"Where are you taking me, you annoying hedgehog?" Shadow asked with a huff as he walked besides Sonic on the busy sidewalk.

"It's a surprise, Shads!" Sonic replied with a smirk, speeding up his walk and dodging in and out of people walking past them.

Shadow rolled his eyes. It was early, with the sun just barely above the horizon. A fresh layer of dew glistened on the green grass and the air was chilly enough that Shadow had to wrap his arms tighter around him.

Shadow hated surprises. He wasn't sure how Sonic talked him into this. The only reason he even agreed to go with Sonic in the first place was because the hedgehog promised him a coffee. Not that Shadow was the type to do anything for some dark coffee beans, but it was early, and he was tired and Sonic looked like he was going to whine for hours if he said no.

He tried to guess what kind of surprise Sonic would want to show him. Coffee wasn't that special, and Shadow had made any signs or signals that he wanted something more from the blue hero. He supposed they could be going on a run, but even Sonic knew that it was too cold for that in the morning. The two hedgehogs would sweat, and then end up with chills. That didn't stop Sonic from waking Shadow up at the crack of dawn for runs during the summer, though.

The walk seemed to take forever. Sonic kept on smiling and laughing, even when Shadow tried to start an argument with him, to ask, no, demand, that he told him where they were going. Sonic was always hard to get information out of.

I swear, is this is another one of his stupid pranks, I'm going to kill him. Shadow thought to himself as they stopped in front of a flower shop. Sonic beamed and skipped inside, and Shadow reluctantly followed.

Inside there were dozens of pots and bouquets and vases filled with all kinds of flowers. Shelves reaching the bright ceiling lined the walls, filled with bags of soil and fertilizer. There was a section in the back filled with gardening tools like trowels and shears, as well as some clothing.

"Welcome! If you need any help finding anything, just let me know." An older woman with silver hair and glasses smiled from behind a counter near the front of the store. "Can I help you with anything?"

"Yep, where's the lavender?" Sonic asked with a grin.

Shadow perked up. "Lavender? Why are you getting that?"

"That's another part of the surprise!" Sonic replied before he ran off to the left of the shop.

Shadow grumbled something under his breath but followed nonetheless. The back of the shop had all the mint-family flowers. Mint leaves filled one table while chives filled another. Lavender and lemon balm and horehound and hyssop were all together on a rack of shelves. Shadow stopped to admire some lilac flowers while Sonic continued to scan through the flowers.

"Do you like lilac?" Sonic asked, noticing Shadow's interest.

"Hm, not particularly. What's the lavender for?" Shadow asked, crossing his arms.

"For you, duh."

"For me?"

"Yeah."

"What for? I never asked for anything, especially lavender."

"It's for your birthday! Duh."

Shadow froze. "Who told you my birthday."

"Rouge."

"Damn her."

"Here's your lavender, fresh farm-grown too!" The lady from the counter emerged from the back room, holding a small bag of dark purple flowers.

"Thanks!" Sonic took the bag, and they headed towards the cashier.

"How did you even pay for this? You don't have a job," Shadow asked as they waited in line.

"Amy and Tails gave me some money," Sonic said with a grin.

"So you made them pay?"

"Yep!"

"So technically, this 'gift' is from Rose and the fox."

"Nah, I earned it from chores!"

"Chores?"

"Yeah...sweeping and laundry and stuff like that."

"Just so you could buy me some lavender?"

"Not just lavender, ya goof. I've got another surprise."

"What is it?"

"You'll have to wait and see!"

Shadow rolled his eyes and followed Sonic out the door. The sun had fully risen now, and the air had gotten warmer. A light breeze blew past them.

"So what are you going to do with the lavender?" Shadow asked.

"It's for you, you do something with is." Sonic chuckled. "Now, come on, buddy, I got more gifts to get for you!"

In a matter of ten minutes, Shadow was carrying his lavender, a cup of black coffee beans, a mini red velvet cake, and a large bouquet of red, orange, yellow, and pink flowers. It felt excessive and over-the-top, and he was annoyed that Sonic was making him carry everything.

"Okay, we're almost done!" Sonic said as they turned into a park. "There's one last gift, and it's the best one!"

"It better be." Shadow grunted as he shifted the plethora of items in his arms.

Receiving gifts was a new and...almost unpleasant experience for Shadow. He'd never been given a gift before, especially not on his birthday, and he was sure that he wasn't used to receiving them. In the beginning, when he first started teaming up on occasion with Sonic, he would be annoyed by even the smallest gestures, like if Sonic said hi to him too energetically, or if Amy Rose asked him to dinner. He found that he still didn't know how to respond to any kind gestures, especially not ones that were this...this...whatever it was. He cursed Rouge for sharing his own information with the likes of Sonic.

They stopped in front of a small bridge over a pond. Ducks and geese swam around the surface, some quacking noisily while others just pecked at the water. A few baby ducks trailed behind their mother, wobbling on the muddy banks of the shore.

