Work Text:
Shadow and Sonic are rivals, nothing more. They will never be anything more. Shadow repeated this to himself over and over as a form of comfort against the strange sensations that haunted him. The rapid thumping in his chest; the sudden warmth in his face. He took such special care in not noticing that there was no way he didn't notice. He met any flirtation or even genuinely kind word from Sonic with a grimace and an insult.
Sonic and Shadow are rivals, nothing more. They will never be anything more. Sonic repeated this to himself as he lay alone in the dark, holding his legs close to his chest and trying so hard to accept it. Strangely, the more he believed it the harder it was to accept it. He had tried everything at this point. Subtle hints, not so subtle hints, even less subtle hints. Even his offers of friendship were ignored. To be rejected is one thing, but ignored completely? Ouch. The only thing he hadn't done was directly tell Shadow he liked him. But how could he do that? He'd get shot down immediately. He knew it. Maybe being ignored wasn't so bad after all.
---------------------------
To celebrate another victory against Dr. Eggman, Vanilla, Cream, and Amy decided to throw a party for everyone who had helped. Shadow had made it very clear that he did not want to come, but Rouge managed to drag him there anyway. Vanilla and Cream had made steak and alfredo pasta, while Amy had baked a strawberry cake and decorated it with lots of white and pink frosting. The crew sat around the table, talking and laughing together. All except for Shadow, who sat to the side and said almost nothing. Between Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Rouge, Vanilla, and Cream Sonic all but forgot that Shadow was even there.
"I have to admit, I really was scared there for a bit," Tails said between bites of pasta. "Eggman's tech is getting more advanced. A lot of the tricks I learned don't work anymore."
Amy nodded. "Maybe I'm getting weaker, which I doubt, or his robots are getting harder to smash. My arms are still pretty sore."
"Eh, I don't think it's anything to worry about," Sonic said, waving his hand. "We still beat him, didn't we? We always do."
"Well, aren't you sure of yourself~" Rouge teased, leaning her chin on her hand.
Sonic chuckled. "I mean yeah, I am like the fastest thing alive, and all that. But it would be tough to beat Eggman on my own. Thing is, I'm not on my own. I have all of you to look out for me, and to look out for each other. Together we're unstoppable!"
"Yeah!" Tails, Knuckles, Cream, and Amy cheered in agreement.
"You guys really are the greatest allies I could ever ask for," Knuckles said, nodding. "It is an honor to fight with all of you."
"Yes, it's very nice, isn't it?" Cream agreed. "I'm just glad I was able to help a little."
"A little? You helped a lot!" Amy said.
Sonic noticed Shadow getting up out of the corner of his eye. He turned and watched Shadow exit the room without making a sound. The others seemed to notice too, as they got quiet.
"What's up with him?" Rouge asked. "he's been doom and gloom all day. I mean, even more than usual."
"Maybe somebody should check on him," Vanilla suggested.
"I will," Sonic volunteered quickly, before anyone else could. "Don't enjoy yourselves too much without me, yeah?" He gave them all a wink before jogging out of the room.
"Just don't take too long, or the cake will be all gone by the time you get back!" Amy called after him.
Sonic left the house and found that the sun had set while they were inside eating. The cheerful laughs and warm light that emitted from the windows of Vanilla's house contrasted with the still, cool night air. Sonic glanced around and found Shadow sitting in the grass against a tree, looking up at the stars. Sonic walked over to him and sat down next to him without speaking.
"What are you doing?" Shadow finally asked, turning to glare at Sonic.
"Just thought I'd check on you," Sonic replied. "The others were a bit worried about you."
"And you?" Shadow asked. "Were you worried about me?"
"You know me, I'm never worried," Sonic replied.
Shadow huffed. "Sure. You never worry about anything. Your world is all sunshine and green hills. How could I forget."
"What? You don't believe me?" Sonic asked, finally turning to face Shadow. Shadow's glaring red eyes met Sonic's.
"Not one bit, faker," he replied.
"Alright fine. Maybe I do worry a little about some things. I just don't let it control me, you know?" Sonic said. "And I guess I do worry about you, in a way."
"Really? And why would you do that?" Shadow replied in a harsh voice.
"Why wouldn't I?" Sonic asked. "I care about you, you know? We may not always get along, but I consider you one of my friends."
"You call everyone your friend," Shadow replied. He turned away from Sonic to stare at the ground.
Sonic was getting fed up. "I would never use that word if I didn't mean it. That's not like me. You know that's not like me! Don't you?" he asked.
"What do you want, Sonic?" Shadow asked, irritated.
