Supposed To Be Me (Shadow x Reader)

Chapter 11 The Dark Arms

That morning, you returned to the magician's rented area for their magic act. You got no sleep at all the night before. Last night, you figured out that Barrett was your older brother and the whole night, you asked him seemingly endless questions. Truth be told, you didn't remember most of the questions at all. All you could remember for sure was that he told you that they had the red and white chaos emeralds. There were only two more emeralds left to find...

Gilbert was getting an early start on putting away the stage and had most of the work already done. There was no sign of Shadow anywhere. When Gilbert saw you and Barrett, he waved with a smile on his face. "Hey, guys! You're finally back!"

"Hi, Gil!" Barrett shouted excitedly. As if he did not just pull an all-nighter, Barrett bolted over to Gilbert to help him out with tearing down the stage. Enviously, you made a mental note to yourself to ask Barrett where he gets all of his energy.

Gilbert suddenly seemed to remember something and turned to you. "(Y/N)! If you're looking for Shadow, he's in the wagon. He was really worried about you last night... Please go talk to him at some point. He might be sleeping right now, but I doubt he'd mind you waking him up."

"Oh," was all you could say. After asking boatloads of questions all night, bringing yourself to speak was a bit of a chore. You did want to see Shadow... And hopefully, get some sleep before you had to leave to find another chaos emerald. Rather than staying to help Gilbert and Barrett with what they were trying to move, you immediately left for the wagon. You deeply hoped that Shadow would be awake.

Gently pushing the door open, you looked around at the cluttered wagon. Flowers, colorful cloths, rings, and wands were strewn all over the floor. On the other end of the wagon was Shadow curled up in a spikey ball. You couldn't tell if he was asleep or not, but you did know one thing. Shadow looked adorable.

"Shadow..., are you awake...?" you asked as you stroked the side of his face softly.

The dark hedgehog shifted a little before uncurling from his protective ball. He looked up at you. "You're back."

You could feel your legs trembling beneath you with fear. It wouldn't be unlike Shadow to start angrily lecturing you for leaving without telling him anything. No words came from your mouth and you awkwardly shifted your weight from one foot to another.

Shadow sat up and noticed the tired bags under your eyelids. "You look exhausted, (y/n)."

Looking down at the ground, you nodded.

"You can tell me about it later. For now, you should sleep..." He invitingly extended his hand to you.

Taking his hand, you could feel your face heat up slightly. A thought occurred to you when your fingers intertwined with his. "...Shadow...?"

"Hm?"

"Could I... sleep next to you...?"

When Shadow heard your request, his ears perked up a little. After only a moment of contemplation, Shadow slowly smirked mischievously. You knew that face all too well. "Of course you can..."

"What's the catch?" you asked already knowing that he would require something that would make your heart pound and your senses light up like a firework.

Shadow lightly pulled you closer to him and coiled his good arm around you like a snake. His gaze burned into your skin. "Just let your fate rest in my hands for a bit."

Just then, there was a knock at the wagon door. Before either you or Shadow could answer, Barrett came barging in. "Hey, guys. Just so you know, we're going to be--" He looked up to see you pulled up against Shadow with his arm curved around your waist. You were leaning over the bed and everything about the scene looked suspicious.