Oh my gosh, I was scrolling through my google doc of fic ideas and I found the old notes behind “Pink Asters”! It really turned out kinda different than what I originally planned. Here are the notes if you want to see them (obvious spoilers ahead):
Sonic brings Shadow around to show him the world
Shadow thinks he’s being stupid
Sonic shows him a field of pretty flowers, Shadow actually really likes it
Sonic describes how flowers are a great way to let people know you care
He says u give them to family, good friends, sick people, dead relatives, and people u love
Later, Shadow gathers a bunch of flowers to give to Sonic, showing he cares for him
Sonic thinks it’s really nice, they talk for a bit before Shadow leaves
Sonic gives Shadow some flowers, and it keeps happening between them
Overtime, Shadow learns more about flowers, and what different kinds represent
One day, he gives Sonic a bouquet of roses, which makes Sonic blush
Sonic asks if Shadow knows what roses mean, and Shadow gives him a tiny cheek kiss
Shadow retreats to his base, embarrassed. He hears a knock, and Sonic has a bouquet
It’s also red roses, and Sonic gives Shadow a cute kiss. ATALHEA
Pretty different, huh? I literally copied this and pasted it here. These are exactly what I used to flesh the idea out. I think everything really started to change once I did more research on flowers. The basic premise stayed the same though.
If you want to see any of my notes, just let me know. I’d be happy to share them with you guys. I love learning what goes into creating stuff, and if you guys want to know what’s behind the stuff I make, I’d love to show you.
It’s a bit late to be asking this but, any tips on writing Rouge? This is kinda my first time writing her...
Also, I really have to warn you guys how long Pink Asters 2 is gonna be. Like, the file for Pink Asters is 30 KB, and the one for Pink Asters 2 is 46 KB, and I’m not even done writing it yet.
Seriously, like, once I post it, make sure you have enough time to read it. I’ll probably post the read time that Grammarly gives me when I start grammar checking it, so you’ll kinda have a sense of how long it is.
“Come on, Shadow! It will take us all day to get there if you don’t hurry it up!”
“You still haven’t told me where we’re going yet, Sonic.”
“It’s a surprise! Trust me, it’ll be awesome!”
“It better be, otherwise I’m throwing you in a lake.”
“You’d have to catch me first, and you’re not moving fast enough to do that!”
“You’re lucky I don’t feel like kicking your ass right now.”
The morning sun rose higher into the sky as two hedgehogs quickly made their way through various cities, towns, and forests. The excited blue hedgehog was taking the lead, eager to show his friend one of his favorite places to visit. Meanwhile, the annoyed black hedgehog followed his trail, not putting much effort into keeping up with the blue blur.
“We’re almost there!” Sonic exclaimed, pointing off into the distance.
“This better be worth it,” Shadow stated, continuing to follow him.
Sonic slowed down to a stop in the middle of a public park, Shadow soon did the same. The park was filled with many colorful flowers, too many different kinds to count. Some flowers grew close to the asphalt paths, being separated from the walkway by low lying metal fences. Other flowers were covering the trees, and others were hanging from baskets mounted on tall wooden posts. The gardens were well maintained, and the park, in general, was very clean, not counting the various flower petals than covered the paths.
“See? Isn’t it cool?!” Sonic exclaimed, gesturing to the entire park.
Shadow took a couple steps around to take in the view. He had never seen a park of this scale dedicated to displaying so many flowers, and the sight of so many vibrant colors was definitely very pleasing to the eyes. After looking around, Shadow showed a small smile, but it didn’t last. He soon glared at Sonic, crossing his arms to show his disdain.
“You came pounding on my door at eight in the morning to show me flowers?!”
“I know you love this place. Go ahead and throw me in a lake if I’m wrong.” Sonic casually stood still with his arms crossed, giving Shadow a smug grin.
Shadow glared at Sonic for a moment, before giving an annoyed sigh. “Fine,” Shadow mumbled, “but why the hell do you care so much about some stupid flowers?”
“Because they’re awesome!” Sonic replied.
“Just because they look nice, doesn’t mean they’re ‘awesome’. If you’re going to waste my time like this, I’m leaving.” Shadow took a step towards the park exit, but Sonic ran in front of him before he could take off.
