Chapter Text
Every day was similar. Sonic and Shadow would wake up as the sun creeped over green hills to greet them. The two would get up, eat breakfast, and get ready for the day’s duties. Shadow typically went to work on a G.U.N. mission, and Sonic would stay in town, helping those who needed assistance and stopping Eggman. Once night began to fall, they both retreated back home, occasionally racing to the apartment, before eating dinner, showering, and watching a movie together, cuddled up on the couch.
Today was like that.
BEEP!
BEEP!
BEEP!
Shadow rolled onto his back and turned off the annoyingly loud alarm clock. Sonic made a quiet displeased noise and tightened his grip around Shadow’s waist.
“I have work,” Shadow’s voice still deep from sleeping.
“But you’re so warm,” Sonic pushed his nose against Shadow’s shoulder, inhaling the familiar scent of lavender and coffee.
“You say that every day,” Shadow sighed. He turned his head to kiss Sonic on the forehead before sitting up, the blue hedgehog’s arms still wrapped tightly around his waist. Despite Sonic’s persistent grip, Shadow didn’t care, standing up next to the bed and dragging Sonic sideways with him.
“I don’t wanna get up,” he complained.
“Me neither.” Shadow took a few steps forward and Sonic fell to the ground with a thud.
“Ow!” Sonic let go of Shadow and propped himself up on his elbows. “Jerk.”
“You know what days I work and what days we can sleep in,” Shadow said. He walked over to the closet, looking through his shirts to find his G.U.N. uniform.
“I know.” Sonic stood up and rubbed his chin that made contact with the wooden floor. Shadow stared at him through the mirror as he stretched his arms above his head and stood on the tips of his toes. “Did ya have any dreams?” He said while yawning.
“Nothing notable,” Shadow replied, tearing his gaze away from his boyfriend to focus on changing.
Sonic hummed and began to stretch out his legs. “I had a dream about us.”
“Yeah?” Shadow stood behind a small room divider that he insisted they got if they were to share a room. Sonic stared at the Shadow behind the fabric divider, seeing Shadow lift his pajama shirt over his head once his arms reached overtop.
“Yup,” he said. He took off his own pajama shirt and decided to wear a sleeveless black turtleneck. “We got married and had a wedding.”
“Marriage?” Shadow questioned, peeking his head out from behind the divider to see Sonic’s face. The dark hedgehog shrugged and returned behind the divider to slip on work pants. “I didn’t know you were thinking about that kind of stuff.”
“I mean, we have been dating for how many years now? Five?” Sonic said, slipping on red pants.
“Five years, three months, and twenty-seven days.” Shadow stepped out from behind the divider to look at himself in the mirror and adjust his vest.
“I’m surprise you didn’t give me the exact seconds,” Sonic said sarcastically. He walked up behind Shadow and hugged him, peppering kisses onto the back of his neck.
Shadow looked over at the clock on the nightstand. “Five years, three months, twenty-seven days, six hours, fifteen minutes and fifty-five seconds.”
The clock ticked to 6:16 AM.
“Sixteen minutes and five seconds,” Shadow corrected.
Sonic laughed and nuzzled his nose against Shadow’s fur. “You’re something else Shads.”
Shadow grabbed one of Sonic’s hands from his waist and brought it up to his lips to kiss. “The ultimate life form,” he specified.
The two walked out of their bedroom and into the small kitchen.
“What do you want to eat?” Shadow asked, picking out a suitable mug and spoon for his morning coffee beans.
“I’ll just make us some waffles,” Sonic said as he pulled open the freezer drawer.
“Fine with me,” Shadow replied. He grabbed a plastic scoop and put half a cup of coffee beans into his mug before placing it into the microwave.
Sonic pulled out four frozen waffles and tossed them into the toaster. He reached for the cabinet above and pulled out two paper plates while Shadow grabbed the maple syrup.
The microwave beeped after thirty seconds of warming up the beans.
“Do you want butter?” Shadow asked while opening the microwave.
“Nah,” Sonic shrugged. He opened the drawer where all the silverware sat and grabbed out two forks and two knives.
Shadow ate a spoonful of his coffee beans before hugging Sonic from behind. “Do you have any plans today?”
“I might go help Ames out at the café if there isn’t a ton of people in need and eggface doesn’t show up.” Sonic leaned into Shadow’s touch.
