Chapter Text
Despite what everyone seemed to believe, Stone always felt like the luckiest man on earth. Against all odds, Shadow and the doctor managed to come back from the ARK, mostly thanks to their new associate’s speed. Maybe the phrasing “associate” was getting obsolete. However, Robotnik persisted in calling him that way. Stone considered him more like a friend. According to more common criteria, yeah, Shadow would be closer to a family member than a friend, but hey- Stone considered anyone being something more than a distant colleague as a friend.
For instance, he liked to think of Robotnik as a friend. The term was vague enough and common enough to encompass almost all of his feelings. Almost, of course. He loved the doctor like a friend whose hand he likes to hold. Like a friend for whom he would give his life, again and again, with little to no doubts along the way. Like a friend to care for, to feed, to protect, to support, to serve. He loved Robotnik the way you love a friend with whom you would like to share your life forever.
Still bedridden, the doctor spent most of his time sleeping or trying out with his new gadgets. Complaining a bit that his new lab was not ready yet as well. To be fair, the agent had to plan everything from the blueprints to materials and organization, all of that in a brief window of time. Right in the middle of a small British town. Which shined by its notably lacking technology. Of course. Furthermore, he had to find the time to do all of that while also staying by the doctor’s side in case he needed anything. Stone’s heart ached every time he left Robotnik. His man was too weak to defend himself or fend for himself yet- how was he supposed to leave him on his own in this situation?
At first, his gratitude towards Shadow was limited by the threatening look of the mobian. Expect that the small hedgehog- well, the enormous hedgehog or the miniature humanoid- revealed himself to be quite inoffensive towards them. Without his quest for vengeance and retaliation, Shadow was left with nothing but himself. Which is why Stone felt so cautious about him at first. He spent the first 48 hours following their return in panic, trying to figure out where to live, how to keep Robotnik hidden enough for his own safety, taking care of his injuries- and geez, making himself more presentable because with his man gone, he disregarded the most basic self care routines such as shaving his beard.
Despite being the fastest- alien? Hedgehog? Mobian? The fastest being around, it still took almost a week for Shadow to find Stone while somehow carrying Robotnik with him. They did not share the details of this journey yet, but it must have been quite the travel.
48 hours after this rush, to his utmost surprise, Shadow was still with them. Stone had the worst reaction, one that he regretted nowadays; he did aggressively confront the little guy. He was so convinced that he was, at least, partially responsible for his dear dear friend’s injuries- The agent did not show enough compassion and certainly did not welcome him well. It would not have change before a long time if it had not been for Shadow’s answer to Stone’s question: “What’s the point of staying here? What are you trying to do?” The hedgehog seemed so caught off guard.
He was, by no means, the intergalactic threat he appeared to be before. The hedgehog just looked terribly lost and maybe a bit embarrassed.
“I don’t know where to go”
Stone quickly realised that, despite his grumpy face, Shadow was no adult. His deep voice and hostile reactions were misleading indicators. The hedgehog never had the chance to live a normal life. He became some kind of guinea pig and was experimented on, then he spent some time with Maria then he hibernated. How was he supposed to act and think like an adult in those conditions? Pity and sympathy hit Stone like a brick. He could not just throw this little guy out in the streets.
He clearly was not a danger to the doctor; he even saved him. He also helped with the chores and the construction of their new lab. And to be honest, a little company could not hurt, right? Therefore, Shadow was included in his new arrangement and layout. He did not complain, not once, and offered his help more than enough.
Stone quickly had to face it: Shadow knew almost nothing of the outside world. Obviously, Maria tried her best to teach him basic things, such as the solar system, a little biology and how to write and read. Considering her situation, she did a brilliant job, but a kid could only teach another up to a certain point. Especially when the kid in question stayed dormant for almost 50 years.
While keeping up with their daily chores, Stone began teaching him a bit more about the world. “Eh Shadow, do you know the difference between atoms and molecules?”, “Tell me Shadow, do you know what this bug’s called?”, “Quiz time, who wrote Harry Potter?”.
It was a genuine wonder. He was taken aback by Shadow’s thirst for learning, but only for a moment. The hedgehog was not so withdrawn. At least not as much as he looked. He did not smile much, yes, but he enjoyed pretty much every discovery. Sometimes, he was still too- shy? reserved? both? - to start a discussion or ask questions. Fair enough if you asked Stone. Talking could be hard. The agent did not mind. He was ready to do most of the talk for as long as necessary. He knew Shadow was listening with all his attention, nonetheless.
