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The ARK was an enormous space station, neither Shadow nor Maria have ever been able to explore the entirety of it. Maria was the most curious of them both, having asked her grandfather for permission into restricted zones more times than Shadow could count.
Shadow himself was simply glad that he was allowed in the same corner of the ARK as Maria. There was always a strong chance of the researchers deeming him unfit to be around the human. Too dangerous, too strange.
Maria always yearned for more freedom, for the both of them. Exploring the expanse of the ARK was only the first step in their dream of one day walking the Earth together. Albeit, Shadow struggled with comprehending what the Earth was like, how big it was.
He has only ever experienced the ARK, the Earth only a big marble seen outside the windows. Infrequently, Maria found books with pictures of the planet, what it actually looked like up close. With those, it was easy for the girl to share her love of the Earth with him.
“But grandpa!” Maria shouted indignantly.
They were in her room, Maria currently sitting on the edge of her bed, legs dangling off. She was staring up at Gerald, her grandfather, who was standing nearby, arms crossed and a stern look in his eyes. Shadow was standing on the other side of Maria’s bed, her back to him.
That was their usual stance, Shadow hiding behind Maria. He wasn’t scared of Gerald, he knew the man held some affection towards him. However, it was much easier for Gerald to say no to Shadow, than to Maria, for whom he had a soft spot for.
Gerald uncrossed his arms and sighed, “I understand your want for exploration, but where you want to go is dangerous, and you know it. Not everywhere is fit for kids to run around.”
The man was sure to look at both Maria and Shadow, so that they both felt scolded, despite the fact that Shadow hadn’t yet uttered a single word. Shadow looked to Maria, not wanting to meet the man’s eyes. Maria confidently held Gerald’s gaze, however.
“Shadow’s strong, and fast! He can get us out if something happens.”
“Shadow is also still a kid. I can’t put the both of you in danger, even if there is a chance you might get out of it unharmed,” Gerald held firm.
For Shadow, this would be where he would give up and listen to the man. They both knew Maria wasn’t one to do that. She puffed her cheeks out, crossing her arms over her chest and throwing her head high. Gerald was quicker, though, speaking up before she got the chance to.
“Alright, Maria, I have to go now, there’s work to do. I hope I don’t hear of any kids running around where they shouldn’t be, hm?”
Gerald cocked his eyebrow, twirling his moustache with one hand. Maria looked away with a huff, but as soon as she did Gerald’s expression turned fond, used to his granddaughter’s antics. He then looked at Shadow, nodding at him with a smile, a silent goodbye.
A few seconds after the man left, Maria loosened her arms and turned toward Shadow. He walked to stand by her, knowing what came next. Maria grinned at him, mischief clear in her eyes.
“Come on, Shadow, bring the wheelchair over! We have much to explore,” she exclaimed excitedly.
Shadow gave a, much more contained, smile back, “Are you sure that is wise? He’s right, it could be dangerous.”
Maria waved him off with a light scoff, as he retrieved the wheelchair for her. It was an ambulatory one, size fit for Maria’s body. It was mostly black, but the wheels were decorated with yellow spoke guards. The handles had floral covers, and were usually pulled down so nobody could wheel her around out of nowhere. Some of the researchers weren’t the kindest.
Her other mobility aids were decorated in a similar way, most featuring the colour yellow, as it was Maria’s favourite colour. She once told him it was because yellow is a happy colour, it always makes me smile. Shadow found it was blue that always made him smile.
“Let’s go on an adventure!” Maria called out as soon as she got situated on her wheelchair.
Shadow couldn’t help the small grin that took over his face as he looked upon Maria. She was always so optimistic and smiley, it was almost contagious. He happily listened to her ramble as he walked next to her.
Shadow found himself easily reminiscing as he looked at his own wheelchair. It was brand new, he hasn’t even had an opportunity to sit in it once. Either way, he was hesitant to, scared, maybe.
He has had struggled with chronic pain since he was created, Shadow was aware of that. All that chaos energy, in a body that wasn’t naturally supposed to hold so much of it, it ached. His own legs weren’t made to carry his weight properly.
Shadow learned that his hover shoes were made for the purpose of helping distribute that weight. Which they did, except, he wasn’t able to always use them. Over the years, both Rouge and Sonic have noticed this, noticed Shadow’s pain.
