An Elemental Secret

Chapter 11

"Best chili dogs in the world." Sonic licked his lips as he bit into his third chili dog.

"I don't see your fascination with this food." Shadow blinked.

They were sitting outside of a small place in Station Square. People hustled and bustled about, a bit too consumed in their normal lives to notice their hero scarfing down chili dogs like he was going to die in a minute.

"Well, they're delicious!" Sonic smiled, finishing the third and moving to the fourth. Shadow rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair.

"Is that all?"

Sonic shrugged. "I can't really explain why I like them; I just do. Besides, don't act like I'm the only one with a weird food obsession."

"What are you talking about?" Shadow questioned.

Sonic grinned. "I've seen how you are around chocolate."

Shadow felt his entire face heat up. "Wh-What? No, no, I don't have any weird hyper fixations with chocolate!"

Sonic started laughing, bringing a lot of attention from the surrounding area, who finally noticed that their hero was sitting right there. Shadow covered his face with his hands, muzzle growing even redder as people started to look at them. Sonic noticed this, but that didn't stop him from scarfing down his final chili dog after his laughter subsided. He looked to Shadow and smiled to himself. 'He's kinda cute when he's embarrassed.'

He glanced around as the fans started to swarm around them, taking pictures. Sonic stood up and grabbed Shadow's arm, running away from them. Shadow squeaked at the sudden, harsh tug, but otherwise didn't do anything to stop the hedgehog. He stopped somewhere in downtown Station Square. Surprisingly, not a lot of people were there.

Sonic glanced at Shadow, who was on the ground, rubbing his shoulder. "Eh, sorry for just grabbing your arm like that."

Shadow glanced up at him before standing. "It's fine. It doesn't hurt that bad anyway."

Sonic chuckled nervously. "I still feel bad about it though."

"Don't be. It doesn't matter."

Sonic glanced around before something caught his eye. "I'll make it up to you!"

"You really don't have t-" Sonic was already gone before reappearing again, a chocolate bar in hand. "Sonic, I can't accept this."

"Please?" Sonic tilted his head, smile still present. "For me?"

And for some reason, Shadow couldn't refuse. He thought for a second that it was just his weird thing with chocolate, but he knew better than that. It was something about the blue hedgehog himself; he just radiated something that you couldn't say no to. 'It's... sort of endearing.'

So, he accepted the chocolate, not wasting any time in opening the wrapper and taking a piece off, putting it in his mouth. The chocolate melted in his mouth easily, and he had to let out a small purr of content as his muscles relaxed slightly. Sonic smiled at the sudden calmness of the other, glad to see Shadow enjoying something. 'That purr was adorable....'

"We should head back and see if Knuckles and Tails found anything out." Sonic suggested, quickly dismissing the thoughts as fast as they came. Shadow simply nodded, and they both walked calmly back to the forest.

________________________

"Y'know, you always act so tough." Sonic commented as they walked through the forest. "Tough and mean."

"Where are you going with this, hedgehog?" Shadow glared at him before popping another piece of chocolate in his mouth.

"I'm just saying that you act really tough and mean, but after hanging around you for the past week, you're really the opposite." Sonic replied nonchalantly.

"What are you saying? That I'm weak?" Shadow snapped.

"No, Shads; You're really tough, but you just act so different from who you really are."

Shadow was silent as he looked down to his feet as they continued to walk. Sonic glanced at him, wanting to keep the conversation going, but not knowing where to lead it to. Shadow was an enigma, that was true, but he knew that if he just got the other to open up a bit, everything would become clearer.

After a while, Shadow finally spoke up. "Sometimes you have to hide who you really are to get anywhere in the world. You already know about that, though, don't you?"

"Shadow, that's completely differ-"

"No, it's not." Shadow interrupted calmly. "You hide yourself from your friends, your family, everyone, just so you could live a normal life until you find Farah. I hide my insecurities, my thoughts, my feelings, just so I won't mess up. You can't mess up if you have everyone believe you were created to be perfect."

"Nobody's perfect, Shadow." Sonic replied, stopping. "Not even people like me. Everyone's made their own mistakes, and everyone has to live with them. It's easier to embrace them and learn from them than let them put more pressure on you. Nobody can live under that kind of stress."

"Maybe you should be telling this to yourself." Shadow glared at him. "How dare you tell me this when you're doing the exact same as me."

"What do you mean?"

"You still blame yourself for Farah. You hide away from your family so it doesn't happen again. How is that any different from me?" Shadow turned away from him.

Sonic opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Shadow was right, as much as he didn't want to admit it. He was doing the same thing Shadow did because of Maria. He watched as Shadow started to walk away before following him.

It was a couple more minutes before Sonic spoke up again. "You're right...."

Shadow stopped in his tracks, waiting for Sonic to speak again.

And speak again, he did. "I guess I never realized what I was doing.... I should work out my problems before helping you with yours.... I'm sorry."

Shadow turned around and Sonic wondered for a moment if those were tears stained on his muzzle. They locked eyes, and Sonic felt his heart stop as if time had frozen. The sounds of the forest were silence, and it was just them two. Shadow sighed, and the moment broke.

"Just stop trying to pry me open as if I'm something to study." Shadow crossed his arms. "You have no idea how much it annoys me."

"I'm not trying to pry you open, Shadow." Sonic replied, getting closer. "I just want to get to know you, but you keep shutting me out."

"You know the reason why I'm shutting you out."

"I just want to be a part of your life, Shadow." Sonic frowned. "Besides, I'm immortal too. You don't have to shut me out for the same reasons you do everyone else."

Shadow looked to Sonic, who was right in front of him now. "That doesn't mean anything."

"Yes, it does, Shadow." Sonic quickly replied. "It means that I can be there for you throughout all these things."

"Is that truly going to stay the same when you find Farah?" Shadow's voice cracked slightly as he tried to keep in the tears attempting to form.

And, without thinking in the true blue blur fashion, Sonic kissed him.