“That’d be nice.” Shadow began kissing the side of Sonic’s neck with soft, slow kisses.
The toaster suddenly popped the waffles out with a noise that seemed as loud as a gunshot in the silent apartment. Sonic’s quills bristled and stuck up, poking Shadow in the face.
“Ow!” Shadow said, taking a step back.
Sonic’s quills flattened down. “Heh, sorry.”
Shadow rubbed his face and he put the two waffles on his own plate. Sonic put the remaining two in the toaster and looked over at Shadow as he poured syrup onto the waffles.
Sonic grabbed two glasses before opening the fridge, pulling out the container of filtered water and pouring two cold cups. He handed one glass to Shadow and put the other next to him, where he planned to sit once his waffles were ready.
After a few minutes, Sonic's waffles were done. Sonic sat down next to Shadow who was now eating his coffee beans.
“Do you know what types of missions you’ll have to go on today?” Sonic asked.
“Eh.” Shadow shrugged. “Probably just patrolling near city hall since the elections are coming up.”
Sonic nodded. “I’ll keep a lookout over there to make sure no one gets hurt in these next weeks.”
Shadow nodded. “Don’t feel like you have to prioritize that though, you can have fun with your other friends for a few days since Eggman went back to his base to pout and try to make something better.”
“I know, you and your crew can handle it just as much as I can,” Sonic repeated the words told to him hundreds of times before.
Shadow finished his coffee beans and his water, putting both cups into the sink and throwing away the paper plate before walking down to the bathroom. Sonic followed suit soon after, walking in as Shadow brushed his soft quills. Sonic brushed his teeth and followed the instructions Shadow had taught him to brush his quills, though much less successfully than when Shadow first showed him, and giving up on a knot after fighting with it for ten minutes.
Shadow walked near the front door, slipping his air shoes on and examining himself one last time.
“Wait!” Sonic ran up to Shadow and placed a soft kiss onto his cheek. “Alright, bye bye Shads.”
“Goodbye Sonic,” Shadow said, turning and walking out the apartment door.
+!___!+
Just as Shadow expected, he was assigned to patrol the east side of city hall with Rouge and Omega. They took turns in different areas along that side of the large, white, brick building, though Rouge primarily took sky look out while Shadow and Omega stood on the corners of the building for maximum visibility of the crowds.
“THIS IS BORING,” Omega complained through the group’s communication line.
“I know hun,” Rouge sighed dramatically. “Why couldn’t they assign this to one of the new recruits? They can get the boring stuff while still learning the rules at least.”
Shadow glanced down at his watch and huffed as a minute ticked by. “We have two more hours until we can switch positions with another group.”
There was silence for a few minutes until Omega once again talked through the communication line. “MAY I GO GET BOLTS FROM THE PINK ONE?”
“Who, Rose?” Shadow asked, looking around the street. He knew Amy’s place was near here, but he would always forget the exact address. He didn’t think the café was this close to city hall though.
“Your 11 o’clock Shadow,” Rouge said. Shadow turned and saw Amy and his love walking down the street, holding bags of ingredients and sweets.
“You should bribe blue to give me those grapes,” Rouge slyly told Shadow.
“EVER SINCE YOU HAVE COMMITTED TO THE ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP WITH THE RED ECHIDNA, YOU HAVE HAD A 25% INCREASE OF GRAPE CONSUMPTION.”
“What can I say? I have good memories associated with them,” Rouge shrugged. “Now Shadow, would you be a dear and ask your *boyfriend* if I can have some?” Ever since Rouge caught Sonic kissing Shadow’s cheek, she would always tease the two of them about it. Not many people knew they were together, which is what Shadow wanted, but ever since Rouge found out it seemed all of Sonic’s friends suddenly knew as well.
“Fine,” Shadow groaned as he pushed himself up from his leaning position against the stone. He took a few steps forward until he was in both of the hedgehogs’ line of sight. “Rose, Sonic,” Shadow nodded at each of them.
“Hi Shadow!” Amy said cheerfully, bringing the multitude of bags up near her cheeks to give Shadow an excited wave. “I just got another new deal! I’m now catering for an upcoming wedding! But not just any wedding!- it’s a *rich people* wedding!”
