Chapter Text
As morning came Shadow woke up tangled in Sonic’s arms, the azure hedgehog snoring face relaxed and breathing slow, watching the other hedgehog sleep with soft eyes and a soft smile playing on his lips the ebony hedgehog slowly placed his hand on the other's muzzle and caressing him, giving the azure hedgehogs nose a peck
slowly Shadow moved the others arms and sat up slowly looking out the window, judging the way the rays danced in the room it was about late morning
The ebony hedgehog simply sat there still in the process of waking up, suddenly hearing a groan beside him Sonic grumbles something, half awake he blinks slowly “Lance?” he mumbled his voice heavy with sleep, the ebony hedgehog snorts “do we look that similar?” he questioned poking the azure hedgehogs cheek
Sonic blinks a million times before his brain catches up “oh shit– i kinda thought all of yesterday was a dream” the azure hedgehog explained with a breathy laugh, quickly sitting up with a grin on his lips, Shadow chuckles and shakes his head “no, it was all real im sure” the ebony hedgehog stated with a small smile to his lips
Sonic nods “awesome” the azure hedgehog chuckled, laying his head on the other shoulder, Shadow hummed in agreement then, “im hungry” the ebony hedgehog declared with a pointed sideways look, Sonic cackles and straightens up "yeah, yeah, lets get up and at ‘em then” he says throwing the sheets off the both of them
Shadow shivers in the morning air and sighs, the ebony hedgehog gets up and out of bed to follow Sonic to start getting ready. The two are in the middle of putting their jester getup on when a knock interrupts the silence “Sonic, are you awake?” a deep voice asked from behind the door, Sonic throws his head up “yeah!? Lance, s’that you?” the azure hedgehog asked quickly putting his pants on
“Yes it's me, do you by chance know where Shadow has gone? We tried waking him up but he wasn't in his room” the charcoal hedgehog questioned, Sonic turned his head toward shadow who was in the middle of adjusting his clothes, but paused. Caught by surprised he blinks quickly and glances at sonic, the azure hedgehog just cocks head toward the door probing the other to speak “I’m in here too” Shadow calls out to the charcoal hedgehog
There was a pause behind the door then another voice spoke up “can we come in?” the cerulean asked politely, again both hedgehogs still half dressed, glance at each other questioningly, Sonic with a sheepish smile tilts his head, Shadow rolls his eyes and nods and quickly goes to sit at the desk “yeah, you can come in!” Sonic called out, going back to putting his clothes back on
The cerulean and charcoal hedgehog walk in, “are we interrupting something” Arthur asked teasingly, Sonic turns toward the two and shakes his head “nope, nothing” he answered, Shadow snorts elbow on the desk and cheek on his palm “you jest” the ebony hedgehog stated pointedly toward the king, said hedgehog chuckles “I’d rather leave that to the professionals” he joked, Lancelot then spoke up “you weren’t in your room” the charcoal hedgehog said more as an observation than a question, Shadow looked over his shoulder to see the small confusion settled on his face
The ebony hedgehog blinked “I ended up spending the night with Sonic” he shrugged, then shifted his eyes toward the makeup surrounding him, “oh, and how did that happen?” Lancelot questioned rather innocently, "I asked him to stay with me” Sonic who was simply looking for some accessories, admitted unembarrassed and unashamed
Shadow glared “you’re making it sound weird” he sneered, Sonic chuckled “you did first, stupid” the azure hedgehog crooned pulling out golden head pieces for quills, “so what can i do ya’ for, Arthur” the azure hedgehog asked tilting his head and smiling brightly, Arthur couldn't help but smile back, “well, i’d like to plan the event more and id like for you both to help me” sonic immediately perked up, and, oh, if his smile couldn't get any brighter, his eyes shined with excitement “of course we’ll help you!” he exclaimed
