#*sonic voice* THE PALM......................

[willosword]

looks like ya broke the world little buddy!

[bookshelf-dust]

strawberry love

patrick zweig x fem!reader

gif by @beelarson

word count: 2,037

warnings: swearing, a smidge of anxiety, this is a sort of situation where reader matches patrick’s freak aka they are smartasses to each other, flirting, a little drinking but both reader + p are of age

synopsis: patrick, your not-quite-boyfriend-but-might-as-well-be-because-you’re-both-down-bad, wants you to spend the night at his place. your anxious brain hates change in routine, and he does everything he can to make you comfortable.

a/n: first fic for the challengers boys!! i am very pleased with how this turned out and i think i’ve managed to get a hold of patrick’s mannerisms and his personality. this is also a bit of a new dynamic for me, but i think this fic’s atmosphere is a good one. happy reading <33

————

You are so fucking grateful that Patrick is on the other end of this phone call and not sitting next to you because, if he was, he’d see how your fingers are shaking and lift them up, going “What’s this?” with that stupid fucking smirk of his. 

And he’d look at you in that teasing way that makes you hate him more than anything.

“So, what’re you thinking? Got some excuse as to why you won’t come spend the night at my place?”

You can hear the grin growing in size across his face. You’re sure he’s sitting back on his hands with the phone on speaker as if this is the most casual experience of his life. 

“Patrick, I—”

“Be honest with me here, angel. S’all I’m askin.’ We need a fuckin’ code or something now?”

“I’m just anxious as shit and any change in routine fucks with me and so that makes me not want to put my brain through that by coming over and also…it’s you.”

He laughs. “It’s me?”

“Yes! You’re too fucking relaxed all the time and you’ve always got your googly eyes on me a-and it’s like you want me to join a damn cult, Zweig!”

Patrick laughs even harder. “You need someone to counter your constant state of panic. And where else would I have my eyes?”

“Oh, fuck me sideways, you shithead.” He hears you slap your palm to your face. “Pain in my ass.”

“You want me to pick you up, pretty girl? I bet that’d ease some of your stress.”

You sigh, all dramatic and high-pitched. Your heart is doing somersaults against your rib cage. That would help, actually. Then you don’t have to plan what time to leave, accommodate for traffic, shove all your shit in the car and let your thoughts engulf you on the ride over. 

“Y-yeah, fine. Whatever.”

Patrick knows that tone. “Hey. You know I’m gonna take care of you for real, right? That I just wanna see you and get you to be present for a little, yeah?”

Your voice softens. “I know, Patrick. Just let me pack an overnight bag, okay? And text me when you’re on the way.”

“Why don’t you pack a few extra things? You know, just in case you can’t get enough of me and need to stay a few more nights.”

You hang up the phone, leaving Patrick giggling to himself against his kitchen counter. 

————

Patrick’s lips are warm when he kisses both your cheeks in quick succession. “Hi, dove.” He takes your bag from your shoulder and walks off toward his bedroom, putting your things down next to his dresser. 

He’s back quicker than should be humanly possible, bringing that cocky ass smile with him. 

“So what, you come over and don’t even want a hug from your favorite person on the planet?”

You grin, and he flushes with excitement over that victory. “Oh, fuck off,” you say, walking into his arms. 

He smells faintly of nicotine and mints, probably those ones that Sonic gives you because he has a stockpile of them in his glove box.

His chest is firm and hot beneath you, and when you press your cheek to it your mind races with thoughts you don’t want it to have. So naturally, you pull away slightly, keeping your hands on his hips. It makes him bite his lip. 

“You smoke today?” you ask, raising a brow.

“Yeah, why, you want one?”

“You keep it up, I'm not gonna be able to hug my favorite person on the planet that much longer. Pretty pink lungs gonna fuck you over.”

He lowers his head and levels with you. “You want me to quit?”

“I can’t make you, Patrick.”

He bites the inside of his cheek. He loves how you say his name.

“Oh, you could make me do anything, baby.” His teeth shine at you, and you swat his stomach. You go to push him away but he grabs your waist and starts kissing all over your face, the top of your head, the tips of your ears. He does it again and again in an effort to make you laugh. 

When you feel his fingers dance at your sides you escape him, “Don’t fucking try it!”

When the laughter in the room dies out, Patrick takes your hand and walks you to the kitchen. “Come on. I’ll make you a drink.”

You sit on one of his two barstools, stifling a laugh at the pitiful creak it makes. “Do you even have anything other than beer or whiskey? Because I don’t want either of those.” 

Patrick opens the refrigerator, motioning as if he’s clutching an aching chest. “C’mon, angel, don’t hurt my feelings. You think I wouldn’t buy the things I know my baby likes?” 

You brace your elbows on the counter and try to peek in the fridge. It’s not necessary though because he’s pulling out a container of frozen strawberries for you to see. 

“You got me stuff for—” 

“Strawberry daiquiris? Duh.” 

He places two bottles of rum on the counter, one full and the other half empty. You watch as he moves around the kitchen, gathering up the parts to the blender, which are for some reason in different cabinets. He gets out these fancy glasses (his only ones) someone gave him one time. 

“And,” he starts, “I remembered that you like it with a little less rum than most recipes call for so you’ll actually enjoy it.”

You tilt your head at him. He’s so pretty and he remembered all that shit just for you. “Lean over here for a sec, Patrick.”

He does as you say without question, looking up at you with puppy dog eyes. You press a kiss to the tip of his nose. He loves that. The first time you did it he tackled you and asked you to do it again and again. 

You kiss his forehead and then the back of this hand, because boys should have their hands kissed too. 

Patrick’s cheeks are on fire. You take his face in your hands and let your gaze travel over each and every one of his pretty freckles. Your thumb rubs across his bottom lip and he moves closer, desperate for you to do anything. To give him anything. 

“Thank you for bringing me over here just to liquor me up,” you quip, your smile growing fast, eyes crinkling with humor. 

He nips the palm of your hand. “Yep. Just hopin’ to get you relaxed enough so you’ll confess your love for me, princess.”

You move away from his grasp, grinning softly at him and thinking how easily you’d confess that to him anyway. “Get back to work now, Zweig. Your strawberries have captivated me. And the curly straws.” 

His laughter is contagious.

————

Two strawberry daiquiris, and some of Patrick’s later, your anxious brain has finally settled down. You feel completely calm, and being with him makes you feel so comfortable that you don’t worry about adapting to a new space.

You register that he’s been distracting you all evening. He made your favorite drink, he’s been showering you with affection, he put on an episode of Jeopardy because he knows you like that smart feeling you get when you answer a question right. 

You’re laying on his chest, one hand snaked up underneath his sweatshirt to rest on the soft of his stomach. His skin is unbelievably warm and your fingers run back and forth over the short trail of curls there. 

“Who is Donald Sutherland, dumbass,” you say, annoyed that no one knew who played Mr. Bennet in Joe Wright’s adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. 

Patrick’s hand pushes under your shirt and rests on your spine. He starts scratching your skin lightly, up and down, up and down. You blink up at him. “That feels good.”

“Yeah? All you gotta do is ask and I’ll do it.”

“Well, will you please keep scratching my back for me, Patrick? It’s very soothing. Keeps me present.”

“‘Course I will, angel.”

“I know you like your physical affection,” you say, squeezing his hip lovingly. He kisses the top of your head as if to confirm your statement. 

“Have I succeeded in providing an anxiety-free sleepover environment for my girl?”

You push up onto your elbows so you can make eye contact with him. He leans his head back a little bit, teasingly making himself look more serious as if you don’t always have his full attention. 

Your eyes move from his to his lips and back. You start to nod. “You have. It feels like all the outside stressors don’t exist here.”

Patrick leans into your hand when you put it against his cheek. He is beaming. 

“You wanna go to bed, dove?”

“Yes, please.”

Patrick heaves you upward and over his shoulder, making you howl with laughter. You both get ready for bed quietly, doing your respective routines and getting everything settled. 

You meet Patrick in bed, padding over to the mattress in your panties and a big t-shirt. Your hands are keeping the shirt pulled down on instinct, making it look like a dress. When he sees you, he thinks he might combust. It takes everything in him not to. 

You’re so fucking sweet and perfect and gorgeous and you’ve got no clue. And you’re in his bedroom, pushing onto his bed and laying with him. Him, of all people. 

You roll onto your side and face him. He’s a little stubbly and his curls are a mess, but somehow he looks more gorgeous like this than when he’s all prettied up. He smells like toothpaste and that Old Spice deodorant he uses. Your bare knee brushes his, but neither of you move away.

Your gaze falls on the only source of light in the room aside from the moon; the children’s night light that looks like a tennis ball. Art got him that as a Christmas gift, and Patrick would be lying if he said he didn’t actually like it. 

You move your hand close enough to his body that you can feel the warmth of him, but not enough that you make any more contact. 

“Patrick, I don’t think friends treat each other the way we treat each other.” You realize your fingers are trembling. 

His smile lines grow as a grin spreads across his face. “You think so?” he asks, sarcasm dripping from every word. 

You nod, still looking at the tennis ball. Then his fingers are on your chin, coaxing you into looking at him. “D-do you think we should be more than friends?” 

Patrick’s hand hasn’t left your face. His thumb traces over your eyebrow. “I think we already are.”

“Could we maybe m-make that definitive?”

“Is this you really confessing your love for me?”

You roll your eyes so hard you might as well have rolled out of the bed. “Fuck off.” You swat at his chest and attempt to move away from him. 

He’s laughing and then he’s pulling you flush against his body, securing you there with a firm arm around your back. “You want me to be your boyfriend, don’t you?”

“I hate you.”

“Well, yeah. And I want you to be my girlfriend, angel.”

“So I can make googly eyes at you as often as you do me now?”

He squeezes the fat of your hip. “Oh, you already do. You just don’t notice how obvious it is that you’re infatuated with me. You looked like you wanted to eat me alive in the kitchen earlier.”

“The bad part is that I know you’d let me.”

“So you don’t deny the allegations?” He holds his fist up to your mouth, mimicking a microphone. 

“No, Patrick. I do want you to be my boyfriend. And I want to do this all the time. I hate how easy you make everything.” He chuckles, biting his thumbnail. “It’s not natural to be this calm. And I hate that you’ve made me a sap.” His brow raises just before you continue, “I brought clothes for like, three nights.”

Patrick hugs you to him so quickly, laughing into your cool skin. 

“I fucking knew you would.”

————

please let me know if you liked this! feedback is always appreciated!! comments and reblogs mean more than you know. <33

note: none of the gifs or images i use are mine! i get most of my images from pinterest or here, and gifs from about the same. please let me know if i ever don’t credit someone properly!

[randomanimaticse]

SHATTERED - Sonic Prime x reader

Chapter 1 | INCEPTION I

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ ˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ ˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗

As an explosion went off in a mountain in the distance, Sonic ran through green hill collecting some rings, hurrying to the mountain, where his friends are fighting robotnik, he ran past big and froggy making him spin around.

Sonic went back and stopped Big from spinning, "Sorry, Big! Sorry, Froggy! Can't chat-- gotta go help our friends!" Sonic said running in place and ran off.

"No problem, Sonic!" Big said as froggy croaked.

"Home is where your friends are, as they say" It cuts to a memory of Sonic and his friends having a picnic, "And that's green hill!" Then of Sonic watching Amy admire a palm tree. "Where the best beaches," then of Tails flying next to a coconut. "Palm trees," Then of big holding a bunch of chili dogs making Sonic happy "And chili dogs, are just the tip of the iceberg!"

Then it cuts to Tails, Amy, Knuckles, and Malachite flying on the Tornado. "We've saved this place a million times, from this doofus." Then to Robotnik turning around to face the camera doing his evil laugh.

It cuts to shadow destroying a rock seemingly looking for something. "And then there's Shadow, it's complicated. More on him later."

Then to Sonic and his friend looking into the distance. "The fact is, we never lose. 'Cause when you've got a crew like mine," Sonic says as he runs up the mountain. "There's nothing that can stop you!"

"HEY GUYS! I MADE IT!"

"You're late!"

The team of mobians glared at the speedy blue hedgehog at his tardiness, said blue hedgehog shrugging his shoulders sheepishly with a grin and short chuckle.

"Sonic!?"

Dr. Eggman spun away from the shiny crystal embedded into the rock at the annoying voice of his enemy, the surrounding Badniks also following his gaze.

"Eggman!" Sonic smirked.

"Just in time to watch me claim the Paradox Prism and transform your disgustingly green world into something more... me." his hands lifted up to his side in an evil stance, staring at the mobian team, or sonic more specifically, through the glass prism, letting out his infamous cackle.

Dropping from the entrance of the cave, Sonic landed with a bored expression, his hand cupping his mouth as he gave an overly faked...

"Yaawwn..."

The mobian team dropped behind him as they all, Sonic included, settled into a fighting position.

"Yep, I yawned you, egghead!"

At the mockery, Eggman growled in a fit of rage, ordering his Badniks to attack the team with a pointed finger.

Both sides got into action, the mobian team easily overpowering and defeating each of Eggman's robots as they came their way.

Sonic destroyed a few bots before spin dashing at a Caterkiller, resulting in the worm bashing him away, the hedgehog losing a few rings and soaring back through the air with a "Whoa!"

"Sonic!" 

A furry orange fox with two tails, using them to helicopter through the air, quickly caught him by his wrists, staring down at Sonic with a frown, clearly still upset at his delayed entrance.

"Yo, Tails!"

Sonic replied with a grin, swinging his legs back as Tails launched him forward in the air, spin attacking at two Buzz Bombers and speeding beside a red echidna with large, spiky gloves, the echidna eyeing the hedgehog with a scowl.

"Knuckles!" Sonic cheered, kicking away a Badnik, the echidna rolling his eyes and turning away from him, "You okay, buddy?"

"Nothing flusters me, Sonic," Knuckles grabbed a Buzz Bomber as it flew into him, throwing it into another incoming Badnik without so much as a sweat, both he and Sonic watching as both robots exploded.

"Except when you're late."

Sonic only shook his head with a hand on his hip at Knuckles as he ran off, not noticing the same Caterkiller from before coming up behind him, quickly getting saved by a flying white bat as she came up behind him and kicked the worm away.

"Oh, thanks Rouge!" he waved at her.

"Don't mention it... literally."

From another end of the cave, a pink hedgehog drove her hammer into a Burrobot, shoving it off as the head landed elsewhere, hopping from the ledge to the head, smiling as a flock of Flickies flew out from inside the bot.

"Amy!" Sonic leaned against the head with a smirk as he greeted her.

"Sonic! Where have you been?"

"You know, the usual... got a little side tracked."

Amy playfully rolled her eyes at his response as Sonic spins up a wall and destroys a few Buzz Bombers, striking one in the direction of a (F/C) lynx of the incoming badnik, slashing the robot in half with their claws.

"Malachite!" he ran in their direction, throwing a loose arm over their shoulders and pulling their faces close.

They huffed out at the sudden half embrace, their enhanced hearing is never well enough to catch when the speedy hedgehog comes their way, letting a small smile pass.

"Sonic," they countered, "What is this? A role call?"

"What? Can't call out my friends' names mid-battle?" he poked at them, standing back to back with them as a swarm of Badniks surrounded them.

Sonic punched and kicked at them while Malachite cut and slit through them, the bots exploding. 

"Get that rock out of the ground!" 

Dr. Eggman furiously shouted out, the Burrobots retreating from fighting to the rock that held the paradox prism in place, drilling at it as fast as they could despite the electric shocks that would knock them back, really getting nothing done regardless.

"Want something done..." Eggman grumbled, climbing up into his mech, "Do it yourself."

"Sonic, we don't know what the prism is capable of!" Tails warned his hedgehog friend as he rolled his way, beating the Badniks, "Be careful."

Sonic rolled his eyes and darted off, Tails groaning at his carelessness.

"If Eggman wants it, it can't be good!"

"Yup, got it." Sonic replied casually as he ran Eggman's way.

The villain controlled his giant robot from inside, its claws taking hold of the prism and pulling up, Eggman letting out another of his evil laughs.

"Sonic, seriously!"

"Step away from the rock, Eggman."

"Huh, not this time, you fool!"

Narrowing his eyes, anger and the desperate need to defeat the villain overcoming his senses more than anything, Sonic sped up faster towards the prism as Eggman began pulling it out of its rock, rolling up in a ball.

"Sonic, wait!" Tails called out.

"Sonic, no!"

The groups cries fell on deaf ears as Sonic collided with the prism, the force of the breaking pushing them all back, flying in the air.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

"One day I'll destroy that hedgehog, and the world will be a brighter place for it, lit by neon."

"As long as I'm around, you'll always have a wingman!"

"The forest is the most beautiful place on Earth."

"I don't need the details, just tell me who to smash."

"You may not like the way I do things, but I get things done!"

"Don't worry, I've always got your back!"

"Hey I may be the one who can bring everyone together, but there's only one one hedgehog they'll follow into battle."

"Heh heh! I don't need an army when I got a friend like you, Sonic!"

"Listen to your friends, you might need it one day."

"I will rule the world, and no rodents are going to stop me!"

"We'd follow you anywhere, Sonic."

"Nothing could break our friendship, Sonic."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sonic stands up and groans "That's a sonic boom of a headache." He starts walking forward "Wh-Where am I? Huh?" There was a truck coming straight for him. "Aah!" He yelled before getting hit in the face by the truck.

As he climbed on top of the truck he looked around confused, "Uh" when he heard something behind of him, he turned around to see what it was, it was presumably a train and he ducked before he got hit in the face again. "Close one."

The truck shook and Sonic fell off of it onto a conveyor belt, he got up looking around still confused, but then he fell off of the conveyor belt before he could say anything. Before Sonic could get up again, he got swept up by a broom machine before getting thrown to the side.

"Why can't I remember how I got here?" Sonic said as he got back on his feet. "Think, Sonic, think, whoa what is up with my shoes?" He said examining them "Huh, I haven't seen anything like this since I ate truck stop chili dogs."

"Tails? Amy? Malachite? Heck, I'll even take Knuckles at this point" He said walking towards a mobian on one of the conveyor belts. "Uh, pardon me, what do you call this place?" He asked the mobian who was ignoring him. "Are you ignoring me? You're ignoring me. Why are you ignoring me? Why is everyone ignoring me?" He asked flailing his arms around.

"Can anybody give me a straight answer around here? And you're busy staring at nothing. Okay"

Sonic covered his ears because of a loud blaring sound "Welcome to New Yoke City. You're welcome. Never heard of it. Must be far from home."

"Where are the mountains, the beaches, the palm trees?" He looked to the side and saw a familiar purple cat. "Big! Froggy!" Sonic said as he hugged big. "Whoa, uh."

"Am I glad to see familiar faces! I thought I was losing my rings, if you know what I mean." He said while big was looking around for any robots. "What is going on here? Are you wearing pants?"

"Unidentified citizen. Alert! Alert!" A robotic voice said.

"Big! Don't go!"

"You are in violation of city ordinance 27 B/6"

"Sorry, I don't speak robot."

"By the authority of the Chaos Council, stand down or be disassembled."

"Chaos Council, sounds important. Give me directions, and I'll take it from there." Sonic said as he tried to run. "Wha-? Whoaa!" He exclaimed unable to control his running.

Sonic turned to an alley pressed up against the wall, trying to take sharp turns, "Whoa! what is up with my shoes?" He said before crashing into a wall. "Ugh! I'm not used to all these walls, and where are my rings?" He said checking for his rings, before almost getting hit by laser bullets.

He dodged the lasers that were being shot at him and spin dashed the robots "Robots without flickies? Now that's new." Sonic said before dodging more laser bullets and speeding away.

Running into the streets almost hitting a truck and then another truck, and then another and it was coming straight for him, but he ducked underneath it. "This is not working. I gotta get off the ground!" He said wall jumping onto a train.

Still trying to dodge the laser bullets while on the train, he notices a building being contructed and gets an idea. Sonic threw himself over to where the building was being constructed and slid through the building. Stopping on the edge trying to dodge the bullets. When the floor was close enough, he jumped off the ledge. Destroying the robots that were chasing him.

He landed on his feet panting not knowing he was being watched. "Smog, concrete, evil robots, it's like everything I hate in one place!" Sonic said looking around "Where am I?"

"Oh, no!" He gasps, looking at something familiar and speeding to the right. "Please be wrong. Please be wrong!" He stammered running up a building into the sky turning to look at the place he was in.

Sonic looked right, "the Loop-de-Loop." Then left "Hedgehog's Pass." Then right again, "and that should be Tails' lab! Aw, tails, what happened?"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

BEFORE PRISM SHATTER

Tails is in the Tornado, turning to where the fight is. "Come on Egghead, show me what you got!" Sonic shouted.

Dr. Robotnik laughs "That's the spirit, rodent -- the spirit of a loser!"

"Takes one to know one. Ha!"

"Why do I feel like Eggman's keeping us off the main stage?" Amy asked.

"Eggman's got us fighting the badniks so he can have Sonic all to him self." Knuckles replied.

"Come on! Let's crash his show!" Malachite responded, cutting and slicing through the robots.

"One scrambled egg, coming up!" Sonic said spin dashing the robot.

"Hmm I don't like this, Dr. Eggman's too smart not to realize how terribly positioned he is." Tails said looking at his gadget "It's like he's --" tails sharply gasps. "He's not in there."

"Quaking in your tiny shoes at the might of my Eggcrusher? It's understandable I'm rather astounding."

"In your dreams! You bring it, I break it, Eggman. That's the game, and I'm still the undefeated numero uno." Sonic said doing a lot of poses.

"Then put your quills where your mouth is, unless you're scared!"

Tails shot some laser bullets at the robot "It's a trap, Sonic! It's a trap!"

"I don't see a trap, though I guess by definition I wouldn't see a trap if there was one."

Dr. Robotnik laughs

"Something funny egghead?"

"You are! Watching you try to think with that two-cent brain of yours is hilarious!"

"Sonic! You gotta listen! It's a trap!" Tails yelled.

"You're as stupid as your mutant, two-tail fox friend is ugly"

"Oh, you're really asking for it." Sonic barked

"Yes.. I am!" Robotnik marveled.

"You can mess with me, Eggman, but no one messes with my best friend." Sonic said running towards the robot.

