Chapter Text
It was their first day on set together. Skimming through the script, Shadow had spotted this would be his and Sonic's characters' first interaction.
"Alright Shadow!" Amy began, walking into the room. "I've got you a costume manager, meet Rouge." As she finished her sentence, the door opened and revealed a sassy white bat.
"Hey, darling~" the white bat purred. "The name's Rouge, Rouge The Bat~" her voice was laced with sass and teasing. She wore a black tube top with matching black shorts which revealed her thighs. Her neck was decorated with multiple necklaces, sunglasses resting atop her forehead and black high heels.
"Hello, Rouge." Shadow spoke, keeping his usual nonchalant tone. Rouge smirked at him and motioned him towards a different part of the set.
"Follow me, hun. Let's get your outfit sorted out~" she walked towards a large door, her heels clicking as she did so. Shadow sighed and followed her.
What he didn't expect to see on the other side of the door when he opened it was Sonic shirtless.
Shadow blushed deeply. He just saw Sonic shirtless. Fucking shirtless.
He slammed the door before Sonic could notice him and flattened his ears with his hands.
He just saw Sonic shirtless. And he loved it. He loved the shape of his body, his chest, his muscular tones, his-
No. Stop.
Shadow tried to calm his blush before turning around and walking back into the room. This time, Sonic had a shirt on. But Shadow couldn't get the memory out of his head. How could he?
"Oh hey Shads!" Sonic beamed. The nickname slipped past his lips before he realised, and Shadow froze.
"Pardon?" He asked, slightly flustered. He hadn't expected the nickname. And now all his thoughts were filled with fantasies about Sonic calling him the name.
"Ah- sorry Shadow! I-It slipped I sw-"
"It's fine, Sonic. I don't mind you calling me that." Sonic blushed at this remark. He chuckled nervously and turned away.
"Okay Shadow!" Rouge began, walking over. "Your outfit for the upcoming scene is simple. You'll be wearing a white shirt and black ripped jeans, adorned with black lace up boots and some jewellery. The scene will be filmed in the 'rain' so I thought getting a white shirt wet will get your fans all riled up~" Rouge finished with a wink.
Shadow nodded and took the clothes, slipping behind the curtain to change.
~★🎸🎤★~
"Action!" The cameraman called. Shadow began running through the 'rain'. He knocked into a random pedestrian.
"Watch where you- Arthur?" Shadow asked. 'Arthur' was Sonic's character's name.
"Oh hey there! I saw you at my concert earlier, you enjoy?" Arthur asked. Shadow nodded.
'Okay, this is running smoothly.' Shadow thought.
"What's your name by the way?" Arthur asked.
"Lancelot." This was Shadow's character's name. They seemed to be based off the ancient tale of Camelot; the names being from the king and his knight.
"Well hello there Lance~" Arthur said, nudging into Lancelot's arm. Lancelot simply scoffed and pushed his arm away.
"What do you want Arthur." This was more of a statement than a question, more of a demand for an answer.
"Oh, just a little something~" Arthur purred. His character was seemingly flirty. "All I need is a favour~"
"Which is what." Lancelot growled. This was yet another demand for an answer.
"I need you to help me get rich!" Arthur grabbed Lancelot's arm, to which he shoved it away and growled.
"And how exactly am I supposed to do that?!"
"Commit a few crimes with me~" Arthur purred yet again, his voice was low and dangerous. Shadow gulped, not Lancelot, Shadow.
"Fine...but only for a cost." Lancelot inched closer, not to build intimacy, to build fear. Arthur smirked, leaning in.
"Which is?"
"Be my fake partner."
~★🎸🎤★~
"Perfect!" Amy exclaimed, jumping up and down. "The scene was perfect! I can't believe how good of an actor Sonic is! And the way you were so stoic and nonchalant during all of that! Gosh Shadow I'm so proud of you!" Shadow couldn't help but crack a slight smile.
"Thank you, Rose. I appreciate it." Shadow spoke softly.
Then, the door flew open. A green tenrec walked in.
"What's up bitches!" She yelled, her voice growly yet smooth; like a feminine version of Shadow's.
"Surge!" Amy exclaimed, pulling her into a hug to which the tenrec returned.
"Hey, Rose." Surge replied.
"Who's this?" Shadow asked, gesturing towards Surge.
"Ah! This is Surge! Surge The Tenrec! She's on the editing team!" Amy beamed. Shadow looked over at Surge. She was green with her quills pinned up in a ponytail, she was loud and energetic yet she had quite a calm demeanor to her. She wore black jeans, a white leather jacket adorned with a dark green tube top and white high heel boots.
