The day was here! Sonic and Tails anticipated it all week. Tails watched as his boyfriend hurriedly shuffled around their tiny apartment, checking that everything was in place for movie night. It wasn?t often that their friends were able to get together, so Sonic had to make sure tonight went smoothly, even though Tails was sure it was go over well.
``Sonic, aren?t you worrying a bit too much?'' Tails was busy setting out snacks on the coffee table.
``Maybe,'' Sonic said, as he swept the floor for the third time. ``I guess you?re right, things?ll work out.'' But he continued meticulously moving bean bags here and pillows there.
This was completely unlike Sonic, Tails noted to himself. Going with the flow was his usual demeanor, but this was something else. Already Tails had to dodge Sonic seven times that night, as he was rushing about the room inattentively. But Tails figured Sonic just really wanted to make sure his friends enjoyed themselves.
``Sonic,'' Tails stopped him while he was going into the kitchenette a fourth time and pecked him on the cheek. ``Tonight?s going to go well. Just relax!''
Sonic inhaled deeply and tried to calm down. ``Yeah...yeah, you?re right!'' He flopped onto the couch and dragged Tails down into his lap. ``Thanks, buddy.''
Tails winced at ``buddy.'' How many times did he ask Sonic to call him something more...intimate? He?d lost track by now, as Sonic is stubborn like a mule. Tails shuffled off of Sonic?s lap, a little disheartened and started to strike up another discussion about more appropriate words.
``Sonic, what did I say ab-'' The door bell buzzed and Sonic cut him off with a shout of excitement and flipped off the couch.
``Yeah, time to get this party started!'' He was at the door in an instant, greeting Amy and Cream.
``Hi, Sonic!'' Amy hugged him and gave a wave to Tails over Sonic?s shoulder. ``It?s been too long!'' Cream politely greeted them as well before they both settled in on the couch.
``It?s very clean, Mr. Sonic. Much more than usual!''
``You should?ve seen him running around the place!'' Tails chuckled, ``You?d think his mother was coming over.'' The both laughed at the idea.
``Sonic? Cleaning? I don?t believe it!'' Amy looked at him sternly.
``Hey! I clean, someti- Oh, the door!'' Sonic bounded to the door and practically yanked it open. From the couch, Tails could see it was Rouge hanging on Knuckles? arm. Like him and Sonic, they began to date a while back, though he wished his own relationship was as intimate as theirs. After the three sat down in the common area, the entire group began to chat about their lives and goings-on before the final guest arrived and they could start the movie.
Shadow grumbled under his breath as he sped through the night on his bike, stressed from his overtime at work. As terribly late as he was, Shadow hated to disappoint his friends, especially because he only recently started to grow close to them. If he missed it because of G.U.N., he?d have some choice words for his superiors! He parked in front of Sonic?s apartment, worried they?d already be leaving for home, but he was alone as he turned up the winding stairs. He strode up the last flight and paused at the right door, hesitant to appear uninterested. But he put that aside and knocked on the door. He heard someone announce he?d arrived, then Rouge opened the door. Shadow as greeted with friendly hellos and hugs. Honestly, he wasn?t expecting such a warm reception, but it was welcome after the long day at GUN he had. Amy dragged him by the arm inside out of the cold into the warm apartment.
``Hun, how many times have I told you to take a vacation?'' Rouge chastised him. ``You work far too much, you?ll go crazy. Here, sit on the couch and take a load off.''
``Excuse my lateness.'' Shadow frowned as he thought about work. ``But, you know just as well as I do that everyone there is incompetent. If I weren?t there, the whole organization would fall apart.''
Sonic interjected with his often unasked for advice. ``You need to chill out, Shads! Trust me, relaxing is the way to go.'' That was something about Sonic that always annoyed Shadow, despite his growing respect for the buffoon. His incessant need to insert his own trite thoughts on a matter grated on Shadow?s nerves.
``I have a sense of responsibility, unlike you.''
``Ouch, Shads!'' Sonic dramatically clutched his heart and fell over into his lap. ``You cut me right to the core!!'' Sonic laughed, and surprisingly, so did Shadow.
``Well, Shadow, you do work a lot.'' Tails chimed in, ``If you want to take a break, we?re all here for you.''
