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Shadow wasn’t doing anything in particular, simply enjoying a rare day off on an even rarer peaceful morning. He swore he had turned off his communicator if only to spare him from Rouge trying to get him to go out. Then he got a call.
When Shadow heard the tell-tale beeping of his communicator coming in, he will admit, he was rather annoyed. That didn’t stop him from at least looking over at the caller ID before letting it go to voicemail, but when he caught sight of the blue icon of his rival, he did a double take. He wanted to brush it off, thinking the blue menace wanted to race or invite him to do some other activity with his group of friends. Then Shadow had a separate thought, last time Sonic had called him it was because his brother was sick to the point where it made him panic.
Shadow furrowed his eyebrows deep in thought before letting his conscience, which sounded a little too much like Maria, win. He grabbed the wrist watch and pressed the answer call button.
“What is it now?” He said trying not to sound too annoyed at Sonic for ruining his day off.
To his surprise, the other line was silent, eerily so.
“Sonic?” Shadow spoke again, this time being greeted with faint labored breathing in the background. Did Sonic mean to call him? Some thrashing and coughing broke the silence from the other side. This was more than just a butt-dial.
“Sonic, can you hear me? What’s going on?” Shadow couldn’t help but feel a strange nervousness creep up on him.
“Shadow…?” The voice sounded weak, but it didn’t sound like it was raspy.
“I’m here Sonic, can you tell me what’s wrong? Why did you call? Where are you?” Shadow stood up already preparing himself to skate all the way to wherever Sonic was.
“…umm…I’m home…yeah I’m at home…I don’t know what happened…but I’m…” He took a moment to gather some breath. “Somethings wrong…” His voice trailed off, he sounded confused as if he wasn’t sure of his own words.
Shadow didn’t need Sonic to tell him something was wrong either way, he was already blasting across the countryside in the direction of his home. “Hang in there, I'm on my way.”
Shadow didn’t think twice about it, letting his mind and body go on auto-pilot. He doesn’t know why his heart beats so violently in his chest or why he wishes he could just get there faster. He wishes he would’ve taken a chaos emerald so he could chaos control like he did before. Shadow has always felt impatient with his own limits, but at this moment he felt downright frustrated as he finally approached the familiar home.
Shadow burst in through the door, possibly breaking the lock to it, but he didn’t think about that as he tried to locate a blue hedgehog. Sonic wasn’t too far, As he laid curled up on the kitchen tile, quills bristled at what he could only assume was some sort of fear or pain?
Shadow walked over loudly to make sure Sonic knew he was there, “Sonic!” He shouted half-panicked at the barely breathing hedgehog. Shadow kneeled before him, turning him so he could get a good look at him.
He was met with a sour expression, brows furrowed in pain at the intrusion, loud noise and extra light. Immediately Shadow noticed a couple things, one, Sonic was burning up with chills shaking his body every couple of moments. Second, the hedgehog had gauze and bandages wrapped around his abdomen, now fully soaked through with blood. Third, Sonic was most definitely and very obviously delirious, confused as to why Shadow was here even though he had called him.
“Oh…Shadow…you’re here…” Sonic forced his eyes to peel open to look at the red striped hedgehog.
“Sonic, try to stay with me, tell me what hurts.” It was a futile request, he could see the bloodied bandage but Shadow had to keep him awake as he hooked his arm under Sonic’s knees and back, picking him up from the floor.
“Hnn…everything…everything hurts.” Sonic spoke with a hushed tone, his head lolled back and to the side, chasing the heat Shadow’s body produced.
“You’re wounded, how did you get this wound?” Shadow said, inspecting the crimson bandage on his stomach. He placed the hedgehog down on the old familiar couch, Sonic whining at the loss of warmth and change in scenery.
“Umm…had a little tussle I think…with Metal…no biggie.” Even in his delirious state Sonic had enough energy to shoot Shadow a cocky grin. Shadow somehow found that mildly comforting, even as it quickly disappeared as Shadow fumbled with the bandage to get it off.
“What’re you doin’…?” Sonic’s words slurred as he hesitantly watched Shadow pull the wet bandage off.
“Examining your wound, which you obviously did not treat correctly.” Shadow kept his tone neutral even as he gazed upon three obviously infected gash marks slicing through a peach colored stomach. The fur around the area was now caked and stained with blood. Two of the gashes needed stitches, and all three held an irritated red hue, with white puss leaking from the openings. The swelling didn’t look too bad, but still looked to be rather painful, as the blue hedgehog demonstrated by wincing at every slight touch.
