hello !! hi!! i have a small fic idea. i unno if its any good but its an idea i scribbled down in my notes months ago that i haven't had the energy to write so
(as i finished writing this i realized i kinda have a fic similar to this but WHATEVER. the more the merrier)
sonic having trouble letting people help him when he's sick or hurt, to the point where he hides it until it gets so bad he maybe passes out. he's used to being on his own and caring for himself on his own.
the specific idea i have is for a sickfic with shadow helping sonic, mainly bc i think itd be evil to have sonic collapse during a race because he's got a nasty fever, and shadow immediately lets instinct take over. i looove shadow with lots and lots of medical knowledge, but also trauma that goes along with it. anyways. when sonic does wake up he tries to fight shadow and get him to leave him alone, but obviously he's sick and he cannot do that. this would also work well with an injury tho i think :)
sorry if this is too much lol. i figured id throw it at u since u posted asking for prompts. feel free to rip it apart and reshape it if u want to LMAOO im just tossing it into the ring is all
ive been meaning to do smthing for this for ages so very tire on the tablet in bed it is or itll never get done and youre too cool for that so pls take m humble random words I write rn at this late time of 9.58 in the pm feat. 2 ful days of uni and little slepe rip
The tired voice went unnoticed at first as the black hedgehog turned slowly to dramatise the lateness of he approach.
"Good. Finally, you--"
The appearance of a dishevelled looking blue hedgehog threw Shadow's retort off as he stared for a second. Sonic sniffed, not really looking at Shadow's scrutiny.
"You look like shit." Shadow ended up finishing, narrowing his eyes at the barely bothered glare he got in response. "Why are you out here in this state."
As usual, the question was more of a statement,as if anything the ultimate lifeform said couldn't possibly be argued with. In this situation, his point was warranted, however - Sonic opened his mouth to reply and instead sneezed twice and firmly rubbed his nose that was definitely tinted a shade more red than its usual shiny black, showing up more with paler fur behind it.
Sonic coughed into an elbow and sniffed again, before cracking into a yawn and stretching, apparently deciding to wait until his body was done with reactions to answer. "Eh, 's just allergies," he waved off literally, flicking his fingers in a way that had Shadow immediately noting the gloves as dirty, as though the blue idiot hadn't bothered to find new ones for the morning.
Shadow crossed his arms, unimpressed. "That's not what allergies look like."
Sonic rolled his eyes. "Well, we can't all be perfect lifeforms," he put a hand on his hip as he leaned slightly, which to anyone else may be a normal cocky pose, but Shadow could tell that it was more of a covered rebalancing act. His eyes narrowed further.
Still, the idiot was technically an adult, or enough of one to look after himself, and if that included dragging himself out for no good reason instead of just throwing a simple message that he was unable to race, then that was his stupid problem, not Shadow's.
That's what the hybrid told himself, anyway, as he drew out a sigh to prove how unbothered he was and turned away to look into the forest where they usually ran through on days like these.
"Whatever." Shadow heard the other shuffling in slight surprise that the topic was dropped so easily, but Sonic quickly joined him at the invisible line and manage some sort of version of the usual annoying grin as they both crouched slightly to push off.
"Three two one go-" Sonic deliberately counted down without pause, causing shadow to waste a precious split second glaring again before following the blue trail through trees and grass.
They hopped over branches and skidded around fallen logs as the forest dimmed the daylight above, necesitating quick turns and sharp eyesight to avoid smashing or tripping into an obstacle and receiving nature straight to the face. Something that more than occasionally ended up happening and leaving someone with a bleeding nose as some sort of mark from hitting the soil at Mach speeds.
Not that the threat of such a thing usually was any issue to either hedgehog or most of their fellow quick friends that sometimes joined them in flying through this particular forest. Though the thought did leave Shadow very slightly distracted in wondering if the fox kit Sonic sometimes lived with knew his brother was out in such a state, but again the black hedgehog quickly shook his head of the thought, determined not to get caught up in something trivial like concern when it concerned the annoying spiky blue ball just ahead of him.
