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Shadow couldn't recall when he started caring about Sonic. Care was not something he felt after all. The warm and soft feeling that had resided in his heart and came up his throat whenever the blue hedgehog was around had been estranged from him decades prior.
Whenever Sonic had slept beside him while camping out for the night, the thought of cuddling him, pulling him closer and holding him next to his heart became almost overwhelming for him. At times, he even had to get up and take a walk just to clear his mind of such nefarious and impure ideas.
And it wasn't just that, no, because of course it wasn't. The number of times when Shadow had to carry the cobalt hedgehog to safety because he sustained a serious injury during some battle or adventure was more than enough. Shadow knew the routine a little too well by now.
- Rush into an adventure.
- Get stabbed, sliced, or, god forbid, poisoned.
- Have Shadow carry him back to their base of operations.
- Finally, get medical treatment fromprofessional practitionerusually Tails, however, sometimes Shadow.
- Collect the reward.
Perhaps he was doing it on purpose, the black and red hedgehog thought to himself at times. No, he might be an idiot, but surely Sonic couldn't be that dumb. Right?
It was during their last adventure when Shadow had admitted this particular feeling to himself.
Late in the night. The moon shone high above the five adventurers, creating a soft white light that illuminated their campsite. The two of them were still wide awake with adrenaline, recovering from their previous adventure.
“How many times must I tell you this? Stop rushing in front like an idiot.” Shadow complained as he threaded his sewing needle through fur-covered skin.
“Okay, okay, sheesh, I get it! I'll stop running ahead and follow the plan and yada yada,” Sonic blabbered, clearly not taking what the other hedgehog said to seriously. He shuffled in his seat at the uneasy tension between the two of them. It wasn't his fault that the criminal was getting away with the golden reward. Either way, the group had to catch them somehow, so what if Sonic had gotten a little sliced while stopping the rogue thief? A few stitches never put him out of a fight for long, anyway.
“I swear to Gaia, you're always getting injured by doing something reckless. I'm pulling you from the next mission.”
Shadow finished as he tied his stitches neatly on Sonic's side, pulling his slightly flushed face away from the exposed peach-toned torso. Shadow packed away the thread and pin. Used bloody bandages lying in a heap next to him. The campfire grew larger, almost as if it matched the blue hedgehog's internal emotions. Its orange light reflected on both their faces.
“You can't do that. You can't stop me from going on missions, Shadow. I won't let you.” Sonic rose, standing up from his original sitting position on the cold rock. Just as he was about to walk away, a sharp pain stabbed him in his ribs. His knees broke from underneath him, causing him to fall. Instead of eating the grass like he had thought he would, he felt a warmth on his side catching him, and it wasn't just his wound.
“Idiot, we’ve done this dance enough times by now. I thought you knew not to get up too quickly after losing so much blood.” Shadow teased. The smirk on his face vanished almost as quickly as it spawned. His arm wrapped around Sonic, stopping him from landing face-first into the dirt underneath.
“Wow, never knew you were a hugger,” Sonic joked in his arms. “I'm still going on our next mission, though.” An exasperated sigh was heard from the hedgehog next to him. “You guys need me, I know you're strong enough to hold your own shadow, so are the rest of the gang, but there's just this feeling that I need to do something to help, I can't just sit on the sidelines and let you guys do all the work. I can carry my weight,” He insisted.
“I'm not saying you'd be letting us do all the work, but you need time to heal. Recovering after a stab wound isn't that easy,” The black and red hedgehog retorted, clearly getting frustrated at the others' resistance to the idea of taking time off to rest like a normal and sane person.
“Oh, please, it's not like you care that much about me. Just let me do what I need to do-”
“You dumbass, of course I care about you.” Shadow spat out as if the ‘care’ burnt his tongue. “Maybe not that word specifically, but I don't want you risking yourself getting hurt any further. Neither would Tails, Amy or Knuckles. If you had been killed in the middle of a battle because your injury impacted your ability to fight, then how do you think they would feel? Knowing them, they'd probably feel guilty because you went to protect them even though they are fully capable of taking care of themselves.” He continued to lecture Sonic while walking to their sleeping bags that lay near the fire
“Besides, I need my rival to be at full strength before I can beat him again. I don't want any unfair advantages, those are reserved for cowards,” He teased as he laid Sonic down on the thin padding. The darker of the two moved over to the fire, picking up a stick on his way to poke at it and try to kill the flames.