Shadow furrowed his brows in both thought and frustration. The hybrid hedgehog stood up and walked over to the bathroom, one he had entered a few too many times for his liking. He dug around the cabinets before pulling out a red case with a big white plus on the top. At least Sonic had enough sense to keep this thing around.
When Shadow reentered the living room, Sonic looked absolutely devastated at the infected gashes on his stomach. He looked over at Shadow and frowned.
“Give it t’me straight doc’…” Sonic frowned even harder. “How bad s’it?”
“You have the self-preservation skills of a goldfish.” Shadow said, as he opened up the red case and pulled out the disinfectant wipes and a couple clean towels.
Sonic looked at him saddened by his apparent diagnosis but then it morphed into a slightly disgruntled look, “goldfish are pretty resilient y’know…” he grumbled as Shadow walked into the kitchen to quickly moisten the towelettes.
“You’re right, a goldfish would probably not be deathly sick with sepsis because he didn’t treat his wounds correctly.” He ringed out the towel and walked back to properly clean the gashes.
“I don’ think a goldf’sh c’n do all that now…” Sonic tensed as the towel cleaned off all the caked up blood and white puss that oozed from the irritated wound.
“Hold still, this won’t take long.” Shadow can’t believe this dimwit didn’t clean his wound properly. You’d think after all his out-of-this-world adventures the guy would know basic wound care.
“Oww…you’re s’cruel…” Sonic shifted at one stronger wipe of the now dirtied towel.
“Oh cruel doesn’t begin to describe what I’m about to do to you.” He placed the towel to the side and pulled out the alcohol and cotton tissues.
“Noooo…please…it stings…” Actual tears started to form in his rival’s eyes, Shadow will just chalk it up to his delusional state. He’ll get the sickly hedgehog some Tylenol after he’s done with the stitches.
“It wouldn’t sting as bad if you had done it from the very beginning.” Shadow lectured, dousing the tissues in a healthy amount of alcohol, dabbing it gently on the gashes.
“Tha’s not fair…I didn’t even know it would get this bad.” Sonic tensed his entire body to keep himself from flinching anymore at the alcoholic wipe.
“Then you call people, I’m sure your brother would’ve helped you, Rose, that warrior echidna even.” Shadow growled feeling like the tables had turned a little bit in this situation. Usually he would be the one getting told to ask for help.
“I called you…”
Okay, fair point .
“A little too late, faker, why didn’t you call me when you first got the wound.” He pulled the wipe away to look at Sonic.
“Again, I didn’t think it would get this bad.” This time he really did look remorseful, his gloved hand gripping at the cushions beneath him, “I didn’t want to bother anyone.”
“Why? I don’t understand-“
“Like you said, I should be able to do this on my own…but obviously I couldn’t.” Sonic looked away from Shadow. Possibly embarrassed at his one situation.
Shadow sighed to himself, understanding full well what Sonic felt like. Shadow felt a little bad now, emphasis on a little. He just hopes he can at least teach the dumb hedgehog a thing or two.
“If a wound is bleeding through the bandages that means it needs stitches.” He simply spoke, pulling out the needle and sutures needed for the stitching process. “And if a wound looks to be longer than half an inch, which yours are.”
“You’ll feel a little sting, but it’ll be over soon.” Shadow reassured, looping in the needle and letting muscle memory take over.
Sonic screwed his eyes shut for a moment before opening them up to watch Shadow gracefully stitch him up. They stayed silent for a few moments as Sonic watched intently before speaking out, “You never cease to amaze me…” Shadow’s ear twitched at the comments, willing himself not to flinch as he continued on. Sonic was just delirious.
Before they both knew it the sutures were put into place and knotted carefully. Allowing for Sonic to be bandaged back up with clean gauze. The wound patched up properly now, Sonic was still very much infected and down with a case of sepsis.
Shadow would need to get some antibiotics, he’ll stop by the doctor’s office later. For now Tylenol and rest were what Sonic was prescribed. He packed up the medical kit and sealed the used needle in a biohazard bag before tossing it out. As he put the red case away, he heard shuffling and groaning from behind him.
“Don’t move, you’ll tear your stitches, next time I’ll make you put them in yourself!” He yelled from the bathroom, grabbing a bottle of Tylenol.
