Eighteen - Scars/Let Me See (All of You)
Sonic doesn't like being vulnerable but he lets Shadow see him this way just this one time.
Sonic hopped out of the shower, the air moist and hot. He wrapped a long white towel around his waist after drying at his pelt and quills. It had been a long day, to say the least. Eggman had attacked downtown again with one of his heavily armed machinery however as always, he came out on top. No surprise.
His shoulder hurt, it was stupid how it happened anyway. He was running, trying to weave around the debris that Eggman had just so graciously left to the city to fix and hadn't been paying attention to where exactly he was going as every once in a while he looked over behind himself and then ran into the corner of a building, his left shoulder clipping against it particularly hard. It was sore and somewhat bruised but it didn't hurt too bad. At least he tried to convince himself of such.
He walked into Shadow's bedroom, rummaging through his rival's drawers to borrow some of his socks and gloves. Said rival sat on the edge of the bed looking through a hand book not entirely interested in its contents. He set it aside when he saw blue come out of the corner of his eye. It was late and they were tired. He was only waiting for Sonic to get out of the shower so that they could finally catch some rest.
"Had a good shower?" Shadow smugged.
Sonic playfully huffed, brushing off the comment. He removed the towel from his waist and continued to use it to further absorb any remaining moisture left from the water as he sat at the other end of the bed, not too far from Shadow.
"Here, let me help you. Turn around," the ebony stated as he took the towel from Sonic's grasp and began ringing out his quills as much as he could.
"You know, if you don't dry these things well, you might grow mold towards the roots of your head."
Sonic scoffed, "Oh really? And how do you know that -It-All?"
"I just do, you don't want to create an unintentional habitat on that head of yours, hmm?
"Maybe I will put my quills to some further use. They don't always have to be used to cut through things. Maybe they could be a home for some future organisms," Sonic jokes.
"That's just gross, Faker." Shadow mocked.
They sat there as Sonic closed his eyes let Shadow do his thing with his quills. He wasn't entirely focusing on what was happening behind him, it just felt so good it felt like he was getting a massage on his points. He didn't want it to end.
Shadow was nearly done and his eyes began to wander down the back of Sonic's frame. The way he was lean yet muscular but he couldn't help but notice that some parts of his fur were thinner than its surroundings. Upon further inspection, there seemed to be a variety of lines littered across his shoulders and back. Some lines were lighter and almost completely disappeared to the point where they were hardly visible. Others appeared more white and prominent jumping out against the blue. Some were long and thin while others were short and wide. It sparkled on him like confetti, none seemingly having any kind of correlation with one another. They appeared random and not intentional.
Lines of scars are what was littered across his body and this was just the back of it.
Sonic opened his eyes. Shadow seemed to stop yet the towel was still there. He felt a gentle touch on his shoulder blade and he jerked back which he instantly regretted because his shoulder was already hurt there, he groaned in response.
"Are you okay?" the ebony asked.
Sonic placed a hand over his shoulder, "Yeah, I'm fine. Uh- what were you doing?"
Shadow sighed, "I just- noticed there were some lines on your body. Are they scars?"
Sonic's face tensed, "Yeah, just some little mementos I've collected over the years from my fights with Eggman. He doesn't like to keep me unscathed apparently."
"Do they hurt?" Shadow asked innocently.
"No, they're all healed by now. I don't think I got any new ones from today, not as far as I can see. But no, they don't hurt. They probably did when I initially had them but I stopped keeping track a long time ago."
Shadow's touch returned. Light feathery fingertips ran over every scar. Each one had a story to tell. Some were smooth and others alike but strands of fur managed to grow between them. They were small yet so delicate. It gave Sonic a different sense of uniqueness.
"You know, I used to hate my scars. I used to feel self-conscious about them. Sometimes I'll have that feeling occasionally but not so much nowadays. I think I finally accepted that I can't leave a battle without at least one little scratch. I've gotten used to it," Sonic shared.
Shadow heard every word and his fingers did not cease as they attempted to run over every line that he could find. He ran over a partially long one down towards his hip. It was the longest and biggest one yet, it was somewhat visible but the fur that has grown since managed to camouflage some of it.
"I remember that one, hurt like hell. I think it was a piece of metal from one of Egghead's robots if I remember correctly. It was hard to tend to cuz I couldn't see it. I had to get Tails to bandage it. For days it wouldn't stop bleeding."
Instead of just a finger, Shadow used his whole hand to follow the length of the line. It began from the side of his hip until the center of his lower back.
"You hated your scars?" Shadow asked, confused.
"I did. I felt like they made me feel weak or something, I'dunno that was a long time ago. Nowadays I don't care. I know I'm strong, I don't need a clean body to prove it."
Shadow let Sonic's words sink in. They were very powerful words indeed with much meaning behind them.
"You know what I think? I think every scar is beautiful. Each one has a story to tell regardless of where they came from or how they appear. It shows the world that you are a fighter and can handle what life tends to throw at you. These scars show how much of a fighter you are. I think you should be proud of having them. I wish I had scars but my healing abilities prevents me from having such."
The two still weren't facing each other and it probably helped the both of them be completely honest with one another in a way they've never done so before. Sonic turned from his place to face Shadow. He gave a gentle smile and nodded.
"I guess so if you want to look for a deeper meaning but it's not a bad way of looking at it. I appreciate it. Thank you."
Shadow just nodded. They sat there for a couple of minutes to themselves and Sonic was unconsciously still rubbing at his shoulder.
"What happened to the shoulder, hedgehog? And don't say nothing because your face says otherwise."
He sighs, "It's nothing though. I just hit it against the side of a building while I was running. Just need some ice, that's all."
Shadow pulled away Sonic's hand revealing the redness, swelling, and bruising left behind. "That doesn't look like nothing. Let's fix you up real quick then get to bed, alright? I'll get the first-aid kit."
Shadow stood to his feet, making his way to the bathroom but was stopped when a hand latched around his wrist.
"I don't like being vulnerable with anyone. I'm afraid of being judged or worse looked down upon. You didn't do that tonight and I just wanted to say thank you. It means a lot."
Shadow nodded, "I understand. Of course, how could I look down on a hero like yourself?
They exchanged smiles and Sonic released his wrist. Sonic simply grinned to himself, he was never particularly fond of his scars but after today, one day, he may grow to love them.
SO, I can say for a fact I will NOT be able to get through the thirty days of prompts. Well we tried, we got pretty close and a whole hell of a lot better than the one I did two years ago that's for sure. It's been fun and I'm going to try to push out as much as I can but by the time the 31st comes around, I'm done. I could technically upload well into November but that defeats the purpose of this challenge. Thanks for all the love and support!
