Chapter 21: A Day in Rivendell

The next day, Sonic woke up. He groaned and saw Shadow lying next to him in the same bed. Sonic smiled and got out of bed as Shadow stirred and got up also.

"Where to first?" Shadow stretched as he asked.

Sonic shrugged. "Not sure. What do you want to do?"

"Something fun for once."

"Yeah, same here."

They remained in silence for a while, both thinking of what to do next.

"Wanna just hang out in Rivendell for a few days? Then we could go find a place to live," Sonic asked.

"Sounds great," Shadow replied.

Sonic smiled. He and Shadow walked around, then saw Gandalf talking to Elrond. Shadow looked at Sonic as the two got closer. Gandalf smiled, and then saw Shadow and Sonic. "Ah, there you are! Are you two enjoying your stay in in Rivendell?"

"We are," Shadow said.

"We'll be staying here for a few days and then leave to find a place to live," Sonic told the wizard.

Gandalf gave them a smile. "If you ever need any help, don't be afraid to ask," he said.

"What city do you suggest we live in?" Sonic asked.

"I can't tell you that," Gandalf chuckled. "Just find somewhere you're comfortable."

Sonic nodded, and he and Shadow walked off.

"There's bound to be somewhere that'll accept two gay people such as us," Shadow said.

Sonic chuckled and nodded. "How about Bree?"

"Why Bree?" Shadow looked at him as they walked.

The blue hedgehog shrugged. "First place that popped into my head. You have any ideas?"

"Bree's fine." Shadow grabbed Sonic's hand. "Not to sound sappy or anything, but I'll be happy as long as you're there with me."

Sonic smiled and nodded, and they walked to the balcony and looked out at the scenery. "This place is beautiful," Sonic said.

"It was built by elves," Shadow said. "What else would it be?"

"Yeah," Sonic said. "So, when do you want to leave?"

"Not until tomorrow at least." Shadow thought a moment before adding, "We going to head straight to Bree or take a roundabout route?"

"We can head straight for Bree. Hey, I'm just wondering: what did it feel like when you transformed from Aragorn into Shadow?"

Shadow leaned on the rail of the balcony and looked out across the city. Figuring that out took him a few minutes. "Weird," he finally said. "It was like I could feel everything for a single moment. Every feeling the both of us felt at that moment...both sets of memories raced through my mind, mixing together in a giant heap of confusion." Shadow paused. "Then there was a surge of heat and he was gone. The next thing I knew, I was back."

Sonic nodded. "What would have happened if the mental change hadn't occurred?"

"Then I wouldn't be here," Shadow laughed. "It would only be my body and voice. Aragorn's thoughts and feelings would drive me."

"I see," Sonic said. "I'm glad you're back."

"Me too. So, what do you want to do now?"

Sonic thought about it. Then he pushed Shadow up against the wall and started kissing him passionately. Shadow's eyes widened in shock a moment before closing as he moved his lips against Sonic's. The two hedgehogs made out for a bit before stopping.

"Want to take this somewhere else?" Sonic asked.

"Good idea," Shadow said.

Sonic nodded. They went to their room and lay down on the bed, continuing to make out. Shadow pressed his mouth against Sonic's. Sonic did the same. Shadow moved over Sonic as he deepened the kiss. His arms went around Sonic's back as he pulled Sonic down onto him. The blue hedgehog smiled. Shadow's face was heating up as the kiss continued. Shadow ran his hands down Sonic's sides as he pulled their mouths apart. He was breathing heavily as he looked down at Sonic.

"That was an awesome make out session," Sonic said. "Do you want to stop, or continue?"

Shadow didn't respond for a few moments. "Whatever you want," he mumbled.

Sonic nodded and sighed, then stood up. Shadow smiled and stood up also.

"What do you want to do now?" Sonic asked. "We have the whole day in Rivendell before we leave."

"Why don't we see what the elves do around here? There's bound to be something interesting."

"All right."

He walked off, with Shadow following behind him. Soon, they saw Elrond and walked up to him.

"Hello again," Elrond said. "Was there anything you needed?"

"We were just wondering if there's anything to do around here," Sonic told him.

"There's plenty to do," Elrond said. He thought for a moment. "I'm not certain what interests you."

Sonic and Shadow looked at each other and then back at Elrond. Shadow cleared his throat and spoke. "As long as it doesn't involve just standing there, I'm sure we'll be fine."

Elrond nodded. "Feel free to do anything you like around here."

He walked away. Sonic looked at Shadow, grinning. "So, what do you want to do?"

"Something..." Shadow looked around, trying to think of anything he'd find interesting. It was harder than he thought it would be.

Sonic looked around also.

"We could get some food first." Shadow's ear had twitched as his stomach grumbled at him.

"Alright," Sonic said. "I have to admit, I am hungry."

They went to the dining room and saw Gandalf, Elrond, and the other elves at the table. The two hedgehogs sat down also, and Gandalf looked at them.

"Finding everything you need all right?" he asked.

They nodded. "Something to eat would be nice," Sonic told him.

"The elves have quite the wide selection," Gandalf said. "Is there anything in particular you're looking for?"

Shadow shook his head before looking at Sonic.

"Do you have any chili dogs?" Sonic said with a grin.

Shadow looked at him. "Chili Dogs? Really?"

Gandalf looked confused. "I don't think so. We might be able to find something similar."

Sonic chuckled. "Never mind," he said. "We'll find something to eat."

Gandalf nodded. "The kitchen is just down the hall."

The two hedgehogs nodded and walked into the kitchen, grabbing some food. Shadow sat next to Sonic at one of the tables and started on his food. It obviously wasn't what he was used to, but it wasn't bad either. He looked at Sonic as he chewed the mouthful he had. The blue hedgehog nodded and continued to eat. Once they were done, they walked out of the room and up to the balcony.

"It's not so bad here," Shadow said.

Sonic smiled. "I love it; Rivendell's an amazing place."

Shadow nodded in agreement and turned to look at Sonic. "It is amazing," he said. "What time were you thinking of leaving, by the way?"

"Probably early in the morning. Or we could leave today. You wanted to live in Bree, right?"

"Yeah. Why?"

Sonic shrugged. "There are other cities in Middle-Earth, like Fornost or Rohan. When do you want to leave?"

"Whenever you're ready," Shadow said. "We could make sure we don't want to live somewhere else first. Shouldn't take long with our speed."

Sonic nodded. "I've heard Fornost is a vast city that's part of the kingdom of Arnor. It's only 100 miles from Bree."

"We should take a look at it."

"Alright. How about we go now?"

Shadow nodded. "Sure. Anything we should bring with us?"

Sonic thought about it. "I can't think of anything. What did you have in mind?"

"Food." Shadow gave him a smile. "Unless you wanted to solve that on the open road?"

"We can do that," Sonic said.

Shadow nodded. They saw Gandalf walk up to them.

"We're leaving now," Shadow said. "Rather than tomorrow. Any wisdom to grace us with?"

Gandalf smiled. "May the Valar protect you."

Sonic and Shadow nodded, and walked out of Rivendell to head towards Fornost.