He heard an exasperated groan in return to his scolding, Shadow could only roll his eyes. He walked back into the living room with the pill bottle, Sonic was sitting up right on the couch looking a bit dizzy.
Then something occurred to Shadow, “Have you eaten anything today?” He asked.
“Ummm…yeah I think…but I threw up earlier before I called you.” Sonic looked completely defeated, a feat Shadow doesn’t see very often.
“You vomited? Why didn’t you tell me before?” Shadow breathed walking to the kitchen to replenish Sonic’s lost fluids. Shadow pulled out some plain crackers as well, hoping Sonic was up to having at least a couple.
“I forgor…” Sonic would forget to mention he threw up his guts.
“Here, drink the water slowly , and if you feel up to it, eat some crackers.” He also placed two Tylenol on the coffee table.
“Do I gotta?” Sonic frowned deeply at Shadow, obviously still feeling a bit nauseous.
“You have to eat something before taking antibiotics, it’ll help you feel better, I promise.” Sonic seemed pleasantly appeased by this, looking down at the glass of water and sleeve of crackers. Immediately becoming determined to fight this new foe of drinking water and eating crackers without spitting them back out.
“Speaking of which, I’ll go get some for you, I’ll return shortly,” Shadow walked over to the front door, now seeing he did in fact break the lock.
“Thank you, Shadow.” He heard very faintly from behind him.
“No problem Sonic, just don’t do anything dumb while I’m gone.”
“No promises.”
Shadow felt his lips curve every so slightly upwards, the ghost of a smile appearing and disappearing in an instant. That blue hedgehog will never learn, will he?
When Shadow returned to the house, the sun had started to disappear behind a hue of pinks and oranges. A cool breeze sweeping through the forest, a sign autumn was near. As he walked into the warm house, he noticed a couple of things. A) The lock on the door had been fixed, B) Sonic was no longer on the couch, C) there was a new presence in the house. His ears stood to attention from the slight tussling in the kitchen. Shadow carefully walked over to see who was in the kitchen and hoped Sonic had enough sense to not try to move in his condition.
Shadow was pleasantly surprised as he took notice of two fluffy yellow tails dancing along behind a busy body in front of the stove. He looked to be heating up canned soup, carefully stirring the warming broth, and humming to himself.
“Good to see you Miles.” Tails’ fur bristled upwards as he froze in fear, squeaking slightly as he turned to meet the black hedgehog.
“Shadow!? What’re you doing here?” He questioned, eyes scanning him up and down. Shadow relaxed his body language not wanting to come off as a threat.
He laid up against the door frame to the kitchen, “Your brother called me earlier today, he didn’t sound too good so I came over to help.” He explained.
“Oh that explains the bandages, but why did you-?”
“I got him some antibiotics, Sonic didn’t treat his wounds correctly and came down with an infection.” Shadow held up a white paper bag with a pharmaceutical logo on it.
Tails’ namesakes dropped behind him upon hearing about the infection, ears laying flat against his head. “An infection?”
“Sepsis to be more exact, don’t worry, he’ll be fine. The medicine will help fight the infection, plenty of rest and fluids should do the trick as well.” He peaked over him at the now slightly simmering soup. “And I see you have started on some canned soup.”
Tails turned to lower the heat on the stove and looked back at Shadow, “When I came home Sonic didn’t look too good, so I helped him get to bed and I started on some soup. Like you did…” he said the last part a bit more quietly, bashfully, Shadow remembers making soup for Sonic when he got sick. It was rather endearing that Tails remembered that fact.
“Good call, he’ll need all the protein he can get.” He nodded, Tails lit up at that. “Where were you?” Shadow asked next, curious as to where the fox was all this time.
“I was on Angel island, I sometimes go for a couple of days to take extra readings on the Master Emerald. Knuckles doesn’t mind,” Tails explained.
Shadow hummed in response, that explains why no one knew of Sonic’s predicament, and Sonic failed to tell anyone except for Shadow himself. He wondered why. Why Shadow of all Sonic’s multitude of friends? He shook his head.
“I’m going to deliver the antibiotics, should I entrust the soup to you?” He asked rather teasingly.
Tails’ namesakes poofed up indignantly, “I can make an engine with an old toaster and a couple paper clips, I think I can handle heating up soup!” He pouted.
