Work Text:
It was a dare. A self dare, but a dare nonetheless.
Sonic is stuck. He thought he could fit every finger into each hole of the park bench. And he did! He just wasn't planning on not being able to get them out.
“Sonic, I told you! You'll get stuck!”
“Yeah, but you dared me!”
Tails crosses his arms and scoffs. “No I didn't! You kept saying you could and then you did it despite the fact that I knew you'd get your fingers stuck in there.”
Sonic rolls his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. So how do I get out?”
Tails has the deepest frown Sonic's ever seen. “We can try to make things slick, but your gloves will likely absorb anything we put down. The next best option is to cut you out.”
Sonic pouts. “How are we gonna do that?”
“We arent going to do anything.” Tails pulls out his phone and types away. “Not yet, anyways. I'm getting Amy to bring us some oil or something.”
Sonic groans and taps his feet. Amy's fast, so he shouldn't be waiting long. But the fact that he has to wait at all that bothers him. Being stuck is his worst nightmare. At least he can actually move his body.
“You overestimate yourself sometimes, Sonic.” Tails looks worried. Sonic feels a little guilty.
“I just thought it'd be funny.”
Tails sighs. “This will be funny, but right now? This sucks.”
Sonic laughs and before long Tails joins in. “This is stupid, huh?”
“Yeah, it is.” Tails looks at his phone and grins. “Ames said she's on her way! I doubt this will work, but it's worth a shot.”
Sonic nods and pulls out his phone, jumping to and from different apps to distract himself. Before long Amy runs up to them, worry clear on her face. When she gets a full look of Sonic, that worry morphs to disappointment.
“Really?” She walks around the bench once, then twice, hands on her hips. “What on Mobius compelled you to do that?”
Sonic shrugs the best he can with his trademark grin. “I thought I could fit them all in. Tails dared me.”
“No I didn't!” Tails grabs the jug of vegetable oil from Amy and unceremoniously pours it over Sonic's hand. “He did this all by himself.”
Amy snorts and giggles. “I believe it. Only he would do something so silly.”
“Hey!” Sonic shouts playfully. “I'm a go getter, that can't be wrong.”
“No,” Amy's got that dreamy, dazed tone she uses with him from time to time, “it's not.”
“Ok, Sonic. Try to pull your fingers out.” Tails speaks up at the perfect time, Sonic thinks.
He tries with no success. Even with the slickness of the oil his fingers refuse to budge. Tails sighs in defeat. “I knew it. Oh well, at least we tried it.”
Sonic grimaces at the slight pain and looks to Tails. “So what now? We cut me out?”
Tails crosses his arms and frowns. “It's not that simple.” He grabs his namesakes, something he does when thinking.
“I wish I could help, but I've got to head back to the cafe soon.”
Sonic nods at Amy in acknowledgement. “It's alright, Ames. Tails will figure this out. What's the plan, kiddo?”
“I have a laser that might do the trick, but it's in my lab and too large to be moved. We could call the fire department, but the media would be all over this.”
Sonic cringes at the thought. That would be less than ideal. He would prefer to not be a meme yet again, thank you very much.
“Do we have any other options?”
“Maybe.” Tails pulls out his phone again. “Though I'm not sure they'd be willing to help, since it's their day off.”
“Huh?” Sonic watches as Tails types away, grinning and laughing with each notification. “Who?”
“Some friends of mine. You guys don't know them.”
Sonic and Amy glance at each other in disbelief. Who could these friends be? “Tails, buddy, who are you bringing over? And how can they help?”
Tails hums before answering, tails wagging. “Luckily for you, they're on their way. They call themselves Team Dark.”
“Team Dark?” Sonic tests the name on his tongue. Tails nods and Sonic decides to tease. “You're already on Team Sonic, bud! No need to scout other teams. Especially not emo ones.”
Tails rolls his eyes with a smile. “They're cool, trust me.”
“How do you know them?” Amy asks as she takes a seat beside Sonic.
Tails avoids eye contact, making the hedgehogs suspicious. “Don't worry about it.”
Before they can launch a series of questions, they feel the ground shake. The trio look to the side and see a massive eggbot heading straight towards them.
Sonic instantly shifts into battle mode.
“Ames, you play defense! Tails, you get out of here and get to safety!”