It was quickly decided that the hedgehog had to stay inside for the time being. His appearance would probably cause a ruckus, and it was hard to hide his quills, his speed, his face, his- everything, give or take. To fight boredom, Stone managed to get him all sorts of books. Personally, the agent would not spend his entire afternoons reading instruction manuals, dictionaries, or newspapers. But hey, if that’s how Shadow was having fun, then so be it. Meanwhile, Stone was able to keep working on the lab, do the laundry and spend some time with Robotnik.
Almost ten days later, the doctor was slowly starting to get better. Their routine kept going. Stone came to his bedside with some pens and papers. He became Robotnik’s secretary while the man started brainstorming and ranting about his new ideas of badnicks. A few blueprints later, the doctor had no energy to fight fatigue anymore and let himself fall asleep. He drifted off in the middle of a sentence, leaving one hand on his belly, and this other on Stone’s wrist. Exactly where he left it to correct some specific details in the current blueprint.
If the agent’s cheeks gained some colours, then it was his business, and he ignored it like a champ. He stared at his man longer than needed. His eyes coveted the doctor for some long minutes, quickly followed by a mushy smile. This peaceful scene was almost interrupted by one of his own screams when a certain hedgehog suddenly appeared in the corner of his eyes. Key word being almost: he did not wake up the scientist still sleeping next to him.
The dark hedgehog did not even glance in his direction. He was carrying some kind of cumbersome book- an encyclopaedia. In his not-so-big arms, the book looked quite gigantic. Shadow made himself a nice clean spot at the bed’s feet. With a touch of spite, he moved all the badnicks that were taking too much space. Stone was not willing to move, not even a finger. He was too afraid to wake up the doctor. Or to make him move and lose the hand carelessly resting on his arm. The agent did not intervene, he just stared and stayed in the dark for a while.
To his great surprise, the hedgehog somehow tidied enough to make himself a nice, reasonable spot on the floor, close to the bed. He did not wait further to sit on the ground, legs crossed, encyclopaedic on his laps. Without explanation, the little guy just started quietly reading. Stone felt flabbergasted for a second. Was Shadow feeling lonely? Was he simply curious about what they were doing? Was he- what he was-
He did not ask any questions. After a few moments, the agent let himself soak in the comfort of this situation. Everything seemed so odd and chaotic, but it did not matter all that much. He felt good that way.
Later, while being in town to buy some high-quality coffee, he stopped without hesitation at the local flower shop. He let himself choose a few random flowers, not caring about how they looked all together.
Shadow stayed silent when he saw the flowers, but his eyes shined like a thousand stars, and it was loud enough for Stone. He felt his heart seize and beat harder when the little creature grabbed o so carefully the flowers before running to his encyclopaedic to identify them, one by one.
A few hours later, Shadow came once more to join them in Robotnik’s room. The doctor was sleeping and snoring, or as Stone liked to call it, playing a beautiful slumber serenade. The hedgehog kept silent, as discreet as ever, and came extra carefully close to Stone. Quietly, he took his hand and gave him a beautiful daffodil. The agent had no time to react. Too surprised, he barely noticed Shadow letting go of his hand and disappearing again, probably to inspect his other flowers.
This daffodil filled him with a sense of a relief, a kind of pleasure that radiates from beauty alone. Its long white petals were like a coronet crowning its center: its heart and cup. The flower whirled between his fingers. He always had some attachment to the more common flowers instead of the fancy ones. The beautiful flower quickly became an ornament for his leather jacket and stayed that way even in the evening. Shadow was gone, probably in his own bedroom to sleep, to Stone took the opportunity.
Embracing the silence and the darkness, the agent grabbed the encyclopaedic left on the counter and started flicking through it until he found the daffodil and narcissus page. Delicate watercolours illustrated long descriptions, nearly as charming as the real flower. He did recognize a few species of daffodils, but most of them were unknown to him. He got surprised, for example, by the pink daffodils and the Delnashaugh daffodils. Finally, he found a paragraph dedicated to the symbolism and meaning. Suddenly, the shining narcissus, a daffodil beaming like no other, seemed to weight hundreds and hundreds of pounds.
“Unrequited love, a love that is not reciprocated.”
A cruel symbol for Stone, who immediately closed the encyclopaedia. He had seen enough. The man did his best to move on and focus instead on trying out his new coffee brand, but as usual, his thoughts were attracted to anguish like a moth to a lamp. The more he thought about it, the more his smile grew tired. He comforted himself with this idea that this flower was perfect for him. One more sign that his “friend” was nothing more and that calling him a friend was more than enough. It had to be enough. It was never meant to be more than this.
At least their friendship was reciprocated, right?
