Chapter Text
Tuesday Afternoon
“Listen Tails… I’m gonna hold your hand when I say this... But the Megamind Show sucked so hard it's a disgrace to all TV shows"
Tails fell to his knees and cried. “How could you say that Sonic! It’s Megamind!”
Sonic nodded along and patted Tails on the head. “I know, I know… it’s a disgrace to The Megamind movie too… you just need to stop deluding yourself…” he sighed and shook his head.
Knuckles threw another grape in his mouth. Watching Sonic cause Tails a mental breakdown over how bad the Megamind show is was far more interesting than the show itself.
Ozzie running up to the front door, barking, was all the three needed to realize Tom was back. "Oh! The Donut Lord is back!" Knuckles gasped, setting his bowl of grapes aside to look out the window. "And with groceries!" He gasped, quickly rushing out the door so he could prove his strength by carrying all the bags.
Knuckles walked back in not even a minute after, proudly holding up all the bags up to the sky like trophies. "Behold! The grocery bags! Witness my strength!" He announced, looking around the room for people to present the bags to.
Sonic wondered if he should clap or to laugh. He decided to clap because he was glad it was Knuckles and not him carrying those bags. “Well done Knuckles! Truly a grandiose feat!” Tails side eyed him but clapped too.
Maddie appeared from upstairs, and rushed up to give Tom a quick kiss. “Hey hun, how was work today?”
Tom shrugged his shoulders. “Nothing much happened,” He looked over at Sonic. “But… I did meet someone very interesting.”
“Oh?” Sonic raised a brow, crossing his arms. “And who could possibly be so interesting they’re worthy of being mentioned by THE Donut Lord?”
Tom laughed softly. “There’s a new guy in town and guess what? He’s a hedgehog”
Sonic’s jaw dropped so far it almost hit the floor. That was all the reaction Tom got before Sonic bounced around the room before rushing up to his room and running back down with a notepad.
Sonic cleared his throat and put on some glasses (where’d he get them???) and clicked his pen. “Ahem, yes, yes, what uhm… What's his name?”
Tom fought back the urge to laugh. “His name is Shadow…” He was unsure of what to say now. Tom expected Sonic to be excited but the blue hedgehog always seemed to surprise him. He should’ve expected it at this point.
Sonic nodded and frantically wrote that down. “Mhm, Yes, Mhm, I see… yes” he nodded at the single word on his paper.
While Sonic had been writing things down, Tails had been pulling out a board to draw a hedgehog shaped figure. “What does he look like?” Tails asked, pulling out his more colorful markers.
“He’s uhm… black with red highlights” Tom paused to try to recall the details while Tails scrambled to fill the hedgehog in with black and red. “He had red eyes and…uhhh” Tom broke off at the sight of Sonic dreamily staring at Tails’s artwork. “There was like red eyeliner on his eyes?”
Sonic gasped and hurriedly wrote that down. “So Cool!!”
Tom rubbed the back of his neck, wondering if his son secretly ran on the rainbow path. “Uh, he was also kind of quiet… super serious, work oriented I guess?”
Sonic nodded. “Need to search: Work oriented” he whispered aloud while continuously nodding with every word he wrote down. “Serious… possibly shy and reserved… in desperate need of friends!”
Tails was also nodding along, writing down notes beside the giant drawing of the black hedgehog. Tails gasped dramatically, slapping his marker down and pointing at Sonic. “He’s a tragic loner who’s hiding his pain behind a cool and mysterious demeanor!”
Sonic’s gasped and his eyes sparkled. “Oh my gosh, Tails, you’re right! That makes him ten times cooler!!! We have to meet him!” He yelled, waving his hands around and jumping around. The notepad flying out his hands.
Tom groaned and rubbed his eyes, gosh he was starting to regret opening his mouth . “Look, he’s new to town and I think we should maybe give him some time to settle in?”
Sonic grinned mischievously, pulling down his glasses that were already slipping off his face. “Time? Pfft, I have no idea what that is!” Knuckles was starting to get concerned and opened his mouth but Maddie shushed him. “He’s probably just waiting for someone to crack through that tough exterior of his! And guess who’s the perfect guy for the job?” Sonic looked around the room.
Knuckles raised a hand. “Me?”
“No!” Sonic yelled, and Knuckles lowered his head sadly. “Me! Obviously!”
Maddie crossed her arms. “And I’m guessing you already have a brilliant plan to introduce yourself, Sonic?”
