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The day started like any other: with bright sunlight disturbing his peaceful sleep and the sound of Tails humming to himself as he worked, a mechanical whine harmonizing with the fox’s mumbling. The couch had reached critical flatness as it always did overnight, and Sonic groaned as he stretched out, rolling onto his stomach to hide his face in the pillow in an attempt to get any more sleep.
Sadly, he just couldn’t get comfortable again, and with a sigh, pushed himself upright and blinked at the bright, morning sunlight.
“G’morning, Sonic!” chirped Tails from the table, waving some kind of wrench at him when Sonic finally looked over at him. “Oh, Shadow stopped by-“
And as quickly as the morning started like any other, Tails shattered it with those words as Sonic went from lazily leaning back against the couch to sitting bolt upright, his quills stiff. “Shadow did what now?”
Tails only blinked at the interruption. “Uh, he said you failed to keep your promise and he’d be waiting for you if you bother to wake up and keep your own scheduled appointments.” Tails rattled off the words perfectly, even if Sonic could tell the wording wasn’t his own. “He didn’t really explain, but it’s Shadow, so I figured…” He shrugged, looking vaguely uncomfortable in the way he usually did when Shadow was involved.
“Sorry, buddy,” he said, ignoring the heat in his own cheeks. “I probably agreed to a race and totally forgot about it.”
Again, Tails just shrugged, and whatever he was working on sparked weakly, so he returned to his work, reaching over for his soldering iron and hunching over whatever gadget he’d decided to invent that day.
Unfortunately for Sonic, he could not remember at all if he’d agreed to meet Shadow that morning. It was so rare they actually scheduled their meet-ups, but it was becoming more and more frequent in the recent months. Sonic thought back to the last time he’d seen Shadow… it had been the night before, after Eggman’s latest defeat, and Sonic had run into him on his way home from getting dinner with his team. Shadow had been brooding (shocking, truly) on a rock to the edge of Hedgehog’s pass, and Sonic had, of course, skidded to a stop to pester him.
They’d raced like usual, scuffled for a few minutes… nothing out of the ordinary. Sonic squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to remember, and- finally! He had a vague recollection of agreeing to meet Shadow at dawn, because Shadow had suggested it in that weirdly hesitant voice he got sometimes, that Sonic had only noticed in the recent months since everything went down with the prism.
Pulling himself out of his own thoughts, Sonic stretched again and hopped up. “I’m gonna go find Shadow,” he said, but Tails only vaguely waved a paw at him. The fox was obviously too focused to really listen, but that was fine. Sonic felt awkward enough about it, he didn’t need his little bro asking any nosey questions. Still, he lingered for a moment in the workshop before he finally dashed off and out the door to hunt for his rival.
While he’d certainly missed dawn by a long shot, Sonic could only hope Shadow wouldn’t be too pissed off and would still be up for a race. Maybe he could even persuade his dramatic rival into getting brunch with him. He’d seen Shadow eat all of one time, even if it was just some candy Amy basically forced him into eating when she and Sonic ran into him once, but still! It was worth a shot, at least.
To his dismay, Shadow wasn’t anywhere along the shore, he wasn’t in Hedgehog’s Pass, not on the Loop de Loop… He had absolutely no idea where Shadow lived, so he couldn’t try there, and he’d just made a mental note to ask for Shadow’s communicator information when he finally caught sight of a pair of familiar dark ears atop a small cliff.
Wasting no time at all, Sonic raised up the face of the cliff just as he saw Shadow turn and retreat.
“Wait, Sha-“ he paused when he actually caught sight of Shadow, suddenly confused. In all the years he’d known Shadow, he could count the times he’d seen the self-proclaimed Ultimate Lifeform wear clothes other than gloves on one paw, and even then half those times were just something as simple as a scarf.
So the ratty cloak all bunched around his shoulders and falling in front of his chest was certainly a strange sight, and for a moment, Sonic hesitated. But, no, those were definitely Shadow’s ears and his quills and signature red stripes, Shadow’s shoes just visible under the dark hemline. The shoes looked a little odd, the red border a different shape with sharp blue accents at the heel, but it was still definitely Shadow.