Did Shadow give him this flower on purpose? The Mobian did not look like the kind of person to joke around or mock him. Maybe he really thought that would help? As if he was sending some kind of message to help him cope with the situation?
With a heavy heart, Stone forced himself to drink his coffee despite the lack of appetite for it. Even without reciprocity, he would still serve the doctor with absolute devotion. Even with this weight in his chest and in his mind, he could still build a lab, serve his coffee and be there for him. Feeling more depressed than ever, the agent still found his way to Robotnik’s room. That evening, he spent a good hour holding the doctor’s hand. Quietly. Tenderly. Before leaving it at that, discreetly retreating to the living room.
He would be just like this daffodil. By the end, he might bow under the weight of his own heart, but it would not stop him from being at his service. He would still look as shining as ever for the most important person in the world.
On the next day, he went back to his usual chores without faltering. The daffodil was put in a vase with some water. He tried to hide it in his own bedroom, out of sight, out of mind. Far away from the doctor.
When Shadow actively got himself on his way while he was cooking, Stone believed briefly that it was to ask for more flowers. Which, to be fair, was not unreasonable. The hedgehog had to stay inside, and it had already been almost two weeks. If instead of throwing a tantrum, all he did was ask for flowers, Stone would gladly go get them on the spot.
- Why did you touch my encyclopaedia?
After working for Ivo Robotnik for so long, Stone needed much more than a simple question to get defensive. Moreover, the little guy did not seem aggressive or upset, simply curious. He was just wondering about the reasons. The agent still felt a tiny bit of embarrassment bloom in his chest as he shrugged.
- I looked up the meaning behind the daffodil, out of curiosity.
Shadow’s eyes seemed to brighten up with scepticism, as if the agent were supposed to know already. Let’s say that, yes, he had mastered many skills, including gardening, but not necessarily symbolism related to plants. He chose to ignore the scepticism and gave him instead the brightest smile he could offer in those circumstances.
- Thank you very much for your flower, Shadow. I didn’t think you would have noticed.
This time, it was Shadow’s turn to look confused. That was not the comment he expected, apparently.
- Noticed what?
- Our- well, our friendship with the doctor, which is, hum-
Stone found himself tripping over his own words.
How was he supposed to summarize that only with words? Shadow was kind enough to be subtle about the daffodil, why was he exposing him that way now? Shame creeping up his spine, Stone stepped away for a second to leave his bowl on the counter. He used the opportunity to splash chilly water into his face. The hedgehog seemed genuinely confused, like he did not understand what Stone was talking about. The agent tried to ignore the anxiety gnawing at his throat and forced himself to laugh nervously.
- Shadow, what was the meaning behind this?
It was now Shadow’s turn to get embarrassed. Despite the grumpy look he immediately took, some colour could be seen blooming over his cheeks. The mobian stared for a bit and Stone stayed quiet to show him he was not laughing or mocking him. After a while, Shadow sighed and answered.
- Daffodils are symbols of hope, new beginnings, and a better life waiting ahead.
His melancholy was suddenly lifted, as if someone grabbed the weight in his chest and took it out in a second, as if it were nothing. The hedgehog disappeared for a second, then reappeared almost in the same second, holding his encyclopaedia. As he was too small to reach for the counter, he quickly gave up and settled the book and himself on the ground. With the confidence of an expert on the subject, Shadow quickly went through the book to find the right page. Stone used this instant to brace himself for some even worse meaning behind this flower.
Shadow did not leave him hanging for long, pointing out the long descriptions above the watercolours.
- The daffodil symbolises rebirth and new beginnings. It blooms when spring comes, signifying the end of the cold, dark day, and the upcoming of better days. I thought with my own arrival, the new lab, the relocation, and stuff…
Stone did not wait for Shadow’s voice to grow any weaker and hesitant before crouching next to him. Carefully, he patted his shoulder to reassure him. How would he get so wrong about the message? Who would have thought that Shadow would lift his heavy burden and replace it with a light warmth instead? The lump in his throat, not cause by anguish anymore but simply moved by the gesture, he could only give his best smile to the hedgehog. The little guy just seemed relieved.
- Thank you, Shadow. I didn’t realise how invested you were in it. What about I bring you more flowers this week?
- Alright, but I won’t give any to Robotnik. He stepped on my book yesterday.
Stone burst into laughter while getting up. That was a fair reason. Shadow did not seem to mind much and went instead to focus his attention back to his book. The agent watched him for a few seconds before grabbing the bowl he abandoned previously. Crepes were waiting for him.
In retrospect, he could live with this new beginning. He was full of hope for this renewal and the new chance that was given to him.
Like a daffodil, he would face the darkest days to see the sun shine again.