"Sonic, no!" Tails yelled.

Sonic spin dashed the robot making a huge explosion once it hit the ground. Some mobians fall back due to the pressure. Big drops his fishing rod and catches froggy. The mountain cracks and reveals more cracked rock.

"Whoa! Didn't know I had that in me. That's what you get for messing with my friends, Egghead" Sonic said as he looked in the robot, but Robotnik wasn't there. "Huh? where's Eggman? He must have ejected. Well, looks like we win again. Tails! He's not even in here. Lame right?" He exclaimed to his two-tailed fox friend.

"Too chicken to face in us in person. Whatevs! Couldn't have done it without ya, buddy!" Sonic yelled, watching tails fly away in his plane. "Huh."

"Whoa, Tails looks upset" Knuckles stated.

"And tails never gets upset." Amy said with worry.

Malachite nodded in agreement

Robotnik laughs evilly from far away "It worked! Without the power of that blue buffoon, we would've had to dig for months! Thank you for the earthquake Sonic, and thank me for my plan, which went off spectacularly!"

"And it worked too!" Cubot added.

"Of course it worked I just said that!" Robotnik yelled. "Ugh, let's go papa wants his prism" He ordered, throwing his walkie-talkie to Orbot. As he walked away Orbot and Cubot fist bumped.

Sonic ran over to tails' lab putting in the code '1992' before opening and walking the lab. "Yo! How's my genius friend?" He asked tails. "Hey Sonic," Tails sighed. "I brought you some comics." Sonic stated. "Thanks Sonic you can put them over there"

Sonic chuckles, "How about a little break from the big brain stuff?"

"I can't. Something's not right. I gotta figure out what Eggman is up to."

Sonic frowns and walks over to Tails, and turns his chair around to face him. "Sorry, Tails. I didn't mean to upset you. In fact, I've never seen you so upset. I just kinda got into the moment and.."

"Sonic, it's cool. Really. But thanks. I appreciate it." There was a moment of silence before Tails started speaking again. "Don't you think that Eggman wasn't in the Eggcrusher?"

"Uh, not really. I mean, he is a total chicken. But I did find a hunk of junk in the cockpit where his big butt shoulda been."

"Hunk of junk, huh? Wonder if that was all part of the trap? Tell me you didn't toss it in the barge of badnik parts."

"Uh." Sonic speeds away and comes back with it in his hands "Junk speedy delivery! You smash it, we dash it" Sonic beamed "Whoa, lemme see that! It wasn't a trap, it was a trick. You've never created a blast that destructive. I think that this device was some sort of speed amplifier. Long story short, he used your speed against you!" Tails explained.

"The fox is on to something."

"Huh?"

"Rouge?" Both Sonic and Tails asked.

"How did you get in here?" Sonic inquired.

"He played you for a fool, Blue." She remarked

"Pfft! Please!" Sonic replied putting a hand on his hip.

"What would he need a massive explosion in that area for?"

"Well.. I have a hunch" Rouge said as she spread her wings and jumped down off of the ledge she was sitting on to fly. "You see, I've been searching for years for a super rare and shiny gem called the paradox prism." She explained flying towards tails' tool board stopping a few inches away from it.

"Paradox Prism?" Sonic ask

"Legend speaks of an untold power, and it's buried deep within the Green Hill bedrock. My guess is that he used your power against you to try to find it." She replied.

"Fascinating. But what I really want to know is, how did you get in here?" Sonic inquired.

Rouge looked at him in disbelief. "You left the door open." She said pointing to a wide open garage door. Gather your crew and meet me at the top of the Loop-de-Loop. Let's find out what Eggman is up to."

At the top of the mountain, Robotnik was there "At last. The Paradox Prism! So close. It was only a rumor for so long, and now inches from my grasp. Countless times I have tried to modernize this hunk of earth only to be defied by that simpleton Sonic." Robotnik hissed

"Now, it's finally going to happen. And it's all the sweeter because the blue baboon handed me this prize.." He clapped his hands "without realizing it. So, thank you, Sonic. For now I stand at the summit of--"

"Of the mountain." Orbot interrupted.

"..of a new age! The age of--"

"Pretty lights?" Cubot asked interrupting Robotnik.

"..the age of the Eggman Empire!"

"Ooh, fancy!" Both Orbot and Cubot said.

"And now.." Robotnik screamed as he fell into the entrance he made. "Why didn't you idiots tell me how big that first step was?" He shouted before getting back in his robot.

"Sorry, boss" Orbot replied.

Robotnik began to walk down the path. "Where is it? I know you're in here somewhere." He said as his flashlight made the prism shine bright and reflect throughout the cave. He chuckled when he saw it, but then it turned into wicked laughter.

"I think Rouge is right. Eggman picked that spot for a reason. Why else would he hide a power amplifier in his own Eggcrusher?" Tails spoke.

"So, we start at the scene of the crime." Knuckles stated

"Exactly. Lets go investigate and see if anything might lead us to this Paradox Prism you guys are talking about" Amy added.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

NOW

"Paradox Prism. Right. That's what Eggman was after. How?" Sonic asked falling on his face. "No, no, no. I didn't leave Green Hill. This is Green Hill. He did it. I don't know how he did it, but he did it. Eggman won."

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ ˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ ˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗

This took a long time, oh my gosh. But the first chapter is out! (Finally)

I like calling Robotnik by his actual last name for some reason, don't ask me why.

I had to rewrite from the part where Sonic asks "Paradox Prism?" To when Knuckles said "So, we start at the scene of the crime." That was such a hassle.

Also since this chapter is done, I will now focus more on requests, and the next chapter will take a while since i'm only 17 minutes into the episode.

[mama-qwerty]

headcanon that whenever tails hides himself away while overstimulated, knuckles guards him so nothing or nobody can bother him until he feels better