“Wait! I haven’t even told why flowers are so cool yet!”
Shadow crossed his arms, giving Sonic an annoyed expression. “Okay,” he said, “why are flowers ‘so cool’?” Deciding to humor him for a short moment, Shadow listened to Sonic’s reasoning. At the very least, he may get some explanation as to why Sonic would wake him up at such an early hour just to bring him to a park.
“Because every type of flower has its own meaning, and you can give people flowers to send them a message! It’s like telling someone stuff without saying a word!” Sonic appeared to be very enthusiastic about the subject, enthusiastic enough to start dragging Shadow around the park.
“Hey! Let go of me!” Shadow warned. He didn’t resist that much, though, feeling too lazy at the moment. Sonic didn’t listen to him and instead continued to take him somewhere in the park. Becoming annoyed, Shadow considered punching him, but Sonic soon let go to point something out.
“You see these flowers?” Sonic said, pointing to a bunch of yellow roses that were grouped in with many other colors of roses, every single color of the rainbow being displayed in the general area.
“They’re roses,” Shadow replied, displeased with the treatment he just had. “Even idiots know what roses are.”
“Yeah, but roses and all types of flowers can mean different things! Like, yellow roses are a great thing to give to friends to cheer them up! They represent optimism and happiness!”
Sonic pointed to some gladiolus flowers and said, “These represent faithfulness, honor, and remembrance,” he then pointed to some anthuriums, “and these represent hospitality,” then he pointed to a bunch of freesia flowers, “and those represent innocence and thoughtfulness!”
Shadow was intrigued with the idea that flowers could have that much meaning. At the same time, though, it sounded pretty strange, and he was still annoyed about being awakened too early. “So you’re saying you can just give people a bunch of flowers to tell them something without actually speaking to them?”
“Yeah! See, you’re getting it!” Sonic said.
Shadow still wanted to head home and go back to bed. “Are there flowers that represent irritation and boredom?” he asked in a monotone voice.
“Very funny, faker,” Sonic sarcastically remarked. “How about you point out a flower and I’ll tell you what it means.” Sonic wanted to continue talking to Shadow about his love for flowers.
“Why don’t you just give me a few flowers and stop talking to me?”
“Because you wouldn’t know what any of the flowers mean.”
“I don’t care. I have better things to do than stand here and chat about flowers.” Shadow tried heading out of the park again, but Sonic stopped him.
“Like what?” Sonic questioned, knowing that Shadow most likely had nothing better to do at the moment.
“Sleeping,” he replied.
“Do you even need to sleep?” Sonic asked, genuinely curious about if Shadow required sleep, given he was ‘The Ultimate Lifeform’.
“Sometimes,” Shadow replied. “But I like to sleep, and I don’t want anyone bothering me when I’m trying to get some rest.”
“It was eight in the morning! Who even sleeps that late?!”
“Me. Now let me leave.” Shadow took another step towards the park exit, but Sonic stopped him from leaving once again.
“Come on! Stop being such a baby and pick a flower.”
Shadow let out an another annoyed sigh. “Fine.” He looked around for a second and pointed to a purple flower with a yellow center. “That one.”
“That’s an aster flower,” Sonic happily stated. “They represent patience.”
“So they’re the opposite of you,” Shadow remarked.
Sonic ignored him. “They also represent the wish that the past happened differently, and have been used as medicine by many people around the world.”
Becoming a little more interested, Shadow reluctantly asked, “Okay, what else do you know about them?”
Smiling a bit, Sonic was happy to share more information. “Well, the purple asters like what you pointed out represent wisdom and royalty, white ones represent innocence and perfection, and red represents devotion.”
“You have to be out of things to say about them now.”
“Nope!” Sonic cheerfully stated. “They were really popular a long time ago because people would use asters and other flowers to send secret coded messages to each other. People also used to burn them, believing the smoke would keep away evil serpents.”
Shadows fascination continued to grow. “I guess that’s cool,” he admitted. Sonic grinned in response. Looking around, Shadow saw some more aster flowers, some being pink in color. “What about the pink ones? If you know so much, what do those ones mean?”
“Oh, uh, the pink ones represent sensitivity and love. Since I don’t plan on dating anyone, I don’t give people pink asters.”