“Shadow!” he called again, stepping up to the odd figure of his rival and lifting a paw to grab him by the shoulder. And forget the weird cloak and strange updates to his shoes, Shadow was tall! Taller than Sonic by a good few inches, and it wasn’t because he was hovering or anything.
As soon as Sonic’s paw wrapped around Shadow’s shoulder, Shadow stiffened, a shock of invisible energy radiating off him and through and up Sonic’s arm. It sent him stumbling back with a grunt, like an electrical shock if an electrical shock didn’t hurt.
“Geez,” he wheezed, catching his breath and straightening again. “Is that cloak some kinda new defense tech? Where’d you get it?” He was poised and ready to ask a dozen more questions and maybe toss an apology in there for missing their original sort-of scheduled time, but Shadow turned around, finally, and every single thought vanished from Sonic’s head.
Because while this was Shadow, yes, Sonic knew the second he met the stranger’s gaze that this wasn’t his Shadow. (Or, not his Shadow, but… regular Shadow. Shadow from home.)
This Shadow was indeed taller, but not just that, he was older. There was actual grey in his fur, all along the edges of his muzzle, the tips of his quills, the coarse fur of his far broader shoulders. The red wasn’t nearly as vibrant, either, faded at the edge of each section of quills, the red stripes peaking out of strange, dark gloves far scruffier than Sonic ever saw. And speaking of gloves, this stranger only had three inhibitor rings! The right one was completely gone, and Sonic felt a flash of concern because Shadow needed those, Sonic knew he did!
If it weren't for his experience with the prism, Sonic might’ve reacted incredibly differently to the sight in front of him. Seeing a strange, alternate version of his rival wasn’t what he’d expected when he woke up, but now, after his experience with the shatter spaces, Sonic had the experience to think before he spoke. And when he did speak, it was careful.
“You’re not my Shadow,” he said, but he didn’t take a step back. He didn’t step forward, but he didn’t immediately go into defense.
The stranger cocked his head and- oh, okay, there was Shadow’s signature smirk, the spark in his eyes. “No, I am not,” he said, and even his voice was different! Rougher. A little lower. And… more gentle, somehow, if Shadow’s voice could be gentle.
Sonic eyed him with growing suspicion, and the stranger simply met his gaze head-on, his arms crossed but his posture relaxed. “But you’re a Shadow,” he continued. “Is this another prism thing?”
“Prism… ah, the Paradox Prism.” The stranger held his gaze for another moment and then shook his head. “No, it isn’t. That particular chaos-causing gem hasn’t been seen in decades.”
The words caught Sonic’s attention. “…Decades?”
The stranger nodded, but didn’t explain, just raised a brow as he watched Sonic digest the information. “Decades,” he repeated instead.
Unless he’d somehow fallen under some kind of time-freezing curse and Tails had too, Sonic was pretty sure it had been, at most , six months since that disaster. “…How many decades, exactly?”
“Too many to count,” the stranger said with a shake of his head and a quiet laugh. (And, whoah, Shadow laughing like that? It sent a shiver down Sonic’s spine.) “You start to lose track at my age.”
“And…” Finally, Sonic crept forward, peering up at the stranger’s familiar yet unfamiliar face. “How old are you, exactly?”
Again, the stranger didn’t give him a straight answer. Instead, he just smiled, something distant and a little unnerving, given that it was still very much Shadow’s face making it. “I don’t think I should tell you that,” he said.
“So what can you tell me?” Sonic pressed, taking another step forward.
The stranger hummed, then stepped forward, his paws falling to his sides. “Come sit down with me,” he said, gesturing towards the edge of the cliff where he’d been standing previously. He didn’t touch Sonic, just stepped around him carefully, dropping down with his feet hanging off the edge of the cliff.
But Sonic wasn’t quite ready to just give in. “Tell me who you are, first,” he said, but he did spin on his heel to keep facing the stranger, who just shook his head.