Sonic paused, tapping the end of his pen against his chin in thought. “Oh, I don’t know yet. But trust me, by the time I’m done, me and Shadow will be best friends foreverrr”
Tails turned around tilted his head after drawing the last smidge of color onto Shadow’s red eyes. “Shouldn’t we consider the possibility that he doesn’t want friends?”
Sonic waved dismissively. “Everyone wants to be friends with me, Tails! I’m like… the connector of all space alien animals!” He held up his hands and imagined the title. Sonic nodded to himself. Tails was really starting to regret enabling this and Tom really regretted ever mentioning Shadow.
Sonic looked up at Tom expectedly, hands on his hips and the most serious look he could muster on his face. “Now, where is this mysterious dark hedgehog located?”
Tom wondered if crying would be an appropriate reaction. It wouldn’t so he let out a deep sigh, “I don’t know, I saw him walking around” wow what a great lie!
Sonic lowered his head, looking so sad Tom almost revealed Shadow’s place of work till Sonic quickly brightened up and ran over to grab his notebook and pen, quickly wrote down a few things before he jumped up onto the couch. “A–”
“Feet off the couch”
Sonic jumped off the couch in an instant, probably traumatized by Maddie’s wrath and too afraid to ever anger her again. Sonic looked around at everyone, before announcing, “Okay team! Here’s the plan—”
“Oh no” Tails sighed, his ears dropping and his head lowered as he stared down at his shoes and wondered where he had gone so wrong in life.
Sonic pointed at a miserable looking Tails. "Tails! How easily do you think it’d be to find his home address or any social media for me to contact him?"
“Uhm—”
"Perfect! Knuckles!" Sonic pointed dramatically at the echidna, who perked up immediately.
"Yes!" Knuckles thumped his chest. "What is my role in this mission?" He demanded eagerly.
"If Shadow tries to play it cool and ignore me, you’ll carry him over to our house right to the dinner table. Gently, of course. There's a 78% chance he's got a tragic backstory, so we gotta be sensitive about that stuff!" Sonic nodded proudly at his very questionable plan.
Knuckles gave a firm nod, putting a hand over his heart. "Understood. I will carry him with the utmost gentleness!"
Tom tried to interrupt, “Wait Sonic, are we—”
"Tom, Maddie!," Sonic said, spinning to face Maddie and Tom. "You two will prepare the house. We need the warmest, most welcoming atmosphere possible!"
Madide threw his hands up. "I didn’t sign up for this." she pointed a finger at Sonic. “And you can’t kidnap someone into becoming your friend!”
Sonic gasped, putting a hand over his chest. “I would never!” He gasped, sounding all hurt. “How dare you suggest that! I feel so betrayed!” Sonic fell back onto the couch and put a hand over his head. “Oh the woe! Oh the pain and the misery I live in!”
Knuckles wiped a warrior tear from his eye before letting out a warrior cry and running up to Maddie and shaking her (with utmost gentleness). “He must befriend the dark hedgehog! Or else he will suffer from heartbreak!”
Sonic sat up, quickly abolishing his previous woe. “Anyways, the plan is for me to introduce myself, make his acquaintance and THEN we bring him here to introduce my bff to chili dogs!” Sonic stood up. “What could possibly go wrong?”
“He won’t like chili dogs?” Tails suggested, looking genuinely curious.
Sonic decided it wouldn’t be nice to throw his notepad at him.
Maddie groaned. “Sonic, we are not holding a chili dog intervention for some random guy you’ve never met—”
“But he’s not random!” Sonic interrupting, arms flailing around, notepad and pen flying out of his hold again. “He’s a hedgehog! Like me! What if he’s been out there, all alone, just waiting for someone to challenge him to a super awesome high-speed race! What if I’m his only hope for friendship? What if without friends he commits world domination? What if he secretly loves chili dogs and just doesn’t know it yet?”
Knuckles nodded solemnly and gave Maddie a serious look. “A hedgehog without chili dogs is a tragedy no warrior should endure!”
Maddie held up her hands. “Alright, fine! But no dragging people home against their will!” She gave Knuckles a serious look that had him bowing his head and sighing in defeat.
“No promises!” Sonic laughed, before realizing his notepad flew away and running to grab it and scribble down more words incomprehensible to man.
Tails peeked over Sonic’s shoulder. “What are you writing now?”