Shadow, ever so curious, “what kind of event are you planning?” the ebony hedgehog questioned, grabbing the white foundation and a makeup sponge, getting starting on his colorful makeup, and the king ever so gracefully strides his way toward the ebony hedgehog “well, my birthday is coming up and i was convinced by two, oh, so very persistent hedgehogs to throw a big party for myself” he finished off by leaning in to be cheek to cheek with the ebony hedgehog with a charming smile looking at Shadow in the mirror
Shadow hummed curiously, “and what do you have planned so far?” making eye contact through the mirror, Arthur tilting his head “oh, not much so far. I only have the guest list” Shadow perked up slightly, his curiosity growing “can i look through it?” he questioned, Arthur noticing the curious glint in his eyes, smiling at the ebony hedgehog “of course, i’d like to hear your feedback most of all” Shadow blushed at that, his blush seemed to have gone unnoticed by Arthur as the makeup covered his tinted cheeks
Sonic the ever so observant one chuckled from behind the two, Shadow glared at the azure hedgehog over his shoulder, happily striding over Sonic held his hand out toward the ebony hedgehog “here, hold these” the azure hedgehog ordered, shadows gloved hand out and waiting, Sonic hand him the small golden crowns he pulled out from the jewellery box “these are gorgeous” amazement clear in his voice, Sonic hummed in agreement “yeah, they are, Lance gave ‘em to me my first year here, never really wore them” Sonic smiled, grabbing the sides of shadow head to make him face the mirror “i want you to wear them” he said brushing his hand through the ebony quills
Shadow wide eyed stared at sonic “i couldnt, these were a gift to you” he professed to the azure hedgehog, Sonic smiled at him gently, he hummed “well, i think they’d look beautiful on you, gold always seemed to suit you more” he assured with a wink "don't you two agree?” he questioned the other two occupants, Arthur smiled and nodded in agreement, Lance tilted his with with the same gentle smile that sonic wore “i think you’d look stunning with gold in your quills” the charcoal hedgehog concluded
Shadow growing flustered, “so about that event” he coughed out clearly being avoidant about the compliments, the azure hedgehog eyes crinkled in delight, “in all my years living here, Arthur never threw himself a proper birthday party despite being the king” he finished off rolling his eyes, “mh well, i never saw use in throwing such parties” the king shrugged, as sonic put the jewellery in the ebony hedgehog quills the azure hedgehog snorts “i disagree, i think events can beneficial” he declared
Lancelot chuckles “oh, suddenly you’re an expert with royal affairs?” he teased lightly. Sonic rolls his eyes “i wouldnt say an expert per say, but I know a few things” the azure hedgehog claimed, Shadow nodded in agreement “I agree with Sonic he has a point.. For once” the ebony hedgehog began earning a little accusatory “hey!” and a huff from the azure hedgehog, “events like this can open opportunities, such as building allyship with other kingdoms” the ebony hedgehog concurred
Arthur hummed thoughtfully “i suppose but still, im not one to throw such events” the cerulean hedgehog disclosed with a shrug
as the conversation carried on for the next few minutes for the four hedgehogs with jokes, teasing, and simple quiets that fell between them. The two jesters were mostly putting on their makeup or adjusting their clothes at one point though Shadow ended up grooming Sonic quills while complaining how he was being unhygienic with his fur and quills and finishing off with a “you need to take care of yourself more” earning a small chuckle from the azure hedgehog, with eyes soft filled with love and care
Arthur leads them down the hallways, heading to a meeting room where they’re greeted with quite a few mobians, Amy and Blaze sitting side by side quietly while Rouge, Espio, Silver and knuckles are chatting excitedly, Vanilla, Vector, Charmy and Cream all sitting together, the two young ones chatting away a storm while their parents quietly hold hands just taking in each other presence, as the four walk in Arthur greets the occupants in the room with a smile “hello, everyone, good morning” the cerulean hedgehog began, everyone murmured their own greetings happily
