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It’s been two months since Sonic found Shadow cold and alone in the dense, overgrown forest on the Wachowski’s annual camping trip, and twelve days since Shadow had reluctantly agreed to stay with the wacky family.
It had taken a lot of convincing and a lot of antagonizing persistence, but after almost two full months of chasing the elusive hedgehog around like a lost puppy, Sonic finally persuaded Shadow to hunker down at the Wachowski family fort, albeit with much anxious hesitation. A win is a win, Sonic supposed.
Sonic was aware that Shadow was carrying a lot of guilt heavy on his shoulders, what with the whole almost destroying the world fiasco, but he seemed to be settling in well. He still would never fully relax, always with a harsh tense of his shoulders and his lips pressed firm together in that thin line, but Sonic took note of how Shadow was getting closer with each of his family members, slowly but surely.
While Tails would be fixatedly tinkering away with another one of his impossible gadgets, Shadow would enjoy exchanging nerdy comments about the various different components Sonic could only dream of understanding. Sometimes, Sonic would absentmindedly gaze out of the attic window overlooking their battered garden and spot Shadow having an intense sparring match with Knuckles below. Shadow always won, but Knuckles enjoyed the challenge nonetheless. Shadow would also often appreciate his early mornings, enjoying his black coffee and peaceful conversations with Maddie in the kitchen while golden light slowly poured in through the window.
Sonic noticed that Shadow was still the most strained around Tom. He knew that Shadow still felt awful about placing Tom in hospital, no matter how much Sonic tried to reassure him that it really wasn’t his fault and that he was hurting and that he hadn’t actually known that it was Tom, but it did little to ease Shadow’s culpable conscience. Tom was also keeping his distance, seemingly out of politeness, as he didn’t want to make Shadow feel even more awkward than he already was, but Sonic could tell Tom felt just as wary about being around Shadow as Shadow did him.
Sonic desperately just wanted everybody to get along - these were all the best people he’d ever met. Granted, he’d never actually met that many people, and half the people he had met had been trying to kill him, but still. Sonic wanted Shadow to see his family the same way he did, and for his family to look past the angsty hedgehog’s hardened, closed-off exterior and see him for the softie Sonic knew he secretly really was.
Sonic had frequently eagerly hosted many ‘bonding activities’, as he liked to call them, such as game or movie nights. However, Shadow often settled on sitting in the farthest corner of the living room, discreetly sending Tom regular sideways glances, with a certain emotion swirling in his eyes that Sonic couldn’t quite discern, and did little to join in on whatever activity Sonic had planned for that night.
Eventually, these bonding activities started becoming less frequent, as Sonic decided that it was probably best to let Shadow come to them on his own terms instead of trying to force relationships that were most likely fruitless, at least for the time being.
That didn’t mean Sonic was going to give up encouraging them, though.
Noticing Shadow’s steadily growing closeness with everyone bar Tom, and his reluctance to even be near him, Sonic decided he was going to subtly get Shadow into things that he knew Tom enjoyed in an attempt to at least get Shadow to talk to the guy.
That was how Sonic found out about Shadow’s love for music.
About six months after Sonic had officially moved in with the Wachowskis, Tom had gifted him his old guitar. Sure, the wood was a little battered and worn, and sure, the strings were a little flimsy from its use over the years, yet Sonic still thought it was so beautiful. They were all just signs that the guitar had been loved, and Sonic was determined to treat it with the same love and passion it had once been shown.
“I used to play a lot in my late teens, but I’ve lost some passion over the years and found I don’t really get the time to play these days anyways,” Tom had told him, a soft, wistful smile spread along his face. “But, I thought if you were interested, I’d love to teach you how to play, Sonic. Help you pick up a new earth hobby. Whaddaya say?”
Sonic had been ecstatic - he loved trying out new things. Earth just had so much to do, and so much to offer, and he’d been so bored all cooped up in his drab cave, repeating the same monotonous activities everyday. Sure, they’d been fun the first few months, but you can only do so much so many times before they start to get a little tedious.
When Sonic was little, and had been longingly peeking in through Tom and Maddie’s window, he’d sometimes see Tom sat warmly strumming his guitar, eyes closed and a calm smile plastered on his face. One night, Tom and Maddie had a small gathering of friends over, and Tom was sat on the plush carpet of their living room floor, rhythmically plucking away at the strings of his guitar.