“Come sit down with me, Sonic.” At Sonic’s name, something flickered across his face, something pained and gentle again, yet his voice never wavered. And with a tone that commanding and yet a touch pleading, Sonic found himself trotting over without much thought to plop down a few feet away in the grass, also hanging his feet off the edge of the cliff.
Quiet stretched between them while Sonic tried to put the pieces together, occasionally glancing over at the stranger from the corner of his eye. And every time he did, he found crimson eyes burning into his, yet the stranger never spoke a word.
When it was just too much for Sonic, he cleared his throat. “Is this an alternate universe kinda thing or a time-travel kinda thing?”
“Which do you think it is?” the stranger replied, because of course he did. He was Shadow, after all, and Shadow never made things easy for Sonic.
But at the question, Sonic leaned in to get as close a look as possible, and the stranger let him. From this close, Sonic could see that his eyes were more gold than his Shadow’s, that the fur at the tips of his ears was longer, exaggerating the dark points, and there was a small notch missing from the left. Odd, as Sonic was pretty sure Shadow couldn’t physically scar with his regenerative abilities. He could see bruising under the stranger’s eyes and the tension around his mouth even if his expression was neutral. “I can’t tell,” he finally said, sitting back with a sigh. “You’re pretty hard to read, even harder than Shadow! I mean, the one that’s- wait.” He stiffened, suddenly glancing around. “Did you replace Shadow? Where is he?”
“Calm yourself,” said the stranger, raising a placating paw. “Your Shadow is unharmed. I didn’t replace him.”
“Okay…” still on edge, Sonic let himself settle back in the grass, doing his best to settle his quills where they’d pricked up in his sudden concern. “So then how did you get here? You gotta give me something, man!”
After a few slow blinks in Sonic’s direction, the stranger finally sat back, staring out at the valley below them, the line of the shore just visible. If Sonic really squinted, he could see the tips of the towers of Tails’ workshop.
“I can’t tell you how I arrived here,” said the stranger. “But I know I won’t stay long.” He reached into his cloak and pulled out a small device, triangular and lit up with the same blue that lined the edges of the stranger’s shoes. He flipped the device toward Sonic, revealing some kind of small screen with illegible characters blinking in gold. “I have until this runs out, and then I’ll return to my time.” As quickly as he revealed the device, he tucked it away again.
Immediately, Sonic’s ears pricked as he leaned forward, propped up on one paw in the grass. “Your time!” he crowed, grinning up at the stranger. “So you are from the future.”
“Yes,” he said, tilting his head to the side as he turned to look back at Sonic. Every time those eyes landed on him, Sonic felt like he was being put through some kind of scanner, if a scanner could look at him with an affection Sonic couldn’t think he’d ever seen in any pair of eyes that lay on him, least of all Shadow’s. “I am from a future,” he added. “It’s been long enough I am… not entirely sure this is my timeline.”
“How long…” Sonic trailed off, leaning away again and pulling his paws back into his lap, careful not to lean too close. “How long is long enough?”
But the stranger only hummed, and the look in his eyes was a mystery again, lost in the horizon beyond. “Longer than you’d ever guess.”
That made Sonic blink in surprise. “Seriously? Cause I could start rattling off the highest numbers I know and there is no way you’d still be kicking for that long.”
That made the stranger laugh again, a quiet, rough noise that sent his shoulders shaking as a paw hovered over his muzzle before dropping down again. He shook his head as he said in a quiet, low voice, “I forget, sometimes, how contrary you used to be.”
“I’m the contrary one?” Sonic was immediately offended. “Compared to you- er, younger you I guess, I’m downright congenial!”
“I can’t argue there,” said the stranger, his tone once again warm and fond. Briefly, Sonic wondered if his Shadow could sound like that. If he could, Sonic had yet to hear it. But the stranger was speaking again, and Sonic did his best to focus. “He’ll learn to relax, eventually.”
“How long is eventually?” Sonic asked, leaning forward again.
“Longer than it should be,” was the cryptic answer.