“As you all must be aware, we need to start planning my oh, so special birthday party” the cerulean hedgehog declared as he sat down, Lancelot took a seat on Arthur’s right side with a smile and a nod, Sonic took a seat on Arthur's left side with shadow settling right beside the azure hedgehog. The crimson echidna chuckled “you’re making it sounds like it the worst thing in the world” he commented earning a small chuckle from the king, “im afraid it is my friend, you know I don't do these types of things” Arthur stated with a shrug
Amy giggled “oh, come on~ i think it’ll be fun!” the rose hedgehog perked up with a bright smile, Blaze, Cream and silver all nodded in agreement, “it’ll be super exciting!” the bee mobian spoke up with excitement in his voice Lancelot smiles and nods “you deserve to spoiled every now and then Arthur, you’re our king” the charcoal hedgehog chided, Arthur rolled his eyes "I don't need to get spoiled to know my subjects care for me” the cerulean hedgehog protested
Sonic laughed “Arthur, they wanna throw a birthday party for you because they care!” the azure hedgehog insisted leaning toward the king slightly Rouge nodded in agreement “it’s honestly the least we can do after you’ve done so much for not only your kingdom but for us too sweetheart” she snickered chin resting on her palm
Arthur hummed “well, how’s that guest list going Rouge” the cerulean king questioned holding his hand out, the ivory bat dug in her pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper handing it to the king.
As soon and the paper reached his hands he snagged it and immediately handed it over to the ebony hedgehog, who took it with curiosity playing out on his face, as he surveyed the list he cringed a bit on the inside, it was… barren to say the least, he at least recognized a few names, a king, queen noble men and women from the outlands, noble men and women from camelot itself
the ebony hedgehog looked up at the king “is that it?” he questioned with raised eyebrows, sonic failed to stifle a laugh, covering his mouth to hide the smile that appeared on his face, Rouge raised a brow and Arthur tilted his head "What do you mean?” he asked, not quite understanding the implications
Shadow sighed dejectedly “i mean no harm when i say this but, this list is sad” the ebony hedgehog pointed out, Knuckled let out a loud laugh and Sonic was shaking with how hard he was trying not to laugh in the king's face, ignoring the two “if you want, i know who would love to be added to this list, nobles, princesses, kings and queens” the ebony hedgehog continued, setting the list down on the table
Rouge giggled “my my, a fool telling a king he needs more friends now that’s not something you see everyday” Arthur lifted a brow “like who?” he questioned with a hum, the ebony hedgehog hummed thoughtfully “the king and queen from the sol kingdom for one, Sally acorn, her father and her advisors, the nobleman mr.Winslow and his wife from crystal caves, a noblewoman ms.Meris from the highlands” Shadow listed, looking at the king with a raised brow and waving the list lightly “they’ve all expressed interest in coming to Camelot one day but never seeming to have the opportunity” the ebony hedgehog concluded
Sonic, who had seemed to finally calm down, tilted his head with a playful smile “oh, wow shads, you actually made friends?” the azure hedgehog teased receiving a scoff from Shadow “they’ve simply grown fond of me, the performances and tricks i can do” the ebony hedgehog stated with an eye roll
Espio hummed “you seem know many powerful people Shadow” the magenta chameleon injected into the conversation, Shadow tilts his head “the benefits of being a jester that travels i suppose” the ebony hedgehog answered with a nod
Lancelot poked Arthur in the arm playfully “it would be good for you to know others from other kingdoms” Arthur whose gaze still glued to shadow hummed "you may have a point, my dear knight” the cerulean hedgehog with a smile “Rouge add them to the list” the king declared, the ivory bat nodded and motions for Shadow to hand the list back to her, “will Sonic be performing or will Shadow take the lead this time” Vector pondered to no one in particular, Lancelot hummed “good question” the charcoal hedgehog turned to look at the jesters
