Chapter Text
🪴
“You're such an asshole!” Sonic said. “I'm sick of you!”
“I am too!” Shadow snarled. “Why haven’t you learned your lesson to leave me alone?!”
“Because you haven’t learned the lesson to give me answers!” Sonic swung at him and Shadow pulled his arm and twisted it. He quickly yanked it back, only to have Shadow’s arm around his neck. “You—You waltz back into town like nothing happened between us and you expect me to not be mad about it?!”
“Why are you surprised? I learned to not expect anything from you,” Shadow said. “Especially standards.”
“Oh, evading the question with another question! We’re not doin’ all that!” He tried to pry Shadow’s arm off from around his neck. “You—You owe me answers!”
“Since when do I owe you answers, hedgehog?” Shadow asked.
“You know why.”
“Enlighten me.”
“You really want to have me state the obvious?! You know damn well why!” Sonic finally pinned Shadow’s arms onto the ground.
“What? Did you—” Shadow gasped dramatically. “Sonic, did you miss me? Is that why you’re so upset? Did you pine after me while I was gone?” Shadow mocked. “Did you cry yourself to sleep thinking of me? Did you wish it was my hand in yours?” At Sonic’s gasp, Shadow laughed darkly. “Hah! I was right. You did miss me. How pathetic!”
“Shut up!” Sonic snapped.
“Make me!” Shadow taunted.
Easily, Shadow could have teleported out of there.
Instead, they kissed. It was messy. It was annoying. He couldn’t get enough. They kissed like they fought; out of habit, out of conflict, out of trying to one up one another. Shadow kissed him first, and Sonic kissed him back.
The truths in the insults were felt for both. Sonic let go of Shadow’s wrists and held his head just as firmly. Kept kissing him. He made the kiss deeper.
Suddenly, Shadow shoved him away and they both stood up.
“What are you doing?!” Shadow was breathless, angry, and it was so satisfying.
“What am I doing?! Me?! You kissed me first!” Sonic corrected him. Before Sonic tried to snark something stupid additionally about how Shadow wanted to kiss him so bad it made him stupid, Shadow roundhoused kicked him in the temple and knocked him to the ground. It was the strongest impact yet.
Shadow teleported away before anything else could be said.
🪴
“How many times have we talked about this?”
Silver sat criss-crossed on the couch in front of Sonic, who did the same. The surprise, and difference, was that Silver was, for once, bruise-free. The magnet for disaster was unaffected physically.
Sonic, on the other hand, was a mess and probably on his way to getting another concussion.
“You know me,” Sonic said as Silver pressed the industrial ice pack to his temple and winced. “I love to kick the hornet’s nest like it’s a soccer ball and I’m Lionel Messi.”
“Yeah, I know,” Silver said with pure disapproval. “But that’s not what I mean. Who is the one cleaning up after the hot mess?”
“Environmental Solar Powered Roombas?”
“No, douchebag. Us! Me, specifically! All because you know Tails will disapprove and call you out again once he hears you’re back to getting your ass beat by your rival.”
Sonic didn’t warrant an answer.
“What, you’re gonna look at me and tell me I’m wrong?!” Silver demanded.
“No! I mean, you’re not—wrong?” Sonic tried to say. But he was a horrible liar. The worst liar in the history of liars. That was the thing about him that no one could understand; Sonic did not lie. Not because he was against it—he could give less of a shit about lying.
But because he was horrible at it.
So horrible at it.
So he couldn’t lie and tell Silver that he was wrong. Instead of doing that, he told Silver the truth.
“I think I love him.”
“Good fucking Gaia.” Silver groaned. He still pressed the ice against Sonic’s temple.
“I know that I can’t—fix him—But I genuinely think I love him.”
“And how did that go the last time?”
“I—I mean, both of us are to blame. It was complicated all around.”
“Sonic, I mean this from the bottom of my heart. You’re twenty-seven. So is he. Get your shit together.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me! Get your shit together! The middle age is coming around and you really want to be single in your thirties?”
“Dude, you’re twenty six and still haven’t made a move with Amy!”
“AHT, AHT, AHT! We are not talking about me. We’re talking about you.”
“I don’t want to talk about me!” Sonic whined.
