Hold me Close (To Keep Away The Memories)

Chapter 1

Sonic stared at the door to Shadow's room and, just for a moment, reconsidered his decision. This was a bad idea. A horrifically bad idea that would result in him getting cussed out at best and his ass kicked at worst, and he should turn around and go back to his room while he still had the chance.

Instead, he reached out and slowly pushed the door open, wincing as it creaked loudly. He peeked into the room, sighing in relief when he saw the door opening hadn't woken Shadow. Not that it really mattered, since Sonic was planning on waking him anyway, but he'd rather wake him on purpose than accidentally. At least then he wouldn't accuse Sonic of trying to sneak around his room while he was sleeping. The less paranoid he was, the less likely it was he would kick Sonic's ass and send him back to his room.

And the last thing Sonic wanted was to go back to his room.

Still, he only managed a step forward before he hesitated, hovering nervously in the doorway. Was this a mistake? This was almost definitely a mistake. It was a bad idea, and bad ideas usually went hand-in-hand with mistakes. Shadow probably wouldn't appreciate being woken up in the middle of the night, especially not for Sonic's problems. He just hadn't known what else to do. He'd been tossing and turning all night, unable to sleep, and the few times he had drifted off he'd almost immediately jerked awake from some steadily forming nightmare or another. And his room was so cold and empty. The silence had grated on his ears, trying to drag him back to memories he did not want to visit, full of shackles and taunts and pain and overwhelming helplessness he couldn't do anything they were fighting for their lives and he was just sat there-

So he'd gotten up and out of his room (because he could, he was free to move around as he pleased, he wasn't trapped or confined and most importantly he wasn't there-) to clear his head and find someone who would let him stay, and the next thing he knew, his feet had carried him to the room Shadow was using while he helped the Resistance deal with the last of the robots left over from Eggman's reign. Shadow was no stranger to nightmares or insomnia, after all, so perhaps he'd pity Sonic enough to let him stay.

But now he was here, Sonic couldn't help but have second thoughts. Just because Shadow might understand, or be sympathetic, didn't mean he'd want Sonic invading his space. They were friends, sure, but they weren't exactly close. Shadow had Rouge and Omega and… and whoever else he had in his life. He hadn't needed Sonic to have a bigger role in his life, and Sonic was fine with that. He had plenty of friends anyway, like Knuckles and Amy and Tails. He didn't need to be a major part in Shadow's life; he was just happy to be able to call him a friend.

A friend that likely wouldn't appreciate being woken up in the middle of the night just because Sonic couldn't sleep.

Maybe it would have made more sense to go to Tails or Knuckles. He'd known them the longest, and Tails was his best friend. Neither of them would mind if he asked to stay in their rooms for the night, even if Knuckles would put up a grumpy act about it. It was just… Tails hadn't been sleeping well lately, and Sonic didn't want to disturb him now he was finally getting some rest. And Knuckles would just ask questions about why he couldn't sleep, questions that Sonic just couldn't answer right now. Knuckles meant well, but he just couldn't deal with an interrogation on why he was having so many nightmares and why the silence was so loud it made him forget where he was.

Shadow wouldn't ask any questions. He'd understand.

Sonic took another step into the room. The floor creaked beneath him, and Shadow shifted under the blankets. Sonic froze, every muscle in his body tensing even as Shadow settled down again. After a minute, when Shadow didn't seem to be waking up, he relaxed again.