They sat in silence, neither of them speaking. They both wanted to talk and yet had no idea how to continue. Sonic knew that he should rest, take some time off and let his wound heal (and some other mostly-healed injuries from earlier adventures), and Shadow knew deep down that Sonic was his own person and could do what he wanted, that he didn't need to be told what to do. He followed his own rules regardless of anyone else's suggestions, even if they were good ones.
Shadow turned around, away from the small, dying fire, to look at his rival, who had wrapped himself snugly in his sleeping bag, his eyes shut tightly. Perhaps he was already asleep?
“I just want you to be safe,” He mumbled, hoping no one but himself heard the vulnerable words that left his mouth. The moon was at its peak by now, its rays of reflected light echoing through the green foliage that surrounded them. The sound of crickets chirping in the background was like soothing background noise. Shadow stared at Sonic with a deep intent, looking over his face over and over again, committing every detail to memory.
Soon enough, the fire finally sputtered out its last dying flickers, and the cold chill of the valley wind settled upon them. Nestling itself comfortably around the group. Shadow moved from his spot near the burnt pieces of what is now charcoal to his little area where he planned to sleep. Just as he was pulling his blanket over himself, a small whimper made itself heard.
“Hngm,” Sonic mumbled under his breath. His thin sleeping bag was not doing him any favours against the rapidly declining temperature.
Against Shadow's better judgment (and the logic of everyone normal), he removed his blankets and crawled over to his blue partner (in crime, mind you). As soon as he settled his only slightly thicker blanket on top of the runner, a hand reached out to him and grabbed him by the wrist.
Shadow looked down at his wrist. As soon as he felt Sonic's grasp, he started moving back to his face with a questioning look.
“What are you?-”
“Get in.” Sonic voiced, tugging his arm back under the blankets, dragging Shadow down with him. The older one, still confused, just did what he was told. Following the other one's orders and sharing their warmth underneath the layers of fabric.
It was Sonic who pulled Shadow closer in the end, throwing his arm over the other and pulling him closer.
It's just because it's cold… Shadow scolded himself. There's no way the blue hedgehog would do this if it weren't out of sheer desperation.
Right?
“So… you care about me, huh?” Sonic mused, followed by a short giggle. Shadow could feel his hot breath flow against his face.
“Shut it, faker. Just go to sleep. It's late,” He returned, his arm snaking behind the bluer ones' backs, his gloved hand brushing against back quills.
“Well, you have a weird way of showing it, jus’ sayin’,” Sonic said before closing his eyes again, finally heading off to sleep. Suddenly, he felt himself get pulled closer to Shadow's chest, his face now comfortably nuzzled in soft white chest fluff.
'Damn, this is so soft.'
Sonic struggled to control himself and not immediately push himself deeper into the ridiculous amount of fluff that rubbed against his face. Next to him, the black and red hedgehog's face flushed a deeper red that almost matched his highlights. His attempt to hide his blushing face was to push Sonic's perceiving eyes away from his reddening face, but he had no idea where to push it, so he did what his gut told him to. And that was to hold the other one closer, near his heart and away from anything that might even have the slightest chance of hurting him.
Was this the best course of action? No. But at the time, Shadow had needed a quick way to cover himself and save some of what little dignity he had left. The two continued to relax into a comfortable slumber, neither of them wanting to continue their earlier debacle. Just as Shadow fell asleep, he heard a whisper.
“I l’ve y’u.”
A faint mutter from the one coddled in his arms, a silent and unheard declaration of his genuine care. Shadow probably just heard him wrong. It was only just now that he even admitted to himself that he cared about Sonic, so why would he feel a light flutter in his stomach from listening in on this mishearing? It must have been the mushrooms they foraged for earlier as dinner. He convinced himself.
There's no way he could care for a hedgehog like him.
But maybe, just maybe, he could allow himself to let his guard down and let Sonic fit inside his heart; he was already sleeping next to it anyway.