Amy leaps up into a fighting stance and pulls out her hammer. But Tails just laughs. The two hedgehogs look at him and then eachother in confusion.
“It's ok you guys. He's part of Team Dark!” Tails waves at the bot, grinning. Amy lowers her hammer and Sonic tries to release the tension in his shoulders. He's full of adrenaline, so it doesn't go so well.
The bot looms closer, but now Sonic can actually see its companions. He sees a pretty white bat and a black hedgehog with crimson stripes. Interesting.
As they come closer Sonic can't take his eyes off that hedgehog. He walks with a quite power and grace, head held high and back straight. Everything about him is unique - from his curled quills to the red streaks gracing his body. There's something just a bit off about him too - his ears seem too long, his snout as well. And Sonic has never seen chest fur like that on another hedgehog. Obsidian fur shines in the light while crimson eyes are locked onto Sonic's form.
Sonic suddenly feels very warm.
“Well, well, what do we have here, sugar?”
The bat steps forward and ruffles Tails' fur. The kid grins wide as she does so. He fist bumps the hedgehog and pats the bot on its arm.
“Hey, you guys! Welcome to the party.” Sonic flashes his famous mega watt smile, noting that only the bat reacts to it positively. She smiles in turn, while the hedgehog actually scoffs.
“Nice to meet you all! I'm Amy, Amy Rose.” She reaches out and shakes each if their hands, her warm smile being better recieved.
“This is some party you got here!” The bat says. “I'm Rouge. This big guy here is Omega.” She points to the bot. “Don't worry about him, he's reformed and independent now.” The bot nods, and Sonic feels a bit less tense.
The black hedgehog steps forward, seemingly unimpressed. “I'm Shadow.”
His voice is gruff and he looks like he wants to kick Sonic's ass. Sonic thinks he'd do anything to get this guy to laugh.
Shadow turns from Sonic, face softening when he looks to Tails. Sonic really likes that. “So what's the problem, Miles?”
Tails points to Sonic's hand. “Go check it out for yourself.”
The group surrounds Sonic, eyes fixed on where his fingers are stuck in the holes of unforgiving metal. Rouge and Shadow burst into laughter. Amy and Tails snicker as well, though they quiet down when Sonic glares at them.
“Don't you have to be at the cafe, Ames?” Amy shrugs, the picture of innocence.
“I can wait around a bit more.”
Sonic huffs through his nose. At least there is a silver lining to this. Sonic really likes this guy's laugh. Too bad he had to embarrass himself to hear it.
“Why on earth would you do that? Why?” Sonic tilts his head at Shadow's use of a human phrase.
“I thought I could do it. It was supposed to be funny.” Sonic answers truthfully and it only makes the two laugh harder. “Tails dared me.”
“Well,” Rouge wipes a tear from her eye then fans her face, “it is funny. But there's no way he dared you. He's too nervous for that.”
“Hey!” Tails shouts, the frown on his face deepening when Sonic laughs at his expense.
Shadow pulls out his phone and starts snapping pictures. Sonic pouts. “Hey! What's the big idea?”
“Blackmail.” Shadow answers smoothly. “Among other things.”
Sonic really wants to know what he means by that, but somehow it doesn't feel right to ask. Not now, at least.
“WHAT IS SO AMUSING?” asks Omega.
“This idiot got himself stuck in the bench.” Shadow explains.
“THAT IS UNDERSTANDABLY HUMOROUS.”
Rouge falls into a fit of laughter once more. “Let's get you out of here, hun.” Rouge pulls out a tube of lipstick and Sonic raises a brow.
“How's that supposed to help?”
Amy and Tails shush him. “Let the lady work!” Amy scolds, earning a look of approval from Shadow. No fair.
“Dont move, ok?” Rouge leans in close and points the lipstick down. She twists the bottom, and a laser shoots out. Sonic gasps as she cuts away a circle, the chunk of metal containing his hand.
“There. Now Sunshine can take care of the nitty gritty.”
Sonic giggles when he hears Shadow grumble. The striped hedgehog steps closer to him, and Sonic notes he smells very good.
“Miss,” Shadow's looking at Amy with a neutral expression, “I apologize, but I don't want my gloves to get dirty so I'll be taking them off. I hope that isn't too much trouble.”
Amy blushes to her ears, making Sonic snort. “Thanks for letting me know. Go ahead.”