Which is why he was staring at the wheelchair, currently. He wasn’t ashamed of it, he grew up with Maria, who frequently found use in mobility aids. Shadow understood the point of them, he understood they weren’t there to make him feel lesser.
It was still change, however. Something new, something forever. Shadow went through this once with crutches, which he used mostly around the house. The hover shoes were useful as well, he’s a fighter, he needed them to run, to win.
The wheelchair was a reminder of how slow he could be. Of the pain he was always in. It was a painful reminder of his reality, Shadow’s had enough of reality.
Logically, he knew that he wouldn’t be using it all the time, just like Maria hadn’t. The chair was there for bad days, when the pain was too much, when he was too tired. It was there so he could rest, so he’d be able to run and fight like usual.
“What colour would you like, honey?” Rouge asked in lieu of greeting as she walked into his room.
Her gloves were gone, and she donned slippers instead of her boots. One paw held a laptop, the other positioned over the keyboard. Rouge was quick to sit next to him on his bed, easily tilting the laptop so he could see the contents of the screen.
Shadow has also forgone his gloves, and he would never dare to wear shoes to bed. His ears twitched as he looked at the laptop with curiosity. It was opened to a shopping site, a spread full of Wheelchair decorations. He shouldn’t have been shocked, Rouge did the same thing with his crutches.
“So?” she looked at him expectantly.
He hesitated. Previously, he decided on yellow. Partly because it reminded him of Maria, but mostly because he was a coward. He wanted blue. He always wanted blue. But he was scared that Sonic would be able to read into his choice.
“I can see the cogs turning in your head,” Rouge flicked him on the forehead, eliciting a half-hearted scowl from Shadow, “You can always go with yellow, follow a theme. But it seems like you want something else.”
Shadow loved Rouge, she was like a sister to him, in a similar way that Maria was, but it annoyed him how well she was able to read him. She would always give him that knowing smirk whenever she could tell he was thinking about something embarrassing.
Shadow sighed, “Blue would be nice.”
Rouge laughed, “Don’t sound so defeated. It’s a perfectly normal colour to like. You said Maria used to wear a lot of blue.”
“That’s part of it,” he could feel the strain in his voice.
“He’ll just be happy that you match.”
Shadow’s cheeks warmed at the thought. It was embarrassing, really, how much he thought about Sonic. It was just a stupid colour, yet it brought on so much turmoil with it. His ears lowered in shame as he imagined Sonic teasing him once he saw the blue on his wheels, a perfect match to Sonic’s quills.
Rouge pat him on the shoulder, “Shadow, dear, don’t overthink this. We don’t have to settle for just blue. You can change them out once in a while.”
Shadow looked at her, considering. She had a point. He wouldn’t make as much of a fool of himself around Sonic if he frequently swapped the blue for another colour. It was decided then, as Shadow pointed Rouge to all the colours he preferred.
Maria screamed in excitement, “This is great!” holding onto the sides of her wheelchair tightly.
That morning, she was able to rope Shadow into wheeling her around the corridors as fast as he safely could. It was a great sign of trust, not only letting Shadow wheel her around, but also at a speed that Maria couldn’t control.
“I’ve never gone this fast before! And you do this all the time?” she grinned, her enthusiasm all too obvious.
Shadow couldn’t stop smiling the whole time. He was enjoying himself, too. As he usually found himself doing whenever Maria was around. Especially during moments like this. The excitement of doing something they weren’t supposed to, the thrill of just being kids.
Maria, through her grin, screamed in warning, “Sharp turn, Shadow, sharp turn!”
Shadow smirked as they approached the corner. It was exhilarating, the adrenaline, being able to share this with Maria. She whooped in triumph as they successfully turned the corner, looking behind her, at Shadow, to share her happiness with him.
They laughed together, Shadow’s deeper voice mixing with Maria’s higher pitch. They were being loud, and they both knew it. But they didn’t care. They were having fun, an infrequent opportunity on the ARK. Between school, Shadow being pulled away for research or some kind of test, most of their time together was spent at night.
Shadow began slowing down, they’ve been at it for a while. They were breathing heavily through their simmering giggles, chests heaving.
