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Language:
English
Series:
Part 7 of The one where they're married hedgehogs
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Published:
2020-10-17
Completed:
2024-03-23
Words:
2,140
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3/3
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64
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Gloves and Rings

Summary:

Maddie noticed her Sonic being picky about where and when to take off his gloves, even though he couldn't really explain their significance. To see an older Sonic from another dimension being flippant about taking off his was pretty surprising. But it led to an interesting discovery, so she's not going to question it much.

Notes:

This one is also a translation of a fic I wrote back in May, but haven't typed out in Russian yet. The thing about this one is that it's actually the very first I thought about, when I wanted some 'married' content, after I learned that according to etiquette rings should be worn UNDER the gloves. And it was written right after "An Invitation". I'm not entirely satisfied with it, but... here you go.

Chapter 1: Gloves and Rings

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Maddie got used to seeing Sonic wearing his gloves all the time. The times when he took them off were few and far between. He was very picky about when and where to take off his gloves (maybe because they were one of two items of clothing he was wearing on the regular, she could only guess as he couldn’t really explain their significance), so it took some time to finally see him without them, but at the end of the day they have been living in the same house for a few months now. And the longer it was the calmer he was about taking off his gloves in their presence. However, she did not expect the same from his older counterpart from another dimension. Therefore Maddie was rather surprised, when Sonic Sr. nonchalantly pulled off his gloves to help her in the kitchen. Not counting his peach fur, his hands weren’t much different from her son’s. Well, there was one interesting thing: there was a silver ring of a rather simple design on the ring finger of his left hand. And after waiting for a right moment, Maddie finally casually pointed at the ring and asked:

“Are you married?”

Sonic raised his hand closer to his eyes to look at the ring as if he forgot it was there, and beamed:

“Yep! It’s been almost two years.”

“Oh! Who? I mean, not like a name will tell me anything, but—”

“Him,” without letting her finish the sentence, he waved his hand in the direction of the living room, where their second guest was showing the basics of something they called “Chaos Control” to the younger Sonic under Tom’s supervision. “I thought it’s obvious.”

“Obvious” was a bit of a stretch, but the woman agreed their very close relationship didn’t exactly fit into “friendly rivals” as they introduced themselves upon arrival. Judging by the fact that the second futon and bedding she got for them were left untouched, they slept together. And while the older Sonic was tactile with everyone once he was given permission to be, he and Shadow were nearly always in physical contact with each other like they were two magnets. Alright, maybe it was kind of obvious...

“I didn’t want to assume anything. Why didn’t you tell us from the beginning?”

The blue hedgehog hummed, still carefully chopping the vegetables.

“You see, Shadow didn’t exactly grow up in the most tolerant environment. He used to trust only his immediate family, and even that didn’t work perfectly. I can understand; sometimes it’s just easier not telling people. I’m not bothered by it, not really.”

“Well, why telling me now then?”

Sonic leveled an intent look that screamed of a challenge at her and spoke in a calm, even tone:

“This Sonic has already went through a lot, and I wouldn’t want him to ever find himself in the same situation my partner was trapped in. If there was a reason to take him from a potentially hateful household, I wouldn’t hesitate.”

Maintaining eye contact and feeling how tense the atmosphere is, Maddie smiled and said:

“Good thing you wouldn’t have to do this.”

“Yeah, I’m glad, too,” he answered with his own smile, as they went back to preparing dinner in comfortable silence.

***

Next morning Maddie was walking towards the kitchen when she heard quiet laughter in the living room. At first glance it looked like there was no one in the room, but after stepping inside she saw that the couch was occupied by a couple of hedgehogs. Sonic was resting atop his partner with his head on his folded arms and his nose buried into the white fur, kicking up his legs lazily. Shadow was scratching him behind his ears. They weren’t wearing their gloves, and matching silver rings glinted in the morning light. It was such an adorable picture that Maddie regretted she couldn’t preserve it and let out a small “Aww”, which earned her a stare from two pairs of eyes. Shadow clearly tensed.

“Good morning, Maddie!” the blue one was quick to greet her.

“Mrs. Wachowski.”

The woman quickly waved both of her hands.

“No-no, pretty sure I already asked you — call me Maddie.”

It was noticeable that a bit of tension left Shadow’s body at that, and he smiled a tiny smile and nodded:

“Maddie then.”

She grinned and returned to her previous route, leaving them to their morning snuggles, but not before hearing Sonic say to his husband:

“Told ya, they’re alright.”

Walking into the kitchen and getting out a pan, Maddie couldn’t help but think whether there was a Shadow in their dimension, and if there was, what his life was like...

Notes:

Random thought, but it's connected to a fic, kind of: I recently saw another bad take about people not really being LGBT+ unless they come out, and I just wanted to say they probably never had to sit through a mandatory seminar on "LGBT is very bad" at work feeling like an undercover agent (the only amusing part of it). If you're in the closet, you don't have to come out and prove anyone anything, especially if it's dangerous. You're valid as you are.