OMG YES

~~~~~

Sonic came back from a run, pulling up to a quick stop to where Knuckles stood, back straight and arms crossed.

The hedgehog blew out a soft sigh. He knew what that meant.

"How long?"

Knuckles gave a soft hum, his voice as soft as Sonic's. "Twenty minutes."

Sonic nodded, leaning to the side to peek around the echidna. A form huddled beneath a thick blanket in the corner of the attic, the whole mound shaking slightly. A brief glimpse of a yellowish tail with a white tip peeked from beneath the hem.

"Tails?" he called, and started to step around Knuckles when a large mitted hand appeared on his chest. Sonic looked up at his brother, brow furrowed. "Lemme past."

Knuckles shook his head. "Not yet."

The mound behind him shivered more violently, a soft whimper floating to their ears. They both turned, and watched their younger brother as he curled tighter beneath the blanket.

"Knux, c'mon," Sonic said, trying to push past. The echidna's hand held firm. "You know how this goes."

"I do," Knuckles said with a soft voice, and soft nod. "And it is not time yet. Wait."

The two stood and watched Tails for another moment, as the fox trembled within his cocoon.

After a few moments more, the mound expanded as Tails pulled in a deep breath, before releasing it in a long, slow exhale. Knuckles nodded.

"Now."

He removed his palm from Sonic's chest, allowing the hedgehog to move forward and peek beneath the edge of the blanket.

"Room for one more?"

A beat passed, before a small gloved hand appeared from the shadows beneath the cover, taking Sonic's and pulling him in. The blanket came down to cover the hedgehog, and the mound shifted and moved as the two found a comfortable position to snuggle.

Knuckles watched for a moment more, before nodding and turning away. He took a step to give the two some peace, until a soft voice called him.

"Knuckles?"

He turned at Tails' voice, eyebrow raised. "Yes?"

The lumps beneath the blanket shifted once more, and a small hand reached out for him.

Knuckles' other brow joined the first. This was . . . unexpected.

He stood where he was for a moment, before moving toward the blanket. He reached forward, and allowed Tails to take his hand. The boy pulled him beneath the cover, and he settled in to the fox's left side, as Sonic snuggled on his right.

"Are you certain you wish me here?"

Tails nodded against his chest. "It's better with both of you."

"What, am I not enough for you?" Sonic said, his voice light and teasing. "Gonna hurt my feelings, little bro."

Tails gave a little giggle, and lightly elbowed Sonic in the chest. "Shut up."

"Shutting up."

The two older boys wrapped their arms around the youngest, giving him a gentle squeeze to help settle his feeling of overstimulation. Tails gave another sigh, nuzzling in between them.

"You are safe, little fox," Knuckles said, a soft purr vibrating his chest. "Rest. I will keep you from any harm."

"We will," Sonic corrected, and tried to start his own purr. He wasn't as used to doing it on demand--it was usually something that just happened when he was completely relaxed. "Get some sleep, Tails. We gotcha."

The boy gave a little sigh, his hands curled around one of each of his brother's arms. The trembles in his body, the noise in his mind, slowly faded, and he drifted off to sleep, feeling safe and content in this cuddle pile between his older brothers.

[nixoon-again]

The sun had long since dipped below the horizon, the full moon taking its place in the new night sky as stars twinkled like a blanket of diamonds overhead. The campfire crackles and pops, its flames enough to both cook dinner to fill their bellies before they call it a night and to keep them warm in the slightly chilly air. The calm of the night is accompanied by crickets singing their song in the distance, hiding somewhere among the greens of the forest.

Sonic takes in a deep breath, the scent of the forest's damp moss and decaying leaves bring a sense of tranquillity to him that no city can. He looks into the pot he has skillfully placed over the campfire in a makeshift holder and takes a wooden spoon to stir the chilli cooking inside, its delectable aroma filling the air as it tickles his nostrils and makes his mouth water.

Little feet patter towards him. Sonic doesn't need to look back to know who it is.

A small hand reaches out and gently touches his shoulder.

“Hm?” Is the only acknowledgement Sonic gives to the little fox cub standing behind him, his eyes still on the pot to make sure he gets the chilli perfectly cooked.

“Sonic…?” Tails calls, there's a strange hint of nervousness in his voice that, Sonic thinks, doesn't really go with the peaceful nature of the night. 

Sensing something wrong, the hedgehog looks over his shoulder. Green meets blue but blue doesn't return the gesture. 

Tails is picking the fur on the tip of his namesakes again. He does this a lot, Sonic has learnt. He's no expert himself but the four year old before him has some habits that he thinks no four year olds are supposed to have. Sonic isn't going to dive deep into that yet, some other day maybe but for now he just softly taps the kit's forehead with his knuckles to bring him back to reality.

Tails looks at him. There are tears forming in the corner of his eyes.

He looks scared.

Sonic immediately gets off the log he's been sitting on, the wooden spoon abandoned in the grass as his quills bristle. He grabs Tails by his upper arm and looks over him, wondering if he's hurt.

Tails is quick to shake his head and tell him he's fine. Sonic looks at him dumbfoundedly, his eyes alone asking, “What is it then?”

Tails kicks a stray pebble, scuffs his shoe on the ground.

Sonic has to tap his forehead again to get an answer out of him.

“It's just that… Um, I was wondering, when you…”

Sonic isn't known for his patience, Tails knows that. So before Sonic taps his forehead again, Tails words his worries.

“When will you throw me out?”

The words don't hit him as much as the sincerely behind them does.

Sonic doesn't know what form of shock appears on his face but whatever it is, it makes Tails fumble over his words as he anxiously flaps his hands and tries to explain what he just said, “I-I mean, it's been three months now and you— you've been very nice a-and, I'm— I'm, I've been eating your food and using your supplies a-and no one has kept me for long without—”

Sonic doesn't like the way fat tears roll down his muzzle, he doesn't like the way Tails cuts himself off mid sentence as if he's scared to say more, he doesn't like the way Tails thinks he needs to be abandoned for some reason. Sonic likes Tails; the little guy is smart and keeps up with him without asking him to slow down. Despite not having had a home and being bullied by other kids, he's still more well-mannered than Sonic is. Not to mention, Sonic likes Tails just for the sake of it. No one wants this kit. Sonic does. 

So naturally, Sonic gently wipes away Tails’ tears. He points towards his own chest and then pokes Tails’ with his index finger before signing, “Together.”

Me and you; together.

Then Sonic holds his index finger up with his gloves palm back and draws a few large circles to sign with a promise, “Always.”

They will always be together and Sonic will never leave the little cub before him alone.

Tails will never have to feel alone again. Not when Sonic is here

_____

Sonic is tired.

It's been a long day.

He heaves a sigh when he takes a step closer to Tails’ Mystic Ruins workshop. The lights are on, he's glad to know Tails is here. He found him purely by chance today, he didn't have to run into multiple labs scattered around the world to find him which is good because he's already late. The night has fallen. The moon isn't visible under all the clouds, Sonic can't see a single star.

He thought he'd visit his own.

He ignores the way his hand shakes when he reaches out for the doorknob. It's rather cold tonight. It won't be long before it starts snowing. 

Tails likes playing in the snow.

Maybe they'll make a snowman.

He opens the door and steps inside. His vision gets a little awry for a second as the interior of the live-in workshop spins but that's okay, Sonic closes his eyes and gives himself a minute. It's okay. He's okay. 

He just wants to see Tails.

He steps inside, a little dizzy. He looks around the place in search of familiar golden fur. He doesn't find it right away so he walks in further. Briefly, he wonders if Tails is working late again and if he will have to drag him to his bed and tuck him in again. 

He's not against the idea.

It might be a bit selfish, but for time's sake, he'd like that.

Tails has grown up on him so fast.

He remembers when the little four year old first asked to be tucked in. He was so shy, so unsure, so terrified of asking to be loved.

Sonic loves Tails.

That's his little brother. He raised Tails. He took him in when no one else would — and quite frankly, whoever refused to give the kit a home missed out because Tails is amazing. He's everything and more. His little star, his sunshine. He loves him more than anything in this world.

He frowns.

Sonic doesn't remember the last time he told Tails that.

He doesn't remember the last, “I love you.”

He knows he doesn't say it often. He never felt like it was something that needed to be worded. Not saying it didn't mean Sonic didn't feel it. That's just been the way they go about their lives. There are many unworded things between them, not any less stronger than the ones that have been voiced.

Yet, Sonic feels a strange pang of guilt.

What if Tails doesn't know?

His little brother's self-esteem is always lingering in the negatives. What if he thinks Sonic doesn't love him because Sonic says it like once every two years during his most vulnerable moments? Sonic doesn't like that, Sonic doesn't want Tails to feel unloved because that's just simply not true.

He should've said it more often.

“Sonic?”

The hedgehog smiles at the voice. Tails has found him.

Emerald eyes slowly shift towards him. The fox is wearing a knitted baby blue cardigan, standing on the staircase. His eyes are on Sonic's left hand that rests just above the hedgehog's hip, stained red.

It's really cold, huh?

“H-Hey, bud…” He greets weakly, his smile ever-present.

Tails looks horrified, he gasps, “Sonic.”

Sonic doesn't reply. Not right away. Not when his voice fails him. He didn't come here to worry his little brother, no. He just came here to see him.

He reaches out his free hand towards Tails, takes a step forward but he ends up unable to maintain his balance. 

He sways.

Tails catches him before he falls.

“Sonic!”

The fox bands his arms around the teen’s torso to support him, his breath hitches as he struggles to grasp what he's seeing. A million questions running through his head. How did this happen? Who was Sonic fighting? Why didn't he call him? Why didn't Tails go with him? Why didn't Tails know? Why didn't the hedgehog's communicator record his vitals and ping Tails? Where is Sonic's communicator? What's he doing here? How much blood has he lost? What should Tails do—

Tails feels Sonic's hand cradle the back of his head, the hedgehog removes his bloody hand from his wound to loop it around Tails’ back and pull him in a hug, staining the cardigan before he rests his face on top of Tails’ head, nuzzling in his soft fur.

Tails is so much warmer.

“S-Sonic,” Tails feels the panic slowly bubbling up in his chest, “Sonic, what happened—”

“Shh…” Sonic hushes, “Don't worry about me.”

“Shut up.” Tails lets out a humourless chuckle, “If you don't want me to worry then don't walk in bleeding out like that.”

“Sorry, lil bro.” Sonic mumbles. Then quieter, “Couldn't really control it this time.”

“Sit down, let me check the wou—”

“No…” Sonic slurs. Tails feels his blood run cold when the hedgehog tightens his grip on him, and doesn't let him go, “No. Just… Just let me…”

He didn't come here to be treated. He didn't come all the way here to worry Tails. He knows coming here light-headed from blood loss is going to worry Tails whether or not he wanted to, if he didn't want to worry his little brother then he shouldn't have come.

But he can't help it.

He doesn't want to leave without seeing him one last time.

“Sonic?” Tails calls but the hedgehog remains quiet, still in his hold. So Tails calls again, “Sonic?” 

And he doesn't know why his voice sounds smaller, why he sounds scared. Is he terrified? What of? They get hurt all the time. It comes with their line of work. Sonic has been hurt before, so has Tails and they both recovered. Now isn't any different, is it?

It shouldn't be.

Sonic promised.

Always; he said always. He promised. They're supposed to be together forever. 

Sonic is supposed to be fine, then why is he scared?

The hand on the back of his head slowly slides down, the weight of Sonic's body increases on him.

They tumble to the floor but Sonic wraps his arms around him tightly as soon as they do, not wanting to let go any time soon.

Sonic pulls Tails closer. The kit's chest undoubtedly tainted red by now. Sonic's still glad, at least it's his own blood in the fox and not Tails’. He buries Tails’ face in his chest, he gently pets him and lays a soft kiss on the top of his head. Tails wraps his namesakes around him in return, hugging Sonic like his life depends on it. The younger doesn't like the implications of it all as Sonic starts brushing his fingers through the fur on Tails’ back but Sonic doesn't seem to care.

He's content.

But with only one regret.

“Tails…?”

“Yes, Sonic?”

Sonic wants to say he loves him, more than he can ever imagine. Sonic wants to make up for every time he didn't say it, he wants Tails to know.

His words fail him and he ends up with, “I'm sorry… I promised to go on that trip to Chun-nan with you. I don't think I can anymore.”

“That's okay… We'll go when you're better, won't we? It can wait.”

Sonic just hugs him tighter, “I-I don't think I can, bud.”

His voice cracks and Tails tries to escape his hold to most likely give him a very painful dumbfounded look. 

Tries, because Sonic doesn't let him.

“Why?” Tails asks. The teen feels his tears on his chest, “Why?”

Sonic smiles even though Tails can't see it.

“Hey, now… Don't be sad, okay?”

“No.” Tails shakes his head, “No, stop talking like that you… You promised. You promised.”

He knows that. He has promised Tails so many things. He's afraid he could only fulfil a few.

At least there's one thing he can do before going.

He doesn't say it often so naturally, it takes him longer to find the words, “You know I love you, right?”

“Sonic, please—”

“It's okay. It's gonna be okay.” He hushes him, scratches the back of his ear to calm him down. 

They sit like that for a while. It can't be more than a few minutes but its feels like year pass until Sonic's starts feeling more and more sluggish, until he can't get his fingers to move enough to pet Tails, to brush his soft fur. His hold on his little brother gradually gets weaker. 

With the last of his strength, Sonic separate himself from Tails.

The kit looks up at him, ocean eyes filled with tears.

Sonic looks into those eyes for a minute before pressing his forehead onto Tails’.

And at last, he says,

“I love you.”

(Tails doesn't move, he doesn't know how long he holds onto his brother till Amy visits — and when she does, he finds himself unable to cry anymore.)

[domi091]

The Struggle of Parting Ways

Tails knew Sonic never cried, it just wasn't him, even if Tails had the chance to witness him tearing up once or twice in his short life, but never cried, his eyes shined sometimes, with emotions more than tears, but they never spell, they well up his eyes and steadily stay there until he blinks them away or they dry of sheer will and stubbornness, that was just his brother, that's how he handled his feelings.

Sonic never cries, and he didn't cry when they sat in silence on the floor in Tails's room, packing up the yellow bag that used to carry their whole life and everything to Sonic's name before they settled in the workshop, tails wasn't going to take it at first, he wanted to grow, he wanted to be his own person, he was taking the cyclone instead of the tornado, he wanted to feel like himself and grow into his full potential without any influence, even Sonic's, especially Sonic's

But the rational part of his brain told him that if anything was going to hold him back it certainly wouldn't be their bag, a piece of worn-out fabric, holding more memories than any other item they have now,

and maybe, just maybe a tiny part of his brain wanted it, wanted to have something of theirs, of sonics, to keep with him for reassurance, it was a childish part, a traitorous one, but his fight over it was weak.

When Sonic showed up at his door holding the bag in his hand and offering to help him pack up before his trip, tails couldn't say no, sonic smiled at him, one of his signature grins almost too natural for the situation,

He didn't cry when he stood in the hangar with a less wide smile but a smile nonetheless still planted in his face, quietly watching tails do the last of many checks on the cyclone and putting away all the things he needed.

There weren't many words to be said, they already had that talk, and soon, the quietness became too much to bear. He was too familiar with Sonic's behavior by now, and could always sense the unsaid words that Sonic struggled to voice or refused to say out loud. However, this time, he felt the weight of the unspoken words in the air around them, and for the first time in a while, he couldn't fill the gaps. He could feel Sonic's gaze on him, and he tried his best not to fidget under the intense scrutiny. When he finally mustered the courage to look up at him again, he found Sonic's arms open and his expression soft. too soft tails almost looked away, He hesitated for a few seconds but soon gave in when Sonic gestured for him to come closer.

Sonic didn't cry as he pulled Tails into the hug, not even when his arms tightened around him too much it was almost painful. He cradled the back of Tails' head with his palm, just like he used to do years ago. sonic remained silent as Tails buried his wet nose in his shoulder and cried, despite his best efforts.

He didn't cry sending him off, tails turned on the engine and nodded when Sonic gave him a thumbs up after checking the way in front of him, all clear.

Tails soared into the sky, he blamed the tears welling up in his eyes on the crisp morning air hitting his face too fast, the fact that his eyes got used to it long ago to tear up went ignored, and the fact that he was wearing his goggles completely forgotten, tails didn't want to look back, not now, not at the start of his own journey, not when he probably looked miserable and childish right now, not when that was exactly what he was trying to grow out of, but he couldn't fight the strong feeling that washed over him, forming a lump in his throat, a tiny voice in his head, sounding suspiciously like his younger self, told him that one last look at his brother won't hurt, one last glance for the road, for good luck, for extra comfort, for the cold nights, he turned.

And he saw him, still standing at the hanger door almost too far to see but Tail's trained eyes didn't miss the small shake in his shoulders, sonic was covering his eyes with his palm and his face was looking down, whether Sonic thought tails was too far away to see him anymore or if he just couldn't hold it any longer tails didn't know, but it was too much to witness.

so he looked back ahead trying and failing to swallow the lump away, he pretended that he didn't see anything and that his eyes were clear and not too blurry to see through, years of practice and the way ahead of him memorized like the back of his paw was the only thing keeping the plane airborne.

[multifandom-pleasures]

𝙃𝙀𝙔𝙔𝙔! IT'S GOOD TO SEE A SONIC FANS WITH YEAR OF SHADOW!! (uhm okay 'got to excited)

So can I request team sss (silver sonic shadow yk) and villain also sibling!reader okay so before reader become a villain they were siblings and they had so much time together before their parents d##d in a accident sooo what will they react to their sister? Do they fight? Or her sister just ignore them until they decide to speak to her?

THANK YOU HAVE A NICE DAYY!

A/N: thank you thank you!! I got a bit carried away in the plot for each one, and with different types of endings for each of the boys - so I hope they can be satisfactory!! thank you for the suggestion!!

silver

silver didn’t know what happened. one moment, you two were growing up together, trying to survive in the apocalyptic world you were both born into and then the next; you turned your back on him. perhaps you’d grown tired of starvation, constant fear and fighting, and sleepless nights plagued by nightmares that not even silver could protect you from. he felt like a failure. he knew he couldn’t protect his world solely on his own, but you? you were his family. he could have at least protected you.

he found you terrorizing a few survivors of their scraps, cornering them with a sharp weapon and threats of ending them. silver flung the weapon from your grasp, and as you jerked your head his way, he could see the conflicting emotions flicker across your face. anger, confusion, longing, and then back to anger again. you wanted to run away and forget you ever ran into him - but your legs wouldn’t move. your victims escaped as your eyes drifted down, surely silver was using his powers against you to keep you from leaving.

he wasn’t. it was your fear and panic alone - something you hadn’t felt in some time.

“ (y/n).. “ silver’s voice was soft, like you always remembered it. it never failed to put you at ease. you reluctantly met his gaze, expecting disappointment - disgust even. you nearly choked up as he approached you with a look of relief, “ you’re okay. I’m so glad you’re okay. you look.. well. “

you flinched as his hand came to your face, cradling your cheek against his palm and you found your bottom lip trembling, your breath stuttering as you attempted to inhale. you’d missed him. His expression shifted into one of worry as his thumb swiped your cheek. tears.

“ I’m sorry. “ you forced out, “ I’m sorry - I couldn’t take it anymore. I was only a nuisance to you, you had so much to worry about and.. “ he shushed you, his arms coming around you and pulling you into his chest.

“ it’s okay. it’s okay.. I’m just glad you’re okay. “ silver replied, stroking the back of your head, “ you should have spoken to me. you were never a nuisance. I worry for you because I’m your brother - I’m supposed to. I’m always going to want to protect you.. “ he pulled away to look down at you, “ you’re all I have left.. if I lost you.. I don’t know what I’d do. “

silver pressed a kiss to your head, and pulled away to take your hand, “ come on.. let me take you back. we’ll work together from bow on, okay? we’ll keep each other safe. “ you hiccuped and nodded, trailing after him as you wiped away your tears.

sonic

sonic was first on arrival, as per usual, when he heard a village was set on fire. he was used to petty villainy, but this was a step above that - and not one he was accustomed to. but he could manage. he raced along to help the locals escape, and just as he was wrapping that up - he skidded to a stop. those spikes, those eyes.. they felt much too familiar.

“ (y/n)? “ he found himself calling out before he could think twice - and the figure turned. it was you. it had been some years since you’d disappeared, sometime after your parents had died. he was bent in sticking to justice and good; living a life they would be proud of. and you had other plans. you were determined to avenge them, revenge your only fuel for living now. in the few times he’d ran into you, he couldn’t seem to change your mind. too bad it looked like you lost your way along that path.

in his shock, he didn’t bother to dodge as your lunged at him - toppling him to the ground. you hissed at him as you swung, and his arms came up to protect his face from the punches. the pain was numbed as he stared up at you, taking in the features he’d grown up knowing. your gentle eyes were hardened, and your smile had disappeared, a constant snarl. he couldn’t hit you back no matter how much his instincts told him to protect himself. you were his family. if he fought and turned you in now; who was to say he would ever see you again?

he could hear faint running steps coming his direction; which brought him back to reality. the fire. it was hot, sweat beading and matting at his fur, the flames licking at him. they’d grown in the time he was distracted with you. you seemed to hear it too as you pulled yourself back, a conflicted emotion flashing over your face before you leaped up. you threw one last final glare his way before you ran off, disappearing in the fire and into the forest. he sat up and turned to see the others coming to help put out the fire.

“ sonic! “ amy ran up to him, grasping onto his arms and tugging him. he followed numbly as he looked down at his bruised and battered arms, “ are you okay? what happened back there? “ he only shook his head in response, looking back to where you’d ran off to. he’d have to look for you again. he could change your mind - couldn’t he?

shadow

shadow could admit, he was never one to follow a straight line. he did what he needed to so long as it helped him accomplish his goals. thieving, lying, or even helping his rival, sonic, if need be. good or bad; he was neither. and even if he’d contemplated ending a life by his own hands, he had never done so. he promised Maria he wouldn’t. you did too; raised alongside him on the ark and raised by the doctor gerald robotnik. but it seemed as if that promise meant nothing to you.

what led you down this path, he had no idea. he witnessed the same traumas as you had, suffered like you, and yet, you both were so incredibly different. G.U.N had sent him to investigate a series of deaths involving their soldiers and to find the culprit. all his leads brought him here, to you. you stood above a fellow G.U.N member, gun in hand and pressed tightly against their forehead. they were pleading for their life, and you took it in sadistically.

“ (y/n). “ shadow appeared before you, and your weapon was promptly lifted to him instead, brows furrowed into a glare.

“ you work with them? “ you scoffed, looking your brother up and down with an almost disapproved look, “ humans? they’re weak. they destroyed everything we ever knew and cared for - you *work* with them? *for* them? “

“ you knew maria wanted us to protect them. we are stronger than they are, yes; they are weak, and that is why we are here - “

“ they killed her! “ you snapped, finger on the trigger. shadow did not look phased, “ they killed her, because they are weak, simple minded creatures driven by fear. they destroy what they don’t understand. “ the next thing you knew, shadow was indirectly in front of you and grasping the barrel of the gun - yanking it from your grasp.

you lunged at him, and you both wrestled and fought. shadow was significantly stronger than you, gaining more of dark doom’s dna than you had - but he was holding back, and you knew it.

“ you’re just as weak. “ you grinned maliciously, “ just as emotional and pathetic as they are. you can’t hurt me, just because we’re related. if I truly am a threat you should just end me. “ you slashed at his face, and he growled as your nails tore the skin on his cheek - blood beading at the wounds.

shadow grasped the gun and for a moment, you thought he would shoot you - he would take your suggestion and end your being. instead, a sharp pain cracked at the side of your skull, and you were thrown off shadow. the world spun as you tried to focus on the way he moved - rose to his feet and grasp onto the G.U.N member you hadn’t gotten to kill. he dropped the gun and looked down at you, and you swore you saw sadness in his eyes as he spat.