Maria spun herself around so she could face Shadow, the ever-present grin still on her face, “We have to do this more often.”
Shadow’s ears twitched with anticipation, “It was fun.”
Maria gasped in mock offence, “Just fun? It was more than just fun, and you know it.”
Shadow smiled, enjoying the meaningless back and forth. Just then, a researcher turned the corner, scowling. He must have heard them. Shadow’s ears instantly flattened. He didn’t like some of the researchers, but he was too scared to defy them.
“I think that’s enough of playing for today, no?” he said, “You should be heading back to your room, Maria.”
Maria, albeit much more defiant than Shadow, didn’t want to cause too much trouble. She liked to rebel and have fun, but she was aware when it got too far. She looked at the researcher with a smile, but her hands were positioned on her wheels, ready to get away.
“Sorry, sir, we didn’t mean to bother,” she said softly.
“It’s quite alright, miss,” he waved her off as he walked closer, close enough to stand right behind her, “Let’s head back, yeah?”
The researcher put his hands on the wheelchair’s handles, something he clearly didn’t realise was the wrong move. Maria frowned, a thing she doesn’t do often, not genuinely at least. Shadow could tell she was getting ready to get up and walk away.
As scared as he was to defy a researcher, Maria’s comfort and happiness was much more important to him. Shadow was quick to swat the man’s hands away, grabbing the handles himself, wheeling Maria away from the man’s grasp.
“We can get back on our own, but thank you,” Maria said with a smile, a strained one.
The researcher scoffed under his breath and turned back to where he came from, clearly not caring enough to deal with some kids. Shadow would have liked to punch the man in the jaw. But he didn’t, instead he pulled the wheelchair’s handles down, so nobody else was tempted to touch them.
Maria turned to him, “Thank you,” she said, and to Shadow’s relief, her smile was back on her face.
They got back to Maria’s room, the short journey having been spent in silence. They were both tired, so the quiet was a nice reprieve. It gave them a moment to process and calm themselves down.
“That’s okay, we were about to head back anyway,” Maria suddenly said, an end to a conversation that didn’t happen, not yet at least.
Maria knew, of course, that sooner or later Shadow would have complained about the researcher. His anger could get out of hand, sometimes, especially once he started riling himself up. She was simply mitigating that.
Shadow hummed and nodded, “What shall we do now, then?”
Maria grinned, life returning to her eyes, “I wanted to show you how to paint flowers! Remember?”
It wasn’t hard getting used to the wheelchair, his control was definitely still lacking, but if Maria was able to do it, he refused to give up now. He’s only left the house with it a couple of times, not wanting to embarrass himself over a curb.
He knows nobody would laugh, not with malice, but Shadow was simply too stubborn to ever let anybody see. Rouge and Omega have already seen enough trial and error from Shadow to leave him frustrated. They were awfully nice about it, though.
Team Dark have just helped defeat Eggman, stopping another one of his schemes. Fights have always left him in pain for a few days, which meant it was as good time as any to put the wheelchair to use.
As usual, when Sonic and his friends defeat whomever and save another day, a party has to be thrown. Shadow wasn’t even sure who planned these parties, or why he was invited. Yes, he helped, but everyone knew he doesn’t like big gatherings.
Unfortunately for him, Rouge always managed to convince him to go, and Sonic was not far behind with his insistent texts. And, as luck would have it, this time, he would have to bring his wheelchair along.
Nobody has yet seen Shadow in his wheelchair. Sonic hasn’t seen him in the wheelchair. He knew of its existence, being one half of the duo that convinced Shadow to get the aid. But...Shadow was still nervous about Sonic seeing him.
It’s just a wheelchair, none of his friends would look at him differently – maybe ask if it’s permanent, but he doubts any further inquiries. Sonic wouldn’t look at him differently, except that grin of his, and those fond eyes. And that teasing glint once he notices the blue of the spoke covers.
Shadow’s heart wasn’t ready for that, never would be. Rouge wouldn’t stand for his cowardice, however. She would rather carry him to the party than let him overthink everything. She was right, of course. Sonic would have to see him eventually.