Shadow’s eyebrows rose up but his eyes and lips stayed in the same trained position. “That’s impressive Rose, congratulations.”
“Thank you!” She squealed excitedly. “I can’t wait to bake all of this stuff, and then I get to actually go to the wedding and see the bride’s pretty dress and the flowers and meet the families! And I could get even more business opportunities and get even more money to go towards the café.”
Shadow only nodded, somewhat unsure on how to react to the pink hedgehogs extreme excitement. He met Sonic’s eyes and Sonic shrugged while a lazy smile plastered his face, seems like Amy had already told him the details three times in different ways.
“Oh!” Amy realized, “I didn’t even ask you how you’ve been, I haven’t seen you in awhile.”
“I’m fine,” Shadow replied coolly, “I’m technically at work right now and I need to get back at my station before one of the higher ups scold me for being ten feet away from my post, but Rouge was wondering if you had any spare grapes for her.
Amy began to shuffle between the multitude of plastic bags looking for the ones with containers of fruits. “I don’t think the order requested any, or if it did I didn’t grab any extra to share.” She frowned. “I can run back to the store and get her some though, it’s only a few blocks down.”
“Don’t bother with it,” Shadow said. “Rouge can live another two hours without grapes.”
“Hey!” Rouge budded in over the communicator.
Sonic leaned forward enough for his voice to be picked up by the communicator attached to Shadow’s ear. “If I run and get you some will you give Tails back the motor you stole from him?”
“Hmmm,” Rouge hummed, “if you get me grapes and small bottle of wine.”
“We aren’t allowed to have alcohol on us while working, Rouge,” Shadow reminded her.
“Omega can hold onto it till we’re off.”
“I STILL WANT BOLTS,” they reminded them.
Shadow groaned and reached into his pocket, handing Sonic thirty dollars. “Get Rouge her grapes and wine, Omega their bolts, and me a hot pocket.”
“Can do, *officer*,” Sonic teased. He dashed off in a stream of blue, dropping Amy’s groceries onto the concrete. Just seconds later, he returned with the requested items. “Sorry it took so long, the stupid self checkout wouldn’t read the barcodes.” He handed the bag of groceries to Shadow and dropped a few spare rings in. “It was only twenty-eight dollars and thirty cents.” He reached into the bag and pulled out a chaos cola, popping it open and taking a sip of the carbonated drink.
“I didn’t tell you that you could buy that with my money,” Shadow’s brows furrowed, but Sonic knew he wasn’t actually that mad.
“I got thirsty,” Sonic shrugged. He picked up the groceries he dropped just a minute before, now holding some on his arm instead of in his hand so he could continue sipping at his drink. “Alrighty officer, get back to work~” Sonic teased.
Shadow rolled his eyes and walked over to Omega. Omega thankfully had a mini fridge and oven built into them so that’s where Rouge’s wine was stored and how Shadow heated up his hot pocket. Rouge swooped down from her post and grabbed the grapes before returning, taking them one at a time out of the bag.
“I expect the motor by tomorrow night!” Sonic shouted.
“Alright blue boy,” Rouge dismissed, popping another grape into her mouth.
Sonic chuckled and shook his head, turning back to Amy. “So, when did you say that wedding was?”
+!___!+
After their outside hours had passed, they rotated inside the large building. The inside looked tacky in Shadow’s opinion. The short carpet that covered the entire floor was dark blue with seemingly random spots of yellow, green, pink and red, seeming more fit for an arcade than the center of the town.
Glass cases held important artifacts and writing relating to the founders of the town. Shadow usually enjoyed history, learning about what he missed in his years of being trapped in that cryo-pod, but the stuff in here had the most boring and basic stories. The start of the town could be summed up as a family stumbled upon the land and started building. He didn’t know why there was a whole section of the building dedicated to that.
Omega patrolled by the front door of the building, scanning whoever came in and out, making sure no one was tied to a criminal record or had a history of causing issues about politics. Rouge stayed downstairs in the historical artifact section, browsing as if it were a clothing store.
“Don’t take anything,” Shadow said through the communicator as he walked up the stairs.
Rouge scoffed, “I wasn’t going to.” She placed the antique key for the first bank in town down and closed the case.
