Chapter Text
Shadow needed to stop.
He had become too reliant on Sonic for everything, and too close. The blue hedgehog deserved to live his own life, and not be wrapped up in Shadow's. A part of the dark hybrid urged him to keep his relationship with his faker strong, but he pushed it down. Shadow was growing soft. He could care for himself.
So he didn't call for help when Metal Sonic attacked him. He could handle it.
Metal slashed at Shadow's unprotected flesh, and the robot barely missed him. The hedgehog got a few good spin dashes in. The bot took a blow to the head before it could land a hit on Shadow. Metal Sonic fell to the grass with a thunk. Shadow was just wondering why the bot had been alone when he turned to find a small army of badniks.
Perfect, he thought. That was too easy.
Shadow defeated most of them easily and was eyeing the last one. He laughed a bit as he went to kick it.
As he jumped into action, he felt metal plunge into his side. Shadow fell with a grunt, only to recognize Metal Sonic towering over him.
"Fuck you." Shadow punched it straight in it's metal face and into the remaining badnik. The hedgehog groaned as he looked at his wound. "Shit."
He stood, his stance wobbly, as he surveyed his wound. Three bloody marks resided on his side, and dirt was speckled on it. He waited for it to heal until he realized that he wasn't the Ultimate Life Form at the moment. It throbbed; the sensation was new to Shadow. He frowned. He just had to patch it up.
Shadow walked home, his steps labored as he held his wound. Blood seeped through the glove on his hand and onto the grass.
He lifted a hand to open his door. Rouge and Omega were on a mission for G.U.N.; they wouldn't be back for another week. It was nice to have the house to himself.
The hedgehog walked briskly through the house and towards the restroom, where the first aid kit was. He quickly pulled out what he needed and began to stitch his wounds, after he had put disinfectant on them. The needles themselves seemed clean enough.
He bandaged his side just in case it bled more before walking to the couch and flicking on the small TV. He put on the X-Men series yet again; it reminded him of Sonic.
Stop, Shadow scolded himself. You were just being a bother when he was at a low point.
The movie played, but Shadow didn't pay it much attention. He was instead wrapped up in his own thoughts about Sonic. Rouge had said that Sonic could like him back. Love him back. Shadow didn't understand why Sonic hadn't said anything about it then; he was usually outgoing. Though, Shadow supposed he was too.
He turned his focus back to the television, attempting to block out any thoughts that may pass. Wolverine, who had grown to be his favorite, was on the screen.
Shadow had almost finished the series when he fell asleep at about 11:00 PM. The couch lured him to the world of dreams softly.
He was pleased when he awoke to the sunlight streaming through the window, and not nightmares. Though, that did remind him that he should at least check on Sonic; his twitching still hadn't stopped the last time they met up.
Would that be odd? It was what friends did, right? But, friends don't sleep together as often as he and Sonic did. Shadow felt his face heat up. What was he thinking? Sonic slept with him purely to help. No other reasons.
Shadow winced as he stood. The cuts on his side were still throbbing; they felt worse if anything. He was sure it was just part of the healing process.
He left the small house to take a walk. Shadow missed the blue hedgehog- no matter how obnoxious he was at times- but he didn't look for him. Sonic had other friends. They would help him if anything happened.
But only I know what truly happened, thought Shadow. Only I know how much it hurts him still.
He planned to walk up to the mountain, where everything had started. The area often helped. A small footpath was carved out, so Shadow didn't have to strain himself much.
As he entered, he was surprised to find Knuckles standing where the Paradox Prism once was.
"Knuckles?" Shadow called out carefully, his tone nonchalant. "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing, Shadow," the echidna replied. He looked up from the sunken ground. "Before you make any assumptions, I'm simply here to better grasp what.. happened to you and Sonic. And to think."
Shadow hummed as he walked up to the red warrior. He rested his gaze to the spot where the gem once was. The image of Sonic fading in his arms resurfaced in his mind, and he could feel himself spiraling.
"Shadow?" Knuckles questioned. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," he assured him. "I also came here to think."
"Hmm." Knuckles thought for a moment. "You and Sonic dating yet?"
"What?" Shadow questioned, his voice having more curiosity than bite. "You don't seriously think he'd date me, right?"