"Hey, you're Shadow right?" Surge asked. Shadow nodded, arms crossed. "It's nice to meet you in person! It's such an honour working on the same set as you, I love your movies!"
"Thank you, Surge. I appreciate your support." Surge nodded, a smile forming on her face.
"We best go off. Surge and I have a reservation at a restaurant!" Amy excitedly said, practically vibrating on the spot. Surge laughed sweetly and dragged her out the door.
~★🎸🎤★~
It was June, pride month. And what was Shadow doing? Looking at updates of his new favourite band. Sonic had recently posted on Instagram, so Shadow was reading the post.
It consisted of the other two members of The Odyssey: Knuckles and Silver. They were all dressed up for pride month, embracing their sexualities.
Silver's eyes were adorned with the colours of the gay flag, Knuckles holding an ally flag to show his support for the LGBTQ+ community. But Sonic? His eyes were decorated with the colours of the bisexual flag and was holding the transgender flag behind him. He had his shirt unzipped, which clearly showed two top surgery scars. How had Shadow not noticed them before?
The title of the post read 'Happy Pride Month everybody! Me and the gang are preparing for our special pride concert coming later this month. Ticket sales in 3 hours <3' with a link to the sale.
Shadow clicked the link, which brought up a website to The Odyssey's tickets. The sale opened in 5 minutes, so Shadow smiled to himself and waited in the queue.
When the sale opened, he was only 123rd in the line. That wasn't too bad for him. He set his phone down on his desk and continued looking through Sonic's Instagram on his laptop.
As he scrolled, he paused on one specific post. It was Sonic in a special outfit for a limited show. He wore a golden, short skirt with a matching shirt. Shadow blushed again and quickly closed the tab. Fuck him and his stupid thoughts about Sonic.
He glanced over at his phone which now presented that the queue had moved forward and that his turn was coming soon. He scooped it up and waited patiently until it was his turn.
Then he booked the tickets.
~★🎸🎤★~
Shadow sat in his favourite cafe, a burning black coffee in his hands. He gently sipped it, enjoying the calm of his surroundings.
The cafe door opened, which Shadow wouldn't have taken any mind to if it wasn't none other than Sonic The Hedgehog entering the cafe.
The way he so calmly talked with the staff, the way he waited for his order, the way he thanked the staff and turned to walk out. But before that, he spotted Shadow staring. His expression softened and he walked over.
"Heya Shads! What ya got there?" He asked, sliding into the chair opposite Shadow.
"Just a black coffee." He replied simply, running his finger along the edge of the mug.
"Black? No sugar? No milk? No-"
"Just black. Nothing else." Shadow interrupted. Sonic nodded. "What about you? What do you have?"
"Iced coffee." He said, smiling and taking a sip. Shadow took note of his order.
"What brings you here?" Shadow asked Sonic.
"Well, one of my friend's boyfriend works here! I planned to come see him but I don't know where he is."
"Which friend?" Shadow asked curiously, leaning into the conversation.
"Silver. He's dating Espio, who should be here somewhere but he's probably out the back." Sonic replied, taking another sip. Shadow nodded, keeping his hands clasped around his cup.
"Say Shadow, why don't we get to know each other a little?" Sonic asked, his voice lightly dipped with nervousness.
"Well, I didn't grow up here. I was raised on the Space Colony ARK, created by Professor Gerald Robotnik. Unfortunately a few years after my creation, G.U.N. invaded the ARK and wiped out everything within it. I was the only thing to survive, but I was put into stasis for 50 years." Shadow concluded, hands clutching his cup tighter as memories were brought back. Sonic's eyes widened slightly.
"Wow... I'm so sorry." Sonic said, a sorrowful look in his eyes. Shadow hummed, showing his gratitude.
"My backstory isn't much better. I don't really remember much of it. I remember being raised at the age of 5 by a close friend because well...I lost my family in a fire..." Sonic's voice slowly trailed off and Shadow's eyes widened.
"I...am sorry Sonic. You didn't deserve that." Shadow spoke softly, in an attempt to comfort.
"It's okay Shadow, I'm just glad I'm able to tell you. You're an awesome friend after all." Sonic spoke sweetly and innocently.
Shadow wasn't sure why, but he felt a pang of emotion in his chest. Jealousy almost. Almost anger. The word friends hit him like a brick.
"Yeah...good friends."