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Language:
English
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Published:
2025-02-21
Words:
709
Chapters:
1/1
Comments:
10
Kudos:
246
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17
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5,165

A Short Scene Inspired/Based off of "The Secrets In Our Quills" By Nabrasska

Summary:

Shadow shares some memories and Sonic evidently sucks at feelings.

Notes:

As the title implies: This is sort of a writing practice that I made after reading Chapter 18 of "The Secrets In Our Quills" by Nabrasska on AO3. This is just a small kinda "what if" because I wanna try getting back into writing fanfiction after years of not writing nothin' >:)

Genuinely read the original fanfic because its genuinely super high quality, a real treat for sonadow fans ^^
You can read the OG here

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

Chapter 1

Chapter Text

Sonic never thought he’d ever get this close to the other hedgehog. Much less on the run from G.U.N. in a freight train to who knows where sitting next to Mr. ‘small dark and angry’.. Silence is normally one of the most unbearable things for Sonic. A moment of quiet might as well have been watching paint dry, but in this moment, it was a comfort. The rickety clanging of the locomotive and the cold blur of wind being the only sounds breaking through. A sonic (get it?) bliss of absence if you will.

The train came upon several varying locations, and the propulsion of the vehicle was slow enough that you could spot the little details in each terrain. Sonic found himself preoccupied with the sights. Large conifers on great hills. A small creek with toads groaning in a rhythm so erratic that any conductor would snap at. A large field of grass with occasional twisting rivers went on for a few miles, and then transitioned into one of droopy white flowers, their milky color almost glistening in the moonlight.

This silence that was so carefully curated and rare, much to Sonic’s surprising dismay, abruptly halted when Shadow pursed his lips slightly to speak.

“Those flowers were her favorite.”

Shadow’s tone was paradoxically venerable. It was rare for Sonic to hear his real voice under the harsh growls and yells that usually escaped his teeth, so, vehemently caught off guard, Sonic only responded with a…

“What?”

Shadow slightly looked over in his direction and his face stiffened into his usual scowl, which Sonic definitely should have expected considering the tone-deaf answer he blurted out at the sudden shift in atmosphere, clearly not putting two and two together on what Shadow had meant. He turned back to look at the flower field and his gaze softened slightly.

“Those flowers in that field – I think she called them white lilies? – They were Maria's favorite”
Realizing the obvious blunder in his previous answer Sonic, decidedly, stayed quiet. Looking into the other’s eyes and mouthing a silent ‘sorry’ before turning his attention back to the lillies. After an uncomfortable silence – not like a few moments ago – Shadow took this as a sign to continue.

“She had always used to take them from the field next to the base. She’d steal the scientist's coffee mugs then stuff them inside with only a little water so they wouldn't dry out, and leave them all round the place. They used to get so mad.”

Sonic could swear – maybe he needed to get his eyes checked or something – but he could swear that he could see the small beginnings of a faint smile tug on the others cheeks. His eyes turned into a soft expression and became significantly more glassy, the reflection of the moon and the landscape all visible in those deep crimson irises. This caused Sonic's heart to jump a bit ‘weird’. He would definitely be pushing that down into the ‘let's not think about that’’ zone in his head.

“She said they were like Trumpets – whatever those are – and that they were supposed to represent…”

Shadow's soft gaze shifted down towards the ‘definitely going to leave a few splinters’ floor and his eyes invoked a deep sadness, a single tear begging to be shed at the corner of his bottom eyelid, but its efforts ultimately fruitless.

Sonic knew that white lilies were a symbol of death. He had watched far too many movies where they were left at a disposable character's coffin with a teary eyed grandmother in the background giving the best performance of her life. He had made it a small tradition to gather white flowers to leave at the little mural he made for Longclaw when he still lived in that dusty cave. He now felt a pang of guilt at the realization that he hadn’t done that in a while since his new life and family.

This was a very tragic coincidence on Shadows' part, but he was glad he knew. Seeing Shadow be so vulnerable with him, it really solidified how much their relationship had changed since their first meeting in Tokyo. With a newfound determination – exhaustion be damned – Sonic swiftly hopped off of the train.

Notes:

Again, thank you @Nabrasska for firstly giving me permission to post this (lol) but also for creating this awesome fic >:)
Also I def need to start writing my own fanfic lol... I've been thinking about a potential fic that takes place after SXSG but i dunnoo. :p