Shadow smirked to himself, grabbing a water bottle from the fridge, “Just checking.” He waved him off heading towards the blue hedgehog’s bedroom. Hopefully Sonic snacked on some crackers before taking a nap.
He knocked on the faded blue door before coming in, “Delivery!” Shadow quipped, walking into the messy room.
“Helllooo nurse!” Sonic chuckled from a mound of blankets. “Have you come to rescue me from the den of blankets my little brother decided to pile on top of me.” Sonic winced as he removed a couple blankets from the pile.
Shadow hummed as he placed the little white baggie and water bottle on the nightstand next to Sonic’s bed
“Something tells me you didn’t come to bed on your own accord.” He said as he grabbed a couple of blankets, tossing them to the side, while also smoothing out the ones that remained.
“Tails may have dragged me here, he flashed his best puppy eyes, I couldn’t resist.” He smiled more softly this time, looking over at the white paper bag.
“Your brother is making something for you to eat, afterwards you can take the antibiotics. They should help with fighting the infection.” Shadow sat on the bed, finally letting some of the tension go in his muscles. Sonic was fine, at least he would be. Sonic was stubborn if not anything else, he wouldn’t let himself be defeated by a measly infection.
That didn’t mean Shadow didn’t have any means to worry . If it hadn’t been for that call made in a feverish delusion, Sonic would’ve laid passed out on the floor, bleeding through his bandages, until his brother found him. That gruesome image almost sent a shiver down his spine. It almost reminded him of…no, no time to dwell on made up “what ifs”. What happened, happened, he’ll thank Sonic’s unwavering luck for this.
He was cut from his thoughts by a warm hand being placed over his own. He blinked in surprise as he looked over at the offending hand as it squeezed tightly. Shadow looked up at Sonic who wore a loopy, but reassuring expression.
“I’m okay Shadow, thanks to you.” He said as if he read Shadow’s mind.
“You’re one lucky hedgehog, Sonic T. Hedgehog.” Shadow doesn’t know what came over him as he twisted his hand to squeeze back Sonic’s.
“Lucky to have you, that’s for sure.” Shadow swore he saw Sonic’s cheeks flush up, he’ll just blame it on the fever.
Like a clockwork, Tails walked in, tray in hand with a hearty bowl of soup in the middle, equipped with a spoon. “Bon Apetite!” He announced walking proudly over to the two hedgehogs.
Shadow removed his hand from Sonic’s, carefully grabbing the tray from the kit’s hands, thanking the kit with a curt nod.
“Room service!? What’d I do to deserve a brother like you?” Sonic reached over to ruffle Tails’ bangs and receded with only a slight wince. Shadow carefully placed the tray on top of Sonic’s legs, balancing it with one of the folded blankets.
Sonic quickly picked up the spoon and scooped up some of the warm broth, and drank it. He grinned happily at the taste, “And a five star meal at that!” Even sick with a life threatening infection Sonic still had to put on a show. Shadow could only roll his eyes fondly at the blue hero.
“It was nothing! I just heated up the soup!” Tails still looked rather bashful at the compliment.
“Still you went out of your way to do it, I appreciate that.” Sonic thanked the already blushing kit.
“You should be thanking Shadow, he helps us when we’re sick so much he might as well be a live-in nurse.” Tails grinned teasingly at Shadow, obviously giving payback to his earlier teasing.
“I did thank him! And besides, Shadow’s way more than just a nurse.” Sonic slowly stirred the spoon around the bowl before drinking more of the brother.
“Like what?” Dammit Shadow, you just had to let those words slip out. What was wrong with him today? Perhaps he had lost a little too much of his composure.
Sonic looked over at Shadow curiously, like the answer should be obvious. But to Shadow it was anything but obvious, feeling his heart in his throat as he waited for Sonic to answer.
“A friend!” Sonic did cheerily, “one of the best if I have any say!” He gulped down the rest of the broth, dropping the bowl down onto the tray with a sigh.
“A friend.” He repeated to himself quietly, Sonic and Tails held a small conversation in front of him. Possibly talking about how Sonic got into this predicament, but Shadow did not process any of the words.
A friend . For some reason that didn’t seem right, but it fit all the criteria. Friends do in fact take care of each other, friends tend to each other, friends ask help from each other. Yet, Shadow felt somewhat dissatisfied with this title. Although, he couldn’t understand why . His heart still ran rampant in his chest as he checked himself back into reality.