“ you are not worth killing, “ he paused, “ and you are not worth saving. if I ever find you to end another human life - I will be there. and I won’t hesitate. “ and he was gone in a flash of green, leaving you to collect yourself.

[blackenedsnow]

IT'S ME AGAIN. DON'T ASK. Please don't question why I'm here, I only have drama in mind, but I have a desire for action.

Singer!reader with Bodyguard!sss(silver, sonic, shadow) team, Reader, a popular singer, was constantly giving concerts and releasing a new album every year and continuing to be popular, but she had a problem singing and performing constantly and after the concert, her voice was constantly muffled/hoarse this always got worried the bodyguards. Reader also delayed them just saying "don't be that worried about it omg..!" like shes mean girl type, Of course, the triple guards know that and they know her well, so they can't/didn't say much. In fact singing was a strength of hers, the songs she sang hooked/obsessed the people and helped them to love her even more. That's the good thing of her power. The bad thing is, if she sings a violent and scary melody or song, it becomes reality, but she didn't know it..yet.

Suddenly she got shot a few bullets in her chest while singing one of those kind of songs, but she kept singing to hide her pain, then a few minutes later of disaster and massive pain she fell to the ground and fans started or tried to help her but the other mean guards didn't let them as the fans began to curse the mean guards as a massive fight begin around them as the main triple guards came to the concert and tried to help her but she was already dying...the triple guards tried to save her as they failed and she died at the concert.

A star who is popular again after 10 years attracts the attention of 3 guards or not anymore guards they were normal hero hedgehogs again. Silver was the first to notice it, then shadow and sonic noticed too but had she changed much? İ MEAN MUCH. She has red hair, red sun-like pupils and a black tight jumpsuit. She also has a beauty mark below her right eye. After 3 hedgehogs tried and managed to get her attention at the concert, she suddenly stopped the concert and wanted to meet privately with 3 hedgehogs.

After entering her own private room she sneeringly smiled and looked at them as they really thought she was a dead popstar but she was faking her dead the whole time trying to recreate her singing power as she began to explain more and answered their question.

I leave you the back questions and the made-up story, You can say anything you want about why she's been acting dead so far..

take care of yourself! ⭐

voice of power

WARNING: Mentions of violence and injury, faked death

PAIRING: Sonic the Hedgehog x (Fem) Singer! Reader, Shadow the Hedgehog x (Fem) Singer! Reader, Silver the Hedgehog x (Fem) Singer! Reader,

NOTE: Hey there! I’m always excited to hear your ideas and write what inspires you! I’m here for it all. :)

SUMMARY: You’re a powerful, world-famous singer with a voice that captivates and obsesses the masses, backed by an elite team of bodyguards: Sonic, Shadow, and Silver. But behind the glamour and success, there’s a price to pay.

The lights dimmed as you took center stage, basking in the deafening roar of the crowd. Their cheers, a familiar symphony of adoration, pumped through your veins like electricity. You flashed a confident smile as you gripped the microphone, your voice effortlessly weaving through the melody. Song after song, you captivated them, holding their hearts in the palm of your hand.

You were a sensation—a force of nature in the music world. No matter how many concerts you performed or albums you released, your popularity never waned. But tonight, like every other performance, the price for your talent was clear by the end.

As the final note echoed through the stadium, your voice, once powerful and sharp, had turned raspy and hoarse. You barely managed a breathy "thank you" before retreating backstage, leaving the crowd chanting your name in blissful ignorance of the strain you were under.

But your bodyguards? They knew.

Sonic was the first to greet you behind the curtain, his usual energetic smile slightly faltering when he saw the exhaustion on your face. “Another great show, huh?”

“Yeah, yeah,” you waved him off, your tone sharp but dismissive. “It’s nothing I can’t handle.”

Silver and Shadow joined moments later, their expressions a little less carefree. Silver, always the worrier, frowned. “Are you sure you’re okay? Your voice—”

“It’s fine!” you snapped, rolling your eyes. “God, you guys worry too much. It’s just hoarse. Don’t be so dramatic.”

Shadow, standing a bit farther back, crossed his arms, his red eyes studying you in silence. He, more than the others, had learned not to push you when you were like this. It was your way of coping after all.

Sonic glanced at Shadow, but he didn’t argue. He knew better, too. You were their responsibility, yes, but they’d learned over time how to navigate your prickly exterior. Still, the hoarseness in your voice was becoming too common to ignore, and they all knew it.

“You’ve been doing this a lot lately,” Silver muttered, glancing at the others for support. “We’re just… worried.”

You sighed dramatically, grabbing a bottle of water and taking a long sip. “Well, stop worrying. I’m fine. You guys need to chill.”

There it was—that edge in your voice, the cool dismissal. You weren’t cruel, not really, but you had a way of pushing them back whenever they got too close. You’d built walls to keep them from prying into things you didn’t want to talk about—like how drained you felt after every concert, or how your throat burned after singing. They weren’t allowed to worry about you, not if you had any say in it.

But deep down, they couldn’t help it. Because they knew you—better than anyone else.

Still, they held back, even as concern tugged at them. This was your routine. After every show, your voice would be rough, and after every show, you’d tell them not to worry. But as your bodyguards, they couldn’t just ignore it.

Sonic, Silver, and Shadow exchanged glances, silently agreeing to let it go for now. You were strong, and they respected that, but they’d seen enough to know when something wasn’t right.

“You’ve got more performances coming up,” Sonic said after a moment, rubbing the back of his head. “Just… don’t overdo it, alright?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m not some fragile little flower, you know,” you replied, shrugging him off as you slung your bag over your shoulder. “I’ve got this under control.”

But they couldn’t shake the feeling that something was building, something you didn’t even realize. After all, they knew you weren’t just any singer. There was something different about you—something powerful about your voice that went beyond just captivating an audience.

And they feared that you might be playing with something you didn’t fully understand.

A few nights later, this specific night seemed perfect—just like every other concert. You were on stage, the crowd hanging on your every word, every note, just like always. The lights were bright, the music loud, and your voice—though a little strained—still commanded the room. But something felt different tonight.

The song you were performing wasn’t like your usual set. This one had a darker edge, a haunting melody that throbbed through the venue like a heartbeat. Your fans didn’t seem to mind, though. They were just as entranced as always, singing along, their faces lit with adoration.

But then, something snapped.

The first shot hit your chest before you even realized what was happening.

Pain. Sharp and all-consuming. It ripped through you, but you didn’t stop singing. You couldn’t. Your voice was your armor, your strength, and no matter what was happening, you couldn’t let the audience see you in pain. So you kept singing, your voice now layered with a hidden agony that none of them could sense—yet.

Another bullet. And another.

Your breath hitched, but the notes kept coming, your body trembling with the effort. The stage lights blurred in your vision, the sound of your voice fading under the roaring in your ears. You couldn’t stop. Not now. Not when all eyes were on you.

But the pain was unbearable.

It felt like your chest was on fire, the bullets lodged deep, your body betraying you. You clutched the microphone tighter, leaning into it for support as your legs began to give out. You didn’t care if it hurt. You didn’t care if—

Your knees buckled. The microphone slipped from your hand, and in a heartbeat, you hit the ground.

The crowd screamed.

Chaos erupted as the fans surged forward, trying to help you, but the security guards—a rougher, meaner bunch hired for the event—blocked their way, shoving people back. “Stay back!” they barked, their voices cold and unfeeling, as if they didn’t care that you were lying there, bleeding out in front of thousands of people.

The fans shouted, some of them screaming your name, others cursing the guards. Fists flew, and soon a full-blown riot broke out. The guards pushed back harder, forming a barrier around you as the concert dissolved into madness.

But you could barely see it anymore.

The pain was overwhelming, blurring the edges of your vision as blood pooled beneath you. The world spun, and your breath came in shallow gasps. The sounds around you—shouts, screams, the clashing of bodies—faded into the background.

Suddenly, through the haze, you saw them. Sonic, Shadow, and Silver were pushing through the chaos, their eyes locked on you. They moved fast, faster than you’d ever seen them, but it didn’t matter. You knew it was too late.

By the time they reached you, your chest was heaving, every breath a struggle. Sonic dropped to his knees beside you, his usual smile nowhere to be found. “Hey… hey, we’re here. You’re gonna be okay,” he said, though his voice wavered.

Shadow was already checking your wounds, his expression grim, while Silver hovered nearby, panic clear in his wide eyes.

But you knew. You could feel the life draining out of you, the strength that had always been there slipping through your fingers. You tried to speak, tried to tell them something—anything—but your voice was gone, replaced by a weak gurgle.

It was too late.

The world was already fading, the pain dulling as your body went cold. You could feel yourself slipping away, the noise of the concert—of the chaos—growing distant.

And then… just like that, you were gone.

Ten years had passed since the tragic night when your life was cut short on stage. The music world had mourned, and your three former bodyguards—Sonic, Shadow, and Silver—had each gone back to their roles as heroes. They tried to move on, but losing you had left a mark on each of them, a wound that never fully healed.

That was why, when Silver saw you again, standing under the bright lights of a new concert stage, his heart nearly stopped.

It wasn’t just the resemblance—it was you. He knew it, deep in his gut, despite the changes. You were different, transformed, but still undeniably you.

“Is that—” Silver muttered, wide-eyed, as he stared at the screen showing the concert.

Shadow, sitting nearby, followed Silver’s gaze. His eyes narrowed as he focused on the screen, a flicker of recognition flashing in his sharp red eyes. “It can’t be…”

But it was. Sonic, who had just walked into the room, caught sight of the broadcast and froze. “No way…” His usual carefree tone was gone, replaced by shock.

The three of them stared at the screen, watching in stunned silence as you moved across the stage, your presence commanding as always, but now with an even more magnetic pull. You hadn’t just changed physically—you were more powerful, more captivating than ever.

“I thought she was dead,” Sonic whispered, his voice barely audible.

Silver was the first to move, grabbing his jacket and heading for the door. “We need to get to that concert.”

Shadow and Sonic exchanged a glance before following. They didn’t know how it was possible, but if you were back, they needed answers. And more than anything, they needed to see you again.

At the concert venue, the crowd was mesmerized by your performance. Every note you sang seemed to wrap around their minds, drawing them in deeper with every passing second. But your attention wasn’t on the audience—it was on the three familiar faces you’d spotted in the crowd.

Silver. Shadow. Sonic.

It had been years since you’d seen them, but the moment their eyes met yours, you knew it was time. You couldn’t continue the charade any longer.

Without warning, you stopped mid-song. The band fell silent, and the audience, confused and murmuring, watched as you raised a hand to signal the end of the concert.

“I want to meet three people,” you announced, your voice echoing through the venue. “Backstage. Now.”

The crowd erupted in whispers, confused but curious. The three hedgehogs were just as surprised, but they didn’t hesitate. Guided by a mix of disbelief and anticipation, they made their way backstage.

Once inside the privacy of your room, the atmosphere grew heavier. You leaned against the back of a lavish chair, your sun-like eyes gleaming with amusement as you looked over the three hedgehogs before you. For years, they had believed you were dead. The memory of that night, the blood, the chaos—it had been seared into their minds. And now here you stood, alive, and more powerful than ever.

A sneering smile curled at your lips as you crossed your arms, eyes flicking between them. “You really thought I was dead, huh?” You chuckled darkly. “You have no idea.”

Sonic’s fists clenched at his sides, confusion and shock flashing in his emerald eyes. “You died. We saw it happen. How… how are you standing here like nothing happened?”

Silver was quieter, still processing, while Shadow’s sharp gaze hadn’t left your face, his body rigid with tension as he waited for an explanation.

You straightened up, pushing off the chair and taking a slow step forward, your voice turning cold and calculated. “It was all a lie. Every single bit of it. I faked my death that night on stage.”

The silence that followed was suffocating. None of them spoke for a long moment, the weight of your words hanging in the air.

“Why?” Shadow asked, his voice low, almost growling. His red eyes were locked onto yours, demanding an answer.

You smiled again, this time more bitter than amused. “Because I had to. That night, when those bullets hit me, I realized something. My voice… it wasn’t just a talent. It was a weapon. A power. And I didn’t understand how to control it.” You took a deep breath, letting the gravity of your words sink in. “Every song I sang, every note I hit, could change the world around me. If I sang a sad song, the people listening would become depressed. If I sang something violent…”

Sonic flinched at the memory, recalling how the audience had descended into chaos after you were shot.

“I could have caused a disaster,” you continued, pacing slowly as you spoke. “That’s what was happening the night I ‘died.’ The bullets, the riot—it wasn’t just bad luck. It was me. My voice made it happen. I sang a violent song, and it became reality.”

Silver’s eyes widened, piecing things together. “So… you faked your death to stop it? To stop hurting people?”

You nodded. “Yes. After that night, I knew I wasn’t safe to be around anyone. My powers were too unstable, too dangerous. I couldn’t risk more people getting hurt. So I disappeared. For ten years, I’ve been hiding, working on controlling my abilities, on recreating them in a way that I can harness them—without all the chaos.”

Sonic’s face was twisted with a mix of emotions, hurt and anger mixing together. “Why didn’t you tell us? We could’ve helped you. We thought you were gone forever!”

You looked away for a moment, guilt flickering across your features before hardening again. “Because I didn’t need your help. I needed time. Alone. You wouldn’t have understood what I was trying to do. I had to figure it out on my own.”

Shadow, silent until now, stepped forward, his voice steely. “And now? What’s changed? You’ve revealed yourself again. Why?”

Your lips curled into a dark smile once more, your red eyes glowing as you met his gaze. “Because I’ve perfected it. I’ve mastered my voice. I’ve become more powerful than ever before. And now… it’s time for me to reclaim the world I left behind. I’m not the same popstar you used to protect. I’m something more.”

Silver frowned, his voice quiet but filled with concern. “But what about the danger? What if it happens again?”

You tilted your head slightly, your smile fading as you looked at him. “That’s the thing, Silver. It won’t happen again. Because now, I’m in control. I can decide who lives, who loves, who fights… and who dies.”

The room fell silent again, the weight of your words sinking in. You were no longer the person they once knew. You were something far more dangerous—and far more powerful.

[the-daiz]

#2— leap rewards

—Flufftober day 2: Rainy day (prompt extras)

Pairing; Speed-o’-sound Sonic x reader

Tags; Established relationship, corny, corny reader

Synopsis; Kisses, tenderness and cockiness.

✎Word count; 1.3k

♪ Playlist; Feenlayalik | فين لياليك

A/N; ew this is so cringy it’s killing me. One of the very few fluffs I’m writing, so eat well. I hope I didn't miss any typos woops

The rain, only a few lone droplets a moment ago, drizzled across the dark streets in a thunderous rhythm.

Your fingers curled tighter around the plastic bag in your hand, and you could do nothing but purse your lips as you watched the cruel misfortune cackle at you behind the glass of the convenience store.

It was midnight. Almost midnight, and you were restless, so you decided to simply head to the small familiar store to find something to eat in hopes of quenching your boredom.

Unfortunately for you, however, the night sky had hidden the clouds encasing the city, and who would bother checking the weather app for such an inconvenient outing?

You muttered a fleeting curse as you contemplated running all the way back to your apartment. You'd probably catch a cold, but what other choice did you have?

"Seriously? How do you always manage to get yourself into these situations?" The snarkiness laced in the individual's voice didn't go unnoticed by you, and you needn't glance to your side to know who the ominous figure— that seemingly materialized out of thin air, was.

"Of course I'd find you here." You sighed, masking the relief that had washed over you.

"I found you." His smirk stretched. "Actually."

"Yeah, ok, what are you doing here, anyway?" You finally turned your head to glance at him. The lights from the streets poured onto him with such great precision, even while being obstructed by the rain droplets racing down the glass tiles. He looked enchanting.

Speed-of-sound Sonic. What a name. What a face. Always so beautiful, always so alluring. Always keeping you ensnared in its bewitching existence. Always keeping you chasing after its beholder.

"Looking out for you. I had a feeling you'd get yourself into some kind of predicament." He glanced at you from the corners of his eyes, the smug turn in the corner of his lips never faltering.

"So you were stalking me?" You concluded.

"In a sense." He shrugged.

"How shameless." You shook your head, a smile slowly creeping up your features.

"Oh? So you don't need my help?" He raised a brow. "Save's me the trouble, then." He turns around, walking away, pretending that he's about to abandon you.

But knowing him, he would do it if he's feeling cocky enough.

As quickly as he does, though, you latch onto his arm. One hand faintly squeezed his while the other clasped onto his inner elbow. His brows rose and he blinked down at you with gleeful endearment.

His lips stretch to form a grin once more, but this time, it holds less arrogance than his previous one.

He feels a stretch of warmth pool into his chest as your palms press around the fabric of his sleeve.

The both of you fall silent, as the sound of pouring rain outside filters the quiet around you.

"What?" Sonic finally speaks as he stares at you.

"You know what." You roll your eyes with a grumble.

"Hmm, no I don't think I do."

"Does being a prick turn you on or something? Help me." As soon as those words flew past your lips, his hands were quick to carry you off your feet and into his arms. One of his arms supported the back of your knees while the other held you firmly by your back. You let out a soundless gasp at the sudden action.

You still hadn't gotten used to his speed.

"Sure. I won't do it for free, though." His smirk was back, but you had no time to retort as he was already soaring out of the shop and into the streets. The wind slammed into your curled frame along with a few spatters of rainwater. You scrunched your eyes closed and held your breath, your hands gripping tightly onto his sweater.

After a few seconds of wind constantly ramging into you and breath-knocking swerves, everything stills. You slowly pry your eyelids open, and you're met with the clean walls of your home. The lights were on. 

Did you forget to turn them off? or did he turn them on just now?

After blinking a few times while taking in a few deep breaths as your heart hammered from the sudden adrenaline rush, your gaze trailed up to his face. He was peering down at you, his grin faded and replaced with a stoic, serene look. He carefully set you down.

"How'd you get into my apartment?" You asked as you glanced at the closed and supposedly locked door of your home.

"You should be asking how I was able to carry you." There it was again, that snobbish look. He leered down at you with amusement, expecting you to push his face away with a scoff and head off to place the items you had purchased into the kitchen.

Instead, you stood unmoving before him, staring up at him with quiet fondness. Your fingers relaxed and a small thud was heard as the plastic bag fell, discarded on the floor. Your pupils moved to glance at each of his eyes, stammering as if unsure where to look. They both- He. Him. All of him was ineffable. 

His grin felt spindly.

The way your eyelids sat solemnly as you peered at him. And the sound of your inhales— he didn't know what it was but it was coiling around him, hindering his mobility, at least, his mental one.

Heat began to creep up his neck. He had to hold back the urge to dart his gaze away from yours, growing flustered under your fervent gleam. 

He continued to feign control, face flushed and sweating, and his mouth fell open into an empty gape, lips slightly twitching before he spoke.

"You're dying to taste me, aren't you?" His brows furrowed as he continued to forcefully stretch out his grin. Surely now you would've been tired of his stuck-up attitude. He expected a shove to his chest paired with an eye roll from you.

You cracked a soft smile instead. He felt a jolt ram into his chest when you slid your hands around his neck and hummed a nod, completely unfazed by his remarks. You pressed a firm kiss to his cheek. He squinted his right eye and frowned as you attacked the side of his face, pressing harder onto him before dramatically ending it with a prominent 'mwah' sound.

Your grin widened giddily at his expression, a mix of annoyance and stubbornness-- along with a faint cast of pink spreading to his ears. You closed the distance once more and engrossed yourself in a soft, fleeting kiss. He instinctively gripped your waist with a hand to steady you, his head tilting to the side as he contributed to your tender affection. He didn't like that it was fleeting, but he had no say as you broke the kiss and began to line pecks on the side of his lips.

"You're so sappy it's repulsing." He huffed, tugging you closer as his other hand gently pressed against your nape.

"Stop talking, you're ruining your face." You murmured before planting another kiss along his jawline.

"You don't have to talk to ruin yours." As soon as he riposted, he jerked your head to face his and pressed your lips together once more. Your eyes melted shut as you pushed further into him, your mouths swaying a passionate song, much different than his usual frantic ones. 

Your hands slipped to cup the sides of his face as you slightly deepened the kiss. In response, one of his arms wrapped around your torso, and euphoria coursed through him as he held you closer.

Faint panting hung in the air as you broke the kiss, looking into each other's eyes. You squashed his cheeks a little with your hands, flashing him a toothy grin. His face was still and adorned with bliss as he gazed into your grace.

"I'm not being serious." He breathed out, his features remaining placid. You snickered, your eyes squinting as your grin spread further.

Ugh, what the hell were you!?

"I know."

[randomthefox]

People who like Amy Rose are right that Amy is so much more than just her crush on Sonic. But they always kind of fall into this trap where they ONLY ever talk about her virtues. The positive attributes of her character. They glaze her up. They say "Amy Rose is a great character because she's a Good Person" and that kind of thing.

And that's a trap and it's what allows people to mischaracterize Amy and butcher her portrayals in shit like Sonic Boom and IDW Sonic. Because Amy is actually a crazy stupid bitch. And THAT is what makes her a great character. If you want to explain what makes Amy so great as a character, you need to talk about her flaws in addition to her virtues. Because her flaws being sandpapered away and disregarded because they're "sexist" or "problematic" are the REASON her character keeps getting fucked up and then that fucked up characterization gets held up as an "improvement" by people who never liked Amy.

Amy FROM HER VERY FIRST APPEARANCE in Sonic CD was an annoying clinger. LITERALLY. She would jump onto Sonic and cling onto him, making it impossible for him to move. When she meets Sonic at the ending of Palm Tree Panic she is literally an obstacle that you as the player need to avoid, and jump to shake her off when she grabs hold of you. And after the Metal Sonic fight, the act will not conclude until Amy grabs hold of Sonic. Stopping him from running off screen to the right, the way he does at the end of every other boss act. And the score screen showing the end of the act will ALWAYS last just long enough for Sonic's idle animation of frustrated impatience to start. From her very first appearance, Amy is an annoying bitch. This is a FOUNDATIONAL attribute of her character.

In Sonic Adventure Amy's story opens with her complaining about how bored she is, and how she misses the excitement of going on adventures with Sonic. Then when Birdie crashes into her she takes it upon herself to help this lost animal who is being targeted by killer robots. She is throwing herself in harms way risking her personal safety on behalf of a creature that is weaker than her.... PARTIALLY because she was bored and thinks this will be exciting. SelfISH motivations for selfLESS actions. And it pays off when she runs into Sonic and uses the whole situation of the Birdie needing protection as an excuse to get to spend time around Sonic by imposing the need for a bodyguard onto him without giving any thoughts to what Sonic might be up to.

THEN WHEN THE KILLER ROBOT COMES BARING DOWN ON THEM, AMY GETS CAUGHT UP IN THE IDEA OF A ROMANTIC DATE THROUGH TWINKLE PARK WITH SONIC AND RUNS OFF IN A FLIGHT OF FANCY WHICH COMPLETELY DISTRACTS HIM FROM FIGHTING SAID ROBOT.

Amy is immature, selfish, does NOT have her priorities straight, and is kind of dumb. These flaws and shortcomings being ignored and disregarded is why Amy gets turned into the sensible mature voice of reason with a good head on her shoulders - which is the EXACT OPPOSITE OF WHO SHE IS SUPPOSED TO BE. These are character flaws that have NOTHING to do with her obsession with Sonic. But because her feelings towards Sonic are all anyone ever talks about, and because people who like Amy always want to present her in the most positive framing, these elements of her character getting sanitized are ignored.

