Chapter Text
Sonic had been sitting on a cliff’s edge, enjoying the view and cool breeze rustling through his quills, when he heard a sound that never failed to kick his heartrate up a notch. Cocky grin in place, he leapt to his feet, and spun around into a fighting stance, ready to defend himself against the inevitable flurry of blows. Except... instead of a murderous hedgehog barreling towards him he was met with an indifferent hedgehog.
“What are you doing?” Shadow raised a brow judgmentally, as if Sonic was the weird one.
“Uh, getting ready to fight?” Sonic said as if it were obvious. Because it was.
“I'm not here to fight. I’m here to talk.”
“To... talk?” Sonic’s stance faltered but he didn’t drop it completely. He wasn’t completely convinced that Shadow wasn’t trying to get him to lower his guard before he launched his attack, though Shadow usually claimed such tactics were beneath him.
“Surely you know what talking is,” Shadow deadpanned. “I seem to recall speaking with you here only a few days ago.”
Sonic fought back a smile at the memory. He and Shadow had been spending more time together, sitting side-by-side, chatting and enjoying nature. But there was one important detail Shadow was leaving out. “Yeah, sure, we talk all the time,” he said, straightening into his normal posture. “After we fight. I mean, can you even remember the last time you were looking for me other than for a fight?”
Shadow’s long pause before replying made it clear that Shadow knew Sonic was right. “That’s irrelevant,” he finally said. “I’m here now to ask you a question.”
“Okay?” Sonic rolled his hand in front of him in a ‘get-on-with-it' gesture.
Shadow’s impassive impression and tone of voice were completely at odds with what came out of his mouth.
“Are you able to get pregnant?”
Sonic’s hand froze in its motion. “Uh, what?”
“Can you get pregnant?” Shadow repeated as if he hadn’t just asked a completely insane question twice.
“No. I can’t get pregnant,” Sonic said slowly, cautiously.
“Hm,” was Shadow’s full reply. As Sonic waited for a follow up question, or the punchline to whatever weird joke it was, Shadow had the audacity to look confused as if Sonic’s inability to bear children was some puzzle he had to solve. Eventually he straightened himself and said, “I see.”
The next moment he was gone, leaving Sonic to stare dumbfounded at the spot he had been standing in.
“What?!” Sonic shouted, startling a few birds in the trees around him. Shadow, who was now who knows where, didn’t answer him so Sonic was left to stew in his confusion.
Why had Shadow asked him that? Some kind of dare? But Shadow had looked genuinely confused, implying that Shadow not only thought it was possible, but that it was probable. So, then what gave him that idea?
Had Shadow seen some kid who looked like Sonic and assumed Sonic was their parent? Then why wouldn’t he ask if Sonic had a kid? Unless he thought Sonic didn’t know about them... which made no sense if he thought that Sonic birthed them, kind of hard not to be aware of that.
Scrap that idea. Maybe someone told Shadow, and he just believed them for some reason? Maybe Shadow was finally learning how to use the internet and found some weird conspiracy theory websites.
Sonic came to the unsatisfying conclusion that he would just have to wait until the next time he saw Shadow to ask.
***
The next time came a day later. Sonic was sprawled out on the couch, half watching some reality show on TV and half falling asleep. He had already dragged Tails back in once, after he’d feigned going to sleep and then very sneakily (re: noisily) climbed out of his window to his workshop. Sonic hadn’t heard anything from the fox since, but he doubted that he had already given up. But staying up all night to make sure his brother didn’t stay up all night was maybe a little silly. He’d wait until the end of the episode to check in on Tails... unless he fell asleep first.
Sonic almost fell off the couch when the knock sounded at the door. Sonic wasn’t expecting anyone so he hoped there wasn’t a house stuck in a tree or a baby on fire or... he may have gotten those two mixed up. He definitely needed sleep.
When he saw that it was Shadow on the other side, he was instantly wide awake. His gut reaction told him to once again assume a fighting stance, but he fought the urge. He was certain that even Shadow knew that knocking on someone’s door then knocking them out was bad manners (unless it was deserved) ((Sonic was pretty sure he didn’t do anything to deserve a punch in the face)) (((this time))).
“Shadow!” Sonic said, his sleep deprived brain forgetting that he wasn’t supposed to sound that enthusiastic. “What are you doing here?”
“I will stay here tonight,” Shadow stated.
“Oh.” Sonic blinked. “Did something happen to your place?”
“No.”
“Did you and Rouge have a fight?”
“No.”
“So why are you staying here then?”
“I’m trying to figure that out.”
