Shadow & Sonic (Full)

Friends

Sonic awakens the next morning, playfully wiggling his toes inside his socks. He happily looks outside the window to watch the sunrise, excited and thankful for a new day. After finishing his hygiene routine, he dashes to the kitchen and grabs a protein shake before running outside. "Good morning, Sonic!", Tails tries to greet, before saying, "Bye, Sonic!" "See ya—!", Sonic yells from outside, bidding farewell while dashing away at high speed, leaving a zooming noise heard seconds later. Tails chuckles and continues to eat his breakfast, with plans to return to his laboratory, which is connected to their house.

Soon, to Sonic's surprise, he finds Shadow standing on a bridge, looking at a clear pond, decorated with lily pads, reflecting the blue sky. He stops and decides to stand close to him. "Hey, what's up?", Sonic asks, happily greeting. Shadow does not yet answer. He continues to stare at the pond and slowly turns his gaze to Sonic's eyes. "Oh, hello."

Sonic chuckles, "I wondered when you'd notice me.", as the wooden bridge creeks under them as he steps.

"Oh, I apologize.", Shadow replies.

"Pssh—It's fine."

Shadow feels as though this unexpected meeting is almost dream-like, as he slowly returns his mind to reality, from dwelling on the past. He turns his head upward, remembering the blue sky that the pond was reflecting. He gazes back at Sonic again. "Answering your question, I was just thinking about something."

"Do you mind sharing?"

"Yes, I do mind."

"Oh, okay."

"Thank you for understanding."

"No prob-"

"Actually,"

"Hmm?"

"There's something I should tell you.", he says, gazing at the pond again.

"Oh?"

"Yesterday, you had me worried."

"Heh. I can imagine."

"I'm not finished."

Sonic silences himself, ready to listen further.

"I don't mean to sound dramatic but, as you know, I almost lost you,"

Sonic looks down at the pond while he listens, feeling a sinking feeling.

"...like I—", Shadow pauses, "lost Maria."

Sonic frowns, saddened.

A tear forms in Shadow's eyes, "—so, I've been thinking," he almost stutters, "a lot about you."

Two koi fish leap upward, causing ripples in the pond. "Oh! Look at those guys, they look like friends.", Sonic interrupts, seeming distracted.

"Why are you changing the topic?"

"I'm not. They're friends," he leads on, "like us. Right?"

Shadow smiles, wiping his tears. "I never want to lose you.", he thinks, gazing at Sonic again.

Sonic now stands next to Shadow, looking at him. Their eyes meet. Shadow takes him by the hand, gazing at the sky, with Sonic now joining in looking up at the sky. "Things are looking up, wouldn't you say?", Sonic jokes, trying to break the seriousness of the mood. Shadow smiles. "Shut up.", he teases, with Sonic bursting into laughter, continuing, "Let's enjoy this." "Okay.", Sonic kindly agrees, leaning his head on Shadow's shoulder. They release their hands from each other. "Well, see ya around?", Sonic invites. "Yeah.", Shadow accepts, waving goodbye as the blue blur dashes away.