“Too bad! You really want to get your ass beat by Shadow on a weekly basis? Is that how you want the rest of your life to be? Chasing after a fellow bisexual hedgehog who only wants to beat you up recreationally to hide his romantic feelings for you, only to dip and then randomly appear to make your complicated life even more complicated?”
Sonic considered it. “...”
“DUDE!”
“I’m sorry, I just don’t know what to say!” Sonic exclaimed.
“Oh, the dumbassery is terminal,” Silver sighed. “The freakiness…And I thought Stone and Eggman were freaks...”
“Don’t you DARE equate us!”
“Equate?! Brother, I’m looking at the same picture! But you know what the difference is?”
“That Stone is too good for Eggman?”
“No. The difference is that they did something about their freakiness and are getting married and now they have another child together.”
“So, you’re saying that Shadow and I should get married and have a kid together?”
“Why do you sound hopeful about that idea?”
“I don’t!”
Silver grit his teeth. “What I’m saying is that you and Shadow need to talk about this weird dynamic going on and do something other than beating the everloving shit out of each other. Because if his parents could figure their shit out, you should too.”
“...Wait, what?” Sonic frowned.
“What do you mean what?”
“What do you mean by his parents? Since when does Shadow have parents?”
Silver looked at Sonic and put the ice down. And he let out a heavy sigh.
“Um?! Did I miss a season or two?! What do you mean Shadow has parents?!”
“Oh dear Gaia.” Silver sighed heavily again.
🪴
Doom “Padre” Nuevo Celular 🙄
Shadow, mi niño, tienes que regresar a la sierra para controlar los terrenos.
Ni madres.
Eres el futuro de nuestra familia.
Soy el futuro de tu mama.
🥺No te crié para que seas asi
Las únicas personas que me criaron eran el Agente Stone y mi primo Ivo. Ellos son los que yo llamo mis papas. Tu hiciste ni madres a lado de pelearte con el puto jetudo geriátrico que llamas marido y hacerme la vida más complicada que ya lo es.
No le digas así a tu papa.
EL NO ES MI PAPA. Tu no eres mi papá. ¿Te quieres deshacer de los pinches terrenos? Vete al gabacho y busca un empresario bolillo suficientemente pendejo en confiar en ti y véndeselos a ellos. Vete al gabacho y vete a la chingada. Ahórrate la gasolina en la aduana; son los mismos lugares.
Doom “Father” New Phone 🙄
Shadow, my boy, you need to return home to control the lands.
Not a fucking chance.
You are the future of this family.
I am the future of your mother.
🥺 I didn’t raise you to be like this.
The only people that raised me are Agent Stone and Cousin Ivo. They are the ones I call my parents. You didn’t do shit other than fight with that glum geriatric fuckhead you call ‘husband’ and make my life more complicated than it already is.
Don’t call your father that.
HE IS NOT MY FATHER.
You are not my father. You want to get rid of the fucking lands so bad? Go to the United States (gabacho) and find an American businessman who is fucking stupid enough to trust you and sell it to them. Go to the gabacho (USA) and go fuck yourself. Save the gas at customs; they’re both the same place.
“Shadow, you’re back from your walk! Everything okay?”
Shadow closed the Whatsapp screen and sighed. “My false father is back to spamming me again.” He was aggravated as it was, but he would avoid the topic of running into Sonic.
“Ignore him, kiddo,” Stone said. “Come on, help me fix this up.” He held his hand out and Shadow took it out of habit like he had since he was a young teenager and he didn’t let go. He followed Stone down the hallway.
There was some music playing on one of the speakers, though Shadow did not know or recognize the song, nor the artist. Ever since he formally moved from the city to the Isla, he hasn’t had to deal with much noise. Or radios. Or music. Or technology, even. He liked it better that way.
It was still unnerving to get used to.
“What did Doom want this time?” Stone asked.
“He’s talking about los terrenos again. Ugh. ¿Qué pinche culpa tengo yo?” Shadow rolled his eyes. “Since when is it my fucking fault that he wants to get rid of the fucking land? He wants to do it so bad, he can find one of his alleged abandoned children in the states to do it for him, or an American businessman. Pinche gabacho a tres escupidas, pero no.” Spitting distance of the border, yet here he is.