“Ah,” Shadow responded. “Wait, how the hell do you know so much about all these damn flowers?!” he demanded.
“I read about them a lot,” Sonic explained. “The stories behind some of them can be really cool!”
“That makes sense, I guess.” Shadow thought about something for a moment. “So, you can just give someone a bunch of flowers and they’ll know what they mean?”
“Not always,” Sonic said. “Most people don’t know about flowers as much as me, so they don’t really understand what they represent. But even if they don’t know anything about flowers, giving them some shows that you care about them.” Sonic was overjoyed that Shadow seemed to be more interested in what he was saying.
Wanting to hear more, Shadow tried thinking of a way to ask for further information without sounding too interested. “Well, I bet there aren’t really that many cool flowers. They all seem pretty boring to me.”
Sonic could tell that Shadow was actually pretty curious, so he showed him around to talk more about the fascinating flowers. Every so often, Shadow would point out a flower, and Sonic would give him some facts about it.
“That one?”
“That’s an iris flower. They represent wisdom and courage in battle. They can be used to give compliments or say that you’re grateful for someone’s friendship.”
“Those?”
“Those are tulips. Those symbolize fame and perfect love. You give them to someone when you declare your love for them.”
“And what about those?”
“They’re daffodils. They’re signs of rebirth, new beginnings, and eternal life. A single daffodil can be a sign of misfortune, while a bunch shows joy and happiness.”
Hours passed, and they continued to talk back and forth. Shadow asking about flowers and Sonic explaining them. It was about afternoon when Shadow asked Sonic something not related to the flowers.
“Sonic?”
“Yeah? What’s up?”
“Why’d you bring me here? Don’t you have other friends that you could have brought instead of me?”
“Oh, well, Tails is allergic to a ton of these flowers, so he can’t come. Amy would probably consider this place to be ‘romantic’, and I wouldn’t want her getting the wrong idea. And Knuckles has to protect the Master Emerald and I don’t feel like flying all the way to Angel Island and back just to show him this place. That pretty much just leaves you. I figured you might like everything here, so I thought I’d show you around, see what you thought.”
Shadow continued to look around, looking at all the flowers surrounding him. He did enjoy his time at the park and was now fascinated with flowers.
“So, what do ya think?” Sonic asked.
“What?” Shadow questioned.
“What do you think about all the flowers and stuff?” Sonic clarified.
“They’re interesting, I suppose,” Shadow replied.
“If you want to know more, there’s tons of other places around the world that have different kinds of flowers. I could show you around and tell you about them. It could be fun!” Sonic hoped Shadow would agree to travel around while he talked about flowers. Shadow was pretty much the only person he could share his interest with.
“That could be entertaining,” Shadow replied. “I’ll refuse to go if you disturb me at an early hour again.”
“Okay, I’ll bother you a little later next time,” Sonic replied.
They continued to walk around discussing flower for a few minutes until Shadow got a message from GUN.
“I have to go, Sonic. I’m needed for a mission,” Shadow stated.
“Alright. See ya later, faker!” Sonic exclaimed, waving as Shadow took off.
As time passed, Sonic began showing Shadow even more flowers and the meanings behind them. Shadow’s interest in flowers grew and he was becoming more enthusiastic about being taken places to learn more about them. Sonic brought Shadow all over the world in his quest to give him more knowledge of flowers, and Shadow enjoyed seeing everything along the way.
One day, while Sonic was taking Shadow through a few fields and forests, pointing out and describing flowers along the way like he has been for a while, Shadow got curious about something and asked Sonic a question.
“So, you’ve been talking about how all these different flowers have different meanings and so on.”
“Yeah?”
“What if someone gives you a bunch of different kinds or colors of flowers?” Shadow asked. “Are some flowers more important than others and would overwrite the other flowers’ messages? If you got a bouquet of white and red roses, would one of the colors be more important and make the whole group have the meaning of that one color? So the whole thing would be only about love, or only about purity?”
“The meanings would be combined,” Sonic answered.
“How?” Shadow questioned.
“Well, a bouquet of red and white roses would basically be saying you really love someone, and that your intentions are honorable.” Happy to answer Shadow’s question, Sonic looked forward to explaining more to him.