Updating this in 2024... I reiterate 😔 Even feeling like an undercover agent isn't amusing anymore when you're considered "an extremist" (years of jail time if found out) for being queer.

On a cheerier note, click the Next Chapter → button for more hedgehog husbands being gay, and then click it again if you want a tiny snippet into the future of Sonic Wachowski and to know whether there's a Shadow in their dimension 👀

Chapter 2: Gloves and Rings (and Gems)

Summary:

It is cold outside, but not as cold when Sonic is snuggling to his husband, discussing adopting a younger version of himself.

Notes:

Once again dedicated to those extremely optimistic people who subscribed even though it is marked "Completed"...
I also want to thank Chi_dy04 for reminding me of ideas I had! 💘

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

A lone snowflake drifts from the sky only to fall on Sonic’s nose and melt. More of its friends are blown off a tree branch next and land on his spines, taking a moment longer to disappear into droplets of water, too. The blue hedgehog shakes his head and looks down. The snow is completely untouched below, but he feels a calling of Chaos energy further away in front of him, though he can’t see far due to the abundance of evergreens in the area. Finally, he decides to jump off the wooden porch into the snow which crunches in a different manner than a freshly fallen one.

It was raining yesterday. Not for long, but long enough for crust to develop on top of the snow, further densified by the sudden temperature drop at night.

Sonic stares ahead and the lack of a visible track starts making sense.

“Did he walk on top of it?..” he muses aloud and raises his foot.

The crust breaks again under his weight, and the hedgehog sticks his tongue out. Challenge accepted! He places his foot further away from the broken edge and moves it slightly to the side when he feels the white shell give, then he takes a step with another foot, now standing on the snow crust with both of them. He continues forward carefully, sometimes sliding rather than walking and entirely focused on the process.

Enough to forget why he’s even in the forest at all…

“What are you doing.”

Sonic squeaks and makes a misstep, somehow completely losing his balance and accidentally creating a weird looking snow angel by breaking the shell of the snow cover with his whole body. It’s cold. His forehead stings.

“Isn’t this how you got here?” he questions the black hedgehog sitting in a tree the moment he manages to raise his face up.

“I just ran on it the same way we run on water?”

“O-oh…”

Sonic gets up, brushing his fur and his borrowed red waterproof jacket down and walks over to the tree trunk as Shadow curiously looks on from above. He is halfway to where the other sits – pulling himself up on stubs and branches – when his partner comments:

“I ran up the tree, too.”

“Oh shush you.”

He finally grabs the thick sturdy branch, and Shadow helps him climb on it. They sit side by side for a minute, shoulders pressed together and fingers touching where they hold onto the branch.

“Did you leave Sonic alone?”

“Well, I went to the bathroom for a moment, and he was already distracted by telling Ozzie the whole plot of a comic series he just finished reading. I think,” the blue hedgehog replies. “I told him to find us outside when he’s done.”

“Good idea. He’d need to utilise his Chaos-sensing abilities. Teachable moment.”

Sonic snorts and pushes his husband just enough not to topple him.

“You were all ready to adopt him in case things went wrong, weren’t you?”

“Like you weren’t.”

“Okay, maybe… But hey, they’re good for him, so all well that ends well or whatever. He’s a tough kid, and they’re tough, too.”

“Do you think we would have been good for him?” Shadow props his elbow on his knee, leaning down. “I didn’t have much of a parental example myself, what is with Professor being so emotionally distant and… Black Doom’s everything. And you don’t remember your parents at all.”

“Tru-ue. Still better than an abusive household! And I raised Tails, didn’t I?”

“I think Tails raised himself more than anything, dear,” the dark hedgehog looks at his husband out of the corner of his eye, smiling.

“I did!” Sonic pouts. “Somewhat. But I guess you’re right, plus Tails didn’t have superspeed…” he frowns. “Another thing is… It is interesting how different this Sonic is – I’ve been as well as mute for years, and he talks to himself all the time. Not like it’s bad or anything!..”

“You aren’t very different, to me. You just learned to cope with being alone differently.”

“Hm… it isn’t like I had anyone to talk to before Egghead, too. And I didn’t exactly want to talk to him either, not that he didn’t try to draw me out… Ah!” the hero snaps his fingers. “Yet another bad example of parenting.”

“What?”

“Eggman. I mean, just look at how he treated Metal until Belle and Sage came along.”

“In conclusion, we would have had to beg Vanilla for help.”

“Right on!” the blue hedgehog swings his feet a couple of times and then grins. “Did we just have the ‘inevitable in any marriage’ as they say ‘children talk’?”

This makes Shadow suddenly sit upright again and turn to Sonic.

“Please tell me it isn’t something you wanted to talk about.”

“Chaos, no. Can you imagine a kid like little Sonic but with your heritage as well?”

“This is not how genetics work, Sonic.”

“You’d know better than me but just imagine…”

The striped hedgehog squints and for a moment looks like a displeased kitten. Sticking his hand out at last, he declares:

“No kids.”