“Mm, honestly? I’m not surprised,” Stone said dryly. “He doesn’t know what else to talk about. Forget about him, okay?” He let go of Shadow’s hand and held his shoulder. “We got tons of stuff to do for the wedding to keep us all busy. And you know what else is great?”
“What else?”
“I get to spoil you!” Stone grinned. “My sweet boy is finally home!” He hugged him tightly again and Shadow let out a rare smile. He only let Stone, Maria, Sage and maybe Ivo fully hug him. Sometimes, the little robots hugged his ankles too. “And he’s home for good!”
He was never bashful with his father. Shadow hugged him back warmly.
“Why do you have a leaf in your quills?” Stone picked out the leaf and held it.
“The wind.” Shadow lied. He was a horrible liar.
Purple glasses glared at him, unamused. “Did you fight Sonic again?” He asked.
“I—No. Yes.”
Stone sighed. He waved for the trashcan Roomba to come close and gently tossed the leaf into the bin. He patted the Roomba’s head in thanks before it left. “He’s not worth your time.”
“I know.”
“Did you win though?”
I kissed him and roundhouse kicked him.
“Of course I did.”
“Atta boy.”
That was the last they spoke of that.
🪴
They finally reached the wall panel that got loosened. Stone, prior to learning how to make excellent coffee, was an engineering architect who graduated from the same university that Maria was currently studying at with a master's degree. Though hers was in a different field than Stone’s.
“I’m surprised Ivo isn’t here to tell me I’m holding the flashlight wrong,” Shadow said dryly. Stone laughed. Though Shadow considered Ivo a father figure, he still called him by Ivo out of habit. Eggman was too informal, he would never give him the satisfaction of calling him Dr. Robotnik. Ivo just fit.
For all of Ivo’s arrogant demeanor and his many threats to Shadow, he still cared for him. His form of affection was the complete opposite of Stone’s. Balance, he supposed.
The only priority in the house for attention and affection was Sage. It would always be Sage. As it should be!
“He loves you and only wants what’s best for you. And he is currently with our princess, doing her bidding.”
“As he should be.”
“As he should be,” Stone agreed. He twisted the wrench and the panel clicked into place. “And there! All done.” He went down the hall and put away the tools in the toolbox. “Let’s see where your sister is now.”
“Chacha!” Sage's loud voice called out from the hallway.
“Found her,” Shadow supplied.
When she was a baby, she couldn’t quite say Shadow. Just Chacha. Maria
Cubot and Orbot followed as Sage ran down the hall. She wore a green sundress and flat sandals. From the slight flush on her face, she had been outside on their patio playing with Cubot and Orbot. Three months shy of turning five.
Shadow knelt down and let her jump into his arms.
“Hola mi niña,” Shadow murmured to her. He kissed her head and she squeezed his face tight, like she had always done since she was a baby. She giggled when he playfully scrunched his nose, to which she did the same.
Next to him, Orbot quietly hugged Shadow’s knee, and Shadow patted his head, then the little robot continued down the hall. With a bright hello, Cubot waved at Shadow as he passed by, who waved back, then followed Orbot behind to speak to Stone.
But Shadow could not fully hear it behind him. He was still getting used to the hearing aids, little by little, and they were currently charging. He wasn’t wearing them. Even then, it was muffled still.
“Sage, where’s daddy?” Shadow asked, using the term that she referred to Ivo as.
“Daddy went to the kitchen! He told me to tell you to go there!”
“Did he, now? What is he making?”
“Soup!” Sage paused. “I think. It smelled like soup. It looked like soup. It might be soup. Chacha, do you like soup?”
“I like soup,” Shadow said gently. He put Sage down and carefully stood up. “I’ll go see what he needs. Let’s go with baba, okay.”
“Okay!” Sage grinned. She skipped alongside Shadow as they went down the hall to find Stone. “Baba!”
“Marhaba habibi!” Stone greeted and picked Sage up into his arms. “Hello, my darling!”
“Dad, Ivo needs me in the kitchen.”
“You got it. Oh! Shadow! Tell your father that we fixed the panel!”
“Okay,” Shadow said and turned the corner to continue the task he was given.
🪴
Shadow knocked on the entrance of the kitchen.
