Between Flicker and Flame

Chapter Four

[Shadows P.O.V;

The barista arrived with two drinks — cinnamon latte, black coffee — placing them down the way someone does when they've done it a thousand times.

"Your friend paid already," she said, nodding at Rouge before humming her way behind the counter.

A muscle jumped under my eye. My fingers curled around nothing, itching to crush something. I sank lower in my seat, letting the shadows do the work of masking me.

But Sonic... he wasn't really here. His gaze unfocused, somewhere miles past the window. I knew that look. I hated how well I knew it.

I swallowed the pressure in my chest.

"Sonic."
No reaction.
"...Snap out of it."

His head jerked up, green eyes sharp now, like I'd dragged him back to the surface.

[Sonic's POV;
The world slid back into focus, as if a freezing wave slapped me awake.
I glanced at him, disoriented.

"...What?" The question scraped out of me, everything still a little smeared around the edges.

Shadow's voice pushed through the heavy air, steady but rough around the edges.

"...How's your latte?"

I blinked. That was not the question I thought he was going to ask.
Still, my mouth moved before my mind caught up.
"It's... good."
In that moment, my tongue betrayed me.

"...What about yours?"
I hesitated, heat climbing up my neck.
"...Is it—good?"

The words came out in pieces, my fingers unconsciously tugging at the hem of my shirt.

Shadow spoke, but the edge in his voice had dulled.
"...Yes."
He murmured, refusing to meet my gaze He wouldn't look at me.
That alone made something twist in my chest.

I stared down at my hands, tracing the warmth of the cup with my thumb. I wasn't trying to avoid him... but the words felt caught somewhere between my ribs.

"Sorry," I muttered. "I didn't mean to drift off like that."
The truth pressed harder, like it wanted out.
I breathed in slowly. I felt his sharp, but strangely patient gaze on me. "... It's —- something I typically don't ... talk about." My pulse thumped harder than it should've. The words kept bunching up in my throat, like they knew saying them out loud would change something I wasn't ready to touch.

"It just..." I drew in a slow breath, staring at the coffee like it could answer for me.
"...hits me sometimes."

My fingers tightened around the cup.

"Like a memory I didn't ask for."

I could feel Shadow watching me now—really watching me.
Not with irritation, not with judgment.
Something else.
Something sharp, steady, and way too perceptive.

I almost wished he'd stop.

"..... I wasn't sure if I should tell you," I admitted before I could stop myself.

The moment those words slipped out, I felt my heart drop into my stomach.

Shadow's gaze finally lifted, his eyes meeting mine.
The air between us shifted—small, but enough to raise every hair on my arms.

He held my stare for a beat too long, like he was trying to read something just beneath my skin.

"...You can," he said quietly.
Not an order.
Not a challenge.
Something gentler. More dangerous.

My breath caught—just for a second.

I didn't realize how badly I wanted to hear that until he said it. The moment hung between us—Shadow's quiet "You can" still warming the air.

I opened my mouth, unsure what I'd even say, when—

"Sonic! There you are!"

Amy's voice sliced straight through the tension like a pink, cheerful buzzsaw.

Shadow's jaw twitched. Just once.
Almost imperceptible.
His eyes slid shut for half a second, the tiniest exhale leaving his nose.

If I didn't know him, I'd think he was just adjusting his breath.
But I did know him.

Shadow was annoyed.

Amy rushed over, her boots tapping a little too brightly across the café floor.

"There you two are! I've been looking everywhere—oh! You already got drinks?" she beamed, leaning over the table.

Shadow didn't look at her.
At all.
He just shifted the slightest inch back in his seat, arms crossing in a way that was definitely not casual.

His fingers drummed once against his bicep—a tiny, agitated rhythm he immediately stopped.
But I caught it.

I bit the inside of my cheek to hide a smile.

"...We're busy," Shadow said, voice smooth but colder than the iced drinks behind the counter.

Amy blinked, confused.
I could practically feel the heat radiating off him—annoyance wrapped in a carefully controlled shell.

He finally glanced at me, not at her, and that alone made my heartbeat kick up. Shadow's words were soft, almost flat:
"...We're busy." He repeated.

Amy didn't even slow down.

"Oh, Shadow, relax," she said lightly, brushing off the comment with a laugh. "Sonic, come with me for a sec—I want to show you something!"

Before I could respond, her hand wrapped around my wrist.

"Amy—?"
I managed, but she was already tugging me up from my seat.

My chair barely scraped the floor, but I caught the smallest shift in Shadow's posture—
his fingers curling once against his arm before going still again.

He didn't speak.
He didn't glare.
He just watched.

His eyes tracked the movement, following as Amy pulled me away.
No heat.
No sharpness.
But something faint tightened in them—like a line pulled just a bit too taut.

Amy kept chattering, oblivious as always.
I glanced back once, unsure why.

That's when Rouge returned.

She stopped just inside the doorway, taking in the table—
one empty seat, one hedgehog sitting too still, staring at nothing in particular.

Her eyes flicked from Shadow
to me
to Amy's hand around my wrist.

A slow, amused smile tugged at her mouth.

She didn't comment.
Not yet.

[Kinda shadows P.O.V here ish]
But as Amy pulled me farther toward the exit, Rouge passed Shadow's table, her voice quiet enough only he could hear:

"...You okay there, handsome?"

Shadow didn't answer.
He just set his cup down a little more carefully than necessary.

Rouge's eyes sparkled.
She'd seen everything.

[1003 words]