Chapter Text
Little by little, Shadow feels his mind obtaining clarity, the strong grip that the sleep has on his mind gradually weakening until it lets go of him completely and the dark agent becomes aware of the painful stiffness of his back and the warm weight pressing down on his chest and stomach.
Dark eyelids slowly open, revealing crimson eyes that immediately sweep over the room. Blinking a few times to ensure he's seeing right, the ebony hedgehog studies the room again, surprised to find himself awakening in his own bedroom—It has been three weeks since it last happened.
But the surprise soon changes into confusion when he realizes that instead of lying on his comfortable bed, he's sitting on the ground with back slumped against the wall.
He tries to shift, groaning lowly when it makes pain shoot through his stiff back. Gritting his teeth, he brings his hands onto the ground, barely noticing how they seem to brush over something soft and pointy at the start of the motion, and then he pushes himself up on them to get into more upright position.
It is at the same time as when his 'blanket' gives a small grunt at being moved, crimson gaze immediately snapping down in alarm.
And for a moment Shadow just stares.
What the hell is Sonic doing here?
Crimson eyes filled with incredulity continue to gaze at the sleeping hedgehog. Sonic's head is laid on Shadow's dark stomach and one fawn arm is wrapped around his waist while the rest of the blue and peach body is concealed from his sight by a warm dark gray blanket that Shadow is sure should be on his bed.
What the hell is Sonic doing here? Shadow asks internally again, his eyes never leaving the peacefully slumbering hedgehog draped over his lower body. Could I have brought him here during my sleepwalking? But why would I do that? And why would he let himself get caught this time? Shadow wonders, frowning. Last four nights he has always woken up in the hero's bed but without Sonic by his side. He assumed that was because of Sonic not wanting to be around him—like he hoped would happen if he angered the hero enough.
Which apparently worked at first so what is Sonic doing here now?
It cannot be that Sonic has already forgiven him, right? He said loads of horrible things so exactly that wouldn't happen. So, there's no way Sonic has forgiven him yet.
Especially when he still hasn't apologized...
"Yup, this is going to be my new wallpaper."
Shadow sharply turns in alarm at the sound of familiar voice speaking only to close his eyes again when the flash of Rouge's cell-phone camera blinds him for a moment.
"What the hell are you doing?" Shadow demands, opening his eyes and blinking a few times to get rid of the colorful spots in his vision.
"Taking a picture of a cute couple," Rouge replies with a smirk, flipping her cell-phone to show him the picture and then back again. "Though I think the one where both of you are sleeping is much better."
"We're not a couple," Shadow growls and attempts to wriggle from underneath Sonic without waking the other hedgehog—he really isn't in the mood to deal with both him and Rouge—but stops when it makes the hero stir. The ebony agent growls and then settles for glaring at his colleague from his sitting position. "Delete it immediately."
"Not until it served its purpose," the female agent replies. She flips the cell-phone again and, surprisingly, offers it to him. "So take a look at it and tell me what you see."
Shadow frowns as he takes the black cell-phone from Rouge's hand, unsure of what the bat thinks showing him the picture will achieve. His crimson eyes turn from studying the bat to studying the photo that is shining brightly on the cell-phone's screen. However, it's the other one than the one she just took. "Me and Sonic sleeping."
"In more detail," she orders him.
Shadow's frown deepens, the hedgehog still having no idea what Rouge wants from him, but he still complies with her demand. "Me and Sonic sleeping on a floor and covered with a blanket. Now, tell me why the hell you're showing this to me in the first place."
"Not until you take a proper look at the photo," she replies in a tone one would use on a child when saying 'Now go into a corner and think about what you have done.' "And see the little things."
Looking back at the photo, Shadow finally realizes what this is Rouge trying to do. He presses his lips into a thin line as he looks at these 'little things' as Rouge has called them. He actually saw them the first time he laid his eyes on the photo. How couldn't he when they are so painfully obvious?
How at peace he looks with Sonic in his arms...
The way he holds onto Sonic as something dear he doesn't want to lose...
The small smiles on both of their faces...
"There's nothing special," he says in the end, outstretching his arm to give the cell-phone back to its owner. For a moment Rouge just stares at him in a mix of disbelief and—is it disappointment?—and then she finally takes her cell-phone back, switches it off and shoves it down her secret pocket.
And just then two simple words fall from her lips.
"Say it."
~O~
The response is immediate. "There's nothing to say."
"Liar," Rouge replies and continues to look at the ebony hedgehog before her with unfaltering gaze, determined to stand her ground and find out what is Shadow's problem.