Said hedgehogs glanced at each other, Sonic shrugged with a smile “i dont know, im honestly fine doing my usual” Shadow hummed and ‘maybe i could do a small surprise for king’ the ebony hedgehog thought glancing at the king who was staring at the two hedgehogs back “i suppose i can put on a small performance” the ebony hedgehog added, Arthur smiled and nodded at the two
Cream and Charmy glanced at each other, curiosity clear in those big eyes, "Mr.Shadow what can you do?!” she questioned with a bright smile, “i wanna know i wanna know” charmy crowed bouncing with excitement, Sonic chuckled and glanced at Shadow, who blinked in surprise from the young ones loudness, the ebony hedgehog chuckled with pure delight, Shadow placed a finger over his mouth “its a surprise” he winked at the teens, the teens brightly smiled both buzzing with excitement
The king chuckled at the teens antics, turning to Amy “im trusting to make the most divine desserts as per usual” the rose hedgehog smiled and nodded “of course, i’ll only make the best for my king, I'll even bring out the good wine and champagne" she gushed, already excited for the party the king nodded then turning to Vanilla and Vector “and i’ll trust you two to get the main hall ready” he quired the couple
Vector smiled “ha! Why of course, we’ll pretty up the hall so damn good it’ll blind the golden king himself” the crocodile declared with overwhelming confidence Vanilla giggled and nodded “yes, we’ll make the hall as glamorous as we possibly can”
Arthur chuckled, “well, i put all my faith in you two then” the cerulean hedgehog nodded, the king stood from his seat gracefully “i trust you all will do your jobs, i must get back to work now” he announced with nothing but trust in his voice and a smile on his face, “come now lance” he added motioning for the knight to follow, Lancelot happily stood from his seat and followed the king out waving at everyone as the two left the room
Sonic happily waved back along with the two teens, not long after the king left everyone else decided to get back to work or go back to doing mundane things.
As the last mobians retreated, Sonic turned toward the ebony hedgehog with a bright grin “still hungry?” he questioned with a tilt of his head, the ebony hedgehog raised an eyebrow “why would you question that” he joked dryly with a small smile and an eye roll
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As sonic and shadow ate and conversated quietly, Sonic happily chatting away of the things he’s seen and the things he's experienced while living in Camelot, the few times he travelled with Arthur to events the king was invited to, sometimes Shadow would ask a question in between which would lead Sonic to gasp happily, remembering something and the azure hedgehog would just completely change the topic
Shadow just listened intently, nodding along the way while he ate, watching sonic with love filled eyes and gentle eyes
Eventually the two finished and they left to go for a walk, strolling hand in hand while Sonic still happily rambles on, then the azure hedgehog suddenly stops in his tracks with a gasp “Shadow, have I shown you the library yet?” he asked turning to look at the other, the ebony hedgehog blinked peering at the azure hedgehog “you haven't” he spoke amusingly with a raised brow
Sonic smiled “oh, you’re going to love it!” the azure hedgehog exclaimed with a bounce in his step the azure hedgehog led Shadow to the library, the ebony hedgehog followed with a soft chuckle
“I saw a book in there I thought you’d like, it had poems and short stories it made me think of you” the azure hedgehog mentioned, the ebony hedgehog eyes softened with the thought that sonic had been thinking about him while they were separated, sonic kept mentioning book after book he thought that Shadow would like or that made him think of the other hedgehog
As soon as they made it to the library, Sonic turned to shadow as he opened the doors watching for his reaction
When the doors opened the smell of leather and ink filled his senses, with a small gasp shadow peered at all the shelves filled with books to the brim, there was even a stairway that led to a second floor with even more books the couches and tables scattered around added to the libraries elegance, amazed shadow let go of the others hand and walked in looking around at the beauty of the room, tall windows letting golden sunlight dance into the room
