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Sonic came to a halt in front of the flower shop, a torrent of wind flying past him. He winced as some of the pots fell over. The vases didn’t break, but the dirt spilled a little. He lifted it upright again, sweeping the dirt back into the pot himself. He liked to think he was helping that cute hedgehog that managed the store. He pressed his nose to the petals of the flower and took in a deep breath. He always loved flowers and their sweet aroma, but no matter how many times he fawned over them his eyes always fell to the red and black quills of his favorite sales associate.
Where was he anyway?
Sonic stepped into the shop, the pheromones of flowers wafting up his nose. He noticed someone bent behind the cashier counter. Sonic walked right up and slammed a hand down on the counter, smirk as devious as always.
“Boo!”
The person gasped, hitting their head on the counter in the rush to stand. A black cat woman rubbed the back of her head.
“Um, hello sir. How can I help you?”
Sonic’s hands flew up over his mouth, gasping and a horrified stare on his face.
“I’m so sorry! I thought you were someone else! Are you okay?”
“Oh, that’s okay. I’m fine. I hit my head on that thing all the time, actually. Is there anything I can help you with?”
“Um, yeah actually.” Sonic swiped at his nose, trying to mask his embarrassment. “Do you know if, um…” Sonic paused. It dawned on him he had never asked his flower shop buddy what his name was, or even looked at his name tag. The cat woman tilted her head.
“Uhh, do you know that black hedgehog? With the red highlights?”
Her eyes squinted at him, sly smile creeping across her face. She pointed a finger at him, waggling it teasingly, the other hand on her hip.
“Are you that boy who comes in here everyday and buys a different flower for a different occasion everyday?”
Sonic grinned, “that’s me!”
“Well, I can’t tell you much, but he’s not here right now. Not sure when he’ll be back.”
“Aw okay.” Sonic’s ears flicked in annoyance. “Do you know if he’s still scheduled to work tomorrow? He said he’d be here at four.”
“I can’t tell ya without his explicit permission. It’s a privacy thing. You’re welcome to come in and see though.”
“I see.” Sonic sighed. “Thanks anyway.”
Sonic dropped a dollar in the tip jar and left.
~*~
It was four twenty-three PM. He’d given his friend plenty of time to come in to work. He stepped into the flower shop, smile bright.
“Heyo!” He called as the door swung open, bells jingling.
“Hello!” The same black cat called back, setting her spray bottle down. “He’s still not here. He said he won’t be able to come in for a few days.”
Sonic’s ears fell back, brows furrowing in worry. “Why not?”
The woman shrugged. “Said he was sick. I told him you were gonna come in and he said I could tell you. He’s scheduled to come in at twelve on Tuesday though.”
Sonic slapped his forehead. “Tuesday?! But today’s Tuesday! That’s a full week!”
“What’s got you so curious about him anyway? He your boyfriend or something?”
“No!” Sonic’s heated cheeks defied him. “I just like flowers that’s all.”
“Uh huh.” She rolled her eyes incredulously, not believing his story for one second. Sonic smiled sheepishly at the lame excuse.
“Well let me know if I can help you otherwise. I’ll let him know you came in again today. Any occasion I should tell him you came in for?”
“Um,” Sonic tapped his lip in thought. “Tell him it was national handstand day and I needed an upside down flower.”
She scribbled it out onto a post-it note, giggling. “Got it. Anything else?”
“Nah, I’m good. Tell him I hope he’s okay.”
~*~
It was Thursday, and Sonic hated waiting.
He paced around his apartment impatiently. He had waited two whole days. Technically three, if you counted the first day the flower boy hadn’t been in the store. It was around six PM. Sonic usually left from work at five and went straight to the flower store, staying until they closed at six. He had finished all his paperwork already, he couldn’t sit still long enough to really enjoy television, and he wasn’t hungry. He checked his clock again.
Six o'two.
“Its been six o'clock for the last twenty minutes!” Sonic yelled to himself. “I need to get out of here, I’m going crazy.”
Sonic took the grocery list off the fridge door before heading out for a run. He could at least get some errands done. He sped through the city, his running abilities making errand runs so much easier. He walked into the grocery store through the pharmacy, he needed to pick up some Advil anyway.
