Chapter Text
The day's been the worst. Boring, still, dull, lifeless—everything Sonic despised, the opposite of what he enjoyed.
Usually, the so-called blue hedgehog would be running around with no purpose whatsoever, just needing to do something else instead of staying in bed all day—well, not all day, just about two hours after waking up, but he enjoyed amplifying periods for dramatic effect—without a single thing to do or a single soul to bother, but he just happened to be forced to stay tucked in like a child because of a stupid fever. He hated having to stay still for too long like this, helplessly.
And his little fox friend seemed to notice that.
"Sonic, look, I know it sucks for you—" Tails started, standing next to Sonic on the bed, thermometer still in hand but gaze momentarily leaving the beeping device to look at Sonic's furrowed eyebrows and pout. "-but it won't last long. Your hypothalamus is cranking up the temperature on purpose, probably to fight some bacteria. You have to stay in bed because fevers dehydrate you through sweating and increased respiration. Running will dehydrate you more! You know it's dangerous! Plus, it'll only last a little bit; you'll be fine..." As soon as he finished, a groan was heard from Sonic.
"So what? I've been through worse!" Said the stubborn hero, dreading the mental image he created of himself melting into his bed, which was what he felt was going to happen if he didn't get up to run any sooner. He earned a sigh and a facepalm from Tails, who left the thermometer down on the nightstand and turned around.
"Yes, Sonic, a mere fever won't be enough to strike you down," he answered flatly as he approached the door, hand hovering over the doorhandle before he glanced back at the annoyed hedgehog, who had his arms crossed and eyes closed under his furrowed eyebrows. "But you can't deny that it'll make you weaker. Stay in bed; I'll get you water and some other things. Rest." Even so, as Sonic's ear twitched with the familiar sound of the door closing, he opened his eyes. An annoyed, bored groan left his lips as he tapped the tip of his finger on his arm repeatedly, eyes reluctantly trailing all around the room in a desperate attempt to entertain himself.
It did work... partially. The band posters on the walls kept the hyperactive hedgehog busy for about a minute, as he looked for any small details he hadn't noticed before, and the photos in the frames scattered around the room gave him good memories, which seemed to entertain him for at least two minutes while he thought about everything he had been through with his friends, a small smile on his face. He had relaxed a little... for a second. He soon started to feel stuck again, like the walls were closing in and it was game over. With an exasperated sigh, he looked around some more until his eyes landed on the window. Wide open, beckoning, luring, seducing...
...And you bet your rings he shot up from the bed immediately.
'Surely, a little run won't be too harsh on me, right? I don't even feel that bad... Plus, I'll be back before Tails even notices I was gone!' Thought the hedgehog, expression shifting. A small smirk appeared on his lips as he looked at the door for a split second and stood still, as if to hear if his fox buddy was nearby. Hearing nothing but the wind that called him at the window, he accepted its call, rushing to the window and jumping out without a second thought.
Tails is smart; he should've thought about the possibility.
Sonic was glad he didn't.
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He wasn't expecting to find a familiar alien hedgehog in his sneaky little run. Especially not one that was leaning against his motorcycle with his eyes closed and arms crossed, seemingly resting. The hero's smirk grew about three times bigger at the sight, and he just knew he had to stop by.
His rival's left ear twitched as he listened to the footsteps that rapidly approached him. He opened one eye, crimson meeting emerald, and his already cold expression shifted into something more irritated, eyebrows furrowing and eyes opening fully. Before he could even speak up, the Blue Blur had stopped in front of him, bringing a package of an infuriating cocky smirk and sass. Shadow could tell this would be a long, unskippable cutscene of a dialogue.
"Heyyy, Shads! Watcha up to?" Sonic leaned against the motorcycle as well, crossing his arms to mock the other's stance, smirking almost smugly. He was up to something. Shadow could tell. Everyone could, just by batting an eye.
Unamused, the black hedgehog rolled his eyes.
“Don’t do anything stupid, hedgehog.” He was nice enough to warn, crimson eyes shifting and shooting daggers at the blue pest beside him. "...And get off my bike."
"Ohh, me? Of course not! Why would I do anything stupid? I'm just being nice, dude." Answered Sonic, pretending to be mockingly hurt with his hand on his chest. The thing was, he was simply very bored, and Shadow made his day five times better without even realizing it. Now the hedgehog had someone to annoy and to race.
Thinking about it... Racing sounded wonderful at the moment. Sonic only had to think about how to make Shadow consider the idea. Shadow glared at him skeptically, not even responding to his debatable answer.
"Anyway," he started again, pushing himself off the bike and standing with a hand on his hip, facing his rival. "Race to Station Square?"
... All he got as an answer was a blank stare and silence. The hero's cocky demeanor shifted very faintly in slight embarrassment, but he recomposed himself.
"...Unless...you're scared you're gonna have a five-star meal of dust?" Usually, when the dark hedgehog turned down an opportunity to race, it wasn't that difficult to make him change his mind. Just a few playful banter and a ticked-off Shadow was already on the run. "...Like you always do?"