As much as Sonic wanted to keep pushing, something said only moments prior was itching at the back of his mind. “You said… used to be.”
“Hm?” The stranger tilted his head in curiosity before recognition flashed across his features.
“Me,” Sonic added, pointing to his own chest. “You said I used to be contrary.”
The stranger’s look was long and silent as ever, the light wind rolling in from the sea ruffling through his rough fur. Sonic almost wanted to reach out to touch it, see if it was a different texture than the flashes of sensation Sonic picked up from his various duels with Shadow, but he held his paws back.
“Sonic,” he finally said, a million words hidden inside the name. “What do you know of immortality?”
“You mean…” Sonic’s eyes widened and something small sort of- crumpled in his chest. He’d had his own suspicions about Shadow, information hard-won and pieced together like the world’s most mysterious puzzle. From what he’d learned from others, from Tails’ occasional rant, and from Shadow himself, Shadow… had a strange relationship with biology. He’d been designed to be perfect, designed to withstand anything, and that came with odd quirks.
Like the regeneration, for one. The first time Sonic watched Shadow’s skin knit itself together and heal in front of Sonic’s very eyes, he’d almost hurled. As it was, it’d been a close call.
Before he had a chance to voice his suspicions, the stranger spoke up.
“I am… the Ultimate Lifeform,” he said, his greying ears flipping back and pinning to his own fur. And where Shadow always said that with such defiant pride, such fervor and determination, the title in the stranger’s voice sounded like a heavy, heavy burden. “Mortality was not considered ultimate by my creators.”
And he sounded so miserable about it that Sonic wanted nothing more than to reach out and comfort the stranger, except that- except that this was Shadow, and they didn’t do comfort, at least not intentionally like this. A paw to hold each other up on the battlefield or the occasional nudge of a shoulder was usually all they allowed themselves. (Or a face pressed into the other’s chest when they took their selfless turns cradling one another, Sonic in an endless void with Shadow limp in his arms desperate to save his last piece of home, Shadow with Sonic clutched so tightly it hurt, even as Sonic’s senses faded along with his form.)
But one detail still didn’t line up, an answer he’d let go of earlier but now desperately needed. “You’re older,” he said, cautious. “I don’t think Shadow ages. Does he?” He blinked. “How are you older if he doesn’t age?
Seeming reluctant to give him answers, the stranger went back to watching him in silence, and Sonic met his stare. If he could handle a sort of evil version his best friend, he could handle one greying version of his rival, even if he was possibly from the future.
“He doesn’t know how to,” said the stranger, after another prolonged pause. “Not yet, at least.”
“You can age on command?” Sonic yelped, a paw jumping up and curling in front of his chest in surprise.
The stranger shook his head. “No, nothing like that.” Thankfully, his smile was back, and even if it was uncanny on Shadow’s face, it was better than that distant expression that only got more despairing the longer the stranger wore it. “He will simply learn how to control his abilities. Warp his own regeneration. Bend it to his will as best he can.”
“But why would he ever do that?” Sonic asked, brows furrowing. “Why would he weaken himself?”
At least the stranger looked affronted at that, another familiar emotion and Sonic drank in the familiarity for all he was worth. “Do I seem weak to you?” he asked, and the rumbling growl in his voice once again sent shivers down Sonic’s spine, the air turning thick with static as one paw was raised in a fist. It was the paw without an inhibitor ring, Sonic noted somewhere in the back of his mind.
“Does it have anything to do with your missing ring?” he said, pointing to the empty wrist and flicking an ear in curiosity.
“It might,” was all he got, the stranger twisting his wrist in the air momentarily before it settled back in his lap. “But the ring isn’t missing,” he added, with a small smirk. “I know exactly where it is.”
With a sigh, Sonic said, “I’m guessing you’re not going to explain that.”
As expected, the stranger shook his head.
“How’d I react when you started aging?” Knowing himself, Sonic would notice any slight change in Shadow, and he would, most likely, immediately beg for an explanation.