Shadow was moved by his friends? concern. Maybe they were right. He?d have to set that up with Tails in the future. But for now, he?d enjoy a simple movie.
As everyone sat down in the common area, Shadow watched his friends pair off. Knuckles had Rouge, Amy and Cream were two peas in a pod as always, and of course, Tails was snuggled up against Sonic. He?d never admit it out loud, or even to himself, but Shadow was lonely and very jealous of Sonic. Time had passed since Maria, and he craved to share his hopes, sorrows, and inner thoughts with someone, the way Maria and he did all those years ago.
To Shadow, Tails was the ideal partner. He was intelligent, caring, courageous, all the same qualities as his lost companion. But out of respect for him and his relationship, he ignored those feelings. That?s when his train of thought was broken by Tails calling out to him.
``Hey, Shadow, there?s a spot open here!'' Shadow saw Tails was patting the cushion to his left. He thought about it before, but Shadow didn?t want to intrude into Sonic and Tails? space. However, if Tails was offering...Shadow silently drifted to the spot and lodged himself as far from Tails as possible.
Tails? friendly smile only made the situation worse.
``Are you comfy?''
``Yes, thank you.''
``Shh!! The movie?s starting!'' Amy admonished from her beanbag.
The loud sounds and action scenes of the movie didn?t really interest Shadow, his focus was entirely on how uncomfortable being this close to Tails made him. Barely a foot away sat the person he found himself admiring more and more each day and any attempts to stifle these unfamiliar feelings were overcome by his mounting need.
Two hours passed, and Cream and Amy said their goodbyes and let themselves out. Shadow considered doing the same, but a sharp look from Rouge reminded him to at least try to be social.
``Man, this night is great!'' Sonic splayed his legs out on the coffee table nonchalantly. ``And I was all keyed up about it, but it turned out fine.''
``I told you, you just needed to relax a bit!'' Tails rested a hand on Sonic?s shoulder, Shadow noted. And he wished he could be that close instead. ``Why don?t we put in the next movie? What do you guys want to watch?''
Rouge suggested a rom-com and Knuckles groaned loudly, but didn?t offer any protest, so Tails picked something she?d be interested in and dimmed the lights.
This movie, Shadow thought, was insufferable. The plot was an inscrutable mess- Shadow actually paid attention this time and was still lost. But he did notice that Rouge and Knuckles weren?t paying attention; they were too busy groping each other to watch. Half way through the movie, they decided they wanted to take their action home and left in a hurry, giving their heartfelt goodbyes before practically dashing out the door. Shadow was bewildered at how such a lighthearted film put them in the mood, but he was a bit jealous nonetheless.
Shadow?s train of thought was cut off by an ostentatious yawn from Sonic. ``Should we end it here?''
``What? Of course not!'' Sonic yawned again. ``I finally got you out of your office, so we?re gonna go all night!''
``In that case, can we watch Buckets of Blood?'' Tails lit up as he suggested the next pick. ``I?ve had my eye on that ever sinc-''
``Are you sure you can handle that? It?s pretty violent, lil? buddy.'' Sonic ruffled Tails? head, but Shadow noticed the fox?s frown. ``Oh, I know! Let?s watch Merlina and the Black Knight! You love that one.''
``What did I say-'' Tails began before he cut himself off. ``Yeah, sure.'' He turned to the TV and sat quietly.
Sonic leaned back and turned to smile warmly at his boyfriend, and Tails quickly put on a satisfied look. But as soon as Sonic directed his attention to the starting movie, Tails? expression became unexpectedly dejected. Shadow raised his brow at the scene that just played before him. He always thought Sonic and Tails? relationship was impeccable, but this suggested otherwise. But then again, everyone knew Sonic could be a little commandeering, so this wasn?t that much of a surprise to him. But seeing Tails? sullen face and Sonic not even noticing it made him very curious about how they interacted when no one was around.
Thirty minutes in and Shadow looked to his right. Tails was clearly bored, possibly upset, and Sonic had drifted to sleep. Maybe striking up a conversation would be a good idea, Shadow thought.
``So, do you two invite everyone over for movie night often?'' Shadow shifted in his seat, trying to appear as if he was interested in the movie instead of gazing at Tails all evening.