Shadow patrolled the much more narrow upstairs. He walked through hallways, checking doors to make sure they were locked and secure. He walked past a door that had PRIVATE OFFICE engraved into the wood. Talking came from the other side, and Shadow couldn’t help but eavesdrop. It was for the mission, he told himself. He pressed a black and tan ear to the door and listened closely.
“I just think it’s a bit risky,” an unfamiliar female voice said.
“He’s been part of G.U.N. for years,” Commander Tower said, “why would he suddenly turn now?”
“He might be against the new systems that will be put into place.”
System? What new system?
“We have no proof of that,” Tower said.
“We don’t have proof he won’t turn either.” Silence followed. “Commander Tower, I get you want to be nice to the little guy, give him a second chance, but you know what he’s capable of.”
“That’s why he’s a valuable asset,” the commander said. “If we fire him, then he will definitely be against us like he was before.”
“I never said anything about firing him Mr. Tower.”
The world felt silent. They must be talking about Shadow, who else would they be talking about?
There was quiet shuffling around the room. “I’ll give you twenty-four hours to make your decision. Either we eliminate the threat, or it eliminates us.” The door handle turned and Shadow darted down the hall and behind the corner so the woman didn’t see him. He heard heels clicking away in the opposite direction, so he quickly looked behind the corner, getting a glimpse of the woman.
Shadow didn’t recognize her, but she must have been rather high up in G.U.N. considering she seemed to have her own special G.U.N. uniform that was a deep crimson instead of the dark blue everyone else had to wear. Her hair was blond and pulled back into a low ponytail. Her face almost resembled Maria’s, strange.
Though Shadow was suspicious of her, he didn’t dwell on it for long, he had to continue his patrol.
+!___!+
Evening came and Shadow returned to Sonic and his shared apartment. He slipped off his air shoes at the door and began to walk to the bedroom to get a change of clothes before his shower. He assumed Sonic wasn’t home yet, considering the lack of loud music, the tv blaring, or him sitting on the beanbag chair with a book and a bowl of chips.
“I wonder what he’s up to,” Shadow thought out loud. He slipped off his vest, hanging it back in the closet before he unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it in the hamper, along with his gloves and socks. “I need to do laundry,” he muttered, looking at the nearly overflowing basket of clothes. He took his belt off, placing it next to the others before unzipping the dark blue pants. He shivered slightly as cold air touched his legs, but he quickly relaxed. He opened a dresser drawer and pulled out boxers and a pajama set Sonic had gifted him on their last anniversary. Peeking out the bedroom door, he made sure no one was home before walking into the bathroom and closing the door. He placed the clothes on the counter before turning the shower on, now standing awkwardly in the bathroom waiting for the water to warm. He took his boxers off and left them on the floor for now, telling himself he’d put them away once he had proper clothes on.
After a minute, the dark hedgehog stepped into the shower and shivered with delight as the warm water poured over his tense muscles. He stood there for a minute, letting the water seep into his fur and quills. He reached for his lavender soap and scrubbed his arms, torso, and legs, and after a few minutes of doing so, he applied shampoo into his quills and fur, brushing through them with his fingers to make sure no knots were left. It was a familiar and peaceful experience, warm water running down his body, the lovely smell of lavender surrounding him, nothing could pull him out of this state-
The bathroom door opened and Shadow could see a familiar blue blur behind the steamed glass door of the shower.
“Sonic!” Shadow yelled, swiftly covering his privates even though the glass was designed in a way to obscure all details.
Sonic looked up and pulled out an earbud. “Oh- hey Shadow.”
“Don’t ‘hey’ me, why’d you barge in on me showering?”
“I didn’t hear the shower on; I had my earbuds in,” Sonic said.
Shadow rolled his eyes even though he knew Sonic wouldn’t be able to see it. “I keep telling you that you listen to music too loud.”
“Heh,” Sonic turned towards the sink and the mirror.
“Are you going to leave yet?” Shadow asked, still crossing his arms over his crotch.
“I got a cut give me a second,” Sonic said.
“What’d you cut yourself on?”
“I was helping Amy bake and decided to lick the frosting off the knife… I didn’t think it was that sharp.”
“You idiot,” Shadow said. He gave up on covering himself and continued to rinse out his quills.
“I’m your idiot,” Sonic laughed. After putting a bandaid on his cheek, Sonic quietly left the bathroom and closed the door.