“No kids,” his husband agrees, clasping his hand in a handshake. “Except if we come across another younger version of one of us which needs a home?”

“I doubt it will happen again.”

“Eh, it really depends on this thing,” Sonic mutters, digging into his spines and revealing a palm-sized yellow uncut gem. “It is getting warm again.”

“Give it to me.”

“Nope!” the hedgehog protectively yet playfully hugs the shard. “Mine! It likes-s-s me… My precious…”

“You sure have a certain attachment to yellow gems,” Shadow smirks, not even trying to take it.

“I do not.”

“If I had known, your engagement ring would have had a canary diamond or a yellow sapphire instead of a ruby,” he shakes his head as if in pity. “What an opportunity lost.”

“Shut up! It was perfect!” Sonic makes a closing motion with his hand which is supposed to mimic Shadow’s shutting up, but the other hedgehog grabs it into both of his hands and simply holds on. A faint blush starts to come through on the peach cheeks, and it isn’t from the cold, as Sonic covers his face with his free hand, the yellow shard still secured in the crook of his elbow. He mumbles something.

“What was it, sweetheart?”

“You can take it!” the blue hedgehog passes the gem to his partner and continues. “The longer I keep it, the stronger the pull is anyway. This is definitely not the world it wanted to be in.”

Shadow accepts the shard and hides it in his own spines. He never releases Sonic’s hand, caressing it with his fingers, feeling for a ring under the white glove, while Sonic himself sighs contentedly and leans on him. However, something prickles at Shadow’s senses, and he looks up…

“I told you: you two are not that different,” he chuckles, having spotted another, smaller Sonic slowly walking atop of the snow crust, his tongue poking out slightly in concentration. “Not that different at all.”

Notes:

They're passing the shard between each other like it's the One Ring they have to deliver to Mordor, heh. It speaks to them in unfamiliar yet recognisable voices of their friends, too...

This new addition to the series kinda gives me an excuse to write more dimension/time-travel... Tbh I have been thinking about them travelling to SA2 events for a while now... Can you imagine SA2!Shadow discovering that his revenge didn't happen? that he isn't dead before he reaches his twenties as he planned? that he has a future? Delicious ✨

Chapter 3: Extra

Summary:

There is a Shadow in their dimension. And his life made him disinclined to trust other people as Sonic quickly learned.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“Mom, I think he hates me…” Sonic burrowed into her side, hiding his face from view, as Maddie gently pet the soft blue ears.

“Oh baby, you wanted to meet him so much…” she whispered.

He thought Shadow to be probably the coolest person after Tom and couldn't wait to get to know his own version only to be forced to face reality in such a harsh way. It had to hurt.

“Shadow told me that if his counterpart exists in this world, he won’t be the same, that he might be angry, and sad, and… and willing to hurt me,” Sonic sniffled. “He told me that he's better now because his team and Sonic never gave up on him. But he said that I don't have to do the same. That if he hurts me, I can step back.”

Sonic raised his head to look at her, and there was a blazing fire in his eyes.

“I won't step back, Mom. I'm going to help him whether he wants it or not.”

Notes:

Supposedly 2 years or so after. I don't think it was easy for Sonic to learn to call Maddie and Tom "Mom" and "Dad", but this development happened behind the scenes. (UPD: I was wrong; it happened in the 2nd movie 😂)

Happy Pride Month! 🌈
I wrote this in January 2021 just 'cause it was floating around in my head. Then I found it in my WIP folder, and since I do not intend to write a movie!Sonadow yet (and I feel like these two will stay platonic... but no promises), and it looks finished enough for a ficlet... Here's your tiny extra chapter. If I decide to write a whole fic about them, this ficlet will be deleted.

UPD2: So, uh... As I mentioned in my other work, I didn't enjoy Sonic Movie 3 much if you're wondering. SA2 is my favourite game ever, and they removed or unrecognisably changed many iconic moments, even Sonadow ones. From the above note and the comments, you know I considered writing a movieverse story for the tiny Sonic, but now I'm unsure if there's anything worth salvaging, you know?.. If I ever do that, it would have to be a complete rewrite of the movie, and seeing how discouraged I was by the reception of my only big multichapter, I doubt I'd have steam for another one unless I fully write it first 🤷

But while this chapter is up I appreciate all the Kudos ❤, bookmarks and comments 💙💜 You can leave more, or additionally/alternatively you can:
• Check out my Married hedgehogs series – that Gloves and Rings is a part of – if you ended up on this fic page accidentally and out of order;
• Follow me on Twitter X, Tumblr and/or VK (if you speak Russian);
• Join my personal server for creative updates, hanging out and occasional streams: https://discord.gg/bNuwDGtNBV (it's 18+, and be aware that I approve people manually, so you will not be able to access anything aside from the guestbook right away; also here's an info file on the server if you want to be sure what you're getting into before making any decisions). Actually, this reminds me that we never watched Sonic movies there, hmm 🤔