#ficlet requests ✍️✨

[realperson022]

@viacursecasting this one's yours! Cat got on MY keyboard and INTENTIONALLY deleted the ask. don't even know what to be more upset about. That my cat is an evil gremlin or that he doesn't support sonadow 😤 ANYWAY. hope u enjoy :)

Prompt was: 20. "At least I didn't break any laws" with sonadow

"At least I didn't break any laws."

Shadow sighed, exhausted already by the day's events and with Sonic's recent injury, matters weren't getting any better.

"Not any that GUN knows of," the agent said while handing some gauze to the hero to put pressure on his wound.

Sonic took it, leaning back on the bed to get a good view of where the damn badnik's slippery hands got a good scratch on him. It was a nasty slice across his lower torso, but thankfully, it didn't penetrate anything vital. Just a surface wound, nothing to worry about.

"Are you intending on turning me in anytime soon?" The hero grunted when he pressed the gauze onto his bleeding wound.

Shadow rolled his eyes, walking toward the bathroom to soak a piece of clean cloth with water to clean around the cut.

"And let the Commander rejoice at the sight of you behind bars like he always intended? Not a chance," the striped hedgehog called out from the other room, making Sonic chuckle.

Bad move, he realized too late as he felt his abdomen muscles flex under his touch from the pain of moving spontaneously.

His ears perked up when he heard Shadow walking back out and continuing their conversation.

"Besides, the world would be against it. The part that still trusts you, at least. You would easily be set free unless GUN's prepared for massive rioting among other stuff."

Sonic grinned, "So either they let me break any laws I want or the people would break them until I'm free?"

Shadow took a seat next to the blue hero, ignoring his rather cocky smile and instead, focusing on getting him fixed up.

"Yes…pretty paradoxical how it works, but I can see why it must be like this," the agent nodded, beginning to ease away the blue hedgehog's hand gently to see if the bleeding had stopped.

When it appeared that it did, he moved onto cleaning the injury, being careful with his strokes. The last thing Shadow needed was for it to get infected, especially right now when they were facing challenges they weren't prepared for. Not in the slightest to the agent's dismay. It was quite a whirlwind lately all over the news and media; tabloids did the most damage to Sonic and Shadow's reputations.

Because it happened so that their years of protecting this world were shockingly being brought up into question by GUN and other world leaders. Just out of the blue, headlines popped up in newspapers and online articles claiming there was a possibility that their heroic acts were a disguise for something nefarious.

Why?

Someone had leaked details about Project Shadow and its unconventional connections to a wildly aggressive alien race.

The hybrid still didn't understand how he was suddenly under scrutiny again when he saved the same goddamn people from their potential deaths years ago when Black Doom invaded the world. And instead of his employer clearing up any twisted lies and false accusations publicly, he ignored it, leaving the Ultimate Lifeform to fend for himself.

Worse of all? Sonic began to receive negative comments from strangers, too. Supposedly, by keeping his rivalry with Shadow ongoing, the hero was implying he followed the striped hedgehog's ideals of "conquering the world through force and violence."

That's how one outlet put it last week, anyway.

If anything, the only following Sonic did with Shadow was from Central City to Emerald Coast for a race, from Mazuri to Apotos for a food trip, and then back to Central City to look at city lights only to wind up tangled in each other's limbs for the rest of the night in the very same bed they were sitting on.

Shadow was glad Sonic had agreed to keeping their relationship away from the spotlight since they first started dating a year ago. It saved them from an even worse course of events that were currently happening. Deep down, he couldn't help but think that his rival would be absolved from any of this mess, proven innocent if Shadow had simply cut ties with him instead of engaging in romantic trysts.

Now, it was too late and as usual, it was all his fault, unintentionally besmirching a good man's reputation. Shadow ruined everything for the hero in a matter of months. All the good he witnessed Sonic do was going to waste because he was connected to Shadow one way or another. They couldn't even have a simple conversation in broad daylight without garnering the attention of the public, of prying eyes that reflected blatant distaste for them.

The dark hedgehog felt awful. He felt like a plague. Everywhere he stepped, looked, and breathed gave away the impression that he was a ticking time bomb by the horrific looks he'd receive on a daily basis. A monster that parents now warned their kids to stay away from. A villain considered the worst of them all, even more than the Doctor.

An outcast, again.

For the first time in so long, Shadow felt small and defenseless in this world. It was pathetic how he was letting all these things get to him, really. He knew he was better than this, that their words meant nothing compared to his actions. But sometimes, they just slipped through the small cracks in his mind and drove him insane with their unrelenting nature to remind him of his past wrongs and mistakes and–

"Shadow."

The hybrid exhaled sharply, momentarily figuring out that he'd been holding his breath this entire time.

"Shadow, hey…" A hand came to delicately cradle the agent's muzzle, wiping away the stray tears he didn't know he was letting out until feeling the wetness upon being touched.

Shadow met an emerald gaze, his chest swelling up with more guilt as he saw worry etched across the hero's face. Great, he was making more problems.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, both for everything he let happen and now seeing the harsh redness around the other's wound resulting from his incessant cleaning.

Sonic shook his head, offering his rival a small smile. "No, it's okay. I'm fine…"

The blue hedgehog's smile wavered, his green eyes studying Shadow's pensive face. It was a melancholic look he knew by memory now. Days of a past where circumstances made them out to be enemies, then years of a culminating present where they were friends by choice. More than that, secretly.

"We're fine, Shadow…we're okay," the blue hero assured his rival, bringing his other hand to fully hold Shadow's face. Yes, times were hard right now. Full on shitty, but nothing they couldn't handle.

"Wanna know why?" Sonic didn't know how long this ongoing debate about their morals and talks of ulterior motives was going to last.

"Why?"

But like hell would he let the world tear down Shadow the Hedgehog, not again.

"Because we're together."

Shadow swallowed thickly, holding back his tears this time. "What if this is what ends–"

"No." Sonic's voice was steady, his unyielding faith in their relationship as trusted companions above all else making the agent's heart thump proudly at being called his. "We're gonna get through this together and if anything goes wrong, we'll fix it. As long as we stay together, we'll be okay, Shadow."

Hope slowly washed out the regret and guilt in ruby eyes, making the blue hero lean forward to press their foreheads together.

"Promise?" Shadow's breath danced across a fawn muzzle.

"I promise," Sonic sealed their vow with a kiss, forgetting about the pain and his wound, and just relishing the way his rival held him closely.

I won't let you drift away from me again, Shadow.

#sonic the hedgehog #shadow the hedgehog #sonadow #my writing #ficlet requests ✍️✨ #ao3 is down so i guess it's down to tumblr now 😔