Amy being sort of a super fucking annoying dumbass is WHY she gets treated like a punchline in games like Sonic Adventure 2. She gets caught up in her own little world, and because of that she gets left behind when everyone else is focused on more pressing issues right in front of their nose. All of her interactions with other characters in Sonic Battle are about how she's caught up in her little delusions about Emerl being her and Sonic's baby, and she lashes out violently at anyone who challenges that. You cannot have Amy without her being kind of crazy and kind of dumb.

Because these flaws are the REASON she's capable of her virtues. If Amy wasn't always getting swept up in her own little ideas, she wouldn't be there to find Shadow on the ARK and get him to remember Maria's wish and convince him to save the day. If Amy wasn't always charging off on her own flights of fancy, she wouldn't be the spunky little ball of energy and inspiration that helped Cream and Big rescue Chocola and Froggy. If Amy wasn't obsessively in love with Sonic, she wouldn't have gotten Blaze softened up to the idea of not needing to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders.

I've not put much focus on Amy's virtues in this post because I wanted to emphasize her flaws and shortcomings, BECAUSE I feel those are important parts of her character that always get ignored. And ignoring those parts of her character make them easy to get swept under the rug. And that more than anything else is what results in Amy being mutilated in spin offs like the comics and cartoons.

Amy is more than JUST her crush on Sonic. She is more than just her hobbies. She is more than just her virtues! She is ALL of those things. And she is also REALLY fucking dumb. And REALLY fucking crazy. And those things should be celebrated as part of the whole of Amy Rose JUST as much as her love for Sonic, just as much as her enjoyment of fortune card reading and shopping and boxcersizing, just as much as her being a spunky inspirational leader who reaches out and touches the hearts of others and risks it all to protect those who cannot protect themselves.

Love Amy Rose warts and all, or lose her.

[catiecat1320]

Sonadowtober Prompt 11: Caught in the Rain

Thunderstorms don’t cancel plans, just alter them

This one specifically takes place after Frontiers!

Read Below 🔽

The sky was heavy with clouds when Shadow walked out of the apartment building. All around, people were hurrying in and out, desperate to escape the rain on the horizon.

It seemed the weather did not want to agree with his plans today.

He sighed, and went back for an umbrella. Knowing the idiot Sonic was, he wouldn’t cancel plans until the second a raindrop hits him. Shadow would rather not be rained on today, and he supposed Sonic would prefer to stay as dry as possible given his aversion to water.

On the hill they agreed to meet at, there was a towering tree. And high in its dipping branches sat the hedgehog Shadow came to see. “Sonic!”

Emerald eyes met his, partnered with a beaming smile. “Hey, Shads! A bit late, aren’t ya?”

“Don’t patronize me.” He came to a stop beneath Sonic’s perch, craning his neck to see the hero beckoning him to join him in the treetops. He declines the offer. “It’s going to storm any minute now. You should go home.”

“Why?”

Shadow’s brows furrowed. “What do you mean, why? I don’t think you’d like getting rained on.”

“I didn’t plan on it! But now you’re here, and so am I,” Sonic stood up, a dangerous position given where he was currently. Yet he seemed unfazed by the prospect of falling, as much as he seemed unfazed by the thunder that shook the sky a second later. “Rainy days are just as much fun as sunny ones, y’know. Might as well make the best of this one!”

Shadow… wasn’t expecting that. Now he feels out of place for bringing an umbrella, yet as rain falls from the sky, he can’t stop himself from opening it.

Sonic was safe from the downpour for now, covered by the canopy. But in a moment, he jumps, swinging down to land next to Shadow, exposing himself to the storm. Ruby eyes track the hero’s every movement intently as he extends an arm, smiling as the droplets splash on his fur and soak through his glove.

“You’re going to catch a cold,” Shadow whispers, the wind taking it away before it could reach its intended recipient. He didn’t know whether to feel worried or glad that Sonic’s so accepting of their watery predicament. Something had happened in the month they lost contact, hadn’t it?

“You’re giving me that look again,” the blue hedgehog hums, wiping the rain from his eyes. “What’s it this time?”

“You used to hate the rain. You hated getting wet. What changed?”

“...guess I started appreciating it more,” Sonic shrugs, so nonchalant, before twirling around. Red shoes are muddied by newly forming puddles, making Shadow flinch and scoot away from splash radius. “Is there something wrong with that?”

“No. Yes. I don’t know.”

“You don’t know a lot of things.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Sonic cracks open an eye, its deep emerald color shimmering with something that eludes Shadow, and the rest of the world. “Look, just enjoy it alright? Savor the moments you have. You never know when they’ll end.”

“Stop being so cryptic,” Shadow grumbles under his breath. He stares down at the ground, at the water slowly pooling where his skates indent the Earth. Something happened. Something drastic. And Sonic won’t tell him. Why?

“Don’t worry about it,” the hero answers, despite him having never voiced the question. “You don’t need to know that much.”

“What if I want to?” He sticks his open palm out, past the umbrella’s protection, as if experiencing the rain would give him the answers he seeks. Sonic’s smile holds a thousand words as he grabs his outstretched hand and yanks him along, the umbrella falling away and exposing him to the storm.

“Then you’ll know. One day. Right now?” Lightning streaks across the sky as they lock eyes, hands tightly clasped together. Wind whips their quills as it picks up, as if on cue, and Shadow can’t deny the spark of exhilaration that warms him as Sonic leads him in an undefined dance.

“Right now, we live.”

[generic-sonic-fan]

hehehe have a snippet of the beginning of the Blaze x Omega fic for you all

---

Blaze visited Sonic’s world even when she wasn’t needed, meaning that it was more often than she would care to admit. 

It became a secret indulgence- the words slipped out of her mouth so easily these days. I’m sorry, but the Guardian of the Chaos Emeralds requires me, she’d tell her advisors when nothing immediately pressing was occurring in the Sol Kingdom.

But now, as her flames danced around her, the fury of her soul expressing itself in its purest form, she couldn’t find it within herself to feel guilty. 

The timing of this visit was rather poor- there was no actual impending crisis, so Sonic wasn’t around. Instead, his brother Tails had awkwardly pointed her towards some of Sonic’s other allies who were set to attack one of Eggman’s strategic positions today. 

Shadow the Hedgehog teleported alongside of her and, with a crisp bolt of chaos energy, blasted the remaining robot in the room that she had not yet scalded. He let out a strange ‘hmph’, something vaguely triumphant-sounding, as the metal scrap fell to the floor. Then he teleported off again, likely somewhere deeper within the facility, racing ahead of her as if they were playing in some imaginary competition that he was obsessed with winning. 

Blaze looked back to the entry doorway to see Rouge the Bat fly in and, instead of continuing down the path Blaze had just cleared with her flames, made for the circulation vent in the ceiling above.

“Where are you going?” Blaze shouted.

Rouge only hesitated for a second. “Don’t worry your pretty little head, princess.” 

Blaze crossed her arms and exhaled, smoke billowing out of her nostrils. Some ‘team’ this was. By the time she looked back, Rouge was already gone. Blaze was alone, surrounded by scrap. 

She tried to remember the actual objective of the mission from the oh-so-short mission briefing. No doubt Shadow knew it, but of course he wasn’t here right now and didn’t seem keen on being followed. Blaze looked around the room to find three doors. She picked one and ran to it. 

The door controls were locked, and a quick few taps on the armored plating allowed her to guess the temperature required for her to make her own entrance. She called on the flames within her, fueling them with her own breath and her rage, before shoving her hands against the metal. 

In an instant, the metal boiled, then vaporized. She pulled her palms apart, sending the scalding metal shards to the sides. Then, with a clench of her fist, she cooled the white-hot metal back down to gray so that she could pass through the new entrance to the halls beyond. 

“YOU BURN THINGS VERY WELL!”

Blaze whipped around and extended her fist, ready to blow a ball of flame towards the source of the robotic voice, before recognition stayed her hand. For his credit, E-123 Omega did not seem surprised by the near barrage.

“AND WITH ACCURACY, IN ADDITION!” 

[smallflyingbread]

TFES AU where Rumble lives! (Writing + Art)

In Transformers Earthspark there’s a singular throw away line about Rumble exploding because SoundWave tried to transform when low on Energon after a fight. And that’s a shame, personally I believe they did that so they wouldn’t have to have another character to animate. Either way. There’s the story of how Rumble survived

Side note- SoundWave has telepathy, why? Because it’s f u n. Also, WARNING FOR ROBO GORE IN PHOTOS AND DESCRIPTION

\\————————————————————————//

Wood cracked and snapped as dark grey servos’s slammed a yellow autobot scout’s head against a mature oak.

“You’re supposed to be offline”, Sound’s gravelly voice echoed like the caw of a crow in Bumblebee’s processor as the yellow mechs optics flickered from the impact.

“Guess you can say I got better!”, Bumblebee shouted as his own servo shot out, his digits wrapped around a thick branch. With one solid motion he tore the branch from the main body and crashed it straight into the side of SoundWaves head.

Soundwave reeled back and a sonic screech left his speakers. Pain throbbed like a hot iron through SoundWaves helm. His servo came up to his long audial as he left something warm drip onto his shoulder, energon.

“Soundwave!”, Rumble shouted out in a panic as she scrambled for her electric keyboard that lay abandoned in the bramble that seemed to swallow it like it had just been waiting for the moment to inconvenience her.

This day had all gone wrong. Frenzy, LaserBreak, Ravange, and SoundWave were all low on Energon. SoundWave told the three to stay at their little hideout while he and Rumble went out to try to find where their sensors had been picking up nearby Energon traces. Unfortunately for Rumble, SoundWave stumbled across the thought to be dead Bumblebee who was very much alive and well.

“I told you this was a horrible idea!”, Rumble cried out at SoundWave who had recovered from being hindered and was going back and forth with the autobot scout.

“Shut up, I can handle this”, SoundWave shot back at the small femme whose metallic arms were digging her keyboard out of the thorns, scratching her arms up in the process.

With one final stretch Rumbles digits wrapped around the strap and yanked it out with all of her force, causing her to shot back and landed on her back. Scrambling to her feet she immediately pointed the blaster end at Bumblebee who had just dodged out out her fathers sonic blast that came from his hand.

Rumble didn’t even think, she just did. Her digits glided over the keys and she began riffing. Each key press strengthened the shot that was building up before she shot. The blast shot made direct contact with Bumblebee’s neck which caused him to stagger back and wince. Soundwave immediately took the opportunity and uppercut the distracted scout.

Bumblebee let out a strangled cry as he felt a heavy pede crush down on his chest, the metal hood on his chest cracking. “W-we don’t have to fight- I’m not with G-“. His reasoning was cut short by more pressure being applied to his chest. Bumblebee’s optics refocused and suddenly there was a palm infront of his face with sonic energy building up.

The yellow scout closed his optics tightly as the weapon, his stinger slid out of his arm compartment. Where was the ear-twisting sound of metal slicing metal before SoundWave stumbled back, a huge gash now in his lower thigh, painting the off-white paneling bright pink.

Bumblebee moved to thrust the stinger into SoundWave’s lower abdomen but suddenly he felt a fury of weak blasts on his side.

“N-NO! STOP! GET AWAY FROM HIM!”, Frenzy sobbed out as her fingers clumsily pressed the key’s, physically unable to form the powerful combo’s she once was sure she knew by spark. She couldn’t let her father die. No, not after everything he’d done for her and Frenzy. Not after he took them in after they were found frozen in long forgotten stasis pods.

Slowly the autobot crawled a bit away from the decepticon fugitive and Frenzy, his optics wide in conflicting. Bumblebee’s processor whirled at the choice to continue or to spare. Soundwave was hurt. This was his chance! It would surely make Optimus proud and prove himself after his fumble… but the war was over, Bumblebee firmly reminded himself. There had to be no more unnecessary death.

Suddenly the sound of approaching helicopters roared out in the sky. The figure of G.H.O.S.T copters loomed in the horizon.

“Slag, they must’ve heard us”, Bumblebee murmurs in a panic as he held his chest plate and got to his pede’s. The soreness already starting to leach into his every movement.

“Why are you worried?”, SoundWave sharply asked through the scouts mind as he stumbled towards a tree, using it to support his weight as Energon trailed behind him.

“Because I’m not with G.H.O.S.T! That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you! Why do you think I’ve been staying low?!”, Bumblebee anxiously shouted at the blue decepticon as his optics remained locked with the shadows on the horizon.

SoundWave’s optics widened behind his visor at that realization, they both were in deep trouble now. His optics flicked down to his leg as he felt something touching it. It was Rumble who was desperately applying an Energon coagulant to the wound which was slowing the gush down to a mere trickle.

Soundwave scooped her up in his servos and ordered through his link with her, “cassette, now”.

As Frenzy obediently transformed he immediately safely stored her in his chest cavity. Soundwave took a starting run, ignoring the throbbing pain in his thigh before trying to transform.

His body refused.

He tried again. His plates shifted but failed. Warning symbols popped up on his hub, his Energon levels were too low to safely transform so his frame automatically stopped the process… he manually overrode it.

SoundWave’s plates began shifting and sliding in all the wrong directions. His arms went all in the wrong order then they were supposed to. Panic prickled up in his system as he tried to stop it, but his body kept going. Suddenly there was a sickening crack and crush as part of his arm unrelentingly pressed into something, but it wasn’t his body that was cracking. He felt no pain as his parts slowly shifted back into place.

“…. Rumble?”, SoundWaves real voice slowly asked, rough from lack of use… there was no response.

Immediately she force started his body to transform out of its alt mode, energon that wasn’t his own leaking he between his his plates as he came to the horrific realization of what happened.

Soundwave collapsed to his knees and struggled to get his tape hatch to open. His digits clumsy in his panic. The hatch popped open and a small form tumbled into his hands.

Pink Energon costed his servo before he could even register it. Rumble’s face was half torn off, her pink visor halfway gone with it. Her arm was was completely torn off, taking a chunk of her torso with it. He could feel her ripped off parts inside his frame, pressing against his own innards. It was inside of him. He had done this.

“S…Soundwave?”, a choked voice echoed from Rumbles vocalizer. Her once bright pink optic was a dull glow now, her optic lazily starting at him as Energon bubbled from her nose.

“No- no- don’t talk, SweetSpark. I’m here, your sire is here. You’re going to be okay. J-just keep your optics online. Please.”, SoundWave couldn’t stop the desperation in his voice. He didn’t care anymore, his baby was hurt.

A gargle came from Rumbles throat as the energon nose her nose turned into a river, streaming down her lips and chin.

“I-It hurts”, she tried to say as dark spots freckled her vision, barely even aware of the fact that SoundWave was using his physical voice to comfort her.

“Shh- it’s okay, it’s okay. Just- just”, SoundWave felt moister building behind his visor for the first time in centuries. He stared at her butchered frame, his own optics struggling to focus on anything but the femme he raised since she and Frenzy were a small sparkling.

“Just keep your optics on- Rumble?… Rumble?!”., SoundWave shouted as he felt something in his spark shrivel. His hands trembling around her dying frame as her optics starting loosing their already dull glow. Then suddenly, she was still.

The helicopters were getting closer, their sound temporarily capturing SoundWave’s attention. His visor turned to the sky, blurry from the tears now dripping into his mask. G.H.O.S.T was coming.

His optics glanced at Bumblebee, he looked sick with horror. His optics shrunken into pricks and his jaw agape. His doorwings were even stiff with anxiety as he watched the scene

SoundWave’s mask clicked back, revealing his scarred lips, destroyed by a violent blast to the face. “I’m so sorry… my darling girl.”, SoundWave whispered as he held back a sob. As his final act of love he gently pressed his lips to her forehead. Would her spark find its way back to Cybertron? Or was she stuck on this hell planet just like she was in life.

Gently he laid her amongst the soft grass, it cradling her body and slowly turning pink from her energon. He couldn’t take her with him. Her energon would leave a trail back to where the others were hiding and doom them all… he had to keep the rest of his family safe. Even if it broke his spark to leave her in the woods.

With shaky servos he took her visor, a reminder to himself to never make the same mistake again, and a remembrance item.

Soundwave felt his spark screaming as he stood up, he wanted to hold her a little longer. To prey to Primus if he was even real to spare his youngling… but no. He bolted, he bolted into the woods, away from the pain he’s caused and from G.H.O.S.T.

Bumblebee slowly approached the offline body. G.H.O.S.T was nearly here but it felt… wrong to leave a body out in the open. Especially that of a youngling, even if it was an older youngling.

He reached his servo out to wipe away the energon when he noticed something. From the huge open tear he saw some light. Rumbles spark dully burned in her spark chamber, like the last ember of a fire. It had condensed itself into a tight orb, keeping itself alive when the body was heavily injured.

Without another thought he scooped Rumble up into his arms, he wasn’t going to let someone die on his watch. Screw what Optimus thinks. Bumblebee was an autobot, not a G.H.O.S.T agent.

\\————————————————————————//

Might add onto this AU later! And post a reference for the Rumble design.

TL;DR- SoundWave picks a fight with Bumblebee while weak. Ghost comes and makes SoundWave run. SoundWave tries to transform with Rumble in his chest and accidentally crushes her. Soundwave leaves frenzy thinking she’s dead, Bumblebee takes her in when he realizes she didn’t dead.

[sonicpilled]

Pull You From Your Guilt (Zombic AU)

Chapter Two

Content warnings: mention of suicide, unhealed sh

word count≈ 3500

sonic + shadow (hurt/comfort)

“Sonic was dead. Shadow knew that. He held his bleeding body in his arms, he saw him in his casket as it was closed and lowered into the ground. He was gone. He wasn’t going to come back. Whoever, or whatever, he’s stumbled upon at the cemetery couldn’t have been Sonic.”

!!!ty everyone for the support on the first chapt.. pls enjoy. or hate. luv ya!

A week before that particular cemetery visit, Dr. Ivo Robotnik finally greenlighted his final plan. For the 3 months after Sonic’s death, he had been keeping it in the dark, testing and calculating the outcomes. It was one of many options he had prepared if the hedgehog ever died by something other than the doctor. A mix of chemicals, dangerous acids, and other hazardous products was dumped into the soil of Sonic’s grave. The contamination would affect the body in 5-7 days.

\\

The air was freezing, as autumn nights at 2:00 am usually were.

It was dark, the blue moon was the only light source for regular eyes. It was thanks to his alien half that Shadow could even see the disorder right before him, as he stood there. He narrowed his eyes at the tombstone, and the pile of dirt, and looked around the graveyard. At first, Shadow thought maybe some kind of pest was messing with the grave, but the rustling of the nearby bushes and long blades of grass was telling another story. If Sonic’s grave was defiled, the culprit wouldn’t get away with it. Shadow would make sure of it.

“Whoever's out there,” He started, his voice low as he became cautious of his surroundings. His quills stiffened, as he became on edge at the thought of grave robbers disrupting the hedgehog’s rest. “You’d be a fool to keep hiding.”

Shadow’s ear twitched at the crackling sound of a breaking twig, along with footsteps on the grass. He began to mutter the words that drew chaos energy from the palm of his hand, preparing to demolish whoever was about to show up.

“Chaos..” he stared carefully, as he took one step away from the tombstone and raised his hand.

He stared intently at where the noise came from, his quills and fur now bristled. The soft-sounding footsteps on the grassy hill made him glare in that particular direction. The moment he spotted a figure rise from behind the granite headstone, he raised his hand, about to finish the dangerous phrase.

“Wait!”

Shadow froze. He knew that voice. He drew his hand back, slowly. He shook his head, knowing that this was, again, a terrible dream. The faintly blue figure that was once hiding behind the granite carefully unfolded from its defensive pose. And then Shadow saw those green eyes. They were dulled at the moment, but he knew that shade of green.

It couldn’t be him. It couldn’t have.

Sonic was dead. Shadow knew that. He held his bleeding body in his arms, he saw him in his casket as it was closed and lowered into the ground. He was gone. He wasn’t going to come back. Whoever, or whatever, he’s stumbled upon at the cemetery couldn’t have been Sonic. For a moment, it was completely and utterly silent. No words could come out of either one of them. Shadow just stared, bewildered, into those green eyes. And those same eyes just stared right back.

It stayed that way for a bit, the faint sounds of the cold wind and far-away creaking of the iron gate. About a thousand thoughts were racing through Shadow’s mind, as he took a deep breath. He closed his eyes, quills only a bit raised as he tried to think about the situation. Part of him wanted to believe that this was just another bad dream, yet the other half of him was just hoping that this was some kind of miracle that resulted in Sonic being back.

“..Shadow,” that voice spoke ever so gently, as if they were as confused as Shadow was. That voice that was so undeniably him. It had to be him. It had to be Sonic. He recognized that voice anywhere, and to hear it that soft… it made him really hope this was a dream, just so he could imagine that he was with him again.

“Sonic...” Shadow whispered, as he took a slow step forward. That voice drew him in, his need for this unknown being to be Sonic just growing even more. He needed to see him again, and not in a coffin.

The figure carefully stepped forward, out of the pitch darkness. The moonlight shined on him slowly, revealing his appearance bit by bit. His fur was not a vibrant but muted cobalt blue, though a little matted. The color of his muzzle and arms were both a greenish yellow. His quills were unkept and a bit tangled, let down, and unstyled. He lifted his head wearily, and Shadow’s breath hitched.

It had to be Sonic.

The way this hedgehog looked at him, those green eyes, that face. It had to be him. It quickly became difficult for Shadow to convince himself it wasn’t him. His expression softened, a little bittersweet frown on his face. The cool air breeze rustled the leaves and flowers, as well as the fur of the two hedgehogs. Shadow sighed deeply, taking another step towards the blue hedgehog. If this really is a dream I'm having, he thought to himself as he looked down at him with tired eyes, I want to make the most of it.

So, he leaned down, gently wrapping his arms around the hedgehog, tightly hugging him. His body was cold, and shivering a bit in Shadow’s arms as he leaned into his touch. Shadow held him tightly. He felt too real for this to be a dream.

This.. this was Sonic.

Wasn’t it?

“I got this for you,” Sonic noted softly, toying with the soft, green scarf. He took in a shaky breath, as he pulled away slightly. He looked up at Shadow, then around the gloomy graveyard. “I… I really don't understand what’s going on. Maybe I was given something, dunno.. Everything’s.. out of place.”

“It seems so,” The black hedgehog nodded as he followed Sonic’s gaze, until their eyes met again. He looked exhausted, his irises dulled out. Everything about him looked… sick. Either way, this was much better than the last time he ever held him. “What are you even doing here, Sonic?”

“I guess I dunno. Why… Why am I still here? Did I really screw that up, too?” Sonic joked hesitantly, clearly upset about his mind being all foggy, and only sort of remembering his final moments. Shadow wasn’t all there either, as he stared at the ground again. Of course, he knew exactly what Sonic meant by his words. It definitely wasn’t something he should be joking about. Especially not to his face.

“Sonic… Do you actually think your attempt failed?” Shadow started carefully, a little frown on his face as he stared at the granite tombstone and mess of dirt right behind Sonic. “You died.”

All Sonic could do was stare at him in disbelief, waiting for further elaboration. How could he be dead? Was this just a cruel joke? Was he in a coma? If anything, he just assumed he was dreaming in the hospital. The air was cold, and his body felt gross. Sonic felt like he knew this cemetery, it looked familiar to him in some kind of way.

“I held your dead body in my arms. I went to your funeral. You died, Sonic.” Shadow spoke a bit more urgently now, narrowing his eyes at him. He wasn’t entirely sure anything that was happening at the moment was actually real, but he was still upset and how nonchalant Sonic was being. Did he just… not care?

“Then why am I here? Why am I breathing and speaking to you? See, your story has a ton of plotholes, dude,” Sonic laughed awkwardly, falling silent as he stared at the soil. The truth was that he was thinking the same thing. Sonic thought maybe he survived, but part of him was wishing he didn’t. It was unexplainable, really. Shadow groaned, taking a deep breath. This really was Sonic, wasn’t it?