“My backup plans!” Sonic said, flipping to a page that read in bold letters: PLAN A: BE COOL. PLAN B: BE REALLY COOL. PLAN C: BE REALLY REALLY COOL. PLAN D: SPIN AROUND HIM UNTIL HE GIVES IN. PLAN E: INTRODUCE HIM TO CHILI DOGS AND BECOME BEST FRIENDS FOREVER.
Tails needed to tell Sonic something before he went out and gave Shadow the wrong idea. “Uhm… Sonic… About plan d—”
“Genius! I know right!” Sonic threw the notepad off into the distance—never to be seen again—before he mischievously rubbed his hands together. “Now… I gotta get ready for tomorrow…” he chuckled darkly.
Tails prayed for Shadow’s soul. He really hoped Shadow was mentally prepared ready to meet Sonic.
────୨ৎ────
Wednesday Morning
“Do my quills look okay?”
“For the last time Shadow, you look fine”
Shadow huffed, glaring at his reflection like it had killed Maria. “Fine isn’t good enough, Stone” he gave the man a harsh look.
Stone wondered if he should tell Shadow he looked like silly kitty and that he really wanted to pick him up and spin him around. “You look… uh… dashing?”
Shadow paused, tapping his chin before nodding. “Good enough” he turned to the espresso machine he had been staring at for the last hour. Shadow had not slept all night, too busy obsessively brushing through his quills and mentally preparing for the meeting. He even wrote an entire script of what he would say!
The doorbell rang and Shadow instantly shot toward the front counter. In came a blue figure that Shadow instantly recognized as Sonic. Wow… he looked much more impressive in real life… and so much cuter than I imagined— WHATTT
Shadow’s brain short-circuited and he couldn’t do anything but blankly stare into the depths of Sonic’s soul.
Thankfully, Sonic had a very similar reaction. All the confidence he had built up was gone and all the planning had been thrown out the window. Sonic couldn’t even bother to remember that his family was literally beside him, watching the entire thing go down.
Knuckles leaned over to whisper to Tails, “Is this how hedgehogs challenge each other? I am unfamiliar with their customs.” Tails just shook his head at him so he backed away and continued to watch their stare-down.
Stone made eye contact with Tom, who looked more confused than he did. Tom mouthed out words that Stone interpreted as, “What is going on?”
Stone just shrugged his shoulders and looked back at the two hedgehogs.
Sonic was pretty sure his heart was about to explode. He could feel it thumping in his chest—faster than usual, like wayyy faster. His pulse was already concerning for regular people, his current heartbeat would probably mean cardiac arrest for them.
Tails was quickly tired of their romantic tension and slipped a note to Stone with his order on it before taking a seat at a table. Maddie quickly pulled Tom and Knuckles to the table to give Sonic and Shadow space to talk.
“Uhm…” Sonic began, trying to shake himself out of his trance but his eyes were stuck on Shadow’s face. Sonic sped up to the front counter and rested his cheek on his fist. “Hey”
Shadow burst out laughing and turned around to conceal his expression. That was probably the cringiest thing he had ever seen in his life.
Tails sighed and crossed off plan A while he sipped on his Stoneacchino. "How much do you guys bet they'll be dating by the end of the week?" he looked around for any takers.
Tom was about to open his mouth to tell his son not to be betting. Maddie shook her head. "Nah, a weeks too soon. Give them a month!"
Tom was about to tell his wife to not encourage Tails but Knuckles had to add in. "I trust in the hedgehog, in only a day they will be partners!" Yeah Knuckles was definitely losing.
Sonic came bouncing over to the table a few minutes after, practically shaking in place. If Sonic smiled any harder his face might split into two. "Guys! Guys! I got him to agree to race me!"
“This sounds like a playground tactic.” Maddie whispered to Tom—who was wondering if he should give Sonic ‘The Talk’ or if he should pat him on the back.
Knuckles slammed a fist on the table, startling everyone and nearly spilling Tails’s drink all over the place. “I knew it! They’ll be partners before sundown! My faith in the hedgehog remains unshaken!” He stood up to shake Sonic. “Your victory will bring me mountains of grapes!”
Sonic chuckled nervously as Knuckles finally let him down, dizzy and disorientated. “Yeah… Uh—”
Knuckles grabbed Sonic’s shoulders with the most serious expression on his face. “Don’t forget me when you two run off into the sunset! Name a child after me!”
“...Huh?”
♡