Sonic came up from behind “i knew you’d love it” he commented softly, Shadow turned to the azure hedgehog “this room is beautiful” the ebony hedgehog said with amazement in his voice, "I spent a lot of time here whenever I was missing you” Sonic confessed softly, shadow gazed softened smiling sadly then gently placing his hand on Sonic’s muzzle thumb caressing him softly, Sonic in return delightedly leaned into the warm touch “i promise to never be away from you that long again” the ebony hedgehog said his voice filled with golden promises and love
Sonic smiled at his words eyes crinkling with joy, “and i've never been one to do back on my promises” the ebony hedgehog uttered with a smile, “good, cause if you do id search for you till the day i die’ the azure hedgehog promised sternly earning a chuckle from shadow
Later the two ended up on one of the couches, sonic sitting in the middle while Shadow had his back resting on the arm of the couch and his legs draped over sonics thighs the azure hedgehog was reading a randomly chosen book while he had his free hand resting on the ebony hedgehog thigh, Shadow was reading one of the books that sonic had talked about with a small smile clearly enjoying the book
Sonic wasn't even trying to read, wasn't even paying attention to the book he chose, when they sat down the azure hedgehog had noticed how deafeningly quiet the library was, suggesting that nobody else was in the room with them. And he had been starving for the bewitching hedgehog, to hear his lovely voice in the way he dreamed of on lonely nights. To see those crimson eyes begging. To hear his pleas
slowly the hand resting on the ebony hedgehog’s thigh moved up and sonic thumb started drawing small circles
Shadow immediately noticed but chose not to engage, Sonic kept slowly moving his hand up and up till his hand was nearing the ebony hedgehog's hip, sonic had closed his book and set it down, forgotten and ignored for the ebony hedgehog and his unwillingness to give the azure hedgehog the attention he was looking for
“Shadow” Sonic sang in a sultry tone a teasing smile playing on his face, Shadow rolled his eyes but kept his gaze focused on the book in front of his face “c’mon, look at me” the azure hedgehog pleaded, his hand now on his hip with his thumb rubbing soothing circles into him “Sonic.” the ebony hedgehog sternly scolded, lowering his book he glared at the azure hedgehog “whatever you want to do, we couldn't possi–” the ebony hedgehog tried protesting but interrupted with a kiss, catching shadow by surprise
Shadow caved almost immediately sighing into the kiss, letting sonic hands roam his body, in the ways he missed the most, in the ways dreamed of. His now newly free hand had ended up on shadow’s waist pulling him closer, a thud could be heard a result of shadow getting lost in the kiss and dropping the book he had in his hand
Shadow snaked his own arms around sonics neck pulling the azure hedgehog closer, Sonic finally pulled away for a breath grinning at the other with a tilt of his head “you did even try to fight back” the azure hedgehog teased, Shadow panted shallowly “you’re lucky I missed you.” the ebony hedgehog groaned lowly, both leaned in for another kiss, in between kisses shadow crawled onto Sonic lap straddling the other
Sonic relishing the new position had both hands on Shadow hips gripping tightly, the azure hedgehog greedily licked the others lips begging for permission to divulge deeper, Shadow groaned and readily opened his mouth soft moans spilling from the ebony hedgehog as the kiss became deeper and hotter, his body temperature rising as they went on, Sonic hands going from his hips to his waist, Shadow’s hand started to grip the azure quills and tugging playfully Sonic groaned at the action and deepened the kiss even more, the two nipped and licked each other's mouths lustfully, moans spilling from one another
Sonic pulled back with a breathy laugh looking up at the ebony hedgehog, who looked back mouth agape tongue almost lolling out and half lidded eyes, Sonic grinned cruelly as his hands went back down to the ebony hedgehog’s hips and manhandled the ebony hedgehog to grind onto his lap, Shadow moaned head falling forward onto the azure hedgehogs shoulder “gaia, sonic” the ebony hedgehog groaned lowly breathy and hot