“..I found you. In the bathroom, that night you left,” He spoke quietly, gently grabbing hold of Sonic’s hand. That night you left me, went unspoken. His gloves were a bit ripped, the ends of the fabric fraying. He glanced down, seeing the shredded skin of Sonic’s wrist. Unhealed, though a bit cleaned up for the open casket. It all came together, making only a tiny bit of sense now. The dullness of his eyes and fur, the dirt all over him. Sonic didn’t take good care of himself to begin with, but he was even more unkempt than usual. 3 months of decomposition must have messed him up.

He was dead. Half-dead, atleast. Shadow sighed, quickly looking away. “Look at yourself.”

Sonic frowned, slightly offended until he looked at his body, seeing what made Shadow look away. He thought he just felt like he was rotting. Maybe this was some kind of nightmare. “Ah.”

He looked up at Shadow, his face a mix of feelings and emotions. What the hell are you supposed to say to someone after they’ve seen you dead?

They stared at each other for a while, until a few stray droplets of water fell on their heads. Sonic blinked, snapping out of his staring as he looked up at the dark sky. His nose scrunched up as more drops of rain fell on the both of them. Shadow’s annoyance died down, as he watched the rain fall along with Sonic’s reaction.

“Hey,” Shadow said gently, a hand reaching up to carefully pet his head to calm him down a little. He knew Sonic was too out of it to even think of complaining about getting wet. “Let's… get you out of the rain, and clean you up. Maybe things will make sense then.”

Sonic glanced at Shadow instead of the sky and quickly nodded. He knew him too well. Shadow held his hand, carefully avoiding his wrist so as to not worsen those wounds, and led him out of the cold and dark cemetery. It was quiet, then, as they walked. The sounds of their soft footsteps along the grass and the slightly louder ones along the concrete walkway could be heard, along with the sprinkled raindrops against the grass.

Shadow took him out of that gloomy place, past the granite tombstones and dead flowers and the creaking and rusting iron gates of the graveyard. He climbed onto his motorcycle and gestured for Sonic to do the same. The blue hedgehog smiled sweetly, his tail slowly wagging as he hopped on. As Shadow shifted the gears of the bike, Sonic wrapped his arms around his waist. He paused, seeing him cuddled up close to him in the corner of his eye. Shadow huffed, a sweet wave of familiarity washing over him. He missed this. He missed him. And It seems he wasn’t the only one.

The two rode through the (at the moment) quiet city of Westopolis, together in the rain. The sun had just started to rise, the traffic nonexistent, the exception being just a few cars passing by. Shadow had been with Sonic at his state of most excited hyperness, his state of overwhelmed anxiousness, and his state of drained and nonverbalness. It wasn’t outlandish to see Sonic this quiet, as he softly purred and held him tightly. In a way, Shadow was proud of himself, he was one of the only people who got to see Sonic this way.

“So… Where are we headed?” Sonic spoke up, watching the mellow blues and teals of the sky as the sun woke up. Shadow was tired, and dazed, but somewhat relieved. It was like normal again. Normal enough, atleast, with these motorcycle rides through the city. Though at the moment it wasn’t loud and exciting, Shadow appreciated this, too. It was nice… being with him again.

“My apartment.” Shadow replied quietly, glancing at Sonic before staring ahead. He nodded in acknowledgement, pulling his gaze away from the beautiful sky and drawing it towards the black hedgehog he was holding onto. He sighed softly, holding on a little tighter.

They got to Shadow’s place, as he locked up his motorcycle to the bike rack just right outside the building. As soon as they got under some protection from the rain, Sonic shook all the water off of his quills and fur. Shadow watched him in amusement, a little chuckle coming out of him as they stepped into the building. He looked around, as they walked up the stairs. He knew this apartment complex well, having been there a bunch of times. They took the elevator, Sonic tapping his foot against the stone flooring, another common stim of his. While Shadow was content with the silence, it only made Sonic nervous.

“You think I’d ever get to go back to my own place, Shadz?” He started, as the elevator doors opened. Shadow hummed in thought, walking down the dimly lit hall as Sonic followed.

“…No. I’m pretty sure someone’s already moved in,” Shadow shrugged, stopping as they got to his door. Sonic frowned a bit, staring at the wooden flooring as Shadow unlocked the door to his apartment.

“Ah… that tracks,” Sonic muttered, as he fidgeted with his hands. It shouldn’t surprise him. He was dead now. It was bound to happen. “Um. Who has all my stuff?”

“I have some of your belongings. Tails and Amy, too. Tails mostly.” Shadow spoke calmly, though he could sense Sonic being upset due to his fidgeting. He unlocked the door, taking his boots off and setting them aside before he walked in. Without those, he was around Sonic’s height now, maybe just a smidge taller. He glanced at Sonic’s dirty and messed up shoes, the soles ripped. He sighed. “Take your shoes off, you’ll bring in the mud.”

Sonic nodded, slipping out of the frayed and ragged shoes before he stepped in. Oh, Tails.. he paused, as he thought about his brother. How is he holding up? How did he handle it? How is anyone handling it? How long has it even been? He hadn’t even thought to ask. He… didn’t think about any of this when he first woke up. Does that make him a bad person? Shit, shit, shit..

As Shadow set his keys down and took off his scarf, Sonic stayed there in front of the doorway. He stared at the ground, his fidgeting only getting worse as he took a deep breath. “How… How long has it been since…”

Shadow was slipping out of the leather jacket as he spoke, hanging it on the chair in the kitchen. “Since..?”

“How long has it been since I killed myself, Shadow?” He snapped at him, his voice shaky. Shadow’s calm expression wavered, as he turned to Sonic. The blue hedgehog rambled to him a bit loudly, waving his hands around as he spoke. His breathing was rapid, his quills raised and his fur bristled. “I-I just- I’m thinking about it now. I’m thinking about all of it now. I know what I did to myself, I know that it was horrible. I hurt a lot of people by doing it. I was so, so, so fucking selfish! I shouldn’t even be here!”

“Hey.. Hey,” Shadow whispered patiently, his fur a bit bristled from Sonic’s yelling, yet knew he was upset. He had every right to be. He knew it was going to all crash down on him soon enough. He carefully came over to him, holding one of his hands. “Sonic, please, try to breathe a bit. You’re only tiring yourself out.”

“Ughh..” he sniffled, the hand-holding effectively grounded him, like Shadow intended it to. His breathing slowed only a bit, as Shadow raised a hand to softly stroke his head. He wiped a tear off his cheek, and guided him to the antique couch in his apartment. He sat Sonic down, as he continued the petting.

“…Three months,” he spoke softly, looking intently at Sonic while he avoided eye contact. He rubbed soothing circles into the fur of his hand. “It’s been three months, Sonic.”

Sonic fell silent, nodding as he tapped his finger on the fabric of the couch. Three months… He sighed, now tracing the floral patterns with his fingertips. “I just.. I left everyone behind, Shadow. I left you behind,” He spoke quietly, a wince on his face at what he was going to say next. “Don’t you hate me?”

Shadow held his hand a little tighter, shaking his head slightly. “Sonic, I could… never hate you,” He spoke reassuringly, a bit hurt that he would even consider that. “I love you. And you did leave people behind, but you were hurting. I know you were. Don’t dismiss your own pain.”

Sonic looked up at him wearily, a few more tears falling from his eyes.

“…I love you too.” He spoke softly, letting himself be pet by Shadow. He calmed him down. He always knew what to say, Sonic was grateful for that. Although he sounded honest, Sonic just couldn’t help but feel like it wasn’t true.

“If you’ve calmed down enough, do you want a bath? You’re.. covered in dirt.” Shadow talked quietly, glancing at Sonic’s fur and quills that were messy and had much more than just dirt caked onto him. Now in proper light, he saw how rotted he really looked. He shook it off, even if it irked him a bit. Sonic, mentally exhausted from the moment he woke up in the cemetery, nodded. Shadow smiled, kissed his head, and led him to the bathroom.

He stopped at the bathtub, glancing at Sonic with a bit of a worried expression. Maybe it was too soon. “Are you going to be okay?”

Sonic stared for a moment, until he realized he was supposed to say something. Tired, he gave a thumbs up. “mhm.”

“…Alright.” He shrugged it off, as he turned the water on.

Usually, after battles or quarrels in bad weather, the two were left in bad condition. It was a little ritual they had going, cleaning each other up when the other got messed up. Washing the mud out of ones fur, bandaging the others wounds, it was one of their many weird ways of showing affection. Maybe this was the same. Or maybe it was something completely different.

Gently, Shadow scrubbed the dirt and grime out of Sonic’s fur. That pretty blue wouldn’t be so vibrant again, but Shadow did what he could to clean up his hedgehog. He carefully went around the wounds on Sonic’s body, not wanting to worsen any of them. He knew his scars wouldn’t heal. Those cells and tissues were long gone. As he saw them scattered all over his arms and thighs, he sighed deeply.

“Oh, Sonic..” he whispered softly, as he moved on to shampoo. Sonic frowned a bit, he wasn’t sure if he was embarrassed or ashamed.

Once that was through, he wrapped him in a towel and let him be alone for a bit in the bathroom. His fur dripping wet, Sonic walked over to the mirror. He shook the water off of his body, even if Shadow already had given him a towel. He stared at himself for a bit, taking note of his tired eyes and overall sickly new face. he sighed. Is this what I am now..? he thought to himself, glancing at the bathtub drained of its water and then back to himself in the mirror. He looked down at his wrists, seeing the messy fur and cuts all over. They’d never fade. They’d never go away.

Sonic brushed his teeth, using the toothbrush he kept there at Shadow’s apartment for whenever he’d stay over. Then, he went into the cabinet and grabbed the first aid kid. He wrapped his wrists in bandages, and walked out of there.

Shadow was in his bed, staring at the ceiling. The tv was on, the news was on the screen. But it was all background noise for him. He was completely lost in his thoughts. Was anything that happened that day actually real? He went to visit him after a terrible dream, and then all of this happened. He had no clue. Maybe in the morning, it’ll all go back to normal. He took in a deep breath, sitting up as Sonic walked in. Completely dry, his fur was all fluffy.

“Hey,” Shadow spoke gently, waving him over to come and sit. Sonic tilted his head, a little sleepy smile on his face. Even if it was 6:00 now, they were both exhausted.

“…Hey,” Sonic nodded, climbing into the bed with him. He yawned, glancing at the tv. as he curled up next to Shadow.

“Starting with today and throughout the whole week, it’ll be pouring rain! We couldn’t think of a joke for that, even if weather puns are usually a breeze.” The reporter talked joyfully, the weather forecast showing up on the tv. Quietly, Sonic snickered. And then he laughed, loudly. Shadow smiled softly.

“That was not funny, and you know it.” He joked, a little smirk on his face as he watched Sonic catch his breath.

“Oh, shut up, dude! You’re literally smiling!” Sonic spoke cheerfully, grinning up at him. Shadow was smiling. And It definitely wasn’t because of the stupid pun, but he wasn’t going to tell Sonic that.

Eventually, Sonic fell asleep. Shadow stayed awake a bit longer, petting his head. He was thinking about a lot of things, still, as he hazily watched the news and held Sonic carefully in his arms.

“…On a more serious note, the grave of the beloved hero Sonic the Hedgehog, has reported to be… Police and other investigators are searching to…”

The news reporter was saying something, and Shadow really did want to pay attention, but he was exhausted. Now, with his hedgehog in his arms, he felt content. Now, that he had him back…

He really didn’t want to let him go.

ya

i hope it wasnt obvious it got realy self indulgent Lool… i am not trying the best when it comes to accuracy in character writing. just mayb my own personal interpretation of them

[ghosttotheparty]

a mess of holy things 11 also on ao3 // prev // next cw: slight dumbification; brief gagging/choking; they’re both Kinda Weird

“No, I’m telling you it’s not something I can tell you about in public.”

“I’m aware,” Robin retorts, keys jingling as she leads Steve down the hallway. “I just think you could lower your voice if you tried really hard.”

“It’s not my volume I’m worried about,” Steve says, scoffing. “I just know you’re going to scream or something.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, I’m so calm. All the time.”

“Lies.”

She makes a noise that means she’s sticking her tongue out at him as she unlocks her door, and he follows her inside, looking around. There are two beds on the opposite end of the room, facing opposite directions, and Steve doesn’t even have to ask to know which side of the room is Robin’s.

Her bed is unmade, a colourful quilt folded back to reveal white and yellow striped sheets. Her pillowcases are mismatched, one dark blue and the other spotted with bumblebees. There are posters on the wall above her bed, but Steve doesn’t recognize any of the people on them. His eyes skim the words, the letters all bold, loud. Sonic Youth, Green Day, Sex Pistols.

Robin kicks off her shoes and nudges them toward her desk, where they join her other shoes, scuffed and dirty Converse All-Stars and worn leather boots with mismatched laces, one shoe yellow and the other purple. Steve copies her as they drop their backs, looking at her desk. It’s a little cluttered, pens scattered across it, an origami bird on a small stack of books. There are post-its on the wall in front of her desk, colorful and vibrant. Her handwriting is messy.

Robin throws herself onto her bed as Steve takes off his jacket, looking at the other side of the room. There are a few posters but nowhere near as many as Robin has. One is of a handsome man, smiling softly, and when Steve looks closer, he finds text on the corner of it that reads Tom Cruise. Another is of a few teenagers all posing together with The Breakfast Club at the bottom.

The bed is made neatly, the blanket soft pink and tucked in. The pillows have matching pillowcases, also pink with lacy frills, and there’s a teddy bear resting against them.

“Steve,” Robin says sharply from her bed. “Stop looking around like you’re in a museum and tell me what’s up.”

Steve exhales heavily and goes to her bed, tossing his jacket to land on her desk chair as he falls onto his back in front of her.

“I don’t know how to say it.”

“Words would be preferable.”

He scoffs and sits up, moving to sit cross-legged, tugging at the quilt so it’s not folded against his leg.

“Okay, I…”

His face is already hot, and Robin is already grinning, and he hates this.

“Did you fuck?” she says excitedly, and he groans loudly.

“Okay, we— No, we didn’t have sex, we…” He pauses, face hot, cheeks sore from smiling so widely. Robin’s eyes are wide and shining as she grins at him, shifting so she’s kneeling across from him, bouncing up and down. “We did… something. It wasn’t sex. It was…”

“Tell me,” she says giddily. “Tell me, tell me, tell me.”

“Okay, I…” He covers his face, sighing heavily. “I was— I was curious. So I asked if he… does it.”

“Masturbates,” Robin says pointedly, and he rolls his eyes, letting his head fall back.

“Yes. That.”

“Okay,” she says, eyebrows raised.

“And he said he does. So I…” He winces, looking away, squishing his cheeks between his palms. She reaches out and pokes him. “I asked if I could see.”

She stares at him, jaw dropped, grinning widely.

“So he jerked off in front of you?”

“…Yeah?”

She claps a hand over her mouth, staring and staring and staring, and he waits, still wincing.

“Oh my God,” Robin says brightly when she drops her hand. “You’re kinky.”

“…I don’t know what that means.”

She lets out a loud squeal, covering her face before she falls onto her back, cackling. She kicks her legs out, and Steve dodges them, laughing.

“God, I am so glad I get to be your sex ed teacher,” she says when she finally calms down, sitting up.

“I’ve had sex ed,” he says. “I just… I’m just inexperienced.”

“Oh, I know,” she says. “Look. Kinks are things that people especially like during sexy times. If you can think of anything, someone’s got a kink for it.”

Steve pauses.

“Okay.”

“So your man— Wait, what’s his name again?”

“Eddie,” Steve says bashfully, suppressing a smile.

“Eddie…” Robin coos. “So Eddie jerkin’ it while you watch is called voyeurism, and it's a whole thing.”

Steve blinks. Processes.

“Are… Are kinks only sexual?” he asks hesitantly.

“Generally,” Robin says, tilting her head. “They can be non-sexual, I guess. Why?”

Steve looks at her, pausing.

“We, uhm…”

Her eyes somehow widen even more, and she leans forward, bouncing up and down again.

“Tell me.”

“He spits in my mouth.”

She gawks, and his face flushes with heat again. There’s a long stretch of silence as Robin’s mouth stretches into a slow smile.

“You’re kinky,” she says again.

“Oh my God—”

He shoves at her, but she catches his arm, tugging him so he falls against her, and their limbs tangle as they laugh. Her mouth is right by his ear, and it’s so loud it hurts, but he’s never laughed like this with anyone before. He laughs so hard his stomach hurts and his cheeks are sore, and the two of them roll over so Robin is on top of him. She tries to sit up by pushing on his face, and he squeezes his eyes shut so her fingers don’t poke them.

It takes a long while for them to finally calm down and separate, untangling their legs and pushing each other away as they catch their breath. But every time their eyes meet, they burst into giggles again. They’re both red-faced, and Steve’s stomach hurts, but he feels light, like he doesn’t have to worry about anything at all.

And they keep giggling as they talk, sitting against the wall, hugging Robin’s pillows to themselves. Robin talks him through a lot, stumbling through words and definitions and hypothetical scenarios, which makes Steve kind of want to die, but she’s so casual about it all that he can’t really even be embarrassed.

“Okay, look,” she says finally, her knees drawn to her chest, looking at him intently. “The point is, it doesn’t matter if you know what you’re doing or not, right? As long as everything is cool with both of you, it’s all fine. There’s nothing wrong with anything you like.”

Steve nods, looking down.

“Steve,” Robin says, leaning toward him. Their shoulders touch. “There’s nothing wrong with it.”

“I know,” Steve says softly, eyes still downcast.

“Do you?”

Steve is quiet, pausing. His fingers twist in his lap, and he squeezes, forcing his knuckles to crack.

“I do,” he says quietly. “I just… It’s hard sometimes.”

Robin sighs softly, and she lets her head fall to rest on his shoulder. No one’s ever laid on Steve’s shoulder before.

He lays his head on Robin’s, closing his eyes.

He can smell her shampoo. It’s sweet and citrusy, and it somehow smells more like home than the hallway of his parents’ house.

“Eddie knows about it,” Steve says after a few quiet moments. “That I… I don’t know. Struggle with it. He actually noticed first.”

“How?” Robin asks, almost whispering, her head shifting so she can sit closer.

“He, uhm…” He hesitates. “We were kissing, and I just… I don’t know. Panicked.”

“What happened?”

Somehow he knows her eyes are closed too.

“He kind of noticed I was freaking out first, and he… asked if I was okay. So we stopped, and I… I couldn’t really breathe, and I just felt so… Bad.” He pauses, and Robin is quiet, waiting patiently. “He helped me calm down and then he… said to take my time.”

“He sounds really great,” Robin says softly after a moment.

“God, he is.”

“You love him?”

Steve scoffs. His throat is suddenly tight.

“Fuck, maybe.”

Robin coos, poking him in the side, and he giggles, slumping over and trying to dodge her as she pokes at him again, and again, and again, until he’s laughing so hard his eyes are squeezed shut and he’s falling onto his side. Robin climbs on top of him, digging her fingers into his ribs. He tries to push her off, but her legs are tight around him, pinning him in place.

He snatches one of her pillows and swings it at her, but she grabs it and shoves it in his face, muffling his laughter.

He finally manages to sit up when she cackles, and he pushes her onto her back. Steve smacks her hands away, his face hot as they jostle on the mattress, and neither of them hear the door open until there’s a gasp before it slams shut.

Robin tilts her head back to look at the door upside down, and she laughs loudly.

“We’re not fucking, Nance!” she calls loudly, and Steve bursts into laughter again, rolling off of her and leaning against the wall again as the door opens again.

“Well I didn’t look long enough to know,” a girl says as she comes inside, making a face at Robin, who sits up and tosses her hair out of her face. The girl looks like Robin’s polar opposite: her hair is styled perfectly, curls into neat spirals, bangs spread across her forehead, and she’s wearing a plaid skirt that reaches her knees with a loose, fluffy-looking cardigan. She’s carrying some books in her arms.

“Steve, Nancy, Nancy, Steve,” Robin says. “Roommate. Best friend.”

“I’m your best friend?” Steve says, looking at her as Nancy toes her shoes off with a scoff. She sets her books on her desk, watching them.

“Unfortunately, yeah.”

“That’s sad.”

They’re distracted by someone else coming through the door after Nancy, and Robin lights up.

“Jonny boy!”

“Robin,” he says dryly, his voice smooth and calm. He doesn’t look like someone that would be hanging out with Nancy, his hair falling in his face, his shirt unbuttoned and dishevelled, but he kicks his shoes off without sorting them neatly like Steve did, and then he goes to Nancy’s bed and flops onto his back, sighing heavily. Nancy rolls her eyes.

“Steve, that’s Jonathan,” Robin says, pointing at him like Steve can’t find him.

“Hi, Jonathan.”

“Hi, Steve.”

Robin rolls onto her stomach, looking across the room as Nancy takes off her cardigan and drapes it over the back of her desk chair. Steve clicks his tongue and smacks her leg when she kicks him.

“Robin,” a voice sings from the doorway, and Robin gasps as another boy comes in, his long hair billowing behind him. He looks nothing like Nancy or Jonathan; he’s wearing vibrant, tie-dyed pants and a teal and blue striped hoodie, and his pants are rolled up to reveal colorful socks that are spotted with smiley faces.

“Argyle,” Robin sings back, tilting her head back to look at him upside down, and Steve cracks a smile, watching, amused. She attempts to wave at Argyle, but she ends up waving at Steve, disoriented from being upside down.

Argyle tosses something to her with a bright, cartoonish whistle, and it lands on her stomach as she gasps, sitting up to look at it and look at it. It’s a package of gummy bears, and Robin lets out an excited noise like she’s a little kid.

“Ugh, Argyle, you’re the love of my life.”

Argyle lets out a wry laugh and he plops himself onto the ground, grinning up at Robin.

“I love you, too, broski.” His eyes look at Steve, brightening even more somehow, even though his eyes still seem to be at half-mast. “Are you Steve?”

“I am,” Steve says lightly.

“You’re so cool, man.”

“…Thanks?”

“I talk about you a lot,” Robin says, already ripping open the gummy bear bag.

“Is that a good thing?”

“Only heard good things so far, my guy,” Argyle says, his voice slow and sage.

“Are you guys already high?” Robin asks, glancing up at Jonathan, tugging the head of a red gummy bear off with her teeth. She holds the bag out to Steve, who takes a few after looking. Jonathan just giggles at the ceiling. “Oh, that’s a yes.”

“I drove,” Nancy says dryly, rummaging through a drawer. “Don’t worry— Jon, where did you put the edibles?”

“I don’t remember.”

Nancy huffs and rolls her eyes.

“You need to stop keeping your shit in my room.”

“They search the guys’ dorms more often than they search the girls’.”

“Not my problem.”

“It would be, because then you wouldn’t have weed.”

“…’S true.”

Steve watches them all curiously, how easily they exchange their words, leaning against the wall, drawing his knees to his chest, nibbling one of the gummy bears in his hand. Jonathan keeps giggling at the ceiling, splayed out like a starfish over Nancy’s bed, his worn and ragged flannel contrasting the soft shades of pink of her bedspread. Nancy sits on her desk chair as they talk, her skirt primly draping over her legs before she gradually leans back, relaxing, swinging her feet in the air. Argyle leans against the side of Nancy’s bed, and he gets distracted by Jonathan’s hand dangling over the side of the bed. He tangles his own fingers with Jonathan’s, smiling softly, playing with his hand quietly.

Nancy is a journalism major, Steve learns after a while.

She complains about one of her teachers, who keeps contradicting his own instructions, telling them to do one thing and then demonstrating by doing the opposite. She groans in frustration, looking up at the ceiling, letting her head fall back, and then she gets up and goes over to her bed. Steve watches curiously as she flops on top of Jonathan, who catches her with a startled Oof! before he wraps his arm around her, keeping his other hand down to hold Argyle’s.

“What do you study, Jonathan?” Steve asks, watching the way he runs his hand over Nancy’s curls and then down her back absently. Her face is hidden in his shoulder.

“Film and photography,” Jonathan says, his eyes visible over Nancy’s hair.

“Like movies and stuff?”

“Mmhmm.”

“God, that sounds so much more interesting than business.”

“You study business?” Argyle says like he’s aghast.

“Yeah?”

“Nah, man,” he says disappointedly, shaking his head in a way that makes it look like he’s dancing, swaying his hair back and forth. “You’re an artist, dude.”

“Am I?” Steve says, tossing a gummy bear in his mouth as Robin snorts.

“Oh, yeah,” Argyle says seriously, nodding. “I can feel it. There’s art in your heart.”

Steve hums thoughtfully.

“That’s nice,” he says lightly. Argyle nods in agreement. Robin snickers into Steve’s shoulder.

─────────────────

Eddie’s fingers drag through Steve’s hair slowly, catching on tangles and undoing them.

His other hand is on Steve’s throat, holding him loosely, lazily, his thumb stroking over Steve’s Adam’s apple, and he smiles when Steve hums softly.

Steve’s legs are across his lap, his hands tucked between the two of them. His fingers are curled into the fabric of Eddie’s t-shirt, pulling him back every time they part for breath. He feels like he’s floating, like the inside of his head is full of cotton, shivering from the slick sounds of their mouths.

“Alright?” Eddie whispers softly when they part with simultaneous gasps. Steve nods, tugging at his shirt, and he’s probably stretching the collar out, but Eddie doesn’t complain.

“Yes,” Steve breathes. “Feels good.”

“Yeah?”

“Mhmm.”

Eddie’s thumb strokes his throat again, and his nose nudges against Steve’s.

“Like making you feel good,” he murmurs. “My sweet boy.”

Steve nods even though Eddie didn’t ask him a question, and Eddie’s hand tightens on his throat. Steve keens, his head falling back a little bit, his lips parting to let out a weak noise.