"You'd date him," the echidna teased. "And yes, that blue idiot would date you. You're all he ever talks about; ohh Shadow took care of me, even though he wasn't feeling good! He checks up on me all the time! He's the best! It can get kind of annoying, but I gotta say, it's endearing. You should shoot your shot."
"Well, you should shoot your shot with Rouge, but I don't see you doing that," Shadow remarked. Knuckles' eyebrows knitted. "I don't know. I mean, we're on good terms now, but that doesn't change the fact that I tried to kill him multiple times. Us sleeping together doesn't change that."
"Wait, you guys slept together more than that time on our camping trip?" Knuckles grinned, and Shadow put his head in his hands. "Oh, man, I'm pretty sure you already are dating."
"Sure, Knuckles," Shadow sighed. "Thanks for your.. help."
Knuckles nodded, and before Shadow could leave, he called out, "Oh, and he liked you way before the Prism Shatter."
Shadow felt his face heat up. He left the entrance quickly and started down the path. The ebony hedgehog supposed that he looked forward to seeing Sonic even before the Shatter Verse.
He walked around the island, careful not to reopen his wound. He really missed Sonic. No matter how hard he tried to push down his feelings, they resurfaced. The way Sonic made him feel was wonderful, and Shadow wanted to hate it, but he couldn't.
After about 3 hours, he was at the entrance of his house again. His days seemed so repetitive now- wake up, walk, come home. Sonic was always busy. How did he do it?
Probably because he has friends and you don't, thought Shadow. He doesn't need you.
Shadow made a sandwich and sat on the couch. He ate the meal quickly and picked up a new book. A simple way to pass time.
He read for hours and eventually fell asleep at about 9:30 PM. The couch seemed to be his new bed.
Nightmares surfaced in his mind; they swirled around him, too fast to comprehend. After what could have easily been seconds or hours, his subconscious made a decision.
He stood in the middle of a city. The air was smoggy and dark, and the buildings were tumbling. Metallic citizens appeared from every angle. Shadow needed to fight.
Shadow was doing fine until he decided to pick up one of the zombots. Metal goop flashed on his wrist, but he needed to keep fighting.
The goop spread as he fought more and more of the infected citizens, threatening to take over. He was surrounded. There was no escape.
Shadow awoke with a scream. He sat up quickly, and immediately put a hand to his side. It was red and shiny. Just like how the metal virus was on him.
His breathing quickened as he leapt of the couch. No coherent thoughts formed in his head, just the general message to run. He needed to listen to Sonic.
He left the house with speed he hadn't felt in a long time. By now it was almost morning; the sun was breaking over the hills. That was all Shadow could notice as he ran.
The ebony hedgehog's breath grew labored, and his steps more uneven as he ran from palm tree to palm tree. He couldn't let this infect him again.
The red "metal" dripped down his side as Shadow ran slower and slower. He would run until collapse.
Shadow wheezed as his legs grew weak and wobbly. Keep running. He knew he didn't have much longer. Keep running.
The hedgehog finally fell in a small, grassy area under a palm tree. He sobbed as he waited to be overtaken again. To fail again.
Shadow sat there for what seemed like an eternity, waiting and waiting. His thoughts had grown feverish and incomprehensible. A voice broke into his head. A familiar voice.
"Shadow? What happened?" A certain blue hedgehog stood over a shaking Shadow. "Are you ok?"
"Don't touch me!" Shadow screamed. "You'll get infected too!"
"Oh, fuck, Shads..." Sonic picked up the bleeding hybrid. "It's ok. It's over. The metal virus is gone. You're infected, but not with that. We gotta get you patched up. You're bleeding a lot."
"Bleeding?" Shadow looked at his side. Blood was flowing from his bandages and into Sonic's cobalt fur. "Oh. Oh, Gaia. I thought.."
"I know. It's ok, I've got you." Sonic held him closer. "Y'know, you should really stop getting yourself into these situations."
"Sorry," mumbled the wounded hedgehog. "I can't keep expecting you to take care of me."
"Yes you can!" The hero grinned. "I, uh, actually want to tell you something. When you're better."
Shadow hummed and leaned into the blue hedgehog. Sonic ran back to his and Tails' home.
Sonic opened the door and called out to Tails, then walked into the living room. He got a few towels and laid them down on the couch, then sat Shadow down. After that, he left to grab a first aid kit.
Shadow rested his head against the couch. His wounds felt itchy and wet, and they were throbbing again. He felt really gross. And warm.