"I don't know!" Sonic replied, standing up. "Maybe I just want you to listen to me for once!"
"I'm listening. I'm listening even when you don't know I am. I know how you are. You’re nice to me because you have to be to keep up your hero persona. Well, I'm not buying it," Shadow said.
Sonic's face softened, and he sat back down. He studied Shadow's face, trying so hard to understand what was going on in his mind. But Shadow's glare had not faded.
"A lot of people look up to me," Sonic said. "And it's not like I don't notice it either. But I'm not the way I am because it's what others expect of me. I couldn't stand that even if I tried."
Shadow remained silent.
"You can talk to me, Shadow," Sonic said gently.
"I just don't get it," Shadow replied. "I don't understand why you would be this nice to me."
"I told you, Shadow. I care about you," Sonic replied.
"We're not exactly friends, Sonic. I spend much of my spare time trying to crush you."
"I know that, silly!" Sonic replied. "But I still care about you. I mean, for starters, you're so cool! Not just because you're the ultimate life form or whatever, not just because you're one of the only people who's a good match for my speed, and not just because of your awesome chaos abilities. After everything you've been through you're still fighting. I admire that more than anything. Yeah, maybe we're not close. But I wish we were. Don't get me wrong! I love racing you, competing, being rivals and everything. But I'm not satisfied with that. I don't want you to feel like you have to face everything on your own. I want to be there for you, to comfort you and support you and tell you that I love you-" that part slipped out without Sonic meaning to say it, but it was too late for him to stop now "--because I do love you! I really do! And maybe it's dumb of me to be so... so fixated on you when all you do is push me away. But I can't help the way I feel, Shadow. I love you, and your stupid angry face, and your silly red stripes and your insults and everything. Maybe I don't understand you, but I want to. I really do." Sonic finally stopped talking. His eyes remained locked on Shadow's. He hardly even dared breathe as he waited for Shadow to reply.
Shadow tore his eyes away from Sonic and turned his back to him. After what felt like forever Shadow finally replied. "I'm sorry. I wasn't expecting you to say that."
"That's alright Shads. I wasn't expecting to say it," Sonic admitted sheepishly. "I understand if you-"
"No," Shadow replied. He turned back to Sonic. His eyes were soft. "Don't do that. It's unnecessary. Sonic, I... I feel the same way about you."
Sonic couldn't believe him. He had been so convinced otherwise. "You love me too? Like, romantically?"
"Yes. Don't make me say it again, you," Shadow replied.
Sonic's face lit up. "Oh Shadow!" He exclaimed. "I'm so happy!" He dove at Shadow, trying to catch him in an embrace. But Shadow suddenly disappeared, and Sonic hit his nose on the ground instead.
---------------------------
Rouge was just walking out of the bathroom, about to rejoin the others in the dining room, when she caught a glimpse of Shadow out the window. He gestured with his finger for her to come over to him. She opened the window and leaned against the windowsill.
"My my, what could this be about?" She asked.
"Shhh!" Shadow said, putting his finger to his mouth. "Come all the way out."
"Of the window? Well, alright," Rouge replied. She slipped out of the opening in the window with ease before shutting it softly. "What's this about Shadow?"
Shadow covered his face with his hands. "I've really done it now, Rouge! I'm so stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!"
Rouge was very surprised by this outburst. It seemed quite out of character. "Easy now, there's no use beating yourself up," she said. She rested her hand on the top of his head. "Now come on, tell me what's wrong."
Shadow removed his hands from his face and looked back at her. "It was Sonic! He- he told me he loved me! Just out of nowhere!"
"Did he?" Rouge asked. She had suspected something was going on between them, and this definitely confirmed it. "And what did you say?"
"I said I loved him too."
"You did? And do you?"
"Well, yes."
"Then what's the problem?"
"I teleported away!"
"You teleported away?"
"Yes!"
"Why?"
"I don't know! I got scared," Shadow replied, hanging his head.
"Seriously? A big guy like you getting all scared of a confession? That's rather silly if you ask me," Rouge replied.
Rouge was not expecting Shadow to be genuinely hurt, so she was all but sent into a panic when she heard him start to cry.
"I'm sorry, Shadow. I was only teasing you. Don't cry now. It's okay," she said.
Shadow quickly wiped away his tears and crossed his arms again. "No, but you were right. It is silly."
"Maybe, but that's not a bad thing. So, you got shy and teleported away? That's fine. Believe me, it would happen to people a lot more if they had chaos powers like you."
"He probably thinks it was stupid."
"Who, Sonic? Are we talking about the same guy here, Shadow? I don't think he cares," Rouge said.
"You sure?"