“That seems very confusing,” Shadow stated.
“Well, it gets less confusing the more you learn about everything.”
Shadow looked around for a moment before a thought crossed his mind. “Where do blue roses grow?” he asked. “We’ve been to many places and I haven’t seen any. I saw some at the park you brought me to a while back, so I know they must exist somewhere.”
“Oh, uh, blue roses aren't actually real,” Sonic replied.
“What are you talking about? I saw them at the park.” Shadowed stared at Sonic, waiting for him to explain.
“Well, blue roses are just white roses dyed blue,” he stated. “They don’t naturally grow anywhere.”
“So, they don’t really exist?” Shadow asked for clarification.
“Yeah,” Sonic replied. “Well, scientists have been able to genetically engineer what they call blue roses, but they’re more lavender looking than blue.”
Shadow was a little disappointed but got past it quickly. “Do blue roses even have any meaning, since they’re not real?”
“They have meaning,” Sonic stated. “Since they don’t naturally exist, blue roses represent mystery and wanting to obtain the impossible. So, a bunch of blue roses would mean that you can’t stop thinking about someone, but know you’ll never be with them.”
Shadow hummed in understanding and continued to travel with Sonic through the plains and forests. Soon, Shadow wanted to know something else, asking Sonic another question.
“I’ve been wondering, why do you care so much about flowers? Why did you decide to learn so much about them?”
“Well, they’re pretty good for telling people things,” Sonic stated. “I’m uh, not that great at getting my thoughts into words, so I can just give people flowers instead. Like, if I was really grateful for someone helping me through a tough time, I could give them some hydrangeas.”
“That seems useful,” Shadow said, thinking about how he could use flowers to tell his friends things he doesn't know how to say.
“It is pretty useful,” Sonic confirmed.
They continued to discuss flowers throughout the day until the sun began to set. Shadow waved ‘goodbye’ and started to head home, thoughts filled with all the ways he could use his new knowledge to send his friends fun messages.
More time passed, and Shadow was now just as enthusiastic about flowers as Sonic. Every few days, Sonic would show up to take Shadow somewhere to teach him more, and they both looked forward to it. Sometimes, Shadow would visit Sonic, asking to be shown more about flowers and their meanings.
It was another average trip for them, Sonic showing Shadow around and telling him about any flowers he was curious about. Near the end of the day, though, Sonic brought Shadow into the middle of a field sit and talk. Daisies grew in large numbers in the field, and when both hedgehogs sat down, they were surrounded by the beautiful white flowers with yellow centers.
“I haven’t seen this many flowers in one place before,” Shadow stated.
“Yeah, daisies are real good at growing in places like this,” Sonic replied.
“Why are we sitting here?” Shadow asked. “Aren’t there more types of flowers in other areas?”
“I wanted to tell you something important about flowers, and I think this would be the best place to explain it,” Sonic answered.
Shadow looked around for a second, before turning to look at Sonic. “What did you need to tell me?”
“Well, for the past few months, I’ve been only telling you about the commonly accepted meanings of flowers. For example, most people consider daisies like these ones to mean purity and innocence. They can also mean true love because a daisy flower is really two flowers perfectly blended together.” Sonic looked around for a second to think, and continued.
“But, certain flowers can also have special meanings to different people. Like, these daisies have a special meaning to me, that isn’t the same for everyone else.”
“What do they mean to you then?” Shadow asked, sitting more comfortably and waiting for Sonic to explain.
“Uh, give me a sec, I think it’s kinda hard to explain,” he said.
“Hmm, alright,” Shadow responded.
After a short moment, Sonic began to tell Shadow what the flowers meant to him. “Well, I guess these ones kinda represent, uh, relaxation to me.”
Shadow gave Sonic a confused look, so he explained it more thoroughly. “You see, there’s a lot of stuff I have to do sometimes. Fighting Eggman, saving cities from giant monsters, running all over the world for tons of reasons. And uh, sometimes, I just want to go out and relax somewhere. This is where I go to do that.” Sonic closed his eyes and felt a gentle breeze pass through the field, the scent of daisies being carried through the air. He took a deep breath and continued to talk.