Was Shadow making less sense than usual, or was Sonic just tired? Not that it really mattered. He would never turn away a friend looking for a place to stay. Though an answer of “None of your business” would have been easier to accept than what Shadow had said. Still, Sonic stepped aside and let Shadow enter.
As soon as Sonic shut the door, Shadow turned him and asked, “Which is your room?”
“Upstairs, first door on the right,” Sonic answered automatically, before realizing the question meant that Shadow intended to sleep in his bed, a thought that made his stomach swoop while also filling him with a mild irritation. Sonic probably would have offered him his bed, since he had been falling asleep on the couch anyways, but the fact that Shadow just claimed it without asking was kind of annoying.
“Well. Make yourself at home.” Since Sonic was such a nice host, he didn’t complain about the bed. He sat down on the couch and fished the remote from where it was wedged between two cushions to turn the TV off.
“When will you sleep?” Shadow asked.
“Right now.” Sonic had already brushed his teeth so all that was left was to decide if the couch cushion was soft enough to use as a pillow.
“You’re not sleeping in your room?”
Sonic paused in his action of punching the cushion to soften it up. “Aren’t you gonna sleep there?”
“I am.”
“I only have one bed, so I’m not sure where you’re expecting me to sleep.”
“In your bed,” Shadow said, and just as Sonic opened his mouth to retort, Shadow added, “With me.”
Sonic sat frozen, his mouth agape both from the words that didn’t get a chance to form and from shock. Shadow had just stated that he would sleep in Sonic’s bed, and that Sonic should sleep in that bed with him. The two of them. Together. In one bed.
Sonic’s mouth finally shut itself as he made a realization.
Everything finally made sense. Well, actually nothing made sense. But nothing made sense because he was dreaming, which made everything that made no sense now make sense. If that made sense.
“Right, okay! Let’s go to bed then!” Sonic said, zipping around to turn off all the lights then leading Shadow to his room.
His room was just as cluttered as it was in real life, which Sonic wouldn’t be embarrassed about since it was only a dream, but he wished that his subconscious would make an effort for Shadow. Sonic kicked off his shoes jumped onto his bed. At least the sheets were clean.
Sonic flopped onto his side as Shadow gently closed the door and toed off his shoes. “I apparently move around a lot in my sleep. Hope it won’t bother you.” Not that it would matter since Shadow wasn’t real.
“It won’t be a problem.” Shadow moved to the other side of the bed. “According to Rouge, I sleep like the dead.”
As Shadow slipped under the covers, Sonic realized he should do the same. He felt weirdly nervous as he did so, too conscious of the space between them.
Sonic stared at the ceiling. Normally he would start yapping about how this was their first sleepover and how they should talk about crushes and do each other’s nails, but the words wouldn’t come. Shadow, of course, was quiet, so all Sonic could hear was the pounding of his own heart.
“Sleep tight!” Sonic finally forced himself to say, rolling over so he was facing away from Shadow. All he got was a quiet hum in reply.
He had to keep reminding himself it was just a dream.
Speaking of which, if Sonic slept in his dreams, would that be like double sleep? Maybe Tails could make an invention that could let him fall asleep in his dreams, and in his dream’s dreams. Then maybe he could get a full night’s sleep in 5 minutes. Or maybe it was more of Amy’s thing. She said that she had a tea for lucid dreaming, except it smelled terrible and Sonic almost wound up sneezing in it so maybe she wouldn’t even let him try it.
“Sonic.” Shadow’s voice cut through his thoughts, just as he had almost forgotten Shadow was there (who was he kidding, he was extremely aware.)
“Yeah?” Sonic whispered back.
“Turn around.”
Sonic paused only for a second before complying. They were close. Close enough that if Sonic reached out just a little, he could touch Shadow’s fur. The moonlight was just bright enough for Sonic to make out his expression. He was once again looking at Sonic as if he were a puzzle he wanted to solve. Or maybe he was just mad at Sonic for some reason.
"Did you want this side of the bed?” Was the first thing Sonic thought of. “Cause you’re my guest and all, but this is still my bed, so I get to choose-”
Sonic’s voice died out as Shadow brought his arm out around Sonic’s waist and pulled him until his face was flush with Shadow’s chest fluff. “There,” Shadow said, seeming to deflate.
Sonic, who had been tense from the shock, quickly relaxed as well. This was familiar territory, in terms of dreams. Well, more often it was a daydream than an actual dream. But somehow Shadow’s chest fur was softer than he thought it would be. Maybe his subconscious knew something he didn’t.