Sonic using this opportunity to start nipping at the ebony hedgehog shoulder and neck earning a small whimper from shadow, groaning as he kissed and sucked and bit down on the ebony hedgehog's neck, Shadow shut his eyes as the grinding grew harder, and the feeling of sonics mouth on his neck made his back arch deliciously and moans grow in pitch and volume, Sonic chuckled darkly “shadow, we’re still in the library” the azure hedgehog cruelly reminded, Shadow gasped and tightened his grip around Sonic’s neck, “you’re an asshole” the ebony hedgehog whined into his shoulder, Sonic hummed “you’re gonna have to quiet down sweetheart” Sonic teased lowly, Shadow groaned but bit his lip as moans threatened to spill out yet again
Heat started to boil in shadows lower regions, he felt himself start to throb the more he grinded onto sonics growing erection, the heat and the pleasure sending shivers down his spine, shadow lifted his head albeit “sonic” he whimpered lowly near the azure hedgehog’s ear causing the other to groan
Suddenly the library doors opened the two hedgehogs stilled in their movements panic spiking through their veins, Sonic could hear Arthur and Lancelot's voices, Shadow gasped “fuck fuck fuck–” quickly moving to get off the azure hedgehogs lap, yanking the book he dropped of the floor. Sonic quickly grabbed his own forgotten book opening it on a random page and placing it one lap desperately trying to hind his erection
Shadow groaned at the fact they were interrupted, hitting the azure hedgehog square in his shoulder “you are such an asshole!” he snarled, Sonic rolled his eyes “you know it was kinda your fault too, you didn't even resist” the azure hedgehog teased with a cruel smirk playing his lips, sonic mutually annoyed
Shadow felt his eyes twitch, “you know if you hadn't been so desperate, you could’ve waited until tonight” the ebony hedgehog argued, Sonic glared at the other and scoffed “oh, im desperate? I wasn't the one who was–”
“Now, what are you two arguing about?” Arthur's questioned, amusement clear in his voice, Shadow and sonic both turned their heads at the king's sudden presence, Lancelot beside him chuckled deeply “don’t think i’ve heard you so annoyed sonic” the charcoal hedgehog commented with a tilt of his head
Shadow scoffed and looked away in embarrassment avoiding the two hedgehogs, the azure hedgehog rolled his eyes and hummed “mhm, well shadows a special case, really knows how to push my buttons” he snarked with his nose wrinkled annoyance clear in his expression, Shadow turned back to the azure hedgehog, oh, if looks could kill this stupid hedgehog would be dead a hundred times over. Shadow quickly stands ignoring the shaking feeling he had in his legs “if you’ll excuse me, im gonna get another book to read” shadow fumed, walking away from the other three hedgehogs
Arthur watches the ebony hedgehog walk away for a moment, then watches sonic noticing his messy quills, the shallow breathing, makeup albeit smudged, clothes a little disheveled, clearly very annoyed, Lancelot still peering at the azure hedgehog “what happened?” Arthur questioned again, Sonic who was glaring at the disappearing figure blinked up at the two, suddenly very aware of his erection that's hidden away under the book and the fact he must probably look like a mess, “i.. um– nothing! Nothing happened” he stuttered out embarrassed, he coughed “um, so what's up Arthur? Thought you were working?” He quickly changed the topic, the cerulean hedgehog raised a brow “I finished early” he said simply, and went sitting on the couch across from him, “oh, yeah?” the azure hedgehog hummed, avoiding eye contact
Lancelot on the other had gone to go browse, searching for a book to read leaving the two blue hedgehogs alone, as soon as turned into one of the isles of the library he found shadow angrily grumbling something under his breath as he put the book he was reading previously away, the charcoal hedgehog strolled closer “you look irritated” Lancelot pointed out, Shadow sighed deeply “Sonic is very irritating” the ebony hedgehog said a matter factly
The charcoal hedgehog chuckled, “you’re not wrong” he hummed with a playful smile playing on his face, “what type of book are you looking for?” Lance questioned watching the ebony hedgehog browse who hummed curiously “something with poetry i guess” he shrugged, the charcoal hedgehog blinked in surprise "I never thought you’d be the type to enjoy such things”
