Shadow felt the cool breeze travel through his quills as his feet dangled off the towering cliff, resting his head right next to Sonic's as he observed the glowing balls of fire in the pitch-black sky. Feeling Sonic tapping his head with his finger, he looked aloft, only to be met with dashing, ravishing, emerald eyes. He simply couldn't steer away, Shadow leisurely and brung his muzzle closer to Sonic's. Feeling his heart beating at a rapid pace, he pecked Sonic's lips with his own.
Club Rouge:
"..Shadow? SHADOW?!?"
Shadow sprung wide awake as Rouge lightly slapped the back of his head. He grunted and turned his eyes towards the bat.
"I'VE BEEN TRYING TO WAKE YOU UP FOR THE LAST 30 MINUTES!"
She angrily cried out, "I'm closing up Club Rouge for the night. You've got to start camp somewhere else, Shadow."
Shadow checked the auburn clock located alongside the massive glass doors blocking out the cold. It was indeed closing time.
He slurred an apology and stumbled out of the club, completely forgetting about the unwelcoming weather awaiting him. Shadow shivered; he felt dizzy and worn out. He had been devouring shot after shot all night. His entire system must've been wholly flooded with alcoholic refreshments at that point. He couldn't even walk straight. Shadow cringed at the idea of The Ultimate Lifeform not being able to walk on his own two feet. The Jet Black Hedgehog slowly trudged down the streets of Station Square, not knowing where he'd find himself or what was to come. Vehicles fell off pace as passengers eyed Shadow in his sorrowful state; he was making a fool out of himself without even discerning it. Shadow resumed making his way to wherever he'd end up, his mind feeling foggy. He clenched his fist and looked up at the night's relaxing airglow. Shadow's tranquil gaze studied the shape of each and every luminous star. He then started to feel emotional. A wave of sadness had swang at him, making those Ruby eyes of his glisten in the moonlight. Sticky tears flowed down his scarlet cheeks; connecting down the middle of his muzzle. Murky thoughts filled his head as he thought back to those precious times with Maria. His affection for her was endless. Her aura was effortlessly as beaming as the millions of stars in the sky. This emotional roller-coaster was, however, disrupted by the horrid sounds of an all too familiar car's honk.
"HEYA SHADOW!"
Sonic gushed as he made his way out of the vehicle. The cobalt's grin twisted into a frown as Shadow wiped his tears with his glove.
"Is everything alright Shads?" Sonic hesitantly sputtered as he laid a hand on Shadow's back quill.
"I'm fine Hedgehog." Shadow coldly said as he slapped Sonic's hand away.
Sonic replied "You don't seem alright, you were crying dude."
"I simply don't know what you're talking about. It must've been the moonlight reflecting on my eyes, fooling you into thinking I, The Ultimate Lifeform, would be crying over absolutely nothing."
He confidently said, walking away to continue his journey of finding himself in the middle of nowhere that very next morning. Sonic grasped him
"And where do you think you're going?"
"Home." Shadow mumbled.
"Your home is in the other direction." Sonic pointed in its path.
"I obviously knew that Faker, I was simply testing your intelligence level, you merely fell for my wicked scheme."
Shadow coughed as he started his stroll towards the direction of his home.
"I'm not letting you walk home by yourself, Shadow, you're coming with me."
Before Shadow could even react, Jet Black was picked up by Cobalt; being shoved into the hedgehog's car.
Above Mobius:
The Ultimate Lifeform soon awoke to the magnificent view of Mobius City. Realizing that his head was resting on Sonic's lap during the moment of beauty, he jumped up in embarrassment.
"What's the matter dude?" Sonic innocently said.
"I just wasn't expecting to awaken on your lap, Hedgehog,"
Shadow replied. The alcohol had seriously cast down the barriers he averagely set up, he hoped to god that Sonic of all people wouldn't be able to take advantage of this weak state. The mood became more and more unpleasant with every passing minute. Both of the hedgehogs were oddly discreet. Sonic leaned back in the damp, green grass. Seeming like he was deep in thought. He suddenly turned to Shadow.
"What were you even doing out there Shads?"
Shadow pondered, unable to exactly recollect the reason as to why he was outside in the first place. Everything before their meet-up was a blur.
"I'm unsure." He serenely replied. "Everything involving tonight is simply a blur to me, hedgehog."
Sonic continued "You don't seem so sober dude, have you been out drinking?"
The Ultimate Lifeform suddenly cupped his stomach, it felt like his insides were knotting up. He released grunts of pain as he got up, trying to sooth the discomforting feeling in his stomach. Sonic slightly grinned.
"I'll take that as a yeah Shads.
Timeskip
What time was it? Shadow wouldn't know, he'd been chatting with Sonic while gazing at the magnificent city below the two of them for an extensive period of time. They'd had few and far personal interactions, they were rivals, always trying to outdo each other; yet they aided one another whenever or wherever needed. His heart fluttered, he had always had some sort of attraction towards Sonic, whether he was fond of admitting it or not. They had been through numerous arduous journeys together, just the two of them. Shadow didn't act discourteous around other Mobians because he didn't enjoy their presence, he acted impertinent because he was scared of erasing the line he had put between himself and others in his life. Shadow had already lost Maria. Jet Black was reluctant to take on another being. He didn't want to have to lose another person with actual meaning to him.
Shadow instantaneously covered his face, feeling the tears rolling down his muzzle once more. He cursed at himself internally, exasperated at himself for letting Sonic see him like that. He rarely sobbed over Maria these days, he pondered on why he had suddenly become as emotional again; it felt like the incident was occurring again. Shadow felt as if he was trapped in his own mind, the walls of his brain slowly closing in on him. Sonic put an arm around him.