They’d left the window unlocked and slightly ajar, but Sonic didn’t dare do anything except cautiously peek in from the outside. As he watched Tom contentedly play his guitar, the beautiful melody flowing into his ears, Sonic couldn’t help but wish he would one day be able to do the same. Tom just looked so happy, and so calm, being able to tune out the rest of the world and focus on his enchanting tune, and Sonic found himself craving that sense of tranquil freedom.
And so, when Tom offered to teach him to play, Sonic had eagerly accepted. He hadn’t anticipated just how much time and effort he’d have to actually put into learning, but it felt good to put all of his focus on practicing, and he was enjoying all the quality time with Tom.
Ultimately, all the time and practice he’d put into Tom’s lessons paid off as he was able to effortlessly play even the more complex songs. My little prodigy, Tom had called him, as Sonic joked that he’d be better than him in no time. It felt nice to share something personal with Tom like this - a warmth, a connection that he hadn’t felt since Longclaw. That thought left a shallow ache deep in his chest, despite the comfort Tom and Maddie had been graciously gifting him. Their love and presence certainly made everything more bearable, though.
One evening, Sonic had been sat on the creaky wooden planks of the attic floor with his eyes shut in content, guitar in hand, blissfully strumming a simple tune that had grown to be one of his favourites. It was the first song Tom had ever taught him to play.
He’d been so fully immersed in his playing that he failed to notice the presence that had tentatively sauntered into the room until he felt a warmth press against his side.
Sonic cracked an eye open to peek at Shadow sat cross-legged directly beside him. “Heya Shads. What are you doing up here? I thought you were helping Tails with his new whosiewhatsit.”
“We took a break,” Shadow tensed up at having been noticed, and closed his eyes to purposely avoid looking at Sonic. “Keep playing.”
“Huh. You came up here just to hear me play the guitar? I didn’t know you liked it that much.”
“Maria used to play for me a lot.” A sombre, wistful edge had creeped its way into Shadow’s tone, his ears drooping as he reminisced, and Sonic’s eyes widened in shock at such an open confession. “I always found the sound of the guitar quite beautiful. I would have liked to learn, but never had the time. I was content with listening to Maria play, though. She really was very talented.”
When Shadow finally turned to look at Sonic, a look of sorrow flashed in his deep, crimson eyes. Sonic gave him the softest smile he could muster, which really wasn’t all that difficult considering how close he had grown with the other in the past month or so. “Well, I can’t promise I’ll be as good as she was, but… yeah. I’ll play for you, Shads. Any particular songs you like?”
Shadow hummed. “I do not really know any songs. I never listened to music except for when Maria would play for me. However, there was one song that Maria would play quite frequently, but… I don’t remember what it was called.”
“Never listened to music?!” Sonic barely processed the second part of what Shadow had said, as he was so baffled by the fact that Shadow had lived most of his life with hardly any music. Honestly, no music for even a week would be enough to kill Sonic!
“I was never really given the chance during my time on the base.”
“Ah. Right.” Sonic didn’t know much about how Shadow had been treated in the past, but he knew that it wasn’t at all affectionate or charitable, his only escape being Maria. “Well then, I’ll just play you some of my favourites.”
A peaceful moment transpired between the two, Sonic strumming a delicate, mesmerizing tune, and Shadow’s ears occasionally flickering in calm content. It was only once Sonic had gone through quite a few songs and was running out of ones that he thought that Shadow might enjoy that an idea struck him.
“Hey, we should totally dig out Tom’s old iPod!” Sonic jumped up with enthusiasm, excitement sparkling in his eyes. “Honestly, he may not look like much, but Tom has the best music taste. I’d always listen to his downloaded songs on his iPod when I first moved in. It was great to get a taste for human music.”
Shadow’s ears twitched and turned downwards slightly, and Sonic could practically hear the hesitation in his tone. “Tom’s? And you’re sure he won’t mind…?”
Sonic waved a dismissive hand in the air to ease Shadow’s clear worry. “No, of course not! In fact, I bet he’ll be happy to know that other people love his taste in music as much as he does.”