And as expected, that seemed to do it.
Shadow immediately pushed himself off his bike, standing up rather menacingly with his fists clenched hard. "You think I'm going to lose?" A smirk appeared on the dark hedgehog's lips despite his annoyance. "I'm the Ultimat—"
"I'm the Ultimate Lifeform; a race against you is like taking candy from a baby, which is fine by me!" Sonic interrupted, mocking with an overly deep voice, mimicking Shadow's way of speaking; he even made sure to copy his stance and annoyed smirk.
Shadow's smirk vanished in a second, a strained growl coming from him. That's when the blue hedgehog knew he had him.
With a taunting laugh, Sonic turned around and, without any warning, crouched down with his hands on the floor before he disappeared in a zoom of a blue blur.
"That damn hedgehog!" He growled under his breath as he got on his motorcycle, starting it up without losing a second. He was definitely chasing after Sonic, and the pest didn't see that coming. Well, not Shadow using his motorcycle, at least. He revved the engine once or twice before speeding off at a barely legal speed, definitely running some red lights. It didn’t take long for him to catch up, eyes focused on the blue blur ahead and narrowed in annoyance.
Sonic thought it was almost cute how his rival thought he could keep up. Humoring his rival, he let himself slow down a few steps to make him think he had a chance.
"You won't be in the lead forever, hedgehog!" Shadow practically spat. He revved the engine again, increasing his speed, and started chasing after him; the dark hedgehog seemed to have forgotten this was a race, instead having another objective in mind.
...And Sonic didn't take it seriously at all. He looked at Shadow from his shoulder, winking at him before picking up his speed, immediately zooming into the lead once more. Of course, this only pissed Shadow off more, and his hands clenched around the hand clutches.
"Get back here!" He yelled over the sound of the roaring engine, keeping up with Sonic. He weaved around buildings, pedestrians, anything to get closer to the blue hedgehog.
Sonic slammed a car nearby and grabbed a part of it, tossing it to the ground in front of him and jumping onto it, using it as a skateboard to glide through a severely inclined street, picking up his speed even more. It wasn't the first time he had done that, but this time, he wasn't running for his life, at least. Well, partially?
That would be hard for Shadow to go through... If Shadow wasn't Shadow, of course.
"Wooo!" He yelled as he came through, having the time of his life. He was clearly showing off, as usual, but also having his fun, like he always did. His fever was long forgotten as he enjoyed the wind harshly slamming against his face yet softly brushing his quills. Oh, how he loved the feeling of liberty.
... But instead of pissing a certain dark hedgehog off, seeing Sonic show off like that only made him even more determined.
“I’ll show that cocky hedgehog how it’s done.” He muttered to himself, eyes narrowing once again. He pressed down on the throttle as hard as he could, the motorcycle roaring to life.
"Coming 'through! Watch ya skirts!" He warned every now and then as he passed through citizens, rolling around at the speed of sound with his brand new skateboard... Well, he liked to call it that. He couldn't even be seen, the only thing making his presence known being the blue blur he left. "Woohoo!" He ground down handrails and everywhere he could, sparks flying from the trucks, making impressive tricks. He was obviously finding it more fun than intimidating. The other behind him leaned down further onto the motorcycle, causing it to go even faster than before.
"Damnit!" He growled under his breath, the wind whizzing around him and in his ears as he rode. He followed the Blue Blur as fast as he could, glaring at him whenever he did a trick. "When I get to you, it's on sight!"
As if listening, Sonic turned around, now running backwards just to stare at Shadow with a knowing, cocky, smug grin, his hands behind his head tauntingly. "Havin' trouble, Faker?" Teased the pest, running at the same speed and somehow not even hitting something. With another laugh, he turned back around and continued to run. “You—!” Shadow yelled out, nearly slamming into an electric pole. He was getting more and more irritated as they went on, but he was still keeping up with the speed.
Thinking impulsively and acting so, Sonic took a rough right to catch Shadow off-guard before he balled up and spin dashed on top of a car. He began to parkour on a line of neatly parked cars like he often does with badniks, making a whole-ass orchestra of alarms from them, causing chaos and fucking up the traffic. With a smirk, he turned a rough, probably illegal left and rushed to the road—making his rival nearly crash into the parked cars in surprise as he switched direction—wondering if Shadow would follow on his motorcycle. The alien hedgehog would probably get into trouble if he did so.
In answer, Shadow gritted his teeth, stopping the motorcycle and getting off carelessly. He knew there was no possible way to continue riding the motorcycle in this situation without getting fined, so he left it in the road and proceeded to run after Sonic, air shoes glinting with the flames that gave him bursts of speed. He was fuming at this point, but that only made him run faster.
Sonic could see the large welcome sign of Station Square a few kilometers ahead, and he smirked to himself once again; the sun was already setting, and the view was beautiful, but the blue hedgehog wasn't even glancing to the side. He was so going to win.