Shadow scoffed with a small smile “what? A jester can't enjoy art?” he said gaze turning to the other, Lancelot shook his head “i didnt say that, i guess i just never pegged you the type to like poems?” the charcoal hedgehog speculated, reaching up for a thin book, the leather green with golden flowers scattered on it, shadow tilted his head slightly, Lancelot held the book out for the other to take “here, this ones my favorite” he said eyes crinkling with delight “oh, thank you” shadow mumbled
The two dark hedgehogs returned back to the open area, seeing Sonic chatting happily with Arthur, though the azure hedgehog mostly just teased the cerulean hedgehog for overworking and Arthur retorting back with sonic being a careless fool, Shadow immediately returned to sonics side returning to the position they were in before they got carried with desire. And Lancelot sat beside Arthur joining in his and sonics conversation with a breezy joke earring a laugh from Sonic
The four spent their time conversing with one another, with Sonic boisterous voice telling jokes, Arthur's husky voice retorting those jokes with a quip of his own, Lancelot deep voice adding his own little interjects into conversation and Shadows honeyed voice teasing sonic for saying something stupid, eventually a silence filled the room, Arthur leaned his head back onto the couch enjoying the silence while Lancelot read a book filled with mystery and suspension, Sonic simply sat there enjoying the ebony hedgehog presence his hand on his ankle while he read his own book quietly
“Shads, read me a poem” Sonic urged sweetly leaning closer to the ebony hedgehog, Shadow glanced at him before taking a breath
“So I might
Count every star
To where you are”
Arthur and lance quietly lifted their heads at shadow honeyed voice speaking lowly, watching him recite the poem with a calmness in his voice
“And write you
Metaphors in millions
With all the skies”
But really,
you just need to know;
I miss you”
Sonic’s eyes softened and a loving expression played on his face listening to the others words, Arthur smiled and glanced at the charcoal hedgehog who watched the alluring ebony hedgehog intently
“I've still never seen stars
Like the ones in your eyes”
Shadow lowly finished off with soft smile and eyes filled with nothing but love and devotion, Sonic coos with a bright loving smile on his face "I should have you recite poetry all the time” the azure hedgehog began happily “i could listen for hours with no end” the azure hedgehog raved
“I wouldn't be opposed to that," Lancelot chimed, a smile on his lips, expression filled with amazement “id love to hear you recite more poetry” the charcoal hedgehog hummed with a tilt of his head, Arthur chuckles with a pointed look toward his knight who in returned rolled his eyes a knowing smile on his lips
Shadow albeit flustered from the attention sighed, “i could read more if you’d like” the ebony hedgehog suggested turning the page with a glance to the three, Lancelot closed his book and nodded, Arthur smiled “continue” he encouraged
Shadow nodded and continued to read poem to poem, page from page, as the three listened to the ebony hedgehog the day went on and the sun lowered, the room dimmed slightly all bit too lazy and content to even attempt on leaving the library
Lancelot’s gaze toward the jester never left and never wavered and the smile that played on his lips only softened more and more with time, Arthur never stopped listening to him, content to listen the sweet honeyed voice, the king and knight all too infatuated with the ebony hedgehog
As shadow was in the middle of reciting another he was interrupted with the library doors opening and the sound of two young voices chatting loudly and excitedly, Shadow paused closing the book, Arthur smiled knowingly, Sonic chuckled listening into the conversation
Tails and Charmy were the ones mostly talking, Cream just listened quietly not wanting to get caught in the middle, Charmy perked up upon seeing the king, knight and two jesters “Hi Arthur!” the teen happily greeted Tails and Cream happily waved at the king and knight “hello, what’re you up to?”