Shadow didn’t say anything, instead opting to give a strained nod in response.
And so, Sonic began rooting through his cabinets and the messy piles of clothes and other miscellaneous objects strewn across the floor until he eventually found the tattered iPod buried at the very bottom of one of his desk drawers, still with his old earphones plugged in and peeling stickers plastered all over it.
Sonic enthusiastically hopped back over to Shadow, sitting down on his knees with his side leaning into Shadow’s, and handed him one of the earbuds, which he hesitantly took and placed in his ear.
“Alright, get ready for your life to change forever.” With that dramatic announcement, Sonic hit play.
The playlist was only around forty minutes long, so it wasn’t long until they had eventually reached the end of the last song. During this time, Sonic had somehow managed to melt further into Shadow, their knees brushing and Sonic’s head resting comfortably on the usually tense and bristled hedgehog’s shoulder. Shadow seemed to have relaxed quite a lot, his eyes closed and his shoulders not having that same tense edge to them. It even seemed as though his lips had a slight curl upwards.
“So. What did you think? Which song was your favourite?” Sonic lifted his head to look at Shadow, eager to engage in music talk with him. For some reason, he was quite keen to know what sort of music taste that Shadow would develop.
Shadow hummed in contemplation. “I will admit, that was… nice. I think I particularly liked Northern Downpour. It was quite nostalgic, and peaceful.”
Huh. Not what Sonic had been expecting. “Really? Panic? Not, like, Metallica, or Foo Fighters, even?”
Shadow raised an offended brow. “No. I prefer the tranquility of the calmer songs. It’s easier to get into the lyrics.”
“Fair enough, I guess. I like a song with a sick guitar solo myself. Something like Chop Suey! by System of a Down. I like the high energy.”
“Hmph. That was all just noise to me.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Hey, I’m pretty sure Northern Downpour is one of Tom’s favourites, too! Maybe you could talk with him about it sometime?” Sonic not-so-subtly encouraged.
Shadow tensed slightly at the mention of Tom, but still kept his gaze on Sonic. “Right. Maybe.”
Sonic suddenly let out a stifling yawn, the lateness of the hour abruptly sending a wave of exhaustion over him. He took out his earphone and handed it and the iPod toward Shadow. “Alright, well, this has been fun Shadow, but it’s starting to get late, and man, I am tired. You can take the iPod with you to listen some more, if you’d like.”
Shadow seemed reluctant to leave, but eventually he took the iPod and earphones and headed towards the attic door. He paused, and turned his head over his shoulder to look at Sonic. “Thank you, Sonic.” Shadow muttered softly before turning back to trudge down the creaky stairs descending from the attic.
Later that night, Sonic woke up with an unbelievable thirst clawing at his throat, and so carefully navigated his way towards the kitchen to pour himself a tall glass of water.
After downing his glass as if his life depended on it, Sonic had just been about to plod back to his room in the attic, but paused just outside the living room doorway when he heard a couple of low, muffled voices from inside. Who could possibly still be up this late into the night?
Just as Sonic had been about to waltz in and scold Knuckles for allowing Tails to stay up late tinkering with his gadgets in the makeshift workshop again, he stopped himself just as he realised who the voices belonged to, and an immense warmth flooded over his chest.
Because, sitting on the living room sofa side by side, was none other than Tom and Shadow.
Shadow held the iPod in his hands resting in his lap, and was engaged in deep, hushed conversation with Tom about his newfound love for Tom’s music. Neither seemed tense around each other at all, in fact they seemed entirely comfortable and content, and there was a soft glint in each of their eyes.
Sonic couldn’t help the joyous grin that split his face as he soaked in the sight. This was all he’d ever wanted. His plan had worked. Shadow was finally talking to Tom. The last piece of the puzzle, the last brick of Shadow’s carefully constructed emotional wall crumbling as he allowed Tom to see his softer side. The side that was curious, caring, and damaged.
Sonic cautiously slinked back away from the doorway, as quiet as possible so as not to disturb the tender moment, as if a single footfall could crack the delicate atmosphere.
As Sonic bounced back to his room, still beaming that thrilled smile, he decided that he had never felt happier.