“This place is great for relaxing,” he stated. “It’s always quiet, the wind goes through here pretty often, and the flowers smell pretty nice. Sometimes, I’d just sit out here for a while making daisy chains. It helps me relax and think.”
“What are daisy chains?” Shadow asked, never having heard of them before.
“Oh, I’ll show you,” Sonic said, picking some daisies and removing the glove on one of his hands. “First you get a bunch of daisies,” he said, setting the flowers between him and Shadow. “Then, you take one, and make a small slit near the end of the stem.” Sonic used his thumbnail to make make the slit. “Then, you thread the stem of another daisy through it.” He took another daisy from the pile and pulled it through the small slit until the head of the second daisy was resting against the stem of the first one. “And you just keep repeating that until it’s as long as you want it to be.”
“That seems easy,” Shadow stated, taking a couple flowers and beginning to create his own daisy chain while Sonic added to his own. Once Shadow had a chain of about ten flowers, he asked Sonic another question. “So, do you just keep adding them forever, or is there a limit?”
“You can make them as long as you want, or you can make them into a flower crown,” Sonic stated.
“How do you do that?” Shadow asked.
“It’s pretty easy. You just make a slit near the top of the first daisy, and weave the stem of the last one through.” Sonic used his own daisy chain as an example and made it into a flower crown. “After you’re done, you can wear it yourself or give it to a friend.” Sonic leaned forward and set the flower crown on top of Shadow’s head, chuckling in the process. “Ha, you look ridiculous,” Sonic said after sitting back and admiring his work.
Shadow grumbled a little and made his own daisy chain into a crown, placing it on Sonic’s head afterward. “There, now you also look ridiculous,” he stated, sitting back and crossing his arms.
“I bet I still look less ridiculous than you, faker,” Sonic said.
“I highly doubt that,” Shadow stated. “I’m sure I look much better in a flower crown than you.”
Sonic started laughing, finding the situation to be hilarious. Shadow could help but to laugh with him, realizing how silly it was to try and prove that he looked better wearing flowers.
Once they stopped laughing and everything was calm again, Sonic looked over to Shadow, with a question on his mind. “Hey, Shadow. Do you have any flowers that are special to you?”
Shadow took a moment to think about that. He enjoyed flowers, but never really thought of what ones he found to be the most important. After thinking for a while, he gave Sonic the best answer he could. “Asters are interesting, I suppose.”
“Why do you like them the most?” Sonic asked, looking for more detail.
“When you first described them, they sounded pretty cool,” he said after a moment of thought. “I guess asters were what made me more interested in flowers.” Shadow reached for his glove he took off earlier to make daisy chains and put it back on, Sonic soon did the same.
They both stood up, noticing that it was close to sunset. “I should start heading back to my place,” Sonic stated.
“Could you wait here a moment?” Shadow asked.
“Uh, sure, I guess,” Sonic replied in confusion.
Shadow took out the green chaos emerald he carried and used it to teleport away. Sonic looked around for a second, impatiently tapping his foot waiting for Shadow to return. Only a few moments later, Shadow was back with a bouquet of iris flowers.
“These are supposed to show gratitude for someone’s friendship, correct?”
“Yeah?”
“Uh, here then.” Shadow reluctantly held out the flowers, feeling a small amount of embarrassment.
After chuckling a little at Shadow’s behavior, Sonic found the gesture to be pretty nice. “Heh, you’re becoming almost as great as me at knowing stuff about flowers, faker.”
“Just take the damn flowers,” Shadow said, pushing the flowers further toward Sonic and looking away.
Sonic accepted the flowers, looking at them with a grin. “Thanks, Shadow.”
“Yeah, whatever,” he said.
“Maybe I should give you some flowers too,” Sonic said, wanting to return the kind gesture.
“I don’t care,” Shadow replied, trying to hide a smile.
“Whatever you say,” Sonic remarked, already thinking about what kind of flowers to give him.
“Bye, Sonic.” Shadow took off and ran into the distance, out of sight within a few seconds.
“Later, Shadow.”