Sonic watches as Amy fans herself, leaning over to whisper to Tails. 'What a gentleman.' Sonic reads her lips. Looks like he may have some friendly competition for Shadow's heart.
Shadow takes off his gloves and Sonic watches as Amy looks over his hands before averting her eyes. He's totally gonna tease her about this later. Right now he's too busy doing some staring of his own.
Sonic watches as Shadow uses the laser to make small cuts near his fingers with impressive precision. After doing so he passes the device to Rouge and Sonic marvels at how the red stripes extend to Shadow's hands.
Each hand has a single red finger. Each finger has a thick, black claw. Shadow must keep them trimmed well, as they don't look sharp. It's just strange to see such claws on a hedgehog - their claws are normally short and blunt. Sonic wonders just who - and what - Shadow is.
“Keep still please.” Shadow pulls him away from his shameless staring with a surprisingly gentle voice.
“Sorry, I, like, have to move.” Sonic meets Shadow's eyes and every other word dies in his throat. It's not often that he's left speechless, but having Shadow this close has his mind going blank.
“I'll be done soon, so don't worry.”
Shadow makes quick work at bending the metal at each cut. He does so as if the metal were nothing more than paper. This guy is strong and Sonic feels warm again.
Soon enough Sonic is pulling his hand out and relishing in his freedom. “Awesome! Thanks so much!”
Shadow nods with a small smile that has Sonic's heart racing.
Shadow grabs his gloves from Rouge and puts them on. “You're welcome. Since we're done here, we should be on our way.”
“Thanks for your help you guys!” Tails says sincerely.
Shadow steps back and ruffles Tails' fur. “I'm glad we could help you out.”
“Well, I've got the head back too. It was lovely meeting you two.” Amy's eyes linger on Shadow a touch longer than usual. She blows a kiss to Sonic and heads on her way.
“Your girlfriend is a cutie.” Rouge teases as soon as Amy is out of ear shot.
Sonic scrunches his muzzle. “She's not my girlfriend.”
“Oh?” Rouge nudges Shadow with an elbow. “That's something, huh?”
Sonic raises a brow at that. That's interesting, right? He goes up to Tails, tapping his shoulder before signing 'Give us some space please.'
His brother nods and gets on it. “Hey, Rouge, do you think you can show me how that laser works? I want to try to make my own.”
“Sure, sugar!”
With that, Rouge, Omega, and Tails start their own conversation, leaving Shadow and Sonic to their own devices. Sonic grins.
“So, how do you know Tails?”
Shadow looks at the kid before looking back at Sonic, face neutral. “Don't worry about it.”
Sonic places his hands on his hips and leans forward. “Hmph, I'll get that story sooner or later!” He drops his arms, taking a chance and stepping forward to invade Shadow's space. “I wanted to say thanks again. You really helped me out.”
“You wouldn't have needed help if you weren't so foolish.”
Sonic sticks out his tongue. “Has anyone told you that you're a total bummer?”
“Yes. Though it sounds like a personal problem for everyone else.”
That makes Sonic chuckle. He realizes that Shadow looks smug and he can't help but tease. “Oh? Now you want to smile?”
“Yes, I do. I made you laugh, that's worthy of a smile.”
Sonic giggles more and looks down at his shoes. Is Shadow seriously flirting right now? Sonic thought this would be harder, somehow. Mr Serious didn't seem like the flirty type. Not that Sonic's complaining. “So... what's with the pictures you were taking.”
Shadow still looks smug, and it makes Sonic curious. “I was taking those for your contact photo. Speaking of, what's your number?”
Sonic feels his jaw drop. Not only is Shadow definitely flirting with him, he asked Sonic for his number. He relays the digits and Shadow puts them in his phone. A second later Sonic's phone chimes, a simple 'hello' greeting him.
“I have to go, but it was nice meeting you.” Shadow reaches out and Sonic snorts. Really? A handshake? How is this guy so formal? It's not like he just asked for Sonic's number or anything. But the laughter dies in his throat when Shadow twists his hand gently, kissing the back of it before stepping away.
“Call me sometime.”
Without further warning he steps away. He looks back at Sonic once, with a smirk and a wave. Then Team Dark are off, doing chaos does what and with a piece of Sonic's heart.
“Yo, Tails!”
The fox jogs over, open curiosity on his face. “Yeah?”
“Tell me everything you know about Shadow.”