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"Shadow!" Sonic's voice was muffled behind the apartment door. Down the hall, Shadow sat up in his bed and glanced at the clock. It is 6 in the morning, what could he possibly want? It is lucky that I do not require sleep. He sighed and walked down the hallway, his feet making soft padding noises on the hardwood floor. Sonic repeatedly beat on the door, and Shadow winced. Someone else requires sleep, however--
"What the fuck--!" Rouge groaned from her bedroom. "It's 6 in the fucking morning--"
"I will get it," Shadow called back as he twisted the door handle. He opened the door to an eager Sonic, who waved as soon as he saw him.
"Hey!" he exclaimed. "I thought you'd be up! Come for a run with me--"
"Shh," Shadow hushed, pointing backwards. "Someone needs her beauty sleep."
A disgruntled moan came from the back. "Is that Sonic? I'm gonna end him."
"Go back to sleep," Shadow called back, and pinched his forehead. Chaos. "You wanted a run?"
"Yeah! The sunrise looks awesome," he said, bouncing on his toes. "Let's go down by the city docks!" He followed directly behind Shadow as the former shuffled for his rocket shoes, carefully slipping on one after another and letting his own internal Chaos Energy course through them. He let himself hover a half inch above the air before resuming his pace. Sonic payed no attention to this. "Or better, let's go to my place! The beach is so long there, and the colors will be great on the water. Why are you taking so--"
They were halfway down the hall towards his bedroom when Shadow clapped a hand over Sonic's mouth, effectively shushing him. "Excuse me for being coarse," Shadow hissed, "but Sleeping Beauty is going to rip you a new asshole if you do not be quiet."
Sonic's ears fell forward, and he sighed into the black hedgehog's bare hand. With a shrug of his shoulders, he pushed Shadow's hand away, and made a zipping motion across his lips, eyes cast downward. Shadow tried not to acknowledge it too much as he claimed his gloves from their resting place on his night stand. I hate it when he looks like a scolded puppy. I hate doing it to him. His lighthearted nature is refreshing, but he can be such a child...
He finished putting on his gloves, adjusting his inhibitor rings in their rightful places, and he nodded to Sonic, placing a hand gently between his back spines. Sonic nodded back with a smirk, his ears slowly beginning to perk back up. "Sh--"
Shadow placed a finger over his mouth once again, pushing them quicker toward the door. "Wait until we are outside," he whispered.
"Get out," Rouge moaned again, just as they reached the door. Shadow quickly pushed Sonic out and shut the door behind him, sighing in exasperation.
"Not a morning person?" Sonic said, scratching behind his quills.
"Not in the slightest," Shadow replied, crossing his arms. "I am sorry I--"
"Psh, no worries, man," he said, waving his hands. "I'm cool."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes!" Sonic cocked his head and chuckled. "You are such a worry wart sometimes."
Shadow's shoulders relaxed, and a hint of a smile edged onto his muzzle. "Perhaps," he said simply. Shadow's eyes lingered on Sonic's expression, his posture, and the way he held his entire body. When he looks at me like this, things seem...simpler. Easier.
He was jerked out of his thought when Sonic grabbed his hand. "C'mon, are we runnin' or not?" he asked with a wink.
Shadow squeezed his hand briefly before letting go, as Sonic was beginning to pace down the stairs of the building. "You lead the way," he said.
"What?" Sonic was out the door, bouncing backwards down onto the pavement. People were already out on the streets, suits and ties on their way to work for the morning commute. "We aren't going to race?"
"We can race once we are out of the city," Shadow said. Sonic, however, was already breaking into a jog around the corner, forcing Shadow to pick up his pace to keep up. "It would be best to avoid the morning commute."
"What's the fun in that?" Sonic was in a full run, the wind whirling around him. He turned backwards, his hands laced behind his quills. He did not break stride, nor did he miss any of the twisting corners of Central City. "You're just chicken."
"You cannot taunt me like you do Knuckles," Shadow sighed, increasing his pace so he was in line with Sonic. "I will not take the bait."
"Are you sure?" Sonic teased, expertly turning forward and pointing up. "We're already outside city limits."
Sure enough, the high buildings were receding rapidly behind them. The hedgehogs had swerved onto the grass path between the paved road for cars, and the railroad tracks leading out into the Mystic Ruins and beyond. Sonic was steadily pulling ahead, and Shadow huffed. "My apartment is on the edge of town," he insisted.
"Sure it is," Sonic replied with his tongue out. Looking ahead, he leaped up in his stride and grinned. "Hey look! The train's comin'. Let's jump it!"
"Sonic!" But as they approached the oncoming train at blinding speed, Sonic was already going, jumping to the tracks and making the massive leap from ground, to the nose of the train, and finally to the top of it. Shadow grit his teeth as the blue hedgehog made faces at him from above, still keeping pace even as the train was going in the opposite direction. "You--"
"You know you love it!" he shouted, laughing wildly as he did a magnificent backflip off the back of the train, breaking into a roll on the train tracks and out into a full sprint. "Keep up, Shad!"