...Until...
"Chaos Control!"
Ah, fuck. He should've thought about that.
"UUUWAAAH!" Sonic yelled almost comically as he fell to the ground. Shadow had used Chaos Control to teleport in front of Sonic, close the gap between them quickly, and, in a couple of steps, tackle Sonic. They both hit the ground hard. Shadow was on top of him, pinning him there. He was panting slightly, a mix of faint tiredness and anger still visible on his face.
...Even so, as the blue hedgehog's back hit the ground, he burst into laughter.
He looked so happy under Shadow; it was like they were just little kids playing tag together.
His cheeks were a bit rosy from running and laughing, and he did look quite peaceful... Like he was content with his life. Even if he was a bitch to deal with.
And Shadow? He was frustrated after their long chase, and Sonic's seemingly carefree attitude only bothered him more.
Despite that, he noticed the rosy cheeks and the laughter...
Shadow found himself subconsciously admiring how peaceful and carefree Sonic looked. It was almost endearing, in a weird way. He mentally shook that thought away once more. Why the hell was he thinking that? And why was he feeling that way? It confused him greatly how his eyes couldn't leave Sonic's face.
Sonic's laughter soon subsided, and he opened his eyes, still smiling. And as soon as he did, he noticed Shadow staring. He raised his eyebrows curiously. They just shared a moment of silent eye contact, a small smile on Sonic's lips, as he analyzed Shadow's appearance and how the warm sunlight bathed his quills, how he looked at this angle, and how they were... Quite literally just in the middle of the deserted road.
His rival's expression was still as stern and cold as always, but his gaze was locked with Sonic's. He was studying every inch of the Hedgehog beneath him. The sun's golden rays danced across Sonic's face, making his emerald eyes sparkle. For a brief moment, the tension between them almost dissipated.
Almost.
"You... grh… infuriating hedgehog!" Just in time, Shadow's anger made itself known to break the silence, eyebrows furrowing as he grabbed a handful of the soft, peach skin of Sonic's chest and raised the other, ready to throw a punch. Snapping out of his trance, the Blue Blur raised his hands in surrender, along with his eyebrows.
"Woah, woah, woah, chill!" With how Shadow showed no signs of lowering his fist, Sonic had to spin dash him away. His rival fell to the ground on his butt with a grunt, and Sonic stood up straight. He shook himself like a cat, fluffing his fur back to normal and taking the dust from falling away. With the intimidating look he gave him, Sonic raised his hands again.
"Look, Shadow, I don't wanna fight." He reinforced the idea, shaking his head. Shadow's ear twitched in irritation, but it showed he was listening. That made Sonic sigh in relief.
His eyes darted off his rival, and he glanced at the beautiful view of the sunset behind Shadow, making his features soften and his hands drop. "Woah..."
Curious, Shadow looked behind him from his shoulder, also staring at the sunset. Liking what he saw to some extent and momentarily forgetting his anger, he turned around to look more thoroughly. For some reason, the dark hedgehog's ears seemed to drop.
Sonic was taken aback by the way the other suddenly seemed to get all sad from a simple sunset. So, not knowing if he would get punched in the face for it or not, the blue hero approached and took a seat on the rough concrete of the road, beside his rival.
They shared a comfortable silence for some seconds, Shadow moping for some reason and Sonic admiring the view while waiting for him to open up if he wished to.
"...Maria liked sunsets." His voice barely carried. He continued, quieter: "Third page of that Earth book."
There it was. What Sonic was waiting for.
"...Did she?" He answered, raising his eyebrows as he glanced to the side at Shadow, who only looked away to avoid Sonic's stare.
"Yes."
Sonic's heart ached with something. He couldn't figure out what it was. He stayed quiet, encouraging the other to open up further.
"...We made a promise to see every sunset we could when we got to Earth. She always seemed to be... passionate about them. Dreamed of them, even." And so he continued.
Unsure of what to do, Sonic stopped staring at Shadow to look back at the sunset to avoid making him feel under pressure or anything related to that. He was listening, though.
"I don't think they're that interesting... But I find myself... Looking forward to looking at them. With…” Shadow tensed, then gave a quiet scoff. Before the blue hedgehog could open his mouth to speak, Shadow completed his sentence.
"...You."
The way he said it... It was like it physically hurt him to admit.
...Sonic wasn't sure how he felt about that single word. Him? Shadow... wanted to look at the sunset with him? His muzzle turned into a darker shade of red, and it was definitely not because of his fever this time.
'He wants to see sunsets... with me? What is this, a soap opera?!'
Still, he didn’t move away. His tail was definitely not wagging. Shut up.
He felt... flattered? Embarrassed? Like he would pass out? He didn't even know, and neither did he understand why he was feeling this way.
"...Well, then... I'm here, am I not?" He eventually spoke up after some seconds of silence but didn't look at Shadow. Shadow did look at him differently.
...They shared, once again, about a minute of silence.
"Yes," Shadow broke it, voice unusually soft. "You are."
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