“Your antibiotics Sonic.” Shadow instructed as he pointed at the white baggy sitting next to the bottle of water.
Sonic frowned at it and then looked back at Shadow, “Do I gotta? I feel way better now.”
Shadow shook his head, “you only feel better because you aren’t actively bleeding out and your fever isn’t clogging your head, you still have an infection.” He stood up and opened the baggy, revealing one big bottle of thick chalky white pills.
“Ugh, those are gonna suck to swallow.” Tails commented looking over Shadow’s shoulder, sticking his tongue out at the medication.
“You only say that because you hate taking medicine.” Sonic responded, still looking a bit hesitant about the pills.
“Drown them out with plenty of water, you’ll be fine.” Shadow pulled out one of the pills from the orange bottle and handed him the hefty little pill. “Don’t choke.” Shadow jeered.
Sonic stuck out his tongue at him as he grabbed the water bottle from the nightstand and took the pill half a second. Sonic then experienced a full body shiver as he still felt the pill travel down his throat. “Ew, that sucked.” He wore a sour expression as he chugged down some more water.
“Get used to it, you're going to be taking these antibiotics for at least the next week.” He read the prescription instructions and set the bottle down. “Which means lot’s of-“
“Rest and fluids, I know the drill.” Sonic sighed dramatically, laying back on the multitudes of pillows Tails must’ve laid out for him. “S’not like you told me a million times.”
“At least I know you listen to me.” He turned to look at Sonic.
“Course I do, you know how good of a listener I am!” Both Tails and Shadow rolled their eyes at that. Sonic noticed, “What??”
“You know I’ll always listen to you Shads!” Sonic said cheerfully, the gleeful smile he wore somehow pierced through Shadow’s stomach, making it flutter and twist in a way he was feeling all too often these days.
“Tails watch your brother, I’m going to put away these dishes,” he spoke, really just trying to get out of the room without raising any attention to himself. He could feel his face burn but he still needed to keep his cool. Thankful the brothers didn’t seem to notice the way Shadow’s heart fluttered in his throat.
“Hey I don’t need a babysitter! Especially not my baby brother.” Sonic frowned, crossing his arms in offense.
“I don’t know Sonic, maybe after today you’ll need a full time babysitter.” Tails snickered in response. Sonic gaped at the giggling kit.
“You’re supposed to be on my side!” Sonic whined in mock-betrayal of his little brother.
Shadow just decided to walk out and leave the brothers once more in their bickering.
“Come ‘er you!” He heard from the bedroom and a slight wince coming after it.
“Sonic do not tear your stitches or I swear to chaos-!” Shadow called back halfway down the hallway.
“Chill out Shadow he’s fine!” Tails yelled out in response crying out as Sonic unleashed a noogie attack on the cub. “AGH! Hey stop!!”
Shadow sighed once again, walking out into the kitchen, placing the bowl into the sink along with a couple other dishes. He supposed washing some dishes would help clear his mind and calm his heart, which still thumped in his chest like an agitated drum.
He removed his pristine white gloves and started on the methodical taste of cleaning bowl after bowl, utensil after utensil, trying to rid himself of this feeling. Shadow couldn’t exactly pinpoint where this feeling started or where it ended. It was like a never ending warmth surrounded with anxiety and dread. He scrubbed and rinsed, scrubbed and rinsed, an easy rhythm to get lost in. Shadow’s thoughts only consisted of one rhythm, his ears listening passed the sound of falling water, clinking dishes and silverware, back to that messy bedroom. Laughter, his laughter , bright and airy, filled with nothing but pure joy.
That’s where the feelings stemmed from, wasn’t it? Sonic was always the one with the infectious smile and even more contagious laughter. In a way, no in every way, it drove Shadow mad. Sonic was the reason he felt this way but Shadow just couldn’t understand why? What has changed? What was different? He turned off the water and wiped off his hands on a kitchen towel, looking down at the pads lining his palm and fingers. He squeezed his hands, sharp claws digging into the sensitive flesh, but not breaking it.
What was going on ?
He shook his head, unclenching his fish and putting on his gloves once more. Shadow still had work to do. He could think about this later, or never again. Whichever suited him better.
As he walked back towards the bedroom, he was greeted by two-tails closing the old faded-blue door. He turned to look at Shadow and only slightly stopped himself from frazzling in fear.
