Chapter Text
Shadow Chaos Controls the Paradox Prism after ensuring Sonic was alive. He'd woken up alone after almost losing his rival and panicked. He'd ran up the mountain and was relieved to see the blue idiot alive. Of course he wasn't with me when I woke up, we must've been transported back to before he shattered the Prism. He mentally berates himself.
He holds Sonic, deathly pale and fading fast, as he runs through the Void. He makes the final jump to the gateway, -they're almost there- when he feels the barely-there weight disappear entirely from his grasp. He knows, without looking, that the hedgehog in his arms is gone. He failed.
Shadow wakes up gasping, biting back a scream. He gets up from his bed before he even has time to think. As quietly as he can in his panicked, half-aware state, he leaves his house(cave), hoping he didn't wake Rouge, who was spending the night on his couch (she wanted to 'make Knuckles jealous' by staying at his house in an attempt to get the echidna to notice her). As soon as he's out the door, he bolts. His mind too clouded to realize where he's going until he's in front of his rival's house.
He peers through the other's window, eyes frantically searching the room, until they land on the bed. The blue hedgehog is asleep, the gentle rise and fall of his chest as he breathes, peaceful, alive. Not at all how he'd looked when Shadow had desperately rushed him through the Void. He sighs, before turning away from the window and leaving.
So now here he is, sitting on the beach, at stupid o'clock in the morning, after having a nightmare about losing his rival.
He stares out at the beautiful endless blue ocean, moonlight reflecting off the surface and bathing the beach -and subsequently Shadow- in its majestic glow.
He hears footsteps approaching and his ear twitches. The familiar scent reaches his heightened senses and he stays where he is, arms around his knees, facing the water. Only once the footsteps stop behind him, does he speak. "What're you doing up, faker?"
Soic huffs. "Haven't been able to sleep. Saw you in my window, so I decided to find out what you're up for."
Shadow doesn't respond, unable to look at the other, but at the same time, scared to look at the other, afraid to turn and see nothing, to have been talking to himself in an insomnia-induced hallucination. He longs to reach out and touch the azure hedgehog, to confirm this is all real, that he's actually alive, that he didn't fail, like his nightmare suggested. But he can't. Can't be weak to anyone, not anymore. The only one he could be weak to is dead. So he stays silent.
Sonic sighs, but sits beside Shadow, their shoulders brushing lightly. He feels the slight warmth from the other beside him and it calms some of his fears. "You okay, Shads?" Sonic asks gently.
Shadow doesn't respond for a while, silently wondering how to answer that. Eventually he settles for "What do you think?" His tone is lacking most of its usual bite.
An arm encircles his shoulders in a one-armed hug. Shadow flinches, before he feels himself relax into the touch, taking comfort in the unintentional reassurance that this is real. Sonic is hugging him, his heartbeat is strong and soothing. the arm around him is its normal, bright azure colour, not the ghastly, semi-transparency of when he was fading away from existence in his arms. Sonic's alive and here. So Shadow allows himself the comfort of the gentle embrace. He even starts purring softly when Sonic starts absent-mindedly carding his hand through his quills. The purr spikes when Sonic gets behind his ears.
Unfortunately, that's when Sonic seems to realize what he's doing and stops. Shadow tamps down on a soft whine of protest at the loss of contact. He shouldn't want this. It's not something he deserves to want, nor get. That doesn't stop his heart from clenching and himself from feeling cold where Sonic's hand had been moments ago.
"Wanna talk about it, Shads?" Sonic asks softly.
Shadow contemplates the offer. On one hand, the nightmare was about the hedgehog beside him dying and he might get teased or made fun of. On the other, Sonic seems so open and caring and genuine right now. He sighs, deciding, "... I had a nightmare..." he starts, unable to look at the other beside him. "A-and it was about you..." his voice threatens to wobble a bit, but he forces himself to continue. "I... I failed. I... I didn't get there in time... wasn't fast enough... and y-you..." his breath hitches, but he pushes on, determined to finish, "... you were... gone..." he whispers.
Sonic instantly wraps his arms around him, pulling him close. "That didn't happen. You saved me. I'm here, with you. I'm safe, you're safe, our home is safe, everyone is safe, thanks to you, Shadow. So thank you, for everything."
Shadow has no response to that, instead, he just melts into Sonic's hold, his resolve shattered as he silently breaks down into the blue hedgehog holding him.
Sonic says nothing, for which he's grateful for, as he sobs into his shoulder. Instead, he just tightens his grip, almost protectively, and runs his hand through black and red quills once more, in an attempt to comfort the other. It works, more than Shadow will ever admit, the feeling from when Sonic had done the same earlier returning and making him feel slightly better, not much compared to the rest of him that feels like crap, but not nothing either.
They stay like that for half an hour or so, before Shadow can get himself to stop.
"Better?" Sonic asks, softly.
Shadow nods, not trusting himself to speak just yet.
Sonic seems to understand, and smiles gently. "Good. We can stay here for as long as you need."