The next time Sonic went to Shadow’s house to bring him somewhere, he gave him a bouquet of flowers like he planned a few days before. Shadow accepted them reluctantly but was in truth very grateful for the gift. They exchanged bouquets of flowers every time they saw each other after that, sending messages of friendship and gratitude. After a while, Shadow’s flower arrangements got more complicated, mixing different colors and breeds of flowers together.
Eventually, Shadow wanted to give Sonic more than just flowers of friendship. He wanted to give him something with more meaning. Their time together was beginning to feel more special to him, even if Sonic was still just explaining flowers like he always has been. Shadow bought some flowers and arranged them to the best of his ability, and went over to Sonic’s house to give him the bouquet.
Shadow stepped up to Sonic’s door early in the morning, taking a deep breath before knocking. Sonic opened the door as soon as Shadow’s gloved hand hit the wooden surface.
“Hey, Shadow!” Sonic greeted in excitement. “I’ve got a great place to show you today! Just give me a sec to-”
“Actually,” Shadow interrupted, “I uh, just came here to give you something and leave.”
“Oh, that’s alright. I can always bring you there later.” Sonic tilted his head to try and see what Shadow was holding. He was hiding the bouquet behind his back. “So, whatcha got for me?” Sonic asked.
“Uh, here,” Shadow said, moving the flower arrangement into Sonic’s sight. The bouquet mostly consisted of red roses and tulips, with a few blue roses mixed in. Sonic blushed immediately upon seeing the flowers.
“Sh-Shadow? You, you do know what those flowers mean, right?” Sonic nervously asked, looking from the flowers to Shadow, whose cheeks were a bright red.
“Yes, I do,” he stated, looking away in embarrassment.
“Shadow, I don’t-” He quickly interrupted Sonic before he could finish his thought.
“It’s fine. I understand,” he said, handing Sonic the flowers and stepping away. “I just wanted to inform you of my feelings, I won’t bother you for any longer.”
Shadow turned and bolted, quickly distancing himself from Sonic.
“Shadow! Wait!” he shouted, but Shadow teleported out of sight before Sonic could give chase. “You, you didn’t even let me say anything…”
Looking down at the bouquet, Sonic saw the dedication and thought that Shadow put into the flower arrangement. He could tell exactly what Shadow was feeling but had no idea how long he was feeling that way. Sonic tried recalling of any moments that would have shown that Shadow had such strong feelings towards him, but couldn’t think of any. “I guess he’s as good at hiding that kind of stuff as me.”
Once again looking at the flowers, Sonic pondered what to do next. He didn’t know what to say since he wasn’t expecting to get a message this strong. After a moment of thought, Sonic found the best way to express what he wanted to. Sonic walked out and locked the door, quickly heading out. He had a few flower shops to visit today.
It was around afternoon when Sonic had gathered and carefully assorted the flowers into a bouquet. He quickly ran to Shadows house, hoping he’d be there. Shadow was at home, he was on his bed trying to sleep, face buried into a pillow. For once, Shadow just wanted to forget, he didn’t want to remember what he did. He wanted to stop thinking about how he ruined everything today.
Sonic knocked on the door but didn’t get a response. He tried knocking again, but Shadow didn’t answer. Making sure Shadow really wasn’t home, Sonic pounded the door with his fist, making as much noise as possible. This got Shadow’s attention, and he got out of bed and started heading towards the door.
“Who the hell is it! I’m trying to sleep!” he hollered, stomping over to see who was bothering him. Shadow began opening the door. “This better be pretty damn important otherwise-! Oh, it’s you…” Shadow wasn’t expecting to see Sonic this soon.
“Who even sleeps this late?!” Sonic asked in concern.
“Me,” Shadow slowly answered. Before Sonic could say anything, Shadow began to talk.
“Look, could you give me at least a few days before you start teasing me? I don’t really know if I could-” Sonic pushed a bouquet of flowers into Shadow’s direct sight, making him go silent.
The bouquet was partly made up of red and white roses, all of them were healthy and vibrant. Mixed in were many asters, all pink with bright yellow centers. Shadow accepted the bouquet, cheeks turning red in the process. Once the flowers were handed over, Sonic blushed and awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
“Uh… You didn’t let me speak, and I didn’t know what to say anyway.”
“Oh…”
Sonic and Shadow stood there in silence for a few moments, awkwardly avoiding eye contact. Shadow was the one to break the silence.