And, knowing Shadow, he wouldn’t explain; neither his Shadow nor this stranger. “That is for you to experience,” he said, “Not for me to tell you.”
Sonic groaned in frustration, flapping his paws uselessly in his vague annoyance. “C’mon! Would it kill you to give a single straight answer?”
“It might,” said the stranger, his smirk as evil and as difficult as Sonic was used to seeing on a daily basis. “But… he might never choose it. Timelines are never set in stone.”
“But if he does?” Sonic leaned forward again, almost pleading.
“If he does…” continued the stranger, meeting Sonic’s gaze with false impassiveness. “If he does, not even you will be able to talk him out of it.” One dark ear flicked, and the stranger’s mouth twitched into something crooked. “Especially not you.”
When another few seconds of his pleading eyes didn’t work, Sonic gave up with a sigh. “At least you never lose your stubborn air of mystery,” he said, a little sullen.
“No. That is consistent.”
Sonic snickered to himself at that, at least, until another question popped into his mind. “Are you… all alone?”
To his surprise (and relief), the stranger shook his head. “Never for long.” He shot Sonic a look out of the corner of his eye, the edges crinkling in a way Sonic had never seen before, and he found he rather liked it. “I made a promise not to be.”
“A promise?” Sonic tilted his head, curious. “A promise to who?”
The raised brow and cocked ears were enough, but the pointed gaze pinning Sonic in place confirmed it, as strange as the thought was. Still, he wanted to hear the confirmation. “To me?”
Sadly, the stranger only tilted his head further. “Do you really need that answer?”
Suddenly feeling embarrassed for reasons he couldn’t explain, Sonic shifted, pulling a knee up from where his feet were hanging off the cliff and hugging it with both arms. Eager for a way to break the uncertain tension, he perked up as he said, “Hey, if you’re from the future, do you ever run into Silver?”
“Silver?” The stranger sounded amused as he nodded. “Yes, I’ve seen him here and there. Offered help when asked. And when not, I’ve watched him from afar.”
That sounded like Shadow, at least. Maybe not the helping part, but watching from afar? That was classic Shadow. The guy was somehow always on the edges of the action, lingering on the periphery even when he wasn’t involved.
“What do you do when you’re not…” Sonic didn’t even know how to finish that sentence. “When you’re not jumping around timelines and being vague?”
He’d hoped for the laugh, but it was still surprising (and incredibly satisfying) when the stranger’s breath up-ticked and his ears twitched in amusement. “I try not to make a habit of jumping around timelines, as you put it.”
“Okaaaay,” said Sonic, drawing it out. “So what do you do on a daily basis? What’s on future Shadow’s daily sched’?”
“It depends on the day,” answered the stranger, like the incredibly helpful hedgehog he was.
“Shadooooow,” Sonic whined, the complaint pulled from him on instinct. The stranger wasn’t his Shadow, but he also very much was. It was honestly even more confusing than having three sets of his best friends in the same room together.
At his name, the stranger finally relented, once again giving Sonic that unbearably soft look. “I look after… everyone, I suppose.”
“Who’s everyone?” questioned Sonic, wide-eyed as he had been for so much of their bizarre conversation.
The stranger shrugged, an oddly juvenile expression. “The heroes,” like that explained anything. “After a couple centuries, I suppose I got used to chasing my reckless hero around. Couldn’t shake the routine.”
“I’m sorry,” Sonic held up a paw as he spoke. “Your reckless hero?” Then the rest of that sentence processed and Sonic’s mouth fell open. “Wait, did you just say a couple centuries?!”
“Did I?” the stranger replied, helpful as could be.
“You better explain yourself,” Sonic said, narrowing his eyes and flattening his ears, leaning forward with newfound determination.
“I help whatever upstart hero needs it,” he said, instead of explaining what Sonic wanted him to explain. “There’s always some idiot kid with big dreams and no backup running around.”
Out of everything he’d learned from this stranger, that was one of the hardest things to align with his idea of Shadow. Shadow helped him sometimes, when he had to, but the thought of Shadow going around and willingly looking after whatever new hero popped up every decade or two?
