AN: After so many years, it's a wonder how some things just don't go away, including this story. I wrote this sometime in late 2012 or early 2013. Yes, I know that everyone is OOC in this, but oh well. I wanted to post something that was simultaneously fluffy and dark.

WHENEVER I THINK OF YOU

Clutching the chipped metal circle to his chest, the ebony hedgehog-alien hybrid became overwhelmed by sorrow in mere seconds. He had been searching for this locket, the last thing that tied him to his past life, for many years with the plan to destroy it. But now that he had found it at last, cast aside in a storage cabinet among the belongings of those long deceased, he wanted it as close to his heart as possible. Saying a complete and total goodbye to the Shadow of his past days wasn't something that he wanted to do anymore. It was something that he believed he could never truly do. Because he had purged all other fragments of his past, he needed to keep this one reminder. This little locket would serve as a relic of the bittersweet days of innocence that he had vowed to forget not long ago.

Anyway, no one needed to know where it had come from.

Reaching behind him, he clipped the chain around his neck and gave a deep sigh, tracing over the links of glimmering gold one by one. Although he had been through his fair share of torment in recent years, he still vividly remembered the way that the material felt against his fur and skin. Back in those days, it had been smooth and warm, just like the kiss of her fingertips on the back of his neck. But now, as he stood staring at his reflection in the mirror with empty eyes, the locket was rough and cold as ice. Without her kind hands to fasten it, the locket was just like his heart: incomplete, unwelcoming, and broken.

He couldn't stand to look at himself anymore. Something had to give. Turning away from the painfully honest mirror, he bolted for the door of his office, determined to save himself the humiliation of crying in public. His trembling fingers closed around the doorknob, his throat tightened like the coils of a spring under pressure, and suddenly...

"Hey, Shadow? Are you okay?"

A well-meaning gloved hand laid itself on his shoulder. He swallowed his despair for the moment and flexed his fingers, hoping that he could convince him.

"I'm quite all right," he lied through clenched teeth. "I just don't feel very well."

"Oh. Well, there is a stomach bug going around, after all. I hope you- wait a minute." The other's voice lowered, now full of suspicion. "You can't get sick. You're the Ultimate Life Form, right? That doesn't make sense. Why don't you tell me what's really going on?"

Damn. He'd been caught again. "I didn't think that you cared enough about me to remember that." He tensed the muscles in his arms and shoulders, preparing to escape. "But I didn't say that I was sick, now, did I? I said that I wasn't feeling well. I want to go lie down and take a nap. Is that all right with you, or would you like to come with me and hold my hand?"

"Hey, what's with the nastiness? I'm not trying to attack you here. I just want to make sure that you're all right. The way that you ran like that told me that something was up. I'm not gonna leave you alone until I know for sure that you're okay."

"Why?" He knew the answer, but he still wanted to hear the words.

"Because I really do care about you. We're friends, aren't we, Shadow?"

"I don't think so, Sonic," he bit back, twisting the doorknob in his grasp and pushing open the door. "But still, how nice of you to give a damn."

"That's it."

Sonic pushed him from behind, shoving him into the room and following close behind, slamming the door after him.

"Tell me what's wrong. You need to talk to me, Shadow."

"As if I would tell you anything." He sat down as his desk, fingering the locket and staring down at his chest fur. "Now get out before I throw you out the window. You have ten sec–"

"What's that?" Sonic, perching atop his desk, beckoned him closer. He pointed to the barely visible locket buried in his chest fur. "I've never seen you wear that before. What is it?"

Great. Now he wasn't going to leave him alone at all. "I just found it in the storage room. I was looking for one of my old logs and I found it nearby."

"Cool. Let me see it." Sonic placed his hand on his chest, racking his entire body with shivers. "Ooh, this stuff feels like feathers." He lifted the piece of metal, closely inspecting it. "It looks about a hundred years old... made of real gold, too! Geez, it must be worth a ton of money! What a find, Shadow!"

He averted his eyes, stiffening as Sonic moved his finger around and around the locket. It was only a matter of time before he found the hidden treasure that he loved so much.

"Hey, does it open? Let's see."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Shadow warned, batting away Sonic's hand. "You might break it, and then all value would be lost. Leave it alone."

"Don't worry, I'll be careful with it." Sonic cupped the locket in his hands, teasing Shadow's chest fur with his fingertips. Slowly and with great care, he opened up the locket, bringing it closer to his face in order to get a better look at what was inside. Shadow's heart beat faster and faster within his chest, and he wondered if Sonic could feel it.

"It's a picture of this blonde girl and some old guy and this... hey, is that you?"

The springs tightened up again, and he squeezed his eyes closed in anticipation of the coming flood. It was mere seconds away; he could feel the tears welling up in his eyes.

"Oh. Hey, Shadow..."

He bit down on his lip and jumped into the abyss, shoving his head into his hands as his face was soaked with his own tears. Somewhere inside the vortex of grief, he felt Sonic's arms wrap around him and his lips gently touch his cheek. The locket clicked closed, and Sonic held him close.

"I'm so sorry."

AN: So am I, for putting you all through this monstrosity. o_o