A Love Like This

Shadow the Hedgehog laid on his side in bed, staring out his bedroom window at the night sky. His heart was pounding, but for a very different reason than it was normally. He felt very slightly dizzy and extremely exhausted, but he also felt a strange sense of euphoria that he had not felt in many, many years. He gazed up at the brightly twinkling stars, smiling softly. For the first time in a very long time, he found that he was happy. To put it simply, he felt happy, wanted, loved, and very, very sleepy. Tired from the activities he had recently partaken in, he laid back and closed his eyes slowly, never wanting to let go of this feeling. It was a familiar feeling, one that he'd felt many years before, one that he'd felt with his Maria. Oh, he had loved her, had loved her as more than a sister. She had been everything to him, everything he'd ever dreamed of, and the only thing that truly meant something to him. She had been more than a thing... she had been his first love, his very first. Before now, he had thought that she would be the only one he would ever love.

And never had he ever imagined that he would feel this way again... and certainly not with his rival. Never, never would he have ever pictured him and Sonic lying together, being together, sleeping in the same bed together. It was something beyond his wildest dreams.

But it was happening now.

Sonic lay sleeping, wrapped in his arms, mussed blue quills resting against the black satin sheets. The moonlight cast a silvery glow onto his face as Shadow ran his fingers along his cheek.

Shadow had never thought of him this way, had never imagined him to be so sensitive and- well- adorable. His ungloved fingers gently stroked the smooth peach skin, and the blue hedgehog in his arms giggled and lightly kicked his feet at the feeling. As their bare legs met and entwined, Shadow felt his heart flutter in his chest, for the first time in more than half a century.

He never knew it could be like this. He never knew that there existed such a thing as pure and silken and soft as Sonic's touch. He never knew that anything could be as sweet and delicious as Sonic's taste, his kiss. He never knew that such a treasure could be found right in front of him.

But oh, he did now. And he didn't regret a thing.

Sonic stirred in his arms, those luscious peach-tinted lips parting and allowing a single word to tumble from behind them:

"Shadow..."

Ebony ears perked at the sound of his own name, mumbled so lustfully and full of desire from the blue hedgehog. Never before had he heard Sonic say his name in such a way, not before a few hours ago, when they connected for the first time. It was different, but different in a way that made Shadow feel a bit touched on the inside. Just the very thought of someone, even Sonic, having feelings strong enough for that sort of emotion to be heard when they said his name almost brought tears to his eyes. No one had ever truly cared for him since Maria died.

No one except for Sonic had cared, and not before right now.

"Shadow, I love you..." Sonic whispered in his sleep, rolling over in Shadow's arms, curling into a white-furred chest.

Shadow only smiled at this, a true, genuine smile, and moved his arms to rest on Sonic's lower back, pulling his new lover in closer. Sonic was curled into him, his arms around Shadow's waist, his head pressed against his chest. In a gesture so full of love and care that it almost scared him, Shadow lowered his head a tiny bit, allowing his lips to brush his former rival's cheek.

"Oh, Sonic... I love you, too," He whispered back, resting his chin on top of the blue head below him.

He kept his eyes closed, breathing in the scent of his lover. Sonic was so innocent and pure and he smelled so wonderful, just like the outdoors after the rain had fallen. He smelled of adventure and adrenaline and the usual teenage curiosity, a combination that made Shadow want to lie with him and breathe him in forever.

He never knew there was such a thing as this... he never knew that there could actually be a love like this. When Maria had gone, he had thought that all his love had gone with her, but he was wrong, obviously.

And the reason why was right here, lying asleep in his arms, occasionally whispering his name and nuzzling his chest playfully. The reason was Sonic, his former rival turned lover, who had confessed his feelings to him only hours before, and who had polished off his confession with a kiss.

The first kiss had been so sweet, and the others, the many more that succeeded it, had been just as wonderful and delicious to Shadow. Everything about Sonic had been delicious, every part of him that he had tasted, every little whisper of his name that had slipped from behind his soft lips. Now, lying here with Sonic in his arms, Shadow hoped that there would be many more sweet kisses, and much more of Sonic to come.

He relaxed next to Sonic, taking a slow, deep breath and curling up into his lover. Pressing his nose into his former rival's shoulder, he inhaled the scent of him, taking a slow, deep breath. As that enticing scent of adventure and freedom reached his nose, he shuddered with desire that he quickly suppressed. Instead of giving in to his carnal urges once again, he gave him a soft, loving kiss on his cheek before resting his head back on the pillow.

"Sweet dreams, Sonic," He whispered, nuzzling his face into Sonic's shoulder. "Sweet dreams..."

The End!