"What's the matter, Shadow?" Sonic said sadly as he observed Shadow in his sorrowful state. He had never seen him like this before. Shadow wasn't very open about his feelings other than coldness. Shadow sniffed and averted his eyes away from Sonic's gaze, self-conscious about his current appearance.
"I-I'm unsure, I don't know anymore.." Shadow wiped his face. Sonic soothingly replied with "It's fine to release all of these bottled-up feelings; there's no need to be embarrassed 'kay?" He started to pet the back of Shadow's quills, urging him to lay on his shoulder once more. This was extraordinarily abnormal behavior on both of their parts. Shadow hesitated at first, due to embarrassment, though he went through with it and laid his head on Sonic's side. The air around them no longer felt tense, it instead felt like they had been having these types of interactions routinely. Shadow inhaled the crisp air circling around them through his snout, it was surprisingly cozy above Mobius. Much more pleasant than Club Rouge or the City.
"Enjoying yourself Shads?" Sonic giggled. Shadow then realized that he had been burying himself in Sonic's arms without noticing. He flushed and pushed Sonic away.
"Aww, come on man! I didn't mean to make you feel embarrassed." Sonic said "I was enjoying it myself, you know." He grinned. Shadow swayed back and forth; deciding on whether he'd forgive the little party pooper or not.
Sonic wasn't in the mood for Shadow to say no, he pounced on him and pinned him down to the ground while laughing.
Sonic started "You'll never make it out of my grasp dude!" Shadow made a sound that can only be described as the sound of an animal getting punched in the stomach when Sonic landed on him. He started trying to push the Cobalt off of him while failing at holding back a slight smirk.
"Is The Ultimate Lifeform himself smirking?" Sonic said, making the smirk turn right back into a frown. Shadow rolled his eyes and gave up on trying to get the Blue Blur off of him, just letting him rest on top of him. Sonic smiled as Shadow continued averting his eyes from Sonic's face. He got off of The Ultimate Lifeform and instead laid beside him. Their hands brushed together, feeling each other's warmth. The gay ass hedgehogs pretended as if it had never happened in the first place, leaving their hands next to each other. There was a lot of flushing and blushing; yet they continued to enjoy each other's company, mumbling conversations about random topics. Shadow started to tune Sonic out, mindlessly answering as he dived deep into thought.
In his mind:
"Maria, do you mind if I escort other's into my life?" He started "I haven't felt like this in a lengthy period of time, my attraction for the hedgehog continously grows." Maria bent down and petted Shadow's head.
"There's nothing wrong with feeling attracted towards a being, Shadow, you're allowed to replace me." She soothingly said.
"Won't it hurt you internally?" Shadow pointed at Maria's chest, containing her heart of gold. She shook her head.
"Of course not Shadow, in fact, I'd be glad if you made other companions." Shadow hesitated, he had always loved Maria in terms of a best friend, she was embedded into his fragile heart. Though his love for Sonic was different. He wanted to do things with Sonic that he'd never dream of doing with Maria. He didn't think he'd ever consider handing over his heart to his rival, the hedgehog he's been trying to vanquish since the very beginning. He hugged Maria firmly; soundly having her in his arms. He mouthed a thank you as she slowly disappeared into thin air.
He tuned back into Sonic's prattling. The Ultimate Lifeform pupils grew as cheeks started to flush. He wasn't very good with emotions; yet he was willing to try out something brand new. He gazed at the Cobalt, noticing how beautiful he looked underneath the moonlight. His quills were a lovely shade of blue while his muzzle and belly were peach. A couple of his quills were out of place but Shadow liked that. The hedgehogs suddenly became quiet, silently adoring each other's company. This unquestionably surpassed a lame night, home alone. Sonic suddenly smiled as he gazed beyond the both of them, probably thinking of Chilli Dogs or something like that. Shadow however felt the cool breeze travel through his quills as his feet dangled off the towering cliff, resting his head right next to Sonic's as he observed the glowing balls of fire in the pitch-black sky. Feeling Sonic tapping his head with his finger, he looked aloft, only to be met with dashing, ravishing, emerald eyes. He simply couldn't steer away, Shadow leisurely brung his muzzle closer to Sonic's. Feeling his heart beating at a rapid pace, he pecked Sonic's lips with his own.
Sonic suddenly turned around without saying anything. Shadow's heart sank, he thought that he had done something wrong.
"S-Sonic I'm sorry I should've asked if you were okay with it first." He sputtered.
"You're allowed to be mad at me, punch me if you want to.." Sonic stayed silent, every second felt like an hour of despair as Shadow immediately regretted acting on his urge. After a long pause of awkward silence, Sonic spun around as he covered his face. His ears drooped to the sides of his head and his tail was wagging. Shadow slowly budged his hands out of the Blue Blur's face, revealing an extremely flushed face. Shadow's heart accelerated as blood flowed to his face, turning it red as well. Sonic placed a hand to the back of his head and sheepishly smiled.
"I didn't think you felt the same way.." He started, "Your kiss was so unexpected, even if it was short; it meant a lot." Sonic leaned into Shadow's hot face and put his own forehead on The Ultimate Lifeform's forehead. Sonic's forehead was cool, absorbing all of the heat in that specific area of his head.
"Does this mean that we're official?" Shadow whispered as he got closer to Sonic. Sonic kissed his cheek
"Yeah Shads, yeah."