``Movies, not so often, but games and other things like that pretty frequently. We like to keep up with each other!'' Tails was elated at the distraction. ``Lately, we haven?t been able to get together though, so Sonic was a little antsy today.''
``I see.''
``We?ve invited you a lot, but you never show up. Honestly, I was kinda surprised you came tonight.''
Shadow suddenly felt small. It?d been a struggle to even admit he started to desire friendship to himself, even though Rouge nagged him about it for years. Tonight was one of the many steps he?d recently taken to open up to others, but being reminded of how walled off he?d been to Sonic and his friends made him feel guilty.
``I apologize,'' Shadow paused, intending to make up a work excuse, but decided this was another opportunity to open up. ``I still have a hard time getting along with anyone other than Rouge or Omega, so I drown myself in work.''
``It?s alright, we were all very happy to see you!'' Tails beamed a smile and Shadow nearly gasped from how lovely he was. ``Sonic was too, though he fell asleep on us.''
Then Tails became quiet.
Shadow thought to the exchange from earlier and decided to bring it up. ``Does Sonic always treat you like a child?'' Shadow inquired, hoping to gain some insight on their relationship.
``Hm? O-oh, not really! He?s so used to seeing me as his little brother, it can be a little hard to get him to see me as anything else.'' Tails was surprised at himself for being so candid, but Shadow was being so attentive that he didn?t mind. It felt nice to be listened to as a peer.
``That?s good. You?re a fine young man, so you should be treated as such.''
The movie continued without incident, but once again, Shadow did nothing but ignore it. He was far too enamored by Tails to do anything else. Seeing Knuckles and Rouge?s fooling around earlier put him in a mood, and now his desire and seeing Sonic and Tails? spat emboldened Shadow to try something he never thought he?d do! The very idea made him feel guilty as hell, but what if...?
The fox seemed to be lost in thought and upset, so Shadow thought he needed comforting. He opened his mouth, throat dry from how nervous he was, and almost croaked out a word before his hand started inching towards Tails? own.
"...What are you doing?" The curt tone of Tails? voice shocked Shadow.
Tails? look of disapproval crushed Shadow. Filled with shame, he pulled back his arm and turned away. "You just looked a bit...lonely." He barely managed to keep himself from stuttering. ``I wanted to comfort you.''
"Um, thanks," Tails awkwardly hesitated, completely confused as to what brought this on, "I think...maybe we should call it a night. Sonic?s a light sleeper."
Shadow agreed noncommittally and lifted himself off the couch to head for the door, with Tails following closely behind. Tails looked back at Sonic, torn, but decided he?d talk to Shadow a bit. He closed the door behind them and was buffeted by the cold night air.
The awkward silence was palpable.
"So, what did you think of the movie?" Tails cupped his hands breathed into them to keep them warm.
"It was a little trite, but a wholesome film." In truth, Shadow hadn?t payed much attention to the damn thing, he was too busy sneaking peeks at Tails? face. It was the bored look that gave Shadow the confidence to try that ill-fated move.
"I liked it a long time ago, but I?ve seen it a thousand times, so I?m a little tired of it." Tails folded his arms and rolled his eyes. "Sonic?s always playing it because he thinks I can?t handle anything else. It?s kind of patronizing."
Shadow?s ever-rising resentment for the blue buffoon boiled up even more. Treating Tails like a child was such an insult! He knew a thing or two about being treated like a lesser, so hearing this only strengthened his desire to show Tails how a real boyfriend should act.
He was stunned at himself for that selfish thought. But he continued anyway.
"If you don?t mind, we could watch a movie together sometime. Your choice, too." Shadow put a hand on the boy?s shoulder, heart racing at what his reaction might be.
Tails thought about the implication, but then remembered Sonic?s behavior earlier that night and quickly sputtered out his approval.
"Sure! I?d like that. And I hope you?re ready for some real horror movies!"
Inside, Shadow beamed at Tails? smile, but kept his elation under wraps. "Just text me whenever you feel and we?ll set it up."
``Sounds like a plan!'' Tails turned and opened the door to Sonic?s apartment. ``Good night, Shadow. I?ll text ya later!''
``Good night.'' Shadow turned and walked down the stairs toward the parking lot, heart and mind full of hope for the future.