“So beautiful,” Eddie breathes, and Steve’s eyes flutter open. His vision is blurry as he finds Eddie in front of him, and his lips curve into a smile. Eddie grins, jostling him back and forth gently by his neck. Steve’s smile grows.

Eddie’s lips are reddened and shining. His hair is a little tousled, and his cheeks are pink, and Steve’s stomach flutters.

“What are you thinking?” Eddie asks, touching their foreheads together, playing with Steve’s hair. Steve shrugs a little bit, closing his eyes, and he sighs, breathing Eddie in. He had a cigarette on the way home from work. Steve can smell it, but he doesn’t hate it the way he used to.

He sighs again, his hands shifting on Eddie’s shirt. When he tugs the collar down a little bit, he can see the edges of the tattoos on his chest.

His lips part to speak, but he stops himself.

“What is it?” Eddie whispers, because he doesn't miss anything.

“I…” He hesitates, cheeks flushing with heat, and he fidgets with Eddie’s shirt, tugging it down until he can see the head of the crow. “I touched myself. Thinking about you.”

He hesitates again before he meets Eddie’s eyes, head still ducked, bashful, and Eddie is smiling, head tilted like he’s fond.

“Did you like it?” he asks softly.

Steve nods.

He runs his fingertip over the top of the crow’s head, traces the feathers, and he bites his lip.

“It felt good,” he says quietly.

Eddie hums, running his fingers through Steve’s hair.

“Did you come?”

Steve shakes his head, meeting his eyes again. Eddie holds the back of his head and leans in to kiss him gently. Steve sighs as Eddie lingers there, kissing him slowly, nudging their noses together.

“Why?” Eddie whispers, and Steve shrugs again, running his finger over the crow again, touching Eddie’s chest. He’s so soft.

“Started freaking out,” he says softly. “Panicking.”

Eddie hums quietly, kissing him again, and Steve moves closer, letting his lips part for Eddie’s tongue, pulling at his shirt. Eddie tilts his head, fingers pressing into the side of Steve’s neck, squeezing gently, like he’s trying to reassure him that he’s there.

“Do you want to?” he whispers against Steve’s mouth. Steve exhales.

And nods.

Eddie kisses him harder, deeper, holding the back of his head, pushing his fingers into his hair, and Steve lets out a weak whine.

“I don’t know how,” Steve says when they part, gasping for breath. His lips brush Eddie’s.

“Got an idea,” Eddie whispers. Steve’s stomach flutters. “You know your colors?”

“Yes,” Steve breathes.

“Come sit on my lap, baby.” Eddie pulls away, leaning against the back of the sofa, and Steve is helpless to follow, stumbling over himself as he untangles his limbs from Eddie’s so he can find his place on his lap, knees on either side of his hips. Eddie’s hands find his waist, squeezing. “Okay?”

“Mhmm,” Steve hums softly. “Like sitting here.”

“I know,” Eddie says, smiling. “Me too.”

Steve lowers his head and kisses him, sighing, relaxing against his chest, tugging at the collar of his shirt again before he pulls away.

“Eddie?”

“Yeah, baby,” Eddie says softly, almost purring. Steve could swoon.

“Can you… Can you take your shirt off?”

Eddie smiles, his eyes dark and shining.

“Yeah, ‘course.”

He has to lean toward Steve to get his shirt off, tugging it out from where it’s caught between his back and the sofa, and Steve waits, heart pounding in his chest as Eddie’s skin is revealed.

He’s paler than Steve is, and in the dim light of the lamp and the shifting lights of the city outside, he looks like he’s glowing. His skin is marked with dark ink, and Steve gazes, in awe, tracing it with light, tentative fingertips. Eddie waits patiently, looking up at him.

There’s a dragon across his stomach, its wings stretching over to his waist, its tail dipping into the hair that’s sneaking up from under the waistband of his sweatpants. Its scales look delicate somehow, despite the bold, black lines it’s drawn in.

“His name is Dorian,” Eddie says, watching Steve stare, and a laugh bursts out of Steve. He looks up at Eddie, whose eyes are sparkling at him.

“Really?”

“Mmhmm. Isn’t he pretty?”

“Yeah,” Steve says, pressing his hand over Dorian, spreading his fingers to take up as much space as possible, watching Eddie’s eyelashes flutter. “Pretty.”

He kisses Eddie, sucking on his lower lip, and Eddie hums affirmatively, a hand pressing into the small of his back. Steve’s breath catches in his throat as he slides his hands up Eddie’s chest to his shoulders, but his skin is smooth and soft and it feels so good that Steve’s hands can’t stay in place for long, sliding across his chest again.

“Tell me about it,” Eddie whispers between kisses. Steve’s breath catches again. “What’d you think about?”

“You,” Steve says breathlessly, hands finally coming to rest on the sides of Eddie’s neck. He can feel his heartbeat under his skin. It’s fast. “How you— How you touched yourself. How you touch me. How you talk to me.”

“How do I talk to you?” Eddie asks, like he doesn’t know, like he’s not doing it right now.

“Like I’m stupid,” Steve whispers.

“You know I don’t think you’re stupid,” Eddie says lightly, running his hands over his waist.

“You make me feel stupid,” Steve says weakly, looking at him. “Can’t even think— Fuck.”

Eddie smiles at him, and Steve feels like he’s overheating, his stomach fluttering. He closes his eyes, dropping his head, letting out a weak sound.

“Tell me what else, honey,” Eddie says softly, squeezing his waist, leaning in and tilting his head to kiss the side of his neck. Steve lets his head fall to the side, wrapping his arms around Eddie’s neck, shifting on his lap. “Come on, baby.”

Steve whines.

“I…”

“You…” Eddie teases against his neck, tongue brushing over his skin. “Hm?”

“Wanna be good for you,” Steve says weakly, lightheaded, his throat tight suddenly, holding the back of Eddie’s head, his other arm wrapped around him tightly. “Wanna be your good boy.”

Eddie groans quietly into Steve’s neck.

“You are,” he whispers, his voice right by Steve’s ear, his breath against his skin, cooling his own spit. “My good boy, my baby.”

Steve moans softly, shivering.

“Oh, shit.”

Eddie pulls back and looks down, gazing at where Steve’s dick is now tenting his sweatpants, and he smiles brightly, looking back up at him.

“Good boy,” he whispers, like Steve is in control of this, like he did it on purpose. He holds Steve’s cheek and guides him into a kiss. Steve kisses him desperately, messily, pushing a hand into Eddie’s curls, holding him tightly. “Go ‘head, baby,” Eddie breathes into his mouth.

“I don’t— I don’t know what I’m doing,” Steve confesses, even though he knows it’s obvious. It makes Eddie smile.

“Just do what feels good,” he whispers. He holding Steve’s hips and tugs, gently forcing him to press down against Eddie, and Eddie is hard too, and he’s pressing right against Steve, and—

“Oh, god—”

“Alright?” Eddie asks, and when Steve doesn’t respond, he squeezes his hips. “What’s your color, Stevie?”

“Green,” Steve gasps, shifting on Eddie’s lap again, rubbing against him, and he hugs Eddie’s neck. “Fuck, Eddie.”

“That’s it,” Eddie praises softly. “Feel good?”

“Mmhmm,” Steve hums, his voice too high, nodding. He’s desperate, hands shaking as they slide over Eddie’s chest, running over the soft hair on his skin. “Feels so good, Eddie.”

“Go a little harder,” Eddie instructs gently, pulling at Steve’s hips, his voice sweet and kind, and Steve is helpless. He follows directions blindly, his vision blurring, and he closes his eyes, rolling his hips harder, more confidently, because it feels good. Eddie’s breath catches in his throat. “There you go, good boy.”

Steve lets out a soft moan, rocking against him, humming when Eddie’s hand slides to the small of his back.

“Eddie,” he whines, and he doesn’t even recognize his own voice. Eddie nods, rubbing his back.

“You’re okay,” he says softly.

“‘M okay,” he says weakly, mumbling, breathless.

“‘S right, baby boy, I got you,” Eddie whispers. Steve whines again, shifting against him, eyes fluttering, his mouth falling open, and he’s going to start drooling again, he just knows it. But he’s barely in his own head right now, and he can’t think, and Eddie is making him fucking stupid. His hands pressing against his back, his tattoos, his skin, his hair, his voice, his dick—

“Eddie,” he chokes, flushing with heat, rolling his hips hard and staying down, pressing against Eddie, feeling how hard he is, feeling how much he wants Steve, and he lets out a noise he’s never made before. It rips its way out of his throat, and he’s embarrassed in spite of the grin that spreads across Eddie’s face.

“Fuck,” Eddie breathes before he lets out a quiet moan. “You’re okay, you’re doing so well, baby, I’m so proud of you.”

Steve’s eyes sting, and his lip quivers. Eddie nods, lifting a hand to touch his face, caressing his cheek, cradling him, and Steve feels delicate in a way only Eddie has ever made him feel. His eyes flutter shut, letting a tear fall down his cheek as his hips press to Eddie’s, slowly, rhythmically, steadily. Eddie’s thumb swipes over his chin, and Steve whimpers as he processes how slick it is.

Eddie smiles at him fondly, his other hand spread against the small of his back, tilting his head. His thumb, wet with Steve’s spit, brushes against his lower lip.

Steve’s jaw drops and he lowers his head, pressing his hands against Eddie’s chest, covering his tattoos with his palms, and Eddie’s smile widens. He presses his thumb into Steve’s mouth, nodding.

Steve lets his eyes fall shut, closing his mouth around Eddie’s thumb, sucking gently. Eddie’s fingers curl around his chin, holding him, nodding as Steve whines, grinding against him, almost rolling his body against Eddie’s. Eddie slides his thumb out a little bit before he presses it back in, sliding it over Steve’s tongue, and Steve’s eyes roll into his head.

Eddie laughs lightly, almost giggling, pressing his thumb into Steve’s tongue until it pushes his mouth open, and Steve lets out a guttural groan, hands sliding to Eddie’s waist. His fingertips press into his flesh.

“That feel good, baby?” Eddie says sweetly. Steve moans weakly, groaning a pathetic Yeah around his thumb. “You want more?”

Steve nods desperately.

“Go a little faster for me, sweetheart,” Eddie murmurs, slipping his hand under the hem of Steve’s shirt. His hand is cold against Steve’s skin, but it still feels like it’s burning through him. Steve shifts his weight to his knees, lifting himself up to move faster, desperately. “Fuck, that’s good. Open your mouth for me.”

He’s breathless, and Steve whines, listening closely, opening his mouth, groaning as Eddie presses his index and middle fingers into his mouth. He’s so gentle, watching like he’s in awe as Steve sucks on them, holding Eddie’s waist tightly. Eddie presses them in and out, smiling proudly.

Steve catches his wrist as he starts to pull his fingers out, leaning forward so they slide back into place.

“Alright?” Eddie asks softly, whispering. Steve looks into his eyes, pulling his wrist, tilting his head down, forcing Eddie’s fingers in deeper until they’re nudging at his throat. And he sees stars.

His back arches as he suppresses a gag, and he closes his eyes, moaning loudly.

“Jesus fuck, Steve.”

“Mm.”

Steve’s spit is dripping over Eddie’s hand, and he briefly wishes Eddie was wearing his rings.

“You like that?” Eddie asks breathlessly, leaning up to kiss the side of Steve’s neck, biting gently. “You like my fingers in your throat, baby?”

“Yeah,” Steve gasps, and he feels debauched. Fully dressed and so hot he feels like he might die. Eddie’s fingers in his mouth, his dick pressed against Steve’s. His voice is muffled by Eddie’s fingers, slurred and mumbled. “Feels so good, Eds, I— I love your hands s’much.”

“Baby,” Eddie breathes. He slides his tongue up the side of his neck, slowly, lingering at his jaw, and Steve keens, whining, his head falling back, and he knows he’s being noisy, knows he hasn’t stopped making noises this entire time, desperate, weak, pathetic noises, but he can’t stop. Can’t shut himself up.

“Fuck, I— I need more.”

“Take it,” Eddie says, biting him. “Take what you need, Stevie, make yourself feel good.”

“Oh, God.”

“I got you, baby, you’re okay.”

“I’m okay,” Steve says breathlessly as Eddie’s hand falls from his mouth. Eddie nods, lifting his fingers to his own mouth, sucking Steve’s spit off. Steve whines, leaning back and looking down at where they’re pressed together. The front of his sweatpants is tented, and there’s a damp spot. “Shit.”

“It’s okay,” Eddie tells him, reaching to hold his hips. “I got you, babydoll, you’re doing so good for me.”

Steve shivers, pressing against him harder, biting his lip, whining again, and he knows it sounds like he hates it, but he doesn’t, he fucking wants it, so, so so, badly. He sounds pathetic, whimpering and whining and crying as he uses Eddie’s body, as Eddie lets him. He wraps his arms around Eddie’s neck, hugging him tightly, moving against him desperately, whining loudly, his voice high in his throat.

“Eddie—”

“Yeah, baby,” Eddie gasps, pressing a hand into the arch of his back.

“Fuck, it’s so much, it’s so much, Eddie, I—”

“What’s your color, Stevie?” Eddie checks, pulling back to look into his eyes.

“Green,” Steve gasps, grabbing at Eddie’s hair. “Green, don’t fucking stop, baby, please, it— it feels so good.”

“Jesus.”

Steve sobs, pressing his forehead to Eddie’s, gasping for breath, trembling.

“You’re so close,” Eddie says softly, encouragingly. “You’re gonna come, baby boy, don’t stop.”

“Fuck, I don’t wanna stop,” Steve cries. “I don’t wanna stop, I wanna come for you, Eddie, please, please—”

“Come for me, baby,” Eddie whispers, nipping at his earlobe. “Come on, Stevie, baby, you got it.”

Steve whines, hugging Eddie’s neck, hiding his face, but Eddie pushes him back, lifting his chin and pulling him into a messy kiss. Steve groans low in his throat, clutching at him, breathing hard, letting out another sob.

He presses down harder, reaching back, his hand landing on Eddie’s knee, and he leans back, using it as a sort of leverage as he moves against Eddie. His eyes squeeze shut for a moment as he swirls his hips, groaning as Eddie’s hand finds his neck, holding him gently.

“Fuck,” Eddie says breathlessly, watching, eyes wide and dark. “‘S my boy, good job.”

“Eddie, fuck—”

“Come for me, baby.”

Steve moans, his eyes rolling into his head as his body flushes with heat, and it’s like the sky is opening up above him, like the stars are bathing him in their light, and Eddie’s hands are holding him, fingers wrapped around his throat. And Steve kind of feels like he might be dying, like this is it, like this is all he’s been waiting for. Like everything in his life has been leading to this moment.

He knows this isn’t it, that he has days coming after this, that the sun will rise in the morning, and as his head falls to Eddie’s shoulder, the thought wraps around him in the form of Eddie’s arms. And then he’s smiling into Eddie’s neck, humming weakly, his voice breaking.

“Are you okay?” Eddie asks softly, running a hand over his back, voice painted with worry. And Steve’s head feels like it’s filled with cotton and dust, but he does his best to respond, nodding.

“‘M okay.”

“God, Steve.”

Steve whines, pressing closer, sliding his hands over Eddie’s chest. He still feels warm, and he’s still squirming in Eddie’s lap, shifting his hips against Eddie, who’s still hard. It feels nice, even though it’s a little overwhelming to Steve, and he doesn’t stop, even as Eddie’s hands find his hips, holding him gently.

“You’re amazing,” Eddie whispers. Steve’s smile widens, and he rubs his nose against the side of Eddie’s neck, making him giggle.

“I’m so…”

Steve trails off, exhaling heavily, shifting again, and Eddie hugs him.

“So…”

“…I don’t know,” he whispers. “I’m like… Tired. But ’s good.”

“You feel good?”

“Mm. Feels good.”

He hears Eddie laugh softly, running a hand across the small of his back.

“‘S sticky,” Steve mumbles absently, and Eddie laughs again, turning his head to kiss Steve’s temple. “Cold.”

“Wanna show me?”

Steve suppresses a sleepy smile and sits up, pausing briefly to press a kiss to Eddie’s jaw, and he hums when he sits up straight, arching his back to stretch it. Eddie watches, eyes shining with something Steve is starting to understand. Something he doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to.

He looks down at the darkened spot on the front of his sweatpants, and he hesitates for just a moment before he hooks his thumbs on the waistband and tugs it out of the way,

Eddie tilts his head to look, and Steve’s cheeks are lit aflame by humiliation as he reaches to tug at the front of his waistband. Steve’s come is sticking to his boxers, messy and gross, but Eddie just smiles, looking up at Steve, who’s looking away, embarrassed.

“Good boy,” Eddie says quietly, whispering, lifting his chin to prompt Steve to lower his head close enough to kiss him, and Steve does, exhaling and closing his eyes, letting his lips part for Eddie’s tongue to slip between them. “Baby.”

“Mm.”

Eddie lets go of the waistband, letting it snap against his skin, and Steve snorts, cheeks warm.

“Wanna go take a shower and clean up?” Eddie asks softly.

Steve hesitates, his head ducked shyly. He does want to take a shower. He feels kind of gross (in a way that he finds he doesn’t completely mind), and a shower would be nice, but the idea of being away from Eddie, of a door between them, makes him feel cold.

“…Will you come with me?” he asks quietly, looking to meet Eddie’s eyes. Eddie’s head is tilted like he’s curious, and he lifts a hand to touch his face.

“You sure?” he whispers.

Steve nods. He’s sure. He wants it.

To stand under the spray of water with Eddie, their skin bare and exposed, wet and sliding across each other, their hair tangling.

He wants to see all of Eddie. Wants Eddie to see all of him.

Every bruise and faint scar, every shift of his muscles beneath his skin, every freckle and mole. He wants to see each of Eddie’s tattoos, wants to memorize them all, to see them every time he closes his eyes.

“Yeah,” he says softly. “Please.”

Eddie smiles up at him, eyes squinting as his cheeks rise, and it’s like he’s glowing. Steve’s chest aches.

Steve is wobbly when he stands, holding Eddie’s hands tightly, head fuzzy as he follows him slowly to the bedroom. He watches, leaning against a wall, as Eddie collects fresh clothes, and he knows Eddie is just grabbing clothes from his unorganized drawers, but he’s gazing, watching like he’s in awe, because Eddie’s just Eddie, just a man, just flesh and bone, but Steve feels like he’s on the verge of tears, watching him.

He’s so beautiful Steve’s whole body aches. He makes existing look so easy, tossing a freshly cleaned pair of boxers in the air and catching it with a silly flourish that makes Steve giggle, looking over his shoulder to smile at Steve with an ease that Steve longs for.

“Come on, sweetheart,” Eddie says as he takes Steve’s hand to lead him to the bathroom, his other arm holding their clothes, and Steve clings to his wrist, following him helplessly. Eddie’s hair shifts in the air as he walks, and Steve suddenly feels sick, and he needs to shut himself up before he says it—

He tugs at Eddie’s hand, and Eddie turns, lips already parted to speak, but Steve leans in to kiss him before he can say anything. Eddie hums, smiling against Steve’s mouth, fingers tightening on Steve’s. Steve doesn’t let him go far when they part for a breath, leaning in and catching Eddie’s lips again, because he needs to keep his mouth busy until the urge passes.

Because he knows it’s too soon.

Ridiculously, insanely too soon. He would be stupid to say it, especially now, making out with Eddie in the bathroom after coming in his pants so pathetically. (Eddie didn’t seem to mind, obviously.) But Eddie always makes Steve feel kind of stupid.

Steve groans into the kiss, stepping closer, tilting his head, letting his lips part. Eddie grins, opening his mouth, and Steve licks across his teeth, reaching to wrap his arms around his neck. Eddie drops the clothes onto the counter, and then his hands are pushing under Steve’s shirt, his fingertips cold, his palms warm, and Steve whines. He pushes Eddie toward the counter, and Eddie giggles when his back hits the edge of it, pressing a hand into the small of Steve’s back.

Steve’s eyebrows furrow and he tilts his head, burying a hand in Eddie’s hair and pulling as Eddie’s tongue slides into his mouth. Eddie lets out a soft sound, humming into Steve’s mouth, fingers pressing into Steve’s flesh in a way that would make Steve self conscious were it anyone else touching him, but Eddie’s hands make him feel beautiful.

He moves closer to Eddie, shifting so their bodies are locked, pressed together completely, and Steve’s breath catches in his throat when he realizes that Eddie is still hard, straining against the fabric of his sweatpants.

“Eds,” he mumbles, tugging at his hair again.

“Mm,” Eddie hums breathlessly. “Yeah, baby.”

“Can I touch you?”

Eddie kisses him again, nibbling on his lower lip, dragging his hand up and then down Steve’s back, his nails tracing his spine.

“You don’t have to,” he says softly. “‘S okay.”

“Wanna,” Steve says petulantly, licking into Eddie’s mouth. “Wanna make you come.”

“Fuck.”

Steve hums.

“May I?” he whispers between kisses.

“Go for it, honey.”

Steve grins into the kiss, biting his lip briefly before he pulls away and bites his own lip as their foreheads press. He looks down, reaching for the drawstring of Eddie’s sweatpants. He tugs them down, tracing the hem of his underwear hesitantly. The dragon’s tail dips under it, winding around the trail of hair that Steve pauses to pet, stroking gently.

“Alright?” Eddie whispers. Steve nods, slipping his fingertips under the waistband.

“You’re so beautiful,” he breathes.

“So are you,” Eddie whispers, kissing Steve’s forehead. “We’re a good-lookin’ couple, aren’t we?”

Steve giggles, looking up at Eddie shyly as he tugs his underwear down.

Eddie exhales when Steve touches him, and Steve gazes at him, sliding his hand over Eddie’s dick slowly, carefully. Eddie’s eyes close, his head falling back, when Steve tightens his hand. Steve smiles, tilting his head curiously.

“Does it feel good?” he asks softly after a while.

“Yeah, baby,” Eddie breathes. “Feels good. Love how you touch me.”

“I like touching you.”

Eddie lets out a soft noise, and Steve bites his lip, rubbing his thumb over the slit, looking at the way his own skin looks against Eddie’s. They are beautiful together.

He quickens his hand, squeezing, watching Eddie’s face, watching his lips part as he lets out a soft groan. His brows furrow and he grits his teeth like he’s wincing, like it hurts, but Steve knows it doesn’t. Because Eddie’s cheeks are flushed pink and he reaches to hold Steve’s neck, his palm to Steve’s throat.

Steve moans softly, letting his eyes flutter shut before he looks at him again.

Eddie is breathing heavily. He’s leaning back against the counter, and Steve watches his chest rise and fall with every breath. He looks down again, watches his hand shift up and down, watches Eddie’s skin become slick, and then he wants to taste it, wants Eddie’s dick in his mouth—

Which is a thing, he learned recently. Robin told him. Which could have been weird, but it was mostly just fun, sitting in Robin’s bed with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders, chewing on gummy bears and giggling and gasping at everything she said. He learned lots of new words.

“Eddie,” he says quietly.

“Yeah,” Eddie says breathlessly.

“Can I use my mouth?”

Eddie’s eyes flutter open, and it takes a moment for his vision to focus.

“You want to?” he asks softly.

“Desperately.”

Eddie snorts, and he pulls Steve into a kiss by his throat, manhandling him forward, and Steve keens, melting against him, his hand pausing. Eddie’s teeth catch on Steve’s lip, tugging at it. Steve is breathless when they separate, and Eddie’s lips brush his when he speaks.

“Get on your knees.”

Steve’s stomach does a somersault. He moans.

He lowers to his knees slowly, mourning the loss of Eddie’s hand in his throat, but then he’s smiling because Eddie is pushing his underwear farther down, and Steve gazes at the safety pin on Eddie’s thigh.

“Pretty.”

“Thank you, baby.”

Steve leans forward and nuzzles against him, burying his nose in the hair at the base of Eddie’s dick, inhaling, sighing when Eddie’s fingers twist into his hair.

“You don’t have to,” Eddie whispers.

“Wanna.”

Eddie snorts, tugging at Steve’s hair gently, and Steve hums, finally lifting his hands to touch him, sliding his hands over his thighs, rubbing, squeezing, before he reaches for Eddie’s dick again, leaning his head back a little to look. When he squeezes, a bead of liquid appears, and he’s leaning in to lick it before he can even think.

“Shit,” Eddie breathes. “Mm.”

Steve hums, doing it again, closing his eyes. He listens to Eddie’s breathing become heavier, lingering close before he takes him into his mouth.

“Fuck, Steve,” Eddie says sharply. “So warm.”

Steve hums, sucking gently, and his head goes quiet. He reaches to hold Eddie’s hip, bobbing his head, humming weakly at the soft wet sounds that fill the air. His blood rushes, and his dick is filling out again. He pushes closer, longing for the feeling of Eddie’s dick sliding over the back of his tongue, for it to nudge too far down, where it shouldn’t go, where Steve wants it most.

He pulls away with a gasp, breathless, his chin slick with drool, his eyes half-shut like he’s sleepy.

“Want it in my throat,” he says absently, looking up at Eddie.

Eddie opens his eyes, looking at him. His cheeks are red, and he looks holy.

Steve melts, and he wants to cry. He falls to the side, legs folded under him like a mermaid basking in the sun, and he holds Eddie’s leg, looking up at him longingly. He wants to beg, to plead, and Eddie must see it on his face. He caresses his cheek, brushing his thumb under his eyes, and Steve turns into his palm, his lips parting to slide his tongue over Eddie’s skin.

“You sure?” Eddie whispers.

“Please,” Steve begs weakly, his voice cracking.

“Oh, baby,” Eddie breathes.

Steve moans quietly, arching his back, absently searching for friction.

“Take it slow,” Eddie says gently, running his hand into Steve’s hair again. “Okay? Don’t force it.”

Steve nods up at him, his heart pounding.

“Go ‘head, baby.”

Steve hums, opening his mouth again, sticking his tongue out, taking Eddie into his mouth again, sliding his tongue over the underside, tracing the vein that somehow tastes like the sky. Steve’s eyes roll into his head as he clutches at Eddie’s leg.

“Fuck, there you go, baby,” Eddie murmurs. “That’s it.”

Steve stiffens as Eddie’s dick nudges his throat, arching his back, furrowing his eyebrows.

Fuck.

“God, Stevie,” Eddie gasps. “You’re fucking amazing.”

Steve’s cheeks flush with heat, and he squeezes Eddie’s thigh, inhaling deeply before he relaxes, moving closer, letting Eddie’s dick push deeper, and his eyes sting as they fill with tears, and the ground is hard beneath him, pressing against his ankles and his hip, and it hurts but he doesn’t care.

He feels filthy.

He feels beautiful.

“Baby,” Eddie gasps, and his other hand finds Steve’s hair, pushing into his hair and gripping it tightly. Steve groans, pulling away to gasp for breath before he pushes in again. “Oh, fuck, Steve, fuck—”

Eddie tugs at his hair, hissing as Steve grips his thigh tightly.

“You like that, baby?” Eddie asks breathlessly, and Steve lets out a garbled yeah. “Yeah, you do. Fuck, you like my cock down your throat—”

Steve lets out a guttural groan, sliding his hands up to Eddie’s ass, pulling so Eddie’s dick pushes deeper, and Eddie lets out a moan, his head falling forward.

“‘S my boy,” Eddie says, groaning. “So good for me, babydoll, you’re so perfect.”