“Would, you like to, come in?” he asked.
“Uh, yeah. Sure,” Sonic replied, slowly stepping inside.
The place was pretty messy. Junk food wrappers littered the kitchen, and various action movies and games were laying around the living room. All of the furniture was bland in color and was contrasted by the vibrant flowers displayed around the house.
Shadow looked at Sonic for a split second, before looking away again. “I’ll, uh, find a vase for these,” he said, walking into the kitchen.
Taking a few more steps inside, Sonic saw just how many flowers Shadow was keeping. They were all the bouquets that Sonic had given him, all in great condition. Sonic was surprised Shadow knew how to take such good care of the flowers.
The sounds of cabinets being open and shut were heard as Sonic entered the kitchen. “Hey, Shadow?” Sonic said, stopping by the kitchen table.
“Yes?” he responded, finding a cheap, clear, vase in a lower cabinet and turning to set it on the table.
“You, kept all the flowers I gave you?” Sonic asked, watching as Shadow carefully set the flowers into the vase.
“Yes. I did,” he awkwardly replied, turning around and filling a pitcher with water.
“Heh, nice. I uh, kept your flowers too.”
After filling the vase with water, Shadow set the pitcher on the table. Once again, there was silence between Sonic and Shadow, both of them having no idea what to say to each other. Shadow glanced at the flowers Sonic just gave him, recalling everything he learned about them. He was very grateful for the gift and remembered that he didn’t thank Sonic yet.
“Um, thanks. For the flowers,” he said, still avoiding eye contact with Sonic.
“Oh, uh, you’re welcome,” Sonic replied. “I went to a few places to get the best ones I could find.”
“I can tell. They look, very nice,” Shadow stated.
A few more moments passed with no words being spoken between them. The silence was bothering Shadow greatly. He didn’t even hear the impatient tapping of Sonic’s foot like all the other times they’ve stood around. Shadow needed to say something just to end the mental torture.
“So, red and white roses…” Shadow stated.
“Uh, yep,” Sonic quietly replied.
“You told me that they mean you love someone and that your intentions are honorable.”
“Uh, yeah.”
“And, asters. My favorite flowers.”
“Yeah.”
“Pink ones. They represent sensitivity and love, right?”
“Yeah…”
The silence returned. They both stood at the opposite ends of the table, looking away from each other. Sonic was the one to break the silence this time.
“So uh, you want me to show you that place I was talking about?” Sonic asked, trying to make everything feel normal again. “It’s fine if you don’t want to go, I’d understand.”
“I’ll go,” Shadow replied.
“Great,” Sonic stated. “Uh, just follow me like usual. It shouldn’t take too long to get there.”
Sonic turned and started heading to the door. He was at the entrance when Shadow grabbed his arm, halting his movement.
“Huh? What’s wrong?” Sonic asked, confused as to why Shadow stopped him.
Turning to see what the problem was, Sonic’s heart skipped a beat when he felt Shadow’s lips press against his own. Sonic felt Shadow’s arms wrap around him, one hand on his waist and the other above the quills on his back. Soon, Sonic leaned in and wrapped his arms around Shadow, pulling him even closer. They stayed locked in a passionate kiss for a few moments, neither of them wanting to let go.
Eventually, they both leaned back and ended this kiss. They continued to hold each other, looking into the eyes of the person they loved. Sonic then pulled Shadow into a hug, they could feel each other’s hearts racing as they stayed in the warm embrace. They gave each a small squeeze, then let go, with Shadow taking a small step back.
Clearing his throat, Shadow tried to compose himself. “We uh, we should start heading out,” he stated, still blushing intensely. “We’ll want to get there before it starts getting dark.”
Sonic had a large grin on his face and was trying his best to contain his joy. “Yeah. Let’s go,” he said, proudly walking out the door, with Shadow soon following. Once they both exited the house, Sonic stopped and turned around.
“Wait,” he said, running up to Shadow and giving him a quick kiss on the lips, giggling for a second afterward. “Okay, now let’s go,” he said, running ahead.
Shadow grinned in delight and followed his trail. Wherever Sonic was taking him, Shadow was going to enjoy being able to spend more time with the person he loved.