Sonic snuck his arm around Shadow’s back and nuzzled deeper into his fur. He let out a satisfied sigh, not fighting the pleased smile that made its way onto his face. In response, Shadow gently rubbed the fur where he was holding Sonic’s hip.
Shadow was warm and soft, and the thud of his heartbeat was comforting beneath his ear. Sonic couldn’t remember the last time he felt so comfortable.
He should get Amy to teach him how to lucid dream, he definitely wouldn’t mind revisiting this one...
***
Sonic woke up alone. Well, of course he did. The night before had obviously been a dream. His face warmed, embarrassed that his subconscious had conjured up such an uncharacteristically tender version of Shadow. He raised his hand to his chest, remembering the warmth of Shadow against him and his heart panged with longing at the memory.
He shook himself out of it. It was too early in the day to be lovesick!
As he shoved his feet into his shoes, he wondered how he actually got to bed. He hoped it wasn’t sleepwalking, since sleepwalking was a gateway to sleep-running and Sonic was the last person who should be doing that.
“Morning Tails!” Sonic said as he zipped around the kitchen to make himself a bowl of cereal.
“Morning...” Tails replied, eating a spoon of his own cereal.
Sonic was across from him a second later, milk and cereal almost sloshing out of his bowl. “You sound tired, did you go to bed when I told you to?”
“Yeah, yeah.” Tails rolled his eyes. “I was just wondering why Shadow was here.”
Sonic was lucky he had just swallowed or else he would have spit cereal everywhere. “Shadow was here?!”
Tails gave his classic I’m-not-a-kid-anymore-so-stop-acting-like-I'm-stupid look, which usually Sonic deserved, but not this time. “Yeah, he came out of your room a little while ago. You know, the room you also just came out of.”
“My room?!” Sonic echoed. Did that mean that it hadn’t all been a dream? No, there was no way that was real. Something else must have happened. Shadow probably sensed that Sonic was having a weird dream about him, so he teleported to Sonic’s room and punched him when he woke up, knocking him out and erasing his memories of how he actually got to bed. Sonic felt around his head, but it didn’t hurt. “Do you see a bump on my head?”
“Don’t try to change the topic,” Tails said, pushing his bowl aside. “You know, if there’s something going on between you two, you can tell me.”
“Woah, woah, woah,” Sonic raised his hands up. “Look, that’s not- there isn’t- Shadow’s not interested in me like that!”
Tails raised a brow. “But you’re interested in him?”
“What?! I didn’t say that!” Sonic’s words denied but his warming face told another story. “And was do you mean by interested, anyways? I mean, I’m interested in all my friends. My friends are interesting people! Like you! I think all the stuff you do is very interesting, I don’t get it but it’s definitely cool even though it’s confusing and-”
“I know you have a crush on him,” Tails interrupted.
His first instinct was to defend himself, but the first words that came to mind were ‘it’s more than just a crush!’ which was not what he was supposed to be defensive about, so instead he swallowed the words and flopped back in his chair, letting it tip backwards. “Is it that obvious?” He asked the ceiling. He then realized something, and his chair came back down with a loud thunk. “Wait, do you think Shadow knows?”
“Well, I should hope so if you two are dating.”
“We aren’t!” Sonic exclaimed. Then at Tail’s incredulous look he added, “For real! I would tell you something like that. Promise!”
Tails still looked skeptical but less accusatory. “Then why was Shadow here?”
“I don’t know!” Sonic threw up his arms, exasperated. “Look, I thought that I dreamed or hallucinated him coming here last night. He didn’t even know why he was here!” Sonic paused and gasped. “Do you think it was mind control?”
“Mind control?” Tails sat up straighter, now taking the conversation more seriously. “Did he hurt you?”
“Uh,” Sonic pushed down the memories (dreams? hallucinations?) of the night before. “Nope.”
Tails relaxed a little. “Well, keep an eye on him, I guess. Let me know if you think I should scan his brain.”
“You should scan his brain anyways! I never know what he’s thinking.”
“I can’t read minds! I can just check if there’s an implant or something.”
“I bet you could invent something that reads minds if you tried. Wait, I just remembered! Can you make a machine that makes you lucid dream?”
Tails entertained his request for about half an hour before kicking him out to work on the project he actually cared about. Knowing Sonic’s typically temporary interest in something, he told Sonic that if he was still interested in lucid dreaming in two days, he’d work on it.
He went to Amy instead, who was happy to help him with his lucid dreaming experiments. It started with trying to meditate until he could fall asleep, which didn’t work since he was extremely well rested, so they tried the tea, which tasted even worse than he remembered and was pretty pointless since he still wasn’t tired and the tea could only work (in theory) if he was asleep. After re-arranging Amy’s living room into a giant pillow fort that he swore would help him fall asleep, Amy sent him off with a sample of the tea to drink when he actually felt tired.