“Why do you do it?” Surely there was a good reason, something to explain how different this Shadow was, like all his edges had been rounded, and it couldn’t just be the sands of time. “Protect the… heroes?”
“Someone has to,” the stranger said.
“They do not!” Sonic protested. “Heroes protect others, not the other way around. It’s kind of our job.” Because if there was one thing Sonic knew, he always knew, it was that it was his duty, his place in the universe, to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves. It was his job to make the tough sacrifices, his and his alone to put his life on the line for the good of others.
But the stranger ignored his silent tirade, simply watching him with more patience than Sonic had ever seen in those red eyes. “They don’t always have what you have: friends, family, a team they can always count on.” He paused, and this time the distant look in his eyes was nothing but nostalgia and that fond warmth, eyes only for Sonic. “Every hero needs a shadow to watch their back.”
Eyes still narrowed, he almost glared at the stranger. “Those don’t sound like your words at all,” he protested, still skeptical.
The stranger only smiled, a little serene, a little mulish. “They’re not my words,” he said. “They’re yours.”
It was the closest thing to a proper answer he’d received yet, and it only made Sonic burn with more questions. He had so many bubbling up in his chest, pushing him forward to the stranger, a new heat to the pull in his chest he always felt when it came to Shadow.
But he would never get his answers, he knew that. Not only because the stranger would never answer, but because Sonic didn’t even know how to ask the questions. They didn’t do this, he and Shadow. They had plenty of forms of communication, but basic back and forth Q and A’s? That just wasn’t them.
As if the universe was laughing at Sonic, a beep came from somewhere in the stranger’s cloak, and he pulled out the odd little device again.
“Ah,” said the stranger, his brows furrowing. “It seems it is time for me to return.” He flipped the device open, pressed a few buttons, and fitted it against some kind of invisible locking device built into the cuff of his glove.
“You’re leaving?”
“I was never going to stay,” came the reply. “This was… a temporary rest stop. Nothing more.” As he spoke, the stranger pushed himself upright, and Sonic noticed him grit his teeth as he brought one foot after another under himself, standing up with more effort than expected.
“Where are you going now?” Mirroring him, Sonic also hopped up.
The stranger shot him a secretive look, his smile a little crooked. “When am I going is far more accurate.”
“Time travel humor? Seriously?” The snort Sonic made was not a laugh, thank you very much. “If old age is what turns you into a big softie, then I’ll be first in line to convince Shadow to do… whatever it is he’ll do to turn into you!”
But instead of another smile or a laugh, the stranger looked at him with those sad eyes again, glassy and far off. “You are so, so young,” he said, and Sonic caught sight of one paw lifting, reaching, but it was pulled back just as quickly. “The both of you are.”
Sonic could only blink. What was he even supposed to say to that? “Well, ah,” he stammered, shifting from foot to foot. “I guess I’ll… see you later?” It felt weird to say, but what else was there to say?
“Look after him,” the stranger said, and Sonic didn’t need to ask who. “He needs you more than he’ll ever admit. At least… not any time soon.”
Mutely, Sonic nodded, just as the little device beeped again, flashing gold at the stranger’s wrist. “Wait- before you go.” He stepped forward, his own paw reaching without touching. “Isn’t there anything- I mean, don’t you… want anything? An old favorite snack? A run around the Loop de Loop?” If he somehow found himself tossed into the past, Sonic could think of plenty of things he’d want… Surely this stranger wanted something. Something more than being interrogated by a younger version of his possibly long-dead rival.
But the stranger only shook his head. “I got what I came here for.”
“You did? Wait- you came here intentionally?”
Of course, all he got was a mysterious smile and, to his- horror? Surprise? Utter disbelief? The stranger winked. “A hedgehog of my age deserves a little self-indulgence,” he said.
Sonic blinked once, twice. “And your self-indulgence is visiting your past and… what? Sitting on a cliff doing nothing?”