Steve whines, blinking tears out of his eyes. They’re hot as they roll down his cheeks, and he knows he’s pathetic, crying with Eddie’s dick down his throat, but Eddie’s fingertips are light on his cheeks as he wipes them away, carefully, lovingly.

“Fuck,” Eddie gasps. “You’re so beautiful, Stevie, my beautiful boy.”

Steve groans.

He only wants to hear Eddie’s voice for the rest of his life, just like this. Gentle and sweet and tender, echoing off the tile walls, covering him like a warm blanket, like an umbrella in the pouring rain.

He lets out a soft moan when Eddie pulls his head back by his hair, his shoulders slumping. Strings of spit fall from his mouth to his legs, darkening the fabric of his sweatpants.

“Breathe for me,” Eddie murmurs, and Steve does, panting, his chest rising and falling as he holds onto Eddie’s leg. “You okay?”

“Yes,” Steve gasps, looking up at him. “I like it, I like it so much, please—”

“Okay,” Eddie breathes. “I got you, sweetheart, you want it that bad?”

Steve nods pathetically, breathing hard.

“Want it,” he says absently, weakly, and he can’t say anything else because his mouth doesn’t seem to be connected to his brain.

“You want me to fuck your face, baby?” Eddie asks condescendingly, his voice sweet, and Steve’s stomach flips over. He whines, nodding, tears slipping down his face. “Sweet boy.”

“Please,” Steve breathes.

“Please what?”

“Eddie,” Steve whines, crying, hugging his leg, lifting his chin, but Eddie doesn’t let him, his fingers shifting to move his dick away from Steve’s mouth. “Please, baby.”

“Please what, sweetheart?” Eddie asks again, smiling, and Steve wants to pout. “What do you want, Stevie?”

“Eddie,” Steve whimpers, looking up at him. “Fuck my face. Please. Want your cock in my throat.”

“Jesus fuck, Steve,” Eddie says.

“Fuck me,” Steve says again, setting his chin on Eddie’s leg to look up at him. “Please, baby.”

Eddie’s dick jumps, and Steve grins, rubbing Eddie’s thigh gently, humming suggestively, whining when Eddie tugs his hair again.

“Take a deep breath for me,” Eddie says softly. Steve nods, inhaling, shifting onto his knees. “Ready?”

“Yes—” Steve says, just barely stopping himself from adding a soft sir at the end of the word. Which he knows is weird. Eddie is only a few years older than him, and they haven't even really talked about the way Eddie always takes charge, the way he talks to Steve like he can’t think for himself. Or the way it makes Steve melt into a human puddle, the way it makes him feel like he’s falling in love.

Other things make him feel like that too.

The way Eddie touches his waist when he’s passing by him in the kitchen, the way he glances at Steve when Steve glances at him, suppressing a shy smile.

The way Eddie’s voice sounds in the morning, all rough and gravelly and sexy, right in Steve’s ear as he says Good morning, beautiful because he knows it makes Steve shivers.

The way Eddie’s fingers feel in his mouth.

The way Eddie’s sweatshirts and bedsheets smell.

The way Eddie absently presses his fingertips into the soft flesh of Steve’s stomach and hips like he wants to pull him apart.

A lot of things about Eddie make Steve feel like that.

Eddie guides his dick into Steve’s mouth, one hand gripping his hair, and Steve moans softly, his eyes fluttering shut. He wraps his arms around Eddie’s legs as he takes him deeper, shifting to sit on his bottom again, holding Eddie’s legs tightly.

It’s gross, the way Eddie’s dick slides down his throat and then comes back out a little bit, the way Eddie grips his hair and guides his head up and down slowly, murmuring quietly. Steve chokes. He gags. His knees are sore from the ground. And he loves it.

His throat makes a clicking sound around Eddie’s dick, and he lets go of Eddie’s leg, reaching to his own lap, rubbing himself over his sweatpants. He moans, gasping when Eddie pulls out for a moment.

“Fuck,” Eddie groans. “That’s good, baby, you’re doing so good for me.”

Steve whines, lifting his chin to beg for more. Eddie gives it to him, moaning loudly. It echoes.

Steve’s hand pushes under his sweatpants, rubbing quickly as he clutches at Eddie’s thigh. His dick is already slick with come, and he groans.

“Fuck, are you touching yourself?” Eddie asks breathlessly. Steve whines, pulling away and gasping for breath, nodding, crying.

“Yeah,” he chokes. “Fuck, it feels so good, Eddie.”

“God, Steve.”

“Please,” Steve says weakly. “Gimme more, baby, please.”

“Open your mouth, baby.”

He does, sticking his tongue out, looking up at him, and it’s like he’s waiting for communion, like he’s waiting for Eddie to bless him.

And that’s exactly what Eddie does.

He presses his thumb to Steve’s tongue, pushing his jaw down. Steve keens, closing his mouth around it and sucking. Eddie smiles softly, curling his fingers under Steve’s chin. Steve squeezes his dick, whining.

“Open,” Eddie says softly. Steve lets his jaw drop. Spit falls down his chin. And then Eddie is sliding three fingers into his mouth, pressing down on his tongue, and Steve groans, closing his eyes. “Okay?”

“Yeah,” Steve says weakly, his voice muffled by Eddie’s hand. Eddie grins, pushing his fingers deeper, stretching Steve’s mouth open. Steve whines, letting out a weak sob.

“That’s my boy,” Eddie says fondly. “Sweet baby.”

He pulls his fingers away, and Steve sticks his tongue out to catch the strings of spit that connect them.

“You want my dick, sweetheart?”

Steve nods, gazing up at him.

“Please,” he breathes.

─────────────────

Steve lets his head fall back as Eddie kisses down his neck, biting his lip. Eddie pushes his hair out of the way, sliding it across his wet skin, and Steve shivers.

He slides his hands over Eddie’s waist, and when Eddie’s teeth press into his skin, he drags his fingernails across his back, humming. He isn’t sure if Eddie hears it over the spray of the shower, but he doesn’t care.

The steam from the shower smells like Eddie’s shampoo, like home, and Eddie’s skin sliding against his feels like heaven.

Steve’s cross is pressing into his chest, but he doesn’t mind. It’s warm from the water, and from Eddie’s skin and his breath, and Steve isn’t even hard anymore (he hardly knew he was capable of having an orgasm, but less two in less than two hours), but he feels so fucking good.

Eddie’s hair slips between his fingers easily, and Steve wraps it around his fingers, pulling so Eddie pulls away. He does, smiling lazily, his tongue teasing his teeth, and Steve lets out a quiet moan.

There are drops of water caught in his eyelashes. His cheeks are pink. His piercings are shining.

“You’re so beautiful,” Steve breathes.

Eddie tilts his head, smiling softly. His hair is sticking to his neck, perfectly swirled over his skin, the dark color contrasting beautifully against his pale skin. Steve reaches out and pushes it away, leaning in to kiss his neck. Eddie laughs softly, letting him.

Steve sucks on his skin, humming quietly, letting Eddie tug at his hair. He bites gently, teasingly, smiling against his skin when Eddie grips his hair and holds him close as his other hand presses against the small of his back. Their bodies press together, their legs entwining, and Steve moans softly, hugging him tightly.

“Sweet lamb,” Eddie murmurs. Steve smiles again.

His cheeks are warm every time Eddie looks at his body.

He’s shy, even though Eddie whispered that he doesn’t have to be as they were undressing. His eyes linger on Steve’s chest, and Steve is self-conscious of how hairy he is, but Eddie is smiling the whole time. He murmurs into Steve’s ear that he’s beautiful, and Steve believes him.

Steve’s skin misses Eddie’s as they part, and he bites his lip to hold back a whine as he watches him turn to get the soap. His hair is stuck to his skin, but it’s parted just enough that Steve can see ink under the nape of his neck.

He reaches up before he can even think, dragging his fingertips across Eddie’s shoulders to gather his hair out of the way, and Eddie lets him, his head turning a little bit like he wants to turn and look at him. He doesn’t, and Steve pushes his hair away enough to see the tattoo.

It’s an eye. Looking back at Steve, shining. It kind of looks like it’s been etched into Eddie’s skin, the lines uneven and a little shaky like it’s a carving. There are lines around the eye like rays of light.

Steve traces it lightly, his fingertips just ghosting over the ink, and then he leans in and presses his lips to it. Eddie hums softly.

“Thank you,” Steve whispers, setting his chin on Eddie’s shoulder. Eddie’s head turns a little bit.

“For what?”

Steve sighs, closing his eyes, wrapping his arms around Eddie’s waist. Eddie’s hands slide over his forearms, and Steve kind of wishes they could absorb one another, that they could melt together.

“Taking care of me.’

Eddie hums again.

“Love taking care of you.” His voice is gentle, breathy, like he knows Steve feels like he’s about to fall asleep. Steve sighs again, tucking his face into the side of Eddie’s, shivering as Eddie drags his nails across his forearms lightly. “My sweet boy.”

♡ permanent taglist: @estrellami-1 @theplantscientist @spectrum-spectrum @carlprocastinator1000 @starman-jpg @romantiklen @imhereforthelolzdontyellatme ♡ holy things taglist: @stevesbipanic @pearynice @ao3whore @slowandsteddie @swordsandflowercrowns @dragonmama76 @mikeys-thoughts @sofadofax @cyranyx @kazalohiku @lostonceandneverfound @strangerfreaks @bitchysteveharrington @nailbatanddungeon @newtstabber (comment to be added/removed to/from either list!!)

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[tenebraevesper]

Shatter Me, Entry 1: Ambivalent

''Always, you are fearless, like a cat absorbed in what it loves. The reason you feel dazzling is surely because I was looking at you. A circuit of stimulating thought, it draws me in. Blue, blue, I'm still not reflected in those eyes, you are the same as always today. Swaying, swaying, these feelings remain somewhere, now I'm just looking at your profile here.''

– Ambivalent by The Apothecary Diaries

xXxXxXx

Sonic ran across Green Hill, simply taking in and enjoying the lush scenery and the familiarity of his home. Sure, going on adventures, exploring new places and meeting new people was something he absolutely loved to do, but after his experience in the Shatterverse, he wanted to enjoy the comfort of the place he called his home just a little bit longer. Besides, Dr. Eggman had just attacked them once again the other day, so he and his friends needed to deal with that. Fortunately, they beat the mad doctor once again and decided to take a well-deserved break.

However, Sonic felt a little restless. He still hadn't told his friends about the Shatterverse, thanks to Dr. Eggman's attack literally interrupting him just as he started his story, and when things had calmed down, he forgot about it. But now that it was on his mind, he wondered whether he should come clean in regards to accidentally shattering the Paradox Prism, the whole adventure through New Yoke City, Boscage Maze, No Place, The Grim, Ghost Hill and The Void, and how he had managed to fix reality and save the world once again.

''Admittedly, I didn't save it by myself. I had help,'' Sonic said to himself as he ran through Hedgehog's Pass. He still remembered how all of the Shatterverse Variants of his friends and even the Chaos Council united to help him to get to the Paradox Prism, their own homes being slowly destroyed by the rifts in reality. However, there was one person Sonic had to give credit to, as without him, he didn't believe that he would ever make it home. He skidded to a halt, looking around and then leaning against a nearby palm tree. ''Speaking of which, where is Shadow?''

Sonic hadn't seen his rival since the battle at the cave that contained the Paradox Prism. He was genuinely happy to see him, having understood Shadow's plan of using the Chaos Emerald to keep the Paradox Prism safe. However, after the battle was over, Sonic actually wanted to invite Shadow to the picnic on the beach, but he couldn't find him. Admittedly, that wasn't unusual, since Shadow usually kept to himself unless the world was in danger, but Sonic had hoped that he would at least stay around for a little bit longer.

''I wonder where he is,'' Sonic said aloud, talking to himself, then chuckled. ''Maybe he decided to pull a Knuckles and become the Guardian of the Paradox Prism.''

''Who are you talking to?''

Sonic's head snapped towards the origin of the voice, his heart leaping when he saw a familiar figure standing on the elevated bridge-like road of Hedgehog's Pass. Shadow the Hedgehog was staring back at Sonic, his arms folded across his chest, his black and red quills fluttering lightly in the breeze.

''Shadow!''

Sonic suddenly rushed up to Shadow, a wide smile spreading across his lips as he pulled the ebony hedgehog into a tight embrace, nuzzling his cheek. Shadow's crimson eyes widened for a moment, having been caught off guard by Sonic's sudden and unexpected action. However, he didn't step away, just standing awkwardly as he let Sonic hug him and hoping that the azure hedgehog wouldn't hear just how loudly his own heart was beating as it picked up the pace. Finally, Sonic let go of him, instead placing his hands on Shadow's shoulders, still having that wide grin on his expression.

''Dude, where were you? I wanted to invite you to our victory lunch at the beach!'' Sonic asked, stepping back to give Shadow some space.

''I've been busy with finding a proper hiding place for the Paradox Prism, so it wouldn't fall into the wrong hands again,'' Shadow explained.

''Figures,'' Sonic muttered, only to give him a curious look. ''So, where did you leave it? In a cave? A shrine? Oh, I know! In your basement!'' Shadow furrowed a brow, rolling his eyes at all the guesses. Sonic pouted. ''Aw, com'n, at least you could tell me…''

''Have you forgotten that you were the one who shattered it?'' Shadow responded, feeling a sense of satisfaction when he saw Sonic frowning at that reminder.

''Hey, it's not like I'm going to shatter it again-'' he protested, only to shut up when Shadow rose an eyebrow, giving him a non-verbal 'Really?' look. ''You know, I did learn my lesson about listening to others. I promise that me shattering another magical crystal won't happen ever again.''

''I'm not telling you anything,'' Shadow responded in a firm tone. Sonic deflated, giving Shadow a pointed look.

''Right, trust issues.''

Shadow narrowed his eyes, glancing aside as he lowered his gaze. Sonic was a bit surprised by his reaction, tilting his head and clasping his hands on his back as he bowed over to meet Shadow's gaze. The ebony hedgehog seemed to be bothered by something, but as usual, it appeared that he wasn't going to share what was on his mind, choosing to keep it to himself. Sonic faltered, realizing that Shadow wasn't going to respond in the usual manner.

''Hey, you know that I didn't mean to hurt you… Shads?''

Shadow just sighed in response, giving Sonic a rather indifferent look, as if to say that it didn't matter. ''I'm fine.''

''Thanks for saving my life back there. I wouldn't have survived without you.''

Shadow gave Sonic a surprised look, having not expected the azure hedgehog to thank him for saving his life. ''I was simply settling a debt. You have saved me from The Void.''

''Riiiiight, but you gotta admit that would be really boring for you if I wasn't around anymore.'' Sonic smiled cheekily. Shadow narrowed his eyes, staring at him for a moment.

''Hmph, I suppose I wouldn't have you constantly bothering me,'' he replied, feeling a slight sense of amusement when he saw Sonic giving him a displeased look. ''Or cleaning up the mess you create.''

''Yeah, yeah… I get it,'' Sonic replied, although he had to admit that he was glad to hear Shadow bantering with him. ''Hey, how about we go for a race? Maybe have a sparring match? I'm kinda bored.''

''So, you want me to beat you up again?'' Shadow asked in a snarky tone.

''Again? I recall winning our last battle,'' Sonic boasted, not really caring whether his statement was true or not. He was issuing a challenge to Shadow here and he hoped that his rival would accept it.

''Maybe I should remind who the real winner was,'' Shadow said, now taking a step towards Sonic, who felt quite excited.

''Sure,… but you first have to catch me!'' Sonic responded, before quickly dashing down the road. Shadow immediately followed him, taking note of the smile Sonic had flashed at him, followed by a laugh, showing that the azure hedgehog was having a lot of fun.

As for Shadow, while he wouldn't admit it out loud, he did enjoy a good challenge, and chasing Sonic fit the bill. He still had the green Chaos Emerald on his person, making that he could easily warp ahead to get as close as possible to Sonic, but he wanted to test his own limits first before going all out.

Sonic was still ahead of Shadow, but he did notice that the rival was getting closer and closer, so he leapt from the road and onto the soft grass below, deciding to speed between the palm trees to shake Shadow off. Unfortunately for him, his ears picked up the familiar sound of Shadow warping through space and time, having used to the Chaos Emerald to get in front of him, only for Sonic to dodge him, managing to keep the momentum.

''I don't recall agreeing to using the Chaos Emerald, but I guess this makes things even more exciting- Woah!''

Sonic's eyes widened when he glanced back, having to bow to dodge Shadow almost kicking him in the head. He skidded to a halt in a tri-point stance as they entered a clearing, and turned back to his rival, grinning. He dodged another punch from Shadow, then did a sweeping kick, trying to knock the latter of his feet, but Shadow did a backflip, before leaping back at Sonic, trying to punch him in the gut. However, Sonic managed to catch his fist, and attempted to kick Shadow, only for the latter to catch Sonic's leg and swing him around, throwing him towards a nearby palm tree. Sonic felt a painful sensation in his back, but he smirked as he saw Shadow getting closer, getting on his feet and landing a punch in Shadow's gut. Shadow backed away, but a smile spread on his tan lips as he saw Sonic giving him a taunting look, only to quickly speed away.

The chase resumed, with Sonic narrowing his eyes in thought. He knew that Shadow was a difficult opponent, especially with him being a better strategist and more focused on his task. Nevertheless, Sonic was quite creative in battles, trying to think outside the box… and then he realized what he could do. He glanced back at Shadow as he warped closer. ''You gotta do better than that, Shads! You'll never be able to catch up to me otherwise!''

This seemed to have struck a nerve with Shadow, furrowing a brow as he suddenly sped up, but Sonic was actually glad to see Shadow putting more effort into the chase. The azure hedgehog then turned his attention to the mountain above them, the one once hid the Paradox Prism deep within its cave. He wondered if Shadow had also noticed where he led him, but figured that Shadow already knew. Therefore, he had to make sure that Shadow won't realize what Sonic's true plan was.

As for Shadow, he was a bit puzzled when he realized where Sonic was going, but he still followed his rival, as he knew that, even if they get into the cave, Sonic wouldn't be able to escape him. It was a scenario where he could win easily. Once again, Sonic, you're not paying attention. Huh?

A cloud of dust was kicked up when Sonic sped into the cave, with Shadow quickly getting inside, squinting and placing his arm over his eyes to adjust to the sudden lack of vision. ''You have nowhere to go, Sonic! You might as well give up now!''

Suddenly, there was a flash of blue, with Shadow feeling a grip on the arm that held onto the Chaos Emerald, and in the next second, he found himself pinned against the wall of the cave. His gaze turned towards Sonic, who used his elbow to keep Shadow pinned against the wall, while holding the green Chaos Emerald in his other hand, grinning widely.

''I wouldn't think so, Shads. I got you cornered,'' Sonic replied. However, instead of feeling frustrated to have lost to such an easy trick, Shadow just smirked back in response.

''So, you actually are thinking things through this time,'' he replied, with Sonic stepping back. He still kept the Chaos Emerald out of Shadow's reach, throwing it and catching it with one hand, before balancing the tip on his finger.

''I'll take that as a compliment,'' he responded, only too look around the empty cave. ''Man, this place really is something.'' He then fell silent for a moment. ''I wonder how Nine and everyone else are doing…''

The smirk on Shadow's expression vanished, and his gaze fell. It was clear to him that, even if Sonic had moved on to his next adventure, he still thought back to what had happened within the Shatterverse. It was no surprise though, as those events were still fresh on his mind, and given how he had to leave in a hurry, he never got the chance to make sure that all of his Shatterverse friends would be fine. It was no surprise that he would still be worried about them.

Unfortunately, Shadow couldn't share the sentiment, as he had his own thoughts of what happened to the Shatterverse and the Shatterverse Variants, but he still could understand how Sonic felt. These were the people he bonded and fought with to restore their homes, and he would never see them again.

''Do you want to take a break?''

Sonic was surprised to hear this suggestion from Shadow, but then nodded in agreement. Both walked outside the cave and sat side by side on the cliff outside, observing Green Hill below them.

''You know, even though visiting the Shatterverse was an interesting experience, nothing beats being at home surrounded by your friends… at least until the next adventure,'' Sonic said. Shadow just raised an eyebrow, glancing at Sonic.

''So, you're claiming that destroying our universe and sacrificing your life to restore it is an 'interesting experience'?'' Shadow asked in a deadpan tone, with Sonic giving him a sheepish smile. ''Of course you do. I suppose I forgot to whom I was talking to for a moment.''

Sonic just chuckled in response. ''Nice joke, Shads!''

''That wasn't a joke. That's literally what had happened,'' Shadow replied in the same deadpan tone. Sonic just kept smiling, with Shadow taking note that, even if their Shatterverse adventure wasn't anything to smile about, he still understood why Sonic saw it as something he had thought about fondly. Nevertheless, it didn't make him feel less puzzled. Just when he thought that he understood Sonic, the hedgehog found new ways to surprise him.

''Yeah, that's true… and I'm glad that you could tag along for the adventure,'' Sonic replied, his tone still light, but also a bit more thoughtful. ''I guess I really needed you back there to…''

''I needed you too.''

Sonic trailed off, his ears flicking and his heart skipping a beat when he heard Shadow's response, his green eyes darting towards the dark hedgehog. Shadow was just staring ahead at the lush greenery below and the blue sky above them, showing no reaction to what he had just said. Sonic could feel his heart beat loudly in his chest, but chalked it up to the residual adrenaline from their fight. A sly grin spreading a cross his lips, he scooted closer to Shadow, almost leaning against him.

''So, when did you finally decide to admit that you need me?'' he asked. Shadow didn't dignify this question with a response, trying to ignore it. His expression did change in a subtle manner, and it was obvious that he was already regretting telling Sonic that, because the azure hedgehog now refused to stop pestering his rival about it until he got a reaction from him. ''Com'n, Shads, you can talk to me about it. I promise I won't tell anyone.''

''You won't leave me alone until you get the answer you want, will you?'' Shadow asked, arms folded across his chest in the typical fashion. To his grief, he was met by an eager look bordering on puppy-dog eyes from Sonic. Shadow then sighed, well aware that he could just stop this conversation then and there, but for some reason, he didn't want to leave. Despite his reservations, he actually felt comfortable in Sonic's presence. ''I thought that it was obvious.''

''Obvious?'' Sonic blinked in surprise.

''You were the key to restoring the Paradox Prism. Obviously, I'd have to rely on you to save our home,'' Shadow replied. Sonic let out an amused huff, aware that it wouldn't be so easy to get Shadow to admit anything in a direct manner. Shadow then fell silent for a moment, his eyes narrowing as he clearly thought about something important. He then turned to Sonic, giving him a resolute look. ''One thing is certain. I won't let you tease me anymore about my friendless background or lack of trust in people.''

Sonic was genuinely surprised by this sudden response, wondering what was going through Shadow's head. He then smiled joyfully as he realized the implications. ''Wait, so you actually started to trust someone? That's great! Who is it? Do I know them?''

''It's you.''

Sonic felt a strange sense of warmth spreading through his chest, a sense of happiness and pride bubbling inside him, but there was also something else, something he couldn't quite understand. He wanted to respond, but for once, the words couldn't escape his mouth. He didn't even know how to respond to this confession.

Shadow, in turn, felt weird for admitting this secret to Sonic. Over the course of their adventure, he found himself drawn closer and closer to his rival, having found himself becoming very protective of Sonic, especially after finding out about Nine's scheme and the fate that awaited him if he relinquished the Prism Energy. Any anger the had initially felt after being warped into The Void had completely vanished, and instead was replaced by a strong desire to not only save the universe, but to make sure that Sonic would return back home in one piece. Despite his immature and careless behavior, he had learned, or rather, re-learned, that Sonic was someone he could rely on no matter how dire the situation was. Therefore, Shadow decided to affirm this trust to Sonic, even if it left him with a strange warm sensation that made him wonder if was getting sick or something. But, he was the Ultimate Lifeform; he couldn't get sick now, could he?

''I heart you too, Shadow.''

Shadow's attention snapped back to Sonic, who finally decided to respond with a wide smile and a heart shape he formed with his fingers. It wasn't the first time he heard this response, having heard it during their banter in the middle of a battle against the Chaos Council, but unlike last time, where he just let it pass, he felt that he could no longer ignore it this time. Well, at least he could try to pretend to ignore it for the time being until he fully understood why he suddenly felt like this.

''Hmph.''

Sonic gave Shadow a curious look when the dark hedgehog suddenly turned away from him, wondering if he had said something wrong. Fearing that he somehow offended his rival, he decided to drop the topic for now. ''Hey, do you want to go for a sea dog? I had figured out the recipe from when I was with Captain Dread's crew and I can guarantee that it is 100% the most delicious thing you'll ever try.''

''I guess that's fine,'' Shadow replied, turning his attention back to Sonic only to catch the green Chaos Emerald that was thrown into his lap.

''Great! I'll meet you at the beach for a picnic, since you couldn't be there the first time!'' Sonic replied, waving at him before rushing down the mountain.

Once Sonic was gone, Shadow let out a deep breath, pressing his hand against his forehead, sincerely hoping that Sonic did not notice the initial shade of red that had spread across his tan muzzle, as well as trying to calm down his rapidly-beating heart.

''Why… Why do I feel like this?''

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