An Elemental Secret

Chapter 15

Sonic bit his lip, looking down at the table in front of him. Knuckles kept his place at the doorway, and Sonic knew that unless he wanted to break a window and have Tails get mad at him, he’d have to tell Knuckles. “Um, so, the reason Shadow stormed out was because… well-”

“Come on, Sonic! Just tell me.” Knuckles looked almost desperately at his friend.

“Alright fine!” Sonic sighed. “I kinda have a crush on Shadow….”

Knuckles’ eyes widened. “I wasn’t expecting that…. Did you tell him?”

“Not exactly….” Sonic grinned nervously. “Yesterday, I might’ve accidentally kissed him….”

Knuckles walked to the table, sitting down across from him. “How did he react?”

“Um, he pushed me away, but a couple seconds later, he kissed me. Then he pushed me away again, yelled at me, and told me to forget it ever happened.”

“That sounds like Shadow alright.” Knuckles rolled his eyes.

“Heh, yeah, it’s been really confusing.” Sonic chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “I tried talking to him about it just a little bit ago, and he got mad and stormed off.”

Knuckles smirked. “Y’know, he was blushing when he went into the forest.”

Sonic’s ears perked up. “Really?”

Knuckles nodded. “I wanted to ask Shadow about it, but I knew better than that.”

Sonic smiled. “Do you think he’s hiding his feelings for me?”

“Who knows? It is Shadow after all, but I think you got a good chance.”

“Thanks, Knux.”

“No problem.” Knuckles shrugged. “I’m gonna go make sure Tails is alright.”

“He’s probably just sleeping. He stays up too late.” Sonic sighed.

Knuckles simply nodded as he walked out. Sonic then found himself with the biggest smile he could muster. “He might like me back….”

____________________

Shadow walked through the forest, too mad to think about where he was going.

Why was he mad though? He was just pretending to be mad in front of Sonic. He was alone now; it was fine to drop the facade.

But it wasn’t fine. Not to him.

He just wanted his facade to be the real him.

“I need to stop.” Shadow sighed, leaning against a tree and slowly sliding to a sitting position.

He already decided against telling Sonic of his feelings, but there was still some kind of urge to talk things over. It wasn't any use, anyways. As soon as Farah shows up, Sonic would be far out of his grasp.

It was dumb, to keep harboring those feelings, but Shadow just couldn't let it go.

“Shadow!” Uncharacteristically, Shadow jumped in surprise. “Shadow! Where are you!?”

Frowning, the black hedgehog decided to keep quiet. The last person he wanted to see was the object of his burdening thoughts.

It was quiet for another long while, and Shadow had thought that the other had given up.

He knew the blue blur better than that.

It was only a matter of time before he heard footsteps approach him.

“Shads, didn't you hear me calling you?” Shadow refused to even look at the other.

Sonic frowned. “Look, I just wanted to say that….” A sigh. “Listen, I've spent countless years on this world, staying in the shadows, laying low. Then this generation came, and I've suddenly found myself with friends that mean more to me than you'll ever know.” He sat down beside the other. “I don't know what'll happen in the future, but…” He gently grabbed Shadow's hand. “You mean a lot to me.”

Shadow finally looked to him, eyes shimmering as if they were holding back tears. He wouldn't allow himself to cry in front of someone. Very quietly, he whispered, “You mean a lot to me too….”

Sonic smiled. “For right now… there's no one I'd rather be with. I want you to let me care about you, Shadow.” He leaned in a bit closer. “I want you to let me love you….”

Love…. The word echoed in Shadow's mind as he found himself leaning closer, their noses almost touching.

Without anymore words, their lips connected, gentle and soft. Shadow's mind went blank, just enjoying the warmth of the other.

A short time later, they found themselves silently listening to the sounds of the forest, leaning against the tree and cuddled up beside each other.

“This could still work with my plans….”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Lava]

Holy cow! This story hit 1K votes recently!

And it's now ranked #378 in Fanfiction!

Thank you all so much for all of this! I'm still in disbelief!

So, here's a late Christmas gift from me as thanks!