echoed questioningly. "No… Can't say I have." He turned to look at Sonic. "What about it?"

Sonic swiftly took the few steps needed to get beside Shadow, and put an arm around his shoulders. "How about a date?"

"A… date?"

"Yes!"

Shadow glanced at Sonic like he was worried about his health, but didn't shrug the arm off of him. "…You mean like a date?"

"Yes!" Sonic happily answered again. "Like, we run there, get ice-cream, takes a look at the tourist hot-spots, and goes back here after a few hours."

Shadow blinked, still looking confused by the concept of Sonic wanting to go on a date. Then he did that weird smile-ish thing, and said, "Sounds great. When do you want to go then?"

Sonic flashed a smirk, sneaking a hand around Shadow's waist just because he could. "How 'bout right now?"

And how 'bout a race?

A little while later…

Speed. Use that word to describe the blue hedgehog, and many would say that it describes him spot-on. To call him a wind or a dream fits too, as it is impossible to pin down something like that. And now, as he was running towards Soleanna with Shadow close behind, now he certainly looked like just another wind on the endless sandy plains of the desert. Like two glowing streaks which shot past, and scattered sand everywhere, they went towards Soleanna…

"Your shoes not working today, slowpoke?" Sonic playfully commented at the other male, who was just slightly behind. Shadow rolled his eyes, but sent a chaos spear after him nevertheless, which Sonic easily dodged.

"Or maybe it's just you who's getting rusty?" Sonic then speculated to the air, and effortlessly leapt over a bush which came in his way.

"…Says who?" –And suddenly Shadow was right behind him, practically purring the question into his ear and Sonic almost died by stumbling over a rock because he was so surprised-! …And Shadow just smirked at him before speeding up again, taking the lead.

"How'd you do that?" Sonic shouted at him, getting angry because of how surprised he had got. He then quickly sped up he too, not wanting Shadow to have the lead a moment longer. "You almost made me splat on my face!"

Shadow just flashed a smirk with that perfect mouth of his, and said, without any of the required power, "Chaos control. It works on short distances without an emerald."

Thanks for the tip

Sonic told himself to remember that for future use against the Doctor, and then he scolded Shadow with a, "That's cheating!"

"So?" Shadow nonchalantly said and swerved for a rock which poked up through the sand, just made to stumble on. They had now officially entered Dusty desert, where, in addition to the sand, there were also rocks and cliffs everywhere.

Sonic just tsk'd discontentedly at that, planning to take off at even higher speeds. And then he stumbled.

Shadow came to a halt as soon as he could, and shouted his name. No response. Shadow then dashed up to him, probably to check if he was okay and not dead or something. It was only just the little detail that Sonic had pretended to stumble, and when Shadow got close enough, Sonic scooped up a handful sand and threw it into his face.

"Ha-hah!" Sonic grinned evilly, and in no time flat he was up on his feet and running away again.

"You-!" Shadow hissed venomously while rubbing his eyes furiously. He then took off after Sonic while blinking rapidly, the blue speedster laughing like a madman at his stunt…

For the next ten minutes Shadow then chased after him through the desert, with Soleanna growing larger and larger at the horizon. Sonic almost wanted to laugh at all of this; finally they were free, free to run across the plains at impossible speeds. And the hot wind whipping at their faces felt so refreshing, and the sky above looked so blue, and the clouds so white…

…But then suddenly Shadow wasn't right behind him anymore. And that was, obviously, not good. So Sonic came to a stop, leaving a long scar in the sand, quickly looking behind him at where Shadow was supposed to be. And then he saw that 'whoops, how is Shadow suddenly all the way over there?' – and then he quickly had to dash up to him to check if he was okay.

He walked up to him quickly, but a little hesitantly. Shadow stood, with his head tilted down and looking at the sand, panting heavily. Sonic almost expected Shadow to try and trick him to get revenge for earlier, but the black hedgehog did nothing but breathe, so Sonic scooted closer. And as Shadow still didn't show any signs of attacking, Sonic then put a hand on his shoulder hesitantly.

"…You alright?" Sonic asked, voice having a slight taste of worry in it. He had honestly just meant it as a joke when he threw sand at him, but now he was starting to feel guilty…

"…Yes." Shadow stated firmly. "I… just need to catch my breath." He breathed again, and twitched his lips in something resembling a smile vaguely.

"Okay…." Sonic said, though he was still a little worried. He rubbed Shadow's shoulder lightly, and then he asked, "How about that we head to Soleanna now?" The gate from the desert to the city shouldn't be too far away, and Sonic didn't really like the idea of Shadow running and hurting himself right now…

"…Sounds good." Shadow muttered and straightened himself up, rubbing his eyes again. That sand must have stung…

"Sure you're okay?" Sonic asked again, as guilt once again creeped up his spine.

"Yes, I'm fine." Shadow said curtly, letting his arms fall back to his sides, red streaks flashing in the air briefly.

Sonic hoped that he really was as fine as he said, trying to push away his worries. After all, it was a wonderful day, and he was here on a date-! Yes, a date! He almost forgot that, though he would not ever be able to forget the kiss for as long as he lived. And as this was probably Shadow's first date, then Sonic was going to do his best to make it the best date ever!

And then, with new determination, Sonic reaches out, and takes Shadow's hand. And for possibly the first time ever Shadow does not jerk his hand away, nor tell him to 'go to hell', but instead embraces the touch, even smiling slightly. And then Sonic of course grins, 'cause Shadow's smile is still kinda ridiculous, and then-

-and then Sonic tugs at Shadow's arm a little, motioning for Soleanna. And Shadow nods, and then they start to walk towards the city, and then – then, finally, their date will start.

To be continued…

A/N: AWW HELL YES! FINALLY REWRITTEN, like, almost the whole 'older' story! More chapters to come though, as soon as they're rewritten.

And thank you for your patience, cookies to all who reviewed, and so on!

~Ciao!