“O-oh hey Shadow, just turning in for the night!” Tails smiled looking up at him, Shadow took notice that the smile wasn’t forced, in fact it looked similar to the smiles he would give Sonic and Knuckles.
“Ah alright then, Goodnight Miles, I suppose my work here is done then.” Shadow slightly cursed himself, perhaps he had overstayed his welcome once more.
“You can stay the night if you want! It’s getting pretty late, Sonic won’t mind and neither would I.” The invitation was earnest, that much he could tell. “I can pull out some blankets if you want!”
“No need, I don’t need much sleep as it is, and if I do decide to rest I know where they are. You sleep well.” As if it were a normal occurrence, he lifted his hand and ruffled the kit’s bangs just as Sonic did. Shadow almost froze mid-action as he realized what he had done, but finished it and played it off cooly. Tails on the other hand completely froze up. Shadow hopes he didn’t overstep a boundary.
To his surprise Tails smiled brightly at the action, his namesakes fluffing up in apparent joy. “Goodnight Shadow!” Was all he said as he went to his room and closed the door.
Okay so maybe Shadow could get used to that.
He opened the door, letting what little light reminded from the main house leak into the dim room.
“Sonic?” He asked, wanting to make one last check up on Sonic before the hedgehog fell asleep. Unfortunately it looked like Shadow was too late, Sonic had apparently passed out in the time it took Shadow to do the dishes. He hummed to himself, walking in, heading towards his bedside. Shadow examined the sleeping figure, he didn’t look to be peaceful, brows furrowed downward in frustration, as if he were struggling. Shadow took his hand, placed it gingerly upon his head, warmth bleed through, his fever had risen again.
The black hedgehog frowned, there was no point in waking him to take more fever suppressors, Sonic needed as much rest as he could get. Shadow removed his hand and walked briskly back into the kitchen to acquire a rag, running it under cold water and ringing it until it stopped dripping.
Returning to the room, he sat on the edge of the springy bed, softly sponging the head of his rival in an attempt to bring his temperature down. As the cool rag wiped away the sweat from the cobalt blue fur, Sonic’s expression relaxed, relishing in the soothing feeling. A new warmth blossomed in Shadow’s chest, as he watched Sonic’s breathing become deeper and deeper, lulling him into a sense of relief. This warmth was free of the dread he felt earlier, it was fond, almost welcoming, like getting a hug. It embraced him as he watched Sonic sleep soundly, healing and content. Even asleep, Sonic still found a way to be the brightest thing in the room, the brightest thing in Shadow’s life.
Shadow’s breath hitched, he removed the rag from Sonic’s head like it burned, holding the hand close to his chest, feeling the thump-thump of his heart against his rib cage. Maybe he should go, maybe he should leave. He doesn’t know why. Part of his body wants to run away from the warmth but the other part wants him to embrace it. He took a deep breath and stood up, he needed to get ahold of himself, there is no rational explanation for him to be feeling this way. He placed the damp rag on the nightstand. Perhaps he needed to take a walk, clear his head of…everything.
Before he could even turn to walk out of the room, a warm gloved hand grabbed at his wrist. Shadow shifted his gaze over to what he thought was a sleeping Sonic, but was instead met with bleary fever glazed eyes of a very much awake Sonic. Even in the haze of his fever Sonic looked determined, almost panicked.
“Stay…” he spoke with a frown appearing on his face, possibly the beginning of a pout. “Please.” He breathed.
“Always.” The answer came without the thought even entering his mind, second nature maybe, or the urge to fall into the warm feeling finally won out. Sonic gave a weak tug at his wrist, an invitation.
Wordlessly, Shadow pulled off his skates, Sonic scooted over ever so slightly still holding on tightly to Shadow’s wrist like he was afraid if he let go Shadow would run. The black hedgehog felt tense climbing onto the plush bed, unsure of exactly what he was doing. He allowed himself to lay comfortably on the worn mattresses, held up only slightly by the pillows left there. Almost immediately after he got comfortable, Sonic slid atop of him, effectively using him as a heated pillow. The blue hedgehog's head laid right on top of his heart, to Shadow’s surprise his heart calmed at the extra weight on top of him. Shadow could feel Sonic’s own heart beat against his body, a consistent thump-thump-thump .