At that moment, said spikes got caught on some rogue vines hanging down from a particularly low tree branch and Sonic yelped briefly as the movement yanked him off course and into a careening fall ending with inevitable grass to the face. Shadow held in his snicker,but couldn't help a smirk as he skated around the fallen hedgehog, ignoring the groan but responding regardless.
"Seems like nature isn't on your side today," he said snidely, slowing just slightly to be sure Sonic heard him before continuing, "enjoy the mud bath. See you at the finish."
With that, Shadow kicked his air shoes back into high gear and pushed off the same tree that had innocently tripped the other. The boost let him shove off another tree, affording a few jumps from trunk to trunk to cut down his running time even further. By the end of the forest, their usual goal of a clear cliff side came into view, and Shadow slowed the chaos energy through his just slightly to coast in a calmer manner towards the edge with no fear of its fall.
He allowed his shoes to power off as he stood to a stop at the rocky lip and breathed in a slow breath of fresh air. Rouge's place in the city was fine for a base, but despite his origins, Shadow had found himself begrudgingly agreeing with his more grounded acquaintances that there was nothing like clear air and a clean view to settle a mind. There were several instances where he ended up here, either alone or with someone close, just to shake free of clinging nightmares or particularly haunting days. Not that they were particularly spoken of, but certain people knew that a short outing to the clifface could clear their minds easier than staying up all night.
The certain people being mostly two that he had already mentioned and thought about too much today. A certain bat and hedgehog that for some reason just wouldn't leave him alone even when he tried to show it was a bad idea to be nearby and nothing would help.
Shadow sighed, opening his eyes to look out at the lengthy view. His foot tapped a couple of times without really thinking about it - a traitorous behaviour he had caught off Sonic and the perpetual impatient that being around that hedgehog seemed to produce in both of them. Shadow huffed to himself, waiting for the usual sound of rushing feet to join him and more than ready to fully mention how long it had taken this time, of course proving him right about not racing in a state like that.
Eventually, the expected footfalls did start approaching, but they were much slower than expected parameters, and Shadow flicked an ear back almost automatically in sudden alertness before the heavy breathing even registered.
"Yeah, yeah-" Sonic started panting before Shadow could even say anything, prompting him to turn as Sonic leaned heavily against one of the last clearing trees, almost bending over with a cough. "Good- job--" his halfhearted praise was interrupted by coughing that forced him to support his body with hands on knees, almost sagging against thebark against the force.
Without even thinking about it, Shadow was striding towards him in sharp focus, stopping just short of the scene as the hybrid realised he wasn't sure what exactly to do.
Sonic was still coughing, the breathless harshness forcing his eyes closed in what seemed like pain if Shadow didn't know better, creased over from the prrssure.
After another minute of this, Shadow pursed his lips and stepped forward to rough grab one blue arm. "Straighten up. You can't catch your breath like that," he said shortly, not waiting for sonic to react or obey as he pushed the other's shoulder against the bark, forcing his upper body up from the almost curled position and holding for a moment as another couple of coughs tried to push it back over.
Sonic gasped for air between coughs, eyes slitted t just about see Shadow, though it was unclear if he was actually paying attention to what was going on. Thankfully, the position did help, and the wheezing tapered off just enough that Shadow let go of Sonic's arm and stepped back, pursing his lips as he eyed the hedgehog up and down now he was closer than when they had met.
"Again. Why are you out here like this."
Shadow made sure his tone brooked no argument, not that it usually did, but with this showing, he was unhappy with almost any answer that could be given, and wasnt above showing it.
But once again, Sonic waved a hand, though now it was shaking as well as uncoordinated. "Chill d-dude." He tried to smother an interrupting cough, catching his breath briefly to try and speak. "Jus' a bit... T-tired, I guess"
Shadow scowled. "You're sick," he replied flatly, unwilling to beat around any further with concrete evidence like the clear heat under Sonic's fur against his skin, not to mention to hazy way the hedgehog was looking at him - leaning foreward again while slumped against the tree, as if even holding his own body upright was more than it could handle right now.
"D-don-t wo-" his perhaps teasing remark lost both its intention and form as he was interrupted by another few coughs that double his over and made him gasp for air almost desperately.