Thus, they found themselves at the designated venue, the day after their victory. Music and laughter rung out through the air, and there was a strong smell of all manners of food. Overwhelming, to say the least, even as they stood outside.
These parties always mellowed out by the night, as the music was turned down and everyone sat around, tired, talking calmly. One of the only things that made these gatherings bearable.
Rouge was right beside him, with Omega at the back, as they entered the venue. It was the usual, wooden flooring, tables on the left and right, snack tables in a corner, with the music setup in the other. A space to dance, right in the middle, and various colourful balloons, banners, garlands and spotlights hanging off the ceiling.
He saw Team Chaotix looking over the food, clearly debating what to pile onto their plates. Cream and Vanilla were sat at a table, having already found some. Everyone else who has already arrived were gathered in the middle, chatting.
It wasn’t unusual for everybody to cast their attention towards the new arrivals. Shadow never liked it, but certainly not now, as he felt his ears itching to flatten against his head. People waved, some just nodded, but the first to approach was Cream. She was visibly happy to see him, but there was clear worry in her eyes.
“Mr. Shadow! Hi!” Cream greeted, waving her paw vigorously.
Shadow smiled subtly, “Having fun so far?” he asked, reaching his paw out to pat the girl on the head.
He’s always had a soft spot for Cream – everyone had. She was like a little sister to him, always a beacon of bright optimism. She reminded Shadow of Maria, in only the warmest ways. Her kind, innocent demeanour softened his heart and brought forth a protectiveness he could only connect with that of a big brother’s.
Shadow has never been the older sibling.
Rouge was the most obvious candidate for a big sister. Her maturity and vast knowledge of the world that she so easily imparted onto others, and the way she so easily cared for people. Shadow was glad he got taken under her wing.
Maria, albeit much different to Rouge, was also an older sister to Shadow. He was thrust into a world he was fully unfamiliar with. Created with a basic knowledge of everything, but with a brain that always struggled with connecting much of that knowledge. Therefore, Maria became his guide through everything.
With Cream, Shadow took what he learned from Rouge and Maria and took it upon himself to share it with her. It wasn’t even a conscious decision. Cream and Vanilla began inviting him to dinner, and slowly he became a part of their little family.
“Miss Amy brought strawberry shortcake,” Cream grinned, before her face became serious, “Are you okay, are you injured?”
Shadow nodded, “Remember when I told you and your mother how my body aches, though I’m not hurt?”
He waited for her to nod, before continuing, “The wheelchair is so I can rest my legs, so they ache less. I can still run and fight.”
Cream’s eyes shined with an idea, as she shyly asked, “Will you be able to dance with me?”
“Maybe. I’ll see. I can’t promise anything.”
“Okay!” she smiled, understanding, “Come eat shortcake with us.”
So he followed Cream back to where she left Vanilla. Rouge and Omega have already left his side, the former easily finding Knuckles, as expected. Vanilla smiled softly at him, a tender care – that he wasn’t yet used to – in her eyes.
Shadow spent the next while with the two, enjoying some strawberry shortcake, listening to Cream talk. The activity calmed his nerves, the fact that Sonic has not yet tried to approach him surely helped.
That was short lived, however, as suddenly he saw a blue blur from the corner of his eye, before Sonic appeared right in front of him. He leaned on the table that was separating them, an enormous grin splitting his face as he looked directly into Shadow’s eyes.
“Hey, Shads! I dig the wheels,” he easily exclaimed.
There he was, the hedgehog that never failed to make Shadow’s heart skip a beat. The effortless smile, the unlimited energy despite the shadows under his eyes that told of Sonic’s exhaustion. If he didn’t know better, Shadow would think Sonic wasn’t at all affected by the fight they all went through the day prior.
“Thanks, I guess,” Shadow said, grimacing.
I guess was never a phrase Shadow uttered, it made him seem unsure. His nerves must have truly fried his brain, if he couldn’t reply to a simple compliment from Sonic. He knew he should have changed his spoke covers for the yellow ones, but Rouge got him out of the house right before he could.
Sonic’s smile softened, “I’m glad you came, love to see you out and about.”
“I always come to these,” he scoffed.
“And I’m happy to see you each and every time.”