Shadow let his muscles slowly relax at the feeling of body against body, it was foreign but nothing he couldn’t handle. Still feeling a bit stiff, he moved his hand to smooth out blue quills, fingers carding through the spiky main. Sonic melted into the touch, nuzzling closer into Shadow’s chest, a soft clicking noise emanating from the cobalt hedgehog.
Okay now it was becoming a bit too much.
Shadow felt his face heat up in what he could only assume was embarrassment, no way was this happening right now. It was, but it couldn’t be. Maybe he himself had fallen into a fever induced dream , something right out of a movie. Sonic’s body curled onto Shadow’s, legs intertwining, latching onto him never to let go.
Sonic lifted his own hand, fingers playfully lacing through his chest fluff. Shadow wanted to make up all types of excuses for what sonic was doing to him currently, but his brain was also short circuiting at the warmth, the clicking, the softness of Sonic’s quills. Shadow could practically burst at any moment, it felt like everything he never knew he wanted.
So Shadow did what he’d been doing, resigning again, closing his eyes listening to the thump of two heart beats against each other. Soon Sonic’s hand fisted some of the white fluff and promptly fell asleep, breaths once again becoming deep and even.
Shadow opened his eyes, adjusting to the sight in front of him. Sonic wore a peaceful expression, ear twitching every now and then, his muzzle buried deep in Shadow’s neck. His warm breath tickled his cheek, but Shadow didn’t mind.
‘Adorable’ was what came to mind. He averted his gaze at the thought. No, adorable is what he used to describe chao playing in the chao gardens.
‘Lovely’ was what came next, that left him flustered. Never would he think he would describe Sonic sleeping on top of him as lovely. Though, Shadow would be lying to himself if he didn’t agree full heartedly with the descriptor.
Shadow could only describe the next feeling as ‘fuzzy’, the warmth in his belly had spread across the rest of his body, fully relaxing all tension left in his muscles. Do ‘friends’ do this? Perhaps but he doesn’t believe friends feel this way. The feeling of floating and falling all at once. He could stay like this forever and have no complaints.
It was a light feeling, one he can’t say he’s felt in years. It was almost euphoric the rush of emotion Shadow felt, all because of the blue menace deciding to make him a body pillow.
Shadow felt his breath shake as the other atop him breathed steadily, what was this feeling called? He couldn’t yet identify it, couldn’t diagnose himself. It was rather frustrating, he furrowed his brow feeling a bit lost at the new emotion. An extensive knowledge on viruses, diseases, and injury treatment, yet he was at a complete loss at what was going on with himself.
He took the hand that wasn’t buried within his blue bed partner’s fur and placed it on top of his eyes, applying pressure to ground himself. Willing the light-floating feeling to leave him be.
Yet it persisted, his heart once again picking up in pace as he came to terms with his situation. Cuddling with his rival (ex-rival?), struggling with his own emotions. His mind wandered to years ago, miles away from here, in a room far colder than this one. Where the only person he ever cared for caressed his quills and whispered reassurances to him. Telling him stories of the summer storms and painted skies. Shadow scrunched his eyes shut and frowned to himself.
Maria invoked a similar feeling in him,all those years ago, a safe warm feeling. This warmth he felt was quite different, he observed. It was all consuming, heart stopping even.
He looked down at Sonic, who still slept soundly and Shadow felt enchanted . Shadow felt so very lucky, to be one of the select few who could see him like this. At peace, at rest, with Shadow.
Shadow bowed his head ever so slightly, shut lips landing on the soft downy fur between his ears and eyes. He didn’t know exactly what he was doing, it just felt right. Something perhaps someone had done long ago. In any case, it seemed customary, a showing of affection just like a hug. Even though Shadow wasn’t one to show affection, again, it simply felt right.
Shadow stayed as still as possible as he laid the gentle kiss on Sonic’s forehead. It was only a couple moments, but to Shadow it was hours of soft bliss, subconsciously committing this moment to memory. Shadow would never forget this moment, not for the next week, or month, or eternity.
But in the morning, when Sonic awoke to an empty bed. They would not speak about it. Not when Shadow served him breakfast, or asked him to take the chalky pills. Sonic reasoned they weren’t ready, Shadow reasoned they didn’t want to.
The pair both knew though, the warmth and feeling was almost ingrained in their coats. The thumping of hearts in rhythm forever tattooed in their minds.
Yet Shadow could not for the life of him figure out what was going on with him.
Maybe…
Maybe he really has caught something.
But…
What did he catch?