Shadow crossed his arms again to stop from reaching out. "Hmph. At least if you can talk then you can breathe. However bad you're being at even that right now."
Sonic managed to straighten slightly to give Shadow an unimpressed look as he sagged slightly more against the tree, panting and sniffing sharply.
"Whatever, dude." His voice was hoarse and tired, as though even talking back properly was out of ability now. Shadow loosened his crossed arms warily. If he didn't know any better...
Almost on autopilot, one hand shot forward to grab Sonic's arm again when he started to go down against the tree, eyelids struggling to be more than half open. "/Sonic/," he said sharply.
"Mm.. gimme.. a sec..." The reply was interspersed with heavy breaths and faltering, and Shadow only tightened his grip regardless of the heat against the blue body.
"At least sit on the ground if you're going to pass out on me," Shadow retorted, hiding his concern under false sharpness. Sonic made a weak huff in response but didn't resist at all when Shadow crouched to support him the rest of the short way to the forest floor, keeping him slightly supported against the tree.
Sonic took a few short breaths, eyelids fluttering as his head lolled slightly. Shadow waited warily for a minute, watching with focus and keeping his hold on one arm.
After a few seconds, he used one finger to tap against Sonic's shoulder without letting go of him. "Sonic. Are you conscious? Can you hear me?"
Sonic moved his head slightly in Shadow's direction with a small ear flick, but didn't repsond. Taking this as a half yes-no, Shadow huffed and adjusted himself to be more comfortable crouching, making sure Sonic was supported enough against the tree that his chest rose and fell evenly,if sharply.
"How long have you been unwell?" Shadow asked aloud, fully aware he may not get an answer. Sonic's head lolled back against the tree as the hedgehog tried to squint at who was talking in front of him.
"...Dunno... Tails left 'bout... couple days? Ago." The mumbling was audible enough for Shadow other than its surprising truthfulness, and Shadow's brow creased further.
"And you didn't think to do anything about falling ill on your own?" He said flatly, knowing the answer.
Sonic shrugged weakly. He seemed somewhat aware but still only half conscious or able to function, as Shadow cautiously started letting go of his shoulder, only for him to start slowly slumping to one side, and Shadow gripped his back upright again. Given how he was struggling to regulate his breathing with the coughing and whatever else he was hiding, being more straightened out would be better for the time being to help with his lungs.
Shadow regarded the hedgehog in front of him. Sonic's quills were dishevelled, even before his fall in the forest, and the way they spilled out against the tree without much resistance showed how limp they were from not being looked after or treated healthily. His continued heavy breaths and sharp sniffing clearly showed some degree of congestion, and without really thinking about it Shadow reached with his other hand and pressed his palm against the hedgehog's forehead.
The strong heat there confirmed everything else that wasn't obvious. Why the idiot was out here with such a raging fever and clearly flagging body instead of resting or taking medication was beyond Shadow. Well, it wasn't, since there were plenty of examples of Sonic not caring for his own needs when something else needed doing in his perspective. But it was still equally idiotic.
Shadow huffed as he retracted his hand, and Sonic startled slightly as if just coming to in surprise. He managed to lift his head properly, though it was still slightly tilted, and squinted at Shadow again with a frown this time.
"Wait... what're you doin'?" His voice was still slightly slurred, but the contents was clearer at least. He clumsily straightened himself a little better against the tree, Shadow loosening his hold slightly while still watching closely in case Sonic would faint again.
"Wondering whether to leave your idiot self here or not," Shadow replied when Sonic didn't comtinue. Sonic listed slightly to the side as he blinked as if trying to figure out if Shadow was being genuine or not.
Despite the statement, Shadow waited until Sonic was aware enough to at least support himself a bit, and only slightly begrudgingly helped the blue hedgehog to his shaky feet to try and at least direct them in some way to do something constructive about the situation.
Okay im leaving it there BC Im tired and dk what else to put rn. Mayb will add more or fix it abit to publish into a proper thjng or somthing later. But hope u like an sry it took so long !!!! rip all my ideas that would make great writings if when I get round to it ig