Cream smiled “Tails wanted to do some research! Charmy and I are helping him get some books for it” she exclaimed excitedly with a bright smile playing on her face, Tails smiles sheepishly rubbing the back, Arthur smiled raising a brow “what inspired this?” the cerulean hedgehog questioned
“Before we got here we were hanging out with knuckles and he was telling us about something called ‘the master emerald, the phantom ruby and chaos energy” the mustered coloured twin tailed fox explained with excited curiosity playing out in his expression, Sonics blinks eyebrows furrowing he turns to Shadow who was just as surprised
Lancelot tilted his head “like the chaos emeralds?” the charcoal hedgehog queried, all three teens nodded their heads, “mhm! It all sounded so cool, i just wanna see if there are any records of them” Tails announced, his twin tails flickering as his excitement grew
Shadow cleared his throat “you know..” he started off, getting the attention from the teens, king and knight “if you wanna do research on chaos energies you could always ask sonic about it” the ebony hedgehog proposed motioning toward the azure hedgehog, Sonic tilted his head and smiled “me? What about you, im not the one with chaos control” Shadow shook his head “you have more experience with chaos than i do” the ebony hedgehog chided
Tails gasped “really?! You two have experience with chaos?” the teen fox asked, bouncing with excitement, Sonic chuckled, shrugging his shoulders “when i was about your age i got involved with chaos mayhem” the azure hedgehog admitted with an easy going smile "I would go running around the realm, causing small shenanigans. My favourite pastime was messing with eggman” the azure hedgehog recalled chuckling at the memory, the ebony hedgehog snorted ‘bragging, bragging’ he thought to himself with a small smirk
Shadow smile then blinked suddenly “the chaos emeralds don't exist alone you know” the ebony hedgehog revealed to the teen, Tails still starry eyed gasped “are you saying there are other powerful gems out there” the mustered colored fox jabbered, Cream and Charmy blinked in unison fully surprised
Shadow nodded “when i was in the sol kingdom i learned that were were these gems called ‘sol emeralds, they're like chaos emeralds except they have a different origin” the ebony hedgehog disclosed with a hum
Arthur nodded “mh, so the sol emeralds are like the sisters to the chaos emeralds?” the cerulean hedgehog guessed, Shadow turned toward the king and nodded “yes, exactly, I wasn't told explicitly about their origin but i know enough to know why they’re so protected in the castle” the ebony hedgehog explained before turning back to Tails
Tails and a finger on his chin clearly deeply thinking about the information he was given "interesting, i wonder what would happen if someone got a hold of all of them.. Just how catastrophic would that be” Shadow tilted his head, ‘is this kid crazy’ he thought, amused “maybe keep those thoughts to yourself Tails, someone will think your plotting against the world” Sonic chuckled at the teen who looked up, flustered “wha..! I was just thinking out loud” he stressed
Later on the teens left with stacks of books in each of their hands while tails happily chatted about his theories and while charmy argued that some of those theories sounded completely insane and impossible
While Shadow sat there quietly watching as Sonic, Arthur and Lancelot said their goodbyes to the teens happily. The ebony hedgehog opened on his book and the page he left off “should i read more” shadow asked without looking up from the page, "I wouldn't mind hearing your voice for a while longer” Arthur’s smooth voice appealed, Sonic lips curved upward “please continue”
Shadow huffed with a smile, as shadow had his attention on the page in front of him he smiled as a certain poem caught his eye “the sun and the moon” he mumbled lowly with a soft smile
“Legend the sun and the moon
Have always been in love”
The ebony hedgehog began slowly, Arthur glanced at Lancelot who already had his eyes on the king with a soft smile eyes carrying a message only the king would know
“But they could never be together since
the moon only rises at sunset
And the sun only at dawn,
Arthur smiles eyes softening as the words spilled out of the ebony hedgehog mouth, soft honeyed voice taking over his senses
The king offered out his hand to the knight who took it delightedly
“Thus, Gaia in their infinite kindness created the eclipse”
Shadow unknowingly softened at the word, ‘eclipse’ the ebony hedgehog thought softly of a certain figure.
“As proof that there is no impossible love”
Sonic sighed breathily “i think that was my favorite so far” the azure hedgehog confessed eyes never leaving the ebony hedgehog beside him, Shadow smiled glancing up at the azure hedgehog, “me too, it was beautiful”