After the many years they have know each other she learned that neither of them is comfortable with sharing their problems with other people. They always simply ask if there is something they can do to help the other. They never ask what is the problem, they just asks if they can give a helping hand.
But she feels that this particular problem cannot be solved without her knowing what exactly it is and so she demands one more time:
" Say it. " Tell me what is wrong.
Shadow stares at her with an emotionless expression. But she can see the war going on behind those blood-red eyes—the ebony hedgehog clearly torn between keeping silent and finally getting her out of his fur.
And then finally she sees something flash in those crimson eyes, Shadow opening his mouth to speak just a moment later. "I'll tell you—under one condition."
"And this condition would be...?" Rouge asks, both glad that they are finally getting somewhere and curious at what kind of terms Shadow wants to set.
"You won't interfere in any way."
A frown makes its way to her face upon hearing this particular restriction. She doesn't really want to agree as it would mean giving up the chance of helping Shadow with whatever his problem is. However, at the same time agreeing would give her a chance to at least learn something. And even if she won't be allowed to interfere, she can always argue with Shadow about it...
"Sounds fair. I agree to your terms." The bat nods, crossing her arms over her chest. "Now spill the beans."
"First help me get him off—So we can move somewhere else," Shadow says as he turns his gaze to the still sleeping hedgehog. "I don't want him to overhear anything."
A white eye-ridge rises in a silent question but when it receives no answer, Rouge just sighs, realizing she most likely won't get any answers until they are out of the room.
And so she just walks over to the hedgehog duo, helps Shadow get from underneath the blue hero and then to move Sonic onto the bed.
All the while wondering if Sonic is just pretending to be asleep or if hedgehog ears simply twitch this much in their sleep.
~O~
There are many things Rouge has never thought she would see Shadow do.
She has never expected him to admit aloud that he has nightmares. Neither to confess that all of them are about how he lost his friend Maria. Nor to hear that the reason for his sleepwalking is the fear of the same happening to Sonic.
However, what she has definitely never anticipated is those two revelations to be followed by Shadow actually confessing aloud that he has romantic feelings for Sonic.
But now she's sitting here, at a kitchen table, with a cup of coffee in her hands, overwhelmed by the mass of this new information. But there is one particular fact that is more prominent in her mind than any of the other facts that are currently wildly running around in her head.
This last fact is an explanation why Shadow behaves in the absolutely opposite way than one would expect of someone in love.
She sighs.
"You know, hon, I always believed you're smart and fearless." She pauses to take a sip of her coffee. "...But now I cannot decide if you're an idiot or a coward." She takes another sip, this time sparing a glance to her ebony colleague. "Or maybe both."
"Rouge..." Shadow hisses warningly, his tone clearly telling her she better keep her lecture to herself. However, she never paid any mind to his warnings. So why start now, right?
"Don't 'Rouge' me, Shadow. How else am I supposed to call a person that is deliberately ruining their chance with a person that apparently likes them back and could make them happy?" she replies, a small frown finding its way to her face.
"Sensible. Because them giving in and loving such person might bring them a happiness for some time but it would also bring them anguish for millennia once the person dies," Shadow replies with a strong conviction in his tone, clearly believing he's the one right here.
But Rouge doesn't share the same opinion, immediately letting this known by replying with one sole word, "Excuses."
"So, you mean you would act differently if you were me?" Shadow snaps back angrily, clearly irritated that his closest friend is refusing to acknowledge his point of view.
"Of course!" Rouge responds and puts her cup down with more force than necessary, a droplets of the brown liquid inside it splashing onto her glove and the table. "I would preffer much more to love somebody and be loved by them even if it meant getting hurt in the end!" she continues, her voice slowly rising in volume. "Because life is meant to be lived! Enjoyed! Experienced fully and thoroughly with everything good and bad! But if you still insist on your sorry excuse of one, then maybe you should end it right now!" She abruptly stands up, slamming her hands down on the kitchen table. "It's not like it would make much difference in the long run!" she finishes, staring down at her staggered colleague, the ebony agent clearly surprised by her outburst.
But that is no surprise in itself—she has never showed such anger towards him before, so him looking like this is to be expected, appreciated even. She wanted to get some kind of reaction from him with this speech. This just proves she was successful.
Rouge lets out a sigh as she slowly sits back down, slicing back a strand of hair that has came loose during her short outburst. Gloved hands wrap around the cup of coffee once again and she takes another small sip, feeling as the anger in her system starts to gradually dissipate.
For a moment, silence overtakes the room, making Rouge wonder if she has hit home as her colleague doesn't argue about her point anyhow.