"Positive. He might actually find it cute~"
"Cute?!" Shadow replied angrily. "Rouge, I am the ultimate life form. I am not cute."
"Well, you're being awfully cute right now. I've never seen you this red before," she chuckled.
"Oh, knock it off," he replied, turning his back to her.
"Fine, but you really don't have anything to worry about Shadow. Just chaos snap yourself back over there and explain what happened. He'll understand. You should see how fast he runs whenever he sees a pool or something. It's pretty funny~"
"I would but... I'm still scared," Shadow admitted.
"Are you? And what are you scared of, huh?"
"I don't have much experience with this kind of thing," Shadow replied. "I don't know how it goes."
"That's alright. Everyone starts somewhere."
"But what if it doesn't work, Rouge? What if things go wrong? What if, just somehow, I don't know, I lose him?"
Rouge walked up to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "That's the hard thing about letting someone in. It's a risk. You never know what's gonna happen. But you wanna know what I think? I think it's worth trying. If being with him could make you happy, then maybe it's worth the risk."
"He's too nice to me. I don't like it."
"Come on, Shadow," Rouge said, rolling her eyes. "You deserve to be loved, and I can't think of anyone better to love you than Sonic."
Shadow turned to look at her. He was... smiling. "Thank you, Rouge. I'm sorry. I really don't know why I'm acting like this."
"Cause you're in love, idiot~" she teased. "Now go back to your boyfriend already, he's probably bored waiting for you." she gently shoved him towards the front of the house.
"Fine, I'm going," he replied.
---------------------------
Shadow couldn't remember the last time he had ever been this nervous. All of the feelings he had been pushing aside for so long were flooding in all at once as he slowly made his way back to the tree where he had left Sonic. His fear, his insecurity, but most of all the longing. Strangely, it was the longing that both made his hands shake and made his heart race with excitement. Sonic loved him? And here he was, going back to talk to him again? It felt too good to be true. It felt wrong, but it felt right too.
Sonic lay against the tree trunk, looking up at the stars. He had his hands behind his head, and his elbows stuck out at both sides. When he heard Shadow approaching, he turned to look.
"There you are," Sonic said, smiling. "Come sit." He patted the ground beside him, where Shadow had been sitting before he left.
Shadow sat down. "I apologize. I should not have left you here by yourself. I.. well, I was afraid."
"It's okay, Shads," Sonic replied. "I get it. I did kinda spring this on you out of nowhere, while you already seemed upset about something else."
"I meant what I said," Shadow stated.
Sonic smiled. "I know. Why else would you be getting all shy on me, eh?" He chuckled. "Like I said, don't sweat it. We can take this as slow as you'd like."
"You? Take things slow?" Shadow replied, narrowing his eyes. "That doesn't sound like you."
"Hey, love makes a guy do crazy things, you know?" Sonic nudged Shadow's side with his elbow playfully.
"Hm," Shadow hummed, crossing his arms. "I suppose so."
"So," Sonic's voice cracked as he said this, and he cleared his throat. "I mean, so, what do ya think, Shadow? Are we a thing now?" Sonic looked at Shadow with expectant green eyes. Since when had Sonic been so... cute?
"Rouge called you my boyfriend just now," Shadow began.
"Rouge? Did she? What? Wait, you were talking to Rouge?" Sonic stammered.
"Yes. I kind of liked that," Shadow said. The corners of his lips turned up into a small smile.
Sonic's eyes went big. "Really? You mean I can call you my boyfriend? You mean we're boyfriends?"
Shadow nodded. He felt a strange warm feeling in his chest as he watched Sonic's face light up. Sonic seemed so happy, so genuinely happy, and it was hard for Shadow not to feel happy too. He completely forgot he'd ever been nervous.
"Oh, Shadow!" Sonic exclaimed. "Please can I hug you this time?"
"Yes, you can."
"You promise no teleporting?"
"I promise."
Sonic wrapped his arms around Shadow and pulled him closer. Shadow was a bit overwhelmed at being touched like this, but after a moment's hesitation he hugged Sonic back.
"I don't mind this," Shadow said. "This is nice."
Sonic gently ran his hand across Shadow's quills. Shadow hadn't been pet in a long time. He had forgotten how nice it felt. He leaned into Sonic's touch, hoping the nice feeling would last forever.
"Shadow, are you purring?" Sonic asked. Shadow was purring. Somehow he hadn't noticed. "Awww! Come here you."
Sonic pulled Shadow closer, resting his head on Shadow's head.
"Shouldn't you go back to your party?" Shadow asked.
"Nah, they'll be fine without us," Sonic said. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be than here."