Worlds Apart - a Shadow the Hedgehog x Reader story

The First And Final Night

A soft fire crackled in the middle of the clearing, warming the first night in the arena with its glow. Shadow lay nearby, leaning against a log, exhausted. Fighting Mephiles had taken a lot out of him. A feeling of déjà vu washed over him. This was just like after he fought Eggman in that forest. He pulled his legs up, resting his head on his knees.

"What's up?" Y/N looked over, moving closer. She had searched for food but found nothing.

"Just... This is gonna sound crazy, but for only the second time..."

"You're scared, aren't you?"
He nodded, not wanting to admit it out loud.

"It's OK. Courage isn't the absence of fear, but the facing of it."
"Thanks."
"To be honest, I am too."
"You're afraid?"
"Yeah."
"I thought you weren't scared of anything, after almost dying."
"I was today. I thought I was going to lose the most important person in my life. You."
Shadow gently wrapped one arm around her shoulders, "I thought the same thing."
"You really think we can beat Mephiles?"
We. She had said "we". Not "me", not "you", "we". Whatever happened, they would face it together.

"I'm sure of it. I know we can do it."
"Why does he want to get revenge on you anyway?"
"Ten years ago, I travelled ten years back in time with Silver and sealed him away for ten years. He tried to destroy me when he escaped, but Sonic, Silver and I worked together to beat him. He must have found a way to reform and build an army of clones from his knowledge of us."

"That's a lot of ten years."
"I know."
"And now he knows a lot about me, so he'll probably create clones of me," she rested her head on his chest, "I'm sorry. All I've done is cause trouble for you."
"To be honest, I wouldn't ask for it to be any other way right now."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, we've got each other right? That's all I need now."
Y/N laughed softly, "Yeah, you're right. It's all I need too."
Shadow smiled, "I know. I –"

She moved faster than lightning, cutting him off. She clamped one hand over his mouth, "You don't need to talk. I know how you feel and I feel the same."

Shadow wasn't given any time to react. She moved faster than he expected, coming closer than ever, the tip of her nose barely a centimetre away from his. Unable to speak, he closed his working eye, unsure of what to do. She lifted his head with her free hand before uncovering his mouth.

"Don't talk. Just relax, OK?"
He did relax, letting her push him back against the log. She came even closer; so close, in fact, that her breathing warmed his face. One hand instinctively became buried in her quills. She pressed her lips against his, tracing her fingers over his chest. Shadow shuddered a bit as she did so, since he wasn't used to stuff like this, but he closed his eye again and stayed relaxed, sliding off the log with her on top of him. As they parted, she started laughing.

"What?"
"Just how we're acting in this situation."
Shadow chuckled too, "I know. It's crazy."
"It definitely is."
"Shall we try annoying Mephiles? I bet he's watching."
"Alright. Shall I go first?"
"If you want."

"How about that, eh Mephiles? You can't hold us back!"
"Yeah! I mean, what if we crashed your party?!"
"That's actually a pretty good idea you know."
"It is?"
"Yeah. We should totally do that."
"Yeah, but right now we need some sleep."

"Way ahead of you," Y/N yawned, already dropping off, her head on his chest. Shadow rested his head against the log once more, still tingling from what had happened, as if he wasn't touching the ground, but he was quickly fast asleep.