He spent the rest of the day doing what he did best, finding lost cats, dislodging toys from trees, preventing meteors from destroying the Earth, typical hero stuff.
Sunset found him lounging on the beach, enjoying the last rays of sun against his fur. When Shadow appeared in front of him, he almost forgot to assume a defensive stance. Almost. Two weird interactions with him weren’t enough to erase what’d he’d internalized from countless interactions with Shadow. It was a good thing, too. Just as Sonic leapt to his feet, Shadow’s fist found the sand where he had been laying a moment prior.
“What? You don’t want to chat this time?” Sonic asked as he dodged another blow.
“There’s a time for talking,” Shadow’s fist shot out again. “This isn’t it.”
“Oh yeah? When’s talking o’ clock? Sometime between teatime and dinner time? Ack-” Shadow’s boot caught him square in the chest. He rolled into a ball as he fell, out of the way of Shadow’s next attack.
“It’s when there are important things to discuss. There are none now.”
“Really?” Sonic asked as they circled each other. “I think there’s some very important things to discuss!”
“Such as?”
Sonic faltered. Such as ‘did you come over yesterday and cuddle me to sleep?’ There was no way he could ask that. The next thing he knew he was being launched into a tree.
“You’re distracted,” Shadow growled. “In a real battle you’d already be dead.” Yup. Same old Shadow. Whatever happened the night before couldn’t have been real. Maybe he and Tails both hallucinated Shadow. Amy was always telling him he should check for black mold...
“Whatever is on your mind, just spit it out,” Shadow commanded after Sonic had barely dodged his last attack.
“What did I do this time?” Sonic asked instead of what he really wanted to ask. “I don’t remember doing anything to make you mad.” At least not recently.
Shadow gave him a puzzled look. “We’re sparring.” Ah, so it was that kind of fight. Sonic would eventually learn to tell the difference between murderous Shadow and competitive Shadow.
“Well, why didn’t you say so!” Sonic said before rolling into a spin-dash.
An hour later they were catching their breath in a grassy field, Sonic lying down facing the sky and Shadow sitting beside him. Shadow had won but only barely and only because Sonic had been distracted. Whenever he got close to Shadow, he would be filled with the overwhelming urge to bury his face in his fur, almost making him trip several times.
The sun was almost completely down, a few straggling rays painting the horizon purple. The moon was thin in the sky, a waxing croissant (Amy’s reaction whenever he called it that was too funny, so he wouldn’t call it anything else. It looked like a croissant anyways), so the stars could shine freely. Sonic was scanning the sky for shooting stars when he felt the weight of Shadow’s gaze on him. He pretended not to notice at first, waiting for Shadow to say whatever was on his mind, but after a minute of silence, his eyes found Shadow’s.
“See something you like?” Sonic grinned.
Shadow didn’t reply, but his eyes spoke for him as they swept across Sonic’s body, head to toe and back up again. Sonic’s face prickled with heat at the attention. He hoped the darkness obscured the redness.
But what was with that reaction? Sonic had been expecting an insult, or rolled eyes, or a scoff, like he usually got whenever he tried to flirt. Shadow’s reaction made it seem like he was encouraging Sonic. Sonic scrambled to find a follow up line, uh, something like, ‘usually you can’t touch the art, but I’ll make an exception’ or maybe, ‘I’m enjoying my view too’ or maybe just a wink?
“You were sloppy today.” Shadow interrupted his thoughts. Right. There’s the insult. Sonic forgot to consider the possibility that Shadow was just ignoring his words, something he also did very often. Sonic’s face heated further in embarrassment as he realized he had completely misread the situation. He was glad he hadn’t said anything else.
He looked back towards the sky. “Eh, we all have bad days!” Shadow didn’t respond, but he was still looking at Sonic, which was really distracting him from his shooting star search.
“Did you not sleep well?” Shadow asked, almost hesitantly.
Sonic’s eyes shot back to Shadow’s. Was he asking about... “No, I...” Sonic swallowed. “I slept really well.”
Maybe it was wishful thinking, but Sonic swore that Shadow looked pleased. “Good.”
Before Sonic could return the question, or ask what he really wanted to know, Shadow stood. “Same time tomorrow,” he said, then was gone.
Sonic blinked away the flash of light from his eyes. It would take a minute before his eyes adjusted enough to see the stars again, so he closed his eyes and sighed. He would have to pester Tails about the mind reading thing. Shadow was just too confusing.