"Ok, I'm back," Sonic said as he returned with medical supplies. "Let's clean those wounds up."
Sonic sat next his faker and slowly wiped away the blood with a washcloth. The red dripped onto the towels at times, though Shadow didn't dare to move. Sonic unwrapped the bandages carefully, revealing his cuts; they were caked with dried blood and pus, and the stitches were gone.
"Was it Metal?" Sonic questioned, looking up at Shadow. The ebony hedgehog nodded curtly. "Ok, you gotta let me know when you're gonna fight it. It has claws that'll infect your wounds."
"Oh," replied Shadow. "You know from experience, I'm guessing?"
"Yup. Tails said I was all delusional."
Shadow winced at the peroxide that Sonic was adding to his wounds. Tears sprung to his eyes as he bit his tongue, though he didn't dare let them spill.
Sonic carefully stitched up the wounds again and placed clean bandages on them. As he wrapped Shadow's side, Tails walked in and rolled his eyes.
"Metal?" The kit asked.
"Metal," confirmed Sonic. "And... done!"
"Thank you." Shadow looked down at his side. "I can leave now."
"Nope. You still have a fever. You're staying here." The cobalt grabbed his hand and looked up at Tails. "Hey bud, could you make us some lunch?"
The fox nodded and left the room, leaving Sonic and Shadow in uncomfortable silence. The azure hedgehog twaddled his thumbs and looked down at the couch while Shadow fixated his gaze on the floor.
"Have you been avoiding me?" Sonic broke the silence, and the ebony hedgehog looked up. "I feel like I haven't seen you lately."
"I..." Shadow faltered. He had, hadn't he? "I don't know. Every time I see you, there's something wrong with me. I figured you wanted to live your life, not mine."
"I want to live my life with you." Shadow's heartbeat sped up. "Shads, I wanted to tell you that-"
"Sandwiches are done guys! C'mon and eat!" Tails called from the kitchen.
"No. We're not doing that cliche, I have my confidence ready." Sonic took a breath. "I love you, Shads. In the romantic way. I'm tired of pretending I don't. I get if you don't like me-"
"No, Sonic. I love you too." Shadow put his arms around the hedgehog.
The space between them grew closer and closer.
Then it closed.
And, no matter how new the experience was to Shadow, the hedgehog loved it.
“Guys, come on and-” Tails walked in, his jaw to the floor. Then he began to clap. “Finally! Took you guys long enough!”
Sonic pulled away and gave a stern look to his brother. Shadow blinked in disbelief. This had to be a fever dream.
It was not a dream. It was very real. Sonic had kissed him.
“So, how was I?” Sonic laughed and rested head on Shadow’s chest.
“Mediocre.”
“Yeah, yeah. Like you’ve ever kissed anyone else in your life.”
Tails laughed and hugged his brother, and after a hesitant moment, he embraced Shadow.
“Take care of him, and make sure he doesn’t do any dumb shit, ‘kay?” The kit looked stern, yet happy. “Promise.”
“I promise.”
“Alright,” Tails whispered and took a bite of his sandwich.
Shadow let his head rest on Sonic's shoulder. This was all he had ever wanted. Laying next to Sonic, knowing that the hedgehog loved him. Being able to laugh and love and feel as he talked.
"Confessing to you was scary, Shads," Sonic admitted. Shadow squeezed his hand. "I'm glad I did though. Just one question: are we going to tell everyone?"
"I think everyone already knows," Tails said.
"I guess they deserve a proper explanation."Shadow sighed. At least he got to do this with Sonic. "I mean Knuckles and Rouge have already asked me, but at the time.."
"Yeah, I get it. We can tell them next week, I think Rouge would want to be there."
Shadow hummed and looked at the fox. "Was it really that obvious, Miles?"
"Absolutely. Also, you can call me Tails!" His namesakes twirled around. "I'll put on a movie for now."
The young mobian flicked on the screen and put on some cheesy romcom, and rested on a small chair. Sonic carefully wrapped his arms around his... boyfriend? They would talk about labels later.
As Shadow felt his eyes get heavy, he wondered if this is what Maria would have wanted for him. She had often spoken of love, though the hedgehog hadn't quite understood until now. Sonic was what Maria had wanted for him. No matter how much his wound throbbed, or how badly his head hurt, he couldn't shake one thought:
Maybe being mortal wasn't so bad