Chapter Text
Chapter 1
Shadow shivered against the chill that somehow managed to burrow all the way through his thick fur and into his very bones. His base temperature may run higher than the average Mobian’s, and he may not be able to succumb to hypothermia, but that didn’t make the frigid December gusts any less miserable.
He stared up at the tall governmental building where he spent far too much of his time and frowned. Through tall windows, he could see the warm glow of countless strings of festive lights blinking in multi-colored merriment, and his sensitive ears could pick up muffled laughter and upbeat music. If he focused, his nose could even detect the faintest aromas of savory appetizers and mulled wine, but as good as those things might sound to the average person, he wasn’t average.
He knew if he went inside, it would be overwhelming. Rouge would likely be more than halfway drunk, Omega would be accusing some poor automated machine of being an Eggman robot, and all the people he worked with in passing would attempt to pull him into conversation he wanted nothing to do with.
It sounded awful. Like everything he usually tried so desperately to avoid.
But then.… Why did he feel the pull so strongly? Why did he wish he could just make his body move? To take those few steps, to go inside, to be… part of something.
He crossed his arms over his chest and turned his back to the soft sounds of celebration. What was the point? He was the Ultimate Lifeform. He would always be an outlier.
There had only ever been one person who made him feel like he wasn’t alone. And she’d been gone for more than half a century.
He reached into his quills and pulled out a thin gold bangle, its rounded edges glinting in flickers of green and red, an imperfect, yet carefully engraved message catching in the light.
M&S - Forever and More
He felt his chest constrict, the pain of loss somehow no less biting than it had been when he’d awakened all those years ago to discover and remember the death of his closest and only friend.
He ran his gloved thumb across the letters lovingly, his vision blurring slightly with unshed tears. He’d made the bracelet himself, with the help and guidance of one of the few kind scientists aboard the ARK. It was made to mimic the inhibitor bands he wore at his wrists and ankles. Something he could give Maria, so that she would always remember him, even if they were apart.
When he’d returned to the ARK all those years ago, he’d retrieved the gift from its long-time hiding place and carried it with him every day since.
It was the least and most he could do.
Without a backwards glance, Shadow found himself moving quickly through the snow-covered streets, heading where he didn’t know. It didn’t really matter. He only wanted to outrun the hollow, aching feeling in his heart.
He should have known he wouldn’t get the peace he sought. He should have known that blue imbecile would show up. He always did, especially when Shadow was trying so desperately to get away from everyone and everything.
With a low growl, Shadow pushed more chaos energy into his skates, propelling himself forward at breakneck speeds out of the city and through the woods. He all but flew over sparkling, untouched hills of snow, hoping without reason that his rival would get the message, but it failed. Like it always did. It seemed the harder Shadow pushed, the more Sonic pressed. And as much as he told himself he hated it, he wasn’t quite sure what he would do if the hedgehog ever stopped.
Refusing to dwell on that too much, he blasted across the wide icy expanse of a lake, hoping Sonic’s fear of water would give him more of a lead, but if the blue hedgehog was phased, Shadow couldn’t tell. One look over his shoulder showed the blue blur moving in tandem with him, nearly at his side and grinning like an absolute moron.
Frustrated, angry, and perhaps a little something else, Shadow skidded to a stop just outside the glow emanating from a cluster of houses set against the northernmost edge of the lake.
“What do you want?” he snapped, hands fisted at his sides.
In a flourish of flying snow, Sonic slid to rest no more than a couple feet away. He immediately bent to stretch. “Was wonderin’ what you were doin’ tomorrow?”
“Why?” Shadow asked, incredulous.
“What do you mean ‘why’? Tomorrow’s Christmas! I thought maybe you might like to come over and have brunch with me and Tails. I actually got ya a little–”
“I don’t need your pity, and I don’t want your company!”
"Who said anything about pity? Did it really never occur to you that people might just enjoy spending time with you?"
Shadow openly glared, and Sonic faltered slightly. "Well, I mean, when you put it like that--"
"Just leave me alone!"
"Shads! I'm kidding!" Sonic said, taking a step closer to the bristling hybrid. "Of course I--"
Sonic always thought he had superior reflexes, but he sure as hell didn't see Shadow’s fist fly toward his face.