Shadow was thankful for his dark fur, which made his blush somewhat less noticeable. He looked away from Sonic, not daring to look him in the eyes in that moment, only to see Vanilla looking at them with a fond upturn of her lips. She had a look she got whenever Cream showed her a drawing she made.
“Feel free to pull up a chair, Sonic. It must be uncomfortable standing like that,” Vanilla spoke up, Cream nodded excitedly.
Sonic, with a quick thumbs up, got a chair and sat down. He immediately slumped down – something both Shadow and Vanilla caught – leaning all his weight onto the plastic chair. It was a quick action, one he, clearly, didn’t want noticed, and so he began an animated conversation about the process of preparing for the party.
It was surprising to learn that Sonic was a pretty big contributor to the party’s preparations. One would imagine Sonic, the hedgehog that is always at the forefront of these fights, would take the day to rest. Yet, it seemed he was adamant to keep himself busy.
Soon enough, however, Sonic got up from the table, leaving to mingle with other people. Shadow saw him dancing at some point. About three hours into the gathering, Shadow was pulled away from Vanilla and Cream to play Uno. Before leaving, Cream even pulled him onto the dance floor. She was happy, even as Shadow stayed in his wheelchair.
As midnight was nearing, the atmosphere, as always, calmed down. No more shouting at each other around board games. No blasting music or people yelling over it. The light were dimmed, a nice reprieve from the colourful spotlights.
“Hey,” Sonic said, once he approached Shadow, “Want to take a walk?”
He was quieter than last time, gentler. The deep exhaustion Sonic was feeling has become increasingly more visible, now sporting hooded eyes, a slump to his shoulders, more lethargic movement.
Shadow nodded his assent, and they began heading for the exit in companionable silence. Shadow was also feeling the fatigue. Despite being in the wheelchair throughout, he was unable to escape the pain, especially that in his wrists and shoulders.
They walked out into the chilly, early autumn air, side by side. There were few street lamps, casting artificial yellow light. The moon, in its crescent, was also present, beautiful and serene. Sonic sighed beside him, an exhale full of relief.
“Parties are nice and all, but being in a room for hours is horrible,” Sonic said, putting his arms behind his head, eyes focused on the sky.
“I prefer it out here,” Shadow agreed.
Sonic stifled a laugh, “Shadow The Hedgehog? Not liking parties? News to me.”
Shadow rolled his eyes, “I’ve been knows to be the life of the party.”
This made the other burst out into giggles, dropping his arms as his shoulders shook. Shadow smirked at pulling such a reaction from Sonic. That beautiful, genuine laughter. He was regretful of the time he spent refusing to truly let himself go and joke around with Sonic, because he’s been missing out on this.
They stopped in place to give Sonic a moment to calm down from his outburst. Shadow took the opportunity to stretch his wrists out, something he would have to get used to, it seemed. As he rubbed his wrists, trying to alleviate some of the ache, Sonic happened to look over.
“Would you like to head back?” he asked, head tilted.
“No, it’s not that bad.”
Sonic hummed, “And what about me wheeling you around? Is that alright?”
Shadow’s ears twitched. The offer was unexpected. The surprise alone made him hesitate, yet...he found little reason to refute Sonic. There were very few people he would let push his wheelchair, Sonic being part of that little group.
He nodded, slowly, bracing himself, “Go on, then.”
Sonic made sure to look him in the eyes as he grinned. Shadow easily read the gratitude in his eyes. With a mock salute, Sonic sauntered over to the back of Shadow’s wheelchair, letting him know when they started moving.
They strolled along the empty street, a very casual pace for two hedgehogs that ran fast for a living. It was nice, though. Comforting, even. He cherished moments like this, as rare as they were. That rarity wasn’t a bad thing, he never thought to wish for more, yet they were pleasant to come by.
It was easy to feel safe with Sonic at his back, just as easy as it was to fight alongside him on the battlefield. He let himself relax, and look up at the stars. In that moment, Maria easily came to mind, how she would have loved admiring the night sky from the earth. Shadow was glad he could experience this beauty for her.
“Thank you...” Shadow swallowed, “For pushing me to get this.”
“Aw, don’t,” Sonic’s smile was audible, “You deserve it, Shads.”
“I doubt I would have gotten it without you and Rouge persisting.”