Shadow continued to wash his fur and quills until he was done, turning the water off and stepping onto the bathroom mat, the soft fabric tickling his toes.
He grabbed the black towel that belonged to him, wiping his face and drying his body. He put his boxers and pajama set on, afterwards picking up his discarded boxers from earlier.
He walked towards the bedroom that was now pitch black as night rolled in. He walked near the closet and felt around until he located the hamper and put the dirty clothing away.
Hands wrapped around Shadow’s waist, causing him to gasp loudly. He thought he was being attacked for half a second before he felt the kisses being placed along his neck.
“Don’t startle me like that,” Shadow complained.
Sonic giggled. “Sorry,” he mumbled between kisses.
He began to place open mouthed kissed along Shadow’s neck and shoulder. Shadow hummed and turned around, now facing Sonic in the darkness. He touched Sonic’s cheeks before pulling him into a long, slow kiss. Sonic’s sharp teeth nibbled on the bottom lip, pulling a silent gasp from Shadow. The quiet, romantic kiss turned to a much more heated one in seconds. Sonic’s tongue intruded, slowly grazing his partner’s teeth and sighing once Shadow’s own tongue met his.
Shadow allowed himself to be pushed back into the wall, Sonic taking the lead. Sonic’s hands traveled along the dark torso, caressing and brushing every area of skin closest to him. Shadow’s hands slowly tangled into Sonic’s quills, attempting to ground himself despite the way he felt like he was floating due to the unexpected makeout session.
Sonic’s hands traveled up Shadow’s spine and stopped right beneath the base of his back quills, slowly rubbing sensitive skin. Shadow inhaled sharply, pulling away from the kiss for a moment. “Damn you,” he muttered, forcing his voice to be as even as possible.
Sonic laughed and pressed his nose to Shadow’s neck, inhaling the scent of lavender while his hands continued their work. “Closest I’ve gotten to a moan,” he said victoriously.
Shadow’s hands tightened around some of Sonic’s quills and pulled, causing him to hiss in pain. “Ow ow!” He looked down at Shadow, a mischievous grin forming on his face. “Didn’t know you were into hair pulling Shads.”
Despite the darkness, Shadow’s face clearly turned red and he loosened his grip on Sonic’s quills.
“I didn’t say I was against that kind of stuff,” Sonic continued. He removed his left hand from Shadow’s back quills and gently rubbed the arm that still held a clump of quills. Sonic leaned forward and whispered in Shadow’s ear, “you should do that again.”
Shadow suddenly let go of Sonic’s quills and pushed him half an arm length away, leaving Sonic stunned and confused.
“Sonic,” Shadow said, looking off to the side, “I don’t think I’m ready for that yet.”
A frown formed on Sonic’s face, but his eyes were understanding. “Oh, alright.” He took Shadow’s hand in his and gently caressed the palm. “I’m sorry if it felt like I was pressuring you, that wasn’t my intention.”
Shadow nodded. “I know.” He made eye contact with Sonic again. “I’m sorry.”
“No,” Sonic quickly interrupted, “don’t apologize for having boundaries.”
“But you’ve-”
“Shadow T. Hedgehog Robotnik Doom.”
Shadow’s ears flattened against his head and began to turn red.
Sonic leaned forward and lightly kissed Shadow’s cheek. “It’s okay if you want to wait until marriage, I can be patient.”
“You can?” Shadow asked mockingly, bringing back the playful mood.
“Oh har har,” Sonic rolled his eyes.
There was a long moment of silence. It was comfortable. It was right.
“Do you want to cuddle and watch a movie?” Sonic asked.
“I think I want to just go sleep,” Shadow yawned.
“Cuddle and sleep?” He asked eagerly.
“Fine.”
“Yay!” Sonic darted over to the bed, halfway under the covers and eagerly waiting for Shadow to join him. Shadow chuckled and lazily walked over to the bed before lying next to his boyfriend. Tan arms wrapped around a black torso before Shadow’s arms came up to rest around Sonic’s neck. Sonic dipped his head down to press his face into Shadow’s chest so Shadow’s head could rest on top his forehead. Their legs loosely tangled together until they found a position comfortable for them both.
“Goodnight Sonic.”
“Goodnight Shadow.”