It's already early afternoon when Sonic claws his way back to the land of the living. He rolls out of his bed and hits the floor with a heavy thump. Hemaybeoverdid it last night.
It takes longer than appropriate to lift from the cold floor and drag his body to the bathroom. Sonic takes a long hot shower, enjoying the way the stream helps loosen his tired muscles. Once dressed in clean socks and gloves, Sonic grabs his phone from where it had been charging on his nightstand.
Sonic stares at it. He's nervous. Why is he nervous? He was given the ok to text whenever he wanted as long as "it wasn't too stupid," so this shouldn't be a big deal. They were literally just texting last night. Maybe he's nervous because Shads thinks everything is stupid. Yeah, that must be it.
Taking a deep breath, Sonic pulls up Shadow's contact and begins a message. He has never been one to overthink things, why start now?
Me«heyyyy shads :p»
Blue quills bristle as Sonic waits for a response. Was that too casual? Would Shadow block his number? It seemed extreme but he wouldn't put it past Mr. Edgelord. Right as he starts pacing the blue hero hears a chime from his phone.
Shadz3«Hello Sonic.»
Oh geez. Evenseeingthat Shads is using his actual name instead of some place-holder insult makes his heart flutter. Maybe he should make Shadow mad just so he'd start calling him names again. Actually, no. At this point that would probably break his heart. Tails was right, he's got it bad.
Me«wat u doin??»
Shadz3«At the moment, nothing important. What are you up to?»
Me«im boreeeeddd :( lets race??? :o»
Shadz3«Sure. Should I head to your home? I have plans later tonight, so we need to be done by 5:30pm.»
Shadow? Plans? Withwho? Sonic is the only one that could stand him. And Rouge. And Omega. And Tails, though that's a recent development. And now that he's thinking about it most of their friend group is not as wary of Shadow as they were in the past. Oh geez. Shadow could be hanging out with anybody! But why would he want to hang out with them over Sonic?
It's almost 4pm, which only gives them just over an hour to race and talk. Peach lips thin into a frown. It doesn't feel like that's long enough, somehow. Sonic really doesn't want to sound desperate and ask about it but he can't wait until the hybrid gets here. Sonic needs to know who'sstealing Shadow awayright now.
Me«yesssss come over here pls»
Me«who u hangin with?»
Shadz3«I agreed to watch Cream while Ms.Vanilla has an evening out.»
Sonic releases the breath he didn't know he was holding. Relief washes over him. Sonic shakes his head with a sigh. Why is this getting to him so badly?
Shadz 3«I will be at your house in a few minutes.»
Sonic bounces with excitement. Flashes of blue zip around Tails' tiny home. He knows that Shadow will likely only be inside for a moment, but he still wants to leave a good impression. After tidying up, Sonic runs to the bathroom to freshen up. He brushes his teeth and uses mouthwash for good measure. Soon after he hears a familiar knock on the front door.
Sonic's there a second later, smoothing down his quills before welcoming Shadow in. "Come on in! Do you want something to drink?"
The hybrid shakes his head, stepping over the threshold but not coming inside much further. "I appreciate the offer but I'm fine. We should get going, we don't have much time."
Sonic tries not to pout. "Look, I know you said we could race in the morning and I overslept. My bad. But maybe I could tag along with you tonight? I'm sure Cream won't mind."
It's a shot in the dark. And heliterallyjust thought of it. But Sonic feels a spark of hope when he sees Shadow tilt his head, one ear drooping as he considers.
Shadow pulls out his phone and taps away at the screen. "Honestly you may be right. I'll ask Ms Vanilla and Cream to see if it's alright with them."
Sonic steps up close to sneak a peek at the screen, thrilled when Shadow doesn't back away. "You have a group chat with them?"
"It's effective."
Sonic hums and takes Shadow's phone, actively ignoring how the other is now grumbling something about manners. The case is different now than it was the other day. Before Shadow had a plain, heavy duty black case. A total bore. A snooze fest. A major bummer. This new case is much louder, catching Sonic's interest.
It's a familiar bright blue hue, eye catching and bold. It's got a shiny finish, gold glitter adding some sparkle. There's a cartoonish version ofhim, Sonic the Hedgehog, eating a chili dog in the lower right corner. This tiny version of him wears a wink even with a face stuffed with food, and a thumbs up is pointed towards the viewer. Honestly? This is very on brand for him.
"You have me on your phone case." It's not a question even though Sonic is more than a little stunned.
Shadow looks away, ears straight up and too still to be casual. He crosses his arms and shifts his hips, placing more weight on his left leg. It's faint, but there's a light dusting of red on his muzzle. Sonic feels his cheeks burn with the stretch of a manic grin. No way. He'sembarrassed.
"It was cute. I wanted something to remind me of you."
Now Sonic's embarrassed. He just wanted to tease Shadow, he didn't think that the ebon would actually admit to something like that. And it just makes him feel sosappy. Shadow thinks about Sonic enough to buy his merch so he has something of the hero's. That's adorable! Sonic almost wishes Shadow wasn't such a great friend. It would make this crush way easier to deal with.
Shadow's phone vibrates and Sonic passes it back quietly, trying to calm himself when their hands brush.
"They said it's fine. Cream seems excited to have you join us." Shadow turns the phone so Sonic can see the many emojis Cream is still currently sending.
"Awesome! Told ya so. You wanna race there?"
Shadow's smirk is all the answer he needs. But first...
"Hold up! I have an idea."