He skimmed through the rows of medicine, looking for the brand he usually bought. He had been needing to take some for headaches he’d been getting after visiting the flower store. He shook his head at the thought of becoming allergic. He wasn’t sure he’d stop going even if he was. A cough from behind him caught his attention, followed by a familiar grunt. He turned, seeing none other than the flower boy. Sonic’s heart fluttered in his chest, feeling more excited to see him than he probably should have. The ebony hedgehog was swaddled in a heavy coat. A little unusual for the sunny weather, albeit it was somewhat cold. Sonic, wide eyed and smiling, made his way over.
“Hey buddy!”
The black hedgehog turned to him. For a split second Sonic thought he may have overstepped their boundaries, the firm frown on the others face clearly indicating a much more bitter mood than he normally was in the store. Sonic thought, in that moment, that maybe their relationship was all a façade put on by a sales associate doing their job, and maybe he really just an annoying customer that kept coming in and harassing the employees. However, the dark hedgehog’s frown lines dissipated almost instantaneously, his mouth twitching upwards ever so slightly. The dark circles beneath his eyes were heavy, but his eyes appeared just a tad softer. His ears lifted from where they laid flat against his quills. Sonic let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. That was the way he always reacted to seeing the blue hedgehog enter the store, they were still cool.
The black hedgehog sniffed, and answered with a very hoarse voice, “hi.”
“Ah Jesus! You sound awful!”
“Yeah,” the flower boy cleared his throat, coughing. “I have a cold. My boss said you came in to the store. Sorry I missed you.”
“Aw you missed me!”
Red eyes rolled dramatically, “you are our best costumer.”
“Oh is that it?” Sonic chuckled, “is that why you told your boss I’m your boyfriend?”
“What?!” He coughed at the strain on his voice, making Sonic wince. “I didn’t tell her that! Did she tell you I said that?”
Sonic shrugged. “Whatever you told her about me she thinks that we’re dating.”
“Ugh,” his dark muzzle scrunched as he sniffed. “She thinks she’s my mom. She’s always trying to pair me with someone.”
“Heh, probably. Good-lookin’ guy like you probably has all the girls flocking to ya.”
The ebony hedgehog rolled his eyes, “whatever you say, hedgehog.”
Suddenly, his little black nose scrunched up and he let out the quietest little “ah-choo!” You could possibly imagine into his sleeve. Sonic instinctively set a hand over his heart; if this guy had been cute before, that was adorable. He pulled out a tissue from his pocket, blowing his nose.
“Ugh sorry.”
“It’s fine. I never would have thought you would be the cute sneeze type.”
He cocked a brow at the blue hedgehog. “There are different types of sneezes?”
“Sure! There’s the regular sneeze, the cute sneeze, and the elephant sneeze.”
“Well, if I have the cute sneeze, what do you have?”
“The elephant sneeze. I once knocked over my little brother with the force of it.”
The dark hedgehog’s brow raised. “Must be some sneeze.”
“Yeah! It’s hilarious to scare people with it.”
“You must have fun.”
“Absolutely. My brother and I prank people all the time with it, heh.” Sonic put a hand behind his head, scratching at his ears. “Hey uh, off-topic random question. What’s your name?”
The hedgehog’s laugh was hoarse and quite, but there. Sonic felt his heart twist at how gentle it was.
“It’s Shadow. What’s yours?”
“I’m Sonic! Sonic the Hedgehog!”
“Nice to be officially introduced to you, Sonic the Hedgehog.”
“Likewise.”
“Listen, um, I really do need some medicine, so I’ll talk to you later okay?”
“Oh, sure! Okay, cool!” Sonic pointed finger guns at Shadow, winking. “Catch ya later buddy!”
“See you.”
Sonic ran home, forgetting his list, but too excited to care. He knew this was probably really weird of him, to be pacing around his apartment with butterflies in his stomach. He couldn’t contain himself, so he settled down on the kitchen floor, rolling around, trying to make the buzz disappear. He didn’t think it would have been so amazing to see him, and to finally know his name.
“Shadow,” he whispered to himself, rolling over to hide his dopey grin in the tiles. “Heh, probably a ‘cool’ knick name, but I’ll let it slide.”