Shadow pushed forward, willing the Chaos in his shoes to thrust him at Sonic's pace. I am going to have to, right?, he thought as the scenery blurred in his peripheral vision. You certainly will not slow down. Not for me, not for anyone. That is what makes you who you are.
So, what makes you come back to someone like me?
Shadow's communicator, GUN licensed and manufactured, beeped on his wrist, begging for his attention. He brought it to his mouth without hesitation. "Agent Shadow," he said.
"This is Topaz. Commander wants to know when you'll be in today."
"I am not sure," he replied, keeping an eye on Sonic's blue form ahead of him. "I am in the middle of something. Is there something urgent?"
"Nah, not really." She sounds relaxed enough. Perhaps it can wait... "Omega's eager to do some fighting, though. I don't think he's sparred enough with you lately."
"I see." Shadow smirked to himself. "If Omega is not threatening to annihilate the entire facility, I am sure he will be fine. I will be there before 9."
"Thanks, Shadow."
"Yo! Shad!" In his conversation, Sonic had pulled quite a ways ahead of him, a bare speck in the distance, and the grass beneath his feet had become littered with sand. With a burst of speed, Shadow skated up to meet him, kicking up sand behind him. The ocean glittered beyond them, and one could just see the top floor of Tails' workshop in the background. "What was that? GUN again?" Sonic asked. He spat out "GUN" as if a bug flew in his mouth.
"Yes," Shadow replied. "They were asking when I would be clocking in."
"Uh-huh," Sonic said, looking out into the ocean. The reds and golds of the sun sparkled on the calm sea waves. "You don't gotta go right away, yeah?"
"No." Shadow edged closer to Sonic's side. "I can stay a while."
Sonic's eyes flicked over to Shadow and he grinned. He stretched his arms up and grunted. "See, aren't you glad you came out for this?"
"It is beautiful," Shadow said.
Silence fell between them, however Sonic paced at his side, unable to stay still. "Don't you get bored with GUN?" he asked suddenly.
Shadow glanced over to him. "What do you mean?" he said.
"Y'know, doin' the same thing all the time. Always clockin' in, same routine, same thing every day. Plus all that military stuff too, it just seems fishy." He shook his head. "I dunno how you do it."
"I do not mind routine," Shadow replied. "Besides, being a part of GUN aligns best with the purpose of my creation."
"Right," Sonic said. He did not sound convinced, and still didn't meet Shadow's eyes.
"It is not the same thing every day. Missions vary day by day."
"But don't you just wanna run free?" His sentence didn't complete itself, but the way Sonic met Shadow's eyes, his head forward, ears flicking, it did not have to. It was the first time Sonic was still since he beat down Shadow's door. Shadow let the question hang in the air as Sonic's hands hung at his sides, then began to flex, itching for something to grasp. I know what you are really asking. Sonic...
"Would you not want to settle down?" Shadow replied, his deep gaze boring into Sonic. "After saving the world numerous times, to live a steady, quiet life?"
Sonic opened his mouth, then closed it, kicking the sand. He laughed, but it was more of a bark than true joy. "You got me," he said. "No way, man. No way."
"As I expected," Shadow replied, walking ahead along the sand. "We have different philosophies."
"Sure," Sonic said, running ahead and facing Shadow. "Doesn't everyone?" There is that look. That sunny look that is brighter than this sunrise. He is wild, without restraint, and he would never let anyone hold him back. Including myself. And yet, when he pulls me to run...I cannot help but want to keep up.
I cannot run forever.
"C'mon." Sonic took Shadow's hand and laced their fingers together, squeezing tight. "Let's go. And quit pouting. Or is that still your default?"
Struck with conflicting emotions, Shadow scowled, but did not fight Sonic's hand. "Of course it is not--"
"Good." Sonic suddenly pulled Shadow forward, and brought his chest against Shadow's, foreheads touching. "Or else I'd wipe that frown right off ya." His hot breath grazed against Shadow's muzzle. His toes curled inside his rocket shoes. With a devilish grin, Sonic twirled away, beginning to run ahead along the coast. In the meantime, Shadow's heart raced in his chest, but not from exhaustion.
"I would toss you into the ocean this instant, if I knew there was not a risk of you drowning," Shadow growled. His muzzle was pink, and his hand was still tight in Sonic's.
Sonic cackled, his quills shaking with his laughter. "Oh, you wish! You're more full of it than Knux is."
"Hmph!" Shadow scoffed. Maybe I am "full of it". Perhaps that is why I cannot tell you in plain terms why I run with you like this. Why I let you come so close to me, why I want you even closer. Or why I miss you when you run off and disappear on a whim.
Then again, you will not express yourself plainly to me either, will you?
Shadow resumed his pace to run side by side with Sonic, who winked at him with glee. Perhaps we are more similar than the surface may claim.
"Do we have time to race this coast?" Sonic asked, tracing his fingers along Shadow's palm before letting go.
"Yes," Shadow replied, offering a small smile that set Sonic back in his pace. "We have time."
The hedgehogs sprinted into the distance, kicking up sand in their wake as the sun made its way above the distant sea.