“Doing nothing?” the stranger shook his head. “I wasn’t doing nothing. I spoke with you, didn’t I?”
“You-“ Sonic didn’t know what to say to that, to every implication of those words. “Shadow-“
But the stranger (and could Sonic really keep calling him that?) held up a paw. “Sonic,” he said, and Sonic went silent. “I do have one request,” he continued when Sonic remained silent.
“Oh yeah?” Sonic was pretty sure the stranger could’ve asked for Sonic to do a hand-stand and do upside down jumping jacks and he would agree. “What’s it gonna be?”
“Chase him,” said the stranger, with a sudden heat in his words, his eyes burning. “He will run over and over, he will push and he will fight it, fight you , but chase him.”
Sonic could only nod. “Okay,” he said, even if it sounded awkward and stupid, sounded childish. “Um.” He twisted his paws together, uncharacteristic nerves tugging at his ears, his quills. “Anything else?”
And for a moment, the stranger looked like he was going to shake his head, step away and leave Sonic reeling with knowledge he didn’t know how to handle. But instead, he stepped forward- no, he fell forward, grabbing Sonic with both paws and dragging him into the stranger’s chest.
Their height and size difference was only emphasized as Sonic found his face buried in the rough fabric of the cloak, in the coarse fur along the strang- no, along Shadow’s quills. He was enveloped in unfamiliar and yet so familiar arms, Shadow’s face pressed into his shoulder as he cradled Sonic to his chest, squeezed so tightly he could feel himself be lifted off the ground just enough only his toes touched the grass.
And just as quickly as it happened, he was released, but a paw caught his cheek as Shadow pushed him away, trailed over his jaw, fingertips brushing his soft peach fur for only a moment before they were gone.
Shadow didn’t say goodbye, didn’t activate the device, didn’t do anything. He just looked at Sonic, red to green, his face broken open in a smile that Sonic could only describe as loving. And then he was gone, vanished into thin air like he’d never been there in the first place.
Sonic was left with fading warmth and confusion pulsing in every fiber of his being, feeling lost in a way he hadn’t in quite some time, like something precious had just been yanked from him and he didn’t even know.
His sudden stasis was interrupted by a flash of gold and a dash of red appearing in the corner of his field of vision.
“So you cancelled on me to, what, stand in the middle of nowhere with your mouth hanging open?” The voice was harsh and sullen and aggravated, that tempting ire Sonic intentionally caused more times than he could count.
He didn’t even think as he hurled himself at Shadow, grabbing his quills, his beautiful, inky black, wonderfully saturated quills, and he dragged Shadow into a rough approximation of the hug he’d shared just moments prior. Of course, Shadow reacted as expected: by shoving Sonic off like his very touch burned.
“What is your prob- get off me,” he hissed, pushing at Sonic when he refused to let go, kept himself latched around Shadow’s body like the little cone-shaped shells stayed glued to the rocks along the shore.
“Hi, Shadow,” he grinned, even if the grin was lost in black fur. “Nice to see you today.” Finally, once Shadow finally gave up and just let his paws hang limply at his sides, Sonic stepped back. “And might I say, you are looking great for your young age!”
“What?” Shadow’s scowl was so beautifully confused, his lip curled in indignation. “What are you talking about, hedgehog?”
“Oh, nothing,” said Sonic, voice sing-songy and teasing. “Just that before you go all grey and faded, you’re gonna want to savor those perfect quills of yours.”
Shadow gave him another look, even more confused than the first. “I don’t age, idiot,” he said. “My quills will never change color, unlike yours.”
But Sonic only shrugged with an indulging smile. “We’ll see about that,” he said, then turned on a dime. “So you wanna have that race now?”
And because Shadow was Shadow, and he could always keep up with Sonic, even if Sonic sometimes pulled ahead for just a few moments, he nodded. “You’re on,” he said, and his smile was exactly as Sonic knew it to be.
Whether or not he would tell Shadow about the odd morning, Sonic wasn’t sure. What mattered far, far more, was beating his sorry tail in a race. The future would be a problem for another day.