"This is the gift." Sonic said, smiling.

Shadow stared at the pond, awkwardly holding the gifts in his arms. "What is it?"

Sonic laughed. "What do you mean, Shads?"

"I mean what is it?" Shadow asked again, looking up at Sonic.

"Dude, it's your birthday! It's supposed to be a special day!"

"And?"

"And I'm giving you the best birthday ever!"

"A muddy pond?"

"Look at it like this: a nice, beautiful bond, look at the pretty lily pads, feed the ducks and geese, take a walk. What else do you need?"

"...A bench?"

Sonic chuckled before he grabbed Shadow's wrist and pulled him down to sit beside him. "Look, Shads, I know this isn't the kind of thing you like, but trust me, you'll enjoy it. Just take some time to relax, maybe even enjoy yourself a little bit."

"You try relaxing when you're carrying everything you own." Shadow huffed.

"Oh yeah." Sonic took the lavender, coffee, cake, and flowers out of Shadow's hands. "There."

Shadow shook out his arms and sat back with a sigh. "Okay, so I'm here. Now what?"

"We chill." Sonic said. "It's still pretty early, so we can just watch the sun rise some more and take in the morning air."

"...Why? This seems like an awful waste of time. I could be doing something far more productive, like training or reading or infiltrating Eggman's hideouts."

"Because it's fun. And I think you need to take a break from training and reading and...Eggman."

"I don't need a break from anything."

Sonic smirked. "Yeah, yeah, sure. How about we eat some cake?"

"Do what you want." Shadow looked down at his shoes.

The two hedgehogs sat there in silence, with the sounds of the birds and the water trickling in the background. Sonic hummed as he ate Shadow's cake, and Shadow occasionally glanced at him. The sun was warming up the air now, and Shadow felt himself starting to sweat a bit. He sighed, feeling impatient and annoyed. He wasn't antsy, but sitting still for so long made him uncomfortable.

"So, are you enjoying your birthday?" Sonic asked as he tossed some seeds to the birds.

"You ate my cake." Shadow replied.

"Hey, you didn't stop me."

"I didn't think you'd eat the whole thing."

"I was hungry, excuse me!" Sonic laughed and leaned back on his hands. "So, Shads, did you have a good birthday?"

"It was fine, I guess." Shadow looked at Sonic.

Sonic's quills were messy and his fur was scruffy, but his bright green eyes gleamed in the morning light. He had a small smear of cake icing on the corner of his mouth that Shadow found himself staring at. Sonic smiled, his eyes crinkling up around the corners, and Shadow found himself looking away. He felt warm.

"Well, I'm glad you liked it." Sonic said after a minute of silence. "Happy birthday, Shadow."

"Thanks, faker." Shadow replied.

He found that he wasn't quite annoyed anymore. In fact, he was content. He glanced at Sonic again, who was now lying on the grass with his arms behind his head, his eyes closed. So Shadow tried to copy him, leaning back and closing his eyes. The sun felt nice on his quills. The grass was soft and cool under his fingers. The ducks quacked and the geese honked and the wind blew softly.

Yeah, he thought. It's not so bad.

"Your cake was delicious, by the way." Sonic said, breaking the silence.

"Shut up." Shadow replied with a sigh, but he didn't mean it.

Sonic laughed. "Just remember who got you a whole bunch of stuff for your birthday."

"I've...never had a birthday before. I mean, there was that one on the Ark, but..."

"Oh yeah! With Maria, right?" Sonic asked, then felt Shadow immediately tense up beside him. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to...I mean, I forgot..."

Shadow remained silent, staring up at the sky. His eyes looked sad, and Sonic wanted to say something else to comfort him.

"Shadow-"

"I'm fine," Shadow interrupted.

Sonic opened his mouth, but no words came out. He didn't want to press further and make Shadow mad, so he stayed quiet.

After a few minutes of silence, Shadow spoke again. "I'm...glad that you gave me a birthday."

Sonic smiled and nudged Shadow with his elbow. "That's what I'm here for, buddy!"

"But I have one request," Shadow said, looking over at Sonic.

"Oh, yeah? What?" Sonic asked, leaning close.

Shadow sat up too and smirked. "The next time I have a birthday, don't get me useless gifts. Just...your presence seems to be good enough."

Sonic blushed. "R...really? Just me? So...no gifts or anything next time? Just you and me, hanging out?"

Shadow nodded. "Yeah. That's all I need."

Sonic beamed. "Okay! That sounds perfect!"

Shadow's lips twitched up into a small smile, and he laid back down in the grass. Sonic followed, lying down beside him. They both stared at the clouds as they passed by overhead, watching them shift and change shape as time went on.

"Happy birthday, Shadow." Sonic said softly.

"Ugh, it sounds corny, don't say it like that. But...thanks."

They both laughed.

And that's when Shadow realized that he loved surprises. Especially when they're from Sonic.