But just then Shadow breaks the silence with a small comment to her declaration. "...Nobody ever said this love is two-sided," he says clearly, wanting to point out a flaw in her short but passionate speech.
Rouge looks at her colleague, her gaze briefly darting at something behind the ebony agent before it moves back to Shadow's face—just as she lets out a snort of amusement. "Nobody needed too. It has always been clear as day. Now even more than ever before."
Shadow just raises an eye-ridge in a silent question.
"Maybe you should turn around, hon," Rouge suggest with a grin, chuckling when she sees the brief shock in those crimson eyes before Shadow abruptly turns around and is met with the sight of hopeful looking Sonic standing in the kitchen entrance.
The ebony agent sighs as he turns in his seat to face her again, speaking in a voice just loud enough even for Sonic to hear him despite standing behind his back. "How much have you heard?"
"Well...most of it," the cobalt hero admits quietly, clearly feeling uneasy about admitting overhearing a conversation that he apparently wasn't supposed to hear. "But, to my defense, you two weren't exactly quiet about it."
"Well, I should probably thank you for that," Rouge says as she stands up, earning a confused expression from both males. She grins. "You saved me months of persuasion that it would definitely take to convince Shadow to tell you," she says as she heads for the door to leave the room, only stopping to pat Sonic on his shoulder. "So, thanks for that."
But she stops at the door just a moment later, turning around to face the two still surprised looking hedgehogs. "Oh, and both of you do us all favor. Act as adults for once and face your problems instead of running away."
And then she exits the room, leaving the two hedgehogs alone to decide what they wish to do now.
~O~
And surprisingly the first to speak up is Shadow.
"Before you might get any ideas, hedgehog. I am not—" the ebony agent starts but is thrown in for a loop by the other before he can even finish his sentence.
"Stand up."
The ebony agent blinks in confusion, which immediately changes into mild ire when he realizes he's being ordered around. "Excuse me?"
"I said stand up," Sonic repeats himself as he walks over to the center of the kitchen, outstretching his arm and repeatedly curling his fingers in the gesture of 'come here', with a small smile on his face.
Shadow frowns, not sure of what to expect of the sometimes unpredictable hedgehog. But he still stands up and walks over to the other hedgehog, mildly curious at why Sonic isn't already questioning him about what he heard him tell Rouge. Shadow expected the hero to be curious or unbelievable, he expected Sonic would ask him if what he told Rouge is true.
But instead of that Sonic just starts to speak, "A week ago when we were at Eggman's base—"
"Where you almost got yourself killed by the cold," the ebony agent points out, but Sonic just continues talking as if he hasn't said anything, the small twitch of the hero's peach lips being the only acknowledgement of his words.
"—we had this strange moment."
Shadow frowns, perfectly aware what exact moment is Sonic speaking about. "And you are bringing that up now because...?"
"I want to give you a choice," Sonic says and makes a step into what could already be considered as Shadow's personal space. Crimson eyes immediately narrow at this.
"What kind of choice?" Shadow asks as he makes a small step back to get some space between them, which Sonic surprisingly doesn't try to invade again. Shadow cannot decide whether that is meant to make him feel relieved or not.
"To change your mind," Sonic says and then the hero leans closer, thus invading his personal space again and causing their noses to almost touch just like back in Dr. Eggman's lair. And this little gesture is the last push that Shadow needs to figure out what is Sonic proposing.
"Are you up to it?" Sonic asks with a questioning look on his face, his tone suggesting nothing beside the hero being curious about his decision. However, the hero's body language is a different story, the unusually tense shoulders of the other betraying his inner nervosity.
Apparently, Sonic is worried about how he will decide.
And given the fact Sonic is the one who proposed this, it is clear what kind of reaction he is afraid of receiving.
Shadow opens his mouth to speak, all the pros and cons as well as Rouge's speech running wildly around in his mind, offering reasons why to either accept or reject Sonic's proposal.
Crimson eyes meet their emerald counterparts and Shadow realizes this decision will be one of the most important ones of his life.
Because this will be either the biggest mistake he'll ever do or the best decision he'll ever make.
...or possibly both at once.
And it all depends on if he will lean in or if he'll draw away.
That simple.
But such a hard choice to make.
...Or maybe not so hard. Because, after all, both of the outcomes will be bittersweet in the end...
Shadow sighs, uttering quietly, "Damn you, Rouge," before he makes a step forward, curls his arm around Sonic's waist and then pulls the surprised hedgehog into a kiss.
So, why not choose the sweeter one?
The End.