“Knock knock.”
“There you are!” Ivo exclaimed.
“Here I am.” With some effort, Shadow hopped onto the stool of the table. He was still a little sore from the fight. “Oh, dad told me to tell you that he fixed the panel.” It only felt right to give Stone the credit; Shadow only held the flashlight.
“Good to know.”
“What even happened to it?”
“Sage. Anyways, a little flicky told me you fought Sonic.”
Shadow startled. “What else did they say?!”
“Nothing. There was no flicky. I assumed, and you just confirmed,” Ivo said flatly.
“Oh. Did you bring me in here for a lecture about it?”
“A lecture on you defeating the blue buffoon? Of course not! If anything, I’m more surprised you didn’t encounter him on arrival.”
“Oh. Well, I was merely defending myself and keeping the upper hand. He got the worst of it.”
“Good. Anyways,” Ivo said. “So, I want you to go to the Eastmost village tomorrow before sundown and see what flowers the florist recommends for the wedding. Though I am not much of a fan of the guy, he does have good work. Your father already sent him the ideas for the courtyard...” The metal spoon clanked against the metal pot and Ivo kept speaking. There was…hissing from the funnel fan.
Too self conscious to ask him to speak up, Shadow merely stayed quiet and tried to follow along.
“...Shadow? Shadow?”
“Huh?” Shadow startled and looked up. “What? What happened?”
Ivo turned off the stove and fan. He turned around to face Shadow. “Are you wearing your hearing aids?”
“...I’m not.”
“Did you wear them at all today?”
“No.”
“You need to wear them,” Ivo reminded, though not scolding. “At least in increments. It’s the only way for your ears to get adjusted to using them.”
“I know.”
“Are they not discreet enough? I can make them smaller.”
“They are,” Shadow said. He corrected himself. “I—They’re fine the way they are. You don’t have to make them smaller.”
“If you’re worried about durability with all the skirmishes you get in, do not fear for their damage; they are very strong. Even hammer resistant! Sage had fun testing that out...”
“I know that,” Shadow said softly, though it wanted to make him smile a little bit.
There was silence in the kitchen.
“So what is going on?”
Stone was better at the heart to hearts, but at least with Ivo, it was…fact to fact. And the fact was—
“Everything is different. And…I don’t know this isla. I don’t…know,” Shadow said.
“Though I understand why, you can’t avoid being outside the same way you did in the city. It’s different this time.”
“Yes, I know,” Shadow agreed. “The environment is different.”
“That is not what I mean.” Ivo sighed. “And you know that.”
Shadow knew what he meant.
“In the city, you were completely isolated and shut in and saying it was a mission—”
“—I’m not proud of that—”
“For a month. Not a day, a week. A month. It’s not the job situation that is the problem. You lied to all of us for a month about your well-being and made us worried sick. And you denied that it was your hearing.”
It had been Rouge who found Shadow, too scared beyond his mind while isolated in his apartment for almost two weeks. He had migraines; who didn’t in this world? But one became too much, and the missions accumulated too fast, and he supposed it was only a matter of time that all the fights and hits affected him. He didn’t necessarily need to eat. He was fine. His mental health and hearing sucked and were broken, but he was fine.
Well…
Estimated 40% loss on both ears, with the right one being more significantly affected. Horrible tinnitus all around. Some weight loss, tons of angry messages to and from Sonic—
But he was fine.
He was utterly scared and ashamed. His hearing wasn’t right. Something wasn’t right. After a very worried Rouge found him on the third week, she told Ivo and Stone. Stone flew across the country to find him, get Shadow’s things, and bring him home to La Isla to live with them.
He had spent the first four weeks in the base, only to go outside into the isla for a nice walk and get fresh air, and clear his head, and then proceed to get his ass beat by Sonic, who he then kissed passionately—
But he was fine.
“I’m not proud of it. Of any of it. I’m…trying to get better. But I won’t shut myself off anymore.”
“...Well, at least you acknowledge it now,” Ivo said earnestly. “You need to take it slow with the hearing aids and adjust to them. And not shut yourself off. Can you try?”
“I can try. I’ll probably fail.”
“No grade scale here. Just try. Now, go get your sister and father. I made some soup.”
🪴