He felt it though.
Before his brain could process what was happening, Sonic found himself careening through the icy landscape to finally land a dozen or so feet away. He groaned as he sat, rubbing at his jaw, more confused than angry at the unprovoked attack. He opened his mouth to say something sarcastic and taunting, but swallowed the words the second he really, fully looked at Shadow.
Something was wrong. It wasn’t that Shadow was tense, or that his hands clenched and unclenched in compulsory agitation at his sides. It wasn’t that black and crimson quills were bristling, or that his lips were curled back in a snarl. No, that was all relatively typical. It was the irritated redness in his rival’s eyes that spoke more than Shadow would ever say. It was the kind of red you’d see if someone had horrible allergies, or if they got soap in their eyes, or if….
If they’d been crying.
Sonic softened with understanding and achingly stood, shedding the puffy black jacket he'd been wearing as well as his scarf. They were new, and he'd hate to have them shredded and stained. "Alright buddy," he said softly, dropping into a defensive stance. "You want a fight? Come and get me."
Shadow didn't need a second invitation. He shot forward, throwing punch after punch, kick after kick, some landing, some not, sometimes getting a hefty dose of his own medicine. He fought until he felt something not many opponents could incite in him. Exhaustion.
With one last push of energy, he curled himself into a spin attack, only to be thwarted by Sonic’s own. They collided with a deafening crack that rustled naked branches and resonated off blanketed hills.
Both hedgehogs flew backwards, landing flat on their backs in a whoosh of snow. Shadow immediately attempted to push his body back up, but it had other plans.
Sonic groaned and made no move to get up. “I think…” he mumbled deliriously, “I’ll just… take a real quick breather. Maybe this will be like… icing my whole body. Which is good. Because it’s broken.”
Shadow would have laughed if breathing alone didn’t make him regret his very existence. “You landed first,” he called out. “I win.”
“Psh. If I landed first it’s only because I’m faster, and by that logic, I win.”
Shadow rolled his eyes though Sonic couldn’t see him and turned his gaze upwards. He watched his clouded breaths billow out and trail toward the stars. Nothing brought clearer skies than frigid air after snowfall, and this was certainly no exception.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Sonic asked softly. Shadow didn’t answer, but Sonic didn’t need him to. “You know, I hate the cold, but this almost makes it worth it. It’s like you’re looking through layer after layer of stars, and then you see this weaving ribbon of stardust that just kinda… floats through it and connects it all.”
Sonic settled back into his self-made indentation and laced his fingers over his peach belly, perfectly content to spend whatever time he could with his favorite rival despite the fact that it was cold as a–. He perked suddenly, his eyes detecting a flash of movement in the sky. He hurriedly sat, pointing upwards and slapping the open space next to him to get Shadow’s attention. “Shadow! Look! Make a wish!”
Shadow sat with difficulty and looked toward where Sonic pointed. “What?” he growled irritably.
“A shooting star! Hurry! Make a wish!”
He scoffed, but in his mind, before he could stop himself, he wished for the very thing he wanted most in the world.
Sonic turned to him as the streak of light disappeared before meeting the horizon. “Did you make one?”
Shadow pushed himself to his feet, grimacing slightly as his muscles vehemently protested the action. “I don’t believe in childish fairy tales.”
The hero shrugged and flopped back into the snow. “Well I made one,” he mumbled, and then his voice grew unusually pensive, almost indiscernible. “Sometimes wishes are all we got.”
Shadow paused for a moment, opening his mouth to respond when he froze. There by the lake, just away from the barren, snow-covered surface, a flash of blue caught his eye.
He stood and ran forward without thinking, moving faster and faster with each step until… there she was.
Maria.
Impossibly bright blue eyes met his, and then the girl was running toward him and he to her. Maria fell to her knees and opened her arms for Shadow, wrapping him in a warm and solid embrace that was long overdue.
Shadow felt wetness cascade down his face, but Maria’s arms only tightened around him, her pale, dainty hands rubbing gently into the fur of his shoulders.
She smiled as strong arms encircled her in return. “Long time no see, Shadow the Hedgehog.”