Sonic chocked out a startled laugh, “You got me there.”
They kept moving. A few cars passed by them, but the road was otherwise deserted. The venue was situated near the outskirts of town, close to some residential areas, making the night pleasantly silent. Eventually, they stopped at the end of the street, where the road diverged into a crossroad.
“There’s a bench here, sit down,” Shadow broke the silence.
“Demanding much,” Sonic said light-heartedly, “Good idea, though.”
He sat down, melting into the wooden slats of the bench. Just as when he sat down with Shadow and the rabbit family. The fatigue from the fight was clearly catching up to Sonic, the hours long party wasn’t helping, surely.
“Why did you help with the party, if you’re so obviously exhausted?”
Sonic leaned his head on the back of the bench, “I wanted to! It was fun, so why not.”
“And you say I’m the one who doesn’t know when to rest?” Shadow narrowed his eyes.
“Because it’s true.”
Shadow shook his head, sighing. He let the quiet overtake them, again. Sonic, in absence of conversation, closed his eyes, body fully relaxing into the bench. Shadow watched him as the tension left his eyebrows and his shoulders dropped.
It was an imperceptible change to most, except the people who knew Sonic and how stressed he constantly was. Somehow, Shadow found himself in that group of people, those who Sonic let his guard down around. Shadow felt his own tense muscles relax, seeing how comfortable the other was around him.
In a moment of courage – or pure stupidity – Shadow made the risky decision of getting out of his wheelchair to sit next to Sonic on the bench. The other’s ear twitched at the action, curious. He opened one eye, focusing on Shadow with a raised eyebrow.
“This can’t be more comfortable than the wheelchair,” Sonic snarked.
“Don’t judge me, hedgehog,” Shadow snapped, embarrassed.
Sonic let out a chuckle. The situation was fairly comical, that was true. That fact did not make it less humiliating for Shadow. He looked away, arms crossed, unable to help the childish indignation from settling in.
He heard a huff from his side, right before a weight settled onto his shoulder. Sonic laid his head down, eyes closed once again. Shadow’s arms dropped back down to his sides, the natural calm returning.
“I really love the blue, by the way,” Sonic pointing to his wheelchair, “We fully match now.”
“Fully?” Shadow asked, looking down at the other.
“My shoes are red.”
He hasn’t considered that. As he thought about it, Sonic has stated multiple times that his favourite colour was red. It never gave him the idea that Sonic ever connected that to Shadow’s colouration, not enough to think that Sonic’s shoes matched with him.
Sonic hummed, “Is the blue for Maria?” he asked quietly, cautiously.
His chest tightened, “Partially.”
The silence as Sonic thought was palpable. After a minute of hesitation, he lifted his head from Shadow’s shoulder. Their eyes met. Sonic’s eyes were hooded, tired, but the hope in those green eyes was clear as day.
He must have found what he was looking for, as he swallowed before asking, “Did you actually choose the blue because of me?”
“Partially,” Shadow repeated.
Sonic’s face slowly split into a grin, eyes shining and ears twitching in happiness. Shadow’s heart beat wildly, almost as fast as the supersonic speeds at which Sonic’s tail was wagging and hitting the bench.
“Do you wanna kiss me? I really wanna kiss you, right now,” Sonic said, unable to taper his excitement.
Shadow could only nod, not trusting himself to speak in that moment.
Sonic’s grin only widened, even as he so visibly tried to suppress it. He leaned in, so Shadow followed. It felt like millennia, yet all too fast at the same time.
The kiss was just a quick peck, because Sonic began laughing as soon as they made contact. It was a laughter of pure bliss, and soon enough, Shadow felt himself let out his own, content giggle.
“This is nice,” Sonic said, sighing wistfully, “We should have been doing that for ages.”
Shadow found himself agreeing, “I never thought you would want to.”
“With you? Always.”
The flush on Shadow’s cheeks intensified. He felt his ears heating up. Sonic’s face was no better, the red was much more visible through his peach fur, and the constant grin helped to cement how he was truly feeling.
“We should probably head back,” Shadow said reluctantly.
“Or we could kiss more,” Sonic said, a flirtatious lilt to his voice.
“Yeah,” Shadow smiled, “Yeah, we could do that.”