Sonic rushes to the kitchen and back, holding out his hand for Shadow's phone. The ebon frowns but hands it over with no protest. Carefully Sonic removes the case, so he can sign his name with a gold permanent marker. He writes a small message above it, adding a small heart for good measure.
"There! When you get lonely just look inside."
Shadow looks over it, leaning on Sonic's arm as he does so. He reads it aloud slowly.
"Maybe far but never apart." Shadow pauses, his ears pressing against his head. He has a small smile - a real, actual smile that lights up his face. Sonic can't look away. "Thanks, Sonic."
It takes him a minute to register what was said. He's too caught up in how Shadow's smile makes him want to pull the hybrid into a hug. As a start. "No problem! Now let's get shaking."
He waits for Shadow to put his case back on and then guides the ebon out the door, buzzing with anticipation. They get into starting position and count down together, a rarity that makes Sonic even more excited.
Quick as a whip they're off, racing towards Ms. Vanilla's neighborhood park. The first few miles are a breeze, as the forest is known well enough by the both of them. Sonic runs even faster at the sight of glowing lights on the horizon. When they reach the city the real adventure begins.
It's much more chaotic and dangerous with so many moving pieces, so naturally it's a lot more fun. Sonic does his best to avoid running into citizens on the sidewalk while Shadow juggles his luck dodging cars on the street. Shadow even goes so far as to jump over a few, winking at Sonic each time. What a show off. Sonic loves it.
Sonic turns to his left abruptly, noticing that they've made it to Cream's neighborhood. A second passes and suddenly Shadow is right there beside him. They look at each other and Sonic is thrilled. Shadow looks sohappy, even though he isnt quite smiling. Sonic wants to kiss him.
Oh. Oh buddy.
Sonic gets to the designated park bench first. He's thankful that the race was adventurous enough, it hides the fact that his sweating has nothing to deal with exertion. Sonic tries to shake the thought out of his head, but it only grows.
It's all he can think about when he turns around to see Shadow staring back at him with playful eyes. He wants to run over to the hybrid and kiss him. He wants to hold Shadow's face and show him just what he means to him. He wants to taste Shadow on his tongue. Maybe Shadow would push him against that tree and -
Ok! Time to breath and slow his horses. Sonic fans himself and clears his throat. This really isn't the time for... whatever that was. Well, he knows what it was but he doesn't want to think about it, ok?
"Seems like your win last race was a fluke, Stripes."
Shadow scowls. "You know I hate it when you call me that."
"You always hated when I called you Shads but you're cool with it now, right?"
Shadow grunts, rolling his eyes. "You're the only one that calls me that, so it's fine. For whatever reason calling me 'Stripes' isn't so exclusive."
Sonic snorts, not believing that Shadow is pouting over a nickname, of all things. "Alright, sour puss. I won't call you Stripes - but you better be prepared for some other names then."
Shadow glares at him from over a dark shoulder. "We will see about that."
Sonic grins, stepping around the bench to brush up against Shadow. He sneaks an arm around the hybrid's waist, noticing that Shadow actually leans into his touch.
"Let's just chill here before we need to get Cream? Stop and smell the roses and all that."
Shadow nods and allows himself to be led to the bench. They sit there in silence for a few moments, mostly because Sonic somehow still has his arm around Shadow's waist and he hasnoidea what to say. He wasn't thinking. He just wanted to touch Shadow - he didn't expect the ebon to actually let him.
It feels better than he thought it would. Shadow's form is sturdy and warm. He imagines that midnight fur is soft to the touch without gloves. Sonic nearly chokes when Shadow leans into him with a sigh. Is this really happening? Is Shadow just... letting Sonic hold him?
Sonic wants to say something - anything - but he doesn't want this to stop. He wants more, but he doesn't know how to do so. Or if he should. It could ruin everything. The last thing he wants is to lose one of his best friends because he got too starry eyed and leaned in for a kiss.
He's supposed to be enjoying this, nothing more.
But chaos, does he want to. He shifts just a bit closer, and still Shadow doesn't shy away. Sonic has seen Shadow and Rouge's behavior with each other and concludes that the hybrid must be affectionate with all close friends then. Though, they have never been like that with each other before and Sonic thought they were close, so maybe Shadow just trusts him more now? Yeah, that must be it.
Nothing more.
Sonic loves that he's regarded as highly as Rouge, but hates it too. He almost misses the old days, when Shadow would fight him something as simple as touching his hand. It would be easier to deal with that than this. He's so close to Shadow and so in love but he can never have the ebon's heart.
Shadow turns to face him, and suddenly Sonic can't breathe. If he just leaned in a little he could kiss plush lips. Just a little--
"It's time to go."
Sonic blinks in surprise. "What? We only just got here!"
Shadow rolls his eyes. Oh chaos, they are so pretty this close. "We've been sitting here for nearly an hour, you dork."
"Oh."
Shadow places his hand over Sonic's own and squeezes before getting up. Their bubble is popped, but Sonic isn't ready to face the real world again. He wants to sit on this bench and forget time again. He just wants to sit here and talk to and hold Shadow. Maybe even be held this time. He wants to kiss and be kissed, to be held by sure hands as he melts into them.
But such things just can't be.
Sonic sighs and stands up with the help of Shadow's outreached hand. This crush has been more trouble than fun, and it's only getting worse. The longer Sonic spends time around Shadow, the deeper he falls. This can't be happening!
Because Sonic isn't sure he wants it to stop. Actually, yeah, no, Sonic doesn't want it to. He wants to chase this feeling and see where it takes him. But he knows. This road will lead to one of two things - heartbreak, or love.
He's not sure which one is worse.